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26
Mezhukkuparatti / Upperi
July 26, 2007 |
In Malayalam, Mezhukku = oil, Paratti = coated/smeared
As Mallugirl explains:
Mezhukkuparatti literally means coated with oil, whereas thoran is any vegetable cooked with crushed coconut in it. We used to call all our dry vegetable side dishes as upperi, but in other parts of Kerala it is distinguished as mezhukkuparatti and thoran based on the type of preparation. And they define upperi as chips. Upperi is prepared from various things like raw bananas (kaaya), yam (chena), jack fruit (chakka), bitter gourd (pavayka) and egg plant fruit (vazhuthanga). Slices of the ingredient are fried in coconut oil to a crisp condition. Yum!Yum!
So anyway, my intention was not to sidetrack and cause tidal waves of salivation. This recipe is the way some vegetables are made at my house. Not stirfried, and not with crushed coconut. The vegetables are steamed/boiled with a little water and tossed with a seasoned oil, which acts as a dressing. Its quite similar to the tossed green salads, at some restaurants, seasoned with a hot spicy oil poured over greens to wilt it. Probably this was done to retain most of the nutrients of the vegetables and to balance the rich preparations of the meat dishes.
Northern Keralites like Bee and Mallugirl call it upperi, the southern Keralites like these gorgeous gals call it mezhukkuparatti.
In southern Kerala, this stir-fry often has shallots/onions and green chillies. In northern Kerala, it’s almost always red chillies.
J made a Yam (Chena) version, Bee made a Green Banana (Kaaya) version. Same principle.
** By yam, we mean elephant yam or suran (see pics here), not ’sweet potatoes’ which are called ‘yams’ in the United States.
Mezhukkuparatti/ Upperi
Ingredients:
3 cups chopped veggies
Whole red chilies-2
Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp
Red chili powder- 1/4 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves- 8 to 10
Salt to taste
Coconut oil -2 tsps
Method
Soak the vegetable pieces in a bowl of water with a pinch of turmeric for about 5 minutes, rinse and drain.
Cook them in 1/4 cup water with the powdered spices for five mintues covered, then open the lid and let the water evaporate completely. When the veggies are cooked, splutter the mustard in the coconut oil. Add this with the curry leaves and red chillies to the veggies, and toss until they are lightly caramelised. Take off the flame and serve with rice and a curry.
Yam Mezhukkuparatti is our ‘Y‘ entry for Nupur’s A-Z of Indian Vegetables Event at One Hot Stove.
Banana, chena, Curry leaves, green-banana, kaaya, Kerala, mekhukkuparatti, raw-banana, suran, upperi, vegan recipes, vegetarian recipes, Yam/Elephant-Yam
Even over here, sweet potatoes are propagated as yams…. and I actually went ahead and made something from it. Some doubt was there at the back of my mind that they are not yams actually and I googled to find out the differences! You confirmed my doubt further.. Thanks!
Both look good!
simple and looking very nice….so bee is keralite…good to know…guys you have not posted any of your pictures other than those teasers?
Srivalli
http://www.cooking4allseasons.blogspot.com
we posted mugshots. see them here:
http://jugalbandi.info/look-your-best/
- b.
Konkani cuisine also has upperi, but they use fresh coconut I think.
Love the mugshot!
Both the recipes are so yummy. I love the mugshots too.
I like chena upperi. And the simplicity of the preparation.
yur chena mezhukkuparatti pic on the carpet is pure ingenious photography…
yah me used to think all dry sabzis with or without coconut are thorans, until amma(my MIL) made kappa (kiyanga, cassava) upperi, which was out of this world and I finished it with my rice and cucumber pachadi
yur mugshot pics not counted
but u both still look chweet!!
That recipe could not be simpler, and that dish could not look tastier!
I can’t decide who looks cuter in the mugshots
South Canara , Karnataka people call it Upperi too.Usually made by Plantains, sometimes with Yam.Looks delicious.Great entry for Y.Mine is Yellow bell peppers this time!:))
The Upperi looks good. I have some raw plantains will try that. Checked out your mug-shots, you both look exactly like I had imagined you…
so you are a keralite? woo hoo
me no southern, me in central kerala. hehe
I started using the word mezhukkupuratti a lot lately, after being a blogger that is! My mom calls it “olathiyathu”
I was wondering who J was referring to as gorgeous girls\
Good recipe and great pictures!
looks pretty crisp for the boiling
wonder if it will taste as good with frozen suran?
this was made with frozen suran. when j cooks them, they get crisp. when i cook frozen stuff, it stays soggy. i guess it’s the way he looks at them and talks to them - b.
yes…its called as upperi in mangalore-udupi part. i am allergic to suran/elephant yam. i remember my amma soaking it in sour buttermilk (with little tamarind if buttermilk is not sour enough) for few mins to reduce the itchiness.
Lucky goys to get real YAMS! here i find only the sweet potatoes sold as yams, not amorphophallus! So i invariably end up using the “yams” from here….though usually they taste good too ;).
thats one lovely looking dish :). will try, got some yams (you know which ones, he he).
i see elephant yams regularly in the thai store. try looking there. - b.
Upperi! Thats what my grandma used to call her fried plantain chips (Southern Karnataka region)!! It had been a while since I had heard that word. Thanks for using the traditional names.
Simply superb. Very comfortable food. Thanks for sharing.
Hi, its great to be on this site, and the amount of information presented in a superb way..well categorised and easy to search…Keep it up.
I started a new blog too http://funnfud.blogspot.com, and I would appreciate if you could visit the site, give some feedback, and if you like it, add it to yout list of food blogs on your site…I’m a newbie, so any help/advice would be great!!
Thanks,
-mansi
Sorry, a typo there…its http://funnfud.blogspot.com
Thanks for visiting everyone!!
-mansi
Simple superb bee, I make dosa with yam( suran) , will post it soon
Simple and elegant and of course, your dish also uses the real ‘Yam’
Nice and simple recipe.Loved your mugshots, you both look the cutest couple
Bee and Jai…
You both look so cute…and make a lovely couple too…:P..as madhuli said can’t decide who is cuter..
Srivalli
http://www.cooking4allseasons.blogspot.com
Dang! I should have taken pictures when you folks visited us. I could have been quite rich, given the demand here. Lost opportunity! Story of my life!
i should have taken a video of your ’shake shake, shake, sweet butter in five minutes’ gig. that would’ve made me rich. - b.
what a amazing likeness!! i saw this post only now! hi hi! so bee is from n.kerala. i am curious now..a fellow malabari? where from in kerala?i have hardly made with yam here as i can’t get good ones..do u make the thin chena chips?yum!!
my mom’s family is from kozhikode. we’ve made baked chena chips. - b.
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