Love and Calories!!

A dish has to come from Goa, the smallest, coolest & most happening state of India. I don't have to give an introduction of Goa as the whole world knows about it. It is the tourists HOT SPOT. So let me just move on to its FOOD. The long period of Portuguese rule has left a major influence on the original style of Goan cooking & this resulted in an exotic variation of tasty and spicy cuisine . I still remember my Goan trip during college days. Enjoying in Baga Beach with friends, relishing some amazing prawn curry and next day morning, had a cup of coffee to remove the hangover of the Cashew Fenny. (Well, That I just added up....I just had two sips and I puked). :) "Prawn Balchao" is a favourite Goan dish which can be preserved for a couple of days. In fact, its tangy taste is at its best after a day or so. It can be stored as a pickle for longer, if preservatives are added. But in my house, there's no need to add preservatives as it gets over the moment ...

This savoury breakfast dish is an origin of Maharashtra, a West Indian State, also the Land of the Great Marathas. The world-known India's metropolitan city "Bombay" is the capital of Maharashtra. Out of all the places I resided, Bombay remains the most loved city still. "Kanda Poha" a popular savoury snack also known as Avil Upma in other parts of India is super delicious and easy to cook quick nutritious snack. "Kanda" in Marathi means onion and "Poha" is a dehusked rice which is beaten or flattened into dry flakes. I was first introduced to this dish by my Aunt Asha Ammai(Chachi)when I was in Bombay (I still like to call Mumbai as Bombay) and was about 7 yrs old. She was newly married at that time and she had to show case her culinary skills to my grandma, grandpa and my parents. As she was born and brought up in Bombay, she used to cook all the Maharashtrian dishes. My taste buds for the first time was exposed to new kinds of flavour...

First of all let me thank my dear friend Maria Ferreto (Italian by birth), who cooked for us (Arun and myself) a sumptuous dinner two weeks back. I am a great fan of Italian Cuisine and when I got a perfectly home cooked authentic Italian, I was blown away. From starters to the main course, it was just too delicious. And she ended the dinner with a Bang by serving us the most lip - smacking dish (Tiramisu) of the day which will not be forgotten for a long long time. For your Information Maria..I have stopped buying the Frozen Tiramisu from the Tesco. ;) But today, I will be sharing the recipe of Maria's Main Course, "Chicken Fricassee"! Tiramisu will be coming soon to the blog. ;) A "Fricassee" is a dish mainly prepared with any poultry or mushrooms served in a white sauce or a stew. Mainly Fricassees are prepared at European homes and very rarely seen in the restaurant menus. The meat is first lightly browned and then stewed in a broth for around an hour s...

"Ulli Chammanthi" is the very famous chutney of Kerala.Needless to say, my favourite too. One in every 3 houses in Kerala will definitely have Ulli Chammanthi for their breakfast. It usually compliments well with idlis and any type of South Indian Dosas. My mom-in-law makes it super-duper delicious. If you get a good home made Ulli Chammanthi, then don't even think of counting the number of idlis or Dosas which go inside your tummy. :) "Ulli" in Malayalam means Onion and "Chammanthi" means Chutney. No coconut required unlike other Kerala dishes, but we definitely leave the Malayalee imprints in every Kerala dish, so we drizzle a generous amount of coconut oil. :) Please do try making it at home and you will see people lick off their plate even after the idlis and dosas are long gone. :) Ingredients: 5-6 medium onions (peeled and cut into chunks) 1 tomato (cut into chunks) 3 whole dry red chillies 1 tbsp of cooking oil salt to taste coconut oil to driz...

Another tasty dish coming from South India, Andhra Pradesh. It is one of the four South Indian States. Andhra Cuisine is well known for its spiciness and their generous use of chillies in almost all of their authentic dishes. The famous Hyderabadi Biriyani, Gongura pickles, Pappu, Pulusu are some of the creations from Andhra. One of the Andhra delicacy is the famous Breakfast dish, "Pesarattu". "Pesarattu", is a type of Crepe or the South Indian Dosa made out of Whole/Split Green Gram or the mung beans. This protein rich, delicious dish is so very easy to prepare and also healthy, that you can have it once in a week. 2-3 Pesarattu for Breakfast with yummy ginger or coconut chutney or even Sambar will make your day "Tummy Satisfied". :) Ingredients: 2 cups mung beans (whole/split green gram) 3 whole dry red chillies 2 tsp chopped ginger 1 medium onion (finely chopped) 3-4 green chillies (finely chopped) 1 tbsp of chopped coriander leaves 2 tsp cumin se...

Now before I proceed on to my next dish, I would like to tell you all, that this dish is made by my hubby dear. Last Weekend, out of the blue, he said that he will be making the weekend's Brunch and he chose to make "Gobi ke Paranthe"!! I was shell shocked to hear that coming. I was actually in a fix, whether to sit back and relax or should I worry about my Kitchen. But the outcome was just super-duper delicious so I forgave him about the mess done. "Gobi ke Paranthe" is yet another North Indian Breakfast dish which is super rich, delicious and very filling. Paranthas can be stuffed with potatoes, radishes, paneer etc. This parantha is stuffed with grated cauliflower. This recipe is a literal representation of the "Love and Calories" put into it. So easy a recipe, that even a Man can do it. :) For the Dough : 3 cups wheat flour (plus some for dusting) 1 tbsp ghee (clarified buter) pinch of salt enough water to make a dough In a mixing bowl, mix togeth...

I am not a very fruit loving person and rarely buy any fruit. But lately, due to the fear of me becoming obese, I have started buying fruits and started including in my daily diet. Not quiet loving it but I try to make it taste more exciting rather than eating it raw. So today morning, I wanted to have a light breakfast (after the hangover of yesterday's heavy Sadya) and I decided to have the banana and mango which was kept for the Vishu Kanni. They came handy this morning. So I made a fruit Smoothie, had a large glass of it and went for an hour long walk by the canal. :) A " Smoothie " is a health drink which is made by blending various fresh or frozen fruits or vegetables with some natural ingredients like honey, yoghurt, milk, oats, chocolate, and some crushed ice. It is often mistook as a milk shake and slush but it is not the same. It does not have any syrup or flavours added to it unlike milk shake and slush. So here goes a Healthy Breakfast Smoothie. Just sip a...

Today, the Keralites celebrate one of their biggest festivals of the year, Vishu! And I wish all of you a very Happy Vishu. May this year bring you good Health, Wealth and Prosperity. Yesterday evening I went to the supermarket and bought all possible substitutes for the things which you keep for the "Vishu Kanni". Honeydew Melon for Vellarika, Yellow grapefruits instead of jack fruit and so on...Well we managed to keep up our tradition in UK as well. :) Below are the pictures of our Vishu Kanni and the Sadya spread. Well didn't find a Plantain leaf though! :) Avial is yet another simple but delightful dish served in a Sadya. This is one of my favourite vegetarian dish of Kerala. I call it the Indian "Thai Green curry" as the ingredients and the way of cooking are quite similar in both the dishes. My granny used to tell me a story behind the invention of Avial. It was Bheema (one of the Pandava brothers in Mahabharatha) who first cooked Avial. He along with ...

A "Sadya" is a Banquet or a feast prepared for a special event such as Birthdays, Weddings, or festivities like Vishu and Onam. It is an authentic vegetarian meal comprising of atleast 12 to 24 dishes served on a plantain/banana leaf (see the below picture) and people eat together sitting cross - legged on the floor. There is a specific place for each dish to be served on the plantain leaf.I will try to share the recipes of some of the main dishes made for a Sadya without which any Sadya is incomplete. "Kaalan" is a one of the vegetarian delight served at a Sadya. It is a thick yoghurt - coconut based gravy cooked with tuber yam and raw plantain. It is a must have curry in a Sadya and is the only dish which is prepared the day before the Sadya as it tastes even better when served the next day. Almost all the Sadya gravies have yoghurt and coconut as their main ingredients but you need sour yoghurt to make Kaalan. Tomorrow is Vishu and I have prepared my Kaalan a...