This is a popular side dish in Onam sadhya. It is somewhat similar to the Poosanikkai kootu, we make.In the Kootu, we don't add Thattapayaru. We add Urad Dhal.
Eriseri
Ingredients:
Cubed Poosanikkai / Yellow Pumpkin 1 cup.
Thattapayaru 0.5 cup
Grated coconut 6 tbsp
Cummin Seeds / Zeeragam 1 tsp
green Chilly 2
Small onion 4
Chilly Powder 1 tsp.
Red Chilly 2
Coconut Oil, Salt, Turmeric Powder, Mustard, Curry Leaves.
Method :
1. Soak the Payaru for 4 hours. Cook the Pumpkin, Payaru, one Green Chilly,
Chilly Powder, Salt and Turmeric Powder till the Pumpkin and Payaru become
soft by adding enough water.Pressure cooking can be done, if preferred..
2. Make a fine paste of 4 tbsp. coconut, one green chilly, Zeeragam, onion and little curry leaves. Mash the cooked Pumpkin and Payaru little.
3. Add the coconut paste to the cooked Pumpkin and simmer for 5 minutes
stirring in between.Mix 2 tbsp. of coconut and simmer for a minute.
Heat 2 tsp. of coconut oil and season with Mustard, broken red chilly and
curry leaves.Add 1 tsp. of coconut oil. The tasty Eriseri is ready.
During my visit to my son's place in New Zealand, had the wonderful opportunity to be close with two of the families from Kerala who were experts in preparing the delicacies of the Onam Sadhya.
One such acquaintance was so kind to treat with the Onam Sadhya of nearly twenty dishes; it happened to be one of the best and tastiest meals, partook ever by us.Beetroot Kichadi is one among that.
The other, though had hosted many sumptuous dinners for us, Barbecue party was something new to us and hence, fascinating.
Beetroot Kichadi
Ingredients :
Grated Beetroot 1 cup
Grated coconut 0.5 cup.
Mustard 2 tsp
Zeera 1 tsp
Green chilly 2
Red Chilly 2
Small onion 4
Coconut Oil 4 tsp
Curd 0.5 cup
Curry Leaves.
Method :
1. Heat 2 tsp. of the oil, saute the peeled and grated Beetroot till it is half cooked.
2. Grind the coconut, green chilly, Zeera, 1 tsp. of mustard, small onion to a
fine paste by adding half of the curd. Add it to the Beetroot and let it
simmer.Add salt.Then add the remaining curd and simmer for a few
minutes.
3.Heat 1 tsp. of oil and season with the mustard, broken red chilly and curry
leaves.Add the remaining coconut oil and stir.
An aromatic and tasty side dish that goes well with rice, Dosai or
Roti is ready.
Mostly we prepare Masial only with the Karunai Kizhangu.This Senai Masial gives a change. This goes very well as a side dish with the Rasam Rice. It can also be mixed with the plain white rice and taken with the Appalam as a side item.
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| Senai Masial |
Ingredients :
Yam / Senai 250 grams. ( 1 medium size piece )
Small onion 10 ( if no, 1 Big Onion )
Garlic 5 pods.
Grated coconut 2 tbsp.
Chilly Powder 1 tsp.
Green Chillies 2
Tamarind 1 small piece
For Seasoning :
Oil 2 tbsp.
Mustard, Split Urad Dhal, Hing, Curry leaves.
Method :
1. Peel off the outer skin off the Senai and pressure cooker for 5 to 7 whistles.
2. Soak the Tamarind in warm water and take 1/2 cup of extract.
3. Mash the cooked Senai well, when it is hot.
4. Heat oil and add the seasoning ingredients and then the sliced onion, Garlic
and the Green Chillies. Saute till the onion turns brown. Add Chilly Powder
little salt and water.
5. Add the mashed Senai, salt and grated coconut.Stir well.
6. Add the Tamarind water, salt and simmer till a semi solid consistency is
reached. The tasty Masial is ready.
Radish Poriyal is a different way of using it, other than the Sambar.One more way using Radish is Radish Vadai.Radish has a lot of medicinal values, especially a natural cure for shedding extra weight.
This Poriyal is a good dish for Sambar and Rasam rice.
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| Mullangi Fry |
Ingredients :
Radish 4
Onion 1
Tomato 1
Chilly Powder 3/4 tsp.
Salt, Oil, Turmeric Powder,Hing
Mustard, Split Urad Dhal, Curry leaves
Method :
1. Pressure cook the sliced Radish for 2 whistles with little water and salt in a
small cooker.
2. Heat oil in a Kadai, add Mustard, Urad Dhal, Hing and Curry leaves.
3. Once the Mustards crack, add the sliced onions and saute till they turn
brown.
4.Then add the sliced tomatoes and turmeric powder.Saute till the tomatoes
shrink.
5. Add the cooked Radish, discarding the water if the water is more.That water
can be drunk with Pepper powder or mixed with Rasam, Soup or Sambar.
If the water is less, add with the radish.Add chilly powder and saute on a low
flame for 5 mins. till the water is absorbed.The healthy and tasty Mullangi
Fry is ready.
Beans Usili, a side dish for rice has a different taste and is is also rich in Protein as Dhals are added.
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| Beans Usili |
Ingredients :
Beans 250 gms.
Toor Dhal 1/4 cup.
Channa Dhal / Kadalai Paruppu 1/2 cup
Red chillies 2 to 3
Grated coconut ( optional ) 2 tbs.
For seasoning :
Oil 2 tbsp.
Mustard, Split Urad Dhal, Curry Leaves, Hing
Method :
1. Soak the Dhals for 30 mins. Drain the water and coarsely grind them in the mixer with
little salt and the red chillies. 1 chilly can also be used for seasoning. Add 1 tbsp. of
water, if required.
2. Cook the sliced Beans in water till they become soft, absorbing all the water.Add the
salt in the end.They can be also pressure cooked in a small cooker just for 1 whistle
with 1/2 tsp. of sugar for retaining the green colour.After 1 minute, gently release the
pressure, remove the weight and open the lid. This also helps to maintain the natural
colour of Beans.
3. Heat 2 tbsp. of oil and add the seasoning things with 1 red chilly if preferred.After the
mustard splutters, add the ground Dhal and constantly stir on a medium or low fire till
it is cooked.
4. Then add the cooked Beans.Mix well.Stir on a low fire for 5 mins.Grated coconut can
be added, if preferred in the end. The healthy and tasty Beans Usili is ready.
Note :
1. Without Toor dhal, only 3/4 cup of Channa dhal alone can be used.
2. Most people steam cook the Dhal ater grinding in the mixer.In that case less oil can be
used.Steam cooking takes extra time.
This version of Pagarkai Fry using curd instead of Tamarind is a very good side dish for Sambar Rice, Rasam Rice , Kuzhambu Rice or any Variety Rice.
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| Pagarkai Fry |
Ingredients :
Pagarkai 250 gms.
Curd 1/2 cup
Onion 1
Chilly powder 1/2 to 1 tsp.
Oil 3 tbsp.
Salt, Turmeric Powder
Mustard, Split Urad Dhal, Curry leaves
Method :
1. Churn the curd into thick butter milk by adding 1/4 cup of water.The curd should be
little sour.Soak the sliced Pagarkai with little salt in the curd for 15 to 30 mins.
2. Heat oil, add Mustard, Split Urad Dhal and Curry leaves.When the Mustard splutters,
add onion and saute well. Then add the Pagarkai, discarding the Butter milk.
Add salt.Stir on medium flame.
3.Within 5 mins. the veg. may get half cooked. Then add Chilly powder and Turmeric
Powder.Saute on a low fire for 5 mins.A mild aroma of ghee may come out of the
the curd, sticking to the Pagarkai.Switch off. A tasty combination is ready for any Rice.
This Pagarkai Fry is very tasty and goes well as a side dish for rice, mixed with Sambar, Rasam or any other Kuzhambu.
Ingredients :
Pagarkai 250 gms.
Onion 1
Tamarind 1 Nellikai ( Gooseberry ) Size
Chilly Powder 1/2 to 1 tsp.
Oil 2 tbsp.
Salt, Turmeric Powder,
Mustard,Split Urad Dhal, Curry Leaves.
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| Pagarkai Fry |
Method :
1. Soak the Tamarind in warm water for 10 mins. and take 1 cup of Tamarind water.
2. Slice the Pagarkai and soak in tamarind water for 10 mins.
3. Heat oil, add Mustard, Split Urad Dhal and Curry leaves. After the Mustard splutters,
add the sliced onion and saute well.
4. Then add the Pagarkai,salt and stir well on medium flame.Two or 3 tbsp.of Tamarind
water can also be added,that Pagarkai gets cooked well and the bitter taste is
neutralised.
5. When the vegetable is half cooked or roasted, add chilly powder and Turmeric powder.
6. Roast on a medium flame for 5 mins.Check, if the veg. is cooked and roasted.Switch
off. The tasty fry is ready.
Note :
1. Tamarind water and soaking can also be left.The sliced Pagarkai can be added after
the onion is sauteed.
2. Crushed Garlic Pods can be added with the onion.Grated coconut can be added in the
end.
Usili is prepared with vegetables like Pudalangai, kothavarangai and Vazhaippu.This preparation gives us a change from the Kottu, Curry or Poriyal which we make frequently.
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| Kothavarangai Usili |
Ingredients :
Kothavarangai 250 gms.
Channa Dhal 1/2 cup
Toor Dhal 1/4 to 1/2 cup.
Red chillies 2 to 3
Salt, Turmeric Powder
For Seasoning :
Oil 2 tbsp. Mustard, Split Urad dhal, Curry leaves.
Method :
1. Soak the Dhals for 30 mins. and coarsely grind in the mixer with the red chillies, adding
a tbsp. of water if necessary.The proportion of the Dhals can be altered slightly to our
taste and availability.
2. Cook the sliced Kothavarangai with water till they become soft.I always pressure cook
in a small cooker for 2 whistles and release the pressure carefully after 1 minute.It
is fast and perfect.I use only less water but extreme care has to be taken to check if
the vent is clear, place the weight and watch for the whistle as only little water is used.
The gasket must be fitting. If not, the water leaks and the vegetable gets burnt.
3. Heat oil, season with the given ingredients and add the ground Dhal.Add turmeric
powder and little salt. Stir on constantly on a medium flame till they get cooked and
get scattered.It may take 5 mins.
4. Then add the cooked Kothavarangai,discarding the water, if any,salt and saute on low
fire for 3 mins.Salt can also be added while cooking the vegetable, if exact quantity
of water is used. Grated coconut can also be added. The tasty Usili is ready.
Murungaikeerai may be common, so also the Poriyal.If cooked following a few tips, it is easy and also very healthy.For 1 cup of Poriyal, atleast 3 cups of Keerai has to be used, as it is very much reduced after cooking.This Keerai, as known to everyone is a great source of iron.
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| Murungaikeerai Poriyal |
Ingredients:
Cleaned Murungaikeerai 6 cups
Toor Dhal / Pasiparuppu 3 tbsp.
Onion 1
Garlic pods 6
Red chillies 2
Grated coconut 2 tbsp.
Salt, Oil, Mutard.
Method:
1. Cook the cleaned Keerai and the Toor Dhal in a pressure cooker with just half cup of
water for 1 or 2 whistles.Release the pressure carefully after a minute and take care
that the Dhal is not over cooked.Earlier I cooked only in a container without the cooker.
I was afraid that if we cook the Keerai in a pressure cooker, it may change colour and
also lose the taste.Just one day I tried in a pressure cooker. It was perfect.Now I always
cook in a pressure cooker.
2. Heat 1 tbsp. of oil in a Kadai, add Mustard, broken red chillies and then the crushed
Garlic pods and the sliced onion.Saute well.
3. Then add the Keerai, salt and mix well. Let it get fried on a low fire, absorbing the
extra water.A good aroma will come out.Then add the grated coconut, mix well
and continue to stir on a low fire for 2 to 3 mins.The tasty and nutritious Murungai
keerai Poriyal is ready.
Avial may be a Kerala delicacy but it is a common side dish for rice in the Tirunelveli region.No dinner or marriage feast is complete without Avial. It is frequently prepared at home for lunch and goes well with Sambar, Rasam, karakuzhambu, morekuzhambu, Sodhi etc.
In Kerala, vegetables for Avial are sold as a Combo.pack. In Chennai,sliced vegetables for Avial are sold as a unit.
The list of the vegetables may be long but the method is simple.Coconut,zeera and coconut oi are the real taste makers.
This Avial is also a best combination for Adai.
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Avial |
Ingredients :
Raw Banana 1
Carrot 2
Potato 2
Beans / Avarakkai 6
Pudalangai / Vellai poosanikkai 100 gms.
Coconut oil 1 tbs.
Curd 3 tbsp.
Salt
To grind coarsely in the mixi :
Grated coconut 1 cup.
Green chillies 2 to 3
Cumin / Zeera 1 tsp.
Small onions ( optional ) 4 ( if out of stock,equalent of sliced Big Onion)
Method :
1.The combination of the vegetables is purely our discretion.In the southern districts,
Brinjal is added. In Kerala cucumber is added.During Pongal season,all tuber varieties
like Siri Kilangu, Seppa Kilangu and Chenai Kilangu are added.
2. Slice the vegetables into small but long pieces and cook them till they become soft.
They can also be pressure cooked for 1 whistle and the pressure can be released slowly
after 3 mins.
3. Drain if there is a lot water left. I never discard the water as I carefully cook all the
veg. with less water.
4. Mix the coconut paste,salt, curry leaves and let it boil on a medium flame for 3 mins.
5. Add curd, stir well and simmer for 2 mins. Switch off and add the coconut oil.
6. Mix well. Seasoning with mustard is optional.We always add seasoned mustard and urad
dhal in the end. The tasty Avial is ready.
