Unnakkai - an evening snack made out of ripe banana

Unnakkai (ഉന്നക്കായ്) - An evening snack made out of ripe banana

This week, let me give you the recipe of a delicious evening snack from North Kerala. This one is widely used as special item during the Ramadan by the Muslims in Thalasseri and Kannur regions. It is believed to be originated in North Malabar. This snack is called Unnakkai (ഉന്നക്കായ് ) in North Kerala and is made out of ripe banana (Nenthran varity) and coconut.  It very special for the sweet taste. It is also a very healthy snack for the kids, in case they are reluctant to eat the steamed bananas.

Ingredients:

Ripe Banana (Nenthran variety)        4 no
Coconut (grated)      1/4 cup
Cashew nut               6 nos, cut into small pieces
Raisins                      6nos, cut into small pieces
Sugar                         as needed
Cardamom powder   a pinch
Ghee                         2 tbsp
Oil                            as needed (to fry)

Method of preparation

1. Steam the Bananas till it become soft.  
2. Let it cool for some time. When it is slightly warm, peel the skin out and mash it with hands. It would be a good idea to remove black portion in the center of the bananas.
3. Heat ghee and fry the cashews and raisins in ghee.
4. To this add grated coconut and stir well for some time.
5. Add sugar and turn off the flame when the mixture turns golden brown. sprinkle cardamom powder on top of this mixture. Your filling is ready.
6. Make lemon sized balls out of the mashed banana.
7. Make each ball into an oval shape by rolling it in your palm.
8. Make a long dip in the oval with your fingers and fill it with a heaped teaspoon of filling. Roll it again in your palm so that the filling is covered by the mashed banana. Repeat this process with the remaining banana mixture.
9. Heat oil. Put the 'unnakkai' into the hot oil and fry them with medium flame. Keep them on flame until the unnakkai turns golden brown in color.

Note:
If you are preparing for kids, then we can use ghee instead of oil to fry the unnakkai. Of course unnakkai fried in ghee is tastier compared to the ones fried in the oil.So if you are not worried about the cholesterol factor, you can go with ghee.

Side dish with Onion

Dry Side Dish with Onion (ഉള്ളി തോരൻ)

It is difficult to imagine a dish that doesn't contain onion. We typically use onion to enhance the taste of a variety of dishes. However not many people know that we can make a side dish with the onion (big onions - സവാള) alone. In today's recipe let's see how to make a delicious and easy to make dish with onions.

Ingredients (this will serve approximately 5 people):

1) Onion                          250 gm cut thin and length wise

2) Green chilly (6)          Chopped well
    Fresh coconut             1/2 medium-sized, grated
    Salt                             As needed
    Ginger                        Small piece, chopped well

3) Coconut oil                1½  tsp

4) mustard seeds            1 tsp

5) curry leaves               1 spring

Method of preparation:

1) Chop the onions and mix it with ingredients listed under 2. (Green chilly, grated coconut, salt and ginger).

2) Heat oil in a pan and sprinkle in mustard seeds.When they start sputtering add curry leaves stir well. Add  the above mixture in to it, stir well, add about 1 tbsp water. Close the pan with one lid. Keep the flame high till the onions are half cooked (i.e, until steam comes out). Keep the flame low till it cooked well.

Drum stick (Moringakka) Thoran

Drum stick (Moringakka) Thoran

Another drum stick delicacy today, however with a difference! This one is made out of the soft flesh inside the drum sticks, not with the sticks as is.

Ingredients:

1. Drum stick       1 cup (split drumstick lengthwise and take out the soft flesh alone with a small knife or spoon).

2. Coconut            1/2cup, grated
    Onion small      6 no   
    Green chilly      5 no
    Turmeric Powder   1 tsp
4. Mustard            1tsp
5. Curry leaves     1 spring
6. Salt                    as needed
7. Ghee  or Coconut oil   2 tbsp


Method of Preparation:

1. Grind the items under 2 (grated coconut, small onion, green chilly, turmeric powder)  using a mixer with a little water. Or you can smash them alternatively.

2. Heat ghee in a pan and sprinkle in mustard seeds.When they start sputtering add curry leaves. Add the ground coconut mixture to this, stir well. In to this mixture add the drum sticks (item under 1), keep it on low flame till the drum sticks are cooked well.

Drum-Stick leaves curry

Drum-Stick leaves (മുരിങ്ങയില തോരൻ)

If you are looking for a tasty and healthy dry side dish, rich in fiber to go ahead with a plate rice, here is one. Drum stick trees are found almost every place in India. Many a traditional dishes are prepared with the drum sticks. However, the leaves and the flowers are not so well known in the diet. But in Kerala, the leaves of drum stick tree are cooked and used like spinach.

It is also worthy noting that dried and crushed leaves are used in soups and sauces.  The leaves are used for making various types of curries in combination with other vegetables. The flowers are edible when cooked and taste almost like mushrooms. ( I will try to provide the drum stick flowers recipe in some other posting, which is another great delicacy).

From a nutrition perspective, drum stick leaves is a rich source of Calcium, Potassium, Proteins, beta carotene (vitamin-A) and Vitamin-C. For example, the Vitamin-C level in drum stick leaves are comparable to that of orange fruit (which is usually mentioned as the primary source of vitamin-C), the protein content is comparable to yogurt, potassium content is comparable to Banana and calcium content is about 60 percentage of milk. No wonder drumstick leaves has been a recommend by grandmas for pregnant and breast-feeding women.

In Ayurveda, the leaves, barks and sticks of the drum stick tree are used for many medicinal preparations. Some tips from the common wisdom: Muringa leaves and flowers are used as a remedy for stomach complaints, hay fever,  hemorrhoids, headaches and sore gums. The muringa leaves are helpful in increasing the lactation in the breastfeeding months. It is used to strengthen the eyes, brain, liver, digestive, respiratory and immune system. It is also used as a blood purifier and blood builder, and for cancer treatment. Muringa leaves are also used to stabilize the blood pressure. Flowers soaked in honey are used as a cough remedy. Taking bath in water boiled with the barks of Muringa tree is recommended for arthritis patients.

Now let's get back to this weeks recipe.

Ingredients:

1) Muringayila      1 cup.

2) Coconut            1/2cup, grated
   Onion small       6   no   
   Green chilly       5
   Turmeric Powder 1tsp

3) Mustard         1tsp
4) Curry leaves  1 spring
5) Salt                 as needed
6) coconut oil     2 tbsp


Method of Preparation:

1. Clean the leaves, if the there is dust or dirt, then dip the leaves in water, take out and shake of the water. Remove the sticks from the leaves and cut it with a chopping knife taking a handful of leaves every time.
2. Put the items under (2) in to one mixy jar, pour little water and grind slightly, or smash. (No need to make it into a fine paste).
3. Heat oil in a pan and sprinkle in mustard seeds.When they start sputtering add curry leaves,In to this add the above coconut mixture and salt and keep it in the flame for sometime .In to this mixture add muringaila, stir well, keep it in low flame till it is cooked well.
4. (Optionally) add one egg in this mixture (center of the mixture) and stir well.At last mix it all  well .

Note: Adding the egg is optional. You can prepare it without egg, in that case if  you can use ghee instead of coconut oil for a better taste.

 

Bitter Gourd with Long Beans

Bitter Gourd with Long Beans (പാവയ്ക്കയും പയറും)

Bitter gourd (പാവയ്ക്ക) is well known for it's health benefit. Doctors today recommend bitter gourd for it's iron content and many vitamins contained in it. It is also scientifically proven that bitter gourd can reduce the glucose levels in the blood and beneficial to the people with diabetes. Many people are averse to the dishes made out of bitter gourd because of the bitter taste. However there were many techniques used by the older generations to mask the bitterness and prepare tasty combinations with bitter gourd. Some of those combinations worth mentioning are bitter gourd with dried shark fish, bitter gourd with jack fruit seeds, bitter gourd with long beans.

In this recipe I will cover the traditional dish of bitter gourd with the long beans prepared in Kerala.

Ingredients:
(This will serve approximately 5 to 6 people):

1) Bittergourd (paavaykka)    250gm

2) Long beans (payar)            200gm

3) Onion big             1, chopped well
   Green chilly           6, chopped well
   Fresh coconut        1/2 medium-sized,grated
   Salt                         As needed
   Ginger                    Small piece, chopped well

4) Coconut oil           1 tbsp

5) Mustard seeds       1 tsp

6) Curry leaves          1 sprig

Method of preparation:

1) Chop the Bitter gourd in to small pieces (kothi ariyuka).
2) Chop the Longbeans also small pieces.
3) Mix the above two together with hands and in this add ingredients under 3. Mix well.
4) Heat oil in a pan and sprinkle in mustard seeds. When they start sputtering add curry leaves stirr well. Add  the above mixture in to it, stirr well ater after that cover the pan with a lid. Keep the flame high when it half cooked after that keep the flame low till it cooked well.

Mambazha Pulisheri (Sweet and sour mango curry)

Mambazha Pulisheri (മാമ്പഴ പുളിശ്ശേരി)

Mambazha pulishery is a sweet and sour vegetarian delicacy from Kerala made out of sweet mango fruits. Yes, you herd it right... Sweet mangoes !! And yes, we prepare a curry with the king of fruits !!!

I prepare this dish specially for my husband, this being one of his favorite dishes. I had heard of this dish, but never tried making it until my husband asked me to try it one day. And I had to consulted my mom for the recipe. Once I made the dish, I had to agree that my husband was right. The taste is beyond what I can describe in words.

The mangoes traditionally used for making Mambazha pulishery is the smallest type of mangoes, which is known as nadan manga (country mangoes). Please refer to the picture below to get an idea of the type of mangoes. I have also heard from my friends that, in some parts of Kerala, these mangoes are called kattu manga (meaning mangoes from the wild). I was pleasantly surprised to see that this variety of mangoes were available in plenty throughout the 'Mango Mela' in Bangalore this year.

The picture below shows the variety of mangos that I used and the one on the right hand shows the  mangoes after peeling off the outer skin.

Here is a picture of the dish after preparing:

Let's see how do we prepare this delicacy.

Ingredients:
1) Ripe mango (Nattu manga)    4 nos (peel of the outer skin);
    Turmeric powder                    as needed;
    Green chilly                            3 nos (slit through center);
    Salt                                          as needed;

2) Coconut                                  grated (1/2   cup);
    Cumin seeds (jeera)                ½ tsp;
    Small onion                             5 nos;

3)Curd                                         3 tbsp;

4) Coconut oil                             1 tbsp;
    Curry leaves                            1 spring;
    Mustard                                   1 tsp;
    Dried red chillies                     4 nos (cut in to 3 pieces);

Method of preparation:
1. Wash the ripe mangoes, remove the outer skin. You can peel off the skin with your hands, no need to use a knife.

2. Take one clay pot, add the items under 1 (mango, turmeric powder, chilly and salt) along with some water. Cook it well.

3. Grind the items under 2 (coconut, cumin seeds, and small onions) and make it into a paste. Add this into the above mixture, stir well. When it starts boling swich off the flame. To this add curd and mix well.

4. Heat oil in a pan and sprinkle in mustard seeds.When they start sputtering add curry leaves and chilly piecess stirr well,Add these in to the above mixture, stir well.


Your curry is ready to serve!

Malabar chicken biriyani

Malabar chicken biriyani (മലബാർ കോഴി  ബിരിയാണി)

Aah.. Chicken biriyani!! That' one of my favorite dishes in the whole world :-) So let me get into some history.

As per Wikipedia, Biryani was believed to have been invented in the kitchen of Mughal Emperors. It is very popular in the Indian subcontinent and is a key element of the South Asian cuisine. Hyderabad, Malabar, Delhi/Agra, Dhaka, Kashmir, Kolkata, Lucknow and Lahore, are the main varieties of biryani cuisine. The word 'biriyani' is derived from the Persian word beryā (بریان) which means "fried" or "roasted". 

Historically, long-grain brown rice was used in North India; while, short grain Zeera Samba rice was used in South India. In Bangladesh, puffed rice is used. Traditionally, the leg of goat was used to make Biryani. Now a days, depending on the region and restaurant, one can find Biryani made with Mutton, Lamb, Beef, Chicken, Fish, and Prawns.

In this post I will discuss the way Malabar Chicken Biriyani is prepared. This is more of Kozhikode-style (which is slightly different from the Thalassery style) which my mom used to prepare. My mom had two different styles of preparing the chicken biriynai; one is the dhum biryani and the other is a layered chicken biryani, which she often prepares when there are guests at home. In her opinion, biriyani is the easiest dish to make, as opposed to the meals that consists of boiled rice and three or four varieties of side dishes.

If you have a vegetarian guest or someone in your family is a vegetarian, then it would be easy for you to prepare the layered chicken biriyani. As you would see in the recipe below, the rice and the chicken gravy are prepared separately. 

There are three main steps in preparing a layered biriyani, which are:

1. Preparation of the chicken and it's gravy
2. Preparing the rice
3. Layering

We will see each of these in detail separately.

A) Chicken and it's gravy

Ingredients:

1) Chicken                            1 kg (cut in to big pieces)

Curd                                     2 tbsp

Chilli powder                       2 tbsp;

Turmeric powder                 as needed;

Salt                                             ,,

Curd                                     1 tbsp;

2) Coconut oil                       As needed for deep fry.

Mix the chicken with the items under (1) and half cook. In case you are using a pressure cooker, do not add any water, and switch off the flame after the first whistle. After that, deep fry the chicken in the coconut oil. Tip: if the chicken is mixed with curd, it will become very soft.

Preparing the gravy

1) Onion                                 1 cup (chopped  well)

2) Tomato                                3 (cut in to small pieces)

3) Ginger                                 As needed

    Garlic                                       ,,

    Green chilly                         5 no

4) Coriander powder               1 tsp;

    Chilly powder                      2 tsp;

    Garam masala                     ½ tsp;

    Turmeric powder                As needed

    Coriander leaves                 As needed.

    Salt                                           ,,

5) Curd                                    3 tbsp;

First, grind the items under (3) into a paste. You can use a readymade ginger-garlic paste as well. 

Put the chopped onions into the coconut oil, keep stirring. When the onions are half cooked, add the tomato pieces as well. Add the ginger-garlic-chilly paste to this. Keep stirring well. Add the items under 4 along with a little water in order to make it somewhat loose. Add curd towards the end and mix well.

B) Items for Garnishing:

Ingredients:

1) Onion                     2 no (cut in to thin pieces)

2) Cashew nut           As needed

3) Dry grapes                ,,

4) Carrot                   1 no - optional (cut in to small this pieces)

Fry all these items in oil, or ghee for a better taste. 

C) Rice   preparation

This is an important step, because if rise is over-cooked or even under-cooked, the biriyani will not taste good. 

Ingredients:

1) Rise                           1 kg (Basmati or Ponni variety of rise);

2) Grampoo                  5 no;

    Cardomon                3 no;

    Cinnamon (karuva) 2 no(if big)

    Coriander leaves      As needed;

    Pothina leaves              ,,

    Salt                                ,,

    Water                            ,,

Please keep in mind that preparing the biriyani rice is a very important step. If the rice is over cooked or under cooked, then the taste will not be good and there is no way to compensate for it.

First, soak the rice in water for half an hour, then drain it well. Fry the rice in ghee. Take water in a big vessel that has 5 liter capacity at least. Add the items under 2. When the water starts boiling, add the rice and keep it on low frame for some time. Switch of the flame and keep it covered for another 10 minutes.

It is very important to get the right quantity of water for preparing the rice. Usually I follow 2 volumes of water for every 1 volume of rice. For example, I measure the rice with a glass and for every glass of rice, use 2 glasses of water. In case using a pressure cooker, then use only 1½ volume of water. If the right quantity of water is not used, the rice will turn either sticky or too dry.

D) Layering.

                                                                                                                                            

1)     Lemon juice from one lemon;

2)     Food color (mix in water)

3)     Garam masala 

4)     Coriander leaves and pothina leaves chopped well

5)     Ghee As needed;

Take a big vessel and heat the vessel. Pour a little ghee into this vessel and spread it. Spread a portion of the cooked rice on top of this. The rice should not be more than two inches. A little lemon juice and mixed food color should be sprayed on top of this rice. You can also spread a pinch of garam masala, chopped leaves and other items used for garnishing (such as roasted cashews, raisins, grapes, etc) as well.  Repeat the process of layering until the rice is over. Close the vessel with a tight lid and heat on low flame for about 10 minutes. (I have also seen my mom putting burning charcol on top of the flat lid to keep it hot from top as well).

For serving, first put a portion of chicken on the serving plate and then cover it with rice.

Raw banana with cow peas

Raw banana with cow peas (വാഴയ്ക്കയും പയറും )

Ingredients:

1. Banana                     1 cup(peel its outer skin,cut in to square pieces)

2. Cow pieces               ½ cup(kuthirthathu)

3. Coconut                    1 cup,grated(medium sized coconut)

    Green chilly              5 no

    Onion small              6 no

    Turmeric powder           

4. Coconut oil               2 tbsp

5. Mustard                   1 tbsp

6. Curry leaves            1 spring

7. Salt                           as desired

8. Small onion              4 nos (cut in to small pieces)

Method of preparation:

1)   Put cow pieces in a vessel with soaking water, salt and pinch of turmeric powder. Keep it on flame till it is half cooked. To this add Banana cooked this mixture well.

2)  Grind the 3^rd items well.

3)  Add this mixture to the above cooked dish,keep it in low flame till it boiling.

4) Heat oil in a pan and sprinkle in mustard seeds. When they start sputtering add curry leaves and onion piecess stirr well till onions colour become brown,Add these in to the above mixture, stir well.

Bitter gourd Meezhukkupuratti

Bitter gourd (പാവയ്ക്ക ) Mezhukkupuratti

Ingredients:

1) Pavakka (bitter gourd)    1 cup (clean it and cut in to thin lengthy pieces)

2) Onion large                      2 no (cut in to small pieces)

    Salt                                   As needed

    Turmeric Powder             As Needed

    Coconut pieces    ¼ cup

    Green chilly         4 no(slit through center)

3) Mustard               2 tsp

  Curry leafs           1 spring

  Coconut Oil          As needed

Method of preparation

1. Take one or two pavakka (bitter gourd) with items under (2) in one dish, mix well with hand.
2. Heat oil in a pan and sprinkle in mustard seeds.When they start sputtering add curry leaves. Add the above mixture to this, keep it on a low flame stirring occasionally.When its color become faded (or check if it is cooked well by taking piece out) swich off the flame.

Raw banana thoran (Nenthra kaya)

Ingredients:

1) Banana              5 no(Peel its skin)

2) Coconut             1/2cup,grated

    Onion small       6 no      

    Green chilly       5 no

    Turmeric Powder  1tsp

4) Mustard             1 tsp

5) Curry leaves      1 spring

6) Salt                      as needed

7) Coconut oil          2 tbsp

8) Small onion         4 nos (cut in to small pieces)

Method of Preparation:

1. Cut the banana in to small square pieces and wash well. Take it in to one pan add little water and salt and one pinch of turmeric powder, keep it in flame till half cooked.
2. Put the 2nd items in to one mixy jar pour little water and just grind,or smash ,add with the half cooked banana and add desired quantity of salt again cooked for some time .
3. Heat oil in a pan and sprinkle in mustard seeds.When they start sputtering add curry leaves  and onion pieces stir well,In to this add the cooked mixture, mix well.

Note: For better taste, instead of coconut oil we can use ghee.

Papaya thoran

Thoran is a dry side dish eaten with rice. In this edition, I would like to write about the papaya thoran. The papaya when eaten as a fruit or prepared as a juice is very delicious and healthy. (On a side note papaya fruit facial helps you to improve the complexion and softness of the skin :-))

Let's see how do you prepare the papaya thoran.

Ingredients:

1) Papaya                           1 cup, grated into small pieces

2) Coconut                         1/2 cup,grated

    Onion small                   6 nos                                                  

    Green chilly                  5 nos

    Turmeric powder          As needed

4) Mustard                        1 tsp

5) Curry leaves                 1 spring

6) Salt                                As needed

7) Red chilly                      4 nos, cut in to 4 pieces

8) Coconut oil                    1 tbsp

Method of preparation:

1. Grate the papaya well.
2. Put the items listed under 2 (coconut, small onion, green chilly and turmeric powder) in to one mixy jar, pour a little water and just grind (or smash them well). Add this with the papaya and add desired quantity of salt. Mix well.
3. Take this mixture in to one pan, cooked well on low flame.
4. Heat oil in a pan and sprinkle in mustard seeds.When they start sputtering add curry leaves  and red chilly pieces, stir well. In to this add the cooked papaya mixture and mix well. (

Tip: Instead of coconut oil, you can use your favorite oil, or ghee. Ghee will add to the taste and healthy for your smaller ones.

Malabar fish curry

If there is any dish that I would love to write about, that is the Nadan fish curry (നാടൻ  മീൻ കറി ). You can find many ways of preparing the same dish. In fact, if you ask each and every village or even families have it's own way of preparing the fish curry. You can find one recipe here which is fish curry with Gambooj (kudampuli -കുടംപുളി). This curry can be used in many combinations: with rice, with kappa (tapioca), with porotta, etc.

Another suggestion: use a clay pot to prepare this curry. According to granny's wisdom, if you use a metal utensil to prepare this curry or keep this curry for a long  time, the tamarind will react with metal and will be bad for your health.

Ingredients:

1) Fresh pieces of seer fish     1 cup(cut in to  pieces), here I used seer fish (നെയ്‌ മീൻ )

2) Chill powder                         2 tbsp;

    Turmeric powder                 As needed

3) Salt                                       As needed;

4) water                                    As needed;

5) Gambooj tamarind(Kudampuli) As needed, depending on the quality and your taste

6) To Temper:       

            Coconut Oil     2 tbsp

            Mustard          1 tsp

            Curry leaves   1 sprig

      Ginger  clean and remove its outer skin and grate in to small pieces;

      Garlic                          ,,

      Fenugreek                  1 tbsp;

      Green chilly                2 no.

Method of preparation:

1. Take items listed under 2 (Chilli powder and Turmeric powder) in a clay pot, cook it with a little coconut oil in low flame until the color turns brown. Add water to this and mix well while the pot is still kept on low flame. Add kudampuli (gambooj) to this. When it starts boiling, add the fish pieces. Keep the flame until the fish is cooked and the gravy becomes thick.
2. Heat coconut oil on a pan and sprinkle in mustard seed. When the seeds starts popping, add fenugreek seeds (uluva), stir well. Add ginger, garlic, chilly and curry leaves, stir well again. Add this to the above curry.

Hello friends!

Kerala has a variety of tastes. This blog is my humble attempt to introduce some of the specific dishes found in the Northern part of Kerala - Malabar.

Most of the recipes found here will be what you would have tasted when you visited your grandparents, or something that you would've cherished down memory lane as a kid, but then disappeared from the dining tables as we adopted the comfortable life-styles of modern times.

The idea of this blog originated when a friend of my husband asked the recipe of a side dish that he happened to taste. I hope you will find the recipes useful and try them. Please let me know your comments. Thank you so much for reading !