Category: Mains

Vathal Kuzhambu

There are a few dishes that stay close to my heart and make me reminisce the childhood days each time I have them. This is one such dish and it has never failed to make me binge eat for the next 3-4 meals. Warm steamed rice, fire-roasted papadam, and this kuzhambu with some gingelly oil… I got no words to express, a few moments has to be lived rather heard. My granny’s house had a hearth in the backyard and she used to fire-roast the papadams — good old days!

My mom makes the best version, and everyone who comes to our place know what to ask for, good food of course. My cousins and aunts always asks my mom to pack this one for the road. The best part is we make the masala powder right from the scratch and use homemade sun dried berries — no store bought ingredients. The taste gets enhanced the next day; however, it barely gets to see the next day!

Fortunately, Sashi loves vathal kuzhambu and this has become one of our frequent resorts. I love the bittersweet version and have used both sundakkai vathal/sun dried turkey berries and manathakkali vathal/sun berries. There are a wide range of options for sun dried veggies/berries and every house has their own preference. Give it a try and let me know your comments!

—Ingredients for 4 servings—

For grinding
1 1/2 tablespoons black pepper corns
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon fenugreek
1 tablespoon toor dal
3 tablespoons coriander seeds
1 tablespoon raw rice
5 dried chillies
2 tablespoons grated coconut

For curry
1/2 cup gingelly oil
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 tablespoon urad dal
1/4 teaspoon fenugreek
2 dried chillies
2 sprig curry leaves
25-30 garlic pods
25-30 shallots
1 cup tamarind paste
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 1/2 tablespoons jaggery powder
1 cup water
1/4 teaspoon hing
Vathal/sun dried berries/veggies as needed
Salt as needed

—Process—

1. Dry roast all the ingredients for grinding and grind them into a coarse powder.
2. In a pan, heat 4 tablespoons of oil, add mustard seeds and let it splutter, then add urad dal, fenugreek, dry chillies, curry leaves and garlic pods. Once the garlic pods have turned golden add the shallots and fry for a minute or two.
3. Pour in the tamarind paste, ground powder, turmeric powder, jaggery powder, salt and a cup of water. Close the lid and let it boil in a medium flame for 10-12 minutes.
4. In another pan, heat 4 tablespoons of oil and fry the sundried berries/veggies. I’ve used sun dried turkey berries and sun berries, each 3 tablespoons. Pour it atop the boiling curry and add hing. Switch off the flame after a couple of minutes and serve hot!

—Tips—

The masala powder has a shelf life of 3-4 days. It will stay fresh for a couple of weeks if you exclude the graded coconut.

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Lamb Bone Marrow Curry/Nalli Curry

A rich curry simmered in thick coconut milk, game changer I tell you. This is a special dish for us, and I reserve it for the special occasions. If you’re looking for a minimalist food then this is exclusively for you.

We usually pair this with appam/idiyappam. An appam straight from the pan with this curry, there’s more to yum than you might think. This recipe goes well with any meat. If you give this recipe a try, let me know how it turns out.

—Ingredients—

For pressure cooking
1/2 kg lamb bone marrow
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon coriander powder
1 sprig curry leaves
2 green chillies

For sautéing
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 teaspoon poppy seeds
2 medium sized onions(roughly chopped)
2 medium sized tomatoes(roughly chopped)
1 tablespoon ginger-garlic paste
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon chilli powder
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1 teaspoon curry powder or garam masala
2 inch cinnamon
2 bay leaf
4 cloves
1 sprig curry leaves
2 green chillies
1 teaspoon pepper powder
3/4 cup coconut milk(1st extract)
Salt as needed
Oil as needed

—Process—

1. Pressure cook the bone marrow with above ingredients for 20 minutes in a medium flame.
2. Heat oil in a pan, sauté cumin seeds, fennel seeds, and poppy seeds for a minute.
3. Add onions and sauté till it turns golden brown then add ginger-garlic paste and sauté until the raw smell goes off. Add tomatoes and all the powders and mix well.
4. Pour in the stock, close the lid and cook in a medium flame for 4-5 minutes. Switch off the flame and let it cool. Grind it to a fine paste and keep aside.
5. Heat oil in a pan, sauté cinnamon, bay leaf and cloves for a minute. Add the cooked bones, curry leaves and green chillies. Then the ground paste, pepper powder and coconut milk, let it boil for 3-4 minutes.
6. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve warm.

Happy Cooking!

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Beef Puttu

Puttu, an authentic breakfast of SouthIndia! Beef is one of our all-time favorite meat, especially the undercut ones. It’s been raining lately in Bangalore, a warm beef puttu and ginger chai in a rainy evening is just the paradise. This recipe can be made with any kind of meat that you prefer. So, now you know what to cook when the day is mundane.

–Ingredients–

2 cups rice flour (puttu flour)
200 grams minced beef
1 tablespoon ginger-garlic paste
1 large onion(finely chopped)
2 green chillies(finely chopped)
1 tomato(finely chopped)
2 tablespoons chilli powder
2 tablespoons coriander powder
1/4 tablespoon turmeric powder
1 tablespoon garam masala
1 sprig curry leaves
3 sprigs coriander leaves
Salt as needed
Oil as needed
Warm water as needed

–Process–

1. Sprinkle warm water into the rice flour, add salt and mix well to form a lump free crumbles.
2. Pressure cook beef with 1/2 tablespoon ginger-garlic paste, curry leaves, turmeric powder and salt for 10-15 minutes in a medium flame.
3. Heat the oil in a pan and saute onion until it becomes translucent, add the green chillies, remaining ginger-garlic paste, onion, tomato and all the powders and saute for 3-4 minutes.
4. Add in the meat and cook until oil separates, approximately 5 minutes in a medium-high flame.
5. In a puttu mould, layer 5-6 tablespoons of the rice flour mixture and 3-4 tablespoons of beef and repeat. Steam it for 5-6 minutes, garnish with coriander leaves and serve warm.

–Tips–

If you don’t have a puttu mould, layer the rice flour mixture and meat in a coconut shell or any container and press it well to retain the shape. Demould it into an idli plate and steam in the idli steamer.

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Mutton Keema

Mutton keema! A staple curry in most of the Indian and Pakistani households, exceptionally delicious dish with its buttery texture. This particular version is our family favorite and I’d learnt it from my MIL. One of the best picnic food, ideal for canning. It will be good in room temperature for 3 to 4 days, if untouched. Deep fry the onions if you’re canning. The same recipe goes for beef keema, just replace the mutton with minced beef. If you give this recipe a try, do share your comment!

–Ingredients for 3-4 servings–

1/2 kg minced mutton
2 bay leafs
2 sticks cinnamon (1/2 inch each)
3 green cardamom
1 black cardamom
4 cloves
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
2 finely chopped onions
2 tablespoons ginger-garlic paste
2 tomatoes (finely chopped or puréed)
2 sprig curry leaves
2 green chillies
2 teaspoon chilli powder
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon cumin powder
2 teaspoon coriander powder
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/2 teaspoon garam masala powder
2 sprig coriander leaves
1/2 cup cooking oil
salt as needed

–Process–

1. Heat 1/2 cup of oil in a pressure cooker. Add all the whole spices and saute until it leaves the aroma
2. Add the chopped garlic and saute for a minute. Then add the chopped onions and saute until they become translucent
3. Put in the ginger-garlic paste and curry leaves and saute until the raw smell goes off
4. Add the minced meat and mix well. Let it cook in a medium flame for 5-6 minutes. Now add the tomatoes and all the powders and give it a stir
5. Pour in 300 ml water, add green chillies and salt. Pressure cook in a medium flame for 3 whistles
6. Sprinkle the coriander leaves and serve warm

Tips
1. Green peas and potatoes (peeled and medium chopped) goes well with mutton, you can add them along with the water and then pressure cook
2. We’ve been accustomed to above mentioned amount of oil, you can reduce if you feel its too much

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Mambazha Pulissery (curd based mango curry)

Mangoes! It’s that season of the year.

Here, I’ve brought you a typical Kerala dish. The first time I had mambazha puliserry was at onam sadhya. Love for Kerala food is one of the things that my husband and I have in common. From a simple kappa puzhukku to beef dry roast, we have always fallen for them. It has become a part of our routine food in the recent years and influenced us, for good.

It’s a sweet variant, close to mor kuzhambu, give or take a few ingredients.

Ingredients
3 ripe mangoes, peeled and chopped
2 green chillies
1/2 tablespoon cumin
1/3 cup grated coconut
1/3 cup beaten curd
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
salt, as needed
1 tablespoon sugar (optional)
For tempering
1/2 teaspoon mustard
1/4 teaspoon fenugreek
2 dry red chillies
1 sprig curry leaves
3 tablespoons coconut oil

Preparation
1. Boil 2 cups of water, slit 1 green chilli and add it to the water
2. Blend grated coconut, cumin, 1 green chilli and few tablespoons of water into a coarse paste and keep aside
3. Add turmeric powder, chilli powder and mangoes into the boiling water, close the lid and cook them for 10 minutes
4. Pour on the ground coconut paste, add some salt and let it boil for a 3-4 minutes. (I prefer this dish to be sweeter so, I add a tablespoon of sugar here.)
5. Switch off the flame, add the beaten curd and mix well.
6. Heat the oil in a small pan, add the mustard and let it splutter, then the rest of the tempering ingredients. Pour it on top of the pulissery and serve.

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