Taking a Culinary Travel to Gods Own Country: Kerala, South India

May 27, 2012 · 19 Comments

I felt that for this month’s food buzz 24X24 it would be nice to introduce the cuisine from Kerala, my birth place. Unlike other Indian cooking it is not popularized in Indian restaurant abroad. Kerala has its own language, Malayalam, and a cuisine influenced by locally available ingredients such as rice, coconut, plantains, tapioca, jackfruit, mango, Gambooge / kodampuli etc.

Kerala is also known as “Gods own country” for its beautiful beaches, backwaters, beautiful Asian elephants and luscious coconut trees. It is considered to be one of the best tourist locations in India. Even National Geographic named that 50 greatest destination of world. Life fast and moving at the speed of light anywhere else in world, where in Kerala it is slow, moving leisurely.

It is also the land of spices. Kerala has a long history of trade in the spices, with the Dutch, Portuguese and British coming to India attracted by spices from Kerala, especially black pepper. It is also one of rare state in India where all the 3 major religions (Hinduism, Christianity and Islam) being practiced by approx 30%. It is also the state where St. Thomas the Apostle, one of the twelve disciples of Jesus, landed in 52 A.D. He preached the Gospel, organized Christian communities in several places and established seven churches in Kerala and then at last got martyrdom in Mylapore, Chennai, in 72 A.D. It also where Ayurvedic medicine originated and practiced till date.

Even though Kerala cuisine doesn’t have a starter, or a salad, it has complete meal with equal amount of nutritional components like carbohydrates and proteins. It is also gluten free. Vegetarian dishes are mildly spiced compared to non-vegetarians counter parts. Just like Thai cuisine, it heavily uses entire coconut, coconut milk and uses coconut oil like Philippines. Other part of India people likes to eat white rice or basmati along with wheat where as in Kerala people like to use parboiled red rice called rose matta. It tastes really nutty and chewy compared to Basmati. Raw red rice is used to make desserts and famous breakfast dish like puttu (Steamed rice cake/ muffins ), Appam (pancake), Dosa (Rice and lentil Crepe) etc. Most famous breakfast is puttu- Kadala (steamed rice cake, chana dal curry ), Appam – Mutta curry (Egg curry), Idiyappam-vegetable ishtu( vegetable-stew) and Pathiri ( flat bread made with rice) –mutton curry. Breakfast dishes uses less oil, however it contains coconut or coconut milk.

Some time breakfast will be simple as rice porridge (kanji) and moong beans cooked with coconut and spices ( payrau).

Although rice is major carbohydrate sources, we also like to use Tapioca (cassava) as the second important starch. It usually consumed with spicy relish made with small onion and red chili if you are vegetarian, non-veggies consume with fish curry.

Lunch and dinners are usually elaborate with parboiled rice as main dishes with two- three sides. Side dishes will be of two kinds; one will ozhichu kootan /curry (meaning liquid /wet curry) which is mixed with rice and also act as a binder. Then other one will be dry curries such as thoran /Upperi and Mezhukupruatti.Thoran (stir fry) always contains seasoning like, urad dal, mustard seeds, curry leaves and coconut with touch of cumin where as Mezhukupuratti contains only seasoning and curry leaves no coconut but coconut oil is used. Curry leaves are another essential part of Kerala cooking including all southern and western Indian cooking. They are usually toasted along with seasoning and curry leaves tend to realize volatile oils and give a nice flavor. Even though Gourmetsleuth.comsays it can substitute with kaffir lime leaves or basil leaves I can’t agree with it. Curry leaves have distinct flavor and aroma also supposed to be help in digestion.

Wet curries are usually made with vegetables coconut gravy either spiced with green chili or red chili. Some time ginger and garlic is used. However, its non-vegetarian counterpart contains coriander, garm masala, ginger, garlic and red chili powder. Souring agents like tamarind, Gambooge / kodampuli etc. is used to make sea food curries. Where as in chicken and other meat no souring agent is used, exception is there when they use vinegar and lemon juice. Some time they are made with simple ingredients like onion, shallots, ginger, garlic, green chili, red chili powder, and coriander and garm masala with or without coconut milk.

Among the sea food, fish and prawns are used as curries compared to mussels and oysters. Fish fried and curry with red hot chili powder is most common in local booze shops: Toddy (Toddy made from coconut sap) also Arrack. If you want a really spicy fish curry, duck roast, pork roast with boiled or mashed tapioca then you need to visit these shops. Nowadays not only guys who buys booze goes to these shop, even there is a separate section of families who come to taste these delicacies.

Kerala cuisine also has myriad of vegetarian dishes, such as aviyal,thoran, mezhukupuratti, pachadi,kichadi,theeyal, sambhar, rasamMoru curry ( yogurt curry) , pulisseryetc. Our grand feast Sadhya always has sweet, sour, bitter, acidic, spicy and salty tasting curries.

Our pickles are spicy and rich in sesame oil and salt so that it can remain at room temperature without any preservative. Pickles are made with raw mango, lemon/limeand goose berries. Non-vegetarian versions include fish and meat pickle.

There are no cold desserts; but we have warm desserts called payasam or pradhaman. There are lots of varieties such as one with rice and milk(Pal Payasam), rice flakes (Palada pradhaman), channa dal, jaggery (unrefined sugar similar to Mexican Panela) and coconut milk (kadala parippu Pradhaman) my hubby’s favorite. We also make Payasam or pradhaman with jackfruit, mango, pineapple etc.

Drinks commonly found in Kerala are buttermilk drink (Sambaram) spiced with green chili, ginger and curry leaves, lemon juice and also boiled water with herbs called Karingali vellam/ Chukku Vellam/ Dahashamani. It is only Indian state where people drink boiled water.

5-10 varieties of banana and plantains are found in Kerala. The major banana types being Dwarf Cavendish, Apple banana, burro bananas, plantains etc. other fruits includes, Two types of Jackfruit, Koozha chakka, the fruits of which have small, fibrous, soft, mushy, but very sweet carpel where as other one will be more important commercially, with crisp carpers of high quality known as Varika. There are also 4-6 varieties of mango and the other custard apple, guava, papaya, cashew fruit.

Vanilla bean, ginger, cardamom, cinnamon, black pepper, nutmeg, star anise, bay leaf , Cloves, Thyme, Basil, Mint, Sage, Rosemary and Oregano etc whatever spice you name it you can find there except all spice. In addition spices there are coffee and tea plantation in Kerala.

So in order to give an overall outlook of what I explained here I selected the following menu.

Main

Choru (cooked Red parboiled rice)

Sides

Moru curry (Spicy yogurt curry cooked with coconut and spices)

Aviyal(Mixed vegetables cooked with coconut, cumin and green chili)

Vendakka Thoran ( Okra stir-fry with touch of coconut and spices)

Non vegetarian

Fish fry ( Pomfert cooked with homemade spices) Recipe follows

Chicken curry (Chicken cooked with coconut and spices) Recipe follows

Pappadam (Indian Wafers) & Poovan pazham (Apple banana)

Dessert

Ariyum parippum pradhaman (Rice and moong beans cooked with jaggery and coconut milk)

Drinks

Tea spiced with cardamom

Karingali vellam/ Chukku Vellam/ Dahashamani. (Boiled water with medicinal herbs and spices)

Along with this I am giving the recipe of dessert which I prepared Ariyum Parippum Pradhaman/ Rice and moong beans cooked with Jaggery and coconut milk. This combo can be made as thick pudding when there is no coconut milk is added. I like liquid puddings which amma used make. For this you need first fry the moong dal/ spilt moong beans until it release aroma two or 3 minutes. Then cook with fried moong beans along with raw red rice. Once the rice is cooked then add jaggery /unrefined sugar and cook for few minutes and then add coconut milk in 3 additions, third milk will be more diluted with water, then second one less compared to third and first will be thick milk you extract directly from the coconut without any addition of water. Then spiced with green cardamom, ground ginger, finally garnished with roasted coconut pieces and cashew nuts in Ghee/clarified butter.

Everybody loved the desserts along with other dishes. Here goes the recipe for Payasam.

What you need

Payasam Rice/Raw Red Rice: ¾ cup

Cheruparippu/Split mung beans: ¼ + ⅛ cup

Jaggery: 1 ½ cup

Coconut milk: 1 tin

Water: 5 cups

Cardamom: 3nos

Ground ginger: ¼ teaspoon

Ghee/ Clarified butter: 1 tablespoon

Cashew nut: ¼ cup

Coconut pieces: 2 tablespoon

How I made

First dry roast the split mung beans for 3-4 minutes or until they become golden brown color and release a nice aroma. Set aside.

In a medium bowl add both rice and roasted moong beans and wash 2-3 times and set aside.

In the mean time in another pan heat jaggery with ¼ cup water and bring it to boil so that jaggery get melted completely. Strain and remove the impurities and set aside Jaggery water.

In a thick bottom pan add both rice and moong beans and add 4 cups of water and cook for about 25 minutes and then add jaggery water to it. Cook the rice mixture with jaggery water for another 3 minutes.

To rice- jaggery- mixture add ¼ cup coconut milk with ¾ cup of water and cook for another 3 minutes. Then add ½cup coconut milk + ¼ cup water and cook for another 3 minutes. Then add crushed cardamom and ground ginger and rest of coconut milk. Once you add thick coconut milk switch off the flame.

In a small skillet add Ghee and fry coconut pieces and cashew nuts until both turn golden brown and switch off the flame. Add this fried coconut pieces and cashew nuts to Payasam mixture along with ghee.

Enjoy as much as you wish.

Preparation time: 40 minutes

Yield: 10 serving

Verdict: Yummy

Food was served in Banana leaves. Our Friend and my hubby’s co-worker Emanuel as well as neighbor and friend Yolanda and her daughter Makayala joined the party along with my family.

The party began at 7.45 PM and we were having fun till 10.30 PM.

Thanks to Food buzz for giving this wonderful opportunity to feature Kerala cuisine in May edition of 24X24.

Sweet and Spiced Pecans

May 22, 2012 ·

Delicious Sweet and spiced pecans made with pecan halves, spices like ground ginger,cinnamon, all spice and cardamom with sugar and salt.

I got introduced to Pecans after moving to Texas. Pecans are glory of southern states. The pecan tree is also the State tree of Texas. When I was working at the hospital, I had a friend who made delicious pecan pie and bring it for us.

But when I asked him the recipe, he told me it is a family secret, so it shouldn’t be given out. In the end I didn’t get the recipe.

Last Christmas my hubby’s co-worker gave him a box full of pecan as gift. Now that I had pecan in hand, I needed to use it.

And I went in search of a recipe, and also I was planning to make a pecan pie for a long time. I researched lots of recipes in internet and also watched a show of America’s test kitchen. But when I saw some of the recipes were using corn syrup, my pie making sprit come to an end.

According to me pecans are better tasting than walnuts, so I used them in banana bread and Armenian nutmeg cake etc when recipes called for walnuts.

Even though pecans are not as rich in Omega fatty acids like Walnuts they are good alternative for walnut. Pecans are a good source of protein and unsaturated fats. I have some pecans left even after making banana bread and Nutmeg cake.

When I saw recipe of candied pecans in Smitten Kitchen as well as my friend Alea’s blog Premeditated leftovers, I got courage to try this recipe. Alea used chai spice, where as Deb used cinnamon and cayenne pepper.

I also decide to add hot chili powder, ground cloves, ginger, cinnamon, all spice, and cardamom to my candied nuts. I used brown sugar and an egg white at room temperature. It is really tasty; I am going to try with almonds and walnut too. I don’t think peanuts or cashews will be a good candidate for this recipe.

Try if you can get hold of some pecans, it is the best homemade edible gifts you would most likely make. Start munching when you are watching nail biting stunt or serious movies or even a good game. Here goes the recipe.

How to make this Sweet and Spice Pecans?

Star ingreident in the recipe is Pecans try to use fresh pecans, as old ones may become rancid. So try taste test before trying this recipe.

Spices : Ground ginger, ground cinnamon and ground all spice. I have added cardamom if you want you can include. I recommend adding caradmom because it is most aromatic spice in the batch.

Make sure once you remove from oven, and separate nuts with fork as they cool. When completely cool, pour the nuts into a bowl, breaking up any that stick together.

Enjoy

Print Recipe

No ratings yet

Sweet and Spiced Pecans

Delicious Sweet and spiced pecans made with pecan halves, spices, and touch to sugar and salt.

Prep Time5

Cook Time30

Total Time35

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Appetizers, Edible gifts, Sweet and spiced Pecans

Servings:

Calories: 420kcal

Ingredients

2 cup Pecans halves
⅓ cup Brown sugar
1 Egg white
¼ teaspoon Ground ginger
¼ teaspoon Cinnamon
¼ teaspoon Red chili powder
2 Cardamom pods
⅛ teaspoon All spice
⅛ teaspoon Ground cloves
½ teaspoon Salt

Instructions

Preheat oven to 300 F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and set aside.
In a medium bowl, beat egg white until they are foamy.
Add sugar and spices to the egg white and combine very well so that there should be not lumps.
Add nuts to mixture and stir well so that all the nuts gets coat with spice mixture.
Spread nuts in a thin layer on a lined baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes, stirring half way through the baking.
Remove from oven, and separate nuts with fork as they cool. When completely cool, pour the nuts into a bowl, breaking up any that stick together.
Enjoy

Nutrition

Tried this recipe?Mention @nidhinikhil or tag #zestysouthindiankitchenrecipes!

Jeera Pudhina Chawal: Cumin Mint Rice

May 15, 2012 · 29 Comments

I cook rice everyday so what is big deal that I was the feeling when I cook Basmati rice. I learned the hard way that it is not. You need to be very careful cooking them otherwise; it will be risotto not rice. The Beauty of rice dishes stand out when each grains stands up and shows its presence. I cook parboiled red rice everyday and it is really forgiving, I can put it in the rice cooker and wait for almost 7 whistles about 30 minutes and then switch it off. Rice will be ready when you are ready to open the cooker after it is cooled for 20 minutes.

For Nidhi’s birthday I planned to cook vegetable mixed rice, with Basmati. So for that I needed to get an idea how the rice in my hand behave, and hence decide to try out the cooking technique, the weekend before her birthday. While going through all the recipes in the Internet, I came to idea that basmati rice needs to soak for about 45 minutes before cooking. Then it needs to be strained and fried in ghee/clarified butter for about 3 minutes and cooked in boiling water ( Ratio of water should be 1:2, but I find 1: 2 ¼) and finally reduce the flame and cook for another 5 minutes with lid closed. Rice will be ready after those 10 minutes.

Finally I got the rice what I looking with each grain separate and also cooked fully, I found that in restaurants rice is only partially (75%) done not as 100% as I want. I tried this recipe twice and every time I got the perfect result. So I can assure that this is a fool proof recipe. So go ahead make a spicy curry and enjoy.

One year ago: Quail egg and mushroom cooked in spicy coconut sauce

Two year ago: Rasmalai/ Cottage cheese cooked in milk syrup

Print recipe from here

What you need

Basmati rice: 1 cup

Water: 2 ¼ cup

Cumin/ Jeera : ½ tablespoon + 1 teaspoon

Mint/Pudhina: 15 no leaves

Ghee/ Clarified butter: 2 tablespoon

Onion: ¾ cup (chopped finely)

Salt: ½ teaspoon

Canola oil: 4 tablespoon

How I made

Soak rice for about 45 minutes in water. Wash and drain it in colander and set aside.

In medium sauce pot bring water to boil and set aside.

In a small pan heat oil and fry the onion until it become golden brown and remove using a slotted spoon and set aside.

In another pot heat ghee/clarified butter and add cumin seeds when it starts spluttering add chopped mint leaves and then drained rice and fry for about 3 minutes .

Then add boiling water and cook for about 5 minutes without covering the pot. After 5 minutes cover the pot with lid and cook for another 5 minutes in low flame and switch off the flame when it done.

Add fried onion to cooked rice and using a fork gently puff the rice.

Serve with any spicy curry.

Preparation time: 60 minutes

Yield: 3 serving

Verdict: Yummy

Will you make it again: Yes I will

I am linking this rice to Hearth and Soul blog hop #100 hosted here.

Pineapple Lemon Mint Juice

May 13, 2012 ·

Delicious Pineapple lemon mint juice made with fresh pineapple and lemon juice rich in vitamin C and rich in antioxidants.

If you are looking for simple yet delicious drink for this summer then, this is the one. Pineapple Lemon Mint Juice. This juice not only looks summery but also full of vitamin c and antioxidant rich. This is refreshing, light, and made with fresh-squeezed lemon juice and fresh pineapple .

Make sure to make this juice with fresh ingredients, frozen pineapple works, but I feel fresh ones taste better. Do you know Fresh pineapple is the only known source of an enzyme called bromelain, which might play a role in a range of different health benefits.

How much pineapple should you can consume per day?

A minimum of 5 servings of fruit and vegetables a day is recommended for overall health. Experts encourage to eat more vegetables than fruits for weight management so this leaves room for about 2 servings a day of fruit. You can have up to one cup of pineapple a day. However if you are diabetic your daily intake of pineapple may vary. Pineapple is considered a “medium” fruit on the glycemic index, so you should consume it in small portions. Due to its fiber content and low glycemic load, whole fresh pineapple is safe and recommendable for diabetics and those at risk of developing diabetes to eat.

This recipe is inspired from a cookery Chanel in Malayalam language, I saw one of the episodes in a restaurant making this juice. In that chef used pineapple, lime and mint. Since I have no lime in hand I used lemon. Lemon juice, freshly squeezed, has a much better taste than a lemon juice concentrate. If you don’t have a garden at home like me, grab a bundle of mint leaves on your next shopping trip. I plucked fresh mint from my garden. Asked hubby can I try this, as usual he give me go ahead signal. In no time I made this. At first I used only ½ tablespoon of sugar. My little one was not happy while taking a sip. But when I increased sugar by two more teaspoons, I got the result immediately and she was willing to finish it. If you like mint, and then go for it. Otherwise don’t try this one. Here is the recipe.

Print Recipe

5 from 2 votes

Pineapple lemon Mint Juice

Delicious Pineapple lemon mint juice made with fresh fruits

Prep Time5

Total Time5

Course: Drinks

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Pineapple lemon mint juice

Servings:

Calories: 78kcal

Ingredients

1 ¼ c up Pineapple
Juice of one lemon
10 Mint leaves
1 tablespoon Sugar
5 ice cubes
1 cup Water

Instructions

In a blender combine everything and blend together to form a smooth consistency and strain through the strainer and set aside.
Enjoy as much you wish with more ice.

Nutrition

Tried this recipe?Mention @nidhinikhil or tag #zestysouthindiankitchenrecipes!

Pin it for later

Apple molasses spice cake

May 8, 2012 · 64 Comments

When I first saw this recipe in real simple I fell in love with it. I usually fall in love with recipes either King Arthur flour blog site or all recipes when they have very high reviews, but usually not any other sites. It is a really simple cake with apple and molasses as star ingredients.

At first I thought instead of molasses, I can try with Jaggery (unrefined sugar). However, I was not sure about the quantities that I need to use so skipped this time and tried to follow the original recipe. One good thing about this recipe is it is diary free. It uses oil instead of butter. It also uses fresh grated ginger, which is rarely used in cakes. This is a simple cake and if you like the taste of molasses and fresh ginger it is going to be a tasty cake for you.

I used Granny smith apple as it mentioned in the original recipe. My hubby likes granny smith apples but myself or the little one are not a fan of it because it tastes more tart than sweet. I like to bake with it compared to any other apples. I cut them in chunks, but if you want, you can grate them too. I spiced the cake a little more than the original recipe with extra spices like nutmeg, cardamom and even black pepper. I also substituted with half white whole wheat flour. I made this cake during a weekend, when one of our friends visited. I served this cake and they liked it a lot.

It is not so sweet, but moist best when it is warm. There are some cake recipes you want to repeat more often, and this one of that kind. I am going to make them whenever I get a chance. Next time I am going to try with jaggery, my favorite form of sugar. Here is the recipe, if you get a chance try this one.

One year ago: Aloo Methi Masala/Potato cooked with fenugreek leaves

Two year ago: South African crunchies

Print recipe from here
What you need

Unbleached All purpose flour: 1 cup

White whole wheat flour: 1 cup

Olive oil: ½ cup (I used light baking one)

Boling water: ½ cup

Egg: 1 no

Molasses: ½ cup (I used Grandma’s)

Packed light brown sugar: ½ cup

Baking soda: 1 ½ teaspoon

Ground cinnamon: 1 teaspoon

Ground cloves: ½ teaspoon

Ground Nutmeg: ½ teaspoon

Black pepper: ⅛ teaspoon

Cardamom: 2 no

Sea salt: ½ teaspoon

Freshly grated ginger: 1 tablespoon

Granny smith Apple: 2 no (Pitted cored and chopped into chunks)

How I made

Preheat oven to 350° F. Oil a 9-inch round cake pan, line the bottom with a parchment circle, oil again, and dust with flour, tapping out the excess.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, black pepper, nutmeg cardamom and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk together the oil, molasses, brown sugar, egg, ginger, and ½ cup boiling water. Add to the flour mixture and whisk until just combined (do not over mix). Fold in the apples.

Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Cool in the pan for 30 minutes, and then turn out onto a rack to cool completely.

Enjoy; if you want you serve them dusted with confectionery sugar

Preparation time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Yield: 9 inch cake

Verdict: Moist cake

Will you make it again: Yes I will

I am linking this delicious cake to Hearth and Soul blog hop # 99 hosted here.

Happy Birthday Dear Princess

May 4, 2012 · 48 Comments

My little princess is growing, she going to blow 3 candles today. One thing that has increased over these years is her sweetness as well as naughtiness. She wants to do everything that we are doing. She imitates even breast feeding of her little brother. She loves to play and also watch other kids playing through the window.

She is crazy about water, and she helps her dad with watering the plants every evening, end result will be her getting completely drenched in the cause of watering. She loves beaches and enjoys the little nursery rhymes in You Tube. She has mastered the use of I-pad, which I still have not had the time to figure out. She wants to cuts vegetables and imitates the cooking as I do. She wants to talk on phone when we are talking. She carries around my old hand bag and says that she is going in car.

She loves her brother, but is a little jealous that brother is getting attention, she tries all the drama to regain her attention. She loves be the model for Dad’s photographic skills. She is really lazy to wake up in the morning. Only one thing can make her wake up that is a promise of a car trip.

She made us mom and dad and her little brother made her big sister. Sometimes both of them join hands to make my life so hard. Next moment they will laugh at you making you feel that you have won an Oscar. When I am was not married I used to watch 5 movies a week, after marriage it reduced to 3, and then after her arrival it reduces again to 1-2 now with her little brother’s entry it is 1 in two weeks.

She is going to start her play-school after her birthday; I don’t know whether she is going to cry on the first day or will it be me. Looks like me. I want her to go school and learn as my little girl is growing up. I think times fly and only memories will be remain forever.

Happy birthday my Princess, enjoy the day as you wish, these are cute little moments mommy and daddy had waited for long years. God will give you all the happiness and strength in this wonderful world.

Her birthday will be celebrated with a small party .

Semiya upma/ Vermicelli noodles cooked with Vegetables and Spices

May 1, 2012 · 30 Comments

Sometime just like morning time, evening time also is crazy with two kids, one is running around pulling everything and other one crying at his highest volume testing the strength of vocal cords. Hubby comes home tired and gets ready to go to sleep as early as possible. Irony is that we are not able to go to bed until midnight or later.

From morning I will be thinking what’s for dinner, and plan elaborate meal, but end up making an easy dish. Semiya upma comes to my rescue me on some of the days. Amma used to make it as breakfast when she ran out of usual dosa batter (Pancake batter). Earlier whenever, I will say I am going to make semiya upma my hubby’s immediate answer will be ‘no’. One day I told him I am going to make it if you don’t like I can make something else for you. He said okay. I made it and after taste testing his question was why you did not make it till now. And why have you not you written a blog about it.

It is simple dish, every Indian household makes using a mother’s and grandmother’s recipe. I make it with my mom’s recipe. She roasts the vermicelli and then cooks with carrot, onion and spice up with green chili, ginger and adds peanuts, cashew nuts for crunchiness. Trust me every bite you get to feel nuts, vegetables and soft vermicelli. It is whole dish by itself doesn’t need any sides.

I usually buy roasted vermicelli, to make that step easy. If you can’t find roasted vermicelli in the store, try to roast the vermicelli with teaspoon of ghee/clarified butter for 3 minutes or until it turn golden brown and crunchy while bite. You can use vegetables like carrot, peas and cabbage. I like to add only carrots and onion. Here goes my mom’s recipe.

One year ago: Achari Dahi Bhindi/Okra cooked with yogurt and pickle spices

Two year ago: Nellika Achar/ Gooseberry Pickle

Print recipe from here

What you need

Vermicelli/Semiya: 2 cups (I used roasted one)

Carrot: 1 no (chopped finely)

Onion: ¼ cup (Chopped finely)

Ginger: 1 inch (chopped finely)

Green chili: 1 no

Curry leaves: 1 sprig

Oil: 1 tablespoon

Ghee/Clarified butter: ½ tablespoon

Salt: ½ teaspoon

Mustard seeds: ½ teaspoon

Urad dal: 1 tablespoon

Cashew nuts: 2 tablespoon

Peanuts: 2 tablespoon

Water: 3 ¼ cup

Lemon juice: Half of one lemon

How I made

In a medium sauce pot add 3 ¼ cup of water and bring to boil. When it starts boiling add ¼ teaspoon salt and add vermicelli and cook for 5 minutes or until entire water is absorbed and it done.

In a another pan heat oil and add mustard seeds, when it starts popping add urad dal and when it starts gets golden brown color add green chili, curry leaves, ginger, onion, carrot and salt and sauté for 6 minutes or until onion starts to change color and carrot get cooked well and set aside.

In a small pan heat ghee/clarified butter and add peanuts and fry for about 3 minutes and then add cashew nuts and fry for about 1 minutes or until cashew turns golden brown.

Finally add entire cooked onion green chili ginger mixture along fried nuts and lemon juice into the cooked vermicelli and carefully stir them with a fork to prevent breaking.

Enjoy as much you wish.

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Yield: 3 serving

Verdict: Yummy

Will you make it again: Yes I will

I am linking this to Hearth and Soul Blog hop#98 hosted here

Nazook / Armenian pastry and Armenian nutmeg cake with cardamom and Pecans

Apr 27, 2012 ·

I have been out from Daring baker’s challenge for a long time, during pregnancy with my prince; first three month was full of morning sickness and then bleeding scares made my life complicated. Then after that I was even tired to cook, something which is a daily routine for me. Last month I made bread, but Dutch crunch looked like some failed artwork, and taste was not that exciting. So I threw the entire bread in the garbage can.

I was curious as always what is this month’s challenge was. It turned out that this month daring baker’s challenge was hosted by Jason of DailyCandor.com http://dailycandor.com, he challenged to make an Armenian pastry and Armenian nutmeg cake. Since it is about food from a country which I am not familiar I decide to try them. Further it was an easy recipe. As both are sweet I like to make them between few weeks as if I make the two together, then I have to finish it as a punishment, my hubby won’t touch, little one try to eat 25 % of piece and put 75% pieces on flour. She follows strict rule that, she will feed entire ant population around our house. On the top of if an ant comes near to me I get swelling where it touch and I will be scratching skin for hours leading to blisters and finally bleeding. So why in the world I am entertaining myself to ant bite.

I also read a lot about Armenian nutmeg cake, since nutmeg is favorite spice. The common fragrant nutmeg Myristica fragrans, originated from Banda islands of Indonesia, it also grows in spice land of India, Kerala. We add this spice to our spice mixture gram masala as well as sweet dishes like Boli (stuffed sweet flat bread). If nutmeg is used in low quantities it is fine as in culinary uses, if it is used in large quantities, it is known to affect brain functions read from here.

I used freshly grated nutmeg as powder known to lose charm when stored for a long time. I only made a 6 inch cake and reduced ¼ cup of sugar, still it is sweet for us, and added whole egg as halving the egg is difficult. This cake consists of two layers, bottom crumb and upper cake. And in original recipe half of the ingredients are used to make bottom crumb layer, but when I read reviews in another board, I found out that if you put half of the ingredients crumb going to thicker and it is sometimes hard and even there is chance of losing tooth. Why hurt our already disturbed tooth. I used only ⅓ of the ingredients for the crumb and the rest I used for cake. Another point I found that we need to slightly beat the eggs to make the cake fluffy and prevent nuts on the top to stinking into the cake. Traditional nut used in this cake is walnuts however I used pecans. Added along with nutmeg added some cardamom to make it more aromatic. Cake turned out very delicious. If I didn’t try this one, it will be real miss of a wonderful traditional recipe.

Then another recipe given to try is Nazook/ an Armenian pastry. I know pastries are not good as they contain loads of butter. This one wins my heart because it is yeasted one. It has yeast and sour cream and you can make dough in one day and refrigerate and make rest of fillings and bake in second day. Again I halved the original recipe and made traditional filling which is vanilla, all-purpose flour, brown sugar and butter and another filling with sweetened coconut and cranberries. In order to prevent drying of sweetened coconut, egg white was used. Yolk was used as egg wash along with yogurt. I tried to reduce butter by 2 tablespoon from both dough and filling. I added ½ teaspoon of sugar in the dough to make yeast happy.

My hubby told me he like coconut cranberries filling 52% and traditional dough filling 48%. That means both are good. It is hard to stop eating this little goodies one, you are going to eat few at a single sitting. These pastries are good companion for tea or coffee. Try it at least once. Here goes the recipe.

One year ago: Maple mascarpone mousse served in plantain cups

Two year ago: Steamed strawberry pudding with pineapple

Print recipe from here

Nazook/ Armenian Pastry

What you need

Pastry dough

All purpose flour/Maida sifted: 1 ½ cups

Active dry yeast: 1 ¼ teaspoons

Sour cream: ½ cup

Unsalted butter: 5 tablespoon (softened)

Sugar: 1 teaspoon*

Salt: ⅛ teaspoon *

Water: 2 tablespoon*

* My addition

Filling

Traditional Version

All purpose flour, sifted: ¾ cup

Brown sugar: ⅓ cup

Unsalted butter: ¼ cup

Vanilla extract: 1 teaspoon

Filling 2 ( My version)

Sweetened coconut: ½ cup

Cranberries: ¼ cup

Egg white: Of one egg

Vanilla extract : ½ teaspoon

Wash

1 egg yolks with 1 tablespoon of yogurt

How I made

First day

Make the Pastry Dough

In a medium bowl add sifted flour with salt and set aside.

In a small bowl add warm water 1 teaspoon sugar and active dry yeast, let it proof for 10 minutes and set aside.

In a kitchen aid mixer fitted with paddle attachment add sour cream and softened butter beat very well.

To this add yeast mixture and flour mixture; mix everything to form soft dough.

Switch to a dough hook, continue to knead for about 10 minutes, or until the dough no longer sticks to the bowl or your hands. If it remains very sticky, add some flour, a little at a time.

Cover the dough and refrigerate the overnight.

Second day: Make the filling 1

In a medium bowl mix the flour, sugar, vanilla extract and the softened butter until it looks like clumpy, damp sand. It should not take long. Set aside.

Filling 2

In a small bowl mix unsweetened coconut, cranberries, vanilla extract and egg white and set aside.

Make the Nazook

Preheat the oven to moderate 350°F/175°C/gas mark 4. Line baking sheet with silpat or parchment paper and set aside.

Cut the refrigerated dough into two equal pieces.

Form one of the quarters into a ball. Dust your working surface with a little flour.

Roll out the dough into a large rectangle or oval. The dough should be thin, but not transparent.

Spread first filling mixture across the rolled-out dough in an even layer. Try to spread the filling as close as possible to the edges on the short sides, but keep some of pastry dough uncovered (1 inch/2.5 cm) along the long edges.

From one of the long sides, start slowly rolling the dough across. Be careful to make sure the filling stays evenly distributed. Roll all the way across until you have a long, thin

loaf.

Pat down the loaf with your palm and fingers so that it flattens out a bit (just a bit).

Apply your egg yolk wash with a pastry brush.

Use your crinkle cutter (or knife) to cut the loaf into 10 equally-sized pieces. Put onto an ungreased cookie sheet.

Continue process in second dough piece with second filling.

Place in a preheated moderate oven for about 30 minutes, until the tops are a rich, golden

brown.

Allow to cool and enjoy!

Preparation time: Dough and filling preparation: 30 minutes. Dough chilling: overnight. Pastry prep: 30 minutes. Baking: 30 minutes.

Yield: 20 pieces

Verdict: Yummy

Will you make it again: Yes I will

Armenian Nutmeg cake with Cardamom and Pecans

What you need

All purpose flour/ Maida: 1 cup

Milk: ½ cup

Baking soda: ½ teaspoon

Baking powder: 1 teaspoon

Brown sugar: ¾ cup

Unsalted butter: 6 tablespoon

Nutmeg: 1 teaspoon (I used freshly grated nutmeg)

Egg: 1 no

Pecan: ¼ cup

Cardamom: 2nos

How I made

I made traditional way, if you want to do easy way you can done all mixing in the food processor.

Preheat your oven to moderate 350°F/175°C/gas mark 4. Lined and butter and flour 6 inch cake pan with parchment paper and set aside.

Sift together the flour and the baking powder into a large bowl. One sift is fine.

Mix the baking soda (not baking powder; that's for the next step) into the milk. Set it aside.

In a medium bowl add brown sugar and flour mixture and cubed butter. Then mix the butter with fork into the dry ingredients (you can also use your fingers if you want, I used my hands). You'll want to achieve a more-or-less uniform, tan-colored crumbly mixture.

Take ⅓^rd of this resulting crumbly mixture into 6 “cake pan. Press a crust out of it using your fingers and knuckles. Make sure that you won’t press to hard it makes crust to hard. (It will hard on tooth).

Crack an egg into a bowl. Beat egg for about few minutes and then toss the nutmeg along with egg and milk –baking soda mixture and set aside.

Start mixing slowly with a whisk attachment and then increase to medium speed, or mix with a hand whisk if you're doing it manually. Once it's mixed well and frothy (about 3 minute using a standing mixer, or about 2-3 minutes of vigorous beating with a whisk). Continue to mix until uniform.

Pour in the rest of the crumbly mixture. Mix that well, with either a paddle attachment it won't make much of a difference, since the resulting batter is very liquidy.

Pour the batter over prepared crust the base in the cake pan.

Gently place pecans over the batter.

Bake in a preheated moderate oven for about 40 minutes. You'll know it's done when the top is a golden brown, and an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Allow to cool in the pan, and then release. Enjoy!

Preparation time: 50 minutes

Yield: 6 inch cake
Verdict: Yummy
Will you make it again: Yes I will

Sharing with Alea and April's Gallery of favorites

Maddur Vade/ Semolina rice onion fritters from Maddur District

Apr 24, 2012 · 50 Comments

Maddur Vade is specialty snack available in Maddur district of Karnataka State, India. It is a fritter made of semolina, rice and All-purpose flour with onion, chilies and so on. It is a snack that you can enjoy during a train journey between Bangalore and Mysore. However, I never got a chance to take that route so far, but maybe in future if get chance I am going to take it.

In India, majority of people do long distance travel to various places by train. Train service is one of the well equipped affordable transportation. Longest train journey I have undertaken is took when I had to visit New Delhi, by Kerala Express. It takes about approximately about 72 hours. Train usually leaves Trivandrum on time, but somehow does get delayed by the time it reaches New Delhi. When you reach every station, you can hear vendors calling chaya kappi/ Tea, coffee and selling goodies. I don’t know how they sell quite a lot in a few minutes that the trains usually halt. There are also a few stations, you can get some special goodies, for example in Kollam it is parippu vada, at Eranakulam it is meals packet consisting of rice and curries, at Trichur it is banana chips and in Palakad it will be Halwa and Pazham pori and when train reaches neighboring state Tamil Nadu, you can get good Idly ( steamed rice cakes) with sambhar and coffee, like list goes on. Just like this in Maddur station they sell this Vada even got name after its place.

When I searched Google for a recipe it came up with tons. I knew by experience that some exact proportion of ingredients is required to make vada tasty and crispy. When I looked into the ingredients list I found out that it has semolina, rice and all purpose flour. Semolina and rice will take care of crispiness where as the all purpose flour acts as binder and onion give tastiness. Addition of coconut and peanut gives crunchiness, spicy part is taken care by green chilies and curry and coriander leaves will enhance the flavor.

I know deep fried goodies are not good for your health, but still you if are carving for some what you will do, just go and make it? Yes I did that. One evening for tea, I made this snack, my little one and hubby told me they taste good. Since we don’t know the authentic taste, I can’t vouch for that, but still it taste really good and crispy. I am a fan of crispy fritters than soft ones. One advantage is that you can put it all together in less than 30 minutes without any soaking, grinding and so on. If you want crispy snack go for it, here is the recipe.

One Year ago: Asparagus Stir fry

Two Year ago: Russian Rye bread
Print recipe from here

What you need

Semolina/Rava: ½ cup

Rice flour: ½ cup

All purpose flour: ¼ cup

Cumin seeds: ½ teaspoon

Green chili: 1 no ( chopped finely)

Curry leaves: 2 tablespoon (chopped finely)

Cilantro/ Coriander leaves: 2 tablespoon (Chopped finely)

Onion: ¼ cup chopped finely

Asafetodia: ⅛ teaspoon

Coconut: 2 tablespoon (I used desiccated coconut)

Peanut: ¼ cup (un-roasted, if you want you can crush it in food processor, I used whole)

Ghee/ Clarified butter: 1 tablespoon

Salt: ½ teaspoon

Water: ½ cup

Canola oil: 4 cups

How I made

In a medium pan add semolina, rice flour and all purpose flour add salt and mix well; to this add cumin seeds and ghee.

Then add rest of the ingredients and gradually add water to form stiff dough.

In thick bottomed pan heat canola oil on a medium flame until it reach 375 F. You can also check the temperature of oil by dropping a small piece of dough into the oil. If it rises immediately then oil is ready for frying.

Divide the dough into 15 equal size balls. Take a Ziploc and place on ball of dough in the center and press it with your hand or wrist to thin circle of about ⅛ cm thickness.

Carefully drop the vade into hot oil. Fry in medium low flame until it becomes golden brown in color. It takes about 3 minutes. You can fry two –three vade at a time.

Once they are golden brown color remove them from hot oil using a slotted spoon and transfer to kitchen tissue to remove excess oil.

Enjoy the hot vade with chutney and Tea. (I enjoyed without any chutney)

Preparation time: 45 minutes

Yield: 15

Verdict: Crispy Yummy

Will you make it again: Yes.

I am linking this to Hearth and Soul blog hop #97 hosted here.

Dry fruit and nut bars: High energy bars

Apr 17, 2012 · 34 Comments

In India, there is a special postpartum diet, that contains only healthy ingredients, more calories (like clarified butter) but less spicy. However, when I left the hospital, the lactation consultant told me, watch for lentil, cabbage, cauliflower etc, as they tend to produce gas and little guy also is going to get gas, if I ate gassy food. He is not interested in burping, end up getting more gas himself without my contribution.

Some time ago, I have seen a dry fruit and nut bar in Alice Meredith’s book. I even bought Hazelnut to make that, after keeping it for sometime Hazelnuts had gone rancid, I have to throw entire nuts in garbage; it was a painful moment for me, as Hazelnuts cost a fortune. So I decided to keep quiet for some time and not venture into any baking.

Due to breastfeeding by afternoon, I need a strong snack; otherwise, I am having headache indicating that my blood sugar is low. So I decided to make these energy bars. The store bought energy bars has only a few dry fruits and nuts, either cranberry or raisins or almonds or pistachio. I haven’t seen anything with combo of dates, figs, apricot, coconut, currents, dry mango and cashew nuts etc. I made with almost all the dry fruits and nuts available in my pantry. Since I used dates, and sweetened cranberries, I used only two tablespoon of brown sugar. I used 2 tablespoon of All- Purpose flour and ¾ of egg as binding agent. If you want gluten free, just add arrow root flour/corn flour and to make it vegan add flax seed meal or egg replacer. I haven’t tried the replacement combinations. I still used flour and egg is used in less quantity, but I think substitution will work. I am curious to know about the feedback.

These are chewy and crunchy with dry fruits and nuts, but at the same time, very tasty and addictive energy bars. These are a grab and go healthy breakfast as well as a perfect snack for evening hunger prangs.

When I bake some cookies or cake my hubby take it to office for munching it as his afternoon snack. He then also shares it with his friend Emanuel, who is also his colleague. I call him my second taste tester, as he tests and give exact opinion. He was so impressed that when my hubby called to talk to me, he came on the line and told me it was great. Best part according to him is the addition of Figs.

As I had baked an 8 inch square pan I thought that it is going last for two weeks or even a month. Trust me it got finished within 4 days. It is very hard to stop after eating one; you will go for the second and third helping. Here is the recipe.

One year ago: Mexican Scrambled Eggs

Two year ago: Kadala parippu pradhaman/ Chana dal Jaggery Pudding

Print recipe from here

What you need

Barely adapted from Alice Meredith "Pure Dessert"

Dates: 1 cup (About 21) coarsely chopped

Figs: ⅔ cup/ 5 oz (about 6 no) coarsely chopped

Dried sweetened cranberries: ¼ cup coarsely chopped

Dried apricot: ¼ cup (about 7no) coarsely chopped

Raisins: ¼ cup coarsely chopped

Currants: ¼ cup coarsely chopped

Dried mango: 1 tablespoon (about 3 no) coarsely chopped

Mystic gum/Edible gum/Gond: 2 tablespoon

Poppy seeds: 1 tablespoon (lightly toasted)

Coconut chips: ¼ cup (lightly toasted)

Baking powder: Half of ⅛ teaspoon

Baking Soda: Half of ⅛ teaspoon

Salt: ⅛ teaspoon

Brown sugar: 2 tablespoon

Almond: ¼ cup (blanched and chopped coarsely)

Pistachio: ¼ cup chopped coarsely

Cashew nuts: ¼ cup chopped coarsely

All purpose flour: 2 tablespoon

Egg: ¾ of one egg

Ghee / clarified butter: 1 tablespoon

How I made

Preheat oven to 325 F and line with Parchment paper on bottom, sides of 8x8X2 baking dish. Leave the edges of parchment hanging that way it is easy to remove the bars after baking.

In a small skillet heat 1 tablespoon Ghee/clarified butter and fry mystic gum, until it puffed up like popcorn. It will take about 2 minutes to gets done and set aside. Using a food processor grind them into fine powder.

In another skillet dry roast poppy seeds until it becomes slightly brown. It takes about 2 minutes and set aside. In the same skillet dry roast the coconut chips until slightly brown and release aroma. It takes about 2 minutes and set aside.

In a medium bowl mix all the ingredients (coarsely chopped dry fruits and nuts, poppy seeds, coconut chips, mystic gum) including flour, baking powder, baking soda, brown sugar and ¾^thof egg. Mix well to incorporate everything uniformly. Spread into the prepared pan, pressing to even it out.

Bake for about 35-40 minutes, or until it is golden brown and has pulled away from the sides of the pan. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool.

When cooled, lift the bars from the pan by the edges of the Parchment paper. Use a sharp knife to cut into 16 squares. Warp them individually with plastic paper; it can be stored for about 10 days at room temperature or longer if refrigerated.

Preparation time: 60 minutes

Yield:16 no

Verdict: Yummy

Will you make it again: Yes I will

I am linking this to Hearth and Soul blog hop #96 hosted here

Palpayasam/ Milk Rice Pudding for Vishu

Apr 14, 2012 · 21 Comments

One more festival of sharing and prosperity has come to visit us, so we will enjoy it with great fun. In Kerala, southern part of India it is celebrated as Vishu a Harvest festival, in neighboring Tamil Nadu it is celebrated as Tamil New Year and in Punjab it is celebrated as Baisakhi and in Assam it is celebrated as Bihu.

During Vishu ( April-May, this year April 14^th), Laburnums flowers starts to bloom, glittering everything in beautiful yellow, even a special variety of cucumber shows off its skin in beautiful yellow, gold coin everything related to Vishu is bright yellow as sunshine. In Kerala, Jack fruit, Mango, Cashew trees are in full form starting to share their crop from top to bottom.

Vishu brings me a lot of nostalgia, waiting for the coins which appa gave us in the form of Vishukainettam. In the early hours of the morning we get up to see Vishukani. And we pray to God to keep us safe, happy and prosperous. And a yummy feast follows in the day. If you want to read ritual about Vishu, read here and here.

Vishu is unique festival compared to Onam our main festival as latter is celebrated everywhere, in home and outside (like office, public places) where as first one is only celebrated in home. Even southern and northern part of Kerala has its own difference in celebrating Vishu. In South, there will be, Vishukani ( (First thing seeing in the morning ), kaineetam (coin giving to younger ones by elders as a simple of sharing the prosperity) and feast, where as north it is celebrated with all these along with fire crackers.

This Vishu is extra special, as it is my Prince Nikhil’s first vishu. So I am planning to keep Vishukani and have a feast. Since my hubby is off for Friday I think I can make it with less hassle. It will be crazy; still I am going to make it.

For celebrating Vishu I made palpayasam, which is simple but delicious. We make this Payasam or pudding for marriage, feast or as offering in the Temple.

Especially Amabalpuzha palpayasam is very famous in Kerala, India. This is offered to Lord Krishna as a debt pay back by a king. Story behind that offering that, once Lord Krishna appeared before a king who is chess enthusiastic and was willing to play the game for few grains. King as happy and readily accepted the prize, but in the game he lost to God and when realized that it was not a few grains, he had to give but according multiplication of numbers in checkerboard. He didn’t have enough grain to give him. God told him, no problem he can pay back as palpaysasm as daily offering in the temple and it should be distributed freely to all his devotees. I read somewhere, now Payasam is not served free, it is sold.

Palpayasam is easy to make. You need to cook the rice in milk and then add sugar. This Payasam doesn’t have any add on like cashew nuts, raisins. It is not even flavored with any spices. Here goes the recipe.

One year ago: Chakka Pradhaman/ Jackfruit preserve pudding

Two year ago: Vishu a festival of agriculture and vishu feast

Print recipe from here

What you need

Milk: 4 cups/ 1 liter

Water: 2cups

Rice: ½ cup ( I used Payasam rice/Unakalari/ Short grain brown rice/ Raw rose matta rice)

Sugar: ½ cup

Ghee/Clarified butter: 1 tablespoon

How I made

Wash rice with water and set aside.

Heat 1 tablespoon of Ghee in thick bottomed vessel. Add water and milk together and when it reduced to ¾^th add washed rice and cook until is ¾^th done, rice should hold the shape it takes about 20 minutes. Stir in between so that rice won’t stick to the bottom of pan.

Then add sugar and cook for another 9 minutes or until milk reduced again and there is pink color change. Stir in between here also to prevent sticking at the bottom.

Switch off the flame once rice is completely cooked.

And serve once it is cold enough to touch.

Enjoy

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Yield: 4 serving

Verdict: Yummy

Will you make it again: Yes I will

Other items in the menu

Rice, Parippu curry ( Lentil curry), Sambhar, Aviyal, Amarakka Thoran (Guvar/ Cluster beans stir fry with coconut), Pineapple Plantain Pachadi, Okra kichadi, Banana chips, Sarakaravaratti,, Payasam, Banana, Mango pickle and Papadam ( Indian Wafers) ( for recipes take a look at here) .

Sukhiyan/Sugiyan/ Fried mung beans sweet balls

Apr 10, 2012 · 29 Comments

In rural areas of my home state Kerala, political discussion and gossiping are done with morning newspapers and tea. In some tea shops (small restaurants) even sign will be there “Ivide rashtriyam samsarikan padilla”, meaning no political talks here. Mainly because even friendly talk about politics, could end up in fight over their favorite political leaders. The tea is always accompanied by snacks like parippu vada, uzhunnu vada, Neyappam, Undan pori, Vettu cake and sukhiyan.

Appa always bought sukhiyan from these shops while coming back from work. Actually we were addicted to the snacks that we got from there. My grandma used to make the best sukhiyan, she was an awesome cook, and nobody in the world can beat her. She could even make tasty curry with just onion and red chilies. I was always longing about these snacks and wanted to make them for my tea. Even though it is a simple snack, some planning is required. First soak the green gram/mung beans for about 8 hours or overnight, and then cook them. Finally make them sweet by adding jaggery, coconut and cardamom. Then fry them in oil with batter made of all purpose flour into golden color. Trust me in spite of all these steps when you take a bite you will feel, all the efforts are worth it.

One fine morning, I got some extra energy, and started planning to make them. Finally I did that for evening tea. Here goes the recipe. If you want to make them extra special, you can make batter with coconut milk instead of water; I opted for the latter ones. Made with ⅔ cup jaggery for 2 ¼ cup cooked green gram/mung dal so it is slightly sweetened as my hubby is diabetic. If you want more sweet increase the amount jaggery to 1 to 1 ½ cup. Here goes the recipe. Try some time.

One year ago:Jicama with mixed bell pepper salad and orange mustard vinaigrette

Two year ago:Pasta with chickpeas, spinach and mozzarella

Print recipe from here

What you need

For stuffing

Cooked green gram/ Mung dal: 2 ¼ cup (1 cup of dry mung beans on soaking gives 2 ½ cup)

Water: 3 ½ cup+ ¼ cup

Jaggery/Unrefined sugar: ⅔ cup ( You can use sugar to but I prefer Jaggery. Increase the amount to 1 to 1 ½ cup if you need more sweetness)

Coconut: 1 cup (I used desiccated coconut)

Cardamom: 3 no

Ghee/ Clarified butter: 1 teaspoon

For batter

All purpose flour: ½ cup

Rice flour: 1 ½ tablespoon ( It gives crispy structure to the covering)

Yellow food color: 2 drops

Sugar: 1 tablespoon

Baking soda: ⅛ teaspoon

Salt: ⅛ teaspoon
Water: ¾ cup + 1 tablespoon

For frying

Canola oil: 4 cups

How I made

Soak dry mung beans/ green gram for 8 hours or overnight. After soaking, pressure cook the mung beans with 3 ½ cup water for about 25 minutes or 4 whistles. And set aside.

In a medium skillet melt jaggery with ¼ cup of water and strain for impurities and also set aside.

In the same skillet bring back jaggery water to boil and add coconut and cook for about 2-3 minutes or until it becomes dry, to this add cooked mung beans and cook again to become dry, it will takes about 2 -3 minutes. To this finally add ghee and cardamom powder and mix everything and set aside.

Once this mixture is cool enough to touch make small balls from it.

In a medium bowl make batter with all purpose flour, yellow food color, baking soda, salt and water to form a loose one and set aside.

In deep bottom pan heat oil and when it reaches 370 F or hot, dip each stuffing ball into the batter and carefully add to oil. Flip few times to get uniform crispiness. It will take about 3 minutes to get fully cooked. You can fry 3-4 at a stretch. Once it is crispy strain them using a slotted spoon and drain extra oil using a kitchen tissue.

Enjoy with hot tea.

Preparation time: 8 hours soaking time+ 1 hour

Yield: 18 no

Verdict: Yummy
Will you make it again: Yes I will

I am linking this Hearth and soul blog hop 95 hosted here.

Kerala Kitchen at Ramya's Recipe
WTMLevent hosted by Rasi

Mocha Brownies: Cakey

Apr 3, 2012 · 28 Comments

I made brownies after a long research. In our house we love chocolate but are not crazy fans. So I wanted to make something which had an extraordinary taste, so that it would be consumed with in few days. Otherwise it will sit here and there and finally getting into garbage can. While growing up amma did not bake anything so there is no brownies nostalgia. I am not a fan of boxed brownie mix either.

This is second time I am making the brownies; first time I made it, I over baked them and resulted in a chocolate brick. So this time going through Google friend for several searches I made this. They are delicious, and it finished within two days. So give it a try, this recipe won’t let you down.

However brownie making was not event less as my princess sprayed herself, her chair and table top with half a tin of cocoa powder. So I have to clean her in between making the brownie. It was really messy. Wherever I touched it was bathed in cocoa powder. After an entire box of Lysol tissue I got the mess under control and made brownie. My hubby says I am crazy about cooking, and may be it helps my postpartum phase.

My two precious kids usually start crying at the same time, making my life easier? Morning are craziest compared to rest of 24 hours. Usually I make some things when both try to take nap. My boy wants to play and his sister loves him a lot, but at the same time pull his legs or hands making him cry. I have to run and hold him.

I think enough of my rambling, I will go the recipe. I have seen brownie recipe with chocolate alone or with cocoa powder. I decide to try both cocoa and chocolate and in order to boost the chocolate flavor decide to add some instant coffee resulting in mocha brownies. To get the crunch, I added Pecans and they turned out to be wonderful. To prevent over mixing I ignored my favorite Kitchen Aid mixer and stirred with hand to make this brownies. These brownies turned out to be cakey ones. Here goes the recipe.

One year ago: Riga Rye Bread: Rizhsky Khleb

Two year ago: Spiced blueberry mascarpone pancakes

What you need

Unsweetened chocolate: 2 ounce (I used Baker’s)

Unbleached all purpose flour: ½ cup

Cocoa powder: 3 tablespoon (I used Hershey’s unsweetened natural cocoa powder)

Large egg: 1 no

Brown sugar: ½ cup (Packed)
White sugar: ¼ cup + 2 tablespoon

Unsalted butter: 6 tablespoon

Vanilla extract: 1 teaspoon

Instant coffee granules: ½ teaspoon (I used Nescafe)

Salt: ¼ teaspoon

Pecans: ¼ cup (lightly toasted and chopped)

How I made

Preheat the oven to 350 F and line a 9X5 loaf pan with parchment paper makes sure it should hang from the side. This will help the easy removal after baking.

In a microwave safe bowl heat butter and shaved unsweetened chocolate for 30 seconds until it melts.

Sift all-purpose flour, cocoa powder and salt and set aside.

In another bowl whisk both brown and white sugar and eggs, once it is combined add vanilla extract chocolate mixture and instant coffee granules mix everything until well combined. To this add sifted flour mixture in 2-3 addition and combine everything. Finally fold in toasted chopped pecans.

Bake at 350F for 30 minutes or until tooth pick in the middle comes out with moist crumbs.

Let cool for 15 minutes and then place the pan in the freezer for an additional 20 minutes. This will make it easier to cut the brownies. Cut the brownies into 16 square pieces.

Preparation time: 45 minutes

Yield: 16 brownies

Verdict: Yummy

Will you make it again: Yes I will

I am linking this Hearth Soul blog hop : 94 hosted here.

Undan Pori/Fried sweetened wheat flour balls

Mar 27, 2012 ·

I am back to the blogging world, after the birth of my second baby, my prince Nikhil. It has been a time of happiness and craziness, with very less sleep. Even after two moths, my sleep is not continuous, it is disrupted every 4-5 hours, but better than 1-2 hours. I can't follow the rule that you sleep when your baby is sleeping . I want to sleep, but my older one is wake during that time. Still we are managing without any family help. This Undan pori is the one of the dish I want to make it in home for long time.

I am grateful to all my friends who filled in to make this blog alive week after week with their wonderful guest posts, when I was having a toughest time with the newborn. Today my new born is 2 month old, adding a little relief. One thing I learned is that with your second child handling is easier compared to first one, as with our daughter we did not even know how to even hold her.

Okay, coming back to my recipe, I had made this during my last month of pregnancy. It is a tasty snack.

Undan pori is a good companion for evening tea or coffee. It belongs to the group of snacks that you can get in small restaurants, that we call it “Chayakada” meaning Tea shop in Malayalam language. It is popular in south and central part of Kerala. I love all the snack goodies from these shops; it is a childhood habit of mine.

I was thinking of making undan pori for long time since I saw the recipe in Abhi’s blog. He explained the ingredients and recipe from a cook he got it from. Later I saw this recipe here also. So I decided to try to make them. I tried it with my big baby belly, my hubby always telling me not to try extraordinary stuffs while heavily pregnant, but if you are pregnant and carving for some special food and nobody is there to make it for you what you will do. Go ahead and venture, so I too decided to make them. I cook whenever I get tensed, happy and on all other occasions.

I made this with only 1 cup of whole wheat and used only ½ cup of jaggery and a small banana , few tablespoon of ghee/clarified butter, fried coconut, cardamom and pinch of baking soda, they taste great. But again it is barely sweetened; if you need sweetness double the jaggery. I think you can make it with granulated sugar as sweetener too, but traditional version is using Jaggery. So I decide to go for it.

Here goes the recipe, trust me you had it once in your childhood, it will rekindle your memories; if not like my hubby it will give you new taste experience. Try it.

Print recipe from here
One year ago: Yeasted Coffee cake with Guava Paste
Two Year ago:Orange tian

What you need

Recipe adapted from Abhi’s blog.

Whole wheat flour/ Atta: 1 cup/170g

Jaggery/ unrefined sugar: ½ cup/ 104 g (double the amount if you need more sweetness)

Chopped coconut: 3 tablespoon (If you don’t like too much you can reduce to 1 tablespoon)

Ghee/Clarified butter: 1 tablespoon

Baking soda: ⅛ teaspoon

Cardamom: 2no

Water: ¼ cup for jaggery melting + ¼ cup +1 tablespoon for making the dough

Small banana: 1 no

Canola oil: 4 cups for frying

How I made

In a small pan hear jaggery with ¼ cup water and melt them. Set aside for 2 minutes and strain the impurities.

In a small pan heat 1 tablespoon of ghee and add chopped coconut and fry them until they become golden brown in color and set aside.

In a medium bowl, add whole wheat flour, baking soda, jaggery water, mashed banana, and cardamom powder and make a soft dough by gradually adding water. Set aside the dough for 15 minutes covered.

In the mean time heat oil in deep bottom pan bring it to hot but not too hot, if too hot then outside of the dough turn brown immediately and inside won’t cook properly. So keep it low medium flame.

Divide the dough into 12 equal balls and gradually drop into hot oil and fry them filliping them few time to get uniform cooking in all sides. It takes about 4 minutes to cook. You can fry about 3 -4 at times. I like 3 no.

Once it cooked on all sides drain them using a slotted spoon and remove the excess oil using a tissue paper.

Enjoy with your favorite tea or coffee. Tea will be deadly combo.

Preparation time: 45 minutes

Yield: 12 no

Verdict: Yummy

Will you make it again: Yes I will

Nutrition Facts
Serving Size
1 serving (20.7 g)
Amount Per Serving
Calories 69
Calories from Fat 7 % of Daily Value *
Total Fat 0.8 g 1 %
Saturated Fat 0.3 g 2%
Trans Fat 0.0g
Cholesterol 1mg 0 %
Sodium 0mg 0%
Total Carbohydrates 15.2 g 5%
Dietary Fiber 13g 5%
Sugars 6.5g
Protein 1.7g
Vitamin A 0%
Calcium 1%
* Based on a 2000 calorie diet

Swedish Limpa is a sweet Scandinavian rye bread,made with rye and bread flour with orange and spices. Execllent breakfast bread with touch of butter.

About Sweden

Sweden is the country which I love too much; it gave me independence, as I was staying alone there. I was able to go to work and stay in apartment, I did that in Japan too still I like Sweden. While staying there I was familiar with some of Swedish food, not all as I don’t have much time to cook. I make something for my lunch and dinner. For breakfast menu is always oat meal so nothing too specially to cook. There will be Christmas party in our department, where I encountered most of traditional Swedish food, such as Perperikor, Princess Cake, cardamom bread, their boiled potato etc.

What is Swedish Limpa ?

Limpa means loaf in swedish. . It is one of the festive bread with molasses, brown sugar, orange juice and orange zest, cardamom, caraway, anise seeds. Usually Swedes like sour bread, but this one they want it sweet.

But I decide to use sourdough so it got some tangy taste. I used some instant yeast to speed up the action.

Limpa in Swedish means just round, so it is round bread. Usually it is made with 60% of all purpose flour and 40% rye flour.

Further it contains molasses, spices (cardamom, caraway) and orange zest.

I made the Swedish limpa like this with whole wheat flour using Peter Reinhart recipe, I made soaker, but I was not able to make within 24 hours and so decide throw them and made without any soaker.

So I can say I adapted recipe and added some molasses and brown sugar. You need to increase the amount of both sweetener to get decent sweet bread, mine is barely sweet. Here goes the recipe.

One year ago: Parker House Rolls

Two year ago: Cream of mushroom soup

Ingrdients to make Swedish Limpa

First you need to make sourdough starter

Whole wheat flour
Sourdough starter
Water

Then make the final dough using following ingredients.

Rye flour

Whole wheat flour

Sourdough starter

Yeast

Sweetners like brown sugar, molasses

Oil

Spices like

Cardmom

Caraway

Anise seed

Orange juice

orange zest

water

Olive oil
Salt

Here is college showing step by step in making Swedish Limpa bread

Cool on a wire rack for 20 minutes before serving.

Yeast spotting

Print Recipe

5 from 3 votes

Swedish Limpa

Swedish Limpa is a sweet Scandinavian rye bread,made with rye and bread flour with orange and spices. Execllent breakfast bread with touch of butter.

Prep Time3 15

Cook Time45

Total Time4

Course: Breakfast, Brunch

Cuisine: Swedish

Keyword: #blueberrypistachiochocolatesourdoughbread, #cheese sourdough bread, Limpabread, Swedish Limpa bread

Servings: servings

Calories: 165kcal

Author: Swathi (Ambujom Saraswathy)

Ingredients

For the starter:
1.5 cup / 191g White whole wheat flour
¼ cup + 1 tablespoon/ 78g 100% whole wheat and rye sourdough starter
½ cup 2 tablespoon 127g Water
Final dough:
The entire starter
1 cup + 1 tablespoon 142g Rye flour
1 cup cup/ 142g White whole wheat flour
1 ½ teaspoon / 9g Salt
½ teaspoon / 2g Instant yeast
2 tablespoon / 15g Light olive oil
½ tablespoon / 2g Anise seed
½ tablespoon 3g Caraway
5 Cardamom pods
1 tablespoon Brown sugar
2 tablespoon 37g Molasses
1 tablespoon 6g Orange Zest
¾ cup / 170g Water
¼ cup 46g Orange juice

Instructions

Day before baking
Mix the ingredients in the starter together in a bowl for a minute until the ingredients to form soft dough. Knead for about 2 minutes. The dough will be tacky. If you need more water or flour, add them a teaspoon at a time. Rest for 5 minutes; knead with wet hands for a minute.
Cover tightly with plastic wrap or a lid and refrigerate for at least 8 hours and up to 3 days. Bring to room temperature and use.
On the day of baking
In a bowl of kitchen aid stand mixer add all the ingredients for final dough and Knead everything well for 5-7 minutes until you have not-too-sticky, supple dough. Form into a ball, let it rest covered with a kitchen towel for 20 minutes and knead for another minute. Add tablespoon of flour or a teaspoon of water at a time to adjust the consistency if you need to.
Roll the dough into a ball and swirl it around an oiled bowl to coat with the oil. Cover with plastic wrap or a tea towel and let it rise for 3 hours and 15 minutes until 1.5 times its original size.
After the first rise punch down and shape the dough into a boule (ball). And place it in baking sheet lined with parchment paper cover and let it rise for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until it rise about 1.5 times of it original size.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 425F with an empty pan in the top rack and another rack in the middle.
When you are ready to bake, make a score on the top of boule and dust with flour and then mist with water. And place it in the middle rack with the baking sheet, and pour a cup of hot water into the pan on the top rack.
Reduce the heat to 350F and bake for 45minutes or until the loaf registers 200F in the center. You can rotate it once at the 20 minute mark.
Cool on a wire rack for 20 minutes before serving.

Nutrition

Tried this recipe?Mention @nidhinikhil or tag #zestysouthindiankitchenrecipes!