Daily Archives: August 3, 2016

Saudi champagne

Preparation time : 10 minutes
Cooking time : nil
Serves : 4 members

Description

Every country that I travel too, I make sure to get to know their local cuisine and delicacies. I try my best to sample and feed myself with street food, and the local fare. On my last trip to Saudi Arabia, every restaurant we went to my uncle kept asking for Saudi champagne and for the entire two weeks of my stay, I was not served this mock tail even once. This got me even more curious about this drink. Back home.. Like always nothing to do.. The Saudi trip was running in my mind. The Saudi champagne rang a bell. That mock tail that I missed out on, didn’t want to prolong the curiousness, so I googled and got to know it’s such an easy recipe that even a novice can follow and do. Saved the recipe and made on eid. It did flaunt every one with a surprising spark on their festive faces. The whole colourful fruit rounds with the mint floating is a delight to the eyes. The combination of the sparking drink and apple juice with the dash of mint makes you want the drink more. All thanks to my maternal uncle Shahul ( who is younger to me by eight years ) for letting me know there’s some thing like such in the Arabic cuisine. Cheers to you mama.. Now through me its shared with thousands in our sauté, fry n bake family.

Ingredients

Ingredients	Quantity
Apple	1 cut into thick rounds with skin
Orange	1 cut into thick rounds with skin
Mint leaves	Few
Lemon	1 cut into thick rounds with skin
7 up	600 ml ( 2 cups )
Apple juice ( I used Dabur - Real brand )	600 ml ( 2 cups )
Ice cubes	5 to 6

Method

In a tall water jug mix the apple rounds, orange rounds, lime rounds and mint together.
Pour in the apple juice into the fruit round. Place in the refrigerator until to be served.
Just before serving add ice cubes and 7 up. Mix and serve chilled with the fruit rings.

Ney pathiri

Preparation time : 4 hours soaking + 30 minutes
Cooking time : 2-3 minutes
Serves : 6 members

Description

My newly wedded daughter and son-in- law were busy attending parties at all our relatives homes. This is a custom that we follow to introduce the new bride or groom of our family to get to know our near and dear ones. We make sure that the entire family is there in all the parties hosted. It’s some thing like a give and take policy. Every home takes efforts to show case their table spread in style be it simple or grand to the newly wedded couple. Like wise we were invited to my cousin sister cithara’ home in Coimbatore. My aunt ( dad’s eldest sister who is my cousin’s mother in law too ) had a grand Malabar spread. Curious me landed in the kitchen and saw two of my aunts making this ney pathiri in greased banana leaves. It was just pure magic to see them do the entire lot. Since then, I have been wanting to give a try but it just did not happen. Finally I made sure to make these recently on my daughter’s visit home. As always, authentic dishes are tricky to master but this one I nailed it though being nervous. It tasted so similar to the maavu rotti we make at home but crisp and puff textured. Every one gave a green signal to the dish and I will be making them often for sure here after. Every custom our ancestors left us to follow sure does have a purpose.. Here the age old custom of feasting with the newly weds let me know about a new dish, learn it, give a try and share it with you all.

Ingredients

Ingredients	Quantity
Raw rice / ( pacha arisi )	2 cups
Rice flour / iddiappam flour	1 1/2 cups
Salt	to taste
Water	little
Grated coconut	1 1/2 cups
Cumin seeds	2 teaspoon
Small onion	5
Oil	to deep fry

Method

Soak the rice in water for 3-4 hours. Drain and grind with little water until it becomes coarse and grainy mixture.Add rice flour and mix well to get a semi thick consistency dough.
Blitz the grated coconut, small onions and cumin seeds together in a food processor. Add salt and mix with the ground rice coarse mixture.
Heat oil in a deep pan. Take lime sized balls from the ground rice flour mixture. With greased hand’s flatten the lime size ball’s into a disc of 4-5 mm rounds over a greased plastic sheet. Remove the ney pathiri gently.
Drop the ney pathiri one by one into the medium hot oil. First you see bubbles and then it puff’s up. Deep fry to puffed and golden in colour.
Drain and serve hot with any curry of your choice.

Egg salad

Preparation time : 10 minutes
Cooking time : 5 minutes
Serves : 6 members

Description

Onion raitha / Thayir chutney / vengaya sambal as it’s known with its various names that I know of is the only accomplishment that’s served with biriyani. Me fed up with this wanted to add another salad that would pair up to be served with the biriyani. Broke my head, googled as well but nothing really seemed to be good enough. Then I just dug into what else we have with the biriyani for sides. The boiled egg just flashed in my mind. Why not try and make a salad with boiled eggs was the next question? I did make sure to pair ingredients that would work together and look colourful too. So followed my instincts with a simple flavour combination. Tasted and it was yum. Served along with biryani and it did serve its purpose better than the normal boiled eggs would do. This dish it alert me saying ” there’s no need to cook fancy master pieces just good food from fresh ingredients is all you need to bring a spark at the table. Happy me, another dish added to the regular’s at home.

Ingredients

Ingredients	Quantity
Boiled eggs	3 cut into rounds
Boiled potatoes	2 cubed
Carrot	1 shredded
Capsicum	1 sliced
Tomato	1 chopped
Onion	1 chopped
Salt	to taste
Pepper	to taste
Chat masala powder	1/8 teaspoon
Black salt	1/8 teaspoon
Lime juice	1/2 a lime juice
Cumin powder	1/4 teaspoon
Coriander leaves	few chopped
Potato chips	1 cup crushed

Method

Mix salt, pepper, black salt, chat masala, cumin powder and lime juice together. Taste and adjust seasoning. Dressing is ready.
Mix potatoes, tomato, onion, carrots, capsicum and eggs together.
Pour the dressing over the mixed egg mix. Toss gently. Garnish with crushed potato chips. Serve at room temperature.

Kooni eraal niracha Kanava thiyal

Preparation time : 30 minutes
Cooking time : 15 -20 minutes
Serves : 6 members

Description

Getting to see long faces in the dining table happen’s at all home’s tagged with a comment that follow’s with.. ” the same thing to eat every day.. Why ?? ” I am no exceptional.. I know most of you will not agree to this but the fact is at home we repeatedly cook the same 8-10 curries for lunch. The problem being my true blue South Indian hubby dear is just not ready to eat any thing new or try an out of the box curry. So I just don’t attempt much as I know the results even before it’s going to be served. This curry attempt was made purely to satisfy my craving’s for a new end twist to the mighty old thiyal curry. I just loved the idea of stuffing the squid that popped up in my mind out of a sudden when I was in the fish market gazing at the fresh local produce of the day. I did get small sized squid that were perfect for my purpose. Now stuffing that should pair well with the squid and taste good. Prawns came up so its prawns I assured. I didn’t want to go ahead with the regular cliche tomato onion gravy so I just paired it up with the authentic thiyal curry. Made it and was waiting to know the results. Tasted and my, my it was a perfect match that paired so well. I had my share, packed the rest to my friends place and I could not believe how they licked the entire thiyal with out a drop left. All they had to say was.. We live only once so nothing wrong in licking the bowl .. Had to agree for sure.

Prawn filling

Ingredients	Quantity
Cleaned prawns	1 cup
Small onions	5
Ginger	1/4 inch piece
Garlic clove	2
Grated coconut	1 cup
Curry leaves	4
Green chillies	2
Turmeric powder	1/4 teaspoon
Lime juice	1/2 just a squeeze
Salt	to taste

Method

Coarsely grind all the ingredients together mentioned in the ingredients to grind column except for lime juice and salt. The ground paste must be corse but smooth.
Add lime juice and salt to taste to the ground coarse mix. Mix well. Check seasoning and Keep aside for half an hour.

Ingredients for thiyal

Ingredients	Quantity
Baby Squid / Kanava	1/2 kg cleaned and whole with heads removed
Red chilli powder	1 tablespoon+ 1/2 teaspoon to marinate
Coriander powder	1 tablespoon
Turmeric powder	1/2 teaspoon + 1/4 teaspoon to marinate
Tamarind pulp	1/2 cup
Salt	to taste
Coconut oil	2 tablespoons
Fenugreek seeds	1 teaspoon
Fennel powder	1 teaspoon
Garlic	1 teaspoon chopped
Ginger	1 teaspoon chopped
Green chillies	3 slit
Small onions	one hand full chopped
Mustard seeds	1/2 teaspoon
Curry leaves	Few
Grated coconut	1 cup
Pepper corns	1 teaspoon
Dry red chillies	2

Method for thiyal

Marinate the cleaned whole squid with red chilli powder, turmeric powder and salt to taste. Keep aside.
Heat a heavy bottomed vessel with 1/2 teaspoon oil. Fry the grated coconut to a golden brown colour. Top with red chilli powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder, fennel powder and pepper corns.
Sauté until a nice aroma arises making sure not to burn the spices. Remove from heat. Cool completely and grind to a smooth paste.
Heat a mud pit with coconut oil, crackle mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds and curry leaves. Top with small onions and green chillies. Sauté to translucent.
Add the ground masala paste and sauté for a minute until oil floats on top. Add the tamarind pulp, salt to taste and 3 cups water.
Mix well, taste and adjust seasoning. Cover with a lid and cook further until raw smell has gone for about 8 to 10 minutes in medium heat .
Stuff each whole marinated whole squid with the ground prawn paste to 3/4 full. Seal the open mouth with a tooth pick.
Drop the prawn stuffed squid into the thiyal and cook for 3-4 minutes or until the Squids float on top.
Remove from heat and serve hot with rice.