Ela Ada (Steamed rice dumplings in banana leaf)

Overview
Traditional Kerala delicacy made in banana leaves. Rice dough is spread out on the banana leaves and stuffed with a sweet coconut mixture and steamed. The banana leaves does add a very distinctive aroma and flavor to the Ada. The rice flour has to spread on the leaves as thin as you can. This is a special tea time snack and is also served for breakfast.

Ela Ada

Ingredients
Rice flour - 1 cup
Water 2 cups
Salt to taste
Fresh grated coconut - 2 cups
Brown sugar - 1 3/4 cup
Ground dry ginger powder - 1/2 teaspoon

Steps
1. Clean and cut the banana leaves.
2. Mix the coconut with brown sugar and dry ginger powder and keep aside.
3. Boil 2 cups of water with about 3/4 teaspoon salt. When the water boils stir in the rice flour little at a time and mix well. Turn off heat.
4. When the dough cools to room temperature knead well to form a smooth dough.
5. Divide dough into lemon size balls. Press flat on clean banana leaves and spread into a oval shape. Fill the center with  about 2 tablespoon of prepared coconut mixture.
6. Fold the banana leaf and press edges to close the filling.
7. Steam the prepared Ada in a steamer for about 10 minutes. Gently unfold the banana leaves to serving plate.

Serve hot.

Lime Pickle (Naranga Achar)

Overview
No Indian meal is complete without a pickle and the most common pickle is lime or lemon pickle. This is Kerala style lime pickle. I have used the tiny key limes which when cut into quarters makes the perfect size. You can use lemons in place of lime. This tangy and spicy pickle goes well with any rice or Indian bread, but in Kerala they are usually served with biriyanis.

Lime Pickle (Naranga Pickle)

Lime Pickle Ingredients - Staemed lime, green chilly, garlic, curry leaves,
ginger, mustard seeds, red chilly powder, fenugreek seeds,
turmeric and not shwon in picture Asafoetida powder

Ingredients
Key limes  - 15
Ginger finely chopped - 2 inch piece
Garlic finely chopped - 2 tablespoons
Green chilly 4 - 6 finely chopped
Curry leaves - 3 sprigs
Fenugreek seeds  - 1 tablespoon
Turmeric powder 1/2 teaspoon
Asafoetida powder 1 teaspoon
Chilly powder - 2 - tablespoon
Mustard seeds - 1 teaspoon
Oil - 3 tablespoon
Brown sugar - 2 tablespoons
Vinegar - 1/4 cup
Salt to taste

Steps
1. Dry roast the fenugreek seeds and grind to a smooth powder and keep aside.
2. Wash and dry the key limes and steam for about 15 - 20 minutes till they are soft. Let it cools and cut each key lime to four pieces mix with salt and keep aside.
3. Heat oil in a pan. when the oil gets hot add the mustard seeds. when the seeds splutter add the finely chopped ginger, garlic, green chilly and curry leaves to this and saute till the garlic starts to brown a little bit.
4. Add the turmeric and chilly powder. Saute few more minutes then add the lime pieces mix well .
5. Add the vinegar, fenugreek powder, asafoetida powder , Brown sugar and 1/4 cup water. Mix well. Add salt as needed. Bring this to a boil. Turn off heat.
6. Let it cool to room temperature and store in clean jar.

Serve with any rice or Indian bread.

Roasted Coconut Chicken Curry (Varutharacha Kozhi Curry)

Overview
This is a very traditional Kerala dish made with Roasted coconut. Chicken cooked in this ground roasted coconut gravy along with spices  adds a burst of flavor and aroma to this dish. This thick gravy chicken dish goes well with appam, rice or any Indian breads. Using fresh grated coconut and fresh whole spices does make a big difference in the flavor of this dish.  Though this chicken curry has many steps  and is a bit tedious to make the end results is sure worth it.

Roasted Coconut Chicken Curry (Varutharacha Kozhi Curry)

Ingredients
One small whole chicken skinned and cut to small pieces
Ginger one inch piece - cut into thin strips
Red Onion one half - cut into thin slices
Green chilly 4 - 6 split in center
Curry leaves 2 sprigs
Turmeric powder 1/4 teaspoon
Chilly powder - 1 teaspoon
Salt to taste

Ingredients for the roasted cococnut gravy: Fresh Grated coconut, Red onions,
Whole coriander seeds, Ginger, curry leaves, Whole red chilly, Turmeric,
Whole spices, Garlic

Ingredients for the Gravy
Red Onions /shallots - 1/2 cup thin sliced
Fresh grated coconut - 1 cup
Garlic - 6 thin sliced
Ginger - 2 inch piece thin sliced
Curry leaves - 2 sprigs
Whole coriander seeds - 3 tablespoons
Whole red chilly - 4 - 6
Whole black pepper - 1 teaspoon
Whole fennel seeds - 1 teaspoon
Cloves - 3 - 4
Cardamom - 2
Cinnamon 2 inch piece
Turmeric 1/4 teaspoon
Oil 2 tablespoons

Ingredients to garnish
Oil - 3 tablespoons
Shallots thin slices - 4 tablespoons
Curry leaves 2 sprigs

Steps
1. Mix the clean cut chicken pieces with sliced onions, green chilly, curry leaves, turmeric, chilly powder, salt and half cup water. Mix well. cover with lid and cook on low flame till the chicken is cooked well.
2, Heat oil in a pan to prepare the gravy. When the oil gets hot add the Coriander seeds and whole red chilly. Fry of low flame till the coriander seeds and chilly are roasted well. Add the coconut, ginger, garlic, curry leaves,turmeric and whole spices to this and roast on low flame. Keep stirring and roast till the cococnut turn golden brown. Turn of heat and let this cool to room temperature.
3. Grind all the roasted ingredients with water in a blender to make a thick smooth gravy.
4. Add the gravy to the cooked chicken mix well and bring to a boil. Simmer on low flame and cook for about 10 minutes till all the flavors from the gravy are coated on the chicken. The gravy should be thick and not too watery. Turn off flame.
5. In another pan heat the remaining oil. When the oil gets hot add the sliced shallots and Fry till they are golden brown. Add the curry leaves. Turn off heat and pour this over the prepared chicken curry.

Serve hot with Appam, Rice or any Indian bread.

Rice Noodles with Vegetables and Eggs

Overview
A simple delicious rice noodle dish mixed with vegetables and eggs. Thin sliced cabbage and carrots adds an extra texture and flavor to this noodle dish. Rice noodles cook very fast so make sure the rice noodles are not over cooked. As soon as you drain the noodles coat it with two tablespoons oil so the noodles don't get sticky.

Rice Noodles with Vegetables and Eggs

Ingredients
Dry rice noodles one pound
Cabbage finely sliced 1 1/2 cups
Carrots Julienne cut one cup
Garlic finely chopped 1 tablespoon
Dry Chives two tablespoon
Red crushed pepper( optional) 1 teaspoon
Eggs - 4
Black pepper powder 1/2 teaspoon
Oil  7 tablespoons
Salt to taste

Rice Noodles Ingredients: Rice noodles, Scrambled eggs, Carrots,
Cabbage, dry chives and garlic

Steps
1. Heat a gallon of water in a pot add 2 teaspoon salt to it. When the water boils add the dry rice noodle to it turn off heat and cover lid and let it stand for 8 minutes. Drain water add 2 tablespoon of olive oil and mix well with fork to coat all the strands of the noodles so that they don't stick together.
2. Scramble the eggs adding salt and black pepper powder in 2 tablespoons of oil and keep aside.
3. Heat remaining 3 tablespoons oil in a large pan. When the oil gets hot add the finely chopped garlic to it. Stir well till the garlic becomes light brown. Add Red pepper flakes and saute few more minutes then add the sliced carrots, cabbage and dry chives to this. Mix well. Add salt as needed. Cover the pan with lid and cook for about 2 - 3 minutes . Do not over cook the vegetables.
4. Remove the lid turn off heat and add the noodles and scrambled eggs to this vegetable mixture . Stir well with two forks so that all strands of the noodles get coated with the vegetable and egg mixture.

Serve hot.

Baingan Bharta (Roasted Eggplant Curry)

Overview
I got these fresh eggplants from my friends garden and wanted to try this baingan bharta. The word bharta means a dish in which the ingredients are roughly mashed. In this dish I have roasted the egg plant in the oven and then mashed it which is the key ingredient. You can roast the egg plant on open flame or even on a grill. The smokey flavor from roasting does adds a pleasant aroma to this dish.

Baingan Bharta

Ingredients
Eggplant 2 about a pound total
Finely chopped cherry tomatoes - 1 cup
Finely chopped red onions 3/4 cup
Finely chopped ginger 1 tablespoon
Finely chopped garlic 1 tablespoon
Mustard seeds 1 teaspoon
Cumin seeds 1 teaspoon
Turmeric powder 1/2 teaspoon
Chilly powder 1 teaspoon
Chopped cilantro 1/4 cup
Salt to taste
Oil - 3 tablespoons

Ingredients: Roasted mashed eggplants, finely chopped tomatoes
finely chopped red onions, finely chopped ginger and garlic, finely chopped cilantro
mustard seeds, cumin seeds, turmeric powder and chilly powder

Steps
1. Wash the eggplants in water, pat it dry with a paper towel. Poke the eggplant with a fork and cover each eggplant airtight with aluminium foil and bake in a 350 Fahrenheit oven for about one hour . The egg plant should be fully cooked and easy to mash.
2. Let the roasted eggplant cool to room temperature and then peel skin  and roughly mash the flesh of the egg plant with a fork or spoon.
3. In pan heat oil. When the oil gets hot add the mustard seeds, once the seeds splutter add the cumin seeds and fry.
4. Add the finely chopped red onions, ginger and garlic to this and saute till the onions turn light brown. Add turmeric powder saute few minutes and then add the chilly powder to this. Saute few minutes and then add the finely chopped cherry tomatoes to this. Add salt mix well and cover the pan and cook on low flame.
5. Cook the tomatoes till they are cooked well and the oil begins to separate. And the roasted mashed eggplants to his add more salt as needed mix well and saute in medium heat till the eggplants are coated with all the ingredients and all the liquid has evaporated.
6. Turn off heat and add the finely chopped cilantro leaves.

Serve hot with Chapati or Naan

Dhokla

Overview
Dhokla's are spongy steamed cake made with chickpea batter which is a speciality of Gujarat. There are all different kinds of dhokla in Gujarat. This is a simple and easy to make dhokla made with few ingredients. Dhoklas are healthy, high protein dish that can be served for breakfast or as a snack.

Dhokla

Ingredient
Channa Dal( Split Chick pea) 1 cup
Lemon juice 2 tablespoons
Baking soda(or fruit salt) 1/4 teaspoon
Salt to taste

To Garnish the dhokla
Cilantro - 3 tablespoons
Whole red chilly 4 broken into pieces
Mustard seeds - 1 teaspoon
Asafoetida powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Oil 3 teaspoon

Steps
1. Clean the Channa Dal in plenty of water and soak for about 4 - 6 hours.
2. Grind the Channa Dal to a smooth paste by adding water. The batter should be thick like the consistency of idly batter.
3. Add salt, lemon juice and baking powder (or fruit salt) to this. The batter will become frothy. Mix well and pour the batter to an oiled steaming plate and steam for about 20 - 25 minutes till the dhoklas are cooked well.
4. Take it out and let it cool to room temperature.
5. In another pan heat 3 teaspoon of oil. When the oil gets hot add the mustard seeds. After the mustard seeds splutter add the whole red chilly pieces and fry well. Turn off the heat and add the asafoetida powder immediately. Pour this oil mixture over the prepared dhokla and spread well. Sprinkle chopped colantro over the dhokla.

Cut into dhokla into diamond shape and serve with cilantro or mint chutney.

Chicken Thoran

Overview
Chicken thoran is a very unique dry chicken stir fry dish made with coconut and spices. In Kerala thorans are usually made with vegetables but Chicken thoran is a Kerala speciality. A dry dish that can be served with rice or any Indian bread.

Chicken Thoran ingredients

Chicken Thoran

Ingredients
Chicken breast cut into small cubes  - 1 1/2 pounds
Ginger 2 inch piece thin sliced into strips
Green chilly 6 split at center
Red Onion one large thin sliced
Garlic 6 cloves thin sliced
Curry leaves 2 sprigs
Whole dry red chilly cut into pieces 3 - 4
Mustard seeds  1 teaspoon
Red Chilly powder 1 teaspoon
Black pepper  1 teaspoon
Fennel seeds  1 teaspoon
Turmeric powder 1/4 teaspoon
Fresh grated coconut 3/4 cup
Salt to taste
Oil  3  - 4 tablespoons

Steps
1. Clean and cut the chicken breast into small cubes.
2. Grind the whole black pepper and fennel seeds to a smooth powder and keep aside.
3. Heat oil in a heavy bottom pan. When the oil gets hot add the mustard seeds. After the mustard seeds splutter add the whole red chilly powder and curry leaves to this and fry few minutes. Then add the thin sliced onions, ginger, garlic and green chillies.
4. Saute till the onions are light brown. Add the turmeric powder and chilly powder. Fry few minutes and then add the chicken pieces to this. Add salt and the fennel and black pepper powder to this.  Mix well and cover pan with lid and cook on low flame till chicken is cooked.
5. Add the fresh grated coconut to this mix well and saute till all the gravy has evaporated.

Serve hot with rice or any Indian bread.