Fish Pickle

Pickles are available in a number of varieties and flavours in market which could be prepared in a simple way at home itself with few ingredients.Here Iam Sharing one such very special and different pickle prepared with King Fish. It tastes equally good and tempting like that of mango, garlic pickles. This recipe is sure to enter your favourite list if you are a lover of fish and pickles..! 

Ingredients:

For Marination:

• King Fish - 1kg
• Chilli Powder - 2 tablespoon
• Turmeric Powder - 1/2 Teaspoon
• Ginger Garlic - 1 Tablespoon
• Salt - To Taste

For Pickle Gravy:

• Sesame - 1 and half cup
• Curry Leaves - 5-6 Sprigs
• Ginger - 1 inch square piece
• Garlic - 25-30 nos
• Green Chilly - 6-7
• Fenugreek powder - 1 teaspoon
• Asafoetida(kaayam) - 3 pinches
• Red Chilly Powder - 5 tablespoon
• Salt - To Taste
• Oil - As needed
• Vinegar - 1 cup

Method:

• Cut the washed fish into kind of square pieces and add the ingredients given under marination to it.

• After marinating it for 2-3 hours, fry the fish well in enough oil and keep it aside.

• In another pan, pour some oil and throw in sesame and Curry leaves.

• Crush together ginger, garlic and green chilly in a blender and saute it.

• When it turns golden brown,add fenugreek powder, Asafoetida , Red chilly powder, salt and the fried fish.

• Mix them well and allow to cook for around 6 minutes before turning off the stove.
• After sometime pour a cup of vinegar over the pickle to give its signature taste.

Note:

• You can have this as side dish instead of curry along with rice,dosa or any other indian flat breads.
• If you bottle them in air tight containers, you can keep it for months and have it. 

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Ilai Appam

Ilai Appam is a very traditional sweet dish prepared with the help of certain type of leaf called Chelanthi ila. Nowadays its also done with moulds but inorder to enjoy the authentic taste you must try the ones in leaf. Its the flavour of the leaf that gets absorbed into the mixture providing it with a unique taste.It would absolutely be a very special dish on a very special day to enjoy with family..!

Ingredients:

• Whole Green Gram (Cheru Payar) - 1 cup
• Water - 2 cup to cook Whole Green Gram (Cheru payar)
• Jaggery (Sharkara) - 2 and 1/2 cup
• Grated Coconut - 1-3/4 
• Rice flour - 1 and 1/2 cup
• Water - 2 and 1/2 cup to cook rice flour
• Banana leaf or Chelanthi ila or Mould  

Method:

• Take around 2 cups of water in a pressure cooker and cook Whole Green Gram till you hear the first whistle. Switch it Off.

• In another pan melt 2 and half cups of Jaggery by adding little water. Stain it after it melts completely.
• To the cooked Whole Green Gram (Cheru Payar), add the grated coconut and melted jaggery and mix it well. Saute it in a pan for around 7 minutes till it becomes dry.

• In a sauce pan, boil 2 and 1/2 cups of water with little salt. Now gradually add the measured amount of rice flour to the water and mix it well to form a smooth soft dough without any lumps like that of idiyappam.
• Now take a small ball of dough and spread it over the leaf. Place the prepared sweet mixture at the centre and fold the leaf to seal the edges. 

• If you dont have leaf do it with the help of a mould in the same way.

• Place all the prepared ilayapam inside a cooker and steam it till it gets cooked. 
• When the dough gets cooked you will find that the leaf opens up a bit and also there will be change of colour. 

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Kadala muttai or Peanut Brown Balls

I would probably call this to be the ever simplest and quickest recipe in my blog. It involves no cooking and no waiting. Just get the ingredients and go ahead to enjoy it when you or your kids want to munch something thats sweet and tender. It looks very similar to ladoos but much healthier as we are using just peanuts and jaggery as the major ingredients. Hope you add this to your quick snack list..!

Ingredients:

• Peanut - 100gms
• Jaggery(Sharkara) or Brown Sugar - 2 tablespoon

Method:

• Take the required amount of Peanut and good quality Jaggery.

• Transfer the Peanuts to a blender and Powder it to a coarse texture.

• Grate the Jaggery and mix it with the powdered peanuts very well.

• Make small balls out of it in the size of a gooseberry(nellikkai) and Tasty Peanut Balls are ready to be served .

Notes:

• Make sure the jaggery is good quality one, otherwise the unwanted particles in it could spoil the taste.
• Those who are in diet and conscious about health could replace peanuts with walnuts.

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Caramelized Banana Bread Toast

Wanna try out something new and different for your kids to fill their evening appetite? Then here Iam with a very simple but delicious mouthwatering bread toast with tasty bananas. As you can notice it can be prepared in a jiffy without much effort. It would surely be a pleasant treat for your kids and for all..! 

Ingredients:

• Bread Slices - 4 (to make two toasts)
• Banana (yethan pazham/ nenthra pazham) - 1 thinly sliced
• Sugar - 2 teaspoon
• Ghee - 1/2 Teaspoon 

Method:

• Heat a fry pan and place the bread slices on it. Keep the flame low so that the bread slices doesn't get burnt up.

• Now Sprinkle Sugar on top of the slices and allow it to cook for around 6 minutes.

• Flip the slices and repeat the same process again.
• Now apply ghee on both the sides and remove it from from the pan. It would all take almost 7 minutes altogether.

• Now place the thinly sliced bananas on the same pan to get it heated.

• Finally place the banana slices within two toasted bread slices like sandwich.Cut the delicious caramelized toast on any shape as you like and serve it hot.

Tips:

• Better the ripe of banana, better the taste.
• Adding condensed milk or melted chocolates or peanut butter etc within the toast would surely make it much more yummy!! 

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Wheat Parota or Atta Parota

Tasty food and Healthy body are two inseparable words due to their dependency on each other. Thats why these days we analyse health factor more than the taste element of food that we have it. So here I have come up with Wheat Parota thats traditional, tasty but also an healthy alternative to the very much criticized parotas for their health aspect. You will love it once you try it..!

Ingredients:

• Wheat Flour - 1 cup
• Yeast - 1/2 teaspoon or Soured Curd - 2 Tablespoon
• Salt - To Taste
• Water - Required for kneading

Method:

• In a large bowl mix wheat flour, salt and yeast or curd by pouring water.Knead it to a dough like that of normal chapathi or Flat bread.

• Leave the dough to rest for an hour so that fermentation process could take place.
• Now take out large sized balls in such a way that one ball would equalize the size of two normal chapathi.

• Roll out the large ball of dough somewhat thicker resembling a naan(not very thin like that of a chapathi) using the rolling pin.

• Next gently brush some oil over the rolled out dough.
• Now using a knife, partition the rolled out dough maintaining a width of almost one inch for each cut portion.

• Place one partition (one row of rolled out & cut dough) over the other and roll them gently to form the base of a medium sized parota.

• If you prefer a smaller version like coin parota, just roll one partition instead of two.
• Now squeeze it down slowly with your hand and slightly expand it a little bit to get the required size of parota.

• Finally throw them onto a preheated tawa or skillet and cook till they turn golden brown on both sides.

Note:

• Use oil generously for an enhanced taste while rolling out the dough and while cooking it.
• Wheat parotas go well with any kind of gravy both veg and non veg like chicken curry, egg roast or chana masala, veg kurmas etc.,

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Chippi Appam or Kalmakka Nirachathu or Stuffed Mussels

Here Iam sharing a very traditional mussel recipe called Chippi appam in Southern Tamil Nadu or Kallumakka Nirachathu in Northern regions of kerala. It basically involves very few ingredients that are stuffed and steamed to a soft and mushy kind of sea food meal. The beauty is you can have this as a main dish or even as an evening snack. The part which i love the most is scooping out the stuffings with its outer shell while eating it. Hope you would also enjoy it..!!!

Ingredients:

Mussels - 25 to 30
Rice flour - 1/2 kg
Chilli Powder - 2 Teaspoon
Turmeric powder -a pinch
Ginger Garlic Paste -2 Tablespoon
Fennel - 2- 3 teaspoon
Cinnamon - a small piece
Cardamom - around 4
Cloves - 2
Grated Coconut - 1
salt - To taste

Method:

• Open, Wash and Clean the Mussels thoroughly and keep it aside.

• Powder the following in a mixer - Fennel,Cinnamon,Cardamom and Cloves.

• In a large bowl add chilli powder, turmeric powder, ginger garlic paste, ground powder, salt, shredded coconut and mix it together.

• Now put in rice flour and knead it into a soft dough.

• Take out small balls of dough and stuff it inside the opened mussels.

• Now Place them inside  a Steamer and allow it to cook for around 20 minutes or until they cook well inside.

• Once they are cooked and ready, serve them on a plate as it is.

• Later on you can even demould the shells and fry the stuffed mussels by applying a little of masala like chicken on oil for a different crispy taste.

• It could be served as a main dish or for an evening bite with the family.

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Easy Vegetable Kurma

Kurma or Khorma is a well known South Asian food for its mild blend of spices. Kurma's are of number of varieties consisting of meat and vegetables. Even though its preparation style differs, here Iam presenting a very simple and quick way of preparing vegetable kurma with no compromise in its authentic taste. 

Ingredients:

Onion - 1 (large one)
Ginger Garlic Paste - 2 Teaspoon
Green Chilly - 3-4
Capsicum - 1
Tomato - 1
Carrot - 1
Potato - 1
Garam Masala -  1 Tablespoon
Thick Coconut Milk - 1 cup
Water -1 cup
Salt - To Taste
Oil - 2 Teaspoon
Coriander leaves - For Garnish

Method:

• Heat Oil in a hot wok and saute ginger garlic paste and green chilly till you get to smell their flavour.

• Now add in Onion and Capsicum to it and saute for few minutes followed by tomato.

• Its time for the other vegetables to be added.(here carrot and potato).

• Add in garam masala at this stage and mix well.

• Pour in water and salt and cook the vegetables well.

• Finally add in the thick coconut milk and allow it to cook for just few more minutes.

• Garnish it with coriander leaves and serve it hot.

Note:

• Vegetable kurma goes well with Indian Flat breads like Chapati and also Appam.
• You can add any kind of vegetables as per your taste but normally prefer hard vegetables for making kurmas. 
• If you find it difficult to strain milk from coconut, you can very well use coconut milk powder mixed in water to simplify the process.  

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