ARITI DAVVA AAVA KOORA/Banana Stem Curry

My mother never was, or is, a gourmet cook.Her philosophy of cooking is to keep it simple always.Her methods have had a lot of influence over how I cook our daily meals.But among everything else she cooked,the one thing that stands out in my memory is her Ariti Davva Koora(except for her sambar and chaaru of course).Ariti Davva is literally,the tender stem of Banana trees.It is ivory coloured,but like banana,blackens in no time when exposed to air.We had a very nice lady as our domestic help when we were younger.Janakamma or Janko as we fondly called her,would very patiently chop the banana stem,removing fibres and chopping it into very small pieces and putting them in diluted buttermilk to stop it from turning black.My mother would then cook curries using them.




The particular texture of ariti davva is what attracts me.It is very porous and absorbs flavours really nicely.The stem itself,as you will have guessed now,is full of fibre.That is why,even after it is cooked,it retains its crunchiness which is just wonderful.

Cutting the stem is a time taking task.First,the outer blackened layer is removed.Since it has lots of fibre,it is then usually cut into thin slices and the fine fibres which stand out,are taken off.Then the slices are chopped into really small pieces and put into diluted buttermilk to prevent it from becoming dark on exposure to air.But once this has been done,it cooks very quickly.I chopped it in the morning and kept it ready for the night to make the curry.

Aava is telugu for Mustard.Mustard and rice are soaked in water for some time so as to soften the mustard grains and then ground into a fine paste.This paste is usually added to curries at the end.It gives a really nice flavour.



On a recent trip to the Indian grocery store,I was lucky enough to find a piece of banana stem.I immediately grabbed it,having longed to eat it for as long as 6 years.So without much ado,here is the Ariti Davva curry that I learnt from my mother:

Ingredients:2 cups finely chopped Banana stem

1 tsp split urad dal

1 tsp mustard

2 dry red chillies,broken into 2-3 bits

2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp turmeric

6-8 curry leaves

For the Mustard paste:2 tsp mustard seeds

1 1/2 tbsp raw rice

3-4 dry red chillies

1 lime sized ball of tamarind,soaked and juice extracted

or

1 tbsp tamarind paste

Method:Soak the mustard and rice along with dry red chillies in some water for atleast 2 hours.This will soften the mustard seeds.

Heat 2 tbsp oil in a pan.Add the urad dal and mustard seeds and let them brown and splutter.Add the dry red chillies and curry leaves.

Now add the drained banana stem pieces.Mix well and let cook for 2 minutes.Now add turmeric and salt, and add 1/2 cup water to it.Close the pan and let it cook on low till the banana stem feels softer.You can test by putting a small piece in your mouth-it should feel crunchy but cooked.

Drain the water from the mustard and grind it along with rice and chillies to a fine paste.

Add the tamarind juice or paste(if using paste,dilute with a little water) to the cooked banana stem.Make sure that there is some water left in the pan.If not,add some more water before adding the tamarind paste.This is a gravy curry,so you do need some water.

Now once the curry is heated through,and comes to a boil,add the finely ground mustard-chilli paste.Mix well and take off the heat.

Once mustard is added,donot let the curry cook on heat as the mustard will turn the curry bitter.

Serve with hot steaming rice and a dollop of ghee.

My Notes:This curry goes very well with rice, and chapathis as well.We had it with chapathis yeaterday and it was a great combination.

Thanks to Lakshmi K of Veggie cuisine who started the RCI,I have had this wonderful chance to delve into the beautiful memories of my past and recreate one of my timeless favourites.
I would like to submit this for this month's RCI Andhra Cuisine hosted by Latha of Masala Magic.

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MARBLED MINTY KOFTAS IN A TOMATO GRAVY

Life does tend to become monotonous at times,but blog events are such a wonderful inspiration to cook and experiment when everything else fails to excite.For the JFI potato which is being hosted by Vaishali,today I wanted to create something very exciting and new with the humble potato.This is what I came up with:Marbled koftas.Marbled,you ask?Well,read on to find out!

Ingredients:2 big potatoes(Boiled and mashed)

1 cup of peas(boiled and mashed)

1 big onion(about 3/4 cup,chopped)

5-6 medium sized tomatoes

1 clove of garlic

1 inch piece of ginger

3-4 green chillies

1 tbsp garam masala

2 tbsp mint paste(Grind mint leaves in the processor till fine)

1 teaspoon amchur

Coriander to garnish

1/4 cup Yogurt,beaten till smooth

1 tbps each cashews and raisins

Method:First,boil the potatoes and peas.Mash the potatoes along with 1/2 tsp of salt and keep aside.

Now,mix the peas with the mint paste,1/2 tsp salt, and mash ,doesn't matter whether it is a coarse mash or a fine one.

Now spread the mashed potato on a piece of waxed paper or cling wrap/plastic wrap.spread the peas paste over it evenly and sprinkle with chopped cashews and raisins.

Pick up one end of the wax paper and roll slowly.The potato will break,so don't worry.This is how it is going to get the marbled effect.Roll roughly into a thick roll,then break off small pieces and make smooth balls out if this mixture.Coat in a thin batter of cornflour and water and deep fry till golden brown.

In a deep pan,heat 2 tbsp oil and fry the chopped onions,garlic,ginger and green chillies till brown.Add chopped tomatoes, and cook till they are softened.

Cool for 5 mins,then grind into a smooth paste in the blender,adding 1 cup water.

Now put this paste into the pan again with amchur,garam masala,salt and chilli powder,if needed.

Let it come to a boil.Reduce heat and let it simmer for 10 mins.

Mix in 2 tablespoons of smooth yogurt.


In a deep dish,pour the gravy,then arrange the koftas in the gravy.Garnish with chopped coriander and yogurt and serve immediately with hot parathas.

My Notes:You can bake your koftas instead of frying,though I must admit,frying it gives it a very good taste.

Potato being the versatile vegetable it is,you can even spice this potato mixture a bit and make bondas out of it.Enjoy!We had it for dinner today and we all liked it.Ananya even had some plain koftas with sauce!

Update:It has been a long time since I contributed to VKN's FAHC cook book.So I decided to send in this one for FAHC.

CURRY LEAVES SAMBAR/KARIVEPAKU PULUSU

I got this recipe from a telugu weekly.I was pleasantly surprised by the taste of this pulusu.I must say though, that this is for someone who truly enjoys curry leaves in all its forms.I am one of those .I love any dish made with curry leaves.Curry leaves also provide good nutrients for hair growth.So all of you who are looking to improve your hair,this is a good way to get curry leaves into your diet.

Ingredients:2 1/2 cups of loosely packed curry leaves(about 20 sprigs)

2 tsp sambar powder

2 lime sized balls of tamarind/3 tsp tamarind paste

2 tsp rice flour/chickpea(besan)flour

2 medium sized onions,chopped fine

3 green chillies

2 tsp Jaggery(Optional)

For Tempering/Tadka/Popu

1 tsp Jeera/Cumin seeds

1 tsp mustard seeds

1/4 tsp Asafoetida/Hing

Method:Heat 3 tbsp oil in a pan and fry the curry leaves for a few mins.Grind this paste in a blender to a smooth paste,adding very little water.

Soak tamarind in warm water and extract the thick paste.

Heat 2 tbsp oil in a deep pan,add the cumin,mustard and asafoetida/hing along with slit green chillies.

As soon as these splutter,add the ground curry leaf paste.Fry until the paste leaves its raw smell,about 5 mins.

Now add 3 cups of water to this along with the tamarind pulp/paste.
Add the sambar powder,salt,and 1/2 tsp turmeric to it.Let this boil and cook for 10 mins.

Add the chickpea/besan flour or the rice flour mixed with 3-4 tbsp of water and the jaggery at this stage.Let cook until a bit thick.

Serve hot with rice.


My Notes:I did not have onions and jaggery on hand when I prepared this pulusu.It still turned out very good.I am sure anyone who loves the flavour of curry leaves will like this one.


Added on 18 Dec 2006:I have decided to send in this recipe for VKN's FAHC campaign.

CARROT-CAPSICUM MASALA

This is a curry that I often make, and my husband likes it too.I thought it would be good to share it with you all.So here goes:



Ingredients:2 green peppers,chopped into medium sized pieces(1 1/2 cups)

2 medium sized carrots chopped into small pieces( 1 cup)

1 medium onion,finely chopped(1/2 cup)

2 green chillies ,slit lengthwise

1 tsp fresh grated /minced ginger

1 tsp fresh grated/minced garlic

2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

1 1/2 tsp chana masala/Chole masala

1/2 tsp of cumin/jeera seeds

1/2 tsp mustard/rai seeds

Method:Heat two tbsp oil in a thick based pan.Add the mustard and cumin seeds.When they crackle,add the ginger,garlic ,onions and chillies.Let them fry for a while.

Now add the chopped vegetables,and let saute for 2 mins.Now add 1 cup water to the curry and let it cook until the vegetables are soft and cooked.Now add the chana masala,turmeric and salt.Mix well.Make a paste of one teaspoon of cornflour with 3-4 tsp of water.Add this to the curry and it will thicken in seconds.Take off heat.Sprinkle with lemon juice and garnish with fresh coriander.Serve hot with chapathis.Goew well with fried rice or jeera rice too.

PALAKOORA AAVA-PULUSU

The dish I am going to present today is a type of sambar made in andhra.Pulusu is neither sambar nor rasam,it lies somewhere in between.Both sambar and rasam rely on a mix of spices to give them the characteristic taste.Pulusu is made without using any spice powder whatsoever.The speciality of this dish is that mustard paste is used to give it that extra dimension.So,here is the recipe:

Ingredients:For Pulusu-


3 cups of chopped spinach(1 big bunch)

1 medium potato,chopped into chunks

1 medium onion,chopped into chunks

3-4 ladiesfingers cut into 1 inch pieces(Bhindi)

200 gms Anapakaya/sorakaya/dudhi/bottlegourd,chopped into chunks

1 whole drumstick cut into 3 inch pieces

3-4 green chillies

1 lime size ball of tamarind/2 tbsp tamarind paste

1/2 cup of cooked Tuvar dal/Arhar dal/Split pigeon peas

For Mustard paste-

1 tsp mustard seeds

2 tsp Raw rice

For Tadka/Popu/Tempering

1 tsp Mustard seeds

1/4 tsp methi seeds/fenugreek seeds

curry leaves

Hing/Asafoetida

Method:First thing,soak the mustard seeds along with the raw rice in 3-4 tbsp water for about 3 hours.

Meanwhile,prepare the vegetables.

Heat 3 tbsp oil in a deep and thick bottmed pan,and add the mustard,methi/fenugreek, and curry leaves.As soon as they splutter,add the chopped onions and chillies and saute for 3-4 mins.Now add the other vegetables and saute for 5 mins.Now add the chopped spinach and let fry for 1 min,just till spinach starts wilting.Then,add 3-4 cups(750 ml to 1 litre) water ,add salt to taste, and turmeric to it.Add the tamarind to this.

Put the lid on and let it boil until the vegetables are cooked.This takes about 20-30 mins on medium flame.

Drain the water from the soaked mustard-rice.Make a fine paste using a mortar and pestle.The mix should be very fine ground.

Once the vegetables in the pulusu are cooked and soft,add the mustard paste and the cooked tuvar dal.


Donot keep on heat for longer than 2 mins, as the mustard will give the pulusu a botter aftertaste if it is heated for long.

Serve hot with rice and papad.

Note:I did not have anapakaya and bhindi,so I omitted them.Vegetables like carrot and pumpkin can also be added.


This is my contribution to Pooja's Veggie of the week.

ALOO PALAK MASALA(BABY POTATOES IN SPINACH GRAVY)

This is my version of the very popular Aloo Palak.I made this once when I had nothing except some spinach and a few baby potatoes at home.I have used frozen spinach just because that is what I have on hand.You can use fresh spinach.

Ingredients:250 grams of frozen spinach/1 big bunch fresh spinach.

8 baby potatoes

1 tsp Garam masala

1 tsp Amchur powder

2 tsp Red Chilli Powder

1tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp dhaniya/jeera powder(equal proportions)

For paste: 1 medium onion

1 big clove garlic

1 inch piece ginger

Method: Chop the onion,ginger and garlic coarsely and fry in a few teaspoons of oil until brown and cooked.Cool,grind into paste and keep aside.

Boil the baby potatoes until soft and peel them.

In a thick bottomed,wide-based pan,heat 2 teaspoons oil and put the peeled baby potatoes in it.Fry on medium heat until the potatoes are lightly browned.Now,add the amchur,garam masala,and dhaniya jeera powder to the potatoes.Let it saute for 2 mins,then add the frozen spinach.You need not thaw it before using.I added frozen spinach directly to the pan.If you are using fresh spinach,just wash and chop it finely.Then add it to the potatoes.

Now put a lid on the pan and let cook until the spinach has cooked.This will take about 5 mins.

Now take off the lid and add salt and chilli powder.Let it cook for sometime.Add the onion paste,mix well.Add 1/2 cup water if the curry becomes too dry.

Garnish with chopped coriander and slices of lemon, and serve hot with parathas.

Yield:This makes enough curry for two persons.