Idichakka Thoran ( Stir-fried tender jackfruit with coconut from Kerala)

Ingredients

3 cups roughly chopped tender jackfruit
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp salt or to taste

Ground to a coarse paste

1 cup grated fresh coconut
1/4 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
2 cloves garlic(Optional)
2-3 tbsp water

Tempering

2 tbsp coconut oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp rice grains
2 dried red chillies, halved
1/2 cup onions sliced (optional)
1 green chilli, halved
1 sprig curry leaves

Place jackfruit in a pressure pan with turmeric powder, salt and 1 cup water.  Cook for 1 or 2 whistlesand turn off the heat.  remove from cooker, drain and crush jackfruit with a ladle into small shreds.
Blend in ground paste and set aside.
Heat oil for tempering in a frying pan over moderate heat.  Add remaining ingredients for tempering in the order given.  When mustard seeds splutter, add, onions, jackfruit, Stir-fry for 3-4 minutes till mixture is dry
Serve hot as a side dish.

Note: 500 gms of tender jackfruit is needed to get 3 cups of cleaned and chopped jackfruit.

Mixed Dal Dosa (Adai)

I made a little variation from the traditional Adai recipe which is popularly made in Tamilnadu. I used Moong dal , chana dal, urad dal, thuvar dal, Masoor dal (Panchmeli Dal mix).

Ingredients

2 cups Raw rice ( washed and soaked for 3-4 hours)
1/2 cup husked urad dal (washed and soaked for 3 hours)
1/2 cup of mixed dal (chana dal, masoor dal(husked), moong dal, thuvar dal) (washed and soaked for 3 hours)
1 tsp fenugreek seeds (soaked along with the dals)
2" piece ginger
2-4 dry red chillies (soaked along with dals)
4 tbsp grated fresh coconut
1/2 tsp asafoetida
handful of curry leaves (chopped finely)
Salt to taste

Preparation

Grind the rice, dals, fenugreek, ginger, redchillies, coconut altogether. The batter should be of dosa batter consistency. Add salt, asafoetida, curry leaves and mix well. Fermentation is not required but leave the batter at room temperature for 4-5 hours. I did not refrigerate it immediately. To make Adai, pour a ladle of batter and spread like a dosa, as thin as possible. Pour a tsp of oil and leave the dosa on medium high till golden brown, flip carefully and fry till golden and crisp!  The dosa comes out very crisp with a lovely golden colour. It is also very healthy for kids! Serve hot with chutney, sambar or pickles! It tastes great with Powdered Jaggery and a dollop of butter :)

Stir-fried beetroot with lentil crumble from Chettinad (Beetroot Paruppu Usili)

This Recipe is inspired from Chandra Padmanabhan's Simply South. Her recipes are a real treasure!

Ingredients

1/2 cup Thuvar dal (pigeon peas)
1/2 cup husked bengal gram(chana dal)
6 dried red chillies
1/2 tsp asafoetida powder
Salt to taste
4cups grated beetroot
1 onion, finely chopped

Tempering
3 tbsp oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp husked black gram dal(urad dal)
1 green chilli, halved
1 sprig curry leaves

Preparation

Wash dals and soak in 2 cups water with red chillies for 1 hour. Drain and grind to a coarse batter, gradually adding 1/3-1/2 cup water.
Add asafoetida powder and 3/4 tsp salt. Mix well and set aside.
Pressure cook the beetroots, let them cool. Remove the skin and grate.
In a pan, heat oil for tempering over moderate heat. Add the tempering ingredients in the order given. When mustard seeds splutter, add onions and fry till pink.
Blend in dal batter and fry over low heat stirring frequently, till mixture is well cooked, crisp and resembles breadcrumbs. (but not hard)
Mix in beetroot and stir-fry for 5 minutes till well blended.
Serve hot with rice.