Perugu Pacchadi (Vegetables in Yogurt)

Any of the following vegetables:

Banana Stem, Anapa Kaya, Potla Kaya, Chayote squash, Spinach– Cook till soft but tender. Wait till they cool.
Baked and peeled eggplant
grated fresh coconut
sautéed finely chopped fresh red onion, grated carrots, grated beetroot
finely chopped fresh red onion (for rice dishes)

Banana Stem

Cut the stem into thin discs. Stack 10-12 discs and cut them finely in a way that you can remove the think hairy fiber. (Stop right here if you cannot remove the fiber.) Soak the finely chopped vegetables in sour buttermilk for an hour. Wash thoroughly and drain.

For about 2 cups of cooked or fresh vegetable/coconut etc.:

Garnish:
1 tsp urad dal
½ tsp mustard seeds
2-3 red chilies
pinch of hing
1 green chili
3-4 sprigs cilantro

Salt to taste

Heat 1 tsp oil. When the oil is hot, add the spices in the following order, 10-15 seconds apart:
mustard seeds
urad dal
red chilies
pinch of hing
green chili
1 sprig curry leaves

Add 1 cup of yogurt, ¼ tsp turmeric and finely chopped cilantro.
Optionally add mustard paste for Banana Stem, Anapa Kaya, spinach, eggplant, coconut:
Soak 1 Tsp water: 1 tsp mustard seeds and 1 tsp raw rice (OR 2 red chilies)
1 Tsp grated coconut
½ inch piece of ginger (optional)
Grind all of the above in 1-2 Tsp water to a fine paste, add 1 tsp sesame seed oil and set aside. It will turn bitter otherwise.