Vegetable pulavu

Vegetable pulavu, originally uploaded by Deepa.Praveen.

Simple vegitable Pulau (a different style)


Ingredients

* Basmati rice - 3/4 cups
* Unsalted butter or ghee - 1tablespoon
* Raisins - 2 tablespoon
* Cashew nut- 2 tablespoon
* Cumin seed- 1/4 teaspoon
* Cardamom pods -3
* 1 cinnamon stick, broken in half - 1
* Water - 1 1/2 cup
*Lemon Juice - 1/2 teaspoon
* Salt - as per your taste

Kerala chicken fry

chicken fry, originally uploaded by Deepa.Praveen.

How to make Kerala Chicken Fry?
Ingredients:

Chicken sliced = 1/2 kg
Coconut oil = 1/2cup
Ginger-Garlic paste = 1tsp
Coriander powder = 3/4tsp
Red chilli powder = 3/4tsp
Turmeric powder = 1/8tsp
Garammasala powder = 1/2tsp

Carrot Thoran

Ingredients:-

1. Grated carrot - 4-5 carrots
2. Onion -small- chopped - 1 or shallots 4-5
3. Salt to taste
4. Oil
5. Water - one tablespoon
6. For Grinding:
7. Grated coconut - 1/4 cup
8. Ginger chopped - 1/2 tsp
9. Green chilies - 3
10. Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

(not too smooth just to mix all the ingredients well)

For Tempering:

1. Mustard seeds
2. Curry leaves
3. Urad dal / Ulundu Paruppu - 1 tsp (optional)

Method:

1. In a bowl combine grated carrots and the ground mixture and salt and mix well with your hands.
2. Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds, when they pop up add curry leaves and chopped small onion.
3. Saute for a couple of minutes and add the carrot mixture and combine it well. 
4. Keep everything to the center of the pan, sprinkle water and cook it covered on a low flame for 5 to 6 minutes. 
5. Uncover and saute for a couple of minutes and remove from heat.Serve warm.     

Dahi vada recipe.

Dahi vada recipe. a photo by {deepapraveen very busy with work..back soon on Flickr.

Method :

Split black gram skin less (urudhu dal /uzhunnu parippu)= 1/2 cup
Salt = to taste
Small onion sliced= 3-5
Ginger sliced=1/2 tsp
Green chilli finely chopped=1
Asafoetida =a pinch
Curry leaves = few
Oil = deep fry

For Dahi/ yogurt Dip

Dahi = 11/2 cup
Salt to taste
Red chilli powder= 1/2 tspn
Roasted cumin powder=1/2 tspn.

Mix all this to get the dip.

For Wada
................

1. Wash and soak dal for three to four hours.

2. Drain and grind this, using very little water, to a thick, coarse batter.

3. Add the soda,onion,greenchilli,ginger and curry leaves then mix well.

4. Once the oil is hot pour a small portion of the batter in hot oil
and fry till wadas are golden brown.

5. You can transfer this directly to the prepared dhai dip and leave
it there for some time before serving.

6.The other method is drain and soak vada in cold water, once you
removed it from heat.

7.Squeeze out excess water and arrange them in a serving dish.

8. Pour the dahi dip on top of it and serve.

You can garnish this with curry or mint leaves.

would u like to meet me @ face book???Here I am http://www.facebook.com/deepapraveens

Simple Fish Fried Rice

We won world cup...we won it..

I was glued to the laptop during the game, enjoyed the tension every second. And this is the winning special dish. An easy and simple fish fried rice.

Ingredients. 

Fish (Tuna,white fish, or any large variety) = 1/2 k.g. 

&

1. Long grain rice= 2 cup.
2. Onion chopped = 3
3. Oil= 1/2cup.
4. Cumin seed=1/4tspoon
5. Fenugreek seeds= 1/2 tspoon
6. Fish sauce: 1 t spoon.
7. Lemon juice=1/2 t spoon.
8. Ginger= A small piece ( finely chopped)
9. Garlic=1 t spoon (finely chopped).
10. Turmeric powder=1/4 tspoon.
11. Chilli powder= 1Tablespn
12. Salt= to your taste.
13. Garam masala=1/4tspoon plus 1/2 tspoon.
14. Soya sauce = 1/2 tspoon.
15. Pepper powder = 1/2 tspoon.
16. Ginger garlic paste = 1/4 tspoon.
17. Bay leaf= 1
18. For garnishing = dry fruits, sultans and nuts = 1 Tablespoon.

Method

1. Soak rice in water for 30 mnts and drain.

2. Cut fish into small square pieces.

3. Mix turmeric powder,Chilli powder, salt= to your taste, garam masala (1/4tspoon) , soya sauce = 1/2 tspoon, pepper powder and Ginger garlic paste well with few drops of lemon juice.

4. Marinate fish pieces with this masala and keep aside for at-least 1/2 an hour (if possible).

5. Fry the fish pieces in the oil then, fry the dry nuts in this oil and keep aside.

6. Now add cumin seed and fenugreek seeds and fry for a second, ginger garlic and stir well, now add onion and stir well for 4- 8 mnts, till it is transparent, add rice to this and stir well then add fish sauce cover this and cook for next 3 mnts in low flame. Then add three cups boiling water and salt to this with lemon juice and cover this with a lid. 

7. Cook the rice in the low flame for 20 mnts.

8. Around 15mnts add the fish pieces and stir carefully now cook the rice in open flame for next 3-5 mnts.

9. Garnish with the fried nuts.

Puttum pazhavum/kerala steam cake/puttu

Dears,


How are you? Finished your breakfast/lunch/ dinner? Me..not yet..missing my mom a  lot now a days..and I lost my phone. what to do..need something to cheer me up.  So I thought I will post a recipe and browse your wonderful blogs.
From my archive I got this puttu picture I prepared few days back.


Puttu, is it a dish which is filled with mom"s love??? I always wonder.
There is a reason for that.
One of my favorite movies in malayalam is called Soorya manasam.  It tells us about the strong relationship of a mom and her mentally challenged son, "putturumees." The central character played by mamootty (for that he won an award) has only two passions in life one is his mom and the other thing is Puttu. There were quite few emotional scenes the movie which connects this white cylindrical shape break-fast item and a mom"s love, care and concern. Well dears, coming to business. 

What do we need?

Raw rice = 2 Cup.

Grated coconut = 1/2 cup.

Water/milk= To sprinkle.

Coconut powder= 2 table spoon.

Salt = 1/4 spoon.

Jeera powder= 1/2 tspoon (optional) .

Method:
1.Sock the rice for 3 hours. Leave it to drain. Spread it in a cloth or kitchen tissue and drain it well. Then grind it to make a fine powder.

2. Cook the rice powder for 5 minutes,keep on stirring. Then remove from heat. (You can avoid this two steps, by using ready made puttu powder, which is available in Asian shops).

4. Mix coconut powder, 1 t.spoon grated coconut and salt to the rice powder.

5. Sprinkle water/ milk to this mixture and make the powder wet. (It should look like a bread crumbs sort of mixture). If the bread crumbs sort of powder is wet and moist enough. We can transfer that to a puttukutti/ Puttu maker.

6. Put two table spoons of grated coconut + jeera in the puttu maker then add the prepared rice mixture and put two table spoons of grated coconut on top of it.
( You can put grated coconut in the middle of the layer if you want, since Mr.P is not a huge fan of this coconut mixture I avoid that middle portion filling).

7.Close the lid and steam to 4-5 minutes. (or you can see steam coming out of the puttu kutti after that an extra 2 mnt is enough).

P.S If you don"t have a puttu maker you can use a vegetable steamer layered with cloth.
You can also you an idali maker.

Best combinations for puttu:

1. Puttu+ meat stir fry( Irachi ularthiyathu)+ pappadam.

2.Puttu+pappadam+Banana/Steamed plantain.

3.Puttu+pappadam+ Ghee( Cleared butter).

4. Puttu + Kadala Curry : channa curry (all time fvrt of a mallu).

5. My recent Invention. Puttu + chocolate sauce+ Banana.

would u like to have a look at my website: www.deepapraveen.com.All my images are copy righted so write to me first (madhudee@gmail.com) if you want to use them.

Mushroom cabbage stir fry...

Currrrrrrrrrryyyyyyyyyyyyy, originally uploaded by Deepa.Praveen.)

Yesterday was another day.
Yet another day of spending hours thinking what should be today's menu.
I hate this part. I hate the confusion and dilemma in fixing a proper menu for lunch or dinner. I think I am the only one having this problem.
I wonder how my mom used to manage her kitchen affairs and cook more than 3 items a day without giving it much thought.
I think preparing for my pg exam was way easier compared to this thinking process.

Soya Fry/ soya masala

Soya Fry, originally uploaded by Deepa.Praveen.

Soya chunk, is one of my other fvrt friend in kitchen. IT is very hard for me to find different veg dishes for my strict veg companion. So last day decided to give a go with Soya chunk.
But it was yummy. So decided to share this with you.

Soya Chunks – 2 cups
Meat Masala/veg masala – 2 tbsp
Red chilly powder – 4/3 tsp
Big Onion (sliced) – 1 large
Turmeric Powder – 1/2 tsp
Tomato (sliced) – 4/3 large
Mustard Seeds – a pinch
Green Chillies (slit) – 2
Curry Leaves – A sprig
Corriander powder-1tsp
Pepper Powder – 1/2 tsp
Ginger ,Garlic Paste – 1 tsp
Oil – 2 tbsp
Salt – As required
Water – As required


Step 1:
Soak the Soya chunks in hot water for around 15-30mnts minutes. With bit red chilli,turmeric and salt.

Step two:
Squeeze out the water and clean the soya chunks and drain out excess water if any.
Step 3:
Put bit water to the masala and chilli powder then rost in in low flame.
Marinate the soya pieces with the above roasted masala powders and salt,leave it there in room heat for another two mnts.
Step 4:
Heat oil and splutter mustard seeds, add sliced onions and saute till the onions change its colour.Add turmeric bit salt,green chillies, chopped tomatoes and curry leaves and saute till the tomatoes are cooked properly.
Step 5:

Add rest of the chilly powder, coriander powder, pepper powder, ginger garlic paste and stir fry for a few minutes.
Step 6:
Add the marinated soya chunks . Add some water just to cook the ingreditens.

Step 7:
Cover and cook on low flame for another 15-20 minutes.

Curry is ready.

P.S:Since my veg boy doesnt agree with masala cotted fry i have limited all the ingredents,so mine as seen in the pic is a much more plain one. If u follow the above method you will get a masala cotted fry...Njoy

Curd Curry/ Moru kachiyathu

Curd Curry, originally uploaded by Deepa.Praveen.

Well our sundays are busy with phone calls. Last day when i called amma (praveens mom )she said she had moru kachiyathu and upperi for lunch. I love the way she prepare this moru koottan( curd curry. Our kotttayam style moru kachiyathu is different from her palakkad style (two different places in kerela). My Curd curry is a mixture of these two styles.

Ingredients :-

Curd (well beaten) – 2 cups
Asafoetida(Kaayam) – a pinch
Fenugreek powder(Uluva) – a pinch
Salt – to taste
Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp
Oil (preferrably Coconut Oil) – 3 tsp

For Grinding :-
Grated coconut – 1/4cup
Cumin seeds (Jeerakam) – 1/4 tsp
green chilli- 1 (you can use red chilli powder 1/4 tsp aswell insted of green chilli).
Ginger : a very small portion
Step one:
Grind all the above ingredients into a fine paste and keep it aside.

For Seasoning :-
Mustard seeds – few
Shallots (kunjulli ) sliced – 1/2 tbsp
Green chillies slit – 1 or two
Red chillies – 2
Curry leaves – a sprig.

Step 1:

Mix together curd,salt and turmeric powder in a bowl.
Step 2:

Heat oil in a pan and allow mustard seeds to splutter.
Step 3:

Add shallots ,fry til it turns brown . Add green chillies ,red chillies and curry leaves.Fry for a while and remove it from oil and keep it aside.
Step 4:

Reduce the heat to low .
Add the ground paste into the same oil.Fry for 2-3 mins stirring continuously.( Dont allow coconut paste to change its color).
Step 5:

Add asafoetida and fenugreek powder and stir well.

Step 6:
Add the beaten curd mixture and stir continuosly until it is warm.Never let it boil.Remove from heat ,pour the prepared seasoning over it. Your curd curry is ready.

Enjoy.

prawn fry

prawn fry, originally uploaded by Deepa.Praveen.

What u miss the most if u are away from home?

Ofcourse yes , food prepared by your mom.

Same to me.

And as he is a strict veggi, some of my fvrt non veg things started appearing in my dreams.

If you feel something is away from u, u started thinking about it over and over.

My valluvanadan is quite ok with my non veg cooking at home. He encourges it too. Because since it is non veg he can escape from me. More over he can go back too one of his fvrt dal dish which i hate the most.

So few days back i made at attempt and here is the result.

As it looks it was not a failure. would u like to try?

Here we go
Large prawns 5( small prawns 10): deveined ,pealed and washed.
Chilli powder: 1tsp
Turmeric powder:1/4 tsp
Garam masala : 1/2 tsp
Ground Pepper powder :1/2 tsp
Lemon juice :1 1/2
cocunut oil :3-5 tbl spoon
salt : as per ur taste
Big onion: thinly sliced :1
green chilli:finely chopped:3-4
garlic:finely chopped 1 clove
ginger :1

curry leaves : 10
musturd :1/4 tsp.

Step one:
We need a marinade with all the powders ,lemon juice and prawns and one spoon oil. Apply thi to our prawns and leave it in there for half and hour.

Step two:

Shallow fry prawns. Leave it in heat for around 2-3 mnts,prawns needs little cooking time. Dont over cook.

In another pan, crack musturd in oil,apply sliced onion,bit turmeric,salt,ginger,green chilli, garlic, and curry leaves. When it turns to little golden brown add the leaft over masalas in that prawns dish to it. Reduce the heat to low and when that raw smell goes add the prawns to it. stir well for two three mints. IF u need littile gravy put less that 1/4 glass water too that masala leftover plate and apply the same to our fry leave it der another few mnts. Apply salt. stir well ur fry is ready

onion masala

onion masala, originally uploaded by Deepa.Praveen.

Small onions(Kunjulli) thinly sliced - 1 cup
Dry red chillies- 5 nos
Red chilly powder - as reqd
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Coconut (grated)- 1/2 cup
Fenugreek seeds(Uluva) - 1/4 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Coconut oil - 2 tbsp
Tamarind(Puli) - A gooseberry sized ball
(soaked in water)
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Dry red chillies - 2 - 3 nos for seasoning
Curry leaves - few Springs
Salt - As req
Jagery = for taste
Garlic Flakes =1 or 2

Method:

Heat up a kadai. Add Fenugreek seeds and stir for a sec,then add greated coconut,garlick when it turns like brown add coriander and red chillie then fry till they turn red in colour.
If using powders add them one mint before trun of the fire. when this mixture turn cool. Grind it well with enough water ( i use cocount milk for this).


Heat oil in a pan.Splutter mustard seeds and saute dry red chilles and curry leaves,then sliced onion,saute them till this turns golden brown,then add termaric,then add tamarid water and allow it to boil when the first boil turns up, we can add the mixture we preapred with salt and jagery. Mix it well sim for a while.

Veg cake DAte CaKe Eggless

veg cake, originally uploaded by Deepa.Praveen.

DAte CaKe Eggless (veg cake)
Ingredients:
18 dates(seedless) = 15 to 20 as per size
milk = 3/4 cup
sugar = 3/4 cup
flour or maida = 1 cup
oil = 1/2 cup
baking soda = 1 teaspoon
cashews = 5 to 6

vanila essence= 1 or two drops

Method:
Soak the dates in warm milk overnight . Add sugar ,essence and grind them to a smooth paste along with the milk in which it is soaked in. Add oil and mix.
Mix flour and baking soda. Now u can add the flour one table spoon at a time and mix slowly and make cake mixture. Now add nuts to this.


Now pre heat the oven for around 10 mnts at 350F and keep the cake in it for around 35 to 50 mnts. After 35 mnts pls check this by using a kinfe...enjoy this veg cake

Ada dosa

Its breakfast time, originally uploaded by Deepa.Praveen.

Ada dosa
Raw rice-1/2 cup
Boiled rice-1/2 cup
Split gram-1/4cup
white gram-1/4 cup
chana Dal-1/2 cup
Green Gram spilt-1/4cup
Black pepper-1Table spoon
Red chilli-6-8

How to prepare

Sock all these in water for 3 hours.

Grind this with

cumin seed-1ts
curry leaves
Plantians powder(kayam )
shallots-7-8
Grind this with the batter again...beware you are not going for a fine paste..make a pan cake out of this ..itz yammy