Avoli Curry | Pomfret Fish Curry

Serves: 2

Ingredients:
1. Avoli/Pomfret - 6-7 pieces
2. Onion - 1 medium
3. Tomato - 1 medium
4. Ginger minced - 1 teaspoon
5. Red chilli powder - 1/2 teaspoon
6. Turmeric powder - 1/2 teaspoon
7. Green chillies - 2 or as per spice level
8. Tamarind - 1 small lemon sized piece
9. Coconut grated - 1 cup
10.Coconut oil - 1 tablespoon
11. Mustard seeds - 1 teaspoon
12. Curry leaves - few
13. Salt to taste

Method:
1. Soak tamarind in 1 cup water and extract pulp and keep it aside.

2. Clean and wash the fish. Grind coconut with little water into a fine paste and keep it aside.

3. In a pan preferably mann chatti/earthen pot, add tamarind extract, finely chopped onions, chopped tomato, minced ginger, slit green chillies, red chilli powder, turmeric powder and salt to taste.

4. Bring it to boil and cook until onions turn soft and translucent.

5. Now add fish and cook until fish is well done.

6. Add coconut paste and bring it to boil and turn off the stove.

7. For seasoning, heat a small pan and add a tablespoon of coconut oil. Splutter mustard seeds and add curry leaves to it. Add this to curry and serve hot with steam rice.

Netholi Curry | Anchovy Fish Curry

Serves: 2

Ingredients:
1. Netholi/Anchovy - 250 gms
2. Onion - 1 medium
3. Tomato - 1 medium
4. Ginger minced - 1 teaspoon
5. Red chilli powder - 1/2 teaspoon
6. Turmeric powder - 1/2 teaspoon
7. Green chillies - 2 or as per spice level
8. Tamarind - 1 small lemon sized piece
9. Coconut grated - 1 cup
10.Coconut oil - 1 tablespoon
11. Mustard seeds - 1 teaspoon
12. Curry leaves - few
13. Salt to taste

Method:
1. Soak tamarind in 1 cup water and extract pulp and keep it aside.

2. Clean and wash the fish. Grind coconut with little water into a fine paste and keep it aside.

3. In a pan preferably mann chatti/earthen pot, add tamarind extract, finely chopped onions, chopped tomato, minced ginger, slit green chillies, red chilli powder, turmeric powder and salt to taste.

4. Bring it to boil and cook until onions turn soft and translucent.

5. Now add fish and cook until fish is well done.

6. Add coconut paste and bring it to boil and turn off the stove.

7. For seasoning, heat a small pan and add a tablespoon of coconut oil. Splutter mustard seeds and add curry leaves to it. Add this to curry and serve hot with steam rice.

Ayala Mulakittathu | Mackerel Fish Curry

Serves: 2

Ingredients:
1. Ayala meen/Mackerel - 2 medium sized
2. Onion - 1 small
3. Tomato - 1 small
4. Garlic - 4-5 cloves
5. Red chilli powder - 1 teaspoon
6. Turmeric powder - 1/4 teaspoon
7. Fenugreek powder - 2 pinches
8. Tamarind - 1 small lemon sized piece
9. Coconut oil - 3 teaspoon
10. Curry leaves - few
11. Green chillies - 1-2
11. Salt to taste

Method:
1. Soak tamarind in 1 cup water and extract pulp and keep it aside.

2. Clean and wash the fishes and cut into pieces.

3. In a pan preferably mann chatti/earthen pot, add tamarind extract, finely chopped onions, tomato, slit green chillies, red chilli powder, turmeric powder and salt to taste.

4. Bring it to boil and cook until onions turn soft and translucent.

5. Now add fish pieces and cook until fish is well done.

6. Add fenugreek powder, curry leaves, crushed garlic and coconut oil and turn off the stove.

7. Cover and keep for 5 minutes before serving.

Lemon Pound Cake

Recipe Source: onceuponachef.com

Ingredients:
9x5 Loaf pan

For the cake:
1. All purpose flour - 1.5 cup
2. Baking soda - 1/4 teaspoon
3.Salt - 1/4 teaspoon
4. Buttermilk - 1/2 cup
5. Butter unsalted at room temperature - 1/2 cup
6. Egg - 1
7. Sugar - 1 cup
8. Lemon zest grated - 2 teaspoon
9. Lemon juice - 1 tablespoon

For the syrup:
1. Sugar - 1/4 cup
2. Water - 1/4 cup
3. Lemon juice - 1 tablespoon

For the glaze:
1. Confectioners' sugar - 1/2 cup
2. Butter(unsalted) - 1 teaspoon
3. Lemon juice - 2 teaspoon
4. Water - 1 tablespoon

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 325 deg F and grease the loaf pan with butter and sprinkle little flour over it.

2. Sift flour, salt and baking soda and keep them aside.

3. In another bowl, combine buttermilk, lemon zest and lemon juice and keep it aside.

4. In a large mixing bowl, beat sugar and butter using a hand mixer until light and fluffy(medium speed for 5 minutes). Add the egg and beat again.

5. Change the mixer speed to low and add 1/3 of the flour and 1/3 of the buttermilk mixture and mix well.  Repeat with rest of the flour and buttermilk mixture by adding only 1/3rd of the portion each time. Do not overmix the batter lest the cake becomes dense.

6. Carefully spoon the batter into the loaf pan and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

7. While the cake is baking, make the syrup by boiling 1/4 cup water and 1/4 cup sugar. After the sugar melts, turn off the stove and add a tablespoon of lemon juice.

8. Once the cake is out of oven, place it on a wire rack and pour the sugar syrup all over. Let it cool completely before we apply icing on the cake.

9. For the icing, mix together the ingredients specified in icing section and apply on top of cake.

Italian Biscotti

Adapted from: Allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

1. All purpose flour - 1.5 cup

2. Sugar - 1/2 cup

3. Egg - 1 medium

4. Oil - 1/4 cup

5. Baking powder - 1/2 tablespoon

6. Almond extract - 2 teaspoon

7. Almond slices - 1/4 cup (optional)

8. Salt - 1/4 teaspoon

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350 deg F and grease a cookie sheet or line them with parchment paper.

2. Combine all purpose flour, baking powder and salt and keep them aside.

3. In a bowl, add egg, oil, sugar and almond extract and beat well using a hand mixer. To this add the flour mixture and almond slices and knead into a dough.

4. Divide the dough into two and roll them lengthwise along the cookie sheet with 1/2 inch thickness(see figure 2 below). 

5. Bake in oven for 25-30 minutes until the surface turns golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool on wire rack for around 10 minutes. Slice the cookie widthwise into 1 inch slices. Place the slices back into cookie sheet with cut side facing up and bake for 5 minutes on each side.

Cool on a wire rack and enjoy with a cup of tea.

Figure 2- Before baking

Shrimp Roast | Chemmeen Roast

Ingredients:
1. Shrimp/Chemmeen/Prawns (shelled and deveined) - 250 gms
2. Onion - 1
3. Curry leaves - 2 twigs
4. Grated coconut - 1 cup
5. Turmeric powder - 1/4 teaspoon
6. Red chilli powder - 1 teaspoon or as per spice level
7. Coconut oil - 2 tablespoon
8. Salt to taste

Method:
1. Wash the shelled and deveined shrimp in water and keep it aside.

2. Take 2 tablespoon of oil in a pan and turn on the stove. Add finely chopped onions and saute until they turn soft and translucent.

3. Add shrimp, salt to taste, turmeric powder and red chilli powder and fry until shrimp is well cooked.

4. Add curry leaves and grated coconut, mix well and turn off the stove.

Banana Halwa - Kerala Style

Ingredients:

1. Nenthra pazham / Kerala banana - 2 large well-ripened 

2. Ghee - 1/4 cup

3. Sugar - 1/2 cup

4. Cardamom powder - 1/2 teaspoon

Method: 

1. Take a heavy bottomed vessel and add sugar and 1/4 cup of water. Turn on the stove on medium flame.

2. Once the sugar melts, add finely chopped bananas and cook until bananas are soft. Stir occasionally to avoid sticking to the bottom of vessel. This takes around 15 minutes. 

3. Add ghee and mix well. Cook on medium flame and stir continuously. Cook until bananas turn dark brown in color and the ghee starts to separate from halwa. It takes around 45 minutes to get to this stage. 

4. Add cardamom powder, mix well and turn off the flame.

5. Transfer the halwa on a greased cookie sheet or similar container, level the halwa and allow it to set for around 1 hr. Cut into desired shape and serve.

Stir fried Capsicum with Coconut

Serves: 2

Ingredients:
1. Capsicum - 1 large
2. Onion - 1 medium
3. Tomato -1 small
4. Turmeric powder - 1/2 teaspoon
5. Red chilli powder - 1 teaspoon or to taste
6. Coriander powder - 1/2 teaspoon
7. Grated coconut - 1/2 cup packed
8. Oil - 1 tablespoon
9. Mustard seeds - 1 teaspoon
10. Salt to taste

Method:
1. Heat a tablespoon of oil in a pan and splutter mustard seeds.

2. Add finely chopped onion and saute until they turn light brown in color.

3. Add turmeric powder, coriander powder. red chilli powder and salt to taste and fry for a minute.

4. Add finely chopped tomatoes and saute until tomatoes are soft. Cut capsicum into 1 inch squares and add to the onion-tomato gravy. Cover and cook until capsicum is well done.

5. Just before turning off the flame, add grated coconut and mix well. 

Ari Unda | Rice Ladoo

Ingredients:

1. Red rice/Parboiled rice - 1 cup

2. Coconut grated - 1/2 cup packed

3. Jaggery - 2 cubes or 1/2 cup grated

Method:

1. Wash the rice and drain the water completely. Spread them on a kitchen towel and allow it to dry for 1 hour.

2. Take a heavy bottomed pan and dry roast the rice on medium flame until they turn crisp. It takes around half and hour to roast the rice.

3. Powder the rice into coarse powder(just like puttu podi).

4. Mix rice powder, grated coconut and grated jaggery and pulse in a blender for few seconds.

5. Shape them into lemon sized balls and enjoy.