Instant Medu Vada

Upma

Sevaiya Pulav

Vegetable Stew (Kerala Style)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup vegetables (french beans, carrot, potato, green peas,corn)

1 tetra pack of coconut milk

4-5 curry leaves

3 green cardamom

3 black pepper corn

3 cloves

1" cinnamon stick

1 tbsp ginger garlic paste

1 green chilli

1 tsp corn flour

1/4 tsp sugar

1 tsp of oil

1 cup water

salt to taste

Method:

• Mix All the vegetables and add into a microwave proof dish. Add salt and sprinkle 1/2 tsp of water. Microwave covered for 4 minutes.
• Heat a skillet and add oil. Add green cardamoms, black peppercorns, cloves and cinnamon stick. Add onions and stir well. Add ginger garlic paste and stir well. Cook the onions on flame. The colour should not change.
• Add the microwaved vegetables and mix well. Add the green chillies and curry leaves and mix well.
• Add the Coconut milk and mix well on low flame.
• Mix cornflour in 1/2 cup of water and add to the vegetable.
• bring to boil.
• Add salt and sugar and mix well.
• Serve hot with malabari paratha!!!

Tips:

• You add any veggies that you like.
• Addition of corn flour gives a good thickness and binding to the gravy you can avoid it too.
• you may cook the veggies in the coconut milk, however in such a case you must use the second milk of coconut to cook the veggies and then add the thick or first milk.
• You can use fresh cocnut milk too.
• Anything between 2-4 minutes is normally good enough to cook the veggies in the microwave.
• the colour of this gravy is white hence ensure that the colour of the onion is not changed when its cooking.
• You can add white pepper powder to increase the spice content.

Rasam

Chatpati Gawar Phali (Spicy Cluster Beans/ Chitki)

Ingredients:

1 cup gavar phali

1 tomato

4 cloves of garlic

1" ginger

1 tsp oil

1/4 tsp jeera

1/2 tsp jeera powder

1/4 tsp coriander powder

1/2 tsp kashmiri mirch powder

1/4 tsp haldi

3 tbsp water

salt to taste

Method:

• Cut the cluster beans into 2 inch long pieces. Add salt and microwave covered for 3 minutes. Stir and keep aside.
• Grind the tomato, ginger and garlic into a fine paste.
• Heat oil in a kadai, and jeera and let it crackle. Add the tomato ginger garlic paste and let it cook. Once the tomato leaves the sides of the kadai, add jeera powder, coriander powder, kashmiri mirch powder and haldi. Let the masala cook well.
• Add the cluster beans and 1 tbsp of water and salt. Cover the kadai with a lid and let the cluster bean cook in the masala. Stir occasionally and keep adding 1 tsp of water at a time if required.
• Once the cluster beans are cooked and coated with the masala...its done!!! serve!!!

Tips:

• This is a dry vegetable, its almost like a stir fry vegetable coated with masala.
• You can add sugar to balance the flavours.
• You can temper with mustard seeds and ajwain too.
• You can add whole garlic too, it gives a good flavour.
• You can grate the tomato, ginger and garlic, incase its difficult to grind the tomato, ginger and garlic in the mixie.

Beans Poriyal

Ingredients:

1 cup french beans, cut into 2" long

5 tbsp coconut, grated

1 green chilli, slit into 2

2 tbsp moong dal

pinch of hing

1/2 tsp rai

6-7 leaves of karipatta

1/2 tsp garam masala powder

1/2 tsp sugar

2 tsp oil

salt to taste

Method:

• Wash the french beans and cut into 2" long pieces.
• Wash the moong dal and soak in 5 tbsp of water.
• Heat a kadai on a medium high heat, add oil, add the mustard seeds. When they crackle, add the asafoetida powder and karipatta, add the drained moong dal and stir fry.
• When the moong dal begins to change colour, add the french beans and stir well. Add 2 tbsp of water and salt, cover and let the beans and dal cook on steam. Stir occasionally.
• Add the green chillies and cook till the beans are totally cooked.
• Add garam masala powder, coconut, sugar and stir well. Let it cook for 3 minutes.
• Serve hot!

Tips:

• You can also add whole red chillies in the tempering.
• You can use urad dal instead of moong dal.
• You can also use combination of urad and moong dal.
• This recipe does not have onion or garlic. You can also add onion and garlic to this recipe. In such a case you can skip the use of hing.
• You can use coconut oil for this preparation.
• Jeera can also be added in the tempering.
• At any time, if the french beans stick to the kadai add 1 tsp of water at a time.
• Serve this vegetable with rice and dal.

Khatta Meetha Sitaphal (Sweet and Sour Pumpkin)

Ingredients:

1 cup sitaphal/pumpkin/doodhi/kaddu

1 medium sized onion, sliced

1 medium sized tomato, roughly chopped

1 green chilli slit into 2

7-8 leaves of karipatta

1 tsp oil

1/4 tsp rai

1/2 tsp haldi powder

1/2 tsp jeera powder

2 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp coriander powder

1/4 tsp red chilli powder

2 tbsp tamarind pulp

salt to taste

2 tbsp water

Method:

• Cut the sitaphal into 1" cube along with the skin.
• Heat a kadai on medium high flame.
• Add oil, add rai. When the rai begins to crackle, add karipatta leaves. Add onion and fry on medium heat till the onion turn light brown in colour.
• Add sitaphal and the tomato and mix well.
• Add the green chilli, haldi powder, jeera powder, coriander powder, red chilli powder, sugar and salt and mix well. Add 1 tbsp of water and close the lid and let the sitaphal cook well. Stir occasionally. Add 1 tbsp of water if required.
• Once the sitaphal is almost cooked, add the tamarind pulp and cook for 3 minutes.
• Take the vegetable off the flame and serve!!!

Tips:

• You can add jaggery instead of sugar.
• You can add amchoor powder (dry mango powder) instead of tamarind.
• You can add fenugreek seeds to the tempering.
• You can also add asafoetida.
• The sitaphal should hold its shape even after cooking hence do not overcook the sitaphal.
• Adjust the sugar and tamarind to get the right balance of sweet and sour for this recipe.
• Tis vegetable tastes good with rotis or puris esp. stuffed kachoris!

Dahi Bhindi

Ingredients:

5 medium sized bhindi (okra/lady's finger)

1 tsp of oil

1/4 tsp salt

4 tsp water

for the tempering

1 tsp oil

1/2 medium sized onion, finely chopped

1 red chilly whole

1/2 small sized tomato, finely chopped

1/4 tsp urad dal, washed and soaked

1/4 tsp mustard seeds

5 curry leaves

1/4 tsp haldi

for the paste

5 cashew

1/4 cup grated coconut

1/4 cup dahi

1/4 cup water

salt to taste

Method:

• wash the bhindi and pat dry. Cut each bhindi horizontally into 2 to get 10 pieces.
• wash and soak the urad dal in 1 tbsp of water for 10 mins. Drain before using.
• heat a kadai and add 1/2 tsp of oil. Heat the oil on a medium flame. Add the bhindi and stir, turn the flame on sim and close the lid, stir occasionally and keep adding 1 tsp of water at a time if required. Once the bhindi is cooked, turn the flame off.
• grind together cashew and coconut into a fine paste.
• mix curd to the cashew and coconut paste.
• heat a kadai. Add 1 tsp of oil. Add black mustard seed, when they splutter add the whole red chilli, urad dal and curry leaves. Cook till urad dal changes its colour. Add onion and saute. Add tomato and haldi and cook for two mins on medium low flame.
• once the tomato is cooked turn the gas off. Add 1 tbsp of water and mix well. Add the curd and coconut paste and mix well for a min. Add 1/4 cup of water and mix well.
• switch on the flame and cook the gravy on a low flame. Add salt to taste.
• cook the gravy to desired consistency. Add the fried bhindi, simmer for a minute. Switch off and serve hot.

Tips:

• you can also add hing to the tempering.
• you can also add garlic and ginger paste along with the onion.
• if the dahi is sour tomatoes can be avoided.
• it is very important to mix cashewnut paste to the curd, this prevents the curd from cuddling.
• this gravy thickens when it comes to room temperature, accordingly switch off the flame at a slightly thinner consistency than you actually desire.
• it is very important to get the pan off the flame and add a little bit of water before you add the curd mixture. This helps to prevent curd from cuddling.
• if you want a thicker gravy, reduce the amount of water added to the curd. Alternatively, you can increase the number of cashewnuts.
• you can 1/4 tsp of sugar to balance the flavours.
• you can also deep fry the bhindi. Add 1 tsp of cornflour to the bhindi and deep fry, it will result in crispy bhindi.
• you can keep the bhindi soft or crispy as per your taste.
• if you keep the bhindi crispy then do not cook the crispy bhindi in the gravy instead mix it with the gravy just before serving.
• you can sustitude the bhindi with fried brinjal,cauliflower, potato etc.
• this gravy tastes good with rotis, paratha or malabari paratha!

Quick Uttapam

Ingredients:

for the Uttapam

1 cup sooji (semolina/rawa)

1 cup dahi (curd)

1/4 cup water

oil to make the uttapam

salt to taste

for the Topping

1 big sized onion

6 green chillies

coriander to garnish

Method:

• Mix the sooji and dahi. Mix it well to form a thick batter and keep the batter to rest for about 1/2 hour.
• heat the tawa on a medium heat. sprinkle 1/2 tsp of oil on the tawa ,within 15 seconds wipe it with a tissue paper.
• for making the uttapam, mix the batter and add water and salt. Give the batter a good stir.
• spread the batter on the tawa. Make two uttapams at a time of 6 inch diameter each.
• sprinkle onion, green chilli and coriander on the Uttapam. Put 1/2 tsp of oil on the sides of the uttapam and top of the uttapam. After the uttapam is done on one side flip on to the other side.
• turn the uttapam once and for all and turn the flame to high for a min and remove the uttapam off the flame.
• serve with sambar, chutney or even raita!!!

Tips:

• tomato or any other vegetable of your choice could also be added for the topping.
• if you like the onions to be caramelised then cook the topping for a slightly longer time. Avoid using coriander in this case.
• you could spread 1/2 tsp of ghee instead of oil while the uttapam is cooking or after cooking it to give it rich flavour.
• you could add 1/2 tsp of soda-bi- carb to the batter just before spreading the uttapam. However, i feel the result of the method I have given above is also good.
• the batter mixture should be of thick coating consistency, if required you could add more water to get the right consistency.
• if the curd is sour it gives a good fermented taste to the uttapam. However, fresh curd could also be used.
• non-stick tawa gives good result.
• ensure that the tawa is hot enough before spreading the batter. the tawa should be at a medium heat.
• sprinkle some water on the tawa to check the temperature of the tawa. if the tawa is too hot sprinkle more water to bring down the temperature of the tawa.
• uttapam must be cooked on low to medium low flame.
• you could make one big uttapam. However, I make two at a time of 6 inch each or 4 uttapams of 4 inch each (mini uttapam) on the dosa tawa. Mini uttapam are good for evening snacks for kids.
• the above recipe makes 6 uttapams of 6 inch diameter.
• while making the second batch of uttapam, just pour a drop of oil on the tawa and wipe it with a tissue paper. Alternatively, you could wipe the tawa with a cloth dipped in salt water.
• I feel that if the sooji Uttapam has good topping it could also be served with raita. i have served with garlic raita (will post the recipe soon!).
• these uttapam could also be served with tomato ketchup or even raita!!!

Vada Sambhar

Rawa Dosa