Thenga Varutharacha Meen ( Mathi ) curry - Canned Sardines in roasted coconut curry

Looking at the gray-sky outside, with a cup of joe, I can see the yellow , the crimson red and brown all over the trees and ground , creating a bed of colors . What a delightful sight , though the sky warns me its the death of the season baby! Why Mr. Sky do you think that will pull me back from njoying this beauty? Not a bit!

What do you love " the most" about this season?

I don't have a " the most" , but lots of things I love and do ...an evening stroll by the lake near my home  witnessing the magical sunset with vibrant colors everywhere ..the sound of crisp leaves under my shoes , as I walk over them in the yet to be raked front yard ..a feeling of breaking away from old , purifying myself and getting ready to embrace the new, and finally the  sound and aroma of bubbling soup pot with a stew/soup for my dinner!

A couple of months ago , I was searching for some inspiration to cook , when I came across this recipe in Vanitha. The fact that its a recipe by Lekshmi nair gave me all the more reason to try it at once. Its a bit different from the Varutharacha meen curry recipe I posted some time back. Tried it , liked it and added to my repertoire ever since. N loves Sardines and I hate to buy fresh as it stinks! The only way to accommodate it to our diet is to buy canned ! 

Recipe for  Thenga varutharacha mathi curry - Canned sardines in roasted coconut curry

Serves - 2-3
Total cooking time - 30-40 minutes
Recipe source ( Lekshmi Nair Recipes - Vanitha Pachakam)

Ingredients:-
Fish - 1/2 kg ( i used two 8 oz can of sardines in water )
Tamarind pulp - 1.5 tea spoon
Tomato quartered - 1
Oil - 1 tablespoon
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tea spoon
Fenugreek seeds - a large pinch
Shallots chopped - 2 or 3
Curry leaves - 2 stems
Optional ingredients:-
Garlic chopped - 3-4 cloves
Ginger chopped - a small piece

To Roast and Grind
Grated coconut - 2 cup
Shallots chopped - 5
Oil - 1.5 tablespoon
Red chili powder - 1 tablespoon
Coriander powder - 1.5 tablespoon
Turmeric powder - 1/4 to 1/2 tea spoon

Method:-

Dissolve tamarind pulp in 1/2 cup of water.

Heat a pan, add grated coconut and fry stirring continuously in a medium flame

When it starts to brown , add oil , shallots and fry for a little more time.

Add chili , coriander and turmeric powders and remove from heat.Don't let it burn

Grind this coconut mix to a very fine paste. Add the tamarind water and mix well

Add 1 or 1.5 more cup water to this mix, and bring to boil in a heavy bottomed cooking pan.

Add curry leaves, Tomato, fish pieces, salt to taste and cook covered for 20 minutes.

( For canned sardines , 10-12 minutes is enough as they are already cooked)

Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds. When they pop add fenugreek seeds and fry for 20 seconds

Add chopped shallots , curry leaves , ( garlic and ginger) and fry till they are brown

Pour this over the curry and let stand for 15 minutes covered, before you serve.

Notes :- 

• You can add dried red chiles and whole coriander instead of powders .
• Shallots are always better in this kind of prep , use red onion if you don't have it.
• Though the original recipe said coconut oil , I didn't have it , so I used Canola oil.
• Garlic and ginger are optional, use it only if you like it!

Other recipes to check:-

• Varutharacha meen/fish curry
• Mathi curry/ kerala style sardine curry
• Varutharacha Beef curry

Good day all,
  Sarah ✍

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Mutta Chikkiyathu - Scrambled (Breakfast) Eggs + Lil Proud moments

I smiled , I felt elated ; I smiled again.
Little or Big,moments of appreciation of my pastime's honest efforts - a line of praise , an email from a reader or accolades from popular websites - makes me smile,makes me jittery for a few seconds and then I am back to my composed self .

That being said, I take pride and joy in letting you all know that this humble space of mine received some accolades recently.

A couple of weeks back , Vazhayila has been voted the Top 70 foodie blog on the web by e-college finder . Its only after , people have started asking me about the new logo in the side bar that I really thought of announcing it.

By then Shelley of Yummly , send me a mail , saying my recipe of Nadan chicken and potato curry is featured in their "Spice up your evenings with delicious curries".

Oh boy , I am a  certified Yummly  blogger now :) . I am so happy that all this came when I was taking my baby steps of freelancing ;).

Back to business , do you think posting such a simple recipe is so silly? Who doesn't know to make this right ? But trust me when I say , it took me weeks of practicing to finally get my first perfect scrambled eggs ;). I wanted the way they make for egg fried rice in restaurants . I just heart it! only after trying several different non stick pans , that it struck me , its the wok that made all the difference. Thus born my perfect - not-so-dry , not-so-moist -small lumps of scrambled eggs.

Recipe for Mutta/Motta Chikkiyathu - Kerala Style Scrambled Eggs

Serves - 2

Total cooking time - 15 minutes

( its just a mix of things that i love , throw in whatever you like)

Ingredients:-

Eggs - 5 large

Salt to taste

Pepper crushed - a large pinch

Oil or ghee - 1- 2 spoons

Mustard seeds - a large pinch

Cumin or fennel seeds - a pinch ( optional)

Onion finely chopped - 1/2 or full of a small one

Ginger chopped/ minced - a small piece

Green chili chopped - 2 small

Curry leaves - 5-6 

Tomato finely chopped - 1 small

Turmeric - a large pinch

Red chili powder - a pinch (optional)

Method:-

Heat oil in a wok or nonstick pan and add mustard seeds .

When it splutter add onion , ginger , green chili and curry leaves.Saute until it is soft,for like 3-5 minutes.

Add tomatoes and stir fry 2-3 minutes.Add turmeric and red chili powder and mix well.

Beat eggs with salt and pepper.

Pour in eggs and gently cook stirring( using edges of a wooden spoon) until it is dry and cooked.

Have a good day all :)

Sarah

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Apples and Pears ; Finding Colors in Manhattan Greenmarkets

This year the autumn isn't really an autumn , with most of the trees with still green leaves resisting to turn yellow and red . 

On our gals day out in Manhattan , me and my friend P , we took a stroll through 47th street's Dag Hammarskjold Green market ,ogling at the yet to arrive fall colors , in the fruits and veggies there. The sky was pregnant with thick clouds and the mood mellow, creating a perfect milieu to enjoy all the  hues of the rainbow there in the market .

We brought home some amazing purple eggplants , made a stir fry exactly the way they demonstrated and it was oh so good! The blood red cayenne , the simply delicious empanadas , and the awesome squash blossoms were all as good as it can get! Here are some colors for you!

Good day

Sarah

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Grandma's Nadan Beef - Potato Curry + Oven and Stove top cooking methods

There is nothing like creating memories with traditional recipes , like the special dishes that mom and grandma makes ; especially when you miss home and your parents the most !

Yeah I miss my mom , my dad and you my dooda!

You know what I do when I wanna recharge my batteries and give an emotional break?  I try to recreate the smell and flavor of Ammachi's and Amma's kitchen ; this time Amamchi's special slow cooked naadan beef curry won the toss. Its been so long since we made beef , cos of the healthy diet regime I was blah blah-ing about in last two posts . So the making of this curry was exciting to my taste buds and emotionally enticing !

What's special about Grandma's Beef curry , you might think! Well , she makes it in the old fashioned "Aduppu" , in a wide mouthed Manchatti - Clay pot , and slow cook it for 1.5 to 2 hours.

The smoke , the uniform heat and the clay pot imparts a unique flavor to the dishes , making it the best est ever and the hardest one to replicate.

Don't forget the fact that this kind of "slow cooked in manchatti" beef curry is widely popular in the ubiquitous Thattukada( street stalls) and Chayakada( Tea shops) , accompanied with hot hot kerala parotta , back in Kerala.

When my mom said she made it last day , it triggered my lust for the best and I badly wanted to dive into the comfort of those succulent meat rich with intense flavors.

Since making this in the traditional Aduppu was simply out of the question in my smoke detector filled house, I tried to imitate it in the best possible way I could. Bake it , just like we make the classic American or Irish Beef stew and use the same cast iron cooking pot to retain the heat...I reduced the qty of spices from grandma's original recipe since i cant handle that much heat now , after 3 plus years of living away from home.

The result ,amazingly delicious "melt-in-the-mouth" beef, bursting with flavors,; with a grin, close to my Kuttanadan grandma's.

A Kerala recipe for Grandma's  Slow cooked Naadan Beef curry
Serves - 4
Total cooking time :- 30 minutes marination + 1.5 to 2 hours cooking time
Ingredients:-

Beef - 1 kg ( I used stew meat)

Bowl 1 :-To marinate Beef

Red chilli powder - 1 to 1.5 tea spoon

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tea spoon

Garam Masala(Homemade) - 1 tea spoon

Lightly crush - 3 cloves of garlic , a small piece of ginger and 1/2 to 1 tea spoon black pepper ,in a mortar and pestle.

Salt to taste

Vinegar - 1 to 1.5 tea spoon

To saute :-( Increase or decrease the spices and powders as per your tolerance)

Oil - 2 -3 table spoons

Fennel seeds - a large pinch

1 cinnamon stick , 3-4 cloves , 1 bay leaf , 2-3 cardamom and a handful of curry leaves

Onion finely chopped - 2 medium or shallots chopped 1 cup

Garlic chopped - 4-5 cloves

Ginger chopped - 2 cm piece

Green chili chopped - 1or 2

Coconut cuts ( thenga kothu) - 1/2 cup

Tomato chopped - 1 small

Red chili powder -  1 tablespoon

Coriander powder - 1.5 to 2 tablespoon or as per your taste level.

Garam masala( Homemade) - 1/2 to 1 tea spoon

Potato - 2 medium peeled and diced

Water - 2-3 cups

Black pepper - 1/2 tea spoon , lightly crushed

(An update :- A friend of mine made this  and made a suggestion to increase the qty of chili and coriander powder . he added 2 tablespoons of red chili powder( marinated with 1 tablespoon and added while sauteeing one tablespoon) and 3 tablespoons of coriander powder in total . so if you are that spice loving person, use these measurements. Thanks P for the tip :) )

Method:-

Clean and cut the beef into 1 inch pieces. Rinse well , till the water runs clear .

Marinate the beef cubes with all the ingredients in Bowl 1 and keep aside for at least 30 minutes. If keeping for more time , refrigerate it.

1) Heat oil in an  cooking pot that can be used in oven also ( for baking) or any heavy cooking pot or     claypot ( for stove top method) or pressure cooker ( a le creuset cast iron enameled pan or martha stewarts' works best for making in oven and stove top)

2 ) Add fennel seeds , whole spices and curry leaves, fry for a minute or two.

3 ) Add chopped onion and saute for 5-7 minutes , add ginger and garlic and saute till brown.

4 ) Slide in coconut cuts and fry for a couple of minutes and add chopped tomato and saute for 2 minutes.

5 ) Add chilli , coriander and garam masala powder ,and the marinated beef ,cubed potato, combine everything well and saute for 3-5 minutes.

6) Add 2 to 3 cups of water( depends on your cooking pot) , bring to boil and let it stand on medium flame for 10 minutes.

Stove top method :- Let it cook covered for 1 hour in a low-medium flame , giving one or two occasional stir.Uncover it check water and add more if needed and add 1/2 tea spoon crushed black pepper.

Cook it again for another 30-45 minutes in low flame, checking in between for salt and water. Remove from heat and let stand covered for 15 minutes before serving!

Pressure cooker method:- Add only a cup of water or less and pressure cook for 3-4 whistles or more depending on your cooker. Uncover it , add pepper , salt and water if needed and cook on low flame for another 20-30 minutes .

Oven method:- Preheat oven to 350 degree F , while you start cooking.

Increase the temperature to 375 degree F .After boiling for 10 minutes in Step 6 , transfer the oven proof cooking pot to the oven and cook covered for 1 hour ..( Don't forget to cover it with the lid).After 1 hour take it out , give a salt check , add 1/2 tea spoon crushed black pepper , add 1 more cup of water if needed and return to the oven and bake for another 30 minutes or until its is soft . Remove from oven and let stand for another 15 minutes before serving.

Notes:- 

• Know the strength of your gas flame , before making this and adjust the cooking time thus!
• Using heavy bottomed cooking vessel is very important for slow cooking , else the water will be  absorbed fast.
• Check for water in between to avoid curry sticking to the bottom!
• I made in a cast iron cooking pot or Dutch oven which can be used both in oven and stove top!
• Add spices as per your taste and the recipe calls for medium spicy beef curry.
• Those who cant handle the heat , substitute chilli powder with kashmiri chilli powder or paprika

Happy Eating !

Sarah

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Broccoli Rabe (Thoran) Stir fry with Garlic and Cumin

This is one of those posts , where I write a sentence and hit delete .....Where should I start ? What should I write about ? 

mmmm that I am sad my house is so silent when friends went back to India after two weeks of traveling shopping and gossiping ?? 

that I am sad , "the greatest innovator of our times" has embraced in his own words" the single best invention of life"? Well now you know what I wanted to shout out !Who knew that man could influence billions and make it a way of living with his cool sleek devices! 

Isn't it last week we fought over Apple and Jobs S,S and N? Isn't last week we laughed over the pompous gal and her i-phone 4 (G) ?

Vazhayila has lots of thoran in its( or his or hers? I wonder?) archives which I have added in the course of last 2 years. As many of you know N loves thoran , and its a regular in most of our meals no matter its Indian or not! I have been trying to eat seasonal fresh produce lately ; comes autumn the farm stand is brimming with lots of green goodness which I haven't even heard of .
I grew curious over this particular green bunch; the vendor said its really good but a bit bitter and asked me to add some lemon juice in whatever I make ; I brought it home , made a stir fry with coconut, flavored with cumin , ginger and garlic and a dash of lemon juice at the end ! Nothing can satisfy me better , than the pure knowledge of the goodness of something that I eat..

A Kerala Stir fry Recipe With Broccoli Rabe (Rapini)
Serves - 4
Preparation time - 10 minutes
Cooking time - 10 minutes
Ingredients:-

Broccoli Rabe - a bunch
Oil - 1 table spoon
Mustard seeds - 1/4 tea spoon
Cumin - a large pinch
Juice of 1/2 to 1 lemon
Curry leaves - 6-7
Salt to taste
Bowl 1
Shallots chopped - 3 or 4 or half of a medium sized onion
Garlic - 2 cloves
Ginger - a small piece ( optional , I add it cos i like the bite of ginger in all my dishes)
Green chili - 2 small
Black peppercorns - 4 -5 (optional)
Bowl 2
Turmeric powder - a pinch
Grated coconut

Method:-
Rinse the broccoli rabe well in hot water and chop it .
Lightly crush all the ingredients in Bowl 1 in a mortar and pestle or coffee grinder.
Add it with the ingredients in Bowl 2 and mix well with your hands. If you want you can pulse it all in a food processor for 2-3 times, without adding water.
Heat oil in a wide mouthed pan , and add mustard seeds. When it splutter add cumin and fry for 30 seconds and curry leaves and chopped broccoli rabe and saute for 4-5 minutes.
Add the coconut mix and saute for another 4-5 minutes or until it is dry. (Do not add water.).
Sprinkle juice of lemon , mix well and remove from heat.
Serve warm.


Good day all!
☁Sarah

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