Pickle Powder

This powder can be used to make any pickle, be it gooseberry pickle, mango pickle or lemon pickle.
This is a basic recipe and can be bought in stores. But why buy, when you can make it at home?

Ingredients:
Dry Red chilly - 250 gms
Methi seeds / uluva / fenugreek - 50 gms
Asafoetida / kayam - 50 gms
Salt - 150 gms
Sugar - 25 gms
Turmeric powder - 10 gms

Method:
Dry fry the red chilly in a heavy bottomed pan on a very low flame till it becomes a deeper shade of red. Keep aside to cool.

Dry fry the Methi seeds till they pop. Cool completely.

Now take the asafoetida gum and and flatten it as much as possible.
The gum is preferred as it has more smell than the powder available in the market.
This gum needs to be fried in a little oil on a low flame, till it becomes very crisp inside out.
Cool this also.

First powder the red chilly in the mixer.

Then add the methi seeds and powder it.
Next add the asafoetids strips.

Once powdered, add the salt, turmeric powder and sugar.
Grind into a smooth powder.

Store in an air tight container until required.

No cook Ripe Mango curry / Trikkur Mampazha curry

Just 3 main ingredients are used to make this amazing yummy dish and the best part is - no cooking!

Recipe Courtesy: Mrs.Latha Shankar

Ingredients:

Ripe Mangoes - 2

Green Chilly - 2

Fresh Curd - 1/2 cup

Salt to taste

Tadka:

Coconut oil - 1 tbsp

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Dry red Chilly - 1, broken

Curry Leaf - 10

Method:

Peel the skin of the mangoes and keep the skin aside. Do not throw it away.

Now add 1 tbsp water to the peel and squish. Remove as much juice as you can from it.

Now add the peeled mangoes and squish them both. Leave them inside the curry.

Pound the green chillies and add to the curry.

Add the salt..

Break the curd and add to the curry.

Mix well and top with curry leaf.

Splutter the mustard seeds in coconut oil and add the broken red chillies.

Add this to the curry.

That's it!! The curry is done.

Serve with spicy and bitter South Indian Pitla made with Bitter gourd or Sambar.

Jackfruit seed curry / Chakka kuru manga curry

A curry typical of Kerala where Chakka (jackfruit), manga (Mango) and thenga (coconut) grow aplenty!

This curry uses all three.

This curry can be made Sattvik, if the small onions are omitted.

This is Chakka kuru or the seed of Jackfruit which has been cleaned. Looks like a nut, doesn't it?

 Ingredients:
Tur dal - 1/2 cup
Ash gourd / elavan - 200 gms
Drum stick - 1
Mango, green - 1
Chakka Kuru - 10
Coconut - 1/2 cup
Green chilly - 5
Jeera - 1 tsp
Coconut oil - 2 tbsp
Shallots / small onion - 10 (optional)
Mustard - 1 tsp
Red chilly - 2
Curry leaf - 1 sprig
Salt to taste
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp

Method:
Pressure cook the turdal with ample water. Keep the chakka kuru in another vessel in the same cooker. Pressure cook for 3 whistles, reduce flame and cook for a further 10 minutes.

Boil the ash gourd with ample water, salt and turmeric powder.

 Cut the mango and drum stick as shown below.

Once the Gourd gets half cooked, add the drum stick.

Once the drumstick gets cooked, add the mango...

Add the mashed tur dal, chakka kuru and 2 green chillies to the cooked vegetables....

Grind the coconut with rest of the green chillies and jeera, into a fine paste.

Add this to the cooked curry.

Give only a light boil. Turn off flame.

Cut the shallots into thin discs.

Keep the mustard, dry red chilly and curry leaf hady. Heat the coconut oil in a kadai.

Splutter the mustard and then add the red chilly.

Add the onion and curry leaf. Fry till the onion turns golden brown. Add to the curry.

Serve with rice, ghee and poppadom.