Category Archives: Meal

Fried Snake Gourd

I have always been quite fond of pudalangai/ snake gourd (scientific name: trichosanthes cucumerina). While it is cooked in different ways, my favourite is pudalangai kulambu – the recipe of which I will share when my mother cooks it. In the meantime, here is my mother’s recipe for fried snake gourd.

Pudalangai Varai/ Fried Snake gourd

Time taken: 20 mins

Serves 3

Fried snake gourd

Ingredients:

  • Pudalangai/ Snake gourd – ½ cup, chopped
  • Red chillies – 1 or 2
  • Onion – ½
  • Fennel seeds – 1 tsp
  • Curry leaves – 1 sprig
  • Crushed garlic – 1 tsp
  • Coconut – 2 tbsp, freshly scraped
  • Turmeric – ¼ tsp
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • Low fat oil – 1 tbsp

Method:

  1. Clean the snake gourd and chop it up finely. Mix some salt and keep aside.
  2. Heat a tbsp oil in a pan and fry the chopped red chillies, onion, fennel seeds and curry leaves for 2 mins.
  3. Add the finely chopped and salted snake gourd to the pan and continue stir-frying for 5 mins.
  4. Add 1 cup of water and season with salt to the pan. Cover and let the snake gourd cook till the water dries up.
  5. Remove the cover and add the crushed garlic, freshly scraped coconut and turmeric powder. Season with salt and pepper, as per your taste. Mix well and let it cook for 2 mins.
  6. Serve hot with rice.

Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan.

Vegan Christmas Cake

Last week, my mother decided to bake her special vegan christmas cake. While I was initially planning to share this recipe on the 25th, I am sharing it ahead at my mother’s request. It is a delightful cake and I am sure you will enjoy it, if you do try it.

Christmas cake veganVegan Christmas Cake

Vegan christmas cake slicesTime taken: 3 hours

Makes 20 slices

Christmas cakeIngredients:

  • Dates – 1 cup, chopped
  • Raisins – ½ cup
  • Cashewnuts – ¼ cup
  • Almonds – ¼ cup, chopped
  • Caramelized peanuts – ½ cup
  • Cherry – ¼ cup, chopped
  • Chow chow (choko) – ½ cup, chopped
  • Ginger preserve – 1 tbsp
  • Puhul dosi (pumpkin preserve) – ¼ cup, chopped
  • Lemon rind – 1 tsp
  • Orange peel preserve – 1 tbsp
  • Mixed peel – ½ cup
  • Coconut treacle – 4 tbsp
  • Caramel syrup – ¼ cup
  • Almond oil – 3 tbsp
  • Vegetable oil – ¼ cup
  • Mixed spice (Cardamom, Cinnamon, Cloves) – 2 tsp
  • Thick tea – 1 tbsp
  • Semolina – ½ cup
  • Flour – ½ cup
  • Baking powder – 1 tsp
  • Baking soda – 2/3 tsp
  • Rose essence – ¼ tsp

Method:

  1. Chop all the ingredients mentioned above (dates, raisins, cashewnuts, peanuts, almonds, chow chow, lemon rind, orange peel preserve, mixed peel, ginger preserve, cherries and puhul dosi/ pumpkin preserve) and mix together in a bowl.
  2. To the bowl, add the liquids stirring them in as you do so. Add the honey, caramel syrup and thick tea and let it soak for about ½ hour.
  3. Mix well before adding the vegetable oil and almond oil. Add the rose essence and cinnamon, cardamom and clove mixed spice to the bowl.
  4. Gradually stir in the semolina.
  5. Sift the flour with the baking powder and soda and add the flour mix to the bowl.
  6. Whisk the contents of the bowl together so that there are no flour lumps anywhere.
  7. Transfer the cake batter to the baking tray and bake at 120⁰C/248⁰F for 1 to 1 ½ hour till the cake is browned at the top and the cake is baked through.
  8. After the cake cools, cut the cake into pieces and wrap the pieces into Christmas wrappings.

Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan.

Carrot Varai

Carrot Varai

Time taken: 15 – 20 mins

Serves 3

Carrot VaraiIngredients:

  • Carrot – ½ cup, grated
  • Onion – ½, sliced
  • Malu miris/ capsicum – 1
  • Fennel seeds – 1 tsp
  • Curry leaves – 1 sprig
  • Pepper – 1 tsp
  • Salt – ¼ tsp
  • Low fat oil – 1 tbsp

Method:

  1. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan and fry the sliced malu miris and onion. Add the fennel seeds and curry leaves.
  2. After a min or two, add the grated carrots to the pan and stir fry for about 5 mins.
  3. Season with salt and pepper. Mix well and cook for another 5 to 10 mins.
  4. Serve with rice.

Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan.

Butternut squash and Dhal curry

Today’s recipe is that of one of my mother’s curries.

Butternut squash and Dhal Curry

Time taken: 40 mins

Serves 4 to 5

Butternut squash and dhal curryIngredients:

  • Butternut squash – ½ cup
  • Mysore dhal – ¼ cup
  • Tomato – 1
  • Onion – ½
  • Capsicum – 1
  • Cumin powder – 1 tsp
  • Pepper powder – ½ tsp
  • Chilli powder – 1 tsp
  • Curry leaves – 1 sprig
  • Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
  • Low fat oil – 2 tbsp

Method:

  1. Boil the mysore dhal and chopped butternut squash, adding one cup of water to a saucepan, over medium heat. Cook till the water dries up.
  2. Heat oil in a pan and fry the chopped onion and capsicum, adding the cumin powder, pepper, chilli powder and curry leaves.
  3. After a couple of mins, add the chopped tomato to the pan and ¼ cup of water.
  4. Transfer the cooked dhal and butternut squash to the pan and season with salt and turmeric powder. Cook for about 5 to 10 mins.
  5. Serve the butternut squash and dhal curry with rice or roti.

Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan.

Mashed Pumpkin Salad

Re-posting a recipe from the first week of this blog.

Mashed Pumpkin Salad

Time taken – 20 minutes

Serves – 4

Mashed pumpkin salad

Ingredients

  • Pumpkin – 250g
  • Coconut milk – 2 or 3 tbsp
  • Green chillies – 2
  • Onion – 1 medium sized, chopped
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Lime juice

Method

  1. Chop the pumpkin into chunks, does not need to be small, and leaving the skin on. Remove seeds and clean the chunks.
  2. Boil the pumpkin until it is tender and cooked, for around 15 minutes. Remove skin and mash the pumpkin.
  3. Add the coconut milk, green chillies, onion to the mashed pumpkin and mix well.
  4. Season with salt and pepper, according to your taste, as well as some lime juice.

Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan.

Thuvaram Paruppu Koottu

Re-posting recipe: Today’s recipe is from my great-grandmother, as remembered and occasionally replicated by my mother.

Thuvaram Paruppu Koottu

Time taken: 1 hour, plus soaking time of dal about 3 – 4 hours

Serves 4

Thuvaram Paruppu Koottu

Ingredients:

  • Toor dal/ Thuvaram paruppu – ½ cup
  • Onion – ¼ + ½
  • Garlic – 2 + 2
  • Cumin powder – ½ tsp + ½ tbsp
  • Fennel powder – ½ tsp
  • Asafoetida – pinch + pinch
  • Salt – ½ tsp + more, to taste
  • Oil – 1 tsp + for deep-fry+ 1 ½ tbsp
  • Fenugreek – 1 tsp
  • Tomato – 1 big or 2 small
  • Dried red chillies – 3
  • Coriander powder – 1 tbsp
  • Grated coconut – 3 tbsp
  • Turmeric powder – ½  tsp
  • Pepper – 1 tsp
  • Tamarind extract – ½ cup (thin)
  • Water – ½ cup + ½ cup (optional)

Method:

  1. Soak the toor dal for 3 – 4 hours.
  2. Chop up ¼ onion and 2 garlic cloves and fry them in 1 tsp oil in a pan.
  3. Add ½ tsp cumin powder, ½ tsp fennel powder and a pinch of asafoetida to the pan. When the spices combine and their aroma starts coming out, add ½ tsp salt.
  4. Add the toor dal to the pan and mix well and quickly remove from heat.
  5. Grind the toor dal mixture, without water or just a little so that it can be made into a slab.
  6. Steam the slab of spiced toor dal.
  7. Cut the steamed block of toor dal into pieces and deep fry.
  8. Make a spice paste by grinding the scraped coconut and chopped chillies with 1 tbsp coriander powder, ½ tbsp cumin powder, ½ tsp turmeric powder, 1 tsp pepper powder and a pinch of asafoetida.
  9. Heat 1 to 1 ½ tbsp oil in a pan and fry the chopped onion (½ onion), 2 garlic cloves and the fenugreek seeds.
  10. When you get the aroma of the fried onion and garlic, add the spice paste, mix well and fry.
  11. Add the chopped tomatoes and ½ cup of water and let the tomatoes cook.
  12. Once the tomatoes are cooked, add the fried pieces of toor dal chunks and ½ cup of thin tamarind extract.
  13. Cook for about 10 – 15 minutes on low heat. If you prefer more gravy in your curry, add ½ cup of water.
  14. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve.

Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan.

Murungaikai Curry

Re-posting recipe: This is my grandmother’s recipe, as remembered and replicated by my mother. For my mother’s recipe, check out this post.

Drumstick curry

Cooking time – 25 minutes

Serves 3

DSC09686

Ingredients:

  • Drumstick/ Murungai – 1
  • Potato – 1 large
  • Onion – ½ medium sized
  • ¼ fresh Coconut ~ ½ cup of scraped fresh coconut
  • Curry powder – 1 tbsp, can add another 1/2 tbsp for more spiciness
  • Salt to taste

 Method:

  1. Cut the drumstick into 2’’ pieces and chop up the potato and onion.
  2. To the scraped fresh coconut, add some water and squeeze out the first coconut milk and keep aside. Reuse the coconut flakes and squeeze out the second milk by adding some water. If you don’t like to squeeze out the coconut milk by hand, simply use a blender and strain out the first and second milk. An alternative is to use ready-made coconut milk but the different consistencies expected in this dish will not be there. The first milk is richer in consistency and fats while the second milk is thinner in consistency.
  3. In a sauce pan, add four cups of water to coconut milk obtained the second time – the second coconut milk.
  4. Add the cut vegetables (drumstick, potato and onion) to the pan as well as the chilli powder and cook the vegetables.
  5. Once the potato and drumstick pieces are cooked, add the reserved first coconut milk and salt and let it simmer for five minutes before taking off the heat.
  6. Serve hot with rice or pittu or stringhoppers.

A slight variation in my great grandmother’s drumstick curry recipe is that she did not add potatoes  to the drumsticks. Just before taking the curry off the heat, she lightly fried some chopped onion, dried red chillies and fennel seeds in a separate pan and added the tempered seasonings to the curry. This gives a nice aroma and flavour to the dish.

Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan.

Odiyal Kool

Decided to take a break this week and re-post a few recipes from the initial days of this blog.

This is a traditional recipe from the North of Sri Lanka made from a palmyrah product. My mother tells me her grandmother used to make this for them on special occasions. While this is typically a spicy sea-food dish, it can be a vegan dish if one omits the seafood.

So, I am sharing my great-grandmother’s odiyal kool recipe, as remembered by my mother.

The base for this kool is ‘Odiyal’, a healthy and nutritious root that is dried before making into a flour. One can purchase the ‘odiyal flour’ from Katpaham marketing outlets around Sri Lanka, run by the Palmyrah Development Board, and might be found at Sri Lankan stores outside of Sri Lanka. However, if ‘odiyal flour’ cannot be obtained, corn flour can be tried out as a substitute.

Odiyal Kool

Cooking time – 45 minutes

Serves: 8 – 10

Ingredients

  • Odiyal or Odiyal Flour – 1 cup
  • Chopped mixed vegetables (brinjal/ katharikkai, jackfruit seeds/ palakottai, yardlong beans/ paithangai, small green leaves/ pasali keerai or murungai ilai, manioc, ash plantain) – 100g each
  • Chopped mixed seafood (prawns, crab meat, squids etc.) – 100g each, omit if vegetarian
  • Boiled rice – ½ cup
  • Dried red chillies – 5- 10, depending on your desired level of hot spicy
  • Cumin seeds – 1 tbsp, can add another tablespoon if you like it really spicy
  • Pepper powder – 1tbsp, can add another tablespoon if you like it really spicy
  • Tamarind extract – ½ cup
  • Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
  • Salt to taste
  • Water – 2 litres

Method:

  1. Grind the odiyal into flour or use the ready-made odiyal flour.
  2. Dry grind the cumin seeds, red chillies and pepper and keep aside.
  3. Boil the vegetables in a pot with half litre water.
  4. Boil the seafood in a separate pot with half litre water.
  5. Then, mix the boiled vegetables and seafood and add another litre of water, along with the tamarind extract.
  6. As the water comes to a boil, slowly stir in the odiyal flour, avoiding lumps.
  7. Add the boiled rice to the pot.
  8. Add the ground spice mixture and the turmeric powder to the pot and salt to taste. Let it come to a boil.
  9. You can add a little water to adjust the consistency to your liking, e.g. if the water has dried up or you prefer a watery Kool.
  10. Serve hot in medium-sized bowls.

Recipe Source: Raji Thillainathan.

Ash plantain peel salad

Re-posting this salad recipe today. It is a recipe of my great-grandmother, as remembered and quite often replicated by my mother at home.

Ash plantain peel salad

Preparation time: 10 mins

Serves 2

Ash plantain peel salad

Ingredients:

  • Skin of ash plantains – 2, boiled
  • Grated coconut – 1 tbsp
  • Onion – 1, small and chopped
  • Chilli or red capsicum -1, chopped
  • Pepper and Salt, to taste
  • Lime juice – 1 tbsp

Method:

  1. Finely chop the boiled ash plantain skin. Mix with salt.
  2. Add the grated coconut, chopped onion and chilli to the ash plantain skin and mix well.
  3. Season with pepper and lime juice and salt, to taste.
  4. Serve with rice.

Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan.

Pear Banana Citrus Cake

Last week, I had been planning to bake Poppy‘s delicious chai pear cake a second time but didn’t get around to it. Finally, my mother rescued the pears and went ahead and baked me her lovely version of a pear citrus cake. So, today’s recipe is part of the fruit cake series.

Pear cakePear Banana Citrus Cake

Side view of pear cakeTime taken: 1 ½ hours

Serves 5

Slice of pear cakeIngredients:

  • Pear – 1
  • Banana – 1
  • Orange – 1
  • Lime – 1 + 1 tsp (for icing)
  • Sugar – ¼ cup
  • Oats – ¼ cup
  • All-purpose flour – 1 cup
  • Margarine – ¼ cup + ½ tbsp (for icing)
  • Cloves – 2-3
  • Banana essence – few drops
  • Vanilla essence – few drops
  • Baking powder – 1 tsp
  • Baking soda – ½ tsp
  • Icing sugar – 2 or 3 tbsp (for icing)

Method:

  1. Chop up the pear and banana. Blend the pear and banana together with the cloves.
  2. Cream the sugar and margarine in a bowl. Whisk in the vanilla essence, banana essence, juice of one orange and lime and the blended pear and banana. Mix well.
  3. Add ¼ cup of water to the bowl and stir.
  4. Sift together the flour, baking powder and baking soda.
  5. Alternatively add the oats and flour mix to the bowl of wet ingredients, mixing it well so that there are no lumps.
  6. Transfer the cake batter to the baking tray and bake at 170⁰C/ 338⁰F the cake for about 45 mins to 1 hour.
  7. While the cake cools, make a simple icing by beating together ½ tbsp margarine with 2-3 tbsp icing sugar and 1 tsp lime juice. Spread the lime icing evenly over the cake.
  8. Slice and serve the pear banana citrus cake with a cup of coffee after a meal.

Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan.