Wheat Laddoo / Gothambu Laddoo - Festive Dish!!

Things you will need:

Wheat flour- 2 cups
Besan/Chick Peas flour- 1/2 cup
Ghee-1 cup
Sugar- 2 cups; powdered
Cashew- 1 cup; powdered
Raisins- few for decoration
Cardamom- 6 or 7 ; powdered



Preparation Method:

Heat ghee in a thick-bottom pan.
Add Besan and wait until it appears frothy.
Now add wheat flour and stir on medium high flame.
This will require continuous stirring until the flour it roasted well and gives a cookie-like aroma.
Once done, set it aside to cool.
Now add powdered sugar, cardamom and cashew and mix well.
Make sure there are no lumps.
Now form lime-size balls out of the mixture and serve with raisins decorated on top.

Its a very delicious and yummy treat , loved by all, and easy to prepare for any festive occasion.

Naranga Curry/ Lemon Pickle / Nimboo ka Achaar

Things you will need:

• Lemon- 1; chopped into bite sized pieces; seeds removed

• Green Chillies- 2 or 3 ; finely chopped

• Curry Leaves- few
• Fenugreek seeds - 1 tsp
• Fenugreek powder- 1 tsp
• Asafoetida powder - 1 tsp
• Red Chilli Powder- 3 tbsp (you may reduce this per your taste and tolerance)
• Dry Red Chillies- 2 or 3
• Mustard seeds- 1 tsp
• Oil- 2 tbsp; preferably Coconut Oil
• Vinegar- 2 tsp
• Salt to taste

Preparation Method:

• Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds.
• Once mustard seeds crack, add dry red chillies,fenugreek powder,fenugreek seeds,asafoetida powder and stir well.
• Then add green chillies,curry leaves and saute till the raw smell is gone.
• Now add red chilli powder and stir well. 
• Remove from flame and set aside to cool.
• After around an hour or so , when the above mixture has cooled down, add the lemon pieces,salt and vinegar and mix well. 
• Later store in an airtight container.
• Naranga Curry is now ready to be served with warm rice and curry like Sambhar or with plain and simple 'Curd Rice'.

Mango Curry using Shredded Coconut (Mambazha Pulissery)

This is a typical dish for every Kerala household. Its very easy to prepare and tastes very good.Try it at home using the following recipe...

Things you will need:

Mango-2 ripe and juicy, Medium sized , peeled and cubed
Coconut-1 cup shredded
Cumin seeds- 2 tsp
Curry Leaves
Salt to taste
Red whole chillies-2 or 3
Green Chillies- 3 or 4 slit in half lengthwise
Fenugreek powder- 1 tsp
Turmeric powder- 1 tsp
Oil- 1 tbsp , preferably Coconut Oil

Preparation Method:

In a cooking vessel add mango , salt, turmeric powder, fenugreek powder,green chillies ( save one for later use)and curry leaves and water.
Make sure mango is just immersed in the water.
Do not add too much water.
Bring this to boil and cook until mango is nice and tender.
In the mean while grind the shredded coconut , remaining green chili and cumin seeds to a fine paste.
Add water just enough to grind to a fine paste.
Once mango is cooked add this paste to it and simmer.
For garnishing , heat oil in a pan ,add red whole chillies and mustard. Once the mustard splutters,add this to the simmering mango curry.

Mango curry is now ready to be served with steamed rice and Kappa Mezhkupuratti.



My entry for National Mango Board contest from Foodie Blogroll.

Chicken Nuggets-Home Made

Chicken Nuggets have always been a delicacy with young and old, especially with kids.Here's how to prep it in my own personal way......




Things you will need:

Boneless Skinless chicken- 1 lb
Corn Flour- 2 tbsp
Black Pepper powder-1 tsp
Ginger paste - 1 tsp
Garlic paste - 1 tsp
Egg-1
Oil- 4 tbsp
Salt to taste

Preparation Method:

Cut chicken into bite-size cubes.
Now add corn flour,black pepper,ginger and garlic paste,salt to taste , and egg to the chicken.Mix well and set aside for 30 mins.

In a pan , heat 3 tbsp oil. Now add marinated chicken one-piece-at-a-time to this oil.
Fry in medium heat until chicken pieces are brown in color.Remove from heat and serve hot.

Chicken Nuggets are now ready to be served with ketchup, ranch, or home-made chutney.

Aviyal - Simple and Easy !!!

Another one of the many Keralite delicacies, this dish is part of Kerala Sadya.The recipe posted here is my simplified version of the traditional Avial.Traditionally a lot more vegetables are used and the dish is much more richer.Here I am trying to keep it simple and easy ...hope u like it...enjoy!!....

Things you will need:

Cut the following vegetables lengthwise like french fries-

Raw Banana/Plantains- 2 peeled,

Carrot- 1 cup

Beans - 1 cup

Raw Mango- 1 ,medium sized

Drum stick- 5 or 6(I use the frozen kind)

Other ingredients:

Turmeric powder-1 tsp

Red whole chillies- 4 or 5

Green chillies- 4 or 5 , slit in half lengthwise

Curry Leaves

Coconut -1 cup,shredded

Salt to taste

Cumin seeds- 2 tsp

Oil - 1 tbsp,preferably Coconut oil

Preparation Method:

Grind coconut , green chillies(2 nos),cumin seeds to paste.

Use just enough water to grind.

Do not use too much water.

In a cooking vessel add the vegetables - plantains,raw mango,carrot,beans; along with turmeric powder, salt, curry leaves,green chillies (remaining) and red whole chillies.

Add just enough water to immerse the vegetables.Bring this to a boil and cook till plantains are tender.

Now add the coconut paste and oil to the cooked vegetables and simmer for few minutes.Make sure the water in the vessel is reducing.

Do a taste test and add more salt if necessary.

Turn off the heat once water/gravy is reduced completely.

Avial is now ready to be served with steamed rice and Sambhar.