Going all bananas…..Celebrating the day!
A few weeks back all you could hear was the bloom of the Neelakurinji flower(Strobilanthes kunthiana) a shrub that is told to bloom only once in twelve years in and around Munnar. The beauty was just breathtaking when you have a whole area all blue. It was as if you were in heaven a whole new world. Although I had plans to do a post all were just flushed out with my schedules. The past weeks were pretty out of my hands with my younger one having a fractured arm and guests in and out. A bit relieved that now his arm is ok .Its been quite some time or should I say a very loooooooooooooong time since I baked cakes…it was just now that I recollected that its been an year. Today it’s a very special day…..special in many ways….so back to baking a special cake!
My dad is the best man in my life, the first love of my life, the most perfect man ever….always there to support, to relive my dreams….No matter how old I get, no matter how often I stay out with friends, no matter how far I move away with my husband, no matter how many children I have, no matter how many grandchildren I will have….daddy, I will still be your little girl! I love you more than the world will ever know!!!!
There couldn’t have been a better father than you on this earth – happy birthday to the man who taught me my worth…Happy Birthday Acha! <3 <3 <3
Reliving all the magic that the third of November has here’s the recipe of the Banana cake that I baked .This super moist not too sweet cake was adapted from a cookbook gifted to me by one of my cooking class students, Sylvia Lewis who herself is a very talented cook , foodie and wonderful human being .The book is a collection of tried and tested recipes from different parts of the world. The recipe for the banana cake wad supplied by Daphne Read. This cake is also good with frosting, though I haven’t frosted it.
- ½ cup of butter
- ¾ cup of sugar
- 1 ½ cup of self-rising flour
- 1 tsp of baking soda
- 2 eggs
- 5 very ripe small bananas, pureed
- 2 tbsp of fresh cream
- 1 pinch of salt
- ¼ cup of milk
- Preheat oven to 190 degree Celsius.
- Cream butter and sugar in a bowl until it turns a light colour.
- Gradually add eggs one at a time and beat. Sift flour and salt.
- Mix baking soda in a cup with the milk and cream.
- Add pureed banana into the creamed butter and sugar and mix until combined.
- Alternately add flour and milk mix until just incorporated.
- Pour mixture into a greased and lined baking pan and bake for about 45 minutes or
- until the cake springs from a touch in the middle.
- Cool cake on a wire rack.
Celebrate this Diwali.. relish on Papaya Halwa &Khascha !
Diwali/ Deepawali the festival of lights is all set for celebration . The festival spiritually signifies the victory of light over darkness, knowledge over ignorance, good over evil, and hope over despair. The best part of Diwali is the wide variety of sweets that one can devour! After my post has pretty much lagged out and the reason was that my cam was under service. It was as if I had actually gone handicapped. There was no other choice but to rely on my iphone for my snaps…to tell you the truth that’s when you really feel if you had your cam with u.Its not the pics but my mind that could never as such be content with the pics.
This is my post after the Onam celebration . There was something more that came up during the onam holidays. I was invited over to Mumbai for the 160th Sree Narayana Guru Jayanthi celebrations organized by the Sree Narayana Mandira Samithi at The Sree Narayana Group of Institutions, Chembur during which I was to be felicitated..It was my first time to Mumbai ..an experience in itself. A trip with my inlaws, hus and kids….during the function I was pretty much overwhelmed to meet some of the most wonderful people who really cared for the society!
As its Diwali and its all about sweet things..I have two recipes one is Papaya Halwa and Khascha a sweet snack from UttarPradesh.For the Khascha recipe a big thanks to Pooja ,my home science student at school for sharing their traditional sweets!
- 225 gms of ripe papaya fruit deskinned, deseeded & cubed
- 300ml of milk
- ½ cup of sugar
- 2-3 tsps of ghee
- 1 tsp of almonds & 1tsp of raisins roasted in ghee
- 4-5 strands of saffron
- Blend the papaya with milk to make a smooth paste.
- Heat and keep stirring the papaya milk mix, add in the sugar, saffron strands and
- keep stirring on medium flame till the mix starts thickening up.
- Add ghee on the sides of pan and continue mixing.
- Once the halwa starts thickening add in the raisins and almonds and remove from
- flame.
- If u wants to make your halwa sweeter, add in two tablespoons of sugar while
- cooking. Relish on your Papaya Halwa!
- 1 cup of Semolina
- 1 cup of all purpose flour
- 1 cup of sugar
- 100g ghee
- 150 ml milk
- 2-3 cardamom seeds
- Oil for frying
- Mix in the semolina, flour, cardamom and sugar.
- Slowly pour in the milk and knead into dough.
- Make small balls out of the dough or roll the dough into discs and cut desired shapes.
- Sprinkle flour while rolling as it might quite sticky.
- Fry the shapes out in oil till it is golden in color.
- Munch on these wonderful Khaschas this Diwali!
May the divine light of diwali spread into your Life with peace, prosperity, happiness and good health.Wishing all my friends a wonderful Diwali!
Celebrate this onam with Pumpkin Payasam!
Onam holidays have started a break of ten days Onam being the state festival of our Gods own country titled Kerala! All over the state of Kerala, festive rituals, traditional cuisine, dance and music mark this harvest festival. The ten day Onam festival is celebrated floral carpets, traditional dance forms , onam sadhya-the feast on banana leaf, boat race….At school we had the teachers day and onam celebrations on adjacent days.The Thiruvonam day..the tenth day and the most sacred day of the celebrations…..its great fun all members in the family get together ,friends and relatives all ..the onamsadhya is prepared and served on the banana leaf with different curries , rice and desserts. This Onam I wanted to post the recipe of a special payasam .Payasam is basically the dessert that’s served after the feast. Today’s post is Mathanga Payasam /Pumpkin Payasam..
- 2 cups of pumpkin cubes (de skinned &deseeded)
- 3/4 cup of jaggery syrup
- 2 cups of thin coconut milk
- 1 cup of thick coconut milk
- 2 cardamoms crushed
- 4 tbsp of sago cooked in water
- 2 tsp of ghee
- For Garnish
- 2 tsp of coconut pieces
- 2 tsp of cashews and raisins
- Ghee for frying
- Cook the pumpkins in water, sieve and blend into a smooth paste.
- Heat ghee in a heavy bottomed vessel and fry the pumpkin paste for about 5-10
- minutes on medium flame.
- Mix in the jaggery syrup and keep on stirring.
- Let the jaggery syrup blend well in to the mix and then pour the thin coconut milk and
- continue stirring.
- Add in the cooked sago balls and cardamom.
- When the milk starts thickening, pour in the thick milk and when it is on the verge of
- simmering, turn off the flame.
- Fry out the coconut pieces in ghee along with the raisins and cashews and garnish
- the pudding.
Serve it warm or cold and enjoy this onam !
It was while writing this post , I was reminded of a website I stumbled on to while browsing on apps that help you order food online in India.It has got everything that a foodie would want to devour from mughlai cuisine to south indian to pizzas..With a userfriendly interface and a catchy name “Foodpanda”
They cover most cities in India and when you have the app on your phone its pretty much more easier. Theres also city based pages like for Bangalore , Mumbai and Delhi .Well I have my foodpanda app on my phone..planning to use it once am in the listed cities. 🙂 Hope you all would find it equally handy 🙂
Being up all in festive mood,Heres the writeup on me that came up in Grihasobha Malayalam magazine (Delhi press publication)this September
So signing off for now …Wishing all a happy and prosperous onam!
Soya Ginger Chicken ..a variant!
Back after the rice porridge recipe with a new post. Its been quite some time since I posted a non veg recipe. Soya chunks have always had their fav place with my kids and I keep trying out more variations with it .The soya chunks have the best source of fiber and is quite high in protein content.
Its like the magic pill bundled up with all the good things. Last Sunday I was planning on what to cook for dinner and then popped up with this recipe of Soya Ginger Chicken.I have been using both sizes of soya chunks for my cooking..but have always found a soft spot for the mini soya chunks on count of their delicacy.
- ½ kg of Chicken cut into small pieces
- 1 cup of mini soya chunks
- 2 tsp of Soya sauce
- 2 tbsp of ginger sliced finely
- 2 tbsp of garlic sliced
- 2 large onions chopped
- 1 tbsp of Kashmiri chilli powder
- 1 tsp of Garam masala powder
- 2 tsp of coriander powder
- 3 tsp of Chicken masala powder
- 1 tsp of black pepper powder
- 1 tomato pureed
- 3 tsp of oil
- Salt to taste
- For Tempering
- ¼ cup of sliced big onion
- 4-5 green chillies slit
- Oil
- Curry leaves
- Soak the soya chunks in hot water for about 15minutes.
- Heat oil in wok, sauté ginger and garlic, chopped onion till translucent.
- Pour in the soya sauce and keep stirring, add in the chilli powder, coriander powder,
- pepper powder, garam masala powder and chicken masala powder.
- Stir till the raw smell from the powders subside.
- Add in the pureed tomato paste, ½ cup of water and let it simmer.
- Wash the soya chunks in cold water and squeeze them out into the sauce along with
- the chicken pieces.
- Add required amount of salt and cover and cook the chicken till tender.
- Thicken the sauce so that the chicken & soya are coated and turn off the flame.
- In a small pan fry out the sliced onions till in caramel color along with the slit green
- chillies and curry leaves.
- Temper the dish with the fried items and add 2-3 tsp of chopped coriander leaves
- before serving.
- Best served with rotis and fried rice.
Heres the feature that came up in the magazine Mahila Chandrika a Chandrika daily publication..
Jeeraka kanji ..the porridge to boost your immune!
It’s been like ages that I have been wanting to post on my space.. There’s loads of things that had gobbled up my time to write n my blog. Well when school closed up for the monsoon vacations this time round I was the most eager one compared to my munchkins to go “home”.Oh yes…even though you are married although you have a home here ,you still quote ur parents place as “home”. It’s not only my personal experience,but I think most women have this “home”sickness.I really chucked on this only when my colleague brought it to my notice.It was almost a month that I got with my parents in Thrissur..but this time round there came up a few surprises with media interviews, write-ups and the best part was being felicitated by the Thrissur Mayor , Mr.Rajan Pallan at the Council Meeting.
Karkidaka masam/Ramayana Masam /Karkidaka month is considered the last month ie. the twelfth month according to the Malayalam calendar followed in Kerala.This year the Karkidaka masam started on July 17th and ends by August 16th.The sacred scripture , Ramayana is recited during this month and so this month is also known as the Ramayana masam. It is to welcome the new year ie.The Chingam month that the Ramayana is recited from the starting to the end of the month. In Kerala , Karkidaka kanji is very famous which is a medicinal rice porridge that is very much healthy .The monsoon months are considered to the most appropriate time to have medicinal rice porridge. On my stay in Thrissur , I had the opportunity to meet up with Dr.K.S.Rajithan (Medical Superintendent ) of Oushadi Panchakarma Hospital and Research Institute,Thrissur.Dr. says ,”Its during the monsoons that the immune system of our body deteriorates and we are more prone to sickness, digestive issues and many ailments. .Our ancestors used to have many practices with Ayurveda to boost their immune system . So this is in fact is the most suitable time to have different kanjis (rice porridges) in your diet.” During my period of stay in Thrissur there was a “Kanji Mela”(Rice Porridge fest ) organised by the Oushadhi Panchakarma Hospital Canteen.It was indeed a feast out there with 11 varieties of rice porridges each with special benefits.It was the Kudumbasree unit(a women empowerment cluster ) working in the fabrication of flavoursome dishes and variant rice porridges.
So coming over to the recipe, for this post..it is Jeeraka kanji /Cumin rice porridge.The courtesy for the recipe goes to Dr.Rajithan. This is a pretty easy recipe and its only the ingredients that you have to get hold on to to make the medicinal mix.Its best to have it for 14 days in the monsoons..
- For the Medicinal Cumin mix
- 2 tsps of cumin (jeerakam)
- 2 tsps of black cumin seeds (karinjeerakam)
- 2 tsps of long pepper (thippalli)
- 2 tsps of Carom or Thymol seeds (Aimodagam)
- 2 tsps of Black peppercorns
- 2 tsps of dry ginger powder
- For the porridge
- 80g of broken rice /podiari
- 1 litre of water
- 450ml of coconut milk
- 5gms of the medicinal mix
- Salt to taste
- 2 tsps of ghee
- 3-4 shallots sliced
- Dry roast the ingredients for the medicinal cumin mix and powder it finely in a
- blender.
- Store this mix in an airtight container.
- Wash the rice and cook it in a vessel with the required amount of water.
- When half cooked add in the powdered mix.
- Take care to keep stirring the porridge and keep on medium flame.
- Pour in the coconut milk and add salt.
- Cook till the rice is soft.
- Heat ghee in a small pan fry the shallots till caramel in color and pour over the rice
- porridge.
- If you feel that the porridge is a bit bitter, add in 2 tsp of jaggery syrup to cut down the
- bitterness.
- You can serve this hot /warm with pickle, vegetable stir fries, pappad or even with
- fried salted curd chillies.
So enjoy this monsoon the healthy way!
Here’s a glimpse of the media coverage..
Start off Monsoons with… Coconut Rasam!
Hah! Laggin on posts ……………………….
I’m not able to update up my news after Beijing….Its been running around most days ………travelling up and down ,classes, school,kids, welcomings, interviews…….Achoo…………… sniff.. …..Achooooo…..yikes its Monsoon back in Munnar and I have been haywire in my schedules…latest update am down with a cold…..Sniff! Sniff! Theres just one more week left for the school to close for monsoon vacations here in Munnar..
Here are a few paper reports that came up in a few regional papers…
24page6 change for ekm
Season is up for coughs and colds……so how about a special rasam???This Rasam is the best thing to have with rice if you are down terribly with a cold or fever. It’s more like a curry in its looks but is super Yumm soup!
- ¼ cup of scraped coconut
- 2 tsp of cumin seeds
- 2 tsp of peppercorns
- 1 pod of garlic
- A gooseberry sized ball of tamarind
- 1 tomato (medium sized)
- ½ tsp of turmeric powder
- ¼ tsp of asafoetida powder
- 1 ½ tsp of Kashmiri chilli powder
- 1 cup of water
- 8-10 shallots sliced
- 1tsp of mustard seeds
- Coriander leaves
- Salt to taste
- Grind scraped coconut, cumin seeds, pepper, garlic and tamarind into and separate
- the smooth paste.
- Slice the tomato and grind it into a paste and mix it with the coconut mix.
- Heat oil in a wok, splutter mustard seeds, sauté the shallots, add in the turmeric
- powder and chilli powder, fry and pour in the ground mix.
- Keep stirring and when it starts boiling; add in a cup of water and salt to taste.
- When simmering, mix in asafoetida powder and a few chopped coriander leaves.
- Serve with rice and enjoy the monsoon.
Celebrating with Badam Halwa!
How should I start off? I am head over heels in happiness that my hard work is paying out as fruits..Ok so I am back in Munnar after a week’s spree tour and happenings in Beijing. The best news that I have to share is that my book has bagged the third place as for the “Best Local Cuisine book in the world.”Gourmand World Cookbook Awards also known as the Oscars of Gastronomy was founded by Edouard Cointreau .To be a part of it was really an awesome experience. Getting to meet the top personalities in person, learning and sharing insights on each other’s books….. It was an experience that I could have not even dreamt of.
I had travelled with my family to Shanghai on the 16th of May and then on the 19th of May to Beijing and our stay was at the Daxing Hotel where the Beijing International Cookbook fair was held. I was very much impressed by the hospitality of the Gourmand staff and the hard work that they had put into the arrangements. As it calls for celebration I thought of sharing a sweet recipe to with my sweet news..so heres the recipe for Badam Halwa…
- 1cup of Almonds (soaked in water and blanched)
- ½ cup of milk
- 1cup of sugar
- ½ cup of ghee
- 1/2 cup of water
- 8-10 strands of saffron soaked in 1 tsp of milk
- Grind the almonds with milk to a smooth paste.
- In a saucepan boil water and mix in the sugar till it dissolves and keep aside.
- Heat ghee till it melts and add in the sugar syrup on low flame and mix in the almond
- paste without any lumps.
- Add in the saffron and keep stirring on low flame till the almond paste becomes thick
- and flaky.
- Turn off the flame and mix in a teaspoon of ghee.
- Devour on your badam halwa!
Red red melony red!
A few more days to go for the school spree to start off…and back to the busy bee schedules. It was wonderful to be at my hus’s house to celebrate Vishu. As usual a wonderful get together with my co-sisters nephews and nieces. Being married into a joint family the best part is when you all come under one roof for celebrations. Kids have a blastJ. Being in Munnar and getting used to the cool climate the hardest part of moving over to tropical parts of Kerala during the summer really gets on your nerves.
The start of Summer and you find Watermelons all piled up in most fruit shops and road sides. These bright red fleshy beauties makes you crave for more..Todays post is on Watermelon Popsicles..I have had the moulds for quite some time in my cupboard…..so the start of summer was a good excuse to set off my batch of popsicles..
- 2 cups of watermelon cubes desseded and de-skinned
- ½ cup of sugar
- Juice of ½ lemon
- Blend the watermelon cubes, sugar and lemon juice in a blender to make watermelon
- juice.
- Pour the juice in to the moulds and freeze them till they are set.
- Once freeze slightly pour hot water over the mould and de mould them by pulling the
- sticks.
- Enjoy licking and slurping over your watermelon popsicles…
Happy Vishu !
Vishu is celebrated with much vigour and pomp in all parts of Kerala.The festival a concoction of light , firecrackers, the traditional Vishu kaineetam(giving money ) , Vishukodi(buying of new clothes) and last but not the least the Sadhya(the feast on banana leaf)..Its the start of a new year, new beginning..
Wishing all the readers of NCV..a Happy & Prosperous Vishu!
Mint-lime coolers & cherished moments as an Entrepreneur!
The schools have all closed down for summer holidays……while most the schools have about two months of vacations ……we have just two weeks break before the start of the new year at school. We have our vacations during the monsoons (ie. During the months of June & July) …as going to school would be the most dreaded feeling when it rains cats and dogs. :P. The 4th of this month was our last working day at school .But I was all set for a rather new experience that was to take place on the 5th .Rushing back home after school and soon me and kids were all packing up and leaving Munnar to Perumbavur. A few days back I received a call from one and only prominent B-school in Kerala, SCMS school of Business studies-Cochin inviting me over to one of their program, Endeavour –Insights of Womenpreneurs (A one day workshop on Entrepreneurship) .I was a bit nervous on what my role would be there and on putting forth my query they answered, “We just want to know about your journey to success….”
Being at SCMS was an overwhelming experience and one among the most cherished moments of my life. Really appreciate the hospitality and positive ambience of the SCMS family .It was like stepping into a whole new world. It was a wonderful opportunity to share glimpses of my journey with the budding business magnets of tomorrow. I was so very much impressed with the atmosphere of this institute that I really wished for a moment to be a student… 😀
It’s been scorching hot in most parts of Kerala with the sun blazing out in full wave length and you just want to gulp down juices –an escapade from the heat. Today’s post is very much dedicated to a healthy &refreshing Mint-lime juice.
- 2 cups of water
- 1 cup of sugar
- Juice of 3 lemons (medium sized)
- 1 cup of mint leaves
- In a saucepan boil water with the sugar and stir till it dissolves to make thin syrup.
- Refrigerate this syrup till cool.
- Grind the mint leaves into a paste by adding water and squeeze out the juice through
- a sieve and separate.
- Stir in the lime juice and mint extract in to the sugar syrup and serve chilled with ice
- cubes.
- If you need more sweetness you can add in more sugar.
Hi! I am Nimi Sunilkumar…an award winning cookbook author /culinary demonstrator/freelance writer / food photographer/food blogger …spiced with the flavors of food..
