French Bread Pizza

This one the kids will love no doubt... I used pasta sauce, mozzarella cheese, capsicum and pepperoni toppings, you can use any thing you like , mushrooms, chicken whatever. Its so tasty and its an easy 4 pm snack for the kids when they get back from school.

Take the bread, slice it in thin pieces or medium sized pieces, spread some pasta sauce , some cheese, bell peppers of your choice , and meat of your choice , put some sliced butter squares on the baking tray and bake it in a toaster oven at 350 degrees till the cheese melts. Enjoy one- just one along with your kids ;)

Vendekka Porichathu ( Okra )

This is another recipe of my amma's, again a very simple yet absolutely tasty one. Love to eat this with Chorr and Kachiya morr ;) .

Slit the Okra lengthwise till 1.4 " above the tip. Marinate the okra chili powder, coriander powder, a little jeera powder ,turmeric, pepper, salt, lemon juice, curd. For extra crispiness add some cornflour to the marinade.

Deep fry it and enjoy the hot and crispy okra  !!!

Homemade Chicken Tikka & Home made Naan :-)

I don't think I'll ever buy naan from the stores again. If you haven't tried this before, please go ahead and try this naan ! This recipe is absolutely brilliant...

Naan

250 gm plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp yeast
1 tsp sugar ( I added 1 tblsp :-) )
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp yogurt
100 ml milk
2 tbsp vegetable oil
water

1) Mix the above ingredients and make a nice smooth dough. Keep it aside for at least 2 hours, let it rise.

2) Divide it into equal portions and flatten it using a rolling pin into tear shaped shapes.

3) First cook one side on the frying pan, and prick it with fork, while its cooking. (Please don't forget to prick it with fork, else it will puff up like poori in the oven while baking. Remember, we cook only one side on the frying pan.)

4) With the one side done like below, place it on the tray to broil it in the oven. ( Remember we cook only one side, I just flipped it in the pic below to show you how the cooked side looks like)

Pic Below: Thats how I placed them on my baking tray. Keep watching them as you broil them in the oven.

5) Broil it for a few minutes, till you get the desired color.

Once you take it out of the oven, rub butter over it.

To make garlic butter naan, Grate some garlic, and for color, add some chopped coriander, on one side of the naan, and then broil it.

These naan are no doubt, the most tasty ones I have ever eaten !!!!

Chendakappa with Kanthari Chamanthi

Wooohoooo !!!!Anytime of the day, you show it to a malayalee... there will be a tingling sensation on your tongues and your taste glands will send signals to your brain !!!


Kappa, cut them into the size that you see in the pic. Bring a pot of water to boil, then add the kappa pieces and cook 'em till they are cooked ;) , till they become soft. Drain them in a colander.

Kanthari Chammanthi

In kerala, they crush shallots and kanthari on a "ara-kkal" . I love it. Here you can use a pester mortar, or alternately crush it in a chopper.

Shallots - 5-6

Kanthari  - 7-8 ( depending on ur level of tolerance for spiciness )

Coconut oil  - 4-5 tablespoons

Salt 

Crush the shallots and Kanthari . Put them into a bowl. Then add the oil and salt. Dip the Kappa in them and pop them into your mouth, sipping hot tea in between. Enjoy!!!

Broccoli Thoren

We had  broccoli thoren for the first time, when a nice friend of mine came to visit me with lot of home cooked hot meals for me after my delivery. She made this thoren and it was so good. Ever since, Broccoli thoren is a favorite in our home.

Broccoli -  3 heads roughly chopped
Onion -  1 medium chopped
Green Chillies - 2-3
Jeera - 1/2 teaspoon
Garlic- 1 clove finely chopped
Grated coconut - 1/2 cup
Salt
Oil - 2-3 table spoons
Mustard seeds -  1/2 teaspoon
Curry leaves



1) Heat oil in a kadai, add mustard seeds, let it splutter
2) Then add chopped onion, garlic and curry leaves until onions become translucent .
3) Add the chopped Broccoli. cover and cook in low flame. No need to add water. (Vegetables have enough water to get cooked. Just make sure it is covered and cooked in low flame.)
4) Meanwhile, take a chopper, add the coconut, green chillies and jeera and give a quick chop.
5) Add salt and the crushed coconut mixture to the Broccoli and cook for another 5 minutes and switch off the flame.

Mathenga Errisery

Hmmm.... this "mathenga" itself brings back lot of fond memories. When my parents visited me last October, we went pumpkin picking  :-) . It was so beautiful to see the pumpkin farm and having my parents, my darling hubby and beautiful kiddos made it even more memorable. We didn't pick the orange pumpkins, because the previous year we picked them, I had to just watch it rot as I didn't have time to make anything with 'em and I hate to see food in any form go to trash. So this time, we picked green ones. Came home, my sweet papa, chopped them and put them into separate zip lock bags for me and stored 'em  in the freezer, so all I had to do was think of or research different recipes that I could make with all the pumpkin that was happily sitting in the freezer .


I think I'll post some pics of the pumpkin farm here, just makes my heart so full watching those pics.

So, now you can get a better picture in mind about the green ones and the orange ones.

Oh wait .... what was this post supposed to be about ? Oh yes ! I remember .... Mathenga Erriserry. Okay, then, back to Mathenga Erissery. Here is what I made yesterday. Enjoyed it with some yummy Kudampulliyitta Meen Curry and hot rice.... What more could I ask, for a tasty fresh lunch with all the fond memories.

Recipe


What you need to get started:

Pumpkin
Van Payar
garlic - 3 cloves
Jeera  - 3/4 - 1 teaspoon
Coconut Oil - 2-3 tablespoons
Mustard seeds - 1 teaspoon
Curry leaves
Dry red Chillies -3-4
1 whole coconut ( small one) grated. Keep aside 2-3 tablespoons for tempering in the end.
Tumeric -  1/2 teaspoon
Chilli powder - 1 teaspoon
Salt

So, this eriserry, I made with some van payar also and it just tasted awesome and of course, more healthy food goes in. I didn't soak the van payar earlier.

1) Cook the chopped pumpkin, with some van payar , salt, 1/2 teaspoon turmeric and 1 teaspoon chili powder in a pressure cooker with 1/2 -3/4 cup of water. After 4-5 whistles switch off.

2) If there is too much water in the cooker, you can use this to grind the shredded coconut along with 3 cloves of garlic, 1 green chili and  3/4  - 1 teaspoon of Jeera into a smooth consistency.

3) Add the coconut mixture into the pressure cooker and let it boil.

4) Add the tempering over it, check salt and switch off

For tempering:

Heat 2-3 tablespoons of coconut oil in a Kadai.

Add mustard seeds, when it splutters, add 2-3 dry red chillies and curry leaves and 2 table spoons of grated coconut and sauté without burning till the coconut becomes brown.

Add this over the curry.

Sambhar

I am so grateful to God, for Indu aunty . She gave me this wonderful awesome Sambhar powder and I love Sambhar, my entire family loves Sambhar and all who come and eat from my home ask me what powder this is. She grinds together 13 items and makes this home made Sambhar powder and nothing can beat its smell and taste . In Kerala, the Sambhars have almost all the veggies in the Sambhar ( exaggeration) but yes, a lot of veggies, but what I noticed in the Tamil Nadu sambhar is, they add one or two veggies and make different Sambhars with different veggies. They don't add all veggies into one. Well if you ask me which one I like..... its difficult to answer, the days I miss my mom and her cooking, I like it the Kerala style and the days I miss Chennai I like the Tamil Nadu style.

So, Indu aunty tells me, certain veggies don't go well with the other veggies in Sambhars. I love her so much, I like to believe what she says . She tells me when I make radish Sambhar, I shouldn't add pulli, the tomatoes should give the needed amount of pulli. Then carrot goes well with all the veggies.  Then brinjal and drumstick combination is marriage made in heaven and so much more. I love to hear her talk.

Anyways, the other day I made Sambhar with Mango, drumstick, Chow Chow, Laukey, tomatoes, Shallots and added Pulli.

First cooked the toor  daal in the cooker for 2-3 whistles .
In another kadai, heated some oil, sautéed all the veggies (except drumstick) green chillies, shallots, tomatoes, and 2 table spoons of Samabhar powder, turmeric powder, salt, curry leaves.
Added the above to the cooked daal and pressure cooked it for another one whistle.
Meanwhile cooked the drumstick separately and added to the rest of the veggies.
Then added the tamarind pulp. Let it boil well.
Finally added the tempering to the Sambhar.


For tempering:
Heat oil in a Kadai, add mustard seeds, let it splutter, Add dry red chillies, curry leaves, 2 shallots sliced, Asafetida.
Add it to the sambhar.
Garnish it with chopped Corriander leaves.

Enjoy it like a soup, or with rice, chappathi or idli/dosai

 Indhu aunty's Sambhar Powder:

1. Kanja Mulaka - Red Chilli - gundu mulaka 1/2 kg ( dry roast it last - else you will be sneezing till the end ;))
2. Dhanya - 1/2 kg - dry roast
3. Manjal - 100 gms
4. Jeeragam - 50 gms - DO NOT FRY
5. Thuvaren Parippu  - 150 gms - DO NOT FRY
6. Kadala Parippu - 150 gms - DO NOT FRY
7. Kadugu - dry roast - 50 gms
8. Vendayam - 2 tsps - Fry
9. Sombhu -  dry roast 50 gms
10. Curry leaves
11. Rice ( Boiled Rice)
12. Perum kayam
13. Pepper - DO NOT FRY

Sambhar Veggie Combinations:

Beans Onion Tomato - Add pulli less for this.

Kathrika, Muringikka, Carrot (1), Onion Tomato - Add Pulli 

For Idli Dosa Sambhar - don't add pulli

Radish, Onion, Tomato

Pumpkin, Onion, Tomato

Ethekka Erisseri

A simple, humble, taste curry. Goes so well with some hot rice. Have it with some ghee and papaddom.... oh... need I tell more.

To make this, I took

1 large long plantain
1/4 cup toor daal
1/2 cup freshly grated coconut ground to a smooth paste with 1/2 teaspoon Jeera, 1 shallot and 2 cloves of garlic.
2-3 Green Chillies
Tumeric powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Salt

For tempering
Oil - 2 table spoons
Mustard seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
Dry red Chilli - 2-3
Curry leaves
2 table spoons grated coconut
shallots  - 2 sliced.


In a pressure cooker, I cooked the toor daal and chopped plantain with quarter cup water, turmeric powder, slit green chillies
After 2-3 whistles, I switched off the flame, later added the ground coconut, shallot, garlic, jeera mixture and let it cook for some more time, till it boiled well. Add water to adjust consistency.
Add needed amount of salt.
For tempering, add oil in a kadai, add mustard seeds, when it splutters add curry leaves, dry red chillies, sliced shallots, 1-2 table spoons of grated coconut and sauté, make sure the coconut only becomes brown and not burned.
Add the tempering over the curry. Enjoy it hot with rice, ghee, papaddom, fish fry ;)

Potato Sagu

This recipe is so so so good. It goes so well with chappathi and poori. We had it with poori for breakfast last Sunday, it was so good, I had to make it again and we had it chappathis. This potato recipe is such a winner

Potatoes - 3-4 medium size ( boil and crumble it to smaller pieces using a fork)
Oil  - 1 tablespoon
Mustards seeds - 1 teaspoon
Urad dhal - 1 teaspoon
Channa dhal - 1teaspoon

Onion- 1 large ( chopped)
Tomato - 1 medium
ginger - 1/2 " chopped
green chillies - 3
Curry leaves - 7-8
Tumeric powder - 1/4 teaspoon
Asafetida - 2 pinch
Besan flour  - 1 tablespoon, made to a paste with little water.
1.25 cup water
salt - to taste
coriander leaves

Heat Oil in a kadai. Add mustard seeds, once it splutters, add curry leaves, urad dhal, channa dhal, give a quick sauté.
Add the chopped onions and fry till they become translucent and then add the chopped ginger.
Add the chopped tomatoes, chopped green chillies and turmeric and sauté. Add the asafetida , salt and the besan flour paste.
Add the cooked and crumbled potatoes. Taste for salt.

Hmmm.... Enjoy it hot with some chapathis or Poori.

Aviyal

Ingredients

Cucumaber (Vellarikka) - 150 gm
Snake gourd ( Padavelenga)  - 150 gm
Runner Beans (Achenga Payar) - 4-5
Drumsticks (Muringakka ) - 2
Carrots - 2
Yam ( Chayna) - 100 gm
Chow Chow - 1
Potato - 1
Raw Banana - 2
Green Tomato - 1
Raw Mango - 1
Green Chillies  - 3
Curd - 1/4 cup
Salt - to taste
Curry leaves
Coconut oil - 3 - 4  table spoons
Tumeric - 1/2 teaspoon

To grind coarsely

1/2 -3/4 of a coconut grated
Jeera - 1/2 teaspoon
Shallots  - 3-4



1. Boil all the vegetables ( including the green chillies ) except for drumstick in a pot. Add turmeric . Cook the drumstick separately. We cook the drumstick separately so that it doesnt get overcooked with the other vegetables
2. Add the needed salt. Bring all the vegetables together.( Add the cooked drumsticks to the other pot with the cooked vegetables.)
3. Add the ground coconut mixture to the cooked vegetables. Add the curd. Check salt.
4. Add the coconut oil and curry leaves.

Enjoy it with rice or chappathis !!!!

Mushroom Thoren

This recipe and picture is from Jolly Sunny.

Ingredients

Mushrooms - 350 gms, washed and cleaned, cut with knife or shred with hands into smaller pieces keep aside

Coarsely grind the following in a processor

Grated coconut - 3/4 cup

Shallots 3

Garlic - 1 big clove

Green Chillie 2-3

Tumeric powder  - 1/2 teaspoon

For tempering

Oil -  2table spoons

Mustard Seeds - 1/2 teaspoon

Dry Red Chilli - 3-4 ( Optional)

Shallot- 2 sliced

Curry leaves

Method:

Heat oil in a kadai

Add mustard seeds, let it splutter, add sliced shallots, dry red chillies and curry leaves and sauté.

Add the mushrooms and the coconut mixture . Add needed salt.

Cook well, till the water evaporates. 

Enjoy it with some hot rice. Yummmmm!!!

 

Vegetable Curry

Again, this is a recipe from Indu aunty. It goes well with Appam, Chappathi, Puri.

Here's how we make it.

Vegetables

Potatoes - 2
Carrots -2
Green Peas - frozen thawed ( 3/4 cup)
Cauliflower ( Cut the florets part and put them in boiling water for 3-4 minutes and drain)


Spices
Cinnamon - 1 stick
Cloves -3-4
Fennel Seeds - 1 teaspoon

Onion - 1  ( raw paste, so grind)
Tomato - 2 ( paste, so grind )

Ginger, garlic paste - 1 teaspoon ( not more, else it will over power the entire curry)
Sambhar powder - 1 teaspoon
Coconut milk ( 1 can)

Oil - 2 table spoons
Salt
Curry leaves


How to make it...

1) Heat Oil, add the spices, add the onion paste, let it cook really well, till all the raw smell goes, (be patient here) .
2) Add the ginger garlic paste, let the raw smell go.
3) Add the tomato paste, let it cook till oil clears on top.
4) Add the vegetables, sambhar powder, curry leaves, salt and let it cook well.
5) Add the coconut milk. When it starts to boil, switch off.

Enjoy it hot with some Chappathi, Appam or Puri, you will love it !

Vegetable Biriyani

This again is another recipe from Indu aunty. When it comes to biriyani, mutton Biriyani is the favorite in our home, followed by fish biriyani and chicken biriyani. But this vegetable biriyani has found its place in our home and hearts recently. This biriyani has excellent flavor and taste. Best part is, its really simple to make. I generally don't add chili powder for any of my Biriyani, but in Indu aunty's recipe, she adds chili powder and green chillies too, so its slightly on the spicy side. So, if you think you can't handle too spicy food, leave out the chili powder part. You can either make it in the pressure cooker or the evaporation method in any tight lid container. There is no oven baking involved here. So, I wouldn't prefer the layering method for this biriyani.

Ingredients

Basmati rice - 3 cups
Ginger garlic paste - 2-3 tablespoons ( adjust according to your taste, biriyani tastes better with a little more but not too over powering, so adjust accordingly)
Green Chillies- 2-3
Chilli powder - 1 table spoon
Tumeric Powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Tomatoes - 2-3 ( 2 large or 3 medium)
Onion - 1 large.
Mint leaves -  a hand full
Coriander leaves  -  a nice bunch
Salt - to taste
Curd 2 -3 table spoons
Raw Spices -  Cinnamon -  1 stick
                       Star anise -2
                       Elachi 4-5
                       Cloves 3-4
                       Bay leaves -8-10
                       Fennel Seeds - a teaspoon

Vegetables -  Carrot 2 - Chopped length wise
                      Beans - 10 - 15 lengthwise cut
                      Frozen Peas - thawed , 3/4 cup
                      Paneer- optional
                      Potatoes - 2 medium chopped not too small

Fried Onions - 1 cup
( I fry onions in large batches and store extra in freezer and use it whenever i make biriyani, tried rice, ghee rice, this way it saves you the trouble of frying every time you make biriyani)
Ghee/ Oil/ Dalda - Enough to sauté ( Add according to your health and taste, you can keep it low, you don't want it to be too greasy, let it be healthy, so adding 2-3 tablespoons would be enough )



1) Soak rice not more than 10 minutes.
2) Add Ghee/ dada /Oil , once its hot add the raw spice.
3) Add half the onion and sauté well.  ( The other half, grind it into a paste with the mint leaves and keep aside)
4) Add ginger garlic paste and sauté well till all the raw smell goes.
5) Add the powders and the onion mint leaves paste , sauté well, then tomatoes and green chillies, let it cook well.
6) Add the vegetables and sauté well. Let it cook 1/2 way through. Add 1/2 of the coriander leaves.
7) Add salt.

Pressure cooker method

For every 1 cup of rice, take 1.5 cups of water and cook till you hear one whistle, switch off.

Evaporation method.

For every one cup of rice take 1.5 cups of water, and a 1/2 cup more . Add the Rice and the vegetable masala , give a quick stir, check the salt, Cook on high flame, open till it boils well. When it starts boiling, close it with a tight lid and cook for another 20 minutes on medium. Switch off.  I spread it on to a tray immediately so that it won't get mushed.

Enjoy this tasty biriyani with Raita , pickle and some papadom.

Simple Ghee Rice

This recipe is so simple and so tasty. Here is how we make it.

Rice - 1 cup , cook and keep aside

cloves 1-2

Cardomom - 2

Cinnamon -  1 -1.5 " stick 

Ghee 2-3 table spoon 

Shallots - 2 -3 sliced

Dry red Chillies - 2-3

Curry leaves - fresh a handful

Salt

1) Cook rice with little salt and keep aside.

2) Heat the kadai, pour ghee, add the spices, shallot slices, curry leaves, dry red chillies and sauté well. ( this gives a beautiful aroma )

3) Add the cooked rice, stir well, let it coat well with the ghee and spices flavor. Check salt. 

4) Add some fried onions ( optional)

Maanga Pachadi ( Mango Pachadi)

If you like Pachidi, raise your hands ! I raise both my hands. I love all kinds of pachadi. Let me list a few here....
Carrot Pachadi
Beetroot Pachadi
Vendekka Pachadi
Pavekka Pachadi
Thakkali Pachadi
Pineapple Pachadi.... anything else? I can't remember any more....

I was trying this for the first time last weekend. I absolutely loved it. I had some frozen mango slices and wanted to make something with it. When I called my amma, she told me about this pachidi. Tried it and it was simply superb !!!

Boil mango slices with a little water, 1/2 teaspoon chopped ginger, green chillies ( sliced round) and salt. ( We don't need too much water else our pachadi will be too runny . Keep some boiled water ready, so incase if you need some more water to cook the mangoes well, you can keep adding a little .

Then once its cooked. Switch off and keep aside.

Give a quick stir to the thick curd and keep aside. Add salt.

Add the cooled mango mixture into this curd and give a quick stir.
In a Kadai, heat oil, splutter mustard seeds, then add curry leaves, 2-3 dry red chilies, shallots 203 sliced round and sauté. Add a pinch of asafetida .

When its cooled add this to the pachadi . Add a teaspoon of mustard powder to this pachadi .

Your mango Pachadi is ready !!!!

Morr Curry

Who needs the recipe of moor curry, this is one of the first things that anyone learns when they are new to cooking. I love this moor curry with a nice thoren, meen curry or chicken curry and some mezhukkuvaratty. I like it thick and not the super runny consistency .

Ingredients

Oil 3-4 tablespoon
Mustard Seeds - 1 teaspoon
Jeeragam  - 1/2 teaspoon
Ginger - sliced ( 1 table spoon)
Garlic sliced - ( 1 tablespoon)
Curry leaves a nice fresh sprig
Dry Red Chillies 3-4
Fenugreek seeds 1 teaspoon
Asafetida - a pinch and a little more
Shallots 2-3
Green Chillies - (optional 2 slit)
Tumeric - 1/2 teaspoon
Salt
Curd -1 Cup ( Beat well with a little water in the blender)


Heat Oil, add mustard seeds and let it splutter.
Saute everything except the curd ( of course) well in oil. And when it has cooled add it on top of the beaten morr. While beating the morr add the needed salt. Let the moor cook then on medium flame and keep stirring . When you see the steam coming up slowly. You can switch off. Keep stirring for a couple more minutes even after switching off or it may curdle.

Potato Fry

This potato fry is the one that you have with lemon rice and tomato rice, or even rasam rice and this potato fry is so so so so so so so so good !!! Believe me ... it really is good. This recipe is from Indu aunty, from Chennai. I get all the Tamil Nadu recipes from her. She is an excellent cook... Will be posting her Sambhar Powder recipe soon. That one is the star of the entire show. This recipe uses Sambhar powder and its Indu aunty's special Sambhar powder that I use here.

Take Potatoes (4-5) , wash them well and boil them with skin on.
When its almost cooked . Drain off the water and Peel off the skin.
Chop the potatoes into bite size portions.
Mariante them with 1 tablespoon Sambhar powder, curry leaves, salt and minced garlic (3-4 pods). Keep aside for at least 30 minutes.
Shallow Fry them in oil. Keep tossing in between.
Once this is done. You can enjoy them with rice if there is anything remaining. Usually the person frying the potatoes and the people passing by the kitchen while this is being fried, finishes them all and nothing will remain to go with lunch. Trust me ! For this recipe, its absolutely true !!!

Pulli Inji Curry

This is one of my favorite curries among vegetarian Nadan oonnu....That erivu and pulli (spicy & tangy) of the curry makes it almost any Malayalees favorite.

This is how we make it.

I can give only approximate measurements here... Its more like a personal taste of how tangy or spicy one would like.

Inji (ginger) - chopped fine (1 cup). ( Optional to Mix 1/2 teaspoon of rice flour to this)
Heat oil in a kadai.
Fry the ginger in oil till its brown and when it cools grind it.
In the same pan, add oil and when the oil is hot enough, add mustard seeds, let it splutter, 3-4 shallots sliced, green chillies, dry red chillies, curry leaves and sauté well.
Add turmeric ( 1/2 teaspoon), Red chili powder - according to your taste ( i would add at least 2-2 1/2  tablespoons). Add the ground ginger.
Tamarind - size of a lemon soak in  1/2 cup water and add it to the above and let it boil.
Jaggery - 1 teaspoon
Salt. Check the taste. Let it boil and reduce to the required consistency.

Enjoy this with some hot rice or kanji...

Cherrupayar Thoren

Vanpayar Thoren