My 200th post and Beef Ularthiyathu

| Rekha Vengalil
This is my 200th post and here’s thanking each one of you for making this journey so wonderful with all your lovely comments and feedback. Truly overwhelmed and feel so blessed. The journey that I started a year back has sure got me some wonderful friends whom I have not met but the bond seems to be growing stronger. Also taking this very moment to thank my family and friends for being a wonderful support. Though at times my daughter says Foodolicious is boring because every time I make her favorite food and I photograph it first before serving her  but still she is all ready to help me when I need her either for a photo or just for clean ups. Love you Molu 🙂 Life is beautiful 🙂
 
Before marriage I was quite reserved when it came to food and especially meat. The only thing I ate was chicken and once in a while lamb. Things have changed and thanks to my hubby who has very tactfully got me eating beef and pork.
 
And yes I had not tasted beef until I had this dish and the only way I like it. So flavorful and tender and yes biting into those coconut slices makes it one delicious dish. If you don’t eat beef  then you can cook this with Lamb but the cooking time will be little longer but taste equally good. Feel free to add more fresh green chilies if you want to make it hotter.  
 
This is truly Kerala’s best.


You need –

  • Beef – 500 grams, cubes into bite size pieces
  • Coconut meat – 1/2 cup finely sliced
  • Chili powder – 1/2 teaspoon
  • turmeric powder – 1/4 teaspoon
  • Ginger & garlic paste – 1 teaspoon
  • Shallots – finely sliced, 1/2 cup
  • Garlic cloves – Minced, 1 tablespoon
  • Ginger – julienned, 1 tablespoon
  • Green chili – 2 or as per taste, slit
  • Corriander powder – 1 tablespoon
  • Black pepper powder – 1 teaspoon
  • Garam Masala – 1 teaspoon
  • Curry leaves – 2 twigs
  • Salt to taste
  • Coconut oil – 2 tablespoon

How to –

In pressure cooker, put the meat, turmeric powder, chili powder, ginger garlic paste and salt. Mix well and cook till done with 2 tablespoons of water. Once done, uncover and drain the meat from the stock reserving 1 tablespoon of the stock and set aside.

In skillet/kadai/wok, heat oil and add the sliced coconut pieces, ginger and garlic and fry till fragrant . Add the shallots, green chilies, curry leaves and continue to fry till the onions turn golden brown.

Add the Coriander powder, garam masala powder and saute for 2 minutes or till oil starts to separate. Now add 1 tablespoon of reserved stock and loosen up the spice mix (this helps the spices to coat the meat well). Add the meat and mix well to coat.

Add the black pepper powder and over medium heat cook for 10-12 mins or until the mixtures is very dry; stirring continuously.

Serve hot with Rice and curry.

 

Sakkarai Pongal

| Rekha Vengalil
A famous South Indian delicacy and yet another favorite of mine.  Made during the harvest festival in the State of Tamilnadu, South of India.   Traditionally made with newly harvested rice and cooked with milk. This is also served in most temples during the auspicious days /festivals. 


You need –

  • Raw white rice – 1/2 cup
  • Yellow moong dal – 1 tablespoon
  • Jaggery/palm sugar – grated, 1 cup
  • cardamon powder – 1/4 teaspoon
  • Cashew nuts – 10-12 nos
  • Raisins – 10-12 nos
  • Ghee/ clarified butter – 2 tablespoon

How to –

Slightly dry roast the rice and dal together in pan making sure not to brown the rice and dal. Add 1 & 1/2 cups of water and pressure cook till the rice and dal cooked through and mushy.

In a sauce pan, melt the jaggery with 2 tablespoon water,  and bring to a boil. Now add the cardamom powder. Add this mixture to the rice and stir well.


Heat the ghee in a small frying pan and fry the cashew nuts and raisins. Add fried nuts with the ghee to the rice and mix well.On a low flame continue to cook for a couple of minutes stirring continuously till everything is well combined.

Serve hot.

 

Dal Palak

| Rekha Vengalil

You need –

  • Mung dal/split pigeon peas – 1/2 cup
  • Red chili powder – 1/2 teaspoon
  • Turmeric powder – 1/4 teaspoon
  • Water – 1 – 1.5 cups or as required
  • Spinach – 1 bunch, chopped
  • Black mustard seeds – 1/2 teaspoon
  • Onion – 1 medium, finely chopped
  • Garlic – 2-3 cloves, minces
  • Ginger – Minced, 2 teaspoons
  • Tomatoes – 1 small, finely chopped
  • Garam masala – 1/2 teaspoon
  • Oil – 1 tablespoon
  • Salt to taste
 How to –

In a pressure cooker, add the lentils, chili powder, turmeric powder, water and cook till done. set aside.

Heat oil in a pan, add the mustard seeds and once they start to sizzle, add the onion, ginger and garlic. Stirring continuously till the onions turn translucent. Now tip the garam masala and cook till fragrant. Add the tomatoes and stir from a few seconds.

Add the cooked dal, salt to taste and water too adjust the constancy as required. Stir in the spinach, cover and cook till the spinach is cooked through about 2-3 minutes.

Serve hot with rice or roti.

 

 

Lemon Rice

| Rekha Vengalil
A popular South Indian rice specialty where the rice is flavored with lemon juice, turmeric and tempered with few spices and peanuts. 
 
This fresh citrus flavored rice is one of the most loved dish at home. Infact this is a favorite of my mom too; one the first dish she learned to make after she moved to Bangalore from Kerala. So a lot of fond memories attached.

You need –

  • Basmati Rice – 1 cup
  • water – 2 cups
  • Turmeric powder – 1/2 teaspoon
  • Lemon juice – 1 tablespoon
  • Peanuts – 1/4 cup
  • Mustard seeds – 1/2 teaspoon
  • Urad dal – 1 teaspoon
  • Green chilli – 1, slit
  • Curry leaves – 1 twig
  • Asafoetida  – a pinch
  • Dried chili – 1
  • Salt to taste
  • Oil – 2 tablespoon
  • Water – 2 cups
 

How to –

Wash the rice and soak for 15 minutes. Drain the water completely off.

In a pan, bring the water turmeric and salt to rolling boil and add the rice. Cook till done. Once the rice is cooked. Keep it uncovered for a few minutes before you use a fork to fluff up the rice slowly. Set aside.

Heat oil in pan, Add the mustard seeds. when they start to pop, add the add the dried chili, urad dal, Asafoetida, curry leaves, Green chili and peanuts. Cook till the peanuts are slightly browned, stirring  constantly.

Pour this over the rice along with lemon juice and mix well. Check for seasoning and adjust accordingly.

Serve hot with you favorite chutney or pickle.

 

Chocolate Fudge Cake

| Rekha Vengalil
I always thought a fudge cake was a difficult one and since its chocolate I never really bothered; until hubby the other day asked me to make one. Not often does such request come hence pulled out my baking bible and made this spongy and moist cake.
A slice of the cake was much a welcome for me in spite of not being a chocolate fan. I had some mango flavored butter cream sitting in the fridge which I used for the filling and dusted generously with icing sugar.

You need – 

  • Self-raising flour – 175 grams
  • Sunflower oil – 150 mls
  • Coco powder – 25 grams
  • Baking powder – 1 teaspoon
  • Soft light brown sugar – 150 grams
  • Golden syrup – 3 tablespoons
  • Eggs – 2
  • Milk – 150 mls
  • Cake pans – 2 (I used a 8 inch but if you need a tall cake then use a 6 inch)
 How to –

Pre-heat the oven to 180 C. Grease the cake tins and line the base with parchment paper.

In a small pan, heat the golden syrup until its runny. Turn off the heat and allow to cool.
In a large mixing bowl, sift together flour, coco powder, and baking powder and mix in the sugar. Set aside. In a separate bowl whisk the egg, oil and milk using an electric whisk.

Now whisk the egg mixture into the flour mixture until well combined. Gently fold the golden syrup into the batter. Divide the batter equally between to tins and bake the cake for 30-35 mins or title the skewer comes out clean when inserted in the middle.

Remove the cake from the oven and allow to cool slightly and then onto to wire rack to cool completely.

You use chocolate icing or icing of your choice to decorate the cake.


.

Rava Dosa

| Rekha Vengalil


You need –

For the batter

  • Semolina/Rava – 1/2 cup
  • Rice flour – 1/2 cup
  • All purpose flour – 1/4 cup
  • Yogurt – 1/4 cup (beaten)
  • Onion – 1 medium ,minced or finely chopped
  • Green chili – 1, chopped
  • Ginger – finely chopped, 1 tablespoon
  • coriander leaves – chopped, 2 tablespoon
  • Curry leaves – 1 twig, chopped
  • cumin seeds – 1/4 teaspoon
  • water – as required for mixing
  • salt as required

Oil/ghee for drizzling


How to –

In a bowl mix the above ingredients under “for the batter” with enough water and set aside for an hour.

Heat the dosa griddle. Take I ladle of batter and spread into a circular motion (If you are not using a non-stick pan then add a teaspoon of oil and then spread the batter), Drizzle oil/ghee along the edges of the dosa, cover and cook till the base begins to brown.

Uncover and flip the dosa over and cook briefly for a couple of seconds. Flip it back and fold it into half and remove the dosa from the pan.

Into a serving plate and serve hot with your favorite chutney.

 

Rosemary Focaccia

| Rekha Vengalil
Focaccia is my favorite bread. With that generous dip into the olive oil is sure an indulgence for me.  Every time we are at an Italian restaurant this is something  I look forward to start off with and lucky some of the restaurant that we are regular at kind of know  this is my weakness and they never fail to give a few slices more 🙂
 
This is one of the easiest bread I have made, yes of course make sure your yeast is active else it can be a complete disaster and be prepared to knead the dough for almost 10 minutes. Ah! I have toned hands!
You need –
  • White bread flour – 500 grams
  • Salt – 1 1/2 teaspoons
  • Instant yeast – 2 1/2 teaspoons
  • Olive oil – 2 tablespoons plus extra for drizzling
  • Lukewarm water – 300 mls
  • Rosemary – 2 tablespoons
  • Fine sea salt
How to –
 
In a large bowl, put the flour, yeast and salt. Mix well. Now stir in the oil, water and knead to form a soft dough.
Turn the dough to a slightly oiled surface and knead for 8-10 minutes. Put the dough back into the same bowl (lightly oiled), cover with a tea towel and let it sit to rise double in size in a warm place. Approximately about an hour.

Pre-heat the oven to 200 C. Line two large baking sheets with grease proof paper. Turn the dough to a flour surface and cut into half. Flatten each portion on the baking sheet. cover and leave to rise again for an hour.

 

Gently press your finger into the dough to make deep holes all over and leave for a further 5-10 minutes. Sprinkle each loaves with rosemary and sea salt. Drizzle some olive oil and  bake for 25 minutes or till pale golden. Remove from the oven and drizzle some more olive oil.


Serve hot or warm.

Note –
  • If you are not sure if your yeast is still active, them prefer you do a proof test. Take half of the lukewarm water ( please make sure the water is not hot. Otherwise your yeast will die). Stir in the yeast along with a pinch of sugar and set aside for 10 minutes. If the form and bubbles foam on top in 10 minutes then your yeast is still active. Add this to the dough with remaining water as per the recipe.
  • The above recipe makes 2 loaves. If you do not want to use both loaves then freeze the other for later. Warm in the microwave before serving.
 

Banana and Maple Smoothie

| Rekha Vengalil

 

Packed with much goodness that it makes a complete breakfast in a glass. Easy to whip up and makes it perfect for those busy work mornings.

 

You need –

  • Banana – 2 large, peeled and halved
  • Greek yogurt – 1/2 cup
  • Maple syrup – 3 tablespoon
  • Ice cubes – 5-6 nos

 


How to –

Everything into a blender; process till smooth and the ice cubes are crushed.
Serve chilled immediately.

 

Kashmiri chicken curry

| Rekha Vengalil
 Kashmir, the heaven on earth as it’s also called because of the natural beauty is equally famous for its food. The famous rogan josh, pilaf/pulav and the list goes on. The most notable ingredient is the meat. They are very particular about marinating and seasoning the meat to ensure the best of taste. A Kashmiri friend of mine had long told me about the secret to ensure the best taste is to dry roast the spices than use the store-brought ground spices which I follow till date.
Over to the recipe, this delicately flavored creamy curry with nuts and saffron is sure a must try. The best part was dry roasting the spices as said above. It just fills your house with a wonderful aroma. 


You need –

  • Chicken – 1/2 kilo, cut into bite medium pieces
  • Cardamom pods – 3 nos
  • Coriander seeds – 1 teaspoon
  • Cumin seeds – 1/4 teaspoon
  • cinnamon stick – 1 cms
  • Clove – 1
  • Pepper powder – 1/2 teaspoon
  • Onion – 1, finely chopped
  • garlic & ginger paste – 2 teaspoons
  • Green chili – 1. slit
  • Blanched almonds – 1/3 cup
  • Shelled pistachios – 1/4 cup
  • Thick yogurt – 1/2 cup
  • Saffron threads – 1/4 teaspoon, soaked in 2 teaspoons of hot water
  • Chicken stock – 1/4 cup
  • Oil – 1 tablespoon
  • Salt to taste

How to –

Dry roast the whole spices (Coriander seeds, Cumin seeds, cinnamon stick, clove) till fragrant. Blend into a fine powder. Set aside. Ground the almonds and pistachios in the blender and set aside.

Heat oil in a pan and cook the onions till golden brown. Add the garlic-garlic paste, green chili and the chicken pieces and fry for 4-5 minutes. Add the spice powder and mix well. Add the stock, salt to taste and simmer covered for 15- 20 minutes. 

Stir in the ground almonds and pistachios onto the yogurt and add this to the chicken. Tip in the saffron too. Reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes or till chicken has cooked through.

 Serve with Rice or any Indian flat bread.