Wheat Orotti

Orotti is an unfermented flat bread made in Kerala. Very easy to prepare and very filling. Usually very fine rice flour is the main ingredient. Very little oil is used in the preparation. This is completely hand made. No need to use rolling pin / belan.

 Here, instead of rice flour, wheat flour is used. Wheat flour makes the preparation even more easier. When rice flour is used, boiling water is used to make the dough, but wheat flour needs only normal water.

Preparation:

• In a bowl add the wheat flour and grated coconut. Knead the coconut well into the flour, so that the coconut is evenly incorporated in the wheat flour. Now add the cumin, salt and sugar and mix. Add little water and make a dough with the consistency of chappathi/Roti dough. 
• Divide the dough into 4 equal parts. Heat a flat tawa, smear a thin film of oil/ghee. Keep the flame low -medium. Take one part of the dough, roll it into a ball and flatten it lightly between your palms and place on the hot tawa. Dip your fingers in a bowl of drinking water and flatten out the orotti with your wet fingers on the tawa. Do it carefully. If you try to make it very thin your fingers might get burned. Allow to cook on low flame. When one side is cooked, flip and cook the other side. When both sides are cooked to your satisfaction, remove the cooked orotti to a plate. Continue the same process, till all the orottis are cooked. 
• Serve hot as breakfast /dinner. If you want, you can have a little pickle along with it. 
• Note: If you don't want  sugar, add 1/4 cup grated coconut extra, in the place of sugar. Wheat orotti is softer and tastier. 

Serve with a little pickle, any pickle of your choice.

Ingredients: 

Wheat flour - 1 cup 

Grated coconut - 1/2 cup 

Sugar - 1/2 tablespoon 

Cumin seeds - 2 pinches (Whole/ crushed/ powder) 

Salt - 1/4 teaspoon 

Water enough to make dough 

Oil / Ghee just to smear the tawa 

Capsicum Egg Curry

Bell pepper or Capsicum is one of the healthiest food in the world, other being tomato. It contains more than 30 carotenoid nutrients. Loads of Vitamin C, which increases as the pepper ripens. Like broccoli, onions and garlic, capsicum contains lots of sulphur- compounds. Capsicum can fight certain cancers.

Overcooking Capsicum leads to the destruction of an important flavonoid - luteolin. This is a very important anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory flavonoid. 

Method:

• Hard boil the eggs. Keep aside
• Heat the oil in a pan. Add the mustard seeds and broken dry red chilli. When the mustard starts spluttering , add finely chopped onions.Saute the onions on medium flame. When well sauteed, add the ginger garlic paste and fry till the raw smell disappears.  
• Now add the chopped garlic and split green chillies. Keep stirring. Add the meat masala, coriander powder, turmeric powder and black pepper powder. Stir for a minute. Add half cup of water, stir, cover and cook till most of the water is absorbed. Remove the lid. Lower the flame.
• Add salt to taste. Add the capsicum pieces, Stir well. Add a cup of water. When it starts boiling ,add the coconut cream. Stir well. Do not boil again. Remove from fire. 
• Remove the shell of the eggs, make vertical slit on the eggs and add to the gravy. 
• Serve hot with Rice/ Chappati /Dosa /Breads etc.  

Ingredients:

Eggs  - 4

Capsicum -1 small (cut into one inch square pieces)

Onions - 2 large 

green chilli - 3 - 4 

garlic - 2 

ginger - garlic paste - 1/2 tablespoon 

Turmeric powder - 1 teaspoon 

Black pepper powder - 1/4 teaspoon 

Meat masala - 1 1/2  - 2 table spoons 

Coriander Powder - 1 1/2 tablespoon 

Coconut cream - 1/4 cup 

Oil - 3 - 4 tablespoons 

Water - 1 1/2 - 2 cups 

Salt 

Mustard seeds - 1/2 teaspoon 

Dry whole red chilli - 1 (broken into 2 or 3 pieces )

Coleslaw

Coleslaw or slaw is a salad with grated cabbage as the main ingredient and a vinaigrette dressing. Mayonnaise or greek yogurt is commonly used. Though cabbage is the main ingredient others like grated carrot, onion. capsicum etc. also can be used along with it. This can be used as a side dish with chips, patties and in burgers.


Method: 

In a bowl mix together sugar, salt, pepper, milk, mayonnaise, buttermilk, vinegar and lemon juice.  

In another bowl toss cabbage, carrot and onion. Pour the dressing over the vegetables and refrigerate for 5 hours. 

Serve with potato wedges or burger or patties. 

Ingredients:

Cabbage grated - 5 cups
Carrots grated - 1/4 cup
Onion minced - 2 tablespoons
Sugar - 1/3 cup
Salt 1/2 teaspoon
Black pepper -1/2 teaspoon
Milk - 1/4 cup
Mayonnaise/ Greek yogurt -1/2 cup
Buttermilk - 1/4 cup
Vinegar 11/2 tablespoons
Lemon juice - 2 1/2 table spoons 

Taro Root Curry

Taro Root curry or Chembu Asthram is a Kerala dish which accompanies rice porridge/Kanji.

Taro root is popular as Colocasia or corm. It is a starch rich under-ground root. It provides more calories than potatoes. Low in fat and proteins, it is also gluten free. It contains high quality phyto-nutrients, comprising of dietary fibre , anti-oxidants and moderate amounts of vitamins and minerals.

 Taro root contains slow digesting complex carbohydrates which will not spike your blood sugar levels. It contains minerals like magnesium, copper, zinc, iron and manganese. It contains lots of potassium which helps in regulating heart rate and blood pressure. 

Method:

• Scrape the skin off the taro roots. Wash and cut it into medium sized cubes. Add water. Cover and cook for 10 minutes in medium flame. Add quarter teaspoon of turmeric powder while cooking. 
• Meanwhile scrape half of a medium sized coconut. Grind it well along with cumin seeds, turmeric powder and red chilli powder. 
• Once the taro root is cooked add a piece of gambooge and continue cooking. Add salt. Add the ground coconut mix . Stir and reduce flame. Check salt. Bring to a boil and remove from fire.
• Prepare the seasoning. Heat oil, add mustard seeds, chopped shallots, broken dry red chilli pieces and curry leaves. Pour this over the prepared curry.

Ingredients:

Taro root (skinned and cubed) - 400 grams 
Fresh grated coconut - half of a medium sized coconut 
Turmeric powder - 1/4 teaspoon + 1/4 teaspoon 
Red chilli powder - 2 teaspoon 
Cumin seeds - 3 pinches
Water - 400 ml 
Gambooge (kudampuli) - 1 big piece 
Salt to taste

For Seasoning: 

Coconut oil 1 - 2 tablespoon 
Chopped shallots - 4 nos
Mustard seeds - 1/2 teaspoon 
Dry red chilli - 2 nos 
Curry leaves - 1 sprig 

• Note: If gambooge is not available, replace it with sour curd. Add curd before adding the coconut mix.

Eggless Mayonnaise

The current term mayonnaise is derived from the French word moyeu which means egg yolk. It is used as the base of many chilled sauces and salad dressings. Mainly it is used as a sauce in salads, for example Russian salad. Commercially available mayonnaise is a health hazard, It is best prepared at home. Here is the recipe of the egg-less version of  mayonnaise.

Ingredients:

Hung curd -  11/2 cups
Condensed milk 1 - 2 table spoon
Extra Virgin olive oil - 1 - 2 table spoon
Coarsely ground black pepper - 1/4 teaspoon
Mustard powder / sauce - 1 tablespoon
Salt

Method:

Remove all the water from the curd by hanging it in a muslin cloth. Refrigerate for a few hours,the more the better. Minimum one hour.

Mix all the ingredients together. Mix well. Taste and adjust according to your preference.

Always store in refrigerator.

Coconut Dosa

Coconut is a wonder food. Coconut ,though high in calories does not support weight gain. It activates metabolism and has low glycemic index. It contains dietary fiber and is gluten free. Good for heart. Consumption of coconut improves digestion, as it aids in the absorption of nutrients by the body. It enhances the immune system of the body. 

Method:

Soak the rice for 4 hours. Wash and grind finely the rice and cooked rice with enough water. Transfer to a bowl. Now grind the coconut into a very fine paste with little water. Transfer to the same bowl. Add sugar and salt, mix well and allow to ferment overnight or 6 -7 hours. 

I used my mixer for the above process. If you are using the grinder, you can grind the rice and coconut together. For small quantities , i always depend on my mixer. 

Once the batter is fermented, add the coconut cream. Mix well. Add more sugar if you want it sweeter. The consistency of the batter - thicker than the regular dosa batter. If the batter is very thick add a little water to loosen it. 

Heat a flat pan or tawa, grease it lightly with oil. Pour a spoonful of batter and spread it out lightly. Do not make it very thin. Cook on medium low flame. When one side is cooked well , flip and cook on the other side. After making the required number of coconut dosas, the remaining batter can be stored in the refrigerator. When we refrigerate the batter, it will thicken, so loosen the batter with little water before use. 

Serve hot with dry coconut chutney. Click link for recipe.
http://ashasnairrajesh.blogspot.com/2015/02/appam-and-fried-coconut-chutney.html


Ingredients:   for coconut dosa

Raw rice - 1cup 
Cooked rice - 1/4 cup
Fresh grated coconut - 11/2 cups
Sugar- 2 tablespoons
Salt -1/2 teaspoon
Coconut cream - 2 table spoons 
Water as required
Oil for greasing the pan

Tomato Thokku

Tomatoes and potatoes belong to the same family. Like potatoes, tomatoes are available round the year. This is a low-calorie vegetable/fruit. Fresh ones are rich in potassium. Tomatoes are a rich source of anti-oxidants which protects one from various types of cancers. Lycopene, an anti-oxidant which is present only in tomatoes protects skin from UV-rays. Tomato is also good for eye-health. It is also a good source of Vitamin C, Vitamin A and beta carotenes. 

Method: 

Heat a pan, add the mustard seeds and 2 tablespoons gingelly / sesame oil. When the mustard seeds start spluttering, add the chopped tomatoes and salt. Stir occasionally, on low flame, until all the moisture disappears. When the sauce starts thickening add the red chilly powder, kashmiri red chilly powder and turmeric powder. Stir well. 

Add the remaining gingelly oil and stir continuously until the raw smell of the chilli powder disappears. Do not burn the sauce. 

Take a little tomato thokku and taste it. If salt is needed add more. Remove from stove. Cool and store in air-tight container. It will stay fresh for a week in room temperature, if gingelly oil is used for cooking. It will stay fresh for more days in the refrigerator. Serve with Dosa or curd rice or chappati. 

Ingredients: 

Tomatoes chopped - 500 grams. 
Gingelly oil - 4 tablespoons 
Mustard seeds 1/2 teaspoon
Red chilli powder - 2 teaspoons 
Kashmiri red chilli powder - 2 teaspoons 
Turmeric powder - 3/4 teaspoon

Adapted from Shyni Sajith's recipe.

Uttappam

Uttappam is an embellished dosa. One can use a variety of grated vegetables or chutneys or even egg as the embellishment -its a personal choice. One can even relate it to pizza  - a south indian pizza.

Method:

Heat a flat pan or tawa. Grease it with gingelly / sesame oil. Pour a spoonful of dosa batter on the pan and spread it out like dosa, keep the flame on medium low. Do not make the dosa too thin or too thick. Immediately spread the grated vegetables on the top of the dosa. Pour a teaspoon of gingelly / sesame oil on the vegetables and another half teaspoon around the dosa. When you can't find any raw batter on the top, carefully flip the dosa and cook. Cook for a minute or two. Your Uttappam is ready. Transfer to a plate. Repeat the same procedure with the remaining batter.

Serve hot with chutney powder. Click this link for the recipe of Chutney Powder:

http://ashasnairrajesh.blogspot.com/2016/02/chutney-powder.html    

 Ingredients:

Dosa batter - 1 cup
Chopped onions - 2 table spoon
Chopped tomato  1/3 cup
Grated Carrot - 1/2 cup
Finely chopped ginger - 1 teaspoon
Finely chopped garlic - 1 teaspoon
Finely chopped Cabbage - 1/4 cup
Finely chopped green chilly - 1 teaspoon
Gingelly/Sesame oil

Note: You can use vegetables / vegetable of your choice. Different coloured Capsicums are a good choice.

Chutney Powder

Black gram or black lentil is very rich in protein and vitamins C, A, B. One of the healthiest among pulses along with Green gram. Very good for the heart. Reduces cholesterol. It is very healthy for women as it contains iron, calcium, folic acid, potassium, magnesium etc. It contains dietary fibre and is also easy to digest. Black gram is one of the main ingredients of idly/dosa batter.

Preparation:     

In a thick bottomed pan add the black gram, whole red chilly, peanuts, garlic. Remember to remove the stem of the red chillies and the skin of the peanuts too, at least most of it.  Place the pan on medium flame and roast the ingredients, stirring continuously. Add salt to taste. Add 1 teaspoon to 11/2 teaspoon salt. If more salt is needed you can add in the final stage.When the black gram turns brown, add the roasted channa dal (pottu kadalai) and asafeotida. Stir for a minute and remove the pan from fire. Allow the ingredients to cool.

When the ingredients are cool, dry grind them. After the grinding use a medium sieve to sieve the ground mixture. Again grind the left over mixture in the sieve. Seive again. Continue this process until 2 or 3 tablespoons of the mixture remain on the sieve. Dump this into the seived powder and mix well. Check salt. Chutney powder is ready. Spread this mixture on a big plate or paper and allow to cool. Store this in airtight jars, it will last for weeks.

Chutney powder is served along with dosa, idly and uttappam.

How to use: Heap a tablespoon of the chutney powder onto a plate, make a well in the centre, pour oil into that well and mix well. A thick sauce-like consistency is preferable. Coconut oil or gingely oil, whichever you prefer, can be used.

Ingredients:

Whole skinned black gram - 350 grams
Raw peanuts -  25 grams ( 46 nos )
Whole dry red chilly - 12
Garlic - 25
Roasted and split chickpea - 4 table spoon
Asafeotida - half a teaspoon
Salt

Mushroom Kerala

Mushrooms are a storehouse of essential nutrients. They increase the level of Vitamin D in our body. Mushrooms are low-sodium, low -calorie, cholesterol-free, fat-free and gluten free. They are a good source of protein and dietary fibre. Also provides Vitamin C, folate, iron, zinc etc etc. Contains  potassium. List doesn't end.

Always take care to buy organically grown mushrooms.

This dish is prepared like an anchovy dish, which is very popular in Kerala. So the name, Mushroom Kerala


Method:

Wash the button mushrooms and cut them into half inch pieces. Keep aside, Wash the tomato, green chilly and ginger. Cube the tomato. Slit 2 green chilly. Skin and cut half of the ginger into juliennes.

Wash and set aside a small piece of gamboge (kudam puli). Wash the curry leaves. Scrape coconut.

Grind coarsely the coconut, green chilly, ginger, garlic, shallots and turmeric powder.

In a pan add the mushroom pieces, ground coconut mix, slit green chilly, ginger juliennes, tomato pieces, gamboge, curry leaves, one fourth cup water and salt to taste. Stir, cover and cook on low flame.Stir in between. If water dries up before everything is properly cooked just add a few spoonfuls. Do not add too much water. In almost 10 minutes the cooking will be over.

Ingredients:

Button mushroom - 200 grams 
Grated coconut - 1 cup  
Shallots  - 5 - 6  
Turmeric powder 1/4 teaspoon  
Green chilly - 4 ( 2 for grinding and 2 to be slit)
Ginger - 1 inch piece (half to be ground and half to be cut into juliennes)
Garlic - 2   
Gamboge - 1 small piece 
Tomato - 1 large (local variety) 
Curry leaves - a few  
Water - 1/3 cup 
Salt  

Cluster beans and coconut Fry / Amarekka Thoran

Cluster beans/ Guar has great health benefits. It contains no cholesterol and no fat. Low in calories, it is a storehouse of nutrients, proteins, vitamins and minerals.It contains soluble fiber which is extremely good for the health of our digestive tract and can prevent diseases associated with it, especially Crohn's disease, Irritable Bowel Syndrome and Colitis. Contains Vitamin K, C, A and also provides phosphorus, calcium, potassium etc. Because of its low glycemic index, it is very good for diabetics. Cluster beans are good for our heart. It improves blood circulation. Good for pregnant women.

Method:
Wash the cluster beans thoroughly. If the beans are not tender, you may have to string it , that is you have to remove the hardened string on either side of it. Drain and chop the beans using a knife, handfuls at a time. Keep aside.

Chop a few shallots finely. If shallots are not available use onion.

Cut pieces from a fresh coconut and chop it into smaller pieces. Keep aside. Now scrape /grate fresh coconut, add garlic, cumin, red chilly powder, turmeric powder. Grind coarsely. If the scraped coconut is fine enough, do not grind again. Just crush the garlic and cumin.

Now place a pan over the flame, add split black gram, mustard seeds, finely sliced shallots,broken whole red chilly and oil. Add curry leaves. When the mustard seeds starts spluttering, add the chopped onions and cluster beans. Saute on medium flame for a few minutes, till the onion softens. Now add a little water, cover and cook, Stir in between. When cooked add salt,the ground coconut mix and the coconut bits,lower the flame to simmer, mix well. Press down lightly and continue cooking on low flame, after a minute stir.Repeat the process until all the water is evaporated.
Serve with rice.

Ingredients:
Cluster beans chopped - 11/2 cups
Shallots/onion chopped- 1/3 cup
Fresh coconut bits - 3 table spoons
Grated fresh coconut - 1/2 cup
red chilly powder - 1/2 teaspoon  
turmeric powder - 1/4 teaspoon
garlic - 2 pieces
cumin - a pinch
Salt
Water - 1/3 cup

For seasoning:
Mustard seeds - 1/4 teaspoon
Split black gram(urad dal) - 1 tablespoon
Oil - 1 tablespoon  
shallots(thinly sliced) - 1 teaspoon
Whole red chilly (each broken into 2 or 3 pieces) - 2
Curry leaves - 1 sprig            

Tender Jackfruit Stir Fry / Idichakka Thoran

Jackfruit is of tropical origin. It is the largest tree-borne fruit.  With the exception  of its spiky exterior,every part of this fruit is edible. At the tender stage it can be cooked into tasty side dishes. When the fruit matures further, it can still be used to prepare side dishes and can also be used to make chips. The best is when the fruit ripens, the jack fruit flesh is very sweet and it has a distinctive aroma. The sweet flesh can be consumed as it is or can be cooked into various sweet dishes. The seeds of the jackfruit are also edible. Check my recipe for *Fried Jackfruit Seeds. Seeds when consumed directly prevents constipation. Good for skin.

 The raw jackfruit contains lots of vitamin A and vitamin C. It is a source of dietary fiber,potassium, iron and magnesium which helps in the absorption of calcium. Antioxidants in it can prevent cancer, especially colon cancer.

Raw Jackfruit has low glycemic index. Cooked Jackfruit dish should be consumed as main dish, once a day by diabetics along with a side dish rich in protein. It brings down and gradually normalises blood sugar, if consumed daily.

Here i am preparing idichakka thoran with half of a tender jackfruit. The tender jackfruit i purchased was around 9 inch tall when held by the stem. Remove the spiky green exterior skin. This is the hardest part in the whole process.  Things to do before cutting the jackfruit:1. spread out a sheet of paper beneath the jackfruit, so that the sticky sap coming out will not spoil your counter top, 2. apply oil on your hands as well as the knife, so that it will be easier to clean later.

Method:
Cut the skinned jackfruit into 1 - 2 inch wedges. Wash the wedges. Add half a cup of water, half teaspoon salt, a pinch of turmeric to the wedges and cook in a pressure cooker. Remove from the fire after the first whistle. Allow to cool. When cool shred the wedges, either by pressing with spoon or using your bare hands. Some use a blender for the purpose. Keep the shredded jackfruit aside.

Grind coarsely coconut, garlic, green chillies, turmeric and cumin. Keep aside,

Keep a pan on medium flame. Add split black gram, mustard seeds, finely sliced shallots,oil, red chilly pieces and curry leaves. When the shallots are light brown add the ground coconut mixture and stir well. Then add the shredded jackfruit, salt to taste and mix thoroghly. Press the mixture down using a spoon and cook on low flame. After a minute, stir the jackfruit mix, press down once more and cook for one or two minutes.OR Continue this until the water content goes. Do not allow the mixture to get burnt at the bottom. Add 1or 2 teaspoons of coconut oil and remove from the stove.

Serve with rice.

Ingredients:

Tender Jackfruit - Half of one (cut into pieces)
Coconut (grated) 1/2 cup - 3/4 cup
Green chilly - 3 - 4 (according to taste)
Turmeric- 1/4 teaspoon
Garlic - 2
Cumin seeds - a pinch
Salt
Coconut oil - 1 - 2 teaspoons

For seasoning:
Shallots (thinly sliced) - 2 table spoons
Mustard seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
Split black gram (urad dal) - 1 table spoon
Coconut oil - 2 table spoons
Whole red chilly - 3  (each broken into 2 or 3 pieces )
Curry leaves - 1 sprig

*   http://ashasnairrajesh.blogspot.com/2015/04/fried-jackfruit-seeds.html