Pathrode

I was always fascinated by the lost recipes of our cuisine. Stumbled upon one such recipe. Patrode is a snack made by using arbi leaves, besan and other spices.

We have quite a number of arbi plants on our backyard. I was very curious to try patrode for Mom and wanted to surprise her with a dish. Collected a few tender leaves and started preparation. Dad was well aware of my plan, he interrupted, those leaves may itch!! I was like, Dad, no they are so tender and I am sure I will make it good. Fingers crossed, I was wondering will these lovely heart shaped leaves be as good as the one I've tasted?

I plucked a few good leaves, washed them carefully and prepared the thick basen batter for applying inside.

Ingredients

Arbi leaves 5 to 6
Besan 1and 1/2 cups
Ajwain 1 tsp
Red chilli powder 2 tsp
Garam masala 1 tsp
Turmeric 1/2 tsp
heeng a pinch
Salt as required

Tips

Select the best, tender leaves
Sieve besan
Add fresh masalas

Method

Make a thick batter using besan, water, turmeric, salt, ajwain, red chilli powder, heeng, garam masala powder.

Wash and clean every single leaf, evenly spread thick batter on both sides of arbi leaves. Roll it to desired shape, I rolled few into triangle, few into wraps.

Pour water on a steamer, I used idly vessel, place rolls into idly vessel, use separators or steamer vessel. Steam for about 20 minutes. Once cooked, pierce a skewer and check whether its completely cooked.

Remove the patrode, cut into medium thick discs, pour oil on tawa, carefully place pieces of patrode, get it roasted till golden brown. Repeat the process until all are done. Serve with black tea or coffee. It tastes great as an evening snack.

Mom loved it and she said its very different, yummy,  well done! And me on cloud nine!!!

Drumsticks leaves thorn and red amaranth mezhkkupuratti (subzi)

Cooking with Mom is a great experience. Especially when you patiently pluck, chop and cook from your backyard garden looked after by Dad.  My mom is a treasure trove of her own unique cooking style which we children admire. A very enterprising person and a great human. Its fun to be with her in kitchen where she is the absolute boss and we are her assistance!

Most of the vacations I am with her I try to explore old and loat recipes of our household. Dad will make few special requests as he is very fond of my cooking, which is more of continental! But I love to learn from Mom something which is almost not followed in many homes.

Morning I was in Dad's garden mending plants and I thought of plucking few tender arbi leaves, moringa leaves and our vegetable vendor brought red amaranth early in the morning while I was drawing rangoli patterns in our front yard.

Then it was washing, chopping, and chit chat over a cup of freshly brewed tea.

We have made thoran (subzi) which is a nutritious version of drumsticks leaves.

Moringa leaves thoran (drumsticks leaves subzi)

Ingredients

A handfuls of drumsticks leaves washed, removed from stem and chopped - 2 cups

Turmeric 1/2 tsp

Grated coconut 2 tbsp

Green chillies 2 thinly sliced, I used mortar and pestle and crushed the chillies.

Salt as required

For tempering

Coconut oil 2 tsp
Mustard seeds 1/2 tsp
Urad dal 1/2 tsp
Red chilli 1 broken into halves

Tips

Pluck fresh tender leaves from tree, or buy fresh and tender leaves

Wash and remove only leaves from the stem. Chop if necessary

Use mortar and pestle from crushing green chillies, it tastes great.

Method

In a heated kadai pour oil, add mustard and urad dal, let mustard splutter. Add red chillies, roast for it to realise its aroma. Add chopped moringa leaves, add turmeric and salt and cook in medium flame. Once its soft and tender add grated coconut, crushed green chillies mix well and off stove. Serve with rice.

Red amaranth mezhkkupuratti

Ingredients

Red amaranth leaves washed, chopped - 2 cups
Turmeric 1/4 tsp
Coconut oil 2 tsp
Mustard 1/2 tsp
Urad dal 1/2 tsp
Green chillies finely chopped 2
Salt as required
Curry leaves a few

Tips

Wash red amaranth throughly it contains lot of sand. If you find more soil immerse it in a bucket of water for sometime. Then wash two to three times, and remove leaves and stem separately. Remove the thin outer skin from stem.

Method

In a heated kadai pour oil, add mustard seeds, urad dal, once mustard splutter add red chilli. Now add chopped red amaranth and mix well, add turmeric and salt, mix in. Allow it to cook a 5 to 6 minutes. It cooks fast as the leaves contain water. Once its soft and tender add few curry leaves. Serve.

Idli and red chutney

Steamed rice and lentils cake(idli) with red chutney. Freshly plucked tomatoes, green chillies, star fruit, onions and baby onions are sautéed in gingly oil with red chilli and chana dal. Blend into chutney, added red chilli powder, heeng, salt and jaggery to balance sweet, sour, spicy. and salty.

Tomato onion chutney

Ingredients

3 large ripe tomatoes

3-4 green chilies

1 piece ginger

1 onion, cut into slices

10 baby onions

1 tablespoon gingly oil

1 tablespoon of chana dal

1-2 red dry chilies

Method

*Wash, peel and chop onions and ginger.

*Cut tomatoes into cubes

*Pour gingly oil, add chana dal and red chilies, saute once chana dal is roasted add chopped onions, green chilies,ginger and tomatoes. Cook for a while.Add salt. 

*Grind to a coarse chutney consistency. 

*Pour gingly oil in a pan, add the grind tomatoes and onions paste, add turmeric powder,heeng, salt and cook. You can add a small piece of jaggery and cook it.

*Cook til oil separates, store in air tight container.

*Serve with idli/dosa, it tastes yum.

Sweet pongal (sarkkarai pongal)

Sarkkarai(jaggery) pongal or sweet pongal is a dessert we make during auspicious festival days. Like Pongal, Navaratri and other happy occasions at home. I make it with basmathi rice and moong dal. First I cook rice and moong dal by adding almost 3 times water. Then slowly boil jaggery in water, sieve it for impurities and blend with cooked rice.

Ingredients

Basmathi rice 1 cup
Moong dal 1/4 cup
Elachi a few crushed
Cashew nuts broken into pieces a few
Jaggery 1 large cube(300 grams)
Ghee or clarified butter 100 grams

Tips

Use old basmathi rice.
Dry roast moong dal.
Roast cashew nuts in ghee till golden brown
Crush cardamon or elachi and remove the outer skin.

Method

Wash and cook basmathi rice and moong dal by adding 5 to 6 cups of water for 2 whistles in pressure cooker. Keep aside.

In a pan add crushed jaggery (gud) add a cup of water, let it boil in slow flame. Once jaggery completely melts sieve it for any impurities. Add jaggery juice in cooked rice. Mix well. Add crushed cardamom, you can add more hot water if the consistency is too thick. Blend it well by using a ladle. I used hand blender for making it soft.

In another small pan pour ghee add cashews. Let it turn into golden brown. Pour it on top of prepared sweet pongal. Mix well. Offer to Godess Durga. Serve as Navaratri prasadam for your guests. Its yummilicious!

Kaddu subzi(pumpkin subzi)

This is a subzi which is served as a side dish during kanya pooja especially for little girls.(loved by their dads too!) Its one of my favourite dish along with freshly made puris. As such yellow pumpkin is a delicious vegetable. When added with few ingredients its a delicacy.

Ingredients

Pumpkin (kaddu) 1 and1/2 cups

Panchphoran 1 tsp(fennel, methi, kalonji, jeera, ajwain)

Ginger slices a few(optional)

Green bell peppers a few thin slices (optional)

Oil mustard or sunflower 1 tbsp

Salt as required

Garam Masala 1/2 tsp

Red chili powder 1/2 tsp

Turmeric powder 1/2 tsp

coriander leaves for garnish

Water 1/2 cup

Tips

Use fresh pumpkins. Peel off and remove the seeds and inner parts of the pumpkin. I make two different dishes from seeds and the inner pumpkin parts.

Keep boiled water for further cooking handy, as pumpkin gets roasted and turn into brownish very fast.

Method

Peel off and cube pumpkin into 1 inch cubes.

Pour oil into kadai add panchphoran once they splutter add pumpkin, ginger and a little turmeric. Mix well, let it cook, once its soft add garam masala, red chilli powder. Add sliced bell peppers Toss gently. Add hot water and cook further. So that the subzi is bit half gravy and kids will enjoy it with puris. Finally garnish with coriander leaves. Serve with puris.

PS : You can tawa fry those little pumpkin seeds with little salt and 1/4 tsp oil. Its crunchy and delicious.

#pumpkin's inner parts can be made into a super yummy dish by frying a little urad dal, red dry chillies, a little tamarind and heeng. Once they are roasted add inner parts of Pumpkin and blend into a thick thogayal(thick chutney) which can be had with rice.

White peas, coconut and mango (Thenga Manga Pattani sundal)

Navaratri brings positive vibration to our lives. During these 9 nights we offer different varieties of food and sweets.

Inviting friends, meeting cousins and other family members. Its an occasion we get to see innovative ways in which each home get decorated. In South we arrange dolls. I  usually come up with some ideas where my daughter can also chip in with her art work and creativity.

Its a celebration of womanhood by offering haldi kumkum and other eco friendly gifts to friends. For me its a time I catch up with my old friends and we most of the time end up admiring each others creativity and learn something new about our culture. Oh I have friends from different walks of life and many are from different parts of the country. Thus learning is a great experience. I love to visit Durga puja celebeated by Bengali friends, a group of us will hop from one to another, enjoying the festivities with luchi-aloo, sandesh and roshogullas. We end up share a plate amongst us.

By the way its the time our traditional beautiful sarees will come out of wardrobes!! Each one of us looking gorgeous!

Sharing with you a navrathri dish prepared as prasadam. Happy Navaratri.💞💕

https://jayanthisindianrecipes.blogspot.com/2016/10/white-peas-sundalthenga-manga-pattani.html?m=0

Chana dal and arbi leaves fritters

I've arbi leaves in my tiny garden. They taste really yum when you add it in patrode or in pulikutti uperi. I tried to add one large leaf in chana fritters. As usual it was extremely crunchy and crispy.

Ingredients

Chana dal 1 cup
Green chillies 2
Garlic 2 pods
Onion 1 cut into thin slices
Salt as requured
Saunf 1/2 tsp
Ajwain 1/2 tsp

Green fresh leaves from balcony garden

Ajwain, arbi patta, malabar spinach, red amaranth, spring onion shoots and one lemon leaf. (wash and roughly chop)

Oil for  frying

Tips

Use fresh leaves for better results
Soak chana dal for 3 to 4 hours
1 cup of chana dal and other ingredients will yield approximately 10 fritters. If you want more quantity increase the ratio.

Method

Make a coarse paste out of chana dal, green chillies, garlic. Mix in with chopped leaves, chopped onions. Adjust salt.

Keep oil for frying in medium flame. Slowly dip in small disc/vada made out of batter. Fry till golden brown, 2 to 3 at a time. Fry in batches, remove in kitchen napkin. Let it absorb oil. Serve with hari chutney or imli chutney. Its taste divine with freshly brewed coffee or masala chai. Do try. Happy cooking!!

Khaman Dhokla with green chutney

Khaman Dhokla is a Gujrathi snack. Best suited as a starter for parties and special occasions. It requires little preparation and lot of patience to nail it.

Ingredients

1/2 cup gram flour (besan)

Grated ginger 

Chopped green chilli 1

Chopped coriander leaves 2 tbsp

1 1/4 cup water

1  teaspoon lemon juice

A pinch baking soda

For the tempering

1 tablespoon ghee 

A few curry leaves

2 sliced green chilli

1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds

A pinch of hing powder 

A handful chopped coriander leaves

2 tablespoon grated coconut

Tips

Sieve besan throughly to avoid any lumps. Use fresh besan.

Keep the batter for fermentation for about 2 hours.

Grate fresh coconut

I've added grated ginger, chopped green chillies, chopped coriander leaves in the batter for better taste and flavour, plus my fussy kids will carefully remove if I use it for garnish!! 

In tempering I've used a small pinch of hing. I love its aroma. 

Method

In a large bowl add besan, water, lemon juice, sugar, salt, grated ginger, chopped green chillies, chopped coriander leaves and soda. Mix well, you will see the batter forthy. I generally mix it vigorously to obtain the best results. Keep aside for 2 hours.

Grase cooker vessel with oil, pour dhokla mixture. Pour hot water in steamer, place grid and place the cooker vessel. Close lid and steam it for about 10 to 15 minutes.

Gently remove from cooker and put the dhokla on a plate, upside down.

Use a small pan for the tempering. Pour oil add mustard, let it crackle, and curry leaves,hing, green chillies.

Boil 1/4 cup water add sugar, lemon juice. Keep aside. 

Pour prepared tempering, pour sugar mixture that you prepared on top of dhokla, garnish with grated coconut and chopped coriander leaves. Cut into desired shape and serve with green chutney.

PS: If you are using instant khaman Dhokla powder from MTR or Ganesh brand ir require just 10 minutes for fermentation after you add the powders given in the sachet.
If you are using the instant ready mix, you still have to vigorously mix it, so that air makes the batter fluffy and soft. It just require 10 minutes. The batter is ready to pour.

Green chutney 

A bunch of washed, cleaned, chopped fresh coriander leaves 

Three green chillies, broken into halves 

1 teaspoon sugar 

Salt as required

1/4 lemon extract 

Add all ingredients in mixer jar, blend to a chutney, if water is required add a little. Serve with dhokla. 

Sweet potatoes parathas filled with avarakkai (field beans) and lobia masala

I like to add different masalas while making parathas, especially sweet potato and boiled smashed potatoes. Its easy and taste good. Anything can be stuffed inside paranthas and my kidoos will gulp and polish the plate. Thus making it a treat. 

Ingredients

Sweet potato 2 medium (boiled, peeled and smashed)
Whole wheat atta 2 cups
Jeera 1 tsp
Coriander 1 tsp
Avakkai pickle masala 2 tsp(mango pickle masala)
Salt as required
Turmeric 1/2 tsp
Red chilli powder 1/2 tsp
Kalonji 1/2 tsp
Ajwain 1/2 tsp

Tips

Sweet potatoes should be steamed for two whistles in pressure cooker, when its still warm remove peel and use fork to gently crumble it.

Use little mustard oil and pickle masala from the achar. It gives good flavour and adds taste to parathas.

For the filling

Steam field beans with turmeric and salt, tempering done with cumin seeds, grated coconut. Make a soft, dry mixture.

Method

The dough is prepared by adding all ingredients and normal temperature water. Make a soft dough.

Roll out small disc using dough, fill a small portion of avarakkai dry masala, carefully close, make a small potli, press and roll into paranthas. Cook both sides by adding little ghee till golden brown spots appear. Serve with butter, chutney and lobia masala.

Lobia masala was a quick dish made. I 've soaked lobia in the morning. By evening it was almost double its size.

Ingredients

Lobia 1 cup
Turmeric powder 1/2 tsp
Jeera, coriander powder 1/2 tsp
Garam masala 1 tsp
Chopped fresh coriander 1tsp

Onion 1 chopped
Tomato 1 chopped
Ginger a tiny piece
Green chilli 1 thinly sliced
Garlic a few pods (optional)
Ghee 1 tsp

For tempering

Ghee 1 tsp
Kasuri methi 1/2 tsp
Red chilli powder 1/2 tsp

Tips

Remember to soak lobia for about 4 to 5 hours.

Use ghee for tempering.

Method

In a small pan pour ghee saute onion, tomato, ginger, garlic and green chillies, till onions turn translucent.

In a pressure cooker add lobia, other dry masalas, sautéed onions, tomatoes, garlic, ginger and green chillies. Add 2 cups of water and pressure cook for 3 whisles in medium flame.

Finally make tempering in a small pan pour ghee add kasuri methi, red chilli powder, once kasuri methi release aroma pour it on top of prepared lobia and garnish with chopped coriander leaves. Serve.