Onam special :yes: Onam is the festival of foods!! ya precisely that is what I feel ! With due reverence to mahabali I think what malayalis concentrate the most is the onam special food!! Here are some tips each of us can follow: 1. Buy all the vegetables, clean, cut & refrigerate the previous night itself. 2. Buy coconut oil, since this adds the authentic flavor to all the dishes . make sure that apart from buying the same is also used in cooking ! 3. Banana leaf ! Do not forget tat the lunch has to be spread on banana leaf . so include this is the “TO BUY” list. 4. Plan the menu in advance and decide on the number of coconut needed. 5. After having decided on the number of coconut, scrape them and store in fridge the previous night itself. This will save a lot of time. 6. While buying for Onam , do not forget to buy – pappadam, chakara upperi & kaya fry. (Which is kerala appalam , jagerry soaked banana chips and bana fry). These are to be made at home, but taken into time constraints all these can be bought !:thumbsup Menu for Onam : The traditional Spread is as follows : 1) Boiled Rice- Hand pounded red rice. But now lets satiate with ponni (raw / boiled) variant. 2) sambar – Thaenga varathu arachu sambar. My way of doing is as follows: cook dhal (thuvaram parruppu , with turmeric) in cooker for 4 whistels done. Meanwhile in a kadai heat , scrapped coconut and curry leaves .When this turns dark brown in color turn off the stove allow to cool. Simultaneously in another kadai , pour oil. Add mustard , when this pops add jeeragam and vendhayam. Do not burn . To this add grated onions, peeled – but whole shallots. Add dry red chilli . Fry well. Then add tomato, cut vegetables. (Drumstick, potato, yam, carrot, beans, gourd). To this add , chilli powder and dhanya powder. Add salt at this stage. Now the coconut would have cooled. Grind this to a fine paste. Empty the kadai with its contents to the cooker. Add tamarind juice, Perungayam podi and the ground coconut paste. Close the lid and whistle cook for 2 whistles. Note: while chopping vegetables for sambar – keep it medium size (1 .5 inches thick). Otherwise while pressure cooking this becomes a paste. On cooling garnish with curry leaves. 3) Aviyal – this is copied and pasted from a website: Ingredients: 1/2 cup Grated coconut 5 Green chilies 1/2 tsp Cumin seeds 1cup Yam Thinly sliced into 11/2" length pieces 1cup Cucumber Sliced lengthy into 11/2" length pieces 1cup Snake gourd Sliced into 11/2" length pieces 1/4cup Carrot Sliced into 11/2" length pieces 1/2cup Long runner-beans sliced into 11/2" length pieces 2 Drumstick cut into 2" length pieces Curry leaves 3 tblsp Coconut oil 1 Raw bananas sliced into 11/2" length pieces Raw mango pieces 1/2 tsp Turmeric powder Salt to taste How to make aviyal: Grind coconut with green chilies and cumin seeds in paste and keep it aside. Heat coconut oil in a thick bottom vessel, add vegetables and cook it on a low flame without adding water. When the vegetables are cooked, add turmeric powder, salt and mix well. Put bananas and mango pieces in cooked vegetables and cover the vessel. When steam comes out, add the coconut paste and stir well. Remove from fire and garnish it with curry leaves . P.S : 1. Cut all the veggies to equal sizes. Cover cook in steam , with occasional sprinkle of water. Do not use ladle to stir, gently toss all the vegetables by tossing the vessel itself. 4) Kaalan Ingredients: 1 Raw banana (the kerala nendran banana is the best if available) 6 cups Beaten, thick sour curds 200 gms Chena (jameen kand/karunaikizhangu/suvarne gadde) 1 cup Coconut 2 tsp Turmeric powder 1 tbsp Pepper powder Salt to taste 2-3 Red chillies 2-3 Green chillies 1 tbsp Mustard seeds 1 tsp Methi seeds few Curry leaves Coconut oil How to make kalan: Wash and cut the vegetables into 2" square pieces. They should be thick Grind the coconut and cumin to a smooth paste without adding water. Keep it aside. Fry the methi seeds to a golden brown in a drop of oil and grind to a fine powder and keep this aside also.. In 1/2cup of water dissolve the pepper powder and strain it through a clean cloth. Cook the vegetables in this water with turmeric powder and salt.. When the water dries, add 1tsp ghee Add the beaten sour curds to the cooked vegetables and boil, stirring occasionally, until the gravy is thickened. Add the grinded coconut mixture and fenugreek powder into it and bring the gravy to boil stirring continuously. Remove the gravy from flame. Heat oil in a pan. When it smokes add the mustard seeds. When the mustard splutters, add the red chillies broken into halves and curry leaves and season the gravy with it. Enjoy it with rice. 5) Thoran – this is poriyal with a lot of coconut gratings. Cabbage is the best bet. Ingredients: 1. small chunk of cabbage 2. Green Chilli – Finely chopped 3. oil 4. onion / shallots – finely chopped. 5. Curry leaves 6. Mustard seeds 7. Turmeric Powder 8. Grated coconut – ½ shell How to : Add oil to kadai and when hot add mustard seeds to it Add finely chopped onion/ shallots. Add finely chopped cabbage & green chilli. Add turmeric , salt and cover cook in steam. When cooked well, add grated coconut. Turn off flame, garnish with curry leaves. 6) Pulisherry Ingredients: 10 to 12 pieces Ripe Mango or Pineapple 1 cup Thick yogurt a few Curry leaves 1/4 tsp Turmeric powder 1/2 tsp Chilli powder 1/8 tsp Cumin seeds 1/2 tsp Mustard 2 Red chilli 6 Green Chilly 1 tbsp Oil Salt to taste How to make Cook mango/pineapple with 3 green chillies, turmeric powder, chilli powder, cumin powder water and salt Beat yogurt and add it to the mixture ,stirring it regularly. Remove the mixture from heat. Season with mustard seeds, curry leaves, fenugreek and whole red chilly, green chillies. Ready to serve. 7) Erisherry : Ingredients: 2 cups Ripe Pumpkin (sliced into pieces ) 1/2 cup Red oriental bean 1 cup Coconut milk 2 tsp Oil 2 Dried chilli 1 tsp Mustard 2 springs Curry leaves Water Salt to taste To be Ground in paste 1 cup Grated Coconut 1 Small onions 1/2 tsp Cumin 1/2 tsp Turmeric powder 2 or 3 Green chilli 2 Garlic pods How to make erissery: Soak beans overnight. Cook pumpkin with beans after adding enough water and salt Put the grounded paste to the pumpkin, boil for sometime and keep aside. Heat oil in a pan, season mustard, curry leaves and dry chillies and add the thick coconut milk. Pour it to the cooked pumpkin curry and stir well Yummy erussery is ready to be served. 8) Olan - Olan is made with unripe – kumbalanga / ash-gourd.Which is a variant of Cucumber. I am typing the one my MIL taught me. Ing : kumbalanga / ash-gourd – peeled & cubed Coconut milk – take and keep the first milk aside and then take 2nd and 3rd milk. Green chilli (4-6) , ginger (1/2 inch) , shallots (3)– ground to a coarse paste Curry leaves – to garnish Salt - to taste How to prepare Olan : To a kadai add , coconut milk (2nd & 3rd milk only) to this add the cut ash gourd. When cooked , add salt and ginger, shallots & chilli paste. Allow to simmer. Now add curry leaves and turn the stove to full. Add the first milk and quickly switch off. This is how we made, it was too good ! 9) Puliinji – plan & procure earlier (or) 10) Pappadam - plan & procure earlier 11) Mooru 12) Kaya upperi - plan & procure earlier 13) Sharkara upperi - plan & procure earlier 14) Banana - plan & procure earlier 15) Paayasam – * SEMIYA PAYASAM RECIPE Ingredients: 1 cup Vermicelli 3/4 cup Water 1 cup Sugar A pinch Saffron 1 cup Milk 3-4 Cashew nuts 7-8 Raisins 2-3 Cardamom How to make semiya payasam: Saute the vermicelli in ghee till it turns brown. Boil water in another vessel.. Put vermicelli in boiling water and cover it, stirring occasionally. After the vermicelli becomes soft, add the sugar stirring continuously. Dissolve in the milk and add this to the vermicelli. Powder the cardamom and add it to the mixture. Flavor the desert with fried cashew nuts and almonds. Simmer the vermicelli for about two minutes. Your delicious payasam is ready to be served . Parippu payasam: Ingredients: Parippu (Green gram dal) 250gm Sarkara (Jaggery) 250gm Coconut milk from 2 coconuts Ghee 2 tbs Cashew nuts, Raisins for seasoning Method: 1. Fry dal till light brown. Clean and boil the fried dal well. 2. Heat jaggery with some water and make a thick solution. Take milk from the coconut thrice. Keep the thick milk taken 1st, aside. Add the 2nd and 3rd milk and the jaggery solution to the boiled dal. Simmer on medium flame till thick. Fry the cashew nuts and raisins in ghee. Add these and the 1st milk to the payasam . Mix well and remove from fire. So once again Happy oNam !!! :thankyou2:
Hi.... Thanks for the comprehensive list and recipes. Though i may not try my hands on them, would definitely visit my "friend's" house and binge on them ( provided she is in chennai on onam)... May Satguru Sairam be with you. Happy onam ... Cheers Sweetlife
welcome !! i guess u really need not wait for an occasion !! u can crash enter ur frens house anytime !! wat say ??
