Paal Kootu (Milk Curry)

Srilatha Leave a Comment

I had seen a pal kootu recipe in Meenakshi Ammal’s Samaithu Par volume, but was always wondered if milk in a curry would be something I would like. Finally decided to try it, and sorely regretted not having cooked for the past thirty years. This is such a mellow dish, and is perfect with rice. I haven’t tried it with rotis, but don’t see why not. Typically made with ridge gourd, yellow pumpkin, it takes mellow vegetables. On to the recipe now!

Butternut Squash Ravioli

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A super mellow and delicate ravioli. I fell in love with butternut squash after I tried this recipe! My daughter made this recipe from a source she found on the web (linked in Recipe notes). We skipped the eggs, and used goat cheese instead of ricotta. Other than that, the recipe was wonderful. The raviolis might have been a bit dense without the eggs, but we didn’t really mind!

Simple Spinach Mash (Paruppu Keerai Masiyal)

SrilathaMain Dish, Soups, South Indian Leave a Comment

This is a simple spinach dish that comes together in 15 mins, in the time it takes rice to be ready. Can be made with any of the greens. I’ve used purslane or paruppu keerai as it’s known in Tamil since I grow it. It grows very easily. All parts of the plant are edible, including the very pretty yellow flowers. There are many varieties of purslane with different colored flowers, and I was told the one with the yellow flowers was the one most used in cooking. It can be sauteed with salt and garlic, or sprinkled on salads, or, as I’ve done here, cooked with onions, chilies, and dals to make a wholesome dish to be eaten with rice. (I am not qualified to give medical advice, but I’m told it is high in oxalates, so if you’re watching oxalate intake which may cause kidney stones, go easy on it.

Herbed Goat Cheese Sandwich

SrilathaAmerican, Main Dish, Snacks And Light meals Leave a Comment

We had this sandwich this past weekend, after a trip to the local arboretum. We picked up the bread (a loaf of french baguette) and goat cheese, and had most of the other ingredients. It came together very quickly – the eggplant and the zucchini were cut into circlets and cooked very lightly with salt and pepper, the spread was made with goatcheese, sundried tomatoes, and herbs (I didn’t use most of the herbs, just the basil). It was amazing, satisfying. We had it with roasted corn with chaat masala – strange bedfellows, these two but it was a fantastic meal.