Vanilla Spritz Cookies

Ingredients:

• Flour : 2 cup
• Butter : 1 cup
• Granulated white sugar : ½ cup
• Vanilla essence : 1½ Tsp
• Egg yolk : 2 large
• Salt : ¼ Tsp

Pre-heat oven to 180°C. Beat the sugar and butter till it turns fluffy, for 2 to 3 min. Then add egg yolks and vanilla essence into this and mix it with the butter mixture. Scrape down the sides of the bowl in between. Then add the flour and salt into this and mix it well.

Transfer the dough into a cookie press. Then press out the cookies into a greased baking tray, spacing about 2 inches. If the dough is too soft, chill it for a few minutes and use it again. Decorate the cookies with nuts, sprinkles or colored sugar. Bake it for 12 to 15 mins or until the edges of the cookies turn lightly brown. Remove it from oven and cool it completely. Then store it in an air tight container.

Kerala Fruit Cake

Ingredients:
For soaking:

• Mixed fruits : 3 cups
• Rum : 1½ cups

For Caramel :

• Sugar : ½ cup
• Water : 1 Tbsp
• Warm water : ¼ cup

For spice powder :

• Cloves : 2
• Cardamom : 2
• Cinnamon : small piece
• Nutmeg : small piece

For Cake :

• Flour : 2 cup
• Baking powder : 1¼ Tsp
• Baking soda : ½ Tsp
• Sugar : 1 cup + 2 Tbsp
• Butter : 250 g
• Egg : 4
• Vanilla : 2 Tsp
• Jam : 1 Tbsp

I used a mix of raisins, sultanas, dates, cashews, walnuts, almonds and candied orange peel for soaking. Roughly chop the dry fruits and dates. Then soak it in rum and keep it in an airtight container. I soaked it for 1 month. The longer you soak, the better. For the caramel syrup, heat the sugar and 1 tbsp of water in a pan. When it melts and turns to dark brown colour, remove it from fire and pour ¼ cup of warm water into this. Again, boil it for a few minutes. Then remove it from fire and cool it completely. For the spice powder, add all the ingredients into a grinder along with little sugar and powder it well. Keep it aside.

Pre-heat the oven to 180°C. Grease the cake pan and keep it aside. Drain away the liquid from the soaked dry fruits. Take 4 tbsp of drained liquor and keep it aside. Toss the drained fruit in 3 tsp of flour. Sieve the flour with baking powder and baking soda twice. Then powder the sugar and keep it aside.

Next, separate the eggs and beat the egg whites to soft peaks. Then beat the egg yolks with softened butter till smooth and creamy. Slowly add powdered sugar into this and beat well. Then pour vanilla essence and cooled caramel syrup followed by spice powder. Again beat it and  add the flour in two batches and mix well. Add jam and combine all the ingredients well. Fold in the egg whites in two batches and slowly mix it with the flour till no streaks are visible. Finally, fold in the soaked fruits and 4 tbsp of liquor. Transfer the batter into cake tin and bake it for 40 to 45 mins.

Carrot Pickle

Ingredients:

• Sliced carrot : 1 kg
• Sliced ginger : 2 Tbsp
• Sliced garlic : 2 Tbsp
• Sliced green chilly : 1½ Tbsp
• Curry leaves : as rqd
• Mustard seeds : 1 Tsp
• Fenugreek seeds : ½ Tsp
• Gingely oil : ¼ cup or as rqd
• Eastern pickle powder : 4 Tbsp
• Vinegar : ½ to ¾ cup
• Salt : to taste

Peel off the carrot skin and slice it into thin pieces. Heat gingelly oil in a chatti (kadai) and splutter the mustard seeds and fenugreek seeds. Then add sliced ginger, garlic, green chilly and curry leaves. Stir it for a few mins and put the sliced carrots. Saute it for 2 to 4 mins and reduce the heat. Then add pickle powder into it and mix well. Remove it from fire and pour required amount of vinegar and salt. Combine well. Keep it aside and allow it to cool completely. Transfer it into a clean air tight container. The pickle can be used from very next day.

Dates Delight - Eggless Butterless Whole Wheat Dates Cake

Ingredients:

• Whole wheat flour: 1 cup
• Granulated sugar : ¾ cup
• Black dates : 18
• Milk : ¾ cup
• Veg oil : ½ cup
• Baking soda : 1 Tsp
• Chopped nuts : 1 Tbsp

Soak the de-seeded dates in little milk for 15 mins. Add vegetable oil, sugar and rest of the milk into a mixing bowl and stir till the sugar melts. Keep it aside. Then sieve together the whole wheat flour and baking soda twice. Grind the soaked dates into a fine paste and pour it into the wet ingredients. Then slowly add the flour into dates and combine well. Finally add the chopped nuts and stir. Transfer the batter into a greased pan and bake it for 35 to 40 mins at 176° C. 

Note: The recipe given above is for a full recipe. While baking, I halved the recipe and baked in a 6 inch round cake pan. You can reduce the quantity of the sugar depending upon the sweetness of the dates.

Fish Amritsari

Ingredients:

• Fish : 600 gm
• Vinegar : ¼ cup
• Salt : as rqd
• Ginger paste : 1½ Tbsp
• Garlic paste : 1½ Tbsp
• Ajwain (omam): 1 Tbsp
• Chilly pdr : 1½ Tsp
• Turmeric  pdr : ¼ Tsp
• Pepper pdr : ½ Tsp
• Besan flour : ¾ cup
• Oil 

Clean and slice the fish into big pieces. Add besan flour, ginger paste, garlic paste, omam, chilly pdr, turmeric pdr, vinegar and required amount of salt into a bowl. Then make a thick paste using vinegar and little water. Keep it aside for 20 mins. Heat oil in a frying pan. Dip each piece in batter and fry well. 

Banana Choco Chip Cake

Ingredients:

• Flour : ¾ cup
• Baking pdr : 1½ Tsp
• Baking soda : ¼ Tsp
• Salt : ½ Tsp
• Ripe banana : 1 large
• Granulated sugar : ¾ cup
• Chocolate chips : 1 cup
• Egg : 1
• Butter : ¼ cup
• Sour cream : 50 ml
• Vanilla : 1 Tsp

Pre-heat the oven to 180° C. Grease a 9 inch pan and keep it aside. Put flour, baking pdr, salt and soda into a bowl or into a processor and combine it well. Then mash the banana and keep it aside. Put sugar and egg into the mashed banana and mix it using a beater. Pour sour cream and vanilla essence and blend it. Finally mix the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients. Don't over beat or mix the batter. Transfer it into the greased pan and bake it for 40 mins. Remove and cool it completely.

[Recipe Courtesy: Cookingandme.com]

Brown Chicken

Ingredients:

• Chicken : ½ kg
• Chopped Onion : 2 Med
• Chopped capsicum : 1
• Chopped ginger : 1 Tbsp
• Chopped garlic : 1 Tbsp
• Cashew nuts : 10
• Dry chilly : 2 to 4
• Pepper pdr : 1½ Tbsp
• Coriander pdr : 2 Tsp
• Garam masala : 1 Tsp
• Soy sauce : 1 Tbsp
• Olive oil : 2 Tbsp
• Salt

Clean and cut the chicken into small pieces. Transfer the chicken into a big bowl, put all the ingredients into the chicken and mix it well. Keep it aside for half an hr. Then heat a non-stick pan and put the marinated chicken into it. Cover and cook it well. Then, stir it and make it dry. Serve it hot with roti, naan, rice, etc.

Easy Pressure Cooker Pulav

Ingredients:

• Soaked rice : 1 cup
• Fresh peas : ¼ cup
• Sliced carrot : ½ cup
• Sliced potato : ½ cup
• Sliced cauliflower : ¼ cup
• Onion : 1 big
• Garlic : 2 Tsp
• Chilly pdr : 2 Tsp
• Turmeric pdr : ½ Tsp
• Garam masala : ½ Tsp
• Cinnamon : 1 piece
• Cardamom : 1
• Cloves : 2
• boiled water : 1¾ cup
• Salt
• Oil

Clean the vegetables and cut it into small pieces. Heat oil in a pressure cooker and add the crushed whole spices. Stir it for a few mins and put the chopped onion and garlic into it and saute till it turns light brown in colour. Then reduce the flame and add the chilly pdr and turmeric pdr. Roast it well and add the cut vegetables into it. Saute it for 10 mins and add the soaked rice into it. Slowly mix it with the sauted vegetables. Then pour the boiling water into the rice and cover it. Cook it for 2 whistles of the cooker. Remove it from fire and keep it aside. Mix it slowly and serve it hot with raita, papad and pickle.

Moong Dal Ladoo

Ingredients:

• Moong dal : 1 heaped cup
• Sugar : ¾ cup 
• Cardamom pdr : ½ Tsp
• Ghee : ¼ cup + 2 Tbsp
• Broken cashews : 2 Tbsp

Dry roast the dal till it turns light golden in colour. Cool it and powder it well. Keep it aside. Then powder the sugar well and sieve the sugar and powdered dal to remove any lumps. Transfer it to a mixing bowl. Fry the broken cashews in little ghee and heat the rest of the ghee for couple of mins. Add the fried cashews, cardamom powder and melted ghee little by little into the powder. Mix it well with a spatula and pour the rest of the ghee. Combine it and let it sit for a few mins. Then make the ladoos. Keep them in an air tight container.

[Recipe Courtesy : SharmisPassion]

Milk Peda

Ingredients:

• Condensed milk : 1 tin
• Milk powder : 2 Tbsp
• Powdered sugar : 3 Tbsp
• All purpose flour : 1 Tbsp
• Cardamom pdr : 1 Tsp
• Paneer : ½ kg

Combine all the ingredients and grind it into a fine paste. Transfer this into a heavy bottom pan and stir it continuously for 20 minutes. When it leaves the side of the pan, remove it from the pan. Transfer it into a greased pan. Spread it and coo it well. Cut it into desired shapes.

Tandoori Chicken

Ingredients:

• Chicken legs : 3
• Oil : 2 Tbsp
• Kashmiri chilly pdr : 1 Tbsp
• Juice of 1 lime
• Tandoori masala : 2½ Tbsp
• Yoghurt : 1 cup 
• Kashmiri chilly pdr : 1 Tbsp
• Red colour : 1 pinch
• Kasoori methi : ½ Tsp
• Ginger paste : 1 Tbsp
• Garlic paste : 1 Tbsp
• Salt

Clean the chicken pieces. Make some incisions on the chicken pieces and marinate it with oil, Kashmiri chilly pdr (1 tbsp), lime juice and salt. Keep it aside for 1 hr.

Then make a thick paste using the rest of the ingredients from tandoori masala to salt. Mix it and marinate the chicken pieces with the above paste. Cover and refrigerate it for 4 to 6 hrs. Then keep it outside to bring it to room temperature. Pre-heat the grill (use the grill mode of your convection microwave oven and not the baking mode) and transfer the marinated chicken into an oven tray. Drizzle some olive oil over the chicken and put it in the oven. Then grill it for 70 to 80 mins, flip it after each 12 mins and drizzle little oil and continue grilling. The time may vary depending upon the size of the chicken pieces. Squeeze little lime juice over the chicken pieces and serve it hot. 

Chicken Curry Masala

Ingredients:

• Chicken : 1¼ kg
• Onion : 3
• Chopped garlic : 1 Tbsp
• Chopped ginger : 1 Tbsp
• Green chilly : 3
• Tomato : 2
• Chicken masala : 2 Tbsp
• Cashew : 15
• Coconut : 2 Tbsp
• Mustard : 1 Tsp
• Shallots : ¼ cup
• Curry leaves
• Coconut flakes : ½ cup
• Dry chilly : 4
• Water
• Salt
• Oil

Clean and cut the chicken into medium pieces. Soak the cashews in hot water for 15 minutes and grind it with grated coconut and little water into a fine paste. Keep it aside. Heat oil in a kadai and saute the sliced onion, ginger, garlic, curry leaves and green chilly. When it turns light brown, reduce the flame and add the chicken masala. Roast it till it is void of its raw smell and put the chopped tomatoes and cook until it turns soft and combine well with the masala. Add chicken into the masala and cook it in high flame for 10 mins and reduce the flame. When it is fully cooked, pour the grounded cashew coconut paste and mix it. Heat it for another couple of mins and remove it from the fire. Season it with mustard, sliced shallots, few curry leaves, dry chilly and coconut flakes.

Carrot Cake

Ingredients:

• Flour : 2 Cup
• Grated carrot : 3 cup
• Sugar : 2 cup
• Egg : 4
• Oil : 1 cup
• Baking pdr : 2 Tsp
• Cinnamon pdr : 1.5 Tsp
• Nutmeg pdr : 1.5 Tsp
• Raisins : ¼ cup
• Walut : ½ cup
• Salt : 1 Tsp

Preheat the oven to 180° C. Sieve together flour, baking powder, cinnamon powder, nutmeg powder and salt. Keep it aside. Beat the eggs and add sugar into it. Continue beating and add oil and grated carrot into it and mix it with the egg. Put the sieved ingredients into the wet mixture and combine well. Finally, add the raisins into it and mix. Pour it into the greased pan and bake it for 40 mins.

Spicy Dry Chicken

Ingredients:

• Chicken : 1 kg
• Kashmiri chilly pdr : 1 Tbsp
• Spicy chilly pdr : 1 Tbsp
• Coriander pdr : 2 Tsp
• Garam masala : 1 Tsp
• Pepper pdr : 1 Tsp
• Ginger paste : 1 Tsp
• Garlic paste : 1 Tsp
• Salt : to taste
• Oil : 2 Tbsp
• Onion : 2 big
• Tomato : 2 med
• Coriander leaves : 1cup
• Curry leaves : few

Clean and cut the chicken into small pieces. Then marinate it with the above ingredients from Kashmiri chilly pdr to 1 tbsp of oil. Keep it for 2 hrs. Heat rest of the oil and saute the sliced onion till it turns light brown. Put few curry leaves and chopped tomato into it. Roast it till it turns soft. Then add the marinated chicken and combine it well with sauted onion and tomatoes. Cook it in high flame for ten mins without adding water. Then reduce the flame and cook it. When it is half done, add the chopped coriander leaves and mix well. Cover and cook till it turns soft. Remove the lid and stir till it turns dry and well coated with the masala.

Ethappazham Payasam

Ingredients:

•  Banana : 5
• Jaggery : 175 g
• Water : 1.5 ltr
• Grated coconut of 2.5 coconut
• Cardamom pdr : 15 g
• Coconut flakes : 1 Tbsp
• Cashews : 2 Tbsp
• Ghee : 3 Tbsp

Peel off the skin and remove the black middle portion from the ripe banana. Cook it with required amount of water. When it is fully cooked and it's colour turns to dark yellow, remove it from fire. Allow it to cool and grind the cooked bananas along with the water into a fine paste. Melt jaggery in 1.5 litre of water and boil it well. Then make it into half quantity and sieve it. Pour the grounded banana into the jaggery and saute it well. When it becomes thick, add 2 tbsp of ghee and combine well. Switch of the flame and keep aside.

Add ¼ ltr water into the grated coconut, grind it and make the thick coconut milk. Then, grind the coconut with 1.5 ltr water and make the semi thick coconut milk. Then, grind the coconut with 2 ltr water and sieve it to make the thin coconut milk. Pour the thin coconut milk into the above sauted banana jaggery mix and boil it well. When it becomes thick, pour the semi thick coconut milk and heat it well. Remove it from fire. Fry coconut flakes and cashews in little ghee and add it into the payasam. Finally, add the thick coconut milk and cardamom pdr into the payasam and mix well.

OnaSadya (Lunch for Onam) Serving Methodology

Different regions of Kerala have different delicacies in their OnaSadya with some regions even having non-vegetarian dishes in them. Here we have included a pure vegetarian OnaSadya.

Starting from the left side of the banana leaf:

• Pazham
• Pappadam
• Upperi
• Sharkkara varatty
• Manga curry
• Naranga curry
• Puli inji
• Inji thayiru
• Mezhukku puratty
• Pachadi
• Avial
• Olan
• Ersissery
• Kuthari choru
• Rice with parippu and ghee
• Rice with sambar
• Rice with pulisseri / Kurukku kalan
• Rice with rasam
• Payasam
• Rice with curd or butter milk 

SALT, PAZHAM, PAPPADAM:
[no photos included]

SHARKKARA VARATTY , UPPERI , UNNIYAPPAM :


PICKLE, INJI CURRY, INJI THAYIR :
    

MEZHUKKUPURATTY, THORAN :


PACHADI , KICHADI :
     

ERISSERY, AVIAL, KOOTTU CURRY, OLAN :
 

PARIPPU AND GHEE:

SAMBAR:


PULLISSERI, MORU CURRY, KALAN:
  

RASAM:


PAYASAM: