Kozhukkatta/Rice dumpling with sweet filling

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This is the sweet liked by Lord Ganesha/Vinayaka. It is known as "modakam" in Sanskrit.[I know that there are different varieties of "modakam", so don't stare after reading this;-)] There are two types of kozhukkatta that we make at home. One is sweetened with jaggery and the other version is salty. In my little family the majority prefers the salted ones over the sweet ones.So most of the times I end up making both types to satisfy everyone's' palate :-)



Ingredients:

Rice Flour(Dry roasted)-2 cups
Boiling water- Enough to make dough
Salt- to taste

For sweet filling:
Coconut (grated)-1cup
Jaggery(shaved/grated)-1/2 cup
Cumin seeds-2 Tsp
Cardamom powder-1 Tsp

For the salted ones:
Cumin seeds-3 Tsp
Coconut grated-1cup
Salt



Method

1.Making the dough is the same as we make for idiyappam.(see here)
2.Make the filling by mixing all the ingredients listed under filling.
3.For the sweet Kozhukkatta,Take a small ball sized dough and flatten it with the tip of your fingers.
4.Keep a Tbsp of the filling in the middle and close the dough from all sides.Remove any extra dough and shape the kozhukkatta.
5.For the salted ones mix the ingredients listed,'for salted ones' and make small balls.(the smaller the better)
6.Some people add a little bit jaggery in the dough to make that also a bit sweet. But we like the outer covering of our sweet kozhukkatta salty :-).So this is your choice.
7.Steam them till they are cooked.(2whistles in a pressure cooker). You could make them in a steamer too.
8.I would have them as they are. For the salted ones you can use chutney powder of your choice, sugar or banana as an accompaniment.



This is a picture of the salted ones :-)

Contributor: Namitha

Reposts for EFM Variety Rice Series event hosted by SriLekha of Me and My Kitchen


Masala Dosa
Chicken Biryani
Veg Fried Rice

Carrot Cake

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I never thought of baking anything until I reached Germany a few years back.That was the first time I had an oven in my kitchen. My neighbor and wonderful friend, Barbara introduced me to baking. I really enjoyed her company, she is an amazing lady . I haven't met anyone like her till date. She wasn't fluent in English, but she refreshed her school lessons in English and always carried a German-English dictionary whenever we met. We are still in touch with her and I would love to meet her again if I happen to go to Germany.Thanks to her even my first cake came out well and that inspired me to do more ventures in baking :-)



This recipe is adapted from allrecipes.com and I made a smaller cake.Also for frosting I used only cream and a little bit sugar since my family doesn't like it to be too sweet :-)

Ingredients

Eggs- 2
Vegetable oil- 3/4 cup
White Sugar-1 Cup
Brown Sugar- 1/4 cup
Vanilla extract- 1 Tsp

All purpose flour/Maida- 1 Cup
Baking soda- 1Tsp
Baking powder- 1Tsp
Salt-1/4 Tsp
Cinnamon -1 Tsp
Grated carrots- 2 cups
Pecan pieces- 1/2 cup

For frosting

Heavy whip cream-1 cup
Confectioner's sugar- 2Tbsp
Vanilla extract-1 Tsp



Method.

1.Sieve together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.
2.Beat the eggs and sugar well. Add oil and vanilla extract and beat again.
3.Fold in this wet mixture into the flour mixture.Fold in the grated carrots and pecan pieces.
4.Meanwhile grease 2 square 9x2 pans and keep ready.Also preheat oven to 350 degree F.
5.Divide the mix into 2 greased pans equally.
6.Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle of cake comes out clean.
7.Take out from the over and cool for a few minutes before transferring the cake to a wire rack to cool down completely
8.Use both cakes as 2 layers or you could bake it in a thicker tray(for longer time) and divide them into 2 equal pieces.
9.Whip the cream in a bowl which is kept on ice or cool the bowl and whisk in the refrigerator prior to use.
10.When the cream starts forming spikes ,stop whipping and add a tbsp confectioner's sugar and mix for a minute followed by the next spoon of sugar and vanilla extract .
11.Spread evenly on the layers of cake and serve it chilled.
12.I do not have any cake decoration gadgets , so it doesn't look perfect but it tasted great :-)



Contributor:Namitha

Apple Pie

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My husbands favorite and a very common dessert in American homes I thought it makes sense to post this for Thanksgiving.  My version has been inspired by quite a few recipes online and also an old better homes book.  I make the pie crust at home and I promise you its' worth your while.  Hot, flaky, buttery goodness of the crust makes all the difference to the pie.  The filling is pudding like tasting sweet, tangy and cinnamony.  Serve the pie hot topped with vanilla icecream and be sure to share your pie to see how their faces light up in awe!

Ingredients: (To make the Crust)
All Purpose Flour - 2 cups
Sugar - 1 Tbspn
Salt - 1 tspn
Butter/Cisco shortening - 12 tbspn (you could also try using half of both or just any one)  I have also tried it with 1/2 butter and 1/2 canola oil and it was just fine)
Ice cold water - 5-7 tbspn

The measurment is for a 8-9 inch pie pan.

Method:
1. Mix flour, salt and sugar.
2. Cut the butter into the flour.  Make sure you integrate the butter and flour well slowly keeping the consistency powdery and not kneading together. (If you are using all oil make sure you add 1 tbspn oil at a time wetting the dough all over)
3. Once you have incorporated the butter or oil slowly add the cold water a spoon at a time bringing the dough together which you can roll out into discs.
4. Leave the dough in the refrigerator for 1/2 hour and start working on your filling.

Ingredients: ( For Filling)
1. Granny Smith Apple - 5-6 nos (I used the red colored apple which is meant for apple pie.  The trick here is to buy only the sour green apple or the red apple meant for pie which is also slightly sour
2. Sugar - 3/4 to 1 cup
3. Cinnamon - 1/2 - 1 tspn
4. Salt - a pinch
5. Nutmeg - optional.. I made mine with only cinnamon
6. Flour - 2 Tbspn
7. Butter - 1- 2 Tbspn

Method:
1. Pear and cut the apples into thin slices
2. Mix all the ingredients together and add the sliced apples in
3. Divide the dough into two halves
4. Roll one half of the dough and line the pie pan.
5. Spoon in the filling
6. Roll out the other half of the dough and place it one top.  You could also do a lattice work on top by cutting strips of the dough and lining it up on the top.
7. Bake in a preheated oven at 400 D F for 45 to 50 mins.

P.S:
1. Sqeeze some lemon on the cut apples to keep it from being discolored
2. When baking a lot of juice tend to boil over and out of the pan messing the oven.  Keep a cookie sheet under the pan to make cleaning easier or even better avoiding spill over into the oven.
3. Close the edges using a tinfoil to avoid over burning of the sides.  Cut a long strip of tin foil just enough to cover only the edges...

Happy Thanksgiving to you from all at Collaborative Curry!

Contributor: Sunitha

Potato Bajji

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    Bajji can be had with puri, roti or rolled inside a dosa to make masala dosa.  Simply made and tasty to eat it's quite a versatile dish.  I always associate American mashed potato to our Indian bajji, and have served this to quite a few friends to receive positive raving reviews.  

   Wholesome potatoes paired with a distant  taste of ginger and thai green chilies.  You can do a whole lot with this basic recipe.  Like I mentioned, eat them with puri, dosa,or wrap them in egg roll sheets and deep fry to make samosa or dip in dosa batter and make bondas.  However, you choose to use it this recipe is worth knowing.  I hope you enjoy this recipe and the dish.





Ingredients:
Boiled Potato - 2 big
Onions - 1/4 cup chopped
Green chilies - 4-6 nos
urad dal - 1/4 tspn
mustard - less than 1/4 tspn
jeera - 1/4 tspn
curry leaves - 1 sprig
chana dal - 1/2 tspn
oil - 1 Tbsp

Method:


1. Pressure cook or use any other method to cook your potato making sure you can make a crumbled texture and not paste like smooth.
2. Heat oil in a pan and temper starting with urad dal, mustard, jeera and chana dal
3. Add the onions and green chilies and saute
4. Once onions are translucent add turmeric and stir in well
5. Add the cooked potato that is mashed using a fork into crumbly powdery texture into the pan and stir to get the color of the turmeric evenly.
6. Serve as explained.


Contributor: Sunitha

Banana Chips/ Vazhakka upperi

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Banana Chips=Onam and Vishu, this was the equation in the mind when I was a child .These chips are so much related to the festive seasons. Back at home a calculated planting of the "nendra vaazha" is done so that the bananas are ready to make chips for Onam or Vishu. According to my grandma, we make the round chips for Onam and the cut ones (make them by cutting the bananas lengthwise first) for Vishu.My family would love to have it at any time, no matter the season. We carry kilos of chips whenever we return from Kerala. Once we run out of it I make my own, since my DH would like to have it with almost anything, mostly for breakfast. It is a great accompaniment for idli, dosa, upma etc.I would say that these chips are quite versatile. My kids love it so much that whatever I make a batch it will be finished in no time :-)Today I managed to save a plate to share with you all. Hope you will enjoy them :D



Ingredients

Raw banana(nendran)- Skinned and thinly sliced
Oil(Coconut oil/any other oil)- To deep fry
Turmeric powder
Concentrated Salt water


Method

1. Heat(medium high) the oil in a deep frying pan.
2. Slowly throw in the banana slices into oil.Try to separate them as much as possible while you add. (Do not fill the pan with oil, when you throw in the slices the oil will rise up)
3.Stop putting the banana slices once they are just below the oil level.
4.Do not stir, wait for a few minutes(5-6) for the slices to get cooked.
5.Now you can stir them slowly, just by flipping from one side to the other.
6.Again stir after 3-4 minutes. Repeat till the chips are done.(may take about 25-35 minutes in a small pan)
7.When it is done add the salt solution (1tbsp for 2 bananas) which has a pinch of turmeric into the oil slowly.
8.Wait till all the bubbles stop coming.
9.Immediately take out the chips from oil using a ladle with strainer.
10.Remove excess oil by spreading on paper napkins.Store in an airtight container for upto a month.



Notes:
I get this special type of raw bananas from the Chinese supermarkets.The bananas you get from most of the Indian grocery stores for making curries is different.

If you cut them too thin ,keep an eye on the temperature of the oil.



Contributor: Namitha

Uzhunnu Vada/ Medu Vada

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   I love medu vada drenched in hot spicy sambar or dipped in thick coconut and chickpea chutney.  In fact, I can eat it without any accompaniments.  Love for this one goes way back.

  I guess we can call this the Indian doughnut being simimar in shape.  Its crispy ouside and soft inside can also be compared.  However, the comparisons ends here.  Medu vada is healthier having no sugar and the taste is as far different as all purpose flour is from black gram.   A snack served with breakfast in the morning and sometimes for evening tea, you will agree this is a popular snack with most Indian families.



Ingredients:

Urad Dal - 1/2 cup
Onions    - chopped 2 tbspn
ginger - 1 tspn chopped
green chillies - 1 tspn chopped
curry leaves  - 1 sprig (leaves torn inot half and added)

Method:
1. Soak the dal for 2 to 3 hours
2. Clean and let the water drain off
3. Grind the dal to a smooth paste in a grinder or food processor without any water.  I use my wet mixer and it does not cooperate.  I confess I add a tad bit of water and then later add some rice powder to get them to hold.
4. Deep fry the vada in hot oil.  Make sure the oil is hot. Maintaining the right temperature is paramount here because if the oil is too hot the outside gets done and inside does not.  If its not hot enough the vada turns out to be hard.  Stay by the stove and wait for a while after you have added the oil in a hot pan and test by adding a drop of vada mix in.  If it rises instantly you know the oil is hot enough.  If you have a thermometer I would say 350 D F is probably the round about time to go by.


1/2 cup urad dal yields small to medium sized eight vadas.  the chutney I enjoy the most is coconut, chana dal and coriander leaf all ground to a nice thick consistency.  I will update the chutney shortly for your convenience.

Contributor: Sunitha

Pickled Onions and Green Chilies/ Awards

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   This is an easy pickling process and the taste is so good its polished clean as easily too.    I especially like its color.  It's eye candy and I leave it on the kitchen counter or occasionally on the dinning table and enjoy looking at it everytime I pass by.  The recipe is passed on by my husband's grandmother.  She is a whiz in the kitchen.  It's amazing how she has all the recipes ingrained in her brain and does not consult notes (recipes) while cooking.  You say the word and she will just blurting out the entire recipe. Very fascinating lady indeed!  Fantastic at violin, cooking and sewing I would call her an all rounder.  She is quite old now and unfortunately not too well.  However, I am sure she would be glad to know I am sharing her recipe with you all.  Enjoy it!

This double shade of the onions in the picture below is as its getting marinated but after bottling in 4-5 days all of it gets evenly colored.


Ingredients:
1. Green Chilies
2. Shallots
3. 1 part Water
4. 1 part Vinegar (I used red wine vinegar)
5. Salt


Method:
1. Wash the chilies and let the water dry off completely
2. Peel the shallots and wipe clean with a damp cloth and dry cloth respectively until cleaned dry.  This will make sure the onions will stay longer pickled and not get spoilt.
3.  Boil water and dissolve salt in it
4. Once the water cools down add equal part of vinegar and pour over the chilis and onions filled in a bottle.
5. Keep the bottle tighly closed and it will be marinated enough to eat in 4-5 days

Serving: Its a fun pickle.  You can serve it as it is or cut and add them to your salad.
Decoration: Let your imagination take flight.  Keep them in glass bottles of different shapes and size and they look wonderful enough that your guests will go Wow!
Contributor: Sunitha

We got this cute and sweet award from Bigarade of Bittersweet Bigarades Ramblings

Thank you so much and we really appreciate it :-) Now we would like to share with a few blogger friends

Sreelekha Sumesh of Sree's Recipes
Sadhana & Muskaan of A2Z vegetarian cuisine

Jeyashri Suresh of Jeyashri's kitchen

Ushnish Ghosh of Cooking and Recipes

Nandini of Usha Nandini's Recipes

Vrinda of Sankeerthanam

Sarah of Vazhayilla

Sangeetha of Kothiyavunnu 

Masala Dosa

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My childhood memories of restaurant food always go back to Masala Dosa. For some reason I always ended up ordering this delicacy whenever we ate at, a famous restaurant in my home town,  the Indian coffee house.  The red colored masala from the beetroot they add, which I haven't seen anywhere else, is still fresh in my memories.  During my college days in Mangalore and Erode I used to enjoy Masala dosa with my friends.  Later, when I moved to Hyderabad after marriage we used to frequent a vegetarian restaurant in the neighborhood where they served masala dosa with meduvada and chutney.  They also have a special red chutney spread on the dosa over which they place the masala and wrap the dosa.  OMG! I am getting so nostalgic :-) So, what I am trying to point out is every place has a different masala dosa to offer.  I guess this doas will be included in their list of comfort foods by any Indian.  By the way, our kids also love this crispy and yummy crepe slathered with potato masala.



Ingredients

For dosa

Idli rice-3cups
Urad dal (black gram)-1cup
Salt-to taste
A few fenugreek seeds(if you are using the batter only for dosa-this will make dosa more crispy)

For Masala

Potato-2
Onion-1 big(sliced thin)
Green Chillies-3
Curry leaves-1 Sprig
Ginger-1Tbsp (grated)
Turmeric powder-1/2 tsp
Tomato-1



Method:

For Dosa
1. Soak the rice and dal for 5 - 6 hours
2. Grind the rice and dal and mix well. Ferment for at least 8 hours.If you are in a cold country keep the batter in the oven after warming the oven a bit.Do not overheat.
3. Again mix the batter well after adding salt.
4. The consistency should be just enough to pour on a tawa/griddle and should be able to spread it well with the bottom of the ladle.
5.Keep the dosakkallu(the cast iron tawa/griddle)/ a non sticky shallow pan and heat it on medium high over the stove. Spray with oil if the pan is not non stick.  Pour one ladle of batter when the pan is hot enough (when you sprinkle water you get that sizzling sound)and spread it as thin as possible.If you wish you could spread a little bit butter/ghee(clarified butter) on it.I normally skip this step :-)
6. When one side is done (takes about a minute), read golden brown, flip over and let the other side also get cooked .(you don't have to do this if your dosa is very very thin)
7. Flip over again and put 2 Tbsp of masala on top and spread it using the spatula.
8. Fold over the dosa to cover the masala.
9.Serve hot with the chutney of your choice/coconut chutney/ sambar/



Contributor: Namitha

Coconut Chutney-Red

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This is one of those dishes which will take you right into Kerala. Though chutney is one of the dishes that all south Indians make,mostly Malayalees make chutney with just coconut. We have so many varieties in this and today I am going to talk about the red chutney that goes well with dosa, masala dosa and idli. This is my Mom's recipe and is a hit in my family.



Ingredients

For grinding:
Coconut grated-1 Cup
Green chillies- 1
Red chillies-5
Ginger-a half inch cube
Shallot-1

salt-to taste
Water

For seasoning:
Mustard-1/2 tsp
Shallot(thinly sliced)-1-2
Red chillies(halves)-3
Curry leaves-1 sprig
Cocnut oil/any oil -1tbsp



Method:

1.Grind all the ingredients listed under grinding, to a smooth paste.
2.Heat oil in a pan and do the seasoning.
3.Meanwhile take the grind mixture in a bowl and add enough water and salt, mix well
4.Pour this into the pan where you have the seasoning and mix well.
5.Let this boil till you see a froth forming on the top.
6.Mix well and pour into the serving bowl
7.Do not over-boil the chutney. That will make it curdled.
8. Serve with Dosa, Masala Dosa or Idli.

Contributor: Namitha

Sambar

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My first attempt at sambar ended up in the garbage. I still do not know what the real problem was.Only guess is that I didn't boil it enough because of which the spices were not cooked properly. Don't worry , I have made sambar successfully, umpteen number of times after that :-) I know everyone makes sambar in a different way . This is not the authentic recipe, just my delicious version.



Ingredients

Potato-1(big)
Brinjal-2 one inch pieces
Snake gourd- 3 one inch long pieces
Ash gourd/winter melon- 2 one inch long pieces
Ivy gourd- 2-3
Carrot-1 small
Drum sticks- 4-5 pieces
Beans-4-5

Ladies finger/okra-4-5
Sambar onion(shallot)-8-9 small
Tomato-1

Tamarind juice- 2-3 Tbsp
Salt- To taste
Oil-2 tbsp
Toor daal- 1 cup
Turmeric- 1/2 tsp
Sambar powder- 2 tbsp
Asafoetida-1/4 tsp
Coriander powder- 2 tbsp
Red chilli powder- 1 tbsp
Shallot- thinly sliced for seasoning
Mustard-1/4 tsp
Red chillies(cut into halvs)-3-4
Curry leaves-1 sprig



Method

1.Cut the vegetables into cubes.
2.You could cook daal along with vegetables in a pressure cooker or separately as I do. This is just because we love to see the daal in sambar. I put daal and pour water, salt and turmeric powder. Then keep a separater and take veggies in a bowl and keep in the cooker with just enough water to cook and little bit of salt.
3.When you cook veggies add all except okra, sambar onion and tomato.
4.Saute the cut okra in a pan. Once it is done you can add tomato and saute that too.This is up to you. You could add it directly without sauting, if you like it that way
5.Once the veggies and daal is done (I cook them both together for 2 whistles), take out the daal and keep it aside. Add the sauted okra, tomato, sambar onion and Sambar powder,Asafoetida and mix well.
6. Boil this for 5-6 minutes and add tamarind juice and Cook for 10 minutes.Add daal and cook for 4-5 minutes.
7. Do the seasoning with mustard, shallots chillies and curry leaves. To this add the coriander powder and chilli powder and saute for a minute.
8. Add this mixture to sambar and boil again for 4-5 minutes.
9. Serve hot with rice, Pappad and thoran of your choice.



Contributor :Namitha

Kesar Sandesh

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Any sweet lover will fall in love with the Bengali sweets, so did I :-) I remember having a big craving for Indian sweets while I was carrying my son.  However, with a deep sigh I realized I will also have to make my own since there was no way to buy them. That is when I started cooking a series of sweet, which included Rasgulla, Rasmalai , Sandesh, Kalakhand and oh boy ...what not :-). To my amusement most of them are Bengali sweets and these are all related to each other in one way or the other.



The love for these Bengali sweets started a few years back, when I first had them on a trip to Kolkatha.  My husband and I will never forget that train journey during which we had to make a 9 hour halt in Orissa due to harthal. It wasn't fun with a nine month old baby, my daughter. But all these were compensated once we reached Calcutta, the British capital city.It is one of the most beautiful cities with a heart and soul. We enjoyed the stay as well as the delicious cuisine. If you want to taste a little bit of West Bengal, here it is....

Ingredients

Milk(whole milk)-4 cups
Lemon juice- 2Tbsp
Saffron- 1/4 tspn
Cardamom powder
Sugar-1/3 cup(Add more if you want it to be very sweet)
Pistachios-for garnishing



Method

1.Boil the milk in a pan, stir in between .
2. Once the milk starts boilind add the lemon juice while stirring and let it heat for a minute and switch off the heat.
3. Sieve this through a cheese cloth covered sieve .
4. Keep the sieve with panneer under running cold water for a few minutes.
5. Squeeze out the water .
6. Put the paneer in a bowl and knead it well for a few minutes.Meanwhile mix the saffron with a Tbsp warm milk and keep aside (to get more color you could grind the saffron before mixing)
7.Add the sugar and saffron dissolved in milk and cardamom powder and knead again.
8. Heat a pan and add this mixture into it. Stir well continuously (This is done at low heat)
9. Switch off the heat once the mix starts leaving the sides of the pan. This may take 4-5 minutes.
10.Transfer the mixture to a bowl and shape them.(If the mixture cools down, you will have cracks on your Sandesh like mine :(. So shape them while it is cool enough to handle ) This recipe gives you ~12 medium sized Sandesh.



P.S I haven added only a small pinch of saffron since my family likes it that way :-)

Contributor: Namitha

Sizzling Chicken Drumsticks

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   Over weekends, you will agree we all like to have some special food to enjoy family time.  Last weekend, rather than buying frozen nuggets I decided to bake some drumsticks. I like experimenting with chicken because it beautifully adapts with a myriad of flavors.  You add orange juice or mango or garam masala or whatever you can think of and chicken, like a sponge will absorb and blend with it to make a delectable dish.

   So here is how I cooked the drumsticks.  Go ahead and feel free to try different ingredients to personalize it.


Drumsticks – 6 nos
Soya Bean Sauce – 2 tbspn
Garlic Powder – ½ tspn
Chili Powder – 1 tspn
Pepper Powder – 1 tspn
Alcohol – 1 Tbspn
Oil - 1 - 2 tspn
Salt - to taste ( I did not add any because the soya bean sauce I have with me is quite salty, so if you are adding a sauce add salt with caution)

1. Add all the ingredients and marinate the chicken for at least two hours.
2. Line a dish with oil and set aside
3. Preheat oven to 350 degree F/ 180 degree C and bake chicken for 20 – 30 minutes.  Time of cooking  depends upon your oven so adjust accordingly.
4. 10 - 15 minutes through the cooking time check the chicken.  Take the dish out and baste it (pour the juices and oil over the chicken) and flip the pieces to ensure both sides are equally browned.
5. Continue cooking.
6. Once chicken is cooked remove pan from the oven and add the alcohol, I added whiskey. You will hear the sizzling noise and an aroma is imparted which will definitely have your mouth watering.


Serve with pickled chili's, onions and tomatoes. This works well as a starter or make it a full meal by having some cooked vegetables with it.


Awards:


There have been a lot of awards being given away from Priya and Sangeetha and we accept and treasure them.

Vegetable Fried Rice

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Hope you all had a fun Halloween. We had double fun since it was 'M's birthday too. Anyways he didn't play any role other than that of a wonderful Dad, but we had an angel and a lil pumpkin here. Though we had a very busy day, I wanted to make something special for the B'day boy. He likes my fried rice a lot and I thought that would make a great lunch. So, I made fried rice and baked a cake.

The credit for the recipe goes to my wonderful sis in laws.  I have already mentioned to you that I learned cooking after my marriage. Once, when I had some guests over and wanted to make something simple, yet delicious this rice which is always a winner in my new family came to mind. I rang up my SIL and she gave me the recipe over the phone and voila... it came out well at my first trial itself.  And now I have cooked it n times for my multinational guests and always get complimented. I have tweaked the original a bit here and there. We had it with chicken curry, fried pappad and a salad.

Ingredients
Ghee- 2Tbsp
French Beans- 5-6
Carrot-1(medium)
Bell Pepper(Capsicum)- 1 small
Green peas (frozen)-1/4 cup
Spring onion- 1 small bunch
Cashews-2 Tbsp
Raisins-2 Tbsp
Onion-2 small(sliced thin)

Basmati Rice- 2 cups
Water-3 1/2 cups
Lemon juice-1 Tbsp
Salt-to taste
Cinnamon-1 small stick
Cloves-4-5
Cardamom- 1/4 tspn
Tejpatta/Indian Bay leaves-2
Soy sauce(optional)-2tspn

Method

1. Wash and drain the rice and keep aside.
2. Cut the vegetables into thin pieces.
3. Fry the cashews and raisins in 1/2 Tbsp ghee and remove from pan.
4. Throw the beans and carrot pieces into the same pan and cook.
5. When it's half done add the frozen peas, bell pepper and cook for a couple of minutes. Switch off the flame.
6. Fry the onion till it turns golden brown and keep aside.
7.Meanwhile heat the pot you use to cook rice and add the remaining ghee . When it is warm add the dried rice into it and fry for 4-5 minutes on low heat.  Throw in the spices and stir.  Add salt and lemon juice into it and stir for a minute.
8. Add water and let it boil. Simmer once it starts boiling and cook covered on medium low till rice is done. It takes about 12 minutes to cook.
9.It is always great if you cook the rice in advance and let it cool a bit. The rice won't break away, while mixing then.
10. Layer the rice and the fried vegetables in this order or at your wish. First rice, followed by fried onion, vegetables, spring onion, cashews and raisins and a little soy sauce.
11. Serve with any curry of your choice and pappad. Garnish with coriander leaves



Contributor: Namitha

Maida Pathiri

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Food the time machine.  Do you know what I mean?  Well, you will agree food has strange powers.  It can satiate hunger for sure but sometimes flood you with memories of a time gone by.  That is why I call it a time machine.  It helps me to get transported to a time and place which I enjoy revisiting and the wonder that all that can be done by eating?! Delightful, isn't it!.  And this is why I love cooking, talking and writing about some of these foods.

So today lets see how I make Pathiri.  Pathiri was introduced to my family by friends from Calicut. We hail from Central Tranvacore so visiting our family friends in Calicut and enjoying their scrumptious malabar cuisine was always looked forward to on Summer vacations.  I know it as patthiri but when I checked online for pathiri and asked around it looks like the pathiri which is famous is made of rice flour.  Well, this one is made with all purpose flour (maida) and deep fried.  If you know this by any other name please let me know, I will be glad to make corrections.


Ingredients:
All purpose flour (maida) - 2 cups
Eggs - 1
Oil - 1 tbspn
salt - to taste
Water - boiling water enough to make roti dough (make hot water to make it easy to make the dough)
Oil - deep frying

Method:
1. Beat egg and add a tbspn of oil to it
2. Add the flour slowly and mix until you can make a dough
3. Keep aside for a while (I generally keep it for an hour)

Rolling the Pathiri:
1.  Tear small portions from the dough to shape into small balls and roll it out into circle roti
2. Spread oil and fold it four times ( Bring the left side of the rolled dough to the center and overlap the right side over it.  Now you have long a folded strip.  Fold again to make a small square by spreading more oil on the surface and bringing the top to the center and overlapping it again.  If you like to have a petal top spread more oil and bring all four edges of the square to the center.  Flip the square over dust with flour and roll out again into a square shape.

If this explanation is not clear let me know I will try to add step by step photos later.

Deep fry the pathiri and serve with a curry vegetarian or non vegetarian of your choice.  I like it with chicken curry.



Contributor: Sunitha