Kaya Tholi Thoran

Hi all,

If you are wondering what am I doing for the last couple of days without blogging, then here it is..  I am letting out that my weekend experiments in the kitchen were disasters. Yeah, you heard it right.

I love baking especially cooking exotic bread/pies/tarts infused with fruits and herbs. Whenever I have mood swings, I always find solace in baking my own breakfast bread or a tea time tart. I am kind of person who goes crazy over fresh fruits, whatever may be. I had loads and loads of fruits of all kinds occupying space in my cooler. I couldn’t think  other than fruit pie to use them efficiently and who wouldn’t say Nay to a pie. That’s how I decided to bake a blueberry pie for Saturday tea talk. Usually, my tea time during weekends is elaborate discussing, teasing or just gazing out.  After searching few cookbooks in my kindle, I figured out a recipe with wheat flour and coconut oil. I kneaded the dough, marinated blueberries with mentioned ingredients and stirred in the dough to the pan. I gently slide in the dough in preheated oven and was eagerly waiting for my pie. Time moved on. It was almost 30 minutes but the dough was still moist and blueberries were still intact. Pie tastes out of the world when fresh fruity essence oozes out of the fruit and gently flavor the dough with its essence and aroma. I thought I would check after 5 minutes.  Poor me with my volatile memory, I completely forgot about pie. Only when the burnt smell and smoke emanated from the oven, I realized a big disaster has happened inside my oven.  That was my Saturday story.

Now, let me get back to today’s recipe. Once I started preparing thoran, I got hooked to it. And now, thoran has become a frequently prepared accompaniment in my kitchen.  When I was surfing about Kerala delicacies, this kaya tholi thoran caught my attention. I love plantain. I used to prepare South Indian Delicacy – Aviyal with plantain and relish over sambar rice.  This kaya tholi thoran interested as it is prepared with the plantain peel. Sounds interesting right?   My grandma used to refer as every part of a plantain is useful to mankind and packed with so much nutrients.  Hence, I decided to try out this simple yet delicious thoran for my lunch.

Kaya Tholi Thoran or Ethakka Tholi Thoran is prepared using Plantain peel and grounded coconut with chili, garlic, and cumin seeds. Thoran is a Kerala delicacy and can be prepared with a variety of vegetables. This can be served as an accompaniment for rice. Some used to prepare the dish without garlic whereas some used to prepare with onion and garlic. If you have tried kaya thoran, then you will be amazed at the taste of plantain peel too and you will not waste the peel of banana next time.  Serve thoran with rice and puli serry.

Method:

• Raw banana peel / Plantain peel – 2
• Turmeric Powder – ¼ teaspoon
• Water – 2 cups as required
• Salt – 1 teaspoon
• To Grind:
• Grated Coconut – ½ cup
• Garlic cloves – 3
• Cumin Seeds – ½ teaspoon
• Green Chilies – 4
• Shallots – 6
• Salt – ¼ teaspoon
• To Temper
• Oil – 1 tablespoon
• Mustard Seeds – ¼ teaspoon
• Dry Red Chilies  – 2
• Curry leaves – Handful

Ingredients:

• Remove the peel from raw plantain. Wash the peel thoroughly with water. Chop the plantain peel finely into pieces.
• Add turmeric powder and cook chopped plantain peel with 2 cups of water. Cook until they become tender. Drain the excess water from the peel.
• Meanwhile, grind coarsely all the ingredients mentioned under To Grind.
• In a small pan, heat oil over medium heat and add mustard seeds once the oil is hot.
• Add curry leaves, followed by red chilies once the seeds splutters.
• Add the grounded paste and cook until the raw smell goes off.
• Now, to the fried coconut mixture, add chopped plantain peel to the mixture and cook until moisture is completely absorbed.
• Serve with rice as sides and enjoy the meal.