OLAN is a ridiculously simple and extremely delicious curry from my hometown of Palakkad, and of Kerala and the Konkan regions. We use ashgourd (Safed bhopla | White pumpkin) a lot in Palakkad, by itself or mixed with other vegetables. Many of the recipes from my region are bland, with the flavour of vegetables dominating read more…
Ribbon Pakodam – Gram Flour and Rice Flour Crispies
Known in various Indian languages as Ribbon Pakodam, Ola Pakoda, Aaku Pakodi or Nada Thenguzhal, these gram flour and rice flour crispies are easily prepared savouries that form part of snacks called ‘bakshanam’. Bakshanam literally means food, but has come to be used as a term that specifically refers to snacks, both sweet and savoury, read more…
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Aviyal & its variants| Vegetables in yogurt sauce – Dairy-free
The nine nights of Navratri are always hectic. Most of Mr. P’s cousins reside in and around Thane and it has become a recent ritual that we all gather at one of the houses for prayer chants, and later dinner – one night at each one’s home. It is fun but exhausting, and the dinners read more…
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Yelavan kootu – Ashgourd with lentils and coconut, Iyer style
Kootu in Tamil, literally translates as ‘addition’ in English. That explains this simple side dish from Tamilnadu. If you are taking your first steps as a cook, this is the kind of dish that gives you encouragement and confidence to venture further. It is simple, does not need elaborate prepping and rarely goes wrong. A read more…
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Appam – Jaggery and Rice spheres
Appam has a first name. Some people prefix ‘unni’, as in unniappam and some ‘nei’ as in ‘neiyappam’. As you move up West along the Konkan coast, appam become appe. The basic recipe remains the same but the sweetness is reduced and some lentils get added to the batter. Appam has many variations. My sister, read more…
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Vella payasam, a porridge made with brown rice, coconut milk and molasses
The best thing about being vegan in India is that you do not have to give up desserts, sweets or most of your favourite eats, for that matter. Being South-Indian only makes this easier. Where I come from, we did not have many dairy-based sweets to start with. Sweets in earlier times were consumed judiciously, read more…
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Kala chana chundal – Black chickpea stir-fry with coconut
We are headlong into festival mode here in India since August. There was Raksha Bandhan, followed by Krishna Jayanti, Ganesh Chaturthi, and a week from now it is going to be nine days and nights of celebrating women power, in the form of various Godesses of Hinduism. That is the core. A festival is never read more…
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Verum Arusi Adai ~ Savoury rice pancakes
Verum Arusi Adai is one of the many different types of savoury and sweet pancakes made in South-India, especially in Tamilian homes. Though considered an item for breakfast, most Tamil homes have such foods for dinner as it is lighter and easily made, or for religious reasons. Adai batter can be ground in a read more…
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‘Molagootal’ khichdi – An Iyer take on khichdi / kedgree with lentils, coconut and vegetables
One evening when I returned from work, not particularly tired and yet too lazy to cook a complete dinner, I encountered two children, who were very hungry for a full meal. I said I would make a khichdi (the original term for ‘kedgree’), a simple stew made with rice and lentils, and it obviously, didn’t read more…
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Vella kozhakottai (ukadiche modak) | Vellam Poorna Kozhakottai | Sweet steamed dumplings
A few days back, a reader, Vini, wrote to me saying she made kozhakottai (modak) from a recipe I had shared for ‘uppu kozhakottai‘ in Beyond Curries. She said that the dough was very sticky but the taste was very good. My dough is never sticky so I was surprised. A few mails back and read more…
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