Let's start with Kurukku kalan - my husband's favourite. I made it in my bronze urali which hasn't seen much use since I bought it from Kerala last year. This Onam, I decided that if the kalan was to be tasty, it needed the benefit of the heavy urali. So, out it came from the basement, and was well washed and dried on uthradam, the day before thiruvonam.
Since Onam fell on a Friday, there was no one at home to partake of a Onam Sadhya. I decided to make just the kalan and erisseri on the day of Onam, and have the real feast on Saturday, when friends were joining us for dinner. After all, when one hasn't had an Onam lunch, it made no difference whether we were going to eat the sadhya on Thiruvonam or Avittam (My ammachan would have termed this sacrilege, but unlike in Kerala, here in the US, we don't normally get a holiday on Onam.)
Since Onam fell on a Friday, there was no one at home to partake of a Onam Sadhya. I decided to make just the kalan and erisseri on the day of Onam, and have the real feast on Saturday, when friends were joining us for dinner. After all, when one hasn't had an Onam lunch, it made no difference whether we were going to eat the sadhya on Thiruvonam or Avittam (My ammachan would have termed this sacrilege, but unlike in Kerala, here in the US, we don't normally get a holiday on Onam.)
Kurukku Kaalan
2 raw plantains - preferably the Kerala Nenthran plantains (If not, use the long green plantains that are available at the local Indian store)250 gms raw chena /suran / yam
500 gms sour curd* - well beaten and at room temperature
1 coconut - grated
2 tablespoons cumin seeds / jeera
2 tablespoons (or more) finely powdered pepper
12 green chillies (more or less, according to taste and the heat of the chillies.)
1.5 tablespoons turmeric / haldi
salt to taste
For garnish / tadka
6 tablespoons coconut oil
2 table spoons mustard
4 - 6 red chillies
2 sprigs curry leaves / kariveppin ila / kari patta**
1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds / uluva / methi
Put the finely powdered pepper and turmeric in a heavy bottomed vessel with 3 cups of water. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer until the pepper is well cooked. (This is done so that the pepper looses its raw taste and does not sear your tongue.)
Cut the chena into small 1/2 inch cubes. Remove the skin of the plantains - make four shallow lengthwise cuts along the length of each plantain, cutting only as deep as the skin. Place the edge of your knife along each slit and press downslightly. The skin should peel off in sections. If you are using raw Nenthran plantains, save the skin. You can make a delicious mezhukku varatti with it.
Once peeled, cut the plantains into two, lengthwise. Then cut each half into 1/4 inch sections, taking care that the pieces are more or less of the same size.
Wash the cut vegetables and add to the pepper-turmeric water simmering on the stove. Bring to a boil, then lower heat, cover and cook until the vegetables are tender, and break when you press slightly. Slowly add the beaten curd and stir well, making sure that nothing is stuck to the bottom of the vessel. Bring to a boil once more, then simmer, uncovered until the curd thickens and looses its 'boiled curd' taste. (This will take some time.) Add salt, and continue to cook until the curd has thickened enough to form a coating around the vegetables.
In the meantime, place the grated coconut, cuminseeds and green chillies in the mixer bowl. Grind on the lowest control until the green chillies have mixed well with the coconut. Then, adding as little water as possible, grind the coconut as finely as possible. It may take some time to do this, since you do not want the coconut mixture to get hot.
Once the curd has thickened, lower the flame and add the ground coconut mixture to the vegetables. As soon as the first bubbles appear around the edges, turn off the heat, and remove the vessel from the stove.
Check the salt - adjust the seasonings while the kalan is still hot.
In a small kadhai, heat oil. When smoking hot, put in the mustard seeds. As soon as they pop, add the fenugreek seeds, broken red chillies and then, the curry leaves. Pour the hot tadka over the kalan. Allow to cool. Kalan is at its best when made a day or two before it is served.
Note: * It is very important the curd used to make kaalan is very sour. And, it has to be home made. Also, beat the curd until it is smooth, otherwise it tends to curdle when heated. Somehow, commercially made yoghurt does not give the desired taste. Kaalan can be made very much ahead of time - it was said that earlier, large bharanis (china jars) would be filled with the vegetables cooked in curd with pepper, turmeric and salt. When you needed fresh kalan, you took out the amount of cooked vegetables that was needed, heated it, and added freshly ground coconut paste to the mixture. Then you added the tadka and there! you had one dish without too much trouble. Cooked properly, the vegetables would stay fresh for a long time, since the sour curd, salt and turmeric act as preservatives.
** I am very happy to post that I harvested my very own curry leaves for this sadhya! :-)
Cut the chena into small 1/2 inch cubes. Remove the skin of the plantains - make four shallow lengthwise cuts along the length of each plantain, cutting only as deep as the skin. Place the edge of your knife along each slit and press downslightly. The skin should peel off in sections. If you are using raw Nenthran plantains, save the skin. You can make a delicious mezhukku varatti with it.
Once peeled, cut the plantains into two, lengthwise. Then cut each half into 1/4 inch sections, taking care that the pieces are more or less of the same size.
Wash the cut vegetables and add to the pepper-turmeric water simmering on the stove. Bring to a boil, then lower heat, cover and cook until the vegetables are tender, and break when you press slightly. Slowly add the beaten curd and stir well, making sure that nothing is stuck to the bottom of the vessel. Bring to a boil once more, then simmer, uncovered until the curd thickens and looses its 'boiled curd' taste. (This will take some time.) Add salt, and continue to cook until the curd has thickened enough to form a coating around the vegetables.
In the meantime, place the grated coconut, cuminseeds and green chillies in the mixer bowl. Grind on the lowest control until the green chillies have mixed well with the coconut. Then, adding as little water as possible, grind the coconut as finely as possible. It may take some time to do this, since you do not want the coconut mixture to get hot.
Once the curd has thickened, lower the flame and add the ground coconut mixture to the vegetables. As soon as the first bubbles appear around the edges, turn off the heat, and remove the vessel from the stove.
Check the salt - adjust the seasonings while the kalan is still hot.
In a small kadhai, heat oil. When smoking hot, put in the mustard seeds. As soon as they pop, add the fenugreek seeds, broken red chillies and then, the curry leaves. Pour the hot tadka over the kalan. Allow to cool. Kalan is at its best when made a day or two before it is served.
Note: * It is very important the curd used to make kaalan is very sour. And, it has to be home made. Also, beat the curd until it is smooth, otherwise it tends to curdle when heated. Somehow, commercially made yoghurt does not give the desired taste. Kaalan can be made very much ahead of time - it was said that earlier, large bharanis (china jars) would be filled with the vegetables cooked in curd with pepper, turmeric and salt. When you needed fresh kalan, you took out the amount of cooked vegetables that was needed, heated it, and added freshly ground coconut paste to the mixture. Then you added the tadka and there! you had one dish without too much trouble. Cooked properly, the vegetables would stay fresh for a long time, since the sour curd, salt and turmeric act as preservatives.
** I am very happy to post that I harvested my very own curry leaves for this sadhya! :-)
© 2008 Anuradha Warrier
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