Kerala Christmas special recipes

[minisoji]

Prawn Cutlet

Ingredients :
Boiled prawns - 250 gms
Finely chopped Onions - 100 gms
Ginger, Garlic, Aniseeds - 1/2 tsp each
Curry leaves - 1 sprig
Salt, pepper powder - as required
Dry Bread crumbs - as required
Egg - 1 no
Oil - to fry

Method of Preparation :

Mince the prawn. Ground ginger, garlic and aniseeds separately. Separate the yolk from the egg.

Heat 1 tsp oil in a pan and sauté onions. Add the ground ingredients one by one. Add curry leaves, prawns, salt and pepper powder and the egg yolk. Sauté well. Remove from fire. Add enough bread crumbs to make the cutlets. Make small balls from the mixture and flatten them into cutlets.

Beat egg white. Dip each cutlets in the egg and coat it with the bread crumbs. Fry them in oil till golden brown.

[minisoji]

Mutton Chops


Ingredients :

Mutton pieces with bones - 1 kg
Vinegar - 2 dsp
Ginger sliced length wise - 2 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste
Thickly sliced Onions - 2 cups
Coriander Powder - 2 dsp
Dry Chilli Powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
Sautéed Aniseeds - 2 tsp
Oil - 1/4 cup
Ghee - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - 1/4 cup
Powdered Pepper - 1 dsp

Method of Preparation :

Pressure cook the 1st ingredients with 1 cup water in a slow flame for about 45 minutes. When it is done, filter the water from it. Boil the filtered gravy till the quantity is reduced to 1/2 cup. Keep aside

Finely grind the 3rd and 4th ingredients together. Heat oil and ghee. Sauté curry leaves in it. Take it out and keep aside. Sauté the ground masalas and onions in the oil. Add gravy kept aside and when it boils, add the mutton pieces. Sauté till mutton pieces is covered with the masalas. Spread powdered pepper over it and remove from fire. Add sautéed curry leaves and serve hot.

[minisoji]

Grape Wine

Ingredients :

Black Grapes - 1 kg
Sugar - 3/4 kg
Boiled Water - 6 bottles
Cinnamon - 2 pieces
Clove - 5 no's
Yeast - 5 gm
Egg White - 1


Method of Preparation :

Clean and wash the grapes. Dissolve 5 gm yeast and 10 gm sugar in 100 ml hot water and keep it for half an hour.

Smash the grapes with a wooden ladle. Add the remaining sugar, water, prepared yeast, cinnamon and clove and stir well. Store in a mud vessel ( only up to 3/4 level )and tightly close the mouth of the vessel.

After 10 days filter the wine. Beat egg white and add to the wine. Keep this in the vessel for 2 days. It can be used after filtering.

[minisoji]

Beetroot Wine

Ingredients:

Finely Chopped beetroot - 1/2 kg
Sugar - 1/2 kg
Water - 8 cups
Cinnamon - 2 pieces(1 inch long sized )
Clove - 9 no's
Lemon Juice - 4 dsp
Yeast - 2dsp


Method of Preparation:

Cook well chopped beetroot, sugar, cloves, cinnamon and water together. When it is done keep it aside. When cool, squeeze well and strain through a fine cloth several times. Filter the lime juice and mix it with the yeast. Stir well, filter once more and store in a mud vessel. It can be used after 40 days.

[minisoji]

Chicken Masala Curry



Ingredients:

½ kg chicken, washed and cut into medium sized pieces

3 tbsp curds

1 tsp red chilli powder (adjust to suit your spice level)

¼ tsp turmeric pwd

salt to taste

Make a paste:

6-7 cashewnuts

4-5 tbsps milk

Dry roast and make a fine powder:

1” cinnamon

10-12 curry leaves

3 cloves

Rest of the ingredients:

3-4 tbsps oil

2 big onions finely chopped

1 large tomato finely chopped

1 tsp ginger-garlic paste

1 tsp coriander powder

3/4 tsp black pepper powder (adjust to suit your spice level)

¼ tsp cumin powder

coriander leaves for garnish

Method

1 Marinate chicken pieces in chilli powder, turmeric powder, curds and salt for 20 mts.

2 While the chicken pieces are marinating, make a paste of cashewnuts and milk. Keep aside.

3 Dry roast cinnamon, cloves and curry leaves for 1 mt and make a powder of them. Keep aside.

4 Heat 1 1/2 tbsps of oil in a cooking vessel. Add the onions and saute till pink. Add ginger-garlic paste and saute further for another 3-4 minutes on medium heat.

5 Add coriander pwd, cumin pwd, pepper pwd and combine well and fry for another minute.

6 Add the tomatoes and let it cook for 3-4 minutes. Combine well and cook till oil separates.Turn off heat. Cool and grind the cooked masala. Keep aside this masala paste.

7 Heat 1 1/2 tbsps oil in a cooking vessel and add the marinated chicken and cook on high flame for 4-5 minutes, reduce heat and cook covered for another 4-5 minutes.

8 Add the ground masala paste, cashewnut paste and ground powder of cinnamon, cloves and curry leaves and combine well. (Add a cup of water for more gravy consistency). Cook till chicken pieces are soft and you get the desired curry consistency. Adjust salt.

9 Garnish with fresh coriander leaves.


Note:

Adjust the spices according to your choice. Dont over fry the masala too much or burn it as its the masala paste which gives the chicken its flavor. If you dont have curry leaves on hand, don’t worry. Do add more water for a gravy consistency. One variation is add a tbsp of coconut paste and juice of half a lemon to the above curry for added flavor.

[minisoji]

Palappam



Ingredients

Raw rice flour(very nice ) - 2 cups
Active dry yeast - 1 tsp
Sugar - 1 tsp
Semolina(Rava) - 3 tbsp
Coconut - 1/2 no
Egg - 1 no
Milk - As reqd
Salt - As reqd


Method

1)Lightly fry the rice flour and keep it aside.

2) Dissolve by stirring yeast in luke warm water(temp should be in this range 103F-110F)
:-ie it shouldn`t be hot when you touch it)

3)Keep it for 10-20 mins for fermentation(till it is frothy).

4)Add the rava to boiling water and keep stirring it till it becomes thick paste.Let it cool.

5)Extract the coconut milk of 1/2 coconut and add this to rice flour along with rava paste and fermented yeast.

:- Make sure that the dough is thick.

6)Keep it overnight for fermentation.

7)Next day morning add one egg,sugar followed by milk to this mixture
:-don`t add too much milk..consistency should be of vellayappam batter.

Keep it for another 2 hrs.

9)Add salt and make crispy soft palappam using appachatty.

Serve the appams with chicken curry.

[minisoji]

Christmas Cake Recipe



Ingredients

* 12 oz Plain Flour
* 1 tsp Cinnamon
* 1 tsp Mixed Spice
* A pinch of Salt
* 4 oz Candied Peel
* 4 oz Cherries
* 2 lb Dried fruits
* 4 oz Blanched Almonds
* 4 Eggs
* 4 tbsp Sherry
* 1 Lemon (Finely grated)
* 8 oz Margarine
* 8 oz Sugar,
* 1 tbsp Black treacle

Method

* Sieve together all the dry ingredients.
* Mix the peel, fruit, cherries, chopped almonds and lemon rind.
* Whisk the eggs and sherry together.
* Beat the margarine, sugar and black treacle until soft.
* Add the flour and egg mixtures alternately to the margarine little by little till it has a thick paste consistency.
* Stir in the fruit mixture.
* Put into an 8-9 inch tin, lined with greaseproof paper round the sides and at the bottom.
* Now, tie a double band of brown paper round the outside of the rim, standing well up above the top of it.
* Put in the middle of a hot oven. Bake for 3 1/4-31/2 hours at gas mark 3 for the first 1 1/2 hours, and then decrease to gas mark 2 for the remainder.
* Cool the cake in the tin, then store in an airtight container.
* Can be served hot or cold with custard or double cream respectively