Padavalanga Thoran/Snake Gourd Thoran

Many of you may know the recipe, here sharing my mother's recipe. Padavalanga will cook easily and thoran goes good with rice..

Ingredients:

Padavalanga/Snake Gourd	1
Toor dal	2 tspoon
Salt	to taste

For grinding:

Grated coconut	1/4 cup
Garlic	2 cloves
Cumin seeds	1/2 tspoon
Red chilly powder	1/2 tspoon
Turmeric powder	1/4 tspoon

For seasoning:

Oil	1 tbl spoon
Shallots/small onion	3(cut to tiny pieces)
Mustard	1/2 tspoon
Curry leaves	1 sprig

Preparation:

(1) Chop the skin of padavalanga using the sharp side of a knife or use a peeler. Cut it into pieces. Now chop each pieces into tiny cubes. Meanwhile boil toor dal in water for 1 to 2 minute. Make it half cook which is shown in last picture. Drain the water and keep the toor dal aside.

(2) Heat oil in a pan and season with the ingredients shown under heading "for seasoning". Now add half cooked toor dal. Saute once and add chopped padavalanga. Add salt to it. Mix well. Let it cook for some 10 to 15 minutes. Saute in between (If you want to avoid oil, pour 1/4 cup of water to it. Mix once and allow to boil till water dries up and is cooked).

(3) Mean while grind the ingredients shown under for "grinding heading"without adding water and make a course mixture. Once padavalanga is cooked well add ground mixture to it and mix well. 

(4) Switch off the flame. Your padavalanga thoran is ready.

Have it with your rice..

Tips:

• Chop padavalanga into tiny pieces so that it will cook easily while stirring.
• Addition of toor dal is optional. It will enhance the taste.

Mutta Muringakka Aviyal/Drumstick Egg Aviyal

This is a nadan dish which goes well with rice and chapathi. During the season of drumstick you can try this dry curry which is easy and tasty :)

Ingredients:

Egg	5
Drumstick	3(big)
Grated coconut	1/2 cup
Shallots/Small Onion	8
Green chilly	5
Garlic	3 cloves
Red chilly powder	1/4 tspoon
Turmeric Powder	1/4 tspoon
Oil	2 tspoon
Salt	to taste
Dry red chilly	3
Curry leaves	2 sprig
Coriander leaves	1 fist full

Preparation:

(1) Boil eggs and cut into two pieces.

(2) Mean while peel the skin of drumstick and chop into lengthwise pieces. Cut each lengthwise pieces into two. Also cut green chillies and shallots lengthwise.

(3) Heat oil in a pan/vessel. Add dry red chilly and curry leaves. Now add chopped shallots. Saute for a minute. To this add green chilly. Saute everything for another 1 minute. Add chopped drumstick into it and mix well. Pour half cup of water (or around the level of drumstick) to it along with needed salt. Mix once and close the pan/vessel with a lid. Allow it to boil for another 10 minutes so that drumstick will be cooked well. Retain some water in it.

(4) Meanwhile grind coconut, garlic, chilly powder and turmeric powder in a mixer and make a coarse mixture.

(5) Once drumstick is fully cooked add ground mixture into it and give a quick stir.

(6) Now place the boiled egg pieces to it with the yolk side facing down. Also add coriaander leaves (i didn't used here). Close the vessel/pan with a lid. Let it boil/cook for another 5 minutes in low flame until water  recedes. Open the lid and mix once. Your mutta aviyal is now ready.

Have it with rice/chapathi..

Tips:

• For additional flavor you can do seasoning(kaduvarukkal) in the final stage and add it to the curry.
• Add little salt while boiling egg which ease deshelling.

Green Peas Masala

It's been a long time since i have posted a recipe for you all, here came back with an easy recipe:) Green peas masala is a semi gravy which goes good with chapathi/poori/appam. 

Ingredients:

Green Peas(fresh/frozen)	1&1/4 cup
Salt	to taste
Whole garam masalas(Cinnamon/Bay leaves/ Cardamom/Cloves)	1 inch/2/3/3
Oil	1 tspoon
Cashewnuts	12
Red chilly Powder	3/4 tspoon

To Saute and grind:

Oil	2 tspoon
Big onion	1
Tomato	2
Green chilly	2
Garlic	5 pods
Ginger	2 inch

To Soak in water and grind:

Cashewnuts

12

Preparation:

(1) Pressure cook green peas for 2 whistles by adding water with salt. Keep it aside. Soak cashew nuts in water and grind it to a smooth paste. Keep it aside. 

(2) Mean while chop onion and tomato into cube shapes. Also chop ginger, green chilly and garlic. 

(3) Heat oil in a pan. Add ginger and garlic. Saute till the raw smell goes off. To this add onion cubes with little salt. Saute for 2 minutes. To this add green chilly and tomato cubes. Saute for another 2 minutes so that it will turns mushy. Now allow to cool it. 

(4) Grind it to a smooth paste in a mixer. Keep it aside.

(5) Heat oil in the same pan. Add whole garam masalas one by one. To this pour ground paste. Mix once and add red chilly powder. Mix well. 

(6) Pour ground cashew paste to it. Mix once and add 1/4 cup of water. Let it heat for another 10 minutes in low flame. Make a salt test here. Now add cooked green peas to it. Mix once and heat for another 5 minutes. Your green peas masala is now ready.

Have it with chapathi/poori/appam

Tips:

• If you are using frozen green peas cook for 1 whistle and remove the cooker from fire once flame is switched off or add frozen green peas at the 6 th step and cook for 15 minutes.
• Gravy tends to be thicken. Add water accordingly.

Malabari Chicken Curry

Nothing more to say about this recipe. Its a yummy nadan kozhi curry...

Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 35 minutes
Serves: 4

Ingredients:

Chicken	3/4 kg
Big Onion	1(medium)
Tomato	1(medium)
Ginger	2 tbl spoon
Green chilly	3 (medium)
Coconut milk(1st extract/Onnam pal)	1/2 cup
Coconut milk(2nd extract/Randam pal)	1 cup
Chilly powder	1 tspoon
Coriander powder	3/4 tspoon
Turmeric Powder	1/2 tspoon
Whole Garam masala(cardamom,cloves,bay leaves,cinnamon)	2,2,1,2 inch
Cashew nuts	15
Salt	to taste
Oil	1 tbl spoon
Vinegar	1/4 tspoon
Curry leaves	2 sprig

Preparation:

(1) Wash and clean the chicken. Chop into medium slices. Keep it aside. Chop onion and tomato into small cube shapes. Also chop ginger and green chilly. Keep it aside.

(2) Soak cashew nuts in water. Grind it in a mixer and make a fine paste. Also prepare coconut milk extracts. After that mix the ground cashew paste with the 1st extract of coconut milk (You can do this step in between doing the 3rd and 4th step, so that you can save time :) ) .
(3) Heat oil in a vessel and add whole garam masalas one by one. Add chopped ginger and saute for some seconds. To this add chopped green chilly and curry leaves. Mix once and add onion slices with little salt. Saute till color of onion turns brownish.

(4) Add chilly powder, coriander powder and turmeric powder. Saute till the raw smell goes off. Add chicken slices. Mix well so that masala coats well with the chicken.

(5) Now pour the second extract of coconut milk and vinegar. Add little salt. Mix once and close the vessel with a lid. Allow it to boil for another 12 minutes (Chicken will cook in coconut milk and its water).

(6) After 12 minutes chilken will be half cooked. Now open the lid and add tomato cubes to it. Mix once and again close the vessel with lid. Continue to boil for another 10 minutes. Now pour the combined cashew paste and coconut milk to it. Make a salt test.

(7) Let it heat for another 5 minutes. Garnish with curry leaves. Switch off the flame. Your malabari chicken curry is now ready.

Have it with chapathi/dosa/idly/appam/rice/naan... 

You can see my little one's interruption between the click :)

Tips:

• Addition of chilly powder/green chilly depends on your tolerance level.
• You can either prepare coconut milk from grated coconut or use store bought coconut milk.

Elayappam/Ela Ada

Elayappam is a popular snack in my family. For me elayappam comes with many fond memories. My grandma, mom and her sisters used to gather in grandma's kitchen, sit together and do the process of spreading appam to ela. We liittle ones hardly join them for watching and yeah we were busy in playing right. Ohhhh i miss those days and my dear ones. Ok enough of my nostalgic momemts right? :) .

Coming back, we were in an indian store and my hubby noticed frozen ela ada/elayappam there. He wants to buy it. I always try to avoid frozen foods and so promised to do it at home with our traditional recipe. So this is for my dear hubby. The taste was yummy and got thumbs up from him and our friends. Double happy :) .Here comes the recipe for you all. Happy cooking .

Preparation Time:30 minutes
Cooking Time:20 minutes
Serves:3

Ingredients:

Raw rice	1 cup
Jaggery	2&1/2 cup
Grated Coconut	1&1/4 cup
Water	1/4 cup(appx)
Banana leaf	as needed

Preparation:

(1) Soak raw rice in water for about 15 minutes. Drain the excess water and spread rice over a newspaper so that excess water will be drained off. Grind raw rice in a mixer and make a very fine powder. Sieve it to make sure it is finely powdered. Mean while mash jaggery too into fine powder

(2) Now take 3/4 cup of jaggery in a bowl and add 2 tspoon of water to it. Mix well using hand to ensure jaggery is finely powdered. To this add rice powder and mix well using hand.

(3) Combine jaggery and rice powder. Now you have to make it a thick dough. Sprinkle water little by little and mix well using hand ( Don't add more water. The dough should not be loose or too tight.). Make a medium thick dough.

(4) Now heat the banana leaves over the flame of stove and keep it aside. Take one leaf and add around two tspoon of dough to the centre of leaf (adjust the quantity depending on the size of leaf) Spread it using the fingers and make a circular shape (refer the picture). Spread the dough so lightly so that the leaf should be transparent.

(5) Above that sprinkle around 2 tspoon of coconut and jaggery one above the other as shown in the picture (you can increase or decrease the amount of jaggery/coconut as per your taste).

(6) Fold over the leaf. Now seal the edges. For that first fold the two edges and finally cover it with the third fold. Repeat it with other leaves. I made 8 such packs.

(7) Steam it using a steamer. I used idly cooker to cook. It will be ready in some 20 to 30 minutes.  (When you open the leaf one part of dough will be stitched to other half. This is the correct stage. If you add more water while mixing it will be seen as squishy)

Your elayappam/ela ada is now ready.

Tips and variations:

• You can also add boiled green gram/payaru with this. Sprinkle 2 tspoon each as the third layer over the coconut.
• Be careful while adding water. Adding more water will make appam squishy.

Anchovy fish fry/Natholi porichathu-Easy Recipe

Natholi/Anchovy is one of my favorite sea food. It is quite available in my home town- a small village adjoining trivandrum. Now in US the situation is different. I couldn't find it on any fish market. Luckily we visited a new fish market last week and i saw something similar to anchovy/natholi. Hurrraayyyy. It is called as "smelt fish". Of course its a member from anchovy family but not exactly the same. The size will be some what bigger than natholi. I was planning to make curry but due to shortage of some needy things i ended with fry and here is my recipe. Its a simple and easy recipe. NATHOLI ORU CHERIYA MEENALLA :)

Updated:Click Netholi Fry-Kerala Style

Ingredients:

Anchovy fish/Smelt fish	40
Red chilly powder	4 tspoon
Small Onion	4
Turmeric Powder	1/4 tspoon
Salt	to taste
Oil	to fry

Preparation:

(1) Wash and clean the fish. I removed the head and tail part using hand. Also there will be a thin coating(skin) over the body of smelt fish (it will not be there on anchovies). You can easily remove it using hand. Knife is not necessary for cleaning anchovies or smelt fish. I prefer cleaning the entire fish. It can be cooked without removal too. Handle as per your convenience.
(2) Now peel the skin of onion and grind it in a mixer. Add chilly powder and turmeric powder to it. Grind it again and make a fine paste by sprinkling 1 tspoon of water to it.

(3) Take the paste in a bowl. Add salt to it. Add one tspoon of water to it and make thick masala. Don't add too much of water . Now add the cleaned fish to it and mix well so that the masala will coat well with the fish. If you have time leave it for marination about 30 minutes. You can also cook without marinating.

(4) Heat oil in a pan and add fish to it. Let it fry for 2 minutes. Now turn over the sideand cook for another 3 minutes. Your yummy and crispy fish fry is now ready.

Enjoy...

Tips:

• The whole fish is edible. You can have its bone too.
• Since anchovy is a small fish,  it tends to break easily while mixing and cooking. Handle with care.

Raw Mango Chutney/Pacha Manga Chammanthi

Manga chammanthi is a nadan side dish that is very popular in my home town and my personal favorite too. It is usually served with kanji/payar kanji. I will have some extra amount of rice with this spicy and yummy chutney without any other side dish. Really slurrppp. So those who are looking for "thani nadan" taste, this is for you :)

Ingredients:

Raw mango	1/2 of a big one
Grated Coconut	3/4 cup
Green chilly	3 (medium)
Dry red chilly	2
Ginger	3 inch piece
Curry leaves	3 to 4 leaves
Salt	to taste
Small onion	3

Preparation:

(1) Chop mango into small cube shapes. No need to peel its skin. I got some 20 cubes from half of a      mango.

(2) Grind coconut, green chilly, dry red chilly, ginger, curry leaves and small onion in  a mixer and make a mixture. To this add chopped mango slices and salt. Grind it again (Grinding in two batches will incorporate everything).

(3) Grind till you get a fine mixture. Don't add water. Replace the mixture in a bowl. Using your hand make a big ball shape. Your mango chutney is now ready. Use as your need. .

Have it with your choru(rice)/kanji/Payar kanji/Kappa Puzhunghiyathu/Dosa/Idly…..

Tips:

• Don't add water while grinding. The moisture from mango and coconut is more enough.
• Adjust spiciness according to your tolerance level. Add or reduce dry red chilly/green chilly.