Pandan Butter Mochi

Pandan Butter Mochi

Butter Mochi is a Hawaiian sweet snack/dessert, full of tropical flavors that you cannot resist.Butter mochi is the Hawaiian version of the Japanese sweet rice cake/mochi. This is a quick recipe with rice flour,coconut and butter. I added pandan paste and pistachios for extra flavor and color. The rice flour used in this recipe is Mochiko/sweet rice flour which you can find in any Asian grocery stores. In this recipe along with Mochiko I  added organic coconut flour which is optional. Butter mochi has a rich, chewy and buttery texture. Try this,you will surely love it.

Ingredients
Mochiko/Rice flour- 2 cups
Coconut flour- 1 1/2 cup
(above two combined or one box of mochiko- 16 oz)
Baking powder- 2 tsp
Sugar- 2 cups
Butter- 1 stick
Egg- 4
Milk- 2 cups
Coconut milk- 1 can/400 ml
Vanilla essence- 1 tsp
Pandan flavor paste- a few drops
Pistachios chopped- 3 tbs

Pre heat oven to 350 degree F.
In a large mixing bowl add melted butter and sugar and mix well.
Add egg and gently whisk till light and fluffy.
Mix pandan paste and vanilla essence and dump the rest of the ingredients along with milk and coconut milk. Mix to form a smooth batter.
Pour this into a 9 x 13 inch cake pan. Bake in 350 degree Fahrenheit for one hour.  Allow to cool in pan. When it cools down completely cut into slices and serve.

Try it,
Hope you will all enjoy!

Bread Vada

Bread Vada

Bread vada can be made with left over bread, it is an instant vada. It is a yummy tea time snack and can be made in a jiffy.This recipe is inspired from Mrs. Vahchef YouTube Channel. It is soft and spongy in the inside and crispy outside. It is mildly spiced and flavored with pearl onions,ginger and curry leaves. Try this, you will surely love it.

Ingredients
Bread slices- 8
Rava/Sooji- 3 tbs
Rice flour- 2 tbs
Chilly powder- 1/2 tsp (optional)
Asafoetida/Hing- a pinch
Yogurt -1/2 cup
Pearl Onions- 4-5
Ginger finely chopped- 1 inch thick
Curry leaves finely chopped- 1 spring
Green chilly  finely chopped- 3
salt to taste
Oil- 2 cup to fry
 

In a food processor pulse the bread till it becomes a course mixture. Transfer this into a bowl and add the rice flour,rava, salt, chilly powder and hing(asafoetida) and mix well.

Into this add the yogurt and mix. Adjust consistency by adding little water. Do not add too much water,just enough to moist the bread crumbs, so that it holds shape.

Add  chopped pearl onions,ginger, green chilly and curry leaves.


Drop a small portion of the vada mixture to check the oil. If it sizzles then the oil is ready to fry.

Take a small bowl of water and wet your hands first. Take a lemon sized portion of the bread mixture and shaped into a  ball and then press a finger in through the middle to  make a depression in the center.
Drop into hot oil and fry in medium flame till both sides turns golden brown. Drain and place on paper towels to take off the excess oil. Serve with chutney or ketchup.

Try this,
Hope you will all enjoy!

Kerala Beef Biryani

Kerala Beef Biryani

Biryani is a glorious one pot meal,satisfying and delicious. It is an exotic dish prepared and served on all festive occasions. The rice and meat is gently spiced and flavored with earthy spices. Biryani is a one pot meal, but not easy (of course there is a quicker pressure cooker version! ), as prepping and making a good biryani is time consuming. But once in a while I do crave for Biryani  as a weekend dinner. I have already shared a lot of Biryani recipes in this blog. Here's one more to the list- it is a Kerala style beef biryani. 


Ingredients
To cook rice
Kaima Rice- 3 cups
Ghee- 1 tsp
Fried onion- 2 tbs
Salt- to taste
Water- 6 cups
Cinnamon- 2 inch
clove- 4-5
Star Aniseed - 2
Green chilly -1
Chopped pineapple- 3 tbs
Mint leaves- a few

For the masala

Beef - 1 kg
Ghee- 3-4 tbs
Shallots- 1 cup
Green Chilly- 10
Ginger- 2 inch piece
Garlic pods- 8-10
Tomato-3 small
Carrot Cubed- 3/4 cup
Chopped coriander leaves and mint- 1 tbs
Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp
Chilly powder- 1 tsp
Coriander powder- 2 tsp
Lemon juice- 1 tbs
Garam masala powder- Roast and make a fine powder of the following
(Fennel- 1 tsp,Cinnamon- 1 inch thick,Cardamon- 3,Black pepper- 1 tbs,Black cumin/ jeera- 1/2 tsp, Curry Jeera/cumin- 1/2 tsp,Cloves- 5-6,nutmeg- a small piece,Mace- 2-3)
salt to taste
Lemon- 1
oil


To make a paste
Coconut- 1/4 cup
Cashew nuts- 1/4 cup
Fennel seeds- 1/2 tsp

To Garnish
Onion thinly sliced- 4 medium
Cashew nuts- 10
Raisins- a hand full
saffron- a pinch
Ghee- 2 tsp
mint leaves
Coriander leaves
  

 Prepping for the biryani
1)Marinate the meat with chilly powder, coriander powder, salt and juice of half lemon. Set this aside for one hour.
2)Heat ghee and oil in a pan and fry raisins and cashew nuts till golden brown,drain and set aside.
3)Fry thinly sliced onions till crispy and golden brown. Drain and set aside . You can use this onions in three stages, cooking rice,masala and final garnish.
4)Make a fine paste of cashew nuts, coconut and fennel seeds.
5)Crush shallots,green chilly, garlic and ginger into a course paste.
6)Roast the spices listed under masala and make into a fine powder.
7)Chop mint and coriander leaves and set aside.

Cooking the rice

Wash and drain rice completely dry. Heat one tbs of ghee. Add the whole spices and saute. Next add green chilly, chopped pineapple and mint leaves and saute for a minute. Next add rice and 2 tbs of fried onion and stir fry gently for one minute. Add salt, and 6 cups of warm water and cook till the rice is 80% done.Squeeze half of a lemon over the rice and fluff the rice with fork.


To make the masala.
Heat oil in a pan and add the crushed onion, ginger,garlic and green chilly mixture. Saute for 5-6 minutes in medium flame till is golden brown. Add turmeric and tomatoes and cook till it is soft.Add the marinated meat,half of the fried onions and saute in low flame for five to six minutes.Add salt, coconut cashew paste and one cup of water. Pressure cook the meat till soft and tender ( 5-6 whistles). When it cools down remove the lid of the pressure cooker. There will be gravy at this stage. Add the powdered garam masala, some chopped coriander and mint and chopped carrot. Cook till the gravy thickens.


Layering the Biryani.
Use a heavy bottom pan. Add one tsp of ghee and spread a layer of the meat masala and then a second layer of rice. Add a portion of chopped mint and coriander, fried onion and a second layer of meat. Again add rice and spread chopped coriander leaves, fried onion and cashew nuts, raisins and pineapple. Add a pinch of cardamom powder a tsp of ghee on top. Cover and seal with a tight lid.Put it on very low flame for about 10 to 15. Serve with salad,pickle and papads.

You might also like,
Thalashery Chicken Biryani
Neychoru/Ghee Rice
Kerala Fish Biryani
Arabian Bukhari Rice
Middle Eastern Jeweled Palif
Persian Saffron Rice

Try this,
Hope you will all enjoy!

Mini Cranberry Orange Scones

I used to work at my cousin's coffee shop and she was the baker of the most delicious scones.  I no longer work or live close by so I don't get to enjoy her scones very often.  The scones that I've tried at our local coffee shops always fall short, they're dry and not flavorful.  So, I set out to find a scone recipe that was flavorful, tender and would freeze well.  Well, this recipe is all that and easy to make.  I also like that right out of the freezer they take about 15 minutes to thaw and are ready to enjoy with a cup of coffee.

This recipe is slightly adapted from the wonderful blog, Pinch My Salt.

What makes this recipe quick and easy is using a food processor.

Make sure your butter is well chilled.

Pulse in the butter only until it's mixed in but still pea-sized clumps.

Dough will be sticky but turn out onto floured surface and use floured hand to knead into two 6 inch circles.

If you like a less sweet scone, these are great as is but for me I'll always go for the glaze!

Baked to perfection!

The glaze is thin and will dry and set so you'll be able to stack them in a container without them sticking together.

If you used a large orange like I did, you'll get to enjoy the extra fresh orange juice after you're all done.

After the glaze dries and sets you can stack them in a container to eat later or freeze them.  I do like to put parchment or wax paper between the layers when frozen so they won't stick together.

Ingredients:

2 cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt *see note

1/3 cup sugar

1 large egg

1/2 cup half and half

zest of one orange, divided

1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut in pieces and well chilled *see note

1/2 cup dried cranberries 

Glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar

2 tablespoons orange juice (from the zested orange)

1/2 teaspoon orange zest (reserved from above)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silpat.

2. In a food processor, mix together the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar by pulsing a few times.

3. In a separate small bowl, whisk together egg, half and half, and most of the orange zest (reserve about 1/2 teaspoon for the glaze); set aside.

4. Add cold butter pieces into the flour mixture and pulse 6-8 times, you want the butter to be pea-sized clumps within.

5. Add the cranberries and the egg mixture to the flour mixture all at once and pulse until the mixture starts to clumps together. Dump mixture out onto a floured work surface and, with floured hands, gather into a ball and knead once or twice. If it’s quite sticky, just sprinkle a little extra flour on the counter and on top of the dough to keep it from sticking. Cut dough into two equal pieces and pat each into a 6 inch circle about 1/2 inch thick. Cut each circle like a pie into 8 slices. Arrange scones on the parchment-lined baking sheet.

7. Bake in a preheated 425 degree oven for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to a cooling rack and let cool completely before dipping in the glaze.

Glaze:

In a small bowl that is wide enough to dip a scone, combine 1 cup powdered sugar with 2 tablespoons orange juice and the reserved orange zest. Whisk until smooth.  Put some waxed paper or foil underneath the cooling rack to catch dripping glaze. Dip tops of the scones in the glaze and place them (glaze side up) on the cooling rack. Once glaze is dry, scones can be stored in a container or freezer. If not eaten the day they are made, put them in the freezer.  Right out of the freezer they will thaw in about 15 minutes.

*  Sometimes I don't have unsalted butter so I'll use regular salted butter and just add a pinch of salt instead of 1/2 teaspoon.

Vietnamese Caramelized Fish with Basil

Vietnamese Caramelized Fish with Basil

Vietnamese Caramelized fish is very different from the fish recipes I have tried. This recipe is inspired from here and a recipe I found in a South Asian cook book. Both recipes call for fish sauce, but I am not a fan of fish sauce. So if you are like me use dark soy sauce or oyster sauce.  This is crispy fish in sticky sweet and savory sauce flavored with basil. The traditional recipe is braising the fish in clay pot.The recipe calls for catfish, but you can try with other thinly sliced fish.

Ingredients
Fish - 1 1/2 lb
Corn starch- 1 tsp
Ginger- thinly sliced- 2 tsp
Shallots sliced- 1/2 cup
Garlic- 3 pods
Green chilly-2
Basil leaves-a hand full
Dark brown sugar/palm sugar- 3 tbs
Fish sauce - 1 tsp
(I used dark soy sauce- 1 tsp)
Black pepper powder- 1 tsp
Red Curry paste- 1 tsp (optional)
Lemon grass powder- 1/4 tsp
Galangal powder- 1/4 tsp
Salt to taste
Oil as needed

Cut and clean the fish. Pat dry with a paper towel.Marinate with salt,pepper powder and corn starch.

Heat oil in a pan and fry the basil till crispy drain from the oil and set aside. In the same oil fry the fish till crispy and set aside. ( Frying the fish is an optional step).

Saute shallots, ginger, garlic and green chilly till it is golden brown. Add curry paste, sauces, pepper powder, salt to taste, brown sugar and 3/4 of stock or warm water and mix. Allow this to simmer and thicken. Slide the fish and simmer in low for about 15 to 20 minutes or till the sauce is well coated over the fish. Finally add fried basil. Serve with jasmine rice or fried rice.

Try this,
Hope you will all enjoy!

Capsicum Kadumanga

Capsicum Kadumanga

Kadumanga is indispensable in Kerala Sadhya. It is a spicy condiment made with green mangoes. Whenever we get raw mangoes I make a batch of Kadumanga which is a quick and instant mango pickle. Capsicum/bell pepper tastes yummy in pickles and has a unique flavor.This is not excessively spicy and makes a good accompaniment with rice. It can be stored in the fridge for 2-3 weeks.Try this you will surely love it.

Cooking time- 25 minutes
Recipe type-Pickle/Preserve
Cuisine- Kerala/Indian


Ingredients
Raw mango chopped- 3cup
Capsicum chopped- 2 cup
Asafoetida- 1/2 tsp
Fenugreek powder- 1/2 tsp
Ginger thinly sliced- 1 tsp (optional)
Garlic- 4-5 cloves
Mustard seeds- 1 tsp+ 1/2 tsp
Green chilly chopped- 4
Chilly powder- 2 1/2 tbs
(Or according to your spice tolerance)
Salt to taste
Gingerly oil- 1/3 cup
Curry leaves-2 springs
Hot water- 1/2 cup
Vinegar- 2 tbs (optional)

Wash and wipe the mangoes dry, remove skin and chop into small pieces. Mix in salt and keep aside for 2-3 hours.This will help to shed liquid from the mango. Do not discard the liquid, you can use to adjust consistency of the gravy.

Heat a pan and dry roast 1/2 of the mustard seeds. When it just begins to splutter switch off the flame and grind this into a coarse mixture and keep aside.

Heat oil in a pan and add the rest of the mustard seeds. When it splutters add green chilly,garlic,ginger and curry leaves. Add the chopped capsicum and saute in medium flame for 4-5 minutes or till it becomes soft. Add chilly powder,fenugreek powder and asafoetida. Strain the water from the mangoes and add along with half cup of hot boiling water.Allow the gravy to thicken.

  Switch off the flame and add chopped mangoes, vinegar (optional) and coarsely grounded mustard seeds and mix well. Serve with rice.

Like this pickle recipe,check these pickle recipes too..

Kadumanga /Mango pickle
Pineapple Achar
Spicy Mango pickle
Eenthapazham Achar/Dates pickle
Jathikka Achar/Nutmeg fruit pickle

Try this,
Hope you will all enjoy!

Quail/Kada Fry

Quail/Kada Fry

Today's recipe is a Kerala  delicacy, spicy deep fried Quail/Kada.It had been years since we had any and so when we found this in our local Mediterranean store, I was super excited.Crispy kada fry was the first thing that came to my mind. Quail is small bird but its meat is tasty, tender and succulent.I remember my grandmother saying that quail and its eggs are healthier than chicken. This is an easy to cook recipe with wonderful flavor of aromatic spices,  curry leaves and coconut oil.Try this recipe,you will surely love it


Ingredients

Quail/ Kada kozhi-  5

To make the marinade

Ginger garlic paste- 1 tsp

Kashmiri chilly powder- 2 tsp

Add as per your spice tolerance ) 

Pepper Powder- 1/2 tsp

Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp

Garam Masala- 1/2 tsp

Fennel powder- a pinch

lemon juice- a few drops

Corn starch-1/2 tsp(optional) 

Salt to taste

Curry leaves- a few

Thinly sliced ginger- 1 tsp

Oil for frying

Clean and pat dry the quail and make two or three gashes. 

Mix all ingredients listed under marinade into a smooth paste.Marinate the meat for half an hour.

Heat  coconut oil,approximately 1 1/2 cup in a pan on medium high temperature.  Fry in batches, one side for about four to five minutes. When one side is crispy turn around and  fry the other side.

Add the curry leaves and the sliced ginger at this stage for more flavor and taste. 

Fry till the kada/quail  is cooked and crispy.It will take around 10-12 minutes.You can drizzle a few drops of lemon juice before serving.

You might also like,
Kada Roast/Quail Roast
Indian Spice Roasted Cornish Hen
Kerala Chicken Roast
Coq au Vin/Anglo Indian Rooster Curry
Chicken Mulakittathu

Try this,
Hope you will all enjoy!