Kozhukkattai

Ingredients:

1. Rice flour – 1 cup

2. Jaggery – 100 gms
Coconut – 3/4 cup
Ghee – 1/2 tsp (optional)
Crushed cardamom – 1-2
3. Water – 1 cup
4. Salt - to taste


HOW TO PREPARE ?

* For the filling:

Dahi Idli

Ingredients

1. Mini Idlis – 18 (refer notes)
2. Yogurt – 2 cups (preferably non sour)
3. Coconut – 2 tbsp
4. Green chilli – 2
5. Ginger – 1/2 -1 tsp, chopped
6. Sugar – 1-2 tsp
7. Onion – 1, finely chopped
8. Kara boondi/sev – 1/4 – 1/2 cup (refer notes)
9. Small/pearl onion – 2 tbsp, sliced
10. Dried red chilli – 1-2
11. Curry leaves
12. Coriander leaves – 2-3 tbsp, chopped
13. Milk – 1/4 cup (optional)
14. Salt
15. Oil

How to Prepare ?

Puttu (Steamed Rice Cake)

PUTTU

Ingredients:

• Rice flour - 2 cups
• Grated coconut - 1 cup
• Water - 1/2 cup
• Salt to taste

Method :

• Add salt and approximately 3 table spoons of grated coconut into the flour and mix well.
• Add water little by little to the rice flour and mix it.
• The flour should be wet enough for steaming, but we have to be careful when you add water to the flour.
• The consistency has got to be right. It should not become too watery.
• Puttu has to be made in a Puttu maker.
• Layer the Puttu maker with some grated coconut first, then the rice mixture and then the grated coconut again. Steam for 2-3 minutes, take out and serve hot.

You can have Puttu with either Kadala Curry  or bananas.

Koottu Curry

In Kootu curry, a miscellaneous variety of vegetables and some Bengal gram are used. The difference between this and 'Aviyal' is that no tamarind is added.

  

Ingredients :  

1. Bengal gram dal - 1/2 cup
2. Pumpkin, snake gourd, Long runner beans, yam, Cucumber - 1/4 kg (all together)
3. Inner flesh of drum stick - 1/2 cup
4. Grated coconut - 1/2 cup
5. Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
6. Green chillies - 3 (split into 2)
7. Salt - to taste
8. Coconut oil - 1/4 cup
9. Mustard - 1tsp
10. White gram dal - 2dsp
11. Dried red chillies - 3 (each sliced into 3)
12. Curry leaves - 2sprigs
13. Ghee- 1dsp
14. Grated coconut - 1/4 cup

Method of Preparation :

• Cook the bengal gram dal with salt and water to a thick gravy.
• Clean and cut the vegetables into small pieces. Par boil the vegetables by steaming.
• Grind 1/2cup grated coconut and mix it with turmeric powder and green chillies.
• Heat oil and season mustard, white gram dal, dried red chillies and curry leaves.
• Add the ground coconut mixture. Saute for sometime, till the water dries.
• Add the cooked vegetables, salt and bengal gram dal. Saute well.
• Heat 1dsp ghee and fry the 1/4 cup grated coconut in it till golden brown.
• Add this to the koottucurry and mix well.

PULIYINCHI

Puliyinchi

• Green chilly (chopped fine) : 1/2 cup
• Ginger (chopped fine) : 1/2 cup
• Mustard seeds : 2 tspn
• Cooking oil : 1 tbsn
• Red chilly : 2
• Curry leaves : 1 sprig
• Tamarind paste : 1 tspn
• Water : 1-2 cups
• Fenugreek seeds : 1 tbsn
• Turmeric dal : ½ tspn
• Salt : As per taste

HOE TO PREPARE ?

1. Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds and when they crackle add red chilly and curry leaves and fry for a while.
2. Add the green chilly and ginger and fry till browned. Now add tamarind paste turmeric powder and salt and bring to boil. Now reduce the heat and cook on low flame.
3. Meanwhile, heat a pan and roast fenugreek seeds till browned and grind to get a fine powder. Add this to curry. Continue cooking on low flame till gravy is thickened. Remove from flame.

Paneer and Peas Pulao

This is different from the regular peas pulao, in that, the peas-paneer combination adds to the richness and presentation of the dish.  It is very simple to make, but lends a royal touch to your spread.

Ingredients :

01. Basmati rice grains – 1 cup
02. Ghee – 2 tbsp
03. Cottage Cheese (paneer), cut into cubes – 250 g
04. Cloves – 4
05. Bay leaf - 2
06. Cardamom – 5
07. Cinnamon – a  1 ½” piece
08. Peas – 2 cups
09. Raisins – 2 tbsp
10. Salt – to taste
11. Sugar – 1 tsp
12. Water – 2 cups

How to Prepare ?

• Wash the Basmati rice grains and soak in water for one hour.
• Heat ghee, and fry the paneer pieces in it till light brown. Keep aside.
• In the remaining ghee, sauté the cloves, bay leaf, cardamom and cinnamon.
• Drain the rice grains well, add it to the pan and fry the grains for two to three minutes.
• Add the peas and the dried raisins and fry for two more minutes.
• To this, add salt, sugar and water and keep to boil on a low flame. When all the water evaporates, it means that the rice has been cooked to perfection.
• Next, add the fried paneer pieces to the cooked rice and blend it in carefully. Allow it to cook for another five minutes.
• The rice must be served hot for best results.

PANEER CURRY

Ingredients :

1. Milk - 1 l
2. Lemon juice - of 1 lemon
3. Cooking oil - 1 tbsp
4. Ginger (chopped) -1 tsp
5. Onions (chopped) - ½ cup
6. Tomatoes (chopped) - ¾ cup
7. Green chillies (split) - 2
8. Red chilly powder - ½ tsp
9. Coriander powder - 1 tsp
10. Turmeric powder  - ¼ tsp
11. Milk cream - ¾ cups
12. Salt - to taste
13. Coriander leaves - a few

How to Prepare ?

• To prepare the paneer boil milk and churn with the lemon juice. Remove from fire and strain through a linen cloth. When the water drains away, place any object over the solid milk portion in the cloth. This is to drain away the remaining water. Now cut the paneer to small pieces.
• Heat oil in a pan and stir sauté the ginger, onions, tomatoes and green chillies.
• Now add the red chilli powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder and mix well.
• Add the cream to the mix.
• Cook for 10 minutes, add the paneer pieces, mix well. Garnish with the coriander leaves and transfer to serving dish.

FRENCH ONION SOUP

The tantalizing aroma of onions with black pepper and the warmth of bread being toasted with cheese is sure to bring your neighbours rushing to see what’s cooking!

Ingredients :

1. Butter/ oil - 5 tbsp 2. Onions (sliced long) - 4 cups 3. Black pepper powder - ¼ tsp 4. Soup cubes Or stock - 5     5. Salt -1 tsp 6. Toasted bread (in pieces of 2" size) - 5 pieces 7. Grated cheese - 2 tbsp

 

How to Prepare ?

 

1. Heat oil and sauté the onions till they turn brown. Add black pepper powder and keep aside.
2. Dissolve the soup cubes in 5 ¾ cups of water and boil. (5 cups of stock may be used instead).
3. Add the onions to the soup, close and cook for half an hour on low flame.
4. Pour out the soup into 5 soup bowls and drop a toast in each.
5. Garnish with grated cheese and serve hot.
6. You could also try pouring the soup over the toast grilled with grated cheese.
Either way, the soup’s a hit!

PARIPPU VADAI

 

 

 

  

Ingredients :

 

• Peas Dal: 4 cups
• Curry Leaves: a few sprigs
• Dried Red Chilly: 3
• Salt: to taste
• Oil: for deep frying
• Shallots: 100 gm
• Green Chillies: 12 (Pls adjust to your tolerance level)
• Ginger: 1 inch

HOW TO PREPARE?

 

• Wash and soak the lentils for about 2 hours.
• Drain well and coarsely grind it without adding water.

Uzhunnu Vada/ Medu Vada/ Urud Dal Vada

Ingredients

1. Urud Dal               : 2 cups
2. Shallots Chopped  : a handful (8-10)
3. Ginger                   : 1 tsp minced
4. Green Chillies        : 2 chopped
5. Pepper                  : 5 crushed
6. Curry leaves          : 1 sprig
   

KERALA SPECIAL IDLI

Idli is a very common South Indian Breakfast and is healthy. It is made from a fermented batter of raw rice and lentils. Idili is usually served with Hot Chutneys (Chammanthi)  and Sambar.

Ingredients

1. Urad Dal (Uzhunnu Parippu or Black Gram) – 1 cup
2. Rice Flour – 3 cups
3. Salt – As required
4. Water – As required
5. Baking Soda – A pinch (Optional)