Keerai Koottu / Spinach and Moong dal Curry

Keerai Kootu is the curry I make at least once a week. Manathakkali leaves, mulai keerai or red spinach find their way into the dal making it a wholesome comfort dish for both him and me.

Past week I made a quick visit to our ancestral bungalow in our native village to see the healthy Thandu keerai being grown in the backyard. Now, who can resist the perfect organic home grown greens!
I had them plucked right away to make this flavourful koottu the very next day!

I'm not sure about the English name for this variety and will be helpful if anyone could help me find it :)

Updated : 'Thandu Keerai' in English is Amaranth Tender or Amaranth Leaves. Thanks Layaa and Zareena for the information.

So here we go with the recipe..

Yields- the vessel photographed. Serves a small family.

Get ready with :

Spinach - A bunch (you can use any variety,  ensured stems cook soft. Or else use the leaves. I used 'Thandu Keerai'  leaves)
Moong dal- dry roasted- 1/3 cup, packed
Small onions, chopped- 1 tbsp
Sambhar powder- 1/4 tsp
Turmeric powder- 2 fat pinches
Jeera powder- 1/2 tsp
Freshly grated coconut- 1 tbsp(optional)
Salt- to taste

** To Season,

Ghee /oil - 2 tsps
Mustard seeds and urad dal- 1/4 tsp each
Dried red chilly-1, broken into 3 pieces.


Method :

Chop off the roots, clean, wash and drain the spinach. Chop the leaves and the tender stems.




Boil 2 cups of water in a 3 ltr pressure cooker. Give the roasted moong dal a quick rinse and stir along the boiling water in the cooker.




Add sambhar, jeera and turmeric powders along with chopped onions and salt. Stir to combine.

 Layer the spinach on top and keeping the flame to'sim', wilt down the leaves. Stir gently.

 Stir in grated coconut.

Close the cooker with its lid and increase the flame to 'medium'. Place the weight after you see the steam coming out.

Cook until 1-2 whistles. Remove and let the steam vent off by itself. Open the lid, check salt and season.
To season, heat oil in a separate kadai, splutter the mustard seeds, brown the urad dal followed by the red chillies.

Serve warm with steamed rice  with a dollop of ghee or with Indian breads.



Varations:

If the koottu turns out watery, add rice powder and simmer, to thicken.

**You can add a tbsp of minced onions and a clove of minced garlic while seasoning the curry.You may need to caramelize onions and garlic and should use 1-1/2 tbsps of oil / ghee.  It enhances the flavour much.

I generally avoid this as my family loves the mild flavour of onions cooked along the dal and the greens. Garlic can also be cooked along instead of seasoning. Moreover, the extra oil is avoided this way.

Non pressure cooker method:

I generally follow the pressure cooker method as the dal and greens demand more time when cooked direct due to the hardness of water in my place. You may not use a pressure cooker otherwise. Just cook the dal directly and when it's half cooked add the powders and onions followed the spinach and cook until soft.Add the coconut and simmer before seasoning.

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Tofu tea Sandwiches with Green Tulsi Tea

Electrolux and Kelly Ripa are proud to support the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund whose mission is to fund research to find a method of early detection and ultimately a cure for Ovarian Cancer. Electrolux has committed to donate $ 750,000 to this worthy cause. Right now on Kelly Confidential, you can select a perfect tea party outfit for Kelly's Tea Party for a Cause. When you do Electrolux will donate $1 to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund.

Foodbuzz and Electrolux are partnering to host a Top 9 Tea Party Takeover on Friday, March 25th. In a Top 9 take over, Foodbuzz has asked their Featured Publishers to construct a post around a theme and then, for one day only, all Top 9 posts reflect that theme! For this they want us to create the perfect tea party recipe.Foodbuzz will also donate $50 to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund for everyday tea party recipe created by a Featured Publisher before March 23rd!


Why Tofu Sandwiches with Green Tea?

Tofu- Eating tofu regularly can almost halve a woman's chances of developing ovarian cancer according to the researchers. More here..

Vegetables are rich in bio active compounds with potential cancer-preventive actions and increased consumption reduces the risk of ovarian cancer. Cherry tomatoes, bell pepper, onions, onion greens, cilantro, baby carrots and cucumber are used to make this sandwich. Learn more here..

Green Tulsi Tea- Tulsi (Holy Basil), recognised as India's most sacred herbs originated in the country many thousands of years ago, is known for its rich antioxidant and adaptogenic properties. Also referred to as Holy Basil Tea, this herbal brew's adaptogens guard against and deal with physical, chemical, environmental and emotional factors that produce high levels of stress that compromise physical and mental health. Read more about its benefits here..

Tofu tea Sandwiches (serves 4-6)

•  8 -10 slices of wheat bread
•  1 cup of finely minced fresh vegetables and herbs. I used bell pepper, cherry tomatoes baby carrots and cucumber,onions,onion greens and cilantro
•  4 one inch cubes of Tofu
• 1 tsp of  dark soy sauce
• 1/4 tsp of white pepper powder
• A few drops of  lemon juice
• Salt, to taste

Wash and crumble tofu gently with you finger tips in a bowl and mix in the minced vegetables along with the soy sauce, lemon juice, pepper powder and salt, gently until combined.

Trim the edges of the bread slices and cut into rectangles or squares. Place the tofu vegetable mix as a thick layer over the slice, close with another,  hold using a toothpick inserted, topped with a halved cherry tomato.

Green Tulsi Tea  (makes 4-6 cups)

•   Handful of Tulsi (holy basil) leaves - I always have the plant in my back yard and plucked fresh green leaves.
•   A tsp of fresh orange peel
•   2 tbsps,  Honey
•   One litre, Water

Wash the tulsi leaves and boil with orange peel in water for a minute. Let it stand for 5 minutes.
Strain, stir in honey and it is ready to be served hot. Can be served cold as well.

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Mushroom Manchurian

The confident statement that arises from me while working in any kitchen is that I am an expert in making manchurian dishes. Be it Gobi or Mushrooms, I seldom flaw and perfect it blindfolded :)

 Mushroom Manchurian, dry (To serve 4)

Button mushrooms,15-20 (I used a 200gm packet)

For the batter:

3/4 cup maida
1/4 cup cornflour
A green chilly, crushed or 2 tsps of green chilly sauce or 1/2 tsp red chilly powder
2 shallots/small onions-crushed
A tsp of minced garlic
Salt, to taste
Water, to make a thick batter

Oil- to deep fry

 Final Mix up:

2 tbsp- Oil
A tbsp of ginger + garlic, julienned (or paste)
A green bell pepper- cut into 1/2 inch squares
A big onion - cut into 1/2 inch squares
2 tbsp- dark soy sauce (I used Ching's secret)
1 tbsp- green chilly sauce ( I used Weikfields)
1/2 tsp red chilly powder or 2 red chillies broken into 3 pcs each
1/4 tsp white pepper powder
Salt- to taste (be careful, the sauces contain salt)
Scallions- to garnish





Method: 

1. Wash and slice the mushrooms thin and long.

2. Prepare the batter with the ingredients listed, thick, which resembles dosa/idly batter, in a wide vessel.

3. Dump the sliced mushrooms into the batter and mix well. Drop small bite sized pieces into hot oil and deep fry until browned, as batches. Keep aside.

4. Now for the mixing up part; in a broad and wide wok, heat 2 tbsp oil and sauté the sliced ginger-garlic,(broken red chillies if you substitute red chilly powder), onion and capsicum in that order and sauté for a couple of minute. The onions and bell pepper should retain its crispiness and do not let them turn brown.They need to be just translucent.

5. Now add the red chilly powder(if you omit red chilly bits), soy and chilly sauces along with white pepper powder in high flame and mix continuously for a few seconds.

I took off the dish from the stove at this stage after adding the fried mushrooms and mixing it up well together allowing the sauces and spices to seep in and did not add any water as I needed the dry version. I served hot garnished with scallions (spring onion greens).

If you prefer a semi dry version;

6. Add ½ cup of water at the end of stage 5 above along with the fried and cooled mushroom chunks.

7. Sauté again for 3-4 minutes to absorb excess water of any and switch off fire when it is semi dry/ saucy consistency has reached. Let the pieces be 'a li'l crisp' and not soggy at this stage.Garnish with scallions and serve hot with Indochinese fried rice or noodles.

If you like the gravy version of the same, add some more water, say 1/2 - 3/4 cup more and make it thick by adding a tspful cornflour while you bring it to boil. Simmer for a few minutes and serve hot. Again, see to it that you add a little extra amounts of the sauces and spices as the water dilutes the final taste of the gravy version.





Plagiarism

While composing the post it reminded me of this site (pls dont click on the link giving them more hits, the screen shot is just below) which lifted my Gobi manchurian picture without permission and advertised in the name of Mushroom manchurian in theirs!! :)

I had mailed them but no response until now nor they removed my picture.
As soon as I post this, I am thinking of mailing them to lift any of the pictures from here as a fresh substitution so that they play fair at least with their customers ;)

Well, these guys, Andhra Corner @ Onetech (pls dont click on the link giving them more hits, the screen shot is just below) has also lifted the same picture and named Gobi Manchurian...(thankfully not fooling their readers with the image part but with editing the recipe a bit). I have yet to write to them but have no hope that they would remove the picture and do some justice.

My original post of Gobi Manchurian which I prepared for Arusuvai Season-1

Coming back to the recipe of Mushroom Munchurian, this seems to be complicated, but believe me, it's simple. Even if the measurements of sauces or ingredients get altered a little, the final outcome will always be great! I love this dry version the best as it has the exact 'restaurant style' taste of crispy mushrooms, with the added traditional blackish hue, soaked in the flavour of the rich dark soy!

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Aloo Methi ~ with homegrown greens!

Our morning cup of coffee tastes bitter.When it comes to vegetables or greens our palates are wired to reject; but soon finds a real, almost addictive kind of acceptance.Isn't that a surprising fact?

Methi's bitterness is definitely not as brutal as that of a bitter gourd but the dominant taste is all about the crunchiness of the sprouts, enlivening, yet not overwhelming fresh bitterness that is so unique with these flavourful greens!

My very first attempt of growing methi at home proved to be a simple success!

Day-1: The seeds are sprinkled in 4 rows on top of loose, moist soil that receive abundant morning sunlight! Careful sprinkling of water is done from this day onwards.

Day-13: The tender shoots popping up!

Day-13: They receive a cool shower of rain in the morning!

Day-14: The young whiter stems topped with neat little leaves (though a little dirty coz of the showers).... I can't wait anymore! ;)

I could smell the unique flavour of the fresh young plants while holding them on one hand with the camera on the other!

Aloo Methi

I'd been wanting to make this simple, classic dish for a long time and am pleased that I could do it with fresh homegrown greens :)

To serve a small family-

Ingredients:

4 medium sized potatoes,cubed

A large bunch of fresh methi leaves(remove just the roots, wash well and chop the plants roughly into 2 or 3 pcs each)

1 Big onion-chopped-need not be fine

Garlic- 2 cloves-minced

Red chilly powder- 3/4 tsp(feel free to substitute sambhar powder for a Southie touch ;))

Oil- 1-2 tbsps

Cumin seeds-1/2 tsp

Red Chillies-2 nos-each broken into 3 pcs

Turmeric powder-1/4 tsp

Salt- to taste

Method:

Heat oil in a wide heavy bottomed pan.Throw in the cumin seeds and the broken red chillies, give a quick stir, followed by the onions and garlic. Sauté, add the methi leaves and sauté again. Add the turmeric and chilly powders. Stir to mix, sprinkle some water soon after the leaves wilt(this will take only a few seconds) and close it with a lid for a minute.

Open and add the cubed potatoes.Add salt and mix well. Sprinkle water while mixing to enhance the cooking of potatoes along with the greens and spices. Close again with the lid, keeping the flame to low-medium.Give it a gentle stir/toss every now and then until the cubes and the methi stems are cooked soft. Take care not to over cook the whole dish.A mushy aloo and methi is not what we really need to make :).Open the lid and let it be to evaporate any excess water.

Serve hot with steamed rice or any Indian breads!

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Papaya Milkshake

The temperature has been found soring even higher this week touching the absolute 40 deg C.

Breakfasts are more of toasts and fruits along with fresh, plain, chilled yogurt or mildly spiced buttermilk, fruit juices or preferably shakes. I still had the remaining half of a Ripe Papaya, the first half which I served with the toasts, yesterday.

Today when Pongal, Chutney and some Puligojju barged in as the breakfast menu the papayas went into the cold milk which came out pretty as Chilled Papaya Milk Shake.

I have never made this before and was so refreshing and filling (I skipped Pongal and the accompaniments) and absolutely comforting.In spite of being a Papaya Hater, I Loved this drink since it didn’t have that ‘strong flavour’ of the fruit; the part, a papaya hater really dislikes.

Here’s how I made the drink,

Boiled and Chilled, Fat free milk- 3 cups

Ripe papaya , cut into half inch cubes-a large cup(more or less)

Sugar- 7-8 tsps or as you prefer

Ice cubes- a few

Powder sugar. Pulse/whip the fruit along with it.Add the ice cubes and the chilled milk and pulse again until well blended.Pour into glasses and enjoy the fresh milk shake.

It is not advisable to store the ‘shake’ as you might be doing with the other fruit shakes as this one tends to get curdled soon, though edible. I presume it is due to the enzyme Papain, present in the fruit which does so while blended with milk.

This goes to Srivalli's Thanda Mela, the summer drinks event, celebrating 3 years of her successful blogging and to Indrani's Spotlight event of Summer Food and Drinks.

Just a few shots to see what sunlight can do to this Drink...

Something which really interested me with the drink was the change of colours I noticed while I placed the glass near the window, the usual spot.

It had more of a rich golden yellow-orange hue.

...........

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...while with the lesser light, the papaya shake looked naturally pretty with its mild pink colour.

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When all the 3 colours of the drink; ‘golden yellow-orange-pink’, combined, were captured.

'Pretty' healthy drink...na?? ;)

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Simple Lentil and Vegetable Soup

The Hot Summer days are back with the fierce merciless sun spitting out 'Fire!'

I dare to stay a longer time in the kitchen with elaborate meals and it's definitely not a good time to whip up soups.

Invariably my family prefers a comforting bowl of any vegetarian soup for dinner after a heavy Sunday lunch, irrespective of the season.

And now with my Blog which has just turned 3, I surprisingly realize I’d never posted a single ‘Soup recipe’ till date!!
So, here’s a 'Simple', 'Nourishing Bowl' of Soup with 'no butter', 'white sauce' or any 'thickening agent'.
This 'low calorie comfort soup' recipe serves 4 large bowls.

To Start -

Get ready with 1/3 cup of red or green lentils, rinse and soak in luke warm water for an hour or so and pressure cook till soft with water at least twice the depth of the lentils.

You need 2 cups of Vegetables in all.

So,

Mince Finely, a few leaves of Spinach, a small piece of Cabbage, Carrot, 1 or 2 Beans, 1/4th of a Capsicum,a Cauli flowerette(Sorry! if there isn’t such a term in the English Dictionary :)) a button mushroom, half tomato(I avoided this), a few fresh coriander leaves, a small onion,a large clove of garlic and half a green chilly(optional).

Feel free to throw in a tbsp of fresh peas and corn kernels each….and yeah!..if you are lucky enough to find a cube of paneer smiling at you in the freezer, cut it into tiny bits(after immersing in a bowl of hot water for a few minutes) and let her join the above ;)

Transfer the above chopped veggies to the cooked gram. The water level should at least be an inch above them. Add enough salt and pressure cook till one whistle. Remove from fire and let the steam vent out by itself.
Open, check salt and serve hot with freshly crushed black pepper.

This is one of the most comforting and easiest soups which you can never stop with just one-soup-bowl-serving :).



Let the soup be watery. If you prefer Broth, simply strain, and Slurp on with pieces of bread or bun, dunked in.

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Valliyoor Kooraku Pulusu

The comfort curry I learnt from Amma. Apparently this dish is a mix of Andhra and Tamil, our ancestors, who belonged to Andhra, later got settled in the Southern towns of Tamil Nadu (in and around Valliyoor) would have possibly included the curry in their regular diet.

A request to my blogger pals who hail from Andhra….

Have you heard of this ‘Pulusu’ in your state, as such?..as I still wonder how this Pulusu acquired this strange name. May be Valliyoor, the town in Southern Tamil Nadu, Kooraku- the spinach and Pulusu- the curry, put together would explain the same.

An aromatic, healthy curry which goes well with rice, a meal by itself..

Ingredients:

• Spinach-any variety-use the leaves only- a medium bunch which yields 3 cups more or less when chopped fine.
  

• Shallots/ pearl onions-assort smallest ones to use 'em as such-10-15 nos or a handful
  

• Tamarind- a gooseberry sized ball- Soak and extract pulp
  

• Salt-to taste

To grind to a smooth paste

• Grated Coconut- ¾ cup

• Garlic cloves-1-2

• Red chillies-10 (I use 20 ;)-according to your spice level.. you can also use chilly powder)

• Turmeric powder-1/4 tsp

• Jeera powder-1/2tsp

To Season

• Oil-Preferably sesame seed oil :)-a tbsp

• Mustard seeds-1/2 tsp

• Urad dal-1/4 tsp

• Uluva/venthaiyam/methi seeds-1/4 tsp

• Shallots/ pearl onions-2-3 sliced round

• Red chillies-2 nos-broken to 3 pcs.

• Curry leaves- a sprig

Method:

• Cook the chopped spinach in a cup of water along with the handful of onions.

• While 3/4th done, add the ground paste, salt and tamarind extract.

• Bring to a boil and simmer until the raw smell of the curry disappears; say for 15-20 mins.

• Add water if needed to get the right consistency.

• Remove from fire, season the curry with the listed ingredients.

• Serve warm with steamed rice.

I've been tagged by Lena and Priya.

The rules :

1. Link the person who tagged you.

2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Share the ABCs of you.
4. Tag 4 people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs.
5. Let the 4 tagged people know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website.
6. Do not tag the same person repeatedly but try to tag different people, so that there is a big network of bloggers doing this tag.

The Tag:

1. A – Available/Single? Sorry- No!!(sigh) ;)
2. B – Best friend? Amma, Sis, Swapna, Seba n Raju (5 Best please) :)
3. C – Cake or Pie? Cake
4. D – Drink of choice? Apple nectar
5. E – Essential item you use every day? My Mobile phone
6. F – Favorite color? Peach shade
7.G–Gummy Bears Or Worms? Like both.The flavour matters rather than the shape.Still not choosy.
8. H – Hometown? Kottayam
9. I – Indulgence?-For food, non-veg any time any day ;)
10. J – January or February? Jan- My Birthmonth
11. K – Kids & their names? Kavya and Akshay
12. L – Life is incomplete without? ..a warm family.
13. M – Marriage date? 26th Jan
14. N – Number of siblings? Two
15. O – Oranges or Apples? Apples
16. P – Phobias/Fears? Ophidio and Hydrophobias.
17. Q – Quote for today? Never take life seriously.Nobody gets out alive anyway.
18. R – Reason to smile? Friends
19. S – Season? Spring
20. T – Tag 3 People? Suma, Sharmilee and Kitchen Queen
21. U – Unknown fact about me? Impatience!!
22. V – Vegetable you don't like? Love all..
23. W – Worst habit? Browsing with no clue of time.. :)
24. X – X-rays you've had? The back bone X-ray for lower back pain, a few years ago.
25. Y – Your favorite food? 'Edibly' Non-veg ;)
26. Z – Zodiac sign? Aquarius

I'm supposed to tag 4 more.. Please leave a message in the comment box, those you are willing to take up the tag or else the first 4 buddies who leave comments here are tagged ;).

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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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