Kerala Fish Fry

Kerala Fish Fry
( No food color used )

Makes: 7
Serves: 3 - 4

You will need

7 big pieces of seer fish / nemmeen / vanjiram
50 ml oil for frying

For the marinade:

1 tablespoon lemon juice or 1 tablespoon vinegar
2 teaspoon red chilli powder ( 2 - 3 teaspoon )
1/2 teaspoon pepper powder
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon salt to taste

Mix all the ingredients well and keep aside this thick paste.



Method

Wash and clean fish pieces. Add 1 teaspoon salt ( or kalluppu ) and wash well ( till you get a clear water ). Drain out water completely and wipe each piece with a kitchen towel.

Marinate fish pieces with above ingredients (do not add extra water) and keep aside for half an hour .

In a flat non stick pan, heat 50 ml oil ( 1/4 - inch from the base of the frying pan ). Reduce heat to medium and deep fry fish pieces ( 4 - 5 at a time ) in batches till golden brown on both sides.

Serve with Rice ( choru ), Fish curry, Vegetable side dishes...

Breadfruit (Kadachakka) Gashi

Breadfruit Gashi / Kadachakka Gashi (A delicious curry with coconut & dal. Goes well with Rice)

Breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis) is a species of flowering tree in the mulberry family, Moraceae, that is native to the Malay Peninsula and western Pacific islands. It has also been widely planted in tropical regions elsewhere.

The breadfruit is closely related to the breadnut and the jackfruit. It is called "Kada Chakka" in the Malayalam language , lanthe ponosu / gudgo in Konkani and "Jeegujje"/"Geegujje"/"Jigujje" in Tulu.

Serves: 4

Ingredients

250 g raw breadfruit (kadachakka) / 1/2 cut piece, cut into 2 cm cubes - Only the outer skin is removed
1 potato, cut into cubes
1/2 ( 50 g ) cup tur dal
1 1/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/4 teaspoon oil
3/4 teaspoon salt ( or to taste )
1 kudam puli ( Kokum or darmbya sole - for sour taste )

For Coconut paste:

1 cup ( 75 g ) grated coconut
3/4 teaspoon red chilli powder
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
2 tablespoon water

Make a smooth and thick paste of above ingredients with water.



Method

Boil tur dal in 1 1/4 cup water with oil and turmeric powder in pressure cooker for 15 minutes or till done / soft (reduce the heat after 2 nd whistle and cook for 15 minutes). Allow the cooker to naturally.

Separately pressure cook breadfruit and potato cubes with 1/2 cup water and 1/2 teaspoon salt for 2 whistles on high heat. Allow the cooker to cool naturally.

In a wide bowl, mix cooked dal, boiled breadfruit & potato pieces, adjust salt to taste and 1 kudampuli / darbyasole. Adjust the consistency with 1/2 cup water if required. Cover with a lid and cook on low to medium heat for 15 minutes.

Add coconut paste and mix well and cook on a low heat for 8 - 10 minutes ( Do not add extra water ).

For Seasoning:

1 tablespoon oil
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/2 teaspoon jeera ( cumin seeds )
1 spring dark green curry leaves

Method

Heat oil in a frying pan. Add mustard seeds. When they splutter, add jeera and curry leaves. Saute for 2 - 3 minutes until fragrant. Pour the seasoning over kadachakka gashi and mix well. Serve with rice.

Recipe of Sapatha Neivedyam (Prasadam for Sathyanarayana Pooja)

Recipe of Sapatha Neivedyam (Prasadam / Sheera for Sathyanarayana pooja)

Serves: 6 - 8

Please use same measuring cup to measure broken wheat, milk, sugar and ghee.

You will need

1 cup ( 200 g ) broken wheat
2 tablespoon ghee (or up to 1 cup ghee - ghee will enhance taste)
20 raisins
20 cashew nuts, splits
1 1/2 cups boiled milk
1 1/4 cups sugar (225 to 250 g)
2 pinches cardamom powder

Method

Heat ghee in a wide & thick – bottomed vessel / kadai / frying pan. Add broken wheat and fry until light brown in colour and fragrant / ghee well mixed with broken wheat (approximate frying time 10 minutes on a low heat).

Add raisins and cashew nuts and fry for another 5 minutes.

Add milk, mix well, cover with a lid and let it cook on a low heat till done or until milk dries up ( approximately 10 minutes on a low heat ) .

Add sugar. Mix it thoroughly for another 15 - 20 minutes on a medium heat or the broken wheat mixture thickens and dries up (do not cover with lid). Sprinkle little ghee if required.

Add the cardamom powder, mix well and remove from the fire.

Scones

The scone is a small British quick bread of Scottish origin. Scones are especially popular in the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland, but are also eaten in many other countries. They are usually made of flour, barley or oatmeal, with baking powder as a leavening agent. The scone is a basic component of the cream tea or Devonshire tea.



Scones, scrumptious as they sound, are among the easiest things to bake; something even amateur bakers can attempt without too much stress. Pronounced both skon and skoan, these are light, buttery quickbreads made with flour, sugar, butter, milk or cream, and eggs, besides a leavening agent such as baking powder. What is important though is to mix the ingredients correctly, with a light hand to end up with scones that are light and soft. Over-mixing will ruin the texture of your scones ( This write up is partially sourced from Wikipedia & Times of India).

Makes: 12: 14

You will need

250 g all purpose flour (maida)
40 g powdered sugar
1 teaspoon (5 g) baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
50 g butter
3 - 4 teaspoon milk
2 teaspoon (10 ml ) cream
1 egg, beat well
25 g raisins
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1 teaspoon extra butter (to grease baking tray)

Method

Mix all the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder and salt) together. Cut in the butter until the mixture resembles course crumbs. Stir in the beaten egg, cream, vanilla essence and raisins. Gradually add the milk until a thick dough is formed.

Turn out the mixture onto a floured board and knead lightly. Roll out the dough to a 3/4 - inch thickness and cut into rounds with 2 - inch cookie cutter.

Preheat oven (OTG) at 180 * C or 350 *F (moderate).

Place the rounds about an inch apart on a lightly greased baking tray. Brush the tops with a little beaten egg or milk.

Bake in a preheated oven at 180 * C for 15 to 25 minutes, until golden brown,

Serve warm with dollops of Devonshire cream, butter and strawberry preserve.