Amma's Signature Mutton Curry

It's Sunday and as usual it's a special lunch day just like any other households. Today we visited our mom and she cooked for us her signature mutton curry. The whole cooking process happened in pressure cooker which minus the stove cleaning task 😁. This recepi calls for aromatic Indian spices and not so Indian herbs which we local called as daun pandan aka pandan leaf or screwpine leaf. The main reason for adding pandan leaf to the recipient are for it's aromatic nature.

This mutton curry are thick, spicy and full of flavor. The spiciness comes from the all spice and green chilly. Since we all are heat tolerable people it suits our palate. In fact for spicy freak I've me it was actually mild but if you're not like me this is a bit on spicy side. No coconut milk added to the recipe, the thickness comes from the added masala and ground paste. No water added as well as mutton tend to release water while cooking and pureed tomato helps too. We serve this Anna's special mutton gravy with Mid Eastern blue barberry rice and cucumber raita for a hearty Sunday family lunch ❤

Ingredients 

To Marinate 

1kg mutton with bone

1/2 cup yogurt

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp turmeric powder

1/2 tsp chilly powder

Ground Paste

4 large onions

6 cloves garlic 

2"inch ginger

For The Gravy

4 tomatoes,pureed

1 large onion, sliced

4 green chillies,slit

3 tbsp meat masala

1 1/2 tsp coriander powder

1 1/2 tsp cumin powder

1 tbsp red chilly powder

1 tsp garam masala

2 tbsp vegetable oil

Salt to season 

3 cardamom pods 

1"inch cinnamon stick

4 pcs cloves 

1 bay leaf

1 screwpine leaf

1 tsp fennel seeds

Handful chopped coriander leaves 

Methods

In a large bowl, wash and marinate mutton with ingredients listed under "To Marinate". Marinate for 1 hour. 

Heat oil in a pressure cooker, sautee cloves,cinnamon stick, bay leaf, screwpine leaf, fennel seeds and cardamom pods.

Add the ingredients listed under "Ground Paste" and saute till fragrant.

Add the green chilly, meat masala, chilly powder,coriander powder and cumin powder. Saute for one minute. 

Add the pureed tomato and cook for another 2 minutes. Add the marinated mutton and season with salt. Stir well. 

Pressure cook the mutton for 6 whistles and turn off the heat. Once all the pressure released,  add the chopped coriander leaves (reserve some for garnishing).

Stir and serve with rice or roti.

Peanut Butter Jelly French Toast

My elder Dandelion is a big fan of peanut butter jelly sandwich. During her schooling days PBJ is what she always request for her breakfast box. Few slices of toasted PBJ, dried fruits and nuts with few slices of fresh fruit and whole milk she's ready to start her day. After she went to her high school, PBJ became her weekends leisure treat. Now,  she's in her University days it has become a once in a semester break muncheon.

Easy and hassle free to prepare for breakfast or as a tea time snack. This PBJ is kids and adults favourite. This time though, I dunk them on egg custard for a perfect French toast PBJ..walla 😋

Ingredients 

1/2 cup smooth peanut butter

4 tbsp strawberry jam

6 slices white bread

1/2 cup whole milk

2 large eggs 

1/4 tsp vanilla extract 

1/4 tap salt

2 tbsp butter

Confectioners sugar, for dusting

Methods 

In a large bowl, beat together eggs, milk, vanilla extract and salt till combine. Keep aside.

Spread 3 slices of bread with peanut butter and the remaining 3 slices with strawberry jam. Sandwich both the peanut but and jam bread together.

Dunk the bread in the prepared egg milk mixture.

Heat frying pan over a medium heat and melt butter. Place the dunk bread and fry on both sides till golden.

Serve hot or warm with a dust of confectioners sugar. 

Bolu Pisang

 

Bolu pisang or steamed banana cake topped with salted grated coconut are Indonesion snack which can be served for breakfast or teatime. I tasted this particular snack few times and decided to make it in my own humble kitchen.

It's soft, spongy and moist banana cake which is loved by adults and kids. Lightly sweetened ans bursting with banana flavour this cake has become my Dandelions favorite.

Do use riped banana for best result. Any varities of banana works well for this recepi. The icing of the cake is the salted grated coconut which round up all the flavours together. 

Ingredients 

250g all purpose flour,sieved

200g brown sugar 

4 riped bananas,mashed

100ml milk 

1 stp vanilla extract 

1/3 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder 

150g melted butter 

1/2 tsp salt

1 egg,  room temperature 

For Garnishing

3/4 cup grated coconut 

1/4 salt 

Methods 

In a bowl, combine flour,baking soda, salt and baking powder.

Using à hand mixer, beat mashed banana ans brown sugar for 2 minutes. 

Ada the the euh, milk and vanilla extract. Beat for 2 seconds.

Add thé flour mixture and beat for 2 minutes. 

Ada melted butter and mix well till no lumps.

Pour the batter into muffin tin lined with cupcake liners or individual small cups greased with butter. An 6"inch round trays works well too.

Steam for 20 minutes or a skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

Cool completely  before unmould and garnish with salted grated coconut.

Ragi Kali/Ragi Mudde

 

I was actually craving for ragi kali or ragi mudde and i really miss my late maternal's grandma's ragi kali. She make the best kali the kind of, the moment you put it in your mouth it melts. All those childhold memories are here to stay. My late grandma passed away last year and i miss her & countless memories we shared and among many are food memories i learnt from her. God bless her soul 😥.

My cravings satisfied when i decided to make them for our Saturday lunch. My Dandelions never tried ragi kali before and both are hesitant to try..well you know the new generation. I persuade them to give it a try and as obedient they are both finished 1 ball each by commenting never thought it would taste good..yay!!! Amma won ☺.

The original recepi comes without rice but, my grandma always add rice to her kali recepi to enhance the taste & texture thus, i followed the same. You can omit the rice it's just optional. I served the kali with a dollop of melted ghee,spicy overnight salted fish curry,buttermilk,fresh green chilly and onion. This is what i call a perfect combo for a perfect meal on a perfect day 😍.

Ingredients

1/2 cup ragi flour

2 tbsp cooked rice

1 1/2 cups water

Salt to taste

Methods

In a bowl add 1 tbsp ragi flour from the 1/2 cup of the flour. Mix well without lumps with 1/2 cup of water. Keep aside.

Heat a large pan/kadai and boil the 1 cup water. Add the diluted ragi mixture and stir.

Reduce flame to low and add cooked rice and sprinkle the remaining ragi flour to the pan. Using a wooden spoon, stir well till no lumps. 

Stir continiously till the mixture thickened and form a ball . Switch off heat and cover with lid for the mixture to rest for 8-10 minutes.

Wet your hand with water, while the mixture still warm start rolling into a large lemon sized ball. Repeat with the remaining mixture.

Serve warm with a dollop of ghee,buttermilk and curry.

Unlike any other masala idli recepis which are stir fry idli with masala powder, this particular idlis are coated with special wet sauce. The highlight of the recepi is the kollu podi in the masala. You may substitute kollu podi with store bought or homemade idli podi, which works well too. The podi adds extra kick to the masala. One look might end up looking like idli coated with what we known as sambal locally or chilly paste but, you got it wrong 😁. 

I used rava idli which gives the dish additional flavor of urad dhal tempering but please feel free to try with plain idli as well. I like the crunch of urad dhal whenever you bite into one. Day old idli works fine with the recepi especially if you're cracking your head what to make with leftover idli this is the recepi for you. If you're using freshly steamed idli, do cool it completely before adding to the masala.

This recepi is perfect for breakfast or dinner. I made it for our dinner and had it on its own without any sides of sambar or chutney. Yes, its that good. The masala might scared you with the fiery colur but trust me it's not too spicy. The beautiful colur are derived from tomato and idli podi. We truly enjoyed this delicious masala idli and been making it since.

For Rava Idli

Ingredients

1 cup roasted semolina/rava

2 1/2 tbsp ghee

1 1/4 cups plain yogurt,room temperature

1/3 cup water

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp channa dhal

1 tsp urad dhal

2 sprigs curry leaves

1 green chilly, chopped

Pinch of hing/asafoetida

Salt to taste

1 1/2 tsp fruit salt/eno

Methods

In a bowl add semolima and keep aside.

In a pan, heat ghee and fry mustard seeds. Once mustard seeds splutters, add cumin seeds,chana dhal and urad dhal. Saute till urad dhal turns golden.

Add curry leaves and hing. Saute for 20 seconds and add into the semolina.

Add salt,yogurt and water. Mix well. Add fruit salt and stir to combine. 

Cover and rest the batter for 15-20 minutes.

Boil water in idli pan and grease idli mould.

Stir the prepared batter, add water if needed. The batter shouldn't be too thick or too thin.

Pour the batter into greased idli mould and steam for 10 minutes.

Remove from steamer and unmould. Keep aside.

For Kollu Podi

Ingredients

1 cup horsegram/kollu
15 curry leaves
1/4 cup urad dhal
1/4 cup channa dhal
12 dried chillies
1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds
1/2 tsp asafoetida
1 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp gingely oil
Salt to taste


Methods

In a pan, heat gingely oil add horsegram and fry for 3 minutes or till the grains splutters. Transfer on a plate.

Add urad dhal,channa dhal to the same pan and fry till golden. Transfer on a plate.

In the same pan, add dry chillies,methi seeds,cumin seeds,asafoetida and curry leaves. Saute for 2 minutes Transfer on a plate.

Combine all fried ingredients and salt in a coffee grinder/spice grinder or dry grinder jar and grind for 2-3 minutes. Keep aside.

For Making Masala Idli

6 pcs rava idli

2 tbsp kollu podi

2 medium onion,chopped

2 tomatoes,chopped

1 tbsp garlic paste

1 green chilly,chopped

2 tbsp butter

Water as needed

1 tbsp chopped coriander leaves

Salt to taste

Methods

In a pan over medium heat, melt butter and sautee the onion till soft.

Add garlic paste and green chilly, sautee for another 1 minute.

Add tomatoes and season with salt. Cook till tomatoes turns soft and mushy.

Add the kollu podi,coriander leaves and water. Mix well.

Gently add the rava idli and coat it well with the masala. Cook for 1 more minute. Remove from heat and garnish with more freshly chopped coriander leaves.

Serve with chutney of your preference or as on its own.

Brinji Rice

 

Flavoured rice is my family's favourite rice. Be it Briyani,puloa,pilaf flavoured rice is always a hit in my household. Weekends are usually flavoured rice day for us. Since, the rice itself are flavoured, a simple sides of raita or kurma will do for a satisfying meal.

I cooked this delicious brinji rice for our Sunday lunch. Use basmathi rice for the finest long grain and what make this rice recipe special is the ghee fried bread cubes. It adds texture to the rice and the coconut milk enhance the flavour of the rice. Do use any vegetables of your preference..cauliflower is another great choice. A perfect one pot meal i shall say.

Ingredients

1 cup basmathi rice

1 cup water

1 cup coconut milk

1 bay leaf

1/2"inch cinnamon stick

1 tsp fennel seeds

3 cardamom pods

1 star anise

4 cloves

4 slices bread

3 + 1 tbsp ghee

Salt to taste

3/4 tsp ginger garlic paste

2 medium sized onion,sliced

1 green chilly,chopped

1/4 cup chopped carrot

1/4 cup chopped beans

1/4 cup green peas

1 medium sized tomato

1 medium sized potato

3/4 tsp garam masala

3/4 tsp chilly powder

10-12 cashews,broken

2 tbsp chopped mint leaves

2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves

Methods

Wash and soak Basmathi rice for 30 minutes.

In a pan over a low flame add ghee and sautee bay leaf,cardamom pods,cloves,fennel seeds,star anise and cinnamon.  

Add onion and green chilly. Sautee till golden brown. Add ginger garlic paste and cook till fragrant.

Add the carrot,beans,peas and potato. Cook for 2-3 minutes.

Add the garam masala and chilly powder. Cook till the raw smell leaves.

Transfer the cooked vegetable mixture to rice cooker. Add the rice,coconut milk and water. 

Add the chopped mint and coriander leaves as well. Season with salt and give a stir.

Cook till the rice are done. Meanwhile fry cashew nuts in ghee.  Fry the bread cubes in the remaining ghee.

Serve with fried bread cubes and sprinkle with ghee fried cashew nuts.

Vazhakai Bhaji

The very first time i had vazhakai bhaji ia on the street of Thekaddy, Kerala during our vacation. There's a one humble small stall with friendly vendor selling all sort of deep fried stuff namely from samosas,bhajis,vadai & etc. While waiting for the Kathakali show to start, we indulged ourselves with piping hot chai & freshly fried bhajis. Other than plaintain, we tried purple yam,aubergine and bread fruit bhajis as well. Definitely a treat for the cool Thekadady weather.

I have some plaintain given by a friend from his homegrown harvest and i decided to make some vazhakai bhaji with it. A very easy and simple recepi which is a perfect tea time snack. Crispy,crunchy,soft inside and with a little kick from the chilly powder, it has become everyone's favourite. Serve with hot chaya and chutney.

Ingredients

2 pcs raw plaintains

1 1/2 cups besan flour

1/2 cup rice flour

Pinch of asafoetida

1 1/4 tsp chilly powder

Pinch of cooking soda

Salt as needed

Water as needed

Vegetable oil for deep frying

Methods

In a big bowl, combine besan flour,rice flour,cooking soda,salt,asafoetida and chilly powder. Stir well.

Gradually add water to form semi thick batter. Cover and let the batter rest for 10 minutes.

Wash & peel the plaintain. Slice them thin  and coat with the batter.

Heat oil in a pan and deep fry on both sides till golden. Draim excess oil with kitchen towel.

Serve hot with tea and chutney.

Red Rice Poori

 

If you're watching your weight i shall say red rice are a great option for losing weight. The fiber content are much higher than regular white rice and red rice keeps you full for longer time period. Trust me, healty food doesn't have to be boring and this red rice poori is one of it. Rich in antioxidant and magnesium, red rice known for its many health benefits. The higher content of bran in red rice help with easy digestion, higher level absorption od oxygyen needed for the body for cells growth,lower diabetes and keep heart disease away.

I  bought a pack of red rice from my regular Indian groceries and tried my hands with red rice poori for a mild approach. The methods are the same way of preparing ordinary poori but wheat flour replaced with red rice flour instead. The poori puffed up well and yields a beatiful natural colur to the soft poori. 

I reserved some of the red rice for my other recepi which i'll try to post soon. I shall say i'm having fun with incorporating red rice for creating recepis and giving the best for my family. I serve this red rice poori with dhal and love the combo.

Ingredients

2 cups red rice flour
1/2 cup rava/semolina
1/2 cup warm water
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp vegetable oil
1 tsp butter
Oil for deep frying

Methods

In a large bow, add red rice flour,salt,sugar,semolina and oil. Mix well.

Add little warm water at a time to knead the dough into a dough.

Smear 1 tsp butter on the dough and cover the bowl. Let the dough rest for 10-15 minutes.

Knead the dough for 1 minute and roll the dough into equal sized balls.

Dust a clean working surface and your rolling pin with flour. Roll out the dough into medium thickness.

Over a medium flame, heat oil in a frying pan for deep fying. Gently slides the poori  from the sides of the pan to the hot oil.

Once the poori floats, gently press the ladle on one side for the poori to puff up. Flip the poori to cook on the other sides. Once the poori turns golden, drain the oil and place them on a plate lined with kitchen towel to absorb excess oil.

Continue the process with remaining dough.

Serve with gravy of your choice.

Notes

The oil shall not be too hot or too cold.

The dough should not be too soft. It shall be slightly stiff.

Do not roll the poori too thin this will prevent from the poori puffing up while frying.

Kunuku

I learnt this recepi from my late paternal grandma. This is no onion no garlic deep fried snack which can be served for breakfast or as tea time treat. Adai maavu or idli batter makes a delicious kunuku as well. I still remember the brief time i spent at my grandma's house whenever she prepare adai batter, she'll reserve some for making kunuku the next day.

She love to add coconut bits as a traditional recepi has the crunchiness of coconut on every bite. I skipped coconut in mine as Dandelions not fancy of coconut in their kunuku. Some add chopped onion and green chillies to their kunuku batter to enhance the taste personally, i prefer what i tasted in my late grandma's kitchen.

Food does brought back sweet memories with your loved ones 😍. I do miss her and her food. Blessed to learnt some of her cooking and will make sure both my Dandelions inherit the same. 

Ingredients

1/8 cup toor dhal

1/8 cup channa dhal

1/2 cup par boiled rice

1 tbsp raw rice

1 tbsp urad dhal

3 red chillies

1/4 tsp hing/asafoetida

Salt to taste

1 sprig curry leaves chopped

Oil for deep frying

Methods

Wash and soak toor dhal,channa dhal,raw rice, par boiled rice and urad dhal for 3-4 hours.

Drain the water and add the soaked dhal mixture with red chilly to a grinder. Grind into a slighty coarse paste by adding little water.

Add the ground batter to a mixing bowl, add chopped curry leaves,salt and hing. Mix well to combine.

Heat oil in wok,pinch the prepared batter a little by little and gently drop to the hot oil.

Cook on both sides till crispy and golden. Transfer to a plate lined with kitchen towel to drain excess oil.

Serve with chutney or chilly sauce.

Kanyakumari Crab Masala

 

Who doesn't love crab? Me! 🙋‍♀😂. Reason being i don't have patient or passion to crack open the crab shell. Somehow, i find the process quite messy and i'm not into it. Anyhow, my family loves crab and i'm bound to cook for them out of love 😍. Usually, my cooking crab session will always be on weekends as all family members gather for a good Sunday lunch.

We prefer both mud and blue crabs, for this recepi i use blue crab as that's what available in my market. Mud crab goes well with the same recepi and do double up the measurement according to your amount of crab. This recepi can be easily double up to yield a fabulous crab masala dish.

My family love this Kanyakumari crab masala to every bit. I served with steamed white rice and a side. It's spicy,coconuty and burst with flavour. 

Ingredients

500g blue crab,cleaned

1 tsp turmeric powder

1 tbsp fennel seeds

3 cardamom pods

1"inch cinnamon stick

4 pcs cloves

1 tbsp chilly powder

1 tbsp coriander powder

1 bay leaf

1/3 tsp black pepper powder

1 tbsp ginger garlic paste

2 onions,chopped

2 tomatoes,chopped

1 sprig curry leaves

2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves

Salt to taste

3 tbsp coconut oil

To Grind

4 green chillies

1/2 cup freshly grated coconut

1 sprig curry leaves

1 tbsp fennel seeds

Methods

In a grinder, grind coconut,fennel seeds,curry leaves and green chillies to a fine paste. Keep aside.

Heat oil in the pan and saute cardamom,bay leaf,fennel seeds and cinnamon stick. Add the onion and saute till translucent.

Add the ginger garlic paste and saute for 30 seconds. Add the chopped tomatoes and cook covered with lid till the tomatoes turns mushy.

Add the pepper powder,red chilly powder,turmeric powder amd coriander powder. Stir and cook till oil separates from the masala. 

Add the cleaned crab and stir till the masala coat well with the crab. Cover with lid and cook cook 5 miniutes.

Add the ground coconut paste mixture and salt. Stir well. Cover with lid and cool for another 5 minutes.

Once the crab are done. Swith off the heat and sprinkle with chopped coriander leaves.

Serve with hot rice.

Deep Fried Coconut Paste Prawns

 

Sometimes we all just need a simple no messy recepi to follow yet, delicious. I promise you, you're at the right place with this no fussy prawn recepi. Not much in ingredients wise and definitely no hassle preparation or cooking methods. Grab what we always have in the kitchen,mix,marinate and deep fried. Before knowing yummy prawn are ready to savour.

This is my own recepi which i created when i had very little cooking time. It goes realy well as sides with any rice-curry combination or even on it's own as snacking.

Do use thick coconut cream for the recepi as it helps to bind all the masalas and help to coat the prawns well. Mild creamy coconuty flavored prawn with spicy masalas are lip smacking goodness on a plate.

Ingredients

500g prawns,cleaned & deveined

6 tbsp thick coconut cream

6 tbsp coconut flakes

Salt to season

1/2 tsp chilly powder

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

1/2 tsp seafood curry powder

2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves

Oil for deep frying

Methods

In a large bowl add prawns, coconut cream,coconut flakes,salt,turmeric powder,curry powder and chilly powder. 

Mix well till the prawns are well coated with the masala.

Store in the fridge for an hour to marinate.

Heat oil in a wok and deep fried the marinated prawns in batches till done.

Transfer to a plate layer with kitcheb towel to absorp excess oil.

Serve hot with lemon/lime wedges and chopped coriander leaves.