Yams

This recipe is a huge favorite of mine. I found it in a wonderful cookbook, Flavours of the Spice Coast by Mrs. K M Mathew. If you are the kind of cookbook fiend that I am, then go out and buy this book!


Kerala Yam
(adapted from here)

2 cups Yam, diced
4 cups Water
2 tsp Shallots
3 dried Red Chillies
1/2 tsp Peppercorns
6 cloves Garlic
4 Curry Leaves
2 tsp Oil
Salt, to taste

Cook yam with the water, and add salt to taste. Drain.

Crush onions, red chillies, garlic, peppercorn, curry leaves together. Heat oil and saute the crushed ingredients.

Add the cooked yam pieces and when gently coated, remove from oil. Serve warm.

Okra Curry

Pachadi in Tamil Nadu, usually involves yogurt with a vegetable and/or fruit and a tempering with mustard seeds and chillies. This is a Kerala Pachadi which is more a curry of vegetables. It's pretty unique.


Okra Pachadi

8-10 pieces of Okra, cleaned and chopped
Gingelly Oil (you could use any oil you have on hand - the gingelly oil just makes it more authentic)
1 tbsp Tamarind Paste, dissolved in 1 mug of water (OR) 1 large tbsp fresh tamarind
1 tsp Turmeric powder
1-2 tsp Chilli Powder
2 tbsp shredded Coconut
1 tbsp roasted Sesame seeds
1 tsp Mustard Seeds
1 tsp Sugar

Seasoning: Mustard seeds and red chillies.

Fry the okra in a little gingelly oil on a saute pan. Add the tamarind, turmeric and chilli powder and allow to cook until the fresh smell of the tamarind disappears.

Grind the coconut, sesame and mustard seeds and add it to the cooking okra. Add salt and sugar.

In a separate pan, heat some mustard seeds with a tiny bit of oil. Add the red chillies. When the mustard begins to splutter, add this seasoning mixture to the okra curry.

Serve warm with rice or rotis.


This is off to Srivalli for her Curry Mela. The round-up is going to be one for the bookmarks!

Srivalli has started a Campaign to Heal by raising money for Lakshmi, a mother of 2 children, who desperately needs heart surgery. In India, without insurance, it is almost impossible to get a loan for major surgery, even when it is life-threatening. To find out how you can help, please see Srivalli's post.

Mango Curry

This is a perfectly simple Kerala dish, combining the sweetness of the mango and the tartness of buttermilk. And what I made for the Chennai Bloggers Meet.



Mango Kalan

1 ripe Mango, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 pinch Chilli powder
1 pinch Turmeric Powder
3 tbsp Shredded Coconut
1 tbsp Cumin
2 Green Chillies
11/2 cups Buttermilk

Seasoning:
1 tsp Mustard Seeds
2-3 Red Chillies
3-4 Curry Leaves
1 pinch Fenugreek Seeds

Cook the mango together with the chilli powder, turmeric and salt in a little water. Separately, grind the coconut, cumin and green chillies.
Add the ground mixture to the cooking mango.
Allow it to come to a boil. Turn off the heat and add the buttermilk.
In a separate pan, add some oil and add the ingredients for the seasoning. When the mustard seeds start to splutter, add the seasoning mixture to the mango curry.


(photo courtesy Valli)

Serve over rice, idiyappams or (Lakshmi's wonderful suggestion!) curd rice!

Olan

In honor of Vishu, I wanted to post my favorite Keralite dish. The very first time I tasted this dish I fell in love with it.

I've made it many times since, and it comes out perfectly every time. Its really simple and a lovely tribute to Kerala food, thats always slightly sweet and very tasty.



Olan (Pumpkin with Coconut Milk)

1 cup Pumpkin, cubed
3 Green Chillies, julienned
1 Onion, julienned
1 tsp Ginger, shredded
4 Curry Leaves
1 cup Coconut Milk
1 tsp Coconut Oil (optional, and you could use whatever oil is at hand)
Salt, to taste

Cook the pumpkin, chillies, onion and curry leaves in a little water (just enough water to cook the pumpkin).

When the pumpkin is cooked and soft, add salt. Continue cooking until the dish thickens.

When the curry is thick, add the coconut milk and oil. Let it heat together on a low flame for another minute or two. Remove from heat.

Serve with steamed rice.