Banana fritters / ethakka appam

 

Snakegourd koottu

 

Chena curry / asthram

 

Vegetable stew

 

Karimeen mappas

This is something I tried today. I made a few alterations to reduce cooking time. You will need: 1/2 kg cleaned fish (pearlspot/pomfret etc.) 1/2 cup thin long slices of onion 12 flakes garlic 1 tsp thin long sliced ginger 3 green chillies half slit A few curry leaves 4 pieces fish tamarind or 2 tomatoes sliced

Here goes: Splutter mustard (1 tsp) and fenugreek seeds (a pinch) in 2 dsp hot oil. Season onion, garlic, ginger, green chillies and curry leaves one by one. Add 1 dsp coriander powder, 1/4 tsp chillipowder, 1/4 tsp turmeric powder, 2 pinches pepper powder (she advises grinding them to a paste first) and fry over a low flame. Add 1 1/2 cups water and fish tamarind. (I feel tomatoes are better, maybe next time) When the gravy boils, add the fish. I however lightly fried the fish after marinating it with a little fish masala ( chilli-turmeric-pepper powder mix). Add 1/2 cup coconut milk when the gravy thickens and bring to boil. Remove from fire when it stars boiling. And your pearlspot stew/pappas is ready. Tastes great with rice, appam or rotis.

Kerala beef fry (ularthu)

Slice 1/2 kilo beef into small square cubes.

Wash well.

Pressure-cook the beef with some garam masala powder (1 tsp), chilli powder (1 tsp), coriander powder (2 tsp), turmeric powder (1/2 tsp), ginger-garlic paste or chopped fine (1 tsp), salt (as required) and button onions (10-15).

There is no need to add any extra water because the water from the washed beef is enough (but to tell the truth, I add a little as I dont want to burn the cooker and the safety valve).

Slice coconut pieces (after you take a few pieces of coconut off the shell using a knife). Back in Kerala, we call these crescent-shaped bigger slices thengapool and the smaller ones thengakothu.

Fry the coconut chips in a tablespoon of oil and keep aside. These are meant for embellishment and taste....

Chop 2 onions longish.

Season the sliced onion in 2-3 tbsp of oil. Add chopped ginger and garlic (say a teaspoon each), and curry leaves (2 twigs). Add, again, 1 tsp each of coriander powder, chilli powder, pepper powder and garam masala. You can add a couple of green chillis cut in half if it is not hot enough.

Add the cooked beef to it and keep on fire until the water is completely drained. Add the fried coconut chips too so that it gets a little cooked along with the onions in the stock.

Pour more oil to get a proper fry. If you like it with some gravy/masala, dont dry/fry it too much.

p.s. My cooking is generally a less oil, less fat kind, so you could add a little more oil and more coconut chips if you dont have to worry too much about certain health issues!

Tea Cake

I found this recipe in the Malayalam women's magazine Vanita and the grand old lady who is the author of it calls it the Yellow Cake. It came out good and maybe you could try it out too.

• Milk - 1 cup
• Eggs - 4


• Maida/white flour - 2 cups


• Butter - 1/2 cup


• Baking powder - 2 tsp


• Vanilla essence, lemon essence - 1/2 tsp each


• Sugar - 2 cups

1. Break eggs into a bowl. Add sugar into it and beat well till it's frothy.


2. Sieve maida and baking powder together.


3. Add this to the egg mix slowly.


4. Add the essences.


5. Boil milk and add the butter into it.


6. Mix this to the cake batter.


7. Grease a cake bin/glass bowl, sprinkle maida over it and then pour in the cake mix.


8. Bake at 350 deg F, for 45-60 minutes.
   * In my Samsung microwave, I use the Microwave + Convection mode and bake at 180 W for 20-25 minutes.