We had heard a lot about Kerala cuisine, but never had had the chance to relish it. Our holiday gave us THE perfect opportunity to do so.
Last year, during the peak of monsoon season, my husband and I spend the most amazing 10 days in Alapuzza, Kerala. And lucky us, our holiday happened during Onam.
We had heard a lot about Kerala cuisine, but never had had the chance to relish it. Our holiday gave us THE perfect opportunity to do so. Last year, during the peak of monsoon season, my husband and I spend the most amazing 10 days in Alapuzza, Kerala. And lucky us, our holiday happened during Onam.
We had heard a lot about Kerala cuisine, but never had had the chance to relish it. Our holiday gave us THE perfect opportunity to do so. On one of our canoeing rides, our guide, Anil, was very kind enough to invite us to his house for the Onam celebrations. Anil, Jayanti and Anandu ; one of the simplest, and the most down to earth family, who lived it king size with whatever they earned everyday or managed to fish out of the lake..... Our delicious lunch that day had Vendekka Varathathu, prawns fry (caught in the lake RIGHT outside the house and tossed on to a pan!), parippu curry, avial, rice and poppadums. One of my childhood favourites! Simple, quick and delicious as ever with a little maharashtrian touch to it.
The typical rava dosa recipe makes the dosas very thin and crisp, but this recipe, keeps them a little thicker and fuller to taste. This recipe doesn't use maida or rice flour to bind the batter, instead uses gram flour, or besan, giving it a much softer texture than a traditional rava dosa. In comparison to the traditional recipe, this also uses curd to give it a slight sour after taste (similar to a fermented dosa batter). Rava Dosa, is an instant dosa that doesn't need any fermenting, and hence is a much quicker fix than the fermented-batter dosa. The batter is spread onto a hot pan; by pouring it over the pan. (Unlike other dosas where a ladle is used to spread it on the pan) It's cooked until it becomes crispy, and served along with chutney. That's the irony...the best mangoes are always available ONLY in summer. The heat already drives you crazy, and to add to it, one can't stop at just one delicious mango!
Mangoes are a very heaty fruit and hence you have to be careful as to how many you consume in a day. On the other hand, raw mangoes are known to keep your body temperatures steady, as compared to ripe mangoes. That is why a lot of drinks, accompaniments, side dishes are made from raw mangoes. Hence, this turned out to be a perfect salad for a summer day to avoid suffering the ripe mango heat. Sweet - sour - spicy - tangy - crunchy - wholesome. Couldn't ask for more! Bon Appétit A very simple, quick and delicious combination of flavours, without any need to hunt for any authentic ingredients!
Sweet, sour, spicy, tangy and crunchy! Goes great with chicken or sea food salad. This dish is very very dear to me! On my very first operating flight, Bangkok, I had had the most terrible time in my life and it tunrned out to be one of those days where you doubt if you are in the right place. After a good long 7 hour, busy-as-a-bee, flight, we reached the hotel dead tired, and I really needed to cheer myself up to even think of operating the flight back. Luckily, one of my colleages and a senior, knew bangkok like the back of her hand, and knowing how much I had struggled through the flight, was nice enough to take me out for shopping and dinner to cheer me up and give me the ''pep'' talk. We ended up going to one of the most famous malls in bangkok, MBK mall, and straight to the food court. That is the time I first tasted this heavenly dish and WOW! did it do its job at the best in pulling up my spirits! I remember eating 2 massive portions of this and still craving for it :) My very considerate colleage din't even need to give me the talk of 'hang-in-there' after seeing that the meal had done the job perfectly for her :) A beautifully sweet, spicy, herby chicken curry with jasmine rice. Perfect combination! This is and will always be one of my most favourite thai dishes. Bon Appétit Here, in Kuwait, the temperatures have already hit 45 deg, and it's just the beginning of summer!
It's so much easier to eat and digest light meals like a nice cold salad for any meal during the day, that I had to put this recipe up as soon as I remembered it. Halloumi is a very salty cheese, which originated in Cyprus and is made from goat milk, sheep milk, or a combination of both and even cow milk; used mainly in the Middle Eastern, Greek and Turkish cuisines. Ok, first of all let me start by clarifying that ''Bharu'' isn't a new brand in the markert. It in fact is my sister's mother-in-law's name! My sister got married after dating her then boyfriend (current husband incase you are wondering) for almost 7 years. As soon as their marriage plans were decided, we would always visit her in-law's place to spend time with them, run errands, shop for the big day etc etc. In those initial years of getting to know 'Bharu aai', I have never come across anyone who can always be in the kitchen whipping very simple (when uninvited hogs like us showed up) or amazing slow cooked dishes , quick or elaborate DELICIOUS meals, snacks and anything else possible! And all this with the most genuine smile. So far, I have never been able to or even met anyone who can make polis (parathas) as soft and delicious as she can! SO, this is my first attempt at trying to re-make one of her delicious curries. Thank you Bharu aai! Bon Appétit Again, I so wish I could have a tandoor at home to do justice to this preparation!
The truth is, however good the dough turns out to be, it needs to be baked in a tandoor to get the authentic taste. If its baked in the oven, it doesn’t only become a little dry due to its longer baking time in the oven temperatures, which of course, can't go as high as the temperatures in the tandoor. I have read about people baking them on a non stick pan too, but I haven’t given it a try yet. I plan to do that soon though. But none the less, this is one of my most favourite Indian breads and a very quick recipe too! Perfect bread to dip in some amazing curries. Definitely a must try. Out of the blue, I remembered this delicious Maharashtrian dessert after over 15 years!
This is specially made for Diwali. Anything and everything about Diwali gets me super charged to make those 'special snacks / faral''. I remember my grammy making these in massive quantities to send them to the whole family. And if, by any chance we were vacationing at her house then, we were definitely the youngest and the cheapest labour available, with the best incentives; hogging on freshly fried, lip smacking delicious and crunchy Chirotes. It is a beautiful, delicate, layered, crispy fried pastry, either dipped in sugar syrup or dusted with powdered sugar. One of the must-haves for a Diwali celebration. Bon Appétit What a delicious combination of ingredients to end your meal with! Nothing and absolutely nothing can go wrong with the combination of coconut milk, mangoes, bananas and any other tropical fruits.
My adventure of trying different and interesting dishes, got me to relish this one. About 4 - 5 years back on one of my Manila flights, I happened to taste the 'Tapioca Mango' Pudding, and what a beautiful blend of tastes that I still remembered it! And as I got the most delicious alphonso mangoes recently, I had to try my hand at this. We don't get tapioca pearls in the middle-east easily, the best and the closest substitute to it is sago pearls. A simple, quick and wonderful tropical dessert with a perfect blend of tropical fruits and the thick vanilla sago pudding, can be served warm or chilled. A quick-fix with the most basic ingredients.
A lovely, tangy and spicy salad dressing. ohh, what should I say about this! The look I have on my face, feels like I am romancing the Pani Puri!!...
Its one of the most delicious Indian snacks, and seriously, whoever invented it, God Bless them! Anytime of the day, with any variations, at any place, this dish will keep you drooling for a long long time! These puris are made of semolina and a bit of refined flour, but in Pune, we even get moong dal pani puris which 'literally' melt in your mouth! I am still trying to get my hands on that yummy recipe! and as soon as I do, I will definitely post it... God bless the person who invented this delight!
I can't even find words to describe it. It is one of THE MOST perfect combination of flavours! Beautifully tangy, slightly spicy, amazingly herb-flavoured AND very healthy! It is a must must have for a pani puri feast! It can also be had as an digestif (normally an alcoholic drink that is had after a meal to aid in digestion, but here we'll make it an exception as it can't and shouldn’t be made with alcohol). Its the king of street food in India, and a must-try recipe. Biryani is believed to be a north-Indian dish, but if you taste the south-Indian biryanis, they taste so much better than any other biryani found anywhere else. In my opinion North-Indian biryanis are known to be very rich in flavor with a lot of ghee and saffron-milk used to enhance the taste, but comparatively, the south-Indian biryanis have so much more essence. The amazing blend of coconut, roasted spices and the vegetables comes to life in this recipe. As this recipe emphasizes more on the spices mix and the coconut flavor, it doesn't make the biryani as heavy or rich as a regular north-Indian or Hyderabadi dum-biryani. It is a slightly time taking recipe, but absolutely worth all the efforts. While watching Khana Khajana, one of the episodes featured this recipe and I had to try it out. Absolutely loved it! I am not a big rice fan, but I am sure I ended up eating about a month's rice quota that day. A must try! Bon Appétit A permanent order whenever we go to an Arabic place.
A very delicious, succulent barbequed minced meat, char grilled with vegetables and served with pita bread and a garlic sour cream. The origin of kebab may lie in the short supply of cooking fuel in the Near East. Tradition has it that the dish was invented by medieval Persian soldiers who used their swords to grill meat over open-field fires. According to Ibn Battuta, a Moroccan traveler, in India, kebab was served in the royal houses during the Delhi Sultanate period (1206-1526 CE), and even commoners would enjoy it for breakfast with naan. Bon Appétit We love thick soups! With a toast or a baguette, it makes such a perfect dinner! Not so heavy that you end up with indigestion the next day, and not so light that you would want to have another meal in half an hour!
On every Tuesday, after work my husband has his football matches, which go on till about 10 in the night. We start our day early too, at around 5.30 and in spite of being Indians, we really don't like spicy food or masala food for dinners. That's why, every Tuesday is a soup night or a very light dinner night. This soup is like soul food. Just one spoon full of it and all you want to do is close your eyes and relish the gorgeous taste! Baking the potatoes in the oven gives it a nice, slightly smoky taste. And the end result of puréed potatoes and milk combination is lip-smacking! Hope you relish it as much as we did. Bon Appétit yummy yum yum is all I can think of looking at the picture! I had this for the first time at a friend's place and HAD to try a hand at this. Tenderising and marinating the chicken in curd, makes it so amazingly soft, and the curd also imparts a nice tangy taste to it. The chicken can be either shallow fried on the pan, which of course makes it crunchier and tastier, but if you are looking for a healthier version, then it can be baked in an oven with as little as 2 tsp oil for the whole recipe. Lip smacking yummy, especially with a salad and Buttermilk Ranch Dressing. Bon Appétit Delicious, delicious and ABSOLUTELY delicious!!!
I had this first at a friends place, and she had made it from a branded packet, which just had to be mixed with yogurt and mayo. Mitul and I loved it so much, that I looked for it in almost all the grocery stores, but couldn't find one for a long time. But amazingly, I found this recipe in one of the salad books that I have, and it tastes so much more better than the commercial one! If you like the commercial ranch dressing, then what better than to make it at home, without any preservatives or additives. A gorgeously simple and quick recipe. To make it and keep it low fat, all ingredients can be used which are low fat, and they are all available in the market. A simple and yummy dressing, that goes with all, salads, chicken, eggs and can be had as a dip for fries too. In Maharashtra, Holi is known as Rangapanchami (festival of colours) & is celebrated with Puran Poli & Katachi Amti (spicy curry) which is a traditional Holi Special.
But, if you remember the taste of this dal, then you weren't high enough on bhang! It is a dal made with the left over water from boiled channa used for puran polis. It becomes a gorgeous, tangy sweet dal and makes the best dip for Puran Polis and Boiled Potato Sabji. There are various variations to this recipe, my mum-in-law makes it with Tur Dal, where as my mom makes it with plain Channa Dal. Bon Appétit In Maharashtra, Holi is known as Rangapanchami (festival of colours) & is celebrated with Puran Poli & Katachi Amti (spicy curry) which is a traditional Holi Special.
But, if you remember the taste of this dal, then you weren't high enough on bhang! Puran Poli is one of the original Maharashtrian desserts / sweet dishes, which isn't served at the end of the meal, but as a part of the main meal. There are various variations to this recipe, my mum-in-law makes it with Tur Dal, where as my mom makes it with plain channa dal. Maharashtrians have it with, boiled potato sabji, katachi aamti, coconut chutney and LOADS of ghee! Whereas the Gujjus have it with a different version of the amti. The best part about this is that the recipe calls for quite a quantity of nutmeg powder. And with your head swirling with the bhang and the nutmeg almost making you snooze right after the last bite, it's a perfect combination to knock you out after a long day of playing with colours and water. During my cabin crew days, I used to always be the galley (aircraft kitchen) manager.
The breads that were served in economy, business and first class would always catch my eye! A wonderful variety of sweet, salty, savoury, nutty, grain breads. Especially, their shapes and how perfectly they would be baked! I had always wanted to try making them all, and hence starting with one of my most favourites. Since I love salty / savoury food, this is, hands-down, one of my most favorite breads! The textures of this bread are so varied and absolutely delicious! This was one of the very first recipes that I tried out before starting the blog, and trust me, I have made it about 20 times since. It is such a hot favorite at home and at Mitul's office, that every week I have to make sure that I have enough over ripe bananas to quickly fix a banana bread if the emergency request comes in!
ABSOLUTELY gorgeous blend of flavors. Sweet caramelized bananas and brown sugar give this cake its unique flavor. It is a very simple recipe and a quick fix too. Tastes stunning with a big scoop of vanilla and a slice of warm banana bread. Its not just a must-try, but I insist you bake it whenever you plan to taking up your next kitchen project. One of the weekends, Mitul and I wanted to do a different and an adventurous cooking project and what better than home-made pizzas to be feasted on. Especially knowing that there is less oil, butter and the amount of cheese, you can relish them guilt-free!
They turned out absolutely gorgeous! A very simple recipe and definitely a must try. I love any recipe which has pumpkin as a main ingredient.
Cooked pumpkin purée gets such a beautiful caramelized taste, that it is a joy to eat any dish made with it. Delicious recipe savory - sweet recipe and a must try. |
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