Prawn Fry - Kochi style

Kochi style sea food preparation has not received much acclaim in the blog circle i believe...i have not seen much mention. However, the long coast and the backwaters of Kochi has its own simple and tasty preparation without many ingredients to go into it. Prawn fry is one such thing. Even now you can see some colleagues from Fort Kochi, Vypeen and Bolgatty bringing lunch with just rice and this spicy, yet mellow prawn....you don't need any other curry.

ingredients to boil the prawns

whole prawns - 250 gms
ginger - 1/2 inch piece
green chilly - 1 or 2 medium sized (slit)
turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
salt to taste

ingredients to stir fry

oil - 2 tbsp
small onions - 12 - 15
curry leaves - 1 sprig
chilly powder - 1 or 1 1/2 tbsp

method

Boil the prawns in a clay pot or a steel pan with the ingredients mentioned and 4 tbsp water in low flame. Stir in between to prevent the prawn from sticking to the pan. Turn off heat when prawns have changed to reddish white colour from pale white.





To stir fry, heat a heavy bottom pan and add oil. When the oil is hot, add chopped small onions (as in pic),  and let it turn translucent (don't brown it/ caramelize).

Turn to low heat and add the chilly powder and curry leaves and stir for 10 seconds. Add the boiled prawns and keep stirring till all the prawn is coated with the spice and the water is completely evaporated. Serve hot with rice.

Spicy Chilly Stand Up Kuzhalappam - Easy Recipe

Spicy Chilly Kuzhalappam is a slightly tweaked recipe with few strands of red chilly and a secret ingredient to make it reeaally crunchy. The snack is made to stand up to create a more impressive look....may be for a restaurant style snacking! Keep reading to know how....

ingredients for kuzhalappam

fine rice flour used for string hoppers (powedered and roasted) - 1 cup
boiling hot water - 1 cup
salt to taste or 1/4 tsp
sesame seeds - 2 tsp
grated coconut - 3 tbsp
small onion or shallots - 4
cumin - 1/6 tsp
dry red chilly (Kashmiri) - 5 (washed, deseeded and cut into thin strips)
Oil to fry
butter - 1 tsp

the method

Wash the sesame seeds twice and let it dry. Grind together coconut, shallots and cumin. Deseed the red chilly and cut it into thin strips as seen on the kuzhalappam in the image.

Measure 1 cup roasted rice flour into a bowl. Boil water with salt and pour it over the flour. Use a spoon to bring the flour and water together into a rough dough. Once the dough has cooled to medium heat, add the butter, sesame seeds, red chilly strips, ground coconut mix and knead it into a smooth dough. You can invert a steel plate and oil it to roll the dough. Pinch a good portion of dough and roll into a circle using an oiled rolling pin. Roll the circle onto the rolling pin to form a tube and then gently slide it out on the side. Now cut through the middle of the kuzhalappam to get 2 pieces. Deep fry in medium hot oil. Once it starts turning golden brown remove it from oil. Place the cut side down and the stand up kuzhalappam is ready to go. I did the rolling and frying simultaneously. You can do it the way you are comfortable with.

Royal Red Chilly Chicken Curry | a recipe adapted from Rajasthani 'Lal Maas'

This is a very easy recipe to make with the ultimate result being a succulent and delicious curry as you can see in the picture. The recipe uses whole spices and the heat from the spice is mellowed down by the addition of yoghurt / curd. The amount of heat in the curry can be adjusted to suit your taste by increasing or decreasing the amount of chilly powder while the quantity of other whole spices remain the same.

The dish is cooked with ghee and i did not use oil. It is good to pamper yourself with these traditional recipes and this would definitely make you feel lika a 'royal'. While cooking this chicken, the aroma was so exotic and i couldn't stop myself saying a wow. So, it is just to say that if you consume ghee once in a while it wont hurt or otherwise, indulge in this treat and you can merrily starve the next day ...he he he...

ingredients

1 medium sized chicken - 1200 to 1400 gms, cut into desired size pieces 

whole spices

i am writing the list of spices in the order which it has to go into the ghee

bay leaf - 2 small leaf, torn into 2

black cardamom - 3

green cardamom - 5

cinnamon stick - 1 inch stick, 2 pieces

cloves - 6

fennel seeds - 1 tsp

cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp

pepper corns - 1/2 tsp

kashmiri red chilly - 20(split it into two lengthwise using scissors to remove seeds and dust & give a quick wash)

other ingredients

ghee - 2 to 3 tbsp

onion - 2 

garlic - 16 cloves

ginger - 1 inch piece

turmeric - 1/2 tsp

chilly powder - 2 tsp (add more after tasting the curry half way through the cooking)

curd - 300 ml

salt to taste

I have seen the addition of coriander leaves in this recipe in many tv shows and i have prepared this recipe with and without it. I prefer not to add coriander leaves.

Prawn & Chicken Paella - A great alternative to Biryani

Paella is a Spanish rice preparation home to Valencia. The original recipe includes chicken and rabbit meat and other goodies available in the region, such snails. This recipe has been customized to use locally available ingredients such as pork, chicken, fresh prawns and few other veggies. As regards the herbs, you can use either fresh rosemary or dried rosemary. Since Paella rice is not available in Kochi, i have used good quality raw rice. Please avoid using Basmati rice, because the aroma can sometimes remind you of biryani.

ingredients

Fresh unpeeled prawns - 500 gms
Chicken Breast - 2 or 3 (the more the merrier), diced into small pieces as seen in the picture

Pork bits with fat, thinly sliced  - a handful (you can use bacon or pancetta)
Chilly powder or paprika - 2 tsp
White wine - 6 tbsp or Synthetic Vinegar - 1 1/2 tbsp
Carrots, diced - 2
Potato, diced - 1 small (optional)
Roughly chopped tomatoes - 2
Onion - 2 large, roughly chopped
Garlic - 15 small cloves (organic) or 10 plump cloves
Olive Oil or Vegetable Oil - 4 tbsp or more
Saffron - 1 generous pinch

Paella rice or raw rice - 4 cups (400 gms approximately)
Water - 8 cups

Salt to taste

ingredients to marinate the prawn and chicken

salt to taste
chilly powder - 2 tsp (if you want mild heat use paprika)

Vessel to be used - A wide pan (Uruli) or a Paella pan

Salt: Since the marinated meat and prawn has salt, add salt to the rice cautiously

method

Clean the prawns and marinate it with 3/4 tsp chilly powder and salt. Marinate the chicken pieces separately with the remaining chilly powder and salt.

Rice: If you are using Paella rice, you can add it directly to the preparations. I always like to wash and dry the rice for sometime. In case you are using raw rice, wash it 3 times and then put in a flat plate, to get rid of the moisture.

Heat oil in a pan and sear the chicken (in medium heat). When it is almost done remove it from oil. Make sure the chicken is coated with the marinade ( as seen in the picture). Similarly, fry the prawns , for about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from oil. At this point, drain all the caramelised bits of chicken and prawns. Let only the oil remain in the pan. Add the thinly sliced pork and turn the heat to low. Allow the pork to cook slowly and release all the fat. Once the pork has caramelised, gently move it to the side of the pan and add the onion and garlic and saute it in medium heat. When the sides of the onion and garlic start browning move it to the side of the pan and add the carrots and potato. Saute it for a minute. Now bring all the ingredients to the centre of the pan and add the cleaned rice. Fry it gently along with the veggies and meat for about 2 minutes using a wooden spatula (Take care not to break the rice). Add the wine or vinegar and the red chilly powder or paprika and salt. Give a mix and then spread it across the pan. Pour half of the water (4 cup), alongside the side of the pan. Do not stir. Place the rosemary sprigs in 4 different directions: NSWE :).

When the rice has absorbed the water, add 4 more cups of the water in the same fashion.
Sprinkle the saffron strands. When the rice is almost done, add the fried prawn and chicken and give a gently mix. Taste it. The rice will be done in few more minutes.

Please note , the consistency of the rice is 'just to the right bite'. It will have one bite when you chew it, but it will be done with a little bit of moisture (as you see above in the pic). If you want a more soft consistency just cover the pan, after turning of the heat. But the rice will bloat a little bit, it wont be thin as you see in the image.

Get in touch with me for any doubts. 

Parippu Payasam without Coconut Milk | Easy Payasam Recipe for Vishu | Easy Sadya Recipes

I just started to write about this 'without coconut milk' recipe and remembered a viral post going around in Facebook about Mallus... today. There is a little bit of coconut story in that too; ......but i hate to use coconut because of all the process that includes scraping it , grinding it, and milking it :). So here is an easy parippu payasam recipe especially after you have done a lot of cooking to put a good sadya and don't wish to involve in another long process. The second best part of this coconutless recipe is that you can make it ahead and refrigerate it. This tastes good in a chilled form too. If you want to serve it warm, defrost it and reheat the payasam just before serving. No one can recognize that this is made of plain milk instead of coconut milk. 

As an experiment i made this using a small quantity. I tried this twice to make sure it really works. You can multiply the measures given below to make a large quantity.

the following recipes serves 6, when served in tea cups

yellow moong dal or payasa parippu or paasi paruppu - 125 gms

jaggery / vellam / sharkara - 250 gms

regular milk (boiled) - 500 ml

powdered cardamom - 6 nos (skin removed)

ghee - 1 tbsp

cashew nuts and raisins - as much as you need.

the method

Wash the dal / parippu 3 times and soak it in 300 ml hot water for about 20 minutes. Place the soaked dal in a pressure cooker and cook it for 4 whistle in medium flame. The dal is cooked in medium flame to make sure it softens completed and does not remain grainy. The number whistle differs with each pressure cooker. I used a Prestige pressure pan. You can cook the dal you do the normal but just follow the two steps of soaking it and cooking it in medium flame. 

While the dal is cooking, place the jaggery in a pan with 3 to 4 tbsp water in low flame. If the jaggery is one whole lump don't worry. As the jaggery gets heated you can use a sharp knife and poke it. It will break into pieces. While the melting is going on, heat ghee in a pan and fry the cashew nuts and raisins. Drain it and reserve the remaining ghee. Meanwhile, strain the melted jaggery to remove any impurities.

Once the dal is cooked, use the back of a large spoon to mash it almost thoroughly. Place the pressure cooker in low flame and add the reserved ghee to the dal and stir it for about 2 minutes. Now add the melted jaggery and stir it till the dal and jaggery has combined thoroughly. Now check whether the dal has given way to a sweet  concoction. It takes about 5 minutes. 

Now add the milk and increase the heat to medium while stirring to make sure the dal mixture does not stick to the bottom of the pan and does not form any lump. When the milk is thoroughly infused into the parippu payasam mix, add cardamom powder and the fried cashew nuts and raisins. Serve after 15 minutes. By this time the payasam will slightly thicken and the heat will reduce to a palatable temperature. 

If you wish to serve the next day, follow the method given in the beginning of the post.

Here are some of the other easy to make payasam recipes in this blog

Ambalapuzha Pal Payasam | Rice Pudding - Pressure Cooker Method

Simple Flavourful Semiya Payasam (without condensed milk)

Dates & Vermicelli Payasam

Saffron Sago Badami Kheer

You might also like to make some Neyyappam for this Vishu

Neyyappam

Click here for Vishu Sadya Recipes like Mixed Veg Theeyal, Pacha Manga Pachadi, Idichakka Thoran, Pavakka Pachadi, Olan, Pazham Pulissery, Erissery, Beetroot Pachadi, Pavakka Pachadi, Puli Inji, etc.

Have a nice time!

Prawn Moilee | Kerala Prawn Stew | Chemmeen Ishtew

I was trying to test a new method of cooking with prawns. The recipe for this is the same as the recipe for a Fish Moilee . This tastes good with bread, idiyappam, palappam or even chappathi and Kerala parotta.

Palappam / Velleppam

Rosemary & Garlic Bread

Idiyappam

Kerala Wheat Parotta

Stuffed Vegetable Paratha

Fish Wrapped in Curry leaf chutney | a substitute for Puliyila Chammanthi

This recipe is the outcome of a long wait and search to find some tender tamarind leaves. I couldn't find any tamarind leaves, so i made a chutney using tender curry leaves. In addition to the taste, this dish is also good for your hair. Eating plain curry leaf may not be very appetizing for many, but if you add some fish or prawns or even some paneer, it becomes exotic and inviting. Try to find curry leaves from your backyard so that you can find the tender ones.

recipe
25 sprigs of curry leaves
1/2 inch piece ginger
rock salt or common salt to taste
1 small tomato for the tangy taste or juice of 1/2 a lime
1 clove of garlic
4 tbsp  grated coconut
bird chilly or kanthari mulaku - 5 or just use green chilly
small onion - 4 or half of an onion

20 - 25 small fish - anchiovies / kozhuva or white sardine / veloori (Marinate it with salt and chilly powder)

method

place all the ingredients other than fish in a mixer jar and grind it coarsely as seen in the image.

Use a banana leaf (softened in fire) or a silver foil.

If you are using a banana leaf, spread half of the chutney on the leaf and then place the fish evenly on it and then spread the remaining chutney on the fish. Wrap the leaf and place it in a wide pan or uruli and follow the steps in this Karimeen Pollichathu recipe. Need not use oil though.

If you are using a silver foil, place the foil in a baking tray and  spread half of the chutney and place the fish evenly on it and then spread the remaining chutney. Wrap the foil and place the baking tray in a preheated oven at 200 C for 25 - minutes.

Serve hot with rice or just snack on it.

Black Forest Ice Cream Cupcake - Eggless recipe

Hello All,

This is another sinful indulgence, you may like to prepare at home. A very easy recipe with home made iced cream rather than ice cream layered in a soft spongy eggless chocolate cup cake.

the recipe

maida / flour - 75 gms
powdered sugar - 75 gms
cocoa powder - 1 tbsp
baking soda - 1/3 tsp
baking powder - 1/3 tsp

yoghurt - 60 ml
vegetable oil - 30 ml
vanilla essence - 1/2 tsp

paper cupcake moulds - 12 (optional)

ingredients to assemble the cake

whipping cream - 100 ml
powdered sugar - 5 tbsp
vanilla essence - a drop
few chopped cherries
cooking chocolate or chocolate shavings

method

assembling the dry ingredients

Place a sieve on a bowl and sift together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda and baking powder.

assembling the wet ingredients

Place the yoghurt (beaten), oil and vanilla essence in a bowl.

Preheat oven at 200C. Place paper moulds into muffin tins.

Add the dry ingredient mix into the wet ingredient bowl in 2 portions. Gently stir with a spoon till fully combined.

Pour 1 tbsp of the batter into the prepared moulds or into prepared muffin tins. The batter should be only half of the mould. Bake in the preheated oven at 200C for 10 to 12 minutes. You will get soft and spongy cupcakes as seen below.

Once the cake has cooled down to room temperature, place it in the refrigerator for at least 12 hours.

To assemble the cake, keep the whipping cream in the refrigerator (dont keep in the freezer). Once cold, use a chilled bowl, chilled balloon whisk to beat the cream. Pour the cream in the bowl and whisk it till soft peaks forms. Drop the one drop of essence and gradually add the powdered sugar. Freeze the mix for about 1 to 2 hours. I could wait only for one hour so the ice cream started running when i placed it on the chilled cake.

Cut the cupcake into 2 as seen above. I had added some apricots and almonds, because  initially i had no plans to ice this cake.

Place a dollop of ice cream on the lower half of the cake and  place the upper half on top and sprinkle the chopped cherries and then place a big dollop of ice cream on top. Once this is done for all the cupcakes, place it in the freezer for about ten minutes or else it will melt away. Take the cake out and use a peeler to shave the chocolate directly on the black forest ice cream cupcakes. Serve it immediately.

If you like to serve as seen in the first picture above, follow these steps.

Take a serving bowl and place a dollop of ice cream and then place the prepared black forest cupcakes. This would be more interesting because you can get to eat a lot of ice cream along with the cake.

Cheers!

Roasted Pumpkin & Kashmiri Chilly Soup

Roasted pumpkin soup is a very popular one. The twist in this recipe is the addition of red chillies to make it easy for the Indian kitchen. The second reason is the use of thinly sliced pumpkin to speed up the roasting process and thereby save time and power.

ingredients

pumpkin - 500 gm

veg oil or olive oil - 1 tbsp

salt - 1/2 tsp

parmesan or any other meltable cheese - few shavings as seen in the image above

sage leaves or curry leave for garnish

serves - 3

water - 150 ml

whole Kashmiri chillies - 4

Preheat oven at 200C and then place the thinly cut pumpkin placed in a baking pan into the oven. Sprinkle oil and salt.  Pour the water into the tray. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes. Once done, take the pan out of the oven and let it cool down. Scoop the flesh from the skin and place it in a blender. Meanwhile, cut the chillies lengthwise and remove the seed. Cut into more thinner strips. Add half of the chillies into the blender and blend it into a smooth paste. Add water while blending, until you get  a smooth pouring consistency.

Take 3 ramekins or other oven proof soup bowl and pour the soup equally into the three bowls. Grate the cheese on top and place few strips of the chillies. Garnish with sage leaves or curry leaves and place it in the oven at 200C for 3 minutes or until the cheese melts. Serve warm with bread or as such. 

Enjoy.

Orange Caramel Custard | Make in advance Christmas Dessert

ingredients

Milk - 500 ml
Cream - 200 ml
Egg - 4
Sugar - 10 tbsp or to taste - taste after the eggs are added and just before pouring into the mould
Vanilla - 1 tsp

ingredients for the syrup

10 - 14 tbsp depending on the size of the mould to coat it thoroughly, otherwise the custard wont leave the pan after chilling
Orange juice - 4 tbsp

method 

Place the sugar and orange in a sauce pan over low to medium heat. Do not stir. Let the sugar gently caramelize. When the sugar has caramelized, pour it into a pan or mould of your choice and swirl it to coat the bottom of the pan and the sides. Keep it aside.

In the mean time boil milk and reserve. In another pan, heat the cream in a double boiler. When you see bubbles on the side turn off heat and mix it with the milk. Stir till it comes down to room temperature.

In another bowl, whist the eggs with sugar. Add vanilla extract and give a quick whisk.  Add the egg mix into the milk and strain it into another pan.

Pour this into the caramel coated pan and cover it with an aluminium foil or a thin steel or aluminium lid.

There are two ways of making the custard: Steaming or Baking.

Steaming: Prepare a double boiler and place the custard filled pan into it. The water level should be atleast half the height of the pan. Steam for 40 minutes.

Baking: Follow the same method as steaming to prepare the double boiler and place it in the oven at 160C for 45 to 50 minutes.

Once the custard is cooked, let it cool. Then place in a refrigerator for 6 hours or overnight. Invert the custard to see something which looks like the above.

Cut it and serve with the excess syrup.

A collection of Kerala Christmas Snacks

Little Hearts shaped diamond cuts

Achappam with Maida & Regular Milk

Pethipireethu | Kul Kulz

I dont know if Neyyappam is a Christmas snack in any part of Kerala...adding it anyway

Neyyappam

...................shall  be adding more recipes

Mint Pulao | Pressure Cooker Method

This is a very easy rice recipe you can make in Pressure Cooker. Add it to your Christmas Menu.

Ingredients for the mint chutney

A large bunch of mint
1 1/2 inch piece of ginger
6 cloves of garlic
Curd 4 tbsp or Juice of 1 lemon

Ingredients for the pulao

500 gms of Basmati Rice (approximately 4 cups)
1 large onion, sliced
a medium stick of cinnamon
6 cloves
a tbsp of pepper corns
Veg oil - 2 tbsp
Almonds or cashew nuts - as much as you need
Salt to taste
8 cups of water

the method

Wash and soak the rice in water for 15 minutes. Drain it and set aside.

Heat oil in a  pressure cooker and add the onions, cinnamon, cloves, pepper corns and nuts. Meanwhile grind the ingredients for the mint chutney.

When the onion turns translucent, add the mint mix and saute for 10-15 seconds. Add the rice and salt and stir gently. Add the water, give a quick stir and put the lid of the pressure cooker. Let the whistle blow once. Turn off heat. Open the cooker when the pressure is gone. Serve this with potato wedges or a chicken curry or if it a weekday, serve with an omelette.

If you don't like to cook in pressure cooker, cook the rice separately and then season it using the method mentioned above.

Karimeen Pollichathu | Authentic Recipe

Karimeen Pollichathu

Karimeen Pollichathu is a famous fish-dish in Kerala, especially in the areas that have backwaters where pearlspots or karimeen is prevalent. The recipe below is medium spicy, which can be eaten by adults and kids. If you want a spicy version increase the quantity of chilly powder by 1 more teaspoon and the coriander powder by half a teaspoon.

the recipe

Karimeen or other soft fish fillet - 500 gms
salt and turmeric to marinate the fish
Oil to sear the fish

for the gravy

2 Onion or 15 Small onions
2-3 green chillies or 6 bird eye chillies (kanthari mulaku)
6 medium sized garlic cloves

Crush all the above ingredient in a mortar or just blend it in mixie for 5 -7 seconds

3/4 inch ginger - crushed (keep it separately)

turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
chilly powder - 1 1/2 tsp
coriander powder - 1/2 - 3/4 tsp
pepper powder - 1/2 tsp

tomatoes - 3 medium

salt to taste
thick coconut milk - 125 ml (extracted from half a coconut)
coconut oil - 1 1/2 tbsp
curry leaf - 2 sprigs

Banana Leaf to wrap the fish - 2 , half portions

Method

Marinate the fish with salt and 1/4 tsp turmeric. Fry the fish quickly in Oil. It need not turn crispy. This is only for the protein to get sealed to the skin. Check the image below.

To make the sauce, you can use the oil left over from frying the fish. Heat the oil and add the crushed onion, garlic and chilly. Stir for a minute and add the crushed ginger. Add all the powders and stir for few seconds. Add the tomatoes and salt to taste. Let the tomatoes soften. Check salt and turn off heat.

I like to add the coconut milk into the banana leaf wrap, so that it cooks along with the fish and does not lose flavour from overcooking it...i mean cooking it twice.

Heat the banana leaf over fire. Place it in a pan.

I did not go the contemporary way of wrapping one fish in a parcel. Instead i used a method whereby you can save time.

Once the banana leaf is placed on a wide pan (an Uruli), pour half of the tomato sauce over it and 3/4th of the thick coconut milk, as seen in the picture below.

Place the fish as seen in the picture, place the remaining tomato mixture and drizzle some coconut oil. Place another banana leaf on top.

Customize your batch according to the size of the pan you are using Fold it in a manner that the juices do not run out of the wrap. Place heavy plate or spoon on the leaf. Pour a tablespoon of coconut oil on the side of the wrap. Close the pan / uruli with a lid. Place the pan on the stove and cook it in low flame for 15 minutes.

Once done, be prepared for the nice aroma of coconut milk, coconut oil and the fish pollichathu itself. Open the wrap carefully and serve the fish with rice, palappam or  soft idiyappam.

Karimeen Mappas is another recipe you may like

Ambalapuzha Pal Payasam | Rice Pudding - Pressure Cooker Method

This is one of the easiest payasam recipes; easier than semiya payasam too.. For this payasam aka kheer you can just use the ingredients that are always available in a Kerala pantry. I had seen this recipe first on Asianet during my schooldays and i had tried to memorize the recipe by creating a proportion for the ingredients. It was 1:2:3:4. It should have been 1 cup rice, 2 cup sugar, 3 pods of cardamom and 4 cup milk....but now i am not sure whether the proportion is correct, so there is no proportion measure in this recipe. It was long time ago and there is no online videos of that recipe / cookery show which used to be hosted by two ladies. So, i have arrived at the following recipe and i think the photograph stands testimony that it came out well. As i mentioned, this was an experiment and so the following recipe serves just 4. Multiply it for more...bcoz you wouldn't feel fulfilled with just one dessert bowl full of this.

ingredients

Raw Rice - 75 gms
Milk - 1/2 litre (500 ml )
Sugar -150 - 200 gms
Cardamom - 6 pods
Boiling hot water - 1 cup (this is a part of my experimentation)

method

Soak the rice in hot water for 15 minutes. Meanwhile bring the milk to a boil in a deep pressure cooker. Add the soaked rice with water, sugar and powdered cardamom (you can powder the sugar and cardamom in a mixie - small jar). Stir and let it come to a boil. Place the lid of the cooker and the whistle, and turn the heat to low flame. Let it cook for 25 - 30 minutes. Choose the smallest burner in your stove top so that the payasam cooks slowly. It is better to turn off the cooker after 25 minutes. Serve warm. I like to serve this payasam plain without any fruits and nuts. It is still delicious. 

Rice pudding is not just specific to Kerala or India... There is an Egyptian version of rice pudding too.

Pacha Manga Pachadi | Raw Mango in Curd and Mustard gravy

Mango Pachadi is similar to other pachadis in Kerala cuisine. One difference in this recipe is the addition of chilly powder and turmeric. This is inspired by a hotel en route to Alleppey. We stopped at this restaurant and took away our lunch and in it i found this Mango Pachadi. The one i have tasted at other places are usually white and the mango remains partially raw. I am totally against raw mangoes 'coz my teeth cant stand the sourness...hope atleast some of you would have had that experience while biting into raw mangoes. I have wondered whether it is just psychology or if it really causes that feeling. 

After tasting the fully cooked mango recipe, i tried this and it tasted as good as the restaurant one. I usually prepare all curd based curries in clay pot. Some of the other curd based curries in this blog are ethapazham pulissery, beet root pachadi and pavakka pachadi

ingredients

2 medium sized raw mangoes

1/2 to 3/4 tsp mustard seeds

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1/3 of a medium coconut

1/4 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp chilly powder

1 green chilly (optional)

250 ml thick curd

salt to taste

method

Peel the mangoes and cut it into bite size cubes. Place it in a clay pot. Add salt, turmeric, chilly powder and just adequate water to cover the mangoes. Cook it in low flame till almost done. Grind the mustard seeds, cumin, coconut and green chilly to fine paste. Add it to the mangoes and stir well. Beat the curd till soft and add it to the mangoes. Check salt and turn off heat. The curd will cook well with heat from the gravy. Serve with rice and pappadam. This makes a simple and filling meal.

Orange Basbousa | Eggless Semolina Cake

Orange Basbousa

Basbousa can be best described as a dessert of Middle Eastern origin. Yes it is a dessert from a desert. It has variations in each country, especially those near the Mediterranean region and i have attempted to create a recipe of my own by making some variations in the syrup rather than in the cake itself.

This is my second attempt at baking a semolina cake. The first one was a Turkish Pistachio semolina cake. It tasted good but since i reduced the quantity of egg, it was not that soft. So i decided not to change the basbousa recipe and followed the ratio. Since this is the first attempt at basbousa i tried with small portions. The actual syrup recipe has sugar and few drops of lime. But for the syrup i followed the syrup in the Turkish recipe. This is one of the desserts i would call it 'divine'. Sorry for the bad picture above.....i was in a hurry and couldn't make it good diamond shapes, i should have at least cut in squares...

You can keep a ratio of the ingredients, so that you need not write down the recipe all the time. Here the ratio is 200 gms of semolina (rava), 200 gm sugar (in total) and 200 ml liquid (yogurt + oil), 200 mls syrup (100 ml orange juice and 100ml water) ...isnt that easy..

the recipe

ingredients for the cake

fine semolina - 200 gms (you can blend regular rava / semolina in mixie for 5 seconds)
caster sugar - 100 gms
Yogurt  - 100 ml
Vegetable oil - 100 ml (the orginal recipe has 100 gm melted butter)
Vanilla extract - 1 tsp
Baking powder - 3/4 tsp
Rind of 1 orange (optional)
Almonds and pistachios - 1 for each piece

for the syrup

sugar - 100
fresh orange juice - 100 ml
water - 100 ml
rosewater (optional) - 3 drops
Rind of 1 orange

the method

Place the sugar, yogurt, vegetable oil, vanilla and rind of orange in a bowl and mix well until the sugar is fully dissolved. Add the semolina and baking powder and mix well with a spoon or your hand. The mixture will be slightly water. Leave it aside for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, place all the ingredients for the syrup in a saucepan and bring it to a boil in medium heat. Let it boil for 5 minutes. Turn off heat and let it cool.

Grease a baking tray with butter or oil. Once the semolina mixture has rested for 30 minutes, give a quick mix again and place it in the baking tray and smoothen the top to level it. Cut it into desired shape and place the alomonds on each piece. I sprinkled the pistachios. Bake it at 180C for 30 - 35 minutes until the top of the cake turns golden brown.

Take it out of the oven. Pour the cool syrup on the hot cake. Serve warm. You'll love it. This is totally different from the Indian sooji ka halwa aka Rava Kesari

Rava Kesari

Ribbon Pasta in Mushroom Sauce | Indian Home Style Recipe

Hello everybody, It has been a long time that i wrote a recipe. Well my passion for blogging has not gone, but i just hit a roadblock in terms of writing at my blog, may be because i am writing a lot for my work related contents and i am just off here...i had been taking pictures...a lot of pictures...and i almost forget the recipe. So today i prepared this pasta for brunch....it was actually for breakfast...but the rain in Kochi is making everyone hungry i suppose, kids were around saying the word hungry..oops....i have not heard them say it before and i felt ... i better give them something...at least i can keep them away from my kitchen. So the breakfast was stretched to brunch and i think i cant escape without cooking a lunch too...

I have mentioned in the name of this recipe that it is Indian style. It means, i am not going to add cheese and i am adding milk instead of cream. However in terms of the herbs, i have added fresh basil and rosemary. These are now available in the newly opened Lulu Mall at their hypermarket. However the basil is from my balcony garden. If you cant find fresh rosemary, use dried rosemary. You can find it among dried herbs in supermarket. Two brands which i have used and which i have stocked at home are the ones from Keya and the organic product from Fab India. In Kochi, all these mediterranean herbs are found in a dried format in a shop called Bakers which is adjacent to Padam Cinema Theatre on M.G.Road. The dried ones are also strong enough to impart a nice flavour to the sauce. 

Though i cook a lot of Italian, i have written only a few of them in my blog. So i have decided to post a few more since types of pasta are now available in supermarkets in all parts of the city. Bambino has now come out with Penne pasta, Ribbon pasta, Spaghetti in addition to Macroni and Vermicelli which has already been in the market. Ok then ...so these are the brands and shops from where you can buy all the ingredients. If you want to know how to grow basil in tropical climate, do let me know. This is the basil in my balcony garden.

the recipe 

One 200 gm packet Ribbon Pasta

ingredients for the sauce

One pack Button Mushroom, thinly sliced - Check out below how to clean mushrooms

2 tablespoon vegetable oil (you can add a teaspoon of butter also if you wish)
2 medium onion, sliced
5 cloves of garlic, finely chopped or minced.
1 1/2 to 2 tsp pepper powder
8 cherry tomato or 1 tomato cut into 8 (i have used the latter)
150 ml milk
salt to taste
6-8 basil leaves
a tiny sprig of rosemary (optional)

Method

The sauce and the pasta has to be cooked simultaneously to ensure the continuity of the cooking of pasta.

I  Cook pasta as directed in the packet. But cook only 3/4th of the time, because the rest 1/4th time, the pasta has to cook in the sauce to get that nice consistency and flavour.

II In a wide pan, heat oil and add the onion and garlic. Stir it in low heat till translucent. Add the thinly mushrooms and continue sauteing in low heat. Add 1 1/2 tsp pepper. By this time, the pasta would have completed 3/4th of its cooking time. Drain water from pasta and add it to the sauce (reserve a little bit of the liquid). Gently toss the pan or gently stir it with the sauce. Let it cook for 2 minute. Add salt. Now add the tomato, basil, rosemary and milk and continue to cook in low flame until the sauce is thick. If there is no adequate sauce to cook the pasta add the liquid which has been reserved. Check the consistency and tasty and also if pasta is cooked to soft but not too soft texture and turn off heat. Serve immediately.

How to clean mushrooms

Sprinkle vinegar on the mushroom and sprinkly maida / flour over it. Ensure the mushroom is fully covered with this mix. Let it so for 10 - 15 minutes. Gently rub the top of the mushroom and peel the skin. Start peeling from the bottom of the umbrella. I did not use the stem, because it was hard.

Hope you enjoyed the recipe and all the details...

cheers!!

The recipe goes to My Bowl of Pasta hosted by Jagruti

Egg Hoppers | Mutta Velleppam

Egg hoppers are more identified with Srilanka than Kerala, I think. Even in Kochi, it is not common in a restaurant menu that reads out a mutta velleppam / appam. Recently, i saw the TV series - My Srilanka with Peter Kuruvita. The batter prepared for appam is slightly different from mine. In the TV series bread is used instead of yeast. Mine has even more difference. I don't use the coconut milk version. I follow the recipe where coconut is ground along with rice. This is much easier because there is no task of extracting the coconut milk and then cleaning up many vessels. The secret of my recipe is the addition of coconut water. Egg hoppers have crispier edges than usual hoppers because the egg is poured into the cooked palappam otherwise the middle of the appam will remain undercooked or even uncooked and messy. 

The rule of thumb therefore is to break the eggs in when the appam is almost cooked. Sprinkling salt and pepper is optional, but i prefer it, as it gives more taste.

recipe for egg hoppers or mutta appam

appam batter (click here for recipe) - as much as you need

eggs - 1 per appam  / hopper

Heat a deep pan, as seen in the first picture. Grease it with oil cloth or just use back of a spoon to spread 1 or 2 drops of oil. Pour a ladleful of appam batter. Swirl the pan to let the batter coat the pan. For egg hoppers make sure there is not much batter to collect in the middle. Put the lid on and cook in medium heat. This ensures that the sides are still soft. Once the middle the appam has lost its whitish colour or has turned pale, break an egg in. Sprinkle some salt and pepper ( i rubbed together a tiny pinch of salt and a tiny pinch of pepper in advance, so that it is evenly spread on the egg). Cover and let the egg cook in low heat. Low heat is required to cook this step, so that the sides do not turn dark brown. Remove the egg hoppers from the pan when the eggwhite is completely cooked and the egg yolk is slightly gooey. It will cook itself by the time it is served. Serve with a bean curry, like garbanzo bean curry / kadala curry (masala curry) or green peas green kurma or  a vegetable kurma.

Neyyappam

Neyyappam

Neyyappam is Kerala's own rice pancake deep fried in ghee. It can be compared to the North Indian deep fried pancakes called Malpua . I thought that it is intricate and difficult to prepare Neyyappam at home, but it is not. It is very easy as long as you have a dependable recipe and all the ingredients. I did a detailed research about Neyyappam before trying it, 'coz none of the photographs i saw online had the texture and colour of what i have seen in the ones we buy from store. And also because this is not a family recipe, just my trial to check whether i can be successful with it. 

If any of you who have a traditional recipe for Neyyappam, do let me know whether cardamom and dry ginger is added. Because the taste i have known does not have cardamom or any other flavourings, so i have left out in my recipe, but if you feel like you can add it. The measures of cardamom and ginger is given here on the basis of a similar Anglo-Indian snack called Soulinjha which we prepare during Christmas season.

ingredients for the recipe

rice flour (puttu podi)  - 2 cup (200 gms)

jaggery, grated - 2 cups (approx 175 - 200 gms)

plantain (palayamkodan) - 2 or banana - 1

water to crumble the rice flour - 100 ml

water to melt the jaggery - 100 ml

butter or ghee - 1 tbsp

coconut bits - 2 tbsp (cut thin slices of coconut and dice it into 1.5 cm pieces)

sesame seeds - 1tsp

oil for deep frying

Though the name literally means made of ghee, i have used vegetable oil for frying. Use a flat bottom pan to fry the neyyappam as seen in the picture below.

Neyyappam being fried

Place the rice flour in a deep bowl. Add the water and crumble it as done for puttu or for a pastry dough. Keep it aside for one hour. Mash the plantains and place it in the rice crumble. Add the butter. Knead it into a smooth dough. 

Heat water and melt the jaggery. Let it cool down to room temperature. Add one third of the syrup into the rice mix. Start mixing with your hands or a whisk. I mixed with hands. Get rid of all the lumps and mix till you get a smooth batter. Add the remaining two thirds of jaggery and mix well.

Fry the coconut bits in ghee or oil and add it to the batter. Wash the sesame seeds 2 to 3 times and add it to the batter. Let the batter rest for 5 hours or overnight. It would have become a thick batter now, but it will be in pouring consistency. 

If you like to add cardamon , powder 3 cardamoms and add to the batter at this stage. Additional spice is dry ginger. You can powder 1/4 inch piece and add to the batter alongwith cardamom.

Heat adequate ghee or oil in a pan. Use a small ladle to pour the batter. Or else you can use a spoon from which you can pour the batter in one direct stream. When the bottom of the neyyappam is cooked it will leave the pan by itself, otherwise you can slightly loosen it once the sides start turning brown. As you see in the picture , the first set i fried is the blacking brown colour, since i was not aware of the cooking time. So you can test with one and then repeat the frying process.  Switch heat between high to medium or even to low while frying Neyyappam.

This can be stored for a week or two in air tight containers.

Enjoy!

Bread Pori - lettes

If there can be cakelettes and tartlets, why not some pori-lettes. Pori is nothing but the shot form of porichathu. In Kerala, we have our own, famous pazham pori and undampori. Similarly in rustic tea shops and some city tea shops you can find bread porichathu - a Mildly Sweet, Batter fried bread. But the one you get in the tea shop is a whole slice of bread, which has very little crispy sides. What i like in a snack is the crisp and crunch. When i used to eat undampori  served in our college hostel, i used to peel off that brown coat like crispy side and leave a table tennis sized inside of the undampori in my plate. I hate to waste food, but i just couldn't afford to eat the uninteresting inside. So, the undampori's i prepare is also small. Maybe i should start calling it undampori - lettes .....

The miniature sized bread pori's as you see in the picture is as a result of my fondness for that crispy edges and crunchy sound you get with every bite. Kids would just love to see these tiny snacks. It is easy for them to pop in one, run around and pick another one. You need not hold that one huge slice of bread pori and think when is this going to finish.

This recipe is good to use up left over bread slices, which are a day or two old.

Recipe for bread porichathu

Bread
Oil for frying

ingredients for the batter

5 tbsp flour / maida

1 1/2 tbsp rice flour (this gives the crisp & crunch) - its fine, even if  u don't have rice flour - just add soda instead of water to prepare the batter or you can just skip this ingredient and add the same quantity maida

1/4 tsp or a little less salt

2 tbsp sugar

1 or 2 tbsp sesame seeds - Sesame seeds are healthy, so i have added a lot of it

Water - 12 tbsp or as much required to get a thick batter. If the batter is runny it wont coat the bread

Turmeric - 1 large pinch for colour (optional)


method

Place the water, turmeric salt and sugar in a bowl. Stir and gradually add the maida and rice flour until a batter is formed. Add the sesame seeds.

Cut the bread slices into small pieces. I sliced each bread slice into 12 pieces.

Heat oil in a pan. When hot, take each piece of bread, dip it in the batter and fry it in medium heat, turning sides.  Remove from oil when the sides start to brown. Serve warm.

Click here for more Indian Snack Recipes in this blog.