Cooking Is Easy

Whole wheat dosa laced with freshly scarped coconut. Or should I call it whole wheat pancakes?? It can be made instantly...no fermentation needed....no oil....fat free...less calorie....lots of fibre. My mother in law is diabetic, I make diabetic-friendly food for her at times. This is one such meal that I prepare for her as a breakfast.....and its Vegan! Ingredients: Whole wheat flour: 1 cup. Water: About 1/2 to 3/4 cup or as needed. Freshly scraped coconut: 1/3 cup. Salt: 1/2 tsp. Method: In a bowl add flour, coconut, salt. Add water to it and mix it....the batter should not be too thick or too loose. Instead of cooking spray, I dip a cloth in oil and grease the hot tawa, sort of like a nonstick coating. Put the fire on low and grease the tawa. Pour 1 1/2 ladle full of batter on the tawa and spread out like dosa....you can make it too thin or thick. Cover it with a lid and let it remain for 1 min and then flip it on the other side. Again all...

Monday mornings remind me of my favorite song "Manic Monday" by Bangles....six o clock already I was just in a middle of a dream...... School reopened after 10-days onam holidays.....so today morning was chaotic. A few days back I got this "Vadukapul" or wild lemon from a friend (she lives in the ground floor of our building). She is a retired teacher and taught me how to make this pickle. This lemon is usually pickled during onam season......the sour level of this lemon is very high compared to ordinary lemon. I was told to fry or saute the whole lemon in oil for sometime and when it is cooled,  peel of the skin and then proceed to make the pickle. The reason she told me to fry the whole lemon was that it reduce the sourness.....and yes I found that she was right....I don't know what is the science behind it....also she told me that the frying makes the lemony part inside half cooked. This is a no-garlic pickle. So lets get pickling!! Ingredie...

Cherry cookies , butter cookies filled with cherries....learn to make cherry cookies with step by step picture tutorial. Just the other day, while visiting the local bakery I bought some cherries on an impulse without thinking what I will make with it....for just Rs 20/ INR....some 50 gm or so....once I reached home I looked at the cherries and they back at me for I don't know how long....and thus these cherry cookies were born in my oven in my tiny weeny kitchen.  I  decided to chop up the cherries with the help of my food processor and was eager to see how my cookies will turn out to be.... The cookies turned out to be crunchy.....and kids loved this ruby studded cookies.... This is my basic butter cookies recipe...the egg yolk is a must, do not skip it......you can also try other variations like adding chocolate chips, nuts, tutti frutti......and Elsy, if you are reading this thank you for giving me this recipe. So lets get baking! I...

Aval or Rice flakes   vilayichathu is a simple teatime snack....a jaggery - coconut coated snack. Aval known as poha, is beaten, dried flakes of rice. You can use any type of aval like brown rice or white rice....though brown rice aval is a bit thicker than the white rice aval. Here I used brown rice aval. This snack can be stored for up to 1 or 2 weeks at room temperature. Most malayalies mix aval vilayichathu with ripe plantain or "pazham" ....you can even have it on its own. It is supposed to be healthy with jaggery and coconut....well that's what my grandma (ammachi) used to say during my childhood....so I make this often for my kids...ofcourse they mix it with ripe plantain and have it as an after-school-snack. Do check out aval nanachathu ,  a similar version of this snack which can be made instantly. List of Onam Sadya Recipes Ingredients: Aval (brown or white rice): 1 kg. Jaggery: 1/2 kg. Water: 1/2 to 1 cup. Cardomon: 4 or 5. Roasted Jee...

I had a brief visit to Kottayam this weekend and saw this "pukalam" or floral carpet at Kottayam Railway Station. Thought I will share this wonderful floral carpet. Wishing all my friends and readers A Happy Onam.

I make cheemen (prawns) pickle often because my son just loves it. He loves to take it school and "share" with his friends and I end up making 2 batches a week.

Yesterday night I made palak rice again and I added a cup of boiled chana (chickpeas) to it before adding the rice. Believe me...it was awesome. It was a power packed dinner for my kids. Kids enjoyed. So did we both :) Last time I made palak rice I gave detailed step by step pictures , please go to that post for the recipe. Palak and chana....need anything more healthier than this....perfect for lunch box. Add the chana/chickpea after the spinach is sauted. Then add rice and close cooker.... click here   for detailed step by step post..... The rice is cooked perfectly with the channa. Serve hot with raita.