Mango side-dish Calicut style - കോഴിക്കോടൻ കടു മാങ്ങ

 While giving permission to Aysha to go home last week, I’d kept a condition. If only she is sure that she can come back with few recipes with photographs, her permission is granted. Else she’ll have to face me. Poor girl…!! Got frightened I think. She came back with few of her mom’s kitchen delicacies, though I had to wait again for another week to get the recipe in written form. So first we are rolling out the simple and easy recipe of a mango dish so called “Kadu Manga” (കടു മാങ്ങ). Don’t get this name confused with the “kadumanga pickle”. It’s different, of course! This particular dish can be made with green mango, ripening one or even with a ripe mango.

Ingredients:

Green mango -1 (cut into medium sized pieces)

Fenugreek – 6-7 seeds

Mustard seeds – 1 tsp

Coconut oil – 1-2 Tb sp

Onion – ½ chopped

Green chilly – 2 no.s sliced

Tomato – 1 medium sized chopped

Garlic – 4 cloves mashed

Red chilly powder – 1 ½ Tb sp

Turmeric powder – ½ tsp

Water – 1 cup

Salt – as needed

Sugar – 1 Tb sp (optional)

How to:

1.       In an earthen pot, pour coconut oil and on heating put the fenugreek seeds. Once it has fully sputtered, put mustard seeds and allow it to sputter completely.

2.       To this, add chopped onion, green chilly, tomato, red chili powder, turmeric powder, mashed garlic, water and salt. Allow it to boil in full flame for about 3-5 minutes.

3.       Once the gravy gets thicker, switch of the flame and keep it closed with a lid for 5 minutes. Now check the taste and if the mango taste is too sour, add sugar (it’s optional. Add sugar only if you like sweetness with sour taste).

Do try this easy side dish which will go well with Kerala meals and ghee rice. You’ll let us know the feedback for sure, right?

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Roasted Broccoli

I got an FB message from one of our page fans asking why there are no new recipes posted in "aakrantham". She badly wanted a vegetable recipe it seems. Then I assigned a task to her by simply asking her to try something with Broccoli and take snaps to post on this blog on her behalf. Though I told her without much expectation, the very next day she turned up with a beautifully written recipe and a tempting snap. Thanks to Simi Seethy. So here we post our next recipe after a long gap. Hope you guys enjoy reading, trying and eating this special Broccoli recipe.

Ingredients:

 Shallots - 10  no.s

Pepper powder - 1 tsp

Green chillies -2 no. s

Salt - as needed

Mustard seeds - 2 tsp

Oil - for frying

How to:

 Sauté mustard in oil till it sputter. Add chopped onion and stir for a while. When the onion gets fried, add washed broccoli, pepper powder, green chillies and salt. Make sure that you don't add water. Cook for 3 or 4 minutes in a high flame by closing the lid. The spicy fried broccoli is ready.

Do have a try and let us know the feedback. Cheers..!!

Note: Broccoli has been called a miracle food. It contains high levels of fiber (both soluble and insoluble) and is a rich source of vitamin-C.  In fact, just a 100 gram serving of broccoli will provide you with more than 150% of your recommended daily intake of vitamin C,There is an enzyme in broccoli called myrosinase which can reduce the risk of developing cancer.You can also eat broccoli raw to gain maximum benefit

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Cabbage ‘n’ Carrot Thoran

Today, when I opened my lunch box, I found it’s my favorite fish curry and carrot ‘n’ cabbage Thoran / Upperi, along with unakka chemmeen chammanthi (ഉണക്ക ചെമ്മീന്‍ ചമ്മന്തി) for lunch. Having the nostalgic meals I thought about my bachelor friends, for whom we actually started our Aakrantham page. And the idea of putting a simple thoran recipe struck my mind. Soon after completing the food, I called Aysha and asked her to make the recipe along with the snaps ready for today’s post. And here we dedicate this simple and tasty recipe for our page fans…
     
Ingredients:
Chopped Carrot – 1 cup
Chopped Cabbage – 1 cup
Ginger – thumb sized piece
Onion – ½ - chopped
Mustard seeds – 1 teaspoon
Fenugreek seeds – ¼ teaspoon
Dried red chilli – 2 no.s
Curry leaves – 1 stem
Grated coconut – 2 Tb spoon
Oil – 1 Tb spoon
Salt as needed

How to:
1.       Heat a non-stick pan and add oil to it. Put Fenugreek seeds and on sputtering, add mustard seeds. On sputtering, add cut red chilli and then curry leaves. To this add finely chopped ginger and onion. Sauté gently for a minute. Now add the washed and chopped Carrot and cabbage. Add salt too. Sauté for 3 minutes.  Now add the freshly grated coconut and sauté for another 3 minutes. The Cabbage and carrot thoran is ready to be served as a side dish with Kerala rice or any similar meals.

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Onion Chutney ( ഉള്ളി ചമ്മന്തി )

Teena chechi who is one of the fans of ‘aakrantham’ and my Face book friend, once asked me for my recipe of ഉള്ളി ചമ്മന്തി ( Onion Chutney ) just to know if it’s different from what she used to make.

To be frank, it was something which I’ve never tried but tasted. I remembered that special taste of onion chutney with ‘kallu dosa ( കല്ലു ദോശ )’ which Rekha used to bring to college specially wrapped in ‘vazhayila (വാഴയില) / Plantain Leaf ’. The thoughtof that chutney itself was mouthwatering. Rushed to send her an e-mail requesting for that recipe and within minutes she sent a reply with her method of making ഉള്ളി ചമ്മന്തി ( Onion Chutney ).

I forwarded the same e-mail to Teena chechi  and she made it. My special thanks to Teena chechi for these yummy pictures and to Rekha for the delicious recipe.

Ingredients:
Shallots – big sized- 3-4 no’s
Tomato -2 (cut into small pieces)
Curry leaves – 1 stem
Oil – 3 tea sp
Mustard seeds – 1 tea sp
Chilli powder – (optional) – 1 tea sp

How to:
1.       Grind the peeled shallots.
2.       Add oil in pan and while heated, add the mustard seeds and leave it to spatter. Add tomato** to the pan and sauté until it’s half cooked. Add onion paste to this and then curry leaves.

3.       Add salt and chilli powder if needed and stir till cooked.

** Tomatoes can even be grinded with the onion.

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Mushroom in hot pepper gravy

It’s Thursday night and  I was called up by Anu to prepare something different in his home. Only after reaching there I came to know that Anil Hameed is on strict vegetarian diet as instructed from his Gym trainer. Though we compelled him a lot to have the special chicken curry with Kubboos, he was so particular about his diet...!! Finally I’d to experiment on the mushrooms, which I found in their refrigerator. The Mushroom in spicy gravy came out very well and all of them appreciated me for it. I’m posting it here for you...

Ingredients:
Mushroom – 200 g
Corn flour – 2 Tb spoon
Soya sauce – 1 teaspoon
Pepper powder – 2 tea spoon
Vegetable taste cube – ½
Onion – 1
Tomato – 1
Capsicum – ½
Milk – ½ cup
Salt – to taste
Oil – as needed

How to:
1.       Mix Corn flour, soya sauce, 1 tea spoon pepper powder and salt well with washed and cut mushroom and keep it aside for 15 minutes
2.       Deep fry the mushroom in oil and keep the fried mushrooms separate.
3.       In a pan, add 1 Tb spoon of oil and add onion to it and sauté till softened. Add tomato and capsicum to this and stir softly.
4.       Add 1 tea spoon pepper powder, salt and the vegetable taste cube into this and sauté well.  To this pour milk and leave to boil for around 5 minutes in medium flame.

5.       Add the fried mushroom into the above gravy and mix well. Leave the dish to boil for another 5-10 minutes in low flame.

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Kappa Puzhungiyathu (Boiled Cassava/Tapioca)

Kappa Puzhungiyathum  Mathi mulakittathum (Boiled Cassava/Tapioca and Sardine in hot chilly Gravy)..  What to say about this? It’s one of the combinations which give a nostalgic feel and really hard to resist the temptation even by just hearing it’s name. And thanks to our new cook that he chose ‘kappa and mathi’ as yesterday’s dinner menu. I know to many of my readers, this recipe won’t be a news, but to those minority who doesn’t what this luscious dish is all about, please have a try....
The Best combination of this dish is here - Mathy Mulakittathu ( Sardine in hot chilly Gravy )

Ingredients:

Tapioca/Casava – 1 kg

Red chilli (dried) – 4-5 no’s

Mustart seed – 2 tea spoons

Curry leaves – 2 twigs

Turmeric powder – ½ teaspoon

Oil – 1 Tb spoon

Salt – to taste


How to:

1.       Peel off the skin of tapioca with a knife and cut it into small pieces. Put the washed tapioca pieces into a pressure cooker and pour water enough to immerse the pieces completely. Add turmeric powder and salt. Close the cooker and pressure cook up to 3-4 whistles. After removing the pressure completely, drain the excess water from the cooked tapioca using a sieve.

2.       To a pan, add oil and to the heated oil add mustard seeds and leave it to spatter. To this put the red chilli and curry leaves and sauté for 1 minute.  Add drained tapioca into this and mix it together.

Now enjoy the supremacy of Kerala’s unique taste – particularly the ‘toddy shop’ special dish. Sluurrrpppp.....!!! I bet, it’s mouth-watering.

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Brinjal Tamarind Masala

It’s long since I had a ‘nadan Kerala’ style meal some vegetable fries, fish curries and some traditional side dishes. Thinking of trying some ‘mommy’s kitchen’ dishes today for lunch. Searched for the recipe book which my mother had carefully written and used to keep it in my briefcase whenever I pack and get ready for any of my trips abroad. Went through the book and got Brinjal masala hit my eyes. For a moment, I went back to those good old days when I spent leisurely lazy time back home, enjoying mom’s special and variety dishes. I remember, brinjal is something I love out of all other vegetables and she used to make many tasty traditional dishes with it especially for me. Still that taste hangs on on to my taste buds. Here is the recipe for you to try it.

Ingredients:

Brinjal – 1 medium sized or ½ of a big sized one

Chopped onion – 1 small size 

Green chilli (sliced) – 3

Mustard seeds – 2 teaspoons

Crushed garlic – 2-3 cloves

Curry leaves – 1 stem

Roasted coriander powder – 2 Tb spoon

Tamarind – ½ a handful

Salt- to taste

Oil – for frying

How to:

1.       Heat oil in a frying pan and deep fry the whole brinjal in it. If the Brinjal is too big to be fried wholly, cut in into half and fry it. Make sure that all sides are fried equally and well. Drain oil and keep the fried brinjal aside. Once it is slightly cooled, cut the whole brinjal into medium sized slices.

2.       Soak tamarind in half a cup of water.

3.       In a pan, pour 1 or 2 Tb spoon of oil and while heated, leave the mustard seeds to sputter. Once done, put curry leaves and stir mildly. Add the chopped onions, green chilly and garlic into this and fry it for some time till it is softened. Add the roasted coriander powder and mix it well.

4.       Squeeze the soaked tamarind well with hand and take the juice. Pour this to the above fried mixture and leave it to boil for 5 minutes. Add salt to taste. Once a thick enough mixture is made, put the cut brinjal pieces into it. A little water may be added if the dish is too thick and keep it in low flame for 10 minutes.

This is an awesome vegetable side dish for nadan Kerala meals. Have a try..!!

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