Tuesday, May 23, 2006

kurukku kalan

When I went to Kerala for the first time, Malayalam confused me more than anything. kalan can be many different things.. You eat 'kalan', the other 'kalan' comes to fetch your soul, when you are done with the world, another 'kalan' kuda you use when it rains!. The meaning changes the way you pronounce.. I never got it right. Kalan and olan are essential part of ona sadya..

Chena( elephant yam): 100 gm
Raw green banana(ethakka):1
green chillies:4
pepper powder:1 t spn
water:1 cup
turmeric powder:1/2 t spn
Ghee:2 tbl spn
Yogurt( thick greek style):1 cup
Coconut (grated) :1 cup
Cumin powder:1/2 t spn
fenugreek(methi) powder:1/2 t spn.( roast the seed and powder)
Mustard seeds:1 t spn
Curry leaves:1 sprig
Dreid red chilli:2, cut in to 1 inch piece

Grind the coconut with cumin powder very well. Try not to add water.

Slice the yam and raw banana in to small pieces(1/2 inch cubes), boil it with 1 cup water,green chillies,salt,pepper and turmeric till the Yam is cooked and there is no more water in the pan. Add a tea spn ghee and mix well.

Add the yogurt to the banana yam mix and cook on low fire, till the mix is thick. Now add the ground coconut, cook till it is boiled and take it off from fire. Sprinkle the fenugreek(uluva) podi on top and gently mix.
Tadka the mustard,curry leaves and the dried Chilli in the remaining ghee and pour over the Kalan

I saw Lg's post.. she too has a wonderful kalan recipe
http://injimanga.blogspot.com/2006/05/ethakka-kaalan-plantain-in-curd.html

6 comments:

Vineela said...

Hi IC,
i read this recipe once in hawkins pressure cooker cookbook in kerala dishes.
never tried but i feel to try it.i like yam but my hubby dont like.So never tried it after marriage.
Hope to follow your recipe one day.
Vineela

archana said...

Haa Haa Haa , International Kalan Day!!! I just visited LG's blog. Atleast this seem to be one recipe, where all of us agree on the basic ingradients.
Archana

Sumitha said...

Hi Immigrant,
have posted a recipe for pachakka/plantain thoran,you can serve it for your onamsadya!LOL

reshma said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
reshma said...

ivide oru sadhya orukkam aanallee? i went through all the posts and now am craving for a real sadhya ...you know the curries being served one after the other on the banana leaf while you sit in front of it so impatient to dig in and the aromas from the curries and payasams drive you crazy! food can be so nostalgia-inducing eh? your posts took me to half a worl away that my previous comment was in a language i couldn't read;)

Sarah said...

Vineela: try it..you won't regret.When i came back to Kerala after eating all the half cooked veg at the chinese shops, i couldn't eat any of the mallu food.. Now..I wonder how i would live without my coconut oil and spicy food!!

Archanat: athu thanne.. IKD!!

Sumitha: I am saving your blog link for the thoran session

Ann: i checked the link. Thanks

Reshama: even in the sadya, we have so many variations.. so I hope to finish this before the onam!! and yes..sadya can take you home. My big sister visited Kerala, 2 yrs ago because she felt nostalgic and wanted to eat sadya for onam.. She didn't look too happy, when she found that my loving family members organized and booked the sadya at a hotel!!!