Keerai kuzhambu

Ingredients :

• Mula keerai - 1 small bunch
• Drumstick leaves - a handful
• Cooking soda - a pinch
• Toovar dal - 1 cup
• Tamarind - lemon size [ extract the pulp ]
• Turmeric powder - 1 / 2 sp
• Rice flour - 1 tsp
• Jaggery - 1 sp
• Green chillies - 2 to 3

Fry and powder :

• Oil - 1 tsp
• Coriander seeds - 2 tsp
• Channa dal - 1 tsp
• Urad dal - 1 tsp
• Red chillies - 5to 6
• Grated fresh coconut - 1 / 2 cup

For seasoning :

• Coconut oil - 2 tsp
• Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
• Dry red chillies - 1 [ broken ]

Method :

Wash and pressure cook toovar dal adding just enough water and turmeric powder. Then wash the mulai keerai, drumstick leaves in salt water and cut keerai into bits [ discarding the roots ]. Put green chillies, keerai, a pinch of cooking soda and boil for 5 mints. Mash well and add the tamarind pulp, salt, and turmeric powder and boil well.  Then mix the cooked toovar dal. In one tspn oil fry the ingredients given for the masala till channa dal, urad dal turns into golden colour. Then powder it coarsely and add it to the boiling mixture. Then add rice flour [ mixed with water ], jaggery, salt. Boiled in low flame for 5 mints. Remove from the gas. Season with 1 tspn mustard seeds, 1 dry red chilli, in  coconut oil and add it to the gravy.

Jack fruit idichu pizhinja payasam [ kerala special ]

Ingredients :

• Ripe jack fruit - 12 pieces [ cut into small pieces ]
• Ghee - 2 table spoon
• Powdered jaggery - 1 cup
• Sago [ javvarisi ] - 1 / 2 cup [ soaked in hot water ]
• Cashew nuts - 10 [ cut into small pieces ]
• Coconut milk - 2 cups
• Elaichi - 8 [ powdered ]
• Sugar - 5 table spoon
• Grated coconut - 1 / 4 cup

Method :
Grind  the jack fruit and coconut together in mixcer and keep aside. Then take one small presure cooker keep on the gas. Add jaggery, sugar along with water and allow to boil till the jaggery completly disolve. Then add the ground paste, elaichi powder,coconut milk, soaked sago, and mix well. Close the cooker and wait for 3 whistle to come. Remove from the fire, wait for some time and then open the cooker.  Fry the cashew nuts to a golden colour  in the ghee and add  to the payasam.
Enjoy your payasam.

Garlic [ pundu kuzhambu ]

Ingredients :

• Garlic - 2 [ full ]
• Small onions - 1 / 2 cup [ peeled ]
• Black pepper - 1 sp
• Sambhar powder - 1 1 / 2 sp
• Tamarind paste - 1 table spoon
• Turmeric powder - 1 / 2 sp
• Jaggery - as per taste
• Ghee - 1sp
• For seasoning:

• Fenugreek seeds - 1 / 2 sp
• Mustard seeds - 1 sp
• Asafoetida - 1 / 4 sp
• curry leaves - little

Grind coarsely :

• Tomatoes - 2 [ red ]
• Big onion - 1 [ or smalled onion 8 ]

Method :
Separate garlic into flakes and peel. Mix tamarind paste into 3 cups of water. Then fry pepper in little ghee and crush coarsely. Then take one deep bottom vessel, add seasonings, garlic, small onions, and crushed pepper. Fry for 3 mints, add sambhar powder, salt, grounded  masala and fry for 5 mints in low flame. Then add tamarind water,turmeric, jaggery and boil for 10 mints, till oil floats.Garnish with curry leaves. Serve hot with ghee rice or curd rice.

Variations :Add sliced brinjal or ladies finger instead of garlic.

Saffron pulav [ kesar, kungumappoo ]

Ingredients :

• Basmathi rice 2 cups [ soaked in water ]
• Bay leaf - 2
• Cashew nuts - 4 to 5
• Cinnamon - 2 pieces
• Cloves - 2 to 3
• Cardamom - 2
• Salt - as per taste
• Saffron 1 / 4 sp [ disolved in little milk ]
• Lemon juice - 1 sp
•  Oil - 1 table spoon
• Butter - 2 table spoon

Method :

Take one pressure pan keep on the gas pour butter and oil together add bay leaf, cinnamon, cloves, cardmom, cashewnuts and  fry for 2 mints, till it becomes golden brown in colour. Then add the soaked rice, with required salt, and 3 1 / 2 cups of  water. Add lemon juice to that [ it helps to prevent rice becoming sticky ]. Before closing the cooker, add safron to the mixture and close the cooker, wait for 2 whisles to come. And then open the cooker. Your tasty easy saffron pulav is ready to serve.

Vegetable makan wala [ subji ]

Ingredients :

• Cauliflower - 1 / 2 cup [ cut into medium pieces ]
• Carrot - 1 / 2 cup [ cut into medium pieces ]
• Baby potato - 1 / 2 cup [ peeled and boiled ]
• Fresh green peas - 1 / 2 cup [ boiled ]
• Salt - as required
• Butter - 2 table spoon
• Oil - 2 table spoon
• sugar - 1 sp
• Fresh cream - 2 table spoon
• Kastoori methi - 1 / 2 sp .

• Grind together :
• Onions - 2 [ cut into slices ]
• Tomatoes - 2 [ cut into pieces ]
• Ginger garlic paste - 1 / 2 sp
• Coriander leaves - little
• Mint leaves - little
• Cashew nuts - 4 to 5
• Poppy seeds - 1 / 2 sp
• Cinnamon - 1 inch piece
• Cloves - 2 to 3
• Cardamom - 2
• Ani seeds - 1 sp
• Turmeric powder - 1 /2 sp
• Red chillie powder - 1 sp

 [ grind all this ingredients in mixer and form a smooth paste ]

Method :
Boil all the vegetables adding salt and turmeric with water. Keep one fry pan on the gas. Pour oil and butter to that and add one onion [ cut into small pieces ]  fry till it becomes brown in colour. Then add ground masala to that, then fry well till ghee separates from it. Add boiled vegetables,and 1 tsp of butter, with little water.Reduce the flame, cover and keep for a few minutes. Stir mildly in between. Before removing add fresh cream, and chopped tomatoes to that. Garnish with slit green chilles on top and chopped coriander leaves. Serve hot with pulkas, and saffron  rice.

Chakavaraty [ jack fruit jam ]

Ingredients :

• Ripe jack fruit - 12 pieces
• Jaggery - 1 1 / 2 cup
• Fresh grated coconut - 1 cup
• Elaichi powder - 1 sp
• Ghee - 2 table spoon

Method  :

Remove the seeds from each jack fruit florets and cut into pieces. Boil in enough water till the fruit becomes soft. Remove from the gas and drain the water and keep aside.Grind it alongwith the coconut in the mixer. Then keep one big non stick pan in the gas. Pour the drained water adding the  jaggery, cook on a slow fire stirring continuously till one stirng comes. Then add the jack fruit, coconut mixture. Mix well. When the mixture becomes thick and starts leaving the pan add ghee and elaichi powder. Stir well and remove from the gas. When cooled store in a dry air- tight container. This jam goes well with elai adai or can be used to make payasam.Your tasty chaka varatie vishu special item is now  ready to eat.

Tomato gravy

Ingredients :

• Onions - 2 [ big ]
• Tomatoes - 1 / 2 k. g. [ red colour ]
• Green chillies - 4
• Salt - as required
• Sugar - 1 tsp
• Cumin seeds - 1 / 2 sp
• Red chillie powder - 3 / 4 sp
• Lemon juice - 1 tsp
• Garam masala powder - 1 / 2 sp
• Oil - 2 tbl. sp.
• Chopped coriander leaves - little
• Cashewnuts - 2 tbl. sp. [ chopped ]

Method :

Cut onions and tomatoes finely. Chopped green chillies. Then heat oil in a pan, season with cumin seeds, add chopped green chillies, onions, fry well, till the onion changes its colour. Add cut tomatoes and fry till the tomato skin comes off from it. Now pour little water with salt, sugar, and lemon juice. Allow it to boil, till it thickens, add garam masala, chillie powder. Cook for 5 mints in lower flame and remove from fire. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves. Serve hot with hot pulkas, parathas, and idlis. Decorate with fried cashewnuts.

Variation :
Omit green chillies, increase quantity of red chillie powder. Add little ginger garlic paste while frying onions.serve with little fresh cream top.