Amara payar Thoran / Upperi - Lima Beans

 Unlike the usual Lunch timing, that day I could come home early for lunch and as expected, food wasn’t ready. Seeing me at an odd time, she got wondered and rushed into kitchen to finish off cooking. I noticed the washed and drained Lima beans on the cutting board. With her assistance, I cut the beans recollecting my cutting skills earned during my PG period and taught her how to cut vegetables without cutting fingers or nails! But after cutting she turned out to be my teacher, as I did not know how to prepare a beans thoran (upperi). As it was a new learning for me, I guess it might help many of my bachelor friends too. Moreover, it’s a simple recipe for any beginners to try and tasty too.

Ingredients:
Lima Beans (അമരപ്പയര്‍) – sliced n chopped – 1 cup
Oil – 1 ½ Tb spoon
Mustard seeds – 1 tea spoon
Curry leaves - 8 no. s
Dried red chilly – 2 no. s
Coconut – grated – 1 handful
Salt – as needed

How to:
1. Heat oil in a nonstick pan. Put mustard seeds and leave to sputter. Put the cut red chillies followed by curry leaves.
2. Add the cut lima beans to the pan turning to low flame. Sauté for a minute. Add the required amount of salt and sauté to mix well.
3. Cook the beans in low flame, sautéing occasionally. After 5 minutes, add the freshly grated coconut and mix well.
4. Leave the beans for cooking well. Remember to keep the flame lowest possible. Stir occasionally.  

Have a try and let us know!

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Banana and Egg Roast (പഴവും മുട്ടയും ഉലര്‍ത്തിയത് )

Aysha  has the habit of eating some snacks (self- made or ready made  for the evening tea. As I’m rich in cholesterol related statistics in my health chart, I seldom show interest to such fried and baked snacks.  But still, at times the yummy looks and piercing aroma used to tempt me to taste a bit from those.  Last week’s Saturday evening it was this ‘Banana and Egg Roast’ which took my eyes from the TV screen to her snack plate. I asked her to take a snap of the dish before she eats it up fully. Many of you might already know about this dish. Yet, I’m sharing this recipe here for those who haven’t tried it out yet on her behalf. It’ll be handy for mothers as an easy and nutritious evening snack for their kids, though not for grown-ups as it might be over-nutritious for them..!!

Ingredients:

Ripe bananas – 3 no.s
Egg -1
Sugar – 2 Tb spoon
Cardamom – 2 cloves
Ghee (RKG) – 1 Tb spoon
Cashew nuts and raisins – for garnishing.

How to:
1.       Peel off and cut bananas into small triangular pieces. Heat ghee in a non-stick pan and add this banana pieces to it. Sauté till the outer side turns light brown adjusting the flame.

2.       Mix egg, sugar and cardamom well in a bowl and pour this mixture to the above roasted bananas. Mix continuously well with a wooden thin spoon so that egg is scrambled well.

3.       Serve it hot garnishing with cashew nuts and raisins. (nuts and raisins too can be roasted with egg & banana, depending on your taste preferences.)

Now give the Banana and Egg Roast to your little ones with a cup of Horlicks or Boost..!! Let them enjoy...

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Chicken Lollipop

It was while going through the menu in the Lifestyle Restaurant at Barwa Village, that my wife mentioned about her friend Vinjusha’s love for Chicken lollipop and how they used to find new restaurants in their office premises to have better chicken lollipops. Hearing this, I told her about my expertise in making this delicious starter dish, though she did not take it seriously as I used to blabber such 'self praising lies’ now and then.

But to mine and her astonishment, my chicken lollipop proved out to be really yummy, in looks and taste.  Let me share the recipe and snaps here for you too. Have a try and let us know the comments.

Ingredients:

Chicken wings – ½ kg

Oil – for frying

For marinating:

Ingredients:

Courn Flour – 3 tsp

Chilli powder – 1 ½ tsp

Turmeric powder – ½ tsp

Vinegar – 1 tsp

Ginger garlic paste – 1 tsp

Salt – as needed

Water – as needed

For batter:

Ingredients:

Maida – 3 Table spoon

Courn flour – 2 Table spoon

Red food color – 1 ½ tsp

Chilli powder – 2 tsp

Corriander – 1 tsp

Soya sauce – 1 ½ tsp

Celery – 1 tsp

Vinegar – 2 tsp

Ginger garlic paste – ½ tsp each

Salt as needed

Water as needed

 How to:
1.       The video below shows how to make lollipops out of chicken wings. You may (or may not) peel off the skin from the chicken wings as you like it. Cut the chicken wings at the centre separating the smaller and bigger bone. Wipe off the flesh towards the ball-shaped end on the bigger bone, which makes a lollipop. Also wipe off the flesh from the smaller bone towards the bigger bone side. Your Lollipops are now ready for marinating.

2.       Mix the ingredients for marinating and spread on the fleshy side of the chicken. Keep it aside for half an hour.


3.       Prepare the batter with a thicker consistency. Now dip each of the lollipop pieces fully in the batter and deep fry in the hot oil.

4.       Serve the dish hot by covering the stick side of the lollipop with a piece of foil paper, garnishing with chopped onion/carrot along with pudina/tomato/mayo sauce.

This so called Chicken lollipops (Drums of Heaven) can be served as a starter for  any of the Indian/Chinese/ Continental Main courses

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Chicken Noodle Balls

I’ve got an invite from one of my Tamilian friends for Eid (Bakrid) day lunch. But as I’ve already committed to Aneesh that I’ll be at his home for lunch I could not go there. I made it up by going for an evening tea at their home. There were so many delicious snacks made by his wife. Chicken noodle ball was one amongst those, the taste of which still lingers to my tongue. I took the recipe from her and tried it by myself. Here I’m posting for you.

Ingredients:

Boneless chicken – 200g
Noodles – 2 small packets
Ginger garlic paste – 2 teaspoon
Pepper powder – 1 teaspoon
Salt – to taste
Grated cheese – 50 g
Egg white – 3 eggs or Maida - 3 Tb spoon
Bread crumbs – (quantity enough to cover the balls)
Oil – for frying

How to:

1.       Boil chicken with ginger garlic paste, pepper powder and salt in a cup of water until chicken is properly cooked and the taste is fully absorbed by chicken. Mince the chicken pieces to smaller pieces by hand.
2.       Cook the noodles in a separate vessel, but with 2 cups of extra water. Make sure that the noodle does not stick to the bottom of the vessel and cook till all the water contents are evaporated. Mix this Noodle well by pressing it with hand. Make sure that it’s not made to a fine paste.
3.       To the noodle mix in step 2, add the minced chicken as in step 1 and mix both well with hand.
4.       Take small parts of the above mixture in hand and press it. In the centre, put few grains of grated cheese and make it to a ball. Finish off the mixture by making such small balls.
5.       Roll the balls lightly in egg white so that a thin outer layer is made and roll in the bread crumbs so as to cover the roll with it.
(Mix maida with a half cup water to make a thin paste.  This can be used instead of egg white.)
6.       In a non-stick pan, pour enough oil to deep fry the balls.

The fried chicken noodle balls can be served with tomato ketchup or mayonnaise. The cheese at the centre of the ball will be melted on deep frying and will give a delightful taste.

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Kappa Puzhungiyathu (Boiled Cassava/Tapioca)

Kappa Puzhungiyathum  Mathi mulakittathum (Boiled Cassava/Tapioca and Sardine in hot chilly Gravy)..  What to say about this? It’s one of the combinations which give a nostalgic feel and really hard to resist the temptation even by just hearing it’s name. And thanks to our new cook that he chose ‘kappa and mathi’ as yesterday’s dinner menu. I know to many of my readers, this recipe won’t be a news, but to those minority who doesn’t what this luscious dish is all about, please have a try....
The Best combination of this dish is here - Mathy Mulakittathu ( Sardine in hot chilly Gravy )

Ingredients:

Tapioca/Casava – 1 kg

Red chilli (dried) – 4-5 no’s

Mustart seed – 2 tea spoons

Curry leaves – 2 twigs

Turmeric powder – ½ teaspoon

Oil – 1 Tb spoon

Salt – to taste


How to:

1.       Peel off the skin of tapioca with a knife and cut it into small pieces. Put the washed tapioca pieces into a pressure cooker and pour water enough to immerse the pieces completely. Add turmeric powder and salt. Close the cooker and pressure cook up to 3-4 whistles. After removing the pressure completely, drain the excess water from the cooked tapioca using a sieve.

2.       To a pan, add oil and to the heated oil add mustard seeds and leave it to spatter. To this put the red chilli and curry leaves and sauté for 1 minute.  Add drained tapioca into this and mix it together.

Now enjoy the supremacy of Kerala’s unique taste – particularly the ‘toddy shop’ special dish. Sluurrrpppp.....!!! I bet, it’s mouth-watering.

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Beef Coconut Fry ( Naadan Beef Fry )

The dinner was simply superb with all traditional dishes, at Shajiyettan’s home. I must admit that Lekshmy has got those blessed hands to cook delicious dishes. One of the beef varieties served by her was tongue tickling. I’d asked her to send me the method of preparation. Just now I received the same from her. Here it is….dedicated to Mrs.Lekshmy Shaji.  Thanking Shajiyettan and family for such a wonderful dinner... and praying to Almighty to bless Shajiyettan to invite me for more and more Yummy Feasts.

You too try this recipe and let me know your comments.

Ingredients: courtesy 

1.    
Beef – 1 kg cut into small pieces
Ginger – 1 tbsp crushed
Garlic- 1 tbsp crushed
Pepper – 1 tbsp crushed
Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp
Chilli powder – 1 ½ tsp
Fennel seeds – ½ tsp – crushed
Cinnamon, cloves, cardamom – 2-3 pieces each
Salt – to taste

2.    
Onion – sliced – 1 cup
Coconut – sliced into small pieces – ½ cup
Curry leaves – 1 stem
Oil – for frying

 How to:
1.       Marinate the beef with the first set of ingredients. Pour one cup of water and pressure cook till 2-3 whistles (depending upon the quality of beef). Drain water in the beef, if any keep it aside.

2.       Heat oil in a pan. Add curry leaves, onion & coconut. Sauté for 1-2 mins and add beef. Reduce flame and fry till dry & slightly crispy on the outside. Add more oil if needed in between.

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