September 7th, 2010 
Jisha 
Puli Inji/Puliyinji is an indispensable part of every Onam Sadhya. It is a sweet and sour sauce made by simmering fried ginger (inji) in jaggery and tamarind (puli) sauce. Puliyinji is also known as Inji Curry in some regions of Kerala. In some places, Inji Curry may also refer to a similar dish prepared in [...]
September 24th, 2009 Jisha 
Mulaka Pachadi is a very new dish to me. It is something similar to Puliyinji and is well known in Northern Kerala. It is made by simmering green chillies in jaggery and tamarind sauce but uses less ginger and more chillies when compared to Puliyinji. I was planning to make Puliyinji for Onam 2009 but [...]
September 24th, 2009 Jisha 
Kaalan is a very traditional Malayali dish made using Yogurt, Coconut and fruits or vegetables. It is always part of an Onam Sadhya. Back home, we never used to make Kaalan. Instead, Pulisshery was made using Yogurt and Coconut. After coming to US, my friend Lisha made Kaalan for Onam 2009 and it was great. [...]
September 18th, 2009 Jisha 
For Onam 2009, I had made mixed vegetable theeyal. Theeyal is another Kerala gravy made using fried coconut and spices. The gravy has a nice aroma of roasted coconut and tastes heavenly. The most common varieties of Theeyal are:- Pavakka (Bitter Gourd) Theeyal Padavalanga (Snake Gourd) Theeyal Chemmeen (Prawns) Theeyal Ulli (Shallots) Theeyal Here is [...]
September 9th, 2009 Jisha 
Aviyal is a very famous Kerala Dish made using vegetables and fresh coconut paste. The vegetables mostly added to Aviyal are the following :- Potato Raw Plantain (Vazhakka) Yam (Chenna) Carrot Drum Sticks (Muringakka) Beans Ivy Gourd (Kovakka) Raw Mango Brinjal (Vazhuthananga) Ash Gourd (Kumbalanga) Runner Beans (Achinga Payaru) Pumpkin (Mathanga) Vegetables like Okra (Ladies [...]
September 7th, 2009 Jisha 
As the name suggests, Injithairu is another simple Onam dish made using Yogurt and Ginger. Ingredients Yogurt/Curd – 2 cups Grated Ginger (Inji) – 2 tsp Finely Chopped Red Chillies – 2 Salt – to taste Preparation Method Mash the ginger and red chilly roughly using a Mortar and Pestle. Mix all the ingredients together [...]
September 7th, 2009 Jisha 
Pachadi is another traditional Kerala dish made using a fruit or vegetable by grinding together coconut and mustard seeds and finally simmering everything in curd. In some regions of Kerala, they don’t grind mustard seeds for Pachadi. Instead they season the dish with mustard seeds. Whereas, if mustard seeds are used only for seasoning, we [...]
September 4th, 2009 Jisha 
Erissery is another traditional Kerala Recipe made using ground coconut paste and finally seasoning with roasted coconut. I have always loved Erissery which my Mom used to prepare once in a while. Mathanga Payaru (Pumpkin Bean) Erissery used to be the most common one prepared by my mom. Errisery can be made using a single [...]
September 3rd, 2009 Jisha 
Pulissery/Pulisheri is a traditional Kerala dish made using yogurt and grated coconut. Sour Curd is used for making Pulisheri and Vegetables or Fruits are often added to Pulissery to balance the sourness. Back home, we used to call Pulishery as Moru Curry when it was made without veggies and fruits. I love adding fruits like [...]
September 3rd, 2009 Jisha 
I made Cabbage Carrot thoran for Onam 2009. Any Kerala Sadhya is incomplete without Thoran. You can prepare thoran using any veggie like cabbage, carrot, beetroot, beans, ivy gourd or a combination of vegetables. There are many different ways to prepare a thoran. Some use onions while others use shallots. Some add garlic and ginger, [...]
June 22nd, 2009 Jisha 
Payasam is a sweet South Indian dish prepared in milk or coconut milk. The main ingredient used can be any of the following – Rice, Wheat, Lentils (Dal), Vermicelli, Ada (flat pieces made using rice) etc. Payasam is flavored with nuts and raisins. Semiya Paysam is the easiest to make and my favorite too. ‘Semiya‘ [...]
June 2nd, 2009 Jisha 
Cabbage Thoran is the heart of Kerala Cuisine. Any Kerala Sadhya is incomplete without Cabbage Thoran. Cabbage Thoran is a stir fry made using cabbage and coconut. You can prepare the thoran using cabbage, or a combination of cabbage and carrot, or even cabbage, carrot and capsicum. There are so many different ways to prepare [...]
January 23rd, 2009 Jisha 
There are so many different types of Lentils (Parippu) available in the market. Lentils are part of almost every Indian Cuisine – be it Simple Dal Curry or Sambar or Chutney. Every Sadhya (traditional Kerala Banquet) is incomplete without Parippu Curry. You can use any variety of lentil for making Paruppu Curry but Cheru Payaru [...]
November 12th, 2008 Jisha 
Theeyal is a traditional Kerala Dish which is made using Vegetables and Fried Coconut. It can be made using a single vegetable like Bitter Gourd, Snake Gourd, Shallots etc. or a combination of vegetables like Potato, Carrot and Beans. The fried coconut and spices impart a nice aroma to the dish. Here is the recipe [...]
October 27th, 2008 Jisha 
Kerala Sambar is different from the typical Sambars made in the other South Indian states. Kerala Sambar is made using a mixture of different vegetables whereas the other sambhar is made using a single vegetable. The vegetables mostly added to Sambar are the following :- * Potato * Plantain (Vazhakka) * Yam (Chenna) * Carrot [...]
