Idichakka Thoran (Tender JackFruit stir fried with Coconut & Spices)

I had been waiting for years (patiently) to prepare this Idichakka Thoran, because the tender jackfruit available in shops is usually over-aged and the thoran would not have the right consistency. So where are the jackfruit trees gone???? We do not have one either in my house or my hubby's house. We live in an apartment and so there is no question of having a Jack tree though i would say we are lucky to have a Curry leaf tree, lots of Jasmine, a Moringa Tree (the tree which yields Drumsticks), a Jampaka (dont know the English name), a custard apple tree and a tree which yields a leaf which was used to pack meat (Irachi pothiyunaa ela)...i dont know the actual Malayalam word for it...and no patience to search for it anyway...

So the story of sourcing this tender jackfruit is like this: My friend went to meet her Mother-in-Law which is in a rustic setting and the way to the place is through Kuttanad. She asked me whether i need a Kuttanad Duck or a Kuttanad Karimeen or anything which is not available in Kochi. The first thing that came to me was a Tender Jackfruit. The reason why this came to my mind is: there are two jackfruit trees in our neighbourhood  and i have been eyeing on the tender ones for sometime this season and asked my husband whether i can ask for a tender jackfruit from them. My husband says NO whenever i nag about this - just this season okay. Even in Kerala now the culture has turned out that you dont socialize with your neighbors, ....... hmmm.  

The recipe is from my mother. We used to have this Tender Jackfruit Thoran every summer season when we were in Valparai. There is a lot to be written about this ..... I'll better write the recipe now.

the ingredients

Tender Jackfruit - 1

Oil to grease your hand and knife

Adequate paper to save your kitchen counter top from the Jack glue

method to clean the Jackfruit

Spread a newspaper or parchment paper in your counter top and place the Jackfruit. Grease your hands and knife with oil. Cut the Jackfruit into rounds with the greased knife (wipe away the glue).Quarter the rounds and cut off the middle part. Now the glue will start oozing out of the fruit. Use coconut fibre or tissue paper to clean it off. Cut/peel the thorny skin (only the green coloured part) of the jackfruit using a sharp knife. Once peeled cut it again into the size of medium sized potato cubes. Place this in water mixed with a tablespoon of salt and a teaspoon of turmeric. This is to get rid of any glue like stuff in the pieces.

ingredients to boil the tender jackfruit

salt to taste

green chillies - 2 or 3

turmeric - 1/2 tsp

Place the cleaned jackfruit in a pressure cooker with 3/4 level water (of the fruit). Add salt, turmeric and green chillies and  pressure cook for 2 whistle. When the steam goes off drain the water. Take each piece and lightly smash it with the back of a spoon.

ingredients for seasoning

oil - 3 - 4 tbsp

mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp

urad dal - 1/2 tsp

l large onion - chopped

gently crush 1 cardamom, 2 cloves and 1/2 inch cinnamon

grated coconut - 5 tbsp or 1/3 of a coconut

salt to taste

turmeric - if need be

chilly powder - 1/2 tsp

pepper powder - 1/2 tsp

curry leaves - 2 sprigs

method

Heat a wide pan / uruli chatti and add oil. Add the mustard seeds and urad dal and saute for few seconds. Add the onion and curry leaves. When translucent, add turmeric, chilly powder, pepper powder, spices and salt. Add the grated coconut, stir for few second and add the smashed tender jackfruit. Stir well. Check taste and serve with rice and curry

Note: The stage of the Tender Jackfruit is important for this recipe otherwise it will turn out to be fibrous in texture.

Chocoban Milk Shake

Chocoban = Chocolate + Banana

ingredients to make 2 cups 

Banana - 2
Grated Chocolate - 4 to 5 tbsp ( Instead of chocolate you can use chocolate horlicks, boost or bourvita)
Sugar - to taste
Milk at room temperature - 2 cup (measure according to the serving glass)
Hot milk - 1/2 cup (to dissolve the chocolate)

method

Place the grated chocolate in a cup and pour the hot milk and gently stir so that the chocolate dissolves. Into a mixer jar add the chopped banana and the milk dissolved with chocolate. Blend it till you get a smooth mixture. Add the remaining milk and blend again for about 3 seconds. Check sugar and add more sugar if required. Place the milk shake in the refrigerator for half an hour (i kept it in the freezer for 15 mins bcoz kids were impatient...). Blend it again for 3 seconds. This makes the milkshake frothy. Serve it in tall glasses garnished with grated chocolate.

Thattil Kutti Dosa with Garlic Chutney

This dosa-chutney combination requires no introduction to  Malayalis, who would have watched the movie Salt & Pepper. Yes, this dosa was the root cause or rather the plot of the movie.....

Thattil kutti dosa is a small fluffy dosa which is not spread but just laddled onto the griddle pan.

The garlic chutney also has a mention in the movie and i have come out with my own version because the recipes which i searched in the web used lot of tamarind or sometimes coconut. This is a simple, garlic-onion-lemon juice recipe.

ingredients for the garlic chutney

garlic - 20 large cloves, vertically slit
onion - 1 small, roughly julienned
salt to taste
deseeded green chilly - 1 (optional) - i did not use
lemon juice - 1 tsp

method 

To prepare the garlic chutney, heat 2 tbsp of oil  in low flame and add the garlic and onion. Saute till the raw smell goes off but before it turns brown. Drain the onion and garlic from oil and place it in a blender. Add salt and few tablespoons of water and grind it to a smooth paste. Place the chutney in a bowl and mix in the lemon juice. You can serve the chutney with dosas or spread it on to roti like a mayonnaise, you can see the texture in the picture.

Saute the  chilly also if you are using green chillies

ingredients for the dosa

dosa batter - as much as you need

method to prepare thattil kutti dosa - grease a non-stick pan or the traditional cast iron pan and pour a ladle full of batter and let the batter take shape by itself. Drizzle few drops of oil on the sides and top of the pan. When the dosa is cooked and crispy, flip the dosa with a spatula. Let the other side also turn crispy.

Serve hot with the garlic chutney.

Kabuli Chana / Chole Biryani with Caramelized Vegetables

ingredients to prepare the caramelized vegetables

2 medium carrots, cut into juliennes as seen in the picture
2 large onions, cut into juliennes
1 medium cauliflower, separated into florets as seen in the picture
salt to taste
oil to fry

ingredients to prepare the rice

basmati rice - 2 cups (to serve 4)
water as needed
cardamom - 4
star anise - 1
cinnamon - 1 inch stick
cloves - 3 or 4
oil - 1 tbsp
salt to taste

ingredients to prepare the chole

3/4 cup or 1/2 cup (use as much as you need) Kabuli Chana, soaked overnight and cooked with salt

onion - 1, chopped
ginger - 1/2 inch piece, crushed
garlic - 4 cloves , crushed
curd - 4 tbsp
cumin powder - 3/4 tsp
coriander powder - 1 level tsp
garam masala - 1 tsp
chilly powder - 1 1/2 tsp
turmeric powder - 1/3 tsp
oil - 2 tbsp


ingredients for layering

coriander leaves - chopped with hands - 5 - 6 sprigs
mint leaves - 5 -6 sprigs
ghee - 1 or 2 tbsp

the method

1. Caramelized vegetables

Heat oil in a pan and deep fry the onions first. then deep fry the carrots, followed by the cauliflowers. While frying the vegetables sprinkle one or two pinch salt. Reserve the fried vegetables.

2.To cook the rice

Wash the rice and soak it for about 15 minutes. Boil adequate water with the spices and add the rice and salt to taste. When almost done add the oil and lemon juice. Drain and reserve the rice.
3. To prepare the chole, heat oil in a pan and saute the onion till golden brown. Add the ginger, garlic and all the spice powders. Saute for a minute and add the cooked Kabuli chana and stir well. Add the curd, stir for a while and then turn off heat.

4. Take heavy bottom pan and pour 1 tbsp ghee. Place a layer of rice and sprinkle the coriander and mint leaves. Spoon a layer of chole. Place another layer of rice and sprinkle the coriander and mint leaves and place a layer of chole. Repeat till the rice and curry is fully used up.

Layer the caramelized vegetables on top. Cover the pan and place in low flame for about 5 to 10 minutes. Serve with onion raita or a pomegranate raita.

Since the chana itself has a nutty flavor i did not add fried cashewnuts and the caramelized veggies was enough to give the sweetness which would have otherwise been given by fried raisins.

Dates & Vermicelli Payasam

A very easy Payasam recipe for  festive or normal days


the recipe

Dates – 15
Water – 200 ml
Vermicelli – ½ cup
Water – 100 ml
Milk – 100 + 300 ml
Sugar – 4 tbsp
Ghee – 1 tbsp
Almonds & Cashewnuts – ½ cup
ingredients to be powdered

Cardamom – 5
Cumin – 2 pinch
Dry Ginger Powder – ½ tsp or 1/3rd inch piece

The combination of cardamom, cumin and dry ginger powder is used to balance the sweetness from the dates.
the method

Deseed and chop the dates and cook it in water till mushy. Once the dates are cooked, stir it well to form the consistency of a pulp. Keep it aside.

Heat ghee in a saucepan and fry the cashewnuts and almonds. Drain the nuts and keep it aside. Saute the vermicelli in the remaining ghee and add 100 ml water and 100 ml milk and let the vermicelli cook. Once done add the remaining milk, cooked dates, sugar and fried nuts. Powder the cardamom, cumin and dry ginger with about 1 tsp sugar and add it to the payasam. Stir well and serve hot.