No people have been more appreciative of the culinary possibilities of rice than the people from India. Biryani, bhats, pongal and pulao are some of the many well known rice preparations. Then there is Pulihora.

Pulihora is a celebration of the south-Indian penchant for rather sour flavors. In pulihora, the rice says no to baser onion, garlic and garam masala, and gets bridal. The aromatic, individually cooked rice grains are adorned with turmeric tadka in attractive yellow -the traditional symbol of joy and happiness, and absorbed in sourly sweet agents from nature. This flavorful dish is a must have on south Indian festival days and special occasions. There are several variations of pulihora depending on the sour agent. Common and crowd favorites are pulihoras prepared with grated unripe mango, tamarind pulp and lemon juice.

Today’s recipe is inspired by mango pulihora. I added little bit of carrot for sweet touch. Mango and carrot with rice, it was a delicious levels of flavor. This is the mango season. Just the right time for pulihora.

Grated, Unripe Mango

Mango-Carrot Pulihora
(for 2 to 4, for 2 to 1 meal)

Recipe:
2 cups sona masuri or basmati rice
1 firm, unripe mango
1 small carrot
Wash the rice in water, then soak in 4 cups of water for at least 15 minutes.
Lightly peel the skins of mango and carrot. Grate with a grater or in a food processor. We need about two cups of grated unripe mango and a cup of grated carrot.

For Turmeric Tadka:
2 tablespoons, peanut oil
1 tablespoon, chana dal and urad dal
1 tablespoon, finely chopped green chilli
1 sprig of fresh curry leaves (10 to 12 curry leaves)
2 tablespoons, roasted, unsalted shelled peanuts (or cashews)
1/4 teaspoon, turmeric
Pinch each – cumin seeds, mustard seeds and hing

1. In a large, heavy pan, add the rice and the water it soaked in. On medium heat, cook until the rice is tender but still firm, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.

2. In a large, heavy wide pan, heat peanut oil over medium heat. When oil is hot, add one after another, from big to small, the ingredients listed in turmeric tadka in that order. Constantly stirring toast them to red and to fragrance. When you see mustard seeds pop, then add the mango and carrot gratings to the skillet. Sprinkle half teaspoon of salt or to taste. Stir and saute for about five minutes on medium-low heat. This is done to remove the mango and carrot rawness.

3. Add mango-carrot mixture to cooked rice. Gently mix well. Serve warm. Sour and sweet, mango-carrot pulihora makes a tasty one-dish meal.

Mango~Carrot Pulihora ~ Meal on a Rainy Day

“Keeping your body healthy is an expression of gratitude to the whole cosmos: the plants, the clouds, everything.” An old proverb says. Here is a hope that this north Indian kadi inspired recipe will contribute to the cause. Garden fresh green bell peppers are cooked with moong bean sprouts in dahi sauce. The cooling dahi sauce provides an interesting and characteristically North-Indian contrast to somewhat earthy bell peppers. This nutritious and easy to prepare recipe can be served as a main course accompanied with rice or roti.

Bean Sprouts with Bell Peppers
(for 2 to 4 for 2 to 1 meal)

Recipe:
2 cups moong bean sprouts
4 bell peppers, remove the end&seeds and chop to chunks, 2 cups
1 semi ripe tomato, finely chopped, 1/2 cup
1 small onion or shallot, finely chopped, 1/2 cup
1 cup, dahi (Indian yogurt)
1 tablespoon besan (gram flour, chickpea flour)
1/2 teaspoon each – salt, red chilli powder and garam masala powder
1/4 teaspoon – turmeric
1/4 cup, finely chopped fresh cilantro leaves for garnish

for Kasuri methi Tadka:
1 tablespoon peanut oil
1 tablespoon kasuri methi
pinch each- cumin and methi seeds

1. In a large skillet, heat peanut oil. When oil is hot, add and toast kasuri methi, cumin and methi seeds in that order to fragrance.

2. Add onion, tomato, bell pepper one after another and saute until softened, about ten minutes.

3. Add moong sprouts and salt, chilli, garam masala powder and turmeric. Pour about half cup of water. Mix well. Cover the skillet and steam-saute until the moong sprouts are soft and tender.

4. In a cup, take dahi and add besan flour. Mix them well without any lumps.

5. Reduce the heat to low. Stir a little of this dahi-besan mix into the subji, then gradually add the entire mixture. Simmer on low heat for about two minutes. Turn off the heat. Garnish with cilantro leaves. Serve warm.

Bean Sprouts with Bell Peppers ~ For Meal Today

One other vegetable I brought from weekends Canino farmer’s market trip was baby red potatoes. They were so tiny, round and fresh, I just couldn’t resist their cute appeal. Half of them went into a weekend special meal Dum Aloo. With the remaining ones, I prepared pudina potatoes for today’s meal. This new recipe is inspired by village style methi aloo. The combination of pudina and potato might sound odd, but wait until you try it. Pudina’s strong herbal flavor lends a charming personality to potatoes making pudina potatoes a pleasure to serve and have.

Homegrown Pudina (Spearmint)

Pudina Potatoes
(for 2 to 4 for 2 to 1 meal)

Potatoes: Place 10 tiny red potatoes in a large pot or pressure cooker. Add enough water to cover by at least half inch. Bring to boil and cook the potatoes to tender. Drain. Cool and peel the skin. Set aside.

Pudina: While potatoes are cooking, take a fistful of fresh pudina leaves. Wash and take them in a mixer or mortar. Add 2 to 3 fresh green chillies, a tablespoon of fresh grated coconut and a pinch of salt. Blend them to coarse paste without adding water.

Pudina Potatoes:

In a large, cast-iron skillet over medium heat, heat a tablespoon of peanut oil. Add a pinch each-cumin and mustard seeds and saute to fragrance. Add a cup of thinly sliced onions and fry to golden.
Add the potatoes. Sprinkle the pudina paste, quarter teaspoon of turmeric and half teaspoon of salt over the top and mix well. Cook on medium heat for about five minutes, stirring occasionally.
Serve hot.

Pudina Potatoes makes a tasty side dish to rice, roti or pasta with dal, dahi or subji combination.

Pudina Potatoes ~ for Meal Today

An authentic Andhra dish to be eaten with Sona Masuri rice or sorghum roti, this superb recipe came with high recommendation from Lakshmi chinnamma. She has been following my vegetable harvest updates and when she saw the fresh and familiar brinjals, she highly recommended I cook this recipe and I did. What a joy it was to rediscover the forgotten taste. Chinnamma, you are my muse, thank you.

Brinjal Cilantro (Vankaya Kottimera Kura)
(for one or two meals for four to two)

8 palm-length, fresh and firm pinkish mauve colored brinjals
2 cups, finely chopped fresh cilantro leaves
4 green chilli, Indian or Thai variety, finely chopped
1 tablespoon, grated fresh ginger
1/4 teaspoon, turmeric
1/2 teaspoon, salt or to taste

For tadka: 1 tablespoon, peanut oil and
from masala dabba: tadka ingredients (cumin, mustard seeds and few fresh curry leaves)

Brinjal: Fill a bowl to half with water. Add a teaspoon of salt and mix.
Remove the ends and cut the brinjals lengthwise thinly and then crosswise to about one-inch length pieces. Drop the pieces into salted water. This old-Bharath technique is to prevent brinjal bitter-browning.

Cilantro: Take cilantro leaves, chillies and ginger in a mixer or mortar. Add a pinch of salt and blend them to coarse paste. (Or, if you prefer, skip this step and add the three ingredients as they are.)

Brinjal-Cilantro: Place a wide skillet on stove-top and heat. Add oil and when oil is hot, add and toast curry leaves, a pinch each – cumin and mustard seeds to fragrance. Add brinjal pieces. Sprinkle turmeric and salt. Cover the skillet partially and cook the brinjal pieces to soft on medium heat. Add the cilantro paste at the end. Stir-fry for few minutes until the home is filled with wonderful cilantro scent.

Serve Vankaya Kottimera Kura warm with rice or roti and dal or dahi. Soft brinjal pieces with rich, jari like cilantro accent taste spicily silk. Imagine an edible Dharmavaram silk. This could be it.

Vankaya Kottimera Kura ~ For Meal Today

In a culture where the pride of the garden is mango and spices rule the kitchen, mango aavakaaya is a prayer answered for heavenly meals. South Indian people around the world prepare aavakaaya during summer time, wherever green, unripe mangoes are available. This centuries-old culinary tradition has roots in Andhra Pradesh. Aava means mustard in Telugu and the pickle prepared with mustard base is called Aavakaaya. This is a much-loved pickle in many families and traditional bhojanam would always have mango aavakaaya as part of the meal. Words really do not do justice to describe the aavakaaya taste; I think one must have to experience the exquisite flavor of this culinary royalty.

Aavakaaya is all natural ingredients and easy to make at home. Prepare it with fresh ingredients, add enough salt and keep the pickle making area and vessels dry and moisture free. Follow these pickle precautions for successful tradition of aavakaaya. The most difficult thing is finding green mangoes, particularly if you live in the US. Green mangoes are unripe mangoes plucked prematurely in their earlier stage of growth. Green, unblemished skin, hard and crisp flesh with mouth puckering sour taste – this type of green mango is optimal for aavakaaya.

Mango Aavakaaya
(Makes about 75 oz Aavakaaya)

Ingredients needed:
We need 8 ingredients for basic aavakaaya preparation

4 large green mangoes (about 9 cups cut mangoes)
1 cup, red chilli powder
1 to 1+quarter cups, sea salt or iodine free salt
1/2 teaspoon, turmeric

3/4 cup, mustard seeds (aavaalu)
1/4 cup, methi seeds (menthi)
2 cups sesame oil, Indian variety
1/4 teaspoon, hing (inguva)

Green Mangoes:
1. Pick rock-hard green mangoes with unblemished skin. Wash under water and then dry with a clean cloth. Make sure they are completely dry and do not peel the skin.
2. On a clean, dry cutting board, with a dry, sharp knife, slice the mango through the center going from top to bottom. The inner stone covering the seed in green mangoes have not had a chance to harden completely so we can actually cut right through the seedstone with a sharp knife. Discard the seed. (Seed is not edible, remove it completely.)
3. Cut the mango into slices, with the stone wall included and then cut the slices into 1/2 inch dice.
4. Take the mango slices in a big and dry stainless steel or ceramic bowl. Sprinkle with red chilli powder, salt and turmeric. With a wooden spoon, gently mix well. Set aside. Do not cover the bowl.

Aavakaaya Base:
Aavakaaya Powder: Heat a cast-iron kadai or skillet. When skillet is hot, add first methi seeds and then mustard seeds. Roast them on low heat for couple of minutes, stirring constantly to fragrance. Turn off the heat and cool the ingredients. Take them in a mixer, grind to fine powder. This is aavakaaya powder.
Aavakaaya Oil: In the same skillet that was used for aavakaaya powder, pour sesame oil. Warm the oil on moderate heat. Add hing and gently mix. Turn off the heat. Cool the oil. This is now aavakaaya oil. We could also add peeled garlic cloves to prepare garlic aavakaaya variety.

Mango Aavakaaya:
Add aavakaaya powder and aavakaaya oil over mango pieces. Gently mix well. Transfer the pickle to a clean, dry, wide mouthed ceramic or glass jar with a non-corrosive lid. Close loosely and place the jar on the kitchen countertop where air circulates freely. Mix once a day with a wooden spoon for a week.

Within hours, mango pieces start to take in the aavakaaya powder and oil. As a result, volume also reduces. Aavakaaya keep maturing with time and the mango pieces become from just sour to a potent combination of hot-salty sour with mustard-methi pungency mixed in.

Mango Aavakaaya will keep for several months to a year without refrigeration.

Amazing Aavakaaya:
Mango aavakaaya may be eaten within 2 days of making it, though it continues to mellow with time. For daily meals, what we do is take small portions from the main jar into a small cup or jar. In this way, the main pickle source won’t get disturbed daily and the chance of spoil would be less.

Mix few pieces of mango aavakaaya with hot, cooked rice, any kind of dal and warm ghee. Combine the four well. Make small, round sized portions (mudda). Enjoy the mango aavakaaya mudda!

Green Mangoes with Unblemished Skin For Mango Aavakaaya

Slice the mangoes lengthwise, cutting through the Mango Seedstone.

Discard the Seed and Slice the Mango, About 1/4-inch Thickness

Cut the Mango Slices to 1/2-inch Dice

Prepare Aavakaaya Powder (Methi-Mustard Powder)

Mix Mangoes with Aavakaaya Powder, Chilli Powder, Salt and Turmeric

Add Aavakaaya Oil to Mango Pieces and Mix Well.

Store the Mango Aavakaaya in a Jar

Mango Aavakaaya Bhojanam ~ An Andhra Experience

Aavakaaya is our cherished culinary heritage. I feel fortunate to prepare it at home and share it with you here on Mahanandi.

Notes:
for 7 big mangoes, for 13 cups cut mango –
1+1/2 cups each – sea salt, chilli powder and mustard powder, 1/4 cup of methi powder and 2 cups of sesame oil.

I left some of the harvested cherry tomatoes on the kitchen counter. Waited a week. When they ripened to deep red, soft to touch stage, I prepared one of my favorite tomato recipes, the traditional tomato-garlic rasam of Nandyala. The rasam has all the usual and lovable characters- the ripe tomatoes, garlic and Indian spices and no gimmicky substances like store-bought stock, ‘enriched’ flour or loads of butter. One thing the rasam demands is that we put some energy into it. No machines, just using our God-given hands. For the effort, the tomatoes richly reward us with their bold, exquisite essence making the rasam tasting a memorable experience.

Homegrown Cherry Tomatoes

Tomato Garlic Rasam from Nandyala
(for 2 to 4 meal portions)

Prepare the rasam only with burst on touch, water balloon like very ripe tomatoes.

Tomatoes: Take 10 very ripe cherry tomatoes or 2 vine-ripe tomatoes in a big bowl. Chop them coarsely into the bowl. Add a tablespoon of tamarind pulp and a fistful of fresh cilantro leaves. Add a cup of water. Using your clean hand, gently squeeze the ingredients together to extract the juicy essence. Pull up a chair, sit and patiently do it at least for five minutes to bring out the best. Pour the juice through a filter into a bowl, repeat the process one more time and discard the squeezed out pulp.

Garlic : In a mortar, (no blenders, please) take a peeled, plump garlic clove. Add 4 cloves, a tablespoon of coriander seeds, quarter teaspoon each – cumin seeds and black peppercorn. With a pestle, crush the ingredients to smooth paste without adding any water.

Tomato-Garlic Rasam: Heat a teaspoon of peanut oil in a vessel. Add and toast a sprig of curry leaves, a pinch of cumin seeds to fragrance. Add the tomato juice from step 1 and garlic-spice paste from step 2. Sprinkle a quarter teaspoon each- turmeric and salt. Stir in a tablespoon of crushed jaggery and a cup of water. Mix well. Bring the rasam to boil and then simmer for about five minutes.

Serve the tomato-garlic rasam warm in a bowl. Bursting with tomato essence and in bold red, the rasam is great to sip on its own or to eat with cooked rice.

A Bowl of Tomato-Garlic Rasam ~ for Meal Today

Payala Kura (Purslane) from my Garden

Last March, I planted some seeds expecting edible amaranth plants. But then came in abundance, pleasant looking plants with plump leaves and tiny yellow flowers. The leaves in size and shape resembled methi but they are much thicker. I couldn’t identify them for sure, so I called my amma(mom) and described the plant in detail. Amma said, “Indira, you have payala kura. It’s an old-time leafy vegetable, tasty and good for skin and eye health. Remember, payala kura pappu (dal), kura(curry) and chutney I make. You used to like it.”

Last time I had payala kura was at Nandyala, at my mom’s home, almost 15 years ago. So finding it here is definitely a delightful surprise. There is some very good information about this native to India plant, and could be found on Google search. Just type payala kura (Telugu) or Purslane (English). I also realized I had these greens growing all along in between the flower bushes. Here it was, a tiny plant, promising a wealth of health, but treated like a no-value weed. I wonder why sometimes we tend to overlook the best that is readily available and right in front of us.

Following my mom’s suggestion, I made traditional, Telugu vaari payala kura pappu today. Thanks to the sweet-sour taste of payala leaves, the dal came out wonderful, and it tasted better than spinach dal, almost as good as gongura dal.

Payala Pappu (Purslane Dal)
(for 2 or 4, for 2 to 1 meal)

¾ cup, Toor dal
2 cups, tightly packed – Fresh Payala (purslane) leaves and tender stems
1 onion or shallot – coarsely chopped, about a half cup
6 to 8, green chilli, Indian or Thai variety, chopped,
1 tablespoon, tamarind
¼ teaspoon, turmeric

Take toor dal in a pressure-cooker. Rinse well. Add the payala leaves, onion, chilli, tamarind and turmeric. Add about 2 cups of water. Mix. Pressure cook the ingredients to soft. Once all the valve pressure is released, remove the lid. Add half teaspoon of salt. With a wood masher or whisk, gently mix and mash the dal to smooth. You have made the purslane dal. Now the only thing left is, the final touch, the hing (asafetida, inguva) tadka.

For hing tadka: Heat a tablespoon of peanut oil in a vessel. When oil is hot, add a sprig of fresh curry leave, a pinch each- cumin, mustard seeds and hing. Constantly mixing, toast the ingredients to fragrance. Add the dal to this hing tadka. Mix well.

Serve the purslane dal with rice or roti with some curry or papad on the side for a traditional Telugu meal.

Payala Pappu with Kerala Matta Rice ~ for Meal Today

Notes:
Payala Kura in Encyclopedia of Indian Medicine

It is easy to adopt vegetables of foren places to the tried and tested, centuries-old culinary traditions of India. Gently simmered in dal or steam-sauteed in subjis, surrounded by complimentary spice seasoning, Indian recipes highlight vegetables’ inherently good nature without suffocating them with artificial flavors. Example is the following recipe. Here, in this Marathi based, rural popular Zunka recipe, zucchini is quickly stir-fried and seasoned with nutritious besan flour to a vibrant and crisp-cooked end result. I remember an old Bharat saying – “select your ingredients as if they were your future daughter-in-law”. Here it definitely applies and it’s jai ho to zunka when zucchini does not well up with loads of tears at the touch of heat. Yellow is the best for that reason and that’s why I planted yellow zucchini. But if you make it with green, pick young and firm-fleshed green zucchinis for this recipe.

Yellow Zucchini

Zucchini Zunka
(for two meals)

2, young and fresh yellow zucchini
1 red onion or shallot
1/4 cup besan flour
2 garlic cloves
2 dried, red chillies
1 tablespoon, grated dried coconut
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
For tadka: from masala dabba, a pinch each cumin and mustard seeds, few curry leaves and a tablespoon of peanut oil

1: Cut yellow zucchinis to bite-sized pieces. (For young zucchini, skin tend to be thin, so don’t peel the skin.) Finely chop onion to small pieces.
Take besan, garlic, dried red chilli and coconut in a mixer or mortar. Add a pinch of salt and grind the ingredients to fine mix.
Now the prep work is done and on with cooking.

2: Place a cast iron skillet on stove-top. Add and heat oil. When oil is hot, add curry leaves, cumin and mustard seeds and toast to fragrance for couple of seconds. Add onion and saute to soft. Add zucchini pieces and stir-fry over medium high heat for about five minutes until almost cooked but still crisp.

3: Sprinkle the besan mix, salt and turmeric. Turn up the heat slightly and saute for about two minutes. Scoop into a bowl and serve the zucchini zunka warm with chapati or sorghum roti.

Zucchini Zunka ~ for Meal Yesterday

Next year I have to remember how many zucchinis will appear in May, when I plant in March. For now, zucchini will have a culinary journey of its lifetime in my kitchen.

The following is a zucchini experiment, inspired by traditional ponganala recipe of South India.

Zucchini Ponganam ~ for Meal Yesterday

Zucchini Ponganalu
(for 3 to 4 batches)

Ingredients:
3 cups, dosa batter
1 cup, grated yellow zucchini
1/2 cup, finely chopped onions
2 tablespoons, roasted cashew pieces
1 tablespoon, finely chopped green chilli
1/2 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
1/4 teaspoon each – cumin and turmeric
2 tablespoons, finely chopped fresh cilantro leaves
To prepare ponganalu: a well-seasoned ponganalu pan

Method:
In a skillet, heat a tablespoon of peanut oil. Add and toast cumin to fragrance. Add and saute onion, yellow zucchini and green chilli for about five minutes. When they start to get crisp, add cashew pieces, turmeric, salt and cilantro leaves. Stir-fry few seconds and turn off the heat.

Add the skillet contents to dosa batter. Mix well. This is now zucchini ponganala batter.

Heat a ponganala(paniyaram) pan on medium heat. Add spoonful of ponganala batter in each impression. Cook few minutes on each side to golden brown like shown here in photos.

Serve zucchini ponganalu warm with chutney, honey or sambar. They make a tasty snack or filling mini meal.

Because zucchini is being so generous in my garden, I decided to return the favor and treat it royally. I picked two zucchinis. Diced them into bite-sized cubes and added them to rich cashew sauce. Zucchini looked like it was in a state of Zen, and that made us happy. This is a good zucchini recipe for those of you who would like to avoid tomatoes but still like to indulge in sauces.

Cubed Zucchini in Cashew Sauce

Ingredients:
2 young and tender, yellow zucchini, cubed to bite-sized pieces
1 small red onion or shallot, finely chopped
1/2 cup crowder peas fresh or frozen (or any beans you prefer) for protein
1 tablespoon, peanut oil
1/4 teaspoon each – turmeric, salt and chilli powder (or to taste)

For cashew sauce:
2 tablespoons, roasted, unsalted cashew pieces
1 teaspoon each – coriander seeds and cumin seeds
4 cloves and half inch piece of cinnamon
1/2 x 1/2 inch piece ginger
Blend the above ingredients to smooth paste in a blender or mortar.

Method:
In a saucepan or skillet, heat oil.
Do the tadka (toast a pinch each cumin and mustard seeds).
Add onion and saute to soft.
Add zucchini and the peas.
Add the cashew paste and also turmeric, salt and chilli powder. Add about half cup water. Mix well.
Cover and cook for about ten minutes. Do not over-cook. Zucchini should remain crisp and tender.
Serve as a side vegetable for chapati or rice or with upma or dosa.

Yellow Zucchini in Cashew Sauce with Dosa ~ Meal on the Weekend

Green beans and green peas combination is a south-Indian marriage made in garden heaven. The gentle sweetness of plump peas pairs well with herbal flavor of vibrant green beans. Traditional fresh coconut – chilli seasoning at the end ties up everything beautifully, and beckons us to bless the lovely bean-pea poriyal couple. So common at home and in restaurant buffets, yet surprisingly delightful when prepared with fresh ingredients. It’s no wonder, green beans-green peas combination remains a beloved classic in Indian cookery.

Green Beans with Green Peas
(for two to four, for four to two meals)

Ingredients:
Fresh and young green beans, about a pound
Freshly shelled green peas, about 2 cups
Red onion or shallot, 1 medium-sized one
Freshly grated coconut, about 2 tablespoons
Indian or Thai variety green chillies – 5
Turmeric and salt, about 1/2 teaspoon each or to taste
For curry leaf tadka: 1 sprig fresh curry leaves, pinch each cumin and mustard seeds
1 tablespoon peanut oil

Method:
1. Trim the ends and cut green beans to half-inch length pieces. Finely chop onion.

2. Take coconut and green chilli in a mixer. Add a pinch of salt and blend the ingredients to fine without adding water.

3. In a wide skillet, heat peanut oil. When oil is hot, add and toast curry leaves, cumin and mustard seeds to fragrance. Add onion and saute to soft brown. Add green beans and green peas. Mix. Cover the skillet and cook the beans, until they are soft but still have some crunch left. Just before turning off the heat, sprinkle coconut-green chilli paste, turmeric and salt. Combine well. Saute five more minutes and remove the skillet from heat.

4. Serve green beans-green peas poriyal warm with rice and dal or with chapati. Makes a tasty topping on dosas, pesarattus and pasta.

From Garden to Table ~ Green Beans and Green Peas Poriyal

A gentle flavor with sweet undertone makes spinach sprouts one of my favorite curries. Tender spinach moistens the moong sprouts as they cook in this recipe.

Spinach with Sprouts

Ingredients:
1 bunch of fresh spinach
1 cup moong sprouts
1 red onion or shallot
2 green chillies, Indian or Thai variety
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1 tablespoon, freshly grated coconut
For cumin tadka: 1 tablespoon of peanut oil, 1/4-teaspoon of cumin seeds

Method:
Trim away the spinach roots and finely chop the fresh leaves and tender stems.
Finely chop onion and green chillies.

In a deep-bottomed skillet set over medium heat, heat a tablespoon of peanut oil. Add cumin and saute to fragrance. Add onion and green chillies. Stir-fry to soft-brown. Add the sprouts and spinach. Partially cover the pan and cook, until the leaves have collapsed. Sprinkle turmeric, salt and coconut. Mix well and continue cooking for another two minutes. Serve hot.

Spinach&sprouts is a great workout vratham food and I usually have it as it is without rice or roti. But I know that spinach&sprouts make a nice side dish to dal and rice or roti and a tasty filler for samosas and kachoris.

Spinach Sprouts ~ Getting Ready for Kay’s Workout Vratham