Navratri Appam for VijayaDashami !
Happy Vijayadashami to all of you!
Dusshera is also known as Vijayadashami and is a major festival that is celebrated at the end of Navratri every year. It is a celebration of the victory of good over evil.
The Vijayadashami day is the tenth and final day of the Navratri celebrations and is considered auspicious for beginning learning in any field.
In Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and coastal Karnataka, Vidyarambham is a tradition observed on Vijayadashami day, where children are formally introduced to the learning of music, dance, languages, and other folk arts. It involves a ceremony of initiation into the characters of the syllabary. People across the country worship nine forms of the Goddess during Navratri. Mostly in Gujarat people play Dandiya and Garba during the nine days of Navratri while praying to the Goddess. However, in the eastern and north-eastern parts of India people celebrate Durga puja with much pomp and fervor.
Navratri Appam is a recipe that was shared with me my mother .She learnt the recipe from a friend of hers. It looks quite similar to the unniyappam the traditional snack in Kerala. This Vijayadashami this was what we kept as an offering to the Goddess.
Navratri Appam
1 and 1/2 cup of Raw Rice( soaked in water for about 1-2 hrs)
Jaggery syrup(for sweetness according to taste-I added about 1cup )
2 ripe plantains peeled and sliced
2 tbsp of butter
1 and 1/2 tsp of sesame seeds(black)
3 tbsp of coconut chips
2 tsp of ghee
Wash the soaked rice and add it to the blender. Add in the sliced plantains, butter and grind into a coarse paste. Transfer the mix into a bowl, pour in the jaggery syrup with regard to the amount of sweetness required. In a skillet fry coconut chips and black sesame seeds and pour into the batter. Mix and leave it to rest for about 4-5 hrs. If you really want to cut down the time mix in 1 tsp of baking powder.
Normally, I would prefer to let it ferment a bit on its own. Once the batter is ready, heat a pan with oil.I have used the Unniyappam pan here to have them all of the same shape and size. Once the oil is hot, pour in the batter and cook it on both sides . Once they turn golden in color, drain them of the oil into a colander or on paper towels.
Serve them warm!
This was my offering for Vijayadashami today for the Puja!
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A homemaker who fell head over heels in love with food -an award-winning cookbook author, food blogger, award-winning culinary demonstrator
Badam Kheer to celebrate Eid!
In this phase 4 of the lockdown that we are undergoing, hoping that all are safe at home. Be it any festivity ..there’s always a special craving for a dessert. Add a nutty sweetness to your Eid festivities tomorrow with this delicious badam kheer. A rich delicacy like this is a perfect way to celebrate the end of Ramzan. It is very healthy and extremely easy to make.
Follow this step-by-step recipe to enjoy badam kheer this Eid-ul-Fitr.
Badam Kheer
Ingredients:
6 tbsp of semolina
100 gm of sugar
700 ml of milk
20 gm of badam
6 pistas (chopped)
4 cherries (chopped)
Instructions:
Boil and peel the almonds.
Grind them into a paste.
Boil milk and sugar in a pan on low flame.
Add semolina and stir well.
Pour the badam paste into the mixture and stir.
Once the mixture thickens, remove it from the stove.
Pour the kheer halfway into a glass.
Add a layer of chopped pistas.
Now, fill up the rest of the glass with kheer.
Garnish with chopped badam, pistas, and cherries.
Serve warm 🙂
A homemaker who fell head over heels in love with food -an award-winning cookbook author, food blogger, award-winning culinary demonstrator
Its Waffle time !
Waffles have always been on my to-do list when I started getting involved in cooking. But it took a few years till I got hold of a waffle iron. Here’s a waffle recipe that I normally whip up when I have leftover oats at home. And as my whole family has a craving for peanut butter …I normally don’t miss adding it to my waffle recipe.
- 2 cups of oats
- 1 cup of milk
- 11/2 tsp of vanilla extract
- 2 small bananas
- 1tsp baking powder
- 3tbsp of peanut butter
- 2 eggs
- 2tsps of sugar (optional)
- Butter for greasing
- Preheat waffle iron , puree bananas and keep aside .
- In a bowl add in oats. milk eggs, banana puree , baking powder , peanut butter and sugar .
- Blend all ingredients till it becomes a smooth batter .If the batter seems to be too thick add in around 2-3 tbsps of milk.
- Grease the preheated waffle iron with butter .
- Ladle out the mix on to the hot waffle iron .
- Cook until golden brown .
- Serve hot with dusted powdered sugar and maple syrup .
- Sugar mentioned is optional .I prefer to skip the sugar bit ..but if you would like to have an extra bit of sweetness..you can add the ingredient .
Have you ever had that instance where you have run out of the store-bought batch of maple syrup and you are in a fix of how to recreate the syrup? Heres a quick and simple method of making maple syrup at home.
Homemade Maple Syrup
A quick fix syrup that goes well with pancakes, toasts, and waffles.
¼ cup sugar
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup of boiling water
½ tbsp of butter
1/2tsp of vanilla extract or maple extract
Spread out sugar in a flat pan or skillet evenly and start heating on medium heat till all the sugar starts caramelizing.
On caramelizing keep aside.
In a saucepan add brown sugar, pour boiling water and vanilla or maple extract and cook till the sugar dissolves.
Add in the caramelized syrup and continue simmering till it is of thicker consistency.
Take it off the heat and whisk in butter.
Store in airtight containers once cool.
Best served with pancakes, waffles, and toasts.
A homemaker who fell head over heels in love with food -an award-winning cookbook author, food blogger, award-winning culinary demonstrator
Gajar ka Halwa to pep up the festive spirit!
Sweets have always been an integral part of festivities in India. Today being Karthigai Deepam / Thrikarthigai -the festival of lamps which is celebrated in the states of Kerala and Tamilnadu, I thought of sharing a sweet recipe with you all. The lighted lamp is considered an auspicious symbol during this festival. It is believed to ward off evil forces and usher in prosperity and joy. On the day, all the houses, streets and temples are well lit with traditional oil lamps. After the floods, it has taken up quite some time to get things back in order. So
Carrot Halwa or Gajar ka halwa is one sweet pudding that you can easily whip up with the ingredients. This batch was made with homegrown carrots…so it was super yum 🙂
5-6 medium sized carrots (peeled and grated )
6tbsp of sugar
1 cup of milk
4-5 strands of saffron
2-3 cardamoms crushed and skin off.
1/4 cup of halved almonds, cashews and raisins
1/8 cup of ghee
Heat ghee in a pan, fry and separate the almonds, cashews & raisins on to a plate. In the leftover ghee, fry the carrots till it shrinks in size and darkens in color. Pour in the milk, add in the cardamom seeds and sugar. Cover and cook the mix till it thickens. Make sure to keep stirring it so as to avoid it from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Garnish with saffron, almonds, cashews & raisins. Carrot Halwa is ready to be
May this festival of lights bring us brightened and enlightened life like that of lamps …Wishing all a Happy Thrikarthika / Karthigai Deepam!!!
A homemaker who fell head over heels in love with food -an award-winning cookbook author, food blogger, award-winning culinary demonstrator
Monsoons and Aloo tikkis !
Growing your own vegetables for your daily needs makes food so much tastier. Organic farming is so much into these days. Making use the soil to grow your own vegetables and fruits make cooking much more divine. Born and raised in Abu Dhabi, living a city life, I haven’t actually had a great exposure to farming or growing food during my childhood days. The vacation visits to Kerala to my parent’s ancestral homes always excited me so much. I really awed the moment s when the whole family gets together spending time chatting, cooking, eating …It was a real fun to do things that you were not used to doing. Going fishing in ponds, picking fresh veggies, helping my mother and grandmother in cooking. There’s a flush of memories that flow in when I look back.
After marriage, now a mother to two boys and living in Kerala … I also want to instill in my kids the value of growing their own food. I have a small backyard to the house where I live and every season it’s a different set of veggies that are grown.A few months back I had asked one of our staffs to buy a batch of potatoes for home and the person wasn’t very good at picking up the right potatoes and I ended up having slightly sprouted ones. In two days’ time I had to travel to my in-laws home for family reasons and by the time I was back in my kitchen, it was pretty much all sprouted up. They were all cut up and shoved into the soil. Last week as my husband and kids were plucking some fresh tomatoes from our backyard, I noticed the potato plant and pulled out one to find the potatoes were all ready to be taken out of the soil. We got about 2-3 kilos of potatoes which pretty much a good amount to use up for our home cooking. And yesterday I used some of those to make some really crispy “Aloo tikkis” for my children as a snack for tea time. The rains have started off pretty quick this year round….So it’s pretty much very satisfying to have some hot snacks with chai.
- 3-4 medium sized potatoes boiled and peeled and mashed
- 3-4 green chillies chopped
- ½ tsp of cumin seeds
- ½-1tsp of chilli powder (u can vary it according to your spice preference)
- ½ tsp of turmeric powder
- 2 tsps of coriander leaves chopped
- ¼ tsp of dry mango powder or ½ tsp of lemon juice
- 2 tbsps of rice flour
- Salt to taste
- Oil for frying
- In a bowl mix in potatoes, green chillies ,cumin seeds, chilli powder , turmeric powder , coriander leaves , rice flour ,lemon juice or dry mango powder and salt . Pinch golf ball sized small portions, roll and flatten to make patties .Once shaped in to patties, heat oil in a wok and deep fry them till they are golden brown in color. Serve with green chutneys
- 1 cup of fresh mint leaves
- 1/2 cup of fresh coriander leaves
- 2 green chillies
- 1 clove of garlic
- 1/4 inch piece of ginger
- 1 teaspoon of lime juice
- 1/2 cup of yoghurt
- salt to taste
- Grind mint leaves , coriander leaves , garlic , ginger and lime juice into smooth paste in a blender.Mix in the yoghurt and salt .Serve it with the aloo tikkis !
A homemaker who fell head over heels in love with food -an award-winning cookbook author, food blogger, award-winning culinary demonstrator
Celebrating Easter with Kerala Beef Roast !
Holidays have started off but the break is just too small this year.In 1o days time, the school reopens and I am back to square one .Have plans to visit my parents home before the whole break is over. On the occasion of Easter, the recipe that I am very keen on sharing is one that many have requested me to.Kerala’s Beef Roast recipe is one of the most famed recipes. Beef has a prominent place in the Kerala cuisine among the meat lovers. The buffalo meat is meant to be much tougher than other meat, so it’s mostly pressure cooked as it takes more time to tenderize.This is equally good with the flaky Kerala porottas as well as rice.
- 1kg of beef
- 1/2 tsp of turmeric powder
- 4tsps of Kashmiri chilly powder
- 2tsps of Coriander powder
- 1 1/2 tsps of garam masala powder
- 1-2 tsps of black pepper powder
- 4 green chillies slit
- 2medium sized big onions sliced thin
- 1inch piece of ginger crushed
- 10 cloves of garlic crushed
- 1/2 cup of coconut chips sliced
- 1tbsp of vinegar
- 1 cup of shallots sliced .
- Coconut oil
- Curry leaves
- Salt to taste
- Cut the cleaned beef pieces into small cubes .Marinate the beef pieces with chilli powder, green chillies , ginger , garlic , turmeric , coriander powder , garam masala, vinegar , curry leaves , big onion and salt to taste.Pressure cook the meat or cook the meat in a pot with water till it is very tender .In a wok , heat coconut oil , fry coconut pieces till crispy , add the sliced shallots , saute till translucent , pour the cooked meat with stock and mix.Evaporate the stock water so the meat is marinated ,Add in the pepper powder and continue frying .You can add in oil to the sides of the pan if it sticks too much .Once it becomes really dark brown in colour , all the moisture would have evaporated out .Garnish with curry leaves and take it off heat .
A homemaker who fell head over heels in love with food -an award-winning cookbook author, food blogger, award-winning culinary demonstrator
Sweet lemon cake in festive spirits!!
When festivities are up the magic that unleashes is unique in every way. It feels like it’s been almost a decade since I last posted.The number of posts in the drafts section has piled up as always …the Christmas break is winding up in a few days time. This break I had come down to my parents home due to a family issue…hoping to have things sorted out soon. When I was packing up from Munnar I was in high hopes to finish reading up the books that have been on my shelves. I always get hooked up on one matter or other and then there’s no time to read…
By the end of October, I had the chance to represent my books at the Frankfurt world book fair for the third time at the Gourmet Gallery. The opportunity to present a live show kitchen on “Food from Kerala” was, in fact, the most awesome experience.It was in every way the proudest moment to have been able to showcase the regional diversity of Indian cuisine which was highly appreciated and welcomed.I truly had butterflies in my stomach before going on the podium …the similar kind of cramp that gets me before I start my show. Well, little did I know that there were more of things to happen. The worst part was when I popped in all the chopped pineapple into my shiny little red mini pressure cooker and explaining out to the viewers.I tried to turn on the induction …..and it wasn’t working.Well, there were a few lovely ladies who were there to help me and they jumped in to help me out with the knobs but unfortunately, my elegant induction based pressure cooker would just not work on the induction top I had at the show kitchen.I ended up cooking them up in a normal pot.50 minS was the time allotted for my show.I am happy that even though there were a few mishaps I could convey the message to the viewers. Heres a glimpse of the event below…
The most memorable and the greatest privilege was to have an invite to visit the “Le cordon bleu “culinary institute in Paris in October. Le cordon bleu is a world renowned network of educational institutions dedicated to providing the highest level of culinary and hospitality instructions through world-class programmes.Founded in Paris in 1895, it is considered today as the largest network of culinary schools in the world.
After all the stories now let’s move on to the recipe to pep up this festive spirit. Musambi or sweet lemon was pretty in season and I wanted to use them up for a recipe. That’s when I thought of using them up in making up a sweet lemon cake.
- 175 g cake flour
- 3 eggs
- 175 g sugar
- 175 g butter
- Juice of 2 sweet lemon /musambi
- Rind of 1 sweet lemon finely grated
- 1 tsp of vanilla essence
- 1 tsp of baking powder
- 1/2 tsp of salt
- 1/2 cup of almonds
- 1/2 cup of milk
- Preheat oven at 350 degrees .Sieve the flour , baking powder and salt into a bowl.In an other bowl beat butter and sugar about 2 mins and slowly beat in the eggs on by one .Once the beaten mix is pretty smooth , stir in milk , musambi rind , its juice and vanilla essence .Slowly fold in the dry ingredients with almonds into the mix. Grease and line a cake tin with butter paper and pour in the cake batter .Level the top and bake the cake for about 30 minutes or till a toothpick inserted comes out clean .
A homemaker who fell head over heels in love with food -an award-winning cookbook author, food blogger, award-winning culinary demonstrator
Hi! I am Nimi Sunilkumar…an award winning cookbook author /culinary demonstrator/freelance writer / food photographer/food blogger …spiced with the flavors of food..
