Tag Archives: Colombo

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

Veggie uppuma

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:

  1. Heat the sesame oil in a pan and sauté the fennel seeds, curry leaves for a minute or two.
  2. Add the rest of the chopped vegetables to the pan and continue to sauté for about 5 mins.
  3. Add a cup of water and salt to taste to the pan.
  4. When the water starts boiling, add the semolina and stir until it starts coming together.
  5. Before removing from heat, the freshly scraped coconut can be optionally added.
  6. 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

Butter cake

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:

  1. Sift the wheat flour and baking powder. Keep aside.
  2. Whisk the sugar and margarine together in a bowl. Keep aside.
  3. Whisk lightly the eggs. Add the whisked eggs to the sugar and margarine bowl and continue to whisk.
  4. Gradually add the sifted wheat flour and baking powder to the wet ingredients bowl and stir them together.
  5. Pour the batter into a greased baking tray.
  6. Bake the cake for 25 to 30 minutes in a pre-heated oven at 140⁰C/284⁰F.
  7. Let the cake cool while you make the butter cream.
  8. 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.

Veggie omelette

This is my mother’s version of a veggie omelette. It is spicy, crunchy and very filling.

Veggie omelette

Veggie omelette

Time taken: 8 – 10 mins

Serves 2

Slice of veg omelette

Ingredients:

  • Egg – 1
  • Green peas – 2 tbsp
  • Chopped carrot – 2 tbsp
  • Chopped beans – 2 tbsp
  • Chopped potatoes – 2 tbsp
  • Chopped onion – 2 tbsp
  • Green chillies – 2, chopped
  • Salt – ½ tsp
  • Pepper – ½ tsp
  • Low fat oil – 1 tbsp

Method:

  1. Whisk the egg in a small bowl and add the chopped veggies and seasoning.
  2. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan and pour the egg and vegetable mixture onto the pan.
  3. Fry the omelette for a couple of minutes each side.
  4. Serve hot.

Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan.

Ash plantain curry

The second recipe that I would like to share today is one of my mother’s ash plantain recipes.

Ash plantain curry

Time taken: 35 mins

Serves 4

Ash plantain curryIngredients:

  • Ash plantain – 1
  • Tomato – 1
  • Onion – ½
  • Green chilli or capsicum – 1
  • Ginger – 1”
  • Garlic cloves – 2
  • Fenugreek seeds – 1 tsp
  • Crushed chillies – 1 tsp, or as per taste
  • Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp
  • Salt, to taste
  • Low fat oil – 1 tsp

Method:

  1. First, cook the ash plantain, with skin, in water for 15 minutes. Leaving the skin on during boiling will prevent the plantain from turning from white to ash.
  2. Once cooked, remove the plantain from the water and peel. Chop up the plaintain into small pieces and sprinkle some salt over them and keep aside.
  3. Chop up the tomato, onion and green chilli.
  4. Heat a tsp oil in a pan and sauté the chopped onion, ginger, garlic and green chilli with the fenugreek seeds.
  5. Add the chopped tomato pieces to the pan and continue to sauté for a few more minutes before adding the salted, chopped up pieces of ash plantain.
  6. Add ½ cup of water to the pan and adjust salt. Add 1 tsp crushed chillies and ¼ tsp turmeric powder.
  7. Cook the curry till it comes together and the liquid nearly dries up.
  8. Serve with rice.

Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan.

Vegetable coconut curry

Today’s recipe is a curry recipe of my mother that I really like. It is a simple and delicious curry.

Vegetable coconut curry or Vellai curry, as it is known in Tamil

Time taken: 20 – 25 mins

Serves 4

Vegetable curryIngredients:

  • Cauliflower – ½ cup, chopped
  • Potato – ½ cup, chopped
  • Green peas – ¼ cup
  • Carrot – ½ cup, chopped
  • Onion – ¼, chopped
  • Chilli – 1, chopped
  • Coconut milk – ¼ cup
  • Pepper – ½ tsp
  • Lime juice – 1 tsp, or more as per taste

Method:

  1. Heat 1 tsp oil and sauté the chopped onion and chilli for a minute in a pan.
  2. Then, add all the chopped vegetables to the pan along with 1 cup of water and cook the vegetables for 10 mins.
  3. Add the coconut milk to the pan and cook the curry for another 5 mins.
  4. Add the pepper and cook for a couple of minutes before removing from heat.
  5. Squeeze some fresh lime/ lemon juice over the vegetable curry and serve with rice.

Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan.

Ambarella chutney

Update (02/07/2014): As I wished to send in a dish to the first virtual vegan linky party initiated by Annie, Poppy and Angela, I decided to send in an old recipe that I had shared on my blog in its early days. So, I am sharing this chutney under the side dish category for the potluck.

The chutney recipe for today is ambarella (spondias dulcis) chutney. Ambarella is said to be good for people with diabetes.

raw ambarella

Ambarella chutney

Time taken: 15 – 20 mins

Serves 4

Ambarella chutney

Ingredients:

  • Ambarella – 3
  • Cinnamon – 1” piece
  • Crushed chillies – 1 tsp
  • Sugar – 1 tbsp
  • Salt, to taste

Method:

  1. Peel the three ambarellas. Chop up the ambarella into 5 or 6 pieces each and put them in a pan. The middle portion is difficult to remove or chop up so it can be left as it is and included in the pan.
  2. Add 1 cup of water or just enough to cover the ambarella pieces.
  3. Add a piece of cinnamon and some salt, to taste, to the pan. Cover and cook for about 10 mins.
  4. If the water has completely dried up, add ½ cup of water.
  5. Add 1 tbsp sugar and 1 tsp crushed chillies to the pan.
  6. Increase heat and cook for some minutes till the chutney comes together and it is no longer watery but rather a thick sauce-like consistency.
  7. Remove from heat and transfer to serving bowl.

Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan.

Mango chutney

Today, I thought of sharing two of my mother’s chutney recipes.

Raw mangoes

Mango chutney

Time taken: 20 mins

Serves 4Mango chutney

Ingredients:

  • Mango – 1, unripe
  • Onion – ¼, chopped
  • Malu miris/ capsicum – 1, chopped
  • Mustard – 1 tsp
  • Fennel seeds – 1 tsp
  • Crushed chillies – 1 tsp
  • Sugar – 1 tbsp
  • Vinegar – 1 tsp (optional – best to add, if you want to keep chutney for some days)
  • Turmeric – ½ tsp
  • Salt, to taste
  • Low fat oil – 1 tbsp

Method:

  1. Wash the mango, de-seed and chop up the mango with the skin into 1 inch slices.
  2. Marinate the chopped up mango pieces with salt and turmeric. Keep aside.
  3. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan and fry the mustard and fennel seeds. As they start to splutter, add the chopped onion and malu miris.
  4. After a few minutes of frying or once the onions become pinkish, add the marinated pieces of mango and mix well.
  5. Cover and cook on low heat for 5 mins.
  6. Remove cover and stir.
  7. Add 1 tsp of crushed chillies to the pan. Mix well and cover and continue to cook for another 5 minutes.
  8. Remove cover again and this time, add 1 tbsp of sugar and the optional 1 tsp vinegar.
  9. Mix well and cover and cook for a few more minutes.
  10. Remove from heat and mix well before transferring to the serving bowl.

Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan.

Egg-less Date and Raisin Cake

Among the several delicious cakes that my mother bakes, a special treat is her egg-less date and raisin cake that she makes on special occasions.

Date and raisin cake

Date and Raisin Cake

Time taken: 1 ½ hours + 3 hours (for marinating the dried fruits)

Serves 8 – 10

Slice of date cake

Ingredients:

  • Dates – 1½ cup (when chopped) or 300 g (before chopping)
  • Raisins – ½ cup (100 g)
  • Wheat flour – 2 cups
  • Semolina – ½ cup
  • Low fat vegetable oil margarine (e.g. Flora) – 1 ½ cup (250 g)
  • Brown sugar – 1 cup
  • Condensed milk – 1 cup (vegans can use almond cream or cashew nut cream or coconut cream as a substitute)
  • Vanilla essence – 2 tsp
  • Mixed 3C spice powder (Cardamon, Cloves and Cinnamon) – 1 ½ tsp
  • Sri Lankan Tea – 1/3 cup
  • Baking powder – 2 tsp
  • Baking soda – ¼ tsp + pinch (for marinating the dried fruits)

Method:

  1. De-seed the dates and chop them. Place the chopped dates in a bowl, together with the raisins.
  2. Add 1/3 cup of strong black tea, pinch of baking soda and the mixed 3C spice powder to the dates and raisins bowl. Cover and keep aside, for 2 – 3 hours, letting the dried fruits marinate in the tea and spice mix.
  3. Whisk together the margarine and sugar, adding the condensed milk or vegan substitute. If whisking by hand, add the ingredients slowly while continuing to whisk. If using a blender, blend the three together for about 10 minutes.
  4. Add the vanilla essence to the blend and mix.
  5. Sift the flour, semolina together with the baking powder and soda.
  6. Stir in the sifted flour and semolina gradually into the bowl of blended margarine, sugar and milk and mix.
  7. Add the marinated dried fruits to the batter and fold.
  8. Transfer the cake batter into a baking tray and bake in a pre-heated oven at 140⁰C/284⁰F for about 1 – 1 ¼ hours.
  9. Remove from oven and let it cool, before slicing and serving with some hot Sri Lankan tea or coffee.

Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan.

Brinjal salad

One of the brinjal recipes of my mother that I like is the brinjal salad. Her recipe is an adaptation of her grandmother’s recipe.

Brinjal salad

Time taken: 15 – 20 mins

Serves 2

DSC00012

Ingredients:

  • Brinjal – 1
  • Chilli or capsicum – 1, chopped
  • Onion – ¼ , chopped
  • Pepper and salt, to taste
  • Freshly scraped coconut – 2 tbsp (Optional)
  • Lime juice, to taste

Method:

  1. Wash the brinjal and then wrap the whole brinjal, in tin foil.
  2. Boil a half-filled saucepan of water and then drop this tin-foil wrapped brinjal in the pan to cook for 10 minutes.
  3. After the brinjal is cooked, remove from the pan and unwrap the foil. Peel the brinjal immediately as it will otherwise be difficult to remove if cooled.
  4. Mash the cooked brinjal.
  5. Add the chopped onion, chilli, optional scraped coconut and the salt and pepper seasoning. Mix well
  6. Add some lime juice and serve with rice.

Note: My great-grandmother used to roast the brinjal, wrapped in a leaf, inserted among the firewood stove so I can imagine that the salad would have had a nice smoky, roasted flavour. So, translated into today’s world, roasting the brinjal wrapped in tin foil in an oven would be the equivalent.

Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan.

Vallarai salad and chutney

The first recipe for today is vallarai salad followed by vallarai chutney. Vallarai/ Gotukola (Centella Asiatica) is a herb used in Ayurvedic medicine, traditional Chinese as well as African medicine. It is said to improve memory and some believe youthfulness.

Bunch of Vallarai/ Gotukola

Bunch of Vallarai/ Gotukola

(a) Vallarai salad

Time taken: 10 mins

Serves 3 or 4

Vallarai salad

Ingredients

  • Vallarai bunch – 2 cups, when finely chopped
  • Tomato – 1 medium or grated coconut – 1 tbsp
  • Chilli – 1
  • Onion – ½
  • Pepper and Salt, to taste
  • Lime juice – 1 tbsp, adjust as preferred

Method:

  1. Wash the bunch of vallarai leaves thoroughly and then finely chop them up and put them in a large salad mixing bowl.
  2. Chop up the tomato, chilli and onion and add to the bowl. For those who don’t like tomatoes, substitute with freshly scraped coconut.
  3. Sprinkle some pepper and salt, to taste and add the lime juice.
  4. Toss well and serve immediately.

(b) Vallarai chutney

Time taken: 5 mins

Serves 3

Vallarai chutney

Ingredients:

  • Vallarai – 2 cups, finely chopped
  • Freshly scraped coconut – ½ cup
  • Onion – ½ chopped
  • Green chillies – 2
  • Lime juice, to taste

Method:

  1. Blend the 2 cups of finely chopped vallarai with ½ cup of freshly scraped coconut, ½ onion and 2 chillies.
  2. Squeeze some fresh lime juice over the chutney and mix before serving immediately.

Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan.