Parippu Pradhaman

Parippu Pradhaman is made from Split Yellow Gram, Coconut Milk, and Jaggery. This recipe, as with most of my recipes from Kerala, came from the kitchen of my soul sister - Anupa. 

Ingredients 

Split Yellow Gram - 250 g 

Coconut Milk - 1 cup of thick milk (first extract) 

Coconut Milk - 4 cups of medium extract 

Jaggery - 500 g or less (as per taste) 

Ghee - 1 tablespoon 

Cashew nuts - 2 tablespoons (split) 

Raisins - 1 tablespoon (optional) 

Coconut pieces - 2 tablespoons 

Cardamom - 7 pods 

Preparation: 

• Dry fry the split yellow gram in a thick bottomed pan till it is golden brown. Then pressure cook with 1.5 cups of water (2 whistles). 
• If you are using fresh coconut milk, extract the coconut milk from the coconut. Do not mix the first extract with the rest. 
• Dissolve the jaggery in 1/2 a cup of water by boiling, so that it forms a liquid with the consistency of honey. 
• In the ghee, fry the cashew nuts, raisins, and coconut pieces (golden brown). 
• Remove the cardamom seeds and grind it to a fine powder. 

Method 

Mix the split yellow gram and 4 cups of coconut milk in a thick bottomed saucepan and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes or till the gram is soft without turning mushy, Then add the melted jaggery and cook on low till it reduces to a thick porridge-like consistency. Turn off the heat. Add the thick coconut milk, the fried cashew nuts, raisins, and coconut, and the cardamom powder - mix it well.

Serving Suggestion: 

This parippu pradhaman is traditionally eaten with a Yelaki Banana and Kerala Pappadam, which brings out the flavours of the dish. It can be eaten as is too. 

Kozhi Varutharachathu

Ingredients for the Masala Paste

 1 cup of grated coconut 

10 shallots 

7 garlic cloves

2 teaspoons of black pepper

2 teaspoons of coriander seeds

3 dried red chilies 

5 Kanthari Mulaku 

1 stick of cinnamon

1 star anise

 3 cardamon pods 

1/2 teaspoon of cumin

10 curry leaves

2 tablespoons of coconut oil 

 Dry roast all the ingredients for the masala paste, except for the oil, till it turns a golden colour. Then add the coconut oil and continue roasting for 5 minutes. Cool completely, then make a thick paste with it in a mixie. 

 Ingredients for the Chicken Curry 

 1/2 kilo chicken 

2 tablespoons of coconut oil 

3 chopped onions 

3 chopped tomatoes 

5 green chilies 

2 tablespoons of ginger / garlic paste 

1/2 teaspoon of turmeric powder 

1 teaspoon of chili powder 

Salt, to taste 

 Method 

 In a kadai pour the coconut oil and saute the onions. Add the ginger and garlic paste, and green chilies, saute for a minute, then add the chopped tomatoes.Saute till tomatoes start leaving the oil. Add the masala paste along with turmeric powder, chili powder, and salt. Add the chicken to this. Mix well, making sure that the chicken is coated well with all of the masala and spices. You may pour a cup of water, then cover the pan to cook the chicken. Once cooked you can alter the thickness of the gravy as needed. Serve garnished with a few curry leaves. 

This authentic recipe came from the kitchens of my soul sister Anupa, who is an expert in Kerala Cuisine. 

Bitter-gourd Stir-fry

Thoran (തോരൻ) is a coconut-based dry dish traditionally made of finely chopped stir fried vegetables in Kerala. I added raw mango, and tomatoes to this dish.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon of cooking oil
1/2 teaspoon of mustard seeds
a large pinch of asafoetida
2 medium sized bitter-gourds, diced
a large piece of raw mango, diced
2 medium sized tomatoes, diced
3 green chilies, slit
salt, to taste
1/4 teaspoon of turmeric powder
1/2 teaspoon of cumin powder
3 tablespoons of fresh grated coconut

Method

Heat oil and add mustard to it. When the mustard starts sputtering, add the asafoetida.

Add the bitter-gourd and stir for about 2-3 minutes. Add the raw mango, the tomatoes, and the green chilies and stir for 2-3 minutes. Add the salt, turmeric powder, and cumin powder. Close and cook low heat.

When the bitter-gourd is half cooked, add the coconut. Close and cook on low heat till done.

Avial

I love Avial because it's yummy, and is made from a lot of vegetables... so much fibre. There are loads of recipes for Avial. This is my way of making it, with ginger.

Ingredients

Vegetables

1 cup of Carrot
1 cup of Cucumber
1 cup of Snake Gourd
1 cup of Raw Plantain

Other vegetables that may be used are Beans, Drumstick, edible Gourds (including Bitter Gourd), Potatoes, Pumpkins, and Yam.

1/4 teaspoon of turmeric powder
1/4 teaspoon of chili powder
1/2 teaspoon of cumin powder
salt to taste
6-7 shallots
2-3 green chilies
1 tablespoon of coconut oil
1/2 teaspoon of grated ginger
1 tablespoon of grated Raw Mango
2 tablespoons of grated coconut
1 cup of sour curds
a few curry leaves

Instructions

Chop all the vegetables into 2' pieces. Boil the vegetables with the turmeric, chili,  cumin and salt in about 2 glasses of water.

Rough grind the green chilies and shallots.

Warm the coconut oil, add the ginger and saute for about 30 seconds. Then add the shallot / green chili paste and saute for about a minute. Add the boiled vegetables and the raw mango, mix well on low heat. Then add the grated coconut and sour curds. Turn off the heat and mix well. Garnish with curry leaves.

Serve with hot steamed rice.

Chilli Corned Beef - Kerala Style

I absolutely love the Kerala style of Chilli Beef. Cooking that however involves some preparation and is a tad time consuming. Today I was in the mood to eat something spicy, but was so famished by the time I got home that I wanted it to cook real quick. So I took inspiration from the Kerala Chilli Beef and this is what I created.

I used a can of Corned Beef. Yes, processed. To make up for that, all the other ingredients I used were either fresh or homemade. The masala powder I used is courtesy my Sister-in-Law's Mother. She makes the most aromatic, fantastic masala powder that I actually use when I cook the Kerala Chilli Beef the way my S-i-L taught me to.

Do watch the salt when you use Corned Beef because there's already a lot of salt in it.

Chilli Corned Beef - Kerala Style

Ingredients

2 tablespoons of coconut oil
1 large onion finely sliced
50-100g of fresh ground ginger garlic paste
3-6 slit green chillies
400-500g of Corned Beef
1 teaspoon of cumin powder
1 teaspoon of masala powder
50-100g of grated coconut
salt to taste

Method

Heat the coconut oil in a frying pan. When the oil is hot, lower the flame and add the onions. Cook till the onions start turning translucent, then add the ginger-garlic paste. Cook till the raw smell disappears, then add the green chillies and saute on high heat for a minute. Mash and add the corned beef to the pan continuing to saute on high heat till the fat starts to melt. Then add the cumin and masala powders. Stir in on high heat then lower the flame. Cover and cook for 5-7 minutes. Add the grated coconut, and salt if required. Cook on low flame for 2-3 minutes.

Serve hot with steamed rice. Or use as a filling to make sandwiches.