Manga chammanthy / Raw Mango Chutney - Kerala Style

Oh! The mere mention of this dish brings more than enough saliva in my mouth to start drooling! You know, this has got the nostalgic emotion attached along, cuz my mom used to make manga chammanthy for us during mango season when it is available in abundance in our ancestral home. And that usually, is during our summer vacations. It is so easy to prepare and when she makes this, we just don't ask for any other side dish along with rice. She makes this chutney and gives us an egg omelette and by then, we would've reached cloud 9!

Ingredients :

Raw Mango(medium) : 2 nos.

Grated coconut : 1 cup

Shallots : 7 nos.

Green chilly : 5 nos.

Ginger : 2 inch piece

Curry leaves : 2 nos.

Salt : as required

• Peel off the mangoes and cut them into small pieces for grinding to become easier.
• Peel off ginger and cut into small pieces.
• Grind all the above ingredients in a blender without adding water to a coarse to fine paste. Check salt and add more if required.
• Serve with plain rice or dosa.

Note : For effective grinding, put shallots, ginger and green chilly first and then the rest of the ingredients.

Remember, just 2 curry leaves is required, not 2 sprigs of curry leaves!

Egg Uthappam

Hope u guys liked the tomato onion uthappam which has been posted earlier along with dosa batter. Today, I've got another version of uthappam which is similar to the former, difference being in adding egg instead of tomato n onion.

Ingredients :

Dosa batter : 1 cup

Soda powder : 1/4 tspn

Egg : 2 nos.

Finely chopped shallots : 7 nos.

Green chilly : 2 nos.

Coriander leaves : a bunch

Salt : as required

Ghee : 2 tbspn

• Pour dosa batter onto a bowl and take 1/2 a spoon of the batter and add 1/4 tspn soda powder and required salt. Mix well with ur finger. 
• Pour the batter in the spoon to the batter in the bowl and mix evenly. Keep aside for half an hour.
• Beat the eggs along with finely chopped shallots, chopped green chillies and required salt.
• Heat an iron griddle or dosa griddle under medium flame. Once hot, pour a tspn of gingelly oil (nallenna) and grease the whole griddle with half an onion or a thick clean cloth.
• Pour a spoonful of batter and widen the circumference of the dosa by moving the spoon in a spiral manner. Donot make a too thin dosa for uthappam; like that of masala dosa or ghee roast, it should be thicker than that.
•  Pour the egg mix evenly over the dosa and you may add a little chopped coriander leaves also over it. 
• Pour ghee/butter evenly over dosa. After about 1 minute, turn the dosa over and press it with the spatula (chattukam) and turn over again until both sides have been cooked and turned golden brown and shiny. Add more ghee or dalda to the other side too for richness and crispiness. 
• Serve hot with sambar or chutney or just like that without any side dish.. trust me, its different and yummy!  

Note : Please refer to the earlier uthappam post for preparation of dosa batter.

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. 

Puffy Poori

Pooris are my favourite eventhough they are full of oil; I admit I can't deny them.. Actually, these are a specialty of North Indians, but Keralites are also not bad at making pooris. I would suggest you do not consume poori late night cuz that might cause you heart-burn and also gift u a bad sleep. Anyways, try this out, sure this will turn out awesome!

Wheat flour : 2 cups

Ghee : 1 tbspn

Salt : as required

Warm water : less than 1 cup

Vegetable Oil : for deep frying

• Add salt to wheat flour and mix well. Add warm water and mix thoroughly using a spatula. 
• Pour ghee all over the dough and knead with your hands until u get a smooth, slightly looser, sticky dough than that of chappathi. 
• Cover the dough with wet cloth. Keep aside for about half an hour. 
• Make small balls similar to the ones u make for aripathiri. Remember to grease your hands with a little ghee/oil since the balls tend to be sticky.
• Take a chappathi/poori presser and grease both sides with ghee/oil. Press each of the balls between the greased sides of the presser to obtain a not too thin, round poori.
• Pour oil in a kadai and wait until the oil gets very hot. Put a poori into the kadai from one side as you do to fry a pappad. Put the stove under medium to high flame. Adjust heat as required. 
• Flip the poori after a few seconds and you'll know the poori is ready once it turns golden brown and puffs up. 
• Serve hot with potato kurma or peas curry. Its better to serve hot since the pooris would loose the crispiness n puffiness after some time.

Note : You may add a little milk to the flour while kneading for better taste.

Injithair / Ginger curd recipe

Today, I've got injithair for u from the onam menu which is best to have along with a heavy meal, to get rid of gas trouble, good for your stomach. This is one of the oldest recipes of Kerala,considered equivalent to 1000+ curries . Usually, just one spoon of injithair is served along with sadyas.. Guys, thats more than enough for the magic work of inji which I mentioned earlier! This is very easy to prepare, need not much ingredients, yet tasty. Goes best with rice.

Ginger : 1/4 cup

Grated coconut : 1/2 cup

Green chilly : 1 no. (if required)

Thick curd : 1 cup

Salt : as required

• Finely grind ginger n grated coconut together.
• Take the ground ingredients and pour it onto a bowl. Add thick curd along with required salt and mix well. Add more curd depending upon your preferences.

Note : If you are towards the spicier side, you may add 1 green chilly along with ginger n grated coconut and grind them together.

Sausage dry roast

Now, I really don't know whether there is any recipe of this name, which obviously points to the fact that its been discovered by me lately. My hubby is a big fan of sausages, be it chicken or mutton and he prefers it to be given during breakfast along with the main course. Though he usually prefers it to be fried with a li'l oil, I was sort of thinking of getting 'out of the box' n making something unusual, get something appealing, and this, guys, is the outcome. Check it out, and u r gonna love it!

Ingredients :

Chicken/Mutton sausage : 250g

Onion : 1 no.

Turmeric powder : 1/2 tspn

Chilly powder : 2 tbspns

Coriander powder : 1 tbspn

Pepper powder : 1 tspn

Fennel seeds powder : 1 tbspn

Garam masala : 1/2 tspn

Coriander leaves : not more than a handful

Coconut oil : 3 tbspns

Salt : as required

Coarsely grind the following;

Shallots : 10 nos.

Green chilly : 7 nos.

Ginger : 1/2 inch piece

Garlic : 10 pods

• Take a heavy bottomed pan and pour a tbspn of oil. When hot, put the sausages cut into 1 inch pieces and saute for a minute. Remove from oil and keep aside.
• Add the coarsely ground ingredients and saute under medium flame until the raw smell goes off.
• Finely chop the onion and add it to the pan. Add turmeric powder and a little salt and saute until it turns transparent.
• Add chilly powder, coriander powder, fennel seeds powder and pepper powder along with a tbspn of oil and saute well for a few minutes under low flame. Check salt, add more if required.
• Add the sauteed sausages and garam masala and mix well. Add the remaining oil and saute under medium flame.
•  Add chopped coriander leaves and mix well. Goes well with jeera chappathi and any chappathi, puri or batura.

Note : I would suggest that after frying the sausage in a little oil, see if you like the taste. This suggestion cuz different sausages taste different and the one you like might be disliked by another, so choose for yourself and then make this dish.

Okra / Vendakka Pachadi

Yet another okra recipe, which brings the 'nadan' lunch taste to your tongue, stimulating your taste buds! Oh! am beginning to luv this vegetable! Earlier, I thought of this one as a sticky, messy veg, used only in sambars. Anyways, these new variations are taking okra to a different level, its not at all messy now a days;)! This is from the onam menu which is just perfect with rice! So, here comes a simple Kerala recipe to be added to your lunch menu. Try it out!

Ingredients:

Okra / Ladies finger : 15 nos.

Coconut oil : 1 tbspn

Yogurt / thick curd : 1/2 a cup

Salt : as required

For seasoning, we require, 

Coconut oil : 2 tbspn

Grated coconut : 3 tbspn

Mustard seeds : 1/2 tspn

Red chilly : 2 nos.

Shallots : 5 nos.

Curry leaves : 2 sprigs

Finely grind the following;

Grated coconut : 1/2 a cup

Green chilly : 2 nos.

Ginger : 1/2 inch piece

Mustard seeds : 1/4 tspn

Jeera seeds : 1/4 tspn

• Clean okra and cut off both the tips. Cut the okra into thin pieces as you do for okra stir fry and keep aside.
• Take a non-stick pan and pour 1 tbspn oil to it; fry the okra pieces along with a little salt until crisp.
• Take the pan again, pour the remaining oil. When hot, add the mustard seeds and allow to splutter.
• Add chopped shallots followed by grated coconut, red chillies cut into two and then add curry leaves and saute very well under medium flame. 
• Take a bowl and pour the yogurt into it along with ground coconut and then add the fried okra.
• Once seasoning is done, pour this to the bowl containing the remaining ingredients and cover it for a minute. 
• Mix everything together; check salt and add if required.

Note : You may increase the amount of yogurt and okra if required, for richness.

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.

Ari palaada (Rice pancake)

This one s again an easy dish which works perfectly as an add-on to the breakfast or dinner menu.. Require very less time n ingredients.. I have seen this made mostly among South Keralites.. check it out n enjoy! Yummelicious!!!

Ingredients:

Raw rice (Pachari) : 1 cup

Coconut milk : 2 cups

Salt : 3/4 tsp or as required

• Finely grind raw rice along with coconut milk until smooth.
• Add required salt and mix well.
• Our aripaalada batter would require a very loose, watery consistency and for that, add more coconut milk if required.
• Heat a non-stick tawa and pour a big round spoonful of the batter and tilt circularly to spread it all over.
• Cover with a lid and allow it to cook under medium flame.
• Once cooked, fold it once to make a half-circle and then again to make a quarter circle.

Serve hot with beef ularthiyathu, chilly chicken, fried chicken or mutton pepper fry and the vegans can go for tomato roast or Cauliflower fry.This tastes great even without a side dish and trust me, you would luv it!

Note : You can find another type of paalaada under softy delicate pancakes.

Plain Aripathiri (Rice paratha)

If u remember, I've posted another variety of aripathiri under the label, Sunday Funday much earlier in this blog.. Now this one includes a li'l more effort & time and why not, its worth the effort! Am sure most of us have been hearing about aripathiri for a long time, especially from your muslim friends, especially malabar keralites n neighbourhood however, have not taken the chance to prepare it, right..? try it out for once and am sure, your hubby wouldn't let you sit idle again! Oh!! am I scaring you..? hey, its not hard if you find making chappathis easy:)! Anyways, try it out n make ur hubby spellbound!

Ingredients:

Roasted rice flour : 1 cup

Salt : 1/2 tspn or as required

Water : 2 cups

• Boil water along with salt in a bowl. Once really boiled, reduce flame and add rice flour gradually and mix thoroughly using a spatula to make a smooth dough. Remove from flame, keep aside to cool.
• Once cool, knead thoroughly with your hands to avoid lumps. Remember, consistency of the dough would be similar to that of chappathi or even a bit more loose. 
• Make small balls out of it as you do for chappathi.
• Take a chappati/poori presser, coat both sides with a little oil and press each of these balls to obtain an 'uncooked aripathiri' hich would resemble the size of a poori.
• Take a chappathi roller (chappathi palaka) n roll each of the pressed aripathiris to make it even slimmer n softer resembling a chappathi. You may sprinkle a little rice flour over the aripathiris and then roll them to a bigger size.
• Heat a tawa and put the pathiri on it turning occasionally until it puffs up and gets cooked. Its advisable to press them occasionally for quick cooking and softness. 
• Remove the aripathiri once cooked and wipe the tawa off the charred flour with the help of a dry cloth. 

Goes best with potato curry, chicken curry, mutton curry, veg korma, etc... !!!

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).