Air fried Arbi (Seppan kilangu)

Seppan kilangu / arbi is a delicious root vegetable. It is a popular alternative for potato roast curry of India. 

Usually I prepare the arbi fry by deep frying in oil or by tawa roast method.

After I found that airfryer recipe for arbi, I am making it healthier with less oil in an airfryer.

This is a dish I prepare once or twice a month as a side dish for dal rice or bisibelebath. 

Note:  If you are trying this recipe for a party or for large batch, do this in advance and keep in fridge.  Just make sure to do airfrying  again for a few minutes it before serving.  

Click to see my other versions also:

Deep fried Arbi

Arbi cutlet

Seppan kilangu roast

Pongal puli curry

Seppan kilangu

Peeled arbi

Arrange the slices in airfryer 

After airfrying

Air fried Arbi is ready !

Ingredients:

Arbi (seppan kilangu) - 10 roots (1/2 kg)
rice flour - 1 tsp
besan flour - 1 tbsp
salt - to taste 
turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
black pepper powder - 1.5 tbsp
cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
Oil (olive oil) - 2 tsp

Preparation:
First rinse the arbi thoroughly to remove all dirt.
Keep it in a vessel and pour water to cover it fully. Boil it in water for 10 mins. Check if a fork or knife can poke it easily. Switch off. (In this stage it can be cooled and stored in fridge with skin for one or two days for convenience).
For immediate cooking, pour cold water and peel them.
Keep aside.

Method:

Cut the cooked arbi  it into 1/2 inch thick circles.
Mix salt, flours,oil, turmeric, pepper powder with a drop of water. Add it to the pieces and mix well.

Preheat the Air-fryer for 5 mins at 350 F.  
Spread the masala coated arbi slices in a single layer inside the fryer basket.(I keep them tightly packed in single layer).
Air fry for 10 mins. Pull out the basket and shake well. Then keep air frying for another 10 mins. 
Do this until it turns crispy in the outside and soft in the inside for each and every slice.
My air fryer takes less than 20 mins for the entire process. 
Repeat and cook the remaining arbi slices.
Air fried arbi is ready to eat !
Dust some more pepper powder over the fried arbi and shake well and serve hot.

Another method:

Instead of pepper + cumin powder , we can mix red chilly powder and garam masal powder along with flours and deep fry them. Tandoori mix also holds good. 

Serving suggestion:

Serve as side dish with curd rice, vegetable biryani, pulav, bisibelebath or simply as a tea time snack.

Tips:

Normally taro or arbi won't cause any allergies. In Indian recipes, black pepper is added to remove allergens from all root veggies,
The South American arbi contains less mucilage and easy to handle, whereas Indian arbi has a unique nice flavor. 
We can boil the arbi and keep refrigerated without peeling for a day or two. I generally do the boiling part the previous night. It comes handy. 
As this recipe takes long time (than frying in oil), it won't come handy while having guests. So we can prepare it and keep it in fridge and we can re-fry them in air fryer  for a few minutes before serving. By this way we can make a healthy fried side dish for our party.

Arbi Fry (Seppan kilangu varuval)

Seppan kilangu (Tamil) means colocasia or taro root(English),  Arbi (Hindi). 

 Arbi fry is the most sought fried item in my house. Thanks to hubby this fry hardly reaches the dining table . Normally I start preparing our weekend lunch by 10.30 Am. If I make this fry for lunch, then hubby may start demanding it with his 11 Am tea:) So I plan to make some extra servings or totally some other dish along with this:) I personally think this as a catchy side dish for vegetarians. This is my mom's signature dish too. Mom used to make this arbi with paruppu kulambu and rice.

Sembu or seppan kizhangu is a tiny root vegetable available throughout the year. There is another one root vegetable with similar taste, that is the elephant yam (chenai kilangu), which can also be made into attractive fries. This seppan kilangu (arbi) can be stored at room temperature for a week and can be refrigerated for a month.  The matured  round / oval roots are tastier .

Bisibelebath served with arbi fry.( Indian Arbi fried).

Ingredients:

Arbi - 6 roots (1/2 kg)
rice flour - 1 tsp
besan flour - 1 tbsp
salt - to taste
turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
black pepper powder - 1.5 tbsp
cumin powder - 1/2 tsp

Method:

Cook the arbi root with skin till it is almost cooked (not mushy). Poke a skewer or knife to check if its cooked. This makes the peeling easy.

Cool and remove the skin. Cut it into 1/2 inch thick circles. (If using the South American arbi , the bigger variety, then cut it into big chunks and cook it. Again peel and cube it).

Mix salt, flours, turmeric, pepper powder with a drop of water. Add it to the pieces and mix well.

A bigger variety of taro root .

Heat enough oil to deep fry.  Fry the pieces in small batches till they turn almost golden brown (crunchy outside and softer inside).

Take out, drain oil. Dust some pepper powder over the fried arbi and shake well , so that all the pieces gets some more pepper.

Another method:

Instead of pepper + cumin powder , we can mix red chilly powder and garam masal powder along with flours and deep fry them. Tandoori mix also holds good.

Serving suggestion:

Serve as side dish with curd rice, vegetable biryani, pulav, bisibelebath or simply as a tea time snack.

Tips:

I have heard some people making this fry (baking) in oven. But I have not tried it yet. May be a good option too.
Black pepper is added to root vegetables to make them allergy-free. But this arbi root is not caustic and safer for most of the people.
The South American arbi contains less mucilage and easy to handle, but I prefer the taste of Indian arbi better.
We can boil these vegetables and keep refrigerated without peeling for a day or two. I generally do the boiling part the previous night.

Arbi (Seppankilangu) cutlet

One day I tried to make some poriyal with arbi instead of my usual arbi fry. But that poriyal became so loose and dry (due to that variety). So I wanted to make something edible out of it without wastage. To my surprise the cutlet tasted as good as a potato cutlet and this is the story behind my unusual cutlet:)

Seppan kilangu (Tamil) means colocasia or taro root(English), Arbi (Hindi).

Arbi cutlet.

Ingredients:

Arbi - 200 gm
onion - 1
green chillies - 2
ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp
fennel - 1 tsp
curry leaf, cilantro, mint leaf (together) - finely chopped 2 tbsp
red chilly powder - 1 tbsp
garam masal powder - 1 tsp
lime juice from 1/4 fruit
salt to taste
bread crumbs - 1 cup
all purpose flour - 1/4 cup
turmeric - 1/4 tsp
oil - to shallow fry

Cooking the arbi:

Remove the skin and wash the arbi. Cut it into big chunks.
Heat a tbsp oil in a wok and add fennel. Then goes the finely chopped onion, chillies. Immediately add ginger garlic paste and saute till raw smell vanishes.
Then add the chopped arbi and stir well. Add the garam masal powder, chilly powder, turmeric, salt, 1/4 cup water and cook covered till done.
Mash it to a fine paste and add finely chopped cilantro, curry leaf, mint leaf, lemon juice and check if it tastes really good.

Prepare the bread crumbs at home or simply buy it.
Spread the bread crumbs on a broad plate.

Prepare a dipping batter using all purpose flour (maida), water. The batter should be thick like a pan cake mix (or dosa batter).

Frying the cutlet:

Heat some oil in a broad-shallow pan.
Now take a lemon size ball from the prepared arbi mixture. Flatten it to get a oval or circular shape with 3/4 inch thickness.
Dip that in maida batter and roll it bread crumbs.
Bring it to a perfect shape. Shallow fry it both sides. Drain oil and serve hot.
Proceed with all the balls and add oil whenever necessary.
Arbi cutlet is ready!

Serving suggestions:

Serve as evening snack or along with rice as side dish.
Arbi cutlet goes well with tomato sauce.

Tips:

Bread crumbs can be prepared at home using few bread slices. Just leave them in a hot oven for a few minutes and powder it using a mixie.
Left over arbi poriyal can also be made into this cutlet.
If you cannot bring good shape to the cutlet, then try adding  a few tsp of besan flour or home made puffed channa dal flour.

Seppan kilangu roast

Before the fancy entry of noodles and parotta into the small towns of Tamilnadu,  whatever food that is cooked for lunch would be served for dinner too.  Most of the days would be veg days in Tamilans house and rice with sambar or some other curry is the primary food. Though green veggies like okra or green beans and spinach would be the side dish during lunch, mothers would hide some root vegetables like potato , senai kilangu (elephant yam) and Seppan kizhangu (arbi) in the pantry for their fussy loved ones. These kind of veggies can be stored even in Indian weather (at room temperature) for a week to month. So these would come handy, if the vegetable curry made for the lunch was not sufficient for dinner. This seppan kilangu roast is one of our most favorites and so I too make it at least once month.

This is one of the popular ways to cook arbi in South Indian cuisine. Try this and let me know, how your family loves this !

Seppan kilangu / cheppan kilangu (Tamil) means colocasia or taro root(English), Arbi (Hindi).

1/2 lb Seppan kilangu before cooking (@ $1.39 /lb 2017)

Boiled arbi is cubed.

After the tempering, add the masala powders and cook for few seconds.

Arbi added to fried masala

Mix well

Hot and spicy arbi roast is ready !

Ingredients:
Seppan kilangu 4 or 5 - 250 gms
Coconut oil - 1 tbsp
fennel (sombu) - 1 tsp
curry leaf - few
salt - to taste
Masala powders:
Red chili powder - 1 tsp
coriander powder - 3 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
black pepper powder - 1/2 tsp
cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
garam masala powder - 1/2 tsp (optional)

Method:
Rinse the arbi thoroughly to remove all dirt.
Put it in a vessel and add water enough to cover. Boil for at least 10 minutes. The arbi should be parboiled (not soft). Put in cold water and it would be easy to remove the skin.
Chop into small cubes. Keep aside.
Put all the masalas mentioned in a bowl and keep ready.
Heat oil in a wok and add fennel. After the fennel gets mild red, add curry leaf. Then add the masala powders and fry in low heat for few seconds.  Add the cubed arbi. Stir well. If needed sprinkle a handful of water and cook covered for 2 minutes.
Switch off.
Arbi roast is ready !

Serving suggestion:
Serve as side dish with dal rice or sambar rice or curd rice.

Pongal Puli curry

Pongal - Indian Thanks giving festival or Farmer's festival ;  Puli - Tamarind;
curry - a side dish.

Recipe source:  My mom used to do this every year during pongal. I got this yummy recipe from my Jeyasri chithi.  Jeyashri chithi prepares lot of dishes along with curry like a sambar with mixed veggies too. I love her recipes very much and practice them for my special days. 

Pongal is celebrated for 3 to 5 days in the middle of January by all people with agriculture background in India. Rice and banana are the major crops in my home town. So pongal is a big festival there. It is a season of happiness for the farmers as well as for every one who loves festivals like me:) The main celebrations include cleaning the house and farm material (Pogi day), offering thanks to Sun and God (Pongal day), celebrating the holiness of cow (mattu Pongal day). The night before Pongal day, the ladies paint big size rangoli kolam in front of the house and tie turmeric plants and sugarcanes in the doorway to welcome the prosperity. On pongal day, just like barbeque party, it is common to prepare the sweet rice Pongal in the front yard in a traditional way. The feast may include a plain rice, sweet rice pongal, avial, puli curry, dhal. It is a tradition to include at least a small piece of every vegetable in that day.
On the third day those who have cows would prepare another batch of sweet rice for the cows and themselves and pamper the cows as always. While in India, I used to befriend a beautiful cow and pamper her everyday.....happy memories :)
The next day is called kanum pongal or tour day.
So the whole January spins around pongal festival in my home town and its a colorful season there:)

Here is the recipe for the pongal puli curry.

(I used yam, potato and arbi only. But given the link to the images of various tubers in my ingredient list for reference. Thanks for the bloggers who have published these images).

Root vegetables:

Yam / elephant foot yam / senai kilangu / suran - 200 gm
potato / urulai kilangu / aloo - 1
siru kilangu / chiru kizhangu - 5
sembu / taro root/ colocasia / arbi - 5
pidi karunai kilangu / yam - 1 (small)

other ingredients:

Tamarind - 1 small lime size
Red chilli powder - 1.5 tbsp
coriander powder - 3 tbsp
turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
water - 2 cups
salt - 2 tsp (to taste)

To grind:

shredded coconut - 1/2 cup
shallot onion - 10
cumin seeds - 1 tsp

To temper:

mustard - 1 tsp
fenugreek seeds- 1 tsp
curry leaves - 1 sprig
oil - 2 tbsp
asafoetida - 1 pinch


Method:
Wash and peel the root vegetables. Cut them into 2 inch size cubes.
(Take care while handling the yams).
Cook them together till soft (10 minutes). Discard the water and keep aside.

Soak the tamarind in hot water and extract the juice thrice with 2 cups of water.
Add the chilly powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder, salt to the tamarind extract and start boiling with the cooked roots.

Grind coconut, onion and cumin seeds with little water and add it to the boiling curry. let it get thick.

Heat oil in a pan. Crackle mustard seeds , add fenugreek seeds , curry leaves and asafoetida. Pour over the boiling thick curry. Switch off.

Pongal puli kulambu is ready!

Serving suggestions:
Serve as side dish with sweet pongal.
Can be used as kulambu / curry over plain rice or with chapati.

Paneer Pulav

Necessity is the mother of invention is what I can say about this recipe!

Preparing a complete vegetarian dinner is a tricky one, as we have to sneak protein in some form in almost all the dishes to make them attractive and delicious. Generally I won't coin or try newer recipes for guests. But that particular week was so busy for hubby and he could not take me out for a grocery shopping while I had a party on Friday:) So when all my plans for a vegetable biryani with fresh vegetables were collapsed, I had to find an alternative:)

This paneer pulav is a medley of Shahi pulao and ghee rice. Along with this paneer pilaf I made a vegetable kuruma, fried arbi, Malaysian parotta, raitha, bakalava and gulab jamun as per plan and it was quite a successful one. Try this and enjoy!

Paneer pulav served with raitha and arbi fry.

Ingredients:
Basmati rice - 2 cup
(1/2 cup for 1 person)
paneer - 100 gm
Ghee - 2 tbsp
oil - 2 tbsp
bay leaf - 2
cinnamon - 2 inch
cashew, raisin - each 20
garam masala powder - 1 tbsp
lemon juice - 1/4 fruit
sugar - 1 tbsp
onion - 1 (big)
shahi jeera - 1/2 tsp
ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp
mint, cilantro - handful
saffron - 5 threads

Method:
Cook the rice with lot of water, 2 tsp salt to a stiff finish. Drain water and keep the lid open.

Heat oil and ghee in a wok. Fry the paneer cubes to get a golden hue and take out.

Now add the bay leaves, cashew, raisin, cinnamon, shahi jeera.Add the thinly sliced onion and fry it a little. Then add the sugar and let it caramelize. Put the ginger garlic paste and stir well. Now add the chopped mint, cilantro, fried paneer, little salt, lemon juice and switch off.

Gently mix the cooked rice. Dissolve the saffron in few spoons of warm milk and sprinkle over the pulav. Serve hot.

Paneer pulav is ready!

Not:
We can microwave / directly heat the pulav before serving.
Vary the paneer quantity, so that every one gets at least 5 pieces.

Pongal Aviyal

Happy Pongal  dear all !

Here is a Pongal aviyal, a mixed vegetable curry , that is prepared during Pongal  festival in Tamilnadu. This recipe is popular in Tirunelveli, Nagercoil and some parts of Kerala.

Serve 6 adults.

Cooking time 15 minutes.

Preparation time 15 minutes.

Good for health !

Ingredients:

Raw green banana - 1

Brinjal - 4

Drumstick -1 

White pumpkin - 100 gm

Yellow pumpkin - 100 gm

Carrot - 1

Beans - 10

Broad beans - 10

String beans - 10

Yam - 100 gm

Potato - 1

Arbi - 2

Small green mango - 50 gm

Shallot onion - 10

Coconut - 3/4 cup

Green chili - 3

Coconut oil - 2 tbsp

Cumin - 1 tsp

Curd - 1/2 cup

Curry Leaf - handful

பொங்கல் அவியல் :

வாழைக்காய் 1  
கத்தரிக்காய் 4
முருங்கைக்காய் 1
வெண்பூசணி 100 கி 
மஞ்சள் பூசணி 100 கி
கேரட் 1
பீன்ஸ் 10
அவரைக்காய் 10
கொத்தவரங்காய்  - 10
சேனைக்கிழங்கு 100 கி
உருளை கிழங்கு 1
சேப்பங்கிழங்கு 2
சிறிய மாங்காய் -  1
நாட்டு வெங்காயம்  10
தேங்காய் துருவல் - 3/4 கப் 
மிளகாய் -3
சீரகம் - 1 தேக்கரண்டி 
தேங்காய் எண்ணை - 2 மேஜைக்கரண்டி 
தயிர் - 1/2 கப்

கறிவேப்பிலை - சிறிதளவு

Method:
Cut all the vegetable in one and a half inch long thin strips (like finger chips) .

Start cooking with veggies that take more cooking time (like drumstick, root veggies).

Boil the vegetables with salt. 

Grind the coconut and chillies to a fine paste. Add to cooked vegetables. Bring to a boil.

Let those veggies be tender crisp (90 % cooked only).

When the vegetables are almost cooked and absorbed all water,  Add 2 tbsp coconut oil.

Then add curry leaf.

Switch off.

Add the yogurt, mix well.

Pongal aviyal is ready 

Serving suggestions:
Serve with rice , rasam and papadam.It can also be served with chapathi , naan , adai etc.

Bisibelebath

Bisibelebath means Hot lentil rice. It is very famous in Karnataka, India and has become the favorite of all others too.

This is my most favorite lentil rice and I always look for an opportunity to insert it in our menu:) Narrating this one for you all and especially for my friend Pushpa. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

Rice - 3/4 cup
Red gram (Thuvar dhal) - 1/2 cup
Turmeric powder - 1/8 tsp
salt - to taste
Bisibelebath powder - 3 tsp

Vegetables: (Usual combination)
Beans - 20
carrot - 1
fresh green peas - 1/2 cup
potato - 1
Tomato - 1 (optional)
(I added some cherry tomatoes for fun, but the authentic recipe does not call for tomatoes)
Lemon - 1/4 (or) tamarind extract - from 2 inch tamarind

Tempering:

ghee - 3 tbsp
mustard (kadugu) - 1/2 tsp
finelly chopped onion - 1 tbsp (optional)
curry leaf - 1 sprig
channa dhal - 1 tsp
Asafoetida (hing / perungaayam) - a pinch

Method:

Wash and soak the dhal for at least 10 minutes. In the mean time chop the vegetables into small pieces.

Start cooking the dhal with a drop of oil, turmeric and 3 cups of water. I prefer doing it 'stove top' to get the native touch. We can pressure cook also.

When the dhal is 75% done add the rice and cook almost completely.

Now add the chopped vegetables and continue cooking. Add water now and then accordingly. The final product should be of very loose consistency, otherwise the bisibelebath gets solidified after cooling.

When the whole mixture is well cooked (almost 45 minutes), take 3 tsp of the bisibelebath powder, mix with a 1/4 cup of water and add to the rice. Bring it to a boil.

Mean while, heat the ghee in a wok and splutter the mustard seeds. Immediately add channa dhal, curry leaf, onion and saute well.

Pour this over the prepared bisibelebath and take off heat. Add lime juice and serve very hot.

Serving suggestions:

The above said quantity would be enoug for 2 adults and a child.
Always use 3 tsp of the bisibelebath powder for the above said quantity.
Always serve BBB very hot with lots of ghee.
Boondhi raitha or potato chips or pappad are best combinations with BBB.
Some people strew some karaa boondhi over the bisibelebath and enjoy.
I usually prepare Arbi yam (seppan kilangu) fry along with this.

Pongal Groceries !

Happy Pongal to all  !  This is the festival of all Tamilians.
As per some of my fans' request I am publishing this post 'grocery list for Pongal'.
Each and every family would have their own version to celebrate Pongal, but I have consolidated some important groceries to keep in mind for this day, so that we can check if we have them handy.
In my house , Pongal is mostly the convenient 'pressure cooker pongal' and we do it in a simple way with whatever veggies I buy (though almost all Indian groceries can be bought in NJ, so it is up to an individual choice only).  In my list I have not given measurements for certain items, as they are bought in bulk in most stores. But in my recipe link , one can find the cup measurements for those items.
Hope my list is handy enough !

Pongal Grocery list: (for 4 people + little extra for sharing)
Decorations :
Flowers, Pongal Poo (a bunch of Tamil native flowers)
Bunch of turmeric plant 2,
Sugarcane - as per need
palmyra sprout / tuber (panam kilangu) -few.
banana - a bunch
plantain leaf - a bunch
Rangoli powders

Sweet sarkarai Pongal: (simple version , rich version)
Raw rice - 1/2 kg
moong dhal - 100 gm
jaggery - 3/4 kg
ghee - 200 gm
cashew , raisin  - 50 gm as per need
cardamom - 5 pods
milk - 1/2 liter

Ven pongal:
Raw rice - 1/4 kg,
moong dal - 50 gm
pepper -
cumin -
ghee -
cashew - 10
milk - little

Aviyal :
Some shops in Tamilnadu sells this mixed aviyal vegetables in a heap for Rs 50, Rs 100.
Others can buy like the below list.
Raw green banana - 2 , brinjal - 4, drumstick -1 , white pumpkin - 100 gm, yellow pumpkin - 100 gm, carrot - 1, beans - 10 , broad beans - 10, string beans - 10, yam - 100 gm, potato - 1, arbi - 2, small green mango - 50 gm, shallot onion - 10, coconut - 1/2 , green chili - few, coconut oil - little
cumin, pepper , channa dal - little,

Pongal Puli curry:
Tamarind , coconut , sambar powder, red chili powder, coriander powder, cumin , turmeric powder, shallot onion, tomato - 2 , karunai kilangu - 100 gm, senai kilangu - 100 gm. potato - 1, siru kilangu-5

Simple dal:
Toor dal - 150 gm,  green chili - 4, shallot - 3, garlic -1 , hing -  few , garnishing items like mustard, urid dal, chili.

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In Tamil :
பொங்கல் மளிகை லிஸ்ட் (for 4 people + some extra quantity to share) :
பூ , பொங்கல் பூ,   மஞ்சள் குலை , கரும்பு, பனங்கிழங்கு வேகவைத்தது , வாழைப்பழம், வாழை இலை , ரங்கோலி பொடி

சர்க்கரை பொங்கல் :
Sarkarai Pongal
Rich sarkarai pongal
பச்சரிசி , பாசிபருப்பு , வெல்லம் , நெய் , முந்திரி பருப்பு , உலர் திராட்சை , ஏலக்காய் , பால் , கண்டென்ஸ்ட் மில்க்  (தேவைக்கு)

வெண்பொங்கல் :
பச்சரிசி , பாசிப்பருப்பு , மிளகு , சீரகம், நெய், முந்திரி , பால்

பொங்கல் அவியல் :
வாழைக்காய் 2 , கத்தரிக்காய் 4, முருங்கைக்காய் 1, வெண்பூசணி 100 கி , மஞ்சள் பூசணி 100 கி , கேரட் 1, பீன்ஸ் 10, அவரைக்காய் 10 , கொத்தவரங்காய்  - 10, சேனைக்கிழங்கு 100 கி , உருளை கிழங்கு 1, சேப்பங்கிழங்கு 2,  சிறிய மாங்காய் -  1,  நாட்டு வெங்காயம்  10, தேங்காய் , மிளகாய், சீரகம், மிளகு, தேங்காய் எண்ணை, கடலை பருப்பு

பொங்கல் புளி கறி :
புளி , தேங்காய், சாம்பார் பொடி , மிளகாய் தூள் , மல்லி தூள் , சின்ன வெங்காயம், தக்காளி , சேனை கிழங்கு 100 கி  ,  கருணைக்கிழங்கு 1 , உருளைக்கிழங்கு 1 , சிறு கிழங்கு -  5

கெட்டி பருப்பு கூட்டு :
துவரம் பருப்பு - 150 gm, பச்சை மிளகாய் 4 , நாட்டு வெங்காயம் - 3, பூண்டு 1 , பெருங்காய தூள் சிறிது , உப்பு ,
தாளிக்க - கடுகு , உளுந்து

Side dish for chapathi - Part 2

Potato Broccoli Sabzi from Jaya Wagle of Jayaspace.
Green beans and moong dal sabzi from Jaya Wagle of Jayaspace.

Thanks Jaya.

The following entries are from Jyoti of Panch Pakwan.
Yennegai badanekai (Stuffed Brinjal).
Dum Aloo.
Matar Paneer.

Thanks Jyoti.

Pakoda Kadhi from Kamala Bhoopathy of cook at ease.

Thanks Kamala.

Bhutte Ka Kees from Kanchan of Kitchen Gossip.
Alu Kanda / Arbi Masala from Kanchan of Kitchen Gossip.

Thanks Kanchan.

The following entries are from Kayal of Kayal's kitchen.
Paneer Potato Masala
Cauliflower Pepper Curry
Veg Korma

Thanks Kayal.

Channa Masala from Lata Raja of Flavours and Tastes.

Thanks Lata.

Aloo Matar Capsicum (Potato, Peas and Capsicum Curry) from Lissie of Salt and spice.

Thanks Lissie.

Bharwan Bhindi (Stuffed Okra) from Mansi Twist to the taste.

Thanks Mansi.

Aloo Capsicum from Minu of Chettinad Fiesta.

Thanks Minu.


Bombay Chutney from Mythreyi Dilip of Specialty recipes from My(e) Kitchen.

Thanks Mythreyi.

North Indian Style Aloo Palak from Nisha Mudliar of Nisha's kitchen.

Thanks Nisha.

The following entries are contributed by Padma of Padma's recipes.
Aloo Palak
Black Eye Beans Kurma
Dry Val Dhal
Butter Beans Kurma
Mushroom Kurma
Navarathna Kurma

Thanks Padma.

This slide is dedicated to : Padma and Pari Vasisht.

The below are from Padma of Padma's recipes.

Palak Paneer
Palak Channa
Ridgegourd Masala
Soya Chunks and Peas Gravy
Whole Masoor Masala

Thanks Padma.

Next comes Pari vasisht of Foodelicious.


Aloo Gobi mattar
Bottlegourd in milk
channa masala
Dhaba style palak paneer
Dum arvi

This slide is completely dedicated to Pari Vasisht of Foodelicious.
Garbanzo & Paneer Curry
Healthy Pumpkin raita
Hyderabadi Bhagare Baingan
Kadai Paneer
Lazzatdar Pumpkin subzi
Nadir Yakhni
Paneer kaju pasanda
Paneer peas and potato curry
Punjabi style jeera aloo
Rajma Rasmisa
Steamed B&B kofta curry
Bharaleli Vaangi
Gheeya Makhanwala
Platform Potato Curry
Methi Baingan Bartha
Okra in Poppy and sesame.
Tangy Palak in dhal

Thanks Pari.

Creamy butter beans and green peas from Parita of Parita's kitchen.

Thanks Parita.

The following entries are from Pavithra of Dishes from my kitchen.
Paneer Butter Masala
Milky Mushroom Curry
Grilled Corn Palak
Mushroom Pepper Masala
Mushroom Potato Curry
Gobi Mutter Dry Curry

Thanks Pavithra.


Kobbari Pulusu Coconut gravy from Prasu of Prasu kitchen.

Thanks Prasu.

Aviyal in Instant pot (electric pressure cooker)

Aviyal is a mixed vegetable curry prepared in TamilNadu and kerala during auspicious days. The word 'Aviyal' means anything  cooked in water . Aviyal recipe differs from region to region. The below is a kind of Kerala Aviyal.
This dish should be particularly made with native Indian vegetables like unripe plantain, drumstick, brinjal , white pumpkin, cucumber, unripe mango, and all other vegetables and roots vegetables available during the season (except okra, bitter gourd , beetroot etc and some vegetables that can't go in this medley).
The cooking part is much easier than gathering and processing these individual vegetables. The more difficult part is buying all these vegetables in small quantity in abroad.  In Tamilnadu and kerala , the vendors would sell heaps of assorted veggies (called kooru), for sambar and aviyal.  They sell it like 'oru kooru 50 rupees' (one heap for 50 Rupees).
Here most vegetables are sold in lb. We can take 2 or 3 vegetables also, but how can I explain the billing lady that I am buying these in teeny meeny quantity of avarakkai for aviyal. So I avoid that situation by a method. Whenever I wish to do aviyal, I buy all the vegetables (for aviyal) while doing grocery shopping in the available quantity.  Then I reserve each and every vegetable from everyday cooking for a week. For example , if  I buy 3 to 4 unripe banana , I will save one for aviyal in the fridge, after using the remaining for a sidedish on a weekday. Just like that I gather all the primary vegetables.
I use frozen Yam (suran) only, as it is too expensive if we get fresh.

Now coming to the instant pot part. I got a new 3 qt instant pot for $36 in a sale in Kohl's. Though I have a 6qt also, I love the way this small one looks.  I have been eyeing on it for sometime. Then one day I got that push and encouragement from my dear friend Raji, and then I got it on a sale :). wow ! Feeling good !

Instant pot makes the cooking totally easy. Here is the procedure !

Aviyal vegetables

chop the vegetables like this 

vegetables inside vessel

grind the masala paste

add to vegetables

after pressure cooking

add coconut oil, curry leaf, yogurt

mix well

aviyal is ready !

Aviyal made in instant pot

Aviyal vegetables:
Unripe banana (choose Indian banana) - 1
Baby brinjal / small eggplant - 3
Drumstick - 1
Red onion - 1
White pumkin - 100 gms

cucumber - 1 small
Yam (suran / senai kilangu) - 100 gms
Raw mango - 1/2
potato - 1

arbi (seppan kilangu) - 2

avarakkai (broad beans) - 10 number
cluster beans - 10 numbers
green  beans - 10 number
carrot - 1

(Cauliflower , cabbage , broccoli , celery and beetroot do not go along with the recipe. Just use only native Indian vegetables.)

Masala:
fresh shredded coconut - 1 cup
green chilli - 4

shallot - 2
cumin seeds- 1 tsp
black pepper- 1 tsp
(Grind all of the above coarsely).

sea salt - 2  tsp (as per need)

Other ingredients:

coconut oil (or)any cooking oil - 2 tbsp
curry leaves - 2 sprig
thick curd (Indian plain yogurt) - 1 cup

Method:
Cut the vegetables uniformly in to long pieces (1/4 inch thick and 2 inch length). 

Grind the masala given.

Pour the masala paste in the instant pot vessel, add a cup of water and salt. 

Put all the chopped vegetables.

Mix well by shaking.

Close the lid of the Instant pot.

Select the pressure cooking mode. Set the pressure level to high. Pressure cook for 5 minutes.

Manually release the pressure.

Add the curd (yogurt).  

Add the curry leaves, coconut oil and mix well without breaking the vegetables.

Check for salt. If needed add more.

Aviyal is ready !

Serving suggestions:
It can be served with sambar rice , rasam rice , roti , adai or chapathi .

Mullangi sambar

Mullangi - Radish; Sambar - a dal based curry.

Radish is one of my favorite vegetables. Hubby loves this mullangi (radish) sambar very much. Though the red radish (that looks like potato) is common, this Indian white daikon radish is also easily available here. The daikon radish is more spicy and flavorful. So I buy this one for sambar. I use homemade sambar powder and canadian Toor dal (flat toor dal with sprouts, ilai paruppu) and that is the secret behind my flavorful sambar. We can use any Toor dal (red gram / pigeon pea lentil), but this ilai paruppu will give more flavor and thickness (according to my mom). Shakthi sambar powder also works fine, but nowadays I am making my own ingredients from scratch:)
I won't add onion in the radish sambar, but feel free to customize it for your taste buds:)
Here is my radish sambar recipe.

Sambar is an essential curry while serving South Indian rice meal.

Platter has Rice, chow chow dal, okra puli kulambu, avial, plain yogurt, sarkkarai pongal.

Picture of the day:)
Sometimes I try to prepare a simple platter of South Indian meal on weekends and sambar is an essential one for the main course. Typical South Indian meal should contain a bowl of rice, sambar, koottu (dal based side dish), aviyal (coconut based side dish), poriyal (stir fry) or varuval (deep fry), appalam, vadagam (chips), more milagai (fried yogurt dipped chilly), puli kulambu / vatral kulambu(tamarind based curry), more kulambu (curd based curry), rasam (soup like curry), payasam(dessert)and curd. One need not prepare a whole platter at a time, but it will be fun to make at least a few items in the list and it will definitely cheer up the house. These kind of spreads / platter brings me my mom's fond memories or festival touch :)

Ingredients:

To pressure cook:

Toor dhal/red gram lentil - 3/4 cup
water- 2 cups
turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
asafoetida - 1 pinch
sesame oil- 1 drop
Wash and clean the lentil. Pressure cook the dhal with the above said ingredients for a whistle. Then reduce flame and cook for 10 minutes. Let it cool. Open the lid and add some fresh cumin seeds. Mash well using a spatula. Keep aside.
(we can cook the dhal in stove top also. But we may need to soak it first for 30 minutes or more and cook for 30 minutes. Overnight soaking can be done inside fridge too).

Other ingredients:

Radish - 1 (long)
Tamarind - amla (gooseberry / nellikkai) size ball
tomato - 1
coconut oil / ghee - 2 tbsp
(Try to use ghee, as it gives more taste to the sambar).
curry leaves- 1 sprig
cilantro/ coriander leaves (chopped)- 1 tbsp
jaggery (Indian brown sugar) - 1 tsp
mustard seeds-1/2 tsp
fenugreek -1/2 tsp
dry red chilly - 3
salt - to taste
homemade sambar powder  - 2 tsp
freshly shredded coconut - 1 tbsp

Method:

Soak the tamarind in 2 cups of hot water and extract the juice by squeezing.
Peel the skin of radish by rubbing it with a knife. Rinse and chop it into thin circles.
Put it in a separate vessel along with tamarind extract water, chopped tomato and cook till tender.

Add the sambar powder, cumin to the pressure cooked dal and mash. Pour it to the cooked radish.

In the same time heat oil or ghee in a separate wok. Add the mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds and let the mustard splutter. Immediately add the curry leaves, chopped dry red chilly and saute for a few seconds. Pour this hot mixture over the dhal. Bring it to only one boil, add the chopped cilantro, shredded coconut, jaggery and switch off.
Mullangi sambar is ready!

Serving suggestions:

Serve hot over plain cooked rice.
The best side dish would be a spicy arbi fry.
Make some extra sambar, reserve for dinner and serve along with paper roast dosas.