Pepper Mushroom - Kerala Cuisine

Kerala style pepper mushroom is a vegan and gluten-free recipe from South India. This easy dry mushroom dish gets ready within minutes and tastes amazing. It is a tasty vegetarian delicacy, very tempting and irresistible. This is unique and special with chopped mushrooms blended with spicy ingredients and fried till crisp. Mushrooms are nutritious rich in vital nutrients required for body. 

Kerala is a beautiful state of Southern India and is also known as “Land of spices”. The climate of Kerala is considered to be perfect for cultivating rich quality spices. The state holds a very prominent place in spice trading across the globe since ancient times. That’s the reason why Kerala’s food is so flavorful and aromatic. Simple and Quick Appetizer that can be prepared in minutes.

It’s simply addictive it can be had any time of the day as a snack. Otherwise, it can be served as a side dish for roti or as a starter. It can also be used as a filling while preparing preparing sandwiches and rolls. Serve immediately after preparing as the dish tastes best when it is hot. 

It gets it flavor from the garlic, pepper and cumin seeds and is very easy to prepare, do give it a try if you like mushrooms. Pepper coated, tender, juicy mushrooms are stir fried to perfection. It takes less time to prepare this wonder food, hence it remains my favorite quick fix vegetarian recipe. If you like the punch of pepper or are a mushroom lover, you have to try this recipe.

Related Mushroom Recipe links

Hikitibele(Lima beans) mushroom 

Mushroom Kurma 

Mushroom Dill curry 

Mushroom Peas Masala

Prep  time	Cooking time	Serves
10 mins	10 mins	2 persons

Recipe type:  Side dish for rice and roti.

Cuisine: Kerala Cuisine

Ingredients Button mushrooms -1 cup Onion -1 no Garlic cloves -8 pods Green chillies -2 no Red chilli powder -1/2 tsp Turmeric powder -1/2 tsp Garam masala -1/4 tsp Coriander powder -1/2 tsp Pepper crushed  - 1 tbsp Coriander leaves -few Seasonings Oil -1 tbsp Mustard seeds -1/2 tsp  Curry leaves -few

Method 

1. Clean the dirt off the Mushrooms with a cloth. If you are using fresh mushrooms, there is no need to cook it. Instead, fry it with all other ingredients.Trim the stems and quickly wash in water, two times and drain immediately. Cut each Mushroom into 4 parts and keep aside along with the other items. 

2. Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. Saute for a few seconds till they become fragrant.

3. Add, curry leaves, green chilies and onions which has to be sautéd for around 8-10 minutes, till onion becomes translucent.Do not add salt as it would bring out the water and you will not be able to get a good sear on the mushrooms.

4. Dry roast whole pepper for 2-3mins or till nice aroma comes. Powder it coarsely.Add all the spices and saute for few minutes. 

5. Add chopped mushrooms and cook covered on low flames stirring now and then. (No need to add water as mushroom oozes out water) Saute in low flame for another 3 minutes and switch off the flame. 

6. Add in salt to taste and pepper powder. Once mushrooms are cooked, switch off the flame. Give a quick mix garnish with coriander leaves. 

Serving suggestions

1. You can serve it as appetizer or as a side dish with Fried rice, Noodles, Naan or Roti.Leftover pepper mushroom can be used as a stuffing in sandwiches and rolls.

2. Serve it with roti, paratha or any other Indian bread of your choice.Enjoy it as a side dish with rice and dal.

Notes

1. Black peppercorns are oughly crushed adjust as per your taste. If you like it less spicy, add only one green chili, and add less amount of chilli flakes and black pepper.While stir frying Mushroroms no salt should be added to avoid release of water. Add salt only last.

2. Pepper should be crushed coarsely. The dish should have peppery bites to get the perfect flavor. Adding freshly ground pepper powder gives a great flavor.Do not overcook Mushrooms. 

3. It should be crispy and tender.dding capsicum is purely optional.

4. This is spicy fry so adjust spice powders if you want to reduce hotness.

Ugadi pachadi –Andhra cuisine

Ugadi is the first day of New Year in Andhra, Karnataka, Telangana and celebrated as Gudipadwa in Maharashtra. Ugadi Pachadi recipe symbolizes the six tastes and emotions in life. Ugadi, popularly known as Yugadi, is the Telugu and Kannada New Year ceremony and is celebrated with fervour and gaiety across the southern regions of India.

In Maharashtra, people celebrate Ugadi as Gudi Padwa marking the same significance on the same day. The festival is celebrated on the first day of the month of Chaitra and marks the first of the calendar new year.

Significance Today we are celebrating Ugadi, the Telugu New Year Day, which is the first festival of our Telugu calendar and the first big festival that comes after Sankaranti.Our Andhra festival is known by different names in different states of India like “Gudi Padwa” in Maharashtra and “Ugadi” in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.

In India, Andhra Pradesh ‘Ugadi’ is a festival. People from wide corners, celebrate this festival as a New Year’s Day celebration of Hindus. It is celebrated in Telangana also. In Karnataka, this “Ugadi” festival is also trendy.The same day is celebrated as the New Year by Hindus in various regions of the country. For instance, it is called Gudi Padwa in Maharashtra. People from Sindh are called Sindhis. They also celebrate a same-day festival called “Chetri Chand” which means the beginning of the new year according to their calendar.On the same day in Manipur, the same day celebration is held by Manipuri’s called “Sajibu Nongma Pānba”. It is also a New Year celebration by their calendar. In Indonesia and Bali, the Hindu people also celebrate the same day festival called “Nyepi”.

Six tastes of life

It is a tasty dish made with a lot of healthy ingredients. The Pachadi has six different tastes assimilated in it- sweet, salty, bitter, tangy, spicy and sour. All of these tastes represents the different facets of life.ach ingredient denotes the six tastes of life:

Sadness – Neem Buds/Flowers for its bitterness

Happiness – Jaggery and ripe banana pieces for sweetness

Anger – Green Chilli/Pepper for its hot tast

Fear – Salt for saltiness

Disgust – Tamarind Juice for its sournes

Surprise – Unripened Mango for its tanginess

Way of Celebration“Yugadi” is a word taken from Sanskrit. The meaning of this word is “ the beginning of a new era “.the decoration of mango leaves on the door is called “Torana” and does mugullus called as Rangolis before the house.It combines all the flavors – sweet, sour, salty, bitter, astringent and hot (spicy). In the Telugu and Kannada Hindu traditions, it is a sign that all the flavors of the experience to use in the coming New Year and more. 

The people clean houses and they go to the temple and praying for a prosperous life. People of these states celebrated this festival with their friends and relatives, friend and family by giving each other gifts, clothes, and many decorative items, etc. In Karnataka, the festival is celebrated for ages.Yugadi or Ugadi is the first day of the “Chaitra Purification Padaayami” or the bright half of the Chaitra of the Indian month. The houses were well cleaned. For the festival, people buy new clothes, clothes, and new things and decorate their homes with fresh mango leaves. 

Mango leaves and coconut are considered sacred in the Hindu tradition and are used in Ugadi. People clean the front of their house with water and then make colorful floral designs. People pray in temples. During this festival, people make Hindu meals with tamarind paste, neem flowers, brown sugar or sweet jaggery, salt and sometimes mangoes. It is a symbolic reminder of the multiple stages of life that people expect it in the New Year.

The doorways of our homes are adorned with mango leaves which signifies prosperity and general well-being.But the most unique and significant tradition of Ugadi is beginning the new year with savoring a unique flavored pachadi (chutney) that epitomizes the spirit of Ugadi called "Ugadi Pachadi",with sweet,sour,pungent and bitter tastes (shadhruchulu or six tastes). 

Dishes made during the festive day

They prepare special foods with the use of raw mango like papppu maamidikaaya,pulihora,bobattulu,garellumaamidi pulihora and maamidi kobari pachadi

 Nutritional Information

Neem:

Neem helps to treat various skin infections, malaria, viral fever and diabetes.It also kills intestinal parasites.

Raw Mango:

It provides relief from acidity and chest burn and improves the elasticity of blood vessel

Jaggery:

It detoxifies the liver by flushing out harmful toxins from the body. It is loaded with anti oxidants selenium and zinc, which prevents the free radical damage and fights against infections.

Tamarind:

It reduces inflammation throughout the body, improves skin condition and lowers cholesterol.

Prep  time	Cooking time	Serves
15 mins	10 mins	2 persons

Recipe Course:  Chutney varieties

Cuisine: Andhra cuisine 

Ingredients Jaggery -3 tbsp. Tamarind pulp -1 tbsp. Raw mango pieces -2 tbsp. Neem flowers -1 tbsp. Red chilli powder or pepper powder -2 tsp Salt –to taste Water -1.5 cups

Ingredients of Andhra Ugadi Pachadi represent following Emotions

·        Jaggery And Banana Pieces – Sweetness – Happiness

·        Tamarind – Sour – Disgust

·        Raw Mango – Tang – Surprise

·        Neem Flowers – Bitterness – Sadness

·        Red chilies or pepper powder – Hot – Anger

·        Salt – Salty – Fear

How to make ugadi pachadi

1. Separate the neem flowers from the leaf and keep aside

2.Keep all the ingredients ready

3. The tamarind is soaked in warm water till it softens.Keep all the ingredients ready.

4.Add the jaggery to another one cup of water and wait till it melts and strain and keep aside.Combine both waters and start the procedure

5.First add the raw mango pieces to the tamarind water. Each home has its own version of preparing the ugadi pachadi but the main ingredients (reflecting all the six flavors).

6.Take this neem flower and add it to the tamarind and mango water. 

7.Now add chilli powder and Mix well.Finally add salt 

8.Enjoy the Ugadi Pachadi.

Notes

You can also add small pieces of sugarcane, pieces of ripe banana,putanaala pappu(roasted channa dal) along with the above ingredients

The flavors of the Ugadi Pachadi signifies that the mixture of bitter margosa flowers and sweet jaggery reflect the myriad facets of life, both joy and sorrow and prepares one to face both good and bad in the year to come.

Cabbage Senagapappu Vepudu - Andhra Cuisine

It’s a simple classic Andhra style vegetarian fry using cabbage, chana dal (bengal gram) and coconut which is quick to make.This adds a new dimension to this curry and make it protein-rich. This Andhra style veg recipe works best when you are in a rush and have to fix a quick nutrition rich meal. Senagapappu means Chana dal (Bengal gram/ Kadalai paruppu) in Telugu and vepudu means fry. It’s a super satisfying stir fry side dish to go with rice, pepper rasam and papad. Cabbage stir fry is a very common dish made at home and chana dal really compliments this dish very well. 

Related dry curry recipe links:

Spring onion Palya

Avarakkai poriyal

Raw Plantain (Vazhakkai) Stir fry

Prep Time	Cooking time	Serves
10 mins	15 mins	2 persons

Recipe type:  Dry curry varieties

Cuisine:  South Indian cuisine

Ingredients Cabbage – ½ kg (chopped) Senagapappu(Bengal gram) -1/4 cup Turmeric powder -1/2 tsp Salt – to taste Coriander leaves –few sprigs Grind coarsely Green chillies -2 no’s Ginger – ½ inch Grated fresh coconut -1 tbsp Seasonings Oil -1 tbsp. Mustard seeds -1 tsp Curry leaves -1 sprig Hing –pinch Dry red chillies -2 no’s

Method

1. Finely chop the cabbage and set aside.

2. Wash and soak chana dal for 30 mins. Drain and keep it aside.

3. Add ½ of water in a bowl with soaked chana dal, turmeric powder and pinch of salt and cook till the dal is almost cooked.

4. Heat oil in a kadai or cooking vessel. Once the oil is hot, add mustard seeds and allow to splutter. Add curry leaves and asafoetida and mix.

5. Now add chopped cabbage, turmeric powder and salt. Finally add the ground coconut-ginger- green chili paste and cook for few minutes.

6. Serve hot and enjoy.

Serving suggestions

Sambar and rice

Rasam and Papad

Notes

1. Use very little water while cooking the cabbage. As the cabbage itself holds lot of water.

2. Do not throw away the cabbage cooked water. Curry tastes good with fresh coconut.

Shengdanyachi Amti (Peanut Stew /Curry) - Maharashtrian Cuisine

Shengdanyachi Amti, is a Maharashtrian word which simply means Peanut Curry, where Shengdana stands for peanuts and Amti stands for a curry. A very suitable dish for fasting days, you can off course try when in need for an alternative to sambars/dals/kadhis as an accompaniment to your meal. It is made especially for fast in Maharashtra. Flavours so simple yet powerful, the traditional recipes in this cuisine are very easy and effortless. This is a healthy and nutritious recipe that can be made even for your everyday meals.

Nutritional Information

Peanuts being rich in monounsaturated fats, are heart healthy. We have known the benefits of anti-oxidants in fruits in various health related benefits. They are rich in vitamin B6 and vitamin E.

Related curry recipe links  

Sweet Corn Soup

Golden Soup

Quick Carrot Soup

Prep  time	Cooking time	Serves
15 mins	10 mins	2 persons

Recipe Course:  Side dish, Soups

Cuisine: Maharashtrian cuisine 

Ingredients Raw peanuts -1 cup Freshly ground coconut – ¾ cup Green chilli -3 nos Ginger – 1” Garlic -6 no’s Tomato – 1 Chopped coriander leaves – ½ cup Salt –to taste  Seasonings Oil – 2 tsp Cumin seeds -1 tsp Curry leaves –few sprigs Cinnamon stick -1”

Method

1. In a pan, first dry roast the peanuts at medium heat. Transfer to a plate to cool.

2. Once cooled, transfer the peanuts to the mixer/grinder jar. Run the mixer/grinder to powder the peanuts. Cut all the other ingredients and keep in ready.

3. Now grind grated fresh coconut, green chilies, garlic, ginger, coriander leaves together to a paste separately.

4. Heat oil with curry leaves and cumin seeds, allow them to sizzle. 

5. Now add the tomatoes and stir it for a minute and add salt.Pour the fresh grated coconut paste and pan it to low flame.Adjust consistency by adding more water if desired.

6.Now add the corsely groung peanut powder at last for the extra flavour.

7. Garnish with some Coriander leaves and serve hot.

Serving suggestions

Brown Rice

Roasted Potato 

Notes

1. By roasting the peanuts nicely and leave some peels while grinding then curry appears reddish in color.

2. Instead remove all the peels; curry looks whitish.