Kerala Fried Chciken

Overview
Spicy fried chicken  that can be prepared with few simple ingredients. Curry leaves fried with the chicken add s a very nice aroma to the chicken. Can be served as an appetizer with onion salad. There are many recipes for Kerala fried chicken this is one that my whole family likes.

Kerala Fried Chicken

Ingredients

Ingredients
One pound chicken skinned and cut into small pieces
One teaspoon ginger paste
One teaspoon garlic paste
Turmeric powder - 1 teaspoon
Cayenne powder - 1 teaspoon
Black pepper powder -  1 teaspoon
Curry eaves 3 sprig
Green chillies split at center - 4 or 5
Salt to taste
Oil for frying

Steps
1. Mix all the spice powders with salt and ginger garlic paste and marinate for about 2 hours.
2. Heat oil in a pan to deep fry the chicken. When the oil gets hot  add few curry leaves and then the pieces of chicken. Fry on low flame so the chicken gets crispy and cooked inside. keep turning the chicken pieces so all sides are browned well.
3. In the same oil fry the green chillies.
5. Serve the fried chicken with the fried curry leaves and fried green chillies.

Blueberry Banana Bread

Overview
A simple delicious bread to make when you have overripe bananas. Blueberries adds a nice sweetness and texture to this moist bread. The whole loaf has just one egg and 3 tablespoon of oil so is low in fat. Serve this warm blueberry banana bread for breakfast or for tea.

Blueberry Banana Bread

Ingredients
2 cusp all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
3 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 large ripe bananas mashed
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups blueberries

Steps
1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease the loaf pan and keep aside.
2. Mash the ripe bananas
3. In a large bowl mix the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add egg and 3 tablespoons of oil and vanilla extract to it. Add the mashed banana and mix well. Fold in the blueberries with a spatula till all the blueberries and mixed well. Pour batter in the loaf pan.
4. Bake at 350 F for about 60 minutes till a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Serve warm.

Red Spinach Stir Fry (Chuvanna Cheera Thoran)

Overview
Red Spinach is found plenty in Kerala in addition to the green spinach and is very nutritious and tasty. This is a very simple stir fry with few ingredients and fresh grated coconut that can be served as a side for any rice or bread. Fresh grated coconut is a Kerala specialty which does adds a nice texture and flavor. This is the first time I got Red Spinach from Indian store so had to make this dish.

Red Spinach Stir Fry (Chuvanna Cheera Thoran)

Ingredients

Ingredients
Washed and finely chopped red spinach - 4 cups
One red onion finely chopped
Half cup freshly grated coconut
One tablespoon finely chopped garlic
Half teaspoon turmeric powder
Crushed red pepper 2 - 3 tablespoon
Curry leaves - 2 sprigs optional
Salt to taste
Oil - 2 tablespoon

Steps
1. Wash the red spinach leaves several times in water and finely chop and keep aside.
2. Heat oil in a pan. When the oil gets hot add the finely chopped red onions and garlic to it. Saute till the onions are light brown.
3. Add the turmeric powder and crushed red pepper to this and saute few minutes. Add curry leaves  and stir few minutes and then add the finely cut red spinach to this with salt. Mix well cover pan with lid and simmer till the spinach is cooked. Open lid and stir till all liquid is evaporated.
4. Add fresh grated coconut and mix well. Keep stirring till the coconut is well mixed with the spinach and all the liquid has evaporated. Turn off heat.

Serve hot with any rice or bread.

Dried Mango Pickle

Overview
Drying and preserving raw mangoes is very common in Kerala since Mango is a very common fruit we find through out the state. These dried raw mangoes are then used in many curries and pickles. I got these dried mangoes from India when I visited my parents. Dried mango pickle has a very unique and strong flavor very different than the raw mango pickle.

Dried Mango Pickle

Dried Mango Pickle Ingredients

Ingredients
Dried mango - 3/4 cup
Boiled water 1 cup
White Vinegar - 1/2 cup
Garlic cloves - 2 tablespoons
Ginger 1 tablespoon
Curry eaves 3 sprigs
Turmeric 1 teaspoon
Red Chilly powder - 3 tablespoon
Fenugreek powder 1 teaspoon
Brown sugar - 2 - 3 tablespoons
Asafoetida powder - 1 teaspoon
Salt to taste
Oil - 3 tablespoons

Steps
1. Dry roast the fenugreek seeds and grind to a smooth powder and keep aside.
2. Boil one cup of water. Turn off heat. Add Vinegar to this and soak the dried mangoes for 1 - 2 hours till the mango slices are soft.
3. Grind the garlic, ginger, red chilly powder and turmeric to a smooth paste with little water and keep aside.
4. Heat oil in a pan. When the oil gets hot add the ground garlic ginger paste with spices to it and saute till the oil separates. Add curry leaves are fry few more minutes. Add the soaked mango slices with water and vinegar to this.
5. Add the fenugreek powder and asfoetida powder along with brown sugar and salt and mix well. Bring this mixture to boil. Turn off heat.  Brown sugar is added to balance the flavor of sourness so add brown sugar and salt as needed to adjust flavor,

Let it cool to room temperature and store in a clean jar.

Muringayila (drumstick leaves) Parippu curry

Overview
An authentic Kerala dish made with drumstick leaves. This is one of my favorite dishes that my mother used to make. Back in Kerala we had a drumstick tree in our yard so my mother use to make this often. I got fresh drumstick leaves from the Indian grocery store so had to make this dish. A very nutritious and healthy dish that goes well with plain rice or chapatti. The bark of the drumstick tree has the horseradish taste and  is ground to paste  and used in many dishes and hence the drumstick tree is also called the horseradish tree.

Muringayila Parrippu Curry

Ingredients
Toor Dal ( or split yellow peas) - 1/2 cup
Drumstick leaves all stems and vein's removed - 2 cups
Turmeric powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Chilly powder - 1 teaspoon
Fresh grated coconut - 3/4 cup
Garlic cloves - 3
Whole red chillies broken into 2 inch pieces- 3 - 4
Curry leaves - 2 sprigs
Mustard seeds - 1 tables spoon
Cumin seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
Fenugreek seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
Oil - 2 tablespoon
Salt to taste.

Steps
1. Wash the cleaned drumstick leaves in plenty of water, drain and keep aside.
2. Cook the toor dal is 1 1/2 cup water till is cooked well in pressure cooker.
3. Once the dal is cooked. Add the drumstick leaves to this with 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder, chilly powder and salt and cook well till the leaves are cooked.
4. In a blender grind the fresh grated coconut along with garlic, 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder and 1/2 cup warm water to a smooth paste.
5. Add this ground coconut to the cooked dal and dal and drum stick leaves and bring it to a boil. Turn off heat.
6. In another pan heat the 2 tablespoons oil. When the oil gets hot add the mustard seeds and let it splutter. add the fenugreek seeds, cumin seeds, red whole chillies and curry leaves to this. turn off heat and pour this oil mixture over the prepared curry.

Serve hot with plain rice or chapatti

Kozhuva Fry (Anchovy Fry)

Overview
This is a traditional Kerala style fish fry. Kozhuva or Anchovy are small salt water fish which is very nutritious. These spicy and crispy fried fish goes very well with plain  rice.

Kozhuva Fry

Ingredients
Kozhiva cleaned  - 1 pound
Chilly powder - 1 tablespoon
Black Pepper powder - 1 tablespoon
Turmeric powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Lemon Juice - 1 tablespoon
White Vinegar - 1 Tablespoon
Salt to Taste
Curry leaves - 2 sprigs
Oil to fry

Steps
1. Mix the chilly powder, pepper powder, tirmeric powder, salt , vinegar and lemon juice with water and make smooth paste and keep aside.
2. Marinate the cleaned fish with the spice paste and keep for 1 - 2 hours.
3. Heat oil in a pan. When the oil gets hot add few curry leaves and then the fish and fry till crispy.

Serve hot with onion salad.

Lime and Dates Pickle

Overview
The sour taste of limes mixed with the sweet taste of dates makes this a unique sweet and sour pickle. A perfect accompaniment for any biriyani or any Indian meals. You can adjust the amount of green chillies and chilly powder to the level of spiciness you want. Like all pickles as this ages it becomes more tasty as the flavor of ginger, garlic and spices gets infused with the date and lime pieces in the pickle.

Lime and Dates Pickle

Limes and Dates pickle Ingredients

Ingredients
Lime cut into quarters  - 2 cups
Date cut into slices 1/2 cup
Garlic finely chopped 2 tablespoon
Ginger finely chopped 1 tablespoon
Green chillies finely chopped - 3  - 6
Curry leaves 2 - 3 sprigs
Kashmiri or red chilly powder - 2 - 3 tablespoons
Turmeric powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Fenugreek powder - 1 teaspoon
Asfaoetida powder 1 teaspoon
Mustard seeds - 1 tablespoon
Brown sugar 1 tablespoon
Salt to taste
White Vinegar - 3 - 4 tablespoon
Oil about 3 tablespoons

Steps
1. Mix the clean cut lime pieces with salt and put in a clean jar for about 3 weeks. Mix the jar very day. This is to make the lime pieces soft.
2. Dry roast the fenugreek seeds and powder it and keep aside.
3. Soak the sliced dates in about 1/2 cup hot water for about 15 minutes till it becomes soft.
3. Heat oil in a pan. When the oil gets hot add the mustard seeds. After the mustard seeds splutter add the finely chopped garlic, ginger, green chillies and curry leaves to this.
4. Saute till the garlic turns light brown.. Add the turmeric and chilly powder to this and mix well till the raw flavor of red chillies is gone.
5. Add the marinated soft lime pieces and soaked dates to this along with vinegar, fenugreek seeds powder, asafoetida powder, brown sugar and mix well. Add salt as needed.
6. Bring this mixture to a boil. Turn off heat.
7. Bring the pickle to room temperature and store in an air tight jar and keep in the refrigerator,. Stays in the refrigerator for about 2 months. If you add more oil and vinegar it can be left at room temperature too.

Serve as a condiment with any Indian meal.