Pepper 'n Spice

Aval is beaten rice flakes. This is a classic Keralite tea time snack. It reminds my mother of her hostel days. That's a handcrafted wooden showpiece depicting Drosselgasse in Rudesheim's old town. It is a quaint cobbled street which is only 144 metres long, and with historic buildings alongside cafes. My hubby bought this as a memento when he visited Drosselgasse, Germany for work. Ingredients for aval nanachathu are : Aval - 1 cup Milk - 2 tsp Coconut,  grated - 3/4 cup Jaggery - 1/4 cup Sprinkle milk on the aval. Keep aside for 2 hours until it becomes soft and moist.  In a saucepan on low flame, warm some water. Add jaggery. Stir until it becomes thread-like consistency. Pass it through a sieve. Add coconut and jaggery to the aval.  Cashew nuts and raisins fried in ghee, and ground cardamom could be added too. It's great on it's own or with banana. Recipe from Mom.

Dosa is a South Indian pancake, usually served with sambar and chutney. Masala dosa is dosa with a potato filling. After my evening walk, my fitbit showed that I had covered 10,000 steps. So a masala dosa was well deserved;-) Mom makes enough idli and dosa batter to last us for a week. My daughter loves crispy buttery dosa with mint coriander chutney  https://riyasspace.blogspot.com/2020/06/coriander-mint-chutney.html   or chammanthi podi  https://riyasspace.blogspot.com/2020/05/coconut-chutney-powder.html . Today I had the honour of making crispy dosas for everyone at home.  Adding the potato masala in the center of the dosa,  And covering the masala  My daughter had it this way. To make dosa, Raw rice / idli rice - 4 cups Urad dal - 1 and 3/4 cup (for a stone grinder. If grinding in a mixie, take 2 cups) Water Salt Soak rice and dal separately the previous night. Grind urad dal to a fine paste. Grind raw rice too, separately. ...

Yesterday was a rainy day, and parts of my area got flooded. So we could not step out most of the day. And I had very little all-purpose flour left. I need that to feed my sourdough starter. When there was a slight respite from the rains and when the floodwater had receded, we stepped out to shop. That's when we bought bread; coincidentally from a store called 'French Toast'. The oil on oak painting is 'Winter landscape with ice skaters' by Dutch artist Hendrick Avercamp. It has very minute details like a dog's pawprints and lots of ice skaters. It depicts a winter scene of 1607 - 08. The painting is from Rijksmuseum, the national museum in Amsterdam. For the french toast, you need : White bread - 4 or 5 slices Organic eggs - 2 Cinnamon, powdered - a pinch Olive oil - for brushing pan Whisk the eggs. Add cinnamon. Stir. Heat a saucepan. Brush oil.  Dip both sides of a bread slice quickly in the egg and place on pan. Don't soak it for too long, otherwi...

We buy organic eggs as we eat at least one daily. Its our main non-vegetarian dish. Organic eggs are priced a little higher than conventional eggs as the chicken are not given antibiotics or hormones and are given organic feed. We had idiyappam with egg curry for lunch. The eggs were broken in a vegetable gravy. More coriander powder is added than usual in the masala to give a meaty flavor. When Mom saw me taking pictures of her curry, she was like have you restarted your blogging. Yes, I did have a hiatus when I was trying out my old recipes; modifying and perfecting the ingredient quantities and uploading new pictures - sourdough pancakes, crumpets, pumpkin bread, channa masala, marble cake, cupakes etc.. Its great to have all the recipes in one place, and you don't have to rub or tear off any paper while editing them. Ingredients for this dish are : Organic eggs - 4 Carrot, peeled -200 gms  Potato, peeled - 200 gms Beans - 200 gms Onion - 2 large, peeled Vege...

When I saw some of the big green chilies in our local store, I was reminded of the crispy bajji's I have had when I was younger. Knowing that there was gram flour at home, I decided to buy the chilies. Since I cook on an induction stove with a shallow non-stick pan, I chopped the chilies into smaller pieces and used less oil. Traditionally, the chilies are dipped whole in the batter and deep fried. Bajjis can be made out of onion, banana, egg and potato too. You can have it with a dip of mint coriander chutney.( https://riyasspace.blogspot.com/2020/06/coriander-mint-chutney.html ) The Dala horse from the Dalarna province of Sweden is one of our souvenirs from there. It's carved and handcrafted from the wood of pine trees. It was originally made for barter trading and as toys. For the bajji, you need : Green chili - 10, large Besan (chickpea flour) - 2 cups Rice flour - 2 Tbsp Salt - 1/2 tsp Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp Water - 3/4 cup Olive oil - for brushing Slit the green chil...

I added some chocolate soya milk to the pureed fruits to get a yumm drink with a rich chocolatey color. Pumpkin and papaya are naturally sweet, so there is no need to add any sweetener. The porcelain figurine in the inset picture is from Royal Copenhagen. It is called the sofa note, part of the musica set designed by Monica Ritterband.  The inspiration for her musica figurnes were her fascination in the different shapes of music notes.  Ingredients of this smoothie are Pumpkin Papaya Turmeric powder - a pinch Water - a splash Chocolate soya milk - 1/2 cup Pulse!

Pizza is a savoury snack. The sourdough recipe recommends 2 to 4 hours for proofing. But my daughter was so enthusiastic and eager, that she was after me to bake the pizza as soon as possible. She managed to be patient for 3 hours. Luckily the dough too had risen well, thanks to my active sourdough starter. The best thing of sourdough is that one has to add very little additives like yeast or baking powder or baking soda, even sometimes none of these. So it is tremendously healthy. I omitted yeast in this recipe, yet the dough doubled in bulk in the prescribed timeframe. I added paneer, beans and zucchini too. Before baking. Ingredients for the pizza dough are : Sourdough - 227 gms Lukewarm water - 113 gms Alll purpose flour - 298 gms Salt - 1 tsp Olive oil - for greasing dough Tomato pasta sauce  Topping options : Onion Yellow, red and green bell pepper Yellow and green zuccchini Carrot Beans Mushrooms Paneer, frozen Corn, frozen Celery Olives, pitted Oregano, dr...

Its raining cats and dogs here. The small streets and pot-holes are filled with muddy water. The weather is gloomy and dull. With so little sunlight, I would rather prefer to sleep in. But my daughter needs to attend online classes. I have cut fruits in my fridge. And lazy me thinks "Smoothie"! The Kokeshi doll is called Hohemi (meaning Smile). Its made from Mizuki wood and handpainted in Japan. She is created by Masai Fujikawa, recepient of the Prime Minister's award. She has plum flowers on her kimono and a red top knot. The head and trunk are made separately, and these dolls have no hands or feet. My husband brought her as a souvenir when he travelled to Tokyo for work. Ingredients for the smoothie are : Papaya - peeled, and diced Apple - peeled, and diced Ginger - 1/2 inch, grated Yogurt - 1/2 cup Blend!

Pasta is an Italian dish. The common pasta forms are penne, spaghetti, lasagne and macaroni. Annie has been giving us pasta casseroles during the lockdown period, which my daughter loves. On our evening walks, she even asks Annie when her next lasagne is coming! So I was more or less coerced by her to get the recipe from Annie. This dish requires a little bit of preparation; in making the white sauce, cooking chicken with the vegetables and cooking the pasta. But once that is done, its quite easy; just mix everything in a baking pan and bake. Ingredients are : Minced chicken Tomato pasta sauce - 2 tsp Oregano - 1 tsp Ginger garlic paste - 1/2 tsp Chicken masala - 1/2 tsp Red chili flakes - 1/2 tsp Red capsicum Yellow capsicum Butter - 2 tsp All-purpose flour - 2 tsp Milk - 1 and 1/2 cup Nutmeg - 1/2 tsp Mozzarella cheese - 1 cup, grated Pasta Water Salt Olive oil - 1 Tbsp Method : Boil pasta in water, a pinch of salt and a drop of oil until al dente. Drain with...

The ingredients are similar to  https://riyasspace.blogspot.com/2020/07/pumpkin-banana-carrot-smoothie.html , except instead of pumpkin, I added papaya. This had a nice orangish-pinkish colour.

Today morning's energy booster is a smoothie with coffee. My hubby is a coffee lover, so I thought why not a coffee smoothie. This one didn't have any fruit. Coffee is supposed to help with long-term memory, so its good to have little coffee everyday.  Ingredients are Dates - 3, pitted and chopped small Cinnamon powder - a pinch Coffee powder - 1 tsp Honey - 1 tsp Coconut cream - 3 Tbsp Milk - 250 ml Blend !

This smoothie looks and tastes great. Carrot a day helps build immunity. They have an abundance of beta carotene, which the body converts into Vitamin A. I used : Carrot - 1, peeled Apple - 1, peeled and deseeded Vanilla essence - 1/4 tsp Turmeric powder - a pinch Coconut cream - 1 Tbsp Milk  - 125 ml Chop carrot and apple into small pieces. Puree. Add rest of the ingredients. Blend until smooth. Recipe ref -  https://www.heynutritionlady.com/carrot-apple-ginger-smoothie/

Paneer is like cottage cheese, but thicker. Its commonly used in North Indian cuisine, with peas or capsicum. There is 18 gms of protein in 100 gms of paneer, and hence its a great substitute for meat for vegetarians. The fat content is high, 20 gms in 100gms, and so should be eaten in moderation. I used the remainder of the masala from the channa masala I made today. https://riyasspace.blogspot.com/2020/07/channa-masala.html  Allow the frozen paneer to thaw and slice it into squares. In 2 tsp of oil, fry the paneer until lightly golden. Add the masala and 1 tsp chicken masala. Stir around to mix with the paneer. Garnish with coriander leaves.

Channa masala is made from chickpeas. Its a north Indian vegetarian dish served with poori, bhatoora or chapati. Chickpeas is commonly ground to make hummus, a spread popular in the Middle East. Recipe credits : Inspired by Mom's cooking and  https://www.indianhealthyrecipes.com/chana-masala/ I used spicy green chili instead of the red chili powder, and chicken masala in lieu of garam masala. The curry was spicy and great with brown rice. I am currently reading the Indian novel, "mai silently mother' by Geethanjali Shree. Its about the mother of the household who sacrifices all her wishes and needs for the happiness of the household. She is constantly cooking for her in-laws, husband and children; according to each of their tastes and fancy. Her children, as they grow up, want her to escape the burden. Let me read and see what they do.

This dish has a number of vegetables (beans, carrot, tomato, peas, corn) and egg. Last weekend, when we visited the local club to exchange books, we also bought a food parcel; of egg fried rice. My kid loved it. I was planning to make veg fried rice today, when she said 'amma, make egg fried rice'. So here goes my own creative recipe. I add chicken masala for flavour, you can add any masala of your choice. Ingredients are Brown rice - 1 cup Water - 2 cups Lemon - 1/2 Beans - 250 gms Carrot - 2, peeled Peas - 100 gms Corn - 100 gms Tomato - 1 Garlic - 4 pods, peeled Salt - 2 tsp Pepper - 1/4 tsp Turmeric powder - a pinch Red chili flakes - 2 tsp Chicken masala - 1 Tbsp Organic eggs - 4 Olive oil - 2 Tbsp Wash the rice in two changes of water. Add the 2 cups of water, half a tsp of salt, a drop of oil and squeeze the juice of half a lemon into the rice. Cook. I used frozen peas and corn. Allow to thaw in room temperature and wash it once. I soaked the bea...

Smoothie is a thick drink made from fruits, and milk or yogurt or ice cream. My uncle send me a paper clipping which had the recipe for non-dairy fruit ice-cream with coconut cream. I modified it by adding milk, so that it becomes a smoothie. My smoothie has cold banana, dates, cinnamon powder with cold coconut cream and cold milk. The texture was thick, yet could be drunk. I used the small njalipoovan variety of banana, kept in the fridge overnight. The best part is that you just have to blend everything together. Ingredients are Banana - 2 Dates - 3, pitted and chopped small Cinnamon powder - a pinch Coconut cream - 3 Tbsp Milk - 250 ml Enjoy! Recipe ref :  https://www.yummly.com/recipes/coconut-cream-smoothie

Crumpets are an English breakfast or snack item. Its an easy way to use discard as it requires only sourdough, salt, jaggery and a pinch of baking soda. Tastes swell with honey. My daughter says that its almost like pancakes. We also tried a savoury combination of crumpets and spicy omelette; it was great. Its a healthy carbohydrate breakfast. Ingredients for the crumpets are : Sourdough - 227 gms Organic jaggery - 1 tsp Salt - 1/2 tsp Baking soda - 3/8 tsp Options to add to batter Pepper Mint leaves Onions Olive oil - for brushing pan Combine starter, salt, jaggery and baking soda.  Heat a saucepan. Brush with oil. Pour scoops of the batter. After a few minutes, flip. Cook until lightly browned on both sides. Recipe ref : (KAF)  https://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/sourdough-crumpets-recipe

Popovers look like cupcakes, but they are much more lighter and airy. They are a nice treat with jam or honey. Ingredients for popovers are : Sourdough - 113 gms Lukewarm milk - 227 gms Organic eggs - 3 Salt - 3/4 tsp All purpose flour - 120 gms Cinnamon powder - 1/2 tsp Organic jaggery - 1/2 tsp Combine the ingredients. Do not overmix, its okay to have some lumps.  Pour batter in muffin cups. Preheat oven to 220C. Bake for 5 minutes, it will start to puff up. Turn down oven temperature to 190C and bake for 15 more minutes. Recipe ref : (KAF)  https://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/sourdough-popovers-recipe

Sourdough has been a revelation for me because it is sans any artificial leavening agents like yeast, baking powder and baking soda. It is fermented naturally by the yeast and lactobacilli in the air in my home. A mix of flour and water kept in a container in my kitchen became the base for all my sourdough recipes. It is called a starter and takes about a week to take hold. I have been on a sourdough baking spree ever since my homegrown starter became ripe. Today is biscuit day. Eventhough the recipe called for a pinch of baking powder, I avoided it and the biscuits came out fine. They were crisp on the outside, but surprisingly soft inside. We dunked them in our dinner soup. Ingredients for the biscuits are : Onion - 1, medium size, peeled Organic jaggery - 25 gms All purpose flour - 120 gms Salt - 3/4 tsp Oregano, dried - 2 Tbsp Olive oil - 20 gms Sourdough - 227 gms Thinly slice the onion.  In a saucepan on medium heat, add 1 Tbsp oil. Add onion and jaggery. Saute until they...

Cinnaomon buns or kanelbulle are popular in Sweden during fika, which is the coffee and snack break. My hubby used to have fika in his office every Friday. He and his colleagues took turns to bring the snacks. We used to buy our fika snacks from the rustic Broder Jakob store in Kolstergatan, Lund. Their kanelbulle had a bit of cardamom in it too. Sometimes, we used to get them from Mormors Bageri. I remember the day I landed in Sweden, my hubby bought me a princesstarta to celebrate our first wedding anniversary. It is the traditional princess cake, and there began my love with marzipan. I then discovered the amazing Danish Anthon Berg chocolates - with fruit, liquor and marzipan. Ingredients for the dough are : Sourdough (ripe) - 227 gms Lukewarm milk - 170 gms Organic egg - 1 Organic jaggery - 50 gms Olive oil - 10 gms All purpose flour - 383 gms Salt - 1 and 1/2 tsp Ingredients for the cinnamon filling : Organic jaggery - 159 gms All purpose flour - 28 gms Cinnamon, powdered - 1 Tb...

Cinnamon is a celebrated spice. In Sweden, Cinnamon bun day is celebrated on October 4th. In Denmark, if you are unmarried at 25, you are doused with cinnamon on your birthday. This tradition is probably because is in the olden days, spice salemen used to travel a lot and did not stay long in one place. So they could not settle down with a partner. And if you are unmarried at 30, the Danes would cover you with pepper. Ouch! Ingredients for the bread are : For the dough : Sourdough - 113 gms All purpose flour - 361 gms Organic jaggery - 1 Tbsp Salt - 1 and 1/4 tsp Organic egg - 1 Olive oil - 10 gms Lukewarm water - 152 gms For the filling : Organic jaggery - 50 gms Cinnamon - 1 and 1/2 tsp All purpose flour - 2 tsp Organic egg - 1 Raisins - 74 gms Combine all dough ingredients. Knead by folding like a business letter to get a smooth dough.  Grease dough and place in a bowl. Cover with a kitchen cloth. Keep aside to double in bulk, about 2 hours. Gently deflate. Transfer to a light...

My daughter loved the pancakes so much that she took on the responsibility of making the whole of the second batch on our induction stove. She wanted to make perfect round ones. Have the pancakes with honey, to tide over the sourness.   I replaced jaggery for sugar, crushed pink rock salt for salt and olive oil for butter. The overnight sponge bubbles up, so make sure you put it in a container that is big enough to contain the rise, else it will spill over. I made the pancakes in 3 batches, you get around 20 mini pancakes in one set.  Picture credits : My daughter Ingredients for pancakes are : For the overnight sponge : Sourdough - 241 gms All purpose flour - 241 gms Organic jaggery - 28 gms Buttermilk - 454 gms Organic eggs - 2 Crushed pink rock salt - 3/4 tsp Olive oil - for brushing Combine all the sponge ingredients in a large bowl. Cover with a kitchen towel and let it rest at room temperature for 12 hours or overnight.  After 12 hours, mix the sponge. I se...