Tomato Rice

Here is a recipe for my vegetarian readers.  

Ingredients:-

Biriyani or jeerakasala rice - 2 cups

Tomatoes chopped- 5 large

Green chillies-10 numbers

Spring onions(optional) -2 bunches, chopped

Fennel Seeds/Somph(perum jeerakam)-a pinch, crushed

Big onions chopped- 2

Coriander leaves-a big bunch

Chilli powder-1 tbs

Oil-2 tbs

Method:-

Take oil in a large container. Saute the big onions and spring onions.
To this, add crushed fennel seeds, chilli powder and tomatoes. When all these are done add 4 or 5 cups of water and salt.  Bring to boil. 

To the boiling mixture, add coriander leaves and the washed rice and cook in low fire. When the rice is cooked, remove frome fire and serve hot with salad, pappad and pickle.
 

Fish Moilee

Fish Moilee garnished with fresh tomato slices

Ingredients

1. Fish, 1.5 inch pieces - 20nos

2. Big Onion -1 chopped

3. Ginger - 0.5 inch piece thinly sliced

4. Green chilly, slit into two -6 nos (or as per your taste)

5. Garlic - 4 small pieces

6. Coconut milk from 3 or 4 cups of grated coconut:  first(thick) milk 1 cup, second and third(thin) milk together-2 cups

7. Tomatoes chopped-1 large or 2 small

8. Turmeric powder-half teaspoon

9. Coriander powder-3 teaspoon

10. Oil-1 tbspoon

Curry leaves

Method:-

Take oil in a suitable pan, add mustard seeds and fenugreek (uluva). Then saute big onions, ginger, garlic, green chillies and curry leaves. When it becomes thin, add turmeric powder and coriander powder. 

Saute for a while, then add chopped tomatoes and stir for a while. Add the second and third coconut milk (or the thin milk). When it begins to boil, add the fish pieces and allow it to boil. Reduce the heat and cook in a small fire. 

When the gravy thickens, add the first coconut milk and a teaspoon of gram masala. Allow the whole thing boil for half a minute. Do not allow to boil for a long time. If required, one teaspoon of vinegar can be added for a fine punch. 

Serve hot with Appam/Chappathis/Nan etc.

 

PS: Apologize for the long gap in blogging! 

Meen Pappas (Semi fried fish in coconut milk gravy)

Fish/Meen Pappas can be made using Karimeen (Pearlspot), Akoli (Pomfret), Parava (White fish/false trevally) or Neimeen (Seer Fish). 

Fish/Meen Pappas

Ingredients:-

1.  Fish pieces - Half kilo

2. Turmeric powder - Half tsp,  Chilli powder - 1 tbsp,  Pepper powder - Half tsp, 
    Ajwain - a pinch if needed,  Salt to taste

3. Coconut oil- 1/4 cup

4. Big Onion - 1 big, nicely chopped

5. Small Onion - 6 nos chopped

6.  Ginger - 1.5 tsp finely chopped

7. Green chillies sliced - 6 nos (or as per your spice level)

8. Garlic - 6 nos chopped

9. Curry leaves

10. Chilli powder - 1 tbsp

11. Coriander powder - 2.5 tbsp

12. Coconut milk from 2 cups of coconut
       1st extract (thick milk) - 0.5 cup
       2nd & 3rd extracts together (thin milk) - 1.5 cup

13. Tomato - 2 medium size chopped

14. Vinegar - if needed

15. Garam masala - 1 tsp

Salt to taste

Fish/Meen Pappas

Method:- 

Marinate the cleaned and sliced fish with ingredients 2 and set aside for half an hour.

Pour oil in a pan and fry the fish slices in a slow flame until it is just cooked, and not fully fried. Remove the fish pieces.

To the same oil, add the chopped onion, ginger, garlic and green chillies. When it is done, add turmeric powder, chilli powder and coriander powder and saute for some more time. Add chopped tomatoes, heat for 2 more minutes, while stirring. Then add the 2nd and 3rd coconut extracts (thin milk). When it boils, add the semi-fried fish pieces and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes or till the gravy thickens. Then add the first coconut milk and the garam masala powder and allow it to just boil. Remove from fire, add fresh curry leaves and 1 tsp of vinegar if you prefer a slightly more tangy taste. 

Uppu-manga palu curry

A simple and tasty curry using salted mango or 'uppu-manga'!

The typical preparation of uppu-manga is pretty tedious. But you can also do it in a simple way - get some fresh raw mangoes during the mango season, cut it into 2cm square pieces and place it in a glass bottle, adding salt in between. You can add salt according to your taste. If you add more salt, the mango will remain hard; on the other hand, if the salt is less mango pieces will be soft and you need to place it in the fridge to use when required.

After one week, the mango will be ready for preparing the curry.

Ingrdients:-
 
Uppu-manga - 3 or 4 tbsp

Small Onion - 4 or 5 nos

Green chillies - 4 or 5 (adjust according to your preference)

Oil - 1 or 2 tsp

Coconut milk - 1 cup of thick milk and 2 cups of thin milk (2nd and 3rd extraction)

Curry leaves

Method:-

Slice small onions and green chillies. Take oil in a pan, splutter mustard seeds, green chillies, onion and curry leaves. When it becomes slight brown, add the mango pieces and the thin milk. Allow to boil and then simmer till the gravy thickens. Then add the thick milk and just when it boils, switch off and remove from stove.

A great accompaniment with hot kerala red rice!
 

Minced Meat Pulao

This is a delicious and easy alternative for a meat biriyani. A friend of mine shared this recipe with me and since then has been one of my family's favourite dish! The pulao consists of alternating layers of rice, minced meat gravy and coriander chutney.

For the Rice layer:-

Basmati Rice/Jeera Rice – 2 cups

Water – more than 4 cups

Cinnamon – 2 inch piece (optional)

Clove – 3 or 4 (optional)

Cook the rice with cinnamon and cloves with a little more water than required. Keep checking, when the rice is as soft as you prefer, remove from fire and drain the excess water.

For the Minced Meat layer:-

Minced Chicken or Beef – ½ kilo

Oil – 2 tbsp

Big onion – 3 chopped

Chilli powder – 2 tbsp

Coriander powder – 1 ½ tbsp.

Garlic – ½ a pod

Ginger – 1inch piece sliced

Green chillies – 5 nos

Tomatoes – 4 sliced or chopped into small pieces

Garam masala – 1 tsp

Put oil in a pan, sauté big onions with some salt and till it lightens and becomes brown. Add chopped green chillies, garlic and ginger. Then add chilli powder and coriander powder. When the fresh taste of chilli and coriander vanishes, add tomatoes, minced meat, garam masala and the stock (if available from previous cooking of meat). Cook well to a gravy form.

For the Chutney layer:-

Coconut – ½ grated

Ginger – 1inch piece

Green chillies- 6nos

Coriander leaves – a large bunch

Lime juice – from 1 lime/lemon

Sugar – 1 tsp

Cumin Seeds – 1 tsp

Salt to taste

Grind all the ingredients except lime juice. Then add just enough lime juice to get a tangy flavour.

Final Layering:-

Take a baking dish or glass bowl. Grease it with butter.  Spread half the minced meat and above that half the cooked rice. Now spread all of the chutney over the rice. Over the chutney layer, add the remaining rice, and on the top, the remaining minced meat. Garnish with slices of boiled egg, coriander leaves and lemon slices. Bake for few minutes or heat in microwave just before serving. Sprinkle few drops of lime juice on top.

Serve hot with raita and pappad.  

Fish and Raw Mango Curry

This is a common curry in Northern Kerala and if you get the right kind of fish and the right type of mangoes it is a very good curry for rice. Fishes like prawns, mackeral, sardines and big fleshy fishes can also be used.
 

 

Ingredients:-

Fish cut into small pieces – Half kilo.

Coconut milk from half coconut.

Mangoes - 1 or 2 cut into small pieces (depending on the ripeness/sourness of the mangoes)

Small onions cut  - 4

Ginger   - 1 inch piece cut.

Green chillies   - 4 cut.

Kashmiri Chilly powder -2 tbs.

Coriander powder -1 tbs.

Method 1:-

Put oil in a pan or manchatti, add mustard seeds and then onions, green chillies and ginger and sauté. Then add chilly and coriander powder and sauté for some more time. Add mango pieces, the second and third extracts of coconut milk (the thinner extracts) and salt and heat. When the mango pieces are cooked, add the fish and cook in low fire till the gravy thickens to the desired consistency. Add the first coconut milk (thick milk) and allow to boil slightly and switch off the fire. Garnish with fresh curry leaves.  Serve with hot rice!

Method 2:-

If you are interested in low-oil cooking, this curry can be prepared in a different manner as given below:

Extract the coconut milk.  Grind the listed quanitities of ginger, garlic, small onions, chilly powder, coriander powder along with 1/4 cup of grated coconut.  Grind it to a smooth paste. (The ground coconut makes the curry more thick).

Add the second and third extracts of coconut milk (thin milk) in a pan, add coconut paste, stir uniformly, add mango pieces and green chillies and salt.  Boil the mixture until the mango pieces are cooked. Now add the fish pieces. When the fish is cooked, add the first coconut milk extract (thick milk) and allow to boil slightly on low fire. Switch off the fire and garnish with curry leaves.  You may also top it with a 'tadka' of mustard seeds, sliced small onions and curry leaves.
 

Easy Chicken Roast

When you wish to make a chicken dish in a hurry and with minimum attention!

Ingredients:

Chicken pieces - 1/2 kilo

Big onions  - 2 large chopped

Ginger  - 1 inch piece chopped.

Garlic - 1 pod crushed

Green chillies -5 nos.

Tomatoes  -2 chopped

Oil   - 2 Tbsp

Garam masala  - 1 teaspoon.

Curry leaves

Salt to taste

Method:-

Put all the ingredients in a non stick pan, mix well and heat, closing with the lid. When the curry begins to boil lower the heat and let the chicken cook.

When the chicken is cooked enough, open the lid and cook in low fire, stirring it occasionally and add some more oil if needed. When the gravy gets dried up, fry for some more time so that the chicken pieces get roasted.