Fish Curry with Canned Sardines

I am sure that you all would agree to life being a race now. We are all, either running after something or running for something. Even when cooking is your passion there are times when you look around for some easy to prepare meals that leave you satisfied at the dining table.

Vada Kootu Curry

Busy cooking. But yet couldn't let this day pass without the Trivandrum-style Vada Kootu Curry...

Meen Thoran/ A Stir-Fry with Shredded Fish and Coconut

Thoran is a style of stir-fry prepared using a main item like vegetables or fish together with crushed coconut and spices. Though thoran is usually prepared by using vegetables are usually chopped very thin, this is a variation where cooked fish is finely shredded after removing the bones to prepare a thoran. Do not mistake this for what is generally called a Meen Peera, where small fish like white bait or sardine is used with their bones.

Vendakka Theengapaal Curry/ Okra in Coconut Milk

Time to break my silence!

The last few months have not been very good for me. I was trying to find myself, which I guess is hard. Especially when you have forgotten what you are! There were changes happening to me - physically and mentally. It was hard for me to compose and collect myself. So I decided to let go of myself! Let go of my singing and dancing, but most of all my cooking. Cooking turned out to be a necessity for me rather than passion.

Tharavu Mappas/ Duck in a Spicy Coconut Gravy

Cooking has not been at its best for the last few months with the summer heat killing my boys' appetite. But with a cool change, I can see their love for and request for food growing. Today's recipe was a special Easter breakfast request from them and though I am down with flu and fever, I simply couldn't ignore it.

Kallumakkaya Ularthiyathu / Mussels Fry

Mussels, commonly referred to in Kerala as Kallumakkaya or Kadukka, is a very popular seafood in the coastal regions of Kerala. It is harvested from the rocks found on the coastal lines. There are different recipes that Kerala has to offer to savour these shell meat. Here is one of the recipes - a lip smacking simple, yet spicy preparation - Kallumakkaya Ularthiyathu. The rich flavour of the mussels are enhanced by the use of chilly powder, pepper powder and fennel powder. And you can't the forget the coconut pieces that you bite into in between. Nothing much can be said about this dish, except that you have to taste it to fall in love with it.

Pavakkaya Sambaru/ Sambar prepared with Bitter Gourd

Bitter Melon / Pavaykka is definitely not one of the popular vegetables; you either grow to like its bitterness or you stay away from it. But bitter melon being an excellent source of vitamins, magnesium, folic acid, zinc, phosphorus and manganese, home cooks are always on the look out for recipes to incorporate this nutritious vegetable into our everyday meal.

Meen Achar/ Fish Pickle

Apologies if you came to this post expecting the recipe for an authentic Kerala-style fish pickle.

The style of pickle presented here is quite common to the coastal parts of Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala; this one is my Grandmother's special. Contrary to the authentic fish pickle, fish is not heavily deep fried till it becomes hard. It is only fried till it is cooked through and then coated in a tangy sauce, very similar to a fish pickle sauce. Also it should be consumed within a week of its preparation, as its shelf-life is considerably less than a normal fish pickle. Nonetheless, we still call it a Meen Achar because it holds a very close resemblance. However, you will not be disappointed by the flavours and taste of this spicy, spine tingling fish pickle.

Varuthu Aracha Chemeen Muringika Curry/ Shrimp and Drumsticks in Roasted Spices

The traditional curries of Kerala - Varuthu Aracha Curry. Common spices like coriander seeds, red whole chilly, fenugreek seeds  and cumin seeds are roasted (Varuthu) by tossing in a hot iron skillet until they are fragrant and then ground to a fine paste (Aracha) with plenty of coconut to prepare the Varuthu Aracha masala. The rich aroma penetrated through your nostrils which makes your mouth water to have a morsel of the spicy curry.

Spicy Beetroot Cutlet

Who has been to the Indian Coffee House and not fallen in love with with their spicy, crunchy beetroot cutets. It is the only place I've been to that serves beetroot in almost all their vegetarian dishes and their beetroot cutlets are my favourite.

Fruit Salad Sundae

2012 just flew by. 2013 is here to stay. Wish you all a very Happy and Blessed New Year - a year with joy, peace, love, hope, share and care.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.