Murungai Poo Kootu – Drumstick blossom dal

Ah, should I really need to translate? I don’t have any non-indian readers. Very rarely one or two. But for unwritten blogging rules I shall stick to the translation
Cooking with blossoms is not a regular fair at home except for plantain flower. You can add this to make a list. Usually during the drumstick season when there is abundance of the blossoms in the tree the owners of the tree were very particular about preserving them for the vegetable. So we cannot simply shake the branches and collected the sheded flowers. But occasionally if there is a wind or a quick shower you can find lot of these flowers on the ground. Living in the city has stolen several luxuries from us and these drumstick blossoms were one among them.
Last week when my Sis visited a nearby temple found a drumstick tree (it’s really odd) near the pathway. As we had slight showers the night before she could find lots of the flowers on the ground. Since it’s within the temple premises the ground was clean and she quickly collected as much fresh blossoms as she could. As its said to be an aphrodisiac we are still hooked to it’s mildly sweet taste.
Amma makes a fantastic kootu and its years since we relished it. Mixing with hot steamed rice and dollop of ghee this is a filling meal.

Murungai Poo / Drumstick blossoms – resembles jasmine flower

Murungai Poo Kootu / Drumstick blossom kootu
Ingredients :
Drumstick flowers packed – 1 cup
Chana dal – 1/2 cup
Onion chopped – 1/4 cup
Mustard seeds + Urad dal for seasoning
Peanut oil – 1 teaspoon
Grated fresh coconut – 2-3 T spoon
Red chilli broken into pieces – 2
Salt to taste
Hing – 1 pinch

How to make it ?

Pressure cook chanadal with 3/4 cup of water in a pressure cooker for 1 whistle or you can boil it in stove top with more water until soft. Don’ make it mushy. In a thick bottomed pan tip the chanadal along with the remaining water inwhich it is cooked and add the onions and boil for 5-7 minutes. You will get a nice aroma of onions cooked. Wash several times with running water and drain the drumstick flowers in a colander. Add this to the boiling chanadal and onion mix. Let it cook for 4-5 mins. Add salt to taste. Add the grated coconut and boil for another minute and switch off the stove. Now in a separate vessel heat the peanut oil and when hot add the mustard seeds and urad dal. When the mustard seeds splutter add a pinch of hing and the broken red chillies and when you get a nice aroma (just count 10-15) tip it in the kootu. Garnish with curry leaves and serve warm with a dollop of ghee with steamed rice.

Watermelon curry

Don’t feel quirky on seeing the title. Actually its a curry made out of the whitish part of the watermelon. Last week when we were having tha last pieces of a whole red juicy watermelon, I was saying Amma about making dosa out of watermelon’s whitish part. She was amazed to know that it can be cooked and eaten and jumped up to the kitchen to try her own creation.

I helped her peel the skin and cut the shitish part into bite sized pieces. After that I was busy playing with the kids and within minutes she brought me before a piping hot plate of a wonderful looking curry and it was hard to believe that its from the watermelon.

It took less than 15 minutes to make this curry and leaving the reddish part upto 3-4 mm with the white flesh gave a subtle sweet touch to the curry which I loved it. Actually I ate them on its own but think it would be lovely when paired with roti. It more or less resembled ash gourd in taste.

Ingredients:
Watermelon (red part removed, skin peeled and the white flesh cut into bite sized chunks) – 1 cup
Salt – 1/4 tea spoon
Sambar powder / Chilli powder – 1/4 or 1/2 tea spoon
Peanut oil – 1/2 tea spoon
mustard seeds – 2 pinches
Urad dal – 1/2 tea spoon

Sprig of curry leaves

How to make it ?
In a thick bottomed vessel heat the peanut oil. When hot add the mustard seeds. As the pop add the urad dal and fry till they turn golden. Add the curry leaves. Add the watermelon white chunks and the sambar powder and salt. Mix well and cook it covered in low flame for 7-8 minutes. Check if its cooked or cook for 2/3 more minutes. You don’t need to add water as the white flesh leaves more water on its own.

It was delicious and bit crunchy and little sweet. The tough part is to remove the green skin from the white flesh. Otherwise its a perfect curry!

Sorakkai thithipu and a pound cake – Summer cooking 4

Many a times I have drooled on the bottle gourd recipes that were posted by my blogging buddies. I love that vegetable but amma doesn’t. So it was years since I have tasted them at home but still amma could make this curry after years remembering my grandma’s recipe.

There is nothing to make it sweet and I don’t know why that word “thithipu” has come. Might be due to the sweetness that the vegetable has !

Here comes the recipe:

Ingredients:

Sorakkai/bottle gourd (peeled and cut into bite sized cubes) – 2 cups

Grated coconut – 1/2 cup

Green chillies – 2

Onion – 1 medium sized

Cumin seeds – 1 teaspoon

Peanut oil - 1 T

Turmeric powder – 1 pinch

Salt to taste

 

How to make it?

In the thick bottomed tawa heat half of the oil and add the cubed sorakkai/bottle gourd along with the turmeric. Saute for 2 minutes and add 1/2 cup of water. Cover the vessel with a lid and let it cook till the vegetable turns fork tender. In the mean time grind the onion, green chillies and grated coconut with the cumin seeds to a fine paste. When the vegetable is cooked add this ground paste and add required salt and mix well. Let it cook for another 5 minutes or till the raw smell of onion disappear. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve with piping hot rice.

Its delicious with rice and would be good with rotis too!

Ad after a break I baked a pound cake from joyofbaking.com. I sprinkled some walnuts and its so very delicious. The recipe recommends a grilled toasted slice of the cake which I need to try anyway.

Murungai keerai Uluthamparuppu kootu – Drumstick leaves with Black gram dal – Summer cooking 3

Black gram or Urad dal with the husk is not commonly used in our households. During my grandma’s days she used to buy them in bulk and soak them for idlis. Its tough to remove the skins after soaking and needed several washes. Amma had soaked a cup of these last week. I was surprised on seeing it and asked whats that for. She enthusiastically said “Another nice post for u’re blog”. I am thrilled to hear that she’s going to make a drumstick leaf kootu with that. A new combo for me but she said they used to have it during their childhood days.
Amma has almost become a foodie as she recollects old recipes for me these days. So nice of her
Coming to the recipe the urdal dal should ne soaked atleast 24 hours before cooking and cooked with the husk. The fresh murungai keerai and crunchy onions were a nice addition. I think istead of grated coconut if we could add a thick cup of coconut milk it would have been tastier.

Ingredients:
Black gram or Urad dal with husk – 1 cup (soaked for 24 hours and pressure cooked for 3 whistles in this way)
Fresh drumstick leaves – 1 cup
Onion – 1 medium sized chopped
Tomato – 1 small chopped
Peanut oil – 1 T spoon
Mustard seeds – 1/4 tea spoon
urad dal for taalipu – 1/2 tea spoon
Dry red chillies – 2 (split)
Asafoetida – 1 pinch
Garlic – 1 pod
turmeric – 1 pinch
Grated coconut – 2 T spoon
How to make it?

Soak the back gram in water for 24 hours. Wash several times in water. Add 1/2 cup of water, a garlic pod, a pinch of turmeric and pressure cook for 3 whistles.

In a wide skillet heat the peanut oil and once hot add the mustard and 1/2 tea spoon of urad dal along with asafoetida. Once the seeds splutter add the cooked urad dal and the chopped onions and tomatoes. Add very little water (if required) so that everything is in a kootu consistency and cook till the onions are soft. Add salt as per taste. Now add the drumstick leaves and cook for another 10 minutes in low flame. Adjust salt if required at this stage. Add the grated coconut and switch off the stove.

Serve warm with rice and a pickle for a simple but nutritious meal. I served them with Indira’s tomato pickle.

Paagarkai pulikaachal – Bitter gourd with Tamarind

Bitter gourd is a staple vegetable for appa (he eats it almost 3-4 times a week). It would be a simple saute with little chilli powder. But Amma makes sure we too eat it atleast once in a week. She makes several version to send this wonderful veggie inside us but this particular dish is always a hit. Even during our childhood days we never refused to eat it this way.

The onions add a balance to the bitterness and the tamarind tanginess makes it more interesting to eat it. Even though its made as a side dish I like to have it mixed with piping hot rice with a papad.

Ingredients :

Bitter gourd – 1 cup (seeds removed and chopped)

Onion – 1/2 cup (chopped)

Sambar podi / Chilli powder – 1 tea spoon

Turmeric – 1 pinch

Salt – 1/2 tea spoon (or as per taste)

Peanut oil – 1.5 T spoon

Tamarind – 1 gooseberry sized soaked in 1/4 cup of water

How to make it?

Squeeze the tamarind after 15-20 minutes of soaking and filter it. Reserve the extract. Heat the peanut oil in a thick bottomed vessel or a non-stick pan. Once it is hot add the chopped onions and saute till they turn pink. Add the chopped bitter gourd and saute for 10 minutes in low flame. Now add the sambar podi / chilli powder, turmeric powder, salt and the tamarind extract and mix well. Adjust salt at this stage. Keep cooking in low flame stirring often to ensure the curry is not stikcing to the pan. Let the entire mix be semi-dry. Switch off the stove and serve with hot piping rice.

Nool khol karamani poriyal – Kohlrabi with black eyed beans

Its a rare combination for me. When amma was soaking karamani (black-eyed beans) I was thinking about a kulambu but when she started chopping Knool khol/Kohlrabi together I was wondering whats this new combo?
But this turned to be yet another yummy side dish. Soaking the beans is the only prerequisite and otherwise its a jiffy one to make. When served with rice or roti this becomes an unusual yet nutritious combination.
Ingredients:
Knool khl / Kohlrabi – skinned and chopped to bite sized pieces 1 cup
Black eyed beans – soaked and cooked to fork tender 1 cup
Sambar podi – 1 tea spoon (substitute with 1/2 tea spoon chilli powder and 1/2 tea spoon coriander powder)
Salt – as per taste
Garlic – crushed 1 tea spoon
Peanut oil – 1 T spoon

How to make it?
In a thick bottomed skillet heat the peanu oil and once it is hot add the crushed garlic. Saute till they turn golden brown and add the cooked beans to this. Add the sambar podi, salt and saute till the raw smell of sambar podi goes off. Add the knool khol and add 1/4 cup of water and the salt. Mix well and cover and cook over medium heat till all the water evaporates. Open the lid and saute till the curry becomes dry. Switch off the stove and garnish with coriander leaves.

The garlic aids easy digestion of the beans and the knool kkh

Vallarai keerai thuvayal

Vallarai keerai is a nervine tonic. This is a nervine stimulant. I am more familiar with a “thailam” in which other variety of this keerai is used. The brahmi thailam is used for weekly oil baths to reduce the heat in the body. Also it acts as a stress buster which calms your mind.
Amma is more particular in sending this keerai inside.

Courtesy:Rimbun Dahan
The usual keeerai kootu won’t work with this as it has a bitter taste. But this thuvayal worked very well. We can mix it with piping hot rice or have it as a side dish with rasam. Actually I couldn’t make out the keerai when I tasted the thuvayal.
More about this keerai here

Ingredients:
2 Handfuls of vallarai leaves (packed)
Urad dal – 2 teas spoons
Asofoetida – 1 pinch
Dry red cillies – 3
Mustard seeds – 1/4 tea spoon
Coconut fresh grated – 2 Table spoon
Tamarind – 1 inch
Salt as per taste
Gingelly oil – 1 Table spoon

How to make it?
In a thick bottomed vessel heat 1/2 table spoon of gingelly oil and add mustard seeds, asofoetida, dry red chillies. Fry them till the chillies turn maroon in color. Now add the vallarai leaves and saute them till they wilt nicely. Sauteing for 5 minutes in medium flame will ensure thorough cooking of the leaves. Now switch off the stove and let the mix cool to room temperature. Take the mix in a mixie along with the tamarind, salt and coconut and grind to a smooth paste.
Now again heat the remaining oil in the same pan and add the paste and fry for another 5 minutes till the paste turn into dark green color. Serve with piping hot rice with a rasam.

In memory of La Sa Ra – a Moong dal with a twist

There are a few writers who were foodies by nature. When they talk about the characters in their novels they create situation involving food and cooking. I love to read them whenever I am hungry Crazy right ?

One of my favorite writer is La_Sa_Ra and in one of his novels he had described a moon light dinner party. Every single item served in that party were usual ones but with a unique and winning twist which he explains wonderfully. One among is a simple moong dal served with soft chapathis. Its an ordinary dal with onions, tomatoes and ginger and garlic but there are few twists. It has crisply fried cashewnuts, fresh green peas here and there and grated green mangoes for a tangy touch.

When it happened for an early coming back home last friday night I was thinking about this and the craving started immediately. As soon as I came home to my surprise amma had cooked moong dal and was waiting for me to do the tadka to serve with dosas. Almost half the work done I settled down with rotis. Made the dough for rotis and started with this dal.

I knew I have all the ingredients in hand (even raw mango ). Here comes ther recipe! Moong dal with a twist!

Ingredients: 1 cup cooked moong dal till soft

Ginger grated – 1 teaspoon

Onion chopped – 1/4 cup

Tomatoes chopped – 1/4 cup

Coriander chopped – 2 T spoon

Green chillies – 2 (slit vertically)

Fresh green peas – a handful

Cashew nuts chopped – 2 T spoon

Grated raw mango (grate along with the skin) – 2 T spoon

Peanut oil for taalipu

mustard + cumin seeds  – 1/2 tea spoon

How to make it?

In the thick bottomed wide skillet heat the peanut oil. Once hot add the mustard and cumin seeds. When they start popping up add the grated ginger and green chillies and saute for a minute. Add the chopped onions and saute till soft. Now add the tomatoes and cook till mushy. Add the green pease and saute for 2 minutes. Now add the cooked moong dal. Add some water at this stage till you get the consistency of the dal you wish to be. Add required salt too. Let it cook until the green peas are cooked. In the meantime fry the cashew nuts till golden brown in a spoon of oil, drain and keep aside. Once the dal is done switch off the stove and add the grated green mango and fried cashews and garnish with coriander leaves.

Serve them with warm rotis! The crispy cahsewnuts and the tangy crunchy mango pieces were great while eating the dal. It tasted exactly as I imagined while I read the novel! A hearty meal!

Manga Pachadi – Cuddalore style

Raw mangoes are always a favorite that too during the summer. Its always fun to much on thin slices sprinkled with some chilliw powder and salt or simply salt. There is a type called “Arisi Maanga” which has less tanginess and you can munch on a whole mango all together at a time.

 

Mangoes are usually paired up with summer vacations. When we lived in Cuddalore our neighbour had a big mango tree. The problem is only the trunk and the roots are in his backyard and the entire tree is towards ours. So most of the mangoes comes to us while he watered the tree

My sis a great kid on checking and identifying the mangoes in several stages. She knows which branch had the young ones, which ones were nearing ripening stage etc. We would climb on the terrace from where we can reach even the top most branches and would pluck mangoes in various stages.

 

Enough of the story and this pachadi is our family favorite and how much ever made we always lick the bowl clean. Usually its served as a side dish but I enjoy licking my fingers dipped in it from a cup after a hearty meal.

Ingredients:

Raw magoes (skin removed and cut into 2 inch cubes ) – 4 cups

Jaggery – 1 cup

Salt – 1/4 tea spoon

Peanut oil – 1 tea spoon

Dry red chillies – 2

Coriander leaves – 1 Sprig

Mustard + Jeera seeds – 1/2 tea spoon

Asfoetida – 1 pinch

How to make it ?

In a thick bottomed vessel put the raw mango pieces and add 1/2 cup of water and cover it with a lid. Let it cook for 7- minutes or until the entire thing becomes mushy. Sprinkle the salt over it and add the jaggery now. In one or two minutes the jaggery will melt nicely and get blended with the mango. Give a taste and if u want it more sweeter add little more jaggery. Switch off the stove.

In a thick bottomed small vessel add the peanut oil and once hot add the mustard and jeera seeds. Once they pop add the asfoetida, curry leaves and split red chillies. Mix in low flame for 10 – 12 seconds and pur it over the mango mix. Mix well and serve with rotis or rice and dal.

You can have it as it is or even try it out as a spread for u’re bread.

Soya palak kootu

Making kids eat greens is like make horse drink water. I have made several attempts to make themselves eat them. About 50% of the my attempts would fail but all the tries are worth it when they lick the bowl clean that too a nutritious bowl full of rice. Once among the tried and tested recipe is this soya palak kootu.

The soya provides enough protein and nothing to say about the palak. The coconut milk flavors the kootu with a creamy touch. I do the tadka without red chillies. For elders we can do that to get a creamy rich kootu.

Ingredients:

Palak leaves – leaves alone chopped and packed 2 cups

Soya beans – soaked and pressure cooked with little water for 3 whistles 1 cup

Thick fresh coconut milk – 1 cup

Onion chopped – 1 medium sized

For tadka:

Mustard seeds – ¼ teaspoon

Urad dal – ¼ teaspoon

Peanut oil – 1 teaspoon

Split red chillies -2 (optional)

How to make it?

In a wide thick bottomed skillet add the cooked soya beans, chopped onions and ½ cup of water. Let it cook till the raw smell of onion disappears. Now add the chopped palak leaves. Let it cook. Halfway through add salt as per taste. Once the leaves are cooked add the coconut milk and mix well. Keep stirring which prevents curdling of the coconut milk for 10-20 seconds. Now switch of the stove.

In another thick bottomed vessel heat the peanut oil. Once it is hot add the urad dal and let it trun golden brown. Now add the mustard seeds and when it starts spluttering add the whole mix to the palak kootu. (If you are adding red chillies add them split before the mustard seeds).

Serve with hot rice or roti.

This is my entry to JFI Soya hosted by lovely Sia of monsoonspice.