Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Kappa with Mulaku Chammanthi(Tapioca with chilly chutney)

Kappa or tapioca is a source of carbohydrates and is loved by every Malayali. Best combination with kappa is always fish curry but in my house I can't make it since my parents are vegetarians. Sometimes we boil kappa simply with salt and eat with spicy chilly chutney. With this the best accompaniment is hot black coffee.Nothing can beat it! Here I am sharing the simple boiled kappa and chilly chutney recipe.

Ingredients :
Kappa/Tapioca - 1/2 kg(skinned,cleaned and cubed)
Water - required to boil tapioca
Salt - as required

Boil kappa in a pressure cooker or simply in a closed container adding water and salt. Make sure that it is not over cooked, Drain water completely.

For the chutney :
Shallots - 5
Green chillies - 5
Salt -as required
Coconut oil - 1 tbsp

Crush shallots and green chillies with salt. Don't grind it to a paste, just crush the ingredients.
Add oil and mix well. Serve with kappa and black coffee.

Red Spinach/Cheera Curry





Red Spinach or Cheera in malayalam is a very nutritious and tasty. Since it's not available most of the time in the city where I live, I always crave to eat dishes made of it. As soon as I reach my native place I ask my parents to buy it so that I can have it as much as I want.In hindi it's called Lal Bhaji and my husband also loves this leafy vegetable very much. But there's difference in the way his mother makes and I make it. Mainly because I being a keralite add coconut whereas my mother-in-law's recipe doesnt include coconut.
Here, I would like to share a gravy made in pure kerala style which goes well with hot rice. This recipe is very easy to make and will be ready in 10 minutes time.
What you need for this are :
Red Spinach(chopped) - 2 cups
Coconut grated - 1/2 cup
Jeera/Cumin seeds - 1 pinch
Turmeric powder/Haldi - 1/4 tsp
Red Chilly powder - 1/2 tsp
Tamarind - 1 small piece
Salt - as required
Water - 1/2 cup
Dried Red chillies - 2
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Oil - 1 tbsp
Curry leaves - 1 bunch


First add water to the chopped spinach and cook it in a pan adding salt.
 Just 5 minutes of cooking is enough for spinach.Soak the tamarind and take out the pulp.
Grind coconut with jeera,turmeric and chilly powder into a fine paste.
Once the spinach is cooked properly,add the coconut paste and tamarind pulp to it and bring to boil.
Remove from fire.Now season mustard,red chillies and curry leaves in the oil and add to the spinach.
Serve hot with rice.