Vishu Recipe -Mezhukkuvaratti (Dry Mixed Vegetables Curry)

Ingredients

To pressure cook

¼ kg suran

¼ kg beans

3 raw bananas

100 gms green peas

1 tsp. turmeric powder

Salt to taste

For seasoning

4 tbsp. coconut oil

Making

Peel, cut and wash the vegetables. Shell and clean green peas. Pressure cook the vegetables together with turmeric powder and salt. Set aside .Heat oil and add the cooked vegetables. Cook on a slow fire till the vegetables are dry .serve hot.

Vishu Recipe - Vazhakkai Poduthuval (Dry Raw Banana Curry)

Ingredients

To pressure cook

8 raw bananas

½ tsp. turmeric powder

Salt to taste

For Garnishing

½ coconuts (grated)

6 green chilies

For Seasoning

1 tsp. mustard seeds

2 tsp. black gram dal

2 red chilies (broken)

4 tbsp. oil

Making

Peel and cut raw bananas into small pieces. Pressure cook along with turmeric powder and salt and set aside. Heat oil. Add mustard seeds, black grams dal and red chillies.when brown add the cooked vegetables. Cook the vegetables on a low fire till dry. Run the grated coconut and green chilies in a mixie for a minute and add to the vegetables. Serve hot

Ø You can substitute vazhakkai (raw bananas) with ¾ kg chenai(suran)

Vishu Recipe -Beans Poduthuval (Dry beans Curry)

Ingredients

To pressure cook

½ kg beans

½ tsp. turmeric powder

Salt to taste

For Garnishing

¼ coconuts (grated)

4 green chilies

For seasoning

1 tsp. mustard seeds

1tsp black gram dal

2 red chilies (broken)

2 tbsp. oil

Making

Wash and chop the beans into very fine pieces. Add turmeric powder and salt, then pressure cook. Set aside. Heat the oil and add mustard seeds, black gram dal and red chillies.when brown, add the cooked vegetables. Cook on a low fire till the vegetables become dry. Run the grated coconut and green chilies in the mixie for a minute and add to the vegetables. Serve hot.

• You can substitute beans with cluster or string beans.
• You can also add 100 gms shelled green peas along with the beans while cooking.

Semiya Payasam

Ingredients

Vermicelli/semiya – 200gm

Milk – 2 ltrs

Condensed milk – 1 tin

Sugar – 5tbsp

Cashew nuts & raisins – 1/2 cup each

Cardamom – 2 big, crushed

Ghee/clarified butter – 2 1/2 tbsp

Method of preparation

Heat 2 tbsp ghee in a bottom heavy pan and roast the semiya till golden brown. Add milk to it and cook on low flame till semiya is fully done. Keep stirring in between. Add condensed milk and sugar and stir, till it is well combined with milk. Add crushed cardamom and remove from fire.

Heat 1/2 tbsp ghee in a pan and fry the cashew nuts, when it becomes golden brown, add raisins. Add the fried cashews and raisins to payasam. Serve hot or chilled.

Note: Since one tin condensed milk is used, this payasam is rich and has a creamy texture.If you prefer less creamier payasam substitute condensed milk with 2 cups sugar.

Adjust the quantity of sugar and condensed milk to suit your taste. The quantity prescribed above gives a medium-high sweetened payasam.

Parippu Payasam

The favourite desert of the keralites. You cant stop with just 1 serving.
Ingredents

Cherupayar Parippu – 200gm

Jaggery -400gm

Thick coconut milk – 1 1/2 cups

Medium thick coconut milk – 4 cups

Light coconut milk – 4 cups

Ghee – 3 tablespoon

Cashenut & Coconut pieces – 50 gm each

Method of preparation

Fry the parippu without oil for 5-6 minutes. Wash it well & cook with boiled water. Melt the jaggery by adding 1 cup water. Add the melted jaggery to well cooked parippu & stir well. Add 2 tablespoon ghee to this & mix well. Add light coconut milk & when it starts boiling add medium thick coconut milk. When this mix evaporates and becomes half add the thick coconut milk. Stir well for 5 minutes & remove from gas.

Fry the cashewnuts & coconut pieces in rest of the ghee & add to payasam. Serve hot.

Theeyal Kerala Style

Ingredients

Large onions - 2(sliced fine)

Garlic cloves - 2

Grated coconut - 1 cup

Shallots -1 cup

Fenugreek seeds - 1 tsp

Chili powder - 1 tbsp

Jackfruit seed- 100 gm(cut into 4)

Tuvar dal-1/3cup

Coriander seeds - 1 tsp

Green Chilly(slit)-3

Salt to taste

Oil-4 tsp

Tamarind extract - 1 tbsp

Turmeric powder - 1 tsp

Curry leaves - a few

Method of preparation

Heat two tsp of the oil in a frying pan and add ½ cup of the chopped onions. Saute the onions well till brown, add the curry leaves, coriander seeds and fenugreek seeds. Stir for a few more minutes and remove and keep aside. On a low heat, dry roast the coconut till it becomes brown. Blend the coconut with the onion mixture adding half a cup of water. In the meanwhile, cook the dal and jackfruit seed in pressure cooker with water. Heat the remaining oil in a saucepan and add the mustard seeds. When they splutter, add the curry leaves and remaining onions and shallots and fry till brown. Add the tamarind extract and ½ cup water and salt. When it starts to boil, add the blended paste and dal and cook on a low flame for 15 minutes.

Sambar -Onam special

Ingredients

Toor dal-1 cup(washed and soaked for 30 minutes)

Tamarind-size of a golf ball or Tamcon paste-1 tsp

Turmeric powder-1/2 tsp

Mustard seeds pinch

Salt-as required

Oil-2 tsp

Mustard seeds-1/2 tsp

Dry grated coconut-3 tsp

Cilantro/coriander leaves- (optional)

Curry leaves(a few)

Jaggery or sugar- 1 tsp

Fenugreek seeds -1/2 tsp

Green chillies- 3

Red chillies-5

Cilantro seeds -3 tsp

Bengal gram -2 tsp

Cumin seeds -1/2 tsp

Onion -1

Vegetable-Tomatoes, Drumstick, Okra, Capsicum, Radish, Carrots, Onions

Method of preparation

Cook the toor daal in the pressure cooker with double quantity of water, turmeric and salt. Keep aside to cool. Now, heat oil in a separate pan for about a minute and roast together whole chillies, bengal gram, coconut, curryleaves, coriander, cumin and fenugreek seeds till coconut turns golden brown. Then, grind all of these into a smooth paste , adding a little water from time to time. Put the tamarind with salt and water into a pan. Bring it to a boil. Add this to the toor dal and let it boil for sometime.

Add the vegetables and cook till done. Finally, mash the pressure cooked toor daal, Mix everything and let it simmer for 5 minutes. Season with mustard seeds.

Ulli Theeyal (Button onion Curry) - Onam special Recipe

 Incredients

Button onion 100 gm
Coconut Grated ½
Tamarind Paste 25 gm
Ginger Chopped 2 gm
Coconut oil 25 ml
Curry leaves 5-6
Mustard seeds 1 tsp
Coriander powder 1tsp
Chilli powder 1tsp
Pieces of red chillies 3-4
A pinch of turmeric powder
Salt to taste
Preparation

 

Peel and wash onions. Roast grated coconut and grind in to paste. Heat the coconut oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds, curry leaves, red chillies and chopped ginger. Add spices and coconut paste. Add onions to boiling curry and cook until tender. Add tamarind paste. Serve hot.

 

Vishu 2010- Vishu Kanji/Vishu Katta Kerala Traditional style

Here i am sharing the recipe of our traditional Vishu kanji …Some people call it as Vishu kanji and some parts of Kerala as Vishu katta…Malayalee can’t celebrate vishu without vishu kanji and vishu kani…In the day of vishu after seeing the vishu kani early in the morning we used to have vishu katta as breakfast ….So Enjoy a great vishu

Ingredients

Raw Rice -2 1/2cup( unakkalari,the rice which we used to make palpayasam) if u don’t get unakkalari u can use raw rice (pacha ari which we used to make idly)

Grated Coconut-4

Salt-to taste

cumin seeds-1/2tsp

Cooking Time-1/2hour

Method

Take a blender and grind the grated coconut along with water …. Extract coconut milk(thick onnam palu) and filter it (3 cup).

Take the cumin seeds in hand and just rub the seeds with the fingers and add this to the coconut milk d keep it aside …Now add some more water and grind again and extract thin coconut milk(6 1/2cup).

Wash the rice properly and keep it aside..Heat the uruli or big thick bottomed vessel(if u have nonstick kadai its best) ….Then add the 2nd coconut milk and bring it to boil.Stir occasionally for not to curdling the milk .

When it began to boil, pour the rice into it,close the vessel with a lid and cook well.

When its 1/2 cooked add the salt …Don`t forget to stir occasionally. ..So when the rice is 3/4th cooked then add the 1st extract of milk with cumin seeds.

..Stir continuously till the rice is cooked and become a thick gravy .Stir carefully coz the water in the milk began to crackle .By this time the oil is begin to come out from vishu katta So when its done take it from the kadai or uruli and pour into steel plate or banana leaves and fill it fully (if u have banana leaves use that only ..(the vishu katta will be more tastier )…With a banana leaf or a spatula wipe the top portion and make it even...When cool cut into pieces..Serve with jaggery syrup(sharkara paani)

Vishu 2010 -Vishu Traditions and Customs

Vishukani or Kani Kanal is the most popular tradition followed by people of Kerela. As per the popular belief, year's prosperity depends upon the type of the first object viewed in the morning. There is a list which tells about various auspicious items to be seen on Vishu morning. Ladies keep all the prescribed items ready a night before the Vishu. A Cadian leaf book, gold ornaments, a new white cloth, raw rice, yellow cucumber, betel leaves, flowers of the Konna tree, halved jack fruits, holy grantha and coconut are kept in a bell metal vessel called 'uruli'. Behind the vessel is kept a bell metal mirror and a Lord Krishna deity. Two lighted oil lamp called Nilavilakku is also placed alongside. The head of the family is the first person to see the holy things. Children are brought blindfold. Special care is taken that family members do not see any other thing except Vishukani. Later, Vishukani is offered to God and distributed amongst poor. Children and other young members of the family get a small gift on this day and this tradition of gift-giving is called Vishu Kaineetam.

Vishu 2010 - New year of Kerala

Vishu is the New Year of Malayalis – it is the astronomical or zodiac New Year in Kerala and is observed on the first day of the Malayalam month of ‘medam.’ In 2010, the date of Vishu is April 15. Historically the festival is closely associated with the agrarian economy of Kerala – a state is the southern part of India. The highlight of the festival is Vishukani, Vishukaineetam and Vishubhalam.

Please note that in 2010, Medam 1 is marked on April 14 but Vishu is celebrated on April 15. This is because the Surya Sankramana takes place late on April 14.

The Vishu day celebrations begin with the ‘Vishukani.’ ‘Vishu Kani’ is the first auspicious thing that people see on the day and this takes place during the Brahma Muhurta or ideally between 0400 hrs and 0600 hrs.

The ‘Vishukani’ is usually prepared on the night before the Vishu day. Immediately on awakening from sleep, people close their eyes and proceed towards the place where Vishukani is placed. This is known as Kani Kanal – kani means ‘that which is seen first.’

Vishukani consists of rice, kasavu mundu (traditional cloth of Kerala), gold, silver, coins, mirror (usually Aranmula Kannadi or mirror with a tail), cucumber, mango, jackfruit, coconut, banana, and Kanikonna (yellow flower known as Indian Laburnum). The Vishukani is exhibited in an ‘urali’ – a traditional vessel of Kerala. It is placed in front of an idol or portrait of Lord Krishna. Traditional Kerala lamp is lit near it.

Then, the eldest member in the family gives ‘Vishukaineetam’ to the family members. The Vishukaineetam is usually coins but nowadays people also prefer other expensive gifts. Hindus then worship at nearby Sri Krishna temples.

Vegetarian food, consisting of traditional Kerala fare, is prepared on the day and includes the mouthwatering ‘payasam.’

From an astrological point of view, Vishu is of immense significance. The day and night are of equal duration on the Vishu day (12 hours). ‘Vishubhalam’ or the predictions for the next year is read on the day.

The preparation for next agricultural season begins on the Vishu day. Earlier, farmers used to plough the land on this day and it was referred as ‘Vishupootu.’

It must be noted that Vishu is not the first day in the regional solar calendar followed in Kerala. The Malayalam Calendar begins in Chingam (August).

Kerala Style Nadan Beef Fry

Ingredients for Nadan Beef Fry Recipe
Beef - 1 kg
Button onions(Kunjulli) - 1/2 cup
Bay leaves - 2 nos
Garlic û 1 full pod / 10 nos cloves
Ginger - A thumb size piece
Fresh coconut slices û 1/2 cup
Red chilli powder - 1 1/2 tbsp
Coriander powder - 2 tbsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Garam masala(Kerala style) - 1 tbsp
(Heat and powder 4 cloves, 3 cardamoms, 1 long cinnamon stick, 2 tbsp fennel seeds, 8 black peppercorns, 4 fenugreek seeds, 2 red chilly)
Curry leaves - 4 sprigs
Salt - As reqd
Coconut oil - 2 tbsp
Preparation Method of Nadan Beef Fry Recipe
1)Cut beef into small pieces and wash it well.
2)Chop onions into 2 pieces.
3)Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan.
4)Add ginger, garlic and 3/4th of the chopped onion.
5)Stir it well until it╝s a completely sautى, slightly golden in colour.
6)Make a paste of Garam masala, chilly powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder and salt.
7)Add this paste to the onion ginger, garlic mixture and sautى on slow fire till and the oil separates from the masala.
8)At this point, add the beef and saute again on slow flame till the water comes out of the beef.
9)Once the water is fully out of the beef, add the curry leaves and coconut pieces.
10)Cover and cook, adding ╒ cup more hot water to cook again on medium flame.
Tips/Suggestions:-
Once the beef starts to cook and you find on an open vessel it takes time, you can use pressure cooker and wait for 3 to 4 whistles and it should be cooked properly. You can add 2 tbsp of vinegar too to the beef to cook it properly.

Masala Chai Recipe

Chai is a Hindi word for tea - which was originated from Cha - the Chinese word for tea. Masala is a Hindi word meaning spice. Masala Chai is a hot spiced tea blended with aromatic herbs. Masala Chai is a very popular drink not only in India, but also in western countries like the United States, UK and Australia. Unlike in the western countries, tea is never served cold in India.

Tea or Chai is the most popular drink in India and it is served anywhere - from street-side vendors to luxurious restaurants. Traditionally, Indians welcome their guests with a cup of Chai. Recipes for making masala chai varies from state to state and from family to family. Howver, the most common ingredients (spices) for bringing out the flavors in Masala Chai are

Cardamon : Only green cardamon is used in making Masala Chai. Cardamon has a wonderful flavor which goes perfectly well with tea. It could be used in ground form or in the form of slightly crushed pods.

Cinnamon : Cinnamon is another fragrant spice commonly used in Masala Chai. It could be used in ground form or in the form of crushed cinnamon sticks.

Nutmeg : Nutmeg has a subtle cinnamon like flavor which is often used in Masala Chai. It is always used in powder form.

Ginger : Only fresh Ginger in crushed form is used in making Masala Chai. Its pungent taste bring out a warming effect. It also has medicinal properities in curing colds and cough.

Cloves : Cloves are not very popular in making Masala chai, as they are very pungent. They are used only in whole form. Normally one or two cloves are enough for making 4 cups of Chai.

Black Pepper : Black pepper is freshly ground before using it for tea. Again it should be used sparingly.

Here’s a  simple recipe for making Masala Chai.

Serves : 4

Ingredients :

2 cardamom pods

1 cinnamon stick, lighlty crushed

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (optional)

2 whole cloves (optional)

3 cups water

1/2 cup milk

2 tablespoons Black tea

3 tablespoons granulated sugar (or to taste)

Method :

Lightly crush Cardamon pods and Cinnamon in a mortar.

Put water in a pan. Add crushed Cardamon, Cinnamon, ground Ginger, black pepper and cloves to water. Bring the mixture to boil. Let it simmer for few minutes.

Remove the pan from fire and let the spices infuse their flavor for about 3-4 minutes.

Add the sugar and milk to the pan and bring to a boil.

Remove from heat and add tea leaves. Cover the pan, remove from hear and let it steep for 4-5 minutes.

Masala Chai is ready. Just strain it into a teapot or directly into tea cups.