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Ethapazha pachadi / Plantain cooked in coconut jaggery gravy and Vendakka kichadi/Okra in yogurt gravy

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According to us, as people from southern Kerala, pachadi is curry made of jaggery and usually with fruits like mango, pineapple, ripe plantain and some time even tomato. It is a sweet curry which contains all 4 tastes like sour, sweet, spicy and salty. Whereas Kichadi is the curry in which we grind mustard seeds along with coconut and green chilies and usually made with okra, bitter gourd and cucumber. I don’t know how authentic is my interpretations. I used to eat like this, so from my eating experience I have drawn a conclusion like this. Pachadi and kichadi are important thodu curries (meaning taste only in small amount) in the sadya.
Amma used to make pachadi only during festivals. Kichadi was on our menu on a regular basis, and was also made during festivals. This vishu I made both dishes. I was supposed to buy fresh okra from the grocery store; however, I was upset with its high price for a moment and forgot to put it in my cart so left without okra. When I decide to make kichadi it was too late to go back to the store and had to be satisfied with frozen okra in my freezer. The dish came out tasty still I prefer fresh ones for this dish. 
For pachadi also the same story, pineapples are at times expensive. Also we had bought pineapple for last the two weeks and were almost getting bored with them. So those were out of question, so I decided to make with mango. When I cut the first mango it was not fully ripe, so they were also out the game. Now left with only choice, of my favorite ripe plantains. So I made pachadi with them. 
One thing about sadya menu is if you taste each dish, each should taste differently. Most of them are made grinding with simple ingredients, like coconut, cumin and green chilies. Some time ginger and mustard seeds.
Here goes the recipe it is really easy sure try at least once. For me  all dishes in sadya bring out nostalgic memories.

For Ethapazham Pachadi

What you need

Ripe Plantain/Ethapazham: 1 no
Coconut grated : ¼ cup
Cumin seeds: ½ teaspoon
Green chili : 1 no
Turmeric: ⅛ teaspoon
Water: ¼ cup + 2 cup
Yougurt: 1 tablespoon
Jaggery: 1 teaspoon (Increase the amount if you want more sweetness)
Oil : 1 tablespoon
Salt: ¼ teaspoon
Red chili: 1 no ( halves into two)

How I made

Wash and cut plantain into 4 pieces of 4 inch chunks.
In a medium sauce pan boil 2 cups of water and add the plantain pieces and cook them with salt and turmeric powder for about 15 minutes or until well done. Switch off the flame and keep aside.
Grind coconut, cumin seeds, green chili and yogurt with ¼ cup water into fine paste. And keep aside.
Mash the cooked plantain using a potato masher or put in food processor and spin for a minute. I mashed thoroughly if you wish leave little bit chunks there.
In a medium sauce pan add mashed plantain and ground coconut piece and jaggery and cook for about 2 minutes or until everything combined well. Do a taste test, if need add salt or spices.
In a small pan heat oil and add mustard seeds and halved red chili, curry leaves if using. Switch off the flame once mustard seeds start spluttering and add this mixture over to cooked plantain coconut mixture. 
Enjoy warm with rice and curries.

Preparation time: 25 minutes
Yield: 4 serving
Verdict: Tasty
Will you make it again: I will for my feast.

Vendakka kichadi/ Okra kichadi

Okra: 1 cup ( I used frozen ones chopped finely )
Yogurt: ¼ cup
Oil: 3 tablespoon
Salt: ¼ teaspoon or to taste
Mustard seeds: ¾ teaspoon
Green chili: 1 no
Red chili: 1 no
Coconut grated: ¼ cup
Water: ¼ cup

How I made

Thaw, wash and dry the okra using a kitchen towel. If you are using fresh ones wash and chop into ½ inch thin rounds. Skip the drying part.

Heat oil (Keep aside 1 teaspoon) in a sauce pot and fry the okra till they become crisp and brown in sides. It takes about 10-15 minutes. Remove them using a slotted spoon and drain the excess oil using a kitchen towel.
In the mean time grind coconut, ½ teaspoon mustard seeds, green chili and yogurt along with water to form a fine paste. ( You can skip adding water if you want really thick gravy ) .

In a medium sauce pot add 1 teaspoon, add rest of mustard seeds, halved red chili and curry leaves if using. Once mustard seeds start spluttering add ground coconut-yogurt mixture and salt. Simmer it for 3 minutes
Then add crispy okra to the coconut yogurt mixture and mix everything. Cook another 8 minutes with lid closed so that spices gets combined well.

Enjoy with rice and other curries.

Preparation time: 25 minutes
Yield: 4 serving
Verdict: yummy
Will you make it again: Making more often.

Swathi

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  1. Sharmilee! :) says

    Vendaka pachadi sounds tasty!

    Reply

  2. munchcrunchandsuch says

    Hi my first time here and straight, I was drooling @ the naadan dishes.

    Reply

  3. Jay says

    Tempting n healthy dishes. Loved the colorful shots Swathi. You r very talented yaar.

    Reply

  4. Life is beautiful!!! says

    Ethapazham is one of our favourite. Presentation is very beautiful.

    Reply

  5. Gulmohar says

    Love both 🙂 ithillathe enthu sadya,alle?

    Reply

  6. Panchpakwan says

    Both the dishes looks yumm..

    Reply

  7. Hamaree Rasoi says

    First of all please convey my belated b'day wishes to your little princess .

    Both these dishes are new to me, looks tasty

    Deepa
    Hamaree Rasoi

    Reply

  8. Hari Chandana says

    yummy recipes.. thanks for sharing dear... awesome clicks!!

    Reply

  9. SathyaSridhar says

    Both the recipe looks soo delicious dear,,i tasted only okra kichdi sure will try once with banana.

    Reply

  10. Sushma Mallya says

    Both the dishes looks delicious,loved both of them...and new to me too...thanks for sharing swathi

    Reply

  11. Ann says

    Awesome, curry looks so yumm! and My belated b'day wishes to her!

    Reply

  12. SpicyTasty says

    Hi Swathi,
    Both dishes are new to me..looks gr8..

    Reply

  13. Cool Lassi(e) says

    Both the pachadi and Kichadi are looking great. If you ask me which one I like best, I will go with the Pachadi. It looks fabulous.

    Reply

  14. Rachana Kothari says

    Both the dishes are so tempting...especially the okra chutney 🙂

    Reply

  15. divya says

    Both dishes looks very yummy.

    Reply

  16. simply.food says

    Its amazing there is such avariety o dishes around loving all these south Indian dishes.Never cooked in this way before.

    Reply

  17. Kiran says

    Plantain chutney and Okra yogurt chutney look awesome.I too make these chutney's but yours are new variations to mine.

    Reply

  18. Sook says

    The yogurt gravy sounds fantastic! Yum!

    Reply

  19. Preeti Kashyap says

    I make both of them and they look so yummy and perfect!

    Reply

  20. Jagruti says

    Hey Swathi
    this dishes are new to me, looks tempting and delicious!! now days learning a lots of new dishes..

    Reply

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