Padavalanga Thoran / Snakegourd Thoran

A simple, everyday recipe.



Ingredients

Snakegourd - 1 medium
Small onions - 5-6, thinly sliced
Green chilly - 2, slit lengthwise
Garlic - 1 clove, crushed
Grated coconut - 1/2 cup
Salt - as needed
Oil - 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - a pinch

Method

1. Clean the snakegourd and remove the seeds. Wash thoroughly. Chop them finely.
2. Heat a kadai, add oil. Once hot, splutter the mustard seeds.
3. Saute the small onions for few seconds and then add the crushed garlic and green chillies. Saute till the raw smell is gone.
4. Add the chopped snakegourd pieced along with grated coconut. Sprinkle some salt and the turmeric powder. Mix well. Sprinkle some water if needed. Cover and cook till the snakegourd pieces are cooked well. Towards the end cook with the kadai open so that all the moisture dried up.

Cauliflower - Carrot Thoran

A quickie side-dish for rice.



Ingredients

Cauliflower florets, slit into small pieces - about 2 cups
Carrot, chopped - 1/2 cup
Small onion - 5, crushed or thinly sliced
Green chilly - 2, slit lengthwise
Garlic - 1 clove, crushed
Curry leaves - 1 sprig
Grated coconut - 1/2 cup
Oil - 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Urid dal - 1 tsp (optional - just to add a crunch)
Turmeric powder - a pinch
Salt - as per taste

Method

1. Heat oil in kadai. Splutter mustard seeds. Add the urid dal and let them turn light brown.
2. Add the onions, green chillies, garlic and curry leaves. Saute till they turn transparent.
3. Add the cauliflower, carrot and grated coconut. Add turmeric powder. Gently mix, close and cook. Sprinkle some water if needed.
4. Once cooked, open the lid, add enough salt. Now uncover and cook for 2 more minutes for the moisture to dry up.

Kovakka / Ivygourd thoran

Healthy, nutritious...



Ingredients

Ivygourd - 15-20 no., each cut into half and thinly sliced
Small onion - 5-6, thinly sliced or crushed
Garlic - 2 cloves, crushed
Green chilly - 2, slit lengthwise
Grated coconut - 3/4 cup
Mustard seed - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - 1 sprig
Oil - 1 tbsp



Method

1. Heat a kadai, add a tbsp of oil. Once hot, splutter the mustard seeds.
2. Add the sliced small onions, green chilly & crushed garlic. Saute for couple of minutes. Add in the curry leaves too.
3. Add the thinly sliced ivygourd, grated coconut and sprinkle salt. Mix well.
4. Sprinkle some water, cover and cook till done.

Raw Papaya thoran

I did mention in some previous blogs about the goods that my MIL sent, when my hubby visited home couple of weeks back. That included a big raw papaya. So decided to make some thoran out of it, which my whole family enjoyed.



Ingredients

Raw papaya (peeled and grated) - about 4 cups (I just pulsed it couple of times in my mini chopper)
Small onion - about 8 (you can use big onion too)
Green chilly - 2, slit lengthwise
Garlic - 1 clove, chopped or crushed
Grated coconut - about 1.5 cups
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Salt - as per taste
Oil - 1 tbsp



Method

1. Grate the papaya and mix it with all other ingredients except mustard seeds and oil. Mix it gently, but thorughly with hand. Let it sit for about 10 min.
2. Heat a kadai and add oil. When the oil is hot enough, splutter the mustard seeds.
3. Add the papaya - coconut mixture into this and give a thorough mix.
4. Sprinkle some water, cover with lid and let it cook for about 8 min. Stir in between.
5. Check for salt.
6. Once the papaya is cooked, remove the lid and cook it for couple of minutes more, just to ensure that thoran is somewhat dry.

Cheera thoran / Kerala Spinach thoran

A healthy, yummy side dish for rice.



Ingredients

Cheera - 1 bunch, chopped fine
Small onion - 4-5, sliced or crushed
Green chilly - 2, slit lengthwise
Ginger - 1/2 inch piece, crushed
Garlic - 1 clove, crushed
Curry leaves - 3-4 leaves
Salt - as per taste
Grated coconut - 1 cup, loosely packed
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Oil - 1 tsp



Method

1. In a wok or pan, heat the oil. Splutter the mustard seeds.
2. Add the small onions, green chilly, ginger, garlic and curry leaves. Saute them for a minute.
3. Add the chopped cheera/keera and the grated coconut. Sprinkle some salt and give a good mix.
4. Sprinkle some turmeric powder, mix it up
5. Let the cheera get cooked uncovered (if you cover it, it will become soggy)
6. Once all the water is evaporated and the subzi is somewhat dry, switch off the stove.

Serve it with hot rice, curd and some pickle....heaven in your mouth!!

Pindi - Vanpayar thoran (Plantain stem and Red cow pea thoran)

One traditional dish from Kerala...and a pretty healthy one too..



Ingredients

Pindi / Plantain stem - 2 cups (cleaned, chopped)
Boiled Red cow peas - 1 cup

To grind coarsely

Grated coconut - 1 cup
Curry leaves - 1 sprig
Garlic - 1 clove
Small onion - 5
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Green chilly - 4

Final cooking

Coconut oil - 1 tbsp
Curry leaves - 4-5

Method

Boil the chopped plantain stem/ pindi with little water, salt and turmeric powder. It will start releasing water, so halfway through you'll need to open the pan and cook so that all the water is evaporated / removed.

Cook the red cow peas separately.

Coarsely grind the items mentioned under "To grind coarsely" and keep aside.

In a pan or kadai, heat oil. Once hot, throw in the curry leaves and the ground paste. Let the coconut paste get cooked for couple of minutes. Now add the cooked pindi / plantain stem and red cow peas. Give everything a thorough mix. Check for salt. Once everything is combined well, remove from heat.

Beetroot thoran

An easy, quick and healthy side dish for rice...



Ingredients

Grated or chopped beetroot - 2 cups
Grated coconut -  3/4 cup
Small onions - 6, crushed
Garlic - 1 pod, crushed
Salt - as per taste
Pepper powder - 1 tsp
Green chilly - 2, slit lengthwise
Curry leaves - 1 sprig
Coconut oil (or any other oil) - 1 tbsp

Method

Heat a kadai and add oil. Once the oil is hot, add mustard seeds and let it crackle. Add curry leaves, crushed small onions and garlic and the slit green chilly. Saute for a minute. Then add the grated beetroot along with grated coconut and mix well. Cover and cook. No need to add water. Stir in between. Once the beetroot is almost cooked, sprinkle salt and pepper powder. Mix well. Cook for another 5 minutes with the lid removed. Switch off the stove.

Cabbage-carrot thoran

Another easy and quick thoran recipe..

Ingredients

Grated cabbage - 2 cups
Grated carrot - 1 cup
Small onions - 5-6, thinly sliced
Green chilly - 3, slit lengthwise
Garlic - 2 pods, crushed
Curry leaves - 1 sprig
Grated coconut - 1 cup
Coconut oil - 1 tsp
Salt - as per taste

Method

Gently mix together all the above ingredients (yes, including the oil) with hand and keep it aside for 10-15 minutes. Heat a kadai and place this mixture in it. Sprinkle some water and keep it covered. Stir in between. Check and sprinkle more water if needed. Once the cabbage is cooked, open the lid and let it get cooked for atleast 5 min more. This will dry up the thoran to needed consistency.

Ethakka Thoran

Ingredients

Raw banana (small - cherukaya) - 3-4
Grated coconut - 1 cup
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Salt - as per taste
Coconut oil - 1 tbsp
Green chilly, slit - 2
Curry leaves - 1 sprig



Method

Wash, clean and dice the raw banana. Boil the banana in enough water and chilly. Once cooked, drain excess water and keep it aside. In a kadai, add coconut oil and once its hot splutter the mustard seeds in it. When the seeds crackle, add curry leaves. When they turn almost crisp, remove it from heat and add this to the boiled banana mixture along with salt and grated coconut. Mix well and let it sit for 10-15 min. Serve with some hot rice.

Kumbalanga / Ash Gourd Thoran

Many of you wouldn't have heard about this thoran...This is one side dish (among many other) my grandmom makes when there is an ash gourd harvest at home...of course you can't have olan everyday, so I think she came up with these interesting dishes.



Ingredients

Ash gourd - 3 cups (peeled, de-seeded and cut into cubes)
Toor dal - a handful
Small onion - 4-5
Garlic - 3, big cloves
Grated coconut - 1 cup
Green chilly - 1, slit
Red chilly powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Coconut oil - 1 tbsp
Curry leaves - 1 sprig



Method

Boil ash gourd cubes with little salt, turmeric powder and green chilly. Boil till they are transparent and cooked well (take care not to over cook. It will mash up if over-cooked). Drain excess water and keep aside.

Separately cook the toor dal. It should not be cooked too well that the whole thing mash up. Drain excess water.

Crush small onions and garlic with mortar and pestle. In a kadai, add oil. When hot, add the crushed ingredients and saute till they are almost crisp. Add curry leaves. Add chilly powder and stir till raw smell is gone. Add grated coconut and saute for half a minute. Now add cooked toor dal and ash gourd. Gently mix everything together for half a minute and then switch off the stove.

 

Kaayum Payarum - Good Friday Speciality / Raw Banana & Red Cow Peas

I first tasted this dish along with Kanji / rice porridge for my first Good Friday after marriage. In my place, Good Friday meant going to church in the morning and we'll be back by around 10 am and then have a sumptuous sadya in plantain leaf! But things changed after marriage .. in my hubby's place Good Friday is a full day activity at church which included an almost full day of fasting. I was tired...but there was no choice...So I waited and by around 4 pm they served hot hot kanji in mankalam along with this tasty raw banana-cow bean dish along with some mango pickle and pappad. Don't know if it was my tiredness or hunger...but whole meal tasted absolutely delicious!

Ingredients

Raw banana - 1, washed, cleaned and diced
Red cow peas - 3/4 cup, soaked
Salt - as per taste

To grind
Grated coconut - 1 cup
Green Chilly - 3
Cumin - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Small onion - 3

For sauting
Curry leaves - 1 spring
Coconut oil - 1 tbsp

Method

Boil the diced raw banana with a pinch of turmeric and salt. Once cooked, drain water and keep aside.
Cook the red cow peas in a separate vessel with some salt. If you haven't soaked it, then pressure cook it.
Grind the items under "To Grind" in the small jar of the mixie to get a coarse paste.
Heat a kadai and add coconut oil. Once hot, add the curry leaves and the ground coconut mixture. Saute well till the raw smell goes. Now add the cooked cow peas and raw banana. Mix well. Saute till the mixture is somewhat dry. Add more salt if needed. Serve it with hot kanji or steamed rice.

Beans-carrot thoran

One of sadya items and regular side dish at home mostly along with sambar

Ingredients

Beans - 12 - 15, cleaned and chopped
Carrot - 1 - cleaned, peeled and diced
Grated coconut - half cup
Salt - as per taste
Green chilly - 1, slit or as per your taste and tolerance level
Garlic - 1 small clove , crushed
Small onions - 3-4, crushed or thinly sliced
Curry leaved - 3-4
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Oil - 1 tsp














Method 1

Heat a kadai, and add 1 tsp of oil. Once hot, crackle the mustard seeds. Now add curry leaves, sliced onions, chilly, crushed garlic. Let it get sauted for half a minute. Then add the chopped vegetables along with salt and grated coconut. Mix well, sprinkle some water and close the lid. Stir every now and then, to ensure that it doesn't stick to the bottom of the kadai. Sprinkle more water if required. Care should be taken not to add more water, you shouldn't be using more than 1/4 cups of water. Once the veggies are almost cooked, open the lid and cook for some more time to remove extra water content. Serve with hot rice.

Method 2 - Oil-less 

Put all the ingredients except mustard seeds in a kadai and mix gently with hand. Keep it aside for not less than 15 minutes. After that, keep it on a low flame, sprinkle some water and let it get cooked.

Egg thoran .... my way!

You must be wondering what's so special about this recipe...we all make egg burji atleast once or twice a week... I just thought of blogging away the scrambled egg thoran that I make and something which we all love. So here goes the recipe.

Ingredients

Egg - 2

Big onion - 1 medium, finely chopped

Chilly - 2 , chopped or slit

Curry leaves - 1 sprig

Grated coconut - 1/2 cup

Tomato - 1, chopped

Salt - as per taste

Chilly powder - 1/2 tsp

Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp

Turmeric powder - a pinch

Method

Beat the egg vigorously, add some salt and keep aside.
In a heated kadai, add the chopped onions, chilly & curry leaves and toss them till the onions turn light brown. Add salt , so that it speeds up the browning process.
Add chilly powder, coriander powder & turmeric powder and saute till the raw smell is gone.
Add the chopped tomato and saute till gets mushy and slightly dry.
Add the beaten egg & grated coconut to this mixture and stir vigorously. Check and adjust salt in this stage, when the egg mixture is still wet. Keep stirring till the egg mixture becomes dry.
Garnish with some coriander leaves and serve with some hot rice.

Palak Paneer thoran

My family (except me) hates paneer. Period.

I have tried many a recipes (some tasty, some disasters) to make them like this calcium rich & nutritious item in the food group. All my attempts were utter failures, and I ended up eating all of them which showed on my waistline for a while.

And then one day I decided to camouflage paneer in my palak thoran (palak cooked with grated coconut) instead of the usual scrambled egg. Alas...finally I succeeded!! Very happy that I tried out this combo...this goes well with rice as well as with hot chapathis.

Ingredients

Palak - 2 small bunches
Finely chopped big onion or shallots - 1/2 cup
Crushed garlic - 1 clove
Crushed ginger - 1/2 inch piece
Curry leaves - 4-5
Frozen paneer cubes - 6-8
Green chilly - 2, slit (as per your tolerance)
Grated coconut - 1/2 cup
Turmeric powder - 2 pinches
Mustard seeds - 1 pinch
Oil - 1 tbsp

Method

Wash palak thoroughly under running water, and then finely chop.
Soak the frozen paneer in water for atleast 10 min. This will make the paneer soft and easy to smash.
In a heated kadai, add oil and crackle mustard once hot.
Throw in the chopped onions, chillies, ginger, garlic & curry leaves and saute everything till the onions are translucent.
Now add the chopped paneer, turmeric powder, grated coconut & the smashed paneer.
Saute well (do not close with lid) until its dried up and the palak & paneer is cooked.

Serve hot with chapatis or rice.