South Indian Cuisine - Vinaya's Culinary Delights

Kabuli Chana/Chickpea Sukkein Recipe

Posted on July 11, 2018November 6, 2020 by vinaya

This is a traditional Mangalorean preparation which goes well with Rice or Rotis. I have added pieces of Yam to enhance the flavour and texture. You may use Potato or even Breadfruit if you wish to.

Ingredients :

100 gms Kabuli Chana
25 tiny cubes of Yam/Suran
1/4 of a coconut grated
12 roasted dry red chillies
1 heaped tsp tamarind paste
2 tsps Urad Dal/Black Gram Dal
4 tsps oil
1 tsp Mustard
2 sprigs curry leaves
Salt

Method :

Wash and soak the Kabuli Chana for eight hours. Pressure cook it with some salt. Chop the yam into the same size as the Chana. Cook them in an open pan with salt till done. Drop them into the cooked Chana. Roast the Urad Dal in a tsp of oil to a rich golden brown. Grind the coconut, roasted red chillies, roasted urad dal and tamarind to a semi coarse paste. Heat the remaining oil. Drop in the mustard seeds and after they splutter add the curry leaves. Tip in the cooked Chana, Yam and the ground masala. Boil well till it becomes semi solid. Serve with hot Rice or Roti.

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Jackfruit Fryums/Papad Recipe

Posted on July 11, 2018July 11, 2018 by vinaya

This is one preparation which evokes sweet memories of childhood. Every summer the elderly ladies in the family would get together and help each other in making it. The Jackfruit was carefully selected. It had to be neither too raw nor ripe and had to be cut, cleaned, deseeded, steamed, ground and then pressed into circles on a papad maker. The papads would then be sun dried for a couple of days and stored in an airtight container. To be fried as and when required. Traditionally eaten with pieces of coconut though the elders in the family preferred it grated coconut .

Ingredients :

5 kg Semi Ripe Jackfruit
200 gms black sesame
25 gms Jeera/ cumin seeds
Salt
Few plastic sheets
Papad maker.

Method :

Oil your hands well and cut the Jackfruit. Remove the segments and deseed them. Alternatively you can buy around 150 segments of cleaned Jackfruit which are readily available. Remove the seeds. Line the steamer with a Banana leaf and arrange the segments on it. Steam them for about ten to fifteen minutes till they become mushy. Remove. Allow to cool enough to handle. Grind them to a smooth dough like consistency with the jeera and salt without adding any water. Remove and add the sesame to the dough. Mix thoroughly. Oil your hands and make lemon sized balls of the dough. Oil a couple of plastic sheets. Place one of them on the papad maker. Place the ball of dough in the centre and cover it with another oiled plastic sheet. Press down. Gently remove the pressed Papad and place it on a plastic sheet in sunlight. Finish off thus with the remaining dough. Dry the papads in strong sunlight for three hours and then turn them over. Let them dry for another three hours. Remove and sun dry them again the next day till they are well dried and crackle when touched. Store them in an airtight container and fry them when required as you would any other papad or Vodi.

Urad and Semolina Uthappa Recipe

Posted on July 8, 2018August 12, 2018 by vinaya

A healthier version to the traditional Urad Dal/ Black gram dal and Rice Uthappa is the one made of Urad and Semolina / Rava. Needs no fermentation and can be enjoyed with a Chutney or Sambhar or both! Have already posted the Idli and the Appo that one can make with the same batter. You can find it under the catagory of ‘Breakfast Eats’ of this website. Recipe Link to the chutney is posted below.

Ingredients :

250 gms urad dal
500 gms Rava
16 Green chillies
1 carrot
4 onions
Coriander leaves
2 inch piece of ginger
Kidney bean sized piece of Hing/asafoetida
10 sprigs curry leaves
Salt
Oil or Ghee/clarified butter to roast the Uthappa

Method :
Wash and soak the Urad dal for four hours. Grind it in the wet grinder non stop for half an hour adding a little water at a time to a smooth batter of dropping consistency. Tip the Rava into a bowl. Add two glasses of water to it and mix it thoroughly. Drop it into the ground batter. Grind the green chillies, hing and ginger to a coarse paste. Add it to the Urad Rava batter along with the finely chopped curry leaves and salt. Mix thoroughly. Chop the onions and coriander leaves fine. Grate the carrot. Keep all the three aside. Heat a griddle / tava. Pour a ladleful of batter on it and spread it to a six inch diameter thick circle. Top it with the chopped onion, carrot and coriander leaves. Drizzle with Ghee or oil. Cover and cook till the underside is roasted. Flip. Roast till done. Remove and cut into pieces if required or serve as is along with Chutney.

Coconut Chutney Recipe – 2

Cauliflower Ambat Recipe

Posted on July 6, 2018 by vinaya

As I have mentioned earlier, an Ambat is a coconut based preparation which is seasoned with onion. Vegetables or Lentils of choice are used. Posting aan Ambat made with Cauliflower today.

Ingredients :

12 bite sized pieces of cauliflower
2 potatoes cubed
2 onions sliced roughly
1/2 of a small coconut
One fistful split Pigeon peas pressure cooked and churned
12 roasted dry red chillies
1 tbsp tamarind paste.
1 onion minced
3 tbsps oil
Salt

Method :
Boil the cubed potato and sliced onions in salted water till three fourth done. Add the cauliflower and cook till done. Do not overcook cauliflower. Grind the coconut, roasted red chillies and tamarind to a smooth paste. Add it to the cooked vegetables along with the pressure cooked split Pigeon peas /Dal. Heat oil in a pan. Add the minced onion and fry to a rich brown. Drop it into the Ambat. Adjust salt and give one boil. Cover and keep aside for half an hour for the flavours to infuse.

Malabar Spinach and Raw Papaya Ambat Recipe

Posted on July 3, 2018 by vinaya

An Ambat is a coconut based gravy preparation which is seasoned with finely chopped onions. It can be made with a variety of vegetables or lentils. Today I have made a traditional one which is a combination of Raw Papaya and Malabar Spinach. It goes well with, Rice, Roti and even with Bread.

Ingredients :

10 tendersticks of Malabar Spinach
15 bite sized pieces of Raw Papaya
3 large onions
1/2 coconut grated
10 roasted red chillies
1 heaped tsp Tamarind paste
Salt
5 tbsps oil
50gms or one large fistful split Pigeon peas

Method :

Wash and chop the Malabar Spinach with its tender stems. Cut the Raw Papaya into bite sized pieces. Slice one and half onion. Boil all the three together in three glasses of water to which salt has been added. Wash and pressure cook the split Pigeon peas. Churn it. Chop the remaining onions fine. Grind the coconut, roasted red chillies and tamarind to a smooth paste. Drop the churned dal and the ground masala into the cooked vegetable mixture. Heat oil in a pan. Drop in the finely chopped onions and roast to a rich brown. Tip in the seasoning into the boiling Ambat. Boil for a couple of minutes. Keep aside for half an hour for the flavours to infuse before serving.

Alwathi /Wild Colocassia leaves Curry Recipe

Posted on July 1, 2018 by vinaya

Alwathi is a traditional Konkani preparation made of Wild Colocassia leaves and is specially made on Krishna Janmashtami. Hog plums are usually added to lend tartness to the dish, but if unavailable tamarind can be used. Either peanuts or Corn on cob is added.

Ingredients :

21 Wild Colocassia leaves
2 corn cobs
1 Coconut grated
1 tbsp tamarind paste
10 roasted red chillies
2 inch piece of ginger
2 green chillies
4 tbsps Coconut oil
2 heaped tsps mustard
6 sprigs Curry leaves
Salt

Method :
Devein the Colocassia leaves. Wash them thoroughly. Chop them roughly. Cut the corn cobs into ten pieces. Pressure cook the chopped leaves and corn cobs in three glasses of water with a little salt to four whistles. Slit the green chillies. Grate the ginger. Grind the coconut, roasted red chillies and tamarind to a smooth paste. Once the pressure has been released, drop the ground masala, ginger and green chillies into the cooked mixture. Boil well. Heat the oil in a pan. Add the mustard seeds and after it splutters drop in the curry leaves. Tip the seasoning into the Alwathi. Keep aside for fifteen minutes for the flavours to infuse before serving.

Urad and Rava/ Black gram and Semolina Idli Recipe

Posted on June 29, 2018 by vinaya

The same batter which was used for making Urad and Rava Appo can be used to make Idli. As Idli is steamed, it is easy to digest and the only oil that is used is what is used to grease the Idli moulds. It is served with Chutney and Sambhar or either of the two. Recipe Link to both the Chutney and the Sambhar are given below.

Ingredients :

250 gms Urad Dal
500 gms Rava
16 green chillies
2 inch piece of ginger
Kidney bean sized piece of Hing /asafoetida
10 sprigs curry leaves
Salt
Oil to grease the Idli moulds.

Method :

Wash and soak the Urad Dal for four hours. Grind it in the wet grinder non stop for half an hour adding a little water at a time to a smooth batter of dropping consistency. Tip the Rava into a bowl. Add two glasses of water to it and mix it thoroughly. Drop it into the ground batter. Grind the green chillies, ginger and Hing to a coarse paste. Add it to the Urad Rava batter along with finely chopped curry leaves and salt. Mix thoroughly. Grease the Idli moulds with oil. Place them in a steamer which has been kept boiling. Steam for ten minutes. A knife inserted in the Idli should come out clean. That shows that the Idlis are done. Remove from steamer and allow to cool for five minutes. Unmould them. Serve with Chutney and Sambhar.

Mixed Vegetable Sambar Recipe

Coconut Chutney Recipe – 1

Urad and Rava Appo/Black gram and Semolina Appo Recipe

Posted on June 29, 2018 by vinaya

Urad and Rava ‘Appo’ as it is called is the batter of these two ingredients to which spices of choice are added and then roasted in a pan called ‘Appam chetti’ which is specially meant to roast them. Recipe Link to the Chutney and Sambhar given below.

Ingredients :

250 gms Urad Dal
500 gms Rava
16 green chillies
2 inch piece of ginger
Kidney bean size piece of Hing/ asafoetida
10 sprigs of curry leaves
Salt

Method :

Wash and soak the urad dal for four hours. Grind it in the wet grinder non stop for half an hour adding a little water at a time to a smooth batter which is of dropping consistency. Remove into a vessel. Tip the Rava into a bowl. Pour two glasses of water into it and mix it. Add it to the ground batter. Make a coarse paste of green chillies, ginger and Hing. Drop it into the batter. Chop the curry leaves fine and add them to the batter along with salt. Mix well. Heat the Appam pan. Pour a little oil into the troughs followed by the batter. Cover the pan and roast on a gentle flame till it leaves the sides of the pan. Flip and roast on the other side too. Remove, and serve with Chutney and Sambhar.

Coconut Chutney Recipe – 2

Carrot, Potato and Onion Sambhar Recipe

Mango Delight Recipe

Posted on June 27, 2018 by vinaya

This preparation is a take off on the Mango curry. It is made as the mango season ends and the tiny mangoes which are used for the curry are not available. Today I have used the huge Rajapuri variety of mango to make this dish.

Ingredients :

1 Kg Rajapuri Mango
100 gms jaggery
6 tsps sugar
Salt
1 tbsp tamarind paste
7 green chillies
2 dry red chillies
5 tbsps Coconut oil
1 tbsp mustard
1 heaped tsp urad dal/ black gram dal
1/4 tsp Methi/ Fenugreek
A kidney bean sized piece of Hing/asafoetida
7 sprigs curry leaves.

Method :

Wash and deskin the mangoes. Keep the peel aside. Cut the mangoes into bite sized pieces. Place the peel in a bowl and pour a glass of water into it. Rub the peel to extract the mango pulp adhering to it. Repeat it twice or thrice. Drop in the jaggery salt, green chillies and sugar into the extract and boil well. Drop the chopped mango bits into it and boil for a minute. Heat oil in a pan. Drop in the mustard. After it splutters add the urad dal and methi seeds. When the urad dal turns golden brown tip in the hing, dry red chilly and curry leaves. Toss and drop in the seasoning into the boiling curry. Switch off and keep aside for about half an hour for the flavours to infuse before serving.

Thali Meal – 10

Posted on June 26, 2018 by vinaya

The Thali today is a mix of items prepared for breakfast and lunch. Breakfast was Appam and Stew, and for lunch it is Rice, Rasam, Ridge gourd Peel Chutney, Roast Pathrado, Peaches and Buttermilk. Recipe Link to the same is posted below.

Vegetable Stew Recipe

Rasam Recipe

Rice and Split Pigeon peas Pathrado /Colocassia leaves roll Recipe – 1

Ridge Gourd Peel Chutney Recipe