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 .

A picnic meal !

Last weekend we planned to go to beach. Summer in NJ are very short, but hot. So we thought of making use of it. Hubby dear asked me to bring anyone of his favorite dishes as we like homemade better. So I prepared this : Lemon rice, masala egg, fryums, channa dal chutney.

Lemon rice, paruppu thogayal, masala egg,  vadagam.

As it was a Sunday, we planned to make a stop at St.Martha's church on the way to attend the mass. But while starting he said that it would take only 53 mins to reach the church, so we should start accordingly and he did not want to be there too early. He did his usual phone calls...we had a coffee and then we started around 11 am. While driving only we realized that everyone in the town is on the road to the beach :)
The traffic became too heavy...too slow and the sun was getting hotter. Then after 40 mins we understood that we have to find another church on that road, as the mass would start by 12 noon. I googled and found a beautiful church 'St. Lawrence church' near Perth Amboy in Laurence harbor. We went there , attended the nice mass and came out. It is a very beautiful church and we felt blessed to go there.

Now we started again towards the beach.
My hubby dear asked me , ' you made ice cream at home?'
Me: Yes. It's in our house.
DH: I liked the lemon rice you are bringing.
Me: (I felt so so happy)...yes , it is your favorite, next to tomato rice :)
DH:I like all that combo. But it is so hot outside, the traffic also moving very slow. I am feeling hungry now itself .
Me : what ?
DH: How about we turn around and go to Piscataway and we can have very good lunch comfortably sitting in our dining table with the AC on. Have we not seen enough of summer or Are we new to beaches ma ?
Me: (I couldn't stop laughing loud). (I understood what he is trying to do) .
Me: How about binge watching our 'Smallville' series too :) Is that your plan ?
DH: you got me :)
Then we came home and had this picnic meal at home and watched some TV shows :)

This story may not be adventurous or worth sharing, but I feel like writing it down. Good that we didn't ask S to come with us.....LOL !

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.

Happy Easter

Wishing all a happy and blessed Easter.

Easter Cake I baked in 2015

Paruppu masa vadai and Susiyam , I made for Easter 2019.

Flowers and cake for Easter vigil celebration.

Spicy pink salad

I always have a 'thing' for pink accessories. Beetroot and purple cabbage became my favorites just because they belong to pink family only. Even though purple cabbage looks prettier than the regular cabbage, in my view, it tastes better as salads or coleslaw or sauerkraut only. (While I use regular cabbage only to make Indian curries and stir-fry).  Here I have used English cucumber , as it is more firmer than the cooking variety. English Cucumber are the varieties that wouldn't be given a wax coating for longer shelf life and instead they are sold in a plastic wrap (see images below). But any cucumber will be good for this salad.
Here is a pink salad / pink coleslaw we love very much.

Time required to prepare - 10 minutes; time to refrigerate - 4 hrs (minimum).

Spicy Pink salad

Shredding the cabbage...sooo cute !

English Cucumber are the varieties that wouldn't be given a wax coating for longer shelf life  and instead they are sold in a plastic wrap.

Purple cabbage, English cucumber and lemon.

A simple version with red cabbage and cucumber. 

Colorful salad is ready!

Ingredients:
Red (purple) cabbage - 1 lb
English cucumber - 1/2
red capsicum - 1
lemon - 1
cilantro - few
pink salt- 1/2 tsp
red chili powder - 1/4 tsp
cumin (whole or powder) - 1/2 tsp

Method:
Shred the purple cabbage into small pieces (using a knife or food processor).
Halve the cucumber and Slice the cucumber into small pieces.
Cube the capsicum.
Chop the cilantro.
Put them all together in a wide mixing bowl.
Add pink salt, red chili powder, cumin and mix well.
Squeeze lemon.
Mix well and transfer it to a tight lidded container. Keep in refrigerator for 4 hrs - overnight, so that the cabbage gets little tender.
Pink salad is ready !

Serving suggestion:
Serve cool along with any meal or simply as healthy snack.

Glimpse of Spring and Easter !

A few clicks from my neighnorhood shops:

'Stop and Shop' store:

Marshmallow peeps (chicks) and Bunnies.

A painting idea !!!

Just love clicking these paper plates with Easter theme. 

Chocolate bunnies cheers us and gives a glimpse of spring.

Chocolate bunnies and peeps....looks like Easter is coming soon.

Marshmallow peeps and bunnies for Easter. I use these sweets to decorate the cakes I make.

My hubby dear knows exactly what I need . It seems like God's gift  for me. I smiled all through the day. 

Major Nailpolish companies would do a clearance sale before summer. So it is my lucky day :)

Vinyl Tablecloth from Stop n shop $3.99. , Agarbathi Incense sticks (frankincense and Myrrh)  from Walmart $ 1 each.

From Shoprite:

Colorful cauliflowers (Pink, orange, green and regular white cauliflower) in Shoprite.

Cranberry beans / butter beans

Everything looks fresh !

Crocus Vernus in my garden , budding out of the frozen grounds.

Mini Daffodiles too start smiling for spring.  The economical way to garden is to buy all these bulbs by the end of summer and planting them immediately. They will hibernate during winter and will come out during spring.

Orange / yellow and red Tulips from Walmart

Door decors for Easter

Easter decors.

Easter decors , Wall plaque $ 2

Easter decors

Painted this last week . Love elephants ! (ombre technique, tree of life and elephants).

Simple Indian salad for snack

A simple salad with cucumber, tomato, onion and some chickpeas. I have used a 'Kirby' variety of cucumber as I found it lesser expensive and of smaller size than a 'seedless English cucumber'. Roma tomato are more suitable for salads, as they won't give out much moisture. I have used 'sweet mini peppers' instead of bellpepper, as I had that only at hand. Some people won't add bell pepper and instead there would be finely chopped green chili (for those spice lovers). Foods like this are more filling and easy to prepare. If you have the habit of buying cans of chickpeas, then this will get more easier.

In India salads like this are served as snacks during summer. Before salads got popular in Tamilnadu, we used to make a dish called kosambari (moong dal salad), then came the version of including slices of cucumber in that plantain leaf dinner for a special meal.   I think with the emerging 'mall culture'  (which is a good thing for everyone, as people who are from even the remotest village of Tamilnadu could get to taste the multicultural cuisines) salads got popular everywhere in Tamilnadu.

Ingredients:
Cucumber - 1
Tomato - 1
Red onion - 1/2
bell pepper - 1(small) or  sweet mini pepper - 2
lemon - 1/2
boiled Chickpeas - 1 cup
boiled sweet corn - 1 cup
Pink salt - to taste (1/2 tsp)
red chili powder - a pinch
cumin powder - 1/4 tsp
chopped cilantro - handful (to garnish)

Method:
Chop the cucumber, tomato, peppers, onion into small cubes. A vidalia chopper would make this job more easy. Put them all together in a mixing bowl, along with everything mentioned above.
Mix well and serve immediately or after cooling it in fridge for an hour. Garnish with chopped cilantro before serving.

Serving suggestion:
Serve as snack or along with any meal as salad.
Serves 4 people.
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கோடை நேர சாலட்:
சாலட் என்பது மேற்கத்திய உணவு மட்டுமல்ல. நம் நாட்டிலும் கொசும்பரி என உண்ணப்படும் பச்சை காய்கறி கலவையே சாலட் எனப்படுகிறது.
சாலட்கள் என்பவை ஆரோக்கியமும் ,  குளிர்ச்சியும், தேவையான உப்பு சத்துக்களும் உடலுக்கு தரும் உணவாகும் .

தேவையான பொருட்கள் :
வெள்ளரி - 1, தக்காளி - 1, வெங்காயம் - 1 , குடைமிளகாய் - 1, வேக வைத்த கொண்டைக்கடலை - 1 கப், உதிர்த்த இனிப்பு கார்ன் - 1 கப், மல்லி தழை - சிறிது, எலுமிச்சை - 1/2 , இந்துப்பு (அல்லது வெள்ளை உப்பு) - 1/4 தேக்கரண்டி, சிவப்பு மிளகாய் தூள் - ஒரு சிட்டிகை, சிரக பொடி - 1 சிட்டிகை. 
செய்முறை:
வெள்ளரி, தக்காளி , வெங்காயம் , குடைமிளகாய் , இவற்றை பொடியாக வெட்டி , ஒரு அகலமான பாத்திரத்தில் போடவும். கொண்டைக்கடலை , சோளம், எலுமிச்சை சாறு  மற்றும் எல்லா பொடியும் சேர்த்து உப்பு போட்டு குலுக்கவும். உடனே பரிமாறலாம். பிரிட்ஜ் இல் 1 மணி நேரம் வைத்து குளிச்சியான சாலட் ஆக பரிமாறலாம். 
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