Fruit Cake / Plum Cake

          There has been a lot of buzz in all cooking blogs for the last 2 weeks and everybody it seemed were busy cooking up their own beautiful fruit cakes. I don't know why I became so late in posting my own... old habits I guess ;) I have always been late to college and never been to a party in time. Doesn't that gives me a VIP stand? Well, I would like to think about it that way ;) But don't think I have never tried to be punctual. Yes, I have tried and tried only to discover that unpunctuality is in my blood, it runs through my veins... Every time it seems the time runs faster than it is supposed to... never waiting for my errands to conclude :(

          Everyday when  you wake up, it seems you have a long day waiting for you... You make breakfast, send your hubby off to office, play around with your kid, have some elevenses, do some cleaning chores, and suddenly you find you are in the midst of the day... and you rush to the kitchen, throw up a very quick lunch, eat it and feed it to your little one, do some cooking experiments, browse a while in the web, becomes a little chatty with your friend at phone and suddenly the calling bell rings and hubby is home. Oh God! it's already evening...  Then you serve your hubby food, talk to him for some time, make the dinner, have your Salah (Prayer) and then you find the day is gone... It is already night and you feel at a loss. There must be at least somebody out there who feels the same way as I do... Sure the time is running a marathon...

         

              So back to my fruit cake story... I just wanted to have a perfect fruit cake and already tried many variations... The target I had in mind tasted very much like the nostalgic 'plum cake' we used to have at festive seasons in India. I was so crazy about it and nothing less than that would do... I still do not know why it was called a 'plum cake'. I don't think they added any plums in it. There was a time when I had thought it was a 'plump cake' because it sure looked round and kinda plump. When my fruit cakes turned out nothing nearer to this cute cake, I resorted to another recipe and had the fruits sunk to the bottom... and another and after a lot of empirical researches I made it, at last! A fruit cake which was almost a perfect 'plum cake'! I made some changes to Chef Alison May's recipe... In fact made it a bit simple. Her recipe didn't use baking powder but more eggs and had to bake it for three hours. I am not a patient person to wait that long for my cake to get cooked, so I reduced the eggs and added baking powder instead. I reduced the fruit volume too because i found the contend in the original recipe so overwhelming. If you want a fruit cake which is fruity on every bite, then you may add more dry fruits say about 800 gram. Here I'm... a little proud of my accomplishment. I got a wonderful, light and moist fruit cake in just one hour!

                                      So it has been quite an eventful year...This would be my last post of the year. Am so happy that I could post this cake before new year :) Good bye 2010.. Welcome 2011!

The recipe goes like this...

Ingredients:
   
220 g plain flour
A pinch of salt
1/2 tsp mixed spice
 ( I used garam masala containing cinnamon, cloves, cardomom,star anice, nutmeg and maise)
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
200 g butter
2 tbsp black treacle ( you can also use caramelized sugar syrup)
1 tbsp marmalade (I have already posted the recipe if you want it home made)
1/4 tsp vanilla essence
2 medium eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp baking powder
400 g mixed dried fruit ( i used just black raisins, white raisins and tutti frutti )
50 g chopped mixed peel
100 g glace cherries, chopped
100 g blanched almonds, chopped
150 ml orange juice
200 g brown sugar

Method:

1.  Soak 400g mixed dry fruit, 50g chopped mixed peel and 100g glace cherries in 150ml orange juice overnight.
2. The next day, heat your oven to 330 degree F or gas mark 3. Grease a 20cm/8 inch round or an 18cm/7 inch square cake tin and line the bottom and sides with parchment paper.
3. Sieve 220g plain flour, a pinch of salt, 1/2 teaspoon mixed spice 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and 1 teaspoon baking powder in to a bowl.
4. Cream 200g butter and 200g brown sugar in a large mixing bowl and mix in 2 table spoon of black treacle, 1 table spoon of marmalade  and 1/4 teaspoon vanilla essence until light and fluffy.
5. Beat two eggs and fold them a little at a time inti the mixture adding a tablespoon of the flour mixture with the last of the eggs
6. Fold in the remaining flour mixture until well mixed. Then mix in the soaked fruit mixture with 100g chopped almonds.
7. Turn the mixture into the prepared tin and bake in the oven for 1 hour and then test with a skewer. Bake until the skewer comes out clean.
8. Remove from oven and leave to cool in the tin for 15 minutes. Turn out on to a wire rack and leave to cool.
9. Cut an serve after a few days. The more the cake sits, the more it imbibes the fruit flavour and will be more yummy. So you must be patient to wait at least a day before you cut and serve the cake.

Elepparathi/ Leaf rolled Malabar bread

           

        There were lots of dishes I was quite fascinated with, which my mother in law used to make. In fact she was my first teacher in cooking, in the days after marriage, when I used to be ignorant about even the very  minute things. She used to infuse a lot of positive energy in you, even if you go wrong that you cannot ignore the pique you feel towards cooking something new and slowly you begin to learn from your mistakes…  The ever vibrant humor sense even when the going gets tough, was something I have always admired in her.. The art of recycling leftover food is something I learned from her acquaintance. Whenever there was some left over rice, she would say.. "Let's make Elepparathi tomorrow so that we can use the rice in it " and they would always turn out to be inexplicably soft and extraordinarily delicious.It was one of the first dishes I learned from her and the most popular in the family..

      Here is the recipe..

Things you need:

     Rice flour, sieved                          -   1 cup

     All purpose flour/ Maida               -  1 cup

     Grated fresh coconut                    -   1 cup

     Cooked leftover rice(optional)      -   1/2 cup

     Boiled water                                -    as required

     Salt to taste

     Coconut oil                                 -     3 tbsp

     Green plantain leaf , washed and cut into square pieces  -   2

    

Method:

    Grind the cooked rice in a mixer or blender until a smooth paste is formed. Mix this together with  the flours and coconut. Add adequate salt to boiled water and pour the hot water to the flour rice mixture and stir with a spoon. When it cool slightly knead well with hands until a smooth dough is formed. Add just enough water to make it a smooth dough. Do not add excess. Now take a portion, the size of a tennis ball and flatten it on an oiled banana leaf using your hands. You can use an alluminium foil to flatten the dough if you don't have plantain leaves.  Dip your hands occasionally in water to avoid sticking. Apply a teaspoon of coconut oil on top of it and smooth out. Heat a frying pan and transfer it to the pan upside down. ie, the plantain leaf should come on top like in the picture. Cook for 2, 3 minutes and remove the plantain leaf. Now turn the bread again on the pan so as to cook the other side. When the other side is also cooked ie, when light brown patches form around the bread, remove from heat and transfer to a plate. Repeat the procedure with the rest of the dough. Serve hot with egg curry, vegetable curry, or sweetened coconut milk. You can also have it with tea with out any accompaniments.

Sending this recipe to Torview's Food Palette Series - White

Orange Marmalade

       
          I was in search for a perfect fruit cake recipe and  came across Chef Alison's beautiful recipe. Leafing through it, I thought.. "Well, this is just perfect. I must give it a try right away". But must admit the ingredients list daunted me for sure, I had to buy everything from black raisins to marmalade. Being an Indian who (almost) sticks to Indian foods for break fast, I did not have marmalade at hand and I seldom use it for break fast. But I had noticed that many of the delicious cakes and desserts used marmalade in the process.

          So I thought "why not make it at home". It sure looks wonderful and should taste nothing less. After all my son loves anything on earth if they are nearer to jams or jellies. So I developed a plan in my head for the next culinary adventure and promptly googled for the recipes and fell in love with this Orange Marmalade. I must admit the process is a little tedious and surely time consuming but you will definitely be satisfied with the end results. I had my son digging into it for so long until it was necessary to lock it safely off in the fridge. I desperately wanted some, left over for my cake and most definitely was not in a mood to deal with a pediatric bowel problem..And the subject of talk was filed away into the refrigerator with convincing promises of serving it the next day with bread.. :)

         Here goes the recipe..

Things you need:

6 to 8 small oranges, weighing about 550g
Juice of one lemon
1.4 Lr water
1 kg granulated sugar

Method:

1.  Slice the oranges in half. Using a metal spoon, scoop out the flesh over a bowl to collect any juice leaving the pith behind. Reserve the shells.Put the flesh, juice and pips in a food processor and blend until smooth. Push the puree through a sieve into a preserving pan or large heavy bottomed saucepan.
2. Now scoop out as much of pith from the shells as possible. Slice the rind into very thin match stick strips and add these to the sieved flesh in the pan.
3. Pour in the lemon juice and water.
4. Bring to boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 1 to 1 and 1/2 hours until the rind is very soft and the mixture has reduced by half.
5. Over a low heat add the sugar and stir until it has dissolved. Boil for about ten minutes, skimming off any froth on the surface.
6. After ten minutes, spoon a little of marmalade on to a cold plate and place in the fridge. If it sets to a jelly, the marmalade is cooked. If necessary, cook for a further 5 to 10 minutes and test again..Allow the marmalade to cool slightly, then pour into sterilized jars.
7. Serve with bread, biscuits or cakes.                                                                                                

Egg curry with coconut milk

                Deciding which curry to make for breakfast has always been a nuisance. When it comes to breakfast curries, my better half has a very narrow range of choices. He doesn't like non-veg curries in the morning and cannot stand potatoes and green peas either. He like other legumes, yes. But not the white chana dals! What about vegetable curry? A big NO! :(  So do u sense it? The choices are coming narrower and narrower.. But he loves the rice pan cakes, 'nool puttus','puttus' and pooris I make and he prefer it with CURRIES!!!

              Not that he would complain if I make them. He would say, "It's nice.. really good" and blah blah blah..! But sitting there in front,  watching him eating, I can quickly sense the diminished interest in him towards these curries and so I would never make them again. So it is like this! Green gram curry today, black chana dal curry the next day.. masoor dal curry the next.. again green gram.. until he start going nuts. So egg curry is my saviour, when it comes to 'something different'. Well, Egg curry is an exception in his 'non-veg' list and he literally loves it. Actually the debate over whether egg is veg or non-veg is still going on, right? Most of the vegetarians use egg in their diet.

            This egg curry is so simple to make.. yet delicious. Here is the recipe..

Things you need:

3   eggs boiled, peeled and cut into halves
1   onion sliced
1/2 tsp ginger, minced
1/2 tsp garlic, minced
1 small tomato, diced
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp red chilli powder
2 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp garam masala powder
1 green chilli, slit
11/2 cup of water
1 cup of thick coconut milk
Salt to taste
2 stalks of coriander leaves/ cilantro
2 tbsp vegetable oil

Preparation:

      Heat oil in a wok and add onion. Saute it until brown and translucent. Add the ginger, garlic and slit green chilli to it and saute. When the aroma starts coming out add turmeric powder,red chilli powder and coriander powder and saute.Then add the tomato. When it gets mushy add water and bring to boil.Add salt and garam masala powder. Then add the boiled eggs carefully and cook it for a couple of minutes in low heat, covering the wok.Now add the coconut milk and remove from heat when the curry starts to boil and thickens. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with chappathis, lace appams or parottas.

            

Banana Strawberry Smoothie

                
          I know it is not the time for a cool drink or smoothie. But the weather is not like it used to be over here. December is the month which is supposed to be freaking cold… when your feet and hands would go numb, not knowing if you are holding a hot thing or cold one. It is the time of the year when you dither on doing anything without getting into the sanctity of your sweater or woolen jacket or a fleece around your neck. And a cold smoothie is the last thing you want on earth. But it is not at all as it used to be. No doubt the global warming has its impact on every single place on earth. The weather is actually not cold at all. When the dust wind brought the coldness with it last week storming into our lives, everybody thought it was going to be a flipping cold December. But nay… it went as it came after two days and the winter clothes everybody had enthusiastically purchased still dwells in the remote corner of the closets unable to display their flying colors. Now what shall I describe the climate lately? Well, pleasant… not at all cold, sometimes sunny… sometimes cloudy… anyway far from daunting cold. So why not a slobbering smoothie to refresh you after a hard time with homely chores or when your husband returns home after work…?

Here is the recipe…

Things you need:

Yields three cups

2 ripe bananas, peeled
4 ripe strawberries
4 tbsp sugar
1 cup of milk
1 cup of ice cubes
½ tsp vanilla essence

Preparation:

       Slice the bananas and strawberries into small pieces and blend well in a blender with all the other ingredients until a smooth and thick juice is formed. Pour into glasses. Decorate with sliced strawberries and serve immediately.

A visit to the Fish market and a Traditional Fish fry

         Yesterday we went fish shopping after a long week of having to do without fish. It was chicken, then egg, then vegetables, again chicken... and everybody just got pissed off. Ours is a fish loving family and we would trade any other food for a delicious fish dish. Weather here is notoriously fickle and we had to postpone our purchase last week due to the same, playing its little bad games again. Buying seafood from restaurants is too costly here. You could easily buy a whole chicken roasted or grilled with half the price of six very thin and famished prawns, fried or grilled. So it is wiser to prepare fish at home and eat to your fill..

        Buying fish from Kuwait market is something like a luxurious experience for expats like me... When I say, 'we went fish shopping', it is more like going window shopping through a posh boutique. You would be stunned by the majestic building at its sea front location with all its glory and a person new to this place would just have to gasp, when comprehension sinks in... that, it is after all a fish market.

                           Al-Kooth fish market with a huge shopping mall nearby

        I clearly remember the first time I went there. When we took the first turn and the glorious building towered in front of our view, I asked my husband, "Well, you said we were going to the fish market.. Is it behind this fort?" and he started laughing.. "This fort is the fish market" he replied and I didn't believe him until I put my foot inside into a hub full of the bargaining buzz and activity. Though there was the fishy smell, it was even more beautiful inside elegantly decorated with lovely blue ceramic mosaics and impeccably clean. We pottled along to get an eyeful of everything amidst a sea of fishes.. It was buzzing with activity. The vendors calling out their prices, people moving around to select their fish and some bargaining their day away.. Those who want live fishes even have them in large water tanks, flapping around merrily  not knowing they are displayed for sale... I was astonished to find ladies who had come to buy fish with babies bubbling up in their strollers.        

                                          Entrance to the fish market

                                      Lanterns at the entrance and inside!

                                     Beautiful lanterns outside the building at night

                                     Auction area inside the fish market

                                            Fishes for sale

          We bought some fresh pomfrets, mackerels and prawns. I had a mind to buy numerous other fishes too because they looked so damn good and shiny.. but had to resist my temptation for the lack of space in our freezer. So I thought I would fry some shrimps in the traditional way while it is still fresh. Nadan shrimp fry is an all time favourite... and my better half never gets wary of eating them.. Here is the recipe..

Nadan Chemmen fry / Spicy Malabar Prawn fry

Things you need:

Fresh prawns, scaled and cleaned   -  1 kg
ginger, ground                                 -  1 tsp
Garlic, ground                                 -  1 tsp
Turmeric powder                            -   1/2 tsp
Red chilli powder                            -  1 & 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder                           -   2 tsp
Fennel seed powder                        -   1/2 tsp
Lemon juice                                    -   of  a lemon
Curry leaves                                    -  a sprig
Salt to taste
Vegetable oil

Method:

      Marinate the shrimps with all the ingredients and cook in a pan on medium heat.  No need to add water to it as it oozes out a lot of water while getting cooked. Remove from heat when the water dries up. Heat oil in a frying pan and deep fry the shrimps until done. When almost done sprinkle curry leaves over it and remove from oil and drain on a kitchen tissue. Serve hot with rice.

Unnakkaya / Kayada (Banana sweet pocket fritters)

              Bananas have always been part of the culinary culture in Kerala.. especially in Malabar. Houses with out a couple of plantain trees were rare in the gone decades and hence there are many out standing Malabar recipes made with ripe as well as raw plantains.. The ripe plantain which is quite different from the various kinds of bananas seen world wide, is used both cooked and uncooked in preparations.. Those who are familiar with Malabar cuisine wouldn't need an introduction to Unnakkaya, the widely popular and delightful delicacy. It has lured a lot of loyal fans to it in the past and still rocks..

              Thinking about banana's nutritional extravaganza, no health nut can ever resist it. More than being a good source of fibres, potassium and vitamin C, it has all the 8 amino acids our body cannot produce itself.. Musing about the yum yum dish, I think I would rather have these amino acids every day even it be in excess ;) I should say my family shares my views.. ditto :)

             The only thing which push me into a dilemma is how to keep the banana adequately ripe for the dish. The recipe needs medium ripe bananas, that is.. with the skin just yellow and a little brown with no traces of green. It should not be over brown or over ripe too. If it is, you are sure to have a cooking disaster. If the banana is adequately ripe for the recipe, it would work like butter.

            When I got bananas with the 'so said' qualifications from the market last day, I had to give it a try immediately or it would go naughty right under my noses... Good thing that US Masala is hosting the Veggie/ Fruit a month event with banana , this time, earlier conducted by Priya.  I think I am luckily on time. So this Malabar delight goes off to the Veggie/Fruit a month event.

                                                      

Things you need:

     Makes 10 Unnakkayas..

3 medium ripe plantains
1     egg
25 g of cashew nuts, sliced into small pieces
25 g of raisins
2 tbsp of grated coconut
4 tbsp of sugar
4 tbsp of pure ghee/clarified butter
1 tbsp coconut oil
1/2 tsp of cardamom powder
1 cup of vegetable oil

Method:

    Cook the ripe plantains with a little water or by steaming. Drain it properly.  Peel, seed and mash it with a pestle or potato masher until a smooth pulp is formed . Kneed it with hands until dough like with no lumps and keep it aside. Heat ghee in a pan and fry the cashews and raisins until brown.Add the coconut and 1 tbsp of sugar to it and saute in medium heat until the coconut becomes crisp. Remove from heat and keep aside. Beat the egg with the rest of sugar. In another pan heat coconut oil and scramble the eggs in it. Add cardamom powder to it and mix with the cashew raisin filling. Now oil your palm lightly and take a small portion of banana dough, about the size of a lemon and flatten it on your palm. Put a teaspoon of the filling on the middle of it and roll the dough into the shape of unnakkaya as shown in the picture. Smooth it out. Now heat a kadai with vegetable oil and deep fry the Unnakkayas until it turns brown. Drain on a kitchen towel and serve hot or cold.

                                                                                                 

Home made Chicken Pizza

           

               This most widely popular and incredibly soft bread with generous toppings of vegetables and sauces topped with admirable slathering of cheese is said to have an Italian origin.... Though I'm too much fond of its Pizzeria variety, I hadn't dared to try it at home for so long fearing I would make a disaster of the most popular topped bread in the world which has the greatest appeal among kids and adults alike. But the fact that the restaurant variety is far too costly and more towards the oily side made me think again. Now I had to do the undoable. My experiments on this incredibly versatile bread started right from the microwave ovens and after a couple of failures and disappointments, I slowly started to get the hang on things.

                 One thing I learned (the hard way) was microwave oven is not suitable for making pizza if you really want it to have a nice golden crust on which you would go gaga over. At home you have a plethora of choices on inexpensive toppings which would turn out quite fantastic that you would have to succumb to the temptation and hanker of making it again and again until you get a Pizza Hut clone. Making the bread light and airy is one thing while getting the admirable crust is another... Most of the cook books specify a 3 hour rise for the dough but leaving it overnight to leaven is a trick I learned from the rave reviews of pizza enthusiasts after too many fizzers. Also the fact that pre cooking the dough before topping would make it even more rattling was something I learned on the way..

Coming to the recipe:

Things you need:-

Makes two large Pizzas

For the Pizza Base:

All purpose flour / Maida           -      2 cups
Yeast                                        -      1 tsp
Sugar                                        -      3 tbsp
Salt                                           -      1/4 tsp
Butter                                       -      25 g
Warm Milk                               -      1/2 cup

Sauce:

Tomato Ketchup                      -       1/2 cup
Onion Powder                         -       1 tsp
Garlic Powder                         -       1 tsp
Origano                                   -       1/4 tsp
Salt                                         -       1/4 tsp
Sugar                                      -       1/2 tsp

Topping:

Tender Chicken breasts                        -    250 g
Black pepper powder                           -    1/2 tsp
Onion sliced                                         -    1 medium
Cabbage, sliced                                    -    1/2 cup
Bell pepper sliced                                 -    1/2 cup
Tomato, seeded and diced                    -    1/2 cup
Black salted olives, pitted and sliced      -    1/4 cup
Mushrooms, diced (optional)                 -    1/4 cup
Salt  to taste
Garlic, minced                                       -   1/2 tsp  
Powdered origano                                 -   1/2 tsp                  
Shredded mozzarella cheese                  -     2 cups

Others:

Extra virgin Olive oil                         -    2 tbsp

Procedure:
    
To explain the procedure, I think I would start right at the bottom and work my way up to the toppings..
Prepare the Pizza base:
Mix the yeast  with half teaspoon of sugar and two tablespoons of warm milk and keep for 10 minutes to raise. The milk should not be too hot. Hot milk would kill the yeast where as moderately warm milk provide adequate condition for the yeast to flourish and raise. Mix the flour, remaining sugar, salt, butter and the raised yeast and kneed by adding warm milk little by little, until a smooth dough is formed. Keep it overnight in a closed container to raise.
Prepare the sauce:
Mix all the ingredients given under Sauce and keep aside. You can alternately use just tomato ketchup as the sauce.
Prepare the topping:
Cut the chicken breast into small and thin pieces. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a frying pan and cook the chicken by  adding little salt and black pepper powder and sauting in oil for 10 minutes or until the water in the chicken dries up. Remove from heat. If you are using mushroom, then cook it like wise. Mix all the sliced vegetables and chicken and mix it with minced garlic and a little salt.
Final cooking:
Preheat the oven at very high temperature(about 450 degree F) for 10 minutes. Grease the pizza pan with olive oil and sprinkle it with a little flour. This helps to bake the under side of pizza to a golden brown crust which is very lovable. Take the raised dough and press the air out and kneed until smooth. This dough is for 2 large pizzas. So divide the dough into two, take one part and press it on to a pizza pan and roll out with hand or a rolling pin. If you have a pizza stone it is much better. In that case preheat the stone in very high temperature for some 5 minutes and then press the dough on to it. Then bake the dough for 5 to 10 minutes at 450 degree F or more and take out from oven. If you are making it in a pan, then roll out the dough on the pan and preheat at the highest possible temperature for 5 minutes.Then apply the sauce over the base. Over this spread the vegetables and chicken. Sprinkle with powdered origano. Top it with as much cheese as you like.Top it with some more olives. Dribble some olive oil on to the edge of the pizza. This helps to make a nice crust. Then keep the pan with the pizza again into the oven and bake at high temperature(450F or more) until the cheese melts and the edges become golden coloured and blistered. Take it out and transfer it to a serving plate. Repeat this with the other part of dough. Cut and serve hot.

                                 

Ari Murukku

 

              Some foods remind us of old days... our childhood days when we were boisterous kids looking for fun and never had a thing to worry about other than the strict orders to go to sleep from the elders when the mischiefs and gambols reach a level not any more bearable for them... The snacks we had enjoyed munching and crunching in between those games were really something to hang on. 'Murukku' is such a snack which brings a lot of childhood memories at unexpected hours. The other day when my son was jumping up and down on the bed enjoying himself immensely the thought of the snack came again as a bolt from the blue.. That was when I decided, I must make some for him so that he will have his own memories when he grows up. I had scribbled the recipe somewhere down which I got from some local magazines and went hunting for it and it turned out quite good in a quirk of fate! Just like those we used to buy from the shops.  It had specified that the flour should be super fine... should have no traces of coarseness. About that... I just hung to their words and made it quite fine by sieving a couple of times. And yes! it was an instant winner. The whole thing vanished without a trace in half an hour... when  both father and son competed on who is more good at wolfing down :)
    
         I am entering this dish to the  Recipe Swap Thursday Event at Prairie Story.

Coming to the recipe...

Things you need:

Fine, raw rice flour ( sieved 2 or three times in a fine mesh)- 600g
Black gram / Urad dal ( dry roasted and powdered)   - 150g
Black cumin seeds /Karimjeera                                 - 1 tbsp
Cumin seeds                                                             - 1 tsp
Salt  to taste
Butter (optional)                                                        - 2 tbsp
Coconut oil / Veg oil                                                 - 1/2 Lr

Method:

   Mix every thing except veg. oil and kneed well with hands by adding cold water, until a dough with the consistency of chapatti dough is formed. The murukku must be made immediately. Pass the dough through a 'murukku press' on to a ladle fryer in a coiled fashion and dip it to the hot oil heated in a kadai. When the dough becomes hot it comes off easily from the ladle mesh. Shake it slowly to detach it and remove the ladle from oil. Fry the murukku until golden brown.Press another coil on to the ladle fryer and repeat the process until all the dough is used up.Store the fried murukku in an air tight container.

   Enjoy the crunchy delights!

My first blogger Award

I have been so excited to receive my very first blogger Award... In fact it has only been 4 months since I have been into blogging .. and am so thrilled to get an Award in the midst of it.  It was handed over by Elisabeth of 'Food and thrift finds' to me.. Thank you so much Elisabeth, your award means a lot to me.. I am literally on cloud nine.. I am still a naive at blogging and couldn't believe it when I was informed of the award.. First of all I thank Allah, my creator and protector for making it possible for me.. secondly my family and friends for supporting me...

                                                      

To accept this award, there are 4 rules:*

1. Thank the person who gave you the award:

2. Share seven things about yourself

3. Pass the award on to bloggers you have recently discovered and who you think are fantastic.

4. Contact the bloggers you picked and let them know about the award.

                 Here are seven things about myself...

1. I am a home maker from India who is now living in Kuwait with my husband and a very energetic 2 year old son. They are the greatest inspirations for me to cook and research upon new recipes..
2. I graduated in Ayurvedic medicine from Kottakkal Ayurveda College, Kerala..but did not pursue a career as I feared it would affect my family life. I always want my children to get the greatest care in life like I got from my own mother.. ( my mom was a home maker too and I couldn't imagine coming home from school to an empty home with out the warmth of my mother... and always pitied my friends who had working mothers..)
3. When I first came here with my husband ( which was 3 years back), I had very scarce knowledge about cooking and depended mainly on the bits and scraps of papers on which I had written down the recipes I got from my mom , mother in law and my friends. Eventually I began to learn ... very slowly and was quite astonished to find when things turned out nice which I had thought to be too difficult to make.. ( That was when I realised, I am not that bad .. and may be some day I would be able to invent some really outstanding recipes..
4. I love to experiment.. not only in cooking but also in crafts and home decorations.. Actually I have some creations which my friends and family says is quite good... I am actually a researcher in  kitchen and beyond and hence the name of my blog :)
5. Earlier I had thought there is nothing creative or gripping in cooking.. but now I differ in my opinion. It is one of the greatest passions for me today...
6. I started this blog as a means to save my recipes and to open up my mind.. a space to pour my thoughts... It was that insight together with the loving advise of my hubby to make my lazy hours fruitful ,that made me resort to something of this kind..
7. I am more happy than a little girl who just got a well wishing greeting card, when I get commends on my posts from my friends..it really does light up my days..

And here are five of my blogger friends whom I am so happy that I came to know and wants to share the award with..

Gayathri, Gayathri Cook Spot

Suja Sugathan,Kitchen Corner

Umm Mymoona, Taste of Pearl City

Sailaja Damodaran, Sailaja's Kitchen

Sanyuktha, Creative Sanyuktha

           Have a nice day every body..

Fattoush / Arabic Bread Salad

       Yet another healthy and delicious salad from the Middle East.. Apart from the vegetables and leaves, the addition of fried pita breads (Arabic Hubbs) make a twist in its flavour.. Infact more interesting than the addition of croutons.. If you have some stale pita breads with you, then cut it into small pieces and deep fry it in oil or toast it in the oven. Then add it to your salad and you have a delicious dish which is quite filling.. I am ignorant on the aspect of how this Labanese salad would have evolved. May be when somebody was preparing salad, they didn't have croutons with them and had some stale pita breads and they just might have experimented by adding pita breads. It's just a guess ;) The very first time I saw it in Arabic restaurants, I had an intuition that it might be awesome and it was.. Very much satisfying and relishable.. I came to know that it is an addition in Arabian Ifthar parties and befriended it with my other Ifthar dishes..

Coming to the recipe..

Things you need:

1 head of romaine lettuce, torn in pieces
A few Persian cucumbers or English cucumbers
A few tomatoes,seeded and  diced
A few radishes sliced
Green onions sliced
A hand ful of chopped Italian parsely and a hand ful of fresh mint
A green pepper diced (optional)
A large loaf of pita bread or 2 small pita breads
Olive oil for frying the pita breads

For dressing:

• 2 small lemons, juiced
• 1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil
• 2 generous table spoons of 'sumac' plus extra to sprinkle on pita bread slices.( 'Sumac' is a dried leaf powder which has a tangy flavour and available in Arab markets, used in some of the salads. It has a reddish brown colour)
• 2 or more cloves of garlic mashed in a dash of salt in a mortar. If this salt is not enough, you can add more salt in the salad according to taste.

Method:

1. With kitchen scissors cut the bread into thin square slices. Fry them in oil until crisp and brown. Take out from oil and drain on a kitchen towel. Immediately sprinkle sumac powder over it and keep aside.
2. Prepare all the salad ingrediants. Mix the dressing. When ready to serve, toss the salad with the dressing, incorporarte the fried pita breads and serve.

Chilli Chicken fry

         Who says cultural collaboration degrades the heritage? I disagree.. Atleast in the case of food, it is not true. Thinking about Indo-Chinse recipes.. who can ever say it degraded the Chinese cuisine. Infact it is such a fascinating marriage of flavours that none can turn their heads away from the collaborated version if they have tasted one. How the addition of Indian spices or green pepper or the ever wonderful curry leaves could transform the actual version into a pure delight is interesting. Ample subject to research upon.. for a kitchen scientist!

         I have always been the greatest fan of Indo- Chinese and I do not remember when I started this crush.. Feel like it was there when I was quite small. So whenever I got these from restaurants, I have the history of devouring an awful lot without giving the slightest concern to my bewildered stomach and many a times had ended in throwing up. It must sure have had MSG!(Mono Sodium Glutamate/Ajinomoto) Other wise why should I throw up? So well..."It would be better to prepare that at home" I decided ..and started collecting all Indo-Chinese recipes which came in my way.. This particular recipe is from one of my friends who managed to lure it out from a cook who made it at their home on a special occasion. I skipped only two things from the original recipe and they are MSG(that again!) and yoghurt. (I have already explained why I do not add yoghurt or curd in my previous post, Prawn Biriyani). Still it tasted fantastic.

Coming to the recipe..

Things You Neeed:

1. Chicken (with bone or bone less) -   1  kg
2. Ginger  garlic paste                      -   1 tbsp
3. Turmeric powder                         -   1/4 tsp
4. Red chilli powder                         -   1 tsp
5. Coriander powder                       -   2 tsp
6. Garam masala powder                 -   1/2 tsp
7. Coriander leaves                          -    a bunch, cut into small pieces
8. Lemon juice                                 -    2 tbsp
9. Corn flour                                    -   2 tbsp
10. Maida/ All purpose flour               -  2 tbsp
11. Egg                                              -   1
12. Red food colour (optional)            -   a pinch
13. Salt to taste
14. Dark soy sauce                             - 2 tbsp
15. Tomato ketchup                            - 3 tbsp
16. Vegetable oil                             

Garnish:
Green bell pepper                         -   1 , sliced into medium sized pieces
Onion, sliced                                 -   1
Curry leaves                                  -  1 sprig

Method:

            Cut the chicken to small pieces, wash and drain. Mix it well with all the ingredients from 2 to 13 and keep for atleast one hour in the marination. Heat a wok and add oil to it .Put the chicken in it and fry until reddish brown.Take out from the oil and drain on a kitchen towel. Immediately transfer it to another vessel. Now fry the onions, green pepper and curry leaves in the same oil just for a couple of minutes and add it over the fried chicken. Add the sauces over it when the chicken is still hot and mix well. Serve hot with rice or chapattis or with noodles.