Sambhaaram / Chhaas / Spiced Buttermilk

Sambhaaram, the Kerala version of Chhaas is a good summer drink that helps to cool the body and is a way to increase the liquid intake. It is also a healthy drink especially if the amount of salt that's added into it is controlled. Sambhaaram has ginger and curry leaves in it and is known to aid digestion especially after a feast. As children, we were responsible to pick some lemon and curry leaves from the garden especially for the after Onam and Vishu feast drink. Crushed lemon leaves, if you can get some, is a refreshing addition to this Chhaas.

Traditionally, sambhaaram is served at the end of the meal but if had sometime before a meal it helps in filling up the stomach healthily and in reducing the food intake.

Ingredients

Curds / plain Yogurt - 1/2 cup

Water - 1 cup

Curry leaves - 2

Ginger - 1/2tsp

Salt to taste

Green chilli - 1/2 (optional)

In container combine the curds / plain yogurt and water and beat it till well blended. Crush the ginger, green chilli (if using) and the curry leaves and add it to the buttermilk along with salt. Beat well to make it a little frothy. Pour it out into a glass and it's ready to be served.

Avial / Aviyal from Kerala - a medley of mixed vegetables in coconut

Avial (aviyal), is a vegetable medley in a coconutty gravy straight from Kerala. It is a dish made on festive occasions and a sure shot item on an ela / ila sadya (feast served on a banana leaf). The avial / aviyal has many vegetables that is not used regularly in many cuisines. Many non-traditionalists use vegetables like potatoes and green peas and cauliflower in this dish which then frankly ceases to be avial and is just a vegetable curry in coconut gravy. At times, we have to substitute certain veggies due to non-availability; like most times vellarika is not available. Then either do without it or use a water heavy vege like bottle gourd or just increase the quantity of kumbalanga. Vegetables like the ash gourd, snake gourd, drumstick, yam, raw plantain (banana), yard long beans are usually the main ones that go in Avial, then additional ones like the ivy gourd, carrot, beans, eggplant are also added. This time, I did not add raw plantain to my avial because the last time it turned to be very starchy, maybe because I selected the wrong type of plantain.

 

Making Avial / Aviyal takes a little prep time. All the vegetables are cut into 1.5inch long strips with the exception of the drumsticks which are cut into 2.5inch pieces. The vegetables are added into the pot in stages since most have different cooking times else it could turn to a mushy mix. You can add either  raw mango or tamarind or curd/yogurt to add sourness to the Avial. The Avial can be made either with a little watery gravy or as a thick, no gravy dish. I chose to make it a little watery so I could avoid making another curry / kootaan. Usually, for a sadhya, the avial is made as a thick, no gravy dish without onion but when making it at home you have the liberty to do otherwise.

Ingredients
Ash gourd / White gourd /pumpkin / Kumbalanga / Kumbalengya - 1.5 cup
Bottle gourd / lauki / Churayka- 1/2 cup (use Vellarika if you get)
Yam / /Elephants foot / Chenna - 1/2 cup
Carrot - 1/2 cup
Snake gourd / Padavalanga / Padavalengya- 1/2 cup
Drumstick / Muringaka/ Muringyakay- 1
Yard long beans / Payar / Achingya - 1/2 cup
Ivy gourd / Koveka / Kovekya - 6
French beans / Beans - 1/2 cup
Fresh Curd / Yogurt - 1/2 cup
Turmeric pwd - 1tsp
Red chilli pwd - 1/2tsp
Coconut oil - 1tbsp

Curry leaves - 15

for paste
Coconut - 2 cups grated
Onion - 1/2, small sized (optional)
Jeera - 1/2tsp
Curry leaves - 2-3

Wash all the vegetables really well. Each vegetable has to be cut into strips of the same size, about 1.5inches long. For the Ash gourd / Kumbalenga, the Vellarika / English Cucumber, the Bottle gourd / Churayka and the Snake gourd / Padavalanga discard the seeds and innards and then cut into strips. Cut the Drumsticks / Muringaka into 2.5inch long pieces and make a small slit on each piece. Beat the curds / yogurt with a little water and keep aside. Grind the coconut, onion, jeera, onion to a fine paste with water, then add the curry leaves and pulse it once quickly. In case making a thick, no gravy avial, add an additional cup of grated coconut and only crush the coconut do not grind it to a fine paste and follow the rest of the recipe.

 

Put the Yam, Carrot, Snake gourd, Drumstick, Yard long beans, Ivy gourd, French beans and Bottle gourd pieces into a pot along with salt, turmeric powder and red chilli powder. Add water to the level of the veggies and close the pot with a lid and keep on low heat. Check after about 10 minutes if the vegetables are half done. Then add the Ash gourd pieces and some curry leaves and mix well and again close the lid and continue to cook on low heat. The vegetables should be cooked while retaining shape and crispness. Add the coconut paste and add little water for gravy and give it one boil. Then add the beaten curds and mix well till well blended. Do not boil after adding the yogurt. Top with the remaining curry leaves and the coconut oil and cover till ready to serve.

 

 

Tomato / Thakkali Pachadi

This Pachadi recipe is a curry from Kerala, essentially a curry with a gravy base of ground coconut, curd/yogurt and mustard seeds. To this paste, one can add either Tomatoes / Thakaalli or Ladies finger / Vendekkya to make Pachadi. When adding Ladies finger make sure it is fried so that it is not gooey when added to the curry. In Kerala, most curries have a gravy base of ground coconut and cumin seeds / jeera. This may be the only curry from Kerala in which mustard seeds are ground. So if you love the taste of mustard paste, I would suggest you try this Tomato / Thakalli Pachadi.

My mother mostly made Pachadi with tomatoes and that is the one I like. After marriage, I did not make this kootaan (curry) at our home for long because my husband is allergic to curd/yogurt. Hence curries or dishes made with curd / yogurt are usually not prepared at our home more because it is tedious to cook different curries when there are only the two of us at home. Tomato Pachadi was included in our menu at home after my mother made this kootaan using just a couple of tablespoons of absolutely fresh curds, going by the premise that if my husband ate aviyal that has a little curd then he could take this as well. On trying this kootaan, he did like it, so we had one more kootaan added to the list of curries made at home. So a kootaan that is usually made with equal amount of coconut and yogurt is made at our home with just a couple of tablespoons of yogurt.

 

Ingredients

Tomato / Thakaalli - 2 medium

Coconut / Thenga grated - 1.5 cup

Curd / Yogurt / Thayir - 2tbsp

Dried Red chilli /  - 4

Green chilli - 2

Turmeric pwd - 1tsp

Mustard seeds - 1.5tsp for grinding

Curry leaves - 3 sprigs

Oil - 2 tsp

Mustard seeds - 1tsp

Salt to taste

Chop tomatoes into medium sized pieces. Heat a saucepan with a cup water, add chopped tomatoes, salt and turmeric powder and cook on medium heat. Separately grind coconut, mustard seeds, green chillies and 2 of the dried red chillies. Add minimal water when grinding so that the mustard is ground well. Then add the yogurt also and give it a quick whisk and this fine paste is ready to be added to the curry. Once the tomatoes are cooked add the ground paste and mix well. Add a little water as required to get a thick curry consistency. Let it boil once, lower the gas to check for salt and then take it off the heat and keep it covered. Heat a small pan for the tadka / vagaar / varathu iddal and add the oil. When the oil is hot put in the mustard seeds, let it splutter then tear 2 dried red chillies into pieces and add it in along with the curry leaves. Stir it and take off the heat and pour the mix into the curry and cover immediately. Open the lid when ready to serve.

 

To get the authentic taste of this curry more yogurt is to be added when cooking. Like I said we restricted the amount of yogurt to suit my husband's palate. The tomato pachadi is best had with rice and paired off with thoren and pappadam.

Smoothie Series - Apple and Pomegranate

For some time now, I have wanted to give smoothies a try. Smoothies are widely known to be healthy but since most health foods don't taste good, I stayed away from it. But growing concerns of health all around prompted me to look up recipes that I would be able to handle. I realized I may not immediately take to smoothies with yogurt or green vegetables. So to start with I did a simple two  fruit smoothie.

Today, when hunger struck in the evening I substituted my favorite sandwich fix with a smoothie made of apple and pomegranate. Both fruits are ones I like and I thought they would combine well too. I did not add any thickening base this time but that is the plan for the next time.
I used Real Fruit Pomegranate Juice in this recipe rather than extract fresh juice. It seemed too tedious especially with pomegranate what with straining the seeds, etc. Health wise it is better to use fresh ingredients which would mean sticking to seasonal fruits and vegetables as much as possible. Again, when making smoothies watch out for the calorie content. It is easy to give in to temptation and add calorie rich ingredients in the smoothie.

 Apple Pomegranate Smoothie

So here goes the recipe:

Apple - 1
Pomegranate Juice - 1.5 cups
Blend the two together and it is ready to pour out in glasses.

Chicken Biryani with Shan Biryani Masala

After ages, I made biryani at home. Actually, its long since I cooked, after all mom's there to take care of everything. Biryani has always been my weakness. It can be biryani time anytime for me. I am partial to chicken biryani and go if for it if the restaurant is remotely known for its biryani. In Bombay, I enjoy biryani from - Lucky, Blossoms-Hotel Sun City & Jaffer Bhai Delhi Darbar to name a few.  And for the days I can't get my fix I make it at home and this is one such recipe:

For preparing meat:
Chicken 500gms, cut in medium sized pieces
Onion 4, medium to large sized, chopped/sliced
Garlic 10 cloves, medium sized, juliennes
Ginger 4 inch piece, juliennes
Shan Memoni Mutton Biryani Masala powder
Yogurt (dahi) 2 tbsp
Green chillies 2, big sized, slit
Tomato 1, medium sized, chopped
Potato 4, small sized, peeled to be used whole
Butter/ Ghee 3 tbsp
Little salt
For preparing the rice:
Basmati Rice 2 cups, soaked in water for 15 minutes
Cloves (lavang) 2
Cinnamon (dalchini) 1 inch piece
Green Cardamom (elaichi) 2
Black Cardamom (kaali elaichi) 1
Little salt
For assembling:
Coriander Leaves 1 cup, rough chopped
Mint Leaves, about 15 to 20 leaves, rough chopped
Onions sliced, fried in ghee or oil 1/2 cup
Butter/ Ghee 2 tbsp

Rice:

Take 4 cups water in a saucepan add the whole spices (khada masala) cloves, cinnamon, cardamoms and salt put it to boil. When the water boils lower the heat and add the soaked rice, cook for 5 minutes stirring in between. Check the rice, it should have a bite, about three-fourth cooked. Take it off the heat and drain off the excess water using a colander. At this time, you can remove the whole spices. In case you want to avoid removing it individually, you can make a bouquet garni and drop into the water when boiling.

Meat:

Mix the chicken and the ginger and garlic in a bowl and keep aside. In a heavy bottomed deep vessel (I use my big pressure cooker), add the ghee, once hot, add the chopped onions and saute it. When the onions are nearly brown add the meat mixed with the ginger and garlic. Saute it for a few minutes then add the yogurt and the Shan biryani masala powder. Saute for a few minutes and add potatoes, mix well and cover and let cook on low heat for 10 minutes. Check for salt, you may need to add very little salt since the masala powder has salt in it. Add the tomatoes and green chillies and cover and cook it done.

Now for the assembling for dum, you can do this on the stove or in the oven. I did it on the stove and to lessen the work used the cooker again. In case you are using the oven butter the insides of a deep glass baking dish and follow the steps below.

I took the chicken preparation out into a bowl. Add 1 tbsp spoon ghee in the empty cooker and let it spread the bottom of the vessel. Now to layer the chicken mix and rice.

Add half the prepared chicken mix to cover the bottom of the vessel. Layer half the rice on top of the chicken. Now top the rice with half of - the coriander leaves, mint leaves and fried onions. Repeat the layers - Layer the balance of the chicken and top it with the balance of the rice layer, Top these layers with the rest of the coriander and mint leaves and the fried onions. Sprinkle them to cover the rice. Sprinkle the remaining ghee on the top and the sides. Now cover and keep on very low heat for 15 to 20 minutes. If using the oven, cover the dish with foil, pierce the foil with fork a couple of times and put into a warm oven. When serving try to scoop out with the layers intact, its yummy with all the different tastes.

You can use oil instead of butter or ghee. Personally I love ghee and salivate when the aroma wafts through the entire home.