KOSUMALLI, KOTHAMBARI

Sri Ram Navami is falling on 8th of this month.  During this day, Neer moru, panagam and the kosumali, kothambari or carrot cucumber salad with moongdal is prepared and served as prasadam.  This salad is also  the speciality during feasts.  It is a simple salad preparation and very tasty to eat as it is.

kosumalli, kothambari, carrot, cucumber salad Youtube

PANAGAM, PANAKAM

Panagam, panakam it is known as is a drink prepared with jaggery, dry ginger powder and cardamom powder with lemon juice. It is a Ram Navami special along with Neer moru and kosumalli.  I have already posted neer moru, sambaram, taaq.  Here is the recipe for panagam as Ram Navami is on 8th of this month. Enjoy this drink chilled.  It is a nice summer drink too.

Youtube: panakam, panagam

MASALA BHAT

Masala bhat is a  variety of rice prepared by North Indians especially Maharashtrians.  It is a mixture of rice, vegetables and masalas.  Serve it hot with chaas/butter milk.   Yummy it is.  You can mix any kind of vegetables in it and a best way to feed the children who do not eat the vegetables.  Also a very easy preparation for the bachelors, no hassles of making dal, subji etc.  So why are you waiting.  Grab the ingredients and go to the kitchen to relish the my way of masale bhat.

watch on Youtube; Masala bhat 1   Masala bhat 2         Masala bhat 3

KODUKAPULI PICKLE, MANILA TAMARIND PICKLE, SWEET TAMARIND PICKLE

Here I am with another recipe of Kodukapuli.  This is the season of pickles and people make varieties of pickles in the summer season.   Though sweet tamarind has got a bland taste, with tamarind pulp, chilli powder and jaggery, this pickle tastes awesome.

Kodukapuli pickle

enjoy the kodukapuli curry and kodukapuli chutney, thogayal too

KODUKAPULI THOGAYAL, CHUTNEY, MANILA TAMARIND THOGAYAL, CHUTNEY

I have already posted  kodukapuli curry, sweet tamarind curry, chinch curry, manila tamarind curry recently. Kodukapuli thogayal or chutney is made with kodukapuli.  During summer season you get plenty of this in the market, the local vendors selling it.  I happened to the market yesterday and bought  it with a plan to make pickle and thogayal out of it as I had already posted the curry recipe recently.  Today I made chutney, thogayal out of it and was liked by everyone.  This is the season we can purchase the kodukapuli and I loved it.  Though it has got a bland taste, with the dal and coconut, it tastes awesome and can be served with dal rice, curd rice and with roti too.

Kodukapuli thogayal, chutney

kodukapuli pickle

INSTANT MANGO PICKLE

Summer season has started and every house hold will be busy making papads, pickles, kurdas etc.  I always make seasonal pickles and vadams and kurdas.  But now a days, i stopped making vadams and kurdas as no one is there to eat at home.  But after starting my blog, I have started making very little for the blog purpose.

Today I made instant mango pickle.  We had some fresh mangoes so thought of trying it today and turned out to be super with curd rice.  Here is the simple instant mango recipe for you.  Remember, we can make it with one mango also and use it and  make a lot a store it in fridge.

insant mango pickle

CORN MEAL IDLI, MAKAI ATTE KI IDLI

Corn meal or makai ki atta is gluten free, good source of fiber, niacin, zind and iron.  We can make pancakes, makai adai  ( corn meal dosa recipe already posted) and idli, makkai ki roti with sarson ka saag is a famous North Indian Dish.

I started having this roti when I went to a Punjabi reception.  Though I was having it for the first time, I really enjoyed the roti and sarson ka saag.  Coming back to Corn meal idli, I adapted the recipe from Simpleindianrecipes.com with whom I had shared my recipes before starting my blog.

It is very tasty and loved it with coconut chutney and milagai podi, sambar

corn meal idli

KANJI AND VENNI

This year Vishu is on 14th April 2014. New Year day of Keralites and Tamilians.

Kanji and venni is made during the New Year Day by Keralites and Tamilians.  It is a  traditional simple food relished on the day of Vishu.

In the month of Chitirai, (April) mango and neem trees will be full of flowers and fruits (In the spring season).  On the day of Vishu i.e New Year day, we make a curry with sweet, bitter, sour, salty and spicy.  It symbolizes the fact of our is a mixture of sadness, happiness, anger, fear, disgust etc which we have to digest and come out of all these problems accepting the fact of life and still live happily through  our life.

In Kerala, we celebrate "Vishu"  On the day of Vishu, "Kani Kannal" is a tradition.  On the previous night, in front of the God, in a thambalam or plate or big banana leaf, we keep broken coconut filled with coins and gold, a mirror with a golden chain in it, a vellarikka (madras kakadi), flowers, fruits, all the vegetables, jackfruit, lime, rice, dhal, mangoes jaggery, banana, vettilai, paku etc to seek the blessings of God and pray that through out the year, we should get all these things abundantly.  In this Kani, a special flower called "Konnapoo" or Amaltas or Indian Laburnum is must.  On the day of Vishu, elderly women wake up all the members of the family one by one to see the Vishu Kani and Kai Neetam ( giving money by the elderly person in the family to all the younger ones) is given.  Then celebrate the whole day and nice feast is also made and enjoyed. by all the family memebrs together.  It is really fun and I really enjoy at Kerala only and not in Metro.

Kanji and Venni

Kani Konna poo,  Indian laburnum

Kanji and Venni Youtube

INSTANT GOOSEBERRY PICKLE, AMLA PICKLE, NELLIKKA PICKLE

Pickles are always relished by us  especially it is part of Indian Meals.  Pickles are made by using various methods in different regions and every pickle has got its speciality.  Red chili powder, rai dana, saunf etc. are part of the pickles.

Here I have taken amla today for making the pickle.  I have used the instant method to make this pickle so that as soon as you make it, you can consume.  But the real taste in pickle is when you store it for a longer period.

VADU MANGAI, TENDER MANGO PICKLE, KADUKU MANGA, BABY MANGO PICKLE

Summer has started and the market is flooded with tender mangoes, bigger mangoes for pickle.  Jackfruit ripe and raw has started flooding in the market too.  Pickle is a part of our Indian meal and everyone likes it.  This vadu mangai is heavenly with curd rice.  I used to have it with sambar rice also.  

The vadu mangai is prepared and kept it in the Bharani/Jar and used next year.  Though I have been asked not to consume pickles, when I went to market today, I could not resist myself when I saw the tender mangoes.  Initially thought of buying only  1/2 kg but the quality of mango was too good, I picked up around 2 kgs of mangoes and the recipe is here.

Hurry up before the season gets over and enjoy.

Watch youitube: vadu mangai, tender mango pickle