GREEN PEAS TIKKIS

Posted on by yeleena

2I often think what to pack as a tiffin. Despite there being so many options when the time comes we all draw a blank isn’t it? So as usual I opened up my fridge and started glancing on all the shelves. Nothing caught my fancy. Then I started staring at the kitchen shelves. I thought one or two options but then discarded it thinking it will consume time in my very busy early morning hours. Immediately, a thought struck me and I realized I hadn’t checked my freezer. And there it was. One packet of frozen green peas. I grabbed it and decided to try the green peas tikki that I read sometime back.

6I had paired this tikki with my green mango mint chutney, ketchup and burger buns.

INGREDIENTS:

Frozen Green Peas – 1 cup

Besan/ Gram Flour – 1/2 cup

Bread Crumbs – 3 tbslpn

Ginger-Garlic Paste – 1 tblspn

Coriander Leaves – 1 tblspn

Green chilly – 2-3

Salt to taste

Oil for shallow frying

1INSTRUCTIONS:

  1. Cook green peas in little water.
  2. Strain and take it in a blender.
  3. Blend green peas along with ginger-garlic paste, chopped coriander leaves, green chilly and salt.
  4. Take it out of blender and mix gram flour and bread crumbs.
  5. Make small balls out of the mixture.
  6. Now take the balls in your palm and flatten it to form tikkis.
  7. Heat a tawa/ griddle with little oil for shallow frying.
  8. Place the tikkis and fry them on low heat.
  9. Fry both sides till golden brown and drain on kitchen towel.

Assemble the tikkis for a burger or have it just like that with chutney of your choice.5

 

 

 

GREEN MANGO MINT CHUTNEY

Posted on by yeleena

IMG_8745I think we as a culture enjoy lots of chutneys. Chutney has got wide usage and is vastly explored. We have so many dishes that are incomplete without chutney. May be it has got to do something with our taste buds. We love spicy and tangy. This is a take on the classic green chutney with mint.

Use it for your pani puris or sandwiches or chaat items.  Super simple and no cook version. Make it and store it for further use.

INGREDIENTS:

Raw Mango – 1/2

Mint Leaves – 1 cup

Green Chilly – 3-4

Salt to taste

INSTRUCTIONS:

  1. Peel green mango and chop them into cubes.
  2. In a blender take chopped green mango, mint leaves, green chilly and salt.
  3. Blend it once.
  4. Add little water and blend it till smooth.

Serve it with french fries or with your parathas. Add it to your chaats or spread it on your sandwich. I enjoyed it with sabudana wadas.IMG_8743

MORINGA TAKKALI CURRY/ DRUMSTICK TOMATO CURRY

Posted on by yeleena

IMG_8160Drumstick tree is commonly found in every house in Kerala. It leaves are very healthy and drumstick too is loaded with goodness. It builds strong bones,  purifies blood, lowers blood sugar levels, eases respiratory problems, very good for pregnant women, protects against infections and helps in digestion. After such a long listing of the goodness that drumstick provides who will like to ignore drumstick?

And among all he vegetables drumstick comes with a fun factor. You cannot have it like normal vegetable and you need to split it open and consume the pulp. I love that fact that you need to take time to enjoy this veggie. In fact in sambhar or avial I always tend to search for drumstick.

This is one of my favorite veg curries using drumstick. I can have it just as soup. This is a great curry for rice.

INGREDIENTS:

Drumsticks – 2-3

Tomatoes – 2-3 medium (ripe)

Grated coconut – 1 cup

Shallots – 3-4

Ginger – 1/2 inch pieces

Cumin seeds – 1 pinch

Turmeric Powder – 1/2 tsp

Chilly powder – 1.5 tsp

Mustard Seeds – 1 tsp

Curry Leaves – 1 stem

Coriander Leaves – 1 tsp

Oil – 1 tblspn

Salt to tase

INSTRUCTIONS:

  1. Peel and cut drumsticks in 1 inch pieces.
  2. In a pan,heat oil.
  3. Once hot splutter mustard seeds.
  4. Add finely chopped shallots and saute till brown.
  5. Add curry leaves.
  6. Add chopped tomatoes.
  7. Add the drumsticks.
  8. Add little water to cook the tomatoes and drumsticks.
  9. Cook the tomatoes till they are mushy and drumsticks cooked.
  10. Meanwhile in a blender add grated coconut, shallots, cumin and ginger, turmeric, chilly powder and blend.
  11. Add little water blend nicely. It should be pasty consistency.
  12. Once the tomatoes are cooked and mushy, add the coconut mixture and salt and mix properly.
  13. Keep mixing it till nicely heated but do not let it boil.
  14. Switch off the flame and garnish with coriander leaves.

Do try this recipe for your afternoon lunch and enjoy great health. IMG_8161

AMLA MURABBA/ GOOSEBERRY SWEET PICKLE

Posted on by yeleena

IMG_9230Gooseberry or commonly known as amla or nellikya in malayalam is in season now. I need not explain the loads of nutrients you get from gooseberry. But eating it raw is a challenge right? Murabba is famous pickle of sorts that is sweet and it is usually made with bitter ingredient. This one is a real winner. Also I had a lot of syrup from this which I plan to use it on my pancakes. So here goes the recipe:

Recipe Source here

INGREDIENTS:

Amla/ Gooseberry – 10-12

Sugar – 1.5 cups

Water – 300 ml

Saffron strands – a pinch

Pepper Powder – 1 tsp

INSTRUCTIONS:

  1. Wash and chop gooseberry into bite size pieces.
  2. Add it in water and boil for 10-15 minutes till tender and cooked.
  3. Now in a thick bottom pan add sugar with water and let it boil.
  4. Keep on boiling for 10-15 minutes till it forms 1 string consistency. That means when you lift your spoon the last drop when falling will form a string like texture.
  5. Now add the cooked gooseberry and mix well.
  6. Continue cooking for another 10-15 minutes till it forms 3 string consistency.
  7. Now add saffron strands and pepper powder and mix well.
  8. It should form a thick syrup.
  9. Switch off and let it cool. Once its cooled down store it in air tight container.

TIPS:

If after cooling your murabba has become tight and hard then add little water and heat it up. Then store again.

Enjoy it with rotis or dab it on your bread. Or just grab a bite now and then. IMG_9231

PRAWNS IN RICH CREAMY COCONUT CURRY

Posted on by yeleena

3We don’t often get prawns but when we do , we celebrate it. This curry is of beautiful tiger prawns that is prepared in rich, creamy and sweet coconut milk. I like this kind of preparation since it is light on your stomach, smooth and creamy.

Hope you will like this recipe and try as a great accompaniment for your hot rice.

INGREDIENTS:

Tiger Prawns – 500 gms (Cleaned and de-veined)

Coconut Milk first extract – 1/2 cup

Coconut Milk second and third extract – 1/2 cup

Fennel seeds – 2 tsp

Black pepper – 1 tsp

Coriander Powder – 1 tblspn

Chilly Powder – 1 tsp

Turmeric Powder – 1 tsp

Green chilly – 3-4

Tamarind paste – 1 tsp

Ginger – 1/2 inch piece

Garlic – 7-8

Tomatoes – 2 medium

Onion – 1 medium

Mustard seeds – 1 tsp

Coconut oil – 1 tblspn

Curry Leaves – 1 sprig

Coriander Leaves – 2 tblspn chopped

Salt to taste

INSTRUCTIONS:

  1. To prepare Prawns Coconut Curry Recipe, begin by making a paste of fennel, pepper, ginger and garlic by adding a little water.
  2. Heat a kadai or meenchatty with oil.
  3. Once hot, splutter mustard seeds.
  4. Add the above paste and saute till the raw smell leaves.
  5. Add curry leaves, slit green chilli and chopped onions. Saute till onions turn translucent.
  6. Add in chopped tomatoes and cook till tomatoes turn mushy.
  7. Add in tamarind paste.
  8. Add coriander powder and chilli powder and mix for a minute.
  9. Add second and third milk extract of coconut.
  10. Add salt and bring it to a boil.
  11. Add cleaned and deveined prawns.
  12. Cook for 4-5 minutes.
  13. Now add first milk extract of coconut and mix well.
  14. Do not boil. Once it is heated enough take it off flame and garnish prawns coconut curry recipe with chopped coriander leaves.
  15. Serve Prawns Coconut Curry with hot steamed rice.

This recipe was published in Archana’s kitchen.

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OVERNIGHT OATS WITH MANGO AND CHIA

Posted on by yeleena

2We all know Oat is the new ‘in’ thing in food these days.People are experimenting with oats recipes and finding new flavors for it to be incorporated in our daily lives. Have you heard of overnight oats. This involves no cooking of oats. Instead oats is soaked in curd overnight for it to cook and sort of ferment. Then it is served in variety of ways using different types of milk, syrups, fruits, etc.

This recipe is very quick to prepare, healthy and fills you up your tummy. This way of cooking oats gives a different texture and taste to the oats. You may ask whether it is cooked. Yes and it is easily digestible. Do try and see if you like the taste.

INGREDIENTS:

  1. Quick Cooking Oats – 1/2 cup
  2. Coconut milk – 1 cup
  3. Curd – 1 tbsp
  4. Ripe Mango –  1
  5. Chia Seeds – 1 tbsp
  6. Honey – 2 tbsp

1INSTRUCTIONS:

  1. Soak half cup oats in half cup water and 1 tbsp curd.
  2. Mix together chia seeds and honey to this and keep it closed on counter top or refrigerate overnight.
  3. Next morning, add coconut milk and mix well.
  4. I also added a little mango puree.

TIPS:

  1. You can use any milk like soy milk, cow’s milk, etc.
  2. You can refrigerate it if you fear your curd will turn sour.
  3. You can add chopped nuts and dry fruits of your choice3

KHICHDI KE 3 YAAR- DAHI, PAPAD AUR ACHAR

Posted on by yeleena

KhichdiHappy Rakshabandan. Today’s recipe is special. Special because I requested my brother to post his famous khichdi recipe. When he started college and started staying with his friends he started exploring cooking. And that’s how this khichdi was born. He as traveled around the world and explored so many cuisines. So his knowledge on good food is pretty awesome.

This is the first guest post in my blog and I am so happy my brother is doing the honors. He has been there for me through thick and thin. He has taught me to differentiate good from bad. Occasionally he has pampered me. More than brother – sister we are more like best friends. The name of this recipe was also given by him. Hope you like this recipe as it is healthy and full of protein and one pot meal.

This dish will be semi- liquid and is very good if you have cough and cold. Easily digestible and gives you the needed energy for the day. Since it is liquidy (i don’t know whether that’s even a word ) it retains the water content in your body that you need when having cough and cold.

So thank you bhai for doing this recipe.

Rice and pulsesINGREDIENTS:

White Rice – 1 cup

Toor / Sambhar Dal – 1/2 cup

Beans – 3-4 pieces cut into 1 inch pieces

Carrots – 1 cut into 1 inch pieces

Green Peas – Frozen 1/2 cup

Tomatoes – Chopped 1/2 cup

Onion – 1 medium

Ginger – 1/2 tblspn finely chopped

Garlic – 1 tblspn finely chopped

Green chilly- 2 slit

Coriander Leaves – 1/2 cup chopped

Curry leaves – 1-2 stems

Ghee – 1 tblspn

Asafoetida/ Hing – 1/4 tsp

Bay Leaf / Tej patta  – 1

Cumin / Jeera – 1/2 tbspn

Turmeric Powder – 1/4 tsp

Chilli Powder – 1/4 tsp

Salt to taste

VeggiesOther IngINSTRUCTIONS:

  1. Heat ghee in a pressure cooker.
  2. Add hing, bay leaf and cumin as saute.
  3. Add ginger and garlic and saute for 10 seconds
  4. Add onions and saute till translucent.
  5. Add tomatoes and turmeric and let it cook till mushy.
  6. Add the veggies and let it cook till tender. If required add a little water.
  7. Add chilli powder and sauté.
  8. Add the rice and dal with 5 cups water.
  9. Add salt and close the cooker and let it complete 5 whistle.
  10. Once the pressure settles open the lid and garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

Serve hot with curd, papad and achar.

Note: Recipe and photos by Yalo Thomas

 

ATTA HALWA / WHEAT FLOUR PUDDING

Posted on by yeleena

5Today is Malayalam New Year. So I thought why not celebrate this day with a sweet recipe. This is super simple wheat flour halwa. But please exercise precaution since it is temptingly sweet and melt in the mouth. I bought a little for my office girls and they loved it too.

It is especially good for kids due to the usage of ghee and dry fruits. Do try it and you won’t regret it. Do bookmark this recipe for when you have a craving for ‘something sweet’. Do save this recipe when you have some good news in your home. Do comment this recipe on how it turned out for you and your family.

4Recipe Source here

INGREDIENTS:

Wheat Flour/ Atta – 1 cup

Sugar – 1 cup

Ghee – 1/2 cup

Water – 1 cup

Cardamom Powder – 1 tsp

Nuts and dry fruits of your choice

1INSTRUCTIONS:

  1. Heat ghee preferably in non-stick pan.
  2. Roast the dry fruits and nuts and keep aside.
  3. Add the atta in remaining ghee and start roasting on low flame.
  4. Continue roasting till raw smell leaves (approx 5-6 minutes)
  5. Add water and mix properly to avoid lumps.
  6. Add in sugar and mix completely.
  7. Continue mixing till the halwa starts leaving the sides of the kadai.
  8. Add a tblspn of ghee and mix.
  9. Add cardamom powder and mix well.
  10. At this point if the halwa is not so glossy add another tblspn of ghee and mix well.
  11. Add the fried nuts and dry fruits and mix well.

You will get a glossy halwa that will hold its shape. Enjoy and try to stay away from temptation.

Note: In most parts of north India there is a dish known as halwa puri. This halwa is perfect for a puri or phulka.

2

 

KAPPA CHAMANTHY/ TAPIOCA WITH CURD CHUTNEY

Posted on by yeleena

2Hey there. Today’s recipe is an ingredients that is commonly found in Kerala. Especially people who are natives of Kerala but born outside love this ingredient. Commonly known as Tapioca and famously known as Kappa this is found almost everyday in most houses.This is boiled version of kappa and served with coconut-curd chutney. Though most people like to have it with fish curry.

Best thing about this recipe – Not a drop of oil needed

INGREDIENTS:

Kappa/ Tapioca – 1/2 kg

Grated Coconut – 1 cup

Sour Curd/Yogurt – 1/2 cup

Green Chilly – 3-4

Shallots – 3-4

Salt to taste

INSTRUCTIONS:

  1. Peel and cut tapioca in medium size pieces. Wash and keep aside.
  2. In a deep pan bring lots of water to boil.
  3. Add the chopped tapioca and let it cook on medium flame.
  4. Once the tapioca is half cooked add salt.
  5. Cook according to the consistency you need. I like real soft ones. Some others like solid bite able pieces.
  6. Once cooked drain.
  7. For the chutney, take grated coconut, green chilly, shallots and blend to a smooth paste.
  8. Add this paste to the whisked curd and mix well.
  9. Add salt according to taste and mix well.

TIPS:

  1. If you go to restaurants this dish is served in a different way. While boiling turmeric is added.
  2. A tadka or tempering is also given of mustard seeds, red chilly and curry leaves.
  3. A garnish can be given with grated coconut.

Enjoy hot tapioca with this simple yet delicious chutney.