dalia upma

dalia-1.5 cups
scraped coconut- one cup
small onions-10
ginger-one piece
green chillies-5
salt- as needed.
coconut oil-2 teaspoons
mustard-one teaspoon
curry leaves-8 or 10
red chilly-1

method:
cook dalia with salt and water and keep it aside. Now heat coconut oil in a pan. splutter mustard. add the curry leaves and broken red chilly to it. then add finely chopped pieces of ginger, green chillies and small onions to it and fry till teh colour of the onion changes to light brown. then add scraped coconut to it and fry til its light brown. now add the cooked dalia to it and mix well. tasty upma is ready. u bet , you wil become addicted to it.

Olan (very simple curry)

Ingredients:

Black eyed bean (lobia)- half cup

Ashgourd-2 big pieces

green chillies- 5

thick coconut milk-two cups

salt-as needed.

curry leaves- a handful

coconut oil: two teaspoons

method:

cut the ashgourd in to small square membrane-thin pieces. half cook the lobia and then cook it with salt and the ashgourd square pieces and 5 cut green chillies. the chilly pieces should be long. once cooked, add the coconut milk and curry leaves in to it and switch the stove off. sprinkle two teaspoons of coconut oil and olan is ready. for kids, you can reduce the number of chillies.

cabbage carrot thoran

Ingredients:

Cabbage-1

Carrot-2

Scraped coconut – 2 cups.

Green chillies-5

Salt-as needed

Turmeric powder- ½ tea spoon.

Mustard: one teaspoon

Small onions: 5

Curry leaves:a handful

Red chilly: 4

Coconut oil- one table spoon

Method:

Heat coconut oil in a pan and splutter mustard. Add red chillies, curry leaves, finely chopped small onions in to it and give a fry. Then add finely chopped carrot and cabbage in to it along with turmeric powder and salt and mix well. Now cook for 10 minutes in low flame.

Now make a powder(it should not be a fine paste, but should be in powder form) of green chillies and scraped coconut  in a mixer and add it to the cooked veggies..mix well in high flame and then switch off the stove. Keep the pan open for 2 minutes and then you can serve this dish hot.

Sprinkling a teaspoon of coconut oil before serving will make it more tasty.

Sambar

Ingredients:

Asafoetida- 2 teaspoons

Toor daal(arhar daal) – 1 cup

Green chillies : 4

Potato-1

Small onions-10

Carrot-1

Ladies finger:5

Tomato-1

Tamarind( vaaLan puLi in Malayalam)- one table spoon

Sambar powder(eastern is one of my favorite brands)- two table spoons

Mustard- 1 teaspoon

Red chilly-3

Curry leaves –a handful

Turmeric powder- ½ teaspoon

Salt- as needed

Red chilly powder- one teaspoon

Coconut oil- 4 teaspoons

Method:

Soak tamarind in half cup of good water.

Cut all the vegetables except ladies finger and cook with arhar daal, turmeric powder, salt, green chillies, red chilli powder, asafetida.

Cut the ladies finger and fry in one teaspoon of coconut oil and add to the cooked veggies. Boil it.

Now take a fine juice of the soaked tamarind and add to the curry. Boil it.

Then make a paste of the sambar powder in half a cup of water and add that to the curry. Boil it.

Now heat coconut oil in a pan, splutter mustard and add red chillies and curry leaves in to that and give a shallow fry.

Pour this in to the curry and mix well. Sambar is ready.

Aviyal

this is my ever favourite dish...

Ingredients:

Carrot-2

Beetroot-one small piece

Yum-one big piece

Raw banana- 2

Desi beans- 5

Drumstick-1

 Green chillies-7

Coconut oil- 2 table spoons

Curry leaves: one handful

Red chilly powder: half table spoon.

Small onions-10

Jeera-two tea spoons

Scraped coconut- 2 cups

Method:

Cut the vegetables and make long pieces of each. Add 2 teaspoon of coconut oil, half tea spoon of turmeric powder, red chilly powder, necessary  salt, 4 cut green chillies in to it and mix well with hand. Cook them in a pan in low flame, with only 2 table spoons of water.

Now make a powdered form of  scraped coconut, 3 green chillies, jeera, small onions in a mixer and add this to the cooked vegetables. Mix well and switch off the stove. Add curry leaves and pour coconut oil in to the curry and mix well… the curry should not have gravy. So you need to be careful to boil off the extra water before adding the coconut mixture in to it. You should switch off the stove as soon as you have added coconut. Don’t boil it after adding the mixture.

potato mulakushyam(very simple curry)

Ingredients:

potatoes - 2 medium size
onions- 2 medium size
jeera - one full teaspoon
curry leaves- one handful
scraped coconut - one cup
arhar daal(thuvara parippu)- one cup
coconut oil- 2 tea spoons
green chillies: 5
turmeric powder - one pinch.
salt - as needed

method:

cook arhar daal with  peeled potato pieces and onion pieces, salt , 3 green chillies and turmeric powder. make a fine paste of teh scraped coconut, jeera, 2 green chillies and  5-6 curry leaves. add this paste to the curry. once it boils, switch off teh stove and add the curry leaves  and coconut oil in to it..mix well..have this curry hot with rice.

bittergourd pachadi

exactly the same ingredients (change tomato with bittergourd..thats it) and the same procedure as tomato pachadi ...but u need to finely chop bittergourd and give a deep fry after adding it to the spluttered mustards....it gives a yummy taste out of  the 'Bitter' gourd...:-)    this also goes well with rice , dosa, idli etc...this will be good without refrigeration for 2 days ....use as less water as possible when you make it..:)

tomato pachadi(goes well with rice, dosa, idli etc)

Kerala's special tomato curry(thakkali pachadi)

Ingredients:
1. tomato - 5 finely chopped
2. scraped coconut-1/2 of a coconut
3. green chilly - 5
4. mustard - 1 table spoon
5. thick curd- 2 cups
6. turmeric powder- 1/2 tea spoon
7. red chilly powder-1/2 tea spoon.
8. salt - 2 tea spoon
9. curry leaves- 7 or 8
10.red chilly- 2
11. water- 1 table spoon
12. coconut oil-2 table spoon.


method:

Make a thick fine paste of water,mustard n coconut along with one green chilly. Add curd to it and mix again to an even paste. Keep it aside.
Heat coconut oil in a pan. Splutter mustard, red chillies and curry leaves and add finely chopped tomatoes in to it. add turmeric powder, red chilly powder, green chillies(cut vertically), salt and cook well. then add the thick paste( of curd  mustard and green chilly) in to it and switch off the stove when it boils on the sides. It should not come to full boil.
Do not close the pan for 10 minutes. You can use the curry for around 30 hours  without refrigeration.