Vendakka(Ladies finger) pachadi

Kerala Iyers(KI), often called Palakkad Iyers(PI) even though many of us live in parts of Kerala other than Palakkad, are a community that migrated to Kerala from different parts of Tamilnadu centuries ago. They have made Kerala their home and have come up with a cuisine that incorporates the best of two worlds - Tamil cooking and Kerala cooking and have also come up with some dishes that are unique to KI cooking. You will be hard put to find some of the KI dishes in either Tamil/Kerala cooking. This vendakka pachadi is one such dish that is a unique legacy of the Kerala Iyers.
Unlike the connotation that the term pachadi has, of being an accompaniment, this pachadi is a full fledged side dish/gravy which you pour onto rice, mix and eat. It is a combination of three different tastes - sour, sweet and mildly spicy.
This, with some mangakari and papadam on the side makes a wonderfully satisfying meal.

What you need:
Vendakka/ladies finger/okra - 10- 12 medium sized ones, washed and dried on a towel
Tamarind extract - from a lemon sized ball soaked in 2 cups of water
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt
Jaggery - 1/2 tsp grated
Grind together to a smooth paste:
Grated coconut - 3/4 cup
Green chillies - 3 or 4
Mustard seeds - 3/4 tsp
Water - enough for grinding to a thick paste
Make a smooth paste with:
Rice flour - 1 tsp
Water - 1/4 cup
For tempering:
Coconut oil - 1 tsp
Red chilli - 1 or 2, broken into pieces
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Broken urad dal - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - a few

Slice the ladies finger into one inch pieces. In a large pan, take the ladies finger, tamarind extract, turmeric powder and salt. Bring to a boil and then let it simmer until the ladies finger is well cooked. Add the ground paste and jaggery. Let it boil for about 5-8 minutes until the raw smell is gone.
Add the rice flour paste and heat for a minute. This paste helps to bring all the ingredients together and to slightly thicken the curry.
Heat all the ingredients for tempering and once the mustard seeds pop, pour it over the curry.
Enjoy!!!
Note : Instead of using rice flour paste, you can add a teaspoon of rice and grind it along with the other ingredients for the ground paste.

Check out the Blogging Marathoners doing BM#5 along with me  Curry in a hurry under 30 min: Aarthi, Divya, Me, Kaveri, Pavani,Seven Days of Indian Sweets:Gayathri, Priya Suresh,Seven Days of Microwave Meals: Monika,Seven Days of Regional Specials:Harini, Vaishali, Suma, PJ Seven Days of Colorful Dishes Kid's Special: KalyaniSummer Coolers: Jayasree, Kamalika, Srivalli

Vendakka poduthuval

This is another easy stir fry which is a favourite at home.

What you need:
Ladies finger/okra - washed well, dried and cut into thin rounds
Salt
Oil
Sambar powder/red chilli powder
Rice flour - 1 tsp
Mustard seeds
Urad dal

Heat some oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds and urad dal. When the seeds pop, add the chopped ladies finger, salt and sambar powder. Stir well, lower heat and cook until it turns soft and is no longer slimy. Sprinkle the rice flour over it. Stir well. Heat for another minute or two.
This goes well with rice or rotis.
I have not mentioned the quantity of ingredients used because it will vary depending on how many people you are making this for. The sambar powder and salt are to be added according to your taste.
Check out what my fellow marathoners Srivalli, Priya Suresh, Priya Vasu,Monika, PJ, Azeema,Ayeesha,Veena, Soumya and Reva are cooking.
Am sending this to PJ who is hosting Complete My Thali,an event started by Jagruti, and themed on subji this month.

Sindhi curry

What is it that makes people spit out of their vehicle windows, while waiting for the traffic light to turn green? Is there some kind of saliva reflex that kicks in as soon as they see a red light? People traveling by bus are the worst....they have no concern for the poor bike rider who may be waiting at an unlucky spot just outside their window. Trains are no better...if you happen to sit near an open window, and the breeze is blowing in your direction, there's no telling what you might be coated with by the time you get off the train. Today, I saw a person spit out paan no less than three times while waiting at a signal. If that statement made you go Ewwwww....I don't blame you. Why is it that our people who can't stop exclaiming how clean Singapore is, seem to develop 'dog-sees-tree-and-lifts-its leg' instincts as soon as they see a bare wall? Will things ever change?
I have a little notebook at home where I jot down recipes from TV shows, library books and any other thing that catches my fancy. This curry is from that little notebook and there's a little note on it to tell me that it is from a TV show. It is called Sindhi curry....though I have no idea if it is of Sindhi origin. It is probably like "Indian" curry powder that is sold abroad. However, it is extremely simple to make and tastes quite good. It is quite healthy too, considering that only a tsp of oil is used, and lots of veggies go into it.

What you need:
Ladies finger - 6-8, chopped into longish pieces
Carrot - 2, diced
Potato - 1, peeled and diced
Tamarind - a lemon sized amount soaked in warm water
Oil - 1 tsp
Cumin seeds/jeera - 1/2 tsp
Asafoetida/hing - 1/4 tsp
Besan/gram flour - 4 heaped tsp
Water - 3-4 cups
Salt
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Green chilli - 1
Ginger - a fairly large piece, peeled and cut fine
Curry leaves - a few
Red chilli powder - as required

Cook carrot and potatoes and keep aside. Cook ladies finger in thick tamarind extract until soft.
Heat a tsp of oil. Add cumin seeds and asafoetida. When the seeds sputter, add the besan, reduce the heat and stir fry until it starts turning brown and gives out a good smell. Slowly add water, stirring all the while so that no lumps are formed. If you do see lumps, break them by pressing against the side of the pan using your ladle. Add the green chilli, ginger, curry leaves, turmeric powder and salt and let this boil for 3-4 minutes. If needed, add some red chilli powder. Add the cooked vegetables and let it boil until the curry thickens.
I had this for lunch with rotis and then again for dinner, with wheat rava idli.

Stuffed okra

This recipe is from Harveen Choudhary's book "Taste of Rajasthan - Delicious Vegetarian food from the Land of Rajasthan". I loved the methi theplas that I tried from this book and have had a couple of other recipes bookmarked for a while now. This curry is one of them.

What you need:
Ladies finger/okra - about 1/4 kg
Saunf - 1.5 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Garam masala - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Gram flour/besan - 2 tsp
Amchur - 1 tsp
Salt - 1 tsp or to taste
Oil - 3 tbsp (that sounds so much better than 12 tsp, doesn't it?)
Kalonji seeds - 1/2 tsp

Wash and dry the okra. Cut into finger length pieces after removing the head of the okra. Make a slit halfway through the cut pieces.
Mix 1 tsp of saunf with the besan, turmeric powder, garam masala, red chilli powder, salt, amchur and 4 tsp of oil. Once well mixed, it will be like a thick paste. Stuff this into the okra using the blunt end of a knife (which is what I did) or a spoon.Heat the rest of the oil in a pan. Add 1/2 a tsp of saunf and kalonji. When it smells really, really good, stir in the okra, reduce the heat to low, cover and cook until soft. If you have any stuffing left over, you can add that along with the okra. Ramove the lid and stir on high heat for a few minutes until crisp.

Our dinner tonight - rotis, stuffed okra and panchratni dal

For the recipe of panchratni dal, click here.

Notes:
I have followed Choudhary's recipe to the T - not even changing the quantities he specifies. The only difference is that the original recipe calls for a tsp each of dhania powder and jeera powder to be included in the stuffing. I had neither, so I skipped it.
The dish is definitely a keeper and will be one of the regulars in our home now. The only thing I will change is the quantity of oil used. Iam going to try it out with less oil next time.