V I R U N D H U

Kova Ilai Varai

Posted by Mathy Kandasamy | Filed under Keerai (greens), Vegetarian, Sri Lankan, Jihva For Ingredients(JFI), Archives

Here in Montreal we get a variety of greens in Sri Lankan and Middle Eastern stores, that my relatives call ‘Kova Ilai’. Kova here means Cabbage and Ilai is leaves in Tamil. So if you translate, it’s ‘Cabbage leaves’ for you. The taste is quite similar to cabbage. And being a cabbage lover, I have no difficulty in incorporating this green to my diet.

Looking at all the foodies from Kerala, I think what is Varai to Sri Lankan Tamils is Thoran to the Malayalees. And almost all the greens could be made into a varai. The same’s true for green beans, cabbage and an assortment of vegetables - couldnt seem to remember their names.

So, here’s Kova Ilai Varai for you folks out there.

A close-up

Recipe:

1 bunch kova ilai
1 medium sized red onion - finely sliced
2 green chillies - finely sliced
1 teaspoon Sri Lankan Curry Powder
1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds
4-5 curry leaves
1-2 teaspoon scraped coconut

Clean the green very carefully and drain well. Break away the stem and store them seperately. Chop up the green leaves coarsely. You can use the 2/3 part of the stem. Chop them up finely and keep.

In a skillet, heat oil and saute the onions. Add green chillies when the onions are half cooked. Add fennel seeds and curry leaves. Add the Sri Lankan Curry Powder and mix quickly and immiediatly add the finely chopped stem part of Kova ilai. Cover the lid and cook for a couple of minutes. Add the chopped greens and mix nicely and let it cook. There’s no need to add any water. Cook for about 3-4 minutes. Add the scraped coconut and mix nicely.

Serve warm with rice.

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Vallarai Sambal

Posted by Mathy Kandasamy | Filed under Keerai (greens), Vegetarian, Sri Lankan, Jihva For Ingredients(JFI), Archives

Vallarai is another green that’s popular in Sri Lankan cuisine. Vallarai is called ‘Pennuwort’ in English. Gotu kola in Sinhalese and it’s botanical name’s Centella asiatica.

Vallarai is supposed to help increase memory. In the late 90’s there was a television commercial with Chess player Vishvanathan Anand. Can anybody remember it? (pun intended).

From an article in The Hindu - http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/mag/2002/08/04/stories/2002080400450700.htm

ACCORDING to Charaka, foremost exponent of Ayurveda, Centella asiatica belongs to the group of herbs that help maintain youthful vigour and strength. Called Vallarai in Tamil, it improves the mind’s receptive capacity. It is capable of improving a person’s memory power, physical strength, voice, complexion and digestive power. The herb can be made into different chutneys and eaten by diabetics and those who suffer from anaemia. Extracts of the plant are being used in the commercial production of face creams and anti-wrinkle creams.

Vallarai should not be confused with Brahmi (Bacopa monieri). Vallarai has been studied extensively and most of the properties have been borne out by research.

Just to show it’s shape

Vallarai is available in Montreal in the Sri Lankan stores. It’s imported from Sri Lanka.

Recipe:

1 bunch Vallarai
1-2 shallots or 1 very small red onion - coarsely chopped
3-4 dried red chillies
3 teaspoon scraped coconut
1-2 curry leaves
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
salt
oil to toast red chillies

Wash the Vallarai several times in water. Swish them around to dislodge any dirt clinging onto the greens. Drain well and snap the edges of the stem..

Coat the skillet with some oil and toast the red chillies. Remove and let them cool. In a food-processor or blender crush the red chillies first. Add the coarsely chopped onion, Vallarai, coconut, curry leaves and blend well. Add very little water - just enough to wet the ingredients. Save in a bowl, add salt to taste and sqeeze some lemon juice. Lemon juice is used mostly to maintain the color. And to balance out the flavours. Vallarai tastes little bit bitter with a pepery taste. Coconut is sweet. Red chillies supply the heat and lemon juices round’em out.

Serve with warm rice.

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Whole Wheat Dosai (w) Murungai Leaves

Posted by Mathy Kandasamy | Filed under whole wheat flour, Keerai (greens), Vegetarian, Sri Lankan, Jihva For Ingredients(JFI), Archives

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. And for most of us, making elaborate indian dishes is practically impossible during the week-days. Hence, the week-end breakfasts are very relaxing and take prominence. Especially if we have Dosai (or Thosai as we say in Tamil). This dosai is prepared the Sri Lankan way and counts Murungai leaves as one of the ingredients.

I decided to make this dosai when Indira of Mahanandi announced JFI-WBB: Green Leafy Vegetables.

Courtesy: Chelli

The Moringa tree grows mainly in semi-arid tropical and subtropical areas. While it grows best in dry sandy soil, it tolerates poor soil, including coastal areas. It is a fast-growing, drought-resistant tree that apparently is native only to the southern foothills of the Himalayas. Today it is widely cultivated in Africa, Central and South America, Sri Lanka, India, Mexico, Malaysia and the Philippines. Considered one of the world�s most useful trees, as almost every part of the Moringa tree can be used for food, or has some other beneficial property. In the tropics it is used as foliage for livestock. The tree has its origin from the South Indian State of Tamilnadu.

The immature green pods, called �drumsticks� are probably the most valued and widely used part of the tree. They are commonly consumed in India, and are generally prepared in a similar fashion to green beans and have a slight asparagus taste. The seeds are sometimes removed from more mature pods and eaten like peas or roasted like nuts. The flowers are edible when cooked, and are said to taste like mushrooms. The roots are shredded and used as a condiment in the same way as horseradish, however it contains the alkaloid spirochin, a potentially fatal nerve paralyzing agent, so such practices should be strongly discouraged.

The leaves are highly nutritious, being a significant source of beta-carotene, Vitamin C, protein, iron and potassium. The leaves are cooked and used like spinach. In addition to being used fresh as a substitute for spinach, its leaves are commonly dried and crushed into a powder, and used in soups and sauces. Murungakai Tamil as its locally known in Tamil Nadu is used in Siddha medicine. Its leaves are full of medicinal properties. The tree is a good source for calcium and phosphorus.

Interest is growing in the use of moringa in addressing malnutrition in developing areas of the world. Also Because of its high vitamin and mineral content, in Africa it has become popular as a locally produced nutritional supplement for individuals infected with the HIV/AIDS virus. It can be grown cheaply and easily, so several governments in Africa have promoted Moringa oleifera as locally produced food beneficial to HIV-positive individuals.

It has been used successfully to combat malnutrition among infants and women of childbearing age. In Africa, nursing mothers have been shown to produce far more milk when Moringa leaves have been added to their diet, while severely malnourished children have made significant weight gains when the leaves have been added to their diets. It is commonly added to porridge increase its nutritional content.

From Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drumstick_%28vegetable

I’d earlier talked about Murungai leaves in the post about Tinola. Murungai leaves are quite popular among the Filipinos aswell. They have a recipe quite similar to South Indian Sambhar. Only, the Filipino version would have chicken in it. What astonished me quite a bit was the word Filipino used for Murungai or Drum stick leaves. They called it ‘Molinga leaves’. And I was taken by my friend around Honolulu and was shown parks where Murungai was flourishing. The Filipinos living in Hawaii had planted them there!

So, how to make this Sri Lankan Dosai? We use steamed wheat flour and urad dhal. Some might use rice, but I wasnt aware of that until we moved to India. This dosai must have become popular because refined wheat-flour was supplied through the ration stores. I remember my dad talking about the famine, that struck Sri Lankan during the 40s. And that the refined wheat-flour used to be given to the people, for free or almost free. And this flour was brought from America(USA). Hence, the refine wheat-flour is stilled called ‘American Maa’. Maa is flour in Tamil.

One would soak uradh dhal or ulundhu in water for about 30 minutes. Mostly over-night. Before we bought a blender, I remember my aunt making ulundhu into a paste in an ammi. Only a handful of households had aatukkal. I dont think anybody had an aatukkal in Pungudutheevu. Life became very easy after the blender came into our lives.

Thursday evenings were spent by the side of ammi, sprinking some water as and when my aunts wants me to. Thursday evenings spent thus means Friday morning Doasai. Once the cows are milked, milk boiled and tea is prepared, the time would have come to prep the dosai. Shallots would already be chopped. And I would be asked to run and get a sprig of curry leaves and get a sprig of Murungai leaves from valavu (the area behind and by the side of the house, full of trees). The power is smell is such that it could transport you anywhere and time-travel is also possible!

Let me take you all on a journey with me with this recipe.

Recipe:

1 cup urad dhal - soaked and ground
1 cup steamed whole wheat flour (I use Indian atta flour)
1 medium red onion (shallots are the best though) - chopped finely
1-2 dried red chillies - chopped finely
1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds
3-4 curry leaves
1 sprig of murungai leaves
1 pinch turmeric powder
salt
oil - to do thaalippu(tadka) and to cook dosai. Pref. Indian Sesame oil.

I use chappathi atta to make this dosai. Usually we use refined wheat flour. Either is fine. But please dont use the whole wheat flour from the supermarkets. The bran added to those wheat flour does create a problem. Overall the chappathi flour is much healthier. The only hazzle in this recipe is the steaming part.

In your steamer, spread a muslin cloth and add the wheat flour and steam for about 10-15 minutes. Incase you dont have muslin cloth, use those brown-paper bags. One of my friend’s mom uses them effectively. She steams flour for her family and others. So, those big bags are quite handy.

One the flour has cooled down sift it and keep aside.

Wash uradh dhal twice or more, until the water runs clear. Soak the dhal for about 30 minutes to 1 hour. In a food-processor or blender make the dhal into a fine paste. Add as much as water you need. You would need more water to mix with flour.

Add steamed wheat flour slowly and mix nicely. Add water if necessary. Dont forget to add salt. The consistency should be that of thick pancake batter. Cover and place in a warm place. If you are living the North America, until September/October you can keep it anywhere and be sure that the batter would ferment. Read Bee’s post here.

In a skillet heat oil and fry the finely chopped onions. Add dry red chillies once the onions are cooked halfway through. Add fennel seeds, curry leaves and murungai leaves. We call this thaaLikkirathu in Tamil. Thaalikkirathu is Tadka in Tamil.

Add this to the fermented batter along with turmeric powder and mix nicely. Now you are ready to make those lovely frangrant dosai.

This dosai would not need any side dishes, if you were me. Any chutney, podi or sambhar would be great. But you know what would be truly great with this dosai? One day old fish curry! yes. There’s nothing more tasty than this combo. Chicken curry would also be great with this curry for a nice dinner.

Note: I saw some Murungai Leaves last February. And bought them immiediatly. Cleaned and sauteed the leaves in ghee and saved them in the freezer. I’d taken some pictures at that time. Unfortunately could not seem to find them anywhere. Will update the recipe with the photos as soon as i can locate them. Sorry!

To compensate, here a post in Tamil by a blogger all the way from Brisbane, Australia. She grows Murungai, Banana and so many tropical plants in her garden. The Murungai leaves photo appearing in this post belongs to her.
Link: http://pirakeshpathi.blogspot.com/2007/02/blog-post.html - Murungai

http://pirakeshpathi.blogspot.com/2007/02/blog-post_28.html - what am i growing in my garden

Question: Probiotic: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Probiotic

Would Dosai fall under this category?

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Methi n Meen

Posted by Mathy Kandasamy | Filed under Keerai (greens), Fish, Sri Lankan, Jihva For Ingredients(JFI), Archives

Methi leaves are something Indians are very familiar with. Not Sri Lankans. And before my cousin taught me her take on Methi leaves, I used to prepare this wholesome slightly bitter greens with dhal. My cousin adds protein too. Just a different kind from the sea. She adds fish. Canned fish to be precise. And it’s a big hit and this recipe has travelled far and wide within our family circle. And you adventerous folks out there, please do share your verdict. I shall pass them to her. (This way, I can ask her to cook for Virundhu and record them.! )

And this is how she cooks.

Recipe:

1 bunch Methi leaves - washed, cleaned and chopped
50 gm canned fish (Tuna, Salmon, Jack Mackerel orSardine) - I use canned fish in water
1 medium red onion
2 green chillies
3-4 curry leaves
1 teaspoon scraped coconut (optional)
1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/8 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
1-2 teaspoon Sri Lankan Curry Powder (Recipe here) (or according to taste)
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
Salt

In a skillet, heat oil and add onions and cook until they turn translucent. Add green chillies and cook for a few more minutes. Add fennel sees, cumin, fenugreek seeds and saute for a few seconds. Tear up curry leaves and add to the melange. Spoon in the curry leaves and mix quickly. Add the Methi leaves (fenugreek leaves) and mix them before placing the lid. Let it cook for 3-4 minutes.

Mean while prepare the fish. Usually I use half a can and reserve the rest to be used later during the week. But, this time I had quite a few greens lined up for JFI-Greens. So, I knew I would not be buying Methi leaves that week. And I was not in a mood to make fish cutlet. So, the whole can of Salmon went into the skillet. Open the can and drain the fluid. Seperate the fish into flakes and keep aside.

Once the greens is cooked half-way through, add the fish flakes and mix thoroughly. Let it cook for a few more minutes. Add scraped coconut and salt. Squeeze lemon, just before serving. Best when hot.

Note: Meen is Tamil for Fish

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Kang Kung(Water Spinach) Mallung

Posted by Mathy Kandasamy | Filed under Keerai (greens), Sri Lankan, Jihva For Ingredients(JFI), Archives

Common names include water spinach, swamp cabbage, water convolvulus, water morning-glory, kangkung (Malay), kangkong (Tagalog), tangkong (Cebuano), kang kung (Sinhalese), trawkoon ( Khmer:), pak boong (in Thai:) (Thai), rau muo^’ng (Vietnamese), kongxincai (Chinese: ; pinyin: ko-ngxi-nc�i; literally “hollow (kong) heart (xin) vegetable (cai)”), or ong choy (Cantonese pronunciation of Chinese:).

It is most commonly grown in East and Southeast Asia. Because it flourishes naturally in waterways and does not require much if any care, it is used extensively in Malay and Chinese cuisine, especially in rural or kampung (village) areas. It is not to be mistaken with watercress, which often grows in similar situations.

It has also been introduced to United States of America where its high growth rate caused it to become an environmental problem, especially in Florida and Texas. It has been officially designated by the USDA as a “noxious weed.” Despite this ominous label, the plant is not in any way harmful when consumed (”noxious” is a legal term denoting harmful, in this case, to native plants). In fact, the plant is similar to spinach in its nutritional benefits.

From Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_spinach

Mallung is the Sinhalese way of cooking greens and tender vegetables. What’s attractive about this recipe is IS ‘IT DOES NOT NEED ANY OIL’. Yes, it does not need any oil.

I wish, I could talk extensively about Sinhalese cuisine and other regional cuisines of Sri Lanka. My knowledge is still pretty sketchy. Will do a series, as soon as I’m confident. For now, lets look at the Mallung recipe.

This recipe would only require the leaves. Dont throw away the stems. Break away the tender part of the stem, chop themup finly and make a varai. For the varai recipe look here.

Recipe:

1 bunch water spinach or kang kung (Sinhala) - remove the leaves
3-4 shallots or a small red onion - very finely chopped
1-2 green chillies - very finely chopped
2-3 curry leaves
a pinch of turmeric
salt
1 teaspoon scraped coconut (the more the better - its your choice)

In a skillet, assemble all the ingredients except coconut. Place the covered skillet on heat. Check after couple of minutes and mix nicely. Add coconut and let it cook for another minute. That’s it the recipe would be ready.

The aroma is ingredible. You would smell the turmeric tinged greens, onions with the heat of chillies thrown in. Almost forgot the curry leaves. That would also be playing it’s note in the madlee of smells. All very positive ofcourse.

Note: Here’s another way I love cooking this green.

http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2007/Mar/14/il/FP703140301.html

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Food Blog Desam

Posted by Mathy Kandasamy | Filed under Archives

Food Blog Desam - one stop shop for foodblogs. This foodblog aggregator grew out of Indira’s request, wayback when I was associated with another aggregator.

Here’s Indira’s introduction

If your blog is not listed, please send a mail to

foodblogdesam @ gmail.com

Food Blog Desam for your viewing pleasure.

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Ponnanganni Varai

Posted by Mathy Kandasamy | Filed under Keerai (greens), Sri Lankan, Jihva For Ingredients(JFI), Archives

Kay of Towardsabettertomorrow says

Ponnanganni keerai - This keerai, as the name suggests, improves the complexion of the body. (My thought: I think it detoxes and thereby, the complexion improves!)

This keerai has opposite effects when eaten in different ways - This applies to only this keerai, as per the book I read, long long ago. When you cook it with pepper and a tiny bit of salt and nothing else and eat it with rice, it will help with weight loss. Whereas you cook it with dal and have it with ghee, it is supposed to help with the weight gain. Isn�t that a wonder?

If I’m asked to choose a green, I would pick this one. I’ve had fights when I was young, over this keerai. It seems i demanded this keerai to be cooked everyday. Hmmm… I must have been quite diserning then. Wonder where I lost it.

In chennai, you can get Ponnanganni keerai along with other quite exotic keerai like mudakkaththaan and vallarai from a lady who comes from the outskirts of the city. Whenever we visit the temples in Thiruverkadu or Mangadu, we would buy these greens. Sometimes we buy everything lock, stock and barrel. As time went by I went to these temples just to buy these greens. Wish I’d taken some photos. The greens would still have some of the morning dew on them!

Over here in Montreal, I’m quite blessed because the Sri Lankan stores import Ponnanganni. If you visit the stores on Wednesdays, you could see a fresh bunch, as fresh as it’s possible anyways. We can also get vallarai and agathikkeerai. And Murungai keerai on some lucky days. It’s times like these I wish for some South Indian stores, because then other greens such as Araikkeerai, Manathakkali Keerai, Gongura would be available. Methi or vendhayakkeerai is available in the Indian stores and in middle-eastern stores. Just the thought of Manaththakkali keerai is enough for me get depressed.

Well, I’m going to revive myself with my other favourite green Ponnanganni.

I was quite lucky because I used to get an abundant supply of Ponnanganni even in Honolulu. Can you imagine that? First time I saw a patch of Ponnanganni, I could not believe it. I’d seen two varieties of Ponnanganni - green and purple. I saw purple Ponnanganni once in a while near the temples I mentioned earlier. So, I could not be sure if the plant I saw was Ponnanganni or not. Took a picture, developed, scanned and sent home to confirm it! After that my friend and I would make frequent visits to harvest this green.

The USDA website declares Ponnanganni or Sessile Joyweed (Alternanthera sessilis) as a noxious weed. First of all I dont like the name Sessile Joyweed. How dare somebody call this precious green a weed! Some discerning soul must have added the word to compensate. Ok. lets get back to the ‘noxious weed’. I was quite incensed when I read that USDA has declared this to be a noxious weed. I took it up upon myself to argue about this with them and found out that they have declared this to be a noxious weed, because of it’s ability to grow, grow and grow! Good for the good old Ponnanganni said I.

One last bit of information before I go to the recipe. FRLHT’s Encyclopedia of Indian Medicinal Plants lists 121 Tamil names for Ponnanganni. Some of them were variations of the the name Ponnanganni. Still 121 names..

You can see for yourself.

Alternanthera sessilis (AMARANTHACEAE)

Nomenclature:The plant name is available in the following languages. The number in the braket [] indicates different names of the same plant in that language. Language(s) Vernacular Names English[2] Mukunawanna, Water amaranth. Hindi[1] gudrisag. Kannada[2] honagonne, honagone soppu. Malayalam[5] coluppa, koluppa, minannani, ponnankannikkira, ponnannani. Marathi[1] kanchari. Sanskrit[12] lonika, matsyaksaka, matsyaksaka, matsyaksi, matsyaksi, matsyaksi, matsyaksi, matsyaksi, matsyaksika, minakshi, minaksi, patturah. Tamil[121] ponnanganni, ponnankani, kotuppai, kotuppai, ponnankanni, ponnam kani, ponnankanni, ponnankanni, ponnangani, ponnanganni, ponnangannikkirai, ponnangkani, ponnaankanni, ponnannanikkirai, ponnanganni, kodupai, ponnankani, ponnankanni, al, alaku1, antarnilai, anumacakanni, anumacakka, anumacakkay, cakaccai, cakatevi3, cakatevicceti, cempucattumuli3, cenkanni, cirinakannicceti, cirinam, citaci, citacikannicceti, citalacatti3, citalakkani, citali#, citali$, citalicceti, citani, citanicceti, citapu, citapuram, citevi3, citevicceti2, cittaman, cittamani, cittamanicceti, citti2@, comakanni, comakannicceti, comavallari, comavallaricceti, cukatir, curaiman, curaimankanni, cuvatuvarnam, intiranikani, intiranur, iruncatuvamaippuntu, kalavativalaki, kallukkalaikkattan, kallukkalaittan, kallukkattanceti, kani, kannukkanimuli, kannukkiniyan, karippavai, karippavaicceti, karpurakkanni, karpurakkannicceti, karpuram, katuncitalatti, kayacitti1, kayacitticci, kotuppai, maccikkanni, maccikkannicceti, macciyacci, macciyankanicceti, macciyankanni, macciyatti, maicatci 2, menattukkanni, menatu, minatci, muci, natcattirantonri, nettiranaci, nirovati, pakalnatcattiramtonri, patturam, patumalayam2, pautikamankai, pautikamankaicceti, perunkotuppai, pittacanti, pittacanticceti, ponkani, ponmeni, ponmuli, ponnakunkanni, ponnankani, porkani, porkanni, punarkannikkirai, tacamaikkanni, tacamaikkannicceti, tai2, tevarur, tirekacitti, tiyakkanni, tiyakkirai, ulavanikacceti, ulavanikam, umparur, utukatti, varikkani, varikkannicceti, vatuvarnam, vinnukkulmurtti, ponnan kani. Telugu[2] ponagantikura, ponna ganti-kura. Tibetan[5] dza la pi pi la (d), dza la pi pi la (d), tsha la pi pa la, tsha la pi pa la, tsha la pi pa la.

Recipe:

1 bunch Ponnanganni - cleaned and chopped
1 medium onion - sliced thinly
2 green chillies - chopped finely (Optional)
1-2 garlic pod - chopped finely
3-4 curry leaves
1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds
1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon Sri Lankan Curry Powder (or according to taste)
1-2 teaspoon scraped coconut
salt
Indian Sesame oil

In a skillet heat oil. Add onion and let turn translucent. Add green chillies and garlic and keep stirring once in a while. Once the onion is fried a little (this would take around 3 minutes), add fennel seeds, cumin and curry leaves. Then add curry powder and quickly stir. Immiediatly add the chopped greens and mix nicely. Cover and let it cook for about 4 minutes. Open the lid and stir once more and if necessary let it cook for one more minute. Then add the scraped coconut and salt and mix nicely. Close the lid once more and let the flavours mix together. Stir once more and switch off the heat.

Ponnanganni keerai is best with hot steaming rice. And could be accompanied by any South Indian/Sri Lankan curries. Personally, I would not need any accompaniments.

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Spinach keerai

Posted by Mathy Kandasamy | Filed under Keerai (greens), Sri Lankan, Jihva For Ingredients(JFI), Archives

Few people believe they will ever lose their vision. Yet over one third of Canadians between the ages of 55 and 74 develop a medical condition leading to loss of vision. What is this leading cause of blindness?

AMD or Macular Degeneration.

What is AMD or Macular Degeneration?

Macular degeneration is a medical condition predominantly found in elderly adults in which the center of the inner lining of the eye, known as the macula area of the retina, suffers thinning, atrophy, and in some cases bleeding. This can result in loss of central vision, which entails inability to see fine details, to read, or to recognize faces. According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology, it is the leading cause of central vision loss (blindness) and in the United States today for those over the age of fifty years.

Until recently, no effective treatments were known for wet macular degeneration. However, new drugs, called anti-VEGF (anti-Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor) agents, when injected directly into the vitreous humor of the eye using a small, painless needle, can cause contraction of the abnormal blood vessels and improvement of vision. The injections frequently have to be repeated on a monthly or bi-monthly basis. Examples of these agents include Lucentis, Avastin and Macugen. Only Lucentis and Macugen are FDA approved as of April 2007, and only Lucentis and Avastin appear to be able to improve vision, but the improvements are slight and do not restore full vision.

The Age-Related Eye Disease Study showed that a combination of high-dose beta-carotene, vitamin C, vitamin E, and zinc can reduce the risk of developing advanced AMD by about 25 percent in those patients who have earlier but significant forms of the disease. This is the only proven intervention to decrease the risk of advanced AMD at this time. A follow up study, Age-Related Eye Disease Study 2 to study the potential benefits of lutein, zeaxanthine, and fish oil, is currently underway.

From Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macular_degeneration

From the wikipedia article I quoted above, you would know that Macular Degeneration is the major medical condition that’s responsible for blindness among older people in North America. And if you have a relative who has/had AMD, the lifetime risk of developing AMD is 50%. And what is quite worrying is that there are no proven treatment for AMD. And one can only slow down this medical condition. And the way to do that is mainly through diet.

Consumption of fruits and vegetables containing two carotenoid pigments may be linked to a reduced risk for age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of vision loss in people over the age of 55. According to research, lutein and zeaxanthin comprise a component of the central region of the retina and may play a role in some aspects of visual acuity. Increasing the concentration of these pigments in the eye may prevent the devastating vision loss caused by age-related macular degeneration.

Carotenoids are phytochemicals (chemicals found in plants) commonly found in certain fruits and vegetables that provide the red, orange and yellow colors of these foods. Lutein and zeaxanthin are found primarly in broccoli, corn, squash and dark green leafy vegetables like spinach and kale.

From American Macular Degeneration Foundation - http://www.macular.org/nutrition/index.html

All the more reason for us to include bright coloured vegetables and greens in our diet. It would be even better if greens are made part of our daily menu.

Note: Usually we, Indians cook vegetables to death. It would be better not to over-cook greens as they would lose much of the nutrients. It would be very good if greens such as Spinach could be incorporated into salads. Failing that, this recipe would come in handly. Spinach would only spend less than a minute in the fire. The whole recipe would take about 3 minutes or less. From another perspective, we’re all so rushed nowadays, recipes such as these are a blessing.

This came out of an experiment by my dad. He is a wonderful cook and as children we would be begging him to cook fish curry. And he would do so too, much to our delight.

Recipe:

1 medium onion - finely sliced
1/2 packet spinach - washed
1 tsp Sri Lankan Curry Powder - recipe here
salt
1 tsp Sesame oil

In a heated skillet add oil. Once the oil is heated, add onion. Let the onion turn translucent and let it cook for somemore time. When it reaches the medium fried state, add salt and curry powder. Mix quickly and cook away the raw smell. Add the washed spinach and cover immiediatly. Open after about 15 seconds and mix nicely and cover and let it cook for another 30-45 seconds. No need to add water!

‘Spinach keerai’ is ready.

Note: We just call this recipe ‘Keerai’ in our house. When it’s time to eat, all we would ask is ‘You want Keerai?’. Keerai is the tamil word for greens.

Useful Links:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spinach
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macular_degeneration
http://www.macular.org/nutrition/index.html
http://www.amdcanada.com

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Indian Greens: a glossary - A request

Posted by Mathy Kandasamy | Filed under Indian, Sri Lankan, General, Archives

“Food is medicine” is the motto behind Indian cusine. This has been advocated by the SiddharhaL (Siddhas) from time immemorial, and they have in their short poems passed along recipes as well.

Indian subcontinent is quite lucky to have a variety of greens that grow in the wild and that are quite nutricious. Just the varieties of greens aka keerai available is mindbogling. I’ve tried to list some keerai. Please be kind enough to list down the indian greens you know. Living in North America, it’s impossible to get the photos of all these greens. It would be great if we all could join together and create a glossary for Indian greens (while at it, maybe we could extend it to everything related to the Indian subcontinental cusine.) Any ideas?

Here’s some I could comeup with. Ofcourse it’s not complete. Botanical names and names in other languages, recipes are needed to make it useful.

Muraikkeerai, Vallarai, Murungai, Thavasu murungai, Agathi, Ponnanganni keerai, Vendaya Keerai (methi leaves /greens of fenugreek) , Karpuravalli, Thoodhuvalai Keerai, Manathakkali Keerai, Kariveppilai (curry leaves), Modakkathan, Pudhina or mint, Murungaikkerai, Araikkeerai, Thiruvatchi, gongura, kurincha ilai, Koththamalli, Vaadhanaaraayana, Karisalaanganni, Manjal karisalaanganni

Am planning to request help from Tamil Bloggers too. Any help would be appreciated. Names, recipes, photos. Anything!

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Sri Lankan Curry Powder - miLagaai thooL.

Posted by Mathy Kandasamy | Filed under Vegetarian, Sri Lankan, Archives

Chilli pepper is an integral part of Sri Lankan Tamil cuisine, that it’s so difficult to think about our cuisine without any chilli pepper in it. Yes, we do have a few dishes which use black pepper. But, unlike the regional cuisines of Tamil Nadu - eg. Chettinad food, Madurai cuisine, Sri Lankan Tamil cuisine, does not have any popular spicy recipe heated by black pepper. Black pepper is called ‘miLagu’ in Tamil. And chilli pepper is called ‘miLagaai’, miLagaai = milagu + kaai

We tend to use chilli pepper in almost all the dishes. Even the plain white/yellow dishes aka ‘vellai kari’ would have a sliver of green chilli in them.

For a few curries, the required spices would be roasted accordingly and ground freshly. Almost all the other curries requiring some form of heat, would use another staple belonging to Sri Lankan Tamil cuisine. I’m talking about the curry powder here.

Sri Lankan curry powder is quite different from all the other curry powder in the sense, it’s quite spicy. We would search for the choicest of the choice dried red chillies. Would roast them loving over medium fire. Other spices would also be treated with loving care, making sure nothing gets burnt or left half-roasted. Only the eldest female in the house-hold would be handling the roasting part.

Back in Sri lanka, the children would be banned from the kitchen when the curry powder preparation was underway. We would be given special snacks and would be instructed not to disturb them. My mom and aunt would be measuring out and cleaning the spices and my grand mother would have commandeered the aduppu(stove). When the red chilli was being roasted, the aroma would be strong enough to make even us kids sneeze. We could hear, my mom and aunt sneeze, but have hardly heard my grand mother sneeze.

Pic courtesy: Channa Dassanayaka @ Sri Lankan Flavours

In the olden days, the spices would be pounded by hand in an ural with ulakkai. The picture above shows a wooden ural. But generally an ural made of stone would be used. Wooden ural would be used to make coconut sambals(more of them another day). But, after the flour-mills came into being, the spices would be sent to the mill to be powdered. Once, the curry powder is brought home, it would be spread out to cool down. And would be stored in air tight containers.

In Madras, I’ve accompanied my mother in her search for the perfect spicy red chillies. Andhra varieties are prefered. In the beginning, we travelled to so many different stores all over Chennai once a month in search of the perfect red chilli. Once, my mom discovered a store in Paris-corner(major marketing suburb in Chennai), we have stuck to them.

The ritual in Madras is quite similar to what happened in Pungudutheevu. Spices would be roasted over slow-medium heat and would be ground in a flour-mill. The flour-mill would have a special unit to grind chilli-powder.

Whenever relatives visited from abroad, all they would ask for would be curry powder. This continued even in Chennai. The curry powder would be prepared, carefully packed and sent off. But a few years ago, since the Sri Lankan Tamil population increased tremendously, the curry powder started becoming available in the stores in Europe, North America and Australia.

http://www.niru.com/product1.htm

http://www.niru.co.uk

Nowadays there are so many varieties available in market, it’s a difficult choice. I prefer the Niru brand. Even in the Niru brand there are 3 kinds of curry powder. one is a regular curry powder which comes in 900g and 500g packages. There are also 250gm packet. And that’s the smallest size available. The other varieties are a spicier version of the curry powder named ‘Jaffna hot curry powder’. This is mostly used for meat dishes. The other is the pure red chilli powder.

I’ve been quite handicapped here(in the blog) in presenting the regular curries and other dishes because almost all of them require the curry powder.

Anybody interested in trying Sri Lankan Tamil cuisine, should have the curry powder at hand. Sri Lankan curry powder could NOT be substituted by the Sambhar powder or any other curry powders from India. And no, no garam masala powder. God forbid! The closest to Sri Lankan curry powder would be the curry powder from Malaysia. I’ve seen and have used ‘Baba curry powder for fish curries‘. Incase the Sri Lankan curry powder is not available in a store near you, you can go for baba masala. Otherwise, the only other option would be prepare your own blend. It’s worth it. I promise.

Ingredients:

Red chilli - 75gms
Corriander seeds - 25gms
Fennel seeds - 15gms
Cumin - 5-10gms
Black pepper - 10gms
Fenugreek seeds - 5gms
Turmeric - 1/4tsp (traditionally the turmeric pieces were used)
Curry Leaves - 5-6 leaves
Rice - 1 tsp

In a kadai or skillet, slow roast the dried red chilli. The lenthy varieties are usually more spicy. You can also opt for the kind displayed here. Roast for about 3-4 minutes. Similarly slow roast corriander seeds, fennel seeds, cumin and black pepper. Roast rice until it changes color and becomes a bit white. Roast curry leaves until the moisture evaporates.

Let the spices cool down. Grind them to a fine powder in a coffee grinder. Add the turmeric powder at the end and mix nicely. Let the curry powder cool down a bit and store them in an air-tight container.

Now you are really ready to explore Sri Lankan Tamil cuisine!

Note: The measurements given here are just a guide. Each household would have their own measurements and this would reflect in the curries.

My cousin roasts fennel seeds and grinds them in her Sumeet and adds to the curry powder and stores them seperetely for meat dishes. I’m lucky enough to get some from her regularly. My aunt does the same.

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