Kerala Paratha

INGREDIENTS
Maida or all purpose flour – ½ kg
Oil – 3 tbsp
Ghee or oil – 3 tbsp for cooking
Salt – to taste
Method
Knead maida in lukewarm water and salt thoroughly. Pictures shown. Cook it using ghee or oil.

 

 

Coconut Rice with Paripp (Dal) curry

Coconut Rice with Paripp(Dal)  curry                       

Coconut rice is a traditional south Indian dish cooked with Matta rice and coconut milk, served along with Paripp curry and yummy mutton curry. The mutton curry recipe I have already added.

Preparation Time: 10 mins

Cooking time: 20 mins

Serves:  3-4

Ingredients:

1. Matta Rice : ½ kg
2. Coconut milk: ½ a coconut
3. Salt: to taste
4. Onion : sliced thinly , ½
5. Cardamom , cinnamon and clove : 5 each
6. Ghee : 1tablespoon

Method:

In a pressure cooker, add ghee and saute cardomom, cinnamon and clove. Then add onion and saute. Add 3:1 water to the coconut milk. Add rice and salt. Close the cooker. Wait for 1 or 2 whistle  then keep the cooker in sim for 10 mins. Open once the pressure is gone.

Yummy coconut rice is ready.

Paripp (dal) curry

Preparation Time: 10 mins

Cooking time: 20 mins

Ingredients:

1. Tuvar dal or moong dal : 100 gms
2. Green chilly : 5
3. Turmeric powder : ½ teaspoon
4. Small jeera (aniseed): ½ teaspoon
5. Small onion: 2
6. Garlic : 2 -3 pieces
7. Coconut: ½ a coconut, grated
8. Salt: to taste

For seasoning:

1. Coconut Oil : 1 tablespoon
2. Curry leaves
3. Red chilly : 3

Method:

Grind ingredients from 3-7. Pressure cook dal along with green chilly. Add the above grinded ingredients. Stir well, sim for 5 mins.   Add salt and season. Perfect with coconut rice and neyychoor.

 

 

 

 

Home made Pizza

Serves: 4 people (2 medium size 10’ inch Pizzas)
Time: 3.30 hr. (preparation time) 15 – 20 mins (cooking time)

Ingredients

1. All-purpose flour (Maida) – ¼ Kg
2. Baking powder – 1 tsp
3. Dry yeast – 1 tsp
4. Warm milk – ½ cup
5. Sugar – 1 tsp
6. Olive oil – 1 tsp
7. Onion – 1 finely chopped
8. Capsicum – 1 finely chopped
9. Green chilly – 2 finely chopped (as per taste)
10. Tomato – 1 finely chopped
11. Tomato sauce – 3 Tbsp.
12. Mozzarella cheese – 50 gm (shredded)
13. Salt to taste
14. Water as required
15. Other toppings as per individual taste – jalapenos, chicken, olives, oregano, pepperoni slices etc.

Direction

1. Mix yeast with warm milk and sugar in a tall glass and keep in a warm corner for at least one hour
2. Take a deep bowl, add baking powder, flour and salt.
3. Pour the yeast mixture in the center of the bowl and knead until soft
4. Add olive oil and water.
5. Keep the dough aside for two hours
6. Knead the dough once more time and keep for further 30 mins.
7. Preheat Oven at 180 degree
8. Spread the dough evenly on a greased pizza pan (thin or thick as required), add a layer of tomato sauce (evenly), top it with shredded cheese and other toppings.
9. Bake in the oven for 15 mins at 180 degree or until the crust is lightly brown.

Kerala Mutton Curry

As an accompaniment to Ghee Rice, (published earlier) here is the recipe of Kerala Mutton Curry.

Cooking time: 30 mins.

Serves: 4 persons

Ingredients

1. Mutton – ½ Kg
2. Onion – 3 medium size
3. Shallot –  1 cup peeled and crushed
4. Green Chilly – 10 crushed
5. Ginger – 1 piece
6. Garlic – 10 cloves
7. Tomato – 1
8. Curry leaves – handful
9. Salt to taste
10. Red chili powder –   ¾ tsp
11. Coriander powder – ½ tsp
12. Turmeric powder –  1 tsp
13. Coconut oil –   3 Tbsp.

Garam Masala

1. Cardamom – 5 pcs
2. Cinnamon – 1 pcs
3. Cloves – 5 pcs
4. Big jeera – ½ tsp
5. Pepper – ½ Tbsp.

Fry all together and dry grind into powder form and keep aside.

Direction

1. Wash the mutton well and keep aside.
2. Finely chop onions, tomatoes. Grind ginger, garlic and make a paste.
3. Heat oil in a pressure cooker. Add the chopped onions. Sauté until they become translucent.
4. Add ginger garlic paste, crushed green chilies and curry leaves.
5. Fry until mixture turns light brown.
6. Add all the dry powders (Chilly, Coriander and Garam Masala), Tomato and salt
7. Fry together until brown.
8. Add mutton and mix together in the masala.
9. Pressure cook for 10 mins.
10. Garnish with curry leaves.

 

 

Malabar Ghee Rice (Ney Choru)

Whilst the origin of this simple yet delightful dish cannot be attributed to any particular region, it is a popular quick fix for any occasion and combined with spicy chicken or meat curry would win the heart of even the pickiest eater. A favorite for the younger children.

Cooking time: 30 mins.

Serves: 4 persons

Ingredients

1. Basmati Rice – ½ Kg
2. Butter or Ghee – 50 gm
3. Onion – 2 big
4. Cashews – 25 gm (as required)
5. Raisins – 25 gm (as required)
6. Cardamom – 3 pcs
7. Clove – 3 pcs
8. Bay leaf – optional
9. Cinnamon – 1 medium pcs
10. Salt – to taste

Directions:

1. Wash and soak rice for 10 mins. Drain and keep aside.
2. Chop 2 onions into thin slices.
3. In a deep nonstick rice pot, melt 25 gm of butter or ghee on medium fire. Fry half of the chopped onion until golden, add cashew and raisins. Keep aside.
4. Add the remaining butter or ghee in the pot and sauté rest of the onion until translucent. Add cardamom, cinnamon, bayleaf and cloves.
5. Add the drained rice and sauté for 5 mins.
6. Boil 2:1= Water: Rice (2 glass of water for 1 glass of rice) in a separate vessel, add salt and once water is boiled, pour the water into the sautéed rice. Close the lid and cook on medium fire.
7. Once rice is fully cooked, garnish with fried onion, cashew and raisins.
8. Enjoy with spicy chicken or dal curry.

 

 

 

Malabar Mutton Biriyani

Popular among the South Asian Muslim community, there are very few who can resist the delicious taste and aroma of a well prepared authentic Malabar Biriyani!

Cooking time: 2 hrs.

Serves: 8 persons

Ingredients

1. Basmati Rice – 1 Kg
2. Mutton (cut and clean Biriyani pieces) – 1 ½ Kg
3. Butter or Ghee – 150 gm
4. Onion – 1 Kg
5. Shallots – ¼ Kg
6. Ginger – 1 big pc (50 gm)
7. Garlic – 2 big pcs
8. Green Chilly – 15 pcs
9. Tomato – 2 pcs
10. Coconut oil – 150 gm
11. Lemon – 1 pc
12. Turmeric Powder – 1 ½ tea spoon
13. Curd – 1 cup
14. Curry Leaves – 1 handful
15. Pudina (Mint Leaves) – ½ cup chopped
16. Malli (Coriander Leaves) – ½ cup chopped
17. Pineapple – 1 cup chopped
18. Cashews or Almond- 100 gm
19. Saffron – 2 – 3 leaves (Alternatively, you can use yellow food colour – 2 pinch)
20. Raisins – 50 gm
21. Rose Water – 2 Tbsp.
22. Coconut Grated – 2 Tbsp.
23. Cardamom – 5 pcs
24. Clove – 5 pcs
25. Cinnamon – 2 pcs
26. Salt – to taste

Garam Masala

1. Cardamom – 5 pcs
2. Cinnamon – 2 pcs
3. Cloves – 5 – 6 pcs
4. Jeera (sweet cumin/ fennel seeds) – 1 Tbsp.
5. Black Pepper – 1 Tbsp.
6. You can also add – Takkolam (Star Anise) 1 pinch

Fry all together and dry grind into powder form and keep aside.

Ground Masala

Direction

1. Soak 10 Cashews or Almonds overnight
2. Grind together grated Coconut, soaked and peeled cashew/almond, 10 mint leaves, 10 corianders leaves and keep aside.

Directions:

1. Wash and drain mutton pieces. Marinate with 1 tbsp. Spoon curd, ½ tsp turmeric powder and salt for 30 mins.
2. Wash and soak rice for 10 mins. Drain and keep aside.
3. Add saffron or food color to the rose water, keep aside.
4. Chop 2 onions into thin slices. In a deep nonstick frying pan, melt 100 gm of butter or Ghee on medium fire. Fry the chopped onion until golden, add cashew and raisins. Keep aside.
5. Chop remaining onions and tomatoes into thin long pieces, grind ginger and garlic together along with green chillies and chopped shallots.
6. In a pressure cooker or curry pot, add coconut oil and fry the chopped onions until translucent. Add the ground paste of ginger, garlic, green chillies and shallots. Sauté for 10 mins. Add sliced tomatoes, turmeric powder 1 tsp., Lemon juice, garam masala, 1 tbsp. Curd, ground masala, salt, chopped pineapple, curry leaves, mutton. Stir together until well mixed.
7. Pressure cook without water until 5 – 8 whistles (until the Mutton is well cooked), keep aside.
8. In a frying pan, melt 1 tbsp. Ghee or Butter, add 5 cardamom, 5 clove, 2-piece cinnamon, add the drained rice and sauté for 5 mins.
9. In a Biriyani pot or Rice pot, add 2:1= Water: Rice (2 glass of water for 1 glass of rice), add salt and once water is boiled, add the sautéed rice. Close the lid and cook on medium fire.
10. Take another Biriyani pot, coat the pot with 1 tsp Ghee or Butter. Add ¼ mutton masala as the first layer, create another layer on top with the cooked rice. Sprinkle 1 ½ tsp. ghee and colored rose water, chopped pineapple. Add another layer of mutton masala and rice and repeat the process. Garnish with chopped mint and coriander leaves, fried onion, cashew and raisins.
11. Close the pot airtight and cook under very slow indirect fire for 30 mins. (Keep a flat pan/Dosa Pan under the pot for indirect fire)
12. Serve hot with pickles, salad and pappadam!