Mulakushyam is a mildly spiced curry made with vegetables such as pumpkin, spinach, squash, gourds, etc. (any one of them, usually, and not all together), cooked with lentils and coconut paste.
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Pumpkin Mulakushyam |
I have modified the traditional mulakushyam recipe - done most of the cooking in the microwave and used coconut milk instead of fresh coconut paste. It tastes a bit different from the usual version but is much easier to make and would work if you have no access to fresh coconuts and/or a blender.
Step I:
- 1 cup of cooked tuvar dal (split pigeon peas)
- 1-1/2 cups of pumpkin - 1/2 inch cubes
- 1/2 tsp chili powder (cayenne pepper)
- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder.
Mix in a microwave safe bowl and
cover and cook on 100% power for 10 minutes - time it takes for the pumpkin to cook. Make sure there is enough water for the pumpkin to cook but not much excess. Add about 1 tsp of salt (or to taste) after this step.
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Spiced and ready to go into the microwave. |
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10 minutes later - cooked with hardly any water remaining. |
Step II:
- 1 cup of thick coconut milk.
- 1/2 tsp cumin powder.
- 1/4 tsp black pepper powder.
Add the spice powders and the coconut milk to the cooked lentil and pumpkin mixture. Mix, cook for about 3-5 minutes. The mixture should come to a boil.
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Cooked for 3 minutes (100% power) |
- tempering with oil, dried red chili, mustard seeds, and curry leaves. Heat about 2 tsp oil (I use coconut oil - can substitute with sunflower or canola oil). Add 1/2 tsp mustard seeds. Soon as they start spluttering, add dried red chilies and curry leaves. Add this to the cooked curry, stir it in. Serve with rice.
yum yum...looks so wow...want to grab it and eat them !!!!!!
ReplyDelete:P :P is my safe khaaana option..though I have managed to cook this also not so edible :D
ReplyDeletei really like the microwave option...its really easy...i will use coconut gravy though..hehe
ReplyDeleteHi Rads
ReplyDeleteI remember eating a pumpkin with red beans(?)in a kerala thali ( in Kochi), not much gravy..is it the same thing? I still dream of that thali..drooling...
Oh that is different..not very but it is different..substituting tuvar dal for the cooked red beans but I think there is some fried coconut adding thing also done. Found two recipes:
ReplyDeletehttp://myinjimanga.blogspot.com/2006/04/pumpkin-curry.html
http://myinjimanga.blogspot.com/2006/08/pumpkin-with-red-moong-beans.html
I think the second one might be what you had :)
Priya - I don't usually make with coconut milk - made it for the post though cos I thought it might be easier this way :D
ReplyDeleteYou impress me with your lightening fast responses..thanks..going to browse..
ReplyDeleteI used to be food-blog obsessed some time back, and this site was on my regular reading list :) :)
ReplyDeleteYes, now i recall..the server called it erissery...Is this a part of 'sadya'.
ReplyDeletei am still obsessed with food blogs..except no time to cook...thankfully have mom who feeds me even now.... :|
ReplyDeleteRajeshwari - It is, though not in the part of Kerala I come from (Palakkad). I had never knew about this particular dish till I saw it on that blog - we make Erisseri but very differently and, of course, no garlic :D
ReplyDeletePriya - Thank goodness for moms :D
I stopped reading food blogs - cos no time, plus I get superhungry seeing all the pics and recipes :| :|
ReplyDeleteI know you are from Palakkad..(you're famous):D:D..but i am surprised how little do we (here in north) know about Kerala..like i didn't from about karinjali/chukku vellam, didn't know about the food variety..and many more things..can you suggest a kerala food book or a book/blog on kerala living etc?
ReplyDelete:spank: :spank: famous meee :spank::spank: :D :D Oh well I do keep telling it a million times :D
ReplyDeleteFood blogs with a lot of Kerala cuisine:
http://myinjimanga.blogspot.com/
http://deepann.wordpress.com/ (apart from her own recipes, she has a blogroll - Malayalee Food Blogs)
http://jugalbandi.info/ (not much but is there)
yummmy..it's looking so temptimg
ReplyDeleteThat was a random list - not any particular order - guess I just wrote the names I have visited more often :D There are loads more of awesome food blogs :D
ReplyDeletehttp://simplyspicy.blogspot.com/search/label/kerala%20-%20Vegetarian
ReplyDeletecheck this too....like some of the way they put it !!!
I want to try the spinach pachadi :P :P
ReplyDeletelooks so yummy na....i want to try the muringaya ela thoran...got it last time and made it part of the adda
ReplyDeleteWhere do you get muringa ela from? I see them sometimes at HAL market but I don't usually stop there - parking problem - plus it's a lot of work..separating the leaves.
ReplyDeletethe local vege shop keeps them....so i get it pretty easily...also last year neighbours had the tree...so we used to get them whenever we wanted..now they cut it off :(....but have never tried thoran...always put them in adda and had...
ReplyDeleteradsssss u know how to cook ???? wow!! i am impressed .. :sicker:
ReplyDeletei hate vegetables , but this one does look nice ... :D :D :D
This looks so yummy Rads..i just had my lunch but feeling hungry after seeing this..:-P
ReplyDeletePrachi - Hehehee :D
ReplyDeleteNaina - heheheee..you not eating naa from the pics :evilgrin: so I will claim it's superyummy :evilgrin:
Rads.....you are a good cook na.....the way the mulakushyam looks, it cannot be from a bad cook.....I showed it to my mom and say was like wowwwwwwwwwwwww
ReplyDeleteactually, na, she likes these kerala curries so much and she was like really praising you........which of course I don;t like
:happydance: :happydance: :happydance: :happydance: :happydance: :happydance: :happydance: :happydance: you all don't make these kind of dishes at home? Not you of course, but your mom or anyone else who actually cooks? BTW..Wilbur S is in Bangalore...you coming kyaa?
ReplyDeleteyeah, i coming........but you know he came to Bangalore and not hyderabad to see whom....its all clear now....who he is chasing.....ha ha ha...he he he ....khikhikhikhi
ReplyDeleteactually, my mom and dad like the kerala curries and make them reguarly....but me na, I am very hyderabadi....I like my curries to look red with oil floating on the top.....and spicy......so I ask her that if she has to one kerala curry, she will have to make andhra curry too :))
ReplyDeleteHeheee..ya ya but those oil-floating curries fiery red curries are made in Kerala too! You such a bully..Wilbur got a little confused..like Ritika..thought Bangalore is Hyderabad :D :D :D :D
ReplyDeleteradsssss me making sooper quick gajar halwa n thinking about all of you :toothygrin: :toothygrin:
ReplyDeleteNo more gaajar halwa for me :(( Hubby put me on a diet :((
ReplyDeleteawwwww :* :* :*
ReplyDeleteYummy! Rads, I make a slightly different version of Mulkushyam with more veggies and using pepper instead of powder :) Olan has been my go-to dish these days ;)
ReplyDelete*I mean, Mulakushyam
ReplyDeleteAppu - My usual way of making this is with whole peppercorns, cumin seeds, and grated coconuts - this was the cheat version :D :D Oh and I had to google for the spelling..I used to think it's something like malagoooshayam :D
ReplyDeleteNaina - Nothing awwww :* :* about the diet..me hates it grrrrrrrrrr
ReplyDeleteme also on a diet :| :| :| making gajar halwa for dad .. i have to lose a lot of weightt .. :'(
ReplyDeletewe dieting sisters now :aajanachle:
I looked like a frog in photos..really ugly fat frog :(
ReplyDeleteno radsssss ... i hate to say it :P :P :P , but you look really pretty .. sachiii !!
ReplyDeleteweight ka kya hai ?? bhadta ghatta rehta hai .. though i know what a bad feeling it is , me toh no fit into my clothes only , so i run for an hour in the morning and go swimming for 2 hours in the evening . sadnessssss !!!!
Oh no...not the pic I put on public display..obviously me sly sneaky won't put frog-lookalike pic :P :P Oh woww..you put in about 3 hours of exercises a day :jaiho: If I put in 30 minutes, I act like I did the world a favor :|
ReplyDeletebesides its summer and I want to wear chutku kapdas now :D
ReplyDeleteprecisely the same reasons - summers are here and i cant wear skirts with stumpy legs :P,
ReplyDeletesecond - i ll be joining a college soon , so i better look good ;) :evilgrin:
OMG...eyes fell down..rolled away..am going searching for my eyeballs
ReplyDeleteWhy were you googling that? :evilgrin:
ReplyDeletei cant forget that perfume ad :| :| :|
ReplyDeletei really forgot what i was actually googling for , after i saw them :headbang:
Dear Rads,
ReplyDeleteThis looks so fabulous. I never imagined coconut and lentil together. This looks so tasty, I am dying to try it out.
Thanks for sharing.
regards
Shiva
Hii Shiva - do try it some time and hope you like it :)
ReplyDeleteRadssssssssss....you remind me of my ammoomma..this, of course the original version which is bit thicker, is her masterpiece...yummmmm...i miss her badly now:(
ReplyDeleteHiii Shynaaa :) Awwww...my ammoomma's masterpiece..she makes this poha/avil (?) dish that is superyummy :)
ReplyDeleteOMGG!! Radhika that looks delicious... My first day.. feels good bt now me hungry.. like ghar mein toh go and have something.. yahan toh am super shy to ask people to orderr... :|
ReplyDeleteJust had tea and cornflakes since morning.. now am hungry and since everyone around me doesnt look hungry i dont feel like asking..
:| :|
btw what temperature settings you use?
ReplyDeleteErr..no temperature concept..just regular setting on microwave..like when you keep food to heat - you put the food in and set the time - same way I put this in and cook for 10 min...3 min, etc.
ReplyDeleteThe default setting is 100% power..think it can be reduced 80, 60, and so on..but I have never tried that :D You in TG office kya? Hehehee..you sound like these kids going to school first day :D :D
ReplyDeleteyeah I am toh poor company na... these people rich company so they are letting me sit. khikhikhikhikhikhi
ReplyDeleteI have no idea about microwave... my pati handles it. :|
Heheheee me laughing just imagining you sitting obediently :D :D :D
ReplyDeleteThis looks quite yummmyy Rads!! :D :D :D ...Good Morning!! :)
ReplyDeleteHii Cali :) :)
ReplyDeleteHiiii Rads!!!!!!!!! You busy busy with work again???? Not a single comment from you at IMBB today!! :P :P
ReplyDeleteAnd you know what? MAC is opened at Shopper stop near Forum!! :happydance: :happydance: :happydance: :happydance: :happydance: Saw it yesterday only!! and Gosh!! It was flooded with people even on weekday!!! :P :P :P I'll go there tomorrow after office!! khikhikhi!!
ReplyDeleteCURRENT CAME BACK...WAS in prehistoric times till now with no electricity..and you know me so stupid..was asking Priya how to make khakra in microwave..telling her ke no current na so I can cook now and save time later!!!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteha ha ha ha ha ha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :P :P You know what? with summers coming naa..there may be more power cuts.. You better get a UPS setup at your home now..Me will definitely get that whenever I'll shift to the new place!!!
ReplyDeleteI did think of it last year..was so horrible..but then summer got over and life seemed so good and nice I forgot about the ups :P
ReplyDeletehmmm..yeah..but I can't tolerate these stupid power cuts!! :( Feels like I've been sent to some limbo between present and past, every time power goes off!!! :| :| :| :|
ReplyDeleteYou found a new place or still searching?
ReplyDeleteAlready shifted!! :) :) :)
ReplyDeleteOh it must be such fun setting up a new house..am so glad your tension days are over finally!!!
ReplyDeletenot completely over...abhi still so many things to sort out and settle...first thing is to manaao parents....and that is the toughest task...once that is done, everything else will look easy!! :P
ReplyDelete:) :) true :)
ReplyDelete