Cooking Is Easy

I love peanut candy....and I know you also love this....it is a comfort snack for me....love to munch it while relaxing in front of TV or reading a book....this is every malayali 's favorite snack.....from time immemorial. Most of the shops be it a supermarket or the small petti kada aka local grocery shop has kappalandi mittai aka peanut candy......during one of the winter spells in Mercara, Coorg a casual chat with my friend Sheena resulted in her mentioning that she makes them at home.....Wow!!! being a novice at cooking at that time....I was surprised at the ease with which she used to make this.....and when I also tried it came out so crispy and crunchy that it was better than the store brought ones....soon it became the most wanted snack at my house.....if there is roasted and skinless peanuts ready....peanut candy can be ready in about 10 min...and that is superfast right???. After coming to Calicut, I had difficulty in getting roasted and skinless ones....so I buy 1/2

Yesterday, I had to go to my kids school because Nidhi had fever and she had maths test (FA-4; as per new CBSC syllabus), she did not want to miss the test, since she was adamant to go, I told her that I will come and pick her up before lunch break.. .So I went before lunch break and there is a receptionist in the school....I was waiting for my chance to speak to her about Nidhi...a boy must be 14 or 15 yrs old was asking the lady whether he could use the school phone to ring up his mother very politely....now what caught my attention was the rude way the lady questioned the boy.....I felt she was questioning him rather harshly....there were other parents around....and the boy lost his cool and started stammering.....finally the receptionist allowed him to call his mom......the boy must have felt very bad in front of all the adults.....this made me observe the receptionist more closely....I found she was behaving like that to each and every child who come up to her....if it is a

Idiyappams with its snow white color garnished with grated coconut is one of the traditional healthy breakfast of Kerala .....it is healthy because it is steamed to cook....The main ingredient is rice flour....traditionally rice is washed cleaned and dried and powdered in the local mill and roasted....this can be kept for months and kozhukkatai, ada , pidi, idiyappam, pottu etc can be made with rice flour....now-a-days ready made rice flour is available at supermarkets...Asian stores..... It is one of the easiest and healthiest breakfast and best served with any spicy curry....veg or non veg.....some like it with sweetened coconut milk poured over it...my kids love it with just plain sugar. Boiling water is poured into the rice flour, salt and mixed with a spoon to make it into a dough...it is allow to cool and then it is put into the idiyappam press and pressed into greased idli mould with a tsp of grated coconut and steamed till cooked. Its a vegan breakfast

This is one of my favorite pudding because it is easy to make and no baking or cooking is needed...I first tasted this at my brother's place...his wife ie my sis-in-law Vava (yes!!! thats her pet name...she is the smallest in her family and the name suits her too because of her petite frame) made this for an occasion some 10 years back.... ever since..it topped my pudding list. Actually the recipe was handed down from Vava's mom Leelamma. This pudding is always a huge success....and disappears...within minutes.....the best thing is no sort of cooking is required if you have pineapple preserve or tinned pineapple at hand. I always preserve pineapple so that makes it easier for me.....if fresh pineapple is available.....just take half of the fruit and chop it and throw in some sugar and put it on fire till it is nicely cooked.....that is pineapple stewed. Another thing is there is raw egg in it....I have not tried substituting the raw eggs.....because I don't wan

Methi rice or Methi pulav, is a wonderful rice dish made with methi/fenugreek leaves. Fenugreek is very good to lower your blood sugar levels....it is very diabetic friendly...it is said in ayurveda that a few methi seeds in the morning will help in controlling diabetics. My Coorgi friend Simi Mutthappa is a wonderful cook and she makes excellent methi pulao....the first time I had this pulao at her place....it was like I thought what did she add extra to make this pulav soooo flavourful other than the methi leaves.....and as we became great friends she shared this recipe.....and whenever I make this for my family and friends.....the same question is always asked "what did u add to get this flavor??". Simi and her husband Mutthappa has a  home-stay  in Mercara near the Old Race Course Road.....the up-stair part they have converted beautifully into a home-stay....and has excellent views of Mercara...did I mention that Simi is a wonderful cook.....she makes the mos

Methi leaves brings nostalgic memories of Coorg ( Kodagu ) otherwise known as the Scotland of India. Having lived in Mercara ( Madikeri ) for 7 years gave me Coorgi friends and an opportunity to explore their cuisine….which is very versatile. I have been thinking for a while to share some Coorgi dishes, so I thought why not post it under a new label “Coorg”, so that my blogger friends can also get the taste of Coorg. Coorgs has a different and unique style of preparing food be it pork fry (pandi fry), akki roti (rice roti), Kadumpottu, noolputtu, papputtu….and so on. Rice is the staple food. So mornings are always started with Akki roti, which is made of cooked rice and rice powder….Coorgs love pork and their pork curry or fry is very different…the masala for the pork is the main tastemaker followed by the kacham puli (which is the puli they use for their curries)…So I hope to take u all on a tour to Coorg and give you a taste of that beautiful hill station.…..so watch out for

The other day I was out shopping and I saw a street vendor selling used books, I crossed the road and just browsed his collection and to my disbelief I found cookbooks!!!. That day I was the proud owner of some real classic cookbooks..... The Cookie Book from Wisconsin Energy Company was a surprise treat for me....it is a compilation of recipes from Wisconsin Energy Company employees...I like this kind of collection as they are usually tried and tested ....It was a 1998 edition book with just cookie recipes....cookies of all kinds...classic cookies, traditional cookies, shaped cookies and so on....ah you all guessed it right, you gals can expect more cookies from my side :). The book starts with some traditional cookies and the very first one was Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies and that too you won't believe.....with wheat flour.....not a bit of all purpose flour....just plain whole wheat flour!!! Oh boy I was very glad I mean here I was baking with just all purpose flour and