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Food from the heart
By ESTHER CHANDRAN
For the Nair family in Taman Sungai Jelok in Kajang, Onam is a time when the ladies of the house get busy preparing the must have lavish vegetarian feast ( Onasadya).
Dr Subha S T said her children looked forward to Onam because of the 16 vegetarian dishes cooked by their grandmother Subhadra Sreedharan Nair, 75.
“This is the only time we cook 16 dishes at one go, so everyone looks forward to sitting down and savouring the Onam meal,” Dr Subha said.
Subhadra said she would get down to cutting the vegetables and preparing various ingredients one day ahead of Onam.
“I get up as early as 4am on the festival day and start cooking.
“I also have to prepare breakfast which can be idli or tosai with sambar or chutney.
“By lunch time, the Onam meal is ready for everyone to relish,” Subhadra said.
The 16 dishes are Inji Puli, Mango Pickle, Lime Pickle, Fried Banana (Upperi), Sweetened Banana Chips, Aviyal, Thoran, Olan, Eri-Sheri, Kitchedi, Pachchadi, Parippu, Sambar, Kalan, Pulisheri and Rassam.
For dessert, the family enjoys the sweet Payasam treat and Bolee.
The dishes are relished with rice on a banana leaf and are placed in a particular order from the pickles, fried stuff to the savoury veggies and curries (left to right).
The Nair family was kind to cook three favourite Onam dishes and share their recipe with readers.
Subhadra and her husband Sreedharan Nair, 85 decided on Aviyal, Inji Puli and Palpayasam (made with milk). The Malayalee Payasam is called Prataman (made with green bean), however the family decided on Palpayasam this time.
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The ingredients required for the Aviyal dish: clockwise from left – thick sliced pieces of banana, carrot slices, winter melon, chilli, karanakalangee (yam), grated coconut, drumsticks and long beans.
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Aviyal
Ingredients:
Banana (Valakai) 350gm
Winter Melon 700gm
Snake Gourd 300gm
Carrot 250gm
Drumstick 200gm
Long beans 210gm
Karana kalange 250gm
Green chilli 4 – cut lengthwise
Half a coconut grated
Cashew nut 180gm
Shallots 5/6
Chilli powder, cumin, turmeric – according to preference
Method:
Wash vegetables and cut them 5cm lengthwise and put them in a pot.
Add one cup of water, one tablespoonful of chilli powder, turmeric and salt and then place the pot on the fire.
Stir and turn the vegetable now and then to evenly cook them.
When the vegetables are almost cooked, add ground coconut that has been blended with shallots, cumin and turmeric to the pot and bring to a boil and the dish is ready.
Add a tablespoonful of coconut oil to the dish at the end.
Note: Some cooks use yoghurt instead of tamarind juice. Tamarind juice helps keep the dish from going bad fast.
Inji Puli
Ingredients:
Ginger 300gm
Green chilli 2 nos
Shallots 5 nos
Chilli powder 1/2 tbsp
Asafoetida 1 tbsp
Pinch of salt
Brown sugar for taste
Half-teaspoon fenugreek
Half-teaspoon mustard seeds
Half-teaspoon cumin
Dried chilli 2 nos
Curry leaf a sprig
Method:
Cut ginger into fine cubes and slice green chilli.
Mix both in a bowl and set aside.
Mix tamarind juice, chilli powder and asafoetida powder and keep aside.
Pour oil into a wok – once hot throw in mustard seeds, fenugreek and cumin till they spurt.
Add dried chilli, curry leaves and shallots and stir fry till brown, then add the ginger and green chilli to the wok.
Keep stirring continuously and add a little more oil to keep from burning.
Once the mixture is brown and nicely fried, add tamarind/ chilli powder and asafoetida mix to the fried ginger and boil until the mixture becomes thick.
Add brown sugar and salt to taste.
Stir and when it has thickened, remove from stove and set to aside to cool.
Palpayasam
Ingredients:
Rice (washed and drained) 1 cup
Sugar one and half cup
Milk 4 cups
Water 2 cups
Clarified butter 2 tbsp
Cashew nuts 2/3 tbsp
Ground cardamom half teaspoon
Method:
Fry cashew nuts in clarified butter (ghee) and set aside.
Add rice to the hot ghee and fry until the rice is coated with oil and does not stick together.
Add half the milk with two cups of water into the pot and boil until the rice cooks.
When the rice is soft, add remaining cups of milk and sugar and boil further on low flame.
Once the rice is fully cooked and has broken, remove it from the stove and add the cardamom.
The cashew nuts can be added later.
