Canned Pineapple Pachadi... From God's Own Country!

I need an easy way out with all recipes. Or I would not even venture trying them. If I can do away with the hour-long cutting and chopping required for one, I am the happiest person on earth! Not that I support packaged or frozen stuff. I do a fair share of cooking fresh vegetables, meat and fish, but when it comes to preparing a big feast and what I mean here is the typical Kerala feast, I want to take some easy ways out, somewhere.
Pachadi is a typical  Kerala dish that features in all grand feasts. It can be made with any vegetable, but the one made with Pineapples, stand apart. The sweetness, the sourness and the spicy-ness, all in balance.

This is an easy version to making Pineapple Pachadi using canned, cubed pineapples and doing away with the cutting and chopping of fresh ones. An easy way out for the modern woman!

INGREDIENTS:

Canned Pineapple (Cubed) – 1 tin of drained weight 300 grams

Turmeric powder – ¾ teaspoon

Red Chilli Powder – ½ teaspoon

Grated Jaggery – ½ tablespoon

Beaten Plain Yoghurt – ½ to ¾ cup (according to the sour-ness of the yoghurt, if it is less sour: add ¾ cup)

Grated Coconut – ½ cup

Mustard seeds – ½ teaspoon

Green Chillies – 2

FOR THE TEMPERING:

Mustard Seeds – ½ teaspoon

Whole Dried Red Chillies – 3- 4

Curry Leaves – I sprig, separated

Oil – 1 tablespoon

METHOD:

Drain the pineapple pieces from the syrup and cut them further into thin pieces, roughly. Put them into a pan along with turmeric powder, red chilli powder, salt and 1 cup of water. Put them on medium flame and cook, covered, till the pineapple is almost done. Halfway through the cooking, add jaggery to it. Cook till the water is totally evaporated. With a potato masher, mash the pineapple pieces slightly, keeping some of them whole.  Keep aside.

Grind the grated coconut, mustard seeds and the green chillies into a very fine paste. Add this to the cooked pineapple and mix well. Add yoghurt to it and mix well. Check salt.

For the tempering, heat oil in a pan. Crackle the mustard seeds and add dried red chillies and curry leaves and immediately pour in to the pineapple mix. Stir and mix well. Serve with rice.

I am proud of the land I come from. Kerala. It is God's Own Country. I left the place 12 years back and each time I go back it is almost as if I have always been there. We celebrate our New Year on Sunday, the 14th of April. I wish all my readers a very Happy Vishu!

Lots of love and happiness:)

Grilled Fenugreek Prawns... And Focusing Broad:)

We look at things in our own specific ways. In fact we look at things the way we want them to be seen to us.   We focus on Mondays... and lose sight of the Thursdays and Fridays. Why? I know I must think of the bigger picture. Today or tomorrow and their problems don't matter. I know in the longer run, I may not even remember those problems! But still they matter, today. And I fret. I frown. And forget that I have a whole life ahead, not just today. The more I frown, the more I cook. The more I cook, the more cups of green tea, I consume. And the end result of my cooking, invariably brings a smile to my face. That is the therapeutic nature of working in the kitchen to create something. Flour, egg and sugar turning into the loveliest cakes, a smelly fish turning into a delectable curry, so on and so forth. Honestly, is there anything better creative than cooking!

This is what I made today, that brought the broadest smiles, not just on me, but on all who sat for dinner at the table :-) It was a surprise twist to the prawns, the flavours of fenugreek, curry leaves, coriander and mint oozing through.

INGREDIENTS: (Adapted from Sanjeev Kapoor's recipe)
Powdered Dry Fenugreek Leaves - 2 tablespoons
Medium Prawns - 20
Ginger-Garlic Paste - 2 tablespoons
Lemon Juice - 2 tablespoons
Salt to taste
Curry Leaves - 10
Fresh Coriander Leaves - 1 cup
Fresh Mint Leaves - 1/4 cup
Green Chillies - 3
Thick Yoghurt - 1 cup
Fresh Cream - 3 tablespoons
Chilli Powder - 2 teaspoons
Carom Seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
Garam Masala Powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Cornflour - 2 tablespoons
Oil - 3 tablespoons
Melted Butter for Basting.

METHOD:
Peel and devein the prawns. Mix together one tablespoon powdered dry fenugreek leaves, one tablepoon ginger-garlic paste, lemon juice and salt along with the cleaned prawns and set aside for half an hour.

Grind together curry leaves, fresh coriander, mint leaves and green chillies to a fine paste. Transfer into a bowl. Add the yoghurt, remaining ginger-garlic paste, salt, fresh cream, chilli powder, carom seeds, garam masala powder, cornflour, oil and the remaining powdered dry fenugreek leaves.

Squeeze out the excess moisture from the marinated prawns and add to the yoghurt mixture and mix well. Set aside for an hour, preferably in the refrigerator.

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C.

Thread the prawns onto skewer, leaving a little distance from each one. Drizzle the remaining marinade over them.

Cook in the preheated oven for 3 to 5 minutes, basting with butter once, while cooking.

Serve hot with red onions and lemon wedges.

The flavours are refreshing and different on the prawns. And needless to say, this is a must try for seafood lovers! Serve it as a starter, or part of the main course, whatever, it brings out lovely expressions on the faces of the ones who eat them. I had underestimated the recipe when I read it first. Please don't underestimate like I did. The reality is satisfying! Totally:-)

That is why I said in the beginning. Focus on the bigger picture. Not the nearer ones. Do not just read and flip away after you read this recipe. Go broader and cook it! Rewarding smiles!!!

Lots of love and happiness:)

Sweet Mango Sambhar... The Perfect 'Vishu' Accompaniment!

I have a genuine explanation for everything. Not that anyone would care whether I posted here often or not, but I feel bad because I constantly seem to throw my blogging schedule into the bin. I am caught up with a lot in my life! I just do not seem to realise when the day starts and ends. And one busy day infiltrates into the next and the next... and finally the whole week is gone! Still I say, this is no excuse for not keeping this blog running, so here I am.

This is a lovely variation to the normal sambhar. The ripened mangoes that it is made with, gives a sweet and tangy flavour to it, along with the sambhar masala. It is a must-try during the mango season!

INGREDIENTS

Tuvar Dal (Yellow Lentils) – ½ cup

Ripened Mangoes (I used kesari mangoes that are available now. You can use any variety small ripe mangoes) – 2

Tamarind – 1 lime sized ball (soaked in water and strained to get the extract)

Turmeric Powder – ¼ teaspoon

Salt.

For the Tempering:

Mustard seeds – 1 teaspoon

Fenugreek seeds – ¼ teaspoon

Curry leaves – 2 springs

Whole Dried Red Chillies – 3 to 4

Sambhar Powder – 2 teaspoons (You can use either store-bought or home-made. I used ‘Brahmins’ sambhar powder).

Oil – 3 tablespoons

METHOD:

Wash the lentils well and put it, along with the turmeric powder, into a pressure cooker, with enough water to get it cooked.

Cook the lentils till it is well done and totally mashed. If they are not mashed well, use a hand-held mixer or a regular mixer grinder to grind and mash it well.

Meanwhile cut each mango into 3 pieces and put them in a pan with 1 cup water. Cover the pan with a lid and cook the mangoes for 5 – 7 minutes, stirring in between, till they turn soft.

Transfer the mangoes to the lentils and add salt. Mix well. Simmer it for 7 minutes.

Add the tamarind extract in to it. Mix. Simmer till the mixture boils well.

Adjust the water in the gravy according to the thickness you need (I like the sambhar moderately thick) and check salt. Switch off the flame and keep aside.

Take a small pan for the tempering, add a little oil and crackle the mustard seeds. Once they are crackled, add the fenugreek seeds, dried red chillies and curry leaves. Wait for 30 seconds, stirring continuously. Switch off the flame. Add the sambhar powder into the tempering, mix and immediately pour it into the lentil/mango mixture. Stir well.

Serve hot with rice.

Notes: The sweetness of the mangoes, along with the tangy-ness of the tamarind coupled with the flavour of the sambhar masala makes this a lovely variant of the regular sambhar.

If the mangoes you use are not sweet enough, you can add 2 tablespoons of crushed jaggery to the mangoes when you cook them.

I wish everyone a happy Vishu!

Lots of love and happiness:)

Kerala Red Fish Curry... Basic Indulgence:)

The most random blogger ever, writing yet another blog post:)

This is comfort food to me, okay? We, who have grown up in the coastal regions of Kerala are big fish eaters. And the comfort food consists of rice, not ordinary rice... the pink coloured Kerala rice which is totally earthy flavoured and full of fibre, fish curry and a vegetable. The Kerala cuisine is renowned for it's seafood delicacies and if you visit a Christian home in Kerala, there is always a pot of fish curry simmering away giving out the delicious aroma that wafts through the rooms. Each home has a different connotation to it's fish curry recipe. It is made in several ways in Kerala: with coconut milk, without coconut milk, with raw mango for the tangy-ness, with tamarind... But even the nuances vary in each household!

And here is the fish curry with 'gambooge' : popularly known as 'Malabar Tamarind' or 'Kudampuli' (malayalam), in it. It is called the Red Fish Curry mostly due to the dark red colour, I guess. This curry does not need refrigeration, it just needs to be reheated twice a day, till it is over. It stays good for 2 days and I have not had the pleasure of feasting on it for a third day!

RECIPE FOR RED FISH CURRY!
Ingredients:
Fish (I used King fish) - 1/2 kg, cut into pieces
Shallots - 10, chopped fine
Ginger - 1 inch piece
Garlic - 4 flakes
Red Chilly Powder - 2 tablespoons (Use Kashmiri chilly powder if you just need the colour. I used the normal one because I love the heat of it too!)
Coriander Powder - 2 tablepoons
Turmeric powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Gambooge (Kudampuli) - 2/3 pieces
Mustard Seeds - 1 teaspoon
Fenugreek Seeds - 1/4 teaspoon
Curry Leaves
Salt
Coconut Oil

Method:
Soak the gambooge (kudampuli) in 1/4 cup of water for 15 minutes.
Crush the ginger and garlic into a smooth paste.
Mix all the powders together with a little water to make it into a smooth paste and keep aside.
Heat a clay pot or a pan with coconut oil.
Splutter the mustard seeds. Add the fenugreek seeds. After 30 seconds, add the ginger-garlic and stir fry till they turn golden brown.
Add the shallots and curry leaves and fry till the shallots turn golden brown.
Add the masala paste and salt and stir fry for 2 minutes.
Add the gambooge (kudampuli) along with the water in which it has been soaked. Let it come to a boil.
Add the fish pieces and the required amount of water to cook the fish.
Do not stir any more, rotate the pan to mix the fish and the masala well.
Check in between, the fish gets done quickly. Simmer till the gravy thickens on a low flame.
Serve with rice or tapioca.

After the curry is made, if the tangy-ness is enough, you can remove the gambooge from the curry and discard them. Leaving them in can make it more tangy.
This curry tastes best the next day that it is made.
With red rice and a vegetable.
And that thought itself makes me go hungry at this late hour that I'm typing out this post:)

Lots of love and happiness:)

Fried Whole Pomfret... Kerala Toddy Shop Style!

The word 'Kerala' and I'm nostalgic. When 'Kerala' and 'fish' come together, it is absolutely delightful! Fish totally dominates any typical diet in Kerala and finds its way to every nook and corner of the cuisine. The second thing that dominates Kerala, next to fish, is the toddy shop:) And the food you get there! It is most hot, most spicy, most oily and most delicious. Any visit to Kerala and its coastal region is incomplete without a visit to the toddy shop. The most popular fried fish that you find in these shops are the 'pearl spot' fish. The recipe you find below is mostly used with the pearl spot fish, I have tried it with pomfret and the result has been lovely.

This is also the easiest way to fry fish, according to me, as I don't have to do any cutting. Saves time!
RECIPE: (for 2 pomfrets)
Ingredients:
Whole Pomfrets - 2
Ginger - 1 and 1/2 inch piece
Garlic - 6 flakes
Turmeric Powder - 1 teaspoon
Red Chilly Powder - 3 to 4 teaspoon (according to your spice tolerance)
Black Pepper Powder - 1 teaspoon
Salt
Curry leaves - 3 sprigs, the leaves separated
Oil for shallow frying.

Method:
Take the pomfrets and wash them thoroughly. Make cuts on both sides of each pomfret (1).
Take the ginger and garlic and crush them with a mortar/pestle (2 & 3).
Mix the turmeric powder, red chilly powder, black pepper powder and the salt in a bowl with very little water (4).
Add the crushed ginger-garlic into the powder mix and incorporate everything well.
Smear the mix on each pomfret, making sure the marinade is well reaching each cut that you have made in them.
Leave it marinated in the refrigerator for 3 hours.
When ready to fry, heat a flat pan, add 3 tablespoons of oil.
When the oil is hot, add the curry leaves in it and the pomfret, one at a time (6).
Close the pan with a lid and reduce the flame to low.
Wait for 3 minutes, open the lid and carefully turn the pomfret (without breaking it) to the other side.
Close the pan again and wait for another 3 minutes.
Once the fish is thoroughly done (it would take less than 7 minutes), take out carefully.
Serve with sliced onions rubbed in with a little vinegar and chopped green chillies.

To make a meal, serve this with steamed white rice and the quintessential yellow yoghurt curry that you find in the Kerala Syrian Christian homes. This is next to heaven for me!

Lots of love and happiness:)

Maggi Noodles! The Simplest of All!

Okay, I am a fast worker in the kitchen. I dont like spending ALL my time there and I know every woman feels so, unless you have made it sort of a business. This post is hardly a post on a food blog, you may laugh, thinking 'is this what she has to offer after all'! I tell you, the comfort this brings, the simplest of them all, is immense! Maggi Noodles: When noodles came to be called just 'Maggi', the power of a brand name becoming a household name!

If I provide the recipe to this 2 minute heavenly food here, I do not know whether I will be driven away from blogging by the community, so I leave that for you to figure out. This is just the noodles cooked + the masala tastemaker + onions + garlic + french beans + red peppers + cabbage + sundried tomatoes + a bit of soy sauce and vinegar. In whatever quantities that suit you.
Simple, satisfying and just-the-right-stuff-when-you-dont-know-what-to-make!

Lots of love and happiness:-)

Pepperoni Pizza Scrolls!

My weakest area, I admit, is my 11 year old son. The most difficult front at home when it comes to satisfying the hunger pangs. I go out of focus, if I have no plans about his food and providing him with what he likes and I keep running about in the kitchen with more frenzy than enthusiasm. And, time and again, this is one food that has always brought a smile on his face, how much ever often it is presented at the table! Pizza Scrolls. Pepperoni Pizza Scrolls.

I do not want to limit these scrolls to 'kid's stuff'. Eating, should be done with pleasure than guilt, so don't be hedged about what should or should not be. Food is food, and everyone need to take the pleasure of it!

 INGREDIENTS:
Self Raising Flour - 2 cups
Salt - 1 1/2 teaspoons
Softened Butter - 30 grams
Milk - 180 ml
Store-Bought Pizza Sauce - 1/4 cup (I used the regular Prego brand)
Italian Herb Blend - 2 teaspoons
Pepperoni Slices - 100 grams
Mozzarella Cheese - 1 to 1 1/2 cups

METHOD:
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C.
Grease an oven proof pan and keep aside.
Place the flour and salt in a bowl and use your fingers to rub butter into the flour mixture until it resembles breadcrumbs.
Stir in the milk and knead it into a soft, sticky dough.

Transfer the dough onto a lightly floured surface and using a rolling pin, roll out to form a rectangle (or a circle, don't bother too much about shapes!)
Using the back of a spoon, spread the tomato paste all over as the base.
Sprinkle the herbs evenly over the base.
Top with pepperoni and mozzarella cheese. (While making this today, I forgot to add the cheese and proceeded with the recipe. That is why you don't see the cheese in the process pictures. I realised this before putting them into the oven, opened each one and put in the cheese:-)
Starting from one of the long sides, roll the dough tightly (picture 13). Trim the edges.
Using a knife, cut the roll carefully into 12 even slices.
Place the slices, cut side facing up, in a single layer, in the prepared pan.
Bake the scroll slices, uncovered, for 30 minutes or until browned lightly.

Lovely one hour job and a treat for pizza lovers!
You can play around with the ingredients, opt out of pepperoni, add red pepper, chicken mince, or whatever sounds good to you. It all depends on what your kitchen is equipped with. I would never allow my kitchen to run out of Prego sauce, mozzarella cheese and pepperoni though! You have these... and the Italian culinary kingdom is yours!

And you would have to agree: never has a quick meal tasted so spectacular. Kids or not. Stress-free (you never did any chopping, did you?) and quick (Prego, cheese and pepperoni were store bought. Buy and refrigerate them!). Life is beautiful.

Lots of love and happiness:)