Banana Peel Thoran

I have been thinking of posting this recipe since a long time. Generally when we make banana chips, we have a lot of peel that goes waste. Instead, the peels can be used to make a wonderful and nutritious thoran. Here is the recipe.

Ingredients:
Nendran banana peel - 1 cup
Cowpea (Black eyed pea) - 1/2 cup
Mustard - 1 tsp
Urad dal - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - few
Salt
Oil - 2 tbsp

To grind:
Coconut - 4-5 tbsp
Green chilli - 2
Cumin seeds (optional) - 1 tsp

Method:
Soak the cowpeas overnight.
Grind coconut, green chilli and cumin seeds and keep aside.
Chop the banana peels into small pieces. Cook the chopped peels along with the the soaked cowpeas, salt and little turmeric adding enough water.
In a pan heat oil. Add mustard. When it splutters, add urad dal. When the urad dal turns pink add curry leaves. Then add the cooked peels and cowpeas and fry for a minute. Finally add the ground coconut chilli mixture and fry for another minute. Serve hot.

Serves: 2 people
Preparation time: About 20 mins

Sabsige Soppu (Dill leaves) Chutney

This one comes from my MIL's kitchen. Its another, one of those typical South Canara dishes. I love it for another fact that Dill leaves help relieve my kiddo's occasional Colic pain. It helps pass the accumulated gas in his tiny tummy which is the actual cause for Colic. It soothes his delicate stomach walls and helps increase his digestive power too. Its an easy to do dish and good to taste!

Ingredients:

Grated Coconut- 2 tbsp
Sabsige soppu- Few leaves (only)
Tamarind- 1 inch peice
Hing/Asafoetida- A pinch
Dry roasted Channa dal/Chickpeas lentil- 1 tsp
Red Chilly-1
Salt to taste
Oil- 1 tsp
Urad dal- 1 tsp
Mustard seeds- 1/2 Tsp
Curry leaves- Few

Method:

Grind Coconut, Dill leaves, Tamarind, Hing, Dal and Red chilly to a fine paste. Add salt to taste. In a pan, heat the oil. Add Urad dal and Mustard seeds. When the mustard seeds splutter, add the Curry leaves. Season the Chutney with this tempering. Enjoy with Rice, Idly or Dosa!

Preparation Time: 15 Minutes
Serves: 2 people

Roasted Brinjal Mosaru Bajji

This recipe has been passed on to me by my sister...who has learnt it from her MIL. It is indeed one of the tastiest 'avtar' of Brinjal! It doesnt require any cooking, except for roasting the Brinjal. Traditionally, this was done in the 'Chulha' where, they would just leave the Brinjals on the red hot coal. They would have, for example, cooked rice and put the fire off. Yet the heat present in the Chulha is sufficient enough to roast Brinjal! Well, in our gadget-savvy kitchen..we have the oven! We have to basically bake it for about an hour at 180 deg centigrade. Of course, in case you have a gas stove, you could just expose the Brinjal to the open flame and it would just take few minutes.

Ingredients:
Big Purple Brinjal- 1
Yogurt/curd- 1 1/2 cup
Salt to taste
Green chillies- 2 chopped
Coriander leaves- Few
Oil- 2 tsp
Urad dal- 1 tsp
Mustard seeds- 1/2tsp
Red Chilly- 1 (Broken into pieces)
Curry leaves- few

Method:
Apply oil around the Brinjal and place in a tray covered with Aluminum foil. Pre-heat the oven to 180 deg C. Once, the desired temperature is attained, place the tray inside the oven and leave it for about an hour.


After an hour, take the tray out and let the Brinjal cool for few minutes. You can easily peel off the skin and keep the pulp aside. To this add Yogurt, Salt, Green chillies and mix well. In a pan, heat oil. Add Urad dal, Mustard seeds and Red Chilly pieces. Once the mustard starts to splutter, add the Curry leaves and pour this seasoning to the Brinjal-Yogurt mixture. Mix well and garnish with Coriander leaves. Enjoy with Rice!

Preparation Time: 1h:15Minutes
Serves: 2 people

Easy Mixed Vegetable Curry

This one is a true life-saver, when we have few unexpected guests :P It is totally my Amma's recipe and I'm just reproducing it the way it is. Its easy to make, achievable in a limited time and is great accompaniment for the Rotis and Poori too. The list of ingredients may be huge but, the method is simple. Do try it, for a change!

Ingredients:
Cooked vegetables- 1 1/2 cup (Carrots, Beans, Green peas, Cauliflower, Potato etc..)Oil- 2 tsp
Jeera/Cumin seeds- 1 tsp
Hing/Asafoetida- A pinch
Onion- 1 small chopped (Optional)
Turmeric- 1/2 tsp
Jeera powder/Cumin seed powder- 1/2 tsp
Dhania powder/Coriander powder- 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste
Coriander leaves- For garnish

To grind:


Grated coconut- 1 tbsp
Green chillies- 2-3
Garlic- 2 pods
Ginger- 1 inch piece
Onion- 1 small
Tomato- 1
Poppy seeds- 1 tsp
Cashew nuts- Few
Dates- 4-5
Cardamom- 1
Pepper Corns- Few
Saunf/Fennel seeds- 1 tsp
Bay leaf- 1/2 a leaf
Cinnamon- 1 inch piece
Clove- 1

Method:
Cook and keep aside vegetables of your choice. Grind the above mentioned ingredients to a fine paste and keep aside. In a vessel, heat oil. Add Jeera. When it starts to emit its aroma, add the paste and let it boil well and cook it for about 10 minutes on low heat. Now, add the Turmeric powder, Jeera powder, Dhania powder and Salt to taste. You may add water to adjust the consistency of the gravy as per your choice. Let it boil well and cook for another 5 minutes. Add the cooked vegetables and mix well. Garnish with Coriander leaves. You may add a dash of cream too! Serve with hot Rotis/Pooris!

Preparation Time: 30 Minutes
Serves: 4 people

Cucumber Pachchadi/ Cucumber Raitha

Cucumber pachchadi is a tasty side dish in Onasadhya. This dish can be an accompaniment with any spicy dish as it is very soothing to the stomach. Pachachadi is one dish which can be used as a side dish for both the North Indian and South Indian cuisine.

Here is the recipe.

Ingredients:
Grated Cucumber - 1/2 cup
Yogurt - 1/2 cup

To Grind:
Grated coconut - 4-5 tbsp
Green chilli - 1
Ginger - a small piece
Curry leaves - 4-5


Seasoning:
Mustard - 1 tsp
Urad dal - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - 4-5
Red chilli (broken) - 1

Method:
Grind coconut, green chilli and ginger adding little water.
In serving bowl mix cucumber, ground coconut mixture and yogurt along with salt.
Heat oil in a seasoning wok. Add urad dal and red chilli. When urad dal turns brown add mustard. When it splutters add curry leaves.
Pour this garnish to the pachchadi.
Serve along with any rice based dish.

Preparation Time: 15 min
Serves: 2 people

Koottukari

Onasadhya is incomplete without a Koottukari. Its a delicious side dish prepared with vegetables, coconut, chillies and Jeera/Cumin seeds. One may find a variety of Koottukaris'. You may find that spices and coconut may be used raw or roasted in oil and then ground to a paste.Also, there a wide variety of the lentils and legumes which may be used in combination with taste complimentary vegetables. There's a huge undiscovered world of recipes out there..lots to learn!

I'm using Seeme Badnekai (Bangalore Katrikkai) and Carrots for this Koottu. Also, the lentil being used here is Moong dal (Split Mung bean).

Ingredients:


Cubed Vegetables- 1 cup
Moong dal- 1/2 cup
Turmeric- 1/4 tsp
Curry Leaves- Few
Salt to taste
Coconut Oil- 2 tsp
Urad dal/Split Balck gram- 1 tsp
Mustard seeds- 1/2 tsp
Red chilly- 1 (Broken into pieces)

To Grind:
Grated Coconut- 3 Tbsp
Jeera/Cumin seeds- 3/4 tsp
Red chillies/Green Chillies- 2-3

Method:
In a vessel, cook the Moong dal in about 2-3 cups of water and Turmeric. Meanwhile, in a separate vessel, cook the vegetables too with Turmeric, Curry leaves and sufficient water. Now, grind the Coconut, Jeera and Chillies to a fine paste. Once the dal and vegetables are cooked, mix them together along with the ground paste. Let it boil well. Add salt to taste and mix well. In a small pan, heat oil. Add Urad dal, Mustard seeds and Red chilly peices. When the Mustard starts to splutter, add Curry leaves and pour this tempering to the Koottu. Serve hot with Rice or Chappathi!

Preparation Time: 30 Minutes
Serves- 2 people

Chundal/ Seasoned legumes

Its Navratri and how may we miss 'Chundal'. Its a dish prepared with, originally, boiled Chickpeas which is seasoned with Mustard, Cumin seeds, Asafoetida and Coconut. During this season, Chundal is distributed as Prasadam in temples to all. They actually taste the best!!

For vegetarians, especially, this is one of the best source of proteins and when consumed give a lot of energy. As children, in the evening, we used to rush home from school as we would know beforehand that our mother would have prepared Chundal; seeing the soaked Chickpeas! Its such a simple dish and tastes absolutely yummy. Here I have used an assortment of legumes (Chickpeas, Mung beans, Black-eyed beans, Moth beans, Black beans and Kidney beans; all taken in equal quantities for 2 cups of cooked legumes in total) and prepared the Chundal.

Ingredients:
Pressure cooked legumes- 2 cups
Oil- 4 tsp
Urad dal/Split black gram- 1 tsp
Mustard seeds- 1/2 tsp
Jeera/Cumin seeds- 1 1/2 tsp
Red Chilly- 1 (Broken into pieces)
(Note: You may add 2 Green chillies too)
Hing/ Asafoetida- 3/4 tsp
Curry leaves- Few
Turmeric- 1/4 tsp
Salt to taste
Grated Coconut- 1 Tbsp
Coriander leaves- For garnishing

Method:
Soak the legumes overnight. Pressure cook and take care not to overcook them. In a pan, heat oil. Add Urad dal and Mustard seeds. When the Mustard seeds start to splutter, add Jeera, Red Chilly, Hing and Curry leaves. Now, add the cooked legumes and fry them well for a minute. Add Turmeric and Salt to taste. Mix well. Add the grated Coconut and mix well. Garnish with Coriander and enjoy the Chundal just as a snack by itself or with hot Rice!

Preparation Time: 30 Minutes (Including the cooking time of legumes)
Serves: 2 people

Mathan thoran/ Kumblakai palya

One of the must items in an Onasadhya is Thoran. This a dry side dish prepared by completely evaporating the water which is poured in measured quantity to just cook the vegetable. Different vegetables have varied amount of water content in them. Vegetables like Cabbage, Pumpkin, Green leafy vegetables, Zucchini to name a few require water in very minimal quantity. They will ooze out the water within them when salt is added and that is sufficient for the vegetable to get cooked. Vegetables like, Beans, Carrot (exception is when grated), Beetroot (same as Carrot), Yam, Potato, Raw Banana, Long beans, Flat beans etc require 3/4th a measure of their quantity of water to be added for the vegetable to be cooked.

As children, we used to be selective with Palya. Now, we realise, its importance in our daily diet! Here is the recipe for Yellow pumpkin Thoran/ Palya.

Ingredients:
Pumpkin (Medium sized cubes)- 4 cups
Oil- 3 tsp
Urad dal/Split Black gram- 1 tsp
Channa dal/Chickpea lentil- 1 tsp
Jeera/ Cumin seeds- 1 1/2 tsp
Mustard- 1 tsp
Red Chilly- 1 (Broken into pieces)
Curry leaves- Few
Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp
Red Chilli powder- 1 tsp
Jeera/Cumin seeds powder- 1/2 tsp
Grated Coconut- 1 tbsp
Salt to taste

Method:
In a pan, heat oil. Add Urad dal and Channa dal. Roast them a bit. Add Jeera, Mustard seeds and Red chilly peices. When the Mustard splutters, add the Curry leaves. Now add the Pumpkin cubes and pour just about 1/2 cup of water. Add Turmeric and cover it with a lid and let it cook for 5 minutes. Add Salt, Chilly powder, Jeera powder and Coconut. Mix well. Serve hot with Rice!

Preparation Time: 15 Minutes
Serves: 4 people

Nendran Chips/ Banana Chips

Nendran chips is one of the popular snacks in the southern Indian state of Kerala. These are fried in coconut oil and sprinkled with salt water. They are called "Upperi" or "Kaya Varuthathu". They are an important item in Onam Sadya, or during festive occasions.

Ingredients:
Raw Nendran banana - 2
Salt - 1 tsp
Oil for deep frying

Method:
Dissolve 1 tsp salt in 1/4 cup of water.
Peel the Nendran bananas. Do not throw away the peels. It can be used to make thoran (Recipe coming soon...).
Slice the bananas into thin rounds.



Heat oil in a pan.Deep fry the banana pieces in batches.
When they turn yellow, sprinkle 2 tsp salt water into the oil.
Fry till the water evaporates fully.
Drain on a paper towel and store in a air tight container.

Preparation Time: About 30 mins

Aviyal

Aviyal is a delightful mix of many vegetables. It is a must for festivals like Onam or wedding sadhya. It can be prepared with thick gravy as a side dish or by adding more curds you can make the gravy thin to mix with rice. This is a very simple and healthy dish.

All vegetables go in it, except perhaps, some mushy vegetables like ladies fingers, tomato, brinjal, beetroot (because of the colour) , cabbage, cauliflower, radish, onion etc. Since a variety of vegetables are used for this, you require only small quantities of each of them.

The wonderful aroma to this dish comes from the coconut oil. So the oil cannot be substituted.

Here is the recipe.

Ingredients:
Vegetables cut lengthwise around 2" pieces - 2 cups
(Vegetables like Yam, Raw banana, Cluster beans, Carrot, Snake gourd, Beans, Drumstick, etc can be used)

Curds (lightly sour)- 3/4 cup
Grated fresh coconut - 1/2 cup
Green chillies - 3-4
Coconut oil - 3 tbsp
Curry leaves - 5-6
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt

Method:
Grind the coconut and green chillies using little water and keep aside.
In a vessel put the vegetables and add enough water to just cover the vegetable. Add turmeric and salt and boil the vegetables till just done. The vegetables should not be overcooked.
Add the coconut mixture to the boiling vegetables. Then add the curds. Finally add the curry leaves and coconut oil and toss till the vegetables are coated with the coconut and curds mixture.
As mentioned earlier, if you want the gravy to be thin, you can add more curds. Adjust salt accordingly.
Serve as a side dish for dosa, chappathi or poori or as main dish for rice.

Preparation Time: About 20 mins
Serves: 3-4 people

Amaranthus (Dantu soppu) Pachadi

Pachadi is a very simple dish prepared using Yogurt and Coconut. It can be prepared in few minutes yet is really tasty and is soothing for the stomach too. We have a huge choice of the vegetables which may be used for preparing Pachadi. Okra, Brinjal, Potato, Cucumber (Requies no cooking at all...just grate it and use!!!), Capsicum etc...

I'm using Amaranthus . It was my Mothers idea to try out pachadi with these leaves, unlike the Sasmi (recipe coming soon) which we always prepare. It definitely is worth a try and is a very healthy dish for sure.

Ingredients:
Chopped Amaranthus leaves- 4 cups
Oil- 1 tsp
Urad dal- 1 tsp
Mustard seeds- 1/2 tsp
Red chilly- 1 (Broken into peices)
Curry leaves- Few
Yogurt- 2 cups
Salt to taste

To grind:
Grated Coconut- 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds- 1 tsp
Green chillies- 2-3
Curry leaves- Few

Method:
In a pan, heat oil. Add Urad dal, Mustard seeds and Red chilly. When the Mustard seeds start to splutter, add the Curry leaves. Now add the Amaranthus leaves. Sprinkle some water and cover with lid. Let it cook. The leaves will shrink to less than half their volume upon cooking...[so dont worry if you have huge quantity of leaves :) ]. Once its cooked, remove from heat and let it cool completely. Meanwhile grind the above mentioned ingredients to a fine paste and mix it with yogurt. Once the cooked leaves mixture has cooled down, add it to the yogurt-ground paste mixture.

Mix well. Season with salt and enjoy with Rice.

Preparation Time: 20 Minutes
Serves: 4 people

Olan

Olan is a simple dish originally from Kerala. Its one of the tastiest dishes to be prepared with minimum ingredients and no spice, except for green chillies. This is an important dish for any sadhya and with Onam around, no one can miss Olan.

The dishes from Kerala have an unique fragrance emitted by the coconut oil which is used liberally in all the dishes. In Olan, coconut oil is added at the end of cooking process so that the aroma stays in the dish. Also, fresh curry leaves yeild the perfect fragrance which is highly apetizing. We can use red pumpkin as well as ash gourd for preparing the dish. Here I'm using only red pumpkin. The black-eyed beans added along with pumkin gives a unique taste to Olan.

Ingredients:
Red pumpkin- 2 cup
Black-eyed beans- 1 cup
Green chillies- 3-4
Curry leaves- Few
Salt to taste
Coconut milk- 1 cup
Coconut oil- 2 tsp


Method:

Pressure cook the pre-soaked beans and keep aside. The beans may be soaked overnight. In a vessel, sprinkle 1/4 cup of water to the diced pumpkin and let it cook along with curry leaves and slit green chillies. Once, they are half done, add the beans and let it cook again. Add salt and the coconut milk. Let it boil for a minute. Dish out after adding Coconut oil and few curry leaves. Serve hot with Rice.

Preparation time: 20 Minutes
Serves: 4 people

Zucchini Aloo Gobi

What inspired me to try this dish is the creator of this dish, who is the new entrant to our family, my bro-in-law. Its nice to see how he pays attention to the minute details of cooking. This side dish is one of the simplest and requires just one main ingredient, Green chilly! Might sound like we are going to burn our taste buds away. Trust me, after tasting the bhaji, we were left wondering where all the chillies vanished. So...'The more the better'....

Ingredients:
Cooked and diced potatoes- 2 cups
Cauliflower- 2 cups
Zucchini- 1 cup
Onions chopped- 2 medium sized
Green chillies- 6 [Please be generous :) ]


Oil- 4 tsp
Urad dal- 1 tsp
Mustard- 1/2 tsp
Jeera/Cumin seeds- 1 tsp (Optional, added since we love its aroma and is good for digestion too)
Turmeric- 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Coriander leaves- Few (Optional)
Spring Onions- 8-10

Method:

In a pan, heat oil. Add Urad dal and Mustard seeds. When the Mustard seeds splutter, add Jeera. Now add the split Green chilles and saute for a minute. Add the Onions and saute till golden brown. Add the Cauliflower and sprinkle water. Cover with a lid for it to cook. Add Zucchini and cover the lid once again. Leave it for just about 5 minutes, while the Zucchini cooks. Add the cooked potatoes and mix well. Add Turmeric and salt. Mix well. Add finely chopped sprng onions and heat it for another 2 minutes. This gives the special taste and aroma to the dish. Garnish with Coriander leaves and enjoy with Rotis!

Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Serves: 4 people

Kai Chutney

Whenever I prepare idli or dosa along with sambhar chutney is a must. I can say that N literally drinks chutney.

Coconut chutney can be prepared in different ways. You can use either red chilli or green chilli based which gives the actual color.Hurigadale/roasted chana can also be added to the chutney. In this recipe I use only coconut as the main ingredient

Here is the recipe.

Ingredietns:
Coconut - 1/2 cupGreen chilli - 2-3
Curry leaves - 6-7
Ginger - a small piece
Tamarind - small piece
Salt



Seasoning:
Mustard - 1 tsp
Urad dal/White gram - 1 tsp
Oil (preferably coconut) - 2 tsp
Curry leaves - 3-4

Method:
Heat oil in a pan. Fry the green chilli till you get a fragrance from it. Then add the curry leaves and fry.
Grind this along with coconut, ginger, tamarind and salt to a fine paste.

For seasoning:
Heat oil in a pan, add the urad dal. When they turn red add the mustard. When the mustard splutters add the curry leaves and stir once. Add this to the chutney.
Serve with idli, dosa, kahara bath, etc.

Manoli Ajathna

This recipe I learnt after my marriage. N loves this very much so I got the recipe from my MIL. Though I have never tasted the original recipe (that my MIL makes), I have been doing this for some time now. It is fairly simple and delicious.

Aajathna is derived from tulu word 'Aajothno' which means completely evaporating the water. Here the Manoli/Ivy gourd is cooked in tamarind water till the water evaporates completely .(Not steam cooked)

Here is the recipe.

Ingredients:
Manoli/Tondekayi/Ivy gourd quartered lengthwise - 1 cup
Grated coconut - 1/4 cup
Red chilli - 2
Curry leaves - 6-7
Tamarind - small pieceUrad dal/White gram - 1 tspJeera/Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Mustard - 1 tsp
Salt
Oil (preferably coconut) - 3 tbsp
Water - 1/4 cup
Jaggery - small piece

Method:
Soak tamarind in the water and extract the juice. Keep this aside.
Heat oil in a pan. Add the red chilli and then urad dal. When the urad dal turn red add the mustard and when they splutter add jeera. Then add the curry leaves and mix once.
Now add the ivy gourd,tamarind extract, jaggery, water and salt.
Mix once and leave it to cook. Do not close the lid.
Keep stirring at intervals so that it does not stick to the bottom of the pan.
Add more water if required.
Cook till the water evaporates.
Then add the grated coconut and stir till it mixes.
Serve as a side dish with rice and dal.

Preparation time: 15-20 mins
Serves: 4 people

Tambuli

Tambuli is one of the easiest and good for health side dish. It is basically made out of Coconut and buttermilk. This is a thirst quencher too as people in Udupi face real muggy summer! It is served in the beginning before the main course and is taken along with Rice.

There are a variety of Tambuli which may be prepared. We may prepare it with Jeera (Cumin seeds), Dhania (Coriander seeds), Methi (Fenugreek seeds), Onion, Ginger, Garlic, Capsicum, Pudina (Mint), Coriander leaves, Palak (Spinach), Dill leaves, Sambrani soppu, Timire soppu and the list may go on... These above listed items may be ground raw with Coconut else must be fried a bit in Ghee which would enhance the taste of Tambuli.

Following is the recipe for Ginger Tambuli.

Ingredients:
Ginger- 1 inch piece
Green chillies- 2-3
(Note: Alternatively, you can use few Black pepper corns if you like to avoid Green chillies...definetly a healthy option!)
Grated Coconut- 1 Tbsp
Salt to taste
Buttermilk/ Yogurt- 1 cup
Ghee- 2 Tsp
Urad dal- 1 Tsp
Mustard seeds- 1 Tsp
Red Chilly- 1
Curry leaves- Few


Method:

In a pan heat a teaspoon of ghee and fry the Ginger pieces till golden brown. Transfer this to a mixie and add Green chilles and Grated Coconut. Grind to a fine paste. Add the buttermilk. If you are using Yogurt, before adding it to the ground paste, give it a spin in mixie as well. Now add Salt. In the same pan add a teaspoon of Ghee and when hot, add Urad dal, Mustard seeds and Red chilly. When the Mustard seeds splutter, add the Curry leaves and pour this to Tambuli. Serve with rice and enjoy the cooling effect!

Preparation Time: 15 Minutes
Serves: 2 people

Arachu Kalakki

Arachu kalakki is a perfect compliment for keerai molagootal. Normally arachu kalakki is prepared using kanni mangai (mango) or nellikai (gooseberry) preserved in salt water. It can also be prepared using chenai (yam).

Here in this recipe I am using washed nellikai from the nellikai pickle.














Ingredients:
Coconut - 1/2 cup
Gooseberry - 10-12
Green chilli - 2
Butter milk - 1 cup
Salt
Coconut oil - 1 tbsp
Mustard - 1 tsp
Fenugreek seeds - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - 5


Method:
De seed the gooseberry and cut it into small pieces. Grind this along with coconut and green chilli into a paste.
Mix the ground mixture with butter milk and add the required amount of salt.
Heat oil in a pan, and add the mustard seeds. when they splutter add the fenugreek seeds and immediately remove the pan from the stove as fenugreek seeds burn fast. Then add the curry leaves. Pour this garnish into the arachu kalakki.
Serve as a side dish for Keerai molagootal. It can also be mixed with rice.

Preparation time: 10 mins
Serves: 4 people

Pulikuthi Upperi

Pulikuthi upperi or pulikuthi upperi is a dish prepared in iyer homes. It is used as a side dish for molagootal. Since molagootal is a mild dish, the combination with this upperi is very tasty. Some people also mix it with rice and eat. It goes well with rasam as well.Here is the recipe.











Ingredients:
Raw banana - 1 cup
Mustard - 2 tsp
Urad dal/black gram lentil - 2 tsp
Red chillies - 2
Coconut oil - 2 tbsp
Curry leaves - 6
Tamarind - small lemon sized
Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
Jaggery (optional) - small piece

To grind:
Red chillies - 2
Rice - 3 tsp
Fenugreek seeds/methi - 2 tsp


Method:
Fry rice (till it is brown), red chillies and methi without oil separately. Grind them together into a coarse powder and keep aside.
Extract the tamarind pulp by soaking it in 1/2 cup water.
Cut the banana into long slices.
Cook them in the tamarind water by adding a little salt and turmeric.The tamarind water should be just sufficient to soak the cut pieces. And after boiling, very little watery portion should be there.
Heat coconut oil in a pan. Add red chillies and then the urad dal. When it turns brown add mustard. When mustard splutters add the curry leaves and then add the cooked banana and the ground powder and mix well. Cook this till it becomes semi solid. Serve hot as a side dish to molagootal or rasam.

Preparation time: About 20 min.
Serves: 2 people

Sagu (With a small variation)

Today when I looked into my refrigerator to decide about the menu for the day, I found that there were small portions of many vegetables. I had to use them soon. I decided to make vegetable sagu so that I can empty my overflowing refrigerator.

Sagu is a delicious combination of vegetables and spices ground with coconut which gives this dish a wonderful aroma. This dish is from Karnataka and is usualy eaten as a side dish for Poori or chappathi.

My aunty makes this dish with a slight variation by adding bengal gram which adds its own flavour and also gives thickness to the sagu. Using bengal gram, we can reduce the quantity of coconut. Here is the recipe. In this recipe I have used beans, carrot, cauliflower, beetroot, cucumber and 1 small baby corn. I know you might be thinking that these are not the typical vegetables used in sagu, but believe me any vegetable can be used for sagu and it tastes equally good.

Ingredients:
Vegetables - 1 cup (Any - Carrot, beans, peas, etc)
Bengal gram - 1/4 cup
Onion - 1 small
Urad dal/Black gram - 2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Curry leaves - 6 to 7
Coriander - a small bunch to garnish
Mustard - 2 tsp
Oil - 2 to 3 tbsp

Masala (to grind):
Coconut - 3-4 tbsp
Jeera/Cumin seeds - 2 tsp
Green chillies - 2
Poppy seeds - 1/2 tsp
Cinnamon - about 1"
Black pepper - 1 tsp
Ginger - 4" piece
Coriander leaves - 2 -3 springs



Method:
Grind the masala ingredients to a fine paste and keep aside.
Heat oil in a pan. Put the black gram. When it turns almost brown add the mustard. Once the mustard starts spluttering add the curry leave and onion. Saute this till onion turns brown.
Add the chopped vegetables and little turmeric. Fry for 2 to 3 minutes.
Add little water such that the vegetables are half covered in water. Add some salt and mix.
Close the lid of the pan and let the vegetables cook for some time.
Once the vegetables are cooked add the cooked bengal gram and mix well and let it simmer for 1 min.
Then add the ground paste and mix well. Pour water as per your desired consistency. Add more salt if required.
Let the sagu boil for 3 to 4 minutes. Then garnish with chopped coriander leaves.
Serve hot with poori or chappati.

Preparation time: About 30 min
Serves: 4 people