Pepper 'n Spice

This is chuvanna chiratta puttu for Malayalees. Made from coarsely ground red rice flour, the puttu is steamed in a coconut shell shaped puttu maker. There is a perforated lid at the bottom of the chiratta puttu through which steam from boiling water enters the puttu maker and cooks the puttu. Traditionally, the puttu maker is a long bamboo in which layers of rice flour and grated coconut is stuffed. It is kept on top of a vessel with boiling water and its top closely fits the puttu maker. Nowadays, a steel puttu maker is fitted on top of a pressure cooker.       Ingredients of my favorite puttu.. Chuvanna puttu podi - 1/2 cup Salt - a pinch Water - a splash Coconut, grated - 3 Tbsp             The method to make the earthy flavored puttu..     In a bowl, mix puttu podi and salt. Add water little by little and merge gently with your fingers. Combine softly to remove any lumps. Set aside for a few minutes.         In the chiratta puttu, make sure that the perforated lid is at the bottom

 The green raw banana is called vazhakka in malayalam. This is vazhakka and payar thoran.  The building blocks of Mom's enticing thoran... Raw banana - 2 Cowpea beans - 1/2 cup Oil - 2 tsp Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp Curry leaf - a sprig For the coconut grind, Green chili - 1 Shallots - 2 Coconut, grated - 1/2 cup Cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp Turmeric powder - a pinch Red chili powder - 1/4 tsp Salt - 1/4 tsp Water - a splash The modus operandi.. Peel the banana and cut into small cubes. Wash well. Boil the cowpeas until they are cooked and soft. Clear out excess water. Slit chili and cut shallots into small pieces. Grind coconut, salt, chili, shallots, turmeric powder, chili powder and cumin seeds for two seconds. Heat a deep bottomed saucepan and dribble oil. Throw in mustard seeds and curry leaves. When it starts to crackle, cast in the raw banana cubes. Add water, cover with a lid and cook on low flame. When the banana is cooked, add in the ground melange and cowpea beans. Cover the cocon

Java apple is a thirst quenching fruit as it contains mainly water. It is bell shaped and hang in bunches. The java apple tree in our garden is a short tree which gives us abundant jambakkas during this season. The flowers are white and spiky like, though the spikes are soft. The fruit can be eaten as such, or with salt, or added in salads and juices. There are java apples which are green, pink and red in color.  The mojo of the juice is because of the following.. Java apple - 5 Ash gourd - 300g Gooseberry - 4 Curry leaf - 2 sprigs Lemon - 1/2 Salt - 1/4 tsp Freshly crushed peppercorn - a pinch Plant-based collagen - 1/4 tsp Turmeric ginger powder - a smidgeon Water - 4 glasses The method.. Peel off the skin of ash gourd and gooseberry and remove seeds. Remove seeds of java apple. Chop ash gourd, gooseberry and java apple into small pieces. Throw these into the blender, along with curry leaves. Blitz.  Strain juice to remove the chunky parts. Squeeze juice of lemon. Add in water, salt,

 Kachil is a tuber vegetable and a type of yam. It has a dark brown outer and is cream or white on the inside. It is a popular starch alternative to rice in the interior parts of Kerala. It is kind of bland in taste and we combined it with fish curry and raw mango coconut chutney. The process to get Mom's inviting kachil.. Remove the outer skin and wash well. Cut into smaller pieces. Boil in water with a pinch of salt. When it gets cooked, turn off the heat. Strain excess water.  Kachil combines well with a spicy curry or chutney.

 Black chickpeas is called kala channa in hindi and kadala in malayalam. It is commonly made into a curry with coconut slivers, to be combined with puttu and appam. The thoran recipe that I am listing out here is a much more expeditious way than the curry to obtain a moreish dish.            The integral elements of Mom's delectable thoran...     Black kadala - 2 cups Oil - 2 tsp Onion - 2 Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp Curry leaf - a sprig Green chili - 2 Salt - 1/4 tsp Coconut, grated - 1/2 cup             The means to achieve the scrumptious dish..     Sous the kadala overnight in water. Drain water using a colander. Boil the kadala in water with a pinch of  salt until cooked through and through. Clear out excess water.  Chop onion and green chili into small pieces. Heat a saucepan and drizzle oil. Throw in mustard seeds, curry leaves and green chili. When the mustard seeds start to crackle, cast in onion. Toss around for 5 minutes. Add in cooked kadala, salt and coconut. Mix. Serve th

Rava idli is easy to make from a ready to eat mix. The dry mix which contains roasted rava, mustard seeds, lentils and cashews only needs an addition of curd.  For a cup of rava idli mixture, add half a cup of yogurt. Stir and let it sit for a minute. Add another cup of yogurt to it and stir everything together. Let it sit for 5 more minutes. An idli plate contains small depressions the size of an idli and each depression has a few tiny holes. In addition there are bigger holes on the sides of the idli plate. R ub oil lightly on the depressions and spoon the batter in. The oil is added so that the idli can be extracted easily after steaming, without any batter sticking to the plate. Place the idli plate in a water bath. Cover with a lid and turn on the heat to medium for 10 minutes. The steam that escapes through the holes in the idli plate as the water boils, cooks the idli batter. Turn down the flame and cook for 5 more minutes on low heat. Turn off the flame and allow the steam to s

Carrot is my daughter's favorite vegetable. Maybe because it is crunchy and sweet. Being rich in beta carotene, our body produces Vitamin A from it which helps promote a healthy immune system. So a carrot a day staves off colds and fever. The constituents of Mom's luscious thoran.. Onion - 1 Oil - 2 tsp Carrot - 3 Salt - 1/4 tsp Coconut, grated - 1/2 cup Cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp Turmeric powder - a tad Chili powder - 1/4 tsp Shallots (sambaar ulli) - 3 For the tempering, Oil - 2 tsp Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp Curry leaf - a few Raw rice - a bit Peel and grate carrots. In a deep-bottomed pan, dribble a little oil and add in thinly sliced onion. Fry for a few minutes. Cast in the carrot and a bit of salt. Cover with a lid and cook on low flame so that the carrot cooks in the steam. Prepare a well in the center of the cooked carrot and throw in coconut, cumin seeds, turmeric powder, chili powder and thinly sliced shallots. Cover with the cooked carrot and allow to cook for 5 minutes.  I

A swift and speedy way to a protein packed dish . With the addition of Dutch (white) cabbage with smooth pale, green leaves, Vitamin K and C is also appended to your diet :-)

Customarily called omakka thoran, this stir fry is rich in fiber, natural enzymes and carotenoids. Raw papaya as such is bland in flavor, but is widely used in green smoothies with cucumber and a dash of lemon. This dish is soft, yet crunchy because of the inclusion of coconut flakes. The additives of Mom's delish stir fry... Raw papaya - 1 small For the grind, Coconut, grated - 1/2 cup Cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp Turmeric powder - a tad Chili powder - 1/4 tsp Shallots - 3 Salt - 1/4 tsp For the tempering, Vegetable oil - 2 tsp Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp Curry leaf - a sprig Raw rice - 1/4 tsp The modus operandi... Peel the papaya and grate it. Add in the melange of coconut, cumin seeds, turmeric powder, chili powder, salt and shallots in a blender jar and grind for 2 seconds. Heat a deep-bottomed pan and dribble oil. Throw in mustard seeds, curry leaves and raw rice. When the mustard starts crackling, cast in the grated papaya. Stir and cover with a lid so that it cooks in the steam. After

With the tangy taste of raw mango and the texture of a dry chutney, manga chammanthi is awesome with rice, idli and dosa. The building blocks of the Mom's piquant chutney... Raw sour mango - 1 Coconut, grated - 1/2 cup Salt - a pinch Shallots - 3 Green chili - 2 The technique... Peel mango and cut into small pieces. Add as many pieces of mango into blender depending on the sourness. Throw in the rest of the ingredients and grind to a paste. Serve the acerbic chutney with red rice.

 Papaya is a large berry, round or elongated in shape. As they are widely available in Kerala, they are priced low. Unripe pappayas are used to prepare thoran. The ripe ones have an orangish yellowish hue with some green spots. They have numerous black seeds. The seeds and skin are removed before eating.  The smoothie includes a blend of.. Papaya, ripe - 2 slices Banana, ripe - 1 Water - a splash Cinnamon - a dash Milk - 1/2 glass Coconut, grated - 1 tsp

Semolina is milled wheat flour. In North India it is called sooji and in the south, it is called rava. A variety to the usual upma , with an addition of cabbage.    

 A completely green version of egg chow mein with beans and green bell pepper.

 A smoothie made from pureed frozen blueberry, ripe papaya and overripe banana. The liquid integrant includes water and milk. Throw in a bit of grated coconut and you get an invigorating sweet drink. The ingredients of the smoothie.. Milk - 1/2 cup Water - a splash Blueberry, frozen - a handful Pappaya, ripe - 2 slices Banana, ripe - 1 small Coconut, grated - 1 tsp Blend all together to prepare the energy packed concoction. Just in time, to join the green juice of ash gourd, gooseberry and curry leaves at the breakfast table :-)

 Onion comes in three different colors; yellow, white and red. They are known to cause tears in some while chopping them. This is because of the presence of a gas which is emanated when the onions are sliced. Being part of the Allium genus of plants along with garlic, chives and shallots, they help in fighting stomach cancer. Caramelized onions are used in many dishes. This is one such. The integrants... Cauliflower - 1 small Olive oil, extra virgin - 3 tsps Onion - 2 Salt - 1/4 tsp Pepper, freshly crushed - 1/4 tsp Garam masala - 1/4 tsp The technique... Break cauliflower into tiny florets. Immerse in hot, boiling water with a tad of salt and turmeric powder for 15 minutes. Strain water. Steam florets until cooked entirely. Slice onion into small pieces.  Heat a deep bottomed saucepan and drizzle oil. Throw in onion. Stir around till onion turns golden brown. Add in salt, pepper and garam masala. Stir. Throw in cauliflower florets. Intermingle. Serve the flavorful dish with chapati or

In French, the toast is called pain perdu which means lost bread. It implies that leftover, stale bread is turned into this eggy toast. In my sweet version, I added a dash of cinnamon and a smidgeon of shredded coconut. The constituents of the gypsy bread.. Sourdough oats bread - 4 slices Organic brown eggs - 1 Cinnamon, powdered - a pinch Coconut flakes - a tad Olive oil, extra virgin -  3 tsps The process to arrive at the bombay toast... Break egg and whisk it with cinnamon and coconut flakes.  Heat a wide, flat saucepan and dribble oil. Tilt the pan so that the oil spreads to the sides. Dip bread slices in the eggy combination and place them gently on the hot oil. Cook on low flame for 5 minutes. Flip sides and toast for another 5 minutes more. Serve the palatable German toast with a touch of honey. Barbara Davis's "When never comes" is an emotional story of the life of Christy-Lynn. She grew up in poverty with an alcohol and drugs addicted mom. She runs away from that