A very easy Egg Fried Rice

Ingredients

Basmati Rice – 2 cups

Eggs – 3

Onions – 1 big, chopped

Carrot – 1, chopped

Spring Onion – ½ cup

Pepper Powder – 1 1/2 teaspoons
Olive Oil – 2 table spoons

Method

Pressure cook the basmati rice with salt. Switch off the fire after 1 whistle. (it is always better to refrigerate the cooked rice overnight for fried rice). Heat Oil in a wok and saute the onions till light pink colour. Add the chopped carrot and cook for 5 mins. Now add eggs and immediately add the cooked rice. Mix well until the eggs get coated well with the rice. Now add spring onions and pepper powder. Add salt and heat well for 5 mins. Garnish with spring onions.

Salad

 Ingredients

Onion – finely chopped

Tomato – 1

Green chillies – 2

Yogurt – 1 cup

Chilli powder – a pinch for garnishing

Method

Mix all ingredients together and garnish with a pinch of chilli powder.

Chilli Chicken

Chicken - 500 grams, cut into small pieces

For marination

Ginger – 1 inch piece

Garlic – 3 cloves

Chilli powder – 1 tsp

Pepper powder – 1/4 tsp

Corn flour – 2 tbsp

Soya sauce – 1 1/2 tbsp

Salt

Ingredients

Onion – 2 chopped

Capsicum -1 cut into square sizes

Ginger & garlic – 1 tsp each

Chilli powder – 2 tsp

Water – 1 cup

Soya sauce – 1 tbsp

Tomato sauce – 2 tbsp

Spring Onion – for garnish

Olive Oil – 2 tbsp

Salt – as required

Method

Grind all the ingredients for marination to a smooth paste. Marinate the chicken pieces with the ground paste and refrigerate for 1 hour. Fry the chicken pieces till it becomes golden brown and keep aside. Heat some oil in another pan and saute onion, ginger and garlic. Mix chilli powder in 1 small cup of water. Add this to the mixture. Now add capsicum. When it starts boiling add soya sauce and tomato sauce. Mix well and add fried chicken pieces. Cook till the chicken pieces are coated well with the sauce. Garnish with spring onion.

Notes - You can use kashmiri chilli powder for colour.

Easy Neychoru/Ghee Rice

Ingredients

Basmati Rice - 2 cups

Ghee – 5 table spoons

Cardamom – 3

Cinnamon – 1 medium piece

Cloves – 3

Onion – 2 (thin sliced)

Salt – as required

Water – 3 cups

Method

Soak Basmati rice for 30 mins. Heat ghee and fry 1 thin sliced onion until it turns brown. Fry raisins and keep both aside. Add the remaining ghee in another pan and fry all the spices first and add other finely sliced onion and fry for 2 mins. Now add the rice and gently fry for 2 mins. Add water and salt and cook until the water get drained and rice is soft. Garnish with fried onions and raisins.

Parippu Payasam

Ingredients

Cherupayar parippu/Split Moong Dal – ½ cup

Jaggery – 1 cup, grated

Light Coconut milk – ½ cup

Thick Coconut milk – 1 cup

Ghee - 2 table spoons
Cashew nuts, coconut pieces and raisins – any number as you wish

Procedure

Wash the parippu well and drain the water. Fry it for 5 minutes without oil/ghee. Cook parippu in boiled water. Once it’s cooked well, add Jaggery and bring it to boil. Add light coconut milk and boil for 5 minutes. Now add thick coconut milk and low the fire for 2 minutes. Fry cashew nuts, raisins and coconut pieces in ghee and mix with payasam.

Notes 

I pressure cooked parippu up to 3 whistles and simmer the fire for 5 minutes.Please reduce the measurement of jaggery if you are using the dark jaggery. I have used the light colour jaggery which is not so sweet. You can also melt the jaggery and add to parippu.Usually Cardamom is not mandatory for parippu payasam. You can add it if you like the taste. I did not use cardamom.

Kerala/Thrissur Style Aviyal - Traditional

Aviyal is one of the most popular dish in Kerala. There are various ways to prepare this dish. I am introducing a very traditional Thrissur style thick gravy recipe. Hope you will like it.

Ingredients

Vegetables – ½ cup

Turmeric powder – ½ teaspoon

Coconut – ¼ cup

Green chilly – 2

Cumin seeds – ½ teaspoon

Yogurt – ¼ cup

Shallots/cheriya ulli- 3 crushed

Salt – as required.

Oil and curry leaves – for seasoning

Method

Half cook the veggies with turmeric powder in very less water. Now add salt. Grind coconut, cumin seeds and green chillies together with yogurt (Don’t make it smooth paste). Add this mixture to the cooked veggies.Add crushed shallots and mix well. Switch off the fire. Now season it with 1 table spoon coconut oil and curry leaves.

Notes

Cut the vegetables into thin long slices. I have used winter melon, raw banana / Plantain,Yam, Carrot, Beans, Drumstick.

It will be tastier if you replace water with butter milk (moru) when you cook the veggies.

Sukhiyan - a tea time snack

This is my hubby's one of the favourite tea time snack. I learnt this recipe from my mom and its my favourite too. Enjoy your Sukhiyan!

Ingredients

 Moong Dal / Whole green gram – 1 cup

Jaggery – ½ cup

Cardamom – 3 crushed (optional)

All purpose flour/plain flour / Maida – 1 cup

Water – as required

Salt – a pinch

Turmeric powder – a pinch

Oil - for frying

Steps

Soak the moong dal for 3 hours. Pressure cook up to 2 whistles.

Melt the jaggery in a little hot water and add crushed cardamom to it.

Add the cooked dal and mix well, you must get a dry mixture.

Make small lemon sized balls with the mixture and keep aside.

Mix flour and water to get a medium thick batter.

Add salt, turmeric powder and mix well.

Heat oil in a pan for frying the moong dal balls.

Dip the moong dal balls in the batter and it must be coated well.

Fry it in a medium flame.

Serve hot.

Notes – You can add coconut to the jaggery mixture if you like. Don’t overcook moong dal otherwise it will be difficult to make round shape. Keep the water level same with moong dal when pressure cook it. 

Tomato Ghee Rice and Mutton Pepper Fry

Sharing an easy recipe for those who have craving for mutton. Do it for your loved ones on a weekend!

Tomato Ghee Rice

Ingredients

Basmati Rice – ½ kg

Onion – 2

Green Chilly – 2

Tomatoes – 2

Ghee – 3 table spoon

Oil – 1 table spoon

Salt – as required

Water

Soak the rice in water for 30 min. Heat the ghee in a pan and fry cardamom, cinnamon sticks and cloves. Add onions and green chillies to the same pan and fry until onion turns golden. Add water and salt to this mixture and let it boil. Add the washed rice and cook in low flame. Remove from fire when the water is drained. Add oil in another pan and splutter mustard seeds and add tomatoes. Add a little salt. ( remember we put the salt when cooking the rice) Saute until the tomatoes are cooked. Pour the tomato mixture to the cooked rice. Turn the rice over a few times.

Notes – Alternately you can pressure cook the rice up to 1 whistle as we have already soaked the rice. Proportion for 1 cup rice = 2 cups of water 

Mutton Pepper Fry

Ingredients

Mutton                      – 1/2 kg

Ginger/Garlic paste  – 1 table spoon

Dry Chillies          –  4

Mustard seeds     – 1 teaspoon

Urad Dal             – 1/2 teaspoon

Curry leaves        – 1 sprig

Garlic                 –  3 cloves

Chilly powder      –  1 table spoon

Turmeric powder – 1/2 teaspoon

*Tomato puree      – 1 big tomato

Soya sauce           –  1 tablespoon

Pepper powder     –  1 table spoon

Salt – as needed

Marinate mutton with ginger garlic paste and salt for 30 minutes. Pressure cook the marinated mutton. Heat oil in a wok and stir fry dry chillies until brown. Add mustard seeds, curry leaves, urad dal and garlic. Add mutton, turmeric powder, chilly powder, tomato puree, soya sauce and pepper powder. Add salt if required. Cover the wok and heat well.

*1 tomato grinded without water