Kitchen Corner-Try It

Chakka Pradhaman/Jack fruit Payasam Chakka Pradhaman is a tasty dessert with ripe jack fruit.Chakka pradhaman can be made fresh jack fruit when they are in season. But it can be enjoyed all year round by using chakka varatti or jack fruit preserve. Pradhaman is part of Kerala Sadhya menu. Give this recipe a try,you will surely love it. Ingredients Chakka Varatti - 1 1/2 cup Thick coconut milk- 1 cup Thin coconut milk- 2 cup Jaggery - powdered - 1/2 cup ( according to sweetness you like) Ghee- 2 tsp Dry ginger powder- 1/8 tsp Cardamon crushed- 4-5 Raisins and cashew nuts- a few Sliced coconut-  a few Add one cup of water to jaggery and bring it to a boil. Strain the impurities and pour the warm syrup over the chakka varatti/jack fruit preserve. The chakka varatti will be thick, allow it to sit for half an hour. In a heavy bottom pan add thin coconut milk and chakka varatti jaggery mix and simmer for 6-7 minutes in medium. When the consistency thicke...

Inji Thayir Inji Thayir is a healthy side dish that can be served with rice or as a dipping sauce. It is spiced yogurt flavored with ginger. This can be serve with sadhya meal.Sadhya requires elaborate cooking and sometimes quick fix recipes like these are real time savers.  Try this, you will surely love it. Ingredients Ginger-1 inch thick Yogurt- 11/2 cup Green chilly- 2 Grated coconut- 1 tbs curry  leaves- 2-3 Salt to taste Using mortar and pastel make a course mixture of coconut, ginger, green chilly and curry leaves. Mix this with yogurt and salt and serve. You can also do a tempering with 1 tsp oil, mustard seeds and curry leaves. Pour this over the inji thayir. Note: the one with tempering is served in different regions along with sadhya and is called also inji kichadi Try this Hop you will all enjoy!

This months baking partners challenge recipe is Brioche. It is a rich and unique French bread. It is a kind of tender pastry bread with eggs and butter. It is often used as a base for many desserts too.This bread is flavored with orange blossom water. This recipe suggested by Swathi is adapted from Dominique Ansel's book  The Secret Recipes . I have never tried baking the Brioche bread and was little intimidated in the beginning. I am glad I tried this recipe. Thanks Swathi. Ingredients Bread flour- 2 cups Salt- 1/2 tsp Sugar- 1/4 cup Yeast- 2 1/4 tsp Eggs-4 Whole milk- 1 tbs Unsalted cold butter- 8-10 tbs Orange blossom water- 1 tsp Orange extract- a few drops Flour for dusting  In a bowl combine, bread flour, salt, sugar,yeast and eggs and mix well. Mix until everything is combined and knead for 10 minutes in low speed so that it forms gluten. The dough at this stage will leave the sides of the bowl and when pulling gently will stre...

Crispy fried Anchovies/Netholi/ Podimeen Varuthathu Crispy fried Anchovies is super yummy and invokes childhood memories. Do you like fish as a snack? well I love crispy fried anchovies as a snack. My grandmother and mother used to make them when we were kids and gave it in small plates for snacking.  This is a quick and easy fish fry with Veloori or white sardine. It is crispy and tasty fry. This recipe is from my mother in law. You can also use Anchovies for this recipe Ingredients Anchovies or vellori- 1/2 lb Kashmiri chilly powder- 1 tsp Pepper powder- 1/3 tsp Turmeric powder- 1/3 tsp Fenugreek powder- a pinch lemon juice- 1/2 tsp Chick peas flour or rice flour-1 tbs Egg white- 1 (optional) Curry leaves - a few Thinly sliced onion- 1/2 cup salt and oil for frying Veloori Fish fry (this one my mother-in -law made and I clicked the pic ) Clean fish and marinate with all ingredients listed above except oil. Set aside for five minutes. You can...

Sweet and Sour Meatballs Delicious and tempting Asian style sweet and sour meat balls can be served as a appetizer or over steamed rice.This is my take to the classic Chinese dish. Try this recipe, you will surely love it. Ingredients For the meat ball Ground meat- 1 pound (I used ground turkey) Pepper and salt to taste Panko bread crumbs- 1/2 cup Egg- 1 Ginger paste- 1tsp Chopped cilantro- 2 tsp For the sauce Onion cubed- 1/2 cup Bell pepper- chopped- 1 medium Chopped garlic- 3 pods Soya sauce- 2 tbs Dark soya sauce- 1/2 tsp Sweet chilly and garlic sauce- 2 tsp Rice vinegar- 1 tsp Black Strap molasses- 1 tbs (or one tbs brown sugar)  Tomato paste- 3 tbs Pepper powder- 1/2 tsp Honey -2 tbs Chicken stock- 1/3 cup (or pineapple juice) Corn starch- 1 tsp Oil to fry In a bowl mix together the ground meat,egg , bread crumbs, salt and pepper, chopped cilantro and ginger paste. Mix all this together and  shape into small balls. Heat 1 1/2 c...

Papaya/ Kappalanga Thoran Thoran is Kerala's version of a quick vegetable stir fry with coconut and spices. The heat is from green chilly, and the bright appealing color of thoran is from turmeric powder. Thoran is usually made with any vegetable, and today's vegetable is raw papaya/ papaya/ kappalanga. Papaya is a delicious tropical fruit and has good health benefits. The green raw papaya has equal health benefits as the ripe ones.    If you have tasted dishes with raw unripe papaya, you might have noticed it has a mild taste and is crisp and crunchy. It is widely used in Asian cuisine to make salads, curries, and pickles. The raw papaya has a slight bitterness to it, and the addition of coconut brings a delicious balance in taste and flavor. And to make a thoran, use a generous amount of coconut. Papaya thoran is a delicious and healthy vegan/vegetarian dish . It is heartwarming homey food that you can enjoy with steamed rice.    To make the thoran, papa...

Fried Fish Curry/ Pomfret Fish Curry Easy and yummy fried fish curry which goes well with steamed rice. This recipe is with pomfret, but you can use the fish of your choice.Try this,you will surely love it. Ingredients Pomfret- 2 lb Turmeric powder- 1/3 tsp Pepper powder- 1/3 tsp Chilly powder- 1/2 tsp Salt to taste Tamarind pulp- 1 tsp For the gravy Shallots sliced- 1 1/2 cup Tomato- 3 medium Ginger - 2 inch thick piece Grated coconut- 1 cup Coriander powder- 1 tsp Chilly powder- 1 1/2 tsp Roasted fenugreek seeds- a few Coconut milk- 1 cup Green chilly-2 Curry leaves- a few oil - 3 tbs Thinly sliced coconut- 3 tbs Salt  to taste Marinate fish with salt, pepper powder, chilly powder, turmeric powder and tamarind pulp. Keep aside for 15-20 minutes and then fry the fish. In a blender add grated coconut and ginger and make a fine paste. Add chilly powder, coriander powder and fenugreek paste and blend once again. Chop tomatoes and make a fin...