Beetroot Pachadi

It was my first Onam as a Malayali and my hubby dear showed me this recipe on Onam. I personally don’t like to eat vegetables like beetroot, carrot, etc. But these Keralaites seriously have an interesting ways to eat their veggies. I just loved this veggie side dish curry, which can be enjoyed with rice and lentil curry (Varan). So heres the pachadi recipe in our style hope you all also enjoy having it as much as I did.

Ingredients:

1 big sized Beetroot

4-5 nos. Green Chillies

1/4^th cup water

1 cup Yoghurt

Salt as per the taste

For Tempering:

2 tblspn Oil/ Coconut oil

1tspn Mustard seeds

1/4^th tspn Fenugreek seeds/ Ulva
3-4 nos. dry red chilly

Few fresh Curry leaves

4 -5 nos. Small onions/ shallots

Method:

  1.   Grate the beetroot. In a pan add the grated beetroot and cook it along with slit green chillies, salt and water till beetroot gets cooked. Max 10mins.

  2.   Blend yoghurt and lower the flame. Beetroot should not be boiling at this point; it should be simmering slowly, while adding the yoghurt, or the curd will start cuddling. Mix it well and let it cook on low flame.

  3.   Heat oil in a tadka pan add mustard seeds, let them splutter. Now add fenugreek seeds, dry red chilly, curry leaves and sliced small onions. Fry them till onions turns golden in color.

  4.   Pour this seasoning over the curry and mix it gently.

  5.   Our beetroot pachadi is ready to serve with steamed rice, pickle and papad.

NOTE:

• Always while adding the yoghurt to any curry, reduce the flame to low. The curry should not be boiling or it will start to cuddle. Also do not boil the curry after adding the yoghurt.
• You can always increase the amount of green chillies, if you like it spicy.

Beans Thoran

Here comes my 3^rd Thoran recipe. You can make thoran of anything from beetroot, carrot, mushrooms, cucumber, bitter gourd, et. Will try to include all these recipes here.

Ingredients:

1 bunch of Fresh beans / Long beans

8 -10 small onions/ shallots

2 -3 Green chillies

1/4tspn Turmeric powder

1/4tspn Black pepper powder

1/4^th cup freshly grated coconut

1/4cup water

Salt as per taste

For Tempering:

2tblpsn Coconut oil/ Vegetable oil

1/2tspn Mustad seeds

Few curry leaves

Method:

  1.   Wash the beans under running water and chop the beans finely.

  2.   Clean and wash small onions (shallots) and slice them into 3/4 pieces. Chop the green chillies and keep them aside. 

  3.   Take a pan add the chopped beans, onions, green chillies, turmeric powder, black pepper powder with water and salt to taste. Put on the gas with pan lid closed. We just need to steam the beans don’t cook them fully.

  4.   Once the beans are steamed and water is dried. Move them aside to the sides of the pan from the centre to make place for tempering.

  5.   Pour coconut oil in the centre. Once the oil is hot add mustard seeds, when they start to splutter add curry leaves and mix it well with the beans.

  6.   Sprinkle freshly grated coconut on the beans and mix it well. Cook it for few more minutes.

 7. Its now ready to serve with rice and curry.

NOTE:

•         Chopping of beans finely helps them to steam fast.
•        Tempering can be given in separate pan too.
•         Green Chillies can be added as per ones taste.

Banana Pulissery / Pazham Pulissery

This is a nice yummy sweet, sour and spicy curry prepared with riped plantains. This curry / Pulissery is prepared from various vegetables or fruits of choice like ripe mangoes, pineapple, papaya, Winter melon. This recipe is mostly prepared during Onam and Vishu sadhya.

First time I had this pulissery in my friend Sandhya’s house for Vishu sadhya. And I fell in love with this curry at its first taste only. I finished my rice with the help of this curry only. If you like sweet, sour and spicy curry then definitely you will love this recipe.

My hubby keeps saying that Pineapple pulissery is the best, since we haven’t found nice ripe pineapples here, that recipe is on hold. Might try my luck when we visit to India and post its recipe for you all J

Ingredients:

2nos.  Ripe Plantains (Nenthrappazham / Ethappazham)

4 nos. Green Chillies

½ cup freshly grated coconut

1 cup Sour Yoghurt

½ tspn Turmeric powder

1tspn Red Chilli Powder

3/4^th tspn Cummin seeds

Salt to taste

For Seasoning:

4 Tblspn Oil / coconut oil

A pinch of Asafoetida / Hing

½ tspn Fenugreek seeds

½ tspn Mustard seeds

2 /3 Dry Red chillies

Few sprigs of curry leaves

Method:

   1.    Chop plantains into bite size pieces and cook them with water, turmeric powder, red chilly powder and salt.

   2.    While the plantains are getting cooked grind coconut, cumin seeds and green chilies to a fine paste and keep it aside.

   3.    Blend yoghurt along with ½ cup water and salt, keep its aside.

   4.    Once the plantians are cooked and about to dissolve add the coconut paste and cook it further for 4 -5 mins.

   5.    Lower the flame. The curry should not be boiling at this point. It should be simmering slowly while adding the curd. Or curd will start to cuddle and curry will be spoiled.

   6.    Heat oil in a tadka pan add mustard seeds, let them splutter. Now add a pinch of asafoetida, fenugreek seeds, dry red chilies and few sprigs of curry leaves.

   7.    Pour this seasoning over the curry and mix it gently.

   8.    Our curry is ready to serve with steam rice along with pickle and pappad.

NOTE:

• To make sour yoghurt add one full lemon jucie to yoghurt and let it sit for half an hour. Later use as instructed in the recipe.
• While adding the yoghurt, reduce the flame to low. The curry should not be boiling or the curry will start to cuddle. Also do not boil the curry after adding the yohurt.

Varan

Varan is an important dish made mainly during the festival times and is very much near and dear to Maharastrains and so it is for me….

Varan is a part of naivedhya offered to Lord Ganesha on Ganesh Chaturthi. Naivedhya is offered on banana leaf with Varan-Bhaat, chanyacho ross, modak, puri, some kheer and other food. In todays recipe I have used ghee for tempering the varan, which gives a very unique flavor to it. But you can always use oil instead of ghee for tempering. You can make varan with chana daal or toor dal (Pigeon peas) I have used Chana dal over here to prepare.

Varan tastes best when served with plain cooked rice. But I love to have Varan is by topping a dollop of ghee over it. Ohhh yummmmmm.

Ingredients:

1 cup Chana dal / Toor dal (Pigeon dal)

½ cup freshly grated coconut

½ tspn Turmeric powder

½ tspn Cumin seeds / Jeera

Fresh Corriander leaves for garnishing

Salt to taste

Water as required

For Tempering:

2 tblspn Ghee / Oil

¼ tspn Mustard seeds

2/3 Green Chillies slit

Few Curry leaves

Method:

1.    For Chana dal wash and soak the dal in hot water for 1 hour and keep it covered. For toor dal wash the dal nicely.

2.    Add the washed dal to the pressure cooker pan along with 1 ½ cup water for 3- 4 whistles. And let the pressure cooker cool down naturally to release the pressure.

3.    Grind coconut, turmeric and cumin seeds to a fine paste.

4.    Open the cooled pressure cooker and mash the dal with the help of the back of spoon.

5.    Heat pan with ghee/ oil add mustards seeds when it starts spluttering add slit green chillies and curry leaves.

6.    Pour the mashed dal over the tempering and add finely grounded coconut paste, mix it well.

7.    Add water as per the consistency required of the dal and salt as per the taste. Mix it well, cover and cook for 5- 10 mins more.

8.    Garnish with freshly chopped coriander leaves and serve with plain rice, ghee and pickle.

NOTE:

• I have used chana dal to prepare varan, but toor daal can be also used to prepare varan and there is no compromise on the taste.