Muloshyam(Kaplanga / Omakka) | Raw Papaya Mulakushyam (VIDEO)

Muloshyam or Mulakushyam is a simple curry of Palakkad, you may call this as mildy spiced vegetable soup like curry. This can be added in the comfort curries as it's easily digested. This is a traditional recipe of muloshayam and there are n number of variations of this basic mulakushyam now available on internet. Ideally, pepper powder or green chilly is added. There are people who add chilly powder instead of green chillies, some don't add tomato, some do add coconut paste too. But let me tell you that these are the modified versions of muloshayam. While having a chit-chat with one of my palakkadan friend, she told the basic recipe goes as below (minus tomato). Muloshayam or mulakushyam means 'mulaku dooshyam' that chillies are bad for health.  If you are fed up with making coconut based curries for lunch, then this is a choice for your digestive system once in a while.

Usually ash gourd, vellarika(cucumber), pumpkin, chena(elephant yam) are used to make this curry and so vellarikka has a mild sour flavour on its own, so adding tomato is not needed. I was using raw papaya, so I added the tomato to  add a little tangy flavour to the curry, as I was apprehensive about my family's acceptance of this simple curry. But to my surprise, they all liked it, and my concept was that the curry would be watery without coconut paste. However, the curry is medium thick gravy and if you require thicker gravy, mash all the raw papaya pieces, and you will get the desired consistency. I preferred keeping little pieces to bite in the curry, but you can always choose as per tastes. If you have no veggies in your pantry and all that you get is a raw papaya from the backyard, then go ahead and give this curry a try. Split moong dal can also be used in place of sambar parippu(toor dal).  Give this curry a try !!

Preparation time ~ 10 minutes

Cooking time ~ 20 minutes

Author ~ Julie

Serves ~ 5

Ingredients

raw papaya 1 small size or 2 cups cubed

green chillies 2-3 big or 3-4 small

tomato 1 small (optional)

toor dal(sambar parippu) 1/4 cup

turmeric powder 1/2 tsp

salt to taste

curry leaves, 2 sprigs

coconut oil 1- 2 tbsp

Method

• Wash and peel the skin of raw papaya. Cut in halves and scoop out the seeds with a spoon. Wash again to remove any sap, which may irritate some people. Cut in cubes, slit green chillies and cut tomatoes.
• Wash the dal and add to pressure cooker. Add enough water, turmeric powder and salt. Pressure-cook for 3 whistles and wait for the pressure to release.
• Add the cut veggies to the pressure cooker and pressure-cook again for 3 whistles.
• After the pressure is released, mash the papaya pieces here and there using a potato masher(mashing helps to thicken the gravy consistency).
• Put the curry back on flame and boil again, add water and salt as needed. Boil for 4-5 minutes and add curry leaves, pour coconut oil on top and switch off flame.
• Leave covered for 10 minutes for the flavours to seep in. Enjoy with steamed rice.

NOTES

* You can use split moong dal too instead of sambar parippu.

* You can use pepper powder(1/2tsp-3/4 tsp) instead of green chillies. This curry is generally spiced, so alter as per your tastes.

RECIPES USING RAW PAPAYA-

* Raw papaya Stir fry (Kaplanga Thoran)

* Kaplanga Moru Curry

* Raw Papaya Paratha

* Kaplanga Erissery

* Kaplanga Halwa

Pacha Kapplanga(Omakka) Halwa | Raw Papaya Halwa (Step by Step Pics)

How fast is time flying? We have crossed half a month since New Year and I had been quite busy since Christmas vacations. If you ask me what kept me busy, I don't have one particular task to list down but ever since we visited families at both homes and then last week we visited home again which was like an unexpected visit in a short time. All these with a few things here kept me busy and so hardly found any time to pen down my thoughts. Drafts are pending to be posted but I hardly get time these days with both kids online classes. Most of the time the laptop is with them so I keep ignoring my space due to time constraints. Anyways these are a few lame excuses but still when it comes to prioritizing, I do shift my blog as the last one to update. 

Coming back to today's post is a special halwa made with raw papaya. Sounds strange? Then how about a lauki or doodhi halwa. It tastes almost the same like the lauki halwa. The natural color of this halwa is a light sea green color and to your surprise none will guess the veggie used in this halwa. Back home in our backyard, there are plenty of papaya trees and I have made it a habit of plucking a few each time I go home. Few goes in making papaya thoran or raw papaya pullisery or ripened ones are had as fruit. This time I thought to give a change to the usual preparations with raw papaya as kids don't like this veggie much. So making halwa was a good way to finish the raw papaya however I wouldn't recommend making halwa is a good choice to get the nutritious benefits of papaya as there is use of granulated white sugar. And as I just said my family couldn't guess the veggie and they happily devoured this halwa. I made half portion of a big papaya and that halwa just finished in minutes. The grated papaya is cooked and reduced considerably so you hardly get a cup of halwa after cooking. The strands are cooked nice and are coated with sweetness, milk adds to the taste as well. Cardamom adds a nice flavor to get the desi feel. Adding khoya(mava) will make the halwa more delicious. So if you are looking around for some sweet raw papaya recipes then go ahead and give this a try. Am sure you will love this halwa too.

Preparation time ~ 10 minutes

Cooking time ~ 30 minutes

Serves ~ a small bowl of halwa

Author ~ Julie

Ingredients 

raw papaya half of one or 3 cups grated

granulated sugar 1 cup

cardamom powder 3/4 tsp 

almonds and cashews chopped 2 tbsp each

whole milk 2 cups

ghee 3 tbsp + 1 tbsp

                                                  

                                                           

Method

• Wash, peel the skin of the raw papaya and scoop out the seeds with the help of a spoon and the white strands like thing which may taste bitter. Then grate the papaya pieces using a grater, keep aside.

• Heat ghee in a heavy bottomed pan and add the grated papaya. Saute the grated papaya on low flame till it’s half cooked. 

• Then add boiled milk to this sauteed papaya. Keep cooking, may take 7-8 minutes to reduce completely and the moisture to get absorbed(you may find the milk gets curdled and whey separating but don't worry as this is like making kalakand). Then, add sugar and mix well which will in turn watery. Cook again to reduce and the moisture to get absorbed for 7-8 mins. (If you are using khoya/ mava add at this point crumbled with sugar).

•  Finally fry the chopped almonds and cashews add to the halwa along with cardamom powder.

NOTES

* Adding khoya or mava adds to the taste of the halwa, so feel free to add crumbled or grated khoya (1/2 cup) along with sugar. I haven't used khoya in this recipe.

RELATED POSTS
* Raw papaya Paratha

* Raw Papaya Pulisery

* Raw Papaya Thoran (stir fry)

* Kaplanga(raw papaya) Erissery

Kaplanga (Omakka) Erissery | Raw Papaya Curry ~ Step by Step Pics

Erissery is one of the items in sadya menu however you can always make this at home otherwise too. Erissery is a thick gravy curry that pairs good with hot steamed rice. There are varied number of ways you can make erissery by using different vegetables like pumpkin, vazhakka (raw banana). I love the mathanga erissery the most, as the sweetness in the pumpkin adds a distinct flavor to the erissery. 

Erissery is also made adding legumes like cow peas to the vegetables and then cooked but you can always make the erissery with vegetables alone too. I was longing for a raw papaya to make thoran or stir fry. Sooner did we reach home for perunnal(church feast)and there in our backyard,we have plenty of them. H plucked a few thinking I was mad in love with raw papaya and we bought it here as there was no time to cook there along with perunnal dishes and none wanted papaya along with non veg dishes. After landing here, I made papaya thoran and then thought why not give this erissery a try which really worked good. Kids are not a fan of raw papaya but somehow ate papaya thoran, however warned me not to prepare the thoran again as they were like fed up. I didn't wish to waste this veggie which came all the way from home and so made erissery. Believe me, none would know the erissery is made with the raw papaya. So this recipe actually worked out.

Raw papaya once cooked in cooker and then mashed will not give a slight tinge that its raw papaya. After tasting the erissery I concluded that this can be included in our menu as all loved it but a semi ripe papaya would be better for making this erissery. Next time I would love to get hold of a semi ripe one to prepare this erissery. The preparation is very simple and easy to make. The tempering with grated coconut adds the unique flavor and aroma to the curry, enjoy !!

Preparation time ~ 10 minutes
Cooking time ~ 20 minutes
Serves ~ 4-5 
Ingredients
raw papaya 2 cups diced
turmeric powder 1/2 tsp
salt to taste
sugar a pinch (optional)

to grind
coconut grated 1/2 cup
jeerakam / cumin seeds 1/2 tsp
garlic cloves 2-3
red chilly powder 3/4 tsp

to temper
coconut grated 2 tbsp
red dry chilly 2 broken
curry leaves 2 sprig
mustard seeds 1 tsp

Method

• Wash and peel the skin of the papaya. Wash the pieces under running water. Add this pieces to the cooker and add half a cup of water, turmeric powder and salt. Pressure cook for two whistles and wait till the pressure is released.
• In the meantime, grind the coconut with cumin seeds, chilly powder and garlic cloves. Ground to a smooth paste.

• Mash the cooked papaya pieces slightly. Cook again and then add the ground paste to the cooked papaya. Adjust the salt and add sugar if using(sugar helps to balance the flavours). If you are using a semi ripe papaya then omit the added sugar. Simmer the curry over low flame for 2 minutes.Switch off flame.

• Heat oil in a kadai and add oil to temper. Splutter mustard seeds, broken red dry chilly and curry leaves. Add the grated coconut to this and fry till golden brown. Pour this over the curry.
• Keep covered for another 5 minutes till the flavors seep in and then serve warm with hot steamed rice.

NOTES
* Use fresh raw papaya as the older raw papaya leaves out a bitterness once cooked.
* Try using a semi ripe papaya where in the outer skin looks green and the core turns slightly orange whereas the inside otherwise is white. I feel the mild sweetness will add the unique flavor to erissery.
* Tempering with grated coconut is very important to this curry as it adds a unique flavor and aroma.
* I haven't mashed the raw papaya pieces fully but you can always do if you wish to do. Also I made the gravy semi watery but you can reduce the amount of water and make thick.

RELATED POSTS
* Papaya Thoran
* Raw Papaya Paratha
* Papaya Moru Curry

Raw Papaya Paratha | Papitha Paratha

Parathas are always a big yes to my kids. And it becomes easy in a way to sneak in veggies too. If you are looking for a simple lunchbox idea,this can be a helpful one as well. Raw papaya is an excellent source of fiber and so beats constipation and promotes digestive health. Raw papaya has the greatest amount of carotenoids than tomatoes and carrots. Hence it helps prevent vitamin deficiencies which kids are frequently prone to have. It is also helpful to ease menstrual pains for women. Though I do prepare papaya thoran but at times this is a healthy alternative and kids love this over thoran. The taste of these parathas is similar to mooli parathas and has no obvious flavors of its own. Do try it out if you are looking to add this veggie in your menu.

Check out more paratha recipes below-
Colorful Paratha
Broccoli Paratha
Gobi Paratha
Mooli Paratha
Aloo Paratha
Egg Paratha

Preparation time~30 mins
Cooking time ~15 mins
Serves ~6-7 parathas
Ingredients
to make paratha
wheat flour 2 cups
water approx 1 cup
salt to taste
oil or ghee 2-3 tbsp

for filling
raw  papaya grated 2 cups
green chilli  1- 2 finely chopped  or chilli powder 1/2 tsp
cumin seeds /jeerakam 1/2 tsp
ginger 1/2 inch piece chopped
coriander leaves /cilantro 1tbsp chopped
salt to taste
oil 2tsp

Method

• Wash and peel the skin of raw papaya. Remove the seeds. Grate the papaya with a grater like we do for mooli(radish) paratha.
• Heat a  pan and add oil listed from the filling section. When the oil is hot, add cumin seeds, let it sizzle.
• Then add the grated papaya,ginger,green chilli,coriander leaves chopped and saute for 3-4 mins. Add salt to taste. The filling becomes dry and not sticks to the pan. Remove on a plate and let it cool.
• In the meantime, mix the wheat flour with salt.Add water as needed and knead to form a dough as needed. Cover and leave the dough for 20 mins.

• After 20 mins, divide the dough into 6-7 equal portion and make balls. Take out one ball and roll out the dough by dipping it in dry flour. Make a 3 inch round and then place a tablespoon of filling. Cover neatly to seal all sides, and then dip in flour and roll out again to make a 6" round circle.
• Heat a tawa and when its hot,slide the paratha on it. Flip and turn both sides on low flame( that makes the parathas more crispier ). Smear oil or ghee on both sides and transfer to a plate.

• Similarly, repeat the same step to make rest of the balls. Serve warm parathas with achar(pickle) or raitha. We had with a simple raitha and kadumanga achar( raw mango pickle).

NOTES
* You can also prepare this paratha by kneading the dough with the filling like I prepared these mooli parathas. That way it becomes easier to roll out.
* This recipe is inspired from Nishamadulikka.com and I have tweaked slightly here and there.