This is a sweet crepe that is made with jaggery. But this version has no refined ingredients. This dish is normally made on the occasion of Vaikunta Ekadashi – a festival that falls towards end-December/early-January. People who observe a fast on this day and finally break the fast with no-salt food are believed to go…
Tag: #SouthIndian
Vazhaipoo Thogayal (Banana Blossom Chutney/Dip)
Thogayals are basically thick chutneys or dips. It is a concept unique to South India. These thogayals are served with rice and an accompanying wet dish. If the wet dish is bland (say Mulakootal), then a thogayal is a must. Of course, you can serve a thogayal with several breakfast dishes like dosa and idli…
Ven Pongal (Rice Based Breakfast)
Pongal has several associations amongst the families of Thamizhnadu and Palakkad. Firstly, it is the celebration of the Pongal festival that falls on January 14/15 every year. It is a 4 day long festival that offers thanks to the Sun God for agricultural abundance. This festival corresponds to similar festivals all across the different states…
Vazhakkai Podimas (Mashed Raw Banana)
I like podimas of any type. Podimas means mashed or grated. I have previously posted the recipes for sweet potato and potato podimas. This is a typically South Indian dish – though I am not sure which state it actually belongs to. I suspect it it Thamizhnadu. When I prepare podimas from sweet potato or…
Rasakalan (Mixed Vegetable Curry)
Rasakalan is a typically Palakkad dish. It is not rasam, kalan or mor kootan. For those not aware of these names, these are various wet dishes that are mixed with rice. Rasakalan seems to be related to mor kootan (yogurt based wet dish) but is also quite different and distinct. Broadly, it falls into the…
Sarkaravallikizhangu Podimas (Sweet Potato Curry)
I am not very fond of sweet potatoes. Especially the sweet taste. But I do stoically consume the tuber once in a while as I know that it is really good for health. Every night, when I plan the menu for the next day, I try to avoid sweet potato – until Hari tells me…
Pudalankai Varuval (Snake Gourd Crisps)
I am very fond of snake gourd. Though it is a bland vegetable, it tastes wonderful whichever way it is cooked. You will find several snake gourd recipes in this blog – kootu, usili, thoran… It can be used to make a mulakootal too. However, I wanted to try something different and make crisps with…
Savoury Cake
Breakfast is probably my favourite meal. That’s because there is a huge variety in the dishes that you can prepare for breakfast. I will not be wrong to say that you may not have to repeat a dish for about 3 months! I am always delighted to add a new recipe for the morning meal….
Vadu Mangai (Tender Mango Pickle)
I cannot imagine a South Indian household that does not stock this tender mango pickle. It is made using a specific variety of tiny, green mangoes. This variety of mango is called vadu mangai or maavadu. It is only available in South India, mainly Thamizhnadu. Since I live a couple of thousand kilometers away in…
Sambaram (Thin Buttermilk)
Today is Ram Navami, a major festival in India. It celebrates the birth of Lord Ram (supposed to be the 7th incarnation of Lord Vishnu). Ram is often described as the ideal man. The huge and impressive volume written by Valmiki on the life of Ram is a very holy book for Hindus and one…
wholefoodplantbased 