Thursday, October 24, 2013
Saturday, October 5, 2013
Kerala Sambar
Kerala Sambar – Step by Step Kerala Sambar Recipe

Method to make Sambar Masala:
- On a skillet, tava or a shallow frying pan, heat up 2 or 3 tsp oil. Add all the onions and fry till they become light brown. Now add the ginger and garlic and fry for a minute. Add the rest of the spice and fry till they are light brown. Now add the grated coconut and roast it with the rest of the spices till everything is browned and you get a fragrant aroma in your kitchen. Let this mixture cool.
- Once, cooled, grind this roasted spice mixture in the grinder with some water. This is how the sambar masala paste will look like.
To make the Kerala Sambar:
- First, boil the tuvar dal till in a pressure cooker with the sliced or chopped onion and hing, till the dal is soft and well cooked. Mash the cooked dal slightly with a spoon when done.
- Chop all your vegetables. Add all the vegetables except for the okras (bhindi) to the cooked tuvar dal along with turmeric powder and some water. Give a nice stir to the entire mixture.
- Cook the dal with the vegetables until they are half cooked. This takes about 11-12 minutes.
- Now add the chopped okra, tamarind pulp, and the ground masala. Add some more water if the sambar has become thick.
- Add salt and give the sambar a rolling boil once and then simmer till the veggies are cooked. This will approximately take about 15-16 minutes.
- Close the flame when all the ingredients in the sambar have nicely infused with one another and you have a lovely sambar aroma pervading all around in your kitchen. Keep the sambar closed with a lid and move on to the next step of tempering the sambar. Ignore the frothy layer on top of the sambar. When you add the tempering all that disappears.
To prepare the tadka/tempering for sambar:
- In a pan or the tadka utensil, heat oil. Add the mustard seeds and let them pop. Then add all the other ingredients and fry them till they become fragrant. Take care they do not get burnt. Please also ignore the black spots on the tempering utensil. How much I try, I simply cannot get rid of them.
Adding the tadka to the sambar:
- Once the tadka is ready, directly pour the hot tadka on the hot sambar.
- Immediately, cover the kerala sambar with a lid and let it stay closed for some 5 minutes. We do this at home, so that the flavors and aroma of the tadka gets very well infused with the sambar.
Kerala Sambar Recipe

For the Sambar:
- 1½ or 1¾ cups of tuvar dal (arhar dal)
- 1 small onion, sliced or chopped
- a pinch or two of asafoetida (hing)
- 10-12 shallots
- 8-10 okra
- 5-7 aubergines (brinjal)
- 1 large tomato or 2 medium size tomatoes
- 1 sprig curry leaves
- ½ tsp turmeric powder
- ¾ cup tamarind pulp – made with ¾ cup water and 1 lemon sized ball of tamarind
- salt
- water
For the tempering
- 1 to 2 tbsp coconut oil or any vegetable oil
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 1 tsp urad dal
- 1 sprig curry leaves
- 2-3 dry red chillies ( I used small red bor chillies for the tadka)
For the Sambar Masala:
- ½ coconut, grated – will yield about 1 to 1½ cups of coconut
- 1 inch ginger, chopped
- 5-7 garlic flakes, chopped
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 12-15 curry leaves
- 2 tbsp coriander seeds
- 1 tbsp cumin seeds
- ¼ tsp black peppercorns
- ¼ tsp hing
- ¼ tsp methi seeds
- 3-4 dry red chilies ( I used 2 kashmiri and 2 guntur red chillies)
- 2 to 3 tsp coconut oil or any vegetable oil
Avial
Avial
Avial is a traditional kerala recipe made from mix vegetables, coconut and curd.
Ingredients
The Veggies:
- 1 cup chopped pumpkin/kaddu
- 1 cup chopped yam/suran
- 1 cup chopped colocasia/arbi
- 1 cup chopped raw plantain
- ½ cup chopped ash gourd/petha
- ½ cup chopped tendli/gherkins
- ½ cup chopped snake beans/chawli
- ½ cup chopped cluster beans/gavar
- 2 stalks of curry leaves
The Coconut Masala:
- 1 and ½ cup grated coconut
- 2 green chilies
- 1 tsp cumin
Tempering Ingredients:
- 2-3 tbsp coconut oil
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 2-3 dry red chilies or kashmiri red chilies
Other Ingredients:
- 1 cup beaten curd/yogurt
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 3 cups water
- salt
Instructions
Preparing the veggies:
- Chop all the veggies.
- Cook the veggies and curry leaves in water in a covered pan. Also add salt to the water.
Preparing the ground coconut masala:
- Grind the coconut, green chilies and cumin with little water to a coarse paste.
Continuing with the veggies:
- When the veggies are half cooked, add turmeric powder and mix the mixture well.
- After a minute, add the ground coconut paste.
- Mix well.
- Simmer the veggies till they are fully cooked.
- Once they are fully cooked, add the beaten curd.
- Stir and simmer for a minute. Close the fire.
Preparing the Tempering:
- In another pan, heat coconut oil.
- Add the mustard seeds and broken red chilies
- Let them and sizzle. When the crackling sound is over, pour the tempering into the avial.
- Cover with a lid for 5 minutes and then stir.
- Serve the avial with rice
Chakka Puzhukku
Chakka Puzhukku
Ingredients:-
Chakka chula/Jackfruit flesh - 500 gms
Grated coocnut - 1 cup
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Green chilli - 2-3
Garlic - 3 cloves
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Oil
Curry leaves
red chilli - 1
Salt to taste
Method
Cook cleaned chakkachula/jackfruit flesh with 2 cups of water and salt to taste, until it is done,
for 15-20 minutes
Meanwhile Grind grated coconut , turmeric powder , cumin seeds, green chilli and garlic to a
coarse paste, by adding very little water.
Combine the coconut paste with the cooked jackfruit and mix it well using a big spoon.Add more
salt if needed
Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. when they pop up add dried red chillies and curry leaves
and pour it over the jackfruit-coconut mix.Serve warm
Palada Payasam Recipe
| Ingredients: |
| 1/3 cup Palada (rice ada) |
| 1 tablespoon chopped Cashew Nuts |
| 1 tablespoon Raisins |
| 2 cups Milk |
| 2 teaspoons Ghee |
| 1/4 cup Sugar |
| 1/4 teaspoon Cardamom Powder |
Directions:
Rice ada is easily available in Indian Kerala grocery stores. In this recipe, “Double Horse” brand rice palada is used.
Soak readymade rice ada in 2 cups warm water for 10 minutes.
After 10 minutes, you will notice rice ada is increased in size. Drain water and rinse 2-3 times in cold water.
Heat ghee in a small pan and roast cashew nuts until light brown and then roast raisins until fluffy. Roast cashew nuts and raisins separately. Transfer them to a plate.
Add milk, sugar, cardamom powder and soaked rice ada in a non-stick pan or heavy based kadai and cook on medium flame until mixture starts to boil.
When boils, reduce flame to low and cook the mixture over medium flame for around 10-15 minutes or until it turns thick and palada turns soft. Stir continuously to avoid sticking.
Taste payasam and add more sugar if required and mix well. Turn off flame and transfer palada payasam to a serving bowl and garnish with roasted cashew nuts and raisins.
Friday, October 4, 2013
DUCK ROST


The recipe:
- Duck – 1/2 kg (after cleaning)
- Shallots (small onion) – 1/4 cup, chopped
Ginger & garlic – 1 – 1.5 tsp, chopped
Chilly powder – 1-1.5 tsp
Coriander powder – 2-3 tsp
Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp
Garam masala – 1 – 1.5 tsp
Black pepper powder – 1/2 tsp
Vinegar – 2 tbsp
Salt - Curry leaves
- Oil & ghee
- Onion – 2, sliced finely
For garnishing - Onion – 1 small, sliced finely
Potato – 1 medium, cut into wedges & boiled
Curry leaves
Method
Grind number 2 ingredients into a fine paste. Marinate the cleaned duck pieces with half of the ground paste. Keep it aside for 1 hour.
Heat oil in a pan (you can use a combination of oil & ghee also) and shallow fry the marinated duck pieces till it turns golden brown colour. Keep it aside. In the same oil add the finely sliced onions & cook. When the onion becomes golden brown colour add the remaining half of the ground masala. Fry it till the oil starts appearing. Add 2 cups of boiling water to the onion and masala mix. Combine well.
Transfer the fried duck pieces and the onion gravy to a pressure cooker. Cook till the duck is done. The cooking time varies depending on the type of duck (broiler or free range).Once the pressure is gone, open the cooker & cook till the gravy thickens. This curry usually doesn’t have much gravy, so you need to cook till the water is almost dried and each piece is thickly coated with the masala. Transfer the duck pieces to a serving dish and garnish with fried onions, potatoes & curry leaves. Serve hot with rice or appam.
For garnishing
Heat oil/ghee in a pan and fry the boiled potato wedges, remove from pan, In the same oil fry the thinly sliced onions & curry leaves.
Thursday, September 26, 2013
Vattayappam
Ingredients
Rice flour : 2 cups
- Grinded rice : 1tsp
- Sugar : 1cup
- Mashed bananas : 1/2 cup
- Maida : 150gm
- Sugar : 4tsp
- Egg : 1
- Cashewnut and Raisins ( Kismis / Dried grapes ) : as needed
- Salt as needed
- Cardomom : 4 or 5 seeds crushed
- Baking soda : 1 pinch
Vattayappam preparation
- Mix Rice flour, Grinded coconut, Grinded rice, Sugar, Mashed bananas, cardamom and salt well in a large bowl.
- Add 1 pinch baking soda to the mix and keep it aside for 1 hour.
- Mix well maida, egg, sugar in a mixer.
- When the batter is ready mix the two solutions together and blend it thoroughly. Kept it idle for half an hour. (Make sure that the batter is not too loose )
- Heat the idli cooker with half
- Apply a little ghee/oil in a cake tin (idli cooker) & pour the batter into it.
- Decorate with some cashew nuts and raisins on the the top.
- Steam it for 20 – 25 minutes.
- Cut into wedges and serve as evening snacks or as breakfast foods with spicy Chicken Curry, Mutton Curry or any curry of your choice.
Monday, September 23, 2013
Parippu Vada
Soak chana dal for 2-2.5 hours. Drain the water completely…

Pat dry the drained dal with a clean kitchen towel. Grind the dal in mixie for a few seconds. Please note that that the dal should be crushed and should not be made into a smooth paste.

Add all the other ingredients, except oil, to the dal and combine it gently. Make small balls with the dal mix.

Heat oil in a deep pan. Meanwhile, wet your hands and flatten each ball within your palms. When the oil is hot enough add the flattened dal mix…

Fry the vadas on low-medium heat, till it becomes crispy and a dark shade of brown. Drain the fried vadas on tissue paper…

Parippu Vada (Lentil Fritters)
Author: Maria Jose
Recipe type: Snack
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 10-12
Ingredients
- Chana dal (split bengal gram/kadala parippu) – 2 cups
- Onion – 1 big, finely chopped
- Green chilli – 2-3, finely chopped
- Ginger – 1-2 tsp, finely chopped
- Fennel seeds – ¼ tsp (optional, refer notes)
- Curry leaves – 3-4 stems, finely chopped
- Kayam (asafetida) – ⅛ tsp
- Salt
- Oil
Instructions
- Soak chana dal in water for 2 hours. Drain the water completely. Make sure that the water is dried well, pat dry the dal with a clean kitchen towel.
- Crush the soaked and drained dal, just run it in mixie for a few seconds. Make sure you dont grind it to a smooth paste. Add all ingredients except oil to the crushed dal and gently mix it together. Make small balls with the dal mix (gooseberry size).
- Heat oil for deep frying pan on high flame. When oil is really hot, reduce the flame to low-medium and add the vada. Before adding to the oil, just flatten each ball in your palm. Wet your hands before flattening the dough. It is better to flatten the dough just before adding to the oil, otherwise it may break.
- Fry till the vadas (fritters) become golden brown or if you like it extra crispy, fry till you get a darker shade of brown. Drain excess oil on a tissue paper. Serve hot.
- You will get around 20-25 parippu vadas of small-medium size, with the above qty.
Notes
It is better to make small size vada, so that it gets cooked well. If you want the authentic taste, use coconut oil.
It is important that the water is drained well, otherwise the batter may become runny and you will not be able to shape it well. But if your batter turn out to be runny, dont worry, just drop the batter into the oil using a spoon and fry in the same method.
We added fennel seeds to half the qty, as an experiment. It gives a different taste. It’s optional to add fennel seeds, may be you can also try adding it to a small qty and see whether you like it. If you are using, add it along with the onions and stuff.
If you want the vadas to be really crispy, fry it till it becomes a bit darker shade of brown.
In some places, they use peas dal for making this vada. So if you dont get hold of chana dal, you can try it with peas dal.
You can also make this in advance, if you want to make it in bulk. Cook the dal and crush it and keep. Chop the veggies. Refrigerate. Dont mix it together, since the water from onion can make the batter soggy. Mix everything together just before frying.
KOZHUVA FRY / NATHOLI FRY / PODI MEAN FRY / INDIAN ANCHOVY FRY KERALA STYLE
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| KOZHUVA FRY/ANCHOVY FRY KERALA STYLE |
Ingredients:
Kozhuva / Natholi / Anchovy - 1/2 kg.
Ginger-Garlic paste / Adrak-Lasun / Injee-Veluthulli - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder / Haldi / Manjal - 1/2 tsp
Pepper powder / Kali Mirch / Kurumulaku - 1 tsp
Red Chilli powder Lal Mirch / Chuvanna Mulaku - 2 tsp
Aniseeds / Fennel / Sounf / Perumjeerakam Powder - 1/2 tsp (optional )
Coconut oil - 2 tbsp
Curry leaves - Little
Salt to taste.
Method:
1. Clean the Kozhuva / Natholi / Anchovy.
| KOZHUVA / NATHOLI / ANCHOVY |
2. Mix well Kozhuva / Anchovy with 1 tsp ginger- garlic paste, 1/2 tsp turmeric powder, 1 tsp pepper powder, 2 tsp red chilli powder, 1/2 tsp fennel powder, salt and set aside for 10 minutes.
3. Heat a pan with coconut oil , spread some curry leaves on it and put the Koshuva / Anchovy. Fry the fish in a low flame for 15 minutes each side. Cover the pan with a well-fitting lid for 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to as low as possible. Serve hot.
TIPS:
* After cleaning the fish, put it in a pot with enough water, salt, and 1 tsp Turmeric powder for 10 minutes to minimise the unhealthy things often seafood contains.
* After finishing the cooking put 1 tsp coconut oil over it for good flavour - If you like.

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