Rava Upma

Breakfast is usually the first meal of the day and hence the name break the fast :) usually on weekends I luv to make something heavy so we all can indulge into good food and fill up our hungry bellies for the rest of the easy and lazyy weekend ahead. I remember as a child travelling in trains the best part was eating the train canteen and station  food yummy!!!
Usually it would take us 2 days to get to our destination and the starting station would have an entirely different food selection then the ending station because both were 2 different states .The canteen food was more or less the same one dish which I truly looked forward to on the train was their upma packed in a little silver container, hot and steamy delivered by the canteen men who would come ahead of time to take your order , along with this upma we always ordered hot coffee or garma-garam tea what a great way to start your day! Eating the upma , while sipping on some hot coffee and looking outside the through the window of the train was so relaxing . I miss those long train rides , now when we go to India we reach the same destination in 2 hrs even before U can finish your breakfast and coffee it is landing time , and the view out of the window of the plane well now thats a whole different story!

And  that is why I still have that dish as my top 5 breakfast dishes to indulge in on a weekend morning!

WHAT U NEED TO MAKE THE DISH:
upma- 2 cups
shallots-1 tablespoon chopped
ginger chopped-1 inch
green chillies-2-3 chopped
curry leaves a few optional
cilantro a small bunch chopped
mustard seeds- 1 teaspoon
urad dal-1 teaspoon
butter 1 tablespoon
EVOO-1 tablespoon
water-2 cups

Heat a thick bottom pan , add the oil when right temp is reached add the mustard seeds let it spurte add the urad dal toast for 1-2 mins then add chopped shallots, ginger, chillies. curry leaves, saute for 5 mins.
Add the rava and salt to this and again toast for 5 -7 mins till the rava is very slightly brown.
Then add water and let this simmer for 10 mins till all the water is absorbed into the rava.
Mix the upma well such that the rava is all separated out evenly , toss the butter in for added softness and garnish with chopped cilantro leaves.
Njoy !

Beef cutlets

Beef cutlet is not a very universal Indian dish but when u go down south like specifically Kerala this dish is a perfect appetizer and a great compliment to hard drinks and otherwise too . U cannot go wrong with this absolute crowd pleaser make it and u will be hailed as a rock star even if it is just for the day ! ; P
I usually make it around Christmas or Easter time truly delectable dish believe me there won't be any left overs with this one!
what u need to make the recipe:
Beef -2 pounds
boiled potatoes-2
shallots chopped-1/2 cup
(sorry the pic shows big red onion in the backdrop cos I had used up the shallots for the cutlets!)
ginger finely chopped-1/2 inch
green chillies chopped as per taste
cilantro chopped -1 tablespoon
salt to taste
bread crumbs plain- 2 cups
oil to fry as needed
eggs -2 beaten

There are different options to make the mix but the one I follow is to boil the beef pieces with a little salt in the cooker till well done. Then use a blender to get it to a thread like consistency with out adding any water at all just the meat this texture gets it close to the authentic beef cutlets in kerala because I have tried this other ways comes out little chunky.
add the chopped shallots, chillies, ginger, cilantro, salt
and the boiled potatoes blend these all well together.
Then line up the beaten eggs first add a little salt to the eggs too, then the bread crumbs
 start making the patties of the beef mix.
Heat a pan with oil when the right temp take the patty dip the patty in the eggs , then coat with the bread crumbs next stop is the hot pan.
Turn the patties both sides till golden brown serve with tomato ketchup or shallots marinated with chillies and vinegar Njoy!

Simple Rice Pilaf

It has been long since I have posted something close to a recipe on my blog , well busy life takes a toll on you never the less my 3 and 1/2 year old blog has started to hyperventilate getting near on to its last breath and so in desperate need to revive it I decided to post, the other very valid reason is that this was my weekend off no plans ahead so just lazing on the couch like a potato I decided to put this time to good use visit my blog world and seeing all the excellent recipes & updates that my fellow blogger's were up to inspired me to get in action .

So here's is a very simple dish

Rice pulao or like the western world calls it rice pilaf , name it either ways this dish is a great combo with any gravy dish.

What u need to make this dish:

Rice -2 cups

frozen or fresh peas -1/3 cup

cub size cut up carrot -1/3cup

ghee-1 tablespoon

bay leaves-4

cardamon-4

cinnamon stick -2 inch length

whole black pepper-1 teaspoon

salt to taste

lemon juice-1 teaspoon

water -4 cups

Heat a thick pot /pan ,add the ghee which can be also substituted with oil too as per taste and preferences of the individual . Add the whole spices to the ghee toss around till a smoky aroma comes, add the carrots and peas cook for 10 mins on medium flame .

Then add the cleaned rice to this stir till the rice is pearly white at least another 5 mins .

Add hot water to this mix gently stirring usually the water should be twice the quantity of the rice .

When the rice starts boiling add the lemon juice and salt cover for 15 -20 mins till the rice is fully cooked

Serve with hot curry and Njoy this easy peasy recipe

Fried potatoes

Potatoes are the most commonly available vegetables in any country or region .They are starchy, hardy and filling which compliments any dish be it vegetarian or a non vegetarian dish potatoes can just dwell well and give the dish a whole new taste and texture.

While I was digging out some information about our very own potato , was surprised to know that this vegetable has a quiet a bit of history to its credit that too an interesting one.!!!

Now I got this recipe from a very close friend of mine who we were visiting after 5 long years they had recently moved back to Seattle from India.This recipe reminds me so much of her and the good times we have had for the past few years together. The day she made this was a perfect puri bhajji kind of a Seattle day , the weather was kind of still cold although it was May , it kept raining intermittently and we all had so much to catching up with to do when they had left US 5 years back both our kiddos were just a few months old although we kept in touch all this while it felt great to be back together .

Here to great friends and good times with them !!

What u need for the recipe :

Potatoes- 3 peeled and cut cub size

Onion- 1 chopped fine

green chillies- 3-4 chopped

ginger garlic - 1 tbsp finely chopped

EVOO-1 TBSP

salt to taste

tumeric pwd- 1 teaspoon

cilantro- 1/2 bunch chopped

dried meethi leaves- 1 teaspoon

jeera - 1 teaspoon

dried coconut flakes- 1 tbsp

Heat a non stick pan add oil after a few minutes add jeera and dried meethi leaves these have very distinct and strong flavor it gives the dish a very authentic flavor too fry it till it gets lightly toasted, then saute the onions then goes in the ginger garlic paste which needs to be cooked till the raw taste is gone .

Add the potatoes ,salt and turmeric set the flame on medium low and let this cook for about 15 mins check in between so that the potatoes do not get stuck at the bottom of the pan.

Last is the finisihing touches add the chopped chillies and then after about 5-10mins when the potatoes are fully cooked add the cilantro leaves and the coconut flakes let them toast a little . The coconut flakes toasted gives this dish a very nutty flavor which perfectly compliments dal rice or hot fluffy puris too !

Puris

Today's post I decided to touch up on a classic breakfast in most Indian homes, PURI -BHAJJI . I remember my college days there was a street stall just outside the campus that every morning like clockwork had a guy frying hot puris to be served with potato bhajji yummy !The smell itself was so intoxicating , no wonder in a matter of time he would sell all of his stock of aloo puri ;P Puri or pooris are a very popular snack or breakfast in northern part of India . One of the easiest to make and has a very filling result. The recipe is pretty similar to that of making rotis or chapatis but instead of cooking it on a flat pan the bread or puri is deep fried in oil which makes it soft and literally irresistible with any gravy . what u need

1. 2 cups of wheat flour or atta
2. oil 1 cup
3. Knead all the above ingredients in a dough and set aside for 45mins to an hour. The trick to make soft rotis or even puris is to knead using warm water and let the dough sit for at least 45 mins. For puris try making the dough not too hard a little more on the loose side also when the puris are rolled out in small round puris use oil instead of wheat flour ,which adds on to the softer texture of the puris too. Another thing is to have moderate heat for frying the puris once the right temperature is set do not keep changing it. Also you just need to turn the puri in the hot oil once each side because the more you keep turning the harder the puri becomes also drinks a whole lot of oil. Make small balls of the dough , flatten it out with a rolling pin and deep fry in oil , I usually use EVOO ( extra virgin olive oil ) as puris are not the healthiest but on a rainy day these are the best . These sell like hot cakes are can be kept for few days in the fridge, mine never makes it to that point :) Serve these puris with aloo bhajji or even a gravy like recipe would be a great combo with these puris ! !

Puttu and Kadala curry

I am beginning this new year 2011 with one of the favourite breakfast of most keralities worldwide Puttu and Kadala curry one that has been blogged so many times in different variations, has been favourites in movies too. The other day I was watching an old Malayalam movie featuring Mammoty as a mentally handicapped man , and the food he loved the most was puttu he also is nick named puttu in the movie. That gave me an inspirational to make puttu and kadala curry for breakfast so here it is the recipe that I made from

What u need :

Rice powder- 2 cups
Coconut shredded fresh- 1/2 cup
Water ( warm )- as needed
salt - as needed

Mix all the above ingredients without the coconut with your hand and add warm water at a slow rate , constantly mixing the rice mixture , the final product has to be in a semi wet consistency the way what I have been taught by my mom and probably her mom is you should be able to make a ball when you grab the mixture and also should be able to break it in to powder like
consistency then you have reached the goal.
The utensil to make puttu is usually a funnel like hollow on top with the base with a much smaller hole. Now a days there is an option of cherata puttu also which means the utensil is in the shape of a coconut Shell to be exact half coconut shell.
Now layer the coconut about 1 tablespoon then the rice mixture and in the end again coconut.
This funnel is then set on to a steamer you can use a cooker as the base alos or the traditional vessel that it comes with . This then connects to the puttu kutti (utensil) at the bottom and the hot steam from the cooker cooks the puttu which is usually done in 8-10 mins max.

Serve with ripe bananas or any gravy combination for this time I went with Kadala curry. This is like a marriage made in heaven so good together just the way the start the day off right !

Happy new year 2011

WISHING EVERYONE IN THE BLOG WORLD A VERY HAPPY , PROSPEROUS AND PEACEFUL 2011

Banana Bread

Bananas are a usual at my place first few days we try to consume them with upma when they are just of the right ripeness then as days pass by they start turning color and then nobody wants them any more not even me. So usually these ripe and slightly blackened bananas get transformed into the banana bread I am sure who ever invented this recipe did it out of desperation to use up the too ripe bananas what ever be the case it turns out great. This recipe is based on the food network website very easy and simple to make , and a great snack too.

what u need :

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter at room temperature
• 2 large eggs
• 3 ripe bananas
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter a 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pan.

Cream the sugar and butter in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.In a small bowl, mash the bananas with a fork. Mix in the milk and cinnamon. In another bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.Add the banana mixture to the creamed mixture and stir until combined. Add dry ingredients, mixing just until flour disappears.

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Set aside to cool on a rack for 15 minutes. Remove bread from pan, invert onto rack and cool completely before slicing.

Beef Curry

We are just back from our India trip which was so good, all of us had a great time. Among all the dishes we got to try the one that inspired me to make this dish was the beef curry well I have modified it a bit , but this is a good gravy dish with appam , rotis or rice too.

what u need :

beef cut up-1 pound
onion - 1 cup chopped length wise
garlic -1 tablespoon chopped fine
ginger- 1 tablespoon chopped fine
tomato- 1-2 chopped
curry leaves- 7-8
turmeric- 1 teaspoon
chilli pwd -1 teaspoon (add spice as needed)
paprika - 1 teaspoon
black pepper ground- 1 teaspoon
garam masala- 1 teaspoon
EVOO-2 teaspoon
salt to taste
coconut milk- 1/2 cup

Clean and cut the meat in bite size pieces add 1/2 cup water cook in the cooker till at least 2 whistles let it cool down

Meanwhile heat up a thick bottom pan, add 2 teaspoon EVOO add the chopped onions and curry leaves cook till translucent.

Add the chopped ginger- garlic till raw smell is gone.

Add the paprika, garam masala , black pepper, cook for few mins , then add the cooked beef.

As beef is going to take some time to cook so cover the pan and let it cook on low flame, be sure to be mixing it once in a while so that it does not get burnt .

Add the chopped tomato let it cook down.

After about 20-25 mins the beef starts to sweat out the oil , add the coconut milk in the end .

Add salt as per taste, and serve with hot rice or chapathi.

Chiken Fry with coconut

Chicken Fry with Coconut:

There are so many dishes to make chicken but every time I cut up chicken , it ends up in the same old curry style so this time I decided to make it a little different way.This dish is partly inspired by a u tube cook and partly by my dad who is a fantastic cook.

There are very few people who enjoy cooking and my dad is one of them, he made sure that everyone who was around participates in the cooking process even if it was just watching him cook which was so entertaining , and the cooked dish usually was a winner!! He made the whole process of cooking so easy and enjoyable looking back I guess that was one of the reasons I love to cook :)

This year as we are planning our trip to India there are so many things on the TO DO LIST most of all is to spend some quality time with family and friends and also get to eat some great Indian food .Most of the time we go out to eat is to some fancy Indian Restaurant and end up having Indian dishes unheard of so me and my hubby usually sneak out the house under some shopping pretense and coz we love to eat the street food pipping hot vada pav's , pav bhaji and my favorite the hot masala dosa right of a tava on the streets of Mumbai irresistible . We manage to have all these every trip , trying to keep the tradition on for this trip too.

Coming back to the recipe this a a little time consuming dish but all the time and effort put in in the end is well worth it.

What u need :

• chicken – 1 full cut up in bite size pieces
• onion – 1 cup chopped
• coconut grated - ½ cup
• ginger garlic – 1 tablespoon chopped
• red dried chillies – 4-5
• black pepper whole – 1 teaspoon full
• cinnamon bark- 2-3
• cloves- 4-5
• bay leaves – 3-4
• cardamon – 3-4
• anise star- 2-3
• curry leaves - 1-2 springs
• oil – 1-2 tablespoon
• salt to taste
• turmeric- 1 teaspoon full
• paprika 1 tablespoon

Heat a small pan and roast the whole spices for a few minutes , set aside to cool .In the same pan roast the grated coconut till they r crispy and brown this usually takes 5-10 mins be careful to not burn the coconut.Now mix the coconut with the spices using a blender , mix till it is in a fine shredded form do not add any water this has to be in a dry texture.Heat a pan add oil , saute the chopped onions , add ginger garlic and cook for 5-10 mins add the curry leaves too.Add the coconut mix , along with spices turmeric and the paprika add the chicken to this mix cook for at least 20 mins till the chicken is all cooked well. Serve with hot rotis!!

Dal Fry

After a long hectic travel day or a long round of high calorie fattening foods all u feel like eating is something simple and comforting. Usually after we r back from a hectic trip I try to whip up some simple Dal and Rice just brings back goodness in every bite!! A little pickle and yogurt um um good!!

Looking back through ancient India till today one of the most prominent dishes that show up in each and every Indian cuisine be North Indian, South Indian, West or East Indian is undoubtly the dal rice.I think every Indian restaurant has this dish on its menu may a little more fancy version of dal , like dal makhani , or dal tadka , or on the south side parippu etc but all these boils down to the same thing. I remember flipping pages of international magzines mostly the travel or food magzines where u stuble upon an article about India and a snap of a plate of rice and yellow gravy by the side ( dal ). Brings back so many warm memories.

Dal basically is also called lentils and fall in the category of pulses loaded with protein. Easily available in most Indian stores actually now I have seen them in the regular grocery stores too, usually in the Asian aisle. There are quite a few varieties of dal for that matter

Like:

Toor dal , Masoor Dal & Moong Dal

Many more u can add on , but these are the most common ones found almost in every Indian Pantry.

I remember when we were young my parents used to get all their groceries from this one store where everyone goes to, and usually a whole year’s worth, not by pounds but by kilos. Same with rice in our kitchen there was this huge aluminum vessel filled with dal which as and when my mom could use the lentils it was like a magic vessel which was never empty which my mom always made sure . My mom made dal almost few times a week it goes a long way, made be mostly in sambar form by adding lots of vegetables to it.

I always loved simple dal and rice so fulfilling and comforting usually I make it with toor and masoor dal mixed in equal proportion.

Sometimes I boil them in excess and store in the freezer in smaller containers then as and when needed U can thaw and use it.

Now to the recipe what u need :

· Toor dal ½ cup

· Masoor dal ½ cup

· Onion chopped fine ¼ cup

· 1 Tomato chopped

· 2-3 chopped garlic

· 1-2 green chillies ( optional )

· Cilantro chopped ¼ cup

· 1 teaspoon dried fenugreek leaves (meethi )

· 1 tablespoon olive oil or any u prefer

· ½ teaspoon full turmeric powder

· 1 teaspoon full or mustard seeds and jeera

· Salt to taste

Boil both the dals after washing few times in water, usually I boil it in a cooker with the water level an inch above the dal , u can also boil it in the deep set pan but takes a lot longer. After the dal has cooled down .Heat a pan with the oil add the mustard and jeera when they start to pop add the chopped onion cook for a few minutes . Then add the chopped garlic and green chillies sauté till soft and a little brown in color.

At this point u can also add a chopped tomato which is optional, cook the tomato thru then add the dried fenugreek leaves which have a very strong flavor absolutely flavorful this ingredient will just seal the deal for u, makes the dal so yummy and AUTHENTIC. Add the turmeric powder stir for a few minutes and add the cooked dal make sure it is a thick consistency u can add water as per your preference.Add salt in the end if water is added do let it boil then add the chopped cilantro leaves for garnish.

Serve with hot steaming rice or rotis too .Enjoy !!