MORU KUTAAN (Buttermilk Coconut Stew)

Can be served with rice

Ingredients
Raw banana or white pumpkin or cucumber 500g
Grated Coconut 1
Cumin seeds 1 tb sp
Pepper corns 1 tb sp
Green chillis 2 -3
Curry leaves few
Dried red chilli 1
Coconut oil 1 tb sp
Mustard seeds 1 tsp
Turmeric powder ½ tsp
Yoghurt 200g

Method:
Cut the vegetable in small cubes. Put it in a vessel and add a little water, turmeric powder and salt. Let it boil, till the vegetables get cooked. Note: Add enough water for the vegetables to get cooked.
Grind together grated coconut, cumin seeds, peppercorns, green chilli and curry leaves to a paste.
Add the paste to the boiled vegetables and cook for 5 minutes.
Switch off the stove and let it cool.
Add the yoghurt and mix well.
In a frying pan, take 1 tbsp coconut oil. Add the mustard seeds, dried red chilli and some curry leaves. Let it splatter and add it to the rest of the mixture and mix well.
Allow the kootan to cook for 2 minutes.
Serve with rice

KARA KUZHAMBHU (Tangy Tamarind Stew)

Goes very well with rice

Ingredients:
Cumin seeds (Jeera) 1 t sp
Pepper corns 1 tsp
Dried red chilli 3 -4
Coriander seeds 1 tsp
Toor dal 1 tsp
Garlic 4-5 pearls
Small onions 250 g or 2 big onions
Tomatoes 1
Brinjal 100g optional
Tamarind 1 lemon size
Turmeric powder 1 tsp
Mustard seeds 1 tsp
Curry leaves 2 tb sp
Oil 3 tbsp
Asafoetida (Ing)
Red chilli powder 1 tsp
salt

Method:
Take 1 tb sp oil in a frying pan. Add the cumin seeds, coriander seeds, pepper corns, dry red chilli and toor dal and fry.
Add 4 -5 garlic pearls and a little Onion, curry leaves and fry it for some time.
Grind all of it together into a paste.
Soak the tamarind in water for some time and squeeze it to take the tamarind juice .
Take 2 tb sp of oil in a frying pan. Add the mustard seeds and allow it to splatter. Add the curry leaves.
Add the rest of the onions and brinjal and fry it for some more time.
Add the turmeric powder, ing and red chilli powder.
Add the tamarind water and required amount of salt.
Add the paste and let it boil till the quantity gets reduced to half and the raw smell of the tamarind goes off.
Let it simmer till the oil comes to the top.

Cornflakes Chivda (Cornflakes Mixture)

A very healthy snack, ideal for the tea time.

Ingredients:
500g Cornflakes sugar coated, caramel or the normal one
100g Sugar
3 tsp Salt
50g Roasted Groundnuts
50g Roasted cashewnuts
50g Roasted almonds
50g Orange rind (tooti- fruiti)
50g Rice flakes (poha)
50 g raisins
3-4 tbsp Dried coconut powder (optional)
5 tb sp Oil or Ghee
2 tbsp Red chilli powder
1 tb sp of turmeric powder
Handful of Curry leaves

Method:
Roast the nuts and raisins one by one in ghee or oil and keep it separately
Take the cornflakes in a big vessel. If sugar coated cornflakes is not used , add the required amount of sugar according to your taste and mix well.
Add the roasted nuts, raisins, orange rind and mix together.
In a frying pan take ghee or oil and fry the rice flakes till it pops up.
Add it to the cornflakes mixture.
Add required amount of salt and mix well.
Add powdered dry coconut powder.
Take a little ghee or oil add the chilli powder, turmeric powder and curry leaves. Let the powder fry. Don’t allow it to burn. Add this hot oil to the cornflakes and mix well. If the oil is not enough to coat the cornflakes , warm more oil and mix together.
For better taste ghee can be used instead of oil.

Punjabi Kofta (Bottle gourd dumplings in a creamy curry sauce)

Seves 5 persons

Ingredients

Onion 1 medium
Ginger garlic paste 1 tb sp
Tomato Puree 3 tb sp
Bottle gourd 1 medium
Gramflour 4 tb sp
Chilli powder 1 tb sp
Turmeric powder 2 tsp (1 tsp for the kofta and 1 tsp for the gravy)
Coriander powder 2 tsp (1 tsp for the kofta and 1 tsp for the gravy)
Garam masala 2 tsp (1 tsp for the kofta and 1 tsp for the gravy )
Cumin 1 tsp
Bayleaf 1
Yoghurt ½ cup
Almonds 5
Cashew nut 5
Milk 3-4 tbsp

Method
Soak almonds and cashew nut in milk and make it to a paste.
Grind onion, ginger and garlic to a fine paste.
Grate bottle gourd and squeeze it to remove the juice. The juice can be used in gravy.
For the kofta:
Add the grated bottlegourd, gram flour, chilli powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder and salt.
Roll it into small balls and fry it in oil. Keep aside.
For the gravy:
Take a pan. Add a little oil, add cumin and allow it to splatter.
Add the bayleaf, Onion, ginger garlic paste and stir it till the raw smell goes off.
Add the tomato puree to it and stir for 3 minutes.
Add the turmeric powder, chilli powder, coriander powder and garam masala.
Add the yoghurt and cashew almonds paste to it.
Add enough water to make it to gravy.
While serving add the kofta balls and decorate it with coriander leaves.