Naadan Mutta Curry / Pacha Thenga Aracha Motta Curry / Egg Curry Kerala Style

Thenga-malee Pacha Aracha Motta curry is one of the ways we make Motta / Mutta / Egg curry at home. At my mother's place we make motta curry in a varutharacha (roasted coconut and coriander seed paste) gravy whereas my mother-in-law makes egg curry in a pachakarache gravy. Thenga mallee pacharacha curry means fresh coconut and coriander seeds ground to paste without roasting or frying. The taste changes so much with that simple roasting / frying of coconut and coriander seeds. Between my husband and I we have so many ways the same curries / kootaans are cooked because we come from different parts of Kerala. So we pick and choose which way to make it depending on the time and ingredients we have on hand. The difference in the motta kootaan is just one of them. Another difference was the way the egg was added to this curry - my mother boiled them and cut in half whereas my mother-in-law scrambled the eggs for this curry.

My husband and I make motta curry in pacharacha gravy when we cannot think of kootaan options to go with rice for dinner. This kootaan pairs off well with rice and a mezhukperatty and doesn't take much time to make as well. In fact, time is one of the reasons we make this thenga and malee pacharacha kootaan. In Kerala, the egg curry is paired off with appam or dosa and had for breakfast. Though that is usually an egg roast or a varutharache motta kootaan. Substitute the motta with vegetables for a vegetarian version of a typical naadan curry.

Ingredients & Method
for scrambled eggs
Eggs - 4
Oil - 1tsp
Salt - as per taste

Heat a kadai / pan and add the oil. Swirl it around to coat completely. When the oil is hot, break the eggs into the kadai, sprinkle some salt over it and beat well till the eggs are scrambled. Try and keep the eggs in medium to big pieces since small pieces tend to disintegrate once added to the curry.

for gravy
Coconut grated - 1.5 cups
Coriander seeds - 3tbsp
Dry Red chillies - 4
Onion - 1 medium
Ginger - 1 inch
Green chillies - 2
Tomato - 1 medium
Turmeric pwd - 1tsp
Curry leaves - 2 sprigs
Coriander leaves - 1tbsp
Oil - 1tbsp
Coconut oil - 1tsp

Slice the onions, cut the ginger into juliennes and chop the tomato finely and keep aside. Grind the grated coconut, coriander seeds and dry red chillies to a fine paste.

Heat a pan and add the oil. When the oil is hot add the sliced onions and stir fry it. Once the onions are translucent add the ginger juliennes and  some curry leaves and continue frying. When the onions are golden brown add the coconut paste and fry for a couple of minutes. Add the turmeric pwd and stir and mix well. To this add the chopped tomatoes, green chillies, salt and little water and stir all in. Add some more curry leaves and water to make it into a thick gravy. After one boil add the scrambled eggs and cook for a minute or two. Drizzle the coconut oil on top, garnish with coriander leaves and close with lid without stirring and take off the heat. Mix well just before serving.

Have this with rice and mezhukperatty.

 

Jhatpat Masale Bhat / Masala Rice

Masala Rice or Masale Bhaat is one recipe that we all resort to when we run out of ideas for a meal. It is one recipe that does not take much time and can be made in a jiffy, especially to be packed into lunch boxes. This is a simple recipe that bachelors / first time cooks can rely on to have a filling and wholesome meal. The Masale Bhaat is an easy to pack dish for an overnight train travel as well since it can be had on its own alongwith some curd/ dahi that can easily be bought from any stall at the station too. The best thing about this recipe is that slight variations in the spice and/or vegetable combinations gives you a different taste altogether.

 

The easy-peasy way I like to make Masala Rice is given below:

Ingredients
Rice - 1.5 cups
Onion - 1 large
Carrot - 1
French Beans - 5
Green Peas - 1tbsp
Tendli - 4
Green chilli - 2
Tomato - 1/2
Ginger - 1tbsp chopped
Garlic - 1tbsp chopped
Coriander pwd - 1tsp
Turmeric pwd - 1tsp
Red chilli pwd - 1/2tsp (optional)
Oil - 2tbsp
Salt to taste
Coriander leaves - 1tbsp chopped
Whole Spices
Shah jeera - 1tsp
Jeera - 1/2tsp
Green Elaichi - 1, only skin
Black elaichi - half, seeds only
Cloves - 2-3
Cinnamon - small piece

Slice the onions, keep aside and chop the carrot, beans and tendli in 1 inch size pieces. Chop the tomatoes finely.

Heat the oil in a pressure cooker, when hot add the whole spices. After a minute add the sliced onion and fry till translucent then add the ginger and garlic and continue to sauté. When the onions are light brown add the coriander powder and stir for a minute. Then add the vegetables and the green chillies. Keep sautéing and add the turmeric powder, red chilli powder (if using) and salt and mix well. Add the rice into this mix and sauté for a few minutes. Add 3 cups water and let it boil, check the taste and adjust salt and chillies. Put the lid and whistle on and let it cook for in pressure for 2 whistles. Open when the pressure has escaped and garnish with the coriander leaves.

The Masala Rice goes in my lunch box along with curd/dahi, cucumber sticks and an apple making it a nice half-day meal.

Erachi Ularthiyathu / Mutton Fry

At my parents home, we had fish more often than chicken and hardly ever had mutton. One reason for not having mutton could be that there was no good mutton shop nearby. At my husband's home they had aatterachi / erachi / mutton more often than chicken and that's when I actually started appreciating its taste. At my in-laws place it was my father in law who made the mutton. And it was awesome. My husband would go buy the erachi fresh in the morning and my father-in-law would cook it with 2 assistants - my sister-in-law and I. My mother-in-law was not involved in the cooking because by then she had given up eating non-vegetarian food. Me being a novice in cooking, my father-in-law would actually cut one piece to show how he wanted the onions, ginger, garlic and tomatoes cut. He made a erachi ularthiyathu / erachi olarthiyathu with the good pieces and erachi curry with a few meat and bone pieces. At that time I never considered learning how to make it but thankfully my husband knew. And now, I think we are able to recreate that same taste.

Ingredients
(these ingredients are enough for 2 people, just double or triple according to required quantity)
Mutton (goat meat) / Ghosht / Aatterachi - 400gms
Onion / Pyaaz / Savaalla ulli - 1 large
Tomato / Tamatar / Thakaalli - 1 medium
Ginger / Adrak / Inji - 2 inch piece
Garlic / Lehsun / Velluthulli - 10 pods
Shallots / Sambhar onions / cheriya ulli - 8-10
Curry leaves / Kadipata / Kariveppila - 5-7 sprigs
Masala powder:
Cloves / Lavang / Graambu - 4
Cinnamon / Dalchini / Karvapatta - 1 inch piece
Coriander / Dhaniya / Malee pwd - 2 tbsp. heaped
Aniseed / Saunf / Perinjeerakam - 1 tsp heaped
Cardamom / Elaichi / Elakya - 1
Marinade:
Turmeric pwd / Haldi / Manjallpodi - 1tsp
Red chilli pwd / Lal mirchi / Mollagupodi - 1tsp
Pepper pwd / Kali miri / Kurumollagu - 0.5tsp
Salt to taste

Clean and cut the mutton in small pieces. Mix the turmeric powder, red chilli powder, pepper powder and salt and apply well onto the mutton. Keep for an hour, then pressure cook the mutton in a separate vessel without any water for 2 to 3 whistles, till just cooked. This is a dry dish and hence do not add water to the mutton, it will release water. The number of whistles depends on the tenderness of the mutton - we get quite tender meat here and normally 2 whistles are more than enough. Also this recipe calls for stir frying the mutton again with the masalas so if your mutton is overcooked, the end result will be mutton mash and not pieces.

Separately heat a flat pan to roast the whole garam masalas. Dry roast the whole masalas one by one and grind into a fine powder and keep aside.

 

Heat oil in a kadhai and add the chopped onions, ginger and garlic and fry on medium heat. When the onions are fried to a light brown color add the ground masala powder and fry for a couple of minutes. Then add the stock of the mutton and chopped tomatoes and mix well stirring all the time on high heat. Lower the heat and add the mutton pieces, little red chilli powder and pepper powder and sauté to combine all together. Add 2 sprigs of curry leaves and keep stir frying the mutton on low heat for about 10 to 15 minutes. 

 

Separately heat the coconut oil in a small kadai and when hot add the chopped shallots / cheriya ulli and fry till they are light brown in color. Then add the slit green chillies and the remaining curry leaves, stir it and add this over the mutton. Keep on low heat and mix the mutton and the tadka / varathu iddal well. The mutton should be fried well by this time; take this off the gas and keep covered.

 

You can add thengya kothu / coconut slice pieces to the frying mutton closer to the end of frying and use only cheriya ulli for a very very coconutty Kerala taste. We preferred not to add it since we were doing a tadka / varutha iddal in coconut oil and wanted the masalas to stand out. When my father-in-law cooked this as a no coconut dish and the curry was the one with coconut paste and we were trying to be as close to that recipe as possible. I remember him saying once that adding finely chopped fried potatoes when frying the mutton just added to the awesome taste of this dish. Am going to try it sometime.

Our lunch on days that erachi olarthiyathu is made, usually comprises rice, sambhar, and this mutton fry. This is a hit menu at our home, hope it becomes a hit with your family too!  

 

This exact same recipe can be used for beef as well, for an amazing dish.

 

- To my father-in-law who is no more.