Paati's Notebook: Quintessential South Indian Stories & Recipes

Paruppu Payasam (Lentil Kheer) is a traditional dessert that is chock-full of nutritious ingredients, while being so delicious that you’ll have no leftovers for sure. The best part is that, it requires the simplest of ingredients that can be found in almost every Indian kitchen.

Previously, we had shared Girija Paati’s mixed vegetable sambar, which is the most common version made in most Tamil households. Arachuvitta Sambar is a fancier version that is thicker with coconut and a lot more spices. It goes especially well with classic South Indian tiffin items such as idlies, dosas and vadas.  

Avial or mixed vegetable stew immediately brings to mind traditional Keralite meals. Girija Paati makes a few different types of avial, however the Keralite version is the one that brings back memories of her ancestral home in Palakkad, a small town on the border of Tamilnadu and Kerala.  

You either hate it or love it. No one we have ever met is ambiguous about the bitter gourd. However, given its unbeatable health benefits, we believe this is a vegetable that should be included in your meal rotation. Girija Paati’s curry is a great way to introduce this into your family meals.

We recently found out that the knol khol is actually wild cabbage related to broccoli, brussel sprouts and kale! We always thought it was a form of turnip and was a cousin of root vegetables like the beetroot! Ah! Looks can be deceiving right?!

Sambar is one of the most well-known of South Indian dishes. 

Every South Indian state, actually every home in these states has its version of the ubiquitous dish. Girija Paati makes a number of Sambar versions herself, though the mixed vegetable version is the simplest and most popular.

Girija Paati’s Murungakkai or Drumstick curry allows the simplicity of this unique vegetable to take center stage and is a classic South Indian recipe that takes very little time to make.