Spicy Scrambled Eggies!

You guys would be very familiar with the plain scrambled egg na, where we beat egg along with required salt, finely chopped onions and green chilly and scrape the eggs. But I feel, this recipe is way too plain n not happening now a days! Hence, I tried a spicy version n this is the outcome! Eventhough it's not got its roots in Kerala, people here has made it a common dish for its simplicity and also, kids would prefer different versions of egg than the common hard-boiled version. While trying this, you can reduce spiciness for your kids. 

Ingredients :

Egg : 2 nos.

Finely sliced onion : 1 no.

Shallots : 3 nos.

Turmeric powder : 1/4 tspn

Pepper powder : 1/2 tspn

Mustard seeds : 1/4 tspn

Chopped red chilly : 2 nos.

Curry leaves : 1 sprig

Finely chopped green chilly : 1 no.

Coriander leaves : 1 sprig

Salt : as required

Butter / Coconut oil : 1 tbspn

• Beat the eggs along with finely chopped green chilly and finely chopped shallots.
• Take a non stick pan and pour oil onto it. Add mustard seeds and allows it to splutter. 
• Add chopped red chillies and curry leaves and saute well for a minute under medium flame.
• Add finely sliced onion along with a little salt and turmeric powder and saute until the onion turns slightly brownish.
• Add the beaten egg and reduce the flame; sprinkle pepper powder over the egg; and then finely chopped coriander leaves, allow it to set for a minute.
• Scrape the egg with a spatula/wooden spatula and sprinkle required salt after checking taste.
• Scramble it until its just getting set. Serve hot with chappathis.
• Its even a perfect snack!

Note : Add butter instead of oil for better taste n aroma. 

Crispy French Fries

Millionaires have been made and millions more have died from dependence on the simple, innocent potato. It reached its crowning achievement only once it had been paired with oil. The potato seems to us today to be such a staple food that it is hard to believe that it has only been accepted as edible by most of the Western world for the past 200 years (courtesy : http://www.stim.com). 

This is one recipe which, though requires low-priced ingredient but still is one of the highly priced, most sort-after snacks..I'm sure most of those naughty kids at our homes would run away from nutritious food but would snatch french fries if given; right?! Hence, I tried this one and trust me, its terrific! and you can save a lot of money too..

Ingredients:

Potato : 3 nos.

Vegetable oil : for deep frying

Salt : as required

• Peel off the potatoes, slice them in length to the thickness of 1/2 an inch each and keep aside.
• Pour oil to a kadai or heavy bottomed pan. When hot, add the sliced potatoes gradually under medium flame. 
• Fry them until it turns slightly brownish and put them over some tissue papers to drain off the excess oil.
• Sprinkle salt as required and serve hot. 
• You may store them after about 5 minutes in an airtight container.

Note : You may add 1/2 a tspn of turmeric powder and/or a little cornflour to the raw potato slices and then deep fry them for a different version of french fries.

Masala - e - eggs!

This is one of the oldest n easiest snack I've ever made.. a super hit discovery of moms in South Kerala it seems.. The idea is not mine; after marriage, its bigM, my husband who told me about this snack and he gave me the recipe. His moothumma used to make this snack for him n his bro during summer vacation visits to her house.. and that taste has influenced him so much that he still asks me to make those during tea-time, occasionally though.. 

Ingredients :

Hard-boiled eggs : 5 nos.

Turmeric powder : 1/2 tspn

Chilly powder : 2 tspn

Pepper powder : 1 tspn

Salt : as frequired

Curry leaves : 1 sprig

Coconut oil : 3 tbspn

A little water for marination

• Mix all the ingredients (except eggs) with a little water to make a smooth fine paste. 
• Make vertical slits over the eggs and apply the paste evenly. Keep aside for an hour.
• Take a heavy bottomed pan and pour oil; when hot, fry the curry leaves and keep aside.
• Deep fry the eggs under medium flame until the eggs turn brownish in colour.
• Garnish with fried curry leaves n serve HOT!

Note : You may use the egg of hens, ducks or of quails (kaada).

Cauliflower / Gobi fry

Today's recipe is gonnabe something made out of a very beautiful vegetable, which resembles a garland of flowers, cauliflower.. There are a vast variety of cauliflower dishes, however, I thought of starting off with the fry version, which takes no much time and is simple n tasty.. Even though cauliflower is considered to be used very commonly in northy dishes, its gradually becoming one of Kerala special recipes too... So, try out n enjoy!

Ingredients

Cauliflower : 1 cup

Rice flour : 1 tbspn

Corn flour : 1 tspn

Chilly powder :1 tspn

Turmeric powder : 1 tspn

Coarse paste of shallots(7 nos), ginger(1 inch piece), garlic(5 pods) and green chilly(2 nos)

Salt : 1/2 tspn

Oil to deep fry

Fried curry leaves (1 sprig) to garnish

• Wash the cauliflower florets thoroughly and boil them with a little salt and 1/2 tspn turmeric powder so as to get rid of the impurities/tiny worms if any. Keep aside to cool.
• Marinate the florets with the coarse paste.
• Mix rice flour, corn flour, chilly powder, remaining turmeric powder along with required salt and a little water to make a smooth paste. Keep aside for about 1/2 an hour.
• Pour oil in a kadai n fry the curry leaves' sprig and keep aside.
• Put the florets one by one and deep fry under medium flame.
• Garnish with fried curry leaves. Serve hot with plain rice or chappathi.

Note : You may replace rice flour with all purpose flour in case you are short of the former, but it would be crispy only if served hot.. 

Kozhukkatta / Sweet Rice Balls

I am sure the subject line of today's post would've taken many of u to those good ol' days... kozhukkatta is one such recipe which brings about nostalgic memories off u... u start remembering ur school days, vacations, tea-time,etc.. ain't I right? This is a traditional Kerala dish and I remember, at our home, whenever kozhukkatta was made, we used to snatch as many no. as possible and would eat'em as if we've got the whole world in our hands! Hey guys, the recipe is simple actually.. All those who are away from your moms, don't worry.. try this out.. 

Ingredients : 

Rice flour : 2 cups

Grated jaggery : 2 cups

Grated coconut : 1 cup

Sugar : 1 tspn

Salt : 1/4 tspn

Cashew : 1 tbspn

Raisins : 1 tspn

Ghee : 1 tspn

Cardamom powder : 1 tspn

Cumin seeds : 1/2 tspn

Dried ginger powder (chukku) : 1/2 tspn

You can make the sweet mix for kozhukkatta in 4 different ways;

1. Grated coconut + grated jaggery
2. Grated coconut + grated jaggery + cumin seeds
3. Grated coconut + grated jaggery + cardamom powder
4. Grated coconut + grated jaggery + cardamom powder + chukku

Note : Adding one tspn of sugar along with each of these would be even better..  

I've listed all the ingredients required and you can opt for any of these sweet mixes.. I would make the 4th mix for u..alright? OK, lets start!

• Add salt to the rice flour and mix well. Boil water in a bowl. Once the water is hot, add the rice  flour to it and mix well. Keep aside to cool, make a fine dough without lumps, make small balls out of it as you do for ari pathiri. The consistency shouldn't be too loose or too hard. 
• Prepare the sweet mix with grated coconut, grated jaggery, cardamom powder and chukku and sprinkle a little water and mix thoroughly with hand. If required, you may add fried cashew n raisins along with the sweet mix for richness ;)!
• Place each ball on ur hand and flatten it to rounds, keep the sweet mix in middle and close the dough to form a perfect ball. Remember, do not add more amount of sweet mix into the flattened ball or else, it would break.  Also, try to cover the ball evenly spreading the dough everywhere equally after closing it. 
• Steam the balls in a idiappam(rice noodles) or idli cooker for about 10-15 minutes and keep aside to cool.

This is a perfect tea-time snack or can even be had for breakfast. Eat well n enjoy!!!

Plantain Ghee Roast

Hello friends!!!  HAPPY EASTER!!!

Trust u would be busy preparing for Easter and the holidays accompanying... hence, I thought a simple and tasty tea time snack wud be perfect at this occasion.. This can even be had as a sweet dish after lunch..So, definitely try this out n let me know! This wudn't take much of ur time too! 

Ingredients:

Ripe Plantains : 3 nos.

Ghee : 3 tbspns

Grated coconut : 1 cup

Cashews : 3 tbspns

Raisins : 1 tbspn

Sugar : 1 cup

Groundnut : 1/2 cup

• Take a heavy bottomed pan and pour ghee. When hot, fry cashews and raisins and remove once done.
• Peel off the skin from the plantains and slice them into about 1/2 inch pieces, put into the pan and saute until they get slightly roasted.
• Add grated coconut, sugar and saute until the sugar gets completely melted and mixed with the other ingredients. 
• Add more ghee if required for the dish to get softened. See to it that the plantain doesn't get mashed while sauting. 
• Coarsely grind the groundnut and sprinkle over the dish and saute for a minute and you're done! Jus as simple as that!!!

PS: Add more sugar if required to suit ur taste buds! 
kerala

Plantain Coconut Sweet / Unnakkai / Kaayada

This is a famous snack of the malabaris and keralites now, one of the most important snacks during the holy month of Ramadan. This is rich in coconut n plantain or ethakka which is high in Vitamin A n fibre. Plaintain is rich in solids and low in water content hence a must for kidsto give them energy.. contains egg too! If given in the form of Unnakkai, am sure they wud grab it.. :) Very easy n tasty rich snack indeed.

Ingredients :

Ripe Plantain: 3 large nos.

Grated coconut : 2 cups

Egg : 2

Ghee : 1 tbspn

Sugar : 1 tbspn or as required

Cardamom powder : 1 tspn

Cashew nuts : 1 tbspn

Raisins : a few if u like it..

Oil : 3 tbspn

• Steam plantains with a little water and allow it to cool. 
• Peel off, remove the black seeds in the middle, mash it very well with ur hands, without lumps, make small balls of it  and keep aside.
• Fry the cashews n raisins in ghee and remove them once done. 
• Add grated coconut n sugar into the ghee n keep on stirring under low flame to avoid getting stuck to bottom, until it turns golden brown. Check taste n add sugar if required.
• Scramble egg over it and mix very well. Add cardamom powder n stir it. 
• Add the fried cashews n raisins n switch off the flame. Keep aside to cool.
• Apply a little oil on ur palms, take a ball of plantain n press between ur palms to resemble a puri, stuff them with the coconut mix we prepared earlier. 
• Close ur hand by joining ends to give unnakkais the shape of ur closed hand. Join all edges so that while frying, it doesn't open up. Do the same with all the tiny plantain balls. 
• Heat oil in a pan n deep fry each of these until golden brown, under medium flame. Serve afresh! 

Tip: At times, it so happens that the steamed plantains doesn't have a stiffness and hence, it doesn't remain in its shape. But I add a little rice flour or all purpose flour along with it while mashing to get a thickness. And it comes out well!

Easy Peasy Semolina Sweet / Rava Kesari

Lets make something sweet today...this one is liked by all alike.. This one is actually a favourite of South Indians.. and my mom makes this much much better than me.. Yeah guys.. and hence, this recipe comes straight from her..Usually, I have seen that many of my frnds n relatives make this with water however, I am using milk instead. You may opt for any of these.

Ingredients:

Semolina / Rava /Sooji : 1 cup

Milk : 2 cups

Ghee : 1 cup

Sugar : 2 cups

Cashew : a handful

Golden raisins : a handful

Crushed cardamom : 1/2 tspn

Yellow powder & Orange powder

• Heat 1/2 a cup of ghee in a heavy bottomed pan and fry cashews n raisins n keep aside. 
• Fry rava in the same pan under low flame, stirring constantly until it turns slightly pinkish. Keep aside.
• Boil milk along with a small pinch of lemon n orange colour each mixed into it and add sugar and keep stirring occasionally. 
• Now, add the roasted rava slowly into the boiled milk and keep on stirring under low flame to avoid lumps. Allow it to cook. We require more amount of liquid content for the rava to get cooked. So, if you feel the milk is less, you may add more until it gets cooked or may add water instead. Check sweetness and add appropriately.
• Keep on stirring to avoid sticking to the bottom. Add ghee occasionally in small quantities until the rava starts coming off the sides of the pan.
• Sprinkle crushed cardamom and garnish with fried cashews n raisins.Serve hot or cold.

Softy delicate Pancakes / Paalaada

Some of u might b wondering why I have added a lot of a's in Paalaada instead of writing paladapradhaman or jus palada. That's simply because, here, we r gonna meet a completely different dish, which is so softy n juicy and am sure, u guys wud luv it.. and its easy too! :)

Ingredients :

All purpose flour / Maida : 1 cup
Egg : 2 nos.
Coconut milk : 3 cups
Sugar : 3 tbspn
Salt : 1/2 tspn
Ghee : 2 tbspn

Beat the eggs using an egg beater until fluffy. Take coconut milk from about half a coconut grated. The more the coconut milk, the more tastier would be our dish today! Pour these both into a mixer and add flour to it and mix very well without lumps. Add salt as required. See to it that the batter formed is very loose, to the consistency of milk. Now take a non-stick pan and grease it with a very little oil under medium flame. Once hot, pour a spoonful of the batter and tilt circularly to spread all over. Cover with a lid and allow to cook. Now, open the lid and grease it with ghee all over and sprinkle sugar over it. Fold it once to make a half circle and.... we r done. Remember, serve hot and you'd luv them more than served cold. 

This is a perfect addition to ur breakfast menu as well as a teatime snack. For those health conscious, u may avoid using ghee and sugar, instead u can have it along with any veg or non-veg curry.
kerala

Carrot Halwa / Gajar ka Halwa

Here comes one of the easiest and sweetest dishes rich in Vitamin A, thus good for eyes and a kiddo favourite too! Try this out!

Carrot : 1 kg

Sugar : 1/2 kg or as per ur preferences

Full Fat Milk : 1 litre

Ghee : 3 tbspn

Crushed cardamom : 5 nos.

Dry fruits (cashewnuts, raisins, badam, pista / almond) : 1 cup

Orange or red colour : if required

Condensed milk : 1 tbspn ( if required)

Are u ready? This is how we go; Clean the carrots, scratch off the skin and grate them. Take a heavy bottomed pan and pour 2 tbspn ghee into it. Add the carrots and saute it for about 2-3 minutes. Now add milk (mixed with a few drops of colour if required) and sugar and cook covered in low flame until the carrot gets cooked and the milk gets completely absorbed, making the mixture thick. Stir occasionally in order to avoid sticking to the bottom. Keep on adding ghee until the mix is not sticky or till the ghee separates. Add crushed cardamom and mix them well. Take another pan n pour the remaining ghee and fry the cashews n raisins and add to the halwa along with the ghee. U may also garnish it with grated badam, pistachios or almond.

Note : U may add condensed milk along with 1 litre milk if u donot have full fat milk or if ur towards the sweeter side. 
Indian