Well, well...so here I am! Yes, I haven't disappeared from the face of the earth :) To tell you the truth, I have been so busy that I haven't had time to post. 'Pretty cliched and lame', you may say...but it IS true! The way I've been cooking for the past couple of weeks, I should probably be posting every single day! Oh the irony!
Anyways, so I thought I'd sign in and share this recipe with you. I had to share it. This is something that I talk about often but had never tried before. And today, I made it at home, just like that! Okay so now I better tell you what I'm talking about, right? It's what I call '
maduve palya' (literally translated: wedding steamed salad). no points for guessing why :) This kind of
palya is typically served at weddings or other large gatherings where a traditional south Indian meal is served on a fresh plantain leaf. All you south Indians or more particularly from south Karnataka would probably know that this dish is generally made with
suvarna gedde or
suran or yam. I made it in my cozy little kitchen with kent pumpkin.
Here's the recipe -
- 2 cups diced pumpkin
- salt to taste
- a pinch of turmeric
For the spice paste -
- 1/4 cup fresh coconut
- 5-6 dry red chillies
- 1/4 tspn black mustard seeds
- a pinch of hing
- a (very) small piece of jaggery/molasses
- 1/4 tspn tamarind paste
For tempering -
- 1/2 tspn oil
- 1/4 tspn mustard seeds
- 1/4 tspn urad dal
- 1/4 tspn chana dal
- a few curry leaves
Method -
- Microwave/steam the pumpkin with a pinch of turmeric. Try and keep the pieces firm (but cooked) and not very mushy.
- Make the spice paste with all ingredients mentioned. Use very little water. (all ingredients are to be ground just the way they are, no roasting required)
- Heat oil in a pan and add all ingredients for tempering, in the same order.
- Add cooked pumpkin, salt to taste and mix well.
- Put in the spice paste and mix well.
- Serve with hot rice and tomato rasam.
As I was cooking this, the subtle aroma brought back memories of the several gatherings we used to have back at home. The familiar sights, the sounds, the food! I think I'll do a post on wedding food soon :)
Till next time...cook, serve, eat, love!
