Kitchen Corner-Try It

I am so happy and thrilled to receive " The One Lovely Blog Award " from my dear friends in blog world. I feel honored and I  accept their love and appreciation with wholehearted delight. Thanks Santosh , Kurinji , Shobha , Soumya , Love and Priya Sreeram for the One Lovely Blog Award. Thanks Kavitha for sharing with me " The Sunshine Award" and also for the tagged award.There is no need of any special introduction of these talented bloggers. Through their enthusiasm and devotion they have created beautiful spaces where most of us including me are frequent visitors. If you have not yet, do visit and you will be amazed at their collection of unique mouthwatering  recipes. . Thanks Santosh and Love Thanks Kurinji and Priya   Thanks Shobha,and Soumya Thanks Kavitha Kavitha has also tagged me along with seven other bloggers, which also includes eight questions to be answered. Thank you so much dear..will post that soon. With great pleasure I wo

Sweet potato Ishtu ( Kerala Stew) is an ideal side dish for appam, idiyappam and chapathi.Ishtu is a mild and delicious potato preparation in a rich  coconut gravy. I replaced potatoes with sweet potatoes and the result was a delicious and slightly sweet gravy with a beautiful refreshing color. Try this recipe, you will surely love this. Sweet potatoes- 2 medium size Coconut milk thin- 1 cup Coconut milk thick- 3/4 cup Onion- 1 Green chilly-   3-4 Ginger- 1 inch thick Cinnamon- 1 inch thick Cloves- 3 Cardamon- 2 Curry leaves salt to taste oil Peel and cut cooked sweet potatoes into small cubes and onions into thin slices. Heat oil in a pan and add the whole spices and saute for a few seconds and add onions curry leaves and silted green chillies. Saute for a minute till the onions gets sweated and not brown. Add the cooked sweet potatoes salt and the thin coconut milk. Cook the sweet potatoes in medium flame for two to three minutes till it can be mashed up a bit and th

Meen achar is spicy  and delicious fish pickle which is easy to make and can be preserved in refrigerator for more than a month. This recipe is for all those spicy pickle fans like me and this truly is my favorite pickle. You can also use the same recipe to make prawns pickle. This is my mothers treasured recipe. You can use any fish without bones, but king fish is the best for this recipe Ingredients Boneless fish - 1 1/2 lb Ginger- 3-4 inch thick Garlic- 2 whole( 25-30 pods) Green chilly- 10-15 Chilly powder- 3- 4 tsp( adjust as per taste) Turmeric powder-3/4 tsp Mustard powder- 1 1/2 Mustard seeds- 1 tsp Fenu greek powder- 1 tsp Clove- 5-6 Vinegar- 1/2cup Curry leaves Salt to taste Oil Cut fish into small cubes and drain out all excess moister( use paper towel if necessary). Marinate for 10 minutes with turmeric powder, one tsp of chilly powder and salt. Fry this in oil till cooked evenly.Drain and set aside. Using a mixer crush ginger, garlic, c

Ethakka and  vanpayar or red beans together forms a delicious combination for thoran. Thoran is a Kerala style stir fry of veggies with coconut and forms a quick side dish for rice. Ethakka is one of mallu's favorite veggie  and is commonly grown in the backyards of almost every home. There are variety of dishes and this recipe is simple, quick and healthy. Ingredients Raw Plantain- 2 Cooked red beans- 1 cup Coconut - 1/2 cup Turmeric- 1/3 tsp Cumin powder- 1/3tsp Onion- 1 small Green chilly3-4 Garlic -2 pods mustard seeds- 1/3 tsp Dry red chilly-2 Oil Salt to taste Curry leaves Cook red beans and ethakka separately. Soak beans for two hours and then cook adding water a little above the soaked beans. This can be done in advance a day before or you can make this thoran with left over beans Peel and chop ethakka/plantain into small  peices.Cook it by adding 3/4 cup of water, salt, one tsp of oil ( to prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the pan) an

Mutton Stew is a traditional breakfast recipe of Kerala and is a great accompaniment with appam, palappam and idiyappam. It is mutton and potatoes stewed in coconut milk and flavored with whole spices. This light stew may not look very appetizing but its mild flavor and taste is a delight to the palate. I have just used potatoes and mutton, but you can also add in other veggies like carrots. You can also add Vinegar,but it is optional. Ingredients Mutton- 1  lb Potato- 2 small Onion thinly sliced- 2 medium Ginger- 1 inch thick Garlic- 3-4 pods Green chilly- 7-8 Thick coconut milk- 1 cup Thin coconut milk- 2 cup Cinnamon- 1 stick Clove- 4-5 Cardamon-2 Whole pepper- 8-10 Fennel seeds- 1/2 tsp nutmeg- a pinch Mustard seeds- 1/2 tsp Curry leaves salt to taste Ghee- 1 tsp oil In a pan or a pressure cooker heat oil and add in whole garam masala ( Cinnamon, Cardamon, clove, pepper and fennel seeds) Once there is a nice aroma add in thinly sliced onions and s

Apple Crumble is a delicious dessert. It is simple, tasty and easy to put together and is a sure winner. It will never let you down especially if you serve in parties topped with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream or custard sauce. You can also use a wide range of fillings to make crumbles. My son especially loves apple crumbles- a  little tart and a little sweet. Ingredients Apples- 4 Light Brown sugar- 3 tsps Butter- 1 tsp lemon zest- a pinch Cinnamon powder- a pinch Flour- 1 tsp Topping All purpose flour- 1 cup Rolled oats- 3/4 cup Butter- 6 tsp Sugar or light brown sugar- 1/2 cup Cinnamon or nutmeg-1/2 tsp Chopped pecans- 1/2cup Peel and core apple and dice into thin slices.Heat a pan and add in butter and sugar and allow to melt and lightly caramelize. Add in apples and allow it to get well coated and fry for a few minutes. Add in cinnamon and switch off the fire before it becomes marshy Sprinkle the flour and toss the mixture. Spread this mixture on a prepared

Paneer rice is a quick and easy rice especially if you have sudden guests or a potluck party. It is a delicious milky flavored rice with soft melt in mouth cubes of fried paneer and would be loved by both vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike. You can also add in carrots, capsicum, peas or any other veggies to make it extra special and look even more appetizing. Ingredients Rice- 2 cups Water - 4 cup Cloves- 2 Cardamon- 2 Cinnamon-  1 stick Salt to taste Paneer- 250 grams Tomato Puree- 1 cup ( optional) Green peas- 1/2 cup Onion- 1 medium Ginger - garlic paste- 1 1/2 tsp Turmeric powder- 1/3 tsp Green chilly- 4 Garam masala- 1/2 tsp Coriander leaves to garnish Sock rice for half an hour. Bring four cups of water to a boil and add the whole garam masala , salt and rice and cook till it all water is evaporated and the rice is fluffy. Cut paneer into cubes and fry them lightly and keep aside. In the same pan saute onions till golden brown and add ginger- g

Chemmeen Vada is a quick and easy appetizer. It is spicy and delicious. Both my mother and mother-in -law make these patties and I love both versions. It is made  by grinding cooked prawns into a coarse paste  and then shaped into the form  of vada or patties and then fried. Ingredients Prawns - 1 lb Shallots- 5-8 Ginger- 2 inch thick Green chilly- 5-6 Chilly powder- 1/2 tsp Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp Garam Masala- 1/2 tsp Bread slices-2 Egg white-1 Oil- 3-4 tsp salt to taste Clean prawns and rub in turmeric powder and salt and cook  covered in a low flame and get it half cooked. Do not add water as the prawns will get cooked in its own water. ( you can also do the uncooked version. Follow the same method with raw prawns but make thinner patties instead) Now in a mixer add all ingredients,  except oil and make a coarse paste. Soak bread in water for a minute,squeeze off the excess water and mix with the prawns along with egg white. Take small balls and flatt

Chicken Thoran (updated pic) Today's recipe is a traditional naadan recipe, an old-fashioned chicken cooked with a generous amount of coconut. Thoran is Kerala's version of a quick stir fry with coconut and spices. It is heartwarming homey food that you can enjoy during the weekends. Chicken Thoran is a delicious and aromatic side dish for steamed rice, but you can always be creative and use it as fillings for wraps and bread. This dish is simple, and you can make thoran with almost any vegetable, meat, or seafood. I assure you that you are not in for a complicated curry but a simple and easy to make stir fry. The dish is mildly spiced, and the chicken is coated with coconut. Earthy spices make the chicken flavorful, and there is the sweet crunch of freshly grated coconut.  All the flavor of this stir fry comes from coconut, and for a more authentic regional flavor use coconut oil. Chicken thoran is a quite popular dish in the southern part of Kerala, the regions adjo

Dear Friends Happy Diwali ! May this festival of lights bring in loads of happiness and joy to all of you. On this festive happy  occasion I made this popular delicious sweet... Sandesh Ingredients Fresh Paneer or Ricotta Cheese- 2 cup Sugar- 1 1/2 cup Cardamon- 1/2 tsp Ghee- 1 tsp (optional) You can use fresh home made paneer or ricotta cheese for this recipe. I used ricotta cheese. Bring it to room temperature and knead it like a dough till it becomes smooth.  Add in sugar and continue to knead for another minute.Mix in cardamon powder. Heat a non stick pan and add this mixture and cook in a low heat. The sugar will dissolve . Continue to stir for 4-5 minutes till it becomes one mass and starts leaving the sides of the pan.Add a tsp of ghee if you feel that it is sticking to bottom. Do not allow it to change color or cook paneer too much, It should remain a little soft. Let it cool down and then again knead as you did in the beginning. Make small ball and garnish with nu

This is a pachadi that I tried recently with asparagus. Pachadi is a yogurt based side dish. There are popular yogurt based dip sauces for asparagus which is usually made with yogurt, herbs, prepared mustard and sometimes even garlic is added for extra flavor. Does that not sound somewhat similar to the pachadi ingredients. So  just gave this a try and my family really enjoyed. It has a unique flavor and taste which you will surely love. You can either stir fry and add to the prepared gravy or you can boil or steam the asparagus. Ingredients Asparagus - 1 bunch Coconut- 4-5 tsp Yogurt-  1 1/2 cup Cumin- 1/3 tsp Mustard - 1/2 tsp Green chilly- 2 salt to taste Garlic- 1 pod Red chilly- 2 Oil Curry leaves Mustard seeds 1/3 tsp Stir fry chopped asparagus along with green chilly and salt for a minute in medium heat. Make a fine paste of coconut, mustard seeds and cumin and finally add crushed garlic. Mix in the yogurt and add into the cooked vegetable. Put it

Crab/njandu Masala  is a peppery spicy seafood delicacy. Even though a sea food lover I confess that cleaning and breaking the shells of crab is still a tough job for me and definitely I got a little help from hubby dear :). There are many who keep away, but believe me it is one of the yummiest sea food. Try this recipe,you will surely love this. Ingredients Crab- 2 lb Onion- 1 large Shallots- -6-8 Ginger- 2 inch thick Garlic- 8-10 Green chilly-2 Chilly powder- 1 1/3 tsp Pepper powder- 1 tsp Garam Masala - 3/4 tsp Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp Curry leaves Oil Salt to Taste Clean Crab,remove the shells and cut off the legs. Cook crab with turmeric powder, pepper powder, 1/3cup of water and  salt ( be careful with salt ,add only little salt first and adjust according to taste). Crab will also shed its own water. Do not make it dry,just leave a little of the juice Crush onion, shallot, ginger, garlic, green chilly and curry leaves. Heat oil in a pan and fry this mixture t