Kitchen Corner-Try It

Bajji's are favorite tea time snacks and there are different verities of bajji's. Mulakku bajji or long green chilly is very common in tea stalls of South India. If you enjoy the heat of green chilly and sip of hot tea do not forget to try this delicious snack. Ingredients Gram flour- 1  cup Rice flour- 2 tsp Bajji Mulaku/ long green chilly/Banana chilly- 10 Turmeric - 1/3 tsp Chilly powder- 1 tsp Asafoetida- a pinch Tamarind- a small ball salt  oil for frying. Soak and take tamarind pulp and combine with one cup of water and one tsp of salt. ( You can also use lemon juice and salt, but tamarind tastes better). Give lengthwise slit on the long chillies. If you like you can remove the seeds gently without breaking off the stem. Immerse them in the tamarind water for two minutes. Prepare a batter combining all the dry ingredients to form a dosa batter consistency. Dip chillies in the batter ( squeeze out the tamarind water before dipping) and deep fry in ...

Kerala Squid/ Kanava Roast Squid is a popular seafood and almost as versatile as shrimp. They make good curries, fries, roasts, and excellent in soups and salad. In Kerala, the spicy squid roast is a popular seafood delicacy. This pan-fried squid is tender and finger-licking good. Fried squid rings are slow-cooked, in a delicious tomato onion gravy with earthy spices. The spicy tomato masala that coats the squid is delicious. It is a perfect accompaniment with rice. For an exotic eating experience, try pairing this squid roast with neypathal, pathiri, appam, or fresh bread. This version is so simple it takes less than half an hour to prep and cooks the squid roast. You got yourself an incredibly delicious dinner recipe. It is an impressive dish, perfect for entertaining. Squid is a staple in many seafood restaurants. It is also a popular street food in several south Asian countries. Squid is abundant in the coastal belt of South India, especially in Kerala and Tamilnadu. In Kerala, s...

Orappam Are you looking for a healthy snack? A snack that will make you nostalgic? Well, you have come to the right place. The recipe I am sharing today is Orappam, which is a traditional old fashioned snack of Kerala. It is one of the many traditional and forgotten snacks of Kerala. I love the simplicity of these traditional snacks made with locally available ingredients. Orappam is made with rice flour and coconut milk. Rice and coconut is a staple in all traditional Kerala snacks and sweets. The sweetener can be regular sugar or jaggery. It is gently laced with the flavor of cardamom and fennel seeds. I don't even remember that this snack existed. It was my dad's childhood favorite and he has fond memories associated with orappam. My grandmother used to make this on all festive occasions like Onam, Vishu, and Christmas. It was also made for wedding parties and tasted just like halwa, but less sweet. Now trying to recreate a dish of my late grandmother from memories is ...

Chili pepper chicken may sound a bit too spicy. But it is a chicken curry I made using Cubenella peppers - a variety of sweet pepper which is extensively used in Puerto Rico's cuisine.  I really love the combination of peppers with chicken as it gives it a nice flavor. The pepper I used is tender and green, but you can also use the matured ones which is scarlet red or you can also make with bell peppers. This curry had a wonderful flavor and taste with a combination of pepper, coconut, peanuts,and other spices. Ingredients Chicken - 1 lb Onion chopped- 1 cup Chili Pepper chopped- 1 cup Ginger garlic paste - 3 tsp Chilly flakes- 1tsp Pepper powder- 1/2 tsp Turmeric powder- 1/3 tsp Roasted coconut- 1 1/2 tsp Roasted peanut - 2 tsp Coriander powder- 1 tsp Garam masala- 1 1/2 tsp Soya Sauce - 2tsp  Lemon juice- 2 tsp Nutmeg powder- 1/3 tsp Oil Salt to taste Heat oil in a heavy bottom pan and saute onions till  golden brown. Add pepp...

Pineapple upside down cake is one of my favorite cakes which I really enjoy while baking. This cake is wonderful, dense, buttery rich with sweet caramelized pineapple. My favorite part is the last stage of baking and flipping it on to the platter, and scrapping the pan to get every bit of that creamy caramel :) I have brought a bit of change to this all time classic dessert..did not have maraschino cherry, so placed fresh cherry instead and loved the end product, the beautiful color that the cherry gave to my pineapple upside down..will it not be a great idea.. a cherry upside down cake..my next venture for sure. Ingredients Sliced Pineapple 1/2 inch round- 12 pieces Cherries- 1/2 cup Light Brown Sugar- 1 cup Cake flour- 3 cups Unsalted butter- 1/2 cup ( 8 tbs) Baking powder 1 1/2 tsp Baking Soda- 1 tsp Salt-1/3 tsp Granulated sugar 3/4 cup Eggs-2 Separated Butter milk- 3/4 cup Pineapple juice- 4 tsp Vanilla essence - 2 tsp Start by making...

This is a spicy fish fry which my family enjoys every time it is made at home. It goes well with rice and  fish curry. There is no doubt that these trio complement each other so well and is indispensable part of the lunch menu back home in Kerala.The marinade I have used has a unique south Indian blend of spices and you can increase or decrease the amount of spices to suit your taste. What I love in this fish fry is the blend of flavors of coconut oil,curry leaves and shallots. Ingredients Fish- 4-5 medium sized pieces Shallots 2-3 small Ginger- 1 inch thick Garlic- 2 pods Green chilly- 2 Dry Red Chilly-3 Pepper whole- 3/4 tsp Turmeric powder- 1/3 tsp Lemon juice- 1/2 tsp Mint leaves- 5-6 Curry leaves 4-5 Salt to taste- Coconut Oil for frying Place all ingredients except fish and oil into a mixer and blend into a smooth fine paste. Cut and clean fish and marinate with this paste and keep aside for fifteen minutes. Shallow fry in coconut oil. Flip ove...

 Butter coconut cookies are fast and easy to prepare. It is sweet and buttery with wonderful taste and flavor of coconut which you will surely enjoy. It looked rather simple and plain, so I gave it a touch of chocolate..you can use any kind of frosting you like. Ingredients  All purpose flour- 2 cups Coconut flakes- 3/4 cup  Unsalted butter- 3/4 cup( one and one half stick) Baking soda- 1/2 tsp Salt- 1/3 tsp Granulated sugar-  1 cup Egg  - 1 Vanilla essence- 1 tsp Combine and shift flour, baking powder and salt and keep aside. Bring butter to room temperature and in a large mixing bowl  beat butter until creamy and add in sugar and beat with a hand mixer or a stand mixer till soft and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla and continue beating . Finally add flour and coconut and ix till incorporated. It will be in the for of a smooth dough.  Cover it and into the refrigerator for two to three hours . Pre heat oven to 350 degree F and p...

Chicken liver fry is a delicious dish with great aroma and taste. It has very little,thick gravy or to say it is a rather dry roasted form. I have added lots of pepper to give a nice spice kick to the liver fry. You can reduce the amount of chilly powder and add more of pepper powder if you like the peppery flavor.This goes well with rice, parattas and chapati. Ingredients Chicken liver- 1 lb Shallots thinly sliced- 10- 12 Garlic crushed- 4 tsp Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp Chilly powder- 1 tsp Pepper powder- 1 1/2 tsp Garam Masala - 1 tsp salt to taste oil- 2 tsp Coconut oil- 1 tsp/ butter 1/2 tsp curry leaves Cut liver into desired sizes. For cleaning add half tsp of turmeric and salt and gently rub with your fingers (just like you marinate) and after a few seconds wash this out completely by bringing it under running water. Wash the liver three to four time and place it in  a strainer so that all blood and water drains out.( or you can soak in milk and drain out com...

This is a quick and easy to make mushroom rice recipe. It is a tasty rice which can be made with a variety of  vegetables and mushrooms. Here I have used only mushrooms and spring onion and has a mild flavor and is suitable to complement spicy side dishes. Ingredients Basmathi Rice cooked- 2 cups Mushrooms Thinly sliced- 1 1/2 cup Onion- 1  small sized Garlic- 3-4 pods Ginger chopped- 1 tsp Carrot chopped- 1/2 cup Bell pepper- 1/2 cup Lemon juice- 1 tsp Garam masala- 1 tsp Pepper -1/2 tsp Clean and cut mushrooms into thin slices. Heat  one tsp of oil in a pan and add ginger and garlic and saute for a minute followed by onions and stir fry till onion changes color.  Add carrots and bell pepper and stir fry till it is soft and crispy. Stir fry mushroom,and sprinkle pepper powder and salt to taste and saute for three minutes.  Add garam masala, rice and lemon juice and fry for another minute. Serve warm with any spicy side dish of y...

Peralan is another famous Kerala style preparation which is basically a dry chicken preparation. Mutton, beef and also potatoes also can be made following the same recipe. It is relatively easy to execute with little spices and can be made in a jiffy. Give this recipe a try..it goes well with rice and rotis. Ingredients Chicken - 1 Kg Shallots/onions chopped- 1 1/2cup Crushed shallots- 1/2 cup Tomatoes- 2 medium Ginger garlic paste- 1 +1 Green chilly- 2 Chilly powder 1 tsp Turmeric powder-1/2 Pepper powder-1 tsp Gram Masala- 2 tsp Coconut milk thick- 4 tsp oil- 2 tsp salt to taste curry leaves Cut and clean chicken and marinate it with half of chilly powder, pepper powder, turmeric powder, two tsp of garam masala, salt, one tsp of ginger garlic paste and keep aside for half an hour.  Cook this chicken with one cup of water in a closed pot or in pressure cooker( use only 1/2 cup water) till it is tender and till all the water has evaporated. Chop or ...

This is a chocolate cake I made recently. This is a double layered cake, one a chocolate layer and second a layer of vanilla cake and in between a delicious creamy frosting. I wanted to make it a bit extra special and Betty Crocker chocolate frosting came to my aid :). Actually I am in the learning stage of baking and cake decorating, so did not take up the risk of making my own chocolate cream frosting. Ingredients Chocolate cake layer All Purpose flour- 1 1/2 cup Egg- 2 Sugar- 1 cup Coco powder-6 tsp Baking powder- 1 1/2 tsp Baking Soda 1 tsp Salt- 1/2tsp Vanilla essence- 1 tsp Buttermilk- 3/4 cup Butter- 4 tsp Vegetable oil- 2 tsp Hot coffee-1/2 cup Preheat oven to 350 F. Set rack in he middle of the oven Grease pan with butter and layer with parchment paper and again grease with butter and dust with flour and set aside.  Shift all the dry ingredients together and keep aside. In another bowl beat butter and oil with a medium speed mixer until ...