BREAD SEVAI, BREAD NOOLPUTTU, BREAD IDIYAPPAM

Idiyappam also known as noolputtu or string hoppers is  a traditional Tamil, Kerala, Kodava, Tulu and Sri Lankan food consisting of rice flour pressed into noodle form an then steamed.  Served with sambar, chutney etc.  

Can also make lime sevai, thengai sevai, vegetable sevai etc. 

 The name idiyappam derives from the Tamil/Malayalam words idi meaning broken down and appam meaning pancake.  You call it by any name, this simple dish made out of rice, millet flour served along with sambar, chutney is divine in taste.

Coming back to the recipe, I tried the sevai with left over pieces of brown bread.  I had kept the sides of the bread (around 12 slices) and four pieces of bread in the packet.  Rest you can go through the recipe
 

BEET ROOT SEVAI

Whether you roast it whole, blend into a classic soup or drink as juice,  - beetroot is low in fat, full of vitamins and minerals and packed with powerful antioxidants.    Beetroot is of exceptional nutritional value; especially the greens, which are rich in calcium, iron,  and vitamins A and C. Beetroots are an excellent source of folic acid and a very good source of fibre,  manganese and potassium. The greens should not be overlooked; they can be cooked up and enjoyed in the same way as spinach.

I used to make raita, poriyal (thoran),  beet root sago kheer,  beet root paratha, beetroot vada,  beetroot cutlet,  beetroot tomato saar,  raw in salad, beetroot halva,  even the greens poriyal, beetroot tomato soup. I make and love to have it with curd rice or plain rice with ghee.

KARELA RAITA, BITTER GOURD RAITA

Bitter gourd raita is made out of bitter gourd and onion.  It is a simple preparation and tasty rice and I liked it with chapati too.  Bitter gourd has got many health benefits.

When I asked my husband what to make with karela as he loves the stuffed karela, bitter gourd pickle,  pitla, fried , bitter gourd fry, etc. he told me put it in curd and give me.  He loves to have it in that way.   What I have to do is chop them very finely, add salt and then add the curd. keep it for sometime and serve.

When he said that I said will raita out of it.  He was too happy to have it when I made as it was tasting very nice with rice.

MANJAL MORUKOOTAN, AMBE HALAD DAHI KADHI

Manjal means haldi, turmeric which has got many medicinal values.  Lots of fresh manjal is available now.  I made simple pickle out of it and it was yummy.  Thought of making morukootan out of it and was delicious. 

A simple preparation,  but tasty and delicious. 

IDIYAPPAM (VADUMANGA FLAVOURED)

Idiyappam is a Kerala Special breakfast dish  served with  coconut milk  based stew prepared with potato, carrot, beans etc.  It is also served with coconut milk with sugar.  My mother in law makes morukootan and fry the applam to serve along with it.  

Is is basically prepared with the rice flour.  Tamilians  grind the rice, cook it, make balls out of it, steam it  and then pass through the sevai nazhi and is known as sevai.   They make thengai sevai (coconut sevai), Limbu sevai, etc.   I have made few varieties of it  kothamalli sevai  Though it is a tedious process, and call it as idiyappam or sevai,  the end result is YUMMY.

idiyappam 1, idiyappam 2

CORN MEAL PITLA

Pitla is made by Maharashtrains with chickpea flour and served along with Bhakriand rice too.  It is a staple food of farmers, very easy to make and tasty too.  I tried this with corn meal and served with Ven pongal.

I started liking this dish when my colleagues started sharing it during lunch time.  The pitla becomes thick when it becomes cool hence you must add water accordingly if you want bit watery. Junka is also served with bhakri.  It is a dry version with chick pea flour.

MALAYALAM ENGLISH GLOSSARY OF SOME COMMON VEGETABLES AND HERBS

MALAYALAM ENGLISH GLOSSARY OF SOME COMMON VEGETABLES AND HERBS

• Ulli – Onion
• Savola – Big Onion
• Kunjulli – Shallots (Pearl Onions)
• Uralakizhangu – Potato
• Thakkali – Tomato
• Vendakka – Okra (Ladies Finger)
• Vazhuthananga – Eggplant, Brinjal, Aubergine
• Pavakka (Kaipakka) – Bitter Gourd, Bitter Melon
• Muringakka – Drumstick
• Payru – Beans
• Cheera – Spinach
• Muttakoos – Cabbage
• Mathanga – Pumpkin
• Kumbalanga – Ash Gourd, White Gourd, Winter Melon
  
• Peechinga – Ridge Gourd
• Kovakka – Ivy Gourd
• Velarikka – Yellow Cucumber, Indian Cucumber
  
• Padavalanga – Snake Gourd
• Churakka – Bottle Gourd
• Bangalore Kathrikka/ Sheema Kathrikka/ Chow Chow – Chayote Squash
  
• Mathura Kizhangu – Sweet Potato
• Inji – Ginger
• Manjal – Turmeric
• Mulaku – Chilly
• Velluthulli – Garlic
• Chenna – Yam, elephant foot
• Chembu – Colocasia / Taro / Arbi
• Koorka – Chinese Potato
• Kappa – Yuca / Tapioca
• Koova – Arrow Root
• Parippu – Lentil /Dal
• Kadala Parippu – Bengal Gram Dal
• Cheru Payru Parippu (Moong Dal)- Green Gram Dal
• Tuvara Parippu (Toor Dal)- Yellow Split Peas/Yellow Pigeon Peas
• Chuvana Parippu (Masoor Dal) – Red Gram Dal
• Uzhunnu Parippu (Urad Dal) –  Black Gram Dal/Black Beluga Lentils
• Cheru Payru – Whole Green Gram
• Kadala – Bengal Gram/ChickPeas/Garbanzo Beans/Kabuli chana
• Mudira – Horse gram

PALAK PULAO

During winter you get almost all the vegetables specially the fresh leafy vegetables.  I always prefer to make the leafy subzi  very simple without much spices and have it with curd rice.  

Spinach / palak is rich in folic acid, iron, zinc and antioxidant.   Spinach is packed with nutrients like antioxidants, Vitamins, omega 3 fatty acids and folic acid which are great for your heart. These nutrients will improve the blood flow in your body and prevent your arteries from getting blocked due to bad cholesterol.

Spinach has a very low glycaemic index, which makes it an excellent option for diabetics since it helps stabilize blood glucose levels. It is good for preventing diabetes too by preventing the dysfunction of beta cells that produce insulin. 

Spinach is rich in fibre which helps cure constipation. It also has other properties which helps cleanse, rebuild and renew your intestinal tract.

KOORKA MEZHUKUPURATTI

Koorka is also known as seemakizhangu, chivakizhangu in malayalam, chinese potato in english, siru kizhangu in tamil and sambrali in kannada.  It is grown in Kerala, Tamilnadu, Karnataka, Sri Lanka, Malyasia, Indonesia and Thailand.

It is a seasonal tuber with hairy, muddy and cleaning is a difficult task.  It has got a unique flavour and taste hence I prefer to cook it with minimum spices so that the taste, aroma is not overpowered by the spices.  In fact I prefer to make the meuzhukupuratti with coconut oil and serve with sambar rice or rasam rice.  You can make various dishes out of it viz. molagootal, kootu, stir fry or can deep fry and add masalas like we prepare the dishes with the normal potatoes. slice it and fry like chips and then add chillipowder and salt in it or with black pepper powder.

You can either pressure cook and peel off the skin or put it in a sack and beat it against a rough surface for 5-6 times, most of the peel comes out then put it in water and start removing the remaining peel with the backside of the knife.  Though it is difficult to clean this vegetable as it is time consuming,  the end product is YUM and it is worth the hard work.  The leaves somewhat looks like mint leaves and got a peculiar smell when we remove the kizhangu from the earth.

The koorka kizhangu is the most important ingredient during sankrant and pongal.  While making Ven pongal my Mom in law used to put 4-5 kizhangu in the rice.

Let us look at the recipe now:

BABY CORN DAL

Baby corn dal is a simple preparation with minimum ingredients and spices which can be served with rice and roti too.  Simple and easy to prepare, good for health.  You can use moongdal, masoor dal or tur dal of your choice.  I used the masoor dal.

Let us look at the recipe now:

Ingredients:

5-6  baby corns finely chopped
1/2 cup masoor dal
1 tsp sambar powder
1 onion finely chopped
turmeric powder
salt
2 tsp ghee

tempering:

1 tsp mustard seeds
few curry leaves
a pinch of hing powder

Method:

wash soak the massoor dal in water for 30 minutes. this helps in cooking the dal very fast.
chop the baby corns finely.
heat ghee in kadai, add the mustard seeds when it splutters,add the curry leaves, hing powder, chopped onion and saute till onion is transparent.
add the chopped corns and saute for 5 minutes.
transfer the same into a vessel or directly to the cooker.  
add the dal with sufficient water, turmeric powder, salt and pressure cook the same for one whistle in high flame and reduce the flame and cook till you get the second whistle.
allow to cool,  add the sambar powder, mix well and bring to boil.
garnish with chopped coriander.  if you want, can add a teaspoon of lime juice.
serve hot with chapati, roti, phulka, rice etc.
allow to cool