Beef Cutlet (Step by Step Pics) & Good Bye 2019 !!

Hope all had a great Christmas and are enjoying the last hours of 2019.
What are your resolutions for 2020? I haven't planned any resolutions as such as my resolutions fade away in the first week of January itself, he he..
We had a lovely Christmas with family and friends. So I got busy at home too, anyway got a little free time now and here is one of my old drafts that I saved sometime back. Though beef cutlets is a snack that I prepare frequently at home but somehow missed posting this unless one of my friend asked for the recipe. Here is the recipe S, this is for you. Cutlet making looks a little tedious when it comes to cooking, dipping in egg and rolling in bread crumbs and then frying. But if you have the mixture ready beforehand, then it's easy to dip in egg and roll in bread crumbs and fry. The important tips to remember are the cooked beef should be pulsed once or twice to mince and don't over do else you will not get the actual flavour of beef in cutlets. Also, make sure to add potatoes as just a binding agent and don't add more potatoes to increase quantity. Enjoy making these at home and enjoy for your New Year's Eve.

Wishing all a "Happy New Year 2020", may all your dreams come true, stay healthy & eat right  !!

Preparation time ~ 20 minutes
Cooking time ~ 20 minutes
Serves ~ 12–14 cutlets
Author ~ Julie
Ingredients
beef 300 gms
potato 3 medium-sized
onion 1 large-sized
ginger -garlic paste 2 tsp
green chilli chopped fine 2-3
garam masala 1/2 tsp + 1/4 tsp
pepper powder / kurumulaku podi1/2 tsp + 1/4 tsp
turmeric powder / manjal podi 1/2 tsp + 1/4 tsp
salt to taste
curry leaves 2 sprigs chopped
oil 2 tbsp

for coating and frying 
bread crumbs 1 cup
egg 1
oil to shallow fry

Watch on YouTube -

Method

• Wash the beef and add to a cooker in cubed pieces. Add 1/4 cup water, pepper powder 1/4 tsp, garam masala 1/4 tsp and turmeric powder 1/4 tsp. Add salt. Cover and pressure-cook for 3–5 whistles (the cooking time may vary as per the type of beef, so keep a check).
• Open the cooker once pressure is released, then cook and dry up any water left. Cool the beef completely before you mince it in a mixer or pulse in the blender without any water once or twice. Keep aside.

• Pressure cook the potatoes and keep aside. I generally do it with skin on and then peel skin, mash and keep aside.
• Heat oil in a pan and add the ginger -garlic paste. Sauté until slightly browned. Add in the chopped onion along with chopped green chillies, curry leaves and sauté onions until translucent. 

• Then add in the spice powders on low flame. Sauté and then add the minced beef. Mix well to combine with spice powders. Cover and cook on low flame for 2 minutes.
• Finally add in the mashed potato, mix well and switch off flame. Leave this mixture to cool.
• In two separate bowls, place the bread crumbs and egg. Beat the egg lightly and add a tbsp of milk to this mixture. Scoop out small portions of the beef mixture and shape like patties or cutlet. Dip this in beaten egg mixture and roll in bread crumbs. Place on a plate and similarly do this step for all cutlets till you finish the beef mixture. I went ahead and did a second dip in egg mixture and rolled in bread crumbs for an additional coating, but you can always skip this step. I had some egg mixture left so did and also the second coat gives a nice crispy outer cover.

• Heat oil in a shallow non-stick pan like I do or bake in a preheated oven as in this link or deep-fry the traditional way. Evenly, get all sides browned and crisp. Drain on a paper towel and serve warm with a dash of ketchup.

NOTES
* Freeze the made cutlets at this point if you plan to make for some parties in an airtight box. Thaw before frying and serve hot. I generally do this when I have guests at home.
* Adding milk to the egg mixture adds volume to the egg.
* You can make cylindrical shapes too instead of patties shape.
* Don't add more potatoes as it soaks up oil and also loses the beef flavour.

RELATED POSTS

1. Fish Cutlets
2. Baked Chicken Cutlets
3. Ethakka Cutlets
4. Kappa- Soya Cutlets
5. Mulapicha Payaru Cheera cutlet
6. Chicken Nuggets (baked)
7. Broccoli Cutlets
8. Soya Cutlets
9. Baked Vegetable Cutlets
10. Chicken Kebab

Kormolas | Goan Christmas Special | Flower Bud Cookies (Step by Step Pics) & My 900th Post :)

900 posts so far ?? I just can't believe my eyes that I tried, tasted and posted so many recipes in my small space here. Thanks to all my lovely friends who have always encouraged me to try out newer recipes and last but not the least my family who have been the best critics till day. I would also like to thank all my blogger friends who have been part of my small journey since 2011, whom I have hardly met yet are close to my heart. Love you all !!

Today's post is yet another Christmas special that I prepared. Kormolas or Carambolas are a Goan Christmas special which are made as part of Kuswar. These homemade goodies are distributed to family and friends during Christmas. Kulkul is also one of them that I posted earlier. The sweetened dough of Kormolas is shaped like a flower bud and deep fried. These are yet another simple recipe to put together and can be made easily except for the shape. It took me few initial tries before I actually could make decent ones. The shelf life of this snack is more than a week. The taste is sweet and texture is a sweet flaky one with the use of ghee. The recipe is adapted from Hilda's spice and a few you tube videos for reference. Do give these a try if you love the traditional homemade goodies.

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas in advance !!!

I will be away for a few days as am going home for Christmas, will catch you all up soon, till then enjoy your holidays.

Preparation time ~ 10 minutes
Cooking time ~  20 minutes
Serves ~ 30-40 kormolas 
Ingredients
maida (all purpose flour) 2 cups
milk/ water / coconut milk 2/3 cup or less
vanilla essence 1 tsp
salt a pinch
ghee 3 tbsp
sugar 3/4 cup
oil to fry

Method

• In a bowl add maida, sugar, salt and ghee. Rub the ghee in the flour such that it’s incorporated well.To this add coconut milk/ water / milk(I used coconut milk) little by little to knead to a slightly stiff yet smooth dough. Rest the dough for 15-20 mins.
• Pinch out balls of dough, dust with flour and roll like a big chapathi and nor very thick neither too thin else the inside of the kormolas may not get cooked.

• Using a pizza cutter cut out 3*3 cms squares. Stick two opposite edges together and then the stick two end together like in pics. Twist both ends firmly so that it sticks nicely else will open up when put in oil (use a drop of water to stick both ends, else it may open up during frying).

• Heat oil in a kadai and add the made kormolas (Check if the oil is hot enough and slide in oil). The pieces first sink down and then float in oil . Reduce heat to low medium flame and cook,else the inside may not get cooked properly. Drain and remove using as a slotted spoon when it looks lightly browned or pale pink in colour. As it sits it gets further cooked and browns. Drain using slotted spoons and place on a kitchen towel. Leave to cool completely before storing in air tight containers.

NOTES
* You can use water to knead the dough for a less calorie version but tastes good with coconut milk.
* Slightly melt the ghee and add for best results.

For all Christmas goodies, check this link here.

For all cake recipes, click here.

For all Kerala snacks, click here.

Kerala Bakery Style Biscuits | Eggless Butter Biscuits | Stovetop Cookies ~ Step by Step Pics

How are your preparations going on for Christmas ?? Am running out of time this week and hardly find myself some free time. I have started my preparations, need to go home so my bakes have started early to bake the rich and moist Kerala plum cake. Beetroot wine is ready which I posted earlier and a few snack goodies are now getting ready too. Every year I make many sweet goodies like Achappam & Kulkul for Christmas. Kids love festive cookies too, a few of them I have already posted here(pls check at the end of this post ). Today's post is yet another biscuit that you find in Kerala bakeries which I was very fond of as a child. Reminds me of my childhood days when good bakeries had these cute red hat cookies kept in glass jars. They are so addictive, melt in mouth ones and crumbles easily. These are so easy to put together and this time I tried baking them on stovetop for an easy go. And am very happy with the results, they have turned perfect like any other oven bake cookie. If you are running out of time and you need a quick item for Christmas then here it is. Do give this a try and tastes delicious. I had a little idea of this cookie and I had been doing trial and error with some maesures since long to actually get the real bakery flavors. Sometimes the oil goes high, sometimes they are under baked, sometimes its crumbled on baking so on and so forth. But this time I was close to the bakery ones and thought to share the recipe with you all.

Pottukadala(roasted chana gram) is added in these cookies which elevates the taste and flavour, butter gives that soft crumbly feel. The dough just comes together to hold as a ball and is not very sticky unlike other cookie dough. Refrigeration is important else the butter will melt down and you will not get that perfect cookie. Try these out, am sure you will definitely thank me for showcasing an old forgotten bakery snack. And lemme warn you that you can't just stop munching one.

 Preparation time ~ 10 minutes
Resting time ~ 30 minutes
Baking time ~ 15-20 minutes
Serves ~ 16-18 cookies
Author ~ Julie
Ingredients
maida / all purpose flour  1 cup     
pottukadala(roasted chana dal) 2 tbsp or 1/4 cup                       
granulated sugar  1/2 cup
unsalted butter 2 tbsp     
oil 1/2 cup (any neutral oil)             
cardamom powder / elakka podi 1/2 tsp     or cardamom pods 3-4               
baking powder 1/2 tsp                                                     
salt 1/4 tsp                               

to garnish
half cut glazed cherries
black sesame seeds 2 tsp

Method

• Swift the flour, baking powder and salt twice. Keep aside.
• Powder the sugar, pottukadala and cardamom pods together until finely powdered. Add to the flour mix.
• Rub the cold butter in the flour mix like we do for puff pastry dough. Take a good time of 2 minutes to rub in the flour. 
• Add in the oil little by little so that the dough starts to come together. If you try making a ball it should form a ball. At this stage, refrigerate the flour mix for 30 mins.

• In the meantime cut out half cherries, keep ready.
  Also the sesame seeds.
• After half an hour, take out the dough and pinch out small portions like gooseberry size. Press in your palm to shape the biscuits. Place a cherry or sesame seeds on top and press lightly. Place the biscuits on a butter or oil greased plate (I have used a steel plate) leaving 1" space in between because these biscuits flatten as it cooks.
• Now heat a thick bottomed pan or cooker (I have used an anodized pan) and add half cup salt to the pan( I have used the salt which I used earlier for baking so there is colour discolouration in pics). Place another pan/ utensil to give height to the cookie plate so that there is enough height between the heat and the cookie tray. 

• Heat the pan for 5-7 mins on low flame and then place the cookie plate( the cookie plate should be such that it shouldn't touch the sides of the pan). Close the lid of the pan and steam cook for 20-25 minutes on lowest flame. Mine was done at 25 minutes, open the lid and check if done (I baked in two batches). The sides look slightly browned and the biscuits flatten too. 

• Leave the cookies in the cookie tray just like that (in the pan itself) for another 7-8 mins after you switch off the flame without the lid as vapors may dribble down the lid if you leave with lid on. Once the cooking is done, don't try to touch the biscuit immediately when its hot as the cookie will be very soft and will crush. After 7-8 minutes of residual cooking, cool the cookie / biscuits on a wire rack once slightly warm. 

(the under side of the cookie slightly browned )

OR

• If you plan to bake, then bake at 320 degrees F or 160 degrees C for 15-20 minutes. 

NOTES

* The cardamom powder can be replaced with vanilla. But I feel cardamom powder brings out the bakery flavors.

* Refrigeration is important before baking.
* If you use salted butter, omit the added salt in flour.
* You can separately powder each of the roasted chana dal, granulated sugar and cardamom powder. It was esaier this way so went and did that.
* Don't add confectioner's sugar as it has corn starch in it and may not give you the needed results. Also if you use powdered sugar, the measures would be 3/4 cup. As I powdered granulated sugar, I used 1/2 cup which will yield 3/4 cup powdered sugar.

RELATED FESTIVE COOKIES
* Christmas Wreath Cookies
* Suji Cookies
* Nutella Palmiers
* Pinwheel Dates Cookie
* Eggless Fancy Lemon Cookies
* French Macarons
* Cashew Cookies
* Eggless Nankhatai

Beetroot Wine | Homemade Christmas Special (Step by Step Pics)

I had been planning to make beetroot wine for the past 4-5 years and finally got time to taste only now.I regret to have not tried this for so long which is such a crowd pleaser. Almost matches to grape wine, in fact a little more colourful must say. Tastewise, there are no obvious tastes of beetroot as we cook the beets and only the strained juice is kept for fermentation.Wine flavors are obvious from the 15th day as you decant and wine matures as it ages so waiting till Christmas for the final verdict. I have used bakers instant yeast  and so have reduced the yeast to just 1/4 tsp for this batch of wine. The recipe is adapted from Meena's Elephants and The Coconut Trees & Dhe Ruchi video, with slight modifications.

During Christmas season there are many stalls that come with homemade wines in Kerala which the excise have called off. But homemade wine for our personal use is not banned. There is no added alcohol to this homemade wine and I usually make wine at home in very small batches. I serve this with our homemade plum cake to our families and friends during their visits. I love this season of the year the most and look forward to a happy Christmas. Coming back to beet wine, the best part of this wine is none can identify the secret ingredient used in this wine i.e.beets and the vibrant red colour makes it stand out among all other wine. This wine needs no stirring every day and can be left for fermentation at ease. Read out all notes before you actually go about making your own batch of wine. I know its late to post now for Christmas though I had planned to post much in advance. There were so many things running around that I hardly got time to finish my post. Anyways, if you plan to have friends for New Year eve, then this is the perfect time to brew your own batch of beetroot wine. Go ahead and give this a try.

Preparation time ~ 30 minutes
Cooking time ~ 15 mins
Serves ~ 2 liter plus approx
Author ~ Julie
Ingredients
beetroot 560 gms or 500 gms approx or 3 medium sized
OR grated beetroot  2.5 cups
sugar 600 gms or 3 cups
water 2 liters (boiled & cooled)
whole spices (cinnamon 1" piece, cloves 4, cardamom 2)
yeast 1/8 tsp
lemon juice ( juice of 1 lemon)

Method

• Boil and keep 2 liters of water. Let it cool.
• Select good firm beetroots. Peel the beetroot skin and wash under running water. Don't wash for long, as the colours wash off too. Grate the beets and add in a thick bottomed cooker. Add half cup of boiled cooled water to this and close the cooker. Cook the beets for one whistle  and then switch off flame. Wait for the pressure to release.
• Strain the beets along with juice(don't squeeze out the strained beets), add the sugar to the strained mix. Add in the whole spices if adding now. 
• Mix the boiled cooled water to this and mix the yeast in 2 tbsp of leuk warm water. Then wait till its frothy, add in to the strained beet mix. Add in the strained lemon juice and give a quick mix.

• Finally pour this in clean dry bottles/ bharani( I used two glass bottles). Cover with lid not very tight and leave some space in the bottle so that the fermentation becomes easy. Cover the bottle with a cloth and finally secure with a tie. 
• Leave the bottles in a cool dark place undisturbed for 14 days. Label the top of the lid with date so that its easy to remember. 

• After 14 days, decant the wine in another clean dry bottle without disturbing the sediments (there is hardly any sediments but still that may turn the wine turbid). If you feel the wine hasn't reached the fermentation or if you stay in a cold place then give another 3-4 days before you decant.
• Enjoy the sweet wine from the 15 th day. As wine sits  for another 10 days, it matures more. On the 15 th day, the wine tastes like a sweet carbonated beverage. 

NOTES 
* Use fresh firm dark coloured beets for good results.
* Use brewer's yeast or wine making yeast if you get hold of that yeast. I have used instant dry yeast used for making bread or appams. I feel the more the yeast, the wine gets more stronger so I have reduced the yeast to 1/4 tsp which yields a mild wine that can be served to all without much worries of intoxication. If you wish a stronger version then go ahead and add upto 3/4 tsp yeast for this much quantity of beetroot or a 1/2 tsp yeast for a moderate flavored wine.
OR Divide the made wine in two equal parts before adding wine and add 1/8 tsp wine to one part and 1/2 tsp wine to the remaining part and leave for fermentation in two different bottles, taste check for yourself.
* Wine making needs atmost cleanliness and sterility else the whole process may get ruined. Important points to remember whenever brewing any wine-

1. Use clean sun dried bottles or bharani for brewing wine. Avoid using plastic containers as wine may leach out in plastic during fermentation.
2. Use a wooden spoon(preferably new; not used for making any curries) to stir the contents.
3. Avoid squeezing out the beetroot in the cheese cloth or strainer to get the maximum, just strain and use that liquid.
4. Keep the wine for fermentation under the kitchen counters in a cool dark place, away from direct sunlight.
5. Decant the wine in clean,sun dried bottles so that the wine remains fresh and doesn't get spoiled with fungal growth.
6. Fill the bottles or bharani upto 3/4 th only so that there is enough space and wine doesn't flow out.
7. Don't close the lid very tight and cover the bottle with a cloth, tie with a thread to secure.

* You can add the whole spices to the grated beets in the cooker and strain the spices along with cooked beets. I preferred to add the whole spices in the fermentation bottle so that the flavor of spices seep out well for 15 days.

* If there is any white layer formed on top of wine or black fungus then discard the mixture.

* Use good quality yeast when making wine as the whole process of this wine making is dependent o yeast.

* Ideally the beet to sugar ratio is 1:1 but my beet when measured was 560 gms and so I went about adding 600 gms of sugar. Use 500 gms sugar for 500 gms beets in the ratio 1:1.

* 2 liter water is needed to make wine using 500 gms beets. If you increase the beets then change the water ratio accordingly. For eg if you use 1 kg beets, use 4liters water and 1 kg sugar.

MORE WINE RECIPES
* Grape Wine (Homemade)
* Pineapple Peel Wine
* Homemade Ginger Wine
* Green Grapes Wine

Neyyappam ~ Traditional Kerala Snack (Step by Step Pics)

Neyyappam as the name suggests appam made in neyyu aka ghee. This is an age old traditional appam made during important festivities. Olden days festivities included this appam was made when a child attains menarche or post delivery when daughter in laws come back home with baby and few homemade goodies, neyyappam was one of them. Old times neyyappam was made hardly except for these precious occasions,says my grandmom and neyyappam was in high demand as it was purely fried in ghee. Gradually ghee was replaced with oil and neyyappam retained its name the same way. There is a lot of difference in flavor when its fried in oil instead of ghee but today hardly anyone fries these in ghee as all are on calorie check.

Neyyappam and Unniyappam (2 versions) look wise, batter wise is almost made same in many places in Kerala. However there are still many solid differences too if you look close. Neyyapams are real crisp on the outside cover with a crispy side frill(which is very important) whereas unniyappams are very soft in texture with no frills. The inside of the unniyappam is on the softer side and is filled however neyyappams puffs up like puris and is mostly hollow . The shelf life of neyyappam is more whereas banana is added in the batter in unniyappam stays good only for 2 or 3 days. The rice should be three-fourth ground to get the correct consistency of the batter in neyyappam whereas in unniyappam, the batter does need a little thari or slightly coarse rice flour(puttu podi) but the major portion is smooth flour. In unniyappam we definitely add mashed banana or soaked dates to the batter to make appams soft and neyyappams don't use banana.

There are many recipes on internet to make neyyappams but believe me those neyyappams don't taste the same like the traditional ones and taste more similar to unniyappam. Some people do add mashed banana, add baking soda, add maida and so on. But ideally the batter is ground with jaggery syrup and left to ferment for 5-6 hours in summers here and 7-8 hours in a cold climate. I haven't added any leavening agents to soften or ferment the batter and am so happy with the outcome. Neyyappams aren't so easy to master though the batter looks simple. This is my personal experience of getting it right. I got a good neyyappam in my third attempt. the first two were a big flop. The first time I made these appams, the kadai was on the flatter side so the appams didn't puff up. The second time the pan got right but tasted more like unniyappam. Then I just gave up the neyyappam making as nothing worked good. Finally the third time I tried the age old traditional recipe as grand mothers made at home and this time I got these perfect.

The few lessons that I got from making these appams are they aren't that hard to master but may take a few attempts before you actually can gain confidence. There are a multiple factors to remember in making these appams. The very first being the skillet selection, deep iron skillet is preferred to make.Shallow pans don't work good. Secondly the soaking or rice and fermentation of batter is important. Over fermentation  or under fermentation may not give good results. Third the consistency of the batter should be be like dosa batter when ground which will thicken to a idli batter consistency once fermented. The batter should be a little loose than idli batter and fall like ribbon consistency in cakes. There are few more tips that I have shard at the bottom of this page so that you can try out the best in the first attempt itself. Do give it a try and lemme know too !!

Soaking time ~ 4-5 hours
Preparation time ~ 10 minutes
Cooking time ~ 20 minutes
Serves ~ 11-13 neyyappams
Ingredients
to grind
raw rice / pachari 2 cups
jaggery 300 gms or one big ball
salt a pinch

sesame seeds 1 tbsp
ghee 1 tbsp
thenga kothu / coconut bits 1 tbsp
cardamom powder 1/2 tsp (optional)

Method

• Wash and soak the rice for 4-5 hours. Melt the jaggery in 1/4 cup water and strain impurities. The syrup should be about 1/2 cup now. 
• Add the rice in the blender jar and add the 1/2 cup jaggery syrup to the rice to grind in batches to a coarse paste. The ground paste should look like it’s 3/4th ground and shouldn’t be ground to a smooth paste (VERY IMPORTANT POINT).
• Add salt and sesame seeds to this mix. Add cardamom powder if using and give a quick stir.
• Heat ghee in a pan and fry the coconut bits till lightly brown. Add this to the batter along with ghee.

• Mix and rest the batter for 5- 6 hours in summers. If you stay or make during winters then 7-8 hours may be needed to ferment. Over fermentation  or under fermentation may not give good results. Over fermented batter drinks up more oil and the batter flows out of shape. Under fermented may yield hard solid rock like appam and will not float in oil once frying.

• Heat oil in a pan upto  3" deep. Wait till the oil is moderately hot and add a drop of batter in oil to check if the oil is hot. if the batter puffs up and floats on oil then the oil is hot enough to make appams.
• Pour ladleful of batter to the center of the pan and leave undisturbed. It may take around 1 minute for the appams to puff up and float on top of the oil. Wait patiently for anothe 30 seconds before you actually flip the other side. The bottom side is thick and may take a little longer to cook and the batter may not be cooked properly if you try flipping early.

• Reduce the heat slightly so that the inside also gets cooked properly by flipping both sides. (Don't reduce the flame too low as it may turn the appams hard).
• Repeat the same step of frying till you finish making all neyyapams. You can make a total of 11- 13 appams with this amount of batter.
• Drain on paper towels and the cool completely before storing in air tight containers. Stays good outside at room temperature for 2-3 days.
• Enjoy with a cup of black tea.

NOTES
* Adding cardamom powder is optional, it adds a flavor.
* The consistency of the batter is important in making neyyapams. Read the tips below to get right neyyappam.
* You can make neyyappam using puttu podi, learn in this link how to make puttu podi at home. Use fresh sieved puttu podi to make neyyappam, don't roast. Store brought puttu podi may not work good as its roasted.

TIPS FOR MAKING A GOOD TRADITIONAL NEYYAPPAM

• Preferably use a iron kadai or skillet to make these appams. Also the skillet should be on the deeper side to hold shapes. 
• The coarse batter is ideal for making the neyyappam.
• The sweetness of the batter should be slightly more than required before leaving for fermentation. Then only the sweetness may turn correct once cooked. The amount of jaggery used here yields a just sweet neyyappam. If you like a moderately sweet appam add more jaggery syrup.
• The batter shouldn't be over fermented as it will drink more oil and also it won't hold the proper shape and the batter may flow out.
• The oil should be moderately hot and then only the batter should be poured.
• Pour a ladle of batter to the center of the pan as soon as the oil is hot. Don't move the oil with spoon until the batter slowly puffs up and floats on top like a poori(may take 1 minute). Wait patiently for another 30 seconds to float and then only flip to the other side. Once puffed the inside cooks faster and can be cooked on medium heat. Don't lower the heat very low as the neyyappams turn hard.
• Try making one appam each time or else it may not become cook good.

RELATED POSTS 

* Unniyappam (2 versions)

* Rava Dates Unniyappam

* Chakka Unniyappam

Kaplanga (Omakka) Erissery | Raw Papaya Curry ~ Step by Step Pics

Erissery is one of the items in sadya menu however you can always make this at home otherwise too. Erissery is a thick gravy curry that pairs good with hot steamed rice. There are varied number of ways you can make erissery by using different vegetables like pumpkin, vazhakka (raw banana). I love the mathanga erissery the most, as the sweetness in the pumpkin adds a distinct flavor to the erissery. 

Erissery is also made adding legumes like cow peas to the vegetables and then cooked but you can always make the erissery with vegetables alone too. I was longing for a raw papaya to make thoran or stir fry. Sooner did we reach home for perunnal(church feast)and there in our backyard,we have plenty of them. H plucked a few thinking I was mad in love with raw papaya and we bought it here as there was no time to cook there along with perunnal dishes and none wanted papaya along with non veg dishes. After landing here, I made papaya thoran and then thought why not give this erissery a try which really worked good. Kids are not a fan of raw papaya but somehow ate papaya thoran, however warned me not to prepare the thoran again as they were like fed up. I didn't wish to waste this veggie which came all the way from home and so made erissery. Believe me, none would know the erissery is made with the raw papaya. So this recipe actually worked out.

Raw papaya once cooked in cooker and then mashed will not give a slight tinge that its raw papaya. After tasting the erissery I concluded that this can be included in our menu as all loved it but a semi ripe papaya would be better for making this erissery. Next time I would love to get hold of a semi ripe one to prepare this erissery. The preparation is very simple and easy to make. The tempering with grated coconut adds the unique flavor and aroma to the curry, enjoy !!

Preparation time ~ 10 minutes
Cooking time ~ 20 minutes
Serves ~ 4-5 
Ingredients
raw papaya 2 cups diced
turmeric powder 1/2 tsp
salt to taste
sugar a pinch (optional)

to grind
coconut grated 1/2 cup
jeerakam / cumin seeds 1/2 tsp
garlic cloves 2-3
red chilly powder 3/4 tsp

to temper
coconut grated 2 tbsp
red dry chilly 2 broken
curry leaves 2 sprig
mustard seeds 1 tsp

Method

• Wash and peel the skin of the papaya. Wash the pieces under running water. Add this pieces to the cooker and add half a cup of water, turmeric powder and salt. Pressure cook for two whistles and wait till the pressure is released.
• In the meantime, grind the coconut with cumin seeds, chilly powder and garlic cloves. Ground to a smooth paste.

• Mash the cooked papaya pieces slightly. Cook again and then add the ground paste to the cooked papaya. Adjust the salt and add sugar if using(sugar helps to balance the flavours). If you are using a semi ripe papaya then omit the added sugar. Simmer the curry over low flame for 2 minutes.Switch off flame.

• Heat oil in a kadai and add oil to temper. Splutter mustard seeds, broken red dry chilly and curry leaves. Add the grated coconut to this and fry till golden brown. Pour this over the curry.
• Keep covered for another 5 minutes till the flavors seep in and then serve warm with hot steamed rice.

NOTES
* Use fresh raw papaya as the older raw papaya leaves out a bitterness once cooked.
* Try using a semi ripe papaya where in the outer skin looks green and the core turns slightly orange whereas the inside otherwise is white. I feel the mild sweetness will add the unique flavor to erissery.
* Tempering with grated coconut is very important to this curry as it adds a unique flavor and aroma.
* I haven't mashed the raw papaya pieces fully but you can always do if you wish to do. Also I made the gravy semi watery but you can reduce the amount of water and make thick.

RELATED POSTS
* Papaya Thoran
* Raw Papaya Paratha
* Papaya Moru Curry

Chakka Avalose Unda | Jackfruit Balls (Step By Step Pics)

Chakka kanichu kothipicho ? So sorry folks !!
I know its not fair to showcase recipes that require seasonal fruits esp jackfruit. Am also longing to see them in season soon. This is from my drafts that gets to see light now as I was on hibernation, hi hi. Last season I got hold of a good bunch of jackfruit in season and tried out many recipes but relocating and settling to a new place forbid me from clicking pictures many a time as I was setting up the home, the camera was packed and many such vague reasons. Anyways wish jackfruits are soon in season to click all the tried out recipes and share in my space.

This is one such keeper that you can bookmark to try out soon. I happened to watch a cookery show wherein they used pineapple in this recipe and I had jackfruits ready at hand then. Why not give the unda(balls) a try with jackfruit ? Immediately tried it out and everything got over within minutes. I had to try again to post here the second time but this time I tried this when all were away to school and office. Smart me? hmmm.. Clicked all pictures and as soon as kids came they just grabbed few and gobbled.

The sweet soft filling inside with jackfruit, grated coconut, cardamom flavor reminds of Jackfruit ela ada(chakka ada). and the outer covering tastes like avalose unda. So its a cute surprise inside avalose unda. Interesting ? Am sure kids will fall for these cute balls. Try these out for an evening snack and am sure it gets over in minutes. You can use store brought avalose podi too to roll these balls and can make the filling ahead and store in fridge. Isn't that great to shape them and surprise your guests.

Preparation time ~ 10 mins
Cooking time ~ 10 mins
Serves ~ 12 - 14 small balls
Ingredients
chakka / ripe jackfruit 1 cup sliced
avalose podi 1.5- 2 cups
sharkara / jaggery 1/2 cup
grated coconut 1/2 cup
cardamom powder 1/2 tsp
chukku podi 1/4 tsp

Method

• Deseed the jackfruit and slice them in small pieces. Keep aside.
• Heat a pan and add the jaggery to melt adding 1/4 cup water. Strain to remove any impurities, put back the syrup in pan. Let it come to a boil and get a one string consistency.

• In that add grated coconut and mix. The fresh grated coconut leaves out water so continue cooking till the moisture is dried out (If you are adding dry dessicated coconut then the moisture dries out soon, keep a check).  Now add cardamom powder, chukku podi give a quick mix. Then finally add sliced jackfruit pieces. Cook the jackfruit slightly on high flame as you don't want to lose the crunchiness completely and dry out the moisture (may take another 2-3 mins). Switch off flame and leave to cool slightly and start making balls out of the mixture. 

• The mixture may be sticky and may get shapeless balls (can add a little ghee to the palm and try rolling). Its okay to have shapeless balls as we will again roll in avalose podi to get shapes.
• Add the avalose podi in a plate and place the rolled mixture on this. Roll each ball in the avalose podi and make balls firmly by pressing by placing in our palm(as seen in pics).  Place on a plate with a spread of avalose podi to coat once again, wait to cool completely. Serve with tea.

NOTES
* The filling inside is soft with a crumbly coating of avalose on the outside.
* I have already shared the recipe of avalose podi in this post, check out.
* Remember to get one string consistency of jaggery before adding coconut an jackfruit pieces.
* Adding chukku podi is optional but I prefer as jackfruit causes gastric discomfort.
* You can use dry dessicated coconut from market (unsweetened). Also can use store brought avalose podi to make this recipe but I have used homemade avalose podi.
* Alter the amount of jaggery depending on the sweetness of jackfruit.
* I haven't stored these for long after making as gets over soon in a small batch. So am not sure of the shelf life.