So many varieties of this keerai are there, that every time, i would ask mom, is this also ponnakanni? Reddish ones, the ones i ate as a child, and this one now.
Medicinal benefits
It is good for eyes is what i have been told.
1. See this blog
2. Flowers
3. Divinewellness
Weekend Saturday Samayal
After PG food, this was sheer ambrosia. Thanks to god for this food and all the blessings. I came home after almost a month after mom's birthday. During Independence day holidays, had gone to sister's place, where i got to drink fresh cow's milk, fresh curd from cow's milk in Sriperumbudur. A rarity in the world of pasteurized milk.
Mom said, she would pluck drumstick leaves, but went to office, without getting me the leaves. While coming back, she came with ponnakanni, keelanelli, kuppaimeni and paruppu keerai leaves - all plucked from the thickets inside her factory compound walls. The keerai kootu in the picture has both ponnakanni and a little bit of paruppu keerai. I left the kuppaimeni and keelanelli alone, to make them separately, so as to discern their individual tastes.
Mom cleaned and chopped the leaves and made the coconut cumin seeds paste. With a little bit of moong dal and thuvar dal, Ponnakanni paruppukeerai kootu was ready in minutes.
Maramallis
Come september, the divine fragrance of maramallis simply stops me on the road. Every morning, it is a carpet of these fragrant maramallis. With screeching crickets, and plenty of open space, god! it feels so good after pg in bangalore.
Recipes
Ponnankanni Kootu
Wash and cut leaves.
Heat oil/ghee, splutter mustards and add curry leaves, and a little asafoetida powder
Saute the cut leaves till the volume reduces
Add turmeric, salt, water and let it cook till leaves are soft
Add cooked dal, coconut cumin seed paste and mix well
After coconut paste is added, take it off flame within a minute.
Kothavaranga paruppu usili
My colleague BK introduced me to various usilis in 2004-05. She would say that her mom made a rice paste, always made vathal puli kozhambus.
recipe
Rasam
It is tamarind very rarely for rasams or sambhar. Mostly just tomatoes, raw mango or lemon.
Grind a little pepper, cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds, one chilli, curry leaves coarsely in mixie
Heat few drops of oil, saute the ground mix, add asafoetida
Saute cut tomatoes and add water, salt, turmeric, a little bit of coriander leaves
When rasam starts frothing, before it comes to boil, take it off flame and garnish with coriander, curry leaves
Simple Sambhar
Heat oil, fry mustards, curry leaves, asafoetida
Saute cut vegetables- brinjal and lots of tomatoes in the absence of tamarind
Add turmeric, coriander powder, chilli powder, salt, mix well
Add the water in which brinjal was soaked.
Once vegetable is partially cooked, add cooked dal, cook for 3-4 minutes
Finally, do a tadka with ghee or oil, mustards, asafoetida and curry leaves
Instant Paasi paruppu payasam
Need something sweet to start and end a meal. My payasams are not traditional, they are instant, for i start late close to 12 pm and have to finish before mom returns from office around 12:40 pm. Even if nothing is available, i mash a little cooked rice/wheat flour/multi grain flour/aval or poha/rava to liberal dose of jaggery, ghee, milk, add lots of nuts fried in ghee with ellaichi
In the slowest flame, heat ghee, fry nuts and keep nuts aside.
Add pressure cooked moong dal to this ghee and stir gently
Mix lots of powdered jaggery and ellaichi to dal
Add thick milk to this mix, after taking off flame (to prevent curdling of milk)
Garnish with nuts fried in ghee
 | ||
| Ponnakanni Leaves |
 |
| Ponnakanni leaves with flowers |
It is good for eyes is what i have been told.
1. See this blog
2. Flowers
3. Divinewellness
Weekend Saturday Samayal
After PG food, this was sheer ambrosia. Thanks to god for this food and all the blessings. I came home after almost a month after mom's birthday. During Independence day holidays, had gone to sister's place, where i got to drink fresh cow's milk, fresh curd from cow's milk in Sriperumbudur. A rarity in the world of pasteurized milk.
 |
| Paasi paruppu payasam, Kathrika Sambar, Rasam, Curd, Nei paruppu, Ponnakanni Kootu, Kothavaranga Paruppu Usili, Roast Moong Papad |
Mom said, she would pluck drumstick leaves, but went to office, without getting me the leaves. While coming back, she came with ponnakanni, keelanelli, kuppaimeni and paruppu keerai leaves - all plucked from the thickets inside her factory compound walls. The keerai kootu in the picture has both ponnakanni and a little bit of paruppu keerai. I left the kuppaimeni and keelanelli alone, to make them separately, so as to discern their individual tastes.
Mom cleaned and chopped the leaves and made the coconut cumin seeds paste. With a little bit of moong dal and thuvar dal, Ponnakanni paruppukeerai kootu was ready in minutes.
Maramallis
Come september, the divine fragrance of maramallis simply stops me on the road. Every morning, it is a carpet of these fragrant maramallis. With screeching crickets, and plenty of open space, god! it feels so good after pg in bangalore.
Recipes
Ponnankanni Kootu
Wash and cut leaves.
Heat oil/ghee, splutter mustards and add curry leaves, and a little asafoetida powder
Saute the cut leaves till the volume reduces
Add turmeric, salt, water and let it cook till leaves are soft
Add cooked dal, coconut cumin seed paste and mix well
After coconut paste is added, take it off flame within a minute.
Kothavaranga paruppu usili
My colleague BK introduced me to various usilis in 2004-05. She would say that her mom made a rice paste, always made vathal puli kozhambus.
recipe
Rasam
It is tamarind very rarely for rasams or sambhar. Mostly just tomatoes, raw mango or lemon.
Grind a little pepper, cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds, one chilli, curry leaves coarsely in mixie
Heat few drops of oil, saute the ground mix, add asafoetida
Saute cut tomatoes and add water, salt, turmeric, a little bit of coriander leaves
When rasam starts frothing, before it comes to boil, take it off flame and garnish with coriander, curry leaves
Simple Sambhar
Heat oil, fry mustards, curry leaves, asafoetida
Saute cut vegetables- brinjal and lots of tomatoes in the absence of tamarind
Add turmeric, coriander powder, chilli powder, salt, mix well
Add the water in which brinjal was soaked.
Once vegetable is partially cooked, add cooked dal, cook for 3-4 minutes
Finally, do a tadka with ghee or oil, mustards, asafoetida and curry leaves
Instant Paasi paruppu payasam
Need something sweet to start and end a meal. My payasams are not traditional, they are instant, for i start late close to 12 pm and have to finish before mom returns from office around 12:40 pm. Even if nothing is available, i mash a little cooked rice/wheat flour/multi grain flour/aval or poha/rava to liberal dose of jaggery, ghee, milk, add lots of nuts fried in ghee with ellaichi
In the slowest flame, heat ghee, fry nuts and keep nuts aside.
Add pressure cooked moong dal to this ghee and stir gently
Mix lots of powdered jaggery and ellaichi to dal
Add thick milk to this mix, after taking off flame (to prevent curdling of milk)
Garnish with nuts fried in ghee
2 comments:
your blog is very informative but for people like us we need the descriptive recipes too. Please post the recipes along with pictures
Thanks for your comment. Will do that for subsequent posts or include recipe link.
For any thing i want to cook, google throws up 100s of written recipes on blog and so many youtube videos. So didn't want to clutter. Your hands, eyes and nose would automatically guide you in cooking, once you offer it to God first.
So will post recipes only for medicinal plant. It is a normal keerai kootu. The idea is to wash the leaves properly with water, offer it to god, in mind foremost. Then cut the green leaves as an offering to god, pray to agni first once you light the stove, then ishta devata all the while in kitchen.
Spluttered mustard seeds, curry leaves in oil/ghee with liberal dose of asafoetida. Then sauted keerai in this oil for a while with turmeric powder, tomatoes are optional. Added water, and let it cook, till it was mashable with fingers. Then added pressure cooked tuar dal, salt and coconut cumin seed paste, let it cook for less than a minute after coconut paste was added. Just that. I typically don't add chillies, onions, garlic or other masala items to my kootu. When i cook, mom forgoes chillies for my sake. Don't overcook green leaves. Hope that helps.
Thanks again for your comment.
Post a Comment