Aviyal

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Even the thought of Aviyal makes me nostalgic.It reminds me of my vallyammachi's (grandma's)cooking .I learned this recipe from her, an excellent cook. Though she is a vegetarian she cooks non veg dishes and makes sure they are perfect paying attention to the smell :-) She is the one who brought up my sis and me,when we were kids, since my mom was employed.  While preparing the vegetables she would tell us many stories about cooking. She says the taste of the curry starts right from the way you cut the veggies :-) According to her carrots and French beans are all foreign veggies, and adds that her mother never used them in aviyal and other authentic dishes.



Here is the recipe for aviyal ,which is an important item in the Hindu marriage feasts in Kerala. I know that from place to place the recipe varies, though it is such a popular dish. Here is my version, rather Central Travancore version :-)

Ingredients

Raw banana-1
Ivy gourds(kovakka)-4
Snake gourd- 2 pieces that are 2 inches long
Carrot-1(medium)
French beans-7-8
Long beans(pachappayar)-4
Brinjal(vazhuthananga)- 1/2
Winter Melon(kumbalanga)- A 4inch long piece
Yam (chena)- A 2 inch long piece
Drumsticks- 5-6 two inch long pieces (1 drumstick)
Green chillies- 4-5

Coconut oil -1 +2 Tbsp
Shallots-3-4
Curry leaves-2 Sprigs
Tamarind Juice
Salt
Turmeric powder-1 1/2 tsp
Red Chilli powder- 1/2 tsp
Cocnut-grated and half ground- 1/2 cup
Cumin powder/ cumin seeds-1/2 tsp (If you are using powder , a little less)



Method

1.Cut all the veggies into slender pieces
2.Pour 1Tbsp coconut oil in a pan and add all the vegetable pieces along with the green chillies, turmeric and red chilli powder
3.Mix in everything for a couple of minutes.
4. Throw in a sprig of curry leaves and salt.
5.Pour water ,enough to cook the veggies (Don't add too much water, remember that some of the vegetables like winter melon leaves out lot of water) and cover the pan
6. Cook till it is almost done
7.Pour the tamarind juice and cover and cook for a few minutes (If you pour tamarind juice early, the dish will turn dark in color)
8.Add the coconut and cumin to this, mix well, cover and cook for a couple of minutes.
9. Switch off the heat and add smashed shallots and curry leaves along with the 2 Tbsp coconut oil.
10. Mix well and transfer into the serving bowl.
11. Enjoy with rice , sambar and pappad :-)


You could use any vegetable of your choice. Also you could replace the tamarind juice with sour curd or raw mango.



Contributor : Namitha

Chicken Roast (Kerala Style)

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Autumn is here and I love it! Finally we have some awaited cool weather. I hope you are enjoying good weather where ever you are as much I am. This morning, enjoying the cool breeze blowing in through my patio, bright sunlight finding its way through the lattice work and with some joyous music playing on my CD, I cooked. Have you tried cooking with music? It’s wonderful, rather therapeutic I should say.
So, what did I cook? I made naadan (Kerala style) chicken roast, chocolate chip muffins and healthy bran muffins. No, they are all not for today but it will take us through the rest of the week.
Now, having given you a glimpse of my day let me get down to business. The 'naadan' (country style) chicken roast recipe I am sharing comes from my mom which she got from her mother so we are talking some authentic Kerala cooking today. I spoke to both my mom and her sister so I guess I need to give them both the credit. They are like most of our parents; if you ask them how to make something they will rattle along, oh that, simple! Take a little of this and a little more of that put them all in together give it a good stir and voila! The dish is ready. It took me a couple of conversations with both my mom and aunt to get to the bottom of how much a little bit of this and a little bit more of that means. Either ways, I must tell you after a couple of experiments I have quite mastered the ROAST! Every time I make this dish we lap it up like we have been starving for days. So go ahead and try this and enjoy it with some rice or chapatti!



Ingredients:

Chicken - 4 lbs approximately 2 Kg
Whole red chili - 30 nos seeded
Shallots - 1 lb 450 gms
Ginger - 1/4 cup
Garlic - 1/4 cup
Vinegar - 2 tbspn
Salt - to taste
Garam Masala - 1 tbspn
Turmeric - 1/2 tspn
Coconut Oil or any oil of preference - 4 tbspn
Curry Leaves - 4 sprigs
Potato - 1 thinly sliced rounds
Friend onions for garnishing

Method:

1. Marinate chicken in 1 tbspn vinegar, 1/2 tspn turmeric and a little salt for 1 hour
2. Soak red chillies in 1 tbspn vinegar mixed with 1 tbspn of water after taking out the seed and leave it for a while to soak. (split chili in half and tap it to get the seeds off).  Add a little water to the vinegar
3. Crush the ginger, garlic, shallots and the soaked red chillies and add the mixture to the chicken and cook for 20 min on medium fire
5. Heat oil in a pan and on medium fire shallow fry the chicken and set aside
6. Once all the chicken pieces are fried (read golden brown on both sides) pour the gravy into the pan and cook till oil clears the pan
7. Pour the gravy on top of the fried chicken
8. Decorate with fried potatoes, onions and cashew nuts



Contributor: Sunitha