COCONUT CHUTNEY

Ingredients

Grated coconut – 1 cup

Green chilly – 2-3

Shallots – 2

Ginger – a very small piece

Tamarind – a little bit (optional)

Salt – to taste

For seasoning

Coconut oil – ½ tbsp

Mustard – ½ tsp

Black gram – ½ tsp

Red chilly – 1 or 2

Sliced shallot - 1

Curry leaves – 6-8 leaves

Method

Grind coconut, chilies, shallots, ginger, tamarind, and slat to a very fine paste.  Transfer the mixture in to a bowl.

Heat a pan. Add oil and crackle mustard and add all other ingredients for seasoning and sauté for 1 minute.  Pour this to the chutney.  Or pour the chutney to the pan and slow down the flame and add water if you want loose chutney and heat well.  Stir continuously.  Don’t boil.  Adjust the salt.

Note

1. You can use bird eye chilly instead of green chilly.
2. If you want red chutney, add dried red chilies.  Roast red chilies in oil or with out oil before grinding.
3. If you are health conscious you can avoid seasoning.
4. You can avoid shallots while seasoning.

MANGO MILK SHAKE

Enjoy the sweetness and tempting taste of this mango shake to beat the sizzling hot of this summer.  This is really refreshing, cooling and healthy too!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Serves for 2

Ingredients

Mango - 2 

Milk - 300 ml

Sugar - 3 tbsp

Method

Boil milk and bring to room temperature and chill.  Mix all the ingredients in a mixer and blend well and serve.

CHOCOLATE POTS

Ingredients

Dark chocolate – 100 g

Double cream – 250 g

Sugar – 50 g

Egg – 1

Vanilla essence – 2 tsp

For garnishing

Cherries

Fresh mint leaves

Sugar/icing sugar

Method

Grate chocolate.

Slightly blend cream with a spoon.

Take a sauce pan and add cream and sugar.

Stir continuously and on a low flame bring to boil.

Add vanilla essence and bring down from the fire.

Beat this using a blender for 2 minutes and put egg beat ½ more minute.

Pour this hot chocolate to small cups.

Let it cool.

When cooled refrigerate at least 3 or 4 hours.

Serve chilled by decorating with cherries and mint.  Sprinkle some sugar or icing sugar above the mint leaves.

BHEL PURI/CHURMURI

Bhel puri is a typical north Indian snacks or chat.  These are now available at all parts of India and are very popular.  The south Indian version of bhel puri is called churmuru.  Bhel means puffed rice.  The main ingredient is bhel as the name suggests.  The bhel is mixed with some veggies and a particular kind of sauce or chutney and is topped with sev (vermicelli made from basan flour/gram flour) and coriander leaves.  Mix the bhel with other ingredients just before serving.  You can add any vegetables as per your taste.  Basically bhel puri contains broken papdies and boiled potatoes.  I just avoided it in this recipe.  I always add a lot of vegetables that can be eaten raw.  This makes a very good evening time snack for the children as it has full of vegetables.  The tamarind sauce prepared once can be refrigerated for 1 week.  Here is the way how I make this fabulous chat…….

Ingredients

For 4 servings

Puffed rice – 3 cups

Tomato chopped – 1

Onion chopped – 1

Salad cucumber chopped – 1 cup

Carrot chopped – 1 small

Coriander leaves chopped – ½ cup

Fresh green peas boiled – ¼ cup

Red chilly powder – ½ tsp

Oil – 1 tbsp

Salt – to the taste

Sev - 1 cup

Lime juice – 1 tbsp

Roasted pea nuts – ¼ cup (optional)

For sauce/chutney

Jaggery syrup – ½ cup (50 – 75 gm jaggery)

Tamarind juice – ½ cup (juice of a small ball of tamarind)

Black salt – a pinch

Roasted jeera powder – ½ tsp

Red chilly powder – 1 tsp

Salt – ½ tsp or to taste

Method

In a sauce pan pour tamarind juice, jaggery syrup and bring to boil.  Add red chilly powder and black salt.  In a low flame cook until the sauce becomes thick.  Just before turning off the stove add roasted cumin seeds and salt to taste.

In a large mixing bowl add chopped vegetables, peas, and salt.  Before adding salt, taste the puffed rice. Some times the bhel has more salt in it.  Mix well.  Add ½ of the sev and coriander leaves.  Add lime juice, oil, chilly powder and mix along with puffed rice.  Immediately serve it in quarter plates and pour 1 or 2 tsp (according to your taste) of sauce and garnish with some sev, coriander leaves and chopped onion.  Serve at once.  

NEER DOSA

Neer dosa is a simple and tasty Karnataka dish.  Literally “neer’ means water in Kannada and Tulu, one of the  local languages of Karnataka.  It is a crepe that is prepared from very loose (almost water consistency) rice batter that is why it is called “Neer dosa”.  We don’t need a spoon to spread it as in other dosas.  Due to its water  consistency it will spread all over the tawa evenly when we tilt or swirl the tawa to all sides.  The ingredients are soaked raw rice, left over rice and salt.  Some people use scraped coconut instead of left over rice; some other use only raw rice and salt to make the batter.  Like other dosas that are prepared using black gram, it doesn’t need fermentation of the batter.  Once we make the batter we have to make the dosas at once.  Other wise it will get fermented.  These are very light and tasty and are an ideal breakfast choice as it is very easy to prepare.  There are different combinations for this dosa.  Chutneys, green pea masala, chicken curry, fish curry etc.  It really goes well with fish curries that have coconut gravy. 

Ingredients we need

Raw rice soaked – 2 cups

Left over rice – ½ cup

Salt – to taste

Water – as required

Oil – as required (optional)

Method

Soak rice for 5-6 hours or over night.  Grind raw rice, left over rice and salt in a grinder to very finely.  Pour this to a large bowl and add enough water to make the batter some what water consistency.  Heat a dosa tawa or wide non-stick pan.  Apply oil to the tawa.  There is no need to sprinkle oil if you are using non-stick pan which is your choice.  Put the flame on maximum and take a ladle full of batter and spoon it to the pan and tilt to all sides, so that the batter should spread evenly to all sides of the pan.  Since the batter is too loose it will flow to the sides of the pan.  Cook uncovered for 1 or 2 minute and flip it over.  Cook one more minute and transfer it in to the plate and wait for one minute, then fold the dosa into half and then to quarters and arrange in the plate.  Repeat the process till the last ladle.  Serve with chutney, fish or chicken curry.  It really goes well with fish curry with coconut gravy.

MORU KACHIYATHU/YELLOW BUTTER MILK

It is a very common, simple Kerala gravy type curry that we Keraliates have on their dining table on almost all days.  It really goes well with non-veg lunch or dinner with rice and curries especially with “beef/chicken ularthiyathu” or “meen pattichathu” as this type of dishes have no gravy.  So we use moru kachiyathu with rice as gravy.  Moru kachiyuthu or kachiya moru has its own role on a dinning table whether it is a simple normal dinner or a seven course dinner.  

It is very simple to make, but at the same time we have to take care of it.  Other wise the butter milk will curdle and it will become a mess.

The butter milk is seasoned with some masala and turmeric, which gives yellow colour to the gravy.  The traditional way to prepare this is; make a fine paste of coconut, cumin seeds, ginger, and garlic and sauté this in the oil and add butter milk to this.  Any way I don’t use coconut for this.  There are two reasons for that.  One is; we have to grind the coconut and other ingredients to a very fine thick paste.  As the quantity of the ingredients is too little I can’t do this in the mixer grinder.  The other reason is, with out adding coconut or with out grinding the masala in to paste it comes out well and we people like its taste very much.  One more reason is there; by comparing with the traditional one the effort is less and it will be ready with in a few minutes.

Once we prepare, we can use it for 2 or 3 days.  To prevent souring you have to keep it in the fridge.

Ingredients

Thick butter milk – ½ l

Green chilly slited – 2

Ginger chopped 0- 1 tsp

Garlic chopped – 1 tsp

Cumin seed – 1 tsp

Mustard – ½ tsp

Turmeric powder – ½ tsp

Curry leaves – 1 stalk

Shallots chopped – 2

Red chilly flakes – 6-8 flakes

Coconut oil – 1 tbsp

Salt – to taste

Method

Heat a thick bottomed steel vessel and pour oil. 

Heat it and add mustard to crackle. 

Add curry leaves, cumin seeds, green chilly, ginger, garlic, shallots and chilly flakes. 

You can use ½ tsp of fenugreek if you want. 

On a medium flame sauté well till it becomes light brown and add turmeric powder and mix well. 

Put the fire on low flame and slowly add beaten butter milk. 

You have to stir it continuously on a very low flame.  When it becomes too hot and begins to boil bring it down from the fire. 

Continue stirring for one or two minutes. 

Do not boil it. 

The butter milk will curdle and the mooru kachiyathu will become a mess. (pirinjnhu pokum)

So take care of it.  Don’t forget to stir for few more minutes even after turning off the stove.

If the butter milk is too sour add some sugar to balance the taste, if you like.

CHICKEN CURRY FOR RICE ROTI

I don’t know how many of you know “rice roti” or “kori roti”. .  It is a typical coastal Karnataka food particularly very popular in Mangalore.  Literally “Kori” means chicken in Tulu, a local language of Mangalore.  It is very much available in northern part of Kerala.  Basically it is dry and stiff sheets or wafers made from boiled rice.

The cooked rice is grinded to a fine paste with salt.  This mixture is then spread in to thin layers and dehydrated..  When it dries it becomes very stiff and crispy.

It is packed and can be preserved for a long time.  We can buy it from the bakerys and super markets.  We get rice roties in packets.  They are in the form of stiff sheets.  We have to crush it by hands before using  and it needs a lot of gravy to smoothen it.  The combination is rice roti and chicken curry so it is called “kori-rotti” and its taste is really fantastic.   This is used as a main course in the dinner or lunch.  In Mangalore it is used even in the wedding parties.

Ingredients

Chicken – 1 kg

Onion – 2 large

Tomato big – 3

Garlic paste – 1 tbsp

Ginger paste – 1 tbsp

Green chilly – 3 no

Garam masala – 1 tsp

Red chilly powder – 1 ½ tbsp

Pepper powder – ½ tsp

Coriander powder – 2 tbsp

Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp

Curry leaves – 2 stalks

Oil – 3 tbsp

Grated coconut – 3 cups

Salt – to taste

Method

Cut chicken in to small pieces and wash it.  Marinate it with turmeric and slat and keep aside.  Grind coconut into fine paste by adding water.

Slice onions. 

Chop tomatoes. 

Crush green chilies. 

Soak all powders in a little  warm water.

Heat a thick bottomed vessel and add oil. 

Add onion slices and sauté well till its colour changes.

Then add ginger-garlic paste and crushed green chili.

Sauté well till it becomes slight brown.

Then add soaked masala and toss well until the oil begins to separate.

Then add chopped tomatoes and mix well till it cooks and oil oozes out.

Add chicken pieces, curry leaves and salt.  Remember, you already added salt while marinating it.

Mix well and cook covered for 10- 15 minutes on a medium-low flame.  Stir at regular intervals.

When the chicken almost cooks add the coconut paste and mix well.

Make loose gravy with adding enough water.  You may add 5 – 6 cups of water.

The gravy should be very loose in texture.

Boil the gravy on a medium flame for few more minutes.

Add salt if needed and bring down from the fire.

If you like garnish with coriander leaves.

POMEGRANATE-LIME

Ingredients

Pomegranate seeds – 2 cups

Lime juice – juice of 1

Sugar – 3 or 4 tbsp -As per the taste

Chilled water - 150 ml

How to prepare

Mix all the ingredients in a mixer well and strain.  You can add ice cubes while blending.  Serve chilled.

KADACHAKKA THORAN/BREAD FRUIT MASALA

Ingredients

1. Bread fruit- 3 cups
2. Grated coconut – 1 cup
3. Cumin seeds – ¼ tsp
4. Turmeric powder – 1 pinch
5. Green chilly – 4 - 6
6. Shallots – 2 no
7. Garlic clove – 1 or 2
8. Salt – to taste
9. Water – 3/4 cup

For seasoning

Mustard – ½ tsp

Oil – 1 tbsp

Dried red chilly- 2 no

Curry leaves – 1 stalk

How to prepare

In a pressure cooker add bread fruits cut in to dices and add water and salt.  Wait for a whistle and allow to cool.

Take the ingredients from 2 -7 and crush it using a mixer with out adding water.

Open the pressure cooker.  If there is excess water, drain it.  

Add the crushed mixture and close the lid and cook for few minutes on a low flame.

Heat a kadai and add oil. 

Crackle mustard and add curry leaves and pieces of red chilies.

Fry for a minute and pour 

SOLE FISH FRY/MANTHAL FRY/NANGU FRY

Ingredients

Small sole fish – ¼ kg

Turmeric – ¼ tsp

Kashmiri chili powder – 2 tbsp

Vinegar – 1 ½ tsp

Water – 1 or 2 tbsp

Salt – to taste

Oil – to fry

Method

Clean sole fish. Make a thick paste of chili and turmeric powder using vinegar and water.  Add salt to taste.  Marinate the fish with this and keep aside for half an our.  No need to refrigerate.  Deep fry or shallow fry till it turns brown.

VEG NOODLES

Noodles are rich in protein and contains low calorie, at the same time  they are very high in complex carbohydrates.  We have to take lot of veggies while using noodles as it is very rich in carbohydrates.  Adding ajinomoto gives a particular flavour to the dish, but I avoided it.

Ingredients

Noodles – 250 gm (loose noodles preferred)

Water – 8 cups

Refined oil – 4-5 tbsp

Carrot – ½ cup

Beans – ¼ cup

Cabbage – ½ cup

Capsicum – ¼ cup

Boiled green peas – ¼ cup

Spring onion chopped – 3 tsp

Finely chopped ginger – 1 tsp

Soy sauce – 1 tsp

Sugar – ½ tsp

Vinegar – 1 tbsp

Salt - 1 tsp or as required

Pepper powder – 1 ½ tsp

Method

First cut the vegetables in to thin long strips.  It is called juliennes or match sticks. 

Boil 8 cups of water and add noodles to it. 

Add 1 tsp of refined oil and cook till it is done.(boil the noodles until they are just cooked not too soft.)

Strain the excess water using a strainer. 

Wash the noodles with cold water and drain. 

Spread it in a flat vessel and sprinkle some oil over it and mix well.

Heat a large vessel or wok and pour oil to it.  You have to keep the flame on its maximum.

Add chopped ginger and saute and add beans and sauté for a minute and add carrot, capsicum, and cabbage and green peas. 

Toss very well for 1 or 2 minutes. 

Then add noodles, salt, sugar, pepper powder, vinegar, and soy sauce and toss very well on high flame. 

Taste it and add the powders if needed.

Sprinkle some chopped chives, (spring onions) over it and serve hot with tomato sauce and some side dish. 

 

CRAB MASALA

Crab, an easy thing to clean and cut, but it takes a lot of time to eat it.  We have to be very careful while eating crab.  It is really a difficult task.  The claws/legs of the crab can be slightly cracked, it will help us to eat it more conveniently.  We can prepare it in various methods.  The specialty of this crab masala is, it is oil free.  The slightly roasted scraped coconut along with some masalas make this dish delicious.

Ingredients

Medium sized crab – 1 kg

Grated coconut – 1 and 1/2 cups

Chilly powder – 2 tsp

Turmeric powder – ½ tsp

Coriander powder – 1 tsp

Ginger – 2" piece

Garlic – 8- 10 cloves

Shallots – 3 - 4 no

Curry leaves – 2 stalks

Pepper powder – ½ tsp

Garam masala powder – ½ tsp

Salt – to taste

Method

Clean and cut the crabs.

Cut ginger in to small pieces.

In a pan or kadai roast coconut along with ginger, garlic, and shallots till it becomes light brown. 

No need to add oil. 

When it becomes brown add all powders except pepper powder and continue to roast for 5 more minutes on a low flame. 

Grind the roasted coconut mixture to a coarse paste. 

No need to grind finely. 

You can add some water while grinding. 

Add this mixture in to crab, curry leaves and add salt. 

On a medium flame cook covered till the moisture dries up. 

Don’t forget to stir in between.

Before turning off the stove add pepper powder and stir well.

If you want you can use 3 or 4 pieces of kudampuli/gambooge to get a slight sour taste.

FINGER CHIPS/FRENCHFRIES

Finger chips or French fries are the snacks or starters that are made from potatoes.  Potatoes are peeled and cut in to finger shaped strips and deep fried in oil at a very high temperature.   You have to choose large potatoes, so that you get enough elongated strips that resembles a finger. These strips of potatoes are then half-boiled with salt.  If you want, you can add a little bit of turmeric powder to get slight yellow colour to your fries.   There may be various methods to prepare French fries, but I make it in this way and it really comes out well.

Ingredients

Large potatoes - 1 kg

Water - as required 

Salt - as per taste

Oil - to deep fry

How to prepare

Wash and peel potatoes.  

Cut in to 1/4 inch elongated strips.

Take a large vessel and add striped potatoes into it and pour water.  

Pour more than enough (almost double the quantity) water to cover the potatoes.

Add a little bit of turmeric (optional) and salt to taste.  

Boil until potatoes are half cooked.

Don't forget to stir in between.

Drain excess water and spread it in a flat vessel and allow to cool.

When it is cooled freeze it in the refrigerator for at least one hour.

Heat oil and fry the potato strips until it becomes golden brown. 

Serve at once with tomato ketchup.

SHAHI PANEER(Microwave)

It is a north Indian dish which we people love to have with chapattis, porotas, nans etc.  We can make different types of dishes using paneer cubes.  Nowadays paneer cubes are easily available in the market.  Or you can prepare it fresh in your kitchen.  If you are using frozen paneer, then thaw it in light warm water for 30 minutes.

Here I’m sharing how to cook shahi paneer in microwave oven.

Ingredients

Paneer cubes – 100 gm

Onion chopped – 1

Tomato chopped – 1

Ginger chopped – ½ tsp

Garlic chopped – ½ tsp

Green chilly chopped – 1

Red chili powder – ½ tsp

White pepper powder – ¼ tsp

Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp

Garam masala powder – ½ tsp

Cashew nut paste – 1 tsp

Milk – ¼ cup

Ghee – 1 and ½ tbsp

Salt – to taste

Sugar – ¼ tsp

Coriander leaves – to garnish

Method

Add 1 tbsp ghee, onion, garlic, ginger, green chilly and tomato to a microwave safe bowl. 

Mix well and microwave for 4 minutes.

Then add all powder except white pepper powder and microwave again for 3 minutes.

To it add cashew paste and microwave for 30 seconds.

Allow cooling.

Use a grinder to grind this masala to a very fine paste.

Use milk while grinding to make it loose.

Add paneer cubes in a bowl and add ½ tbsp ghee and microwave for 2 – 3 minutes or till it becomes slightly brown.

Add the masala paste and fresh cream, salt, white pepper powder and sugar to fried paneer.

Microwave for 3 or 4 minutes.

Garnish with fresh cream and coriander powder.

CHAKKA HALWA/JACK FRUIT HALWA

Chakka halwa is a traditional Kerala dessert prepared by ripe jack fruit pulp.  It is very tasty and delicious.  The fact is that it takes hours to prepare this sweet halwa, but its incredible taste make us to forgot all the efforts that we had took to made it.  Actually you all know that cutting chakka and extracting its bulbs is a very tough job. It is really time consumable work.  So try when you people have enough time to spend.  Once we made this we can preserve it for months in  a 'bharani' or air tight containers in refrigerator.  Traditionally it was made in very bulk quantity in large vassels called "valiya otturalis".  Now we have different options like pressure cooker, microwaves, mixies, non-stick pans etc.which makes it much easier than in older days.  Using non-stick pan makes it easy to stir   To get the real consistency and taste of halwa you have to stir the mixture continuously for at least 1 hour or more.  Here I'm sharing the recipe for 5 cups of chopped jack fruit bulb. Lets start...............

Ingredients 

Jack fruit bulb roundly sliced  - 5 cups
Jaggery - 300 - 350 gm (adjust according to the sweetness of the bulb and your taste)
Water - 2 cups
Salt - less than 1/4 tsp
Dried ginger powder - 1 tbsp
Cardamon powder -  2 tsp
Ghee - as required ( approximately 50 ml)

How to prepare

 Cook sliced jack fruit bulb.
You can use either a microwave oven or pressure cooker.
In pressure cooker add 1 cup of water and wait for 2 whistle and let it cool.
                               or
Add 1/2 cup of water to the bulb and microwave it for 10 - 15 minutes on high power and allow to cool.

Mean while make jaggery syrup using 1 cup of water.  Sieve to remove impurities.
Make a fine paste of cooked jack fruit with out lumps.  (Early days people only smashed it with strong and large wooden spatulas.  Grinding makes it easy to stir).
Add this paste to a wide thick bottomed vessel, non - stick utensil is preferred as it make your job easy.
Add jaggery syrup start stirring continuously.  The flame should be medium or low as you stir it.  Add ghee at regular intervals to prevent sticking on the sides of the vessels.  As we are using non- stick utensil the quantity of ghee should be reduced than in the traditional one.
                             or
Microwave it again after adding the jaggery and 1 tbsp of ghee till it starts to thickens.  You have to stir in between.
Then transfer it to the non-stick vessel and put it on the stove on a medium or low flame and stir well.
At this time you have to add dried ginger powder and powdered cardamom and salt to balance the taste.
You have to stir it till it becomes dry and dark brown colored.
(Getting the brown colour will depend upon the colour of jaggery we use.  Use dark coloured one.  This will give a very dark colour to the recipe.)
Add ghee in between stirring.
When it is done the excess ghee will ooze out.
Bring down from the fire.
Take a flat plate and spread some ghee and spoon the halwa to it.
Spread it evenly on the plate.
Level the top by hard pressing using a flat spatula (chattukam) or you can use a piece of banana leaf to level it.
You can see the ghee coming out.
If you are health conscious remove it from the plate.
When cooled cut it as you wish.
You can preserve it for months in a refrigerator.

CORN CHAT - CHILLY LIME

Make this corn chat with frozen corn kernels or fresh corn kernels.

Ingredients

Corn kernels - 2 cups
Water - 2 tbsp
Black salt - 2 pinches
Lime - 1 tbsp
Salt - to taste
Red chilly powder - to taste
Butter - 1 tbsp

Method

In a medium flame cook corn kernels covered with 2 tbsp of water.  It takes 2 or 3 minutes to dry up all the water.  Turn off the stove and add all ingredients at once and mix well.  Serve hot.

CHAKKAKKURU THORAN/JACK FRUIT SEED ROAST

Thinking about chakka, the next thing that came in to our mind would be chakkakkuru; and all that about jack fruit give a nostalgic feeling to malayalees.  Nowadays, jack fruit is becoming a rare thing even in the villages.  The changing climatic conditions also effect the availability of this wonderful fruit.  It is becoming precious in the super markets.  We have to pay almost 10 rupees or more for one bulb of ripe jack fruit and its seeds also becoming a valuable item.  I think it costs almost more than Rs. 50 per kg. 

We can make different types of dishes like thorans, mezhukkupurati, and varieties of curries with jack fruit seeds.  Some people use this to make even pickle.  I also tried it once long before and I remember that it came out well, but unfortunately I forgot the recipe.  If anybody know the recipe, please, inform me.

Here I am going to share one of the recipes that I use to make jack fruit thoran. 

 Ingredients

1. Jack fruit seeds - 15 nos
2. Salt – to taste
3. Water- ½ cup
4. Chilly powder – 1 tsp
5. Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
6. Garam masala powder – ½ - ¾ tsp
7. Grated coconut– ¾ cup
8. Garlic – 4 – 6 pods
9. Curry leaves – 1 stalk
10. Pepper powder – ¼ tsp
11. Oil – 1 ½ tbsp

Method

Peel the jack fruits. 

First cut in to halves and then slice it length wise. 

Then wash it properly. 

Add 1 – 5 ingredients to the pressure cooker and cover the cooker and put it in the fire. 

When the pressure is on its high, slow down the fire for 2-3 minutes and turn off the stove.  Allow to cool.

Mean while crush garlic and grate coconut.

Heat a kadai and pour oil and add crushed garlic.

Fry till it becomes light brown.

Add curry leaves, garam masala, and pepper powder and sauté well.

Then add grated coconut and stir well and add cooked jackfruit.

Cook till it becomes dry.

KOVAYKKA MEZHUKKUPURATTI/STIR FRIED IVY GOURD

Kovaykka mezhukkupurati is a common side dish for rice in South India.  In my home we have it once in a week, either in the form of mezhukkupurati or thoran.  I prepare kovaykka mezhukkupurati in different ways.  One method is adding only green chilies, in that preparation the slicing of the gourd is entirely different.  The slicing of vegetables plays a very important role in cooking as it gives the perfect taste to the dish.  In this recipe I used red chilly powder and crushed red chilies.

Ingredients

Ivy gourd – ½ kg

Onion sliced - 1 no

Dried red chilies – 4 nos

Chilly powder – ½ tsp

Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp

Salt – to taste

Coconut oil – 2 tbsp

Mustard – ½ tsp

Curry leaves – 1 stalk

How to prepare

Wash and slice ivy gourds in length wise( first cut half in length wise and then cut each half into 4 slices). 

Heat oil in a kadai or pan and sputter mustard. 

Add onions and curry leaves.

Saute for a minute and add crushed red chilies, turmeric powder and red chili powder.  Mix well in a medium flame. 

When it sautés well add kovakka slices and salt.

Mix well and cook covered.

Stir occasionally.

When it is almost done, cook uncovered till it becomes dry fried.

POPCORN

I think Popcorn are the favorite and most adored munchies of almost all people in the world.  Such a light snack  which is very low in calories and rich in fibre.  We all love this fantastic snack which we can have at any time.  My children die for these crunchy and tasty popcorn.  They love it to have with different seasonings.  Making popcorn is not a magic.  We can make it in our kitchen with 3 simple steps.  Buy popping corns.  Heat oil. Add popping corns and wait to pop.  Mouth-watering, sizzling popcorn are ready.  Isn't it an easy job?  Come on lets make our delicious popcorn.

What we need

Popping corn - 100 gm

(You can buy this from the super markets)

Any refined oil – 4 tbsp

Method

Take a thick bottomed vessel with tight lid.  Or you can use pressure cooker.  Heat the vessel and add 2 tbsp oil. Wait until hot. (2 tbsp oil is enough for 50 gm of popping corns.  You have to spread popping corns evenly in a single layer at the bottom of the vessel that you have taken. Use the oil depending upon the vessel you have taken.)  Then add enough popping corn to cover the bottom of the pan in a single layer.

Do not put the lid.  On a high flame cook until corns start to pop.  When it starts to pop, put lid and cook on high flame. Shake the pan roundly in between.  It will take almost 2-3 minutes to pop up all the corn.  Or you can stop the fire when popping stops.  Don’t forget to shake the vessel.  Open the lid and sprinkle some seasonings that you like and have at once.

For seasoning

Red chilly seasoning 

Butter – 1 tbsp

Salt – to taste

Red chilly powder – ½ tsp

Heat a pan and add butter to it and allow melting.  Add salt, chilly powder and popcorn.  Toss well.  Red chilly popcorn is ready.  Make a corn with paper and have it at once.

Instead of red chilly you can use pepper powder.  Or simply butter and salt.  Or butter and chat masala.  You can make it healthier by adding chopped fresh vegetables, leaves and lemon juice.  That is all your choice.

PEPPER CHICKEN – STIR FRIED

A variety chicken dish which can be prepared very easily.

Ingredients 

Bone less chicken cut in to very small dices – 1 cup

Shallots sliced – ½ cup

Black pepper powder – 1 tsp or as required

Salt – ¾ tsp

Oil – 1 ½ tsp

Curry leaves – 2 or 3 stalks

Lime juice - optional

Method

Heat a non-stick pan and add oil, chicken dices, and sliced shallots.  Stir fry for 3 minutes. Then add pepper powder, curry leaves, and salt.  Stir every now and then till it becomes brown and crispy.  It takes almost 10 minutes.  If you want you can add lime juice while serving.

MAMPAZHA PULISSERY/ RIPE MANGO CURRY

It is a traditional and classical Kerala dish.  The main ingredients are ripe mangoes and curd.  When the sweetness of mango blends with curd, it gives such a lovely taste that is really yummy.   

Ingredients

Ripe mango – 3 nos

Water – 1 cup

Grated coconut – ¾ cup

Shallots – 4 nos

Roasted cumin seeds – ¾ tsp

Green chilies - 4 nos

Bird eye chili – 6 nos

Turmeric powder – ½ tsp

Red chili powder – ½ tsp

Curd – 2 cups

Salt – to taste

For seasoning

Coconut oil – 1 tbsp

Mustard – 1 tsp

Feenugreek seeds – ½ tsp

Dried red chili – 2 nos

Curry leaves – 2 stalks

How to prepare

Wash mangoes.  No need to peel.  Slice the large pieces from both sides and cut it into half.  Leave the edges with the seed.  Use the mango seed with the edge pieces.  To a thick bottomed vessel add mangoes, water, sliced green chilies, turmeric powder, and red chilly powder.  Cook till mango pieces become tender.

Mean while grind coconut, shallots, bird eye chili and cumin seeds in to a very fine paste.

Add this to the cooked mango and bring to boil in a medium flame.  You have to stir it occasionally.  Blend the curd in a mixie.  When the gravy boils bring the flame to low and add curd and stir continuously for 2 minutes (do not boil) and bring down from the fire and continue stirring for a minute.

Heat a kadai and add coconut oil and crackle mustard.  Then add fenugreek, curry leaves, and dried red chilies cut in to pieces.  Add this seasoning to the pulissery. 

Mampazha pulissery is ready.  Serve it with rice. 

VEG PIZZA

FOR PIZZA BASE

Ingredients

1. Maida – 2 cups
2. Yeast – 1 tbsp
3. Salt – ½ tsp
4. Sugar – 1 tsp
5. Water – as required
6. Olive oil – 1 tbsp

Method

Mix all the ingredients from 1 to 5 and make a soft dough.  Add oil and knead again well. Cover it with a muslin cloth and wait for 30 to 45 minutes till the dough doubles its size.

Slightly press the dough to remove the air.

Make two equal parts.

Then roll each part in to a round as the shape of pizza base.

Prick it with a fork and wait for 5 minutes.

Pre-heat the oven at 150 degree Celsius and bake for 7 to 8 minutes.

PIZZA SAUCE

Ingredients

Tomato medium chopped – 2 nos

Onion chopped – 1 no

Garlic – 4 cloves

Salt – ½ tsp

Sugar – 1 tsp

Oregano – ½ tsp

Basil leaves – ½ tsp

Ajwain – a pinch

Refined oil – 2 tbsp

In a microwave safe bowl add oil, tomatoes, onion, and garlic.  Microwave it on high power for 5 minutes.  Allow to cool and grind a fine paste.  Then add sugar, salt, basil leaves, oregano, and carom seeds (ajwain).  Then microwave for 3 more minutes.  Pizza sauce is ready.

SETTING PIZZA TOPPINGS

Tomato, onion, capsicum or any vegetable sliced roundly.

Mozzarella cheese (grated) – 1 to 1 ½ cups

Salt – to taste

Oregano – ¼ tsp

White pepper powder – ½ tsp

Take the pizza base and spread 2 or 3 tbsp of pizza sauce.  Leave the edges of the base.

Arrange vegetable slices as your wish.

Sprinkle salt, pepper and oregano.

Scatter grated mozzarella cheese evenly.

BAKING

Pre-heat oven at 250 degree Celsius.

Place pizza on the low rack and bake for 8 minutes.

CHICKEN AND NOODLES SOUP

Ingredients

Chicken pieces with bone – 250 gm

Crushed pepper – 1 tsp

Ginger chopped – 1 tsp

Vinegar – 1 tsp

Noodles – 25 gm

Milk – ½ cup

Corn flour – 1 tbsp

Finely chopped carrot – 2 tbsp

Finely chopped onion – 2 tbsp

Finely chopped beans – 2 tbsp

Pepper powder – as required

Salt - to taste

Method

Take 4 cups of water and add chicken pieces, ginger, pepper and vinegar.  On high flame allow to boil.  Slow down the fire and cook till the chicken cooks very well.  Strain the stock and keep it aside.

Separate the flesh from the bone and shred it.

Boil noodles in 1½ cups of water.  Add some salt.

When it almost done strain it.

Pour the stock to a pan and add all the vegetables and bring to boil. 

When it boils add noodles.

Make a paste of corn flour with milk and slowly add to the stock and stir well. 

When soup thickens turn off the stove.

Serve hot with pepper and salt as per taste.

SWEET-AND-SOUR CHICKEN SOUP

Ingredients

Chicken stock - 4 cups

Finely chopped cabbage - 1 tbsp

Finely chopped capsicum - 2 tbsp

Finely chopped spring onion – 2 tbsp

Finely chopped carrots – 2 tbsp

Red chili sauce – 2 tbsp

Cooked and shredded chicken pieces – 2 tbsp

Soya sauce – 1 ½ tsp

Corn flour – 1 and ½ tbsp

Black pepper powder – to taste

Salt – to taste

Method

Add vegetables to the chicken stock and boil for 3 minutes. 

Then add shredded chicken, Soya sauce, and salt and stir well.

Mix corn flour in a quarter cup of water and add to the boiling soup and stir well.

You can use less or more corn flour according to the consistency of your soup.

Add chili sauce, vinegar, and pepper powder and turn off the stove.

Garnish with chopped spring onion and serve hot.

CHICKEN STOCK

For 4 cups of chicken stock.

INGREDIENTS

Use left over bones of one chicken( you can use the flesh for bone less chicken dishes)

Water - 4 and half cups
Chicken (left over bones, neck, heart, wings etc) - of 1 chicken
Chopped onions - 1 small one
Chopped carrot - 1 small size
Celery - 1 stalk (cut in to elongated pieces)
Chopped giger - 1/2 tsp
Salt - 1 tsp
Crushed pepper - 1/2 tsp
Refined oil - 1 and 1/2 tbsp

HOW TO PREPARE

In a pressure cooker add all the ingredients except oil and wait for boiling in a high flame.
When it starts to boiling, remove the foam that comes to the surface.
Then add oil and cover the pressure cooker and put the weight.
Put the flame on its high and wait for one whistle.
Then cook for 15 minutes in a low flame.
Allow to cool itself.
When it cools well, strain it.
Your chicken stock is ready.

CHICKEN BIRIYANI

Biriyani" is a heavy, rich and delicious rice based food.  It is served especially on the occasions of festivals and celebrations. There are different varieties of biriyani according to the ingredients we use.  The basic ingredients are rice and the combination of some spices along with the veg or non- veg we choose. At the early stages of my cooking I felt very tough to prepare biriyani; but as time passed it became an easy job for me.  Here I'm sharing the recipe of chicken biriyani that I cooked for Rickson on his birthday.

INGREDIENTS

For rice

Biriyani rice - 500 gm
Water - 1 and 1/2 to 2 litre
Cardamom - 3-4 nos
Cloves - 4 nos
Cinnamon - 3 pieces
Salt - as required
Oil - 1 tsp
Lemon juice - 1 tbsp

For marinade chicken

Chicken - 500 gm
Curd - 1/4 cup
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Pepper powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt - 1/2 tsp

For masala

Onion large - 3 nos
Ginger - 1 inch piece
Garlic - 6 - 8 cloves
Green chilly - 5 - 6 nos
Tomatoes big - 3 nos
Curry leaves - 2 stalks
Coriander leaves - 3/4 cup
Mint leaves - 1/2 cup
Instant biriyani masala - 2 and 1/2 heap tbsp
Ghee - 100 gm
Salt - as  required

For garnishing

Cashew nut splits - 50 gm

Sultanas - 50 gm

Onion - 1 medium sized

Rose water - 2 tbsp

        or

Rose white - 1/2 tsp

Coriander leaves - 1/4 cup

How to prepare

Rice

Wash and soak rice for 15 minutes.
Boil almost 2 litres of water along with cinnamon, cloves and cardamom.
When it boils add soaked rice, salt, and 1 tsp oil.  Boil the rice till its 3/4.  You should not boil the rice very finely, if it do so your biriyani will become a mess.  So take care about the rice.
When it is done add the lemon juice with out seeds and strain the rice and spread it in a large dish and keep it aside. 

For masala preparation

Marinade

Clean and wash chicken pieces (you can cut chicken in to small, medium or large pieces as your wish)and squeeze it to drain the water.
Marinate with pepper powder, salt, curd and turmeric powder.
Keep it for half an hour.

Cutting vegetables

Slice onions very finely.  

Crush ginger, garlic and green chilies.

Chop coriander and mint leaves finely.

Cut tomatoes in to small dices.

For garnishing

Wash and drain sultans.

Slice onions very finely.

Chop coriander leaves

Cooking

Heat a kadai or thick bottomed vessel and add 3/4 of ghee and fry onions for garnishing till it becomes brown and keep it aside.
Add sultanas and fry till brown and  keep it aside.
Then add cashew splits to the ghee and fry till t becomes light brown and keep it aside.

To the remaining ghee add sliced onions and saute till its colour changes.
Then add crushed items and saute very well till it becomes light brown.
Then add biriyani masala and saute finely till the ghee starts to separate from the mixture.
This is the time to add tomatoes,chopped coriander and mint leaves and of course curry leaves.
Add salt as required.  While adding salt; you should remember that you already added salt to the chicken while marination.
Saute well till it cooks well and add the marinated chicken pieces and mix well.
Cook covered in a medium flame till the chicken becomes tender.
You should stir the masala every now and then.  

Setting biriyani

Take a thick bottomed vessel with flat aluminium lid.
Spread some ghee at the bottom of the vessel.
Above that sprinkle a thin layer of rice.
Then spoon the whole chicken masala evenly.
Scatter some coriander leaves, rose water and again spoon the remaining rice evenly on the top of the masala and scatter the remaining coriander leaves and rose water.  Pour the remaining ghee evenly above the rice. Also sprinkle half of the fried onions, cashews and sultanas.
Cover  the vessel with lid and put a heavy weight above that and cook on a low fire for 10 - 15 minutes.
                                                         OR
You can use a oven proof dish to set the biriyani and bake it for 15 minutes or till the top becomes light brown.

While serving; slowly mix the biriyani from one side and spoon it into the plates and garnish with fried onions, cashews and sultanas.
Serve with any raita, chutney, papad etc according to your wish.

BREAD EGG TOAST

Bread is such a common food that is always available in our kitchen.  We can make different dishes using bread.  Bread egg toast is a simple and healthy snack that we can make very easily.

Ingredients

Bread slices:  6 nos
Eggs:  2 nos
Onion finely chopped:  2 tbsp
Green chilly finely chopped:  1 no
Salt:  to taste
Oil/ ghee:  1 tbsp

Preparation

You have to take plain bread, not sweet bread.

Remove the sides of the bread slices, if you want.

In a bowl add egg and chopped onion and green chilly.

Beat well and add salt .

Heat a non-stick pan, apply oil or ghee.

Dip the bread slices in the egg and toast both sides it till it becomes light brown.

PAN CAKE SWEET ROLL/MADAKSAN

It is a very good tea time snack.  It is very easy to prepare.  The main ingredients are always available in our kitchen.  Even though this is a tea time snack, you can also use this as an easy breakfast recipe.

Ingredients

Maida (all purpose flour):  250 gram

Egg :  1 no

Water:  as required

Salt:  1/2 tsp

Nut meg powder:  1/4 to 1/2 tsp

Grated coconut:  2 cups

Sugar:  5 tbsp

Cardamom crushed (If available green):  4 nos 

Ghee - 3 tbsp

How to prepare

In a bowl add eggs and beat well.  To this add the flour and water and mix well with out clumps to make a loose batter.  Add salt and nut meg powder.  (If you don't like the taste of nutmeg you can add avoid it or add any spice of your choice.  Anyway, I always use nutmeg powder as this is good for stomach).  

In a pan pour ghee and add coconut and sugar and cardamom to it and cook well till it becomes tender and juicy. remove from the fire.

Heat a pan and add the batter and spread as we do in dosa making.  Cook covered for few minutes in a low flame and uncover and spread a spoonful of coconut mixture to the pan cake  and roll it up.  Repeat the process till the last spoon.

KUMBILAPPAM/CHAKKAPPAM

Kumbilappam is a traditional Kerala food.  It is also a seasonal food as the main ingredient is the pulp of ripe jack fruit (especially with the pulp of 'kuzhachakka' ).  A typical kumbilappam is made in a 'kumbil' (cone) of a special leaf called 'vazhznayila' in malayalam; that is why it is called "kumbilappam".  This leaf has a special aroma which adds a fantastic flavour to the appam.  Here I made this using banana leaves as vazhanayila is not available.  To give it a special shape to attract kids I just put the appam mix at the center of the leaf and fold it up and tied a knot using ribbons of the banana leaves.  This gives a peculiar shape to the appam that is really appetizing.

Ingredients

Ripe jack fruit pulp:  2 and half  cup

Grated coconut:  1 and half cup

Jaggery:  300 gm or according to your taste

Roasted rice flour:  2 cups

Cardamom powder:  1 tsp

Dried ginger powder:  3/4 tsp

Banana leaves:  as required.  

How to prepare

Put jaggery in pan and make a syrup using two cups of water.  (You can increase or decrease the quantity of the jaggery as per your taste or depending up on the pulp you have taken.)   Keep it aside to cool, when it cools the impurities will settle at the bottom of the pan.  In a large bowl add the pulp, grated coconut, and roasted rice powder.  Pour the jaggery syrup to this (you must pour this syrup slowly to the mixture to avoid the impurities) and make a fine mixture without clumps.  Then add dried ginger powder and cardamom to this and again mix well.  

Take clean banana leaves and tire it to pieces.  Then show to the fire to make it tender; other wise it will tear when you tried to wrap the mixture.

Take each piece and put two teaspoon full mixture to the centre and tie it.  Repeat the process.

Put the steamer in the fire and steam it for 35 to 45 minutes or till it is done.

STIR FRIED YARD LONG BEANS/ PAYAR MEZHUKKUPURATTI

This is a kottayam style stir fry recipe so called 'mezhukkupurati".  We can make mezhukupuraties with varieties of vegetables I think, almost all vegetables that are available in Kerala.  It doesn't matter which vegetable is used, its a really delicious side dish for rice.  Among them payar mezhukkupurati is the most popular one.  These mezhukupuraties are made regularly in almost all malayalees houses.  It is a very common preparation, but the taste varies in different areas; that is the difference.

Ingredients

Yard long beans - 2 cups

(cut in to 1-1and 1/2 inch pieces) 

Onion - 1 small size

Green chilly - 1 no

Crushed dried chili - 2 nos

Curry leaves - 1 stalk

Turmeric powder - a pinch

Salt - to taste

Oil - 1 and 1/2 tbsp

Coconut pieces - 3 or 4 tbsp

Method

Wash and cut yard long beans in to 1 inch pieces.  Slice onion.  Slit green chilly and cut into halves.  Heat a kadai and add oil.  saute onion and green chilly till its colour changes and add crushed red chili, chopped coconut pieces and curry leaves.  Stir well and add turmeric and saute well again.  Then add beans and salt,  stir well and cook covered for 10 to 15 minutes in a slow fire.  Every now and then open the lid and stir it well.  When it is cooked well leave it open for some time to become dry and roasted.

FISH (MACKEREL) PEPPER FRY

Ingredients

Medium sized mackerel - 5 nos

Pepper powder - 2 tsp

Chilli powder - 1 tsp

Ginger garlic paste - 2 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Lemon juice - 1 tbsp

salt - to taste

corn flour - 2 tsp

Oil - to fry.

How to prepare

First make a marinade with all the powder ingredients and lemon juice.   Apply it to the cleaned and washed mackerels.  Keep aside this marinated fishes for half an hour.   

Heat a pan and pour oil.  Fry the marinated fishes in the oil.  First keep the pan covered for few minutes in a medium flame and turn the mackerels and then fry open till it becomes light brown.   

COOL CUCUMBER FIZZ

Cool cucumber fizz is a 2-in-one mocktail; a beverage and a snack that can be used both as a juice, that can quench our thirst in this hooooooooooot summer, and a snack, that can satisfy our hunger tooooo.

Ingredients

Salad cucumber - quarter of  a medium sized one

Fresh mint leaves - leaves of 5 stalks

Lime juice - 2 tbsp

Sugar - 4 or 5 tbsp

Chilled soda - 1/2 - 3/4 cup

Water - 1/4 cup

Method

Chop mint leaves.  In a small pan add sugar, mint leaves and water.  Boil and make a fine syrup.  Cover the pan and keep aside to cool.  Meanwhile peel the cucumber and grate it.  When the sugar mint syrup is cooled strain it and pour in to a juice tumbler.  Add the grated cucumber and two fresh mint leaves chopped in to the tumbler.  Finally add the required amount of soda.  The fizz is ready.  Have it at once.

TOMATO VEG RICE

This is a variety of rice dish that can be prepared very easily.  If we use microwave it becomes more easy.  The main ingredient is tomato as its name suggests.  Here I'm sharing how to prepare this recipe using microwave oven.

Ingredients

Tomato medium sized - 2 nos

Onion big - 1 no

Basmati rice - 2 cups

Ginger garlic paste - one and half tbsp

Carrot (cut in to small dices)- half cup

Beans chopped - quarter cup

Green Chilli crushed - 3 nos

Cinnamon - 3 or 4 small pieces

Cloves - 6 nos

Cardamom -  4 nos

Coriander leaves chopped - 2 tbsp

Mint leaves - 1 tbsp

Oil/ghee - 2- 3 tbsp

Salt - to taste

Water - 4 cups

Preparation

Wash and soak the rice for 15 minutes.  Meanwhile chop the vegetables.  Take a large microwave safe bowl   and add ghee onion, ginger-garlic paste, crushed green chili and whole cinnamon, cardamom (remove the skin of the cardamoms), and cloves.Mix well and microwave this for 3 minutes on high power.  Then add chopped tomatoes and stir well and microwave for 2 more minutes.  Then add the chopped carrots, beans, coriander leaves, mint leaves, and rice and again microwave for 3 minutes.  After that add 4 cups of water (no need to boil) and salt to taste and microwave covered for 16 minutes.  When it beeps allow for the standing time.  Mix the rice well and serve hot with some side dishes.