Kalan / Plantains and Yam Cooked in Yoghurt - Onam Sadhya Vibhavangal 3

Kalan is yet another traditional Kerala dish cooked in thick yogurt. This is also called as Kurukku Kalan as it is made by thickening beaten curds. Kalan is one of the important dishes served for Onam Sadhya.

INGREDIENTS

Elephant yam - 1 cup diced

Raw green plantain - 1 cup diced

Pepper – ½ tsp

Chilly powder – ½ tsp

Turmeric powder – ½ tsp

Water – 2 cups

Thick curd- 2 cups

Grated coconut – 1 ½ cup

Cumin seeds – ¾ tsp

Chilly – 2

Salt – as required

For seasoning:

Coconut Oil – 1 tablespoon

Ghee – 1 tablespoon

Red Dry Chilly/ Vattal Mulaku – 3

Curry leaves – 2 sprigs

Uluva podi/ fenugreek powder - ½ tsp

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp

METHOD

Chop the plantains into 1/4 inch pieces.

Dice the yam into square pieces.

Cook yam and plantains with pepper, chilly powder, turmeric powder, water and salt.

In the mean time make a paste of the coconut along with cumin and green chilly. Add water only sparingly.

When the vegetables are cooked mash them a bit. Turn the heat to low.

Add the thick yoghurt. Keep stirring else it will curdle.

The yoghurt should reduce to half.

Add the coconut paste. Keep stirring on low flame. It should become very thick. Remove from heat.

Take a small pan. Heat the coconut oil.

Add mustard seeds. When it splutters add red chilly, fenugreek and curry leaves. Pour over the cooked mixture.

Pour the ghee on top of the dish.

Clicked this snap on Independence Day.

Tips:

Kalan tastes best with sour curd.

You can stop cooking the curry when the desired consistency is reached. As it cools it will thicken.

Add very little water to grind the coconut.

Olan / Stewed White Gourd and Long beans in Coconut Milk - Onam Sadhya Vibhavangal- 2

 Proud to be an Indian!

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY !

Today I would like to share a simple vegetarian dish .Olan is one of the most simple gravy dish. A delicious curry with pumpkin and long beans stewed in coconut milk and flavored with curry leaves and coconut oil.So simple and so tasty. It is prepared with Ash Gourd (Winter Melon) or with pumpkin. The ingredients slightly differ depending on your geographical location in Kerala. :) South Kerala it is prepared along with red lentils. North Kerala the preparation is with long beans. But what remains the same is that the veggies are cooked in coconut milk. And it is one of the very few dishes in which turmeric and other spices are not added. Onasadya (Onam Feast) is not complete without olan.

INGREDIENTS

Ash gourd/Winter Melon - 1/2 piece of a medium melon

Long beans - 1/4 kg

Chilly - 2-3

Thick Coconut Milk- 1 cup

Salt - as required

Curry leaves- 2 sprigs

Coconut oil - 1 tbsp

METHOD

Chop melon into 1 inch thin slices.

Chop beans into 1 inch long pieces.

Cook melon and beans in very little water along with salt and chilly.

When cooked add coconut milk. Heat slightly (Do not bring to boil).Remove from heat.

Pour the coconut oil on top and garnish with curry leaves.

Watch out for more Onam Dishes...

Puli Ingi / Tangy Ginger - Onam Sadhya Vibhavangal 1

Onam the harvest festival of Kerala is one of the biggest festival celebrated in the state. It is celebrated by every malayalee across India and the world. Onam is when the monsoons end and marks the beginning of Autumn in Kerala.

I have beautiful memories of Onam . Waiting for the exams to be over so we can celebrate Onam in full swing, picking flowers to make the flower carpet, wearing new dress, watching movies, playing around with a house full of cousins..Yay it was total fun. We would wait for the Thiruvonam day to make the biggest flower carpet and then have the grand Sadya in the afternoon.

'Onasadya'  is the grand feast on Onam day. A wide array of almost 25 items are served on banana leaves. A complete vegetarian meal.

Onam is around the corner and I wish to share some of the dishes with my dear readers. So here is the first Kerala Onam delicacy - the Puli Ingy. Ginger and chilly is fried in a tangy jaggery-tamarind sauce. It is sweet sour and spicy! A true treat for your taste buds.

INGREDIENTS

Ginger - 1/2 cup finely chopped

Green Chilly - 1/2 cup finely chopped

Tamarind- Lime size

Curry Leaves - 2 sprigs

Jaggery - 1 piece

Shallots - 3 chopped fine

Asafoetida - 1 pinch

Fenugreek Powder - 1 pinch

Coconut Oil - 1 tablespoon

Water - 1 cup

Salt - as required

METHOD

Chop ginger and chilly very fine.

Heat oil in a pan.

Add the chilly and ginger. Fry till golden brown and crisp.

Add tamarind water along with pulp.

Keep stirring and bring to a boil. 

Add salt.

Pound the jaggery and add to the boiling mixture.

Add asafoetida and fenugreek powder.

Add curry leaves.

Add shallots.

Stir till thick consistency is reached.

If you wish to see other Onam Sadhya Vibhavangal click on the links below:

Kalan

Olan

Pineapple Pachadi

Strawberry Banana Muffins - Sweet Punch

A ‘muffin’ is a type of bread that is baked in small portions. The name seems to have originated from the French word 'moufflet' meaning short bread. There are so many varieties of muffins made with one main ingredient which can be blueberry, strawberry, chocolate, pumpkin, date, almond, carrot or even orange.

The one thing I was thinking was, its not strawberry season here and where do I get them from. I know it’s raining berries in the U.S and just love to see the beautiful colorful berries. I even asked my SIL who is at Minneapolis to send me some..Kidding. And then suddenly I got this idea of using strawberry jam instead. Was quite apprehensive first but when I opened the jar I was so happy. The jam actually had small strawberries in it. So here I am with my attempt. 

STRAWBERRY BANANA MUFFINS

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup - unsalted butter (I used salted butter)
2 large eggs 
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 large ripe bananas
1 cup fresh strawberries( I used 3/4 cup jam with Strawberry chunks)
2 1/4 cup All purpose flour
3/4 cup brown sugar ( I used jaggery)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt (omitted this as I used salted butter).

METHOD
Preheat oven to 177 degree C (350F)
Melt the butter and let it cool to room temoperature.
Beat the eggs lightly.
Mash the bananas.
Take 2 bowls, one to mix the dry ingredients and the other to mix dry ingredients.
Whisk together eggs, vanilla and mashed banana.
Add the melted butter and stir.
In another bowl mix the flour, jaggery, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon powder.
Fold in the strawberries/ the jam.
Mix well so that the berries are well coated.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry one and stir only to combine the ingredients. Do not over mix.
Line a 12 cup muffin pan.
Scoop the mix with an ice cream scoop or using 2 spoons and fill the muffin liners.
Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Once baked let it cool on a wire rack.

HAPPY FRIENDSHIP DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!

Kallumakkaya Upperi / Mussels Dry

Kallumakkaya Upperi is the special dish we prepare at Thalassery (North Malabar, Kerala). This is quite different from the oil fried ones and the stuffed ones. Mussels/ Kallumakkaya/ Kadukka is a shell fish harvested from the coastline rocks. As it is being harvested now even in fresh water they are available throughout the year.

This was the first time I tried shooting outside my home. It was quite cloudy and I loved the look I got in the snaps. It started drizzling in b/w and I had to run for cover and when I came back again I just loved the wet look which you can see in the last snap. Totally enjoyed it!! Hope everyone of you enjoy the recipe as well as the photographs.. :)

INGREDIENTS
Recipe Source: Reshma (My sweet sister)

Kallumakkaya/Mussels - 1/2 kg
Chilly powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt - As required
Onion - 1 large chopped finely
Chilly - 2 Split into 1/2
Grated Coconut - 3 tbsp
Mustard - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - 2 sprigs
Coconut oil - 1 1/2  tbsp
Water - 1/2 cup

METHOD

Wash and clean the mussels.
Add chilly, turmeric and salt. Keep aside for half hour.
Mix the mussels well. Add water and cook.
Let cool and then chop mussels into small pieces.
Heat oil in a kadai. Add mustard seeds. When it splutters add curry leaves.
Add onions, chilly and stir well for 10 - 15 secs.
Add the mussels and keep stirring for 1 minute.
Check salt.
Add coconut and remove from heat.

Tips:

Add salt sparingly as mussels have salt in it.

Chocolate Buttermilk Pound Cake

Here is the surprise cake I baked on my birthday..The Chocolate Buttermilk Pound Cake. Absolutely moist and delicious cake. This was the first time I was using buttermilk in a cake. The almonds I used made it crunchy too. 

There is one thing that I thought I should have done but just skipped my mind. I was in a hurry to finish off, so I could spend time with my family. I forgot to use cocoa powder for dusting instead of all purpose flour. And that's one thing I repented but then it hardly mattered to anyone because everyone enjoyed the cakes and it was over in minutes. 

I tried to get dark chocolate but it was out of stock at all the supermarkets here. So I thought why not try a white ganache instead for a twist :) And I loved it. 

So hope you all enjoy this recipe..

Chocolate Buttermilk Pound Cake

Recipe Source: Passionate about baking by Deeba

INGREDIENTS

1 Cup All purpose flour

¼ cup Wheat flour

¼ cup Cocoa Powder + a little more for dusting the cake pan

½ tsp Baking powder

¼ tsp Baking soda

¼ tsp Salt*

½ cup Unsalted butter

1 cup Sugar

2 eggs

100 ml Buttermilk ** see tips

1 tsp Vanilla Essence

Ganache:

100gms White/Dark chocolate

3 tbsp cream + more if ganache is too thick

Chocolate shavings

METHOD

Prepare an 8’’ round pan by greasing it and placing a butter paper on it at the bottom and sides. Again grease on top of the butter paper and dust it with some cocoa powder***

Preheat oven to 170 degree C.

Prepare the buttermilk and keep aside.

Mix the dry ingredients (Flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt).

Sift it to mix well and avoid lumps.

In a separate bowl cream the butter. Add the sugar.

Add vanilla extract.

Add the flour mixture and buttermilk alternatively.

Stir in chopped almonds/hazelnuts/pistachios.

Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or till a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Let it cool.

For the ganache:

Add the cream and chocolate and place on low fire. Keep stirring till the chocolate melts fully. Remove from heat and stir briskly. It should be of flowing consistency. If the ganache is too thick add a little more cream/ if it’s too thin add a little chocolate.

Final touch:

After the cake has cooled remove from rack and place on a cake stand/plate.

Pour the ganache slowly pushing it from the centre to the outer edges so that it drips on the sides.

Decorate with chocolate shavings.

Tips:

Avoid salt if you are using salted butter.

To prepare buttermilk take 100ml milk at room temperature. Add 1 tsp white vinegar. Let it stand for 5-10 minutes. When it curdles it is ready for use.

Always dust your pan with cocoa powder if you are making chocolate cakes (instead of All purpose flour) to avoid white layer being formed on the outer crust.

Mahogany Cake

July is a month of celebrations at home with 3 birthdays!! Yay...and a chance for me to bake different cakes.

This delicately coffee flavoured chocolate cake has been a hit at home. This is the cake I made for my Amma's birthday. Just loved the chocolate and coffee flavour that just melts in the mouth. Hmmmm...this was the reaction of all my family members. Some doubted whether it was store bought. Unfortunately I could not click even one picture as it was all over so soon. So I made this one again on my birthday along with another cake...Surprise...

Again I am not very happy with the pictures as it was taken in a hurry as everyone wanted to take a bite..But I really want this cake to be on my blog as it is one of the first coffee cakes I made and just loved it.

MAHOGANY CAKE
Recipe Source: Ria's Collection

INGREDIENTS

Flour  – 1 1/3 cups

Eggs  - 2

Unsalted butter – 150 gms

Baking soda – ¾ tsp

Boiling water – ½ cup

Cocoa powder – 2 tbsp

Powdered sugar – 1 cup

Instant coffee powder – 2 tsp

Vanilla extract – 1 tsp

Salt – 1 tsp**see note

Vinegar – ½ tsp

METHOD

Preheat oven to 180 degree C for 10 minutes.

Sieve flour with baking soda and salt.

Boil water. Add coffee powder and cocoa powder to it and stir. Reserve.

Cream butter till light. Add sugar and beat well.

Add 1 egg at a time and continue beating.

Add vanilla and vinegar. The mix may look curdled but will look fine when the flour is added.

Alternately add flour and coffee mixture beating and mixing well after each addition.

Grease the pan with butter. Place butter/parchment paper. Grease again and dust with cocoa

powder.

Pour the mix into the prepared pan and bake for 30 – 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes clean.

FUDGE FROSTING

Cocoa-2 tbsp

Milk-3tbsp

Butter-50 g

Icing sugar-225 g

Caster sugar-75g

Vanilla-1/2 tsp

METHOD

Mix cocoa and icing sugar in a bowl.

Melt the butter, castor sugar and milk on medium flame till the sugar is dissolved completely.

Bring the mixture to a roaring boil and pour over the cocoa icing sugar mixture.

Mix well with the spatula.

Apply on the cake and level it.

Tips:

**If you are using salted butter then omit the salt.

It is little difficult working with the icing as it gets hardened soon. Add little butter at room temperature or milk to make it smoother.

Apply the icing when the cake is still warm as it is easier.

Boil little water and dip the spatula, wipe and then try leveling the icing.

Chicken Seekh Kebab/ Murg Seekh Kebab

I know I have been missing all the activity in the blogosphere for sometime now. Its just that there has been so many things happening around which needed my attention. 

Our dear Scooby passed away. He was a dalmation. Showered us all with so much unconditional love and left us for good. Still cannot believe that he is no more. Even the day before he left, he made sure he was close to us inspite of the fact that he could barely move. Dogs are such wonderful creatures. Just love us so much and expect so little.. may be just a pat. We all miss you dear Scooby. 

Just trying to get busy and keep away from thinking of him. 

I know its been days I haven't visited any of my friends blogs. I hope to keep up with everyone soon.

One of my hubby's requests has been long pending. So I thought of making it. So here it is.. Murg Seekh Kebab. Let's go right away to the recipe.

MURG SEEKH KEBAB

INGREDIENTS

1 Kg Chicken
1 Egg
1 tsp Cumin powder
1 tbsp  Chilly powder
1 tbsp  Coriander Powder
2 tbsp Ginger finely chopped
2 tbsp Garlic
1 tsp Garam Masala
1 cup crisp fried onions
5 tbsp green coriander finely chopped
salt to taste
Butter (unsalted) for brushing

METHOD

Mince the chicken along with ginger, garlic, coriander powder, garam masala, fried onions, chilly powder.
Whisk the eggs, add cumin powder, salt. Add to the mince and mix well.
Add the coriander and mix again.
With wet hands wrap along the skewer.
Preheat oven of 10 minutes.
Roast in the oven at 150 degree C for 8 minutes/ until golden brown in colour.
Remove from skewer and brush with butter.
Serve hot with onion rings and lemon wedges.

Tips:
If you find the mixture not binding enough just add little bread crumbs.
Add more chilly if you like it spicy.
Can add 4 tbsp pounded cashew nuts.
Bast with little oil just once.

Pound Cake

A simple pound cake should be on all bakers list of recipes. A Pound Cake is a rich, finely textured yellow cake containing eggs, flour, butter, and sugar.A cake that is golden yellow, soft and moist. The way it derived its name is interesting. In olden days it used to be made with a pound each of sugar, butter and eggs. But over the years the recipe has changed.


I have done this as part of the 'Sweet Punch' recipe for the month of June. Really glad to be part of this as the Sweet Punch team consists of the ever passionate and famous bakers and bloggers Ria, Maria and Divya.

So here is my try at Pound Cake.

INGREDIENTS  
1 1/2 cup Cake Flour sifted
3/4 cup Sugar

3/4 teaspoon Baking Powder

1/4 tsp Salt

3 large eggs

3 tablespoons Milk

1 ½ teaspoons vanilla
13 Tablespoons/ 184 gm Unsalted Butter, softened 

METHOD

Preheat the oven for 10 minutes at 180 degree C.

Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl on low speed for 30 seconds.

Lightly whisk the milk, eggs and vanilla in a separate small bowl.

Chop softened butter into small cubes.

Add the butter and half the egg mixture to the dry ingredients and mix till well moistened for about a minute on medium speed. This will aerate and develop the cake mixture. Keep mixing scraping down the sides.

Add the remaining egg mixture in 2 batches , beating for about 20 seconds each.

Grease the sides and bottom of a 8 x 4x 2.5 inch loaf pan or fluted tube pan.

Place parchment paper at the bottom and grease on top of it.

Pour the batter into the pan. Smooth the surface using a spatula. 

until a wooden toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cake cool on a rack in the pan for 10 minutes before inverting onto a greased wire rack.

Tips:

For making Cake flour at home - Take one cup of all purpose flour and remove 2 tbsp from it.Replace the 2 tbsp flour with cornflour and sift together 2-3 times.
I used the dough hooks of my mixer to mix this dough as it is difficult to do it using the egg beater.
Always use a parchment paper or butter paper to line the bottom of the pans to be on the safer side. It is easier to remove the cake from the pan.
If you have a real sweet tooth you can increase the sugar level a bit. 

Triple Layer Hummingbird Cake

July 4^th is a special day for all Americans and  it is for us too.. We celebrate the birth of our little prince who turns 2 on this day.

I have been thinking of which new cake to bake on this special day. Checked out a lot of cakes but was not able to decide which one and wanted to try something new which I have never heard of before. Being an amateur in baking I was quite apprehensive about choosing the cake recipe. Finally I decided on the Hummingbird Cake. Found it very interesting because of its ingredients and because it was quite hassle free compared to the rest. J

Just loved the flavors. It was amazing! Crunchy, at the same time could get the taste of pineapple and it just melts in your mouth. I don’t like the taste of banana cake but in this cake the taste of banana was not so evident so I loved it. It is truly a fruit and nut studded super moist cake.

The best part about this cake is that there is no beating, forming peaks, sifting and stuff. It is quite easy. This was my first trial with layered cakes and quite happy with the result.

INGREDIENTS

Recipe Source: Godairyfree.org

All Purpose Flour – 3 cups

Sugar – 2 cups

Baking Soda - 1 teaspoon

Ground Cinnamon – 1 teaspoon

Salt – 1 teaspoon

Eggs – 3 large beaten

Vegetable Oil - 1 ½ cup

Crushed Pineapple – 227 gm (8 ounce)

Bananas – 2 Chopped

Almonds/Pecans – 1 cup chopped

Vanilla Extract – 1 ½ teaspoon

Cream Cheese Frosting:

Recipe Source: Joy of baking

Unsalted Butter – ¼ cup at room temperature

Cream Cheese – 227 gm at room temperature

Confectioners/Icing Sugar – 454 gm sifted

Vanilla Essence – 1 teaspoon

½ cup – Chopped Almonds/ Pecans

METHOD

Preheat oven 180 degree C.

Combine all the dry ingredients. Stir well with a ladle.

Beat the eggs slightly and add to the powder mixture.

Add the oil and mix again. Do not beat just mix well so as to combine all the ingredients.

Stir in the pineapple with the juice, banana, 1 cup of the nuts and vanilla.

Grease 3 (9-inch) round cake pans with butter. Line the bottoms of the cake pans with parchment paper. Grease each pan with 1 tbsp. butter and dust with a little flour; shake pans so that flour evenly coats them. Invert pans and tap out excess flour.

Divide the batter among the prepared pans.

Bake for 25 – 30 minutes or until a until a toothpick inserted into the center of each cake comes out clean.

Let the cake cool for 10 – 15 minutes. Invert pans and remove parchment paper and let cool on rack.

Frosting

The actual recipe for the frosting is given above. As I did not manage to get Cream Cheese I had to go for the butter icing. Just beat the butter (approx 400 gm) to make it soft and then keep adding the icing sugar as per your preference. The butter icing recipe calls for 1:2 ratio of butter and icing sugar but I find that too sweet. So keep adding till you get the right texture and stop adding icing sugar when the sweetness level is as per your palate.

Assembly

Place one layer of the cake on the cake stand.

Apply the icing evenly on the top. Place the second and third layer repeating the same process.

Spread the frosting on the sides. Decorate with the chopped Almonds/ Pecans.

Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.

Sending this recipe to Pari's  'Only Series' of events is hosted at Tamalapaku's  by Harini - Jaya