Koottu-Curry/ Roasted Coconut with Yam, Plantain and Chickpeas - Onam Sadhya Vibhavangal 7

Koottu-Curry is a semi dry vegetarian dish. It is prepared with vegetables like yam and raw banana along with chickpeas. The main part is the aroma that this dish gets from roasted coconut. This is the Malabar (North Kerala) style of Koottu-Curry. Again there may be slight differences depending on the region you belong to. It may be sweet or spicy. This one is the spicy version of Koottu-Curry.

It is again an inseperable part of Onam Sadhya. It is one of the side dishes served along with others like Avial (mixed vegetable), Cabbage Thoran, Pineapple Pachadi, Kumbalanga Pachadi, Kalan and Olan.

INGREDIENTS
Chick peas/Garbanzo Beans/Kadala - 1 cup (soaked overnight)
Raw Plantain/Pachakkaya - 1
Elephant Yam/ Chena - 1/4 kg
Grated Coconut - 2 cups
Chilly Powder - 1 1/2 tbsp( vary as per spice level)
Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
Cumin/Jeerakam - 1 tsp
Mustard seeds/Kaduku - 1 tsp
Red Dry Chilly/Kaay Mulaku - 2
Curry Leaves/Kariveppila - 2 sprigs
Coconut Oil - 1 tbsp
Salt - as required

METHOD

Cook chickpeas in a pressure cooker till soft along with salt, turmeric and chilly powder. Add water almost 

1 inch above the chickpeas.

In another pan, fry 1 cup coconut till dark brown and crisp(No oil required). Keep aside.

Chop plantain and yam into small pieces.

Add this to the cooked chickpeas and pressure cook for 1 whistle ( Add 1/4 cup water if required).

Make a  paste of 1 cup grated coconut along with cumin seeds (not very fine paste).

Add the ground paste into the cooker. Do not close the cooker. Let boil and thicken.

When no water remains add the fried coconut.

In a small pan heat coconut oil. Add mustard seeds. When it splutters add dry red chilly and curry leaves.

Pour the seasoning over the koottu-curry.

Tips:

As no green chillies are added check the spice level and add more chilly powder as required. This can be added  when cooking the plantains or yam / add it to coconut when almost fried.

While frying coconut do not add any oil as the oil will come out from the coconut as you fry.

There must be almost 1 inch higher level water after cooking yam and plantain. Else boil water and add.

If you would like to check out my other Onam Sadhya Vibhavangal please click on the links below
1. Puli Ingi
2. Olan
3. Kalan
4. Pineapple Pachadi
5. Kumbalanga Pachadi
6. Beetroot Achar

  

Cheera Upperi /Spinach Dry

Upperi/Thoran is a Kerala speciality which you can find in every Kerala house. We have an endless list of upperi's which is eaten with boiled rice. To name a few are Cheera (red/ green) Upperi, Long Beans Upperi, Long Gourd Upperi, Lady's finger Upperi, Cabbage Upperi, Beetroot Upperi, Ulli thandu Upperi, Vazhakkai (Raw Banana) Upperi, Thalolinga upperi...it goes on and on..

Cheera/Spinach  like other dark green veggies, is an excellent source of beta-carotene, a powerful disease-fighting antioxidant. It is rich in vitamins C & E. You should be careful not to overcook it as it may lose its vitamins.

INGREDIENTS

Spinach - 200 gm
Coconut- 1/2 cup
Chilly - 2 slit into half
Shallots- 3 chopped fine( or onion 1 medium)
Curry Leaves - 2 stalks
Chilly powder - 1/4 teaspoon
Coconut oil - 2 teaspoon
Mustard - 1 teaspoon
Salt - As required

METHOD

Wash and drain spinach

Chop it fine.

Add salt, Chilly, Shallots/onions, chilly powder and mix well with hands for 2 minutes.

Heat oil in a kadai.

Add mustard and let it splutter. Add curry leaves.

Add the mixed Cheera/Spinach. Add a little less salt as it may become more once cooked. You can check and add more salt if required later.
Add the coconut.

Cover and cook till done. Do not overcook.
Serve hot with rice and curry.

Beetroot Soup

Soups are easy to make and the best if you are trying to follow a healthy lifestyle. This soup has been a hit with all our guests at the resort. Try this yummy soup..

INGREDIENTS

Beetroot	5 Medium size
Shallots	5
Tomato	5 small size
Potato	3 Medium size
Coriander leaves	A handful
Water	8 glass
Salt	As required
Oil	1 teaspoon

METHOD

• Wash, peel beetroot and potato.
• Cut beetroot, potato and tomato into big pieces
• Pressure cook these vegetables with water.
• Strain water and keep aside.
• When cooled grind the pressure cooked vegetables to a nice paste.
• Chop shallots into small pieces.
• Heat oil in a pan and add shallots and fry for 5 seconds.
• Add the mixture and bring to a boil.
• Add the strained water to bring soup to the right consistency.
• Add salt and chopped coriander and serve hot.