Tuesday 12 May 2009

Kappa Vevichathu/Kappa Perattiyathu



Ingredients
Kappa /Tapiocca/cassava- 500gm
Cumin seeds -1/4 tsp
Grated Coconut -1/2 cup
Garlic - 2 flakes
Curry Leaves - 10 leaves
Salt as required
Green Chillies(Medium Hot)- 4-5 or according to your taste
Turmeric a pinch
Shallots -2
Mustard
Oil - 1tbsp

Method
1. Remove the outer brown cover of kappa wash it and boil till it 90% cooked.
2. Put enough salt and give 2 mts boil.Drain it (keep 1/4 cup water in that)and keep it aside.
3. Coarsely ground grated coconut,cumin seeds, turmeric and garlic.
4. Then make some space in the centre of cooked kappa and put the coconut mixture and half of curry leaves (just cut the leaves) and cover it with cooked kappa.
5. Let the coconut mixture cook for some time,say for 5 mts,in low flame..
6. Then mix everything together.The coconut mixture should spread everywhere.
7. Switch off the flame.
8. Hear oil in a a small tava/pan.Put mustard in that.Let it splutter.
9. Add thinly sliced shallots and curry leaves.
10. When it is light brown switch off the flame and pour over the Kappa-coconut mix.
11. Again using a strong spoon mix everything together and it is ready to serve with fish curry.

Monday 11 May 2009

Dates & Carrot Cake



Ingredients

All purpose flour - 2 cups
Sugar - 1 1/2 cup
Oil - 1 1/4 cup
Eggs - 3
Soda Bicarbonate - 1 1/4 tsp
Dates - 1/2 cup cut into small pieces
Nuts - 1/2 cup cut into small pieces
Carrot - 1 cup grated
Vanilla essence - 1 tsp
Masala for cake - 1/2 tsp (nutmeg/cinnamon/cloves/cardamom powdered)
Caramel - 1/2 cup (almost)
7” Cake tin - 2

Method

1. Soak the dates with 1/2 of the Soda Bicarbonate previous day & keep.

2. Caramelizing sugar: - Take 1/2 cup sugar in a thick bottom pan. Add 1 tbsp water.
Heat it on a medium flame. When sugar melts, just shake the pan slightly in between and when it reach brown color (don’t burn it) switch off flame and add 1/4 cup+3tbsp hot water. It will splash. So do it carefully. After pouring hot water take your hands away fast. Once the splashing is over switch on the flame again. It should be medium-low flame. Stir and wait until it dissolves.
Let it get cool down.
3. Mix all purpose flour with balance soda bicarbonate & cake masala and sieve.
4. Butter cake tins and then dust it with flour.
Or spread butter inside a cake tins and instead of flour you can stick 2 layer grease proof paper (We have 2 tins, so cut for 2 cake tins) inside the cake tins.
If you are using only one cake tin, after removing 1st cake, you have to follow the same procedure of buttering and sticking grease proof paper/dusting with flour. Make sure the cake tin is cold enough to handle.
5. Beat egg white separately till it becomes like foam.

6. Beat sugar, oil and vanilla essence egg yolks (one by one) together (Sugar will not dissolve nicely and mix only till the egg yolks just blends well).
7. Preheat oven to 160°C (Fan).
8. Add caramel and mix well using a spatula.
9. Add sieved flour, nuts, grated carrot & dates to the above mix.
10. Then fold the egg white mixture carefully into the above mix. Don’t over mix it.
11. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, level the top with a spatula.
12. Bake about 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
13. Place on a wire rack to cool, and then gently remove the cake from the pan.

Note: Store the cake in an air tight container or cover it with foil for 2 days before you cut it.

Tuesday 7 April 2009

Sponge Cake



Ingredients

Self raising flour - 100g
Eggs - 2 (almost 120 gm)
Butter -100g
Powdered sugar -100g
Oil - 1 tbsp
Vanilla essence -1tsp

Method
Egg and butter must be at room temperature.
Butter should be soft.
Butter a cake pan and then dust it with flour. Set aside.


1. Take butter in a mixing bowl. Beat it till creamy.
2. Then add powdered sugar. Beat it until it is smooth and creamy.
3. Add vanilla extract and then add eggs, one at a time. Mix only till it just blends.
4. Preheat oven to 150°C (Fan).
5. Add flour to the batter. Mix only till it well blends. (Please don’t over mix it).
6. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, level the top with a spatula.
7. Bake about 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
8. Place on a wire rack to cool, and then gently remove the cake from the pan.
Note: Store the cake in an air tight container or cover it with foil for 2 days before you cut it.

Monday 23 March 2009

Masala Dosa


Ingredients

Basmathi rice /long grain rice/പച്ചരി -3 cup
Urid or urad dal/ഉഴുന്ന് – 1 cup
Cooked rice – 1 cup
Salt
Oil or Ghee

Method
1.Soak rice(I used basmathi rice) and urid or urad dal for 4-5 hrs.
2. First grind urid dal into a smooth batter by adding enough water. Pour into a bowl.
3. Then grind rice and cooked rice together. That too make to a smooth batter by adding enough water. Then pour that into urid dal batter.
4. Add enough salt and mix all nicely. Keep in room temperature over night.(During winter as its cold could take a day or more for the batter to ferment.)
5. Before you make dosa, mix the batter well with spoon.
6. Heat a non stick pan .Grease it with oil or ghee.
7. Reduce heat to low.
8. Pour one ladle full batter over the pan and spread it from centre.
9. Make it as big as u can, by moving the ladle in clockwise or anti clockwise direction.
10. Increase heat to low-medium.
11. Drizzle oil or ghee over dosa.
12. When it becomes light brown you can spread the filling.
13. Fold it like in the picture. Turn it carefully.
14. Now you can take the masala dosa from the pan...13. Serve hot with Coconut chutney and/or Sambar.

Masala Dosa filling / Sabzi for poori


Ingredients
Potatoes - 3 medium
Mustard seeds - ½ tsp
Onion chopped - 1 medium
Curry leaves - 6
Finely chopped Green chillies - 3 (or depends on the spice level you required)
Finely chopped Ginger - 1 tsp
Finely chopped Garlic - 1/4 tbsp
Turmeric powder - ¼ tsp
Chopped coriander leaves. (Optional)
Oil
Salt as required

Method
1. Boil potatoes and drain water once potatoes are well cooked. After it cooled down remove the potato skin and mash it. No need to mash it very well. There should be some small and medium sized pieces (Can use a fork for this work instead of a masher).

2. Heat oil in a pan, when oil is hot splutter mustard seeds. Now add the chopped onions and curry leaves. When it starts getting light brown color add green chillies, curry leaves, ginger, garlic & turmeric powder and fry for 2 minutes(in low flame).

3. After that add mashed potatoes and salt and mix well. Keep flame in low and mix everything together. When u feel all turmeric and salt spread every where can switch off the flame.

4. If you are using coriander leaves add at this stage. The potato filling is ready. This same sabzi I’m using with poori as well.

Sunday 22 March 2009

Ethakka (Plantain) Appam






Ingredients


Plantain (ഏത്തക്ക ) - 1 ripe
All- purpose flour -3/4-1 cup
Sugar -½ cup
Egg-1
Baking powder –a Pinch
Salt - Pinch
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Cardamon powder - 1/8 tsp
Milk (use skimmed milk)- Approximately ¾ to 1 cup (Enough to get pancake batter /dosa batter consistency)
Oil to deep fry

Method
1. Peel plantains, cut it into two halves. Then slice each half into four or more slices, depending on size of the plantain.
2. Beat eggs and sugar. Then add flour, salt.
3. To the above mix, keep adding milk in small quantities (do not add all at once) and mix to make a medium smooth batter. Add cumin seeds and cardamom powder into the batter.
4. For deep frying, heat enough oil
5. Dip plantain slices in batter and fry till golden brown. Drain and serve it.

Aviyal





Ingredients
Yam(ചേന) sliced, raw bananas, Padavalanga, Vellarikka thinly into 1” length pieces - ½ cup each
Carrot, Long runner-beans sliced into 1″ length pieces - ¼ cup:
Drumstick cut into 1 ½ ” length pieces - 2
Tomato – 2 medium
Grated coconut - ½ cup
Cumin seeds - ½ tsp
Turmeric powder - ½ tsp
Green chillies - 5 no
Curry leaves
Coconut oil - 3 tbsp
Salt to taste

Method

1. Coarsely grind the coconut, garlic and cumin seeds. Keep it aside.
2. Clean the vegetables, cut it and keep aside.
3. Cook vegetables except drumstick, green chillies, little turmeric and salt by adding ½ cup water.
4. Cook drumstick separately till it is done.
5. When the vegetable is done, add grind coconut and drumstick .Mix it well.
6. Cook for another 3-4 mts under medium-low flame.
7. Mix coconut oil and curry leaves in the avail.8. Remove from fire.