Sambar

Kerala sambar (With Coconut)

In every house hold making sambar is different, every one have their own spices.In our place most of the time sambar is made of without coconut.But I love the taste of adding a little bit of coconut in the sambar. It goes very well with rice and Idli. Give it a try. Hope you like this taste.

• tur dal 1/2 cup
• onion medium 1 1/2 cup chopped
• green chillies 5,6
• big potato 2  chopped
• carrots 2 chopped
• tomatoes 1 medium chopped
• tamarind quarter of small lemon size soak in hot water.
• turmeric powder 1/4 tsp
• hing 2 to 3 pinch
• curry leaves

sambhar powder

• 2 tsp whole coriander
• 5 red chillies
• 2 tsp coconut powder
• 1/4 tsp fenugreek
• curry leaves

Cook the tur dal in the pressure cooker. Once the dal is cooked add the onions,chopped potatoes,carrots ( Small round shapes), green chillies curry leaves, salt, turmeric powder and hing. Add the water till above the vegetables( 5 to 6 cups). Cook till the vegetables are well cooked. It will usually take 20-30 minutes.
In between start making the masala powder. In a dry pan add the whole coriander,red chillies, coconut powder,fenugreek and 1 spring curry leaves. Dry roast in low flame till the nice aroma comes. Once it is cooled make a powder.If you are adding fresh coconut ,first fry the coconut till brown then add the other ingredients.The fresh coconut takes some time to brown.

Once vegetables are cooked add the tomatoes. Cook for another 10 minutes add the masala powder and tamarind water. check for salt

Now seasoning.

• 1 tsp oil
• 1/4 tsp mustard
• 1/4 tsp fenugreek
• 1 small shallot thinly sliced
• little curry leaves

In a pan take 1 tsp of oil. Once it is hot add the thinly sliced shallots and curry leaves. Once the shallots are nicely browned add the mustard seed and fenugreek.Once they are popped pour it into the sambhar

Easy Delicious Chicken Soup

It is a very simple chicken soup and I got this recipe from my dear friend Nancy. Recently my son had viral fever and was not having any solid food for almost a week. Nancy came to know this and made chicken soup for my son. He immediately liked it. So I asked my friend to share the recipe. We tried exactly like the recipe.  It came out so good. Yummmmm.

• 2 container Chicken broth low sodium.
• 1 chicken breast boneless and skinless
• 4-5 celery stalks roundly chopped
• 1 onion sliced
• ditalini pasta 3/4 cup
• sprinkle of parsley
• fresh ground pepper (as desired)
• garlic 2 cloves chopped finely
• salt (as desired)
• 1 medium can whole tomatoes
• vegetables carrots, spinach , frozen mixed vegetables, cabbage, escarole.

In a big pot add the stock, whole chicken breast (unchopped), celery, onion, garlic, salt and pepper. Cook for 30 minutes. Take out the chicken pieces. In the remaining broth add vegetables and cook for 15 minutes. Add back the chopped cooked chicken and 1 can of tomatoes ( It should be crushed by your hand or chopped with a knife ). Once you add tomatoes don’t cook the soup.

For adding Vegetables – try varieties so we won’t feel bored. One time add frozen vegetables. Next time add carrots spinach and cabbage. Make changes.

Hope you like this recipe.

York Wild Kingdom Zoo

This summer we went to York Zoo (Maine) with our friends. Children will really like this place and it is definitely well worth the money. I really enjoyed the paddle boat rides and butterfly place. My son was very grumpy when we put him in a life jacket. But well he was very small. For kids there are elephant rides. We can feed goats and ducks. I didn’t go into the amusement park, but my friend’s daughter enjoyed the place. Over all, the zoo was well kept. Only thing I didn’t like this place was the bathroom. So awful. On the way back home we stopped at the beach. If you go to this zoo, try to stop at the beach too. It is very close to the zoo. I hope you will have good time too.

These are some pictures I took.

Crab Curry

Crab Curry

I tried a lot of crab dishes, but most of the time something is lacking. Recently I came across this youtube video and another youtube video

I tried this dish and it came out so well.

It is very easy to make and it takes only 15 to 20 minutes.

Ingredients

• Cleaned crab: 3
• Onion (sliced): 2
• Tomatoes (sliced): 1
• Green chillies: 3
• Chilli powder: 1 tsp
• Pepper: ¼ tsp
• Coriander powder:  1½ tsp
• Turmeric powder: ¼ tsp
• Sara’s chicken masala powder or Garam masala: ¾ Tbsp
• Garlic: 2 cloves sliced
• Ginger: 1 inch
• Water:  1½ cup
• Coconut oil (canola or olive): 2 tsp
• Salt as desired
• Curry leaves small handful

Instructions

1. Stove should be medium hot.
2. Take a big skillet and put the cleaned crab, add some desired amount of salt, turmeric powder and water. Wait for it to boil
3. Then add the sliced onions, tomato, ginger, garlic and curry leaves.
4. Add all the masalas (chilli powder, coriander powder, pepper, garam masala).
5. Pour coconut oil around the pan and close it. It is very important to not mix again. Wait for another 10 minutes.
6. Mix everything and cook till it becomes a thick gravy.

For those who don’t know how to clean a crab, this video is very helpful.

Enjoy! Thanks for reading!

New beginnings

After a long time I am writing in this blog again. Big change in our life. We had a baby. My baby is almost 8 months now. He has the most cutest smile and it melts my heart. He is a fast crawler now and loves to test the limits now.

List of TV Series I like to watch

I like the following series

Drama

• Lost
• 24 ( Not last year’s)
• CSI (Las vegas)
• Criminal Minds

Comedy

• Big Bang Theory ( I like Sheldon)
• How I Met My Mother ( I like Barney)
• Two- and a Half Men
• Akkara Kazhchakal

Re run Comedies

• Frasier
• Chears
• Everybody loves Raymond

Mushroom Stir Fry (Thoran)

In most homes in Kerala,  we regularly make rice, curry, a thoran (stir fry of some vegetable), fish, pickle and curd. Because of that reason, we make a lot of thoran (stir fry) at home with coconut. Today I made some Mushroom Stir Fry.

Mushroom Stir Fry

My husband and I have always been a fan of mushroom curries. In Kerala, we used to get a kind of mushroom that looks like a flower and I miss the taste of that.  Here I have never seen that kind of mushroom. So for thoran, I always buy button mushroom. I made this for my friends who don’t like mushrooms and even they also liked this. This stir fry takes hardly 10 minutes to cook.

Things you need

• Mushrooms: 8 oz small pack thinly sliced
• Shallots: 4-5 thinly sliced length-wise
• Green chillies: 4-5
• Coconut: ¼ cup (fresh or powdered) Even though I am from Kerala, I don’t use that much coconut in my dishes. If you like more coconut, feel free to add a little more.
• Cumin seeds: 2 pinches
• Curry leaves: 1 spring
• Canola Oil: 1½ tea spoon
• Mustard seeds: ¼ tea spoon
• Tumeric: 1-2 pinches
• Salt: As required for taste

Preparation

1. Into a bowl, mix the mushrooms, shallots, coconut, cumin seeds, curry leaves, turmeric and salt.
2. Mix everything together with your hand or spoon.
3. Heat the pan. When it is hot, add oil.
4. Wait for few seconds and then add the mustard seeds.
5. Once the mustard starts popping, add the contents of the bowl and cover the pan.
6. Stove should be on medium heat.
7. Open and check after 5 minutes. Sometimes, there will be water that oozed from the mushroom. In that case, increase the heat to high and stir for 3-4 minutes.
8. Once the water is all gone,you are all set!

Enjoy!!! Thanks for reading!

Notes:

• Instead of shallots, you can use half of a medium-sized onion thinly sliced according to the mushroom size.
• Don’t overcook the mushroom (after the water evaporates) because it will taste rubbery.

Beetroot Stir Fry (Beetroot Thoran)

Beetroot tastes very nice when cooked, as it acquires a sweet flavor. Here is a simple beetroot stir fry recipe that I often make at home. This usually comes out awesome.

Things that you need

Medium sized beetroots: 4-5

Green chillies: 3-4

Coconut powder: 3/4 cups

Salt: for taste

Vegetable Oil: 1 teaspoons

Mustard seeds: 1/4 teaspoons

Shallots: 1 thinly sliced

Curry leaves: 1 spring

Preparation

Chop the beetroots and green chilies into very thin pieces.

Heat a pan and add oil.

When the pan becomes really hot, add the shallots and mustard seeds.

Wait until the mustard seeds start popping and the shallots turn to brown color.

Now add the beetroots, green chilis, salt and coconut.

Keep the stove on medium or low heat.

Stir properly and close the pan with a lid.

Wait for 10 to 15 minutes.

You are all set! Serve with rice and you are all ready to go!

Things that you need

• Medium sized beetroots: 4-5
• Green chillies: 3-4
• Coconut powder: 3/4 cups
• Salt: for taste
• Vegetable Oil: 1 teaspoons
• Mustard seeds: 1/4 teaspoons
• Shallots: 1 thinly sliced
• Curry leaves: 1 spring

Preparation

1. Chop the beetroots and green chilies into very thin pieces.
2. Heat a pan and add oil.
3. When the pan becomes really hot, add the shallots and mustard seeds.
4. Wait until the mustard seeds start popping and the shallots turn to brown color.
5. Now add the beetroots, green chilis, salt and coconut.
6. Keep the stove on medium or low heat.
7. Stir properly and close the pan with a lid.
8. Wait for 10 to 15 minutes.

You are all set! Serve with rice and you are all ready to go!

Thanks for reading!

Nice Kerala Lullaby

One of the best Malayalam lullabies (“Pattu Padi Urakam Njan”) and sung by a very good singer:

Trying Out My First Blog

I am starting my first ever blog. I am not sure what all I plan to do, but I am hoping to write a lot about the things that happen in my life. I would like to write about cooking. Also about what I do at home and at my work. And about places I visit, books I read and movies I see. About my friends, though I won’t reveal their names (ha-ha!).