The Sunday Lunch Spread!!

For the past one week or so I have not been eating pretty well....I was not feeling well last weekend and I guess that triggered it...it looks like I lost few pounds too (sure that’s a good thing :) ) ....

I was bored of eating pasta, kurma whole of last week...wanted something South Indianish - the satvik food devoid of onions (I do not like garlic anyway)....and I had been to my friend's house for dinner last night (I should have taken a photo of what she prepared....excellent food...starting with samosas and dahi vada, parata, kurma, rajma, ghee rice, mysore rasam....and ended with a mouth watering carrot halwa...). This triggered my interest (or craving) for a lavish lunch...I generally like to eat three course meal for my Sunday lunch.....hence started planning as soon as I got up ... Hoping I am not the only one here pertaining to this question - do you guys ask this question and keep asking people around you for suggestions " The $100 question - What should I cook today - I am bored of coming up with what to cook give me ideas or tell me what you want?" ...My husband had not woken up yet .. to pester him with "the famous question - what shall I cook??" and anyways I had decided to fix a nice meal....so there begins the saga of finding what’s in the refrigerator....it looked like I had lot of veggies sitting in there for more than a week now....When I sorted there  was little bit (by little bit I mean....if I cook it will be there for couple of days) of everything.......

So first I wanted to make paruppu urundai kuyambu....but these veggies ?? what to do with them...wanted to incorporate them some way or other in the meal I was preparing...so the first one to come out was sorakai (the so brinjal like looking...you can call it the "Anna" of brinjal (my husband and I do not like the much loved brinjal) bottlegourd)...so that clearly turned into kootu...I leaped further into my crisper and there came raw banana...one of my favourite...that was sure to become a dry curry....so I dig in further and I find spinach leaves and I had got kale leaves (my friend mentioned about this last week....so I had got it when we went for grocery shopping)...so that was instantaneously turned into spinach kale kootu (molagootal or however it may be called in different parts of India...) I liked the turnout of keerai (green leafy vegetables) kootu with the touch of kale...Now that I liked the taste of this leafy vegetable...will be experimenting more with this lovely leafy vegetable ( my friend got to know about this kale leaves when her sis was over to her house last weekend....and thanks to her for passing on the tip of using this tasty kale leaves to me!!)...so the digging continues and I did mention right about the mysore rasam that my friend made yesterday...I was checking emails this morning and was thinking whether to call and find the secret ingredients that went with the rasam... my computer blinks with her name as I was about to move to check the news....pat (telepathy) she comes online....and hence I find out the recipe for it and I am too happy now and get more excited about the lunch am going to prepare...I just could not get my head off the spicy hot mysore rasam....it did not turn out as good as she made it (but ok...not too bad either..my husband and son enjoyed it!!)...I had made raw mango pickle last week when I had called friends over for dinner and had a tiny bit remaining (which I know if I make it again will be sitting in refrigerator for couple of days...but that did not deter me from making it) ... and I had the vendaya kaduku (fenugreek mustard powder too left over from last week's prep of this pickle)...since it will be lot more simpler now...that also becomes part of the spread (a South Indian lunch can never be devoid of curd rice...more so over...the pickle can be had with anything and everything right) so there comes the instant raw mango pickle...and before I forget to mention I had to make the much loved pithatha...if you are wondering what on earth this vegetable is ....that's how my son refers to vendakai (Okra/ladies finger)...so when I am making a lavish spread...I cannot leave him behind ...so made that too....I had just kept the rice and was giving finishing touches and preparing to leave the kitchen as we were planning to have lunch and after my husband's gym routine at Y ...we were planning to take our son to the chuck-e-cheese... my husband asked me what about pavakai pitlai (bittergourd gravy)....even I was thinking there is only keerai and sorakai kootu and no sambhar or anything to start with,,,,he mentions bittergourd....so I continue my digging into the refrigrator...and there I find it hiding beneath my beets....so I start the process and now it became an ultimate Sunday lunch....

As I was just wondering...if it had been India we could have had the meal in a banana leaf (it is believed that eating in banana leaf adds a touch of aroma to the food we eat)...I get reminded of our favourite stainless steel thali plate (my mom got me these plates since I mentioned to her..that her beloved son-in-law loves to eat so much in this)...I always reserved this plate for festivals or important days!! But I bring that out to have this hearty Sunday lunch...

Thanks to my friend for triggering it with a lovely dinner last night...without her I would have made lunch....but might have been something different!! We thoroughly enjoyed the meal and set out to chuck-e-cheese on a cold afternoon. Will add the recipes for Spinach Kale Keerai Kootu, Mysore Rasam and Sorakai Kootu as a continuation to this post....and the Pavakkai (bittergourd) Pitlai too.............