Kavitha loved south Indian food and her biggest compliant about the US was she could not find ellai-sapad (traditional south-indian food served on banana leaf). When all her attempts to train me to become a good chef failed, she decided to take matters in her own hands and master some of her favorite dishes.
In this web-page, I present to you a compilation of recipes that I found in Kavitha's recipe book. If you try out any of these dishes, please keep her in your thoughts and realize that it would be a wonderful tribute to her spirit!
Source: Unknown
Ingrediants:
5 medium potatoes
3 medium onions
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons gingerroot, chopped
1-1/2 cups of coconut milk
Preparation
Peel potatoes and cut them into 1" cubes.
Put them in a 3-quart saucepan with about 2 cups of water.
Bring to a boil and lower heat to a simmer.
Cut onions in big chunks--about 1 to 1 1/2"--cutting away the top and bottom layers to separate.
Add to the potatoes after the first few minutes.
Cover and cook until onions are tender, about 15 minutes.
Put ginger root in blender with enough water to cover and blend until smooth.
Add to potato-onion mixture when potatoes are just about done.
Add salt.
Add coconut milk slowly, stopping before the mixture becomes soupy.
The consistency should be that of a stew.
Source: Priya Sandeep at www.bawarchi.com downloaded by Kavitha on 7/3/2006
Ingredients:
Carrot = ¼ kg
Beans = ¼ kg
Yam = ¼ kg
Drumsticks 1
Tomatoes 1
Tamarind: a little
Coconut: 1 cup (freshly grated)
Jeera: 1 tsp
Whole Red Chillies: 3 -4
Green chillies: 2
Curry leaves: a few
Salt to taste
Coconut oil: 1 tsp
Method:
Soak tamarind in water and take out the juice and keep it aside.
Cut the above vegetables and boil it with turmeric powder and salt
In the meantime, grind to paste coconut, red chillies, green chillies, jeera and curry leaves
Once the vegetables are boiled add the ground paste and mix it well. Check salt and boil it once again for 2-3 minutes.
Once that is done, add tamarind juice and mix it well. Cook it again for 2 -3 minutes.
Garnish with curry leaves and 1 tsp of coconut oil. Serve hot with rice.
Optional: Instead of tamarind juice, cut 1 raw mango and boil it along with the vegetables. In that case do not add tamarind juice. Raw mango will be enough.
Take the 1/2 can of coconut milk and dilute it in water to make one can
Let the vegetables cook in the diluted coconut milk
In the meanwhile take the juice of the grated ginger and set it aside
Grind the ingredients of the ground mixture
When the vegetables are tender add the ground mixture and 1/2 can of coconut milk
Let it cook for some time. (remember to cook all this in medium to medium low flame)
Now add the cooked dhal ( mash the dhal and garlic well) and the remaining 1/2 can of coconut milk
Add the ginger juice and cook for a minute and take it off the stove
When Sodhi cools down, add salt and lemon juice and temper with mustard and urad dhal
Note: Try not to heat the sodhi. Have it with piping hot rice. Sodhi is normally made for lunch as it is a very heavy dish, but it taste awesome the night it is cooked and goes well with plain idiyappam.
Ingredients:
Ginger cut into tiny pieces - A handful
Tamarind - Size of a lemon soaked in water and take the extract
Coriander seeds - 1/4 tsp
Red chilly - 4
Grated Coconut - 4 tbsps
Method:
In oil saute the ginger till it turns brown
Fry the red chilly, Coriander seeds and coconut gratings separately
Grind the ginger along with the items that were fried separately
Add the thick tamarind extract and salt and let it blend for a second
In a pan with 2 tbsps oil, temper mustard seeds, Uradh dhal and add the mixture
Let it boil for a atleast an hour in medium low
Just before you take it off the stove, add a tbsp of jaggery
Masoor Dal ~ Red Lentils
Cooking Time: 40 mins Preparation Time: 20 mins Serves 4
Source: Unknown
Main ingrediants for the dal:
2 table spoons yellow moong dal (split yellow lentils)
¼ cup masoor dal (split red lentils)
1 green chilli
1 teaspoon ginger grated
1 teaspoon garlic grated
½ teaspoon turmeric powder (haldi)
Other ingredients:
6 to 8 bhindi (okra) cut into 25mm (1”) pieces
½ cup cluster beans (guvar) cut into 25 mm (1”) pieces
1 carrot diced
1 sweet corn cut into circles
2 potatoes diced
2 brinjals diced
½ teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)
6 to 8 curry leaves
½ teaspoon fenugreek seeds (methi)
¼ teaspoon asafetida (hing)
¼ teaspoon chilli powder
2 tablespoons oil
Salt to taste
Method:
Wash the moong dal and masoor dal. Drain.
Pressure cook the dals, green chili, ginger, garlic, tumeric powder, salt with 1 cup of water
Whisk the pressure cooked dal till smooth and remove the green chilli.
Heat the oil in a large pan
Add the cumin seeds, curry leaves, fenugreek seeds and asafetida
Stir for a few seconds.
Add the bhindi, cluster beans, carrots, sweet corn, potatoes, brinjal and chilli powder
Sauté for 5 to 7 minutes till the vegetables soften.
Add the cooked dal and 1 cup of water and salt and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes.
Serve hot.
Source: Unknown
Prep time: 15 mins Cooking time: 20 mins Serves 4
Ingredients for the palak koftas:
1 cup spinach leaves (palak), blanched, drained and chopped
1/4 cup bengal gram flour (besan)
1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)
A pinch of soda bi-carb
Salt to taste
Oil for deep frying
Ingrediants for the kadhi:
1 cup curd
2 tablespoons bengal gram flour (besan)
1 teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)
A pinch asafoetida (hing)
5 curry leaves
1 onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder (haldi)
1 tablespoon oil
Salt to taste
Method for the palak koftas:
Mix the spinach leaves, gram flour, chilli powder, cumin seeds, soda-bi-carb and salt in a bowl to get a soft dough
Mix well, divide into 16 equal portions and shape into even sized rounds
Heat oil in a kadai and deep fry the koftas
Remove and drain on absorbent paper and keep aside
Method for the kadhi:
Mix the curds and gram flour in a bowl and keep aside
Heat the oil in a saucepan and add the cumin seeds
When they crackle, add the asafoetida, curry leaves, onion and garlic and saute for 4 to 5 minutes
Add the curds and gram flour mixture, turmeric powder, salt and 1 cup of water
Bring to a boil
Putting it together:
Add the palak koftas to the hot kadhi and simmer for 4 to 5 minutes
Serve hot with rice.
Source: Keluvettan Chembukandom at www. bawarchi.com downloaded by Kavitha on 7/31/06
King Fish - 1 kg
Chili powder two tablespoonful
Turmeric powder- half teaspoonful
Fenugreek(Uluva or Methi ) half teaspoonful
Mustard seeds (kaduku) one tea spoonful
Red Onions--4 cut pieces
Garlic-- 3
Ginger --- 4 pieces
Kudam Puli-(Kukum star)---5 pieces
Coconut Oil---1/4 cup
Curry leaves-- 10 stems
Salt---As required
Split green chilies---6
Paprika-one tablespoonful
Water--- 3 cups
Method:
If Kerala King fish is not available ,the north American counterpart (fresh or frozen) or a substitute like MAHI MAHI or even SALMON will do equally well. Remember the cooking procedure can be divided in to two stages. The first stage is preparing the gravy and the second stage is cooking the fish pieces in the gravy.
In a frying pan ,heat about a quarter of a cup of coconut oil or vegetable oil until the oil is hot enough to break a few mustard seeds in this oil.
Now add the chopped onions, few curry leaves and split green chilies and stir fry .
To this add a mixture of turmeric, chili powder and paprika powder in half a cup of water. Cook.
When the oil begins to clear add the remaining spices previously ground, half a cup of 'puli water' and sufficient additional water to make enough gravy to cover all the fish pieces when cooking subsequently.
Add salt as necessary.
Cook until the gravy is thick .Put this aside.
Next to start the second stage and the actual cooking use a fairly large frying pan.
Prepare a small layer of curry leaves (Kadi patha).
Arrange the pieces of fish on this curry leaf layer.
Pour the previously prepared gravy over this. The pieces of fish should be completely covered.
Add the remaining curry leaves and 'PULI 'pieces ,cover with a lid and cook slowly.
Do not stir, if necessary you can lift the frying pan by it's handle and give it a gentle rotating or rocking motion during cooking to spread the gravy evenly.
Stop cooking when the fish pieces are cooked sufficiently and the gravy is thick.
This preparation is best after it sits for a day or two to allow time for the spices to get in to the fish. In the old days they used 'CHATTIES' (wide, shallow bottom pan) made of "MANNU" (Mannu=clay. Basically it is round, wide, shallow clay pot), to keep the fish curry in .The curry got better as it stayed in the chatty for some reason.
4-6 herring or rainbow trout, gutted, washed and dried
Oil
Lemon slices
Cooking Instructions:
Make 3 slanting slits on fish.
Mix together the ginger, garlic, salt, coriander, chilli, ground pepper and turmeric powder.
Add the water.
Rub spices over the fish and inside the cuts.
Bake under the grill for 10-15 minutes, brushing with oil and turning the fish occasionally until cooked.
Garnish with lemon slices.
Source: Madhur Jaffrey
Ingrediants:
4 small medium peeled potatoes
1-1/4 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
1/4 teaspoons fennel seeds
1" fresh ginger root, peeled and finely chopped
5-6 fresh hot green chilies, finely chopped
5 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 cup shelled peas (frozen peas, defrosted well may be used)
1/3 cup grated carrot
1/2 -3/4 cup pumpkin or squash, peeled and cut into 1/2" dice
1/2 -3/4 cup cauliflower, cut into 1/2" pieces
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
Method:
Boil the potatoes until cooked.
Mash well with 3/4 teaspoon of the salt.
Put the perppercorns and fennel seeds into a clean coffee grinder. Grind to a fine powder.
Put the ginger, chilies and the ground black pepper mixture into the container of an electric blender. Add 1/2 cup water. Blend to a fine paste.
Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a small pan over medium heat.
When hot, add the vegetables, spice paste, remaining salt and the sugar.
Stir and fry for 6 - 8 minutes over medium-low heat until the vegetables are tender.
Add a sprinkling of water, if needed, to prevent them from sticking
Remove from the heat.
Put the mashed potatoes and cooked vegetables into a bowl. Mix well.
Divide the mixture into 1-1/2 inch balls.
With lightly floured hands flatten each ball to roughly 3" rounds. Coat with the flour. (Note- sometimes Kavitha used to beat an egg and lightly coat the balls if they were breaking up)
Heat 3 tablespoons of the oil in a large, wide frying pan over medium heat.
When hot, put in as many of the potato patties as the pan will hold easily in a single layer.
Fry for 2-3 minutes on each side until golden and hot in the center. Make all the patties this way, adding more oil as needed.
