Quick banana "rawa halwa"

A nutritious and quickly made sweet that can quell hunger pangs or be a dessert. Perfect for active growing kids who require a lot of energy for all their various activities.

Serves 2 to 4
Preparation and cooking time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

1. "Rawa" or "sooji" or farina or semolina - 1 cup
2. Ripe banana mashed - 1 cup
3. Sugar - 2 or 3 heaped teaspoons or to taste
4. "Ghee" - 1 cup
5. Milk - 2 1/2 cups
6. Cashew nuts/ blanched sliced almonds (sauteed in "ghee")- 1 tablespoon
7. Raisins - 1 tablespoon
8. Green cardamom powder - 1/2 teaspoon

Method

1. Heat a wok. Add the ghee and "rawa". Stir and fry till the "rawa" is fragrant and almost golden brown.
2. Add mashed banana, sugar, cardamom powder and milk.
3. Stir and cook till the milk is absorbed into the "rawa".
4. Add the nuts and raisins. Stir well.
5. Scoop and serve hot or at room temperature.

Tips

The "rawa", nuts and raisins can be roasted in larger quantities and kept for ready use.

Slightly over-ripe bananas may also be used.

Bananas may be omitted if they are not preferred.

As a dessert for older persons, use less "ghee".

Semiya payasam

Semiya payasam

A simple and quick milky dessert.

Serves 4
Preparation and cooking time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

1. Vermicelli or "semiya" - 1 cup
2. Full cream milk - 500ml
3. Sugar - 2 to 3 heaped tablespoons or to taste
4. Butter or "ghee" - 2 tablespoons
5. Green cardamoms (crushed) - 4
6. Cashew nuts (broken)- 1/4 cup
7. Raisins - 1/4 cup

Method

1. Roast the "semiya" in a little "ghee" till it becomes a golden brown.
2. Boil the milk with the roasted semia, sugar and cardamoms.
3. Stir and cook till the semia is done.
4. Heat the remaining "ghee" and fry the cashews and raisins separately.
5. Add these to the payasam. Stir well.
6. Serve hot or cold.

Tips

Half teaspoon of cardamom powder may be used instead of crushed cardamom.

Use good quality semiya like "Bambino". Do not use any very fine variety as this will dissolve and become a thick congealed mass. The strands of vermicelli need to be separate even after cooking.

You can add 1/4 cup of broken bits of white "peda" or any almond or cashew "barfi" to the payasam in step 3, to give it some more interest.

Cashews and/or almonds may be used. Decorate with fresh rose petals if you like.

Some brands like "Bambino" also sell roasted vermicelli, so one can skip step 1.

Simplest Kerala beef fry

A very simple, Kerala restaurant take-away style of beef fry. It goes perfectly with warm Malabar parothas.

Serves 4
Preparation and cooking time : 45 minutes to 1 hour

Ingredients

1. Beef (trimmed and diced) - 250 gms
2. Salt to taste
3. Turmeric powder - 1/4 teaspoon
4. Onions or shallots chopped  - 1/2 cup
5. Ginger chopped very fine - 1 teaspoon
6. Garlic chopped very fine - 1 teaspoon
7. Coconut slivers chopped - 1 tablespoon
8. Coriander powder - 1/2 teaspoon
9. Chilli powder - 1/2 teaspoon
10. Black pepper powder - 1/2 teaspoon (optional)
11. Curry leaves - 1 sprig
12. Garam masala* - 1/4 teaspoon
13. Oil - 2 tablespoons

Method

1. Wash the beef very well, drain and put in a pressure cooker with some salt and the turmeric powder. Do not add any water. Pressure cook for about 30 minutes or till soft. After opening the cooker, boil off all the remaining water.
2. Heat a wok and add oil. When the oil is hot, add coconut slivers, ginger, garlic, onions and curry leaves. Saute till the onions and coconut turn golden.
3. Add the coriander powder and the chilli powder. Saute for a minute and add the cooked beef. Stir. Check seasoning.
4. Stir and cook till all the pieces are well-coated and dry.
5. Add the garam masala, black pepper(optional) and stir well. Cover the wok and keep the flame on low. After 3 minutes, open and stir again.
6. Serve hot with malabar parothas or "roti"s or rice.

Tips

Beef releases a lot of water while cooking, so I prefer not add any water before cooking.
*To make garam masala: 1 1/2 tablespoons of black peppercorns, 1 tablespoon of green cardamoms, 1 1/2 tablespoons of fennel, 1 tablespoon of broken cinnamon pieces, 1/2 tablespoon of cloves and 3 whole star anise have to be toasted gently for 2 minutes. Cool to room temperature and grind to a fine powder. This garam masala powder may be stored in a bottle in the refrigerator for use.

I like to do step 1 and have a batch of boiled beef ready to be sauteed, in the refrigerator.

"Avial"

Avial

An all time favourite in the family. "Avial" is a wonderful ambrosial mix of very mildly spiced vegetables in a smooth coconut sauce.

Serves 6 to 8
Preparation and cooking time : 45 minutes

Ingredients

1. Elephant foot yam or "chena" - 150 gms
2. Ash gourd - 150 gms
3. Onions - 100 gms
4. Potatoes - 100 gms
5. Pumpkin - 100 gms
6. Drumstick - 1 or 2
7. French beans - 6 or 7 Or Long beans - 3 or 4
8. Carrot - 1
9. Green unripe cooking banana or plantain - 1
10. Brinjal (tiny) - 3
11. Snake gourd - 100 gms
12. Tart green mangoes - 200 to 250 gms
13. Thick yoghurt - 1 cup
14. Coconut grated - 3/4 cup
15. Cumin seeds - 3/4 teaspoon
16. Green chillies - 3 or 4
17. Curry leaves - 2 sprigs
18. Coconut oil - 2 tablespoons
19. Salt to taste
20. Turmeric powder - 1 teaspoon
21. Bright red fresh chillies slit - 3 or 4

Method

1. All vegetables are peeled or scraped and washed and then cut in similar shapes and sizes. Shape and size are kept uniform for a pleasing visual. I like the shape being long sticks (around 1 1/2 inches long and 1/4 inch thick). You may cut it in any shape you prefer but all the vegetables should have the same dimensions. Keep each set of vegetable pieces separate.
2. Yam needs to be handled with some care. Some oil may be smeared on your hands before first peeling and washing. Cut in preferred shape.
3. Ash gourd may be peeled and the portion containing the seeds may be cut away. Wash and cut into pieces.
4. Onions are sliced long after peeling and washing.
5. Potatoes too are sliced long like the onions after peeling and washing.
6. Pumpkin may be treated like the ash gourd.
7. Drumstick/s may be peeled and cut in shape after washing. If the pieces are thick, each piece may be split lengthwise.
8. French beans or long beans may be topped and tailed and the string on the sides may be pulled away. Then, after washing, cut into shape.
9. Carrot needs to be peeled or scraped and washed. Then cut.
10. Green raw cooking banana or plantain needs to be peeled and cut. Keep the pieces in water.
11. Brinjals need to be topped and sliced long and put in water.
12. Snake gourd may be topped, tailed, scraped well and split in 2 lengthwise. The white fluff has to be scooped up and discarded and after washing, the 2 pieces may be cut.
13. Green mangoes may be peeled and stoned. Cut the mangoes into strips.
14. The yoghurt has to be whisked lump-free and kept aside.
15. Items 14, 15 and 16 have to be ground with water to get a smooth paste. (Add water little by little only.) The paste should be thick. Set aside.*
16. In a large thick-bottomed cooking pot, add items 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 12. Add enough water to just reach the top of the veggies. Add salt, some curry leaves and the turmeric powder. Stir**, taking care that the vegetables are not broken or smashed while doing so. Cover and cook on medium flame for a few minutes.
17. When the yam and the pumpkin pieces are a little soft, add items 6 to 11 and mix either by flipping them or with the stick end of the wooden spoon. Add water if needed to reach the top of the vegetables. Cover and cook on medium flame.
18. When the vegetables are all cooked well, add the coconut paste and mix well. Boil the "avial" till the sauce becomes thick. Adjust the salt.
19. Add the beaten yoghurt, the remaining curry leaves and the slit red chillies. Turn off the flame and mix well. Drizzle the coconut oil on the surface and mix just a little again. Cover the vessel and let the aromas mingle for about 10 minutes.
20. Serve hot with rice or "roti".

Tips

A potato peeler is invaluable when peeling most of the vegetables used here. However, the yams may be pared using a knife, the drumstick peel may be stripped off in parts and the snake gourd may be scraped on the outside.

* Some prefer the coconut mix to be coarse, but I find a smooth coconut paste to be better and makes the "avial" more flavourful.

**If you are good at flipping things in a cooking vessel, flip all these things around so that the turmeric and salt reach everywhere and the vegetables are mixed well. Use this method of moving the ingredients around the vessel throughout cooking this. Or else, use the long stick end of a wooden spoon to stir the ingredients around the vessel. The aim is to keep the vegetables from breaking.

Mackerel "thoran"

A simple and flavourful preparation of mackerel.

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

Ingredients

1. "Ayla" or mackerel (or any firm and fleshy fish) - 250 gms
2. Fish tamarind or "kudumpulli" - 1 large piece or 2 medium pieces
3. Turmeric - 1/2 teaspoon
4. Salt to taste
5. Chilli powder - 1/2 teaspoon
6. Coconut grated - 1/4 cup
7. Ginger chopped - 2 teaspoons
8. Garlic chopped - 1 teaspoon
9. Curry leaves - 1 sprig
10. Onions or shallots chopped - 1/2 cup
11. Oil - 2 teaspoons

Method

1. Clean and wash the mackerel. To the fish, add items 2, 3, 4 and 5. Add 1 cup of water and boil for 10 minutes.
2. Crush in a mortar or grind without any water the items 6, 7, 8 and 9 to get a coarse mix. Gather into a ball.
3. When the fish has cooled, take each piece and remove all bones. Discard the bones, skin bits and fish tamarind. There is no need to flake the cooked fish in this step.
4. In a wok, heat oil and saute the onions for a few seconds. Add the cooked, boneless fish and the crushed coconut mixture to the onions. Add a tablespoon of water and make a tight heap of the whole thing. Cover with a lid and lower the flame to simmer and steam through.
5. Occasionally, give everything a stir, flaking the fish. Adjust seasoning.
6. When the fish has been heated through and infused with the taste of the coconut mix, take off the flame.
7. Serve hot with rice or "roti".

Tips

If, like my family, you find the taste of mackerel to be chalky or bland usually, then this is a good dish to try out.

Mackerel is called "bangda" in Hindi and "ayla" in Malayalam.

The fish tamarind has to be cleaned under running water to rid it of any grit.

Care should be taken that all big and small bones are removed in step 3.

Good dish for a buffet as there are no bones to handle.

For active and growing school kids

A ripe plantain sliced, shallow fried in "ghee" and lightly dusted with sugar and cardamom powder is a wonderful afternoon snack for active young children, especially just after a long day at school. It is calorie dense and easy to eat. If you have loved these as child, it is probably difficult to resist them later on too.

Serves 4
Preparation and cooking time: 20 to 30 minutes

Ingredients

1. Ripe plantain (nendrapazhum variety) - 4 (or 1 per child)
2. "Ghee" or clarified butter for shallow frying
3. Sugar - 2 to 3 teaspoons
4. Cardamom powder - 1/4 teaspoon

Method

1. Peel and cut each plantain in two in the middle. Slice each piece again to get 4 slices from each fruit.
2. In a frying pan, heat 4 tablespoons of "ghee".
3. Lay some plantain slices in the hot ghee and fry on medium flame. Turn over when the top is golden. Add more "ghee", if required.
4. When the slices are a golden brown on each side, place them side by side in a dish that has a cover.
5. Sprinkle the sugar and cardamom powder and cover the dish.
6. Open after about 20 minutes, when the sugar has mostly melted and run down the slices.
7. Serve warm.

Tips

"Nendrapazham" is a variety of ripe plantain available in Kerala.

As soon as you place the limp fried plantains in the dish cover it, as this helps create a warm atmosphere where the sugar melts a bit to seem like honey.

Cardamom powder is optional. This may be omitted or replaced by any other spice powder such as cinnamon, if you like. (Cardamom powder may be made by crushing a few cardamom pods and separating out the fibrous covering.)

"Ghee" or clarified butter is very good for growing kids. It is recommended that "ghee" made from milk is used and not hydrogenated oil.

Fish chutney powder

A different sort of dry chutney to have with a nice Kerala meal. Any sort of fleshy fish may be used for this.

Serves 4 to 6
Preparation and cooking : 45 minutes to 1 hour

Ingredients

1. Fish (any fleshy variety) - 250 gms
2. Onions or shallots chopped - 2 tablespoons
3. Ginger chopped finely - 1 teaspoon
4. Curry leaves from one sprig
5. Turmeric powder - 1/2 teaspoon
6. Chilli powder - 1/2 teaspoon
7. Salt to taste
8. Oil - 2 tablespoons

Method

1. Steam or boil the fish in 1/2 cup of water with the turmeric and salt.
2. After about 5 to 7 minutes of cooking, remove the fish from the water. Skin and bone it carefully. Discard the skin and bones. (Care should be taken that all bones, big or small are removed.)
3. Flake the fish using a fork or your fingers.
4. In a wok, heat the oil. When hot add the ginger, curry leaves and onions. Saute for 2 minutes and add the chilli powder. Saute for a few seconds only.
5. Add the flaked fish and stir.
6. Turn the flame to low. Spread out the fish and do not cover.
7. Stir occasionally and saute on very low flame for about 30 minutes. While stirring, break up any fish lumps and mash it with the spatula itself.
8. After a while, the fish will turn into a brown powdery chutney.
9. Serve as dry chutney with a hot Kerala meal of rice and curry.

Tips

The fish has to fry on very low heat for a long time.

Tinned fleshy fish (like tuna or mackerel) is ready for use in this recipe from step 4.

This is similar in appearance to dry coconut chutney.

"Raita" or yoghurt based salad for biriyani

Onion tomato raita

A cool refreshing "raita" is the right complement to piping hot spicy biriyani.

Serves 4
Preparation time : 10 minutes

Ingredients

1. Ripe red tomatoes chopped - 1 cup
2. Onions chopped - 1 cup
3. Green chillies chopped (optional) - as per taste
4. Yoghurt - 2 cups
5. Salt to taste
6. Black pepper powder (optional) - 1/4 teaspoon

Method

1. Mix all the ingredients except salt. Keep to cool in refrigerator.
2. Before serving, stir in salt and serve with biriyani.

Tips

Green chillies and black pepper powder make the raita spicy. So, these may be added only if you want.

Adding salt early makes the tomatoes and onions release a lot of water. The "raita" will be watery if this happens.

Mutton Biriyani

Mutton biriyani

Biriyani or biryani, an all-in-one meal, is usually made on special occasions in Kerala. Feeding a large gathering is made easier with a biriyani on the menu. Chicken or mutton are the usual favourites. Here, I have done a mutton biriyani. For chicken biryani, all you do is substitute the mutton with chicken in this method.

Serves : 8 to 10 persons
Marination time : 2 hrs to about 12 hrs in the refrigerator
Cooking time and preparation time (excluding marination time): 2 hrs

The ingredients and methods to prepare or cook them are given in order of the procedure.

Ingredients and method

A.

• Mutton pieces - 1 1/2 kg (3.3 lbs)
• Yoghurt - 2 cups
• Garam masala powder - 1 tsp
• Black pepper powder- 1 tsp
• Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
• Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
• Salt - 1 teaspoon

Step 1. Wash the mutton pieces well and drain in a colander. Mix all the items very well by hand (kneading the mutton pieces a bit) and keep in a covered steel or glass vessel. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours and less than 12 hours.

B.

• Onions (sliced long) - 4 cups
• Vegetable oil for deep frying - 2 to 3 cups

Step 2. Heat the oil in a wok and fry the sliced onions in batches (on medium flame). The fried onions should only be a golden brown. Drain on kitchen paper. Reserve the oil in pan. (Fried onions can be done earlier and stored in the refrigerator too. This also keeps well for a few days in the freezer.)

C.

• Onions chopped - 2 1/2 cups
• Garlic - 50 gms
• Ginger - 50 gms
• Green chillies - 6
• Coriander or "dhania" leaves(cleaned, washed and chopped) - 1 1/2 cups

Step 3. Clean and chop all the items. Grind this with some water to get a smooth green paste.

D.

• Butter - 50gms
• Green cardamom - 6
• Cloves - 6
• Cinnamon - 1 inch piece
• Whole black pepper - 15
• Fennel seeds - 1 tsp heaped
• Mint leaves - 10

Step 4. In a thick bottomed large vessel, melt the butter. Add 4 tblsp of oil (the oil used for frying onions) and add all the dry, whole spices. Let these splutter. Add the green paste and fry till it turns brown. Scrape and stir often. Use some more oil from the frying pan if the paste sticks too much to the vessel bottom. Step 5.: When the paste is brown, add all the marinated meat and yoghurt. Stir well. Cover, bring to a rolling boil and then let it simmer for 45 minutes or till the meat is tender. Adjust the salt. Add the mint leaves after cooking is done. Cover the cooking pot. (I cook this in a heavy bottomed vessel as the flavour and texture of the meat is much better than if I used a pressure cooker.)

E.

• "Basmati" rice - 1 kg (2.2 lbs)
• Bay leaves - 4
• Cloves - 2
• Caraway or "shahjeera" - 1/2 tsp
• Cinnamon - 1/2 inch piece
• Salt - 2 tsp
• Water - 10 to 12 cups

Step 6. In a large vessel bring the water, spices and salt to a boil. Meanwhile pick and wash the basmati rice till the water runs clear. When the spiced water has begun boiling, add the rice and cook. The rice should be only half done. (The rice should mostly be opaque white in colour.) Quickly drain the rice in a colander. Spread out the drained rice on a large platter to cool. Pick and discard the bay leaves.

F.

• Saffron strands - 1 pinch
• Boiling milk - 4 tblsp

Step 7. Place saffron strands in a cup. Add boiling milk. Keep aside.

G.

• Juice of limes - 3 tblsp
• Handful of chopped "dhania" leaves

Step 8. Now to assemble the biryani. Check rice and mutton korma for seasoning. Next, keep the rice, the fried onions, the saffron milk, the mutton korma, the lime juice and the dhania leaves in an assembly-line formation. (This makes things easy.) In a thick bottomed vessel which can hold all of these things, we shall layer the biriyani. The first layer is of some rice, and then a couple of ladlesful of mutton with its gravy. Spread them well. Sprinkle some fried onions, some drops of saffron milk, some "dhania" leaves and a few drops of lime juice. Continue layering thus, till all the rice and mutton korma are used up. Take a wooden spoon and with its long stick end only, give the layered biriyani a light stir, without breaking any rice grains. Smoothen and press down the top of the biriyani rather firmly. Sprinkle the rest of the fried onions, saffron milk, "dhania" leaves and lime juice on top in a decorative manner. Cover with a tight lid and place the vessel on very low heat to "dum" cook the biryani. If possible a weight can be placed on top of the vessel to minimize steam escape. Place the vessel on a griddle (tawa) so that the biryani gets evenly heated and does not stick to the bottom of the vessel. After about half an hour, open the vessel carefully and check to see if the rice is fully cooked. (The rice looks curled when its well done.) If there are lots of water droplets on the inner side of the lid, you can be sure that the biryani is done. Else cover up again and let it "dum" cook for 10 to 15 minutes more.

H.

• Kewra essence - 1tsp (optional)
• Rose essence - 1 tsp (optional)
• Hard boiled egg - 1 per person (optional)
• Fried cashew nuts and raisins for garnish (optional)

Step 9. If you like the extra flavours of kewra and/or rosewater, then these may be added along with rice while layering in step 8. If you prefer,add a hard- boiled egg per person only while serving. (I skip adding these essences and eggs.) Garnish with fried nuts and raisins. Step 10. Serve hot with a nice, cool tomato and onion "raita", some pickles and fried poppadums. Enjoy!

Tips

tsp is a teaspoon;  tblsp is a tablespoon

Mutton, here, is goat meat. For biriyani, I prefer using the "raan" or the hind leg portion as it is meaty enough without being too bony.

"Dum" cooking means to cover the vessel tightly and to let the ingredients cook without any loss of steam, on low heat. Many people use a ring of dough to seal the lid of the vessel while the "dum" happens. This ensures no steam escape. However, I find that a tightly fitting lid also does a good job of shutting in most of the steam.

While making a chicken biriyani, it is good to avoid the bony back portion.

In case of chicken, it needs to be cooked for about 20 to 25 minutes only in step 5.

Any left overs may be stored in the refrigerator and steamed in a colander or warmed well in the microwave.