Kozhukatta

Kozhukkatta is a traditional south Indian snack, which is basically a steamed rice dumpling. There are different versions of Kozhukkatta, depending on the type of the filling. The filling can be either sweet or savory.  For this particular version, I have used coconut and jaggery mix as the filling.
The Christian population of Kerala traditionally makes this for Easter. I found some references that say that this is to commemorate the stoning of Jesus Christ on his way to the cross - and that these represent the stones. But being the peace loving person that I am,  I prefer to believe that this is a local version of the Easter eggs. Hence I shaped them like Easter eggs and not like rocks.

Ingredients
Rice flour - 1 cup
Grated coconut - 1 cup
Jaggery - 150 gm
Crushed Cardamom - 2
Water - 1 &1/4  to 1 &1/2cup
Salt to taste
Method
Heat a pan and melt the jaggery with 1/4 cup of water and strain the jaggery with a strainer.
Reheat the jaggery. Add grated coconut and keep stirring until it turns to thick consistency. Add crushed cardamom and remove from fire.Keep this aside
Boil 1 1/2 cup of water with salt. Pour the boiled water to the rice flour little by little and mix it with a spoon. Keep it aside till it is warm enough to handle
Knead the dough and make it into a soft ball. Make medium size balls out of the dough. Take one ball at a time and place it in your greased  palm and  flatten it gently to a circle, and keep about  1 tbs filling and bring all  together and seal it by pressing ends.Now roll it back it into a ball or an egg as I did.
Repeat this with the rest of the dough and filling.
Steam the balls or kozhukatta for 10 minutes on a medium flame. Keep it covered for 2 more minutes.

Kashmiri Dum Aloo

Almost a decade ago, when I was not into the internet in a big way, the primary sources of good recipes for me used to be my mother, my grand-mother or MIL. Other than these direct sources, I also used to collect recipes from TV shows or magazines.I used to note down the ones that I found good in a notebook and used to refer to those when I wanted to make it again. This recipe of Kashmiri Dum aloo is one such recipe that I had in my recipe book. All of us used to like this dish quite a lot and it was a good one to serve for a dinner or to take to a potluck, as it is quite an eye-pleaser. I used to make it quite often during those days.
How the times have changed! Now a days I rarely ever need to refer a book for recipes. It is all just a click away. With so many wonderful new things to try out from around the globe, I hardly ever made this dish in the last many years. By chance I was flipping through my recipe book the other day and since I had some nice Idaho baby potatoes with me, wanted to try it out. And as always it turned out to be wonderful both in taste and in presentation.

Ingredients:
For Aloo:
Medium potatoes - 5-6 numbers
Raisins - 1 tbs
Cashews - 1tbs, powdered coarsely
Cream - 1 tbs
Salt - to taste

For Gravy:
Tomatoes pureed and strained -3
Capsicum finely chopped - 1
Onions chopped into strips - 1
Sugar - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Cardamoms -2
Cloves - 3
Peppercones - 3
Cinnamon piece - 1/2 inch
Ba:y leaf -1
Kasoori methi-1 tsp
Water -1 1/2 cups
Cream -2 tbs
Coriander leaves, chopped - 1/2 tbsp
Refined oil - 2 tbs
Salt - to taste

Onion Paste:
Onions - 2, medium
Ginger piece - 1/2 inch.
Red Kashmiri Chillies  or  Paprika - 4-5
Mint leaves - 8-10
Cloves and garlic - 5 (optional)

Method:
For Aloo:
Peel and boil potatoes till they are half done. Cool and core with a potato scoop. Mix raisins, potato scooping, cashew, cream and salt. Stuff this mix into the potato hollows and keep them aside.

For Gravy:
Heat oil, add onions and stir-fry till brown. Drain and keep aside. Stir-fry capsicum till done, drain and keep aside. Add whole spices to the oil, allow to splutter and then add the onion paste and saute for 2-3 minutes. Add the tomato puree, masalas and simmer for 3-4 minutes. Add water, sugar,kasoori methi, salt and bring to a boil. Simmer for 5 minutes.Add the cream and give a nice stir
Now put the potatoes in a casserole and pour the gravy over them. Sprinkle the stir-fried onions and capsicum over this and cover with aluminium foil. Bake in the oven at 200 degree C for 20 minutes. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

Mulaku Baji/Mirchi Baji

When I was pregnant with Aishwarya I didn't have any cravings as such. But one day almost into my 8th month while out shopping  I saw a street vendor selling Mulaku/Mirchi baji outside the mall. So I asked my hubby dear if I could have it. My friends, can you guess what Jai did. No he didn't get me that. Instead  he gave me a big lecture on how unhygienically  it is being prepared and what it would do to me and the baby. To this day I hold this against him and poor fellow he is still looking for a way to compensate for that.
So if you or any one in your family is longing for some fiery mulaku baji  here ends your search.
Ingredients :
Banana peppers-5/8
1 cup  Besan/ chickpea flour
2tbs Rice flour
1/2 teaspoon Asafoetida
1/2 to 1/4 teaspoon Red chili powder
1/8teaspoon Baking soda
Salt to taste
Cooking oil to deep fry
Method  :
Make lengthwise slits on the sides of the peppers without splitting the pepper,remove the seeds see that you do not split the peppers while deseeding.If you are a person who has very little tolerance to hot peppers soak the peppers in hot salted water for 15 minutes.Meanwhile mix rest of the ingredients to a smooth batter the consistency should be that of dosa batter. Dip each pepper in the batter to coat well on all sides. Deep fry them in hot oil on medium heat until crisp and cooked. Once cooked remove from the oil and drain them in kitchen towel. Serve hot.

Homemade Shamrock Shake

Today being Sunday and it being the St.Patrick's day, I thought of making all things green. We had green eggs for breakfast, spinach rice for lunch and I made this Shamrock Shake as a dessert/drink. Shamrock Shake is a seasonal drink that McDonald's introduced to celebrate St.Patrick's Day. I have never tasted the real one but Aishwarya had and she thinks this is very close to the real one,though mintier and yummier by her standards.
Happy St.Patrick's Day!
Recipe source:Cupcakes & Cashmere
Ingredients:
Shake 
3 cups vanilla ice cream
1½ cups whole milk
½ teaspoon mint extract
Green food coloring
Salt a pinch

Whipped Cream
1 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method
 In a large bowl, beat cream until medium peaks form. Add the sugar and vanilla and beat until smooth.Set this aside.Or you can skip this and use a store bought whipped cream.
 In a blender, combine all shake ingredients and process until thick and fully incorporated. Pour into glasses .Top with whipped cream, and garnish with mint sprigs.