Papaya Pudding

Ingredients

Papaya – 2 cups, diced

Sugar – 3 table spoons

Milkmaid – 1 cup

Gelatin powder – 1 table spoon

Cold Water – 30 ml

Fresh Cream – 3 table spoons

Method

Soak gelatin powder in cold water for 10 minutes.

Boil the diced papaya with sugar. Stir until the papaya pieces are soft. (This will take about 15 minutes) Add milkmaid and stir continuously in low fire for 5 minutes. Switch off the fire and add soaked gelatin to the mixture. Let the mixture cool completely. Blend this mixture together with vanilla essence and fresh cream. Transfer it to a flat pan and steam for 10-15 minutes. Once cooled, refrigerate this sweet mixture for 6 hours. Garnish with diced papaya and serve.

Carrot Kichadi

My hubby loves any kind of pachadi / kichadi dishes. Today I wanted to try something special for him and thought of trying kichadi with carrot. I haven't tasted carrot kichadi before and was a bit worried of the raw taste of carrot. However it turned out to be a very tasty dish and no raw taste at all. We all really enjoyed the dish!!

Thrissur version of kichadis won't have ginger, garlic or shallots. However I used shallots just to get a variety taste from the usual kaalan or pachadi recipes. Its a very easy dish to prepare. Hope all of you will try this!

Ingredients

Carrot – 2 cups, grated 

Yogurt/Curd – 1.5 cups

Salt – as required

Water – 1 cup

For grinding

Coconut – 1.5 cups

Yogurt/Curd – 1.5 cups

Chillies – 4 nos

Shallots – 3 nos (optional)

Mustard seeds – ½ tea spoon

For tempering

Mustard seeds- ½ tea spoon

Dry Chillies – 3

Curry leaves – a few

Oil – 1 table spoon

Method

Cook the grated carrot with water. (Carrot gets cooked very quickly. The cooking time for grated carrot takes only 5-6 minutes). Grind the ingredients listed under grinding with a little water. Add the ground coconut mixture to the cooked carrot and mix well. Add yogurt to the mixture. Put some salt and combine the mixture for 2-3 minutes in low fire. Remove from the fire. Heat oil in a pan and splutter mustard seeds, then dry chillies and curry leaves. Pour the seasoning over the carrot Kichadi. Serve as a side dish for rice.

Semiya / Vermicelli Payasam

Ingredients

Vermicelli – 1 cup

Milk – 500ml

Water – 100ml (optional)

Sugar – 6 table spoons

Cardamom Powder – ½ teaspoon

Ghee – 1 table spoon

Raisins – 10 nos

Cashew nuts - 8

Method

Heat ghee in a pan and fry cashews and raisins. Keep it aside. In the same pan, roast vermicelli in medium flame with constant stirring until it turns golden colour. Add milk and sugar to the roasted vermicelli and stir continuously. Boil for 15 minutes. Add water to it and cook for 10 more minutes. Put in cardamom powder. Garnish with fried cashews and raisins.

Notes – Add water only if the milk is thick. 

Kadachakka (Breadfruit) Thoran

Ingredients

Breadfruit – 2 cups, cut into pieces

Turmeric Powder – ½ teaspoon

Mustard Seeds – ½ teaspoon

Dry Chilly – 2

Curry Leaves - a few

Green Chillies – 3

Coconut – ¾ cup, grated

Shallots – 4

Salt – to taste

Oil – 2 table spoons

Water –1 cup

Method

Peel the skin of the breadfruit and cut into pieces. Pressure cook the breadfruit pieces with turmeric powder and water up to 2 whistles. Drain the water once the pressure goes out completely. Chop grated coconut, green chillies and shallots in a chopper and keep aside. Heat oil in a pan and fry mustard seeds, dry chillies and curry leaves. Add the cooked breadfruit pieces into it. Add salt and mix it well. Cover the pan for 2 minutes. Now add the chopped coconut mixture. Mix it well and remove from the fire. Serve with rice.

Pandan pancake with coconut stuffing

Ingredients

For pancake

Maida/Plain flour – 1 cup

Pandan juice – 1 cup (Blend 5 strips of pandan leaves with water and strain the juice)

Water – 1.5 cups

Egg – 1

Sugar – 2 table spoons

Salt – a pinch

Method

Sift the flour and add salt in it. Mix well. Pour other ingredients in another bowl and mix well. Add the sifted flour into the liquid mixture and combine well. Make the pancakes and keep aside.

For coconut filling

Coconut – 1.5 cups

Jaggery – 1 cup

Water – 1 cup

Butter – 1 teaspoon

Cardamom powder – a pinch (optional)

Method

Melt the jaggery in water. Allow it to cool and strain it. Boil the melted jaggery in low fire. Add coconut and stir well. Cook until the mixture is moist, not dry. Put in the cardamom powder and butter. Allow this mixture to cool.

Final method

Put 1 tablespoon coconut filling inside the pancake and fold like a spring roll. Enjoy this fantastic snack!!

Note – You can also serve the plain pandan pancake with honey. 

Mango Milk Shake

Ingredients

Ripe Mango – 1 large, sliced into pieces

Chilled Milk – 1 cup

Vanilla Ice Cream – 3 scoops

Sugar/Honey – 1 table spoon

Method

Blend together sliced mangoes, chilled milk and sugar/honey. Once it is smooth, add 1 scoop of ice cream and blend. Top it up with the remaining 2 scoops of ice cream.

Note - You can add 2 drops of vanilla essence if you want. Add more milk if you like thinner shake.