Kerala Spicy Chicken Fry + Spice Spray - A Review

After a wearisome busy week and a fun filled long weekend with friends , all I wanted was to pleasantly slide into the unconscious influence of habit - read and sleep . Though its just mid-week i am doing an excellent job so far.♥♥, cos of the knowledge that I have a week long vacation ahead :)...

You all know about my love for spices. How can a gal of my "heritage" be otherwise? I always try to use fresh herbs , whole spices and make my own garam masala . I had a kind of aversion and was skeptical about using anything else until I tried this Spice Spray from Italy.

When Peter of Spice Spray asked me whether I would be interested to do a review of the same , I thought that's it !!!!! I need to try and start liking other things to make my cooking easy and more flavorful. I am glad I did and curious of how all can i use these different flavors to spice up my dishes.

Spice Spray is a third generation new fancy way to flavor already cooked or raw dishes. Available in eight different flavors like Basil , Garlic , Truffle , Curry , Chili pepper , Oregano , Lemon and Sea salt , my favorite is Basil and Chili Pepper. As they state their mission is to "revolutionise the way people seasoning their meals and give them new ideas to use natural spices" , and I am convinced they are indeed trying for a revolution with this easy to use product.

The interesting and attractive part about this product is that you can add this before or after you cook the dish. The point is , even you forget to add some spices while cooking , you can always give a splash after cooking and pretend it was all there..Wink..

First i tried making a radish salad which i picked up from my last trip to farm market  and whipped up a simple salad with onions and olive oil dressing and finally  a generous drizzle  of Lemon spray . You could really smell and taste the real lemons in it..Simply delicious...

All four seasons , steaks are always dear to us and and we are on the look out for new and interesting ways to serve it . In summer one of our favorite one is a steak -fruits savory salad with a citrus-sy dressing. This time after marinating it with my usual marinade I gave it a generous splash with  curry and chili pepper flavored spray, and really loved it ♥♥...

I normally stock up Italian Tomato pizza , for a quick dinner on lazy evenings , and I mostly complain,its just plain. Trust me  this spice spray works best on this.

Arrange your favorite toppings , sprinkle some cheese , spritz any one or two of this 8 flavors from Spice Spray and voila´ , flavorful pizza in minutes.

I am totally in love with basil for sometime , and I have it in my patio garden too.But I wasn't satisfied with adding it to fried dishes and found a solution with the spice spray.I used the basil flavor to spice up my Kerala style chicken fry (either use it before frying or after frying) and loved every last bite of it ♥♥.

I couldn't stress more , if you love spices , and looking for an easy way to add flavor to your cooking , this is for you. You can find about the company and more info here.
Thanks Peter and Spice Spray for giving me an opportunity to get acquainted with this product. A real shortcut to spice up your cooking...

Recipe for Kerala Style Spicy Fried Chicken Bites

Ingredients:-

Chicken - 1 lb 

Red chili powder - 1.5 tea spoon

Coriander powder - 1 tea spoon

Turmeric powder - a large pinch

Ginger garlic paste - 1 tea spoon

Garam masala - 1/2 tea spoon

Juice of lemon/lime - 1

Salt to taste

Curry leaves - a handful

Green chili or jalapeno - 1 or 2

Basil  Spray - (optional)

Directions:-

Clean and cut the chicken into bite sized pieces. ( i used skinless boneless thighs).  mix it well with lemon juice and salt to taste.

In a bowl mix , all other ingredients; add chicken , curry leaves and green chili and mix it well with hands. Cover and refrigerate until you are ready to fry. You can keep it refrigerated it for 30 minutes to 24 hours. I normally marinate it 3-4 hours before frying. Just before frying spray it with basil flavored spice spray , if you like 

Heat oil in a deep frying pan and fry it in 3-4 batches for 7-10 minutes or until it is done and brown.

Drain on paper towels. Serve Warm.

See ya' all!!!

Sarah

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Summer Strawberry Flan

A long hike and a visit to the farm market were the highlights of the past weekend and I am still in the hangover awe of the "climb". This is what I love heart about the place we live , 30 minutes east you reach NYC for non stop action and fun , and 30 minutes south you hit countrysides for serenity and peace. Yeah we are right in the middle of action and peace

In the local Farm market here,the bowls and baskets are so full of berries and cherries. How lovely even to look at them!!! I think i am having a berry-cherry lust now ♥.

The regular readers out there , know by now , that we were not "anything sweet" crazy . I have a very few dessert recipes here too. But both of us are getting a twinge of sweet tooth here and there. Perhaps the apple pies from the farm markets or the NYC boutique shop specialities , are doing the trick.

Anyways , I was wondering what to do with the remaining basket of strawberries from last weekend and then came across this recipe in Good Food Magazine ( i think its the current edition).To be honest I don't know why they call it flan though....

It was so easy to make and I am sure the ingredients are those always available in your pantry. A simply yummy berry treat for my berry lust ♥.

Recipe for Summer Berry Flan ( Adapted form Good food magazine)
Serves - 4
Total cooking time - Less than 30 minutes.( 15 minutes baking time + preparation)

Ingredients:-
Strawberry sliced - 14 oz ( or use a mix of all berries)
Large egg - 1
Caster Sugar -  1.5  table spoon  ( don't have it ? then grind the regular white sugar in a coffee grinder)
Skimmed milk - 40 ml ( around 3 table spoon)
Vanilla extract - 1 tea spoon
All purpose flour  flour (sifted) - 3 table spoon
Baking powder - 1/2 tea spoon
Icing sugar - for dusting

Directions:-
Preheat oven to 400 degree F. Place a baking tray in the oven.
Divide and arrange sliced berries among 4 shallow baking dish.
In a medium bowl , combine 1 egg and caster sugar and beat with hand held electric mixer till pale and fluffy, for like 3 minutes.
Immediately add milk , and vanilla extract and beat , followed by all purpose flour and baking powder ; mix everything well.
Spoon this mix over the berries and place the dishes onto the preheated baking tray and bake for 12-15 minutes; until cooked through and golden. Dust with icing sugar and serve immediately .

Good day all

Sarah

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Chemmeen Achar - Kerala Style Prawns Pickle

How are you making use of the sun? Basking sun in your balcony , embracing sun kissed beaches on weekends , long strolls in the park ,  around the town ??? Well to these popular summer activities , i would like to add one within our topic of interest - food. Sun drying lemons , mangoes , other vegetables ,meat ,fish and shrimp for making authentic kerala style pickles, like the ones our grand mothers used to make ...  "Make sun dried pickles while the sun shines"...

Fresh water fish like Cherumeen and Pallathi ( Orange chromide) are usually used to make pickle back in my mom's place in Kuttanad , where it is available abundantly year round. And fried Roe(palinjeel) from cherummen used to be a wonderful snack for us in the evening. 

I still remember during our summer vacations , the maids would be busy cleaning and marinating the giant fish or the small ones like pallathi and leaving it out in the sun to dry for 1-3 days, sometimes we kids were asked to guard it from crows and hens; and Ammachi making pickle , which is very different from my recipe here today. Thats the best , and i m sure i will have to practice it a million times , to get it right. 

In this recipe here , i have used teeny tiny shrimp , like the Konju we get back home , following the basic family recipe for any red colored  pickle. I sun dried it nearly for two days and couldn't resist the urge to make it and eat it. Its always a big hit with beer or any other drinks.

Recipe for Kerala Konju / chemmeen Achar ( dry version with optional sun dried method)

Makes - one big bottle ; Serves :- 2 pickle crazy people : else a big group

Total cooking time - 1 or 2 days to dry and 30 minutes to make.

Bowl 1 ( marinate and sun dry)

Shrimp / Chemmeen - 1/2 kg ( fresh or cooked)

Kashmiri red chili powder - 1 tea spoon

Turmeric powder - a large pinch

Salt to taste

Oil for frying

Bowl 2

(Kashmiri )Red chili powder - 2 tea spoon ( use as per your heat level)

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tea spoon

Vinegar - 2 table spoon

Crushed pepper - 1/4 tea spoon ( optional)

Bowl 3

Mustard seeds - 1 tea spoon

Fenugreek seeds - 1/2 tea spoon or powder - 1/4 tea spoon

Garlic sliced - 8-10 cloves

Ginger sliced - 2 tea spoon 

Green chili sliced - 1 or 2

Curry leaves - 2-3 strings

Hing / kaayam - a large pinch

Vinegar  -  2 table spoon( optional)

Nalenna /Gingelly  oil - 2 or 3 table spoon 

Salt to taste

Directions:-

If using fresh shrimp , clean , devein it and wash it thoroughly. I used frozen cooked salad shrimp , so i just thawed it overnight in the fridge . 

Marinate it with all other ingredients in Bowl 1 , arrange it on a tray or cookie sheet and leave it open in the sun for a day or two. I keep it from 10.00 am to 4.00 pm for nearly 2 days . Every evening  take it inside ,leave it on your counter top , covered or uncovered.

So if you don't wanna wait till then , marinate the shrimp , keep it for some time and the fry it. ( See notes @ the end to see other options)

When your ready to make it , fry the shrimp in oil. You can either deep fry or shallow fry it.But i prefer deep frying for this. Drain on paper towels. Set aside

Grind all the ingredients in Bowl 2 to a fine paste. Sprinkle a table spoon of water if necessary.

Heat some oil from the fried shrimp pan  , or you can use nalenna / sesame oil for this step. 

Add mustard seeds ,when they splutter add fenugreek seeds. ( if using fenugreek powder use at the end of cooking) 

Slide in chopped ginger, garlic,green chiles and curry leaves and fry for 3-4 minutes on medium flame till the raw smell disappears . Add the Bowl 2 - chili paste and mix well. Sprinkle 1/4 cup  water and bring to boil.....

Stir in the fried Prawns and combine well , Saute for 3-4 minutes, till it is heated through ( add fenugreek powder if you are using it now ) Give a salt check . Switch off the flame . Let it cool. 

When it is in room temperature add hing and 2 more table spoon of vinegar (optional) and mix well. 

My mom leave it on the stove top for a day and then transfer it into glass jars. 

Pour 2 or 3 table spoons of Nalenna/ Gingelly oil over it and keep outside for a day or two and then keep refrigerated .

Notes :-

• I use the smallest salad shrimp available and if you are using big shrimp , cut it into small pieces.
• To expedite the process you can bake the marinated shrimp , till it is dry or even it is brown and fried and omit the sun drying and frying part.
• I am not so sure about the life span of this pickle , since it wont even last for a week in my nest
• If you are gonna use it up within 2-3 days , you can substitute lemon juice for vinegar.
• This recipe is a dry version and if you want a bit gravy with it add more water and vinegar.
• Always take pickle with clean spoons.

Have a great weekend guys

Sarah

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Key Lime Shake / Smoothie

"Oh Blogging Muse , invoke me with some charm , to cook , click and post . 

 Bless me with it ,  If you want me to run this again" .....

(With a change in tone)
......Ah I could feel a bit of the spell , you send me 

But mind you , a bit couldn't get me do wonders

Do I really need to ask you this all the time?

Why wouldn't you let it flow freely? .......

Guys I am not crazy... I don't know why, I didn't cook anything last week and was living on take outs, salads and ready to eats!!! Can you believe it, me of all the people , who hates to order take outs , doing that all weekdays last week? But the only positive thing I did was getting myself hooked onto Politics , Philosophy and Psychology with  Rousseau, Kant and Nietzsche... .

But weekends were a different story , had a party at friends place and the gracious hostess packed me  leftovers , and have it even for today.

What is your favorite summer thirst-quencher?? For me, its always different colored lemonades , Sambharam and OJ ( if it is a thirst quencher at all). I was sick and tired of the same things again and again ; after seeing the recipe in Good Housekeeping, tried it and we loved it . It was a cool and creamy drink for the warm weather and we enjoyed it a lot.. 

The sweetness of ice cream and added sugar balances the tartness of the lime juice.

Recipe for Key Lime Shake ( Adapted from Good Housekeeping )

Serves - 2-3

Total cooking time - 5 minutes or less

Ingredients:-

Vanilla Ice cream - 4 scoops

Milk - 1 cup

Frozen limeade concentrate or fresh lime juice - 2-3 table spoon

Grated Lime peel/zest - 1 tea spoon

Sugar - as needed..( add it only if you need extra with ice cream ..I add only a spoon)
Ice cubes - 2-3

Directions:-

In a blender combine everything together and blend until smooth and creamy. Pour into 2-3 glasses and serve immediately. Make it only when you are ready to serve it , or it can turn sour ...

Good Day

Sarah

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Homemade Cumin and Coriander Flavored (Meat) Burger + Pickled Onions

What represents Summer better than grilling a burger? Every "grill party" that I have been to all three summers here, had a signature burger on the menu by host/hostess. So this is kin of my signature burger , which i have developed for some time...

Coriander , cumin flavored burger patties , on toasted bun , with mayo-ketchup base , layered with tomato (no greens please ) pan fried turkey bacon , and topped with pickled onion( a modern name for our good old kerala style challas/sallas)..Wanna Come over for a "grill party"???

Hows your weekends coming along? For us , Friday evening till Saturday midnight is like an elongated day , with a lil patch of night here and there. Less sleep , awesome food,  more fun with friends and family. Last Saturday after the lil party at aunt's place with awesome straight from the grill food , nobody could even move , still we manage to sneak out for a " second show mallu movie", a totally hilarious one...Oh yeah we have a malayalam theatre nearby and never miss any new ones, something I never used to do back in India..

Recipe for Homemade Beef/Chicken Burger patties Flavored with Cumin and Coriander

Serves - 4 ( if 2 for each)

Makes -8-10 patties

Total Time - 30 minutes.+ an hour for preparation.

Ingredients:-

Ground Meat/Minced Meat - 2.5 lb ( Beef , chicken , Turkey or Pork. I used 85-15 Ground Beef)

Minced garlic or garlic powder - 1 tea spoon

Minced Onions or Onion powder - 2 tea spoon

Ground coriander - 1/2 tea spoon

Ground Cumin - 1/2 tea spoon

Ground Black pepper - 1/4 to 1/2 tea spoon or as you like it.

Salt to taste

Oil - a drizzle

For glazing(optional) :- mix lemon juice , soy or red wine vinegar with a lil Steak sauce)

Directions:-

In a large bowl , mix ground meat with all the other ingredients . Divide into 8-10 orange sized balls balls and form patties (wet your hands with a lil water or oil , take an orange sized ball and press it lightly on your palm with the other hand.Shape the sides and arrange it on a tray) Refrigerate till you are ready to grill;at least for an hour. You can make it any size you want. 

Heat the grill to medium , lightly brush it with olive oil or any oil , place the patties on the grill , and cook each side for 10 -12 minutes plus , turning them a few times and lightly brushing  it with the glaze.  

10-12 minutes on each side is  for well done, and since i hate to see any pink inside i cook for this much time and you can adjust the cooking time as you want.

In the last 2 minutes , put a piece of cheese slice on top of the patty and let it melt. Mean while arrange everything to layer the burger.

If you don't have a grill ( I normally use george foreman indoor grill) , do this in a cast iron pan on stove top.

Layering the Burger ( mix and match to make your own)

Mayo + Ketchup - 1 cup ( mix equal qty of mayo and ketchup in a small bowl)

Turkey Bacon - 1 for each burger so total 8-10 (pan fry it for 2-3 minutes)

Sliced Tomato - 1 for each burger

American cheese or any cheese.

A spoon full of pickled onion ( recipe below)

Burger Buns - 4 

Lightly toast the burger buns ( pan or grill). Spread a spoon of mayo - ketchup on the base. Place a piece of sliced tomato , then the burger patties with melted cheese , , then broken turkey bacon pieces and top with pickled onion. Here You go !!! Have a Bite , Njoy!!!

Recipe for Pickled Onion ( challas or sallas we serve back in Kerala with cutlets)

Red onion thinly sliced - 2 

Lemon juice or vinegar - 2 table spoon

Salt to taste

Chopped green chiles - 1

In a small bowl , mix red onions , salt and lemon juice . Squeeze it with your hands as you mix it to release maximum juice to the bowl. Mix well. Add chopped green chiles. keep in the refrigerator and serve chilled.

Good day all,

Sarah

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Ulli Theeyal - Kerala style Shallots in Roasted Coconut Sauce + The Winner

We had an amazing vacation in the land of mountains, lakes and springs the long weekend and how I wish as always , I could freeze the time and live those days over and over again ; else I would have to take these kin of vacations more often. We always stay in down towns where ever we go  to capture all the happenings at night ..days we admired the picturesque place , taking scenic drives , boat cruises , and even Six flags :) (scared the hell out of me ) Evenings we roamed around the village , bar-hopped , ate at authentic Italian restaurants , resembling Sicilian villas and enjoyed till midnights the live music on beach. A totally splendid vacation.

Many Thanks to all those who have participated in the giveaway - autographed copy of Monica Bhide's Modern Spices . N assigned numbers to all those who left comments here in vazhayila and in FB page and randomly picked a number and The Winner is Lubna Karim. Lubna , please send me your address to ship your win.

Ulli Theeyal( theeyal means "burnt dish" ) is the first thing I made after the break , as sort of  welcoming myself back to my normal routine. Honestly I really have to do something good to get my blogging mojo back. Look at my picture , something is not right..sigh!!!

This is the first dish my Mom learnt to make after her wedding , since my paternal grandparents liked it so much. She always says , she had a tough time( 33 years back) grinding the roasted coconut to perfection, in the traditional "Arakallu" and took almost an year to get it right. Lucky us , we don't have to slog that much to get it right :). A simple curry full of flavors , this Ulli Theeyal can make your meal a special one :)

Recipe for Kunjulli / Chuvanna Ulli Theeyal

Serves - 2-3 

Cooking time -30 minutes

Ingredients:-

Shallots/ Kunjulli - 10-15 nos

Oil - 2 table spoons

Tamarind pulp - 1 tea spoon

Turmeric powder - a pinch

Salt to taste

Curry leaves - 2-3

Water - 1 to 1.5  cup

To roast and grind

Grated Coconut - 1/2 cup

Coriander seeds - 1 table spoon or Ground Coriander - 1/2 to 1 tea spoon

Dried red chiles - 2-3 or Red chili powder - 1/2 tea spoon

Tempering

Oil - 2-3 table spoon

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tea spoon

Dried red chiles broken - 2

Curry leaves -  4-5 

Directions:-

Dissolve tamarind pulp in a cup of water and set aside for 5-10 minutes. Peel , clean and cut Shallots into 2 or 3 big pieces. Heat oil and saute shallots for 4-5 minutes.Cook the shallots with the dissolved tamarind and remaining water ,turmeric , salt to taste and curry leaves for 6-8 minutes or until shallots are tender.

Meanwhile,heat a spoon of oil in a pan(optional, you can do this without oil too) , add grated coconut and fry in a medium flame , stirring continuously , till it starts to turn dark brown. Add coriander and chili and continue frying , till the coconut and the spices are dark brown.Switch off the flame.

Grind this to a fine paste , by adding little water in the small jar of mixie or coffee grinder.

Add this paste to the cooked shallots , combine well and simmer for 2-3 minutes.( add more hot water , if you want it to be watery).Let heat through but do not let it boil. Remove from heat and set aside.

Tempering :- Heat oil in a small pan and add mustard seeds.When they pop up add dried red chiles, curry leaves , fry for a minute and remove. Pour over the theeyal and serve warm

Good day All,

Sarah

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