Happy Onam!

image courtesy: fun munch

Hi everybody….I am back after a 2 months vacation… First we went to Kerala and spent time with family and later to Bangkok and Phuket for some quality R&R... we  enjoyed the quiet time resting and relaxing on the beaches of Phuket with various cocktails and beer and of course the awesome Thai food!  We had a wonderful time over there and will post photos of our trip soon….

Even though I had scheduled some posts I have been away from my blog most of the time… and could not respond to your comments or queries on time…. After coming back I tried my best to reply to all of you and if I have missed any please let me know…. And thanks a lot to all my readers who have visited this space and to those who liked my FB page too… 

Since Onam is around the corner I know all Malayalies will be busy preparing for the Sadhya and I too had big plans to post Onam specials this time but I couldn’t as I am trying hard to settle down here at home after a 2 month vacation and on top I have to assist my son to finish off his holiday homework! So I am not posting any sadhya items here :D….. Meanwhile you can browse some of the very few Onam special recipes I have posted earlier here ;)…. 

Wishing all my readers a Very Happy Onam!

Here are some of the Payasam recipes I have posted earlier….  

Paal Payasam

Gothambu Payasam

Palada Prathaman

Read More »

Shahi Paneer Recipe

Read More »

Read more »

Masala Chicken Fry

This chicken curry recipe I got from Mother in law and is a good side dish for Palappam, Vellaappam or even with some boiled rice and moru curry. Instead of chicken you can make this curry with beef or mutton too…

Read More »

Read more »

Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting

I made these cupcakes sometime back but did not like the way I frosted it… at that time I didn’t have those jumbo size icing tips and I tried to frost it aiming for a nice swirl design and failed terribly …. so don’t judge by this picture….These are rich and incredibly moist cupcakes with a light and fluffy texture. These are made by the same method used for making brownies – melted chocolate is added to a whisked mixture of eggs and sugar, and then flour is stirred in. The resulting batter almost resembled a mousse; both thick and light. And this is my attempt on trying Peanut Butter frosting; I think you will like this frosting only if you like peanut butter… otherwise I doubt… we loved these chocolate cupcakes more than the frosting

Read More »

Read more »

Kashmiri Chicken Recipe

Like I told in my Butter Chicken post Kashmiri Chicken curry is the another chicken dish I learned before my wedding from my mom… This is our favorite recipe for chicken curry andit goes well with all types Indian breads or pulav....

Read More »

Read more »

Nutritious Milagai Podi Recipe

Milagai podi / Idli/ Dosa podi is very common in South Indian homes... There are many recipes for this powder with minor differences.... I got the idea for this nutritious Milagai podi from my cousin’s mother in law, Sashi aunty; she told me, while making, she used to add different types of nuts, dals, beans etc for her grand kids.... So I also thought my dosa loving son may like this and made a batch of it.... But he prefers Sambar for his dosa.... But I know a lot of kids loves have dosa spreading Milagai podi on top of it… so if your kids loves Milagai podi try this nutritious one next time when you make..... just add little bit of different types of nuts. beans and dals, roast well and powder together.....  

Nutritious Milagai  Podi Recipe 

Ingredients:

Dried Red Chillies – 3 cups (45gm)

Urad Dal / Uzhunnu Parippu – 1 cup

Bengal gram dal / Kadala Parippu – 1 ½ tsp

Parboiled Rice / Ari - ¼ cup

Black Sesame seeds / Ellu – 1 tbsp

Curry Leaves – 12

Black Pepper / Kurumulaku – 2tbsp

Salt to taste

Sesame oil / Nallenna – 1 tbsp

Additional Ingredients to make it Nutritious:

Almonds / Badam -2 tbsp

Cashew nuts – 2 tbsp

Pistachios / Pista – 2 tbsp

Soybean – 2 tbsp

Thuar dal / Thuvara parippu – 2 tbsp

Method:

• Heat a wok and add oil and roast the red chillies, taking care not to burn them, in a low flame till the colour changes and its aroma comes out. Remove chillies and keep aside.
• In the same wok roast all dals and all other ingredients separately until deep brown stirring continuously.
• Cool the roasted ingredients and powder altogether in a mixie till you get a slightly coarse powder.
• Store this in an airtight container for several weeks.
• When needed, mix 2 or 3 tbsp of this powder with 1 tbsp of Coconut oil and serve with Dosa or Idli. 

Read More »

Kerala Fish Cutlets

A very common appetizer in Malayali Christian homes after Meat cutlets.....Perfect as a side dish with rice, chapathi or as an afternoon snack or a party cocktail snack..... the best part of making cutlets is that you can freeze it really well and fry as and when needed..... 

Read More »

Read more »

Dulce de Leche Creme Caramel

Remember in my Dulce deLeche Cupcake post I said that I have made another dessert with the leftover DDL.... this DDL Creme Caramel is what I tried...... I never liked Caramel custard when I was a kid and mom tried her best to make me eat whenever she made it.....other than regular caramel custard she made different versions like chocolate, coffee, orange etc...... Even now also I don’t like it and I know you must be thinking is there any person in the world who doesn’t like Caramel custard :D..... Somehow I cannot stand the eggy smell and taste in the dessert....but when I saw this recipe I thought of trying; this one was delicious with less egg taste and smell..... And it has my favorite DDL in it..... try this one if you like Caramel Custard and even if you don’t like Caramel Custard then also do try it and you may start liking Caramel Custard like me :D......

I am going to India tonight and won’t be able to visit your space or reply to your mails/queries or comments on time.....But I will try my best to reply as and when time permits.... I have scheduled some posts so that this space doesn’t go idle.....See you all after 2 months and enjoy your summer break! 

Read More »

Read more »

Vanilla Latte Cupcakes

Owning a KitchenAid is a dream of all home bakers and I always wanted one for quite some time.... Unlike in the US it is not an easily obtainable appliance here and now that it’savailable hubby gifted me one last week. It was a dream come true for me to own a black KitchenAid!!!  Of course I first wanted to try a cake with a frosting on it and I chose this cupcake from my favorite blogger Annie’s Eats.... The coffee flavor cake is very soft and the frosting is coffee flavored Swiss Meringue Butter cream.  Both cake and frosting came out perfectly and we all enjoyed the cupcakes!  

Read More »

Read more »

Kottayam Churuttu Recipe / Thin Flour Pastry Sheets Filled with Sweetened Rice Filling

Churuttu, is a famous Syrian Christian Palaharam / snack from Kottayam region of Kerala. These cones of syrupy avalose podi enclosed in wafer thin Mandaka / pastry are a favorite of everyone in Kottayam. Mammi cheduthi’s churuttu is one of the palaharam / snack I grew up with and I absolutely love it. Back home we used to go to Kurishu Palli, which is very close to Mammi cheduthi’s house every Friday evening and on our way back we usually stopped at her place to buy a packet of Churuttu. Even now I buy Churuttu only from her place during my vacation; I have tried Churuttu from other places too.... but none of them came even close to Mammi’s churuttu :).... I always wanted to make churuttu at home as the filling is same as Avalose Unda but I wondered how to make mandaka at home..... Got one recipe from Lathika George’s book “TheSuriani Kitchen” and her version of Mandaka is made out of unroasted rice flour mixed with boiling water. Then I did a Google search and found one out here and also a video clipping from a Malayalam channel showcasing Mammi cheduthi’s recipe..... so I made the mandaka combining all and it came out quite good.....  And for filling I used my Avalose Unda recipe,,,,,

Read More »

Read more »