My Food Journey

I have grown seeing mom make moru kachiyathu almost every 2 days. The quickest of all curries/gravies to have with rice and so so comforting. Just like the name suggests, it is a mildly spiced buttermilk curry best taken with steamed rice. A simple, quick, light and extremely healthy preparation. I learnt this from my mom and perfected from my Mom in law. Both are wonderful cooks and me as an amateur cook have learnt a lot from both my mothers.  I make kachiyamoru quite often, store and use it over the week for almost every lunch. Its just so comforting and can be paired with almost any sides be it veggies or non veg. I personally like having it  with rice and chicken or fish curry.  Total time taken for this is just 15 mins. Just remember to keep stirring the curd to avoid curdling. For more tips check notes below.  Lets get to the recipe.  Ingredients:  Whisked or beaten curd - 2 cup Coconut oil- 1 tbsp Mustard seeds - 1 tsp Fenugreek seeds - 1/2 tsp Dry red chil

We love mangoes and have them every summer. And we love sweets too. So why not make something sweet out of mangoes. I have tried making mango sheera, Mango cheese cake (No bake), Mango custard, but this time I wanted to try something different. We love phirni,  and its Ramadan and we are missing the authentic phirni, so thought of making Mango phirni. It is a different variation to the popular Indian sweet Phirni. Phirni is a rice pudding or rice kheer made with full cream milk, and rice. I have added mangoes as the main ingredients to make this one. The creaminess of milk and the texture of mango chunks along with nuts makes this a super dessert. It tastes very similar to mango rice kheer with a pudding consistency hence we can call it as Phirni. The best part about this recipe is limited ingredients which we would have at home and its very easy to make. The only problem I find in this is the waiting 😥 for it to chill. Well lets see how its done. Step by Step images are given f

Parippu curry is yet another simple kerala dish which is quick and easy to make. This rich and creamy curry is a must have for sadhya (Feast- Lunch) and is easy to make. This instant pot curry is made with Parippu/ Moong dal/ Yellow lentils combined with coconut and spices. We love having it with Aviyal ,  thoran and rice. A must have dal or lentils curry which is flavourful and easy to make. Lets see how its done. Ingredients: Serves 4  1  cup cheruparippu / yellow moong dal ¼ tsp turmeric powder Salt to taste To grind: 1cup grated coconut 3-4 green chillies ½ tsp cumin seeds / jeera 2 pods garlic (optional) To temper: 1 tbsp Ghee(Optional) 1 tsp coconut oil 1 tsp mustard seeds 2 dry red chillies 1 sprig curry leaves 2-3 shallots, sliced Method: Dry roast the dal for 3-4 minutes or until nice aroma comes. The dal should not change color. (I usually have them roasted and store)  Once cool, wash the dal and pressure cook with 2 cup water and turmeric powde

For us puri/ poori -bhaji has been staple for sat brunch since many years. Its comforting breakfast or brunch specially on a weekend. A classic combo where mildly flavored potato side dish is served with hot, crispy, puffy puris. Every region in India  has its own version and also combo. This one is Maharashtrian style puri bhaji though I have added my own version to it which pleases my family. Being from Mumbai I have had Puri- Bhaji from the street vendors to relishing it at my friend's house during festivals. Its delicious, easy and very comforting.  I have shared Puri Recipe in another post. You can check it HERE . Lets see how its done. Step by step images given below for your reference.  Ingredients:  Potato- 3 medium size Onion- 1 finely chopped Garlic- 3- 4 Pods, minced  Green chillies- 3 slit  Turmeric Powder- 1/2 tsp Tomatoes- 1 big (optional) Mustard seeds- 1/2 tsp Oil- 2 Tbsp Salt- to taste Method:  Wash the potatoes well and cook it in press

Puri or poori is a deep fried bread made from whole wheat flour and is a popular Indian breakfast or snack. It is extremely easy to make and makes a delicious breakfast or snack option. Usually we have it with Potato Bhaji  or a curry, but another popular combination is also aamras (mango pulp) or Shrikhand (flavoured yoghurt). Lets see how its done.  Ingredients:  Makes about 30 poori's Wheat flour- 2 cups  Salt- 2 tsp  Oil- 1 tsp Water- about 1 cup to make a dough Oil- for deep frying  Method:  Making poori dough  In a large mixing bowl, add whole wheat flour, salt. Add oil and mix well to incorporate the oil into the flour. Then add water, little at a time, and knead to make a stiff dough. Cover with a clean napkin and set aside to rest for 10-15 minutes. Methods of rolling the pooris After the resting time, knead the dough again for a minute.  Divide the dough into small equal balls, about walnut sized. Apply little oil on your rolling pin and work surface. 

Coconut is used in abundance in South-Indian cooking, specially in kerala there is coconut in everything. There is a saying that Kerala guys are drenched in coconut from head to toe. Well part of it is true. We use coconut oil, coconut milk, coconut paste-bits in almost everything. And of course we also use virgin coconut oil for all our beauty rituals.  Well, I am sure by now you would have guessed this dish does include coconut and is the hero of the dish. Aviyal is basically mixed vegetable with some ground coconut paste and curd. Its super easy to make & this dish uses very less oil, hence healthy too. Lets see how its done: Step by step is given below for reference.  You can check our other Kerala Recipes  Here Aviyal Recipe | Mixed Vegetables in Coconut-Yogurt Gravy: (Serves 3-4) Ingredients: 1/2 cup fresh Curd, whisked well 2 tbsp Coconut Oil A sprig of Curry leaves(12-15 leaves)    Vegetables-peeled and chopped lengthwise: (as shown in Image) 1 Potato cut

Biriyani is our all time favourite and we make it occasionally. This prawns biriyani is  d elicious ,and flavorful Kerala style one pot meal recipe with step by step images. Prawns is marinated in spices and then layered with Ghee Rice  and dum cooked. It takes about an hour for cooking but its all worth it at the end. Do try it out and let us know how it turned out for you. Lets get straight to the recipe  Ingredients: For the prawns masala: Prawns- 1 kilogram Onion-5-6 medium sized ( sliced thin) Tomato-3 ( chopped ) Green Chilly- 5 Ginger-2 -3 one inch pieces Garlic – 10-15 cloves Red Chilly Powder- 2 tablespoon Turmeric Powder- 1 tablespoon Coriander powder-1/2 tablespoon Garam masala powder-1/2 teaspoon (optional) Coriander leaves- a small bunch (finely chopped) Mint leaves- a small bunch ( finely chopped ) Lemon juice-  1 lemon Yogurt- 3 tablespoon Oil- 6 tablespoon Ghee- 1 tablespoon For ghee rice:  Recipe Here Basmati Rice-2 Cups Water- 4 cups Oil