Ari Unda / Rice Laddu

Ari Unda or Rice Laddu is a traditional snack of Kerala. It is made of rice, jaggery and grated coconut. The Ari unda which i am going to prepare now has very long shelf life. There is another easy ari unda recipe which i will publish later 

Preparation: 

• Melt the jaggery with half cup of water. Sieve and remove the impurities. Transfer the liquid jaggery into a a large, heavy pan. 
• Add the rice flour and fresh coconut into a large bowl. Knead the coconut and rice flour with your hands. Just the rice flour and coconut. Knead well. Roast this mixture on medium flame. Stir continuously. Roast until the mixture changes color and a good aroma arises. The important point is the removal of moisture from the mix. Remove from fire and keep aside. 
• Place the pan of jaggery on medium flame. Stir occasionally. Allow it to thicken. Check the consistency in between. Take a little jaggery in a spoon, wait a few seconds so the heat becomes bearable, take the jaggery in your index finger and thumb and stick the two fingers together and then pull apart, if a single string is formed between your fingers, its time to add the rice mixture into the jaggery syrup. Add the powdered cardamom also. Mix well on low flame. I like the one string consistency because the laddus will remain soft. If you want it harder you can allow the jaggery to thicken to 2 string consistency. Remove the mixture from flame and allow it to cool down to bearable heat. Using your hands make lemon sized laddus. Roll the laddus in a plate of rice flour, so that they won't stick together.
•  If the mixture cools down and you are unable to make balls, keep it on fire again and heat it up a bit. 
• Cool the laddus and store in air tight containers. 
• Serve Ari unda with tea. 

Ingredients: 

Rice Flour - 500 grams (Available in stores) 

Fresh coconut grated - 300 grams 

Jaggery - 800 grams 

Cardamom crushed/ powdered - 10 

Rice flour - 1 cup 

Neyyappam

Neyyappam is a sweet fried snack popular in Kerala, similar to donut. The ingredients are almost similar to that of Unniyappam. The main difference is unniyappam is fried in a mould (Appam patra or Appa karai). Neyyappam batter is directly poured into the hot ghee and deep fried. Ney means ghee in malayalam. The name neyyappam came to existence because it was fried in ghee. You can fry it in ghee or oil.

Preparation: 

• Wash and soak the raw rice for 4 hours. Melt the jaggery in half cup of water. Sieve and remove the impurities. Thicken the cleaned jaggery solution on low flame. (Add more jaggery if you want it sweeter.) 
• Fry the fresh coconut bits in ghee to golden brown. Keep aside. 
• Grind the rice well. But not too finely. Add the jaggery into the rice batter in the mixer bowl and mix it well. You add mashed banana now. But mashed banana reduces the shelf life. So it is optional. 
• Transfer the batter to another bowl. The batter must be neither  very very thick nor runny. Idli batter consistency. 
• Add the sesame seeds, fried coconut bits and a pinch of salt. (Other things which come under optional category may be added now). Set aside for a minimum of one hour, 4 - 5 hours is best. 
• Heat oil in a deep pan. When the oil is hot reduce heat to low. Scoop the batter in a deep spoon and pour into the hot oil. Flip and fry both sides, till deep brown. If cooked in high flame the insides will remain raw. 
• Drain on a paper towel. Serve with tea. 

Ingredients: 

Raw rice - 250 grams 

Jaggery  - 175 grams 

Fresh coconut bits - 50 grams 

Sesame seeds - 1 1/2 tablespoons 

Cardamom powder - 1/4 teaspoon OR 2 cardamoms powdered 

Salt - 1 or 2 pinches

Ghee - 2 teaspoons 

Oil or Ghee for deep frying

Water as needed 

Maida (flour) - 2 tablespoons (optional) 

Sodium bicarbonate - 2 pinches (optional)

 OR

Banana (mashed) - 1 (optional)

Mysore Bonda

Preparation: 

• Soak the urad dal (Black gram) for two hours, and grind well with very little water. Add salt to taste.
• Add the coconut bits, chopped green chilly and pepper corns. 
• Heat oil. When it starts boiling, wet your hands in water and take a little batter, roll into a ball and deep fry to golden brown. Repeat the process until the batter is over. 
• Serve with tomato sauce or coconut chutney. You can even have it as such. 

Ingredients:  *

Urad dal - 1 cup 

Green chilly - 1 chopped finely 

Black pepper - 1/2 teaspoon 

Coconut bits - 1 - 2 tablespoons 

Salt to taste 

Oil - 1 - 2 cups (depending on the size of the deep-fry pan) 




* Makes 28 mysore bondas.

Rava Dosa and Easy Chutney

Rava dosa is an easy breakfast recipe. This recipe doesn't use curd. Made with ingredients available at hand. 

Preparation: 

• Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl. Add enough water and make a very thick batter. Start with 350 ml water. Add salt to taste. Set aside for an hour, minimum. 
• After one hour, stir the batter, if it is too thick add little water and loosen it. Be careful not to add too much water.  
• Heat a flat tawa, non-stick or otherwise, Smear a thin layer of oil, lower the flame, pour a spoonful of the thick batter in the center of the tawa and gently push the batter from the center, outward gently in circular motion, till the batter is evenly spread out. You can also do the same by taking off the hot tawa from the flame and putting it back on the flame after spreading the batter on it. Cook on medium flame. Add a few drops of oil around the sides of the dosa. When one side is cooked flip ad cook the other side. OR Use a dome-shaped lid to cover the dosa while cooking, so you don't have to flip. 
• Serve hot with chutney. An easy chutney recipe is given below. Yo can also serve the rava dosa with a chutney of your choice.
• If you like, you can add a pinch of asafeotida/hing, half a teaspoon of jeera, one finely chopped greenchilly and 3 or 4 tablespoons of finely chopped onion into the batter. Mix well and make dosa. 

Ingredients: 

Semolina/Bombay rava (Fine) - 1 cup 

Rice flour - 1/4 cup 

Maida (Flour)/Whole wheat flour* - 1/4 cup 

Salt to taste 

Water 

Oil - 2 -3 teaspoons 

Easy Chutney 

Ingredients: 

Onion chopped finely - 1 large 

Red chilly powder - 2 teaspoons 

Salt to taste 

Coconut oil  - 1  or 2 tablespoons 

Method: 

Mix all the ingredients together. Your chutney is ready. 

*Note: i used whole wheat flour. So the color.

Mix the batter well, each time, before pouring the batter on the tawa. 

Beetroot Curd Salad

Beetroots are a powerhouse of nutrients. It contains more Vitamin C than spinach. The nitrates in beetroot helps in lowering the blood pressure. It increases your stamina. A certain constituent in beetroot prevents birth-defects, so pregnant women must include it in their diet. The pigment that gives crimson color to beetroots can  prevent cancer. Beetroot detoxifies your body.

Preparation: 

• Wash the beetroot and cook it in its jacket, in a pressure cooker for 5 - 6 whistles. Don't forget to add one and a half cups of water in the pressure cooker before cooking. The beetroot should be partly immersed in water. Vary the amount of water according to the size of the cooker. Keep aside to cool. You can also cook and store the beetroot in the refrigerator, a day before. 
• Chop the beetroot finely. 
• Chop the onion finely. 
• Cut the green chilly into 3 or 4 pieces. 
• Beat the curd/yogurt. 
• Mix all the cut vegetables together in a bowl. Add the beaten curd and salt. Mix thoroughly. Your beetroot salad is ready. Sprinkle a pinch of cumin powder, but it is optional. 
• Serve with rice. You can also eat it as such. 

Ingredients:

Beetroot - 1 big 

Onion - 1/3 cup chopped 

Green chilly - 2 

Curd - 300 ml 

Salt to taste 

Cumin powder - 1 pinch (optional) 

Vegan Mayonnaise

Preparation: 

• Grind together the cashew nuts, onion and garlic to a fine paste with little water. 
• Add the lemon juice and mix thoroughly. Add water to get the required consistency. Add salt and pepper to taste.Your raw vegan mayonnaise is ready. 

Ingredients: 

Cashew nuts - 1/2 cup soaked 

Onion - 2 tablespoon chopped 

Garlic - 1 - 2 cloves 

Lemon juice - from 1/2 lemon 

Salt and pepper powder to taste


                                                                             courtesy Google

Mushroom Stir Fry

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.

Preparation: 

• Wash and slice the mushrooms. Wash and slice the bell pepper. 
• Wash and soak the gambooge in half cup of luke warm water. 
• Slice the onions and chop the garlic.
• Heat oil, add the cumin seeds. When it splutters, add garlic and saute for a minute. 
• Add the sliced onions and saute till translucent. 
• Add the red chilly flakes and pepper powder, mix well and stir for a few seconds. 
• Now add the mushrooms, bell pepper and a little salt. Mix well. 
• Remove the water and add the gambooge pieces. Mix well and stir fry till the mushrooms are golden brown. (Do not add water). 
• Add the soya sauce and stir fry for 1 or 2 minutes. Remove from flame.
• Serve hot with Roti or Rice. 

Ingredients: 

Button mushroom - 250 grams (fresh/canned) 

Bell pepper - 1 big 

Onion - 2 medium 

Garlic - 2 tablespoons chopped 

Gambooge (Kudampuli) - 1 or 2 pieces 

Red chilly flakes - 1/2 teaspoon 

Black pepper powder - 1 teaspoon 

Soya sauce - 1 tablespoon 

Salt to taste 

Cumin seeds - 1 Teaspoon 

Oil - 3 tablespoon 

Suresh Palayil Recipe

Garlic Chutney

Garlic contains anti-oxidants that protects us from cell damage and aging. Consumption of garlic reduces cholesterol and blood pressure. All the above said properties reduces the risk of dementia and Alzheimer's. Good for heart health. Garlic also boosts our immune system. Good for bone health. It can detoxify heavy metals in the body. Increases longevity. Reduces fatigue and enhances work capacity. 


Preparation: 

• Soak the red chillies in hot water. Allow it to soak for 15 minutes. 
• After 15 minutes, grind together red chillies, garlic, tamarind and little salt. The mixture will look coarse. Add water little by little, and go on grinding until you get a smooth paste. Transfer to a bowl. Adjust the salt.
• Heat oil and pour it on the chutney. Mix well. Do not reduce the quantity of the oil. 
• Serve with idly /dosa. Especially good while travelling.
• Can be refrigerated for a week. 

Ingredients: 

Garlic cloves - 5 nos. 

Dry red chilly - 5 

Tamarind - 1/2 teaspoon 

Salt to taste 

Gingelly / Sesame oil - 1/2 tablespoon 

Sharmi's recipe