దోసకాయ పప్పు: Dosakaaya Pappu- Pigeon peas with Yellow Cucumber

Ingredients
(Serves 2)

1 medium size yellow Cucumber/ dosakaya
2 green chillys/pachimirapakayalu
1 cup toordal/kandhipappu
few leaves of cilanthro
salt to taste
1/2 tsp chilly powder/karam (as you desire)
Thiragamaatha/Seasoning/Thadka
2 tsp oil
1/4 tsp avalu/mustard seeds
1 tbsp minapappu/uraddal
1/4tsp jeera/jeelakarra
pinch of heeng

Preparation

Pressure cook toordal for 3 whistles
Wash and peel yellow cucumber. Cut into half and remove seeds.
Taste the pieces.(some times it tastes bitter, donot use if it is bitter)
Cut into pieces as shown.
Cut chilys length wise make two halves.
Take a bowl put all the pieces, chilly slices and add 1/2 cup water cook until soft.
If you want it more sour add 1/2 Marble size tamarind puree.
Add salt , chilly powder and cooked dal.

Heat oil in a pan and add seasoning.
Add this seasoning to the cooked dal and garnish with cilanthro.


This pappu goes with rice and dal.

మెంతి ఆకు-టమాట అన్నం: Menti Aaku Tamata annam- Fenugreek greens & Tomato rice

Serves: Four as a snack. Preparation time: 1 hour including assembling ingredients, washing, chopping, cooking.

Ingredients:
1 bunch Fenugreek greens 

2 medium sized Ripe Tomatoes

1.5'' Ginger piece.

1.5 cloves Garlic

1 Tsp Cumin seeds

1 Tsp Turmeric

1 medium sized Onion

4 Green chillies or to taste

1 Tbsp Salt or to taste

0.5 Tsp Sugar

2 Tbsps Oil

2 Rice cooker cups of Rice

3 stalks of Cilantro

Optional: Green peas

Method:
1. Wash the rice and boil it. Boil it with slightly less water (2 Tbsps less than normal) so that it is well cooked but grainy in texture. Set aside and leave to cool. 
2. Meanwhile, pluck the leaves from the stalks of Methi greens. Discard the stalks. We can use any tender stalks if they are not fibrous. Wash the Methi & Cilantro thoroughly in clean running water. Immerse them in salt water for ten minutes if you wish. Place in a colander to let the water drain out. 
3. With a mortar & pestle, pound the ginger and set aside. Pound the garlic and set aside. Pound the green chillies or chop them very fine and set aside. 
4. Finely chop the Onion and set aside. 
5. Chop tomatoes into chunks and set aside. 
6. Finely chop the Methi greens and set aside. Also chop the Cilantro. 

7. In a wok, heat the oil. Add Cumin seeds. When they splutter, add the turmeric, Garlic paste, Ginger paste, Green chilli paste and Onions. Let it cook until onion browns. You can add the salt at this stage since salt draws out moisture from the onions & makes them crisp. However, traditional cooks like to add salt right at the end. 
8. Mix in the chopped Methi greens and tomato chunks.  Add red chilli powder if you like the taste (optional). 
9. Cover and cook for six to seven minutes by clock. The tomatoes soften and make the mixture go soupy. 

10. Mix in the sugar (and the salt if you didn't add it earlier) and rice. Let it cook for a minute. The rice soaks up the soupy juices and turns out dry. 
11. Garnish with chopped Cilantro. 


Serve with a Perugu pacchadi or Raita. 

Variations:
1. Adjust the garlic, ginger, green chillies according to taste. 
2. Traditional cooks say that souring agents like tomato/tamarind etc halt the cooking process. If you feel touchy about that issue, let the Methi greens cook for sometime before adding the tomato chunks. I add them together since I like to expose greens to the minimum cooking time, my greens just get cooked along with the tomato instead of initially being cooked & then cooked again while the tomato cooks. 
3. I cook the Methi greens for only 6 or 7 minutes since I make a small quantity (it cooks quickly). Also, it is advisable to cook greens for no longer than 8 minutes to preserve most of the vitamins and phytochemicals. However, traditional cooks may complain that the greens are still raw, you can cook it for longer if you wish!
 4. This same recipe can be made with Pudina (Mint) greens instead of Methi greens & Tomato. Also, a mix of greens can be used (Spinach, Mint, Fenugreek, Cilantro). However, remember not to club Tomatoes with Spinach. 
5. Try tossing in a handful of green peas for taste, nutrition and visual appeal!

Trivia:
I have fond memories of this dish, mom made it once when my sister & I were in an 'I-am-not-hungry' phase, this made our mouths water and our stomachs rumble!! One of my all time favourites. Very simple to make, great taste along with the goodness of green leafy vegetable...
Aahaahaahaa, try this out if you want to know what "Yummy" means!

ముక్కల పచ్చడి- Mukkala pacchadi: Green mango-mustard-chilli marinade

Serves: Fills a 1 litre bottle. Preparation time: 1 hour including preparation of ingredients. Marination takes three days. 


Ingredients:

2 large Green Mangoes (5 '' in length) 
1 heaped Tbsp Salt 
3 heaped Tbsp Mustard seed powder (Avapindi)
1.5 heaped Tbsp Red Chilli powder
1/2 level Tsp Turmeric 

Tempering:

1/3 cup Sesame oil (Til ka teyl, Nuvvula nuné)

4 Dry red chillies- broken into tiny pieces

1 Tsp Mustard seed

1 level Tsp Fenugreek powder 

Method:
1. Wash  green mangoes and pat dry. Dice into 3/4'' cubes. Discard the seed. 
2. Take a large mixing bowl. Add the diced mangoes. Add the Salt, Avapindi, Turmeric and Red chilli powder. Mix well. Set aside. The salt draws juices out of the mango and the mango marinates in the resulting Avapindi-Turmeric-Salt-Red chilli sauce. 
3. Heat the Sesame oil in a Tempering ladle or wok. Add the Dry red chilly pieces and roast until they brown & give off an aroma. Add the mustard seeds, they will splutter. Switch off the heat and add the Fenugreek powder. Let this tempering cool.
4. Pour the cooled tempering over the mangoes in the mixing bowl and mix well. 
5. Bottle into a clean dry glass jar. Let it stand still for three days. Mix well on the third day. 
6. Refrigerate. 


Goes well with hot rice. 

Precautions/Suggestions:
1. The ingredient meausures mentioned in this recipe are standard cooking measures. Hence, 1 heaped Tbsp of cooking measure may be upto 2.5 Tbsp of an ordinary cutlery tablespoon.
2. Avapindi sometimes turns bitter if left standing. Hence, powder mustard seeds just before you want to make this pacchadi.
3. Make sure that the tempering cools properly before adding it to the mangoes. Hot/warm oil can make the Avapindi turn bitter. 
4. Small Indian green mango cultivars are best suited for this recipe since they are sour. If the green mango is not sour enough (a common drawback with the large green mango cultivar available in N.America), you may add some Citric acid powder (one or two pinches is enough, depends on the mango. It imparts an artificial flavour so be careful not to put too much.).
5. If you do not have Fenugreek powder: Roast whole Fenugreek seeds until they turn dark brown-black. Let them cool and then powder them. Add this pre-roasted powder to the cooled tempering from step 3 and mix into the mangoes.


Variations:
This same recipe can be replicated with Dosakaya or firm red tomatoes instead of green mango, it is then called Dosakaya mukkala pacchadi or Tomato Avakaya respectively.


Trivia:
This is Manju pinni's recipe. Even the photo is of Manju pinni's Mukkala pacchadi which she made for us. 
Since this recipe uses Avapindi, it is a close cousin of Avakaya, Krishna grades it to an almost 'A', all other pacchadis are inferior B graders in his eyes ;-) 
I have memories of my mom making green mango mukkala pacchadi and Tomato Avakaya, she would eat it all by herself since we kids weren't fond of pickles. Her colleagues tasted some of her Chilli & Tomato pacchadis and told her that they'll sell like hot cakes if she bottled some & tried selling it!!

పెసర ఆవకాయ: Pesara avakaya- Green mango in Mung bean-mustard-chilli marinade Pickle

INGREDIENTS

3 Mangoes (medium size)
2 1/2 cups pesarapappu/moongdal
1/2 cup chilly powder/karam (if you want little spicy add more)
1/2 cup mustard seeds/aavalu
1/2 cup salt
2 1/2 cups gingely(sesame) oil/nuvvula nune


PREPARATION

Clean mangoes and wipe with cloth.
Cut the mango into half and remove the seed from inside. Now, cut the mango into small(desired) size pieces as shown in the picture.
Make powder of moong dal and mustard seeds separately.
Mix moong dal powder, mustard powder,chilly powder and salt.
Add oil into the mixture .
Take small amount of mango pieces and little amount of mixture and mix well.
Take this into a glass bottle and do the same with all the pieces.
Now close with tight lid.
Mix well again on 3rd day.
Your avakaya will be ready to eat after five days.
,pickle,manju,mango

This is our family favorite dish. This will go with rice, breakfast and snacks.
This recipe I learnt from my mother-in-law.

పొట్లకాయ పెరుగు పచ్చడి: Potlakaya perugu pacchadi- Sautéed snake gourd in yogurt gravy

Ingredients:

2 to 3 Snake gourds (Potlakayalu) (small)

2 cups Yogurt (Perugu)
2 green chillys (Pachimirapakayalu)
salt to taste
cilantro for garnishing


For tempering/Tiragamata:
1tbsp minapappu
1/2 tsp Avaalu/mustard seeds
1/2 tsp jeera
1tbsp oil

Preparation
Chop snake gourd into small pieces
Heat 1/2 tbsp oil in a pan and add chopped pieces and cook until it becomes soft. Let it cool.
Take curd and add salt, chopped chillys and cooked gourd.
Now, add thadaka and garnish with cilanthro.

This item goes with rice and roti.

టమేట పచ్చడి- Tamata Pacchadi: Tomato Chutney

Serves: Fills a 500 ml bottle. Preparation time: 30 minutes.

Green Tomato Chutney

Ingredients:
6 medium sized Green Tomatoes
5 Green chillies
6 tsp Oil
2 Tsp Mustard seeds (Rai, Avalu)
1 Tsp Turmeric
1 shallow Tsp Asafoetida
1 shallow Tsp Fenugreek powder
1 Tbsp Tamarind paste
1 Tsp or to taste; Salt
1/4 Tsp Sugar
3 sprigs Cilantro

Method:
1. Chop Tomatoes, Green Chillies into chunks. Fine chop the Cilantro.

2. Heat 4 Tsps oil. Add Green chillies and Green tomatoes. Cover and cook on low flame until tomatoes soften, around 6 minutes.

Add Tamarind paste and leave to cool.
3. Heat 2 Tsps oil in a pan. Add Mustard seeds. When they splutter, switch off flame and add Fenugreek powder, Asafoetida, Turmeric. Let it cool. 
4. Grinding:
First grind the spice mix from step 3. Next add the vegetables from step 2, mix in salt & sugar and grind on pulse/whipping mode with quick spurts of power so that the tomatoes are not completely mashed
5. Add Cilantro, transfer into a bottle, and refrigerate.

Ripe (Red) Tomato Chutney

Ingredients:
6 medium sized Ripe (Red) Tomatoes
3 Tsps Oil
2 heaped Tsp Split Black Gram
4 Dry Red chillies
1 heaped Tsp Coriander seeds
1 heaped Tsp Cumin seeds
1 level Tsp Mustard seeds
1 level Tsp Turmeric
1 level Tsp Asafoetida
1 level Tsp Fenugreek powder
1 Tbsp Tamarind paste
1 Tsp or to taste; Salt
1/4 Tsp Sugar
3 sprigs Cilantro

Method:
1. Chop Tomatoes into chunks. Finely chop the Cilantro. Break up the Dry red chilli into small bits.

2. Heat 1 Tsp oil in a pan. Add tomatoes, cover and let simmer until tomatoes wither/go tender, but not completely done. Add Tamarind paste and leave to cool.
3. Heat 2 Tsps oil in pan. Add Black Gram and Dry Red chillies. When black gram turns pale gold, add Coriander and Cumin seeds. When Black Gram goes golden brown (dry chillies would be dark brown & giving off an aroma by now), add Mustard seeds, they'll splutter. Switch off flame and add Fenugreek powder, Turmeric and Asafoetida. Leave to cool.
4. Grinding:
First add the spice mix from step 2 and grind. Then add Salt, Sugar and the Tomatoes from step 3 and coarse grind on pulse/whipping mode with quick spurts of power.
5. Mix in the chopped cilantro. Bottle and refrigerate.

Variations:
1. You can mix and match the ingredients as per taste, like I made a red-green tomato pacchadi recipe mix since my green tomatoes were actually yellowing.
2. Manju pinni suggests: Prepare the chutney first and then pour the tempering  of step 3 over it right at the end. This way, the spices smell fresh, the seeds (black gram, mustard) are whole & crisp instead of being ground down.
3. If preparing a large quantity, it may be wise to first dry roast the Cumin and Coriander seeds separately and then add them to the fried black gram-red chillies. This is because all these spices have different cooking times and can easily stay undercooked/get burnt within a few seconds of misjudged timing.
4. Cumin & Coriander seeds can be substituted with powders. 
5. If using whole Fenugreek seeds: Roast to a black-brown, leave to cool and powder. Then add to the cooled tempering from step 3. 

Culture & Health:
Green or Ripe tomato pacchadi is eaten with fresh hot rice & ghee. It is also an excellent accompaniment with Dosas, Idlis, Uttappams. It is an awesome spread for sandwiches and savoury snacks. Totally yummy with yogurt-rice.
Fresh pacchadis are full of vitamins and antioxidants, they can be made with very little oil & salt for the health conscious.

Trivia:
The Green Tomato pacchadi recipe is my mom-in-law's (Indira aunty), Krishna's favourite favourite favourite.
The Ripe tomato pacchadi recipe is mom's, it was an ever-green (or should I say ever-red) part of our family menu, my sister LOVED it like crazy, and mom makes it frequently.
Do you guys know what Tomato is called in Telugu? A local cultivar that produced small sour fruit was called "Ramamulagakaaya" during my mother's childhood. Of course, it is a now-extinct name, we only see normal tomatoes in the market, and Tomato is Tamata for us! :-)

గుత్తి దొండకాయ: Kurina Dondakaya- Stuffed Tindora (Ivy gourd)

This is the 50th recipe of our blog and 20th recipe of mine.


Ingredients

15 dondakayalu/tindora
2 tsp senagapindi/chana flour
1/2 tsp karam/chilly powder(as desired)
salt to taste
1/4 tsp jeera/cumin powder
1 to 2 tbsp oil to fry

Preparation

Wash and trim two sides of tindora and slit them length wise.
Steam them for 10 min
Mix chana flour, chilli powder, jeera powder and salt in a bowl
Stuff tindoras wit the above mixture.
Heat oil in a pan and fry them on a low flame till they turn to brown color.
Serve them hot with rice.