Triad Combination ~ Vegetable Saute

Baby chechi is a 60 year old woman who makes a living by cooking for others. Since her husband passed away, the sole means of livelihood for her to raise her three daughters was for her to cook. She has the culinary skills to cook any, and I mean 'ANY' Kerala dish. She came to our house in Kerala 5 years ago, and more than a cook she has become an important member of our family. I had seen her come up with this quick saute...and thus sharing one of her delights.

Ingredients:

French Beans - 200gms

Potato - 200gms diced
Carrot - 200gms diced
Onion - 1 finely chopped
Mustard seeds - 1tsp
Aniseed Powder - 1/4tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1/2tsp
Green chillies - 1 finely chopped
Garlic - 2-3 pods finely chopped
Curry leaves - a sprig
Salt to taste

Heat a pan and pour about 3tbs of oil, splutter the mustard seeds, add the curry leaves and brown the onions. Tip in the garlic and chilly and saute for a minute,  add in all the vegetables and saute. Fry for about 3-4 minutes on medium flame. Then add in the turmeric, aniseed powder and salt. Fry till all the powders are mingled in. Add a about 50ml of water, cover and cook the vegetable in the steam for another 5 minutes till done or all the water is evaporated. Serve hot and enjoy!!

A Sweet Makeover ~ Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins

These muffins are tender, lower in fat and cholesterol unlike your regular muffins. And the low fat butter stands in for some of the oil. Elijah and myself had these little loves inside his little play tent. Let me also add that the bananas are fresh produce from my mother in laws garden.

Ingredients:
Plain flour - 2cups
Baking powder - 1tsp
cinnamon Powder - 1tsp
Nutmeg grated - 1/2tsp
Salt - 1/2tsp
Brown Sugar - 1/2cup
Vegetable Oil - 1/4cup
Buttermilk or Sour milk - 1/3cup
Egg white - 1
Egg - 1
Vanilla Extract - 1tsp
Ripe Banana Mashed - 1cup
Chocolate Chips -1/3cup
Cashew nuts/ Walnuts chopped and toasted - 1/4cup
Grated Coconut - 1tbs for sprinkling (optional)

Preheat oven to 170 C. Fill each muffin hole with a paper muffin cup on a 9-cup or 12-cup muffin tray. Combine well the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg,  baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix in the brown sugar, oil, sour milk, egg white, egg and vanilla. Using the electric beater beat on medium speed for 3-4minutes. Gradually add in the flours and beat on low speed. Fold in the chocolate chips, mashed banana and nuts. Fill in the paper muffin cups about two thirds full. Sprinkle coconut. Bake for 15 to 20minutes until an inserted toothpick comes clean.

Tip: To make milk sour, add about a 1tsp of lemon juice to the milk and warm it through till it curdles. Let it cool a bit before adding it to the batter.

Hot pepper drink ~ Mulligatawny

Rasam is known to cure a fever, aid in digestion and also has antioxidant  benefits. For a simple rasam you would require..

Ingredients:
Tomatoes - 2 ripe roughly chopped
Garlic - 3-4 pods crushed
Fenugreek seeds - 1/4tsp crushed
Mustard seeds - 1/4tsp crushed
Cloves - 2 crushed
Cinnamon - 1 stick
Fennel - 1/4 tsp crushed
Black Peppercorns - 10-12 crushed
Dry Red chilly -2-3 broken into pieces
Tamarind pulp - 1tsp
Asafoetida powder - 1/2tsp
Mustard seeds - 1tsp for the tempering
Curry leaves - a sprig
Shallots - 7-8 finely sliced
Coriander leaves - 2tbs
Water - 3 cups
White pepper powder to sprinkle
Salt to taste

In a saucepan, bring the water to boil add all the ingredients except the mustard, curry leaves (kept aside for tempering) and coriander leaves. Simmer for about 15 minutes. Blend all the ingredients and keep aside. Temper the mustard seeds shallots and curry leaves. Put the blended mixture back into the saucepan, pour the hot tempering and lastly add chopped coriander leaves and sprinkle some white pepper powder just before serving.

Tip: Once the rasam is blended the mixture could be strained and the residue could be discarded. I prefer not straining the liquid because the goodness lies in the residue. Also if you are using tamarind pulp, about 50gms of tamarind should do. It should be soaked in warm water for 10minutes and then added to the rest of the ingredients and brought to a simmer.

Chocolate treat for the babies

My toddler is at home he bunked playgroup, my brother is coming home after a week long of stressful examinations and my husband has been having back to back meetings at office the whole week. So I thought I'd bake a cake and treat everyone to an ecstasy of pure brown deep dark chocolate!!

Chocolate Yogurt Cake and Chocolate Glace

Chocolate Yogurt Cake (Recipe Courtesy: Simi Reuban)

Ingredients:
Plain flour - 1 3/4cup
Eggs - 2
Baking Powder - 1tsp
Baking soda - 2tsp
Cocoa Powder - 3/4 cup
Sugar - 2cups
Vegetable oil - 1/2cup
Yogurt - 1cup
Instant coffee powder - 2tsp diluted in 1 cup of hot water
Vanilla Essence - 1tsp
A pinch of salt

Sift together the plain flour, baking powder, baking soda and cocoa powder. Cream the eggs, essence, sugar, salt and oil. Beat till the sugar dissolves. Add in the sifted flours and yogurt and coffee mixture all at once and continue to beat well, scraping the sides of the bowl once in a while. Pour into a greased and floured pan and bake into a preheated oven of 140 C for 40-45 minutes till done.

Chocolate glace Icing (Recipe Courtesy: Freeda Ipe)

Ingredients:
Vanilla Essence - 1/2tsp
Cocoa Powder - 2tbs
Butter - 2tbs
Water - 1tbs
Hot water - 2-3tsp
Icing Sugar - 1cup

Heat everything except the icing sugar into a saucepan. Take off from the flame and add the icing sugar. Add the hot water teaspoon at a time until the desired consistency is reached. 

Tip: I wanted a slightly saucy effect so accordingly added the hot water teaspoon by teaspoon to get a loose consistency.

Stir fried green plantains

The best plantain saute I have had is from my Aunt's house (my mom's eldest sister). When I was 14 I was sent away to boarding school in Trivandrum and my on campus local guardians were my Uncle, Aunt and my notorious cousin. So food was actually not a problem, because I'd be at my Aunt's place for lunch and dinner and after school tea snacks. This saute brings back old time memories of school and boarding days.

Ingredients:

Green plantain - 3 cut into fingers

Turmeric Powder - 1/4tsp

Onion - 1medium finely sliced

Dry red chilly - 4-5 broken into pieces

Curry leaves - a sprig

Salt to taste

Peel just a thin layer of the plantains leaving some green skin behind. Cut them into fingers and dunk them into a bowl of water to avoid discoloration caused by oxidation. Wash them several times and drain. Mix together turmeric powder and plantains with 1/2 cup water into a saucepan. Cover and cook till they are al dente. In the meantime, saute onions in a frying pan till brown, add the garlic and fry for a minute. Add the curry leaves, broken red chillies, salt and then the cooked plantains, fry till golden brown.

Sunday Brunch ~ Chicken Bell Pepper Crostini

Elijah (my son) and I were lazing in the front of the television watching cartoons when my phone rings. The name appears as "dad" (my father in law), he says that both he and my mother in law were coming right over to visit us. It's a Sunday morning, and I couldn't go to church as Elijah was not doing too well the previous night, so decided to be at home. Since our home is not too far from church, is the reason my in laws would have decided on a quick detour here. Never the less, I would have to come up with something to serve them because they would be famished, after a long church service.
The previous day, I had watched Jun Tanaka on the show Cooking it, teaching a culinary catastrophe an easy, yet elegant dish, that had a restaurant appeal. I had the ingredients to the dish and thought I'd give it a try and serve my in laws with some style. This is also my entry to the monthly mingle brunch.

Ingredients:
Chicken breasts - 250gms cooked and shredded
Yellow bell pepper - half a pepper julienned
Red bell pepper - half a pepper julienned
Vienna Chicken Sausages - 2-3 diced
Onion - 1 small finely chopped
Ginger - 1 inch finely sliced and cut into thin strips
Garlic - 3-4 pods finely chopped
Soya sauce - 1 1/2 tsp
Sugar - 1tsp
Salt - 1tsp
Coriander leaves  - 1tbs finely chopped
Olive Oil
Salt to taste
Bread - 10 slices

Heat a wok and drizzle in some olive oil. Add in the onion and sugar, saute till translucent pink. Then add the ginger and garlic, saute for about a minute. Add the shredded chicken, sausages, soya sauce and combine very well. Toss in the peppers and coriander leaves and fry for another 3 minutes. Check in on the seasoning, add salt only if required. Take off from the fire and carefully spoon the mixture over a toasted bread.

Toasted Bread
I have cut the bread into circles using a cookie cutter and lightly toasted the bread without butter onto a flat pan/ tava.

Tip: I had cooked the chicken breasts in 1 cup of water, 3 cloves, 1 cinnamon stick, 1 star anise, 1 green cardamom, 1tsp of salt and 1/2tsp of white pepper for 25minutes on slow flame. The reserve stock can be used in making a soup, or to cook basamati rice if anyone is attempting a fried rice/ pulao.

Kerala Fish Curry - A Classic

This dish definitely takes you through a taste trip of authentic Kerala cuisine. It leaves you with a nostalgic feeling of  'naadu'. By all means this should be consumed with piping hot steamed rice or tapiocas to make a wholesome meal.

Ingredients:
Black Pomfret fillet – 500gms cleaned and washed

Cocum – 50gms 

[I have used Cocum syrup for this recipe, if you don’t have cocum or cocum syrup available, a good substitute would be tomato paste.

Cocum syrup – 1 tsp or
Tomato paste – 1 ½ tbs]

Red Chilly Powder – 4tsp

Coriander Powder – 1/4tsp

Turmeric Powder – 1/4tsp

Ginger garlic paste – 1tbs

Fenugreek seeds – 1/4tsp

Mustard seeds – 1/2tsp

Curry leaves - two sprigs

Shallots – 5-6 finely sliced

Salt to taste

Wash and soak the cocum in 1/2cup of warm water for about 5mins. Heat oil in a non stick pan, splutter mustard and fenugreek seeds and curry leaves. Saute the shallots till almost browned. Add the powders and sauté till the oil separates. For those using the tomato paste add it along with the masala powders and sauté. Pour about 2cups of water and cocum with its water and bring to boil. Gently put in the fish fillets. Allow the curry to simmer for 20-30minutes on medium flame until the gravy is reduced to one third.

Tip: You may substitute Black pomfret with Seer, Sardine or Mackeral. You may also want to ask your fish monger to skin off the Black pomfret or Seer depending on the fish being used. I also omit the head of the fish, I personally don't like using the head for any of my dishes. 
This dish is traditionally made in earthen pots. This method of cooking gives it that distinctive unique flavour to the dish. This dish can be served for lunch or dinner to go with your dosas and chapathis.

Okra stir fried

I wasn't too sure about this vegetable the first time I ventured into making anything related to okra. But then my mum as always came to the rescue and asked me to follow simple recipes that she would make with okra and the result of course was a dish that is tasty and valuable. The art of buying okra too was fascinating, as it was my husband who taught me to buy fresh bright green colored ones, he would gently nip the tip of the okra, and if it nips with a gentle "tch" it means the okra is ready to go into your vegetable basket. The ones that don't break off easily are the ones you would need to leave behind. So for the stir fried okra you would need.......

 

Ingredients:

Okra - 300gms
Onion - 1 medium finely chopped
Green chillies - 2-3 slit
Garlic - 3-4 pods crushed
Salt to taste
Peppercorns - 5-6 crushed

Heat oil in a non stick frying pan and saute the onion, green chillies and garlic on medium heat for about 2-3mins. Tip in the okra, salt to taste and fry till the okra are nice and crisp. Sprinkle the peppercorns just before serving.

Tip: Okra while cooking exudes a slimy ooze, take care not to cover while frying, you could spoon in more oil once in a while to eliminate all the ooze and yet maintain the crispiness of the okra. You wouldn't want the dish to turn out too oily.

White radish and Spinach Kootu

 

White radish and spinach kootu is the signature creation by my cook, which I have now mastered, though I would still love her to do the dish for me when she can. There is this ease with which she does this dish, and once done it needs to be instantly eaten with chapatis. My son in spite of the bitterness that exists in spinach has now gotten himself eating this too!

Ingredients:

Spinach - 2 bunches finely chopped

White radish - 3 finely chopped

Onion - 1 medium finely chopped

Green chillies - 2 finely chopped

Garlic - 3-4 finely chopped

Mustard - 1tsp

Curry leaves

Coconut gratings - 4-5 tbs

Salt to taste

Heat a wok and lightly coat with oil. Splutter the mustard seeds and add curry leaves. Add the onion and garlic and saute till it turns colour. Take care not to brown the onion, as the dish requires the sweetness of onion to slightly camouflage the bitterness of the spinach. Add the chopped spinach and radish and saute for about 3-4mins. Add a dash of water, cover and cook till the water is evaporated and the dish is almost done. Add the chopped chillies, coconut gratings and salt to taste, give it a good mix and the kootu is ready to be served. It goes well with rice and rotis.

Tip: When I make this dish I do away with the coconut gratings, so that I can avoid unnecessary addition of cholesterol that comes from coconut. But if the bitterness from the spinach is too empowering, adding the coconut gratings would neutralize the flavours, making it easier for consumption.

Sauteed Beets ~ Blood Turnip Sauteed

Beets are known to have innumerable benefits. My mum kept insisting that we consume this veggie once a week strictly. As obedient as I could get, I prefer sticking to a simple saute, and yes we have this once a week. You could make a thoran (a kerala- style preparation) by adding the natural sweetness of coconut gratings; owing to the fact that beetroots are naturally sweet. But then, I would rather use no coconut  at all and savor the wholesome goodness of this wonderful purple vegetable.

Ingredients:
Beetroots - 2 medium cut into fingers
Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp
Peppercorns - 6-8 crushed
Garlic - 2 pods crushed
Curry leaves - a sprig
Mustard - 1tsp
Salt to taste

Lightly coat a wok with oil, splutter the mustard seeds and curry leaves. Then add the garlic saute for  a minute, tip in the beets and turmeric powder and saute for another 5mins. Add a dash of water, cover and cook for another 3-4 mins till all the water is absorbed and the beets are al dente. Add salt and the crushed peppercorns. And there you have a saute dish ready in a matter of minutes.

Tip: You could chop the beets finely, add about 3-4 tbsp of coconut gratings and some cumin powder to make a thoran. Remember to omit the peppercorns for this kind of a preparation as they don't quite go well for a thoran.

White Chocolate Cake

I saw this recipe on my friend's website "Maria's menu" and instantly knew what I could make for my brother's birthday. For starters the recipe seemed simple and yet not something you would make everyday. Though my crust beneath was slightly burnt, the cake is absolutely moist and undoubtedly yummy. We had takers all the way.

Ingredients:
Unsalted butter – 250 gm, chopped
White chocolate – 150 gm (I used Milky bar)
Caster sugar – 2 cups
Milk – 1 cup
Plain flour – 2 cups
Baking powder - 1 1/2 tsp
Vanilla essence – 1 tsp
Eggs – 2, beaten

White Chocolate Ganache
Cream – 125 ml
White chocolate – 300 gm

Preheat oven to 160 degree/325 F, 10 minutes before baking.Grease deep 20 cm-round cake pan; line base and side with baking paper.

For the cake
Combine butter, chocolate, sugar and milk in a saucepan; using wooden spoon, stir over low heat, until nice and creamy smooth. Transfer mixture to a larger bowl and let it cool. Whisk in the flours, then the essence and egg; pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 1 hour. Test with skewer or toothpick and if it comes out clean. Remove the cake from the oven. Let the cake stand in cake pan 10 minutes then turn onto wire rack to cool.

For white chocolate ganache
Bring the cream to a boil in small sauce pan; add in the white chocolate, stir with a wooden spoon until the chocolate melts. Let the ganache cool and then refrigerate, also take care to stir occasionally. Pour the ganache over the cake and let it dribble alongside the entire cake.
                                             

Tip: You may want to cover the cake with foil halfway through baking if the cake is over browning. The cake I have noticed and as mentioned in the recipe does develop a thick sugary crust during baking.

Slowly fried potatoes

This is something I learned from my servant, she has some interesting dishes up her sleeve, which she shares only on special request. She made this for my son who simply loves potatoes in any form like all of us do!

Ingredients:

Potatoes - 4-5 diced and cubed
Sambhar Masala - 1 to 1 1/2 tsp
Salt

With your hands rub the potatoes with salt and sambhar masala and keep aside for about 5 minutes. Heat a wok and lightly coat with oil and fry the potatoes on low fire till nice and crispy. You may experience the potatoes sticking to the pan once in a while, you could spritz in teeny bits of water every now and then to prevent that from happening.

Shepherd's Pie spruced up with Indian Spices

It couldn't be rotis and come curry because we have that every day, I wanted to have a pie, something stimulating, and interesting. So whipped up this with a little difference from the actual by just adding our very own Indian flavors.

Ingredients:
500 gm Chicken breasts (boiled and shredded)
1 tomato chopped
1 onion chopped.
3-4 medium potatoes (boiled)
1/2 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp garam masala
1 tbsp soya sauce
1 tbsp tomato sauce
1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
1 tsp sugar
A couple of green chillies chopped
A couple of tablespoons of milk
salt and pepper to taste
Cheddar cheese and bread crumbs for sprinkling

Saute onions till they become translucent pink, add the ginger garlic paste and saute well. Followed by the powders till the masala is cooked. Then add the tomatoes, and chillies till all is well done. Tip in the soya sauce, tomato sauce and sugar. Once the mixture is combined well add the shredded chicken and saute for another 2-3 mins.
Mash the boiled potatoes to a spreading consistency using milk, salt, pepper and a bit of grated cheese.
Grease a baking dish and layer the meat mixture as the base and spread the mashed potato on top. Finally sprinkle the breadcrumbs to make that the third layer, and grate cheddar cheese for the topping. Bake for 20 minutes at 120 degree C. Serve fresh from the over with some bread rolls.

The buttermilk mixture known as "Kalan"

Kalan is a preparation usually made for Onam or other festive occasions. My mum made this almost every other day because her kids simply loved it. It's even better if a fish curry were to accompany with the rice.

Ingredients:

Raw Banana - 1 cut into rounds of 1inch thickness

Sour curds - 4 cups

Turmeric powder - 1 1/2tsp

Fenugreek powder - 1/2 tsp
Fennel powder - 1/2tsp

Coconut grated - 1/2 cup

Green chillies - 3

Dry red chillies - 4-5

Mustard seed - 1tsp
Garlic - 4 pods
Curry leaves - a sprig

Combine the sliced up banana, 1/2tsp of turmeric powder,a bit of salt and water into a non-stick pan till the banana is pan coated. In another pan cook the sour curds with the rest of the turmeric powder. Cook on low heat continuously stirring to avoid curdling the mixture. Remove pan from fire and continue stirring till the mixture is slightly cooled. Wet grind the masala of coconut, garlic, 2 shallots, fennel powder and green chillies. For the tempering splutter mustard seeds, curry leaves, sliced shallots and red chillies till brown.Once the tempering is ready add the fenugreek seeks. Keep the yoghurt mixture back onto the stove and add the ground masala till the mixture is combined well. Add the salt and the cooked plaintains and stir well. Add the tempering to the dish.And its ready to be served with rice.

Yardlong beans and Potato Sauteed

On our usual weekend getaways to my in laws, I would admire the way my father in law would pitch in to cook. He has a way of dealing with his vegetables, as if it were fragile and delicate. For this dish he would accurately measure out each bean and cut it with such precision, that itself is a wonder to see.

Ingredients:

Yardlong beans - 400gm cleaned and cut into 1inch pieces

Potato - 3-4 peeled and cut into fingers

Onion - 1 finely sliced

Garlic - 3-4 pods crushed

Green chilly - 1 finely chopped

Turmeric - 1/4 tsp

Aniseed - 1/4 tsp

Salt to taste

Cook the beans and potato with the turmeric and bit of salt and about a quarter cup of water in a non-stick pan till it becomes al dente or the water dries up and the vegetables are pan coated. In a frying pan, heat oil and saute the onions till browned. Add the crushed garlic and chilly, saute for another minute. Then tip in the beans and potato and fry till almost done. Add the aniseed powder and more salt if required and cook well.

Tip: The beans need to be nipped off at the ends. The beans could be held in bundles and hashed to get even sized pieces of about an inch.

Chicken in ground coriander reamed with fried button onions and rice

After a long outing on the previous day I was in no mood to cook the next day. Situations don't always work out in my favour and nor did I have the option of ordering home delivery. So I had to bring up something to the table or else I'd end up with too many cranky babies (my husband, my son and my brother if he turns up for lunch). I had lunch ready in a matter of minutes..a simple chicken and rice meal.

Ingredients:

Chicken - 1kg cleaned and cut into medium pieces

Coriander powder - 6tbs

Chilly powder - 1tbs

Turmeric powder  - 1/4tsp

Aniseed powder - 1tsp

Button onion - 15-20 finely sliced (otherwise known as shallots or sambhar onion)

Coconut milk - 1 1/2cups

Grind the coriander chilly and turmeric along with aniseed powder to a fine paste. Mix the ground paste with diluted coconut milk (2nd extraction of milk for those using grated coconut). Add the chicken and salt as required to the diluted coconut milk with ground masala. Cook the chicken for 7-10mins. Remove the partially cooked chicken and lightly fry in oil in another pan. Fry the sliced button onions till they are browned, taking care that they do not burn. Add half the fried onions to the cooked gravy. Once the chicken is fried put it back into the cooked gravy, add the remaining coconut milk and cook on low flame. Do not boil the gravy. Once the dish is cooked and transferred onto a serving plate, top with remaining fried button onions. The fried onion gives the curry a distinctive flavor.

Semolina Moulds alongside Chicken Delight

The day Uppumau is made at home, my brother and me would have this unusual silence at the kitchen table. As children we were to eat this with sliced up bananas and sugar sprinkles while my dad gets his uppumau accompanied with chicken/ fish or any meat  depending on what was the previous day leftover. The story still continues in my household - my husband and brother would eat this provided the approved non vegetarian condiments are served alongside...

Uppumau

Ingredients:
Semolina/ Bansi Rava/ Roasted Rava - 1 cup
Onion - 1 finely chopped
Tomato - 1 finely chopped
Ginger - 1 inch finely sliced and cut into thin strips
Green chilly - 1 finely chopped
Boiling water - 1 1/2 cups
Sugar - 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Carrot finely grated -  2tbs

Depending on the type of rava, roast the rava on a non stick pan without losing the colour. Wipe the pan using absorbent paper and saute the ginger and onion until translucent. Add the chilly and tomato and fry till the tomato becomes soft. Pour the boiling water, and once the water starts bubbling, add the rava and cook for another 3-4 mins till the water is absorbed and the rava is cooked. Fill a ladle with the rava mixture and unmould onto a plate and serve. Top the semolina hillocks with grated carrot.

Chicken Delight

Ingredients:
Chicken - 1kg cleaned and cut into medium pieced
Ginger garlic paste -2tbs
Garam masala - 1/2tsp
Turmeric - 1/2tsp
Vinegar - 1tbs
Onion - 3-4 finely chopped
Tomato paste - 2tbs or 3 tomatoes blanched and pureed 
Dry red chillies - 6-7 without the seeds and ground to a paste
Water - 1 cup
Red colour optional
Salt to taste

Marinate the chicken with garam masala, ginger garlic paste, turmeric, vinegar and salt for an hour. In the meantime, heat oil in a wok and saute onion till evenly browned, Then add the ground chilli paste and tomato paste and saute till the masala is cooked through. Add water and red colour and let it simmer for 2-3 minutes.
Fry the marinated chicken till browned and add the fried pieces to the cooked gravy.  Serve with uppamau moulds.

A Sweet Makeover ~ Coconut Laddoo and Wheat Pedha

I was wanting to send some mithai for the folks at my husband's office, that's when my batch mate from college put up her recipes for 'Mithai DiwalI Special' on her blog which look absolutely divine and tempting. I didn't think twice, went to the store procured the ingredients and started at it right away. When you have a toddler at home you wouldn't want to go through methods that need surgical precision but something that would get you through the dish with absolute ease. And these mithai recipes are just that!

Coconut Laddoo

Ingredients:
(Makes 30-32 ladoos) 
Condensed milk (Milkmaid) - 300ml/ 1 tin
Grated coconut - 4 cups

Set aside about 50 gms of coconut. Then in a kadai, add the rest of the coconut and the milkmaid and mix well. Cook on low flame for about 5 minutes. When the mixture starts to leave the sides of the kadai, take it off the flame and transfer the mix to another bowl and let it cool. Grease your palms with butter and make small laddoos. Roll them in coconut and arrange them on a butter paper.

Wheat Pedhas

Ingredients: 
(Makes approximately 30 pedhas)
1  1/2 cups Wheat Flour/ Atta
1 cup Sugar
½ cup Milk
3-4 tbs Clarified butter/ Ghee
½ tsp Cardamom powder

In a kadai add ghee and roast the flour for about 3-4 minutes on low flame. You'd know the flour is roasted from the wonderful aroma that would start to emanate. Add the sugar and give it a good mix. Now add the milk and continue stirring till it becomes a single mass and starts to leave the sides of the kadai. Sprinkle the cardamom powder and switch off the flame.  Grease a plate with ghee and set this mixture onto it and let it cool. When it is cool enough, make small balls and flatten it a bit. Roll them in powdered sugar and store in airtight containers.

Caramell'd Banana

Every one in my family including my toddler loves this snack. My maternal grandmother used to make banana fritters regularly whenever we visited her during summer holidays, but this recipe was something she would secretly make for my uncle who never quite liked the batter coated plantains. And if we ever tried, just tried sneaking a piece kept aside for her son, we ended up getting a good slap on our hands, and she'd immediately retort, "this is for my Kuttappan"..(a name she lovingly called my uncle). I remember her when I make this for my son and maybe some day I'd get to make this for my grandchildren.

Ingredients:
Plantains - 3 ripe sliced round/ or cut lengthwise
Honey - 1 tbs
Clarified Butter/ Vegetable oil - 1tbs
Powdered Sugar and cinnamon to sprinkle

In a frying pan, heat the clarified butter. Add the honey, when it bubbles pop in the cut plantains and fry till it turns to a  golden glaze. Sprinkle powdered sugar and cinnamon just before serving.

Tip: I have cut the plantains into rounds for the convenience of my son, if I were to serve this to guests it would be cut lengthwise, so that it is visually presentable.

Bombay Toast aka French Toast

Bombay toast or rather French toast was a delicacy during my MBA days. We were 12 girls staying together at a paying guest, sharing one frying pan and one hot plate. You would have to wait in queue for your turn to cook, no matter how hungry you were. For me and my friends, if one had the milk, the other had the eggs and the third had the bread. We'd go around scraping off whatever sugar was left from all the sugar pots everyone owned and get busy cooking an absolute rumble.

Ingredients:
Wholewheat bread/ brown bread/ white bread of your choice 10-12slices
2 eggs
2 tbs honey/ 2tbs castor sugar
1 cup  milk
Bacon slivered
2 tomatoes sliced into rounds

Whip the milk, eggs and honey/ sugar well into a shallow dish. Heat a griddle, drop a bit of oil so that the pan is lightly coated. For those not counting their calories you could use  a wee bit of butter instead. Soak the bread into the mixture and let it soak for a couple of seconds and gently turn to coat the other side. Fry till golden brown. In another pan, heat some olive oil and fry bacon till just crisp and in the remaining oil quickly fry the tomatoes till they turn a orangey black hue.Serve the rash and tomatoes onto your slice of toast.

Tip: For those having this without the bacon and tomatoes, strawberry jam, honey or maple syrup would do just fine as well.