Dry Peas Curry And A Repost

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   Isn’t blogging fun!  Visiting some of my blogger friends and leaving them notes today I was remembering how my mother would holler to her neighbor and standing in each others yard share a recipe or tip on cooking.  Times have changed and we blog now.  We get ideas and inspirations from each others blogs and keep improving ourselves.  It's wonderful!

  The recipe I am sharing today may not be considered a delicacy but its good when your vegetable tray is empty, a life saver!  As long as you have enough time to soak your dry green peas at least 4 hours then nobody need know you are running short on vegetables.  It makes a great dish with roti and fried rice.  Add some fresh cream at the end to make it richer.

Ingredients:
Dry Green Peas – 1/2 cup (soak overnight)
Onion – ½ cup chopped
Ginger – 1 tspn chopped
Garlic – 1 tspn chopped
Tomato – 1 - 2 chopped or 1 Tbspn puree
Garam Masala – 1/2 tspn
Red chili Powder – 1 tspn
Coriander Powder – 1 tspn
Oil – 2 tspn
Curry Leaves - 1 sprig
Coriander Leaves - for garninshing

Method:
1. Pressure cook the soaked peas and with a heavy spoon mash some peas and some intact
2. Heat oil in a pan and add onions and sauté
3. Add ginger and then garlic in this order sautéing after each addition
4. Add turmeric, chili powder, coriander powder and sauté
5. Add tomato and sauté till oil leaves the pan
6. Add your cooked peas in and add water to adjust consistency.  (I like it thick)
7. Once the curry is heated through add the garam masala and mix in well and switch off the stove
8. Serve and garnish with coriander leaves.


Contributor: Sunitha

Reposting for the event
Paruppu/Pappu Curry- Andhra Style



We would like to send this entry to Shama Ngarajan's "First cooked food event".Have a fun filled event Shama :-)

Idiyappam/Noolappam/Rice noodles

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Idiyappam is a family favorite. After reaching US, for the first few months we couldn't find the rice flour to buy and so had to do without Idiyappam. Also, I didn't have a grinder at the time. The place where we stay have very few Indians, and Malayalis are a rarity. When we got introduced to our first Mallu friends I asked them where I could find the flour for puttu and idiyappam.  I was so excited when I saw these packets from Kerala sitting in the corner isle of the store suggested by our friend.

I don't want to bore you anymore,with the stories about a Mallu's difficulties in living without the classic breakfasts for a while :-). The recipe is very simple yet a bit tricky.You will have to play with the consistency of the prepared dough. I can give you only an approximate measurement. It varies from rice to rice .So good luck for the first timers..here we go



Ingredients

Rice flour for Idiyappam- ~350g
(If you are using a normal rice flour then fry it for a few minutes on medium heat before making the dough )
Salt- to taste
Boiling water- ~250ml
Grated coconut-1/2 cup



Method

1. Boil the water
2. Take the rice flour and salt in a big thick bottom vessel and mix it.
3.Keep this on low heat and start adding the boiling(yes, you read it correct it should be bubbling while you pour and be careful ) water while mixing with a spatula.
4. When you see that water is approximately enough switch off the heat and mix well.
5. Let it cool for a minute and mix it with your hand.
6.Make the idli plates ready with 1/2 spoon coconut on each impression of the idli plate.
7 Fill in the idiyappam maker with dough and press it into the idli plates
8.Steam it till the idiyappam is done.
9.Serve with egg curry, chicken curry or mutton curry. Vegetarians don't worry, you could have it with veg stew :-)



You could avoid coconut and then it will become a very healthy food :-)

Contributor: Namitha

Parippu Vada aka Masala Vada

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  Vada and Indian Railways are synonymous in my mind. You must be thinking WHAT? Well, the first thing that comes to mind when I think of travelling by train is all the food vendors, acres of pastures, the deafening noise when crossing a bridge, water bodies going on for ever, rural life, children half naked waving cheerfully at you and true the list goes on.  However, I am sure you will agree all the vendors screaming names of food which you can never follow, unless you are looking out the window and observing what he is carrying, flashes through our minds when we talk about trains in India.  You will also agree that the dabba walas have made their niche for themselves by producing 6 sigma work.  Today I present to you, vadas made quite popular by the Indian Railway vendors and I dedicate this lovingly to all of them.  Anyways, here is an unadulterated homemade version for you to enjoy and try saying vada vada vadaiiiiiiiiii before serving, taking the third vadaiiiii on a high pitch and dramatically ending the way you have heard on your favorite journeys by Indian Railways.  Have a fun day guys! Kuchu kuchu kuchu!

Ingredients:

1. Tuar Dal - 1/2 cup

2. Chana Dal - 1/2 cup

3. Asafoetida - a little less than 1/4th tspn

4. Onions - chopped 1/2 cup (in case you dont like a lot of onions take off about 1 tbspn)

5. green chilies - 6 small ones

6. ginger - 1 tbspn

7. Curry Leaves - 1 sprig

Method:

1. Soak the dal together for two hours

2. Strain the water and grind the dal to a coarse mixture (add a little 1/4 or 1/2 of the ginger, onions and green chilies when grinding to enhance the flavor)

3. Once the dal is ground add the rest of the ingredients from 3-7

4. Heat oil in a deep frying pan and when the oil is hot (when a drop of the vada mix rises to the top instantly you know the oil is hot enough) make small disk shaped vadas and slide it into the oil

5. Remove them from oil into a bowl or basket lined with tissue paper

This yields about 15 crispy vadas

Note: I have tried making this with only Chana dal and I like that too.  So if you only have either of the dals mentioned go ahead and use 1 cup of any of the dals.

Contributor: Sunitha

Pulikuzhambu

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This is one of our favorite Tamilian dish. My family fell in love with this tangy and spicy curry when our neighbor shared this with us.  I told her how much I loved it and requested her for the recipe. Guess what she did?  She gave me a list of all the ingredients and asked me to call her after getting it ready. I did just that and to my utter delight she came over and showed me how to make it.  Yes, she cooked it for me at home and I consider this the best way to learn.  Seeing and learning! Now, I make this often and also found out that Telugu's also make a similar curry. Here is the recipe as I know it and I hope you will love it :-)





Ingredients

Garlic-2 full(peel the cloves)
Shallots-10(cut into halves)
Cumin seeds-1/4+1/2 tsp
Peppercorns-1/4tsp
Fenugreek(uluva)-1/4 Tsp
Tamarind water-To taste(preferably on higher side)
Salt-To taste
Turmeric-1/2 tsp
Red chilli powder-1/2Tsp
Kashmiri chilli powder-1 1/2Tsp
Coriander powder-2 1/2Tsp
Coconut- 1/2 cup grated and ground with min water
Oil-2Tbsp

Method

1.Heat a pan and shallow fry peppercorns and 1/4tsp cumin seeds(without any oil)
2.Remove that and pour oil in the pan and heat.Meanwhile grind the coconut, and dry fried peppercorns and cumin seeds.
3.Splutter cumin seeds and then fenugreek seeds.
4.To this add the ground coconut mixture and saute for a while.
5.Put chilli, coriander and turmeric and saute till the raw smell goes
6.Slide in shallots and garlic cloves and saute for a few minutes on medium heat.
7.Pour in the tamarind water and adjust the consistency and boil well
8.Serve with rice and pappad.

You could add vegetables like okra, brinjal etc to this curry.



Contributor: Namitha

Aviyal

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Even the thought of Aviyal makes me nostalgic.It reminds me of my vallyammachi's (grandma's)cooking .I learned this recipe from her, an excellent cook. Though she is a vegetarian she cooks non veg dishes and makes sure they are perfect paying attention to the smell :-) She is the one who brought up my sis and me,when we were kids, since my mom was employed.  While preparing the vegetables she would tell us many stories about cooking. She says the taste of the curry starts right from the way you cut the veggies :-) According to her carrots and French beans are all foreign veggies, and adds that her mother never used them in aviyal and other authentic dishes.



Here is the recipe for aviyal ,which is an important item in the Hindu marriage feasts in Kerala. I know that from place to place the recipe varies, though it is such a popular dish. Here is my version, rather Central Travancore version :-)

Ingredients

Raw banana-1
Ivy gourds(kovakka)-4
Snake gourd- 2 pieces that are 2 inches long
Carrot-1(medium)
French beans-7-8
Long beans(pachappayar)-4
Brinjal(vazhuthananga)- 1/2
Winter Melon(kumbalanga)- A 4inch long piece
Yam (chena)- A 2 inch long piece
Drumsticks- 5-6 two inch long pieces (1 drumstick)
Green chillies- 4-5

Coconut oil -1 +2 Tbsp
Shallots-3-4
Curry leaves-2 Sprigs
Tamarind Juice
Salt
Turmeric powder-1 1/2 tsp
Red Chilli powder- 1/2 tsp
Cocnut-grated and half ground- 1/2 cup
Cumin powder/ cumin seeds-1/2 tsp (If you are using powder , a little less)



Method

1.Cut all the veggies into slender pieces
2.Pour 1Tbsp coconut oil in a pan and add all the vegetable pieces along with the green chillies, turmeric and red chilli powder
3.Mix in everything for a couple of minutes.
4. Throw in a sprig of curry leaves and salt.
5.Pour water ,enough to cook the veggies (Don't add too much water, remember that some of the vegetables like winter melon leaves out lot of water) and cover the pan
6. Cook till it is almost done
7.Pour the tamarind juice and cover and cook for a few minutes (If you pour tamarind juice early, the dish will turn dark in color)
8.Add the coconut and cumin to this, mix well, cover and cook for a couple of minutes.
9. Switch off the heat and add smashed shallots and curry leaves along with the 2 Tbsp coconut oil.
10. Mix well and transfer into the serving bowl.
11. Enjoy with rice , sambar and pappad :-)


You could use any vegetable of your choice. Also you could replace the tamarind juice with sour curd or raw mango.



Contributor : Namitha

Awards!

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This is another proud moment for Collaborative Curry.  We have received more awards than we imagined and we say 'THANK YOU' and take this as encouragement to keep going.  We would like to thank all these friends who awarded us and in case we have missed someone its not intentional.   Please let us know in case we have missed you we will make amends.

Sree, Sangeetha, kitchen queen and Sandhya awarded us:

Sree and Rohini awarded us:

Sangeetha and Lakshmi awarded us:

Priya , Sangeetha, Prasu and Lakshmi awarded us:

Priya and Prasu awarded us:

Sree awarded us:

Prasu awarded us:

Prasu awarded us:

It's time now to award all you absolutely fantastic guys who have wonderful, creative, inspiring blogs.  Please collect the below awards.

Sangeetha

Rohini

 Sandhya

Prasu

Sushma

 Sree

Vrinda

Tina

Lakshmi

Priya

Kitchen Queen

Namitha's meme is included this time and as we go along all of us in Collaborative curry will take turns and update our memes.

Namitha says: Thanks Sree and Sandhya for this lovely award. Sorry that I am posting the meme so late :-)


1. Where is your cell phone? Don't have one :-)
2. Your hair? Black

3. Your mother? Remani
4. Your father? Vasavan Nair
5. Your favorite food? Appam and curry
6. Your dream last night? Don't remember
7. Your favorite drink? Tea
8. Your dream/goal? hmmmm....;-)
9. What room are you in? Bed room
10. Your hobby? Reading, cooking....
11. Your fear? snakes
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? US
13. Where were you last night? Home
14. Something you aren’t? Cynic
15. Muffins? Strawberry
16. Wish list item? none :-)
17. Where did you grow up? India
18. Last thing you did? Blogging :-)
19. What are you wearing? Capri & Blouse
20. Your TV? Off
21. Your pets? None
22. Your friends? Lots :D
23. Your life? Wouldn't have been better :D
24. Your mood? Happy
25. Missing someone? No
26. Vehicle? Car
27. Something you’re not wearing? Bangles
28. Your favorite store? Macy's
29. Your favorite color? Maroon
30. When was the last time you laughed? A few minutes before

31. Last time you cried? Last week when I read about a father who abused his baby son to death :(
32. Your best friend? M
33. One place that I go over and over? Kerala
34. One person who emails me regularly? friends

35. Favorite place to eat? Home sweet home :-)

Other than these awards I am so very happy to tell you about a very special award. My sweet friend Sandhya made okra fry following my recipe and sent me a picture.  What more a blogger can ask for :-) Sandhyakutty, I am so touched and so glad. Words are not enough to thank you :D

Paniyaram/Kuzhipaniyaram

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I would like to thank all our blogger friends for the awards and continued support.  We will have more details about the award in our next post.


The weather is already getting so chilly here. When you see snow in October you couldn't think of anything other than a hot snack with a cup of tea to console yourself. I had a wonderful neighbor when we were staying in Hyderabad (can't help telling you all the Hyderabad stories, after all, my culinary experiments started there :D) ,'S' aunty who was from Tamilnadu. She used to share all her special foods and also the recipes with me. Paniyaram is one among the many dishes I learned from her. It is a very popular snack in Tamilnadu and they use our "unniyappachatti"(paniyarachatti) for making this. I do not have one, so mine doesn't have that beautiful shape. But the taste was excellent :-)




Ingredients

Leftover dosa batter-2cup
Shallots(sliced)- 1Tbsp
Ginger(grated)-1 Tsp
Green chilli(cut into small pieces)-3 small
Curry leaves-1sprig
Channa daal-1tsp
mustard-1/4tsp
Oil-2tsp+ for frying


Method

1.Heat oil in a deep pan for frying (those who have unniyappa chatti(paniyara chatti) can use that)
2.Heat oil in a pan and splutter mustard and then channa daal.
3.Slide in shallots, ginger , curry leaves and green chillies, saute
4.Add these into the batter and mix well. Check the salt.
5.Pour the batter into the frying pan slowly.
6.Turn on the other side and fry till both sides are golden brown.
7.Have it with chutney or as it is with tea/coffee.

Contributor: Namitha

Egg Roast (Kerala Style)

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 Hello, we hope there is good cheer and fun in your life wherever you are.

 This is my second egg recipe and I am kicking myself for not having something better to share.  However, you should know this I grew up in a family where everyone loved egg roast and roti.  It used to be so common that everyone who knew us stopped asking what we had for dinner, even as a courtesy, because they assumed we had egg roast and roti.  This was not because my mother was not creative enough but because this dish killed any criticism whatsoever at the table.

Ingredients:

Chopped Onions – 1 no

Ginger – 1 tspn chopped fine

Garlic – 1 tspn chopped fine

Tomato – puree 1 ½ tbsp or 2-3 nos of whole tomatoes chopped fine

Kashmiri chili powder – 1 tbspn

Turmeric powder – a pinch

Green chili – 2 (this is only if you like the dish to be HOT)

Curry leaves – 1 sprig

Garam masala – 1 tspn

Eggs- 4-6

Method:

1. Saute onions and when its translucent add ginger and garlic until the garlic gives off its beautiful aroma (I add onions first to avoid garlic from being burned, try this method the taste will be much better)

2. Add green chilies followed by curry leaves and saute

3. Add chili powder and turmeric and sauté till the raw smell is gone

4. Add tomato puree or chopped tomatoes and sauté till oil leaves the pan

5. Add garam masala and mix in well and add whole or halved eggs

6. Garnish with coriander leaves (optional)

Contributor: Sunitha

Bhindi/Okra/ Ladies Finger Fry

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I got introduced to this dish during our stay in Hyderabad. This is a must have item in the marriage feasts in Telangana region. We liked the taste and got the recipe from our Telugu friends. The original recipe calls for sun drying the okra and then deep frying it in oil. My Telugu friends add a lot of chilli powder too. I don't have to point out this fact to the people who knows about the Telengana cuisine, it is quite tasty and SPICY :-) I have tweaked the original to fit our style. But you could try the original version , by sun drying followed by deep frying,if you wish.



I wanted to take a click when I was done with the dish and went to our patio deck to capture the best light. My little one who is a "curious George", also followed me. He started playing in the yard and I had to go back to get my camera.Then I heard him screaming with joy and came back running, thinking that he might be done with the fry and my bowl :-) But to my surprise I saw a wild bunny sitting next to him.The cute bunny looked very friendly and the happiness on my little guy's face was priceless. I felt close to nature and wilderness!




Getting back to the point,this fry is a hit in our family now. Though my daughter prefers to have more peanuts in it, she likes the okra too

Ingredients

Ladies finger/Okra- 1lb(450gm)
Garlic(crushed/grated)- 8-10 cloves
Red chilli powder- 1tsp
Turmeric-1/4 tsp
Peanut-2 Tbsp
Salt
Oil-3 Tbsp

Method

1.Wash the okra and dry it.(Water makes it sticky)
2.Cut the okra into small pieces
3.Heat oil in a pan and fry the peanuts.
4.Take out the peanuts when it is done.
5.Throw in the crushed garlic into the oil and saute it.
6.To this add chilli powder,turmeric, salt and chopped okra.
7.Mix well and cover with a lid.
8.Cook on medium heat till the okra is half cooked.
9.Take out the lid and let the okra get fried.
10.Add the fried peanuts and mix well.



Contribitor: Namitha

Broccoli and Mushroom in Chinese sauce

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How are you today?  I am feeling quite happy.  What else can I say with all the love that is flowing in with so many awards.  We received our third award 'Lovely Blog Award' from Kitchen Queen and the fourth 'A Fabulous Blog Award' from Rohini.  Thank you to the two of you and we are happy you thought us worthy.

Here is a lil something from our college days and the recipe following it.

 On a rainy 29^th July afternoon around the end of the 20^th century in Mangalore; a group of friends dressed in salwars, skirts, jeans and tops holding their white lab coats and sheltered under their bright swan umbrellas walked up from their science lab to the college church and the Art division beyond.  They meet another set of friends from the Art department and stays to chat.  Plans are made to visit a Chinese restaurant Hao Hao (pronounced How How).

  A little about Hao Hao; they dish out scrumptious Indio-Chinese food and is flocked by students from  colleges in it's vicinity.  Medical, Engineering, Arts, all college students!  The joint is reasonably priced to target the student crowd.   A snippet from the aforementioned college student’s conversation goes as follows:

Arts: Hey, How about lunch at Hao Hao (pronounced like how)

Science: Hm…sounds like a plan! However, I am wondering How how?

Arts: You mean you want to go to another place?

Science: Arre yaar! (Hindi movies were very popular even in the South of India) At the end of the month with no money ‘how how’ will you eat at ‘Hao Hao’?

  Either ways, the couple who ran Hao Hao a year and half after this particular conversation above took another space to start their upbeat new restaurant Hao Ming.  Classier than Hao Hao and yet visited by students.

So here is the recipe inspired by the above mentioned restaurants:

Ingredients for Vegetable Fry:

Broccoli florets – 2 cups (around 200 gms)

Mushroom        - 10 big ones

Egg – 1

Corn flour – 4 tbspn heaped

Rice flour – 1 tbspn heaped

Ginger garlic paste – 1 tspn

Black or white pepper powder – 1 tspn

Oil – for deep frying

Ingredients for the sauce

Oil – 1 tbspn

Green Chilies    - 4 – 6 according to how much heat you can tolerate

Chili sauce – 1 tspn

Soya sauce – 1 tbspn

Spring onions – 2

Chicken stock – 1 cup

Water – 1 cup

Salt – to taste

Method:

1.       Mix well beaten egg, 3 tbspn corn flour and the rice flour into a flowing batter to dip and fry the veggies

2.       In hot oil deep fry the broccoli and mushrooms coated in the above batter

3.       In a hot skillet add 1 tbspn oil and add your onions, ginger and garlic in this order and sauté

4.       Add capsicum (bell pepper) and sauté

5.       Add chili and soya bean sauce and sauté for just a minute or two

6.       Add water and chicken stock and bring to a boil

7.       In ½ cup of water mix 1 tbspn of corn flour and add this liquid to the boiling stock

8.       Sauce is ready when it thickens.

9.       Pour over the fried veggies or your could serve the fries into your plate with your rice or noodles and pour the sauce over it

10.   Garnish sauce with spring onions

Serve with hot white rice or noodles

Contributor: Sunitha

Chocolate Chip Muffins

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Thank you so much for visiting us. We are on this fantastic roller coaster ride receiving all these wonderful awards from some wonderful people. Hurray! To us and to you for your gentle hearts which makes you share.

So now, you know about our first award; what are we jumping in joy for now? Well, we just received another award, yes, yes, yes, 'A Fabulous Blog' from Sree . Oh! my happiness know no bounds! We feel like the newbie’s in show business who walk away with the ‘Best Fresh Face Award’ or whatever they call it these days. You know what I mean, don’t you?

Oh! how excited we are with all this pampering. Thank you girls! Forgive my repetitive statements I am just delirious with happiness. Now with so much happiness I thought it would be fair to celebrate with some muffins. I know rich moist chocolate cake with vanilla frosting, ribbons and balloons and if you are the drinking kind then champagne would have been ideal for such a wonderful occasion. However, what I have is a quick recipe which anyone can whip up in a matter of minutes. This way we know everyone can try it and have some fun eating them today. You ready? Ok! then let’s go celebrate!

Here is how you make your muffins:

Ingredients:

All purpose flour (Maida) - 1 ¾ cup

Sugar (you can do both powdered and granules) - 3 tbspn

Baking Powder - 2 ½ tspn

Salt - ½ tspn

Egg (well beaten) - 1

Milk - ¾ cup

Soft butter / salad oil (sunflower, corn etc.) - 1/2cup

Chocolate chips - ½ cup

Vanilla essence - 2 tspn

Method:

1. Mix flour and baking powder sifting them together

2. Add sugar, salt and the chocolate to this

3. To the well beaten egg add oil, milk and vanilla essence

4. Add wet mixture to the dry ingredients

5. Fold in using a spatula. Do not over beat because this will make your muffins hard.

6. Spoon the batter into your 12 muffin pan and bake it at 400 degree F in a pre heated oven for approximately 20 minutes.

The recipe is inspired from ‘Better Homes’ recipe book and I have changed a little here and there to make it to my liking.

Contributor: Sunitha

First award for us !!

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We are happy to announce that Sangeetha from Kothiyavunu blog awarded us a 'lovely blog' award.  You can see it on the left side of our blog but we wanted to write a special thank you to show our appreciation.  We are new on the blogging scene and its a great honor to receive this award in such a short span.  All at Collaborative Curry are very excited and encouraged  by this generous gesture from Sangeetha.  Thank you for such a warm and hospitable welcome into the food blogging community.  Thank you all . we appreciate it!

   This award prods us forward to do more and bring you more exciting stuff.  We have been concentrating on mostly Kerala recipe's because most of us are from Kerala and this is comfort food for us.  Also, in celebrating our lives it seemed best to start with a collection of what we do on a day to day basis. However, we do like to play with a pallette of diverse cuisine and bring our experiences to you.  Buckle your seats and be ready to take off with us on a journey through more exotic recipes as the week rolls on.

Pavakka Mezhukkupuratti/ Bitter Gourd Fry

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"Menam, menam (venam, want )..."My little imp who is 14 months was pointing his tiny finger to the half cooked bitter gourd in my pan and was jumping into it. I gave him a small piece to quench his curiosity and to my surprise he ate it. He made a funny face at the first bite , but I couldn't make out what he meant by that, since he makes that face whenever he tastes something new. Guess what, he repeated "menam , menam" and had a few spoons of pavakka mezhukkupuratti (Bitter-gourd fry ) as his breakfast :-)
FYI , I cook lunch in the morning on weekdays.

I use Japanese bitter gourd for mezhukkupuratti, instead of the dark green small ones that are available in the Indian grocery stores here. You could buy it from Chinese or Asian grocery stores and they are less bitter than the dark green variety. This goes well with rice and sambar.





Ingredients

Bitter gourd(thinly sliced)- 2
Green chillies(sliced lengthwise)-4
Coconut pieces(thengakkothu)- 2Tbsp
Salt
Oil-2Tbsp

Method

1.Heat oil in a pan.
2. Slide in the bitter gourd and other ingredients.
3.Cover the pan with a lid and cook till it is done.
4.Keep the lid open and let the bitter gourd fry.My family likes it to be deep fried :-)



Contribitor: Namitha