Healthy Kerala Thali Recipe

One Pot Coconut Rice Recipe // Parippu Curry// Cucumber Pachadi

A Foodie always makes a fantastic traveller.. Bragging??!! As Always!! But you have to agree with me here.. Foodies do make good travellers and a person always thirsty to travel more can never be an anti-foodie (hope such word exists in a dictionary!)!! Though it does make me little heavy with the thought that travel is still not very close.. or may be still not that close which we all are expecting to be.. And some of us, may be, once again have to start from the scratch before setting off with our dreams again..

Till then.. the memories are the biggest treasures and for me my never enough, bulged out, quenching tummy is kicking me all the time to look back to my old solo travel days.. As I always say, Kerala has forcefully taken a part of my heart and I am obliged to go back to my Kerala moments every now and then .. and it’s literally every now and then.. I can never get off that place (though there are lot of such places for whom I use the very same words.. you never miss a chance to give me those evil eyes.. do you!!) moreover, I can never ever can get off the Kerala cuisine.. Kerala food tends your heart, soothes your taste buds, makes you fall in love with the land and then so carefully she steals your heart and keep it to herself forever.. Trust me.. I am not exaggerating a word.. I don’t do that!!

SO taking You, with me to my Kerala memories.. I thought of creating a small Kerala Thali at home. Keeping the nutrients as much intact as possible, following my ‘being healthy’ moto alongside, and spilling my love to make it slurpy-licious for the family.. this is the only way I can live my #travelmoments at the moment..

Let’s Start with the recipes….

One Pot Coconut Rice Recipe:

This how I made my coconut Rice:

Add some extra virgin Coconut oil into a handi or pot (you may also use other cooking oil of your choice)
Once the oils is hot, add the mustered seeds, whole cumin, dry red chilies, fresh or dried curry leaves, few toor dal (split pigeon peas, make sure you wash them before adding them into the pot). Stir for few seconds till the spices are infused with the oil.
Then add the chopped onions, diced carrots, cashews, raisins, few chopped coriander leaves; stir for a bit. Wait for onions to turn translucent. Then add the grated coconut (about 1 cup).
After about 2 minutes of stirring on a low heat, add the soaked rice (I used about 4.5 cups of rice & I took normal grain rice), again stir for a minute.

Parippu Curry/ Dal fry Kerala Style

For the Dal, I made some minor changes.

Instead of Only toor dal, I used 1:1:1 masoor dal (red lentils)- Mung dal – Toor dal
First, I took a pot, added some water, once the water started to boil, I added the dal. On a medium heat, I cooked them till the grains of the dal softened. Don’t add a lot of water, just keep the water level 1 inch more than the lentils (this is just to give you an idea, it can be plus-minus), you may add more water later to cook the lentils. (once cooked, you will have a bowl of thick boiled dal)
In a kadai, once hot, add some coconut oil, hing (asafoetida), mustered seeds, cumin, dry red chilies, curry leaves
Once they are infused with the oil, add chopped onions, cook for a bit
Then add chopped tomatoes, pound ginger-garlic 1 teaspoon each, little curry powder (or some garam masala powder+ Cumin powder+ Coriander powder), turmeric. Cook for sometime till the raw smell of ginger-garlic is almost gone.
Now add the grated coconut (about a cup or more), cook for another 2 minutes.
Then add the dal, add water as per the consistency you want, add salt and let it come to a boil. let the dal cook for 5-7 minutes on high heat.
After which switch the heat off, sprinkle some coriander leaves on top (I didn’t make it very thick, kept it little runny) before you serve.

Cucumber Pachadi/ Healthy Cucumber Raita Kerala Style

This one is very easy..

In a pan add coconut oil, then the paste of coconut and green chilies, stir it constantly till the mixture dries up.
In a mixing bowl take chopped cucumber, chopped onions, the dried coconut mix, fresh curd, salt- mix very very well.
In a small sauce pan add some coconut oil, mustered seeds, 1 dry red chili, curry leaves. Once they splutter, after few seconds take them off the heat and mix this tadka with the cucumber mix.
Mix everything evenly before you serve. .

And that was my small southern delight from the land of my love.. Kerala.. By the way I know You can’t thank me enough.. One Blog.. 3 recipes.. So philanthropic!!! Ok that’s a bit too much.. but do let me know.. what did you do to keep your travel memories alive in you.. Do use the comment section..

Happy weekend !!