Podalangai Pachadi - Snake Gourd in Yoghurt

PODALANGAI PACHADI


Podalangai (snake gourd) pachadi is an oft prepared dish in our house. The tender green colour and the juicy soft crunch of the vegetable lends a special taste to the pachadi. We love to relish this pachadi with vattal kuzhambu and rice.



INGREDIENTS


Tender snake gourd without fibers (Chopped) - 2 cups
Fresh thick Curds - 2 cups
Fresh coconut gratings - 4tbsps
Green chillies - 2
Salt - 1 pinch
Black pepper - 1/4 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp
Curry leaves - a few
Coconut oil - 1 tbsp

METHOD


1. Wash and chop the snakegourd along with its tender seeds into small uniform pieces.
2. Boil the chopped snakegourd in just enough water with 1/2 a pinch of salt till it is cooked but not mushy.
3. Drain the vegetable and set it aside to cool. Save the drained water to be used in other dishes.
4. Grind coconut gratings and green chillies into a smooth paste adding a little water.
5.Blend the paste, 1/2 a pinch of salt and the thick curds together and mix in the cooked and cooled snake gourd.
6. Heat coconut oil and add the whole black pepper.
7. When the pepper cracks add cumin seeds and switch off flame.
8. Add curry leaves into the seasoning and pour over the Podalangai Pachadi.



Relish the aroma of the seasoning and the luscious pachadi with any 'variety rice' you like.

Salmon Potato Curry

I was very busy from morning because I had to drop and pick up Anush from school and didn’t get time to make any lunch for both of us. As Anush likes to eat fish and he was hungry and I didn’t have time to think/cook a time consuming recipe. So I thought of making fish curry and came up with this recipe because I had boiled potatoes. It was easy and was done in 10 mins and tasted so good.

Ingredients:

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½ lb Salmon steak

1 big Tomato

1 tbsp Curry powder ( I used Jamaican Curry powder)

1 tsp black Pepper powder

Salt to taste

1 tsp Olive oil

Method:

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1. Cut the salmon steak to bite size pieces.

2. Cut the boiled potatoes to bite size pieces.

Chop the tomatoes.

3. In pan add oil, when the oil is medium hot add all the ingredients and mix well and add ¼ cup of water.

4. Cover with lid and cook for about 5 to 6 mins until the tomatoes are cooked and soft.

5. Open the lid and cook again for about 2 mins on low flame until u have a thick gravy.

6. Serve this easy n tasty recipe with rice.

Bansi Rava Kesari

Bansi Rava is also called as Godumai Rava/ Samba Godumai/ Broken Wheat/ Dalia. It is rich in fiber and very nutritious. Kesari is usually made out of Sooji. Kesari/ Kesari bath is usually made of milk and sugar. But this Bansi Rava Kesari is made of jaggery. It is a very delicious and simple recipe. This is how I made it.

Ingredients:

Bansi Rava - 1 cup                                            

Jaggery (powdered) - 1 cup
Cardamom powder - 1 teaspoon
Cashewnuts - For Garnishing
Raisins - For Garnishing
Ghee - 4 Tablespoons
Water - As required





Method:

• In a Pan/ Kadai roast 1 cup of Bansi Rava in 1 table spoon of ghee.
• Then boil the Bansi Rava in about 2 cups of water or as required. Cook till it is completely cooked.
• In a different pan, add the Jaggery and add 1 cup of water and boil the Jaggery. 
• Once the Jaggery is boiled and dissolved completely, remove it from heat and strain out the Jaggery water.
• Mix the strained Jaggery water into the Bansi Rava, add 2 table spoons of Ghee and stir it well.
• Take a Tadka pan and add the Ghee into it. Once the Ghee is melted, add a few Cashewnuts and Raisins. 
• Then add this to the Rava Jaggery mixture and stir it well till the Ghee leaves out on the sides.
• Remove from the pan and serve it hot.Enjoy the Bansi Rava Kesari.