THAI PINEAPPLE FRIED RICE

HOW TO COOK THAI PINEAPPLE FRIED RICE        KHAO OP SAPPAROT

INGREDIENTS :

For Thai Pineapple Fried Rice :

For Sauce :

METHOD :

• Mix the Ingredients mentioned under 'For Sauce' in a bowl and keep it aside.
• Dice the Pineapple into bite sized pieces.
• Clean and cut the Chicken into small pieces.  
• Clean, remove shells and devein the Prawns.
• Heat a little oil in a pan and scramble the eggs with a dash of salt and keep it aside.
• Dry toast the Dried Shrimp Paste until aromatic.
• Heat the butter in a pan and roast the Cashew nuts, sprinkle some salt over it and keep it aside.
• In the remaining butter fry the Raisins for few minutes.
• Heat Oil and Butter in pan, saute Shallots, Bird's Eye Chillies and Garlic until shallots turn translucent.
• Add the toasted Dried Shrimp Paste and give a quick stir.
• Add in the Chicken pieces and fry for a while, add Prawns and fry them until they are 1/2 cooked.
• Pour in the Sauce Mix and fry for a while in medium high flame.
• Add the cooked Jasmine Rice and fry them until the rice grains are dry and evenly coated with the sauce.
• Add the scrambled eggs to the above and mix well.
• Add Pineapple pieces, Roasted Cashew nuts and Raisins and stir fry for few minutes.
• Scoop out the Thai Pineapple Fried Rice into the Pineapple bowl.
• Garnish Thai Pineapple Fried Rice with Scallions and serve hot with any side dish of your choice.

NOTES :

• Any fragrant long-grained rice variety can be used for the recipe.
• Use a day old cooked rice for best results. Obviously, keep them refrigerated.

STEW WITH MINCED MEAT

     Stew is a delicately flavoured, curry with only a slight tinge of spices and aromatics and of course a lot of Coconut Milk. What is it about Kerala Cuisine without coconuts?  This recipe calls for minced meat, instead of meat chunks, and the ground paste gives a twist to the traditional Stew.  It is a perfect combination for bread, Appam and Idiyappam.

     This recipe is adapted from Vanitha (a Malayalam Magazine).  My MIL reads this fortnightly, and also collect these books.  Whenever she visits Malaysia, she brings few editions for me.  I love to see the pictures and scroll immediately into recipe pages before pondering into other articles. All the more I am a big fan of Mrs. K.M. Mathews (founder and editor of Vanitha Magazine), it was she who brought in the recipe culture into simple minds.  She has the glory of taking Kerala Cuisine across the globe.  I have a huge collection of her recipes, which I have been collecting since my childhood from Malayala Manorama and Vanitha.

For more recipes from GODS OWN COUNTRY - KERALA  click here...  

HOW TO MAKE STEW WITH MINCED MEAT

INGREDIENTS:

To Grind:

METHOD:

• Grind the ingredients mentioned under 'To Grind' along with vinegar to a smooth paste.
• Clean, Peel and dice Carrots and Potatoes.
• Heat oil in a pan and shallow fry the diced Potatoes until 1/2 cooked.
• Remove the potatoes from the oil and drain them on a paper towel.
• In the remaining oil, sauté Onions and Curry leaves until onions turn translucent.
• Add the ground paste to the above and fry them until oil separate from the mixture.
• Add Tomatoes and sauté until they are well cooked.
• Then add in thhe Minced Meat and sauté it for a while until the colour changes.
• Next, add Carrots, Peas and Shallow fried Potatoes to the above.
• Sprinkle some salt and enough water for the Vegetables and Minced meat to cook.
• Once the vegetables and minced meat are cooked, pour thin coconut milk and mix well.
• Leave this to boil on a very low flame, stirring occasionally.
• Finally, pour in the Thick Coconut Milk and give a quick stir.
• Leave this on a low flame for a few minutes.
• Finally, garnish it with Coriander Leaves.
• Creamy Minced Meat Stew is ready to be served with Appam, Idiyappam, Puttu or any dish of your choice.
• Goes well with Bread too. 

NOTES:

• Shallow frying the potatoes are truly optional.
• If you want bit more spicy stew, can add few Green Chillies while sauteing the onions, or finally sprinkle some white pepper over the stew (this is to retain the white colour of the stew).
• If cooking the meat and vegetable in a pressure cooker, just cook it for a whistle.  
• Minced meat tends to cook sooner, and the vinegar makes it soft and succulent.
• I usually add about 3-4 teaspoons of Milk Powder along with Coconut Milk, which yields you with a creamy, white Stew.  But it is purely optional
  

CHOCOLATE PUDDING

HOW TO MAKE CHOCOLATE PUDDING

INGREDIENTS :

METHOD :

• Mix 11/2 Cups of Milk, Sugar, Cocoa Powder in a Sauce Pan.
• Cook this is on a medium high heat.
• Once cooked, remove from fire and keep it aside.
• Whisk the remaining 1/2 cup of Milk with Corn Starch, Salt, Egg Yolks and Vanilla Extract in a bowl.
• Gradually whisk the above hot milk and cocoa mixture into the egg mixture until well incorporated.
• Cook this mixture over medium-high heat whisking constantly, until it comes to a full boil.
• Reduce the heat and whisk again until the mixture thickens for about 2 -3 minutes.
• Pour this into small cups.
• Cover the cups and refrigerate it for 3-4 hours or until set.
• Serve the Chocolate Pudding with a dollop of whipped Cream on top.

NOTES :

• Whisk the mix throughout the cooking process.
• If you have lumps in the pudding, strain it through a fine-mesh.
• The pudding mix would be slightly thin and runny when warm.
• But it would be firm enough when cooled.
• Smooth the pudding tops gently against the surface before refrigerating.
• Put a cling wrap on top or cover the pudding mould/cups before refrigerating. 
• Adjust the amount of sugar according to your taste preference.
• Pudding stays good for 3-4 days in the refrigerator.

RICE/ARISI UPMA KOZHUKATTAI

    Rice/Arisi Upma Kozhukattai is one of the popular tiffin items in a Brahmin household. This is a simple recipe made with coarsely ground rice, which is called as NOI ARISI. The only work in terms of this tiffin item is soaking the raw rice, and then drying it indoor for a few hours until all the moist is gone, then pulsing it in a dry mixer grinder jar into a coarse rice powder a.k.a kurunai like texture.  Once you have the coarsely ground rice/noi(small tit bits), then the job gets easier.

    The coarsely ground rice is then cooked along with seasoning, once it is 3/4 cooked we need to make small balls out of it and then again it is steam cooked. This is a simple twist given to the classic brahmin dish Arisi Upma, where the Noi Arisi is well cooked and served as such.  Arisi Upma Kozhukattai taste great with sambar and chutney.  It is usually served as a breakfast item or as an evening tiffin.  This is a simple dish, with very few ingredients.  But the taste and flavour of this dish is quite unique. 

 
     I learnt this recipe from our neighbour aunty, Bhuvana's Amma.  She prepares something for evening tiffin,  almost every day, ammini kozhukattai, aval upma, pidi kozhukattai, mor kazhi - a long list of simple tiffin items.   She always treats me with her specialties, every evening, along with her wonderful Filter Coffee. And this recipe is from her repertoire.  

   I need to mention Anu, my long forgotten friend and neighbour who also makes wonderful Arisi Upma Kozhukattai.  Some recipes remind me of a few people, and this recipe reminds of Anu and Bhuvana's Amma.

For more TIFFIN ITEMS, Click here... 


Cuisine : South Indian
Course : Main Course
Difficulty : Medium
Serves : 3-4
Yields : 15 No's
Author : SM

For more SOUTH INDIAN BREAKFAST RECIPES, Click here...

HOW TO MAKE RICE / ARISI UPMA KOZHUKATTAI

RICE / ARISI UPMA KOZHUKATTAI

INGREDIENTS:

To make Arisi:

For Arisi Upma Kozhukattai:

RICE / ARISI UPMA KOZHUKATTAI

 METHOD:

To make Noi Arisi:

• Soak the raw rice for 15 mins in water. 
• After 15 mins, drain the water and spread the rice in a clean kitchen towel and allow it to dry completely. 
• Can dry the Rice indoor under a fan.
• Once the rice is dry, grind the rice coarsely in a dry mixer grinder jar.  
• Just pulse it once or twice. It should not be ground into a fine powder.
• Noi Arisi is ready for use.
  

For Arisi Upma Kozhukattai:

• Boil 21/2 Cups of Water and keep it aside. 
• Heat oil in a pan, splutter Mustard seeds, Bengal Gram Dhal and Black Gram Dhal.
• Fry them until they turn into golden brown colour on a low flame.
• Add finely chopped Green Chillies, Ginger and Curry Leaves and sauté for a while.
• Sprinkle asafoetida powder and give a quick stir.
• Add grated coconuts and fry for a few seconds on a very low flame.
• Pour the water into the above mix, add salt and mix well. 
• Add a Teaspoon of ghee to the water.
• Add the coarsely ground rice gradually into the boiling water, stirring continuously to avoid lumps.
• Lower the flame and cover the pan with a lid.
• Cook the rice, stirring it occasionally.
• Once the mix becomes thick and dry, switch off the flame and allow it to cool.
• Make small balls out of the arisi upma mix and steam cook in a steamer for about 5-8 minutes or until well cooked.
  
• Serve Arisi Upma Kozhukattai hot with Brinjal Gothsu, Sambar, Puli Kuzhambu or any preferred Chutney. 

NOTES:

• Do not grind the rice into fine powder, it should be ground coarsely like a kurunai.  Just a pulse or two in a dry mixer grinder jar would do the job.
• Adding some ghee or oil to the boiling water before adding the rice mixture helps to avoid forming lumps. Also, make sure to stir the mixture continuously.
• Adding Coconut is totally optional.
• The whole cooking process happens in two steps - 3/4 while it's cooked with the tempering and 1/4 of the cooking happens while the Arisi Upma Kozhukattai is steamed.