Forgotten Recipes

I received this interesting set of Kerala Iyer recipes on email. I have heard of some of them, even tasted a few of them. Have also made (and continue to make) one or two of these even now, so thought I will post it here for future reference!

Old but forgotten Kerala Iyer Recipes
P.R.Ramachander

Over the years some of the very special dishes have gone out of fashion from the Kerala Iyer family. It is not because they are not good nor because they are difficult to prepare but because of the migration of families to different areas and their adopting to the recipes of the new area, that these are not prepared. Some of these are given here.

1.Arachu Kalakki
Normally these are prepared using mangoes or Nellikais preserved in salt in Kerala Iyer homes and used to be prepared in off seasons for vegetables. The only exception is Chenai. The method of preparation is given below: -
1.Take sufficient quantity of Kanni Mangai or Nellikkai preserved in salt or Chenai (Thoroughly washed tender mango pickles can be used instead of Kanni Mangai)
2.Grind it in Mixie with coconut and green chillies
3.Pour the ground mixture in sour buttermilk and mix thoroughly.
4.Season it with mustard, red chillies and fenugreek (Menthiyam) and garnish with curry leaf.
5.Add small amount of salt in case of salt preserved pickles and sufficient quantity in case of Chenai.
2.Manga Kadi
This can be prepared only in the mango season. The method is extremely simple: -
1.Boil cut pieces of green mango (with skin removed) in water.
2.Add salt and small amount of chilly powder and boil till mamgo pieces are cooked well.
3.Season it with mustard, red chillies and fenugreek.
3.Mezhukku Peratti
This is another very simple side dish, which was extremely popular in Kerala Iyer homes. The method of preparation is: -
1.Cut into small pieces Plantains (cooking type banana) and chenai. (In places where Chenai is not available we have found that carrot can be used) Jack fruit seeds if available or Koorkan Kizhangu during seasons are also added
2.If available at cut pieces of jack fruit seed and/or Koorkan Kizhangu
3.Boil with salt and turmeric powder in pressure cooker.
4.Take coconut oil and heat it. When sufficiently hot, put the boiled vegetables and mix well.
The kari tastes good even if other oils are used
4.Puliyitta Keerai
This is another very simple dish prepared using either amaranth leaves or tender non-itchy type of colacasia (Chembu) leaves. The method of preparation is as follows:-
1.Cut the leaf into very small pieces.
2.Boil the leaves in tamarind water, turmeric and salt , till the leaves are cooked well. Add also green chillies while boiling.
3.Take out the green chillies and grind them and mix with the boiled leaves
4.Season with mustard, red chillies and fenugreek.
5.Puliya Kuthi Upperi
This is a peculiar dish prepared only in Kerala iyer homes. In some homes , it is directly mixed with rice and in some others it is used as a side dish for Mulagootal.The method of preparation is as follows:-
1.Cut plantains, brinjal . ash gourd (Or Chowchow) and red pumpkin into thin long pieces similar to aviyal.Traditionally bundled non-itchy colacasia leaves used to be added in Kerala.
2.Boil in tamarind with turmeric and salt. Till well cooked. The tamarind water should be just sufficient to soak the cut pieces. And after boiling, very little watery portion should be there.
4.Fry without oil, rice, red chilies and fenugreek and powder.
5.Take some oil . splutter mustard and Uzhuttan Parippu..Put mixture of the boiled vegetables and the powder and stir till it becomes semi solid.
6.Mulagooshyam
This is possibly one of the very simple Kerala recipes. It is also called Karingalan by some Here is the method:-
1.Choose either plantains and Chenai(Where Chenai is not available choose carrot instead).Cut into small pieces.
2.Boil till coked with turmeric powder, pepper powder and salt with medium water.
3.Season it either with raw coconut oil or mustard and uzhuttam parippu
7.Mulagu Vellam
This needs very sour buttermilk to prepare. Here is the method
1 Cook pepper powder in water for some time.
2,Add sour butter milk , salt and turmeric powder and boil till it is reduced to half the quantity,
3.Season it with mustard, red chillies and fenugreek.
8.Moru Charu
This is an instant recipe when you don’t have time and nothing else except sour buttermilk. Here is the recipe.
1.Heat Oil , splutter mustard , red chillies, uzhuttam parippu and fenugreek
2.Pour buttermilk and add salt.
3.Remove from the stow before buttermilk comes to boil.
9.Podi Podicha Pulungari
This is possibly the Kerala substitute for Tamil Nadu Sambhar.Here is the recipe:-
1.Cut into long thin pieces, Brinjal, red Pumpkin, ash gourd or Chow Chow.
2.Cook in pressure cooker in tamarind water.
3.Fry in a dry pan rice and red chillies.The colour of the rice should turn ivory.
4.Powder the rice , chillie mixture.
5.Add to the vegetables and boil.
6.Season with mustard and garnish with curry leaf.
a. The interesting variant is prepared by using only Jack fruit instead of all the above vegetables.
b. A super variant is the Puducode Pulungari prepared only on all days of Navarathri in the temple at Palakkad. The recipe of this is given below: -
Needs:
Pumpkin 150 g, Yam 150 g, Ash gourd 150 g, Plantains 50 g,
Raw rice 10 g, tur dhal 25 g, dried chillies 3, Fenugreek (Mentha) 5 g, Tamarind 50 g, Coconut (shredded) 25 g, Mustard 2 g, green chillies 5 g, Jaggery 20 g, curry leaves, Coconut oil 25 g and some quantity of curry leaves and salt to taste.
Method:
1.Cut and cook Ah gourd and yam together in a cooker
2.Also cook Tur dal in the cooker
3. Cut and boil pumpkin and plantains
4. fry rice till they pop and powder it
5.fry fenugreek (Mentha) to golden brown and powder it
6.Grind coconut and green chillies together
7 Extract Tamarind juice and boil it for 5 minutes
8. Add all vegetables, jaggery, and cooked dhal for 10 minutes
9.Add rice powder and boil for 5 minutes
10. Take out from stove and immediately add coconut paste, mentha powder, coconut oil and curry leaves and stir.
11. Season it with mustard and dry chilies in coconut oil.
10.Murunga ilai Adai
This was a popular Tiffin item of yester years. Here is the method:-
1.Soak parboiled rice for more than 6 hours
2.Grind in to smooth paste adding sufficient salt
3.Add cut drumstick leaves to this mixture
4.Prepare thick adais from this batter
11.Chakkai Adai
This used to be prepared in jack fruit season in yester years.Here is the recipe
1.Soak parboiled rice for more than 6 hours
2.Grind in to smooth paste adding sufficient salt
3.Add also cut pieces of jackfruit and small quantity of jaggery half way while grinding.
4.Prepare Adais with this batter
12.Koozhu.
This is normally prepared only when batter prepared for Verumarisi adai becomes sour. Being very tasty many families used to prepare the batter and allow it to become sour to make Koozhu.The method is as follows:-
1.Soak and grind par boiled rice and allow the batter to become very sour.
2. Mix the sour batter in more water and make it of thinner consistency.
3.Heat gingelly oil (sufficiently more) , splutter mustard, uzhtham Parippu, Milagai Vettal. Perungayam, and thairu milagai in the oil.
4.Pour the semi liquid batter in to this and keep on stirring till , the colour changes and the batter does not stick to the vessel
5.Keep ready an oil-coated plate(Olden times oil smeared banana leaves were used)
6.Pour the hot Koozhu in to this and allow it to cool.
7,Cut in to small pieces and serve
13.Koozhu dosai
For dosai normally par boiled rice is being used. In the olden times for Vritha days, it was felt that it was Vetthu. So it was necessary to eat some thing prepared of wheat or Pachaarisi(ordinary rice).But tiffins prepared by Pacharisi were not tastey.The following is the recipe for making tasty dosas out of Pacharisi.
1.Soak Pacharaisi and grind into smooth paste,Add salt
2.Take out a small portion and mix it with water
3,Put little oil and heat it. In this pour the liquefied batter and keep on stirring, till the colour changes and it does not stick.
4.Remove from the stove and mix thoroughly with the main batter,
5.Prepare very soft dosas now.
14. Aracha Kozhakattai
Normally on Amavasya days , at night Kozhakattai used to be prepared in olden days.The method is as follows:-
1.Soak Parboiled rice and grind it to coarse consistency.When the grinding is about to be over add shredded coconut (about quarter of the dough) and grind for a few minutes further.
2.Heat oil splutter mustard, Uzhutham Parippu , Milagai Vettal and Perungayam
3.Add the batter in to this and keep on stirring till it becomes solid
4.Make small balls using this batter
5.Put it in boiling water gently and cook for more than 15 minutes (Other alternative is steam cooking)
6,Remove and serve with Sambhar or Chutney.
15,Mooda Kozhakkattai
This can be prepared only in jack fruit season.Method is as follows:-
1.Heat water and bring it to boil
2.Add jaggery and jackfruit pieces and boil till jackfruit is cooked
3.Add the rice powder gently and keep on stirring till it becomes solid
4.Make it in to small balls, roll these balls in banana leaves and tie them
5.Steam cook these balls.
There are possibly many other very special dishes of a Kerala Iyer household which , I may not even know. If you know any please contribute .So that we keep living the culture of tasty food of Kerala Iyer households.
I am adding the recipe for Kalan’
1.Prepare sour butter milk
2.Take little water , add pepper powder and turmeric powder and boil for some time
3.Gently add the churned butter milk to this mixture
4.When it comes to boil add well cooked plantain pieces also(normally Chenai is used.)
5.Allow to boil.after adding salt
6.Unless the vessel is a deep one , it will boil and spill out.To avoid this keep on removing the froth
7.Reduce to half the quantity
8.Grind coconut and green chillies without adding much water
9.Add it to the boiled buttermilk
10 Heat for some time
11.Remove from tava and add curry leaves
12.Season it with mustard red chillies and mentha
(If buttermilk is not sour enogh , the boiled mixture will curdle. Put the entire mixture without vegetables and blend)

Banana Stem

One of the delicacies and an amazing healthy food is the banana stem. There is some degree of art in choosing a banana stem and there is a fair level of gaming to be crossed while cutting the stem right, but if you cross those two levels, what you get is easy and worth it.

Cut the stem into a 5mm cube slices. A 3 mm cube would be great, but your fingers may not survive that. While cutting, it is important to remove some of the overhanging fibres so that is not a tangled mess that nobody can eat.

Soak these cut pieces in turmeric water for half an hour. Drain the water and stir fry with a little more salt to taste.

A simple, unassuming, crunchy delight...

Porichoyambu

The Porichoyambu is another cousin of the sambar, like the pitla. Usually made with brinjals, but not quite a brinjal sambar.

In this case, the brinjal is cut into small pieces (like in sambar)
Oil, mustard and grated coconut is roasted till mild red.

And this is mixed into the regular sambar  -Tamarind water with veggies brought to boil till raw taste of tamarind goes away and added with the above and boiled toor dal.

So you can see those little coconut bits floating around. But the coconut flavour is not as strong as the flavour in the pulinkari...and the little coconut gives it a nuttier (obvious) taste than the sambar...

Jeera Rasam

Ah, this is the Tamil version of Chicken soup, I suppose. And the simplest of all things to make and the lightest of all things that go into your tummy.

Mustard plus jeera in oil - till it bursts.
Add water, turmeric, little raw tamarind, asafoetida, salt and bring to a boil.
Add curry leaf, jeera powder and pepper powder (optional).

Thats it...simble!

Sambar Powder

Of course, there are many sambar powders in shops. All brands. From Everest to MTR to so called organic brands. But then again, I have not found any of these coming close to the flavour at home. Wonder why.

But here is the simple way to make it.

1 measure Dhaniya seeds - roast separately - quick roast
2 measures Red Chilli - roast separately - quick roast
1/2 ladle methi seeds - roast separately
1 ladle chana dal - roast separately

Add salt - 2 spoons max and grind. Thats it, done! Delicious sambar powder for almost a month worth of sambar.

Molagai Podi

Which Tamil household will not have a stock of Molagai Podi? Kannadigas call it chutney podi, but thats a sweeter version of gunpowder at Tam homes.

Here is how I make it.

Small cup udad dal  - Dry Roast till brown
10-15 Red chillies - dry roast
Salt - 2 spoons max
A small piece of asafoetida roasted in oil or a ladle of sesame dry roasted (though if you add sesame, add it in the end while grinding, not all together)
Chana daal 2 spoons - dry roast

Once all these are dry roasted, grind it all to a powder - fine or coarse depending on how you like it.

There are more versions around. Some dry roast a bit of tamarind and grind it as well. Others add some roasted peanuts. Still others add a bit of jaggery. And some of the really fiery ones, have, obviously, more red chillies.

Enjoy!

Molakooshyam

This seems to be a distinctly fusion of Keralite and TN cuisine or it may not be. This is typically made for a light meal.

For preparing this, moong dal has to be roasted dry. Add vegetables and pressure cook with salt.

Add pepper powder, chilli and turmeric and boil.

Season with mustard, jeera and curry leaf!

(Yes, I have not included the portions, somehow, when I make it, the portions seem unimportant. But let me see, I need to make it for the blog atleast...)

A simple ground masala

The Potato or Kara Curry as it is known is a legend is Tamil circles. It is a great accompaniment for curd rice or sambar rice or practically anything. The masala for this is a typical Tamil one.

Take equal quantities of Dhania seeds, chana daal and red chilli. Dry roast. Grind and store.

For Kara curry, just boil potatoes or saute them till soft and add this masala plus salt in the end. Thats it.

For a colacasia (Chembu) version of the same - boil the colacasia, drain, peel and mix the masala as you heat it. As simple as it gets...

Vatta Kozhambu

This is another of those dishes which has multiple versions floating around, depending on where it is made and what is available. And each area has its own slightly distinct version. Nowadays, this is easily available in bottles from the Adayar Ananda Bhavans to Krishna Sweets to others, but if you ask me, it is best made at home.

• Martankali kai: 3 tbsp
• Til oil - 1 tbs
• Tamarind extract - 1/4 cup (this is heavy on tamarind)
• Sambar powder - 2 tbs
• Rice powder - 2 spoons
• Salt
• Jaggery

Seasoning:

• Mustard seeds: 1/4 tbs
• Asafoetida: 1/4 tbs
• Fenugreek (methi seeds): 1/2 tbs
• Red chilli - 2
• Toor daal 1.5 tbs

 Heat oil, add seasoning. When brown, add martankali and fry till brown. Add sambar powder in oil and mix. Add tamarind extract and salt. Boil. Mix little rice powder in water and pour it in. Cook till thick. Add jaggery. Mix well and garnish with curry leaves.

 

This is another dish that does not easily spoilt. It is also a crossover between a curry, a chutney and a pickle...

(Not exactly my favourite, but well...Vis)

Parikkai Pitla

This is another cousin of the Sambar - though made with Bitter Gourd (Parikkai or Pavakkai in Tamil)

One or two things about the Parikkai. It tends to be bitter at times. If you want to get rid of the bitterness, add salt or soak in curds and turmeric for half an hour. Drain the curd and use. Remove the seeds inside first though.

The Gourd has to be sauted in oil, lightly. Boil this in tamarind water (like for any other sambar or rasam) with asafoetida, salt and turmeric.

1 tbs udad dal, full pepper, 4-5 red chilli - lightly saute. And then grind with grated coconut.

Add the above and boiled toor daal to the tamarind water in which the gourd is boiling and season in the end (mustard, oil and curry leaves - coconut optional).

Pulikachal or Puli-injhi

This is a tamarind heavy dish - somewhat between a chutney and a pickle. Primarily used as an accompaniment - many caterers have their own version of it and it is a great side dish to have.

How to:

• Cut ginger into small cubes
• Green Chilli (half of ginger quantity)
• Saute it in Sesame oil with mustard, Udad dal, curry leaves. Saute in sim.
• Tamarind water derived from a lemon sized ball. Add asafoetida, salt, turmeric and some jaggery.
• Bring to boil and then till it achieves a thick consistency...

Pachadi, Pineapple or otherwise

The pachadi is also one of those dishes that has a far easterly feel to it.

Ingredients:

• Pumpkin cut into squarish slices (or pineapple cut into smallish slices or if you are more adventurous, mangoes - the local variety works best)
• Water plus turmeric plus salt plus a little tamarind juice
• Boil till the raw tamarind taste is gone
• Grind coconut (half, grated) and chilli and mustard
• Season with mustard and methi
• Add jaggery if required.

 I am partial to the pineapple version of the pachadi though both are now usually made in functions. But this is another of those versatile curries that can be had with chappatis, puris, rice and dosai alike.

Pulinkari

This is a slightly coconutty version of the sambar and has an almost Thai feel to it. Also a lot of Malayali dishes have this coconutty texture, so this is one of those crossover dishes between a Kerala gravy and a Tam one.

Ingredients, etc.

• Two tbs methi seeds
• Chana dal
• Curry leaves
• Red chilli
• Saute the above in a spoon or so of oil.
• Add a half grated coconut after frying
• Grind all of the above
• Now add all of this into Tamarind water (like Rasam or Sambar) with vegetables and salt and turmeric and asafoetida and bring to a boil.
•  Season with mustard and curry leaves.

Olan

This is clearly a Malayali dish, but we Tams (those with a Kerala lineage) have adopted it as our own. It is one of those dishes that has a mild flavour, almost continental, to it.

Ingredients:

• Karamani (essentially Red Beans) known as Alsande kaalu in Kannada
• Soak this overnight
• Cook in a cooker (keep alongwith rice to save fuel since it is the same number of whistles required)
• Yellow pumpkin (1/2 kilo) sliced into thin rectangles
• Green pumpkin (optional, if required)
• Potato (rarely added, but if you want to, add it as thin slices)
• Boil these vegetables with a little salt -and preferably use the water that is drained from the boiled karamani. Boil for about 10 minutes and take off the gas.
• And add coconut oil (3 tbs) at the end to give that unique keralite flavour.

There are people who use coconut milk as well in this, but we never do so. 

Onion Chutney

This is one of those adapted beings. Onions were not welcome into our kitchens traditionally. But as we spent years in Kerala, onions became an accepted part of the kitchen - atleast they found their way into our sambar - no where else. Later, they also became part of the masal that goes into masal doshai (yes, thats how we pronounce it) and same masal in liquidy form works for puris as well. How could I forget the masala vada? And yes, onions are banned from all our formal poojais and functions, but wedding receptions are an onion festival.

This is the onion chutney - a great accompaniment for long trips (and like the tomato pickle, it does not get spoilt). I even use it to make the Mysore masala dosa by spreading it on the dosa - so it is really your imagination once you make it.

Ingredients:

• Cut Onion into fine pieces. Fry till brown. Keep aside.
• Saute in a little oil - udad dal, methi seeds, little jaggery, tamarind, coriander leaves, red chilli. (Try till the methi seeds burst)
• Grind the above

Thats all there is to it. The frying time of the onion is the most time consuming and that too not much. 

Tomato Pickle

Now this is one of those adapted cuisine things. Not really a traditional Tamil dish - I strongly suspect this has some sort of a Mumbai connection or perhaps a Gujarati or Andhra connection. But this is a great accompaniment to curd rice or dosai or chappati or puri. It is a great idea to carry on those train trips so much part of an earlier generation.

Ingredients

• Raw tomato (quantity, depends - half a kilo or a kilo) - sliced into 1/4th, cut with the stalk part removed (whatever you call it in English)
•  Til oil - heat
• Add mustard, udad dal, methi seeds, red chillies
• To this add the tomato, salt (two spoons) jaggery and fry till the tomato loses resemblance of tomatoes and becomes like a pickle (this might seem funny, but it does become like that)
• Add a little chilli powder to to taste

Mor Kootan

Mor Kootan and Rasam, above is perhaps the ultimate combination. Atleast, my son thinks so. Mor Kootan is another versatile accompaniment to rice, dosa, puri or chappati. It can be made with traditional vegetables like green pumpkin, yam or with some more exotic stuff like mangoes and bananas. This particular recipe is with nendran bananas.

Ingredients: (Serves 4)

• Take about 3/4th coconut grated and some (3-4) green chillies. Grind the two finely. Dont use water to grind. Use curd (if the curds a little sour, better).
• Two or three bananas (not ripe, not raw, somewhat in between but closer to ripe).
• Cut the bananas and boil it in a little water and turmeric and salt.
• You can see the bananas getting cooked (it becomes somewhat translucent)
• This will not take more than 10-15 mns
• Add jaggery if you want a sweet-hot combination
• Add the curd and the ground material . Bring it to boil on a low flame. Do not over boil (the curd may split - esp if the curds are not sour).
• Seasoning:
• Mustard, methi seeds, red chilli and curry leaves

Total prep time - about 30 minutes

Rasam

There are Rasams and there are Rasams. Perhaps one of the most versatile dishes ever made and the most versatile of dishes. Some rasams masquerade as soups in upmarket restaurants. Add a pinch of garlic and pepper and it is a nice remedy for a cold. Make a limbu rasam and it is better than any soup on a rainy day. There is a garlic rasam (not welcome in my kitchen). And the easiest of all, Jeera rasam - another great one for a day when one wants some easy food to digest.

And there are those ghastly rasam mixes in the market and there are rasam powders. Yes, they all make rasam, but in my books, the best one is the traditional, arachu vitta rasam.

Ingredients:

• Roast in a pinch of oil and grind the following
• Dhania, Chana dal, Methi seeds, Red chilli, pepper, jeera

Now you need tamarind water (made from a lemon sized ball of tamarind and squished and squashed and strained). Add tomato and asafoetida and turmeric. Once it is boiled (and the smell of raw tamarind is gone), add the ground stuff. Bring to boil.

Add a touch of jaggery if you want to give it that sweetish touch.

Ready to serve.

Keerai Molakootal

Ingredients and pre-work

• Fry the following in a wee bit of oil
• Udad dal
• Red Chilli
• Half a coconut, grated
• To the above, add jeera and grind
• Boiled Toor Dal
• Keerai - which is usually not Palak or Spinach, but a local variety of greens. Palak is a substitute, but not a great one. Boil Keerai in water with salt. After cooking, whip it in a mixer (dont over do this, it becomes slimy and like the despicable palak paneer gravy.)
• To the above, add ground material and boiled toor dal.

For other Mola Kootal,

• Jeera plus red chilli plus coconut - grind
• Cook toor dal and veggies in cooker
• To the dal and veggies, add the ground stuff.
• Add seasoning of udad dal and mustard to the cooked things above! 

Simple is it not? 

 

Vengaya Sambar

Ingredients:

• Shallots: (Also known as Madras onion, Sambar onion) - about 1 cup, peeled, preferably uncut
• Fry the following in oil till light brown (Tip, for non vengaya sambars, add asafoetida and some curry leaves)
• Dhaniya: 2 tbs
• Chana Dal: 2.5 tbs
• Methi seeds .5 tbs
• Red Chilli
• Cocount - grated - 6 tbs. Dry roast. Grind with above ingredients post roasting. 
• Boiled Toor Dal
• Salt, Turmeric, Tamarind

Peeled onion to be boiled in tamarind water plus salt and turmeric. Tamarind water to be made with tamarind equal to a lemon (small) size ball of tamarind and mashed in warm water (about 300 ml) and add a half cup or so of more water. Or use readymade tamarind paste. Boil till smell of raw tamarind goes away and onion is fully boiled. (How to know it is done - post boiling volume reduces to about 1/3rd of original).

Add ground material and boiled toor dal.

Add fried mustard seeds in the end.

Tip: some people add a wee bit of jaggery to sweeten the sambar. The above portions are for serving 4 people or so.

Introduction to my kitchen

I came to Bombay as a first generation immigrant somewhere in the 1970s. This is my first time on the internet (in fact, I am not typing this at all). I came to Mumbai, and realized that cooking is a great hobby of mine. Over the years, I have perfected many a dish, created many of my own and enjoyed experimenting with food. And my family has been at the receiving end of these experiments, many of them pleasant, but many with surprising results.

This blog is my way of putting out those recipes for everybodys use. Let me know if you like them, tried them and your thoughts on the same. I will be updating these with food pictures once we figure out how to do it.

Till then, happy cooking and reading.