Chakka /Jackfruit puzhukku

Jackfruit tree's are found a lot in Kerala and in abundance. The fruit is consumed ripe and unripe.It's seeds are also using in cooking. When ripe it's very sweet and delicious.In kerala,the ripe fruit is used to make sweet treats like, Chakka Pradaman (pudding /payasam), Chakka Varatti(Jackfruit jam)....etc.
Unripe jackfruit is cooked as a vegetable.Chakka puzhukku is one way of preparing unripe jackfruit. Jackfruit is known as Chakka in malayalam.



Ingredients

250 gm - Unripe raw jack fruit pieces
1/4 tsp - Red chilli powder
1/4 tsp - Turmeric powder
salt

Coarsely grind
1/2 cup - Grated coconut
1 - Green chilli
1 - Shallot
1/4 tsp - Jeera / Cumin
Small piece of ginger

Seasoning
1 tsp - Mustard
Curry leaves

Method

1 ) Cook jackfruit pieces in water with red chilli powder, turmeric powder and salt till done. Mash a bit of the cooked jackfruit with spoon.
2 ) Add the coarsely ground ingredients to the cooked jackfruit. Mix well and add some water to loosen up the mixture. Add salt as required.Cook for 2 minutes.
3 ) Season with mustard and curry leaves.

Serve as a side dish with rice.

Vellarikka / Cucumber Pachadi

Ingredients

Vellarikka or Cucumber / English cucumber
To grind to a paste

3- Green chili

small piece - Ginger
1/2 tsp - Mustard
1 cup - Grated Coconut
2 cups - Thick creamy yogurt (medium sour)
Salt to taste

Seasoning

1 tsp - Mustard
Curry leaves
2- whole dry red chili
Oil

Method
1 ) Peel the skin & remove seeds off the cucumber and cut into small pieces.

2 ) Cook cucumber with one to two table spoon of water and salt, covered on a low heat, till cucumber is cooked. Take off the stove. Drain off any excess water.

3 ) Grind coconut, ginger & green chili. Then add mustard and pulse for two to three times. Add little yogurt to grind to a smooth paste. Whip rest of the yogurt and set aside.

4 ) Add the ground mixture to the cooked cucumber, place on stove and just bring to a boil. Take off stove and cool.

5 ) Add whipped yogurt to the cooled cucumber pachadi and mix well. Adjust salt to taste.

6 ) Season with mustard, curry leaves and whole red chili.

Cucumber pachadi is mild in spices and not very spicy. Serve it as a side dish with rice.Yogurt made with whole milk, with all the cream, gives a delicious creamy taste to this dish. This will make a good addition to Onam sadhya.

kappa meen puzhukku - Tapioca with Fish

Tapioca, cassava or yuca is known as kappa in Malayalam.Kappa is a popular stable food in kerala.It's a tuberous root, which is starchy and rich in carbohydrates. Also reasonably rich in calcium and vitamin C.
This is a recipe with kappa and fish. Usually it's cooked with fresh fish like sardine or mackerel by my mother. I have tried this recipe with salmon. It tastes equally good, but would always prefer sardine or mackerel.

Ingredients

500 gm - Tapioca
500 gm - Fresh Fish or 1 can of salmon

(If fresh fish is used, cook fish in little water, with little turmeric powder and salt.De bone it.

Coarsely grind

1 cup - Grated coconut
2 - Green chilli
1 inch piece - Ginger
3 flakes - Garlic
1 - Shallot
1/2 tsp - Jeera
1/2 tsp - Turmeric powder
1/2 tsp - Red chilli powder

Seasoning

1 tsp - Mustard
Curry leaves
Coconut oil / Sesame oil

Method

1 ) Peel the skin off the tapioca and diced it into medium size chunks.
2 ) In a pot add the tapioca and add enough water to cover the tapioca. Add a little salt and cook till the tapioca is cooked. Do not over cook . Drain excess water,if any.
3 ) Add the cooked fish to the tapioca and mix in well.

4 )In a blender coarsely grind the ingredients listed. Add to the tapioca and fish.Add salt as required.
5 ) Season with mustard and curry leaves.

This is a wholesome meal in itself. Very filling and satisfying.

Beauty Tips and Remedies

Natural ingredients like fruits and vegetables can become a good beauty remedy. When you can get natural beauty remedies,right from your kitchen...why not give it a try ?

1 ) For improving hair - Mix one egg with yogurt,apply onto hair.Keep for 20 minutes and rinse.

2 ) To get rid of dandruff - Mix One egg, 2 tbsp - yogurt and 1/2 tsp lemon juice.Make a paste and apply to the hair and scalp. Keep for half an hour before shampooing.

3 ) For dandruff - Warm Almond oil or Olive oil or Coconut oil and mix with 1/4 th part lime juice and a pinch of black pepper powder and apply to scalp. Shampoo after one hour.

4 ) Warm almond oil and apply to the hair and scalp,massage the head.

5 ) To cleanse, moisture and condition the hair and scalp - Take 1 part vinegar (apple cider vinegar, optional) and 3 parts water. Rinse hair & scalp with this mixture.
Vinegar maintains moisture level, conditions hair and cleanses scalp.

6 ) Mint paste for pimples - Few mint leaves, few drops of lime juice and little oats powder. Make a paste and apply to the area. Let the paste dry and then rinse off.

7 ) For Pimples - Take tamarind paste, 2 drops lime juice, oats powder and channa flour.Make a paste and apply to the area. Rinse when it drys.

8 ) Rosemary oil - Rub a few drops of rosemary oil daily to your scalp. Rosemary oil is highly beneficial in revitalising,stimulating and conditioning the hair. It prevents dandruff forming, encourages new hair growth and improves scalp circulation.

9 ) Henna - has medicinal properties.Using henna leaves or powder for hair and scalp helps to improve hair growth and have a healthy scalp. But before using, test to see if you are allergic to henna.
Make a thick paste of henna leaves or powder, with amla (gooseberry) powder, lime juice, butter milk and apply to the hair and scalp. keep for 1 to 2 hours and wash.

10 ) To color the hair the natural way, henna can be used. You will get a deep reddish tint for a natural black hair person and the grey hair will turn reddish. Use tea decoction, to the above henna preparation and then apply to the hair.The paste has to be very thick.Coffee decoction can be used instead of tea.With tea decoction you will get more reddish colour than with coffee. Coffee will not change the natural colour of the hair. Apply henna to the hair and keep for more than 2 hours. More the duration you keep, deeper the colour you get. Wash hair with water. Do not apply shampoo with this wash. Oil hair and next day shampoo and condition hair.

11 ) Fenugreek - Paste of fenugreek powder applied to scalp helps to get rid of dandruff . Add fenugreek powder along with henna preparation to apply to the hair.

12 ) Papaya - Use ripe papaya pulp on face. Apply a thin paste on face and let it dry. Wash with water. Makes skin soft and bright.

13 ) Lemon / Lime - Juice of lime / lemon has bleaching effect. Apply on face, hand and rinse once dry.

14 ) Tamarind and curds / yogurt - Make a thick paste of tamarind and curds and apply on the face. Rinse once dry. Good to get rid of black / white heads. Face will brightened up with regular use.

15 ) Coconut hair oil - Heat coconut oil, curry leaves and shallots till curry leaves and shallots have browned. Cool & strain the oil. Good for healthy hair growth.

16 ) Coconut pepper hair oil - Heat coconut oil with black pepper. Cool and store. Apply to hair, massage and shampoo after 10 -15 minutes.

17 ) For facial hair - Mix Tomato and lemon juice, apply on face and keep for 20 minutes on the face and then wash. Do daily for results. It turns facial hair brownish.

• A mixture of rose water, besan, turmeric powder - mix and use this to rub the face. Do daily for good results

18 ) To remove blackness from the face - Wash face with buttermilk. Dip cotton in buttermilk and rub the face, then wash the face with cold water.

19 ) To make your hair shine - Use one beaten egg and juice of one lemon. Mix and apply to the hair.

• Use 70 ml Brandy, 70 ml warm water, 2 egg yolks - Mix all and massage into the hair. Leave it in hair for 10 minutes and then rinse.

20) For splitting hair - Use 2 tbsp almond oil, 1 tsp honey, 1 egg yolk - mix and apply on the hair for not more than 30 minutes.

21) Adding one teaspoon of honey to your bath water will rejuvenate, smoothen, soften and moisturise the skin.

22) For Dark circles - Mix lemon juice and tomato juice. Apply around the eyes. Works instantly.

23) Mix honey and powdered oats, apply on face. Leave it for sometimes and then scrub it off.

Fried Channa dal with Paneer

Ingredients

1.5 cup - Channa dal/Bengal gram dal
200 gram - Paneer,cut into cubes
1 medium size - Onion, chopped small
2 medium size - Tomatoes, quartered
2 pieces - Cinnamon
2 - Black cardamoms
4 - Cloves
2 - Bay leaves
1 - Whole red chilli
1/2 tsp - Turmeric powder
1 tsp - Red chilli powder
1 - inch piece - Ginger
3 flakes - Garlic (grind ginger & garlic to a paste)

250 ml - water ( 1 2/3 cup )

Corn oil

Salt to taste

Garnish

Few sprigs coriander leaves, chopped

Method

1 ) Wash Channa dal and soak for 2 hours. Fry the cubed paneer to golden brown colour.
2 ) Heat oil in pan and fry onions till light brown in colour.
3) Add ginger-garlic paste, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, bay leaves and whole chilli and stir fry for a minute.
4 ) Add tomatoes and keep frying till oil separates.
5 ) Add Channa dal, salt, chilli & turmeric powder and fry for 5 - 7 minutes.
6 ) Add water, close the lid and cook on medium heat till Channa is well cooked.
7 ) Add fried paneer to the cooked dal.
Garnish with coriander leaves and serve..........enjoy this delicious curry with rice or roti.

Cooking Tips

Here are some cooking tips, picked up along the way of perfecting and learning cooking. Possibly, might come in handy.

A well balanced meal will comprise of carbohydrates, proteins, fats, essential vitamins & minerals.
Source of protein, that we get from food are from meat, fish, poultry, lentils....etc. Vitamins & minerals from green leafy vegetables like Spinach, Cabbage, fresh vegetables like carrot, beans, cauliflower, peas and fruits. Fish is a good source for Omega-3 Fatty Acids.

Now on to some cooking tips...........

1 ) If Basmati rice is over cooked and soggy,add a teaspoon ghee / butter. The grains will separate.
Or Drain all the water using a colander, pour cold water all over the hot cooked rice and drain well.

2 ) To prevent eyes from watering when cutting onions, cut onion in half and soak halves in water for 5- 10 minutes.
Or Chew a gum while cutting onion.

3 )To peel the skin off the tomatoes...put the tomatoes in boiling water for 2 minutes and then in icy cold water. Peel comes off easy.

4 ) Soak potatoes for an hour in water before cooking to reduce cooking time by half.

5) Soak lentils/dal for an hour in water,before cooking....will cook faster.

6) Do not soak vegetables in water before cooking. This causes loss of vitamins and minerals.

7 ) Do not add baking soda, when cooking green vegetables. It keeps them green but destroys their vitamin contents.

8 ) Avoid any delay between peeling,chopping and cooking.

9 )Pappad can be cooked in microwave without any oil. Place pappad on a paper towel and cook for 1 minute. Depends on the microwave for cooking time.

10 ) If rice dishes, like fried rice, pulao ... turns out very spicy. To reduce spice level, add lime juice liberally. It will reduce the burning hot level to certain extent.

11 ) To identify and buy fresh prawns, check the head part of the prawns /shrimp. If it's clear white, without any coloration, then it's fresh. If it's not white and has orange or blackish color, then its been sitting on ice for a long time.

12 ) To ripen raw green plantains, place then in a bag of uncooked rice and cover with the rice. It will take a few days to ripen. You can try same method with other fruits like mango.

13 ) To clean Mushroom : Mix a spoonful of cornflour in water and wash mushroom with this. This will remove all the surface mud.

Eggplant & Capsicum with Paneer

Ingredients

500 gm - Eggplant, cut into cubes
2 - Green Capsicum, chopped
3 - Tomatoes, quartered
50 gm - Paneer,cubed
1 medium size - Onion, chopped
1 tbsp - Garlic - ginger paste
1 tsp - Red chilli powder
1/2 tsp - Turmeric powder
1 tsp - Garam masala powder
salt to taste
Corn oil

Garnish

1 cup - Corinader leaves, chopped

Method

1 ) In a non-stick pan, fry paneer cubes, till golden in colour. Drain and set aside.

2 ) In the same oil, add onions and saute until lightly brown. Add garlic - ginger, chilli powder, turmeric powder, garam masala powder and saute for 2 minutes.

3 ) Add eggplant, capsicum, tomatoes, cover and cook over low heat for 10 to 15 minutes. Sprinkle little water, if too dry. Add salt to taste.

4 ) Add paneer and cook for 2 minutes more. Garnish with coriander leaves.

Serve with roti.

About Paneer

Paneer is high in protein.It's a type of soft cheese,used in Indian cooking. Food prepared with paneer is very delicious. Paneer is made out of fresh whole milk,which is boiled and curdled with a little of lemon juice or vinegar. Then the content is drained into a muslin cloth, excess liquid is squeezed out and is placed under a heavy pan or any heavy flat material. After one hours or so after the paneer is formed,it is ready to be used. Whatever remaining unused paneer can be stored in a refrigerator.
Ready made paneer is available in Indian stores.

Glossary Of Ingredients

• Almond

Hindi - Badam , Bengali - Badam, Assamese - Badam, Oriya - Badaam, Marathi - Badam, Gujarati - Badam, Tamil - ( Badaam, Vadhumai), Malayalam - Badam, Telugu - Badam, Kannada - Badami

• Aniseed

Hindi - Saunf, Bengali - Mowri, Assamese - Guwamori, Oriya - Panamahuri, Marathi - Badishep, Gujarati - Variyali, Tamil - ( Sombu, Perumjeerakam ), Malayalam -Perumjeerakam, Telugu - Sopuginja, Kannada - Sopubeeja

• Asafoetida

Hindi - Hing , Bengali - Hing , Assamese - Hing, Oriya - Hengu, Marathi - Hing, Gujarati - Hing, Tamil - Perungaayam , Malayalam - Kaayam, Telugu - Inguva, Kannada - Hingu

• Amaranth

Hindi - Chaulai

Nenthra Kaya & Pazham Recipes

Nenthra Kaya as is known in Malayalam, is the raw green plantain. Good source of fibre, potassium, vitamin C, contains no cholesterol and is low in sodium.
The raw plantain is cooked as a vegetable, which is very nutritious. Here is a simple recipe.

Nenthra Kaya Mezhukkupuratti / Upperi - Raw Plantain fry

Ingredients

3 - Raw plantain, cut into 3 parts & chop lengthwise with skin
5 - Green chili, slit in center
1/2 tsp - Turmeric powder
Curry leaves
3 tbsp - Coconut oil
1 cup - water
Salt

Method

1 ) In a pan pour water,add the chopped plantains,turmeric powder,green chili,curry leaves and salt. Cook till plantains are well cooked and all the water is absorbed.
2 ) Add coconut oil and stir.
Serve as a side dish.

When the plantains becomes ripe, then sweet treats can be made of it. Here is a popular snack recipe.

Pazham Pori - Ripe Plantain Fritters

Ingredients

4 - Ripe plantains
1 cup - maida / all purpose flour
1/4 cup - rice flour
3 tbsp - sugar
a pinch of turmeric powder or saffron if you have some
a pinch of salt
oil to fry

Method

1) Peel the skin off the ripe plantain and cut into two parts. Then cut each part into 3- 4 slices,lengthwise.
2 )Mix maida, rice powder(to make it crispy) sugar, turmeric powder and salt. Make a thick batter.
3) Heat oil in a deep frying pan. Dip the sliced plantains in the batter and deep fry till golden brown in colour.

Serve with evening tea.......Its a very popular snack in kerala.

Nadan Mutta Masala Curry - Egg Masala Curry kerala style

Ingredients

4 - eggs
4 - green chili, slit in center
1 inch - ginger, chopped
4 - shallots, diced
1 - tomato, chopped to 4 pieces
1.5 cup - thick coconut milk
2 - cinnamon sticks
4 - cloves
1/2 tsp - turmeric powder
1/2 tsp - red chili powder
1 tsp - coriander powder
1 tsp - mustard seeds
Curry leaves
Sesame oil

Method

1) Boil eggs and take off the shell. Set aside.
2 ) In a wok or kadai, heat oil and add mustard. After mustard pops, add cinnamon and cloves.

3 ) Now add green chili, ginger, shallots and curry leaves and fry till light brown in colour.

4 ) Add turmeric powder, red chili powder and coriander powder. Fry and mix well, then add tomato and fry till tomato is well cooked. Add salt as required.
5 ) Add the thick coconut milk and simmer to a boil. Add the boiled eggs and cook for 2 minutes.
Take off the stove and serve. Serve with Idi appam, Vellayappam or chapathi.
TipInstead of coconut milk, whole milk with cream can be used. But then there is a difference in taste.But it does taste good too.Coconut milk is the best for this recipe. One boiled potato can be included.

Idi Appam

Ingredients

1 cup - Rice flour
1.5 cup - Water
1 tbsp - oil
1 cup - Grated coconut

Salt to taste

Method

1 ) In a pan dry roast the rice flour till light brown in colour. Take off stove and set aside to cool.

2 ) Boil water,salt and oil together.To the boiling water, add rice flour slowly and keep stirring it. Take off the stove and mix the dough very well. Cool for a while and make small balls of the dough.

3 ) To steam idi appam use idli making tray. Grease the idli tray and add a little grated coconut in each mould.Put the dough balls into the idiappam presser and press into the moulds.

4 ) Steam for 5 minutes . Serve with thick coconut milk which is sweetened with sugar or with vegetable stew or kurma or else with Egg masala curry

Idi appam is a popular kerala breakfast. It's great to have for a brunch, on a sunday and enjoy with family.

Idli, Sambar & Chutney

Presenting a delicious South Indian breakfast.....or it could be a snack for you !
Idli is steam cooked. Steaming the batter made from urad dal (black lentil) and rice to a smooth paste and fermented over night. Its often served with chutney, sambar or the idli podi. This is a great breakfast to start off the day. Very filling and satisfying meal.
Ingredients

1.5 cup - Long grain rice

1/2 cup - par-boil rice
1 cups - Urad dal
1/4 cup - cooked rice
Salt to taste

Method

1) Soak separately rice and urad dal in enough water for atleast 6 hours.

2 ) Grind urad dal in a grinder or blender. Add water little at a time and grind to a smooth paste. Add cooked rice when grinding urad dal .

3) Then grind soaked rice to a smooth paste with water. Mix all the paste together in a utensil and add little salt.

4 ) Rest the batter in a warm place to ferment overnight. The fermented batter will rise 2 to 3 times it's original volume.

5 ) Use the fermented batter to steam idli's in a greased molds of an idli tray.

Serve idli with sambar and chutney.

Sambar recipe without the coconut

Ingredients

1/2 cup - Tuvar dal

1/2 tsp - Turmeric powder

Juice extracted from lemon size ball of tamarind

3 tbsp - Sambar powder ( see below for recipe)

Salt as per taste

Vegetables

2 - drumsticks

6 - lady's finger

2 - brinjals

For Seasoning

1 tsp - mustard seeds

1/2 tsp - Asafoetida

Sesame oil

For garnishing

A few coriander leaves and curry leaves

Ingredients for sambar powder

10 - whole red chilli

1/2 tsp - fenugreek seeds

2 tbsp - coriander seeds

1/2 tsp - asafoetida

1 tsp - Channa dal / bengal gram

1 tsp - Urad dal

Roast all the ingredients together and grind to a fine powder. Store and use as per use.

Method to make sambar

1 ) Pressure cook dal with turmeric powder till done. Mash well and add chopped vegetables. Add salt and let it simmer.

2 ) When the vegetables are almost done add the tamarind juice. Add the sambar powder,when it begins to boil .

3 ) Meanwhile, heat oil and add mustard and asafoetida to it. When seeds begin to sputter pour over the sambar.

Garnish with coriander and curry leaves. Serve with idli, dosa or rice.

Chutney for idli or dosa

Ingredients

1/2 cup - grated coconut

2 tbsp - channa dal

3 - green chilli, slit in center

5 - curry leaves

3 tbsp - curds

For Seasoning

1 tsp - Mustard

4 - curry leaves

3- whole red chilli

sesame oil

Method

1 ) Heat oil in a pan and fry green chilli's. Then add curry leaves and channa dal and fry channa dal till crisp. Take off stove and cool.

2 ) In a grinder, add grated coconut and the fried ingredients. Grind adding curd to it and a little water to a smooth paste. Pour to a serving dish.

3 ) Heat oil and add mustard, curry leaves and whole red chilli. Pour the seasoning over the chutney and serve with idli.

Murungakai ulli Sambar - Drumstick & Shallot Sambar

Kerala style spicy and delicious Murungakai ulli Sambar - Drumstick and shallot sambar
Ingredients

1 cup - Tuvar dal
2 - Drumstick chopped
10 - shallots ( do not chop- cook as whole)
2 - Tomatoes, cut into 4 pieces
2 - green chilli, slit in center
lime size - Tamarind
one bunch coriander leaves, washed and chopped
Salt

Sambar masala ingredients

1/2 cup - grated coconut
1 tsp - urad dal
1 tsp - channa dal
1 tsp - cumin /jeera
1/2 tsp - fenugreek seeds/ methi
1/2 tsp - asafoetida / hing
4 - pepper corns
2 - garlic flakes chopped
6 - curry leaves
1 tsp - red chilli powder
1/2 tsp - turmeric powder
4 tsp - coriander powder
Sesame oil

Seasoning

1 tsp - mustard seeds
3 whole red chilli
curry leaves

Method

1 ) Cook one cup tuvar dal in enough water. When the dal is half cooked add drumstick,shallots tomatoes,green chilli and salt. Cook till dal and vegetables are well cooked.

2 ) Extract tamarind juice and add to cooked dal and vegetables. Add chopped coriander leaves.

3 ) Meanwhile in a nonstick pan, heat sesame oil, add urad dal,channa dal, jeera, fenugreek,pepper corn,asafoetida , fry for 2 minutes. Cook on low heat.Then add garlic, curry leaves, grated coconut and fry till coconut is light brown in color. Now add chilli powder,turmeric powder and coriander powder. Fry for 2 minutes and take off stove. Cool and grind to a smooth paste.

4 ) Add the ground masala to the cooked dal and vegetables. Add water to get a curry consistency. Add salt as required.

5 ) Season with mustard, red chilli and curry leaves.

Different vegetables can be used to make sambar. The sambar masala ingredients being the same. Coconut gives sambar a delicious taste.There are different ways of making sambar..this is my way. A tasty and nutritious pure vegetarian south Indian dish.