Spicy chicken bell pepper fusilli with cheddar cheese

Is it strange that when I sit to write a commissioned work, I tend to drift and focus on something else😓? 

That's what is happening now. Maybe it's panic or maybe it's just the apprehension of "what if the client doesn't like my work" or "why am I not getting an idea to write" and sometimes even, "I am so bored of writing the same thing again and again. Lemme think of something new..."... and the list goes on. Maybe all people involved in writing face this or may be not. I honestly never bothered to find out. 

At least this situation worked to get me to finally do something with this post - that has been pending for far longer than it should have.

This bell pepper fusilli turned out so good when I made it that it was hard to resist the urge to gulp it down even before the photoshoot was complete.

Here's how I went about it 😀.

What I used:

1. Fusilli boiled in water with salt: 4 cups
2. Salt: as per need
3. Butter: 2 tablespoons
4. Vegetable oil: 1 teaspoon
5. Diced onion: 1
6. Garlic: 3 cloves
7. Ginger paste: 2 teaspoons
8. Garam masala: 2 teaspoons
9. Meat masala: 3 tablespoons
10. Chopped green or red chillies: 1-2
11. Minced chicken: 2 cups
12. Chopped parsley: 2 tablespoons
13. Cubed bell pepper: 1 medium-sized
14. Grated cheddar cheese: 3 tablespoons

How I made it:

1. In a wok or skillet, melt the butter on low flame with a teaspoon of vegetable oil.
2. Add the garlic and then ginger paste.
3. Next goes in the onions and chillies. Also add some salt.
4. When the onions turn translucent, add the meat and garam masalas. 
5. Once they have cooked, add the minced chicken. Mix well and cook till the chicken is fully done and the chicken stock has evaporated. This might take a while if cooking with pan closed.
6. Once chicken is done, add the bell pepper and parsley. Mix well and cook for 10 minutes till the bell pepper softens.
7. Then add the fusilli and toss the contents well so that the fusilli absorbs the taste of the chicken mix. 
8. Add the cheddar on top and keep aside for 10 minutes before serving.

This was a really quick-to-make dish and trust me, it finishes as fast as you make it.
It's true.. best things come in small packages 😇.

Semiya/vermicelli payasam

Anyone who has lived in Kerala for a while would know the simplicity and elegance of the semiya payasam. The soft toasted semiya/vermicelli in a pool of milk makes this one of the few milk dishes that I just adore 😋.

That's not all. It's simple to prepare as well 😉. 

On those days when one needs a quick dessert, semiya payasam it is 😋.

What I used:

1. Semiya/vermicelli toasted till brown in ghee: 2 cups
2. Milk: 1/2 liter
3. Water: 1 cup
4. Sugar: as per need
5. Boiled sago pearls (optional): 3 tablespoons
6. Cardamom: 5 pods
7. Cashews, dried grapes and almonds toasted in ghee: as per need

How I made it:

1. In a thick-bottomed pan, heat the milk with water, sugar and cardamom. You can adjust the sweetness with the amount of sugar.
2. When the milk starts to boil, reduce the flame and add the toasted semiya/vermicelli.
3. Boil till the semiya/vermicelli starts to soften. This takes about 20 minutes or so.
4. Then add the dry fruits, mix the contents well and keep the pan covered. The semiya/vermicelli will cook further in the warmth of the hot milk.
5. Keep aside for 20 min before serving.

This traditional dessert tastes just as good when served chilled 😋😋. Enjoy!

Rava/semolina dosa

It was a friend of mine who is an air hostess (a very health conscious girl who closely monitors her health stats) who introduced me to the rava dosa. 

It was at a time when I was constantly thriving on takeouts due to various reasons and she was totally into home-made food. One evening, when all we had was rava and my valuable opinion was to dial a takeaway, she said "There is rava, salt and water in the kitchen. Let's make rava dosa". And I liked it and it was easy to make. This, till date, is my instant breakfast option on my famine-stricken days.

Over the umpteen times that I made this dosa in various combinations, I have a few varieties that I particularly liked. Here is one 😀. 

What I used:

1. Rava/semolina: 1 cup
2. Wheat flour (optional): 1/2 cup
3. Salt: to taste
4. Chopped coriander leaves: 2 tablespoons
5. Chopped onions: 2 tablespoons
6. Water: enough to make a smooth batter
7. Oil: to glaze the pan

How I made it:

1. Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl and make a loose batter, with dosa batter consistency - smooth enough to flatten on a pan, yet not too thick.
2. Heat a flat pan or tawa on high flame.
3. When the pan is hot, glaze it with a few drops of oil and spread a ladle of the batter evenly in any desired shape. When the batter has moderately solidified, turn the dosa on its other side to evenly cook both sides. Ideally both sides should brown a bit.

Once that's done, it's the beginning of a smooth breakfast or any other light meal 😋😋. It's one's choice whether to have it by itself or as a combo with some delicious curries or chutneys. 

Pepper chicken fry

Hello!

At times, the little things are what makes any day a BIG DAY!

This particular day, I was pondering on how to make use of the few chicken pieces hibernating in my freezer when I came up with this recipe. Since I rarely cook chicken and sooo wanted the sweety, spicy, chewy, juicy contentment, I couldn't afford to let this go wrong. So I carefully sorted the ingredients that I felt would bring about the flavors I needed.

The result led this to being my kudos moment for coming up with a recipe that turned out fine in the first attempt. It came out lovely! A word of caution is that the dish is a tad bit oily. Once in a while, an excess of coconut oil can't be bad, especially for Keralites :D :D

What I used

1. Fried chicken pieces (marinated in a mix of chilli powder, salt and turmeric powder): 1/4 kg
   PS: Ensure the chicken pieces are not fried to become hard. Fry till they are medium cooked.
2. Finely diced (round shape) shallots: 1 cup
3. Garlic: 5 halved cloves
4. Salt: to taste
5. Coconut oil: 1/4 cup
6. Pepper powder: 2 teaspoons
7. Curry leaves: 1 sprig
8. Green chillies: 3
9. Honey (to be added at the end): 1/4 cup

How I made it

1. Heat oil in a pan and saute the shallots with curry leaves, garlic, green chillies and the required amount of salt on medium flame.
2. When the shallots soften, add the pepper powder. Mix well and after 1 minute, add the already fried chicken pieces.
3. Mix the contents well. Cook for 5 minutes with the pan covered. Then remove the lid and stir the contents well to get rid of any remaining moisture.
   PS: You can stop at this stage if you like the dish spicy.
4. For a bit of extra sweetness, turn off the stove and add honey. Mix everything well.
   Now, it's time to get the serving plate :D :D

That's it!

It went really well with chappathy and served as a snack by itself with the evening tea :D :D

Potato omelette

A humble omelette sans pomp and show. Like the old saying that the best gifts come in little packages.

Only basic ingredients, yet it serves a fulfilling serving!

What I used

1. Oil/butter: 3 tablespoons
2. Grated onion (1), grated potato (1 cup)
3. Salt: to taste
4. Chilli: 1
5. Curry leaves: few
6. Beaten eggs: 3

How I made it

1. In a frying pan, saute the onion and grated potatoes with some salt, chilli and the curry leaves till the potatoes have cooked.
2. Spread the contents across the pan and pour the beaten eggs over it.
3. Once the eggs harden, slide it out onto a plate and turn the omelette the other side up back into the pan, as in a Spanish omelette, to cook the other side.

This was best served hot, with garlic bread :D :D

Classic French toast

I love bread.. just not the regular sliced ones we get in the supermarket!! My kind are the ones that are a bit overbaked with a slight but obvious taste of the overbaked crust. So as a rule, I rarely buy the supermarket sliced breads.

One can't underestimate the ease with which bread can result in a fast turnaround of breakfast. I first had French toast as a child when my mother made it as a Friday breakfast and I hated it. Was never a fan of fried bread throughout my childhood. When the necessity arises, there is a greater tendency to pacify oneself with the availability deemed as the new "in" thing.

On one such uncanny day, with an already preset disposition to eggs and the presence of some bread, I decided to make the French toast for breakfast. This was also due to the keen desire to avoid some good bread from going stale. And secretly I don't prefer to waste food for the sake of the starving children across the world.

So French toast is really easy to make, though I must warn you, it is a bit oily.



What I used

1. Butter/oil: enough for shallow frying (around half cup for 4 slices of bread)
2. Eggs: 2
3. Sugar: depending on the sweetness needed (I used 3 tablespoons)
4. Bread: 4 slices
5. Cinnamon/sugar powder: for sprinkling (optional)

How I made it

1. In a bowl, beat the eggs and sugar well and soak each bread slice for about 30 seconds.
2. Heat the butter/oil in a pan and fry the egg-soaked bread slices till they brown on each side.

Land the toast on a plate lined with tissue/blotting paper to get rid of the excess oil. Serve with a sprinkle of cinnamon or sugar powder.

This a perfect breakfast with a hot cup of coffee or cardamom tea :D :D

Beef cutlets

The day I made beef roast was the same day I decided to try the beef cutlets, not because of any particular reason other than the sheer availability of beef. 

More importantly, it was a treat that I had planned for my friends and colleagues. I made this inspired by the beef cutlets we used to buy from the food court in our office building. The kind of cutlets with more substance than just a heavy filling of potatoes. This was rich and spicy beef cutlets. 4 pm was awaited eagerly so we could rush upstairs to the food court and grab 2 cutlets before it was all over. 

That's when I decided I must make these yummy cutlets for a treat :D :D

Since the recipe has a lot to do with the beef roast, I suggest you go though the ingredients and method I have mentioned for the beef roast, then follow the below steps:

What I used (extra ingredients not mentioned in the recipe for beef roast)

1. Eggs: 3
2. Bread crumbs: 2 cups
3. Oil: for deep frying

How I made it

1. To make cutlets, grind the beef roast in a mixer and make small flattened patties. 
2. Dip each patty in egg wash and coat with bread crumbs. 
3. Repeat the process of egg wash, bread crumbs once again for really crisp crust.
4. Deep fry in hot oil to get spicy crispy beef cutlets.

Beef cutlets and hot coffee is a to-die-for evening snacks.

But of course, if you can't wait till evening, just make it any time and have it with anything or even better idea, don't wait for a combo, simply munch on it as soon as it off the stove :D :D

Beef roast

A beef roast was long overdue. The reason for delay being the time it took  me to get motivated enough to hunt for a place that sold good beef. And then, of course, the necessity to cook something that cannot be substituted with anything other than beef :D :D

Though I like beef roast and other forms of beef, am not very particular about it. The point is am not crazy enough about beef to take the time to go purchase it like I would do for vegetables and fish.

There are some really good stuffs to be made with beef and when I decided to make this beef roast for a few friends, it was just the excuse I needed :D :D

What I used

1. Beef: ½ kg
2. Diced shallots (10), ginger (1.5 inch), Garlic (6 cloves)
3. Roasted cloves (6) cardamom (6) and pepper corn (1 teaspoon), perumjeerakam - fennel seeds (1 teaspoon)
4. Salt to taste
5. Garam masala: 2 teaspoons
6. Meat masala: 2 tablespoons
7. Cinnamon powder: 1 teaspoon

In a mixer, grind all ingredients from points 2-4 and make a coarse paste. Then, in a pressure cooker, add the cleaned beef cut into small cubes along with the ground paste made above with the mentioned spice powders and cook till 4 whistles. The beef cooks in its own stock, so no need to add water unless you need gravy.

For the second phase, following ingredients are needed:

1. Coconut oil: 1/2 cup
2. Mustard seeds: 1 teaspoon
3. Curry leaves: 10 leaves
4. Grated onion (1), carrot (1), Capsicum (1)
5. Corriander leaves: a fistful
6. Salt and pepper: to taste

How I made it

1. In hot pan, splutter the mustard seeds and curry leaves in hot oil and sauté the vegetables with some salt and pepper. Capsicum, carrot and coriander are optional. I used it as I find adding vegetables reduces the heaviness of consuming beef.
2. Once the vegetables are half done, add the cooked beef with its stock and mix everything well. Adjust the masalas and salt as per need at this point and cook on medium flame till the stock reduces and the beef is dry. You can decide how dry you want and adjust accordingly. I cooked the beef with pan open to speed up the process of reduction. Once the stock is reduced or fully absorbed, turn off the fame and let it rest. You can see that the beef would have become a bit drier after resting.
   PS: for really crispy beef roast, continue the roasting till the beef turns black with occasional stirring. It might take 2 hours or so for it to turn this hard and black. It would be totally worth it and I must warn you it is very unhealthy but so god damn tasty that you should try it occasionally. Human body can handle the bad stuff once in a while ;D

A lot of alcoholic beverage fans find in beef roast the perfection of combination that renders their brand irresistible. While for the others, beef roast is a must have with appam, rice, chappathi, porotta, idiappam, you name it and beef goes with it all.

My personal combo is red rice, pulissery, achinga payar mezhukkupuratti and beef roast with some lime pickle.

That, my friends, is my perfect lunch!

Dates and peanut laddoo

The chances of some scintillating events unfolding by chance ... is what happened the day I made dates laddoos :D :D

It was my last week at my job of 8 years and as my farewell to the Firm that gifted me some noteworthy memories, it was my tribute to my friends and colleagues with some me-made culinary art. I prefer DIY gifts these days coz of the personal touch :D. Crossed fingers and a pounding heart loomed over my ecstatic halo of excited anxiety, I was gonna make them in a larger proportion.

As I stepped into the supermarket hoping for inspiration from the arrays decked with packets of possible ingredients, my eyes fell on the shelf with dates and then that MOMENT ensued :D :D My big moment that led to what I have shared below.

Some days feel like they are meant to have been in a certain way. It makes me wonder if there is indeed a pre-destiny. Over the years, I have replaced the blind religious belief handed down over generations to one that believes that we make our own destiny, or at least that our decisions play a vital role in shaping our castles of dreams. The Universe is full of surprises and I have concluded that there are more than "YESes" and "NOs". :D :D

As surprising as was the making of these little rounds of joy, I got some amazing pics during the photoshoot that I was proud of to show off.

I was way over the moon!

What I used

1. Deseeded dates: 500 grams
2. Toasted non-salted peanuts: ½ cup (optional)
3. Ghee: 1 tablespoon
4. Jaggery: ¼ cup
5. Ginger: 2 inches
6. Cardamom: 8 pods
7. Pepper powder: 3/4 teaspoon
8. Water: 3 tablespoons
9. Toasted sesame seeds and almonds for garnish (optional)

How I made it

1. Grind the dates and peanuts separately in a mixer. I did not powder the peanuts to retain some crunch in the laddoo. In a hot pan, heat half the ghee and cook the dates for a few minutes stirring continuously. To this add the peanuts and mix well and take it off stove.
   PS: you can add other dry fruits instead of peanuts. If no cruch needed, just use deseeded dates
2. In a separate pan, boil the jaggery with some water, ginger, cardamom and pepper powder till it becomes viscous. Strain most of this juice into the dates and peanut mix and mix well. To the rest of the reduced jaggery, add the almonds that will be used for garnish.
3. Once the mix cools down, grease you hands and a plate with some ghee and make laddoos of the desired shape and size. Jaggery coated almonds can be used as garnish. Also toasted sesame seeds can be used as topping.

I was tasting this thoughout the making process that by the time it was all over and I had a full laddoo, I was so full I skipped dinner that day :D :D

This was the quickest sweet dish I had made in a while :D :D

Potato scrambled eggs

It was 9:00 am... a Sunday... a very lazy Sunday. The kind of lazy where one wakes up from bed only to go sprawl on the living room couch. Nowhere to rush to, no timeline to keep up, no commitments to follow through. Such days are WOW to wake up to knowing the day is all mine. :D 

Such lazy days are the days too when going to a store is a big NA NA and where my creativity springs up to keep me all cozy. Bill Gates was so right when he said a lazy man finds the easiest way to finish a task. So around 10:00 am, when my lazy sprawl was getting uncomfortable with the muscle fatigue of staying in a position far too long, I crawled off the bean bag and gave it a reassuring glance to say "I will be back soon dear". Then got my home-ground coffee and decided to have breakfast.

There was an onion, corriander and curry leaves, a few potatoes and that was it. A very silent and polite but obvious swear almost escaped my disappointed demeanor. What was I supposed to make with that???

Why not a Spanish omelette I thought. It had been a while since I made them. When I opened the fridge, what I saw made my heart sink. There was only 1 egg! :-( ;-( 

And my pan needed at least 3 eggs to make one on a day of ingredient drought. Then it happened like the troll where one is about to flip an omelette and ended up with scrambled eggs, with some alterations in my case. 

As I boiled the potatoes and was estimating how to lay the pan so I could still make a Spanish omelette, I suddenly got too bored making a plan and then thought how about potato scrambled eggs. And despite the skepticism, I moved ahead and had a very filling breakfast :D :D

What I used

1. Coconut oil: 3 tablespoons
2. Boiled and coarsely crushed potatoes: 1 cup
3. Chopped onion: 1
4. Salt: to taste
5. Pepper powder: 1/2 teaspoon
6. Curry leaves: few
7. Chopped corriander leaves: 1/2 cup
8.  Eggs: 2 (I used one, but 2 would be better)

How I made it

1. Heat oil in a pan, saute the onions with salt and pepper and add the curry leaves, corriander leaves and crushed potatoes 
2. Mix the contents well and add the eggs with continuous scrambling till the eggs turn crispy

I was so hungry with all the planning and change of plans that I didn't have the patience to click more pics of this dish :D :D It was all over in a jiffy for me. It was also the moment I basked in the perfection of an egg-potato marriage.

This is a light and filling breakfast for those who don't wanna go heavy.

Have this with a slice of garlic bread and it should just be fine! :D :D

Chicken samosa

Despite the severe curfew on some of our favorite pasttimes, one of the best happenings that sprung from my mom's retirement was the daily snacks she would prepare for my sis and me with the evening tea :D :D. After her retirement, it was exciting to rush home from school for the sole reason that there would be something new and tasty for lunch :D :D

A couple of months ago, I was reminded of the samosas she would make, the one foiled in pastry sheets, which isn't common in Trivandrum. I checked out a few confectioneries here to no avail.

It was time to create what I wanted! And I love that feeling where what you need isn't available and you gotta custom make it :D :D. For me, it was only a matter of reaching the heights of "wanting" to leave my comfortable premises and get the stuff. Surprisingly what led me to make these samosas wasn't my craving. It was while deciding on a menu of snacks to treat my friends and colleagues that I decided "why not some chicken samosas!" :D :D

And here they are :D :D

What I used

1. Coconut oil : ¼ cup for the filiing and enough oil for deep frying
2. Mustard seeds: ½ teaspoon
3. Diced onion: 2
4. Ginger-garlic paste: 1 teaspoon
5. Salt: to taste
6. Turmeric powder, pepper powder and garam masala: ½ teaspoon each
7. Grated carrots: ½ cup
8. Capsicum: 1
9. Chillies: as per need
10. Chicken: 250 grams
11. Pastry sheets: as per need

How I made it

1. In pan, heat oil, splutter the mustard seeds and saute the onion adding some salt. When onions soften, add the spice powders and cook till the raw smell goes. Add the carrot, capsicum and chillies adjusting the salt as needed till the veggies are almost done. Then goes in the minced chicken and cook with continuous mixing till the chicken is done. This is the filling
2. Take the elongated pastry sheet to wrap the samosa into a triangle and deep fry in hot oil till they brown on either side

These crispy triangles of joy are delicious with sweet and spicy tomato ketchup :D :D

  

Couple it with  a hot cup of cardamom tea or coffee to have an evening that makes you smile in your armchair watching that serene sun go down the horizon :D :D

Maggie chicken curry

It was funny how today morning I decided to make a chicken curry with the less than half kilo of chicken available in my freezer.

Like always, I had a recipe in mind when I started cooking. Today, the plan was to make a tomato chicken curry and I started accordingly. La la la… :D :D it was until I got the masalas mixed up and ended up making what I decided to call the Maggie chicken curry :D :D. There is a reason why I chose this name.

So when the garam masala jar and the cinnamon jar got mixed, uff!!! It was a disaster, is what I thought. But… the resulting curry tasted as if it was a chicken curry made with Maggi noodles tastemaker, only that there was no tastemaker :D :D

Cinnamon powder was the key!

Now the excitement of having saved the curry clubbed with the discovery of a possible secret of the tastemaker, this was a winner for me :D :D

What I used

1. Coconut oil: ½ cup
2. Mustard seeds: 1 teaspoon
3. Curry leaves: as many as you want
4. Sliced onion: 1
5. Cardamom: 4 pods
6. Cloves: 4
7. Salt: as per need
8. Diced potatoes and carrots: 1 each - optional
9. 3 tomatoes pureed with ¼ teaspoon salt and garam masala
10. Cinnamon powder: 3 teaspoons
11. Garam masala: 2 teaspoons
12. Pepper powder: 1 teaspoon
13. Chillies (kaanthari): 5 depending on how spicy the curry should be
14. Chicken: 400 grams
15. Coconut milk: ½ cup-1 cup depending on how much gravy needed

How I made it:

I made this in a mud pot coz that was the only free pot that day

1. Heat the oil, splutter the mustard seeds with the curry leaves, cloves and cardamom and saute the onions till soft
2. Required salt goes in along with the carrots, potato and chillies
3. You can skip the carrots and potato. I added it coz there was so less chicken and 3 hungry tummies to feed. So volume was a necessity ;-) So it’s not necessary to add veggies
4. Once the veggies have mingled well, in goes the cinnamon powder, garam masala and pepper powder and cook for 3 minutes
   PS: There was a panic akin to the realization that I married a cinnamon instead of garam masala (UFFF!!!!) and the whole pot smelling like cinnamon buns instead of the tomatoey chicken curry that I had so envisioned – you can completely ignore the panic part coz you already know you are making Maggie chicken
5. Then add the tomato puree and mix everything well with half a cup of water
6. When the contents start to boil, add in the chicken pieces, coconut milk and cook with the pot covered for about 40 minutes till the chicken is well-cooked

This really tasted like Maggi and like Maggi noodles, the smells fades after a while. Then it becomes really spicy. It tasted very good with rice and am sure it would be wonderful with just about anything that any chicken curry is a combo with :D :D

Fried potato wedges

Ya, okay so health well-wishers advise that fried food is bad for health. 

So just take few big bites and be done with it quickly ;D

Win-win scenario ;D

What I used

1. Potato wedges: as much as you need. I used 2 medium-sized potatoes
2. Oil for deep frying
3. Salt and pepper: 1/4 teaspoon each (optional)

How I made it

1. Fry the potato wedges in hot oil for about 10 minutes till they are soft and spread it out on tissue or blotting paper to absorb excess oil
2. While the wedges are still hot, sprinkle salt and pepper

Since potato wedges are thick, they won't be very crunchy. Take note though that they are very filling.

Perfect as an evening snack! :D :D

Spinach fried rice

The story of this fried rice began on a sunny Sunday when my friend and I had decided to go for the afternoon matinee show. 

Like most lazy Sundays when we are so lazy we even skip church, we waited till we were really hungry to decide whether to light our stove or to luncheon in the finesse of a restaurant nearby. As we pondered over this in the backdrop of a humming TV playing a god-knows-which movie and enlightening overselves with the happening of our friends' and acquaintances and everyone else's worlds on Facebook, it suddenly dawned on us that our own world was turning dizzy. 

We would have had to rush right away if we had to have lunch from outside to make it to the movie on time. On the other hand, if we cooked, there would be ample time to take our own sweet time to unfoil our agenda. It didn't take long to decide on the next course of action. 

As my eyes fell on the plush wine color of the spinach leaves (which looked like they were putting out their head-like leaves to make eye contact with me) that I had bought just the day before, the freshness tickled my senses and it took only a few seconds to decide what would be a quick lunch ;D ;D

What I used

1. Fried and cooked basmati rice: 5 cups
2. Cooking oil: 1/2 cup
3. Diced onion, carrots, capsicum: 1 cup each
4. Salt: to taste
5. Chopped spinach: 2 cups
6. Green chillies: 2
7. Pepper powder: 2 teaspoons

How I made it 

1. In a pan, heat the oil and saute the vegetables and chopped chillies with some salt till they soften. This takes about 15-20 minutes.
   PS: to save time, pre-boiled vegetables can be used as well 
2. Add the pepper powder followed by the rice and mix well gently.

This was a no-big-deal, really quick fried rice that was mind blowing with tomato ketchup :D :D

On any regular day, this would be amazing with any curry :D :D

Corriander scrambled eggs

One day, it was too sunny to go out... and those days are common here no doubt... So it goes without saying that the lunch had to be made with what was available. I did have a bunch of corriander leaves. The question was what I could do with a bunch of corriander leaves. 

Ah! Corriander scrambled eggs of course! :D :D

What I used

1. Cooking oil: 1/4 cup
2. Shallots/diced onion: 1/2 cup
3. Salt: to taste
4. Chillies: 2
5. Garlic: 2 cloves
6. Chopped corriander leaves: 1 cup
7. Eggs: 2
8. Lemon juice: 1 tablespoon

How I made it

1. In a pan, saute the shallots, green chillies and garlic in hot oil till the shallots are soft
2. Add the required salt
3. Next goes in the corriander leaves. Cook till the leaves wilt and add the eggs and stirr well to ensure they are well scrambled to fine pieces. This doesn't take long
4. Serve with a drizzle of lime juice

A last-minute side dish or even as breakfast, this suffices :D :D

Boiled vegetable quick-toss salad

I read somewhere and believe that our cravings have a lot to do with what we need. 

Let's take the simple example of water. Sometimes, no matter how many varieties of drinks are on spread, water is what one needs. At other times, like on the tropical hot afternoons, it's a glass of sambharam or salted lime juice that does the quenching better. So it's no wonder when on some days, veggies steal the show. 

On such days, a bowl of salad is enough :D

What I used

1. Butter: 2 tablespoons
2. Garlic: 6-8 cloves
3. Boiled and diced carrots: 1/2 cup; broccoli: 2 cups; french beans: 2 cups
4. Salt: as per need
5. Pepper: as per need (optional)

How I made it

PS: Ensure the vegetables are boiled with enough salt 

1. In a pan, fry the garlic in melted butter and add all the boiled vegetable and toss well so as to butter coat every piece. Adust salt and pepper as needed and that's it!

Salads are refreshing isn't it?

After a routine of consuming starch and red meat, when one feels the need to detox, salads do wonders to make you feel refreshed with no added weight :D :D

Egg curry

Egg, as I have often said is a necessity for me. My last-minute saviour!

Most of my cooking trials are based on dishes that I have tasted and my culinary journey began with an attempt to recreate that blissful sojourn. It clearly underlines the fact that epic tastes create lasting impressions. More and more people want to experience that. I believe that's what a splendid idea is. That more people want to replicate it.

In this case, for the egg curry, my source of taste that I am still in the process of trying to recreate is the egg curry of the appam-egg curry combo from a chayakada (tea shop) near Caritas Hospital in Kottayam. As a child, I was a frequent visitor to that hospital and I was bribed into going there with the promise of a lime juice with ice cubes and of course the appam-egg curry that I so dearly loved <3 <3

I don't remember the name of that tea shop and don't know if it is still there. Because I don't visit hospitals that much now thankfully :D :D  So whenever egg curry pops up in a menu, I order it with the constant hope that it has that long-ago taste that lingers in my memory. Such a lasting impact from a chayakada chef! 

Do not be mistaken that the recipe am listing here is a replica of the aforesaid dish. This is different but really good and anyone can try it :D :D

PS: When I manage to replicate that chayakada taste, which will be soon coz I got some hint about how he/she might have made it, that will be here! ;D ;D

What I used

1. Vegetable/coconut oil: 1/4 cup
2. Cardamom (2 pods) cinnamon (1-inch), cloves (2): optional
3. Mustard seeds: 1/2 teaspoon
4. Curry leaves (optional): ~8-10 leaves 
5. Finely sliced onions: 1 cup
6. Diced ripe tomatoes: 1/2 cup
7. Salt: to taste
8. Meat masala: 2 tablespoons
9. Pepper powder: 1/2 teaspoon
10. Chillies: 2 - change according to the heat required
11. Coconut milk: 1/2 cup
12. Boiled eggs cut into halves: 2

How I made it

1. If you are using cardamom, cinnamon and cloves, add it into the hot oil at the beginning itself so the oil becomes flavoursome
2. Then splutter mustard seeds with few curry leaves and saute the onions with some salt on low flame till the onions have melted
   PS:You have to be patient here. Coz when the onions melt is when it gets a sweet taste. This mix of sweetness with the spices we are going to add is what gives it a to-die-for flavour
3. Add the tomatoes and chillies at this stage. When the tomatoes wilt and get mushy, add salt, meat masala and pepper powder
4. When the content is aromatic, add the coconut milk and some water for the gravy. Water is to be added based on how thick you want the gravy to be
5. When then gravy comes to a boil, add the boiled eggs ensuring it is coated with the gravy
6. Set aside for a few minutes and serve hot

This curry is very simple to make and we had it with chappathi :D :D

It goes well with rice and appam, bread too :D :D ..

Like I say, you can decide your own combo. What works for you work for you and that's good enough :D :D

Rajma beans fried rice

Rajma beans!

The first time I heard about them was from my ex-boyfriend who was from Delhi. That was years ago! Am not sure if it was common in Kerala back then coz I wasn't that into food then. But I certainly didn't come across them in my diet at that time.

So recently when I went grocery shopping and came across these little pebble beans, I thought it would serve as a good option to stock up. Obviously it was going to come in handy.

So on that Saturday morning when I decided it was going to be home-made lunch, it was going to be my version of a rajma fried rice :D :D

What I used

1. Vegetable oil: 3 tablespoons
2. Cooked rajma beans: 1.5 cups - retain the stock remaining after cooking the rajma beans
3. Finely diced medium-sized onion: 1
4. Diced carrots (optional): 1
5. Chillies (any chillies): use based on how much of heat needed
6. Garam masala: 1 teaspoon
7. Chilli powder (optional): 1 teaspoon
8. Salt: to taste
9. Jaggery: 1 teaspoon
10. Garlic: 2 cloves
11. Basmati rice: 1.5 cups
12. Cinnamon stick: 1 inch
13. Butter: 1/ tablespoon
14. Curry leaves (optional): 2 sprigs
15. Water: enough to cook the rice - for 1 cup basmati rice, add 2 cups of water. To be on the safe side, check the softness of rice and add water accordingly

How I made it

1. In a pan, heat the butter and 1/2 teaspoon oil and when it's hot, add the washed basmati rice with cinnamon stick and fry the rice. Keep aside
   PS:No need to brown the rice. It is fried enough when the grains are all separated from each other
2. Simultaneously in another pan, heat the remaining oil and splutter some mustard seeds, followed by sauteeing of onion with some chillies and salt
3. When the onions have wilted, add in the carrots and cook with pan covered till carrots are soft
4. Sprinkle in the garam masala, chilli powder and jaggery with the beans and mix everything well
5. Add the curry leaves and fried rice with the rajma stock adding enough water to coer the contents
6. Keep the pan covered and cook till the rice is done
   PS: take care of the amount of water being added as too much water can make the rice gooey. There should only just be enough water for rice to cook fully. For this, check the softness of the rice in between and add water accordingly. It's not as difficult as you might have just felt reading this
7. Keep the contents covered for sometime for everything to mingle well and serve hot... or cold :D Whatever way you feel like :D :D

When I made this, it came out a tad bit too spicy for me. So I had this with some cold yoghurt and it was heaven! 

At least try it once. It's worth it! :D :D

Chicken cutlet

Cutlets.. the good old cutlets!

The very mention of it brings forth the epitome of sensuousness to its heights. The perfect amalgamation of hotness so hot, sweetness so sweet, spice so spicy, crisp so crunchy that you can almost hear the crunch of that glorious bite before you are hit with the two-pronged ecstasy of the sweetness of the melted onions and the fire of the chillies. Such a hot combo!.. 

It wont stop at one bite... will it? ;D You just need more ... and more... 

And then... one more bite... :D :D

What I used

1. Vegetable oil: 2 tablespoons
2. Finely diced onion and shallots: 1 cup
3. Ginger-garlic paste: 1 tablespoon
4. Salt: to taste
5. Finely diced carrots: 1/2 cup
6. Garam masala: 1.5 teaspoon
7. Meat masala: 2 tablespoons
8. Chopped green chillies: 2
9. Minced chicken: 250 grams
10. Potatoes boiled with salt and mashed: 1/2 cup
11. Eggs: 2 or as needed to coat all the patties
12. Bread crumbs: as needed
13. Oil for deep frying

How I made it

1. In a skillet, heat the oil and saute onion shallot mix on low flame with some salt till they become really soft and have wilted fully
2. Add the ginger-garlic paste, chillies and carrots and cook on medium flame till the carrots are half done
3. Then add the masalas and cook again on low flame till the raw smell is gone
4. Add the minced chicken and cook really well. This will take sometime as the chicken cooks in its stock
5. Cook on medium flame keeping the skillet covered till all the stock has evaporated and the content is dry
6. Allow the mixture to cool,add the mashed potatoes, mixing everything really well
7. Then make firm patties of the desired shape
8. Dip them in the well-beaten eggs first and then coat it with bread crumbs. This process can be repeated once more for crispier cutlets
9. Heat enough oil on medium flame in a frying pan for deep frying and fry the cutlet patties till they are golden brown on each side
10. Excess oil can be blotted off using tissue or blotting paper

It's a fine snack on its own

Yet, it is equally good as a side dish with rice, fried rice, biriyani and chapatthis too. And if you are on a roll, stuff it between 2 breads or bun and it becomes a sandwich! Roll a chappathi or some flat bread over it and these can be wraps too ;D :D. You can also crumble them into a salad

Plenty of ways to have them, one better than the other

Enjoy!

Aval (flattened rice) nanachhathu

Come evening and we are drawn towards tea and snacks. Else it is as if something is greatly amiss. This is all the more a must when returning from schools and colleges and even being at workplace is no exception to simply go and have a hot cup of tea or coffee and a crispy crunchy bite of that something special. This snack is often awaited for like the surprise of the day. Such is the anticipation! :D :D

Aval (flattened rice) nanachathu is an old-time favorite akin to black and white movies. That is how long it has been in existence. A very filling snack with the goodness of fresh coconut :D :D It is so easy to prepare and is perfect to be seen with on an evening snack array :D :D

What I used

1. Crispy dried aval: 2 cups
2. Freshly grated coconut: 1 cup
3. Sugar or jaggery: 1/2 cup
4. Cardamom pods: 5 (optional)

How I made it

1. In a bowl, mix all the above ingredients well such that the aval soaks in the moisture of the freshly grated coconut and softens. 
2. Keep the mixture for about half an hour before the war cry is hurled ;D

Too simple isn't it? ;D