Kerala Vegetable stew | Vegetable isthu | Side dish recipes

My mom's cuisine had a great influence of Kerala. We are not Keralites exactly but we speak fluent Malayalam and use coconut in almost everything. Payasams are never complete with that final addition of thick coconut milk and fish curry is just coconut ground with spices and finished with a generous touch of coconut thaalippu. However she has never made the most famous kerala isthu till date. Entering into the blogging world and getting to know about different cuisine has been the best thing of my life. I tried this stew sometime back when I had cans of coconut milk which I had bought just because they were on sale. I didn't make any aapams or idiyaapams to go with it because I am lazy that way but we scooped it up with some wholemeal bread for dinner.

*~What U Need*~ For the ground paste Cashews - a handful Clove -1 Cardamom -2 Cinnamon -1 inch Chillies - 1 Poppy seeds - 2 tbsp, white Par Boiled Vegetables - 2 cups, I used beans, carrot and peas. Coconut oil - 2 tbsp curry leaves - 2 sprigs Ginger - 2 inch piece julienne Onion - 1 medium, copped Salt - as needed Thick coconut milk - 1/2 cup Thin coconut milk - 1 cup How I made it: Grind the spices with a little water to a fine paste. Set aside. Par boil the vegetables and keep aside. Heat the oil in a pan. Add 2 sprigs of curry leaves. Let it splutter. Add in the julienne ginger. Add in the chopped onions and salt. Saute till soft. Add in the ground masala paste and fry for 2-3 minutes. Add in the thin coconut milk and boiled vegetables and let it simmer until beginning to boil. Once the mixture is cooked well, Add in the thick coconut milk and reduce the flame to low. Simmer for 30 seconds. Switch off the flame and serve hot.

Serve with aapams or idiyappams. It is the best combo in the world.

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(Amma Cooks) Vadakari.. And I am back!!!

Well I know that the blog has been silent for quiet sometime or let me be honest and say quite a longtime. This time it was not the writer's block all through the way. It started off with the writer's block but then it extended to laziness and finally settled down on bloggers stats. There were days when there were 40+ comments on a single post and then there were days when there were 0 comments. The latter kept on extending which kinda demotivated me. Then came summer and days moved on like minutes.


It was only a few days back that I opened up my blog. As I read through it, I realized how much I had enjoyed writing, editing and posting up a recipe here. I decided to come back and what better way than my mom's traditional recipe. I clicked this picture way back in 2012 when I was an amateur photographer. Well I am no great now, I am still an amateur photographer but atleast I know something about lighting and natural light now. Back to the point, this is my mom's recipe, cooked by her and eaten by us. Good old days, huh!!!

~*What U Need*~ For the vadas Channa dhal - 1/2 cup Green chilli - 1 Red Chilli - 1 Shallots - 6-7 Hing powder - a pinch Fennel seeds - 1/2 tsp Salt Curry leaves - 2 sprigs Oil - to fry For the Curry: Onions(large) - 2 Tomato(large) - 1 Ginger garlic paste - 1/2 tbsp Coriander leaves - a handful Salt Oil To Temper: Fennel seeds - 1 tsp Cinnamon - 1" pinch Cloves - 2 Cardamom pods - 2 Bayleaf - 1 To grind: Coriander powder - 1 tsp Green chilli - 1 Grated Coconut - 1/4 cup Poppy seeds - 1/2 tbsp How I Made it: Lets prepare the vadas first. Soak the chana dhal overnight. Chop the onions, green chillies and curry leaves finely. In a blender, add the chana dhal, red chilli and fennel seeds. Pulse it 2 - 3 times. You should have some whole chana dhal here and there. Put this mixture in a bowl, add chopped onions, green chillies, curry leaves, hing and salt and mix well. Pinch lemon sized balls. Heat oil and deep fry till evenly brown. Break these into 2 and set aside. Chop the onions. Blend the tomatoes into a smooth paste. Heat oil in a kadai, add the ingredients under to temper. Add the onions and saute till soft. Now add in the ginger garlic paste and fry till the raw smell goes off. Add turmeric powder and fry. Add the blended tomato to the onions and fry till oil separates. Blend all the ingredients under to grind to a smooth paste. Add this paste to the cooked onion-tomato mixture. Fry till oil separates. Add the broken vada pieces, garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot. ** My Notes: ** Add water to bring to the desired consistency. ** When thick this makes a perfect side dish for chapathis or dosas and when thin, would be great with hot rice. However, we always prefer this with dosas.

So thats it Folks...
With Love,
Vimitha

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Kerala Kadala curry / Kadala curry

There are a few dishes which are etched in my mind mainly because those dishes frequented our dinner tables quite often when I was a kid. We are not from Kerala but the influence of Kerala is a bit more in my place. We cook a lot with coconut oil and kappa puzhukku with meen kuzhambu is still my favorite. And then there is kadala curry and puttu, an all time favorite. Though I don't make the duo a lot, I make kadala curry often to go with our chapathis.

~*What U Need*~ Black chenna/Chickpeas - 3/4 cup, soaked overnight For grinding: Coconut - 1/2 cup Water - 1/4 cup to grind to a smooth paste For the masala: Onions - 1, medium chopped Tomato - 1/2 medium, chopped Ginger garlic paste - 2 tsp Green chilli - 1 Curry leaves - 1 sprig Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp Red chilli powder - 1 tsp Garam masala powder - 1/2 tsp Corinder powder - 1 tsp Coconut oil - 2 tbsp Water, salt How I Made it: Grind the coconut to a smooth paste and set aside. Heat 2 tbsp coconut oil in a pan. Temper with mustard seeds and half the amount of curry leaves. Add the chilli and saute for a min. Add the onions and saute till golden brown. Add the ginger garlic paste and saute till the raw smell leaves. Add the tomatoes and saute till soft. Add the soaked chenna, enough water and pressure cook for 3-4 whistles or till soft. Once done. Add the spice powders and mix and cook for 3-4 mins. Add the ground coconut paste. Saute for 4 to 5 minutes on a low flame. Add enough water to bring to the desired consistency. Season with salt. Let the curry come to a boil and you see oil separate from the curry. Add the curry leaves and remove from the flame.

Serve kadala curry hot with puttu or appam or steamed rice or rotis.
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Vendakkai Kaarakuzhambu

I am not a pro when it comes to authentic south Indian gravies like vathakuzhambu, kaarakuzhambu and many others. I can never get the consistency right and it never tastes good. I would rate it average and so I never attempt the same. The reason why I dont get these curries right is that I never add the said amount of oil. If a recipe calls for 4 tbsp oil, I always stick to 1 tbsp. Well, the rest is history. Last week I had this sudden urge to try kaarakuzhambu and I tipped in the oil closing my eyes. The result was this tangy and yummy dish. Now I know why oil goes a long way in making these authentic dishes.

~*What U Need*~ Lady fingers - 10-12 Tamarind - marble sized ball Small onions - 6-8 Tomato - 1 Garlic - 10 cloves Sambar powder - 1/2 tbsp Garlic 8-10 flakes Pepper powder - 1/4 tsp Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp Jaggery/brown sugar - 1/4 tsp Salt - to taste To temper: Gingely oil - 3 tbsp Fenugreek seeds - 1/4 tsp Mustard seeds - 1 tsp Urad dhal - 1 tsp Toor dhal - 1 tsp Jeera - 1 tsp Curry leaves - 1 sprig To grind Coconut grated - 1/4 cup Onion - 4-6 How I Made it: Grind the coconut and onion to a smooth paste. Extract the tamarind juice. Slice the garlic. Clean the ladys finger and cut into finger sized pieces. Saute with very little oil till toasted on every sides. Heat kadai with oil and temper with the ingrediends given under ‘to temper’. Add garlic and chopped onion and fry till borwn. Add tomatoes and fry till soft. Add the tamarind extract and enough water,salt, turmeric, and sambar powder. Let it boil for 4 minutes. Then add lady fingers and bring to boil. Add the ground paste to the kuzhambu. Let it boil until the lady finger gets cooked and the kuzhambu comes to the desired consistency. Add jaggery and remove from flame.

Serve with rice!!!

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Palak Tofu

Just like avocado, the huss has an aversion for tofu. Paneer is welcome in his book but tofu is a strict no-no for him. But I buy it occasionally as in once a month because I like to include it in our diet atleast once a month for the sake of pappu. While I am still experimenting with tofu recipes, I have decided to give the basics a try first, like this palak tofu, tofu masala, kadai tofu etc.

Making palak paneer or palak tofu is a breeze. Blanch, grind and simmer ~ and the sauce is ready to go. And its a healthy way to use all your greens. Spinach is widely used but you can experiment with different greens like baby kale or baby collards. This makes a perfect side dish for chapathis and even better ~ jeera rice. You can add cream at the end to make it more rich or you can replace the milk with cream to give at even more richer taste and use butter or ghee to give at a restaurant style makeover.

~*What U Need*~ Tofu - 10 oz, cubed, extra firm Salt - a pinch Oil - 1 tsp Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp Garam masala - 1/2 tsp Chilli powder - 1 tsp For the sauce/ curry: Spinach - 2 cups, washed Water - 1/4 cup (I used the water that I blached the spinach in) Milk - 1/4 cup Almonds - a handful, soaked in warm water for 10 mins Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp Green chilli - 1 Tomato - 1 Onion - 1, small, chopped Garam masala - 1/4 tsp How I Made it: In a pan, heat oil to medium heat. Add the chopped tofu and saute for 2 mins. Add the spice powders and salt and toss to coat. Cook for 8-10 mins. Meanwhile, boil water in a large pan, put the spinach and blanch for 2 mins. Remove and let cool. Add this to the blender with the water, milk, almonds, ginger garlic paste and blend well. Heat oil in a pan and add 1 tsp cumin seeds and allow to sizzle, add onions and fry till brown. Add the spinach puree and bring it to a boil, add the sauteed tofu and mix gently. Add garam masala and cook in medium heat for 10-15 mins. Taste and season as desired. Add 2 tbsp cream and remove from flame.

Serve hot with Naan or chapathis.

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(Amma Cooks) Vendakkai Morkuzhambhu / Spiced Buttermilk gravy with Lady Fingers

Amma generally makes this instant morkulambhu with a simple potato fry to go with it. It makes a simple yet comforting Saturday lunch for us. I love the ease with which one can make amma's morkulambhu. Its just like whisking the curd and seasoning it with the tempering. And then there is this besan flour which she adds to the gravy which makes the gravy thicker and which gives it a unique taste. And the potato fry, it just completes lunch.

The other day when I was talking to her, she kept coming back to this vendakkai morkuzhambu that the neighbor aunty had shared with her and that made me interested too. I asked her to get the recipe, try it out at home and share the pic and recipe details so that I can share it here. I am gonna try this soon too.

~*What U Need*~ Thick curd - 2 cups Lady fingers - 10 nos Coconut oil - 2 tsp Vegetable oil - 1 tsp Hing - a pinch Turmeric powder - a pinch Mustard seeds - 1 tsp Curry leaves - 1 sprig To grind Thuvaram paruppu / toor dhal - 1 tbsp Grated coconut - 2 tbsp Green chilli - 2 Cumin seeds - 1 tsp How I Made it: Cut the lady fingers into bite sized pieces and fry it till golden brown in a non stick kadai, using 1 tsp vegetable oil. Remove and keep it aside. Soak toor dal for 15 mins. Beat the curd nicely using a whisk till smooth, add 1/2 cup water and bring it to buttermilk consistency. Add salt, turmeric powder and hing and mix well. Grind the soaked toordhal, cumin seeds, green chilli and coconut into a smooth paste. Add the paste to the buttermilk and mix well. Heat coconut oil in the kadai. Temper with mustard seeds and curry leaves. Add the buttermilk mixture to it. Stir in medium low till it starts boiling. Remove from heat. Add the lady fingers and serve. ** My Notes: ** Use homemade curd for best results. ** While grinding the coconut paste, don't use water. Instead use the buttermilk we have kept aside. ** Always add the lady fingers before serving.

Serve hot with white rice and potato roast. It makes a heavenly combo.

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Vegetable Kuruma | Vegetable Korma | Side dish for Dosa/chapathis

I have been getting requests for some easy side dishes for dosas or chapathis. I know that my blog is lacking some basic Indian dishes and I am trying my best to fill them up here. The problem is these dishes have been etched in me that it comes as a flow and to pick up the camera to click step by step pictorials is just not happening. I chop, I fry and then I season, thats it job done. And to break that flow is something that never comes to me.

But I am coming out of my shell, slowly and that is how I clicked this vegetable kuruma. Its simple and tastes great with dosas/chapathis/parottas and is my go-to-dish when I am out of ideas for that night's dinner. I always have dosa batter in my fridge and so this kuruma makes for a simple and lip-smacking dinner. And if you are a bachelor, stack some frozen parottas or chapathis and make this kuruma whenever you need a comforting home-cooked meal, atleast the side-dish part ;)

You could use a mix of veggies like carrots, beans, peas and cauliflower or keep it simple with carrot, beans and potato. But keep in mind that if you are using cauliflower, donot pressure cook it. Add them raw when you are adding the steam-cooked veggies to the masala and boil till tender. That way the cauliflower will not disintegrate.

Serves - 4; Prepping time - 15 mins; Cooking time - 20 mins ~*What U Need*~ To grind: Onion - 1/2, cubed Grated coconut - 1/4 cup Cashews - 4to5 Green chilli - 1 Roasted channa dhal - 2 tsp To pressure cook: Mixed vegetables - 1 1/2 cups, diced For the gravy: Onion - 1/2, finely chopped Tomato - 1, finely chopped Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp Coriander powder - 1 tsp Garam masala - 1/2 tsp Coriander leaves - 2 tbsp, chopped Bay leaf - 1 Cloves - 2 Cardamom - 2 Cinnamon - 1" Salt, Oil How I Made it: In a kadai, add 1/2 tsp oil, add the cubed onions and fry till pale. Add the coconut and saute for 2 mins. Once cooled, add this to the blender along with the rest of the ingredients to be ground and grind to a smooth paste. Set aside. Meanwhile steam cook the vegetables for 1 whistle or par-boil the vegetables. In a kadai, add 1 tsp oil, add the bay leaf, cinnamon, cloves and cardamom and saute till brown. Add the chopped onions and saute till golden. Next add the ginger garlic paste and fry till the raw smell leaves. Add the chopped tomatoes and when soft, add the spices and saute till oil separates. Next add the par-boiled veggies and mix well. Add the ground masala with some water and allow to boil till you see oil separating. Season with salt. Add the chopped coriander leaves and remove from flame.

Serve with parathas or chapathis!!!

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(Amma Cooks) Cauliflower Potato Green Curry

Am not a tv-cookery-show-copy-cater, in fact I never follow cookery shows. An occasional Fabulous cakes/Nigella's Kitchen/Donna Hay ~it's an yes for me, but switching on the TV every day at the right time is never me. Might be because I am never good at memorising the list of ingredients that they blurt out in a fraction of second, let alone remember the method on how to go about making the dish. Am that bad...

In fact I still turn the pages of the cookbook that amma gave me, the 32-page handwritten notebook which is filled with amma's recipes, whenever I make sambar. Am that bad in remembering stuff. Amma is just the opposite, she follows Tamil cookery shows and tries them in her kitchen and it turns out just perfect. One such dish was the Chicken Nilgris chops, a now-family-favorite. She's been making it for years now and we usually have it with Neichoru a.k.a ghee flavored rice ~ a winning combo in terms of flavor and taste. About the recipe, it uses lots of coriander leaves and mint leaves ground to a paste and so imagine the aroma of the dish.

It was a Saturday a no,non-veg day for us. We had cauliflower, potato but the aloo-gobi masala seemed to be made more often and so we thought of making something new. Amma suggested incorporating the flavors of the meat dish in cauliflower and I was so into it. We had it with a simple curd rice and the simplicity of the flavors made for a hearty lunch.

~*What U Need*~ Cauliflower - 1,medium Potato - 1, medium Onion - 2 Tomato - 1 Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp Red chilli powder - 1/4 tsp Coriander powder - 1 tsp Garam masala - 1/2 tsp Turmeric powder - a pinch Salt, Oil Cardamom - 1 Cloves - 2 Cinnamon - 1" stick To Grind Mint leaves - 1/2 cup Coriander leaves - 1/2 cup Green chilli - 1 Grated Coconut - 1/4 cup Thick Curd - 1 tbsp

How I Made it:
Grind all ingredients under "to grind" to a semi-coarse paste. Clean and soak the cauliflower in hot salted, turmeric powder water for 10-15 mins. Heat 1 tsp oil in a kadai, add the cardamom, cloves and cinnamon and when brown, add the sliced onions. Once soft, add ginger garlic paste and fry till the raw smell goes. Add the tomatoes and saute till soft and mushy. Add the masala powders and fry for 2 mins. Now add the cauliflower florets and potato, add half cup of water and allow to cook. When the vegetables are soft, add the ground paste and cook for 10 mins in slow flame. Season with salt, add water to bring to desired consistency and cook for 2-3 mins. Remove from flame.

Serve with rotis/pulaos/naans.

** My Notes:
** You could add more water and make it like a gravy or semi-gravy too.
** Add milk instead of water or even cream to make it more richer.
** Add 5 cashews soaked in warm water when grinding the paste for a richer taste.

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Potato Masala | Side dish for rotis or pilafs

Anyone who is not game for potatoes??? Then do skip the next few lines cos am gonna rave about how I love this tuber. Potatoes in any form can please me. A simple potato roast with curd rice is my comfort meal. I can live on that for days together. To me, anything with potato can never go wrong.
The very first dish that I tried in the kitchen was a simple potato roast and its been loved by everyone in the family till date. I have even got requests from relatives to make the dish when they are home visiting us and its been one of appa's favorite among the many dishes that I make.

Remember the okra in coconut gravy that I made some time back. My aunt makes a similar dish with potato which I die for. I love it so much that whenever she comes home, I ask her to make it in a large batch and I have it with bread for breakfast, rice for lunch and chapathis for dinner. The recipe will be up soon cos they have scheduled a visit next month and am waiting for the day so that she can make it, I can click it and you can savor it. Nothing can beat the comfort of a food blogger getting a recipe with no effort put in to cook and thats one of the reasons why the 'Amma cooks' series is close to my heart. No cooking, only clicking and editing.

Coming back to the recipe, I made this dish for the Kashmiri pulao because all I wanted was a mildly spicy side and this sounded the right choice. Its simple, tangy and less spicy which makes it a great accompaniment for pulaos/pilafs. Goes well with chapathis and dosas too. The gravy is very versatile and you could replace the potato with paneer or tofu or you could use a mix of veggies of choice.

~*What U Need*~ Potato - 2, medium Onions - 2, medium Tomatoes - 1/2, medium Ginger - 1/4 inch piece Garlic - 2 cloves Cinnamon - 1" inch Cloves - 2 Cardamom pods - 2 Bay leaf - 1/2 Coriander powder - 1 tsp Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp Garam masala - 1/4 tsp Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp Cumin powder - 1/4 tsp Water - 1/2 cup Yogurt - 1/4 cup Coriander leaves - 2 tbsp, chopped Salt, Oil

How I made it:
Boil the potatoes till done, remove the skin and cut into cubes. Heat oil in a non stick kadai, add 1 tsp oil and fry the potatoes till golden brown. Remove and drain excess oil. To the same pan, add the garlic, ginger and chopped onions and saute till soft.

Add the tomatoes and cook till soft and done. Cool and blend well in a mixie.

Add 1 tsp oil to a non-stick pan and when hot, add the cinnamon, cloves and cardamom pods. Add the pureed masala and fry till oil separates. Add the spice powders and salt and fry till raw smell goes off.

Once done, add the fried potatoes and mix carefully not to break the potatoes. Add water and bring it to a boil to get desired consistency. Whisk the yogurt to remove any lumps. Add the yogurt, mix well, add the chopped coriander leaves and remove from flame.

Serve with pilafs/rotis/naans.

** My Notes:
** The yogurt gives an additional tanginess and so I used only 1/2 of a big tomato
** You can also add one green chilli when saute-ing the onions and blend together to get a spicier version
** Use paneer or mushrooms or tofu for variations.
** If you are using paneer or tofu then immerse in hot water to retain softness
** You can also replace the yogurt with cream or half milk half cream or half-and-half for a richer version

So thats it Folks...
With Love,

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