Aviyal
Aviyal is a delicious medley of vegetables in creamy coconut and yogurt sauce. I read somewhere that aviyal is usually made in Kerala during weekends, when there is a little bit of all vegetables remaining in the vegetable basket, along with old curds. But it is not necessarily so. You can make aviyal with fresh vegetables and curd also. I cant imagine any festival / auspicious day at home without aviyal.
Some times my mom adds a little bit of tamarind extract instead of curd, that tastes good too..Infact I like Puli aviyal way better than Thayir aviyal 
Aviyal is very simple to make, now over to the recipe…
Posting this recipe for The keralakitchen event conducted by Geetha of Sunmoonandpotatoes and started originally by Rose of The Kerala Kitchen.
Aviyal
Ingredients :
1 raw banana
1 drumstick
3-4 brinjals
1 medium sized carrot
10 no beans
1 potato
A small piece of yam
½ cup green peas
A small piece of ash gourd
2-3 tbsp curd/2 tbsp tamarind juice
¼ tsp turmeric powder
Salt to taste
To grind:
2/3 cup shredded coconut
2-3 green chillies
1tsp jeera
2-3 shallots
To temper:
3 tsp coconut oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp urad dhal
Few curry leaves
Method:
- Wash, peel and cut all the vegetables lengthwise. You need not use all the vegetables, Raw banana, drumstick, brinjal,carrot are must..others you can vary according to choice.
- Grind all ingredients under ‘to grind’ to a coarse paste.
- Cook vegetables in a pan with water, turmeric and salt till they are firm. Alternatively you can pressure cook the vegetables for 2 whistles.
- Now add the curd/tamarind juice and the ground paste. Let it simmer in a low flame for 5-7minutes.
- Do the tempering in coconut oil with mustard, urad dhal and curry leaves.
- Aviyal can be served with sambhar, rasam,vathal kuzhambu along with steamed rice. Aviyal can also be served with adai. And aviyal is the best accompaniment for ulundham paruppu saadham.
P.S.
- Tempering with coconut oil adds a special flavour to aviyal.
- As a side dish for ulundham paruppu saadham, aviyal is made in a little thinner consistency.
Puli Milagai
This is a hot and sweet pachadi, that goes well with idly, dosa and curd rice. You can make this recipe when you are tired of the regular chutneys. This is a saiva-pillai recipe which I learnt from my mom. This recipe is typically made with young and tender green chillies -my mom calls them pinju milagai / kunju milagai. When the chilly season ends the chillies which remain in the plant do not mature and remain small in size. Such chillies are ideal for this recipe. These green chillies are not very hot and spicy and they can be eaten along with the pachadi. Green chillies and shallots are sautéed in gingelly oil and simmered in tamarind sauce to which jaggery is added to create this yummy sidedish. This stays at room temperature for 2 days and in fridge for 3-4 days.
Posting this recipe for “spotlight-curries and gravies” event conducted by Chandhrani of Cuisine delights, originally started by Indrani of Recipe Junction.
Puli Milagai
Ingredients:
1 tbsp. gingelly oil
10 12 no. young & tender greenchillies
25 no.shallots / sambar onions
¼ tsp turmeric powder
A big marble size tamarind
A small lemon size ball of jaggery
Salt to taste
For tempering:
1 tbsp.gingelly oil
½ tsp mustard
½ tsp urad dhal
A pinch of hing
Few curry leaves
Method:
- Wash and slit the green chillies half way through .
- Peel the shallots .
- Extract juice from tamarind.
- In a pan heat 1 tbsp. gingelly oil. Add the chillies and shallots and sauté well, till they are half cooked.
- Now add ½ cup of water. Let the chillies and onions get cooked thoroughly.
- Now add the tamarind juice, turmeric powder and salt . Allow the mixture to simmer for 10 minutes.
- Add jaggery to the mix, let it simmer for few more minutes and remove from fire.
- The tempering is done liberally with gingelly oil. Enjoy puli milagai with hot Idli or Dosa.
Kumbakonam Kadappa
Though I have been a foodie all my life, I have never heard of kumbakonam kadappa till I entered the world of blogosphere. Well… I have been wanting to try this recipe for such a long time. Got the recipe from my friend Priya Sreeram of Bon Appetit.
For people who don’t know what is kadappa ….
Even though the name sounds similar to a place in AP or a variety of stone for making slabs, to the people of kumbakonam,tanjore and surrounding areas it also means a flavorful side dish for idli and dosa made from moong dhal and potatoes in a mildly spiced gravy. In my family’s opinion it tastes good with chappatis and puris too. It is a very easy recipe to make and after tasting this I was thinking- OMG! why haven’t I heard about this recipe earlier…
Kumbakonam Kadappa
Ingredients:
2 medium sized potatoes
1/3 cup of moong dhal
2 medium sized onions-thinly sliced
1 green chilly-slit into half
Salt as required
To grind :
1/2 cup grated coconut
1-2 green chillies ( adjust according to taste )
2-3 garlic flakes
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 medium sized tomato
1 tsp roasted gram ( optional )
For tempering:
2 tsp oil
1/2 inch piece of cinnamon
1 bay leaf
1 cardamom
1 star anise
2-3 cloves
Method:
- Pressure cook the dhal and potatoes till soft. Mash well and keep aside.
- Grind all the ingredients given under to grind into a fine paste.
- Heat 2 tsp of oil in a pan. Add the whole spices and sauté.
- Next add the sliced onions and green chilly.
- Now add the ground paste and sauté for a minute or two.
- Now add the mashed dhal and potatoes.
- Add required salt and allow it to simmer for 5-7 minutes.
- Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with idli or dosa.
P.S.
Instead of grinding the tomato, you can chop and sauté them along with the onions.
Instead of adding tomato, you can also add juice of half a lemon after you switch off the stove.
Green Peppercorn Recipes for ARUSUVAI SEASON 2
Due to shifting homes ( not to mention the nonavailability of Internet ) and a bout of viral fever, I am posting the recipes for “ARUSUVAI SEASON 2 ” very late. Sorry Sayantani.
Arusuvai season 1 was an initiative of Srivalli, Bharati and Season 2 has been activated by Sayantani. Check out the beginning posts of Bharathy, Srivalli and Lathamma for more info on season 1.
I thank Sayantani for hosting this wonderful event, because of which I made 3 good friends in the food blogosphere – Priya, Nisa and Sayantani. I realize that organizing such event is not an easy job and kudos to dear Sayantani for that.
When I opened the mystery ingredient parcel from Sayantani of ahomemakersdiary, it took me few minutes to identify the ingredient. Well it looked like pepper but not black in colour. My MIL helped me in identifying that they are green peppercorns. I have seen fresh green peppercorns in the market but not the dried ones and I have never used them for cooking. I googled a little and found that the green peppercorns have a mild flavor and are not as pungent as the black ones. They are used in western cuisine for flavoring meat dishes.
I have tried 2 recipes with the green peppercorns which are regularly made using black pepper. Both came out good, but my personal favorite is the green pepper garlic kuzhambu which was aromatic and flavorful. DH was suffering from cold that time and said that the pepper kuzhambu was very good.
Green peppercorn rice
Ingredients:
1 cup cooked raw rice
1 tbsp green pepper corns
1 tsp mustard
1 tsp urad dhal
1 tbsp gram dhal
Few sprigs curry leaves
A pinch of hing
Salt as required
2 tbsp oil ( preferably gingelly oil )
Method:
- Spread the cooked rice with a tsp of oil on a large plate and allow it to cool.
- Dry roast the green pepper corns and after cooling, grind into powder.
- Heat the remaining oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds followed by urad dhal, gram dhal, curry leaves and hing.
- Add this to the cooled rice.
- Add the green peppercorns powder, salt and mix well.Serve with papad of your choice.
Green peppercorn garlic kuzhambu
Ingredients:
15-20 no garlic flakes
A small lime size ball of tamarind
1/2 tsp fenugreek
A pinch of hing
2-3 tbsp gingelly oil
To roast and grind:
2 tbsp green peppercorns
1 tbsp black peppercorns
1 red chilly
2-3 sprigs curry leaves
1 tbsp gram dhal
For tempering:
1/2 tsp gingelly oil
1/2 tsp mustard
1/2 tsp urad dhal
Curry leaves
Method:
- Soak the tamarind and make 11/2 cups tamarind extract .
- Dry roast all the items given under ‘ to roast and grind ‘ and wet grind to a smooth paste.
- In a pan heat gingelly oil and add hing and fenugreek.Now add the ground paste and tamarind extract with required amount of salt.
- Let it boil and allow to simmer for around 10 minutes till you get a thick consistency.
- Do the tempering with mustard seeds, urad dhal and curry leaves. Serve hot with white rice and ghee.
Karunai kizhangu thayir masiyal
Siddha medicine says that of all vegetables growing below the soil , sweet potato ( sarkarai valli kizhangu ) and yams ( karunai kizhangu ) are the best.
Yam is supposed to be very good for people with piles. Some people get an itchy sensation in their throat and tongue after eating yam. This can be avoided by using days old yams instead of fresh ones or by using a sour ingredient in the recipe such as curd or tamarind extract. Now the recipe for Karunai kizhangu thayir masiyal.
Karunai kizhangu thayir masiyal
Ingredients:
3 medium no yams
10 no small onions finely chopped
1 green chilly finely chopped
1/2 inch Ginger finely chopped
A handful of fresh field beans (mochai payiru)
1 cup curd
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp mustard
1/2 tsp urad dhal
Few sprigs curry leaves
1 tbsp oil
Salt as required
Method:
- Pressure cook the yams and field beans for 3 whistles.
- Mash the yams and add turmeric and salt to it. Add curd to the mashed yams and mix well.
- Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard, urad dhal and curry leaves. Add the chopped onions and green chilly and sauté.
- Now add the mashed yam mix to the pan and allow it to simmer for 2-3 minutes. Yam masiyal is ready. This can be had with white rice as such or can be served with rasam rice.
Dum Aloo and An Award
I would like to thank Akila of Akila’s Kitchen for presenting me this wonderful award for participating in ‘Dish Name Starts With C’ event.
I could not resist buying , when I saw some baby potatoes in the market. Made spicy dum aloo …to go with rotis..ideal in this cold rainy season. I learnt the recipe from some recipe book long back…DH was very much pleased with the dinner.
I am sending this recipe to Dish name starts with:D hosted by Akila of Akila’s kitchen.
Dum Aloo
Ingredients:
12-15 no baby potatoes
1 tsp cornflour
1 onion chopped finely
1 tomato chopped finely
1/2 cup curd
1 tsp gram flour
1 tsp chilly powder
1 tsp garam masala powder
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
2 tsp kasoori methi
1 tsp sugar
1/2 cup milk
Salt as required
Oil 1 tbsp + 2 tbsp
Ghee 1 tsp
Whole spices:
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
1 cardamom
1 inch cinnamon
2-3 cloves
To grind:
5-6 almonds ( blanched and deskinned )
10 no cashews
1 green chilly
2 onions roughly chopped
5-6 flakes of garlic
1 inch piece of ginger
1 cardamom
1/2 inch cinnamon
Method:
- Grind all the ingredients given under to grind to a fine paste.
- Pressure cook the baby potatoes for 2 whistles. Peel the skin and prick them with a fork all over. This helps the potatoes to absorb the flavor of the spices.
- Now coat the potatoes with salt and corn flour. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a non stick pan and fry the potatoes till they get a crispy coating .
- In a mixing bowl mix curds, salt, chilly powder, garam masala,turmeric powder and gram flour. Let the potatoes marinate in this mix for at least 20 minutes. Heat 1 tbsp oil+1 tbsp ghee in a pan. Add the whole spices and fry till you get the aroma. Now add the chopped onions and sauté.
- Add the ground masala and tomatoes and sauté well till the raw smell is gone. Add kasoori methi and sugar. Now add the potatoes-curd mix to the pan along with a cup of water. Allow it to simmer for 10 to 15 minutes till the potatoes are cooked in the gravy and absorb all the flavors. Add milk little by little so that it does not curdle. Serve hot with rotis or rice.
No Oil (No Electricity)Tofu Mattar
I am calling this a no electricity recipe because I made it when there was no power supply. We had a guest coming and I had planned the recipes and purchased all the required items. By the time I started to prepare lunch power supply went out thanks to the ‘jal’ cyclone in chennai. I had to grind a lot of things. For making ginger-garlic paste and cashew paste I used the ammi kallu. I grated the tomatoes and onions in the fine grater to get a semi paste like consistency. It all came out well and I served a candle light lunch.
1 packet ( 200 gm ) tofu
1 cup fresh/ frozen green peas
2 medium sized onions made into paste
2 medium sized tomatoes made into paste
1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
2 tsp kasoori methi
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
1/2 inch stick of cinnamon
1 cardamom
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp garam masala powder
salt as required
1/2 cup milk
10 n0. cashews made into paste
coriander leaves to garnish
Method:
- Cut the tofu into bite sized pieces and soak in warm water with salt.
- Heat the pan and add the whole spices. After you get the aroma, add the ginger-garlic paste and saute for a minute.
- Next add the onion paste and saute for 2 minutes. Add sugar and Kasoori methi.
- Now add tomato paste and saute till the raw smell goes.Add turmeric powder, chilli powder, garam masala and salt.Add a cup of water followed by green peas and tofu pieces.
- Alllow it to simmer for 8-10 minutes, till the green peas are cooked and tofu absorbs all the flavours.Now add the cashew paste. Add the milk little by little with stirring ( to avoid curdling).
- Let it simmer for a minute or two. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with roti/rice of your choice.
Puli Illa Kuzhambu – Poruthanni
Chetti households make a lot of ‘pathiya samaiyal’.There are varieties of curries made without tamarind or dhal, which are ideal for convalescing people.When you are just out of some illness your appetite is lost and you donot have the urge to eat well. This type of ‘pathiya samaiyal’ rejuvenates your taste buds and brings back the appetite.Poruthanni is a type of ‘puli illa kuzhambu’ which does not have tamarind and contains lot of jeera,pepper and garlic.It is supposed to be very good for women after their delivery time.You can use drumstick,broadbeans and any other fresh beans in this kuzhambu.We donot make any poriyal/vegetable sidedish when we make this kuzhambu.Since the kuzhambu lacks tamarind the ideal sidedish is some thuvaiyal with tamarind such as varuthu araitha thengai thuvaiyal, pachai kothumalli thuvaiyal, inji thuvaiyal etc.
Reposting this recipe for ‘Herbs and flowers – garlic’ event started by PJ of Seduce your taste buds and hosted by Vardhini of Zesty Palette.
Puli Illa Kuzhambu – Poruthanni
Ingredients:
1 cup cut broadbeans
1 drumstick cut into pieces
1 cup mochai payiru/broken beans
20-25 garlic flakes
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
salt as required
To grind:
5-6 red chillies (dry roasted)
3-4 sprigs curry leaves
2 tsp jeera
10-12 black peppercorns
2 tsp mustard
10-12 garlic flakes
2 tsp oil
For tempering:
2 tsp oil
1 tsp jeera
1 tsp mustard
Method:
- Boil broad beans, drumstick and broken beans in water with salt.
- Grind all the ingredients for grinding into a smooth paste.(Only the redchilies should be dryroasted.Other ingredients should be used raw only.)
- Mix the ground paste in 2 cups of water.Add the boiled vegetables.Add turmeric powder and salt as required.
- Heat 2 tsp oil in a pan.Saute the garlic flakes well and add to the kuzhambu.
- Allow the kuzhambu to boil till the raw smell disappears.Allow to simmer for 5 more minutes.
- Do the tempering with jeera and mustard.Serve hot with white rice and thuvaiyal.
Mixed Vegetable Pirattal
This is a chetti veetu recipe I learnt from my MIL.She says that it is usually made on weekends, when you have small quantities of many vegetables remaining (kind of similar to aviyal).You can say that it is a spicy version of aviyal.This goes very well with rasam.You can also serve it as curry along with white rice,idly or dosa.
I am sending this recipe as an entry to ‘Show me your curry‘ event hosted by Divya of divya-dilse.blogspot.com
Mixed Vegetable Pirattal:
Ingredients:
3-4 cups mixed vegetables cut into cubes
(carrot,beans,pumpkin,beans,plantain,potato,cluster beans,brinjal,drumstick)
1 cup fresh butter beans ( you can use other type of beans also)
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
A small lemon sized ball tamarind
For powder:
1 tbsp urad dhal
For grinding:
3-4 red chillies
1+1 tsp mustard
1 tsp fenugreek seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp pepper
For tempering:
1/2 tsp mustard
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
2-3 sprigs curry leaves
1 tsp oil
Method:
- Boil the chopped vegetables with turmeric and required salt. Do not overcook.The vegetables must be firm.Alternatively you can pressure cook them for 2 whistles.Incase you are using ladies finger in the recipe, sauté it in oil and keep aside.
- Extract 1 cup of juice from the tamarind.
- Dry roast the urad dhal and grind it into powder.
- Dry roast fenugreek,cumin,1 tsp mustard together.Next roast the red chillies with little bit of oil. Grind the redchillies,roasted spices along with 1 tsp mustard and 1/2 tsp pepper to a smooth paste.
- In a pan add all the boiled vegetables,sauteed ladies finger ,tamarind extract and the ground paste. Add 1/2 a cup of water and required salt and allow it to boil.Reduce the flame and let it simmer for 5-10 minutes.
- Finally add the urad dhal powder and mix well.The consistency should be like that of a thick gravy.
- Do the tempering with mustard,urad dhal and curry leaves.
- Serve hot with white rice and rasam.
Vegetable Kolhapuri
I haven’t heard much about kolhapuri masala till i read it in Nupur’s site and I was tempted by Bongmom’s Paneer Kolhapuri recipe to try my own version of vegetable kolhapuri. So i prepared the kolhapuri masala first based on this recipe and used the vegetables from my fridge – beans, butter beans, capsicum and corn. I served this for lunch with royal tomato pulav. This was a bigger hit with dosa for dinner:-). Actually the taste was a bit too spicy for me. You can adjust the masala according to your taste.
Vegetable Kolhapuri
Ingredients:
100 gm beans , chopped into 1 inch pieces
1/3 cup fresh butter beans
1/3 cup frozen sweet corn kernels
1 green capsicum, cut into bite size pieces
1 yellow capsicum, cut into bite size pieces
1 large onion finely sliced
2 medium size tomatoes chopped finely
1/3 cup grated coconut
2 tbsp kolhapuri masala ( adjust according to taste)
1/2 tsp jeera
1/2 tsp garlic paste
4 tbsp oil
salt as required
Method:
- Parboil the beans and butter beans and keep aside.
- Heat 2 tbsp of oil in kadai. Add the onions and saute well.Now add the grated coconut and saute again.Now add the chopped tomatoes and saute till they turn soft. Cool this, add 2 tbsp of kolhapuri masala and grind into a smooth paste.
- Now heat 2 tbsp of oil in a kadai. Add jeera and after it splutters add the capsicum pieces and fry. Now add the ground masala paste and fry. To this add beans, butter beans and sweet corn. Add little bit of water and salt as required, and bring it to boil.Allow it to simmer till the gravy becomes thick.
- Vegetable Kolhapuri is ready to serve. You can serve it with white rice, pulav or rotis.
