Garlic Chicken

After a really long break, back in the blog.. It’s the vacation time and we been to kerala for a short 3 weeks trip. Trip was Short and sweet. I really had a good time enjoying the spl food from my mothers. Both my mother and Mother in law are wonderful cooks, I wanted to take some pictures of their dishes and share their recipes on my blog… But… enjoying them was the only priority and I forget about the rest…. Next time for sure… :)
Now back in my kitchen… with my routine cooking, and it’s time for another chicken dish… it’s the garlic chicken this time. This is different recipe of garlic chicken, receipe was posted in a Facebook group by one of our friend. Posted long back, This is an adaptation of the same recipe with some alterations from my side.

Ingredients:-
Chicken- 500g
Onion finely chopped-1 cup
Tomato -2 
Garlic- 20 cloves
Ginger paste - 1 table spn
Lemon juice – 2 table spn
Yoghurt- 2 table spn
Salt
Green chilli -4
Coriander leaves – ½ cup
cloves- 3
cardamom - small piece

Method

Marinate the chicken with yoghurt, lemon juice and a paste of ginger, chilli and 9-10 garlic cloves. add salt. Marinate it for  1 hr.
After the chicken is marinated use a thick bottom skillet or pan for cooking.
Pour oil in the pan , add cardamom and cloves along with crushed garlic. Turn the heat to medium, When the oil is hot enough, add onion. Let it saute until golden. add the tomatoes and stir fry for a while.
Now add the marinated chicken. Add salt .Let it cook on medium low heat stirring occasionally. It should be done in 20-30 minutes.
garnish with coriander leaves and Serve with rice or your choice of bread or naan.

Papaya Thoran (Stir fried Papaya with Coconut)

Pappaya is a very common fruit something you can find in the yard of almost every house in Kerala. But when you are away from home… you miss all these garden fresh items.
Papaya has many nutritional values. Very tasty as a fruit as such.. but  things are different here at home, I donno why my kids don’t like the taste of ripe papaya, same with my husband also.. they don’t enjoy it the way I enjoy the fruit. So instead of waiting for the papaya to go ripe, I usually cook the green papaya. You can make a variety of dishes- curries, salads and so on..  and the easiest one is Thoran.
Thoran is a dry dish traditionally made of a finely chopped vegetables  and fresh coconut and spices, tempered with that touch of coconut oil. This popular and common dish is usually prepared to be eaten along with rice. You can make thoran out of any vegetable.
The interesting fact is unlike the fruit, papaya thoran is very much in demand here.  They love this , especially my boys… both father and son enjoys this thoran.
There’s nothing much to write about the recipe, its that simple, easy. tasty and healthy. :) … sharing my version of Papaya Thoran

Ingredients:-

Green papaya -  1 ½ cups , (Grated or finely chopped )
Coconut - 1/4 cup , grated
Green Chili - 2
small Onion –  4-5 , chopped
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric - 1/4 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp
Curry leaves
Salt
Oil - 1 tbsp

Method

Peal the skin and grate the papaya.
Crush  the coconut , green chilies , turmeric  and cumin seeds.
Heat oil in a pan add mustard seeds allow it to pop Add small onions and cook till translucent.
Add curry leaves. Add the crushed coconut mixture. Mix well and stir fry for sometime.
Add the grated papaya and mix well and cook it covered in low flame for 4-5 min. add salt and mix well. Open the lid and stir cook it for another few minutes. Remove from the stove. Papaya thoran is ready to be served.

Mambhazha Pulissery (Mango Pulissery)

Its mango season in Kerala now and recently my husband  had a short visit, my mother in law send some fresh ripe mangoes from the tree in front of our house.  Sweet and juicy ripe mangoes. Very tasty as a fruit as such, Mangoes…. always makes you nostalgic. 
Mambhazha pulissery is a simple dish.. a perfect combo of ripe mangoes and yoghurt. The tampering with mustards, fenugreek and chillies gives the extra flavors and taste. My daughter loves this curry too.

Best with rice , Can be part of the Kerala sadya ,mambhazhapulissery contributes the sweet taste.
Here is my version

Ingredients :-
Ripe mangoes - 2
Red chili powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Turmeric powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Water
yogurt / curd – 1 ½  cups

Salt
Grated coconut – ½  cup

Cumin seeds - ½  teaspoon
Turmeric powder- ¼   teaspoon
Green chili - 2 no.s
Mustard seeds - 1 teaspoon
Fenugreek seeds – ½   teaspoon
Dry red chili (whole) - 4 no.s
Curry leaves
Oil

Method

Peel the skin of the mangoes.  I used not so small mangoes. So I cut the flesh into pieces and discarded the skin. Cook the mangoes with ¼ tea spoon turmeric powder, ½ tea spoon chilli powder, salt and water.
Grind the grated coconut, cumin seeds, turmeric powder, and green chilli with some curd to make it a smooth paste.  Add the paste to the cooked mangoes and cook again for another 3-4 min.
Lower the flame and add the curd and mix well.
Heat oil in a pan , splutter the mustard seeds, fenugreek seed, red chillies and curry leaves.  Pour this tampering over the pulissery.
Mambhazha pulissery is ready!

Chilli Paneer

Indo Chinese fusions like chilli or manjoorian dishes has a special taste. very popular as well… more popular with chicken , But taste equally good with paneer or Gobi.

Increasing demand for paneer dishes made me cook this chilli paneer... :)
Chilli paneer  is a spicy dish which can be served  as an appetizer, it tastes great with fried rice and noodles .
Here is my version of chilli Paneer which I love to have anytime a day. The same for my kids also..  :) 

You can make it spicy by increasing the amount of green chillies.  As always I made it less spicy.

Ingredients :-

Paneer - 250gm
Capsicum -1/2 green and 1/2 red
Onions- 2 large 

Green chillies, 4 slit
Ginger garlic paste 1 tsp
Soya sauce 1 tbsp
Chilli sauce – ½ teaspoon
Tomato sauce- 1 table spoon
Sugar- 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste

For the Marinade:
All-purpose flour - 3 tbsp
Corn flour- 2 tbsp
Pepper- 1 tspn
Garlic paste 1 tsp
Salt
Water

Method

 Marinate the panner pieces in a paste made out of the ingredients to marinade. Keep for 5 min. 
Add oil in a pan and shallow fry the paneer pieces, make sure all the sides are brown. Drain them and keep aside.
Heat oil in a pan, add chopped onions, capsicum and  green chillies,. Cook until the onions turn transparent . Add ginger garlic paste , soya sauce, chilli sauce, tomato sauce and sugar. Stir-fry on high flame for about 1min  turn the flame to medium-low..  Add salt if needed.
Add the fried paneer cubes and combine well. Stir cook for sometime.. add corn starch (½ tbsp of corn flour mixed with 2 tbsp of water) and cook for some more time until the sauce thickens.
Remove from pan, Serve hot.

Chicken Curry (Chettinadu style)

Another Chicken Dish… Chicken curry in Chettinadu style..
Deeply flavorful chicken dish , cooked in coconut milk with a blend of the flavors of quite a few spices.
Its not the usual ‘easy’ recipe . There’s no marination or frying or anything involved in my version of  recipe but preparing the ingredients consume more time than the actual cooking.  But worth the effort….
Serve hot with Chapathi or rice. I love it with both :)

Ingredients:
Chicken – 700gm
Shallots/ small onion - 1 cup
Tomato -3 medium size
Turmeric powder - 1/4 teaspoon
Coconut Milk - 1 cup
Green Chillies - 2 nos
Garlic – 8 flakes
Ginger - 1 inch piece
Salt
Coriander leaves

Curry leaves

Masala ingredients:
Coriander seeds - 1 tablespoons
Dry red chillies - 6 nos
Black Pepper - 1/2 teaspoon
Cumin seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
Fennel seeds - 1/2  teaspoon
Cardamoms - 2
Cinnamon - 1 small piece
Curry leaves

Method

Heat 1 teaspoon of oil in a pan and roast the masala ingredients- (black pepper, cumin seeds, fennel seeds, coriander seeds, red chillies, cardamom, cinnamon and curry leaves) for 2-3 min on medium heat with constant stirring. Remove from fire, cool and grind.
Make a paste of ginger, garlic , green chilli and soaked poppy seeds keep aside.
Heat oil in a pan, add small onions and curry leaves, sauté till the onions becomes transparent,
Add the ginger garlic chilli paste mixture and cook in medium heat for a min, gives you a good aroma, add chicken, with constant stirring cook for 3-4 minutes on a high flame.  Add turmeric powder, tomatoes and salt , mix well cook this for some more time. Transfer this to a pressure cooker and add coconut milk. Cooking time varies depending upon the quality of the chicken used.  For me the chicken was done in two whistles. ( around 5 min)
Open the pressure cooker, add the grounded masala and combine well. Cook for another 3-4 min. the gravy gets thicken , add more curry leaves. Remove from stove.
Transfer to a serving dish. Garnish with coriander leaves.
Serve Hot.

Chicken Roast

This dish is a fantastic blend of Chicken, Onion, Tomatoes and Spices.
Adaptation of this recipe is  again from a cooking program on TV,  with some alteration to customize it according to our taste buds.
The aroma  of curry leaves and the coconut oil makes it a complete Kerala dish. .. a mouth watering one….
The chicken is usually deep fried and then mixed with masala.  For a healthier option, I avoided the deep frying and pressure cooked it instead.It goes well with rice or chappathi
Sometimes I have the feeling, that I now cook so I can take pics.. I’m not sure that the picture gives enough justice to the statement.  Anyways I enjoy both…. Caputuring it on camera and eating it as well!! 

Ingredients
Chicken -750 gm
Pepper powder – 2 table spoon
Lemon juice – 2 table spoon
Chillipowder  2 table spoon
Turmeric powder-  ¼  teaspoon
Coriander Powder- 1 teaspoon
Onion – 5 medium size( finely chopped)
Ginger – 2 ½ table spoon
Garlic-2 ½ table spoon
Green chilli
Tomato -3 big
Garam masala- 1 tea spoon
Salt

Preparation

preparing the chicken includes two sets of marination.
First Marinate the chicken with ½ teaspoon of pepper powder, salt and lemon juice, for about 30 mins.
For the second marinade - 1tablespoon Chilli powder – , ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder, ¼ teaspoon pepper powder, add water and make it a paste.  Mix it well with the chicken and keep it aside for sometime.  Deep fry the marinated chicken in coconut oil… that’s the original way.
My version has some changes here , after the first marination , I cooked the chicken in pressure cooker.. then I did the second marination.  Since the chicken is cooked already…  a stir fry was enough to change the raw taste of the marinade. 
Now the masala part….
Heat oil in a pan,  add ginger , garlic and green chilli and fry  till there is a nice aroma,  Add the onions, sauté it til it become golden brown, Add 1 table spoon chilli powder,I teaspoon coriander powder, ¼ tea spoon turmeric powder , fry  for a minute. Add the tomatoes  and cook for 2-3 minutes.  Add garam masala and curry leaves and mix well..
 Now add the  fried chicken and roast  it for  sometime  till the masala gets well coated over the chicken. add more curry leaves , Remove from stove .
serve with rice or chapathi. 

Paneer Biriyani

Today I wanted to make something special for the kids and decided to go with Paneer Biriyani.  Normally Biriyani preparation takes a lot of patience and effort…  . And I was not in mood to spend hours in the kitchen also. so i followed an easy method of Biriyani . I got the idea from one of the cooking programs in our local channel.
 My daughter recently developed a liking towards paneer…  that’s how I started cooking more with paneer. 
Paneer ( Cottage cheese) Biriyani was the perfect choice for a one pot dish.  Combination of raitha and pickle… makes this a delicious meal.
And today I am happy that both my kids loved it…  Nothing gives me more happiness then to see them relishing the food I make. :)

Ingredients :-

2 cups Basmati rice
1 cup of paneer cubes
1 onion chopped
2 green chillies
Tomatoes -3 (cut into small cubes)
1/2 cup chopped carrots
1 ½  teaspoon ginger paste
1 teaspoon garlic chopped
Chilli powder -2 teaspoon
Coriander powder -1 teaspoon
Pepper powder-1 teaspoon
Garam Masala- 1 teaspoon
Kasthuri Methi – 1 teaspoon
Cumin seed- 1 teaspoon
Coriander seeds- 1 teaspoon
ghee
corriander leaves
Mint leaves

Preparation:-

Divide  the task into various small tasks and then assembling makes it more easy to understand.
The first step is to prepare the rice .  cook the rice with more water , when it is more than half cooked add the carrots. when cooked completely, drain the rice and keep aside.
The next step is to prepare the paneer. Deep fry the paneers to golden Brown keep aside.
To prepare the masala. Heat 2 table spoons of ghee in a pan, add the ginger paste and chopped garlic and sauté for a while.  Add the green chillies. Stir fry for some time.  Add chillipowder, coriander powder  and cook till the raw smell goes, Add sliced tomato & cook. When oil starts appearing add salt, pepper powder, kasthuri methi and garam masala. cook for some more time and remove from fire.
Now it’s the final stage, assembling all the ingredients. Heat 2 table spoons of ghee + 1 spoon oil, add the cumin seeds and coriander seeds. Add onions and Cook on medium heat with  stirring constantly so that the onions don’t get burned. Add the cooked rice and fry it  for sometime.  Add the fried panner to the rice.  Add the masala in small amount mixing it with the rice.  Add mint leaves and corrainder leaves .  mix everything well so that the masala reaches every single rice. Cook it covered for 4-5 min.
If you want you can garnish the biriyani with cashews and raisins fried in ghee.
Finally the paneer biriyani  is ready to serve hot.  Serve it with onion and cucumber raitha.

Aloo Gobi

Aloo Gobi is a very simple and satisfying dish, with the combination of potatoes (aloo) and cauliflower (Gobi).

The same dish can differ in cooking process and the spices used, the taste varies according to that. I have had different varities of aloo gopi, each one was different in taste. 

You can fry the potato and cauliflower pieces before cooking to make it a dry dish. But here I skipped the frying part and instead pressure cooked the potatoes. So the look is very much different from the traditional Aloo Gobi. This is the way we cook at home - Aloo Gobi with a new taste. :). 

Ingredients 

Potato - 2
Cauliflower - 1 small
Onion -1 finely chopped
Tomato- 1
ginger garlic paste - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Garam masala powder - 1/4 tsp (optional)
Coriander leaves
Salt
Oil

Method

Cut cauliflower into florets and put them into warm salt water and keep for a while.
Cut potatoes in size matching to the cauliflower. Cook the potatoes.
Heat oil in a pan. Add cumin seeds and onions, stir cook until the onions become translucent, add green chilies, ginger garlic and tomato and mix thoroughly. Cook till everything get mushy and soft,   Add the cauliflower and the cooked potatoes,  add turmeric powder and garam masala, mix gently cover and cook in low flame for 5-6 min,  uncover and cook in high flame for 1-2 min. Remove from stove.
Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with chapatti.

Pachadies

Last week was 'Vishu, a Hindu festival celebrated in Kerala and in Tamil Nadu it marks the Tamil New year.  Vishu is also a day of feasting. The foods consist of equal proportions of salt, sweet, sour and bitter items. Any Festival… you celebrate it with special food.
Sadya is a major part of all Kerala festivals and pachadi is inevitable part of sadya.  So I decided to share 3 different varities of pachadi today.  pachadi is a side-dish curry similar to the north Indian Raita,  Pachadi is commonly eaten with rice. Curd/yogurt based pachadi can be made of any vegetable.

Beetroot Pachadi 

The first one is the beet root pachadi, or the “Pink pachadi”  that’s how my kids name it. The lovely pink color makes the sadya look attractive and colorful.  This is simple to make and delicious, which goes well with rice. This may not be the traditional way of pachadi…  but my way of making it simple.

Perfect combination of look and taste… infact color and taste. :) 

Ingredients
Beetroot- 1 medium size, grated
Onion- 1 medium size
Curry leaves
Mustard seeds
Yoghurt- 1 ½ cups
Green chili- 3

Method 

Heat oil in a pan. Splutter the mustard seeds, add curry leaves, green chillies and the chopped onions, when the onions becomes translucent, add the grated beetroots , cook it for 5-6  min with occasional stirring . Allow to cool and add the yogurt and mix well. Beetroot pachadi is ready.

Banana Pachadi

Next item on the list is the banana pachadi (ethapazham pachadi) , this is made out of ripe banana. The dish is Hot and sweet.  The sweetness of banana and the hot taste of green chillies.. , another perfect combo, perfect place for this pachadi is in the sadya. 

Ingredients
Ripe Banana (Etha Pazham/Nenthra Pazham) – 1 big cut into small pieces
Turmeric – 1/4 tsp
Red Chilly Powder – 1/2 tsp
Curd/Yogurt – 1 cup
Salt

For Grinding
Coconut Grated – 1 Cup
Green Chilies – 3 or 4
Cumin (Jeera) – ¼  tsp
Turmeric Powder – ¼  tsp
Mustard Seeds – ¾ tsp
Ginger – 1 tsp
Water – 1/2 cup

Method

Grind coconut, greenchillies, cumin seeds, mustard seeds, ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder and ginger to make a smooth paste.
Cook banana, along with turmeric powder, redchilli powder, salt and water, until soft. Mix the grounded paste to the cooked banana, and cook for another 4-5 min, reduce the flame and add the curd and mix well. Don’t boil after adding curd. Remove from stove.
Heat coconut oil a pan, splutter mustard seeds, red chillies and curry leaves. Pour over the pachadi.

Potato Pachadi

And the third one  is Potato pachadi , the other two was common , but pachadi with potato is not so common…. I got this idea from one of  my tamilian friend…  this goes well with the flavored rice, than in the sadya , the perfect partner is either tomato rice, or lemon rice.  Goes well as an item for sadya also.

Ingredients:-

Potato -1 medium

Curd – ½ cup

Mustard seed – ½ tsp

Urad dal – ½ tsp

Salt

Oil

Method

Boil potatoes and mash them into pieces,

Heat oil in a pan, splutter mustard seeds, add urad daal, green chilies, curry leaves, and fry it; Add potatoes and fry for some time. Add curd and salt and mix well.. remove from stove. Serve with rice.

Chili Chicken

After a few days break, back in the blog with a new dish… this time it’s the Chili chicken. I doubt if I can call this as chilli chiken… this is my version of chilli chiken customized for the taste buds of my kids.  

Kids have a special liking towards the chicken dishes, Chicken and Chili complement each other incredibly well, But here I replaced the chilies with not so hot green chilies and I reduced the amount of the chili sauce also.. so there’s no way that I can call this a 'chili' chiken.

Chili chicken is the most popular dish in the Indo – Chinese cusine.  This tastes its best with Fried rice or noodles.  I served it to the kids with the Indian Chapathi.  “Yumm… more more more… :)” … reaction  made me a Happy mom! 

Ingredients

Chicken - 400gm
1 onion, cut into cubes
1/2 of a green capsicum  cut into cubes
4 green chillies, slit
3 teaspoon ginger garlic paste
1 teaspoon green chilli sauce
1 tbsp soya sauce
2 tbsp tomato sauce
1 teaspoon red chili powder
Make a smooth paste of 1 tbsp corn flour + 3tbsp water
Sugar – ½ tea spoon

Preparation

Marinate the chicken with soya sauce, 2 teaspoon ginger garlic paste, chili powder and salt, (add pepper powder also if u want to make it more spicy) keep this for 30min to 1 hr.
Add 3-4 tbsp oil in a pan and shallow fry the chicken pieces, turning them over when the cooked sides are brown. Drain and set aside.
 In the same pan, add chopped onions, green chillies, and capsicum. Cook until the onions turn transparent - add the remaining soya sauce, chili sauce, ginger garlic paste, sugar and tomato sauce. Stir-fry on high for about 30 seconds until well blended. reduce the flame
Add the fried chicken  and the corn flour-water paste. add salt, Stir and cook for another 3-4 mins until the sauce comes around and thickens due to the corn flour.
Serve hot.

Chocolate Cake

I try to provide recipes that have been tested thoroughly in my kitchen.  Here’s another one …..  Chocolate Cake!

Baking with kids is a fun way to spend time together, As much fun to make as they are to eat.  and if  it’s a chocolate cake the happiness is double!  

About the mess… :)  hmmm …. I guess, it’s worth the fun. :)) 

Ingredients:-
 
1 ½ cup self raising flour
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (Dark)
1 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla essence
3/4 cup milk
1 cup sunflower oil
2 eggs

Method

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour cake pan.
In a bowl combine flour, cocoa powder, sugar and baking powder with a wire whisk.
Add milk, oil and eggs and beat it to make it a smooth paste. You can beat by hand or using an electric beater at low speed.
Transfer to the cake pan.
Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
After the cake has cooled slice it into pieces.
Store cakes loosely covered at room temperature for up to 2 days. To loosely cover, place aluminum foil, plastic wrap or waxed paper over the cake without sealing the edges so air can circulate.
 

 

Bhindi-Tomato curry

Bhindi(okra) is all time favorite in the family, so I like to make new dishes with bhindi.

The original recipe of this dish is from the very famous cookery show in one of our regional channel, ‘Magic Oven’ by Lekshmi Nair. Her dishes are always simple and easy to make.  I watch this long back,  but  the first attempt was not so perfect , coconut got roasted a little extra. …:)  but this time it’s just perfect.  Given below is an easy recipe to spice up your meal.  We had it with chapati and I am sure it will go well with rice also.

Ingredients :-

Bindi(Okra)- 10-15 (small)
Tomato- 3 medium sized
Onion-2 medium
Curry leaves
Fenugreek (Uluva) -1/4 teaspoon

To grind
Coconut- 1 cup
Garlic -4 cloves
Small onion- 4-5
Redchilli powder- 2 teaspoon
Coriander powder- 1 teaspoon
Turmeric powder- ¼ teaspoon

Preparation: 

Heat the pan add coconut, garlic and small onion , sauté it till the color starts to change. In this preparation you don’t have to roast the coconut to dark brown, a slight change in the color is just perfect,  add chili powder, coriander powder and turmeric powder and stir fry till it gives an aroma. Add a little coconut oil and mix well. Remove from the stove, allow to cool and grind it to a smooth paste. You can add water to make it a paste. Keep aside
In another pan heat oil, add curry leaves, add the Bindi and fry it with frequent stirring , when the bindi become soft  add onion and stir fry it till it become soft.  Add the masala paste.  Sauté it for 2 minutes, add the tomatoes and salt to taste.  Add  1 ½ cups of water mix well .  Allow to cook for 5-6 minutes.  Add the fenugreek powder, adding this gives a special aroma and taste to the curry. Remove from the stove.  Garnish with more curry leaves.  Curry is ready!

Pumpkin with Daal

Pumpkin with daal is another delicacy from my mother in laws kitchen. She prepares erisseri and this an adaptation of the same. Erisseri is a common dish from Kerala. it is a combination of vegetables and pulses and it is even served in traditional Sadyas.
The difference of this dish from the tradional erisseri  is , erisseri is usually garnished with roasted coconut, which is not done here.  And vanpayaru (red cow peas) is commonly used .. but, here I used Pumpkin and Moong Daal.
This is best with rice, and can be used for chapathi also.

Ingredients: -
1 ½ cups of pumpkin peeled and cut into cubes
Moong Daal- ¾ cup
Grated coconut – ½ cup
Cumin seeds- ½   teaspoon
Small onion -3-4
GreenChilli- 3
Garlic- 2 cloves
Turmeric powder- ¼ teaspoon
Curry leaves

Preparation:

Grind Grated Coconut, Small onions, cumin, Turmeric powder, Green chillies, garlic and keep aside.
Cook pumpkin with Daal after adding enough water and salt. Add the grounded coconut mixture to this, mix well. With a wooden spoon mash the pumpkins, you can leave a few chunky pieces if you like.  Cook for another 5-6 min in low flame.  Remove from stove.
For garnishing, heat the oil in a pan, splutter the mustard seeds, add curry leaves and  2-3 red chillies.  Pour this to the curry and mix gently.
I wanted to make it an oil free dish, so i skipped the garnishing part. instead, garnished it with some fresh curry leaves . The taste was equally good.  But of course garnishing gives an extra taste.

Fish Curry

The way fish curry is made varies from place to place in kerala.  Some use Kudam Puli, while others use tamarind or tomatoes.  The red curry with kudampuli is most common in my place.  But this may not be the traditional way of preparation, this is how i do it.

Keep the curry at least for 1 or 2 hours before serving so that the gravy absorbs all flavors. Fish curry made in clay pot( chatti) gives an extra taste to the curry. The flavor intensifies after a day.

The fish used here is 'para' , i've no idea about the english name. :) You can use any fish of your choice.

This goes excellent with boiled tapioca (kappa) or rice. But at the same time puttu is also a perfect partner. Nothing is better than puttu and fish curry to win an appreciation from my husband :)

Ingredients:-

Fish-500gm
Kudam puli - 2 nos
Red chilly powder-2 tbsp
Turmeric powder –½  tsp
Coriander powder – ½  tbsp
small onion - 5 - 6 nos
Ginger – 1 ½ teaspoon chopped
Garlic - 3 cloves
Green chillies - 2 nos
Curry leaves
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tbsp
Fenugreek (Uluva) - 1/2 tbsp
Salt
Water

Preparation:

Make a mix of red chili powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder add some water to make it a paste. Keep aside.
Heat oil in a pan or clay pot, add the mustard seeds and fenugreek seeds. When they splutter, Add the ginger and garlic, small onions curry leaves and green chilies, when the onions turns golden yellow add the masala paste and fry it for few second. Add 1 ½ cups of water , and mix well. Add salt and kudampuli.
When it starts to boil add the fish pieces, close the lid and cook for 5 min. open the lid and cook uncovered for another 10 minutes  in low flame swirling the pan occasionally.
Remove from the stove, Close the pot , keep it at least for 1-2 hours before serving, so that the fish absorbs all the flavors.

Gajar ka Halwa (Carrot Halwa)

I love sweets.. and this one for my sweet tooth. :D

Many recipes I found for Gajar Ka Halwa, combining those, I have devised my own way of cooking this. I really don’t mind making it rich and with lots of dry fruits because it’s made once in a while.  Below is my version.

Ingredients:-

2 cups shredded carrots
2 cups milk
½ cup water
¼ cup sugar
½ teaspoon cardamom powder
Cashew nuts
Raisins
Butter

Preparation:-

Put the water to boil, when it starts boiling add the grated carrots. Cook for 5-7 minutes. Set aside.
Boil the milk on medium-high heat in a non-stick pan until it is reduced to about to 1 cup. Stir often to ensure the milk does not burn in the bottom of the pan.
Add the cooked carrots to the milk Add sugar, mix well and cook till the sugar has dissolved and all the milk has been absorbed.
add cardamom powder and stir-fry for another three to four minutes until the halwa starts to leave the side of frying pan.
Roast the cashew nuts and raisins for the garnish.

Tomato Rice

Tomato rice is something easy to make and light on the ingredient; this is an extremely flavorful rice dish using ripe red tomatoes and rice.  It is simple , yet amazingly tasty.
Raita is all that you need to make this a perfect easy meal..... :)

Ingredients:

2 cups Basmati rice
5 large ripe tomatoes cut into cubes
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 large onion chopped fine
3 green chillies

Ginger Garlic paste - 1½ tablespoon
1 teaspoon chillipowder powder
½ teaspoon Turmeric Powder
1 teaspoon garam masala

Coriander leaves for garnishing
Salt to taste

Preparation:-

Cook the rice separately, keep aside.  

Heat the oil in a deep pan and add the mustard seeds and green chillies. Allow to pop, add ginger garlic paste and fry for few seconds.  add the onion and fry till soft. Add the tomato and mix well. Cook till the tomatoes turn pulpy. Add the red chilli powder,Turmeric powder, garam masala powder, salt to taste and mix well. Cook on a low flame for 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently.
Turn off the fire and add the rice. Mix well. garnish with chopped coriander leaves.
Serve with raita.

Batter Fried Chicken

Chicken Fry is very popular because of it taste. Fried chicken can be made in a variety of methods, by just altering the way you make batter. Indeed, preparing fried chicken batter recipe depends entirely upon your taste buds. Simply soaking chicken pieces in a well-prepared batter for a specific time can convert your Fried chicken into something very special and tasty. 
My modification to the dish is I garnished the fried pieces with a tadka,  it’s a simple garnishing but the output was really nice.

Ingredients:-
Chicken – 400gm
Ginger paste- 1 ½ teaspoon
Garlic paste- 1 ½ teaspoon
Turmeric Powder- ¼ teaspoon
Garam masala- 1 teaspoon
Salt
Corn flour- 2 table spoon
Rice flour-1 tablespoon
Gram Flour (kadalamavu) – 1 tablespoon
Egg – 1

Oil for Frying

For Garnishing:-
Mustard seeds – 1 teaspoon
Green chili -2
Curry leaves
Onion- 1 chopped
Red chili powder- ½ teaspoon
Coconut Oil

Method:- 

Marinate the chicken with Ginger garlic paste, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, garam masala, corn flour, gram flour, rice flour, salt, and 1 egg.  Mix well with hand and keep it for 1 hour.

Heat oil in a kadai and deep fry the marinated chicken pieces  Cook for 13-15 minutes or until golden

Add 1 spoon of coconut oil in a pan, pop the mustard seeds,  add green chilies and curry leaves, sauté it for  few seconds, add the onions , sauté it till it become soft.  Add the red chili powder and mix well. Remove from the stove.

Garnish the fried chicken in the serving dish with the above  mixture.

Moru Curry

In kerala, it is a common practice to finish any meal with yogurt or buttermilk. 

There are a number of ways you can customize the taste of buttermilk. and I follow the easiest amongst all..  but great in taste as well…. :)

Ingredients :-

Youghurt-1 ½ cup (Mix ½ cup of water and beat it in a blender) or you can use 2 cups of Laban (butter milk)
Small onion 3-4 (cut straight)
Ginger – 1 teaspoon finely chopped
Garlic -1 clove (crushed)
Mustard seeds-1 teaspon
Green chillies-2
Cumin (jeera) powder – ¼ teaspoon
Fenugreek powder- ¼ teaspoon
Turmeric powder- less than  ¼ teaspoon
Curry leaves
Oil

Preparation: 

Mix the cumin powder, fenugreek powder and turmeric powder with 2 spoons of water to get a paste, keep aside.
Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds, when it start to pop add ginger and garlic and sauté for few seconds, add the small onions, green chillies and curry leaves, when the onion becomes golden brown add the masala paste and sauté for a 2-3 min. keep the flame low and add the laban (buttermilk), add salt ,stir for 2 min. remove from the stove. Moru curry is ready.!

Daal in Roasted Coconut

My Mother in law makes many varieties of Daal, ( not only Daal many other dishes also… which will be shared later in the blog  :)… ) and this Daal is one among  the favorite dishes in the family.  The combination of Daal and the roasted coconut gives a unique taste to the dish.

If you make the roasted coconut masala in sufficient quantity, you can keep the remaining for later use, but what i shared here is just perfect for this dish alone. The same masala can be used for many other dishes also.

I’m lucky that I have the masala readymade from my mother in law,preparing this dish is much easier for me. 

I used moong daal here, the same recipe can be used for other types of daal also. 

Ingredients:-

Moong daal- 1 cup
Onion -1 chopped
3 medium size Tomato (chopped)
Green chillies- 2
Mustard seeds
Salt
Curry leaves

Oil

Masala ingredients :
Coconut grated -2 table spoon
Red chili powder- ½ teaspoon (or u can use 3 red chilies)
Coriander powder - ½ teaspoon ( ½ spoon coriander)
Turmeric Powder- ¼ teaspoon
Cumin Seeds (jeera) - ¼ teaspoon
Fenugreek (Uluva) – ¼ teaspoon

Directions

Cook the Daal, in a pressure cooker with 3 ½  cups of water.  1 whistle should be enough.If you are not using pressure cooker, cook in a closed, thick-bottomed pan for about 15-20 mins until the dal is cooked soft

Heat 1 tsp of oil in a small pan and saute coconut till brown.  Add red chilli powder, coriander powder, cumin seeds and Fenugreek and stir fry till it gives an aroma and the coconut turns golden yellow. Be sure to simmer it, thus preventing masalas from getting burned too much. Keep aside and cool. Grind it to a smooth fine paste.

In an another pan heat oil, add mustard seeds, when they start to pop, add curry leaves onion and green chillies, sauté till the onions becomes golden brown, add tomatoes and sauté it for some time, add the cooked daal and add masala, add salt and mix well.  Cook for another 4-5 min in medium flame.  Add more curry leaves.  Remove from the stove .  Daal with roasted coconut is ready to serve.

Garlic Chicken Fry

I made this simple non spicy Chicken fry yesterday, and it looked very attractive so I took a picture of it. I feel like sharing it here. The taste was much more than the picture. :) This chicken fry is very simple and nothing much to write about. Garlic is the main ingredient, so I named it 'Garlic Chicken Fry'.

Ingredients:

Chicken Drumstick- 400gms
Garlic paste- 2 spoon
Ginger paste- ¾  spoon
Turmeric powder- ¼ teaspoon
Salt to taste
Oil for frying

Preparation

Wash, Clean and remove skin and fat from chicken drumsticks. Marinate it with Ginger paste, Garlic paste, Turmeric powder and salt for about 1 hr.
In a frying pan heat the oil up to medium heat, Fry the drumstick, turning it often so that it cooks evenly and doesn’t get brown too fast.
Cook until drumstick is done and golden brown. Drain on paper towels and serve warm.

Veg Pulao

Everyday you need to try something new to make the kids eat their vegetables.  Veg pulao , I guess is an easiest option. Easy for you and for the kids as well… :). 

You can use the vegetables of your choice to customize the pulao according to your taste.  

Ingredients:
Basmati rice- 2 cups
Carrot, beans, potato, capsicum – 1 ½ cup (finely chopped)
Onion-1 finely chopped
Ginger- ½  teaspoon finely chopped
Garlic – ½  teaspoon finely chopped

Cloves-2
Cinnamon –small piece
Oil

 

Preparation

Soak the rice in water for 30 min.

Heat oil in a pan, add the cloves and cinnamon, add the ginger and garlic , add the onion and sauté it till it becomes soft, add the vegetables and sauté it for a while, add rice and mix well.  Add 4 cups of water (its the1:2 ratios, 2 cups of water for 1 cup of rice), add salt to taste . Close the lid and cook for about 10-12 min.  Without disturbing the rice, open the lid and cook it in low flame for another 3-5 min. Remove from the stove, do not put the spoon on the hot rice. Wait for another 5 min, move pulao to the serving dish and enjoy.

You can garnish the pulao with cashews and raisins fried in ghee.(optional)