Showing posts with label Breakfast. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Breakfast. Show all posts

Sunday, November 18, 2012

Kerala Puttum payarum/Steamed rice cakes with whole moong dal curry - A healthy breakfast







Ingredients for puttu
Rice flour - 2 cups
Water - 3/4 to 1 cup
Salt
Grated coconut - 1 cup

Directions
Mix rice flour and salt. Wet the rice flour-salt mixture by sprinkling water  little by little. Keep aside for 1/2 an hour. Grind the set  aside mixture for a few seconds (This is to get a soft puttu mixture) (You can completely skip this, I often skip this, and I am satisfied with the result - tasty steamed cakes). If you are using a puttu maker, add some grated coconut, followed by set aside puttu mixture. Form 3 layers, one of grated coconut on bottom, sandwiched by puttu mixture in between, then again grated coconut on top. After layering the puttu in a  puttumaker. Fill the pressure cooker with little water. Place the puttu maker on the nozzle of the pressure cooker. Close puttu maker with the lid. After steam starts to come, lower the flame, then it takes 2-3 minutes for the steamed cakes to get ready. Enjoy with Cherupayar curry, Kerala Kadala Curry, or Egg roast.






Ingredients for cherupayar curry
Cherupayar - 1 cup
Onion - 1 medium
Green chillies - 3
Curry leaves - 1 stalk
Pepper powder - 2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt
Oil

Pressure cook cherupayar along with green chillies and curry leaves till 3 whistles.
Heat oil in a pan, saute onion till it becomes light brown in colour. Now lower the flame, add pepper powder and turmeric powder. Add cooked cherupayar to this. You can add water depending on how thick or thin you want the curry to be made. This is an easy curry to make with the dominating mild peppery flavor.








Saturday, November 3, 2012

Carrot Upma - Remembering somebody in heaven


Today was All Souls' Day, remembering all good people who have left us with an imprint that even most beautiful of the seasons cannot wipe out from us. Do you believe in heaven and hell? I do believe in heaven and all good things it has to offer.  I firmly believe that those who are in heaven see us from up above and is constantly showering us with blessings and prayers. 

You might be thinking what heaven has to do with modest upma. Yeah yeah, I know.... This was one food my grandma used to love till she left us. Feed her everyday and she is one happy human being you can find. Oh! and the amount of satisfaction she shows when she chew into it is priceless. Wish I could give her some. 


Ingredients
Semolina/Rava - 1 1/2 cups
Water - 3 3/4 cups
Onion - 1 medium
Green chillies - 2
Carrot - 1 small
Ginger - 1 small piece
Urad dal - 1 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Curry leaves





Heat oil in a pan, allow mustard seeds to crackle. Add urad dal and curry leaves. Now add chopped onion, green chillies, and ginger. Sauté them for 2 minutes. Add the chopped carrot and lower the flame. Saute them for 2 minutes. Add salt and water. Let the water boil. Now lower the flame and add rava to the water and stir well so that lumps do not form. You will get a gooey looking upma at this point. Now close the lid, lower the flame, let the water reduce and rava gets cooked. Open the lid in between to check if it is cooked. Don't overcook or it can be hard as a rock. Serve hot with ripe banana, any leftover curry, egg roast. 

Sprinkle sugar if you have a sweet tooth and a teaspoon of ghee, while upma is still hot. It makes a real treat! 


Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Jewelled Couscous



Couscous prep technique: A very dear friend of mine, Hamda
Recipe Source: Mine

Ingredients
Couscous - 2 1/2 cups
Water - 2 3/4 cups
Red pepper - 1, cut into 1.5 cm pieces
Yellow pepper - 1, cut into 1.5 cm pieces
Plum tomatoes, deseeded and cut into 1.5 cm pieces - 2 big
Zucchini - 3 small
Onion - 1
Coriander and mint chopped - 3 tbsp
Pepper powder as needed
Maggi chicken cubes - 1
Olive oil



Directions
Heat olive oil in a pan, saute onion, red and yellow peppers, zucchini, tomatoes, coriander and mint leaves. Add pepper powder as needed. Keep them aside. (Peppers and zucchini should be crisp).

Preparation of Couscous
Boil 2 3/4 cups of water in a pan along with a stock cube and 2 tbsp of olive oil, when it starts to boil, pour in the couscous and switch off the stove and close the pan with a lid. Let the steam help to cook the couscous. Leave untouched for 10-12 minutes. After the allowed time, fluff them up with a fork.

Now combine the cooked vegetables to the couscous. Sprinkle some coriander and mint leaves over the top and serve hot.

This is a quick fix breakfast and light dinner too.



Friday, October 12, 2012

Rice-whole green moong dal porridge/Cherupayar congee





It is a distant dream for me to grow vegetables  and eat organic. I know it will take a while, but I am being patient for the day to arrive. For now, you all chill out with my breakfast congee. I know most of you had a late night tiptoe weekends. Try this congee to ward off your hangovers. This cherupayar congee works equally well for busy worrywarts and satviks (minus the shallots) as it takes only minutes to prepare and is a pure bliss.   


Ingredients
Raw rice - 1 cup
Whole green moong dal/cherupayar - 3/4 cup
Pure ghee
Shallots - 2
Coconut milk

Directions
Cook raw rice and whole green moong dal in a pressure cooker until 3 whistles or till done.

Serve with thin coconut milk.

Optional: Heat ghee in a pan, add chopped shallots and fry. Pour it over the cooked rice and green moong dal congee.


Monday, October 8, 2012

Aloo Paratha

I have always been an ardent fan of Mommie's aloo parathas. After many years, Loyd also joined my league. We both have a voracious appetite when it comes to aloo parathas. Other than eating whatever my Mom cooked, I never made any serious attempt to learn from her, let alone aloo parathas.



One of my friend Indrani used to tell me that I should learn to cook from Mom or else I will miss it after years. But I never gave ears to her. yaar ....... sure I miss it.

We left home for the greener pastures. Whirlwind of responsibilities followed topped by an urge to eat home cooked food. Those were the days of measuring cups and endless calls to Mom for recipes. She put an end to the calls by going that extra mile starting a blog  http://cookingatmayflower.blogspot.com/ for me. BOOOY! That sure was an easy way out for me. Thanks Mommie, I will always treasure it .....


When I saw Viji's ongoing event - Feast your guru. I thought it is now or never to learn those perfect parathas from the master and feast her. Finally can say, I hone the skill of making aloo parathas.


Ingredients to make dough
Wheat flour - 2 cups
Maida - 1 cup

Ingredients to make the filling
Potatoes - 3 nos
Onion - 1 no
Green chillies - 2
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Heat oil in a pan, splutter mustard seeds. Saute onions and green chillies with turmeric powder. Now add cooked potatoes to it. Filling is ready for the parathas.

Directions
Knead wheat flour and maida with enough water to make a dough. Roll chapatis out of it. Cook in low flame. Stuff with the filling and roll out as shown in the pictures below.
















































I am sending this to Viji's event Feast your Guru


Friday, October 5, 2012

Appam/Palappam/Vellayappam





Soft white appams to brighten up your day.....

Don't forget to invest in a nonstick appam chatti available in the market. You can tuck oil-free appams into your belly. So go guilt-free.

Ingredients
Raw rice - 3 cups
Semolina/Rava - 2 tbsp
Yeast - 3/4-1 tsp
Salt - as needed
Sugar - 1 tsp



Directions
Soak raw rice in water for 3-4 hours. Grind raw rice along with little water so that you get a thick batter (Consistency should be thicker than a dosa batter). Keep aside.

Boil semolina/rava along with water in a stove to get a thick mixture. You should stir continuously so that lumps do not form.

In 1/4 cup of lukewarm water, add yeast and sugar. Close this with a lid and keep it for 1/2 an hour. It should rise at the end of 1/2 an hour.

Mix prepared rava mixture and yeast mixture to the ground raw rice batter. Keep them overnight or 8-10 hours to ferment. Mixture will double in volume.

Pour the mixture into the center of a nonstick appam chatti and rotate it once. The mixture should be thin at the edges. Cover and cook for 2 minutes in low flame. When the edges become crisp and brown as shown in the picture, remove it from the appam chatti. (There is no need to turn the appam and cook).

Serve it with vegetable stew/beef stew/mutton stew, egg roast, or even thin coconut milk.





Sending this to Divya Pramil's ongoing event - 60 Days to Christmas

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Beef stew/Ishtew


Come Easter or Christmas, we are ready on your table in the mornings. Adults and kids look forward to me for a great start in the mornings with some veggie and coconut goodness. Does that sound familiar to you? The above stated is a typical Christian home serving istew/stew for breakfast. Christian festival gatherings are never complete without appams and beef/mutton stews, though a lighter version in the form of vegetable stew is gaining popularity nowadays.  




Ingredients

Beef - 1/2 kg
Onion - 1 big, sliced
Potato - 1 big
Carrot - 1 
Ginger - 1 tsp chopped 
Cinnamon stick - 1 piece
Cloves - 4 nos
Cardamom - 2 nos
Peppercorns - 1/2 tsp
Green chillies - 6
Curry leaves
Coriander leaves - 1 tbsp
Mint leaves - 1 tsp
Eastern Coconut Milk in tins - 3/4 cup





Directions
Cook beef in a pressure cooker with salt, green chillies, and ginger until well done. Keep aside.

Slice carrots in round shapes. Cut potatoes in cubes.

Heat oil in a pan, splutter cinnamon, cloves, peppercorns, and cardamom. Saute onion, green chillies, and curry leaves. When onion becomes transparent (don't fry the onions for too long), add water, potato and carrot. When carrot and potato is half boiled, add cooked beef along with stock. Now close the lid and cook potatoes and carrots in low flame. When potatoes and carrots are cooked, add 1/4 cup of coconut milk along with water. When it starts to boil and thicken, add remaining coconut milk (remaining 1/2 cup). When it is about to boil, take out beef stew from stove (don't boil). Garnish with coriander leaves and mint leaves.

Serve with fresh white appams and bread.

Enjoy next day with puttu/steam cakes!!!


Sending this to Divya Pramil's event - 60 days to Christmas


Friday, September 28, 2012

Foot-long and slices of fruit for lazy Fridays



What a good way to start a lazy Friday than a footlong. Mom is visiting us tomorrow. She will be carrying a lot of goodies for us. Was cleaning up refrigerator to make room for the arrival of all eatables. Doesn't that sound good? Of course for me! I will be relieved partially from all Mommie duties. Mommie, can't wait to eat and cook with you!!!



The word brunch doesn't exist for us anymore since arrival of Abbey. Before Thursdays used to be our movie nights and Fridays were reserved for more sleep.




My hubs is passionate about fishing. The fisherman in him had a sleepless night yesterday dreaming about the huge catch to follow. So man of the house is all set to catch the fish. He shook the dust off the fishing rods last week and presented us with a catch. Fresh fish is always yum!



One of the highlights of winter are the fishing trips with him. He is always lucky to get a huge catch. Once we got a sting ray. We had no idea how to clean it, but youtube came to our rescue. We cooked thirandi varutharachathu after much calls to India. Those days were the humble beginnings of our life here, which I cherish the most. Looking forward to more sting rays this winter!!! 




Ingredients
French bread slit into 2
Tomatoes - 3 slices
Onions - 3 thin slices
Cheese slice- 1, cut into half
Black Olives - 3 nos, cut into 2
Pepper Mayonnaise - A good squeeze
Tomato ketchup - a small dollop

Directions
Slit the bread horizontally, so that it is not fully sliced. Layer the bread with a cheese slice. Second layer with tomato slices. Third layer with onions followed by olives. Give a good squeeze of pepper mayonnaise and little ketchup (if you like) on the other side of the bread. Fold the bread and devour.

Enjoy with some fruit slices and raisins. 

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