Podimas

Podimas can be made with either Potato or Vazhakka / raw banana. And there are 2 versions of Podimas - one with onion, other without onion.

I will share here both the recipes.

Serve with Onion Sambar.

Ingredients (for podimas with onion):

Potato - 1/2 kg

(or)

Raw banana / Vazhakka - 4 numbers

Onion - 1 medium

Curry leaf - 1 sprig

Coconut oil - 3 tbsp

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Urad dal / uzhundu parippu - 1 tsp

Dry red chilly - 1, broken

Salt 

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Coriander leaf - 1 tbsp (optional)

Method:

Pressure cook the potato / banana and peel the skin. 

Mash with some pieces as big chunks.

Heat oil in a kadai and splutter mustard.

Add the urad dal and red chilly.

When the dal turns red, add the onions and curry leaf.

Reduce flame and stir well.

Fry till onion turns transparent.

Add the salt, turmeric powder.

Add the potato and mix well.

Cook covered on a low flame, mixing often for 5 minutes.

Garnish with coriander leaf.

Ingredients (for podimas without onion):

Potato - 1/2 kg

(or)

Raw banana / Vazhakka - 4 numbers

Curry leaf - 1 sprig

Coconut oil - 3 tbsp

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Urad dal / uzhundu parippu - 1 tsp

Dry red chilly - 1, broken

Salt 

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Coconut - 1/2 cup

Green chilly - 1

Method:

Pressure cook the potato / banana and peel the skin. 

 Mash with some pieces as big chunks.

Heat oil in a kadai and splutter mustard.

Add the urad dal and red chilly.

When the dal turns red, add the curry leaf.

Add the mashed banana / potato.

Add salt and turmeric powder. Mix well.
Grind the coconut and green chilly without any water
Add this to mashed banana / potato.

Mix well and cook covered on a low flame for 5 minutes.

Lime pickle

My grandmother's recipe.
Can it go wrong???

Recipe source: Late (Mrs.) Lakshmi Suryanarayana Iyer
Passed on to me by Mrs.Seetha Ananthakrishnan (my aunt). :D

Ingredients:
Lime - 1 kg
Til oil - 1/2 cup + 1/4 cup
Salt
Red chilly - 150 gms or more
Uluva / Methi seeds - 1 tbsp
Asafoetida powder / kayam - 1 tbsp

Method:
Wash the lime very well and wipe dry.

Dry fry the Methi seeds till they pop and keep aside.

Dry fry the red chilly till it becomes a deeper shade of red. Add it to the methi seeds.

Cool and powder. Keep aside until necessary.

Add the 1/2 cup til oil to this and add the lime to it.

Reduce flame and stir often. The lime will blacken and start 'exploding'/ developing cracks.

Remove the lime to a plate to cool.

Wipe well with a tissue paper to remove all the black.

Cut the lime into half, then quarter and then into half - total 8 pieces. Remove all the seeds you can.

Add the powdered chilly-methi powder to the cut pieces.

Add salt.

Mix well.

Heat 1/4 cup til oil in a kadai till smoking point. You can add more oil, if you wish.
Turn off flame.

Add asafoetida powder.

Add it on top of the lime pickle and mix well.
Transfer to an airtight glass container and seal.

Mysurpa / Mysore Pak / besan sweet with loads of sugar and ghee

Sree Krishna sweets is eponymous with Mysurpa. They do not call it Mysore Pak, as they say that it melts in the mouth before the 'k' is pronounced!

This sweet is a must in all Tam-Bram marriages and other functions. It is supposed to be very easy to make but thinking of the ghee and sugar used.....please do not count the calories, when you indulge in this luxurious sweet!!

I saw Vijaya mami make this sweet for a function organised in my maternal home. This recipe is hers and the photos have been taken at my home. Please excuse the lighting.

There are only 3 ingredients used, but it is time consuming process. I must add that the dish is quite forgiving. You can stop the cooking process and start cooling the mixture. If it does not set, reheat. But once it crosses the point of actual setting.....oops!! You will be left with a powdery sweet. So, be careful.

Ingredients:
Besan / Kadala mav / Chick pea flour - 1 measure
Sugar - 2 1/2 measure + some more for dusting
Ghee / Clarified butter - 2 1/2 measure
Milk - 1/8 measure (to remove impurities from sugar syrup)

Method:
Heat the besan in heavy bottomed vessel for 2 minutes and keep aside to cool.

Melt the ghee and divide the into 2 parts.

Spread some ghee on a large plate and keep aside.

Add the Besan to 1 part of ghee and keep aside.

Boil the sugar in ample water and 1 tsp ghee.

Once it melts, add some milk to remove the impurities.

When all the impurities are removed, heat the syrup till 1 string consistency.
Add the besan + ghee mixture and start boiling.

Keep adding more ghee as you continue cooking. (not all in one go, but in installments). You must finish the left over 1 measure ghee.

When the mixture starts leaving the sides of the vessel and you can draw a line in between, transfer to the buttered vessel.

Tap vigorously to remove air bubbles.

While still warm, spread some sugar on top. Then cut into desired shape.