The Kerala sadhya is so special. It is an elaborate five-course meal with nearly 28 items to be on the “vazhayila” or the banana leaf. Crispy papadam, lip-smacking pickles, an array of vegetable curries, and rice to begin with nei and parippu, to move on to sambhar, rasam, buttermilk and of course the yummiest payasam. This parade of items is savoured by hand, sitting on the floor on a mat.
Among the vegetable curries, there is one special one on the right-hand corner of the leaf. Yes as you guessed each item has a meticulous placement.
I learned this the hard way from my dad who taught me -while serving you don’t sit, you bend down and place the dish gently neither splattering nor touching the leaf. This delicate art of balancing is my mother’s trademark.
Back to the right-hand side corner of the leaf- there perched is a small blob of unassuming white slightly thickened curry -“the kichadi.” The kichadi is a raw preparation with a fresh coconut yoghurt sauce and incorporated salad veggies.
The favourite among the kichadi for my father and my mother in law alike is the inji kichadi or ginger kichadi. As a matter of fact, this is a digestive aid more than a curry.
The ginger grated or blend into the coconut yoghurt sauce is not with the pungent spice of ginger. Yet this fluffy white curry is so tasty, you don’t want to stop till you lick it clean.
Ginger
Being from the tropical cuisine there are plenty of uses for ginger in the cuisine as a dietary condiment. This useful warmth providing underground stem is quite easy to grow in your garden too.
Here are some highlights of why ginger is good for us-
- ginger has been used as a digestive aid in Asian cuisines
- it is used to alleviate nausea especially during early trimester of pregnancy
- ginger is a well-known anti-inflammatory and recommended in small doses for menstrual pain relief.
- the antifungal properties of ginger have always been a reason for its inclusion in the tropical diet.
- a significant decrease in LDL cholesterol levels has been found in the use of ginger in the diet by a few studies.
- However, overuse of ginger can cause heartburn.
Incorporate the ginger in this mild kichadi into your menu the upcoming Vishu sadhya season and see the magic on the banana leaf.
Here are some items you may want to look at if you are making a sadhya.
and if you have any specific recipes on the sadhya you would like to try, leave a note so I can put it up for you.
Try out this adaptation of the inji kichadi on a wedge salad by Ali
Last but not the least, do subscribe so you can get latest updates.
Inji kichadi
fresh ginger yogurt sauce
Ingredients
- 1 inch fresh ginger root to clean and grate
- 0.5 cup low fat yogurt
- salt to taste
- 1 green chilli
- 1 tbsp grated coconut
- 2-3 curry leaves
- 0.5 cup low fat yogurt
Seasoning
- 1 tsp coconut oil
- 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
- 1 pinch hing/ kayam/ asafeoteida
- few fenugreek seeds
Instructions
- Clean and scrape the peel of the ginger with the back of a spoon.
- Grate the ginger fine.
- Whisk this with the half cup of yogurt and salt and set aside
- use the other half cup of yogurt and blend the curry leaves, coconut ( or almonds) and chillies, ( can remove or adjust based on the heat you prefer).
- Whisk this mixture to the ginger and yogurt.
- Set a small pan and add the coconut oil to heat.
- As it warms up add the mustard seeds and fenugreek
- When the mustard splutters Add the hing and remove from heat.
- Add this tempering to the whisked yogurt mixture.
- Mix and serve cold.
Notes
You can blend the ginger if you dont like the pieces of it in the preperation. You can totally swap the coconut for soaked almonds to prepare the same.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
I love ginger in any form. Ginger with curd and coconut sound delicious. Lovely share.
Thanks, Sujatha, ginger is definitely an all-rounder
This sauce sounds delicious, love the ginger in it! I hope I get to try a Sadhya someday, one of the many things on my list to try 🙂
Can smell the flavor of this kichadi rite from your clicks, and the addition of coconut makes me drool. Wonderful dish there.
Ginger in coconut and yogurt sauce sounds so flavorful !
This is my fav ,I usually make it when i buy lots of fresh ginger from the market.. Lovely dish..
My family is a ginger loving family. My daughter eats it just like that with a rock salt.
This kichadi is very new to me. Replacing almonds for coconut is also new idea to me.
I must make it. As summer is here, this kichdi will be a hit. And thank you for detailed post.
Lovely reading your post Seema. Nice information about Kerala Sadya.
Inji kichadi sounds absolutely delicious. I’m definitely going to try this some time.
Wow, I never heard of this dish, sounds so delicious and beneficial for the body too.
This is somewhat similar to the masala dahi that we make…but the addition of ginger and coconut sounds interesting 🙂 Lovely clicks 🙂
I know the gently place on the banana leaf procedure. Even I learnt it the hard way n now I get so mad when someone touches the leaf with the ladle. As for as the kichadi this is new to me. But sounds like what we can have tomorrow for padwa
Oh I love this combo.. Such a flavourful and refreshing Kichadi.
Ginger is having great medicinal benefits. I love to use ginger in my almost every recipe. Your recipe looks delicious.
Sauce looks delicious. Love the flavor of grated ginger in it. ????
I have always seen kichadi made with vegetables but never knew it could be made only with ginger too… sounds so good… I love a good sadya, always fills up the tummy and heart too…
Ginger Kichadi is very nostalgic in flavour.. Good for digestion too..
Ginger n yogurt combo sound so yum !!
I have never added ginger to yogurt but I think it must have tasted refreshing and spicy.
this is a keeper recipe and is super healthy too. i can see many benefits of it….lovely…will give it a try soon
Love using ginger, do need to try this sometime. This is something new to me Seema
That sounds like a delicious and healthy sauce. I using ginger in my cooking, but haven’t used in yogurt. will try
Your description of the sadya on banana leaf certainly got my appetite up and running. I learnt the placement of the items on the leaf, only after my marriage. We have so much of variety and its quite daunting to keep a track of things. However, some items like this certainly earns its own place on the leaf, easy to remember, not to forget, lipsmacking in taste. I love ginger in thogayal too and with curd it definitely makes a yum combo. Great share!
seems like this is perfect diet recipe..
Serving food in ‘Vazhayilla’ is an art… you brought me those memories…inji kichadi looks delicious…
similar minds dear
I had a chance to have this sadhya on banana leaves. Really so many dishes served in small quantity on leaf. Though I did not what all items were served 😛 but I loved few of them
I absolutely love this Seema and it is so good for health too. It is making me nostalgic. Soul food indeed.
Ginger in coconut and yogurt sauce, this sounds interesting.!