Prawns Thoran/Chemmeen Thoran

This recipe will suits good with prawns/chemmeen and squid/kanava. I used prawns. This is an easy fish curry recipe which goes well with rice.

Ingredients:

Prawns	1/2 kg
Salt	to taste
Water	1 cup

for grinding:

Grated coconut	1/2 cup
Small Onion	3
Turmeric powder	1 tspoon
Chilly powder	2 tspoon
Cumin seed	1 tspoon

for tempering(optional):

Oil	1 tspoon
Dry red chilly	2
Cumin seed	1/2 tspoon
Mustard	1 tspoon
Curry leaves	1 pinch

Preparation:

(1) Wash and clean the prawns. Keep it aside.

(2) Grind the ingredients shown under "for grinding" heading in mixer . Grind for some 3 seconds and make a coarse mixture. Keep it aside.

(3) Now take the fish in a cooking vessel. Add the grinded mixture into it. Add water and salt. Mix well.

(4) Boil it in medium flame. Stir the mixture in between while boiling. Switch off the flame when fish is cooked well. Also don't retain water in it.

(5) Heat oil in a pan and season the ingredients shown under "for tempering" heading. Pour it to the boiled fish and mix well.

(6) Close the vessel with a  lid for 10 minutes. Your fish thoran is ready.

Have it with your favorite meals...

Eggless Butter Biscuits/Eggless Butter Cookies

 Im preparing cookies for first time. The result was awesome:) and i fall in love with baking.

Ingredients:

Butter	1 cup
All purpose flour/Maida	2 cup
Confectioner sugar	3/4 cup
Vanilla Essence	1 tspoon
Salt	1/4 tspoon
Jam(optional)	5 to 6 tspoon

Preparation:

(1) Take a bowl and sieve flour two times. To this add salt. Mix well. Take required sugar in another vessel. Keep both bowls aside.

(2) Take butter (at room temperature) in a large bowl. Beat it until smooth and creamy using electric mixer or hand mixer. I used electric mixer and beat it for less than 1 minute.

(3) To this creamy butter add powdered sugar. Beat till it mix well. To this add vanilla essence and beat again. Now add sieved flour to this beat well until incorporated. Now you will obtain a thick dough. Make a round shape structure.

(4) Place this dough in a plastic sheet. Flatten it into a disk shape using hand. Wrap it with the plastic sheet and keep it in refrigerator for 1 hour(This will make the dough firm which helps in easy cutting).

(5) After 1 hour remove the plastic wrap and place the dough in a lightly floured surface. Roll out the dough into an even thickness(around .6  or .7 cm). Cut into your desired shapes. I used a heart shaped cookie cutter. Repeat the same process with the remaining dough.

 (6)Preheat your oven to 350 degree F. Take an oven safe dish and line it with foil paper. Place the prepared shapes over the foil paper and keep it in oven for 10 to 15 minutes(You can also design the shapes with jam which is optional. For that make a slight dent on the centre of prepared shapes using your thumb. Pour 1/4 tspoon of jam over the dent. Now keep it in oven).

(9) Keep an eye after 10 minutes. Bake it till the cookies are very lightly browned. Remove from oven .Your butter cookies are now ready.

Store your cookies in an airtight container and enjoy….:)

Tips:

• You can use electric mixer or hand mixer to beat. Hand mixer takes more time. 
•  Chilling the dough in refrigerator will make it firm so that you can cut the cookies easily.

Nadan Mutta Roast/Kerala Egg Roast

There are some dishes that tastes too good and that sense of taste last longer in your tongue. Egg roast is such a food. We had it with appam on last week. My hubby was so impressed with this :p..

Ingredients:

Egg	4
Coconut Milk	1/4 cup
Onion	1(big)
Tomato	1(medium)
Ginger	2 inch piece
Garlic	5 cloves
Chilly Powder	1 tspoon
Turmeric Powder	1/2 tspoon
Garam Masala	1 tspoon
Green Chilly	4 to 5(medium)
Mustard	1 tspoon
Curry Leaves	1 pinch
Oil	3 tspoon
Salt	to taste

Preparation:

(1) Boil eggs in water by adding 1 tspoon of salt. Make 4 or 5 vertical slits over the eggs and keep it aside.

(2) Chop onion, tomato, green chilly,ginger and garlic. Keep it aside.

(3) Heat oil in a vessel. Add mustard. Once it crackles add chopped ginger and garlic. Saute till an aroma arose. Now add chopped onion and salt. Saute well till the color changes brownish.

(4) To this brownish onion  add chopped green chillies and curry leaves. Stir for some seconds. Now add chopped tomato. Stir well till tomato turns juicy( Now reduce heat to low and close the vessel with a lid for 3 to 4 minutes so that onion will be cooked well. You can skip this if you are in a hurry).

(5) Now add turmeric powder, chilly powder and garam masala. Mix well. Pour the coconut milk. Mix well and make a salt test here.

(6)Now add boiled eggs and toss it well. In low flame cook it for 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in between. Now your curry will becomes dry. Switch off the flame. Close the vessel with a lid for 5 minutes before serving.

Your egg roast is ready.Have it with Appam or Chappathi.

Tips:

• Add egg in water when it starts boiling. This gives a smooth texture to eggs. 
• Addition of salt avoid eggs to be broken during boiling.
• Instead of making slits over eggs u can cut it into two. Be careful not to break eggs while mixing it in the masala.

Varutharacha Meen Curry/Varutharacha Fish Curry

You can try this recipe with any fish. I used small mullet fish.

Ingredients:

Fish	1/2 kg
Grated coconut	1/2 cup
Dry red chilly	5
Small onion	4(skin peeled)
Coriander powder	1/2 tspoon
Tamarind	1 small lemon size(soak in water and extract the juice)
Salt	to taste
Curry leaves	1 sprig
Oil	2 tspoon

Preparation:

(1) Wash and clean the fish. Take a vessel(or clay pot if you have). Add water, tamarind juice and salt. Water level should stand around or above the level of fish. Close the vessel with a lid and boil till it is completely cooked( mullet will get cook in 10 to 15 minutes). Keep it aside. 

(2) Mean while heat oil in a pan. Add grated coconut. Stir it for one minute. Now add red chilly and onion to it. Keep on stirring till the color changes brownish. Now add curry leaves and stir well. Finally add coriander powder. Stir for two to three seconds and switch off the flame(reduce flame to low in the final stage to avoid burning of any ingredients). Allow it to cool

(3) Once it is cooled grind the mixture in a mixer by adding less than 1/4 cup water. Make a fine paste.

(4) Add the grounded paste to the cooked fish. Adjust the gravy level by adding water as you like. Add tamarind juice and salt to your taste.  Allow to boil in medium flame by closing with a lid. Once it starts boiling add curry leaves and switch off the flame.

Your fish curry is ready. Leave the lid as closed for 10 minutes so that the flavor will sets well. Serve it hot with rice.

Naranga Achar/Lemon Pickle

 I love the rice and pickle combination. This recipe is from my valyamma who is too smart in cooking. It remains fresh for more than 6 months.

Ingredients:

• Lemon-8(small)
• Sesame oil/Nalla enna-7 to 8 tspoon
• Chilly powder-4 to 5 tspoon
• Mustard-2 tspoon
• Asafoetida powder-1 tspoon
• Water-2 cups
• Salt to taste

Preparation:

(1) Wash lemon and take it in a vessel. Add water so that lemons should be completely immersed in water. Also add 1 tspoon of salt and allow water to boil. Switch off the flame after two minutes when water starts boiling.

(2) Immediately take out lemons from hot water and keep in a plate. Allow it to cool.

(3) Once it is cooled cut lemons each into 4 or 5 pieces vertically. Mind to cut the pieces in plate itself because it will oozes its juice.

(4) Store all pieces in a bottle or in an airtight container along with its oozed out juice. Also add salt. Shake the bottle or container using hands. Keep it for 3 days. Mind to shake the bottle once or twice for each day.

(5) On the third day take a bowl and add chilly powder with bottled lemon pieces. Mix well with a spoon.

(6) Heat oil in a pan. Add Mustard. Once it bursts pour water into it. When water starts boiling add asafoetida  powder. Now switch off the flame and allow water to cool.

(7) When water is completely cooled pour it into the lemon pieces. Mix well with a spoon.

(8) Now you can make a salt test here. Add additional chilly powder or salt if you want. Mix well with spoon. Your naranga achar/ lemon pickle is ready.

(9) Store in an air tight container or bottle. It last for more than 6 months.

Tips:

• Reduce the flame when you add water into hot oil else it will burst.
• Water level should stand above lemon pieces when you store in a bottle or container else the pieces above the water level will not last long. At this point don't pour water directly into the bottle. Follow the 6th step.

Choco Coffee Cake-Soft and Moist

 There were some guest  on last weekend to our home. This was our dessert. Got positive comments from them. Cake was too soft.The given recipe is from a cookery show that i saw some months ago.

Ingredients:

• Maida/All purpose flour-2 cup(500 ml)
• Cocoa powder(i used hershey's)-3/4 cup
• Coffee powder-2 tspoon
• Egg-2
• Vanilla essence-2.5 tspn
• Powdered sugar-2 cup
• Curd-1/2 cup
• Salt-1 tspoon
• Baking soda-2 tspoon
• Baking powder-1 tspoon
• Refined oil-1 cup
• Boiling water-1 cup

Preparation:

(1) Take a bowl and add all maida, baking powder and baking soda. Mix it and sieve it for two or three times. Keep it aside in a bowl.

(2) Add coffee powder and cocoa powder in another bowl. Evenly mix two powders in hot water with a whisk. Keep it aside.

(3) In another bowl add egg,salt and vanilla essence. Beat well with a whisk(you can use electric mixer instead of whisk-i don't have it) Keep the mixture aside.

(4) Now take a medium sized vessel. Add sugar,curd and refined oil. Mix well with a whisk or electric mixer . Mix till sugar dissolves completely and u get an even mixture.

(5) To this mixture mix beaten egg little by little using a whisk or mixer. After that mix maida mixture and cocoa mixture little by little to it. Do this alternatively and mix evenly. Make a fine evenly distributed batter. 

(6) Preheat your oven to 300 degree F. Grease your cooking pan with oil. I used a 9 inch pan. Pour batter to it. Tap the bottom of pan if u have any air bubbles.

(7) Bake it for 30 to 40 minutes in oven. To check if it is done insert a fork or tooth pick to the centre of cake. If it comes out clean your cake is ready or if you touch the cake it should lightly spring back. Take out from the oven and allow it to cool for 10 minutes in a wire rack. Carefully invert the cake by gently tapping on the back side of pan.  I inverted it on a newspaper :-p….Your choco-coffee cake is now ready…

I used half of the ingredients listed above to make this. Finally i want to give a touch up. That is the vanilla icing you can see over the cake. i bought it from market. Bad design eh???? Better luck next time:)

Tips for beginners in baking:

• Grease the pan with oil or butter. This will make it non-sticky.
• The batter should be watery. It will thicken during baking.
• Always pour batter to half of the pan coz it will rise during baking.
• Preheat oven according to the type of your oven. I baked it in 30 minutes with a temp of 300 degree F. Settings may accordingly. Keep an aye over the cake after 20 minutes.
• Don't turn over the cake immediately. Allow to cool for 5 to 10 minutes so that it will not break.