Special Mango Pickle

Ingredients

4 cups green mango, lighty pared and diced
Salt to taste
¼ cup gingelly oil
¼ tsp mustard powder
¼ tsp turmeric powder
½ cup chilli powder
1 tsp asafoetida powder
¼ tsp fenugreek powder
A few curry leaves
2 cups water, boiled and cooled

Preparation

Toss the diced mango in salt. Set aside for two hours.
Heat the gingelly oil and fry the mustard, turmeric, chilli, asafoetida and fenugreek powders and curry leaves over a moderate flame.
Add the water and bring to boil.
Remove from fire and cool.
Stir in the marinated mango. Mix well and bottle.

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Olan

Ingredients

• Red gram (Vanpayar) - 10 g
• Raw pumpkin - 15 g
• Ash gourd/White gourd (Elavan) - 15 g
• String beans - 5 g
• Green chilies - 4
• Coconut (grated) - one half
• Coconut oil - 1 tbsp

Preparation

Soak the red gram for a long time in water.

Chop the pumpkin and ash gourd into medium sized pieces, and the string beans into long strips and wash them all well.

To this, add the green chilies and the soaked red gram. Cook it well and drain.

Squeeze the grated coconut with half a liter of water and take the 1st extract of the coconut milk.

Now pour one liter of water once again into the grated coconut, squeeze well and take out the 2nd extract.

Add the 2nd extract of coconut milk to the cooked and drained vegetables.

When the vegetables boil, switch off the flame and add the 1st extract of coconut milk.

Add the coconut oil, mix well and serve.

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Avial

Ingredients

• Yam 15 g
• Snake gourd 5 g
• String beans 5 g
• Carrot 10 g
• Drumstick 10 g
• Cucumber (yellow) 15 g
• Banana, raw 1
• Raw mango a little
• Coconut oil 3 tsp
• Turmeric powder 1 tsp
• Chilli powder 1 tsp
• Salt to taste
• Coconut (grated) ½ of one coconut
• Cumin seeds 1 tsp
• Green chillies 10 g
• Curry leaves one sprig
• Coconut oil 3 tsp

Preparation

Slice the yam into thin long pieces and place it in water.
Slice the drumstick, snake gourd, string beans, carrot and cucumber into thin long pieces and place it all in water in another vessel.
Cut the banana length-wise into long pieces and soak in water separately.
Slice the raw mango and keep aside separately.
Heat coconut oil in a small frying pan, and add the drumstick, string beans, snake gourd and carrot one after the other.
The yam must then be placed on the top.
Place the cucumber on top of the yam.
The cucumber must be right at the top, or the yam might turn darker in colour.
The vegetables are placed in this way because they are to be cooked without water.
Finally add the turmeric powder, chilli powder and salt carefully on top of the arranged vegetables.
Close the vessel with a lid and cook on a low flame. When the vessel heats up, mix all the vegetables well together.
When the yam is three-fourths cooked, add the banana and the raw mango, and keep the vessel closed with a lid to cook.
When all the vegetables are cooked, open the lid and make a small hole in the centre of the vegetables.
The water that collects in this hole should be scooped out with a big spoon and poured over the vegetables.
When all the water has gone, mix well together the grated coconut, cumin seeds and green chillies along with the curry leaves and blend it well together.
Now add the coconut oil to this, heat it all well and remove from the flame.

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Paal Ada Pradhaman

Paal Ada Pradhaman

Ingredients

250 gms rice flour 
2 litres milk
2 cups water
2½ cups sugar
3 tsp butter 
½ tsp cardamom powder
¼ cup cashewnuts, fried in ghee/butter 
¼ cup raisins, fried in ghee/butter

Preparation

Add the rice flour to 2 cups milk and mix well to make a soft batter. 
Pour spoonful of the batter on to 6€ square banana leaves and swirl to spread evenly. 
Roll up the leaves and drop them into boiling water. 
Cook for 10 minutes and remove from the water. 
Cool and unroll the leaves. Drop the €˜ada€™ (steamed pancakes) into a large vessel. 
Chop the ada into small pieces. 
Heat butter in a large heavy bottomed vessel and lightly sauté the ada in it. 
Mix the milk, water and sugar together. Add gradually to the sautéed ada and cook well, stirring all the time till it thickens. 
Add the powdered cardamom, cashewnuts and raisins. Stir well. Serve hot.

(Mrs. K. M. Mathew)

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Beetroot Sambar

Beetroot Sambar

Ingredients

Toor Dal/sambar parippu- 1/2 cup

Onion sliced-1 medium

Beet root- 1 large

Potato- 1 medium

Carrot- 1

Tomato- 1

Drum sticks- 3 or 4 pieces

(you can add any veggies of your choice)

Tamarind one lemon sized

Chilly powder- 1 1/2 tsp

Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp

Coriander powder- 3 tsp

Fenugreek powder- 1/3 tsp

Asafoetida- 1/3 tsp

Mustard seeds

Dry red chilly- 2

Curry leaves

Coriander leaves

Salt to taste

Oil

Instructions

Wash Toor dal/sambar parippu and cook with enough water in pressure cooker. After 3-4 whistles remove the lid and mash the dal.

Add in the veggies and sliced onion and salt. Add one more cup of water if necessary and close the lid. Cook till the vegetables is done ( one more whistle in pressure cooker).

Dry roast the turmeric powder, coriander powder, chilly powder and fenugreek powder in a very low flame and mix well with the cooked veggies and dal along with the tamarind pulp. Bring this to a boil and finally add coriander leaves and asafoetida.

In a pan heat oil and add mustard seeds. When it splutters add one tsp of chopped onion and saute. Fry red chilly and curry leaves and add this to the curry and mix well. Serve with idlis or rice.

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