Daily Archives: July 1, 2015

Sweet and savoury filled pumpkin’s /erachi nirachathu

Preparation Time : 50 minutes

Cooking Time : one hour

Serving : 5 members

Description

I really am not sure from where my love for malabar food started as the only malabar connection I had was my best buddy sulu and a few home made treats she would bring to school after every holiday. The first time I really got to relish a typical malabar treat was when I was taken along with a heard of people ( around 30-40 of us… Gosh we were a crazy heard ) to see a bride for my moms first cousin brother in Kerala. Cant remember the name of the place but the house was in between a rubber forest, lush green and silent. We were served a grand spread of snacks and tea . Every snack on the table was home made and all the snacks were so different and my first time for sure. The bride was equally good looking like the grand spread and we made sure to add her to our crazy heard. Even till date I keep telling my mom that afsina aarrs is the best looking daughter- in- law of our family. Later I got to know the pappla’s are known for their fondness for good food. Palagaram or savoury snacks are loved by the entire community and had between meals. This snack recipe was taken from my moms recipe book which was gifted to her by a pappla friend . Though the book has stained pages, she has never made this snack for us being her true lazy to cook self. I made it with two minds following the recipe as it had two fillings one sweet and the other savoury. Wanting to be loyal to the recipe went ahead with the method for filling but changed the dough ingredients a bit as I felt the given dough ingredients would give the dish a chewy cover. The multiple layers of cover and fillings add to its unique flavours. A very indulgent snack but worth every calorie and when eating a malabar fare you should forget about your waist line.

Ingredients for mince filling

Ingredients	Quantity
Minced meat	200 grams
Turmeric powder	1/4 teaspoon
Red chilly power	1/4 teaspoon
Coriander powder	1 teaspoon
Salt	to taste
Big Onions	2 chopped
Green chillies	4 chopped
Ginger garlic paste	1 teaspoon each
Garam masala powder	1/2 teaspoon
Coriander leaves	1/4 bunch chopped
Oil	2 tablespoons

Method for mince filling

1. Mix cleaned mince meat with turmeric powde, red chilly powde, coriander powder, salt to taste and little water together. Cook to done and dry consistency.

2. Heat oil in a kadai, add onions and green chillies. Fry to light brown in color. Top with ginger and garlic paste. Fry to crisp. Add boiled mince meat, garam masala powder and coriander leaves. Mix well and remove from heat. Cool completely and keep aside.

Ingredients for egg filling

Ingredients	Quantity
Eggs	4
Sugar	2 tablespoons
Ghee	2 tablespoons
Cashew nuts	2 tablespoons cut into bits
Raisins	2 tablespoons
Cardamom powder	4 pods powdered finely
Salt	a pinch

Method for egg filling

1.Beat eggs with sugar and salt.
2.Heat ghee in a frying pan. Add cashew nuts and raisins. Fry to a golden brown color. Pour the beaten eggs and scramble adding cardamom powder. Remove and cool completely.

Ingredients for the cover

Ingredients	Quantity
Ingredients for the cover	250 grams
Salt	to taste
Oil	1/4 cup
Water	enough to get a smooth dough

How to proceed

Take a small ball of dough. Roll out to a 6 cm round. Place one teaspoon of egg filling in the middle. Get the edges of the circle together towards the center to get a pumpkin shape. Pinch off excess flour from the top. Heat oil to deep fry. Fry the filled pumpkin shaped pot to a golden color. Drain and set aside. ( I did ten pieces similarly at a time making it easier )
Roll a bigger round out of the dough about 10-12 cm which is bigger than the first circle. Place two teaspoons of mince filling in the center. Top with the first egg filled deep fried pumpkin. Bring the edges of the circle toward the center covering the first small pumpkin. Pinch of the excess dough. Deep fry in hot oil to a golden brown color. Drain and keep aside.
Do the same repeatedly with bigger rolled dough rounds each time and filling alternatively with egg filling and mince filling. Deep fry each time you stuff a filling.
Four layers is good enough but you want a smaller pumpkin’s you can stop with three layers. If using three layers make sure to use two layers of mince filling and one layer of egg filling.

Chicken stuffed wheat semolina dumplings with tangy and sweet orange juice

Preparation Time : 40 minutes

Cooking Time : 30 -35 minutes

Serving : 5-6 members

Description

I was honored by another fellow foodie page called kayal Samayal to be the judge for a contest run on their page with the thyme being chicken and oranges. The thyme was selected by me the great thinking let every one around also break their head to come up with new recipes like I do. Faiza( Kayal Samayal admin ) and myself were a bit worried initially as there were no posts and then one after the other they just poured in leaving me in a fix to judge the best dish. I was blown away with the innovative ideas and dishes that were posted for the competition. At that point of time I came up with this recipe in mind and stored it. I have been wanting to share the recipes of the Kayal Samayal contest but as most of the recipes are in Tamil… My laziness to translate it to English is just not letting me go ahead. Coming back to this dish… I remember one contestant of master chef India not sure which season as well making sushi with upma. I just borrowed that idea of upma is easy to mould into any shape we want to and went ahead with this dish. Made the upma with wheat semolina for the healthy option. My cook asked me more than three times if she had to deep fry the dumplings as she is so used to what my brain will signal her to do next but it was a big no this time with me sticking to the healthy way perfect for a hot summer day. It was packed with a sweet and sour punch delivering a serious hit of vitamin c. The dish was shared to cousins homes and served at the table at home. It was a big no from hubby dear but every one else called up and got the recipe… Which means it’s worth a recipe to be shared…. Letting you all making this your own recipe, filled with your own stories.

Ingredients For the dumplings cover

Ingredients	Quantity
wheat semolina	1 cup
Chicken stock cubes	2
Water	3 cups
Butter	1 tablespoon
pepper powder	1/4 teaspoon

Method for the dumpling cover

Heat water with stock cube, pepper and butter. Mix well until butter and stock cube dissolves.
Taste and adjust salt as stock cubes contain a lot of salt. Bring to boil. Add the wheat semolina slowly as you keep stirring vigorously making sure no lumps are formed for about 8- 10 minutes until semolina is cooked and gets together to a slightly sticky mass.
Remove from heat and cool completely.

Ingredients For the stuffing

Ingredients	Quantity
Boneless chicken	1/4 kg
Ginger garlic paste	1/4 teaspoon each
Salt	taste
Turmeric powder	1/4 teaspoon
Onions	5 big chopped
Green chillies	4 chopped
Mixed vegetables - carrots , beans , cabbage , green peas chopped and boiled in water with salt	1 cup
Garam masala powder	1/4 teaspoon
Mint leaves	few
Coriander leaves	one hand chopped
Pepper powder	to taste
Oil	2 tablespoons

Method for chicken stuffing

Pressure cook cleaned chicken, salt, turmeric powder, ginger garlic paste and little water for one whistle.
Bring to boil and Reduce the water. Cool completely and shred the chicken to treads ( I run it in the food processor for a second ).
Heat oil in a non stick board pan. Add onions and fry to translucent.
Add green chilies, boiled chopped mixed vegetables, shredded chicken, mint leaves, coriander leaves, salt, garam masala powder and pepper to taste.
Mix well and lower the flame and keep stirring for 3 minutes letting all the flavours infuse together.
Remove from heat, cool and set aside.

Ingredients For the orange sauce

Ingredients	Quantity
orange juice	of 6 oranges
garlic	2 teaspoon chopped
green chillies	6 chopped
cumin powder	1/2 teaspoon
Red chili flakes	to taste
Sugar	to taste
corn flour	2 tablespoons diluted in 2 tablespoons of water
Chat masala powder	1 teaspoon
oil	1 tablespoon

Method for orange sauce

Heat oil in a wide pan. saute garlic and green chillies for 2 minutes. Add cumin powder and salt.
pour the orange juice and cook for 2 minutes with red chili flakes and sugar to taste.
Taste and adjust seasoning. Add diluted corn flour paste to thicken a bit to a gooey sauce. Remove and set aside.

How to proceed

Take a lemon size ball of cooled semolina and flatten to a round disc of 1/4 inch thick with the help of greased hands.
Place 1 tablespoon full of stuffing in the center and bring the edges of the semolina disc towards the center and roll to a ball with no cracks.
Do the same to all of wheat semolina and chicken stuffing.

Ela Ada

Preparation Time : 30 minutes

Cooking Time : one hour + 20 minutes

Serving : 5 members

Description

I get nostalgic about this dish as it reminds me of my lazy summer vacations and days filled with delicious food. I don’t remember seeing an empty table at my grand parents place in Palghat at any point of time in my entire lif. Three meals with home made snack’s for tea in the evening was a must every day. The remaining time we had the snack’s container… You can call it a drum as it was so huge and all the salt water marinated pickles from raw mangoes, pineapples, cranberries ( kalakaaei)….uff my mouth is watering thinking about all that. My grand father was a true blue foodie and made sure we had brunches in between while watching a movie , a cricket match or wrestling match in the telly. All the while my grand father making his presence with us giving good company. Me being the only grand daughter then was not pampered at all as my grand parents were fed up of having four daughters in a row. So I grew up with a lot of boys around me but I had my aunts who were all just with in ten years elder than me. So they were like my cousins rather than my aunts. Ela Ada was one snack that was there on the table nearly every alternative day and sure was taken for granted then. Only after my marriage did I realise I have fallen hard for how these home style unique recipes… Legacy of my grand mother worth their weight in gold let me reconnect with my ravuthar heritage. Well… Dining trends come and go but the nostalgic unforgettable table experience sure does endure our loved ones too as we can’t get those memorable by gone good old days.

Ingredients for the filling

Ingredients	Quantity
Jackfruit Puree	3 cups
Powdered Jaggery	3 cups
Ghee	1/2 cup
Salt	a pinch
Grated coconut	1/2 of a small coconut

Method

Remove the fruit bulbs, deseed them. Pressure cook in a cooker for 3 whistles, with about ½ cup water. Allow to cool naturally and grind to a smooth paste to get jackfruit purée.
Heat a heavy bottomed Kadai add the jaggery. Dissolve the jaggery in about 1 cup of water.Strain and remove the impurities. Wash the kadai and pour back the jaggery syrup into the kadai.Let it boil on medium heat till one string consistency.
Then add the pureed jackfruit and cook on medium heat, stirring once in a while to avoid burning.
Do not cook on high flame.Once all the moisture is absorbed and the mixture starts thickening add the ghee little at a time or whenever you feel the mixture sticking to the bottom. Keep stirring and cooking till the mixture leaves the sides of the kadai.
Add grated coconut and a pinch of salt. mix well. Take’s about one hours time to get to a gooey thick consistency. Remove from flame and let it cool naturally.

Ingredients for the cover

Ingredients	Quantity
Rice flour	2 cups
Salt	a pinch
Hot water	2 1/2 cups
Banana leaves	3 leaves cut into note book size
Coconut oil	1 tablespoon

Method for cover

Mix rice flour, salt and hot water together to get a smooth, loose pliable dough. Keep covered until needed to be used.

How to proceed

Apply coconut oil over the note book size cut banana leaves. Place them over the stove top on medium heat so the leaves become soft and foldable.
Take a lemon size ball of dough and knead well. Roll to a ball with no cracks. Place over the greased banana leaf. With the help of your greased Palm, press gently to flatten.
Turn over and press again going all around the round disc making sure it’s equal and gets to a thin round disc. Place one tablespoon of cooled filling on one side of the circle.
Fold over with the banana leaf to get a semi circle. Press the edges together over the top of the banana leafy gently but making sure it’s sealed well.
Do the same with all the filling and cover dough. Steam in a idli vessel for 10-12 minutes and serve hot .

Notes

Make sure to knead the dough well only then you get ela Ada with no cracks.
You can use just jaggery and grated coconut alone for filling When pressed for time or crave this dish when jackfruits are not in season I do the cheats way of using ready made chakka varatti ( double horse brand ).
Mix a little powdered jaggery and grated coconut to it and use.

Layered moon samosas

Preparation Time : 1 hour

Cooking Time : 35 minutes

Serving : 8 members

Recipe source : Pavithra elangovan

Description

There are a few dishes that I don’t cook but have particular individual’s cook it when ever they drop by to visit me . Like wise, my nanny cum cook from moms place fathima used to make samsa’s ( that’s how she pronoun’s it- samosa ) that were rustic looking,Devine in taste and high in calorie’s and my comforting childhood favourite.This snack is usually made as an offering in huge amounts (500 -1000 pieces) during the holy month of Ramadan in mosques by people willing to distribute to those fasting.fathima makes this snack every year with her sister and mother and does so. This has actually made her an expert in this dish. When ever she makes this at home, I just keep taking note of the procedure but never attempted to give a try. I came across a similar recipe in a fellow foodie blogger pavitra elangovan’s blog with a more posh look but a sweet snack. I followed her recipe to the core with no changes but just opted for a savoury non vegetarian filling. Quite a pains taking job but worth the work when you have a bite into this indulgent snack. The layers of distinct crumbliness and the twisted pattern used to seal the edges together add so much glamour to the snack. It’s always a challenge with food to get both taste and texture right. For an extra touch of indulgence gear up to spoil all your loved ones with these tempting treats. I assure you they will earn you loads of brownie points.

Ingredients for the Layered cover

Ingredients	Quantity
Flour	1/2 cup
Rice flour	1 teaspoon
Salt	a pinch
Oil	to deep fry

Method for the layered covering

Mix all the ingredients together mentioned above for the layered covering. Add little water and knead to a dough that is slightly stiffer than a chapathi dough. Keep aside covered for fifteen minutes.

Ingredients for Filling

Ingredients	Quantity
Boneless chicken	1/4 kg
Ginger garlic paste	1/4 teaspoon each
Salt	to taste
Turmeric powder	1/4 teaspoon
Onions	5 big chopped
Green chillies	4 chopped
Mixed vegetables - carrots , beans , cabbage , green peas chopped and boiled in water with salt	1 cup
Garam masala powder	1/4 teaspoon
Mint leaves	few
Coriander leaves	one hand chopped
Pepper powder	to taste
Oil	2 tablespoons

Method for chicken filling

Pressure cook cleaned chicken , salt , turmeric powder, ginger garlic paste and little water for one whistle.
Bring to boil and Reduce the water. Cool completely and shred the chicken to treads ( I run it in the food processor for a second ).
Heat oil in a non stick board pan. Add onions and fry to translucent.
Add green chilies, boiled chopped mixed vegetables, shredded chicken, mint leaves, coriander leaves, salt, garam masala powder and pepper to taste.
Mix well and lower the flame and keep stirring for 3 minutes letting all the flavours infuse together. Remove from heat, cool and set aside.

Other ingredients to brush in between each layer of disc

ingredients	Quantity
Ghee / oil	1/2 teaspoon for each layer
Rice flour	1 teaspoon for each layer

How to proceed

Divide the dough into equal five lemon size balls. Roll each ball into 8 1/2 to 9 inch equal circles. Brush 1/2 teaspoon ghee on one side of the first rolled round disc.
Sprinkle one teaspoon rice flour on top of the brushed ghee. Slightly rub it all over.Place another rolled disc on top and do the same with ghee and rice flour.
Stack all the five rolled discs with applying ghee and sprinkling rice flour in between each disc. Once they are stacked up , using a rolling pin,slightly roll with little pressure to get even circles.
Make sure not to give too much pressure. Starting from one end make a tight roll.Cut the tight roll into 10-11 equal one inch thick slices.Dust rice flour on one slice, with out using much pressure roll with a rolling pin to 3- 3 1/2 inch disc.
Fill with 1 1/4 teaspoon of cooled filling in the centre. Apply water around the edges. Close to get a semi circle.starting from the left corner,pinch the edges together.
Make a swirl inwards towards right angle. Do the same until you reach the other edge to get a twisted pattern on the edges and sealing the filling.
Do the same to all the slices and filling. Heat oil to deep fry.Deep fry in low medium heat until both sides are golden brown in batches of 3 to 4 at a time.
Drain over absorbent paper. Serve hot as it is with no dips .

Notes

Place the tightly rolled log in the refrigerator for ten minutes and then cut into discs.
Doing so the ghee and roll dough get a bit firm making it easy for us to work.
Place the cut discs also in the refrigerator for five minutes and then roll,so the layered stay intact when rolling and filling.
You can use flour to sprinkle in between each rolled disc but rice flour gives a crispy cover.
The same can be done with a sweet filling with fried grated coconut , fried cashew nuts + raisins , poppy seeds.Cool and add sugar to taste with cardamom powder.
You can make a mince meat filling substituting the chicken in the recipe.