Chilli Beef

Overview
This is a Indo Chinese dish and has become very common in Kerala. The different color peppers make this dish very colorful and festive. It is a spicy dish but you can adjust the spiciness with the amount of green chillies and red pepper flakes you use. This is one of the special dish I made for Christmas this year.

Chilli Beef

Ingredients - not shown is tomatoes, onions, corn starch and soy sauce

Ingredients
Beef thin sliced as shown in picture - 1 pound
Garlic - 8 cloves
Ginger - 2 inch piece
Red Chilly powder - 1 teaspoon.
Green chillies - 6 - 8 split at center
Whole dried red chilly - 3 - 4
Corn starch - 2 tablespoon
Soy sauce - 3 tablespoon
Red Pepper flakes - 1 tablespoon
Lemon one
One red onion cut into cubes
Cherry Tomatoes sliced - 1/2 cup
Green pepper - half cut into cubes
Yellow pepper - half cut into cubes
Red Pepper - half cut into cubes
Salt to taste
Oil for deep frying beef slices and for the gravy

Steps
1. Finely mince the garlic and ginger separately and keep aside
2. Marinate the cleaned thin cut beef slices with salt, half of the minced garlic, half of the minced ginger, red chilly powder, corn starch powder, 1 tablespoon soy sauce and half lemon  juice. Mix well and keep refrigerated for about 2 - 4 hours.
3. Heat oil for deep frying the beef slices. When the oil is hot add the beef slices not over crowding the pan and fry them till the beef slices are crisp. Drain it and keep aside. In the same oil fry the green chillies and keep aside for garnish.
4. In another pan heat 3 tablespoon oil. When oil is hot add the whole dried red chillies and fry them.
5. Add the remaining minced garlic and ginger and saute few minutes till light brown. Add red pepper flakes to this and saute few minutes  and add the sliced tomatoes to this. Add a little salt mix well and cook till the tomatoes are cooked well.
6. Add the cubed peppers and onions to this along with remaining soy sauce and lemon juice. Mix well and saute few minutes till the peppers are just cooked ( do not over cook the peppers should be crisp) add the fried beef slices to this and mix well add salt if needed.
7. Transfer to serving dish and garnish with fried green chillies.

Serve hot with and rice or Indian bread.

Unni Appam

Overview
Traditional Kerala fried sweet fritter made for special occasions. It is made of rice, banana, jaggery and is deep fried in oil. You make this in a special mould to get this special round shape. A touch of cardamom powder adds a nice flavor ad aroma to these sweet fritters.

Unni Appam

Unni Appam Ingredients

Ingredients
Long grain rice 2 cups
Small ripe bananas - 3 - 4
Jagger or Molasses - 3/4 cup
Coconut chips - 1/2 cup
Black sesame seeds - 1 tables spoon
Cardamom about 10
Salt 1/2 teaspoon
Oil to fry

Steps
1. Wash the rice is several turns of water and soak for about 4 - 5 hours.
2. Heat 3 tablespoon ghee or melted butter in a pan and fry the thin sliced coconut chips till it is golden brown. Drain the chips and keep aside.
3. In a coffee grinder grind the cardamom  to a fine powder. Strain  the powder and keep aside.
4. Blend the molasses, soaked rice and bananas to  smooth texture and keep aside. Rice doesn't have to be ground to be very smooth it can be a little coarse. The batter should  be the consistency of idly batter.
5. Mix the fried coconut chips, cardamom powder and salt and mix well. Keep the ground batter to ferment for about 6 - 8 hours in warm place.
6. Heat oil in the unni appam mould. When the oil gets hot using a tablespoon pour the batter into each mould. Fry both sides on medium heat. Drain oil and when it cools a bit the Unni Appam is ready to eat.

Cauliflower Peanut Curry

Overview
A nice and creamy Cauliflower curry that goes well with chapati or any Indian bread. Ground peanuts gives this dish a nice creamy texture. Fresh whole spices adds a nice aroma and flavor to this dish.

Cauliflower and Peanut Curry

Cauliflower Curry Ingredients

Ingredients
Cauliflower one small head cut into florets
Plum tomatoes finely chopped one cup
Red Onion finely chopped one cup
Raw peanuts - 1/2 cup
Garlic cloves 6 - 7
Ginger 2 inch pieces
Whole Red chillies - 6 - 7
Whole coriander seeds - 3 tablespoons
Whole cumin seeds - 1 teaspoon
Turmeric powder - 1 teaspoon
Cilantro finely chopped - 2 tablespoons
Oil - 3 tablespoon

Steps
1. Wash the cauliflower well and separate into florets and keep aside.
2. In a blender with 1/2 cup water blend the peanuts, garlic, ginger, whole red chillies, whole coriander, whole cumin and turmeric powder to a smooth paste and keep aside.
3. Heat oil in a heavy bottom pan. When oil is hot add the finely chopped red onions and saute till the onions are lite brown. Add the ground paste to this and saute till the oil separates.
4. Add the finely chopped tomatoes to this along with salt and mix well. Cover pan with lid and cook on a low flame till the tomatoes are tender and cooked well.
5. Add the Cauliflower florets and salt as needed. Mix well cover pan with lid and cook on low flame till the cauliflower florets are cooked. Do not over cook the cauliflower.
6. Turn off heat and transfer to  serving dish and garnish with freshly chopped cilantro .

Serve hot with any Indian bread.