OLAN

Olan is a traditional kerala dish very regular at any veg sadhya.

Ingredients

Red cow peas (Van payar)    --  ½ cup

Ash gourde  (Elavan)             --   ½ cup cut into cubes

Grated coconut                       --   1 cup

Coconut oil                               --  2 tsp

Green chilly                              --  2 -3

Curry leaves few

Salt to taste

Method

Clean and soak red cow peas in hot water for half an hour to one hour and pressure cook for one or two whistles and keep aside.   Extract 1 cup of thick coconut milk and 1 cup of second coconut milk.  Cook ash gourde in the second extract with salt, slit green chilly and cook for some time then add drained and cooked red cow peas and allow it to boil, when t boils switch off flame then add curry leaves and thick coconut milk.  Mix it well, add little coconut oil on it.  Rich and creamy Olan is ready to serve. 

BHINDI FRY (LADIES FINGER FRY)

Ingredients

Bhindi (ladies finger)              --  250 gm

Chilly powder                          --  1to 2 tsp

Coriander powder                 --   ¼ tsp

Jeera powder                          --  ¼ tsp

Hing                                          --   ¼ tsp

Gram flour                              --   2 tbsp

Rice flour                                 --   1 tbsp

Pepper powder                      --    ½ tsp

Salt to taste

Oil for frying

Method

Wash Bhindi (ladies finger),  dry them with kitchen towel or kitchen napkin.   Slit bhindi into 2 pieces, remove the seeds, then cut them into thin stripes.  Add all masala powders(except pepper), salt, gram flour and rice flour, sprinkle little water and coat evenly.  Heat oil in kadai and deep fry the bhindi till crisp then sprinkle pepper powder over it and serve hot.

DOUBLE BEANS HINGA UDHAK

This is a spicy beans curry flavoured with coconut and hing.  Normally this curry is prepared with prawns or mussels.

Ingredients

Double beans                              --  1 cup

Grated coconut                           --  1 cup

Fried red chillies                          --  12 to 15

Tamarind                                       --  small piece

Hing                                                --  ½ tsp

Coconut oil                                   --   1 or 2 tsp

Method

Soak double beans overnight in plenty of water.  Drain and pressure cook them and keep aside.  Roast red chillies in a drop of coconut oil and grind with tamarind in to fine paste.  Add masala to boiled beans, adjust water to get gravy not too thick not too thin consistency.  Add salt and hind powder and bring it to boil  for 5 to 10 minutes, switch off the gas,  and pour coconut oil above it.  Serve with plain rice.

MYSORE CHUTNEY

I learnt this from my mother-in-law, a very good combo with crispy dosa.

Ingredients 

Grated coconut                         --  1 cup

Channa dal                                 --   1 tbsp

Urad  dal                                     --    ½ tbsp.

Red chillies                                 --    5-6

Tamarind                                    --    small piece

Oil                                                 --  1 or 2 tsp

Sugar                                            --   ¼ tsp.

Salt to taste

Method

Dry roast the till dark brown.   Fry the channa dal and urad dal in oil till brown and keep aside.  Grind fried coconut, tamarind and red chillies into fine paste.  Then add fried dal, salt and little water again grind into fine paste.   Take this into a serving bowl add sugar, mix well.  This chutney is little thick, not watery and no need of seasoning.  Yummy mysore chutney is ready to serve with crispy dosa.

HINGA GOJJU

I got this recipe from my Food-page friend Nilima Kotulkar.  Its really  yummy.

Ingredients

Tamarind                                 -- small lemon sized ball

Red chilly fried                       --  12 to 15

Hing powder                           --   ½ tsp

Coconut oil                              --  1 tsp

Salt to taste

Method

Add water to tamarind and prepare tamarind puree, soak red chillies in the tamarind puree for 10 to 15 minutes, grind this into fine paste.  Then add hing powder and coconut oil and mix it well.  Yummy Hinga gojju is ready to serve with dosa or rice.

KARATHE-ALSANDHO “GAT” CURRY

You may be wondering what is GAT, its nothing but Godshe(sweet), Amshe(sour) and Thikshe(spicy).  Karathe in konkani is bitter gourd and Alsando is Long Yard Beans.  I learnt this recipe my aunty and my friend Nagini Rao, who is a wonderful cook.

Ingredients

Bitter gourd                             -- 250 gm

Long yard beans                     --  100 gm

Red chillies                              --   10-12 nos

Pepper corns                           --   1 tsp

Coriander seeds                      --  2 to 3 tsp

Grated coconut                       --  1 cup

Tamarind                                  --  lemon sized ball   or

Raw mango                              --   1

Green chillies                           --   3

Jaggery                                     --   2 cubes

Curry leaves few

Oil for tempering

Salt to taste      

Method

Cut bitter gourd in to cubes and long yard beans into 1 inch pieces.  Add little water, salt and jaggery and pressure cook for 2 whistles.  Keep to cool.  Meanwhile, dry roast coconut with coriander seeds, pepper corn and red chillies. Fry till dark brown.   Let it cool for some time then grind this with tamarind into fine paste.  Add this masala to cooked vegetables, boil it for  5 to 10 minutes then season it with mustard seeds, curry  leaves and green chillies.  Yummy karathe-alsando GAT curry is ready to serve.

MATHANGA PACHADI/ KERALA STYLE PUMPKIN PACHADI

Mathanga pachadi(pumpkin pachadi) is an inevitable item in the traditional kerala sadhya.   I love pumpkin yogurt combo, this is little sweet and sour side dish and makes delicious combo with any spicy curry or fish fry.

  Ingredients

·       Pumpkin chopped            --  half cup

·       Green chilly                        --  2 to 3

·       Turmeric powder              -- ¼ tsp

·       Grated coconut                 --  ½ cup

·       Jeera                                    --  ¼ tsp

·       Mustard seeds                   --  1 tsp

·       shallots                                --  3 to 4 or

·       methi                                   --   ¼ tsp

·       onion                                    --  small piece

·       curry leaves                        --   2 spring

·       yogurt                                  --   ¼ cup

·       dry red chillies                    --   2 to 3

·       coconut oil                           --   1 tsp

·       salt to taste

Method

·       cut and clean pumpkin, remove the seeds and peal the skin and chop into small pieces.

·       Cook pumpkin with little water, salt and green chilly.

·       Grind grated coconut with turmeric, jeera, mustard and shallot or onion into fine paste.

·       Add the paste to cooked pumpkin pieces mix it well and cook for 2 to 3 minutes.  Turn off the flame and allow to cool.  Then beat yogurt add this to the pumpkin mix.  Mix it well, take little oil in kadai, add mustard seeds, methi seeds, red chilly and curry leaves then add this tempering to the pumpkin mix. 

·       Mix it well, ready to serve yummy mathanaga pachadi.

POTATO GHEE ROAST

Ingredients

1.   Potatoes                        --   4  to 5 nos

2.   Red chillies                    --   10 nos

3.   Coriander seeds           --   1 tbsp

4.   Cumin seeds(jeera)      --   1 tsp

5.   Black pepper corn        --    1 tsp

6.   Fenugreek seeds          --    ¼ tsp

7.   Cloves                             --    2  to 3

8.   Garlic flakes                  --    4 to 5

9.   Fennel seeds                 --    ¼ tsp

10.  Cinnamon                       --   1” piece

Method

·       Dry roast all the spices then grind it with tamarind and small piece of ginger  and keep aside.

·       Peel the skin and cut potato into strips like French fries and sprinkle little salt.

·       Heat ghee in a pan, shallow fry potatoes till crisp, take them and keep aside. 

·       In the same pan, add little more ghee, add ground masala paste and salt and fry for few minutes.

·       Then add fried potatoes, coat evenly with the masala, roast 5 to 10 minutes in low flame.  Add little water if required.  Cook till done and enjoy.