Today is Thiruvathira and it is a special day for us, Keralites. It is believed that Godess Parvathy met Lord Shiva after her long penance on this day and Lord Siva accepted her as His equal partner. It falls on the Thiruvathira (star) day in the Malayalam month of Dhanu. Ladies usually observe a partial fast during Thiruvathira for the well being of husband. This Puzhukku is made with tuber vegetables such as yam (chena), purple yam (kachil), colocasia (chembu), chinese potato (koorkka) etc cooked with cow peas and finished with a thick mixture of ground coconut. This is extremely tasty and it is very easy to make this.
Ingredients:
| Purple yam | 1 cup |
| Yam | 1 cup |
| Colocassia | 1/2 cup |
| Chinese potato | 1/2 cup |
| Cow peas (Vanpayar) | 1/2 cup soaked and pressure cooked |
| Coconut oil | as needed |
| Salt | as needed |
| Curry leaves | as needed |
Ingredients to be ground together to a thick paste:
| Fresh grated coconut | 1 cup |
| Green chilli | 2 or 3 |
| Cumin seeds | 1/2 tsp |
Method:
1. Soak the cow peas overnight and pressure cook them until soft. Keep aside.
2. In a pressure cooker, add all the vegetables. Add enough water and salt. Pressure cook until the vegetables are cooked well.
3. Mix the cooked cow peas with the vegetables. Cook it together for about minutes. Check for salt.
4. Add the ground coconut paste to the vegetables and simmer for another 3 – 4 minutes. Switch off the flame. Do not allow the coconut mixture to boil as it will disintegrate and spoil the overall taste and quality of the dish.
5. Drizzle some coconut oil on top and add curry leaves. Serve hot.
Though purple yam is one of the main ingredients, you can also add raw banana, sweet potato etc to this Puzhukku.
Hope you liked this traditional recipe made in my own way according to the availability of the ingredients here. I will be back soon..
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