A 'naaluvattom' sadya is prepared for Vishu. The curries are Manga Kaalan, Olan with ash gourd pumpkin, long beans and red gram either cooked in coconut milk or more typically, seasoned with plain raw coconut oil and green chillies. Chakka Erishery, made of jackfruit, is a very tasty preparation. Then comes the sambar. Here are some ideas for the naaluvattom curries:
Manga Kaalan:
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Small, ripe, local mangoes, like chandrakaaran – 12 nos
Yogurt – 2 cups
Grated coconut – 1
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Cumin – half tsp
Green chillies – 6
Turmeric – 1 tsp
Red chilli powder – 1 and a half tsp
Curry leaves – a handful
Coconut oil for mustard seasoning – 1 dessert spoonful
Mustard seeds – 1 tbsp
Dry red chillies – 3-4
Fenugreek seeds – half to 1 tsp
Curry leaves – 2-3 stalks
Salt – To taste
Method
Remove the skin of the mangoes leaving the ripe, pulpy, fleshy seed intact. Boil the mangoes with a sprinkling of salt, turmeric powder, red chilli powder and curry leaves until cooked. Grind the coconut (grated), cumin and green chillies well to a smooth paste. Tip in the ground coconut paste and let it heat up. Stir well. Add the yogurt which is not sour. When heated through, remove from flame and pour in the mustard seasoning, frying the fenugreek after the dry red chillies and topping with the curry leaf segments.
Olan:
Ingredients
Ash gourd – half (sliced in triangles)
Red gram – 1 cup
Long beans – 1 big handful, cut in 1” slices
Green chillies – 4
Raw coconut oil – 4 tbsp
Curry leaves – 2 sprigs
Method
Boil the red gram till well-cooked, but firm. Boil the vegetables in three cups of water, salt, green chillies, curry leaves until these are finely cooked. Thereupon, add the raw coconut oil and remove from flame. Serve hot! Note: You can add pumpkin which enhances the flavour.
Chakka Erishery:
Ingredients
Jackfruit (Varikya Chakka) – 4 cups of lobes
Jackfruit seeds – 1-2 cups
Grated coconut – 1 small coconut
Cumin – 1 tsp
Coconut oil – 1 dessert spoonful
Mustard seeds – 1 tbsp
Dry red chillies – 2-3
Curry leaves – 3-4 stalks
Method
Clean and sort the jackfruit . Slice each cleaned lobe and seed into 2-3 pieces. In four cups water, salt and curry leaves, boil these until well-cooked. Add the smoothly ground coconut-cumin paste. Now do the mustard tempering, in hot coconut oil, pop the mustard seeds, fry the dry red chillies and the curry leaves. Pour this into the curry. Serve hot and fresh. Sambar can be prepared in the usual style, for 6 people. Usually, the payasam is that of jackfruit, made from the previously prepared jackfruit compote.
Jackfruit Payasam:
Ingredients
Chakka Varattiyathe – Three-fourth -1 kg
Coconut milk – of 4 coconuts (third, second and first extracts)
Dry ginger powder – 2-4 tbsp
Ghee – half cup
Coconut slivers – 1cup
Method
Fry the coconut slivers in ghee until fragrant, deep golden and roasted. In open fire, in a large uruli, or heavy bottomed bell-metal vessel, this payisam is prepared. First, dissolve the third extract with the paste jackfruit seasoned paste until fully incorporated. Keep this on fire. When it starts to boil, add the second extract of coconut. Once it boils and thickens, add the dry ginger powder and the coconut milk. Once it is heated through, add the ghee-roasted coconut slivers. Serve steaming hot.