Kerala Kitchen Round Up - March '12

I am really happy to present before you the much awaited Kerala Kitchen round up and I thank Rose for giving me this wonderful opportunity to host the event. This event definitely helped me to get to know many new wonderful blogger friends and I believe vice-verse. It was fun hosting the event and was amazing to see such wonderful and some very traditional recipes flowing in. Now without further delay let me present the round up, here is an array of Kerala Recipes that I received for for Kerala Kitchen Event March' 12.

Kaveri of Palakkad Chamayal sent us 5 beautiful and delicious entries

Her first entry is this Healthy and yummy Avarakkai thoran/Broad Beans Thoran

Her second entry is this delicious sweet Microwave Mysore Pak

Her third entry is one of my favorite Sambharam, perfect and natural cooler to beat the Summer heat

Her fourth entry is this Awesome and Traditional Jackfruit Pancake/Chakkai Dosai a must try one.

and Kaveri's Fifth entry is this very Nutritious and delicious Vazhathandu Thoran/Banana Stem Stir Fry

Faseela of Good Food ends with Good Talk sent us 8 awesome entries

Her First entry is this Yummy snack Cabbage Cutlet

                                         

Her second entry is this awesome Rice Dumplings Payasam

   

Third entry being Cauliflower Green Peas Curry

Faseela's fourth entry is this Yummy Snack Banana Nest

Check out her fifth entry Appam Without Yeast, just perfect...

Sixth entry being the flavorful Jeera Rice

Faseela's seventh entry is Chukku Podi/Dry Ginger Powder

Her 8th entry is this Lip Smacking  Mango Pickle

Reshmi of Noel Collection sent us 4 lovely entries

Reshmi's First Entry is this Cabbage Thoran, with a new dress up..

Reshmi's Second Entry is this awesome Pineapple Pachadi 

Her Third Entry being Raw Banana Thoran

And Reshmi's Fourth entry is this Ulli Theeyal, I don't even need a side dish if I have this for Rice.

Namitha of Collaborative Curry sent us this very tempting Kerala Fish Curry.  

 

Roshni of Roshni's Kitchen send us 2 entries

Her First Entry is the Therali Appam - A traditional Dish made for Attukal Pongala, Check out her post on this recipe and Attukal Pongala, Its worth reading. 

Her Second Entry is this delicious milk Shake Badam Sharjah

  

 Hasna at Kachu's Delight send us 3 yummy delicious entries

Her First Entry is Malabar's own Madakku Pathal Sweet -Simple yet delicious.

Hasna's Second entry is this Lip Smacking Dates Pickle, wanna dig into it right???

Her third Entry is this tempting Fish Tomato Rice

Fezi Fathima at Kitchen Boffin Send us this delicious Ayala Thoran/Mackerel Sauteed with coconut and spices

Sobha Shyam at Good Food sent these 2 real Good Food entries.

Chickpeas Biriyani, looks amazing right?

Who could ever say no to this awesome Moru Curry

Ramya of Hot from my oven sent us 3 yummy entries

Her first entry is this Chakka Appam/Chakka Kinnathappam

Check out this Mini Bitter Guards Stir Fry, Ramya's second entry

Her 3rd entry is this well presented, very nutritious and ddelicious Nelikka Moru curry/Gooseberries in Yogurt Gravy

Lena of Lemon and Spice sent these 2 wonderful Non-Veg entries

First One being Kerala Style Mutton Chops/Lamb Chops

               

and the second entry is this Kerala Beef Fry/Naadan Beef Fry

        

            

Rinku Naveen at Rinku's Kitchen Treat sent us this delicious sweet treat Vella Kinnthappam/Steamed Rice Cake. Must say beautiful clicks and well presented.

           

Fajeeda Ashik of Faji's Hot Pot Send this sweet Andi Unda/Cashewnut Balls

Misha Praatheesh of Kitchen Magic send us these 4 Entries

First is this very yummy Idiyappam Biriyani

Delicious sweet Parippu Pradhaman

Her third entry is great spread Fig Jam 

Fourth being Sweet and Yummy Boondhi Ladoo

Ramya of Ramya's Recipes Sent us 5 Entries 

Parippu Cheera Curry/Dal Palak Kerala Style, I loved the vibrant color of the curry

Yummyyy and very tempting Shrimp Pickle/Prawns Pickle that can spice up any meal, love them..

The Spicy and awesome looking Chicken Yumm Yumm

Tomato Garlic Chutney

Simple but great side dish Ulli Thoran

Minu Asheej of Ruchikaram has sent us 2 entries

Ripe Banana Puttu/Ethappazham puttu, why steam the banana separate? Try out this smart option

Keralite's all time favorite snack Pazhampori/Ethakkappam/Banana Fritters

       

Suja of Kitchen Corner Send us 2 lovely entries

Try out her Ulli Puli/Sweet and Tangy Onion Curry, a traditional and Sadhya recipe.

Beans Cheruparippu Thoran/Beans and Moong Dal Thoran a very healthy and nutritious stir fry.

Roshan of Roshan's Cucina sent this Star of fame Thattil Kutti Dosa

Rashida Shaikh of Inherited Recipes Sent this awesome Mutton Liver Masala

Vrinda Mahesh of Sankeerthanam sent us this typical Malabar Chicken Biriyani, perfectly presented with beautiful click.

Chandrani Banerjee of Cuisine Delights Re-posted 7 yummy entries for Kerala Kitchen.

Perfect looking Malabar Chicken Curry

Yummy Sweet Banana Halwa

Healthy and yummy Bitter Guard Thoran

Cauliflower Potato Masala in Kerala Style

Chickpeas Curry in Kerala Style

 

Spicy Egg Kurma

Potato Chana Kurma

Amina Khaleel of Amina Creations send us this warm yummy Mutton Soup

                                                       

Julie Sajai of Erivum Pulim sent us these 7 lovely and delicious entries

Keralites's Favorite Team time Snack Parippu Vada/Masala Vadai

                           

         

Masala Biscuits, yet another yummy savory snack

        

Beet Leaves Thoran/Beet Leaves Stir Fry, Nutritious and Healthy Stir Fry

        

  The Lovely snack Pazham Pori/Ripe Plantain Fritters

             

                

Idiyappam with Mixed Beans Stew - One Of the Healthiest and Yummiest Kerala breakfast 

          

Check out her lip smacking Lemon Pickle/Naranga Achar recipe.

      

Simple yet awesome Thakkali Curry/Tomato Curry had always been my favorite.

Reema Vimesh of Achu's Amma's Kitchen send us 12 delicious Entries

Kerala Sadya Special Koottu Curry

Tangy and Yummy Beetroot Pachadi

Another Beet recipe, Beetroot Achar/Beetroot Pickle

     

Yummy and Sweet Snack, Wheat Ladoo

Delicious Tender Jack-fruit Thoran/Idichakka Thoran

Mixed Fruit Pradhaman/Fruit Pradhaman/Mixed Fruit Pradhaman

Kadala Pidi, a must try recipe

Yummy and a Malabar special Fish Pathiri

Green Pappaya Pickle/Omakka Pickle

Vegetable Kurma/Mixed Vegetable Kurma

A Sadhya Recipe Ripe Mango Pachadi/Pazhutha Manga Pachadi

Thakkali Ulli Pachadi/Tomato Onion Pachadi

And now couple of entries from my little space

First one is this Kerala Unakka Meen Curry - Dry Fish Curry with Raw Mango

Second Entry is Oothappam/Uthappam

                                                           

                                                   

Now the Kerlala Kitchen Awards for the Month of March goes to.

Suja of Kitchen Corner Wins the Best Dish for her Ulli Puli a traditional Sadhya Dish.  

Namitha of Collaborative Curry Wins the Best Pic Award for her Kerala Fish Curry. 

I would like to mention some other pictures that were really good too like Vrinda's Malabar Chicken Biriyani, Rinku's Vella Kinnthappam, Ramya's Chakka Kinnathappam etc. But the props Namitha used along with the presentation gave it a feel of Ancestral Household Kitchen in Kerala . I hope you would agree too :-)    

Reema Vimesh of Achu's amma's Kitchen wins the Top Contributor Award with 12 entries

Congrats to all the the winners.

Hope I have included all the entries, If you have sent in any entries and I missed adding them please sent me a mail and I'll be happy to include them. Meanwhile checkout Ramya's Blog for this months Kerala Kitchen Event and sent in your entries soon.

Butter Pav Bhaji Masala

It happens with me all the time, I have the food portraits and recipe ready in my draft and Facebook page from so long but it do not get posted due to the introduction part. I feel I should write something about the dish but never get the time and patience to sit, think and type. And then many of them gets posted without any intro as and when I feel its high time for them to hit 'lime light' ;) Now Pav Bhaji belongs to the same category, when one of my friend and fb page member asked to post the recipe I just guaranteed her 'will do asap' and I guess it is at-least more than a month now. As I always say better late than never and here it comes for you dear Rishin and my dear readers and friends :-)

I had Pav Bhaji for the first time in Mumbai almost five years back and I immediately fell in love with it. My hubby who was brought up in Mumbai always gets nostalgic as he talk about this dish and Pav Bhaji had been one of our Family favorite as the little ones also love it. Pav Bhaji can be eaten as a snack or as a heavy meal, but for us it is mostly our Friday night dinner. 'Pav/Pao' is a small loaf of Indian bread and 'Bhaji' is actually the thick potato based vegetable curry garnished with chopped coriander leaves onion and butter cubes. Bhaji Masala can be cooked quick if you do the pressure cooker method as I did, it take less than an hour even if you cook veggies on stove top. Now that sounds great right, a full meal in less than an hour is always great for the lady in the kitchen I'm sure. Now check out the recipe and try it out and Enjoy the delicacy!!!!!

Ingredients:-

1. Potatoes Chopped into cubes - 3
2. Green Peas - ½ cup
3. Chopped Carrots - ¾ cup
4. Chopped French Beans - ½ cup
5. Cauliflower florets sliced - 1 cup
6. Water ~ 3 cups
7. Onion Finely chopped - 1 +  ½ (to garnish)
8. Tomato Chopped - 2
9. Ginger, Garlic finely chopped - 1 tbsp each(or fresh ginger garlic paste) 
10. Capsicum deseeded and chopped fine -  ½ of a capsicum
11. Green Chilies finely chopped - 4
12. Vegetable Oil ~ 2 tsp(Can use butter instead which adds up a great aroma and flavor)
13. Turmeric power -  ½ tsp
14. Chilly powder -  ½ tsp
15. Dry Mango powder - 1 tsp
16. Cumin powder -  ½ tsp
17. Coriander powder -  ½ tsp
18. Pav Bhaji Masala powder - 2 tbsp(use less/more according to quantity of veggies used)
19. Salt to taste
20. Coriander leaves chopped ~ 3 tbsp(for masala and few to garnish)
21. Fresh Lime/Lemon juice from one Lime/Lemon
22. Butter as required to Garnish and toast the pav
23. Ladi Pav/Inidan Pav bread as required 

Preparation Method:- 

• Rinse chopped cauliflower florets in warm water by adding a pinch of turmeric powder and salt.
• Pressure cook potatoes, green peas, french beans, carrots and cauliflower florets by adding water and salt for one or two whistle and let it cool down completely.
• Meanwhile heat up another pan/wok/kadai, pour oil. When the oil is hot enough add onion, salt and saute for few minutes till they turn translucent. 
• Add chopped ginger-garlic, green chilies and saute till the raw smell is gone. Add capsicum and saute well for a while say two-three minutes till they become pale green.
• Add tomatoes and saute till they are soft, break the tomatoes, mash with the spatula and saute well again

•  Add Turmeric power, chilly power, pav bhaji masala powder, cumin powder, dry mango powder and saute well to mix everything.
• Now from the cooked veggies crush/mash few potatoes and veggies with a spatula/spoon. Add this to the onion-spice mix and stir well to blend more veggies.(Veggies should be beaten and mashed with out any big veggie bites but not to a paste form. It should be in tiny bites not pasty).
• Simmer the heat to medium and let it cook for another five-seven minutes to get a thick gravy. Add some cilantro/coriander leaves, stir well to mix and take off the stove.

• Move to a serving bowl, squeeze and drizzle some lemon/lime juice on top, garnish with chopped cilantro, onion and butter cubes.

• Now toast both sides of the pav in butter just before ready to serve. Enjoy it warm with Pav bhaji Masala.(Usually all sides of Pav is toasted in generous amount of butter which adds taste, I suggest you to use butter according to your tolerance. You know how much butter can be served to your family rather than me, so use your judgement :-) )

Notes :- 

1. If you don't have store bought Pav bhaji Masala don't worry, either use garam masala instead and add 1 tbsp dry mango powder.(or make garam masala at home with cardamom, cloves,cinnamon sticks and fennel seeds)
2. Check out the ingredients lists and direction method on the label printed in the pav bhaji masala pack because you might not need to add all the spices mentioned if the store bought pav bhaji masala already have all blend of spices. Adjust the spice level according to your taste.
3. Usually Pav Bhaji Masala have slight sour taste, you can adjust it either by adding more tomatoes, dry mango powder or Lime/Lemon Juice but make sure not be too sour. We love it with a dash of lemon just before serving :-)

Cilantro Cucumber Lime Cooler

Friends, a humble reminder on the event happening at Cook-Ezee. The Kerala Kitchen Event will end on 31st March. You have one more day to send your entries, so rush in your beautiful and yummy entries as soon as possible :-)

Serves 1 Tall Glass
Ingredients:-

1. Cilantro/Coriander Leaves chopped ~ 2tbsp
2. Cucumber ~ 4 thin slices(add/reduce as required)
3. Sugar ~ 3 tbsp
4. Water - 1 cup + 1 cup
5. Ice Cubes few
6. Fresh Lime/Lemon Juice ~ 2 tbsp(I used juice of ½ lime)
7. Lime/Lemon slice - 1(To Garnish, Optional)
8. Cucumber Slice - 2(To Garnish, Optional)
9. Tip part of a Cilantro - To Garnish(Optional)

Preparation Method:-

• Boil a cup of water and add sugar. Reduce the heat to medium and let it boil till the water reduces to  ½ cup and get form a sugar syrup. Set aside and let it cool.
• Peel the skin from cucumber, slice it. Grind the cucumber and cilantro by adding a cup of water. Strain and pour into a tall glass(I didn't strain it).
• Squeeze out the lime juice from half a Lime/Lemon to the cooler. Add  2tbsp(or more) sugar syrup according to the sweetness required and stir well.
• Add few Ice cubes, insert few slices of cucumber and garnish with a slice of Lime/Lemon and cilantro and serve immediately.

Note:-

1. I have given a basic sugar syrup which you can make in bulk and store it refrigerated for later use in other coolers/cocktails/soft drinks that calls for syrups. Can add your favorite flavors as well.
2. Those who don't like the taste of raw cucumber can cook and grind it as well. Lessen the cilantro if you don't like the taste of it.
3. You can add chilled soda water instead of plain water if desired while blending.
4. Nutritional benefits off cucumber is high, it is good for acidity, blood pressure, excellent cooling agent, helps in dissolution of kidney stones, is Diuretic-encouraging waste removal through urination, good for puffy eyes, helps water retention and many more. So eat it raw, consume them as cooler/plain juice, use it on skin/eyes as beautifying agent choice is all yours and the benefits you already know :-)
5. Cilantro helps increase HDL Cholesterol(good kind) and reduce LDL Cholesterol(bad kind), good source of Iron, Magnesium and helps fighting anemia, helps detoxify the body and many more.

Sending this to EP Series: Herbs & Spices, Beat The Heat, Summer Spirits, Summer Splash

 

Banana Dates Smoothie/ Banana Dates Milk Shake

Who don't like Milk/Ice Cream Smoothies and Shakes right??? Banana Smoothie is my kids favorite but I somehow don't like much banana flavor in my soft drinks. I always try to pair them with some fruits or nuts and this Banana Dates Smoothies is something I love since I don't even have to add any sugar to make it sweet. So this simple and ezee smoothie is for you all to quench the thirst and keep you fresh and energetic in the upcoming hot Summer, Try this out and enjoy!!!!!

Ingredients:-

1. Chiquita Banana - 1 
2. Dates - 8 to 10 numbers
3. Low fat Milk- 2 Cups
4. Ice Cubes - 6 to 10(optional)
5. Whipped Cream to Garnish on top(optional)

Preparation Method:- 

• Roughly Chop the dates and soak them in a cup of milk for 10 minutes.
• Blend the soaked dates well in the blender/mixer. Chop and add the banana to the dates and blend well again. 
• Add the remaining milk and ice cube and blend well again.
• Strain and pour them to the serving glasses. Drizzle some whipped cream or add a scoop of Ice cream or more Ice cubes if desired. Serve immediately. 

Variation:- You can use half frozen milk or add Ice Cream instead of milk as well. 

Sending this to Sobha's Event Just For Fun, Ramya's ABC Series: Fruit Fiesta, Surabhi's Beat the Heat, Sangee's Summer Splash, Anu's Summer Spirits

 

Wheat Flour Oats Dosa Appam - Kids Delight

The First look of them make you feel 'oh a pancake' though none of the ingredients used for making this are of pancakes. Most of the evening I make some kids snack though I never get to click a picture of them(never bothered to take pics when four hungry eyes stare at me) and this dosa appam/pancake evolved out one such  evening. I gave this delicacy the title Appam as I didn't knew what to call them.This is simple, quick and ezee Appams made with Wheat Flour/Chappathi Flour, Jaggery, Oats, nuts etc. You can always mix and match the ingredients according to your choice like adding some grated coconut or opt out adding nuts if your kids don't like them or if they are too little to chew the nuts. Choice is all yours but I can guarantee you on taste, a real delicious breakfast/snack for kids healthy too without compromising on taste. :-) Enjoy!!!!!

Ingredients:-

1. Whole wheat Flour(I used Chappathi Flour) - 1 cup
2. Oats - ½ cup
3.  Jaggery ~ 1 cup broken pieces(5 to 6 Jaggery Cubes if using Jaggery cubes. Adjust according to the sweetness required)
4. Water - 1 cup
5. Milk - 1 cup(Can use 1 cup water instead)
6. Egg -  1(optional)
7. Sesame Seeds - 1tsp 
8. Chopped Coconut pieces - 2tbsp(optional)
9. Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp(optional)
10. Dry Ginger Powder - 1/2 tsp(optional)
11. Raisins, Cashews a handful(optional)
12. Ghee/Butter as required(optional)

Preparation Method:-

• Put Jaggery pieces in a vessel, add ¼ cups of water and let it boil till all the jaggery pieces are melted. Strain this Jaggery syrup to another vessel to remove any impurities and let it cool completely.
• In another bowl add oats and water and mix well, set aside for ten minutes. Add Wheat flour, egg, milk and mix well with a wire whisk to remove any lumps.
  
• Pour the Jaggery syrup, sesame seeds, coconut pieces, raisins, cashews, cardamom powder, dry ginger powder and mix gently with the wire whisk till everything is incorporated. 
• Heat up a non-stick pan/griddle, pour a ladle of the batter and spread to make a bit thick round Appams(Drizzle few drops of ghee if desired, it gives nice aroma and is good for kids health)
• Repeat the process with the rest of the batter, Serve warm. Enjoy!!!!!