It’s Dashami and the heart is welling up. It’s time to bid adieu to Maa, whispering with hope, ‘Asche bochhor abar hobe, abar eso Maa’. To beat the Dashami blues, nothing is better than comfort food — wholesome, rich yet simple flavours that you can share with friends and family. Plus after the feasting, it’s good to switch to something that easy on the stomach as well. This Dashami, dig into the culinary legacy of Kerala, with a Kerala Style Ghee Rice, Beetroot Rasam, Meen Moilee and some banana fritters for dessert. Plus, some refreshing Kulukki to wash it all down.
(You can find last year’s Bengali recipes for Dashami here.)
Kerala Style Ghee Rice
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A simple rice recipe with cashews and raisins in every bite.
Ingredients:
- Basmati rice: 200gm
- Ghee: 5 tbsp
- Milk soaked raisins: 10
- Fried cashews: 12
- Finely sliced onion: 1 medium
- Bay leaf: 1 large
- Cloves: 2
- Cardamom: 3-4
- Cinnamon stick: 1 small
- Salt: To taste
- Sugar: To taste
- Lukewarm water: 2 large cups
Recipe:
- Wash rice and soak for 20-30 minutes. Then drain excess water and let it air dry
- Add ghee to a pan and fry the onions until golden brown. Strain excess ghee and keep the fried onions aside
- Now add bay leaf and the whole spices to the ghee and saute well
- Add the onions, fried cashews and milk soaked raisins and saute for 2-3 minutes on low flame
- Add rice and mix gently
- Add sugar and salt and cook for 1-2 minutes before adding lukewarm water. Add a lid and allow the rice to cook, stirring carefully at regular intervals
- Balance seasoning once rice is cooked and serve
Beetroot Rasam
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A super quick rasam recipe that’s healthy, easy on the stomach and tasty.
Ingredients:
- Grated beetroot: 1 small cup
- Grated coconut: 1 small cup
- Cumin seeds: 1 tsp
- Black mustard seeds: 1 tsp
- Asafoetida (hing): 1 tsp
- Garlic cloves: 3
- Finely chopped onion: 1 medium
- Curry leaves: 7-8
- Green chillies: 3
- Salt: To taste
- Sugar: To taste
- Tamarind paste: 1 small cup
- Turmeric powder: ½ tsp
- Red chilli powder: ½ tsp
- Coriander leaves: 2 tsp
- Vegetable oil: 1 and ½ tsp
Recipe:
- Blanch the grated beetroot for 1-2 minutes and drain excess water. Store the water for later use in the dish
- Add 3-4 tbsp of grated coconut, add a pinch of salt and sugar to the beetroot and make a smooth paste
- Add oil to a kadhai, add garlic and saute till golden and then add onions. Saute until onions turn golden brown
- Add tamarind paste, salt, sugar, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, slit green chillies and cook for 30 seconds before adding the beetroot boiled water to make a running consistency
- Boil for 7-8 minutes and then add the coconut and beetroot paste. Mix well and cook on low flame for 6-7 minutes
- Check seasoning, add coriander leaves and it’s ready
Meen Moilee
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A light fish stew to go with a ghee-flavoured rice.
Ingredients:
- Fish steak (bekti, king fish): 300gm
- Coconut milk: 300ml
- Coconut oil or vegetable oil: 3 tbsp
- Finely chopped onion: 1 medium
- Finely chopped tomatoes: 1 medium
- Finely chopped garlic: 4
- Grated ginger: 2 tsp
- Slit green chillies: 7-8
- Curry leaves: 6-7
- Lemon juice: 1 medium lemon
- Salt: To taste
- Sugar: To taste
- Turmeric powder: 1 tsp
- Red chilli powder: 1 tsp
Recipe:
- Marinate fish steaks with salt, turmeric powder and lemon juice for at least 15-20 minutes
- Add oil in a pan and heat well. Add garlic and saute until golden. Now add slit green chillies and saute for 5-6 seconds
- Add finely chopped onions and saute until golden
- Add grated ginger and saute with a splash of water until the raw smells goes away
- Add curry leaves and saute for 10-12 seconds
- Add tomatoes, mix well with the other vegetables and saute until the tomatoes are cooked and soft
- Place the fish steaks on the pan and cover with the ingredients in the pan carefully
- Saute for 2-3 minutes on medium heat
- Add lukewarm water, enough to make a light gravy. Add turmeric powder, chilli powder and salt
- Cover and cook for 3-4 minutes
- Now add coconut milk and cook for 4-5 minutes on medium heat
- Balance seasoning, add lime juice and simmer for another 30 seconds. Serve hot
Kerala Pazham Pori
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Crispy, sweet banana fritters you can eat as a side with your rice and rasam, or as a dessert!
Ingredients:
- Small bananas: 4
- Maida: 1 small cup
- Rice flour or Semolina (chaaler atta or sooji): 2 tbsp
- Salt: 1 small pinch
- Sugar: 1 ½ tbsp
- Turmeric powder: 1 tsp
- Red chilli powder: ½ tsp (Optional)
- Regular temperature water: 1 medium cup
- Sunflower oil: Enough to deep fry
Recipe:
- Sieve maida and rice flour together in a mixing bowl
- Add salt, sugar, turmeric powder and red chilli powder and dry mix
- Now add water in little quantities and make a thick batter to fry fritters. Check seasoning at this stage
- Start heating the oil
- Peel the bananas right before making the fritters. Slice them in semi thick round cuts
- Dip them in the batter and coat well
- Turn the flame low and drop a dollop of batter first to check the oil temperature. If the batter floats readily, it’s ready
- Add the fritters one by one and fry on low flame until light brown. Serve hot
Tip:
- Don’t put too many fritters in the kadhai at one go, to keep the temperature of the oil even
Kulukki
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A lemon-chilli thirst quencher to wash down all the culinary wonders since Sashthi.
Ingredients:
- Cold water or sparkling water: 1glass
- Basil seeds (sabja): 1 tsp
- Lemon juice: 1 medium lemon
- Sliced lemon: 2
- Slit green chilli: 1
- Salt: a pinch
- Sugar: 2 tablespoons
- Crushed mint leaves:1 tsp
- Ice cubes: 5-6
Recipe:
- Soak basil seeds for 15-20 minutes in water
- Take a tall shaker and add the basil seeds (now plump), lime juice, sliced lemons, green chilli, salt, sugar, crushed mint leaves
- Add chilled or sparkling water and shake well
- Taste the final drink and balance seasoning if needed
- Pour in a tall glass, drop the ice cubes and serve