Kappa

Not a very elegant looking dish, but kappa and meen curry (casava and fish curry) is a fab combination and is one of my favourites.

This is the recipe for Kappa/ Casava

Ingredients:

1-2 medium sized Tapioca (a.k.a Casava/ Kappa)

Set1-
1/2 cup Grated coconut
1 tsp Jeera
4 green chillies
4 garlic pods
few curry leaves
1/2 tsp turmeric
salt

Set 2-
Mustard seeds
1 onion, sliced
curry leaves
2 dried red chillies
Coconut oil

Method:
1. Peel the tapioca and cut into roughly inch sized pieces.
2. Cook tapioca with water and salt. Drain well and keep aside
3. Grind set 1 ingredients with little water to form coarse paste
4. Arrange paste on top of kappa addding little water
5. Splutter mustard seeds and then all the other ingredients in set 2 and add to vessel
6. Close with lid and cook for 5 mins
7. Open and stir well

Kappa is ready to serve. This goes best with red chilli fish curry.

Red Fish curry (Kottayam style)

Ingredients:
1 tsp Mustard seeds
1 tsp Fenugreek seeds (uluva)
2 Red dry chilli (vattal mulakku)
4 green chillies
Few Curry leaves
1 Onion, chopped
4-5 garlic pods, sliced
1/4 inch ginger, thinly sliced
2 small pieces Kodamn puli (fish tamarind), soaked in warm water
2 tbsp Chilli powder
1/4 tbsp Coriander powder
1/4 tbsp Turmeric powder
1 kg Fish (King fish or some fleshy fish)
coconut oil

Method:
1. In a mud/ earthern pot (mann-chatti) heat some coconut oil. Splutter the mustard seeds. Add the fenugreek seeds to it. Stir lightly.
2. Slit green chillies and add to pot. Add the dried red chillies.
3. Add onions, ginger and garlic. Stir well. Add curry leaves.
4. When the onions start to brown, add chilli powder, coriander powder and turmeric powder.
5. Stir well till the raw smell of the powders go away and the mixture is blended well with the oil.
6. Add the pulli (tamarind) and the water used for soaking it.
7. Add more water if required for the gravy. Add salt as required.
8. Bring to boil.
9. When the gravy starts to boil, lower the heat slightly and add the fish pieces to it.
10. Cover and cook for around 15- 20 minutes or till the fish is cooked. Ensure you swirl the pot once in every 5-10 minutes so that gravy moves around and mixes well with the fish. Do not use a spoon as the fish will flake as it begins to cook.

The fish curry is now ready to serve. However, the taste intensifies the longer it stands after removing from the flame.

This is a spicy dish and goes well with kappa. It is also had with rice. I love the meen curry, moru kaachi (buttermilk curry) and thoran (coconut infused side dish) combination :)

Rava Dosa

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Rava (Sooji)
1/2 cup Rice flour
1/4 cup Plain flour
1 tsp Cumin seeds
1 tsp Fennel seeds
1/2 tbsp Ginger paste
1/4 tsp Asofetida (Hing)
1 tsp Pepper powder
5-10 Whole peppercorns
1-2 Green chillies, thinly sliced
1 Onion, chopped
Salt to taste

Method:

1. Mix all ingredients except onions in a bowl
2. Add enough water to get a very runny consistency
3. Heat a flat pan and put some onions on top. When the pan is really hot, sprinkle the batter onto the pan. Do not make the dosa thick. Put some oil/ ghee on top and spread it evenly with a flat spatula.
4. Cook over medium high flame. When the dosa become crispy (golder brown), turn it over and cook again for a minute or so.
5. Your Rava Dosa is ready to eat.

Tastes great with chutney.

Orange and pineapple cake in a cup

Same method used here as the chocolate cake but slight modifications with the ingredients.

Ingredients:

4 tbsp plain flour
4 tbsp sugar
1 egg
3 tbsp fresh orange juice
Segments of 1/2 an orange without the skin
2 tbsp chopped pineapple
3 tbsp oil

Method:

1. Mix the flour and sugar well in a mug
2. Add the egg and mix well
3. Add the remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly.
4. Put in microwave on high for 3 minutes
5. Let it cool for a few minutes. Invert on to plate.

Enjoy your "healthier" cake :)

True chocolate "Cup cake"

Yes- it's true... it really is a cake in a real cup...well mug but all the same. I came across this recipe and was fascinated with it- mainly cause there is only one mug to wash up afterwards :D Very simple to make and your cake will be ready when your tea is.

Ingredients:
4 tbsp plain flour
4 tbsp sugar
10 gms chocolate (approx 4 pieces from a chocolate slab) or 2 tbsp cocoa powder
3 tbsp milk
3 tbsp sunflower oil
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
Large coffee mug
Microwave

Method:

1. Put the chocolate pieces in the mug and put in the microwave on high for about a minute in instalments of 15 sec each. Ensure that its fully melted.
2. Put in the flour and sugar and mix well. (If using cocoa powder, add all 3 dry ingredients and mix well)
3. Add the egg and mix well
4. Pour in the milk, oil and essence and mix thoroughly.
5. Place in the microwave on high to 2.5-3 mins.
6. The cake will rise out of the mug but this is expected. Don't be alarmed.
7. Cool for a few minutes, Turn it over onto a plate and eat when still warm.

For a cake made in 5 mins, it's just plain awesome. I tried a healthier version of this cake. Read the next blog for details :)

Baby Corn manchurian

Who doesn't like some authentic Indo- Chinese food :) I tried this recipe and it came out pretty well. Give it a go :)

Ingredients:

100 gms Baby Corn (around 10)

4 tbsp plain flour

1 tbsp cornflour

1 tsp chilli powder

2 medium sized onions, chopped

1/2 Capsicum, chopped

2 green chillies, slit

2 tbsp ginger-garlic paste

3-4 tbsp ketchup

1 tbsp soya sauce

Coriander leaves, chopped. To garnish.

salt to taste

oil to fry

Method:

1. Mix the flour, cornflour, chilli powder and salt to make a thick paste

2. Cut the baby corn in half length-wise and quarter (such that each piece is about an inch long)

3. Dip the baby corn pieces in the batter and fry till golden brown

4. Set aside on paper towels (or any other method to drain excess oil)

5. In a pan, heat oil and saute the onions for a few minutes

6. When the onions begin to turn translucent, add in the ginger-garlic paste and saute for another minute

7. Add the green chillies and capsicum and saute for around 5-6 minutes (till the onions start to turn a pale brown)

8. Add the ketchup, soya sauce and stir well.

9. Check if salt is enough (soya sauce contains salt- be careful not to add too much) Add salt if needed.

10. Add in the fried baby corn and stir well

11. Sprinkle the finely chopped coriander leaves on top. Serve hot.

Enjoy your crispy and yummy baby corn manchurian

Tomato Soup

Ingredients:

1 medium sized onion, finely chopped
3 medium sized tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed and roughly chopped
Salt and pepper- to taste
1 cube chicken (or Veg) stock
Little oil

Method:

1. In a deep bottomed pan, put a little oil. Once heated, add the onions to it.
   
2. When the onions start changing colour to translucent, add in the garlic.
   
3. When the onions start to brown, add in the tomatoes.
   
4. Stir occasionally ensuring that it does not stick to bottom of pan or burn.
5. When the tomatoes begin to whither, add the salt and pepper. Do not add too much salt as there the chicken cube is usually salty.
   
6. Stir for around 2 minutes.
   
7. Powder the chicken cube and add to the mixture.
8. Stir in well ensuring that no lumps remain.
   
9. When the tomatoes are a dark red colour, it shows that they are cooked. Add a few drops of water to get a thick consistency.
   
10. Remove from flame and put in blender.
    
11. Blend to a smooth paste.
    
    Soup is ready to serve. Goes well with toasted bread.
    

Fried Chicken Kabab

I lived in Bangalore for quite a few years and one of my favourite dishes introduced to me by my cousin, was the Empire and Imperial fried Kababs. Pure evil I say with all the calories but so tasty that you'll come back for more. This is not the exact recipe but who cares... it's fried chicken after all :D
Enjoy.

Ingredients
1/2 kg boneless Chicken, cut into small pieces
2 tbsp Plain flour
1 tbsp Corn flour
1 Egg
1 tbsp Ginger & Garlic, minced
1 medium sized Lemon
1 tbsp Red Chili powder
1 tsp Garam Masala
1 tsp Coriander powder
1 tsp Cumin
2 Green chilies, finely chopped
1 tbsp Coriander leaves, finely chopped
Salt to taste
Oil for deep frying

Method

1. Break the egg into a bowl and beat with a fork.
   
2. Add the plain flour and corn flour and mix well. Ensure no lumps remain.
   
3. Add the chilli powder, coriander powder, cumin seeds and garam masala to the mix. Mix well.
   
4. Add in the salt, lemon juice and green chillies. Mix well to get a thick paste.
   
5. Taste the marinade to check for seasoning. If needed, add more of any of the ingredients according to taste.
   
6. Add the coriander leaves and mix well. Then add the chicken pieces and ensure every piece is evenly coated with the marinade.
7. Marinate chicken for about 4 hours. You can cover and place in fridge.
   
8. To cook the kababs, heat the oil in a wok or deep pan and deep fry till crispy and golden brown.
   
   Serve hot. Goes great with a dash of lemon.
   

Upside down apple cake

We bought apples the other day. They were just sitting there asking me to do something. So, I decided to bake a cake. We were running low on white sugar and I was far too lazy to nip out to the store close-by and buy some. We were also out of butter and stocks were not replenished as my hubby reminded me that too much saturated fat is bad for health. I made did with what I had at home. This was the result.



Ingredients

3/4 cup plain flour
1/2 cup Brown cane sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup oil
1/4 tsp Baking powder
1/2 tsp Baking soda
1 tsp Vanilla essence
2 small apples
Little butter to grease the baking pan

Method

1. Separate the egg yolks and whites. Set whites aside.
   
2. Beat the egg yolk with the sugar till well mixed.
   
3. Add in the oil to this mixture. Mix well.
4. Add vanilla essence.
   
5. Mix the baking powder, soda and flour together. If you want, you may sift them though this is not necessary.
   
6. Beat the whites and get as much air into them as possible. The reason for this is that we are not using butter and need the air trapped in the whites to make the cake soft and fluffy.
7. Add 1/3 rd of the flour mixture to the egg and sugar mixture. Fold in well. Add 1/3rd of the egg white to this mixture and fold in. In this manner, alternate between flour and egg white till over.
8. Peel, core and cut the apples into thin slices.
   
9. Grease the baking pan with a little butter and arrange the apple slices at the bottom
10. Pour the batter on top of the apples
11. Release excess air (if any) out of the baking pan by dropping the pan onto a flat surface like your counter top. Excess air might cause the cake to rise unevenly or fall flat in some places.
12. Bake in a preheated oven till cooked. You'll know this when a knife inserted into the cake comes out clean. It would take about 20-25 mins.
    I'm not sure what the temperature is as my oven doesn't have a thermostat. But usually its 180 degrees.
    Try not to open the oven while baking at least for the first 10-15mins as the cold air would hinder proper baking.
    
    Once the cake is done, cool and invert onto plate. Cut and serve.

Thai Green Curry

Step 1- Make green curry paste

Ingredients

2-3 medium green chillies, de-seeded and roughly chopped
1 shallot (button onion), roughly chopped
1in piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated
1 garlic clove, crushed
small bunch of fresh coriander
1 lemongrass stalk,chopped
1/2 lime, grated zest and juice
1/2in piece galangal, peeled and chopped.
1/2 tbsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp black peppercorns, crushed
1 tsp Thai fish sauce
2 tbsp oil

Method

1. Place all of the ingredients in a food processor and make into a paste.
   

Step 2- Make the curry

Ingredients

1 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tbsp green curry paste (or according to taste)
1-2 thick stalks lemongrass
1/4 cup of Bamboo shoots(Canned)
750g skinless, boneless chicken, cut into chunks (use breast and/or leg meat)
400ml coconut milk
good shake of Thai fish sauce
small handful of coriander, roughly chopped
½-1 lime, juice only
1/2 tsp Turmeric powder and chilli powder- to marinate chicken
2-5 Green chillies (according to taste)
Black pepper & Salt- to taste

Method

1. Marinate the chicken with some salt, turmeric powder and chilli powder for about 20 mins
2. Lightly fry in a pan till the marinade loses its raw smell
   
3. Heat the oil in a wok or large frying pan. Add the green curry paste and cook over a fairly high heat for about a minute, stirring with the lemongrass
   
4. Reduce the heat slightly and stir in the chicken pieces until coated in the paste
5. Add in the bamboo shoots and stir for a couple of minutes
   
6. Add the coconut milk, fish sauce and bring to a simmer, cooking for 25-30 minutes until thickened slightly. Stir in the chillies, coriander, and lime juice. Check for seasoning, adding more fish sauce if needed.
7. The curry is now best left to sit for a few minutes so the sauce becomes creamier.
   
8. Serve with white rice.