Canned crab meat masala/ njandirachi ularthu.

Ingredients

Canned crab meat - 2 lbs
Ginger -2'' long piece, minced
Garlic - 8 pods, minced
Onion - 1 small, sliced
green chilly - 4, split lengthwise
pepper powder - 1 Tbs
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Coconut  grated - 3/4 cup
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Garam masala - 3/4 Tbs
Fennel seeds - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - 2 sprig
Oil - 2 Tbs
Salt to taste

How I made it

Cook crab meat in a pot with turmeric, pepper, salt and half of the ginger and garlic without any water, on low flame.

Mean while heat oil in a pan,
add fennel seeds, fry for few seconds,
add onion, saute till it turns transparent,

then add the green chillies, 1 sprig curry leaves and the remaining ginger and garlic. saute for few minutes

then add coriander powder to it and stir few times till it get roasted,
add garam masala, mix well,
now add coconut, fry till it is dry

Add cooked crab meat, and mix well. Garnish with curry leaves.                                    

Olan

Olan doesn't need much spices except for green chillies. You don't need all the vegetables I used, instead you could just use one. Increase the amount of the vegetable to make up for the volume.

Ingredients

Van payar ( red chori) - 1/4 cup
achinga payar (yard long beans)- 10
ash gourd or winter melon ( kumbalanga) - 200 gm
pumpkin - 100 gm
green chillies - 6
thick coconut milk - 1/2 cup
thin coconut milk - 1/4 cup
curry leaves - 2 sprig
coconut oil- 1 Tbs
salt to taste

How I made it

Soak the red chori overnight or for 6-8 hours, and pressure cook high with very little water for 1 whistle and then turn down the heat and cook for 5 minutes, then turn off the stove. It should be cooked well but should hold its shape.

Cut the yard long beans into 1 '' long pieces. Cut the pumpkin and ash gourd or winter melon into thin 1 '' long pieces.

cook the vegetables with thin coconut milk and green chillies on low flame. Add salt and the cooked red chori and boil. Add thick coconut milk and turn off the stove. Now add the curry leaves and coconut oil. Olan is ready.

Mashed tapioca with coconut milk/ Kappa thengapal puzhukku

This tastes better than the puzhukku made with grinded coconnut You are just replacing coconut with coconut milk.

Ingredients

Kappa(tapioca) peeled and cut into small pieces - 1 kg
small onion -1 (or half of a big one)
garlic - 5
green chilly - 4-5
curry leaves - 2 sprigs
cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
thick coconut milk - 3/4 cup
salt as required

for tempering

coconut oil - 1 Tbs
mustard seeds - 2 tsp
shallots (kunjully) -2 ( thinly sliced)
dry redchilly -2
curry leaves - 1 sprig

Preparation

Cook kappa in water till soft. When its allmost cooked add salt and drain in a colander and set aside.

Coarsely grind onion, shallots, green chilly, curry leaves, cumin powder & turmeric powder in a grinder. Take cooked kappa and the spice mixture in a pot and cook till the raw smell of the mixture goes away with little water. Adjust salt at this time.  Add coconut milk and turn off the stove once its start bubbling.

Now heat up the oil in a pan, splutter mustard seeds, add sliced shallots, dry red chillies and curry leaves, fry till shallot slices  turn brown, pour this over the kappa and mix well. Kappa puzhukku is ready.

Fast and simple spaghetti (with ready made sauce and meat balls)

Dinner in 20 minutes, that's what this recipe is all about. In this recipe I am using frozen meat balls and store bought  pasta sauce.

Ingredients

any spaghetti noodle/pasta - 250 gm

frozen meat balls - 10

any pasta or spaghetti sauce - 2 cup

olive oil - 1 Tbs

salt as required

grated Parmesan cheese to garnish

Preparation

In a pot boil enough water to cover the spaghetti and cook spaghetti with little salt till soft. Follow the package instructions for the exact time. Usually takes 9-12 minutes. Drain the water and toss it with the olive oil to prevent it from sticking together.

                      

Thaw the meat balls in the microwave oven or by just keeping outside at room temperature. In a pan heat up the sauce with 1/4 cup water on medium flame, add meat balls to it, once boil turn down the heat to low and cook for 10-15 minutes.

Now it is the mixing of pasta to the sauce part. You may either add the pasta to the sauce and mix well to coat it or just dish the spaghetti and top it with the sauce and meat balls and garnish with Parmesan cheese.

Dinner is ready to be served.

Erisseri

Erissery is a Keralite dish. I love this dish because of its roasted coconut taste. My mother used to cook erissery with pumpkin, elephant foot yam ( Chena) and Red Chori( vanpayar.) Though there is many variations out there, I cooked it the same way.

Ingredients

Red chori (vanpayar)- 1/2 cup
pumpkin - 2 lbs
Elephant foot yam (chena) - 1 lbs
Coconut grated - 3 cup
Shallots - 5
turmeric powder- 1 tsp
Cumin powder - 1 tsp
pepper powder 1 tsp
chilly powder 2 tsp
coconut oil - 1 Tbs
Mustard seeds - 2 tsp
curry leaves - 2 sprigs
Dry red chilly - 2-3
salt as required

How I made it

Wash and soak the red chori overnight or for at least 6-8 hours.
Cook it in a pressure cooker on high flame for 1 whistle and then turn down to low flame and cook for 5 more minutes and turn off the stove.  It should be soft and hold its shape. There shouldn't be much water left. If there is, use it to grind coconut or to cook pumpkin.

Remove the skin and cut the pumpkin and suran into small cubes.
(I used frozen suran)

Cook pumpkin and yam pieces together in a pressure cooker or in a pot with the turmeric, pepper and chilly powder and salt till soft with 1/2 cup of water( use more water if cooking in a regular pot)Mash it well with a spoon.

Grind 1.5 cup of coconut coarsely with cumin powder and shallots.
Add this mixture along with the cooked red chori to the pumpkin and yam mixture till it boil and turn off stove.

Heat up oil in a pan, splutter mustard seeds, and then add dry red chilly, curry leaves and the rest of the coconut and fry it on low flame till coconut turns brown.

Add the fried coconut to the erisseri and mix well. The consistency should neither be too dry nor with lots of gravy, but a thick wet mixture of mashed pumpkin and yam.

Long beans stir fry with coconut/ Achingapayar thoran

I usually cook yard long beans to a stir fry with or without coconut. This recipe is the one with coconut.

Ingredients



Long beans - 1 lbs
coconut - 1 cup
green chilly- 6
onion - 1 small      
turmeric powder - 1 tsp
oil- 1Tbs
mustard seeds - 2 tsp
dry red chilly - 2
urad dhal - 1 Tbs
curry leaves- 1-2 sprig
salt as required.

Preparation

Remove both ends and cut the beans into small pieces.
Chop the onion and green chilly.
Mix coconut, onion and green chilly well with hands.
In a pan heat up the oil and splutter mustard seeds, add urad dhal, dry red chilly and curry leaves. When the urad dhal turns brown add the beans to it with salt and turmeric powder, mix and cook covered on a low flame. it takes about 4-5 minute for it to cook. Now add coconut mixture to this, and cook for few more minutes till the raw smell of the mixture goes away. Enjoy with rice.

Plantain & yard long beans stir fry/ vazhakka achinga mezhukkupuratti

This is a simple and easy dish to make. I used the long beans usually available in Kerala but you can  use french beans instead. Mezhukkupuratti tastes better if made with coconut oil and shallots.

Ingredients

plantain - 1 big ( or 2 small)
Yard long beans cut into 1" long pieces - 3 cup
Shallots(kunjulli) - 10
Green chilly - 6
Turmeric powder- 1 tsp
Curry leaves - 1-2 sprig
Coconut oil - 2 Tbs
Salt as required

How I made it

Cut long beans into 1" long pieces
Peel plantain and cut it into 1 " long thin pieces

Cook plantain and beans with turmeric and salt with 3-4 tablespoon water with cover on. Once cooked there shouldn't be any water left. remove the cover and cook for few more minutes if there is any excess water.

Heat up  oil in another pan, put the shallots in saute it till it turns transparent, then add green chilly and curry leaves, saute for a minute or so

Add the cooked plantain and long beans to it and mix well, cook for few more minutes till its done.

Rice laddoo/ Ariyunda

                           

This is a snack goes well with coffee or tea in the evening. Main ingredients are parboiled rice, coconut  and jaggery and little spice mixture for flavour. You can change the amount of any ingredient to your taste and/or to adjust calorie intake. There is no hard and fast rule for this one. You just can't go wrong.

Ingredients

Group 1
3 cup parboiled rice( rosematta rice from kerala is the best)
1-2 cup shredded coconut
1 cup brown sugar or jaggery grated(can replace with agave nectar)

Group 2
2 small piece of dry inger
6 cardmom
2t cumin powder
4 cloves(grampoo)
a pinch of salt to balance taste

Utensils needed

Bowl to soak rice
collander to drain rice
thick bottomed pan to roast rice
Strainer to sift rice powder
food processor or a dry grinder large enough to grind rice,
coffee grinder to powder the spices

How I made it

Wash and soak the rice for an hour and completely drain the water.

                                   

                               
Grind ingredients in group 2 to a nice powder

                          

Heat the thick bottomed pan on medium-high heat. Wait for it to get really hot, you can test by putting 2-3 rice on the pan and it should pop immediately. Roast the soaked rice in 2 batches.

                          

You will be hearing a lot of crackling or popping sound as the rice get roasted. Keep stirring to avoid burning. When the popping stops the rice should be golden brown in colour. Take it out and keep aside to cool.

                               

Once the rice is cool grind it to a nice powder in a food processor or dry grinder.

                         

Once done take it out and sift the powder with a big strainer to get the coarse pieces out.

                         

Now put the rice powder, jaggery, shredded coconut  and spice mixture together in the food processor or in the big dry grinder jar to mix it all together. Once mixed well make lemon sized balls out of it with your hand.

                        

Enjoy with a hot cup of tea.