Avial

Ingredients:
- 4 cups mixed vegetables chopped into 2 inch pieces
(Some of the vegi we add are ash gourd, snake gourd, potatoes, carrots, beans, valakai(plantain), eggplant/bringal, chow-chow, unripe mango (mankai))
- 1 cup butter milk/ curds
- pich of turmeric
- salt to taste
- 1 tblspn coconut oil (optional)

Grind to paste:
- 1/2 cup shredded coconut
- 1 tspn jeera
- 1 tspn rice flour
- small lemon size tamarind softened
- 3 Green chili
- 2 red chili

Method:
1. In a deep vessel add all the vegetables with salt and turmeric. Boil them till they become tender.
2. Add the ground mixture. Let it boil for a few minutes.
3. Finally add the butter milk/curd. If you need it to be like kulumbu add buttermilk. But if you need it to be like kootu then add curds. Add curry leaves and coconut oil. Simmer it for a few minutes. Make sure it does not boil too much else the buttermilk will start to curdle.

Mor vendasar (Buttermilk kulubu without coconut)

Ingredients:
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 tspn rice flour
- salt to taste

Seasoning:
- 1/2 tspn oil
- 1/2 tspn methi seeds
- 1/2 tspn mustard seeds
- 2 red chilies

Method:
1. Mix butter milk and rice flour and salt in a bowl.
2. In a pan add all the seasoning ingredients and fry till mustard seeds starts to crackle.
3. Pour the butter milk into the pan and let it simmer for 5 minutes. Make sure it does not boil too much because butter milk has the tendency to curdle at high heat.

Serve it hot with rice. This is a very light kulumbu

Thiruvadari Kali

Ingredients:
- 1 cup rice
- 1 tblsp moong dhal

Roast rice and moong dhal until it turns light brown. Grind it coarsely. Now measure this and take equal quantity of jagary.

Other ingredients:
- 2 tblsp ghee
- 1/4 cup shredded coconut
- 8-10 broken cashew nuts
- 1/4 tspn cardamom

1. In a deep vessel fry cashew nuts in 1 tblsp ghee and keep it aside.
2. Add 2.5 cups of water. When it comes to a boil add the jagary. Let the jagary dissolve. Continue to boil for another 5 minutes.
3. Now add the ground rice slowly. Make sure it does not form any lumps. Stir it continuously till it stops sticking to the sides of the vessel.
4. Add ghee, cashew nuts, coconut and cardamom powder. Mix it well and serve it hot.

Kerai mor kootu ( spinach with buttermilk)

Ingredients:
- 5 cups chopped spinach
- 1 cup butter milk
- 1 tspn rice flour

Seasoning:
- 1/2 tspn oil
- 1/2 tspn methi seeds
- 1/2 tspn mustard seeds
- 1 tspn channa dhal
- 3 red chilies

Method:
1. Boil spinach with salt till it becomes tender. Then puree it in a blender.
2. Mix butter milk and rice flour in a bowl.
3. In a pan add all the seasoning ingredients and fry till channa dhal turns into a light brown color.
4. In a pot add the spinach, butter milk and the seasoning ingredients and let it simmer. Make sure it does not boil too much because butter milk has the tendency to curdle at high heat.

Serve it hot with rice.

Variation:

Instead of rice flour you can use 1/4 cup shredded coconut, 1 tspn channa dhal and 3 red chilies. Grind it to a paste with the butter milk and pour it with the spinach puree. Use the same seasoning except the red chilies.

Methi Chole

Thank you Sailu for the Methi Chole recipe. I have modified it to suit my taste. Here is the original recipe


Ingredients:
- 2 cups kabuli channa, soak in water overnight and pressure cook till soft
- 1 cup packed methi leaves (fenugreek)
- 2 medium tomato, finely chopped
- 3-4 green chillis, slit length wise
- 1 tsp grated ginger
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- pinch of methi seeds
- 1″ cinnamon stick
- 1/4 tsp asafoetida/hing
- 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
- 1/2 tsp cumin pwd and Dhania pwd
- 1 tsp of garam masala powder
- 2 tbsp of Rajastani spice mix
- 1 tbsp tamarind paste
- 1 tbsp chile pwd (adjust per taste)
- 1/2 tbsp oil
- salt to taste

Method:
1. Heat oil in a pan, add cumi seeds,methi seeds, asafoetida, turmeric pwd, green chillie and grated ginger. Fry for few seconds
2. Add methi leaves to this and fry for 3-4 minutes
3. Add all the spice mix (Rajastani spice, Garam masala, cumi and dhania pwd) and fry for few minutes
4. Add the tomatoes to this and fry until it is soft.
5. Add tamarind paste to the pan
6. Take some 2 tbsp of boiled channa and mash it in blender. Add the boiled channa and the mashed channa to the pan
7. Add salt and chile pwd as per taste and let the gravy boil for 5 min
8. Garnish with coriander

This can be served with roti or paratha.

Note :
I used slow cooker to boil the kabuli channa. I also added some left over Radish greens to the gravy.

Mixed Vegetable Subzi

Ingredients:
- 1 capsicum/Green Bell pepper
- 1 carrot
- 1 cup peas
- few cauliflower florets
- 1 onion
- 2 Green chili
- 1 small piece ginger
- 2 tblspn coconut milk
- 1 tspn Rajastani powder

Seasoning:
- 1/2 tspn oil
- 1 tspn Jeera

Method:
1. In a pot add oil and all the seasoning ingredients.
2. Once the jeera turns to golden brown add the chile,ginger and onions. Fry till onion becomes translusent.
3. Add the vegetables and cook till it becomes tender.
4. Add the spice mix,coconut milk and mix this well.

Serve hot with Roti or rice

Kerai kootu with coconut and pepper

Ingredients:
- 5 cups chopped spinach
- 1/2 cup coconut
_ 1/2 cup toor dhal
- salt to taste

Fry
- 1 tspn peppercorn
- 2 tspn urad dhal
- 1 tspn jeera
- 4 Red chilies

Seasoning:
- 1/2 tspn oil
- 1 tspn Jeera
- 1 tspn mustard seeds
- 1 tspn urad dhal

Method:
1. Pressure cook toor dhal.
2. Boil chopped spinach with salt till it becomes tender.
3. Grind coconut and the fired ingredients to a fine paste.
4. Add toor dhal and the coconut paste to spinach and let it boil till kootu thickens.
5. In a separate pan add oil and all the seasoning ingredients. Pour this on the top of the kootu before serving.

Serve it hot with rice.

You can do the same dish with other vegetables too. We add carrots, bell pepper, potatoes, zucchini and spinach to this kootu.

This is my entry to Healing Foods:Spinach an event by Siri and hosted at present by Divya