Olan

Serves 3

Ingredients

White pumpkin - 150 g
Yellow pumpkin - 150 g
Payaru - Long beans - 3- 4 nos.
Coconut milk - 1/2 cup
Green chilliies - 2 small - cut length wise
Coconut Oil
8-10 curry leaves

Method

1. Boil both white and yellow pumpkin together in water in an open pan. Add a pinch of turmeric to this and allow it to cook. ( It should not be over cooked)
2. When this is half done, add the slit chillies and long beans. Add desired salt and cook further.
3. When the above is cooked, add coconut milk and let it simmer for a minute.
4. Now remove from fire, add the curry leaves.
5. Pour coconut oil on the curry leaves and cover it immediately to retain the flavour.
6. This makes a yummy side dish with sambar, rasam or puliyogare

Keerai Molakootal (Spinach gravy)

Today, i decided to create a blog for my long cherished passion, cooking. What better way to start than to share a simple, lovely palakkad recipe for " Keerai Molakoottal" . This is a dish made from spinach leaves and tastes yummy with hot rice. It is my favourite and has been passed down three generations. I belong to Palakkad though my formative years were all spent in Bangalore. I try and make many authentic dishes so that my son, Aditya can truly enjoy traditional home food.

here we go...

Ingredients

Spinach leaves - 1 bunch
Moong Dal - Paasi paruppu - a fistful
Grated Coconut - 1/2 a teacup
1 teaspoon jeera
1 green chilly
1 peppercorn
turmeric powder
For the seasoning - 1 tsp mustard seeds, hing, 1 small red chilly(broken)
Coconut Oil

Method

In a pressure cooker/ pan, cook the moong dal with 1.5 cups of water and a pinch of turmeric powder until it is mishy mashy.
In another vessel, cook the spinach leaves with a pinch of salt and a pinch of turmeric powder
Once both the above are done, mix the two together and grind them in a mixie for less than a minute. Keep this separately. (mixture 1)
Now grind the grated coconut, green chilly, black pepper and jeera to a fine paste. (mixture 2)
Add this mixture 2 to mixture 1
Add the desired salt and water to make it to your desired consistency(tastes better if it is a little watery)
Boil for about 3-5 minutes.
Take coconut oil, heat it in a small pan, add mustard seeds, allow this to splutter, now add the broken red chilly and hing . Remove from fire and add it to the final mixture that is ready
Yummy keerai molakootal is ready. Serve with hot rice

The above measure serves 3