Hazelnut & Marmalade Brownie

Unsalted butter chopped 180g
Dark chocolate chopped 300g
Salt a pinch
Cocoa powder ¼cup
Brown sugar 1 cup
Caster sugar ½cup
Egg room temperature 4
Plain flour 1½ cups
Roasted hazelnuts coarsely chopped 2/3 cup
Orange marmalade 1/3 cup
Preheat oven to 170°C. Grease a 20cm square cake tin. Line the base and sides with baking paper, allowing the sides to overhang. Stir the butter and chocolate in a large heat proof bowl, place over a saucepan with simmering water and stir until melted and smooth. Add salt and stir. Remove from heat. Stir in the cocoa powder and combine sugar, then the eggs. Sift over the flour and stir until well combined. Fold in the hazelnuts. Pour into the prepared tin. Drop spoonful of marmalade onto the batter and s

Mexican Tortilla

Ingredients:-
Olive oil 6 tbsp
Garlic crushed 3 tsp
Chicken breast cut into small cubes ½ kg
Cheese grated 6 tbsp
Corn flour 2 tbsp
Milk 1 ¾ cup
Basmati rice cooked 1 ½ cup
Green chilies finely chopped 1 tbsp
Coriander leaves chopped ¼ a bunch
Salt to taste

Make chappathis as you normally would. Wrap them in a cloth so that it won’t dry.
Heat oil in pan and sort garlic till slightly brown. Then add chicken pieces and keep mixing till all the sides turns golden brown, it will take up to five to eight mins. Simmer the flame and add cheese, mix well then add corn flour and mix well for a mint. Add milk and mix till it thickens and switch off the flame. Add rest of the ingredients to this and mix well.
Now take the chapathis and fill them with one to two spoons of the filling, depending on the size, and role it tight. Serve hot with salsa dip.

Note: It is easy to cut meat when frozen. So if using meat from freezer cut before fully thawed.

cheera parippu thoran

palak and toor dal stir fry

A perfect combo, which can be served with rice or chappathi.

Palak/Spinach – 2 bunch(chopped)
Toor dal- ½ cup
Turmeric powder-1/8 tsp
Garlic –3 to 4 pods
Green chillies- 2
Shallot (Small onion) - 5
Hing (kayam)- a pinch(optional)
Mustard seeds – ½ tsp
Dry red chillies- 1 (break in to 2)
Curry leaves- 1 sprig
Coconut grated- ½ cup
Salt to taste

Pressure cook toor dal with turmeric powder.It should not be mushy
Heat oil,add mustard seeds,after it splutters add dry red chillies.
When the color changes add small onion, garlic ,curry leaves &green chillies . sauté till raw smell goes.
You can add a pinch of hing (kayam / asafoetida) at this stage.(Optional)
Now add palak and salt .stir well for few minutes.
Add grated coconut and dal and stir well till its dry.

Kozhi varutharachathu(Chicken in roasted coconut gravy)

ion

Kozhi varutharachathu(Chicken in roasted coconut gravy)

Chicken - 1 kg
onion - 4 big or 5 medium size
tomatoes- 4 medium (chopped)
ginger - 1½tbsp (minced)
garlic - 1½tbsp (minced)
green chillies - 4(slit)
potatoes - 2 medium cut in to cubes
curry leaves - 2 sprigs
salt - to taste
water - 1-1-½cup
coconut oil- 4 tbsp

DRY ROAST

Coconut - 1 ½CUP
Cardamom - 5
pepper - 10
cloves - 6
cinnamon - 3
fennel - 1 tsp
small onion - 5
coriander powder - 1 tbsp
turmeric powder-½tsp
chilly powder- 1 tsp(or according to your spice level)

Method

1) Marinate the chicken pieces with salt ,½ tsp turmeric and ½ tsp chilly powder for an hour.

2)Heat a pan and fry the grated coconut and small onions(in low to medium heat) till golden colour .Add whole spices , spice powders and stir till raw smell goes off.

3)Heat oil in a large non stick pan and saute the onions till golden color.Add ginger ,garlic, greenchillies and curry leaves and Saute till
the raw smell goes .Add the tomatoes and cook till its mushy.Now add the cubed potatoes and stir well .Cover the pan and cook till the potatoes are half cooked in medium heat. Add the chicken pieces and mix.Close the lid and cook in medium heat.

4)Grind the roasted coconut with spices to a smooth paste .(you may need to add one cup of water while grinding)

5)Add this paste to the masala and mix well.Cook in low heat till the chicken pieces are soft.If the gravy is too thick add some water and
bring to boil.

6)Serve hot with rice or chappathis!

Paneer masala

This recipe is very similar to paneer butter masala . The only difference is that I have omitted ingredients like butter and cream. I never blanch tomatoes , soak cashew nut or fry the paneer.i feel this is a shortcut to make paneer masala.
So here goes the recipe:

Paneer-200 gm
Onion –2
Tomatoes – 3
Ginger - 1 tsp chopped
Garlic- 1tsp chopped
Green chilly- 1 (optional)
Cashewnut –20 gm
Cumin seed- a pinch
Kashmiri chilly powder- 2 tsp (u can either use red chilly powder according to your spice level)
Tomato ketchup- 1 tbsp (optional)
Dry fenugreek leaves-1/4 tsp
Garam masala – 1/8 tsp
Coriander leaves (chopped) – 1 tbsp
Oil- 2 tbsp
Salt –to taste

Heat oil, sauté the chopped onions till translucent. Add cumin, chopped ginger, garlic and green chilly (optional), sauté till raw smell goes off.

Add cashew nut, tomatoes & chilly powder, sauté till the tomatoes are mushy.
Switch off the gas and let it cool.

Now grind the masala . You may need to add some water while grinding.

Pour the mix in to the same pan& cook in low heat. Now add paneer, dry methi leaves, ketchup and mix well. You may add ½ cup of water if the masala is thick. Now add garam masala. Stir and simmer in low heat for few minutes. Garnish with coriander leaves.

Serve hot with chapathi ,roti or pulao.

Olan

Olan

This is one important dish in kerala sadhya.I have seen many recipes for olan. Some use yellow pumpkin, cow peas along with ash gourd. But I never use pumpkin or cow peas, as I don’t like them. But I bet you , olan made just with ash gourd also taste good. Usually olan is seasoned by drizzling coconut oil. But here, I temper it with mustard seeds and red chillies.

Ash gourd– 400 g (cut in to cubes)
Green chilies - 3-4(slit)
Small onion – 4
Fenugreek seeds- 1/8 tsp
Grated coconut- 2 ½ cups
(Take one cup of thick milk and 1½ cups of thin milk)
Mustard seed- ½ tsp
Curry leaves –1-2 sprigs
Whole dry red chilly - 2( break it in to 2 pieces)
Coconut oil- 2 tsp

Pressure cook ash gourd, curry leaves, green chillies, small onion, fenugreek seeds and salt till one whistle. You don’t need to add water, as the ash gourd will give away the water while cooking. Be careful not to over cook.
Add thin milk and simmer in low heat for 3-4 minutes
Now add thick milk and simmer in low heat for few seconds and switch off the gas. Do not boil after adding the thick milk as it gets curdled.

Heat oil, splutter the mustard seeds and then add curry leaves and whole dry red chillies.
Now add this to the curry and mix well.