ULLI CHORU (GARLIC RICE)

This rice is very good for breastfeeding mothers and I used to have it for lunch  for many days after my daughter was born. My neighbour's MIL , an elderly lady from Calicut gave me the recipe when she came to see the baby. It is a simple dish with minimum ingredients. I improvised and christened it "onion rice"and make it once in a while when there is left over rice and I am too lazy to make any curries.

INGREDIENTS

1. Rice - 1/2 cup (any type of rice is fine)
2. Salt
3. Small onion (chuvannulli/cheriya ulli, not sawala) chopped - 1/2 cup
4. Garlic chopped - 1/2 cup
5. Sesame oil (nallenna) - 2 tab spoon
6. Mustard seeds - 1/2 tea spoon
7. Curry leaves - 2 sprigs
8. Turmeric powder - 1/2 tea sp

METHOD

1. Cook the rice adding enough salt before draining the water. Spread on a plate and allow to cool.( Do not over cook)

2. Heat oil in a pan and splutter mustard seeds. To this add onion, garlic and curry leaves and saute till both onion and garlic turns brown.Add turmeric powder and switch off stove. Stir well.

3. Transfer the rice to the pan and mix well stirring carefully. The rice shouldnt get mashed.

This goes well with pappadam, mezhukku puratti, cutlet etc.

(For the improvised "onion rice" I add more onion and less garlic plus 1 green chilli chopped. Also after the mustards splutter, urad dal, chana dal and cashewnuts are fried. Ghee or coconut oil can be used instead of sesame oil)

RAVA UPPUMA

This is the easiest breakfast/tiffin item. It can be eaten with pickle, sugar, banana, kadala curry or even sambar. Rava can be fried till crisp in advance or just before making uppuma. Nowadays fried rava is available in all supermarkets.

INGREDIENTS

1. Fried rava (semolina) - 1 cup
2. Grated coconut - 1/4 cup (optional)
3. Coconut oil - 1 table sp
4. Mustard seeds - 1/2 tea sp
5. Chana dal - 1 tea sp
6. Urad dal - 1 tea spoon
7. Cashewnuts/ peanuts - 10-12
8. Whole red chilly - 2
9. Curry leaves - 2 sprigs
10. Ginger chopped 1 1/2 tea spoon
11. Onion chopped - 2 table sp
12. Green chilly chopped - 1
13.  Salt
14. Hot water - 2 cups

METHOD

1. Heat oil in a pan and splutter mustard seeds. To this add chana dal, urad dal, cashewnut/peanut and red chillis and fry.

2. Add onions and saute for 1 minute. Now add chopped ginger, greeen chilli and curry leaves. Saute till onion is light brown.

3. Add 2 cups of hot water , salt and coconut and stir well.

4. When the water starts boiling take the rava in a cup and pour into the water slowly with one hand ,stirring well with the other. Reduce heat to low and allow to cook covered for 4-5 minutes.

ALOO METHI

Until recently I was not a big fan of "Aloo Methi" Some months back I happed to taste this dish cooked  by a Maharashtrian lady and it was different from the ones I had tasted from the  North Indian restaurants here. The secret ingredient was nothing but jaggery which was added to reduce the bitterness of methi leaves.

INGREDIENTS

1. Potato - 1 large (1 1/2 cup when cubed)
2. Methi (Fenugreek) leaves chopped - 1/2 cup
3. Chopped onion - 1/4 cup
4. Garlic chopped - 1 table spoon
5. Cumin seeds - 1 pinch
6. Cumin powder - 1 pinch
7. Red chilly flakes - 1 tea spoon
8. Turmeric powder - 1 pinch
9. Coriander powder - 1 tea spoon
10. Jaggery - 1 tea sp
11. Salt
12. Oil - 11/2 table spoon

METHOD

1. Put the methi leaves in salt water for 5 minutes. Squeeze to remove excess water.

2.  Heat oil in a pan and fry cumin seeds

3. Add chopped garlic and saute till light brown. To this add onion and saute till the colour changes

4.  Add potato cubes, stir well and cook till almost done.  Add the powders and red chilly flakes and stir for a minute. Add salt and cook again till the potato is soft (if boiled potato is used the powders can be added immediately after step 3). Add jaggery and mix.

5. Add methi leaves, stir and cook covered for 2 minutes.  Mix well.

   

DRY CHILLI GOBI

This recipe is similar to that of Gobi Manchurian, but easier. The main difference is the presence of tomato sauce in the batter which gives it a deep red colour.

INGREDIENTS

1. Cauluflower (med) - 1

2. For the batter - Corn flour - 1/4 cup, maida - 1/4 cup. tomato sauce - 1 table   spoon,   Kashmiri chilli powder - 1 tea spoon, pepper powder - 1 pinch, salt
3. Oil
4. Ginger - 1/2 " cube
5. Garlic - 3-4 cloves
6. Onion - 1 (small)

7. Green bell pepper - 1 small
8. Green chilly - 1 (optional)
9. Tomato sauce - 2 table spoon
10. Chilly sauce - 1 table spoon
11. Vinegar - 1 tea spoon
12. Sugar - 1 pinch
13. Salt
14. Pepper powder - 1/2 tea spoon
15. Spring onion - 1 table spoon

METHOD

1. Mix items no. 2 with water to get a loose batter

2. Wash and cut cauliflower into florets (med size).
Put them into the batter, (a handful at a time) mix well and fry. Spread on a paper towel. repeat frying till the florets are finished. Keep only one tab sp oil in the pan

3. Crush ginger and garlic. Chop the green chilly and spring onion.

Quarter the onion and bell pepper and cut horizontally (or dice)

4.Heat the oil and saute the ginger and garlic. Add onion, bell pepper and chilli and saute again (med high heat) till soft and crunchy.Reduce heat to low, add sauces, vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper and stir for a minute. Switch off stove, add the cauli flower and stir well. Add spring onion and stir again

IDICHAKKA THORAN

Idichakka is nothing but baby jackfruit. The thorny outer skin of the raw jack fruit is removed , cut into pieces and cooked before making the curry. It can be steamed, pressure cooked or cooked in a microwave oven.The taste is best if the jackfruit is fresh.

INGREDIENTS

1. Idichakka - 1
2. Turmeric powder - 3/4 tea spoon
3. Grated coconut - 1/2 cup
4. Green chilli - 1
5. Curry leaves - 1 sprig
6. Red chilli - 1 (break into 3)
7. Coconut oil - 1 table sp
8. Mustard seeds - 1/2 tea sp
9. Urad dal - 1 1/2 tea spoon
10. Salt

METHOD

1. Remove the outer skin of jack fruit (2-3 mm ) and cut into pieces. (Use a piece of cloth soaked in coconut oil to wipe your hands). Mix this with a little water, salt and 1/2 tea sp turmeric and cook in the MW oven for 5 minutes.

2. Mince the pieces in a mortar or mixie. If using a mixie run it for only 3-4 seconds

3. Heat oil in a pan and splutter the mustard seeds. Add urad dal, red chilli pieces and curry leaves and fry. To this add the minced jck fruit and stir.

4. Mix the coconut, 1/4 tea sp turmeric and a little salt. Grind this in the mixie for just 1 second. Add this into  the jack fruit with 1 tab sp water. Cover and cook on alow flame for 4-5 minutes. Stir well for a minute

OATS PUTTU

INGREDIENTS

1. Oats - 1 cup
2. Grated coconut - 1/4 cup (or grated coconut & carrot)
3. Salt 1/4 tea spoon
4. Water - 1/4 cup

METHOD

1. Dry roast oats for 2-3 minutes

2. Grind in a mixer to get a coarse powder

3. Dissolve salt in water. Add it little by little to the oats and mix so that it is wet but in powder form. I(f there are lumps put in the mixer and grind for just 1 second.)

4. Fill the “puttu maker”with 1 table spoon of coconut, then 3-4 table spoons of oats and again coconut and so on until it is full. The final layer should be coconut

5. Heat water in a pressure cooker. Remove the weight and fix the puttu maker on the vent tube.  Steam will start coming through the lid of the puttu maker. Allow the puttu to cook for 2 minutes and transfer to a plate.

BEETROOT PACHADI

INGREDIENTS

1. Beetroot chopped - 1 cup

2. Diced onion - 1/4 cup

3. Green chilly (chopped) - 1 or 2

4. Curry leaves - 1 sprig

5. Coconut oil - 1 table spoon

6. Mustard seeds - 1/2 tea spoon

7. Fenugreek seeds - 1/2 tea spoon

8 red chilly whole - 1 (cut into 3)

9. Curd - 1/2 cup

10. Salt

METHOD

1. Heat oil in a pan and splutter mustard seeds. Fry fenugreek and red chilly pieces.

2. Add onion followed by curry leaves and green chilly and saute for 2-3 minutes.

3. Add the beetroot and stirfry.

4. Switch off stove, wait for the beetroot to cool and add curd and salt. Mix well.

DIAMOND CUTS

INGREDIENTS

1. Maida - 1 cup
2. Wheat flour - 1 cup
3. Salt
4. Butter - 1 tea spoon
5. Black sesame seeds - 1 table spoon
6. Oil - for frying

METHOD

1. Make a dough with maida, wheat flour and salt. Add butter and sesame seeds and knead again.

2. Make thin chapathis with the dough. Prick all over with a fork.

3. Using a knife make parallel cuts horizontally and diagonally  to get diamond shaped pieces.

4. Heat oil in a pan and deep fry the pieces. Drain on a kitchen towel.

MULAYARI (BAMBOO SEED) PAYASAM

We were in Wayanad last month and I bought a packet of mulayari (bamboo seed) from a shop near Muthanga check post. Mulayari looks and tastes somewhat like unakkalari (raw red rice) and I made payasam with it using the recipe given in "Taste of Kerala"Actually this recipe is the same used for "unakkalari payasam"

                  Bamboo trees

INGREDIENTS

1. Mulayari - 1/4 cup

2. Sharkkara pani (jaggery syrup) - 1 cup                              

3. Cardamom - 2

4. Thick coconut milk - 1 cup

5. Thin coconut milk - 1 1/2 cup

6. Ghee - 1 table spoon

7. Cashewnut - 10-12
8. Kismis - 15-20

METHOD

1. Pressure cook mulayari with 2 cups of water for 10 minutes. Allow to cool and open the cooker.

2. Cook for some more time and add jaggery syrup, crushed cardamom and thin coconut milk. Stir well and once it thickens reduce the heat.

3. Add  thick coconut milk stirring continuously and remove from fire. Continue stirring for 3-4 minutes.

4. Heat ghee in a pan. Fry cashewnuts and kismis and add to the payasam.

GARAM MASALA POWDER

INGREDIENTS

1. Fennel seeds (perum jeerakam) - 50 gms
2. Cardamom ( elakka) - 10 gms
3. Cloves (grampoo) - 10 gms
4. Black peppercorns (kurumulaku) - 10 gms
5. Cinnamon sticks (karuva patta) - 10 gms
6. Star anise (thakkolam) - 2 (optional)
7. Turmeric - 1 small piece or 1 tea spoon powder (this is added for more shelf life)

METHOD

1. Clean and dry all the spices in the sun or heat for a minute stirring.

2. Grind well and store in an dry container.

UZHUNNU VADA

INGREDIENTS

1. Uzhunnu (Urad dal) - 1 cup
2. Small onion - 8-10
3. Green chilly - 1 or 2
4. Ginger - 1/2 " cube
5. Curry leaves - 1 sprig
6. Black pepper - 1 tea spoon
7. Salt
8. Oil

METHOD

1. Soak dal for 1 hour. Grind to a fine thick paste with salt and minimum amount of water.

2. Chop onions, ginger, chilly and curry leaves. Mix this and the pepper corns carefully with the dal paste.

3. Heat oil in a pan. Make vadas with hand or using a vada maker. Deep fry in oil.