Carrot Kosambari :

Kosambari is a South Indian style vegetable salad, an integral part of any festival South Indian menu. It can be made with or without the tempering, which has significantly less oil, with all sorts of fresh flavours, such as grated veggies, raw legumes, raw mango or lemon,  coconut oil and hing.

Here, what I am sharing is our family favourite, Carrot corn salad. That is how my family identify this salad and demands it. Here, one can add or delete or increase or reduce the quantity of any ingredients without any compromise on taste.

Ingredients:

Grated carrot – 1 or 2

Boiled corn – 1 small cup

Sprouted Moong/green gram – 1 small cup ( optional)

Pomegranate kernels – as needed

Grated Raw mango/lemon juice – as needed

Salt

Chopped coriander – 1 – 2 tbl spoons

Fresh Coconut – 1 to 2 tbl spoons

Seasoning:

Coconut oil – 1 tsp, Mustard – 1 tsp, Hing – ¼ tsp

Green chilli – 1 or 2 (chopped), Curry leaves – 1 spring

Method:

-Take one bowl, mix in Grated carrot, boiled and cooled corn, Pomegranate kernels, Sprouted moong, Grated raw mango, Salt, chopped coriander, fresh Coconut and mix everything.

-Do the seasoning by heating coconut oil, splutter Mustard, add hing, chopped green chilli roast a bit. Add Curry leaves and put them over the salad.

-Mix everything, enjoy as a filler, healthy appetiser or as a side dish or as an evening snack.

Passion fruit Gojju:

Passion fruits/Passiflora grows in hill stations of India or the colder region during the May -July months. It contains a hard outer shell and pulpy inner core with a lot of black seeds. As my daughters hate the texture, I love it and include it in my juice or lunch.

Passion fruit has a tart mixed sour taste. The fruit has many beneficial nutrients and a low glycemic index; hence, it is ideal for a diabetic condition. It is my way of indulging the sour fruit in its whole raw form. I followed our traditional charred brinjal gojju recipe and tried it. I loved the fresh fruit flavour, crunchy seeds in this gojju and enjoyed it with red parboiled rice.

Ingredients:

Fruit pulp – from 2 fruits

Green chillies -1 – 2

Jaggery – as per taste (grated)

Salt

Onion – 1 (chopped)

Seasoning: Coconut oil – 2 tsp, mustard – 1tsp, crushed garlic cloves – 6 -8, curry leaves – 1 string.

Method:

-Cut passion fruit in half, remove the pulp with those seeds. 

-Add salt, grated jaggery, crush green chilli by using your hand (it emits a lovely aroma to the gojju) and chopped onion. Adjust the consistency by adding little water.

-Season with coconut oil, mustard, crushed garlic. Fry until garlic is brown. Add curry leaves and pour the seasoning on the gojju.

-Enjoy with hot rice or with curd rice. If you like sweet and sour gojju, it is the perfect recipe.

Little millet Salad

It is a low-calorie lunch or dinner option for weight reduction or diabetic patients- Very filling and at the same time low in calorie and filled with so many nutrients.

Ingredients:

Samai or little millet – ½ cup

Sweet corn kernels – from one cob (boiled)

Sprouted Green gram – ½ to 1 cup

Grated raw mango – ½ mango

Pomegranate – 1

Fresh Coconut – 1 tablespoon

Salt

Coriander leaves.

Seasoning:

Coconut oil – 1 teaspoon

Mustard- ½ teaspoon

Hing- 1 pinch

Curry leaves – 1 spring

Green chilli -1 (chopped)

Method:

-Dry roast little millet for 2 minutes. Wash and cook this in a cooker (one whistle) by adding ¾ cup of water and pinch of salt.

-After cooking, remove the cooker lid and spread the cooked millet in a wide plate and cool.

– When it cools down, mix in boiled corn, sprouted green gram, grated raw mango, pomegranate, fresh Coconut, salt and chopped coriander leaves.

-Do the seasoning by heating coconut oil. Add mustard. When it splutters, add hing, chopped green chilli and curry leaves.

-Add this to salad and mix lightly and enjoy as a meal.

Fusion Veggie Wraps/Rolls:

Why do I call this a Fusion wrap? It has an Indian Roti with Mexican filling. This is a Colourful veggie wrap which can be served hot or cold. These wraps are filling and at the same time very healthy too. 

It’s ideal for kid’s / office lunch boxes.

 -Here I have used

1) Ragi/finger millet, whole wheat roti. ( you can use plain wholewheat roti as well.

2) Avocado dip which is mixed with chopped lettuce and used as a bottom bed.

3) Roasted veggie: here I have taken capsicum. You can use chopped and roasted mushroom or any other veggie as well.

4) Salsa: here I have taken tomato salsa, you can use any salsa like pineapple, mango etc.

First, we will see how to make Roti:

Ingredients:

Whole wheat flour-1 cup

Ragi /finger millet flour-½ cup

Water-1 cup

Salt

 Chopped dill leaves-1 cup (optional)

Oil -1 tsp.

Method: Take one cup of water, add oil, salt and boil. Now add Ragi flour and keep this for 2 to 3 minutes or until it cooks. Now remove from the flame and keep aside. When it is a little cool and ready to handle, add whole wheat flour and chopped greens, make a firm ball like Chapati dough. Cover and keep this aside 10 minutes for resting. Then start making little thicker Chapati than the regular Chapati and cook both the sides by applying some ghee or oil and keep it ready.

Secondly, we will see how to make Lettuce – Avocado dip:

Ingredients:

Avocado -1 large

Yogurt- ½ cup

Sugar – 1 tsp.

Green chilli -1

Garlic salt – to taste.

Cumin powder – ½ tsp.

Red chilli flakes- ¼ tsp.

2 to 3 table spoons –chopped coriander leaves.

Chopped Lettuce or Napa cabbage – as required 

Method:

-Remove flesh from the avocado and discard its seed.

-Grind green chilli, coriander at first, then add all other ingredients and churn these by putting all of them together and adjust the seasoning.

-you can serve this as a side dish, as a dip or dressing.

-This dip stays good for a week under refrigeration.

-Now Chop lettuce like long strips and mix this avocado dip according to the requirement. Now your second ingredient for the wrap is ready.

Thirdly, the Roasted veggie:

-Here I have taken capsicum. Wash, remove seeds and dice .Now take some olive oil, sauté this and sprinkle some garlic salt. Now your third ingredient for the wrap is ready too.

Fourth and last one is Tomato Salsa:

Ingredients:

 Tomato -1 finely chopped

 Onion- ½ finely chopped 

 Green chilli -1 finely chopped   

 Salt, sugar and lemon juice –according to your taste

 Coriander leaves –chopped

Method: add all these ingredients, mix and adjust the seasoning. Now your fourth and last ingredient for the wrap is ready.                             

Now we will proceed to make Fusion veggie wrap:   

          

-Keep everything ready and Take one roti, spread avocado and lettuce mix, sprinkle roasted veggie, lastly salsa. Now roll it and pack it in a lunch box or serve as a lunch or snack.

 

Peperomia Herb / Neer kaddi Raita :

Pepperomia Pellucida also known as Vietnams Crab claw herb. which is known as Neer kaddi/ Neer panthi in our coastal line. Even though it is known for its medicinal as well as culinary use, we never use this in cooking.

Whenever I see a Peperomia herb in my small kitchen garden, feel nostalgic by thinking about my childhood activity. During that time, we used to play with its watery stem and used to wipe our writing slate with it 😀 It is a common weed, which is shallow rooted, water filled stem and light green transparent leaves with a tiny granule kind of flowers.

Which has a peppery taste with a pleasant aroma. Entire plant is an edible and known for its medicinal properties such as anti-arthritic, diuretic as well as analgesic . It is very popular as a salad herb and here I have used it in a curd-based dish.

Ingredients:

Peperomia herb – one small bunch

Coconut oil – 1 tsp

Mustard – ½ tsp

Urad dal – ½ tsp

Hing – little

Curry leaves

Green chilli – 1

Salt

Curd

Onion – 1 (small)

Coriander leaves

Method:

-Remove root, wash and drain the herb. Chop herb, green chilli.

-Do seasoning- heat oil, splutter mustard, add urad dal and fry. Add hing, curry leaves, green chilli and fry until green chilli wilts.

-Now add chopped herb and toss until it wilts.

-Cool the mixture, add chopped onion, salt, curd , coriander leaves.

-Tastes good as a side dish with hot rice or whole wheat paratha.

 

 

Plantain stem curd curry/ Bale dindina pachadi :

Banana stem or Plantain stem is a rich source of fibre ,potassium and Vitamin B6 which helps to maintain a fluid balance within our body. Banana stem is diuretic which helps to detoxify our body and hence it is used extensively to treat kidney stone naturally.

Banana stem can be consumed in a raw form like Juice, Dosa ,curd based pachadi as well as plain Salad. We can make  Rasam, palya or sambar by cooking.

If you want to see a detailed pictorial guide for “How to chop Banana stem” you can refer this link .

Ingredients:

Plantain stem – 6 – 8 inch

Hing – a generous pinch

Salt

Curd – 1 cup

Green chillies – 2 to 3 ( we normally use Bird eye chillies)

Coconut oil – 1 tsp

Mustard – 1 tsp

Curry leaves – 1 spring

Method:

  • Slice plantain stem into discs, remove thread like fibre while slicing.
  • Chop the roundels into thin slices.

  • After slicing the roundels, stack 5 to 6 roundels one over the other and chop as desired. I usually make square small pieces for this salad.
  • Sprinkle salt, generous amount of hing and mix it thoroughly.
  • If you are using green chillies , chop them. If you are using bird eye chillies, use as it is.

  • Do seasoning, heat oil, splutter mustard, add chillies and curry leaves.
  • Add this seasoning over salad. Crush all the seasoning by using hand. This step would help to release the chilli flavour.
  • Add curd and mix. Serve as a side dish with Rice. It tastes good with Roti’s as well.

 

 

Carrot – Bell fruit Kosambari /salad:

When you have abundant supply of home-grown Bell fruits in Summer, you tend to use it in anything and everything for sure 😀

Bell fruit has many names like Java apple, Wax apple, Water apple, Syzygium, Jambi fruit or Jambu nerale. I normally prefer to use local, easily available and pesticide free stuffs as much as possible. I have shared the juice recipe before and now I am sharing one salad or commonly known as Kosambari in our local term. Which is “no onion and no garlic” and ideal for any fasting or festivities.

 

Ingredients:

Carrots – 2 (red or normal)

Bell fruit – 10 – 12

Salt

Raw mango or lemon – as needed

Grated coconut – 2 table spoons

Coriander leaves – 1 table spoon (chopped)

Seasoning:

Coconut oil – 1 tea spoon

Mustard – 1 tsp

Hing – ¼ tsp

Green chilli – 1 or 2

Curry leaves – 1 spring

Method:

-Grate carrots, chop bell fruits into very small chunks.

-If you are using raw mango, grate and add or else use lemon juice.

-Mix in coconut, coriander leaves, salt.

-Now prepare seasoning, heat oil, splutter mustard, add chopped green chillies, curry leaves fry for a min and add it to the salad bowl and mix everything and check once.

– Serve as a salad or as a Kosambari /side dish for lunch.

 

 

Beet and apple salad:

Low calorie eye pleasing, wholesome salad . This is a very light and tasty salad and at the same time, crunchy and healthy too. This salad gets its pink colour from boiled beetroot. Dressing is very light with the usage of hung curd in it. It is a complete meal by itself with loaded nutrients.

Ingredients:

Beetroot – 1 big.

Apples – 2

Lettuce – 6 -8 leaves

Vinegar – 1 tb Sp.

Dressing: Hung curd – 1 cup , mayonnaise – 2 tb spoon ,garlic salt ,sugar -1 tsp ,English mustard – 1 tsp.

Garnish : roasted nuts of your choice

Method:

-Wash beetroot , peel outer skin and chop it into finger shaped pieces. Take one cooker and put some water and cook . After one whistle ,switch off ,cool and drain and mix vinegar to this and keep this  atleast for 2 hrs in the fridge.

-When you want to prepare salad , mix all the ingredients listed under dressing and keep it ready.

-Chop Apple . Make lettuce strips and add this to prepared dressing ,add in marinated beet too and mix.         

   

-While serving ,garnish with roasted walnuts/pine nuts or any other nuts of your choice and enjoy.

 

 

 

Soppavare/Winged beans stir-fry:

Soppavare name itself is very much nostalgic. We had a widespread vine in our front yard and we used to relish a whole lot of Mangalorean traditional recipes in our childhood days.

Winged bean is a nutritionally very rich, tropical vine, which needs warm weather, but in the winter season. Almost all parts of the plant are edible, and vine produces unique shaped bean with four-winged edges.

It is rich in vitamins, minerals and many nutrients. When it is cooked, bean has nutty flavour and is consumed in many forms from salad to stir fries or in a form of curry.

My family relishes on this simple stir-fried salad with this simple seasoning.

DSC05152_Fotor 1

Ingredients:

Winged beans – 10 -15

Olive oil – 2 tsp

Garlic salt – 1 tsp

Chilli flakes – ½ – 1 tsp

Method:

Ribbet collage 1

  • Wash and slice the beans.
  • Heat one non-stick tawa add olive oil, add chopped beans, garlic salt and red chilli flakes.
  • Stir fry for a while and serve as it is or with curd rice or as you wish.

Banana/Plantain Stem Salad:

Traditionally we have used banana stem from ages and it is a super-rich vegetable and neglected by many. Our ancestors were very intelligent and included all the available nutritive vegetables from their surroundings. In our native, usually most of the people rely on agriculture for a livelihood and include all parts of banana plant in day to day cooking. When a bunch of bananas is harvested, the banana tree is cut away. Which is 80% water and 20% fibre.

Eating banana stem is very good for health as well as the kidney. It’s high fibre nature is known for its cleansing property of the digestive system. So, it is very good for diabetic or kidney stone patients.

It has layers of covers which should be peeled off and foot long pieces are made by retaining only a couple of outer layers as a protective layer for this vegetable and they are stored and kept aside for future use.

According to the requirement, before chopping this veggie, chop off required length of the stem, remove outer remaining sheath, until you find the very soft inner core.

Now comes the chopping part. Make thin slices, while slicing you will see the thread like fibre, which sticks to the knife and sometimes it will stick to the slices itself. If you find any thread like fibre either in sliced pieces or knife, remove it by hand.

After slicing the roundels, stack 5 to 6 roundels one over the other and chop as desired. I usually make square small pieces for this salad.

pic main

Ingredients:

Plantain stem – 10-inch long.

green chillies – 2 (if available use bird eye chillies)

Fresh Coconut – 2 table spoons

Salt

Lemon – ½

Coriander leaves – 1 table spoon (chopped)

Coconut Oil – 2 tsp

Mustard – 1 tsp

Hing – 1 pinch

Curry leaves – 1 spring

Method:

  Chop banana stem as described in description.

  Now, remove the remaining outer cover.

collage 1

  Slice inner pith into roundels by removing thread like fibre.

  Stack all the roundels and chop as needed. I prefer small square pieces.

collage 2

  Sprinkle salt and lemon juice and mix it thoroughly.

  Chop chillies.

  Do seasoning, heat oil, splutter mustard, add chopped chillies, hing and curry leaves.

  Add this seasoning over salad.

  Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and grated coconut.

  Goes very well with hot rice or curd rice.