THE KITCHEN AFFAIRE

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....

I ate Adai a couple of months back at one of our Tamilian friends place. I was surprised that I had not eaten this before, in fact, I was not aware of this dish. mmm.. Well, as they say, better late than never.  :) But still, I did not try it soon enough. And last day, as I spoke with my mom, she said that she made Adai. I was like, " Oh mommy, I also wanted to make this.. ". Thanks to mum for reminding me :) Love her.. So there it goes. I tried the recipe today and Oh my, it turned out great. We loved it and had lots of them :) Here is the recipe for you friends..  Ingredients Step 1 Raw rice / Idli rice - 1/2 C Salt - to taste Oil - 1/2 C Boiled rice - 1/2 C Toor dal - 1/2 C Bengal gram / Chana dal - 1/4 C Urad dal - 1/4 C Green chilli -2 Red chilli -3 Step 2 Asafoetida -1/4 t Onion, finely chopped - 2  Coconut, grated - 2 T Curry leaves - a few Cilantro leaves - a few Ginger -1'' small bit Drumstick leaves - a handfu...

I just love bonda. Sometimes the word bonda sounds very funny. Does it to you guys too? hi hi..  Anyways, bonda is one of the popular snacks in Kerala (India). The first thing that comes into my mind when I think of them are of those little bakeries which display freshly made bonda's in glass cabinets right in front of the store. One look at those yummy ball like thing and you know you want it!! I remember dragging daddy to the bakery to buy me some :)  Nostalgia..  Here is the recipe for you guys.. Make em and I hope you enjoy them too! Ingredients For the filling Potato - 3 Onion, chopped - 1/2 Green chill - 2 Curry leaves - a few  Turmeric powder - 1 t Salt - to taste  Oil - 1 T For the batter Chickpea flour/Gram flour/Besan - 1 C Rice flour - 1 T Ginger, finely chopped - 1 t Red chilli powder - 1 t Asafoetida/Hing - 1/2 t Salt - to taste  Water - as needed Method For the filling  Pee...

My parents hail from northern part of Kerala - North Malabar. My mom is from Kasargod. Being from the Kerala-Karnataka border, a lot of their food habits have both Kerala and Karnataka influences. Also, mom and dad studied at Mangalore/Bangalore respectively. They love Kanadiga cuisine. So do I. :) Like every other part of India, Karnataka's cuisine also varies across its different regions. Last day, as I was blog hopping, I got to Prathibha's blog ( The Chef and Her Kitchen ) - an awesome blog consisting of a lot of Kannadiga dishes among many others. I was in love with her Kharabath in an instant. And could not resist giving it a try. And my dears, it was just mindblowing. "A" loved it so much that he finished all of it at once. :D Well, it was competition on who finishes the most!! :D Try it out, you will love it.. Thank you so much Prathibha . :D Ingredients Sooji rava / Semolina - 1 C Water - 4 C Onion, chopped - 1 Green chillies, chopped - 2 Ginge...

Gosh! It has been so so long that I ate Vazha Koombu thoran / Banana Flower fry. Back at home, mom used to buy this once in a while and cook for us. In fact, sometimes we got it from our  homegrown Vazha (Banana Plant). :D Cool na? So last week on our weekly grocery shopping, I spotted this at the market and got my hands on it! Made sure that I explained Mr.A, how nutritious it is :) And that I know how to make this too! Imagine, I have been cooking for over an year and never thought of having this and now, out of the blue, I did? Well, not so. I should thank  Krithi  for the  Healing Foods - Banana  event which she is guest hosting with  Siri  of  Cooking with Siri . :) Thank you gals :) Only after I saw the event was I reminded of cooking this :)  Sometimes I scare Mr. A with some unheard and a lil' flop (burnt!!) dishes.. :D Well, kitchen nightmares are not just Gordan Ramsay's thing! ;P Ingredients Banana Flower...

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.

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...

Kanji Ingredients Rice/ Kuthari : 1 cup Water : 6 cups Method Wash the rice thoroughly in water.  Along with 5-6 cups of water, cook rice in a pressure cooker or rice cooker, in medium heat, until it’s cooked well and soft enough.  Wait for 4-6 whistles from the cooker. Payaru Ingredients Cherupayar : ¾ cup Water : 2 ¼ cups Green chillies slit opened lengthwise : 4 Red pearl small onions/shallots : 7-9 Garlic : 3 Dried red chillies : 2 Red chilly flakes : 1 ¾ tsp Few curry leaves Oil, preferably coconut oil : 1 T Salt to taste Method Wash the green grams in water and drain the water fully.  Heat the pressure cooker and very mildly roast the green grams until they are dry and warm to touch.  Add 2 ¼ cups water, green chillies and salt to taste. Cook in the pressure cooker and wait for about 5-6 whistles in medium heat. Meanwhile, u sing a mortar and pestle set, crush the small onions and garlic and make a coarse past...

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!

I just love Medhu Vada (Tamil Name) or Uzhunnu Vada (Kerala Name). You guys should try this out. Awesome it tastes. Really :) Ingredients Black Gram Dal/Urad dal - 2 C Curry Leaves - Few sprigs Green Chilli, chopped - 1 t Ginger, finely chopped - 2 t Asofoetida - 1/2 t Pepper - 1 t Salt - to taste Oil - to fry Method Soak black gram dal in water for 2 hours. Drain the water from it and grind to a fine paste till it is creamy, but make sure it is not watery. Add to batter, green chillies, ginger, asofoetida, curry leaves, pepper and salt and mix well. Roll batter in to small balls and flatter in palm. Make a small hole in the middle. Heat oil in a deep frying pan and immerse the vada balls in it. When it turns golden brown, remove and drain oil. Serve with coconut chutney or sambar.