Puttum Payarum Pinne Pappadavum

Ingredients:

For Soft Puttu:

• Roasted rice flour 1 cup
• Cooked rice 1 cup
• Grated coconut 3/4 to 1 cup
• Salt

For preparing soft puttu, put equal amount of cooked rice (I use Kerala kuthari), roasted rice flour and salt in a mixie and grind it just once or twice. Don't grind it continuously or too much. Transfer it to a bowl and add half of the coconut and mix well. Check the salt.

For preparing puttu, put a layer of grated coconut into the puttu kutti (puttu maker) followed by rice flour and then again a layer of grated coconut. Steam it for 5 to 8 minutes until the steam passes from the top of the puttu kutti. Serve it hot with cherupayar mezhukkupuratty (moong dal) and pappadam. 

[Recipe Courtesy of soft Puttu: My Aunt]

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Vendakka (Bhindi) Soup

Ingredients:

• Vendakka (bhindi)10
• Water 4 to 5 cups
• Pepper pdr 1 Tbsp
• Butter or ghee 2 Tsp
• Turmeric pdr a pinch
• Shallots 5
• Salt

Clean and cut the bhindi into medium pieces and cook it well adding little water, just enough to keep the bhindi submerged. Allow it to cool and seive the extract. Add double quantity of water or more into the extract untill it reaches a watery consistency and keep it aside. Heat ghee or butter in a kadai and saute sliced shallots till it turns light brown. Then add turmeric pdr and pepper pdr into this and mix well. Pour the extract
(along with water) into this and boil it well. Finally add required amount of salt and combine well. Remove it from fire. Serve it hot.

[ Recipe Courtesy: My Grandmother ]

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Kaju Katli

Ingredients:

• Cashews 1 cup
• Sugar 1/2 cup
• Water 1/4 cup
• Milk 1 T bsp
• Ghee                      

Powder the cashews well using grinder. (Do not use the cashews direct from the fridge. Thaw it first.) Next, boil sugar and water and stir it continously. When it reaches a one-thread consistency, add the powdered cashew into it and mix well. Reduce the flame. When it  boils and the cashew paste gets thick remove it from fire. You can check the consistency by rolling a pinch of cashew paste between your fingers. If it's the right consistency, it will roll into an non sticky ball. Stir it for a few more mins and transfer it to a flat surface or to the counter top and knead till it becomes soft and smooth. If the dough appears dry, sprinkle little milk into it and continue kneading. Grease a dish or plate with little ghee and roll it about 1/2 inch thickness and cut it diagonally.

[ Recipe courtesy: Rakskitchen ]

Traditional Chicken Roast

Ingredients:

• Chicken 1/2 kg
• Onion 4 big
• Tomato 2 big
• Shallots 10
• Garlic 15 pods
• Ginger 1 big piece
• Pepper pdr 1/4 Tsp
• Turmeric Pdr 1/2 Tsp
• Chilly pdr (spicy) 2 Tsp
• Kashmiri chilly pdr 3 Tsp
• Garam masala 1/2 to 1 Tsp
• Cashew paste 1 Tbsp
• Mustard seeds
• Curry leaves
• Salt
• Oil

Clean and cut the chicken into medium pieces. Marinate it with pepper pdr, salt and little turmeric pdr for 1 to 2 hrs. Then shallow fry it and keep it aside. Grind together shallots, garlic and ginger. Add both the chilly pdrs and turmeric pdr into this and make a fine paste. Heat oil in a kadai and splutter mustard seeds and curry leaves. Brown the above prepared paste till dark and the oil gets separated. Put sliced onion and saute until it becomes soft. Then add the chopped tomatoes and cook it (do not add water). Add the shallow fried chicken and garam masala and cook well. Finally add the cashew paste till it is warm. Remove it from fire. Serve it with palappam or hot rice.

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Gulab Jamun

Ingredients:

• Milk powder 1 cup
• All purpose flour 1/4 cup
• Vegetable oil 2 Tbsp
• Baking soda 1/4 Tsp
• Cardamom pdr   1 Tsp
• Milk as rqd
• Sugar 11/2 cup
• Water 1 cup

For the sugar syrup, boil water with sugar and cardamom pdr till the sugar completely dissolves. Keep it aside. Sieve the all purpose flour and baking soda. Add milk powder into this and combine well. Make it into a smooth dough using oil and required amount of milk. Make small balls from it. Fry it in oil and soak it in sugar syrup. Heat it in low flame for few minutes and remove it from fire.

Nellikka Chammanthi

Ingredients:

• Nellikka (Gooseberry / Lololika) 10
• Kanthari mulaku (Bird's eye chilly) 5 to 8
• Shallots 5
• Salt as rqd
• Oil 1 Tbsp

Roast or grill the berry over the charcoal (chuttedukkuka) or on the stove top till the skin turns dark in colour. Allow it to cool and cut it into small pieces. Grind all the ingredients together except oil. Transfer it to a bowl and pour rqd amount of oil and mix well.

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Mutton Biriyani

Ingredients:
For rice:

• Rice 2 cup
• Water 3 1/2 cup
• Lime juice 1 Tbsp
• Cinnamon 2 piece
• Cardamom 3
• Cloves 3
• Ghee 
• Salt

Soak the rice and drain it for 10 to 15 mins. Add lime juice, crushed whole spices and salt into water and boil well. At the same time, saute the rice in a little ghee. When it starts to crack, pour the boiling water into the rice. Cover it and cook well. When it becomes void of moisture content, remove the rice and keep it aside.

For Marinating Mutton:

• Curd 1/2 cup
• Chilly pdr 1 Tsp
• Crushed pepper 1/2 Tsp
• Turmeric pdr 1/4 Tsp
• Biriyani masala 1/2 Tsp
• Salt

Cut mutton into medium size pieces. Marinate it with turmeric pdr, chilly pdr, biriyani masala and crushed pepper. Finally add the curd and little salt and mix well. Keep it aside for 1 hr. Then pressure cook it and keep it aside.

For Gravy:

• Mutton 1 kg
• Tomato 3
• Onion 3
• Green chilly 5
• Garlic 5 to 10 pods
• Ginger 1 big pice
• Biriyani masala 1 to 2 Tsp
• Turmeric pdr 1/2 Tsp
• Coriander pdr 1/2 Tsp
• Chilly pdr 1 Tsp
• Coriander leaves
• Mint leaves
• Salt
• Ghee

Heat ghee in a kadai and add crushed ginger, garlic and green chilly. Saute it for a few mins and add thinly sliced onion. When it turns light brown, add rqd amount of salt, turmeric pdr, chilly pdr and coriander pdr. Combine it well and put the chopped tomato and brown it well. Then place the cooked mutton  into the masala  and cook it for few mins.  Finally add biriyani masala, chopped coriander and mint leaves. Remove it from fire and keep it aside for few mins.

For Garnishing:

• Cashew nuts 1/2 cup
• Raisins 1/2 cup
• Fried onion as rqd
• Corriander leaves as rqd
• Mint leaves as rqd

Fry thinly sliced onions in ghee till it turns golden brown. Fry cashews and raisins in the same ghee and keep it aside.

For layering:

Add little ghee into a heavy bottom vessel and put a layer of mutton. Then arrange a layer of rice and spread it well using a big spoon. Next add chopped coriander leaves, mint leaves and fried onion. Repeat the same process and arrange the final layer with rice. Garnish it wth little ghee, corriander leaves and mint leaves, fried cashews, kismis and onion. Cover it well and cook it in low flame for 10 to 15 mins.

Sending this to Kerala Kitchen, hosting by Khusi of A Girl's Diary.