Mulaku Baji Chilly Baji (Kerala style ) മുളക് ബജി

Ingredients 

Baji Mulaku  7 no.s

Besan Flour   1 cup

Rice Flour  2 Tablespoon

Chilli powder 1 Teas[ppm

Turmeric powder 2 pinches

Baking soda 1 pinch (optional)

Hing A pinch

Ayamodakam Ajjwain  as required (optional)

Salt as required

Water  for making the batter - Batter should be thick not watery

Coconut Oil for deep frying

Preparation 

Make a thick batter using besan flour rice powder by adding required water. Add salt chilli powder turmeric powder baking soda and ayamodakam. Mix well. Keep the batter  for sometime to set. Wash the Mulaku ,, pat dry and with a sharp knife make a slit on one side and remove the seeds. keep it aside 

Heat the coconut oil in a kadai. Dip the Mulaku in the batter one by one, let it be well coated, and deep fry it. Fry till both the sides become golden brown color.  Have it hot with your favorite chutney. Also in the same batter you can make potato or cauliflower baji , chop the vegetables and dip in the batter and deep fry it, in the pictures you can find potato and cauliflower baji too along with mulaku baji. for that you can put  chopped corriander leaves too in the batter, for mulaku baji kindly avoid corriander leaves since its not found in traditional recipe.

Some of my friends have complaint that the besan flour makes their stomach upset. My suggestion is to put ajjwain and a pinch of hing asafoetida while making the batter, it will  help to reduce the digestive issues.

In kerala during monsoon, we make hot mulaku baji in the evenings and have it hot with garam chay sitting on the varandha . laid back enjoying the downpour.  Its indeed a nostalgic  thought  for malayalis around the world

ALOE VERA (KATTAARVAZHA) HAIR OIL HOMEMADE

YET ANOTHER GRANDMA’S RECIPE FOR A HEALTHY SHINY THICK DARK HAIR. DIY at home.

Go back to nature whenever you get time and explore the gifts around. Aloe Vera is a wonder herb for skin and hair.
Aloe Vera ( kattarvazha) hair oil preparation at home.

I prepared this when I was in Kerala.

Take fresh Aloe Vera Leaves from the garden.
Cut into small pieces as shown in the pic.
Grind it in a mixer grinder, till you get a green liquid out of it. Strain it with a cotton cloth (extract it properly)and pour the gel In to an iron kadai. Mix the Aloe Vera liquid with the coconut oil .The ratio of aloe vera to the coconut oil should be 2:1 Heat the mixture on the stove on low flame occasionally stirring  the mixture well. Allow it to boil. Wait till you get a solid substance from the oil and Colour of the oil will turn  dark too. Switch it off and let it cool before storing it in a glass bottle.
Benefits:
It can prevent and treat dandruff, itchy scalp, make hair shiny and also promote hair growth.

Ottada

My Grandma's and amma's recipe with a fragrance of banana leaf is here for you all

She used to prepare ottada in the lazy evenings and will serve it with hot black tea. 

It is still fresh in my memory.

INGREDIENTS :

Rice flour -1 cup

Grated coconut -1 cup

Cumin/ jeera

salt

Fresh Plantain Leaves

Make a smooth dough of rice flour pouring boiled water into it. Add in salt and jeera too 

Using the fingers, Spread small rounds of batter on the leaf which is washed and wiped,

Dipping the finger once in a while in water, at the time of flattening the dough, will prevent sticking the dough in hand. I used to observe this tip whenever my amma used to make ada. Then using your fingertips, spread  the dough onto the leaf, flatten it as a thin layer.

Sprinkle grated coconut on this. (you  can add jaggery or sugar purely optional though )

Fold the leaf from one side and put the same on a hot clay tava and roast on both sides till small golden spots appear on both the surfaces.

BANANA CHIPS

Its super easy still some of my friends had requested to post details, so I thought of putting it on my blog, kindly prepare it at home with LOVE at least during vishu and onam instead of buying it,

Strictly use pure coconut oil to get the authentic taste. Also take care to spread it on a newspaper after slicing, otherwise chances are there to get sticky. Two things have to be well taken care of;  Chips should be crispy and yellow in color.

Ingredients 

Nentrakkaya (Raw Kerala Banana )  2kg

Coconut Oil    for deep frying
Water
Salt to taste
Turmeric Powder  2-3 tsp

Method 

Take the plantains and make slits on the green skin vertically with a sharp knife , please make sure not to go too deep and cut the fruit.

After that with your hands, carefully remove the skin. 

(We can keep  the skin aside and prepare a tasty thoran out of it. its a healthy dish.)

In a large vessel take some water and sprinkle turmeric powder. 

Cleaned plantains keep it immersed in water for some time, wash it well and dry them with a clean cotton cloth,

Take the dry banana one by one and slice it thin and spread on newspaper carefully.

In a small bowl take some water to melt about 2 to 3 tsp of salt and mix well and keep aside.

Heat oil in a Kadai for deep frying, (we can keep a small bundle of turmeric powder as kizhi in the oil (its optional) to get the yellow colour)

Once the oil is hot,  slowly add the sliced banana in batches.keep stirring once in a while 

Once you think its crispy, we can make it out from the sound we get,  add salt water, keep stirring continuously.Drain it once the bubbles and sound have almost stopped. then spread it on a tissue paper, Allow it to cool before storing in airtight containers.

                                        POTATO POHA

Ingredients

potato 1 medium sized peeled n cubed

White poha/ Aval /Rice flakes 2cups

Oil

Mustard seeds 1 heaped tea spoon

Green chillies chopped 3

Jeera cumin seeds for seasoning

Red chilly for seasoning

peanuts (2 table spoon optional)

curry leaves a sprig

Turmeric powder 1/2 teaspoon

Lemon juice to taste

corriander leaves for seasoning finely chopped

water 1 cup

Preparation

Take poha in a big strainer vessel, wash and drain. keep it aside (I don't soak) 

Heat oil in a kadai. Add in peanuts and roast till golden brown.Add in mustard, jeera. After  spluttering add in curry leaves, green chilly, red chilly (hing optional) and mix well.

Add in  chopped potato along with water, salt and turmeric powder. Mix well.cover and keep it on a low  flame till potatoes are cooked . 

Once its cooked and not fully dried add in poha and toss  well.( carefully toss otherwise poha will get smashed)

Let it dry and finally garnish it with corrianer leaves and lemon juice

My daughter's favorite tiffin it''s. Aloo poha is a healthy tasty easy to prepare snack and it can be given as a tiffin to school going children and office going husbands :) 

I was in Gujarat when I was carrying my second child. Potato poha is a breakfast dish in Gujarat. I had a craving for this particular food during pregnancy. My husband's friend's wife Kavita used to send me this snack once in a week without fail. So kind of her to do it, i stil remember it with gratitude. That taste never matches with the one i make though.

These lovely plate wooden tray and cute wooden spoons are gift from my friend Jeeva. I just love them. so thought of using it while photographing it :)

Special Cashew nut Payasam

This Cashew nut payasam ,which I first tasted  at our Alumni meet, was soooo delicious and fell in love with it instantly. So I definitely wanted to try this out and waited for a perfect occasion to come and finally made this on my son's birthday. It came out well. Am pretty much sure that this payasam which is thick and creamy in texture will soon be your  favorite too once tasted.

Special thanks to my friend Ajanta for her Recipe and timely guidance :) :)   

Ingredients :
  
Cashew nut                 250 Gm
Jaggery                       600 Gram or according to your taste.
Coconut                      scrapped 3
Ghee                           5- 6Tbsp
Cardamom powder
Cashew nuts and raisins roasted in ghee for decoration.
 
Preparation:

First Grind the cashews till fine and smooth and keep it aside. Melt the Jaggery adding sufficient water.Take out the extract from scrapped coconut. (Rich,creamy first milk should be kept aside for using in the final stage of the process)Then second, third milk also should be kept aside.

Pour ghee (4 Tbsp) in a pan and saute the ground cashews till brown on a low flame.Strain the jaggery syrup and add to it.  Mix well and cook at low heat. Add 2 tbsp ghee ,Stir continuously for about 10 – 15 minutes or until the jaggery is well-coated on the cashew paste. Now add the medium-thick coconut milk (second and third milk). Bring to a boil. keep it in a low flame n stir continuously for 30-40 mnts (This process will help to enhance the taste, texture n color of the payasam). Adjust the consistency according to your preference. Add the thick (first milk) coconut milk. Cook for a minute at low heat, Do not boil.Then switch it off.

Add the cardamom powder, Heat ghee (1-2 Tbsp) in a small pan and roast cashews and raisins and add that to prepared payasam.  Mix well. 

Delicious Kaju  payasam is ready to be served. Enjoy !!!! 

Kerala style Vellayappam

Ingredients :

 
 Raw rice  :2 cups
 Grated fresh coconut :1 1/2 cups
 Fresh  milk :1/2 cup (warm)
 Instant yeast  : 3/4 tsp  
 Sugar : 1 Tbsp
 Salt - to taste
 Cooked Rice :2 Tbsp
 Perum jeerakam (Fennel seeds) -1Tsp(optional)

Preparation : 

Soak raw rice for at least 3 hours. Put the drained rice along with sufficient water into the blender. While grinding, Take out 3 tbsp of coarse rice batter and pour it in a sauce pan along with a little water for kappi kachal process.Keep the pan on a stove and stir it continuously in low flame. Stir till it get thickens, and allow it to cool before adding to the rice batter. To the remaining batter add in grated coconut, cooked rice, sugar, and salt and grind to a smooth batter adding enough water.In the mean time, Mix  sugar and yeast  with fresh warm milk in a glass and keep aside for 10 minutes or until a froth appears on the surface well risen. Pour the same  into the prepared batter in a vessel, sprinkle fennel seeds (1or 2 crushed elaichi  can also be used for a particular aroma) too and  keep it for 3-4 hours or until the batter ferment and rise up.Once the batter is fermented, mix with a ladle and if the batter is very thick you can adjust with water.Place appa chatti over medium heat, and lightly grease it with a clean white cloth dipped in sesame oil. (this step will definitely bring in a different flavor to the appam)  Pour the batter with a ladle and immediately turn and tilt the pan in circle so that the batter spreads in perfect circle.Cover and let it cook for 2 min. Covering with a lid will help the center part to get cooked.

serve hot appams with curry :) 

With the same batter you can  make cute small appams too using unniappam chatti (Aappakkaara),

Kids will like it. During the process you will learn and reflect the meaning of patience too.

Pongala Payasam പൊങ്കാല പായസം

Recipe courtesy :  internet.
pongala payasam is the offering made to Devi.
Pongala is a Hindu religious festival. The name 'Pongala' means 'to boil over' and refers to the ritualistic offering of porridge made of rice, sweet brown molasses, coconuts, nuts and raisins. Generally women devotees participate in this ritual.
please check the link for the details:

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pongala 

 
Ingredients :

White rice ( pachari) - 1cup
Melted Jaggery syrup (concentrated)- 1 1/2 cup
Scraped coconut - 1Cup     
Cashew nuts and Raisins - A handful each
Cardamom powder - 5 ( or as needed )
chukku (dry ginger) powder, Jeera powder -to taste
Small banana(Rasakadali or palayamkodan) sliced (optional)
Ghee - 2 tablespoon


Preparation :

Wash pachari (raw rice)and cook in 6 cup water. Please add 1 tsp ghee to the boiling water.
While cooking keep stirring.
Wait for rice to be cooked ( slightly over cook). Once rice is cooked and begin to dry, add the melted jaggery syrup. Keep stirring well and mixing when you pour the jaggery. Add grated coconut too and mix well. Add in cardomom powder, chukku and jeeraka powder and mix well. Fry cashew nuts and raisins in ghee and pour it over the payasam. Wait till the pongala becomes thick . please note that it will again thicken  before serving, so it is OK if it is not completely dry when you take it off the stove. Garnish it with sliced bananas (purely optional)

This payasam has a unique taste and easy to cook :) prepare the payasam with the devotion and dedication to Amma  and stay blessed :)

Easy snack

Super easy snack from my friend Radha's kitchen.

If you have unexpected guest at home, this instant snack will save you.




Ingredients Needed :

Dosa batter    - 2cup (small)
Besan flour    - 1or2 tablespoon
green chilly    - 2 chopped
Ginger           - small piece (optional)
Curry Leaves
Asafoetida    - a pinch

Preparation :

Please add in besan flour to the left over dosa batter till you get the desired consistency (neither thick nor thin, in between). add in green chilly curry leaves and asafoetida too.

Heat oil in a kadai and deep fry it until golden brown.
Remove it from the oil and drain excess oil on a paper towel.

serve hot with a cup of evening tea :)

Note: if you want the snack in perfect shape please use appa karal. I used normal kadai only.