Palakkad recipes

Hi rain
Here is a recipe for kaalan.. it's similar to morkuzhambu.. difference is in the consistency.It's more of a curry hence final product should be a thick gravy.

kaalan
Chenai (yam) cut into cubes-1 cup
Raw Banana 1 no.-cut into 1'' pieces
Curry leaves 2 to 3 sprigs
Turmeric powder 1 spoon
Black pepper powder 1/2 spoon
Coconut oil 3 spoons
Red chillies 2 to 3 nos.
methi (fenugreek) seeds 1/2 spoon
Mustard seeds 3/4 spoon
Sour curd 2 cups
Salt to taste

grind
Coconut 1/2 Grated
Green chillies 3-4
Cumin seeds 1 spoon

proc:
grind and make into paste coconut, cumin seeds and Green chillies. cook the vegs with pepper powder, turmeric powder, salt and curry leaves using minimum water. Take care not to

over cook .Once the vegs are soft it's done,take care not to overcook or allow the vegs to become mushy. You can cook vegs directly , in a kadai/sauce pan. When done, add the ground paste of coconut and chillies along with curd and heat for about four to five minutes till it starts to simmer. Take a seperate kadai and prepare the seasonong with fenugreek, mustard and chillies heated in Coconut oil. When mustard seeds start to crackle, pour over Kaalan and immediately cover the vessel.

note:

1.The final consistency should be like a thick gravy.
2.The quantity of curds can be equal to or slightly more than the vegs ie,for 1cup diced vegs 1 cup to 1 1/4 cup curds would be sufficient to maintain the reqd consistency.
3.freshly ground pepper gives a nice taste.

Semiya Payasam
Ingredients :

Vermicelli - 1 cup
Cashew nuts - handful
Raisins - handful
Water - 3/4cup
Sugar - 1 1/4 cup more or less to suit your taste
Saffron - a pinch
Milk - a cup
Cardamom - two or three pods

proc:
Heat the ghee and fry the vermicelli till light brown. In the meanwhile, boil the water. Add the vermicelli to the boiling water and cover it.
Keep stirring occasionally. Once the vermicelli becomes soft , add the sugar and continue to stir. Put the saffron in the milk and dissolve it, add this milk to the vermicelli. Powder the cardamom and add it to the mixture. Then fry the cashewnuts and almonds in ghee and add these.
Mix well and boil for about two minutes.

variation
I prefer to cook the vermicelli in milk itself.Boil milk,allow it to cool and cook the vermicelli in milk instead of water.It gives a very nice taste.

Note
The same payasam can be cooked in a combo with javvarisi(sago) as well.

hi sowmya,

thank u for your patience to post the recipes in detail.

jus one doubt,as u said it is better to cook the semiya in milk but mine frequently curdles.i don't boil it in advance--cud that be the reason?

regards,

rain

Can someone Please post Palghat style recipe.

Can someone Please post Palghat style recipe for fresh or marinated green pepper Kuzhambu.

Hi rain..
Yes.. using unboiled milk results in curdling at times,so please use boiled milk to prepare the same.

Regards
Sowmya

Cucumber curds pachadi

ingredients
cucumber-1 small(grated and water content removed by squeezing)
curds-1 cup
mustard-1/4 tsp
green chillies-3-4 (adjust acc to spice levels)
coconut-2tbsp

Grind:coconut.mustard,green chillies.
Mix the ground ingredients with curds and salt.Add the cucumber devoid of water and mix well.

type 2
Can avoid the grinding part and mix the cucumber with curds,add vertically slit chillies and salt.Season with mustard seeds.

Sowmya,
Thought I will post similar recipies as your Curd pachadi. I make it with eggplant and tomato also.

For eggplant pachadi, roast the whole eggplant on direct gas until its skin is burnt all over the place. Place it in microwave (whole) and cook it until it is cooked inside. Let it cool and peel of the skin. Mash the eggplant and follow the same recipe as your curd pachadi.

Cooking eggplant is more like cooking it for baingan bartha.

For tomato, it is even more simpler. Take not too ripe tomatoes and blanch in hot water for 12-15 minutes. When cool, peel the skin and mash it. Rest is same as your recipe.


CI.

Hi CI
Thanks a lot for the recipes..It's nice to see the variations..will try and let you know..
BTW for how long(approx) should you microwave baingan after roasting it?

Regards
Sowmya :D

Sowmya,
It depends on the size of the eggplant and the microwave power. I usually do it for 5 minutes and then keep cooking in one minute intervals till they are soft and little juice oozes out. It takes a total of around 10 minutes in my microwave for a fairly large eggplant.

CI.