Green peas soup

| Rekha Vengalil
You need –
  • Frozen peas – 1 ½ cup
  • Chicken broth – 1 ½ cups
  • Water – ½ cup
  • Shallots – finely chopped 2 tablespoons
  • Garlic – 1 clove, crushed
  • Butter – 1 tablespoon
  • Salt and pepper – as per taste
  • Think cream –f or serving
 
 How to –
 
In a large saucepan, heat the butter over medium heat. Add Shallots and garlic, and cook until soft.  Add peas, broth, and water. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to a simmer. Cook until peas are tender. Pour over to a blender and blend till smooth.  Season with salt and pepper.

Top each serving with a dollop of crème 
 
 

Palpayasam

| Rekha Vengalil

…And it’s my 100thpost… # celebration!!!
Thank you for the incredible support you have given me. It has been a wonderful journey. Enjoying every bit… Cooking up, styling and photography.  Each recipe has been a learning in every way. 


And the recipe for the palpayasam…


You need –
  • Milk – 1 litre
  • Rice – ½ cup, washed, cleaned and drained
  • Sugar – ½ cup
  • Condensed milk – ¼ cup
  • Cardamamon – 2 nos
  • Fried cashew nuts – to garish
How to
In a heavy sauce pan, bring the milk and water to boil. Add the rice, cardamom, and cook till the rice is done. Reduce the heat to low and continue to cook till the milk thickens. You will need to stir continuously. Add the sugar and condensed milk and mix well. Turn off the heat cover the payasam for an hour. During this time do not stir or uncover the payasam.
After an hour serve the payasam.




Kerala style egg roast

| Rekha Vengalil
 
You need – 
  • Hard boiled eggs- 4 nos
  • Onion-sliced finely 2 cups
  • Ginger – crushed 1 teaspoon
  • Garlic – crushed 1 teaspoon
  • Tomatoes – chopped 1 cup or 2 medium tomatoes
  • Curry leaves-2 sprig
  • Water-1/2 cup ( or as required)
  • Coconut oil – 2 tablespoons
  • Salt – to taste
For dry roasting
  • Dry kashmiri chilies – 4 – 5 or according to taste
  • Coriander seeds-1 tablespoon
  • Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp
  • Fennel seeds – ¼ teaspoons
  • Whole pepper – ½ teaspoon
 
How to –
 
Dry roast all the ingredients under “for dry roasting” and grind them into smooth paste.
 
Heat oil in a pan, ginger,garlic and saute for a few seconds. Tip in the onions , curry leaves and salt. saute till onions are caramelized, over a medium flame for about 12-15 minutes, stirring frequently
 
 
Add the tomatoes and cook till the tomatoes turn mushy. Add the ground paste and mix well.  Now add  water. Add  eggs, turn the to low and simmer for a few minutes until spices are absorbed, for about 2-3 minutes. Turn off the heat.
 
 
 
Serve with idiappam, roti, steamed rice or appam.

Lemon-Orangeade

| Rekha Vengalil

A perfect drink for a sunny day…
You need –
  • Juice of 3 oranges
  • Juice of 2 Lemons
  • Warm water – ½ cup
  • Cold water – ½ cup
  • Ice cubes  as required
  • Honey – 2-3 tablespoon


How to –

Mix the honey in the warm water. To this add in the orange juice, lemon juice and cold water and mix.

Pour into a glass with ice and serve.





Tomato rice

| Rekha Vengalil


You will need –
  • Rice (I use basmati) –  1 cup
  • Oil – 2 tablespoons
  • Mustard – ¼ teaspoon
  • White Urad dal – 1 teaspoon
  • Cinnamon – 1 small stick
  • Cloves – 2 no’s
  • Cardamom – 1 no
  • Curry leaves – One twig
  • Grated Garlic – 2 teaspoons
  • Grated Ginger – 2 teaspoons
  • Green chillies -1 or more if you need it very spicy
  • Onion – 1 large
  • Chili powder – ½ teaspoon
  • ¼ tea spoon Turmeric
  • Salt to taste
  • Cherry tomatoes – 1 cup or if you are using big tomatoes – 1 no.
  • Tomato paste – 2 tablespoons
  • Frozen peas – 1/2 cup
  • Hot water – 2 cups
  • Coriander leaves for garnishing



How to –

Soak rice for 15 minutes in water. Drain and set aside. In a skillet, heat oil and splatter the mustard seeds then add in the white urad dal cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, curry leaves and fry for a minute.


Now add ginger- garlic and fry for a minute or until the raw smell is no more. Once done add the green chilli, onion and fry till the onion turn light brown. Add the chopped tomato pieces, tomato paste, salt, chilli powder and turmeric. Once the tomatoes are cooked (takes about 3 minutes on medium heat) add the rice, peas and mix well to combine. Add hot water, cover and cook till the rice is completely cooked.

Garnish with coriander leaves or mint leaves and serve hot. 

Mango Mint smoothie

| Rekha Vengalil

You need –

  • Mango – 1 large diced and chilled
  • Mango juice – 1 cup (Store brought)
  • Greek yogurt – 200 mls
  • Mint leaves – ½ cup
  • Honey –  2-3 tablespoons
  • 6 ice cubes

How to –
Blend yogurt, mango, mint, honey and ice until smooth. Serve chilled.

YO-YO Biscuits – Mango flavour with butter cream frosting

| Rekha Vengalil

Melting movement!  They are so delicious, buttery and light… #joy.

 You need –
  • Unsalted butter – 125 grams, at room temperature
  • All purpose flour – 1 cup
  • confectioner’s/icing sugar – ¼ cup
  • Mango flavoured custard powder – ¼ cup
  • Vanilla essence – ½ teaspoon
  • Mango essence – ¼ teaspoon
For the filling –
  • Confectioner’s/icing sugar – 1½ cup
  • Unsalted butter – 40 grams, at room temperature
  • Vanilla essence – 2 teaspoon
  • Lemon juice – ½ teaspoon
 How to –
Pre-heat the oven to 160 C.
In a mixing bowl, beat the sugar, butter, vanilla essence and mango essence with a hand mixed until light and fluffy. Sift the flour and custard powder in and continue to mix on low speed until everything comes together and forms very soft dough.
 
Spoon a teaspoon of dough and using your palm make small balls. Place them on the baking tray lined with baking sheet. Dip a fork in flour and lightly press down each ball. Bake for 13-15 minutes or till set.  Do not brown the biscuits.  Remove from the oven and let it stand for 3-4 minutes before you move to a wire rack to cool completely.  
 
 
For the filling –
In a mixing bowl, beat the sugar and butter until light and fluffy.  Add in the vanilla essence, lemon juice and beat on high speed until for 2- minutes.
Spoon/pipe the icing on the biscuit and sandwich with another biscuit.
 

Lamb rogan Josh

| Rekha Vengalil



Mutton cooked in rich gravy with aromatic spices.  It leaves your kitchen smelling good too! Well as much as I love this dish I like to stay of it too.. 🙂 its additive and I can mop up till the last bite…



The recipe is from the Hawkins cookbook. I have not made any change to the recipe but altered the quantity of the ingredients since I was using 1 kilo of mutton where as the original uses more.


You need-
  • Mutton (Shoulder) – 1 kg , cut into bite size pieces
  • Whole coriander seeds – 2 tablespoon
  • Cumin seeds – 1 ½  teaspoon
  • Poppy seeds – 3 teaspoons
  • Almonds – 12 nos
  • Brown cardamoms – 1
  • Pepper corns – ½ teaspoon
  • Cloves – 2
  • Mace – a pinch
  • Grated coconut – 2 tablespoon
  • Ginger – 15 grams
  • Garlic – 5 cloves
  • Grated nutmeg – a pinch
  • Bay leaf
  • Cinnamon stick – 1 cm
  • Green cardamom – 2 nos
  • Onion – 1 large, grated
  • Tomato – 1 large, chopped
  • Turmeric powder – ½ teaspoon
  • Whole dry chillies – 4-5 nos. Soaked in ¼ cup hot water for 15 mins.
  • Kashmiri chilli powder – 1 tablespoon
  • Yogurt – ½ cup, beaten
  • Water – ½ cup
  • Salt as per taste

How to –

In a pan roast together coriander, cumin, poppy seeds, almonds, brown cardamoms, peppercorns, cloves, maze, coconut and grind to fine paste along with Ginger, garlic and soaked dry chillies adding enough water (use the water in which the chillies were soaked) . Set aside.
Heat oil in a pressure cooker pan.  Add the bay leaf, cinnamon and green cardamom until fragrant. Add the grated onion and fry till golden. Add the ground paste, tomatoes, turmeric and chilli powder. Stir well.


Add the yogurt 1 tablespoon at time. Stir and blend well. Continue to add the remaining yougurt the same way. Cook until the oil start to separate. Add the meat, salt and fry till the meat is lightly browned. Add the water and mix well. Closed the pressure cooker and cook till done.


Garnish with fresh coriander and serve with rice or rotis.


Chocolate truffles

| Rekha Vengalil
 
Whenever we have guests over, I prefer to prepare ahead so that I get to spend quality time with them, which means do-ahead recipes ring in.. This is one of those desserts which can be done much before and tucked in the fridge.  A treat for the all the chocolate lovers!!

You need –

  • Heavy cream – 250 grams
  • Dark chocolate (70% coco content) – 300 grams
  • Unsalted butter – 20 grams
  • Orange Juice – 2 tablespoons
  • Cocoa powder – for coating. Sifted
How to-
 
Chop the chocolate and leave in a bowl. Bring the cream to a brisk simmer and pour into the chocolate. Allow the hot cream to melt the chocolate (for a minute or so).  Slowly whisk the chocolate – cream mixture till smooth, thick and glossy. 

Stir in the butter while the chocolate mixture is warm. Mix in the orange juice. Stir well to combine and refrigerate until firm. Scoop out 1 tablespoon of the mixture and roll into balls using your palms. Coat each ball with cocoa powder and refrigerate to set again before you serve.