Confessions in Groups of Five

Thank you Nila, Linda, and Sudhav for tagging me.

Confessions in Groups of Five

Five things in my freezer:

1. Nuts(Almonds, cashews etc.)
2. A ziplock full of ginger
3. Ice cream- vanilla, dulce de leche, chocolate
4. Pasta sauce - leftover organic Ragu
5. Meats - Chicken, Beef, Lamb liver, Shrimp

Five things in my closet:

1. A big box of photographs, I am picture-a-holic!
2. A bag full of letters and greeting cards I and husband wrote each other before wedding. We had a long wait after the engagement.
3. A box of old clothes
4. Lots of bags and suitcases
5. Gift wrappers and gift bags
   

Five things in my car:

1. Hand moisterizer
2. Lots of coins
3. Carseat
4. Some books and newspapers
5. Music CDs

Five things in my purse:

1. My grandfather's photo. (died 1o years ago :()
2. Library card
3. ID, health insurance and credit cards
4. Some Indian stamps(I don't know why I have it in there? It's been there for a very long time)
5. Some cash
   

Please consider yourself tagged if you are not tagged yet, and want to play.

Unniyappam

Long grain rice - 1 cup
Jaggery/Brown sugar - 1/2 cup
Banana - 1/2 cup, mashed
Cardamom powder - 1/8 tsp(optional)
A pinch of baking soda

Soak the rice and grind with other ingredients. Add just enough water for grinding. If using jaggery, boil it with water and make a syrup. Add this syrup to the ground rice mixture. Mix well. Let the batter sit for a couple of hours. Heat up unniyappam pan and pour oil upto half in each impression. Let the oil heat up and pour the batter upto 3/4th full. Cook on a low-medium heat uncovered and undisturbed for about 5 minutes or until the bottom is golden brown. With the help of a spoon and fork, turn unniyappam and cook the other side. Remove from the pan and drain on paper towels. Serve warm with tea.

LG's Rava unniappam

Oh Indianadoc! I didn't know you have posted an unniyappam recipe as well. :)

I am amazed to see this is also called vella appam.

Happiness is...

Fresh fruits(papaya, kiwi, and cherry) topped with a scoop of dulce de leche ice cream for dessert after dinner!

Unniyappam for the evening snack! Recipe is on the way....

Started by Ammani of Chai pani

Fish Biriyani

Many of my friends haven’t even heard about Fish Biriyani. They knit their brows when I tell them about it. They think the smell of fish doesn’t go well with a Biriyani. But once they taste it, they would go ‘ooh’ing and ‘aah’ing and ask for the recipe. My mom too, she was so uncomfortable to try out biriyani with fish. So I have never had a chance to taste this before marriage. After marriage, I started experimenting once I saw my friend making it. I have been bragging about it to my mom on the phone whenever I make it in my kitchen. Last week she called me and said “hey, I made fish biriyani”! I was so happy to hear that. King Fish is what we always use for this biriyani. You can use other fish too, without bones. The recipe for Shrimp Biriyani is almost the same. Here goes the recipe:

For the fish:
King fish – 1 ½ lbs.
Kashmri chilli powder – 1 tsp
Turmerci powder – ¼ tsp
Salt & Black pepper powder – to taste
Juice of one lemon

I used 3 big slices of king fish. Remove the skin and bones. Wash well and cut into cubes. Immerse in water mixed with lemon juice for about 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, take them out of the lemon water and pat dry. Make a marinade by mixing Kashmiri chilli powder, turmeric powder, salt, and black pepper powder. Marinate the fish pieces for at least 30 minutes.

For the masala:
Oil/Ghee – ½ cup
Cashew nuts – 3 tbsp
Raisins – 2 tbsp
Onion – 3 big
Garlic – 1/3 cup
Ginger – 1/3 cup
Green chillies – 6
Coriander powder – 3 tsp
Paprika – 1 tsp
Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
Poppy seeds – 1 tbsp
Fennel seeds – ½ tsp
Yogurt – ¾ cup
Garam masala – 1 tsp
Tomatoes – 2 big
Salt – to taste
Cilantro – ½ cup chopped
Mint leaves – 1/3 cup chopped

Chop the onion finely, preferably using a food processor. Chop garlic, ginger and green chillies together in the food processor. Heat up oil in a big frying pan and toast the cashew nuts and raisins. Remove them from the oil and add the fish pieces. Fry the fish 4 to 5 minutes on both sides until the outside is a bit crispy. If the pan is small, do it in batches to avoid overcrowding the pan. Remove the fish from the pan and keep aside. Add chopped onions to the same pan. Sauté the onion until it is translucent and lightly golden. Now add garlic, ginger, green chilli mix and cook for 5-6 minutes until the raw smell disappears. Add coriander powder, paprika and turmeric powder and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add yogurt and cook on a medium high flame until all the water from the yogurt evaporates. Powder poppy seeds and fennel seeds using a coffee grinder and add it to the pan. Add garam masala and salt. Stir well and add the tomatoes. Cook until tomatoes are soft. Mash the tomatoes using the back of the spoon. Add the fried fish pieces and mix well. Cover the pan and simmer for 30 minutes. Stir occasionally. The fish pieces tend to break apart when you stir, so stir very gently. After 30 minutes, add cilantro and mint leaves. Cook for another 5 minutes and remove from the stove.

For the rice:
Basmati rice – 2 cups
Cinnamon – 1 inch piece
Cloves – 6
Bay leaves – 2
Cardamom – 4
Lemon juice - 1tsp
Salt

Wash the rice and soak for 25 to 30 minutes. Drain.
In a big pan, bring 3 ¾ cups of water to a boil. Add the spices, lemon juice, salt and the rice. Stir gently and bring it to another boil. Once it comes to a boil, cover the pan partially and cook on a very low flame for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, turn off the stove, and cover the pan completely. Let it rest for 10 more minutes. Then open the pan, and gently separate the rice using a fork.

The grand finale!
Preheat the oven to 300 degree.
If you have an oven stone, keep it at the center of the oven.
Take an oven proof container and add half of the fish masala to it. Spread it evenly and add a layer of rice. Add the rest of the masala and rice evenly. Sprinkle the cashews and raisins on top. Cover the container tightly and place it on the oven stone. Bake it for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, you can turn off the oven, but let the biriyani rest there for another 30 minutes.

Garnish with fried onions and serve with raita, salad, papadam, inji curry, pickle etc…

Here is my recipe for mutton biriyani.

Also check out Sarah's Kerala Fish Biriyani, Priya's Kuska Biriyani, Gini's Mutton Biriyani, Sumitha's Chicken Biriyani, Kay's Chicken Biriyani, and indiandoc's Malabar Meen Biriyani.

This is my entry for Paz's From My Rasoi #6 - For the Love of Rice

Idli & Sambar

All of us can agree that idlis are the best breakfast. You can even feed it to a baby who just started on solid foods. Idlis are very easy to make. You can refrigerate the batter for 2 to 3 days, and cook as you need. Chutneys, dry spicy powders, or sambar are the best accompaniment for idlies.
I think each family has their own recipe for idlies. Here is my family’s favorite!

Long grain rice – 1 ½ cups
Parboiled rice – ½ cup
Urad dal – ½ cup
Fenugreek seeds – ½ tsp

Wash and soak the rice for 6 hrs or overnight. Wash and soak the urad dal and methi seeds in a separate bowl. Grind the urad dal+ methi seeds to a smooth consistency. Grind the rice. Mix both together and add salt. Mix again and keep it in a warm place to ferment. I keep it inside the oven with the oven light on. It might take 6 to 8 hrs to ferment. When the batter is ready, you can pour into idli moulds and steam cook. Now the sambar. Just like idlies, I think the sambar recipe varies from kitchen to kitchen. I usally make a one pot sambar- I cook dal with turmeric, onion, green chillies and salt. When the dal is cooked, mash it and add the tamarind water, vegetables, and the sambar powder, and cook until the vegetables are done. Finally add tadka. This time I tried Indira's 3 step sambar. Pressure cook dal, mash it and keep aside. Cook the vegetable with all the seasonings. Mix dal with vegetables, add tamarind juice, and simmer.

Check out this fried idlis & idli upma made with leftover idlies.
Wow! Look at these colorful idlies!
Don't you love this idea of 1o minute sambar?

Enjoy!!

10 Things I Miss Of Mom's Cooking Meme

BDSN, Priya, and Aparna, it was so nice of you guys to tag me to this meme.
This is tough. I miss almost everything my mom used to feed me. When I first saw this meme, I thought about a few items that I miss of my mom’s cooking. But now when I sat down to write, it is another 10 things. If you ask me tomorrow, I think it is going to be another 10 things! I miss almost everything…...

Pavakka(bittergourd) theeyal
Fish curry with raw mangoes
Shrimp and drumstick curry
Shrimp pickle, and all other pickles
Semiya payasam
Beef fry
Chicken curry
Chutneys – mango, mint, dried shrimps etc.
moru curry
After school snacks

I think most of you have played this game already. So……….
Sarah(Immigrant recipes), Shaheen(Malabar Spices), indianadoc, and Bittu’s mama, it’s your turn!!

Parippu Usili

Inspired by: Mahanandi, Taste corner, Saffronhut, Food in the main, Sugar & Spice, Menu Today………A lot of inspiration there! Parippu usili is a stranger to me; I have never seen or tasted it before. I saw a lot of bloggers blogged about parippu usili, but never thought I would try it out until I see this picture. I think I saw this picture while I was hungry, so it went directly to the top of my must try list. This is a very simple dish. All the ingredients needed should be readily available in any Indian kitchen. So I had no obstacle on the way. Most of the times, the recipes on my must try list stay there with one or other ingredient missing. Almost all of the above mentioned bloggers have posted their detailed recipes. This is how I made it.

Soak ¼ cup chana dal plus ¼ cup toor dal for at least 2 hrs. Grind it coarsely with a couple of red chillies and salt in a food processor without any water. I overlooked turmeric, most recipes have it.

Steam cook the ground dal mix. I spread the mixture in the pressure cooker plates and steamed it in the cooker for 12 minutes without the weight on. Alternatively, you may nuke this mixture until done. Details here.
Let it cool completely and crumble the mixture using your hands.
Heat a tbsp of oil and fry this mixtire until it is dry. It is advised in some recipes that we use a non-stick pan for frying this. I don’t use non-stick cookware, so I fried in a very heavy bottomed stainless steel pan. Initially it was sticking to the bottom, and I was disappointed. I consoled myself that my grandmother didn’t have non-stick pans, and she was and is a great cook. But when the mixture got dry, it stopped sticking to the pan. I could fry it nicely.

Usili mix pictures posted by other bloggers seem to have a very coarse texture, mine turned out most like a powder(which reminded me of my first attempt at mysore pak. It turned out powdery exactly like the texture of this usili mix!). I think I ground the usili mix nicely instead of coarsely! Next time I will be careful.


Heat up another pan and add 1 tsp oil.
Add tadka – mustard seeds, cumin seeds, red chillies, curry leaves.
Add chopped vegetables and salt – cabbage and green beans are what I used.
Cook for 5 to 10 minutes with occasional stirring.
Add the usili/dal powder mix and cook for another 5 minutes.
Protein packed side dish is ready to serve.
Serve with rice and rasam.

Zucchini Bread

Do you watch Paula's Home Cooking? She is one of my favorites. This is her recipe for Zucchini Bread. Her original recipe makes two loaves of bread, but I halved it because I only have one loaf pan. Also, I didn't want to make a lot since it was my first attempt. The bread came out good. With a cup of hot milk or tea, it was wonderful for a breakfast.

3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs, beaten
1/3 cup water
2 cups grated zucchini
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, nutmeg, baking soda, cinnamon and sugar. In a separate bowl, combine oil, eggs, water, zucchini and lemon juice. Mix wet ingredients into dry, add nuts and fold in. Bake in 2 standard loaf pans, sprayed with nonstick spray, for 1 hour, or until a tester comes out clean. Alternately, bake in 5 mini loaf pans for about 45 minutes.

Mistress of Spices!

The deadline for Mythili's Mistress of Spice event is over, but I wanted to do this.

I couldn’t make it on time, so in order to pay off, let me pick the world’s most expensive spice... Saffron!

Saffron is known as Zaffran in Hindi, and Kunkumapoo in Tamil & Malayalam. Botanical name is Crocus sativus L.

Saffron is a native of Southern Europe and cultivated in Mediterranean countries, particularly in Spain, Austria, France, Greece, England, Turkey, Iran. In India, it is cultivated in Jammu & Kashmir and in Himachal Pradesh.

Saffron is dried stigmas of crocus sativus flowers, a small perennial plant about a foot tall. Each crocus has three female parts (stigmas), and two male parts (stamen). Each stigma is threadlike in appearance and is red or dark red in color towards the top and yellow towards the bottom of the stigma, where it is attached to the flower.

Saffron is used as a spice/culinary seasoning and a coloring agent for many centuries and has numerous medicinal properties. Saffron is also used as a perfume in cosmetics. In medicine saffron is used in fevers, melancholia, and enlargement of liver and spleen. In Ayurvedic medicine it is used to heal arthritis, impotence and infertility. It has wide range of uses in Chinese and Tibetan medicines. To read about more of its uses, click here.

Saffron can be stored for several years and will retain its potency if stored properly.

Most of the information is directly from the internet, and the pictures are from Google images.

Aebleskiver Pan!!

Look what I got! Adding another jewel to my collection.
Aebleskiver Pan!! Yeah, our own unniyappa chatti or paniyaram pan. Those two little black things are handle mitts from Lodge. I ordered them just to make my order worth $25 so that I can get free super saver shipping. But I think I will be using them a lot. Otherwise also it would have been the same amount including shipping. :)

My little one wouldn't take her hands off of this pan while I was clicking the pictures. Of the 7 pictures I clicked, I have her hands on 6 of them. I thought that was cute. Maybe she was just trying to figure out what mommy got in the box. She even tried to lift this heavy pan with her little hands. But gave up after a few trials.

Strawberry Salsa!!

Fresh strawberries are mixed with traditional salsa ingredients such as onions, peppers, cilantro etc. This fresh tasting and colorful salsa is so delicious. Strawberry salsa can be served right away or you may refrigerate overnight to blend the flavors. Serve with grilled chicken or fish, or as an appetizer with chips.

Strawberries, chopped – 1 cup
Red onion, chopped – ¼ cup
Jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped – 1
Cilantro, finely chopped – 1 tbsp
Orange juice – 1 tbsp
Lemon juice – ½ tbsp
Extra virgin olive oil(don't substitute) – 1 tbsp
Salt – to taste
Black pepper powder – to taste

Mix all the ingredients together and serve it with chips.


This is my entry for: