Zucchini chips with caramelised onion dip !

Snacks at tea time is a welcome fare at our home,especially when the kids are at home during vaccation.I made zucchini chips today and they tasted real nice with the caramelised onion dip.Here's the recipe for you to try.

Zucchini chips with caramelised onion dip:

Ingredients:

Zucchini: 3 medium sized( cut either like french fries or like chips)

Bread crumps: 1 cup

Mixed Itallian herbs: 1 tbsp

Cheese-grated: 1/2 cup

Salt to taste

Eggs-2 (whisked well)

Oil-for frying

Method:

Mix the bread crumps,cheese,mixed herbs & salt.Spread the mix on a platter.

Take the cut zucchini,dip it in the egg batter and then roll it in the bread crumbs mix.Do it one-by-one.Donot be in a hurry and toss them all together it will become messy.Fry the dipped zucchini in hot oil in a frying pan.Remove them onto a kitchen tissue paper to soak any excess oil.Serve the chips with caramelised onion dip(recipe later).This is sure to be a hit with the kids esply. because of the sweet dip =)

 Do try & share your experience.

Happy cooking !

Cheers,

Malabar Avoli(pomfret) meen curry

Everyone in my house relishes fish curry except for me =(  Infact my family often hurl jokes at me saying that you are indeed a very unique & rare breed malayali with a dislike for fish ! Hmm...well I donot like eating fish but that doesnot mean I cannot cook fish =) I decided to try my  hand at making some fish curry to prove more so to myself that when you enjoy cooking the ingredients should not stop you from cooking a nice dish.So here's what I made.

Malabar Avoli(pomfret) meen curry:

Ingredients:
Pomfret fish-1(the one I had on hand was a big fellow must have weighted about 2kgs easily) cleaned & cut into serveable sizes
Shallots-1 cup(peeled,chopped finely)
Garlic-8 pods(peeled,chopped finely)
Ginger-2 inch(peeled,chopped finely)
Green chillies-2 slit length-wise
Curry leaves-1-2 sprig
Corriander powder-4tsp
Red chilly powder-4tsp
Tumeric powder-2tsp
Coconut-1 grated
 Salt-to taste
Water-for cooking
 Coconut oil-4 tbsp
Kodampulli-8 flakes

Heat a pan,add abt 1 tbsp of oil.Add the grated coconut and fry till brown(fry on medium to low heat;donot burn the coconut).Remove from fire,let it cool.Grind this with a little water(2tbsp) into a smooth paste.Set aside.In another pan pour 2 cups of water.To this add salt,2tsp of tumeric powder,2tsp of corriander powder & 2tsp of red chilly powder.Cook for about 10 minutes;till the raw smell of the masala powder fades away.Add the cleaned-cut fish pieces into this gravy.Let it cook for 5 minutes.Remove from flame & set this aside.
Take another pan,add the remaining 2tbsp of coconut oil.Add chopped garlic;saute till light brown.Then add the chopped shallots,ginger and slit green chillies.Add the ground coconut paste,the remaining 2tsp of corriander powder & 2tsp of red chilly powder.Add the kodampulli & the curry leaves.Fry till oil starts to separate.Remove from fire.Now add this fried masala to the cooked fish gravy.Simmer it for 5 minutes in low flame.The malabar fish curry is ready to be served with steamed rice or cooked tappioca (the keralite favourite combination).

Green Rice loaded with the goodness of greens !

Hi my lovely readers,tell me how many of you find it difficult to make your kids eat the greens?I did =( Well like all smart mommies out there I thought to myself "darling if you want them to eat the greens then you need to be innovative there is now other way to it" ,so I made "Green Rice" for my kids and guess what they helped themselves at the table also went in for second serving.I for one pretended not to notice it at all {this is a trick with my kids that I follow....the more I fret & ask them to do something the more they test my patience but not doing just that =/ which is why I decided to IGNORE their act & surpisingly they fell for it =D.I couldn't be happier !}

Here we go at the recipe.

Green Rice:

Ingredients:

1. Greens: 1 cup(I used Mulai Keerai - Amaranth leaves) rinsed & cleaned
2. Mint leaves: few (abt 4-5)
3. Fresh Corriander leaves: a sprig
4. Fresh curry leaves: few (abt 4-5)
5. Shallots:3-4(peeled)
6. Green chilly:1 inch
7. Ginger:1 inch
8. Garlic:5-6 flakes{you can lessen/increase according to your preferrence,I used more  because my son is having a bad cold  that doesn't seem to go away =(  }
9. Cauliflower:two florets (seperated into tiny ones)
10. French Beans:3 chopped finely
11. Onion- 1/4th portion of a mid-sized onion chopped finely
12. Tomato-1/4th portion of a mid-sized tomato chopped finely
13. Cooked Rice: 2 cups (I made this only for the kids,if you want u can add more rice)
14. Mustard seeds: 1 tsp
15. Cumin seeds: 1 tsp
16. Tumeric powder: 1 tsp
17. Corriander-Cumin powder: 1 tsp
18. Butter: 1 tbsp
19. Cooking Oil: 2 tbsp
20. Salt: to taste

Method:

Grind ingredients1-8 (from the ingredients list)  in a blender finely,add a tbsp of water if needed.Keep it aside.In a frying pan add oil,mustard seed & cumin seed.When the mustard seeds begin to crack up add chopped onion and tomato & fry till the onion turns pink/ translucent.Add cauliflower,chopped beans,tumeric powder,cumin-corriander powder and salt.When the veggetable are almost cooked ;add the ground paste and cook it covered till it is done (till the raw smell of the greens & garlic disappear).Add butter.Check the taste (if you want it spicier you could add pepper/red-chilli powder).Add the cooked rice and mix everything well.Serve hot with fresh curd.

Do try and let me know how it went with your kids :)

Happy cooking !

Cheers,