Bisibele Bhath with Drumsticks

Well, after a break it requires a real lot of energy to get back to blogging for me.

 After loads of food; literally 'pigging out' breakfasts, lunches and dinners cooked by seasoned chefs around the world (did I tell you we were on a Royal Caribbean cruise in the Baltic for the final week of the holiday?) we realised the exquisiteness of the so called 'world cuisine'! French, Italian, Chinese, Japanese, Greek, Thai, Mexican, Lebanese...you name it! they have it! ( the only regret you hold to would probably be the extra pounds you'd gained along side :))

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Thellapulusu ~ The Mildly Spiced Traditional Coconut based Curry!

T hellapulusu meaning 'a white gravy', is a much common, homely coconut based curry we have for lunch, back in Kottayam ever since we can remember!

As kids, both sis and me loved this mildly spiced traditional curry which had varied vegetables cooked in it to perfection; a fine medley of spices, tanginess and sweetness, we never got fed up of!

Sis had already blogged about the thellapulusu with tomatoes and drumsticks cooked in it and all I had to do was download the pictures from the camera, copy and paste the recipe from her place, do a bit of variations and click the publish button ;)

To Serve 4, you need:

Brinjal - 2-3, each cut across into 2 large halves
1 drumstick, cut into 4" pieces
Thick tamarind water extracted from a small lime-sized ball of tamarind
Salt to taste

Grind to a paste:

1/2 cup grated coconut
4-5 shallots / ulli
1/2 tsp jeera
2 dry red chillies
A pinch of turmeric
A clove of garlic

For tempering:

A tbsp oil
A few fenugreek seeds / uluva / venthayam
1/4 tsp mustard seeds

4-5 shallots, minced
A few curry leaves


Method:

1. Boil 1- 1 1/2 cups of water in a sauce pan or a kadai with turmeric powder and salt.Transfer brinjal and drumstick pieces to it and cook till half done.

2. Mix tamarind extract with the ground masala paste, pour to this and continue to boil on sim until the vegetable pieces are soft. Add water as necessary to keep the consistency right (same consistency as sambar). Remove and set aside.

3. Heat oil and add all the ingredients for tempering. Once the mustard seeds have popped and the fenugreek seeds are roasted (take care not to burn them!), dunk them into the gravy. Mix well, adjust salt.

A little spicier version of the same pulusu made on another day, served hot with rice, vazhakka mezhukkupuratti and vendakka thoran.

Thellapulusu is also served as an accompaniment to Pal pongal in Southern parts of Tamil Nadu mainly in the village of Samooharangapuram of Tirunelveli district!

Here's Wishing you all a Very Happy Pongal before I pack off to our ancestral home for the festival!

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Aviyal ~ The Coconut based Mixed Vegetable Curry of God's own Country!..

Onappattin thalam thullum thumba poove
Ninne thazhukanai kulirkattin kunyikaikal..

Onavillil oonjaladum vannathikkiliye
Ninne pulkanay kothiyoorum marikkarum...

Onam is just round the corner, another year of festivity, pomp and delight for the people of God's own country, the dear subjects of Mahabali...

Yet another year of Ona Pattu, Puthu kkodi, Ona Pookalam, and Ona Sadya..


Aviyal, as you all might know, is a thick coconut based curry of the down South of our country and can be regarded as a speciality in Kerala cuisine.
The mildly spiced vegetable stew goes well with rice and a must serve for the Sadhya related to Onam.The very own nadan vegetables(vegetables that grow locally) of the state goes into it which is said to impart the exact authentic taste to the same.

The Mythology of this "Mixed Vegetable Curry", according to wiki, goes…

"It is supposed to have been invented by Bheema (one of the Pandava brothers) during his agnaatha vaasa. According to the legend, Ballav (Bheema's name during this time) when he assumed his duties as the cook in the kitchen of Virata, did not know how to cook. One of the first things he did was to chop up many different vegetables, boil them together and top the dish with grated coconut".




Now, let's get ready with the ingredients, that goes to the stove in order :

The Vegetables:

Drumstick-1 (cut into 3 inch pcs)
Cucumber/vellarikka-cut-a cup
Jackfruit seeds/chakka kuru- 5-6
Yam/chena-a small piece-which yields a cup when cut
Gherkins/ivy gourd/kovakka-5-6
Brinjal-2
Raw banana/vazhakka-1
Snake gourd-small-1/2
Long string beans/Achinga payar - 4(optional)
Raw green mango-sour variety-1/2 (use a whole small mango if less sour)

To Pulse:
Green chillies - 2
Cumin seeds/jeerakam -1/2 tsp-jeera powder can also be substituted
Shallots/kunjulli-5-6

Turmeric powder-1/4 tsp
Salt- to taste

Freshly grated coconut- 1 ½ cups
Coconut oil/pacha velichenna- 2 tbsp
Curry leaves-2 sprigs

• Cut the vegetables lengthwise, a little chunky, to one inch pieces.

• Transfer them to a broad and wide pan,except the raw mango(as the acidity in it interferes with the cooking of the other vegetables) with just enough water.Close with a lid and ensure even cooking by turning them now and then for a few minutes or till 1/4th done.

• Crush/pulse green chillies, jeera and shallots coarsely.Add this to the vegetables along with turmeric powder and salt.
  

• Grind coconut, not too smooth, adding a little water.Keep aside.
  
  
• Now, rinse the pulser/mixer with ½ cup of water.Add this to the vegetables on the stove and stir carefully not to break the pieces as would have almost cooked or half done, at this stage.Ensure the ‘hard to cook’ vegetables like yam has turned soft.
  

• Add the ground coconut and raw mango pieces.Let it simmer for 5 mins.Check salt and *sourness.Make sure the Aviyal has reached the right semi solid consistency.
  
  
• Turn off fire.Coconut oil and curry leaves are to be added last.
  
  
• Press the Aviyal gently and close with the lid of the pan, so that the aroma of the coconut oil and curry leaves seeps in, to give the very own flavour to the authentic dish. :)

*-.If you fail to grab the raw mango, feel free to use curd/tamarind extract for sourness.

Note:

• The traditional aviyal doesn’t call for veggies like carrots and beans. Yet I compromise on carrots as they always improve the taste of the final curry.

• Since Vellarikka or that fat yellow cucumber we get in Kerala is not common in Tamil Nadu, ash-gourd/poosanikkai can be used instead.

• According to Archana, "Zucchini act as substitute snake gourd in an avial". :)

Vaninnevam asuya valarthi
Vazka maveli mangalamoorthy.."

'Long live Maveli, provider of peace and prosperity, inciting jealousy in the heavenly beings!'.


Wishing you all a Very Happy, Peaceful and a Prosperous Onam!!..


Other Recipes for the Onam Feast..

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Murungaikkai / Drumsticks Sambhar

I am happy to note that many of the bloggers vote for the homemade powders than the store bought ones.To prepare them at home is ofcourse an extra task for most of you but definitely hygienic,more aromatic,un adulterated and has a longer shelf life. Did anyone say,"oof not that recipe again..that's something we whip up quite often..naah!."

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