KAIPPAKKA KONDATTAM, BITTER GOURD VATHAL

Bitter gourd is very good for health especially those who are suffering from diabetes.  This juice is very useful in controlling the sugar.

Bitter gourd vathal is made and stored in airtight container during summer.  This is used to make varuval or vathal kuzhambu during rainy season when  vegetables are scarce.  Most of the vathals, vadams, pickles are made during summer and stored by Indians during  summer. 

Let us look at the recipe now how to make this vathal.  In malayalam, it is called kondattam.

CLUSTER BEANS VATHAL, KOTHAVARAKKA VATHAL

Cluster beans or kothavarakka or kothavarankai or ghavar subzi is made normally as dry subzi.  South Indians make it poriyal, or usli, thoran etc. whereas in the north side, it is made along with onion, tomato etc with some masalas.

It is quite tasty but for some people, it gives gas trouble.  Hence we need to put garlic and hing powder in it to reduce that effect.

This can be sun dried and kept for frying or making subzi during rainy season.

TINAI DOSA

Tinai  (foxtail millet) dosa was really tasty with the sambar, chutney. Millet are good for health than the usual rice varieties.  Since it is healthy, I have started using these flours instead of rice now.

Millets are nutritious, easy to digest,  high on fibre.   Millets are a good source of  nutrients, including manganese, phosphorus, and magnesium.  

If you have got the flour, only have to grind urid dal and add to the flour and the job becomes very easy.

Let us look at the recipe now:

PAPAYA THOKKU

Raw papaya pickle is also very tasty like the raw mango thoku.  I had a piece of raw papaya in the fridge hence thought of trying it.  It came out so well and I had it with brown rice kichadi today.  Since my friend wants varieties of pickle for demonstration in her class, I was trying various kinds of pickles, and this is one among them.

It is a simple preparation and can keep it in fridge for a week.  Since the raw papayas are available through out  the year, we can prepare fresh pickle and consume.  Papaya thokku

Let us look at the recipe now:

PEANUT COCONUT MANGO PICKLE

Summer is the time to make vadams, aam ka panha, pickles etc.  Mango season has started and the market is flooded with kairi.  I have made few pickles today and presenting this peanut coconut mango pickle now.  

I am sure you will love this.  Before the mango season gets over, do try and give me your feed back.

TINAI, KAPPA KOZHUKKATTAI

Tinai, kappa pidi kozhukkattai I made it today and had with rasam.  You can also serve it with sambar, chutney,  morukootan etc.

Without much narration about the millets, as everyone knows that it is health friendly, let us look at the recipe now.  The method of preparation is like the normal upma kozhukkatai replacing the rice rava with tinai rava with addition of Kappa.

THINAI UPMA

Millets are highly nutritious and non-glutinous. Milllets are  high in minerals like iron, magnesium, phosphorous and potassium. Foxtail millet is rich in dietary fibre, protein and low in fat  Unlike rice, foxtail millet releases glucose steadily without affecting the metabolism of the body.   Millets are good for the people who are diabetic.  

The consumption of millets should be atleast thrice in a week as it is quite heart healthy. Foxtail millet is known as kangni in Hindi, tinai in tamil, Korra in Telugu and Navane in Kannada and thina in malayalam. 

Since  our life style is very strenuous, we must adopt  health friendly foods.  I have made the upma and upma kozhukkattai with kappa.

MARACHEENI APPALAM, KAPPA PAPADAM

Cassava, often referred to as tapioca from its word in Portuguese, is called Kappa (കപ്പ) Kizhangu or Poola (in northern Kerala) or Maracheeni or Cheeni or Kolli or Mathock (മത്തോക്ക്), Poola (പൂള)in Malayalam.

Tapioca is widely consumed in the Indian state of Kerala, usually as breakfast or in the evening. It is boiled (after skinning and cutting it into large cakes of about 6–8 cm long or into small 2 cm cubes) in water till properly cooked, and the water is drained off. Once cooked, it can be mixed with grated coconut, chili, salt, turmeric etc., then steamed and mashed into a dry pudding. This can be garnished in oil with mustard, onion, curry leaves etc. if desired. Tapioca cakes (Chendan Kappa) are often eaten with simple chili sauce (a paste of Green/Red Chili + Shallot + small red Onion + Garlic + Salt + Oil).

Mashed Tapioca is paired with Meat / Fish curry. Tapioca with fish curry (especially sardines) is a delicacy in Kerala. Mashed Tapioca with Chutta Unakka Mathi (dry salted sardine directly cooked on charcoal) and Green Chili is another popular combination. Kappa Biriyani is yet another Tapioca dish.

Tapioca can be stored for longer periods by parboiling and drying it, after skinning and slicing it into 0.5 cm thick pieces. This is called Unakka Kappa or Vaattu Kappa (dried tapioca). Unakka Kappa pudding is widely consumed in Kerala. Tapioca Chips, thinly sliced tapioca wafers, similar to potato chips, are also popular.

Sabudana  (in Hindi) , jawarisi ( in Tamil), sago pearls (in English) is made out of this.  Sabaduna kichadi, sabdudana vada   are the  fasting dish of Maharashtrians.

We can make chips,papadam, subzi etc. out of this.

ELAI VADAM, ILAI VADAM

Summer season has started and it is time to make pickle, vadams, masalas, aam ka panha etc.  I have already posted Killu karuvadam, kambu karuvadam, palak papad  & thattai karuvadam.  Here is my post of simple and easy elai vadam.

This elai vadam is eaten by us raw as we love to apply little chutta ennai i.e. after frying any item, the remaining oil is called chutta ennai. my son love this and on normal days also i make it and give him.

The best part of this vadam, is you need not worry about drying it under sun as it can be dried under fan also and for one or two hour, you can keep it under the sun.  elai vadam video

THATTAI VADAM

Vadam is made out of rice basically.  You can also make it  with combination of vazhathandu, kappa, sago  etc.  Normally, it is made during summer as it gets dried up very fast.  Vadam is served with rice, samabar or chitrannam viz. lime rice, puliodarai etc. or can be had it with cup of tea also.

Karuvadam is one of the delicious, ready to fry items from Tamil Nadu. Women  prepare these during the hot summer months of April and May. They are used as accompaniments at lunch or dinner through out the  year but particularly intended to be used during monsoon when fresh veggies are hardly available.

Elai vadam, karuvadam, maracheeni appalam, killu vadam etc is made and stored in airtight containers which is fried and served whenever it is required.  It remains years together if handled properly.

I made this thattai vadam with little kappa, maracheeni and rice flour.  I made an attempt to make the maracheeni appalam which turned out very thin like elai vadam and  had to fry it very carefully. I have posted palak papad.   If you make it plain, it becomes Elai vadam.  This post is with www.simpleindianrecipes.com as I used to share my recipes with Ms. Dahlia before I started my blog.

 coming back to thattai vadam, the batter is placed in the plastic sheet with spoon and spread it lightly like thattai.   hence i called it thattai vadam.  We can also make killu karuvadam by placing the batter with hand and dry it.