2 dozen posts in a month!!..yuppiee..presenting, The Mighty "Kappa" had a great fall....

The Kappa Remake (Tapioca or Cassava Root) , or rather..the greatest injustice to the royal kappa..from its mighty place from a main dish, to a noble side server!!

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Its really surprising, how physical distances of just a couple of kilometers even within the same region, brings about such drastic variations to taste and modes of preparation of food.

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My husband hails from the district of Kottayam, which is more agricultural in nature. Almost every home in this region will have "Kappa's" in their backyard, and hence is an inevitable part of the main diet, usually as the main dish, along with Fish-curry.

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Bharathy, of Spicy Chillie, who also hails from Kottayam has a very detailed description of the making of the fish -curry here. Thanks Bharathy, it saved me a lot of effort in tying it all out!!

Myself, on the other hand, is from Kochi, the bussiieee-urban city bout 80 kms from Kottayam, where our homes just get the barest luxury to have "sample cultivations", ie, just one item each of plants..if ever one is interested in gardening or cultivating own crops, this is!!!

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So, kappa's are all purchased from the markets, as far as "Kochi-nivasi's" are concerned, this item just stays as smaller servings, along with "Puttu" for breakfasts. (or atlest, thats how my mom used to prepare it).

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I had purchased a pack of frozen Kappa and prepared it as a "Special -homeward bound-treat" for Santho, last weekend, which was consumed with the greatest of pleasure!

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The same menu was served twice, but got not a sign of rejection..but again, few pieces of the boiled kappa was left behind, which looked too unworthy (as of my thoughts!!) to be served as a main server, and hence..readily settled down for a remake , by chopping it into pieces, and the rest is what you call....the "demobilization" of the "crown prince"!!!

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Pop mustard seeds in oil, saut together chopped onions, ginger, garlic, curry leaves...add in the powders (chillie and turmeric) , the chopped kappa's, salt to taste in little water, brought to boil till it attains a thick consistency.

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There was a can of green peas in my freezer, which I had opened the previous day, so what was left went straight in too, and the can to the bin, of course!

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This was served with Chappathi for dinner...very well knowing what would be the exact comments to come out from my husband.

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I know most bloggers, who say about the appreciation they get for their dishes, but here I am who is the least ashamed to boast about the "distressed look" that my hubby had on his face, to see their royal "Kappa" in this state, all chopped to pieces!!!

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.He had no other choice, but to have it. "Gosh, how can you ever do this "..was what was in his mind. But for me, it was just a warm treat, a taste going back to my mom's kitchen...and once again, taking me back to my...principle "Of girls to learn cooking not from our mothers, but from our mother-in-laws!!!" This is a proof to it"..Hummm, will it be injustice to say so???..or rather I will put in this way.."Girls better learn cooking from that person, whose food your husnabd likes the best! (that's better , isnt it?)

...atleast, I like the way my mom cooks, so had a great dinner!

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This is also my entry to Nandita's Leftover Remake Event.Hope she accepts it, as I am one day late for submission.

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Grapes Kebab, stuffed Grapes...stretched out grapes..you name it..

Knew that there was an event coming up on Grapes, but had lost track of it...and somehow, just landed up in the blog Swad of Swapna..and there it was!!..Grapes..Grapes..Grapes. I had prepared this dessert to post for the same, but had not got the time to prepare the presentation, and kept in lagging behind, and to my surprise..gosh!!!..today, is the last day for submission....

So, got a quick presentation done, and its still 1: 25 pm, noon..here in Kuwait..so, still on time..better late than never !!..(As usual, my true self...always late!!)

So, this is my simple, quick grape dessert ...a slight change in the order of arrangement and presentation of dessert, makes a world of difference.

Usually, with fruits on board the dessert plate, they tend to land on top of the custard under the head " Fruit salad", alongside with any ice cream of your choice. This time, I wanted some change to it...and there was born, my fruit kebab. Its not my patent baby thou..have seen it here and there, quite a number of times..but it was the first time I really tried it out.

Using 6 inch bamboo skewers, pin all the sliced fruits together..grapes, apple, pineapple, banana, orange...whichever is available. Roll the skewer in condensed milk, then in dessicated coconut....chill for a couple of hours....and off to serve!!!! Easssiieeee...

I tried adding in a piece of Galaxy chocolate too..(but it just wouldn't stay ....breaks off). Can pin in a cube of cake piece for a change, if you want..I didn't have any at that time, hence not on my fruit kebab.

The Kebab was served with a scoop of strawberry ice-cream, and a slice of custard topped with a thin slice of (can you guess what it is.....hee..hee...its just strawberry jam!!!)..nothing official about it, and my "so-so" chocolate curls. Peeled the edge of a chocolate (I used one from my kid's Galaxy choc-box....and very heartly, finished the leftover) using a veg peeler.

This dessert goes out to the "Fresh Product of the Month" event organised by Marta of Chemcookit

MW Basic, Entry II @ Avial and Weekend Lunch

My second entry to the MW Basic event.....the making of a typical kerala vegetable side-dish, "Avial". It basically consists of all sorts of vegetables, steamed and mixed with a coconut paste/chutney and cooked for a couple of minutes.

While preparing Avial (0r any dish which involves different vegetables that require diffrent levels of cooking time) in a MW, the only thing which we need to keep in mind is the arrangement of the veggies.

As shown in the picture above, arrange the "tough" veggies - yam, potatoes, raw banana, drumsticks, radish, ....all around the outer edge of the MW safe bowl, and the "less tougher" ones like okra (lady's finger), tomato, pumpkin, beans, brinjal, cucumber, ivy gourd, green chillie...all to the centre of the bowl for even cooking. No need to add water. They will cook by itself!

Power: 70-75 %

Time : 4-5 minutes. (Keep for some more time if they are not tender yet. Do not change the power setting.)

For the coconut paste, grind together..coconut scraping, garlic, ginger, cumin and baby onions coarsely in the grinder with just a couple of teaspoons of water.

Add the paste to the cooked vegetables, salt to taste, and keep back in the below setting.

Power: 70-75 %
Time : 2-3 minutes.

Give about 5 minutes standing time . Mix 1 tbs of cooking oil. Avial is done!

A portion of the coconut paste was left behind...didn't have the mind to throw it off..and hence used it to make this tomato-curry...which was my "all time favourite", right from childhood..as its is not hot or spicy, at all. This was done on the stove, simultaneously as the avial was taking form in the MW.

Boil few tomatoes, onions(sliced the way you like...I prefer to cut both as thin circles) in water along with some green chillie, salt and turmeric powder.

Add half a cup of yougurt to the coconut paste, give one run in the mixer to blend it properly, and add to the cooked tomato and bring till boil, or infact, just till bubbles start to form. Do not over boil, lest the coconut and yougurt gets churned.

Pop mustard seeds in oil along with red chillie flakes and curry leaves (a few), and pour over the tomato charu-curry, and mix well. That's it!

just go ahead and have it striaght hot with rice.

That's how I presented the weekend lunch for Santho (hubby), who comes home from work to have lunch. No, not that I dont go for work, of course I do!!..but, I get the luxury of a 2 day weekend (friday and saturday), while he, likle most other private company staffs, gets just one day and a half.

So, last saturday lunch platter was so laid in front of him with rice to be taken along with Avial, Tomato-charu-curry, carrot thoran (just similar to my previous post on Spinach(Palak) thoran, and hence not taking the pain to type the making once again) and cucumber salad.

But guess what...all I got from him was a " Hummm, oookkk" !!

"Whattt, I had prepared all these, fresh and served straight from the pan..and not a single word of appreciation!!!!!...Mmmyy!!..

"Ooh, well....I know how to cheer him up.....

......push the rice aside a bit, and lay this yummy thing just next to it !!!

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That is all what's needed to make his day !!!...happy lunch, deary!

Microwave basic @ Palak Thoran

Srivalli of Cooking 4 all Seasons has come up with various events on Microwave cooking, and this month, its on MW basics. With my just few basic knowledge in this regard, decided to go for it..and as someone , some where..would have said...."things are best explained when done using an example", this is my first entry to the event..

Making of Palak Thoran in MW.

Now the term "Thoran" is one universal name for the side dish prepared for meals, especially rice in Kerala cooking. The basic ingredients just remains the same, only the master-veg keeps changing..be it carrot, beans, cabbage..and here, its Palak.

I purposefully went for Palak, and only prefers it cooked this way in MW, as the stove cooked one just seems to get too soggy once its done. And for all those out there, who are not much good fans of Palak, (just with the lame excuse that it gets sogged up once cooked, inspite of its all healthy aspects)..this is the Full-Stop to it!!!

Ingredients used here:

Palak - 1 bunch

Oil - 1 tbs

Onions - 2 small

Grated coconut - 3-4 tbs

Garlic, green chillie, curry leaves, turmeric powder, salt (as per taste)

The general skeleton of all cooking, remains the same..be it on stove, or in MW.

The 3 basic elements which needs to be kept in mind while cooking in MW is

a) Power

b) Cooking Time

c) Standing Time

and once we get a flavour of the above seetings for each kind of dish (naturally, in course of time, and by trial and error!!)...Eurekkaaaa, we are done!!!!

Back to Palak,

Step 1: Heat the oil.

The main advantage of using MW is that it just requires very little oil compared to stove cooking. Max 1-2 tbs.

Power - High.

Time - 30 secs...always. Needn't go for more than that.

Do note, keep the cover of the dish (MW safe bowl, of course) closed.

Step 2 : Add in the basics

Mustard seeds, onions, garlic, green chillie and curry leaves to the heated oil and mix well with the spoon. MW it in the below setting, again as usual, with the cover over the bowl.

Power - High.
Time - 1 minute.

If using large quantity of onions..say 3-4 , keep for 1 more minute, till you see the light sauted look and colour on them. See image below.

Step 3 : Add in the master veggies

Now add into the sauted mix, the chopped Palak, little turmeric powder, grated coconut and salt. Mix well. Do not add any water!

Once the vegetable is added, (which ever is being used), always keep in mind to reduce the Power-level. Keep it around 70-75 % only, and with increased cooking time.

Power - 75%

Time - 3-4 minutes.

Do mix the ingredients once in between the cooking process...(and see that the salt is as per your taste ). Just press the Stop button, take it out, mix and place it back. Don't worry, the power and time setting, will not be affected, even if you interrupt in between, unless you cut off the power supply.

Once the set time is up, leave it on for a couple of minutes...called the Standing time, because the cooking process will be still on...say, leave it as such undisturbed for 3-4 minutes. Meanwhile, you can finish off washing the other dishes, chopper boards, and cutleries!!! Once you are done..the curry is done too.

Take the dish from the MW, and be very careful in lifting the lid up. We do have the tendency to peep into the bowl to see if it cooked, but get the hot steam land hot straight right on your face!!! Raise the lid in such a manner that it opens towards you, blocking the steam from yourself.

Here you are, with my Palak thoran, which is cooked in very less oil...not the least soggy, and taste much better tooo !!!

Enjoy...try it out, and let me know how it went.

Cheers,

Sona..the kitchen scientist.

Todd-in-a-hole, and its leftover version

This is my entry to WYF - Snacks Event orgainised by Hima of SnackORama. Most of you bloggers would have seen this post earlier,..its just that I had to pick it out from a line of dished which was posted out together in one post, and made as a one single post for the event. Sorry for the repetition..

Drill-in a hole in the centre of the breaf, place over a flat bottom non-stick tava, spray in a light spread of cooking oil, fill in the hole with omlet-mix (beaten egg, chopped onions, tomatoes, salt and pepper powder) wait till its cooked, and flip over....that's it!!...A snack with a difference!!

The cicle cut-outs from the bread slices, get toasted and is served the next day with dried oregano (zatar) in olive oil...but, all up to you, to choose the dipping.

WBB #15, Entry3: Veg-subji..the Egg Comforter

The egg-white protects the yolk from "chill, chill...just chill" and keeps it comfy...but what happens when the white itself fells cold???

Not to forget the clauses, that this egg was born to a Kuwaiti-mother-hen (the desert breed), and has been kept in freezer that chills up to that level of temperatures than it could ever imagine.

Go ahead, get the eggis some cover...!!!

I hope now you get what the name stands for ..

Another of my leftover remake.Trust me, what ever I prepare tends to stay to the highest level of simplicity in ingredients, to maintain the highest level of easiness in accessing these accessories during the making, so as to make up for my highest level of laziness in typing it all out!!!!....Hoooffff

This Subji had in it, cut-pieces of cauliflower, carrots, potatoes, green peas..sauted in oil with ginger, garlic(a lotttt), green chillies, pepper,salt and turmeric powder. Khalllaaas....done. Nothing more, nothing less. (and of course, mustard seeds as a "Default" starter ingredient in any mallu recipie..same here.

And I suppose, I dont have to speak out much as to what happened to the little bit that was left over. Make few slits on the egg. cover it with the mix, coat in bread-crumps, and off to fry.

Now that is one great treat to the egg-white for protecting the yolk soo mindfully, from the harsh world outside.

(Tip of the day : The work is more than simple, if you use a Quail egg instead of an ordinary one..as its much easy to manipulate. I got soo bugged up trying to coat a huge egg, that I lost all my interest in this making, and took a snap of the done byproduct, just because I had to put in lot of effort to see that the finished egg stays as one piece. )

This is my third entry into the Leftover Remake event behing hosted by Nandita of The Saffron-Trail.

Not to forget..have it hot...with ketchup, ofcourse. Enjoy!!

Meen pollichathu...the NRI version !!!!

Have you guys ever wondered what would be the inner feeling of a fish, who is aware that its going to turn into a fry?..a chicken, waiting for it to be broiled in a rotiserrie ......oooouuuuuhhhh!!! (not the way to start a food blog..isnt it...I am being devilish!)

Saw the post by Nags and Mishmash on this recipie, and had been longing to try it out ever since..but alas!!..just didn't have the basic infrastructure to go forward with it...you neither have a Karimeen(Pearl-spot), nor the plantain leaf (vaaya-ela)!!

You can never even think of a "Meen pollichathu" without these. But as it was Onam season all in the air for Mallus lately, and as a famous quote goes for all keralites..."Ullathu kondu Onam polae"..(just to mean -Make the best of what you've got), decided to experiment with the next best available resource....the only fish that was available in my freezer(dont know what its called)....and ofcourse, Alluminium foil !!!! (Thats what experiementing is all about, isn't it).

(You make a decision to do something, and nothing's gonna hold you back!!!!)

I had no idea how its gonna turn out to be..as I didn't know for how long I should grill the fish and so, to be on the safer side, followed the recipie by Mishmash, of grilling the fish after lightly frying in oil. (Atleast, the fish will stay cook, and be still edible..if my attempt turns out to be a bumper flop).

Here is my version of Meen Pollichathu, with a twist...!!!

(God bless you, Jack and Rose....!!! I am sorry I had to do this to you...but, thats what cooking non-veg is all to mankind)

Event host...anyone????

Hey guys,

I have got few interesting themes, which can be hosted as Blog-Events. Being a professional working 9.5 x 5 hours a week, a mother of a highly naughtly pranky young man aged 2 and a half ,and to add to it, my very limited experience of a mighty "one week" into blogging, I'm very much afraid about the time and professionalism that I can commit to blogging.

So..is anyone out there, willing to host the Events. I have got two suggestion.

1) Fuddie-Flowers (make flowers from any veg or fruit, and post it ...as simple as that..dont have to cook a peny !!!)

2) Laptop Lunch: Came across this term from an other blogsite, and found it quite interesting. Its all about quicky-easy lunch packing. For grown -ups, or kids as well. Will be a great blessing to working women, esp those with school going kids !!!

So, any volunteers out there???

Awaiting eagerly for your feedback...

Cheers,

The scientist

(Sona, that's my name)

Mix n Match

Update : Entry to Presto Pasta Nights , 36...though its an older post,straight to you, Ruth..hope you like it !!!

Also, Entry No.2 to The Leftover Remake Event hosted by Nandita of Saffron Trail. Was in a real surge to have some pasta, or noodles ( I can have them at anytime of the day...breakfast, lunch, or dinner ....pasta had been my ever-favourite from childhood, and still remains the same), just to find littlebits of each type in the packets.....

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It was a firm decision that day to finish all the little bits and pieces hanging on in my shelf and refrigerator for quite sometime now...and all they go, straight together in to the pan...off to boil....

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It was just a "one-in-a-meal". Or rather, I would call.."three-in-a-meal", because, on close scrutiny, I found the ingredients have all gone as the multiple of 1x3.

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Pasta - 3 types,

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Veggies - 3 types,

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Non's, Sauces and not to mention , the usual taste makers...(pepper, garlic, ginger)..also as threes!!!

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......and hence was served on the plate with a bowl of soup, my this megamix...and knowing exactly what my husband would ask (" Now what have you baptised this as?")....replies..." The 5 x 3 Treat !!

WBB # 15, Entry No 1: Remake of a Remake...

This is my first entry into WBB # 15, hosted by Nandita of Saffron Trail . Kuboos (Arabic Pita-bread) is the most common type of bread found here in the Middle-East, the make varying from country to country. We usually have them for dinner, (I prefer the whole-wheat one purchased from the bhakhala nearby ..never have bothered to make one myself), but a few from the pack just get leftover everyday. Being a person who just doesn't like to waste any food, and also a follower of " Best out of waste" norm, this is how the breads turn out the following day..

Now the Kuboos is done...a bit of the Chillie-Kuboos ( a close relative of Kothu-Porotta, who is too familiar with you guys) again stays behind...and what with that???

All right....there it goes as Remake version II, as a stuffing...(click on the jpg image if the text isn't clear evough to read...I try to keep my words as less as possible...too much text bores me up)

....and take my word, Your hubby just wudn't guess even in his wildest dream, what has gone inside...Enjoy !!! Hope you all liked my redo's.

My Cookbook

Nags of "For the cook in me" has come up with an interesting event, for showing off our cookbooks, our recipie tutors...and trust me, I did feel a bit ashamed at myself, for not having one yet!!!...and so, I had to make a presentation myself!!!

Honestly, the thought of even purchasing one has never even passed by the side of my brains. I was just comfortable with the various cookery shows that come up on tv (ofcourse, i did have a log of which channel, what show and when...while I was in India....and carrying, and due to some complications, cudn't go for work..so my only option was to lie down on ths sofa and watch tv!!) and the various articles that come up in the magazine "Vanitha", which every Keralite woman would be familiar with. I used to cut down pictures of recipies from it, and stick it in a diary of mine....and that was my so-called cooking guide. Nothing more than that!! ...but now, I have got much greater things happening in life!!!..

I have come across these beautiful cookery blogs.....(it all began with Viji of Vcuisine, just because I saw that she too is presently in Kuwait and a with a casual email to her..many thanks to Viji, for inspiring me to start a blog of my own) and the events that many hosts. Such events were really new to me, and this is my first participation in one such!!

I also take this oppurtunity to show my greatest appreciation to few fellow-bloggers, esp mishmash, for the class presentations, Jeena of Jeena's Kitchen for the step-by-step photo-journal of each recipie, Nags, who inspired that we can very well highlight our own traditional homemade foods to the world, rather than going in search for complicated (for me, that is!) international ones, Asha of Foodie's Hope whom i happen to read from others that she is just all around in this foodie-world, and Coffee of The Spice-Cafe..don't know why, I just love this blog-site, and all the smileys around it..I am too fond of them.

I see the number of Awards that are being passed over from one person to the other, trust me, I still have got no clue, how it it done..(still an alien to that level of technicality of blogging and networking), and so in my heart, i give all these Great Chef's above, a great HATS OFF!!!!

May to Aug '07

Mickey-Mouse dosa

Layered Veg Biriyani

Lemon Rice

Oat-meal cookies

Vermicilli Payasam

Tomato Rice

Stuffed Kuboos

Shrimp fry and veg nuggets

Roasted Shrimps

Vegetable nuggets

Chillie beef and veg platter

All veg lunch

Chillie Beef

Beef meat cut as 2" long thin strands, pressure cooked till tender, marinated in a mix of maida , corn-flour, chillie powder (I always prefer to use the Kashmiri variety..gives excellent colour, and is less hot too), salt, pepper powder and deep fried in oil. Keep aside.

Any oil remaining after frying is used to saute chopped ginger, garlic, diced onions and bell pepper. Add in tomato sauce, chillie sauce and soya sauce, water, a pinch of sugar, pepper powder and ofcourse, salt to taste. When the mix starts to boil, add in the fried meat, and thicken the gravy by pouring a paste prepared by mixing corn flour in water. (I prefer to add in the meat after adding in the water to prevent the meat from getting soggy). Serve hot.

Crab masala, Spicy fish egg n Rice Pulav

Crab masala

Dry roasted hot n spicy fish egg

Mixed Rice Pulav

All sorts of veggies- carrots, cabbage, cauliflower, beans, green peas, mushrooms, baby corn alongwith chicken bits, sauted in oil with chopped onions and garlic, and slightly cooked in soya and chillie sauce. Mix well the above with cooked rice, garnish with chopped cilantro, raisins and nuts....Mighty colourful, it looks !!

Oothappam & Greeni-wich

Onion-Tomato Oothapam

Greeni-wich

Al-widhaa, 2006

Merry Christmas !!!! Our Christmas lunch. Some technical problems with the making of the grape wine (so s0) made it extra sweet. Better luck next time, gal...(that's the only thing I could say to myself)...waiting for it to be Nov 07 to try it out once again..hope that turns out right.

The veg-raitha prepared in yougurt gets a dash of "Thousand Island Salad Dressing"..trust me, it tastes different from the ordinary, looks better tooo.

Dates Pickle: Before I was to come to the Gulf, my mom had prepared this pickle (infact, the only pickle I eat..the others are way too hot for me!) and literally forced me to take down its recipie, as dates is one such thing which is Oooh so everywhere in the Middle East. Trust me, she felt that I was joking when I mentioned to her that I had prepared it myself...and wasn't convinced until I showed her a snap of it !!!

It even takes a bit too much of a time for my brother to even digest the fact that "Yeaahh...Sona can also cook"!!!!

Koshari with Dakkous..and what the hell is that???

....well, I will make it more simpler..in plain English, its just Egyptian Pilaf with tomato-garlic sauce. Thats better, isn't it??

By this time, I get more interested in cooking, and happened to attend a Food Festival organised by a non-profit organisation here in Kuwait, called the Aware Centre . Scroll down the link and you will find the recipie right in front of you. (I will keep aside the indian ones for the time being, and try the middle-eastern stuff)

Ambat-Batata, the only managable recipie I could find, while going through Sanjeev Kapoor's Khana Khazana. Mashed potatoes prepared with sauted onions, green chillie, turmeric powder, and thickened using fresh yougurt. Decorate using chopped cilantro and fresh coconut scrapings.

Peas Masala, Sweet Dokla & The great Jumbo!

Sweet Dhokla....take idli batter in two separate bowls. Into one, add a pinch of yellow food colour. Pour the coloured batter into the mould, followed by white batter, sprinkle few pieces of chopped dates, resins....and off to steam...