bonellilou

          We love Kerala food at home, both the husband and I love the Sadya served during Onam, in fact I want to cook a complete sadya, at least once. I don't know when that's going to happen, might be by next Onam, but I do make Kerala dishes once in a while, especially the moru kuzhambu. Olan had been on my do list for a long time, and finally I made it, a couple of weeks back. I don't know why it took me so long to try it, this being such an easy dish, the only major task, might be extracting the coconut milk, even that I wouldn't say is a big task. Anyway, this is a mild stew with pusinikkai or ash gourd/ winter melon and black eyed peas and the seasoning is done with coconut oil which gives a wonderful flavor to the dish. It goes very well with plain rice, but I think it might also taste good with dosas and adais too..

Need To Have

• Ash Gourd/Pusinikkai Pieces - 2 cups
• Black Eyed Peas - 1/4 cup
• Green chillies - 4
• Grated Coconut - 1 cup
• Curry Leaves - 15 to 20
• Coconut Oil - 1 to 2 teaspoons

Method


          Wash, pressure cook the black eyed peas and keep. Cook the ash gourd pieces ( about 1" long and 1/2" thick pieces ) with half the curry leaves, slit green chillies and salt. In the meantime, blend the coconut with 1/2 cup of warm water and extract the first coconut milk, then again blend it with 1 cup of water and squeeze out the second milk and keep. Once the ash gourd pieces are cooked, add the cooked black eyed peas and the second coconut milk and cook for 5 to 7 minutes. Then add the first milk, warm it through and remove.


          Heat the coconut oil, add the remaining curry leaves to it and saute for half a minute, then add it to the cooked olan. Serve it warm with some cooked plain rice and any spicy curry like a potato or colocasia fry.


Note
You can also add some yellow pumpkin/ parangikkai pieces in this dish.

          For the last couple of days, all that was going in my mind was the rains and floods in Chennai, Pondicherry and Cuddalore. Sitting in Bangalore, and trying to reach out to relatives and friends was the only thing I had been doing the past few days and reading and sharing the huge task done by volunteers, in rescuing the affected people to safer places and feeding them as well. It'll take some time for Chennai and the other places to get back to normalcy, but at least for now, the rain has slowed down its pace and the flood waters are receding. So today, to take my mind off a little, from rains and floods, I thought I'll do a post, but it's a simple one, Bread Uttapams.

           For my family, a simple toast with some butter or jelly will not work, once in a while they are okay with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, but they are more the savory kind. Any kind of savory sandwich, like with pesto or guacamole or just even with some thokku or chutney is fine, anything that's not sweet. So when I made this Bread Uttapam for a weekend breakfast, they simply loved it, in fact, they couldn't taste the bread in it. I added some capsicum, onion and tomatoes to the bread batter and made the uttapams, this is a delicious alternative to the regular uttapam made with idli/dosa batter. They come in handy when you don't have idli/dosa batter but you still feel like having some uttapams, serve them with some coconut chutney for a tasty and filling breakfast..

Need To Have

• Bread - 6 slices
• Semolina/ Rava - 6 tablespoons
• Rice Flour - 6 tablespoons
• Curd/Yogurt - 1/2 cup
• Chopped Capsicum - 1/2 cup
• Tomato - 1 medium, chopped
• Onion - 1 medium, chopped
• Cumin Seeds/Jeera - 1/2 teaspoon
• Curry Leaves - 8, torn into pieces
• Chopped Coriander - 2 tablespoons
• Grated Ginger - 1" piece
• Salt to taste

Method


          Tear the bread into small pieces and blend it till it becomes powdery, then add the semolina, curd, rice flour and blend it along with some water ( I used about 1 and 1/4 cup, add as much as you want while blending, remaining you can add after transferring the batter to a bowl ).


          To the ground batter, add the chopped capsicum, cumin seeds, tomatoes, onion, curry leaves, coriander, grated ginger and salt and mix everything together and keep.


          Heat a pan, grease it with some oil, pour a laddle full of batter, spread it very lightly, drizzle some oil, cover and cook for about 2 minutes, till the bottom browns, then flip and cook on the other side ( need not cover now ), till golden brown spots appear. Remove and serve it warm with some coconut chutney.


Note
I have used brown, whole wheat bread, you can use whatever bread you want.
If you like it spicy, you can add some chopped green chillies.
We like this combination of vegetables in our uttapam, you can use only onions, onions and tomatoes and leave out capsicum, or a colorful mixture of different colored bell peppers, or just some onions and grated carrots, everything would taste good.

          Kongu Nadu Keerai, this is a recipe that I had jotted down many years back and I had tried it once then. After that, when I wanted to do it, I thought I had lost the piece of paper, then finally after so many years, I found it back, all neatly jotted down in a notebook. I had taken it from a TV show, and I think it's a kind of spinach preparation done in Kongu Nadu region ( Coimbatore, Erode,Salem, Tiruppur and some more places in Tamilnadu, India belong to this region ). The recipe is very simple and different, it's like a Pachadi kind of dish and it goes very well with plain rice, give it a try next time when you make spinach..

Need To Have

• Chopped Spinach - 5 cups
• Tamarind - small marble size
• Chopped Small Onions - 1/2 cup
• Tomatoes - 2 medium, chopped
• Green Chillies - 2, slit
• Garlic - 3 cloves, smashed and chopped
• Coconut Oil - 1 teaspoon
• Salt to taste

To Powder

• White Sesame Seeds - 2 teaspoons
• Black Peppercorns - 1 teaspoon
• Jeera/Cumin Seeds - 1 teaspoon
• Urad Dal/Husked Black Gram - 2 teaspoons

Method


          Cook the chopped spinach with about 1/2 cup water and salt. Soak the tamarind in 1/4 cup hot water, extract the juice, strain and keep.


          Dry roast all the ingredients given under ' To Powder ', cool and grind it and keep. Chop the onions, garlic, tomatoes, slice the green chillies and keep.


          Once the spinach is cooked, cool it a little, add the tamarind extract, chopped onion, garlic, chillies and tomatoes.


          Add the ground spice powder, mix and using your hands, coarsely mash the spinach, finally add the coconut oil, mix and serve it with hot plain white rice.


Note
When you mash and chop the garlic, it gives more flavor and also use small onions only in this recipe.
Cook the spinach uncovered, so that the green color is retained.

          Today's post is going to be one more dosa, and this time I have used Vella Pusinikkai/ Ash Gourd or Winter Melon to make it. As I have said so many times, we love idlis and dosas at home, and this one again turned out to be really good. To make it a little more healthier, I have used idli rice and jowar ( solam ) in equal proportions. This is not an instant dosa, it needs previous soaking, grinding and then the batter has to be fermented. The dosas came out so soft and spongy like set dosas and they would go very well with coconut chutney, sambar or vada curry..

Need To Have

• Idli Rice - 1 cup
• Whole Jowar/Solam - 1 cup
• Pusinikkai/Ash Gourd Puree - 1 cup
• Green Chillies - 4
• Whole Urad Dal/Husked Black Gram - 2 tablespoons
• Fenugreek Seeds - 1 teaspoon
• Salt - 2 teaspoons

Method


          Wash and soak the rice, jowar, urad dal and fenugreek seeds overnight. Next day morning, grind it with the green chillies into a smooth batter. Make a puree with the ash gourd pieces ( about 1 cup ).


          Add the ash gourd puree to the ground batter along with the salt and mix everything together with your hand, cover and leave it to ferment for about 8 to 10 hours.


          Heat a dosa pan, pour a laddle of batter, spread it as thick or as thin as you want, drizzle some oil all around, cover and cook, till the bottom starts browning, flip and cook the other side and remove.


Note
I have used the mixie/blender for grinding, if making large quantity then you can use the grinder.
I made thick and spongy dosas ( like set dosa ) with the batter, but you can make them thin and crispy too.
The holes that pop up when you pour the dosa batter on the pan, shows that the batter has fermented well, only then the dosas will turn out soft and spongy.
When I say smooth batter, it doesn't mean powdery smooth, it'll still be a little grainy.
After fermentation, the batter will not increase in volume like in the case of regular idli/dosa batter, but you'll still be able to see that it has fermented.

          Though I have posted a couple of brownie recipes in my blog, they all have a cake like texture and I was looking for a chewy one. Even when I tried this recipe from here, I was still not sure, but then it turned out to be rich and chewy and absolutely delicious. This recipe is not only eggless but also with whole wheat flour ( atta ), but nobody can tell from the taste, it's not dense as most whole wheat bakes tend to be. This could be because, this recipe has more cocoa powder than flour and also it uses browned butter, which is actually our Indian ghee, this gives such a delicious flavor to these brownies, do try this method when you make brownies next time..

Need To Have

• Whole Wheat Flour/Atta - 2/3 cup
• Unsweetened Cocoa Powder - 3/4 cup
• Butter - 10 tablespoons
• Granulated Sugar - 1 + 1/4 cup
• Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips - 1/3 cup
• Salt - 1/2 teaspoon
• Baking Powder - 1/2 teaspoon
• Instant Coffee Powder - 1/2 teaspoon
• Chia Seed Powder - 2 tablespoons

Method


          Soak chia seed powder in 6 tablespoons hot water for about 10 minutes. Melt the butter on stove top and keep cooking, till it starts turning brown, then remove it. To the melted butter, add the sugar and mix it well, if the sugar doesn't mix completely, heat it in the microwave and mix it.


          Add the cocoa powder, baking powder, salt and mix it. Add the soaked chia seeds, coffee powder and 6 tablespoons of water, mix, then add the whole wheat flour and mix everything together.


          Finally mix in the chocolate chips, then transfer the mixture in a baking pan, lined with parchment paper. Bake it at 180 C for about 45 minutes. Cool it completely, dice and remove.


Note
The original recipe took only 25 minutes to bake, but it took me about 45 minutes to bake.
Don't skip browning the butter, that gives  a wonderful flavor to these brownies.

          Every time I made pasta at home, I somehow avoided making Alfredo Sauce, even if I did a white sauce, I usually made a healthy version. This time, I was making pasta for lunch, just for my daughter, so I went ahead and made a creamier version, something that was a little closer to the creamy Alfredo sauce. But even so, I can tell you that I have made a healthier version, replaced half of the butter with olive oil and I have not used heavy cream or full cream, but still the sauce turned out very very delicious and my daughter loved it..

Need To Have

• Butter - 1 teaspoon
• Olive Oil - 1 teaspoon
• Garlic - 2 cloves, chopped
• Cream cheese - 1 tablespoon
• Milk - 1/2 cup
• Parmesan Cheese Powder - 1 tablespoon
• Whole Wheat flour - 1 teaspoons
• Dried Basil - 1/2 teaspoon

Method


          Heat the olive oil and butter and add the chopped garlic and saute, but take care that the garlic pieces don't turn brown or golden. Add the cream cheese and mix for half a minute.


          Then add the milk, and using a whisk mix it well. Add the wheat flour and again whisk it to get a smooth mixture, all the while, the heat should be low/medium.


          Add the parmesan powder and keep mixing till the mixture turns slightly thick. Add the dried basil, mix and remove. I served it with farfalle pasta, cooked according to the instructions on the box. Check the salt and serve it over the pasta ( you can use penne, fusili, fettucine or even elbow pasta ) with a dash of black pepper powder.


Note
I actually added 2 teaspoons of wheat flour, but the sauce was very thick, so I have asked you to add only 1 teaspoon.
But if your turns very thick as it cools, you can mix in some milk to thin it out.
I have used 2% milk, you can use whole milk also.
The sauce should be enough for 1 or 2 servings, depending on how big your serving is.
If you can't find cream cheese, then use full cream ( about 1 to 2 tablespoons ).

          After, all the festive food for the last couple of days, most of us should be tired of seeing sweets and snacks, so today's post is going to be a spicy and tangy Thokku/Pickle with Maa Inji/ Mango Ginger. I actually made this some time back, when I had a couple of bags of maa inji, the same time, that I had made the simple pickle with it and the rice. This thokku is again easy to make, and it tastes very good with curd rice, or mixed with some plain white rice, or even as a side to idlis, dosas and rotis..

Need To Have

• Grated Mango Ginger - 1 cup
• Tamarind - small lemon sized ball
• Red Chilly Powder - 3 teaspoons
• Asafoetida - 1/4 teaspoon
• Jaggery Powder - 2 tablespoons
• Fenugreek Seed Powder - 1/4 teaspoon
• Mustard Seeds - 1 teaspoon
• Curry Leaves - 10
• Salt to taste

Original recipe here.

Method


          Peel, wash and grate the maa inji/mango ginger, using a fine grater and keep. Soak the tamarind in 1 cup warm water for 15 to 30 minutes.


          Heat 3 tablespoons of oil, add the mustard seeds, when it starts sputtering, add the curry leaves, followed by the grated mango ginger and saute it for 5 minutes.


          Take the extract from the soaked tamarind, strain and add it to the mango ginger. Add the red chilly powder, asafoetida and salt and cook for 10 minutes on medium/low heat.


          Then add the jaggery, fenugreek powder, mix and keep cooking on low heat for another 20 minutes ( keep stirring in between ). Cool it completely and store it in the refrigerator.


Note
Depending on your spice level and the spiciness of the chilly powder, add more or less of the chilly powder.
Don't omit the jaggery, it brings together the taste, the thokku should have a spicy, tangy taste with a hint of sweetness.