Pavatkai Kulambu

Today’s recipe is my mother’s delicious ‘pavatkai’ (bitter gourd) recipe. My grandmother used to first soak the chopped bitter gourd in fresh coconut water before cooking it to remove its bitterness. My mother prefers retaining a certain amount of the bitterness so she doesn’t use coconut water. Pavatkai Kulambu Time taken: 30 – 40 mins Serves 4 Ingredients:

Bitter gourd/ pavatkai – 1 cup, chopped
Tamarind extract – 1 cup, thin consistency
Onion – ½ chopped
Curry leaves – 1 sprig
Coconut milk or non-fat milk – ¼ cup
Curry powder – 1 tsp
Sugar – 1 tsp
Salt, to taste

Method:

Cook the chopped bitter gourd in water, in a pan, for about 5 to 10 mins on medium heat.
Add the tamarind extract, curry powder, curry leaves, chopped onion and salt to taste to the pan.
Let the ingredients combine and simmer on low heat for about 15 to 20 mins. If the bitter gourd is not tender enough as the liquid starts drying up, add ½ cup of water.
Add ¼ cup of coconut milk or non-fat milk and a tsp of sugar. Mix well and let the curry simmer for another 5 to 10 mins on low heat.
Remove from heat and serve with rice.

Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan.

Gulab Jamun

My favourite accompanying dessert for a puri and kadalai curry meal is gulab jamun. While I think this sweet originated from Punjab, it is very popular around Asia. Having a sweet tooth, I simply love this dessert though we hardly make it in our house anymore. Today, I will share my mother’s version of gulab jamun.

Gulab Jamun

Time taken: 30 mins

Makes 12 or 15 gulab jamun

Ingredients:

Milk powder – 6 tbsp
Wheat flour – 2 tbsp
Baking powder – ¾ tsp
Oil, for deep-frying
Water – ¾ cup
Sugar – ¼ cup
Kesari powder – pinch
Rose essence – few drops

Method:

Mix the milk powder, wheat flour, baking powder and stir in a little water to knead the dough.
Make small balls from the dough and place them on a plate. Let them rest for about 5 mins.
Heat some oil in a pan on low heat.
Once the oil is ready for deep-frying, drop a few of the balls at a time and deep-fry them. Ensure that they turn golden brown on all sides by turning them around.
Remove from pan and place them on a plate with grease absorbing paper.
In a sauce pan, boil ¾ cup of water with ¼ cup of sugar, a pinch of kesari powder and a few drops of rose essence.
Once the syrup comes together, remove sauce pan from stove and transfer syrup to a bowl.
Transfer the gulab jamun from the plate to the syrup bowl.
Cover the bowl and let the gulab jamun absorb the syrup for some time.
Serve warm

Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan.

Puri and Kadalai Curry

Today’s recipes are my childhood favourites and I guess, they still continue to be one of my favourites. Originating from North India, the dishes have become very much part of the cuisine of the sub-continent. In this post, I will focus on the main meal and in my next, the accompanying dessert.

(a) Puri

Time taken: 40 – 45 mins

Makes 6

Ingredients

Wheat flour – 1 cup
Salt – ½ tsp
Low fat oil – 2 tbsp + for deep-frying
Water, as required

Method

Add ½ tsp salt and 2 tbsp oil to the wheat flour. Slowly stir in a little water and knead the flour mix into a ball of dough.
Divide the dough into 6 smaller balls. Let it rest for about 15 to 20 mins.
Heat some oil in a pan on low to medium heat.
Roll out one of the small balls of dough.
Keep a little container with water by your side and brush one side of the rolled out dough with water.
Drop the rolled out dough into the hot oil, with the water side down. This helps the puri to puff up more. Yes, there will be a lot of crackling noise as water and oil react at first.
Once the puri has risen to the surface, flip it to the other side so that the other side can be cooked and can also become puffy. It takes about 2 mins approximately to brown each side.
Remove the puri from the pan and place on a dish covered with a grease absorbing paper.
Serve with kadalai curry.

(b) Kadalai (chickpea) curry

Time taken: 40 mins + overnight soaking

Serves: 3

Ingredients:

Kadalai/ Chickpea – ½ cup
Onion – ½ , chopped
Mixed 3C (Cinnamon, cardamom and cloves) powder – 1 tsp
Fennel seeds – ½ tsp
Fenugreek seeds – ½ tsp
Curry leaves – 1 sprig
Rampe/ pandan leaf – small piece
Coconut milk or non-fat milk – 1 cup
Curry powder – 1 tbsp, or as required
Low fat oil, as required

Method:

Soak the kadalai in water for a minimum of 3 hours and better, if soaked overnight.
Rinse the soaked kadalai and boil it for 15 minutes in some fresh water.
Drain and keep aside the kadalai.
In a pan, heat a little oil and fry the chopped onion, fenugreek, mixed 3C powder, curry leaves and rampe for two minutes.
Add the boiled kadalai to the pan and mix well.
Stir in the coconut milk or non-fat milk and 1 tbsp curry powder. Let the kadalai curry simmer on low heat for 10 to 15 mins.
If the curry dries up, add a little more milk and let it simmer a little more. The curry should have a rich consistency and not be watery when you remove from the heat.
Serve hot with the puri.

Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan.

Paal Puttu

The other breakfast treat that my mother’s friend had brought this morning was paal puttu. I have actually had a few different versions of this over the past decade. Surprisingly, this is the first dish from the northern region of Sri Lanka that I have had which my mother hadn’t either heard of or tried until I described it to her.

Paal puttu

Time taken: 30 mins

Serves 2 or 3

Ingredients:

Urad dal/ ulunthu flour – ¼ cup + 2 tbsp
Rice flour – ¼ cup
Coconut milk – ¾ cup
Sugar – 1 tbsp
Salt, to taste

Method:

Mix ¼ cup urad dal flour and ¼ cup rice flour with salt and hot water and make them into tiny balls.
Steam the balls and keep aside.
Heat the coconut milk, with the sugar and salt seasoning, in a pan.
Add 2 tbsp urad dal flour to the coconut milk as it starts to boil. Stir well.
As the sauce thickens, add the steamed balls and mix well. Remove pan from stove after a minute or two.
Serve warm.

Recipe source: Ithayarani Jeyabalasingham.

Kundu Thosai with Coconut Tamarind Sambal

A friend of my mother dropped by this morning with some breakfast treats that she had made so I decided to post the recipes for those two dishes. The first is kundu thosai with a coconut-tamarind sambal.

(a) Kundu thosai

Cooking time: 15 mins + preparation time: nearly 8 hours

Makes 24

Ingredients:

Black gram/ Urad dal/ Ulunthu – ½ cup
Raw rice – 1 cup
Fenugreek seeds – ¼ tsp
Pepper – ¼ tsp
Cumin seeds – ¼ tsp
Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp
Wheat flour – 2 tbsp
Oil, as required

Method:

Soak ulunthu and rice for about 3 to 4 hours.
Grind the soaked ulunthu and rice together with the fenugreek seeds, pepper, cumin seeds and turmeric powder.
Mix the wheat flour in the blended mixture. The batter should be thick.
Let the batter rest for about 3 to 4 hours.
Place the special ‘kundu thosai’ pan on the stove on low heat.
Pour a little oil in each of the 8 holes of the pan. Then, pour a tablespoon of batter in each.
Cook the thosai for about 1 ½ to 2 mins each side. Flip to the other side so that both sides are browned.
Serve hot with the coconut-tamarind sambal.

(b) Coconut-Tamarind Sambal

Time taken: 10 mins

Serves 4

Ingredients:

Freshly scraped coconut – ½ cup
Dried red chillies – 4 + 1
Onion – ¼ + ¼ , chopped
Curry leaves – 1 sprig
Fennel seeds – ½ tsp
Tamarind extract – ¼ cup
Salt, to taste
Oil, as required

Method:

Soak four of the dried red chillies for a few minutes and then chop them up.
Grind the soaked dried red chillies with the coconut and 1/4 onion and keep aside.
Heat a tbsp or two of oil in a pan and fry the fennel seeds.
When the seeds start spluttering, add the chopped ¼ onion and chopped dried red chilli and curry leaves.
Add ¼ cup of tamarind extract to the pan and let it simmer.
When the tamarind juice starts bubbling, add the ground chilli-onion-coconut mix and salt, to taste.
Mix well and remove from heat.
Serve with ‘Kundu’ thosai.

Recipe source: Ithayarani Jeyabalasingham.

Aluwa

Today’s guest blogger is Nilusha Doranegama, a clinical traumatologist. The recipe she is sharing with us today is one of her favourite recipes of her grandmother’s. Nilusha mentioned a time in her childhood when she was so fond of aluwa that she had advocated for having aluwa instead of cake for birthdays.

Aluwa

Time taken: 30 mins

Makes 25 – 30 pieces

Ingredients:

10 cups of rice flour (from 4-5 cups of soaked white raw rice)
2 cups of sugar
3 cups of water
3-4 cardamoms
1 cup roasted cashew nuts

Method:

Roast the rice flour under medium heat.
Boil the sugar and water in a non-stick pan.
While continuously stirring, add ground cardamom seeds and chopped cashew nuts.
Allow the syrup to cool a little and add the roasted flour and mix in well.
Quickly spread the aluwa on a tray lined with waxed paper and cut it in to pieces immediately.
Coat the aluwa with remaining flour.
Makes 25-30 aluwa pieces.

Recipe source: Nilusha Dishni Doranegama.

Kesari

When I asked my mother to teach me a simple and quick to prepare Sri Lankan dish for an informal international pot-luck with friends a year ago, she taught me to make Kesari. I took a few photos of the outcome of that lesson. So, today, I thought I would share the recipe for the first Sri Lankan (and Indian) recipe that I officially learnt along with the photos from that day.

Kesari is delicious both as a dessert and a special snack and takes very little time to prepare.

Kesari

Cooking time: 10 – 15 mins

Makes 10 pieces

Ingredients:

Semolina – ½ cup, lightly roasted
Water – 1 cup
Sugar – ¼ cup
Kesari powder – pinch
Rose essence – drop or Vanilla essence – 1 tsp and pinch of crushed cardamom
Vegetable margarine – 1 ½ tbsp

Method:

In a saucepan, boil a cup of water and the sugar.
When the water starts boiling, add the kesari powder and either the vanilla essence and pinch of crushed cardamom or drop of rose essence.
Stir continuously, while adding the semolina.
When the mixture starts to thicken, add the margarine while continuing to stir.
Remove the pan from the stove and transfer the kesari to a plate.
Level the kesari on the plate and allow it to cool for at least 10 mins before slicing and serving.

Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan.

Veggie Uppuma

I will be sharing two delicious vegan recipes, of my mother today, that are semolina (ravai) based. The first recipe is uppuma, a typical simple and nutritious breakfast dish.

Veggie uppuma

Time taken: 10 mins

Serves 3

Ingredients:

Semolina – 1/3 cup, slightly roasted
Water – 1 cup
Carrot – ¼ cup, chopped
Potato – ¼ cup, chopped
Beans – 2, chopped
Green chilli, chopped
Onion – ½ , chopped
Fennel seeds – 1 tsp
Curry leaves – 1 sprig
Freshly scraped coconut – 1 tbsp (optional)
Sesame oil (Gingelly oil) – 3 tbsp

Method:

Heat the sesame oil in a pan and sauté the fennel seeds, curry leaves for a minute or two.
Add the rest of the chopped vegetables to the pan and continue to sauté for about 5 mins.
Add a cup of water and salt to taste to the pan.
When the water starts boiling, add the semolina and stir until it starts coming together.
Before removing from heat, the freshly scraped coconut can be optionally added.
Mix well and serve hot.

Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan.

Butter cake

The last egg based recipe for today is my mother’s recipe for her delicious butter cake. My mother has used vegetable oil margarine instead of butter for a while now. Ingredients can be scaled down according to requirement. This was a large cake and I only managed to get a photo of the last two pieces before they too vanished.

Butter/ Margarine cake

Time taken: 40 – 45 mins

Makes around 24 pieces

Ingredients:

Butter or vegetable oil margarine – 1 cup
Eggs – 4
Sugar – 1 cup
Wheat flour – 1 ½ cups
Baking powder – 2 tsp

For the butter cream:

Butter or vegetable oil margarine – ¼ cup
Icing sugar – ¾ cup
Lime juice – 1 tsp
Vanilla – ½ tsp

Method:

Sift the wheat flour and baking powder. Keep aside.
Whisk the sugar and margarine together in a bowl. Keep aside.
Whisk lightly the eggs. Add the whisked eggs to the sugar and margarine bowl and continue to whisk.
Gradually add the sifted wheat flour and baking powder to the wet ingredients bowl and stir them together.
Pour the batter into a greased baking tray.
Bake the cake for 25 to 30 minutes in a pre-heated oven at 140⁰C/284⁰F.
Let the cake cool while you make the butter cream.
Whisk together the butter cream ingredients – butter/ margarine, icing sugar, lime juice and vanilla – and then spread the cream evenly over the cake.

Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan.

Egg cutlets

Today’s theme has been egg focused. The third recipe for today is my grandmother’s recipe for egg cutlets, as remembered by my mother.

Egg cutlet

Time taken: 15 – 20 mins

Serves 4

Ingredients:

Egg – 1 + egg white, for dipping the cutlet
Potato – 1
Onion – ¼, chopped
Green chilli – 1, chopped
Pepper – 1 tsp
Salt – ¼ tsp
Fennel powder – ½ tsp
Bread crumbs, for rolling the cutlets
Oil, for deep frying

Method:

Boil the egg and potato for about 10 minutes.
Mash the boiled potato in a bowl and keep aside.
Finely chop the boiled egg and add to the mashed potato.
Add the finely chopped onion, green chilli to the bowl and add the pepper, salt, fennel seasoning to the cutlet mix.
Mix well and divide the mixture into four balls.
Whisk lightly the white of an egg in a small bowl.
Dip each of the cutlet balls in the egg white and roll them in bread-crumbs. Keep aside.
Heat the oil for deep frying the cutlets. Drop the cutlets into the frying pan and fry them, turning them around so that they are browned on all sides.
Remove the cutlets from the frying pan and place them on grease absorbing paper before you serve them with a chilli or tomato sauce.

Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan.