Kanava Roast (Kerala Style) | Squid(Calamari) Roast

I wasn't an avid fan of kanava (squid) neither was I introduced to this fish long back.But when I got to taste this fish ten years back, I liked it.It was different from the usual fish tastes. Kanava curry is one such recipe that I mostly make with squid(kanava). This was something later I got hold of after repeated trial and error. However, once this recipe tickled all the taste buds in the family the credits have changed from curry to this roast and should I say more, all just love it. Seriously, I don't feel there is a need to explain the tastes as it's very much evident to any spicy food lovers from the pics, right ? Go ahead and give this a try, am sure you will love it !!

Preparation time~ 20 minutes
Marination time~30 minutes
Cooking time~30 minutes
Serves ~ 3-4

Ingredients

for marination
kanava /squid 1lb or 500gms
turmeric powder 1/4 tsp
pepper powder 1/2 tsp
salt to taste

for masala
onion 1 medium half moon sliced
shallots 1 cup sliced
tomato,1 medium chopped
ginger minced 2tsp
garlic minced 2tsp
green chilli 2 vertical slit
hot chilly powder 1/2 tsp
kashmiri chilly powder 1tsp
coriander powder 2 tsp
garam masala 1/4tsp
curry leaves few
cocnut oil 2 tbsp
salt to taste

for dry masala
onion 1 medium, half moon sliced
coconut sliced/thengakothu 2tbsp
curry leaves, a sprig
pepper powder 1/4 tsp
garam masala 1/4tsp
coconut oil 2 tbsp

Watch the full recipe on YouTube -

Method

• Clean the squid by firmly pulling out the head in a twisting motion clearing the inner cavity, the ink and bone like structure and peel the slippery skin.Cut into round pieces/square pieces.The tentacles are edible and can be cut out after the head portion and can be used.Wash under running water, drain water and keep aside.Marinate the squid with turmeric powder, pepper powder and salt for half an hour.
• Heat oil in a cooker and add the minced garlic, ginger.Sauté until raw smell disappears.Add the sliced onion, shallots, green chillies and curry leaves.Sauté until the onion turn slightly browned.Add in the spice powders on low flame and add in the tomatoes.Add a few drops of water and cook until the tomatoes turn mushy and gets blended with the onion mixture.

• Add the marinated squid and mix well.Add 1/4 cup water, adjust salt (the marinated squid has salt, so add carefully). Cover the cooker with lid and pressure-cook for 3 whistles on medium high flame.
• Wait until the pressure is released.Heat a tbsp of oil in a wide non-stick pan.Add in the sliced onion and coconut sliced, curry leaves.Sauté until the onion turns brown on frequent stirring.Add in the garam masala, pepper powder on low flame.Add the cooked squid with masala.

• Let the moisture dry up in the masala by stirring continuously for about 10 minutes on high flame (the time may vary as per the amount of left over water in the masala). Serve warm with idiyappam / appam / kallappam(velayappam) /chapathis/rice.

NOTES
* It's better to fry the sliced coconuts and then add onions, which imparts more flavour to the roast.
* You can try this masala for making chicken or mutton roast.

Pazham Nirachathu | Stuffed Plantains (Banana) | Ramzan Malabar Special

Its been more than a week since I posted something here.Sorry for the wait,guys. I was quite busy at home so couldn't spare some time here. Though there are many posts in drafts but due to time constraints I was away. Anyways,hope you all are doing good. Eid is just a few days from now and many of you are busy with everyday Iftar preparations,I know. Today's post is a simple snack made from plantains popular in Malabar.  This snack is very simple to make but tastes delicious with the coconut flavors and crunchy bites of nuts and raisins. I make this as a after school snack for kids which they totally enjoy. Please don't forget to click the right side corner of the page for more yummy Ramadan recipes. Do try and let me know the feedback if you haven't tried yet !!

Ingredients
ripe plantains 3
oil 200 ml

for filling 
coconut grated 1/2 cup
raisins 8-10
cashews 6-7 ,break in pieces
cardamom powder 1/2 tsp
sugar 2tbsp
ghee 1tsp

for cover
maida / all purpose flour 1/4 cup
sugar 1tsp
water as needed
turmeric powder a pinch(optional)
salt a pinch

Method

• Heat ghee,fry raisins and cashews.Add grated coconut,cardamom powder and sugar.Stir well. Saute till the moisture is dried.

• In a bowl, add the ingredients listed to make the cover.Mix well,add salt and make a thick batter like dosa. Keep aside.

• Peel the plantains and make a slit just like the way in pic,keep that piece of plantain aside. Remove the seeds  and keep aside. Fill the filling in the slit and cover with the cut out piece or leave the slit out and cover just with the maida batter.

• Next,dip the filled plantains carefully in the batter or just cover the open spaces in the cut out plantains so as to seal the filling and to make sure it doesn't seep out.I have dipped the whole plantains in batter but its totally your choice about how to seal the cover.

• Heat a pan and add oil.When the oil becomes hot,slide in the plantains and fry till golden brown on all sides.I have used very less oil and have turned frequently to get that proper crispy effect.

• Repeat the same step with remaining plantains. Serve warm with tea !!

NOTES
* You can add the cardamom with sugar and powder it.
* Use ripe plantains for preparing this snack.Though semi ripe plantains are preferred, but its tastes better with ripe plantains.

Mathan Ela Thoran | Pumpkin Leaves Stir fry

There are many traditional and age old recipes which were made by our great mothers back in their times.These recipes were carried on to the next generations, few of them have extinct due to unavailability of resources like those plants have vanished( reasons due to improper care or due to extreme weather conditions). However, whenever you get to taste these flavors its just mesmerizing. Today's recipe is one such wonder stir fry. Mom introduced me to this stir fry and she makes frequently whenever there is a creeper growing up.All you need is fresh tender leaves of pumpkin plant. This is a very delicious stir fry with steaming hot boiled rice. The duo make a perfect combo and you need no extra curries with it. The quantity is very less as we make other green leafy veggies stir fry. Do try if you get hold of these leaves and enjoy making it at home !

Ingredients
 mathan ela / pumpkin leaves a small bunch
Shallots/ kunjulli 10 or Onion (savala )1 small
Mustard seed 1/2 tsp
turmeric powder 1/4 tsp
Curry leaves a sprig
Oil 2 tbsp
Ghee /neyyu 1 tsp
Salt to taste

to grind coarse (optional)
Coconut grated 1/2 cup
Garlic sliced 3
Green chillies 2 or 3

Method

• Snip the light green leaves(tender leaves) or towards the tip of the creeper.If you can pluck mathan / pumpkin flowers,can also add that in the thoran/stir fry.
• Wash under running water,drain water completely and leave for 10 mins. Chop the leaves and flowers small and keep aside.Add finely chopped shallots or onion.
• In a bender,add the listed ingredients to grind coarsely.Pulse twice and keep aside. OR you can just add cut green chillies, sliced garlic and grated coconut just like that,I have left it just like that.
• Heat a pan and add oil.When oil is hot,add mustard seeds to crackle.Add in curry leaves.
• Add the turmeric powder on low flame and then slide in the chopped leaves with shallots.
• Mix well and cover it up with a lid.Leave on low flame for 2 mins. After two mins, check the stir fry,mix again and now add the coarsely ground coconut mixture along with salt as required.
• Cover the lid and leave for another two mins. Add in the 1tsp ghee and mix well.
• Switch off flame,leave covered for 5 mins for ghee flavors to seep in. Serve warm with rice.

NOTES
* Snip only the tender leaves of the plant.Else it doesn't taste so good.
* You can either add turmeric powder along with coarsely grind list or as mentioned above.
* You can also add 1/4 tsp chilly powder instead of green chillies.In that case warm it up along with turmeric powder.
* Add salt only when the leaves are wilted slightly otherwise you may end up adding more salt.
* Adding ghee imparts a special flavor.

RELATED POSTS OF GREEN LEAFY STIR FRY-
* Green Onion Stir Fry (Ulli ela Thoran)
* Spinach-Jackfruit seed Stir fry (Cheera-chakkakuru Thoran)
* Celery Stir Fry (Thoran)
* Asparagus Egg Stir fry (Thoran)
* Methi Leaves Stir Fry( Uluva Ela Thoran)
* Beet Leaves stir Fry(Thoran)

Chakka Unniyappam | Jackfruit Fritters

" Rain is not only drops of water
   It is the love of sky and earth
   They never meet each other
   But sends love this way."

Enjoy the love of nature..Happy Monsoon !! Many of you might be wondering where did this lady on earth vanish? Am very much here enjoying rains,dear friends. Back with a bang !! There were lot of constraints during the last one year of my absence due to our relocation, helping kids gets adjusted to the new school, hospitalization of dear ones and much more. However, once in a while I should have cared for my dear blog..feeling guilty about it. Sorry to keep you all waiting for newer dishes and recipes. Anyways,am trying to be regular here now. Hope this mantra keeps me motivated.Honestly,I missed each one of your yummy posts , gossips,chit chats and my dear blog space.Thanks to many of my blogger friends who inquired about my absence through mails,messages and chats. Am happy to have such good people around and who always motivated me to get back to blogging. Love you all !!

Though the jackfruit season in Kerala is almost over,yet some places there are few fruits still on the tree. Though a bit late to post the jackfruit (chakka) recipes but am glad that I could at least post these this year. Better late than never !! My taste buds were not so much inclined towards jackfruit during childhood. I had a very bad stomach upset as a child once during our vacation trips after gulping all the ripe jackfruit. That may be the point when I started ignoring the fruit. Years later, when we stayed away from this dear fruit in US and when we could hardly get hold of this sweet fruit , I realized missing something badly. Now, jackfruit season is a big welcome and had enough of the ripe ones this year too. This recipe is the after effects of this season when my mom made these at home. The blogger mind in me instantly jotted down the recipe and tried it at home.A very simple,tasty and instant recipe for an after school snack for kids and my kids love it. If you have chakka varetti ready in hand then make use of it and can make throughout the year or till stocks of chakka varetti lasts.I have used fresh chakka(jackfruit) pieces to make this yummy snack and have made this many times now. Do try and enjoy!!

Ingredients
jackfruit /chakka  20-22 pieces or  jackfruit pulp 1 cup/chakka varetti 3/4 cup
rice flour /puttu podi preferably 2 cups
jaggery /sharkara 1/2 cup (see notes)
water 2 tbsp (you may need to alter as per the consistency of the batter)
dry ginger powder / chukku podi 1/4 tsp
cardamom powder /elakka podi 1/2 tsp
cumin seeds / jeerakam 1/2 tsp
sesame seeds(black) /karutha ellu 1tsp
salt a pinch
baking soda a pinch

Method

• Puree the jackfruit pieces in a blender until smooth without adding any water.
• Heat the jaggery in 2 tbsp of water and melt it.Strain the impurities and keep aside.
• Mix all the other ingredients listed above in a bowl along with jaggery syrup and jackfruit pulp to a smooth batter, keep for 20 mins.Add baking soda just before making and keep for 10 mins.
• Heat the unniyappam chatti /paniyaram pan / dutch pan. Add oil upto 3/4th in each of the holes.

• Now using a spoon ,mix the batter well and once oil is hot enough(see notes),start pouring in each hole upto 3/4th. Wait till the sides start to get browned and sizzles up,turning the other side.If doesn't turn on its own,using a fork or skewer turn it upside down.Wait till its browned evenly on all sides.Drain on a paper towel and leave to cool.
• Repeat the same above step till you finish with the batter.If the oil is less,add more oil when required before pouring the batter.
• Serve warm or cold with tea, enjoy !!

NOTES
* I used homemade rice flour(puttu podi) , not roasted.The recipe link to homemade rice flour is here.
* You can use store brought rice flour but its better to use puttu podi than using the smooth rice flour.
* The amount of jaggery can be altered depending on the sweetness of jackfruit/ chakka, and on your sweet buds.If you are using chakka varetti, then may  need less jaggery as it already has jaggery.
* To check if oil is hot,add a pinch of batter in the center hole of the pan.If the batter sizzles and comes up ten oil is ready to fry.
* Chakka varetti recipe is here.

Related Posts
* Traditional Unniyappam(two methods)
* Rava- Dates Unniyappam 
* Kuzhi Paniyaram

Stay tuned for more chakka(jackfruit) recipes :)