A delicious lunch

Lunch with veggies and meat.
Cooked red bold rice, it is having high fibre content.
Carrot and beans stir fry is sweet and fibrous.
Beef roast with thick gravy is best suited with rice.

Five grain Dosa

Black gram, 1 cup, rice 2 cups, toordal 1 cup, red gram 1/2 cup, chick pea 1/2 cup. Soak the ingredients for 6 hours. Grind it into a smooth batter. Add chopped curry leaves, a tbsp. ginger, and a green chilli. Combine well, add salt to taste. Heat a dosa pan, and prepare thick or thin dosa as you like.
Serve with green chilli chutney.
Grated coconut 1 cup, green chilli 3, shallots 3, cumin seeds 1/2 tsp., chopped cilantro 1/2 handful, salt to taste.
Grind the ingredients in a little water to a thick coarse mix.
Heat a tbsp. coconut oil in a shallow pan, splutter 1/2 tsp. mustard seeds followed by a sprig of curry leaves, add the chutney and to bubble in low flame.

Mussels Roast

Fresh water mussels 1 kg. Clean thoroughly. Steam cook and allow to cool it. Take the flesh out of the shell and clean them.
Shallots 250 g., garlic 6 cloves, both thinly sliced, curry leaf a sprig, chilli flakes 1 tbsp., cherry tomatoes 12, coconut oil 3 tbsp.
Heat the coconut oil in a shallow wok, drop in shallots and salt to taste, stir for a minute followed by curry leaves and garlic. Sauté  till it is cooked, add chilli flakes, cherry tomatoes, stir for 30 seconds followed by mussels and stir till the mix is thoroughly combined with the mussels. Serve with chapatti or rice.

Egg plant stir fry

  Egg plant 1/2 kg., onion 1, Red capsicum 1, all three sliced.
Coconut oil 4 tbsp., salt to taste, curry leaf a sprig.
Heat the oil, drop in onion and salt. Sauté the onion till tender, add egg plant slices, allow to stew. Add capsicum, allow to stew. Reduce the flame to low, and allow to cook till tender. Serve with chapatti or rice.

Village Style Chicken fry

Whole Chicken 1, cut into medium small pieces.

For Marinating

Shallots 10, garlic clove 7, ginger 2 inch pc., green chilli 3.

Cinnamon 2 inch, fennel seeds 1 tbsp., cloves 4, cardamom 2 pods, star anise 1, black pepper 1 tbsp., coriander 1 tbsp., Kashmiri chilli 7, curry leaf a sprig. Dry fry the spices and grind it along with the condiments into a paste. Add juice of a lime and salt to taste in the paste.

Marinate the chicken pieces with the paste and refrigerate for two hours.

Coconut oil as required. Deep fry the chicken and serve hot with cucumber slices sprinkled with lime juice and salt.  

 

Karumure (A Traditional pancake of Kerala)

Black lentil splits 1 cup,
Raw white rice 2 cups,
Green lentils 1 cup,
Chick peas 1 cup, Fenugreek seeds 1/4 cup.
Soak the ingredients for 6 hours. Grind it into a semi-thick batter.
Chilli flakes 2 tbsp., chopped ginger 2 tbsp., curry leaves 2 sprigs, salt to taste. Add all these to the batter. Combine well. Make the pan cake on a flat non stick pan. Apply ghee on one side after making the pancake. Serve the pancakes with coconut chutney.
 

Rice pan cake and egg roast

Rice Pan cake (Thin appam)
Raw rice 2 cups, soak for 6 six hours, grated coconut 1 cup, yeast 1 tsp., cooked rice 1 tbsp. Grind the ingredients in a mixer into a fine batter. Allow to ferment by keeping for 5 hours.
Heat a non sticky pan, pour a ladle of batter, spread thin and cook both sides.
Egg Roast
Egg 8, boil cook, allow to cool in cold water, peel shell off, slice quarter lengthwise and keep aside.
onion 2, green chilly 3, garlic cloves 6, all three thinly sliced, chilli powder 1tsp., coriander powder 1 tbsp., turmeric powder 1/2 tsp., coconut oil 2 tbsp., salt to taste, curry leaf a sprig, coconut milk 1 cup, garam masala 1/2 tsp.
Heat oil in a shallow pan, drop in curry leaf, onion, garlic and green chilly,
 sauté till tender, add salt and curry powders, stir for 30 seconds. Add coconut milk. Allow to bubble. Add egg pcs., allow to soak well in low flame. Serve hot.
Excellent dish for dinner.
 

Fish fries and salad as a meal

Trevally & sardine fry along with fresh cucumber & carrot salad

Sea food are healthy. Rich in omega 3 fatty acids fish are heart friendly, especially sardines. Veggies are rich source of vitamins and minerals. So why not fish and fresh veggies as a main meal? So here is a suggestion for sea food lovers.

Puttu (Steam stick) with chicken

Chicken mix preparation
Chicken boneless 250g., cut into small cubes, shallots 50g., garlic 4 cloves, ginger a small pc., all three thinly sliced, chicken masala 2 tsp., salt to taste., coconut oil 2 tbsp. Heat the oil in a shallow wok. Sauté the shallots, garlic and ginger, add chicken masala, stir for 30 seconds, add chicken pcs., and cook well without juice.
Puttu Preparation
Puttu rice flour 250g., warm water as required, salt to taste. Sprinkle water into the flour and make it into a moist mix.
Put enough water in the puttu maker and allow to boil. Fill the puttu case with chicken mix, moist puttu mix, chicken, flour like that allow to steam cook. Push out the cooked puttu with a rod and serve hot. Excellent for dinner.
 

A lunch buffet at home

Mega lunch
Aappam, egg roast, tapioca & fish curry, fresh cucumber and carrot salads, fish and chicken fries, rice with veggies, sambar, ash gourd pulissery and pickles.

 Desert was simple vanilla ice cream. All the items are home made. These type of lunch can be find at home only. Because the special ingredient 'love' for the guests is the taste secret.

Jackfruit chicken mix

Jackfruit cloves 500g., sliced.
Chicken boneless 250 g., onion 1, green chilli 4,ginger 1 inch pc., garlic cloves 5, all thinly sliced, curry leaf a sprig, salt to taste, chicken curry masala a tbsp. Combine chicken and the rest of the ingredients,, pressure cook for a whistle. Add jackfruit and allow to cook in the chicken mix. Adjust salt and serve hot.
The preparation is so simple. The taste is so delicious.

Mystus (Koori) curry and Dosai

Committee members AIWC, Aluva

 After a one day beautiful Aqua tourism trip at Malippuram in Kochi by our committee members of All India Women's Conference, Aluva we had the opportunity to buy fresh fish.
The trip was fantastic starting from welcome drink to walking in a mangrove, a boat ride experiencing fish jump and a delicious lunch with sea food and desert.
On the way back I bought a kilogram of fresh catch of Koori (Mystus). For me it is very hard to clean. Now a days we are too lucky to have cleaned and cut fish from the market. Being the catching spot there was no cleaning and cutting facility for the moment. Took it as a challenge. Prepared the fish in red chilli sauce. Preparation was so easy.

Mystus in red chilli sauce

Crisp and thick dosai

Red sauce preparation
Shallots 6, garlic cloves 2, ginger a small piece, curry leaf a sprig, salt to taste, coconut oil 2 tbsp., Gamboge 4 cloves, Kashmiri chilli powder 2 tbsp., fenugreek powder 1/2 tsp.
Heat the oil in an earthen wok, drop in the ingredients except chilli & fenugreek, stir till sautéed, add powders, stir for 30 seconds, add a cup of water, allow to boil. Add fish pieces, allow to boil, simmer the flame and allow to cook well. Adjust salt.
   Being a day out I searched for what to have as a side with the curry. Grabbed the dosai batter and prepared thick but crispy dosai brushing sesame oil in the pan.
The dinner was so nice with fresh catch with so fresh taste with the hot and crispy dosai with the sharing of lovely experience with my friends during the day.

Special Vadakara seafood @ our friends

With our lovely hostess and host

simple sardine fry

Sweet home

 Me and my husband are very fond of seafood. A surprise visit to my friend
 Mrs Geetha Sridharan's home at Vadakara at the time of lunch I got the opportunity to taste some of the true village delicacies of seafood at her home.

Lovely chat with tea and snacks

The real cooking magic is of ammamma

I have already posted these dishes in my blog. It is so nice to experience the taste of food from South to North of our State. It reveals the variety of cooking magic's that can woke up our taste buds if you are a food lover and ready to accept the change. I love to travel through out the State to experience the true taste of the places. Thanks Geetha for the tasty dishes. Sorry dear, I missed the picture of the mussel fry you made as a starter for dinner that day. It was a wonderful experience to stay with you visiting your relatives. No wonder we experience the love through chat and food. Thank you both for the nice stay and great experience.

Sardines in red chilli

Jackfruit clam mix

Seer fish fry along with veggies and pickle

Prawns in yogurt

Prawns in curd

Prawns small, peeled and cleaned 300g.
Mango medium 1, peeled and sliced, tomato 1, sliced thinly, green chilli 5, silted, curry leaf a sprig. Cook these ingredients in a low flame.
Yogurt 1 cup.
Grated coconut 1 cup, shallots 3, cumin 1/4 tsp., turmeric powder 1/2 tsp., red chilli 7, salt to taste. Grind these ingredients into a fine paste.
Add the coconut paste into the cooked prawns in low flame, allow the raw taste to disappear. Add whisked yogurt and allow to bubble. Adjust salt and garnish with spluttered mustard seeds and curry leaves in a tbsp. of coconut oil. Serve with rice.

Sardines in chilli

Sardines 1 kg. Clean it with head and tail off. Sprinkle with salt and keep it aside.
Red chilli powder 2tbsp., turmeric powder 1/3 tsp., coriander powder 1 tsp., fenugreek powder 1/2 tsp., salt to taste, tomato 2, sliced, tamarind concentrate 2 tsp., shallots 4, garlic cloves 2, ginger 1 inch piece, all three finely chopped. Coconut oil 1 tbsp., curry leaf a sprig.
Add the ingredients in a wok, mix it in a cup of water, allow to boil, add sardines, allow to cook, when cooked add tomato and curry leaf. Allow to simmer. Add coconut oil. Swirl the wok to get the coconut oil spread through out in the thick curry. It's so delicious to have with rice or tapioca.

Simple Sardine fry

Sardines 1/2 kg. Cleaned with head and tail off.
Red chilli powder 1tbsp., lemon juice 2 tbsp., salt to taste. Combine the ingredients into a paste. if needed sprinkle some water. Marinate the sardines and keep for an hour.
 Coconut oil as required.
Heat the oil in a shallow pan, pop in the sardines. Fry both the sides and serve hot as a snack with green or black tea or along with rice for lunch.

Jackfruit clams mix

 Clams with shell 300g., cleaned.
Jackfruit cloves 1/2 kg., sliced. Turmeric powder 1/2 tsp.
 Steam cook both the ingredients with salt to taste.
Keep it aside along with juices left.
Grated coconut 1 cup, green chilli 2, shallots 2. garlic cloves 2, cumin seeds 1/4 tsp. Grind all these ingredients into a coarse mix. Add it to the steam cooked jackfruit. In a low flame combine the mix together along with the curry leaves. Adjust salt. Add a tbsp. of coconut oil and mix well. Ready to serve directly or along with a pickle or chutney. 

Crab in shell with cherry tomatos

Crab 1, clean, separate limbs, take the inner body out. Just steam cook and keep it aside.
Shallots a handful,  garlic 2 cloves, ginger 1 inch, all sliced thinly.
Coriander powder 2tsp., turmeric powder 1/4 tsp., black pepper powder 1/2 tsp., salt to taste, coconut oil 1 tbsp., cherry tomatoes as you like.
Heat coconut oil, sauté the shallots, garlic and ginger along with salt to taste. When sautéed and aroma spreads add the condiments and spice, stir for 30 seconds, add the crab pieces, combined with the gravy, if need add a little boiling water to get the gravy spread thoroughly. When fully cooked add the tomatoes, allow to heat it in simmer flame and it is done. Transfer the contents in a serving tray with the balance gravy in the shell. Serve with bun or roti.
 

Taste of Rajastan at Kingdom of Dreams....

 The dishes we had at Kingdom of Dreams. The food was mild, delicious and nutritious.

Fresh catch of Mackerel Roast...

Fresh catch of Mackerel 2, cleaned and striped.
Marinade.....Green pepper 1 spike, garlic cloves 6, ginger 2 inch piece, chopped, shallot 5, sliced, lime juice 2 tbsp., turmeric powder 1/4 tsp., salt to taste. Grind the ingredients coarsely.
Marinate mackerel and keep for half an hour. Pour a tea spoon coconut oil, drop in half tsp. mustard seeds, allow to splutter and light brown both the sides of the fish in a non sticky pan brushing coconut oil.
Tomato 1, onion 1, both thinly sliced, curry leaf a sprig, pepper powder 1/2 tsp., salt to taste.
Add these ingredients along with the fish, sauté it and cook it in the pan along with little coconut oil. Serve hot to enjoy the freshness of fish.

The best Kebab at Karim's....

During a visit with my friends at New Delhi we dined at Karim's Food in Karol Bhag. We had kebab, biryani, chicken akbari, tandoor chicken, plain rice and salad along with the special herbal chutney. It was so delicious with great culinary memories. All of us were in the same opinion even though the wait period was a little long and the items were expensive. If I am asked to rate the dishes first place goes to the super duper tasty kebabs. It is a real paradise of kebabs.

Hibiscus flower drink

 The dried hibiscus flowers are available in HEB, SA.
Dried flower a cup, wash and soak it in a little water, sugar 1/2 cup, sugar you can regulate with your taste, water 6 cups.
Boil a cup of water, add the soaked flower cook it, drain the liquid, add sugar and allow to boil. Add the balance water and allow to boil. Cool it or drink in in warm as you like. Please adjust the volume of water to get your like of concentration. It is healthy so also tasty.

A traditional and authentic Mexican Dinner

main course. Chicken mole, corn taco and rice

welcome drinks. hibiscus and lemonade

rice pudding

We were invited by our neighbour for dinner. The true Mexican dinner was a real experience to know about their cuisine. The highlight of the dinner was everything was home made with a special ingredient 'love'.
The hibiscus drink is awesome. The lemonade taste is freshness.
The chicken mole with an ingredient chocolate was a first time taste. It went well with the special rice cooked in chicken broth and the authentic corn taco.
The deserts were rice pudding and flan. The special ingredient cinnamon in the rice pudding gave a new taste and flavour. Although we were familiar with flan, Oh this was so creamy and cheesy with great taste.
It was really great. Thank you my friend!

Flan

A healthy dinner with Veggies and Fish Pattie

Frozen assorted veggie pack 2lbs., ( capsicum, zucchini, carrot etc.)onion 1, garlic cloves 3, both thinly sliced.
Frozen Fish Pattie 4, coconut oil 1 tbsp.
Heat the oil in a wok, drop in onion and garlic, sauté till tender, add the veggies and salt to taste, sauté till it is tender. Veggies ready.
In a pan fry both the sides. Dinner ready Serves for four.

A Yogurt Curry with carrot

I had this yogurt curry at my friend's home. This curry is so simple to prepare and is delicious.
Carrot 2, peeled and cubed, yogurt 2 cups, mustard seeds 1/2 tsp., dried chilli 1, curry leaf a sprig, salt to taste, fenugreek powder 1/4 tsp., coconut oil 2 tsp. Cook the carrot until it is soft.
Grated coconut quarter cup, cumin seeds 1/2 tsp., green chilli 2, grind the three ingredients into a soft paste, add carrot and blend into the mix. Add half cup of water to make it liquid. In a small wok, heat the liquid, add the whisked yogurt, salt to taste and fenugreek seed powder. Allow to bubble. In a pan heat the oil, drop in mustard seeds, allow to splutter, add dried chilli followed by curry leaves. Pour the garnish mix to the yogurt curry. It is ready to serve with rice.

Egg platter for a great snack

Hen's egg, hard boiled, peeled and halved. Arrange the eggs on a platter with cut side up. Sprinkle wit your favourite masala powder.
Sprinkle with lemon juice over the eggs according to your taste. Finally garnished it simply with chilli powder and salt to taste. So simple, tasty and healthy!

A great fruit and veggie snack...

Cucumber slices, pineapple cubes, both 2 cups each.
Chilli powder 1/2 tsp., salt to taste, sugar a tsp. Mix the powders.
Arrange fruit and veggies on a platter. Sprinkle the salty sugary spicy powder for better taste. A great snack idea.

Karnataka delights...Kadubu and Namkeen with curry

Last Sunday we were invited to our friend's home for lunch. They are from Karnataka. We were honoured with two authentically Karnataka dishes for the lunch. I had never tasted these two dishes even I had visited Karnataka and Mangalore for several times. It was Kadubu and Namkeen. Chicken curry in coconut paste went well with both the dishes. Besides we had chicken biryani, chapatti along with side dishes raita, pickles and yogurt.


Namkeen & chicken curry



Kadubu with chicken and chickpeas curry

Kadubu is prepared with rawa and steam cooked.
Namkeen is a kind of roti. When the gravy in poured on the roti, it gets soaked and melted in mouth.
We had chicken curry with Namkeen. It was so delicious. The taste of black pepper powder was the high light of chicken curry with the buttery taste of grinded coconut. Both the new dishes are delicious and healthy. Along with the curry the dishes are well balanced in nutrients. Adding the pictures of the special dishes of Karnataka we had in the lunch.

Kadubu....A Mangalorean snack

Idli rawa 1 cup, rice flour 1 tsp., salt to taste, crushed cumin 1/2 tsp., grated coconut a handful.
Boil 2 cups of water, add the ingredients and cook it in low flame to make it a dough. Allow to cool, in a warm state start making small patties out of the dough with your moist hands and steam cook for three minutes.  Serve the snack with your favourite curry. Non vegetarians can have chicken curry and vegetarians can have with chickpeas curry. It is yummmm. We tasted this dish at the home of our Karnataka friend.

Seer fish curry with cherry tomatoes and coconu milk...

Seer fish cubes 3 lbs., kokum (Garcinia indica) 12 cloves, soaked in water for an hour, Kashmiri chilli powder 3 tbsp., coriander powder 3 tsp., turmeric powder 1 tsp., fenugreek powder 1 tsp., salt to taste.
Shallots 12, garlic cloves 6, ginger 2 inch piece, all three thinly sliced, coconut oil 2 tbsp., curry leaves 2 sprigs, jalapeno 2, sliced, coconut milk a cup.
Heat oil in a shallow wok, drop in the cherry tomatoes, allow to become a little tender. Take out the tomatoes and keep aside. In the balance oil drop in half curry leaves, onion, garlic and ginger and saute till tender. Add the curry powders except fenugreek, saute for 30 seconds, add salt and kokum along with 2 cups of water. Allow to boil. add fish pieces, allow to boil add the tomatoes and cook in low flame. Add coconut milk, fenugreek powder and balance curry leaves into the curry, allow to bubble for three minutes. Adjust salt and garnish with sliced jalapeno.