Vegetable Masala Curry

You can use vegetables like Potatoes, Carrots, Beans, Green Peas, Cauliflower, Capsicum and so on for this curry. This curry is healthy as you are not using any cream or coconut milk for the gravy.

Ingredients

1. Diced Carrots – 2 big
2. Diced Potatoes – 1 small
3. Chopped Beans – 6 to 8
4. Fresh or Frozen Green Peas – 1/2 cup
5. Thinly Sliced Onions – 1 medium
6. Chopped Tomatoes – 2 medium (Alternatively, you can use 1/2 cup of Canned Crushed Tomatoes)
7. Green Chillies – 2
8. Ginger Garlic Paste – 1 tbsp (optional)
9. Turmeric Powder – 1/4 tsp
10. Red Chilly Powder – 1 tsp (Alter according to your spice tolerance)
11. Coriander Powder – 1 tbsp
12. Garam Masala Powder – 1/2 to 1 tsp
13. Curry Leaves – A sprig
14. Salt – to taste
15. Water – as needed
16. Oil – 2 tbsp

Preparation Method

1. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a pressure cooker and saute onions and green chillies until the onions become translucent.
2. Throw in the curry leaves and continue sauteing for a few minutes.
3. Reduce heat and add ginger garlic paste, turmeric, chilly, coriander and garam masala powders. Saute for two minutes.
4. Add the chopped tomatoes and all the vegetables along with 1 cup of water and salt to taste. Add more water if you want more gravy.
5. Close the pressure cooker and cook for 2 whistles on medium flame.
6. Remove from heat and allow the pressure to subside.
7. Serve this yummy vegetable curry with Rotis, Appam or Rice.

Puliyinji (Ginger & Tamarind Chutney)

Most of us love this wonderful dish for its perfectly balanced sweetness and sourness. This recipe for Puliyinji doesn’t use fried coconut. Puliyinji can be refrigerated and stored for a long time.

Ingredients

1. Finely Minced Ginger – 1/2 cup (You can use a Food Chopper)
2. Finely Sliced Small Green Chillies – 3 or 4
3. Jaggery/ Sharkara (small chunks) – 3 to 5 pieces
4. Tamarind – Lemon sized ball
5. Turmeric Powder – 1/4 tsp
6. Red Chilly Powder – 1/2 tsp
7. Fenugreek Powder (Uluva) – 1/4 tsp
8. Oil – 1 tbsp
9. Salt – to taste
10. Water – as needed

For Seasoning

1. Oil – 1 tbsp
2. Mustard Seeds – 1/4 tsp
3. Dry Red Chillies – 4 or 5
4. Curry Laves – A sprig

Preparation Method

1. Dissolve the tamarind in 1 cup of warm water and extract the juice.
2. Heat 1 cup of water  in a deep pan and add the jaggery pieces. Stir continuously till it melts and forms a syrup.
3. Filter the jaggery syrup for any particles and keep aside.
4. Add the tamarind juice to the filtered jaggery syrup and bring to a slow  boil. Adjust the sweetness and sourness of the sauce by adding more jaggery or tamarind juice as required. Continue to simmer the sauce, stirring occasionally.
5. Meanwhile, heat 1 tbsp of oil in a non stick pan and fry the minced ginger for a few minutes until the raw smell disappears. Add the green chillies and continue frying till the ginger gets a golden brown color.
6. Reduce heat and add turmeric powder and red chilly powder. Saute for a minute and pour everything to the simmering jaggery and tamarind sauce. Sprinkle fenugreek powder. Stir the sauce and allow it to come to a boil.
7. Meanwhile, heat 1 tbsp oil in the same pan and splutter mustard seeds. Throw in the dried red chillies and curry leaves. Saute for a minute.
8. Pour the seasoning over the sauce and mix well. Let the sauce simmer on medium-low heat until desired consistency is attained.

Kerala Chicken Cutlets

Ingredients

1. Boneless & Skinless Chicken – 1 lb
2. Potato – 1 big
3. Finely Minced Onions – 1 medium (You can use a food processor or food chopper)
4. Finely Chopped Green Chillies – 2 or 3
5. Finely Minced Ginger – 1 tbsp
6. Finely Minced Garlic – 3 cloves
7. Curry Leaves (finely shredded) – A few (optional)
8. Turmeric Powder – 1/4 tsp
9. Red Chilly Powder – 1/2 tsp (Alter according to your spice tolerance)
10. Coriander Powder – 1 tsp
11. Garam Masala Powder – 1/2 to 1 tsp
12. Chicken Masala Powder – 1 tbsp (Optional – I used store bought Eastern Fish Masala brand)
13. Oil – 2 tbsp
14. Bread Crumbs – 1/2 cup approx
15. Egg – 1
16. Oil for frying – As needed
17. Salt – to taste
18. Water – as required

For Marinating the Chicken

1. Turmeric Powder – 1/4 tsp
2. Kashmiri Chilly Powder – 1 tsp (Alter according to your spice tolerance)
3. Black Pepper Powder – 1/2 tsp
4. Ginger Garlic Paste – 1 tbsp
5. Lemon Juice – 1 tbsp
6. Salt – to taste

Breaded Chicken Cutlets

Preparation Method

1. Clean the chicken and wash it thoroughly. Prepare the marinade using the above ingredients and rub it on the chicken. Keep it aside for atleast 15 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, boil the potato along with salt until well cooked (Alternatively, you can pressure cook the potato for 2 or 3 whistles or you may microwave it). Remove the skin from the potato and mash it thoroughly without any chunks.
3. Cook the marinated chicken in little water for around 20 minutes until tender. Drain excess water if any and shred the chicken fully.
4. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a pan and saute onions until translucent.
5. Add green chillies, ginger, garlic and curry leaves and saute for a few more minutes.
6. Add 1/4 tsp turmeric powder, 1/2 tsp red chilly powder, 1 tsp coriander powder, 1 tbsp chicken masala powder and 1/2-1 tsp garam masala powder. Saute for 2 minutes.
7. Add the shredded chicken along with salt to taste and mix everything well. Saute for around 8-10 minutes and keep aside.
8. Allow it to cool. Then add the mashed potatoes and mix everything nicely using your hands.
9. Make lemon sized balls using your palm and flatten the balls to form cutlets of any desired shape.
10. Beat the egg in a bowl and keep aside. Take bread crumbs in a plate and keep aside.
11. Take one cutlet at a time and dip it in the beaten egg and then roll it in the bread crumbs until the cutlet is fully coated with bread crumbs.
12. Once all cutlets have been coated with bread crumbs, heat a non stick frying pan and add oil as required for deep frying or shallow frying.
13. Place the cutlets slowly in the pan and fry each side on medium heat for 3-4 minutes until golden brown.
14. Drain onto paper towels.
15. Serve these tasty chicken cutlets with ketchup or Onion Salad (Sarlas).

Note

• You may shallow fry or deep fry these cutlets.

Ripe Plantain (Nenthra Pazham) Pachadi

• In some regions of Kerala, if vegetables are used for making this dish, then it is known as Kichadi and if fruits are used, it is called Pachadi.
• Others classify it according to the usage of ground Mustard Seeds. If mustard seeds are ground and added to the dish, then it is known as Pachadi. If ground Mustard seeds are not used, it is called Kichadi.
• When fruits are used, the Pachadi will be sweet and is known as Madhura Pachadi. If curd is used, it is called Thayiru Pachadi and if tamarind is used for sourness, it is known as Puli Pachadi. So many different ways of classifying Pachadi and Kichadi. I am sure all of you have become even more confused.

Here is the recipe for a yummy sweet and sour Pachadi using Ripe Plantain (EthaPazham/Nenthra Pazham). Try this EthaPazham Pachadi and you will fall in love with it.

Ingredients

1. Ripe Plantain (Etha Pazham/Nenthra Pazham) – 1 big (chopped into medium pieces)
2. Turmeric – 1/4 tsp
3. Red Chilly Powder – 1/2 tsp
4. Thick Curd/Yogurt – 1/2 cup (I used Plain Non Fat Yogurt)
5. Salt – to taste
6. Sugar – to taste (optional)
7. Water – as required

For Grinding

1. Grated Coconut – 1 Cup
2. Green Chillies – 3 or 4
3. Turmeric Powder – 1/4 tsp
4. Cumin (Jeera) – 1/4 tsp
5. Mustard Seeds – 1/2 to 1 tsp
6. Finely Chopped Ginger pieces – 1 tsp
7. Water – 1/2 cup

For Seasoning

1. Oil – 1 tbsp
2. Mustard – 1/2 tsp
3. Dry Red Chillies – 3 or 4
4. Curry Leaves – A few

Preparation Method

1. Cook the plantain pieces in little water along with salt, 1/4 tsp turmeric powder and 1/2 tsp red chilly powder until soft. Mash the plantain pieces with a spatula. You can leave a few pieces as chunks.
2. Grind coconut, green chillies, ginger, cumin, mustard seeds and turmeric along with 1/2 cup water to form a fine paste and keep aside.
3. Blend yogurt along with 1/2 cup water until smooth. Keep aside.
4. Add the coconut paste to the cooked plantain and mix gently. Allow it to cook for 4-5 minutes until it thickens. You can cook it for more time, if you want the Pacahdi to be very thick.
5. Reduce flame to low and add beaten curd along with salt to taste. If you want the Pachadi to be more sweet, add a little sugar. Heat it for a few minutes and remove from stove top. Be careful not to boil the pachadi after adding curd.
6. Heat oil in a pan and splutter mustard seeds. Saute dry red chillies and curry leaves for a minute.
7. Pour the seasoning over the pachadi and mix gently.

Note

• Do not use very sour Curd or Yogurt for this pachadi as there should be a perfect balance of sweetness and sourness.
• You can use Pineapple, Mango, Beetroot, Pumpkin or Papaya instead of Plantain.

Vegetable Upma

Ingredients

1. Rava/Wheat Semolina (Sooji) – 2 Cups
2. Mixed Vegetables (fresh or frozen) – 3/4 cup (I used carrots, beans, green peas and corn)
3. Thinly sliced Shallots – 6 to 8
4. Slit Green Chillies – 3 or 4
5. Ginger (minced finely) – 1 tbsp
6. Curry Leaves – A sprig
7. Peanuts/Groundnuts -  8 to 10 pieces (optional)
8. Mustard Seeds – 1/2 tsp
9. Oil – 2 tbsp
10. Salt – As Required
11. Water – 2 cups + A few tablespoons

Preparation Method

1. Lightly fry the rava in a non stick pan on medium heat until it begins to change color lightly. Stir continuously while frying the rava so that it doesn’t get burnt. Remove from heat and keep aside.
2. Microwave the vegetables along with a few tablespoons of water and salt to taste, for around 3-5 minutes until half-cooked. Drain the vegetables and keep aside.
3. Add 2 tbsp oil in another pan and splutter mustard seeds. If using peanuts, throw them in and saute until they begin to change color.
4. Add shallots, green chillies and curry leaves and saute till the shallots begin to lightly brown.
5. Add ginger and saute for 2 more minutes.
6. Throw in the half cooked vegetables and saute for a few more minutes.
7. Add 1/4 tsp turmeric powder and stir for a minute.
8. Add 2 cups of water along with  salt to taste and bring everything to a boil.
9. Reduce heat and add the fried rava into the boiling water stirring continuously, so that no lumps are formed.
10. Cover the pan and cook on low heat for 5 minutes approximately.
11. If the upumavu is dry, sprinkle a few more tablespoons water and close the pan and cook for 2 more minutes.
12. Serve this yummy Vegetable Upma with Chutney or Pickle.