Vishu Recipe -Mezhukkuvaratti (Dry Mixed Vegetables Curry)

Ingredients

To pressure cook

¼ kg suran

¼ kg beans

3 raw bananas

100 gms green peas

1 tsp. turmeric powder

Salt to taste

For seasoning

4 tbsp. coconut oil

Making

Peel, cut and wash the vegetables. Shell and clean green peas. Pressure cook the vegetables together with turmeric powder and salt. Set aside .Heat oil and add the cooked vegetables. Cook on a slow fire till the vegetables are dry .serve hot.

Vishu Recipe - Vazhakkai Poduthuval (Dry Raw Banana Curry)

Ingredients

To pressure cook

8 raw bananas

½ tsp. turmeric powder

Salt to taste

For Garnishing

½ coconuts (grated)

6 green chilies

For Seasoning

1 tsp. mustard seeds

2 tsp. black gram dal

2 red chilies (broken)

4 tbsp. oil

Making

Peel and cut raw bananas into small pieces. Pressure cook along with turmeric powder and salt and set aside. Heat oil. Add mustard seeds, black grams dal and red chillies.when brown add the cooked vegetables. Cook the vegetables on a low fire till dry. Run the grated coconut and green chilies in a mixie for a minute and add to the vegetables. Serve hot

Ø You can substitute vazhakkai (raw bananas) with ¾ kg chenai(suran)

Vishu Recipe -Beans Poduthuval (Dry beans Curry)

Ingredients

To pressure cook

½ kg beans

½ tsp. turmeric powder

Salt to taste

For Garnishing

¼ coconuts (grated)

4 green chilies

For seasoning

1 tsp. mustard seeds

1tsp black gram dal

2 red chilies (broken)

2 tbsp. oil

Making

Wash and chop the beans into very fine pieces. Add turmeric powder and salt, then pressure cook. Set aside. Heat the oil and add mustard seeds, black gram dal and red chillies.when brown, add the cooked vegetables. Cook on a low fire till the vegetables become dry. Run the grated coconut and green chilies in the mixie for a minute and add to the vegetables. Serve hot.

• You can substitute beans with cluster or string beans.
• You can also add 100 gms shelled green peas along with the beans while cooking.

Semiya Payasam

Ingredients

Vermicelli/semiya – 200gm

Milk – 2 ltrs

Condensed milk – 1 tin

Sugar – 5tbsp

Cashew nuts & raisins – 1/2 cup each

Cardamom – 2 big, crushed

Ghee/clarified butter – 2 1/2 tbsp

Method of preparation

Heat 2 tbsp ghee in a bottom heavy pan and roast the semiya till golden brown. Add milk to it and cook on low flame till semiya is fully done. Keep stirring in between. Add condensed milk and sugar and stir, till it is well combined with milk. Add crushed cardamom and remove from fire.

Heat 1/2 tbsp ghee in a pan and fry the cashew nuts, when it becomes golden brown, add raisins. Add the fried cashews and raisins to payasam. Serve hot or chilled.

Note: Since one tin condensed milk is used, this payasam is rich and has a creamy texture.If you prefer less creamier payasam substitute condensed milk with 2 cups sugar.

Adjust the quantity of sugar and condensed milk to suit your taste. The quantity prescribed above gives a medium-high sweetened payasam.

Parippu Payasam

The favourite desert of the keralites. You cant stop with just 1 serving.
Ingredents

Cherupayar Parippu – 200gm

Jaggery -400gm

Thick coconut milk – 1 1/2 cups

Medium thick coconut milk – 4 cups

Light coconut milk – 4 cups

Ghee – 3 tablespoon

Cashenut & Coconut pieces – 50 gm each

Method of preparation

Fry the parippu without oil for 5-6 minutes. Wash it well & cook with boiled water. Melt the jaggery by adding 1 cup water. Add the melted jaggery to well cooked parippu & stir well. Add 2 tablespoon ghee to this & mix well. Add light coconut milk & when it starts boiling add medium thick coconut milk. When this mix evaporates and becomes half add the thick coconut milk. Stir well for 5 minutes & remove from gas.

Fry the cashewnuts & coconut pieces in rest of the ghee & add to payasam. Serve hot.

Theeyal Kerala Style

Ingredients

Large onions - 2(sliced fine)

Garlic cloves - 2

Grated coconut - 1 cup

Shallots -1 cup

Fenugreek seeds - 1 tsp

Chili powder - 1 tbsp

Jackfruit seed- 100 gm(cut into 4)

Tuvar dal-1/3cup

Coriander seeds - 1 tsp

Green Chilly(slit)-3

Salt to taste

Oil-4 tsp

Tamarind extract - 1 tbsp

Turmeric powder - 1 tsp

Curry leaves - a few

Method of preparation

Heat two tsp of the oil in a frying pan and add ½ cup of the chopped onions. Saute the onions well till brown, add the curry leaves, coriander seeds and fenugreek seeds. Stir for a few more minutes and remove and keep aside. On a low heat, dry roast the coconut till it becomes brown. Blend the coconut with the onion mixture adding half a cup of water. In the meanwhile, cook the dal and jackfruit seed in pressure cooker with water. Heat the remaining oil in a saucepan and add the mustard seeds. When they splutter, add the curry leaves and remaining onions and shallots and fry till brown. Add the tamarind extract and ½ cup water and salt. When it starts to boil, add the blended paste and dal and cook on a low flame for 15 minutes.

Sambar -Onam special

Ingredients

Toor dal-1 cup(washed and soaked for 30 minutes)

Tamarind-size of a golf ball or Tamcon paste-1 tsp

Turmeric powder-1/2 tsp

Mustard seeds pinch

Salt-as required

Oil-2 tsp

Mustard seeds-1/2 tsp

Dry grated coconut-3 tsp

Cilantro/coriander leaves- (optional)

Curry leaves(a few)

Jaggery or sugar- 1 tsp

Fenugreek seeds -1/2 tsp

Green chillies- 3

Red chillies-5

Cilantro seeds -3 tsp

Bengal gram -2 tsp

Cumin seeds -1/2 tsp

Onion -1

Vegetable-Tomatoes, Drumstick, Okra, Capsicum, Radish, Carrots, Onions

Method of preparation

Cook the toor daal in the pressure cooker with double quantity of water, turmeric and salt. Keep aside to cool. Now, heat oil in a separate pan for about a minute and roast together whole chillies, bengal gram, coconut, curryleaves, coriander, cumin and fenugreek seeds till coconut turns golden brown. Then, grind all of these into a smooth paste , adding a little water from time to time. Put the tamarind with salt and water into a pan. Bring it to a boil. Add this to the toor dal and let it boil for sometime.

Add the vegetables and cook till done. Finally, mash the pressure cooked toor daal, Mix everything and let it simmer for 5 minutes. Season with mustard seeds.