Ginger Garlic Bread

INGREDIENTS

Butter salted  -  1 tbsp
Finelt chopped garlic  -  3 cloves
Finely chopped ginger  -  1 tbsp
Mozzarella cheese  -  1/2 cup
Pepper powder  -  1 pinch
Olive oil  -  1/2 tsp
Bread  -  1 loaf  (I used normal bread and cut it into 4 pieces)


METHOD

In a small bowl, mix butter, chopped ginger, garlic, pepper powder and olive oil.
Spread the butter mixture onto both the sides of the bread.
Sprinkle mozzarella cheese on the bread slice.
Place it on microwave safe tray and keep it on high power for 2 minutes. (The time may vary in each microwave, so microwave it until the cheese melts and bread becomes crispy.)
Serve hot with any dip or have it along with Broccoli Carrot Soup.

Broccoli Carrot Soup

Broccoli is an Italian vegetable that was highly recommended by the Romans.It spread into France in the 16th century, followed by England in the 18th century and then to the US in the earl 20th century.

Broccoli is high in Vitamin C and dietary fiber. It also contains multiple nutrients and potent with anti-cancer properties.

High in take of broccoli has been found to reduce the risk of aggressive prostate cancer. Broccoli consumption may also help prevent heart disease.

This soup with brocolli and carrot is easy, fast, nutritious and also yummy.

INGREDIENTS

Broccoli florets  -  1 cup

Carrot chopped  -  1 nos

Onion chopped  -  1 nos

Garlic chopped  -  3 cloves

Low fat milk  -  1/2 cup

pepper powder  -  1/2 tsp

Butter  -  1 tbsp

Salt  -  to taste

METHOD

In a pan, melt butter and saute garlic, onion, carrot and broccoli.

Then add 1 cup water and allow to boil for about 10 minutes, until the vegetables is cooked.

Then allow it to cool.

Transfer it into a blender and blend until smooth.

Now pour this into the pan and then add low fat milk, salt and pepper.

Cook it for 2 minutes.

Serve hot with Ginger Garlic Bread.

Chocolate Marsh Mousse

Mouse is a light yet rich dessert that is beaten until airy. The word mousse means foam in French.
Its origin is believed to have come from France and it is agreed that it was created as a speciality of French chefs in the late 1800s.
Though it originated from France the first written record of Chocolate mousse was in the United States from a Food Exposition in 1892.
Chocoalte Mousse is made using egg white and gelatin. I was thinking to give it a different touch, I used Marshmallow instead of Egg white and gelatin and named it Chocolate Marshamllow Mousse.

INGREDIENTS

Marshmallows  -  1 cup
Softened unsalted butter  -  50gms
Chocolate chopped  -  1 cup
Whipping cream  -  1 cup
Hot water  -  1/4 cup


METHOD

Put the marshamllows, butter, chocolate and hot water in a pan.
Keep stirring it on low flame to melt everything.

Remove from heat after its is melted and allow it to cool.

In the mean time whip the whipping cream using a blender to form a heavy thick cream.

Now add this thick cream to the cooling chocolate mixture and mix well until a smooth mixture is formed.

Pour it into small cups and allow it to cool in the fridge for about 2-4 hours.
Top it up with fresh fruits and serve chilled.

Carrot Shake

I was thinking what juice to make for my husband today. When I looked inside the fridge, I found some carrots and a some milk. Then I thought this combination of carrot and milk will be awesome.
Carrots are extremely rich source of Vitamin A and is also good for the skin and eyes.
Milk is known for its richness in Calcium, Protein, Vitamins, Minerals and fat.
Here comes the awesome combination of Carrots and Milk.

INGREDIENTS

Carrot chopped  -  2 nos
Cold milk  -  1 cup
Cinnamon powder  -  1/4 tsp
Sugar  -  to taste


METHOD

Add all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.
Serve chilled.

Chammanthi Podi (Coconut Chutney Powder)

Chammanthi Podi needs no introduction in kerala cuisine. Regular coconut chutney would get spoiled the same day, making chammanthi podi is a way to preserve chammanthi for months.
This is one of my favourite and can be had as a side dish with rice, idli and dosa.

INGREDIENTS

Grated coconut  -  2 cups
Dry red chilli  -  15 nos
Curry leaves - 4 sprigs
Shallots  -  5 nos
Asafoetida  - 1/2 tsp
Urad dhal  -  2 tsp
Pepper  -  1 tbsp
Ginger  -  1" piece
Tamarind  -  a lemon size
Salt  -  to taste


METHOD

Dry roast all the ingredients except asafoetida, salt and tamarind, till coconut becomes deep brown.
Then add asafoetida, salt and tamarind to the mixture and let it cool.
Put it in a blender and make a coarse powder.
Store it in an air tight container.
Use it with rice, idli , dosa etc.

Orange Beer

A excellent and refreshing drink perfect for a romantic candle light dinner.

INGREDIENTS

Orange  -  2 nos
Fresh mint leaves  -  few

Non alcoholic ginger beer  -  250ml tin (Available in all supermarket)
Lemon wedges   -  2 pcs
Sugar  -  2 tbsp


METHOD

Put the oranges in the blender along with few mint leaves and sugar and blend well.
Strain it and keep it aside.
Take a glass, put the lemon wedges and mint leaves in it and crush well.
Then fill half of the glass with orange juice.
Then top it up with non alcoholic ginger beer, mix lightly.
Serve chilled.

Slice of Happiness

One of the best way to reach your husband's heart.

INGREDIENTS

Musk melon  -  5 slices cubed
Orange  -  3 nos
Lemon juice  -  juice of 1 lemon
Honey  -  2 tbsp



METHOD

Peel the oranges and extract the juice from them and keep it aside.
In a blender, add the cubed musk melon, orange juice, lemon juice and honey and blend well.
Serve chilled.

Pear Mint Cooler

INGREDIENTS

Pears  -  3 nos
Fresh mint leaves  -  few
Ginger  -  1" piece
Lemon juice  -  1 tbsp
Honey  -  1/4 cup


METHOD

Chop the pears and put them in a blender, add water and blend well.
Add mint leaves, ginger piece, lemon juice and blend it smoothly.
Add honey and blend again and strain it.
Garnish it with mint leaves and serve chilled.

Malabar Chicken Biriyani

Malabar Chicken Biriyani is one of the most loved and most tasty dish that you can find Calicut, Kerala.
Though it was originated in Iran, it has become very famous in Calicut.

INGREDIENTS
For Rice:

Basmati rice  -  2 cups
Water  -  4 cups
Onion sliced  -  1 nos
Cardamom pods  -  8 nos
Cloves  -  8 nos
Cinnamon sticks  -  2 nos
Butter - 4 tbsp
Lemon juice  -  1 tbsp
Salt  -  to taste

For Masala:

Cleaned chicken  -  1/2 kg
Onion sliced  -  5 nos
Minced garlic  -  6 nos
Minced ginger  -  2" piece
Tomato chopped  -  3 nos
Minced green chilli  -  10 nos
Chopped coriander leaves  -  1/2 cup
Chopped mint leaves  -  10 leaves
Garam masala  -  1/2 tbsp
Cardamom  -   4nos
Cloves  -  4 nos
Cinnamom sticks  -  1" piece
Salt  -  to taste
Oil


METHOD
For Masala:

Wash and clean the chicken well and drain the water.
Heat oil in a pan and add in the spices.
Fry and then add onion, ginger, garli, green chilli with little salt and saute well until onion becomes soft and tranparent. Cook the onion n low heat
Then add chopped tomatoes and cook till it becomes soft and mushy.
Now add the cleaned chicken pieces and cook.
Add lemon juice, chopped coriander leaves and mint leaves and cook well.
Add garam masala and cook well.
If there liquid, boil it off and reduce it to thick masala.

For Rice:

Wash the basmati rice and drain it.
Heat ghee in a large non stick vessel and add sliced onion and saute till it becomes soft.
Then add the whole spices and saute until the aroma comes out.
Now add the rice slowly and fry for 5 minutes.
Add 4 cups of boiling water and salt and lemon juice and boil it.
Cook till the water has disappeared from the rice.
Flip and check if the rice has cooked well.
Now remove 2/3rd of rice from the vessel and keep it in another plate.
Sprinkle garam masala powder over the left over rice in the vessel.
Take half of the chicken masala and add it over the rice.
Add 1/3rd of the rice which kept in the plate over the chicken masala. Sprinkle garam masala over it.
In the same way add rest of the chicken masala and cooked rice.
Cover the vessel with a aluminium foil and close the lid tightly.
Now cook on low heat for about 15 minutes, so that the flavour of chicken masala will get infused in the rice.
To check if it is done, once when you open the lid, you should be able to see little steam.
Garnish with fried onion, cashew and raisins.
Serve hot with onion raitha, pappadam and pickle.





Note: If you are adding color, add drops of yellow or orange food color while layering the rice.

Spicy Garlic Paneer

This is a paneer dish cooked in the chinese way.

INGREDIENTS

Paneer  -  100gms
Chopped garlic  -  10 nos
Onion Cubed  - 2 nos
Dried red chilli  -  3 nos
Red chilli paste  -  1 tbsp
Red chilli sauce  -  1 tbsp
Capsicum cubed  -  1 nos
Soy sauce  - 1 tbsp
Pepper powder  -  1/2 tsp
Cornflour -  1 tbsp
Salt  -  to taste
Oil


METHOD

Heat oil in a pan add broken dry red chillies and chopped garlic and saute well.
Then add cubed onions and paneer and toss well on high flame.
Add 1/4 cup water, red chilli paste, red chilli sauce and mix well.
Add cubed capsicum and saute well.
Then add soy sauce, salt and pepper powder and mix well.
Mix cornflour in little water.
Add the cornflour to the above paneer mixture and mix well and cook till it thickens.
Garnish with chopped garlic.
Serve hot with fried rice.

Bread Dosa

We make dosa using rice, rawa, oats, ragi etc., so I thought why not make dosa using bread. And here is the recipe for that.

INGREDIENTS

Bread slices  -  8 nos
Rawa  -  3 tbsp
Rice flour  -  3 tbsp
Yoghurt  -  2 tbsp
Mustard seeds  -  1/2 tsp
Ginger chopped  -  1/2 tsp
Green chilli chopped  -  1/2 tsp
Onion chopped  -  1/4 cup
Coriander leaves chopped  -  1 tsp
Salt  -  to taste
Oil


METHOD

Remove the edges of the bread slices and soak it in water for 2 minutes.
Put the soaked bread, rawa, rice flour, salt and yoghurt in a blender and blend well.
Transfer it in a bowl.
Heat oil in a pan and splutter mustard seeds, chopped ginger, green chillies, coriander leaves and onion.
Saute for 1 minute and add it to the bowl of batter and mix well.
Then prepare as how normal dosa is made.
Serve hot with chutney.

Vegetable Stir Fry

INGREDIENTS

Potato  - 2 nos
Beans  -  100gms
Carrot  -  2 nos
Cauliflower  -  1/2 cup
Tomato chopped -  1 nos
Onion chopped -  1 nos
Garlic pods crushed  -   3 nos
Red chilli powder  -  1 tsp
Turmeric powder  -  1/4 tsp
Coriander powder  -  1 tsp
Garam masala  -  1/2 tsp
Cumin powder  -  1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds  -  1/2 tsp
Mustard seeds  -  1/4 tsp
Urad dal  -  1/4 tsp
Curry leaves  -  few
Salt  -  to taste
Oil  -  2 tbsp


METHOD

Chop potatoes, carrot, beans, cauliflower and keep it aside.
Heat oil in a pan and splutter mustard seeds, cumin seeds, urad dal and add few curry leaves.
Then add crushed garlic pods and chopped onion and fry till transparent.
Now add chopped tomato and cook till it is soft.
Then add turmeric powder, chilli powder, coriander powder and cumin powder and fry for 2 minutes.
Then add the chopped vegetables and garam masala and fry till thw masala is coated well on the vegetables.
Sprinkle handful of water, cover with the lid and cook till the vegetables are cooked.
Stir in between and add water if needed.
Serve hot with side dish with rice and chapatti.

Carrot Green Mango Tingle

This juice recipe was given by my mother. Try it out and enjoy this refreshing drink for summer.

INGREDIENTS

Carrot  -  2 nos
Green Mango  -  1
Ginger  -  1" piece
Sugar  -  2 tbsp
Salt  -  1 pinch
Water


METHOD

Clean and chop the carrot into cubes.
Peel the skin of the green mango and cut it into small pieces.
Blend carrot, green mango and ginger together in a blend with little water.
Strain it and again transfer the juice into the blender, add sugar, salt and blend well again.
Serve chilled.

Husband's Grapes Orange Punch

Its been quite a long time that I tried something new on juices. So i came up with this juice with some leftover grapes, oranges and ginger.
The reason I names it Husband's Grapes and Orange punch is because my husband loved it so much that he didn't leave a drop for me. :)

INGREDIENTS

Seedless black grapes  -  1 cup
Orange  - 2 nos
Ginger  -  1" piece
Sugar  -  2 tbsp
Water


METHOD

Put the grapes in a blender with little water and blend it well and strain it. Keep it aside.
Peel the oranges and remove the seeds and blend it well along the ginger with little water and then strain it.
Now take the juice from grapes and orange and pour them again in the blender.
Add sugar and blend well.
Serve chilled.