Kitchen Corner-Try It

Chakka Pazham Pori- Chakka Appam/ Ripe Jack Fruit Fritters Today's recipe is a snack made with ripe jack fruit. It is a deep-fried jack fruit fritters gently laced with the flavor of cardamom. This snack is very similar to the ever-popular street food of Kerala - Pazham pori , made with ripe plantain. I make pazham pori all the time, yet this one with chakka or jack fruit is so unique in taste. It is extremely flavorful and absolutely delicious-a die for! There is a beauty in the simplicity of traditional tea-time snacks. We often refer to them as  naadan palaharam . Some recipes make you nostalgic and we keep coming back to it time and again. It brings back memories of some distant times. I don't even remember this existed until my mom reminded me of chakka pazham pori. I am so happy I tried this again and along with it came a flood of childhood memories :) This is a sure winner if you have sudden guests at home. The flavor of ripe jack fruit dipped in sweet c...

Quick and Easy Banana Semolina Fritters Banana semolina fritters are perfect tea time snack and you cannot stop munching. Do you often look for snack ideas? I often like to try new snack recipes. If you are looking for delightful sweet bites to satisfy your sweet cravings, you have come to the right place. These fitters are not overly sweet, but just enough sweetness to indulge with hot piping tea. Bananas are naturally sweet, and the small variety I have used here is sweeter and flavorful. These golden brown crispy delicious fitters have a taste all to its own and are quite addictive. Banana fritters are a staple at home. I make them all the time, especially when I have overripe bananas sitting on the counter. A fritter is an easy option and I have made them in so many different ways. If it is plantains it is always pazham pori , Pazham nirachathu or unnakaya . With regular bananas I make Thai fried bananas , sarkara appam , unniappam or unnimathuram . These semolina bana...

Unni Madhuram/ Sweet Banana Balls Unni madhuram is a sweet snack made with left over bread and ripe plantains. There are several recipes for deep fried banana balls and my personal favorite is undan pori, a popular tea stall snack.I am  loving unni mathuram because of its simplicity and taste .Both these snack are crispy and sweet and made with bananas. Unni mathuram is a Malabar snack. It is extra crunchy in the outside with a sweet spongy center.It is a quick fix snack and kids will love this tea time snack. Ingredients Ripe plantains-2 Banana/cheru pazham-2 (optional) Bread sliced- 6 Cardamom powder-  1/2 tsp Sugar- 3-4 tbs Salt- a pinch Cashew nuts -5-6 Ghee- 1 tsp Oil for frying Use dry left over bread for this recipe. You can sun dry it or lightly toast it in the oven. Cut bread into bits and add to a food processor. Pulse a few times. You will get course crumbs. Reserve two to three tbs of bread crumbs and use the rest for the recipe. Ch...

Vietnamese Fish Cakes Today's recipe is a delicious appetizer with fish- Vietnamese fish cakes/Cha' Ca. It is a street food and is deep fried to golden brown. It is served with crushed peanuts and fish sauce dip. Recipe source: Nhut Huynh, Little Vietnam ,Turtle Publishing,2009 Ingredients Boneless skinless fish- 1 lb Egg -1 Sugar- 1 tsp Fish sauce- 1 tbs Turmeric- 1/8 tsp Garlic clove-2 Crushed dry red chilly-1/3 tsp Pepper powder-1/3 tsp Basil leaves chopped-3-4 tsp Spring onions chopped- a hand full Oil for frying Cut fish into pieces and marinate with sugar, fish sauce, chopped garlic,pepper powder, egg. Chill in refrigerator for an hour. After an hour pulse this in food processor to form a course mixture. Add chopped basil, chopped spring onion and crushed dry red chilly and mix. Grease your hands with oil. Make small lemon sized balls and then lightly and flatten on your palm. Heat oil in a pan and deep fry/shallow fry the fish cakes till ...

Prawns pakora can be served as a quick appetizer or as a spicy side dish with rice. If you are a prawns lover you should  give this recipe a try. It is made with minced prawns and spices and deep fried. This brings out more flavor of prawns and spices and is a mouthwatering appetizer.You can make another version of prawns pakoras by dipping in batter and deep frying it. Ingredients Prawns- 1 lb Shallots- 3-4 Ginger- garlic paste-1 1/2 tsp Green chilly-2 Curry leaves- a few Chilly powder- 1/3 tsp Coriander powder- 1/3 tsp Turmeric powder- 1/3 tsp Cumin powder-a small pinch Pepper powder-a dash Amchur powder- 1 pinch Chick pea flour/besan powder- 1 tbs Rice flour- 1 tsp Salt to taste Oil for frying Clean and wash prawns well. Pat dry and mince using a food processor. Finely chop onions,green chilly and curry leaves and add to the minced prawns. Mix ginger garlic powder and all the rest of the ingredients except oil and mix well. Heat oil in a pan, drop spoo...