Mediterranean Meatballs

| Rekha Vengalil

 

My eye infection got cleared and it was time to get out and breathe some fresh air. We hit the beach; it was loads of fun. My little one loves the beach and since its 10 minutes walk from home, we do have our water play at least once a week.
 
Both hubby and I indulge the child in us as we join Saana in making a sand castle, run into the waves and the splash-splash play. Good fun indeed! Truly spending quality time with the little one is rejuvenating.
 
Over to the recipe, after a week of all the vegetarian meals, it was time for some meat.  And this Mediterranean Meatballs is what I made for lunch today. They are so full of flavor and really easy to whip up. I have adapted the recipe from Kraft and made some changes to it. With this I have one more recipe to cook for Saana often as she simply loved it. 

 


You need –

  • Ground Beef – 300 grams
  • Bread crumbs – 1/2 cup
  • Cream Cheese –1/4 cup, room temperature
  • Onions – 1 small, finely chopped
  • Pitted black olives – minced, 2 tablespoon
  • Egg – 1
  • Garlic cloves – 2, minced
  • Ground oregano- 1/4 teaspoon
  • Olive oil – 2 tablespoons or as required
  • Marinara sauce – 1 cup
  • Paprika – 2 teaspoon

To serve

  • Couscous – 1 cup & cooked as per packed instructions
 
How to –
 
In a large mixing bowl, put the beef, crumbs, cream cheese, onions, olives, egg, garlic, oregano and mix till everything is well combined. Take a tablespoon of meat mixture and shape into balls.
 
Heat oil in pan and fry in batches till the meatballs are evenly browned. Remove and set aside.
 
Into the same pan add the marinara sauce, paprika and the meatballs. Over a medium heat simmer the sauce and cook for 8-10 minutes or till the meatballs are cooked through.
 
Turn off the heat and serve hot with couscous.
 
 
 

Moru Curry

| Rekha Vengalil
 
And so yet another Onam has gone by and the last week has been a lazy one after all the celebration. I haven’t been cooking much and recovering from an eye infection. I am feeling much better today. 
 
This is one of those curry that I make quite often at home and this is my quick fix for those busy/lazy days. I absolutely love this and all I need is some mango pickle to go with it. Please add water as required for the consistency you need. 
 

You need –

  • Yogurt (sour curd) – 3/4 cup
  • Grated coconut – 1/2 cup
  • Green chilly- 1,slit
  • Dried red chili – 1-2-
  • Turmeric powder – 1/2 teaspoon
  • Fenugreek seeds – 1/2 teaspoon
  • Cumin seeds – 1/4 teaspoon
  • Curry leaves – 2 sprigs
  • Oil – 2 teaspoons
  • Water – 1 cup or as required
  • Salt to taste

How to –

In blender, blend the grated coconut, yogurt, cumin seeds, turmeric powder, green chili, to a fine paste.

Heat oil in pan. Tip the mustard, fenugreek seeds and allow to splatter. Add the dried chili, curry leaves and fry for 1-2 minutes.

Turn the heat to very low and add the yogurt-coconut mixture, water (as required), salt and heat through gently. Do not boil. 

Turn off the heat and serve with rice.

"Learning Through Experiences by Gheza-E-shiriin" – My Guestpost

| Rekha Vengalil
Today is my guest post for Gheza-E-shiriin by Huma. It’s been an absolute pleasure to have connected with Huma. I first took notice of her blog during Ramadan where she had a event going ” Ramadam – an event to share” ever since I have been a regular at her place. 

My excitement knew no limits when Huma asked me to do a post on food styling and photography. I immediately agreed to share my little ideas and thoughts of something I love doing the most.Please click here to read more as I share what little I have learnt over this one year of my blogging and photography.


Thank you for taking your time to read through my thoughts. Looking forward to your comments/feedback/suggestions.



Best Regards,
Rekha

Semiya Payasam / vermicelli kheer

| Rekha Vengalil
Wishing all  Malayalis a very happy Onam! And for those who are new to this term, here is something to read http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onam 
 
And this Onam it’s semiya payasam for us. An all time favorite of mine; though hubby and daughter is more for parippu payasam. The recipe I share  is with Condensed milk, that’s made the payasam so creamy and rich and so fitting for the celebration. Please adjust the sugar to suit your taste.  I have used store brought roasted cashews for garnishing instead of fried cashew. You may opt for this or do the traditional way of frying the cashews and raisins in the ghee as mentioned in the recipe below.


You need –

  • Vermicelli/semiya – 1 cup
  • Milk – 1 litre
  • Condensed milk – 1 tin
  • Sugar – 2 tablespoon or as per taste
  • Cashew nuts & raisins – 1/4 cup each
  • Cardamom powder – 1/4 teaspoon
  • Ghee/clarified butter – 1 tablespoon + extra for frying cashews and raisins

 

 
How to –
 
Heat 1 tablespoon ghee in a heavy bottom pan and roast the semiya till golden brown.
 
Add milk and cook over low flame till semiya is cooked through and milk has reduced and bit thick. Stirring frequently. Add condensed milk and sugar. Mix till well combined.  
 
Add cardamom powder and turn off the heat.
 
In a pan, heat the ghee and fry the cashew nuts till golden brown. Add the raisins and fry till they puff up.  Add this to the payasam and serve hot or chilled.
 

Sending this recipe to the event – ” Favorite Food Event – Payasams/ Kheers” hosted by The Big Sweet Tooth

Aviyal

| Rekha Vengalil
 
Aviyal / Avial is yet another integral part of the sadhya. A delicious mix of different veggies cooked in a coconut-yogurt sauce. Like most dishes this too have many variations though out Kerala. One of them is the consistency of the gravy.  Some like it with more gravy and while others like it dry/semi – dry. I like the semi-dry version and that’s what I am sharing with you today.  
 
You need –
  • Raw banana – 1
  • Yam – 100 grams
  • Carrot – 1
  • Drumstick – 1
  • Beans – 10
  • Potato – 1 small
  • Yoghurt – ½ cup (Sour)
  • Grated coconut – 1 1/4 cups
  • Cumin seeds – 1/4 teaspoon
  • Fresh green chili – 1
  • Turmeric Powder – a pinch
  • Salt to taste
  • Coconut oil – 1 tablespoon
  • Curry Leaves – 1 sprig 
 
How to –
 
Wash, clean and cut all the veggies into lengthwise (about 2’ inch pieces).
In heavy bottom pan, put the cut veggies along with 1/2 cup water. Cover and cook till just about done. (Do not over cook. Keep the veggies crisp). Uncover and continue to cook for a couple of minutes till the water is almost reduced to 1/4 (or if you want more gravy then don’t let the water evaporate). 
 
In a blender, coarsely blend together grated coconut, chili, and cumin seeds without adding any water. Add this mixture to the veggies along with yogurt, curry leaves and mix gently till well combined.
 
Turn off the heat and drizzle the coconut oil and mix well cover and let it sit for a couple of minutes before you serve.
 
 
 

Puli Inji

| Rekha Vengalil
 
Cooking up and preparing for Onam is fun but missing home terribly and so is the case at home too. Said that, can’t wait to be home soon in a couple of months and really looking forward to that now.  
 
And today’s recipe is a very essential part of the sadhya. Call it a sweet and sour ginger pickle of Kerala where ginger is cooked in a tangy-sweet sauce.  Just recently did I know that inji puli and puli inji are two different recipes (of course a slight difference not huge).  One has little more chili while the other has more Puli.  
 
There are many variation of this in different part of Kerala and here’s how my Mom makes it. You may alter the addition of chili or Jaggery to suit your taste. 
You need –
  • Fresh ginger – finely chopped, 1 cup
  • Tamarind – a lemon size ball, soaked in 3/4 cup of hot water.
  • Jaggery – grated, 2 tablespoons
  • chili powder – 1/2 teaspoon or as per taste
  • Green chili – 2, finely chopped
  • Asafetida – a pinch
  • Mustard seeds – 1/2 teaspoon
  • Curry leaves – 1 sprig
  • Coconut oil – as required
  • Salt to taste
 
How to –
 
Squeeze the soaked tamarind; extract the juice and set aside.
 
Heat oil and fry the ginger till golden brown. remove and set aside. In the same pan add oil if required; once heated add the mustard seeds and allow to splatter. Tip the green chili, curry leaves and fry briefly for a couple of seconds.
 
Add the chili powder, asafetida and saute for 2 minutes over medium heat. Add the fried ginger and mix well.
 
Add the tamarind water, jaggery, salt to taste and mix well and cook till mixture is thick and pulpy.
 
Turn off the heat and let it rest for an hour before you serve. cool completely before you jar it.
 
 

Ishtu / Kerala potato stew

| Rekha Vengalil
 
Kerala’s potato stew is a creamy and mildly spiced, which is pretty easy to make.  It is served with Appam and is also a must during festivals and special occasions.  
 
Appam and Ishtu/stew is yet another favorite at home. This makes to our dinner table at least once in a week.  We like our ishtu a bit thick (not too runny). So please adjust the consistency of the gravy to your choice. 
 
 

You need –

  • Potatoes – 2, large boiled, peeled and roughly mashed
  • Thick coconut milk – 3/4 cup
  • Onion – 1 medium, thinly sliced
  • Green Chilies – 1 or as per taste
  • Ginger – I small piece, finely sliced
  • Salt – to taste
  • Curry Leaves – 1 sprig
  • Coconut Oil – 2 teaspoons
  • Water – 3/4 cup

How to –

In a pan add the water, sliced onion, green chili, curry leaves, ginger and bring to a rolling boil.

Add the potatoes and mix well. Continue to cook for 2 minutes.


Add the coconut milk, salt and bring to a gentle simmer but do not boil.

Drizzle the coconut oil and cover and let it sit for a few minutes before you serve.

 

 

Kadala parippu pradhaman / Chana dal Kheer

| Rekha Vengalil


Onam is here again! and I have planned to post onam sadya recipes this week. Unsure if I will be able to do all of it by 16th; yet promise to fit in as much as possible. I already have a few that you might want to check out

And today I have this delicious payasam/pradhaman made of coconut milk and chana dhal. Traditionally fried coconut pieces are also added in but I forgot to buy them and realised only when I started making the payasam. 


You need –

  • Chana dal – 250 grams, cleaned & washed
  • Palm sugar/ Jaggery – 400 grams, grated
  • Coconut milk
    • Think Coconut milk – 3/4 cup
    • Medium thick coconut milk – 1.5 cups
    • Thin coconut milk – 3 cups
  • Ghee – 2 tablespoon + 1 tablespoon of frying cashewnuts
  • Cardamom powder – 1/4 teaspoon
  • Cashewnut and coconut pieces – 40 grams each

How to –

In pressure cooker, cook the dal with enough water (around 3 cups). Once done mash roughly and set aside.


In pan melt the palm sugar/jaggery with 1/4 tablespoon water and aside. Now heat a heavy bottom pan and add 2 tablespoons of ghee. Add the cooked dal and melted jaggery and mix well. Be careful as the ghee will start to splatter so take care.

Stir till everything is well combined. Now add the thin coconut milk and bring to a rolling boil. Add the medium thick coconut milk and cook till the payasam thickens and reduces to half. Stir frequently. Add the Thick coconut milk and bring to a gently simmer.
Turn off the heat add the cardamom powder and mix well.


In a small frying pan, heat 1 tablespoon of ghee and fry the cashew and coconut pieces (if using) till golden brown. Add this to the payasam and mix well. Serve hot.

 

 

Kai phat Krapow / Thai basil chicken

| Rekha Vengalil

 

On our visit to Thailand a couple of years back, food was something we enjoyed the most apart from the hospitality of the Thai people. It quite amused me the way they greet you, spoke so softly and so glad that I work closely with Thailand as my office is headquartered there.  And during our trip, I got to taste some authentic Thai food both at the restaurants and at a friend’s place.  Ever since I have been a fan of Thai food and do cook them at home. One of them that I cook often is Kai phat Krapow or Thai basil chicken.
 
 
A simple and delicious chicken recipe you can imagine. Robustly flavored with garlic, chili and Basil is sure going to leave you longing for more.  You can also cook this with minced beef or pork.  Adjust the heat with adding more or less chili to suit your taste.  


You need –

  • Minced chicken – 250 grams
  • Fresh Thai basil leaves – 1.5 cup
  • Fresh red chili – 3 or as per your taste, finely chopped
  • Garlic big cloves – 3, minced
  • Long beans – chopped into 0.5 inch, 1/3 cup
  • fish sauce – 2 tablespoons
  • Dark soy sauce – 1 tablespoon

How to –

Heat oil in a wok and add the garlic, Saute till aromatic, Tip the minced chili and cook briefly.


Add the chicken and cook till the chicken changes the color. Use a wooden spoon and break the chicken to small lumps. Add the sauces, mix well.


Add the basil leaves, cook till the leaves wilted and fragrant. Mix well and turn off the heat and serve hot with Thai Jasmine rice.