With Onam knocking on our doors in few days,everyone of us will be on lookout for good sadya recipes.This recipe was handed down to me by my mother.I made few changes to that after tasting the best Kuru kaalan i ever had from my mother in law.Hope you guys also enjoy making n eating it....Advance Thiruvonaashamsakkal from me and my family...

Ingredients:

Raw Plantain/Nentra Kaya-1
ElephantYam/Chena-medium piece
Pepper Pwder-1tsp
Turmeric Powder-1/2tsp
Curd(beaten curd)
Salt to taste
Water
Grated coconut
Cumin seeds
Green Chilli
Coconut Oil
Curry leaves
Mustard seeds
Dry Red Chilli
Fenugeek ( roasted and ground)powder-2 pinch

Method:

Peel and cut the plantain and yam into medium pieces.(i had only yam with me when preparing this recipe)After washing them,put them in a bowl with 2 cups of water and 1 tsp pepper powder.


Let it cook until done.To this add salt and beaten curd.Mix well and let it boil and start thickening in medium heat(this is what we call kurukkuka in malayalam).

Make a very fine paste of grated coconut,Cumin seeds and green chilli. The.The paste has to be made with out water and has to have a butter kind of consistency(We say "vennapole arakkuka" in malayalam).My tip for getting the butter consistency without water is add little bit beaten curd while grinding this paste.You will surely get a very fine paste needed for kaalan

Ingredients:

Who doesn't like an easy sandwich!!! When you have very less time to prepare, an easy sandwich is what you will crave for and this is one such recipe.


Ingredients :

1.  Sourdough bread. Any bread is fine but since its a vegetable sandwich it will be better if the bread is rich like a sourdough bread. Personally I prefer this bread for any grilled sandwiches. You can take any kind of bread.

2. Fresh vegetables. Cucumber, Tomato, carrots etc. Cut them into bite size pieces. I normally grate the carrots, cut cucumber into small squares and cut tomato into round slices. I feel its pretty that way.

3. Mayonnaise, butter  and cheese as needed.

4. If you need salt and pepper take some. Also for garnish, use some coriander leaves.


Method of preparation:

1. In a round pan place one slice of the bread and heat it. Apply butter on both side and make it crispy but not too crispy.

2. Apply Mayonnaise on the slices.

3. Stack the cut vegetables on one slice and top it with cheese. Put salt and pepper if you need it. Close the sandwich with the other slice.

4. Place the sandwich on the pan again and slowly turn it and heat it again until the cheese starts to melt. Make sure that the bread doesn't burn. Instead of doing this in a pan, you can put the sandwich in microwave and heat for 50 seconds.  You can also skip this step and eat the sandwich after step 3

Garnish and eat it with some salsa or any sauce you prefer. Chips makes it super delicious :-)
























Planju...!!

This dish always takes me to my childhood days. Being in a middle class family we always had Godhambu Ada as a common breakfast item...Now when I look back I cherish those breakfast memories....!!!! I have tried to replicate the procedure my mom used  :-)

Ingredients :

1. Wheat flour : This is a calculation and you will learn better each time. First timers take 2 cups
2. Water as needed
3. Grated fresh coconut : One handful is enough.
4. Salt
5. Oil and Ghee as needed.

Method of preparation:

1. Mix everything together with proper amount of water. The batter should not be too thick or too watery. It should be spreadable using hand on a pan.

2. Heat a pan. Spread some oil.

3. Take a handful of the batter. Put it in the pan. Wet your hands in a bowl of water and then try to spread the batter in the pan...Dip each time when you try to spread and you will see that its easy to spread it. Make a round Ada shape.

4. Turn the Ada when the color on top changes to darker wheatish. Turn using a flat spoon. Apply butter or ghee on top.

5. Turn it few times and make the sides crispy.

Ada is ready. Eat it with coconut chutney and tomato chutney

Please refer to the Tomato chutney posted by our dearest  Simi sherin :-)


















~Planju ...

This is by far one of the most buttery delicious biriyani that I have ever eaten!
I give all the credit to my good friend from Ootty, Prameela..She was kind enough to demonstrate the whole process to me and I jumped for the opportunity...!!!
So I went to her house with a big bottle or moscato wine to celebrate the biriyani and the special friendship we shared...!!

Here it goes.

Ingredients:

1. Chopped Chicken thigh meat : the quantity is your preference. Here in this biriyani you wont have any bone in the meat because we are using only the thigh meat of the chicken. I took 4 lb of chicken and that made the biriyani really meaty. Take a quantity according to your preference. Make the pieces small and not too big bites.

2.  About 4 tea cups of biriyani rice /basmati rice.

3. Some patta, some gramboo, some elakka, some bay leaves

4. Onion : Take as much onion as you need. The more onion you have the better.

5. Tomato : Take as much as you need. The more tomato you have the more tangy the taste will become. I would suggest two or three big tomato for the given amount of rice.

6. Chopped ginger and chopped garlic. There is no real quantity for this. You can take an amount you feel right. Ginger and garlic helps in digestion and adds flavor to the dish. So take a good amount.

7. Green chillies : About 5 or 6

8.  One juicy lemon.

9. Oilve oil or any oil you prefer. This is for cooking the biriyani so take the oil you feel is right for your health 

10. Ghee:  Two three spoon of it. Ghee will be used to fry the rice.

11. Good amount of mint. The more the merrier.

12. If you like food coloring take some saffron coloring.

13. Spices needed are Turmeric Powder and Red Chilly Powder

14. Salt as needed

The vegetable ingredients are captured as a picture as given here :




















Method of preparation :

1. Heat oil in a cooker which can hold the chicken and the rice for cooking.

2. Put Patta , gramboo, Elakka, bayleaves and when flavor comes out, put 5 green chilly in it and fry it. Close the lid on it and allow the green chilly to fry in the oil for sometime until its skin is nicely fried. Be patient.

3. Put onion and saute it caramelize it nicely until nicely brown and done.

4. Meanwhile take ginger , garlic and some patta and some gramboo and grind all of them together in a mixer to make a paste. Keep the paste aside for use.

5. Squeeze the lemon and keep it in a small bowl aside for future use. We need the lemon juice for final finishing and while the onion is getting ready, we can prepare all these on the side.

6. Once the onion is really ready, put some turmeric power and also some saffron coloring and mix well and to this add the ginger garlic paste you have made. Saute it very nicely for some time until the raw smell is gone.

7. Add Tomato to this mixture. Mix nicely well until the tomato is cooked really well and mashed into the total mixture. Put some salt.

9. Put the washed chicken pieces to it. Mix it with the masala. Put the chopped mint leaves into this. Let it cook. Sometimes you will see water coming down from the chicken. Dont worry about it. We need water for the rice to cook and we can use this water at that time. So mix the mixture well and let it cook for sometime. Add salt after adding chicken. Add some chilly powder to the mixture and mix very well. Green chilly will give enough spice to the biriyani and chilly powder is to add some more spice! Let the chicken cook in that juices.

10.Meanwhile, wash the rice once and fry it in ghee in a separate pan. The ghee will help to separate the rice so that it wont be be mushy...Rice turns white when we fry it and the water should be completely gone.After frying the rice keep it aside.

11. Put the rice along with the chicken mixture. After adding rice add some more salt. The water content should be 2: 1 for the rice. So for the 4 cups of rice we took , the water should be 8 cups for making the biriyani. Since chicken brings in some water in to the mixture we have to calculate how much water we need. Pour that much into the mixture. And do not mix too much and that way rice wont break.

12. Keep the flame straight. Close the lid. And allow the steam to come out of cooker. When steam comes out of the cooker, put the cooker weight. And allow it to cook for 5 to 6 min. The tihigh meat is very lean and doesnt need much time to cook and within this time both rice and chicken will be ready. After 6 min close the flame and keep the cooker aside. After sometime open the cooker and pour the lemon juice and mix the biriyani very well.

13. Chicken biriyani is ready !!



Eat it with the people whom you love..along with Raita...some wine...and a lot of happiness




After the biriyani, dont forgot to eat some icecream with a fruit of your choice. Vanilla and honey dew lemon is here :






















~ Planju ...

Ingredients:

Kabuli Chana - 1 cup
Red Chilli - 8-15 depending on spice level
Onion - 1 big thinly sliced
Ginger - 1 small piece made into paste
Fennel seeds - 1 spoon
Curry leaves - few
Coriander leaves - few
Oil - for frying

Preparation:

Soak Kabuli chana and red chilli overnight.
Grind them coarsely (do not make fine paste)
Add thinly sliced/chopped onions, ginger paste, curry leaves, coriander leaves, fennel seeds into the ground mixture and mix well
Make into balls/vada shape and fry it in oil. Take out of oil once the color turns brown.



~Ranjini ...

Parippu Vada is one of my favorite Tea time snacks which I have always enjoyed and devoured..
This recipe is an easy version of it. Perfect for a busy mom with cute hungry kids!

Ingredients :

1. A cup of Yellow split peas. Choose any version you like. The best is Kadalaparippu but you can also choose Thuvaraparippu. Soak the peas in water for few hours.

2. Chopped onion or shallots - a handful should be enough

3. Chopped green chilly - two or three

4. Chopped Curry leaves, You can also add chopped mint leaves. Mint adds a very diff flavor.

5. Chopped ginger.

6. Salt as needed.

7. Oil for frying. Use vegetable oil if possible. Else any oil as per your convenience.

Method of preparation:

Coarsely grind the Soaked Yellow split peas with less water. You should see halves of some peas. The consistency should be in such a way that the batter should not be too loose. You should be able to make small balls out of it. So use as much less water as you can.

Mix this batter with all the ingredients as given above from 2 to 6. 

After the mixture is ready, heat the oil in a pan.
Now,.... I use this tip to make easy balls from the batter. Dip your hand in cold water to make easy balls out of the mixture that you have already prepared. Even if the water consistency is more in the batter, this tip always works !!
Press the balls with your fingers to get the traditional Parippu Vada shape :-)

Fry each one in oil till golden brown.
Tasty crunchy Parippu Vada is Ready!!!!

Special Thanks to my good friend Prameela....!


























~Planju !!!!

Ingredients:

1.Milk powder-300 ml
2.Cocoa powder-75ml
3.Sugar-150ml
4.Water-120 ml
5.Butter-60ml

Preparation:

Sieve cocoa powder and milk powder and keep aside.
Heat water and sugar in a pan and bring it to boil.
Continue stirring till sugar syrup reaches one string constituency in a low flame.
Then add butter and mix it very well till it fully melts and blends with the syrup
Turn off the heat.
Add the cocoa milk powder mixture slowly part by part and mix well till it becomes glossy.
Grease the pan or plate using butter and pour the mixture in to the pan and smooth the top part with a spoon or spatula.
Allow this mixture to set in room temperature for 15 mins.
Keep it in fridge for another 15 minutes.
Take it out and cut according to your desired shape.

Tips:

You can add crushed nuts for a crunchy taste.
You can add vanilla essence or coffee powder for a different flavour or taste.
Can be gifted to friends by wrapping it in coloured paper.

Ingredients:

Ingredients: 

1.Fish-half kg preferably backwater fishes
2.Fenugreek-a pinch
3.Ginger garlic paste
4.Small onions- finely chopped 10numbers
5.Tamarind-kudampuli-3 big pieces
6.Chilly powder-kashmiri- for the bloody color-3 teaspoons
7.Tomato-1/2 piece
8.Coconut oil-3 tablespoons
9.Turmeric powder
10.Salt
11.Water

Preparation:

Soak tamarind in hot water n keep aside.
Pour oil in to heated pan.Saute fenugreek ginger garlic paste in the oil.Then saute finely chopped small onions till colour changes.Then add chopped tomato.Saute well.In to this mixture add chilly powder n turmeric powder till chilly powder's raw smell goes and oil becomes visible.Pour the soaked tamarind and water in to this mixture.Add salt and boil this solution.Then add fish pieces in to this and cook well till gravy becomes thick.Remove from the gas and garnish with curry leaves to make this mouth watering"

This item can use this as a side dish with kappa,rice,puttu,idiyappom.....the list is endless...

I tried this Tiramisu at home and this came out really good.
Here are the few links that you can try out...

The best homely recipe I found for Tiramisu was this :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhGCu6_Vm84&feature=related

The one which I made was this as it was more technically perfect :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Lxr5jPGxG8&feature=related


My Tiramisu looked like this...It really tasted good :-)

~ Planju...!!

LOve y'all girls...!!
Here is my pasta ..super easy...super yummy...an easy Italian dish made with a touch of spice girl magic!

Ingredients:

1. Any pasta. You can buy any type. Do not try the angel hair type ( looks like vermicelli) because it might make the dish mushy. But try any other bigger types ... Take two handful of it to make a lunch for four people in the family.

2. Vegetables which can be stir fried. Take carrot, beans, zucchini,Squash types, cherry tomato, onion, cauliflower and any other vegetables which can be fried. When you take tomato make sure its not too ripe and soft. You need a firm tomato.

3. Chicken legs. There are many ways you can prepare chicken for this dish. Make sure that you marinate the chicken with the spices you like before cooking it. I would use normal Indian fry marinade and put it in freezer or fridge for at-least few hours. If you don't have time just marinate it for few minutes.

4. Cheese. Any of your type. Any amount that you want

5. Any leaf garnish you want, Any sauce you may need as a side.

Method:

1. Cook pasta in boiling water with some oil and salt. Oil will help the pasta not to stick together. Keep it aside. It should be Al dente ( firm to the bite style, not too much cooked). After the pasta is cooked drain it and keep it aside in a bowl.

2. Cook the chicken. You can put it in a cooker, pan fry it or roast in a oven. If you are pan frying the chicken, use very less oil. After the chicken is done use a fork or spoon to pull the meat and mix the meat with the oil in the pan. The flavors of the chicken would be in the  pan and we need that. So use as much less oil as possible. I would suggest oven roasting. But if you don't have oven use pan. If you don't need a fried chicken taste just put it in the cooker and cook it to get a much softer chicken. If you are roasting it in oven, pour some oil on the chicken before you put it in oven. After the chicken is done the way you want, keep the meat aside in a bowl.

3. Take a big pan and add some oil or butter. Add onion first and fry it, then add the vegetables one by one and add tomato last. vegetables should not be squished. It should be done in stir fry style. After the vegetables are done, add the fried chicken meat to this. Add enough salt if needed. Add some pepper or oregano or any seasoning if you need it. Mix chicken and vegetables nicely together. Now add the pasta in the bowl. Take two big spoons and mix everything nicely with it. Make sure the chicken and vegetables and pasta are mixed nice and well.

4. Now sprinkle the cheese on top of this whole dish. Use a good amount if you like cheese. Use low fat cheese to make our mind and stomach happy... :-)

5. Garnish with malliyila or mint ..not necessary ..but only if you like it...!

The dish should look similar or better than this!


~ Planju.......!!

This is an easy to prepare dish during busy days. This hardly takes less than 10 minutes and is really cost effective.

Ingredients:

1 minced shallots (small onions) -4

2 green pepper (green chilly) -4

3 mustard seeds - half tsp

4 jeera - 1/4 tsp

5 fenugreek seeds - 1/4 tsp

6 curry leaves - 1 strip

7 tamarind juice - 2 cups

8 salt - as needed

Preparing the tamarind juice is the most important part during preparation. Take 1 table spoon of tamarind and mix well in pure water.  Drain the tamarind juice using a sieve. This avoids tamarind pieces in curry.

Preparation:

In a tawa heat 2 tsp coconut oil. Add ingredients 3,4,5. Once mustard pops, add 1,2 and 6. Stir well till onion is light brown. Add tamarind juice to this mixture. Allow boil and add salt.

This curry goes well with rice. And a preferred side dish is dry fish roasted in coconut oil ( preferably nangi meen ).

This is a very popular dish in palakkad villages and highly recommended during karkedaka maasam.

If you see a mallu saying - mulakuvarutha puli kooti unditt moochi chotil mokaru kazhuki - you can easily identify him as a palakkadan guy/gal 😊

So friends enjoy this mulakku varutha puli.



~Radhika ...