Bread uthappam

Ingredients:-

Bread-2

Onion-1/2 chopped
tomato -1/2 chopped
Green chilli-1 chopped
Semolina-2 tspn
Yogurt-3 tblspn
Chilli pwdr- 1/2 tspn
Asafetida- one pinch
Oil -1 tspn
Salt to taste

Directions:-

• Mix all the second set of ingredients into a smooth mixture.
• Spread it on the bread on one side.
• Heat a pan and brush it with some oil.
• Keep the bread's spread portion down  and cook for 3 min at medium flame.
• Meanwhile spread the upper side of the same bread .
• Flip it over after 3 min for another 3 min.
• DONE.

BON APPETITE:)

Pancake

Requisites:-


All purpose flour- 2 cups
Salt -1/4 tspn or to taste
Sugar- 3 tblspn
Baking pwder-1 tspn
Baking soda- 1/2 tspn
Egg- 2
Butter 2 tblpsn
Milk enough to get the right consistency for batter( a little thin)


Directions:-

• Mix in all the ingredients in a blender to give a thorough mix. Remove all the lumps.
• The batter should be a little thinner so that when you pour it over the pan it will spread a little
• Now take one ladle full of batter and pour on a griddle  or a pan .
• Flip it over to cook the other side.
• Serve hot with pancake syrup  when it is done

Kothu porotta/ Porotta pichiyathu

Being back from Kerala brings me deep craving for food and that too Malabar i's dishes. One among them is kothu porotta. This is so yummy snack to indulge in your taste buds, where you can do it with all the left overs in your fridge(if chicken shredded is available more yummy), some spices and porotta;thats it.


Requisites:-


Porotta- 3
Chicken shredded- of three medium sized cooked chicken pieces.
Turmeric powder-1/4 tspn
Chilly powder-1/2 tblspn
Ghee-1 tspn


Directions:-

• Heat a wok.
• Shred the porotta into one inch length and also the chicken.
• Add the spices and the tspn of ghee.
• Stir well to mix up things messy ! 
• DONE.

Chappathi sandwich

Requisites:


Wheat flour-1/2 cup
All purpose flour-1/2 cup
Water
Salt to taste
Vegetable oil-1 tblspn
Sugar-1/2 tspn


Egg-2
Green/red chilly- 2 crushed
Salt to taste


Directions:-

• Knead the dough to make flat breads.
• Prepare Chappathies.
• Make omelette's to sandwich between two breads.
• Done. 

Uzhunnu vada

Uzhunnu vada is usually sold in India as a street food. It is very common to hear the calls for vadai-vadai from our railway stations. I have lost those days when i traveled in train during my school days and college days. I just feel like refreshing all those this time when i get home. Vada familys includes- ulli vada, parippu vada, pakka vada, thayir vada, uzhunnu vada. Uzhunnu vada is sometimes served in addition with dosa and idli in certain restaurants. You may prepare the batter and refrigerate it for 2 days in a hot weather. And also with the same batter you can prepare some rava dosa or rava idli by adding some semolina(rava) to it. It is all just easy right?


Requisites:-( for 10-12 vadas)


Black gram(Uzhunnu parippu)- 11/2 cup, soaked in water for 6hrs
Ginger chopped finely- 1 + 1/2 tbspn
Green chillies chopped finely-1tblspn-4 chillies
Whole Black pepper- 40
Coriander chopped finely-1tblspn
Curry leaves chopped finely-1 tblspn
Shallots sliced thinly-4 tblspn
Turmeric to give color-1/2 tspn
Baking soda-1/2 tspn to get a bread spongy texture
Salt to taste.


Directions:-

• Take one tblspn of gram and keep aside before grinding the rest into a fine paste. Add 1/2 tblspn of ginger and 1/2 tblspn of g.chillies to this black gram while grinding. This would add taste to your uzhunnu vada. DO NOT add any extra water while grinding. But you can just take the soaked grams straight into the blender using you hands as a strainer. 
• Now mix in all rest of the ingredients to form the vada batter which would be thick.
• Heat oil in a pan. Test the temperature of oil by dropping the batter. If it pops up it is enough hot to cook. But if it turns brown very fast as it pops up switch off the stove and repeat.
• Now  take one tablespoon of batter and gently pour them into the oil forming a semi circle.
• Take another spn of batter to complete the circle.
• When it turns lightly amber on one side flip it over to cook the other side.
• DONE. Serve hot with coconut chutney( green/ red) or Ulli chammanthi .

BON APPETITE:)

Aavi Dosa

Ingredients:-


White long grain rice/Pachari-1cup
Water
Egg-1


Directions:-

• Soak the rice in water overnight.
• Next day grind it with the water required. You need the batter very loose than any normal batters.
• Finally add one egg into the blender and give a blitz.
• Heat the pan and grease it.
• Pour 1 big spoon of batter into the pan and spread it throughout by holding the handle and giving a swirl. The batter is that loose to move across by itself.
• You can see small bubbles forming. Now cook the dosa with the lid on for 2 min.
• Done.

BON APPETITE:)

Upma

Hmmmm.. that was a sigh.. Reminiscence.... Kerala Marriages.. I just can't give a sketch like that of how beautiful they are. Words cannot depict them. They are simple marriages. But the way we carry out. Cousins, aunts, uncles, friends, grandmas-pas all  gathered and chit-chatting and gossiping and singing, dancing, tongue on cheeks ... oh myy.. And those days the easiest breakfast we go for is UPMA. So that we can spend more time on others. A very simple and mouthwatering recipe..


Ingredients:-(serves 4)


Semolina-2 cups
Water-4 cups
Ghee-1+1tblspn
Mustard seeds-1/2 tspn
Curry leaves-1 sprig
Black split gram- half tspn(if desired)
Onion chopped-1 big/Shallots sliced-15
Green/red chilly chopped- 5
Ginger chopped- 1 tblespn
Carrot chopped- 1 big
Salt to taste


Directions:-

If you get to buy roasted semolina/rava use it. Lest you have to roast the semolina/rava for 20 min or more till it becomes grainy and an aroma diffuses.

• Heat ghee in a pan at medium flame.
• Sputter mustard seeds and curry leaves.
• Add the ginger, chilly, onion and carrot(all chopped) and saute them with the spoon for 10min till the carrots and onions are well soft and done.(medium flame)
• Add 4 cups water and bring to boil.
• Stir in the salt.
• Then add semolina/rava .
• Give a thorough stir with a spoon to blend in all the ingredients and cover with the lid( reduce to medium low flame)
• Cook till the water evaporates. You get a good texture of your desire-like if you like the umpa soggy, loose and watery leave it with some moisture left. Or if you like dry make it fully out of water by keeping on stove for longer time.
• Done. Serve hot with pappad and plantain.

BON APPETITE:)

Eggy in a basket-recipe for kids

Wikipedia lists these alternative names (most of them sound disgusting!):

• Spit in the Eye
• Egg in a Hole
• Egg With a Hole in the Middle
• Bullseye Eggs
• Toad in the Hole
• Eggy in the Basket
• Moonstruck Eggs

Peek into the health benefits of egg here .

Ingredients:-serves one

Bread-2slices

Egg-1

Salt a pinch

Apple sauce/pancake sauce or any sweet sauce to your taste

Directions:-

• Take a bread and a glass.
• Press the edge of the glass to the center of the bread to cut one circular piece of it out.
• Now heat a frying pan with butter dabbed and toast the bread with hole and the circle cut. You can toast the second slice though.
• Now crack one egg and plunge in to the bread hole.Salt it.
• let it cook there.
• If you wish to flip it over and cook the yellow do so.
• Once toasted take out and hide the egg with the cut round bread.
• Adorn and sweeten your toast with your favorite sauce.

If you want a spicy one just pepper it and keep  a cheese layer and sandwich with the other slice.

DONE.

BON APPETITE:)

Banana toast

Summer is back in my valley. The sun glazes and sneakily peeks in between the mountains surrounding, carpeting an amber shade on my beautiful city. I never ever developed these sights even from the Calender images i carried through my childhood days. Some times i feel i am a little carried away in the beauty of this new world, but banana always reminisces of my Tropical Paradise Kerala. Banana is a tropical fruit and is used in cooking when its is raw and when it is ripe. You can make out several recipes out of it Soups to Desserts. Here we are into an easily & healthily way of breaking our morning fast.


Banana and health benefits here.


Ingredients:-Serves 1


Bread slices- 2
Banana-1big/ Plantain- 2
Butter/Ghee-1tspn
Nutmeg-2 pinch


Procedure:-

• Toast banana bread on a frying pan or using a toaster.
• After toasting take them off. 
• In the same pan spread butter/ghee.
• Cut banana into chunks and cook over it.
• When it is soft switch off the stove.
• Sandwich them with bread slices. You can dust some nutmeg powder if you like.
• Done.

BON APPETITE:)

Orange Marmalade

Ingredients:- Seville Orange	5
Lemon	1
Water	2ltr
Sugar	2kg

Directions :-

• Peel the oranges and lemon using a peeler. Store the peels for
  later use.
• Squeeze the juice out of the fruits into a bowl and dont throw
  the pith and pin.
• Get a muslin cloth ot a cotton cloth and tie together all the
  pith and pin except the peels into a bag with a twine.
• Now slice the peels into 1 inch length as shown in the image.
• Throw all into the juice and immerse the muslin bag in this
  juice. Marinate this overnight placing into the refigerator.
• Next day boil this in a thick bottomed pan with the musllin
  bag immersed and simmer for 2 hrs once boiled . This is to tenderize
  the peels and get the essence and flavor out of the bag's contents.
• Now switch off the stove and take the muslin bag out and let
  them cool. Once cooled squeeze out the juice from the bag into the pan
  where u have boiled the juice.
• After that add the sugar and stir till dissolved and let boil
  again for another 20 to 25 min till the sugar forms a thick syrup with
  the juice.
• Now take then pan off the stove and let cool.
• Store for further use with bread.

BON APETITE :)

Banana french toast

Ingredients:- (Serves 1)

White bread/Sandwichbread/Wheat bread-3

Butter-1 tblspn

Cinnamon pwdr- Half tspn

Egg - 1 (optional)

Maple syrup-2 tblspn

Banana sliced in round pieces-4

Direction:-

• Toast the bread using a toaster or oven or over a stove-top skillet.
• Butter one side of the bread and dust it with some cinnamon. 
• Slice into half diagonally.
• Pour the maple syrup over it and decorate with banana slices.
• Have it with some juice or hot chai.

BON APPETITE:)

Dosa/ Ghee Roast

Most of the people i met said many complaints about their dosa preparation. They found very much unsatisfied of their Dosa. Some complains that they turn too much brown, or they are too thick and not roasted properly and sometimes even too sour. This is because they are mostly not aware or even if they are aware they seems careless of the right proportion of  ingredients they have to put in and the time they take to ferment it. And ofcourse weather is doing very much impact on this sourness and texture of the outcome. If it is a too hot weather keep it outside till it rises and then take it into the refrigerator. If it is too cold you can leave it outside till it rises and then back to fridge.


The proportion 1:2 of rice and split black gram has got a lot to do with the fruition. 


Do you know that Dosa is a very easy breakfast to prepare when you have the batter ready. You can also prepare it in large amount and store it in fridge for 3-4 days.


Of course, you get the ready made batter and flour though. Flour mix of Eastern and Nirapara brands are real good.


Ingredients:-


Long Grain rice/ white rice/Raw rice(Pachari)-2 cups
Black gram(Uzhunnu)-1 cup
Fenugreek seeds-7seeds-1/4tspn
Salt-1tspn
Ghee-1tspn
Cooked rice-2 tblspn(not more) This gives a wonderful texture to your dosa.
Water-1 cup(1/2 cup more if necessary)


Directions:-

• Wash and soak rice and dal separately or together for 6-8hrs hours. Soak in fenugreek seeds together too.
• Grind them together with 1cup ( 1/2 cup more if necessary) of water and salt as required. Add the required amount of water depending on your desired thickness of the dosa.
• Dosa batter is usually thinner than idly batter.
• Keep it overnight to ferment. (Again depending on the weather; if it is too hot let it ferment for 6 hrs and if the batter has reasonably rose to a certain level place it into the fridge. Check the sourness also)
• Pour one spoon full of batter on a greased frying pan as thin as possible.
• Pour 1 tsp of ghee  on its edges. When the base is golden brown, turn the side and cook well.

Serve dosa hot with coconut( green/red) chutney or onion chutney (Ulli chammanthi). Dosa is also best suited with sambar or tomato chutney.


Replacing the long grain rice with idly rice and reducing the quantity of water to prepare the batter makes an idly batter  ready.


BON APPETITE :

Vellappam

Another easy breakfast if the batter is ready. 


Ingredients:-


Pachari(Long grain rice/white rice)- 2 cups
Coconut-1cup
Salt-1tspn
Yeast-half tspn
Sugar-1 tblspn(optional)
Water-11/2cup


Directions:-

• Soak rice in a bowl with double amount of water for 8hrs.
• Wash it after 8 hrs and blend it with other ingredients including water in a blender.
• Pour it into a very deep bowl of triple the size level of the batter poured in it because the batter rises up due to the action of yeast in it.
• Also the sugar if added to the batter will react with yeast to create toddy effect with little sourness and sweetness.
• This a special dish found in kerala eaten with egg roast, varutharacha mutta curry, black gram curry, Chicken stew or Veg stew,naadan chicken curry.

Cinnamon toast.

You know Cinnamon stands out of all spices in its “warmth” and ranks as the second often-used flavouring after pepper in North American kitchens. 

     Bakers use it liberally in cookies, party hosts in hot drinks, and in some bars now certain cocktails are served with a cinnamon stick to stir!

This aromatic spice mixes well with sugar, and butter toast sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon is for some very lazy cooks at wintry morning.Here is an easily made toast which can be munched up as a breakfast.

Ingredients:- (Serves 1)

White bread/Sandwichbread-3

Butter-1 tblspn

Sugar-1tblspn

Cinnamon pwdr- Half tspn

Direction:-

• Toast the bread using a toaster or oven or over a stove-top skillet.
• Mix the sugar and cinnamon in the ratio of your particular taste.
• Butter one side of the bread and dust some cinnamon sugar over it evenly.
• If you desire melt the sugar by placing back to oven or skillet.
• Slice into half diagonally
• Munch it:)

BON APETITE:)

Croissant Pudding/Bread butter pudding

Croissant is made with one layer of butter sheet over a pastry sheet and then rolled to shape for baking. This is a heavy but protein rich breakfast with sufficient calories going in for a hectic day ahead. Those who are allergic to egg you get egg substitutes from grocery stores.


Ingredients(for two)


Croissant - 4 big( Or bread- 4, one bread cubed into 9 along with the brown edges since it is the healthy part to consume) 
Butter- 2 tbspn
Milk - half cup
Heavy cream - half cup
Sugar - 3/4 cup
Water - 1/4 cup to make caramel
Egg- 2
Vanilla-1 tspn


Directions:-

• Caramelize the sugar. For this, boil the water with  sugar untill the water evaporates and the sugar starts turning golden brown. Do not burn it too much.
• Add the whipping cream and milk.Heat till it is warm(not hot). Take the mixture off the stove (If it is a bread butter pudding, melt the butter into this mixture).
• Beat the eggs and add into the warm mixture. Add the vanilla extract.
• Pour this mixture over the broken pieces of croissant(or bread cubes)which is arranged in an oven proof tray. Let it stand for 15 min, so that bread gets fully soaked.
• Now bake it in oven for about 20-30 min  at 350 F till the pudding is well set.
• Note: Place a rack on the middle of the oven and preheat. Place the baking tray on this rack and bake.

DONE.

BON APPETITE :)