I’ve all the time believed that wellness meals will not be about fad diets and the flavour of the season. It’s about engaged on a sustainable, sensible food regimen that does not compromise on flavours. If there’s one factor we learnt in the course of the pandemic, it is that immunity cannot be achieved in a single day. It’s an end result of life-style decisions remodeled an extended time frame. It’s the identical with wholesome meals. Work with elements which are simply accessible and are wholesome substitutes with out obsessing concerning the energy. A number of weeks in the past, I used to be at Amal Tamara, a luxurious wellness resort on the sting of the idyllic Vembanad lake close to Alappuzha (additionally identified by its former title Alleppey). While the Amal Tamara presents menus that embrace pan-Indian recipes and worldwide flavours, it is the dishes from Kerala that stood out for me. I’ve shared the dishes I loved probably the most and dishes which are additionally a part of my common lunch food regimen. These will not be simply straightforward to make but in addition discover the steadiness between wellness and scrumptious flavours.

Also learn: 15 Best South Indian Recipes | Easy South Indian Recipes

Here’re Some Healthy Veg Kerala-Special Recipes: 

(Recipes: Courtesy – Amal Tamara, Alappuzha ) 

1.Cheera (Spinach) Mappas 

I usually eat this spinach dish with Kerala Matta purple rice. It additionally tastes scrumptious with hand pounded brown rice. You may additionally select to eat it with ‘polished’ white rice. 

Ingredients:

• Shallots – 30gm 
• Ginger – 5 gm 
• Curry leaves- few sprigs 
• Coconut milk- 2 cup 
• Whole garam masala – 5 g  
• Turmeric powder- ¼ spoon 
• Coriander powder – ½  spoon 
• Cheera (purple spinach) -100gm  
• Coconut oil -2 tbsp  

 Method:

• Wash, chopped cheera (purple spinach). 
• Heat oil in a thick bottomed kadai add complete spices, small onions and saute for 3-5 minutes or until the uncooked scent of the masala subsides. 
• Add the purple spinach to the kadai and saute properly. 
• Pour the skinny coconut milk, add salt to style and let it boil. 
• Simmer, cook dinner until the gravy thickens. 
• Add the thick coconut milk and curry leaves; swap off the flame. 
• Serve scorching. 

  2.Beetroot Halwa 

I’ve labored on substituting sugar with palm jaggery (Karuppati in Tamil) in my day by day food regimen. The workforce at Amal makes use of jaggery to sweeten this halwa, a favorite throughout India.   

Ingredients:

• Grated beetroot – 2 cups 
• Coconut milk – 2 cups 
• Jaggery syrup – 1 cup 
• Cardamom powder -1 tbsp 
• Cashew nut -10 nos.
• Raisins -10 nos. 
• Ghee – 3 tbsp 
• Rice powder – 2 tbsp 

Method: 

• Peel, wash and grate beetroot. 
• Heat pan, add ghee and saute beetroot for couple of minutes, then add jaggery syrup. 
• Stir properly and proceed to cook dinner on a low flame. 
• Mix the rice powder with skinny coconut milk, pour it to the kadai and blend properly. 
• Continue stirring on low flame till it reaches a non-sticky consistency. 
• Finally add ghee fried cashew and raisins, sprinkle some cardamom powder. 
• Serve heat!

3.Kootu Curry 

This is the quintessential blended vegetable curry in Kerala. This model combines the goodness of seven greens. This will also be paired with rotis or dosa other than rice.   

Ingredients:

• Black chena (Elephant foot yam) – 50gm 
• Kerala banana – 25gm 
• Carrot- 25gm 
• Cucumber-25 gm 
• Yam- 50 gm 
• Beans -25 gm 
• Cauliflower-25 gm 
• Coconut oil – 2 tbsp  
• Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp  
• Coriander powder- ½ tsp  
• Chili powder – ½ tsp 
• Gram masala- ¼  tsp  
• Curry leaves -few leaves 
• Grated coconut-1 cup 

Method: 

• Cook black chena until it turns comfortable. Set apart. 
• Saute the coconut, curry leaves, chilli powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder after which grind to a easy paste as soon as it cools down. 
• Saute onions in a pan with 1 tsp of oil.  
• Add in all veggies and salt. Mix properly. Saute for five minutes.
• Now add a splash of water and canopy with a lid. Simmer the pan and cook dinner on low warmth for 10 to fifteen minutes until veggies are cooked. 
• Add in cooked chena and coconut masala, combine properly. Simmer for five minutes. 
• Temper the mustard and curry leaves in coconut oil. Pour this into the curry and stir properly. 
• Serve it scorching. 

4.Vegetable Moilee 

The fish moilee is likely one of the hottest dishes from Kerala that you’re prone to discover in buffets throughout lodges in India. This model is cooked with greens with a beautiful flavour profile that features ginger, spices like cinnamon and coconut milk. Try this versatile, subtly flavoured dish with appams (hoppers) or idiappam (String hoppers).  

Ingredients: 

• Cardamom – 2 nos. 
• Cinnamon stick – 1 piece 
• Cloves – 2 nos. 
• Onion – 2 nos. 
• Ginger- 5 gm 
• Carrot – 50 gm 
• Beans- 50 gm 
• Cauliflower- 50 gm 
• Potato- 50 gm 
• Coconut milk – 2 cups 
• Few curry leaves
• Coconut oil – 2 tbsp 
• Salt to style 

Method:

• Heat the oil in a pan. Add complete spices, onions, curry leaves, ginger and a pinch of salt and cook dinner on medium-low warmth till the onions flip translucent. 
• Add the turmeric and blended greens with coconut milk. 
• Cover and cook dinner about 10-Quarter-hour till the veggies are tender. 
• Add half of the remaining coconut milk, lemon juice and tomatoes. 
• Let the moilee come to a gradual boil. 
• Add the coconut milk and switch off the warmth. 
• Serve scorching. 

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About Ashwin RajagopalanI’m the proverbial slashie – a content material architect, author, speaker and cultural intelligence coach. School lunch packing containers are normally the start of our culinary discoveries.That curiosity hasn’t waned. It’s solely acquired stronger as I’ve explored culinary cultures, road meals and advantageous eating eating places the world over. I’ve found cultures and locations by culinary motifs. I’m equally keen about writing on shopper tech and journey.