Payar Mezhukupuratti

Kanji and payar mezhukupuratti, my idea of comfort food. In the traditional Kerala homes this used to be everyday dinner. The best meal idea for a healthy,nutritious and light dinner.I make this combination atleast once in a fortnight. Takes me back to grandma's home in the scenic setting of the village of Ambalapuzha(Alleppey district, Kerala). A picture perfect setting that truly depicts simple living and high thinking. Far far away from the pressures of huge commercial cities, people here enjoyed lives even in the days of no television and mobile phones. Sitting around in groups at the local temple and catching up on the day's details while children mingled with each other and loved playing around. This is so unlike the computer age of today where being hooked to the computer and the internet is the way of life.

The day would to start very early and the air filled with the fresh scent of flowers, music (the old time records) played at the Krishna and Devi temples near by. Breakfast ready at the table by the time we were all up. There were definitely no shortcuts then to cooking those delicacies.Idli, dosa, pootu, upma, idiappam complete with all the accompaniments. Lunch was a feast in itself with an array of curries. Even though every house had a large number of members and with mostly joint families, the lady of the house had her hands full. However, even with so much to do people still seemed to have so much more time to sit around and enjoy. Definitely not like the busy days of today when we are all constantly complaining of busy days and no time to even breathe(wonder if the days then had more than 24 hours). The absence of the television and the computer probably made the difference.

Have very fond memories of playing in the courtyard with my grandmom sitting with the plate to feed both me and my sister. We would run around plucking flowers, around trees and then come back in between for a quick bite. Missing her, missing home (probably the Kerala video I watched on FB in the morning...just got me into a flashback)..lost in thoughts of times and people who would only live in memories..never to come back.

Ingredients for Payar Mezhukupuratti
Payar or green gram - 1 cup
Water - 2.5 cups
Salt to Taste
Turmeric powder - a pinch
Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Green chillies- 1 or 2
Oil -1 tbsp
Curry leaves - 8 to 10

Method:
1- Wash and drain the green gram. Put the green gram into the pressure cooker. add the water, salt, turmeric powder, green chilli and red chilli powder.
2- Cover the cooker and let cook for 10-12 minutes after the weight is put.
3- Open after 15 minutes. Dry the remaining water. Add curry leaves and adjust the salt. Add the oil and let it cook on low heat for 5-6 minutes. Serve with kanji, curd rice or with your regular fare.

Book Review - Amulya Malladi's Serving Crazy with Curry

A book review section on the food blog is one that has been in the pipeline for some time. There are a whole lot of plans to give the blog a whole new look and also add some new and good content. I was looking for some food fiction and landed with Amulya Malladi’s “Serving Crazy with Curry”. This is a not a new book and has been around for some time now, yet decided that yes, I make a start with it.

The author’s official website describes her as “Amulya Malladi is the author of five novels published by The Random House Publishing Group. She was born and raised in India and graduated with a bachelor's degree in engineering from Osmania University, Hyderabad, India. She received a master's degree in journalism from The University of Memphis, Tennessee, USA. After living in the United States for several years, Amulya now lives in Copenhagen, Denmark with her husband and two sons”.

Coming to her book “Serving Crazy with Curry”, it is a story about Devi, the protagonist and her family. Relationships, food, human behavior and lie in general have been dealt with very weel in the book. The right blend of emotions, practicality and story are the strong points of the book. The book has a very unusual beginning with Devi’s mother Saroj discovering Devi lying in her bath tub in a pool of blood. With a failed suicide attempt and a life full of problems behind her, Devi is left with no option but to move back into her parents home.

Avi, her Dad is a successful businessman who after a tenure in the army (where he meets his love and now wife Saroj) has to leave with an arm having been amputated. Saroj is the caring mother but her nagging tendencies alienate her from the rest of her family. She is the dutiful wife and mother who yearns to bring back those golden years when her home was filled with love, happiness and the smiles of her family members.

Shobha, Devi’s sister is a successful business woman and young Vice-President of a leading firm and is married to Girish, a professor. Her personal life is in complete shambles and the inability to conceive Shobha leaves her frustrated, angry, depressed and devastated. She, however, being the strong woman that she is perceived to be, continues to wear the mask of success and happiness and goes on with the business of life. Vasu, Shobha and Devi’s grandmother, is yet another important and influential character who is a retired doctor from the armed forces. Back home from the hospital, the family comes together to make Devi comfortable and bring her back to life. Devi however, stops talking completely after the incident and to her own surprise finds that cooking is the only activity that lets her relax and enjoy. She dishes out wonders at every meal adding a new twist to the regular dishes and creating delicious treats with simple everyday ingredients from Saroj’s pantry. Blueberry curry chicken, spicy rasam with pastry and Cajun Prawn biriyani are some of the delights that she churns out for her family. A visitor to the house who is an old friend of Devi’s lets out a dark secret from Devi’s past which probably was the most important reason for the suicide attempt. What was it? Will the family be able to pardon Devi for not disclosing such an important part of her life? What does life have in store for Devi and her family?

The book is a nice read and the author like Devi, the protagonist, throws up a new twist every time you get the feeling that things are starting to get a little monotonous. A simple story told in a nice way, this is according to me a very woman-oriented story with four women with very different personality traits coming together under one roof to support one another. A story set in the west it has a nice Indian feel and is a good pick for some light reading.

Onion Pakoda/Pakora

Day # 7 Blogging Marathon
Come rain or cold,the evergreen pakoda is the but obvious when it comes to a tea time snack. The pakora is a deep fried snack very popular in South Asia. Vegetables/chicken dipped in a gram /chickpea(besan) flour batter and deep fried till cooked and crisp. The onion pakora is a personal favourite and one that I made for tea this evening.

Ingredients for onion pakora:
Onion - 2 (cut into thin and long)
Besan/Gram flour - 4 tbsp
Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Hing/asafoetida - 1/4 tsp
Salt to taste
Green chilli - (finely chopped) -optional
Oil - for deep frying

Method for making onion pakoda:
1- Take a mixing bowl and add in all the ingredients and mix well. You may add a tbsp or two of water if required.
2- Take a pan and add in the oil for deep frying. Add in the onions in the gram flour batter in small lumps(no definite shape) and let fry. Deep fry them till golden brown. Take out and drain over the kitchen towel. Serve hot with tomato sauce or a chutney/dip of your choice.
Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#14
I am sending this to Kid's Delight, hosted by Rujuta themed on Easy to make Snacks under 30 mins