Feastfit foraking

Celebrating Onam with a selection of delicious dishes

at least 24 to 28 dishes served, son1eci1nes ! even nJore! The feast is predon1inantly : vegetarian, but there are certain parts of : thestate that lovecoincludenon-vegetarian : dishes, even though it's not traditional. :

BY DHANYA SAMUEL

0n11111Satfya,the iconic'banana leaf feast' is the way that Keralasays welcome to her favourite king, Mahabali Every year the state comes together irrespective of caste,creed and religion to celebrate thisfestivalof prosperity.

The Om1111 Satfya is a lavish affair with

The feast is always served on a fresh : banana leaf with each dish occup)ring • a specific spot on the 1eaf. Rice is the : predon1inant ele1nentv.1hichisto beenjoyed • with pa.rippu curry (dal), sambar, rnsam and curd along with a range of sides and also plantain chips, pappadum and pickles. The feast ends with the traditional dessert, paayasm (alsoof different varieties).

Here we have a small selection of some of thefavouritesthat can bepreparedeasily with locallyavailable ingredients.

Avial (Mixed vegetables in a creamy coconut yoghurt base)

Ingredients

½ cup drumstick vegetable

½ cup plantain

½ cup pumpkin

½ cup potato

½ cup carrot

½ cup beans

4 green chillies, slit

½ tsp turmeric powder

Salt, to season

Handful of curry leaves

5 tbsp grated coconut

½tsp cumin

Curd/yoghurt, enough to make thick gravy

2 tbsp coconut oil

Method

Cut all the vegetableslengthwise into long strips. (The shape matters!)

KootuCurry (Kerala style Black Chickpea Curry)

Ingredients

1 cup black chickpeas; washed and soaked overnight

1 medium sized raw plantain; cut into large chunks

100gms yam; diced

½ tsp turmeric powder

½ tsp red chilli powder

½ cup grated coconut

1½ - 2 tbsp black peppercorns

2 large garlic cloves

2 tbsp coconut oil

½ tsp black mustard seeds

2 sprigs curry leaves

2 dry red chilli

Salt, to season

Method

To a pressurecooker, add the black chickpeas with 1 ½ cups water, season with salt and cook till 80 per cent done. In another pan, cook the plantain along with red chilli powder, half of the turmeric powder, salt and 1 ½ cups water till done. Drain and keep aside. Add the diced yams to the black chickpeas and cook till the yams are lightly mushy (use the back of the ladle to mash the yams ifnecessary).Then add the drained plantain and mix well to combine.

Coarsely crush the grated coconut, peppercorns and garlic in a mortar and pestle or grinder and add this to the cooked chickpeas. Add the remaining turmeric powder and mix well to combine.

Tasteand season with salt if necessary. Cook in low heat for 1-2 minutes and remove.

To temper, heat coconut oil in a small pan and crackle the mustard seeds. Then add the curry leaves and dry red chilli. Pour this over the prepared chickpeas and mix well to combine. Keep covered for at least 15 minutes before serving.

Enjoy with a bowl of rice and dal/lentils.

Cook all the vegetables in a pressure cooker with turmeric powder, slit green chillies,salt, curry leaves;no water required. Cook for 1 whistle or 5 minutes, whichever happens first. If you do not have a pressure cooker, then cook in a regular pot; add just enough water to cook the vegetables. Grind coconut and cumin seeds with a bit of water to a fine paste and add to the boiled vegetables.

Add enough curd to this, stirred through to get a creamy consistency. Prepare tadka or tempering by heating coconut oil and curry leaves. Switch off the fame and add a few drops of water to this and then pour over the dish. There will be some spluttering so make sure the flame is off.

Enjoy!

BeetrootThoran (Stir fry wi.th beets, greens and coconut)

lngredlents Method

2 medium beetrootswith the greens Peel and grate the beets and finely attached chop the greens with the stalks. ¼ tsp mustardseeds To make the coconut mix, coarsely 2sprigs curry leaves grind all the ingredients

2 dry red chillies In a pan, heat oil and crackle mustard

Salt, to season seeds. Add curry leaves and dry red 1 tbsp Coconut/vegetable oil chilli.

Add the beetsand greens; stir fry on For coconut spice mix high heat for a minute.

½ cup grated coconut Then add the coconut spice mix, 1-2 green chilies (depending on heat season with salt and continueto stir fry preference) on high heat for another 2 minutes

½ tsp cumin seeds Serve hot with rice or Indian f at 2 cloves garlic breads.

CutMangoPickle

Ingredients

2 raw mangoes, cut into tiny pieces

½ tsp turmeric powder

2 tsp red chilli powder (addmore if you like it really hot)

½ tsp mustardseeds

Big handful of curry leaves

Salt, to season 4 tbsp vegetable oil

(Since I store the pickle in the fridge, I added less oil. You will needto add lots more if you want to keep it outside)

Method

Place the chopped mango pieces in a large bowl.

Addsalt, turmeric powder and chilli powder and rub well into the mango pieces.

Heat oil in a large pan, crackle mustard seeds and add the curry leaves. Add the mango mixture and stir on high flame for 2 minutes. Cool and store. Pickle ready!