Chettinad Keerai Masiyal

It is a centuries-old custom still practiced on the day of Vijayadasami that the teachers or parents introduce the syllables of the first language to the kids. We guide them to write the alphabet on a bed of sands as a tradition. Furthermore, we encourage the children to enroll in music, dance, or other art schools on this auspicious day. Now I do feel as if this were the first post when I resume my blogging after a lull of quite a few months. So I have shared a simple Chettinad recipe for a rich and intriguing keerai masiyal. I relished this dish when we dined at a restaurant in Madurai a few months ago before the onset of the pandemic.

Kosambari

We celebrate a plethora of festivals between August & November every year. Every festival is celebrated distinctively in various regions across India. It is quite astonishing to find how the cuisine, culture, and customs vary from one region to other within our country. Kosambari is a traditional lentil salad popular in South India (particularly in Andhra, Karnataka and some parts of Tamilnadu) with little variations. This salad is offered to deities in this festive season and also served to guests at the wedding banquets or festive gatherings.

Anjarisi Pongal

Anjarisi pongal, a rice dish made using 5 varieties of rice, is a traditional pongal served in sumptuous Chettinad wedding feasts. They usually prepare anjarisi pongal or anjarisi payasam using black kavuni arisi, varagu arisi (kodo millet), rava (sooji), javvarisi (sago) and raw rice. But I tried using indigenous rice varieties well known for their nutritive values especially for low-GI property like white kavuni arisi, varagu arisi, moongil arisi (bamboo rice), mappillai samba arisi (red rice), and kaikuthal arisi (hand-pounded rice) for making delicious and nutritious pongal.

Ashoka Halwa

Ashoka halwa is a protein-rich sweetmeat popular in South India. We offer Ashoka halwa as naivedyam to deities and serve as prasadam particularly during Navarathri celebrations. It is one of my favorite sweets for the beautiful silky texture and the sweet aroma, and I find this as the best alternate for rava kesari. So I like to prepare this melt-in-mouth sweermeat often and serve for the breakfast during festivals and also on special occasion.

Dal Tadka

Dal is the most popular dish served with Indian breads like roti, naan, or pulav. The simple dal can be devoured as a hot lentil soup on a cold winter night. Nevertheless, we can make this simple dal more flavorful by adding tadka (tempering), more nourishing by adding assorted lentils, or rich & creamy by adding ghee and/or fresh cream. Dal Tadka is a hearty lentil curry flavored with ghee-roasted cumin seeds & red chillies. We can prepare this easily with commonly available ingredients in no time.

Sodhi with Inji Pachadi

Sodhi is an exotic Sri Lankan curry prepared with lentils and vegetables stewed in coconut milk. Although sodhi is not a spicy curry, it has grown popular among the people living in & around Tirunelveli who usually enjoy spicy curries. The banana leaf platter served at our family wedding feasts is a lavish spread of creamy sodhi, pungent inji pachadi, spicy potato fries, crunchy appalam, scrumptious coconut milk dessert (payasam), sweet boondhi and fresh curd as shown below. Wedding in our family is usually hosted by bride’s family. However bride’s family is treated with a sumptuous meal (maruveetu sappadu) with sodhi the day after marriage, and it is a unique custom prevalent here to signify the confluence of both the families.

Purple Cabbage Poriyal

Since bland white cabbage has always been my family’s bête noire, I find vibrant purple cabbage/ red cabbage the best alternate. So I have prepared cabbage poriyal using purple cabbage and served with radish sambar as below.

Sambar for Tiffin

Sambar is the most popular side dish for idli, or dosa typically prepared by south Indians, others used to feel that their sambar is not as delicious as the one prepared by south Indians. Here I have shared a fail-safe recipe for making delicious sambar which is a perfect accompaniment for idli, masal dosa, vennpongal, kichadi, or medhu vadai.