Cooking Is Easy

Cherry cookies , butter cookies filled with cherries....learn to make cherry cookies with step by step picture tutorial. Just the other day, while visiting the local bakery I bought some cherries on an impulse without thinking what I will make with it....for just Rs 20/ INR....some 50 gm or so....once I reached home I looked at the cherries and they back at me for I don't know how long....and thus these cherry cookies were born in my oven in my tiny weeny kitchen.  I  decided to chop up the cherries with the help of my food processor and was eager to see how my cookies will turn out to be.... The cookies turned out to be crunchy.....and kids loved this ruby studded cookies.... This is my basic butter cookies recipe...the egg yolk is a must, do not skip it......you can also try other variations like adding chocolate chips, nuts, tutti frutti......and Elsy, if you are reading this thank you for giving me this recipe. So lets get baking! I...

Aval or Rice flakes   vilayichathu is a simple teatime snack....a jaggery - coconut coated snack. Aval known as poha, is beaten, dried flakes of rice. You can use any type of aval like brown rice or white rice....though brown rice aval is a bit thicker than the white rice aval. Here I used brown rice aval. This snack can be stored for up to 1 or 2 weeks at room temperature. Most malayalies mix aval vilayichathu with ripe plantain or "pazham" ....you can even have it on its own. It is supposed to be healthy with jaggery and coconut....well that's what my grandma (ammachi) used to say during my childhood....so I make this often for my kids...ofcourse they mix it with ripe plantain and have it as an after-school-snack. Do check out aval nanachathu ,  a similar version of this snack which can be made instantly. List of Onam Sadya Recipes Ingredients: Aval (brown or white rice): 1 kg. Jaggery: 1/2 kg. Water: 1/2 to 1 cup. Cardomon: 4 or 5. Roasted Jee...

I had a brief visit to Kottayam this weekend and saw this "pukalam" or floral carpet at Kottayam Railway Station. Thought I will share this wonderful floral carpet. Wishing all my friends and readers A Happy Onam.

I make cheemen (prawns) pickle often because my son just loves it. He loves to take it school and "share" with his friends and I end up making 2 batches a week.

Yesterday night I made palak rice again and I added a cup of boiled chana (chickpeas) to it before adding the rice. Believe me...it was awesome. It was a power packed dinner for my kids. Kids enjoyed. So did we both :) Last time I made palak rice I gave detailed step by step pictures , please go to that post for the recipe. Palak and chana....need anything more healthier than this....perfect for lunch box. Add the chana/chickpea after the spinach is sauted. Then add rice and close cooker.... click here   for detailed step by step post..... The rice is cooked perfectly with the channa. Serve hot with raita.

Easy Pressure Cooker Semiya Payasam  is one of the best delights of Onam. Today is "Atham", people start Onam festivities by putting pookalam or floral carpet in front of their homes to welcome Mahabali. I am sharing pressure cooker semiya payasam (kheer) for my friends today. Amma used to make this payasam since my childhood. This is entirely cooked in a pressure cooker and not with condensed milk, though the taste of the payasam makes you wonder if there is condensed milk in it. This payasam have the same taste of ambalapuzha paal payasam or that's what those who taste this states. Since milk and sugar is pressure cooked for 30 min and opened after another 30 min, the milk will turn light pinkish in colour and slightly thicker. I used homogenized milk and added only a teaspoon of ghee to lightly fry the cashewnuts and raisins. If you are using plain vermicili do not forget to fry them in a tsp of ghee, I used roasted vermicili. From my...

Eid Mubarak to all! After a long time we bought spring chicken today. This one weighed about 400-500 gms. We had a wonderful lunch today with this chicken fry and I thought I will share it with you. The chicken has to be marinated in curd along with masala for a few hours and fried in oil on low flame. I added 1 tbsp of rice flour to the curd....this gives a crunchiness. The chicken fry was tender, juicy and crunchy on the outside. Ingredients: Spring Chicken: 1, cut into pieces. (about 500 gms). Curd: 1/3 cup. Rice Flour: 1 tbsp. Kashmiri Red Chilly Powder: 2 tbsp (if using spicy red chilly reduce by half and add red color). Ajwain: A fat pinch. Garam masala powder: 1/2 tsp. Pepper Powder: 1/2 tsp. Turmeric Powder: 1/4 tsp. Lemon Juice: 1 tbsp. Ginger Garlic Paste: 1 tsp. Salt. Curry leaves. Oil for frying. Method: Lightly whisk the curd with a fork, and add all the spices (masala). Mix the chicken pieces in it and keep aside for 2 hours in...