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Onam recipes
Ada pradhaman | Payasam
Pazham pradhaman
Almost all festivals or celebrations call for a sadhya (feast) in Kerala, and no feast is complete without payasam(s) or Pradhaman (pudding). I love those awesome wedding feasts which ends with different types of payasam ; three varieties is almost a norm, more the merrier. Continue reading
Rava Ladoo
Aval Payasam
Moru Curry
And so yet another Onam has gone by and the last week has been a lazy one after all the celebration. I haven’t been cooking much and recovering from an eye infection. I am feeling much better today.
This is one of those curry that I make quite often at home and this is my quick fix for those busy/lazy days. I absolutely love this and all I need is some mango pickle to go with it. Please add water as required for the consistency you need.
You need –
- Yogurt (sour curd) – 3/4 cup
- Grated coconut – 1/2 cup
- Green chilly- 1,slit
- Dried red chili – 1-2-
- Turmeric powder – 1/2 teaspoon
- Fenugreek seeds – 1/2 teaspoon
- Cumin seeds – 1/4 teaspoon
- Curry leaves – 2 sprigs
- Oil – 2 teaspoons
- Water – 1 cup or as required
- Salt to taste
How to –
In blender, blend the grated coconut, yogurt, cumin seeds, turmeric powder, green chili, to a fine paste.
Heat oil in pan. Tip the mustard, fenugreek seeds and allow to splatter. Add the dried chili, curry leaves and fry for 1-2 minutes.
Turn the heat to very low and add the yogurt-coconut mixture, water (as required), salt and heat through gently. Do not boil.
Turn off the heat and serve with rice.
Semiya Payasam / vermicelli kheer
Wishing all Malayalis a very happy Onam! And for those who are new to this term, here is something to read http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onam
And this Onam it’s semiya payasam for us. An all time favorite of mine; though hubby and daughter is more for parippu payasam. The recipe I share is with Condensed milk, that’s made the payasam so creamy and rich and so fitting for the celebration. Please adjust the sugar to suit your taste. I have used store brought roasted cashews for garnishing instead of fried cashew. You may opt for this or do the traditional way of frying the cashews and raisins in the ghee as mentioned in the recipe below.
You need –
- Vermicelli/semiya – 1 cup
- Milk – 1 litre
- Condensed milk – 1 tin
- Sugar – 2 tablespoon or as per taste
- Cashew nuts & raisins – 1/4 cup each
- Cardamom powder – 1/4 teaspoon
- Ghee/clarified butter – 1 tablespoon + extra for frying cashews and raisins
How to –
Heat 1 tablespoon ghee in a heavy bottom pan and roast the semiya till golden brown.
Add milk and cook over low flame till semiya is cooked through and milk has reduced and bit thick. Stirring frequently. Add condensed milk and sugar. Mix till well combined.
Add cardamom powder and turn off the heat.
In a pan, heat the ghee and fry the cashew nuts till golden brown. Add the raisins and fry till they puff up. Add this to the payasam and serve hot or chilled.
Sending this recipe to the event – ” Favorite Food Event – Payasams/ Kheers” hosted by The Big Sweet Tooth
Aviyal
Aviyal / Avial is yet another integral part of the sadhya. A delicious mix of different veggies cooked in a coconut-yogurt sauce. Like most dishes this too have many variations though out Kerala. One of them is the consistency of the gravy. Some like it with more gravy and while others like it dry/semi – dry. I like the semi-dry version and that’s what I am sharing with you today.
You need –
- Raw banana – 1
- Yam – 100 grams
- Carrot – 1
- Drumstick – 1
- Beans – 10
- Potato – 1 small
- Yoghurt – ½ cup (Sour)
- Grated coconut – 1 1/4 cups
- Cumin seeds – 1/4 teaspoon
- Fresh green chili – 1
- Turmeric Powder – a pinch
- Salt to taste
- Coconut oil – 1 tablespoon
- Curry Leaves – 1 sprig
How to –
Wash, clean and cut all the veggies into lengthwise (about 2’ inch pieces).
In heavy bottom pan, put the cut veggies along with 1/2 cup water. Cover and cook till just about done. (Do not over cook. Keep the veggies crisp). Uncover and continue to cook for a couple of minutes till the water is almost reduced to 1/4 (or if you want more gravy then don’t let the water evaporate).
In a blender, coarsely blend together grated coconut, chili, and cumin seeds without adding any water. Add this mixture to the veggies along with yogurt, curry leaves and mix gently till well combined.
Turn off the heat and drizzle the coconut oil and mix well cover and let it sit for a couple of minutes before you serve.
Puli Inji
Cooking up and preparing for Onam is fun but missing home terribly and so is the case at home too. Said that, can’t wait to be home soon in a couple of months and really looking forward to that now.
And today’s recipe is a very essential part of the sadhya. Call it a sweet and sour ginger pickle of Kerala where ginger is cooked in a tangy-sweet sauce. Just recently did I know that inji puli and puli inji are two different recipes (of course a slight difference not huge). One has little more chili while the other has more Puli.
There are many variation of this in different part of Kerala and here’s how my Mom makes it. You may alter the addition of chili or Jaggery to suit your taste.
You need –
- Fresh ginger – finely chopped, 1 cup
- Tamarind – a lemon size ball, soaked in 3/4 cup of hot water.
- Jaggery – grated, 2 tablespoons
- chili powder – 1/2 teaspoon or as per taste
- Green chili – 2, finely chopped
- Asafetida – a pinch
- Mustard seeds – 1/2 teaspoon
- Curry leaves – 1 sprig
- Coconut oil – as required
- Salt to taste
How to –
Squeeze the soaked tamarind; extract the juice and set aside.
Heat oil and fry the ginger till golden brown. remove and set aside. In the same pan add oil if required; once heated add the mustard seeds and allow to splatter. Tip the green chili, curry leaves and fry briefly for a couple of seconds.
Add the chili powder, asafetida and saute for 2 minutes over medium heat. Add the fried ginger and mix well.
Add the tamarind water, jaggery, salt to taste and mix well and cook till mixture is thick and pulpy.
Turn off the heat and let it rest for an hour before you serve. cool completely before you jar it.
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