Vendakka Pachadi / Okra raitha / Bhindi Raitha

This is a very easy recipe which uses okra. Okra is a popular vegetable rich in dietary fiber. It contains Vitamin A, C, K and antioxidants. It is a good source of folates. It is low in calories. Helps in controlling cholesterol. 

Preparation: 

•  Wash and dry the okra using a clean towel. 
• Slit each okra into four lengthwise. Then chop it into small pieces. 
• Cut the green chilly into 2 or 3 pieces. 
• Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds, whole dry red chilly and curry leaves. When the mustards start spluttering add the okra and fry it. Stir continuously, on medium - low flame.
• When the gooeyness disappears, add 2 - 3 pinches salt and the green chilly pieces. Fry until crisp on low flame, so the green color remains intact. 
• Remove from flame and allow to cool. 
• Beat/ whip the curd/yogurt lightly. Add salt to taste. 
• Add the fried okra into the curd and mix well. 
• Serve as a side dish with rice. 

Ingredients: 

Okra - 12 - 15 nos.

Curd/ Yogurt - 3/4 - 1 cup 

Green chilly - 1 - 2 nos.

Salt 

For seasoning: 

Oil -1 - 11/2 tablespoons 

Mustard seeds - 1/4 teaspoon 

Dry Red chilly - 1 (broken into 2 or 3 pieces) 

Curry leaves - a few 

Pineapple Kesari

Kesari is a sweet semolina dish, popular in India. In the South it is Kesari and in the North it is called Halwa. A very easy dish. Here it is done with a twist, a pineapple twist. I prepared the dish during Navarathri.

Preparation: 

• Chop the pineapple into small pieces.
• Cook the pineapple pieces in water for 5 minutes on medium flame. Add a pinch of yellow food color and bring to a boil. 
• Meanwhile fry the cashew nuts and raisins in 2 teaspoons ghee, one after the other, separately. Remove the nuts and raisins from ghee and keep aside. 
• Add the semolina to the same pan and fry it in the remaining little ghee. The color of the semolina must not change. Stir continuously on medium heat for 2 - 3 minutes. 
• When the semolina is roasted, carefully add the boiling pineapple water mix. On a low flame, stir continuously so that no lumps are formed. 
• Add the sugar and stir. Again the mixture will become gooey.  
• Add 2 tablespoons of ghee and keep stirring until the mixture becomes thick. Add 2 teaspoons of ghee and transfer to another vessel.
• Garnish with fried raisins and nuts and a few strands of saffron (optional). 
• Serve hot or warm.
• Note : Add sugar only after the semolina is cooked. 

Ingredients: 

Semolina/Rava - 1/2 cup 

Pineapple - 1/3 cup, chopped 

Sugar - 3/4 cup 

Water - 11/2 cups 

Yellow food color - a pinch 

Ghee  - 2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons 

Cashew nuts - 1/2 tablespoon, chopped finely 

Raisins - 2 tablespoons 

Ghee - 1/2 tablespoon for frying the nuts and raisins

Easy Rice Laddu / Ari unda

Ari Unda is a very popular snack in Kerala. This is an easy version of the traditional Ari unda. With just  three  ingredients. 

Preparation: 

• Wash and soak the rice in water for an hour. Use any boiled variety of rice. 
• Drain the rice. Allow it to drain thoroughly. 
• Heat a thick bottomed pan in medium flame. Add the drained rice into the hot pan and dry roast it, Stir continuously. After some time the rice grains will start popping. Continue roasting until the popping sound comes down to a minimum. Remove from fire. Transfer to another bowl and allow to cool.
• Grind the cooled roasted rice in a mixer bowl. Do not grind to a fine powder. The ground powder should have the consistency of semolina.  
• You can do this step in advance. The roasted rice powder has great shelf life. Preserve in an air-tight container. 
• Grate the jaggery. 
• Grate fresh coconut. 
• In a mixing bowl add the rice powder. Add the grated coconut little by little and mix using your hand, then add the grated jaggery little by little and mix well until you can roll it into a ball like the chappati dough. 
• Take a little mix and roll into lemon  sized ball. Continue this until the whole dough is converted to lemon sized laddus.
• After a day, if any laddu i left over, you can refrigerate. Stays for a week. 

Ingredients: 

With the ingredients given below, i made 21 laddus. 

*Boiled Rice - 1 cup 

Jaggery - 1 cup 

Coconut - 1 cup 

*I used store bought Red Matta Rice. 

Below is the link to the Traditional AriUnda which has great shelf life.
http://ashasnairrajesh.blogspot.com/2016/05/ari-unda-rice-laddu.html 

Sago Idly and Tomato chutney

Sago / Sabudaana is extracted from the spongy center of the sago palm stems. It is also known as tapioca pearls. It is a wholesome diet of starch and carbohydrates. It is used as an easily digestible, non-irritating baby food. Sago is a source of pure carbohydrates, with very little protein, vitamin C, calcium and minerals. 

Preparation: 

• Mix sago, Rice rava, curd and salt. Add a cup of water and mix thoroughly. Sago needs lots of water to soften. Leave the mixture over-night. 
• Finely chop the green chilly and ginger. Grate the carrot. 
• Heat oil, add the mustard seeds, urad dal, channa dal.When he mustard seeds start spluttering, add the green chilly, ginger and curry leaves. When the raw smell is gone, remove from fire and add a pinch of asafeotida. Pour this into the batter.
• Add the grated carrot also into the batter. Mix well. Add salt if needed. 
• Lightly oil the idly molds. Pour the batter into the molds and  steam for 30 minutes  or until cooked, on medium flame. 
• Allow the molds to cool, then de-mold the idlies. If the molds aren't cooled well, idlies might break while demolding.  
• Serve with tomato chutney. 

Ingredients: 

Sago - 1 cup  
Rice Rava - 3/4 cup 

Curd - 1 cup 

Salt 

Green chilly - 2 small ones 

Ginger - 2 inch piece 

Carrot grated - 1/3 cup  

Oil - 1 table spoon 

Mustard seeds - 1/2 teaspoon 

Urad dal (Split black gram) - 2 teaspoons 

Channa dal (Split Bengal gram)- 1 tablespoon 
Cashew nuts (small pieces) - 1 Tablespoon (optional)

Curry leaves- 1 sprig  

Tomato Chutney 

Preparation:

• Peel and chop/slice onions coarsely. 
• Chop the tomatoes coarsely.
• Heat coconut oil in a pan, add the whole dry red chillies and onions. Saute on medium flame for a minute. Then add the tomatoes and saute for a 3 minutes. Add salt to taste. Switch off the stove and allow the mixture to cool. 
• Grind it coarsely in the chutney bowl of a mixer. 
• Transfer to a serving bowl. 
• Heat coconut oil in a pan, add the mustard seeds. When it starts spluttering add the curry leaves. Switch off the stove. 
• Pour the seasoning over the tomato chutney and mix well.
• Serve along with Sago idly. 

Ingredients: 

Onion (medium size) - 2 

Tomato ( medium size) - 3 

Dry whole red chilly - 5 

Coconut oil -  11/2 tablespoons 

Salt to taste 

For seasoning:

Coconut oil -1 teaspoon 

Mustard seeds - 1/4 teaspoon 

Curry leaves - a few 

• Note: Bigger sago pearls takes longer to cook. I used them. 
• Carrot and cashew nuts are optional. I added them. 
• If you prefer, you can avoid the seasoning of the tomato chutney. Chutney tastes good even without seasoning.

Brown Peas Fritter

Brown Peas are obtained from cowpeas (Lobia). It is sold as Red Lobia /Lobia in markets. In malayalam it is known as Vanpayar. 
It contains high protein and high fiber. So when consumed it keeps hunger pangs away. Hence good for weight loss. It contains antioxidants and flavanoids. So it has anti-aging properties and is also good for the health of the heart. It will keep your cholesterol under check. Good for pregnant women as it contains iron, folate and protiens. Consumption of lobia by the pregnant mothers prevents birth defects in babies. Good for the digestive system as it contains high fiber. Good for diabetics. 

Preparation: 

• Soak the brown peas in water for an hour. 
• Grind the soaked brown peas, ginger- garlic paste, fennel seeds, fish masala, chopped onion, red chilly powder and garam masala into a coarse mixture. 
• Take a piece of banana leaf / Aluminium foil of dimension 6'' X 12". Wash and dry the banana leaf with a towel. Apply oil on the leaf lightly. 
• Spread out the ground mix evenly over the leaf or aluminium foil  and fold in half. 
• Steam this for 20 minutes. 
• Allow to cool. Remove the leaf /foil.
• Cut this into small or big pieces, according to your preference. 
• Keep a flat tawa on the flame. Pour little oil and spread it out. 
• Shallow fry the pieces till crispy, on both sides.(If you like, you can apply fish fry masala on the pieces before shallow frying.) 
• If you want it crispier, dip the pieces in bread crumbs and deep fry. I just shallow fried and it was crispy enough for me. 
• Serve as snack with a dip of your choice or as a side dish with rice.  

Ingredients: 

Brown peas (dry) - 1/2 cup 

Ginger-garlic paste - 3 teaspoons 

Fennel seeds - 1/2 tablespoon  

Fish masala - 3 teaspoons 

Red chilly powder - 1 - 2 teaspoons (or according to ones preference)

Garam masala - 1 teaspoon 

Onion - 1 small 

Oil - 2 tablespoons

Fish fry masala - 2 teaspoons (optional) 

Bread crumbs - 1/2 cup (optional)

Oil - 11/2 - 2 cups (for deep frying) (optional)

*Note : No salt is required in this recipe. 

Pumpkin Curry / Mathenga Pulingary

Pumpkin is a very common backyard vegetable. The greatest  plus-point of pumpkin is that it is a low calorie food item. Our humble pumpkin is very rich in vitamins, especially vitamin A, antioxidants and minerals like calcium, potassium etc. 

Pumpkin is a great cholesterol controller. It is also recommended for those who are trying to reduce their weight. Pumpkin has anti-cancerous properties too. Pumpkin seeds are a great source of fibre and it is good for the heart as it contains mono-unsaturated fatty acids (MUFA).

As far as cooks are concerned pumpkins can be converted into different variety of dishes. One can make curries, soups and desserts. Every part of the pumpkin vine can be cooked and consumed - leaves, fruits, flowers and seeds. 

Preparation: 

• Remove skin and seeds of the pumpkin. Wash and cut it into medium sized cubes. Peel, wash and slice the shallots. Wash and chop the tomato; wash and cut each green chilly into 3 or 4 pieces. 
• Soak lime sized ball of tamarind in half cup warm water. If using tamarind pulp avoid this step. 
• Pressure cook the pumpkin pieces along with turmeric powder, tamarind, salt and 11/2 cups of water, if you are using tamarind pulp. If you are using tamarind water use only 1 cup of water. After the first whistle remove from the stove and set aside to cool. 
• Heat oil in a pan, add the shallot pieces and saute for a minute. Now add the green chilly pieces and tomato pieces. Stir for a minute. Cover and cook on medium flame until the vegetables are well cooked. Remove the lid and saute till the water content goes. Lower the flame, add the red chilly powder, coriander powder, fenugreek powder and the asafeotida powder. Stir a few seconds or until the raw smell goes. 
• Add the cooked pumpkin along with the water into the pan. Stir gently and add salt if needed. Add the jaggery. Boil on medium flame for 5 minutes. Remove from the stove and pour into a serving bowl.
• Heat oil in a pan, add the mustard seeds and dry red chilly pieces, When the mustard splutters, lower the flame. add the curry leaves and asafeotida. Switch off the stove. Pour it over the pumpkin curry. Keep the bowl covered for 10 minutes. Tasty Pumpkin Pulingary is ready. Stir and serve along with rice. 

Ingredients: 

Pumpkin cubes - 1 cup 

Shallots - 8 nos. 

Tomato - 1 small 

Green chilly - 2 nos 

Tamarind pulp - 1 teaspoon 

Turmeric powder - 1/4 teaspoon 

Salt to taste 

Coriander powder - 1 teaspoon 

Fenugreek powder - 1 pinch 

Asafeotida - 2 pinches

Red chilly powder - 1 teaspoon (half teaspoon each of Kashmiri red chilly powder and regular chilly powder.) 

Coconut oil - 1 - 2 tablespoons 

Jaggery grated - 1/4 teaspoon 

For Seasoning: 

Coconut oil - 1 - 2 teaspoons 

Mustard seeds - 1/4 teaspoon 

Dry red chilly - 2 nos 

Curry leaves - 1 sprig 

Asafeotida - 1 pinch 

Ela Ada / Ila Ada

Ela ada is a traditional Kerala recipe prepared with rice flour, grated coconut and jaggery. It can be served as breakfast or an  evening snack. Rice flour can be replaced with wheat flour or ragi - rice flour mix or multi-grain flour. 

Preparation: 

• Boil water, add little salt. 
• Make a well in the center of the flour. Add the boiling water and mix with a spoon or wooden spatula. Cover and keep aside to cool. When cool, add 1 or 2 teaspoons of coconut oil or ghee and knead into a stiff dough. 
• Grate coconut. Grate jaggery. Mix them together with a spoon. Mix a pinch of cardamom powder to the coconut mix. 
• Tear the banana leaves into rectangle pieces. Fresh banana leaves should be exposed to flame for a second or two to make it flexible. Mine had started yellowing as they were a few days old. So it was naturally flexible. 
• Clean the leaves with water. Dry it and smear lightly with coconut oil / ghee. 
• Divide the dough into 6 equal parts. Divide the coconut mix also into 6 parts. 
• Take one part of the dough place it on an oiled leaf piece and flatten it evenly along the length and breadth of the leaf, using your fingers. 
• Place a part of the filling on one half of the flattened dough and fold the other half , along with the leaf over it. Raise the leaf slightly and seal the edges, on all three sides, with a little water. If you don't seal the edges the filling will leak while steaming and all the sweetness of the jaggery will be lost. Repeat the same process. 
• Steam for 20 minutes or until cooked. 
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Ingredients:  for 6 pieces

Rice flour (store bought) - 11/3 cups 

Fresh coconut (grated) - 1 cup 

Jaggery (grated) - 100 grams 

Cardamom powder - 1 pinch 

Boilng water - 11/3 cups or as needed

Salt  - to taste or 1/4 teaspoon  

Coconut oil/ ghee - 2 teaspoons 

Note: If banana leaves are not available, use aluminium foil. Cut rectangle pieces of dimension 6 "X 10"