Carrot Egg Moist Cake/Carrot Pola

                     I have always admired the taste and innovations of Malabar dishes.This is one among them.Its really simple,but at the same time loved by everyone.It is a super moist cake which melts in your mouth.A very common delicacy of Malabar.Even the beginners would know to prepare it.Even then I am posting it,for those who are not from Malabar and for those who don't know this recipe.Carrot Egg Moist Cake/Carrot Pola possess a very mild taste.Good to have with tea or as such.The only problem is that it is too heavy as it contains lots of eggs.....

 Ingredients

5 Eggs
5 Tblspn Sugar
5 Tblspn Milk Powder
2 Big Carrots/3 Medium Sized Carrots(Approx 200 gms)
2 Cardamom pods
3 Drops of Vanilla Essence
Few Cashews and Raisins
1/2 Tbspn Ghee

Method

1. First scrape the outer skin of carrot and cut into chunks.
2. Then boil the carrots in water for 8 to 10 minutes or until cooked.
3. Break the eggs into a blender and add all the other ingredients including the cooked carrots.
4. Discard the outer cover of cardamom.
5. Now blend it until smooth paste is obtained.
6. Heat a non stick coated pan and spoon the ghee to it.
7. Fry the cashews and raisins in the ghee and pour the blended mixture to this.
8. Now simmer and by closing the lid,cook for about 20 to 25 minutes.
9. If cooked,a skewer inserted would come out clean.
10. Now keep a plate upside down on the pan and turn the pan upside down to get the dish on the plate.
11. Keep back the pan on flame and slide the cake with a spoon to the same pan or to a frying pan for the upper layer to get fried a little bit.

Chicken Doughnuts

               I have always achieved appreciation for the doughnuts I prepare..It has become one of my masterpiece in cooking.I have tried doughnuts with many fillings,including the shawarma filling.I think  shawarma fans would love to have that.Shall post it later.Normally doughnuts are baked but I fry it in oil.Believe me,it would taste excellent and never be oily at all.

               Here I am going to post the recipe of chicken doughnuts with the basic chicken filling.Chicken can also be substituted with any sort of filling like prawns,crabs,beef or even vegetables.

Chicken Masala

400 gms of Chicken(breast piece and 2 thigh piece)

5 Large Onions

8 Cloves Garlic diced

2 Tblspn Oil

4 Green chillies chopped

Few Curry leaves

Salt to taste

1/2 Tblspn Chilly powder

1/4 Tblspn Coriander powder

1/4 Tspn Turmeric Powder

1/4 Tspn Pepper Powder

1/4 Tspn Garam Masala

Dough

3 3/4 Cup Flour/Maida

1 Egg

25 gms Butter(at room temp)

1 Cup Warm Milk

Salt to taste

1 Tblspn Sugar

1/2 Tspn yeast

Makes 11 Doughnuts;Preparation time:1 hour;Cooking time Half an hour

Method for the dough

Add sugar and yeast in warm milk.Keep it aside for 15 minutes to ferment or bloom.

Mix flour and salt.

Then add the butter to it and rub well.

Now make a well in the center and break an egg into it.Add the milk mixture also to this and make a smooth dough using water(if needed).

Cover with a damp cloth and set aside for 2 hours.

Method for Chicken Masala

Marinate chicken with salt,chilly powder,coriander powder and turmeric powder for half an hour.

Then fry it in oil until done.

Heat oil in a pan(for better taste,best to use the same fried oil) and saute onions with salt until light brown.

Now add in diced garlic,green chillies and curry leaves and saute until done.

Shred the fried chicken into small pieces and add the shredded chicken to the masala.

Close the lid and let the chicken cook in the masala for 5 minutes.

Add little garam masala and pepper powder to it.

And remove from flame.

Doughnuts

First make 11 balls out of the dough and spread each dough to about the size of a chappatti.

Then rub the outer sides of the chappattis with water.

Then keep the filling at one end and roll the spread dough.

Now curl the rolls to make a round shape and stick the ends with little water to get a round shape with a hole in the center.

Now keep it aside for the doughnuts to rise a little.

As seen in the last picture,the doughnuts would rise to a bun's texture.

Deep fry in oil in medium flame until golden brown.

Be careful about the flame because the inner part should get cooked or else you will cook the outer part and leave the inner part uncooked.

As such doughnuts go very well with tea or for breakfast.

Njoooooyyyy........!!!!!

Chicken 65(Home Style)

This recipe is one of the all time favorites of our family.Chicken 65 is one of the inevitable part of our parties.Believe me, you would love to have this dish every day once you taste it.The process is too simple with no hectic works.My in laws are fans of my mom's chicken 65.

You might find mine done with too much gravy,its because we like it that way.You can make it exactly the same chicken 65 you get at hotels just by reducing the amount of yoghurt/sour cream used in it.We love chicken 65 with parattas.And parattas without gravy would be like a tug of war.Haha....The color is not that intense as those you get in hotels because I strictly deny the use of edible colors in food.Moreover I dont use Ajinomotto/Monosodium Glutamate in my dishes,which is used in chicken 65 in hotels.So this may give a slight color and taste difference as from hotels.But I assure you that you would love to have it even though you omit these ingredients.

The greatest advantage of this recipe is that you dont have to waste your tears cutting onions...hehe.Over to the recipe....
This recipe is dedicated to one of my best friends Femina...Luv u dea....

Ingredients

Serves:6 to 7;Preparation Time:20 minutes;Cooking time:25 minutes

1 1/2 kg Chicken cut into pieces

250 ml Yoghurt/Sour cream(It shouldn't be too sour.For dry gravy,reduce the amount of yoghurt)

7 to 8 Tblspns Tomato Ketchup(According to taste)

Salt

1 tblspn Sugar

15 Cloves Garlic

1 1/2 inch pc Ginger

2 Tblspn Soya Sauce

4 Green Chilly

25 gm Butter

Few Curry Leaves

Cilantro/Coriander leaves

1 1/4 tblspn Kashmiri Red chilly pdr

1/4 tblspn Coriander pdr

Red food color(acc to color,optional)

1/2 tspn Ajinomotto(Optional)

 Method

1. Blend yoghurt,soy sauce,salt,garlic,ginger,chilly powder and coriander powder in a blender until garlic and ginger is well ground.You can add the food color at this stage,if you are using it.
2. Cut the chicken and wash and let it drain.
3. Pour the blend mixture into the chicken and marinate for 1 hour.
4. Then squeeze each chicken piece to discard the marinade from it and shallow fry the chicken until half done.
5. Take out from the pan and keep it in a plate.Do not drain in a kitchen towel.
6.  Now take another pan and melt butter in medium flame.
7. Add green chillies and curry leaves to it and saute until the aroma comes.
8. Add the marinade to it and heat it stirring continuously.Do not let it boil.
9. When it is about to boil,add the tomato ketchup into it and stir well and let it boil.
10. Once it boils,cook for 2 more minutes stirring continuously and add the chicken into it.
11. Now add in sugar and ajinomotto(if using) into the gravy.
12. Boil and let it cook in low flame for about 5 minutes.Check the taste to see if any more sweetness or sourness is required.If sourness is required add ketchup and if sweetness is required,add little ketchup with sugar.
13. Off the flame and put the cilantro/coriander leaves on top of it and close the lid.



Chicken 65 served with parattas

14. Serve warm after half an hour.

Note:Food color and ajinomotto is too dangerous for health.So eat healthy and stay healthy.I strictly avoid using that.For exact taste,this can be used.It can be made dry with reducing the amount of yoghurt used in it.While reducing the amount of yoghurt,remember to reduce the amount of tomato ketchup too.Goes well with Paratta,naan and chappatti.Best with paratta.

Ice Cream Chocolate Cake

I am glad to introduce this recipe because it tasted really yumm like how it looks.I assure you that you would be a fanatic of this,once you have it.There is nothing more of cooking other than baking the cake

in this recipe.The taste of strawberries in the recipe gives a royal touch to the dish.

 

Ingredients

1.5 ltr Chocolate Ice cream

1 Chocolate Cake

1 1/2 Cup Whipped Cream
Crushed Praline

Few roughly crushed Almonds
Few Strawberries to Decorate

Method

Serves 8 to 10 slices,preparation time:5 minutes,Setting time:30 minutes

1. Cover the base and sides of the mould with butter paper.
2. Remember that the side underneath comes as the top layer.
3. Take the ice cream out of the refrigerator and let the temperature come down so as to make the ice cream a little soft.
4. Now spread the crushed praline and almonds at the base and spoon in about half a litre of ice cream to the mould.
5. Now cut the chocolate cake horizontally and keep one layer on top of the spread ice cream.
6. Now again spoon in a very little amount of ice cream just to cover the cake.
7. Layer it with whipped cream and spoon in some more ice cream on top of it.
8. Now spread some crushed pralines and almonds and keep the second layer of cake on top of it.
9. After this,spoon in the entire ice cream left and spread the top again with praline and almonds.
10. Make sure that the topmost layer has enough ice cream(about 1/2 litre) to soak the cake.
11. Let it stay at room temperature for 5 more minutes after layering,for the cake to get soaked.Then freeze it.
12. After half an hour or more,take it out,demould and slice.Before slicing decorate with strawberries.
    
     Note:The mould should be big enough to make sufficient layers.Do not use fruits in the ice cream because fruits tend to become ice when frozen.Chocolate ice cream can be substituted with Vanilla ice cream or any layer may be substituted with any other flavor of ice cream.Tutty fruity or any other nuts can be used with praline and almonds.Should be taken out of freezer half an hour before serving.Else the cake tends to be hard.

Praline

Ingredients

4 to 5 Tblspn Sugar

1/2 Tblspn Butter

A handful of Nuts(Cashew,Almonds)

Method

1. Melt butter in a pan.
2. Add sugar and caramelise until light brown.
3. Now add the nuts to this.
4. Saute again for 2 to 3 minutes until a bit more thick brown color.
5. Then off the flame.
6. While it sets,it should be taken out and roughly crushed using a grinder or a course grinding stone.

Note:It is better to make this in a nonstick pan so that it gets off while taken out.You can also pour into a marble piece or butter paper when hot.Or you can also heat the pan a little to get the mixture off the pan and allow it to set again.

Plain Chocolate Cake

     Chocolate cake with its rich chocolate taste is yumm if you have it as such or with whipped cream or chocolate sauce or jam sauce.We can also make black forest cake with this simple recipe.

Ingredients

3 Eggs

5 Tblspn Sugar

3 1/4 Tblspn Flour

1 1/2 Tblspn Cocoa Powder

1/2 Tspn Vanilla Essence

Method

1.  Preheat the oven to 180 C.
2. Beat the eggs and sugar until creamy and pale color with an electric hand mixer.
3. Strain the flour and cocoa powder so that it mixes up well.
4. Add vanilla essence to the beaten eggs.
5. Fold in the flour mixture softly with a metal or wooden spoon.
6. Butter a baking tray and cover with parchment paper or butter paper.
7. Pour the batter into it and bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

Note:Cake can also be prepared in a pressure cooker.Heat the pressure cooker and simmer.Now rub the sides of the cooker with some butter and pour the mixture into it.Now simmer and cook till it is done.Remember not to put the vent weight or pressure regulator on top of the vent pipe.Cook till 15 to 20 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.

Coleslaw Salad(Original Recipe)

I don't think there would be anyone who dislikes coleslaw salad.Every one who had Kentucky Fried Chicken once would be a fan of coleslaw salad too.You would just lick your fingers once you give it a try.
Without anymore introduction,I would give the recipe than keep you waiting.

 Ingredients

Serves:10-12,Preparation Time:20 minutes

1/2 Cup Mayonnaise

1/3 Cup Sugar

1/4 Cup Sour cream/Yoghurt(With not much Sourness)

1/4 Cup Milk

1 1/2 Tblspn Vinegar

2 1/2 Tblspn Lemon Juice

1/2  Tspn Salt

1/8 Tspn Pepper

8 Cups Finely Chopped Cabbage(1 Big head,should be made to the size of a grain)

 1/4 Cup Carrot also diced to the size of a grain(About 1 medium sized)

 Method

Chop the cabbage and carrots into very small size ie,the size of a grain.

Combine all the ingredients other than cabbage and carrot and blend until smooth.

Then add the vegetables to it.

Tastes best after 24 hours of preparation.

Refrigerate and use when needed.

Ghee Rice

     Ghee rice is a very special dish of  Malabar.Its one of the best preparations in Malabar.Its served with chicken in coconut gravy or beef curry.Ghee Rice should be made with Malabar small rice(Cheriyari) to get the authentic taste.It can be substituted with basmati rice if cheriyari is not available.The measurement of water should be exact or else either you will have it mashed up or uncooked.

Ingredients

Serves:5,Preparation time:10 minutes,Cooking time:10 minutes

3 Cups Basmati Rice /Cheriyari

4 Tblspn Ghee

4 Cardamom

1 Inch piece Cinnamon

Salt to taste

3 to 4 Cloves

1 Onion Sliced

6 Cups water(Double the quantity of rice)

Bay Leaves

1 Carrot Sliced(Optional)

Method

1. Wash the rice and strain for 5 minutes.
2. Heat a sauce pan,add ghee to it and add cardamom,cinnamon and clove to it.
3. When the aroma comes,add onion and saute until transparent.
4. Now add the rice and saute for 3 to 4 minutes so that it just becomes a bit warm and not more.
5. By the time boil water in another pan.
6. Immediately when the rice gets warm,add water,salt and the carrot.
7. First boil in high flame and when it boils stir once and keep in medium flame.
8. Stir occasionally so that it does not get burnt but don't over stir because you may mash it up making a lump.You need to have a rice which is not sticky and that is why we saute the rice in ghee for sometime.Once you have done with it off the flame,stir once,level it and close the lid.

Note:Carrots are completely optional.I just added it because my son Ponnu just love those carrots in ghee rice.           

Ghee Rice served with Beef Curry

Rice Kheer

Ingredients

4 cups milk

1 tblspn Ghee

1/4 cup Basmathi Rice/Malabar Biryani Rice

3/4 cup Sugar

Almonds peeled and sliced

1/4 tspn Kewra Essence(Optional)

Pinch of Salt

3 Cardamom/Elaichi Pods

Saffron Strands(Garnish)

Method

1. Wash the rice and strain.
2. Heat the pan and add ghee to it.Saute the rice in ghee for 3 to 4 minutes.
3. Now pour milk into it and add salt and boil.
4. When it boils,add sugar and keep in medium flame and cook for about 50 minutes or until the rice gets mushy.
5. Stir continuously so that it does not get burnt.
6. Add elaichi pods and kewra essence to it.
7. If the kheer becomes too thick,add a little water to it and stir continuously until done.
8. Serve in bowls garnished with sliced almonds and saffron strands.

               
Note:Kewra essence is added to get authentic flavor and aroma.It is completely optional.Pistachios are added while cooking to get the exact flavor.

Prathaman

      All keralites will certainly know about this payasam.But I am posting this for those who are out of Kerala.This is one of my favourite kheer.It tastes awesome if done in the right consistency.

Ingredients

Serves:5,Preparation time:10 minutes,Cooking time:45 minutes

1/4 kg Moong beans/green gram/cherupayar parippu(without skin)

 250gm Jaggery + 1 cup of water

1st and 2nd milk extract of 3/4th coconut

Pinch of salt

4 tblspns of ghee

Cashews(Almonds)

Raisins

Thin flakes of coconut

1 tspn Elaichi Powder/cardamom powder

Method 

1. First dry roast the green grams until light golden brown.
2. Then wash it and cook in a pressure cooker with 2 cups of water and salt.Cook till it whistles twice.
3. Now off the flame and let the pressure go completely and see if it is cooked but not mashed up.If not cooked,cook till it is done.
4. By the time boil jaggery with water until it melts.Strain this syrup.
5. Now pour this syrup into the cooked beans and cook for another 5 to 10 minutes until it is reduced, stirring occassionally so that the beans does not get burnt.It shouldn't get reduced a lot.
6. Once done,pour the second extract of coconut into this and stir continuously.
7. Once that also reduces to a little and a thick consistency is achieved,pour the first extract of coconut and stir continuously until it boils so that the coconut milk does not get curdled.Then add elaichi/cardamom powder to it.
8. Once it boils,simmer for 5 more minutes to get a thick consistency and remove.
9. Finally heat ghee in kadahi,saute the coconut flakes till golden brown and remove.Then add the nuts and saute until it turns golden brown and remove and finally saute raisins and pour the excess ghee and all the nuts and raisins to the kheer immediately.

 Note:The beans shud not be mashed up,instead you should have bits of it in mouth while having it and that is why the beans are sauted till golden brown.
 

Dry Fruits Cake

      I have been searching for dry fruits cake recipe in cookery shows, youtube etc etc since long to get the right measurement.Finally I happened to watch a cookery show in which a fruit cake was introduced.I made slight changes in it and tried it out.I loved it a lot.More than the taste the thing that craved me of the cake is it's smell.hmmmmm.....tempting......

Ingredients
75 gms Butter
3 Eggs
6 tblspn Sugar
 6(or 5 based on the egg) tblspn Flour +1 tspn Baking powder
1/2 tspn Vanilla essence
4 tblspn Sugar Caramelised + 8 Tblspn Water(to get a thick consistency
20 Dates deseeded & chopped
15 Almonds roughly crushed

Method

1. Firstly beat butter with an egg beater/hand mixer or kitchen aid until smooth.
2. Powder the sugar to get a fine powder.Now add it to the smoothened butter and beat again until it becomes creamy in texture.
3. Strain the flour and baking powder mixture in a fine strainer 2 to 3 times and in the final straining,add the dry fruits also to this to get the dry fruits coated with the flour.
4. Add the eggs to the butter mixture and beat again until incorporated.
5. Add the flour little by little and continue with beating with the hand mixer alternatively adding the flour.
6. After the entire flour is added,pour in the caramelised sugar and vanilla essence and beat again.Finally fold in the flour coated dry fruits.The dates may stick together and its a bit tricky game to separate it while coating it with flour.But it is worth the effort.
7. Preheat oven to 300 C and bake the cake in 180 C for about 25 to 30 minutes until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean.

     
Enjoy it with whipped cream or as such is a great tea time snack.

Gulab Jamuns

       Gulab Jamuns are all time favorites for everyone.No particular season affects the demand for Gulab Jamuns.But as we all know Diwali is a festival of sweets and lights.So the demand for Gulab Jamuns and other sweets reach the peak.I made it for no particular reason.Its neither Diwali nor any other festival.

I have always tried Gulab Jamuns with the packet we get in the stores.But I haven't ever got it right.This is a simple and easy recipe,once you are careful with the ingredients.Never try this recipes when you are busy.Its sure that you will not get it right.Try this recipe and you will have it yummmm.

Makes 10 balls;Preparation time:15 minutes
Ingredients
Jamuns
4 to 5 tblspn Milk Powder(depending on the egg)
1/4 tspn Baking Powder
A pinch of salt
1 Egg
2 Tblspn Veg Oil
Oil for deep frying
Sugar Syrup
1 1/2 glass of water
1 3/4 glass of sugar
1 tblspn Milk
Rose water

Method

1. Mix sugar and water for the syrup and heat it.
2. Once it boils add the milk into it.This is done for the dirt in the sugar to get collected.
3. Now strain the syrup so that you get rid of the dirt in it.
4. Replace the syrup in the pan and boil for 2 more minutes in medium flame.Add the rose water into it according to the aroma required.
5. Now off the flame.You need not make it thick,The consistency is that,once you touch the spatula,used for stirring the syrup,you will find it very slightly sticky.
6. Strain milk powder,baking powder and salt two times so that it gets mixed up well.
7. Now make a well in the middle and pour in the oil and egg.And mix it up well.
8. The dough should be in a falling consistency,Not at all thick to form a lump.Now make balls out of it by brushing your hands with oil generously.
9. The balls should be made firmly so that it does not break while frying.the dough becomes firm on keeping it after mixing and there is no issue if it becomes thick on keeping.Do not keep it for long as it tends to thicken.

    10.  Now heat the oil in a pan in medium heat and simmer once it is hot.Now put these balls 4 at a time in the pan and fry it by continuously flipping it over.This is done because milk powder tends to burn on heating.
   11.  You need to have a brown ball after frying.Drain on a kitchen napkin for 1 minute and put the balls into the syrup.Once all the balls are immersed in the syrup reheat the syrup in low flame and simmer for 2 minutes.
   12.  Remember that the syrup should not get thickened.once it has thickened it wont soak the Jamuns and hence if it thickens add little water and loosen the syrup.But dont make it watery also because it breaks the balls.Off the flame and cover with a lid.

Note:Best to have it after 24 hours so that it get soaked well.Do not refrigerate this because it hardens the balls and spoils the texture of the balls.While serving reheat the mixture to get a warmth to the Jamuns and serve warm.Stays for 1 to 2 days at room temperature once the syrup is done correctly.

Fruit Carving

        
  I have always admired people carving fruits to various shapes and designs.I thought it would be unwieldy,when I saw the carvings.But believe me,its simple and easy to do once you have the patience to do it.The phrase "Practice makes it Perfect" is worth saying in this deal.Once you give a trial you will find how simple and beautiful it is to carve fruits.

 As you can see this was my first attempt.My mother had already peeled the green outer skin and    the white inner skin of the melon,by the time I got the idea.Else it would have looked a bit more better.

    You need to have the inner whitish skin of the melon once you are carving it.you an also carve it with the outer green skin.But truly I dint attempt it.
    Now I shall display the picture of my second carving attempt.

I dont know whether it came out good or not but I was too happy to see it and ran hear and there with happiness.

I had also tried making swan with apples and that too came out really good.But I am sorry that I dont have any image of it.Shall post more images of carving in the coming days.

 I shall try to take much more better pics the next time.