Onam Ashamshagal - A mini lunch

My heartfelt Onam wishes to all fellow malayali's in the blogosphere. Since my father hails from palakkad, I am half keralite. Nonetheless, onam is celebrated with equal grandeur at our place.

Onam is the harvest festival of Kerala and is also celebrated to welcome King Mahabali - the most beloved king of kerala. It is believed that on this day his soul visits Kerala. To welcome him, ladies draw colorful flower patterns (pookalam) and prepare variety of dishes with 'Avial' and 'Paladaprathaman' topping the must have list.

One onam event that I enjoy the most is 'Kaikotti kali'. This event is usually held in a Guruvayoorapan temple near our place. It's a kind of group dance where women attired in the traditional gold bordered saree, dance around a pookalam & vilakku, clapping their hands to a song in rhythmic manner. Sometimes the first round of dance is performed by little girls in beautiful pavadas (a traditional skirt & blouse).

This year I couldnt cook much as I had to devote substantial time to little K's morning activities. And since it was only me and mother in law for lunch, I managed a rather mini 'saddhi' with a pumpkin sambhar, raw mango carrot salad, flat beans subzi and dates payasam.

Raw mango & Carrot salad:

Carrot (Grated) - 3 small

Raw Mango (Skinned & Grated) - 1

Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp

Curry leaves - 3 to 4

Asafoetida - a pinch

Salt to taste

Preparation:

Mix grated carrot & raw mango. Add salt to taste. Temper with mustard seeds, curry leaves and asafoetida.

Flat beans (Papdi) Subzi:

Flat beans - 2 cups (finely chopped)

Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp

Black gram dal - 1/4 tsp

Chana Dal - 1/4 tsp

For the powder:

Chana Dal - 2 tbsp

Red chillies - 2

Curry leaves - 2 to 3

Dry coconut - 1 tbsp

Preparation:

In a pot splutter mustard seeds, add all the dals and chopped flat beans. Cover the pot with a vessel containing little water. Meanwhile for making the powder, roast all the ingredients (except dry coconut) in very little oil. Dry grind the same with dry coconut into fine powder. Once the beans is cooked, remove the vessel and leave the pot on slow fire till all the water evaporates. Once the beans is relatively dry, add the powder & mix well.

Dates Payasam:

Dates - 10 to 12

Ghee - 1 tsp

Sugar - 1 tbsp (alternatively jaggery can be used)

Milk - 1 cup

Fresh Cream - 1/2 cup

Cardomom powder - a pinch

Preparation:

Soak dates in warm water for about half an hour. Grind them into a smooth paste. Heat a non stick pan, melt ghee and add the dates paste. Cook for about 5 minutes. Thereafter switch off the gas. Add sugar, milk, fresh cream and cardomom powder (I added the pod). Mix well and refrigerate. Serve chilled.

Give this a try...very simple but healthy meal.

Sweet Corn Pomegranate Salad

One of the sweetest monsoon memories of my childhood was eating 'Bhutta' or Corn on the Cob. No sooner did the rain gods arrive, these bhuttawalas used to miraculously spring up in various corners, diligently fanning & roasting bhutta's. For serving, it used to be spiced up by rubbing a lemon wedge dipped into a mixture of salt & red chilli powder. I and my friends used to crowd around a small bhutta cart near my school, eating hot corn while the rains lashed all around us.

So bhutta (which really requires a strong set of jaws) used to be my staple till I was introduced to soft and fleshy sweet corn. Those days my father used to work at Nariman point which is the business district of Mumbai. He ventured into a departmental store and bought this amazing stuff (which he explained to us as 'imported' and hence the superior look & feel). I still love a bhutta occasionally but it is sweet corn which has occupied a major place in my diet.

Sweet corn or more popularly American Sweet Corn is a variant of Maize (or Indian corn) in that it has more sugar and less starch. Sweet corn is picked up when it is immature and consumed as a vegetable.

Despite the loss of Vitamin C, it is best to consume 'cooked' sweet corn as it increases its antioxidant activity. Cooked sweet corn also releases increased levels of ferulic acid which provides health benefits, such as battling cancer.

The above information has been taken from Wikipedia.

The salad above contains cooked corn and hence to deal with the loss of Vitamin C, I have added Pomegranates which also adds crunchiness. Besides the dish too looks appetizing due to variety of colours.

You will need...

Sweet Corn - 1 cup (cooked)

Pomegranate seeds - 1/2 cup

Onion - 1 (finely chopped)

Tomato - 1 (finely chopped)

Bell pepper - 1(finely chopped)

Red chilli powder - 1 tsp

Lemon juice - 2 tsp

Coriander leaves

Salt to taste

Mix all the ingredients together just before you serve.

If you dont have lemons you can substitute it with chaat masala. You can also add grated carrots (I didnt have one) to this salad. What you only need to do now is sit back and enjoy !