Dry Coconut Chutney (Chammanthi Podi)

This used to be my hostel food, and every time I pack my bags it contained a bottle of pickle and a bottle of Chammanthi podi. My whole family love this and it is a back up when u run out of time to make curries for rice/dosa.  I should admit it takes a lot of time and energy.  I used three coconuts and i ended u with a small jar of coconut powder.I had to roast them for more than an hour or so.
The advantage is it stays good for a long time and lasts long and even better, everyone loves it.

Ingredients:

Grated coconut,  - 1 Coconuts
Sliced ginger - 1/2 cup  
Tamarind  - a small ball
Red dry chillies  -10 no (cut into half's) 
Curry leaves - the more the better
Salt - to taste 

Method:

*Grate the fresh Coconut.
*Roast coconut with red chillies, ginger, curry leaves, Salt in a pan until golden brown with continuous stirring.
*Towards the end add a little bit of tamarind.
*Grind all the above ingredients to a powder.



Beans Thoran

Beans Thoran is a healthy side dish that serves as a delicious accompaniment to almost any Indian meal that can be made in minutes if you have the grated coconut.I used Inchapayar here, and can be used with any beans.

Ingredients:
250gm Beans, finely chopped
1 medium sized Onions, finely chopped
3 Green chillies chopped
half Cup Coconut, grated
1/4th tsp Turmeric powder
3 tsp Oil
Curry leaves
1 tsp Mustard seeds
Salt as required

Method:
*Mix Beans, Onions, Green Chilli, Grated coconut, salt and turmeric powder.
*Heat oil using kadai or a pan.
*Splutter mustard seeds and curry leaves.
*Add the beans-coconut mixture and mix well.
*Sprinkle a little water and cover the pan with lid, keep on simmer for 5 min.
*Remove the lid and mix well.
Keep it on flame till done.

Carrot Juice- For the love of carrot

Carrot juice is a very healthy juice which is high in beta-carotene. Initially I did not like the flavour much, but now being a constant user this has become one of my favourites.

Ingredients

Carrots – 3 nos.
Ginger – 1 small piece
Honey – 2 Tbsp
Lime juice - 1 tbsp
Water

Method

*Grind the cut, washed, scraped carrots along with Ginger and enough water in a blender.
*Strain the juice to remove the lumps.
*Add honey and lime juice, Mix well.

Chicken Fried Rice with vegetables

Ingredients:

Basmati rice- 2 cups
finely chopped ginger
finely chopped garlic
chopped Carrot-1/2 cup
chopped beans-1/2 cup
chopped green peas-1/2 cup
chopped cabbage-1/4 cup
Onion- 1/4 cup
spring onions-chopped fine
chicken-1/2 cup
soya sauce -2 tsp
chilli sauce- 1 tsp
Black pepper powder- 1/4 tsp
salt
oil

Method:
1. Cook rice to three fourth with Salt and keep aside.( You can either cook rice with plenty of water and drain them into a colander or cook with just enough water to cook the rice.
Each cooked rice should be well separated and fluffy.For basmati Rice use 1.5 cups of water for each cup of rice and If you are using Sona masoori rice, use 2 cups of water for each cup of rice.
Let this cool completely once it is cooked.I used basmati rice)
2.Scramble Eggs:Heat up wok or large saute pan . Add eggs and scramble fry them and keep it aside.
3. Chicken: Clean the chicken and chop it into small pieces.Marinate the chicken with salt and pepper.Heat oil in a skillet and add the chicken pieces. Add some soy sauce and cook the chicken on medium heat till it becomes tender.
4. Fry vegetables: Heat the oil in a pan and saute the ginger, garlic and fry till the raw smell goes off.
5. Add all the diced vegetables and cook them .Add in the sliced chicken pieces and scrambled eggs.Fry till they are crispy and cooked. Add the chopped spring onion.
Add Soy sauce, Chili sauce, Salt and Pepper, Saute it for 1 or 2 minutes.
Sprinkle a pinch of ajinomoto for more taste. (optional- I did not)
6.Finally add cooked Rice and mix everything gently till the rice is evenly coated with the sauces and vegetables. Fry the rice on medium-high for another few minutes. sprinkle some more pepper powder and salt according to your taste. Garnish with  green spring onions. The Fried Rice is ready to be served hot.
Note

* you can fry the rice in oil/ghee before you pour the water. I skipped this step to reduce the amount of oil/calorie.
* Ajinomoto can give a nice flavour and taste, but as I am unsure of its health profile i skipped that as well.
* Always try adjusting the salt at the end when you make a Chinese item, as the sauces contain some amount of salt in itself.

Uzhunnu Vada

I wanted to try making uzhunnu vada.I browsed the method in Internet and tried following the same way.Everything was easy except for making the hole to make the vada look like a doughnut
 and somehow I managed to make it somewhat okay after few vadas. My vada was tasty and looked average for a beginner and I should say my hubby has been my Guru in the making of this vada.
Its not because he knows how to make it, but he did give me a lot of suggestions on making the vada, especially on how to make the hole.  All ideas were not good, but it helped me.and he wants me to give him the credit he deserves :-)

Ingredients :

Urad Dal - 2 cups
Big Onion chopped - 1/4 cup
Green chillies - 4
Curry leaves - A few
Black Pepper Corns - 1 tbsp
Ginger - 1 inch piece
Salt Oil

Method:

*Soak urad dal in water for few hours.
*Grind the soaked dal without water and make a smooth thick paste.
*Add chopped ginger, green chillies, onion, curry leaves, whole black pepper corns, and salt and mix well.
*Wet your hand and place a small ball of the batter .Press it down with the fingers of your other hand and make a hole in the middle of it.
*Heat the oil in a wok and drop the ball with a small hole into it and fry it until it becomes golden brown.

Vattayappam / Steamed Kerala Rice Bread

Vattayappam is basically a soft  Rice Bread made with Rice and Coconut.I can say this is a traditional recipe followed all year around in almost all Christian homes of Kerala including mine.

Raw white rice – 2 cups
Grated fresh coconut – 1 cup
Sugar – ¾ cup
Cooked Rice ( Preferably Rose matta- Optional) - ½ cup
Yeast – 1 teaspoon
Water – ½ cup
Cardamom powder – ½ teaspoon (optional)
Salt – a pinch or two
Raisins – for garnishing

Method:

*Soak the white rice in water for about 5-6 hours and drain them
*Grind the rice to a fine paste.

*Take a table spoon of this paste and heat it in medium flame along with bit of water to get a starchy paste called the "kappi".
*Add in the coconut and cooked rice to the grinder and grind them as well

* Prepare Yeast: Add Yeast to luke warm water with a teaspoon sugar and lmix well. let it stand for a minute.  *Transfer to a pot and add sugar and "Kappi", yeast, salt & cardamom powder (if you are using it).The batter should not be very watery; preferably it should have the idly batter consistency.
*Keep this batter over night.
*Check for the sugar and cardamom powder (I prefer w/o cardomom)
*Grease a flat shallow round pan and pour the batter into it half way.(It raises on steaming)
*Garnish it with  raisins or cashew nuts or both. (optional)
*Steam for about 15-20 minutes, take it out from the steamer.Allow it to cool in the pan for about 10 min and loosen the sides with a knife, then gently take it out and cut it into pieces.  (I dint have the patience and cut it immediately so the sides are not even.)

Pancit/pansit

I had a chance to attend a Filipino Gathering and I came across this Filipino noodles, staple dish of the Philippines.A friendly lady I met there told me the name of that noodles is Pancit and the dish looked fancy as the name sounded. Pancit/pansit, is a quick-cooked rice noodle dish stir-fried with meat/fish and vegetables and is one of the essential meals of Filipino cuisine.Pancit tastes better when lemon is squeezed over it before eating.
I tried an easy Pancit recipe from Internet and It came out good. So I thought I will share this with you.
Usually they use the shredded chicken (or other meat), but I used the Shrimp as a substitute.

Ingredients

Pancit noodles
Shrimp fried
2 cups of chicken broth
Vegetables: cabbage, sliced into strips
onion, pealed and sliced
carrot, sliced into strips
Broccoli florets cut into small pieces
3 cloves of garlic, crushed and minced
2 tablespoons of cooking oil
3 tablespoons soy sauce
Salt and pepper to taste
1 lemon, sliced

Method:

*Soak the pancit noodles to soften for few minutes in very Hot water. Separate the noodle strands and then drain and set aside.
*Saute garlic and onion. Stir-fry until translucent. Remove and set aside.
*In a heated wok, separately stir-fry: carrot,Broccoli and cabbage until crisp-tender. Remove and set aside.
*Stir-fry  shrimp with some salt and pepper.Remove and set aside.
*Add noodles to the wok. Season with soy sauce, salt and black pepper.
*Add chicken stock if desired i.e if noodles seem dry. Stir constantly, scooping from bottom to top and until liquid has been absorbed.
*Add vegetable mixture, fried shrimp and Sprinkle garlic/onion mixture. Turn heat off and cover with lid for a few minutes, about 5 minutes until noodles are cooked through.
*Adjust Salt and pepper to taste.
*Serve hot with sliced lemon on the side.