Avial

Avial is a popular traditional dish from Kerala. It is a mixed vegetable curry cooked with coconut and yogurt. The main ingredients in avial are typically a variety of vegetables like carrots, beans, drumsticks, raw banana, yam, and pumpkin.

To prepare avial, the vegetables are cut into long pieces and cooked with turmeric, green chilies, and curry leaves. A coconut paste is added and the dish is seasoned with coconut oil to enhance the flavor.

It is one of the main dishes in a Kerala sadya. A sadya is a traditional feast served on a banana leaf during special occasions, festivals and weddings. With Onam festival around the corner, try this easy to make and healthy mixed vegetable avial. 

Ingredients:

• Raw banana
• Yam
• Carrots
• Beans
• Drumsticks
• Winter melon
• Pumpkin 
• Coconut grated - 1 cup
• Cumin seeds - 1 teaspoon
• Green chilies - 3-4 
• Curry leaves - 2 sprigs
• Yogurt - 1 cup
• Coconut oil - 1 tablespoon
• Turmeric powder - 1/2 teaspoon
• Salt to taste

Method:

1. Cut the vegetables in 3 inches by 1 inch long slices. Take equal quantities of each of these vegetables mentioned in the ingredients list and make sure they come up to 3 cups in total. 
2. Add the cut vegetables in a large pot and add 1/2 cup of water, sliced green chilies, turmeric powder, curry leaves and salt. 
3. Cover and cook the vegetables until well done. Stir occasionally and sprinkle water if required. 
4. Grind the grated coconut along with a teaspoon of cumin seeds into a coarse paste.
5. Add this paste to the cooked vegetables and stir well. Cover and cook on low flame for another 5 minutes.
6. Turn off the stove and add a cup of yogurt. Finally add a tablespoon of coconut oil and few more curry leaves. Delicious avial is ready to serve. 

"Shhhhh Cooking Secretly" is a monthly challenge in the Facebook group. At the beginning of the month, a theme is chosen by one of the participants and all the participants are grouped in pairs. The participants will exchange 2 secret ingredients with their partners who are supposed to prepare a dish that matches the theme of that month.

This month's theme is "Sadya" and it was chosen by Priya Vijaykrishnan. She made a kichadi with okra. Check out the recipe for the same in her blog 'Sweet Spicy Tasty'. My partner for this month is Mayuri. She gave me cumin seeds and coconut oil as my secret ingredients. I gave her mustard seeds and curry leaves as her ingredients. She made a very refreshing cucumber raita - Vellirikka Kichadi.

Mango Lassi

Mango Lassi is a perfect summer drink with its creamy texture and cooling properties. You can use fresh mangoes if it is in season or you could also use frozen or canned ones. This drink is flavored with cardamom or/and saffron. This is one of the popular beverages in Indian cuisine. You will definitely find them in menu of any Indian restaurant. 

Ingredients:

1. Ripe Mango - 1 cup
2. Yogurt - 1 cup
3. Milk - 1 cup
4. Sugar - 2-3 tablespoon 
5. Cardamom pods - 5

Method:

1. Peel the ripe mangoes, remove the pit and cut into large pieces. Add the mangoes pieces in a blender along with rest of the ingredients.
2. Add 5-6 ice cubes and blend them into smooth puree.
3. Serve immediately.

I had the opportunity to select the theme for "Shhh cooking secretly" challenge. This is a group in Facebook which has a monthly challenge. In this challenge a theme is selected at the beginning of the month by one of the participants. All the members are grouped in pairs. The participants will exchange 2 secret ingredients with their partners who are supposed to prepare a dish that matches the theme of that month. This month's theme is "Mango recipes" where we could make a dish from any cuisine using raw or ripe mangoes. My partner for this month is Preethi Prasad who blogs at Preethi's cuisine. My ingredients were cardamom and yogurt and I gave her coriander seeds and poppy seeds. She made a raw mango curry which is a perfect curry for hot steaming rice. 

Avocado Toast

This is a very basic avocado toast with simple ingredients. It is very easy to make on a busy morning. We just need around 5 minutes to whip up this healthy protein-rich breakfast. All you need is a ripe avocado and a couple of slices of bread. I have added chili flakes and pepper powder for spiciness in this recipe and this can be added or removed as per your spice preference. The avocado used should be just ripe and not too mushy. It is preferable to consume it immediately after preparing it. Even though lemon juice added will prevent the discoloration of avocado, I believe the taste of avocado alters with time.

Ingredients:

• Bread slices - 2
• Avocado - 1 
• Lemon juice - 1/2 teaspoon 
• Chili flakes - 1/8 teaspoon
• Pepper powder -1/8 teaspoon 
• Black sesame seeds - 1/8 teaspoon
• Butter - 1 teaspoon (optional)
• Salt - a pinch

Method:

1. Toast the bread slices with butter. This is completely optional. If you want, you can just toast it without butter.
2. Take the avocado, cut it in half, and remove the pit. Scoop out the flesh and transfer it to a bowl.
3. Mash the avocado with a fork. I like mine to be completely smooth. 
4. Add a pinch of salt, pepper powder, chili flakes, and sesame seeds to the mashed avocado and mix well. 
5. Spread the avocado mix on toast and serve.

As part of the "Sshhh Cooking secretly" challenge, a theme is selected at the beginning of the month by one of the participants. All the members are grouped in pairs. The participants will exchange 2 secret ingredients with their partners who are supposed to prepare a dish that matches the theme of that month. This month's 'Protein-rich breakfast' theme is chosen by Renu. Do check out her recipe of Tofu Bhurji she made for this theme. 

Priya Vijaykrishnan is my partner for this month. She gave me pepper powder and lemon juice as my ingredients and I gave her coconut and curry leaves as her secret ingredients. Priya prepared very healthy black lentil crepes. Do check out her blog for a wide variety of traditional dishes like Thiruvadhirai kali.  

Tindora fry | Ivy Gourd Stir fry - Andhra style

Dondakaya Vepudu as it is called in Telugu is a delicious dish of tindora/ivy gourd with roasted peanuts. The spice mixture with roasted gram dal and coconut gives it a good flavor. This is a perfect side dish with steaming rice or chapathi.  

 Ingredients: 

1. Tindora/Ivy gourd - 1 lb
2. Peanuts - 4 tablespoon
3. Coconut grated - 3 tablespoon
4. Dried red chili - 4 or as per your spice preference
5. Roasted chana dal - 1 tablespoon
6. Garlic - 3 cloves
7. Ural dal - 1 teaspoon
8. Curry leaves - 2 sprig
9. Mustard seeds - 1 teaspoon
10. Cumin seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
11. Turmeric powder - 1/4 teaspoon
12. Chili powder - 1/2 teaspoon
13. Oil - 3 teaspoon
14. Salt to taste

Method:

1. Wash and thinly slice ivy gourd and set aside.
2. Take a wide pan and heat 2 teaspoons of oil. 
3. When the oil is hot, splutter mustard seeds followed by urad dal, cumin seeds, 2 dried red chilies, and curry leaves.
4. Add the cut ivy gourd and cover and cook for 15 minutes on low flame. Stir occasionally.
5. Add turmeric powder, chili powder, and salt, and cook for another 10 minutes. 
6. While the ivy gourd is cooking, let's make the spice powder. 
7. For the spice powder, grind coconut, dried red chili, garlic, and roasted gram dal into a coarse powder. 
8. Once the ivy gourd is cooked well, add the spice powder. Mix well and cook covered for another 5 minutes.
9. In a small pan, heat a teaspoon of oil and roast the peanuts.
10. Add the roasted peanuts to the ivy gourd and turn off the flame.
11. Ivy gourd with peanuts stir fry is ready to serve. 

I am tagging this dish for the Vegan recipes theme of Sshh Cooking secretly challenge. This month's theme was selected by Radha. Radha made a Vegan Jackfruit Kofta curry, a great alternative to malai kofta. My partner for this month is Seema who gave me peanuts and garlic. I gave her secret ingredients as walnut and pepper powder and she came up with a vegan walnut mushroom mince.

Aval Vilayichathu

 

Aval Vilayichattu is a sweet dish made with flattened rice flakes, coconut, and jaggery as the main ingredients. This is commonly made as a snack item in Kerala. This dish is also made as a prasadam/naivedyam/offering to God. The food group(Sshhhh Cooking Secretly) I am part of, decided to make a "festive" theme as part of the December. With the Ayyappa season in December, I decided to make this dish which is perfect as an offering to the deity. 

Ingredients:

1. Rice flakes/Aval/Poha - thin variety - 3 cups
2. Coconut-grated - 1 cup
3. Jaggery - grated - 1 cup
4. Cashews - 3 tablespoon
5. Raisins - 3 tablespoons
6. Black sesame seeds - 1 tablespoon
7. Roasted gram dal/Pottu kadala - 1/4 cup
8. Cardamom - 5 no.
9. Dried ginger - 1/2 inch piece
10. Cumin seeds/Jeera - 1/2 teaspoon
11. Ghee - 2 tablespoons

Method:

1. Boil 1/2 cup of water and add the grated jaggery. Strain the melted jaggery if you think there are impurities in your jaggery. 
2. Put the melted jaggery back into the pan. Add grated coconut and allow the liquid to evaporate. Boil for at least 5 minutes.
3. Add the rice flakes to this and mix well. 
4. In a small pan, heat a tablespoon of ghee and roast raisins, cashews, sesame seeds, and roasted gram dal. Add this to the rice flakes mixture. 
5. Grind the dried ginger, cumin seeds, and cardamom into fine powder. Add this to rice flakes.
6. Mix everything together and make sure all the liquid from the jaggery is evaporated. Add the remaining tablespoon of ghee and turn off the stove.

Allow the mix to cool before you eat. This tastes best when you eat it after a day. Aval vilayichattu stays good without refrigeration for a week. You can also store it in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 weeks. 

As part of "Sshhh Cooking secretly" challenge, a theme is selected at the beginning of the month by one of the participants. All the members are grouped in pairs. The participants will exchange 2 secret ingredients with their partners who are supposed to prepare a dish that matches the theme of that month. This month's festive theme is chosen by Priya Vijaykrishnan who blogs at Sweet Spicy Tasty. Do check out the recipe for Thiruvadhirai Kootu. 

Renu is my partner for this month. She gave me ginger powder and cardamom as my ingredients and I gave her sesame seeds and edible gum as her secret ingredients. Renu came up with a very delicious Gluten-free Bajra ladoo. Do check out her blog for a wide variety of healthy dishes.