Vattayappam

Ingredients

White raw rice - 2 cups
(sona masuri rice)
water to soak rice
Scoop out tender coconut - 1
Rice flour - 2 tbsp
Yeast - ¾ tsp
Sugar - 2 cups
Cardamom - 6
Sultanas -

Preparation

Wash rice twice and then
soak rice in warm water for 8 hrs.
After 8 hrs, grind the rice using the same water,
into a fine batter.

Scoop out tender coconut and blend it into a
fine paste separately.
Now pour the coconut paste into the rice batter and
run the grinder for 5 more minutes.

In a tumbler take ¼ glass of warm water and
mix in yeast and 1 tbsp of sugar. Keep in a warm
place to rise.
In a vessel pour 1 ½ glass of water and 2 tbsp rice flour.
Keep this on low flame and keep on stirring till the
mixture gets thick yet has a loose consistency.

Combine yeast, sugar, thickened rice flour with
the batter and keep it to rise for 8 hrs.
After the batter has doubled add salt, cardamom powder,
sultanas pour in the desired moulds and steam for 20 minutes.

Vattayappam is a sweet dish made on Christmas and Easter.
Though a sweet dish it goes well with spicy motton curry.

In olden days during christmas, in Kerala
all types of appams were made-
steamed, sweet, savoury, deep fried
vattayappam,vellayappam,achappam, kuzhalappam, chippappam,
avulosundda and many more regional recipes.
But cake baking was never part of home cooking.

Tandoori Chicken

Veg Fritters

Ingredients

Grated bottle gourd - ½ kg
Chopped coriander leaves - 1 hand full
Green chillies - 2
Mint leaves - 5
Crushed pepper -1tsp
Chik pea flour (besan) - 1 cup
Egg - 1
Turmeric powder - ½ tsp
Salt --


Preparation

Mix all the ingredients together just before frying.
Do not keep the mix for long time .
Shallow fry it immediately.
Serve with tomato sauce.
Vegetables like carrots, spinach,
spring onions can be used.

Merry Christmas 2011

Sweet and happy christmas to all.
As always my christmas cake is ready in advance
to be couriered to our daughters.
This year Merin is at home for christmas and
Leah will be joining us in january.
Both with real precious gift from God.

This year's dry fruits used in the christmas cake
was soaked in home made wine rather than in rum or brandy.
The recipe is featured before.

Happy Onam-2011

Rogan Josh

Ingredients


To marinate

Mutton - 1/2 kg
Curd - ½ cup
Ginger paste - 1tsp
Coriander leaves
Asafotida – ¼ tsp (optional)

Whole spices

Bay leaves - 2
Cinnamon - 1 stick
Cloves - 8
Green cardamom - 10
Black cardamom - 1
Fennel seeds - 1tsp

Powdered Spices

Cinnamon - ½ tsp
Green cardamom - ½ tsp
Cloves - ¼ tsp
Black pepper - ½ tsp
Nutmeg, mace - ¼ tsp

Kashmiri chilly - 2tbsp
oil - 2tbsp
(Mustard oil)
Water - 2cups
Salt

Saffron strands dissolved in 2 tbsp of milk.

Preparation

Marinate mutton(preferably with fat) for 1 hour in curd,
ginger paste, 1 tbsp chilly powder,
asafotida and chopped coriander leaves.

In a heavy bottomed vessel, heat oil and add the whole spices and then
add the marinated meat and stir till the oiI separates.
Keep the flame low.

Now add the remaining 1 tbsp kashmiri chilly powder and spice powder.
(set aside a pinch of the spice powder to sprinkle in the end).
Stir well till the spices are well coated and fried.
Pour 2 cups of water, salt to taste.
Cover and cook till the mutton is tender.
(for 1 hour)
Put saffron milk and pinch of the reserved spice powder
into this mutton gravy.
Stir for 2 minutes; sprinkle chopped coriander leaves or ginger julian.

Serve hot with chapatti or any Indian bread.

Aloo Jeera

Ingredients

Potatoes - 3 large
Mustard oil - 4tbsp
Jeera (cummin seeds) - 1 tbsp
Turmeric powder - ½ tsp
Chili powder - ½ tbsp
Salt
Water -3 tbsp
Chopped coriander leaves -2 tbsp
Lemon wedges

Preparation

In a heavy bottomed vessel pour mustard oil.
Add jeera and as it crackles add skinned and
cubed potatoes.
Sauté till it turns golden brown.
Potato shrinks in size.
Add turmeric, chili powder, salt and stir till it is fried
and well coated to the potato.
Pour water and let it simmer on low flame keeping the lid on.
After a couple of minutes when the potatoes are soft and well
coated with the masala squeeze lime about a teaspoon.
Sprinkle chopped coriander leaves and serve with raita and hot chappatis.

For this recipe mustard oil cannot be substituted by any other oil.

Softy Sandwich

Ingredients


Bread -4 slices
Hung curd - ½ cup
Coriander leaves - 1 cup
Green chilies - 1
Onion - ½
salt
Grated cucumber – ½ cup
Honey - 2 tbsp
Sweet mango
or
pineapple - ½ cup
Grated carrot – ½ cup
Tomato sauce -2 tbsp

Preparation


Make green chutney with coriander leaves,
Green chilies, onion and salt
Slice cucumber into juliann and keep aside.
Skin and chop mango or pineapple and mix in honey.
Grate carrot and keep aside.
Keep all these in the fridge in different containers.

Just before serving-

On the first sandwich bread, spread tomato sauce and grated carrot.
Top it with second bread which is spread with a teaspoon of curd .
Spoon in mango or pineapple honey on top of the second bread
and place the third bread spread with curd.
Spoon in cucumber and green chutney mixture on top.
Cover this with fourth bread which is spread with curd.
Slice it to get a triangular shape.
A very soft and healthy sandwich is ready.

To make hung curd – in a fine sieve or muslin cloth
Pour curd and keep on a vessel in the fridge for an hour.
The water will collect in the vessel and you
get thick curd to spread.

To make tomato sauce - In a blender put two cut
tomatoes,two garlic,salt,half tsp sugar,half tsp chili powder
and blend it to a fine paste.On medium flame boil till it reduces.
You get fresh tomato sauce without any preservatives.

Prawn & Egg Noodles

Ingredients

Noodles/spaghetti –a hand full
Prawns - ½ cup
Spring onions green - 3
Garlic - 6
Milk 2 tbsp
Eggs - 2
Parmesan cheese - 20 gms
Olive oil
Pepper
Chili flakes
Sea Salt

Preparation


Boil noodles adding salt and oil in water.
Drain in right time.
In a wok, heat oil add chopped garlic and
Spring onions.
Let it sweat; then add prawns,salt,chilli flakes and crushed pepper.
Stir till the prawns turn pink and is cooked.
Now, add noodles and toss it.

Beat eggs, milk, salt, pepper and grated parmesan together.
Pour on the noodles, on low flame stir till egg gets well coated.
Garnish with chopped green spring onions and chili flakes.
Serve hot straight from the pan.

Mangalore friends

Remembering our eagle friends.
I just had to call 'eagle'...
wherever they are, they used to
fly and perch on the coconut tree-
near my kitchen window and were ready to
eat the fish or bread I keep on the
window sill...

We have moved to Trivandrum and do
miss namma Mangaluru and our dear friends..

Pizza

Home made pizza with foccacia base.
I topped it with parmeesan and mozarella cheese,
onion,tomato,rose mary ,olive oil and beef roast.
Tomato sauce was added while serving.
Foccacia recipe is already featured in my earlier post.

Shahi Mushroom Curry

Ingredients

Mushroom - 200gm
Oil - 2tbsp
Butter - 2tsp
Onion - 2
Ginger - 2 inch
Garlic - 3
Green chillies - 2
Pepper - 6
Black cardamom - 1 small
Green cardamom - 3
Cinnamon - 3 inch
Mace - ¼ tsp
Nutmeg - ¼ tsp
Fennel seeds - 1 tsp
Red cashmere chilli - 1
Dry ginger - ½ tsp
Turmeric - ½ tsp
Cashew nuts - 12
Milk - ½ cup
Water - ½ cup
Coriander leaves
Sea Salt

Preparation

Sauté mushroom in oil and butter
and keep aside.
Soak cashew in warm water.

Make a fine paste of ginger,garlic, onion
and green chillies.
Dry roast pepper, both cardamoms, dry ginger,
mace, nutmeg, red chilli,fennel seeds and cinnamon.
In a passel and mortar crush these into a fine powder.
Make a fine paste of cashew nuts in milk.

In the wok add some more oil, butter and sauté
onion, ginger, garlic, chilli paste .
As the paste gets dry, add
the crushed garam masala powder reserving
half a teaspoon of the garam masala to
add later.
Sauté till oil separates.
Now add cashew paste keep stirring.
Add water,salt, sauté mushroom,half teaspoon
garam masala powder and chopped coriander leaves.
Keep stirring on low flame, to get the right consistency
Garnish with juliann ginger and cream if you prefer.

Serve hot with chappati, puri or any Indian bread.

Black cardamom is bigger in size and
has a smoky taste.
Green cardamom has a sweet taste.
As black cardamom has a stronger flavour,
try to use it less.
Green cardamom is grown in Kerala,
so it is widely available in south of India.
Black cardamom is mostly used in North Indian cooking.

Meen Pollichathu (hariyali)

Ingredients

Fish - 1 medium sized
Coriander leaves - a bunch
Green chillies - 3
Ginger - 3 inch
Garlic pods - 2
Black pepper - 6
(fresh green pepper-optional)
Vinegar - 1 tbsp
Sea salt

Preparation

Karimeen (pearl spot) or white pomfret fish
preferred for this recipe.
Cut clean and make slits on the fish.

Make a fine paste of coriander leaves,
Pepper, ginger, garlic and green chillies,
Vineger and salt.

Marinate the fish and wrap it in a banana leaf
And keep aside for 30 minutes.
Just before serving
grill it for 20 to 25 minutes on a tawa (iron pan).
turn up side down after 10 minutes
to grill evenly.
Serve hot.

If green pepper (not capsicum)
is available add the whole string.

Meen pollichathu (grilled) is the most healthiest
and the oldest way of cooking.
Traditionally grilled on red hot coal
or wooden stove.

To wrap any thing in banana leaves,
lightly heat the banana leaf on the flame
or else the leaf may tear while wrapping.

Happy New Year

Ginger flower and yellow roses
in our balcony welcoming the new year.