Apple Crisp(Crumble)

Apple Crisp/Crumble is a simple baked dessert with a s very nice crisp and crumble topping with tender apple bites inside. The combination of oats, apple and Brown sugar tries to give it a healthy way and if served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream it is really delicious.

Apple Crisp was made since I had some fresh farm picked Golden Apples. This is been in my draft from quite sometime and thanks to Ramya of Ramyasrecipe for hosting the 'A for  Apple' event. I posted my Apple cake recipe for the event and told her I will try to post the apple crisp recipe if possible. This might be a late entry for the event but at-least it got  relieved from the draft, my apple crisp was bored sitting in the draft :)

Ingredients:-

1. All purpose flour - 1/2 cup
2. Brown Sugar(Or white sugar) -1/2 cup
3. Cinnamon powder -1/2 tsp
4. Salt a pinch
5. Softened Butter - 3/4 cup(do not use melted butter)
6. Old fashioned Oats - 1/3 cup
7. Chopped walnuts/ pecans/almonds - 1/4 cup(optional)
8. Chopped apple chunks - 6 cups(I didn't peel off the skin of the apple)
9. Lemon Juice - 1/2 tsp
10. Brown Sugar - 3 tbsp

Preparation Method:-

• Preheat the oven to 350 Degree F. Grease a baking tray and set aside.
• Mix all the ingredients from 1 to 7 with your fingertips or process in a food processor until the mixture is crumbly. Set aside
• In another bowl put chopped apples, brown sugar, lemon juice and toss lightly
• Put the apple-mix in the greased bake-ware and spread the topping evenly over the apples.
• Bake for around 35-40 minutes until the topping is golden brown.
• Remove from the oven and let it cool for sometime say 30 mins.
• Serve warm or with a scoop of Vanilla Ice cream or whipped cream. Enjoy!!!!!!

I am sending this to Ramyasrecipe's 'A for Apple' Event. Happy Cooking. 

Vella(White) Appam with Chana(Kadala) curry

This recipe is a bit similar to the Appam recipe I have posted sometime back, but a lot different from the making to the taste. I got this recipe from Deepthy a friend of mine. From then this Appam had been our favorite breakfast/dinner. You really wont know how fast kids finish eating this and you feel so satisfied when they eat well. You do not need any particular Appam Vessel for making this, any non-stick griddle or pan works. Also you can make 3-4 appams at a time if you have a pancake griddle or any wide pan.

I was not very sure of the name of this Appam, so I called up Deepthy who is basically from Idukki district
and got to know that they call it Vella Appam or Kallu(Toddy) Appam since it is white in color and originally made with Kallu(Toddy). We were discussing about the other Appam and she said they call that Pal(Milk) Appam since it is made using coconut milk. Hmm ok, enough of the stories I know :). Whatever may be the name the Appam, I just know it really is an awesome  Breakfast/Dinner dish. I have tried it with Black Chana(Kadala) Curry, Egg Masala, Chicken curry and felt everything tastes just simply great. So adding this recipe of Appam for all of you, Enjoy!!!!!

Making of Appam:-

Ingredients:-

Pachari/Raw rice/Basmathi Rice - 2 cups
Grated Coconut - ¾  cup
Shallots - 3 small or 1 big(if you do not have shallots use a piece of Onion)
Curry leaves - 1 sprig
Fennel seeds - 1½  tsp
Yeast - 2 tsp
Sugar - 2 tsp
Salt ~ ¾ tsp

Preparation Method:-

• Wash the rice well two to three times and soak for at least 5 hrs.
• Grind the rice and all the ingredients other than yeast to a smooth batter of dosa consistency.
• Pour into a big bowl, add yeast, sugar, salt and mix well. Set aside in a warm place to ferment overnight or for 6-7 hrs.
• Heat up non-stick dosa pan or griddle in medium heat and pour a small laddle of batter. Do not spread, close with a lid for few secs or a min.
• Open the lid and turn the appam and cook for few more secs. Take of the pan.
• Repeat the process with the remaining batter.
• Serve warm with Chana Curry or any curry of your choice. Enjoy!!!!

Chana Masala Curry/Kerala Kadala Curry:-

Ingredients:-

Black Chana/Kadala - 1 1/2 cups
Chopped Onion - 1 big
Chopped Tomato - 1 medium
Chopped Potato - 1 medium
Ginger minced - 2 tsp
Garlic minced - 2 tsp
Green chilly chopped - 2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 3/4 tsp

Pepper powder - 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Garam Masala - 2 tsp
Salt to taste
Oil - 2 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Curry leaves a sprig
Dry red chilly -2
Chopped coriander leaves as needed(optional)

Water as needed

Preparation Method:-

• Wash chana dal two to three times and soak it overnight or 7-8 hrs.
• Heat up a cooker, pour oil and crackle the mustard seeds. Add curry leaves, dry red chilly and stir for few secs.
• Add the chopped onion, ginger, garlic, salt and stir till onion are translucent. Add tomatoes and saute till tomatoes become soft.
• Add all the masala powders and stir well to mix. Add the potatoes, soaked chana dal and water(at-least 4 cups or as needed) and close the lid.
• Pressure cook it in high heat for 1 whistle and simmer the heat to medium and cook it for another 5-6 whistles. Switch off the flame and let it cool.
• Once the pressure is off, open the cooker and mash few chana and few pieces of potatoes and let it cook in medium flame for another 5-7 mins. 
• Switch off the flame, add few chopped coriander leaves and Serve..

Note:-

Originally Cumin(Jeera) is grinded with rice, but I have used fennel(perinjeerakam) seeds instead and flavor was great. You can use Jeera or fennel as you wish.

You can mix 2 tbsp of thick coconut milk with 1/4 cup water and 2 tsp sugar(or honey) and give this as a dip instead of curry if the kid do not like spicy curries(My grandma used to do the same when we were kids and we used to love it)

Baked Ravioli in fresh homemade tomato sauce

Normally I run to Costco shopping after dropping my son to pre-school as those are the few hours I can shop peacefully since I have to manage only my daughter while I shop. Last weekend I ran out of milk and did not want to drive to Costco since I had a lot of house cleaning and chores to be done. So I asked my husband to go to Costco and he took my son along with him so that things can be a bit easy for me. Costco always have some demo food in progress and my husband came back with this frozen four cheese ravioli saying they had the demo and our son really loved it.

Next day I wanted to make this Ravioli for my son before he is back from school, but did not have any ready made pasta sauce but yea I had a lot of very fresh farm picked tomatoes which I really wanted use liberally to make something good. So I planned to use it to make some fresh tomato sauce and it resulted in a better sauce than the store bought ones. You can use the same with pastas as well, just make the tomato sauce at home instead buying it.  So friends this is my way of making the four cheese ravioli with fresh Tomato sauce. Enjoy!!!!

Ingredients:-

1. Frozen four cheese ravioli - 25 nos(or as needed)
2. Olive oil - 2 tbsp
3. Onion finely chopped - 1 big
4. Tomatoes finely chopped - 2 big
5. Garlic minced - 4 cloves
6. Pepper powder - 2 tsp
7. Salt as needed 
8. Dry basil leaves - 2 tsp
9. Shredded Mozzarella cheese -3/4 cup
10. Water required to cook Ravioli

Preparation Method:-

• Preheat the oven to 350 degree Fahrenheit.
• In a large pan bring water to boil, add some salt and cook the ravioli just till ravioli float on top of the water(no need to cook it till tender since it will continue to cook in oven)
• Drain the ravioli and set aside
• Heat up a pan in medium heat, add olive oil, add onion and garlic and saute for a while. Add pepper, salt and basil leaves and stir well. Add the chopped tomatoes, stir well. When the sauce starts to boil reduce the flame to low-med and cook breaking the tomatoes, stirring occasionally until sauce reduces and thicken. Switch off the flame.
• Grease a baking dish, layer with some ravioli topped with tomato sauce and shredded cheese.
• Repeat layering with rest of ravioli, sauce and cheese. Spread some extra cheese on top if desired :)
• Bake for 20-25 mins or until golden color on top. Take out of the oven and let it cool for a while.
• Serve warm. Enjoy!!!!!

Notes:-
1. You can use any shredded cheese or cheese blend available in your kitchen.
2. If you have dry parsley leaves you can add 1 tsp of it along with dry basil laves while making the sauce. 

3. You can make this tomato sauce in bulk and keep this refrigerated for at least a month and use for any pasta of your choice. 

Blackberry Yogurt Smoothie

Ingredients:-

1. Fresh Blackberry - 2 cups
2. Yogurt - 1 cup
3. Brown sugar - 1/2 cup(can add  more or less according to your taste)
4. Ice cubes - 10(or as needed)
5. Water - 1 cup

Preaparation Method:-

• Wash and clean the blackberry in running water, pat dry and set aside.
• In a juice blender put the berries, sugar, yogurt, water and blend well.
• Add the Ice cubes and blend again for a minute or two.
• Pour into a juice glass, add more Ice cubes if desired. Enjoy!!!

Ezee Tomato Rice

Tomato rice is a popular rice item made with sauteed spices and tomatoes, added to the boiled rice. Many people prefer to make it because of its easiness to make and moreover the leftover rice gets a very good makeover and results to be another yummy dish on your dining table. Here I'm adding another version of tomato rice which is very yummy and ezee recipe where you do not have to make the rice in advance. This is my way of making it on busy mornings for my hubby's tiffin, by the time you make some quick breakfast the pressure cooker will take care of your tomato rice. Smart option for working women as well, so friends give it a try and add this in your recipe bank of ezee cooking. Enjoy!!!!!

Ingredients:-

1. Rice -1 cup
2. Tomato chopped - 2 big
3. Ginger finely chopped - 2 tsp
4. Green chilly - 2 split into halves
5. Oil - 2 tsp
6. Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
7. Urad dal - 2 tsp
8. Chana dal - 1 tsp(optional)
9. Curry leaves few
10. Dry red chilly - 2
11. Asefoetida - 1/2 tsp(optional)
12. Chopped coriander leaves - 2 tbsp(optioal)
13. Water as and if needed

Preparation Method:-

• Wash well and drain the rice. Set aside.
• Puree the tomato in a mixer, pour into the measuring cup(the one you took for measuring rice) and check for the quantity.
• Add water if tomato puree is less than 2 cups and set aside(rice water ratio is 1:2, so always check for the tomato puree)
• Heat up the pressure cooker, pour oil, crackle the mustard seeds, add urad dal, chana dal, curry leaves, dry red chilly, chopped ginger, green chilly and saute for a minute or two.
• Pour the puree, add the asefoetida and bring to boil.
• Lower the heat to medium, add the washed rice, stir with a spoon till the bottom of the cooker and pressure cook it for not more than 2 whistles.(If your stove is electric, remove from the stove after 2 whistles, since coil stays hot atleast for 1-2 mins the rice may over cook)
• Let the cooker cool completely and move to the serving dish.
• Serve warm with plain yogurt, raita, pickle or any curry if desired. Enjoy!!!

Peach Raisin Cobbler

So guys, I did not have any intention to bake anything this morning, just happened to go through a Peach recipe while I was planning to use my fresh farm picked juicy peaches. We had been to one of a favorite farm near our home known as Larriland farm where we get to have lot of fresh organic apples, peaches, blackberries and various other veggies and fruits. One of the great privilege we get in summer are these farm visits and my kids also enjoys it. These farm picked fruits just tastes awesome compared to the store bought one's. But we pick them a lot that in a day or two I start thinking what to do to finish these off, because organic fruits do not stay long even when kept inside the fridge. I was looking in Costco cook book one of my friend gave me long back and found this recipe in it. I have to admit I have adapted the recipe fully from it because it was so simple and ezee recipe and I did not find any reason to make any changes though I have made very minor changes in the list of ingredients.

Ingredients:-

1. All purpose flour -1 cup
2. Milk- 1 cup
3. Raisins - 1/2 cup
4. Peach - 3 or 4(sliced, I did not peel off the skin)
5. Butter - 1/2 cup
6. Baking powder - 1 tsp
7. A pinch of salt(1/4 tsp)
8. Brown sugar -  3 tbsp
9. Ground all spice - 1/4 tsp(optional)
10. Ground Cinnamon - 1 tsp

Preparation Method :-

• Pre-heat the oven to 350 degree F.
• In large bowl, combine sugar, flour, baking powder, salt and mix well.
• Pour milk and butter in the flour mix and stir with a spoon well to form a lump free batter.
• Grease a pan and pour the batter into the pan.
• In another bowl, combine peaches, raisins, brown sugar, cinnamon powder, all spice and toss to coat evenly.
• Spoon the peach mixture evenly over the batter
• Bake for 45 minutes or until lightly brown(or a tester passed inside comes out clean)
• Serve warm or at room temperature with Ice cream if desired.

Recipe Courtesy:- In the kitchen The Costco Way

Note:- This tasted awesome but i felt the raisins that passed inside the batter were sweet and awesome compared to the raisins that was on top of the cobbler. So my suggestion would be instead of spreading raisins on top of the peaches drop raisins first on top of the batter and put peaches on top so that you get to have nice raisins bites as well...

Now lemme post some pics from the farm, sorry don't hav any pics of just fruits. Have some of my kids picture in the farm..

Avial

Ingredients:-

1. Plantain(Pachakkaya) - 1 big
2. Carrot - 1
3. Winter Melon - a small piece
4. Snake guard(Padavalanga) - 1 small
5. Drumstick - 1
6. Bitter guard(Kayppakka/Karela) - 1 small(optional)
7. Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
8. Salt
9. water - 1 cup
10. Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
11. Grated coconut - 2cup
12. Curry leaves
13. Coconut oil - 2tbsp
14. Thick Yogurt - 1 cup

Preparation Method:-

• Wash and clean all the vegetables, cut lengthwise and set aside.
• In a vessel add all the veggies, salt, turmeric powder and water. Cook till vegetables are soft and tender
• Grind coconut and cumin to a coarse paste and add it to the veggies and cook till raw smell of the coconut goes. Switch off the flame
• With a spoon or fork beat the yogurt just to remove the lumps if any. Add it to the avial and mix everyting gently(don't need to cook the avial after adding the yogurt, if you feel the avial is watery you can cook it in medium flame till water is fully absorbed by the veggies)
• Drizzle coconut oil and curry leaves. Stir gently to mix everything.
• Moving to a serving dish. Pour a tsp of cococnut oil on top before you are ready to eat. Enjoyyyy!!!

Kannur Style Koottu Curry(Malabar Kootu Curry)

Koottu Curry is one among the Kerala Sadya dishes which is always served for marriages and festives like Onam and Vishu especially in Kannur. 'Koottu' means 'mix of items' and as the name suggests its a mix/combination of vegetables cooked together to form a dry curry or side dish. The simple looking koottu curry transforms into an awesome veggie delight with all the wonderful aroma and flavor it gets from the roasted coconut and curry leaves of the tempering. I love the smell when the coconut is roasted along with curry leaves and poured over the curry, the flavor it imparts is way too good, I start munching on it immediately :-) 

 

This is one of my personal favorite among Sadya dishes which I never get bored making or eating, give me a bowl of Kootu curry and boiled rice, I'm happy whole day. Same with hubby and kids. I'm so glad they love it too, another reason why I make it more often than just for Onam or Vishu. When I mention it as Kannur Koottu Curry you very well know, Kottu Curry has its own regional differences like many other Kerala dishes. This is my way of making Koottu Curry(without roasting coconut and coriander powder to grind) which I've been following since long. I believe the more simple you make the food, more tasty and healthy it is. So to all my wonderful readers, here is another delicious Kerala Sadya recipe for you, I hope you will make it this festive season. Enjoy with your loved ones!!!!! 

 

Ingredients:-

1. Bengalgram/Blackgram/Kaala Chana/Kadala - 1 cup
2. Plantain/Raw Banana/Pachakkaya - 2 cups
3. Yam/Chena cut into small cubes - 2 cups
4. Salt to taste
5. Turmeric powder -  ½ tsp
6. Water - 2 cups
7. Grated coconut - 1 cup
8. Fresh coarse ground pepper - 2 tbsp(or pepper powder)

For Tempering:-

1. Coconut oil - 2tbsp
2. Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
3. Urad dal - 2 tsp
4. Grated coconut - 2 or 3 tbsp
5. Curry leaves few
6. Whole dry red chilies - 3

Preparation Method:-

• Wash and clean the blackgram(kadala) and soak it overnight or or for around seven-eights hours.
• Pressure cook Kadala/Gram by adding turmeric powder, salt and water for five-seven whistles(when the first whistles comes reduce the heat to med and cook for another couple of whistles- this saves the consumption of gas and gram cooks well also)
• When the cooker releases the pressure, add the yam, plantain banana, 1tbsp of ground pepper and cook them in medium heat till yam and plantain is soft. You can pressure cook for one more whistle as well after adding the veggies.(do not add more water as we want the koottu curry dry)
• Meanwhile coarse grind the coconut and add it to the gram-plantain-yam mixture and stir well to mix.
• Cook till the water is fully absorbed and the koottu curry is dry(koottu curry becomes dry after even after you take them ff the stove). Set aside.
• Heat another small frying pan, pour coconut oil, crackle mustard, add urad dal, grated coconut, curry leaves and dry red chilly. Saute well till  coconut turn light brown(careful not to burn the coconut)
• Pour over the cooked koottu curry and mix well. Move to a serving dish and serve warm with boiled Rice. 

Semiya Payasam(Vermicelli Payasam)

Ingredients:-

1. Semiya/Vermicelli - 1 cup
2. Milk - 2 cups(2% fat)
3. Condensed milk - 4 tbsp
4. Sugar - 3/4 cup
5. Raisins,cashews - 1/4 cup
6. Ghee - 2 tsp
7. Cardamom pods -3 crushed finely

Preparation Method:-

1. Dry roast the semiya/Vermicelli till golden brown and set aside.
2. In a thick bottom pan add two two cups water and one cup milk and get it to boil.
3. Add vermicelli/Semiya to it and stir continuosly till semiya is soft and cooked well.
4. Add sugar, condensed milk and stir for a while till the semiya absorbs the sweetness
5. Add the remaining 1 cup milk and boil well for few more minutes. Set this aside
6. Heat another pan, pour ghee into it and roast the cashews and raisins. Add this to the payasam
7. Add the crushed cardamom powder anto the payasam.
8. Serve warm, Enjoy!!!!!

Note:- If you buy the roasted, opt out from roasting the vermicelli.
You can adjust the sugar according to your taste.