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.

Crispy Medhu Vada

Vada is a common term used for fried savoury snacks, in India. The medhu vada is made primarily of black lentils (urad dal) batter. Black lentils or black gram is a key ingredient in the famous Idly and Dosa. 
Black gram is very nutritious as it contains high levels of protein, potassium, calcium, iron, niacin, thiamine and riboflavin.Black gram complements the essential amino acids provided by cereals and plays an important part in the diets of the people of India and Nepal. Black gram is useful in mitigating elevated cholesterol levels. Like other pulses black gram is also recommended for diabetics. 

Preparation: 

• Soak the black gram in water for 4 hours. 
• Roast one tablespoon each of black gram and raw rice, separately. Cool. Then grind to a powder, not too fine. 
• After 4 hours drain off the water and grind the black gram little by little at a time, along with cooked rice and little salt. Since you are grinding in small portions there is no need to add water while grinding. (I divided the soaked black gram into three portions before grinding). Grind to a smooth paste. 
• Add baking soda to the ground paste, mix well and keep aside for 1 - 2 hours. 
• Chop finely the shallots, green chilly, ginger and curry leaves. 
• After 1 or 2 hours add the chopped vegetables and black pepper into the batter, stir well. Finally mix the roasted gram - rice powder into the batter. 
• Wet your hands (So the batter won't stick to your hands). Take a small lime size ball of batter in your hands, make small hole in the center, drop gently into hot oil and deep fry in medium flame. Flip and cook on both sides till golden brown. I could make 11 medhu vadas with the amount of ingredients given below. 
• Serve hot with coconut chutney or tomato sauce. 

Ingredients: 

Black gram - 1/2 cup 

Cooked rice - 3 tablespoons 

Salt to taste 

Baking soda - 1/4 teaspoon  

Black gram - 1 tablespoon 

Raw rice - 1 tablespoon  

Shallots - 6 

green chilly - 1 

ginger  - 1 very small piece 

Curry leaves - a few 

Black pepper - 6 (whole) 

Hummus - A Mediterranean Dip

I came across Hummus during my sojourn in Israel. I first had it along with Pita, Felafel and veggies. First time itself i found it very tasty. Then i got hold of the recipe. 
The word hummus is arabic for chickpeas. The dish hummus is called hummus bi tahina in arabic. The name itself is very revealing - the dish is a mixture of chickpea and tahini paste. 
Hummus is generally used as dip or appetizer, and most usually along with pita and felafel. 
The place of origin of hummus is Egypt, Levant (Mediterranean lands east of Italy).

Preparation: 

• Soak the chickpeas overnight. 
• Pressure cook the chickpeas along with salt.
• Allow to cool to room temperature. 
• Drain the chickpeas. Don't throw away the water.
• Lightly roast and grind the sesame seeds. 
• Now add all the other ingredients except the olive oil into the mixer bowl and grind to a smooth paste. Use a little of the water in which the chickpea was cooked to grind. Be careful not to add too much water. 
• When it is well ground, transfer to a serving bowl and pour the olive oil over it. 
• Serve garnished with paprika powder. (optional) 

Ingredients:

Chickpeas - 1/2 cup 

Sesame seeds - 4 tablespoons 

Cumin seeds - 1/2 teaspoon 

Garlic (minced) - 1 teaspoon 

Lemon juice -1/2 tablespoon 

Salt to taste 

Garnish:

Olive oil - 1 Tablespoon 

Red Paprika powder - 1/4 teaspoon (optional) 

Note: If you have tahini paste with you, add it instead of sesame seeds.

Raw Banana/Plantain Fritters / Bajjhi

Raw or Green banana contains Resistant Starch which does not breakdown like regular starch, so it passes through the intestines like insoluble fiber. Resistant starch and high fiber increases satiety and thus low consumption. Increases the rate of fat burning.Good for dieters and diabetics. Resistant starch is food for the good probiotic bacteria in the intestine. So bananas can prevent diarrhea and reduce the risk of colon cancer. It helps in the absorption of nutrients, especially calcium. Raw and ripe bananas contain Vitamins B6 ,C and potassium. 

Preparation : 

• Wash the banana/Plantain, Peel it lightly. Do not remove all the skin. Set aside.
• Take the besan/Chickpea flour in a small bowl. Add salt to taste, then add the chilly powder, cumin seeds, asafeotida and baking soda. Add water little by little and make a very thick batter. Keep aside for 5 minutes.
• Cut the banana into 3 or 4 equal parts. Then slice each piece into 3 or 4 pieces. 
• Heat oil in a pan. Dip each piece in the batter and deep fry. 
• Spread out on absorbent paper to remove excess oil. 
• Serve hot with coconut chutney or tomato sauce. 

Ingredients:

Raw Plantain - 1 

Besan / Chickpea Flour - 1/2 cup 

Salt to taste 

Red chilly powder - 1/2 Teaspoon 

Cumin seeds - 1/4 teaspoon 

Asafeotida -a pinch 

Baking soda - 2 pinches 

Water