Dear all.... It's the season of harvest festival in Gods Own Country - Kerala. Onam is celebrated throughout the state irrespective of any religion or any other differences. This is the English translation of a beautiful song in Malayalam which is often sung during Onam.
" When Maveli ruled the land,
All the people were equal.
And people were joyful and merry;
They were all free from harm.
There was neither anxiety nor sickness,
Deaths of children were unheard of,
There were no lies,
There was neither theft nor deceit,
And no one was false in speech either.
Measures and weights were right;
No one cheated or wronged his neighbor.
When Maveli ruled the land,
All the people formed one casteless races"
Source :Wikipedia.
Above all, Onam feast is the highlight, which is vegetarian known as "Onasadhya" (Onam special sadhya) which will excite each of your taste buds with such variety of vegetarianism including different spectra of hot, spicy, sour and sweet.
My mother used to make the entire Onasadhya but I never did. I hope that I will make it this time. This is exactly my mother's recipe. We all really miss her sadhya dishes.....and the way she patiently feeds Rydhi. I'm happy to tell u that this post is a start of a new category Sadhya recipes in this blog.
Ingredients:
2 cups of yogurt
Salt (to taste)
Tempering
1 tablespoon of oil.
2 four inch pieces of ginger ( finely chopped )
4 to 5 shallots/ chuvannulli (Sliced)
3 cloves of garlic (Sliced)
2 green chilies (halved)
2 dried red chilies
1 teaspoon of mustard seeds
Grinding
1 cup of grated coconut
2 Shallots
A pinch of crushed mustard
Method:
Grind together grated coconut and shallots with a mixer grinder or a food processor till done. Add crushed mustard and pulse it for 30 seconds. Set aside.
Heat oil (on medium flame) in a skillet and add mustard seeds. When it splutters, add shallots , garlic and ginger. Saute it well till the chopped ginger becomes tender. Reduce heat to low.
Add the prepared coconut mixture into it and mix them well. Switch off the flame. Add yogurt and mix well till well blended. Add enough salt to taste.
I really feel happy that I made her inji pachadi. It is a feeling of nostalgia too.... Happy Onam :-)
