Pappanga Thoran/Sautéed Papaya With Coconut

Papaya is a tropical fruit and has a sweet musky taste when ripe with a soft orange tinted flesh. Been googling about papaya and came to know about few health benefits of the fruit. Papaya-the fruit, as well as the other parts of the papaya tree, contain papain, an enzyme that helps digest proteins. This enzyme is especially concentrated in the fruit when it is unripe. Papain is extracted to make digestive enzyme dietary supplements.  Vitamin C and vitamin A, which is made in the body from the beta-carotene in papaya, are both needed for the proper function of a healthy immune system. Papaya may therefore be a healthy fruit choice for preventing such illnesses as recurrent ear infections, colds and flu.  It has also got some anti inflammatory effect.  Can read more about the health benefits of papaya here.

In Kerala most of the homes have at least one papaya tree in their backyard!  The raw papayas are used for cooking, usually made into a thoran(sauted with grated coconut)or stir fry.  I'm not very keen on ripe papayas, but when raw and made into a thoran, I'm all 'ga ga' about it. 

You will need...

Raw Papaya - 2 medium

Coconut - 1/4 - 1/2 grated

Green chillies - 3-4 (2 for grinding and 2 chopped)

Jeera - 1 tsp

Turmeric - 1 tsp

Mustard seeds - 1-2 tsp

Shallots(Cheriya ulli) - a handful peeled and sliced

Whole red chillies(dry) - 2-3 split into 2-3 pieces

Curry leaves - few

Salt - to taste

Wash, skin, deseed and grate the papayas into a mixing bowl.  Grind coconut along with 2 green chillies, 2 shallots and jeera.  Add this into the grated papaya.  Add turmeric, salt and mix well.  Keep aside.  In a thick bottomed pan heat oil.  Splutter mustard seeds and saute shallots, red chillies,  chopped green chillies and curry leaves until shallots are translucent.  Add the papaya mixture into it, cover and cook for 7-10 mins in medium heat.  If there is still water left stir fry until all the water is gone. Serve hot with rice.

I'm sending this to the event 'Think Beyond the Usual - Fruits' hosted by Nithu Bala.  She has got an inspiring lovely space, which you can visit by clicking here.

Cheers!!!

Moong Dal Dosa/Cherupayattin Parippu Dosa

I'm always on the lookout for low carb/high protein recipes.  I love dosa, but usually decide against it while counting calories and the amount of carb it contains.  Also if I have to have dosa, I like it with a generous coating of ghee.  Today I was lucky enough to bloghop and land on Srivalli's space to discover a recipe which is equally good in taste and at the same time low carb!!!  I instantly soaked moong dal and tried it out.  Here is the outcome...

All the credit for this one goes to Srivalli!!!Thanks dear!!! 

You can see the recipe here.  I made few changes, here are they...

Added 2 green chillies and a small piece of ginger while grinding the batter.  Also added ajwain powder along with jeera into the batter. Sprinkled chopped green chillies, red onions and coriander leaves while making.  I used olive oil spray on top.  Serve hot with any chutney.  I had it with Sanjeev Kapoor's mixed vegetable pickle and the combo was just awesome!!!

Rice Noodles Upma

A simple breakfast with mild flavours.  Can be done in a jiffy, needs very few ingredients which are most likely to be there in your pantry. Learned this from my friend Vidya who has a wide range of  recipe collection!!!

You will need...

Rice Noodles - 250gms

Onion - 1 big chopped

Tomatto - 1 chopped

Green peas - 1/2 cup(I used frozen)

Green chillies - 3-4 chopped

Curry leaves - few

Mustard seeds - few

Peanuts - few

Jeera - few

Salt - to taste

Oil 

Cook noodles according to packet instructions, drain and keep aside. In a pan add oil, splutter mustard seeds followed by jeera and peanuts.  Throw in onions, green chillies and saute well.  Add the tomatoes, green peas and curry leaves. Saute well.  Add salt and the cooked noodles.  Mix well and serve hot with any chutney of your choice. 

Variation:

Can garnish with a handful of coconut ground with few coriander leaves. 

If you like it yellow add a pinch of turmeric powder before adding the tomatoes.

Ragada Patties

I realised one of my 'unknown-unknowns', thanks to my friendship with some hardcore veggies during my stay in the UK. They opened a window revealing the myriad chaats, bhajis, khichdis and sweets. I started cooking veggies/legumes which I earlier had no intention to even touch. One of the chaat/street foods that I got mesmerised with is 'Ragada Patties' - which also makes a balanced meal with the carb-protein combo. Since there is no deep frying involved, i find it healthy too. The recipe is from a Rajastani friend 'S', who's an encyclopedia of veg delicacies.

You will need...

For patties:

Potatoes - 6-7 

Green chillies - 2-3

Ginger - a little

Boil(take care not to over-boil, we need just cooked enough) and mash potatoes. Crush green chillies and ginger with a pestle and mortar and mix all the ingredients together with salt.  With greased hands take handfuls of mash, mould into round disk shaped patties and keep aside.

For Gravy:

White peas - 1/2 cup

Chick peas - 1/2 cup

Onions - 2 copped

Ginger - a li'l

Garlic - 5-6 cloves

Tomattoes - 2 pureed

Storebought tomatto puree - 2 tbsp extra concentrated

Chilli powder - 1-2 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Coriander powder - 1 tsp

Channa masala - 1 tsp

Garam masala - 1/2 tsp

Coriander leaves  for garnishing

Salt - to taste

Oil

Soak the white peas and chickpeas overnight and pressure cook. Grind onions, garlic and ginger together. In a thick bottomed pan heat oil and saute the ground mixture. When oil leaves to the sides add mashed potatoes and saute for few minutes. Add tomatto puree(both homemade and storebought), all the masala powders and salt and saute till oil seperates. Finally add cooked chickpeas and white peas along with some water and cook till gravy thickens. Garnish with coriander leaves.

To Serve:

Red onion - 1 chopped

Lime wedges - few

Sev(optional)

Tamarind Sauce(find recipe here) or Maggi Tamarina sauce

Green Sauce(find recipe here)(optional)

Coriander leaves - few chopped

Roast both sides of the patties on a hot tava/griddle smearing oil, until golden brown. Arrange two patties on a plate and pour the channa gravy on top. Granish with chopped onions, coriander leaves, sev, tamarind sauce, green sauce and lime wedge. If  serving for a big group or for parties, can arrange the patties, gravy and garnishes separately on the serving table and let the guests help themselves to suit their liking.

Note:

Can alternate the sev with crushed potato crisps. For me it tatses better than sev.

Can use youghurt as an accompaniment. 

Storebought tomatto puree is used to give more colour to the gravy.  You can avoid if you are not that keen on the colour.

Here we use chick peas and white peas. Can me made with just white peas which I feel way too plain.  

If you find the mash a bit unruly to mould into patties, add some breadcrumbs to make it firm.

Spinach Thoran

Spinach happens to be my li'l one's favourite green.  Can you guess why? Coz he thinks Popeye's muscles are made of spinach!!!  Oh boy!!! Only if he believed that Superman's biceps were because he ate Okra and Transformers gobbled up beetrots for power, you would have had a mom on 'cloud nine' here...

Here i'm sharing the way I make spinach thoran - have peppered it with urad dals in an effort to make it more interesting and colorful :)

You will need...

Spinach - 300gms(washed and chopped)

Onions - 1 sliced

Grated/Desicated coconut- 1 handful

Jeera - 1 pinch

Green chillies - 2-3

Chilly flakes - 1/2 tsp

Turmeric - 1 tsp

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Urid dal - 1 tsp

Curry leaves - few

Salt - to taste

Coarsly grind coconut, jeera and green chillies together. In a thick bottomed pan heat oil, splutter mustard seeds and add urid dal. Add sliced onions and curry leaves and saute well. Add the ground coconut mixture, turmeric, chilly flakes,salt and chopped spinach. Mix well and stir fry in high heat until all the water disappears. Serve hot with rice/roti.

Ulli Curry/Ulli Theeyal

Ulli Curry!!! Well, it makes you shed some tears!!! Peeling and slicing at least 200gms of tiny shallots is way too demanding, isn't it? This is one of those moments I wish I had a maidservant, yet another homeland abound privilege!!! Despite me managing the kitchen on my own for years now, my eyes and onions still refuse to get fond of each other, the eyes protest invariably by a vehement flooding. What about you guys? Lol...C'mon then...Lets shed some tears for a good reason - and let the reason be - Ulli Curry!!!  :D

In some parts on Kerala Ulli Curry is also known as Ulli Theeyal. In Cochin Theeyal preparations are often termed as 'Varutharacha Curry'. You can read more about Theeyal here.

You will need...

Shallots(cheriya ulli) - 200gms sliced

Green chillies - 3-4 chopped

Curry leaves - few

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Grated coconut/Desicated coconut  - 1/2 cup

Corinader powder - 1 tbsp

Turmeric powder - 1 tsp

Chilli powder - 1 tsp

Tamarind - a small ball

Jaggery - 1-2 tbsp

Fenugreek powder(uluva podi) - a pinch

Salt - to taste

Water

Oil - as needed

In a non stick vessel dry fry coconut until brown(a bit further than golden brown) and add coriander, turmeric and chilli powders. Stir fry for one more minute in low heat, grind to a smooth paste/powder without adding water, and keep aside. Soak tamarind in warm water and when tender squeeze well and drain and restore the juice.  In the cooking vessel add oil, splutter mustard seeds, saute shallots, green chillies and curry leaves(don't need to go until golden brown). Add tamarind water and salt, let it boil. Add the ground coconut mixture, jaggery and let it boil until gravy starts to thicken, say 2-3 minutes. Garnish with fenugreek powder and serve hot with rice.

Vendakka Ularthiyathu/Okra/Lady's Finger Stir Fry

Vendakka happens to be part of my religiously-carnivorous-better-half's teeny-weeny list of edible veggies and hence his lady's fingers get busy chopping the lady's fingers quite often...

You will need...

Vendakka/Okra - 500gm chopped
Onion - 1 big sliced
Green chillies - 2-3 slitted lengthwise
Curry leaves - few
Chilli flakes - 1 tsp
Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
Salt - as needed
Oil

Heat oil in a pan. Add onions, green chillies and turmeric. Stir fry for 1 minute. Add salt, chilli flakes and okra. Stir fry in medium heat until well cooked and dry. Serve hot with rice/roti.

Baby Corn Bullets

Few years back in Bangalore, I was turning the pages of a note book that I borrowed from my dear friend Anju, to see the caption "Baby corn bullets"!!!  When I realised what I saw and the curiosity crept over me, I had gone several pages further. Frantically turning back the pages I saw it again and hence was discovered the recipe of 'Baby corn bullets'!!!  Anju is blessed with infinite number of Aunts, each one qualifying in a couple of  delicacies, handicrafts and what not!!!  That way we were never short of innovative recipes, with fancy names like this which were trusted and tested. The recipe was duely copied and tried by me!!! Here is the outcome with few modifications...

You will need...

Baby corns - 300gm

Soya sauce - 1 tbsp

Chilli sauce - 1 tbsp

Oyster sauce - 1 tbsp(optional)

Green chillies - 5-6 chopped

Chilli flakes - 1 tsp

Spring onions - 3-4 chopped, greens and whites seperated

Onions - 2 chopped

Ginger paste - 1 tsp

Garlic - 5 cloves finely chopped

Ajinomotto - a pinch(optional)

Corn flour - 1 tsp

Sesame oil

Oil - for deep frying

Water

Salt

For the batter...

Corn flour - 2 tbsp

Plain flour - 1/2 cup

Ajinomotto - a pinch(optional)

Egg - 1

Soya sauce - 1 tbsp

Chilli sauce - 1 tbsp

Chilli powder - 1 tsp

Ginger paste - 1 tsp

Garlic paste - 1 tsp

Salt - to taste

Water

Mix all these to form a smooth batter and keep aside.

Directions:

Cut baby corns into two lengthwise. Keep it immersed in boiled water for 2 minutes.  Drain and dip each one in batter and deep fry in batches until golden brown.  Take care not to overcrowd the frying pan.  In a non stick/thick bottomed pan, in high flame add sesame oil and saute onions, garlic, ginger paste, and spring onion whites until onions turn translucent. Reduce heat to meduim, add all the sauces, green chillies, ajinomotto and chilli flakes.  Pour 1/2 cup of water mixed with cornflour and let it boil.  When it thickens and gets glacy, add the fried babycorns into it and mix well. Garnish with spring onion greens and serve hot. Can be served as an appetizer as well as a side dish for fried rice/chowmein.

Pepper Cabbage/Cabbage Mezhukkupuratti

Something which you can cook up in a hurry. It is very simple and apt for anyone who loves the taste of black pepper.

You will need...

Cabbage - 1/2 sliced into thin stripes

Onion - 1 big sliced

Green chillies - 3 slitted lengthwise

Curry leaves - few

Black pepper powder - 1 1/2 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1 tsp

Salt - as needed

Oil - 2 tbsp

Pour oil into cooking vessel. Saute onions, green chillies and curry leaves. Reduce heat and add turmeric powder and pepper powder. Stir and add the cabbage and salt. Mix well. Cover and cook stirring occasionally. It will take very less time to cook(aprox 5 mins). Spriknle water if needed. Serve hot with rice.

Cabbage Thoran

This is a very common dish in cochin and in Christian families this will b served on most of the wedding eve parties. It's a very colorful dish with curry leaves, red chillies and mustard seeds scattered in a bright yellow backdrop :)

You will need...

Cabbage - 1 medium sized(grated or chopped finely)

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Curry leaves - few

Whole red cilli - 4-5 (broken into 3-4 pieces)

turmeric powder- 1 tsp

Salt - to taste

Oil - 1 tbsp

Grind together witout water:-

Coconut - 1/2 fresh or 3/4 cup desicated

Green chilli - 3-4 can be altered according to the desired spice level

Jeera - 1/4 tsp

Mix grated cabbage with salt, turmeric powder and the grated coconut mixture. Keep it aside. In a pan heat oil and splutter mustard seeds. Reduce heat and add red chilli and curry leaves. Now add the cabbage mixture. Mix well. Cover and cook for 7-10 mins in meduim flame stirring occasionally. Serve hot with rice.

Variations:

I've seen some people add a pinch of urid dal and channa dal after spluttering mustard seeds. And towards trivandrum 1-2 flakes of garlic will also be added while grinding coconut. You can grind 2-3 shallots as well along with coconut.