Quick & Easy Beginner friendly Kerala Fish curry | Simple Meen Vattichathu | kukskitchen

This dish is a celebration of Kerala’s coastal flavors, where the tanginess of kudampuli and the richness of coconut oil come together to create a soulful, aromatic curry!

My quick & easy version requires no chopping and uses very few ingredients. The taste is but out of this world if you use the ratios below.

 

പ്രഷർ കുക്കർ ചിക്കൻ ബിരിയാണി | Pressure Cooker Chicken Biryani Recipe | Quick & Easy Kerala Biriyani| kukskitchen

It’s one of those evenings—you’re lounging at home when the phone rings. “I’m stopping by for dinner!” your friend announces cheerfully. Panic sets in as you open your pantry to find... rice, chicken, and a handful of basic spices. No time to shop, no fancy ingredients in sight. What do you do?

You whip up a pressure cooker Kerala Chicken Biryani form Kuks Kitchen, of course! With just the essentials, this dish turns a potential dinner disaster into a feast fit for royalty. Aromatic spices, tender chicken, and perfectly cooked rice come together in a symphony of flavours—all in the time it takes your friend to reach your doorstep.

As they dig into the biryani, exclaiming how “restaurant-worthy” it tastes, you smile, knowing you’ve just turned simplicity into sheer culinary magic. Who needs a full pantry when you’ve got this recipe?

Easy Christmas boiled fruit cake | Kukskitchen

A traditional fruit cake is what I usually make for Christmas. However, this calls for soaking dried fruits in Rum for a good few weeks at least, for a dense flavour. Now, last year my dear friend S found this recipe on Joy of baking website and we both fell in love with this straight away. It not only does not require the long process of soaking, and the result is equally good. For longevity, this non-alcoholic cake can be soaked in brandy for 3 days and result is super awesome. The cake turns extra moist and it stays moist for as long as it can stay in your food cupboard.

This cake got such gorgeous reviews at my work place that I had to make them a second time between Christmas and New Year. Also our dear friends devoured this cake and my friend who is a super talented cook, who hates sweet things, took second serving, which I consider a great honour.

This cake is best for the last minute baker perfect for a Bachelor especially since this cake does not require a cake mixer.

Easy Icecream bread | Kukskitchen

The simplest bread you will ever make!

Cooking with kids is a bliss. Mine enjoys little chores around kitchen like getting his own drink of water, take his plate back into kitchen, loading his plate in dishwasher etc. But what he loves most is helping me cook. He is my official egg beater and cake mixer. He also loves measuring things and yes of course licking the bowl afterwards.

Hyderabadi Chicken Dum biriyani | Kukskitchen

Happy Eid everyone...

This is the second hyderabadi biriyani I will have on my blog now. I made it with mutton then. For the recipe try here. This one is quicker to make since chicken is not cooked before dum. It is quite straight forward and a great recipe for beginners.

Italian fluffed omelette | Kukskitchen

My SIL R is an amazing cook, lucky my bro, I would say. She luvs to try out a variety of cuisines. Recently she ventured in to presenting her inspired recipes on the television too. Bravo dear!

This post is dedicated to my dear SIL where I try her first TV recipe. See below for the video of her describing the recipe. I appologise to my non-mallu friends since this video is in malayalam.

I made a few minor changes to suit my customer - my son.

Here is how I made it.

Misal pav - SNC challenge | Kukskitchen

SNC challenge

Divya Pramil of You too can cook Indian Food is the brain behind SNC challenge - recipe exchange where two teams challenge each other with their authentic recipes. The teams get a month’s time to prepare the recipe and post on their spaces. This is the 3rd event of the series and December month's challenge is posted by  Meena from random ramblings  (Northern team) and yours truly ( South team). 

Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls | Quick and easy Christmas gift idea | Kukskitchen

Its Christmas again. Yeah!!!

It is the most wonderful time of the year. I luv everything about it, right from the lent leading up to it, decorating the christmas tree with baubles, decorations and lots and lots of lights, all the gift making and wrapping, the special midnight mass at church and the delicious food I get to make for my family and friends.

Mushroom n peas pilav | Quick and easy | Kukskitchen

Preparation time : 10 mins
Cooking time : 30 mins
Serves 2

Chicken n Broccoli Lunch Bowl in 10 Minutes | featuring whole wheat cous cous | Kukskitchen

Spicy indian rice noodles | Kukskitchen

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

Healthy no ghee microwave kheer : Thattikkuttu payassam : featuring rice Kukskitchen

Yes another thattikkuttu recipe. :-)

My son wanted a payassam and I was too lazy to do it the hob method. Microwave was the way forward. :-) And the result is.........

Boiling milk in a microwave is always scary; one tiny minute more than needed and u end up having to clean up the whole oven. I kept on looking thru the glass window every other minute. Well, now I know the time needed for the perfect taste, still leaving my microwave clean :-)

Thattikkuttu baked chicken: featuring Schwartz Italian seasoning

A quick fix is what I prefer on weekdays when I come home tired after work. Chicken is one versatile ingredient which comes around tasty quickly with much less effort. I have a few of these thattikkuttu (malayalam for whipping up something with no particular recipe or plan)

Heavenly sweet coconut balls | Kukskitchen

Sweets!! my favourite food, to make or to eat. They r so quick to prepare, well most of them, and sooooo yummylicious  too. With Diwali around the corner, kukskitchen tried a few of them too. There is an interesting story to share about one of them, let me leave that till I post its recipe ;-) It was sooo embarassing!

Anyways, anything to do with coconut and I get excited, yes me the Keralan wakes up again. One night I had the erge to eat some thing sweet and, as it always happens on such occasions, there was nothing sweet in the house, well, except for sugar and honey. I was so desperate for a sweet and it was past 10 at night already, and we were watching X-factor. My mind got to work, something very quick to make, with the ingredients I already have stock in house. Something that I can prepare during the ad break!

Oven baked Herring, Keralan style, with salad: One evening sorted :-) | Kukskitchen

Being a native of Kerala, fish flows in my menus. Shallow fried spicy keralan fish is OMG yummy. My SIL's dad always says, what's there in life if one can't have a fillet of fried king fish for lunch. Hat's of uncle :-)

Recently the whole health-fitness theme has made me try baking/grilling my fish and chicken. A tiny splash of olive oil is all it needs for that heavenly taste. My friend S is a veteran on grilling fish, she adds fenugreek powder to the marinade which helps take  the fishy smell away.

How I do it: Perfect fluffy rice in microwave at kukskitchen

What is so difficult about cooking rice, one might say! but it comes with its own difficulties.

I have got a fool-proof microwave rice recipe to make the perfect fluffy rice each time.

Ingredients

Rice - 2 cups, I use basmati rice

Tap water - 4 1/4 cups

Oil / Butter / Ghee - 1 tsp

Salt - 1 tsp

Method

Add all the ingredients in a microwavable pot and cook for 15 minutes on full power. Once the 15 minutes is over use a fork to fluff up your rice. 

Best served ASAP.

Quick & easy fish curry: featuring coconut milk | Kukskitchen

Quick fix meals are my favourite, especially for a week night when u come home tired from work, only to find a couple of hungry tumms and a house full of chores. This particular fish curry is my favourite as it features my favourite ingredient coconut milk. Anything to do with coconut is close to my heart, being a girl from kerala. It is so quick to make and requires cooking skills next to nothing, honestly!

I dedicate this recipe to you working mums, bachelors and new cooks.

A few things before you start:

• Shallots give a better taste and pearl onions if used give a fantastic flavour to the sauce.
• Simmer at low heat for longer and avoid ginger garlic paste for a traditional taste similar to dry-baked fish (മീൻ പൊള്ളിച്ചത്‌).

Rava idli | Steamed semolina cake | My first guest post | Kukskitchen

Thanks a bunch Meena @ random ramblings. She has an inspiring blog with lots of yummy recipes. Please do visit her space, if u haven't done so already. For the recipe follow the link below and share your valuable thoughts.  Rava idli 



A few things before you start:

- Use slightly sour natural yogurt for a better taste.

- If using roasted rava, skip sautéing rava in pan. 

- For a white idli, omit turmeric powder. 

- Best served hot with a hot cup of tea and tomato-coconut chutney

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rava Idli

റവ  ഇഡലി 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ingredients:

1 – Rava / semolina -1 cup 

2 - Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp 

     Urad dal / uzhunnu -1 tsp 

3 - Dried red chillies - 2 

     Curry leaves-1 sprig 

     Turmeric powder-1/4 tsp 

4 – Salt to taste 

      Baking soda-1/2 tsp 

5 - Yogurt-1 1/3 cup 

      Water – 1 /4 cup 

6 - Oil-1 tbs 

Method: 

• Grease the idli pans and keep aside. 
• Heat oil in a pan and splutter mustard seeds and urad dal. 
• When the seeds begin to pop add broken red chillies, curry leaves and turmeric powder and saute for half a minute. 
• Add rava, mix well and saute for 2 mins on medium high heat till rava turns golden brown in colour. 
• Remove from heat, add the salt and baking soda and mix well. Set aside to cool. 
• 5 minutes before making the idlis, mix in the yogurt. Set aside for 5 minutes. If the batter is too thick add water. The batter should be resemble idli batter. 
• Steam for 10-12 minutes till done. 

Cheers

Tuna mayo sandwich | Lunch box special | Kukskitchen

Our house hold luvs a packed lunch. Over the years I have tried all sorts of food for lunch. Most of them are very healthy and balanced since lunch time is the only time we as a family eat healthy usually :). My criteria for a good lunch includes quick to prepare, can eat with one hand, not too 'fragrant' and not too spicy. I will share more of my quick lunch recipes in time. Watch this space.


Tuna-mayo sandwich is one that frequently makes it's way to my lunch box. When I use mayonnaise I try not to use regular bread as the mayo leaves the bread soggy by lunch time. I try to make my own or use shop-bought baguette, a long thin loaf of French bread.


Here is how I make it