Beans Beetrot stir fry!

Hello everybody!!! I am finally back after a long break...well actually, I'm still on vacation, woohoo!! The long disappearance was just coz I reached Dubai on Thursday and then in the excitment of seeing A, I temporarily forgot about u guys..sorry!! But nevertheless, I'm here finally with yet anther tasty treat. So, did u miss me? I hope u did..:P. This particular dish is one of A's favorites and something I sort of came up with on my own. The reason I say "sort of" is because I saw the original recipe on another website and then adapted it to the ingredients I had at home. The result is a simple, tasty and healthy dish that you can have with rice or chapathys. So, on to the recipe...

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 kilo beans, chopped into small pieces
• 1 medium sized beetroot, chopped finely
• 2 green chillies, finely chopped
• 1 medium sized onion, finely sliced
• 1/4" piece ginger, ground coarsely
• 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 2 teaspoons red chilly powder
• 1 teaspoon coriander powder
• 1/4 teaspoon mustard seeds
• 2 tablespoons coconut, grated
• Salt to taste
• Curry leaves, garnish

METHOD

• Boil beans in water for about 15 minutes with turmeric powder and salt. After this, let them cool under running water.
• While the beans cool, let the beetroot boil for 10 minutes till soft and the red colour almost goes.
• In a saucepan, heat a tablespoon and a half of oil and splutter mustard seeds.
• Add the ginger, curry leaves, green chillies and onions and saute till the raw smell goes. Add a little salt to cook the onions faster.
• Add the turmeric, coriander and chilly powder and sautee for a minute. Reduce the flame at this stage.
• Add beans at this stage, mix once and then close on a low flame for 5 minutes.
• Now add the beetroot, mix and close for another 5 minutes.
• Check salt levels at this stage.
• Add the coconut at this stage and close for another 5-7 minutes on a very low flame.
• Garnish with curry leaves.

Tada, beans beetroot stir fry is ready! Now, wasn't that simple? Even those who don't like veggies will surely love this one. Time for some pics....

So, what do u think? Not bad, right..try it out and let me know how it turns out. Till next time, God bless!

"Almost" Oil Free Fish Curry!

Ok...I know, I know..the post title looks weird, but I promise you, I have a really good reason for that. This particular fish curry was born in "Malabar", a district in Kerala, specifically in a place called "Ponnani". Th reason I call this almost oil free is because, the making involves absolutely no oil. However, the final tempering process does involve a bit of oil as you will see in the Method below. Whatever the case, it's a really simple curry to make, and tastes awesome too, especially the next day, since it contains tamarind. However, I would recommend not keeping it for more than 2 days since it does contain coconut milk. Then again, I don't think the curry will last 2 days..he he! I got this recipe from "Mazhavil manorama" and the aunty who prepared it was Sushama aunty. So aunty, if at all you are reading this, this one's for you!

INGREDIENTS 

• 1 kilo fish- I used Salmon, but you can also use Black Pomfret, Kingfish, Trout or any other fleshy fish
• 1 teaspoon ginger, chopped finely
• 5 garlic pods, chopped finely
• 12 shallots, chopped finely
• 2 tablespoons red chilly powder
• 1 tablespoon coriander powder
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
• Tamarind, the size of a small lemon, soaked in 1/2 a cup of warm water (Valan puli)
• 1 cup thick coconut milk
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds (perinjeerakam)- optional
• Few curry leaves
• Salt to taste

Tempering

• 2 tablespoons oil
• Few curry leaves
• 5-6 shallots chopped finely

METHOD

• Make a paste of the chilly, coriander and turmeric powders and set aside.
• Before placing the saucepan on the stove, add the ginger, garlic, the curry paste, few curry leaves, the tamarind pulp, the fish fillets and the salt to taste.
• Pour a little water in the bowl containing the curry paste and add this to the pan so as not to waste any of the paste.
• Place this on the stove, and wait for it to boil properly, before reducing the flame and cooking it for 10-12 minutes on a low flame.
• Grind the shallots with a few curry leaves coarsely using a mortar and pestle or a grinder. It need not be a fine paste.
• Mix the above mixture with the coconut milk and add to the curry. Once coconut milk, the curry should not boil, it should just become warm.
• Check for salt levels.
• Meanwhile, in a frying pan, add the ingredients under "Tempering" and fry till shallots turn brown.
• Add this to the curry as a garnish. You can also mix this in slightly as it gives more flavour to the curry.

Tada, fish curry is ready! So now do you know why I said it's almost oil free? I had this with rice and pickle as you can see below. You can also have this with chappathys, appam or bread. Whatever, it tastes delicious!

So, what do you think? Try it out and let me know, okay? God bless!

French Toast!

I woke up on Sunday morning, my stomach grumbling and crying out for food. And I went down memory lane to the time when mom used to make french toast for us as kids...she still does actually whenever we go home! Of course, nothing can beat mom's taste, but I was desperately craving for french toast, so much so that I ran down to the grocer's like as if my behind was on fire, got a pack of bread and got cooking. Seriously, even the girl in there was wondering whether to call an ambulance for me..he he! Anyways, french toast is really basic and am sure all of you know how to do it, but this is for all those newbies in the world of cooking. I remember the first time I made this after we got married and I burnt it, but my poor A still happily ate it. So A darling, this one's for you!

INGREDIENTS

• 3 slices of bread
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup of milk
• 4-5 tablespoons granulated sugar. If using icing sugar, 2-3 tablespoons
• 3 tablespoons butter, to fry
• Icing sugar for dusting (optional)

METHOD

• Beat the eggs and add milk and sugar to this. Set this aside for 5 minutes.
• Heat the butter in the frying pan.
• Reduce the flame to medium-low, soak the bread in the egg milk mixture and fry for 2 minutes on each side, till both sides are golden brown.
• Repeat the same step for the other 2 pieces.
• Garnish with a bit of icing sugar (optional).
• Serve hot.

The pics, for your viewing pleasure!

What do u think of the pics? Looks yummy, no?? If any of you make french toast, do take pics and send them across too! Take care u guys!

Potato - Carrot Stir fry [Potato Carrot Mezhukkaparatti]!

It's time for my "once in a blue moon" vegetarian recipe..he he! I have always been very poor with veggies, as I have mentioned in the past. A's just the opposite..always needs atleast one veggie side dish. This is yet another dish I adapted from sarah's blog, vazhayilla.com. So, I'm dedicating this dish to both Sarah and A. This is a really simple, no nonsense dish where you cannot go wrong. I have made a few minor changes, but the recipe is still the same. Here we go...

INGREDIENTS

• 4 potatoes, chopped into cubes
• 1 large carrot or 2 small carrots, grated finely
• 1 medium sized onion or 2 small onions, finely sliced
• Garlic- 3 small cloves, chopped
• 2 green chillies, chopped finely
• 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1/2 teaspoon chilly powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garam masala (All spice powder)
• 3 tablespoons water
• 1/4 teaspoon mustard seeds
• Salt to taste
• Curry leaves, garnish
• 2 tablespoons oil

METHOD

• Heat the oil and splutter mustard seeds.
• Add the garlic, green chillies and curry leaves and fry for a minute.
• Add the onions and sautee till tehy turn semi transparent and the raw smell goes. Add a little salt at this stage.
• Now add the turmeric, chilly and garam masala powders. Fry for a few seonds.
• Add some water at this stage.
• Now add the grated carrot and toss for a few swconds.
• Add the potatoes and more salt.
• Cover for about 10 minutes on a low flame.
• Check for salt levels.
• Garnish with curry leaves and a teaspoon of oil.

Tada, potato carrot stir fry is ready! Here are the pics.

So, what do you think? Try it out and let me know, okay?? Take care and God bless!

Fish cooked in aluminium foil [Meen pollichathu]!

Good morning everybody...Hope all my dear people out there had a great weekend and I hope u guys have an even greater week ahead! I woke up with a smile on my face today...any guesses??? Well, next week, I shall finally be seeing A after 2 whole months..woohoo!!! I cannot wait to get back to Dubai and see A and everyone else, but most importantly, A of course! Enough of that already..the title of my post must look funny to some of you, if not all, but once u make this, I'm sure u'll be drooling as much as I did. This is a very traditional Kerala dish and is cooked with very minimum oil, so it's healthy too! The recipe is adapted from Sarah Naveen's www.vazhayilla.com site. So Sarah dear, because you were the first ever member of this blog, this one's for you! So, don't you want to know how to make this? Read on...

INGREDIENTS

• 2 medium sized fish fillets, cleaned thoroughly with salt, vinegar and lime juice. I used salmon fillets, but you can also use king fish, tilapia, pomfret and even sardines.
• 10 shallots, finely chopped
• 1/4 inch piece of ginger, finely chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 green chillies, slit through the middle
• Turmeric powder- 1/4 teaspoon
• Chilly powder- 1/2 teaspoon
• Coriander powder- 1 teaspoon
• Tomato- 1 medium sized, chopped into small cubes
• 1/2 cup thick coconut milk
• Salt to taste
• Loads of curry leaves

For Marination

• 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1/2 teaspoon chilly powder
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper powder
• Salt to taste

METHOD

• Marinate the fillets with the ingredients under "For Marination" and set aside for at least 15-20 minutes. Lightly fry this in a teaspoon of oil and set aside.
• In a separate pan, heat 2 tablespoons of oil and saute the garlic cloves, green chillies and ginger.
• After a minute, add the shallots and saute till there's a nice aroma, and the onions turn semi transparent. Add a little salt at this stage.
• Now add, the turmeric, coriander and chilly powders and cook till the raw smell goes and oil starts to separate from the powders.
• Add the tomato at this stage. Saute till everything gets mashed together.
• Finally, add the coconut milk and lower the flame. Let it stand for 2 minutes and then switch off the flame. Check salt levels.
• Now place the fish fillet at the centre of the aluminium foil and coat both sides of the fish with the masala mixture. Each fillet should have it's own aluminium foil. Cover it completely to ensure that no gravy can slip out.
• Now fry this in the frying pan without any oil for at least 20 minutes on each side on an extremely low flame.

Meen pollichathu is ready! I still had a bit of gravy left on my fish, but I enjoyed it coz the gravy was amazing, trust me. You can also use a banana leaf which would have even more flavour. Now for the photos..

And another one..

As you can see, there was a little gravy still, but it still tasted very good. So, do try this out n let me know how it turns out! God bless!

Grandma's chicken curry!

Seeing the title of my post, you must be probably thinking that this is how my grandma cooks chicken curry. She probably did, I'm not sure. I actually got this recipe from "Kiran TV", and thought it looked pretty interesting. Probably a bit time consuming but definitely worth it. And of course, being the lazy bugger that I am, I did resort to a few short cut methods. Trust me though, it was scrumptious. I normally use onions only for my chicken curry, but here I have used a combination of both shallots and onions. Perhaps, the biggest surprise I had was the fact that there were no tomatoes used for this curry. In fact, nothing tangy whatsoever. And since I always like my curries tangy, I improvised and added some lemon juice. So, curious about the dish? Read on then...

INGREDIENTS- For Marination

•  500 gms chicken
• 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 2 teaspoons red chilly powder
• 2 teaspoons coriander powder
• 1 teaspoon black pepper powder
• Pinch of fennel seeds (optional)
• Juice of 1 lemon
• Salt to taste

INGREDIENTS- For Cooking

• 2 tablespoons oil
• 1/4 teaspoon mustard seeds
• 10 shallots-finely chopped
• 1 medium sized onion-finely chopped
• 2 teaspoons ginger garlic paste
• 3 green chillies finely chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1 teaspoon red chilly powder
• 1 teaspoon coriander powder
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper powder
• 1 teaspoon garam masala powder
• 1 cup thin coconut milk
• 1 cup thick coconut milk
• 1/4 cup water
• Salt to taste

INGREDIENTS- For Garnish

• 5 tablespoons coconut grated
• 1/4 teaspoon mustard seeds
• 2 dried red chillies (optional- I did not use this)
• 2 tablespoons oil

METHOD

• Clean the chicken thoroughly. The final wash should be with vinegar, salt and lemon juice to get rid of the smell and to have a nice glaze.
• Marinate the chicken with the ingredients under "For Marination" and set aside. Set this aside before you start chopping the shallots,ginger,garlic and green chillies. It should be marinated for at least 20 minutes.
• Heat oil and splutter mustard seeds.
• Add chopped shallots and onion followed by the ginger garlic paste and green chillies. Saute till the raw smell disappears and the onions start to turn brown. Add salt and curry leaves at this stage.
• Once the onions have turned brown, reduce the flame and add the turmeric, coriander,black pepper and garam masala powders.
• After a minute add the red chilly powder.
• Once they cook, add water and saute till the oil separates from the spices.
• Now add the thin coconut milk. For this, mix 2 1/2 tablespoons coconut milk powder with 1 cup hot water.
• Cover and cook on a medium flame for 15 to 20 minutes.
• Once the chicken is cooked, check salt levels.
• Now add the thick coconut milk and wait for it to just boil once. Switch off the flame.
• In a frying pan, heat oil, splutter mustard seeds and fry curry leaves and coconut till it turns brown.
• Add this to the chicken curry and mix in.

  Tada, grandma's chicken curry is ready. I have taken just one. I feel that the curry covers the whole chicken. Sorry about that. Next pics will be more clear, promise!

You can have this with appam, chapathys, bread or even rice. Try it out and let me know how it turns out! BTW, in case you haven't noticed, The stats have crossed 1200 and we're still going. So on that note, I would like to dedicate this recipe to all you lovely people out there. Love u guys!! God bless!

Green Chilly Rasam!

Of late I believe there has been a fish overdose in my blog. In fact, I believe there has been a non veg overdose in my blog..he he! So in the interest of my herbivores friends, and to prove to everyone that I am not a cannibal and that I can be an animal lover when I want to, I decided to make a very popular south Indian spicy soup.

There are so many different varieties of rasam- lemon rasam, garlic rasam, tomato rasam, pepper rasam...the list is endless. I saw this particular recipe on a popular Malayalam channel, "Asianet Plus" and thought it was something different because I have not heard of this particular variety before. I'm glad I tried it out, coz the result was something spicy and tangy and just purrrfect! Rice, rasam and pickle....aah, another combination that comes under the "comfort food" category. So, before I bore you any more, here's the recipe...

INGREDIENTS

• 4 green chillies- cut into small round pieces
• 4 garlic cloves, chopped finely
• 1/4 inch piece of ginger, chopped finely
• A small piece of tamarind, the size of a small lemon, immersed in half a cup of hot water. If using tamarind paste, 1 tablespoon.
• 1 cup hot water
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper powder
• 1/4 teaspoon asafoetida powder (optional- I did not use this)
• 1 tablespoon oil
• Salt to taste
• Curry leaves- loads!

METHOD

• Heat a tablespoon of oil. To this add green chillies, followed by garlic and ginger. Saute this until the raw smell disappears.
• Add a few curry leaves and some salt at this stage.
• Now add the tamarind water to this and continue stirring till it starts boiling profusely.
• Add the water and check salt levels.
• Leave this for 2 minutes, allowing the tamarind pulp and salt to be absorbed in this mixture.
• At this stage, add the pepper powder and the asafoetida and stir.
• After about 2 minutes, switch of the stove and garnish with curry leaves.

Tada, rasam is ready! Normally coriander leaves are used to give that extra smell to the rasam. I have omitted that though and used curry leaves instead. Do try this out and let me know your thoughts! oh, almost forgot..the pics!

God bless!

Meen tilapichathu- Cochin style fish curry!

Hello all! Hope everyone had a great weekend! On Sunday, I thought of making a fish curry in dedication to someone who has become a very good friend of mine, thanks to my blog :). Her name is Suja Manoj and she has an awesome blog called Kitchen Corner. In fact, this particular recipe is from her blog. I actually got introduced to this recipe through my mother in law since my husband is from Cochin. So I'm dedicating this recipe to Mumma and Suja. Enjoi!

INGREDIENTS

• 500 gms tilapia fillets (You can also use pomfret and red snapper).
• 11 shallots
• 1/4 inch piece ginger, chopped finely
• 4 pods of garlic, chopped finely
• 2 green chillies, slit through the centre
• 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 2 teaspoons red chilly powder
• 1 cup water
• 3 teaspoons vinegar
• Salt to taste
• Curry leaves-generous amount
• Oil-2 tablespoons

METHOD

• Heat 2 tablespoons of oil.
• Once oil is sufficiently heated, add the garlic, ginger, green chillies and saute till the raw smell disappears.
• Now add shallots and a few curry leaves. Saute till the shallots begin to change colour and they give out a nice aroma. Add some salt at this stage.
• Reduce the flame and add the turmeric powder followed by the red chilly powder. Fry for a few seconds.
• Now add the water and vinegar. Check salt levels at this stage.
• Once the water starts boiling, add the fish.
• After it boils for a minute, reduce the flame to medium and cover. Cook for about 10-12 minutes or till the fish is done.
• Garnish with fresh curry leaves and a teaspoon of oil.

Tada, fish curry is ready!! This curry is perfect with rice, appams, chapathys and bread. So, here's the final result, straight from the pan.

Straight from the pan!

And a closeup!

This is a really simple and healthy curry, as is evident from the recipe. So do try it out. Am sure you will enjoy tis! Till next time, God bless!

Fish Fry Kerala style!

I don't know if I have ever mentioned this before, but my all time favorite comfort food (apart from icecream) is rice, moru and fish fry. So today I was in the mood to indulge and went and bought myself some fresh tilapia fillets. I fried 2 of them and have reserved the rest for a nice fish curry. Different people make fish fry differently, so if you feel that there are ways to improve this fry, please do let me know. Enough with the speech already, let's get frying!

INGREDIENTS

• 2 medium sized fish fillets, thoroughly cleaned with vinegar, salt and lime. Any fish can be used.
• 2 teaspoons ginger garlic paste. If using fresh ginger and garlic, grind a quarter inch piece of ginger and 3 cloves of garlic. I used the ready made paste.
• 2 teaspoons red chilly powder
• 1 teaspoon black pepper powder
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
• Juice of 1 small lemon
• Salt to taste
• Curry leaves-frying and garnish
• 4 tablespoons oil

METHOD

Marinate the fish with all the above ingredients except curry leaves and set aside for at least 30 minutes. In a saucepan, heat 4 tablespoons of oil. Once hot, add curry leaves and fry for 20 seconds. Add the marinated fish and fry each side for at least 3 minutes till light brown and crispy. Garnish with more curry leaves and serve hot with rice.

So, here's my lunch...

And a close up...

Do try it out and let me know how it turned out. Happy weekend and God bless!