Tips , tips , tips.

Tips for Raitas

Tips for raitas:

It is our tradition to serve raita or thayir pachadi in the beginning when lunch is served on any occasion.

These tips are for curdbased raitas.

Always use fresh, thick curds, lightly beaten.

Some of the fresh vegetables used for raita are, tomatoes, cucumber, carrots, chopped onions, finely shredded cabbage etc.

Some of the cooked vegetables used are, boiled & lightly mashed palak, well roasted slices of ladies’ fingers, roasted, peeled & mashed brinjal, lightly fried capsicum pieces, snakegourd slices, boiled small pieces of white ashgourd, boiled & grated beetroot, boiled & lightly mashed potatoes, chopped &boiled banana stem to mention a few.

There are some raitas with coconut base, like, coconut+coriander leaves,green chillies etc.

Besides all the above , there are raitas made with dhals –dangar, nethukkottumavu pachadi & melkootumavu pachadi- which come in very handy, for an emergency, when you run short of vegetables.

Salted amlas , salted mangoes are also ground with coconut for raitas in Kerala.

A delightful variation is boondi raita – add crisp boondis to curd raita just before serving & for an eye catching effect & taste, add bright red soft pomegranate seeds & sprinkle chopped coriander leaves. It looks very attractive!

For most of the raitas, a pinch of black salt can be added for an interesting taste.

Roasted & powdered jeera can also be sprinkled for a variation.

All fresh fruits , either singly or in combination can be used.

When you are serving raita for a party, add equal amounts of curds & fresh cream – the taste is unbelievably good, as served in 5-star hotels! For that keep the curds in a curd strainer in the fridge for 2 hrs, so that excess water drains off .

Or tie curds in a muslin cloth & hang it for water to drain.

To the strained curds, add peeled oranges to serve an unusual orange raita.

In corn season, add boiled corn cornels to any raita for a different taste.

Always add a little sugar to any raita to enhance the taste.

Serve raita well chilled.

You can add finely chopped dates or soaked raisins to cucumber raita.

Roasted & coarsely powdered peanuts sprinkled before serving gives a crunchy taste.

Bright red chilli powder can be sieved on top for a beautiful effect& for that serve raita in a shallow, wide based bowl.

Make your special raita by mixing strained curds, fresh cream, chopped fresh fruits of your choice & a few dry fruits ( soaked well for 2-3 hrs ) & nuts ! Add only sugar & salt.

Besides south indian food, raita is an excellent accompaniment to stuffed parathas, along with dhal & vegetable.

So, dress up the modest humble raita in “designer clothes” & impress your guests!

Given below is the photo of a raita which I made recently for a get-together.

 

Palak for raitas

Hi Meenaprakash,
I have given a recipe called palak-kaddu raita in the "tantalising pachadis"-section.
That is one method where palak is not ground fine, but mashed with hand.
The other method is, frying jeera, green chillies&onion(optional) in little oil & finally adding chopped palak leaves & frying till they shrink well. Grind this & mix with curds. If you are not using onions, grind with fresh coconut. Both taste good.
In the photo, the green rays are the green coloured curry leaf powder-not palak. On drawing lines with them in curds, they spread a liitle. In the centre is a tiny bunch of chopped coriander leaves.
I am posting these photos so that you can all try it definitely. I assure you, it will come out only better than mine!

 

South Indian Multipurpose Powder!

Melkoot Mavu-an ancient recipe, rediscovered for IndusLadies!

This was Grandma’s thickening agent in more ways than one. In fact this is a multi purpose powder, which can replace the traditional thickening agent-rice flour in South Indian cooking & corn flour which is now widely used. Since this has its own flavour, it adds to the taste of the dish.

Ingredients:

Udad dhal - 1 ½ tbsp

Gram dhal - 1 level tbsp

Moong dhal - 2 level tbsp

Tur dhal - 1 heaped tbsp

Wheat rava - 1 heaped tbsp

Methi seeds - ¼ tsp

Jeera - 1 level tsp

Mustard seeds - 1 level tsp

Dhaniya - 2 level tsp

Haldi - ½ tsp (optional)

Hing powder - 1 level tsp

Fry all the ingredients lightly on a dry kadai, powder as fine as possible, cool & bottle.

The first two are “jiffy Raitas” - made with this flour.

1- Make raita with this.Mix 3 tsp (or desired amount ) in a cup of fresh curds & whisk well. Add chopped green chillies & salt. If you like extra hing, add it. Temper in a little oil with mustard seeds & curry leaves.

2- Sour pachadi, also called Puli pachadi: - Mix 2 tsp tamarind paste in 1 cup of water & add salt.. Fry chopped green chillies in very little oil &add to this mixture. Add 2-3 tsp of this powder & mix very well, crushing the chillies lightly. No cooking is necessary. Temper in ½ tsp oil, with ½ tsp mustard seeds, one red chilli, ½ tsp each of udad dhal & gram dhal.

3- Sometimes when sambar or vathalkuzhambu is thin, we add rice flour & give a boil. Instead, desired amount of this powder can be added & mixed very well without lumps.

4- For morkuzhambu, gojjus & other gravies which need thickening , this can be conveniently added.

5- For a change, add a little salt to this, mix with hot rice& ghee & eat it. It will be very tasty, but just remember it will be bland & not hot. So eat it with a spicy gravy or pickle.

 

Tips on Vathakuzambu.

Vatral kuzhambu is commonly known as vathakuzambu & one can say that it is one of the pillars on which Tamil Nadu cooking rests, next only to sambar. It is adapted in different forms as venthiya kuzhambu, milaku kuzhambu, curry leaves kuzambu, khara kuzhambu & so on. Traditionally it is made so strong & spicy that one can easily consume a large amount of rice, having only roasted papad ( chutta appalam ) as a side dish! But now we have started consuming very little of rice & more of side dishes etc. Hence, I have adapted the preparation of the same to less spicy method so that one can have more of kuzhambu with less of rice!

Sambar powder roasted at the end with tempered ingredients serves the purpose very well for this, rather than making special vatha kuzambu powder. Traditionally it is prepared thus:

Make thick tamarind water (2 cups) with a big lemon size ball of tamarind.

Select any vatral (or vathal) of your choice-sundakkai, manathakkali, kuzambu karuvadam etc.

Heat minimun 3 tbsp gingelly oil. Temper with 1 tsp mustard seeds, ½ tsp methi seeds, 2 tsp tur dhal, 2-3 red chillies, hing powder, curry leaves, & vathal. When vathal is well fried, add 3 tsp sambar powder, fry lightly & immediately add tamarind water, salt & haldi. Allow it to boil on a medium flame till it reduces to less than half the original volume. It is customary to serve it thick. Some thicken it with a little rice flour mixed with water & giving it a boil.Generally a marble size jaggery is added for enhanced taste.

It is also made with vegetables like, brinjal, ladies’ finger, drumstick , avarakkai, cluster beans etc . For these methi seeds are added more & the name becomes venthaya kuzambu.

Vatha kuzhambu made with whole small onions is a great favoutite in many houses.

When you make it with yellow gourd (ripe parangikkai or mathan) or with sweet potato, the sambar powder quantity is decreased & slit green chillies are added-about 3-4 for the required spice level.

Kara kuzambu has many recipes. Usually it is made with onions, garlic, red chilli powder & dhaniya powder. Tomatoes are also added for this.

The following are the personal methods adapted by me for convenience & taste.

Instead of complete tamarind , I deskin 2,3 tomatoes &puree them &add to tamarind paste + water. This should be fairly thick.
Tomato-Tamarind Gravy For Kuzambus
Also I add 1 cup of warm water to ¼ cup grated coconut & after 15 mts blend in the mixi & take out the strained milk. This is added to tamarind- tomato mixture. Instead of methi seeds , nowadays I use methi powder while tempering.

In a pressure pan heat 1 tbsp oil , temper mustard seeds, 2-3 broken red chillies , 2 tsp tur dhal , methi seeds (or powder ), hing powder, sambar powder , haldi , curry leaves – fry well – add vegetables of choice (, brinjal, ladies’ finger, drumstick, avarakkai, cluster beans) etc )- fry little more &add the mixture of tamarind +tomato puree +coconut milk - this mixture should be fairly thick & have the consistency of the kuzambu you want because in pressurecooking method there is no loss by evaporation.Now add salt & cook for 1 whistle. Cool , open & add ½ tbsp raw gingelly oil for a nice flavour. This vatha kuzambu has a good flavour, colour & excellant taste. If you add small onions or your favourite vegetables & make the kuzambu this way & eat with a vegetable curry or koottu & a curd based raitha, you will need very little rice, which is the secret of modern eating!

Appalam ( not north Indian papad ) broken into small pieces, added when frying instead of vathal, gives delicious appalam vathakuzambu. Some prefer to add cut appalam pieces directly, without frying, just before removing the kuzambu from the stove.


The traditional curry which goes with vathakuzambu is paruppusili.Roasted appalam is also well suited to be eaten with this.