Idichakka Thoran / Upperi

I don't think we can get fresh Idichakka (young green jackfruit) here in US. I went for the canned one which we get in asian stores. I was worried about the taste since am not using the fresh one, but it was great.
So here it is..

Idichakka Thoran @Ruchikerala

Kaalan

Kaalan is a real delicacy in sadya. Though you need to put a bit more effort for this, it is worth all the effort.
I made this with 1 litre of curd/ yogurt and 1 full coconut grated.

Kaalan @Ruchikerala

Ingredients
-------------
Pepper Powder - 1 tablespoon
Plantain - 1
Yam - 1 cup
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - 2 springs
Curd (sour) - 1 litre
Salt -as required

Grind very nicely
--------------------
Coconut -1 (1 full coconut grated)
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Green chilly - 5
Curry leaves - 1 spring

Final step Ingredients
--------------------------
Fenugreek powder - 1 tsp (fenugreek seeds dry roasted and powdered)
Ghee - 2 tsp
Seasoning
-------------
Coconut Oil
Mustard Seeds- 1 tsp
Red Chilly -2
Curry leaves - 2 springs

Process
---------

1)  Mix the pepper powder with water , you can soak it for 5 mins. Then sieve this using a cloth so that the pepper particles which are not ground properly stays in the cloth and only the powdered part goes into the pan.
2) When the pepper powder with water mixture starts boiling (just 2 min), add the cut plantain and yam to this. They should be cut like finger size. Also the yam and plantain should be put and washed in turmeric powder so that its bitter taste will go off, soon after cutting it.
3) Add 1/2 tsp turmeric powder and allow it to boil keeping the lid closed.
4) Now when the vegetables are 50 % cooked, add salt and curry leaves. Then add 1 litre curd to this.
5) Keep stirring in between until the curd thickens. This is a long process and will take some time. Be patient.
6) Meanwhile grind the coconut, green chilly, curry leaves and cumin seeds very smoothly (it should be butter like consistency) , adding very little water (only add water required to grind it smooth).
7) Once the curd has thickened (water evaporates fully), add the ground coconut mixture and mix well.
8) Boil it for some more time(1 min) by stirring in between so that it becomes thick.
9) Now switch off and add the seasoning to this.

Note: The thickening part of curd takes some time and attempt this only if you have patience. Or else make it bit loose (watery), though the patience rewards more taste !

Manga Pulissery / Mango Pulissery

Mango pulissery is actually made with ripe mango, but myself and my hubby liked it more when it was only slightly ripe. This retained bit sour taste too, so it was basically sweet and sour which gave it a real great taste.

Mango Pulissery @Ruchikerala

First Step Ingredients
------------------------
Semi ripe mango -2
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - 1 spring
Salt - as required

Grind
--------
Coconut - 1 cup
Green chilly - 4
Curry leaves - 1 spring
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Ginger - 1/2 inch (a very small piece)
Turmeric powder  - 1/4 tsp

Last Step Ingredients
---------------------------
 Curd - 2 cups
          Seasoning
           ------------
           Oil
           Mustard seeds- 1 tsp
           Red Chilly - 3
           Fenugreek seeds - 1/4 tsp
           Cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp
           Curry leaves - 1 spring

Process
------------


1) Put all the ingredients listed under "First Step Ingredients" in a pan and boil it by closing the lid for about 8 mins. In between open the lid and check if the mangoes have boiled in such a way that at least some of them can be mashed. Once it turns like that, mash some.
2) Now add the ground mixture containing all the ingredients listed under "Grind".
3) After mixing it well just boil it for 2 min. Don't close the pan with the lid. A slight bubble comes (approx 2 min) and its time to switch off the stove.
4) Now make sure the curry is not very hot and then add the curd, basically if the curry is hot the curd will easily cuddle up which shouldn't happen.
5) Now as final step, do the seasoning with the ingredients listed under "Seasoning".

Note: You can use semi ripe mangoes or even ripe mangoes. When using ripe mangoes there is a bit sweet taste which I don't like, so I always go for semi-ripe mangoes or even raw mangoes as it will be sour.

Kerala Aviyal (Mixed Vegetables in Coconut gravy)

 A sadya is never complete without a aviyal. The aroma of all vegetables steamed along with the ground coconut is really great. So let's see how its prepared.
There may be variations in the vegetables used, but am using the more commonly used ones and what I can get here in Florida, US.

Aviyal - @Ruchikerala

First Step - Steam in pan
----------------------------
All the below mentioned vegetables are to be cut into finger shaped lengthy pieces:
Yam (Chena) - 1 cup
Plaintain (Kaya) - 1 cup
Put the Yam and plantain in turmeric powder with water and wash well.
Green beans- 1/2 cup
Winter melon (Kumbalanga)- 1/2 cup
Carrot - 1 cup
Snake Gourd (Padavalanga)- 1/2 cup
Turmeric - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - 2 springs
oil - 1 tablespoon
salt - as required

Ingredients to coarse grind
---------------------------

1/2 coconut (grate almost 1/2 of a coconut)
cumin seeds - 1 tsp
curry leaves - 2 springs
shallots - 4
green chilly - 5 small

Last Addition
----------------
Curd- 1.5 cups , adjust according to sourness

Tempering
------------
Coconut oil - 1tbsp
Curry leaves - 2 springs

Put everything listed under "First Step - Steam in pan" (follow everything as described there) in a pan. Close and steam it by adding 2 cups of water and mixing everything well.
Open and check to make sure the vegetables are not sticking to the bottom of the pan every 2 -3 min.
Meanwhile this is cooking, you can coarse grind the ingredients listed under "Ingredients to coarse grind".
You just need to pulse it in the mixer/ blender for some time - just crush it well.

When the vegetables are almost 75 % cooked, add this coarse ground mixture to the pan and mix well.
The taste of the aviyal mainly depends on the quantity of coconut , it must coat all the veggies nicely. If you feel it's less, coarse grind bit more coconut too and add (this time just coconut would be enough).

Mix well , close the pan and steam it in medium heat for about 3 min.
Now all the veggies should also be well cooked.

Now add the curd, make sure the aviyal is not too watery just add enough curd to coat all the veggies.
Mix well and close the pan for 2 min.

As a final step, add the coconut oil and curry leaves (listed under "tempering").
Now close and keep the lid for sometime, so that the oil and curry leaves smell will blend nicely to the dish giving a nice aroma.
Now, you have a great aviyal for your sadya.

Ruchi - Ruchiyula Bakshanam (Taste - Tasty Food) - My First Blog and its amazing !!

I have gone through many blogs, basically I have surfed the net a lot. Always wanted to create a blog. I made a grand Onasadya today (a small onam celebration at our home) and that inspired me to create a blog and post all the recipes , hope it benefits someone. So here I go.. In a few days I will start putting all the good recipes here. Comments and Suggestions are always welcome..

The onasadya served in banana leaf (we got the banana leaf from a Indian grocery store, they had banana tree in their home !!)

Onasadya @Ruchikerala