Uzhunnu Vada & Thenga chammanthi/ Medhu vada & Coconut Chutney

What is your Favorite Food? This is a question that we ask and are being asked every now and then , or at least when the topic in the hot seat is FOOD...Though i have many favorites among food, i always  answer " Uzhunnu Vada". I dont know whether it's because of the wonderful aroma of deep fried Lentils onion, curry leaves donuts- especially when you happen to pass by a Thattukada, or the heavenly taste of "vada" with "thenga chammanthi", or the memories of my childhood days  enlaced with the very " Uzhunnu vada". Have i told you before my nick name was Uzhunnu vada while growing up? Yeah it was :)..The story goes like this.....

We used to live in a tiny town of Kottayam, where every body knows every body and there are no secrets as such , if at all there was something, it used to be a well known secret.Sounds too Utopian??? Trust me , it was like this...My dad was working for the government in a different town , and he used to go in a bus from the junction. So this junction is like a hub for all the people there, which decorates itself with some shops for  grocery , bakery ,a medical store , a bus stop etc etc and at the center Ayyapan's Thattukada (Thattukada is the street side stall where Ayappan sells Thattu Dosa, parippu vada, uzhunnu vada, porotta and beef curry, appam ....omelete ) ..

When my dad comes home in the evening , he gets me a "Pothi"( a small packet covered with oil paper and newspaper) of "Uzhunnu vada and coconut chutney"from this "Thattukada". This was his daily ritual for many years, or till he was transferred to a far away place."A ritual he carefully does to see his little star's face glowing with a honeyed smile..."Yeah i was kin of like Pavlov's salivating dog...!!!!!but The honeyed smile only at the sight of the pothi, and not my father arriving ..how silly of me...I was not that classically conditioned huh??

By the time my dad reaches home, the "Pothi" would have drunk well with oily Vadas and the inside would be a beautiful mix of  "Choodu vadayum Chammanthiyum"(hot vada with spicy chammanthi), and i will be waiting just for this and a sweet kiss form my dad, before i go to bed. This love affair of mine and my dad's daily ritual earned me a name " uzhunnu vada" in that part of my place. I used to hate( i m not sure whether to call it hate) Ayyappan and his wife Meenkari omanachechy ( the fish vendor) for publicising my name, yet i was never ready to get rid of that affair of mine.i grow over it with time and  Later i used to blush at this name :). When my dad told me recently that somebody asked about me by the name "uzhunnu vada" it brought back a lot of good old emotions.i tried to recreate it by making some vada on a weekend , telling Navi ,the stories all along making it. 

The golden vada and  curry leaf flavored coconut chutney tasted similar to Ayappan's but the feeling never the same...

Recipe for Uzhunnu vada and Thenga chammanthi

Ingredients:-

Urad Dal - 1 cup

Shallots chopped - 5-6 nos

Green chili chopped - 2-3

Ginger finely chopped - a small piece

Curry leaves crushed or chopped

Salt to taste

Oil for deep frying
Baking Soda - 1/4 tsp ( Optional) I dont really recommend using this, but it makes your vada soft.

Method:-

Clean and soak Urad dal for 3-4 hours and drain it

Grind it to a smooth paste without adding water. I used Food processor which gave me the best consistency. if you are using blender you will have to add a little water(if you think its a bit loose add some urad dal powder or rice powder to make it tight, but too much of it can make the vada hard too )

Transfer to a bowl and add chopped shallots, ginger, green chiles and curry leaves(& baking soda if using)
Mix it well and keep refrigerate it for 10-20 minutes. You can keep it in the room temperature, but refrigerating makes it easy to roll the vada.

Heat oil in a Wok. Keep a medium flame and never change it. This helps to give us perfectly cooked Vada. crispy on outside and tasty on inside.

Keep a bowl of cold water near by. Wet your hands and Take a small portion of the dough, and keep it in the palm. Shape it to a ring with a small hole in the center. Slip the vada into the hot oil , repeat the process and fry till golden.Drain on paper towels.Serve with Chutney

Recipe for Coconut Chutney/ Thenga Chammanthi

Grated coconut - 1 cup

Shallots chopped - 3

Dried red chili - 4-5

Curry leaves - lots( 7-8)

Salt to taste

Soak Dried red chili and curry leaves in 1/2 cup water for 10 minutes.

Put all the ingredients in a coffee grinder or in the small jar of mixi ,add little water and grind to a corse paste.

Note:-
--Adding aripodi - rice powder can make the vada less soft, so always try to grind urad dal withvery less water
--Street vendors add baking soda to the batter, to make it more soft. Its better you do not use it.
--Always keep the flame consistently in medium, so that you will get the perfect vada
--To check whether the oil is  hot, drop a tiny portion of batter and if it sizzles with oil bubbling from and around it , the oil is perfectly hot.
-- In both recipes reduce the number of  chiles , if you dont want it to be spicy. but trust me the heat of the chile in the coconut chutney , when combined with vada is awesome.You can always substitute green for red chiles in the chutney.
--I dont usually use the remaining oil , since its not healthy to reheat oil. What i do is , i immediately fry  a big batch of  pappadoms, dry bitter guards, Ivy gourds  and curd chiles and keep it in air tight containers. Never ever drain it in your kitchen sink or it will clog, keep it in a container and throw it your trash.

Cheers

Sarah 

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Unakka chemmeen curry - Dry prawns in coconut sauce

I hope everyone had a pleasant weekend :)...I am back after a weeklong absence with my Favorite and delicious Unakka chemmeen curry..This is a creamy dried shrimp curry cooked in coconut paste , topped with chiles ,cumin and curry leaves and  is  always served on a bed of rice.

Last week during my daily routine call to my mom late at night, she said she is busy making some unakka chemmeen curry for my brother. My tummy giggled with joy at the very mention of this, and i said a nighty-night to her and rushed to make some for me.This is one of my favorite dish (along with dried prawns/unakka chemmeen chammanthi ),which i can have at any time of the day, with some rice; a sort of comfort food for me.[oh i know , i says that to lot of food :)]..Every time i go home during my college days in Cochin, job days in B'lore, my yearly month long vacation from here, she calls me to check what i wanna eat. I have a list that i carefully prepare and this  tops the list :). Though we get dried shrimp here, nothing can beat the taste of the one's  we get back home. So this time my mom carefully fried and packed a bagfull unakka chemmeen for me ,before i left. I already made curry and chammanthi with that 2-3 times and still i have 3/4 of that bag :)..

This dried prawns has a great flavor and very interesting texture compared to other sun dried fish which makes this curry all the more drool worthy.

Recipe for Unakka Chemmeen curry- dry shrimp in coconut sauce

Ingredients:-

Dry Prawns/Shrimp - 1cup

Small Onion chopped - 1/2 cup

Green chili  chopped - 2

Garlic crushed - 2 cloves

Curry leaves

Tomato chopped - 1

Chili powder - 1/2 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Grated coconut - 1 cup

Cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp

Salt to taste

Oil

Mustard seeds

Method:-

Clean the dried prawns and set aside.

Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. 

When they pop up add chopped onion and saute for 6-7 minutes. 

Add crushed garlic, curry leaves and chopped green chiles and toss it for another 2 minutes.

Add chopped tomato, turmeric powder and chili powder and fry it for a minute.

Add the cleaned unakka chemmeen / dry shrimp and a cup of water and cook  for 10-12 minutes or till its is done.

Grind grated coconut, cumin seeds and salt to taste ,to a paste and add this to the pan and bring to boil.

Simmer for 5 minutes and remove .

Serve warm

Note:-

Do not add too much salt as this dried shrimp will already have some.Make sure it is optimum before adding coconut paste.

It is better to fry shrimp for 4-5 minutes in a pan in a low flame without adding oil ,before you cook it.

Substitute raw mango for Tomato , you will have an awesome flavor. Add some muringakka/ drumsticks for a an equally good dish.

Cheers

Sarah 

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Cabbage & Red Pepper Stir fry And a glimpse down the Blueberry hill

Come Autumn, the leaves are starting to yellow, the temperature falling to 60's -70's, the apples are plump and red, and so we went Apple picking. We drove to a farm 20 minutes from where we live  with a beautiful hill view; and as usual i wanna own a house there :).I have this fancy of owning houses in all the beautiful places i visit ..i know its a passing fancy till i see the next place. So coming back to the farm, for the first time i decided to give a part of my heart in admiring the wild flowers and other vegetables there, along with fleshy apples. Though I was tempted to bag some of the flowers , i overcame that desire and simply admired the natures majesty and enjoyed the view down the Blueberry hill. Since this year was a bit awkward with dry spring, wet and dewy trying summer, we got to see some berries, before they are down.We ate a lot of apple, packed  quite a lot too, and bought all fresh cheese, duck eggs, apple sauces, and apple doughnuts. We were on an apple Diet the weekend; An apple a day keeps the doctor away, Apples on  weekend ....??

Recipe for Cabbage & Red Pepper Stir fry

Ingredients:-
Cabbage shredded- 2 cups
Red bell pepper chopped - 1
Small onion chopped - 1/4 cup
Garlic crushed - 2 cloves
Ginger crushed - a small piece
Green chili chopped - 2
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Grated coconut - 1/4 cup
Cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves
Salt to taste
Oil

Method:-

In a bowl combine shredded cabbage,chopped red bell pepper, Grated coocnut, crushed ginger and garlic , green chiles , turmeric powder an salt and mix well with your hands.Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds, when they pop up addcumin seeds, curry leaves and chopped small onion.Saute for 3-4 minutes and add the cabbage-coconut mixture and combine it well. Keep everything to the centre of the pan ad cook it covered on a low flame for 7-8  minutes.Uncover and saute for 4-5minutes and remove from heat.Serve warm

And finally for you all, A view down the Blueberry Hill( of course i named it!!!!!!!)

Cheers

Sarah 

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Breakfast Smoothie

What makes you feel the best in a day ?The morning sunshine glowing through your bedroom window, when you open your eyes ?The morning prayers? The first cuppa home brewed coffee?????. I know i have to add a lot more options here, since my blah, blah blah is about breakfast , lemme stop here

I have heard many people talking about , how they feel energetic after having their morning cuppa coffee or tea. i don't understand what they are talking about since i don't drink any of these :).But i admit my regular visits to B&N and the Starbucks there, is imbibing some coffee spirits in me. I used to skip breakfast always ,though everybody have been lecturing me about the importance of taking breakfast, i used to ignore it all till recently. So i had deficiencies from not taking breakfasts and milk products. So then this smoothie came to my rescue. i used to hate the smell n taste of milk , but this smoothie with flavor of banana and fruits , erases all that :).I jump start my day with this and makes me feel the best . A healthy and nutritious breakfast , this is lip smacking good.

Ingredients:-
Milk - 1 cup ( i used 1 %)
Banana - 1
Any berry - 4-5( i used black berry)
Sugar or honey - 2 spoons
Ice - 2 cubes

In a blender, combine sliced banana, berry of your choice, milk, sugar or honey and ice cubes. Blend until smooth.Serve immediately . Don't keep smoothies for more than 15 minutes, if you are adding banana, since it becomes sour fast..

Note:- You can add any fruits of your choice, some popular ones are mango, strawberry, blueberry,dates,etc...Add 1/2 cup of yogurt if you like for a more thicker, creamy one.

Cheers

Sarah  

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Chicken Pulao

A Colorful and flavorful One pot meal , this yellow chicken Pulao is  our favorite quick fix for a weekday dinner. It's really easy to make and doesn't require all those layering and  baking we do for making Biryani.It makes an excellent substitute for biryani on a busy day.

Ingredients:-

Chicken - 3 bone in thighs cut into small pieces.

Garam masala - 3/4 tsp

Ginger garlic paste - 1 1/2 tsp

Lemon juice - 1 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Crushed pepper - 1/2 tsp

Yogurt - 4 tsp

Basmati rice- 2 cups

Onion  thinly sliced - 1/2 cup + 1/2 cup for frying

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Garam masala - 1/2 tsp

Bay leaves - 2

Cloves -  2

Cardamom - 3

Salt to taste

Mint leaves

Butter/Ghee

Method:-

Wash and soak the basmati rice for 20 minutes and drain.

Marinate the chicken pieces with garam masala , ginger garlic paste, lemon juice, turmeric powder and crushed pepper for 30 minutes.

Heat butter or ghee in a heavy bottomed cooking vessel and fry 1/2 cup onions till golden brown and drain on kitchen towels(if you are using raisins and cashew nuts fry it now and set aside).

Now add bay leaves, cloves and cardamom and fry it for a minute . 

Then add sliced onions and saute till it is soft. 

Add the marinated chicken pieces and fry it 8-10 minutes, till it starts to turn brown.

Add 1/2 tsp turmeric powder,1/2 tsp garam masala, chopped mint leaves and 4tsp yogurt.

Combine it well and add 2 cups rice and fry it again for a minute or two.

Add 4 1/4 cup of warm water and salt to taste , cook it covered on medium flame for 15 minutes or till it is done.Switch off the heat and let it stand covered for 5 minutes. 

Garnish it with fried onions, cashew and raisins.

Fluff it with a fork and serve warm

Cheers

Sarah  

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Mutton Pepper fry

Hi guys!!! Had a  Rocking weekend huh? I truly wish i could freeze the time to all these wonderful weekends :), with truck load of fun , pampering and leg pulling ;). Being the youngest and the dumbest among our circle, i am always the center of attraction, and the victim of all teasing. But i swear i really enjoy all these and thats why i wanna freeze the time and don wanna grow further too.([i am very certain of one thing, i wont grow tall more than what i am now , 5 ft ;) ].

I wasnt cooking anything blog worthy last few days in my kitchen, and thats when i realized about some mails i have been getting with recipe requests. Resmi Pius from UAE has sent me a request for Pepper mutton some time back. I m really sorry Resmi i took this much time to cook this up :). This is the recipe i always follow when my DH craves for some mutton fry . This is very similar to those meat ularthiyathu recipes, which i have posted before, except that  i add more pepper and less chili powder for this. Hope you will enjoy this.

Ingredients:-

To marinate

Mutton - 500 gms

Coriander powder - 1 tsp

Chili powder - 1/2 tsp

Crushed peppercorns - 1/2 tsp

Salt to taste

To make masala

Small onion chopped - 1 cup

Garlic - 4 cloves

Ginger - a small pieces

Green chiles - 2

Crushed peppercorns - 1/2 tsp( use 1 tsp if you want it to be more spicy)

Coriander powder - 1 tsp

Garam masala - 1/2 tsp

Crushed Fennel seeds - 1/2 tsp

Curry leaves

Method

Heat a pan and add all the powders in marinating section and fry it for a minute or two.

Clean and marinate the mutton pieces with roasted  powders and salt and keep it for 1- 2 hours.

Pressure cook with just enough water , if needed , till it is tender( 4-5 whistles usually).

Crush shallots, garlic , ginger and green chiles in a mortar and pestle.

Heat oil in a pan and add curry leaves and crushed mix. 

Saute till the raw smell disappears, for like 7-8 minutes.

Add the cooked meat along with the cooking liquid and simmer for 10 minutes, or till all the liquid is absorbed.Add crushed peppercorns , garam masala, Crushed Fennel seeds  and fry it for another 5-10 minutes, till it is dry and the masala is all absorbed to the meat.

Serve warm with roti or rice.

Cheers

Sarah  

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Curd Rice / Rice with yogurt and spices

Hello..

Hope you all are doing good.. I have been very busy lately with family functions and cousins and friends visiting. Though i made a good deal of dishes in my kitchen , i didnt get much time to capture those in my lenses and not even to regularly blog hop. After all those heavy loaded Veg and Non veg feasts, i made some curd rice, to soothe my tummy and of course my soul :) . This is such a comfort food for me , to fall back on , after all the hustles and bustles, something which makes my stomach giggle with delight. Sharmilee left me a message in my Inji curry post , saying this is a perfect combo with curd rice.usually we eat curd rice as it is , but i decide to give it a try, with the left over Inji curry from my ona sadya and it was awesome.Thanks dear!!

In Picture:- Curd rice and Inji curry

Ingredients:-

Rice - 2 cups

Yogurt - 2 cups

Salt to taste

For seasoning

Ginger crushed - 1 tsp

Green chiles chopped - 2

Dried red chiles - 2

Kaayam/ asafoetida - 1 pinch

Channa dal - 1 tsp

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Cumin seeds - 1 tsp

Urad dal - 1/2 tsp

Curry leaves

Butter/ghee/oil

In Picture:- Curd rice and Inji curry

Method

Cook 2 cups of rice by adding 5 cups of water till it is done.Make it a little gooey.Mash it if you want .

Beat yogurt with salt and combine it with rice and mix well. Set aside.

Heat butter in a pan and add Mustard seeds. 

when they pop up add channa dal, urad dal and cumin seeds  and fry it for a minute .

Add red and green chiles, ginger , curry leaves and fry it for a minute or two. 

Add kaayam/ asafoetida and remove from fire.

Pour this over the rice, mix it well and refrigerate at least 20 minutes before serving.

In Picture:- Curd rice and Inji curry

Cheers

Sarah  

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