Kadalapparippu payassam | Channa daal kheer | Kukskitchen

No one likes to get older, but I don't mind as long as I get to cook, serve  and eat (of course) my favourites on my birthday. Any excuse to have something sweet GRIN. This year I made കടലപ്പരിപ്പ് പ്രഥമൻ / channa daal kheer using coconut milk . This uses my mum's recipe and is delicious each time. The crunchy fried coconut cuts add a special touch to the pradhaman.

Onasadya | Keralan feast | Kukskitchen

Onam is the harvest festival of the prettiest state in India (in the whole wide world) called Kerala. Onam is just a fun happy festive time for every keralan. Be it the flower arrangements, colourful and flavourful food or the games played on the day, it is one of the best times of the year. A vegetarian feast  ( ഓണസദ്യ ) with coconut featuring in most of the curries is a must.

Kovakka podi curry | Ivy gourd dry stir fry with a special traditional south indian spice mix | Kuks kitchen

India is so diverse in its culture and so is the variety in its food. Here is another one of my discoveries during my culinary journey through web pages in search for new and exciting tongue tingling flavours. Hope you luv this as much as I like it.

Kovakka ( Ivy gourd) fry | I am back in full oomph | Kukskitchen

It has been an eventful few weeks (months) in my life and I have come out a happy bunny. I certainly have many to thank for. :-) Now, I am back in the blogging world with full oomph.

I have recently also started to contribute to a food column in my college newsletter UK alumni edition. Please check them out here folks.

Now,back to business!

Does deep-fried veggie count towards your five-a-day? May be not, but who cares! They taste so yummy that way.

Deep-fried veggies was something I was introduced to when I got married. My MIL is, and more so her mum was, an expert in that field, says my FIL :-) My dear D is not surprisingly a fan of deep fried veggies especially the likes of kovakka ( ivy gourd), vendakka (okra, lady's finger) and pavakka (bitter gourd). A simple marinade is all that is needed to lift these humble veggies to worthy of centre stage. I very rarely deep fry them as even the thought of deep frying gives me chest pains :-)

Here is how I ( actually my MIL) makes them

Mambazha pulisseri : Mango - coconut - yogurt savoury mousse | Kukskitchen

My dear friend A from med college was asking for a veg- kid friendly recipe and I instantly thought about the below recipe which was resting in kukskitchen's drafts. 

My son luvs everything sweet: spicy chicken with honey, dosa - appam etc with sugar, pancakes with golden syrup and the list goes on.

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 :-)

Gothambu halwa | Atta halwa | Flour halwa | Kukskitchen

This one is close to my heart as it is one of the first sweets I made, and I was in school. Those days my brother  would eat anything I made and was my critic. Me, my sis and my mum would try all sorts of things in our kitchen in Trivandrum.  Luckily my SIL is an amazing cook herself. :-)

The only slight change I made from my first attempt was to add dark muscovado sugar for that extra colour and taste.

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.

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. :(

Kaya ularthu - Plantain stir fry | Kukskitchen

Syrian Christian cuisine is gaining a lot of popularity these days. I was so surprised to see a uk celebrity chef do a syrian christian beef curry. I will post that in here soon. Watch this space.

Pineapple sago payassam /sabudana | Kukskitchen

Pineapple sago payasam by aunty L and chocolate brownies by aunty P were the star attractions of 'mathrujyothis' sunday sale in Nirmala Bhavan church on of the yester years, this was before my med school days. If you are wondering what is mathrujyothis, I will tell u. It is a church and diocese linked organisation by the mums in church through which the church did many charitable works. The sunday sale was a yearly event when each mum would make something, food or otherwise, and sell it, with the profit to go to the above said charitable activities.

Recently I started craving for the 'famous' pineapple sago payasam. I did whip up mango-sago pudding with mango pulp a while ago but it was no where near the payasam I had in mind. I will post the recipe another day.

Presented here is my version of pineapple-sago payasam.  It tasted yummm.

Cabbage stir fry and a tip to dieting ;) | Kukskitchen

A quick and easy healthy veggie side dish in Keralan style. It tastes lovely with rice or even roti. Ever since I heard about and tried the cabbage soup diet, I try to include cabbage in my weekly menu in one way or other.

Carrot stir fry | Keralan style & a tip for weight loss :) | Kukskitchen

Eating carrots will not make you fat. This a fact. It contains beta-carotene, which the body converts into vitamin A, is especially important for eye health. It’s also of great benefit to the skin, and the immune and digestive systems. Carrots are also loaded with fibre and water, which cleanse the liver, boost oxidation and plump out skin to stave off wrinkles.

Avial - Keralan mixed vegetable l Kukskitchen

When ever I go to Kerala, avial is top in the list of things I ask my mum to cook for me. Her avial is 'world-famous' and she makes it with such precision.

Avial being the king dish of vegetables takes its place quite high up in an onasadya. Avial is a perfect accompaniment in a sadya, but in my house avial gets made especially during good friday for lunch which is the only meal that day and it has to be vegetarian.

Pulisseri without coconut - featuring marrow - Ammachi's pulissery

"Oru nalla pulisseri undengil pinne kari onnum venda". I have heard  ammachi say that a million times. Her speciality was kaya (plaintain) pulisseri though. I didnt get the raw plantain, instead I thought of making use of an English vegetable - Marrow. I tastes superb and eating it u feel like marrow should have been a keralan vegetable.

There are many varieties of pulisseri each with its own recipe. Presented is the easiest and quickest of them all. 

Kovakka thoran featuring Ivy gourd | Kukskitchen

Thoran and me? Everybody knows a syrian christian from mid kerala CANNOT make a good thoran. It is a fact. That is unless she gets help from her south kerala thoran specialist friend. In my case it was my dear friend Surya. Sorry dear if over time my modifications have spoiled ur gorgeous recipe.


Presented is a recipe for kovakka thoran.

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. 

Theeyal - a spicy aubergine curry with onions, tamarind and coconut | Kukskitchen

Ingredients:

1. Aubergine - 300g / 2-3 cups
    Shallots/ onions - 1/2 cup
    Turmeric - 1/4 tsp
    Green chilli - 2
    Curry leaves - 2- 3 sprigs
    salt
2. Grated coconut - 1 cup
    shallots/onion - 1/2 cup
    curry leaves - 2- 3 sprigs
3. Turmeric - 1/4 tsp
    Coriander powder - 2 tsp
    Chilly powder - 2 tsp
4. Tamarind paste - 2 tbsp
5. Red chilli - 2
    Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
    Oil - 2 tbsp

Method:

- Cook aubergine cut in to medium chunks in enough water and rest of ingredients of (1) till soft.
- Meanwhile dry roast (2) till coconut turns brown shaking the pan constantly to get an even colour. 
- Dessicated coconut is faster to get roasted. :)
- Mix (3) in to the pan and stir for another minute over low heat. 
- Grind this coconut mix to a coarse paste with as little water as permitted by ur blender.
- Once your aubergine is cooked add the coconut paste together with tamarind to it and let it boil.
- Add final tadka by adding dried chilli and mustard seeds to hot oil. Once the mustard seeds start to splutter, remove from heat and tip it over to ur theeyal.

Enjoy this spicy veg curry with par boiled rice. Yummmm!

Cheers
Sherin 

Erisseri with butternut squash and adzuki beans

When onam is around the corner, any keralan turns a veggie eater. And I'm no exception. What's coking today? Yes Erisseri. Erisseri is one dish that excites you each time you eat it. It is definitely the taste of home for me.