Pepper 'n Spice

 It has been tuna and lentil varieties for the last two days.  The basic ingredients are from the tuna cutlet recipe minus the egg-bread dip for frying.  We had it as a mezhukuvaratti along with rice, as a topping for pizza  and today morning, on an open-faced toast with hummus spread . It is amazing what you can do with one dish. On one hand, it reduces my work and on other hand, it looks different on the table each time..making my daughter say...hey, its pizza today...hey, its toast today. And if I still have leftovers...pssst..I will probably make cutlets.

Yogurt is oh so tasty. Flavoured even so. Yogurt is formed by the fermentation of milk. Lactose in milk is fermented by bacteria to produce lactic acid. This acid acts on the milk protein to give us yogurt. It is full of probiotics that help maintain and improve the gut flora. My midnight snack was raspberry yogurt. We get milk delivered to us in 1/2 litre packets around 7:30 every morning. The milkman counts the number of coupons in the bag hung out on the gate and puts the corresponding number of packets. This tradition of milk delivery has been going on since I was a child. We then wash the packets, cut it open and boil the milk. Only after that it is used. I know this is unlike in Europe, where you get milk in cartons and it can be drunk straight from the tetra pack.  Anyways, I made yogurt from boiled milk. When it cools down (though not completely), and it is semi-hot, pour into a glass bowl. Add a tablespoon of previously made thick yogurt and stir. Keep it covered in a warm pla

This tamarind rice is a dish from the state of Karnataka. I made mine with the help of puliogare powder which had all the right spices. In addition I added a number of vegetables (a bit of everything that was left in the fridge); green zucchini, peas, cabbage and capsicum.  To be precise, these were the contents  Onion - 1 large Garlic - 4 or 5 cloves Green chili - 1 Zucchini, green - 1 Cabbage - 1/4  Capsicum, green - 1 Peas, frozen - 100g Olive oil - 2 tsp Rock salt, crushed - 1/2 tsp Brown rice - 1 cup Water - 1 and 1/2 cup Puliogare powder - 2 Tbsp Chop onion into thin slices and mince chili and garlic. In a hot saucepan, add oil. When the oil warms up, add onion, garlic and chili. Stir until the onions become soft and then add the puliogare powder and salt. Saute for two minutes. Dice zucchini, cabbage and capsicum. Add all the vegetables and peas into the saucepan. Stir for a few minutes. Add brown rice and water, and keep it covered and cook on slow cook. Check in between to see

This is so much like the one with mushrooms . It just needs cabbage and spinach instead of mushrooms. Once you make one kind, there is so much to experiment with different veggies or even meat. Eggs are a good source of protein and helps your body recover after exercise. I do an hour's walk with neighbours in our small colony (I would have loved to step out and explore walkways, but with the current situation, it is safer not to venture out far). Regular aerobic exercise boosts mood and self-esteem. I feel good to just get out for a little while and socialise (even if it is just with two friends). "Spark" provides scientific evidence that exercisers experience less depression, anger and stress. It increases levels of serotonin, dopamine and other important neurotransmitters. I have been into some kind of exercise or other since schooldays (other than the usual playtime). I have walked the dog, jogged and biked when I was small, with my father. He always encouraged it. Pos

This is a clean juice with blueberry and spinach. I add a pinch of a plant-based collagen builder which is being puported as the latest in beauty care . Mine contains powders of berries and fruits (acai berry, acerola cherry, bamboo shoot, rose petals, sea buckthorn, sesbania agati..) I heard about it from my Fitbit community and thought it woudn't hurt to try. Talking about fitbit, I have been on a fitbit detox for the past few days. I notice that I endlessly check it to know my steps, my sleep..without listening (really listening) to my body. I feel more relaxed now that I don't have to reach the 10,000 step count daily and I sleep when my body says so (when I feel really drowsy). It's cool to be gadget free once in a while . I have been using the cellphone free time to read John Green's book.  It's a witty, crazy book about a child prodigy's relationships. Colin is dumped by nineteen Katherines and he is trying to devise a mathematical theorem to undestand if

A pinwheel is a child's toy that rotates when you run with it or when there is a breeze. In malayalam, it is called kattadi. My daughter had one made from coconut leaf by her grandfather. She used it below the fan to see it spin. This recipe is an inspiration from another food blog   The green stuffing is a paste of mainly spinach and avocado. That's right, you caught me ;-) it's a remainder of the leaves and avocado flesh from today's green juice . Waste not.  A single chili turned it quite spicy. My daughter was like "WATERR". So I recommend just a quarter of a chili for the paste. To make it a bit nutty, it has a fistful of roughly ground almonds. Here goes the detailed recipe.. Spinach, fresh - 2 handfuls Avocado, ripe - 1/2 Almonds - a few Green chili - 1/4 Rock salt, crushed - 1/4 tsp Lemon - 1/2 Chop the leaves roughly and also scoop out the flesh of the avocado. Slice almonds coarsely. Grind all ingredients into a rough paste (it need'nt be very sm

Spinach is packed with iron and calcium. What better way to have it than as part of a "clean" juice (not in the literal meaning of the word). Here clean means that it is gut friendly. Our gut has a plethora of bacteria and microorganisms helping with digestion. "Clean gut" tells us that the root cause of all illnesses lie in our gut. The author gives an analogy with a plant wth dying leaves. The gardener does not replace the dying leaves with green painted leaves, instead he examines the roots. When you have a sick leg, you wouldn't want your leg to be amputated (I know that's a bit of exaggeration). But you would want your doctor to dig deeper and find out exactly why you are ill. Instead of rectifying the issue at the surface level, you want to know how to truly fix it for life. Dr Alejandro explains in these lines and believes that our physical and mental health depend on our gut health.  Speaking of gut. I have a gut feeling that you dislike the look of

A cake of heart or a heart of cake...uh oh I mean gold, to be shared with my daughter's friend. Both of them have been creatively using the last few weeks to write and edit a weekly newsletter. With notepads and tablets in hand, they have been taking pictures and writing up about the trees, flowers and birds of our small neighbourhood. This is something I like too. Sitting on the charupadi, leaning against the wall with my feet up is what I do often when I am low in motivation. That's when I notice that our nearby tree has a woodpecker. I also saw a baby squirrel climbing upto the top of our neem tree (the very top), and going upside down (no, it didn't fall) on the electricity cable and jumping onto another tree. Sometimes its raining and breezy, and the birds and squirels take shelter in the next house roofed terrace (a few are probably on our terrace too). Take some time off from your busy life, and enjoy similar moments. The cake of heart needed some waiting mid-way for

Omelettes made of organic eggs are a power breakfast item with complete proteins. This one was made with love and patience. First a layer of onions, then mushrooms and then beaten spiced eggs. The spices are a touch of turmeric, a bit of chili flakes and the never to be forgotten salt; that too crushed himalayan pink rock salt. It is as simple as that. Cooking is as much an art as painting and it can become a habit if you are able to sustain the act for 27 days. Of course, there will be days when you just don't feel like stepping into the kitchen. But if you think about the reward - the taste of your yummy (or not so yummy) food, the health benefits of homemade (you know what you are putting into it), the appreciation from family (or neighbours if you dare to share), for the instagram click (that your friends are going to be amazed by) and of course the aroma of your freshly made dish (unless its hopefully not burnt). Hope you enjoy reading the book too. The omelette recipe needs v

Coconut chutney or chammanthi can be thick or slightly watery. This is the watery version, appropriate with dosa and idli. Today's healthy dosa was made from a mix of broken wheat, millet and red rice. It came out crispy with minimal addition of oil. The combination of a hot, thin, crispy dosa with chammanthi is awesome.  Coconut, grated - 2 cups Red chili - 4 Ginger - a small piece, peeled Small onions - 5 Salt Water For seasoning, Coconut oil - 1 tsp Curry leaf - a few Red chili - 1 Small onion - 1 Mustard seeds - a pinch Grind ginger, coconut, salt, red chili and small onions properly. Add water for the required thickness. For seasoning, in a kadai, add oil. When it becomes hot, add mustard seeds. When it bursts, add curry leaf, small pieces of red chili and small onion. Fry for a minute. Add the coconut mixture. Stir to mix. Cook until just warm, and take away from heat. Recipe from Mom.

There are two types of pachadi served in sadyas as a side dish for red rice; beetroot and pineapple pachadi. It tastes sweetish. The beetroot pachadi has a bright color and reminds me of the beetroot spread or salad we used to have with bread in Europe. The pachadi is a great accompaniement with dosa and chapati too.  The folding fan called sensu or ougi is a souvenir from Japan. In olden times, it used to be possessed only by the wealthy. Now it is used for practical purposes; for cooling and decoration. Ingredients for the pachadi are, Coconut oil - 1 Tbsp Beetroot, grated - 1 cup Green chili - 1 Curry leaf - a few Coconut, grated - 1/4 cup Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp Salt Curd - 1/2 cup Grind coconut and mustard seeds to a smooth paste and keep aside. In a kadai, add oil. When it becomes hot, add a pinch of mustard seeds. When it starts to crackle, add minced green chili and curry leaf. Fry for a minute.  Add beetroot, ground coconut paste and salt. Stir. Add curd too and stir. Take awa

Green gram or cherupayar is very nutritious because of its high protein and dietary fiber content. It can also be used in homemade beauty treatments - for removing acne, sun tan, facial hair and for skin moisturization. There was a pack of frozen veggies in the freezer. I thought it was a good idea to use it and mix and match! The veggie mix had peas, beans, carrot and cauliflower. I am reading the short stories of Lalithambika Antharjanam. One of them is a classic called 'Life and death'. Tatri meets her love when acting in a play as a widow. Her love is the playwright. The play talks about abolishing the age old custom that widows cannot remarry. In real life, when he marries her inspite of caste and horoscope issues and defying elders advice, their married life last only for at most a year. Because he falls sick and dies. She follows all the traditions and performs the necessary rituals - wearing white, drinking only a drop of coconut water for four days and nothing else, an

Cranberry is a bright red berry which is slightly bitter in taste. They are usually sweetened to make jams and sauce. Even dried cranberries that we get with dried fruits are sweetened so that the sour taste is neutralized. In my smoothie, the bananas help get better of the sourness of the berries. The Rajamalli flower or peacock flower is a beautiul pyramid or pagoda shaped flower of a shrub in our garden, facing the study room. The red bird of paradise is common in Kerala. It has thorny stems and its seeds are poisonous. The yellow flower variety is called Swarnamalli; swarnam in Malayalam means gold.   Ingredients for the smoothie are, Cranberry, frozen - 65 g Banana, yellow - 4 small Milk - 1 glass Water - 3/4 glass Thaw cranberry by keeping it outside for 20 minutes. Blitz cranberry and banana into a rough mixture. Add milk and water.  Blend. Pour into tall glasses and enjoy!

Basa fish is a type of catfish which has white flesh and does not have a strong fishy odour. It has lots of protein and omega-3 fatty acids. That's a sandalwood painting that was gifted to us on our wedding by dad's colleagues in Bangalore. Most of the sandalwood in India is produced from the southern states of Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.   For marination you need, Basa fish fillet, frozen - 250 g Garlic - 6 cloves, peeled Ginger - 2", peeled Green chili - 1 Salt - 1/2 tsp Turmeric powder - a pinch Red chili flakes - 1/2 tsp Olive oil - 1 Tbsp Thaw basa fish, clean and cut into 2" length pieces. Mince garlic and chili. Slice ginger into small pieces. Grind garlic, ginger, chili, salt, turmeric powder and red chili flakes into a paste. Marinate the fish with the ground masala for an hour. Heat a flat saucepan and add oil. When oil becomes hot, gently place the fish on the saucepan. After about 15 minutes, gently flip the fish pieces. Cook for another 15 minutes w

The rich aroma while baking the cake is intoxicating for any coffee lover. Here, we are waiting for the cake to cool down, take a quick pic and then grab a slice ;-) We had visited the Chillon Castle on Lake Geneva, near town Montreaux during one of our weekend trips. The view of the Alps from the huge open castle windows was breath-taking.  This poster, a bookmark and many photographs were the take-away from the visit. Dry ingredients are : All-purpose flour - 1 cup Baking powder - 1 tsp Cinnamon powder - a pinch Wet ingredients are : Sugar - 3/4 cup Butter - 1/2 cup Organic eggs - 2 Vanilla essence - 1 tsp Coffee powder - 1 and 1/2 Tbsp Hot water - 1 Tbsp Milk - 1/2 cup Combine dry ingredients. In wet bowl, combine sugar and butter until creamy. Break eggs one by one and whisk. Add essence and combine. In hot water, stir in coffee powder until it dissolves. Add it to wet bowl.         Add flour mix to wet ingredients in batches.          Stir in milk too in between so that you get a

Akki roti is a Kannada recipe; from the state of Karnataka. It is a rice based bread. Mom added a little bit of ragi flour too. Hence the greyish tinge. The background is a water colour on canvas by my daughter. She says it is a park :-) Ingredients are, Rice powder - 1 cup Ragi powder - 2 Tbsp Salt Cumin seeds - a pinch Water Onion - 2 medium size, peeled Green chili - 2, minced Coconut, grated - 1 cup Coriander leaves - a few Curry leaves - a few Oil - for brushing pan Mix the powders with salt  and cumin seeds. Sprinkle water and make a thick batter. Slice onions into very small pieces. Shred leaves too into small pieces. Add onion, leaves and chili into the batter. Mix well. Take a small piece of banana leaf; only as big as a page of a notebook. Spread the batter with your fingers on the leaf. Heat a tava. Place the leaf side up and batter touching the tava. After a few minutes, gently remove the leaf. Flip the roti. When both sides are cooked, take off from tava. Recipe from Mom

Puliserry is a simple curd based dish which is a popular ozhichucurry in Kerala. Ozhichucurry in malayalam means a curry that can be mixed with the red rice that we eat here. Puliserry is one of the items in a sadya. It can be made with or without coconut. This recipe is coconut based. The backdrop is taken on a day when we spent walking through the grass and the tiny yellow flowers. Lie on your back on the grass and enjoy the sunshine :-)   You need, Curd - 1 cup Coconut, grated - 3 Tbsp Cumin seeds - a pinch Turmeric powder - a pinch Fenugreek (uluva) - 1/4 tsp Green chili - 1, slit Salt For seasoning, Coconut oil - 1 tsp Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp Red chili - 1, cut into small pieces Beat the curd properly. Make a smooth paste of coconut, cumin seeds, turmeric powder and fenugreek. Mix with curd. Add green chili and salt. Stir. Heat a saucepan on low flame. Add coconut oil, mustard seeds and red chili. When the mustard cracks, add curd. Stir continuously, until it becomes hot. Remove f

Blueberries are not common here, so they are a bit expensive. They are used in muffins, smoothies, pies, jams and in fruit based yogurts and cereals. They are super rich in antioxidants. It is the pigment anthocyanin that give its deep blue purple colour. The red hibiscus flower is from our garden. It is one of the plants that the name "rose of sharon" refers to. Flowers are abundantly used in Hindu worship. The red hibiscus is used for the puja of Goddess Kali. The dry ingredients are, All-purpose flour - 258 g Cinnamon powder - 1 and 1/2 tsp Rock salt, crushed - 1/4 tsp Baking soda - 1/2 tsp The wet ingredients are, Sourdough - 227 g Organic eggs - 2 Milk - 1/4 cup Melted butter - 57 g Honey - 170 g Blueberry, frozen - 100 g Organic jaggery - for sprinkling Combine the dry ingredients and wet ingredients separately. Add the dry ingredients into the wet bowl in batches. Add blueberry and mix gently. Spoon into muffin moulds and sprinkle jaggery on top. Preheat oven to 210C.

Strawberry is my daughter's favourite flavour, probably because it is pink in colour. I like the rich red colour of the berry. When my local store starting restocking frozen berries, I felt it was a good time to make a strawberry ice-cream.  Fact : There are around 200 seeds in a single strawberry!  The flowers are of the plant, Ixora coccinea, commonly called jungle geranium. We have a few shrubs bearing these flowers in bunches, right next to our gate. There are also yellow and pink varieties. In Malayalam, it called chethi and is an important flower in temple prasadam and pooja. Ingredients you need are, Strawberry, frozen - 150 g Sugar - 1 Tbsp Vanilla essence - 1/4 tsp Cream - 2/3 cup Condensed milk - 100 g Grind the strawberries coarsely, so that there are some small pieces here and there. Keep a saucepan on slow heat. Add sugar and strawberry. Stir continuously and switch off when all the moisture evaporates. Let it cool and then rerigerate for an hour. In a bowl, whisk vani

We had a hearty breakfast with avocado toast, spinach scrambled egg, granola, cut fruits and nuts. A great start to a lazy Sunday. Hot air ballooning is popular in Stockholm during the summers, you can see different colored ones dotting the sky. They used to take off from an open field that was adjacent to my client's office. It is a unique way of exploring the city and its archipelago. For the toast, we need White bread - 1 slice Avocado - 1 Lemon - 1 Salt - 1/4 tsp Organic eggs - 1 Baby spinach - a few leaves Turmeric powder = a pinch Red chili flakes - 1/4 tsp Pepper - 1/4 tsp Olive oil - 1 tsp Wash spinach leaves and chop roughlly. Beat egg with salt, turmeric powder, red chili flakes and pepper. Heat a saucepan and brush oil. Add egg and scramble it. As it cooks, add spinach. Toss the egg and spinach together, and cook for a few more minutes. Scoop out the flesh from a ripe avocado. Add the juice of a lemon and a pinch of salt, and mix. Toast a slice of bread. Spread avocado p

Pavakka refers to bitter gourd. This magic vegetable is used for managing blood sugar, cholesterol and helping in weight loss. In this dish, the bitterness of the gourd is balanced out by adding tamarind juice, jaggery and salt. The kolambi flower or the golden trumpet vine welcomes you as you enter our home. It is climbing upwards along our java apple tree, so that from our balcony we can see yellow blooms peeking in between all the green leaves. The flower has five petals and resemble a trumpet or gramaphone.  To prepare, you need Bitter gourd - 1 large size Green chili - 1 Salt Vegetable oil - 3 tsp Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp Bengal gram - 1/4 tsp Curry leaves - a few Red chili - 1, chopped roughly Chili powder - 1 tsp Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp Tamarind juice - 1 Tbsp Rice powder - 1/2 tsp Water - 1/2 glass Jaggery powder - 1 tsp Wash bitter gourd and remove the seeds. Cut it into round pieces. Add salt and a slit chili. Microwave for 3 minutes. Heat a saucepan and add 2 tsps of oil.

Broken wheat or nurukku gothambu is wheat grains that have been coarsely broken down. It is used to make savoury items like dosa and upuma and also sweet dishes like payasam and kheer. That's sunlight picture from Reykjavik. In the summer, they have over 21 hours of daylight. This was new for me and I used to struggle to get some shut eye in the bright nights. But in winter, there is only about 5 hours of sunlight. The long dark days sometimes used to get depressing, so we used to layer ourselves with warm clothes and get to town for a stroll or to shop or eat out.   You need, Broken wheat - 1 cup Boiled rice - 1/2 cup Urad dal - 1/3 cup Fenugreek (uluva) - 1 tsp Salt - according to preferred taste Rice powder - 1 tsp Oil - for brushing the pan Soak broken wheat, boiled rice and urad dal in water. Add fenugreek and salt too. Let it soak overnight.  Grind along with rice powder to a fine paste. Heat a non-stick pan or tawa on medium heat and brush oil. With a dosa ladle, pour a litt

Biriyani is always special because loads of spices are added in it. And the surprise that is under the layer of rice and caramelized onions is really worth it. Today's surprise is egg gravy.  The lake was near our home in Stockholm. It always reminded me of the ripple effect when you throw a pebble in such calm and serene waters. "Just as ripples spread out when a single pebble is dropped into water, the actions of individuals can have far-reaching effects." - Dalai Lama   For the biriyani, you need Organic eggs - 4 Basmati rice - 2 cups Olive oil - 1 Tbsp + 2 tsp Onion - 2 medium size, peeled Potato - 1 small, peeled Garlic - 6, peeled Ginger - 2", peeled Green chili - 1 Cloves - 4 Green cardamom - 4 Cinnamom - 1 small stick Star anise - 3 petals Red chili flakes - 1 tsp Turmeric powder - a pinch Chicken masala - 1 tsp Salt - 1 tsp Tomato - 1 Pepper - 1/4 tsp Coriander leaves - a bunch Water - 1/2 cup + 2 cups Wash rice and soak in water for half an hour. Drain wate

Aaloo paratha combined with pickle and dahi is a popular breakfast item in North India. This comfort food is a traditional Punjabi dish, usually served with a dollop of butter on top.  The background is the giant wheel in Grona Lund, the oldest amusement park in Sweden. It is located in the island of Djurgarden in Stockholm and is reachable by tram, bus or ferry. A number of music concerts happen here too.    Ingredients for the paratha are, Potato - 2 or 3 medium size Chili powder - 1/2 tsp Salt - according to taste Aniseed (perumjeerakam) - 1/2 tsp Wheat flour for chapati Water Oil - for brushing the pan Boil the potatoes until soft. Once it cools, mash it. Add chili powder, salt, aniseed and mix. Make lemon sized balls. Add water and a pinch of salt to wheat flour and knead to form a soft, cohesive dough. Make lemon sized balls. Sprinkle flour on work surface. Place a chapati ball and roll it into a small circle. Place a potato ball inside the circle and cover it with the chapati ci

Have your pie with a glass of sparkling water :-) The berry combination with lemon zest gave it a pleasantly fresh taste.  For the pie crust, Unsalted butter, cold - 1/2 cup Almond flour - 1 and 1/2 cup + 1 cup Rock salt, crushed - 1 tsp Baking powder - 1/2 tsp Milk powder - 1tbsp Granulated sugar - 1 Tbsp  Ice cold water - a splash For the filling, Blackberry, frozen - 200 g Blueberry, frozen - 100 g Granulated sugar - 3 Tbsp Lemon zest - 2 tsp Salt - 1/4 tsp Cinnamon powder - a pinch Nutmeg - a pinch In a medium glass bowl, add cold butter, 1 and 1/2 cup flour, salt, baking powder, sugar and milk powder. Stir to mix until the butter is creamy. It is okay to have a few chunks of butter here and there. Add the remaining 1 cup flour and a splash of ice cold water. Stir to form a cohesive dough. Do not overmix. Wrap the dough tightly with a plastic foil. Refrigerate for a minimum of an hour. In a baking pie dish, place the dough. Press and spread gently to the sides of the dish. Preheat

This chicken recipe is Kerala style kurrumulaku kozhi. The spicyness comes from the peppercorn, freshly crushed with a mortar and pestle. The backdrop is the woods of Kista, a suburb in Stockholm. We went for a lovely morning walk here. There were a few cyclists and dog walkers. Kista forest is adjacent to the galleria, the subway and technopolis cluster, which is the second largest in the world after Silicon Valley.  My hubby worked in Kista and the galleria was our favourite haunt.  For marination you need, Chicken, boneless - 1/2 kg Himalayan rock salt, crushed - 1 tsp Peppercorn, crushed - 1 tsp Turmeric powder - a pinch Lemon - 1 For the dish you need, Olive oil - 1 Tbsp Onion - 4 medium size Spring onions - a bunch Green chili - 1, minced Curry leaves - a sprig Garlic - 6, peeled Ginger - 2", peeled Cumin powder - 1 and 1/2 tsp Chicken masala - 1 and 1/2 tsp Peppercorn, crushed - 1 tsp Coriander leaves - a bunch Chop chicken into 2" pieces. Marinate with salt, turmeric

Besan, also called gram flour is made from ground chickpeas. It contains a higher percentage of protein than other flours and is gluten free. It is used for making soan papadi, mysore pak, boondi and chakli. I used a besan laddoo mix which contains 60% besan, sugar, spices and condiments. The stones from Smithsonian are gems, minerals or rocks. They were gifts to my daughter from her grand uncle who volunteers at the Smithsonian in Washington DC. The Institution is a group of museums founded by the British scientist, James Smithson. You need, Besan laddoo mix - 200 g Butter - 5 Tbsp Pista - 1/4 cup Slice pista into small pieces. Add to laddoo mix. Keep butter outside fridge until soft. Add to laddoo mix.  Stir to combine well. Make small laddoos, I made around 15 of them.

Chicken stew is a popular curry combined with idiyappam or palappam for breakfast or dinner in Kerala. Stew here means cooked in coconut milk. The other stew dishes are egg stew, beef stew and vegetable stew. The background is the backwaters of Alleppey, a town south of Kochi. Also known as Alappuzha, it is called the Venice of the East. There is a houseboat in the picture, which is a must do for tourists. We go through Alleppey to reach my hubby's native place. There are a number of paddy fields and we often see cranes and ducks here too. Fishermen catch fish from the rivers and sell them on the roadside. The fish will be alive and dangling from their hands.  The ingredients for the stew are, Chicken boneless - 1/2 kg Potato - 1 medium size, peeled Carrot - 1, peeled Onion - 2 medium size, peeled Garlic - 5 cloves Green chili - 1 Ginger paste - 2 tsp Salt - 1/2 tsp Peppercorn - 1/2 tsp Aniseed - 1/4 tsp Green cardamom - 3 Cloves - 4 Cinnamon powder - 1/4 tsp Coconut cream - 200 ml

Mutter refers to peas in hindi. Mutter paneer is a north Indian dish and is popular in the restaurants here. I used store bought paneer that has been curdled with lemon juice. Once it is soaked in hot water for a while, it becomes soft and is ready to use. Paneer is added in many vegetarian dishes in India and also as a meat substitute; in kebab, pizza, samosa, pakora.  The medal is for completing the 3 km in the Mirchi Neon run that I participated with my badminton buddies. We got neon handbands, which glowed in the late evening run. After the run, we were sprayed with organic neon colors. It was colorful and fun.   You need, Peas, frozen - 200 g Paneer - 100 g Onion - 2 medium size, peeled Garlic - 6 cloves, peeled Green chili - 1 Ginger paste - 1 tsp Red chili flakes - 1 tsp Chicken masala - 1 tsp Salt - 1/2 tsp Turmeric powder - a pinch Olive oil - 4 tsp Water - 1/2 cup Mince garlic and chili. Slice onion into thin pieces.  Heat a saucepan. Add 2 tsps of oil. Once it becomes hot, a

Mom made kinnanappam for onam, which is a harvest festival celebrated by Malayalees. It is believed that King Mahabali visits Kerala during this time and the celebrations last for ten days, culminating in thiruvonam. Onam this year is subdued with not many family gatherings. Usually my parents, brother and family visit us on thiruvonam and we have sadya together. Our pookalam or flower carpet is minimised too with paper flowers and leaves from our garden.  Kinnanappam recipe is one that has been handed down from Mom's mother. It is usually called kinnathappam; kinnam meaning plate and appam referring to cake. So it is a steamed cake made in a plate. The white marble elephant is handpainted and is a showpiece gifted to my hubby as an achievement award from his office. For the recipe, you need, Red rice - 1 cup (soaked overnight) Coconut - 1 medium Cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp Jaggery, powdered - 1 cup Water Grind the rice to a fine powder. Grate coconut. Grind coconut and cumin seeds. Add