Saturday, October 11, 2008

Ginger chutney


Last saturday I prepared this Ginger chutney as side dish for 'sodhi' (a coconut milk stew) and rice.I will post the recipe for 'sodhi' soon.

Ingredients:
Ginger - 50 gms (peeled and cut ..a handful)
Tamarind - a small strawberry size
Coriander seeds - 1/2 tsp
Red chilly - 4
Grated Coconut - 2 tbsp
cooking oil - 2 tbsp
salt - 1/2 tsp (to taste)
jaggery - 1 tsp (crushed)

Method:
Heat 1 tsp of oil in a paan and saute the ginger till it turns brown
Fry the red chilly, Coriander seeds and coconut gratings separately
Grind the ginger along with the items that were fried separately , salt and jaggery.
Heat the remaining oil temper mustard seeds and add the mixture.
saute the mixture till it becomes thick.

Serving suggestions:

It is otherwise called Ginger pachadi / ginger thokku / ginger chutney. This is good for digestion. It can be served with sodhi with rice , chapathi , idly, dosa etc.

Thursday, October 9, 2008

Aviyal (Mixed veggie curry).


This is a famous dish of kerala . I call this as Kerala aviyal because TamilNadu Aviyal is a bit different and we should add mango , tamarind and tomato instead of curd. Moreover kerala aviyal has more coconut masala than the Tamilnadu version. I will narrate the other pattern soon.
I used canned coconut milk. It was so thick , so i used just a tablespoon of it.
If you are extracting milk then use 3 tbsp of shredded coconut to get milk.


vegetables:

Unripe banana (choose Indian banana) - 1
Baby brinjal / small eggplant - 3
Drumstick - 1
Red onion - 1
carrot -1
green peas - 1/4 cup
potato / yam (senai kilangu in tamil) - 100 gms

(cut the drumstick into 1.5 inch pieces. Peel and cut banana , potato and carrot like 1.5 inch french fry pieces.Cut the brinjal into 1.5 inch long french fry pieces.chop the onion coarsely.
Banana , drumstick , red onion and brinjal are a must in an aviyal . You can add or substitute any vegetables like cluster beans, green beans, pumpkin , winter melon, etc.
Cauliflower , cabbage , broccoli , celery and beetroot do not go along with the recipe.)

Masala:
shredded coconut - 3 tbsp
green chilli - 4
cumin seeds- 1 tsp
(Grind all of the above coarsely).

Other ingredients:
Indian yogurt / curd - 1 cup
coconut milk (from can)- 1 tbsp
shredded coconut - 1 tbsp
coconut oil (or)any cooking oil - 1 tbsp
curry leaves - 1 brig
mustard seed - 1tsp
salt - to taste
water- 2 cups

Method:
Cut the vegetables as narrated .
Take a deep pan with lid. Add all the veggies with 2 cups of water.Add 1tbsp thick coconut milk. DO NOT add salt now. Cook all the veggies completely (but not too soft). Now add salt.
Add the masala and mix well.
After 5 minutes add the curd and check for salt.Now switch off the flame immediately after adding curd.
Heat a separate pan with oil and splutter the mustard seeds. Add the remaining shredded coconut, curry leaves and fry till it becomes golden in color.
Add this to the cooked veggies and serve hot .

Serving suggestions:
Makes 500 ml of aviyal (nearly 2.5 cups).
It can be served with sambar rice , rasam rice , roti , chapathi .
More suitable with Adai or Rasam on steamed rice.

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