THE KITCHEN AFFAIRE

The thought of egg puffs brings back fond memories of my college days. The bakery near my hostel sold the tastiest puffs in the world. That too, egg puffs. An egg puff and Sharjah shake was always the popular combination at that hangout. It was just fantabulous. I was trying to recreate that aroma and taste. Though I couldn't match that taste, it was pretty close. :) Ingredients Puff pastry sheets : 1  Eggs : 3  Chopped onions : 2 cups Ginger paste : 1 T  Garlic paste : 1 T  Coriander Powder : 1 t  Garam masala : 2 pinch  Turmeric powder : 1/4 t  Red chilli powder : 1 t  Salt as required  Oil : 3 T   Method Preparing Thaw the pastry sheet by leaving it out in room temperature for about an hour or so.  Boil the eggs and take the shell.  Cut each egg vertically(lengthwise)into two halves. For the stuffing Heat oil in the pan. Fry onion until it gets brown.  Then add ginger a...

Ingredients Chana dal (split bengal gram/kadala parippu) – 2 C Onion – 1, finely chopped Green chilli – 3, finely chopped Ginger – 2 t, finely chopped Curry leaves – 2 sprigs Kayam (asafetida) – 1/8 t Salt - to taste Oil for deep frying Method Wash and soak chana dal in water for 2 hours.  Drain the water completely and make sure that the dal is dry. Coarse grind the drained dal (do not add water) for a few seconds. Make sure not to grind it to a smooth paste.  Add rest of the ingredients except oil to the ground mix and gently mix together.  Make small balls with the ground mix. Heat oil for deep frying pan on high flame.  While the pan gets hot, flatten the balls in your palm. When oil is really hot, reduce the flame to low-medium and add the vada/fritter.  Fry till the vadas (fritters) become golden brown or if you like it extra crispy, fry till you get a darker shade.  Drain excess oil on a tissue paper....

Cabbage Thoran is an all-time favorite to us.  The best part to it is the easiness of preparing it. And it gets ready in a jiffy :D Yum yumm.. I am hungry already.  :) Ingredients Cabbage, shredded - 1  Small onion/Kunjulli, chopped - 3 Coconut, grated - 1/4 C Ginger, chopped - 1/2 t Green chiles, chopped - 3 Turmeric powder - 1/4 t Mustard seeds - 1 t Curry leaves - a few Salt to taste Oil - 1 T Method In a bowl, mix together the cabbage, coconut, ginger, green chiles , turmeric powder and salt. Combine them slowly with you hands (do not be too harsh on them). Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds, once they pop, add curry leaves and small onion. Saute till the onions turn light brown. To this, add the cabbage-coconut mix and stir well.  Cook it covered on a low flame for max 10  minutes or until the cabbage is well-cooked. Before removing from fire, saute for a minute or two. Yummy cabbage thoran is ready to be served.

Today is " Attham " - the first day of the 10 day long festival of Onam . Atham is regarded holy and auspicious by the people of Kerala. Onam is a festival which is celebrated in a large scale in Kerala apart from Christmas, Easter and Vishu.  Onam falls in the month of " Chingam " (Malayalam calendar) and marks the homecoming of the legendary King Maveli. It is said that during his rule all people were considered equal and there was no caste based distinction. This folk song about Maveli tells us the same " Maveli nadu vaneedum kalam, manushyarellarum onnu pole". Today is even more special for me as it is my dearest Mummy's birthday :-) Happy birthday my dear "Mum". I love you so much and I miss you so much. I am sure Mum is going to have a blast there with her friends and of course with Daddy. :-) On this special day of "Attham" - Mum's birthday, I decided to post something that my mom l...

I just love the aroma of fresh snacks and bakes that surrounds a bakery. This reminds me of my favorite bakeries at Kerala. They are KR Bakers at Cochin and Famous Bakery at Kasargod. I miss the mouth-watering taste of cutlets, puffs and egg rolls. All these thoughts made me hungry and I was determined to make cutlets :D I did not have this much determination even during school exams. :D This is one awesome snack… Try it out :) Ingredients  Potato - 2 Beetroot - 1 1/2 Onion, chopped - 1 C Ginger - 1" pc Garlic - 1 t Green Chilli, chopped - 2 Pepper Powder - 1 t Garam Masala - 1 t Egg - 2 Bread Crumbs - 1 C Salt - to taste Oil - for frying Water - enough for boiling Method  For the Filling Peel the potatoes and beetroot. Boil them together for 8 mins (I microwaved) or until they turn soft. Remove from oven. Mash and allow them to cool. Meanwhile, heat oil in a pan. Add all ingredients from onion to green chilli...

I can help laughing when I think of Idiyappam as Noodles. Idiyappam is special on its own and cannot be compared with noodles though it does look like it. :) It is another authentic Keralite dish. In Kerala, Idiyappams are eaten for both breakfast and dinner. Well, we have it for lunch too :) Coz we like Idiyappam a lot. Whats not to like! :D Idiyappams go with Stew (Potato in Coconut Milk gravy) or Chicken Curry (Chicken in spicy "masala" gravy). And again there is no rule that it goes only with these two. You can have it with yummy green peas masala or egg masala too :) Ingredients Fine Rice Flour – 2 C Boiled Water – 2 C Salt – to taste Grated Coconut – 1/2 C Thick Coconut Milk - 1 T Accessories Required Idiyappam Press Idli Mould  Method Add salt to the boiled water. Pour water to the rice flour little at a time. Continue till it turns out to become a smooth dough. Keep it aside to cool. Once the dough has cooled, knead it again adding co...

Among other things, Northern Kerala  (also known as Malabar) has always been the proud owner of a huge set of special dishes. These specialities are relished by people all over Kerala :) Some of the specialites are Ari Pathiri (Rice Bread), Kozhikode biriyani, Mutta Chaya (Egg tea) As my family hails from North Malabar and hence I have grown up eating a lot of malabar specialities :) But this is the first time that I tried making Ari Pathiri by myself. And guess what? It came out fine. I still remember how my mom used to make these with expertise. She and her sisters would make them in a matter of seconds (while they chit chat and gossip)  :D . Well, I was not lucky enough to have any company while preparing this. Nevermind! It still came out good :)  Here is the recipe for you guys. Ingredients Rice Flour - 2 C Water - 2 C Salt - to taste  Method Boil water and add salt. When bubbles pop, pour in the flour and mix. Reduce heat, cover with a lid...

This is a typical Kerala dish generally served for the Kerala "Sadya" or feast. It is a yogurt based side dish. Today is one of those days when I dont feel like yapping a lot! So here is the recipe folks :) Ingredients Mustard seeds - 1/4 t Okra, thinly chopped - 1 C Green chillies, slit - 2 Curry leaves - a few Turmeric powder - 1/2 t Oil - 1 T Yoghurt - 1 C Salt - to taste Method Heat oil in a pan.Splutter mustard seeds. Add curry leaves, green chillies and okra. Fry for a few minutes, until the okra turn crispy and light brown. Add turmeric and salt. Turn off the heat after 2 minutes. Add the fried lady`s finger into the yoghurt and mix well.

We love eggs :D  Its easy to know if I have been having a lot of eggs recently, just look into my face. Pimples!!! :p Gosh! Still, its irresistible!! I am yet to try Poached eggs! Will do that soon and post it here ok? :) Mutta means Egg in malayalam. The recipe is very simple and does not require a lot of time too. Goes well with Appam, Chappathi and even Poori. Ingredients Eggs, boiled - 3 Onion, sliced - 1.5 Tomato, chopped - 1 Ginger - garlic paste - 1.5 T Mustard Seeds - 1 t Cumin Seeds - 1 t Turmeric Powder - 1 t Red chilli Powder - 1.5 t Coriander Powder - 1.5 t Black Pepper Powder - 1/2 t Cream of milk - 1/2 C (Milk would do) Water - 1.5 C Oil - To fry Salt - to taste Method Heat oil in a pan. When hot, add mustard and cumin seeds. As they splutter, add sliced onions and stir well. Cook till the onions soften. Add ginger garlic paste and stir again. Take a small bowl with 4 T water and mix all spices into it. Pou...

This is a recipe that i got from Amma while she was here with us. :)  Simple and delicious is the most easy way to describe it. Goes superb with Rice and a thoran. Ingredients Red gram - 1 Cup Thick coconut milk - 3/4 Cup Thin coconut milk - 1/2 Cup Winter Melon/Kumbalanga - 3/4 Cup - Cut to small square pcs Green chillies - 3 Salt - As required Method Pressure cook the red gram till its soft yet not mushy (Upto 4 to 5 whistles). Take off the lid and continue cooking. Add the melon pcs, slit green chillies and salt to taste. Allow the mixture to cook till the contents of the pressure cooker become a little  concentrated. Add thin coconut milk to the mixture and once its hot enough add the thick coconut milk too. Let it cook for few more minutes. Then its all set to be served.

The thought of pazham pori reminds me of the vendors who walk around us in trains. All my morning trips to cochin was something i would look forward to, mainly for the yummy pazham pori, uzhunnu vada and cutlets.. What an aroma they have.. :) Ingredients Ripe Plantain- 1 ( peel and cut into 2 parts, cut them lengthwise into 3 ) Maida / all purpose flour - 1/4 cup Rice flour - 2 teaspoon ( for crispness of the covering ) Salt- a pinch Sugar -1/4 teaspoon Water - for diluting the batter ( 1-2 tablespoon ) Oil for frying Method For the batter Mix maida, salt, rice flour and sugar with water. Batter should not be too watery. For frying Heat oil in a pan. Dip each banana slices into the batter and fry on a medium flame till get golden colour. Turn occasionally. Drain out from oil and keep in paper towels. Serve with tea / coffee.

Ingredients For cooking the dal Toor dal - 1/2 C Water - 2 1/2 C Salt - to taste Ghee - 1/2 t Turmeric - a pinch For Sautéing Tomato, diced - 1 Brinjal, diced - 1 Onion, thinly sliced - 1 Vegetables : Ladysfinger, Ash gourd, Plantain, Carrots, Drumsticks Ginger, thinly sliced - A small piece Garlic cloves, thinly sliced - 1-2 Green chillies - 3 Turmeric powder - ¼ t Coriander powder - 2 t Chilly powder - 1 t Sambar Powder - 2 T Tamarind paste - ½ t Cumin seeds/ jeera : ¼ t Coconut oil : ½ t Salt to taste For seasoning Coconut oil - 1 Mustard seeds - 1 t Fenugreek seeds - 3/4 t Dry red chillies - 2 Asafoetida - 1/2 t Curry leaves For garnishing Coriander leaves Method For cooking dal Wash Toor dal thoroughly in water. Along with water, turmeric powder, ghee and salt, cook washed dal in a pressure cooker, in medium heat, until it is cooked and soft. For me it takes around 4-6 whistles. For the gravy Heat...

Mutta roast... This is one of mummys signature dishes. Every time she made that, i bet i would have had n number of chappathis or appam along with it.. :D Ingredients Eggs : 3 Chilli powder : 1 1/2 t Coriander powder : 1 1/2 t Pepper powder : 1 t Aniseed : 1/2 t Cardamom : 1 pod Cloves : 2 Cinnamon : 1" Refined vegetable oil : 3 T Onion : 1 1/2 Cups, sliced Tomato : 1/4 cup, chopped Salt to taste Water : 1/4 cup Method Hard boil and shell the eggs. Keep aside. Grind to a paste chilli powder, coriander powder, pepper powder, aniseed and all the spices. Heat the oil and fry onion till transparent. Add the ground paste and on low heat fry until oil oozes out. Stir in the tomatoes and continue frying on low heat. After the tomatoes are blended well, add salt and water. Put gashes on the eggs and cover the pan. Simmer till the gravy is thick. Our curry is ready! Now serve hot!

This is one yummy nadan curry. I had it at my edappally home, Amma had prepared it ofcourse. It was just too yummy. I was almost licking my fingers! :D And then the next time i got into the kitchen i could not resist trying my hands on it. I got the recipe from Amma and there it was " yummy manga pulissery"  :D Ingredients Ripe Mangoes – 5-6 of small size Grated coconut – 1 cup Jeera - a pinch Garlic – 1 piece Small onion – 2-4 Green chilly – 3-4 Turmeric powder – 1/4-1/2 tsp Small onion – 4 Red chilly – 2 Mustard – 1/2 tsp Curry leaves Salt - to taste Oil Method Peel the mangoes and cook the peeled mangoes with salt and 1 -1 1/2 cups of water for 10 minutes. Grind together the number 2 ingredients with 1/2 cup of water to a fine paste. Add this and 1/2- 1 cup of water to the mangoes. Check salt and add more if required. Cook for 5-7 mins on low flame. Make sure that it doesnt boil. Remove from fire. For the tadka Heat oil...

Ingredients Milk - 8 cups Rice - 1 cups Sugar - 2 cups Method Mix water and milk, cook in medium heat with occasional stirring till the volume reduces to half. Wash and drain rice, add it to the cooked milk, cook under medium heat till rice is done. Add sugar, cook for 20 more minutes with frequent stirring. Add crushed cardamom. Remove from stove. Optionally, cashew nuts toasted in ghee can be added.

Puttu-kadala! Slurp! A healthy and yummy delicacy. Puttu can be made with ragi, wheat, corn or rice grains. And kadala curry is made with the black chickpeas. Though making puttu may seem tough, the aroma of steaming soft puttu is a great recompense. Puttu is made using a cylindrical mold called "puttu kodam". Now i will let you into the trick of making soft puttu. Its basically all about mixing the right amount of water with the puttu powder. Puttu Rice flour : 2 cups Grated coconut : 1 cup Water : about half cup Salt Method Mix the rice flour and salt well in a large bowl. Spray water little by little, and keep mixing it in gently with your fingers.  The entire batch of flour has to be damp enough.  Cover and keep aside for 10 minutes. Fill about half your pressure cooker with water, cover and bring to a boil.  Do not put the weight. To fill the puttu mold, place the disc at ...