Cooking Is Easy

Mango Juice, mangoes are the best thing about summer! Homemade mango juice tops the list of summer drinks, I mean who wouldn't love a tall glass of iced mango juice to cool down. Sometimes, I'd like to serve Mango Milk Shake to my kids with a bit of mango chunks thrown it for added surprise....but when it comes to Mango Juice, I like to serve it chilled. Have you tried Mango Mouse , Mango Ice Cream , Mango Ice Cubes , and Mango Curry yet? Some days back, I shared how to freeze mango puree/pulp which I have been doing for a long time. I stack my freezer with mango puree, so that we could enjoy mangoes even when the season is over. I'd like to share this particular mango juice which has been made by that puree by adding water and topped with ice cubes. Some of you asked for the reason for adding sugar and like I mentioned in the comments, it is to improve flavor and help stabilize color and also use it for making juice or even in desserts.... I mean that make

Chicken Fajitas! Pan roasted chicken, peppers, onions wrapped in whole wheat Indian Flat-bread, makes an easy and filling meal. I made this with very little oil for a guilt free meal! Fajitas are usually wrapped with flour tortillas, but here I took Indian Roti for the wrap, roti is 100% whole wheat and healthy. Fajitas are traditionally made with grilled skirt steak, though, these days it is more common with chicken, shrimp, fish, tofu.....I am leaving the rest for your imagination. When I got some chicken breasts, I thought of making chicken fajitas for my kids, so I marinated the chicken with some red chilly flakes, lemon juice, garlic, salt and turmeric.....and the next day...I seared the chicken with minimal oil in a pan....after all, fajitas is all about grilling or roasting meat. Once the chicken is cooked and cooled down, just slice them......in the same pan the vegetables are roasted or seared or stir fried....take your pick here; too. My Indianized version

Freezing Mango Puree / mango pulp is the best way to preserve fresh mangoes and use them later when mangoes are not in season. Mangoes are in season, so what are you waiting for?? Stock your freezer with homemade mango puree . Recently, I saw a pack of mango puree /pulp in the supermarket and was astonished to find that a litre of it costs about $13 (about Rs 750) .....can you believe 750 Rs for a can of mango puree....Here in Kerala, Mango trees adorn most backyards, parks....and 1 kg of good quality mangoes cost anywhere between 40 to 60 Rs only and the fact that I have been doing this from such a long time....and when I saw the price tag on the mango puree can, I knew I had to share this.....so that you can save some money and preserve mangoes for longer time....and make mango ice cubes , mango ice cream , mango milkshake ... I made this mango puree with 2 kilo of fresh ripened mangoes and got 1 liter of puree......what you see in the container is the result of 2 kilos of p

Mathi Pollichathu is an easy traditional fish curry of Kerala. Mathi or sardines are cooked in tomatoes and coconut milk, with coconut oil. Meen pollichathu is usually made in vazhayila or banana leaf, and the most favorite is karimeen pollichathu . Mathi / Sardines are very healthy and a rich source of omega-3 fatty acids, and it is always best to include these kinds of low fat curries in our daily diet. Pollichathu literally means heating up, so traditionally, fish  and the masala are wrapped in banana leaf and heated on a clay pot over slow fire. Shallots or cheriya ulli is used instead of onion. This recipe is twisted to a modern version by amma and she uses onions and without banana leaf....if you have access to banana leaf, you can cover the curry with the leaf, so that the subtle flavor seeps in....in good old days, amma says that my grandmother used to make with less tomato and used toddy vinegar....but here I am using synthetic vinegar. This mathi (sardine) pollicha

Shrimp fried rice with vegetables is my idea of a quick under 30-minute dinner idea. Packed with lots of shrimp and vegetables unlike the typical "takeaway" where a bowl of shrimp fried rice, would just have 3-4 shrimps.  My son, loves this Chinese style shrimp fried rice so much that, I make whenever I get some fresh shrimp. Living in coastal Kerala, fresh seafood is a blessing. Making fried rice is a breeze if you have left over cooked rice, otherwise; when I plan to make...the first thing I do is, I set a pot of water to boil to get the rice cooked. For me, fried rice is an excellent way to add vegetables into my kids diet, moms please take note of this.  Sometimes, I make vegetable fried rice the easy way.  I lightly fried the shrimp in oil and stir fried the vegetables in the same oil....because I wanted everything to be bursting with the shrimp flavor. Step by Step Method: Serves: 4. I cubed one carrot, half of a capsicum, and white part of the gre

Kerala Appam Recipe - a ppam or palappam also known as Srilankan hoppers is one of the most favorite breakfast of Kerala; its vegan and gluten free too. In some parts of Kerala it is also known as Lace Appam. Usually, appam is made for an elaborate Sunday breakfast and paired with mutton or chicken stew ....I remember indulging in appam and stew as a kid after Sunday Mass.......or when there is a special occasion in the family... palappam and stew is the preferred choice. Towards, the North of Kerala, appam is known as vellayappam , but I have noticed that both are totally different as palappam is fermented traditionally with "kallu" or coconut toddy and nowadays with  yeast. For vellayappam it is fermented with coconut water itself and a pinch of baking soda....though I have tried it a few times, but was not satisfied with the result hence it still has not found its place here on the blog. Back in October 2010 I posted palappam recipe and at at that time,

Baked chocolate fudge for two is the best way to end a romantic evening, topped with vanilla ice cream and bursting with chocolate is one of the best dessert I ever had! Baked fudge in all of its gooey chocolate glory has been downsized to just two servings, yeah! no second helpings at all....and easy way to satisfy my chocolate craving. Its not a brownie and definitely not a cake......it lies somewhere between both!  The plus point for desserts for two.....is that you have the whole serving for yourself.....and you are not expected to share...well, I am a bit selfish with my chocolate desserts. Downsizing is my latest fad, atleast when I am on a diet.....and weekend dessert binges can wreak havoc on my diets, so downsizing desserts works well.....and the plus point is no leftovers. I made this baked fudge for just the two of us! It was perfect! This dessert can be doubled or even tripled. The beauty of this baked fudge is that it has a crusty top with a sort o