Egg Cutlet/ Spicy Egg Fritter

There are some recipes that you go back to again and again, simply because it is very simple. Some of these recipes come handy, when you have some unexpected visitors home for lunch or dinner, and you want to come up with a good spread on the table.

Kuttanadan Tharavu Roast/ Duck Roast

"Ee Padachon bhayankara sambhavam thanne ketoo... Chila aagrahangal nammal maranaalum pulli marakilla ennu thoonunnu." (Translate: "This God is a great "thing".. Even if we forget some of our desires He doesn't forget them.") These are the last lines from the latest Hit Malayalam movie Thattathin Marayathu. More often than not, I've felt that this is true in my life too.

Eggs Benedict

Christmas is just round the corner and we are all busy preparing for and planning our Christmas menu. This is the busiest time of the year, and a few days to Christmas, everything is havoc.

Kerala Style Mutton Stew

I went to the midnight Mass on Christmas Day; not that I was too enthusiastic about it. I literally slept at church for the 2 hour Mass, especially through the sermon - could barely keep my eyes open for that. But soon after the Holy Communion I was wide awake - fresh as a daisy! And then, hastily walk to my close relatives' house in the area for a quick bite of Christmas cake and wash it down with some home-made wine. I didn't want to go to bed after that. I wanted to continue to play with crackers and sparklers with my cousins for longer. But my Mum and Aunt chides and gets us all into bed around 4.30 in the morning.

Pshhhhhhhhhhhhh!..........................................Pshhhhhhhhhhhhh!..........................................
Pshhhhhhhhhhhhh!..........................................Pshhhhhhhhhhhhh!..........................................

Rich Mixed Fruit Cake with Sherry

My blog is breathing again today, after a short hiatus. Some unexpected commitments at home and a planned holiday overseas kept me away from blogging for more than 3 weeks. But there was not one day that went by without me thinking about it and my blogging friends. Have to come around every ones page to see what you girls were up to.

Pav Bhaji Masala

It is funny when you realise that when it comes to food, most cities are well known for their street food or their unfinished, unpolished lunch and tea stalls that serve just about anything. Most of these places (and I agree it is not everyone) prepare food to share their family cuisine with the people around them. Their love for the food they prepare is more important than the business they want to establish with their food. And that, I reckon is their success.

Mochaccino Marbled Mud Cake

As I've mentioned before, nowadays I am all in for Mochaccino. The hot and strong coffee with hints of chocolate is a truly ambrosial drink that you can enjoy at any time of the day. And anywhere I look, I come across recipes for cakes and desserts that infuse coffee and chocolate flavours together to get the absolute mocha delights.

Coffee Liqueur Mousse Mocha Cake

I am all about coffee and coffee flavoured treats nowadays. I recently read that coffee drinkers are less likely to develop Alzheimer's, colon cancer and diabetes, compared to non-drinkers. And consuming caffeinated coffee an hour before vigorous exercise helps prevent the ache you feel when you work out. However, these are not the reasons why I love coffee.

Baked Eggs Wrapped in Bacon

Alright! Today isn't much of a recipe but a simple idea to prepare something different for breakfast. Eggs are a quintessential part of a Continental Hot Breakfast and can be presented in different ways. It could be scrambled, fried or poached and served just by itself with toast or together with bacon, sausages, spinach and mushrooms to make a Big Breakfast.

I am not really going big today. And no recipes today either. It is just a presentation of baked eggs wrapped in bacon served with garlic mushrooms and store-bought hash-browns. A simple, yet delicious way to whip up an easy breakfast that your family will enjoy on a Saturday morning. A dash of salt and pepper and what more could they want?

To prepare these eggs, line muffin holes with smoked ham or bacon, on the bottom and the sides. Place a few wilted spinach leaves on this. Then gently crack an egg into each muffin hole. Season with salt and pepper. Bake in a pre-heated fan forced oven at 160° C for 16 to 18 minutes or until the egg-whites are just set but the egg yolk is still runny. Remove from oven and stand for 2 minutes. Run a silicon knife around the sides of the bacon/ ham and gently remove from muffin hole using a silicon spatula.

Serve hot with garlic mushrooms and hash-browns (store-bought) with a sprinkle of parsley leaves.

French Mocha Almond Sponge Cake

French cooking is usually considered complicated, time consuming and expensive. Can't blame us because we thought the French are well known, only for their macarons and croquembouches and danish pastries and croissants and what not! They are all, yes, complicated, time consuming and expensive. But what I didn't realize was that they also have some quick and easy recipes too...

Indo-Chinese Chilly Fish

Today's Chilly Fish is inspired by the classic Indo-Chinese recipe; is excellent for entree' and can also be served as a side dish with fried rice. It is very similar to the Indo-Chinese chilly chicken and is a seafood lovers dream food. It is best prepared with any firm white fish fillets like Snapper or Barramundi; but be sure that the fish is fresh. I personally feel that seafood recipes are totally lost when you prepare it with the frozen varieties.

I prepared this a few weeks back when some of my friends came home for lunch. And I learnt something on that day. Maintaining a blog and cooking for friends cannot go hand in hand. Well! At least for me that is true. The issue here is more than often you take double the time preparing your dishes because you are cooking and trying to write down the recipe at the same time and then also left with very little time to take some good clicks. So you end up compromising yourself with not so satisfactory clicks - which is so very evident in my snaps here. So I've decided to distance the two; I either cook for my blog or I cook for my friends - but never together at the same time. Hopefully, I will find the time for both.

Makes: 5 - 6 serves
Preparation Time: 30 minutes + time to marinate
Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Note:- Fish fillets, onion, capsicum should all be cut into the same size cubes

Ingredients

• 1/2 kg firm white fish fillets like Snapper or Barramundi, cut into cubes

Dry Marinade

• 1/2 tsp pepper powder
• 1 tsp soy sauce
• Salt to taste

Wet Marinade

• 1/2 cup corn flour
• 1/4 cup plain flour
• 2 - 3 tbsp beaten egg
• 1 - 2 tbsp lukewarm water
• Salt to taste

Remaining Ingredients

• 1 medium sized brown onion, cut into cubes
• 1 medium sized brown onion, finely chopped
• 3 green chilly, chopped (adjust to taste)
• 2 large garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 green capsicum, cut into cubes
• 1/2 yellow capsicum, cut into cubes
• 1/2 cup celery, finely chopped
• 2 spring onions, chopped
• 2 tbsp cooking oil + extra to fry fish
• 1 tsp pepper powder (adjust to taste)
• 1/2 tbsp paprika powder
• 3 tbsp Fountain red chilly sauce
• 1 1/2 tsp soy sauce (adjust to taste)
• 1 1/2 tbsp hoisin sauce or tomato sauce
• 1/2 tsp chinese five spice (may be substituted with Indian garam masala)

Method
1. Marinate fish with dry marinade, cover and refrigerate for two hours. Mix all ingredients for wet marinade and make a thick marinade to coat fish well. Add few more teaspoons of water if the batter is too thick. Deep fry fish until cooked.
2. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a wok over medium-high heat. Add garlic and green chilly and toss till it turns colour into light brown. Add chopped onion and celery and stir for 2 -3 minutes until onion softens. Now add paprika and pepper powder and stir for 1 minute. Add diced onion and toss for a few minutes until it softens. Then add all the sauces and chinese five spice together and mix well. Finally add fried fish pieces and capsicum and keep tossing for a few minutes. If the sauce gets too dry add a few tablespoons of water. This will allow the sauces to mix well through fish pieces. Remove from fire and toss in chopped spring onions.

This is a dry preparation and can be served as an entree'.

To serve as a side-dish for fried rice add half a cup of water, bring to boil and add 1 tbsp corn flour mixed with 4 tbsp of water and mix well. This will give you a little extra gravy.

Guest Host Event Announcement; SYF & HWS - Sesame Seeds

Sizzle Your Food and Health With Spices, SYF & HWS is an event founded by Anu of Anu's Healthy Kitchen. I am guest hosting the event for the month of November and the spice is Sesame. The event runs from Nov 5 to Dec 5.

Crunchy nutty flavoured sesame seeds are widely recognised to be healthy foods. They are good in anti-oxidants, omega-6 fatty acids, vitamins, minerals and dietary fibre with efficacious anti-cancer as well as health promoting properties. Sesame seeds are liberally used in cooking as whole seeds - hulled or un-hulled,

Sticky Ginger Pudding

My friends and family have been asking me if I am really happy with my new found interest - taking photographs of food I prepare and then blogging about them. And without a second thought, I could answer with a 'yes'. While I started blogging to log my treasured recipes that could be easily accessed from any part of the world, what I didn't expect was that I would make some friends here too. Where Serah of The Captain's Kitchenette was my friend long before both of us got into blogging, Roha of Hydrebad Cuisine, Julie of Erivum Puliyum, Ambreen of Sweet and Savoury, Siri of Siri's Food Flavours and Kitchen Queen of Home Cook Food are my internet friends, who I feel have the same passion for food as I have and are constant visitors to my blog and keep encouraging me through my posts and are always loading me with some fantastic recipes and ideas that I love to read and try out at home too. Yes! For the introvert I am, who takes months before I become friends with people I meet, these ladies, their blogs and food have become an integral part of my life.

Home-made Grape Wine: Kerala Style

Something that makes me happy about entering the world of blogging is that I have this urge to try out some of my family recipes that I wouldn't even have given a second thought to, had I not been blogging. I am on the phone and emails, contacting my Mum, Grandma, Uncles, Aunts and cousins for recipes that were long forgotten. One of it is the recipe for home-made grape wine. With a myriad of wine options available in the market today, whether it is to serve as an appetiser, to serve along with food or to serve as a dessert, making wine at home was considered a tedious task. Not any more!

Seekh Kebab - The Meat With A Hole

Yes! The meat with a hole! And that is exactly why I like it. Not because it is boneless, but because it has a hole in it - the Seekh Kebab. Seekh Kebabs can be made with any minced meat but I always vote for minced lamb - even when lamb is not one of my favourite meats; or at the very least minced goat meat/ mutton.Seekh Kebab originated from Persia and folklore has it that it was a dish invented by Persian soldiers by using metal swords to prepare meat over open fire. Another story is about the invention of cooking methods using very little to no water due to scarcity of water in the deserts; this giving rise to cooking meat in different ways directly over fire.

Gourmet Pizza: Caramelised Onion, Mushroom and Sausage with Basil Pesto

Pizza (pronounced peetza) is an open pie of Italian origin, which has a bread like base and is traditionally covered with toppings like seasoned tomato sauce, cheese, meat, spinach, mushrooms, onion and olives. Pizza is the most versatile Italian dish that is now "not Italian" at all. There are countless varieties of pizzas available in restaurants and in every individuals' house. The toppings and the base can be varied according to one's choice and preference and is considered an easy Friday meal by most families with children.

Basic Pizza Sauce

A good pizza sauce is an answer to a good home-made pizza. No matter what you toppings are, you need a good sauce to hold it on and to enhance it. Here is a pizza sauce that is easy to prepare and goes quite well with any toppings of your choice.

Potato, Garlic and Rosemary Focacia

Focaccia is an Italian bread that is topped with herbs and other ingredients. Which made me ask the very next question - how is it different to pizza which is also as an Italian bread with toppings. And yes! The main difference lies in the topping. Focaccia is usually topped with herbs, olives and/or dry vegetables and finished off with olive oil. It can be served with dips or soups or by itself, dipped in some good quality olive oil. Whereas a pizza is topped with sauces, meats, vegetables and cheese and is actually made on a focaccia dough before the dough could be made a focaccia. Also, a focaccia may be eaten hot or cold while a pizza technically was meant to be eaten hot (though nowadays you have a myriad of options for cold pizza too).

2 in 1 Dough: Pizza/ Focaccia Base Dough

Sometimes the simplest recipes are the best and if it serves more than one purpose, well, you've hit the jackpot. That is what I felt when I got this recipe. And believe me when I say that the texture of this dough looks, feels and tastes totally different for a pizza and focaccia. The same dough used as a pizza base gives you a soft and chewy pizza base and whereas for focaccia it helps you to enjoy a base that is soft and chewy on the inside, yet slightly crusty on the outside.

Pizza dough - risen, knocked down and ready to be rolled out

Murg Malai Tikka/ Chicken Malai (Cream) Tikka

I grew up believing that Tikka always has to be red or orange in colour. Though traditionally these colours were attained with the use of turmeric powder or chilly powder, modern chefs have indulged in the extensive use of food colours for this purpose. And for this very reason, foods with strong colours usually eat on my appetite. So whenever I come across food with little to no colours I am very eager to try it out and if they have the perfect flavours, I seek to unfold its mysteries.I was acquainted with this Murg Malai Tikka from Cafe Saffron, South Morang, more than a year back. Surprised at seeing the almost colourless chicken, I knew I was bound to like it. (Not sure if they still serve the same tikka now).

Green Yoghurt Chutney with Mint and Coriander Leaves

This chutney is perfect served with grilled meat to infuse Indian flavours to your already delicious meals.

Chinese Style Minced Beef Chowmein

My boys have lately fallen in love with Oriental flavours, where Korean, Vietnamese and Chinese top their list because they have more spicier options of the lot. So, as soon as they see any Oriental recipe, they want it to be prepared at home, simply for the convenience of eating it at any time they want. We saw this recipe for Minced Beef Chow Mein in an episode of Better Homes and Gardens almost a year back and have fallen in love with the flavours with our first bite.

HLT Mini Quiche

Quiche (pronounced 'keesh') is a French style egg custard, consisting of an egg-cream/milk mixture, cheese, fillings and some spices and is usually baked in a crust. It comes from the Lorraine region of France. The French detest the use of cheese in quiche because it is not meant to be there. However, the non-French have tailored quiche to always contain cheese and that is how I learnt to bake it too.

Prawn Rolls in a Bread

Lunch box ideas for children is a challenge for all Mums. The prerequisites, of course, are different. Some want to provide their children with warm food for lunch, while others are intent on packing up lunch the night before to be refrigerated, which can easily be popped into bags in the morning and carried to school. Some are challenged with the thought of getting something/ anything into their little ones' tummies while others are confronted with the idea of providing easy to eat but nutritious meals which their children can gobble up as fast as they can before they run to the play ground.

Prawn Cocktail with a Spicy Twist

Last week, I received an invitation from Roha of Hydrebadi Cuisine to take part in the Romantic Candle Light Dinner Event. The theme was exciting enough, and with our Wedding Anniversary just round the corner, the event got me seriously thinking. Aware of the fact that 'the' dinner cannot be romantic with our little ones lurking around us, I searched the Internet for ideas on how to set up a Candle Light dinner at home - mind it, a romantic one too.

Vol-Au-Vent: Creamy Chicken and Avocado

Ah! Finally back with another post. It was crazy here for the last 4 weeks with the children falling sick and not attending school and then preparing for our Onam Celebrations with friends, which we always celebrate at least a month late. Now all done and packed, I hope to get back on track; with work, cooking, home works and activities. Before anything else, I wanted to get done with a post. So when some of my friends came over for dinner on Friday, I decided to make best of the opportunity with something simple - Vol-Au-Vents with a Creamy Chicken and Avocado filling.

Fish Mole and a Belated Birthday Wish

The Portuguese word "Mollo", derived from the Nahuatl word 'molli' refers to traditional sauces or stews that is prepared by grinding together different ingredients and then cooking it, to make a thick sauce or stew. In Kerala, the "Fish Mole" is prepared by boiling several crushed spices in a light coconut milk and then finished off with thick coconut milk. Shallow fried fish immersed in inconspicuously spiced coconut milk with green chilly, ginger, garlic, pepper and vinegar is a speciality of Central Kerala and has its own mark of Portuguese influence on it.

Warm Sticky Date Pudding with Almond Praline

Some fresh Medjool dates have been beckoning me from the pantry for over a month now to use them in my baking. For some reason I've just got bored with it. In fact, I've not baked even once this winter. So last week, when my little ones complained that I've not been baking as I used to, I was filled with guilt and remorse. I gave in and asked them for their choice. JK didn't have to think twice before he shouted, "Sticky Date Pudding"!

Quick and Easy Fried Rice

Fried rice is a remarkably versatile dish that is good for a simple dinner or for a lavish party presentation. It is the simplest, quickest and most nutritious meal that every lady in today's fast paced world resorts to prepare at least once every week in her kitchen. Though its origins can be traced back to China, this rice dish loaded with veggies and sometime egg and meat, is a staple food in almost every household in every fast-paced country now.

Chicken Curry (Kerala Style)

This is not "the" Kerala style chicken curry. This is only "a" Kerala style chicken curry; just one among the different styles of chicken curry that can labelled "from Kerala". There is nothing very exquisite about this curry except that I grew up eating this chicken curry. And measure for measure this is my Mum's recipe.

Coconut Milk using Coconut Milk Powder

In olden times, our parents, grand parents and their ancestors spent hours in the kitchen to extract fresh coconut milk from fresh coconuts. While the taste of fresh coconut milk is unsurpassable, it is completely impossible to ignore the convenience of ready-made, easily available packets of coconut milk powder. Coconut milk prepared from coconut milk powder can easily be substituted for fresh coconut milk in curries and gravies. But it is advisable to use a good quality canned coconut milk for desserts and puddings

To prepare thin coconut milk
Dissolve 1 tbsp coconut milk powder (I use Maggi Coconut Milk Powder) in 1 cup of lukewarm water and stir well until dissolved.

To prepare thick coconut milk'
Dissolve 6 tbsp coconut milk powder (I use Maggi Coconut Milk Powder) in 1 cup of lukewarm water and stir well until dissolved.

Almond Praline

Almond Praline is a perfect accompaniment to plain, soft chocolate or caramel, cakes or puddings. The crunch of almonds together with caramelised sugar, imparts a wonderful texture to desserts. It can also be served on its own, as a scrumptious crunchy after-meal sweet. (recipe source: Super Food Ideas Magazine)

Me on a Plate - Fish in Creamy Coconut Gravy with Raw Mango

When I started blogging I thought I was writing into an empty space. Except for a handful of friends I knew who are interested in cooking, I wasn't expecting many readers for this blog. But when I received emails and messages from my friends and their friends saying that were trying out my recipes, I was overwhelmed. My joy knows no boundaries. A Very Big Thank You, to all of you for your feedback and encouragement.

Now, let's get to business - my post for today. Most of you, who watch Masterchef Australia series, must be quite familiar with the segment, "You on a Plate". The contestants have to prepare a dish that best represents them. I've been thinking about which dish represents me for a while now and recently decided that Fish in a Creamy Coconut gravy with Raw Mango  (Thenga aracha pacha manga itta meen curry) should be it.

Baingan Bartha - Spiced Smoky Eggplant

North-Indian vegetarian curries, for me, are always a reminiscent of the first year of my married life and the Savali Vegetarian Restaurant at Nigdi in Pune. This restaurant was our favourite hang out during weekends and when I was too tired to cook during weekdays. GC's favourite was Dal-Chawal (Rice with Yellow Lentil Curry) with Bhindi Masala (Okra in a spicy red semi-dry gravy), plain yoghurt and papad. As for me, I was in love with all the North-Indian dishes there, that I could never make choice.

Chocolate Molten Lava Cake - My 50th Post

You like sweets. You love cakes. And you die for chocolates! Then, these decadent little cakes with a warm, gooey chocolate centre is for you - a chocoholics dream dessert.

Fish Biryani - Kerala Style

Belated Father's Day wishes to all Dad's out there....

Nowadays celebrations in our house is planned by my two "big" boys who already think that they should be on top of everything. Spring is here on time this year - the days are bright and sunny, the weather is getting warmer and flowers are blooming everywhere. While I was taking this as an opportunity for me to get lazy and bribe GC into taking us all out to the park and celebrate Father's Day with a bbq, my 'bosses' in the house had other plans. They knew they could handle a simple breakfast with tea (in the microwave) and toast with butter and jam for breakfast, they had to pull me in to prepare something high for lunch. There are no seconds thoughts about it - there has to be fish and chocolate.

Carrot Raita

Carrot raita is made with finely grated fresh carrots in yoghurt and finished off with tempered mustard seeds and curry leaves which a wonderfully delectable side dish that be enjoyed with plain rice or rotis as well. My Mom usually serves this with Fish Biryani.

San Choy Bao - Chinese style Lettuce Cups

San Choy Bao is a classic Chinese dish; a nice, refreshing, light meal that can be served both as an appetiser and a main course - a dish that is equally loved by young ones and old alike. Crispy, ice cold lettuce cups filled with a warm flavourful filling of minced turkey and vegetables makes it a balanced nutritious meal. It is quick and easy to prepare and at the same time a fun dish because it involves a little bit of playing and messing around - you have to assemble the ingredients to make your own cups to chomp down!

Olan

This post is part of Onam and Sadya. The recipe below will be enough to serve 6 - 8 people for Sadya. Measurements are only approximate.

Olan is a stew dish, usually prepared by cooking ash gourd, pumpkin and red beans in water with salt and finished off with coconut milk and fresh coconut oil. It has a very refreshing taste that is very unique and

Pavaykka Kichadi

This post is part of Onam and Sadya. The recipe below is enough to serve 6 - 8 people for Sadya. Measurements are only approximate.

Hmm... I've been sitting on this post for days. Looks like my capacity to write is wearing out. Tell me - what should I write about pavaykka kichadi. Pavaykka is bitter gourd and kichadi is again another Kerala

Kovaykka Mizhukkupuratti

This post is part of Onam and Sadya. The recipe below will be enough to serve 6 - 8 people for Sadya. Measurements are only approximate.

Mizhukkupuratti is Kerala-style stir-fry and for an everyday Kerala meal could easily substitute Thoran. You should either have a thoran or mizhukkupuratti as the dry vegetarian component of a meal. Kovaykka, better

Mathanga - Van Payar Erissery

This post is part of Onam and Sadya. The recipe below will be enough to serve 6 - 8 people for Sadya. Measurements are only approximate.

Mathanga is Malayalam for pumpkin. And I hate pumpkins. As a child I was brought up not to hate food; you can like or not like food, but never hate it. Unfortunately, I couldn't resist myself hating it. I still had no

Sweet Boli

This post is part of Onam and Sadya. The recipe below will be enough to serve 6 - 8 people for Sadya. Measurements are only approximate.

Boli is a flat bread stuffed with mashed lentils that has been sweetened with sugar. Boli, as it is known in Kerala, have different names in different parts of India; Holige in Karnataka, Bobatlu in Andhra Pradesh,

Beetroot Pachadi

This post is part of Onam and Sadya. The recipe below will be enough to serve 6 - 8 people for Sadya. Measurements are only approximate.

There are different varieties of pachadis that could be part of the menu in Sadya. Serving beetroot pachadi adds a purple colour on the leaf when all the other curries are a boring yellow or brown or red. A pachadi is

Inji Achar/ Ginger Pickle

This post is part of Onam and Sadya. The recipe below will be enough to serve 6 - 8 people for Sadya. Measurements are only approximate.

Inji curry is an inevitable dish for Sadya and is served along with pickles. It is enjoyed together with pulissery, which is the third course of Sadya. Anyone who knows about the medicinal properties of ginger, do not have

Kaithachakka Madhura Curry/ Pineapple Sweet Curry

This post is part of Onam and Sadya. The recipe below will be enough to serve 6 - 8 people for Sadya. Measurements are only approximate.

This is a sweet, tangy, spicy curry prepared with pineapple in a coconut based sauce with a touch of yoghurt. During sadya, the second course of Sambhar is usually finished off with madhura curry, which refreshes your

Kootu Curry with Tyson Chick Peas and Yam

This post is part of Onam and Sadya. The recipe below will be enough to serve 6 - 8 people for Sadya. Measurements are only approximate.

Have I told you of the first time I prepared Onam Sadya, all by myself. It was our first Onam after marriage and we were living in Pune at the time. I was only learning to cook then, and to impress my husband, GC, I

Sambharam/ Spiced Buttermilk

This post is part of Onam and Sadya. The recipe below will make enough to serve 6 - 8 people for a Sadya. Measurements are only approximate.

Before the state, opened its doors to artificial thirst quenchers like aerated drinks and squash and even before they used lime/ lemon juice, there were two natural thirst quenchers commonly available in all

Ada Pradaman

This post is part of Onam and Sadya. The recipe below will make enough to serve 6 - 8 people for a Sadya. Measurements are only approximate.

Those who know me are well aware that I do not make payasam or pradhaman. GC, my husband, is the King of payasam/ pradhaman at home. So if ever I am alloted a payasam or pradhaman for a potluck, GC is