Marias Menu » Christmas Recipes

No Bake Cheese Dessert With Caramel Topping

Maria — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 06:24:01 +0000

Have you finalised your Christmas Menu yet? Is there a vacant spot for a dessert? If so, here’s a quick and simple dessert. No baking, no cooking (almost), just assemble the layers and a yummy dessert is ready! I got this recipe from my friend, Anila. She got it from one of her friends… A big thank you to whoever discovered this recipe :) Since you’re busy with holiday preps, I’m not taking much of your time.

But before you go…

Jose & myself wish you and your loved ones a Merry Christmas! May this festive season bring you joy, happiness & peace!

Shall we go to the recipe?

No Bake Cheese & Cake Layered Dessert with Caramel Topping

Recipe type: Dessert

Author: Maria Jose

Prep time: 20 mins

Cook time: 5 mins

Total time: 25 mins

Serves: 8-10

Ingredients

For Base Layer
Pound Cake – 1 (I used Sara Lee’s All Purpose Pound Cake, 300gm)
Milk/Sugar Syrup – 2-3 tbsp
For Middle Layer
Kiri Cheese – 6 squares/108 gms (refer notes)
Dream Whip Sachet (whipping cream powder) – 2 small (refer notes)
Thick Cream – 125 ml (I used Puck brand)
For Top Layer
Creme Caramel Pudding Mix – 2 packets
Coca-Cola – 330 ml can

Instructions

Slice the pound cake & layer in a pudding dish. Brush the milk/sugar syrup over the cake to moisten it.
Whip the whipping cream powder as per package instructions. Add thick cream & cheese to the whipped cream & beat well using electric beater till its combined well. Spread this mixture on top of the cake layer. Keep it in the fridge while you make the top layer.
Add Coca-Cola to the contents (sugar syrup+pudding mix) of Creme Caramel packets. Mix well & let it boil. Remove from fire. Allow to cool for sometime. Keep a close eye to make sure that it doesnt get set. Pour this over the cream & cheese layer. Return to fridge & let it set for 5-6 hours or overnight. Slice & serve chilled.

Notes

Though I’ve tried this only with Kiri Cheese, I guess you can substitute it with Cream Cheese. If you are using liquid whipping cream instead of dream whip you will need 500 ml (approx). 1 packet of creme caramel I used serves around 4-5 people.

If the top layer (Caramel pudding mix+coke) tends to thicken, heat it again and cool it slightly and pour over the middle layer.

For eggless version, you can use an eggless cake for the base.

You can store it in the fridge upto 3 days.

Why not leave a comment? Quick, head on over to MariasMenu.com for more tasty, delicious and simple recipes! Remember to check out the Recipe Index to find some easy-to-cook dishes. Don’t forget to tell your friends and family about MariasMenu!

Cinnamon Rolls

Maria — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 20:19:37 +0000

The white star hanging in the verandah of my parents home, welcomed me when I landed in Kerala a few weeks ago. Yep, I went home for a small holiday. I wanted to tell you before I left, but some confusion at the last minute and it didn’t happen. Anyways, how’s your Xmas preps going on?

Here’s something that you can include in your Xmas goodie bag to gift your friends & family. Now, what shall I write about Cinnamon Rolls…. I’ve a soft corner towards cinnamon rolls or should I say Cinnabon? I still remember the day I had Cinnamon rolls for the first time, 31st Jan, 2005. That’s the day I landed in Bahrain for the first time, as a newly wed :) Cinnabon was the first place that Jose took me in Bahrain. Even today when I see a Cinnabon shop, I remember my first day in Bahrain!

I fell in love with Cinnamon Rolls from that day and that love affair is still going strong. I never thought I’ll bake these at home, because I considered it too complicated to bake @ home. Anyhow, I decided to give it a try, because I wanted to bake something different from the usual cakes. The first time I baked it, I wasn’t very happy with the results. But the simplicity and ease of making it motivated me to try again. I’m glad I gave it a second chance. Now, this will be a regular in my baking list. Hope you will also enjoy these sweet little Cinnamon Rolls.

Btw, thank you so much for participating in our survey. We are very happy to see the overwhelming response. We are still going through over 500 responses. We are listening to you & trying our best to improve your experience @ MariasMenu.

Here you go…

Cinnamon Rolls

Author: Maria

Prep time: 2 hours

Cook time: 25 mins

Total time: 2 hours 25 mins

Serves: 7-8

Ingredients

Milk – 1/4 cup
Water – 1/4 cup
Butter – 1 tbsp (14 gms)
Salt – 1/4 tsp
Plain Flour – 1 1/2 cups
Yeast – 1 1/8 tsp (refer notes)
Sugar – 1/8 cup ( 2 tbsp approx)
Egg – 1, lightly beaten
Filling
Butter – 1 1/2 tbsp, melted
Cinnamon Powder – 1/2 tbsp
Brown Sugar – 3-4 tbsp (I used dark brown sugar)
Frosting
Icing sugar – 1/2 cup
Melted Butter – 3/4 – 1 tbsp
Vanilla essence – 1/8 tsp
Milk/Water – 3/4 – 1tbsp (I used water)
Candied Walnuts
Brown sugar – 1 1/2 tbsp
Walnuts – a handful

Instructions

Preheat the oven @ 180 C for 10 mins, before baking.
Mix together salt, flour, yeast & sugar. Heat milk, water & butter till the butter melts. Add dry ingredients & beaten egg to the wet ingredients. Mix together to make a dough. Transfer the dough to a floured surface & knead it for a few minutes, till you get a smooth dough (without stickiness). Transfer the dough to an oiled vessel & cover it with a cling film. Let it rest till the dough doubles (about 1.5-2 hrs).
Combine the brown sugar & cinnamon for the filling. Punch down the risen dough & roll it out into a rectangle on a floured surface. Smear the dough with melted butter. Sprinkle brown sugar & cinnamon mix evenly over the dough. Roll the dough up into a log starting at the long side. Press together the edges to seal it. Depending on the size you want (mini or medium size rolls), cut the dough using a serrated knife. Place the rolls cut side down into a greased baking pan. Cover, and let rise in a warm place until almost doubled, about 30-45 minutes.
Bake the rolls in the preheated oven for around 20-25 mins. Meanwhile make the icing by mixing together all ingredients listed under ‘frosting’.
Allow the baked rolls to cool for 10 mins & spread the frosting over the baked rolls. Top it with candied walnuts
To make candied walnuts, melt the sugar with 1 tsp of water. When it melts, add the chopped walnuts & mix well. Make sure the walnuts are coated with melted sugar. Spread it on al.foil & let it cool. Break it into small pieces.

Notes

The original recipe calls for active dry yeast but I used Instant yeast. You can adjust the qty of brown sugar and cinnamon for the filling to suit your taste. I prefer mini rolls,so cut the rolls into 1 inch size. I got around 15 mini cinnamon rolls from the above qty. I stored the frosted cinnamon rolls @ room temp for 2 days in an airtight container. Microwave the rolls for a few seconds before serving.

Recipe adapted from here.

Easter Chicken Curry

Maria — Sat, 23 Apr 2011 14:21:17 +0000

Hows the Easter preps going on? Waiting to break your lent & gorge on all the meat you could lay your eyes on, eh ;) Here is an Easter special chicken recipe. Now if you ask me, why it’s called Easter chicken, I’m clueless. I got this recipe from my aunt, Tesschechy, during my last vacation. I was hunting for new recipes in her recipe diaries (btw, she has around 10-15 of such diaries) I caught sight of this one. At first glance, I thought it’s a bit complex & lengthy one, so decided not to cut & paste. But she convinced me that this is a must try recipe & she even made it for me to prove her point. She proved her point pretty well!

This recipe is something you wont cook on a daily basis. It’s a rich curry & the cooking time is a bit longer than the usual curries. So I guess it’s called Easter chicken, because it’s usually made on special occasions & whoever came up with the original recipe, made it on a Easter day :) Now, does that make any sense? People often say that my logical reasoning is weird, but I guess it works for me ;)

Btw, I’m not very happy with this picture. I think I wasnt able to capture it well. Hey, did I tell you? We moved to a new apartment & here I’m yet to find a perfect place for my photo shoot. Also “somebody” decided to play around with my camera, so I ended up with all different settings. Now, I just dont know how to go back to the original settings. Too many things to figure out, sigh! Somehow blaming others for all things gone wrong, gives you immense happiness & satisfaction, what say ;)?

On another note, I’m so happy to share with you that this little space crossed the mark of 10,000 + page views per day. It was a great feeling & it’s all because of YOU. Thank You very much for your support & encouragement.

Here’s wishing you & your loved ones a Happy & Blessed Easter! May the risen Christ bless you with peace, happiness & prosperity!

One more thing, just because its called Easter chicken doesnt mean, you can make this only on Easter day. You can make it for any special occasion or make it on an ordinary day & turn that into a special one :) Btw, you can also check out the party menu here, if in case you are still undecided about the Easter menu.

Now, shall we go to the recipe?

Easter Chicken Curry

Recipe type: Main Dish

Author: Maria Jose

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 25 mins

Total time: 35 mins

Serves: 4

Ingredients

Chicken – 500 gm, cut into medium size pieces
To grind:
Kashmiri chilli powder – 1 tbsp
Coriander powder – 1 tbsp
Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp
Garlic chopped – 3 tsp
Ginger chopped – 2 tsp
Pepper powder – 1/2 tsp
Cloves – 4
Cardamom – 2
Cinnamon – a small stick
Fennel seeds (perumjeerakam) – 1/2 tsp
Poppy seeds (kashakasha) – 1/2 tsp
For Masala
Onion – 3 medium, finely sliced
Small onion (shallots) – 6, finely sliced
Tomato – 1, chopped
Non-sour yogurt (pulikkatha thairu)- 1/4 cup
Boiling water – 3/4 cup
Thick coconut milk – 1/2 cup
Cashew paste – 2 tbsp
For garnishing
Boiled egg – 1
Fried cashews – a handful

Instructions

Grind the ingredients listed under ‘to grind’ label, with 2 tbsp water, to a fine paste. Take half of the ground paste & apply to the cleaned chicken pieces. Add salt also to the marinated chicken & keep it aside for half an hour. Meanwhile heat oil in a pan & add sliced onions & salt. Cook till it becomes golden brown in color. Remove half of the cooked onions to another plate & keep it aside. Add small onions to the onions in the cooking pan. Cook for a few minutes. Add tomato & cook till it becomes soft. Add non sour yogurt to this & mix well. Add remaining half of the ground masala & fry it till the oil starts appearing. Add marinated chicken pieces to this & mix well. Add 3/4 cup of boiling water and cover and cook the chicken.
Add cashew paste and the kept aside cooked onions to thick coconut milk. Stir well. When the chicken is almost cooked, add coconut milk mixture to the curry. Cook till the gravy becomes thick and the chicken pieces are coated well with the masala. The consistency of this curry is semi dry chicken, it has a pasty masala.
Garnish the cooked chicken with boiled egg & fried cashew. Serve hot with pulao/ghee rice/appam/roti etc;

Notes

This curry is towards a spicier side, so please adjust the measurements to suit your taste. I used coconut oil for this recipe. If you want to make it extra special, you can use ghee.

Chocolate Fudge Brownie Cookies

Maria — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 16:38:50 +0000

“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven. A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;” (Ecclesiastes: 3)

Looks like it’s blogging season again! Its time for me to start bombarding your inbox again, with updates from Mariasmenu :) Before that …
“I can no other answer make, but, thanks, and thanks” - William Shakespeare
I’m at loss of words to thank you, so I decided to borrow some words from wiser people. In my previous post I told you I was double minded about sharing what had happened. I’m glad that I shared it with you. Your support & prayers & blessings indeed helped & strengthened us. You were kind enough to share your experience with us too. We felt truly blessed to receive so much prayers, love & care from you. Once again thanks a billion for your support & prayers.

With new hopes and new dreams for this year, let me share the first food post of 2011 with you. I wanted to start with something sweet and this cookie recipe has been in draft for long time. Since its chocolate it can be included in the “V” day celebration also. I Know its a bit late, but never mind ;) That reminds me… I didnt ask you… what are your plans for the V day? Do you you usually celebrate or do you think its over rated?

I know what you are wondering… whether me and Jose celebrate it or not. We are neither here nor there. We don’t celebrate it nor denounce it. It’s like a spur of the moment thing. Anyways this year with both of us in different places, (Jose is in Bahrain & I’m in Cochin) there’s no celebration as such. That doesn’t stop me from wishing you a Very Happy Valentines Day. Have fun!

So here comes our recipe. It’s a cookie version of brownie. Though its a pretty simple & easy one, the addition of 3 different types of chocolate makes it special too :). Now you feel like having a bite into that chocolatey goodness with a glass of chilled milk, dont you ;)

Here you go:

Chocolate Fudge Brownie Cookies

Recipe type: Cookies

Author: Maria Jose

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 12 mins

Total time: 22 mins

Serves: 40

Ingredients

Butter – 250gm, softened
Vanilla essence – 1 tsp
Caster sugar- 3/4 cup (165gm)
Firmly packed brown sugar – 3/4 cup 9165 gm)
Egg – 1 @ room temp
Plain Flour – 2 cups
Cocoa powder – 1/4 cup (25gm)
Bicarbonate of soda – 1 tsp
Finely chopped roasted hazelnuts – 1/3 cup (45gm)
Coarsely chopped dark eating chocolate – 2/3 cup (120 gm)
Coarsely chopped milk eating chocolate – 2/3 cup (120 gm)
Coarsely chopped white eating chocolate – 2/3 cup (120gm)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 180 C/ 160 C fan-forced. Grease oven trays & line with baking paper. Beat butter, extract, sugars & egg in a small bowl with electric mixer until light & fluffy; transfer to large bowl. Stir in sifted flour, cocoa & soda in two batches. Stir in nuts & chocolate. Roll level tablespoons of dough into balls; place about 5 cm apart on oven trays. Bake about 12 mins. Cool on trays.
Makes about 48

Notes

I made only half the qty. I used Hershey’s Semi sweet choc chips, milk choc chips & white choc chips. I used soft brown sugar. I didnt use any nuts. My cookies were ready in 7-10 mins. I lined the baking tray first with aluminium foil & then with baking/parchment paper. This can be stored @ room temp in an airtight container for almost 2 weeks. I used soft light brown sugar.
Substitution for Caster sugar:
to get 1 cup caster sugar. process 1 cup granulated sugar (usual sugar) in a food processor/mixer until fine, but don’t powder it like icing sugar. (source: http://www.joyofbaking.com/IngredientSubstitution.html)
Recipe source:
Australian Women’s Weekly Cookies & Biscuits

Christmas / Xmas Fruit Cake/ Kerala Plum Cake

Maria — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 13:47:52 +0000

It’s been some time right? No, this time I wasnt lazy, I was a bit busy. I myself cant believe that I was busy, some of my friends were saying “even Maria is so busy these days, what has the world come to” ;) Looks like it’ll be like this for the next few days too…So I thought I’ll just drop in and say hi and share this recipe for the traditional Christmas Fruit Cake.

Coming to think of it, I was always a hard core tea cake fan and used to wonder how can somebody like plum cake/fruit cake. It was changed only a few years ago when I baked a fruit cake myself just for the heck of it and I became an instant convert at the first bite itself. But I still don’t like the store bought plum cakes that we get back home in Kerala. I think they are overloaded/crowded with raisins. This recipe suits me well, it has fruits but not overpowering the cake portion.

Before going into the details of this recipe, let me ask you something. Did you notice our new look? How’s it? Well, if you’re thinking I was busy working on the new outfit for MariasMenu, I’m sorry to disappoint you. It’s all done by Jose, wait I did my part, actually what I’m good at. Just demanding what I want in the site ;) So if you like it, the credit goes to you know who…me,because the idea is mine right ;) We’ve added some new pages like upcoming book ,Buzz section & reader’s T&T (tried & tested). Please check out when time permits, ok?

So what were we talking about….right, fruit cake. I got this recipe a few months back from my friend Sumi. It’s her mom’s recipe. I had this when I visited her and I made sure that she mailed me the recipe in a few days :) I made it first with dates, since I was flooded with dates at that time & was very happy with the result. One another thing I’m happy about is the color of the cake. The color of the cake very much depends on the color of the caramel you make. I used to play it safe with caramel and always ended up with golden brown color caramel. But in this recipe, it was specifically stated to make a dark caramel & I decided to let my hair loose. When I tasted the caramel, it had a slight bitter taste and I was worried whether it’ll spoil the cake, but nothing like that happened & in fact I’m very happy with the color, texture & almost everything :) Thanks a ton Sumi for sharing your mom’s wonderful recipe with me.

Update on 13/12/2011: I’ve got many queries asking about using fruit juice instead of alcohol. One of the readers, Bindu tried an alcohol free version & she was kind enough to share it here. I’ve given a alcohol free version update in the end. Also please refer to Bindu’s comment below. Thank you so much Bindu!

Please see the picture of Fruit cake made by Anupama Antony, based on the above recipe. Thanks a lot Anupama :)

Check out other Xmas recipes:

Also check out the Christmas Menu.

Here goes the recipe:

Christmas / Xmas Fruit Cake/ Kerala Plum Cake

Recipe type: Cake

Author: Maria Jose

Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: 45 mins

Total time: 1 hour

Serves: 12-15

Ingredients

For Soaking:
Mixed fruits – 3 cups
Rum/Brandy – 1.5 cups (I used dark rum)
For Caramel:
Sugar – 1/2 cup
Water – 1 tbsp
Warm water – 1/4 cup
For Cake:
Plain flour (maida) – 2 cups
Baking powder – 1 1/4 tsp
Baking soda – 1/2 tsp
Sugar – 1 cup+ 2 tbsp
Unsalted Butter – 250 gms (1 cup + 2 tbsp, approx) @ room temp
Eggs – 4 @ room temp
Vanilla essence – 2 tsp
Jam – 1 tbsp (I used apricot)
For Spice Powder:
Cloves – 2
Cardamom – 2
Cinnamon – a small piece
Nutmeg – a small piece

Instructions

Soaking of Fruits
I used a combination of sultanas, seedless raisins,currants & candied orange & lemon peel. I didn’t chop the fruits & used it as such. You can use dried fruits of your choice. If you are using dates/apricots etc; chop it into small pieces & soak it. I soaked it for almost 1.5 months. Try to soak it for a minimum of 1 week, at least. Shake the jar of soaked fruits once in a while.
Caramel Preparation:
Combine 1/2 cup sugar & 1 tbsp water in a sauce pan. Heat it & let the sugar melt. When the color of the melted sugar becomes dark brown, remove the pan from fire & add 1/4 cup warm water to this. You need to be very careful at this stage since the water tends to splash & can cause burns. Bring it back to the heat & boil for a few more mins, 3-4 mins. Remove from fire & let it cool completely. You can prepare the caramel in advance & refrigerate it. Check out the caramel picture at Annita’s place, if you want to get an idea about the colour.
Spice Powder:
Grind all the spices with a pinch of sugar, to a fine powder & keep aside.
Cake Preparation:
Preheat the oven @ 180 C for 10-15 mins, before baking.
Drain the soaked fruits & keep aside. Retain 4 tbsp from the drained liquor. Toss the drained fruits in 1-2 tbsp of flour. (This will prevent the fruits from sinking to the bottom of the cake). Sift the plain flour with baking powder & baking soda. Powder the sugar & keep aside. Separate the yolks & white of the eggs. Beat egg whites till soft peaks form. Keep aside. Beat the egg yolks & add the softened butter to it. Beat it till it forms a smooth paste. Add powdered sugar to this, gradually. Beat after each addition. When it becomes smooth add vanilla essence & cooled caramel & spice powder & beat again. Add the sifted flour in 2 batches. Beat after each addition. Add jam & combine.
Fold in the beaten egg whites in 2 parts & combine till no white streaks are visible. Fold in the soaked fruits & 4 tbsp of retained liquor. Grease the baking dish (refer notes) & line with baking paper. Pour the batter into the prepared tins. Bake in the pre heated oven for 40-45 mins or until the skewer inserted comes out clean. The baking time can vary depending on the oven & also the size of the tin used.
Alcohol free version:
Soak 3 cups of fruits in 1.5 cups of fresh orange juice. Leave it overnight @ room temp. The rest of the recipe is same.

Notes

I used a 9 inch round tin & 9 inch loaf tin for baking the above qty. If you feel that the top of the cake is getting over browned, cover it loosely with aluminium foil.You can store the cake @ room temp, in an air tight container for up to 2 weeks. However you can refrigerate it for a month in an air tight container.
The 4tbsp of retained rum added in the end along with the fruits, can be reduced to suit your taste. I like that extra rum taste ;) and hence added 4 tbsp. You can add anything between 1-4 tbsp or skip.
For Bahrain Readers:
I used Heritage brand Mixed fruit packet from Al Jazira supermarket & I used Captain Morgan dark rum for soaking the fruits.

Homemade Grape Wine

Maria — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 19:10:26 +0000

Whenever I meet a new person, after the initial chit chat, I’m faced with these questions:

First, “what do you do… where do you work”? Nope, I don’t work…

And here comes the second question” You have kids… you’re busy with baby?” Nope again…

Here comes the million $ question “so what exactly you do sitting at home, how do you spend your time”?

I used to say reading,browsing blah blah…but these days I say that I’ve a blog. I do this for two reasons: either they don’t have a clue about it and stop bothering me…or they want to know what it is, how it is etc and thereby stop asking all personal stuff :)

The only common question that comes from the above two category is “so do you make any money from this?” hhmmm nope again (here I would like to clarify something, ours is a paid site and that cost is covered with the advertisements) but then I don’t make a living out of this. Then some people do ask me why am I doing this, if I don’t earn anything… if there is no benefit? I usually reply with a smile. But then, there are somethings which give you more happiness than money, right ? :)

If you ask any food blogger, whether they have gained anything from their blog, apart from the money (if they earn any), I’m sure they will all come up with a long list :). That might include… new friends, immense satisfaction from their readers comments, thrill when they see their stats going up ;) and most importantly having tried many new recipes which they wouldn’t have tried otherwise.

This is one such recipe. I wouldn’t have ever made this wine, if I wasn’t a food blogger, that’s for sure. During Xmas time, I receive mails asking for a wine recipe. So last Xmas I thought I will give it a try and got the recipe from the expert. Yep, my mother in law is an expert in wine making. She has been making it for such a long time and it’s really awesome. So I got the recipe from her and during the last Xmas we made our first batch of home made wine :) I was very much excited about the whole thing and couldn’t wait to taste it. That’s the one thing I dont like much about it…you have to wait at least a month to taste the end result. Otherwise its really super easy to make wine, after all to quote one of my cousins “well… if Maria can make wine, anybody can make it” ;)

Here is the recipe:

Black grapes – 1 kg
Sugar – 650 – 800 gm (refer notes)
Yeast – 1 teaspoon
Water (boiled and cooled completely) – 1.5 litres
Wheat kernels (gothambu mani) – 1 tablespoon

Wash the grapes well. Take clean big glass or porcelain jar of 3 litre size. Put the grapes into the jar and crush it well, using your hands. Add all the other ingredients to the crushed grapes. Cover the jar tightly with the lid. Store it, in a dark place . Keep it like that for 1 week. After one week, start stirring it with wooden spoon (Not metal) everyday until 21 days. (Try to do it at same time everyday. Dont stir for the next 2 days). On 24th day, drain the clear wine and leave behind the sediment in the bottom. Bottle it in colored glass bottles, this will help to retain the color of the wine. Refrigerate and serve chilled.

Update on 22/04/2010: I’ve been getting mails/comments asking about wheat kernels (gothambu mani). Hence I thought I will put a picture here, so you will get an idea. Hope this helps. Please see the picture below.

Notes: The color of the wine very much depends on the type of grapes. We used Australian Black seedless grapes. Also, the quantity of sugar should be adjusted as per the sweetness of the grapes used. Do a taste test of the grapes first, and then add sugar accordingly. Please note that the water to be used in this recipe should be boiled and cooled well. If you miss to stir the wine everyday, dont worry about it. I’ve missed it a few days and still it turned out well. However, please try to stir it daily.

Mutton Roast

Maria — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 15:49:49 +0000

All set for Easter? Menu decided? I wanted to post a dessert recipe, a pudding recipe to be specific, as an Easter post. Couldn’t find the recipe which I was looking for, ended up with another dessert recipe, which turned out to be a disaster :(. So long story short, mutton got lucky today and here it is :)

It’s a pretty basic recipe but turned out to be nice and too easy to make. No long list of ingredients and less time too. Something which I loved about it, after my dessert experiment proving to be costly in terms of time & effort.

Since you are busy with Easter preparations, am not taking much of your time. Going straight to the recipe, but before that…

We wish you and your loved ones a Blessed Easter! May the risen Lord shower his blessings upon you and your family!

Have fun!

This is an old pic…It brings me memories of Easter celebrations back home. Thought I will share it with you :)

Here is the recipe:

Mutton – 1 kg (cut into med size pieces)
Onion – 4, finely sliced
Ginger & garlic paste – 3 tsp, each
Crushed small onion – 6
Red chilly powder – 1- 1 1/2 tbsp
Turmeric powder – 3/4 tsp
Garam masala – 1- 1 1/2 tsp
Fennel powder (perumjeerakam podichathu) – 1/2 – 1 tsp
Water – 1/4-1/2 cup
Salt
Oil
Curry leaves

Heat oil in a pressure cooker and add finely sliced onions. Saute till it becomes golden brown colour. Add ginger & garlic paste & crushed small onion & curry leaves. Fry for a few minutes. Mix the masala powders with a little oil or water and add to the curry. When the raw smell of masala is gone & oils starts appearing, add cleaned mutton pieces and salt. Mix well & saute for 5 minutes. Add water & cover and cook till the mutton is done.

If there is excess water, let it evaporate completely. Transfer the curry to a non stick pan and cook on low flame till it is roasted well. (If your pressure cooker is non stick, you can do this process in the cooker itself.)

Serve with rice/roti/appam.

Note: I used Kashmiri chilly powder & coconut oil.

Recipe source: Lakshmi Nair, Magic Oven, Kairali Tv

Also check out the party menu here.