Wanderberry Tales

The festival of Vishu heralds the New Year for the Hindus in the South Indian state of Kerala. Vishukkani, Vishukodi, Vishusadhya, Vishukkaineetom are the  customs and practices symbolic with the Malayalee New Year. ( Know more about these customs ) Even today all these customs are followed with the reverence and sanctity they deserve. There is no festivity without an elaborate Sadhya that serves so many dishes that you get up from the banana leaf stuffed swearing never to eat so much again. Yet if there was even one item missing out of the sadhya you would feel amiss and would call it an incomplete sadhya!  Pachadi is a very common side dish for sadhya which is quick to make and can be made using different vegetables. Simply put, it is tempering the yogurt with veggies that go along with yogurt - Cucumber, beetroot,carrot, pineapple or even bitter gourd to name a few.  Recipe Preparation Time - 30 minutes Serves - 4 Ingredients Ginger – ¼ ...

Just done with Onam shopping. The crowd at Lulu, here in Dubai was beyond compare. Brands - Nirapara, Eastern, Brahmins, Double Horse setting up their own counters with special Onam discounts and goodies. Phew!! That was one hell of a time wading through alleys with the pushcart avoiding getting hit and making sure you don't hit anyone. I guess that is the joy of this festival.  Onam is that festival that brings together malayalees irrespective of religion. Onakkodi, Pookalam, Payasam, Sadya and all malayalees together whether in India or outside - that is Onam. Today's post is my mother - in  - laws recipe. A dish that I really love - Erissery made with mathenga and vanpayar. Here is the recipe -  Ingredients Onion - 1 small sliced Garlic - 2 pods sliced lengthwise Green Chilly - 2-3 Coconut - 1 cup grated Jeera/ Cumin seeds - 1 tsp Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp Mathenga/ Pumpkin - 1/4 kg diced Vanpayar - a handful salt to taste For temperin...

Vendekka or Lady's finger has never been my favorite vegetable. I found it quite slimy and difficult to eat. Marriage makes you do things that you never thought you would. Yes, I do cook Vendekka now and eat it as well because my husband loves it. What my mother could not do in years my husband managed in months! That's what marriage can do to you:) No regrets! Here is a very simple recipe for you this Onam straight from the USA. Safeera is a college mate of mine who sent across this recipe and managed to click some impressive pictures as well using yam leaf plucked from her backyard instead of banana leaf for a change. There you go - Ingredients Vendekka/ Okra/ Lady's Finger - 1/2 kg Tomato - 1 chopped Onion - 1 chopped Green Chilly - 1 to 2 slit Curry Leaves - 1 sprig Coconut Oil Salt to taste Method Slit the vendekka and cut into 2 inch long pieces. Pour the oil into a skillet, add the mustard seeds. When the seeds splutter add curry leaves and gre...

When I was on the lookout for Onam recipes, it was Vineetha who suggested Ishtu. I had no idea that this was an Onam dish that is pretty popular in the Thrissur region. It is quite fascinating to  note that same dish is called by different names with very slight variations in the recipes. Had I not begun a quest of Onam recipes may be I would not have known either. Oh I forgot to introduce Vineetha - she is my TALL friend - yes I mean it literally. One thing I hate doing with her is posing with her for a photograph - so my height is left to your imagination. She is miles across in Brisbane and is currently busy shopping for Onam. This is a recipe from her kitchen. I miss you Vineetha and there goes your recipe - Ingredients: Potatoes - 2 medium diced Onions - 2 medium sliced Ginger - 1 inch piece finely chopped Green Chilly - 2 slit Coconut Milk - 1 cup Water - 1/2 cup Curry Leaves - 1 sprig Coconut Oil Salt to taste Method: Add the potatoes, onions, ginger a...

Sambhar is a traditional South Indian dish. I am not sure which state it belongs to - Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu seems to have adapted it as per their flavors and taste. It adorns the banana leaf for the festivities in each of the states. Sambhar is a popular dish for Onam as well and again the taste differs from the north to the south of Kerala. Here is an easy recipe for Sambhar, if you are hunting for one.  The recipe was sent by Vinitha, my cousin. She is a wonderful cook, probably inherited our grandmother's cooking traits. We have had our fair share of cooking experiments together during the summer vacations at school. Here is the recipe she has for you -  Ingredients T oor Dal - 1/2 cup Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp Kaayam/Hing/Asafoetida - 1 small piece Onion - 1 sliced lengthwise Lady's Finger - 4 sliced Potato - 2 medium sized sliced Brinjal - 1 medium size sliced Carrot - 1 sliced Green Chilly - 2 slit Tomato - 1 medium sized sliced ...

How many of you knew that ela ada or ela appam is a popular Onam breakfast recipe? Well, I did not, until quite recently. For me, Onam was all about an elaborate afternoon Onam sadya. So why not have a breakfast dish as well to spice up the Onam celebration on the blog:) I have never made ela appam before and I do not remember it being my favorite when my mom made it for us in the evenings after school. It's been so many years now and I definitely wanted to make this. Banana leaf used to wrap the appam gives the ela appam a distinct flavor and aroma that will tickle your taste buds. I tried the ela appam infusing a little of banana as well. We enjoyed the final product! Ingredients Roasted Rice Flour - 2 cups Boiled Water - 1.5 cup Jaggery - 250 gms grated Coconut - 1 cup grated Banana - 1 ripened Banana leaf Salt to taste Method Mix the jaggery with coconut and keep aside. Boil water , add salt and the rice flour in parts, continuously folding it ...

When it is Payasam, it is kadala parippu payasam that I enjoy the most. Not just me, my sister as well. When everyone devours it hot, we love freezing it and having spoonfuls directly from the fridge:) Our dear akka, back home never misses an opportunity to make her special payasam. She ensures that she makes a huge quantity of it when my sister and I are back home. Only once do we eat it hot and the rest is frozen payasam. If it is payasam at home, our mom is sure to find a lot of used tablespoons lying around in her kitchen from our occasional sneaks into the kitchen for the payasam. Uhh!! Getting a little too nostalgic, am I! So here is your recipe - Ingredients Kadala parippu/ Bengal gram dal - 50 gm Raw Rice - 50 gm soaked in water Jaggery - 250 gm Sago seeds/chowwary/ Sabudana - 50 gm Coconut - 2 cups (take the milk) + 2 tbsp Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp Ghee Soak the rice in water for half an hour and wet grind it along with 2 tbsp of coconut. Fry the s...

The recipe of pineapple pachadi sent by my friend - Vani, who has also been a guinea pig for my cooking experiments before marriage:) The bubbly and talkative girl shares my love for cooking as well. Here goes her recipe and what she has to say about it - Pachadi is a traditional kerala dish usually served as a side dish for meals. Pineapple pachadi is quick to make and delicious to eat. Alternatively, beetroot, cucumber and carrots are also used to make pachadi. This dish is a awesome combo of flavours.If you love the combination of sweet and sourness, you should definitely give this recipe a shot. Ingredients Pineapple chopped-1 cup Green chilly-2-3 (You can alter the spice quotient by going easy on the chillies) Turmeric-1/4 tbsp Curd-1/4 cup +(2-3)tsp Salt -As required To grind: Grated coconut - 1/2 cup Cumin seeds - 1 tsp Green Chilly - 2 to 3 For Seasoning: Oil - 2 tsp Mustard Seeds - 3/4 tsp Red Chilly - 2 tsp Curry Leaves Method Skin the pineapple and c...

Onam is hardly a month away. Till date, I have not made a full fledged Onam Sadhya. This year I intend to, as it falls on a weekend. And thus, I started my lookout for sadhya vibhavangal.  The inspiration for my onam recipe hunt is a batch of freshers who joined my company I previously worked with. During one of our interactions last year they said that they got together for Onam (malayalees and non-malayalees) and made 28 dishes. 28!! My mouth fell open, I could not even recollect 28 dishes for sadhya, let alone make it. This year, a month ahead of Onam I have decided to hunt down recipes from my family and friends. The purpose - definitely is to practice cooking all these recipes before onam and also help similar people like me out there who are hunting for recipes. Onam or not, Inji curry has been my favorite - its tangy, hot and sweet all in one. I just love it. Apart from pineapple pachadi and payasam, this is my hot favorite. This recipe is from my mother's kitchen...