Strawberry Short cake(Egg less) and Strawberry Juice

Today i am going to share with you guys something special and it is nothing but "Strawberry Short cakes" ..Last post itself i told, i am going to learn the  art of  baking .ya my first experiment was this strawberry shortcake.It's a very simple one but the challenging part for me in this recipe was baking..You may think "Is it that difficult?" but i don't know whenever I tried baking some cakes or muffins one or the other problem will occur..so i gave up. But my fellow bloggers really inspired me and of course my husband too .

I got this recipe from Martha Stewart's cook book. It has a good collection of wonderful recipes. I felt this recipe is so easy and very good choice for a begginer like me. So I thought of doing this (also, I wanted to surprise my husband :)). ya really he loved the cake.

Here I am sharing one more recipe; that is a simple juice: Strawberry Juice. It was a Strawberry day for us..Anyway we really enjoyed having the cake and juice ..hope u guys will also try it.Enjoy the great art of cooking..

Preparation time : 30 minutes

Cost of the item: 1.59 usd/bag

Ingredients

Strawberry:10 nos

Sugar: 2 tbsp

All Purpose Flour: 21/2 cup

Butter: 1/2 cup

sugar : 1/2 cup

Baking Pwder: 2 tsp

Salt: 1 tsp

milk: 1 cup

Whip cream : enough

Preparation

Step1: Sweetening the Strawberries

• Cut each starwberries into 8 pieces. Toss in a bowl with the sugar. Keep it for 20 minutes or until it syrupy. 

Step2: Preheat the oven to 425F

Step3:Preparing the cake mixture

• Mix Sugar, Flour, butter, baking powder and salt.Using a mixer mix all together until the mixture resembles the coarsemeal. Add the milk and pulse it four or five times. be careful do not over mix the dough

Step4: Getting ready for baking

• Place a baking paper(wax paper) in a baking pan. Transfer the dough into the pan. With a hand-spoon just pat the dough and make a rectangle shape
• Cut the dough into 6 or 8 pieces using a knife(dust with flour).

Step5: Baking

• Bake it for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.

Step6:Preparing the cake.

• Place one biscuit in a serving plate. Layer with sweetend strawberries and whip cream and the other biscuit.

The delicious cake is ready to eat.It's a very sweet one.the whipcream and the strawberry will give a nice unique taste .Enjoy

Cook's tip

• Do not add more milk then the dough will be more sticky and it won't come out in good shape.
• Sweetend strwberries,if u keep it more time it will be more good.

Strawberry juice

Having this juice is really good for health and its very rich in vitamin c

Ingredients

Strawberry: 5 nos

Water: 1 cup

Sugar: 3 tbsp

Lemon juice: 1 tsp

Ice : 4-5 cubes(I like ice-cubes)

Preparation

In a blender add the Strawberry pieces,water,sugar and lemon juice blend well. add the ice cubes.Transfer this juice into a juice cup.The delicious juice is ready to have.enjoy the drink.

Cook's tip

• If u sweetend the strawberries it will give more taste to the juice.
• If u like, u can add some vanilla extract..
• Do not add excess water.

Stir Fry Chicken Lettuce Wraps

The recipe I am going to share with you today is "Stir-fry Chicken Lettuce Wraps". I got this recipe from Martha Stewart's cook book. This is something new which I tried and came out really good. So thought of sharing the same with you guys...hope you like it too.

I got this cookbook from Library.Here in US, one thing I like is the Library..there will be at least one library in every neighborhood and has a good collection of books, magazines and DVDs. I am not that crazy about reading books but we used to take DVDs from there. You know once we got a malayalam dvd from there!!! (I think some mallus donated it). Last time when we visited the library, my husband asked me "why can't you take some cook books and try some new recipes?". There we saw a good collection of cookbooks and finally i selected 2-3 books. I also chose some baking books too. Actually I am not that good in baking so thought of learning some baking tips too (sure,you can expect some of my new baking experiences in future posts :) ).

We had another version of "Chicken-Lettuce wraps" from one of the famous Chinese restaurant chain in US: "PF Chang's Chinese Bistro". But the filling is not the same as the one which I prepared here. I prepared the Chinese stir-fry chicken as filling.You can buy the lettuce from any grocery shop. There are so many varieties of lettuce are available: Boston lettuce, Iceberg etc .here i got the iceberg lettuce.Lettuce is always a healthy vegetable. Don't get confused it with Cabbage (Yes, When we first tried this at "McDonald's" during our first visit to abroad, we thought it was Cabbage leaf.) 

What the cook says about this dish is that wrapping the stir-fried chicken in lettuce keeps this dish lower in calories & Carbohydrates than it would be if served with rice/roti.The best part i liked about this dish is here we used very less oil for cooking.

OK, here is the details of the recipe
Cooking time:20-25 minutes

Ingredients
Chicken: 1 pound
Pepper: 2 tbsp
OliveOil: 2tbsp
RedBell pepper:1/2 portion(here i used yellow and Red peper)
Onion: 1 big 
Redchilliflakes:1/2 tsp
soysauce: 3 tbsp
Ricevinegar: 3 tbsp
Cornflour: 11/2 tsp
water:1 tbsp
salt: to taste
garlic: 3 pods
Ginger: medium sized
Lettuce leaves:8 leaves( about 1 head)
Preparation:

Step1: prior to cooking

• Cut the chicken (use chicken breast) into very thin pieces. Marinate the chicken with salt and pepper. Keep it for 15- 20 minutes.
• Cut Bell pepper and onion into thin slices.
• Mince the ginger and garlic.
• Mix the corn flour with 1 tbsp of water(do not add more water)

Step2:Cooking Chicken

• Heat 1 tbsp of oil and add half portion of the chicken pieces and fry until the chicken get fully cooked (until opaque throughout).Transfer to a plate. Add the remaining portion of the chicken and repeat the same process.

Step3:cooking vegetables

• Add the remaining oil in the same pan fry the onion until get brown color add the bell pepper and fry it for sometime.
• Reduce the heat and add the ginger garlic and redpepper flakes and stir well and cook for 1 minute

Step4:Adding sauces

• Stir in the cornstarch, soy sauce and rice vinegar. 

Step5:

• Add the chicken and mix with all ingrredients..just heat for 1 minute and switch off the heat

Step6:Making wraps

• Separate the leaves from the lettuce head and take one/two spoonful of stir fried chicken into the lettuce leaves and wrap it

Have it as an appetizer.

Points to ponder

• Do not add excess water into the cornflour.
• You can make the Red chilli flakes at home.just crush the red chilli pepper using Mortar and pestle
• Do not overcook the chicken.just cook it in oil for 4-5 minutes. 

Easy Fish Curry/Meen kulambu

Today i am going to share with you a non-veg recipe, Yes it is a fish curry!. Last few days because of Vishu celebration we were not eating non-vegetarian food..So today i thought i can prepare some non-veg curry and prepared the fish curry (My hus always prefer fish than chicken). This fish curry is a very easy to prepare,very quick and easy recipe.within minutes u can prepare the delicios currry. We really enjoyed having it with rice.if u add a thoran/mezhukupiratti with this curry; the dinner will be so yummy.

I already mentioned  in my previous blogs that we purchase the fish from a Chinese market called Cam Asia. Let me tell you one incident about the fish shopping. We usually purchase fish from this shop twice in a month.Once I bought Tuna (ചൂര) and prepared the curry. While eating, my husband told: "Hey, this is not Tuna, it's mackerel(അയല). (actually here the spanish mackerel and tuna are almost same in shape and color.its hard to distinguish). Frankly speaking he has a very good and sensitive taste buds and also he knows the different taste of fishes as well. I am not that expert. If anybody tells me that this is tuna and it is looks like tuna, I agree  with them.  But my hus is really good in distinguishing such thing. After marriage i haven't eaten/prepared the mackerel and sardines(മത്തി/ചാള) at home. He doesn't like those fishes especially their smell. I am a great fan of these two fishes..

When we went to the shop last time we checked whether it is tuna or mackerel. Then my hus told that it is not Tuna, it's Mackerel only..I got confused and i asked the shop assistant "which fish  is this ? Is it tuna?" He told that he didn't know the name, whatever is written there that might be the fish name. then i told its written as tuna but the fish looks like mackerel. Then he said that he doesn't know anything about these fishes, he just place those fishes there and if you say it's mackerel, i can place them under that name. We couldn't argue with him because he agreed what we said. So we checked all other fishes before buying..because the name is not right as written.., I think they have to sell the mackerel and they placed it under tuna which already sold out. Some business trick. SO, what i want to say is  that check  before buying otherwise u will also face these kind of experiences.

OK let me share the recipe details.

Cooking time: 20 minutes
Ingredients
Fish: 1 medium size
Chili Powder: 2 tbsp
TurmericPowder: 1 tsp
Fenugreek Powder: 1/4 tsp
Ginger: 1 medium size
Green Chili: 3 nos
Coconut: oil: 2 tbsp
Curry Leaves: 1 spring
Redchili: 1 no
Mustard seeds: 1 tsp
Kokum (കുടന്പുളി) - 1-2 medium size pieces
Preparation
Step1:

• Clean the fish inside out and cut them into medium size pieces.
• Soak the kokum into 1 cup of water.
• Make a nice paste of Chili Powder,TurmericPowder,Fenugreek Powder and ginger along with 1/4 cup of water.

Step2:

• Heat oil in a pan.Add the slitted green chili ,saute for some time then add the paste.saute it for sometime .
• Add the kokum water and let the mix to boil about 5 minutes in medium heat.
• Add the cleaned fish pieces into boiling mix and close the pan and let the fish to cook for 8-10 minute.Once the fish get cooked and the gravy thickens switch of the heat.
• Heat oil in another pan,add mustard seeds,once it started spluttering add the dry red chili and curry leaves.saute for some time and pour this into the fish curry.

The delicious fish curry is ready to serve.Have it with Kerala Kuthari rice

Cook's Tip

• After cleaning the fish wash it with little lemon juice ,u can avoid the bad smell from this.
• Let the curry to boil then only add the the fish pieces .Do not overcook the fish.
• Do not stir using spoon.Just rotate the pan otherwise it will break the fish into pieces.
• You can use raw green mango pieces instead of Kokum.

Banana Ice cream and Tropical Juice

Today I am going to share with you something good for this hot spring season. Nowadays The weather is getting hot day by day,it is hard to go out especially in the afternoon because of this weather, it is too hot outside even in this springseason!!!. But one good thing is that we can go out for a walk or shopping in the evening because the sunlight is there till 8:30 PM.(Usually we walk with our little one in the afternoon for 30min - 1 hour.)  

After a long winter season this kind of sudden changes on weather affects our body. Consumption of water really helps to sustain in this hot weather. Especially for babies and kids give more water in any form (plain water or fruit juices etc).Today's recipe is something best for this spring time. I know that everyone likes Ice-cream and Juice;especially if we are tired after a long walk or crazy shopping and want to relax for a while,this juice and icecream are best choice for you. If you can  prepare this at home sure u and ur family members can enjoy this tasty homemade dessert and juice

Ok, Let me share the recipe for these two items:

First is the banana icecream. i got this recipe idea from chef Lakshmi.One of the main ingredient of Ice-cream is icecream powder.But here I am not using the powder.I can guarantee it taste really good. if you are a banana fan sure it's good treat for you.

Ingredients
Banana 3 nos
Lime juice 1tsp
Condensed milk 3/4 portion of a can
Whip cream 3/4 cup
Chocolate pieces 1/4 cup
Strawberry: for decoration(optional)
Preparation

• Step1 Make a nice paste of banana.add the lime juice while making the paste.It avoids the discoloration of banana.
• Step 2 Pour the banana paste into a mixing bowl.add the condensed milk into it.mix well.
• Step3 Add the whipcream into the mix .mix all together using a spoon
• Step4 Add the chocolate pieces into it.close the  bowl .freeze it for 8 hrs.

The delicious home made banana icecream is ready to have...
Next item is Tropical Juice

Ingredients 
Pineapple 3 slices
Banana 1 no
Grated Coconut 1/4 cup
Mango 1/2portion of a medium sized one
Sugar to taste
Ice cube: 4 cubes
Water 1/2 cup
Preparation

• In a blender add the pineapple slices,sliced banana,grated coconut,mango pieces, ice-cubes, sugar and .blend well. The delicious juice is ready to have.

Cook's tip

• Here i used the cavendish bananas.The robusta banana also good for this ice cream preparation.
• If u like u can extract the coconut milk from the grated coconut and use that

Sending this to Srivali's ThandaMela

Palada/RiceAda Kheer and HAPPY VISHU

Dear friends, Wishing you all a very HAPPY VISHU. Hope all of you had a wonderful vishukani and got a good amount of Vishu Kaineetam. We have arranged the kani with limited items (whatever available here).The important one in the Vishukani is the Kanikonna (Golden Shower - the special yellow flower). Here we used the yellow flower instead of the kanikonna. 

This Vishu is really important for us. Because this is our little one's first Vishu. So we arranged a nice vishukani for him.On the vishu day, mom & dad used to wake us up in the morning and showed the kani and gave the kaineetam etc etc..But this time it was our duty to wake our little one up and show him the Kani and to give him the kaineetam. Great things in life.Always thankful to God for such nice moments.

Yesterday itself amma called and told us that we should show him the kani in the morning iteslf. So what we did was after setup the kani, we bought him to the poojaroom before 5am (Usually he wakes up and stands in the crib and then cries for food at around 5 am in the morning. That is his style) and then woke him up ..he saw the kani and slept again..We have to give him the vishukaineetam too.

The best thing i like about the vishu  is the vishukaineetam. In my childhood, we(me and my brother) used to get atleast Rs.100/- as kaineetam from parents and relatives. That was our bonus to our usual pocket-money during that time. So after vishu,  I became so rich and the new bank for rest of the year. If mom or dad need money for anything, they used to borrow it from me(Especially in month end. :) ). My brother didn't make any rule (because by the end of Vishu season, he would have already spent his money).  but I set certain rules. If it's not returning before 5 days,  I  would add Rs.5/- per day to the total and I could earn at least Rs.20-25/- by that way. Everyday I would remind them that you guys borrowed money from me. They used to say all bank have interest rate, but none of them ask for this much rate and they didn't have public announcement system like this. Only our daughter's bank has all these kind of special features. I always enjoyed those things. Really miss those moments:))

We like all kind of these traditional festivals. But nowadys it's fading out from our life because of the busy life style. Sure the new generations really miss all these wonderful festivals and the way we enjoyed each of them.

Usually on the Vishu day, we prepare our kerala-style feast. But I prepared the simple feast: parippu pappadam sambar inji mango pickles aviyal thoran and Palada. The "Palada" (Rice Ada kheer) is Lord Krishna's favorite payasam (Kheer). Our favorite one too. I got rice ada from the Indian grocery. Usually we can find only the instant palada mix. I don't like it, but luckly this time we got the plain rice ada pack. Whenever I saw these kind of demanded items I used to buy 4-5 packets. 

I am going to share with you this palada recipe. It's really easy to prepare but make sure that ada is fully cooked and be careful while boiling the milk. if the heat is too high it will burn the milk and the payasam taste bad. 

Lots of stories right ok let me explain how to prepare the delicious palada.

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Cost of the ada: 1.99usd/pack

Ingredients

Ada 1 pack

Sugar 1 cup
Milk 1/2 gallon
For seasoning
Cashewnuts 10 nos
Raisins 10 nos
Cardamom 3 nos
Ghee 2tbsp
Condensed milk1/4portion
Rose water 3 tbsp
Preparation

• Step1:Boil 2 cups of water.add the ada into it and cook until the Ada is well cooked.strain the water and wash the Ada in cold water for 1-2times.
• Step2:Boil milk in the thick bottom vessel (in Kerala we use "uruli" - thick bottom bronze vessel). Add the cooked Ada in to the milk and cook until the milk thickens
• Step3:Mix sugar with 1 cup of water and add it into the payasam. stir continously. Make sure that sugar completely dissolves in the water before adding it in to the payasam.
• Step4:At the same time heat ghee in another pan add cashews. Once it gets light brown color add the raisins fry for sometime.Keep it aside.
• Step5:Cook the payasam in  medium heat until it get light brown  color.Change the heat level to low then add the condensed milk mix well .stir continously  for 2 more minute.
• Step6:Crush the cardamom and add it in to the Ada. Add the cashew- raisin mix
• Step7:Switch of the heat and add the rose milk.mix well.

The delicious palada is ready to have...

Cook's tip

• Cook the Ada until it is completely cooked.check it by taking a cooked Ada crush it using your fingers.you can crush the cooked Ada easily otherwise it will be sticky
• Do not boil the palada after adding the condensed milk.
• Rose water is optional.it gives a very nice flavor

Sending this entry to   kheer festival conducted by easy2cookrecipes 

and also to cardamom seed event hosted by priya

Koorka Mezhukkupiratti/Chinese potato stir fry and Award

Koorka (Chinese Potato) is familiar to all malayalees..It is also known as "chivakizhnagu'", "cheenakizhangu" or "sheevakizhangu". In Kerela, people usually use the word sheema(ശീമ) (or cheena - ചീന) as a prefix to point out (refer) the items/things are related to (or originated from) China. For example the wok which is originated form china is known as cheenachatty.

Koorka is a seasonal vegetable. In Kerala, it is normaly cultivated during the months of July-August. It is more popular in northern Kerala. Here in USA, we hardly find this product in any shops,sometimes we can find this vegettables in chinese and indian grocery.The best thing is that here in US we can find the cleaned and cut koorka, sometimes cooked one (in frozen form) is also available. However the frozen one doesn't have the exact taste, but nothing is better than something .so we used to buy it whenever we find it in the shops regardless of whether it is fresh or frozen.

I am a great fan of this vegetable. My favorite dish is koorka mezhukkupuratti (Stir fry),like to have it with plain rice. Yesterday while shopping ,in the indian grocery, we found this vegetable. I was so happy. Bought 4 packets ( we don't know whether it will be available for our next shopping :))

Amma used to prepare this at home but i always found the cleaning part is so difficult. Because of the small size it takes more time to rub off of the skin.. At once I can finish 1-2 plate full of koorka with a bowl of rice. I don't need any other curry..My husband also loves this dish. 
Usually we used to dine out on weekends..But this Saturday (yesterday) I was not interested to go out for dinner. I told my husband that always having food from outside is not that good for our health. My hus really got surprised because on weekends I always ready to dine out. While having the dinner he said "Ok, now I know why the outside food is not good for health" ( I prepared the koorkka mezhukkupiratti and rasam).

This one is a very easy to prepare dish. If u running out of time and have this veg in ur refrigerator go with it. if u need some curry just prepare rasam. Not necessary prepare any other dish.

Ok let me explain the preparation of this delicious mezhukkupiratti.

Cooking Time: 10-15 minutes
Cost of the item: 2.99 usd/bag
Ingredients
Koorka(chineese Potato) : 1 cup
Shallots/Onion: 8 nos/1/2 portion
Green Chili: 3 nos
Garlic: 1 pod
Turmeric Powder:1/2 tsp
Oil : 3 tbsp
salt: to taste
Curry Leaves: 1 spring
Preparation

Step1: 

• Dice the onion into very small pieces.
• Here i got the cleaned and cooked koorka .If u r using the fresh koorkka,clean it and cut into small pieces. Cook it with very little water and pinch of turmeric (add salt to taste).

Step2:

• Heat oil in a pan ,add the chopped garlic and green chili. sauté for sometime
• Add the diced onion and saute well
• Add the turmeric powder and salt,mix well

Step3:

• Add the cooked koorka into the onion mix.Let it cook for 5 minutes in medium heat.
• Garnish with curry leaves.

The delicious Koorka is ready to have.Have it with rice

Cook's Tip

•  if u r using the fresh koorka.,Wash it 3-4 times after rub off the skin
• Cut them into small pieces and add turmeric powder and salt while cooking(if u r using fresh one)
• Do not over cook the koorka.
• The garlic is optional.I always use garlic with the ground vegetable as because its good for digestion.

I have received a bunch of awards from Yummy o yummy team..dear yummy team thanks for sharing these awards with me.

About Yummy team,i really like the Yummy o Yummy blog because they have a good collection of recipes.the best part i like is their presentation.

I would like to share this awards Deepti,Chitchat,Uma,Kamalika,Padhu,Beenashylesh,

Madhuramanoj 

Divya Simplyfood,Gita,PriyaMitharwal,Maaya,Soumyaarun,

Kairalisisters Radhikavasanth,Jagruthi,PS,Sidhi,Subhiearun

Krishnaveni,Pam,ruchi,Nisha

Rekha,vegbowl,Jay,Smitha,Vidhu,Varunavi,Valarmathi,
Gayathri,

Akalssappadu,San

Pravs,I am a homechef Dipskitchen

Egg cutlet

Today i am going to share with you a delicious evening snack (in Malayalam - nalumany palaharam) "Egg cutlet". A very tasty snack with tea.Eggitarian can really enjoy this snack.I got this recipe idea from chef Lekshmi..It is a very new dish for me. I used to prepare the vegetable and potatoe cutlet.sometimes chicken cutlet too,and also familiar with tuna cutlet but this egg cutlet is a very new idea. For kids it is a best tea time snack.When they come from school if u prepare and give this snack, sure they will have a plate full of cutlets..i am sure u can prepare this within a very short time frame.Another thing is that u can serve this for eggitarian people.we have some friends they are vegetarians but eat eggs.

I always remember amma's evening snacks she used to prepare for us after school..Everyday after school we(me n brother)were so excited to reach home because some good snacks would be waiting for us.The veg/chicken cutlet was one of them. We really enjoyed having those snacks. Still I love to have a snack with evening tea. My husband also need some snacks while having tea. So  i used to prepare one or the other snacks for him,after his office.Usually i am not preparing these kind of oily sncaks everyday..i used to make something with bread, aval (poha) or vermicelli. But once in a while you can have this kind of snacks

This is the first time I am trying this and it came out really good. When my husband came from office he had the cutlet and asked "Hey, how did u made this one with egg?, how did u made the egg masala in such a shape?" I usually prepare the cutlet with mixed vegitables or potato(sometimes the shape will be like Australian or Newsland map). But this time it came out with really good shape and he really liked the taste.Within minutes we finished almost 8 of them. It was an awesome snack. Sure i am going to prepare it agaian and again..

While cooking you should be careful that the egg mixture should be the same consistency of the chapathi dough,otherwise it's difficult to make the right shaped cutlets and also while frying it will breaks. It will ruin the entire preparation and hardly get a good result. i made almost 13 medium sized cutlet from 5 eggs.

Hope u guys will try this recipe..Let me talk about the preparation steps.

Cooking time: 15-20 minutes

Ingredients

Egg : 5 nos

Onion: 1 medium size

Green chili: 3 nos

Ginger: 1 medium size no

Coriander leaves : 1/4 cup

Turmeric Powder: 1 tsp

Oil : 2 tbsp

Garam Masla: 1 tbsp

Pepper Powder: 1 tbsp

Bread : 5 slices

Water: 1/2 cup

For the dipping batter

Maida flour: 1/4 cup

Water: 1/2 cup

Turmeric powder: 1 tsp

Salt : to taste

Egg: 1 no

Bread crumbs: 1 cup

For Frying

Oil: 1/2 cup

mustard seed: 2 no(for testing )

Preparation

Step1: Preparing the egg masala

• Heat oil in a pan.Add the crushed ginger and green chili.saute for some time
• Once the raw smell goes off add the onion(cut them into very small pieces)..add salt also.Let the onion to fry for 5 minute
• In the pan make some space by moving the onion mix into the sides of the pan..add little oil
• Pour all the egg  into the pan.Just cook the egg (what we do for scrambled egg)
• once the egg is almost cooked mix onions with that.Do not dry the egg just keep some moisture on it.
• Add turmeric powder pepper powder and garam masala powder..mix well.Let the mix to cool down for some time.

Step2:Making the masala balls

• Just soak the bread slices in water and squeeze it then add to the egg masala..Add 5-6 bread slices.bread mix will give the egg masala  right consistency 
• Add the chopped corinader leaves into the masala ..mix all together 
• Make lemon sized balls and keep it aside.

Step3: Making the dipping batter

• In a mixing bowl mix the maida flour ,turmeric powder and egg..mix well using hand.
• Add water into the mix and form a dosa consistency batter.Add salt to taste
• Usually the egg whites are used for this purpose..If you use egg whites u have to use 5 0r 6 egg whites.but here there is only one egg is necessary and the maida flour will make the cutlets crispy

Step4: for making bread crumbs

• You can use the store bought bread crumbs otherwise prepare that at home.What i did  here is that i just heat the oven for 5 minute and kept 5 slices of bread in the oven for 5 minute,it became very crispy and crushed them using the grinder.the home made bread crumbs are ready 

Step5: Preparing the cutlet

• Dip each egg masala balls  into the batter and coat  with the bread crumbs.
• Make the coated balls into oval shape..
• apply the same procedure  for all the masla balls 
• Heat oil in a pan.Make sure that the oil get heated ..(just put 1 or 2 mustard seeds ,once it is started spluttering; that means the oil get heated and it is the right time to fry the cutlet).
• Fry the well coated oval shaped cutlet.Fry both sides until get a nice golden-brown color

The Delicious Egg cutlet is ready to have.Have it with tomato ketchup

Cook's Tip

• Keep some moisture on the scrambled egg
• For making the masla,add as many bread slices u need.i just used 5.first check the consistencuy of the masala and then add more slices  accordingly. The masala should be in a chapati dough consistency then only we can make balls from it.

Vendakka Thoran/poriyal/Okra Stir fry

Today i am going to share with you a very simple vegetarian recipe called Vendakka Thoran/Okra stir fry. I think, Okra (ladies finger) is one of everyones favorite vegetables. I like this vegetable so much but my husband is not a great fan of it. He doen't like its texture. So i am very careful while cooking this vegetable. For avoiding the  mushy (gummy) texture, I always make sure that the okra is completely dry ( free of water) and then shallow fry it before cooking.And also do not add excess water while cooking it. Actually it has its own moisture ..so no need to add more water.

Vendakka mezhukkupiratti and theeyal are very poapular dishes in kerala however the Vendakka thoran is not that popular .Yesterday I thought of preparing the vendakka mezhukkupiratti but ended up with preparing the thoran. It came out really good. When i first tried this,it was completely a disaster.Thoran came out as a kulambu(curried form).

usually i prepared it with the original thoran recipe but this time i made some changes.when i prepared the okra avial i just grinded the green chili with the coconut mix..that  gives a very good taste.so for this thoran i crushed the green chili along with the coconut.it gives a very good flavor.

There is a malayalam movie  called Achuvinte Amma..One of the best comedy scene in the movie is that the amma is telling her daughter about how to prpeare the vendakka curry..it is a very funny scene.she is trying to say the entire preparation in English(but she doesn't know english)...I think most of my mallu friends have seen that film and enjoyed it. while preparing this i was telling that dialogues to my husband..He commented that "u are super than urvasi..bhagyayi sathyan anthikad kanathirunnathu"(If the director get a chance to see my acting he could have chosen me for that role;lucky mallus:))Both actresses: Urvasi and Meera jasmine are awesome performers..

lots of stories right...anyway it is the time to  explain the preparation steps

Cooking time: 15 minutes

Cost of the item: 1.49 usd /Pound

Ingredients
Okra: 15 nos
Onion: 1 medium size
For the paste
Green Chili: 3 nos
Cumin seed : 1 tsp
Grated Coconut: 1/4 cup
Salt: to taste
Turmeric Powder: 1/2 tsp
garlic: 1 pod(optional)
For Seasoning
Oil: 1tsp
Mustard seed: 1 tsp
Red chili: 2 nos 
Curry Leaves: 1 spring
Preparation

• Cut the okra into round pieces.place the okra pieces into the kitchen towel to remove the excess water. 
• Add turmeric powder and salt  into the okra pieces  and mix well
• Dice the onion into small pieces.
• Make a coarse paste of green chili, cumin seed,coconut turmeric powder,garlic and salt.use a mortar and pestle for making the paste.

Step1: Heat oil in a pan(just add 1 tbsp of oil).Add the okra pieces into the oil..cook it for sometime..do not stir..
Step2: once the okra get sauted and the oily texture goes off add the onions into it..stir occasionally( be careful do not break the okra pieces)
Step3: once the onions get sauted add the coconut paste  and mix well.Close the pan and let the mix to cook for 5 minutes in medium heat
Step4:Heat oil in another pan,add the mustard seeds,once it get sauted add the red chili and curry leaves..
Step5: Pour this seasoning into the okra thoran
The delicious okara thoran is ready to have..Have it with rice.

Points to ponder

• Do not add water while cooking the okra..
• Before cutting just wipe off all the water from the okra by using a kitchen tissue.
• If u like to make this dish spicy add more green chilies while grinding.

Chicken Stew & HAPPY EASTER

First of all, I wish you all a very Happy Easter..Hope u guys are having a good time. In this easter occation i am going to share with u a very delicious non-vegetarian dish, "Chicken Stew". I think this is one of the popular dish all over the world however, the recipe and cooking method are different in different palaces. What i am going to share is a Kerala-style Chicken stew.

One of the main ingredient used for all type of stew is Coconut milk. Nowadays it is quite easy to prepare any dish using coconut milk because ready-made coconut milk is availble in all the shops.I do remember when amma prepared this dish; she used to prepare the coconut milk at home (by squeezing the grated coconut using a white cotton cloth).  But still amma refused to use these ready-made coconut milk in her cooking. when amma came here in US, she didin't use those. She used to say that these ready made milk does not give the exact taste..Yes, that's true..Now a days powdered and/or liquid forms of coconut milk are available in the market.Preparing this milk at home is not that difficult but it takes little time. In this busy-life nobody wants to spend time to prepare the milk. 

Ok let me explain the preparation method.
Cooking time : 30-40 minutes
Ingredients
Chicken: 1 pound 
Onion : 1 no
Carrot : 1 no
Potato: 1 no
Ginger : small piece
Green chili: 6 nos
Garlic: 4 pods
Oil: 2 tbsp
Curry leaves: 1 spring
Turmeric Powder: 1  tsp
Coriander Powder: 1/2 tsp(optional)
Pepper Powder: 1 tbsp
Salt : to tatter
Fennel seed : 1 tsp
Cinnamon: half portion of a medium sized one
Cardamom: 2 nos
Cloves: 5 nos
Coconut Milk: 1 1/2 cup diluted(Second Milk - randam pal)
Coconut milk:1/2 cup concentrated(First Milk - onnam pal)
For Seasoning
Mustard Seed : 1 tsp
Red chili: 2 nos
Curry leaves: 1 spring
Preparation
Step 1:

• Marinate the chicken with Salt ,Turmeric Powder and Pepper Powder
• Dice the onion,carrot and Potato into medium size pieces
• Make a nice paste of ginger and garlic
• Slit the green chili into 2 pieces
• Make a nice powder of fennel seed. 

Step2: Heat oil in a pan.add the Cinnamon stick and crushed cardamom and cloves, sauté for 1-2 minutes
Step2: Add the diced onions into it, saute until the onions become light brown color.
Step3: Add the green chili,garlic ginger paste ..saute well 
Step4: Add the carrot and potato let them fry for some time (until the edges become light brown).
Step5: Add turmeric powder and Coriander Powder and salt,Curry leaves.Mix all together
Step6: Add the chicken into it.
Step7: Add the diluted coconut milk and cook the chicken for 10-15 minute in medium heat
Step6: Once the cooked mix get thicken add the concendrated coconut milk and cook it for 2 minutes in low heat and switch off the heat
Step7: In another pan heat the oil ,Add the mustard seed ,once it started spluttering,add the red chili and curry leaves..saute for 10 second
Step8: Pour this seasoning into the Chicken stew


The Delicious Chicken stew is ready to serve..Have it with Appam,Idiyappam or Rice..

Cook's Tip

• Do not over cook the vegettable..Once it is slightly cooked add the chicken
• Marinate the chicken for 30 minutes to 1 hour
• For making the the diluted coconut milk..Take a 1/2 cup of milk from the bottle and mix 1 cup of water.
• Do not boil the mix after adding the onnam pal.

Preparing the Coconut milk at home
Ingredients
Grated coconut: 1 cup
Water : 1 cup
Step1: Grate the coconut using a coconut grater( use the store bought  frozen grated coconut also)
Step2: Add one or two tbsp of water into the garted coconut and grind them to make a nice paste
Step3: Extract the coconut milk from the paste using a cloth or the tea stariner 
Step4: Collect the milk into a bowl..This is the concentrated milk or "First Milk - Onnam Pal"; Keep it for further cooking
Step4: Grind the remaining coconut mix again and add 1 cup of water
Step5: Extract milk from it. This is diluted milk or "Second Milk - Randam Pal"..