Tag: ivygourd

Thondekayi Ele Geru beeja Palya / Ivy gourd with Tender Cashew stir fry:

April 12, 2017

Vishu is one of the important festivals of Kerala and our coastal region. It comes in April and usually on 14th.Traditional rituals are followed to bring in prosperity and we (lady of the house) will assemble Vishu-kani at Pooja room. It comprises all the fresh crops, vegetables, rice, gold, money, flower and pot full of water and one mirror. On the festival day morning, after taking bath, family members will see this “Kani” and seek the blessings of the god and from the elders. Usually at this time of the year, fresh cashew crop starts and cashew is one of the main crops of our region. Only for this festival we pluck fresh raw green cashew and prepare either payasam or kheer with chana dal or cashew and ivy gourd dry curry. This particular side dish is a must in almost all the festivities and weddings. Which is a speciality of Mangalore region.

This side dish has no other masala’s other than green chilli and coconut flavour.

pic 2

Ingredients-

Ivy gourd – 500 gms

Tender cashew – 100 kernels

Green chillies – 3 to 4 (slit)

Coconut oil – 1 table spoon

Mustard seeds – 1 tsp

Red chillies -2

Urad dal – 1 tsp

Curry leaves – 2springs

Turmeric – ½ tsp

Salt

Jaggery – ¼ tsp.

Method:

-At first we have to remove outer cover of the young cashew. Take one bowl, put all those young and raw cashew kernels into it, pour boiling water and keep it aside for 10 to 15 minutes by closing the lid.

collage

-When outer cover of the kernels swells, remove the outer cover and keep aside.

-Chop ivy gourd after washing it thoroughly. Make 4 lengthwise pieces of each gourd.

-Now take one thick bottomed kadai or clay pot, heat oil for the seasoning. Put mustard, when it splutters add urad dal, red chillies.

pic 3

-When urad dal becomes red, add curry leaves and slit green chillies and fry a little.

pic 4

-Next, add chopped ivy gourd and cashew kernels, turmeric, salt, jaggery and fry until it wilts a little.

pic 5

-Now add one cup of water and close the lid and cook this in a low fire until it is done.

pic 6

-Lastly add grated coconut and mix and cook until it is done.

pic 1

Note:

– One pack of Young cashew, that we get in the market has 100 kernels. In Bangalore, I get these from the Mangalore Store (all Mangalore stores will have it when it’s the season)

-If you are using regular cashew, cook the cashew first by putting water and salt in cooker for 2 whistles, drain the water and then proceed as above method.

Manoli Kadle Ajadina /Thondekai Kadle palya /Ivy gourd and chick pea Dry curry:

December 25, 2016

This is one of our family favourite curries, which is loved by all. We make two types of curries by using ivy gourd and chickpea.

One is with onion and garlic, other one without it.

This name is derived from Tulu language, which is a local language of Mangalore. Manoli is ivy gourd or Tindora, Kadle is black chick pea and Ajadina is dry curry.

This particular masala is used in Bunt community of Mangalore and it is an integral part of their festive cooking.

How I make this-

Ingredient:

Ivy gourd – ¼ to ½ kg

Black Chick pea – 1 cup

Salt

Jaggery – ½ tsp (optional)

For Masala:

Fresh grated coconut- 1 cup

Coriander seeds – 1 tsp

Cumin – ½ tsp

Urad dal – 1 tsp

Methi/ fenugreek seed – ½ tsp

Dry red chillies- 3 to 4

For Seasoning:

Coconut oil – 1 to 2 tbl sp

Mustard – 1 tsp

Curry leaves – 1 spring

Method:

-Soak black chick peas in water overnight. Next day discard soaked water and add fresh water, salt and cook this in a cooker for 3 to 4 whistles.

-Wash ivy gourd, cut this lengthwise into 4 pieces. Cook this by putting very little water and salt and jaggery.  keep aside.

-When pressure releases from the cooker, open the lid, drain the water and keep chick pea aside. Don’t discard the drained water. You can make really yummy Rasam or soup out of this.

Next is the masala preparation-

-Heat little oil, fry methi seeds until it is light brown, add remaining ingredients, coriander, cumin, urad dal,  red chillies, and fry nicely.

-Take one mixer jar, put roasted masala, make  a powder, and add coconut into it and whip couple of times to get dry coarse powder.  

Now we can proceed to make palya-

-Take one kadai, put coconut oil, when it is hot, splutter mustard seeds, add curry leaves.

-Now add ground masala and fry for a while.

-Now add cooked chickpea and ivy gourd mix well, check for the salt and adjust.

-Cook this until it becomes like a mass and veggies are coated well with the masala.

-Serve this as a side dish with hot rice.

NOTE:

-Usage of coconut oil will give authentic taste.

-Don’t discard drained water from cooked chick pea. It is very nutritious and you can prepare really tasty Rasam, and it is here.