A BUSY BEE

Been so busy ..what with weddings and parties galore...January was filled with events ..we were out almost every evening..which sorely tried my new year resolutions...which were to get back in shape by dieting and going to the gym..anyways..better late than never..i started going to the gym..fairly regularly..ermm..actually, i've gone only 5 days...but see..i am definitely going from today onwards. Been experimenting in the mallu kitchen a lot. My niece, A,had made a pudding the other day which was a gorgeous site to behold..purple and white in colour. The way she made it was quite complicated, and me being a lazybones, preferred to try out an easier version keeping the flavor and color intact. So here it is..

GRAPE JELLY PUDDING

Ingredients:

Grape crush 1 cup
Water 3 cups
China grass 10 gms
Fresh cream 2 cups
Sugar(powdered) 6 tbsp
Gelatine 2 tbsp
Water 4 tbsp

Method:

Mix crape crush and water well.
Take I cup of this, and soak china grass in it.
Heat till it melts .
Add rest of grape mix and blend well in a mixie,.
Pour into pudding dish and leave to set in fridge.
Blend together sugar and cream .
Add gelatine to water,leave to swell for a minute, then double boil till melted .
Add this to the cream mix, blend again in a mixie,.
Pour carefully onto the top of grape jelly, and leave to set again in fridge.
Serve chilled.

UNRAVELLING MY APRON STRINGS..

Today, J1 and J2 start boarding school. For the past two days I have been in a frenzy of packing and planning so they have everything they need when they are away from me. Sniff...I am not going to cry..But God...I hope they will be fine..life, as they have known it, will change..there will be a lot of adjustments they have to make..

As exboarders ourselves, both my husband and I can understand what is happening, and we can predict exactly when homesickness will start to set in..my only tension is this...suppose they don't feel any homesickness and are perfectly happy ...no ..more happy in hostel?

Aaaargh...how would I feel then...?Aah..no use thinking too much..kids will be kids..one can never predict how they'll turn out or what they will do next..hey? Anyways..my whole family..being ex Boarders themselves are in an uproar about this...an excited uproar..actually..my parents are calling up with tips on packing..my two brothers  S1 and  S2 are waxing nostalgic about the golden days of hostel..Resh...are you packing their clothes in trunks ? Reshma..pass the phone to J1 and J2...hey guys..are you excited to be off to boarding school? have loads of fun..     J1 is like..."what's all the fuss about?boarding is no big deal..honestly , I can't understand you all.."J2 has gone all cool and quiet..i just hope this is not the calm before the storm..
..and I was feeling quite sentimental yesterday after all the packing was done..so..

Sunday yesterday, I made pasta for brunch, since it was one of the boys' favorite dishesThey loved it , and proclaimed me as the best Cooker(grammatically wrong, i know..but who am I to argue with little boys?) in the world..at which moment, I fell upon them, hugging and kissing them...in fact, doing all the things they reaallyy hate...for this mistake on my part...the award of best cooker was retracted and they walked out of the kitchen in a huff, wiping away kisses and mumbling about gross females...hmmm...

MALLU PASTA

Ingredients:
Pasta(macaroni) 1cup
Olive oil /butter 3 tbsp
Onions Chopped 1
Capsicum chopped half
Tomato chopped 2
Tomato Soup powder 1 packet (about 4 tbsp)
Chicken pieces half cup cooked
Tomato sauce/ketchup 1 tbsp
Cauliflower/mushroom halfcup
Cheese spread/cream cheese 3 tbsp
Oregano 2 pinches




Method:
1. Boil macaroni in water with a tsp of oil . When cooked, drain, and pour cold water over it..drain again and keep aside.

2. Heat oil/butter, add onions, tomato, chicken pieces,capsicum and cauliflower, and saute well on high flame for a minute.

3. Add tomato sauce, soup powder, oregano,..(2 tbsp chicken stock also, if you have some left over). Stir well.

4. Add cheese, toss well together till evrything is creamy and well mixed and remove from heat. serve hot.
........mmmm..and with lots of love!!

Another cookery class over..and it's been a long time since I blogged. This recipe is a very easy one which I normally make when it's very hot and I'm too lazy to make a complicated dessert. You could make the jelly early (it keeps for at least a week in the refrigerator )and just whip up the sauce about ten minutes before serving..

Tender Coconut Jelly with Coconut cream sauce

Ingredients:

Tender coconut water 2 1/2 cups
China grass 1 packet(10gms)
Sugar 6 tbsp

Coconut grated 3 cups
water 1 1/2 cup
Condensed milk 1/2 tin(200gm)

Method:

1. Tear up china grass into thin strips. Soak the china grass in tendercoconut water for about ten minutes.

2. Add sugar to this, stir well, and heat .

3. Boil till the china grass is fully melted.

4. Now pour this into a shallow pie dish and leave to set in the refrigerator.

5. Blend together the coconut, water and condensed milk. Strain .

6. Add vanilla essence to this thick cream and chill.

7. The tender coconut jelly will have set within 20 minutes. Chop into small pieces .

8. Serve the jelly pieces with the cream sauce poured liberally on top.

9. Serve chilled.

BEING A BIG LAZYBONES

Forgive me..it's been ramadan..I've been busy with a hundred and one jobs that need doing..I don't know where the time flies...I just can't resist....simply must bore you people with an account of my typical ramadan day.

@3 AM..
At the unearthly hour of 3am in the night(when it's the best part of snuggling deep into your quilt and your dreams are at their most exciting point...TTTRRRRIIINNGTG....TRRIINNNGGG...the alarm rips through the chill night..but I snuggle deeper into my quilt..(who wants to wake up at that time??)N (my hubby) gives me a shove ..Resh..wake up..it's time to get Suhoor (a predawn meal we have during ramadan) for us..."mmm..yess..just five more minutes..then I'll get up" N keeps poking and prodding me till 3.30am when I finally give up and roll out of bed and into the kitchen..all bleary eyed.
Getting the food ready( this meal varies from house to house..for us, suhoor means steamed bananas and steamed rice cake-puttumpazhampuzhungiyathum-in local speak..along with hot tea) for the kids and hubby takes about ten to twenty minutes only..then begins the process of waking up the rest of my family(including hubby dearest, who promptly turned over to sleep the minute i left the bed..MEN!!) who are equally adept at clinging onto their precious sleep .Finally by 4 am, all are sitting around the table having their foodand trudging back to bed after the morning namaz(prayers)..while I am clearing the table and washing up, which gets done by around 5.15.
Now comes the hard part...the kids have to get up by 6 am if they have to be ready for the schoolbus (which comes around by 6.45am)..so if i go to bed now..it's a sure bet that I won't be able to wake up on time ...so that means 45 minutes of sitting around in the dark, twiddling my thumbs..while I would much rather be sleeping(sigh!)
So i sit at the computer and surf the web till 6am.
@6AM
Wake the kids up, poke and prod them..cajole them into uniforms, walk them to the busstop..and back home by 7 am.
@7AM
Wide awake now..No point in going to bed..so, I start cleaning the house,putting it back in order .
@8AM
I walk into the kitchen and start preparing food for Iftaar -the evening meal, which is when we break our fast. Samosa, Unnakka, Dateballs, meatballs, kababs, pies..anything goes..Pathiri(thin soft rotis made from rice flour ) and Mutton Kurma are my husband's and kids' favorite dish..this is mandatory for everyday of Ramadan.
@1.30PM
Work in the kitchen finally gets over ..and I have a quick bath, pray and run around doing other chores(like picking up the laundry and drycleaning, buying vegetables and groceries, etc,etc etc...)
@3.45PM
The kids come home and it's bedlam for the next twenty minutes!
A long list of complaints ..fights..tears..playground stories..an assignment ..a project has to be done...umma..listen...all three want to talk at once..and I am in a hurry to get them out of sweaty uniforms and socks..Make them wash up..and change ..then checking their bags and books for homework and stuff...playing with them in the garden..till the arabic tutor comes
@5PM
Prayers ( in relative peace) since the kids are studying with their arabic tutor, then into the kitchen again for last minute adjustments to food.
@6PM
The kids are back from the tutor and racing to play outside..and I am racing against the clock now. Have to get them ready for going to the mosque with their dad by 6.20pm.
My husband started this new routine this year..of going to the nearby mosque to break their fast with some water and dates , offer prayers there, and then come home for a propermeal. It's been a good idea..the boys have been really enjoying doing grownup things, and learning how to do things in the proper traditional way
@6.30PM
They are all back home , by which time I have also broken my fast with water and dates and offered evening namaz(prayer) So we all sit around the dining table, eating the meal I have prepared.
@7PM
Like storm clouds gathering, I can feel a headache creeping up ..By the time I finish clearing the table and cleaning up..I'm all tired and drained..All I want to do is curl up in a corner and sleep which is exactly what I do for the next one hour.
@ 8pm
Wake up again, do namaz(prayers) ,put the kids to bed, and get a drink for N and myself..put my feet up and chat for ten fifteen minutes..by whichtime I'm nodding off again..(and so does N !!) ..So, by around
@9PM
we both wearily drag our tired bodies into bed and zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
till it starts again....

PATHIRI
Ingredients

2 cups Rice powder(Roasted)
3 cups water
salt -as required

Method

1. Boil the water. Add salt .

2. Add the flour to the boiling water and stir well in a simmering flame.

3. Cover the dough and keep it to cool.

4. Once it has partially cooled knead the dough thoroughly, wetting your hands freuently with a little water. Make sure that no lumps are formed inside.

5. Make small lemon sized ballsfrom the dough .

6. Dust the balls in some rice flour and roll it out using a roller pin.

7. Heat a tawa till smoking hot. Keep the pathiri on it and flip it to the other side once the pathiri starts forming bubbles, like a phulka. Press the pathiri occasionally so that it will become soft and layered.

8. Once both the sides are done, remove it from the tawa.


Tip:
After each pathiri...wipe clean the tawa with a dry cloth so that the charred flour doesn't stick to the next one.

Serve pathiris either dipped in medium hot coconut milk or with coconut milk on the side as an accompaniment

MY FIRST COOKERY CLASS

Hello..long time no see and all that...
I've been so busy these past few weeks...then my computer went kaput...Isn't that reason enough for me being a lazybones? Then , one of my friends, M, asked me if I could do a cooking class at the YWCA..I was unsure at first..but M persisted..and finally, I decided to do it!
So, next week, on 8th july,2009, I will be doing my first ever cooking demonstration in front of a large crowd of well heeled ladies..many of them light years ahead of me in experience and age..you can imagine the jitters they're giving me..Hopefully I won't make a complete mess of things..!!
After a lengthy discussion with M, we decided to make Alleesa(Haleem) , Kaaypola, and Dark Fantasy pudding.
Haleem is a middle Eastern dish, traditionally made in Pakistan, the Gulf, Dubai, Hyderabad, etc.
Alleesa, as we mallu muslims call it, is a porridge like dish made from wheat.


Normally made bland, with a side serving of sugar and chicken / mutton kurma, here in Muvattupuzha, we like it spicy.There's one more thing that differentiates our Alleesa from Haleem. Since we mallus love our coconuts, we just can't resist adding thick coconut milk to this.
This is the recipe I am giving you today ..
HALEEM aka ALLEESA

Ingredients:

Onion, sliced thin 2
Gingergarlic paste 1tbsp
Green chilly, slit 4
Salt 1 tsp
Coconut Oil 4 tbsp
Garam Masala** 2tsp
Turmeric powder 1 tsp
Chilly powder 2 tsp
Tomato 1
Broken Wheat 1 cup
Chicken 250 gm
(preferably 2 leg pieces)
Coconut 1/2
Ghee 2tsp
Shallots /button onions 5-6
Curry leaves a stalk
Coriander leaves a handful


Method:

1. Soak wheat in water (2 cups) for at least two hours.Drain and keep aside.

2. Heat oil. Add onion, gingergarlic paste, green chillies and tomato(chopped). Add salt and saute well.

3. After 5 minutes of sauting, add all the spices.
(turmeric, chilly, garam masala)

4. Saute till well cooked , add chicken pieces and wheat. Mix well .

5. Add coconut milk (2nd pressing)*. Cook in pressure cooker on high flame till first whistle sounds. Then lower heat to simmer. Turn flame off after 5 minutes.

6. After ten minutes, open cooker, add coconut milk( first pressing)*. Heat again till it starts boiling. Turn off flame before it boils too much.

7. Serve haleem into a shallow dish.

8. Splutter curryleaves and shallots in ghee till crisp, then pour onto haleem or alleesa as a garnish. Serve hot.


* Take the half coconut, grate and add 1 cup water. Blend in a blender/mixie, then strain and keep aside. This is the first pressing coconut milk.
Take the same grated coconut from the strainer, add 1 and a half cups water again to this, blend and strain seperately. This is the second pressing coconut milk.

** Garam masala -how to make at home.
Take equal quantity ( 25 gms each) of cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, peppercorn, and cumin seeds in a shallow nonstick pan. Heat on low flame for a minute , stirring with a spoon all the while. Powder in a dry mixie, and voila! you have your very own Garam masala!
This can also be used to enhance flavours for moghlai dishes like biryani, curries, pulaos, etc.

MONSOON TALES

The monsoon is here! Yippeee!!

For as long as I can remember, it always rains here (in Kerala) on the first day of school. There we would be standing at the bus stop with our new uniforms and new stuff, and Bam!! It would rain. drenching us..school bags and shoes and all.. After a a few years of this, we got the hang of it, and we would remember to take umbrellas or raincoats along. Nobody really liked raincoats… we considered them childish, and preferred the more grown up and dignified umbrella. In those days, there were very few colored umbrellas available, and those that were, used to be very expensive. So what some of us creative geniuses (including yours truly!ahem!) used to do was..we would do some art work on those dull black umbrellas like paint on it with fabric paint(they were all the rage then!) or stick sequins or funny buttons….do colorful embroidery….etc.

I remember that our classroom corners were allotted for drying the umbrellas and there used to be at least twenty umbrellas all opened up and parked to dry, so we could safely stow them inside our bags. Those were lovely days.. My school was a convent in an Anglo Indian colony at Kollam…right next to the seashore. From our class rooms, we could see the waves crashing thunderously onto the beach…it would be all dark and damp inside the room(half the time, the lights would never work..) such a cozy and drowsy atmosphere that created.. While the teacher droned on about ab squared plus xyz , sodium hydrochloride, manganese, or the Sepoy Mutiny, half of us would either be sleeping, or the other half would be staring dreamily out at the sheets of rain and the waves outside our windows!!

But.. I digress here. I wanted to talk about this year’s monsoon, and then I went into flashback mode and started talking about the monsoons of about 20 years ago!

This year, it started raining heavily in May itself.. This was quite unusual, since May is peak summer season normally. It rained all through the first three weeks of May, then stopped. Mind you, it was not the normal monsoon type rain also..just rain in fits and starts..totally unpredictable. The monsoon here is a nonstop serenade of raindrops from early morning to night with some short breaks thrown in..

This year, as usual, I went shopping with the kids for school supplies in late May. Basically, all we needed to buy were a pencil box, pencils, erasers, sharpeners, and umbrellas since the school provides the rest (lovely no? school bags, notebooks, text books, shoes uniforms, everything is taken care of by the school authorities) I decided to let them have a free hand in selection of their stuff, and so I told J1, J2 and J3 that they could decide what they wanted, provided they stay within a budget. Left to myself, I would have finished that shopping within 15 minutes…but no, Mrs. Smart Mom had to do this. Never again!!

Pencils, box, etc were dealt with and finished in 1 hour..(wow! A miracle!) but umbrellas…my God..(or, as I would say, Ya Allah!) it took them a solid two hours to make a final decision on the type of umbrellas they wanted! I can’t blame them too much, though… there was such a wide variety of kiddies umbrellas available.. In different colors and shapes, stylish prints…what not! I myself was bewildered by the vast selection available for kids nowadays.

J2 and J3 would decide on one umbrella, and then, when I would turn my attention to J1 , they would change their minds and grab at another umbrella which seemed even more interesting. J1 was not very happy at having to select the type of umbrellas that his brother and sister preferred . He felt they were too childish, and wanted something more grownup. According to him, “ my umbrella should be special, Umma, one that no one else has..it should have colour, but not the bright ones like J2’s red striped one, or J3’s yellow umbrella with Tweety simpering on it’s crown! “ Phew!

Add to those three nitpicking brats a shopful of other nitpicking brats, all preparing for schooldays…and you have a madhouse filled with screaming, crying kids and parents..(yes!parents do cry and scream when they get desperate!)

Finally, after a solid two hours of scrounging through that huge shop, I found THE UMBRELLA! It was a deep midnight blue one, with shadings of soft brown, like a night sky, with stars twinkling at scattered points all around it. It looked very stylish and different from all the normal garishly colored kiddies umbrellas. If you pushed a button on it’s handle, it’s tip would start glowing as well as the tips all round the bottom half. Best of all, it fitted into my budget of Rs. 150 for each umbrella.

J3 was soo excited that she wouldshow everyone she met that day her new umbrella and she’d insist on telling them the whole story of how she chose for herself, and about J1’s grand grown up umbrella(!)

( I have a small confession to make myself.. I ended up buying a lovely umbrella for myself too!)

So then we were all eagerly waiting for the first rains as well as the first day of school.. when it dawned …all bright and sunny!

When people all around were happy that it had not rained that day and made a mess of roads, new uniforms…we were totally disappointed at not being able to use our fancy new umbrellas! It hadn’t rained at all this first week, and the kids were getting restless.

“ Umma..why doesn’t it rain? When are we going to use our new umbrellas?”

Today morning dawned all sunny as usual…no even more sunnier than usual. The glare of sunlight was so blinding that I started getting a headache. By afternoon, I was complaining to N, “ This is getting ridiculous!when will the monsoon come? I ‘m starting to hate the sun!” And N just smiled and said,” you’re worse than the kids! Be patient..it will come. It’s a bit late..but it will surely come within this week.”

About fifteen minutes later, the skies darken , there’s a chill wind blowing..and the temperature drops rapidly. Still no rain..but the sky looks promising..It’s all cloudy and dark..filled with moisture. Another fifteen minutes of tensed waiting, and the Gods decide to smile on us. It’s raining ..raining raining…Giant sheets of water drop out of the sky all at the same time, as if someone poked a pin into a giant water balloon!

YYAAYYY!!

The kids come back home all drenched(they hadn’t taken umbrellas since it wasn’t raining when they left) and with huge grins plastered on their faces!

“umma..can we go out and splash in the puddles with our umbrellas?

Umma, could you help me make paper boats to float in the rain water?”

I am literally drenched with suggestions of how to enjoy this grand rain…

But I’m no longer listening…I’m walking in the rain with my new umbrella, and breathing in the warm earthy smell that wafts up into the air with the first rains….

PEPPER CHICKEN

Ingredients:

Chicken 500 gm
Pepper powder 2 tbsp
(Preferably freshly powdered)
Turmeric powder 2 tsp
Coriander powder 2 tsp
Ginger crushed 2 tsp
Tomato sliced thin 1
Onion /shallots 200 gm
(2 onions /15-20 shallots)
Green chilly slit 2
Curry Leaves
Coconut Oil 5 tbsp
Salt to Taste

Method:

1. Wash and cut the chicken into small pieces.


2. Mix all the spices and keep aside 2 tsp of this to use in the masala later.

3. Rub the rest of spices mixed onto the chicken pieces and marinate for 2 to 4 hours in refrigerator.

4. Heat oil , saute chicken pieces in this till half cooked.Remove chicken from pan and keep aside.

5. Sauté onion, green chillies , ginger and tomato till soft.

6. Add chicken and the rest of the ingredients.
Saute well on high flame till well blended.

7. Garnish with fried curry leaves , serve piping hot with chapatis, parathas, or any type of bread.

Tip:Use a tbsp of curd for the marinade. Makes the chicken really soft.
Such a perfect dish for a rainy day...

ODE TO MY FATHER IN LAW

Hi there! long time no see and all that...I've been so lazy for so long that I began having a guilt complex...It's been vacation time here in malluland...and I hope you mommies out there will understand the trials and travails of a mom of three kids.. As of now, I've outlived a wedding, 3 parties , a funeral, and am shuttling between my house and my husband's ancestral house on a daily basis with the three minitornadoes trailing along behind me full time!!

My father in law passed away on the 10th of May and we're still recovering from the shock of how fast death can creep into our midst and whisk away a loved one.Uppa,as we used to call him ,was a big man, in both body and spirit, generous, gruff , overbearing ,loving,stubborn, ...In private, we used to call him a lion..and he was that too..a braveheart, his very voice sounded like a roar, his very stance was like a lion's..A friend of ours used to joke that whenever he called us at home on the phone, and Uppa picked up the phone, he would automatically stand up -even though he was actually hundreds of miles away in another state!!

Being quite a headstrong person myself, we often used to be at loggerheads on many issues..most of them being about the way I raise my kids. He was of the old school, and I was of the shiny new brigade with many modern ideas, pooh-poohing their old ideas and rituals as pure gibberish. It took me five six years, many personal experiences,and some maturity to accept the fact that sometimes it is better to listen to the wisdom of the elders. With maturity comes wisdom and grace...and I learned to overlook his grouchy behaviour to see the loving father who was hiding underneath that crusty exterior.

We all miss him ...but I know that the greater pain is yet to come..that will come when we walk into the ancestral home again and we see the empty chair in the front porch..it will come again when we wait for him to drop by in the evenings, and then realise that he will no longer be coming...it will come again in many other instances....

Remembering Uppa today, I'm posting one of his favorite dishes..Carrot halwa a.k.a.Gajar halwa


CARROT HALWA

Ingredients:

Carrots,grated finely 4-5 medium sized
Cardamom ,powdered 5 nos.
Sugar 1/2 cup
Condensed milk or fresh cream 3-4 tbsp
Salt a pinch
Ghee 6-7 tbsp
Saffron (optional) a few strands soaked in 1 tbsp hot milk


Method:

1. Heat ghee in a nonstick pan.

2. Zap carrots in microwave for 2 minutes on high. Add to pan,saute well on a low flame.

3. Add salt, when carrots are well wilted, add cardamom and sugar. Stir well.

4. This is a crucial time. Do not leave pan unattended or the halwa will burn and stick to the pan bottom. Keep stirring till the carrots and sugar is well mixed and of a pasty consistency.

5. Add condensed milk or cream, and saffron , stir till it all comes together as a halwa.(the mixture will leave the sides of the pan and collect in the middle.)

6. Serve hot or cold with almond slivers as a garnish.

Tip: Serve piping hot with icecream...yummy combination!!

LONG TIME NO POST...

Yes...it has been such a long time since i did a blog post..almost a month...no? Vacation had started , and I lost no time in packing my bags and hightailing it to my hometown in Kollam for some long awaited TLC and R&R . I spent ten days with my parents..then a couple of days bonding with cousins at a gettogether in Cochin, took a short trip to a Beach resort in Kovalam (thank you, vappa and umma!!)and was back home by the fifth of April.

Then why the long absence from the blog? you might ask..
It's wedding season in Kerala now...and I've been running around attending weddings and pre wedding parties for the past two weeks . It's been good fun though, since I really enjoy dressing up. In kerala, we go all out for the weddings..garish heavy jewellery, kanjeevaram and silk saris, jasmine flowers, ...though I must add that of late, there has been a trend towards designer saris and diamond jewellery.

My niece ,A,( the one who loves my carrot cake,remember?)is getting married on May 3rd..and the whole family (my husband's family) have all been so busy shopping for her trousseau and for all of our outfits too...It's been a tradition in our family to do the shopping together...so you can just imagine the mayhem we create when all seven daughter in laws , one sister in law, one mother in law, and twelve to fifteen kids descend upon a shop!!


So you can see how busy I have been, (tee hee!!)For now, I'm posting a very special recipe which is very close to my heart. An old time favorite, a traditional snack, Sarkara Ada. My maternal grandmother, Amma, used to make these for us, whenever we would go to her house for the vacations. Ada, Diamond cuts , Elayappam or chakka ada, these were her specials. THe other two recipes, I will be posting soon...(as soon as I get around to making them and taking a pic!) but today is for

AMMA'S
SARKARA ADA

Ingredients

For the Ada
Rice flour 1 cup
Salt 1/2 tsp
Water 1 cup
A drop of coconut oil (optional)


For the filling
Jaggery 250 gms
Coconut 3/4 cup
Cardamom 3
Cumin seeds 1 tsp
Salt a pinch


Method:

For the filling...
1. Melt jaggery in 1/4 th cup of water, cool and strain. Heat again till thick and sticky.

2. Add coconut, salt, and powdered cardamom and cuminseeds.(tasty tip:heat the cardamom and cuminseeds together either in a pan or inthe microwave before powdering..this brings out extra flavour and smell)

3. Mix well.

For the Ada...

1. Boil water and salt . Add rice powder to the boiling water, all the while stirring briskly with a spoon, till the water dries completely and you get a lumpy scrambled mass of cooked rice flour. Leave to cool

2. When the dough has cooled a bit, scrape onto a thali or a flat surface, and knead well with wet hands(this helps in easy kneading) Warning...don't use too much water on your hands...then the dough will become too sticky!! When fully kneaded, add a pinch of coconut oil on your palms and knead one last time for extra softness.

3. Make medium size balls out of the dough. Take one ball at a time and place it in either a pathiri press or your palm. Press it till it is thin and round . Keep this on a small piece of banana leaf or oil paper.

4. Place 1-2 tsp of the filling in the middle of each ada, then fold in half. Press lightly at the semicircular ends to seal the filling in . Fold banana leaf too on top. Do like this with the rest of the balls.


5. Steam for 15 minutes, and serve hot or cold..personally, I like it hot!!

MY HUSBAND..MY DIARY..

When I became a teenager, my mother gifted me with a tiny little diary with it's own little lock and key. She told me to write a daily journal ..told me to vent my frustrations ,anger and irritations on those pages. My mother taught me that my diary is me-my innermost soul, no holds barred...no secrets. Then she told me to read what I had written, and think, with a clear mind-did I do wrong?was I right?Should I have done things differently? If so, can I change things and situations for the better?
During those turbulent teenage years, those diaries were the best anchors I could have..they were the mirrors of my soul.i found I could lash out at anyone I wanted, in private, without losing my dignity,or hurting any one's feelings.They taught me to be ladylike. They helped me when I felt sad. I just had to read back a few pages to see how blessed I was and see that things were not as bad as they seemed. I never forgot a single moment of my life.

Over the years, I graduated from that tiny little diary to big notebooks, chockful of funny stories, sad moments, angry outbursts..silly crushes...what not!!

And then I got I got married.My diary writing went into over drive!!My emotions were fluctuating wildly in the highs and lows of my first love!!There were so many pages of syrupy simpering quotes about my dashing new husband.
Then came the many problems of two totally different people settling into a life together after the honeymoon period- Ugh!so many pages were filled with the things about him that irritated me!
Pregnancy-babies...I got so busy that I almost stopped writing. Almost..not fully....Because there were moments which were so intensely beautiful , they made me reach for pen and diary so I would never again forget those moments..
There was a time, when I would fill the pages with my fury at sitting at home, fat, with three kids, no chance to be footloose and fancy free...When I started using the D word in my writing..That should be around the 7th year of marriage(yes!!there really truly is a seven year itch!)My life was at it's lowest point..every little thing seemed to set us off into a bout of quarrelling...One day, after penning some angry words in myn diary, I started reading back...and I kept on till I reached my very first diary..( yes!I still have all my diaries...they're kept in a highly classified vault!won't tell you where!)They made me sit up and take stock of my life.And I realised that for the past few years, my behaviour and affection to my husband had been steadily going downhill...in all aspects, I was doing the wrong things..as a daughter, daughter-in-law, sister, mother, wife, aunt,cousin , friend...as a woman...I was not upto the mark. I was not the person I was before.So I decided to change...to make an effort to be a better person,to be more patient, not to let the little things rile me up,to be more understanding to make the extra effort to love all who are my family and friends.I learnt to compromise and adjust
In six months time, we were back on track!


When my attitude changed, so did his..And one fine day, I picked up the box that contained all my diaries(all 11 of them!)and asked him if he wanted to read them. (after 8 years of being married...)Till that day, no one else had read my diaries, so he was properly respectful of them.We crossed an important milestone that day. I had learnt to trust him fully and he understood that I trusted him totally now. Eight years of living together and three kids-and you know what? Our love story started only then!And he also changed so much..he started talking more about his life, his dreams..he started opening up fully. We found that we basically have the same ideas and views.And he became my diary. I could pour out my anger, fears, my joy, my dreams..my wishes ,and know that my feelings and thoughts are safe with him. He comforted me when I was sad, cautioned me when I was reckless, soothed my fears, laughed along with me,sheared my wonder ...in short..he became better than my diary!

It is now the tenth year of our marriage..and I find that I no longer write in my diary.
My husband is my diary.

MUTTON ULARTH

Ingredients:

Mutton- 1kg
Turmeric powder 1 tsp
Button Onions 250 gms
Curry leaves 2-3 stalks
Dry red chillies 6-8 nos.
Green chilly 2-3 nos.
Ginger garlic crush1tbsp
Coconut OIl 2 tbsp
Cumin seeds(powdered)2tsp
Salt to taste
Water 1 cup

Method:

1. Crush dry red chillies ,onions, ginger garlic coarsely.

2. Rub meat with turmeric, salt and coconut oil and leave for 10 minutes.

3. Add all the ingredients and cover and cook till meat is soft and there is a thick gravy. Serve piping hot with chapathi, appam, bread...etc.

This one is my husband's favorite and his mom's recipe.Really great taste.
We sometimes substitute potato, or beef or chicken for the mutton..tastes great then also!!

CARDAMOM...!

My earliest memory of cardamom is a room. A room? you might ask? yes... a room..a very special room at my uncle's ancestral home in Kambham, Tamil Nadu. A long time ago, they used to have a cardamom estate. And the cardamom harvest used to be piled in a storage room there. Many many years later, they stopped the farm , and converted that storeroom into a guestbedroom. When we used to go there for the holidays, we would be allotted that room. The room was redolent of the spice's fragrance...I think my love affair with cardamom beagn then....even now, after 15 years, when I go there, I walk into that room, and I am instantly transported back to more carefree times...when we would all be kids, playing hide and seek in those rooms ....
Cardamom, the Queen of all spices has a history as old as human race. Indian cardamom is truly unique-in aroma, flavour, and size. It has well established culinary values, and it is used in a wide range of sweets and confectionery. It is an important ingredient of garam masala, a combination spice for many vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes. Cardamom acts as a mouth-freshener after meals. Tea and coffee made with cardamom are pleasantly aromatic and refreshing.
Most of our malabari muslim dishes are never complete without this tiny but fragrant ingredient. It certainly packs a powerful punch to our tastebuds!!


GHEE RICE
Ingredients:

Biryani rice 2 cups
Ghee 4 tbsp
Water 4 & 1/2 cups
Cinnamon 1" piece
Cardamom 5-6
Cloves 2
Salt 2 tsp
Onions 1 sliced thin and fine
Coriander leaves a small handful chopped


Method:

1. Wash rice well and drain till very dry.

2. Heat ghee in a pressure cooker or heavy bottom pan. Saute onions till golden brown and crisp. Remove fried onions and keep aside.

3. On another flame, keep the water to boil in another vessel. Add salt, cardamom, cloves , and cinnamon to the water.

4. Add the rice to the ghee, and saute well till the rice is dry and golden. (about 5 minutes)

5. By this time, the water will be at boiling point. Add water to the rice, and cover with the pressure cooker lid or a plain lid if you're using only a pan.

6. If using pressure cooker, wait for one whistle to blow, then lower heat to simmer for 2 minutes, then turn off heat . If using a pan, wait till the rice has been well cooked(about 5 minutes), then turn off heat.

7. Add one tbsp of ghee on top of the rice before serving with a garnish of the fried onions and coriander leaves.

Tip:
If possible, use jeerakashala aree or kayma aree for ghee rice instead of basmati rice. /span>

EID MUBARAK

Eid is special to me..As a true blue mallu muslim, I try to follow the old time traditions as much as possible. I have lovely memories of the festival during my childhood..Eid, Onam, Vishu, Bakrid, Christmas, too...My Umma has always followed a set special routine at my home..she never deviates from it, so that as a child, I always knew what would be the menu for breakfast , lunch, dinner that day...I also knew the exact order of events that would happen on that day, where we would go, what we would do, when we would do every single thing just like the years before.
Likewise, when I got married and came to my husband's home, I found that my mother -in - law also had her own set of traditions with which my husband was totally familiar.By the time I set up my own home about two years ago, I was confused..which set of traditions should I follow that my kids relate to?
I was loath to give up my mother's traditions, at the same time, I didn't want to deprive N of all his familiar Eid routines...
So what I did was mix them up, and now, after two Eids, we have our very own traditions , and my children Insha Allah(god willing) will grow up to that familiar rhythm all their lives.

My mother used to make this sweet dish every Eid for breakfast along with Idiyappams( string hoppers) and Liver roast. What I did was to discard the latter two items, keeping only the sweet, and making Pathiri and Mutton Kurma as my mother -in-law makes for Eid ..What a great mish mash of our two separate traditions..no?


Ethappazha Kurry
SWEET BANANA CURRY

Ingredients:
Ripe bananas 2 (diced)
Coconut milk 2 cups
Sugar 6-8 tbsp
Rice powder 2 tbsp
Cardamoms crushed 6
Water 2 cups
Salt a pinch
Cashewnuts 5-6
Kismis 5-6
Ghee 2 tbsp



Method:

1. Chop Bananas and put into a saucepan along with water, cardamom, and sugar.

2. Boil till the bananas are tender and the water has become half in quantity( 10 minutes max.)

3. Mix ricepowder into coconut milk.

4. Add coconut milk, and a pinch of salt.

5. Heat again, but don't boil. Remove from heat.

6. Heat ghee in another pan, add cashenuts and kismis.

7. Saute till golden in colour and then pour onto the banana curry.

8. Serve hot or cold...tastes delicious either way!!

A FRUIT WHIP

My garden is ablaze with flowers today..
I do so love to sit at my garden bench,soaking up the morning sun’s tender warmth.
And I marvel at the beauty of it…So much colour..Did I really plant this garden myself? Truly, I never expected such loveliness when I started planting the flower beds last year. Now, the bright flowers spill out of their beds, and butterflies flutter aroud everywhere…Is this what they call Heaven?
I am relly sorry that I cannot write anything today other than such trite nonsense..It is Ramzan after all… and one just can’t think properly on an empty stomach..As we reach the end of this month, we’re all getting tired faster, our movements are more sluggish, and we pass the days in a blur of prayers and cooking. And my tired brain cries out for some simple recipes to make…
Yesterday, at Iftaar( breaking of our fast), I made mixed fruit whip.It’s lovely, easy to make, pleasing to the eye, and so light and tasty. Just what the doctor ordered…full of the richness of fruits and milk, this recipe is perfect for ahot summer day too !!
..
MIXED FRUIT WHIP

Ingredients:

Chilled Milk- 4 cups
Condensed Milk(optional) 2tbsp
Sugar ¼ cup
Vanilla Essence ½ tsp
Apple 1
Papaya (not too ripe) ¼ cup
Small banana 3
Pomegranates ½ cup


Method:

1. Mix together milk, condensed milk ,sugar, and vanilla essence.
2. Chop fruits except pomegranates into tiny pieces.
3. Add to the milk.
4. Chill and serve cold.

RAMADAN ,THE MONTH OF FASTING

Ramadan has started today. This is a very special month for muslims. It is a time of fasting, prayer, and doing good. I love this month so much..for the control over ourselves, for the deprivation..for the charity, the feasting in the evening, for the prayers...most of all, I must say that i love the fact that as a family, it is a time for bonding and becoming even more closer. Waking up for edeyathaazham or Suhoor , the pre dawn time to eat, we all have a meal together, sit around chatting about this and that, and when the Subahi , early morning call for prayer is heard from the nearby mosque, we all stand together and do namaz,(pray) together.. yes...even the smallest member of opur family, J3, who is only 4, joins us for this. The feeling of well being and piety and love that I feel all around me when I am surrounded by my family in prayer is indescribable..
And nombu thurakkal,or iftaar, breaking our fast is also pretty special. The whole family sitting around the table eating together... prayers afterward are also done together as a family.
It is a month of forgiveness, and charity..doing good for others takes on a special importance this month.
I think I'm going all religious on you and boring you to tears...so I think I'll just wind up now.. Before I stop, I just want to tell you that the next few postings wil be having special ramadan recipes . Apricots in milk is the recipe I'm giving you today. This is a very light dessert that can be served for Iftaar . It can also be made for any other time too.. Easy to make, with a lovely taste, light on the stomach too..One more tip, you should use the really dry apricots with seeds inside,like the one shown on the left side below..not the fleshy soft ones like the ones on the right side.




APRICOTS IN MILK

Ingredients:
Apricots 50 gms
Milk 2 cups
Condensed milk 1/2 cup
Sugar if needed


Method:

1. Soak apricots in milk for 1 hour and then boil together for 5 minutes till very soft.

2. Strain the apricots and keep aside. Remove seeds from the apricots.

3. Mix condensed milk with milk, and sugar if you like your dessert too sweet.

4. Put apricots(deseeded) back into the milkmixture, then chill.

5. Break open the seeds with a stone. You will get an almond fro inside each shell. Add this to the milk mix.

6. Serve chilled ..

GUILTY PLEASURES..

Ting-a –ling!!Ting- a-ling!!
As soon as I heard the sound of the brass bell ringing down the road , I knew that the Mithai seller was coming with his push cart.
’Ooh…Bombay mithai!!’
For those of you who haven’t seen or eaten Bombay mithai (poor suckers…you don’t know what you missed)..let me introduce you.
Bombay mithai or Madaamma pooda , as it is also called..is the original version of soan papdi, that sweet which mixes sugar with badam pista and cardamom. Soan papdi is nice, but nothing can compare with the taste of Bombay mithai.
When I was in school and college, these vendors used to come around, ringing their brass bells, nothing on their push carts other than a huge bell shaped glass jar, filled with fluffy white mithai. If you pay one rupee, you get a small cone of paper filled to the brim with Bombay mithai, sometimes even threatening to spill out …Nowadays, this is a rare sight. In cities, there are no Bombay mithai vendors. But here, in a small town like where I live, they can be seen occasionally, ringing their bells loud and clear.
And the taste…aah!! How can I describe the taste of it? Words won’t do justice to it. It melts in your mouth , filling it with the sweetness of sugar, sometimes..it is crunchy too.
I am sorry. I just won’t be able to properly give you an idea .
Anyway, yesterday when the Bombay mithai seller came, the kids were at school. So I bought some for myself and some for the kids. (like the good mother I am..ahem!!) I finished my quota in record time..and then started looking longingly at the mithai I had bought for the kids..
‘No...control yourself. are you a child , Reshma, that you have to steal the kids’ sweets?’
But finally I lost control and started on the other set too. Though it was wrong, I must tell you, the taste of that mithai was the most sinfully divine thing I’d ever eaten. The guilty pleasure must have added to the taste.
I consoled my conscience with the thought that what the kids don’t know won’t hurt them……(teehee!)
Now, what shall we make today? I can’t very well give you the recipe for Bombay mithai since I don’t know how it is made..so shall we go for a pudding?
Tender coconut soufflé is made from tender coconut water, which is kerala’s special drink. Sometimes, when tender coconut water is not available, I use coconut milk instead. Mind you, you must use thick coconut milk for that. The recipe with tender coconut water has a delicate and light taste. Perfect for after a heavy dinner, or to serve when we break our fast during ramzan.

TENDER COCONUT SOUFFLE

Ingredients:

Evaporated /condensed milk 1 tin(400 gm)
Tender coconut water 3 cups/tins
(tins meaning the tin containing evaporated/condensed milk)
China grass 1 packet(10 gm)
Vanilla essence ½ tsp
Milk ½ cup


Method:

1. Tear up the china grass into small pieces and soak in the milk in a saucepan.

2. Mix together condensed milk , tender coconut water, and vanilla essence in a blender.

3. Heat milk and chinagrass , stirring all the while, till the china grass has melted fully, and no trace remains.

4. Add to the blender and blend again for a minute.

5. This part is optional. If you have any tender coconut flesh available, spread thin slices on the base of a pudding dish.

6. Pour the mixed items onto this and keep in refrigerator for 1 hour till set.

7. Serve cold.

Tip: Once china grass has melted, it tends to set quickly, so you have to work fast after melting the chinagrass.

A MISTY MORNING WALK

It was a a misty morning today. I had been for my morning walk down the lanes nearby, and I could see the dew hang heavily on the leaves..so heavy, they looked like giant drops of water....It seems this type of dew are called kanneerthullikal(tear drops)The kids had a grand time, plucking the kanneerthullikal and rubbing them against their face and arms..leaving a sticky wet trail behind.
The rains have gone..and it’s spring in Kerala now. There’s a lovely cool breeze blowing all the time..so lovely that I insist on throwing open all the doors and windows to let it flow throughout the house….( N goes around locking all doors as I open them…grumbling about security problems……my! He is so grouchy in the mornings….misty morning or cool breeze be damned!! )
Walking into my kitchen..I notice that the bananas have become too ripe to be eaten…hmm….waste..waste…I hate wasting food…Eureka!!
KAAYPOLA !!
This is a traditional malabari cake which is unbelievably soft ..tasty..and easy to make too!! You should use big yellow coloured bananas for this , and if you don’t like the taste of rose in your cakes, just add vanilla essence instead…but, be warned…adding rose water will retain the true malabari taste and smell..

KAAYPOLA
Ingredients:

Banana 4(chopped)
Eggs 8
Maida 4 tbsp
Sugar 4 tbsp
Soda bicarb 2 tsp
Nuts and raisins 1 tbsp
Ghee 4 tbsp
Cardamom 6
(remove husk and powder the seeds inside)
Salt a tiny pinch
Rose water 2 tsp


Method:

1. Saute bananas in ghee till golden an colour.
2. Add nuts and raisins . Saute for half a minute, keep aside.
3. Beat eggs and sugar till light and frothy.
4. Add maida and soda powder. Beat again.
5. Add cardamom and rosewater, beat again well.
6. Fold in the bananas gently, and bake till done. (15 to 20 minutes)
7. Serve hot .