Bread Scramble / Bread & Egg Scramble

Ingredients:
Bread slices, white -3
Egg-3
Onion, finely chopped-1/2 of a medium one
Green Chilly, chopped/sliced-1-2
Ginger, chopped-1/2 tsp (optional)
Curry leaves-1 sprig
Cilantro, chopped-1 tsp
Salt
Oil

Method:
Cut each bread slices into small cubes. Beat eggs in a medium size bowl and combine with chopped onion, chopped/sliced green chilly, chopped ginger, curry leaves, cilantro, and salt. Add bread pieces, a few at a time, to the egg mixture and gently coat all the bread cubes in egg mixture (Do not mash up the bread while coating).

Warm up oil a frying pan/ sauce pan, add the bread egg mixture, and spread it over the pan. Gently saute the bread pieces so that all sides of each bread cubes is cooked well. Then, toss the entire contents until the pieces are light brown.

Serve hot a an evening snack!!

Kappa Biriyani with Pork Recipe/ Ellum Kappem/ Tapioca and Pork Biriyani / Yucca root and Pork/ Cassava and Pork/ കപ്പ ബിരിയാണി/ എല്ലും ക പ്പേം

Kappa Biriyani (Ellum Kappem) is a popular Kerala breakfast that is usually prepared with tapioca and beef bones/ beef meat/ or both. Instead of beef, this recipe uses pork neck bones. The taste is exactly same as the biriyani with beef. The overall cooking method is to cook the meat/bones and tapioca separately and mix both of them together with a spicy coconut gravy.

If you prefer beef bones, just modify the recipe by switching pork with beef.  

Ingredients:
Pork neck bones-3 lb

#1: for cooking tapioca
Tapioca-3 lb
Turmeric powder-1/4 tsp
Salt

#2: for cooking pork
Onion- 3 medium sized, sliced
Chilly powder-1 tsp
Coriander powder- 3 tsp
Turmeric powder-1/4 tsp
Garam masala powder- 1 tsp
Meat masala-3 tsp
Ginger, finely chopped- 2 tsp
Garlic, finely chopped, 2 tsp
Curry leaves-2 sprigs
Whole garam masala, crushed (cardamon-3, cloves-5, cinnamon stick-1")
Salt

#3: for biriyani
Grated coconut- 1 cup
Green chilly-3 to 5
Shallots/small onion-4
Curry leaves-2 sprigs
Turmeric powder-1/4 tsp
Meat masala-12 tsp
Garam masala- 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder-1/2 tsp
Whole spices (cardamom-2, cloves-2, cinnamon stick-1")
Salt

Step 1: Cut pork bones into medium size pieces. Marinate it with ingredients #2 for 30 min and cook in a pressure cooker (No need to add water while cooking pork). Once it is cooked, boil off excess water from the gravy. For the biriyani, a gravy of medium thickness is required. The gravy shouldn't be too watery or loose.

Step 2: Clean tapioca and chop into medium size cubes. While chopping, remove its vein. Add plenty of water so that all pieces are immersed in water. Cook the tapioca in water with a few pinches of turmeric powder until the tapioca is soft. Be sure not to overcook tapioca. It should be firm otherwise it is gonna mash up at the end. Once cooked, add salt, and drain water.

cooked tapioca

Step 3: In a pan, slightly warm up meat masala, garam masala, and coriander powder from ingredients #3 and crush/grind (using a blender or mortar and pestle) with the rest of the ingredients #3. Transfer the crushed coconut mixture into a bowl. You can wash the blender/mortar with 1/2 cup of water and transfer into the same bowl.

Step 4: Transfer the cooked tapioca into a large saucepan. Spread the cooked pork from step 1 over the it. Next, spread over the crushed coconut mixture along with the wash. Cover the sauce pan and steam for 5-10 min. Then, open the lid, hold the two handles of saucepan and try to toss the entire contents. Next, to mix the contents, stir using the backside of a long wooden spoon in a circular motion. Do not overly mash up the tapioca.  

Serve hot!!

Ela Ada/ Ila Ada/ Wheat Ada/ Steamed Wheat flour Parcels in Banana Leaves/ ഇല അട

Ingredients (to make three medium size ada):

Wheat flour-1 cup
Water
Salt
Grated coconut-1/2 cup
Scraped jaggery-1/2 cup
Crushed Cardamom-1
Banana Leaf
Steamer

Method (Follow steps 1-4):

Step1: Sprinkle the required amount of salt in wheat flour and make a dough by adding small portions of water. The consistency of the dough should be less tight than a chapati dough.

Step 2:Combine grated coconut, scraped jaggery, and crushed cardamom in a bowl.



Step 3: Clean the banana leaf with water and wipe off with a paper towel. Wet your hands with water and also sprinkle some water on the leaf. Take one third of the dough and spread it on the banana leaf to a round or oval shape using your fingers. Place and evenly spread one third of the coconut-jaggery mixture over one half of the flattened dough. Fold the leaf in half (so that the ada will have a semicircle/semi-oval shape )







Step 4: Steam for 20-30 min. Serve hot.



Ela ada is usually served a breakfast or a snack item.

Goat Curry

  

Ingredients:

Goat - 1/2 Kg
Onion-3, thinly sliced
Oil-2 tbsp
Mustard seeds-1 tsp
Curry leaves-1  sprig
Tomato-2, cubed

#1
Chilly powder- 1 tsp
Pepper powder- 1 tsp
Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp
Salt

#2
Ginger-2" piece
Garlic-8-10 nos
Shallots-3-5 nos
Curry leaves-1 sprig

#3
Chilly powder- 1 tsp
Coriander powder- 3 tsp
Garam masala powder- 1 tsp
Meat masala powder- 2 tsp
Fennel powder- 1tsp
Pepper powder- 1 tsp
Salt


#4
Green chilly-5 nos
Curry leaves- 1 sprig
Cardamom-3
Cloves-3
Cinnamon-1" piece

Method:

1) Cut goat into medium size pieces and marinate with ingredients #1 at least for an hour.



2) Heat oil in a large sauce pan and splutter mustard seeds and curry leaves.

3) Saute sliced onions until they become transparent and golden brown.

4) Meanwhile, crush ingredients #2 and add it into the sauteed onions. Stir until the raw smell of ginger-garlic is gone.
















5)  Combine ingredients #3 in a bowl and add the powders into the above sauteed onions followed by cubed tomatoes. You may use the tip of the spoon to break up/mash the tomatoes. Saute all of them until it becomes a thick gravy and you will see the oil separates from the gravy.

6) Stir in the marinated goat into the above cooked gravy and coat the meat with gravy. Transfer everything into a pressure cooker.

7) Crush the ingredients #4 and spread it over the mutton-gravy mix. You may add 1/2 cup of water. Pressure cook for 3 whistles or the until the goat is done. Boil off excess water if you prefer thick gravy.





The curry can be served with rice, porotta, chapathi or appam

Goat curry served with kerala porotta

Apple Preserves

Ingredients:
Apple - 6, peeled and cored
Lemon juice-3 tsp
Sugar- 1 cup
Water-1/4 cup
Nutmeg/ cinnamon- 3 pinches, ground

Method:
Chop the apples into small pieces. Combine chopped apples, water, lemon juice, and sugar in a saucepan and cook covered until the apples are done. Then, mash the apples using a potato masher. Boil off any water until the preserves is completely dry and thick. Finally sprinkle ground nutmeg and mix well.
Transfer into airtight jars once it is cooled to room temperature.

You can eat the preserves as a snack, or top with whip cream to make a dessert, or use it in baking as a filling/stuffing

Pineapple Pudding

This recipe has been adapted and slightly modified from my friend Manu Jimmy's pineapple pudding recipe.

Ingredients:
#1
Crushed pineapple- 1 can (~500 g)
Whipped cream-4 oz

Condensed milk-1 can, 14 oz
Evaporated milk-1 can, 12 oz
Sugar- 1/4-1/2 cup

#2
Jell-O, Pineapple flavor-1 packet (3 oz)  
Hot boiling water-1/2 cup
Cold water-1/2 cup

#3
Whipped cream-4 oz
Crushed cashew nuts- 5 tsp

Method:
1) Strain and squeeze water from crushed pineapple and combine with rest of the #1 ingredients
2) Get a bowl and add Jell-O, pour hot water, stir for 2 min, then add cold water. Stir until the Jell-O has completely dissolved.
3) Pour the dissolved Jell-O over the pineapple mixture. Mix everything together and pour it into a dish/pan (If you have a spring form pan, use it. It's easier to lift it without disturbing the sides, once the pudding is set). Refrigerate until firm (~12 hrs)
4) On the top, uniformly spread whip cream and sprinkle crushed cashews

Slow Cooked Baby Back Ribs

Ingredients:
Baby back ribs

#1) For the marinade:
Red chilly powder -1/2 tsp

Coriander powder -1-2 tsp
Turmeric-1/4 tsp
Pepper powder- 1 tsp
BBQ sauce -2 tbsp
Steak sauce (optional) -1 tbsp
Salt

# 2) For the gravy:
Onion- 2, chopped
Ginger and garlic -1/2 tsp each
whole spices, crushed -(cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, etc)
BBQ sauces-2-3 tbsp

Video Recipe:
Click here to see the video recipe:

Method:
1. Clean the ribs and peel of the thin and transparent skin from one side of the ribs. Marinate with the ingredients #1 and leave it for 30-60 min in refrigerator.
2. Then, place the ribs in slow cooker and add the ingredients # 2.
3. Slow cook for 5-7 hours in low or 4-6 hrs in high (Refer to the slow cooker manual to get an estimate of pork ribs cooking time)
4. Flip the ribs after an hour
5. After the entire cooking period, separate gravy from the ribs.
6. Broil the ribs in high heat for 5 min
7. Boil off the excess water from the gravy to make it thick
8. Pour the thick gravy over the broiled ribs and broil again for 5 min

Serve with mashed potatoes and steamed vegetables.

Bread Pakora

Ingredients:
For the batter:
Gram flour/ Besan/ കടല മാവ് -1.5 cup
Red chilly powder -1 tsp
Coriander leaves, chopped- 2 tsp
Asafoetida- a pinch
Salt
Water-1/2-1 cup

Bread slices - 4
Oil for frying

Method:
Combine all the ingredients for the batter in medium bawl. Mix well to make a smooth batter by adding enough water.

Cut each bread slice into 2 or 4 small pieces. Coat each of them in batter and fry both sides. Serve with ketchup or cilantro chutney.

Salsa Rice

  
Ingredients:
White rice/ basmati rice- 1.5 cup
Salsa (thick, chunky & mild) - 1 cup
Chopped cilantro-4 tsp
Olive oil- 2 tsp
water

Method:
Wash and drain rice. Mix rice, salsa, oil, and half of chopped cilantro and cook with required amount of water, in a rice cooker. Sprinkle the rest of the cilantro and serve hot.

Onion Pakoda/ Crispy Onion Fritters

Ingredients:
Onion, medium sized- 1
Gram flour/ Besan/ കടല മാവ് -1 cup
Red chilly powder -1 tsp
Salt
Water-1/2 cup
Oil for frying

Method:
1. Thinly slice onions

2. Combine gram flour, red chilly powder, and salt in a large bowl.

3. Add water to make a smooth batter and mix well.

4. Add the sliced onions into the batter. Nicely coat onions with batter using a spoon/fork.

 
5. Get a frying pan and heat oil. Take a spoon full of coated onions and spread it over the pan. Repeat the process and make sure not to overcrowd the pan. Flip pakoras when one side is done. Fry both sides until they become light brown.

Serve warm with ketchup or cilantro chutney.