These are the kinds of dishes that instantly bring comfort. The aroma of coconut, curry leaves sizzling in coconut oil, and vegetables cooked just right. Simple, wholesome, and full of familiar flavours. Kerala-style vegetable dishes celebrate everyday ingredients turned into soulful meals. Here are the top twenty Kerala-style vegetable dishes that taste like home:
1.Murungakkai Avial
Cook the drumstick pieces in turmeric water until they soften. Grind coconut along with green chillies into a coarse puree. Add this to the drumstick pieces and let everything cook together. Turn off the heat. Mix in a tempering of hot oil, mustard seeds, curry leaves, and curd. Stir it all well together before serving.
2.Vazha Thandu Thoran
Start by slicing the vazha thandu into thin pieces. Soak it in buttermilk to prevent discolouration. In a pan, heat some oil and add mustard seeds, chopped onions, curry leaves, and green chillies. Squeeze the excess buttermilk from the vazha thandu. Add it to the pan and cook until it softens. Finally, mix in grated coconut, turmeric, and salt. Saute until it all comes together.
3.Olan
Start by cooking ash gourd in a little bit of water until tender. Pour in coconut milk, and cooked cowpeas. Keep the flame very low so that it doesn’t curdle. Mix in a tempering of coconut oil, mustard seeds, curry leaves, peanuts, and dried red chillies. Give the Olan a good stir and let it rest for the flavours to blend.
4.Kalan
Begin by cooking pieces of raw banana in turmeric water till it softens but doesn’t fall apart. Next, grind coconut along with black pepper and cumin to a slightly coarse paste. Add some thick curd and the ground coconut paste. Simmer it all into a creamy gravy. Finish with a tempering of mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, dried red chillies, and curry leaves.
5.Mathanga Erissery
Grind coconut, cumin, and red chillies to a paste. In a pan, add this coconut paste, pumpkin chunks, and cowpeas. Add some water if it feels too thick, and gently mash the pumpkin. Let this mixture simmer so that the flavours blend. Sprinkle roasted coconut pieces for some extra texture if you want. Finish with a tempering of mustard seeds, dried red chillies, and curry leaves.
6.Sambar
Cook toor dal till it becomes soft and mashable, and keep aside. In another pot, simmer vegetables such as drumstick, pumpkin, radish, carrot, and brinjal in a turmeric and tamarind water. To this, stir in sambar powder, salt, and the cooked dal. Finally, pour a tempering of mustard seeds, curry leaves, dried red chillies, and a little asafoetida over the sambar.
7.Moru Curry
Beat thick curd till it becomes smooth and mix it with some water to get a runny consistency. Next, add chopped cucumber, turmeric and salt. Keep stirring so that the curd doesn’t split. Grind green chillies, coconut, and cumin into a coarse paste and add to the curry. Saute mustard seeds, curry leaves, and dried red chillies in coconut oil and pour it over the curry.
8.Nadan Kaya Mezhukupuratti
Peel and chop raw jackfruit into small pieces. Boil it in water so that it turns just tender. Heat coconut oil in a pan and add some mustard seeds, curry leaves, and dried red chillies. Next, toss in the jackfruit along with some turmeric and salt. Stir-fry the jackfruit on medium heat for the pieces to get coated evenly and develop a light roast.
9.Padavalanga Parippu Curry
Cook the split yellow moong dal until soft and mash it lightly. Make a paste by grinding coconut, green chillies, and cumin together. In a pan, add the dal, coconut paste, and chopped snake gourd pieces with turmeric and salt. Let it all simmer together so that the flavours blend. Temper mustard seeds, dried red chillies, and curry leaves in coconut oil.
10.Koon Theeyal
Slice mushrooms and cook them in a mixture of tamarind water, turmeric, and salt. In another pan, dry-roast the grated coconut so that it turns into a deep brown. Grind this coconut along with coriander seeds, dried red chillies, and fenugreek to form a thick paste. Add this paste to the cooked mushrooms along with water to get a thick gravy. Simmer so the roasted coconut flavour has time to settle.
11.Mampazha Pulissery
In a pan, cook chopped ripe mango chunks in a little water along with turmeric and salt. Grind coconut with green chillies and cumin to a smooth paste. Add it once the mango turns soft. Let it all simmer and then turn off the flame. Stir in some curd to add creaminess to the dish. Finish with a tempering of mustard seeds, dried red chillies, fenugreek, and curry leaves in coconut oil.
12.Kadala Curry
Soak black channa overnight and cook it in a pressure cooker until tender. Grind coconut, roasted coriander, dried red chillies, and fennel into a coarse paste. In a pan, saute onions, garlic, and ginger until golden. Next, add some turmeric and chopped tomatoes. Stir in the cooked chana along with this ground paste. Add a little water and let the curry simmer.
13.Pachakari Ishtu
In a pan, cook a variety of vegetables such as potatoes, carrots, peas, and cauliflower in water so that they turn soft. Drain the water and let the vegetables soak in coconut milk to build up all the flavour. Stir everything together and finish with a good amount of coconut oil, whole green chillies, and a handful of curry leaves.
14.Pavakka Varuthadhu
Slice the bitter gourd into thin slices and rub it with turmeric. Let it rest for a few minutes to reduce some of the bitterness. In a pan, saute mustard seeds, onions, and curry leaves. Next, add the bitter gourd and keep stirring so that it doesn’t burn. Turn off the flame once it becomes crisp at the edges and turns into a toasted colour.
15.Vellarika Kichadi
Grind coconut, green chilli, and cumin to a smooth paste. In a pan, add peeled and chopped cucumber pieces along with the ground paste. Stir it well so that it gets coated nicely. Switch off the flame and mix in some curd to bring a cooling flavor. Garnish with a tempering of mustard seeds, dried red chillies, and curry leaves.
16.Vada Kootu Curry
You can either make fresh vadas by soaking urad dal or use store-brought vadas. Grind coconut, cumin, and a few red chillies to a thick paste. Now, add the vada pieces to soak up the flavors for a few minutes and turn soft. Add some water to bring it to a gravy consistency. Temper mustard seeds and curry leaves in hot oil. Pour it over the curry.
17.Beetroot Pachadi
In a pan, saute mustard seeds, cumin, green chillies, curry leaves, and sliced onions in hot oil. Once it starts to splutter, add grated beetroot. Cook it with a little water, salt, and turmeric so that it releases its natural sweetness. Switch off the flame, add a good amount of curd and mix until the pink turns creamy and even.
18.Chembu Thal Curry
Chop taro stems into small pieces and cook them in water using turmeric and salt. Grind coconut, green chillies and cumin into a smooth paste. Add this paste to the cooked taro. Let it simmer on low heat so that the coconut cooks through. Turn off the heat and mix in lightly beaten curd. Garnish with sauteed mustard seeds and curry leaves in coconut oil.
19.Koyipachappu
Cook the mixed greens with a little water, turmeric, and salt until soft. Once the water gets absorbed, add grated coconut, green chillies, ginger, and cumin. Mix it all gently so that it does not turn mushy. Temper mustard seeds and curry leaves in coconut oil and pour it over the curry.
20.Kappa Puttu
Steam the grated tapioca until it turns soft and fluffy. Make sure you keep stirring gently so that it doesn’t turn lumpy. In another pan, melt jaggery using water and add grated coconut to it. Layer the steamed tapioca and the jaggery coconut mixture in a puttu maker. Once it gets cooked, sprinkle a little sugar on top and serve warm.
