Ramya's Recipe...

Padavalanga parippu thoran / Snake gourd and dal stir fry

2012-05-16T16:25:00.003+01:00

Ingredients:

Snake gourd/Padavalanga/Padwal - 1 medium

Chana dal - 1/4 cup

Oil - 1 tbsp

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp

Shallots/Sambar onion - 4 or 5, peeled and sliced thin

Green chillies - 2, slit

Curry leaves - a small sprig

Salt to taste

To grind

Grated coconut - 3 to 4 tbsp

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Garlic - 1 or 2 cloves

Green chillies - 1

Cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp

Preparation:

1. Pressure cook the chana dal with just enough water to cook for 1 or 2 whistles. The dal should be 3/4th cooked.

2. Rub the peel off the snakegourd, and chop it into cubes.

3. Heat oil in a pan and splutter mustard seeds. Add onions, green chillies ad curry leaves and saute till onions start turning brown.

4. Add the cooked dal and the snake gourd and combine well. Add enough salt and cover and cook for few minutes till gourd is cooked.

5. Grind the coconut and other ingredients coarsely without adding water. Add this to the cooked dal and gourd and mix well. Stir fry for a minute.

Serve with rice or roti.

Events:

Kerala Kitchen - May 2012 hosted by Jehanne of The Cooking Doctor. Check the Kerala Kitchen page here

ABC Series: GOURDS hosted in my blog

The Kerala Kitchen April 2012 - Event roundup

2012-05-13T11:58:00.002+01:00

Thank you everyone for participating in the Kerala Kitchen event. I really enjoyed hosting the event and loved all the recipes that were sent to the event. Thank you, Rose for giving me the opportunity to host the event. So here are the yummy dishes for the roundup...

BREAKFAST

Uthappams by Rajani.

Ragi Idly and Tomato Garlic chutney by Jaleela

Onion Uthappam from Chandrani

Wheat pleated porotta by Faseela

A complete Breakfast platter by Rajani.Being a lazy cook, I can only dream of making such a wholesome breakfast.

PICKLES, CHUTNEYS AND PODI

Kannimanga achar/Tender mango pickle by Reshmi Mahesh

Mango pickle by Misha

Idli podi/Parippu podi by Faseela

Thenga podi by Rasya Srinath

Ginger coonut chutney by Roshni

Coriander roasted gram chutney by Jaleela

Tomato coconut chutney and Coconut Chammanthi by Faseela

THORANS AND STIR FRIES

Broccoli thoran by Julie

Carrot Cauliflower thoran by Reshmi Thomas

Vazhakoombu thoran by Reshmi

Mathanga thoran by Suja Manoj

Vazhakka thoran by Roshni

Beetroot thoran by me

Kovakka stir fry with parippu podi by Faseela

Spicy Soya stir fry by Julie

Sweet potato thoran by Kaveri

SIDE DISHES

Avial by Roshni

Channa Dal by Roshni

Pumpkin mango pachadi by Rosh

Kumbalanga pachadi by Julie

Manga pachadi by Kaveri

Mambazha pulishery by Roshni

Olan by Prathibha Sreejith

Pavakka kichadi by Roshni

Puli inji by Prathibha Sreejith

Puli inji by Misha

Puli inji by Sobha

CURRIES

Parippu kari by Roshni

Kadala curry by Roshni Chandrasekhar

Moong gram stew by Reshmi

Drumstick curry by Rathai

Orange peel pulikachal by Kaveri

Muringakaya curry by Suja Manoj

Tiffin sambar by Rajani

Lemon rasam by Roshni

Coconut rice by Sona

A traditional sadya by Rajani

EGG & NON-VEG

Special egg roast by Faseela

Egg and potato curry by me

Fish fry by Reshmi Thomas

Squid thoran by Faseela

Fish molee by Nisa Homey

Fish curry by Amina

Koonthal/squid sambar by Faseela

Chemmeen achar by Julie

Prawns varattiyathu by Me

Chicken potato stew by Follow Foodie

Chicken handi by Rashida Shaik

Kozhi nirachathu by Julie

Varutharacha kozhi curry by me

Beef fry by Faseela

Erachi choru by Faseela

SNACKS AND DESSERTS

Gothambu Ela Ada by Sobha

Ari unda and Ellu unda by Faseela

Nendram pazha nurukku by Kaveri

Cake rusk and Rice burfi by Faseela

Sukhiyan by Swathi

Kozhukatta /Steamed Rice dumplings by Julie

Pazham pori by Roshni

Sukiyan by Reshmi

Uzhunnu vada by Julie

Vattayappam by Sobha

Ari payasam by Faseela

Semiya Ice by Faseela

Badam Semiya payasam by Roshni

Mint tea by Faseela

Ginger mint tea by Jaleela

THANK YOU all for sending these yummy entries. Please feel free to display this badge on your blog...

Coming to the awards...

Top contributor award goes to Faseela Noushad for contributing 17 recipes to the event.

Now for the next two awards of Best Dish and Best Pic. It was really very difficult to choose the best one, because there are a lot of entries that qualify. Here are the winners...

Best Dish award goes to Nisa Homey's Fish Molee recipe. Fish molee is a traditional kerala recipe which is often paired with appam or bread. Her post is well explained with stepwise pictures.

Best Pic award goes to Roshni's Pazham pori, the favourite tea time snack of malayalees around the world.

Congrats to all winner and thanks everybody for participating

Jehanne is hosting this month's Kerala Kitchen event. Rush in your entries to her..

Oats Pakoda / Oats fritters

2012-05-06T14:43:00.001+01:00

Ingredients:

1.Oats - 1 cup

2.Besan/gram flour/Kadalamavu - 1 cup

Rice powder - 1/2 cup

3.Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp

Chilly powder - 1/4 tsp

Onion - 1, chopped

Green chillies - 2, chopped

Curry leaves - a sprig, chopped

4.Water as required

Eno fruit salt - 1/4 tsp (or use baking soda)

5. Oil to deep fry

Preparation:

1. Powder the oats in a mixie. Transfer it to a bowl along with gram flour and rice powder. Combine well. Add ingredients listed as 3. Add enough water to make a thick batter. Add eno fruit salt and keep aside for 10 minutes.

2. Heat oil in a pan and drop the batter into oil using a teaspoon. Shape doesn't matter. Deep fry till golden brown and the pakodas are crisp. Drain to tissue paper.

3. The pakodas can be stored in an air tight container after it cools down completely.

Events:

Kerala Kitchen - May 2012 hosted by Jehanne of The Cooking Doctor. Check the Kerala Kitchen page here

ABC Series: GOURDS

2012-05-01T17:31:00.001+01:00

ABC Series is back after a month's break. I enjoyed hosting the Kerala Kitchen event last month and would be posting the roundup soon. Thank you, Rose for providing me the opportunity to host this series.

From next month, ABC Series is open for guest hosting. Please mail me at events.ramyasrecipe@gmail.com if you would like to host the event for a month.

The theme for this month is Gourds. Gourds are very healthy veggies. The commonly used gourds I know are Bottle gourd (Lauki/Churakka), Ridge gourd(Tori/Peechinga), Bitter Gourd(Karela/Pavakka), Ivy gourd (Tindora/Kovakka), Snake gourd(Padwal/Padavalanga), Ash gourd(kumhada/kumbalanga), Chayote etc...If you know other gourds,let me know and I will add to the list.

Rules for the event:

1. Cook and blog any veg or non-veg recipe with gourd as main ingredient.The recipes must be posted on your blog between May 1 - May 31, 2012.

2. Please link back to this announcement page and use the logo above. The use of logo is appreciated as it helps spread the word about the event. To participate, all you need to do is to link the recipe using the inlinkz tool.

3. You may send any number of entries. The more, the merrier ! Archived entries are most welcome. Please re-post it with a link to this announcement page and use the logo.

4. If you have any issues in linking, please post a comment or send a mail to events.ramyasrecipe@gmail.com.

Cheesy Sweetcorn and Bellpepper sandwich

2012-04-29T14:51:00.000+01:00

Ingredients:

Makes 5 sandwiches

Sweetcorn - 150 gms (I used frozen)
Green bellpepper/capsicum - 1
Onion - 1
Oil - 1 tbsp
Salt - to taste
White or black pepper powder - 1/2 tsp or to taste
Brown bread slices - 10
Butter - as needed
Cheese slices - 5

Preparation:

1. Thaw the sweetcorn. Remove the seeds of the bellpepper and chop finely. Peel the onion and chop it.
2. Heat oil in a pan and add Onion, sweetcorn and bellpepper. Add salt and saute for about 5 minutes. Add pepper and combine well.
3. Take a slice of bread and spread the sweetcorn mix. Place a cheese slice and cover it with another slice of bread. Brush a little butter on the outer sides of the sandwich.
4. Grill or toast the sandwich.Serve hot !

Events:
Cooking Concepts:Spring seasonal food hosted by Sravs
Souper Sunday hosted by Deb
Bon Vivant Moments #3 - Breakfast Ideas hosted at Sumee's Culinary Bites
Showcase: What's in your lunchbox hosted by Divya
Let's make sandwiches hosted at Simply Food
Guest Quest hosted by Amina

Meal of the month

2012-04-28T12:59:00.002+01:00

Here's my Meal plan for Rosh's event Meal of the month

Breakfast-Rava Idli

Lunch - Chicken Biriyani

Dessert - Double ka meetha

Dinner: Egg kothu porotta

Tofu capsicum masala

2012-04-25T15:58:00.000+01:00

Tofu has almost replaced paneer in my kitchen. Its been just a few months I started using tofu, and I love it more than paneer now. What I love about tofu is that it doesnt have a milky smell as in paneer and it also feels lighter. Tofu is comparatively less in calories and fat and is a good source of protein ...

Tofu is made by coagulating soy milk and pressing the resulting curds. Tofu originated in ancient China and is widely used in East Asian and Southeast Asian cuisines. This recipe is a simple indian style curry with firm tofu and capsicum and it makes a great side dish for chappathi or naan.

Ingredients:

Firm tofu - 200 gm block

Green capsicum - 1, seeded and diced

Oil -1 tbsp

Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp

Onion - 1 small, finely chopped

Garlic - 4 to 5 cloves, chopped

Coriander powder - 1 tsp

Garam masala - to taste

Kasuri methi - 1/2 tsp, crushed

Chopped coriander leaves - to garnish

Ghee or butter - 1 tsp

For curry paste

Oil -1 tbsp

Dry red chillies - 3

Onion - 2, chopped

Tomato - 2, chopped

Salt to taste

This curry paste can be used in a variety of north indian gravies.

Preparation:

1. To make the curry paste, heat oil in pan and add dry chillies followed by onions. Add salt and saute till onions become soft. Add tomatoes and a few spoons of water and cover and cook till mushy. Remove from the stove and let it cool. Grind to a smooth paste.

2. Cut the tofu to blocks and keep it in a bowl of warm water for few mins. Drain and keep aside.

3. Heat oil in a pan and add cumin seeds. Add onion and garlic and saute till it starts turning brown.

4. Add coriander powder and then the curry paste and combine well. Add a little water and bring to boil. Add capsicum and tofu pieces and garam masala. Adjust the salt and cover and cook for 5 minutes.

5. Add kasuri methi and coriander leaves and combine well. Serve with a dash of ghee or butter.

Events:

Show me your HITS: SOY recipes hosted by Prabha, an event series initiated by Sangeetha

Healthy Diet - Vegetarian Side Dishes by Vardhini
Cooking Concepts:Spring seasonal food

Prawns varattiyathu/Prawns masala

2012-04-21T09:39:00.001+01:00

Ingredients:

1. Fresh prawns(Large/medium) - 350 gms

2. Chilly powder - 1 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Salt - 1 tsp

3. Sambar onion/Shallots - 10 to 12, peeled

Ginger - 1 inch piece, peeled

Garlic - 8 cloves, peeled

Green chilly - 1 or 2

4. Coconut oil - 2 tbsp (you may use any other oil too, but coconut oil adds a special flavour)

Coconut cuts/thengakothu - 3 tbsp

Curry leaves - 1 sprig

Turmeric powder - a pinch

Chilly powder - 1 tsp

Coriander powder - 1 tsp

Tomato - 1, chopped fine

Pepper powder - 1/2 tsp or to taste

Garam masala - 1/2 tsp or to taste(as taste of garam masalas vary from different brands)

Preparation:

1. Peel, de-vein and wash the prawns. Drain the prawns and marinate with ingredients listed as 2 for about 15-20 mins

2. Coarsely grind / crush together ingredients listed as 3 and keep aside.

3. Heat oil in a pan and add the coconut cuts followed by curry leaves. When the coconut cuts turn light brown, add the ground/crushed ingredients and saute for a minute. Add turmeric, chilly and coriander powders and combine well.

4. Add tomatoes and cook till mushy. Add a few tbsp of water and mix well.

5. Add the prawns and cover and cook for 5-10 mins. Open the lid and sprinkle pepper powder and garam masala. Saute for a few minutes on a high flame till the gravy thickens. You may add a tsp of coconut oil at this stage for more aroma.

Serve with hot rice. Enjoy !

Events:

The Kerala Kitchen - April 2012 hosted by me. Please rush in your entries

Beetroot thoran

2012-04-10T16:01:00.000+01:00

Beetroot is a healthy veggie which contains potassium, magnesium and iron as well as vitamins A, B6 and C, and folic acid. Beets also contain carbohydrates, protein, powerful antioxidants and soluble fibre. Apart from having beetroots in salads and raithas, here is one stir fry recipe. Adding grated coconut is optional.

Ingredients:

Beetroot - 2
Green chillies - 3, slit
Grated coconut - 3 tbsp
Jeera/cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - a sprig
Crushed pepper - 1/2 tsp or more to taste
Oil - 1 or 2 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste

Preparation:

1. Peel the beetroot and cut it into very small cubes. Heat oil in a pan and splutter mustard seeds. Add beetroot,green chillies and salt.Combine well. Add a little water and cover and cook.
2. Mix the cumin seeds and grated coconut well with your hands. Add this to the cooked beetroot, along with curry leaves and crushed pepper. Fry well till the thoran is dry.

Events:

Healthy Diet - Vegetarian Side Dishes by Vardhini

Healthy morsels - Pregnancy

The Kerala Kitchen - April 2012 hosted by me

Varutharacha Kozhi curry / Chicken in roasted coconut gravy - Easter special

2012-04-07T12:15:00.001+01:00

Happy Easter, dear friends...This traditional kerala style chicken curry is my mother's recipe. It goes well with rice, appam, puttu, pathiri, dosa, chappathi, malabar paratha etc...

Ingredients:

For marination

Chicken - 1 kg, cut to medium size pieces

Chilly powder - 2 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Yoghurt/Curd - 2 tbsp

Salt - 1 tsp

Onions - 3, sliced fine

Ginger chopped - 1 tbsp

Garlic chopped - 1 tbsp

Green chilies - 3 or 4, slit

Tomato - 2, chopped

Potatoes - 2, peeled and cubed

Oil - 2 tbsp

Salt to taste

To roast and grind

Oil -1 tbsp

Fennel seeds - 2 tsp

Cinnamon - a 3 inch stick

Cloves - 4

Green cardamom - 2

Black pepper - 1 tsp

Dry red chillies - 4

Coriander seeds - 2 tbsp or Coriander powder - 4 to 5 tsp

Sambar onions/Shallots - 5, peeled and sliced

Curry leaves - 6 to 8

Grated coconut - 1 cup

For tempering/tadka

Oil - 1 tbsp

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp

Dry red chillies - 2 or 3

Curry leaves - a sprig

Note: I use only coconut oil for this curry for an authentic taste.

Preparation:

1. Combine the marination ingredients well and keep aside for 30 mins.

2. Heat oil in an earthern/clay pot/large pan and saute the onions, ginger, garlic and green chillies. When onions become soft, add tomatoes and saute for a few minutes.

3. Add potatoes and the marinated chicken. Combine well and add some water. Cover and cook.

4. Meanwhile, heat oil in a nonstick pan and add fennel, cinnamon,cloves,cardamom and black pepper. Saute for a minute and add dry red chillies, coriander seeds and shallots. Add grated coconut and curry leaves and roast till the ingredients are a dark brown in colour. Take care not to burn it. Perfeclty brown roasted coconut is the secret for the yummy colour of the curry. If you are using coriander powder instead of seeds, add it after the coconut turns brown so that it doesnt get burnt.Let this mixture cool.

5. Add a little water to the roasted coconut mix and grind it to a smooth paste.

6. When the chicken is almost cooked, add this ground masala and bring to a boil. Check for salt and add at this stage. Simmer for about 10 minutes.

7. In a small tadka pan, add oil and splutter mustard seeds. Add dry chillies and curry leaves. Pour this seasoning on the chicken curry.

This curry tastes best after a few hours..

Events:

The Kerala Kitchen - April 2012 hosted by me

Egg and potato curry

2012-04-03T16:06:00.000+01:00

It's been a while I posted an egg curry recipe. This is one of our favourite curries that goes well along with appam, chappathi, pathiri, malabar paratha, rice etc.

Ingredients:

Potatoes - 1 large

Eggs - 3 or 4, hard boiled and shelled

Onion - 1, sliced thin

Ginger chopped - 1 tsp

Garlic chopped - 1 tsp

Green chillies - 2, slit

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Chilly powder - 1/2 tsp

Coriander powder - 1 tbsp

Tomato - 1, chopped

Garam masala - 1/2 tsp or to taste

Crushed pepper - 1/2 tsp or to taste

Oil - 2 tbsp

Fennel seeds - 1/2 tsp

Coriander leaves chopped - 2 tbsp

Thick Coconut milk - optional

Salt to taste

Preparation:

1. Peel and cube the potato and keep aside in a bowl of water.

2. Heat oil in a pan and add fennel seeds. Add onions,ginger,garlic and green chillies and saute till onions are transparent.

3. Add turmeric, coriander and chilly powders. Add chopped tomatoes and saute till mushy.

4. Add potatoes, salt and 1/2 cup of water and cover and cook till potatoes are done. I lighlty mash a few potato cubes to make the curry thicker.

5. Add the garam masala and crushed pepper. Add the hard boiled eggs and simmer for few minutes. You may add thick coconut milk at this point. Garnish with coriander leaves.

Events:

The Kerala Kitchen - April 2012 hosted by me

Healthy morsels - Pregnancy

The Kerala Kitchen - April 2012

2012-04-01T12:36:00.000+01:00

Dear friends,

I am so glad to announce the The Kerala Kitchen - April 2012. The Kerala Kitchen is a month cooking event series initiated by Rose and Ria. Check out more about this series here.

Rules for the event:

1. There are no special rules as such, the recipes you send can be traditional kerala recipes like Appam and Stew, Kappa and fish curry, Puttu, Idiyappam etc or any other recipe inspired by the flavours and spices that Kerala is well known for. For eg, the use of coconut, whole spices, seafood etc...

2. Post the recipe in your blog between April 1 - April 30 and link back to this announcement and also to the Kerala Kitchen homepage. Usage of logo is appreciated. Then send in your entries to events.ramyasrecipe@gmail.com with subject of the email: The Kerala Kitchen - April 2012 and include the following details

Your Name:

Recipe Name:

Recipe URL:

Photograph of the dish

3. Veg and non-veg recipes are welcome. Multiple entries are encouraged. Archived entries are allowed if updated with the links above.

4. There are awards in 3 categories - Top Dish, Best Pic and Top contributor, so rush in your entries ..This is a festive month with Easter on April 8 and Vishu on April 14, so would be glad to see some festive dishes too...

Ulli thoran / Onions stir fried with coconut

2012-03-17T14:44:00.000Z

Vegetable thorans(stir fries) is a must for every meal at my home. This thoran comes handy when I you run out of vegetables in your kitchen.

Ingredients:

1.Onion - 3, thinly sliced or chopped

2.Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

3.Chilly powder - 3/4 tsp( or a few green chillies)

4.Grated coconut - 1/4 cup or more

5.Curry leaves - a sprig

6.Salt to taste

7.Oil - 2 tbsp

8.Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp

Preparation:

1. Combine together ingredients 1 to 6 in a bowl and mix well with your hands till the onion layers are separated.

2. Heat oil in a non-stick pan and splutter mustard seeds.

3. Add the contents of the bowl and stir well. Heap everything to the center of the pan and close with a tight lid. Stir in between, sprinkle a little water if required. Cook till the onion is cooked,but still crunchy.

Events:

Kerala Kitchen - March 2011 hosted by Prathibha, an event series started by Ria and Rose
Serve it - Stir fried hosted by Krithi and Denny
Anyone can cook: Series 44 hosted by Ayeesha

Tomato garlic chutney

2012-03-13T15:28:00.001Z

Do you love spicy, tangy chutneys?

Ingredients:

Oil - 1 tbsp
Dry red chillies - 3
Garlic - 10 cloves
Tomatoes - 2, chopped
Salt to taste

For tempering
Oil - 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - a few
Sugar - a pinch (optional)

Preparation:

1. Heat oil in a pan and add dry chillies followed by garlic. Fry for a minute and then add tomatoes. Cook till tomatoes are soft. Let it cool a bit. Grind to a smooth paste along with salt.
2. Heat oil and splutter mustard seeds. Splutter mustard seeds and then add curry leaves. Add the tomato paste and sugar (if using). Combine well.

Serve with idli or dosa.

Events:

Kerala Kitchen - March 2011 hosted by Prathibha, an event series started by Ria and Rose
Only-South Indian hosted by Pari
Anyone can cook:Series 43 hosted by Ayeesha

Chicken yum yum

2012-03-11T13:04:00.002Z

What's in a name ? This is a basic chicken recipe that you can have as a starter, a filling for wraps and sandwiches, shred and use for samosa/spring roll filling, cutlets...the possibilities are endless. And the best part is you just need to marinate and cook it. No need to slice onion, tomato etc...isn't this perfect for a lazy day?

Ingredients:

Boneless chicken breast - 2 (weighing about 400 gms)

Yoghurt - 2 tbsp

Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Chilly powder - 1 tsp

Crushed pepper - 1/2 tsp

Coriander powder - 1 tsp

Oil - 2 tbsp

Preparation:

1. Cut the chicken breast to bite size pieces or strips. Marinate with all the other ingredients except oil for 15-20 mins.

2. Heat oil in a non-stick pan and add the marinated chicken. Combine well. Cover and cook till chicken is done. Stir in between. No need to add water, chicken gets cooked in its own juices.

3. After chicken is cooked, add curry leaves or chopped coriander leaves(optional). Roast for a few mins till the chicken is dry.Drizzle a little oil along the sides of the pan for a perfectly brown colour.

Recipe coming soon...Chicken wrap made with this recipe

Events:

Kerala Kitchen - March 2011 hosted by Prathibha, an event series started by Ria and Rose
Hot and Spicy treats hosted by Amy

Spotlight:Colourful holi hosted by Chandrani

Healthy morsels - pregnancy

Aloo matar dry

2012-03-09T13:40:00.001Z

Ingredients:

Potato - 2, peeled and cubed
Fresh green peas - 1 cup
Oil - 2 tbsp
Jeera/cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Onion - 1 small, chopped
Garlic - 4 or 5 cloves, chopped
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Chilly powder - 3/4 tsp
Salt to taste
Garam masala - 1/2 tsp
Chopped coriander leaves - 2 tbsp

Preparation:

1. Heat oil in a non stick pan and add cumin seeds. Add onion and garlic and fry till they start turning brown.
3. Add potato cubes and stir well to coat with the oil. Add green peas, turmeric and chilly powder and salt. Combine well and cover and cook. Stir in between. No need to add water, you may use a little if required. When potatoes and green peas are cooked, add garam masala and coriander leaves and fry well. You may drizzle a little oil along the sides of the pan while roasting to get a nice brown colour.

Serve with roti or rice.

Events:

Let's cook: Greens by Radhika
Gimme Green hosted by Rosh
Serve it - Stir fried hosted by Krithi and Denny
EP Series - Cilantro and Cumin hosted by Julie

Palak egg burji

2012-03-07T14:09:00.001Z

Healthy combo of egg and spinach that can be used as sandwich filling or just serve as a side dish for rice or roti

Ingredients:

Palak/spinach - 1 bunch
Eggs - 2 or 3
Oil - 1 tbsp
Jeera - 1/2 tsp
Onion - 1 small, chopped fine
Turmeric powder - a pinch
Chilly powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste

Preparation:

1. Wash and chop the spinach leaves. Heat oil in a pan and add jeera/cumin seeds.
2. Add onions, spinach leaves, turmeric and chilly powders and salt. Beat the eggs in a bowl and add it to the pan after the spinach wilts. Scramble well and cook till egg is done.

Events:

Let's cook: Greens by Radhika
Gimme Green hosted by Rosh
Healthy morsels - pregnancy
Serve it - Stir fried hosted by Krithi and Denny

Prawn pickle / Shrimp pickle

2012-03-05T17:28:00.001Z

Amma's special prawn pickle that spices up any meal.

Ingredients:

Small prawns (Cleaned, peeled and de-veined) - 250 gms
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Salt - 1 tsp
Oil - 1/4 cup

Ginger finely chopped - 1 tbsp
Garlic finely chopped - 1 tbsp
Green chillies - 3, finely chopped
Curry leaves - a sprig
Chilly powder - 1 tsp
Kashmiri chilly powder - 1 tbsp
Vinegar - 3 tbsp + more if required
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Fenugreek seeds - 1 tsp

Preparation:

1. Wash the prawns well and drain the water completely. Marinate the prawns along with turmeric powder and salt for atleast half an hour. Choose the smallest prawns available. The weight given above is after cleaning and peeling.
2. Heat oil in a pan and deep fry the prawns till they are golden and crisp. Drain and keep aside in a glass bowl.
3. In the same oil, add ginger, garlic, green chillies and fry till brown. Add curry leaves and fry it too. Turn off the stove and add chilly powders. Take care not to burn it. Transfer the contents immediately to the bowl of fried prawns.
4. Warm the vinegar and add it along with enough salt to the bowl and mix well.
5. Splutter mustard seeds in a tsp of oil and pour it to the bowl.
6. Dry roast fenugreek seeds and powder it. Add the powder to the bowl and combine well. Keep the pickle in the bowl for a day. If it gets very thick, boil about 1/4cup of water and combine with the pickle. The prawns absorb the liquid and pickle gets thicker.
7. Store in airtight glass jars after the pickle cools downs completely.

Use after 3-4 days...I dont have the patience to wait, so I dig in as soon as it is ready.

Events:

Kerala Kitchen - March 2011 hosted by Prathibha, an event series started by Ria and Rose
Hot and Spicy treats hosted by Amy

Parippu cheera curry / Dal Palak Kerala style

2012-03-03T07:41:00.003Z

A healthy and comfort food with rice or roti. Dal is a good source of proteins and spinach is rich in anti-oxidants,folic acid and iron. This curry is made with ground coconut, check out the other version without coconut here.

Ingredients:

Toor dal/tuvara parippu - 3/4 cup
Spinach/Palak/cheera - 2 bunches
Green chillies - 2, slit
Garlic cloves - 4
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Chilly powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste

For grinding
Shredded coconut - 1/2 cup
Sambar onion / shallot - 1
Jeera/cumin seeds - a pinch
Water - 2 tbsp

For tempering
Oil - 1 or 2 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Dry red chillies - 1 or 2
Sambar onion / shallot - 3 or 4 (sliced fine)
Curry leaves - a few

Preparation:

1. Pressure cook dal with enough water for 1 whistle. Wash and chop the spinach leaves. Add spinach, green chillies, garlic, turmeric and chilly powder to the cooked dal and cook for some more time till spinach wilts.
2. Meanwhile, grind together the ingredients given above to a smooth paste. Add this to the cooked dal and spinach and let it boil.
3. Heat oil in a pan and splutter mustard seeds. Add dry chillies followed by sliced onions and curry leaves. Fry till you get a nice aroma of onions and curry leaves. Pour this over the curry.

Enjoy with rice and papad.

Events:

Kerala Kitchen - March 2011 hosted by Prathibha, an event series started by Ria and Rose
Let's cook: Greens by Radhika
Healthy Morsels - Pregnancy as this recipe is a healthy dish with the goodness of dal and spinach.

Only-South Indian hosted by Pari
Gimme Green hosted by Rosh

Love Lock Series: Legumes hosted by Vardhini. This event series was initiated by Vidhya

ABC Series: FRUIT FIESTA

2012-03-02T15:29:00.000Z

With summer already started in India, it is the best time to enjoy fruits. So, this time lets create some refreshing recipes with fruits. You can send in any recipes using fruits, be it fresh juices, mocktails, milkshakes, salads, salsa, jams & preserves, wine, fruit based curries, desserts, pies, tarts, cakes and other bakes etc.

Rules for the event:

1. Link any recipe with fruit as a main ingredient before 31-Mar-2012. The recipes must be posted on your blog between Mar 1 - Mar 31, 2012.

2. Please link back to this announcement page and use the logo above. The use of logo is mandatory as it helps spread the word about the event. To participate, all you need to do is to link the recipe using the inlinkz tool.

3. You may send any number of entries. The more, the merrier ! Archived entries are most welcome. Please re-post it with a link to this announcement page and use the logo.

4. If you have any issues in linking, please post a comment or send a mail to events.ramyasrecipe@gmail.com.

Homemade Naan - made on a tawa

2012-02-28T14:49:00.003Z

Homemade naans were on my 'to-do' list for a long time now. I had bookmarked this recipe from Manjula's Kitchen and it was hiding somewhere in the long list. One day while we were planning what to make for dinner, my mother asked if I have made naans at home before. Thats when I remembered this easy recipe .The naans were so soft, much better than the ones served in most restaurants. In the original recipe, the naan is cooked in an oven, even I wanted to try it the same way. While the oven was pre-heating, I just tried making one naan on a tawa. I made 2 of them in the oven and rest on the tawa. I must say that we found the tawa ones were much easier, softer and tastier.

So here comes the recipe, enjoy naans at home now !

Ingredients:

All purpose flour / Maida - 2 cups + extra for rolling the dough
Active dry yeast - 1 tsp + 3/4 cup of luke warm water
Sugar - 1 tsp
Salt - 1 tsp
Baking soda - a pinch
Oil - 2 tbsp
Yoghurt/Curd - 3 tbsp
Butter - to brush on naan

Note: I made butter naans and coriander jeera naans. To make coriander jeera naans, after rolling out the naan, top it with finely chopped coriander leaves and jeera and then cook.

Preparation:

1. Mix the yeast in luke warm water and keep aside for 10mins till it becomes frothy.
2. Add maida, sugar, salt and baking powder in a bowl and combine well.
3. Add oil and yoghurt to this mix and combine well to form a crumbly mix.
4. Add the yeast water and knead to form a very soft dough. Cover the bowl with a lid and keep it for 2-3 hours till the dough almost doubles.
5. Knead the dough a little more and make 6 equal portions. Roll out each portion to thin oval shape. I rolled them on a plastic sheet to make it easier.
6. Heat a non stick pan / tawa and when it is really hot, transfer the naan. When it starts puffing up, flip over. Cook on both sides till brown.Brush a little butter on top.

Serve hot.

Curries for naan
Palak Paneer
Paneer Butter masala
Matar Paneer
Egg curry
Butter chicken
Pepper chicken
Chicken sukka
Chettinad chicken
Spicy chicken masala

This post is dedicated to my mom.. When she comes to stay with me, she takes over the kitchen and I get some rest. So, this time I wanted to make something special for her. This post goes to Nupur's lovely event 'For U, Mum'

Spotlight: Colourful Holi hosted by Chandrani

Also sending this to Celebration of Indian Food by Lisa

Okra peanut fry

2012-02-26T09:24:00.001Z

Ingredients:

Tender Okra/Lady's finger - 200 gms
Oil - 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp (optional)
Salt to taste

For peanut powder
Peanuts - 2 heaped tbsp
Oil - 1 tsp
Jeera / cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp
Urad dal - 1 tsp
Dry red chillies - 3 or 4

Note: This recipe can be made with brinjal or tindora/kovakka instead of okra. Add the peanut spice powder after the veggie is cooked.

Preparation:

1. Dry roast the peanuts till the skin starts turning black here and there. Let it cool and then remove the skin and keep aside.
2. Heat 1 tsp of oil and add jeera, urad dal and dry chillies. Roast till urad dal starts turning brown. Coarsely pound this along with peanuts using a spice grinder/mixer.
3. Remove the ends of the okra and cut into small pieces. Heat a tbsp of oil and splutter mustard seeds. Add okra pieces and fry well till the stickiness goes off. Add the peanut spice powder and enough salt and fry well for a few minutes.

Serve as side dish with rice or roti.

Events:

Show me your HITS @ Spicy Treats

Kovakka thoran / Ivygourd or Tindora stir fry

2012-02-23T16:45:00.001Z

Ivy gourd also known as Tindora/Kovakkai/Thondekkai is a veggie I didn't like much during my younger years. I havent tried any recipe other than this regular thoran/ stir fry or in sambar. This little veggie is rich in beta carotene and its juice is used in many herbal weight loss products. It is also known to regulate sugar metabolism and hence recommended for people with diabetes.

Ingredients:

Kovakka/Tindora/Ivygourd - 250 gms
Oil - 2 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Chana dal - 1 tbsp (optional)
Shallots - 3 or 4, sliced thin (or half of a small onion chopped)
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Green chillies - 3, slit
Salt - as needed
Grated coconut - 2 to 3 tbsp
Jeera/cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp
Curry leaves - a sprig

Preparation:

1. Wash the kovakka well and cut and remove the ends. Slice it thin and keep aside.
2. Heat oil in a pan and splutter mustard seeds. Add chana dal and fry till it turns brown.
3. Add sliced kovakka, shallots or onion, green chillies, turmeric powder and salt. Combine well and heap everything towards the centre of the pan. Cover and cook. You may sprinkle a little water if required.
4. Mix the jeera with grated coconut well. Add it along with curry leaves and fry well till it thoran becomes dry.

Events:

Kerala Kitchen - Feb 2012 hosted by Roshan, a series of event started by Ria and Rose
Show me your HITS @ Spicy Treats

Mutton Masala - My father's recipe

2012-02-19T17:08:00.001Z

My father cooks some of the best non-veg dishes and here is one such awesome recipe. I have been asking him to cooking this for me, but he kept postponing. Finally, he made it this weeked and it was simply delicious.The speciality is that this dish doesnot have much masalas in it, but it is still flavourful and yum.

Ingredients:

For Marination
Mutton: 500 gms
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Chilly powder - 2 tsp
Curd/youghurt - 3 tbsp
Salt to taste

For grinding
Ginger - 2 inch piece
Garlic - 7-8 cloves
Green chillies - 2 or 3

For masala

Oil - 2 tbsp
Coconut cuts/sliced (thengakothu) - 1/4 cup
Cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp
Cinnamon stick - 2 inch piece broken to pieces
Green cardamom - 2 or 3
Onion - 2 large, sliced finely
Coriander powder - 1.5 tbsp
Curry leaves - a sprig
Tomato - 2, chopped
Crushed pepper - as required
Chopped coriander leaves - to garnish

Preparation:

1. Wash and clean the mutton and add all the marination ingredients in the bowl. Mix well and marinate for half an hour or more.
2. Cook the mutton till tender. I usually cook it in a pressure cooker without adding water. After the first whistle, lower the heat and cook for 10-15 mins. Switch off and wait till pressure is released. Note that cooking time may vary depending on the tenderness of meat.
3. Grind together ginger, garlic and green chillies to a smooth paste and keep aside.
4. Heat oil in a pan and fry the coconut cuts/thengakothu till brown. Drain and keep aside.
5. In the same oil, add cumin seeds followed by cinnamon and cardamom.
6. Add onions and saute till soft. Add coriander powder and saute till you get the aroma. Add the ginger-garlic-chilly paste and curry leaves and saute well.
7. Add tomatoes and saute till mushy. Now add the cooked mutton and the fried coconut cuts.
8. Combine well and simmer for 10-15 mins.
9. Do a taste check and add crushed pepper if required.
10. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

The curry tastes best after a few hours. Best served with rice/ghee rice/roti/appam/porotta/pathiri etc.

Events:

Kerala Kitchen - Feb 2012 hosted by Roshan, a series of event started by Ria and Rose
Hot & Spicy treats hosted by Amy

ABC Series: DESSERTS event roundup

2012-02-17T16:46:00.000Z

Here is the roundup of my DESSERTS event of January 2012. This event received a whopping 146 entries. Thanks to all who sent their awesome recipes.

Here is an award for all you lovely people as a token of appreciation.

Top contributor awards go to

Faseela for sending 17 recipes

Maha for sending 12 recipes

I have categorized the entries as below. Sorry, I couldnt include the pictures this time, as I am so busy with my office commitments this month. I had actually started the roundup draft with pics, but after a few hours I realized that it would take many more hours for me to complete it. So I had to drop the idea this time :-(

I loved hosting this event and this roundup page is now an index to lookup whenever I feel like having a dessert.

PUDDINGS

Pudim (East Indian christmas pudding) by Shireen

Singapore coconut milk pudding by simply.food

Trifle pudding by Julie

Chocolate bread pudding with vanilla custard by Resh

Bengali style rice pudding with date palm jaggery by Chandrani

Almond oats bread pudding by Sangee Vijay

Milk pudding with praline topping, Biscuit pudding, Grape pudding and Thai mango pudding by Faseela

CAKES

Orange flavoured whole wheat fruit and nut cake by Sensible Veg

Coconut cake by Sravani