Neenda Payar Thoran

Yard long beans, or neenda payar, is an all time favorite of every Keralite. Neenda Payar thoran is one of the quickest and the easiest of all vegetarian dishes of South India. Moreover, anyone can try it out without any hassles at all.

The reason why Yard Long beans is my favorite is because I get it fresh right from my backyard. And when the vegetables come right from your backyard, you can simply imagine how tasty it would be. The long beans thoran is easy to make and tasty to eat. So checkout the recipe for Needa payar thoran right now.

Ingredients

·         Yard long beans/Neenda Payar- ½ kg (Serves 4)

·         Onions – 2 medium

·         Coconut gratings- ½ cup

·         Green chilies – 2

·         Garlic- 2 cloves

·         Turmeric powder – ¼  tsp

·         Cumin seeds powder – a pinch

·         Oil

·         Curry leaves

·         Mustard seeds- ¼ tsp

Method

·         Heat a pan and add 1 tbs of oil to it

·         Add mustard seeds and crack them

·         Now add the curry leaves along with the long beans that are cut into long pieces

·         Add finely chopped onions to the pan

·         Add salt and sauté well and close the lid

·         In a mixer jar, add coconut gratings, turmeric powder, cumin seeds powder, green chilies and garlic , and run the mixer for two seconds

·         Open the lid of the pan and add coconut mix to it and mix well

·         Now close the lid and cook for 10 mins

·         After 10 min, open the lid and check salt

·         Remove the contents to a bowl

·         Serve hot with rice

Triangle Parattas

If you prefer a heavy dinner, trying out Parattas will be the best choice. Parattas can be made with wheat flour and they are healthy and tasty too. Adding ghee during the making will help to make it taste yummy, soft and fluffy. Paratta is an Indian flat bread that is loved by all.

Ingredients

·        Wheat Flour – 2 cups (Serves 2)

·        Salt

·        Water

·        Ghee

Method

·        Take a large vessel

·        In the vessel, add wheat flour and salt

·        Add water and mix the flour to make it into  dough

·        Allow the dough to rest for 15 min

·        After 15 min, divide the dough into small balls

·        With the help of a rolling pin, roll each ball into thin circles

·        Now you may dab some ghee on it

·        Fold it into half and dab a bit of ghee on top

·        Now fold it once more to form a triangle

·        Now with the help of rolling pin, flatten the triangle

·        Heat a tava

·        Now you may cook the triangle parattas

·        Dab a bit of ghee and cook well

·        Serve hot with vegetable curry, dal curry or salad.

Nellikka Uppilittathu- Gooseberry Pickle

Whenever I feel like not eating at all, I tend to remember my mom’s special nellika uppilittathu or gooseberry pickle. That was a one stop solution that most of my family members loved during dinner time. To be frank, it really tasted great with rice and all those traditional side dishes.

I remember as a child, my mom used to place a large jar filled with gooseberry pickle on the dining table, and we used to eat it whenever we felt like snacking. The recipe of this pickle is today’s special for all you FoodoMania viewers. So check it out!

Ingredients

·         Gooseberry – ½ kg

·         Green chilies- 100 gm

·         Water

·         Salt
          Vinegar - 1 tsp

Method

·         Wash and Clean gooseberries and keep them aside

·         In a large vessel, take 1 l water and boil it

·         After boiling, switch off the flame

·         Add the gooseberries and blanch them

·         Take them out immediately

·         Add sufficient salt to the hot water and let it cool

·         Now you may add the gooseberries and green chilies in a large jar

·         Pour the salt water into the jar along with vinegar

·         Serve with rice and other vegetarian dishes

·         Enjoy!!

Idly Upma

Too much of leftover idly in your refrigerator can make you go mad. Eating hot idly from the steamer increases our appetite. But thinking of eating the leftover ones is not at all loved by us. So this is the time when we try out something different with leftover idlys and my choice would be to try out Idly Upma.

Usually upma is made with semolina or rava. It is a very simple breakfast delicacy of South India, especially Kerala and Tamil Nadu. We can make Idly Upma by replacing semolina or rava and by preparing upma that consumes less amount of time. This is best for breakfast or you can even try this out in the evening when your kids feel hungry at five or six.

Ingredients

·        Idly – 6

·        Onions – 2 large

·        Green Chilies- 2

·        Ginger – a small piece (optional)

·        Coconut gratings – ½ a cup or ¾ cup

·        Curry leaves

·        Mustard seeds

·        Oil

Method

·        Take out idlys from refrigerator

·        Crumble the idlys into small pieces with your fingers and keep them aside

·        Take out a pan and place it on stove top

·        When the pan gets heated, add coconut oil or any vegetable oil

·        Add in mustard seeds and crack them

·        Add curry leaves

·        The finely chopped onions can go right into the pan with the green chilies and ginger pieces

·        Sauté well

·        Close the lid for 5 min

·        After 5 min, open the lid and add in the crumbled idlys into the pan

·        Add salt to taste, Coconut gratings

·        Mix well

·        Sprinkle some water into the mix

·        Now close the lid for yet another 5 min

·        After 5 min, open the lid and remove the contents to a bowl

·        Serve hot

·        Enjoy!!

Fish Dry Fry- Meen Perattiyathu

Traditional Kerala Fish delicacies are a real joy to the heart, soul and for the taste buds. It is a fact that most of the tourists who come to “God’s Own Country” love to try out the variety of sea food options lined up before them. Those who have visited this state would never have missed out Fish Dry Fry or Meen perattiyathu that is a very tasty fish delicacy fit for your lunch time meals.

You need not visit Kerala to try this fish delicacy at all. You simply need to follow the steps directed in the recipe and your fish dry fry is all ready to be served. As for me, this is one of my favorite preparations that I usually prefer once in a while. Though a bit of time consuming, you will never regret for the effort that you have put in the making of this dish. So check out the recipe for Fish Dry Fry and keep cooking. Picturized version can be found after the recipe.

Ingredients

·         Fish (Fleshy ones are preferred) – ½ kg (Serves 2)

·         Onions – 2 large

·         Tomato – 1 large

·         Red Chilly Powder – 1 tsp + ½ tsp

·         Turmeric Powder – ½ tsp + ½ tsp

·         Salt

·         Oil

·         Curry leaves

Method

·         Take a vessel, put in all the fish pieces

·         To the fish pieces, add red chilly powder, turmeric powder, pepper powder and salt.

·         Mix well and keep it aside

·         Take a Kadai or Frying pan and place it on the stove top. Switch on the stove and heat it

·         Pour oil

·         Fry the pieces of fish

·         Remove the fish to another bowl and keep them aside

·         In the same oil, add curry leaves and onions

·         Sauté well

·         Add turmeric powder and red chilly powder and sauté well

·         Now add in finely chopped tomatoes and mix well

·         Add sufficient salt. Remember not to add too much of salt, as the fish already has salt

·         Now it is time to add the fried fish pieces to the onions

·         Mix it well

·         Close the pan with a lid for 5 min

·         After 5 min, open the lid and serve hot with rice.

·         Enjoy!!

Picturization

Mutta Roast (Dry)

Too much of procedures in cooking at times, make us lazy. That is the time when we turn towards easy cooking methods that can save us for the time being. For me, one such dish is Mutta Roast with Onions. Usually I love cooking the long and much time consuming dishes if I am free and have a good appetite. But sometimes even I am compelled for turning over to fast cooking procedures, just to save me from standing in the kitchen for too long.

Mutta Roast is a good and tasty option if you want a quick dish for your chapattis or puris. You can even try this out with dosas if you prefer to. Bachelors who cook daily can try this out since it is as simple as that. Husbands in need of impressing their wives too can try out this dish and gain a good reputation in the cooking Hall of Fame.  

The only time consuming process that this dish takes is to full boil the eggs. Other than that, it takes only a few minutes to complete the whole cooking procedure. So here you are the recipe for Mutta Roast or Egg Roast (Dry) just for you folks!!

Ingredients

·        Eggs – 4

·        Onions – 4 large

·        Red chilly powder – ¾ tsp

·        Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp

·        Garam Masala – ¼ tsp

·        Salt

·        Oil

Method

·        Full Boil 4 eggs

·        Remove shell after cooling

·        Keep them aside

·        Place a kadai on a stove top

·        Heat the kadai

·        Pour in 3 tbs of oil

·        Add in mustard seeds and pop them

·        Add curry leaves

·        Now add the finely chopped onions to it

·        Sauté

·        Add red chilly powder, turmeric powder, garam masala and salt

·        Sauté

·        Close the lid for 5 min

·        Open up the lid after 5-7 min

·        Check salt

·        If the onions have turned out to be glossy, you may switch off the stove

·        Remove the content to a bowl

·        Cut the eggs into halves

·        Place them on top of the cooked onions

·        Serve hot with chapattis

PS: You may even add a tomato if you prefer a bit of tanginess. You may add tomatoes after adding in all the spices. Close the lid and cook.

Squid in Onions

Squid , Kanava or Koonthal perattiyathu is a very tasty dish that all of us in our family love a lot. The real delight of making this dish is that I am able to see a lot of happy faces around me. Squid delicacies are always loved by all. I have been a great lover of the food that my Mom used to cook and squid roast that she makes is the one dish I like a lot.

So here you go the recipe for Squid in Onions or the Traditional Kerala style Kanava perattiyathu that my mother usually makes for us when we were kids.

Ingredients

·         Squid – 500 gm

·         Onions – 3 medium

·         Green chilies- 2

·         Ginger garlic paste- 1 tsp

·         Tomato- 1 large

·         Red chilly powder – 1 tsp

·         Coriander powder – 2 tsp

·         Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp

·         Salt

·         Curry leaves

·         Coconut oil

Method

·         Clean Squid and keep it aside

·         Switch on the stove and place a pan

·         Pour oil

·         Allow it to heat

·         Add mustard seeds and pop them

·         Add curry leaves

·         Now you may add the finely chopped onions and green chilies

·         Sauté well

·         Allow the onions to turn golden brown

·         Now add in the ginger garlic paste and sauté well

·         Add red chilly powder, coriander powder and turmeric powder and sauté well

·         Add tomatoes and sauté well

·         Now you may add squid pieces into the pan and add some salt

·         Close the lid of the pan and allow the squid to cook in low flame

·         After 15 min, you may switch off the flame

·         Remove the contents to a bowl

·         Serve hot with rice

·         Enjoy