Kanji & payar is a welcome change from our usual chappathi for dinner. Hot kanji sprinkled with salt & grated coconut, along with a little bit overcooked payar ( I like my payar to be a bit pasty with kanji) is a taste that I find hard to trade for any fancy dish.

Kanji & vanpayar (rose moong dal or red cow peas) is a new combo to me. Back home we usually have kanji with cherupayar (green moong dal). But last time when we went to India, my mother in law made vanpayar with kanji. Thats the first time I had that combo, I usually have  vanpayar with rice and kachimoru . Anyways I fell in love with mummy’s new combo and there are two main reasons for that: vanpayar is supposedly easier on tummy compared to cherupayar and this preparation doesnt have coconut, so its healthy without any compromise on the taste, isnt that great?? The secret of its taste is in the ground masala, I just love it when I fry this masala in coconut oil, try it and you will know what am talking about :)

One more thing before going to the recipe…though I’ve written “olathiyathu” in title, am not sure whether it is olathiyathu. Since coconut is not added, it’s not a thoran and I haven’t heard anybody saying vanpayar mezhukkuperatti, so I just wrote olathiyathu. Please do share your thoughts on the same…

Here is mummy’s recipe for vanpayar:

1. Vanpayar (red dal) – 1 cup
2. Small onion – 5-7
   Garlic – 2-3
   Black pepper – 1/4 – 1/2 tsp
   Red chili – 2-3
   Curry leaves
3. Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp
4. Salt
   Mustard – 1/4 tsp
5. Coconut oil

Wash and clean the vanpayar. Pressure cook vanpayar in 2 – 2 1/2 cups water ( I cook it in high flame for 4-5 whistles and keep it closed for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, open the cooker and drain the water completely). Grind together number 2 ingredients (It will be great, if you can crush it using mortar & pestle). Heat oil in a pan and splutter mustard. Add ground masala, turmeric powder and curry leaves & fry it for 1-2 minutes. Add cooked payar & salt. Mix everything well. Add around 1/4 cup (or less) of  water & combine. Cook till the water is dried. Serve hot with kanji or rice.

Notes: As you can see in the picture, I like payar to be mashed and soft. If you dont want it to be pasty, adjust the cooking time accordingly and also adjust the quantity of water that you add to the cooked payar.

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I should stick to my new year resolution at least for a week right ;) ? This parippu (dal) curry is a typical Kerala dish. It’s one of the main dishes of Onasadhya as well. We call it “parippu chaaru” at home. If there is parippu chaaru, ghee and pappad, it’s almost like a mini sadya for me. I just love the smell of ghee drizzled over parippu, it increases my appetite beyond limits. Usually I don’t eat much rice, but with this I wouldn’t even mind a 2nd or 3rd helping :) Actually back home if parippu chaaru is made for lunch, extra rice will be made, since everybody tends to have more servings of rice with this. (see am not the only guilty person here ;) )

I’m happy to send this dish for FIC- Yellow, hosted by Sunshinemom. Food in colours is a unique event started by Sunshinemom of TongueTicklers. This event celebrates food with a different colour each month. This month’s colour is Yellow and here goes my yellow beauty :)

1. Cheruparippu (moong dal) – 100 gm (approximately 1 cup)
2. Grated coconut – half of one coconut
   Jeera – 1/2 tsp
   Green chilli – 2-3
   Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp
3. Ghee/coconut oil – 2-3 tsp
4. Water – 1/2 ltr
5. Small onion – 3-4
   Mustard seeds – a pinch
   Red chilli – 2
   Curry leaves
6. Salt

Grind together number 2 ingredients. Roast the moong dal in a heavy bottomed pan (without oil). Boil half a litre water and add the roasted dal to this. Cook till the dal is done. Mash it well or you can just run it in a food processor or blender for a few seconds. Add ground paste, salt and 1/2 – 1 cup water to the mashed dal and let it boil. Remove from heat.

Heat oil/ghee in another pan and splutter mustard seeds. Add small onion, curry leaves and red chilli. Fry till small onion becomes golden brown. Pour over cooked dal. Serve with rice and pappad, wait… don’t start eating… drizzle some ghee on the curry, now you are ready to eat :)

Notes: I recommend using ghee for this recipe.

Source: Vanitha

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A veg post after a long time. Its a very basic recipe with no frills.

I should say dal (lentils) is kind of new on our menu. Both of us didn’t prefer dal, may be because we had too much of it during our hostel days.

It all changed because of my dear friend Preeta, who was also my neighbor till a few months back (she relocated to India recently). We used to have tea time chatting sessions regularly and one of our major topics of discussion was food. Since she is from North of India & me from south, we used to discuss the different food habits, preparations etc;  Once during our usual chatting session, she said she made dal makhni that day & I told her I’ve never had that. She was so surprised (or shall i say shocked?) to hear that. She immediately packed some dal makhni for me. My whole perception about dal was changed with a spoonful of Preeta’s dal makhni :) and I was hoping that it will be the same for hubby also…though he was a bit hesitant in the beginning to try it, I somehow succeeded in convincing him and he also fell in love with it.

That gave me the inspiration to try out different dal recipes, I started with her dal makhni itself (recipe coming soon). I was so happy that we both like dal now, because I can now experiment with one more ingredient which can be prepared in many ways & moreover its healthy too.

So after ice breaking session  with Preeta’s dal makhni, I made an effort to know it more and have started noticing dal recipes and that’s how I got this one. This was shown on a TV cookery show. I liked it because of its simplicity.

Preeta dear, thanks once again for your wonderful dal makhni and for helping us to change our attitude towards dal :) and I miss our chatting sessions a lot :( . Wishing you the best…

Please check out the dal palak made by Josphine, based on the above recipe. Thank you so much Josphine :)

Here is the recipe:

1. Moong Dal – 1 cup
2. Spinach leaves/Palak – 1 cup, chopped
3. Onion – 2, chopped
   Garlic – 4,5 pieces crushed
   Green chili -4,5
4. Tomato – 2,chopped
5. Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp
6. Jeera – 1/2 tsp
7. Garam masala – 1/2 – 1 tsp
8. Coconut milk – 3/4 cup, medium thick (optional)

Roast moong dal in a saucepan without oil for 5-7 minutes. When the colour is slightly changed add 2 cups of water and cook till its done. Let it cool for sometime. Mash the dal using a blender/food processor (you can also mash it using the back of a wooden spoon, since I like the dal to be mashed well I used food processor). Heat oil in a pan & splutter jeera. Add crushed garlic & saute for a few minutes. Add chopped onion and green chili . Saute till the onion becomes soft. Add turmeric powder, chopped tomatoes & salt. When tomato becomes soft add mashed dal and 3/4 – 1 cup of water. Mix well & add palak. Cook till the palak leaves are done. At this stage you can add either 3/4 cup of coconut milk or water. Sprinkle the garam masala and cook for 5 more minutes. Adjust the gravy as per your requirements.

Notes: Though the original recipe uses coconut milk, I didnt add it. Anyways for a creamier and richer version you can add coconut milk.

Source: Lakshmi Nair

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The word “thattukada” brings me a lot of good memories. Am sure that every Malayalee has tried this local fast food version at least once. The thattukada is a road side eatery / fast food outlet / hawker food. If you’ve been to Kerala, you can’t help but notice these thattukadas where porottas are made and I should say that sight itself is kinda appetizing!

My brother is a thattukada fan and he is the one who introduced me to this world of fiery n colorful thattu specials. He used to get parcels for me. His thattu favorites were squid curry, fried rice, kappa n meen curry and beef curry.

He had the habit of checking the dinner menu at home and if he was not happy, he’d immediately take his bike n go n fetch some thattukada specials. I used to wait to see the expression on his face to decide whether I should start having dinner or wait for those fiery thattu specials ;)

I guess spiciness is the trademark of thattu dishes and this curry is no exception. Please adjust the masala measurements to suite your spice tolerance level.

Here comes the recipe:

1. Beef – 1/2 kg, cut into small pieces
   For Masala
2. Ginger – 1 tbsp
   Garlic – 10 cloves
   Pepper – 1/2 tsp
   Chili powder – 1/2 tbsp
   Coriander powder – 1 tbsp
   Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp
   Fennel (perumjeerakam) -1/2 tsp
   Cardamom – 2
   Star anise (thakolam) – 1
   Cinnamon – 1 small piece
   Cloves – 2
3. Onion – 2, sliced finely
   Ginger – 1 small piece
   Green chili – 2
   Salt
   Curry leaves
4. Coconut oil

Grind together number 2 ingredients. Heat the oil in a pan/pressure cooker. Add number 3 ingredients and saute. When the onions become soft add ground masala & fry till the oil starts appearing. Add the beef and 1 cup of water. Cook the beef till it becomes tender and the gravy is thick.

It tastes great with parotta, roti, puttu.

Source: Vanitha Magazine

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Has it ever happened to you, that you frequently cook a dish you like so much, until somebody forcefully asks you to stop making it? It happens with me at times. If I like something, I keep on making it until I reach my diminishing margin of utility (the only thing I remember after studying economics for 3,4 years :) ) or until my husband refuses to eat it again ;)

Lemon Drizzle Cake & Lemon Bars are two main items that belong to this category and after trying this dish I fear this will also have the same effect. Again this recipe is from my mom in law :)

Mappas is a typical kerala dish, with thick and creamy coconut milk. One of the other main ingredients is coriander powder and what makes it distinct from the usual chicken curry is the fact that there is no chili powder in this. It tastes great with appam. I strongly recommend this curry if you like coconut milk based curries.

Recipe for Chicken Mappas

1. Chicken – 1/2 kg, cut into medium size pieces
2. Onion – 3 medium, sliced very thinly
   Ginger & garlic – 2 tbsp each, chopped
   Green chili – 4,5
   Coriander powder – 1 1/2 – 2 tbsp
   Garam masala – 2 tsp
   Turmeric powder – 1 tsp
   Chicken masala – 1/2 tsp (optional)
3. Tomato – 1, medium
4. Medium thick coconut milk – 1 1/2 – 2 cups
   Thick coconut milk – 1 1 /4 cup
5. Mustard seeds – 1 tsp
6. Small onion – 4
7. Salt
   Curry leaves
   Coconut oil

Marinate the chicken pieces with onion (1 1/2), ginger & garlic (1tbsp each), green chili (1/2 of the total qty used), coriander powder (1/2 of the total qty used), garam masala (1tsp), turmeric powder, chicken masala, curry leaves & salt. Keep it aside for 10 minutes. Cook the marinated chicken in medium thick coconut milk, till the chicken becomes tender.

Heat oil in a pan & splutter mustard seeds. Add small onion, remaining portions of the sliced big onion, ginger & garlic, green chili and curry leaves. Saute it till the onion becomes soft. Add remaining coriander powder & garam masala. Fry it till the oil starts appearing. Add the sliced tomatoes. When tomato becomes soft add cooked chicken along with the gravy. Combine well. Add thick coconut milk and cook for 5-7 minutes.

Serve with Palappam, Kallappam or Idiyappam.

Other side dishes for appam:

• Mutton
• Nadan Beef Curry>
• Fish Molly

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One more fabulous recipe from Sanjeev Kapoor’s Khasana of Indian Recipes. Since I was cooking chicken at home after a long time, I wanted to make a special dish, which tastes really good and I should say this recipe is finger licking good :) . So far, of all the Sanjeev Kapoor recipes that I’ve tried this is my favorite. If you like spicy chicken dishes, this is the one for you…

The recipe…

1. Chicken – 1 kg
2. Grated coconut – 1 1/2 cup
3. Poppy seeds – 2 tsp
   Fennel seeds(perumjeerakam) – 1 tsp
   Coriander seeds – 1 tsp
   Jeera – 1/2 tsp
   Red chilli – 6-8
   Cinnamon stick – 1 medium size piece
   Cardamom – 4
   Clove – 3
   Star anise – 1/2
4. Ginger & garlic- 1/2 tbsp each
5. Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp
   Chili powder – 1 tsp
6. Onion- 2
7. Tomato – 3 medium
8. Lemon – 1
9. Curry leaves
   Salt
   Oil

Clean the chicken and cut into medium size pieces. Fry the coconut with number 3 ingredients in oil, till it turn golden brown. Let it cool. Grind this with ginger and garlic. (Do not add water while grinding). Add 1/2 – 3/4 cup of water to the ground coconut mix and make it a thick paste.

Heat oil in a bottom heavy pan and add sliced onions and fry it till it becomes golden brown. Add coconut mixture and curry leaves and stir it continuously for a few minutes. Add tomato and turmeric and chili powder and mix well. Once the powders are fried well add chicken pieces & salt, combine well and cook for 5 minutes. Add lemon juice and 2 cups water and cover and cook till the chicken is done. This curry has a thick gravy.

Serve hot with rice, roti etc…

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