Ulli Sambar

This recipe comes from Northern part of Kerala, Thrissur. Use of fried coconut paste makes this different from other recipes of sambar.

Ingredients-

Vegetables--
Tomato - 1 - 1 1/2
Lady's finger - 4
Drumstick - 4-5 pieces
Shallots - 5 - 10 (as per size)

Groceries--
Toor Dal - 1 cup
Tamarind - gooseberry sized (soaked in hot water)

Chilli powder - 2-3 tsp (as per taste)

Turmeric Powder - 3/4 tsp

Coriander powder - 3-4 tsp

Ground Coconut - 1 cup

Fenugreek - 1/2 tsp

Urad dal - 1 tsp

Coconut oil 

Mustard seeds - 3/4 tsp

Curry leaves

Dried red chillies

Salt to taste

Cook Toor Dal and keep it aside. Fry shallots (cut into half so that the masala enters inside) and lady's finger for five minutes in medium flame. Put all the vegetables in cooked Dal and boil till they becomes soft. Add salt, tumeric powder and chilli powder. Let it boil for five minutes. Add tamarind paste to the vegetables and let it boil. 

Meanwhile, on a frying pan or kadai, pour two teaspoons of coconut oil. Add fenugreek and Urad dal. Fry till it turns light brown. Add ground coconut to this along with shallots and curry leaves. Fry till it turns golden brown. This is the time when you get a nice aroma of the masala. Grind this mix into a fine paste. Mix the paste in the boiling vegetables, add enough water and stir. Boil for 5-6 minutes and switch off the flame. 

For tempering, heat oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds and let it splutter.Then add fenugreek, dried red chillies and curry leaves and saute for 5 seconds. Pour the mix into the cooked vegetables.Leave this closed for some time so that the aroma does not escape.

Ulli sambar is ready to serve. It goes well with breakfast items such as Idli/Dosa. 

TOmato CHutney ..

Ingredients
01. 2 ripe red tomatoes 02.  3 small onions 03. ½ “ piece ginger, ground 04. 10 deseeded dry red chillies ( you can add more if you like it hot) 05. ½ to ¾ cup oil 06. A pinch of sugar

Grind tomatoes, onions, ginger and chillies to a smooth paste.  Heat some oil in a pan and sauté the ground paste in it till the oil separates.  Have it with Dosas or Iddlis for best taste :D

Mutta Aviyal - For all egg lovers!

Mutta Aviyal Recipe

This recipe serves two and is simple and easy. So if you are running out of time and need a typical Kerala dish on the table, this is it.

Time taken -  20 minutes. (or even less if you are a multitasker)

Ingredients -
Eggs - 4
Grated Coconut - 1- 1 1/2 cup
Green chillies - 2 or 3
Garlic - 1 clove 
Cumin seeds -  1/2 tea spoon
Turmeric powder - 1 pinch
Coconut oil - 2 or 3 tea spoons
Curry leaves to taste
Salt to taste

Cook 4 eggs in a pressure cooker or any cooking vessel. Let's add a teaspoon full of salt to this because as the science goes, egg white solidifies when it hits salt water. This will seal the egg white even if there is a crack on the egg! Now the boiled eggs are ready . Give a tiny crack on the egg shell and start flaking off the shell. Now cut the egg in the middle both horizontal and vertical.. you have four, almost equal pieces of the egg. Do the same for all eggs.

Now comes the hero, the coconut mix. Take 1-1 1/2 cups of grated coconut. Add green chillies to your taste. Let us add 1/2 or one clove of garlic considering the garlic is almost the size of cashew nut. I usually go for half clove after the disaster of a thick garlic flavoured recipe which my husband ate only because of his love for eggs! We will add half tea spoon of jeera (cumin seeds). Trust me,this guy is the show stopper! Also add a pinch of turmeric powder.So now you have coconut,green chillies, garlic, jeera and a pinch of turmeric powder in your blender or mixer. Give a quick whirl to this mix so that the coconut is not a paste, the other ingredients are just broken. Usually it is best to do on mortar and pestle (ammi in malayalam). Yay.. the mix is ready.

Heat the cut eggs in a pan on a medium to low flame. Add a little water to the eggs so that it does not get dried up. Add the coconut mix to the eggs and salt o taste. Give a fair stirring and add 2-3 table spoons of coconut oil. Top it with curry leaves. 

Tadang.. Mutta Aviyal is ready to serve !