Kappa Masala - Spiced Tapioca/ Yucca Root

The members of Kerala Kitchen, a facebook group have decided to cook a traditional dish from Kerala every month. I loved the idea as there are a lot of dishes I would love to make and whats better than a group of fellow enthusiasts cooking together. Nags of Edible Garden selected Kappa Masala as the recipe for this month and its one I  enjoy any time of day.

I make kappa atleast a couple of times every month, but its usually just steamed for breakfast or snack times.  And if I do make a fish curry I make sure to make a little puzhukku, my favorite! Though I have eaten this kappa masala a few times, this was the first time I made it myself. I actually made it thrice this month, the first two times it was almost over before I could take pictures, but the third time I was determined! It was delicious and made the perfect tea time snack.

Kappa Masala

Ingredients:

500 gms kappa, tapioca, peeled and cut into cubes

1 tbs coconut oil

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp urad dal

1 sprig curry leaves

2 big cloves of garlic, crushed

3/4 tsp dried red chili flakes or use while chilies to taste and crush with the garlic

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

salt to taste

Method:

Take the kappa in a large pot and add enough water to cover it well and some salt and cook until the kappa is tender but holds its shape. Drain the water well.

Heat the oil in a pan and splutter the mustard seeds. Add the urad dal and fry until browned. Add the curry leaves, garlic, red chili flakes and turmeric and fry for a few seconds, take care not to burn the garlic

Add the boiled kappa and salt of needed and stir until everything is well combined and the kappa is evenly coated with the spice mixture.

Remove from heat and serve hot.

Cherupayar and Kachil Puzhukku (Mung and Yam Curry)

For as long as I remember, Cherupayar puzhukku and kanji has been the standard dinner on Saturdays at my mothers place. I think it was my mom's idea to take a break and avoid cooking anything elaborate at least for one  meal. It must have been so hectic to come back from work late in the evening and then cook a meal, check on our studies and take care of all the other chores. Of course my brother and I would protest every single time, we hated Kanji and wanted something "special".
I still try my best to avoid Kanji but I love this puzhukku and all its variations. I add any one or a combination of raw bananas, kachil (purple yam), chena (elephant foot yam) or chembu (taro) along with payar. Manoj eats it with rice or chappatis, but I like to have a bowlful of just the puzhukku with a big dollop of plain yogurt. Yumm!


Cherupayar and Kachil Puzhukku
Ingredients:
1 cup whole mung beans
250 gms kachil,chena, chembu or raw bananas or a combination of these
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup fresh coconut, grated
4 dry red chilies or to taste
1 1/2 tsps cumin seeds
1/4 tsp peppercorns
2 cloves of garlic
1 sprig curry leaves

Method:
Cook the mung and the kachil separately along with some salt and turmeric powder. You can cook them together in the pressure cooker but the kachil may take longer than the mung, so its best to cook them separately.
Grind the coconut, chilies, cumin seeds, peppercorns and garlic along with some water. The paste should be a little coarse. Add the paste and curry leaves to the cooked mung and kachil. Mix together. The mixture should not be very dry, so add water accordingly and check the seasonings. Bring the mixture to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Serve hot.

This goes to Priya's CWS - Mung Beans and The Kerala Kitchen, guest hosted by Fajeeda.