Method:
Wash, peel, and grate the carrot. Pour honey (If you are using sugar/jaggery, mix those with the grated carrot) and add lime juice. Add salt and mix well. In a small pan, heat the oil and put mustard seeds. When mustard seeds start crackling, add jeera. Add curry leaves to the oil. Add this seasoning to the salad and mix well. You could add almonds, peanuts, cashews, rasins, any of these as per your taste. Personally I prefer adding almonds. Set aside for 5-10 mins to let the flavors blend. Crunchy munchy carrot salad is ready.

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Ingredients:
Onion (medium) – 1
Tomato (medium) – 1
Garlic – 1 pod (optional)
Hing/asafetida – a pinch
Turmeric – a pinch
Chilly powder – 1/2 tsp
Cooking oil – 2 tsps
Salt to taste
Mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp (optional)
Grated coconut – 1 tbsp (optional)
Coriander leaves – 1-2 (optional)

Method:
Peel the garlic and onion. Chop garlic, onion, and tomato into small pieces. Pour oil into an iron wok. Crackle mustard seeds. Add chopped garlic. When they turn brown, add chopped onion. Saute for 2 minutes. Add turmeric powder, chilly powder, and hing powder. Add chopped tomato. Saute for 2 more minutes. Add salt and turn off. Add grated coconut and chopped coriander leaves if preferred. Serve with roti.

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Stuffed brinjal is easy to make and makes good accompaniment for rotis or puris. You can go crazy with your imagination and use anything you fancy for the masala of this recipe. Make this one and you will fall in love with brinjal.

Ingredients:
Brinjal (purple small round ones) – 250 gms
Cooking oil (sunflower) – 2 tbsps
Coriander leaves – a bunch
Salt – to taste

For masala:
Onion – 2 (medium sized)
Peanuts – 2 tbsp
Sesame seeds – 1 tbsp
Grated coconut – 2 tbsp
Garlic – 3 pods
Jaggery – 1 tbsp
Turmeric – 1/2 tsp
Chilly powder – 2 tsp
Cooking oil – 1 tbsp
Salt to taste

Method:

Please make sure that you use the small purple brinjal variety to make this dish. Wash the brinjal and pat them dry using a cloth. Make slits that cross each other while keeping the stem intact. Ensure that there is no dirt/worms. Keep aside.

Peel and cut the onion. In a pan, add one tbsp oil and add the onion, grated coconut, peanuts, sesame seeds, and garlic. Saute well. Add turmeric power, chilly powder, jaggery, and salt. Use your imagination and you can add anything you fancy, like coriander powder, garam masala, or ginger garlic paste instead of garlic. Turn off the flame and let the mixture cool. Grind this to a fine paste in a blender. Add just enough water so that the paste is not too loose. Carefully stuff this paste into the slit brinjal so that the paste of masala coats the insides of the brinjal. If you choose to and have the time and patience, you can keep this aside for half an hour before you start cooking the brinjal. I did not do this and cooked the stuffed brinjal straightaway after stuffing them with the masala.

In a thick bottomed pan, pour 2 tbsp of cooking oil and place the slit brinjal with masala stuffing. Close with a lid. Stir occasionally and cook until the brinjal is tender (about 10-15 minutes on medium fire). If you prefer some gravy for the dish, you can make the masala slightly watery and that will make the dish watery. If you prefer it tangy, you can cook the stuffed brinjal in tomato puree or tamarind water. When the brinjal is tender, remove from fire, and add chopped coriander leaves. Serve with rotis or warm rice. I cooked this dish in an iron kadai and hence the dish looks slightly blackish.

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Ingredients:

Bhindi/okra/lady’s finger – 250 gms
Copra/dried coconut kernel – 150 gms
Peanuts – a fistful
Garlic pod (medium sized) – 1
Chilly powder – 1 tsp
Cooking oil – 1 tbsp
Salt – as needed

Method:
The okra that you choose for this subzi should be of small size. Use only the tender ones. Make sure that you wash them thoroughly and pat dry. Remove both the ends and make a single slit on the okra ensuring that it does not split into two. Okra is a favorite hideout for worms! So make sure that you check for any dirt or worms! Keep aside.

Chop the copra into small, even pieces. In a thick bottomed pan, dry roast the copra pieces until golden brown (for around 5 minutes). Remove from fire. Dry roast the peanuts in medium fire for around 5 minutes. When the peanuts start changing color, remove from fire. Grind the roasted peanuts, copra, garlic pod, and chilly powder in a blender to make a coarsely ground powder.

In a pan, pour one tbsp oil and add the slit okra. Close with a lid and cook for 3 minutes in medium fire. Stir occasionally. When the okra is half cooked, add the the coarsely ground powder. Add the required amount of salt, stir, and close with a lid. Cook for 5 mins in medium fire. Stir occasionally. Stuffed okra is ready. Serve hot with warm rotis.

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When my friend came to visit, she brought along with her some organic beaten rice flakes. My mother makes sweet beaten rice flakes often and it is a favorite in our household. It is a common neivedyam (offering to God) and a favorite of Lord Krishna. I suggested to my friend that we use the organic variety to make the sweet beaten rice. I shared with her my mother’s method of making aval nanachathu. Though Kerala is a small state as compared to other states in India, you will find difference in taste of food every 100 kms or so. Right from the chutney, sambar, and the type of rice served, to the kind of items served in a sadya, recipes and tastes differ across the length and breadth of this blessed little state. My friend’s sweetened beaten rice recipe differed from my mother’s. I told her to teach me her version which is called Aval Vilayichathu. Does anyone know the difference between aval vilayichathu and aval nanachathu? Here is the recipe to her version.

Ingredients:

Beaten rice (brown/white) flakes – 3 cups
Jaggery – 1 cup (you can alter this quantity to suit your taste)
Grated coconut – 1 cup
Cardamom powder – 1/2 tsp
Sesame seeds – 1 tbsp
Chana dal/split chick peas/kadala paruppu – 2 tbsp
Ghee/clarified butter – 2 tsp
Water – 1 cup

Method:

Put the jaggery pieces in water and melt it on low flame. Strain the solution into a wide pan. Keep this pan on medium fire and let the jaggery solution thicken. When the jaggery solution thickens to a syrup. Check for one-thread consistency (take a drop of the jaggery solution in a spoon. Let it cool a bit and then touch it with a clean forefinger and then touch your forefinger and your thumb together and pull them apart gently. If the solution forms a thread between your two fingers, then it has reached thread consistency). Add grated coconut and stir. Add the beaten rice flakes, mix, and cook over a low flame, stirring constantly to coat the beaten rice with jaggery and coconut. Add cardamom powder. When the mixture thickens, turn off the fire.

In a small pan, heat ghee. When it is hot, add chana dal and roast them golden brown. Remove the chana dal from ghee and add to the sweetened beaten rice flakes mixture. Add sesame seeds to the hot ghee and roast lightly. Be careful not to burn the seeds. Pour the ghee and sesame seeds on to the sweetened beaten rice flakes mixture. Mix well.

This can be stored in the refrigerator for a month. You can take out required quantities and steam or warm in a microwave and use.

Below is my mother’s version, which is simpler. This one stays good only for a day.

Ingredients:

Beaten rice (brown/white) flakes – 3 cups
Jaggery – 1 cup
Grated coconut – 1 cup
Cardamom powder – 1/2 tsp
Ghee (optional) – 1 tsp
Water – 1-1/2 cup

Method:

Sprinkle small quantities of water on the beaten rice and use your hand to mix well and moisten the beaten rice. Close with a lid and keep aside. Put the jaggery pieces in water and melt it on low flame. Strain the solution into a wide pan. Keep this solution in the pan on medium fire and let the jaggery solution thicken. When the jaggery solution thickens to a syrup. Check for one-thread consistency (as mentioned earlier). When the jaggery solution reaches thread consistency, add the moistened beaten rice flakes and stir well to coat the beaten rice flakes with the jaggery syrup. Add grated coconut and cardamom powder and mix well. You can add ghee if you choose to as this tastes good even without the ghee.

Yet another method of making sweet beaten rice is to just scrape/powder the jaggery pieces and mix it well with the poha. Use some amount of warm milk or water to moisten this mixture. Add grated coconut and a quick and yummy snack is ready.

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Ingredients:
Carrots – 250 gms
Milk – 1 cup
Sugar – 100 gms
Ghee – 100 gms
Almonds/raisins/cashewnuts – 8-10 pieces
Elaichi powder – 1/4 tsp

Method:
Soak the almonds in water for half an hour and peel and cut to small pieces. Cut the cashewnuts into smaller pieces. Wash, peel, and grate the carrots. Place a thick wok on fire and pour a teaspoon of ghee. Roast the almonds, cashews and raisins in this ghee. When the nuts and raisins turn golden brown, remove from fire and keep aside.

Pour milk into the thick wok. Empty the grated carrot into milk and cook in medium fire. Stir occasionally. You can use water instead of milk or use a mix of milk and water. The advantage of using milk is that you can cut down on the usage of ghee.

When the milk is fully absorbed and the grated carrot is tender and cooked, lower the flame and add sugar. At this stage, the mixture becomes a little loose. Stir occasionally and cook until all the water is fully absorbed. You can modify the quantity of sugar depending on your taste.
Add ghee in small quantities, mix, and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add elaichi powder and the roasted nuts and raisins. Mix well. Remove from fire. You can serve carrot halwa hot or cold. Try it with a dollop of vanilla ice cream.

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Method 1 Ingredients:
Radish – 250 gms
Cooking oil – 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder/haldi – 1/4 tsp
Cumin seeds/jeera – 1/4 tsp
Mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp
Urad dal – 1/4 tsp
Green chillies – 2
Grated coconut – One small cup
Curry leaves – One stalk
Salt to taste

Method:
Clean, peel, and cut the radishes into small pieces. If the radishes are fresh and come along with the stem and leaves, you can pluck the leaves and chop them and use it for the subzi. I like to retain the crunchy texture of the radish and hence cut them instead of grating them. However, if you prefer it grated, you could do so. Split the green chillies. Pour oil in a thick bottomed iron wok and turn on the heat. Add mustard seeds to the oil. When the mustard seeds start to splutter, add jeera and urad dal. If you add these along with the mustard seeds, they will get burnt. When dal turns pink in color, add curry leaves and split green chillies, and then add radish pieces. Stir and mix well. Add turmeric powder, close with a lid, and cook in medium flame for 5 mins. Stir occasionally. When the radishes become tender, turn off the fire and then add salt. Add grated coconut and mix well.

Method 2 Ingredients:
Radish – 250 gms
Cooking oil – 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder/haldi – 1/4 tsp
Mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp
Onion – 1 medium sized
Green chillies – 2
Grated coconut – One small cup
Curry leaves – One stalk
Salt to taste

Method:
Clean, peel, and grate the radishes. Clean, peel, and chop the onion finely. Split the green chillies. Pour oil in a thick bottomed iron wok and turn on the heat. Add mustard seeds to the oil. When they splutter, add curry leaves, green chillies, and finely chopped onion. Cook for 2-3 minutes until onion turns pink in color. Add grated radish. Mix well. Close with a lid and cook for 3-4 minutes stirring occasionally. When the radish becomes tender, turn off the fire, add salt, grated coconut and mix well. Serve along with rice or roti.

The traditional kesari is warm, greasy, soft, and has a melt in the mouth texture. It has oodles of ghee that adds to its taste yet it doesnt drip ghee. Many a times the amount of ghee is cut down in homemade variations of kesari bath. Water, ghee, and sugar proportions are critical to make the perfect kesari. Too much water can make a paste out of the kesari. Dominant amount of sugar or ghee can spoil the taste too. Although I have seen my mother make this dish very often, I always get confused about the quantity of water to be used for this dish and for upma. I referred to this blog to make this recipe and my kesari came out just right.

Ingredients:
Rava (sooji/semolina) – 1 cup
Sugar – 1 cup (depending on your taste)
Ghee – 3/4 cup
Water – 2-1/2 cups (you can opt to add milk to this)
Saffron (Kesar) – 3-4 strands
Cashew/raisins/almond pieces – A few
Cardamom powder (elaichi) – 1/4 tsp
Pacha karpooram (borneo-camphor/kacha karpoor) – very little (optional)
Food color – optional

Method:
Add the saffron strands to a small cup of warm milk/water and keep aside. Add half a cup of ghee to a thick bottomed wok and let it melt in medium heat. Turn down the heat to minimum and add the cashews/raisins/almond pieces and roast until golden brown. Remove them from the ghee and keep it aside.

To this ghee, add rawa and keep stirring until the rawa turns color to golden brown. This will take about 5-7 minutes. I like to roast the rawa to golden brown although it is sufficient to roast just until the rawa starts to change color. While roasting the rawa, boil water in a pan. If you are adding milk, ensure that you use 1 cup milk and 1-1/2 cups of water. Ensure that that amount of water and milk put together is not more than 3 cups. Turn down the heat and add this boiling water/milk to the rawa cautiously. Make sure that you stand a little away from the stove while doing this as it might splutter. Stir this and make sure there are no lumps. Cook this for about 2-3 minutes. When the rawa is cooked and the water/milk content reduced, add sugar and mix well. The sugar starts to melt and the mixture once again becomes a little watery. Cook until the mixture thickens and water content reduces. Add the remaining ghee and stir. Add cardamom powder, cashew/raisins/almond pieces, and saffron dissolved in milk/water.

I prefer to have kesari bath warm although you can refrigerate this and serve it cold also.

Here I present my own less sinful version of what I tasted at the wedding. A quick fix breakfast or snack, an easy dish to make.

Ingredients:
Bread (Multigrain/White) – 2 pieces
Butter/Olive oil – 2 tbsp
Dry herbs (Basil/pasta herb mix) – ½ tsp
Cheese (slices or spreadable) – 2 slices/1 tbsp
Sesame seeds – 1 tsp

Method:

If you are using square shaped bread slices, cut it into smaller rectangular or triangular pieces. This is optional and just for ease of eating. Spread/place the cheese spread/slice on bread (I used Amul’s Garlic Cheese Spread). On this sprinkle sesame seeds, and mixed herbs (I used pasta herb mix. Basil is also a good choice). I did not use any salt as I used garlic cheese spread which had little bit of salt. You could choose to sprinkle salt as per your taste. Brush olive oil on the free side (the side without toppings).

Since I do not have an oven, I toasted this in a pan on low heat. Toast only the free side to make it brown. Serve as snack by itself or with vegetables. You wont realize how many of them you will gobble along with hot tea or coffee.

Instead of cheese, you can spread mashed potatoes. Sesame seeds are rich in calcium. Multigrain bread and olive oil up the health quotient.

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Salad Ingredients:
Zucchini (a type of squash like cucumber) – 1 medium sized
Carrot – 1 medium sized
French beans – 100 gms
Garlic – 1 clove
Olive oil/butter/cooking oil – 1/2 tbsp
Crushed peppercorns – 1 tsp
Salt to taste

Garlic Bread Ingredients:
Bread – As needed
Garlic cloves – 2 to 3
Butter – 1 tbsp

Method:
Salad
Peel garlic and chop finely. Wash and remove the edges of the vegetables. Peel the carrot. Slice the vegetables in a slanting manner (oblique cutting) so that the inner sides are more exposed.

Heat a wok and pour oil. Add the finely chopped garlic and cook for a minute. When the garlic begins to change color, add the sliced carrots and beans, close with a lid, and cook for a minute. Stir and add the sliced zucchini. Cook for around 2 minutes. The vegetables should just become tender and should not be overcooked. Add salt and crushed pepper. Remove from fire.

Garlic bread
Peel and chop garlic finely. Mix this with butter. Spread on the butter garlic mixture on bread and place on a hot pan. Spread the butter and garlic on the other side of the bread. Cook in medium fire for half a minute or so. Flip over and cook the other side. Remove from fire and serve with cheese or zucchini salad.

Zucchini is not commonly found in India. It belongs to the cucumber family and tastes and smells very much like cucumber yet not as watery as cucumber. I used to always ignore the side of the market where the ‘exotic’ vegetables are sold. But I am so glad I gave zucchini a try.