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"

Aviyal /Avial

Aviyal is an integral part of Kerala sadya (feast). It is a mixture of different vegetables and ground coconut cooked together. The word aviyal means something cooked or boiled in water. Many stories are there behind the origin of this dish. 

Traditionally aviyal is prepared with elephant yam, plantain, pumpkin, cucumber, drumstick, snake gourd, cluster beans, eggplants, carrots, beans etc. One can use all the vegetables mentioned or whatever is available among them. In North Kerala even bitter gourd is added. Curd / green mango / Tamarind is added to ensure mild sourness. 

Preparation: 

• Peel and wash all the vegetables. 
• Soak a small lime sized tamarind in water. 
• Grate coconut.
• Slice and cut all the vegetables into 21/2 inch long pieces. Cut plantain and eggplants in the end, as it will get discolored on prolonged exposure. 
• Pour 100 ml of water into into a 3 liter pressure cooker. Add all the vegetables and the tamarind. Close and cook for one whistle. Remove from the flame. Keep aside.  Do not overcook. 
• Meanwhile coarsely grind the coconut along with cumin, turmeric, shallots and green chilly. 
• Open the cooker when the pressure is released naturally. Add the coconut mixture and salt, Mix carefully. Add curry leaves. Cover and cook on medium flame for a minute. Then remove the lid and cook until all the water is absorbed. Remove from the stove. Add coconut oil. Avial is ready to be served. Serves 6

Ingredients: 

Cut vegetables - 21/2 cups 

Grated coconut - 1 cup 

Tamarind pulp - 1/2 teaspoon 

Water - 100 ml 

Cumin powder - 1/4 teaspoon 

Green chilly - 3 

Turmeric- a pinch 

Shallots - 4  OR  1 - 2 tablespoons chopped onion 

Salt to taste

Curry leaves - 1 - 2 sprigs 

Coconut oil - 2 teaspoons 

• Note: If you are soaking the tamarind, add 2 teaspoons thick tamarind juice to the vegetables.
• Instead of tamarind if you are using raw mango,add four or five pieces of the mango cut in a similar fashion, and cook along with the vegetables. 
• And if you are using curd, maybe 1/4 cup, add and cook for a minute before adding the coconut mixture.

Carrot Semia Payasam

Carrots contain lots of beta-carotene and dietary fiber. Great source of Vitamin A, C, K and B8. Rich in pantothenic acid, folate, potassium, iron, copper and manganese. It is a super food. You can munch it, juice it and cook it. Choice is yours. Here carrot is being added to the regular vermicelli / semia payasam to give it a healthy twist. 

Preparation: 

• Scrape, wash and grate the carrot. Steam the grated carrot. Keep aside. I cooked the carrot with little water in low flame,stirring occasionally, until all the water was absorbed. Do which ever process is easy for you.
• Heat 2tbsp ghee in a pan, fry the cashew nuts and raisins. Remove and keep them aside. To the remaining ghee in the pan add the vermicelli / semia and fry till it changes the color, in low flame. Do not fry it brown. 
• Add water and cook on low flame, until all the water is absorbed. Remove from stove and keep aside.
• Heat 2 tbsp ghee in another pan and saute the grated carrot in the ghee for 2 minutes or until all the water content is gone. 
• Add the milk, bring it to boil. Reduce the flame to low-medium and add the cooked semia. Stir occasionally.
• When the mixture starts simmering add the condensed milk and stir well.
• Add sugar, only if needed. Stir well.
• Add the cardamom powder.Stir and remove from stove.
• Garnish with fried cashew nuts and raisins.
• Serve warm or cold. Serves 6

Ingredients: 

Vermicelli / Semia - 1/2 cup

Water - 1 cup

Carrot -  1 medium sized

Milk - 3/4 liter or 750 ml

Condensed milk - 1/2 tin

Ghee - 4 tablespoon

Cashew nuts - 12 nos.

Raisins -  12 nos.

Cardamom - 1/2 teaspoon powder or crush 3 or 4 cardamoms and add. 

Sugar - to taste. Add sugar after checking the taste. 

Inji Puli /Puli Inji /Ginger Curry

Inji puli or Puli inji is a traditional instant pickle served in Kerala for sadyas (feasts). It is sweet, sour, and spicy at the same time. A mouth-watering dish that is a must in all sadyas. No sadya is complete without it. Inji is malayalam for ginger, and puli is the malayalam equivalent for sour taste, as well as tamarind, which is a main ingredient.

 Preparation: 

• Wash and scrape the ginger. Wash again. Slice into thin pieces and chop finely. 
• Soak (a small lime-sized) tamarind in little warm water for 10 minutes and extract thick juice. I used the tamarind pulp available in the stores. 
• Chop the onion/shallots.
• Cut the green chilly into small pieces. 
• Heat a pan on the stove. Add oil, mustard seeds, dry red chilly pieces and finally curry leaves. 
• When the mustard seeds start spluttering add the chopped onion and saute for a few seconds. Onion can be avoided, its your preference.
• Now add the chopped ginger and green chilly pieces. Saute on low flame until the ginger just starts changing colour. Do not allow to burn. 
• Add the turmeric powder, red chilly powder and fenugreek powder. Saute for a few seconds.
• Now add tamarind paste along with three-fourth cup (180 ml. approximately) water. Add salt to taste. Bring to a boil.
• Add the jaggery. Simmer for a few minutes in low flame or until it reaches the right consistency - not thick or too watery. 
• The sweetness is predominant in the dish, then the sourness and finally the mild hotness of the chilly. 

Ingredients:

Ginger - 50 grams or 6 tablespoons, chopped finely  

Onion/shallots - 2 tablespoons, chopped (optional) 

Green chilly - 1 or 2 nos. 

Tamarind pulp - 2 teaspoons 

Jaggery syrup - 2 tablespoons or 3-4 tablespoons of grated jaggery 

Water - 180 ml. 

Salt to taste 

Turmeric powder - 1/2 teaspoon 

Red chilly powder - 1 teaspoon 

Fenugreek powder - 1 pinch 

For seasoning: 

Oil - 1 - 11/2 tablespoons 

Mustard seeds - 1/2 teaspoon 

Dry red chilly - 2 nos. each cut into 3 pieces 

Curry leaves - 1 sprig 

Falafel

Falafel is a fried legume fritter, which had its origin in Egypt. It is traditionally an Arabic food, served along with hummus and tahini sauce or stuffed into pita along with vegetables, pickles, hummus etc.

Preparation: 

• Soak dry Garbanzo beans or Chickpeas in water with a teaspoon of baking soda. Do not use canned chickpeas. Soak overnight. 
• Drain and grind coarsely along with the chopped onions, parsley, all the spices and salt. Do not add water. 
• Remove the mix from the food processor into a bowl. Mix well. Remove the chickpeas which are still whole. 
• Refrigerate the mix for an hour. 
• Roll into lime-sized balls and deep fry. 
• Drain on a paper towel. 
• Allow to cool. Now it is ready to be served. 

Ingredients: 

Dry Chickpeas (kabuli channa) - 500 grams 

Baking soda - 1 tsp 

Coriander powder - 1 tsp 

Cumin powder - 1 tsp 

Black pepper (whole) - 1/4 tsp 

Red chilly powder - 1/4 tsp 

Salt -1/2 tsp 

Garlic cloves (roasted) - 5 

Onion - 1 small, chopped

Parsley leaves chopped - 3 - 4 tablespoons 

• Note: If you are unable to roll the coarsely ground mix into balls. Add  one or two tablespoon of flour and mix thoroughly.
• You can also use equal quantities of chickpeas and green gram (moong) instead of using chickpeas alone.