One of the dishes I had been wanting to try for the past 5 years was tender coconut pudding. For making this I needed fresh tender coconut, which was not available in the US. But here in my hometown tender coconut is abundant.

Tender coconut water has several health benefits. In fact it is an instant energizer. In summer, people in the tropical region depend on tender coconut water to beat the heat and to quench their thirst.

Most of the time after drinking the water, tender coconut is scooped out of the shell and eaten which has a sweet refreshing taste. You could also puree the tender coconut along with the coconut water which tastes really phenominal.

Apart from these, making pudding out of the tender coconut is also quite common. Hands down, this is my favorite pudding even though I frequently make pineapple pudding. Water from the coconut is used to melt agar-agar or china grass and the tender coconut is pureed and added to the milk and condensed milk mixture.

The tender coconut gives the pudding a remarkable taste and a delicate constituency. 

Once you taste this pudding, you’ll embrace the taste forever…

Tender Coconut Pudding:

• Tender Coconut, fresh- scopped from 2 coconuts
• Tender coconut water- 1 cup, to melt agar-agar
• Agar-Agar or China Grass strands- 1/4 cup
• Milk- 2 cups
• Condensed milk- 1/2 cup or depending upon your sweet level

Preparation:

Tender Coconut

• Scoop out the tender coconut from 2 coconuts and puree it in a blender, keep aside.

• In a saucepan, pour 1 cup tender coconut water and add agar-agar to it.

• Heat the saucepan and let the agar-agar melt completely.

• In the meantime, heat milk and condensed milk in another saucepan over medium heat. Let it come to a boil.

• To the boiled milk and condensed milk, add the melted agar-agar, combine well.
• Remove from the flame and let it cool down for at least 5 minutes.
• Add the pureed tender coconut to the cooled milk mixture and mix everything well.

•  Pour the mixture into a cake pan or stainless steel pan.

• Keep the pudding at first in the freezer for about 15 minutes or until it begins to set.
• After that remove the pudding from the freezer and place it in the refrigerator.

• Using a knife gently cut the pudding and serve it in dessert bowls.
• You could granish the pudding with almonds, cashew nuts etc.

Notes:

• Make sure to use tender coconut and not regular coconut.
• Add the pureed tender coconut only after the milk-condensed milk mixture cooles down, otherwise the milk will curdle.

This vegetable ooops I just found that eggplant is actually a fruit but treated as a vegetable. Yay, I learned something new today. This fruit is known in different names: Eggplant in Europe and the US, Brinjal in India, Aubergine or Melangene. It’s also found in different shape, size and color: light purple, dark purple or white. I haven’t tasted the white eggplants yet, but the light purple and the dark purple varieties taste almost the same. In India small light purple varieties are common, but in the US dark purple large eggplants are common and I have even seen long skinny purple varieties in some Asian markets.

I love the soft and mushy constituency of the cooked eggplants. I often grill eggplants, make eggplant rice, often make Kerala style eggplant in coconut curry sauce. Besides these, I haven’t tried anything fancy with them. I was aware that I could make stuffed eggplants, but somehow I kept delaying it. Last weekend, I saw small baby eggplants in an Indian store and couldn’t resist buying them. Making stuffed eggplants had been in my mind ever since I bought them and I finally made it for dinner tonight.

While searching for stuffed eggplant recipes, I bumped into many websites and food blog which has the step-by-step recipe for cooking stuffed eggplant. Among them, I loved the recipe and the beautiful demonstration given in choosy-beggars.com, the incredible food blog by Tina and Mike. I made a few changes in the amount of the ingredients used and also added an extra seasoning at the end.

One thing I can say without a second thought is that even the die hard meat eaters would fall for this vegetarian delicacy. It was aromatic, the thick gravy tasted delicious along with the eggplants.

This is an authentic Maharashtrian dish.

Stuffed Eggplants or Bharvaan Baingan( Authentic Maharashtrian dish)

Ingredients:

• Baby eggplants or brinjal, whole- 10-12

For making the Paste:

• Oil- 2tbsp for sauteing onion+2tbsp while cooking eggplants
• Cumin seeds- 1tsp
• Fennel seeds- 1tsp
• Fenugreek seeds- 1tsp
• Onion, diced small- 1
• Garlic, minced- 1tsp
• Ginger, minced-1 tsp
• Crushed red pepper flakes- 1 tsp
• Dried Fenugreek leaves or kasuri Methi- 1 tbsp
• Tamarind paste- 2tbsp
• Coconut grated, fresh or frozen- 3/4 cup
• Coriander powder- 2 tsp
• Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp
• Chilly powder- 2 tsp or depending upon your spice.
• Garam masala- 1tsp
• Brown sugar or Jagerry- 1.5 tbsp
• Salt- to taste
• Water- 2 cups + 3 tbsp
• Cilantro, chopped- 1 handful

Preparation:

Tamarind Paste:

• If using fresh tamarind, soak golf size tamarind in 3-4 tbsp warm water and squeeze it using your fingers till all the juice comes out of the tamarind, strain the juice and keep  aside.

How to make slits on the eggplants:

• Wash the eggplants under running water and pat dry it.

• Gently trim the green leaves near the stem, keeping the stalk of the stem in place.

• Using a sharp knife, carefully cut the eggplant vertically from the side opposite to the stem until you are about 1/4 inch from the stem.

• Make a cut on the other side too, so that there are 4 slits on the eggplant.
• Be careful not to cut the stem, so that the eggplant will stay in place without falling apart.

Preparation of the stuffing:

• Heat a pan over medium heat, add 2 tbsp oil.
• Add cumin seeds, fennel seeds and fenugreek seeds and saute till it starts to turn golden brown (don’t burn them).
• Add onion, and little salt and saute till onion turns tender.

• To the onion, add ginger, garlic, crushed red pepper flakes, dried fenugreek leaves and saute till everything turns light golden brown.

• Remove from the flame and let cool down.

Making the paste:

• In a food processor, grind together grated coconut, coriander powder, turmeric powder, chilly powder, garam masala, brown sugar, tamarind paste and the sauteed onion along with 3-4tbsp of water to a thick smooth paste.

How to stuff the eggplants:

• Gently, stuff the paste into the slit made on the eggplants.

• While, stuffing open the slits gently with fingers so that the stuffing goes inside and remains intact.
• Don’t open it too wide as it might break apart.
• After stuffing the eggplants, there will be still paste remaining.
• Combine the remaining paste with 2 cups of water and stir well.

Preparation of stuffed eggplant:

• Heat a wide non-stick pan over medium heat and add 2 tbsp oil.
• Place the stuffed eggplants on the oil without crowding them.

• Let the eggplants sizzle for 30 seconds, flip to the other side and let that side sizzle.
• When the skin of the eggplants turn light brown, pour the paste mixed with water and little salt over the eggplants.

• Cook the eggplants after covering the pan with its lid for about 20-25 minutes.
• Remove the lid and combine everything gently and cook uncovered for 15 minutes.

• At this point, you could pour the thick gravy over the eggplants periodically as it cooks.
• Cook till the eggplants turn tender and soft.
• Garnish with cilantro and combine it.

• Let the gravy thicken and turn slightly browned.

• Remove from the flame and keep aside covered.

Seasoning the stuffed eggplants( Optional)

• At the end I added a seasoning to the cooked stuffed eggplants. You could avoid this step if you want. This seasoning will give nice aroma and extra flavor to this dish.

Ingredients:

• Mustard seeds- 1tsp
• Whole dry red chilly- 2
• Curry leaves- 1 sprig
• Oil- 1tbsp

Preparation:

• Heat a small pan, add oil.
• Add mustard seeds and let it splutter.
• Add whole dry red chillies and curry leaves and saute for less than a second.

• Immediately, pour this on to the cooked stuffed eggplant.

• Cover the dish and let stand for 10 minutes so that the flavor gets into the eggplants.
• Serve this with plain rice, naan or chapathis.

Note: I used light brown sugar that might be the reason why my gravy has a light color. If you use jagerry or brown sugar your gravy would have a dark brown color.

Goa, renowned for its beaches and world heritage architecture is one of the most famous tourist destinations in India. I’ve never been to Goa nor have tasted Chicken cafreal from any restaurants. But, I’ve heard a lot about this dish from people who have tasted this. Since then my taste buds had been wanting to taste this Goan speciality. I couldn’t wait till I get to taste this in a restaurant and hence had to prepare it in my own kitchen. I couldn’t agree more with those people who raved about this dish. It was super yummy and my favorite part was it was super easy to make. When I read the recipe for this dish from few websites, first thing that I thought was: that’s easy. The recipe called for ingredients that is always found in my refrigerator and pantry and so I didn’t have to do any extra shopping to make this dish.

This dish was introduced into Goan cuisine by the portuguese. This can be made with chicken or fish. The dominant ingredient in this dish is cilantro or coriander leaves which gives this dish a vibrant green color.

So what are you waiting for??? Rush into your kitchen and in less than 30 minutes you will come out with a delectable Goan delicacy.

Chicken Cafreal

Ingredients:

• Chicken, boneless, cubed- 1 lbs

To marinate chicken:

• Ginger-Garlic paste- 1 tsp
• Salt- to taste

To saute:

• Oil- 1tbsp
• Onion, diced- 1 small
• Tomato, diced- 1

For making the sauce:

• Onion, minced- 2 tbsp
• Garlic, minced- 1tsp
• Ginger, minced- 1tsp
• Cumin seeds- 1 tsp
• Cardamom, whole- 3
• Clove- 1
• Cinnamon- 1 inch stick
• Ground pepper- 1tsp
• Turmeric powder- 2 pinches
• Cilantro or coriander leaves- 1/4 cup

Preparation:

• Wash the cubed chicken and pat dry it.
• Add ginger-garlic paste and salt to the chicken and marinate it for 10 minutes.

• Grind the above mentioned ingredients for making the sauce with little water and make it into a smooth paste.

• Heat a wide pan, add oil and add onion, saute till it turns tender.
• Add the diced tomato and let it cook.

• Add the marinated chicken, cover the pan with its lid and let the chicken cook fully.

• After the chicken has cooked well and most of the water has evaporated, pour the paste over the chicken and combine well.

• Cook the paste till the raw smell of the paste goes away.
• Stir the chicken and cook till the sauce thickens and start to brown a bit.

• Transfer into a serving bowl and enjoy this with rice, naan or chapathis.

Tips:

• This is a dish with not much gravy in it.
• You could make this watery by adding little water after the sauce has cooked well.
• I would say the thickened and slightly browned version tastes much better.
• You could try this with King fish too, when using fish don’t over cook the fish.

A thick hearty soup made of wheat, lentils, meat and spices; the minute I took a sip of this soup I fell head over heels for it…

If I don’t write about haleem, my blog would seem incomplete. It’s been only few years since haleem has become a part of my diet and now I am totally a slave of this hearty thick soup. I can literally have a bowl of this soup almost everyday. The richness of this soup from the added wheat, lentils, meat and the spiciness and the aroma from the spice powder, makes this not only a complete meal but a nutritious meal too. My cousin introduced this to me, she actually gave me a packet of haleem masala along with the grains and asked me to try it out. I never thought that I would fall head over heels for this one at the first try. After that, this has become a frequent dish in my house. During my lazy days I tend to make this, as this is quite easy to make (if made in pressure cooker) and a bowl of haleem is just enough to make me bouncy.

Haleem is popular in Persian, Pakistani, Hyderabad, Bangladesh cuisine. This is a special dish served during Ramzan in Hyderabad and Pakistan. It is made of wheat, lentil, meat and spices. The traditional way of making haleem is by slow cooking the soaked wheat, lentils, spices along with the meat for six to seven hours, followed by pureeing it into a thick soup constituency.

Honestly, I never make haleem by slow cooking method, as I don’t have the patience to wait this long to take a sip of this soup. Hence, I go with my fast cooking method of preparing this in the pressure cooker. In just 30 minutes, I get to devour this soup.

For making haleem, you first have to buy the haleem masala mix, which is found in most of the Indian or pakistani stores. You can also find the grains/lentils and masala mix together in a packet. If you get this one, you don’t have to get the grains separately. Since I make haleem quite often, I buy the wheat and lentils separately and the masala mix separately. This way I have the flexibility to add whatever grains I like.

So it’s your choice whether to get just the masala mix or both together.

Here, I am sharing the recipe of making haleem in a pressure cooker and using chicken.

Haleem:

Ingredients:

• Wheat- 3/4 cup
• Barley- 1/2 cup
• Red lentil- 2 handfuls
• Urad Dal- 1 handful
• Chana Dal- 1 handful
• Moong Dal- 1 handful
• Chicken, with bones or boneless or beef or mutton (lamb)- 1 lb
• Haleem masala (Shan)- 3 tbsp (initial cooking) + 2 tbsp at the end, or depending upon your spice level

• Water- 4cups (initial cooking) + 2 cups at the end
• Fried Onion- 1/2 cup
• Cilantro, chopped- 2 handfuls
• Lemon juice- 1/2 tsp per bowl (optional)
• Oil or ghee- 2 tbsp

Preparation:

• Since I made haleem in the pressure cooker, I didn’t soak the wheat and lentils in water.
• Wash the wheat and lentils in water and keep aside.

• Remove any excess fat from the chicken or beef or lamb, rinse in water and keep aside.
• Heat a pressure cooker over medium heat, add oil to it.
• Add the chicken or your choice meat to the oil, add 3 tbsp of the haleem masala and saute the chicken for 2 minutes.

• Now, add the washed wheat and lentils and combine with the meat.

• Add 4 cups of water and let it come to a boil.

• Close the pressure cooker with its lid and place the whistle on it.
• Cook until 3-4 whistles and remove from the flame.
• When the pressure has completely subsided, open the lid.
• Let the mixture cool down, if you are using chicken with the bones, remove the bones from the meat.
• Blend the mixture in the blender to a coarse paste, don’t make into a fine paste.
• Pour the coarse paste back into the cooker, add 2 more cups of water or enough water to thin down the mixture.

• Taste the soup and add 2 tbsp of haleem masala or depending upon your spice level and combine well.
• Add the fried onions, cilantro and let cook for few minutes.

• Remove from the heat and serve in soup bowls.
• If you like, you could even drizzle little lemon juice while serving and give it a stir.
• This could be served along with Naan, toasted Bread or even rice.

Tips:

• Preparing haleem in the pressure cooker is the fastest way of making this.
• Avoid pureeing the cooked lentils and meat to a fine paste, it should be a coarse paste, I love the bite of wheat and barley while sipping this soup.
• You could make this haleem with beef or lamb.
• Add the haleem masala according to your spice level. While adding the masala, keep tasting the soup so that you won’t end up making it really spicy.
• Add water depending upon how you want your soup constituency, haleem is usually a thick soup.

After a long day, when I don’t feel like spending too much time in my kitchen, easy breezy recipes comes to rescue me. One such recipe that I’ve fallen for lately is Peas Paneer or Mattar paneer( in Hindi), which is a famous North Indian veggie dish, often served with Naan. I order either Mattar paneer or Palak paneer ( Spinach paneer) as the veggie dish whenever I dine in Indian restaurants. I never thought that I could make Peas Paneer in less than 15 minutes in my microwave. If I had known this before, this dish would have made frequent appearances for my lunch and dinner.

For those of you who don’t know much about Paneer, here are few interesting facts about Paneer:

• Paneer is the most common Cheese in India, commonly used in North Indian cooking.
• It is completely lacto-vegetarian as the making of paneer does not involve Rennet (which is traditionally derived from calf stomachs, but today may come from genetically modified microbes or fungi) as the coagulation agent.
• It is a good source of protein for hard core vegetarians.
• Paneer is one such cheese which can be prepared easily in anyone’s kitchen.

Preparation of Paneer:

• To prepare paneer, food acid (usually lemon juice, vinegar, citric acid or yogurt) is added to hot milk to separate the curds from the whey. The curds are then drained in a muslin cloth or cheesecloth and excess water is pressed out. The resulting paneer is dipped in chilled water for 2–3 hours to give it a good texture and appearance.
• From this point, the preparation of paneer diverges based on its use. In most of the Indian cuisine, the paneer, wrapped in cloth, is put under a heavy weight, such as a stone slab, for 2–3 hours, and is then cut into cubes and used in curries. Pressing for a shorter time (approximately 20 minutes), results in a softer, fluffier cheese.
• Frozen Paneer is available in almost all Indian grocery stores and it can be used in all types of curries.

Common Paneer dishes are:

• Mattar paneer ( Peas Paneer)
• Palak paneer( Spinach Paneer)
• Chilli Paneer( Spicy Paneer)
• Paneer pakora( Fried Paneer)
• Paneer Tikka Masala
• Paneer Makhani ( Butter Paneer)

Mattar Paneer or Peas Paneer, Microwaved:

Ingredients:

• Paneer cubes- 1 cup
• Frozen Peas, thawed – 1 cup
• Onion, minced, medium size-1
• Green chillies minced- 1 tsp
• Ginger minced- 1/2 inch
• Chilli powder- 1/4 tsp
• Cumin powder-1/2 tsp
• Garam masala- 1/2 tsp
• Tomato paste ( no salt added) or fresh Tomato puree- 5 tbsp
• Cashew nuts  – 8 no’s
• Cilantro chopped- 1 handful
• Oil- 2 tbsp
• Salt- to taste
• Water- 4 tbsp
• Microwave proof dish with lid – for microwave cooking

Preparation:

• Grind onion, green chillies and ginger into a smooth paste.
• In a wide non-skillet pan, heat the oil, add the paste and fry for 5 minutes until the raw smell of onion goes away.
• Add the tomato paste, chilli powder, cumin powder, garam masala and the peas along with 1 tbsp water and give it a stir.

• Transfer this into a microwave proof dish, close it with its lid and micro high for 3 minutes.
• To the above Peas mixture, add little salt, paneer cubes, cashew nuts, 3 tbsp water and mix gently.
• Cover the dish and again microwave for another 2 minutes and let stand for 2-3 minutes.
• Garnish with cilantro and serve hot with Naan or Rice.

Tips:

• Adjust the spice level of this dish accordingly.
• If you don’t have a microwave, you could make it in the pan itself, after the peas has cooked well, add the paneer, cashew nuts, salt and cook for few minutes. Don’t mash or break the paneer.

The most delectable and aromatic cooked Rice, which goes well with Chicken curry or Lamb curry..

Is there any ingredient which cannot be mixed with rice? If you want to find an answer, you definitely have to put a lot of thought in this. I literally throw anything from my pantry or from the refrigerator to convert cooked  plain rice into a delicious rice dish. If I start counting the number of cooked rice dishes, I will have to count forever. Starting from the most common fried rice, I can make a huge list. Among the many rice dishes I’ve tasted Ghee rice is my favorite. The aroma from the ghee makes the rice rich and flavorful. It’s easy to prepare and it could be served along with chicken or lamb curry.

While cooking Ghee rice, the aroma from the spices and the rice roasting in the ghee will spread all over the house in no time and everyone will be seen taking in few deep breaths.

My mom’s ghee rice is the most delicious I’ve ever tasted and so I always follow her recipe. But this time I made a little twist in the method of preparation to avoid rice from getting soggy. After roasting the rice, I cooked the rice in rice cooker which helped to cook the rice to it’s right constituency, which was fluffy and was able to separate each rice.

To make the delicious ghee rice, you need: really good Basmati rice, good Ghee and avoid overcooking the rice.

Ghee Rice:

Ingredients:

• Basmati Rice, washed in water and drained well- 1 cup
• Water- 1 1/2 cups, if cooking in a rice cooker and 2 cups if cooking in a saucepan
• Onion, large cut thin lengthwise- 1
• Bay leaves, fresh or dry-2
• Ghee- 4 tbsp
• Salt- to taste

To Grind:

• Fresh ginger, chopped- 1 inch slice
• Fresh garlic chopped-3 cloves
• Green chilly chopped- 2
• Whole cardamom-2
• Whole cloves-2
• Cinnamon- 1 inch slice

Other ingredients:

• Onions, cut thin lengthwise-2 medium
• Vegetable oil- enough for frying onion
• Cashew nuts, roasted in 1tsp ghee- 10 no’s
• Raisins, roasted in 1 tsp ghee- 1 tbsp
• Cilantro, chopped- to garnish

Preparation:

• Grind the above mentioned ingredients in a blender and keep aside.
• In a saucepan, in medium heat, add the ghee.
• To the ghee add the onions, salt, bay leaves and saute until the onion gets translucent.
• Now add the ground mixture and saute until the raw smell of the ginger/garlic goes away.
• Add the washed rice to this and saute in the ghee until it starts to give out the roasting aroma for about 3-4 minutes. Don’t brown or over roast the rice.

• Now here is the twist I made: I transferred the roasted rice into the rice cooker pot.
• Rinsed the saucepan in which rice is roasted with 1/2 cup water and added this water to the rice, along with the remaining 1 cup water. Add more salt if needed.
• Cover the rice cooker pot with its lid and turn on the rice cooker and let cook.

• Fry the onions in oil until golden brown and transfer to a paper towel.

• Roast the cashew nuts in 1 tsp ghee until it turns light golden and keep aside.

• Roast Raisins in 1 tsp ghee till it bubbles up and keep aside.

• When the rice has cooked, separate the grains with fork and transfer the rice into a platter.
• Garnish with fried onions, roasted cashew nuts , roasted raisins and cilantro.
• Serve warm with your favorite veg or non-veg dish.

Cooking in a saucepan:

• If you don’t have the rice cooker, follow this method: after roasting the rice, add 2 cups of water to the rice and cover the saucepan with its lid.
• Cook the rice for about 15-20 minutes.
• Separate the grains with fork.
• Garnish with fried onions, roasted cashew nuts, raisins and cilantro.

Celebrating my birthday with Sadya…

Yay, I am getting old, well don’t jump to the conclusion that I am really old, like I am in some 40′s. I am still enjoying my late 20′s, haven’t entered the hyped ‘thirty hood’ yet. I have heard from many who have crossed 30, that getting old is beautiful, and early 30′s is the best stage of anyone’s life. Well, I have to experience that by myself  to comment more about that. As we grow old, we often say ‘Even though I am getting old, my mind is still young’, don’t we say this just to hide ourselves from the bitter reality that we are actually getting old? Whatever it is, we have to deal with this  fact and move on with our life. If you have the will power, age doesn’t make a big difference, just live life to the fullest, that’s what matters at the end. I am happy that I am still alive and blessed to celebrate my birthday with my dear ones.

One of my good friends had asked me to blog about my favorite dish as a birthday special blog post. I must admit the toughest question I’ve ever encountered. It would be clear by now to all who reads my blog that I love all kinds of cuisine and food. But I didn’t feel like skipping this question and just giving the usual answer of ‘I love all food’. Hence, I forced myself and thought for a while and finally I got the answer.

Being born and brought up in Kerala aka God’s Own Country, a state in India, I had the opportunity to taste most of the Kerala delicacy. In Kerala, there are 14 districts, and each district has it’s own specialty dishes. Even the style of cooking, recipe, name of the same dish varied greatly from one district to another. Kerala food is rich, flavorful, aromatic, spicy and unique, the more you eat the more you fall for this cuisine. I can go on and on when talking about Kerala food. After I got married, I migrated to the US and it was here I was opened to other cuisines and explored the incredible world of cooking. When I first started cooking, I was only aware of kerala dishes and few Indo-Chinese dishes.

Even after exploring other cuisines, for me comfort food means: ‘My own Kerala food’. When thinking about kerala food, first thing that comes to my mind is Kerala Sadya. ‘Sadya’ means ‘Banquet’ in Malayalam( Official language of Kerala). Sadya is not the name of one dish, it’s a grant feast involving many vegetarian dishes, it could range from 15 to 24 or more. Sadya is often made during special occasions like Onam ( biggest festival in Kerala), marriage, birthdays, and other occasions.

Sadya is often served on Plantain or Banana leaf, which could be also called as the Organic plate. While eating sadya people mostly sit on the floor with crossed legs and it is eaten using the right hand and  fingers, the natural spoon, which greatly enhances the taste of the sadya and helps to combine all the dishes.

The dishes found in sadya are all vegetarian, some of the common dishes found in sadya are:

Main dishes: Rice, Parippu( Lentil curry), Sambar( Mixed veggie curry), Rasam( Spicy, tangy Sauce)

Side dishes: Avial( Thick veggie side dish made with yogurt), kalan( plantain dish made with yogurt and coconut), Olan( Black eyed peas curry in coconut sauce), Pachadi( made with beetroot/lady’s finger in yogurt sauce), Thoran( sauteed mixed veggie with grated coconut), Pulissery( Ripe mango , pineapple or pumpkin cooked in yogurt, a sweet dish)

Pickles: Inji puli( Ginger/Tamarind pickle), Achar( Pickles made with mango, lemon or gooseberry)

Snacks: Upperi( Fried Plantain dipped in jaggery), Plantain chips, Pappadam( crispy, crunchy Indian wafers, made from lentil, black gram etc), Banana.

Dessert: Payasam ( made with vermicelli, milk, sugar and other added flavors), mostly 3 types of payasam are served for sadya: Semiya payasam( vermicelli cooked in milk and sugar), Palada pradhaman ( thick dessert made with cooked rice) , Kadala pradhaman( made with black gram).

Oh yes, only if you make all these dishes it can be called as Sadya. With just 2 or 3 of these dishes it’s just everyday kerala food served in almost all houses.

As a birthday special blog post, I am sharing the recipes of  the dishes found in Sadya. Of course, without a question Sadya is my all time favorite food, as I get to taste almost all kinds of taste from spicy to sour to sweet in one eating:)

Ingredients found in most of the dishes in Sadya:

Coconut grated, Coconut oil, Yogurt(Curd), Vegetables like plantain, Mango, Okra or lady’s finger, Beetroot, Ash guard( found in Indian grocery stores), Green chilly, Black eyed peas.

Spices/ enhancers needed for making Sadya:

Turmeric powder, Cumin seeds, Whole Mustard seeds, Whole dry red chilly, Curry leaves( found in Indian grocery stores), Freshly grated Ginger, Fenugreek seeds, Salt.

For Seasoning:

Coconut oil, Mustard seeds, Whole Dry Red Chilly, Curry leaves, Small onions, Fenugreek seeds.

Kerala is the land of Coconut, hence coconut is the primary ingredient in most of the dishes. Also, Coconut oil is used for cooking sadya dishes, as it really enhances the taste, so make sure to cook Sadya using coconut oil.

You could find all these above ingredients added in most of the dishes, and the most amazing part is each dish has its own personality and tastes entirely different from others. Hence, Sadya could be defined as the Flavorful Veggie palette, which gives myriad of flavor to your taste buds, your taste buds will go crazy from sweetness, sourness and spiciness…

I am extremely glad to share the Sadya recipes to everyone on my special day, some of the recipes are from my mom, some from friends and others from internet. Sadya cooking method is almost the same throughout Kerala, some of the ingredients/ spices used might vary. Again, I am still in the learning stage of making Sadya in its authentic and the original taste, so please make sure to correct me if I have mentioned anything wrong. I will be glad to make the needed corrections.

While serving the dishes on the plantain leaf which has two sides, each item has its own specific place, for instance: Pickles are served on the top left on one side of the leaf, followed by other side dishes and banana is served on the bottom left corner. While, Rice along with Parippu and Sambar/Rasam and the Payasam are served on the immediate side facing from the person.

I have to say all these before writing about the recipe, because Sadya is given great importance in Kerala which is served and devoured with great pride by everyone irrespective of their taste buds.

Kerala’s traditional Kuthari Rice:

Ingredients:

• Raw Kuthari Matta rice/Rosematta Rice – 2 cups
• Salt- 1/4 tsp
• Water- 5-6 cups

Preparation:

• In kerala, this is the most famous rice, which is pinkish red in color and it is highly flavorful. After eating this rice, it will be hard to switch to any other rice. For me: I totally hate any other rice as I’ve been eating this rice all these years.
• Traditional cooking of this Rice: This rice is mostly cooked in huge clay pots or stainless steel pots, we get pots just for making rice.

1. The pot is filled with water and when the water starts to boil; washed, drained rice is added to the water along with salt. Close the pot with its lid and cook until the rice is soft and tender.
2. Drain the water from the rice by pouring it over a huge strainer.
3. This method consumes lot of time to cook as Kuthari rice takes long to cook.

• For easy cooking:

1. Cook in a pressure cooker. Add water, rice and salt to the pressure cooker, close it with the lid and let cook until 3- 4 whistles.
2. Excess water can be drained. Keep it warm in the cooker.

Main dishes:

Parippu or Lentil Curry

Ingredients:

• Moong dal- 1 cup
• Water- 2 1/2 cups
• Salt- to taste

For grinding:

• Freshly Coconut grated or frozen- 1 cup
• Green chillies chopped- 2 tsp ( or depending upon your spice level)
• Garlic- 1tsp
• Turmeric powder-1/4 tsp
• Curry leaf- 3-4 nos
• Cumin seeds- 1/2 tsp

For Seasoning:

• Mustard seeds- 1tsp
• Whole Red Dry Chilli- 2
• Small onions minced- 1 tbsp
• Curry leaves- 5-6 nos
• Coconut Oil-  2tsp

Preparation:

• In a pressure cooker, cook moong dal with water and salt, until 2-3 whistles.
• Grind the above mentioned grinding ingredients in a blender to smooth paste and keep aside.
• When the dal has cooked, add the ground mixture to it and combine evrything well.
• Cook in medium flame, until the raw smell of the mixture goes away.
• Adjust the constituency of the curry by adding water to it, don’t make it too watery.
• Remove from heat and cover it and keep aside.

Making the Seasoning:

• In a wide pan, heat oil, as soon as the oil is hot, add mustard seeds, when it splutters add whole red chilli, small onion and curry leaves.
• When the onion turns golden brown, remove from the flame.
• Add this seasoning to the Parippu/lentil curry and cover with the lid immediately for the aroma to merge into the curry.

Sambar( Mixed veggie curry)

Ingredients:

• Toor dal or Sambar lentil- 1 cup, cooked in pressure cooker in enough water

Cooking Veggies:

• Carrots, diced into medium size- 2
• Ash gourd, diced into medium size- 1
• Egg plant, diced into medium size-1
• Cucumber, deseeded, diced iinto medium size-1
• Drumsticks, fresh cut long or frozen- 10 no’s
• Small onion whole- 1o if large, 15 if small
• Green chillies, whole cut half-3
• Curry leaves- 1 sprig
• Salt- to taste

Spice powders:

• Chilly powder- 1 tsp
• Turmeric powder-1/4 tsp
• Coriander powder-1 1/2 tsp
• Asafetida- a pinch

To Roast and Grind:

• Cumin seeds- 1/2 tsp
• Fenugreek seeds-1/2 tsp
• Urad Dal- 1/2 tsp

Other Ingredients:

• Tamarind whole or concentrate- if using whole, gooseberry size tamarind soaked in 2 tbsp water, mashed with hands and drained to get the juice or 1/2 tsp juice.
• Water- to thin the curry

For Seasoning:

• Small onions, chopped- 4 no’s
• Mustard seeds- 1tsp
• Whole dry red chillies-2
• Curry leaves- 1 sprig
• Coconut oil- 1 tbsp

Preparation:

• Cook the toor dal or sambar lentil in enough water in a pressure cooker or in a deep pot until the dal is well cooked until 2 whistles.
• Cook the veggies along with green chillies, curry leaves and salt in enough water until the veggies are tender. Don’t over cook the veggies.
• In a small pan, roast the cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds and urad dal until it gets golden, don’t over roast or burn these. Grind these into powder and keep aside.
• When the veggies are cooked through, add the cooked toor dal to this and mix evrything.
• Now, add all the roasted ground powder and the above mentioned spice powders: chilly powder,turmeric powder,coriander powder and asafoetida.
• Cook for few minutes until all the spice powders are well incorporated.
• Add the tamarind juice, and more salt if needed, and water if the curry is thick to thin it down and let the curry come to a boil.
• Finally, in a small pan, make the seasoning: heat the oil, add mustard seeds and let it splutter, add whole red dry chillies, curry leaves and small onion, saute until the onions becomes golden color. Immediately remove form the flame.
• Pour the seasoning into the cooked Sambar and cover with it’s lid until it is ready to be served.

Tips:

• Please adjust the spice level, salt and tamarind juice according to your needs.

Rasam:

Ingredients:

To Grind:

• Cumin seeds- 1tsp
• Whole pepper corn-1tsp
• Ginger chopped- 1tsp
• Garlic chopped- 1tsp
• Green Chilli chopped- 1/2 tsp
• Small onion chopped- 7 nos
• Tomato diced-1

Other ingredients:

• Mustard seeds- 1tsp
• Curry leaves- 1 sprig
• Tamarind juice- gooseberry size whole tamarind soaked in 2 tbsp water, mash it and strain the juice
• Water- enough to thin the mixture.
• Salt-to taste
• Vegetable oil- 2tsp

Preparation:

• Grind the above ingredients for grinding to coarse paste.
• In a saucepan, add oil, when the oil gets hot, add mustard seeds and let it splutter, add curry leaves and stir it.
• Add the coarse paste to the oil, saute it until the raw flavor goes away.
• Add tamarind juice to this and add enough water to thin the mixture.
• Taste the mixture and adjust the salt and sourness, if it is too sour add more water to adjust.
• Let the mixture come to a boil.
• Remove from the flame and cover it with it’s lid.

Tips:

• Please adjust the spice level, salt and tamarind juice according to your needs.

Pickles:

Ingi puli( Ginger-Tamarind Pickle)

To Grind:

• Ginger sliced to thin rounds and fried to golden brown in oil-1 cup
• Whole red dry chilli-2
• Coriander seeds- 1tbsp
• Oil- 2tsp

Other ingredients:

• Tamarind juice- gooseberry sized ball whole tamarind soaked in 2 tbsp water, mash it ans strain the juice,
• Asafoetida – a pinch
• Jaggery or Palm sugar grated- 1tsp

For Seasoning:

• Vegetable oil- 2 tsp
• Mustard seeds- 1tsp
• Whole Red dry chilly- 2

Preparation:

• Fry the sliced ginger in oil until golden brown.
• In a pan, add oil, and roast coriander seeds and whole red chilli until it turns golden brown.
• Grind together the fried ginger and the roasted coriander seeds/red chilli into smooth paste.
• In a saucepan, add 2 tsp oil, add the mustard seeds let it splutter.
• Now add whole red chillies and add the ground mixture and saute in the oil.
• Add tamarind juice to this mixture and the asafoetida and let the mixture come to a boil.
• Now add the jaggery and combine everything well.
• Remove from the heat and let it cool down.

Tips:

• This dish is supposed to be spicy and tangy.
• Store this in an air-tight container and refrigerate for about 2-3 weeks.

Mango Pickle:

Ingredients:

• Raw mango diced into small cubes- 1
• Ginger, thinly sliced- 2 tbsp
• Mustard seeds- 1tsp
• Curry leaves- 1 sprig
• Chilli powder- 1 tbsp
• Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp
• Asafoetida- 1/4 tsp
• Salt-  1/4 tsp
• Vinegar- 2 tbsp
• Sesame oil or vegetable oil- 1 tbsp

Preparation:

• In a wide pan, add the sesame oil, when it gets hot, add the mustard and let it splutter.
• Then add curry leaves, chilli powder, turmeric powder, asafoetida, salt and saute in the oil.
• As soon as the spices starts to brown, add the mangoes and fried ginger.
• Combine everything well and finally add the vinegar and saute for 2 minutes.
• Remove from the heat and let cool.
• Store this an air-tight container and refrigerate for few weeks.

Tips:

• Adjust the spice level according to your needs.

Side Dishes:

Okra in yogurt or Lady’s finger Pachadi:

Ingredients:

• Lady’s finger, cut lengthwise and chopped small- 15 nos
• Green chilli, chopped – 1
• Curry leaves- 1 sprig
• Yogurt or Curd- 1 cup
• Salt- to taste
• Oil for frying Okra

Preparation:

• In a wide pan, heat oil add lady’s finger, green chillies and curry leaves.
• Fry until golden brown.

• Transfer into a tissue paper and let it absorb all excess oil.
• In a medium bowl, combine the yogurt and fried lady’s finger together, add salt to taste.

Beet Root Pachadi:

Ingredients:

• Beetroot grated- 1
• Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp
• Salt – to taste
• Water- 3/4 cup

To Grind:

• Coconut grated- 3/4 cup
• Green chillies chopped- 1
• Cumin seeds-1/4 tsp
• Ginger chopped-1/2 tsp

Other ingredients:

• Yogurt or Curd: 1 3/4 cups

For Seasoning:

• Mustard seeds- 1 tsp
• Whole red chillies-2
• Curry leaves- 1 sprig
• Coconut Oil- 1 tbsp

Preparation:

• In a saucepan, cook beetroot along with turmeric powder, salt and water until the beetroot becomes soft and tender.
• Grind all the above ingredients for grinding in a blender to smooth paste.
• Add the ground paste to the cooked beetroot and cook until the raw smell goes away.
• Now lower the flame and add the thick yogurt/curd to the above mixture stirring constantly.
• Mix everything gently and remove from the flame. Don’t boil the curd mixture as it will curdle.
• In a wide pan, heat coconut oil, add mustard seeds, let it splutter,and add whole red chillies and curry leaves, saute and remove from flame.
• Add the above seasoning to the already cooked Beetroot/yogurt mixture, close it with lid and let cool.

Mango in Yogurt Sauce or Mambazha Pulissery:

Ingredients:

• Ripe mangoes, diced- 2
• Turmeric powder-1/2 tsp
• Red Chilli powder-1/2 tsp
• Water- 1 cup
• Thick yogurt/Curd- 1 cup
• Salt-to taste

To Grind:

• Coconut grated- 1 cup
• Yogurt/Curd- 1 cup
• Cumin seeds- 1/2 tsp
• Turmeric powder-1/4 tsp
• Green chillies chopped- 1
• Curry leaves- 3 no’s

For seasoning:

• Mustard seeds- 1 tsp
• Fenugreek seeds- 1/4 tsp
• Whole red chillies-2
• Curry leaves- 1 sprig
• Coconut oil- 1tbsp

Preparation:

• In a saucepan, cook mango in 1 cup water, along with red chilli powder, turmeric powder and salt until the mango becomes tender.
• Grind the above ingredients for grinding with 1 cup yogurt into smooth paste.
• Add the ground paste to the cooked mango and let it cook until the raw smell of the ground paste goes away in medium flame.
• Lower the heat and add the remaining 1 cup yogurt/Curd and give it a stir and combine well. Don’t boil the mixture.

Preparing the seasoning:

• In a pan, heat coconut oil, add mustard seeds, when it splutter, add whole red chillies, curry leaves and finally add fenugreek seeds.
• Saute in oil for a second and remove from the flame.

Add the above seasoning to the already cooked Mango/yogurt mixture and cover it with lid and let cool.

Kalan:

Ingredients:

• Ripe plantain, cut small- 1/2 cup
• Ash gourd, cut small- 3/4 cup
• Green chillies chopped- 1
• Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp
• Red chilly powder- 1/4 tsp
• Water- enough to cook veggies
• Salt – to taste
• Yogurt/Curd- 3/4 cup

To Grind:

• Coconut grated- 1/2 cup
• Green chillies chopped- 1
• Garlic minced- 1/2 tsp
• Cumin seeds- 1/4 tsp
• Turmeric powder-1/4 tsp
• Curry leaves- 1 sprig
• Salt- to taste

For Seasoning:

• Coconut oil- 1tbsp
• Mustard seeds- 1 tsp
• Whole dry red chillies- 2
• Fenugreek seeds- 1/4 tsp
• Curry leaves- 1 sprig

Preparation:

• In a saucepan, cook ripe plantain/ash gourd in water along with green chillies, turmeric powder, red chilli powder and salt, until the veggies are tender.
• Grind the above mentioned ingredients for grinding to smooth paste.
• Prepare the seasoning in a small pan, heat the oil, add mustard seeds, let it splutter, add red chillies, curry leaves and finally fenugreek seeds and saute for a second. keep it aside.
• In a saucepan, saute the ground mixture till the raw smell goes away for 2 minute and add cooked veggies to this and combine well.
• Remove the saucepan from the heat, add 3/4 cup thick curd, and combine everything.
• Return the pan back to stove in low flame, stirring constantly for a minute.
• Remove form the flame and add the seasoning on the mixture. Cover with the lid and let cool.

Olan:

Ingredients:

• Black eyed beans- 1/2 cup
• Ash gourd, cut small- 1 1/2 cups
• Water, to cook beans- 1 1/2 cups
• Green chillies- 3
• Cumin seeds- 1/4 tsp
• Thin coconut milk- 3/4 cup
• Thick coconut milk- 1/2 cup
• Salt – to taste

For seasoning:

• Coconut oil- 1tbsp
• Mustard seeds- 1 tsp
• Small onion chopped -3 nos
• Curry leaves- 1 sprig

Preparation:

• Soak the black eyed beans for 4 hrs and pressure cook it with 1 1/2 cups water for 2 whistles or until cooked through.
• In a saucepan, cook ash gourd along with green chillies, cumin powder and salt in 1 cup water.
• Add the cooked beans to the cooked ash gourd and add 3/4 cup thin coconut milk, stir it and cook for a minute.
• Now add 1/2 cup thick coconut milk , salt if needed and combine everything gently. Don’t boil the mixture.

Making the seasoning:

• In a small pan, heat coconut oil, add mustard seeds, let it splutter. Add small onions and curry leaves.
• Saute until onion turns golden brown and remove from the flame.

Add this seasoning to the above cooked beans and ash gourd mixture. Cover with its lid and let cool.

Thoran( stir fried veggies in coconut):

Ingredients:

• Beans, cut small- 1 cup
• Ash gourd, diced small- 1/2 cup
• Black chick peas (optional)- 1/2 cup, cooked in water
• Water- 1/4 cup
• Green chillies, chopped- 1
• Mustard seeds- 1 tsp
• Whole red chillies-2
• Curry leaves- 1 sprig
• Vegetable oil- 1 tbsp

To Grind:

• Coconut grated- 1/2 cup
• Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp
• Garlic minced- 1/2 tsp
• Cumin seeds- 1/2 tsp

Preparation:

• Soak the black chick peas in water for 4-5 hours and cook in  a pressure cooker until its is cooked through.
  
• Grind the above mentioned ingredients for grinding to a coarse paste.
• In a wide skillet, heat the oil, add mustard seeds and let it splutter.
• Add whole red chillies, curry leaves and saute for a second.
• To this add beans, ash gourd and green chillies and cook in water covering with a lid.
• When the veggies becomes tender, add the cooked black chick peas and ground mixture, stir it and cook for 2 minutes.
• If there is any water, let it evaporate and stir fry the veggies for few minutes.
• Remove from the flame and keep it covered.

Avial( Mixed Veggie in Yogurt)

Ingredients:

• Carrot, cut into thin wedges- 2
• Cucumber, deseeded and cut into thin wedges-1
• Egg plant,diced-1
• Ash gourd, cut into thin wedges- Half of 1 ash gourd
• Raw plantain, cut into thin wedges-1
• Green chillies, cut half- 2
• Curry leaves- 1 sprig
• Water- enough to cook the veggies

To Grind:

• Coconut grated- 1 cup
• Cumin seeds- 1tsp
• Small onions, chopped- 6 no’s
• Curry leaves- 5 no’s
• Tamarind whole or tamarind concentrate- small slice if using whole tamarind or 1/4 tsp tamarind concentrate

Other Ingredients:

• Yogurt or curd- 1/2 cup
• Coconut oil- 1tbsp

Preparation:

• In a deep saucepan, cook all the above mentioned veggies along with green chillies and curry leaves in enough water, until the veggies are just gets tender.
• Grind the above mentioned ingredients for grinding to a coarse mixture and keep aside.
• After the veggies are cooked, add the ground mixture to this and mix well, cook for few minutes.
• Keep the flame low and then add the yogurt/curd and gently mix everything. Don’t boil or over heat after adding the yogurt/curd. When it is mixed well, remove from the flame.
• Finally add the coconut oil and cover the saucepan with it’s lid to preserve the aroma.

Snacks:
Plantain chips:

Ingredients:

• Raw plantain cut into thin rounds- 1
• Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp
• Salt- to taste
• Vegetable oil for frying- 1 cup or enough for deep frying

Preparation:

• Peel off the skin from the raw plantain and slice into thin rounds.
• In a deep frying pan, heat oil, when the oil gets hot enough, add the plantains and fry it.

• Combine turmeric powder and salt with little water.
• In the middle of frying add 1 tsp of turmeric powder/water into the frying plantains and give a stir.
• Fry until golden brown and using a slotted spoon, transfer the chips into a paper towel, let drain the excess oil.

Tips:

• You can store this chips in an air tight container for few days.

Fried Plantain coated in jaggery syrup or Upperi:

Ingredients:

• Raw plantain, cut lengthwise and diced 1/2 inch thick- 2
• Vegetable oil- enough for deep frying

For syrup:

• Jaggery or Palm sugar- 3/4 cup
• Water- 2 tbsp
• Ginger powder- 1 tsp
• Cumin powder- 1 tsp

Other ingredients:

• Powdered sugar- 2 tbsp

Preparation:

• In a deep frying pan, heat oil, and add the diced plantain and deep fry it until golden brown. keep aside.

Making the syrup:

• In a saucepan, add jaggery, water and let the jaggery dissolve in water.
• Add ginger powder and cumin powder to the jaggery and give it a stir.
• When the jaggery starts to thicken, add the fried plantain and stir to coat the syrup evenly on the fried plantain.

• Remove from the flame and immediately add powdered sugar and mix it.
• Transfer into a bowl and let cool.

Indian Wafer or Pappadam:

• Pappadam- 1 packet or depending upon how many is needed
• Vegetable oil – enough for frying

Preparation:

• In a deep frying pan, heat the oil and put the pappadam into the oil.
• It will bubble up immediately.
• Using a slotted spoon, flip to the other side and fry for less than a second.
• Remove from the oil and transfer into a paper towel.
• This should be made just before serving the meal and should be kept in an air tight container. Pappadam when kept uncovered will loose its crispy texture easily.

Dessert:

Vermicelli in sweetened milk or Semiya Payasam:

Ingredients:

• Vermicelli- 1/2 cup
• Milk- 3 1/2 cups
• Sweetened condensed milk- 3/4 of 14 oz can
• Cardamom powder- 1/4 tsp
• Saffron strands( optional)- 1/4 tsp soaked in 1 tbsp milk
• Ghee- 2 tbsp
• Cashew nuts- 10-15 nos
• Raisins- 2 tbsp

Preparation:

• Roast the vermicelli in 1 tbsp ghee until golden color and keep aside.
• In a saucepan in medium heat, add milk and roasted vermicelli, let the vermicelli cook in milk until soft.
• Add the condensed milk to this stirring constantly.
• Add the cardamom powder and saffron soaked in milk.
• Combine everything and let it come to a boil and then remove from the flame and cover with the lid.
• In a small pan, add 1 tbsp ghee, roast cashew nuts and raisins.
• Add the roasted cashew nuts and raisins to the above cooked mixture.
• Serve the payasam in bowls.

Tips:

• Leftover payasam can be chilled, it tastes really tasty the next day.
• You can adjust the sweetness of the payasam by adjusting the condensed milk.

How to serve Sadya on a Banana leaf:

• On the top side of the banana leaf away from the person sitting in front of it, serve one banana, snacks, pickles and side dishes in a line.
• On the other side of the leaf, first course  served will be Rice with Parippu and little ghee.
• Second course  will be, Sambar along with more Rice if needed.
• Third course  will be Rice with Rasam.
• Fourth course will be Rice with Beaten yogurt or Moru
• In the final round dessert is served on the same banana leaf, depending upon how many payasams you have, it is served one by one starting with the Vermicelli Payasam.

Devour each and every dish and don’t be ashamed to lick your fingers at the end, which you’ll do even without your knowledge:)

When the bird got an extreme makeover..

Last weekend, when I had gone for grocery shopping, I paused myself at the meat section and looked around at the pretty frozen parts of birds and also the whole birds sitting in the freezer. I usually end up buying boneless chicken breasts or chicken thighs, so this time I bought the whole bird instead. I felt so thrilled when that pretty bird came along with me to my kitchen. When I opened the bag, the bird looked so gloomy and dull, after a long tiresome day. Hence, I wanted the bird to have a special spa treatment.

First step of the spa treatment was giving the bird a bath, allowed it to dip down and relax in a bath tub, filled with aromatic water. After the refreshing bath, gave a pat dry with extra soft towels. Then, I gave the bird a real good massage, rubbed it all over with special gel and kept it in the refrigerator for extra relaxation overnight. Next day, took the bird out of the refrigerator and added some special effects by stuffing eggs in to them. Gave the bird a shallow fry in oil and after that it was sent to the oven for an extreme makeover. After the initial 30 minutes baking, the bird was given yet another final massage with a refreshing sauce and again it was sent into the oven for an hour long final makeover. When the bird was taken out of the oven, I gave the final touch ups by garnishing it with rose and added its beauty with other accessories.

After the spa treatment, the bird was seen rejuvenated and completely transformed into a glamorous pretty bird. It was soon surrounded by paparazzi’s and had an hour long photo shoot session and attended a press media where it talked endlessly about the extreme makeover it had undergone.

Ingredients:

Whole Chicken, deskined,  medium size-1

Cleaning the chicken: Clean the chicken after discarding all the unwanted internals from it. Wash it thoroughly under running water, add lemon juice to the water and clean the inner and outer of the bird. After washing it, pat dry using a paper towel.

For Marinating paste:

• Chilly powder- 3tsp
• Turmeric powder-1/2 tsp
• Lemon juice-  juice of half lemon
• Salt- to taste
• Water- enough to make a thick paste

Method:

• Mix the masalas with lime juice and little water to make it into a thick paste.
• Make small gashes on the legs, breasts and back of the bird.
• Spread the paste all over the chicken, inner and outside of the chicken.
• Place the bird in a wide pan and cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
• Overnight marination will help the masalas to penetrate into the chicken evenly.

For making the Egg stuffing:

• Boiled eggs-2
• Onion, cut thin lengthwise-1
• Ginger/Garlic paste- 1tsp
• Green chillies, chopped- 1
• Chilly powder- 1/2 tsp
• Turmeric powder-1/4 tsp
• Fennel powder-1tsp
• Coriander powder-1tsp
• Garam Masala-1/2tsp
• Roasted cashew nuts, chopped- 8nos
• Roasted raisins- 1 tbsp
• Curry leaves- 5 nos( optional)
• Cilantro chopped- 1 handful
• Oil- 1tbsp

Preparation:

• In a wide skillet, add oil, saute onions till it turns golden
• Add ginger/garlic paste, chillies, curry leaves and saute,
• When the onion starts to turn brown, add chilly powder, turmeric powder, fennel powder, coriander powder, garam masala and give it a stir .until the masalas get roasted
• If it is too dry, add little water and let it cook.
• Finally add the eggs and cilantro, saute till the masala is well coated on the eggs.
• Transfer the stuffing into a bowl and keep aside.

Stuffing process:

• Take the bird out of the refrigerator and let it reach room temperature.
• Gently stuff the egg stuffing into the cavity of the bird.
• Push the eggs into the cavity, for a medium bird, only 2 eggs can be squeezed in.
• After stuffing it, tie the wings and the legs of the bird tightly with kitchen twine, so that the stuffing doesn’t come out.

Shallow frying in the oil:

• Vegetable oil- 1/4 cup

• In a wide bottomed pan, add the oil, when it gets hot, place the stuffed, twined chicken in the oil and shallow fry it turning each side.
• Shallow fry until all the sides of the bird turns golden brown and take it out of the pan and keep it aside.

Initial Baking:

Veggies:

• Carrot, halved, cut lengthwise- 2
• Potatoes, cut long-2
• Celery, diced lengthwise- 2 stalks
• Beans, halved- 1/2 cup

• Preheat the oven to 400 F.
• Place the chicken breast down down on the baking pan and spread the veggies around the chicken. Cover with the baking pan lid or aluminum foil.
• Bake for initial 30 minutes, turning the chicken to all sides while baking, this helps in proper cooking of the bird. Also stir the veggies to prevent them from burning.

Preparation of Sauce:

• Oil used for shallow frying the chicken- 1 tbsp
• Cumin seeds-1tsp
• Onion, diced-2 medium
• Ginger/Garlic paste-1tsp
• Coriander powder-1tsp
• Cashew nut chopped- 1tbsp
• Chilly powder- 3/4
• Fenugreek powder(optional)- 1/2 tsp
• Tomatoes, diced-2
• salt- to taste

Preparation:

• In a saucepan, when the oil gets hot, add cumin seeds.
• Add onions and salt to it, saute till translucent.
• Add ginger/garlic paste and saute.
• Add coriander powder, cashew nuts, chilly powder, fenugreek powder and give it a stir.
• Add the tomatoes to this and close with the lid and cook slowly till tomatoes are mashed well.
• When the gravy cools down, transfer to a blender and make it into a smooth paste, adding water if needed to make it thin.

Pouring the sauce on the half roasted chicken:

• After the initial 30 minutes baking, take the chicken out of the oven, pour the sauce evenly all over the chicken.

Final Baking:

• After the sauce is poured over the chicken, bake it for another 45 minutes, uncovered.
• Make sure to check the chicken and stir the veggies occasionally.

Carving:

• After 45 minutes of baking, take the bird out of the oven and let cool for sometime.
• Carve the bird with a carving knife.

How to Carve:

1. Holding a drumstick in one hand and a carving knife in the other, slice through the meat connecting the bones.
2. Twist the drumstick with your hand to pop the joint, then disconnect if from the body by slicing through the joint.
3. Carve the thighbone, by cutting the meat around the thighbone and slice through the joint to remove.
4. Using a carving fork to hold the wing steady, make a deep horizontal cut above the wing point.
5. Hold the chicken with the carving fork and slice the breast. Each slice will fall when the knife reaches the cut from step 4
6. Slice behind the wing joint to remove the wing. Repeat step 1 to 6 on the other side.

Tips:

• You could use skin on chicken.
• You can substitute turkey for chicken.

My mom’s specialty dessert…

Do you have any kind of food with which you have shared a strong bond right from the moment food got into your brains? If yes, then we should team up. I can call mine as “My mom’s specialty dessert”. I have had the opportunity to taste this dessert made by my Aunt’s, other family members and even non-family members. And the truth is none of them was able to beat my moms. Every time when I tasted this dessert made by others, I  silently judged them, comparing it to my mom’s. I must say not even a single time it had won over my taste buds. I was forced to notice some kind of faults in those,  for instance: not too soft like my mom’s, too sugary sometimes and many times the overall taste wasn’t that great. Don’t get me wrong here, I am not blaming their culinary talent and I truly appreciate their effort on trying to give their best shot at this dessert.

Now you could come to the conclusion that this dessert needs to be made with the utmost care and attention to achieve the perfect taste and look. I  have always seen my mom making this particular dessert with all her heart and affection, as if she was with a baby. And this is the sole reason behind her success of making this dessert with perfection all the time.

Kinnathappam, I am still uncertain about it’s authenticity, since I have seen both Keralites and Tamilians making  this. Anyway, one statement I can make without much controversy is that this is an authentic South Indian dessert. Kinnathappam, which can be translated to english as ‘kinnam’ which means ‘plate’ and ‘appam’ means ‘cake’. Since this dessert is made in  a plate it is called ‘cake in a plate’. Mostly this is made in a stainless steel plate. I can even call this as Steamed Rice-Coconut Pudding, based on the ingredients it has and the preparation method, but I wouldn’t dare to change its name given by whoever who came up this delightful dessert, may be centuries ago. This dessert is a proof that old, traditional desserts still exist even after the advent of other fancy desserts.

In my family there wouldn’t be any special occasions without this dessert, hence this is served and tasted with so much dignity.

As a kid, as a teen, in my early 20′s, I have seen my mom making this in her kitchen, those days I had neither cared to help her out making this nor showed any interest to find out what all were added to that. Only one thing that I wanted to know and asked her over and over was how long it would take to make, so that I could have the first bite of it. While sneaking into the kitchen during the preparation process, I had seen the way my mom made this and the memories of that is still with me, so crisp and clear. So, when I humbly made up my mind to make this in my kitchen, I felt my mom’s presence, giving me all the detailed instructions and when I stood still thinking whether I am doing it in the right way, I felt as if my mom is showing me the Thumps up sign. I totally imitated my mom, when it came to the care and the attention I had to show while making this.

I did succeed in making this. After each and every bite of it, there came the judgment part, judged by my taste buds  and I had to admit that my taste buds were still longing for my mom’s special Kinnathappam, it was indeed tough to beat her, no matter what. Let my mom prevail as the Queen of Kinnathappam forever..

Ingredients:

• Raw Rice ( ponni rice or sona massori or any other raw rice) – 1cup, soaked in water overnight
• Egg-1
• Sugar- 1/2cup( based on your sweet level)
• Coconut milk, from fresh grated coconut or use canned -1 3/4 cups
• Cardamom whole, smashed-2
• Cumin seeds- 1 tsp
• Ghee- 1-2 tbsp

If using thick coconut milk, substitute 1/2 cup water for 1/2 cup coconut milk, this means: 1 1/4 cup thick coconut milk and 1/2 cup water.

Preparation:

• Soak 1 cup of rice in water overnight.
• Strain the soaked rice and grind it with egg and coconut milk until very smooth.
• Strain the batter through a muslin cloth or a strainer with tiny holes. This would help to remove any coarse particles in the batter.
• Add Cardamom powder and cumin seeds to the batter.
• The batter constituency should not be too thick or too watery, it should have in between constituency.
• If you feel that the batter is thick, use more of the thin coconut milk or water to thin it down.
• Grease the stainless steel or cake pan with ghee.
• Pour the batter on to a stainless steel plate which usually comes with the steamer or a cake pan would work too.
• Steam cook it for 15-20 minutes in medium heat, until a fork inserted into it comes out clean.

If you don’t have a steamer, don’t worry follow the method I use:

• Fill 1/4 of a wide bottomed vessel/pan with water.
• Cover the plate with the batter with aluminum foil.
• Place the plate into the vessel and cover it with its lid.
• Steam cook in medium heat for 15-20 minutes.

When it is cooked through, take it out of the steamer and let cool for a while. If you want you could spread 1 tbsp ghee on the cooked kinnathappom, this would give an added flavor and aroma to it.

Slice into shapes of your choice and creativity, diamond, square, triangle etc, if you wish you could garnish with almonds or cashew nuts and serve.

This could be devoured warm or chilled. Leftovers can be chilled in the refrigerator.

I bet you, you will be amazed to watch how fast this dessert disappears from the platter, no chance of any leftovers.

Tips:

• Make sure the batter has the right constituency, neither thick nor watery to get the soft kinnathappam.
• When you make this with all your heart, you will surely succeed in this, also practice makes this dessert perfect.

Cheesy, Crispy, Crunchy Samosas…..

If someone asks me what was my favorite snack while growing up, I would say instantly without any further pondering: Samosas. Yes, this was and is my favorite snack, especially to munch on in the evenings along with a cup of hot tea. This crispy, crumbly triangle shaped stuffed pastry with either veggie or non-veg filling gained a special place in my heart. My mom used to make this most of the days, especially on weekdays so that my sis and me could have this after coming from school. On those days, coming back from school, first thing I did was to rush into the kitchen and eat the samosas, it was hard for me to stop with just 2 or 3. I ate as if I were on a samosa eating competition. If I had participated in a real competition, I would have won for sure. Most of the times I fought with my sis over the last one. Many times I won the fight, but my conscious wouldn’t let me have it all by myself, so had to share with my sis, and this made the last samosa taste the best.

This snack is often considered as the street-smart snack in India, sold by street vendors. Not just sold on streets, there wouldn’t be any cafeteria without samosas on their menu, mostly placed on a huge tray piled up with this crispy treats. As soon as we enter the cafeteria, our eyes would start starring at this and the order will be placed in no time.  Now this doesn’t limit on just streets or cafeteria, this can be found on the menu of any fine dining restaurants as well. Without a question, samosas have become the favorite snack of all.

I usually make samosas with non-veg filling, here is the recipe for non-veg filling: http://thasneen.com/cooking/stuffed-poori/

But this time I wanted to make the filling in a totally different way. Hence I made a cheesy filling for my samosas. Here are the step-by-step instructions for making the pastry and the filling.

For making the Filling:

• Onion chopped-1
• Green pepper, chopped-1/2
• Canned corn, rinsed-1/2 of the can
• Jalapeno chopped-1
• Garlic mined- 1tsp
• Ground cumin-1tsp
• Ground coriander-1tsp
• Ground black pepper-1/2 tsp
• Cheddar cheese shredded-1/2 cup
• Cilantro chopped-1 handful
• Salt- to taste
• Oil- 2 tbsp
• Vegetable oil for frying

Preparation:

• In a large skillet, heat 2 tbsp oil over medium heat.
• Add onion, salt and saute till translucent.
• Add garlic and jalapeno to this and saute for few minutes.
• Add green pepper and corn to this and let it cook.
• Now add, ground cumin, ground coriander, ground pepper and give it a stir.
• Add cilantro to this.
• Finally add the cheddar cheese and mix everything well.
• Turn off the flame and close it with the lid until we make the dough.

To make the Dough:

• All-purpose flour or Maida- 1.5 cups
• Salt- 1/4 tsp
• Water- enough for kneading the flour

Method:

• In a large bowl, combine flour and salt.
• Add water little by little and knead the flour, add only just enough water to make a soft dough.
• Add oil to this, combine well, wrap it and set aside for 20 minutes.

• After 20 minutes, make small lemon size balls out of the dough.

• On a floured surface, roll each balls into a thin circle using rolling pins.

• On a flat skillet or tawa, heat the rolled dough on both sides, just for a second.
• Don’t over heat the rolled dough, edges should be still soft.

• Cut the heated rounds into 2 halves.

Making the Glue:

1. All-purpose flour- 1tbsp
2. Water- little
3. Mix flour and water together and make it into a smooth paste. It shouldn’t be watery.

• Working with 1 piece at a time, apply the above glue on half of the cut edge.
• Form cone shape by overlapping the cut edges.

• Fill the cone with 1 tbsp of veggie-cheese mixture.

• Apply glue on top inside edges of pastry; press to seal. Trim jagged edges. Crimp with fork if needed.

• In a wok or deep saucepan, heat oil to 350°F.

• Fry samosas, in batches, until golden, about 4 minutes. Remove to paper towel–lined tray.
• Serve Warm with tomato ketchup or with the quick salad; http://thasneen.com/cooking/quick-salad-for-any-meat-appetizer/

Tips:

• For a healthy version, use fat free cheddar cheese and bake these, @ 350F for 20-25 minutes