Pune chef’s 5 recipes for a lip-smacking Vishu

Grandma Style Mambazha Pulissery

Ingredients

• 2 no of Ripe Mangoes
• 1/2 cup Grated coconut of one coconut
• 1 cup of Curd
• 4 no of Green chillies
• 1/4 spoon of Cumin seeds
• 1/4 spoon of Turmeric powder
• 1 Spoon of Oil
• 1/2 spoon of Mustard seeds
• 3 no of Red chillies
• 2 sprigs of Curry leaves
• Salt as required

How to Prepare

• Peel the skin and cut mango into medium pieces (You can add mango seed also). Boil it with a cup of water, turmeric powder,1 sprig of curry leaves and salt until mango becomes tender and not so mushy.
• Grind coconut along with green chillies, cumin seeds and one tablespoon of curd to a smooth paste.
• Add this coconut paste to cooked mango and mix well. When it starts to boil, add curd and mix.
• Do not allow the curry to boil after adding curd. Turn off the flame.
• Heat oil in a pan. Splutter mustard seeds.
• Add red chillies and curry leaves.
• Pour this tempering over the mouth-watering Mambazha Pulissery.

Grandma Style Kerala Rasam

Ingredients

• Ripe tomato – 2 nos
• Tamarind – medium gooseberry size
• Red chilli powder – 1/4 tsp
• Coriander powder/Dhania powder – 1 tsp
• Turmeric powder – 1/8 tsp
• Salt & water – as needed

To Grind

• Small onion – 3 nos OR Big onion – 1/2 no
• Pepper corns – 1/2 tsp
• Cumin seeds – 1 tsp
• Garlic cloves – 3 nos

To Temper

• Coconut oil or ghee – 1 tbsp
• Mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp
• Red chilli – 1 no (Pinched)
• Green chilli – 1 no (slit)
• Curry leaves – few
• Coriander leaves – to garnish

How to prepare

• Soak tamarind in 1 cup of water for 20 minutes. Take the extract. Chop tomato into small pieces. Grind onion, peppercorns, cumin seeds, garlic coarsely without adding water. Set aside.
• Heat oil or ghee in a kadai and splutter mustard seeds, red chilli, curry leaves and green chilli. Sauté for a few seconds. Now add the coarsely ground paste. Sauté for a minute. Add salt, chopped tomato, turmeric powder, red chilli powder and dhania powder. Saute well till tomato turns mushy. Add the tamarind extract.
• Boil well for 2-3 minutes till rasam becomes frothy. Add chopped coriander leaves and give one boil, switch off the flame. Transfer to a vessel and cover it with a lid. Let it rest for 15 minutes. Adjust the quantity of chilli powder based on your spice level.

Grandma Style Kootu Curry

Ingredients

• 1 cup Black chickpeas (kadala) (soaked overnight)
• 1 cup Yam (Chena) (diced)
• 1 cup Raw Plantain (pacha kaya) (diced)
• 1/4 tsp Turmeric powder
• 1.5 cups Water
• 3/4 cup Grated coconut
• 3 Small onion / Shallots / Pearl Onion (chopped)
• 1/2 tsp Chopped ginger
• 2 Green chilli (chopped)
• A pinch Cumin (optional
• 1/4 tsp Turmeric powder
• 1 tsp Chilli powder

To Temper

• 3 Small onion/ Shallots / Pearl Onion (sliced)
• 2 Dried red chilli
• 1/4 tsp Mustard seeds
• 2 tbsp Grated coconut
• Curry leaves
• Salt
• Coconut oil

How to prepare

• Pressure cook the soaked black Chana with 1.5 cups water till it’s done. Drain the excess water.
• Grind together coconut, 3 small onions, 2 green chillies, 1/2 tsp ginger, cumin,1/4 tsp turmeric powder, 1 tsp chilli powder and 2 tbsp. water to a coarse paste.
• Cook together the diced yam and raw plantain with 1.5 cups water, 1/4 tsp turmeric powder and salt. Bring it to a boil and simmer till it’s cooked and three-fourth of the water is dried. Add cooked Chana to this and mix well.
• Make a well in the centre of the veggie and Chana mix. Add the coconut mixture to this. Cover the coconut mixture with the Chana veggie mix. Cover and cook on low flame for 5-7 mins.
• Heat oil in a pan and fry the coconut till it turns golden brown.
• In the same pan, add a little more oil and crackle the mustard seeds. Add sliced small onion, dried red chilli and curry leaves. Fry till the onion turns golden brown.
• Mash the veggies well. Add the fried coconut and tempering to the veggie mix.

Grandma Style Avial

Ingredients

• Raw Banana /Pachakaya : 1no
• Yam /Chena : 1/2 cup,
• Drumstick /Muringakkaya : 2 nos,
• Cluster Beans /Amarakaya :1/4 cup
• Snake gourd /Padavalanga : 1/4 cup
• Carrot : 1 cup
• Cucumber /Velarikka : 1 cup
• Raw mango /Pacha Manga :1/2 cup or curd : 5 tbsp
• Turmeric powder /Manjal Podi : 1/2 tsp
• Coconut grated /Thenga chirakiyathu : 1 cup
• Green chilly /Pacha mulaku : 5 nos
• Cumin seeds /Jeerakam : 1/2 tsp
• Curds : 3 tbsp lightly sour, beaten (if using raw mango, do not use curds)
• Curry leaves /kariveppila : 1 sprig
• Coconut oil : 1 tbsp
• Salt to taste

How to Prepare

• Peel and cut vegetables lengthwise into 2″ pieces long (stick shape).
• Grind coconut, green chilli and cumin seeds into a coarse paste with little water.
• Wash, cover and cook vegetables with 1/2 cup water, turmeric powder and salt to taste till the veggies are half cooked. (Note : Do not over cook the veggies, since many different kinds of veggies are used, take care, Keep adding the vegetables to the boiling water according to the cooking time, the longer cooking vegetables first and the quicker ones last.)
• Make a small well in the middle of the half cooked veggies and pour the ground coconut paste into it,Cover the pot and cook for 5 mins.
• Remove the lid and add beaten curd,curry leaves and gently toss for few minutes.(Note : If you have added raw mango along with the vegetables don’t add curd.)
• Cook on low heat for a few more minutes till the veggies are well cooked, Take care not to mash the vegetables.
  Add the curry leaves and pour coconut oil over the top and cover the pot and mix well.
• Remove from the fire and keep covered till serving.

Grandma Style Pachadi

Ingredients:

• 2 dry red chili
• 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
• 1 cup beaten yoghurt (curd)
• Salt as required
• Water as required
• 2 medium grated cucumber
• 1 1/2 teaspoon chopped green chilli
• 1/3 cup grated coconut
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 1/2 tablespoon coconut oil
• 5 leaves curry leaves

How to Prepare

• Make the paste for the pachadi
• To prepare this recipe, start with the paste and grind together the coconut, cumin seeds and green chillies into a fine paste.
• Grate the cucumber & mix with the paste
• Next, grate the cucumber and add some salt to it. Now, add the earlier prepared paste along with the curd to the grated cucumber. Mix everything well.
• Add tempering to your Cucumber Pachadi
• Now, put a frying pan over the medium flame and heat coconut oil in it. Fry the curry leaves, dry red chilli and mustard seed, until the mustard seeds start to splutter. Add this to the cucumber mixture. Mix this well. Garnish it with coriander leaves!