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.

Ramadan day 8

Whole Cardamons, cloves, pepper – 4 each

A small piece of Cinnamon stick

A bay leaf

1 tsp heaped ginger garlic paste

3 medium onions

3 heaped tsp coriander pwdr

1 heaped tsp chili pwdr

1/2 tsp turmeric

1 tsp fennel pwdr

1.3 kg chicken

2 large potatoes

4 tbsp oil

salt to taste

Heat oil in a pressure cooker and add the whole spices. When they begin to release the flavour add the ginger garlic paste. When they turn brown add the onions. When the onions are brown add the powdered spices. Mix for 2-3 mts and add the chicken  and potatoes and leave the cooker open for 5 mts. Keep mixing the chicken till the masala coats the chicken pieces. Add coriander leaves, water and cover and cook till the chicken is done.

This curry will have a very strong  flavour of the spices. Another post goes for the Ramadan Event

Rawrice – 2cups

coconut – 1 cup

shallots – 3-4

fennel seeds – 1 tbsp

cooked rice – 1/2 cup

Soak the raw rice for 3-4 hrs. And grind all the rest of ingredients finely. The mix should be watery. But not so running. Pour into a nonstick cookware and close it. These pancakes cook really quickly. I make them a bit thick so that i have to make only 4-5 of them!!

Accompany them with chicken or any other non veg curry.. yummmm..

2 Kerala banana cut into thin slices

1 cup maida -plain flour

1 tbsp sugar

1 tsp kalongi – karinjeerakam

1/4 tsp salt

water for mixing

oil for frying

Cut the banana into thin slices. Mix the rest of the ingredients into a thick paste. Dip the banana slices into the maida mixture and deep fry.

Another post which goes for the Ramadan Event.

Ramadan Day 7

The sweet version of french toast is a quick breakfast and the spicy one is a quick snack! My sweet version goes for WYF : Breakfast Event and my spicy version goes for the Ramadan event

Sweet French Toast

5 slices of white bread

2 large eggs

1/4 cup milk

1/4 tsp cardamom powder

2 tbsp sugar (add more or less as per your taste)

a pinch of sugar

oil for shallow frying

-Cut bread into half diagonally.

- Beat eggs, sugar, milk, cardamom powder and salt .

- Dip the bread into the egg mix and shallow fry.

Spicy French Toast

5 slices of white bread

2 large eggs

1 medium sizes onion

2-3 green chillies (Use less or more according to your taste)

salt to taste.

-Cut bread into half diagonally.

- Grind onions and green chillies to a fine paste without adding water

- Beat eggs and add the onion-chilli paste and salt to it and mix well.

- Dip the bread into the egg mix and shallow fry.

Ramadan Day 4

Have i ever mentioned that i cant pass a day in Ramadan without Tarikanhi?? It really gives me the strength to move on to the next day! It is nutritious as well as it has semolina and milk in it.

We usually have it after our Tarawih namas when we were in Calicut.  I remember i used to drink 2-3 glasses of it right after the prayers!

This recipe is dedicated to my grandma. Because she tried her best to make me drink it when i was little. But i was a stubborn child and would never drink it. But she proved to be really my “Naani” LOL! One day during Ramadan she put lots of nuts and ghee in this and told me its Payasam! the greedy me grabbed the glass and finished it off in a gulp! From that day onwards i and Tarikanhi have been inseperable during Ramadan!

The moral of the story : You never know how it tastes until you try!

1 glass milk

1 tbsp semolina

2 elaichi or 1/4 tsp elaichi or cardamom pwdr

a pinch of salt

sugar to taste

cashews and raisins for garnishing

1/2 tsp ghee

Boil milk, semolina, elaichi together. Keep on stirring while its boiling or else it will get burned.  Turn of the stove as soon as soon it boils. And add sugar and salt to it.

Heat ghee and add the cashews and raisins fry for some time and add to the milk.

Serve Hot!

** If you want a porridge drink let the milk boil for some more time.

Ths entry goes to Lubna’s Ramadan Event and Sanghi’s FIL Milk Event.

Ramadan Day 3

Day 3 i kept on thinking what should i cook because as my daughter was not fasting i didnt get any input form her! i just hate to think and think what to cook. At last i ended up on the banana as usual and some bread pakoras along with Malabar chicken curry and pathiris.

Sometimes i just wonder how people back in calicutat  dads and moms home used to cook so many things during Ramadan. All day they would be reading the Quran and by 3 pm everyone will be in this kitchen making something or the other. Well those are the joys of a joint family! Every time i go there its a totally different world and i find it very difficult to come out of it especially when we have lots of same age cousins and have a lot to catch up!

This is yet another Malabar speciality. During Ramadan there will be at least one banana snack item everyday. And I’m just used to having it here also so cant pass a day without a banana! Thank god we get the same banana here is Singapore other wise i would have been lost during Ramadan!

When i made this yesterday my hubby as usual was saying wow! i haven’t seen this since last Ramadan! (he says this when ever he sees any Malabar snack item!)

For this recipe you’ll need

2 ripe kerala bananas cut in small cubes

2 large eggs

1/2 cup milk

10 cashew nuts crushed

sugar to taste (i used around 3 tbsps)

2 tsp oil

Heat oil in a non stick sauce pan and add the bananas. Fry it till brown.

Beat eggs, milk, sugar, cashew nuts  together and pour in to the banana.

Mix well and close the sauce pan.

Make sure the bottom doesnt get burned. I use a very thin metal plate to keep on top of the stove and keep the pan on it so that the things inside wont get burned.

Cook for around 10mts open and see whether its done. Serve hot!

Ramadan Day 2

Day 1 was very eventful as our daughter fasted for the first time. masha allah! She had her lunch at 1pm played for some time and then took a nap. After waking up form her nap straight away went to the kitchen to drink some juice!! But then when she was reminded that shes fasting she just played for some time watched some TV and hubby kept her engaged till magrib. Masha allah im so proud that she kept away from food and all the sweet temptations!

Unnakaya or Vayakkada is one of the very famous snack in Malabar. My hubby and daughter loves this so i make this atleast once a month. Today when i asked my daughter what she wants for Iftaar she said samosa and vayakkada again!

For Vayakkada youll need kerala banana not so ripe and not so raw just in between. It should not be soft or hard when you press it. Boil it in a closed pan till the skin comes apart.

After its cooked run it in a food processor to mash and make it like a roti dough. Alternatively you can also mash it when its hot with a heavy spoon.

Make lemon sized balls and set aside.

For the filling scramble 2 eggs and add sugar to taste and some crushed cashew nuts and raisins.

Flatten the banana balls, fill in 1/2 a tsp of the egg mixture in it and close it and make it in to ball again.

Smoothen the top and bottom of the ball in to a cone with ur palm.

Deep fry the vayakkada. This snack can be served any time breakfast or after lunch or teatime!

Vayakkada goes to Lubna’s Ramadan Event!

Ramadan Day 1

Badaam Milk is very refreshing during Iftaar. Those who have gastric problems and heart burn due to fasting can try this to reduce it. Its very easy to prepare and you can make the mix in large amounts  and refrigerate it and use it when ever you need.

A handful for badaam or Almond socked in water and peel the skin.

3-4 elaichi or cardamom seeds

Grind both in a dry mixer. Sieve it till its clear and no grains and refrigerate.

Blend 2 cups of milk, sugar to taste and the badaam mix. Chill and serve.

This post goes to Lubna’s Ramadan Event.

I have completed my 7 yrs in Singapore wow! i really didn’t think i would stay this long from my home and family!! Calicut/Kozhikode is famous for the parties and weddings and all the fun related to ti!! All these 7 yrs i have missed a lot of family fun.

We eat red meat here very rarely here. Of course people be very health conscious once they come out of Kozhikode!! .. My husband says that for all the food he eats from Kozhikode in 2-3 weeks during our yearly vaccation  is the reward for being healthy for the rest of the year!

Marinate all together and leave it for 2-3 hours. Then pressuer cook it without water for 15 mts. Deep fry once its cooled. Serve hot with green chutney!!!