Chicken curry

Chicken curry

Ingredients:
Chicken,medium pieces- 600 to 700 gms
Ginger,finely chopped - 1.5 tsp
Garlic ,finely chopped - 1.5 tsp
Green chilies,cut vertically - 1 or 2( according to taste)
Curry leaves - 2 sprigs
Shallots,sliced - 1/2 cup
Onion ,sliced - 2 cups ( 2 large)
Coconut,sliced - 1/4 to 1/3 cup
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder - 1 tbsp
Chili powder- 1.5 tbsp(see notes)
Garam masala powder - 1.5 tsp(homemade will be the best)
Tomato ,chopped - 1/2 cup( 1 medium)
Water - as required
Curry leaves - 1 sprig
Salt - to taste
Coconut oil - as required

For Marination:

Chili powder- 1/2 tsp
Black pepper powder - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Ginger -garlic paste - 3/4 tsp
Salt - to taste
Water -3 to 4 tsp

How to prepare:

In a bowl add the chicken along with the all the  ingredients listed under  for marination.Keep aside for about 20 to 30 minutes.Heat oil a manchatti/clay pot.Add garlic,ginger, green chilies ,curry leaves and  shallots
Saute until shallots turn soft.Next add onion and mix well.
Add coconut slices and saute until onion turns soft and golden brown.( for about 20 to 25 minutes over medium low flame.Add 2 to 3 tbsp of water in between so as  to avoid burning)
Now reduce the flame to low, add turmeric powder, coriander powder, Kashmiri chili powder and garam masala powder.Mix well until combined.

Add tomato and mix well until combined.Cook over medium flame until tomato turns mushy.

Next add the marinated chicken.Add more salt if required.Mix well.

Add sufficient quantity of water.Stir gently,cover and cook until chicken is tender.(Make sure you stir well in between to avoid burning)

Uncover and cook until the gravy turns slightly thick.Switch off the stove and add more curry leaves and drizzle 1 tsp coconut oil on top.Serve with rice / appam /chapathi/Porotta/Pattiri.

PRAWN ROAST

PRAWN ROAST

Ingredients
Prawns- cleaned and deveined- 2 cups
Mustard seeds-1/2 tsp
Ginger -crushed- 1 tsp
Garlic crushed- 1 tsp
Shallots -sliced- 1/2 cup
Coconut pieces-1/4 cup
Green chilies -cut vertically- 1 or 2  nos
Fenugreek seeds powder-1 pinch
Curry leaves- 1 sprig
Cococnut oil- as required

For marination

Chili powder- 2 tsp
Black pepper powder-1 tsp ( or to taste)
Turmeric powder-1/2 tsp
Coriander powder-1 tsp
Garam masala powder-3/4 to 1 tsp(homemade will be the best)
Salt to taste

How to prepare

Combine prawns with  all the ingredients for marination and keep aside for 16 to 20 minutes.

Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds,let it splutter.Now add ginger,garlic,shallots and coconut pieces.Saute for 2 or 3 minutes.

Now add green chilies and fenugreek powder.Mix well for few seconds.

Add the marinated prawns and curry leaves.Add more salt if required.Cover and cook over medium low heat, just until done.Add some more curry leaves ,if desired

MUTTON CURRY

MUTTON CURRY

Ingredients:
Mutton,cut into medium pieces-500 gms
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Ginger - garlic paste - 1 tsp
Green chilies,sliced - 1 ( or according to taste)
Shallots,sliced - 1/2 cup
Curry leaves - 1 or 2 sprigs
Water - as required
Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp
Curry leaves - 1 or 2 sprigs
Green chilies,sliced - 1 or 2( or according to taste)
Ginger,julienned - 1" piece
Garlic,sliced - 3 large cloves
Onion ,thinly sliced - 1 cup( 1 large)
Coconut,sliced - 2 to 3 tbsp
Chili powder - 1/4 to 1/2 tsp (optional)
Tomato,chopped - 1/4 cup( one small)
Coconut oil - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste
Oil - as required

To roast and grind:

Dry red chilies- 4 ( see notes)
Coriander seeds -1 and 1/2 tsp
Cinnamon - 1/2" piece
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Fennel seeds - 1/2 tsp
Cloves- 2
Black peppercorns - 1/2 to 3/4 tsp

How to cook:

Heat a heavy bottomed pan and dry roast all the ingredients listed under " To roast and grind",stirring continuously for 2 to 3 minutes.Allow this to cool completely and grind to form a fine powder.
In a pressure cooker add the prepared masala powder,mutton,turmeric powder,ginger-garlic paste,one green chili,shallots , curry leaves ,salt to taste and sufficient amount of water( about 3/4 to 1 cup).Cook until mutton is done.( For best result, cook covered in a heavy bottomed pan for about 45 to 60 minutes.).Set aside.
Heat oil in a claypot/manchatti.Add mustard seeds and let it splutter.Add curry leaves,green chilies,ginger and garlic.Saute for few seconds.

Next add onion and sliced coconut . Cook until onion turns soft ,stirring frequently .(Onions should turn really soft and  it will take about 15 to 18 minutes over medium low flame.)

Next add chopped tomato and mix well.
Cook until tomato turns mushy.Add kashmiri chili powder,if using and saute for about 1 minute.

Add the cooked mutton along with the stock into the onion mixture.Add more salt if required.Mix well  until combined.

Cover and cook over medium flame for about 10 to 12 minutes or until gravy turns thick.Finally add 1 tsp coconut oil and few curry leaves , switch off the stove.Serve with rice or Appam  or Ari pathiri or kerala parotta.

PALADA PAYASAM

PALADA PAYASAM

Rich and delicious dessert prepared using rice flakes,milk and sugar.

Ingredients:
Homemade ada,/coked ada,cut into very small pieces- 1 to 1.5 Cups(If you are using store bought ada ,use about 100 gms.For best results, use rice ada.)
Ghee - 3 tsp
Water - 4 cups( 1 ltr)
Milk - 4 cups( 1 ltr)
Sugar - 1cup( 200 gms or to taste)
Sugar,for caramel - 1 tbsp( optional)
Salt - 1 pinch

How to prepare:

Heat ghee in a pan,add water and bring it to a boil.
Once it starts to boil,add milk .
Add 1/4 cup sugar and cook over medium heat,stirring continuously until it comes to a boil.

Reduce the flame to medium low and cook till the volume is reduced to half( i.e 1 Ltr) and slightly thick ,for about 45 minutes.Stir well in between to avoid burning.Next add homemade ada and mix well.(If you are using store bought ada,soak 100 gms ada in hot water for 30 minutes.Cook it until soft and wash using cold water to remove the stickiness,drain and add it to the reduced/thickened milk).Cook for about 10 to 15  minutes over medium low flame or until you see ada-flakes on the surface of the payasam.

Now add the remaining 3/4 cup sugar and mix well.(Start with 1/2 cup sugar and add more according to your taste.).Cook for another 5 minutes or until the payasam turns slightly thick.Switch off the stove and transfer the payasam to a serving bowl after  about 10 minutes.

Optional Steps-Traditionally ,while making palada pradhaman the quantity of water used is double the quantity of milk.i.e 2 Ltrs of water for 1 Ltr milk.The water ,milk( 2 Ltr water + 1Ltr milk) and 1/4 of the total sugar mixture is cooked until it is reduced to 30% of the  initial quantity .i.e approx 900ml.When the water evaporates completely the colour of the milk changes to a pale pink.This may take almost 3 to 4 hours.However here i have reduced the quantity of water to 1 Ltr in order to cut down the cooking time and hence ,i could get only a pale cream colour ,as you can see in the picture above.In order to obtain the desired pale pink colour, caramel syrup can be added to the payasam.However the following steps are completely optional.

In a pan,melt 1.5 to 2 tbsp sugar .Gently swirl the pan for even cooking.
Cook over medium low heat until it turns deep amber.( make sure you do not burn it,or else payasam will turn bitter)Next add 1/4 cup hot water and mix well until combined.Switch off the stove and allow it to cool completely.

Add this caramel syrup to the payasam,starting with 2 tablespoons and add more as required.Mix well until combined.

Here you can see the colour difference before and after adding the caramel sauce.

 

MALABAR MUTTON BIRIYANI

MALABAR MUTTON BIRIYANI

Ingredients:

For Rice:
Basmati rice-2 cups
Ghee - as required
Cinnamon - 2" piece
Cloves - 4
Cardamom - 4
Bay leaf- 1
Boiling hot water- 4 cups
Salt - to taste

For Mutton Masala:
Ginger- 2" piece
Garlic - 6 large cloves
Green chilies - 7 to 10(according to taste- See notes)
Mutton,cleaned and cut into medium pieces - 500 gms
Garam masala- 1/2 tsp+1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp+1/4tsp
Black pepper powder- 1/2 tsp+ 1/2 tsp
Lemon juice - 1 tsp
Onion,sliced - 2.5 cups(5 medium)
Tomato,diced- 3/4 cup(1 large)
Fennel powder - 1/2 tsp
Yogurt - 2 tbsp
Curry leaves - 2 sprigs
Coriander leaves,chopped - 2 tbsp
Mint leaves,chopped - 1 tbsp
Salt- to taste
Oil/ghee- as required

For Layering/garnishing:

Onion,sliced- 1/2 cup( one medium)
cashew nuts - 2 tbsp
Raisins - 2 tbsp
Ghee - as required
Mint leaves,chopped - 1 tbsp
Coriander leaves - 2 tbsp
Garam masala- 1/8 tsp

Ghee - 1 to 2 tsp

Saffron (mixed with warm water )- 1 pinch(optional)

How to prepare:

To Prepare Rice:

Wash the rice until water runs clear.Soak rice in plenty of water  for about 20 minutes.Heat ghee in a pan.Add cinnamon,cloves cardamom and bay leaves.Saute until fragrant.Add the drained rice and fry for about 2 to 3 minutes ,stirring continuously.Pour the boiling hot water and add salt to taste.Cover and cook until it is 90 % done and water is completely absorbed.Fluff it up using a fork and keep aside until required.

To Prepare Mutton Masala:

Combine together ginger,garlic and green chilies in a blender and grind to form a coarse paste.
In a bowl combine together 1 tsp of the prepared ginger,garlic and green chili paste,mutton ,1/2 tsp garam masala,1/4 tsp turmeric powder,1/2 tsp black pepper powder , lemon juice and salt to taste.Keep aside for about 20 minutes.Heat oil in a pan and the onion and saute until it turns pale.Next add the remaining ginger,garlic and green chili paste.Saute until onion turns soft and golden brown.(Add 2 to 3 tbsp of water in between ,to avoid sticking/burning.)
Once onion turns golden brown ,add the cubed tomato and cook until it turns mushy.
Next add fennel powder,1/2 tsp garam masala,1/4 tsp turmeric powder and 1/2 tsp black pepper powder.Mix well until combined.Add the marinated mutton, yogurt and salt to taste, stir to combine.
Add curry leaves , cover and cook for about 40 to 50 minutes or until the mutton is tender.( Check in between and give it a stir to avoid burning.)

Finally add coriander and mint leaves.Mix well and switch off the stove.

For layering/garnishing:

Heat ghee in a pan and fry sliced onion,cashew nuts and raisins( for layering/garnishing) separately until it turns golden brown.Keep aside.

For layering ,take a heavy bottomed pan and add half of the prepared mutton masala.Add half of the rice over the masala.Sprinkle half of the fried onion,cashew nuts,raisins,coriander leaves,mint leaves  one pinch of garam masala and few drops of ghee.(Mix saffron with 1 tbsp warm water and drizzle on top if desired)

Add the remaining mutton masala followed by the remaining rice.
Sprinkle the remaining fried onion,cashew nuts,raisins,coriander leaves,mint leaves  one pinch of garam masala and few drops of ghee.(drizzle saffron water on top if desired)
Cover with a tight-fitting lid .Heat a heavy bottomed pan/tava and place the biriyani vessel on top.Reduce the flame to the lowest and cook for about 20 minutes.(Alternately you can bake the biriyani in a preheated oven @ 180 Deg C for  about 20 to 25 minutes.).Serve with raitha ,pickle and pappadom.

Please note the below

For best results use home made garam masala
Adjust the number of green chilies  according to your taste.I used about 15 to 18 green chilies as it was the less spicy variety.If you are using the spicy variety use 7 to 10 or according to your taste.

Appam

Appam is a famous dish from the keralite repertoire of south indian cooking. This recipe is an easy-to-make, instant version of the otherwise tough-to-make dish. Since yeast is used, the batter need not be fermented for long unlike the traditional version. Serve appam with slightly-sweetened coconut milk and vegetable korma or chicken currey or vegetable stew for a perfect meal!

Ingredients

• 2 cups raw rice
• 1/2 cup cooked rice
• 2 cups coconut milk
• 2 tsp sugar
• salt to taste
• 1/2 tsp yeast
• coconut oil or any other refined oil for cooking

 How to prepare

1,Wash and soak the rice for 2 to 3 hours. Drain.

2,Combine the soaked rice, cooked rice and ½ cup of coconut milk and blend in a mixer till smooth.

3, Add the sugar, remaining 1½ cups of coconut milk and salt and mix well.

4,Add a little lukewarm water to the yeast and mix well.

5, Add it to the rice mixture and mix well (the batter should be of dropping consistency). Cover and keep aside for 2 to 3 hours.

6,Heat an appam kadhai or a deep non-stick tava and grease it lightly with oil.

7,Pour a ladleful of the batter into it and slowly rotate the kadhai in a circular motion so that a thin layer forms on the side while the middle remains thick.

8,Cover and cook for a minute, remove the appam when the middle fluffy part is cooked.

9,Repeat for the remaining batter to make to make more appams.

10,Serve hot with vegetable korma , chicken currey or vegetable stew.

Kerala Egg Curry

Egg cuury is one of the favorite dish in kerala.This dish make an excellent accompaniment mailly with Appam,Puttu and iddi appam.Try to make and enjoy this easy and tasty dish.

Ingredients:

• 4 hard boiled eggs (peeled and cut into halves)
• 2 onions peeled and chopped
• 1 tomato chopped
• 4-5 green chilies
• 1 tsp ginger paste
• 1 tsp garlic paste
• 4-5 tbsps Shredded coconut
• 5-6 Green Chilis (to taste)
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp red chili powder
• pinch turmeric powder
• 1 sprig curry leaves
• 2 tsps tamrind paste (to taste)
• 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
• pinch asafoetida
• Salt
• Oil 

How to make

1,Boil the eggs, slice it on one side and keep aside.

2, Heat oil in a pan and dd mustard seeds.

3, When the mustard seeds start to splutter add asafoetida, green chillies, curry leaves and ginger and garlic paste and saute.

4, Add chopped tomatoes and saute.

5, Add chopped onions, turmeric powder, chili powder, cumin powder and coriander powder and saute well until the rawness of the masala is gone.

6 Add shredded coconut and tamrind paste and saute.

7, Add eggs and gently mix well. Taste and add salt if necessary.

8, Serve with appam, chappathi, parotta, rice, dosa or puttu

Puttu

Puttu is one of the common breakfast in Kerala. It is made out of rice flour and is cylindrical in shape. Puttu is made with the help of a Puttu maker. Puttu maker is a steamer which is cylindrical in shape. These are available in the grocery stores. Many people use idly moulds also to make puttu recipe.

                                      Ingredients  
                                                            2 cups of raw rice
                                                            1 cup of coconut
                                                            Salt to taste  

Soak the rice for two hours and strain it. Spread the rice in a cloth or a plate and allow them to dry. Grind the dried raw rice to a fine powder in the mixer. Mix salt in water and add the water little by little to the rice flour and mix it. You should be careful while mixing the water to the rice flour. It should not change to dough. It should be in a powdered form wet enough for steaming.

 Now add a fistful full of grated coconut in the puttu maker and then add the rice flour till half, then add another handful of coconut. This is done till you reach the top of the cylindrical shape.

 

 Close the puttu kutti and steam for 4-5minutes.

 Best combination for puttu is with kadala (chana) curry also suitable with banana,egg curry ,chicken curry,beef curry,payaru and pappadam
 Puttu is simple and very easy to make. Now a days you can get puttu powder ready made in all the stores.