Avial

Looking at the bright side of a pandemic, the benefits are many and great. Limiting travel gave a break to the environment, sky, air & our lungs. On the social side, the virus gave us an opportunity to reconnect with family & home. I am meditating both morning and evening & have started watching both sunrise & sunset, this helps me to compose myself.
Health wise, the virus reminded us again of the importance of health, personal hygiene, sterilisation, disinfectants and healthy eating.

Having said that, It's been almost 2 weeks since I've stepped out. I usually buy veggies every week. This time around since we knew there could be possible lockdown, I did buy a little extra but I've managed to exhaust all of them.

There was this last carrot, a couple of beans & some more of the last ones. These were not enough for anything & as I was raiding the fridge for every vegetable I could lay my hands on, My dear friend from Qatar called & I was complaining to her as to how I had no idea of what to cook, the malayalee in her was quick to say, you always have enough to make a Aviyal. That's so true you always have enough veggies to make a Avial, anything and everything can go into this dish.

Aviyal is a traditional Kerala dish of mixed vegetables, An important component of the Onam Sadya. I am not very sure about what all veggies go into the traditional recipe. Here in this recipe, I've used the veggies that was available at home. (No rules recipe :))

Ingredients 

Assorted veggies - Cut lengthwise (I used Carrot/Beans/Potato/Raw Plantain) - 3 Cups
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Water - 11/2 Cup

Grind
Pepper powder - 1/2 tsp
Grated Coconut - 1/2 cup
Green chilly - 3 to 4 (Depends on how spicy you like it)
Jeera - 1 tsp
Water - 2 Tsp

Plain Yogurt (whisked) - 1/4 Cup
Coconut oil - 2 tsp (Any oil of your choice)
Salt
Curry leaves

Cooking Method 

Grind all ingredients from pepper powder, coconut, chilly, jeera & water into a thick paste.
Cook the veggies with turmeric powder, water (1.5 cups) and salt, The veggies should have a crunch & not get mushy
Add the coconut paste.  Cover and cook till the raw taste of coconut paste is gone.
Add yogurt and mix well. Cook for 2 minutes more & finally add the coconut oil and curry leaves.

Note : 
- I have made it watery as this was the only dish I made for the day, Ideally this is more of a    accompaniment/side dish which is thick in consistency.
- Yoghurt is optional, you can alternatively add 1 tsp tamarind or lemon juice

Eggless Caramel Cake

We have been on a no-sugar diet for over 2 years now, so I have not baked a cake for long,  But staying at home means we feel like indulging once in a while to keep the spirits high. Salted caramel is my favourite flavour in ice creams, I have tried many caramel cake recipes, but this one is the best as its easy, quick & yummilicious.

This eggless caramel cake uses curd and milk as a substitute for egg and turns out soft, moist and absolutely delicious.

Makes 1- 8″ cake

Ingredients

Soft Butter - 1/3 cup
Brown sugar - 1/2 cup
Plain Yoghurt - 1/4 cup
Milk - 1/2 cup
Vanilla Essence - 1/2 tsp
All purpose flour -1 1/4 cups
Baking Powder -1 tsp
Baking Soda -1/2 tsp
Salt -1/2 tsp
Caramel Syrup - 1/4 cup - see below

Baking method

In a mixing bowl cream together butter and sugar. Add milk, curd & caramel syrup, beat until incorporated. The batter will look curdled, but that's okay.

Mix together  all the dry ingredients  - flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a bowl.

Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and beat until all the ingredients are incorporated.

Pour the batter in to greased, lined and dusted pans.

Preheat oven to 180°C. Bake it for 30-40 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.


Caramel Syrup

Ingredients
Dark Brown Sugar-2 cups
Water-1 /2 cup + 1 cup

Procedure
In a heavy bottom pan, add 2 cups of sugar and 1/2 cup of water. Let it boil

The syrup will start bubbling after the boiling stage, at this stage the colour of the syrup will change to darker brown, you home will be filled with the caramel aroma.

Add the remaining 1 cup of water little by little, while maintaining a safe distance from the stove.

Once the water is fully incorporated, let it boil for 3-4 minutes.

Caramel syrup is ready. The syrup will look thinner but it will thicken as it cools. Transfer to a jar & refrigerate. Use it for cakes or as a spread on a warm bread with a dash of salt.

Kerala Style Red Cowpea and Pumpkin Curry (Mathanga Erissery)

This lock down has triggered all of the emotions we ever had, we laugh, we panic, we cry, we bounce back. As we juggle through these emotions & deal with the constant mind chatter, we must understand that all that a human mind needs is certainty & a feeling of well being which is no where around us now.

Just tell yourself that this need for certainty is not necessary now. It is only a thought or feeling. Don’t believe everything your mind tells you. Thoughts are not statements of facts. They are just thoughts.”. Also practise gratitude and happiness in everything that you do, it will have a ripple effect on the rest of the family.

One of my favourite quotes has been "What does not kill you makes you stronger". I am sure mankind has seen many such unprecedented situations and we are built to evolve and conquer. 

This recipe is a traditional kerala recipe, Kerala is the southernmost state in India & this dish is usually prepared during festivals. One of my all time favourite vegetarian dish, the merger between the sweetness of the pumpkin, creaminess of cowpea & the fragrance of coconut takes your taste buds to a different level.  I have had different versions of this curry, my favourite used to be the one prepared by my childhood friend's mother. She made the bestest version of this Erissery, I could eat bowls of it for all 3 meals & never get bored.

Whenever my mother made this dish, she would cook the cowpea with just salt & give me a bowlful with Jaggery & coconut. This tradition is not lost :D

As I relive those amazing childhood memories, here is the recipe(my version) 

Ingredients

Red Cowpea (Karamani) - 1 cup (Soaked overnight)

Pumpkin - 2 cups (Cubed)

Raw Banana (medium size) - 1 (Peeled, Cubed) Optional

Salt - 1 teaspoon

Turmeric powder - 1 teaspoon

Chilli powder - 1 teaspoon

Grind

Grated coconut - 1/2 cup

Shallots - 4

Garlic pods - 2

Green chilli - 4

Cumin - 1 teaspoon

Seasoning

Mustard seeds 1 teaspoon

Curry leaves 2 spring

Dry red chilli 3 

Grated coconut 1/2 cup

Coconut oil / Any cooking oil

Cooking Method

Cook the soaked red cowpea, salt, turmeric & chilli powder in a pressure cooker, Open the cooker after the first whistle and add the pumpkin/banana & cook for 1 more whistle. Alternatively if your cooking on a stove top, you can cook the cowpea & the vegetables separately and add them together once done.

Grind together, coconut, shallots, garlic pods, chilli & cumin. Add the ground coconut mix to the cowpea/vegetable, Let it boil. Switch off the stove.

Heat 2 tsp oil in another thick bottomed pan. Splutter mustard seeds. Add dried red chilli and curry leaves. Once sauteed, add grated coconut. Fry the coconut until brown. Make sure you don't burn the coconut.

Add fried coconut mix to the cowpea gravy. Mix it well. Serve with rice / chapati 

Vazhapoo Vadai (Banana Blossom Fritters)

Life has almost come to a standstill after the lockdown announced by the governments. 

We slept in one world and woke up into another. 

We all go back to sleep each day hoping we wake up into a day where we can walk into a grocery store and pick that packet of pulses without wearing a mask & a glove. Eat from that favourite Cafe and walk that park just one more time. 

Each evening as I look back at those beautiful days, I try to create something special for our evening tea time, just a balm for our aching hearts & sinking spirits.

As we traverse through these painful days, may we never forget to preen our feathers, flex our muscles & stretch our wings for when we have to fly again, Let's make it the best flight ever.

More Power to all of you !

Let's get to the dish of the day. As South Indians we consider it as a sin to waste any part of the plantain tree, from ripe plantains to its stem we make the best use of every part of the tree :) This vada (Fritter) is made everytime we get a harvest from our plantain tree and its truly worth the pain it takes to make the VADAI. These Vadai's are crispy, spicy and a perfect snack with your evening tea.

This is how a Vazhapoo (banana blossom) looks like. The pinkish part of it is not edible and hence its to be discarded. Inside the pink covering is the flowers which should have turned into lovely banana's, these flowers are the edible part.

This is how the flower looks like.

Take each flower remove the hard stamen and the little plastic like thing below it and discard it.

                           The remaining part of the flower has to be washed and finely chopped.

As you keep peeling the flowers layer by layer you will find a white portion, this part is difficult to peel and can be chopped as it is.

Ingredients

Vazha Poo (Banana Blossom) - 1 (Cleaned and chopped)

Onion - 1 (Finely Chopped)

Chana Dal - 2 cup (Soak for 3hrs)

Green chilli - 3+1 (3 finely chopped)

Ginger - 2" (Finely Chopped)

Garlic - 6 pods (Big, Finely Chopped)

Curry Leaves - 10 (Finely Chopped)

Coriander Leaves - Small bunch (Finely, Chopped)

Onions - 3 (Finely chopped)

Jeera Powder - 1tsp

Asafoetida - 1/2 tsp

Salt

Cooking Method

Step 1

Finely Chop : Vazha Poo, Onion, Green chilli, Ginger, Garlic, Curry Leaves, Coriander Leaves and Onions.

Step 2

Grind 11/2 cup chana dal with 1 green chilli, jeera powder and asafoetida in to coarse paste. (Reserve 1/2 cup chana dal seperately)

Step 3

In a large mixing bowl, Add all the finely chopped ingredients along with the ground chana dal and 1/2 cup whole dal, Mix it well along with salt.

Set it aside for 20 minutes.

Heat oil in a deep thick bottom vessel, make small vadai's from the dough and deep fry till golden brown.

Serve it hot with a hot cup of tea.

Cooking Time : 20 minutes (excluding marination time)

Serves : Makes around 30 vada's (Depending on the size)