Pepper 'n Spice

 The esoteric thoran dish is a typical Malayali dish. It is prepared in all Keralite households and served with red rice. It is usually cooked in coconut oil. The important ingredient is coconut, freshly scraped. My dish differs from the staple salver with its exclusion of oil. Here goes the steps..   Constituents... Beans, haricot - 250g Coconut, grated - 100g Shallots - 2 Green chili - 1 Cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp Salt - 1/4 tsp Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp Water - 1/4 cup Recipe... Wash the beans well. Trim the ends of beans and chop into small pieces. Cast into a deep-bottomed steel saucepan along with water. Allow the beans to soften on slow heat for about 10 minutes. Slice shallots and throw into a small blender jar. Also, fling in green chili, cumin seeds, salt, turmeric powder, coconut flakes and a splash of water. Grind for 5 seconds. Separate some of the beans towards the sides of pan and spoon in the crunched coconut into the center of the pan. Cover the coconut potpourri w...

When one doesn't have eggs, you can still make your child's favorite breakfast. The leavening agent here is baking powder and soda. I also used demerara sugar instead of white sugar. Demerara sugar named so after the British colony of Demerara, which is now in republic of Guyana is made of 97-98% sucrose, as compared to 93% in white sugar. Hence it is healthier. This brownish tinged sugar is made from the first pressing of sugarcane.   ABCD's are... All-purpose flour - 1 cup Baking powder - 1 tsp Baking soda - 1 tsp Oat  milk, homemade - 1 and 3/4 cup Demerara sugar - 1 and 1/2 Tbsp Salt - a tad Olive oil, extra virgin - 1 and 1/2 Tbsp     The procedure... In a clean, glass bowl, add all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda and sugar. Intermingle to combine everything. Add in the oat milk and give it a good stir. Heat up a flat-bottomed non-stick saucepan and drizzle a bit of oil when the pan becomes hot. Brush the oil to spread it across the pan. Add a tablesp...

 The essential contents are... Spinach - a big bunch Mint leaves - a big bunch Ginger - 1/2" Garlic - 4 cloves Green chili - 1 Lemon - 2 Water - a splash Salt - a smidgeon  The mechanism... Soak spinach and mint leaves in water with a bit of vinegar and salt for an hour. This helps remove pesticides. After that, wash well under running water. Break off and discard stem.  Peel ginger, garlic and mince them. Slice chili into bits.  Throw in spinach, mint, ginger, garlic, chili, salt, lemon juice and water into a blender and blitz for a minute or until all the leaves are crushed. Have a whale of a time, enjoying the chutney alongside crisp dosa.

  The elements of this uncomplicated dish are... Beans - 500g Drumsticks - 2 Onion - 1 Salt - 1/2 tsp Black pepper powder - 1/2 tsp Nutritional yeast - 1 tsp Turmeric powder - a smidgeon Water - 3/4 cup The modus operandi... Wash beans and drumstick well. Trim ends of beans. Chop into thin rounds. Cut open the drumstick and scrape out the insides. Microwave beans and drumstick seeds with some water and a tad bit of salt for 3 minutes. The vegetables will soften. In a deep-bottomed steel pan, throw in chopped onion and a splash of water. Let it cook for 5 minutes.  Fling in the vegetables. Allow them to soften on slow heat. Add in salt, pepper, turmeric powder and yeast flakes. Give it a good stir. Cook until the vegetables dry up. Platter and serve alongside rice or quinoa. Have a whaling time savoring the wholesome food.

 The ingredients...... Brown chickpeas - 1 cup Onion - 1 Ginger - 1/2 inch Garlic - 4 cloves Nutritional yeast - 1 tsp Chili powder - 1/2 tsp Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp Garam masala - 1/2 tsp Salt - 1/2 tsp Tomato - 1 Water - for boiling chickpeas and cooking onion Spinach- 1 big bunch The recipe... Pressure cook chickpeas in water with little salt for 4 to 5 whistles.  Peel onion, ginger and garlic. Chop onion into thin slices. Mince ginger and garlic. In a deep - bottomed saucepan, fling in onion, ginger, garlic and a splash of water. Allow the onions to soften. Spoon in yeast flakes, salt, coriander powder and garam masala. Stir for a minute for the raw smell of the masalas to disappear. Add in roughly chopped tomato. Give a good stir so that the tomato blends in. Turn off heat. Wash spinach leaves well by soaking it in water with a dash of salt and apple cider vinegar for an hour. Clean well and break off stems. Throw in the masala mishmash,  spinach leaves and some w...

 Green peas belong to the legume family. Here is an unembellished recipe from a paper cutting I had saved long back. The nuts and bolts of the dish are... Basmati rice - 1 and 1/2 cups Water - 2 cups for cooking rice + 1/2 cup for cooking onions and peas Onion - 1 Ginger - 1/2" Garlic - 4 cloves Nutritional yeast - 1 tsp Salt - 1/2 tsp Green peas, frozen - 1/2 cup     The procedure...   Soak rice in water for half an hour. Wash rice and strain. Pressure cook with 2 cups water and a smidgeon of salt. Defrost green peas. Wash them. Microwave peas with little water and a pinch of salt for 3 minutes.  Peel onion, ginger and garlic. Mince garlic and ginger. Chop onion into thin slices. Heat a deep-bottomed saucepan and throw in onion, ginger, garlic and a splash of water. Cook for a few minutes or until the onions soften. Add in yeast flakes and salt. Stir well. Fling in the cooked green peas. Spoon in rice. The awesome dish is ready to be served.

  Cabbage is a pale, light green vegetable that needs very little cooking time. It is crunchy and can be eaten raw in salad dishes.     The elements of the simple platter... Cabbage - 1/4 kg Onion - 1 Ginger - 1 inch Salt - 1/2 tsp Turmeric powder - a tad Water - 1/4 cup The preparation method... Peel ginger and onion. Chop ginger into small bits. Cleave onion into 1/4" pieces. Cut cabbage also into 1/4" pieces. Fling in onion and ginger into a deep-bottomed pan along with water. When the onion becomes soft, throw in the cabbage and spoon in the spices. Allow the vegetable to cook in the remaining water and steam. As all the water evaporates, give the mishmash a good stir and spread it to the edges of the pan. Turn off heat. Plate it and serve hot!

It's moringa aka drumstick week. I read that it is health-giving and nutritious, so all dishes in my home have this magical ingredient. Get creative, add it to your dishes too and relish a salubrious meal. The constituents of the curry...   Cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp Onion - 2 Green chili - 2 Ginger - 1/4 inch Garlic - 4 cloves Tomato - 1 Salt - 1/2 tsp Nutritional yeast - 1/4 tsp Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp Chili powder - 1/4 tsp Turmeric powder - a bit Garam masala - 1/2 tsp Chickpeas - 1 cup Drumstick - 2 Water - 1/4 cup + additional for cooking chickpeas and drumstick The recipe...   Soak chickpeas overnight, with several changes of the sousing water. Pressure cook with fresh water, a tad of salt and a dash of turmeric powder, for 4 to 5 whistles. Drain water and set aside. Cut open drumstick lengthwise into two halves. Using a spoon, scoop out the insides; seeds and all. Boil this insides with little water, a bit of salt and a smidgeon of turmeric powder.  Peel onion,...

Can anything be more bitter than pavakka (the local name for bitter gourd)? :-) It is a vegetable which is long, with a ridged surface and is dark green or light green in color. In Malayali cuisine, it is the main ingredient in the preparation of pavakka thoran, pavakka mezhukuvartti, pavakka theeyal and pavakka kondattam.   The green juice recipe has a tad of ashwagandha , an ancient medicinal herb that helps reduce stress, anxiety and increase energy levels. The contents of the miracle drink... Ash gourd - 250g Bitter gourd - 1 Gooseberry - 4 Water - 6 glasses Cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp Salt - a pinch Plant-based collagen powder - a smidgeon Turmeric ginger powder - a tad Spinach powder - a little Ashwagandha powder - a bit Lemon - 1/2     The modus operandi...     Remove skin and seeds of ash gourd. Chop bitter gourd into two halves lengthwise. Using a spoon, scrape out and discard the seeds and insides. Cleave ash gourd and bitter gourd into small cubes. Cut goos...

Quinoa is a plant-based protein with 1 cup containing about 8 grams of protein. Here's a Chinese dish made from quinoa. The abcd's of the dish... Carrot - 2 Green capsicum - 1/2 Yellow capsicum - 1/2 Green peas, frozen - 1/4 cup Nutritional yeast - 1/4 tsp Salt - 1/4 tsp Dark soy sauce - 1/2 Tbsp Quinoa - 1 cup Water - 1 and 1/2 cup Veg soup cube - 1 Lemon - a squeeze The means to achieve the fantabulous platter...   Soak quinoa in water for half an hour. Strain. Add in fresh, clean water, a bit of salt, a squeeze of lemon and soup cube. Pressure cook on low heat for 2 whistles. Set aside. Peel carrot and deseed capsicum. Chop carrot and capsicum into small cubes.            Wash peas and microwave with a splash of water for 2 minutes. Heat a deep-bottomed pan and cast in capsicum, carrot, peas and a splash of water.            Add in salt, yeast flakes and soy sauce. Intermingle and cook for 5 minutes.  Fluff up the...

 Cabbage carrot thoran prepared without oil is an awesome way to combine two nutritious vegetables. Since these veggies can be eaten raw too, they do not need much separate cooking before intermingling with the coconut mixture. Put together the fab dish and make merry :-) The constituents...     Carrot - 1 Cabbage - 200g Coconut, grated - 1/2 cup Cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp Shallots - 3 Salt - 1/4 tsp Turmeric powder - a bit Chili powder - a smidgeon Nutritional yeast - 1/4 tsp Water - 1/4 cup     The process... Peel off skin of carrot. Grate carrot and chop cabbage into small pieces.      Grind coconut, shallots, cumin seeds, salt, turmeric powder, chili powder and yeast flakes by blitzing twice; each time for a second. Heat a deep-bottomed pan and throw in the vegetables and water.            Allow the vegetables to cook for 5 minutes. Spread the vegetables and fling in the coconut mishmash into the center. Cover the coco...

Beetroot, oft called beets is the taproot portion of the beetroot plant. In its raw form, it is 88% water and less than 1% fat. Betanin, an extract from beet juice is used as a red food coloring agent.  The basic elements of the thoran are... Beetroot - 3         Drumstick - 1 Coconut, grated - 1/4 cup Cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp Shallots - 3 Turmeric powder - a tad Nutritional yeast - 1/4 tsp Chili powder - 1/4 tsp Salt - 1/4 tsp Water - 1/4 cup The modus operandi...   Wash beetroot and drumstick well. Peel away skin of beetroot, wash and grate.          Cut open drumstick, scrape the insides and fling them into a vessel along with some water, turmeric powder and salt. Bring the drumstick seeds to a boil and turn off heat. Peel shallots and chop into small pieces. Grind coconut, shallots, cumin seeds, salt, turmeric powder, yeast flakes and chili powder twice, for a second each time.  Heat a deep-bottomed steel pan and throw in g...

Moringa is a superfood that is native to India. As mentioned here , it has 7 times the Vitamin C of oranges, 10 times Vitamin A of carrots, 17 times the Calcium of milk, 25 times the Iron of spinach and much more. The components... Beans, haricot - 250g Drumstick (moringa) - 2 Coconut, grated - 1/2 cup Shallots - 4 Cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp Salt - 1/4 tsp Turmeric powder - a bit Chili powder - 1/4 tsp Water - 1/2 cup     The modus operandi... Wash beans and drumstick. Trim ends of beans and cut into small rings.                  Sprinkle some water and microwave for 5 minutes. Cut open drumstick and using a spoon, scrape its insides. Boil the inside flesh and seeds in little water and a pinch of salt.      Peel shallots and chop roughly. Throw in shallots, coconut, cumin seeds, salt, turmeric powder and chili powder into a small blender jar. Blend twice for a second each. Heat up a deep-bottomed steel pan and cast in coo...