Sheema Chakka/Bread Fruit Stir Fry

Sheema Chakka: 1/2 kg

Onion: 1 sliced

Green Chillies: 5 slit

Salt: as required

Oil: 3 tbsp (more if needed)

Remove the outer husk of the bread fruit.
Chop it like in the pic below

Heat oil and saute the onions and green chillies for a few seconds and then add the chopped bread fruit.

Cook on medium heat stirring in between. (If needed, add more oil)

Keep it covered for a few minutes and when almost done, take off lid, add salt and saute properly till done.

Serve warm with rice.

Ulli Chammanthi and Boiled Tapioca/ Kappa puzhungiyathu

For Ulli Chammanti:

Pearl Onion: 5

Bird's eye Chilli/Kanthari: 14

Tamarind: a small piece

Salt: as required

Coconut Oil: 1 tbsp

Water: 2 tbsp

Pulse the tamarind, bird's eye chilli and shallots twice or thrice. 

Add the salt, water and coconut oil and mix everything properly.

Serve with Boiled Tapioca.

Tapioca: 1 kg

Salt:as required

Chop Kappa/Tapioca into big pieces like in the picture below.

Cook it with water and salt till done.
Drain off water in a colander.


Serve with Ulli Chammanti or Fish Curry

Linking this to Kerala Kitchen

Cockle Meat Roast/ Kakka Irachi Roast

Cockle is a close relative of mussels (Mussels are yellowish brown in colour while Cockles are white or cream in colour) This is something which needs a lot of cleaning under tap water.  First, fill a bowl with water and add a few spoons of salt and keep the cockles inside that.

Later press each cockles  to get the grit out of it. see the pic below. Again wash it several times under running tap water.

Cockle Meat: 1 kg
Pearl Onion: 15 sliced
Ginger: 1 inch
Garlic: 8 cloves minced
Curry Leaves: 2 sprigs
Coriander Powder: 1 tbsp
Chilly Powder: 2 tbsp
Turmeric Powder: a pinch
Salt: as required
Fennel Powder: 1 tsp
Garam Masala: 3/4 tsp

Mix all these ingredients with a cup of water and let it boil for sometime.
Once it is cooked and the water drained, take off fire.

Heat oil ( 3 tbsp) in a pan and roast this mix till it is dark brown in colour.

Serve with rice or Chapati

Vaazha Koombu Thoran/ Banana Heart Stir Fry with coconut

Vazha Koombu/Banana Heart/Inflorescence: 1

Green Gram: 1 cup cooked

Coconut grated: 1 cup
Cumin: 1 tsp
Turmeric Powder: a pinch
Garlic: 2 cloves
Green Chillies: 2
Coconut oil: 1 tbsp
Mustard seed: 1 tsp
Curry Leaves: 1 sprig
Dried Red Chilly: 1

Pressure cook the green gram and keep aside.
Discard the outer layer of the vazhakoombu and chop the rest finely.
chop the flower/bracts as well and mix it with the chopped koombu.

Rinse this and drain the water completely.
Pulse the grated coconut, cumin and garlic once in your mixie.
Heat oil in a pan and splutter mustard, curry leaves and red chilly.
Add the chopped vazha Koombu, required salt, green chillies, green gram and the coconut mix and stir everything .
Keep a lid and let it get cooked
Serve with rice.

Kappa Vevichathu

Tapioca/ Kappa: 1/2 kg (peel and chop into small pieces like in the picture)

To temper:
Curry Leaves: a sprig
Mustard: 1 tsp
Dried Red chilly: 2

To grind:
Grated Coconut: 1 cup
Green Chillies: 10
Cumin: 1 tsp
Pearl Onion: 5-6
Garlic: 3 cloves
Salt: as required
Turmeric: 1/2 tsp

Wash the peeled and cubed tapioca in water and cook in a large pan full of water.

Once cooked drain the water and it will look like this.

Fill the pan again with water, add the turmeric and salt and cook it again till soft, make sure all the water is evaporated.

Grind the "to grind" ingredients to the consistency in the pic below

Add the ground mix to the cooked tapioca and mix everything properly.

Take off fire.

heat oil in a kadai and splutter mustard, curryleaves and dried red chilly and pour over the cooked tapioca.

Serve warm with Red Fish Curry.

Linking this to Kerala kitchen

Semiya Payasam

Semiya/Vermicelli: 1 cup

Ghee: 2 tbsp (for vermicelli)

Ghee: 1 tbsp (for cashew and raisin)

Milk: 5 cups

Water: 1 cup (optional- only if you are using condensed milk, otherwise substitute this with milk)

Condensed Milk: 1/3 tin

Sugar: 1/2 cup (adjust this according to your sweet tolerance level/add more if you are not using condensed milk)

Cardamom powdered: 1/2 tsp

Cashew nut and raisins: 10 each

Heat ghee and fry the cashew till golden and raisins till plump and keep aside.

In a pan, heat the ghee and roast the vermicilli in it.

Boil milk and add this to the roasted vermicilli and let it boil. Keep stirring.

After the vermcilli bloats, add the sugar and let it simmer till you get a thick consistency.

Add the condensed milk, keep stirring and turn off the stove in 2 minutes.

Now add the powdered cardamom and stir well.

Serve in a bowl and add the fried cashew and raisins on top.

Mom's Chicken Biriyani

Basmati Rice: 2 cups
Chicken: 500 gms
Cinnamon: 1
Cloves:3
Star Anise; 1
Oil: as needed
Ghee 2 tbsp
Onion: 3 sliced
Tomatoes: 3 chopped
Coriander Leaves; a handful

To make a paste:
Ginger Garlic: 11/2 tbsp
Green chillies: 4

To marinate Chicken:
Chilly Powder: 1 tsp
Garam Masala: 1 tsp
Turmeric Powder: 1/2 tsp
Curd; 2 tbsp

Marinate the chicken and keep it aside for atleast half an hour
Wash and soak the basmati rice in water for atleast 20 minutes
Heat oil and shallow fry the marinated chicken (3/4 done) and keep aside
In a pressure cooker, heat ghee, throw in the whole garam masala
Add the onions and saute till it browns along the edges.
 Now add the ginger garlic green chilly paste and saute till everything is brown.
Add the coriander leaves and saute again
 Add the tomatoes and cook till limp.
 Add the fried chicken pieces and mix everything properly.
Add the drained rice, 3 cups water and keep the lid.
When steam comes out steadily, keep the weight and wait for 20 seconds.
Turn off stove and wait for 20 minutes. (By this time, the pressure would have completely released and rice would have cooked properly)

Open lid and serve warm with raita and any curry of your choice.

Roe Omelette/ Parinjil Appam

Yet another speciality dish of Kerala- Roe Omelette or fish egg omelette. We get fish eggs only in the month of June and July in Kerala and I remember mom used to buy loads of it and it will be two months of celebration- she will make all possible recipes with the fish roe. Here, the Roe is of a big fish (I dont know which one, coz I didnt buy the fish. The fishmonger was selling just the fish eggs...o yes, it was like striking a lottery!!!!!)

Fish Roe: 1/2 kg

Onion: 1 medium diced

Green Chillies: 3 chopped

Ginger: 1 inch chopped fine

Curry leaves: a sprig

Salt and Pepper: as required.

Oil: 1 tbsp

Mash the Roe and mix it with all the other ingredients except oil. Water will ooze out from the Roe.
Heat a pan and smear oil.
Pour a ladle of the roe mix onto the pan like how we make omelette.

Let it cook and then turn it once.
When cooked, serve warm.

Roe Fry/Parinjil Varathathu

Fish Roe/ Egg is a delicacy in Kerala Cuisine and it is something I can never say No to... Diet or No Diet!!! Usually the eggs of large fish are considered tasty and with it, we make curries, omelette, ada and also deep fry it.
The eggs of fish like Mackarel is not very tasty and some people do not eat it but I dont think any sea food lover can ever say No to Sardine Roe. Wow, its simply outta the world and this is how we make it edible...

Sardine Roe: 1/4 kg
Pepper: 1 tbsp
Chilly Powder: 1/2 tsp
Turmeric Powder: a pinch
Salt: as required

Oil: for Shallow frying

Make a paste of the masala with a tablespoon water and marinate the Roe in it.
Heat oil (3 tbsp) and shallow fry the roe (preferably keep a lid while it is getting cooked)

When done, serve warm with rice or as an appetizer.