Chicken stew for "appam"

Chicken stew

The white stew is the perfect accompaniment to the "appam", the chicken, mutton or egg stews being foremost on everyone's list. There are also mixed vegetable or plain potato stews. This is how I make a white chicken stew.

Serves 4 to 6 persons
Preparation and cooking time: 35 to 40 minutes

Ingredients

1. Chicken - 1/2 kg

2. Potatoes diced  - 1/4 cup

3. Onions or shallots sliced long - 1 cup

4. Ginger sliced thin and long like the onions - 3/4 tablespoon

5. Garlic sliced long - 3/4 tablespoon

6. Fresh green  and red chillies slit  - 4

7. Curry leaves - 2 sprigs

8. Whole green cardamom - 3

9. Cloves - 3

10. Cinnamon sticks - 2 (half inch pieces)

11. Whole black pepper - 1/2 teaspoon

12. Fennel seeds - 1 teaspoon

13. Oil - 2 tablespoons

14. Salt to taste

15. Thin coconut milk - 2 cups

16. Thick coconut milk - 1/2 cup

Method


1. In a pan or wok, heat the oil.


2. To the hot oil, add items numbered 8 to 12. Let the cardamoms pop.


3. Add the ginger, garlic, some chillies and onions in this order. Saute till onions turn pink.


4. Add the chicken, curry leaves from one sprig and potatoes. Saute for a minute.


5. Add salt and the thin coconut milk. There should be enough liquid to cover the chicken and potatoes. (So if needed, add some more water.)


6. When the chicken and the potatoes are cooked, add the thick coconut milk, the rest of the curry leaves and slit chillies. Adjust for seasoning. Give it one boil and take off the heat.


7. Serve hot with "appam"s.


Tips

The recipes for "appam" and vegetable stew are given below.

I prefer using instant coconut milk powder to make the milk.

Mutton or hard-boiled eggs may be substituted for chicken. Mutton needs to be cooked well for a longer time or separately in a pressure cooker. Hard boiled eggs may be halved or left whole and added in step 6.

"Appam" and stew

Appam

The winning combination of "appam" and stew is often served at most Syrian Christian celebrations. Not to imply that it is not made otherwise at home... it is often part of the breakfast menu on a Sunday or any other holiday. For, the "appam" and stew creates a nice satiety that makes one benevolent towards the world at large! Now-a-days, some Kerala-based entrepreneurs sell excellent branded "appam podi" or rice flour for "appam"s. The instructions are good and so in jiffy, anybody can make soft and tasty "appams". However, if I have no such "appam podi", then I like to do the "appam"s this way.This method is quite simple too.

Makes around 15 to 20 "appams"
Preparation time : 4 hours for soaking the rice and overnight for fermentation
Cooking time : a few minutes

Ingredients

1. Raw rice *- 3 cups or around 1/2 kg
2. Coconut grated - 1/4 to 1/2 cup
3. Yeast granules - 1/2 teaspoon
4. Sugar - 1 tablespoon
5. Salt to taste
6. Oil - a few teaspoons

Method

1. Pick and wash the rice. Soak the rice for about 4 hours.
2. Scoop out one handful of soaked rice and cook with 3 times as much water. The rice becomes a soggy sticky mass when cooked. This is the "kappi". Let it cool to room temperature.
3. In a mixie, grind in 2 or 3 batches, each batch comprising some rice, some "kappi" and some coconut with water. The paste may be slightly grainy but not coarse. The aim is to get a batter not too thick but not thin either. While grinding the last batch, add the yeast and sugar also. The grinding is done. Now stir the whole lot and keep covered for fermenting** in the kitchen itself or somewhere that is not cold or draughty.
4. When the fermentation happens, there are a lot of bubbles and frothing up of the batter. (If the yeast is very good, then the fermentation happens quickly and the frothing can even overflow from the vessel. If this is likely to happen, give the batter a good stir and the bubbles will settle, till they rise again! These bubbles give the "appam"s their characteristic softness and also the ability to turn the edges into nice filigree crispiness.)
5. Add salt and stir well. The batter should be of pouring consistency like pancake batter (add water if needed and stir well). The "appam" batter is now ready to be made into "appams".
6. Heat an "appam" chatti***. Smear well with a few drops of oil.
7. When the "chatti" is hot, pour a ladle full of batter and tilt and tip the wok in a circular motion so that the batter touches the upper sides of the "chatti". Where ever the batter touches the sides, a nice lacy filigree will form. The batter then settles in the centre. Cover the "chatti" and set the flame on medium. (See the video clip below.)
8. When the lace on the sides become a golden brown and the centre looks cooked, carefully scoop out the "appam" with a spatula. The appam should be cooked enough to hold its shape, and not burnt at the bottom. This is truly a pretty sight!
9. Repeat the process.
10. Serve hot "appam"s with stew.

Tips

The recipe for stew is given next.

*Raw rice here means the non-boiled or non-parboiled variety. Parimal and  basmati are two varieties of raw rice. There are other varieties also. Any good variety of raw rice may be used.

Earlier, the rice powder for "appams" used to be prepared at homes. A tedious process that required many hands. The lady of the house would employ someone just to pound the rice (in a huge mortar) for this. Since, such luxuries are a thing of the past, the "appam podi" manufacturers have good sales!

**I like to set the batter for fermentation in an over-sized pot. After a couple of incidents of overflowing and wasting of good batter, I make sure that all fermentation happens in only large vessels... after all, who wants to waste all that nice batter!

***The "appam chatti" is used exclusively to make appams. This is a medium-sized rather shallow wok. Earlier, these were available at the iron-mongers, but now-a-days, we get excellent non-stick "appam chattis" at the supermarkets or other utensil shops. I prefer using the non-stick one, as the "appam" can be removed easily. In the iron "chatti", the first few "appams" would invariably be torn. These woks have to be seasoned well before using for the very first time, otherwise anything cooked in it would just stick and refuse to come loose. After use these iron woks are covered and put away, being just wiped with a cloth, so that the non-stick nature of the surface is retained for the next time. However, before the next use, the wok is washed with a light hand to remove any dust that is on it.

Since this is my own recipe, I prefer to add only grated coconut. This is easier than adding coconut milk and finding that the milk has thinned the batter further. However, older recipes advocate use of coconut milk... it was possible when there was enough help at home. The amount of coconut I have used is arbitrary because I find that it does not really have any bearing on the consistency of the batter. I find that "appam"s are just as good with less coconut also.

Some people like the "appam"s a little sweet, so they add a tablespoon or 2 of sugar before making the "appam"s. Nevertheless one has to lookout for charring as more sugar tends to char the "appam" quickly.

In the villages, fresh toddy is used to ferment the batter instead of yeast.

Vegetable stew for "appam"

The "appam" is best enjoyed with warm fragrant stew. There is the white stew and some people prefer to have a brown curry. My family prefers the white stew. This is how I make a white vegetable stew.

Serves 4 to 6 persons
Preparation time 20 to 30 minutes

Ingredients

1. Mixed vegetables like potatoes, beans, carrots and cauliflower florets, all cut in similar shape and size - 1/2 kg

2. Green peas - 1/4 cup

3. Onions or shallots sliced long - 1 cup

4. Ginger sliced thin and long like the onions - 1 tablespoon

5. Garlic sliced long - 1 tablespoon

6. Fresh red chillies* - 2 or 3

7. Curry leaves - 2 sprigs

8. Whole green cardamom - 3

9. Cloves - 3

10. Cinnamon sticks - 2 (half inch pieces)

11. Whole black pepper - 1/2 teaspoon

12. Fennel seeds - 1 teaspoon

13. Oil - 2 tablespoons

14. Salt to taste

15. Thin coconut milk - 2 cups

16. Thick coconut milk - 1/2 cup

Method

1. In a pan or wok, heat the oil.

2. To the hot oil, add items numbered 8 to 12. Let the cardamoms pop.

3. Add the ginger, garlic and onions in this order. Saute till onions turn pink.

4. Add the mixed vegetables, curry leaves from one sprig and peas. Saute for a minute.

5. Add salt and the thin coconut milk. There should be enough liquid to cover the vegetables. (So if needed, add some water to reach the level of vegetables.)

6. When the vegetables and the potatoes are cooked, add the thick coconut milk, the rest of the curry leaves and the slit red chillies. Adjust for seasoning. Give it one boil and take off the heat.

7. Serve hot with "appam"s.

Tips

The recipe for "appam" is given before this recipe.

*I like to add fresh red chillies as these will not be confused with the beans in the stew.

I prefer using instant coconut milk powder to make the milk.

All the vegetables cut in a similar shape and size add to the visual appeal of this dish.

Tea-time surprise

Tea time surprise

Often, when there is just a cup or two of "dosa" or "idli" batter remaining in the refrigerator, I like to use it up  to make a savoury snack. This recipe is very simple and a change from the usual tea-time snacks. Just add a few condiments to the batter and fry up in a special frying pan and we have nice, spongy, golden brown fried dumplings for tea. These dumplings are even better with fresh fermented dosa/idli batter. I do not know of   any name for this snack, so I call it the tea-time surprise.

"Dosa" or "idli" batter is fermented ground rice and black gram paste, so there is a lot of air naturally present in it. These bubbles create a nice spongy texture and this is what works for "dosa"s or "idli"s or this tea-time surprise! The fresher the fermented batter, more the chances of a softer and spongier dumpling. This is how I make this snack.

Makes 10 to 15 dumplings
Preparation and cooking time : 10 to 15 minutes
  
Ingredients

1. Fermented "idli" or "dosa" batter (a day or two old) - 2 cups
2. Grated or very finely chopped ginger - 1/2 teaspoon
3. Shallots chopped - 1 teapoon
4. Green chillies chopped very fine - 1/2 teaspoon
5. Coconut finely julienned - 1 teaspoon
6. Curry leaves (chopped fine) - 3 or 4 leaves
7. Mustard seeds - 1/4 teaspoon
8. Farina or "rava" or "sooji" or semolina - 1 tablespoon
9. Salt to taste
10. Oil for deep frying
11. Soda-bicarb - a pinch
12. Asafoetida powder - a pinch

Method

1. Add the farina and salt and stir well.

2. Heat a tablespoon of oil in a small frying pan and add the mustard seeds, asafoetida powder, green chillies, coconut juliennes, ginger and chopped curry leaves. The mustard seeds need to pop, the green chillies, coconut pieces, ginger and curry leaves need only to wilt. Take off fire and cool for one minute. Add to the batter.

3. Take the dumpling frying-pan or "unniappam chatti" and heat. Fill each depression with oil.

4. While the oil is getting hot, add the soda-bicarb to the batter (if the batter is a day or two old) and stir very well. Adjust the seasoning.

5. Pour a spoonful of batter reaching upto 3/4 of each depression in the frying-pan. The oil will froth up somewhat and the batter will swell. After all the depressions are filled, lower the flame to medium and cook for about a minute. Turn each dumpling within its depression so that the tops also get cooked. After each dumpling is a nice golden brown, remove carefully from the pan and drain on kitchen paper.

6. Serve hot, either plain or with some chutney or tomato sauce.

Leena's brand new unniappachatti (top facing)

Leena's brand new unniappachatti (bottom facing)

Tea time surprise frying in a chatti

Tips

The dumpling frying-pan or "unniappam chatti" is commonly used  to cook  sweet uniappams. This utensil is found in most Kerala homes.

If I am using freshly fermented batter then I do not add the soda-bicarb, as the batter is already quite thick with tiny bubbles. (Soda bicarb may be added to old batter only, as it will not be as airy as freshly fermented batter.)

Farina gives the dumplings a nice grainy texture.

A little urad dal and/or chana dal may be added in the tempering in step 2, for a more nutty flavour.

"Thoran"

The term "thoran" is a standard Malayalam name for any dry vegetable dish flavoured and garnished with grated coconut. It is an integral part of Kerala cuisine and no lunch or dinner will be deemed complete without a "thoran".  There are as many "thoran"s as there are vegetables that can be finely diced or shredded, and that includes leafy vegetables too.( Besides, vegetable "thoran"s, there is fish thoran also.) Only vegetables that are firm textured may be used in a "thoran". They could be french beans, cabbage, beetroot, long beans, carrots, unripe green bananas and the such. Here, I have described the basic method of making "thoran"  and this method can be used with different vegetables.

The vegetables are prepared and washed well before the slicing or chopping is done.  Beans (french or long) have to be topped and tailed and if possible the fibrous string on the sides may be pulled away. Cabbage needs all outer and bruised leaves and the thick stalk removed. This can be done by slicing the cabbage through and cutting deep around the stalk on each half. Beetroots or carrots need to peeled. Unripe green cooking bananas need to peeled and immersed in water to stop discolouration or oxidation.

Once the vegetables are prepared, they are chopped very finely. The method used can be any. In the villages, women would spend a good part of their cooking time chopping veggies for "thoran" by hand. However, I like to do this either using a chopping board or a food processor. The resulting shredded or chopped stuff should be very fine.

The method to make a "thoran" is very simple. There is a tempering done and to this is added the shredded or chopped vegetables and the coconut. It is allowed to steam for a few minutes and voila, it is done!  Of course, this is too simplistic, so here is how I make this nice refreshing dish.  This is how I make beans "thoran".

Serves  4 to 6 persons
Preparation and cooking time 30 to 40 minutes

Ingredients

1. Beans (french or long) - 1/4 kg

2. Onions or shallots finely chopped - 2 tablespoons

3. Green chillies - 3

4. Coconut grated - 1/4 to 1/2 cup

5. Garlic flakes - 3 to 4

6. Curry leaves (washed) from 1 sprig

7. Cumin or jeera - 1/2 teaspoon

8. Oil - 1 tablespoon

9. Mustard seeds - 1/2 teaspoon

10. Black gram dal or urad dal - 1/2 teaspoon

11. Dried red chillies - 2 (torn into 4or 5 smaller bits)

12. Uncooked rice - 1 teaspoon

13. Salt to taste

14. Turmeric powder - 1/2 teaspoon

Method

1. Top and tail the beans. Wash and drain them. Hold a bunch tightly in your hand and slice through the beans on a chopping board to give very fine almost translucent slices.

2. In a mortar or a coffee grinder, place items 3 to 7 and no water. Pound or grind very well to get a coarse and fragrant masala mix. Gather into a lump.

3. Heat a wok. Add the oil. When the oil is getting hot, add items 9 to 12. The mustard seeds will pop and the rice will swell into little white things. As soon as the black gram dal turns a golden brown, add the chopped onions or shallots. Saute for a minute.

4. Add the beans, turmeric powder, salt and the masala lump. Cover the masala with the beans. Press from all sides to make a nice tight little heap. Cover the wok. Set the flame on low.

5. After about 5 minutes, remove the lid and stir the beans and masala well.  Check to see if the beans are cooked. I like to stop the cooking when the beans are just a little wilted but still has a crunch to it. If the beans are not cooked enough, gather in a heap and cover and let cook for a few more minutes. I avoid adding water because the beans have a lot of water in them and this forms adequate steam to cook the "thoran".

6. When the beans are done, serve hot with rice or even with "roti".

Tips

This is the basic method to make this dish and can be used for other firm vegetables also.

I like to shred cabbage, beetroot or carrots in a food processor. 

If the vegetables are not cooking satisfactorily, add some drops of water to create more steam.


It is acceptable to have slightly larger pieces after the slicing or chopping, the only requirement being that the pieces should be easily steam cooked. If the pieces are larger then, some water may have to be added to aid cooking.


There are many combinations of veggies to give a different sort of  "thoran". Like beans and carrots may be combined, green gram and cooking bananas may be combined, so on and so forth.

If I have really fresh coconut at hand, I like to garnish the "thoran" with some nice creamy white shavings just before serving.

Fresh green spinach or red amaranthus ("red cheera") makes for delicious "thoran" too. When making a leafy "thoran",discard  the stems and wash the leaves well. Hold a large bunch of leaves  and chop into fine shreds. Also, add more chopped onions in a leafy "thoran". The rest of the method is the same. Never add any water while cooking this "thoran".

"Chhole" - South Indian style

I have made "chhole" with this kind of masala often enough, and also whenever I have cooked these beans in Kerala. Recently, my friend Anita, asked me for this recipe. This "chhole" has a coconut based masala and tastes similar to the sort we get in restaurants when we go down South.

Serves 4 to 6 persons

Soaking time 6 to 8 hours

Cooking time 45minutes

Ingredients

1. "Chhole" or white "chana" or dried garbanzo beans or chick peas - 1 cup

2. Onions sliced - 1/2 cup

3. Onion chopped roughly - 1/2 cup

4. Ginger - 1/2 " piece

5. Garlic flakes - 6 to 8

6. Turmeric powder - 1/2 teaspoon

7. Coriander powder - 1 tablespoon

8. Red chilli powder - 1/2 teaspoon

9. Green chillies - 2 or 3

10. Cumin or jeera - 1/4 teaspoon

11. Fennel seeds or "saunf"- 1/4 teaspoon

12. Coconut grated - 1/2 cup

13. Tamarind water - 1/2 cup (from 1/2 a lime-sized ball)

14. Oil - 2 tablespoons

15. Salt to taste

16. Curry leaves - 1  or 2 sprigs

Method

1. Pick, wash and soak the garbanzo beans or "chhole" in enough water to cover the beans. The beans are likely to soak up a lot of water, so adding 3 or 4 cups of water more after reaching the level of chhole is good. Soak for at least 8 to 12 hours or overnight.

2. Drain the water from the swollen beans and put them in a pressure cooker with a little salt and enough water to reach the top of the beans. Cook for at least 5 whistles or for at least 15 minutes after the pressure builds up. Take off the heat.

3. Carefully dry roast the coriander powder in a hot pan. It should only change colour slightly and not be burned at all. This is done so that the raw taste of coriander does not overwhelm the final result.

3. Grind items 3 to 12 including the roasted coriander powder, with some water to get a fairly smooth masala paste.

4. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a wok and add the sliced onions or item 2. Brown well but not to a crisp.

5. Add the masala paste and saute for 2 minutes.

6. To the cooked beans in the pressure cooker, add the tamarind water and the sauted masala. Add salt if needed.

7. Close the cooker and pressure cook for another 15 minutes. Take off the heat and let cool so that the lid can be opened. Add the washed curry leaves and stir it well. (If the gravy is more watery than required, boil the "chhole" again after opening the cooker. Conversely, if the gravy is thick, add a little water and boil well to get a thinner gravy.)

8. Serve hot with fresh "poories".

Tips

Garbanzo beans soak up a lot of water, so it is better to add more water while the beans soak.  Some of this water may be used for cooking the beans.

I have not added tomatoes only because there is tamarind water in this recipe. But, feel free to add 1/2 cup of tomatoes instead of the tamarind water. If doing this, add the tomatoes after the onions are browned, saute for a couple of minutes, just before adding the ground masala paste.

This recipe can be used with bengal gram or "kala chana" also.

"Poories", a type of fried Indian bread goes best with this dish. Otherwise any Indian bread may also do.

You may garnish with chopped green coriander leaves and lime slices if you wish.

This recipe can be done in stages. I like to do till step 6, cool and store in the refrigerator, and pressure cook it only towards meal-times. Thus reducing a lot of work at lunch or dinner or even breakfast time.

Happy Onam

Onam will be celebrated in a couple of days. It is the state festival  of Kerala and is celebrated by Keralites of all faiths and traditions. The Onam week is a wonderful time to visit Kerala as the whole place has a special holiday mood to it. This is the time for the famed snake-boat races and a lot of celebrations by way of cultural programmes and festivities. There is special emphasis on the cuisine and  people make it a point to have their "ona sadya"  or Onam feast on   plaintain leaves. Indeed, the Onam week is a special time to visit this coastal state. Below is a link to a page that leads to a site which has quite a few videos of recipes that are usually made specially for this week. Learn the simple methods that one can easily master to make these special dishes. Have fun and enjoy the special blessings of Onam!  

This is the link below:

Online video guide to traditional Onam dishes

"Aishwaryavum,Samriddiyum Niranja nalla nalukal ennum undavatte oppam manassil snehathinte oru onam"..........HAPPY ONAM.


May the spirit of Onam remain everywhere, in whatever you do, whatever you think, whatever you hope for in your life "Wish you a Happy Onam"

Crispy brinjal rounds

Brinjal or aubergine, a vegetable that is available all year round, comes in different sizes, shapes and colors. This vegetable is found in most cuisines. This is a mild flavoured vegetable which takes on the flavours of the other ingredients in the dish. Here, I have a recipe for fried brinjal that has more shape and texture than usual.  Often, fried brinjal rounds are limp and get torn in parts, when they are done.  I like to add some rice powder to the marinade or coating, so that the fried rounds hold their shape and are crisp on the outside.

Serves 4
Preparation and cooking : 20 to 30 minutes
 Ingredients

1. Brinjal  - 1/4 kg
2. Salt to taste
3. Turmeric powder - 1/2 teaspoon
4. Chilli powder - 1/2 teaspoon or according to taste
5. Rice powder (either fine or coarse) - 3 tablespoon
6. Oil - for deep frying

Method

1. Wash and cut each brinjal into 1/4 " thick rounds. Soak in water to prevent discolouration.

2. In a large, dry platter, mix together items 2, 3, 4 and 5 without any water. It should be totally dry.

3. Drain and wipe the brinjal rounds. Coat the brinjal rounds with the dry mix on both sides.

4. Let the brinjal rounds marinate for about 5 to 8 minutes.

5. Meanwhile, heat oil in a wok. When the oil is hot, place a few rounds in it. Deep fry just few pieces at a time. The oil should not be crowded.

6. Turn the pieces and cook till they are a golden brown and crispy.

7. Remove from oil and drain on kitchen paper.

8. Serve piping hot.

Tips

These fries retain crispiness for a short while only, so I like to make them very close to meal times.

Marination time should not exceed 10 minutes, as brinjal releases water and it is likely to become less crisp on frying.

If the slices are too large, they can be halved or even quartered before marination.

Goes very well with typical South Indian meal combinations.

I like to use "appam" rice powder or "puttu" rice powder if I run out of fine rice flour. "Appam" and "puttu" are made from coarse rice powder. Coarse rice powder gives a nice crunch to the brinjal rounds. Else any fine rice powder will do.

Spicy Shrimp Medley

We get good shrimp often, but sometimes they are not large enough for a nice curry or a stand-alone sort of dish where the shrimp is king. So, since my family of potato lovers, will try anything that has some of this tuber added to it, I do a medley of shrimp and potatoes. Yes, it is spicy, but of course, only as spicy as I want it to be. We like to have it with plain rice, "rotis" or any other sort of Indian bread with a salad. The dish tastes like a spicy pickle and so goes very well as an accompaniment too. Here is the recipe. The amounts of condiments and spices are only a guide. You need to add spices only as much as you like.

Serves 4 to 6 persons
Preparation and cooking : 30 to 45 minutes

Ingredients

1. Shrimp (small-sized) - 1 cup
2. Potatoes (boiled and diced) - 1 cup
3. Tomatoes (chopped) -1/2 cup
4. Ginger - 1/2 " piece
5. Garlic - 6 cloves
6. Onion (chopped) - 1/2 cup
7. Tamarind water - 1/2 cup
8. Black pepper (whole or powder) - 1/2 teaspoon
9. Red chilli powder - 1/2 teaspoon
10. Cumin or jeera seeds -1/2 teaspoon
11. Coriander powder - 1/2 teaspoon
12. Oil - 2 tablespoons
13. Water
14. Salt to taste
15. Curry leaves from a sprig or two
16. Garam masala - a pinch

Method

1. Crush the whole garlic, ginger, cumin and black pepper together in a mortar.
2. Heat oil in a wok, and add the onions. When they are browned on the edges, add the ginger/garlic mash. Saute for about 10 seconds and take the wok off the flame. Add the coriander powder and let it fry for a while in the hot oil. Add chilli and turmeric powders and saute. Add tomatoes and salt and set the wok on the stove again.
3. When tomatoes become soft and watery (or mushy), add the potatoes and shrimp. Add tamarind water and curry leaves. Add some more water if it is needed. Adjust seasoning. Cook till the shrimp and potatoes are cooked and well coated with a thick gravy. Add a pinch of garam masala and stir.
4. Serve hot with rice or "rotis".

Tips

This recipe has been adapted from a rustic dish that is part of a Kerala fisherman's simple and delicious fare. However, they do not add any potatoes in their recipe. When I have large shrimp, I forgo the potatoes and do this recipe with only shrimp. Of course, I would then be doubling the quantity of shrimp (and use no potatoes) as required in this recipe. A more original recipe would use fish tamarind rather than the plain variety. I prefer using plain tamarind for this.

It is better to add cooked (boiled) and diced potatoes as the tamarind water could prolong the cooking time for raw, diced potatoes.

Any size of shrimp can be used, but I prefer the small variety for this recipe as then it can be used as an accompaniment, like a pickle. However, this dish does not keep like a pickle.

All measures of fiery spices like chilli and pepper, can be changed suitably according to your taste, though some amount of spiciness does a lot for this dish.

Seedless tamarind water can be prepared by kneading and squeezing out a small piece of dry tamarind mass in as much warm water as needed. Here, a piece smaller than half a lime needs to be used. Of course, the amount of tamarind may be increased or decreased if you wish. Any sort of vinegar too may be used instead of tamarind water. However, be sure to taste the dish towards the end. It is likely that the vinegar evaporates away and you may need to add some more before turning off the flame.

Fulfilling macaroni  

My family loves warm tasty comfort food deluged in either white sauce or cream and some cheese especially when they watch a nice long movie on the telly. And its my chance to get away with a quick but flavourful one-dish meal. My kids' friends also love this and there have been many requests for this, time and again. I  love this sort of a one-dish meal when we return after a long tiring day outside home (and when we are not able to work a nice restaurant meal into our schedule). This is a very simple dish which has many borrowed elements and I love to experiment with it each time. Some times I put in only veggies and sometimes there is some chicken or meat in it. At other times, it could be a combination of this and that...really, a dish that happens a little differently each time I make it.  I use locally available ingredients, but you can use what ever you think will do.

(As a very young child, my son would term any dish that he particularly liked as "fulfilling".....that used to tickle us no end....probably, he meant that he had eaten as much as he could and so he was all full up...and so this name, as he loves this dish.)

Serves 4 to 6
Preparation time : about 30 to 45 minutes

Ingredients  

1.   "Bambino" macaroni - about 350 gms or 2 small packets
2.   Onion chopped - about 1 cup
3.   Red tomatoes chopped - 1 cup
4.   Garlic chopped - 1/2 teaspoon
5.   Ginger finely grated - 1 teaspoon
6.   Cut mixed vegetables like french beans, peas, carrots, bell peppers etc - 1 cup
7.   Chicken (boneless medium sized pieces) - 1/2 to 1 cup
8.   Cheese grated - 1/2 to 3/4 cup
9.   Cream - 200 gms
10. Salt to taste
11. Fresh black pepper powder - 1 tsp
12. Chilli flakes according to taste
13. Dried oregano - 1/2 tsp
14. Oil (preferably olive) - 2 tablespoons
15. Water

Method

These are just guidelines.

1. I like to use "Bambino" brand macaroni for this recipe as it absorbs any liquid or sauce. (The macaroni becomes coated with the sauce. Use any quick cooking macaroni that promises to mop up the sauce.)

2. In a thick bottomed pan, heat the oil and saute items 2, 4 and 5 in any order. I do not brown these. (I find grated ginger cuts the cloying taste of cheese and cream.)

3. Add the tomatoes, salt and chicken. Saute till the chicken is cooked more or less.

4. Add water to the above. The water should be twice the amount of macaroni. (So, if you have 1 cup of uncooked macaroni, you have to add 2 cups of water.) Let everything boil.

5. Add the macaroni. Let it half-cook. Add the pepper, chilli flakes and oregano.  Cover and cook for 4 to 5 minutes more.

6. Open and tip in all the cream and cheese. Stir well and adjust the seasoning. Heat covered for 1 more minute.

7. Serve hot with a green salad.

Tip

I like to do till step 3 and do the rest when its time to eat.

Or else I like to do up till step 6 and then put everything in an oven proof dish. Cool. Keep in the fridge and bake till piping hot when needed.

I have mentioned chicken here, but really, you can use any meat. The only condition is that it should be bite-sized,  boneless and quickly cooked. Sausage or ham bits can be used also. I like to use what ever I have on hand at home, though I have never tried this with seafood. If there is no meat, then this becomes a vegetarian dish.

If you don't have cream, you could add some white sauce to the macaroni or a little full cream milk.

Add some chopped coriander, parsley, green shallots, chopped boiled eggs or even some  "paneer" (Indian cottage cheese),  if you wish, at step 6.

This is a good chance to use up the oregano and chilli flake packets that the pizza delivery boys bring.

The proportions of ingredients are not hard and fast...you can add or subtract as you wish.

Banana delight

After a hot, spicy meal, my family likes to have a sweet dish to call it a day. They love ice cream and in summer have more than enough of it, day in and day out. But in winter, I like to serve ice cream with a warm element. Like hot, baked fruit. And what better fruit to bake in a jiffy, than the ubiquitous banana! It's a very easy dessert to put together and my family loves the hot-cold, sweet combination. It is a saviour when there are unexpected guests and there is no pudding in store!

Serves 4
Preparation and cooking time : 10 to 15 minutes
Ingredients

1. Firm and ripe bananas - 4
2. Sugar - 4 teaspoons
3. Butter or ghee - 2 tablespoons
4. Cinnamon powder - 1/4 teaspoon

Method

1. Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees.

2. Peel and halve each banana lengthwise.

3. Smear the banana halves with some butter or ghee.

4. Smear the baking tin with the rest of the butter or ghee.

5. Place the banana halves on the buttered tin with the cut sides facing up.

6. Sprinkle the sugar and the cinnamon powder on the bananas.

7. Bake till the sugar caramelizes and the bananas look cooked. It will take about 10 to 12 minutes. The bananas should have a golden brown colour.

8. Take out and serve the hot baked bananas with a scoop of ice cream immediately.

Tips

Any variety of normal-sized, firm, ripe  banana that is easily available, may be used. Avoid the small varieties for this recipe.

While removing from the baking tin, it does not matter if the fruit breaks.

Cinnamon powder can be substituted with cardamom powder or a tiny tiny  bit of orange or lime zest, if you like the citrus zing.

I like to serve it with plain vanilla ice cream, though any mild flavour that you like would probably do.

Other toppings like toasted nut bits or chocolate syrup may be used, but I prefer it plain or with ice cream.

Keep the dessert plates ready, as this dish is best served quickly.

Kerala meat cutlets or minced meat croquettes 

Cutlets, especially the non-vegetarian variety, have a great fan following in our home. Whenever there is "kheema" or minced meat in the house, the first request is always for cutlets. If there are green peas ("mutter") at home, then there is a toss up between "kheema mutter" and the cutlets.  Anyway, my family loves cutlets at any meal, so I make the mix and stock it in the fridge for quick use. I find that having a greater amount of mashed potato in the mix, makes for a smoother cutlet. The covering is crisp, but the inside is not so full of meat or chunky. That is something my family enjoys....a non-stringy, easily eaten patty. This is achieved by increasing the quantity of potato and using mince made with lean meat and no gristle.  Most other recipes have a much greater meat to potato ratio than that I do, but since my recipe meets with my family's continued unstinting approval, I like to make the cutlets this way, and I have found many others prefer them too. This is what I do.

Makes about 8 medium sized cutlets
Preparation and cooking time: 45 minutes to 1 hour

Ingredients

1. Meat mince (raw) - 1 cup
2. Potatoes (boiled and mashed) - 1 1/2 cups

Items 3 to 8 measured after chopping very fine:

3. Onions   -  2  teaspoons
4. Ginger   - 1 teaspoon
5. Garlic   - 1/2 teaspoon
6. Green chillies  - 1/2 teaspoon
7. Fresh coriander leaves - 1 tablespoon
8. Curry leaves - 1 tablespoon


9. Fresh bread crumbs - a little more than 1 cup
10. Pepper powder - 1/2 teaspoon or according to taste
11. Red chilli powder - 1/2 teaspoon or according to taste
12. Turmeric powder - 1/2 teaspoon
13. Garam masala powder - 1/2 teaspoon
14. Egg white beaten - 1 or 2
15. Salt to taste
16. Oil for tempering and deep frying 

Method

1. Wash the mince in a wire mesh strainer under running water. Let it drain for 5 minutes or so. Transfer to a thick-bottomed vessel and add item no.s 10, 11, 12, 13  and 15. Add 3/4 cup of water, if it is mutton mince. Stir well so that the spices reach all parts of the mince. Cook till the mince is totally dry.  No need to pressure cook. Turn off heat and leave the mince to cool in a large platter.

2. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a pan and brown item nos. 3, 4, 5, 6 and 8. This need not be crisp. Add this to the mince in the platter.

3. Add the well mashed potatoes and chopped coriander to the above.

4. Adjust the seasoning and knead well.

5. Divide the mix into balls. Roll in beaten egg white and then bread crumbs. Makes about 8 balls.

6. Pour enough oil in a hot wok for deep frying. Let oil become quite hot, but not smoking hot.

7. When the oil is ready, take a mince-potato ball and flatten it a bit and slide it on the inside of the wok into the hot oil. Repeat with more mince-potato balls, making sure the oil is still quite hot and not crowded. The hot oil should reach above the cutlets, otherwise the cutlets could break. Turn over gently,  and remove each cutlet from oil when well browned and crisp. Drain on kitchen paper.

8. Serve hot with tomato sauce or just plain as a side dish. Enjoy!

Tips

The preferred meat used for these cutlets, in Kerala, is beef. Mutton/goat meat mince is a personal preference in our home here. If you are using beef mince, there is no need to add any water before cooking in step 1 as beef releases a lot of water and this needs to be boiled away to make it very dry.

Boneless beef cubes can be used for this recipe. Wash and drain and pressure cook as per step 1, without any added water. When its dry and cooled, mince in batches, in a dry grinder to get fine shreds of cooked beef mince. (You can mince this as fine or as chunky as you wish.) The recipe can be taken forward from step 2 onwards. (For this recipe, take 1 cup of raw beef cubes.)


I like to add one more step to this recipe to improve the flavour. My family loves these cutlets a bit more spicy. So, I take 1/2 tsp of black peppercorns, a 1/2 " piece of raw ginger, a couple of green cardamoms (whole),  1 whole clove, 1/2'' of cinnamon and fresh curry leaves from 3 sprigs and dry grind it with half a slice of bread. You will get a very fragrant bread crumb mix.  Add this at step 3. The added flavour is quite nice.

While flattening the mince-potato balls, make sure cracks are sealed back into shape.

It is important that the cutlets are fairly well immersed in the hot oil while frying. Hot oil seals the cutlets from all sides and there is less chance of them breaking and flooding the oil.

These cutlets can also be shallow fried, but then the sides remain pale. They can also be baked after brushing with oil, in a medium oven till brown. A lot of cutlets can be made ready at the same time without  much oil and standing near a hot stove.

Fresh bread crumbs are made by whizzing a few slices of (any) bread in a dry grinder for a few seconds. The remaining crumbs can be stored in the freezer.

I prepare cutlet mix from at least 6 or 7 cups of meat. All will not be used right away. So, I store the remaining mix in the fridge and use it over the next 2 to 3 days. I like the convenience.

Usually, the ratio between meat and potatoes is 2 cups of meat to about 1/2 cup of mashed potatoes.

This is an excellent recipe for hors d'oeuvres.  The cutlets can be smaller and served with a dipping sauce.

Important - It is imperative to follow some safety precautions while deep frying. I avoid dropping  the cutlets into the hot oil. Instead, these are slid down the sides of the wok into the oil or else placed gently into the oil to avoid a hot oil splash. 

Simplest Tomato "Rasam"

Simplest tomato rasam

"Rasam" is usually made with the stock of split red gram or "toovar dal" and some tomatoes, tamarind water or lime juice and easily available herbs and condiments like coraiander seeds, its leaves and garlic. There are many more types of rasam which are made by different communities but here I have a simple recipe to make this fragrant soup-like thin sauce that is a staple of South Indian cuisine. I have not used any gram or lentils or any rasam powder as is done usually, nevertheless, this "rasam" is appetising and aromatic. The recipe was suggested to me by my South Indian help when I wanted some "rasam" done in a jiffy.

Serves 3 to 4 persons
Preparation and cooking time : 20 to 30 minutes

Ingredients

1. Tomatoes - 1 very large or 2 medium
2. Unpeeled garlic - 6 flakes
3. Green chillies - at least 2 (medium sized) or according to taste
4. Cumin seeds (jeera) - 1/2 tsp
5. Black pepper - 1/2tsp whole corns or 3/4 tsp coarse powder
6. Asafoetida (hing powder) - 1/4 tsp
7. Dried red chillies - 2 or 3 (each torn in two)
8. Tamarind (imli) - 1/2 lime sized ball (soaked in water to yield 2 1/2 cups of watery pulp)
9. Turmeric powder (haldi) - a small pinch
10. Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
11. Curry leaves - 1 sprig
12. Fresh coriander leaves (dhania leaves) - 2 tblsp freshly chopped
13. Salt to taste
14. Vegetable oil - 2 tsp

Method

1. Take items 2, 3, 4 and 5. Pound very well in a mortar or give it a spin in a clean coffee grinder (without water). The mixture should be coarse.
2. Warm 1 tsp oil and fry this mix till it starts giving out a nice aroma. Do not cook further. Nothing should be browned.
3. Take the tomato/es and crush and squeeze well by hand or give it a short spin in a mixie (without water) to make a coarse, chunky mix. Transfer to a vessel. Add the fried spice mix to this crushed tomato.
4. Add items 8, 9, 12 and 13 to the tomato mix.
5. Heat 1 tsp oil and temper the mustard seeds, hing, red chillies and lastly the curry leaves. The curry leaves need to be very lightly fried only. Add to the tomato mix.
6. Give the whole thing only a light boil. When it begins frothing up, turn off the heat, immediately. This "rasam" loses flavour if boiled any further.
7. Serve hot with rice.
8. Or strain and serve warm as a soup.

Rasam starting to froth up (step 6)

Tips

If you want, a 1/2 cup of boiled "toovar" dal stock may be added to improve the flavour, at step 5, before you boil the "rasam".


It is better to make just enough "rasam" for one meal.


A 1/2 cup of chicken stock may be added at step 5 if using as a non-vegetarian soup.


I like to prepare the "rasam" till step 5 and store the mix in the fridge. Then, when its lunch time, I do step 6 after giving the whole thing a nice stir. Fresh "rasam" is ready without having a lot of cleaning up remaining at lunch time.

Steaming hot strained rasam

I serve "rasam" when anyone at home has a running nose or cold. My family likes having it during the rains and winter.

"Methi Paranthas" or Fenugreek Leaves Bread

Methi paranthas with yoghurt

Time was when we were newly married. It was winter in Baroda and having come from Kerala where it was blazing hot, the cool climes were a treat! It was not uncomfortably cold....we could keep all the windows open to let the breeze and sunshine come in during the daytime. Winter in Baroda, I discovered, meant having certain seasonal vegetables in abundance, unlike Kerala where most veggies were available more or less all year round. The star attractions of the week were tender fenugreek leaves or "methi" and green garlic. Since I did not know what to even think when confronted with these two leafy things, I left the menu of the day to my knowledgeable sister-in-law, Jenny. She came to my rescue and I got to see, help cook and eat one of the yummiest Indian breads ever! Suffice to say that, I became a fan of this without any delay. This is how I make "methi paranthas".

Makes 12 to 14 paranthas depending on size
Preparation and cooking time : 35 to 45 minutes

Ingredients

1. "Methi" or fenugreek leaves cleaned and chopped finely - 1 cup
2. "Atta" or wole wheat powder - 2 cup
3. Curds - 2 tablespoons
4. Green garlic with leaves chopped finely - 1 tablespoon
5. Ginger chopped - 1 teaspoon
6. Spring onions chopped finely - 1 tablespoon
7. Green chillies chopped
8. Turmeric powder - a pinch
9. "Ajwain" or carom seeds - a pinch
10. Salt to taste
11. Water as needed
12. Oil or ghee for shallow frying

Method

1. First, the "methi" has to be prepared. "Methi" is sold in bunches and you have to handle each little plant separately. The two leaves nearest the roots are never taken and only the rest of the leaves are pinched off the stem. If the stem is tender, then the stem can also be used. Take a handful of leaves that you have pinched off and wash very well in 3 or 4 changes of water. Let drain. Take the drained leaves and holding as a bunch, chop as finely as you can. This should make at least a cup of chopped "methi".
2. Grind items 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 without water. It is ok if it is a bit coarsely ground.
3. In a large "thali" or plate where you can knead the "atta", place items 2, 8, 9 and 10. Mix without water.
4. Add the "methi" and the ground paste. Mix very well. Add a teaspoon of ghee or oil to the mix. Knead thoroughly. You will find that the ingredients come together easily. If its still powdery or dry, add water only in drops and knead well.
5. Place the "tawa" on the flame.
6. Make 12 to 14 balls of the dough. Quickly (this is important), roll out the "paranthas" (dusting with "atta") and shallow fry using oil or ghee on the "tawa", till there are reddish spots on both sides.
7. Serve hot with a dollop of home-made butter or some curds and pickle. There is no need for a side dish for this "parantha".

Washed and drained methi leaves

Tips

"Methi" leaves release a lot of water and the dough becomes increasingly wetter as it remains. So, we need not add too much water to bind the atta and other ingredients, unless the mix is quite dry. It is better to add water in drops. So, I like to make only as much dough as I need for one time.

"Besan" or chickpea flour can be added to the atta mix if you like. For 1 cup "atta", add 1 tablespoon "besan" in step 3.

These are very good to be used in lunch boxes or to be taken on picnics. I am told, these were favoured as food to be taken on long journeys in earlier days. May be the "paranthas" were drier or had other ingredients also, then.

These can be stored in the fridge for a day or so and reheated on a "tawa" to refresh.

I like to have it rolled up with a cup of hot, sweet "masala chai"....bliss.

Mutton Fry

Mutton fry

A dish that just happened when I had to make something for potluck to take to a friend's place. My husband wanted mutton, but in all my life, we have only had gravy based mutton dishes or "biryani", and so out of necessity this dry dish was sort of put together as we were already running late that evening. It is very simple and quick. Thereafter, whenever I have made this, its one of the first things on the table to get over......which to me is a huge compliment. Needs only a simple "raita" and some warm "rotis" (Indian bread) to go with it. A useful recipe to have in one's kitty.

Serves 6 to 8 persons
Preparation and cooking time: about 40 minutes

Ingredients

1. Mutton* - 1kg
2. Green cardamom (whole) - 5
3. Cloves (whole) - 3
4. Cinnamon stick - 1"
5. Whole black pepper - 1 tablespoon
6. Star anise - 1
7. Aniseed - 1 teaspoon
8. Curry leaves washed - 2 handfuls
9. Salt to taste
10. Ginger chopped - 1 tablespoon
11. Garlic chopped - 1 tablespoon
12. Green chillies - 3
13. Coriander powder - 2 teaspoons
14. Turmeric powder - 1/2 teaspoon
15. Red chilli powder - 1 teaspoon
16. Onions sliced long - 1 cup
17. Oil - 2 tablespoons
18. Water
19. Chopped coriander leaves and lime wedges for garnish

Method

1. Wash and drain the mutton pieces.
2. Grind items 2 to 15 into a smooth paste using some water. It does not matter if the paste is watery.
3. Combine the mutton and the watery paste and boil for about 15 to 20 minutes. Add a little water if the mutton begins to stick to the vessel. You may pressure cook it, however, I boil this in a thick-bottomed vessel. Take off heat.
4. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a wok and add the sliced onions. Let them brown well.
5. Add the cooked mutton and all the gravy and cook till the mutton pieces are rather dry.
6. Serve hot with the chopped coriander leaves and lime wedges as garnish. Goes well with " rotis", "paranthas" or any sort of Indian bread. Needs only some "raita" or a green salad to complete the meal.

Tips

*Goat meat has been referred to as mutton.
The curry leaves give this recipe a nice, fresh flavour.
The amounts of chilli powder and pepper can be changed according to taste.
Chicken can be substituted for mutton in this recipe.
I sometimes use boneless mutton or chicken in this recipe to make spicy hors d'oeuvres.

"Meen vevichathu" or the Central Travancore style of fish in red gravy

Meen vevichathu

There are as many ways of preparing this simple, elegant and classic dish as there are Kerala Syrian Christian households. Some do this with whole spices and others use powdered "masalas", each one extolling the virtues of his or her method! The proportions of condiments vary with the taste preferences of the family and finally the type of fish used also depends on personal favourites. Kerala fish curries are cooked in a clay pot called the "meen chatti". And if a "meen chatti" is not available, not to fret...you can cook this in any thick bottomed cooking pot. It is said that the clay pot imparts a certain inexplicable yummy flavour which is missing in other vessels. All in all, a dish that could be the barometer of a cook's expertise. In the end, this is just simply a spectacular dish which will transport you to culinary heaven (if you can take the spices!). It is one Kerala dish which has no use of any grated coconut though the oil is used to give it a nice, complete sort of aroma! Here is one of the simpler versions I do that always gets me a compliment or two from my family and friends.

Serves 8 - 10 persons
Preparation and cooking time approx: 45 minutes to 1 hour

Ingredients

1. Seer fish (preferably) or any large variety of fish that has firm flesh - 1 kg
2. Fish tamarind or "meen pulli" - 4 large pieces
3. Kashmiri (mild) red chilli powder - 2 heaped teaspoons
4. Pungent red chilli powder - 1 heaped teaspoon
5. Roasted coriander powder - 1 heaped teaspoon
6. Turmeric powder - 3/4 teaspoon
7. Ginger chopped finely- 1 1/2 tablespoons
8. Garlic chopped finely - 2 tablespoons
9. Onions or shallots (madras onions) chopped finely - 2 tablespoons
10. Coconut oil or any mild flavoured vegetable oil - 3 tablespoons
11. Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
12. Roasted fengreek powder - 1 tsp
13. Curry leaves (fresh) - a handful
14. Salt to taste
15. Water
16. Coconut oil - a teaspoon or so (optional)

Method

1. The fish has to be prepared first. It may be skinned if you like. Cut into medium to slightly larger pieces approximately 1 1/2" thick pieces. Wash thoroughly under running water and keep aside to drain in a colander.
2. Clean the fish tamarind thoroughly of all grit under running water and tear each large piece into 3 or 4 strips. Place all the 12 or so strips in the clay pot along with a few washed curry leaves. Add a teaspoon of salt and pour a cup of water so that the tamarind soaks for sometime. The meen chatti, thus prepared, is kept aside.
3. Take items numbered 3, 4, 5 and 6 and mix together in a 1/4 cup of water to get a thick semi-solid paste.
4. Heat a wok or frying pan on medium heat, pour the oil and then add the mustard seeds. (The "meen chatti" is a delicate vessel and replacing a broken one is easier said than done, so I normally do not fry the masalas in it to reduce the wear and tear on the pot bottom.) When the seeds splutter, add the chopped ginger and let it turn a light brown, then add the garlic bits and stir till the whole thing becomes a darker brown. The garlic needs to become brown mostly around the edges only. At this stage, add the chopped shallots or onions. When the onions become a deep brown without burning, add the semi-solid masala paste. Stir and fry this till you can see the oil surfacing around its sides. This could take 3 to 5 minutes on medium heat.
5. When the masala has begun releasing oil, tip all of it into the prepared clay pot. Rinse out the wok with half a cup of water and pour this water also into the "chatti". Add another 1 cup of water. Set the "chatti" on the stove and wait till the water and masalas come to a rolling boil.
6. When the gravy is boiling hard consistently, add the fish pieces, one by one, so that no two pieces are stuck to each other while cooking. As the fish is placed in the "chatti", the boil comes down to a simmer. Wait for the gravy to boil hard again. Add a few more curry leaves. You will find that the fish has released a lot of water. The fish curry should never be stirred around while or after cooking as fish is prone to breaking. Adjust salt and let the gravy thicken to your preference. The fish has to be boiled hard for at least 15 minutes to absorb some of the taste of the masala. A light simmer will not do as the fish will remain insipid and the gravy will be watery. (The gravy can be of thick pouring consistency.)
7. Towards the end of the cooking, add the roasted fenugreek powder. Let it cook for a few seconds after that and then turn the fire off. The "chatti" retains a geat amount of heat and you will see that the gravy is still boiling well even when it is off the stove. Sprinkle the remaining curry leaves and add a dash of raw coconut oil, do not stir at all. Keep the lid shut for about 10 minutes. Open the lid a little so that the steam does not condense inside. Keep for at least half an hour. Serve warm with rice, tapioca or even with "rotis" (Indian bread).

Tips

"Meen vevichathu" can be kept for a few days (if it doesn't get over!) as the flavour improves vastly with time. This can be kept in the fridge. While reheating, I like to take only the required amount of curry and fish pieces and zap it for a minute in the microwave before serving it.

It is better to use larger, fleshy fish rather than small varieties as the masala can work its way into the pieces without making a mash of the whole thing.

A "meen chatti" is a good thing to have in your pantry if you plan on doing Kerala fish curries more often. You can buy one from a Kerala store or from Kerala itself! You can tilt the chatti this way and that to move the fish pieces around during cooking.

Fish tamarind aka "meen pulli" is available in South Indian/Kerala stores everywhere. Or you can get them through somebody coming from Kerala. This stuff keeps for ages.

Fenugreek seeds aka "methi" seeds can be roasted and powdered. After cooling, this powder can be stored in a bottle for use in different dishes.

Kerala boiled rice goes very well with this curry.

The key to a good "meen vevichathu" is fresh ingredients. Freshly caught fish, freshly picked curry leaves, fresh coconut oil, fresh ginger, garlic and shallots make a huge difference to the end result. This difference is felt when one has this dish in the village and the flavours that you experience there are not something easily replicated in the city.

Dal and Green Mango Curry

Dal and Green Mango Curry

Tart, green mangoes available in summer uplift the rather bland dal to give it a nice tingly, refreshing twist. This recipe hardly takes any time, thus saving you from a lot of discomfort near a hot stove. Chana dal or moong dal can also be used in place of arhar dal in this recipe.

Preparation and cooking time : 30 minutes
Serves 4 persons

Ingredients

1. Red gram/Arhar Dal - 3/4 cup
2. Tart green mango - 1/2 cup (peeled and chopped medium sized pieces)
3. Onion - 1/2 cup (sliced)
4. Green chillies - 3 or 4 (slit)
5. Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
6. Curry leaves from 2 fresh sprigs
7. Oil - 1 to 2 tsp
8. Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp
9. Cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp
10. Salt - to taste
11. Water - 1 1/2 cups

Method

Dal, sliced green mango, onions, green chillies and curry leaves

Pick and wash the dal. Put dal, mango and onions with water in a pressure cooker. Cook for only 2 whistles, not any more. Add the turmeric and salt and boil again till it is a little more thick.** In a small kadai or tempering pan, heat the oil and add the mustard and cumin seeds. When the seeds splutter, add the green chillies and the curry leaves. Saute for 10 seconds and add the tempering to the dal. Stir the dal well and shut the vessel for a couple of minutes so that the flavours mingle well. Open and serve hot with rice or roti.

**For those who like coconut in their curries, it is to be noted that a paste, of 2 or 3 tablespoons of fresh grated coconut ground with a quarter teaspoon of cumin seeds and a green chilli or two, added to the boiling dal before tempering improves the flavour.

Bottle gourd "theeyal"

A "theeyal" is a dark brown, mildly spicy, roasted coconut masala based vegetable curry. Traditionally, the vegetables used are just a few handfuls of madras onions or shallots. There are many other versions made with different vegetables. There is the green drumstick and raw mango theeyal, the aubergine theeyal, the bitter gourd theeyal so on and so forth including the shrimp theeyal amongst the non vegetarian varieties too! The USP of this delicious curry is the combination of roasted coconut and tamarind pulp that brings out the delicate, appetising flavour and colour of the theeyal. The oil to be used is coconut oil, but if for any reason this is not possible, then any other oil could do.

Serves 4 to 6 persons
Cooking time : 1hr 10 minutes (including time to toast the coconut)

Ingredients

1. Bottle gourd/ghiya/lauki - 1 1/2 cups (peeled, seeded and cut in one inch long and quarter inch thick pieces).It should preferably be fresh and tender without any black or brown markings, then one need not peel or seed the bottle gourd at all, just top and tail it before cutting it up.
2. Large onion - 1, sliced (approx. 1/2 cup)

For the gravy or "masala"

3. Coconut (grated fresh) - 1 cup (or if using dessicated coconut then just 3/4 cup)
4. Cumin seeds (jeera)- 1/2 tsp
5. Coriander powder (raw) - 1 1/2tsp
6. Red chilli powder - 1 1/2tsp or less according to taste
7. Turmeric powder (haldi)- 1/2 tsp
8. Tamarind(imli)- a small lime-sized piece
9. Garlic - 1 clove (optional)
10. Shallots (madras onions) - 3 for tempering
11. Curry leaves - 2 fresh sprigs
12. Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp
13. Roasted fenugreek powder - 1 tsp
14. Dried red chillies - 2
15. Oil - 1 1/2 dessertspoons (coconut oil, preferably)
16. Salt - to taste

Method

1. Combine the chopped bottle gourd and large onion with one tablespoon of water and a pinch of little salt. Cook in the pressure cooker for only one whistle, not any more.
2. Roast the coconut in a frying pan on low heat till it becomes a fragrant, deep brown, taking care not burn it black. Cool it for sometime and while its still a little warm, powder it in a dry grinder (like a coffee grinder). Let it remain in the grinder.
3. In the warm pan, put half a teaspoon of cumin and roast on very low heat. When the cumin releases its aroma, add one and a half teaspoons coriander powder (raw) and roast this also. When the coriander powder begins to turn a deeper brown, add the red chilli powder and keep stirring these around in the pan for a couple of minutes. Transfer these into the grinder and powder well.
4. A couple of whole shallots along with a clove of garlic may be slightly browned in a drop of oil and added to the powder in the grinder. Add a little water and grind the whole thing into a thick smooth pasty mass.
5. Meanwhile, take a small (lime-sized) piece of tamarind and soak it in warm water. Mash and squeeze out the pulp and add a little more water to repeat and get more pulp. It should make a half cup of fairly thick seedless brown liquid at least. The sourness of the theeyal depends mainly on this.
6. Add all the coconut masala paste and the tamarind pulp to the cooked bottle gourd, with half a teaspoon of turmeric powder. Adjust salt.  Bring to a rolling boil, and cook for a few minutes till the curry has reached the consistency that you want. Take off heat.**
7. While the curry boils, chop remaining shallots into roundels. Heat a dessertspoon of oil, add a quarter teaspoon of mustard seeds, let them pop, then add a couple of torn, dried red chillies to brown slightly, and only then add the onions. Brown the onions on medium to low heat to a nice crisp. Finally add the curry leaves to the hot oil, let them sizzle for a couple of seconds to release some aroma and pour the whole tempered mass into the hot, cooked curry. Add a teaspoon of roasted and powdered fenugreek. Give the curry a nice stir and close the pot tightly to let the flavours and aromas mingle. Serve warm. Can be had with plain rice or rotis.

Tips:

This is slow cooking, as the coconut takes a while to brown nicely without burning, but the effort is worth every bit. One can, of course, toast and powder more batches of coconut and spices (excluding the onions and garlic),cool to room temperature and store this masala powder in the freezer for later use. Then, whenever any sort of theeyal is to be made, you will have the powdered masala all ready at hand.(If you have roasted coriander powder at hand, use this without roasting in Step 3.)

**This theeyal has a thick sauce or gravy because my family loves to have this with rotis! (It really tastes very good with fresh phulkas or paranthas!) But the gravy needs to be a little thinner to eat with rice, so  a 3/4 cup of water can be added before step 6, to get a nice, pouring (but not too watery) consistency of sauce.