Baked sweet potato with salad

Indians bake. But mostly Cakes and breads. And I had not baked in days. Navrathri just got over and Diwali is in the offing. So, today I baked sweet potato and served with a simple salad and Mushrooms.

So easy to make. Just pop everything into the oven; mix your salad and serve!

Oven Temperature : 200C

Ingredients:
Sweet potato - 3 (250 gm each)
Mushroom - 200 gm (optional)
Garlic - 10 pods (optional)
Onion - 1 medium
Tomato - 3 medium
Green chilly - 2
Coriander leaf - 3 tbsp (garnish)
Spring onion - 1 tbsp (garnish)
Lemon - 1
Olive oil - 4 tbsp
Salt
Pepper

Method:
Preheat oven for 10 minutes.
Wash and scrub the sweet potato to remove all grime and dirt.
Pat dry.
Brush olive oil over the potatoes and sprinkle salt.

Lay on a tray covered with aluminium foil (shiny side up) and bake for 45 minutes. Turn each potato after 20 minutes.
If you want to add mushrooms and garlic do the same as you did for sweet potatoes and put them into the oven when there is still 20 minutes baking time left. (I have added 1 quartered onion too.)

Salad:
Cut the onion and tomato into strips. Add sliced green chilly.
Just before serving, add salt and lime juice. Mix well.

Serving:
Slit the sweet potato down the middle and top with the salad.
Serve with baked Mushroom (garnished with pepper), baked garlic, onion and a slice of lemon.
Garnish with Coriander leaf and spring onion.

Sabudana / Javvarisi Payasam

Sabudana / Javvarisi is had during vrat / fasting. And we usually make something savory - either Sabudana Khichdi or Sabudana Vada with it. This is a sweet preparation and my brother - Vinayak Parameswaran, loves it. He used to call it 'muthu payasam' (pearl payasam).

Ingredients:
Javvarisi / Sabudana / sago - 1/2 cup
Milk - 750 ml
Sugar - 1/2 cup or more
Almonds - 1/4 cup
Saffron - 1 pinch
Elaichi / Cardamom - 2

Method:
Soak the Sabudana in 1 cup water for 1/2 an hour.

It will have soaked in some water and expanded. Add 1 more cup water and keep for boiling.

After 10 minutes on low flame it would be cooked.
Add the milk and keep boiling on simmer for 6 - 10 minutes.

Add the sugar and mix well.

Once all the sugar has dissolved, add the saffron, cardamom and almonds.

Cook for 5 more minutes and serve. Once cold it will thicken further.

Basic Thoran / Dry Vegetable dish with coconut

Any Vegetable (Beans, Cabbage, Carrot, Snake gourd, spinach) and even pulses (green gram dal, soya bean) can be made into a Thoran.
Thoran is a dry accompaniment.
Thoran is cooked vegetables with coconut added for extra taste.
this is a tasty accompaniment for any curry - Sambar, rasam and Pulinkary.

Potato / Yam / Colacasia are all cooked without coconut.

Ingredients:
Vegetable - 500 gms, cut into small pieces
(or) Pulse - 1/2 cup, soaked over night and pressure cooked and water drained
Oil (preferably coconut , Vegetable is also fine) - 3 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Urad Dal - 1 tsp
Salt
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Coconut - 1/2 cup
Green chilly - 1 or 2
Curry leaf - 1 sprig

Method:
Heat the oil ins thick kadai with a lid.
Splutter the mustard and add the urad dal.
Once the dal turns red, add the vegetable, slat and turmeric powder.
Mix well, reduce flame and cook covered for 6 - 10 minutes.
Keep an eye to see the vegetable has softened.
Grind the Coconut with the green chilly without any water.
Add this to the vegetable.
Mix well and turn off flame.
Serve hot.

Lime and green chilly pickle / Vadukapuli naranja achaar

Vadukapuli naranja is indigenous to India. It is a big lemon with a bumpy thick skin called Poderosa Lemon in English.

(Image source: google images)

The achaar / pickle made with this Lemon is very easy to make.

Ingredients:
Lemon, green chilly, salt and water.

How much salt to use? The water must taste like sea water.
How many Chillys to use? Depends on your family's taste.
How much water? Just enough to immerse the lime and chilly.

Recipe:
Slice up the giant wild lemons and green chilly.
Boil and cool the water.
Mix together the salt, chilly and lemon.
Add the water.
Mix the pickle well once a day for 2 - 3 days.
Serve only after 3 days.

Keep refrigerated for more shelf life.

Dal with Bilimbi

Averrhoa bilimbi is commonly found in backyards of many Kerala houses and it is sought after as a souring agent in many non-vegetarian dishes, especially Prawn dishes. It has many medicinal properties. It's undiluted juice is said to reduce cholesterol and diabetes. But too much of it might have an adverse effect on your health.

"Averrhoa bilimbi has high oxalic acid and regular intake will result in kidney failure owing to the deposition of calcium oxalate crystals in renal tubule," Dr.P.P.Venugopalan, director of emergency medicine, DH-Wayanad Institute of Medical sciences (WIMS) says. But many people are unaware of this fact.

My husband's ancestral house has one fruit bearing tree in the back yard and usually I use this 'irumban puli' to make GSB pickle.

Today I used this in my dal and the taste was awesome.

Ingredients:
Tur dal - 1/2 cup
Onion - 1, medium chopped fine
Ginger - 2 inch, chopped fine
Green Chilly - 1, chopped fine
Salt to taste
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Chilly powder - 1 tsp
Jaggery / gud / sharkara - 1 tsp
Curry leaf - 1 sprig
Bilimbi / Irumpan puli - 2, cut into thin strips
Mustard - 1 tsp
Jeera / cumin seed - 1 tsp
Dry red chilly - 1, broken into three
Ghee - 1 tbsp
Oil - 1 tbsp
Garnish : Coriander leaf

Method:
Wash and soak the tur dal in water for 1 hour.
Pressure cook with 2 cups of water for 2 whistles and reduce flame. Turn off flame after 5 minutes. Do not open till all the pressure releases.
Mash well and keep aside.
Heat the oil and ghee together in a thick bottomed vessel.
Splutter the mustard seeds and jeera.
Add the broken red chilly. Fry till it turns bright red.
Add the onion, green chilly, ginger and curry leaf.
Cook till the onion turns translucent.
Add the salt, turmeric powder, jaggery and chilly powder.
After 30 seconds, add the cooked dal and bilimbi.
Add enough water to dilute a little.
Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes.
Garnish with coriander leaf and serve hot with chappathy / rice.

Pani kashayam / home remedy for common cold and fever

Rainy season is here in Kerala. It is always better to have something made with natural ingredients, than the usual paracetamol.
One small glass of this concoction made with a variety of leaves and other natural ingredients, will help clear your nose and provide relief from head ache.

Yield : 700 ml

Ingredients:

Tulasi leaf - 60

Young guava leaf / Amrood ke patte / pera yilai - 8

Panikoorka / Karpooravalli /  ajwain patte / spanish  thyme - 2

Ginger / inji / adrak- 1 inch

Pepper - 1 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1 tsp heaped

Jeera / cumin seed - 1 tsp (not in picture)

Coriander seeds / sabut dhania / malli - 1 tbsp (not in picture)

Water - 1 liter

Method:

Wash the leaves well and remove the skin from the ginger. 

Pound the ginger and pepper.

Add all the ingredients together and bring the water to a rolling boil.

Boil till the water becomes 750 mil.

Strain and drink as hot as possible.

This has to be consumed in for 4 hours. Heat before you drink each time.

Panikoorka Karpooravalli Bhajji / Spanish Thyme fritter

Panikoorka in Malayalam, Karpooravalli in Sanskrit has the scientific name : Plectranthus amboinicus.

This leaf is a great medicine for mild cold / cough and fever. It's juice is administered to (even) new born babies when they have phlegm in their system.

I never knew Bhajji could be made with these leaves.
Thanks to my aunt Mrs. Radha Sreeram for telling me that it was / can be done.

I got a potted plant from my uncle, Mr.Ananthakrishnan.

You can find the quantity of ingredients and basic recipe of Bhajji here.
Batter is made with Besan / chickpea flour, rice four, salt, chilli powder, turmeric powder, dosa batter (optional) & asafoetida powder.
Oil for deep frying.

Enjoy as a snack with tea, or with your dal-chawal.

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