PAPAYA "MATHURA" CURRY (Maami's Corner)

With Onam around the corner I thought it is just apt to publish a very different sweet & spicy curry. Usually, ”Mathura “(Sweet) curry for a sadya is made with ripe banana or pineapple. This recipe is with papaya, not too ripe or raw.

INGREDIENTS:

Papaya: 500 g

Dry red chilli: 5

Coconut: 1 cup

Turmeric powder: ¼ tsp

Salt: to taste

 For tempering:

Coconut oil: 1 tbsp

Mustard seeds: ½ tsp

Dry red chilli: 3

Shallots: 2 sliced

Curry leaves: a few

METHOD:

Cube papaya & cook with turmeric & salt. Mash a little with the back of a spoon.

Grind coconut with dry red chilli & pour into cooked papaya.

Let it simmer till thick.

In another Kadai, pour oil, splutter mustard seeds & add sliced shallots. Fry till brown.

Put in dry red chilli & curry leaves.

Pour into prepared curry & serve.

Brinjal Pickle (Maami's Corner)

INGREDIENTS:

Brinjals: 1 kg

Mustard sauce: 3 tbsps

Ginger –garlic paste: 1 tbsp

Green chilli: 10 slit

Turmeric powder: ½ tsp

Vinegar: 100 ml

Sugar: to taste

Salt: 1 tbsp

Oil: 200 ml 

METHOD:

 Cube brinjal, rub with turmeric & a little salt.

Heat oil in a pan & fry the brinjal brown. Keep aside.

In the remaining oil, fry the ginger-garlic paste & green chillies.

When fragrant, add mustard sauce & vinegar.

 Add a little sugar & remaining salt.

Stir in the fried brinjal.

Cool well & bottle.

Pachadi (Traditional Fare)

With Onam round the corner, its occasion for two Pachadi recipes. No Sadya is complete without this. This is also known as Kichadi in some parts of Kerala.

Beet root Pachadi:

INGREDIENTS:

Beet root: 1

Curd: 1 cup (200 ml)

Onion: 1 chopped fine

Green chilli: 3 chopped

Coriander leaves: 1 tbsp chopped

Salt to taste

METHOD:

Pressure cook the beet root whole. Cool, skin it & grate fine.

In a large bowl, mix the grated beet root with chopped onion, green chilli, coriander leaves & salt.

Before serving pour the curd.

It tastes better if served chilled.

Ash gourd Pachadi (Kumbalangha Pachadi)

INGREDIENTS:

Ash gourd: 250 g chopped fine

Curd: 1 cup

Coconut: 1 cup grated

Green chilli: 4

Mustard seeds: ½ tsp

Salt to taste

For tempering:

Mustard seeds: ½ tsp

Fenugreek: 1/8 tsp

Dry red chilli: 2

Curry leaves: a few

Coconut oil: 1 tbsp

  METHOD:

Cook the ash gourd with half a cup of water & salt till done.

Meanwhile, grind coconut with green chilli & curd to a fine paste.

Add half a teaspoon mustard & crush it coarsely with the coconut paste.

Pour the paste into the cooked ash gourd, stir well till it heats through.

Add salt.

In a kadai, heat oil, splutter mustard seeds & fenugreek.

Add dry red chilli & curry leaves.

Pour into prepared pachadi.

Madras cucumber/vellari, fried ladies finger or bitter gourd are also used to make yummy pachadi.  

ERISSERY (Maami's Corner)

Another dish that is a must at a KERALA SADYA!

Combinations can vary, though, the most common one is the pumpkin & red beans (vanpayar). Raw jackfruit can be used when in season.Yam, raw papaya & banana too can be used in this preparation.

INGREDIENTS:

Pumpkin: 250 g

Red beans: ½ cup

Coconut grating: 1cup

Green chilli: 3

Cumin seeds: ½ tsp

Turmeric powder: ¼ tsp

Red chilli powder: ½ tsp

Shallots: 6 sliced

Curry leaves

Mustard seeds: ¼ tsp

Dry red chilli: 2

Coconut oil: 2 tsps

Salt to taste

METHOD:

Soak beans for 6 to 8 hours, or overnight.

Pressure cook with 1 cup water for 10 minutes.

In another vessel, cook cubed pumpkin with turmeric, chilli powder & ½ a cup of water.

When half done, add the cooked beans & salt.

Grind half the coconut with cumin, green chilli & a few curry leaves to a coarse paste.

Add the paste to beans-pumpkin & boil for 3 minutes.

Check for salt & take off.

Heat oil in a kadai, crackle mustard seeds, add shallots, red chilli cut in two, curry leaves & remaining coconut. Fry till they brown.

Pour into the prepared ERISSERY & serve. 

Poori Bhaji (Maami's Corner)

Nowadays everyone is conscious of what they eat, so much so pooris & other fried delicacies have disappeared from their daily menu.

Keeping the oil at the right temperature & ensuring that there’s minimum moisture in the material to be fried, you can successfully deep fry anything without making it soggy.

INGREDIENTS:

Whole wheat flour/atta: 1 cup (measured in a 200 ml cup)

Refined flour/maida: 1 cup

Semolina/rava: 1/2cup

Oil: to deep fry

Salt to taste

Water to knead

METHOD:

Mix atta, maida & rava together in a bowl.

Dissolve salt in water & knead the dough.

The dough has to be stiff.

Rest it for a while before rolling into small pooris.

Heat oil, fry pooris one at a time. Press the centre of the poori with a spoon, it will puff up, turn over & brown the other side too.

Drain on absorbent paper & serve with potato bhaji.

This quantity gives about 25 pooris.

 

 For the bhaji:

Potato: 200 g

Onion: 2 chopped

Green chilli: 2 chopped

Ginger: 1 tsp grated

Curry leaves: a few

Turmeric powder: 1/4tsp

Mustard seeds: ½ tsp

Black gram dal/urad dal: 1 tsp

Salt to taste

Oil: 1 tbsp

Wash potatoes well & pressure cook whole with skin for 7 minutes.

Cool, skin & mash them.

Heat oil in a pan, crackle mustard seeds, then add urad dal, when brown, add chopped onions, green chilli, ginger, curry leaves & turmeric powder.

Sauté well & add mashed potatoes & a cup of water.

Bring it to boil, add salt.

Serve with hot pooris.

If you like the consistency thick, do not pour water.

Raw jackfruit aviyal/chakka aviyal (Maami's corner)

Summer time in India means plenty of jackfruit & mangoes.  

Many a times when travelling in Kerala, we have seen jackfruits rotting away. Now, staying in Pune, we yearn for this fruit, for the many forms it can take in Kerala’s traditional cusine, as ERISSERY, AVIYAL, PUZHUKKU or CHIPS. 

Yes, it is available in the many “Kerala stores”  that continue to mushroom all over Pune & Mumbai, even though it is a bit pricey at Rs.50 per Kg. For a 10 kg fruit that should be....! Not bad for something that, not so long ago used to be rotting away with no takers!!  

  

 INGREDIENTS:    

Raw jackfruit: 250 g

Jackfruit seeds: 10 cut lengthwise

Drumstick: 2 cut into 2” pieces

Raw mango: 1 peeled & sliced

Coconut grating: ½ cup

Green chilli: 2

Red chilli powder: ½ tsp

Turmeric powder: ¼ tsp

Cumin seeds: ¼ tsp

Shallots: 3

Curry leaves: a few

Coconut oil: 1 tbsp

Salt to taste

METHOD:

Cook jackfruit, drumstick, jackfruit seeds & raw mango with turmeric powder, chilli powder & ½ a cup of water.

In the meantime, grind coconut, green chilli, shallots & cumin. ( adding a few fresh curry leaves will give a nice aroma.)

Add ground masala to the cooked vegetables & salt too.

Last, pour coconut oil & add a curry leaves.

Keep covered for sometime before serving.

Baby Corn Fritters (Maami's Corner/Party menu)

This can be served as starters at a party. Also, chicken, prawns or cauliflower can be substituted in the recipe.

INGREDIENTS:

Baby corn: 10 (If big, slit into 2)

Plain flour/maida: half a cup

Corn flour: 3 tbsps

Pepper powder: 1 tsp

Baking soda: a pinch

Oil: to deep fry + 1 tbsp

Soy sauce: 2 tsps

Vinegar: 1 tbsp

Red chilli paste: 1 tsp

Spring onion: 3 stalks

Capsicum: 1 cut into thin stripes

Garlic: 2 tsps crushed

Sugar: 1 tsp

Salt to taste

Make a batter with plain flour, corn flour, pepper powder, salt & water (should be of a dropping consistency).

Add a pinch of baking soda. (Alternately, instead of adding baking soda, make the batter with liquid soda.)

Heat oil; dip each piece in batter & deep fry.

Heat 1 tbsp in another pan, add crushed garlic, fry till fragrant and add spring onion & capsicum.

Sauté well & add the chilli paste, soy sauce & vinegar.

Add sugar & salt to taste.

Mix well & stir in the fried corn.

Coat well with sauce & serve.

If serving for a party, keep sauce & fried baby corn ready & toss both together only before serving, otherwise it will become soggy.  

 

Punjabi kadhi/Kadhi Pakora (Maami's Corner)

 Just like the Kerala "Pulissery" or the Tamil Nadu "Mor Kolambhu", Punjab is famous for their "Kadhi", with or without the Pakoras.

kadhi pakoras

 

INGREDIENTS:

Curd: 1 cup

Gram flour/besan: 2 tbsps

Water: 2 cups

Turmeric powder: ½ tsps

Salt to taste

To season:

Oil: 2 tbsps

Muatard seed: 1 tsp

Cumin: ½ tsp

Dry red chilli: 3

Cloves: 3

Fenugreek: ¼ tsp

METHOD:

In a bowl, mix the curd, besan & water. Whisk to break all lumps.

Heat this mix in a sauce pan till it thickens.

Add salt to taste, take off fire & season with the ingredients under “to season”.

Pour into kadhi.

If using pakoras, place the fried pakoras in a bowl & pour kadhi over this & serve.

You can make plain pakoras for this. (using besan, onion & green chillies only).