Avial

Avial is very popular kerala dish. Its a medley of vegetables combined in a coconut mixture.Its a sure accompaniment in any vegetarian feast. You can add numerous vegetables in this dish. Think of adding different colours. Slice them thin and cook and add a coconut mixture along with a tinch of sourness from either raw mango or curd or tamarind.

A mix of vegetables - like yam, raw banana,carrot,beans,potato,brinjal,drumstick etc- sliced thin about 3 cups
green chilli - 2 or 3
turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
coconut - about 1 cup
cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
curry leaves - 1 or 2 sprigs
curd - 2 tbsp
coconut oil - 1 or 2 tbsp
salt to taste

Thinly slice all the vegetables. Add turmeric powder,curry leaves, salt and some water , may be half cup or so and cook the vegetables in low medium flame.
When its almost cooked, grind coconut and cumin to a coarse paste and add.
Do not keep mixing too much after the vegetables are cooked. And do not add too much water also for cooking them. Add half cup and cook for around 8 - 10 minutes and check them. Depending on what vegetables you use it may need a little more or less. Adding too much water will make it mushy..
Once its done, add 1 tbsp curd and gently mix. Switch off and add coconut oil on top and keep covered for 10 to 15 minutes. Then stir gently and serve.
Some home make it with little gravy with it. Typically avial is a dry dish.

Paneer Butter Masala

Paneer Butter Masala is a very tasty north indian dish which is a favourite to many.

Ingredients

Paneer - 1 package of about 350 gms
onion - 2 medium size
tomato - 2 or 3
ginger garlic paste - 1tsp

whole garam masala - 1 or 2 pieces of each
turmeric powder - a pinch
chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
kashmiri chilli powder - 2tsp[optional]
coriander powder - 2tsp
kasoori methi leaves - 2 tsp dried
heavy cream - 1/4 cup
oil
salt for taste

Method

In a pan add a little oil, add whole garam masala, saute onion.
To the blender add sauted onion, chopped tomato and ginger garlic paste and grind them till smooth.
In the same pan add a tsp or two of oil and add the ground mixture along with turmeric, chilli and coriander powders,salt  and cook it down until oil oozes out.
It will splutter first, so keep covering and mixing in between.  It would be easy if you do this in a wide non stick pan.

It will take around 8 to 10 minutes. But do not skip this part. This really changes the texture and taste.

Now add about 2 cups of water and stir add more water if you prefer little more thinner consistency.
Now take the kasoori methi leaves and just grind it in your palms and add.
Now add the cubed pieces of panner and let it simmer for 5 minutes.
Add heavy cream, mix and switch it off.

Done. Enjoy with naan or chapathi or fried rice or any of your favourite combination.

Birthday Cake

I made this cake for my son's 4th birthday; upon his request for a McQueen shaped cake.
This is made with two 13*9 cakes vanilla cake and whipped cream frosting. One I split and kept for the base and another one cut into a car shape. Just basic colors red for the full car and some blue and yellow for the features.For black I got a prepared small tube black frosting, as i was not able to find black food color.

Rava Ladoo

Rava Ladoo is a quick and easy sweet item to make. The below quantity makes around 30 nos.

Ingredients:

Rava - 2 cups
sugar - 2 cups
coconut grated - 1/4 cup
milk - 1/4 cup
cashews and raisins - a few
cardomom powder - 1/4 tsp
Ghee - 2 tbsp

In a pan add ghee and fry the cashews and raisins. Take them out and keep it aside.
To the same ghee add the rava and fry until it just starts to turn slightly brown.
Take it out into a large bowl. Add sugar,coconut grated and mix it.
Slowly add luke warm milk and mix it well. You may use a little more or less of the milk
[Those who like dry type of ladoo stop adding milk just when it is wet enough and rava mixture hold together. Otherwise add a couple of spoons more.]
Close it and leave it for 2 or 3 minutes.
Now add the fried cashews and raisins and cardamom powder.
Mix and make ladoos. Leave it for half an hour to just set.
Enjoy!

Caramel Pudding

Whole milk  - 3 cups
Sugar - 1 cup + about 6 tbsp(for caramel)
Egg - 4
Vanilla extract - 2 tsp


First make caramel.
Take 6 tbsp sugar and 2 tbsp water and heat it up until its melted and changes to desired colour.
Don't stir it just swirl the pan in between.
And pour into a dish in which you are going to bake the pudding.

Preheat the oven to 350F.
In a bowl whisk together milk, sugar, eggs and vanilla extract until well mixed.
Gently pour this into the dish with caramel.
Place this dish in a tray or another dish with some water in it. It helps the pudding  to not get dried off.
Place them in oven and bake for about 40 minutes. It will be almost firm except in the middle which will slightly wiggle if you shake the pan.
Take it out and cool. Refrigerate for 3 to 4 hours.
Slice and scoop out and enjoy!

Idichakka thoran (Young Jackfruit stir fry)

Idichakka is malayalam word for young jackfruit. Its made from fresh young jackfruit. Since that is not available here, the following recipe is with the tinned version.

Young jack fruit - 1 can
onion - 1 small
garlic - 2 or 3
green chilli - 1 or 2
turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
salt to taste
curry leaves

Open the can and wash the pieces well. In a pot add jackfruit pieces,turmeric powder,salt  and some water and boil until cooked around 10 minutes.
Chop them up into small pieces.
In a pan, add 2 tsp oil, splutter mustard, curry leaves. Saute onion,green chilli, garlic.
Check for salt. Saute for a couple of minutes.
Done

Deviled eggs

Deviled egg is a very easy cold appetizer or snack served in European and American countries.

They are just boiled eggs cut into half and the yolks are mixed with mayo and a choice of ingredients and filled back in. You can add onions or celery or any spice of your choice into that mixture, purely your decision. Below is my version.

1) Eggs - 6

2)Mayonaise - about 4 to 5 tbsp

salt - a pinch

pepper powder - 1 or 2 pinches

chilli powder - 1 or 2 pinches

garam masala - 1 or 2 pinches

chopped red onion - 1 or 2 tbsp

3)some chopped up carrot or cilantro for decoration

Hard boil the eggs just right. We do not want the greenish ring to form around the yolk and give the bad sulfur smell.

Peel the shells off and let them cool nicely.

Cut into half lengthwise.

Scoop out the yolks to a bowl and smash it with a fork.

Add all the ingredients under list 2) and mix well.

Take a spoon full of the mixture and fill each of the egg white. You can pipe them into it as well.

Garnish with extra masala powder or chopped cilantro or carrot. Serve.

Instant carrot pickle

Carrot - about 1 cup julienned(cut into thin long pieces)

garlic - 1 clove sliced

turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp

fenugreek powder - 1/2 tsp

lemon juice - 1/2 of a lemon

salt to taste

mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp

asafoetida powder - a pinch

oil - 1 tbsp

In a microwave safe bowl; mix carrot, garlic, turmeric, chilli, fenugreek powders,salt and lemon juice.

Heat in microwave for 1 minute.

Heat a tbsp of oil, splutter mustard and asafoetida. Pour over carrot mix.

Cool and refrigerate. Its a quick version, so cant be stored for long. Finish it within 5 to 7 days.

Kollam style Fish Curry

This type of preparation is common in kollam part of kerala. You can use any fish of your choice. Increase or decrease the chilli you want to use. The below quantity give you a medium spicy one.

Ingredients:

Fish - 2 lbs [Any of your choice]

small onion - 10

ginger and garlic - 2 tbsp [crushed or sliced]

onion - 1 small

tomato - 1 small

green chilli - 2 or 3

turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

kashmiri chilli powder - 2 tsp [ This is mild one, if you use regular chilli , use less]

coriander powder - 1 tsp

pepper powder - 1 tsp

fenugreek powder - 1/2 tsp

kudam puli or kerala fish puli - 2 or 3 pieces (soaked in water)

coconut milk - 1 cup

curry leaves

mustard - 1 tsp

oil - 2tbsp

salt to taste

Clean and cut the fish into small pieces. Chop all onion,small onion,tomato,greenchilli,etc.

Heat oil. Splutter mustard. Add curry leaves.

Saute ginger and garlic. Add onion,small onion and green chillies and saute well.

Add tomatoes, saute until nice and mushy.

Add turmeric,chilli,corainder,pepper and fenugreek powders. Saute for a minute.

Add the fish puli along with the water.

Now Add about 2 cups of water and 1 cup of coconut milk.

Add salt to taste.

Let it boil nicely.

Gently drop in the fish pieces. Let them cook for 10 to 12 minutes.

Done.

Palappam

This is one of the all time favourite breakfast item. Palappam with chicken stew starts the day for any special occasion.

Its called appam or palappam or even frill appam by kids as it has a frill like around it.

The old cast iron appam chatti will give the nice shape and frill to it. These days for convenience its all non stick ones.

The recipe is very similar to the vellappam recipe which i had posted earlier. Just that instead of coconut grated, coconut milk is added.

Again this is the easy version with rice flour. This can also be made by grinding soaked raw rice.

Fine rice flour or Appam podi - 2 cups + 1/2 cup

coconut milk - 1 to 1 and 1/2 cup( i use canned)

yeast - 1/2 tsp

sugar - 2tsp

salt

milk

* Proof the yeast : Take yeast and sugar in a cup, add half a glass of lukewarm water and allow it to sit for a few minutes. It should foam up. If it doesn't, yeast is not good.

* Make Kappi: This step makes a thick paste like form of rice flour. Its called kappi kachiyathu in malayalam. And will be done using the coarser rice powder.

Never mind, we are using the same rice flour. So take the 1/2 cup of rice flour and add 1 and 1/2 cup of water. Mix it. Cook in medium flame until it is thick paste like consistency. Allow it to cool.

* Mix all: Take 2 cups of flour, coconut milk, yeast and mix it together. Now take the cooled kappi and mix it in well. That will take a few minutes. Use a blender to make it easier. The batter will be a little thick.

* Ferment overnight or may be 8 hours.

* Morning , add 1/2 to 1 tsp salt and mix it.

* Add milk to loosen the batter consistency to that of palappam batter. You can add either plain milk or coconut milk.

* Heat Palappam chatti and pour a ladle of batter. Take the chatti and swirl around to make the shape of palappam.

A little about chocolates And how to choose them...

Chocolate is made from the seeds of the tropical cocoa tree. I don't know how many are familiar with the fruit of the cocoa tree. Inside the thick outer layer of it; there will be a pulpy white stuff which is sweet and inside that are the seeds or the cocoa beans (looks like kind of coffee bean). My mom's uncle had a cocoa plantation. In my childhood me and my cousins used to savour that fruit eating the white part and throwing away the seeds, the reason being we never believed it could make chocolate :) .

What is chocolate?

The seeds called cocoa bean are fermented, cleaned and dried and the shells are removed.

It is then ground to cocoa mass, which is the pure rough form of chocolate. It is then processed in to cocoa solids and cocoa butter.

Unsweetened baking chocolate contains primarily cocoa solids and cocoa butter in varying proportions.

Sweet chocolate, combines cocoa solids, cocoa butter or other fat, and sugar.

Milk chocolate is sweet chocolate that additionally contains milk powder or condensed milk.

White chocolate contains cocoa butter, sugar, and milk but no cocoa solids.

Benefits of chocolate:

Dark chocolate is naturally rich in flavonoids and that makes the cocoa bitter tasting.

These compounds are thought to lower blood pressure and help protect against heart disease.

Chocolate contains caffeine in modest quantities.

Chocolate has tryptophan, an essential aminoacid. It is mood modulating which diminishes anxiety.

Chocolate triggers the release of endorphin which reduces the chocolate eater's sensitivity to pain.

Its rich in magnesium content. Likewise the benefits goes on.

But chocolate is high in calories. So have in moderation.

How to choose quality chocolate?

The first ingredient in the list should be cocoa mass(cocoa,cocoa liquor or cocoa beans).

In general if you look at any product's ingredient list the first thing listed will be the highest amount of item in that and the next the lower and so on and the last one the least amount.

Next look at the percentage. The percentage refers to the amount of cocoa mass and cocoa butter present in it.

In dark chocolate it ranges from 55 to 85% and in milk chocolate from 30 to 40%.

So if it says 80%, its means roughly 20% will be added sugar. The higher percentage means it will be less sweet and will have more intense flavour of chocolate.

Choose chocolate that is at least 60 percent cocoa, and as you become accustomed to the flavor, gradually increase the percentage of the chocolate in your treats, easing up to bars that are 70, 80 or even 90 percent pure cocoa as darker chocolate has more health benefits.

A good quality chocolate should have nothing other than Cocoa beans, Cocoa butter, Sugar, an emulsifier like soya lecithin, vanilla extract. And milk powder in case of milk chocolate.

So if in the ingredient list the first item is sugar, think twice before getting it!

Some Other dressed up Cakes!

Thought of sharing some of the simple decorated cakes which I made some time earlier.

The cake recipes are already in my blog.

1. This one I made for my son's birthday. Its a vanilla cake with pineapple filling in the middle and whipped cream topping. Tried to dress it up with a simple border and sprinkle with the cake sprinkles(store bought) and a few balloons drawn on it.

I did not have a big baking dish. So i made two 13*9 inch cakes and joined it together to have a bigger one for the party.

2. Below one I made it for a friend's baby shower. Its a tea cake with strawberry cream in middle and whipped cream topping.

3. This is a plain yellow cake with a mixed fruit filling and whipped cream topping

4. These two are vanilla cakes, one with vanilla icing and other with chocolate icing. For the bunny fur, its the sweetened coconut flakes and jelly beans for the eyes and nose and mouth. Whiskers and ears i used just cut up paper, instead you can use fruit roll ups cut up.

Varutharacha Mutton Curry

In this curry we dry roast the coconut and grind it together with other masala's to make the gravy a little more richer. Many indian cusines like in kerala, maharastra etc follow this type of masala making to give it a special effect.

Mutton or Lamb - 1 lb

Onion - 2 medium

ginger - 1 inch chopped

garlic - 5 or 6 chopped

Tomato - 1 large

Whole garam masala - 2 or 3 pieces of cinnamon,clove,cardamom,1 tsp fennel seeds.

turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

chilli powder - 2 tsp( i used kashmiri chilli which is less spicy), so add ur chilli according to the heat.

corainder powder - 1 1/2 tsp

cumin powder - 1 tsp

coconut - 1/2 cup

Wash and cut the mutton into desired pieces.

Pressure cook them with a little turmeric powder,salt , a tsp of crushed or paste ginger garlic and some water.

In a pan dry roast coconut until nice brown color and keep it aside.

Heat a tbsp of oil, add whole garam masala, followed by chopped ginger and garlic and saute for a minute.

Add chopped onion , saute well until browned. Add tomatoes too.

Now add turmeric,chilli,corainder and cumin powders and saute for a min.

Then grind this onion mixture along with the roasted coconut to a puree by adding some water.

Return back the puree and let it boil for 2 minutes.

Now add the cooked mutton along with the stock into this. mix well.

Let it cook together for about 10 minutes in medium flame until oil separates and desired consistency is achieved.

Enjoy.

Goes well with chapathi, poori, fried rice, plain rice etc.

Murukku

This is an easy and favourite savoury snack to many which comes in a lot of different shapes and forms as we know.

Different parts of india makes it in slightly different recipes.

I adapted the below recipe from a good friend of mine from chennai.

Rice flour - 2 cups

Urad dal powder - 1/2 cup

chilli powder - about 1 teaspoon

Butter - about 2 to 3 tbsp melted

sesame seeds - a spoon or 2 (white or black)

asafoetida powder - a pinch

water - to make dough

salt to taste

Oil for frying

For any required amount take rice flour and urad dal in 4:1 proportion.

To make urad dal powder, slightly dry roast it and powder it in a blender.

Mix all the all the ingredients except water. Slowly add water and make it into a smooth dough.

Heat oil for frying.

Fill it in the murukku achu and gently press it out into the oil with out too much over crowding.

Fry them until its crisp and lightly browned.

Drain the excess oil.

Repeat until all the dough is used up.

Enjoy.

Melting moments cookie

This cookie can be considered as a version of nankatta or butter biscuit, with a lighter texture. I got this recipe from the baking site. The following recipe makes about 50 small cookies. Half or double for your use.

All purpose flour or maida - 1 1/2 cups
Corn starch - 1/2 cup
Powdered or icing sugar - 1/4 + about 1/2 cup
Butter - 2 sticks or 1 cup (in room temperature)
Vanilla extract - 1 tsp
salt - a pinch


In a bowl mix together flour, corn starch and salt.
In another bowl beat butter and sugar powder until creamy.
Mix in vanilla extract.
Add in the flour mixture and mix until everything is just blended well.
Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours to make batter firm.

Preheat oven to 350F.
Butter or spray a baking sheet.
Make small balls from the firm batter and place them on the baking sheet 1 inch apart.
Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until the edges of the cookie just start to brown.
Remove and cool for 5 minutes.
Dust them with icing sugar.
Enjoy.

Vellayappam

This is a breakfast item done often in kerala christian homes. Vellayappam and Palappam(Aappam), both are made from rice flour fermented, along with coconut grinded for vellayappam and coconut milk for pal appam. Traditionally it was fermented with "kallu" or palm toddy and hence in many places it is called as kallappam too. Since we dont have access to that, we use good quality yeast.

Usually these appams are served with stews(curry made with a coconut milk base) either veg or non veg. But this can go well with any non veg curry or egg roast or kadala curry.

I use rice flour for this recipe. This can also be made by grinding soaked raw rice. Using rice flour makes life easier. And this is an easy version of the traditional preparation.Yields the same results.


Fine rice flour or Appam podi - 2 cups + 1/2 cup
coconut grated - 1 cup
cumin seeds - 1 tsp
small onions - 3 or 4 (optional)
yeast - 1/2 tsp [ get a good quality yeast]
sugar - 2tsp
salt


* Proof the yeast : Take yeast and sugar in a cup, add a couple of tbsp of water and allow it to sit for a few minutes. It should foam up. If it doesn't, yeast is not good.

* Grind coconut grated,cumin seeds,small onion with enough water.

* Make Kappi: This step makes a thick paste like form of rice flour. Its called kappi kachiyathu in malayalam. And was done using the coarser rice powder.
Never mind, we are using the same rice flour. So take the 1/2 cup of rice flour and add 1 and 1/2 cup of water. Mix it. Cook in medium flame until it is thick paste like consistency. Allow it to cool.

* Mix all: Take 2 cups of flour, ground coconut mixture, yeast and some water and mix it together. Now take the cooled kappi and mix it in well. That will take a few minutes. At the end it should be kind of idli batter consistency.

* Ferment overnight or may be 8 hours.
* Morning , add 1/2 to 1 tsp salt and mix it.

* Heat a flat pan or dosa kallu and pour a laddle of batter. Do not spread it much. Cover and cook until you see holes on the top forming. It will take less than a minute. Flip over and cook for another 1/2 minute.

* Serve with any of your favourite curry. Enjoy.