I have been thinking to bake brownies for a long long time. But really didnt get th eperfect easy recipe or sometimes i’ll be short of some ingredient.. then i was thiking why not just try Hershey’s kitchens And yes i got the perfect recipe there.

These brownies are soft and like a chocolate cake when you taste them straight from oven but are really really moist and a real brownie when they are cold. I liked them more the next day. I doubles the recipe as i was taking this to a friends house. And i really lost count how much my dear son ate out of those! This is a must try i strongly recommend!

I made only the brownie did’nt try the frosting as i was afraid it might run by the time i reach my friends place.

You’ll need

This is one chicken curry my hubby will eat if  i cook everyday! He loves the creamy texture of the curry (i dont use cream at all at home because he thinks i’ll gain 2 lbs immediately!!) So when ever we eat out something creamy curry i wonder how to get this texture without adding the cream!! Finally i doubles the onions, finely sliced and mixed it well in low fire non stick skillet without burning the ingredients.

But be careful while choosing the onions. Some onions have a sweet taste. When i cook when ever i get the red ones and which make me cry as soon as i peel them are sweet. I dont chop onions at all im thankful to have a Braun food procesor which is a real time saver and i have to put less effort in chopping and kneading! LOL!

Coming back to onions, i find that if you those kind of onions which are reddish and makes u cry, 2 cups of it will surely make your curry sweet. If you have found the difference in onions it would be good if you avoid them in this recipe.  Also 1 large onion is equivalent to 1 cup of onions finely chopped.

650 grms chicken (may be a little more or less)

2 cups finely chopped onions

2 sprigs curry leaves

2 tbsps ginger garlic paste

1 cup ripe tomatoes finely chopped

1 tsp lemon/lime juice

4-5 tbsp coriander pwdr

1-2 tbsp freshly ground pepper (add more or less according to ur taste)

salt to taste

a bunch of coriander and mint leaves chopped finely.

oil for frying

Heat oil in a skillet and add onions and curry leaves.. once it starts to brown add ginger garlic paste and mix till it is blended with onions. Add tomatoes and let it get well mixed with onions.  Add rest of the ingredients and chk the spices. Fry for few mts before adding the chicken. . you may adjust the spices at this stage.

Add the chicken to ti and mix well. dont add any water till the chicken is half done. If you want more gravy add water accordingly only after the chicken is half done. Not before that. I added 1 cup of water to it.

Don’t you think sometimes you need a full vegetarian meal? And that too with almost all all all the veggies in it?? LOL!! I felt like that few months back! Yes this is from a draft long long back. I still remember i was craving for all the veggie curries I’m not good at cooking kerala veggies. I opened my cook book after a long time and started searching for these recipes. I hardly take a look at the books now becase i find everything in GOOGLE now! LOL! but i think if u need anything authentic tried and tested and tasted you have to open those books which you have treasured or passed from ur mom or aunt or grandmaa… the list goes on! So here goes the recipes.

Avial is a vegetables with coconut and yogurt. I add all my favorite vegetables to it like potatoes, raw bananas, carrots, yam… yumm yumm!!

Carrot – 1 medium size
Potato – 1 medium size
Elephant Yam -1 cup
Raw Bananas – 1 large
long Beans- 1 cup

• All veggies cut in 2 inch long pieces.

Coconut-1 cup
Green chillies-2 nos
Cumin seeds-1 tsp

• Grind into a fine paste

Turmeric powder-1/2 tsp
Curry leaves 1-2 springs
Coconut oil for tadka
Sour curds-1 cup
Salt to taste

• Cook the vegetables in a skillet with little water.
• Add turmeric and salt to it.
• When the veggies are soft add the coconut mixture to it.
• After a boil add the beaten curd to it and turn off the stove.
• Heat coconut oil in a separate tadka pan and add mustard seeds and curry leaves to it.
• Serve with rice

Olan is beans mixed with winter melons in coconut milk. I love beans and winter melons but not really a fan of coconut milk. I had to buy it because this recipe is incomplete without it!

Small red beans – 1 cup soaked overnight
Winter melon -1 cup

• Pressure cook the beans till its half done and then add the melon and salt and cook again till soft.

Coconut milk- to taste around 1/2 cup.
Curry leaves 1 spring
Coconut Oil for tadka

• Add coconut milk to the cooked beans and melon and let it boil for few minutes.
• In a tadka pan add coconut oil and mustard and curry leaves and add the the beans.

Spinach is the only veggie my kids will eat everyday! So i try ot make it often and in the simplest way! I make Cabbage also in the same way.

Heat coconut oil in a skillet. Add mustard seeds. When they splutter add chopped spinach/cabbage to it. Add salt to taste and mix well. Wait till the veggies are done. Usually these veggies are cooked within 5 minutes if u chop them finely.

Okra Curry is one of the easiest curry for me.. why?? because one can cut the okras into half and and still it will be soft after a boil! Also i roast gring a large packet of coconut and freeze it so its easy for me to add the coconut also. Please note that the roasted-grinded coconut doesnt not really freeze and become hard in the freezer. It will be still like a powder if you dry grind them.

10-12 okras cut in to any size
1 small onion chopped finely
1 small tomato optional
a lemon size tamarine ball soaked in 1 cup of water
2-3 tsps of coriander pwdr
1 tsp of red chilli pwdr
coconut oil for frying onions
salt to taste

coconut 1/2 cup
cumin seeds 1/2 tsp
fennel seeds 1/2 tsp
curry leaves 1 sppring
turmeric pwdr 1/4 tsp
shallot 1-2

• roast all till dark brown and dry grind.

In a skillet add coconut oil and fry onions. If you are using tomatoes add them after the onions turn brown. Add chopped okras and fry then for 2-3 mts. Add the tamarine water and spices to it.  Cover and cook till the okras are soft. Add the grinded coconut to it and adjust the spices if u need more. And bring to a boil. Turn off immidietly after boiling.

• You don’t have to add all the coconut to it. Adjust according to how thick you want the curry. Freeze the un used coconut if any.

Enjoy the kerala meal with kuruva rice!

Im overjoyed to receive this award from Malar Gandhi.

And im passing this to Srivalli, Faiza Ali, Pajusha, Yasmeen, Lubna, Lissie.

Well i was in a dilemma whether or not to post this my chegodilu totally went wrong.. i ‘ll start with the recipe Srivalli send..

Chegodilu -

Ingredients:
Rice flour – 3/4 cupAll purpose flour/ Maida – 1/4 cup
Ghee – 2 tbsp
Ajwain – 1/4 tsp
Red chilli powder – 1/4 tsp
Turmeric really a pinch
Salt as per taste
Oil to deep fry

Boil 1 cup water in a bowl, add salt to it.

When the water starts boiling, remove from stove, add ajwain, red chilli powder, turmeric and flours. Stir with a ladle to make sure it is mixed well. Pour ghee on it and cover.

Once it cools, knead it to form smooth dough.

Pinch out small balls of dough and roll them like threads between your palm, bring the ends together to form into small rings

Fry them in hot oil til they turn golden in colour. You can follow the same procedure as the first recipe..

I followed the recipe just like it but i dont know why as i added the floursto the water it was very watery.. so i added 1 more cup of flour thinking i might have added 2 cups of water still no..  it was still watery. Then i added one more cup of flour and then i could make a soft dough! but still it was not in that exact shape because it ws soft..

well i have to now wait for the other challengers recipe and read how they did in the challenge!

i boiled the water till it past beyond the boiling point LOL! i dont know why this turned out to be like this.. may be because of the rice flour.. i got ready made flour and i swear im not goin gto get that brand ever again! before plannin gto make this i had told my kids im goin gto make onion rigs but instead it turned out like fries and my 3 yr old was asking is this rings?

Well this post will also go to the Kitchen Mishap Event!

This has been in my draft for a long time.. When both my laptops crashed i finally learned the lesson not to treasure my pics in “My Pictures ” but i have to publish them here! LOL! I finally returned to my old desk top but i have lost the mobility! now i have to come to the computer room when im making something new or i’ll have to print out the recipe. Well but im happy that my desktop never lets me down but i did promise myself to publish the recipes as soon as i  cook or bake them!

One of the easiest curry i make when i wake up late or not in the mood for cooking. Thank god my kids love this!

1 Raw banana

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

1/4  fenugreek powder

3/4 – 1 cup grated coconut

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1 green chilli

3-4 tbsp yoghurt

salt to taste

For Tadka/tempering oil, mustard seeds, red chilli, curry leaves

Remove banana skin and  wash and slice them into thick pieces. Put them in a vessel and add turmeric  and fenugreek powder and salt.  In a medium sized skillet add 2 cups of water and bananas, cover and cook till done.    Meanwhile, grind grated coconut, cumin seeds and  green chillies to a fine paste.  Add this paste to the cooked bananas and mix well.  Beat yoghurt and pour over it.  Keep on stirring the curry and cook on a low flame till it starts to boil.  Turn off the flame.  In a tadka pan, heat oil and add mustard seeds, red chillies and curry leaves.  Turn off the flame immediately and pour it over the curry.  Mix well and serve hot with rice

Easy yummy pudding the whole family will enjoy!! When i decided to make this i was sure my hubby would love this because he loves apples with cinnamon.. was unsure about my kids. They did ok with it i think with lots of nuts sprinkled on top they didn’t enjoy! They like pudding which melt in their mouth with out any disturbance!

Another yummy recipe from Smitten Kitchen

1 pound bakery white bread, crusts removed, cut into 1-inch cubes

1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces 1 cup (6 ounces)

golden raisins, plumped in hot water for 15 minutes

3 large eggs

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 cups whole milk

2 tablespoons unsulfured molasses

1/4 cup sliced almonds

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spread the bread cubes on a baking sheet and toast in the oven for 6 minutes, until crisp. Transfer to a bowl and add the apple and raisins. Generously butter either a 9×13-inch deep baking dish or six 8-ounce ramekins. If using ramekins, set them on the baking sheet. In a medium bowl, using a handheld electric mixer or whisk, beat the eggs with the sugar. Beat in the ground spices, vanilla and salt. In a medium saucepan, heat the milk with the molasses until just warm to the touch. Gradually beat the warm milk into the egg mixture, scraping the bottom and side of the bowl. Spread bread mixture out in your large baking dish, or distribute it among ramekins. Pour the custard over the bread mixture, nudging the bread around a bit to make sure it soaks all of the pieces. Let stand for 5 minutes. Sprinkle the almonds on top. Bake in the center of the oven for about 40 minutes, until puffed and set, with the tops lightly browned. Let the bread pudding(s) rest for at least 15 minutes before serving.

* I think my pudding got baked before 40mts. Thats why it might have burned a little bit!

If anyone asks me what will i cook for myself the answer anytime would be cakes! or something baked. i reallly love the smell spreading in my kitchen. When i saw this first in Smitten Kitchen i wanted to make it right away. I love raspberries the sour taste mixed with the sweetness of the cake. But unfortunately all berries are very expensive in Singapore  I used frozen this time but i think next time i’ll try it with fresh. I made this cake only for me but rest of my family finished it! LOL! A real hit and i think i’ll make this more often.

Recipe from Smitten Kitchen

1 cup (130 grams) all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon (2 grams) baking powder

1/2 teaspoon (2 grams) baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 stick (56 grams) unsalted butter, softened

2/3 cup (146 grams) plus 1 1/2 tablespoons (22 grams) sugar, divided

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest (optional)

1 large (57 grams) egg

1/2 cup well-shaken buttermilk**

1 cup fresh raspberries (about 5 oz) (i used frozen and thawed it to room temp.)

Preheat oven to 400°F with rack in middle. Butter and flour a 9-inch round cake pan.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and set aside. In a larger bowl, beat butter and 2/3 cup (146 grams) sugar with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about two minutes, then beat in vanilla and zest, if using. Add egg and beat well.

At low speed, mix in flour mixture in three batches, alternating with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour, and mixing until just combined.Spoon batter into cake pan, smoothing top. Scatter (see Note) raspberries evenly over top and sprinkle with remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons (22 grams) sugar.

Bake until cake is golden and a wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool in pan 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack and cool to warm, 10 to 15 minutes more. Invert onto a plate.

** Make your own buttermilk:  Add one tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice to one cup of milk and let it sit for about 10 minutes.

My post goes to Cooking for Yourself Event

My 3 yr old son waiting for the photo session to end!

October has been crazy for us. A very very busy month. 2 appointments with HDB in 2 weeks – for buying and selling of our new and old home, 2 birthdays – my son and my hubby celebrate their birthdays 4 days apart, and packing, recycling and discarding the unwanted things in our old home and finally- the most important thing – dreaming, redesigning, renovating, furnishing and lot of other projects in our my new home …

And on top of all this the Gulab Jamun Challenge. Before this perfect recipe i tried gulab jamuns from 4 other sites – all different recipes. All turned out hard small balls after frying… i waited and waited for it to be  soft in the sugar syrup but no.. all were the same, it didnt become soft in the syrup..

I finally gave up and was about to email Srivalli that im out of the challenge, then luckily i came across this site Show Me The Curry The quantity of the recipe was small so i thought why not give a last try. I followed thr recipe exactly. And it turned out perfect.. I’m jumping with joy now!!

I feel so sad for wasting a lot of things during my tril period but i think you should try try again for the perfect one!!

Here goes my perfect recipe for the Indian Cooking Challenge – this was a challenge for me Srivalli

Ingredients:

Instant Dry Milk (Milk Powder) – 1/2 cup (I used fernleaf full cream milk powder)

All Purpose Flour – 2 tbsp (i used Prima Plain Flour)

Yogurt – 2 tbsp (i used home made in room temparature)

Clarified Butter – 1 tbsp (i used QBB)

Baking Soda – 1/4 tsp

Water – 2 cups

Sugar – 2 cups

Rose Essence – few drops, optional

Cardamom Powder – 1/2 tsp or to taste

Saffron – few strands, optional

Oil – for deep frying

Method:

1. Make the syrup in a pan by adding Water, Sugar, Rose Syrup, Cardamom Powder and Saffron.

2. Put the pot on the flame and bring to boil. Once it starts boiling, reduce the heat and allow it to simmer.

3. Meanwhile, get the oil for deep-frying ready. Heat up the oil on low-to-medium heat.

4. For the dumpling, in a mixing bowl , add in all dry ingredients i.e Instant Dry Milk , All Purpose Flour, Baking Soda.

5. Mix well and add in the Clarified Butter and after that slowly start mixing in the yogurt. Make into a dough.

6. Allow it to rest for 5 minutes. Make desired size balls, make sure they are smooth and do not have any creases.

7. Test the oil by dropping a small piece of dough, if it sits at the bottom of the pan for a minute before coming to the surface, the oil is ready.

8. Carefully drop 3-4 dumplings in the oil and keep rotating them for an even color.

9. Once the dumplings are a dark golden brown, take them out into a paper towel.

10. Bring the syrup to another quick boil and drop in the dumplings.

11. Turn off the flame and cover the Gulab Jamuns and let them soak in the syrup for 45 minutes to an hour.

12. Gulab jamuns can be served hot or cold. This recipe makes about 10-15 Gulab Jamuns.

Tips:

1. The one thing we cannot emphasis enough is the temperature of the oil for frying…it is the key to making good gulab jamuns. It has to be on low-to-medium heat.

2. The dough is a little on the crumbly side…so use a little oil on your hands and make the ball and flatten it out and then roll it to a ball…this will help smoothening out the cracks

This post also goes to First Cooked Food Event

Luckily my kids have most of my foodie habits! (masha allah) we all are big fans of paratas  - veggie or non veg, any type – any color SO twhen ever i say parata? both of them are ready to eat. The only demand is they want yogurt with it.

Spinach is their favorite veggie and i make it at least 3-4 times a week. Here is a simple parata easy to make and good to eat. This recipe will be going for the Kids Cooking Event – Wheat

Palak/Spinach Paratas

makes 9 medium sized paratas

1 bunch of spinach leaves (only leaves discard the stems)

1 3/4 – 2 cups wheat flour

1/4 tsp cumin and ajwain

salt to taste.

Grind the spinach to a fine paste with very little water. It should be around 1 cup of paste. Mix the rest of the ingredients and knead into a dough.

I make this as normal phulkas. It puffs up and become very soft.  Adding ghee on top of the parata after cooked gives a different taste. But my kids dont like it so i use less ghee  in my cooking.

Green Peas Curry

1 and half cup green peas socked overnight

1 cup each finely sliced onions and tomatoes

1 tbsp ginger garlic paste

3-4 tsps of coriander pwdr

1-2 tsp of red chilli pwdr

1/2 tsp turmeric pwdr

1/2 tsp garam masala

1/2 tsp ajwain

corriander,curry and mint leaves – a small bunch

oil for frying

2-3 cups of water

Heat oil in a pressure cooker and add onions to it. Once it is browned add the ginger garlic paste and keep on stirring for 1-2 mts. Then add tomatoes ot it. Once the tomatoes are cooked and well mixed to the onions add the dry masalas, ajwain and mix well. Add sufficient water to it (i added around 3 cups) and pressure cooked for 20 mts. Garnish with the green leaves.

(the water needed and cooking time might vary from pressure cooker and the peas you are using. I dont think mine was a good quality peas and also my pressure cooker has already shown signs or retiring!)

One of my express breakfasts – very nutritious and loved by my kids. I like to make whole grain breakfasts with calcium and proteins that will give them all the energy for a busy day. As most of the Kerala breakfasts are made of rice and rice products i usually make them only during weekends or holidays.

All you need is 1/2 cup daliya soaked overnight

2 cups milk

a pinch of salt

sugar to taste – i add around 1/2 tsp to 2 cups of milk.

Nuts, berries and raisins – optional

Pressure cook the soaked  daliya till soft. In a skillet simmer the milk add the cooked daliya, salt and sugar to it. Cook till it becomes thick or till the consistency you want. I make it thick like porridge.  Add nuts and raisins and serve warm.

You can give a ghee and shallot tadka if you like. BUt mine is usually plain, no oils in the morning. I eat it with lots of walnuts and almonds, sometimes berries too.. but my kids prefer just plain.

Sometimes i cook the daliya in advance and refrigerate it and just mix with milk in the morning. it makes cooking easier!

This recipe is for Cooking for kids Event – Wheat