palya
Palya is a Kannada (South Indian language) word for a dry side dish made with any vegetable or a combination. Palya is usually cooked in dry heat, which brings out the flavour of the vegetables when the natural sugars in the vegetables caramelize and the flavour is concentrated. Small pieces of uniformly cut vegetables – julienne thick or thin, diced, finely shredded, or in thin diagonal slices – are sautéed in a bit of ghee or oil in a heavy-bottomed pan until they are partially cooked and browned.
tip
When using vegetables like sweet potato, potato, beetroot, or eggplant, I usually sprinkle them with a bit of water, cover them with a lid, and cook on low heat for 5 minutes to soften them.
This is a photo of the sweet potatoes I dug up the other day. Unfortunately, they look worse for wear but taste sweet and delicious. I have had to come up with many dishes to use them in. This palya is a good one!
favourite palya combinations
- Julienne sliced beetroot, small broccoli leaves and kale
- Julienne sliced carrot, yellow and green beans (I love the vibrant colours of orange, yellow and green)
- Cauliflower, potato and peas (lightly steam the potatoes and cauliflower beforehand)
- Julienne sliced cabbage, crumbled tofu and thinly sliced carrot
- Grated carrot and mung beans (as in the easy sprouting recipe)
Donna recently made a yummy combination of tofu, mung bean sprouts and grated sweet potato, which she will share with you later.
I served this with mung beans with Indian spices & lemon and brown rice.
SWEET POTATO, CARROT & KALE PALYA
ingredients
1 Tbsp ghee/peanut oil
½ tsp black mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp rasam powder (mildly spiced)
1 small-medium sweet potato, cut into thin Julienne pieces
1 large carrot, cut into thin Julienne pieces
1 tsp jaggery/brown sugar
¼ cup dried shredded coconut, or fresh if available
100g kale thinly sliced – or use any green leaves. I sometimes use a combination of spinach, kale, and small broccoli leaves from the garden
salt to taste
fresh coriander leaves, chopped
preparation
- Heat the ghee or oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add mustard seeds and fry until they start to splutter and pop. Add cumin seeds, and when they darken, add the rasam powder and fry for a few seconds.
- Add carrot and sweet potato, mix well until the vegetables are well coated, cover with a lid and simmer for 10 mins, stirring often over low heat or until the sweet potato softens. If the mixture is too dry, sprinkle it lightly with water.
- When soft, add the jaggery and coconut, mixing well.
- Add the kale and continue cooking on low heat for a few minutes, stirring often. Turn off the heat and cover for 10 minutes, or until the kale has wilted.
- Add the coriander and salt to taste.
Enjoy!
Shared goodness from Stacey
