Aval vadam

Ever since I read about "Cooking with Pedatha" on food blogs from around the world, I have been wanting to lay my hands on a copy of this book. So, when I saw a copy in my local library, I wasted no time in borrowing it.
The book is beautifully written....the recipes are listed out with very clear and easy-to-follow instructions. Almost all the ingredients that the different recipes require are easily available in South Indian homes.
I tried out Pedatha's recipe for aval(poha/rice flakes) vadiyalu (vadam/sun dried fritters). Unlike most other vadams, this requires no cooking or stirring. It does take quite some time to roll out the poha into little balls but other than that, the procedure is pretty simple.
With the permission of the authors of "Cooking with Pedatha", here is the recipe for aval vadam.

What you need:
Rice flakes/aval/poha - 500 gms (Use thick variety)
Onions- 3 large, chopped fine
Green chillies - 10, chopped into thin, fine circles
Salt - as required

Soak the poha in plenty of water for 2 - 3 hours. Make sure that you do this in a large bowl as the poha will double in size. Drain the water and squeeze out any excess water from the poha. Add in the other ingredients. Mix well and shape into small balls. Lay it out on a plastic sheet and dry it under the sun. It will take three to four days for it to become completely dry. Once dry, store it in an airtight container.When required, heat some oil and deep fry a handful of these vadams at a time.
(The quantities mentioned are not exactly the same as in the book. These are the quantities that I used. The original recipe also has thinly chopped ladies finger in the list of ingredients)

Also check out my recipe for Ela vadam

Avakkai - super spicy mango pickle

Avvaka has always been something that I've thought of as best left to the expert hands of mothers and grandmothers. That is, until I tried making it myself. Armed with my aunt R's fool proof recipe, I discovered just how easy it is to come up with a pickle that tastes better than any that you can buy at a store.
There is a special variety of mango called avakka manga which is used just to make this pickle. However, you can use any sour,firm, fully matured unripe mango. It has to be cut in a special way.....usually the person who sells these mangoes will cut them for you if you ask....they usually cut it in such a way that the shell surrounding the seed is retained.

Here's the recipe:
Cut mango - 5 cups
Red chilli powder - 1 cup
Turmeric powder - a few heaped teaspoonfuls
Salt - 1 cup
Gingely oil - 1 cup
Mustard powder - 1/4 cup (powder mustard in the small jar of your mixie and use it)

What to do:
Spread the cut mango on a clean white towel. Wash the mangoes before you get them cut, not after. Wipe dry. Rub the part around the shell well and remove the thin layer resembling plastic that you'll be able to see. Not all mango pieces will have this, but most of them do, and it is important to remove this.
Mix all the ingredients together. Stir well. Cover properly and set aside. Stir once a day for the next few days until the oil rises to the top. This usually takes about three to four days. Store in a glass container or a bharani (see first pic). If you are using a bharani, set aside a small quantity of the pickle in a bottle for daily use and then tie the mouth of the bharani with a clean white muslin cloth and close it.
Following this recipe exactly will give you a super hot and spicy pickle which is best enjoyed with curd rice. If you cannot tolerate high spice levels, modify the amount of red chilli powder used.This is my entry to Srivalli's Mango Mela.

Thakkali thokku - a spicy 'n tangy tomato pickle

The trimurtis (three presiding deities) of my kitchen are onions, potatoes and tomatoes. Without these three ingredients, I'd be lost.....not knowing what to cook.
Like the original holy trinity of Indian mythology, these ingredients too are involved in Srishti (creation of exciting new dishes), and Sthithi (maintenance of our health). Luckily, there has been no Samharam (casualty/death) so far. Let's keep our fingers crossed, shall we???
The price of tomatoes in my part of the world has touched rock bottom at rupees 4. Not a small drop, considering that a few months back it was being sold for close to Rs 30. So, with a price drop like that, I couldn't resist picking up some at the local market.
Tangy, spicy tomato thokku is something that I love. Though making it takes up some time, it is quite a simple process and most of the ingredients are readily available in an Indian kitchen.What you need:

Juicy, ripe red tomatoes - 12, medium sized - pureed
Gingely oil - 9 tsp
Mustard seeds - 3/4 tsp
Urad dal - 3/4 tsp
Fenugreek seeds - 1/2 tsp
Green chilli - 2 or 3, minced fine
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Red chilli powder - to taste
Salt - to taste

Heat 7 tsp of oil in a heavy bottomed pan. Add the minced green chillies, mustard seeds, urad dal, channa dal, and fenugreek seeds. When the mustard seeds sputter, add the pureed tomatoes. Stir well. Add turmeric powder, red chilli pwder and salt. Let it come to a rolling boil. Now reduce the heat to low, cover the pan and let it simmer stirring occasionally. It will take close to an hour for all the moisture to evaporate. When it is almost done, add the remaining two tsp of oil. Once it loses all moisture, switch off the heat and let it cool completely.
Store in a clean, airtight jar.
This can be refrigerated and will stay good for upto a fortnight.
It can be used as an accompaniment to a variety of foods including, but not limited to, rice, idli, dosa, roti,and bread.

Notes:

• If you'd like, you can blanch the tomatoes in hot water first, remove the skin and then puree it.
• Instead of pureeing you can chop the tomatoes into tiny pieces and then follow the same recipe.
• A little bit of tamarind paste can be added if the tomatoes are not sour.
• You can also add some asafoetida along with the tempering ingredients.

This month, Sanghi who is celebrating her 50th post on her blog has asked us to Fall in Love with Tomatoes.....and that's exactly what I've done. This entry goes to her.

Summer goodies #4 -Chundakka vathal

I made these in summer and the post has been languishing in my draft for a really long time. Chundakka (Kerala tamil) or Sundakka (Tamil) is used in sambar and thoran in the fresh form. Very often, it is sun dried and turned into vathals so that it can be preserved for a longer period of time and used as and when needed. To see what fresh chundakka looks like, click here.

What you need:
Chundakka - 1 cup
Urad dal - 2 tsp, heaped
Red chillies - 2
Salt
Sour buttermilk - enough to cover and soak the chundakka completely

Grind the urad dal and red chillies to a smooth paste.
Soak the chundakka in plenty of water for 10-15 minutes. Wash well and then crush slightly with a heavy pestle or stone. Add the buttermilk, salt, and ground paste to the chundakka. Mix well. Cover and set aside overnight. In the morning, take the chundakka out with a slotted spoon and dry it on a plastic sheet in direct sunlight. In the evening, soak it again in the buttermilk mixture. Repeat this process until all the buttermilk is absorbed. Dry for 2 or 3 more days in the sun and then store in an airtight container. If properly dried and stored, this will stay good for over a year.

Check out my other posts in this series:
Summer goodies #1 - Ela vadam
Summer goodies #2 - Microwave mango thokku
Summer goodies #3 - Pavakka vathal

This post goes to Roma's Long live the Shelf event.

Summer goodies #3 - Pavakka vathal

The title has probably made you wonder why Iam still talking about summer. Well, if you don't know it already, it's almost always summer in Chennai. A few unseasonal showers did give us some days of respite, but it is now back to the heat that Iam slowly but not very successfully beginning to learn to ignore.
Two hot summer noons is all that it took for these bittergourd slices to be dried to a crisp.

Here's what you need:
Bittergourd - 3 large ones
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt - to taste (add more salt than you normally would for curries)
Water - enough to cover the bittergourd

Chop the bittergourd into medium sized circles and remove the seeds and pith.
Add turmeric, salt, water and microwave on high for 4 minutes or until the water just starts to boil. The bittergourd should not get cooked.
Leave it alone for about 20-25 minutes so that the salt gets absorbed.
Drain off all the water.
Spread on a plastic sheet and dry in the sun until all the moisture evaporates and the gourd becomes hard to the touch.
To use, heat some oil in a pan and deep fry a handful of the dried bittergourd and serve as an accompaniment with rice.

Check out my Summer goodies #1 - Ela vadam and #2 - Microwave mango thokku.