The great city of Chennai, in Southern India, has its own very unique culture. Chennai has a churning, roiling, ebbing and flowing mass of humanity, which manages to co-exist in relative peace. Like every other large metropolitan city in the world, Chennai too has its class divide between the rich and the poor. In addition, it has a unique class divide that is not based on economic strata. This class divide is based on India’s ancient culture of caste system. However, I like to think that the caste system boundaries have slowly eroded and no longer do people identify themselves as belonging to a certain caste.

Despite all that, there is one way of identifying people of a certain caste: their eating habits. Based on whether they are Hindus, Muslims or Christians, people in India have varying dietary habits. And amongst the Hindus, various castes have different methods of cooking, utilizing spices, and different favorite foods. The distinction is so great, that sometimes, the Chennai-ites refer to people of a certain community by the name of their favorite dish! This is usually done with friendly banter and in a teasing manner. The targets of the banter also take it in the spirit it is meant and do not mind being referred to by the name of a dish!

And so it was, that when I lived in Chennai, I was fondly referred to as “Thair Sadam” or Yogurt rice by my friends. I belong to a community which HAS to end its 3-course meal with Thair sadam. Yogurt is such an integral part of the meal that it is considered a panacea for all illnesses. It is a ubiquitous, favorite food. And any dish made with yogurt is a hot favorite.

Here is one such dish – so very easy to make, so yummy and such a fabulous accompaniment with any main dish – rice or chapathi. The recipe for Spicy Okra in yogurt sauce is one of the series of Cooking on a Shoestring budget. You will see just how easy this dish is on your wallet. Enjoy!

Here is what you need:
10 fresh Okra pods (washed and chopped in about 1/2″ pieces)

1 cup fresh homemade yogurt (if you cannot make yogurt at home, buy Stonyfield low fat or whole milk yogurt)
1/2 tsp salt
1 pinch turmeric powder
1 tsp red chili powder (reduce as necessary)
1 tbsp olive oil

Here is how you make this:
Heat a pan and add olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the chopped Okra, salt, turmeric and red chili powder. Stir fry on high heat until the Okra is fried crisp and nearly blackened. Remove from the stove and cool.

In a dish, lightly beat yogurt with a fork. If you are using Stonyfield yogurt, add half cup of water to the yogurt and then beat with a fork. Add the fried Okra into the yogurt.

Serve with Rice, chapathi, or Edamame and Green Onion Rice Pilaf.

Cost:
Okra:      $0.50
Yogurt: $0.90 (for Stonyfield yogurt. If you are using homemade yogurt, it will probably cost $0.15)
Spices:  $0.10
Oil :        $0.10
————————–
Total : $1.60 – Serves 4
—————————

South Indian Brahmins are known for their enormous affinity for yogurt. In India, people refer to yogurt as “curd”. No meal, and I mean literally no meal – breakfast, lunch, dinner or snack, is complete without a bowl of homemade curd.

Yogurt in India is usually home-made with live culture. Every night, before the housewife winds down and closes her kitchen, the last chore of the day is to add culture to pre-boiled milk to set yogurt (curd) for the next day. And every morning, the first chore is to refrigerate the new yogurt.

The new yogurt is used in a multitude of ways throughout the day: eaten plain, with sugar, made into Thair sadam, used a base for various sauces like “More Kozhambu” or “buttermilk sauce”. It is also used with fresh cut cucumber and onions to make “Raitas” or “Pachadis”.

I am a big fan of yogurt. My family consumes vast quantities every day. When I moved to the US, I tried to buy yogurt because no one I knew seemed to make it at home. I have tried various brands of buttermilk and yogurt. I found the unsweetened yogurts pasty and tasteless; I am not sure what they add in it to make it so. The sweetened yogurts are too sweet to be eaten as a meal accompaniment or used in Indian sauces. So I have finally decided to go back to my roots and now I make yogurt fresh and use live culture, just like I did when I lived in India.

Now that I have fresh home-made yogurt everyday, I am tempted to try all those Indian dishes that have yogurt as a base. I am also tempted to try out new dishes. One those new dishes is the “Green Apple in Yogurt Sauce”.

I first saw a green apple in the US. In India we used to get one variety of apple and that was the red apple. When I first tried a green apple, I was surprised at its tart taste. It isn’t very easy to eat as a fruit. But I have since read a lot about its fantastic nutritional qualities, most notably its Vitamin C, fiber and pectin content. So I have learned to use the green apple effectively in various dishes – combined with peppers in the Colorful pepper salad, and now in this simply fabulous recipe of “Green Apple Pachadi”.

This dish is simply heavenly – the tartness of the green apple combined with the natural sweetness of the yogurt and the hot spiciness of the habanero pepper panders to all the flavors the human tongue is used to: tart, sweet, sour and hot!

Without much ado, here is the recipe. This is a fabulously healthy dish, which is also very low-fat and low calorie. Make it in just 5 minutes! Enjoy!

Here is what you need:
1 large green apple (granny smith) (the tarter, the better!)
1 cup thick unsweetened yogurt
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar

To Garnish:
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp black mustard seeds
1 tsp split, peeled urad dal (for the crunch, optional)
1 pinch asofoetida powder
1 habanero or jalopeno pepper (finely chopped) (optional – but take heed, this is what brings out the flavor of the apple and yogurt and gives this pachadi a fantastic taste)
1 sprig fresh green cilantro leaves

Here is how you make this:
Wash and chop the green apple. Add to the yogurt. Add salt and sugar and mix well. Heat oil in a pan. When the oil is hot, add the mustard seeds. Wait for them to crackle. Now add the urad dal and brown until crisp. Now add the asofoetida powder and the chopped habanero and fry until crisp. (Ensure the habaneros are fried crisp – this will cut down the spice but retain the flavor of the habanero). Pour garnish over the pachadi. Decorate with finely chopped cilantro leaves.

Serve as an accompaniment to any spicy dish and rice. I generally serve with rice and sambar or with aloo paratha.