Kanava Thoran/Kerala Squid Chilly Fry

Kanava thoran is one of the popular seafood dish in the coastal areas of kerala.Squid is like cuttlefish, have eight arms and two tentacles arranged in pairs,they release ink into the water while in danger and it changes its skin color to suit its surroundings as a protective mechansm.Its known as 'Kanava' in Kerala ,'kanava/kadamba' in TN ,here its known in Italian name 'Calamari'.In USA,Deep Fried calamari is very famous ,served in many Italian and other seafood restaurants as appetizers along with spicy or tangy dips like marinara sauce,olive oil,tomato ketchup with a lemon slice. Squids are not available as cleaned fishes like king fish,mackeral,salmon...I bought it as whole from a chinese grocery store.For cleaning tips,check here and here .In kerala ,my grandma makes 'Kanava thoran' often,this is her style...

Ingredients

Squid(Kanava) - 1 lb(cut into very small pieces)

Shallots/Red Onion - 1 no(sliced)

Green chillies - 2 nos(sliced)

Chilly powder - 1 tsp

Coriander powder - 1 tsp

Fenugreek powder - 1/2 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Red dried chillies - 2 nos

Mustard seeds - 1tsp

Curry leaves - 1/2 sprig

Grated coconut - 1 cup

Oil - 3 tbsp

Method..

Heat up a pan,add water, kanava, onion and green chillies. Add salt to taste and let it cook for 10 mins.In a blender,grind together coconut, chilly powder, coriander powder, turmeric and fenugreek powder and grind once.Do not make a paste of it.Add this mixture to the cooked kanava.Heat oil in another pan.Splutter mustard seeds followed by red dried chillies and curry leaves. Add cooked kanava mixture into it and saute it for few mins.Garnish with curry leaves.

Nankatai - Vanilla Butter cookies

Nankatai is a usual biscuit available in all bakeries in India,also known as Benne Biscuits in different places.These rich and cute shortbreads cookies are in two variations like sugar or savory ones with salt and cumin seeds,comes in different flavours like almonds,kesar,cardamom,vanilla and also spicy ones.After coming here in US,found many types of cookies like chocolate,ginger,intalian biscotti and more.But i love the simple n elegent tea cookies in India. Small crispy cookies dipped in tea taste awesome!!!isn't....I searched a lot in Indian stores,couldnt find.Finally made myself.This is the first cookie in tried,i gotta a problem whenever i try it,my cookies always burn at the bottom,while the top part remains uncooked and white.Adding butter is also important,My first set of cookies was a flop coz of more butter,while baking, the cookies started to spread and became flat.I made the second set of dough carefully with little butter,it was nice.They look so good,here goes the second set of cookies toSusan for the Eat Christmas Cookies event in Food Blogga.

Ingredients..
Maida/All purpose flour - 1 cup
Granulated Sugar - 1/2 cup
Softened Butter - 5-6 tbsps (approx)
Baking powder - 1/2 tsp
Vanilla essence 1tsp
Almonds spitted (for garnishing)
Method:
1.Mix all purpose flour,baking powder,sugar and vanilla essence.
2. Add butter a little at a time and knead the dough into a nice soft ball.
3.Keepthe dough for a couple of hours.
4.Preheat the oven to 180 degree F
5. Divide the dough into small round balls and flatten them on the top with your fingers,place half splitted almonds on top of cookies.
6. Bake for 15 mins or until the bottom starts to turn slightly brownish.
7. Let cool and store in a air tight container.

Inji-Poondu Kulambu

Inji-poondu kulambu /Ginger garlic curry is a curry made with Inji[Ginger] , Poondu[Garlic] and other spices,an authentic tamilnadu kulambu which is perfect for winter.Ginger and garlic added to kulambu gives wonderful flavour and of course good for digestion.Tastes good next time like vatra kulambu,even it stays good for a week outside fridge.Its basically a chettinadu recipe.When i was doing masters,all my friends loved this curry ,they ask amma for recipe.She makes this often for them.Great combo with curd rice and potato poriyal.Here goes Chettinadu special...
Ingredients..
Onion- 1
Tomato- 1
Tamarind- lemon size
Turmeric powder 1/4tsp
Salt
Oil 2tbsp
For seasoning..
Mustard seeds 1/2tsp
Urad dal 1/2tsp
Curry leaves
Garlic- 7-8 cloves
For grinding...
Ginger- a small piece,2 inch
Cumin powder- 1 tsp
Coriander powder- 1 tsp
Dry chillies- 5
Pepper powder- 1/2 tsp
fenugreek seeds- 1/2 tsp
Method..

• Soak tamarind in warm water for 10 min,extract the pulp and keep aside.Chop onion into big chunks,pearl onions taste great.I used red onions here.Chop tomato finely and peel garlic.
• Heat oil in a pan,now fry ginger,cumin,coriander,dry chillies,pepper,fenugreek one by one carefully without burning it.Once its cool down,make a fine paste .
• Heat oil in a kadai,add mustard seeds,urad dal,curry leaves,garlic,onions,fry till golden color,add tomatoes,salt and turmeric powder,fry till they are soft.
• Now add ground paste,saute a while and add little water.Once the raw smell goes off,add tamarind pulp.cook on low flame for 10mins.when oil starts floating on top,switch off flame.Serve with rice,dosa/idli.

Sorakkai Paruppu Kootu

Sorakkai Paruppu Kootu/Bottlegourd Masala Dal is one of our fav dish ,healthy n easy to make.I was thinking about cooking something different for Linda's amazing event of JFI: Toor Dal,finally I'm rushing at the last minute with my entry.Toor dal has a mild, nutty flavor & cooked as a routine Indian dish which is rich in Vitamin B1,protein,dietary fiber and minerals.Bottle gourd is a common vegetable in India,an yellowish green vegetable, having the shape of a bottle. It has white pulp, with white seeds embedded in spongy flesh.Known as 'sorakkai' in Tamil,Chorakka in Malayalam,Sorakkaya in telugu and lauki in Hindi.I dont know how 's known in kannada.Bottle gourd is eaten as cooked ,it gives a feeling of relaxation after eating it.Its rich in essential minerals, iron, protein ,trace elements and fibre.Its a nice sidedish for rice and roti.Yesterday i had it along with Rice ,Inji- poondu Kulambu ,Vazakkai poriyal and carrot Kosumbari. I'll post the other recipes later.


Sorakkai Paruppu Kootu

Ingredients

Sorakkai/Bottlegourd 1/2cup

Toor dal 1cup

Tomato 1

Onion 1

Green chilli 2

Cumin powder 1tsp

Coriender powder 2tsp

Red chilli powder 2tsp

turmeric powder 1/4tsp

Cliantro 1/3cup

Ginger a slice

Garlic 2 cloves

Oil 1tsp

Salt

Method

Boil the toor dal in the pressure cooker for 2-3whistles with salt and turmeric powder.Mash it into smooth paste.In the blender, grind together1/2 onions chopped, garlic, ginger, coriander leaves, tomatoes, cumin seeds, coriander powder and the red chili powder. Slice the other onion finely and keep aside. Heat oil in a pan and fry the sliced onion. When the onions are turning a little brown, add the ground masala and fry around 15-20 minutes. All the water should have evaporated and the paste should be dry. Now add the boiled dal to it and add a little water if u need gravy. Add salt to taste. Boil for a while till you get the required consistency.Plz note fry the masala well.

Dates Apple Smoothie

"Smoothie" means something smooth.Smoothies were invented in the 1960’s as a healthy alternative to milkshakes,made from all natural fruits, making them of course naturally healthy.A blended and chilled beverage made from fresh fruit and nuts. It is sometimes blended with crushed ice, frozen fruit, frozen yogurt or fat free milk.I was scratching my brain these days thinking about what to send to Chandrika's event in this nov AFAM Dates ,finally ended up in these delicious healthy smoothie.Calorie content in 1cup of smoothie is 1 Fruit Smoothie contains 125 cal,1 Fruit Smoothie (wid.fat-free milk) contains 205 cal,1 Fruit Smoothie (wid.fat-free yogurt) contains 220 cal.Of course u all know about these cute and wrinkly yumm dates are high in iron, potassium, fiber and a bunch o’ vitamins, no fat or cholesterol.I love the combo of dates with almonds, crunchy nuts with milk ,apple n dates...
Ingredients
Low fat milk 4cups
Apple 1big
Dates 10 deseeded
Vanilla extract 1/2tsp
Ice cubes(optional)
Sugar 2tsp(optional)
Method

• Soak deseeded dates in 1cup of warm water for half an hour.
• Peel the apple skin ,finely chop into small pieces.
• Blend dates,apple,milk and vanilla extract till u get a smooth n frothy drink.Freeze your fruit beforehand, smoothie will stay colder and be thicker . U can add ice cubes ,if u need chilled one.Instead of milk,vanilla ice creams or fat free yogurt can be used .Add sugar ,if u need more sweet.i didt add,as dates and apple makes enough sweet.
• Garnish with chopped almonds.

Baigan Ka BHURR-taah

Although from south,i prefer having northindian dishes in restaurants mostly panner or chole dishes .Frankly speaking ,haven't heard about this bringal dish till my marriage.This is the second dish i got from my 's' cooking class,first one was palak dal.He used to cook all these while he was a bachelor...now interested in criticising my cooking...Now coming Baigan Ka Bharta...or BHURR-taah (pronounced like) ..here ingredients are roughly mashed while doing dish, roasted bringal with smokey spicy flavour,basically a Bhihari dish.Even bringal haters like me would like this.First time after making this,i couldn't identify whether it has bringal in it...I actually made this for sending to Rci bihar event,i couldn't make it within time.Now this is my entry to Suganya of Tasty Palettes for her wonderful Vegan Ventures this month.

Ingredients

Bringal/Egg plant 1 big
Onion 1 finely chopped
Cooked Green peas 1/3cup
Green chilli 2 slit
Garlic 2 clove chopped
Ginger 1 inch size minced
Tomato 1 finely chopped
Garam masala powder 1/2tsp
Turmeric powder 1/2tsp
Red chilli powder 1tsp
Cumin powder 1/2tsp
Coriender powder 1/2tsp
Lemon juice 1/2tsp
Oil 2tsp
Salt
Cilantro
Method

• Firstly prick the egg plant nicely with fork all over.Roast it in open flame ,its gives the nice smokey flavour or broil/bake it in bake oven for about 20 mins,till the skin starts charring.Turn it to another side after 10 mins so that its evenly cooked.i usually bake coz roasting in direct flame is bit complicated.Once its roasted,let it cool down for a while.Peel off the skin and mashed it roughly with fork.If u need a nice paste,blend it.
• Heat up oil ,add chopped ginger-garlic ,saute for a min.Throw down chopped onions and green chillies,fry for another few more mins till they are golden brown.
• Add red chili powder,cumin powder,coriander powder,masala powder,turmeric powder saute for a min.Add chopped tomatoes,cook it they are soft.
• Now add mashed egg plants and cooked green peas with 2 tbsp water ,cook in low flame for about 10 mins covered,so that all blend together.


• Stir occasionally.Remove from flame ,add lemon juice and garnish with chopped cilantro.Goes well with chappati or naan.

Inji curry-A sweet n sour ginger chutney

All keralties are very fond of this,a must dish in onam sadya . Known in different names such as Pulinji,Inji curry.what ever be the name ,its bascially a Sweet n sour ginger sauce.Main ingredients are Tamarind{puli} and Ginger {inji},hence the name.Ginger has a vital part in Indian cooking,aromatic, pungent and spicy, adds a special flavor and zest to stir fries and many fruit and vegetable dishes.Its a dietary supplement, shown to clean and thin the blood thus positively affecting the heart and almost every other organ in the body.Try to add grated ginger than paste in cooking coz grated gives much more flavour and maximum benefits.Now coming back to dish,Inji curry can be served as a side dish for meal.Goes well with rice and any curries,also with dosa /idli.Even though its a kerala dish,every malayalee has a unique style in preparing this,which varies from places within kerala.In northern kerala,coconut and coriender powder is added.Here goes my amma's style...

Inji curry
Ingredients
Fresh ginger minced 1 cup
( plz note ,not ginger paste,crushed ones)
Green chilles finely chopped 15
Tamarind 3-4 inch piece of ginger(size of small lemon)
Red chilli powder 3/4tsp
Mustard seeds 1tsp
Curry leaves a few
Fenugreek seeds 1tsp
Jaggery 2tsp
Salt
Gingely oil 2tsp
(use any refined oil )

Method
Soak tamarind in a cup of warm water for about 15 mins and extract the thick juice and keep aside.Dry roast fenugreek seeds,powder it and keep aside.Heat oil in thick bottomed pan,add mustard seeds,then curry leaves.Now add crushed ginger and finely chopped green chillies and fry till golden brown.Add tamarind paste,chilli powder,salt .Bring it to boil,keep the flame on medium.It will around 10 to 15 min to get rid of the raw smell of tamarind and to get a thick sauce.Now add jaggery,allow it to boil.Add according to ur need of sweetness in Injicurry.Once its reaches a thick consistency and oil starts floating on the surface,remove from heat.Inji curry gets thicker once its cool down.Store in glass or ceramic containers for long life,keep in fridge.This same can be used to make Instant Puliyogare .This is my entry toThink Spice..Think Ginger Event hosted by Sunita .