This month, I am joining up with a new challenge. I have joined it up more to push myself to blog. Every time, I feel that my creative juices are getting stuck, so such challenges are good enough to get me thinking out of the box. The posts I am scheduling this month seem to be majorly challenge posts too, hehe… Vidya and Jolly jointly conduct the A-Z Recipe Challenge, where the members cook from an alphabet every alternate month. The beauty of this challenge is you pick up an ingredient which starts with the concerned alphabet and cook with it. I had become a part of the group in October but waited till I would feel fine to join in. When the alphabet “E” was declared for January, I gave my name but I had forgotten that I would have my whole entourage at home and that would…
Malabar Avial/ Aviyal
It was a really happening weekend for me. The Sharjah Book Fair opened to the public over the weekend, and I went there on Friday and Saturday. The Friday agenda was to attend my dear blogger friend Faji’s book launch. Yes, she is finally an author of her own cookbook, Faji’s HotPot. I was anyway going, but in the afternoon, I was greeted by a message from her and her husband, insisting that I be the first purchase at the launch. I was totally overwhelmed but anyway, accepted it, thinking it would be fine. Least did I expect that I would be called to share stage and talk a few words! It did make me a nervous wreck altogether – I have a fear of public speaking, though I have been into it at school and college – feels like eons now! 😀 We had an amazing function, Fajee…
Vendakka Kichadi ~ Okra in Yogurt Sauce
After so many months, I took to participating in the Shh Cooking Challenge this month. I have been wanting to participate ever since they started the challenge of cooking from Indian states – only doing Goa, but somehow or the other, I was not able to give in my name. First of all, I was on the phase of watching my eating, and secondly, my family at times are dicey with their food, if not always. So I was worried – if I cook something different and they won’t eat it, then what is the point in it appearing on the blog? When the declaration came on the group that it would be Kerala on the spotlight following the aftermath of the disastrous floods, I jumped into it. After all, it’s my state, and there is so much for me to explore of its own food! I was paired…
Muringakaaya Chelli Parippu Curry ~ Malabar Drumstick Lentil Curry with Dried Shrimp
Time for the second week of the Blogging Marathon #88! After choosing “Protien Rich Ingredient” as the first theme, where I chose eggs, and featured Double Cheese Omelette, Akuri and Microwave Omelette, the second week theme that I chose was also another protien ingredient – “Dazzling Dals”. I had already done a lentil theme in one of the previous BM edition, but then lentil recipes are never enough, right? We are always looking at new ways of cooking up lentils so that people who have folks like me at home who frown at the sight of lentils will at least eat them without much fuss. 😀 The first recipe I am featuring is an example of how we Malabaris love to add a non-vegetarian twist to our vegetarian dishes. Hehe… Most of the households will have a little jar of “chelli” (ചെള്ളി) in our pantry. It is basically…
Simple Fish Fry
The essence of life is in keeping things simple. How many of you agree to this? With time becoming of essence with every passing day, I can’t but agree to this. There were times when I used to sit for hours deciding what to cook but now that phase has passed. I cook with what is in the fridge and what will help me put dinner on the table in the minimum possible time. I just need to ensure that my folks eat, and it is just simple food, nothing elaborate. Even though I have had that thought before too, it is becoming more of a necessity now. I am a very lazy mother to say the least, and most of the time I have never cooked breakfast. But the next working year, which starts next week, my girls are going to see a change in their timings which…
Beetroot Pachadi
My kids love beetroot. So usually it’s not a fuss making them eat it. They love the upperi and Azza always asks for “red pooris” in case she is in a mood for some. 😀 I love using beetroots in bakes – it makes cakes amazingly moist, like this chocolate cake or these brownies. Anybody who has eating Keralite food would always think of a sadya – that meal on a long banana leaf, with rice and then so many curries. My colleague P once indicated a very funny incident when she was invited by a fellow classmate for a sadya. As they were seated in front of the leaf, she cringed seeing the quantity of each dish they were dropping off at the leaf – it’s never a huge quantity, mostly it’s a spoonful or slightly more. She didn’t notice the amount of dishes that were there….
Carrot Raita ~ Carrot Yogurt Dip
Of late, weekends have been stuck at home, intentionally or unintentionally. The climate is getting better though it is still hot in the afternoons. Weekdays are so packed with activity that I only crave for some me-time during the weekends. Even though I wanted to move out this weekend, a guest visit cancelled our plans. But I have no complains as such. I baked a couple of times, all which turned amazing and added to my swelling list of drafts! My hands were feeling really off while holding the camera, so if I give it too much of a break, I guess I will lose whatever little touch I have as of now! This time, the bakes were thoroughly enjoyed by the folks at home. This tells me, that I should space out my baking. No more doing it at my whim… 🙂 Carrots are always welcome at…
Meen Aviyal ~ Fish in Spicy Coconut Paste
Remember about my school bestie I had mentioned on the blog a few times (here, here and here)? She used to be in Muscat, till they decided to relocate back home for her children. The time she informed me about it, I could literally feel her going through a lot of sadness on the decision. I think I don’t need to mention what I was feeling. But both of us know that we need to respect certain happenings in life. Allah knows best and it will definitely be for our good. We still keep in touch, however the intensity has reduced since life back home is much tough with growing up kids. Life in the Gulf for housewives is so much relaxed. A couple of days back as I chatted to her, she said she wanted to hear my voice. Incidentally, I had placed this post on the schedule…
Tiffin Sambar
If you are a reader of my blog, you will know about my fixation with making sambar from scratch. I absolutely loathe store bought sambar powders. Each powder tastes different and somehow most of it don’t appeal to my taste. I hope I can discover a good enough home made sambar powder recipe that will help me fix up sambar as easily as can be done with store bought. Hehe… You can find two absolutely flavorful sambar recipes on the blog, Malabar style Varutharacha Sambar and Arachuvitta Vengaaya Sambar. Here is one more adding to the list… I saw this recipe on one of my blogger bestie Meena’s blog. I kept wondering why it is called “tiffin sambar”. I then discovered that it is called so since this sambar is specifically served with tiffin items, like idlis, dosas, ven pongal, etc. The sambar is slightly more watered down…
Bangala Dumpa Kurma ~ Andhra Potato Curry
It is the last Saturday of the month, and here we are with the book review! Since I have quite a lot of cookbooks – small and big – it is a task to select one for the month. This time, I decided to review “Southern Flavors – The Best of South Indian Cuisine” by Chandra Padmanabhan. The reason why I went for this particular book was some very favorable feedbacks from vegetarian food bloggers. They swear by her books for authentic south Indian cuisine. Apart from my own cuisine – which I am still learning! – I do not know much of our neighboring state food apart from the masala dosas, vadas, idlis and sambar, which we have adopted into our eating habits. It was this quest that made me buy this book and make it my own. I purchased the book through Amazon India and got…
Thakkali Thokku ~ Spicy Tomato Relish
If you had seen something red peaking out in my Ari Dosa post, then it was this delicious “Thakkali Thokku”. Thakkali Thokku is basically a tomato chutney prepared in parts of South India – not Kerala though 🙂 – and goes amazingly well with anything – chapathis, as side for rice, with dosas and idlis. You name it, it goes really well with it. I am not a tomato fanatic but somehow blogging tempts you into staring at certain recipes and it keeps replaying in your head till you make it. That’s how the Thakkali Thokku happened and now keeps happening when tomatoes are available at a good price. I don’t need to tell you how expensive these red roundels have become off late! The best part about this recipe is its adaptability. I have kept it as mildly spicy as possible for my whole family to…
Pakistani Mint Cumin Raita
Each time you go to a Pakistani eatery here, there is something standard that will come with everything that you order. The best part about it is that you can dip all your food in it, pour it over your curry to mellow down the heat, or have it just like that. It is my favorite thing to have whenever I go to any eatery. Just try dunking your kebabs in them – they taste amazing. During my initial days of blogging, I had received a request from a fellow blogger asking if I knew how to make the raita we get from Karachi Darbar. This chain of restaurants is one of the most well known Pakistani food chains here. We used to absolutely enjoy the food, but off late, I have not been liking their food, so it’s been a long time since we hopped in. 🙁…
Cheera Upperi ~ Amaranth Stir Fry
Moving to the final recipe for the Blogging Marathon #74 under the theme “Quick and Easy Stir fries”, I chose to post this super simple yet goodness loaded amaranth leaves stir fry aka “Cheera Upperi”. I have always said that I feel blessed to stay in a country like UAE where you get abundant supply of produce any time of the year. Umma would wait to come here to have her share of amaranth leaves. Amaranth is said to be power house of iron and is have a lot of vitamins and minerals in it. Back home, she says that the leaves are so heavily sprayed with pesticides that you can’t eat them at all. Attempts to grow them in our backyard have been futile too. D is trying his best to turn the barren land around our house into a little patio. So far, he has had…
Vendakka Upperi ~ Ladyfinger Stir Fry
In yesterday’s post, I explained the difference between an “upperi” and a “thoran”. While yesterday’s was a thoran, today’s is an upperi – a quick, simple stir fry of ladyfinger without any coconut. This is the second of the three back to back recipes, as a part of the Blogging Marathon #74, under the theme “Quick and Easy Stir Fries”. The slimy ladyfinger is always a pain to cook. If there is a little water in it, it spoils up the entire appearance of the dish. What I normally do is wash the ladyfinger in warm water and then spread it out on a kitchen towel or handtowel. Once most of the water is drained, I wipe off each one of them individually. Yes, it is a lot of work, but you will thank yourself for doing it. 😀 Then I get to cutting it. This vegetable…
Achinga Payar Thoran ~ String Beans Stir Fry
We are a family who loves stir fries. And I would say, Alhamdulillah for that. All the folks needs with rice is some simple curry to go with it and loads of “upperi”, as we call it. When umma was here, she used to make lunch and she would ask D to cut the vegetables for making the stir fry, since a minimum of a kg would be required to be made and still it wouldn’t be enough. 😀 The girls don’t even need fish but they would eat their rice well if they have a vegetable stir fry by the side. Usually it is beetroot, carrot or cabbage and for me, it’s always got to be french beans! In Malayalam terminology, “upperi” or “mezhukupuratti”, simply means stir fried vegetables in some oil, with minimal seasoning. It may or may not include coconut. But when you say “thoran”,…