“The month of Ramadhan [is that] in which was revealed the Qur’an, a guidance for the people and clear proofs of guidance and criterion. So whoever sights [the new moon of] the month, let him fast it; and whoever is ill or on a journey – then an equal number of other days. Allah intends for you ease and does not intend for you hardship and [wants] for you to complete the period and to glorify Allah for that [to] which He has guided you; and perhaps you will be grateful.” — Surat Al-Baqarah 2:185 Wishing all my readers a blessed Ramadan ahead… It is surreal that we have reached yet another of this blessed month, Alhamdulillah… I have been more active on my social media of late. Those who follow me on my Instagram handle would definitely know about it – if you aren’t following me, then…
Kai Pathiri/ Orotti ~ Malabar Rice Pancakes
HD is a sucker for anything traditional. As far as food is concerned, he is less fussy – the only requirement he has is the food has to be fresh. But nothing is best for him than a homely meal of rice, curry and fish for lunch, and even better, some pathil with mutta curry (egg curry). In our side of Kerala, it is nice pathiri or the thin rice pancakes. Nope, I still don’t have a recipe on the blog. Such a shame, right? 🙁 I hardly make it, and each time I make it, I want to get done with it! I have received requests to make video of it too… I sincerely hope I can do it soon. My first experience with this thick pathiri was when I got married. My first impression was definitely not good. It was thick and any amount of curry…
Kalakkichutta Gothambu Dosa ~ Instant Wholewheat Dosa
Today’s recipe is my replacement for chapathis on lazy nights – I must ask myself when I amn’t lazy! 😀 Umma used to make something similar for breakfast and I have already shared the recipe here. Those crepes are slightly on the sweeter side so makes it apt for morning time. These ones are mainly for savory. I am sure many of us already have some lazy flat-breads that we make when we really don’t want to stand in the kitchen and bail tens of chapathis. The best thing about this wholewheat dosa is that it can be easily paired with just a chutney, like the Thakkali Chutney I share yesterday, or with some chicken or vegetable curry. Even better – just have it by itself! That is how I usually eat whenever I make these dosas – I have them right off the griddle, really hot. They…
Ari Dosa ~ Malabar Thin Rice Crepes
Some recipes tend to delude you, irrespective of how much ever you try. One such recipe is the thin rice crepe that we all make in Malabar. Mine would always crack, always… How much ever I follow the instructions, when I finally pour the batter on my pan, it ends up with cracks. 🙁 There is nothing more irritating than that. That is when I landed up on this link and how much it has helped me improve my dosa after so many trials! The interesting thing is that the Mangalore Neer Dosa is so similar to our neriya (thin) Ari Dosa. It can be because the only difference happens to be a border. I have heard how similar Mangalore style food is to our Kerala cooking, and that was proof enough when I tried this delicious sukka my colleague P had shared with me. Anyway, I somehow wanted…
Madakku Chapathi ~ Layered Flat Bread
The girls left for their vacation yesterday early morning. Once they boarded the flight, I came to work directly. It was a normal day, till I reached back home in the evening. Every day there is a tussle between me and HD as to who will go and pick up the girls. I feel really tired after work and the laziness creeps in, so I always keep jostling HD to go bring them back home. Yesterday, we stared at each other. We weren’t coaxing each other any more. The house looked all neat without them, but didn’t feel like a home. Something just felt amiss. I couldn’t talk much to them since they seemed so excited about landing there and I didn’t want to spoil the excitement for them by sounding very sad. While lying down, I felt like my hands were cut off, not having them around to…
Aloo Paratha ~ Potato Stuffed Flatbread
Most of the times, when I am at office, I order aloo paratha for breakfast. We have a little shop just across the street, that sells some amazing parathas. If we need to get the aloo parathas, we need to order them quite early or else we end up getting a gobhi (cauliflower) paratha or mooli (radish) paratha in its name. 😀 I have tried many versions of this favorite stuffed flatbread. However, once I tried this version, I have never gone to try any other recipe. The masala filling is so easy to make. The crushed spices give it a nice intermittent bites, that add to the taste of the parathas. I like it nice and simple, just with some yogurt to dunk in and some pickle. The best thing about this bread is that you don’t need any side to go with it. It is apt…
Beetroot Pooris ~ Beetroot Deep-fried Flatbread
In December, the Sshhh Cooking Club decided to take a break, and now we are back with our new challenge for this month. The theme of the month was anything “red or pink” considering the upcoming “month of love”. I always feel that love is something to be cherished and nourished all through out the year. I don’t believe in the policy of going out and gifting a loved one on one specific day. It is more of a business trick that anything else. I am a person who likes to gift off my whim – when I feel like, I get something for HD, the kids, my parents or my friends, not being specific on dates. The Prophet (PBUH) asked us to “exchange gifts, as that will lead to increasing your love for one another.” (Sahih Bukhari) Therefore I rest my case… 😉 I know people feel gifting…
Daal Paratha ~ Lentil Flatbread (with leftover daal!)
It’s been sometime since I participated in the Shh Cooking Secretly Challenge, I guess. When was the last time? My last post was this delicious dessert way back in July. Then vacation and hangover came into play and finally I gave myself in to make it up for this month’s challenge. The theme for the month was “Breakfast” and I was paired with Mayuriji for the secret ingredients. As we all know, breakfast IS most important meal of the day. If you don’t eat well then, you may have a haphazard day to follow. I am not somebody who has a heavy breakfast but I ensure to eat something good enough to keep my energy levels on for the whole day. I have already shared a few breakfast ideas that I resort to on the blog. So when Mayuriji gave me my ingredients as wholewheat flour and methi…
Mkatra Foutra ~ Yeasted Bread from Comoros Islands
While reading the title, if you went “which islands?”, you are not alone. I gawked the same way when this month’s assignment from MENA Cooking Club came along. After Algeria and Bahrain, the third country is Comoros Islands – a tiny country of three islands situated in the Indian Ocean. If you go through Google searches, it is said that the country was under France rule during the age of colonialism, before it finally got freedom in 1975. Since then, it has been affected by unstable governance and is one of the poorest countries in the world. Since we are talking about food, let’s move into that then… Due to the long years of colonialism, the cuisine of Comoros Islands has influences of European, Arab and Indian food. Their main staple is rice and meat. The island is quite known for its exports of vanilla, in fact the…
Chilli Chicken Paratha (Cheat version!)
I am basically a lazy mom. I know – my blog doesn’t show that, but I really am! If one day, I cook up 10 dishes, I can go about without cooking anything for the next 10 days. I don’t know if it is exhaustion or sheer laziness. I have these spikes in my enthusiasm graph which can literally hit the bottom on some days. 😀 Actually, at the stage I am in now, I am literally at the bottom, not cooking much or instead depending on quick fixes. One thing I have come to realize is that my kids tend to like all my phataphat stuff rather than what I prepare with so much elaboration! 😕 I don’t know whether I need to rejoice on it or feel sad – rejoice, yes, as it makes my lazy bone happy, and sad, yes, as it makes the hyper blogger…
Poori Bhaji ~ Deep Fried Indian Flatbread and Potato Curry
I had promised myself I would include a few flatbreads into the blog during the chapathi post. I am still not sure how much I can fulfil that. I will never blame it on my working situation, because there are many working mothers that are so good at bringing in a full spread on the table despite their hectic schedule – and that can include a flatbread or a stuffed one, along with a curry and a side! I am not one of those. I am a normal human being, whose charge hits the red while I reach home, and I need a strong cup of chai to recharge myself to at least half. Most the time I end up cooking a curry and ordering a khuboos (Lebanese flat bread) from the supermarket or toasting a few Malay frozen paratas. Sometimes, when I have some extra energy, that is…
How to make soft Chapathis? ~ Indian Wholewheat Flatbread
I am surely guilty of something – of not including much of flatbreads or eat-alongs. I have posted quite a variety of rice on the blog, but when it comes to flatbreads, the only ones I seem to have posted is the neypathal, battura and the Sheermal. I don’t know whether I need to bow my head down in shame – but then… Being a working woman, I come home quite tired. After a little rest, I get back to the kitchen with a limited charge which hits the red while the curry is done. So the easiest thing I find doing is do order in for khubboos (Lebanese thin flatbread) or chapathis from HD’s restaurant closeby. It saves a lot of headache for me and also gives me some more breathing time before retiring to bed. But sometimes, the interest does hit and I make my own…
Battura – Yogurt Yeasted Fried Bread
Let me start with a disclaimer – I am sorry that I am not able to come to your blogs and leave comments due to my schedule, but please be rest assured that one hit on your pages is definitely mine… Appreciate your understanding! 🙂 The beginning of Ramadan has been good, Alhamdulillah… The summer heat has been fully on and the humidity has been close to 60 percent.For office people like us, it has been much easier than was thought. However, I really wonder how people who work in the hot sun and in factories would be taking it. The heat is energy sapping and by the time it is time to break fast, they would be really tired. Ramadan is the time where Allah will determine the blessings that will be received. In a true Hadith (saying of the Prophet Muhammad), Allah the Exalted has said, “Every…
Neypathal/ Neypathiri ~ Deep Fried Rice Puris
Whoever said that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, needs a pat on his/ her back. So very true… Some men literally depend on their stomach to love their women, don’t they??? 🙂 My D and B are very easy to please – you give them anything, they eat. They don’t even give opinions, which is a tad a bit irritating, especially when you expect them to give feedback for improvements. But then I take it this way – they don’t say anything, means it is fine to their tastes!!! But the case of my HD is different. He does not complain, nor does he demand that he needs so and so. That’s the biggest problem. If I ask him about the food, he says it is good, and then just eats one chapathi with the curry or has just one peice of the snack…