Tag Archives: Main Course

Recipe: Pooshnikai Kootu aka Ash Gourd Stew

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Another typical tambram food, which I made for the first time for the sumangali pooja. This was really good with a medley of tastes. A keeper which I plan to make often.

Pooshnikai Kootu aka Ash Gourd Stew

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Ingredients:

  • 1 medium sized pooshnikai or as gourd, chopped into small pieces with the seeds and fibres removed
  • 3/4 cup toor dal or red gram dal, cooked with a pinch of turmeric till mushy
  • 1/3 cup chana dal or bengal gram dal, cooked with a pinch of turmeric
  • 2 tsps coriander seeds
  • 1.5 tsps bengal gram dal
  • 6-8 dried red chillies
  • 4-5 tbsps grated coconut
  • a lime sized ball of tamarind, soaked in hot water for 30 minutes and the pulp squeezed and the juice removed and kept aside. Alternatively use 2-3 tsps of tamarind paste
  • 2 tsps oil
  • 1 tsp mustard seeds
  • 1 tsp urad dal or black gram dal
  • 4-5 curry leaves
  • 1/4 tsp asafoetida
  • 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
  • Salt to taste

Method:

  • In a large pan, take the chopped ash gourd and cook it with just enough water to cover the vegetable. Add some salt and turmeric powder.
  • When the ash gourd is half cooked, add the juice of the tamarind and let it cook till the raw smell of the tamarind goes away.
  • In the meantime, in another pan, with 1 tsp oil, fry the bengal gram dal,  coriander seeds, dried red chillies and the coconut until the coconut looses all it’s moisture and becomes dry. Blend this coconut mixture into a smooth paste. Add a bit of water if needed to do this.
  • When the ash gourd is cooked, add the cooked toor dal to the ash gourd and let it mix well. Bring it to a boil and then add the blended coconut paste and let it boil for around 5 minutes
  • In a seperate pan, heat the balance oil and when warm, add the mustard seeds, urad dal, asafoetida, curry leaves and red chillies and stir for a few seconds till the urad dal is brown the curry leaves are crisp.
  • Season the kootu with this and remove from the gas. Serve hot with a rice of your choice or any flatbread.

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Recipe: Pudalangai Kootu aka Snake Gourd Stew

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This is a typical tambram recipe which is made in perhaps every household at some point or the other. But surprisingly I had never made it before and so when I had to make it for the Sumangali pooja, I had to rely on my tambram cooking bible – Cook and See by Meenakshi Ammal. I am reproducing the recipe as it is published. Even though I was cooking it for the first time, it was yummy and I realised, I actually liked it a lot.

This recipe is pretty standard for a kootu, in that it has the vegetable, some dal and a coconut spice blend. What was different was that instead of chillies, the coconut was blended with black peppercorn, which made the difference in taste.

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Pudalangai Kootu or Snakegourd Stew

Ingredients:

  • 2 snake gourds
  • 1 cup moong dal, washed and cooked with a pinch of turmeric powder till it is mushy
  • 4-5 tbsps grated coconut
  • 1.5 tsps peppercorns
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
  • 1 tsp oil
  • 1 tsp mustard seeds
  • 1 tsp split urad dal
  • 2-3 dried red chillies
  • 4-5 curry leaves
  • salt to taste

Method:

  • To chop the snake gourd, slit it lengthwise first and remove all the seeds and fibre from inside. Then cut it in half lengthwise and then into thin slices horizontally.
  • In a pan cook the snake gourd with minimum water, 1/4 tsp turmeric powder and some salt.
  • While the snake gourd is cooking, in a blender, blend the coconut, peppercorns and cumin seeds to a fine paste and keep aside.
  • When the snake gourd is cooked, but still keeping its shape, add the cooked dal to it and mix gently. Now add the coconut paste and add a bit of water if needed. Kootus are generally thick, but you can adjust the thickness of the dish as you like.
  • Check for salt and when it comes to a rolling boil, let it boil for five minutes and switch off the gas.
  • In a smaller pan, heat the oil and when it becomes warm, add the mustard seeds. When the seeds crackle, add the urad dal, asafoetida, curry leaves and dried red chillies and let the dal brown and the curry leaves become crisp. Pour this seasoning into the kootu and serve hot as an accompaniment to rice.

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Recipe: No Onion, No Garlic Broccoli in Red Pepper Gravy

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During the 10/11 days of Navratri, I do not eat food which has onions and/or garlic added to it. So this means, we’re usually cooking traditional south Indian Brahmin food, which does not incorporate these two vegetables. After a few days of cooking traditional dishes, I was bored and so decided to make something north Indian, but to make these gravy-based vegetables without onions and garlic is a challenge. I also had two heads of broccoli which were going to spoil soon so I experimented with this dish which tried to replace garlic and onions with asafoetida and cashew nuts and sesame seeds. It was a hit and even though I made enough for the whole day, we only ate for a single meal and I had to make something else for dinner!

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No Onion, No Garlic Broccoli in Red Capsicum Gravy

Ingredients:

  • 2 heads broccoli, cut into florets, washed and kept aside
  • 2 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1 tsp coriander seeds
  • 1 tsp fennel seeds
  • 1 tsp carom seeds/ajwain
  • 4-5 cashew nuts
  • 1 tsp white sesame seeds
  • 2 tsp red chilli powder
  • ½ tsp turmeric powder
  • ¼ tsp asafoetida
  • 1 tsp garam masala powder or sabzi masala powder
  • Salt to taste
  • 4 tomatoes, chopped roughly
  • 1 red bell pepper, chopped
  • 2 tbsps oil
  • Coriander leaves to garnish

Method:

  • Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan and add 1 tsp cumin seeds.
  • When it splutters, add the coriander seeds, fennel seeds, carom seeds and cashew nuts.
  • Let the cashew nuts brown and then add the red bell peppers and the tomatoes.
  • When the tomatoes start to dissolve, switch off the gas and add the sesame seeds.
  • Let it cool completely and when cool, blend it into a fine paste.
  • In another clean pan, heat the remaining oil and add the balance cumin seeds.
  • When it splutters, add the asafoetida and turmeric and stir for a couple of seconds.
  • Now add the washed broccoli heads and stir-fry for a few minutes till the broccoli gets coated with the spices.
  • When the broccoli is half cooked, add the blended paste and season it with salt, red chilli powder and garam masala powder or sabzi masala.
  • Add water if the gravy is very thick and dry and bring it to the consistency you want.
  • Cook this gravy and the broccoli for a few minutes. Do not overcook the broccoli and keep it slightly al-dente.
  • Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with any rice or flat bread.

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Recipe: Mixed Vegetable in Yoghurt Gravy

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img_6094Usually, we stock up on vegetables on Saturday mornings. Somehow one Saturday we could not do it because of various reasons and so were resorting to using up what we had. On Friday before we stocked up on Saturday, I realised we had just a couple of vegetables and so decided to make a mixed vegetable gravy dish. Then came the zinger – there were no tomatoes in the house, and how do you make a gravy dish without tomatoes? Luckily, we always have yoghurt at home (we make fresh yoghurt at least every other day) and so I decided to substitute tomatoes with yoghurt. The dish did turn out good and lip-smacking!

img_6090Mixed Vegetables in Yoghurt Gravy

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups mixed vegetables (I used potatoes, peas and corn, though you can use pretty much any vegetable you like)
  • 1 cup frozen paneer, revived in hot water for 30 minutes and then drained. Reserve the water and use it to thin the gravy.
  • 1 cup yoghurt, thinned to around 1.5 – 2 cups
  • 2 onions, chopped
  • 8-10 pieces of cashew nuts
  • 2 tbsps oil
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 8 pods of garlic
  • 1 inch piece of ginger
  • 3 green chillies, chopped
  • 2 tsps red chilli powder
  • ¼ tsp turmeric powder
  • 1 tsp coriander powder
  • 1 tsp cumin seed powder
  • 1 tsp garam masala powder
  • 1 tbsp kasuri methi
  • Salt to taste
  • Coriander leaves/Parsley to garnish

Method:

  • Cut the vegetables into even pieces and keep aside.
  • In a pan, heat 1 tsp of oil and when it becomes warm, add the garlic, ginger and chillies and let them stir for a few minutes.
  • Now add the chopped onions and let the onions become translucent. At this point add the cashew nuts and stir for a few minutes. Remove from the flame and let it cool completely.
  • When completely cooled, blend into a smooth paste. Try not use water, instead use some of the thinned yoghurt to give the moisture needed to blend. Keep aside for a while.
  • In the same pan, heat the balance oil and when warm, add the cumin seeds and let them splutter. Then add the turmeric powder and give it a stir and add the chopped vegetables.
  • Add the rest of the dry spices (chilli powder, cumin powder and coriander powder) plus salt and cover and cook till almost done. The vegetables should be cooked, but firm.
  • At this point, add the blended spice mixture and stir well. If the gravy is still thick, add the water you used to refresh the paneer.
  • Add the garam masala and let it come to a rolling boil. Reduce the flame and check for seasoning. Add what you feel is missing.
  • Just before you switch off the flame, take the Kasuri methi in the palm of your hand and using the other palm, crush it a bit before adding to the gravy.
  • Garnish with chopped coriander leaves/parsley and serve hot with rice or any flat bread.

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Recipe: Avial

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One of the eponymous dishes which are common across South India, Avial is one of my favourite dishes. I remember when my mum used to make this dish, I would eat it the whole day, so much that what was supposed to be enough for both meals, would finish by the time we had lunch!

Both GG & BB love it as much as I do, S is quite indifferent to it. When S started working with us, she also started to love it and if we go a couple of months without making it, she will remind me to make it soon.

This dish is quite ancient and is said to be invented by Bhima, the second Pandava brother during their year in exile. Most vegetables used to make Avial are what we call local (Indian) vegetables. Some ‘English’ vegetables like potato, carrots, beans and peas are also used. Other vegetables like Yellow/Orange pumpkin, white pumpkin, drumstick, snake gourd, yam, raw banana are also used. You can use all of these or some, depending on what you have at home. The dish can also be made thick or thin – thick if you are not planning to eat it mixed with rice (like a gravy) or thin if this will be mixed with rice. In my home, if we make Avial, we don’t usually make anything else since it has all vegetables in it, we eat it with rice and some crisps.

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Avial

Ingredients:

  • 2 carrots, chopped lengthwise in 2 inch sticks
  • 2 potatoes, chopped lengthwise in 2 inch sticks
  • 2 raw bananas, chopped lengthwise in 2 inch sticks
  • 1/4 piece of yellow pumpkin, chopped lengthwise in 2 inch sticks
  • 7-8 beans, chopped 2 inch
  • 2 drumsticks, chopped in 2 inch sticks
  • 1 snake gourd, chopped lengthwise in 2 inch sticks
  • 1 cup yoghurt, beaten
  • 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
  • salt to taste
  • 3-4 curry leaves (optional)
  • 1 tsp coconut oil (optional)

To be ground into a paste

  • 2 tsps cumin seeds
  • 6-8 green chillies
  • 1 cup grated coconut
  • 1/2 cup yoghurt

Method:

  • In a deep bottomed pan, add all the chopped vegetables and cook them with very little water and the turmeric powder and 1 tsp salt. Cook till the vegetables are al-dente, they should be still firm to touch.
  • While the vegetables are cooking, grind the coconut, chillies and cumin seeds, using the yoghurt as moisture. Grind the coconut till it is very fine.
  • Once the vegetables are cooked, add the coconut mixture to the vegetables. Stir well and add salt to taste.
  • From the remaining yoghurt, add as much yoghurt as you need to make it as thick as you need. If you need to make the avial thick, add very little yoghurt and more if you want to make the gravy watery.
  • When the avial comes to a nice rolling boil, add the coconut oil and curry leaves (if using) and switch off the gas. Cover the dish with a plate or cover to keep the fragrance of the curry leaves and oil.
  • Serve hot with rice and some crisps or papad.

Enjoy…..

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