Kerala Chicken Stew | kukskitchen

A few things before we start: 

- Cooking in a pressure cooker speeds up the cooking process and softens the potatoes thickening the delicious gravy.

- The trick to perfect balance of salt is to taste the gravy before serving. I say this because as much as one can give the measurement of salt, the saltiness of salt varies from country to country. For example you may need to add one and a half teaspoon of British salt in place of one teaspoon of Indian salt. 

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Kerala Chicken Stew

SERVES: 4

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Keralan mutton stew | Kerala lamb stew | Kukskitchen

Stew is a traditional syrian christain Keralan way of cooking meat or veg in coconut milk. This is unlike the English non-spicy stews. Coconut milk is the new health buzz and this reciep is a really good way to have coconut milk. Traditionally served with appam, idiyappam or puttu, this goes very well with fresh baked bread.

Keralan vegetable stew | Syrian Christian Stew | Kukskitchen

Stew in a Syrian Christian home in Kerala means a soup like curry rich with coconut milk used as a side dish for breakfast mains like appam, idiyappam, vattayappam or even bread.

Thattile kutti dosa of Salt n' Pepper movie fame | Kukskitchen

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Dosa / Lentil pancake

തട്ടിലെ കുട്ടി ദോശ 

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Thattile Kutti Dosa was one of the star characters in this hit malayalam movie. Hats off to the idea.

Pazham puttu | Steamed rice cakes layered with coconut and sweet plantains | Kukskitchen

Puttu, steamed rice cake, is a frequent visitor in every Keralan house. The classic combination is puttu with Chick pea/Bengal gram curry കടലക്കറി. With the advent of restaurants who specialise in puttu like 'ദേ പുട്ട്' by the famous mallu Cine actor Dileep, umpteen new combinations have emerged some old some new. പഴം പുട്ട് is one such delicacy which has now found its way to house holds like mine. It does make the humble പുട്ട് an exciting make over.

Puttu | Steamed rice cakes layered with coconut | Kukskitchen

Kerala is famous for its breakfasts. ദോശ , ഇഡലി , അപ്പം , പുട്ട് , ഇടിയപ്പം ....... the list goes on and on and on. Most of the breakfast foods are quite balanced in their combinations. Carbs in cereals like rice get paired with protein in pulses.
For instance, puttu gets paired with green gram or chick pea and dosa gets paired with sambhar.

Instant Dosa : Grind it, cook it and eat it. :-) at Kukskitchen

I know!! No need to let it rise and more importantly, no need for a 'dosa muri ( ദോശ മുറി)'. Yes folks. All you need to do is to soak your rice grind it and use it immediately.  Method of making this dosa is similar to appam in many respects. You swirl the batter around to the desired shape, you cook with a lid on and you don't turn the dosa over. the end result is a soft white dosa fit for an angel. ( അവസാനം പറഞ്ഞത് ചുമ്മാ ). For a more traditional dosa try here.

Home made rice noodles | Idiappam | Idiyappam | Kukskitchen

Keralan rice noodles  / idiappam is a tasty and super skinny breakfast carb which can pass-off as a delicious first course with fish or chicken. It has literally traces of fat and is steamed which makes it extremely healthy. Roasted rice flour is used which adds to the special flavour. It is very quick to prepare and will be ready in minutes. Traditionally made using a special sev nazhi / press, it can be made city friendly by using a piping bag with the thin round nozzle on.

Coconut- Onion- Tamarind chutney

Preparation time: 5 minutes
Serves: 3

Ingredients

Dessicated coconut - 1 cup , presoaked in warm water

Dried red chillies - 3

Tamarind paste - 1/2 tsp

Onion, roughly chopped - 1

Ginger - 1/2 inch piece

Salt - 1/2 tsp

2 tablespoons water

Method

Grind all of the above ingredients to a smooth paste.

Best served with dosa, idli or kappa

Vattayappam: Rice and coconut steamed cake - a Syrian Christian speciality | Kukskitchen

Whether savoury or sweet vattayappam is so delicious. The best vattayapam I have ever had is my thresiamma ammachi's. She uses Toddy instead of yeast. I know, what pains did our nans take to get that superb taste. My dad still has tales to tell about how he managed to get it for her in Trivandrum , the capital city of Kerala. :-)

Still remember the easter mornings when she used to prepare vattayappams with chicken stew, beef cutlet and beef and kurkka ualrthu for nombu thurakkal. I'm drooling now. :-)

Here is how I make it

My vattayappam recipe is very much similar to how I make appam. Check it out here.

Keralan chicken stew - A Syrian Christian speciality | Kukskitchen

Chicken stew and appam was a staple at my home when guests came. But the stew I remember the most was one that my mum made on my cousin S chettan's wedding day breakfast. Not sure if that special taste was due to the prior shallow frying of chicken pieces by my aunt E, my mum's special loving touch or the fact that it was such an enjoyable day with all of us cousins sitting around the breakfast table before our dear S chettan got married. Interestingly the previous night was the first time I had the yummiest chicken lollipops too. Click here for my version of chicken lollipops


Presented here is how I make it at my home.

How to make the perfect crispy dosa ( rice & lentil pancake) | step-by-step visual guide | Kukskitchen

Dosa is a south indian staple breakfast. With its umpteen number of variations, it always shines in the breakfast table. The variations include plain dosa, masala dosa, ghee roast, rocket dosa and some of the uk favourites like kids dosa, egg dosa, chicken dosa, beef dosa, fish dosa and many many many more.






Plain dosa itself can be made thin and crispy or thick and melty soft. During our most recent annul trip to India our extended family trip was to Gavi of ordinary movie-fame. En-route Gavi, we stayed in Thekkady resort where they made the softest meltiest perfect katti dosa of all times. Me and my sis-in-law R persuaded the chef to give out his secret recipe for it, but he didn't say anything that me and R didn't know. We were sure he was holding some top-secret information from us.

Keralan mixed vegetable spicy soup with lentils - nammude sambar | Kukskitchen

My dad's first line when mum starts cooking sambar is ' sambar inge ukkarungo' :) He is the biggest sambar fan in the planet. He appreciates me trying new versions of the classic like palakkadan, kozhikkodan etc etc. My son has taken to his appappan's palate and luvs sambar esp if it's with dosa. I can virtually eat it with anything at all - rice, dosa, idli, upma, idiyappam and chapati.


A variety of vegetables can be used in an avial, which includes drumsticks, yam, raw banana, ash gourd (kumbalanga), aubergine (vazhuthananga) and more recently carrots, potato and cucumber.


Ideally sambar needs to be cooked in an open pot which takes a lot of time. I go for the quick pressure cooker version when I have less time. I know daddy this version is not ur favourite. :(

Vegetable kurma l kukskitchen

Ingredients:


1 - Vegetables - 250 g (Carrot, beans, potato, cauliflower, green peas)
     Turmeric – 1/4 tsp
     Salt to taste
2 - Ghee – 1 tbsp
3 - Cinnamon stick – 2 pieces
     Green cardamom – 4

     Cloves -4
     Fennel seeds - 1 tsp
4 - Onion - 1 medium, finely chopped
     Green chilly - 5 slit
5 - Cashew nuts – 10, soak and grind to a smooth paste
6 - Coconut milk - 200ml

Rice noodles different ways | Kukskitchen

Any rice based food is close to my heart, being a keralan :). I luv rice noodles and frequently try to add it to my menu. Last week I went to a south asian shop with my neighbour P. She introduced me to this new brand of rice noodles called 'Niru'. I used it this morning for my breakfast and it gave me the silkiest smoothest rice noodles ever. We all loved and ate to our hearts content.

Presented is my easy recipe for rice noodles and its keralan style.

Kadalakkari - featuring chickpea and coconut l Kukskitchen

Fancy a quick chana curry to accompany ur puttu or batura or even a lazy-FZ porotta-evening? Here is the perfect recipe for u. It is quick and easy and uses store-cupboard-ingredients. 

Ingredients

1 - Chana / Kadala /chick pea - cooked - 200g 

2 - Coconut grated - 1/2 cup or less according to ur taste

     Meat or chicken masala - 2 tsp

     Salt to taste

3 - Curry leaves - only if u have them in stock

4 - Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

5 - Oil - 2 tbsp

6 - Coconut milk powder - 2 tsp

     Hot water - 3 tbsp

Method

- Grind (2) with 2 tbsp of cooked chana and enough water to a smooth paste.

- If using dried chana, cook pre-soaked chana in enough water and salt in a pressure cooker for 20 minutes after first whistle.

- Heat a oil in a pan and add mustard seeds and wait till they splutter. 

- Add curry leaves (if u have them).

- Add the ground paste and saute for a few minutes.

- Now add cooked chana and let it simmer for 3-4 minutes. 

- Mix coconut milk powder in hot water till no lumps and add this to the curry.

- Let it simmer for another 3-4 minutes.

- Your curry is ready to serve. 

Appam | Rice and coconut pancakes | Vellayappam | Kukskitchen

അപ്പങ്ങള്‍ എമ്പാടും ഒറ്റയ്ക്ക് ചുട്ടമ്മായി, അമ്മായി ചുട്ടതു മരുമോളുക്കായ്‌  :)

Long gone are the days when you had to make a 'thari kurukku', have the best roasted rice flour and then wait and pray for the appam batter to rise. Not only is it easy and quicker to prepare, it is infallible and produces the softest yet crispy-frilled appams ever.

Appam, a popular South Indian delicacy, is a unique and versatile dish that tempts the taste buds with its soft, fluffy texture and slightly tangy flavor. Made from fermented rice batter, coconut milk, and a touch of yeast, appam is cooked in a special curved pan called an appachatti. The pan's curvature creates a thin, lacy edge while maintaining a thick, spongy center. Appam pairs perfectly with a range of accompaniments, from coconut chutney and vegetable stew to spicy curries. Its lightness and delicate taste make it a delightful choice for breakfast, brunch, or even as a satisfying snack. Indulge in the irresistible charm of appam and embark on a gastronomic journey to South India's culinary wonders.

From this recipe / batter I usually get 12-15 appams.