Pavakka Thoran - Sauteed bitter gourd with coconut

Do you like bitter gourd?
I do, but my husband doesn’t!
Do you know the health benefits of bitter gourd?
I do, but my husband doesn’t want to know!

Well, bitter gourd is a vegetable loaded with precious nutrients like folic acid, beta-carotene, iron, and calcium, almost double in amount than any other vegetables! And it helps to prevent diabetes, improves eyesight and fights cancer!

He is in enmity with bitter gourd! Each time I pick one he gets annoyed and murmurs like ‘can’t you buy something else?’ And during the early years of marriage he didn’t allow me buy any!

Now things are different and we are responsible parents of two adorable kids and this hesitation can’t go on any more. And I have to find ways to put some into the tummy of my kiddos and hubby!

I tried several recipes like pavakka theeyal, pavakka and mango palu curry and stir-fry…but nothing worked! Then I tried thoran, made of finely shredded bitter gourd and onion, laced with grated coconut, ginger and curry leaves. And I forcefully served two spoonfuls to his plate saying ‘don’t worry, it won’t hurt you.’ Unwontedly he tasted and asked me ‘is this bitter gourd! Not bitter anymore?’ Hurray… It almost worked!!

But still things are not smooth, he still gets unpleasant and raises his eyebrows when I pick some bitter gourd, but now I don’t care!


Ingredients

1. Bitter gourd (very finely shredded) – 1 big
2. Onion (very finely shredded) – 2 nos
3. Freshly grated coconut – 1 cup
4. Ginger (grated) – 2 cm long piece
5. Green chillies – 3 nos
6. Curry leaves – a few
7. Mustard seeds – a few
8. Oil- 2 tbsp
9. Salt – as required

Method

1. Heat oil in a frying pan and splutter mustard seeds.
2. Add shredded onion, curry leaves and ginger and fry for a minute.
3. Add shredded bitter gourd, grated coconut and salt and mix well.
4. Saute occasionally and cook in medium heat till done.

Mushroom curry

Lent is in full swing and I’m scratching my head each day wondering what curry I should cook? I’m struggling hard to please my husband with veggie dishes! ( he is a meataholic)

During one of my summer holidays in my ancestral home, after a heavy thunder storm at night milk mushrooms popped up all over our back yard! In the cold and wet morning my grandma’s maid and I went to collect them in a bamboo basket. She warned me to be silent while picking them because mushrooms don’t like sound and so won’t crop-up the next day!!

But I couldn’t keep silent and I was shouting “over there…over there another bunch!!”

But she always warned me “Shh…keep quiet…keep quiet!”

That day grandma prepared a delicious ‘mushroom thoran’. She prepared it in a large earthen pot; and its taste still lingers on my tongue! It had a lovely pale and greenish yellow colour!!

Ever since I never had mushroom back home because they are so expensive!

But after coming Australia I find them quite cheap but still they lack that flavour that I experienced earlier!

Yesterday I cooked a dish with button mushrooms and wanted it tastes similar to a chicken curry to appease my husband and keep the lent! Yeah…it was not bad! He really enjoyed it!!


Ingredients

1. Button mushrooms (sliced) – 25 nos
2. Desiccated coconut – ½ cup
3. Tomato (chopped) – 1 no
4. Ginger (cut into long pieces) – 2 cm long piece
5. Onion (sliced) – 2 nos
6. Chilly powder – 1 tsp
7. Coriander powder – 2 tsp
8. Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp
9. Garam masala – 1tsp
10. Oil – 3 tbsp
11. Salt - as required
12. Water – 1 ½ cup

Method

1. Heat a pan and dry roast grated coconut and half of a sliced onion.
2. When it changes its colour to golden brown add all the spices.
3. With out burning fry them till dark brown.
4. Grind this into a fine paste by adding 1 cup of water.
5. Heat oil in a pan and fry onion and ginger.
6. When onion is soft add mushroom, tomato and salt.
7. Fry till mushrooms are tender.
8. Add the ground paste and the remaining water to the mushrooms.
9. Bring to boil and simmer for few minutes till gravy thickens.

Cheera chemmeen thoran - Spinach stir fry with a hint of prawn

Another delicacy from Cochin, where people like to induce the flavor of meat or seafood into veggies!

The natural sweetness of prawn really blends with the spinach so it’s a great way to uplift the taste of a regular thoran!

Ingredients

1. Spinach (finely chopped) – 2 bunch
2. Prawns– 250 gm
3. Freshly grated coconut – 1 ½ cup
4. Garlic (crushed) – 3 pods
5. Button onion/ shallot (crushed) – 2 pods
6. Chilly powder – 1 tsp
7. Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp
8. Mustard seeds – ¼ tsp
9. Curry leaves – a few
10. Salt – as required
11. Oil – 2 tsp

Method

1. Remove the shell of prawn and roughly chop them.
2. Coarse grind grated coconut, garlic, shallot, turmeric powder and chilly powder.
3. Heat oil in a fry pan and splutter mustard seeds.
4. Add chopped prawns and sauté for a few seconds.
5. Add the ground mixture, curry leaves, salt and spinach and mix well.
6. Cook in medium heat till spinach is done and curry is dry.

Kappa kuzhachathu – Mashed cassava

Buying meat on Sundays is our custom like any other Christian homes in Kerala. But occasionally my father would break this routine and buy a one large king fish or Carp.

On such Sundays a dish made of mashed cassava (kappa) with grated coconut, laced with green chilly and garlic would replace rice for lunch. Dipping mashed cassava in the hot red gravy of fish curry and flaking meat from fish bone and munching it…oh that’s really heaven!

Mashed cassava & fish curry … they are made for each other! A very satisfying meal indeed. May be u already familiar with this pair; If not try it…just for a change!

Ingredients

1. Cassava (cut into small cubes) – 1kg
2. Grated coconut – 1 cup
3. Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp
4. Button onion/ shallots (crushed) – 3 nos
5. Green chilly - 2 nos
   
6. Garlic pods (crushed) – 3 nos
7. Curry leaves – a few
8. Salt – as required

Method

1. Mix cassava and salt and add enough water to immerse them.
2. Cook till cassava is tender and drain excess water.
3. Coarse grind coconuts with green chilly, garlic, shallots, curry leaves and ½ cup water.
4. Mix it well with cooked cassava and mash it roughly.
5. Heat the mixture on medium flame till vapors start to come.

Olan

I would say olan is the beauty on a sadhya leaf. A fair looking beauty with lots of black beauty spots! A dish that conquer your mind not by its taste but by the look!

Ingredients

1. Black-eyed beans – ¼ cup
2. White gourd (cut into cubes) - 2 cups
3. Green chillies(slit the edge) - 4 nos
4. Thick coconut milk (1st extract) – ½ cup
5. Thin coconut milk (2nd extract) - 1½ cup
6. Curry leaves - A few
7. Coconut oil - 1 tsp
8. Salt - As required

Method

1. Cook black-eyed beans by adding enough salt and water and keep aside.
2. Cook white gourd, green chillies and salt along with second extract of coconut milk.
3. When they are done add black-eyed beans and mix well.
4. Add thick coconut milk and bring to boil.
5. Remove from fire and add coconut oil and curry leaves and mix well.

Pachakkaya parippu ularthu - Raw plantain and lentil stir-fry

Ingredients

1. Raw plantain (cut into small cubes) – 2 no
2. Yellow lentil – ½ cup
3. Button onion/ shallots (crushed) – 3 pods
4. Chilly powder – 1 tsp
5. Coriander powder – 1½ tsp
6. Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp
7. Water – 1 cup
8. Salt – as required
9. Oil – 2 tbsp
10. Curry leaves –a few

Method

1. Cook yellow lentil by adding water and salt.
2. When it is half done add plantain and cook till both are tender.
3. Heat oil in a fry pan and add crushed button onion, curry leaves and all the powders.
4. Saute continuously till all are well fried and oil starts to separate from the mixture.
5. Add the cooked plantain and lentil and mix well.
6. When the curry is dry, remove from fire.

Eggplant and tomato fry

Ingredients

1. Eggplant (cut into cubes) – 1 big
2. Tomato (chopped)– 2 nos
3. Onion (finely chopped) – 1 no
4. Garlic (crushed)–2 pods
5. Chilly powder – 1 tsp
6. Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp
7. Salt – as required
8. Oil – 3 tbsp

Method

1. Heat oil in pan and fry onion and garlic.
2. When onion starts to change its color to light brown add all the powders.
3. Stir continuously till all are well fried and oil starts to separate from the mixture.
4. Add the tomato and salt and fry till they are soft.
5. Add the eggplant and ½ cup water saute on high heat.
6. Cover the pan with a lid and cook in medium low.
7. Stir occasionally and remove from fire when done.
8. Serve hot with rice or chapatti.

A quick pumpkin curry

Ingredients

1. Pumpkin – ¼ kg
2. Yellow split pea – ½ cup
3. Green chillies (split the edge) – 3 nos
4. Garlic pods (crushed) – 3 nos
5. Chilly powder – ½ tsp
6. Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp
7. Cumin powder – a pinch
8. Grated coconut – 1 cup
9. Salt – as required
10. Water – 1cup

Method

1. Cook split pea by adding one cup of water.
2. When split pea is half cooked add all the other ingredients.
3. When pumpkin is done and curry begins to thicken remove from fire.

Vendakka Sambar

Ingredients

1. Tuvar dal (lentle) - ¼ cup
2. Onion (big) -1 nos
3. Ladies finger (Vendakka) -12 no
4. Tomato - 1 no
5. Water – 2½ cups
6. Chilly powder - ½ tbsp
7. Coriander powder - 1½tbsp
8. Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
9. Fenugreek seeds (Uluva) powdred – 1 tsp
10. Asafetida (Kayam) - 1 tsp
11. Salt - As reqd
12. Tamarind (Puli) - A gooseberry size
13. Cumin Seeds (Jeerakam) - ½ tsp
14. Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
15. Coriander leaves - A few
16. Curry leaves - A few
17. Dry red chilly - 2 nos
18. Oil - 3 tbsp

Method

1. Cut the vegetables into small pieces.
2. Pressure cook dal, onion, salt and ½ cup water.
3. Smash it well with a spoon.
4. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a pan and fry okra by adding salt.
5. Combine the fried okra, tomato, dal and the rest of the water.
6. Sock tamarind in a little water and extract the juice and add to the above mixture.
7. In a pan dry roast chilly powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder, fenugreek powder and asafetida in low flame with out burning.
8. Add this to the curry and boil for 5 minutes.
9. Heat oil in a pan and splutter mustard and cumin.
10. Add dry red chilly, curry leaves and coriander leaves and fry.
11. Add this to the Sambar and combine.