Chayote Moong Salad

Before I started food blogging, I used to take pictures of my recipes and store them in a photo site. I am going to write the recipes and publish them one by one.

With Chayote, I would only make Kootu or add as a vegetable in Sambar. I wanted to make something different and hence the following recipe.

Ingredients

Sprouted Moong Dhal - 1 cup
Chayote - 1 Grated
Carrot - 1 Grated
Corriander Leaves - 2 tbs finely chopped
Green Chillies - 2 Finely Chopped
Lime Juice - 1/2 tsp
Salt

Method

Mix together all the above ingredients and serve with roti
or have it as a salad. Scrumptious and Healthy Salad!!!

Plantain Fry

Ingredients
Plantain -2
Coconut -2 tbs
Roasted Channa Dal- 1 tbs
Green Chilli- 4
Red Chilli - 1
Green Chilli- 2
Curry Leaves- few sprigs
Garlic Cloves -2
Salt
For seasoning :
Mustard Seeds
red Chilli -1
Curry leaves

Method
Peel the skin off the the Plantain and cut them into small cubes and parboil them. Grind together coconut,cumin seeds,Dhal,Chillies and curry leaves
to a coarse paste. Coat the plantain well with the paste. Keep oil in a pan and tamper the mustard seeds. Add broken red chillies, curry leaves and add the
coated plantains to the pan and fry them till golden brown.

Snake Gourd Spongy Chutney

When I was cutting the snake gourd for making kootu, My mom mentioned that her cooking maid wouldn't leave even the spongy stuff inside the gourd and she used to make chutney with that. But my mom never made it though . So I thought of giving a try to see how that would be. I scooped out the spongy-like stuff along with the tender seeds with a spoon (or you could run your fingers through).




Ingredients

Pudalanga spongy stuff - 1 cup
Red Chilli - 3
Tamarind - pea size
Salt
Mustar&Urad - Tampered in oil

Method
Fry Red Chilli and spongy seperately in little oil. Grind together with tamarind and salt. At the end add the mustard&Urad mixture and give a turn or two and take it out.

Serve in a bowl

Snake Gourd Raita

Ingredients

Snake Gourd
cut into small cubes - 1 cup
Ginger - 1 inch
Coconut - 1 tbs
Green Chillies - 2 slit lengthwise
Curry Leaves - few leaves
Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Hing - A pinch

Method

Cook the snake gourd pieces in very little water. Once it's cooked sieve it thro' and squeeze out the extra water with hand. Grind together coconut and ginger to a paste. In a bowl Mix together yogurt,coconut-Ginger paste and salt. In a kadai tamper the mustard seeds with little oil, fry the Green Chillies and add pinch of hing. Add the seasonings to the raita.

Serve with Rice or with roti.

Snake Gourd Kootu (Gravy)

Snake Gourd is one of my favorite Childhood Vegetables. I am a lover of Vegetables since my childhood and love them even more if it's picked freshly from the garden. I remember my uncle would bring fresh snake gourds everytime he visited us from the village and I would make gourd fry immedietly and consumed it just like a snack.

Though it is available here in US, it is not as fresh as we get back in INDIA. Snake gourds are of INDIAN origin and widely used vegetable in Saiva Pillai's Cuisine. I bought some seeds from INDIA two years back. But I missed to plant them last year. This year I was reluctant to plant thinking that the seed would have lost its potency. As my mom insisted , I thought of giving it a try. I sowed the seed in a small pot inside the home and once I got the little plants out, I repotted in a large pot and kept at the backyard near one corner of my home. I had plans of putting trellis but never got time to do that.

As the Saying goes " Vallavanuku Pullum Ayutham", meaning A smart man needs no weapons, it crept almost close to my rooftop holding the vinyl sides, smiling at me from there. Last week I harvested one 3 feet Snake gourd. My mom asked me to tie a small stone to the end so that it will grow even more longer. But I wanted to take it before it gets woody and hard. As usual I wanted to make it fresh. I decided to make Snake gourd Kootu(Gravy) so that everyone gets to eat. If I fry , quantity will become very less.

I didn't leave out anything out of my lovely serpentine vegetable. I made Kootu, Pudalangai Thayir Pachadi and Sponge chutney.

Pudalangai Kootu ( Snake Gourd Gravy)

Ingredients:

Snake Gourd -1
Green Chillie - 2
Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp
Coconut - 2 tbs
Broken Channa
Dhal - 1/4 cup (Soaked and Pressure Cooked for one whistle)
Garlic -2 Cloves

Seasoning
Shallots - 2 Finely cut
Curry Leaves- few sprigs
Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp

Method :

Slit the Snake Gourd Lengthwise and scoop out the spongy stuff inside the gourd.
Keep it safe. we need it for our next recipe. Cut the gourd into small pieces. Grind together coconut, green Chillies , Cumin seeds and add garlic at the end and keep the paste aside. Pour little oil in a pan, Add the cut vegetable to it and saute it for some time. Once the vegetable becomes tender not brown or crispy, add the coconut paste, Salt and Cooked Lentils and cook for sometime. Heat a pan with a teaspoon of oil . Add Mustard seeds and once it tampers , add broken red Chilli,finely cut shallots , Curry leaves and a bit of hing and return the kootu to this pan and switch off the heat.



Serve with hot rice and pulikozhambu.