Keralite Avial

Ingredients:

Drumsticks- 2, cubed
Green beans- chopped
Raw banana- 1,cubed
Peas- about 1/4 cup
Salt- to taste
Thick curd- 1/2 cup
For the paste:
Grated fresh coconut- 6-7tbsp
Green chillies- 2
Jeera or cumin seeds- 1tsp
Turmeric- 1/4tsp
A little water
For the seasoning:
Coconut oil- 1tbsp
Jeera- 1/2tsp
Hing- A big pinch
Curry leaves- 1 sprig

Steps:

Par boil all the vegetables and keep aside.
Grind the coconut, green chillies, turmeric and jeera with a little water to a coarse paste.
Add the ground paste and 1/4 cup of water to the par boiled vegetables and bring the mixture to a boil.
Add salt and curds and simmer for 5 mins.
Heat the coconut oil in a pan and add the cumin seeds.
Once they sputter add the hing and curry leaves.
Fry till the curry leaves are crisp and add the seasoning to the boiling mixture.
Take off the heat and serve hot with rice.

Sambhar

Ingredients:

Sambar Onion- 3
Potato,gourd,other veggies cut
Toor dal- ½ cup
Turmeric- a pinch
Oil- ¼ tspn
Tamarind-small Lime sized, soaked
Jaggery-1/2 tspn
Salt to taste

For the masala:
Jeera-1/4 Tspn
Fenugreek seeds- A pinch
Cinnamon- 1 inch piece
Channa Dal-1/2 tbspn
Urad dal- ½ tbspn
Coriander Seeds-1 ½ tbspn
Kashmiri red chilli-4
Sesame seeds- 1tspn (optional)

Fresh grated Coconut: 3tbspns

For seasoning:
Oil or ghee- 2tspns
Mustard seeds-1 tspn
Hing- 1 pinch
Curry leaves- 1sprig.

Steps:

Pressure cook toor dal along with turmeric and ¼ tspn of oil for 4 to 5 whistles and keep aside.
Boil the Onion and Potato and keep aside.
For the masala, Heat ½ a tspn of oil in a kadhai and add the jeera, methi and cinnamon and fry for a min.
Then add the channa dal and Urad dal and fry for a min. Add the Coriander seeds and Sesame seeds next and fry till good aroma is emnated. See that the spices are not burnt.
Add the torn red chillies and fry for ½ a min more on a low flame.
Turn off the stove and allow the mixture to cool for some time.
Dry grind the roasted ingredients first. Grind again along with coconut and some water.
Add the ground mixture to the cooked vegetables and then add the cooked dal.
Add the tamarind paste, salt and Jaggery and simmer.
Heat oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds. After they sputter add the curry leaves and hing and add the seasoning to the boiling sambar.
Boil the mixture for a few seconds more and turn off the stove. Serve hot with rice.

Kootu

Ingredients:

Poppy seeds- 1tbsp, roasted till fragrant and brown.
Urad dal- 1tbsp
Channa dal- 1/2tbsp
Coriander seeds- 1/2tbsp
Pepper corn- 6-8
Cinnamon- 1” piece
Kashmiri Red chillies- 2
Oil- ½ tsp
Fresh grated Coconut- 3 tbsp
Salt- to taste
Jaggerry- 1/2tsp
For seasoning:
Mustard seeds- 1tsp
Ghee/ oil- 2tsp
Hing- a big pinch
Curry leaves- 1sprig

Steps:
Par boil the vegetables along with the groundnuts and keep aside.
Heat ½ tsp of oil in a pan and add the pepper corn and cinnamon and fry for a min.
Add the urad dal and channa dal and fry till brown
Add the coriander seeds and sauté for a min more.
Add the red chillies and fry till they are crisp.
Take off the heat, cool and grind the mixture, along with the roasted poppy seeds to a fine powder.
Add the shredded coconut and water and grind to a smooth paste and keep aside.
In a thick bottomed vessel, mix the boiled vegetables along with the cooked dal.
Add the ground paste and some water and bring the mixture to a boil on a low flame.
Add salt and jaggery and boil for some more time. Take off the heat and keep aside.
For the seasoning, heat 2tsp of ghee in a pan and add the mustard seeds.
Once they pop, add the hing and curry leaves.
Saute till the curry leaves are crisp.
Remove from fire and add the seasoning to the kootu.
Serve hot with rice

Tovve

Ingredients:

Moong/Tur/masoor dal 1 cup
Any vegetable eg Ridge gourd ,carrot cubed and par boiled 1
Coconut- 1 tbsp
Turmeric- 1/4 tsp
Salt to taste
Sugar- 1 tsp
Juice of 1/2 lime
Coriander to garnish
For the seasoning:
Oil or ghee- 2 tsp
Mustard- 1/2 tsp
Jeera- 1/2 tsp
Hing- A pinch
Green chilli- 1, finely chopped
Curry leaves- 1 sprig

Steps:

Method:
Pressure cook the dal or dals along with turmeric and 1/4tsp of oil for 5-6 whistles or till done and keep it aside.
Add the cooked vegetable and some water to the dal and bring the miture to a boil on a low flame.
Add the salt, sugar and coconut and boil for 1 more min and take off the heat.
For the seasoning, heat oil or ghee in a pan and add the mustard seeds
Once they pop, add the jeera and rey till they turn brown
Add the hing and the curry leaves and green chillies and fry for a min
Add the seasoning mixture to the dal and mix.
Garnish with lime juice and coriander leaves and serve hot with rice or chapatis.