September 30th, 2009 
Jisha 
Here is the recipe for a very simple prawns curry which can be made quickly with minimum ingredients. You don’t need coconut or shallots for this recipe. So it saves lot of time. This Chemmeen curry is made using Kudam Puli (Gambooge). It goes well with Rice and Chappathis. Ingredients Shrimp/Prawns (peeled and deveined) – [...]
September 30th, 2009 Jisha 
If you to want to avoid coconut, then you can make Beans Mezhkkupuratti instead of Thoran. Sauteed beans can be prepared very quickly without any hassles. Ingredients Diced Beans – `1/2 lb (I use both fresh and frozen beans) Sliced Red Chillies – 4 Finely sliced Onions – 1 medium Curry Leaves – A sprig [...]
September 28th, 2009 Jisha If you are hosting a party at home, then probably you would be wondering how to fascinate your guests with home made food. Be it a lunch or dinner party, you can definitely please your guests with a little thought and planning. Of course, be prepared to do a lot of hard work in your [...]
September 24th, 2009 Jisha 
Mulaka Pachadi is a very new dish to me. It is something similar to Puliyinji and is well known in Northern Kerala. It is made by simmering green chillies in jaggery and tamarind sauce but uses less ginger and more chillies when compared to Puliyinji. I was planning to make Puliyinji for Onam 2009 but [...]
September 24th, 2009 Jisha 
Kaalan is a very traditional Malayali dish made using Yogurt, Coconut and fruits or vegetables. It is always part of an Onam Sadhya. Back home, we never used to make Kaalan. Instead, Pulisshery was made using Yogurt and Coconut. After coming to US, my friend Lisha made Kaalan for Onam 2009 and it was great. [...]
September 23rd, 2009 Jisha 
Masoor Dal is known as Chuvana Parippu or simply Parippu in Malayalam. It is smaller in size and lighter on the stomach compared to Toor Dal (Tuvara Parippu). It cooks in no time. Here is my recipe for a simple Masoor Dal Curry or Red Lentil Curry flavored with tomatoes, garlic and lemon juice. Ingredients [...]
September 23rd, 2009 Jisha 
I had bought a bag of fresh Snow Peas from Farmer’s Market and decided to make a simple thoran with it. I was searching for the exact Malayalam Name for Snow Peas but couldn’t find it anywhere. Snow Peas look similar to Sword Beans but taste differently. Sword Beans is known as Valavara/ Valamara /Valpayar [...]
September 22nd, 2009 Jisha 
When I went to my friend Aruna’s house for dinner – I fell in love with her chicken curry. I immediately asked her for the recipe of her wonderful Chicken Curry. She was more than happy to share it with me. This chicken curry is different from the chicken curries I usually prepare at home, [...]
September 22nd, 2009 Jisha 
When I came to US from India, my mom had packed for me some dried prawns/shrimp despite my resistance. I started trying different recipes using dried prawns and everything tasted good. Dried Shrimp can be used for making tasty gravies, chammanthi (chutney) and so on. It can be fried along with onions and spices to [...]
September 22nd, 2009 Jisha 
Here is my recipe for Okra and Potato Stir Fry (Vendakka Uralakizhangu Mezhkkupuratti). This combination of vendakka and potato was introduced to be by my mom and it tastes good. Ingredients Okra/Ladies Finger (Vendakka) – 1/2 lb Potato (sliced into 1 inch long pieces ) – 1 medium Sliced Onion – 1 big Sliced Green [...]
September 18th, 2009 Jisha 
For Onam 2009, I had made mixed vegetable theeyal. Theeyal is another Kerala gravy made using fried coconut and spices. The gravy has a nice aroma of roasted coconut and tastes heavenly. The most common varieties of Theeyal are:- Pavakka (Bitter Gourd) Theeyal Padavalanga (Snake Gourd) Theeyal Chemmeen (Prawns) Theeyal Ulli (Shallots) Theeyal Here is [...]
September 15th, 2009 Jisha 
Here is my recipe for an easy Onion Chutney with coconut. This tastes excellent with Dosa, Idli etc. Ingredients Sliced Onions – 1 large Dried Red Chillies – 3 Crushed Garlic – 2 cloves Grated Ginger – 1 tbsp Shredded Coconut – 1 cup Salt – to taste Curry Leaves – A few Oil – [...]
September 9th, 2009 Jisha 
Aviyal is a very famous Kerala Dish made using vegetables and fresh coconut paste. The vegetables mostly added to Aviyal are the following :- Potato Raw Plantain (Vazhakka) Yam (Chenna) Carrot Drum Sticks (Muringakka) Beans Ivy Gourd (Kovakka) Raw Mango Brinjal (Vazhuthananga) Ash Gourd (Kumbalanga) Runner Beans (Achinga Payaru) Pumpkin (Mathanga) Vegetables like Okra (Ladies [...]
September 7th, 2009 Jisha 
As the name suggests, Injithairu is another simple Onam dish made using Yogurt and Ginger. Ingredients Yogurt/Curd – 2 cups Grated Ginger (Inji) – 2 tsp Finely Chopped Red Chillies – 2 Salt – to taste Preparation Method Mash the ginger and red chilly roughly using a Mortar and Pestle. Mix all the ingredients together [...]
September 7th, 2009 Jisha 
Pachadi is another traditional Kerala dish made using a fruit or vegetable by grinding together coconut and mustard seeds and finally simmering everything in curd. In some regions of Kerala, they don’t grind mustard seeds for Pachadi. Instead they season the dish with mustard seeds. Whereas, if mustard seeds are used only for seasoning, we [...]
