Manathakkali Vatral/ Dried Black Night Shade Berry

I once posted about Black Night Shade Berries/ Manathakkali (click to view post). When I saw it in the nearby shop, I bought 200gm of those to prepare the dry version. Vatral is usually prepared during summers while the sun is very hot. When summer commences, mom starts preparing vadagam and vatral for one whole year. They store well. When fried they become a great accompaniment for curd rice. We also prepare gravies / vatha kulambu (click to view recipe) using variety of vatrals. 

This manathakkali vatral is slightly bitter and can take many avatars. I have also posted the vatha kulambu in other my blog. It is very easy to prepare this vatral. You need a place where you get sunshine from morning till evening. I dried the vatral in my terrace. 

These are the fresh berries grown in my home. But for vatral, I bought it from the shop nearby.

You don't have to remove the stalk for the vatral. Clean, wash the 200gm of berries and soak them in 2cups of buttermilk and 1/2tsp of salt overnight.

The next morning, remove the berries from the buttermilk and spread them on a plate. Reserve the buttermilk for further use.

Dry it in sun for 8hours. The berries will change colour. Soak these berries in the buttermilk overnight. Next day, remove them carefully and dry it again the whole day. Soak them again in the remaining buttermilk and dry it the next day also. At this stage you can discard the remaining buttermilk. At the end of the day, cover the berries with a cotton cloth and leave it overnight. Continue drying the berries in sun until completely dry. 

The berries will be dark brown in colour when dry. Store in airtight jar and use it according to your wish.

Senai Kilangu Varuval

Elephant foot yam also known as senai kilangu in Tamil is a root vegetable. It has a hard skin and a harder inner flesh. I usually buy old yam, because the fresher ones will start an itch. So be very careful while choosing. If the skin is darker it is very much better. Apply oil in your hands before slicing it to avoid an itch. Gloves can also be very helpful. I prepare 2-3types of roast with yam. This is one of the types. Stirring this roast until crispy takes a long time. It tastes very nice with curd rice, paruppu and rice or rasam rice. 

Yam usually comes with a lot of mud. With a knife / Aruvamanai(a blade mounded upright on a wooden base) remove the dark coloured skin. Then wash the kilangu thoroughly until you get rid of all the impurities. The cut it again into small pieces. The secret behind getting this roast very crispy is in stirring. The flame has to be toggled between medium and low. If you feel that the kilangu is getting very dry, drizzle little oil over and stir. We will move on to the recipe.

Ingredients:
Yam-200gm
Red Chilly Powder-1/2tsp
Salt-to taste
Turmeric Powder-1/4tsp
Oil-3tbs


Procedure:
1. Heat oil and add the cut yam.
2. Saute until it is fully covered with oil.
3. Add turmeric powder and salt.
4. Keep on stirring it on medium and low flame until it becomes crisp.
5. Add red chilly powder and give a nice mix.
6. Serve hot.


Sending this to Priya's Healthy Diet-Vegetarian Side Dishes hosted by Vardhini

Cheppankilangu Roast

Cheppankilangu or Arbi is one of my favourite root vegetables. I usually prepare roast with this and it is very tasty. It goes very well with rasm rice or curd rice. I also used some sesame seeds to sprinkle on the roast which gave a nice crunch and aroma. 

Cleaning and boiling Arbi/ Cheppankilangu:

The arbi is first washed thoroughly in water to get rid of mud. Then add water enough to immerse the arbi and bring it to boil. Then simmer and let the arbi cook. Insert a tooth pick aand if it slides easily inside, then the arbi is cooked. Strain the water and allow it to cool. Remove the skin. It peels out easily if completely cooked. Cut it into thin slices. The arbi is ready for the next step.

Ingredients:
Arbi-250gm
Oil-4tbs
Turmeric Powder-1/4tsp
Red Chilly Powder-1tsp(adjust according to your taste)
Salt-to taste
Sesame seeds-1tsp


Procedure:
1. Heat oil and add the boiled and sliced arbi to it. Using a non stick pan can make your work easier. If you are not usin a non stick pan, then let the arbi cook on medium flame for some time before you stir it. Otherwise it will crumble.
2. Carefully turn the pieces so that the slices on top go to the bottom to fry.
3. After some time, the pieces will separate due to frying.
4. Add salt and turmeric powder and stir carefully. If you want it very crispy, add some more oil and simmer until it becomes crispy.
5. But if you want it soft, then add red chilly powder and sesame seeds, give a nice stir and transfer to a serving bowl.
6. Serve it hot with rice.


Sending this to Priya's Healthy Diet-Vegetarian Side Dishes hosted by Vardhini 

Pavakkai Vauval / Bitter Gourd Roast

Pavakkai or Bitter Gourd is a great vegetable but often hated by many because of the bitter taste it gives. But as it is good for health, you need to include it once a week in your diet. I love bitter gourd in any form. This roast when relished hot with rasam and rice tastes heavenly. This is also a nice accompaniment to curd rice. It still tastes bitter after sauteing and if you like the taste then this is the dish for you.

Ingredients:
Bitter Gourd-2
Oil-2tbs
Salt-to taste
Red Chilly Powder-1/2tsp
Coriander Powder- 1/4tsp
Cumin Powder-1/4tsp
Turmeric Powder- a pinch


Procedure:
1. Wash and cut the bitter gourd into thin roundels.
2. Heat oil in a pan and add the pieces.
3. Saute for a minute.
4. Add turmeric powder, salt, coriander powder and cumin powder.
5. Saute on medium flame until the pieces become crispy.
6. Add the chilly powder, give a nice stir and transfer to a serving bowl.
7. Serve hot.


P.S: Always add chilly powder at last in dry sautees. If you add it in the beginning, then while roasting the odour will be very strong and it is really hard on your nose.


Sending this to Priya's Healthy Diet-Vegetarian Side Dishes hosted by Vardhini and Ramya's ABC Series-Gourds

Curd / Yogurt

Curd also known as Thayir in Tamil, is an important part of Indian food. South Indians relish it with rice and no lunch is complete without curd rice and pickle. On the other hand north Indian recipes use curd as an important ingredient in cooking. The gravies are thickened with curd and there are so many chaat recipes with curd as the main ingredient. I also use it as an egg substitute in many of my bakes. There are  also so many sweets and drinks which use curd. To prepare all the recipes and relish home made curd is a great way. Though you get curd at stores, nothing can beat a thick home made curd. Making curd at home is easy. You need a drop of curd and thick milk to prepare fresh curd. Thicker the milk, thicker the curd. So boil milk for 5-10minutes so that you can ensure that the milk is thick. Though packed milk produces good results, I prefer the milk bought directly from milk man. 

Boil milk for 5-10minutes. Remove from flame and transfer milk to a bowl. Wait until it becomes warm. There will be a film of cream on top. With a spoon, remove the film a little and add a drop of curd to the milk. Cover and let it set. I usually leave it overnight. Morning fresh thick curd will be ready. Refrigerate until further use. Otherwise the curd will become sour. Use it the way you want.