Semiya upma (vermicilli upma)

"God! I hope there is something to eat" is how I wake some days knowing fully well the fridge racks are empty and it is too early to have takeaways delivered

It is at times like this that the good old semiya (vermilli) can save a morning or evening or whatever time you need to have a bout of energy

The best part of vermicilli is it cooks fast and keeps you feeling light. Because it is upma, I believe you can add anything to it. Like I say, modify the ingredients to suit your taste :D :D Standard protocols are boring unless of course you crave boredom ;-)

What I used

1. Vegetable oil: 1/2 cup
2. Mustard seeds: 1 teaspoon
3. Diced onion, carrots, potatoes: 1 cup each
4. Chopped green chilli: 2
5. Salt: to taste
6. Curry leaves: 1 sprig
   This is optional. You don't have to use it if you don't like it, I just find the aroma of curry leaves in Indian cooking refreshing
7. Roasted semiya (vermicilli): 1.5 cups
8. Water/chicken/ vegetable stock: enough to cook the semiya fully, usually about twice the amount of the semiya used

How I made it

1. In a wok, heat the oil and splutter the mustard seeds
2. To this add all the vegetables, chillies, salt and curry leaves till they are half cooked
3. Add the water/stock and bring to a boil. The vegetables would be almost done by the time the liquid comes to a boil. Make sure they don't overcook and become squishy unless you are making this for babies :D :D (I know..  poor babies)
4. To this add the vermicilli, ensuring it is fully immersed in the water/stock
5. When vermicilli cooks, it's size increases. When this starts, stir the contents on medium flame to ensure complete mixing and let it cook for a few minutes. When most of the liquid has been absorbed, turn off the fire and keep the wok covered for about 15 minutes. By that time, all the liquid would have been absorbed and what you get is a hot semiya upma!!
   Mix everything once again to prevent them from sticking to each other and then grab a fork! ;-)

This is a very simple recipe and takes less than 30 minutes to prepare if you can chop fast ;-) Ya .. that is the disclaimer for upma making ;D ;D

The above upma is very light and if you would like to make it more filling, you can add freshly grated coconut while sauting the vegetables along with 1/4 teaspoon of turmeric powder for color. Now a few spoonful of that and you will be ready to hibernate :D :D 

Crispy dried fish fry

Sometimes to complete a meal, you need something crispy and crunchy to go alongside

It was during the search for something like that one day that I was honestly thankful to God for preservation techniques. There, in a glass jar in an undisturbed corner of the shelf, was the crispy sun- dried fish waiting to be noticed. I believe it yearned to get my attention coz that's when my scanning gaze halted on it and hitherto! the muse met the artist! And an art ensued :D :D (at least that's what I'd like to believe ;D)

What I used

1. Cleaned and sun dried fish: a handful (~15 neythilis or any dried fish) 
2. Chilli powder: 2 teaspoons
3. Pepper powder: 1/2 teaspoon
4. Corriander powder: 1/2 teaspoon
5. Salt: a pinch
6. Water: enough to make a paste
7. Oil: enough for deep frying (~ 1 cup)

How I made it

1. In a small bowl, mix all the spices with water and make a moderately thick paste
2. Add the dried fish and ensure each piece is well coated with the spice mix and keep aside for half an hour
3. Heat oil in a frying pan on medium flame and when it is really hot, deep fry the marinated fish
   
   PS: since the fish is already well dried, it won't take long to fry. A few minutes in the oil and voila! It's time to munch on the fish chips :D

This is a quick go-to dish in case there is limited option in the kitchen and especially when you want something crunchy with the meal. It is ideal with rice, curd, pickle and any thoran :D :D

Kovakka mezhukkupuratti (Ivy gourd stirred fry)

Gone are the days when my grandmother's backyard garden was our vegetable reserve

I remember as a child one day, when I said I was hungry, Ammachi said she will make me something special with kovakka and like most grandmothers of yesteryears, made a dash to the backyard only to come up with a handful of kovakka and within minutes she was feeding me rice and kovakka mezhukkupuratti

Not only did her dishes bear the ethnic taste, but she made it special for me saying she has made it only for me and no one else.. hehe ;D I still feel the pride of having felt special while I gulped the little balls of rice and curry she used to playfully put into my mouth. Oh yes! Any meal time was story time too :D :D

A couple of days back when I bought a parceled meals from Square One Talent, one of the side dishes was kovakka mezhukkupuratti. In the haste borne out of the afternoon hunger, the kothi for the Kerala meals, and the authentic taste of the dishes, though I was gobbling up till the plate was cleared of the last bit and piece of that lunch, I had already decided to shop for some kovakka :D :D... and yes of course... you guessed right!... That's what I made ;D ;D

What I used

1. Vegetable oil: 2-3 tablespoons
2. Diced onion medium-sized: 1
3. Salt: to taste
4. Turmeric powder: a pinch just for color or 1/8th teaspoon
5. Chilli powder: 1/4 teaspoon 
6. Washed kovakka cut longitudinally into 1-inch halves: 500 grams
7. Curry leaves (optional): few leaves will do
8. Water: 1/4 cup

How I made it

1. In a frying pan, heat the oil on medium flame and when the oil is hot, add the onion with some salt and saute well till it becomes a shiny pale pink
2. Add the turmeric and chilli powders and saute till the raw smell of the spices is gone. This should take about a minute or so. If you like it spicy, the amount of chilli powder can be increased
3. To this add the kovakka and curry leaves and mix well ensuring everything in the pan is coated with oil
4. Keep the pan covered and cook on low-medium flame with occasional stirring for about 20-30 minutes till the veggie is fully cooked. Can add water if needed and keep the pan covered so the steam will also enhance the cooking process, but then ensure the contents are on fire till all the water has evaporated 
5. Like always, once the fire is turned out, keep the pan covered for sometime so all the magic can take place inside to transform the ingredients into a delicacy :D :D

This made me a hearty meal on an afternoon as I relished the kovakka mezhukkupuratti served with hot brown rice made into small little urulas (balls), reminiscing those cute long-ago days :D :D

Padavalanga chemmeen thoran (snakegourd with dried prawns thoran)

What do you do when you crave for kovakka chemmeen mezhukkupuratti and you only have padavalanga (snakegourd) and chemmeen (prawns)?

;D Yes... You make a padavalanaga chemmeen mezhukkupuratti!!!

But then the fresh coconut smiled at me and that's how the padavalanaga chemmeen thoran came about :D :D

What I used

1. Oil: 3 tablespoons
2. Diced onion  medium size: 1
3. Salt: to taste
4. Turmeric powder: 1/8 teaspoon
5. Sliced green chillies: 2
6. Washed and cut snakegourd: 650 grams
7. Dried prawns: 3/4 cup 
8. Freshly grated coconut: 1/2 cup
9. Curry leaves: 1 sprig

How I made it

1. Heat the oil in a frying pan on medium flame and when the oil is hot, add the onions with some salt and saute well
2. Add the turmeric powder and after about 2 minutes, in goes the green chillies
3. This is closely followed by the snakegourd pieces and the dried prawns. Mix well ensuring the contents are fully coated with oil
4. Before adding the prawns, check the salt and add more if necessary 
5. Add the grated coconut and curry leaves and mix everything well
6. Cook on medium flame with the pan covered for about 30 min, stirring the contents in between
7. At any point if there is not enough  moisture to cook the veggies, sprinkle some water and again cover the pan
8. Let the curry rest after the flame is put out

This is just so easy to make and the combo of vegetables and prawns with the freshness of coconut makes anything that you have with it mouth watering

Attention Vegetarians!

You guys can enjoy the freshness of this dish too. Just minus the prawns and it will be a refreshing padavalanga thoran :D :D

Hope you all enjoy it as much as I do :D :D

Brown payar thoran

There are some dishes which can make you feel at home even when you are elsewhere. Maybe that's why even classy restaurants with a fancy "Indian cuisine" cannot mimic that familiar tingling of a real craving. 

For me that familiarity is felt whenever I come across the brown payar thoran. I have made it so many times in so many ways and it has always left me feeling sumptuously full :D :D

I only know too well that long recipes can be boring, so unless I am in a sunshine mood to try the mix of taste and color, I prefer the easy road to taste :D :D... Besides, what is the need to toil hard for something that you can get plain easy ;-)

What I used

1. Oil: 3 tablespoons
2. Crushed garlic: 4-5
3. Diced onion medium size: 1
4. Salt: to taste
5. Chopped green chillies: 2
6. Turmeric powder: 1/4 teaspoon
7. Brown payar pre-cooked with salt: ~2 cups
8. Grated coconut: 1/2 cup
9. Curry leaves: 1 sprig

PS: For the pre-cooked payar, how much you want to cook the payar is up to you. Since on this particular day, I wanted it really soft, I kept it to pressure cook a little longer than was necessary. But if you like the brown skin intact, you can adjust the timing accordingly

How I made it

1. In a pan, heat the oil on medium flame and fry the garlic till you literally "hear" the smell of garlic
2. To this, add the onion with some salt and saute till onion changes color to a lovely pale pink almost transparent
3. Put in the green chillies and turmeric powder and continue mixing till the raw smell of turmeric is gone
4. To this add the pre-cooked brown payar and mix everything well. Check the salt and add if more is needed
5. Once the contents are fully mixed and salt is enough, add the grated coconut and curry leaves and mix well
6. Cook on medium flame with the pan covered for about 15 minutes with occasional stirring
7. Switch off the flame and let the contents sit for a while before you attack it ;-)

Now I felt this is simple and tasty,especially with the garlic... but if you feel this is still too much, here is a simpler one with way less ingredients :D :D.. and yes!! I have tried it too  ;-)

• Heat the oil on medium fame and saute the onions with some salt. Once onions are done, add the green chillies and pre-cooked payar together and cook for about 10 min and you are done!

Now if you wanted an even simpler one, I would suggest to just cook the payar with some salt and eat it, though I don't think you can call it thoran.. Still who cares as long as you are cool with it what you intake :D :D

This payar thoran is my my favorite and it's just wow when you have it with brown rice, pulisserry and beef ularthiyathu or a crispy fish fry!

This is something everyone must have at least once in their lifetime. It's sooooo worth it!! :D :D

Potato stirred fry

There are some days when one just gotta make do with what one has. 

It was one of my poor-cum-lazy-girl days when I decided to just make something or just about anything to pacify a loud hunger. It was then that the good old hostel days reminded me of this simple humble dish and lo! it was all said and done in about 40 minutes ;D

What I used

1.       Oil: ~3 tablespoons

2.       Mustard seeds:  ½ teaspoon

3.       Cumin seeds (optional): ½  teaspoon

4.       Dry red chillies: 2

5.       Dry chilli flakes: 1 teaspoon

6.       Curry leaves: 1 sprig

7.       Thoroughly cleaned diced potato (medium size): 2

8.       Salt: as needed

How I made it

1.       In a flat bottomed frying pan on medium flame, heat the oil and splutter the mustard seeds

2.       Then add the chillies and cumin seeds and fry for about 30 seconds till the aroma of cumin is released and to this, add the curry leaves

3.       Immediately add the diced potatoes with the required amount of salt and stir well ensuring the contents are completely coated with oil
PS: I used the potatoes with the skin on as it is known to reduce the bloating effect potatoes are known to cause. Skinned potatoes are also fine for stir frying.
Instead of using raw potatoes, boiled and diced potatoes can also be used. In this case, the fries will be moist and not crispy

4.       Cover the pan and cook on medium flame for about 20 minutes with occasional stirring of contents until the potatoes are soft and cooked. After 20 minutes, keep the lid on and leave it alone for a while before serving.
If really crispy potatoes are desired, reduce the fire to low flame and cook for another 20 minutes till the potatoes brown

This dry dish goes well with chappathi, poori, rice and also serves as a sandwich filling

Multi-colored scrambled eggs

Considering the numerous times the good old "eggs" have come to my rescue as sumptuously tummy filling, it is a must-have ingredient awaiting patiently on my fridge racks

The number of forms in which they come into use is, well, many... From being part of a healthy breakfast to spicy lunch and then a light dinner, eggs are a joy to be experienced

It was on one such day when I had lots of veggies in my fridge, that I decided to make something easy and filling, making use of the greens and reds available. For some reason I love colors on my plate, especially green

Thus, came the platter of scrambled eggs on my dining table that day :D :D

The best part of this dish, like most dishes, is that one can custom-make it to suits one's taste buds :D 

What I used

1. Oil: ~3 tablespoons
2. Mustard seeds: 1/2 teaspoon
3. Coarsely diced onion: 1 large
4. Salt: to taste
5. Diced ripe tomatoes: 2
6. Curry leaves: 1 sprig
7. Green chilli: 2
8. Pepper powder: 1/2 teaspoon
9. Eggs: 2
10. Chopped corriander leaves: a handful (No need to add this if you don't like the taste of corriander leaves. I use it coz I find it refreshing)

How I made it

1. Heat a flat-bottomed pan with the oil and splutter the mustard seeds
2. Turn the fire to low-medium and saute the onions, adding a bit of salt
3. Once the onion loses its raw feel and has become slightly less pink, add the tomatoes, curry leaves, and green chillies, and cook till the tomatoes become mushy
4. Rest of the salt and pepper powder can be added while the tomatoes are changing texture
5. Break open the eggs and add to the mixture and start stirring till the eggs are fully cooked
6. About 2 min before turning off the fire, add the corriander leaves and mix well

PS: Varying textures of scrambled eggs can be made. It all depends on the time the eggs spend on stove and the amount of stirring

• For mushy eggs, stirr the content on medium flame till the eggs turn whitish and turn off the fire while the content is still semi-solid
• For chunky scrambles, occasional stirring on medium is enough
• For very fine scrambles, keep stirring on low flame till the whole mixture turns into fine granules

This a dry dish that blends well with roti, chapathi, bread, etc.

It also makes a suitable filling in a sandwich :D :D