kerala specials

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Pazham Pori



Pazham Pori also called Ethakkappam (Plantain Fritters), is a very popular snack in Kerala made using ripe plantains. ( This is what Keralites call Nenthrappazham/Kerala banana)

This has been one of my all time favorites. It is very simple to prepare yet so very tasty.

Here’s how it is made.

Ingredients:
3 ripe plantains (Halve each plantain and make 3-4 slices from each half)

Oil for deep frying. ( I prefer Coconut Oil for this)

For the batter:
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ cup rice flour
Sugar (add depending on sweetness of the plantain)
½ tsp baking soda
A pinch or two of cardamom powder or turmeric powder and little cumin seeds (jeera)
Salt to taste
Mix everything in water to form a thick batter that coats each slice really well.

Method:
Heat the oil for frying.

Drop about three to four pieces of batter-coated plantain into hot oil, one at a time. Proceed to fry the rest in four or five batches.( If you put in too many pieces at a time, it decreases the temperature of the oil & it takes longer to fry & the plantains will absorb more oil than they normally would)

Fry till golden brown. (This should take less than a minute if the oil is at the correct temperature)

Drain off the excess oil on paper towels.

[Friendz]

Pappad Thoren


Ingredients
1. Fried Pappads- 8, 2. Oil-2 dsp, 3. Mustard seeds- ¼ tsp, 4, Black gram dhal-1 tsp, 5. Big onion (chopped)- 1, 6. Green chillies (chopped)- 2, 7. Grated coconut-½ cup

Method
1. Heat oil and fry mustard and black gram dhal.
2. Add chopped onions and green chillies and saute.
3. Add grated coconut and stir till the water is absorbed.
4. Add the crumbed fried pappads and mix.

[Friendz]

Kerala Special Kozhi Curry


Ingredients

1.One whole chicken ,cleaned and cut in to curry sized pieces.
2.Coriander leaves [malli illa]- 1whole bunch chopped.
3.onions-4 sliced.
4.garlic- 6 cloves sliced.
5.ginger-1big piece finely chopped.
6.lime- 1/2 a piece.
7.coconut-1 fresh grated.
8.oil & salt to taste.

Grind together to a smooth paste:
12 red chillies, 1&1/2 tbspn of poppy seed
2 tbspn of coriander seeds,
1/2 tspn of cumin seeds [jeera],1/2 tspn of turmeric powder or whole turmeric 1 -inch piece, 1 tspn of garam masala [optional] & 6 nos of cashew nuts.


Method of Preparation
1.Soak the grated coconut in 1/4 cup of hot water and extract thick milk.
2.Then add1 glass of hot waterand extract the thin milk [2nd milk]. you can use the
mixer and remove the thin milk.
3.Add 1/2 cup of hot water and extract the 3rd milk. Grind and extract.
4.Heat oil and fry the onions ginger, garlic, and coriander leaves.
5.Add the ground masala and fry for few minutes till the raw smell evaporates.
6.Now put the chicken pieces and fry ,cook over a low flame till the chicken is well browned ,stir in the 3rd milk and cook. keep adding the 2nd milk simmer for a while.
[As chicken cooks fast be careful while adding the coconut milk, if you find the water is more in the curry don't add any more of coconut milk, and keep the lid open and evaporate the water.]
7.After the chicken is cooked, remove from fire. Let there be enough gravy.
8.Finally add lime juice and the first extracted coconut milk. [Never boil after the thick
coconut milk is added]
9.Serve hot with parotta or rice.
Do let me know how the curry turned out to be.

[Friendz]

Kappa Vilayichathu



Ingredients
1.Tapioca chips 750 gm.,2. Scraped coconut 1 cup, 3.Nescafe 7 level teaspoons, 4. Sugar 500 gm, 5.Ghee 1 tabelspoon, 6.Water 1 ½ cups.

How to prepare
1.The Nescafe is dissolved in ½ cup hot water and kept aside.2.The sugar is dissolved in the remaining water and heated, and before it reaches the syrup form, the Nescafe is added along with the scraped coconut and heated till all the water is gone.3.When the mix reaches the required consistency, the ghee is added.4.To this the tapioca chips are added and mixed well till the Nescafe mix covers the chips. Once this is done, it is taken off the fire. (While mixing make sure the tapioca chips do not break).5.This may now be cooled, ready for us

[Friendz]

Olathirachi (Beef Fry)



This is one of the traditional beef curry known as olathirachi. You can be sure of having some, on any important occasion of Keralite Christian community. Prepared with fresh beef it is a sure treat with rice or chapati / roti.
Sl.No Ingredients Quantity PreCooking Preparation
1 Beef 1 Kg Cut into small cubes
2 Onions / Shell onions 2 to 3 cups Cut into thin slices
3 Ginger 1/2 cup Cut into juliennes
4 Garlic 1/2 cup Cut into juliennes
5 Curry leaves 2 stalks Cleaned
6 Salt To taste
7 Coconut 1 cup Cut into thin rectangular pieces
8 Green Chillies 4 or 5 Sliced lengthwise
9 Vinegar 3 teaspoons Optional
10 Red Chilli powder 2 teaspoons
11 Turmeric powder 1/4 teaspoon
12 Coriander powder 1 1/2 tspn
13 Garam masala 2 teaspoon
14 Oil 3 tablespoon
15 Tomato paste 2 teaspoons Optional
Preparation
Cut the beef into small cubes, and clean thoroughly.
Cut the onions, ginger, garlic, and coconut. Coconut should be cut into around 1 cm long, thin pieces.
Heat oil in a heavy bottomed vessel, and fry coconut, onions, ginger, and garlic. Fry till onions, and coconut pieces turn light brown. Add a stalk of curry leaves.
Add a little oil to fry the masala. When the oil is heated, add the turmeric powder, chilli powder, coriander powder, and the garam masala, and fry.
If you are not using vinegar, add tomato paste.
Add the cleaned beef and water enough to cook.
You can cook this mixture in a pressure cooker when in a hurry. Remove when almost cooked.
In a wide based vessel, put the cooked curry, add a stalk of curry leaves, and cook at a medium heat.
Cook till the water content is evaporated, and the curry becomes dry.
Serve with hot rice or chapattis.
This dish could be stored for some days, just heat it in a little oil, when served.

[Friendz]

Appam and Prawn Masala


Ingredients
1. Prawns 200 gm, 2. Lobster as needed, 3. Chilly powder ½ dessert spoonTurmeric powder ¼ dessert spoon, Salt to taste, 4. Onions (big) 200 gm, Ginger one small piece, Garlic four flakes,Green chillies three,5. Tomatoes (finely chopped) one,6. Coconut oil 20 ml, 7. Mustard ¼ teaspoon 8. Coriander powder ½ dessert spoon,9. Garam masala powder a pinch

Method
1. Clean the small prawns well and chop finely.2. Clean the big prawns well. Make a paste with one pinch of turmeric powder, ¼ dessert spoon chilly powder and salt, apply well on the prawns an keep aside for a while. Now fry on a tava till crisp on both sides.3. Finely chop ingredients No.4. Heat coconut oil well, add mustard seeds and when it splutters, add the chopped ingredients and saute well.4. When the onions turn brown, add the remaining masala powders, saute then add the tomatoes, salt and mix well.5. When the oil appears at the sides, add a little water and the chopped prawns and mix well. When the prawns are cooked and the water dries up, remove from fire.

Appam
1. Raw rice one k. g.2. Sugar 100 gm3. Salt a little4. Coconut water 50 ml (two days old)

Method
1. Soak the rice for two hours, wash well and grind. When the grinding is three fourths completed, remove 80.gm of the batter and keep aside. Grind the remaining rice to a fine batter.2. To one and a half cup of boiled water, add the little batter kept aside, stir carefully so that no lumps are formed keep on fire and when it thickens, remove from fire. 3. When it cools well, add this and the coconut water and keep aside for six hours to ferment. Add salt and sugar to the fermented batter.4. Take one ladle of the batter, pour into the appam ‘chatti’ or vessel, and cook. Now add one teaspoon of prawn masala, and one teaspoon of the grilled prawns, close with lid and cook again till done.

[Friendz]

Mouth watering meat preprations

Kerala Meat Fry
1. Beef (cut into small pieces) -1 kg, 2. Coriander Powder (roasted) -2 dessert spoons, Chilly Powder (roasted) 2 tsp. , Turmeric Powder - ½ tsp., Pepper Powder- ½ tsp., Garlic-3 flakes, Small onions-2, Ginger-(small piece) Cumin (Jeera)- a pinch. Clove- 2, Cinnamon- a small piece , 3. Vinegar -1 dessert spoon, Salt- to taste, Ginger (1 long sliced) -1 tsp. , 4. Garlic (long sliced) 1 dessert spoon, Potato-2 (each cut into 8 pieces), 5. Coconut Oil- 1 cup, Mustard -1 teaspoon, Big onion (long sliced)- ½ cup

Method
Grind well together ingredients under (2) add this along with no (3) ingredients, to the meat and keep closed to boil with a little water. When it is almost done, add the garlic and potatoes. When the meat is done, and the gravy coats the pieces, remove the cooker from the fire. Heat oil in a pan, add the mustard and when it splutters add the onions and saute. Add the meat mixture to this and stir well.

Chicken pepper fry
1. Chicken -1 kg. (Cut into big pieces ), 2. Curd (not too sour) - 2 dessert spoons, 3. Coriander powder-2 spoons, Ginger paste and garlic paste) - 2 teaspoons each, Pepper powder- 1 teaspoon, Salt-to taste, 4. Oil -1/2 cup, 5. Soyabean sauce-2 dessert spoons.

Method
Grind ingredients (3) well, add to curd, apply well on the chicken pieces and marinate for two hours. Later keep to boil, till all the water evaporates. Heat oil in a pan, add mustard, when it splutters add the pepper powder and fry well. Add the soyabean sauce and when done, add the boiled chicken and saute well. The masala must coat the pieces well.

Mutton Fry
1. Mutton -1 kg. (Cut into big pieces after removing the skin) , 2. Chilly powder -2 dessert spoons, Small onions-16, Garlic- 8 flakes, Ginger-1 small piece, Salt- to taste, 3. Cumin (jeera) roasted - 1 dessert spoon, 4. Rice Flour-2 dessert spoons.

Method
Grind ingredients (2) along with (3), well into a paste form and apply on the pieces. In a flat, heavy bottomed pan, add coconut oil, and when hot, add the coconut oil, and the mutton pieces little at a time, fry well and remove. Strain the oil and keep aside the residue as well. Add two dessert spoons of that oil in a pan and fry the rice flour. Add the strained residue to it and mix well. Now add the fried mutton pieces and mix well. Serve hot with salad.

[Friendz]

Avial


Ingredients:
Drumstick-1
Carrot-2
Beans-4 to 5 nos
Potato-2 nos
Snake guard-100gms
Brinjal-4 to 5 nos
Yellow pumpin-small piece
Turmeric powder-1/4 tsp

For grinding:
Coconut-1
Jeera/cummin seeds-2 tsp
Green chillies-3 to 4 nos
Ginger-small piece

For seasoning:
Curry leaves-a bunch
Coconut oil-2 tsp

Salt to taste

Method:
1.Cut the vegetables into long broad pieces.
2.Add required (one glass)water,turmeric powder and salt and pressure cook it for 2 to 3 whistle.
3.Grind the ingredients given to a smooth paste.
4.After the vegatable is cooked add the ground paste to it.
5.Stir well and after it starts to boil simmer and leave for 1 or 2 minutes and remove from fire.
6.Now season curry leaves in coconut oil and add it to the cooked vegetables.
Now avial is ready to serve.
Note:
After adding the ground paste to the vegatable and once it starts to boil,remove from the fire after one or two minutes otherwise,the avial will become watery.

It is good to be taken with dosa,chapati,puri ,adai and rice and also very easy to prepare.

[Friendz]

Potato Thoran
Potato 5 medium sized
Onion 2 cut into small pieces
Green chilli 3 cut length wise
Coconut ½ piece (grated)
Oil 3 table spoon
Mustard ½ teaspoon
Curry leaves One sprig
Salt to taste
Preparation :
Cut potato into very small pieces and mix it with onion, green chilli, grated coconut, salt and keep it for 30 seconds.
Heat oil in a pan, splutter mustard, add curry leaves and now put the mixture into it and mix well. Cover it and cook it in a very low flame for 6 to 10 minutes. When it is cooked stir well again for 2 minutes and remove it from the flame.
TIP :
Potato should be cut into very thin small pieces for faster cooking

[Friendz]

Parippu Vada


Ingredients
2 cups toor dahl
1 cup masoor dahl
Mince the following:
Curry Leaves
Onions
Ginger
Green Chillies
Preparation
Wash and soak dahls separately for four hours. Then DRAIN the dahls in a colandar for 1 hour. There should be hardly any water left on the dahl. If the dahl is too wet the vada will break apart. Pat the dahl dry with a paper towel. With a food processor, the grinding will be easy. Grind the dahls separately and make a paste. In the last portion of your grinding (if you have a food processor) add the onions, ginger and curry leaves so they become minced further. Combine the ground dahls. Add asoefetida powder and salt and powdered red pepper for taste. Shape into patties and deep fry.