Don’t you think sometimes you need a full vegetarian meal? And that too with almost all all all the veggies in it?? LOL!! I felt like that few months back! Yes this is from a draft long long back. I still remember i was craving for all the veggie curries I’m not good at cooking kerala veggies. I opened my cook book after a long time and started searching for these recipes. I hardly take a look at the books now becase i find everything in GOOGLE now! LOL! but i think if u need anything authentic tried and tested and tasted you have to open those books which you have treasured or passed from ur mom or aunt or grandmaa… the list goes on! So here goes the recipes.

Avial is a vegetables with coconut and yogurt. I add all my favorite vegetables to it like potatoes, raw bananas, carrots, yam… yumm yumm!!

Carrot – 1 medium size
Potato – 1 medium size
Elephant Yam -1 cup
Raw Bananas – 1 large
long Beans- 1 cup

• All veggies cut in 2 inch long pieces.

Coconut-1 cup
Green chillies-2 nos
Cumin seeds-1 tsp

• Grind into a fine paste

Turmeric powder-1/2 tsp
Curry leaves 1-2 springs
Coconut oil for tadka
Sour curds-1 cup
Salt to taste

• Cook the vegetables in a skillet with little water.
• Add turmeric and salt to it.
• When the veggies are soft add the coconut mixture to it.
• After a boil add the beaten curd to it and turn off the stove.
• Heat coconut oil in a separate tadka pan and add mustard seeds and curry leaves to it.
• Serve with rice

Olan is beans mixed with winter melons in coconut milk. I love beans and winter melons but not really a fan of coconut milk. I had to buy it because this recipe is incomplete without it!

Small red beans – 1 cup soaked overnight
Winter melon -1 cup

• Pressure cook the beans till its half done and then add the melon and salt and cook again till soft.

Coconut milk- to taste around 1/2 cup.
Curry leaves 1 spring
Coconut Oil for tadka

• Add coconut milk to the cooked beans and melon and let it boil for few minutes.
• In a tadka pan add coconut oil and mustard and curry leaves and add the the beans.

Spinach is the only veggie my kids will eat everyday! So i try ot make it often and in the simplest way! I make Cabbage also in the same way.

Heat coconut oil in a skillet. Add mustard seeds. When they splutter add chopped spinach/cabbage to it. Add salt to taste and mix well. Wait till the veggies are done. Usually these veggies are cooked within 5 minutes if u chop them finely.

Okra Curry is one of the easiest curry for me.. why?? because one can cut the okras into half and and still it will be soft after a boil! Also i roast gring a large packet of coconut and freeze it so its easy for me to add the coconut also. Please note that the roasted-grinded coconut doesnt not really freeze and become hard in the freezer. It will be still like a powder if you dry grind them.

10-12 okras cut in to any size
1 small onion chopped finely
1 small tomato optional
a lemon size tamarine ball soaked in 1 cup of water
2-3 tsps of coriander pwdr
1 tsp of red chilli pwdr
coconut oil for frying onions
salt to taste

coconut 1/2 cup
cumin seeds 1/2 tsp
fennel seeds 1/2 tsp
curry leaves 1 sppring
turmeric pwdr 1/4 tsp
shallot 1-2

• roast all till dark brown and dry grind.

In a skillet add coconut oil and fry onions. If you are using tomatoes add them after the onions turn brown. Add chopped okras and fry then for 2-3 mts. Add the tamarine water and spices to it.  Cover and cook till the okras are soft. Add the grinded coconut to it and adjust the spices if u need more. And bring to a boil. Turn off immidietly after boiling.

• You don’t have to add all the coconut to it. Adjust according to how thick you want the curry. Freeze the un used coconut if any.

Enjoy the kerala meal with kuruva rice!

Im overjoyed to receive this award from Malar Gandhi.

And im passing this to Srivalli, Faiza Ali, Pajusha, Yasmeen, Lubna, Lissie.