Nungu /Ice Apple Kheer

If anyone of you think who will make kheer / payasam with nungu instead of eating it as such.. Well.. last week I went to pondy, I ate so much nungu up and down while travelling. I bought a big parcel too. I ate so much that I wanted to make something else with it and finish it, as it won’t stay long fresh.

Ingredients:

·         Nungu / Ice apple – 6 pieces (Skin removed)

·         Milk – 2 cups

·         Sugar / palm sugar – as per taste

·         Rose Milk essence – 1 tbsp  (Optional)

·         Saffron Strands – few

·         Cardamom powder – ¼ tsp

Method:

Boil the milk and cool completely. Keep it aside.

Peel the skin of the Nungu.

3 pieces, we will grind. 3 pieces we will chop finely.

Take the hard ones for grinding and use the soft ones for chopping. I dint take the picture of ground nungu. Please imagine this step here :).

Take the milk in a bowl, add the ground nungu, chopped nungu, sugar, rose milk essence, Saffron Strands and Cardamom powder.

Mix them well. Refrigerate for few hours and serve.

Note:

·         Instead of Rose milk essence, you can add rose essence too. But check the quantity.

Baingan Bharta

This smoked Eggplant curry is very favorite of mine.. But my husband hates this curry; that is a different story. Whenever I go to the  market for veg weekly shopping, I will badly want to pick that big Eggplant. My husband will give me a sarcastic smile and I leave it and come. This week, I planned to make it when he was out of station. I loved it. Here is the recipe.

The smoked taste is the highlight in this recipe. For this you need to toast the big variety Eggplant in direct stove.

You can also compare this dish with South indian katrika gotsu. That is also made by roasting the egg plant. But that will more watery. This is more like a curry consistency.

I referred the recipe from here.

Ingredients:

·         Eggplant – 1 (The bigger one)

·         Onion – 1 (Finely chopped)

·         Tomatoes – 2 (Finely chopped)

·         Garlic pods – 3 to 4

·         Green chili – 1 (Chopped into rings)

·         Red chili powder – ½ tsp (As per ur taste)

·         Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp

·         Oil – 1 tbsp

·         chopped coriander leaves - 1 tbsp

·         Salt as required

Method:

Roast the eggplant in direct stove in low flame. When the flame is high, the outlayer will be burnt and inner side will not be cooked. Flip all the sides and roast well. Take care ur hands while doing this.

Let it cool down. Keep it aside.

Finely chop the onion, tomato, garlic, chili, coriander and keep them aside.

Now the eggplant will be cool enough to handle. Peel the skin of the eggplant and chop it and mash it well.

Heat a thick bottom kadai / Pan, add oil.

Once heated, add the onions, let it get the golden glow. Add chopped green chili and garlic. Fry them well.

Add chopped tomato, and turmeric powder and red chili powder. Keep stirring in medium flame. Let it cook for a while till the raw smell of the turmeric leaves.

Add the mashed eggplant, and mix it well. Cook it for 3 mins till it is all combined and cooked well. Add salt.

Add chopped coriander leaves and switch off the stove.

Serve it with rotis.

Mango Lassi

Mango lassi is Mango flavored yogurt.

I prefer Mango lassi to milk shakes. They are more creamier than milkshakes + less calories.

Ingredients :

• Pulpy mango – 1
• Thick curd - 1 cup (Fresh curd)
• Sugar / Honey for taste 

Method:

Peel off the skin from mango, and cut into pieces. I like to peel without breaking the skin in between.. its fun. You need a sharp knife for that.

Blend the mango pieces with thick curd.

Add sugar / honey according to the taste.

Serve chilled.

Note:

1. Curd should not be sour.

 

Malli Thogayal

Thogayals, pulikachals are pure comfort food. I mean comfort for cooking as well as eating. We can make them in bulk, store in fridge and use all times the day. Be it for break fast – dosa / idli / even as bread spread. Or Mix it with rice and eat with simple roasted pappad. Or pair with curd rice.

I usually make thenga thogayal (coconut thogayal). Adding some greens make it healthy and super tasty.

Ingredients:

·         Grated coconut – 1 cup

·         Coriander leaves – roughly chopped - 2 cups (u can include the stem also. Just omit the roots)

·         Urad dal – 1.5 tbsp

·         Tamarind – small gooseberry size

·         Red chilies – 5 (Change according to ur taste)

·         Salt to taste

·         Asafetida / Hing – ¼ tsp

·         Gingely oil – 1.5 tbsp

Method:

Grate coconut and keep it aside.

Wash the coriander leaves thoroughly and roughly chop them.

In a thick bottom kadai, add oil, once heated, add urad dal, red chilies. Roast them til golden brown.

Add tamarind and then grated coconut.

Sauté for a min, add coriander leaves and switch off the stove.

Add salt and Hing and mix well and let it cool completely.

Now grind the mixture coarsely or smoothly adding little water.

Store it in refrigerator. It holds up for couple of days.

Serve with either tiffin or rice.

Note:

The ratio of coconut and coriander leaves can be changed according to ur taste.

Elai adai

Elai adai is a kerela delicacy. Its steamed rice pudding with jaggery jackfruits filling. The specialty is, it is steamed in banana leaf.

Elai adai is my childhood favourite. My grandma used to make it during jack fruit season. After marriage, I tasted this I ordered this in kumarakom a kerala restaurant. Before it arrived, I was giving so much hype to my husband..  but it was not upto my expectations.. the white portion was too thick..  so I made up my mind to try it at home. But I totally forgot that. Quick promises.. are like that..

Recently I went to Palakkad to my sis in law house.. I tasted elai adai there.. it was so good. Got the recipe for her mom in law.

Very easy to make.. and yummy.

Ingredients for filling:

·         Jack fruit– 3 pieces (finely chopped)

·         Jaggery – 1 cup

·         Water – ½ cup.

·         Grated coconut – 1 cup

·         Ghee – 1 tsp.

·         Cardamom powder  - ¼ tsp

Ingredients for outer layer:

·         Rice flour – 1 cup (from raw rice)

·         Salt – a pinch

·         Water – as much as required.

Filling preparation:

Heat a thick bottom kadai, add jaggery and water. Let it melt completely. Switch off and filter the impurities.

Again transfer the jaggery syrup to the kadai. Once it starts boiling, add the coconut gratings and ghee.

Cook it for about 5 mins, with stirring, till leaves the sides.

Add the chopped jackfruit pieces and cook it for about 3 mins.

Add the cardamom powder, mix well and switch off the stove. Let the mixture cool completely.  

Batter preparation:

Take a cup of rice flour in a bowl. Add water little by little, till it is like dosa batter. Mix well without any lumps. Batter is now ready.

Folding Method:

Now, we need to make the banana leaves ready. Remove the stem part of the leaf. Cut them into squares as shown below. (15 cm *  15 cm approx) We may need 10 pieces.

Heat the leaf in the flame so that it turns soft. It prevents from breaking while we fold. Don’t burn it. Be careful with your fingers too.  Keep the leaves aside.

Fill water in the idli pan. Keep the idli plates and switch it on. If you have a steamer with plates, that is also fine.

Take a leaf, turn it back side. This is because we don’t want lines to be seen.

Take a small ladle full of batter and pour in centre of the leaf and spread it into a circle. Not very thick or thin.

Now put one tsp of filling scattered in one side of the circle.

Fold the leaf into half with filling in one side. 

Give 2 small folds in all open sides so that the batter will not come outside while cooking.

Place it upside down in the idli plates, so that the folds will be pressed down and will not open.

Keep up to 5 pieces and close the lid and steam it for about 7 minutes.

Repeat the process for the rest of the batches.

A small graphics for the folding..

Serve it with tea.