Homemade Wine with Grapes

This comes a little early. Wanted to post this for Christmas...but then again, you can have this for Christmas only if you start the procedures now. So here it is..... :)

Grapes : 1 kg (purple grapes)

Sugar: 1 kg

Water: 1.5 litres (boiled and cooled)

Yeast: 2 tsp

Wheat: A handful (Kernels, not the powdered one)

Cinnamon, cloves, staranise: 2 each

Wash the grapes well.

Pat dry. Crush the grapes with your hand or pulse it just once in your mixie.

Mix all the ingredients together in a jar.

For the first 15 days, stir this mix twice a day.

Then for a week, stir it once a day.

After that leave it untouched.

After 45 days (from when you first mixed everything) open the jar and strain liquid with the help of a muslin cloth.

Store in clean glass bottles.

Chakka Kuru Mezhukkupuratty

 Chakkakuru/Jackfruit seeds sliced: 1 cup

Chilly powder: 2 tsp

Turmeric Powder: 1/4 tsp

Salt: as required

Oil: 2 tbsp or as needed

Mustard; 1/2 tsp

Shallots: 4 sliced thin

Mix the chilly powder, turmeric powder and salt with the jackfruit seeds and cook with a little water until 3/4th done.

Heat oil in a kadai and splutter mustard and shallots and add this cooked jackfruit seeds to it and stir till it is fried. (optional- you can add curry leaves too)

Serve warm with rice.

Dal Curry (Simple and Tasty)

This is a very easy way to make dal curry. O yes, it tastes awesome too.

Masoor Dal: 1/2 cup
Moong Dal: 1/2 cup
Onion: 1 sliced
Tomato: 1 chopped
Garlic: 2 cloves minced
Green chillies: 2 slit
Turmeric Powder: 1/4 tsp
Chilly Powder; 1/2 tsp
Salt: as required

Wash both the dals and mix in all the other ingredients with 2 cups water and pressure cook on high for 4 whistles.
When the pressure is completely released, check if more water is needed and add if necessarry and boil again.

To temper:
Ghee: 1 tbsp
Cumin seeds: 1/2 tsp
Mustard; 1/2 tsp
Shallots: 1 sliced thin
Dried Red chilly: 1
Curry leaf: 1 sprig

Heat ghee and splutter mustard, cumin and throw in the shallot, dried red chilly and curry leaf.
when shallots turn brown, pour over the prepared Dal.
Serve warm with Chapatis.

Aval Payasam

I made this to celebrate a promotion. Ive been promoted as admin in a facebook group (sounds, silly???). Well, not to me!!! thats my favourite group with just my BESTEST buddies and I can be myself with them anytime and we have the best time ever in the virtual world just like how we used to have when we were together a decade ago!!!!

Aval/rice flakes/Poha: 1 cup ( the brown one)
Sugar: 1 cup
Milk: 4 cups
Cardamom: 1 tsp
Ghee: 2 tbsp + 1 tbsp
Cashewnuts: 5 or as required

Fry the Cashew nut in 1 tbsp ghee and keep aside.

Wash the Aval in water and pat dry.

Heat ghee in a vessel and stir in the aval till it is well coated with the ghee.

Add the boiled milk to this and let it come to a boil.

Add sugar and let it simmer for sometime till the aval gets cooked and a thick consistency is reached

Add cardamom powder and stir everything. If it is too thick, add a little more milk.

Take off fire and stir in the fried cashewnuts.

Bhindi/Vendakka/Okra Fry

Okra/vendakka: 500 gms (cut in discs)

Onion: 1 large diced

Green Chillies: 6

Turmeric Powder: a pinch

Chilly Powder: 1/4 tsp

Salt: as needed

Cumin seeds: 1/2 tsp

Mustard: 1/2 tsp

Oil: as needed

Heat oil and splutter mustard and cumin seeds.

Add the diced onion and saute till translucent.

Add the Okra, green chillies and mix everything and let it get cooked.

Halfway through, add the chilly powder and turmeric powder and give a proper mix.

Add salt and let it get slightly crisp but still green (by this time, the onions would have turned brown)

Serve hot with rice or chapatis

Srilankan Hot Butter Cuttle Fish/Squid/Calamari

I took a long break from the blogging world. Well, there is no reason..just that I was too lazy to click pics!!! Okay over to todays recipe... We went on a Srilankan trip and oooo, the food in Srilanka is to die for. For seafood lovers, it is heaven and beyond!!!! and this is one of the dishes I used to have almost every single day.. tried from all the sea food joints i went to.. and the best was from Beach Wadiya and also from a restaurant in Mount Lavinia.

 So, I had to get the recipe somehow and finally the day before we left, I gathered the courage to ask a chef how to prepare this and he could speak tamil too. He gave me the detailed recipe and here it is. 

Squid - 1 kg

Oil: for deep frying

Milk: 1 cup

To Marinate:

Salt and Pepper: as needed

Egg: 1 beaten

Corn flour: half cup

Semolina: 2 tbsp

Maida: 2 tbsp

Clean the squid properly.

Soak in milk for an hour (so that it doesnt turn rubbery when u cook)

drain the milk completely and pat dry. 

Dip in egg whisked with salt and pepper.

Coat it with the cornflour-maida-semolina mix

Deep fry till golden brown.

To saute:

Butter: 4 tbsp

Garlic: 10 cloves minced

Green Chillies: 10 chopped

Cashewnut fried: 8

Chilli Paste: 3 tbsp (I used readymade Srilankan Chilli paste, but if you dont get it, u can try this recipe )

Sugar: 1 tsp

Salt: if needed

Heat butter in a wok and add the green chillies and minced garlic.

After a few secs, add the sugar, chilli paste, cashewnuts and the fried squid and toss everything.

Take off fire and serve warm.