Kitchen Corner-Try It

Happy Vishu to all my friends and Readers! How is the Vishu Sadhya planning coming along for everyone? For all my Malayalee friends who are planning to celebrate this joyous festival, I am sharing a guide to preparing an easy  and tasty Sadhya. Vishu celebrations are real nostalgia, the fully blossomed Kani Konna trees (Cassia fistula), Vishu Kani, new clothes, and Sadhya. Vishu Kani is beautifully arranged the night before, and the sight you see on the morning of the New year brings luck throughout the year. Vishu celebration is not complete without the traditional vegetarian feast- Sadhya. It is served on a banana leaf, and there is a colorful array of vegetarian curries, rice, and desserts. Vishu Kanji, vishu katta or ada is served for breakfast. Sometimes non-vegetarian food is also part of the feast in some regions. In Southern Kerala, Vishu Sadhya is not so elaborate as the Onam sadhya. It is cooked with simple ingredients and seasonal vegetables. Mango, golden cucumber, ja...

   Chakka pazham Aval Payasam- Jack fruit Pudding/Payasam   Do you like pudding with Jack fruit? Today's recipe is a bowl of fruity goodness that will surely satisfy your sweet tooth cravings. It is creamy rich, dessert made with aval/poha/beaten rice, jack fruit, and milk. Ripe jack fruit has a distinctive fruity aroma and is sweet like honey. Jack fruit is one fruit that makes me super excited, and I love trying different recipes with it. My mom makes a breakfast pudding that is not overly sweet, with ripe jack fruit, coconut milk, and rice dumplings. It is one of those simple, homey recipes that make you nostalgic, and you keep coming back to it time and again. This payasam was inspired by that traditional recipe and is a delightful treat that you can serve on special occasions. Jack fruit is now in season, and there is no better time to try this payasam/pudding. Jack fruit adds an exotic taste to payasam, and you're in for a treat! Chakkapazham payasam has the be...

10 Delicious Kerala Sadhya Payasam/ Pradhaman- Vishu and Onam Sadhya Tomorrow Malayalees around the world will be celebrating Vishu/ Kerala New year. So this is the perfect time to share some Sadhya recipes. Sadhya is a hearty meal, a vegetarian feast made on festive occasions. It is served, on a banana leaf with rice, pickles, chips, and curries ranging from mild yogurt and lentil curries to more spicy vegetable curries. But this post is dedicated entirely to the delightful treat/ dessert. Payasams are festive puddings served at the end of the Sadhya/ feast. Pradhaman/ payasam is made on all festive occasions like Vishu, Onam , Diwali, etc. If you love desserts here, are ten Kerala-style puddings for you to try. Payasam and pradhaman are both desserts or puddings, but when it comes to making pradhaman, there is a time-honored cooking technique. Payasam is easier to make but, pradhaman is time-consuming. It is cooked and reduced, and then cooked again- sort of double cooking which add...

Yellow Dates/ Raw Dates Pickle Condiments like pickles are a staple in my kitchen. Every month I try making some kind of pickle. We like to have it with rice or parathas. Do you also like pickles? I know for many people out there, a meal seems to be incomplete without some kind of pickle. Today's recipe is dates pickle and is not the usual dry dates pickle. It is a unique pickle made with yellow or raw dates. Fresh yellow Barhi/Barhee is common in the middle east. It is commonly used in Arabic, Chinese and Indian Cuisine. Recently during our visit to Dubai, we were able to taste different kinds of dates. We visited a market where we could taste test and buy different varieties of dates. It was the first time, we tasted raw dates and it was additive. Dates fruit grow in large clusters, like bunches of grapes and is a sight to behold. Yellow dates have an astringent or under-ripe after taste to it. It is not chewy like normal dates. It is firm with a delightful crunch. Fresh...

Pazha Pradhaman/Nendra Pazham Pradhaman It is Onam time in Kerala and tomorrow is Thiruonam- the final day of celebration. Onam is a ten-day-long festival celebrated in Kerala and no festival is complete without a satisfying hearty meal. So Onam sadhya is something we look forward to every year. Sadhya is the traditional vegetarian feast served on a banana leaf and there is a colorful array of vegetarian curries, rice, and desserts. If you love desserts try this Kerala style pradhamam. Trust me on this pradhaman recipe, it is a bowl of divine fruity goodness that will surely satisfy your sweet tooth cravings.Pazha pradhaman or nendra pazham has sweet plantain as the star ingredient. I have already posted recipes like ada pradhaman and kadala pradhaman . Payasam and pradhaman are both dessert or pudding, but when it comes to making pradhaman there is a time- honored cooking technique. Payasam is easier to make but pradhaman is time- consuming. It is cooked and reduced and then...

Kaithachakka Tenga Aracha Curry Kaithachakka/pineapple tenga aracha curry is a simple curry that can be served with rice. It can also be served as a todu curry for Sadhya . Since Onam festival is next week, I wanted to share this fairly easy to make sadhya recipe.This curry is new to me. When you taste it, you will love the simplicity of this curry, plus it is easy to whip up and exotic in taste. It looks and tastes similar to pineapple pachadi , but it has dominant taste and flavor of coconut. We had this curry a few times during our recent trip to Kerala and it is curry made on special occasion. I believe it is a central Kerala style recipe. This is a mouthwatering delicacy, entirely vegan and full of flavors. It has the tangy sweetness of pineapple and flavor of coconut. I am fan of anything  made with pineapples and if you are like me please check out my other pineapple recipes. I will share the links of the recipes at the end of this post. This is a delicious pineapple c...