Achingapayar/ String Beans, Kizhangu/ Potato Mezhukkupuratti

Recipe No: 244

This is one of my favorite combinations… why? Well, being crazy about Potatoes, my kids  will eat the Beans while trying to get more Potatoes… This is a combo that I saw during a fellowship in our Church and was amazed to see how kids were enjoying it. It became very frequent in my household ever since. It is very simple, but I want to show the combination and if it make your kids eat Beans well, that’s a bonus too…

Ingredients                                         Serves 6-8

• Achingapayar/ String Beans….350 grams (cut into 1 ½ inch pieces; about 3 cups)
• Potato…………………………………250 grams/ 2 small ones (cut into 1 ½ inch pieces)
• Turmeric Powder…………………1/2 Teaspoon
• Crushed Dry Red Chilly……....1/2 - 1 Teaspoon (alternatively use ¼ Teaspoon Red Chilly Powder)
• Oil……………………………………..2-3 Tablespoons
• Mustard Seeds.......................1/2 Teaspoon
• Shallots crushed………………...1/2 Cup
• Garlic crushed………………..….6 Big cloves
• Curry Leaves...…………….……..2 sprigs
• Salt as needed

Method of Preparation

1. Mix together Beans, Potato, Turmeric Powder, Red Chilly Powder/ Crushed Red Chilly and Salt together with ½ cup Water and cook on a medium flame in a wide pan till everything is cooked and the Water has evaporated. Switch off the heat (let them cool completely.) and keep aside till ready to be used.
2. Heat Oil in another wide pan and splutter the Mustard Seeds.
3. Saute crushed Shallots, Garlic and Curry Leaves until wilted and add the precooked Beans and Potato.
4. Mix well gently and over a medium flame let it fry to a desired level. Don’t stir too much, but do turn it over once in a while to ensure even browning. If you know how to toss (without stirring) that will keep the Potatoes intact.
5. Serve hot/ warm with rice.

Notes:

• Cooking the Beans and Potatoes in a wide pan will ensure even cooking, without breaking the Potatoes. (If using a deep pan you will have to stir more to get everything cooked which may break the Potatoes.)
• Don’t overcook the Beans and Potatoes or the Potatoes will break very easily while frying and will make the stir fry mushy.
• Don't use a very high flame to fry; it will burn the Potatoes and Beans without evenly frying them.
• Use more Oil if necessary, but if using a good non stick pan or a seasoned wok that won’t be necessary.
• You can store the cooked Beans and Potatoes in the refrigerator and fry them only when necessary.
• Potatoes will withstand breaking more if you fry them after cooling. (So frying it after refrigeration is better.)

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Pal Kanji (Rice Gruel/ Conjee with Coconut Milk)

Recipe No: 243

Kanji, Payar (Green Gram stir fried with Coconut), Pappadam and Achar (Pickle) is the usual Good Friday lunch, that is mostly served in the Church itself, after the long Good Friday service. But in some churches they put freshly grated Coconut into the Kanji and sometimes even Coconut Milk. My Mother used to make Pal Kanji at times with either regular Cow’s Milk or with Coconut Milk and I am a great fan of the later. So here is Pal Kanji…. It’s delicious all by itself, great with a side of Pappadam, excellent with the addition of Payar and awesome if Chammanthi is included… It doesn’t have to be Good Friday… just any day is fine for this….

Ingredients                                                Serves 3

• Matta Rice……………………1/2 Cup (Red Parboiled Rice)
• Water…………………………..4 Cups
• Freshly grated Coconut…1/2 Cup (Frozen is okay, but don’t use desiccated)
• Thick Coconut Milk……...1 ½ Cup (Dilute with some Water if you are using really thick Milk from a can)
• Salt as needed

Method of Preparation

1. Wash the Rice thoroughly and cook it together with the Water in a Pressure cooker till done. (It took 3 whistles in my cooker.)
2. Once the Pressure is gone, open the lid and let it boil on medium heat. (If there is no Water remaining at all, do add ½ cup Water.)
3. Add Salt, grated Coconut and Coconut Milk; let it boil on medium low heat, stirring often, for 5-8 minutes or till it is reduced to a consistency you need.
4. Add more Salt if needed; switch off the heat and let it sit covered for 10 minutes before serving it hot or warm with desired sides.

Notes:

• You can use any Rice that you make regular Kanji, for this too. (White Par boiled Rice is fine.) But adjust the cooking time accordingly.
• Don't cook the Rice to a mushy consistency in the cooker; the extend you cook the Rice to make regular boiled Rice is what we are looking for. It will finish cooking in the Coconut Milk.
• Do give the resting period for Pal Kanji as mentioned in the recipe, for it is essential to cook the Rice to a 'Kanji' consistency.
• Pal Kanji has a tendency to thicken as it sits. So if it becomes too thick by the time you serve, do add some hot Water to make it into the consistency you like.
• The amount of Salt should be enough so that the Pal Kanji can be eaten as such without any sides.

 




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Date and Nut Pastry

Recipe No: 242
I consider this as a cookie, but the way the dough is made closely resembles a pastry and hence the name. The Rose Essence in the recipe is what makes this so special and I have to say that this is one good cookie to eat with a glass of Black Coffee after a heavy dinner. With the tempting taste of Dates and Pistachios together with the lightly sweetened rose flavored pastry makes it a… well... in this case… you have to eat it to get what I am trying to describe...

Ingredients                                            Makes 18

To make the Pastry dough

• All Purpose Flour/ Maida……1 Cup
• Cold Butter…………………….….6 Tablespoons (unsweetened; cubed)
• Sugar……………………………..…1/4 Cup
• Baking Soda…………………….…1/8 Teaspoon
• Salt……………………………….…..a pinch (Avoid if you are using salted Butter)
• Rose Essence…………………..….1/3 Teaspoon (optional)
• Cold Water…………………………3-4 Tablespoons

For the filling

• Dates Chopped…………………..1 Cup
• Water………………………….……1/4 Cup
• Sugar……………………...……….3 Tablespoons
• Toasted Pistachios……………..1/4 Cup (chopped)

Method of Preparation
To make the Covering/ Pastry

1. In a Food Processor pulse together Flour, Sugar, Salt, Baking Soda, Rose Essence and Butter (cubed) for a few times till the Flour resembles wet sand or bread crumbs. (Don’t make it very fine; there should be small pieces of Butter left in the Flour.) Alternatively you can mix Butter into the Flour using your fingertips just like you would moisten the Flour for Puttu.
2. Add 3-4 tablespoons of Water into the mixture to make a very crumbly dough. (At this stage the Flour will stick together if pressed but very crumbly.)
3. Dump the dough onto a floured board/ work surface and pat all the dough mixture together into one mass; cover with a plastic or Aluminum foil and keep in the refrigerator for 20 minutes or till the filling is ready.

To make the Filling

1. Heat chopped Dates, Sugar and Water or medium heat till the Sugar is melted and the Water is absorbed. Don’t make it too dry as this mixture will continue to tighten up as it cools.
2. Mix in the chopped toasted Pistachios and let the mixture cool down thoroughly before filling the pastry.

To make and bake the Dates filled Pastry

1. Preheat the oven to 325˚F/ 163˚C.
2. Roll out the pastry into 1/8 inch thickness and with a round cookie cutter (use a lid of some bottle if you don’t have a cutter) make 18, 2 ½ inch circles.
3. Divide the filling between these 18 round pastries taking care to place them in the lower half of the Pastry rounds.
4. Take the rounds with the filling in your palms, and fold the pastry over the filling to cover it, by slightly pushing the filling inside and letting the tips of the dough touch each other. Seal the ends properly by pressing so that the filling is secure inside.
5. Place it on a baking tray and continue with the rest.
6. Bake the filled Pastry in the middle of the oven for 25-30 minutes. (The pastry should be slightly crispy, but not brown.)
7. Serve warm or at room temperature with a glass of Black Coffee or Green Tea as a snack or as a dessert after dinner.

Notes:

• While mixing Butter into the Flour, there should be small pieces of Butter left and don’t knead this dough too much as it will melt the Butter. Just pat the dough together and roll it out with a rolling pin. In a hot oven the small pieces of Butter will melt creating steam that will help the dough rise making it flaky, which is very essential for these type of pastries.
• Apply Flour on the board/ work surface and the rolling pin to avoid the dough from sticking.
• You can make this pastry without Rose Essence, but its addition gives a very special taste.
• If in case the Date mixture is too tight when cold, do add a tablespoon or two of Water and heat again to loosen. Don’t make it very wet or it will be make the pastry  soggy when cooked.
• Even though I used Pistachio, you can substitute it with  Almonds or Cashews (Don't use Peanuts) depending on the availability.
• Let the Date mixture cool completely before filling the Pastry or the heat from the filling will melt the Butter in the pastry.
• The size of the pastry rounds shouldn't have to be 2 1/2 inches; make it as big or as small as you want.
• There is no need to use Water or any sticking agent to seal the pastry, as the pastry dough is sticky and will stick together just by pressing.
• The low temperature setting of the oven will crisp up the pastry without browning  it too much.
• Store the leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature. Don’t refrigerate.

 





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Paneer Masala

Recipe No: 241

Ingredients                                                   Serves 3

• Paneer……………….............4 oz/ 200 grams
• Oil…………………….............2 Tablespoons
• Turmeric Powder…..........1/4 Teaspoon
• Red Chilly Powder…........1 Teaspoon
• Coriander Powder…........1 ½ Teaspoons
• Garam Masala Powder….1/2 Teaspoon
• Heavy Cream…………….…1/2 Cup
• Kasoori Methi……………...1 Teaspoon
• Coriander leaves………….2 Tablespoons chopped
• Salt as needed

To blend

• Shallots sliced………..........1/2 Cup
• Ginger Garlic paste….......1 Teaspoon
• Almonds…………………......15
• Tomato chopped……........1/2 cup (I don’t use the seeds; it will increase the sourness)

Method of Preparation

1. Blend all the ingredients given in the ‘to blend’ section into a smooth paste using ¼ cup Water and keep aside till ready to be used.
2. Heat a tablespoon of Oil in a pan on medium high heat and fry the Paneer;  take them out; drain the excess Oil on a paper towel and keep them aside till ready to be used.
3. Add the rest of the Oil to the pan and saute the ground ingredients together with Turmeric Powder, Red Chilly Powder, Coriander Powder and Garam Masala Powder till Oil oozes out. (As we are not using too much Oil we can see only small droplets of Oil here and there.) Do stir continuously once the Masala starts to stick to the bottom.

4. Add 1 ½ Cups Water and Salt; let it boil thoroughly before adding the fried Paneer. Cover and cook for 6-8 minutes or till the gravy is reduced considerably. (Oil will float on top of the gravy when it is ready.)
5. Add Cream, Kasoori Methi (Do crush it between your palms) and Coriander Leaves. Add more Salt if necessary.
6. Mix well and let it start to simmer along the edges before switching it off.
7. Serve hot/ warm with Rice or any Indian style Flat breads.

Notes:

• It will be easy to grind the Almonds if you soak them in Warm Water. So I add Water together with the Almonds in the blender 10 minutes before adding all the other ingredients for grinding.
• Paneer will absorb only less Oil if fried in slabs rather than in cubes.
• Frying the Masala till the Oil oozes out is very important as it eliminates the raw taste and also gives a good flavor to the Curry.
• This curry tends to become thick as it sits. Keep that in mind while you adjust the level of the gravy. If in case it becomes thick add some hot Water to loosen it.
• Don’t avoid Kasoori Methi as it gives a special flavor that compliments Paneer very well  and are available in most of the Indian stores.
• In this recipe, I don't take skin off the Almonds as (I think) it adds to the color of the gravy.

 





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Soya Chunks Roast

Recipe No: 240
Soy Chunks are one of the best protein substitutes for vegetarians. This is a byproduct from the extraction of Soy Bean Oil and hence a fat free substance. The trick in making delicious Soya chunks is to get rid of the processed flavor by soaking in boiling Water and squeezing them thoroughly.

Ingredients                                     Serves 3

• Dry Soya Chunks…………3/4 Cup

To Grind

• Shallots……………………….3 big sliced
• Ginger Garlic Paste………1 Teaspoon
• Red Chilly Powder….…….1/2 Teaspoon
• Coriander Powder……...…1 Teaspoon
• Turmeric Powder………….1/4 Teaspoon
• Pepper Powder……………..1/4 Teaspoon
• Garam Masala Powder….1/2 Teaspoon
• Vinegar………………….…….1 Teaspoon
• Salt as needed

To Saute

• Coconut Oil………………….2 Tablespoons
• Ghee…………………………...1 Teaspoon
• Onion sliced thin…….…….1 cup
• Curry Leaves……………….2 Sprigs
• Coconut Milk…….…………3 Tablespoons
• ½ teaspoon Coconut Oil, ¼ teaspoon Garam Masala Powder and a sprig of Curry Leaf to sprinkle on top.

Method of Preparation

1. Heat 6 Cups of Water in a pan. When boiled, add the dry Soya Chunks and let it boil for about 3 minutes. Off the heat and let it stay closed for ½ hour.
2. Drain the Soya Chunks and wash them in cold Water. Squeeze thoroughly and repeat this washing in cold Water and squeezing the Water out for at least 3 times. Keep the washed and squeezed Soy chunks aside till ready to be used.
3. Grind all the ingredients mentioned in the ‘to grind’ section into a smooth paste.
4. Marinate the prepared Soy Chunks with half of the ground paste. Keep the rest for later use.
5. Heat a tablespoon of Oil in a pan on medium high heat and shallow fry the marinated Soy Chunks for about 5 minutes or till it starts to brown here and there. (This will take some time as the Water in the Soy Chunks will ooze out before getting brown.)
6. Take the Soy Chunks out of the pan and add the rest of the Oil and Ghee.
7. Add Onion and Curry Leaves; saute till the Onion is slightly browned.
8. Add the left over ground mixture and saute on medium heat for 5 minutes stirring constantly. (This step will decide the color of the Roast.)
9. Add ½ Cup Water and the fried Soy Chunks and stir continuously till all the Water is absorbed. Add more Salt if needed at this stage.
10. Add Coconut Milk and continue sauteing till the liquid part is all absorbed and the roast is kind of dry.
11. Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon Coconut Oil, ¼ Teaspoon Garam Masala Powder and a sprig of Curry Leaf on top of the roast; switch off the heat and let it sit covered for 20 minutes before serving it warm with Rice or Chappathi.

Notes:

• Soy Chunk is like a sponge and hence you have to squeeze the Water out of the Chunks thoroughly in order for them to absorb the flavors from the recipe.
• Don’t add more than a tablespoon of Oil when you fry the marinated Soy Chunks as it will absorb almost all the Oil no matter how much you put.
• Frying the Soy Chunks first will take away most of the Water out so that it can absorb the flavors from the gravy; so don't avoid the shallow frying step.
• Fried Coconut pieces will be a great addition in this recipe.
• Some brands of Soy Chucks  are really big; in that case, do cut them into two.

 


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Pacha Theenga Aracha Meen Curry (Fish in ground Coconut Sauce)

Recipe No: 239

Ingredients                                        Serves 4

• Fish……………………………..1/2 Kg (Cleaned and cut into pieces)
• Coconut Oil………………....2 Tablespoons
• Onion sliced thin…………..1 Cup
• Ginger sliced thin…………2 Tablespoons
• Indian Green Chilly……..4; slit into two
• Curry Leaves……………….2 Sprigs
• Turmeric Powder…………1/4 Teaspoon
• Red Chilly Powder……….2 Teaspoons
• Coriander Powder……….2 ½ Teaspoons
• Tomato……………………….1 small sliced
• Tamarind…………………...1 small piece
• Salt as needed
• 1 teaspoon of Coconut Oil and a sprig of Curry Leaves to sprinkle on top

To grind into a paste

• Grated Coconut…………….3/4 Cup (unsweetened)
• Garlic………………………….2 Big pieces
• Ginger…………………………1 small piece
• Shallots…………………….…2 big ones
• Cumin Powder………….… 1/3 Teaspoon
• Turmeric Powder…….…..1/2 Teaspoon

Method of Preparation

1. Grind all the ingredients mentioned in the ‘to grind’ section into a smooth consistency using minimum Water (up to 1 cup is fine in a blender) and keep aside till ready to be used.
2. Heat Coconut Oil in a Chatti (an earthen cooking vessel)/ pan on medium heat and saute Onion, Ginger, Green Chilly and Curry Leaves till translucent.
3. Add Turmeric Powder, Red Chilly Powder and Coriander Powder and saute till the raw smell is gone for about 1 minute, stirring constantly.
4. Add Tomato followed by Salt and 1 ½ cups Water; close the pan and let it Boil on high heat.
5. Once boiled, add the Fish and let it cook on medium heat till half done.
6. Add the ground Coconut paste and let it finish cooking and the gravy becomes thick and reduced to a desired consistency. (Oil will start to float on top at this stage.)
7. Squeeze Tamarind in ¼ cup Water and add its juice into the cooked fish. (Discard the undissolved portions of the Tamarind.)
8. Swirl the pan to mix and do a taste test. Add more Salt if needed.
9. Switch off the heat; pour some Coconut Oil on top followed by some torn Curry Leaves; close the pan and let it sit for 20 minutes before serving.

Notes:

• Instead of using Tamarind you can use Kokum/ Kudampuli too. It gives a very unique flavor to the curry. (I tasted it from a friend of mine and it tasted awesome. Now at times I make this curry with Kokum too.)  I should say this same Curry made with Tamarind and Kokum tastes different. Kokum is available in most of the Indian stores.
• If you are using Kokum instead of Tamarind, add 2-3 pieces of Kokum into the Curry before adding the Fish.
• Don’t add  the Tamarind Juice all at once. Do add bit by bit and adjust the sourness according to your taste.
• Don’t stir the Curry after adding the Fish; but swirl the pan at times to avoid the Fish from sticking to the bottom.
• This curry tends to become thick as it sits; keep this in mind when you adjust the level of gravy.
• The resting period at the end is important as the elders call it 'Pathrapakam' meaning the time the dish should sit in its cooking vessel for maximum taste.
• This Curry tastes the best if you use grated Coconut from a fresh Coconut.

 




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Palpayasam and Boli

Recipe No: 238
Palpayasam

This is a very easy Pressure Cooker version of Palpayasam, with dominating Milk flavor. The emphasis should be on the color and consistency of the Milk portion that is slightly pink, which is attained when Milk is reduced slowly. There is no Ghee or fried fruits or Nuts in this version, but still extremely tasty. Traditionally during Sadhya this is served over Boli.

Ingredients                                         Serves 8

• White Rice……...1/3 Cup (Pachari/ White long grain Rice)
• Sugar…………….1 Cup
• Milk……………...1 Liter (4 ½ Cups)
• Cardamom…….6 whole pods cracked open (No need to powder)

Method of Preparation

1. Put all the ingredients together in a clean pressure cooker; stir well (yes, it is important to stir or the bottom of the Cooker will be a mess when you open.) and put on medium high heat.
2. Just before the first whistle (at the time when pressure starts to escape slightly with a small noise) lower the temperature to the possible minimum and cook for 45 minutes.
3. After 45 minutes, off the pressure cooker and let it stay closed for 30-40 minutes.
4. Open it and serve the Palpayasam hot, warm or cold.

Notes:

• One very important thing to be mentioned here is the cleanliness of the Pressure Cooker, especially if you use the same cooker to cook everything. Slightest presence of Salt or other debris from the last cooking will curdle the Milk. So the safest way  is to use the cooker to make Rice before making Palpayasam, which will clean the cooker. If you don’t use Rice that has to be cooked in a cooker, please cook Rice without putting the weight or at least boil some Water to get the cooker clean.
• The thickness of the Milk deserves mentioning. In US the Milk is thicker than in India. So I used 500 ml regular Milk and 500 ml. low fat/2% Milk. If you don’t have 2% Milk take out ½ cup Milk form the quantity mentioned and add Water (1/2 cup) instead.
• If your Pressure cooker is new with its maximum power, do open the Pressure cooker as soon as the pressure is gone. By this time if the Milk is still very runny do boil it to reduce the liquid portion. Otherwise the Rice will be overcooked to a mushy consistency.
• If in case  the consistency of the Milk is a bit loose when you open the cooker, do let it boil some more to attain the consistency you need, stirring constantly. (Don’t let the skin form on top.)  But take into consideration that the Palpayasam will thicken as it sits.
• Don't let the pressure cooker whistle if possible; but by chance if it does once or twice that will not be a problem.
• Do try to use fresh Milk as possible to reduce the chances of curdling.
• Light Pink color is a characteristic of this Palpayasam and even though the pictures are not so good, do take a look at the Payasam plated on a white plate to see the color difference.
• My favorite way to serve this is with Boli .

 





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Boli

This recipe is a modified version of what Dr. Lekshmi Nair presented in her show ‘Magic Oven’. As the amount given there was too much, I reduced it a lot and converted it into standard cup measurements. Here are the amounts and please follow the link to know the method of Preparation.

Ingredients                                    Makes 12-15
For the filling

• Channa Dal…………………......1 Cup
• Sugar………………………….......3/4 Cup
• Nutmeg Powder………...........1/8 Teaspoon
• Cardamom Powder…….........1/4 Teaspoon
• Yellow Food Color……….......a pinch or a few drops

For Making Bolis

• All Purpose Flour/ Maida….3/4 Cup
• Yellow Food Color…………….a pinch or a few drops
• Oil……………………………………3 Tablespoons
• Salt a pinch
• Water as needed
• Ghee as needed
• Rice Flour as needed

Method of Preparation
To make the Filling

1. Wash Channa Dal and cook it with 3 cups of Water in a pressure cooker. (Cook on high till one whistle; then lower the heat and cook for 5 minutes and then crank up the heat till one whistle.)
2. Once the pressure is gone, drain the excess Water in the Dal thoroughly.
3. Cook the Dal together with the Sugar and Yellow food color on medium heat till the melted Sugar (the Sugar will melt when it hits the heat) is all dried up.
4. Add Nutmeg Powder and Cardamom Powder; mix well and switch off the heat.
5. Let it cool down completely before grinding it thoroughly without any pieces in a food processor. Keep it aside till ready to be used.

To make the dough for the covering

1. Mix together Flour, Salt and Yellow Food Color and make a soft dough using enough Water. (The dough should be really soft; softer than a Poori dough)
2. Keep it in a bowl and cover it with Oil (3 Tablespoons will be enough). The dough should be covered completely with the Oil. Let it rest for 30 minutes.

To make the Bolis

1. Divide the filling into 12-15 equally sized balls. (Lemon sized)
2. Take a small portion (the size of a marble) of the dough; flatten it in your palm; place a Dal filling in the middle and cover it with the dough.
3. Flatten the balls and keep it aside on Rice flour and repeat with all the other portions.
4. Roll out each Dal filled dough into 7 inch circles with the help of Rice flour to avoid sticking.
5. Heat a thawa/ flat pan on medium heat and cook the Boli on both sides till it starts to change the color here and there. Do brush a small amount of Ghee on both sides while cooking.
6. Serve with Palpayasam.

Notes:

• While Pressure cooking Dal it not be mashed as it absorbs more Water when mashed. Water content is an enemy in this dish.
• The prepared dough should be covered in Oil. This together with the resting time gives elasticity to the dough which is very essential.
• The original recipe calls for Nallenna/ Sesame Oil to soak the dough in, but I used Vegetable Oil which didn't make much difference from the original.
• This Boli is only very lightly sweetened and when it combines with sweet Palpayasam, both of them  compliments each other.
• The Bolis will stay good at room temperature for 2-4 days.

Make it, enjoy the deliciousness and 
serve it to your family with love…