Rava Kesari / Sooji Ka Halwa

the recipe


Rava / Semolina - 1 cup
Water – 2 cup + 2 tbsp
Turmeric – 2 pinch (I used this instead of food color)
Sugar – 1 ½ cup
Cardmom – 4 (powder it with some sugar)
Cashewnuts, Almonds and raisins – as required (fried in ghee)
Ghee – 2 – 3 tbsp

the method

Heat 2 tbsp ghee in a pan and lightly sauté the semolina and turn off heat. Heat water in another pan with turmeric. When it come to boil, turn to low heat and add the rava slowly into the water and stir in circular motion briskly. The heat is turned to low to avoid formation of lumps. Keep stirring till the semolina is almost cooked. Add the sugar 1 or 2 tbsp at a time and keep stirring. Add the cardamom powder and fried nuts. Add one more tablespoon ghee on top and mix well.

Pour the kesari into a greased tray or plate. Cut it into diamond shapes and serve it hot or cold. I used some saffron strands just to give an appeal for the photograph.

the recipe goes to sinful delights by Vardhini

Sunday Special - Third Edition

This is the third edition of Sunday Special. If you are interested in participating in this event please go through the details in the event page.



A big thanks to the participants….

...continue reading by clicking the title

Coconut Cake with Custard Apple & Cream

 

I have been wanting to prepare a Coconut Cake for a long time. I was in doubt whether I should use fresh coconut or desiccated ones. Finally I decided to prepare homemade desiccated coconut and the cake thus happened. The idea of custard apple and cream is from Chef Vicky Ratnani. I saw it in a program called ‘Do it Sweet’ aired on NDTV Good Times.

ingredients for the Coconut Cake

Flour (maida) – 3 cups

Eggs – 3 large or 4

Caster Sugar – 2 ¼ cup

Veg oil – 1 ¼ cup

Vanilla Extract – 1 tsp

Baking powder – 1 tsp

Dessicated coconut – 6 tbsp (Check ‘Basics’ page for method)

ingredients for the Custard Apple Cream

Custard Apple – 3 (just ripe fruit)

Sugar – 3 tbsp

Whipping Cream Powder – ¾ cup

Chilled water – 40 ml

If you are using fresh cream you might require 300-400ml medium fat cream

 

Method to prepare the cake

Preheat Over at 180 C.

Sieve the flour and baking powder three times.

In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs one by one: Place one egg in the bowl and place the electric mixer on the yolk and start fluffing up the yolk and white until they are combined well. Continue with the other eggs. Once all the eggs are added continue for one more minute.

Add the caster sugar little by little in speed 1 or 2. When all the sugar is added switch to high speed and continue beating for about 5 minutes till the mix has doubled in volume. Add the vanilla extract and oil and mix together for a minute.

While adding the flour, use a spatula to mix the batter. Add the flour little by little until fully used up. Add the dessicated coconut and mix well. Pour into the prepared pan and bake at 180C for 40 minutes (Keep checking after 35 minutes because oven temperatures vary). Let it cool in the pan for ten minutes.

Take the cake out of the pan and let it cool for a day (Keep it wrapped in an aluminium foil in a refrigerator).

Method to prepare custard apple cream

Deseed the Custard Apple. Grind it coarsely along with 3 tbsp sugar.

Place the whipping cream powder in a bowl and gradually add the cold water and whip it into cream. Add 2 tbsp cream into the custard apple and blend for a second. Transfer the custard apple mix into the whipped cream and gently fold in.

Assembling the cake

Cut the cake into two horizontally. Place a layer of the custard apple cream on one layer of the cake. Place the other half of the cake over it. Place the whipped cream in the middle of the cake and spread it to the sides evenly. Decorate the cake with custard apple seeds (not to be eaten – take care while serving the cake to kids).

Enjoy!!

Beef & Potato Roast (Kerala Style)

Roast in the Kerala perspective means a preparation with thick gravy. Hence we have the varieties like chicken roast, egg roast, beef roast, duck roast and mutton roast. Well it is really hard to find a vegetable roast and i dunno if there are any...Anyway the roast gravy is usually made of lots of onion and tomato. Since beef is an inevitable part in a Christian home in Kerala there are many beef recipes indeed. Beef in coconut milk, Beef curry with coconut chunks, Beef chops, Beef Ularthiyathu and the list goes on. The standard beef curry which my mother prepares is a beef and potato curry with coconut milk. When I got married, the beef preparation and generally all the meat preparation was totally different at my in-laws. There was no coconut milk in any meat preparation other than for the stew. 

This is is a recipe which is my husband's favorite and needless to say this is the way my mother in law prepares beef on Sundays. 

Usually fresh garam masala is prepared for the beef curry. The recipe for garam masala is as follows:

to prepare the garam masala

cloves - 6

cinnamon - 1 inch piece

cardamom - 6 medium

fennel seeds - 1 heaped tsp or 1 1/2 tsp

poppy seeds - 1/2 tsp

pepper corns  -  1 1/2 tsp

Blade of mace - 1/2 (optional)

nutmeg - 1/2 cm piece (optional)

Lightly heat the above (other than the poppy seeds) and grind it to a fine powder.

ingredients to boil the beef

beef - 1 kg

potato, (peeled and immersed in water for 15 mins) - 3 medium

small onions, crushed - 10
green chillies, crushed - 4 or less (adjust to taste)
ginger, crushed - 3/4 inch piece
garlic, crushed - 12
tomatoes cubed - 2 medium
curry leaves - 3 sprigs

chilly powder - 2 tsp
turmeric - 1/2 tsp
coconut oil - 1tbsp
garam masala - use half of the garam masala from the above mentioned quantity.
salt - to taste

method to boil beef

Heat a pressure cooker in medium flame and add the coconut oil. Immediately add the crushed onion, green chilly, ginger, garlic and curry leaves. Stir for one minute. Add the chilly powder, turmeric powder, garam masala and salt. Stir for few seconds. Add the washed and cubed meat. Stir well. Add the tomatoes and whole potatoes. Stir and put the lid on and cook till done (8 whistle for the usual pressure cooker).Open the lid and cut the potatoes into four or eight. Keep it aside.

This recipe requires double tempering.

ingredients for the tempering

coconut oil - 2-3 tbsp
garlic - 6 cloves, finely chopped
ginger - 1/2 inch piece, finely chopped
onion, sliced - 3 medium sized
curry leaves - 1 sprig
garam masala - the other half of the 1/2 of the above quantity
turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
chilly powder - 1 - 1 1/2 tsp
salt to taste
pepper powder - 1/2 tsp (optional)

Heat a clay pot or a wide pan and add the coconut oil. Add the garlic till golden brown. In medium heat, add the onion and salt and saute till golden brown. Add the ginger and curry leaf and stir for few seconds. Add the turmeric, chilly powder and garam masala. Saute till the raw aroma is gone. Add the cooked meat and potatoes. Stir well and simmer for 10 - 15 minutes. Serve hot with rice, appam, peshawari naan, meat puttu or even a stuffed paratha or kashmiri paratha. Enjoy!

Click here for other beef recipe in this blog

Paalappam / Velleppam / Lace Appam / Hoppers / Aappam

Preparing palappam is an art by itself. The lace like edges of this exotic rice wafer has earned it a name as 'lace appam'. Traditionally 'toddy or kallu'  - a milk like liquid from the coconut tree was used to ferment the rice. In the modern recipe yeast is used to ferment the batter. The addition of coconut water gives a very soft, thin and wafery edge to the palappam. It is crispy outside and fluffy inside.  While preparing the palappam a portion of the batter collects itself in the middle to give the fluffy part. 

Palappam or hoppers can be prepared for breakfast or for special occasions. The accompaniments are usually spicy curries though this can be had with milk or coconut milk. Try it and you'll love it.

the following quantity yields 16 – 18 palappams

Raw rice – ¾ cup

Water – ½ cup ( + 2 tbsp if need be)

Coconut water – ¼ cup

Salt – ½ tsp

Sugar – 2 tbsp

Yeast – 1 tsp

Cooked rice – ¼ cup

Coconut, grated – ½ cup

 the method

Soak the raw rice for about 5 hours. The quality of the rice has an effect on the outcome of the palappam. Choose sticky rice with a pure whitish color. In Kerala, we get a rice called ‘Mavu Rice’ which is very good for a perfect palappam or a dosa.Heat ¼ cup water alongwith sugar and salt. When the water starts to boil turn off heat and add the yeast. Let the yeast melt.In a mixer jar add the coconut, cooked rice and a little soaked rice and the yeasted water and grind it to a smooth paste. Pour into a bowl. Add the remaining rice and water to the mixer jar and grind it to a smooth paste.  Pour the batter into the bowl and add the coconut water and mix well. Let the batter ferment for about  6-8 hours. The fermenting depends on the temperature. Place the batter in a warm place. After the batter is fermented check whether the batter is still thick but in a pouring consistency. Add the 2 tbsp water if need be.

 

preparing the hoppers

Heat an appachatti or a deep pan and pour a ladle full of batter.  Lift the pan from the heat and swirl it. Cover it and cook for about 1 – 1½ minute or until the whitish colour disappears from the middle of the palappam / hoppers. Serve hot with vegetable stew, beef stew, chicken curry, vegetable kurma, egg curry , soya mince curry or just serve with sweetened milk or coconut milk.

Groundnut / Peanut Chicken Curry

Ground nut Chicken Curry is just like a normal Kerala based  chicken curry with the only difference being the addition of some herbs, groundnuts and coconut. The addition of ground nut gives an extra creamy texture to the curry.  The curry tastes good if prepared in a clay pot but care should be taken that it does not stick to the bottom of the pot.

the recipe

Chicken – 1 medium (1200 gms)

 Onion – 3 large

Garlic – 15 cloves (medium sized)

Ginger – 1 inch piece

Green chilly – 2

Mint leaves, chopped – 3 tbsp

Coriander leaves, stem & root – 3 tbsp

Tomato - 2 medium

Garam Masala – ¾ + ¾ tsp

Turmeric – ¾ tsp

Chilly powder – 3 tsp (adjust to taste)

Pepper powder – 1 – 1 ½ tsp (adjust to taste)

Coconut – ½ of a coconut ( 6 tbsp)

Ground nuts (unroasted) – one hand full (about 5 tbsp)

Oil – 3 tbsp

Salt to taste

the method

Soak the ground nut with adequate water for about 30 minutes. Grind it alongwith coconut to a fine paste.

Heat a heavy bottom pan or clay pot and add the oil. Add the onions and saute till it turns translucent. Add the crushed ginger, chilly and garlic. Saute for a minute and add the turmeric, chilly powder, 1/2 tsp pepper powder and 3/4 tsp garam masala and saute for few seconds in medium heat. Add the groundnut and coconut paste and saute for a minute till the raw taste of ground nut goes off. (Continue cooking in medium heat). Add the chopped mint and coriander leaves. Give a quick stir and add the tomatoes. Stir for few seconds and add the chicken pieces and salt. Stir well. Let the chicken cook in low to medium flame. Stir occasionally.Let the chicken cook in its own juices. Add adequate water if need be. Cook the chicken till done. Sprinkle the remaining pepper powder (if need be) and 3/4 tsp garam masala. Check taste and turn off heat. Serve hot with rice, chapati, appam, naan or whatever you feel like having it with.

The recipe is from a program called 'Taste of Kerala' in Amrita TV.

Click here for other chicken recipes in this blog :

Mughalai Chicken Biryani

Butter Chicken

Chicken Manchurian

Chicken Shahi Pulao

Tangy Tamarind Chicken Curry

Mughalai Chicken

Ginger Chicken

Hot 'n' Sweet Chicken

Chicken Sandwich

Groundnut chicken curry goes to the 'Sunday Special' event at my blog. Do send in your recipes to this event.

Sunday Special - - a weekly event at roshan's cucina

Come Sunday and it is time for many of us to indulge in some good food. It is said that cooking is a great way to unwind. For me cooking and blogging about food is almost therapeutical. To know more about the speciality of cuisine around the world and to encourage experimentation with new recipes, a Sunday Special event is being launched at this blog. Join me every week to display the specials we cooked for our dear ones and get to know what has been cooked in our friend's kitchen.

Sunday Special

the weekly event at roshan's cucina

# Send in any special recipe prepared on Sunday with a brief write up

# Only fresh posts may be sent. Old post may be reposted

# Entries close on Thursday at 2000 hrs IST(first edition on 24.09.2011) . Late entries will be considered for the following week







# Link back the recipe to the Sunday Special page with the logo


# Mail the recipe to cookingwithroshan@gmail.com


# The Sunday Special recipe will be published every Saturday night

Pazham Nurukku (Traditional Onam Breakfast)

I stumbled upon the name 'Pazham Nurukku' while I was preparing an Onam related article for the publication I was working for. It would have been the year 2005 or 2006 and an immediate search for recipe did not yield any result. Every year then on I would remember about the Pazham Nurukku during Onam season. Finally, one day there was a recipe in the The Hindu - Metro with a title, 'Pazham Nurukku in Chocolate cups'. Well I knew the chocolate cup part is slightly weird for a traditional Onam breakfast. Recently i made another search in the web and got to read various Pazham Nurukku recipes  and here we go i tried it and i knew why people gave so many nostalgic account of eating the Pazham Nurukku on an Onam day morning with lots of papad. 

I have prepared a very simple and easy to prepare recipe and have avoided the use of coconut milk and cardamom powder which i read but which i thought could be ignored. This tasted really good. Try it!!

the recipe

Banana / ethapazham  - 4
Jaggery, grated - 4 tbsp
Ghee - 1 tsp

the method

Cut the banana into 1 inch pieces with the skin on. Steam it till it is half done. Peel the skin.

In a sauce pan, add the jaggery and melt it. Strain it to get rid off any dust particles. Place the jaggery syrup in a heavy bottom pan. Place the pan in medium heat and add the banana pieces.Cover the banana pieces with the jaggery syrup till the fruit is fully coated. Turn to medium heat. The jaggery will start sizzling at this point and thicken. Gently tilt the sauce pan so that the banana is well coated and there is no more melted jaggery. Pour the ghee on top of the banana and shake well and then gently give a stir so that all the pieces are coated with the ghee. Serve warm with papad or serve as it is.

Mughalai Chicken Biryani

 

Mughalai biryani is not spicy but it is full of flavors.  This is a slow cooked delicacy that imbibes the flavors of all the ingredients. The use of whole kashmiri chillies and whole pepper corns gives a great aroma and taste. The recipe is from various sources that include the television and the web. I have tried to incorporate the best of all methods.

 the recipe to cook rice
Basmati Rice – 2 cups (to serve 8)

Whole spices

Green cardamom – 4
Cloves -3
Cinnamon – ½ inch piece
Bay leaf – 1
Ghee or Veg Oil – 2 tbsp
Salt to taste
Lemon juice – 1 tbsp (optional)

Method to cook rice. Place adequate water in a pot. When the water comes to boil, add the oil, whole spices, lemon juice and salt. Add rice. When the rice is cooked but firm drain the water and keep the cooked rice aside.

recipe to cook the chicken

Chicken – 750 gms
Onion – 4 +3
Whole Kashmiri red chillies – 10
Pepper corns – 1 ½ tsp
Garam Masala – 1 ½ tsp
Chilly powder – 1 ½ tsp
Ginger Garlic paste – 2-3 tbsp
Almond paste – from 20 - 25 almonds
Salt to taste
Curd – 1 cup
Coriander leaves – 5 tbsp
Mint leaves  - ½ cup
Ghee – 2 -3 tbsp + 3 tbsp
Cashewnuts & raisins – as much as you need
Saffron – 1 small pinch (optional)

Milk - 3 tbsp
Salt to taste
Oil – 3-4 tbsp (to fry onions into golden brown color – for garnish)

Whole spices

Green Cardamom – 4
Black Cardamom – 2
Cloves – 3
Cinnamon – ½ inch piece
Blade of Mace – 1 piece
Star Anise – 1 (deseeded)
 

the method

Heat oil in a pan and fry 3 chopped onion till they turn brown (take care that the onion doesn’t get burnt – fry the onions in medium heat. Keep it aside.

Heat a heavy  bottom pan pressure cooker and add the ghee. Turn to medium heat and add the whole spices. Stir till the spices release its aroma. Add the 4 chopped onions and sauté till they turn translucent. Turn to medium heat. Stir in the whole kashmiri chillies. Saute for few seconds and then add the pepper corns and ginger garlic paste. Add the almond paste and stir for a while. Add the garam masala and chilly powder. Turn to low heat and add the chicken pieces and salt. Continue cooking in low heat and saute occasionally till the chicken is half done (let the chicken cook in its own juices). Turn to medium heat and add the chopped coriander and mint leaves. Turn to high heat and add the beaten curd. Stir well. Turn to medium heat and cook till the chicken is done.

Layering the biryani

Take a heavy bottom pan or a pressure cooker. Add 3 tbsp ghee. Place a thick layer of rice followed by the cooked chicken with gravy. Next place another thick layer of rice follwed by the cooked chicken and gravy. Top it with a thin layer of rice. Sprinkle the fried onion, cashew nuts and raisins and a table spoon or two of mint leaves and coriander leaves. Mix the saffron with milk and pour it over the rice. Close the pan with an airtight lid.  Place the pan / cooker in low heat for 15 - 20 minutes. Serve hot with raita.

Beef Stew (Kerala Style)

Beef Stew is a permanent dish at home for a festive day breakfast; for Christmas & Easter. I prepare this dish whenever i have a craving for it. The rule to eat a beef stew is to soak bread or hopper in it and then eat it. Well it is my way of eating the stew. This tastes good with idiyappam (string hoppers) as well as puttu too.

Ingredients for the stew

Boiled beef* - 400 - 500 gms

Beef stock – 1 cup
Potatoes – 2 or 3 diced
Carrot – 2, chopped
Green chilly – 2
Ginger – 1 inch piece
Onion – 2 medium, julienned
Oil – 2 tbsp

Whole spices

Cinnamon – 1 inch piece
Cloves – 6 medium sized
Green Cardamom – 6 medium sized

Ghee – 2 tsp
Cashew nut – 3 tbsp
Raisins – 3 tbsp

Pepper powder – ¾ to 1 tsp

Thick coconut milk(first extract) – ¾ cup
Thin coconut milk(second extract) – 1 cup

Utensil required – heavy bottom pan or a pressure cooker

the method

Heat ghee in a heavy bottom pan and fry the cashew nuts and raisins. Keep the fried fruits aside. To the same pan add oil. Add the whole spices and stir till the spices release the aroma (take care that the spices do not get burnt). Add the julienned onion, ginger and green chillies. Add the boiled beef, potatoes and carrots. Add water or third extract of coconut if required. Add salt. Cook till the potatoes are done. Add the second extract of coconut milk and bring to boil. Add ¾ tsp pepper powder. Check taste. Add the first extract of coconut milk. Add the fried cashew nuts and raisins. Turn off heat when the stew is about to boil.

an optional note: dilute 1 tsp rice flour to the second extract of coconut milk to thicken the stew ( i have added  rice flour in this recipe)

*ingredients to boil the beef

Beef – 400 – 500 gms

Ginger – half inch piece
Pepper powder – ¼ tsp
Green chilly – 1 medium sized
Salt to taste