Chenai Elavan Kootu / Yam White Pumpkin Curry

"Onam", the 10 day long festival of Kerala has begun and is until Sep 6th.

This Yam dish is one of the items served in an "Onam Sadhya"(Traditional meal with at least 24 items). 

This salt and sweet thick gravy goes well with any tangy main course (Sambar rice/Rasam rice/Tamarind rice) or  Indian bread (Chapati/Phulka).

Chopping "Yam" is strenuous because of its size. I have vivid memories of my mom using the traditional vegetable cutter (AruvaManai), to chop this huge vegetable.

The recipe below is just the way my mom makes. It can be personalized as per one's own wish.

The main ingredients are Yam and Split Chickpea (Chana Dal). However, the White pumpkin adds a chunky, juicy twist to the dish. 

The quantity of the Chickpea, Coconut and White Pumpkin can be altered as per one's own choice.

Ingredients

Yam/Chenai                               : 350 Gms

White Pumpkin/Pooshanikkai   : 250 Gms

Split Chickpea/Chana Dal         : 1/4 Cup

Turmeric                                    : 1/8 Tsp

Salt                                             : As per taste

Chilli Powder                             : 1/4 Tsp (Depending on how hot your chilli powder is)

Grated Jaggery/Vellam                 : 1 Tsp

For Grinding

Grated Coconut                          : 1/4 cup

Cumin Seeds/Jeera                     : 1 Tsp

For seasoning

Mustard                                       : 1/4 Tsp

Skinned Black Gram / Urad Dal : 1/4 Tsp

Curry Leaves                               : 2 sprigs

Grated coconut                            : Little less than 1/4 cup

Procedure

1) Soak the Chana dal for at-least 15 minutes.

2) Wash, peel and cut the yam and white pumpkin into chunky cubes of equal size. 

3) Take a broad pan, add the cut vegetables along with chana dal, salt, turmeric powder and chilli powder. Add enough water and allow it to cook. Stir once in a while.

4) Once the ingredients are cooked, add jaggery to this melange. Allow it to blend well. At this stage, your curry should have just enough water to accommodate the ground coconut paste. Switch off the flame.

5) Grinding : Grind Jeera and coconut into a paste and add it to the curry.

7) Seasoning : Take a pan, add oil and temper the whole spices. Add the curry leaves, grated coconut and roast them well. Once roasted add it to the curry.

The curry is ready to be served.

Variation

- Instead of using a pan to cook the dal and veggies, you can pressure cook them for two or three whistles. Do not over cook them.

While pressure cooking, add the salt, turmeric and chilli powder too.

Tips

- Wash, peel and wash the Yam before chopping.

- Rubbing the peeled Yam with tamarind, salt and turmeric will negate the itchy sensation it may cause.

- The texture is very important. If it is over cooked, the dish will become mushy. 

- Soaking the chana dal will help it cook better.

- Each ingredient has a different cooking time. Pumpkin gets cooked faster. Chana dal and the yam will get cooked late.

- While cooking in an open pan, stir once in while so that the veggies don't get burnt. Don't add a lot of water.

- After the veggies are cooked, if the dish is watery, then

a) It can be drained.

b) Or take a few pieces of yam and mash it so that the consistency becomes thick.

c) Or dilute a tsp of rice flour in less than 1/4 cup of water and add it to the curry and boil. This will help thicken the curry.

Cooking is an art. It is to be catered to one's own taste and imagination. When you know the hacks to save your dish, nothing can go wrong with your cooking.

Enjoy this amazing dish.

Semiya Kesari / Sevvaiyan Sheera / Shavige Kesari / Vermicelli Sweet

After a long hiatus, here I come with a recipe of a sweet. I had been busy relocating and settling in a new place in the last one year. I did take pictures of my cooking on a timely basis but never gathered the energy to publish the recipe. I made this sweet two days back for "Saibaba" and felt I should re-start my blog from here. Continuing the blog with a sweet will be the right way, isn't it? :)

"Semiya Kesari" is very dear to me. Every time I think of this sweet, I get reminded of the first time I tasted it as a child. I love the texture and the way it tastes.
When Amma asked for my preference while making a "Kesari (Sheera)", my answer would always be "Semiya Kesari" or "Aval Kesari" (Kesari made out of Aval/Poha/Beaten rice). I always preferred these than the regular "Rava Kesari".

This dish can be made as a dessert or a tea time snack. While serving, one can top it with chopped roasted almonds or a little bit of Rabdi (A sweet made out of condensed milk).

Ingredients :

Serves 4 - 5 bowls

Semiya/Sevvaiyan/Shavige/Vermicelli : 1 cup
Sugar                                                     : 0.75 cups (I used unpolished sugar. The quantity can be reduced or increased based on the sweetness quotient.)
Water                                                     : 2.5 cups
Ghee/Clarified butter                             : 0.25 cups (If you are using a nonstick kadai, you may reduce the amount accordingly)
Chopped cashews and raisins                  : 1 to 2 Tspn (per your need)
Cardamom powder                                 : 1/4 Tspn
Saffron powder(for colour, optional)      : A pinch.

Procedure
1) Take a frying pan, roast the Semiya and keep it aside.
2) Add part of the ghee to the pan and roast the cashews and raisins.
3) Once the nuts are roasted, add the water, saffron powder and allow it to boil.
4) When the water is boiling, slowly add the roasted Semiya. As you do it, keep stirring with the other hand.
5) Allow the Semiya to cook well in the pan. You can keep stirring time and again so that it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan. You can also cover and keep for a while.
6) When the Semiya is done, add the sugar to the pan and stir well.
7) Add the remaining ghee little by little and keep stirring.
8) At one stage the Semiya will start leaving the sides of the pan and the Ghee will start oozing out of the Kesari. Add the Cardamom powder and mix well. This is the right time to switch off the flame.
9) Hot Semiya Kesari is ready to be served.

Serving :

- Serve it as it is.
- Add chopped roasted almonds for garnishing.
- Chill it and top with Rabdi.

Variations :
- Half milk and half water can be used for cooking the Semiya. This will make it taste rich.
-  For making Pineapple flavoured Kesari : Add a Tspn of pineapple chunks and a few drops of essence while the water is boiling. Chunks will have to be cooked in sugar before using.

Tips :
- You can roast the Semiya in Ghee for extra flavour or simply dry roast it.
- You can also use roasted Semiya which is available in the market.
- While the Semiya is being added to the boiling water, stirring with the other hand is mandatory. This will help avoid the formation of lumps.
- If your Semiya is undercooked, you can add boiling hot water to it little by little to get it cooked well.
- Once the sugar is added, the Semiya will get stiffened. So Semiya should be cooked well.
- If you add more Sugar, the dish will turn out sticky.
- Add ghee little by little rather than adding the entire quantity at once. This will help know how much more is needed.
- The Semiya's thickness, sugar's sweetness play a role in the texture and cooking of the sweet. I have used the normal thickness Semiya and not the fine one. If you are going to use the fine one, then the water and sugar quantity have to be reduced a bit.