Sauteed Morning Glory (with Ceylon Spinach)

 

Years ago, during our visit to Vietnam, we fell in love with the local preparation of morning glory. Also known as water spinach or 空心菜 (kōng xīn cài) in Chinese—meaning “hollow heart vegetable”—this leafy green is named for its crisp, hollow stems. Native to Southeast Asia, morning glory should not be confused with the British plant of the same name, which can actually be toxic.

More recently, while we were in Thailand, morning glory became a staple at our lunches—served daily, without fail. After returning home, I found myself missing its distinct flavor and texture, and my mind began searching for a substitute closer to home. That’s when I remembered the kozhuppan cheera (also known as spinach cheera, sambar cheera, or Ceylon spinach) growing in our kitchen garden. I decided to experiment.

To my delight, the dish turned out wonderfully—so much so that my husband remarked, “It’s almost the same as what we had in Thailand.” A simple but satisfying success!

Ingredients

A big bunch of sambar cheera, cleaned thoroughly. Very thick stems are discarded as they are fibrous. Thinner stems are sliced vertically and cut into 3 inch long pieces. Leaves are also cut first vertically and then into 3 inch long sections

2 tbsps oil

¼ tsp mustard seeds

6 garlic cloves crushed

2 green chillies sliced

Salt to taste

1 tbsp soya sauce

1 tsp powdered sugar

Instrution

-          Heat the oil and add mustard seeds. When they splutter, add the green chillies and crushed garlic. Keep medium flame.

-          When the garlic browns slightly, add the cut leaves and stir well. Add salt and mix, it will be cooked in a couple of minutes.

-          Pour in the soya sauce and sugar mix.

-          Stir well and serve hot.

Morning glory served for breakfast, Ambali with Foxtail millet and fruits

Vanilla Cookies

 

These are easy to bake delicious cookies and kids love them.

Ingredients

3 cups refined flour for 35 cookies

½ tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 cup solidified ghee (it should not be melted)

1 ½ cups sugar

1 Egg

 1 tsp vanilla essence

Instruction

-          Preheat oven to 190 degrees

-          Sieve refined flour, baking powder and baking soda

-          Beat sugar and ghee until smooth

-          Beat in egg and vanilla essence

-          Gradually add spoonfuls of flour mixture and blend well

-          Roll dough into gooseberry sized balls and place 2 inches apart onto oiled aluminium foil or ungreased  baking sheets.

-          Bake in the preheated oven for about ten minutes until the edges turn golden

-           Cool slightly, transfer to a wire rack to cool completely

 

 

Tender Jackfruit Sabji Sri Lankan Style

 

This is a very delicious accompaniment for chapatis, also  good with boiled rice.

Ingredients:

2 cups of skinned, pressure cooked (for 4 minutes), and shredded tender jackfruit

1 medium sized onion thinly sliced

1 twig of curry leaves
2 dried red chillies, broken into two
2 tbsps of mustard oil
1 bay leaf
½ tsp cumin
½ tsp fenugreek seeds
¼ tsp crushed pepper
¼ tsp red chilli powder
Salt to taste

Instruction:

• Heat the oil, when it starts smoking, add the bay leaf, jeera, fenugreek seeds, and crushed pepper
• Add the sliced onion and curry leaves, reduce the flame and keep stirring.
• 
• When the onion lightly browns, add the shredded jackfruit, salt and red chilli powder.
• 
  
  
• 
  
• 
  
  
• Keep stirring till it turns brown and crispy.

 

Ragi Drink

 

This is a very healthy and soothing drink. It is taken hot during cold season and cold during summer. A very popular drink of Karnataka. 

Ingredients

2 tsps ragi flour

4 tbsps butter milk

1 tsp grated ginger

500 ml water

Salt to taste

Instruction

-          Mix the ragi flour and grated ginger in the butter milk and leave it overnight.

-           Boil 500 ml of water, now add the ragi mix and stir nicely.

-          Let it boil on low flame for about ten minutes, when nice aroma spreads. Remove from fire. It will stay for two days at room temperature.

-          Can garnish with cut coriander leaves.

-          Serve hot if it is cold season and refrigerate and serve cold in summer.

Sweet potato curry (Madhura kizhangu pulinkary)

 

This is a nice curry that goes well with boiled rice. I have had it during childhood in Kerala.

Ingredients

2 cups peeled, cleaned, diced sweet potatoes

A small ball of tamarind, soak in half cup water for 2 hours, mix and squeeze out and discard the tamarind remains

A small onion cut fine

1/3 tsp turmeric powder

1/3 tsp red chilli powder

Salt to taste

2 cups water

To temper

1 tbsp oil

1/3 tsp mustard seeds

1 red chilli broken to pieces

A few curry leaves

Instruction

-          Add the cut onion, salt, turmeric powder, red chilli powder and the tamarind water to the diced sweet potatoes. Pour water into this and keep on high flame.

-          When it boils, reduce the flame and partly cover it. Let it simmer till well cooked, which will take about 10 to 15 minutes.

-          Remove from fire and add the seasoning.

Drumstick leaves curry

Here is a delicious accompaniment for boiled rice, with the leaves of ‘magical tree’, the drumstick tree with all its goodness.

Ingredients

1 cup separated, washed, and drained drumstick leaves

Salt to taste

2 cups water

To grind:

1 cup grated coconut

3 flakes of garlic

1/3 tsp turmeric powder

1/3 tsp cumin seeds

1/3 tsp coriander powder

¼  tsp red chilli powder

To temper:

1 tbsp oil

½ tsp mustard seeds

2 red chillies broken to two

Instruction:

-          Grind all the ingredients with a little water to a smooth paste

-          Heat oil with mustard seeds. When they splutter, add the broken chilli pieces.

-          Add the drumstick leaves and sauté for two minutes. Now add the water. When it boils, reduce the flame, cover and cook for ten minutes.

-          Add the ground masala and mix well.

-          Simmer for two minutes and remove from fire. 

Kathal(tender jackfruit) sabzi Konkani style

This recipe I got from my neighbour, who was a great cook, in Manipal in the 1980s. I just love this preparation and make it every year during the season of tender jackfruits.

Lemon rice with tender jackfruit sabzi and curd

                        

Ingredients

1 small tender jackfruit skinned and diced, pressure cooked for 4 to 5 minutes with one glass of water. Don’t throw away the water in which it is cooked

Salt to taste

To grind:

½ coconut grated

3 Red chillies lightly fried in a little oil

Again fry 1 teaspoon each of coriander seeds, udad dal, and fenugreek seeds till aroma comes

 A small ball of tamarind

1 ½ tabsps of jaggery

To temper:

 2 tbsps oil

½ tsp mustard seeds

1 bay leaf

Instruction

-          Take out the jackfruit pieces in a big vessel.

Grind all the ingredients using part of the water in which the jackfruit is cooked.

-          Put this into the vessel with jackfruit pieces, add salt and pound them together. The pieces will get sort of mashed.

-          Heat the oil with mustard seeds, when they splutter add the bay leaf, then add the mashed jackfruit and the remaining water in which jackfruit was cooked.

-          Mix well, keep on low fire for about 5 minutes and remove from fire.

-          It is a great accompaniment for boiled rice.