Spinach Cabbage Thoran

Ingredients:
1. Spinach - cut in small pieces 1 cup
2. Cabbage - 1 cup shredded
3. Grated coconut - 3 tbsp
4. Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp
5. Oil - 1 tsp
6. Red chilli powder - 1/4 tsp
7. Lemon juice - few drops
8. Salt to taste

Method:
1. Splutter mustard seeds in oil and add spinach, cabbage, salt and red chilli powder. Fry for 5 minutes on high flame with continuous stirring.

2. Turn off the stove and add grated coconut and lemon juice.

Veluthulli/Garlic Chammanthi

Garlic is a very good antioxidant and helps maintain healthy blood circulation. Hence including garlic in our daily diet is a healthy practice.

Ingredients:
1. Coconut - 1 cup
2. Garlic - 2 cloves
3. Dried red chillies - 2 nos.
4. Mustard seeds- 1/2 tsp
5. Curry leaves - few
6. Oil - 1/2 tsp
7. Salt to taste.

Method:
1. Roast dried red chillies in a hot pan for couple of minutes.

2. Coarsely grind red chillies, coconut, garlic and salt.

3. Heat oil in a pan and add mustard, after it splutters, add curry leaves, ground mixture and turn off the stove immediately.

This chammanthi is served as a side dish with rice.

Kallumakkaya Fry

Ingredients:
1. Kallumakkaya/Mussels - 1 pound/0.45 kg
2. Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
3. Pepper powder - 1/2 tsp
4. Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
5. Oil - 2 tsp
6. Salt to taste

Method:
1. Clean the outside of shells. Add mussels to boiling water along with 1/2 tsp turmeric powder and 1 tsp salt. Turn off the heat when the shells open up.

2. Scoop out the flesh out from the shell. Remove the fibrous hairy thing and veins. Again wash with water.

3. Add salt to taste, 1/2 tsp turmeric powder, chilli powder and pepper powder to cleaned mussels and marinate for half an hour.

4. Heat oil in a pan, fry them until golden brown and crispy.

Potato Curry

Ingredients:
1. Potato - 1 medium sized
2. Onion - 1 medium sized
3. Tomato - 1 medium sized
4. Ginger - cut in small pieces 1/2 tsp
5. Green chillies - 2 nos.
6. Curry leaves - few
7. Coconut milk - 3 tbsp
8. Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
9. Oil - 1 tsp
10. Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
11. Salt to taste

Method:
1. Heat oil in a vessel, splutter mustard seeds and then add green chillies, ginger, sliced onion and chopped tomatoes. Add salt to taste and turmeric, fry until tomatoes are completed mashed.

2. Add diced potatoes, 2 cups of water and boil until potatoes are cooked.

3. Just before turning off the stove, add coconut milk and server hot with rice.

Broccoli Stir Fry

This is one simple dish power packed with nutritional benefits. Broccoli has been called a nutrition superstar/miracle food because this vegetable has dozens of nutrients.

Ingredients:
1. Broccoli - 1 cup
2. Oil - 1/2 tsp
3. Pepper powder - 1/4 tsp
4. Salt to taste

Method:
1. Microwave broccoli for 2 minutes by sprinkling little water over it.

2. Heat oil in a pan, add broccoli, salt and pepper. Stir fry for 2 mins on high flame.

Linking this recipe to Dish it out Event - Green Dishes at Cook's Joy - July 2014.

Mushroom Garlic Fry

Ingredients:
1. Mushroom - 1/2 pound
2. Garlic - 3 cloves
3. Oil - 1 tsp
4. Pepper powder - 1/2 tsp
5. Salt to taste

Method:
1. Make long slices of mushrooms and small pieces of garlic.

2. Heat oil in a pan, add sliced mushrooms, garlic, salt to taste and pepper powder.
Fry until all the water from mushroom evaporates.

Carrot Beans Thoran

Ingredients:
1. Carrot - 1 no.
2. Beans - around 20 nos.
3. Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp
4. Curry leaves - few
5. Red chillies - dried - 1 no.
6. Cocunut - grated - 2 tbsp
7. Oil - 1/2 tsp
8. Salt to taste

Method:
1. Cut carrot and beans in small pieces.

2. Heat oil in a pan, splutter mustard seeds and then add red chillies, curry leaves followed by carrot & beans. Add salt to taste and fry on medium flame for 10 mins.

3. Just before turning off the stove add grated coconut and serve as a side dish with rice.

Boondi Ladoo

Ingredients:
1. Gram flour/Besan - 1 cup
2. Sugar - 1 and 1/2 cup
3. Water - 2 cup
4. Cardamom - 3 nos. crushed
5. Cloves - 3 nos. crushed
6. Cashew nuts - 10 nos.
7. Raisins - 2 tbsp
8. Salt - a pinch
9. Oil for deep frying

Method:
1. Mix gram flour in 3/4 cup of water. The batter must be of dosa batter consistency.

2. For sugar syrup: Add sugar to 1 cup of water along with cardamom and cloves and boil until the sugar solution slightly thickens. Make sure you turn off the stove when the sugar syrup thickens. It took me 7 mins(after the solution started to boil) to thicken on a high flame. Overheating will crystallize the sugar syrup and you will not be able to make ladoos with it.

3. Heat oil in a pan. Pour the batter in a perforated ladle(shown below) by keeping the ladle just above the oil. Boondi formed should be fried for a minute. Remove from oil and put in sugar syrup.

4. After you make all the boondi, add cashew nuts, raisins and a pinch of salt to soaked boondi and give it a good mix.

5. Start making the ladoos when is slightly warm and store in a air tight container.

Mixture

This is South Indian way of making mixture which I learnt from my mother. I made this for this Deepavali. I suggest you must also try this savory and enjoy it with a cup of hot tea/coffee.

Ingredients:
1. Gram flour/Besan - 2 cups
2. Red chilli powder - 3 tsp
3. Asafoetida - around 5 piches
4. Groundnuts - 1/4 cup
5. Curry leaves - 2 tbp
6. Garlic - 3 nos.
7. Beaten rice - 1/4 cup
8. Oil for deep frying
9. Salt to taste

Method:
1. Mix gram flour, 2 tsp chilli powder, asafoetida and 1 tsp salt(or according to your taste) with water and knead it into a soft dough(just like the one for chapathi).

2. For omapodi: Fill the dough in mixture press and squeeze it into hot oil. Fry until the mixture turns light golden brown. I made the omapodi with different types of plates of mixture press(small holes, large holes and flat ones).

3. Deep fry the beaten rice in the same oil and keep aside.

4. In a different pan add 1 tbsp of oil and fry ground nuts, curry leaves, garlic(thinly sliced). Add a pinch of asafoetida, salt and 1 tsp chilli powder to this and turn off the stove. Add beaten rice and crushed omapodi to this and mix well.

5. Let the mixture cool down completely and then store in a air tight container.

Dal Curry

Ingredients:
1. Dal - 1/2 cup
2. Onion - 1 medium sized
3. Tomato - 1 medium sized
4. Green chillies - 3 nos.
5. Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
6. Red chillies - dried - 1 no.
7. Asafoetoda powder - a pinch
8. Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
9. Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
10. Curry leaves - few
11. Oil - 1 tsp
12. Salt to taste

Method:
1. Pressure cook dal with salt, turmeric powder and 1 cup water.

2. Heat oil in a pan, add mustard, cumin seeds, red chillies and asafoetida and fry for a minute.

3. Add onions, tomato, green chillies and curry leaves and fry for another 5 minutes. Add mashed dal and cook with lid on for another 10 minutes on low flame.

Dal curry can be served hot with white rice and a tsp of ghee.

Methi Muttar Curry

Ingredients:
1. Methi leaves - 1 cup
2. Green peas - 1 cup (frozen)
3. Onion - 1 small finely chopped
4. Tomato - 1 large finely chopped
5. Ginger garlic paste - 1 tbsp
6. Green chillies - 1 no. chopped
7. Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
8. Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
9. Cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp
10. Asafoetida - a pinch
11. Oil - 1 tsp
12. Coriander leaves - little for garnishing
13. Salt

Method:
1. Heat oil in a pan and add cumin seeds, asafoetida, followed by chopped onions and methi leaves and fry for 5 mins on medium flame.

2. Add ginger-garlic paste, chopped tomatoes, green chillies, turmeric powder, red chilli powder and salt to taste and fry until oil separates.

3. Finally add green peas and cook for 10 mins on low flame.

4. Garnish with coriander leaves.

This dish is ideal with chapathi.

Kumbalanga Pachadi

This is a side dish made of winter melon also known as Kumbalanga in Malayalam.

Ingredients:
1. Winter melon - 2 cups
2. Yogurt - 1/2 cup
3. Coconut - 1/2 cup
4. Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
5. Dried red chillies - whole - 1 no.
6. Curry leaves - few
7. Green chillies - 1 no.
8. Cocunut oil - 1 tsp
9. Salt to taste

Method:
1. Boil long sliced winter melon with salt to taste in 1/2 cup water till they become soft. Remove them stove, drain off the water and let it cool for sometime.

2. Meanwhile coarsely grind 1/4 tsp mustard seeds and smooth paste of coconut and green chillies.

3. Add ground mustard, coconut and green chillies to winter melon.

4. Mix thoroughly and then add beaten yogurt.

5. Season with 1/4 tsp mustard, curry leaves and dried red chillies.

Avial

This is yet another traditional Kerala dish which is part of any Kerala Sadya.

Ingredients:
1. Raw banana - 1 cup
2. Yam/Sooran - 1 cup
3. Drumsticks - 1 cup
4. Carrot - 1/4 cup
5. Potato - 1 small sized
6. Beans/long beans - 1/2 cup
7. Green Chillies - 5 nos.
8. Coconut - 2 cup
9. Yogurt- 1 cup
10. Cumin seeds - 1 tbsp
11. Coconut oil - 1 tbsp
12. Curry leaves - few
13. Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
14. Salt to taste

Method:
1. Cut all the vegetables in 2 inch long and 1/2 inch thickness.

2. Boil banana, yam, carrot, potato, beans and drumstick in 2 cups of water, salt and turmeric powder. Make sure all the water is evaporated once the vegetables are cooked.

3. Coarsely grind coconut, green chillies and cumin seeds and add to cooked vegetables. Let it simmer for around 5 minutes.

4. Add curry leaves and coconut oil and turn off the stove.

5. Once this cools down add beaten yogurt.

Kootu Curry

This is one of the dishes of a traditional kerala sadya. Thanks to my Mom for sharing this recipe.

Ingredients:
1. Black chana(soaked in water overnight) – 2 cups
2. Raw banana – 1 cup
3. Yam/Sooran – ½ cup
4. Grated coconut – 1 cup
5. Cumin seeds – 1 tsp
6. Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
7. Pepper powder – coarsely ground – ½ tsp
8. Dry red chillies – 2 nos.
9. Mustard seeds – ½ tsp
10. Curry leaves - few
11. Coconut oil – 1 tsp
12. Salt to taste

Method:
1. Pressure cook black chana, raw banana, yam along with salt, turmeric powder with 1 cup water for 20-25 minutes in medium flame.

2. Keep aside 1 tbsp of grated coconut for garnishing. Make a rough paste of rest of the coconut and cumin seeds.

3. Add this paste to the cooked chana along with pepper powder and cook for 10 minutes under medium flame.

4. Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds. After it splutters, add dry red chillies, curry leaves and 1 tbsp grated coconut. Fry till coconut turns golden brown in color. Add this mixture to chana and serve hot.

Diamond Cuts - Sweet

These diamond cuts are super crispy and they are quite different from the ones that my mom makes. My mom's diamond cuts are sugar coated and contain no eggs.

Ingredients:
1. All-purpose flour/Maida - 2 cups
2. Sugar - 3/4 cup
3. Egg - 1
4. Salt - 1/4 tsp
5. Baking soda - 1/4 tsp
6. Lukewarm water - 1/2 cup
7. Oil for deep frying

Method:
1. Thoroughly mix all-purpose flour, salt, sugar, baking soda and a beaten egg. Add lukewarm water to this and make soft dough.

2. Cover the dough with wet cloth and keep aside for an hour.

3. Take small pieces of dough, flatten it with rolling pin and cut into diamond shapes.

4. Deep fry in oil under medium flame until golden brown.

Enjoy these delicious crispy diamond cuts and share your thoughts with me.

Murukku | Best Murukku Recipe

Ingredients:
1. Fine rice flour - 1 cup
2. Urad dal - 1/4 cup
3. Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
4. Black Sesame seeds - 1/2 tsp
5. Asafoetida - 2-3 pinches
5. Ghee/Butter - 1 tsp
6. Salt to taste
7. Oil for deep frying

Method:
1. Wash urad dal in water and pressure cook upto 2 whistles on medium-high flame with 1/2 cup water.

2. Once the urad dal cools down, grind it into a fine paste. Add rice flour, cumin seeds, sesame seeds, asafoetida, salt and ghee to urad dal paste. Mix it thoroughly to form a soft dough.

3. Fill the dough in a Murukku maker and shape into murukku on a greased plate.

4. Deep fry in low-medium flame until murukku is light golden brown in color.

Enjoy cooking and share your thoughts with me.