May 14, 2016

Papaya moru curry


What u need ~


Shallot - 1 chopped

Red Chillies - 5 - 6
Curry leaves- 1 spring
Garlic  - 1-2 chopped
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
Meethi (Uluva) Powder - 1/2 tsp
Yogurt (Curd) - 2 cups lightly beaten
Raw Papaya - 1 cup chopped cub sized
Salt - as needed 
Olive  oil - 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

  • Add the chopped papaya in a cup pf water , add salt, turmeric powder, green chillies optional  and boil till the papaya is well cooked.
  • Heat oil in a deep set pan add mustard seeds , red chillies, garlic curry leaves and chopped shallots.
  • Stir for a while and then add the turmeric powder, meethi powder, cumin powder and salt.
  • Now add some water. Cover it and cook for some time.When cooked well, switch off the stove, and after a while add the whipped yogurt to it, stir well.
  • Add the whipped yogurt gently in to the pan with stirring it .
  • Add salt in the end with constant stirring . 
  • Add the cooked papaya to the curd and mix well, serve with rice and Njoy!

March 27, 2016

Chicken Stew


Few years back while I was visiting my cousin and her new baby also got to meet her mother -in-law who had come over to help her out . That morning for breakfast they served homemade appams and chicken stew .
I have had a lot of chicken curries for breakfast , but this one was different it did not have a lot of spices very simple and delectable with chicken stewed in coconut  milk with the whole spices aroma along with potatoes and carrots garnished with toasted cashews and raisins .
The new baby was for sure the star , but chicken stew came very close :) her mom-in-law made it so well that I had to take down the recipe and recreate it at home. And so I did like many times  this recipe is one of my family's favorite breakfast dish goes really well with appams , pathiri and idiiappams .

What U need :

Organic Chicken -  2 whole chicken cut up in medium size pieces I used Cornish hen
Red Onion  – 1 large sliced 
Green chillies – 2 sliced optional
Curry leaves – 8 - 10
Carrot  – 1 medium
Potato – 1 medium (russet )
Garam Masala – 1 ½  tsp
Oil - 1 tablespoon 
Black peppercorns - 1 teaspoon powdered and whole
Ghee – 1 Tbsp for garnish 
Cinnamon – 1 inch stick
Green Cardamom – 3 or 4
Cloves – 3 or 4
Star Anise – 1
Bay leaves – 2
Garam masala - 1 teaspoon (dry mix of cinnamon, cardamon, cloves , star anise)
Coconut milk - 1 cup
Cashews - 5-8 roasted in ghee preferably 
Raisins - 1 teaspoon 
Salt as needed

  • Marinate  the chicken with ground pepper ,leave this for at least an hour.
  • In a large cooking pan, heat some oil or ghee is optional at this step add the whole spices and saute till the spices are heated up and exude the delicious aroma.
  • Add in the sliced onion, green chillies and curry leaves and cook until the onion is brown .
  • Then add the cube sized potato, carrots, and Chicken pieces along with enough salt and cover and let it cook on medium-low heat until chicken as well as the potatoes are almost cooked. 
  • Add the garam masala to the stew cover and cook until the chicken is fully cooked and is usually 30 minutes totally so the chicken is fully cooked inside out.
  • Then add  the coconut milk you can always add the thin milk first and towards the end add the thicker milk with cream, give it a stir  make sure this is on  a low  flame cook for few minutes more.
  • Finally this step is the most crucial step this adds the authentic taste heat a separate pan , melt the ghee then add some thinly sliced onions fry  this till brown and crispy , add the cashews and raisins to this and fry for  a few seconds more add some garam masala , then pour this over the stew and turn off the heat. You don't need to stir as this point the ghee and cashews on the top of the stew give this dish a very authentic look.


Garnish with onions , curry leaves, cashews & raisins

Fried in ghee to top off the stew .



Serve with soft appams , dip into the yummy gravy and Njoy !
"Wish you all a very Happy easter !" 



February 14, 2016

Strawberry Jam with love




This is by far one of the easiest recipes to make, the other day while I was on  my usual grocery shopping rounds, I came across some really fresh and good strawberries in the produce isle and needless to add I had strawberry jam on my shopping list , those strawberries looked too tempting so I decided to make it from scratch with fresh strawberries  .

One of the recipes that I followed is pretty straight forward and easy done in 30 mins and gone in 2 days :)

What u Need ~
Strawberries - 2 cups cut up
Sugar - 1 cup
Green granny smith apple - 1/2 apple peeled and cut cube size
Blueberries - 1/2 cup
Lemon juice - 1 table spoon
  • Wash and clean the strawberries cut up in cube size and add to a deep set pan . Add the sugar to the strawberries and cook for few mins , keep stirring the pan.
  • Add the granny smith apples and the blueberries this adds in the much needed pectin and blueberries gives it a denser color. Cook this for at least 30 mins on medium flame with regular stirring.
  • The consistency starts getting thicker , add in the lemon juice , once it has reached to a jam consistency not too thick . Put the stove off let it cool 
  • Skim and discard the foam that usually tends to form on the top of the jam mixture .
  • Spread it on toast or  scones and Njoy !

Happy Valentine's day !






January 27, 2016

Beef and potatoes curry


This is one of the traditional kerala beef curry recipe that I have made for years the only change is adding a little meethi leaves towards the end as garnish. Try this out the additional meethi does add a delicious flavor  to the meat and potatoes . You  can always add coconut milk for serving as a breakfast dish or make it a little dry  , it goes well with naan or bread.

What U need :

What u need ~
Beef cut up-1 pound
Red onion - 1 cup chopped length wise
Garlic -1 tablespoon chopped fine
Ginger- 1 tablespoon chopped fine
Potatoes - 1-2 chopped cub size
Curry leaves- 7-8
Turmeric- 1 teaspoon
Chilli pwd -1 teaspoon (add spice as needed)
Garam masala- 1 teaspoon
Black pepper ground- 1 teaspoon
Meethi leaves dried - 1 tablespoon
Oil -2 teaspoon
salt to taste
Bay leaves -2-3

Garam masala ~
Cardamon seeds - 4-5
Cinnamon stick - 1 inch
Star anise -2
Clove - 4-5
Fennel seeds - 2 tablespoon


  • Clean and cut the meat in bite size pieces add 1/2 cup water , salt , pepper, garlic pods ,  bay leaves, few curry leaves cook in the pressure cooker till at least 2 whistles let it cool down


  • Meanwhile heat up a thick bottom pan, add 2 teaspoon Oil,  add the chopped red onions and curry leaves cook till translucent.
  • Add the chopped ginger- garlic till raw smell is gone.
  • Add the 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 cub sized potatoes  let it cook down for 5-10 mins till the potatoes are done .
  • After the beef starts to sweat out the oil , add the dried meethi leaves  .
  • Add salt as per taste if needed , and serve with hot rice or chapatti. 
  • NJoy !
  • December 23, 2015

    Merry Christmas and a very happy and peaceful new year !

    May your Christmas sparkle with moments of love, laughter and goodwill, 
    And may the year ahead be full of contentment and joy. 


    Wishing all my friends in the blog world Happy Holidays !

    November 25, 2015

    Cornbread stuffing

    Growing up in an south Asian country thanksgiving was a foreign concept to me. The first year-round thanksgiving  I was totally clueless as to what is this holiday exactly about because there was a big fuss about cooking a lot of  food then shopping at crazy hours didn't make sense what are we celebrating ??

    Then over the years it started to grow on to you the true reason why we celebrate thanksgiving - a day to give thanks as simple as it sounds is a very humbling and gratifying feeling. Every single day we take a lot of things and people around us for granted not realizing how important  little things are and giving thanks means a lot…a lil' gratitude goes a long way.
    So give thanks to one and all .
    Wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving !!


    OK now to the recipe every one has their favorite mine has evolved over time its the corn bread stuffing YUM !
    this is inspired from one of my favorite chefs Ina Garten , I tweaked it a lil' to suit our taste.



    What you need  ;

    1 cup 1-inch bread cubes I used corn bread 

    1/2 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter


    1/2 cups medium-diced yellow onion (2 onions)


    1/4 cup medium-diced celery (2 stalks)


    1 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley


    1 teaspoon kosher salt


    1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper


    1/4 pound chorizo (spicy sausage)


    1 cup chicken stock


    1/4 cup dried cranberries


    • Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F place the corn bread cubes in a single layer on a sheet pan and bake for 7 minutes. 
    • Raise the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Remove the corn bread cubes to a very large bowl.
    • Meanwhile, in a large saute pan, melt the butter and add the onions, celery, parsley, salt and pepper. Saute over medium heat for 10 minutes, until the vegetables are softened. Add to the corn bread cubes.
    • In the same saute pan, cook the chorizo over medium heat for about 10 minutes, until browned andcooked through, breaking up the meat with a fork while cooking. Add to the bread cubes and vegetables.
    • Add the chicken stock and cranberries to the mixture, mix well, and pour into a 9 by 12-inch baking dish. Bake for 30 minutes, until browned on top and hot in the middle. Serve warm Njoy !


    Cinnamon rolls

      This year I decided to go on a baking mode with some new cookie recipes and some older tried and tested goodies, Filling up the house with...