Vishu Special - Idichakka thoran (Jackfruit Curry)

             Happy Tamizh new year and Vishu

It is very nice to be in our homeland to enjoy special dishes on special occasions. Though we cook the same recipes during ordinary days, we will not the get that divine festive taste in that recipe. Idichikka thoran, is one such special recipe for Vishu.


Cute little Young Jack fruit

Jack fruit is called as 'Idichakka' in Kerala. Jack fruit is a tropical plant which is found mainly in southeast Asia and some parts of Africa. You know, Jack fruit is highly nutritious fruit. I read many more interesting facts about this fruit in a book called, 'How the Banana Goes to Heaven' by Ratna Rajaiah. How I bought this book ? Its a nice short story. A couple of days earlier me and Karthik were at the Passport office. As usual nothing happened as per the schedule, so to kill the time we went to a nearby book shop, where I chanced upon this beautiful book.

Jack fruit

-- An antioxidant which fights diseases.

-- High in beta carotene which our body converts into Vitamin A.

-- Rich in dietary minerals like potassium and Iron.

-- Contains more calcium and magnesium than Banana.

-- Excellent source of complex carbohydrates and dietary fibers, makes the fruit as an energy food.

Like the fruit, the seeds inside them are also equally good for health. They are also high in Vitamin B1 and Vitamin B2, Also minerals like calcium, zinc, phosphorous and Sulphur.

First time in my life, I tried this Idichakka. My mother in-law helped me in cooking and Iam in love with this this wonderful recipe.

Ingredients : 1 no -- Small young jackfruit 1 tsp -- Turmeric powder 1 tsp -- Mustard seeds 1 tbsp -- Chana dal 1 tbsp -- Urad dal 1 tsp -- Jeera 3 no -- Red chillies 2-3 tsp -- Oil Salt -- To taste Few Curry leaves ** 1 no -- medium size onion ** 1/2 cup -- Grated coconut ** Onion or coconut -- according to your taste. Method : --- By using sharp knife, cut a thick layer of about 1cm skin from the fruit. Apply some oil to the hand and to the knife to avoid the gum sticking in your hands. --- Cut the fruit into big chunks. If using a very young jack fruit then no need to discard the center stem inside the fruit, if not cut the stem too. --- Cook the big chunks along with the turmeric and 1 tsp of salt in the pressure cooker for 1 or 2 whistles. --- Once the cooked jack fruit is cooled completely, by using a fork or hand shred the big chunks. Since it is cooked nicely all the fibers can be shredded easily. If you find difficulty put it in a mixer and just run for one or two times. Don't run continuously, then all the fruit will get smashed. --- Put a pan in medium heat and add oil and after few minutes add mustard seeds. Once the seeds are popped completely add chana dal. urad dal, chillies, curry leaves and jeera. ---*** If you are using onion, cut them in to small pieces and add them to the oil mixture and fry until the onion become translucent. --- Add the shredded jack fruit to the oil mixture and add salt according to taste. --- Mix well and fry the jack fruit mixture for few minutes. --- *** If you are not using the onion, avoid the onion step and add the  grated coconut in the final stage and turn off the heat.

Enjoy the Idichakka thoran along with Vishu special pradamans :))

Its Mango time... Mango rice

March month is marching fast. One side cricket world cup, other side board exams, in between elections. Oh, the days are really running fast. The good thing about this month are the fresh mangoes. The green fresh mangoes are already in the markets.

I like to eat mangoes in all the form, fresh green mango, pulpy fruit mango, dried mango pickles, yummmm. My mother will make different variety recipes using the mangoes. Starting from March till May, almost daily we have mango in our meal. Either it will be in sambar, pickle, pachadi, rice, vatha kuzhambu, thokku, mango paruppu, etc. Living in the US for the past couple of years, I missed mangoes a lot. We do get mangoes all through the year and mangoes imported from India during the summer but it was that very rare bunch that had the taste and flavour.

Mangoes are rich in vitamins, minerals and anti-oxidant.These comforting enzymes act as a digestive aid and can be held partially responsible for that feeling of contentment we experience during and after our daily mango ritual. An average sized mango can contain up to 40% of your daily fiber requirement. (Facts : All about Mangoes)

In this season, I bought a couple of mangoes yesterday and tried one of my favorite recipe Mango rice.

The recipe for making the rice is very simple. It is more like making lemon rice.

Ingredients : 4-5 cup -- Cooked rice 1 no -- Mango** 1 tsp -- turmeric powder 1 tsp -- Mustard seeds 1 tbsp -- Chana dal 1 tbsp -- Urad dal 1 tsp -- Jeera 3 no -- Green chillies Salt -- To taste 2-3 tsp -- Oil Method : --- Wash the mango, peel off the skin and grate it. ** Select the sour mango fot this recipe, you will enjoy it better. --- Keep a pan in the medium heat, add oil. Once the oil is hot add the mustard seed, once its popped, add jeera, chana dal and urad dal. --- Once the dal color is fried, add the grated mango, turmeric powder and green chillies. --- Saute the mango for 5 minutes. Since we are using grated mango, cooking will be very fast. --- Now mango mixture it is ready to mix. --- Add the mixture to the mixed rice. According to your taste, add salt. You can add salt either in the last stage or while you saute the mango. --- The rice is ready to serve.

Sundaikai curry

Sundaikai, Turkey Berry in English, is a very popular in Tamilnadu. Commonly prepared as vathal, dried sundaikai, this can also be cooked freshly to make curry, kootu, sambar, kuzhambu, pachadi, Thuvayal, etc..

Sundaikai contains high medicinal value and is very good for health. It is rich in Iron content and it acts like cleanser to clean our stomach. It is widely used in Siddha medicine for making chooranams, which is helpful for digestion problems. Even now most mothers feed sundaikai vathal to her daughter, after she give birth to a baby.

Earlier days, in our town almost every house had the plant in their back yards. I can recollect a lot of days when we ran out of vegetables at home and the fresh sundaikais from our (and our neighbours :-)) backyards saved the day. My mom makes sundaikai vathal at home itself. But now I am paying Rs.20 for 1/2 cup fresh sundaikai. Still its worth buying.

Last week, my mother-in-law made this wonderful curry. I never had this type of sudaikai curry before. Hope the image does justice to the wholesome taste of the curry.

Ingredients : 1 cup -- Fresh Sundaikai 1/4 cup -- Shreded coconut 1 tsp -- turmeric powder 1 tsp -- Mustard seeds 1 tbsp -- Chana dal 1 tbsp -- Urad dal 1 tsp -- Jeera Salt -- To taste 2-3 tsp -- Oil To fry : 1/2 cup -- Urad dal 1/4 cup -- Chana dal 2-3 tbsp -- Dania seeds 4-5 nos -- Dry chilli 2 tsp -- Pepper Few curry leaves 1 tsp -- Asafoetida Method : --- We always get the sundaikai with the stem. Take the stem part, which will easily come off and wash it thoroughly. --- After washing, take them in a zip lock bag, I prefer to put one more bag. --- Now comes the messy part, take a small hammer and smash all the sundaikai. You no need to work hard for this, since those are very delicate, it will be smashed easily. Before washing Sundaikai --- Transfer the sundaikai in to a pan and wash out the seeds completely. --- That's it, cleaning part is over. Cooking sundaikai is similar like cooking beans curry. --- Take a pan and add all the ingredients listed below 'To fry" and fry them in the medium heat. Fry till the dal color changes. *** Important note - Adjust the chilli and pepper measure according to your taste. Don't blame me later :)) --- Transfer the fried mixture to a blender and let it cool for a while. --- Keep the same pan in medium heat and add oil. Once the oil is hot, add mustard seeds. As soon as the seeds crackles add chana dal, urud dal and turmeric. --- When the dal colors changes add the washed sundaikai. --- Add little water to cook and close the pan. --- Meanwhile grind the fried ingredients with a spoon of jeera and coconut. This is called as curry podi. You can use this for almost all the vegetables. --- Now check the sundaikai, if cooked add the curry podi. *** You can add the curry podi according to the taste you like. If you have some left-overs, store them in air tight container. As I said earlier, this will be good for any curry, also you can add this in sambar. --- Add salt according to taste and cook for 3-4 minutes and turn off the heat.

Yummy Sundaikai curry is ready to serve with hot rice :)