Varutharacha Koondhal Curry (Squid Curry)

It is been few weeks I've made this curry, but was not able to post. Varutharacha curries are one of my favorite except the fact that it requires some roasting and grinding. But its taste compensate for all the efforts involved. Whenever I make it I always cook some extra rice. It is also a great combination with puttu.

Ingredients:
Koondhal (Squid) - 300 gm
Grated Coconut - 1 cup
Turmeric Powder - 1/4 t spoon
Coriander Powder - 2 t spoon
Chilly Powder - 1 t spoon
Dried Chilly - 2 nos
Potato - 2 small chopped into small cubes
Tomato - 1 medium sliced
Onion - 1 small sliced length wise
Green Chilly - 1 split into half
Cooking Oil - 2 1/2 table spoon
Salt - To taste
Curry Leaves - 1 sprig
Coconut Slices - chopped into fine pieces
Mustard Seeds - 1 t spoon

Preparation:

1. Clean and chop the squids into small square pieces.
2. Heat a pan and add one table spoon oil and roast the grated coconut.
3. Once it turns light brown add chilly powder, coriander powder, dried red chillies and roast it well.
4. Once roasted, transfer to a bowl and allow it to cool. Grind this into a paste using a mixer/grinder.
5. Take an earthern pot (chatti) and add the chopped squid pieces and cook it with 1 cup of water, chopped potatoes, turmeric powder, sliced onions, green chillies, tomato and salt.
6. Once cooked, add the grinded paste and cook for about 7 minutes and keep aside.
7. Heat a pan and add the remaining oil.
8. Splutter mustard seeds and add the coconut pieces.
9. Once fried add the curry leaves and transfer these contents to the curry.

Your delicious varutharacha koondhal curry is ready to serve with hot white rice or puttu.

Parippum Kaayayum Curry (Dal Plantain Curry) & Awards

Nowadays we are quite busy as we have to move to another house. Need to pack up all our items. So I was not in a mood to update the blog. I had a left over plaintain, and I was thinking what to prepare with 1 plaintain and idea sparked from my hubby. Without any thoughts, prepared this and thought of updating my blog.

Ingredients:
Plantain - 1 (Chopped into medium pieces)
Toor dal - 1/2 cup
Shallots - 5 no.s (chopped into half)
Grated coconut - 1/2 cup
Cumin seeds - 1/4 t spoon
Turmeric powder - 1/4 t spoon
Red chilly powder - 1/4 t spoon
Dried Red chillies - 4 no.s
Garlic - 2no.s ( chopped into fine pieces)
Curry Leaves - few
Salt - to taste
Mustard seeds - 1/2 t spoon
Cooking oil - 1 table spoon


Preparation:

1. Soak dal for 30mins.
2. Cook dal & plaintain pieces in a pressure cooker with 1 cup of water,turmeric powder, chilly powder, salt & cook for 1 to 2 whistle.
3. Grind coconut with cumin seeds and make a paste.
4. Add the coconut paste to the cooked dal,3/4 cup water & then cook over low flame for about 3 minutes.
5. Heat a pan and add oil. Splutter Mustard seeds, dried red chillies, garlic, shallots, curry leaves. Transfer these contents to the curry.
6. A good combo with white rice & fish fry.

Here comes the Awards. I apologise to all my blogger friends as i couldn't comment to their recent posts and couldn't publish the awards too. Sorry for the delay friends.
Awards from Beena & Jagruthi

Thank you so much dearies. 

Now, it's not enough just to grab this award, there are conditions and obligations in receiving it:
Requirements:-
I must thank the person who gave me the award and list their blog and link it
I must list 10 honest things about myself
I must put a copy of Honest Scrap logo on my blog
I must select atleast 7 other worthy bloggers and list their links
I must notify the bloggers of the award and hopefully they will follow the above three requirements also.

Here comes the award from Ruchi bedhangal & Deepa

Thank you so much dear. To know more about me please visit here.

I would like to share these 2 awards with
Cicily
Tina
Fathima
Vineetha
Sangi
Rekha
Sushma

Njoy!!!!!!!

Mathanga Thoran (Pumpkin Fry)

Pumpkin is one of my favorite veggie. But the hard thing is that, I never can cook it without my hubby's help. I always find it difficult to peel off its skin. Might be I need to join gym!!! :)

Ingredients:
Pumpkin - 1 1/2 cup chopped in square shape
Small Onion - 10 nos
Dried Red Chilly - 3-4 nos
Cooking Oil - 1 table spoon
Mustard Seeds - 1/2 t spoon
Turmeric Powder - A pinch
Salt - To taste
Curry Leaves - Few

Preparation:

1. Grind onions and red chillies without adding any water and keep aside.
2. Heat a pan with oil and splutter mustard seeds.
3. Add the grinded mixture and saute well.
4. Add pumpkins, turmeric and salt and mix well.
5. Add 3/4 cup of water, cover the pan and cook over medium flame till pumpkin is cooked. It takes almost 5-7 minutes.
6. Garnish with curry leaves.

Serve hot with white rice.

Mushroom Vegetable Rice

This weekend I found lots of leftover vegetables and mushrooms in my fridge and decided to cook something healthy and non-spicy with that. The first thing that came to my mind was vegetable fried rice. But my hubby suggested mushroom vegetable rice, since he is very much fond of crispy vegetables cooked in olive oil. He always prefer coarse black pepper powder, than green chillies and red chilly powder which normally makes the food spicy. I think he got influenced by his Filipino friends who always 'sweat and cry' when they eat dish cooked with red chilly powder or green chillies. But they never have issues with black pepper.

Ingredients:
Jeera Rice - 1 1/2 cup (Basmati rice is a better option)
Mushroom - 1 1/2 cup chopped
Red Cabbage - 1 cup grated
Broccoli Florets - 1 cup
Onion - 2 small chopped
Carrot - 1 no chopped
Turmeric Powder - 1 pinch
Black Pepper Powder - 1 t spoon
Light Soy Sauce - 1 t spoon
Slat - To taste
Olive Oil - 2 table spoon

Preparation:

1. Cook the rice with enough water, salt and few drops of oil. Once cooked drain the water using a colander. Make sure that the rice is not over cooked and sticky.
2. Heat a sauce pan and add olive oil.
3. Add onions and saute well. Add a pinch of turmeric and salt and continue to stir.
4. Add carrots and stir for around 2 minutes.
5. Add chopped mushrooms and stir well.
6. Add pepper powder and mix well.
7. Add broccoli florets and cover the sauce pan with a lid cook over low flame for about 3 minutes.
8. Then add chopped red cabbage mix well and cook for about 1 minute.
9. Add the soy sauce and mix well.
10. Mix the cooked rice with the cooked vegetables.

Delicious mushroom vegetable rice is ready to serve with any kind of salads. It is a very healthy choice.

Black Pepper Chicken Varattiyathu

Few days back, one of my friend just rang me during her lunch break and was having a casual talk. In b/w she asked me "Do you make chicken fry in Thalassery (Kannur district, Kerala state) style"? Even though being from kannur, I never made such chicken fry. I have to say I never knew such sort of fry. The reason she asked me is because she was having the same for lunch. I was curious & just asked her the ingredients & preparation method. Got a quick summary & here comes the dish in my style. The most peculiar thing of this dish is that its absolutely non spicy & comes with crispy coconut slices.

Ingredients:
Chicken - 1/2 kg (Chopped to medium sized pieces)
Black Pepper - 2 1/2 t spoon (Coarsely powdered) (1 1/2 t spoon for marination)
Turmeric Powder - 1 t spoon
Salt - To taste
Coconut Slices - 1/4 cup
Cinnamon Stick - 1/2 inch
Clove - 5 nos
Bay Leaf - 2 nos
Garlic - 5 cloves (Chopped into fine pieces)
Ginger - 1 1/2 inch (Chopped into medium sized pieces)
Onion - 3 nos (Sliced half length wise)
Curry Leaves - 2 sprig
Coriander Leaves - 2 sprig
Oil - 2 1/2 table spoon

Marination:
Marinate the chicken pieces with turmeric powder, 1 1/2 t spoon of black pepper powder and salt and keep aside for 20 minutes.

Preparation:

1. Heat a sause pan with oil.
2. Add cinnamon stick, cloves, bay leaf and saute till fragrant.
3. Add coconut slices and saute till it becomes firm.
4. Add ginger and garlic and saute well.
5. Add the sliced onions and saute well till onions become translucent.
6. Then add the marinated chicken, mix well. Cover the sauce pan with the lid and cook over medium flame till the chicken is almost cooked.
7. Add the remaining pepper powder, curry leaves and mix well and cook it completely.
8. Transfer it to a bowl and garnish with coriander leaves.

Red Cabbage Thoran

Hi friends, I reached a mile stone today. It is my 50th post!!! Thanks to all for the encouragement.
I have seen this very colorful cabbage so many times while shopping, but never had the courage to pick it up and try. Once tried we really started liking it. Unlike the green one, this is quite thick and is very crispy. It is quite easy to cook and is very healthy.

Ingredients:
Red Cabbage - 250 gm grated
Grated Coconut - 2 1/2 table spoon
Dried Red Chilly - 4 nos
Turmeric Powder - A pinch
Mustard Seeds - 1 t spoon
Cooking Oil - 2 table spoon
Salt - To taste
Curry Leaves - 1 sprig

Preparation:

1. Heat a pan with oil. I used olive oil.
2. Splutter mustard seeds and dried red chilly.
3. Add the grated cabbage and stir well.
4. Add salt, turmeric powder, grated coconut and mix well.
5. Cover the pan and cook over low flame for about 3-4 minutes. In between stir to make sure that it doesn't stick to the bottom.
6. Garnish with curry leaves and it is ready to serve.