I’ve not been to a lot of sadhya’s and until recently I didn’t even know what a sadhya meant but I do appreciate good food. So on Saturday when Che suggested we go out to lunch for a Vishu Sadhya there was no way I’d say no. A meal with 27 varieties of dishes is a treat for the tongue, especially when it’s an all-vegetarian fare!

The Sanjeevanam Restaurant in Koramangala (owned by the same guys who make the Medimix soap) was offering a special Vishu Sadya on 13th and 14th April, and we figured we’d beat the crowd and go on 13th. We’d never been to this restaurant before and this seemed like a good opportunity.

So what’s Vishu?
Vishu is a Hindu festival celebrated in Kerala usually in the second week of April. The occasion signifies the sun’s transit into the Meda Raasi (first zodiac sign) according to Indian astrological calculations, and represents the vernal equinox. “Vishu” in Sanskrit means “equal”. It is the start of the new year.
“Vishu” is celebrated with much fanfare and vigour. People wear new clothes, elders give money to youngsters and childern set off firecrackers as part of the celebration.It is also a day of feasting and the foods consist of equal proportions of salty, sweet, sour and bitter items.

And what does Sadhya mean?
Sadhya means banquet in Malayalam and is typically a feast of the people of Kerala. It is traditionally a vegetarian meal served on a banana leaf and can have about 24-28 dishes served as a single course.
The main dish is plain boiled rice, served along with other dishes collectively called Kootan which include curries like Parippu, Sambar, Rasam, Pulisseri and others like Kaalan, Avial, Thoran, Olan, Pachadi, Mango pickle, Naranga curry, as well as Papadum, Banana, plain Yogurt or Buttermilk, and plantain chips. The traditional dessert called Payasam served at the end of the meal is of many kinds and usually three or more are served. The meal may be followed by vettila murukkan, chewing of betel leaf with lime and arecanut. This helps digestion of the meal and also cleanses the palate.
The dishes are served on specific places on the banana leaf in specific order. For example, the pickles are served on the top left corner and the banana on the bottom left corner, which helps the waiters to easily identify and decide on offering additional servings. Some say the reason for including so many dishes in the Sadhya is to ensure that the diners will like at least two or three dishes.

The 27 Dishes Served
Below is the list of the different dishes on my leaf (/the ones I ate). I’ve tried to remember the order of serving and have even tried to find the traditional names. Please let me know if I’ve got it wrong, so I can correct it 🙂

1. Salt
2. Banana Chips (salty)
3. Banana Chunks (sweet)
4. Achaar – Mango Pickle
5. Achaar – Ginger Pickle
6. Achaar – Lime Pickle
7. Olan – Sliced pumpkin in coconut milk
8. Kaalan – Yam cooked with yogurt and coconut
9. Bittergourd Thoran – Sliced bittergourd cooked in a sauce
10. Aviyal – Mixed vegtables cooked in a coconut sauce
11. Vegetable Thoran – Sauted beans and carrots with grated coconut
12. Vegetable Thoran – Sauted cabbage with grated coconut
13. Pachadi – Pineapple and pumpkin
14. Kichadi – Yogurt and cucumber
15. Koottukari – banana or jackfruit in a coconut sauce
16. Pappadam
17. Boiled Rice
18. Parippu – A simple dal
19. More Kuzhambu – a curry made from yogurt
20. Buttermilk
21. Ada Pradhaman – Milk-cream payasam
22. Palada Pradhaman – Milk and rice payasam
23. Banana – as a finishing fruit
24. Vettila Murukkan – betel leaf/paan

There was also Sambhar, Rasam and Yogurt to be had with rice, but it was all too much and I had to skip these.

My Thoughts
I enjoyed the food. I am a non-vegetarian but being South Indian at heart I love good vegetarian food and this was a large spread of the good stuff. Tasty and cooked well the food was stored and served in simple clean home-style manner and the servers were attentive hosts always somewhere in the background ready to replenish the food on my leaf before I could ask. I had to stop them after a while, saying no-more with a sigh.

I’m looking forward to more sadhyas at the Sanjeevanam Restaurant. I hope that next time along with lunch they’ll offer a bed too; I’d like to complete the meal with a siesta!

Information Credit: Wikipedia

*** I am following Meenakshi Ammal’s recipes, however I’m using shortcuts like the cooker, etc. and adding some of my own twist to the recipes. What you see here are my recipes inspired by M. Ammal’s and in no way is Ms. Ammal responsible for its outcome should you choose to try it. Though she was responsible for the brilliant outcome of my dish, so, a big thank you Ms. Ammal for writing Samaithu Par.***

It’s been a while now since I cooked from the Samaithu Par. The last couple of weeks I’ve been cooking a lot of Mom’s recipes which being curries aren’t as simple as South Indian cooking so I’m still working on mastering the proportions. I’ll share the recipes here as soon as I have that down to pat.

Anyway as I was saying I haven’t tried something from the Samaithu Par in a while so I thought I better get back to it else I’ll never finish all the recipes. I had planned to make another dish along with the lemon rice but we impulsively decided to go watch Life of Pi in IMAX 3D, and so I stuck to a simple chutney with the rice. The chutney and rice made for a good combo and we didn’t really miss the dish I didn’t make. 😀 

Both the the lemon rice and chutney were very easy to make and didn’t take much time either after the rice had been made. Here’s the recipe I followed and note it’s a bit different from the book.

Lemon Rice

Ingredients –
(Serves 2)
1 cup rice
2tbsp of lime juice
1 tbsp bengal gram dal
1 tsp mustard seeds
2 tsp roasted chick peas
4 red chillies split into two
4 green chillies
1/4 tsp asafoetida
A few curry leaves
 A handful of finely chopped coriander
1/4 tsp turmeric
2 tbsp ghee
2 tbsp gingelly oil
Salt to taste

Method –
1. Wash and cook the rice with 1 and 3/4 cup water and a little salt.

2. Cool the rice, add 1 tbsp of ghee and separate the grains so there are no lumps. 

3. In a cup mix the lime juice, a little salt and turmeric.

4. Heat the oil and 1 tbsp of ghee in a wok.

5. To hot oil add the mustard, chick peas, bengal gram, red chillies, green chillies, curry leaves, and asafoetida. 

6. When the mustard starts to splutter and the bengal gram and chick peas are golden brown start adding rice.

7. Add the rice a little at a time while mixing continously so that the rice and seasoning is mixed homogeneously. 

8. Add half the lime juice to this homogeneous mixture and mix well before adding the second part.

9. Check for salt and add more if required.

10. Sprinkle the finely chopped coriander and serve. 

Green Coconut Chutney

Ingredients –
150gms coconut
Fist full of coriander
2 green chillies
1/2 tsp black salt
Salt to taste
3 dry red chillies split into two
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp bengal gram dal
A few curry leaves
1/4 tsp asafoetida
2 tsp oil

Method –
1. Grind the coconut, green chillies, coriander and black salt into a fine paste with just as much water as required. Add salt to taste.

2. Heat the oil and add the red chillies, mustard, bengal gram, curry leaves and asafoetida.

3. When the mustard starts to splutter and the bengal gram is golden brown, remove from flame and add to the ground coconut mix.

4. Mix it well and serve.

Note: If you don’t want a lot of crispness, avoid adding the chick peas and reduce quantity of bengal gram.

Other than chutney or pickle is there anything else that goes well with lemon rice? Should I try something else next time?

*** I am following Meenakshi Ammal’s recipes, however I’m using shortcuts like the cooker, etc. and adding some of my own twist to the recipes. What you see here are my recipes inspired by M. Ammal’s and in no way is Ms. Ammal responsible for its outcome should you choose to try it. Though she was responsible for the brilliant outcome of my dish, so, a big thank you Ms. Ammal for writing Samaithu Par.***

A couple of weeks back I made Mysore Rasam with Drumsticks and we enjoyed it. Che especially since he likes the flavour of drumsticks but not the vegetable. So when Vidya commented and told me to try out the brinjal version, I thought why not. After all, brinjal is another vegetable Che doesn’t like 😀

Mysore Rasam with Brinjal

Ingredients –
(Serves 4 cups)
1/2 cup red gram dhal
1 lime size ball of tamarind
2 cups water
2 small size brinjals
1/8 teaspoon of asafoetida
salt to taste
curry leaves
coriander leaves
1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds
2 teaspoon bengal gram dhal
6 red chillies pinched into two
6-8 raw peppers (green or dried)
1 teaspoon mustard
1 teaspoon ghee
3 teaspoon gingelly oil

Method –
1. Wash and cut brinjals into medium size cubes.

2. Wash and cook dal in a cooker with a little salt and turmeric until very soft.

3. Soak tamarind in warm water. Strain out pulp.

4. Heat 2 tsp oil and fry brinjals until golden brown. Remove from oil and keep aside.

5. In the remaining oil fry coriander seeds, bengal gram and 4 red chillies. Remove from oil and powder fine along with pepper.

6. Drain water from dhal and keep aside. Mash the dhal.

7. In a vessel add the tamarind pulp to two cups of water. Add asafoetida, salt to taste, the fried brinjals and a few bruised curry leaves. Cover and allow the mixture to boil.

8. Add mashed dhal to boiling tamarind water and stir well. Cover and boil for a few minutes before adding the dhal water. Add more water if needed to make it 4 cups quantity. 

9. Bring to a boil again and after a couple of minutes remove from fire.

10. Add the chilli and coriander powder and mix well.

11. Heat 1 tsp of oil and 1 tsp of ghee and fry mustard, 2 red chillies and curry leaves.

12. Pour over the rasam.

13. Finally garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

What other veggies have you tried for rasams? Any recommendations?

*** I am following Meenakshi Ammal’s recipes, however I’m using shortcuts like the cooker, etc. and adding some of my own twist to the recipes. What you see here are my recipes inspired by M. Ammal’s and in no way is Ms. Ammal responsible for its outcome should you choose to try it. Though she was responsible for the brilliant outcome of my dish, so, a big thank you Ms. Ammal for writing Samaithu Par.***

On Pongal day I was looking to make a nice simple traditional meal that wasn’t the usual sambar rice. Flipping pages I noticed the recipe of buttermilk sambar. As I glanced though it I thought it would be a more kuzhambu, but it wasn’t. It did seem like a sambar recipe, so decided to try it. It surprised me by tasting really good; when you think buttermilk sambar, you don’t think it’d be this tasty. (Sorry about the picture, I forgot to click before eating and that’s what the leftovers looked like 😀 )

Buttermilk Sambar

Ingredients –
(Serves 4)
3/4th cup red gram dhal
1 cup sour buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon mustard
1/4 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
4-6 red chillies pinched into two (based in spiciness)
4 green chillies
1/2 inch piece ginger or 1/2 teaspoon ginger paste
few curry leaves
some coriander leaves
gingelly oil 3 teaspoons
salt to taste
3 medium size potatoes for seasonings*

*seasonings – I used potato but you could also use drumstick, brinjal, lady’s finger, chow chow and ash-gourds. Most other vegetables don’t go well with curd/buttermilk. Make sure to either boil or fry the vegetables before you add them to the sambar.

Method –

1. Boil the dhal in a cooker with a pinch of salt until it’s very soft. You can boil the potatoes along with the dhal.

2. Heat oil in a vessel. When the oil is hot add mustard, fenugreek, red chillies and green chillies. Add ginger and curry leaves when mustard starts to splutter and green chillies are scalded.

3. Sort the curry leaves quickly and add the buttermilk.

4. Add the seasonings. If you are using potatoes though, don’t add them just yet.

5. Drain the water from the dhal and add it to the buttermilk in the vessel. Mash the cooked dhal partially.

6. When the buttermilk boils add the dhal mash and salt to taste, mix well and let it come to a boil again while occasionally stirring.

7. Let it boil for a couple of moments, then remove from fire.

8. Chop some coriander and keep aside for garnishing.

9. Peel boiled potatoes and chop into medium sized cubes. You can also cut them smaller or larger based on what you prefer.

10. Deep fry the potatoes until they are golden brown. Crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. Keep aside.

11. Garnish the buttermilk sambar with potatoes and coriander before serving.

Have you made buttermilk sambar before? Have a different recipe or any tips for me?

*** I am following Meenakshi Ammal’s recipes, however I’m using shortcuts like the cooker, etc. and adding some of my own twist to the recipes. What you see here are my recipes inspired by M. Ammal’s and in no way is Ms. Ammal responsible for its outcome should you choose to try it. Though she was responsible for the brilliant outcome of my dish, so, a big thank you Ms. Ammal for writing Samaithu Par.***

I wanted to make sambar but the only sambar powders I have at home are the ready made ones we don’t like much and I didn’t have the time to make a new batch of powder so I was looking for a sambar that didn’t need sambhar powder.

Seasoned Sambar

Ingredients –
(Serves 4)
3/4 cup red gram dhal
1 lime size ball of tamarind
2 carrots sliced*
5 french beans chopped in inch size pieces
6 red chillies pinched into two
1/4 teaspoon fenugeek seeds
1/2 teaspoon mustard
one pinch asafoetida
2 green chillies
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
2 teaspoons gingelly oil
curry leaves
coriander leaves
salt to taste

*Seasonings – Instead of carrot and beans, you can also use – brinjal, drumstick, lady’s finger, chow chow, pumpkin, runner beans, etc.

Method –

1. Cook the dhal in a cooker with a pinch of salt, turmeric powder and 1 teaspoon gingelly oil until soft.

2. Soak tamarind in warm water. Strain the pulp.

3. Heat the rest of the oil in a vessel and fry the mustard, fenugreek, curry leaves and red chillies until brown but not burned.

4. Add the asafoetida and green chillies. (If you like green chilly spice make a slit in the chillies.) Add a few bruised curry leaves.

5. Add carrots and beans and sort before adding tamarind water to the fried spices.

6. Add salt.

7. When vegetables are cooked, mash the dhal and add it into the vessel. Mix well and bring to a boil.

8. Boil for a few minutes and remove from fire.

9. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve.

Do you know any other recipes to make sambar without sambar powder?

*** I am following Meenakshi Ammal’s recipes, however I’m using shortcuts like the cooker, etc. and adding some of my own twist to the recipes. What you see here are my recipes inspired by M. Ammal’s and in no way is Ms. Ammal responsible for its outcome should you choose to try it. Though she was responsible for the brilliant outcome of my dish, so, a big thank you Ms. Ammal for writing Samaithu Par.***

I big drawback I stumbled upon was that Part one of Samaithu Par does not have a recipe to make rasam powder. This recipe is in book two and most recipes in book one for rasam need rasam powder. So I had to find a rasam that did not need rasam powder. Hence Mysore Rasam and to add the twist – drumstick.

Drumstick Mysore Rasam

Ingredients –
(Serves 4 cups)
1/2 cup red gram dhal
1 lime size ball of tamarind
2 cups water
2-3 drumsticks
a pinch of asafoetida
salt to taste
curry leaves
coriander leaves
1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds
2 teaspoon bengal gram dhal
8 red chillies pinched into two
5-6 raw peppers (green or dried)
1 teaspoon mustard
1 teaspoon ghee
2 teaspoon gingelly oil

Method –

1. Wash and cut drumsticks into long pieces and cook along with the dhal and a pinch of salt in a cooker until soft.

2. Soak tamarind in warm water. Strain out pulp.

3. Heat the oil and fry coriander seeds, bengal gram and 6 red chillies. Remove from oil and powder fine along with pepper.

4. Remove drumsticks from dhal and scrape out the pulp from the boiled drumsticks and keep aside.

5. Drain water from dhal and keep aside. Mash the dhal.

6. In a vessel add the tamarind pulp to two cups of water. Add asafoetida, salt to taste, the drumstick pulp and a few bruised curry leaves. Allow the mixture to boil.

7. Add mashed dhal to boiling tamarind water and stir well. When it boils again add the dhal water.

8. Bring to a boil again and after a couple of minutes remove from fire.

9. Add the chilli and coriander powder and mix well.

10. To the oil remaining from the first time, add ghee and fry mustard, 2 red chillies and curry leaves.

11. Pour over the rasam to garnish along with chopped coriander leaves.

Note: I hadn’t mashed the drumstick and also had used just one. You need more than one to have a prominent flavour and mashing the pulp will help.

What is the major difference between the usual rasam and the Mysore rasam? I don’t see a big difference… Do you know?

I come from a family of good cooks, a place where almost all the men cook a mean meal and the women are just oh-la-la! Growing up in good food meant I never saw a need to learn to cook, I just ate 😀 And since cooking runs in the family, when I did need to cook, I didn’t burn stuff often. 😛

Now 32 years later I’m learning to cook!

As a Diwali gift this year I got a copy of Samaithu Par by S. Meenakshi Ammal. This is the quintessential South Indian cooking guide that has been passed from mother to daughter at marriage for the last few decades. Its even available in 5 languages.

My south indian cooking being limited and average I thought this would be a good challenge for 2013. I am going to learn south indian cooking from Master M. Ammal. (Like that Julia and Julia thing remember, only Freya and Ammal don’t sound as good)

The book’s great but it has two short-comings. It doesn’t have photos so you don’t know what your dish will look like and the layout is confusing if you’re not well-versed in south indian cuisine. The latter I overcame thanks to a friend who patiently talked me through the book. But I still need to make visuals of the dishes listed.

Though this year I’m going to try and cook the dishes M. Ammal has listed in book one and take pictures of them. I’ll post photos and my version of the recipe here on the blog as I go along 🙂 It’s fully Samaithu Par – Cook and See…

*** I am following Meenakshi Ammal’s recipes, however I’m using shortcuts like the cooker, etc. and adding some of my own twist to the recipes. What you see here are my recipes inspired by M. Ammal’s and in no way is Ms. Ammal responsible for its outcome should you choose to try it. Though she was responsible for the brilliant outcome of my dish, so, a big thank you Ms. Ammal for writing Samaithu Par.***

Venn or White Pongal
(Pongal is that soulful dish what can make any day and tummy better. Not spicy, but warm, soft and soothing, it’s easy and perfect for those days when you’re not up to it.)

Ingredients –
1 cup rice
1/2 cup green gram dal (the yellow kind called masoor)
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon fresh or preserved green pepper
4 cups water
Salt to taste
4 teaspoon of ghee
1 1/2 teaspoon of oil
10-12 curry leaves
1 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 inch piece of ginger

Method –
1. Check the dal for stones and dirt, then fry it lightly in a pan.

2. Clean the rice and add the fried dal to it before washing them together.

3. Cook the rice and dal in a cooker with 3 cups of water, salt and peppers. I usually cook it on full flame until the first whistle and then on sim for 10 minutes.

4. Bruise the cumin seeds with a mortar and pestle and finely chop the ginger.

5. Heat the oil in a vessel and add the cumin, ginger and curry leaves.

6. When the cumin starts to splutter add a portion of the cooked rice and dal mix. Add the ghee and mix well. Add a bit of water if needed. Keep mixing and adding the rice mix and water until it all mixes and has a slightly sticky texture. Make sure not to over mash it.

7. Serve hot.

Coconut Thuvaiyal
(This is a sour textured chutney that I think would go well with something that needs a hit of flavour and feel)

Ingredients –
150 gms fresh coconut
6 dried red chillies
1 lime size ball of tamarind
Salt to taste
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
3 teaspoons black gram dal
1/4 or less teaspoon asafoetida (hing)
5-6 curry leaves
3 teaspoons oil

Method –
1. Soak the tamarind in a little warm water, then mash and strain to get smooth pulp.

2. Fry 4 chillies and remove from oil.

3. Grind the chillies to small flakes before adding coconut and tamarind pulp. Grind the coconut to a fine paste. Add water if necessary. When done empty into a bowl.

4. Heat the oil again and add mustard seeds, black gram dal, remaining chillies broken in two and curry leaves. When the mustard splutters add asafoetida.

5. Pour the oil and spices into the bowl and mix with the coconut.

6. Mix and add salt to taste.

If you try out these recipes do let me know how it turned out.

This week had me thinking quite a bit about what to cook… Finally my tummy made the choice 🙂

Akki Roti (Rice Roti)

Ingredients:

3 cups rice flour
1 cup cooked rice (optional)
1 big onion
2 medium size chillies
Fist full of coriander leaves
½ tsp Jeera (cumin) powder
Salt to taste
Ghee
Textured cloth napkin or handtowel

Preparation:

Finely chop onion, chilles and coriander.

Mix  the rice flour and rice in a bowl. Add chopped onions, chilles and coriander. Add jeera powder and salt to taste.

Knead the mixture into dough. Add water slowly as not much water will be required. The dough should be soft but not sticky.

Adding rice is a trick I learnt from Mom. Cooked rice (especially when a bit old) acts as a gluing agent and gives the roti its own texture too.

Wet the textured cloth napkin or handtowel so that it is moist but not dripping. Place a ball of the dough on this and pat flat to required thickness with your fingers. Keep dipping your hands in water to make sure the dough doesn’t stick to your fingers.

Heat a girdle (tava) and add a few drops of ghee before gently but firmly flipping the roti (with cloth) onto the tava. Now slowly lift away the cloth and cover the girdle to cook the roti on a slow flame. Flip roti, add some ghee and cook until both sides are golden.

Older generations pat the roti out right on the pan. I find the cloth method easier and it lets me thin out the roti quite a bit too.

The roti’s take a while to cook so you may want to use two pans. Be careful to not over-fry as then they become very crisp.

Serve hot with pudi, chutney, pickle or curry. Serves two hungry people 😀