Caramel Bread Pudding

Got this from Google Images

Hellooooo! :)

I'm back with desserts! Now here is a pudding I simply love. When you have guests coming and have lots to prepare this is something u can whip up quick and refrigerator until serving time. And if you are a person who love a more thick and creamy kinda pudding this is perfect for you.... The Bread Pudding! :)

 All it requires are:

• 2 cups milk
• 3/4 cups sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 1 egg
• 8 small bread or 6 large ones

Blend all the above ingredients in a blender. Keep aside. 

This pudding is made by steaming so keep a pan or bowl or whatever you want to set the pudding in aside making sure it can withstand steaming.

Now take:

• 2 tbsp sugar and
• 1 tsp water

Heat it in a pan. Keep stirring until the mixture turns a dark golden brown. The caramel is ready. Take it off the flame and pour it into the dish you kept aside. Coat the bottom well. Give it a minute or 2 to set and pour in the bread-milk mixture. Place this bowl with in a pressure cooker or a deep bottom vessel for steaming. (Just do what you do when making idly). Steam for 25-30 minutes and check if the pudding has set. If not let it steam for a while longer. When its done take off flame and let it cool. Then refrigerator (minimum 2 hours is good) until you have to serve. 

I simply love this dessert. My husband loves it when I make it without the bread. I garnished it with some chopped pistachio. Gave it some lovely colours.

Now I have noticed that covering the bowl of pudding before placing it inside the hot water vessel for steaming is not a good idea. I have made this once without covering and once covered with aluminium foil (poked some holes too for steam to escape). The covered one took a long time to cook and still the centre was a bit watery. You can see that in my pic. But the one I made without covering was well done. I guess it was the water dripping onto the pudding from the foil while steaming.
The steaming vessel will be covered so no need to cover the bowl inside it too... got it?

Try it out! And enjoy! :)

Green Cheera Upperi

You don't have to cook fancy or complicated masterpieces, just good food from fresh ingredients....

- Julia Child

Hey everyone... :)

I've not been able to update this blog for a long time since I had my baby in the last week of June 2014. Taking pics of the food I make was easy... but getting the time to write a post on it was not. The little time that I did get when baby was asleep I would want to rest myself. 

And even Steffy is going through the same thing. She had her baby in the first week of November 2014. :)

I was in Saudi for 2 weeks... had gone for a mini vacation to be with my parents and sisters. I thought I might be able to post from there, but sadly weather changes(sand storm for days on) made my kids sick (allergies :( ) and yet again the little time my baby slept I wanted to sleep too.
Alhamdulillah we are getting back to routine now.

Here is an upperi I had made some months back. Its made with my favourite green cheera. I love green cheera upperi with rice, fish curry and fish fry. This upperi is also made the same way as the kovakka one I had posted.

The things you'll need are:

• 2 big bunch of green cheera (Washed and cut)
• 4-5 small onions
• 4-5 tbsp grated coconut
• 2 dry red chillies
• 1 tsp mustard seed
• 2 tbsp coconut oil (You can use any oil u want. Keralites mostly love food cooked in coconut oil)
• salt to taste

How to make:

• Grind together grated coconut, small onions and dry red chilly. Don't grind into a paste.
• In a pan heat 2 tbsp of coconut oil, add mustard seed, let it splutter. 
• Now add in the coconut-small onion-red chilly mix. Cook that for a minute or two until coconut starts changing colour to light brown. Add in the chopped cheera. Mix well. Add salt.
• Cheera cooks very fast. Hardly 5 minutes so do take care. 

This goes great with rice and curry.
Also take note: Its best not to add curry leaves to dishes u make with palak, cheera and other leafy veggies.

Lemon Rice

My son these days gives his orders and I have to make them ASAP coz he is quite an impatient customer. He loves rice items and for the last 2-3 days it has been ghee rice and mandhi rice. Yesterday night while checking out Eliza's, Lincy's Cook Art, my son caught sight of the lemon rice... and he wanted me to make it. He was like, "Take recipe! Go to kitchen!!" :D
He has always seen me checking out recipes for whatever I want to make and he thinks I can make anything... even fruits. Yesterday he was asking for oranges. Told me to check for recipe... :D

Lincy's Cook Art is one of the many lovely blogs I came across while checking for recipes. Her blog is such a pleasure for the eyes. The clicks are just perfect. This is the first recipe I've taken from her and I must say its a simple one too. I had all the ingredients with me. I didnt make any changes what-so-ever.... wasnt in any mood for trying out new stuff coz to be honest I have never had lemon rice before and I didnt know what it tastes like :D

So this is how mine turned out. And I got an A+ from both my son and husband(who unlike me has had it before :P).

There were times when I used to get too excited with my turmeric and almost always add a bit too much... but those days are long back. Now I add the littlest possible. I was a bit reluctant to add mustard seeds to this coz I dont like seeing mustard seeds in anything... only chutneys and thoran's. But as I wasnt sure if lemon rice usually had mustard seed it in or if it was just a malayali thing. I had a neighbour back in Bahrah, Saudi Arabia, who used to put mustard seed in spaghetti. The spaghetti was yum, but I felt odd seeing mustard seed in it. She was an extremely caring lady from Thrissure... :)

Anyway, here's the recipe I took from Eliza...

Ingredients

• 2 cups basmati rice, washed and drained
• 1 big onion chopped
• 1 inch ginger chopped finely
• 2 green chillies
• 1tsp mustard seed
• 1/4 turmeric powder
• 2 tsp urud daal
• 2 tsp moong daal (the original recipe from Eliza said chana daal, but I had only moong daals)
• 6-7 roasted cashew nuts
• 7-8 curry leaves
• 3-4 tbsp oil (I used sunflower oil)
• Juice of 2 lemon

Directions to make: 

• Boil the basmati rice in water with salt and a tbsp oil. Drain when it is almost cooked. Dont let it fully cook or when they sit for a minute or 2 they'd become over-cooked (which is soo not what u would want for ur lemon rice)
• Take a big pan, big enough to contain all the cooked rice, and heat oil in it. Add mustard seeds. Let it splutter. Add in the urud daal and moon daal. Roast for a minute or two until they turn a light shade of golden brown (Don't let it burn).
• Add in the curry leaves and green chillies. Give that also a minute then add in the onions and ginger. Add salt and turmeric. Now cook this until the onions start turning slightly brown(That would take only a minute or 2). Add a few drops of water. Mix well. Switch off flame. Add rice. mix well. Check salt. Add lemon juice. Garnish with  roasted cashews. 
• It's done!

It is a must to add lemon juice only after u have taken the pan off the stove. Coz the heat will turn the lemon juice bitter.. which would spoil the whole rice.

We had this with grilled chicken, yogurt and garlic achaar.

Now, I dont know if my opinion is coz I'm pregnant with my taste buds having a will of their own, but I didnt find it so 'wow'. Don't put much stock in my food opinions these days. I have always been a chocolate and sweets lover... used to crave them when I was pregnant with Ayaan. But in this pregnancy I dont want any. But I sure can eat as much dahi batata puri as possible :D.

Considering lemon rice: Yes, it was nice; but no, I wouldn't want to make it again unless my husband or son or anyone else wants it. It's biryani for me. Nothing can compare. I can have biryani for breakfast, lunch and dinner.. and even in the evening with tea :P I have had it that way when my mom used to make it back in Saudi :). I miss my mom's cooking. Especially her gravy chicken 65, which she makes in a yogurt gravy. Mouth-watering! Mine just never comes out as good as hers.

Anyway, for the rice lovers this would definitely be a must try recipe... :)

Long Beans Stir fry

One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well...

- Virginia Woolf

I've been in one of those moody preggy days for the past few days. Nothing much just missing my family back in Saudi. And then I've been worrying myself sick wondering how Ayaan would find school. I'm sure he would adjust to the schedule....but I just cant help being worried. Plus I went for this pregnancy sugar test yesterday and that totally put me off.
Anyway, back to normal as of now and have started craving dahi puri's!! I just loooooove the dahi puris we get in Bombay Chowpatty! :)

The recipe I'm posting today is just one of those veggies which go with our 'feel good' kerala food comprising of chor, meen curry, meen fry...that is my hubby's favourite meal...

This one I prepared the same way as I did for Kovakka ....

Ingredients:

• Payar/Long beans - 2 medium sized bunches
• Small onions - 5
• 1 dry red chilly
• A handful of curry leaves
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• Salt to taste
• Coconut oil 2 tbsp

Directions to make:

• I cut the beans into an approx of 1 inch length. Cooked it in the pressure cooker with a little water and salt for 2 whistles. Let it cool down placing it under cold running water.
• Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds. When its done with the splutters add in the curry leave and red chilly. After a minute add in the chopped small onions. Cook until they start turning brown. Then add in the cooked beans. Check salt, mix well and ur done! :)

Yeah, its that easy-peasy. I had made mathi(sardine) mulakittathu and mathi fry to go with this :)
I love mathi. And these were quite fresh ones. It's been a long time since we've had mathi. Frying fish makes the whole house stink and mathi seem to give out the strongest of stenches...

But who cares... another happy feel good meal for hubby :)

Masala Rice Balls

This was something I had made during Ramadan last year. Took pics just before Iftari and then totally forgot about posting it.I had came across this recipe on vahchef's fb page. These are crispy balls which taste just like cutlets but made with cooked rice.

I made a few changes from the way the vahchef made it. What he did was make a ball out of rice and then fill it with a mix of potato masala mix(what u wud make for veg cutlets). But my rice balls came out kinda sticky and so I just mixed everything up and made into balls...

And also, as my hubby likes to have a non-veg item with everything, I added small chicken pieces to the masala mix. It came out pretty good! Alhamdulillah. :)

 It's quite easy to make.
Here's what all you'll need:

• Cooked Rice - 3 cups(Best to use basmati or ponni or those rice which u can mash easily)
• Potatoes- 2 medium(Boiled and mashed)
• Ginger garlic paste(or finely chopped) - 1 tbsp
• Onion finely chopped - 1 big
• Boneless chicken cut into small cubes - Half a cup
• Red chilly powder - 2 tsp
• Garam malasa - 1 tsp
• Green chillies chopped finely - 2 or more depending on ur taste buds
• Coriander leaves - a handful, chopped finely
• Cumin seeds - 1 teaspoon
• Oil for frying
• Eggs - 1 big or more if u need
• Bread Crumbs - How much ever u need
• Salt to taste

Directions to make:

• Heat a tbsp oil in a pan add cumin seeds. Let it flutter for half a minute then add in the onions, green chillies. When the onion starts turning brown add in the ginger garlic paste. 
• Add red chilli powder and garam masala. Saute for a few minutes then add in the small bone-less pieces of chicken. Add salt and let that cook for 3-4 minutes. It doesnt take long.
• Now add in the potatoes. Mix well and check salt. (Squeeze in some lemon juice if u want). Cook for a few minutes to make into a nice thick masala mix. Switch off flame.Keep aside.
• In another bowl take the cooked rice, add coriander leaves and a little salt. Mix well. 
• Now make balls with the rice mixture.... and with the chicken-potato as the masala mix in the centre. (While making this it all got too sticky for me and I just mixed it all up. Iftari time was drawing near.)
• Beat the egg into a bowl... and just how u would make a cutlet, dip the balls into the egg and coat with bread crumbs.
• Deep fry in hot oil.
• Enjoy!! :)

I added boneless cubes of chicken rather than cooked shredded chicken coz my family likes to bite into the cubes. Do whichever u find easy or convenient. 

Try this. Whatever my son loves, I call it a success! :)
It's one crispy awesome snack. Make whichever dip u like and enjoy with tea!
:)