Chocolate moist cake

It was my husband's birthday 2 days back and wanted to make a cake for him.So tried out this chocolate moist cake.It came out well.Except for the icing part, which I had to do in a hurry and when my husband was out, so did a chocolate one which I had prepared earlier...I have given the vanilla icing recipie preparation here which suits this cake well.. you could go with that...

This is an excellent recipie, and trust me you will never regret.

Spicy Pappad

This is a spicy pappad recipie which goes well with bland gravies.It can be prepared easily and takes less time.

This is  a simple recipie, yet I wanted to feature it here because I have rarely seen people having pappad this way.This is one interesting way to have pappad especially people who opt for spicy dishes.

Snake gourd and dhal

This is another recipie from my mom.I refer to this as yellow gravy, since I dint know its name.

This is a yummy recipie which is less spicy yet adoring.Please do try it.

Ribbon murrukku

This is a crispy snack item which is in the shape of a ribbon and often found in bakeries.

It is a combination of bengal gram flour,maida,egg,rice flour and salt.

Here is this recipie.

Sev

This so called sev recipie is a combination of bengal gram flour and small amount of rice flour with few spices.It is a crispy snack.Try it.

Puttu and green gram gravy( Cherrupayar curry)

Puttu is a breakfast item of kerala and is also popular in some areas of Tamil nadu and Srilanka.It is a steamed rice cake layered with grated coconut.

It is a breakfast item that is cooked frequently in Kerala homes.Malayalees who migrate to other countries never fail to get a puttu kuti (puttu mould).

Puttu is mostly taken in combination with banana,green gram curry (cherupayar curry),Black chick pea curry (kadala curry) etc.. you can also try combinations of your choice.My husband has it even with chicken curry :-).In parts of cochin, puttu is had with beef stew and also with sweetened and cardomom flavoured coconut milk.

Here I have prepared puttu with green gram curry.....

Butter Cookies

Cookies are said to be derived from the dutch word called koekje which means " little cake".Cooks wanted to test the temperature of their oven so they made smaller samples of it for testing which however became a hit.

This is a simple butter cookie, and uses readily available ingredients.It is tasty,buttery and is crisp, which makes it an ideal companion for tea.

And no one can eat just one!!!.

Fried Rice

Fried rice is a popular recipie of Asian cuisine.especially in Chinese and American Chinese cuisine,Indo chinese cuisine with countless varieties.There are different types of fried rice varying from veg fried rice, egg fried rice,chicken fried rice,prawns fried rice,mixed fried rice to fried rice recipie associated with places of origin.

This is a simple recipie and could be prepared during a party at your home.

And believe me children will like it the most.

It could be served with chilli chicken or any chinese side dishes.

I prepared this fried rice today since I felt bored and wanted to boot myself ...you know sometimes cooking refreshes you and all the more when someone compliments you for it :-)..My husband calls this kochi fried rice.

Drumstick and Dhal curry

This week has been a drumstick week for me.. as my husband had brought a good number of drumsticks from the grocery.

Drumstick is a very healthy vegetable,it serves as a source of iron,calcium,potassium and many other vitamins and minerals.In some parts of tamil nadu drumsticks are used in sambar s and other curries especially every tuesday and friday, when they refrain from having non vegetarian food.

So I am trying to cook them in different ways to utilise them.

This recipie here is a  simple combination of drumsticks and dhal yet appetising and great to have with rice.

Chappathi Rolls F6UWXTV5AMH5

This is one my dad's recipies.It is easy to cook and also yummy.

After my marriage I prepared this for mother in law and husband and they liked it too...Also it is a portable breakfast item.You can easily prepare this and pack it up by wrapping it in a tisssue or silver foil.And you can have it while travelling to your office.Also it occupies less space.

My husband goes to office by 7 in the morning and sometimes when we miss the alarm..and if I am spared with 15 minutes to 7 ...I prepare this recipie and pack it for him so that he has it while travelling to office or while at office. 

Avalose unda

This is one of kerala's traditional snacks.

It is one among the snacks that we prepare at home during christmas, while we were staying in tamil nadu.Three or four days prior to christmas, I guess that would be during our half yearly holidays in school we would start our preparations.As my mom was working she would be availed leave only 1 day prior to christmas so we spent our time late nights to make all the "palakarams" or snacks for christmas, so that we could distribute to our neighbours and friends on 'Christmas day'.

Sometimes these unda's turn out hard, so my sister and I, while having a scuffle,used to tease our mom threatening to use "mom's avalose unda" as a weapon to safeguard oneself.However when I grew up found out that lemon juice used could soften these unda's.So here is the recipie.

To know how to make avalose podi please refer to Avalose podi.

Vegetable stew

This stew is mostly prepared by kerala christians.During certain occasions you never miss out this stew.I have used only potatoes here however carrots can be used too.It is yummy.

Drumstick curry kerala style

When I was staying in tamil nadu, we had a drumstick tree which had many drumsticks on it.Each of it used to be very long and fleshy.Sometimes, especially during the summer season there would be many long ,fresh and fleshy drumsticks on the tree and less number leaves on the branches of the trees.

People nearby used to wonder and ask for its stem to plant it in their houses.But it never grew as the way it did in our house.

I took few stems to plant it in our house in kerala, but never succeeded.I guess the soil conditions are different.Anyways I love drumsticks!!! this recipie here is one special to me.

Ingredients

Drumstick -2 nos

Tomatoes-2 small juicy

Chilly powder-1 tsp

Turmeric powder-1/2 tsp

Salt to taste

For grinding

Garlic-2

Green chillies-2

Grated coconut-4-5 tbsps

Cumin seeds-pinch

Turmeric powder-1/2 tsp

For seasoning

Mustard seeds-1tsp

Baby onions-3-4 crushed

Red chillies-3

Few curry leaves

Directions

Take a deep bottomed pan, add cut drumstick pieces and chopped tomatoes, add turmeric powder,chilly powder and salt .Add water just to emerse them and cook for a few minutes.

Grind all the ingredients under gringing section to a fine paste with some water.

Add this to the cooked drumstick and tomatoe mixture and add some water to it (not too watery) and wait until bubbles surface.

Remove from flame.Now take another small pan add 4-6 tbsps of oil (preferred coconut oil), add mustard seeds and allow it to splutter, add onions and saute till light brown,add broken red chillies and curry leaves and saute for few secs.Now pour this to the drumstick mixture and mix well.

Serve with rice.

Prawns masala

Prawns are my all time favourite.Every time I go home from college for a vaccation/holiday, I call up my mom the previous day and arrange my menu for the next day, which consists of only prawns, sometimes 3 times a day.My dad keeps dictating "too much of prawns are not good" still he gets me huge amount of prawns from the fishing harbour every time and my mom spends her time cleaning it.

Also when I return to hostel, I carry a bottle of prawns pickle with me,which would last for just 2-3 days...:-(.

This is one of the simplest recipie of prawns and you can have this solely with rice without any other gravies/curries.

Ingredients

Prawns-1 cup cooked prawns

Cook prawns with 2 split green chillies, 1/2 tsp turmeric powder, 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste and salt.

Onions-3

Tomatoes-2

Green chillies-1

Ginger garlic paste -1tbsp (ginger small piece and garlic-4 cloves)

Chilly powder-1 tsp

Turmeric powder-1/2 tsp

Pepper powder- 1/2 tsp

Few curry leaves

Salt to taste

Directions

Heat a pan, add oil, chopped onions and fry till it becomes light brown, add curry leaves,ginger garlic paste, tomatoes and saute till it is cooked.Then add chilly powder,turmeric powder,pepper powder, and saute for 2-3 minutes.

Add cooked prawns along with its stock.Mix well.Check for salt and add accordingly.

Keep frying until it becomes semi dry and is coated well in the masala.Garnish with corrainder leaves.Serve hot with rice.

Mixed Vegetable kurma

This is a recipie, which I had came out well by sheer serendipity.

We were given a treat by one of my husband's friends.And I spotted out a dish among them, which looked like a vegetable kurma, it was creamy and green in colour.I did not like the colour, however when I tasted it ,it was really good.I could figure out that there was no chilly powder used in that recipie and wanted to try out similar stuff at home and atlast ended up preparing this dish.

Ingredients

Onions -2

Tomatoes-1 small

Green chillies-4

Grated coconut-4-5 tbsps

Potatoes-2

Carrot-1

Beans-10-15 nos

Ginger-1/2 inch

Garlic-4 nos

Chilly powder- 1tsp

Turmeric powder-1/2 tsp

Corriander powder-1 tsp

Garam masala- a pinch

Corriander leaves-few for garnish +1 tsp paste

Curry leaves- few

salt to taste

Crush the following ingredients

Fennel seeds - pinch

Cardomom- 2 nos

Cinnamon -3 nos

Cloves -2 nos

Directions

Chop potatoes,carrots,beans into small pieces, and boil with salt, 1/2 tsp turmeric powder and little water in a pressure cooker.Wait for 1 whistle and turn off the stove.

Heat a pan, add oil add chopped onions and fry till becomes light brown, add crushed ingredients fry for a few secs, now add tomatoes, ginger garlic paste, 3 split green chillies and also corrainder paste and fry till it is cooked.Add corriander powder and turmeric powder and fry for few minutes.

Now mix in the cooked vegetables without them getting mashed.Add the coconut paste and water, allow it to cook till bubbles start appearing on the surface.Add salt to taste.Before turning off the stove add a pinch of garam masala and garnish with corrainder leaves.

Serve with chappathis, iddiyappam or appam.

Drumstick curry or Murrugakka karakulumbu

Karakulumbu is a famous curry among the tamilians.I had not tasted it until I stayed in a hostel while I was working in chennai.Also at every hostel it tasted differently.My aunt who also lives in chennai use to cook this recipie, which she got it from her neighbour.

I dont exactly remember the types of karakulambu I have had...however recently my sister tempted me telling me that she had drumstick karakulambu  today and there came an instant urge in me to have it.It is a lip smacking dish when served hot with rice.

Here is the recipie...

Ingredients

Drumsticks – 2 nos

Sambar Onion –15 nos
Garlic - 5-6 cloves

Onion – 1

Tomato – 1
Grated coconut -1 tbsp
Tamarind – lemon size ball
Sambar Powder – 1 heaped tbsp
Turmeric Powder –1/2 tsp
Oil – 2 tsp (gingelly oil preferred)

Mustard –1/2 tsp
Fenugreek – 1/4 tsp
Red Chillies – 2
Bengal Gram dhal – 1 tbsp
Curry leaves – few
Salt – to taste

Directions

Cut the drumstick s into medium size pieces as shown in picture below.
In a sauce pan add one tsp oil and add chopped onions and fry till it turns transparent.
now.

Add chopped tomatoes and fry till they are cooked.

Add grated coconut and sambar powder and fry for two minutes.Cool it and grind it to a fine paste.

Soak tamarind in water and strain out to make 2 cups of tamarind water.

Add the remaining oil to the same sauce pan When it is hot add mustard. When it popup, add bengal gram dhal, broken red chillies, curry leaves.
Then add fenugreek and fry till it turns light brown.

Add whole sambar onions and garlic fry well.
Then add drumstick pieces and fry for two to three minutes.
Add tamarind water along with turmeric powder. Bring to boil. Reduce the heat and cook till the drumstick become soft.

Now add the ground paste along with a cup of water and stir well. Allow to cook in very low flame for 5 to 8 minutes. Remove from flame and serve hot with rice.