Beef finger rolls

Ingredients:-


Beef - 1 lb/450 gms
Salt to taste
Chilly pwdr-2 tspn
Turmeric pwdr-1/2 tspn
Ginger sliced - 1 thumb size
Garlic sliced- 3 big pods


Cumin pwdr-1 tspn
Coriander pwdr-2 tspn
Coriander leaves- 1 handful
Bay leaves small- 2


Egg-1
Bread crumbs
Salt to taste( remember we have enough salt in beef)
Baking pwdr-1/2 tspn
Onion -1 big chopped
Tomato-2 small chopped


Directions:-

• Cut the beef into small chunks. Clean the beef with enough water and a little vinegar which helps in tenderizing the meat. 
• Cook the beef with the first set of ingredients. Cook with the lid on till the beef is well done. Then let the water fully escape.
• Now add the 2nd set of the ingredients and cook for 10 more min.
• Let them cool.
• Using a blender mince the cooked beef mixture .
• Mix the beef mixture with baking pwdr, salt, onion and tomato using hands.
• Make small 2 inch length rolls out of it.(as shown in the image)
• Dip them in egg and then on bread crumbs and lay on a greased aluminium foil  on a baking tray.
• Bake this for 20 min at 300 F.
• Serve hot with sour cream seasoned with minced parsley.
• DONE.

BON APPETITE:)

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:)

Unnakai/ Kai ada/ Unnaka/ Kai porichathu

I call this as grandma's recipe.. My grandma is quiet old now that she is banned to use these sweet kind dishes. But this was one among her master pieces. Whenever me and my cousins go for a sleep over at her place she would love to prepare this for us and would just sit and watch us hogging them like anything. She will be working on it till dinnertime. Then we all would just curl up under blankets to sleep..


This is a Malabar snack called with several names like unnaka, kai ada etc.


Requisites:-For 2 unnakai


Ripe Plantain /Naadan nenthrapazham-1
Coconut-3/4cup
Sugar-1tblspn or to taste
Ghee-1+2 tspn
Cardamom powdr-1/2tspn


Optional:
Cashews and rasins optional


Directions:-


The banana u use should not be too much ripened that they smash up. But they should have reached their maximum sweetness.

• Steam the banana for10min till they turn tender and cooked. Use a pressure cooker or a colander placed over boiling water closed with lid.
• Meanwhile heat pan with ghee in it. Saute cashews and raisins in ghee till the raisins pop up and cashews turn slightly brown. Add cardamom pwdr  and coconut to this. And it is quite optional that you roast the cashews and raisins in ghee, because many doesn't like that. 
• Now add sugar to this and roast these till the coconut starts turning slightly crispy and looks glazing.  This might take around 10min at medium flame. You would get a tempting aroma reaching your children playing in yard. This is the right consistency. When it cools make small oval balls out of it.
• Now take out the steamed banana and  let it cool. Smash them with hands very well. 
• Take half of it in your palm and roll them first, then flatten into an oval shaped patties. Place the coconut ball at center and join the sides of banana.
• Now heat 2 spoons of ghee in a pan and place them on it. Turn each side and let them turn slightly brown.
• You can also go for deep frying, if you like. But i chose a healthier version with less ghee, hence less fat.
• Thats it.. Your unnakai is ready to be served.

You can also scramble egg with sugar and mix up with the coconut for the filling.

ENJOY YOUR MEAL:)

Puffs- Kerala egg puffs

Requisites:-For 12 puffs


Puffs pastry sheets cut into 3 and then each long strips into 4. Must be 3x3 inches
Boiled egg-3, each cut into quarters.


For masala:


Onion finely chopped-1
Tomato finely chopped-1
Green peas soaked in water-1/2 cup

Green chilli-2blspn

Coriander leaves chopped-2 t

Chilly pwdr- 1 tspn
Turmeric pwdr-1/2 tspn
Coriander pwdr-1 tspn
Garam masala-1/2 tspn
Salt to taste


Directions:-

• Boil the egg and cut them into four parts and keep aside.
• For masala, saute onions in some oil heated over a medium flame stove till transparent.
• Then add tomato , coriander, green chilli, green peas and salt. Cook them. May be around 7 min.
• Now add the dry spices and saute them till the red color turns dark brown. Do this at a high flame. This is special part that adds an extra taste and spiciness to your masala. So do not skip this.
• Now you must take your 3x3 inch pastry sheets cut and kept aside. Grease them on both sides and spread into a long sheet using a rolling pin.(as shown in images)
• Fill 1 heaped spoon of masala at 1 inch away from one end of the rolled sheet. Place one quarter egg too. Then roll them, meanwhile sticking the sides on each rolling so that masala doesn't peek out.
• Now grease your baking tray and place them on it.
• Bake at 375 F for 20 to 30 min. Check them in between if they have turned too brown in between. They would also turn flaky.
• DONE..

BON APPETITE :).

Elaanji pollichathu / Kerala snack

Ooohh myy... my favorite dish. Soon yours. This is a crepe filled with coconut which is sweetened with sugar or jaggeri. The main flavor diffuser is Elaanji (cardamom) and hence the name. It is often called "LOVE LETTER" since it wraps something sweet inside taking the minds of consumers to even love the cook ;-) . I portray the taste so somehow. Ghee is another factor making us salivate.

Ingredients:-(Serves-2)

All purpose flour/maida-1 cup

Egg-1

Salt-half tspn

Water- half cup

Coconut-One cup

Split black gram-1 tspn

Sugar/Jaggeri- 3tspns

Cardomom powder-1/4tspn(4 pods)

Ghee- 1tspn

Direction:-

• Make a batter of AP flour, beaten egg, salt and water.
• Prepare dosas over a nonstick pan.
• Keep aside.
• On the same pan heat ghee and add grams.
• Cook till golden brown.
• Add coconut and give a stir till the coconut heats up and becomes soggy. Do not cook it.
• Take off from the stove and add sugar.
• Take 2 tblspns of coconut and spread a wide line through the middle of the dosa.
• Wrap it up.
• Eat.

BON APPETITE :)

Pazham porichathu / Banana fritters

Requisites:-

Naadan Nenthrapazham/Long plantain-1 split into four lengthwise.


All purpose flour-1 cup
Water-1/4th cup
Egg-1
Sugar-1 tblpsn(optional) 
Turmeric-1pinch to give a yellow color
Salt to taste


Directions:-

• Mix in all the ingredients except banana to form a thick batter. IF it appears loose add in more flour. Remove all lumps with your hands.
• Now heat oil in a pan.
• Test the temperature of the oil by dropping batter. If it sizzles and pop up the temperature is good enough to cook. But if it turns brown fast, then wait for sometime simmering the flame. 
• Now dip the banana slice in batter to form a thick coating and slide them into the hot oil. Use your hands or a spoon.
• When the banana turns golden brown remove from heat.
• Serve hot with Chai on evening times.
• If you like a spicy coating avoid sugar and add cumin seeds with chilly flakes.

BON APPETITE:)

Ariyunda

Ingredients:-


Parboiled rice-prefer matta-one cup
Jaggeri-half cup(add more to your taste)
Coconut-one cup
Cardomom pods-2
Ghee-1tspn


Directions:-

• Heat ghee in a pan. 
• Add the peeled cardamom and diffuse the flavor to ghee by stirring for 2 min.
• Add the rice and fry for 10min or more till they pop up and turns browner. They may make a sound while popping up. They are fit for the recipe when they become crunchy and doubles the quantity when they pop up.
• Now let cool and add grated jaggeri and coconut. (Grate jaggeri using knife).
• Now take this to your blender and blitz till they become sandy texture.
• Mold them into small balls with hands. Can add nuts and raisins if you desire.
• Done.

BON APPETITE:)

Aval varuthathu

Ingredients:-(Serves 1/ Cooking time 6 min)


Rice flakes- 1 cup
Coconut grated- 3/4 cup
Jaggeri /Brown sugar-Half cup( on your taste)
Ghee- 1 tblspn
Raisins(unakka munthiri)-2 tspn
Cashews-20 halves.
Banana cut into small bites-half cup


Procedure:-

• Heat ghee in a pan at medium
• Fry the flakes till crispy for 5 min.
• Move into a bowl
• Add coconut to the hot pan and warm it up.JUST WARM.
• Move into the Bowl with flakes.
• Powder the jaggeri with a grater.
• Add it to the flakes. Mix three with spoon or hand.
• Serve with raisins and cashews adorned on top. 
• Can add banana cut into bite-able chunks to this, if you like.

BON APPETITE:)