Choriyanam dishes

 

 

 Choriyanam is a medicinal plant. The white small stings on the leaves and stems make itchiness in our hands and body if touched. Choriyanam is having other names, kodithoova, aanathoova etc. in Malayalam. In English it is known as Indian stinging nettle. Belongs to Euphorbiacece family. The botanical name is Tragia involucrata. This plant is having great medicinal properties and used largely in Ayurveda. The leaves are rich in vitamins, calcium and potassium. Relieves cough and cold. Beneficial for treating disorders in urinary tract and bladder.

The cooking of choriyanam leaves is having great importance in the Malayalam month

 

‘Karkkadakam’ that falls from 16th July to 16th 

August. 

Great care to take in plucking and chopping the leaves to avoid itching. It itches the top of the hands. Palms won’t get itchy. Rubbing the hands with coconut oil relieves itching. Uproot the choriyanam plants, cut of the roots. Soak the plants in a bucket of water for 5 minutes. Wash it for 3-4 times. Allow to drain the excess water. With a scissor cut the leaves and remove the stems and older leaves. Roll a bunch of leaves and cut with scissors or chop on a cutting board. Keep aside. 

Just like normal thoran ( coconut stir fry) this thoran is to cook. Heat oil in a shallow pan, drop in mustard seeds followed by broken dried red chilli pieces, drop in the chopped onion and garlic, sauté till tender, add chopped choriyanam leaves, add salt, turmeric and chilli powders, mix well and cook for 3 minutes in low flame. Add the grated coconut and cumin powder, combine well and allow to remain in the low flame for 2 more minutes. Dish is ready. Serve with hot rice, pickles and yogurt.

 

Other ingredients 

Onion 1, garlic cloves 7, both finely chopped,

Grated coconut 1/4 cup,

Coconut oil 2 tsp.,

Mustard seeds 1/4 tsp.,

Turmeric powder 1/3 tsp., 

Chilli powder 1/2 tsp.,

Cumin powder 1/3 tsp.,

Salt to taste.

Preparation 

Continuation to my previous post above the other dishes I prepared in this ‘Karkkidakom’ last month of Malayalam calendar are Choriyanam parippu thoran, Choriyanam parippu curry, Choriyanam egg stir fry and Choriyanam leaves with other edible leaves such as pumpkin, pulses, spinach green and red , ash gourd, taro, elephant foot yam etc. stir fry.

In parippu curry and stir fry the additional ingredient is cooked yellow split peas. In egg stir fry eggs are to be added.

My personal experience it is so good for gut health. Relieves constipation, eases digestion. It is rich in fibre too. The only hardest part is cleaning and preparing the leaves to cook. I have added step by step pics above.

Hibiscus flower omelette

Hibiscus flowers are rich in antioxidants. It is anti inflammatory Good for heart and liver health. Helps in bringing down blood pressure and blood sugar levels. Those who are having low blood pressure may avoid this.

Preparation 

Two eggs, onion 1, green chilli 2, hibiscus flower 2, petals only needed, salt to taste and coconut oil to make the omelette.

Finely chop the onion and chilli. Break the eggs into a bowl, add onion and chilli, whisk it, add salt to taste, add the roughly chopped petals, mix well. Heat a pan, pour a tsp. oil, allow , pour the egg mix and prepare the omelette. Serve it hot with rice or chapatti or as a mid time meal.

 

Hibiscus flower water

Do you love to drink boiled water. For a change go for the hibiscus flower water. Usually the water is boiled with cumin and coriander seeds or cardamom or cinnamon or nutmeg mace or any herbs like that it goes on. 

Preparation 

The hibiscus is from our own garden.

Boil the water, when it is boiling off the flame and add the flower petals. Cover with a lid. Allow to settle down for 15 minutes. Strain it and ready to drink. You can add lime juice and honey. That’s optional. I love to have this simple pink drink. 

I used one flower, that is 5 petals for a glass of water. This is optional. If you like to adjust the colour of your hibiscus flower water then go for it by adding 2-5 petals. It’s packed with antioxidants .

 

Hibiscus flower squash

Hibiscus flowers are packed with antioxidants. This sweet drink is prepared with fresh flowers.

It is so simple to prepare and delicious to drink. It is highly refreshing.

Preparation 

Collect the flowers fresh. Wash it and allow to drain. Remove the petals from the flowers and keep aside. For sweetness jaggery is added. Boil the required jaggery in a little water, strain it and add the syrup into a litre of water along with 3 cloves and allow to boil. When it is boiling high, add the petals and off the flame. Cover the pan with a lid. Allow to cool down. Strain it. Add lime juice and basil seeds. This drink helps to enhance immunity and to loss weight. 

This can be refrigerated and serve if you prefer a cold drink. 

Thank you Mrs. Geetha Unni, my lovely friend, for sharing the recipe. This inspired me to prepare a herbal beverage with fresh flowers.

Mushroom stir fry

Mushrooms are the power house of protein. Don’t leave any edible mushrooms you finds in your homestead. From my young years I have seen my dad back with mushrooms from our land. So I know to identify the good ones. The one with white gills falls in the edible section. But not all, so care should be taken before cooking. After cleaning the mushrooms, soak it in turmeric water. If any discolouration happens discard them.

I got simply 8 mushrooms and it turned into a delicious stir fry with grated coconut.

Preparation 

After cleaning the mushrooms chop it. 

Onion 1, garlic cloves 4, green chilli 1, all chopped,

Turmeric & cumin powders a pinch each,

Grated coconut 2 tbsp.

Heat coconut oil in a shallow pan, drop in mustard seeds, allow to crackle, drop in broken dried red chilli pieces followed by onion and garlic, sauté till tender, add salt, turmeric and cumin powder, chopped mushrooms. Combine well. Allow to cook for 2-3 minutes, add the coconut, mix well. Stir fry ready. Serve with rice or chapatti.

Protein idli with lentils

Idli is always a healthy food. When lentils and grams are added in the batter it becomes super healthy.

Good for all ages. Easily digestible. If served with Bengal gram curry it becomes a little bit heavy, delicious and nutritious. 

Take the idli cooker, brush oil on the idli stand and pour the batter on it. Steam cook the idli for 7-10 minutes. Run a tooth pick into the idli. If it comes out clean, idli is cooked. Allow to cool down. Take out the idli. Serve with Bengal gram potato curry for a change. The common side dishes are sambar and chutney. 

How to prepare the batter?

Idli rice 11/2cups,  urd dal 1/2 cup, 

Bengal gram, green gram, yellow split peas 1/4 cup each,

Fenugreek seeds 2 tbsp., 

Wash the ingredients thoroughly and Soak these ingredients for 6 hours. 

Drain out the water and grind it into a smooth batter. Add 7 soaked red chilli and 2 tsp. cumin seeds before finishing the grinding. Keep the batter for 3-4 hours.

Protein Dosa....Super healthy

Idli rice, blackgram ( urd dal) and fenugreek seeds are commonly used in preparing the dosa batter.

In this protein dosa recipe, lentils (grams) are also used to enhance the protein in it. Good for all ages.

Ingredients 

Raw rice ( pachari) 11/2 cups,

Parboiled rice ( puzhukkalari) 1/2 cup,

Blackgram 1/2 cup,

Bengal gram (kadala) , green gram ( cherupayar), yellow split peas ( peas parippu) 1/4 cup each,

Fenugreek seeds 2 tbsp.,

Add all the ingredients in a bowl, wash it thoroughly in water thrice, and soak for 6 hours.  Drain out the water and grind it in a grinder or mixie. Add soaked 7 soaked red chilli and 2 tsp. cumin seeds. Grind to a smooth batter. No need to ferment this batter. After 2 hours dosa can be made. The leftover batter if any can be refrigerated for 2-3 days maximum and use. Heat a dosa tawa and prepare the dosa. Take a ladleful batter, pour on the tawa and circle with the bottom of the ladle. When the bubbles appeared blast out the bottom is cooked, flip over and cook the other side. Drizzle a little sesame oil on the dosa before flipping. It gives the nice flavour to the dosa. 

Serve with coconut chutney. Since the batter is not fermented, adding curd to the chutney will give it a sour taste. That is optional.