Vegetable Salna

Salna or chalna is a popular street food available as side dish for parotta or chapathi in Tamilnadu and Kerala, India. I make this salna very often and mix with chapathi, just like vegetable kothu parotta (scrambled chapati). This comes handy if we make it in a big batch and freeze in small portions for a week.

Vegetables:

Cauliflower - 1/4 of a flower
Beans - 20
fresh green peas - 1 cup
carrot - 1
potato - 2 (medium size)

Ingredients:

tomato - 2
Red onion - 1
coriander leaves - a handful.
mint leaves - few
curry leaves - few
coconut milk - 1/2 cup
red chilli powder - 1 tsp
turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
curry masala powder- 1 tsp
salt - to taste
ghee / dalda / vanaspathy - 3 tbsp
cloves - 2
Fennel seeds - 1 tsp
bay leaf - 1
ginger garlic paste - 1 tbsp

to grind:

cardamom - 3
shredded coconut - 1/2 cup
cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
green chillies - 4
cashew nut - 4

Method:

Grind ginger and garlic together.
Grind the items mentioned to a fine paste.
Cut cauliflower into big pieces.
peel and cut other vegetables in to big pieces.
Heat ghee in a pan. fry some fennel seeds and bay leaf.
Add the chopped onion, green chillies ,curry leaves, cilantro and mint leaves. After the onion turns golden brown , add ginger garlic paste and saute well.Then add the chopped tomato and fry till it is completely cooked.
Now add all the vegetables and mix well.
Add 2 cups of water,salt, chilli powder, turmeric powder , curry masala powder and stir well.
close the lid and cook all the vegetables to tender.Add the coconut masala and let it boil it gives a nice flavor.
Before switching off add the coconut milk.
Vegetable salna is ready!

Serving suggestions:

serve hot with parathas, parotta, chapati, roti or idly .

Pongal Aviyal.

Aviyal is a kind of side dish prepared in TamilNadu and kerala during auspicious times . Aviyal means vegetables cooked in water . It contains many vegetables and root vegetables without much oil.There are many varieties of aviyal .
One of such kind is the TamilNadu aviyal or kalyana (wedding) aviyal or Pongal aviyal. TamilNadu Aviyal is flavored with turmeric , mango , tamarind and tomato instead of curd, While kerala aviyal has more coconut and curd. But I will tell both are yummy in their own way . Since it is a Pongal season , I felt it more appropriate to present you guys this TamilNadu's special aviyal. There is an old saying that people should add all the vegetables (atleast one piece) on Pongal day, so that they will not get allergic to any vegetable throughout the year.
This is a 'must to serve' side dish in almost all functions of TamilNadu.
What is more pleasant than a wedding feast, in which all can sit together to have this aviyal with Sambar rice served in a banana leaf?

Recipe source:  My mom used to do this aviyal every year during pongal. I got this yummy recipe from my Jeyasri chithi.  Jeyashri chithi prepares lot of dishes like this. In her words ' add lot of native veggies for avial' . I follow this and it tastes very delicious. I love her recipes very much and practice them for my special days.  



vegetables:
Unripe banana (choose Indian banana) - 1
Baby brinjal / small eggplant - 3
Drumstick - 1
Red onion - 1
White pumkin - 100 gms
Tomato - 1
Yam (suran / senai kilangu) - 100 gms
Raw mango - 1/2
potato - 1
cluster beans - 100 gms
string beans - 100 gms

(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 onion - 4 / 1 small red onion.
cumin seeds- 1 tsp
black pepper- 1 tsp
(Grind all of the above coarsely).

Other ingredients:
Channa dal - a handful
Tamarind extract - 1 tsp.
turmeric - 1/4 tsp
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 in to big pieces .
Cook all the vegetables in water and turmeric powder. Add water just to immerse the vegetables. Add soaked channa dal.
After they become tender add salt and tamarind extract.
Then goes the coarsely ground masala and mix well. Bring it to boil.
check for salt.Now switch off the flame.
Heat a separate pan with coconut oil and splutter the mustard seeds. Add the remaining shredded coconut, curry leaves and run the 'thalippu' over the aviyal.
TamilNadu Pongal aviyal is ready.

Serving suggestions:
Makes 800 ml of aviyal (nearly 4 cups).
It can be served with sambar rice , rasam rice , roti , adai or chapathi .