Some days we crave for something very simple yet something that is very comforting – I am sure you will agree! For me one of those comfort foods is this curry – something that transports me back in time where I am just enjoying a simple afternoon lunch with plain rice, kumbalanga curry, some plain […]
Kerala
South Indian Lentil and vegetable curry || Kerala Sambhaar || South Indian Tangy Vegetable Stew
Sambhaar is a spicy and tangy curry (soup) made of lentils and vegetables. This is a curry that is typical ‘South Indian’ cuisine and each of the four southern states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala have their slightly different versions of sambhaar. Sambhaar is eaten with rice but most commonly […]
Spicy Long String Beans (Payyaru Ulathiathu)
Long String beans (also known as Chinese Long Beans or Yard Long Beans, Asparagus Beans, Garter Beans, and Snake Beans) are a long, thin green beans that can measure from 1 to 3 feet in length. These beans are a subtropical/tropical plant that is widely grown in Southeastern Asia, Thailand, and Southern China, and are a […]
Lentils with spinach and coconut (Paalak Daal)
Mixing spinach (and other vegetables) into lentils (dal) is a good way of feeding vegetables to kids. This daal with spinach is a very mild and non spicy dish that kids will love. Coconut is ground into a paste and then mixed into the lentils and this gives a delicious and almost decadent twist […]
Green plantains with channa (Kadala and kaaya thoran)
Thoran is a generic name (in Malayalam) for all vegetable dry dishes which have freshly grated coconut. Kadala(black channa) and kaaya(green plantain) are both very ‘heavy’ ingredients and so this sabzi is really very filling (just like avail). However its a nice balance of carbs and proteins and so its like a meal in itself. […]
Puffy Steamed Rice and Lentil bread (Idlis )
Idli is another breakfast item from the South indian kitchen, which is a close cousin and a healthier version(since they are steamed) of the Dosas. The batter for the two are very similar with slight differences. In fact one can make idles or dosas interchangeably with the same batter too making slight modifications. You need […]
Dosa (Sour dough Rice and Lentil Crepes)
Dosas are a South Indian specialty food that is craved by all Indians, irrespective of which place in india they belong to. Traditionally, Dosas (and Idlis)are breakfast items from the South indian kitchen. However, they have slowly and steadily made their way and their mark as appetizers/snacks or even as main course meals. Dosas […]
Mixed vegetables in coconut sauce || Kerala ‘Avial’ (Vegan, Paleo, AIP)
Avial (pronounced as Aveeh-ial) is a delicious and sumptuous mixed vegetable dish that is essentially very simple to make (if you follow the directions carefully!) I would say the only complicated part of this dish is the use of many different vegetables and the different cooking times that they require. Avial is made […]
Easy Kerala Chicken Curry || Instant Pot Chicken Curry Recipe (Paleo)
This is a quick and easy way to make chicken curry. This was how my dad used to make chicken curry in his bachelorhood days and so every now and then while we were growing up, we used to request him to cook his ‘special chicken curry’. This is a ‘dump everything into a […]
Moru Kootan || Yoghurt and coconut curry || Kerala Moru Curry
Moru kootan is a very typical Kerala dish which is a yoghurt coconut curry where usually a vegetable like green(raw) plantain or chembu (taro root) is cooked in a yoghurt /buttermilk (moru in malayalam) and coconut sauce. ‘Kootan’ means any ‘curry’ that can be had with rice. When I first started cooking kerala dishes in […]
Kerala Shrimp Coconut Curry (Chemeen Thengarachu Curry)
There are several varieties of seafood preparations in Kerala cuisine. The three types of fish / shrimp curries that my amma would make were brown curry, red curry and yellow curry — the brown being the most hot and spicy. She had labeled them as such for us kids since the actual traditional names are ‘a […]
Cabbage with Coconut(Cabbage thoran)
This cabbage sabzi (vegetable side dish) was one of the first things I learned to cook when I started paying attention to my amma’s cooking. This is a very simple and easy recipe with really a very few ingredients yet the beauty of this dish lies in its simplicity. Many of my friends like this […]