Cooking web notes

  If you have been reading our blog you know we are two friends from the Southern State of India, Kerala.  Though overused, lovingly referred to as "God's own country" our festivals are marked by sadya a festive meal.  With festivals around the corner in our state I have two dishes for you which are an essential part of  sadya (festive meal). 

  Sadya's are served on banana leaves and there is an order/custom in which food is served on as well as eaten.  If you are sitting next to an elderly person he/she will tell you how one dish compliments the other and have to be eaten together.  The dry curries are served on the leaf away from you and the rice in front.  The gravies are then served one after the other in a sequence where parippu curry sets the ball rolling, so to speak.  Ideally, the suggestion is that you mix this with pappad and a spoon of ghee and eat it with thoran and pachadi.



Parippu curry

Ingredients:(serves 3-4)

Moong daal/ cherupayar parippu- 1/3 cup
Coconut grated- 3 Tbsp
Salt- To taste
Cumin seeds- 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder(optional)- A small pinch
Coconut oil- 2-3 tsp
Curry leaves- A sprig



Method:

1.Dry roast the moong daal in a pan on medium low heat ,till it starts turn slight golden brown and a nice aroma comes.
2.Allow the daal to cool down and cook it in a pressure cooker after adding salt and turmeric powder,if adding any. Add water little more than required to cook it.
3.If you haven't cooked with roasted daal, just keep in mind that it requires more time to cook the roasted daal than it takes for the raw one.
4.This is how I cook using a small cooker : I add almost 1.5 times water.Then keep the cooker on high heat and let the first whistle come. Then I reduce the heat to medium and cook it for another whistle and switch off the heat.
5.Grind the coconut and jeera/cumin until it's really smooth.
6.Open the lid of cooker and add the coconut paste and more water if it is less than the desired consistency.
7.Cover and boil for 3-4 minutes.
8.Switch off the heat and add the raw coconut oil and curry leaves and mix well.Let it stand for some time and serve hot with pappad as a side for rice.



Inji Pachadi/Inji thayir

Ingredients:(serves 3-4)

Grated ginger- 1 Tbsp
Yogurt- 1/2 cup
Salt- To taste
Curry leaves- A few
Shallots,finely chopped- 1/2 Tbsp
Green chilies chopped- 2-3

Method:

1.If the ginger you are using is very strong squeeze out some juice from it before adding into yogurt.
2.Mix all the ingredients well and serve.



Contributor : Namitha