Kothiyavunu.com

Waffel Bowl Fruity Cheesecake Tart

2012-05-27T22:49:00.000-04:00

An easy and elegant dessert for a summer party!

Before we get into the recipe, I have small note to all my dear readers. As we are in the process of cross country move. I'm totally busy, haven't got time to check mail's last few days. My email inbox is overflowing ;) so if you don’t hear back from me, please don’t take it personally. I try my best to keep up with all the emails, but sometimes I just can’t. Know that I read each and every email I receive, and I thank you for taking the time to write and for continued support..

Rava Idli /Steamed Semolina Dumplings

2012-05-24T14:25:00.000-04:00

Tired of regular Idli? need a change ? then try this quick, soft and spongy Rava Idli ...

Brussels Sprouts Thoran / Stir Fried Brussels Sprouts in Coconut

2012-05-21T21:34:00.002-04:00

Brussels sprout, some people like it and some may not, I happen to love ‘em and this recipe elevates the humble, often kept behind vegetable.

Ulli Chammanthi /Shallots/Pearl Onion Chutney

2012-05-18T20:43:00.000-04:00

Happy Weekend! How has your week been? Anything fun planned for the week ahead? Well, for me this week has been ridiculously busy with so many happenings and so much work to do, that have not left much time for elaborate cooking and it seems like this upcoming week is no exception!

Idiyappam /Noolappam /String Hoppers

2012-05-17T00:03:00.000-04:00

Deserve a second look!

Slowly but surely I am going back through old recipes that I posted and adding new better pictures. Hope you all will like it!

Mathappoo Thoran / Pumpkin Blossom Stir Fry

2012-05-15T01:32:00.002-04:00

Hope all moms had a wonderful Mother’s day! I had a fantastic one...My cuties pampered me with breakfast in bed and gave me best surprise gifts, even though my hubby was out of town. I really appreciate my kids efforts. I think the biggest reward I receive as a mother is when my kids make correct choices or do something above and beyond.

Lemon Coffee Cake - Mother's Day Special

2012-05-12T14:29:00.003-04:00

Happy Mother's Day to all the Mom's out there :) so what’s your plan to honor your mom? Beautiful flowers? Yummy food? Special gift?

Varutha Ayala Curry /Fried Mackerel Curry /Fried Ayala Curry

2012-05-09T15:24:00.000-04:00

Yet another fish curry that I often make…

Tropical Smoothie - Healthy and Delicious!

2012-05-07T18:20:00.000-04:00

Chill out with this easy, breezy delicious tropical smoothie!

Kalathappam /Kalthappam - Sweetened version /Rice Cake with Jaggery

2012-05-04T20:08:00.000-04:00

Want to treat your friends with a delicious Kerala Snack? then you should try this!

My husband always been a great fan of Kerala country style snacks/ Nadan palaharam and I think not only my hubby most of Keralites have a special bonding with these kind of humble snack.

Garlic Rasam /Tangy Garlic Soup - A Guest Post For Ambika's Kitchen

2012-05-02T18:46:00.001-04:00

Hi, first I would like to thank Ambika for giving me this wonderful opportunity to write my first guest post! I was honored and so happy when she asked me if I could write guest post in her blog.

Way back when some of my other blogger friends requested me to write guest post; I felt then that, I have to go long way and need to learn more about blogging and art of writing and I expressed them that I’m not ready then for a guest post; I was really dumbstruck then… thinking if I could ever write one? Ambika requested me couple of times since then, this time I didn’t want to miss this opportunity so I decided, I should now :) Then when I said I will do it after couple of months … she accepted it without any second thought, she is so humble and sweet☺. Thanks so much Ambika for having me share my little knowledge in your beautiful this space of yours and thanks for being patient with me!

Elaneer /Karikku Mezhukkupuratti /Tender Coconut Stir Fry

2012-04-26T14:51:00.002-04:00

Hello all,

Hope everything is going good for you all...I know...it has been more than 2 weeks since my last blog update! Sorry for the hiding ;( What can I say? I’ve been really busy, our friends from CA were here, meeting after long time, so really got busy, had good fun, good foods, good talks etc...Oh My! the days went by in a flash. Wish I could freeze the time ! :)

Vishu Kanji /Rice & Coconut Porridge

2012-04-16T14:48:00.001-04:00

So the Vishu has come and gone. I hope everyone had wonderful time with loved ones and friends, and enjoyed great food! Our Vishu was a blast and everything went very well. Thank you all for the lovely wishes! Here is a picture of our Vishukkani for you :-)

Happy Vishu & Kerala Sadya Recipes

2012-04-12T23:17:00.001-04:00

Niraparayum Nilavilakum Grama Bangiyum Manasil Sookshikunna Oro Malayalikum Ormikkan Oru Vishu koodi… Ente Hridayam Niranja Vishu Aasamsakal! - Wishing you all a very Happy and Prosperous Vishu!

Vishu is a important festival celebrated in Kerala, South India. It marks the beginning of Malayalese New Year and is observed on the 1st day of the Malayalam month of Medam, usually it comes on April 14th or 15th every year. It is also an occasion to pay homage to Lord Krishna for all the blessings!

On this day, every malayali wakes up to see the ‘Vishukani’.Visnukani is a traditional ritual of arranging several auspicious things to be seen on the Vishu day in the early morning. Which consists of an idol or photo of Lord Krishna, a decorated ‘Uruli’- a shallow circular bell metal vessel that contains raw rice, a gold ornament/ coin, yellow coloured cucumber, vegetables fruits, a mirror, betel leaves, yellow flowers- konnapoo etc, like picture shown above....These things are kept in front of Guruvayoorpan /Sree Krishna late at night and in the early morning one of the elders make it to the room eyes closed and open the eyes in front of god and light the lamp and once they have seen vishukani, he/she guides the rest of the family. Each member in the family is taken blindfolded and then they are made to see the Vishu Kani that’s the first sight of the day and ask them to see all the things one by one and pray to god that let the whole year be of good health, prosper and happiness and then comes very exciting custom, ‘Vishukkaineetam’.The oldest member of the family gives the 'Vishukkaineettam', which is traditionally coins; in olden days it was gold and silver coins; but now Vishukkaineettam comes in different shapes and sizes, to the delights of the youngsters! Then the children also burst lot of crackers on this day. Everyone wears new clothes called Puthukodi for the occasion.

Then it’s time everlasting agenda of the day, the traditional vegetarian feast, 'Sadya' served on plantain leaves, displaying the splendour and the cookery skills...I always loved this ritual as a kid and now I doing for my family, so I happy to do that...So here I am sharing with you all the sadya dishes that I have prepared and posted till now. I thought Sadya recipes all in one place, will be helpful for those who are newbies to make sadya...some pics do not justify, so I will update it later...Hope you all like my sadya :)

Traditional Breakfast for Vishu

Vishu Kanji/Vishu Katta (I have not prepared this for now, will surely post it after Vishu. Usually in our part of Kerala (Central Kerala), after seeing the vishu kani early in the morning we used to have Vishu kanji/Vishu katta for breakfast. Traditionally, we used to prepare it with freshly harvested rice from the field.)

Then for lunch grand feast /Sadya is prepared...Serving the Sadya is an art in itself. And eating the Sadya is an even bigger art. Sadya is served on banana leaves and it is laid on the table or ground and the narrow part of the leaf should always be on the left side.

Serving begins from the bottom left half of the leaf. In some areas a pinch of salt is kept on the leaf but some people avoid it.

On the bottom left half of the leaf a small banana is placed, next pappadam

Pazham

Pappadam

Unniappam/Neyappam

Then sarkara varatti /jaggery coated banana chips and upperi/banana chips

Sarkara Varatti /Upperi

Nurukku Upperi

Banana Chips

Next from the top left half of the banana leaf pickles is served

Naranga Achar /Pickle

Thoran /Mezhupuratti (vegetable stir fry with coconut) (I have posted many different kinds of thoran but usually we prepare and serve these thorans for sadya.)

Kaya Achingapayar Mezhupuratti

Next Pachadi's and Khichadi's

Next comes different kinds of Side Dishes

Avial

Olan

Kootu Curry

Erissery

Chakka Erissery

Now the plantain leaf is filled with all the side dishes and most people will have dipped their fingers in some of the delicacies to have a taste.

The rice is served at the bottom center of the banana leaf.

First parippu curry is served along with ghee.

Kerala Parippu Curry

Ghee /Ney /Nei

Next rice is served with Sambhar.

Sambar with Coconut

Varutharcha Sambar

Next Kalan, Kurukku Kalan

Then Pulissery

Rasam

Then comes the most anticipated part the Desserts /Payasam's. Normally 2-3 varieties of payasam from the below list will be served to make sadhya delicious.

Chakka Pradhaman

Palada Payasam

Sarkara /Nei/Ney Payasam

Pal Payasam

Aval Payasam

Ada Pradhaman

Nendram Pazha Pradhaman

Semiya Payasam

oops! tried Is't? :-) :-) The traditional sadya is not over yet....

Then Sambaram /Curd /Buttermik is served at the end to complete the meal and to help digestion.

Most people stop with the dessert...This is the way we serve in our place. The ways of serving differs from region to region. Hope you all enjoyed this tradtional virtual Sadya /Feast :)

Once again Wishing you all a very Happy and Prosperous Vishu!
Sangeetha

Sarkara Varatti / Sarkara Upperi /Jaggery Coated Banana Chips

2012-04-12T12:28:00.000-04:00

In India around this time, say 13-15th of april, many states welcome their Traditional New Year and they are 'Baisakhi 'of Punjab, 'Poyela Boishakh' in Bengal,'Varsha Pirappu' in Tamilnadu, 'Bohaag Bihu' of Assam and Vishu in Kerala.

We wish a very Happy & Prosperous New Year to all my beloved readers and friends across the globe! I hope this year brings peace and happiness to everyone.

Kootu Curry - Sadya Special /Roasted Coconut with Mixed Vegetables & Chickpeas

2012-04-11T16:28:00.002-04:00

Yes, this is in fact the third sadya recipe, I am posting this week. As you all know festival of Kerala is fast approaching, so I am on gear; posting Kerala Sadya recipes...pls bear with me. Next week I'll get back to something different , promise :-)

Sadya /Feast is a unavoidable part of any celebration in Kerala. There is saying in malayalam “kandam vitum sadya unnanam” which means that “ You have to eat sadya/feast even if you have to sell your property for that” now you can guess the importance of sadya in malayalees mind.

Ethakka /Kaya Nurukku Upperi - Kerala Sadya Style /Quartered Banana Chips

2012-04-10T15:50:00.000-04:00

OK, who doesn’t like a Banana chips? I can devour an entire bagful in one sitting. It’s a familiar snack for most of them and for me it is yet another dish makes me feel so nostalgic, and takes me home in a fraction of a second, I will never forget the heavenly smell of freshly fried banana chips in coconut oil that would hit the whole house during Vishu/Onam seasons...

Inji Thayir /Ginger in Yogurt

2012-04-09T13:02:00.001-04:00

Hope you all had a fantastic easter...we had a blast with all our friends...Thanks Tam for inviting us for dinner :-) now Vishu is around the corner, I am so excited and started my preparations :) So, what are your plans for Vishu? How amazing is these festivals bring us those childhood sweet memories!!!

Chicken Kurma /Korma - Easter Special /Mild & Creamy Chicken Curry

2012-04-06T18:48:00.003-04:00

Wish you all a very Happy Easter ! For us this weekend will be full of Easter activities, friends gatherings, and of course, great food. Hope everyone is having a great weekend and wishing everyone a great week ahead!

Before getting into recipe, I just wanted to thank to those who knocked my door to inform about errors in my pages recently...Sorry for any inconvenience caused. Yes, lately we had some issues with our server and now we are moving to new provider, we are still working on it, so probably by end of next week everything will be fixed, meanwhile if you face any issues please let us know. Your thoughts and suggestions are much appreciated.

Masala Baked Salmon /Baked Salmon With Indian Spices

2012-04-02T20:36:00.006-04:00

If you are searching for healthy, simple and filling fish recipe, then you should try this baked version of salmon prepared along with Indian spices...This masala baked salmon are fabulous tasting and also extremely healthy.

Amish Cinnamon Friendship Bread

2012-03-29T23:04:00.000-04:00

Yes...from the name you guessed it right! This is the friendship bread that gets passed around from friend to friend.

Watermelon Strawberry Smoothie

2012-03-27T18:26:00.001-04:00

It's been a hectic week for me...I couldn't update this space lately and yet to respond to your emails and post all your recipe request, sure will try my best to respond your mails and post your recipe request soon...

Ottada /Oottada /Rice Parcel in Banana Leaf - Kerala Special

2012-03-22T22:22:00.001-04:00

Everybody has few favorite recipes they grew up eating and I think that our childhood food memories play a major role in informing what foods we gravitate towards as adults...Isn't ?

Varutharacha Kozhi /Chicken Curry /Chicken in Roasted Coconut Gravy- Kerala Style

2012-03-19T22:09:00.000-04:00

Some recipes are so good they are worth revisiting. This Varutharacha Chicken Curry is one among the old favorite recipe that deserved a little revamp, mainly in the picture department :-)

Kannimanga Achar /Authentic Kerala Style Tender Mango Pickle

2012-03-16T19:40:00.002-04:00

I've professed my love for homemade pickle several times recently, so it's probably not terribly shocking that I'm sharing yet another Tongue tickling pickle recipe today.