Kerala Style Beef with Bell Peppers

There are only few preparations of beef I tried in my kitchen.  Among them the Kerala style beef ularthiyathu (spicy roast) is my favorite.  Today’s post is a slight variation to the regular Kerala style beef.  Kerala beef fry is a delicacy served in southern part of India which is close to the heart of Keralites even if they are far away from home.  Beef cooked with a handful of spices are then stir fried with freshly crushed pepper.  This spicy dish is usually served with plain steamed rice, Roti or Chapathi (Indian flat bread).

The wacky presentation of this recipe doesn’t give justice to the beef dish.  But I can assure you that it was a yummy beef variation I tried and was a perfect combination with radish Paratha (stuffed Indian flat bread) I served with.  I used Top Sirloin cut beef for this preparation, which is supposed to have lower fat content that other parts.  The bell pepper imparts a nice flavor to the spicy beef preparation.

The piece of banana leaf you see was supposed to be the 'Fresh Banana Leaf’ I got from Indian store.  Few months ago I heard from someone that our nearby Indian grocery store carries fresh banana leaves.  I was impelled further by my friend Vineetha’s post at Malabar Ruchi to get hold of some fresh leaves.  The next day, I paid a visit to the store to grab some leaves.  To my dismay, the store owner told me to special order.  He gave me the details, it was a bit expensive for single leave, but I told him to order it as I was so determined to get it.  He took my phone# to confirm the arrival and pickup.  A day later I got a call at work from him confirming the order.  I was over excited and shared the news with hubby and kids, not sure if they really cared or not :).  Couple of days later I got another call confirming the arrival of the leaves.  The next day after work, I picked up my kids and rushed to the Indian store to get the precious leaves.  The helper in the store took us to back of the store and opened the cooler room and cut opened a very long box, I was impatiently waiting.  He took the first leaf out and I was shocked, it was all ripped and wilted.  Seeing my face, he told me to pick what I want.  Frantically I started checking the rest of the leaves and picked one which was 60% ripped :(, the best I could get from there.  With a smile on the face, the guy told me I am sorry this is what we get.  You can imagine my feeling.  It was hard for me to determine my emotion, shocked, disappointed, sad… not sure…my daughter told me it’s OK Mom, let’s get one leaf and go home.  Apparently I was not able to make the breakfast what Vineetha posted with the leaves, but used a piece for the picture.  So the gloomy look of the picture reveals my attitude towards the leaf :). 

Here is the recipe for Kerala Style Beef with Bell Peppers.  Give this recipe a try and have a great weekend!!!

Ingredients
1 1/2 lb - Top Sirloin beef cut into 2 cm long strips
1 1/2 cup - red onions sliced thinly
10 - garlic cloves thinly sliced
2 inch - ginger finely chopped
1 - tomato chopped
1/2 tsp - turmeric powder
1/2 tsp - ground pepper
1/2 tsp - garam masala powder
1/2 tsp - chili powder
1 tsp - coriander powder
1/4 tsp - asafoetida powder
1/4 tsp - mustard seeds
1/4 cup - coconut pieces (Thenga kotthu)
1/4 cup - water
1 sprig - curry leaves
2 tbsp - oil
salt to taste

To saute
10 - small shallots/pearl onions thinly sliced
10 - whole peppercorns slightly crushed
1 - bay leaf
1 cm - cinnomon stick
2 - cardamom pods
2 - cloves
1/2 - green bell pepper cut into 2 cm long strips
1 - sprig curry leaves
2 tbsp - oil

Directions

• Clean and drain the water from beef and keep it aside.
• Take a non stick pan and splutter 1/4 tsp of mustard seeds in 2 tbsp of oil.  Cook the garlic and ginger till it gets slightly brown.  Now add sliced onions and salt and cook till light golden brown.  Add turmeric, corainder powder, chili powder, ground pepper, garam masala and asafoetida and cook till raw smell goes away for 2 -3 minutes.  Now add the chopped tomatoes and cook till soft.
• Add the beef, coconut pieces, curry leaves and 1/4 cup of water and cook well covered on low to medium heat till desired texture is attained and all the moisture is dried up.
• Take another non-stick pan and heat 2 tbsp of oil.  Add the whole spices like cinnamon, bay leaf, cardamom and roast for 2 minutes.  Add the sliced shallots and bell pepper, give a good stir to mix well.  When the shallots turns translucent, add the crushed pepper.  You can smell the aroma of crushed pepper.  Add the cooked beef and saute to 2 -3 minutes till the bell pepper is cooked.  Don't over cook it, so that it will lose the green color.  Add the curry leaves and mix well and turn off the burner.
• Enjoy the spicy beef with rice or any of the Indian flat breads like Roti, Chapathi or Paratha.

Berry Mousse Chocolate Cake

I was reminded of baking a cake for Mother's day by my friend Manju who blogs at Manju's Eating Delights when she posted the stunning cupcakes she made for a bake sale.  There was plenty of chocolate in my pantry and I thought to bake a chocolate based cake on Sunday, since there was church on Saturday.  My cake baking plans occur spontaneously, they are not well planned and executed.  Thinking that I have a full day of Saturday to determine what to bake I went back to my daily routine on Friday.  Went to grocery shopping after work, picked up kids.  While I was driving back home, I heard some whispering behind me between Noah and Nicole.  I pretended like clueless.  They sneaked the gift bags into their school bags after showing each other.  Finally I reached home.  There comes the call from hubby, we are going to do the Mother's day party at our house on Saturday after church.  We have an extended family here and the brothers decided to have the party at our house.  I was in total panic, how am I going to cook for 30 people (including kids) within this short time.  To my relief, there comes the sweet words from my hubby, Men are taking care of the food, you don't have to cook.  Hubby ordered food from a nearby Indian restaurant and other brothers BBQ ed and brought all the necessary items for the party.  Since I already had a plan to make a cake for Mother's day, I convinced hubby that it will be an easy cake to make and there was no need to buy a cake.  Checked my refrigerator for ingredients and came up with the Berry Mousse Chocolate cake idea.  Finishing decoration was done with chocolate Ganache and some fresh berries.

The cake was frozen when we cut it and tasted like ice cream cake, but the next day it tasted much better when left in the refrigerator and thawed.

On Sunday I was treated with a delicious breakfast made by my hubby and kids.  They woke up early in the morning to make stuffed omelet, heart shaped cut mangoes and coffee and when I woke up they were not done.  So my little one escorted me back to my bed saying 'Mommy you cannot come now' with a secret smile on his face.  After few minutes of wait, they all came with a tray of food with big victorious smile on their faces that claimed 'Mommy had no clue of this surprise'.  I played along with a big surprise on my face.  The smile I saw on their faces was the rewarding moments of motherhood.  I joined them in making rest of the omelets and cutting mangoes...and we enjoyed the breakfast together.

Chocolate cake recipe adapted from here

Yields - 9'' round cake

Ingredients

Chocolate Cake

2 cups - all-purpose flour

2 cups - sugar

¾ cup - cocoa

2 tsp - baking powder

1½ tsp - baking soda

1 tsp - salt

1 cup - milk

½ cup - vegetable oil

2 - eggs

2 tsp - vanilla extract

1 cup - boiling water

Berry Mousse Layer
1 cup - mixed berries fresh or frozen (raspberry, strawberry, blackberry, blueberry)
4 tbsp - sugar
1 3/4  - whipping cream divided
1 1/4 tsp - unflavored gelatin
2 tbsp - cold water
3 drops -  organic Red food color (I used India Tree brand)

Ganache
3 oz - Semisweet baking chocolate bar
1/4 cup - whipping cream
1 tsp - light corn syrup
1 tsp - oil

Directions

• Pre heat oven to 350 degree F.
• Sift together flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa powder and keep it aside.
• Whip sugar, eggs, milk, vanilla and oil using a stand mixture.  Gently add the dry ingredients into the wet mixture and mix with a rubber spatula.  Whip it for 30 seconds.  Now add 1 cup of hot water to the batter and mix for 1 minute till everything is mixed well.
• Bake the cake in a greased 9'' round springform pan for 45-50 minutes or till a toothpick comes out clean when tested at the center of the cake.
• Transfer the cake to a wire rack to cool completely.

Berry Mousse

• In a small bowl bloom 1 1/4 tsp of unflavored gelatin in 2 tbsp of cold water and keep it aside.
• Meantime you can prepare for the mousse.  Puree 1 cup of berries in a blender and strain.  Transfer the berry puree to a sauce pan.  Add 4 tbsp of sugar and cook the berry mix till bubbles start to appear on the side of the sauce pan.  Turn off the burner.
• Gently add the bloomed gelatin to the warm berry mix and give a good stir till gelatin completely dissolves.  Keep the mix aside to cool.
• Whip 1 3/4 cup of whipping cream + 2 tbsp of powdered sugar using a stand mixture till soft peaks are attained.  Make sure that the cream is cold before whipping.
• Add 3 drops of organic red food color to the berry mix and stir well.  Gently fold in the berry mix into the whipped cream using a rubber spatula and mix using the spatula till uniform color is attained for the mousse.  Don't over mix.

Assembling

• Cut the bulged part of the cake (top) using a knife.  You will get almost 4 cm of height for the cake after cutting the top.  Transfer the cake back to the springform pan.
• Pour the whipped berry mousse mix over the cake and level it using a cake spatula.
• Cover the springform pan with a plate and freeze the cake for 30 minutes to 1 hr.

Ganache

• Heat 1/4 cup whipping cream in microwave till it starts to bubble.
• Pour the whipping cream over the chocolate pieces in a bowl and stir well.
• Add 1 tsp of oil and 1 tsp of corn syrup and mix well.  Let it cool slightly.

Decoration

• Using a pastry brush, gently apply the ganache on the bottom layer (cake layer).  Make sure to brush good on sides that have even edges.
• The chocolate mix will be cold enough now.  Pour the rest of the chocolate mix at the center of the cake.  While the chocolate is still gooey, place the strawberries on it. Dip the bottom of blackberry and raspberry alternatively in the left over chocolate in the bowl and decorate the edges of the cake.
• Leave the cake in the refrigerator till ready to cut.

Notes

• I am not a fan of raspberry, but the raspberry flavor didn't over power the mousse part.
• You can skip the ganache part if you don't like too much of chocolate.
• You can decorate the cake as you desire.  I just wanted to give it a fresh touch with the berries I used.
• Make sure that the cake is completely thawed in the refrigerator before cutting.  It helps to bring out the flavor rather than the frozen cake.

Lo Mein

Recently I had a discussion with my husband about blogging and about the viewers/readers of the blog.  If you are a blogger, you might have come to same conclusion as mine.  My observation was there are basically four types of visitors for food blogs:

• Group 1 - who visits and reads the complete posts and responds
• Group 2 - who are interested in the recipe only.
• Group 3 - they only check the pictures.
• Group 4 - they are the silent visitors.

I distinguish these groups by the comments they post on the blog.  It's the way I perceived.  You may not concur with my findings.

Couple of weeks ago one of my friends told me that her daily lunch time reading includes posts from my blog, but I never knew it...I was in cloud 9 when I heard that.  So there are visitors who are regular readers of blog but never pens anything, but supports you.  Anyway I love to hear from you, so that I can improve and learn from you.  Your valid comments are suggestions are the backbone of this blog.  So please don't hesitate to comment when you want to say something about the post.  I guess you can decide in which group you belong now :).  My hubby's suggestion was to not make short posts, but I guess it depends on individuals.  To me, it's different.  I have an array of food blogs I visit regularly during my lunch time.  I find these sites as a means of connecting to writer and knowing more about them.  The more you read, you feel he/she is your next door neighbor.  Some blogs has the mesmerizing power that you would never like to miss a post.  Don't you agree?  'That's enough Philosophy Shibi'...my innate impulse reminded me.

Lately I am in real love with this Lo Mein which is pretty easy to fix for dinner.  The sesame oil imparts the authentic flavor to this dish.  My Mom's parents used to have Sesame farm and  I still remember the unprocessed oil looks darker.  I believe more processing makes it lighter.  So if you use a good quality Sesame oil, the better the Lo Mein will taste.  Now scroll down straight for the recipe :)

Servers - 5 - 6
Ingredients

1 lb (12 oz) - Sphagetti or chineese noodles

For Chicken
2 cups - Chicken  cleaned and cut into thin long strips
1 tsp - red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp - ground pepper
8 - finely chopped garlic
2 tsp - grated ginger
1 tbsp - Lo Mein sauce
2 tsp -  Sesame oil
salt to taste

Vegetables to stir fry
2 cups - broccoli florets
1 cup - carrots cut into thin strips or matchstick style
1 - medium white onion cut into big pieces
2 - finely chopped garlic
1/2 tsp - chili flakes
2 tbsp - Lo Mein Sauce
1 tbsp - Sesame Oil
Salt to taste

Lo Mein Sauce
1/4 cup - light soy sauce
4 - 5 tbsp - Hoisin sauce
2 tsp - rice vinegar
1 tbsp - water

To drizzle
2 tsp- Sesame Oil

Directions

• Cook the sphegetti according to the package direction and keep it aside.
• Mix together the ingredients for Lo Mein sauce together in a non reactive bowl and keep it aside.
• Use a wok or non-stick pan and lightly brown the chopped garlic and 1/2 tsp of chili flakes in 1 tbsp of Sesame Oil.  Add the White onions and stir for 1 minute.  Add carrots and broccoli and stir fry for couple minutes by coverig the wok for 1 minute.  Don't over cook the vegetables.  Add 2 tbsp of the mixed Lo Mein sauce and mix well and transfer the vegetables to another dish.
• In the same wok, add 2 tsp of  Sesame oil and cook the chopped garlic, followed by ginger till light golden brown.  Add chili flakes, pepper powder and roast for another minute.  Add the chicken and season with salt and 2 tbsp of Lo Mein sauce and cook covered till the water dries up and the chicken is all cooked well.
• Now gently add the cooked noodles to the chicken and mix well.  Add the remaining Lo Mein Sauce to the noodles and chicken and mix well.  Now carefully add the vegetables and mix.  Drizzle 2 tsp Sesame Oil.  Cook on low heat for 2 minutes and turn off the flame.
• Lo Mein is ready to serve.

Notes

• You can use vegetables and meat of your choice in Lo Mein.  Shredded cabbage, bok choy, mushrooms, bean sprouts etc can also be used.
• Adjust the Lo Mein sauce and pepper flakes according to your taste.
• Soy sauce and Hoisin sauce are already salty, so be cautious when adding salt.

Cinnamon Loaf

If you ask me which area of cooking you like the most, I would say baking.  Whipping up the batter, putting it into the oven and patiently waiting and peeking through the oven window are some things I enjoy with my kids while baking.  The first bite of the warm baked item is the rewarding moment of the wait.

Today's spice of interest is Cinnamon.  Cinnamon is used in sweet and savory foods world wide.  It is obtained from the inner bark of trees from the genus Cinnamomum.  Cinnamon is native to Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Malabar Coast of India and Burma.   It was imported to Egypt as early as 2000 BC.  There are several references to Cinnamon in Hebrew Bible.    It was regarded as expensive gift for Monarchs during ancient times.

Health benefits:

• Some research has found that a particular type of cinnamon, cassia cinnamon, may lower blood sugar in people with diabetes.
• Studies have shown that a very small dose of cinnamon per day can lower LDL cholesterol.
• Cinnamon has shown an amazing ability to stop medication-resistant yeast infections.
• Prevention of certain types of cancers.
• Arthritis related pain relief.
• Anti bacterial.
• Smelling cinnamon boosts cognitive function and memory.
• A great relief for the common cough when taken with warm honey.

Store brought Cinnamon loafs were never my favorite, either they were very sweet or the ingredients in them make me dodge away from them.  But homemade items not only tastes better but give you the satisfaction of knowing the ingredients you are adding into the food.  Yesterday evening I baked this Cinnamon loaf that filled our entire house with the tempting aroma and my kids were anxiously waiting for me to pull it out of the oven.  To be honest, it was the best cinnamon loaf I ever had.   The soft and flavorful bread didn't last till this evening.  As it was already getting dark and I had to serve dinner for my family I didn't spend much time on the photo shoot, so the pictures didn't do justice to the bread.  But the texture and sweetness was perfect and it tasted divine.

Recipe Source - Everyday Light Meals Cookbook by Taste of Home

Yields -  9-in. x 5-in loaf

Ingredients
1/4 cup - softened butter
1 cup - sugar
2 - eggs
2 cups - flour
1 tsp - baking powder
1/2 tsp - baking soda
1/2 tsp - salt
1 cup - low fat buttermilk
1 tsp - vanilla extract


1 tsp - Cinnamon powder
2 tbsp - sugar

Directions

• Pre-heat oven to 350 degree F.
• Mix together softened butter, eggs and sugar till frothy for 2 minutes using a stand or hand mixture.
• Sift together flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder and add to the egg mixture.   Gently mix them with a rubber spatula.
• Add the buttermilk and vanilla and mix on high speed for 1 minute or till everything is blended together.
• Mix 1 tsp of cinnamon with 2 tbsp of sugar in a bowl.
• Pour 3/4 of the batter into a greased loaf pan.  Sprinkle half of the cinnamon sugar mixture on the batter.  Use a butter knife and make some swirls.  
• Pour rest of the batter into the pan and sprinkle the top with rest of the cinnamon sugar mixture.
• Bake for 45 - 50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when tested at the center of the loaf.

Notes

• Transfer the bread to a wire rack to cool completely before cutting.
• The loaf can be left outside for couple of days.  You can also store the bread in an air tight container in refrigerator for a week.

Kerala Style Tuna/Fish Cutlets

Today I am sharing the first deep fried recipe on my blog.  Yep you read it right...I meant deep fried.  There are certain foods that taste best when cooked in certain ways and my family prefers the fried version of cutlets opposed to the baked ones.   I am not sure how the baked version of vadas (lentil donuts) would taste;  well there might be someone out there who might have tried it too.  Baking is another option in the case of cutlets, if you could get the cutlets to  bake uniformly, which cuts down the fat content.  But hey....I don't make these all the time, it's when I hit a bad craving, I go for these cutlets.  My family absolutely love this spicy snack.  On a rainy day a hot cup of tea and a plate of these yummy cutlets make my evening perfect.

I remember my Mom used to make beef cutlets by cooking the beef and mince them manually using a shredder when we were small.  But she used to make fish cutlets too which was way much easier than the beef cutlets.  Even though I was not a fan of fish when I was small, I loved fish cutlets.  I had made chicken cutlets too during my initial cooking experiments, but my favorite is fish cutlets.  Since I make only fish cutlets these days, I kind of imposed the taste on my family and they only like fish cutlets now :).  I believe the taste palates of your family can be changed by the cook's choice. 

Nathan who is a big fish lover in our house reminded me of making these cutlets last week and I made these on the weekend for the evening snack.  As usual I setup my photo shoot spot and camera ready for taking pictures.  But there was something missing, so I went to grab some green chilies from the refrigerator, but when I came back, some cutlets were gone.  I had to guard the cutlets for the photo shoot and direct them to the kitchen to get the cutlets from the other batch I made.  Finally I managed to take few pictures!!!!  These spicy cutlets are highly volatile :)..

Yields - 25 cutlets

Ingredients
5 cans  (5 oz cans) -  canned tuna in water
2 - medium sized potatoes cooked and mashed
1.5 inch - ginger finely chopped
10 cloves - garlic finely chopped
1 - medium size onion finely chopped
5 - 6 - green chili's finely chopped
1/2 tsp - ground pepper
1 tsp - garam masala
1/4 tsp - turmeric powder
1/4 tsp - mustard seeds
1 tbsp - oil
5 - 6 - curry leaves finely chopped
2 - large egg whites
1 cup or more - salt and pepper seasoned bread crumbs
salt to taste
Oil to fry


Directions

• Drain the water from the canned tuna and squeeze out excess water from the meat using hands and keep it aside.
• In a non stick pan splutter 1/4 tsp of mustard seeds in 1 tbsp of oil.  Add chopped ginger and garlic and cook till lightly golden brown, followed by chopped onions, salt and green chili.  Let it cook till the onion is translucent.
• Add turmeric powder, garam masala, ground pepper and cook till the raw smell goes away. 
• Add the drained fish meat and chopped curry leaves and cook for 3 - 5 minutes till the mix is well blended with fish.  Now add the mashed potatoes to the fish mixture and check the salt and seasonings.  Give a final mix and turn off the burner.  Let the mix cool completely.
• Meantime mix well the egg whites using a fork till frothy.
• Divide the fish mix into 25 golf ball sized balls and flatten them into a round or oval shape.
• Dip the cutlets into the egg white mix and roll in the bread crumbs.
• Fry the cutlets in a heavy bottom pan till they are browned enough to your desired color and crispiness.   Drain the excess oil from the fried cutlets using paper towel.
• Enjoy the cutlets using fresh homemade salsa or ketchup.

 Notes

• Make sure you squeeze out all the water from the fish, if you are using canned fish.
• The cutlets can be stored in air tight container in refrigerator for couple of days.
• If a big batch of cutlets are made, you can freeze them in ziplock bags.
• Thaw the frozen cutlets and use a toaster to warm them up.  This helps to retain the crispiness of the cutlets.  If you don't have a toaster, use a pan to warm them by flipping the sides to attain crispiness.

Whole Wheat Chia Waffles

Weekends for me are the heavy cooking time which involves 'Keralite or Indian food'.  My hubby and kids look forward for Keralite breakfast on weekends.  For some reason, if I am late to wake up in the morning, hubby will make his special 'Upma' (Indian breakfast made with Semolina)  :).  I always encourage him so that he would do it again :)..even though I have to clean up the mess he makes in the kitchen after his cooking.  But you have to appreciate the help you get rather than complain right?   So I suppress my urge to say "Don't put the Upma spoon directly on the counter top, place it on a plate" and embolden his cooking. 

If we had a late movie night on Fridays I go for the quick and easy breakfast like Pan Cakes, Waffles etc.  Homemade Waffles and Pancakes are lately taking the place of weekend Keralite breakfast.  Does that mean that I am getting too lazy?  I have my days you know....  Anyways we make these waffles using my hubby's waffle maker, which he used during his college days.  I don't think he ever used it even though he claims that he used to cook :).  It still works, so I never bothered to buy a new one.  Besides the older appliances works better and are reliable. 

It is always good to know what goes into your food, so homemade waffles are healthy choice when compared to the store bought pancake or waffle mix.  I sprinkle flax seeds or chia seeds depending on their availability in my pantry.  Feel free to add the adds-on per your taste.  Think about a plate with warm waffles topped with some fresh strawberries, jelly, maple syrup and whipped cream sitting on your breakfast table waiting for you to take the first bite.  Isn't that inviting?  If I triggered the cook in you, go ahead and make this for your loved ones, your family will definitely enjoy it!!!

Yields - 12 medium size waffles

Ingredients
1 3/4 cup - low fat milk
2 - eggs
2 tbsp - low fat sour cream/ Greek yogurt
2 tsp - sugar
1/4 cup - oil
1 tsp - vanilla extract
2 cups - whole wheat flour
2 tsp - baking powder
1/2 tsp - salt
1 tsp - chia seeds

Directions

• You can use a blender or an electric mixture for making the batter.  Mix the milk, eggs, vanilla extract, sour cream or yogurt and oil till they are frothy.  Now add the dry ingredients into the wet mix and blend on high speed for 10 -20 seconds.  Let the mix stand for 5 minutes.
• Pour the batter into the waffle maker and cook the waffles according to the waffle maker directions.
• Serve the warm waffles with the toppings of your choice.  I serve them with pure maple syrup, fresh berries, homemade jelly and a dollop of whipped cream. 

Notes

• You can sprinkle the chia seeds on the waffle once the batter is poured into the waffle maker if you prefer to see the chia seeds on the waffles.  I usually mix it with the batter to make my job easier.
• You can substitute 1 cup of wheat flour with 1 cup of all purpose flour if you don't like the wheat flour waffles.  But trust me on this, you won't even notice the difference, they are soft inside and crispy on the outside and tastes better than the regular flour waffles.
• The topping always add the jazz to the waffles, so make sure to use your favorite toppings.

Kerala Style Fish Pickle

Pickles were never my favorite until I started my hostel life in college. The monotonous food at hostel was nowhere near to the homemade food. Eventually I relied on pickles. We friends used to bring bottles of different kinds of pickles to hostel and they never lasted over a month. Those were some days when you long for a holidays to go back to home and have something tasty. Weekend visits to restaurant was the only relief. And also we have to be back in time in the hostel within the permitted time. But hostel life was fun and we even enjoyed some cooking experiments in our small room.

Hostel life had made fish pickle one of my favorite pickles. Even now when I go and visit my parents, I check the refrigerator for my Mom's pickles. No matter how many curries she makes, I always ask for pickle :). Mom's touch makes it taste even better.  Here is the recipe I follow to make fish pickle.

Ingredients 

To Marinate
1 1/2 lb - firm fish without bones cleaned and cubed into 1 cm thickness
1 tsp - ground pepper
1/2 tsp  - chili powder
1/2 tsp - turmeric powder
1/2 tsp - garlic powder
1 tsp - oil
salt to taste
oil to shallow fry

Ingredients for masala
1.5 inch - ginger chopped
10 - garlic cloves thinly sliced
2 - green chili splits
2 tsp - red chili powder
1/4 tsp - fenugreek powder
1/4 tsp - asafoetida powder
1 1/2 tsp - vinegar
1/2 cup - water
1/2 tsp - mustard seeds
1/4 cup - oil
1 sprig - fresh curry leaves

Directions

• Mix all the ingredients for marination and apply on the clean cubed fish and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
• Take a heavy bottom pan and shallow fry the fish in minimum amount of oil.  It will take 5 - 7 minutes to cook the fish.  Drain the excess oil on a paper towel and keep the fried fish aside.
• In another pan, splutter 1/2 tsp of mustard oil in 1/4 cup of oil.  Add ginger, garlic and green chili.  Cook till it is light golden brown.  Add chili powder, fenugreek, asafoetida and cook till the raw smell goes away.   Now add the curry leaves and cook for 1 minute.   Add 1/2 cup of water and vinegar and boil.  Add the fried fish pieces and cook for couple more minutes and turn of the burner.
• Transfer to sterlized dry glass jars and let it cool uncovered. 
• Once the jars are completely cooled, store them in the refrigerator.  Enjoy them with steamed rice, biriyani or fried rice.

Notes

• Make sure that you don't over fry the fish pieces.  This will make the fish pieces hard.
• The pickle should be good for a month or so.  If you feel there is not enough oil, warm extra oil and pour it over the pickle.
• You can use kashmiri chili powder to avoid too much of heat.
• Always use dry spoon to take the pickle. 
• You can use the same recipe to make shrimp pickle.
• If you want to store the pickle for more than couple of weeks, avoid using water.  Substitute oil for water.

Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream Frosting

The past one week was a rough week for us.  I was totally out of the tech world, no gadgets, no fb, no blogs and no entertainment.  Me and my hubby were down with flu.  Yes you heard it right, you won't expect it around this time of the year, but we were terribly sick.  It was the worst cold I had and still recouping from the cough.  I had to rely on antibiotics for my cough.  Kids were so understanding and I cannot thank them enough for taking care of the household chores by themselves and even taking care of us in their own ways.  It was a great time for us to realize and recognize the blessings granted to us.  My SIL was kind enough to drop food for us which was a great relief.  Thanks to all the friends who called and inquired about our health.  It meant a lot to us.  We felt blessed and lucky to be around the people who cares.

Ok, now I want to come to today's post.  This is something I made before I got sick, but never got a chance to post it.  As mentioned in one of the earlier posts, I am not a big fan of buttercream frosting.  It is good to pipe and decorate, but too sweet for me.  But here is a frosting that is so fluffy and light and they are perfect for piping and decorating cakes.  You can add any flavors to it and they are glossy and shiny and not too sweet either.  Once you try this frosting, you would never ever go for another frosting.  I made these frosting a year ago to decorate a mother's day cake and since then this is my favorite frosting.  I made some cupcakes for Sunday school and frosted them with Chocolate Swiss Meringue ButterCream frosting.

Patience is the key factor in making this frosting.   You need a standing or hand electric mixture to make this frosting. The butter used should be cold. 

Please follow the step by step instructions to make the frosting.

Yields - to decorate 24 cupcakes

Ingredients
3 - large egg white
1/2 cup - sugar
1 cup or  2 sticks - cold butter cut into cubes
1 cup - good quality semi sweet dark chocolate pieces

Directions

• Microwave the dark chocolate pieces in a microwave safe bowl for 40 -50 seconds or till they are completely melted.  Keep them aside to cool.
• Take a sauce pan half filled with water and place a steel bowl over it.  Place 3 egg whites and 1/2 cup of sugar into the bowl and turn on the stove to medium flame.  Using a long spoon, stir the egg sugar mixture continuously till you don't feel any sugar crystals when rubbing the mixture between your fingers.  At this point you can notice that the egg sugar mixture is clear with light pale color.  Turn off the flame. 
• Transfer the egg white mixture into the standing mix bowl.  Make sure that the steam from the bottom of the bowl don't get into the mixture while transferring.   Use the whipping paddle and whip till the egg whites are silky white and forms soft peaks.
• Now add the cold butter pieces one at a time and whip till the butter is mixed well with the egg white.  This needs good 10 minutes of whipping.  My stand mixture turned off automatically after 10 minutes.  At this point you will notice that the frosting looks lumpy and soupy, you will notice little wetness in the frosting too.  Don't panic, this happens.  What you have to do is just cover the bowl with a plate and stick it into the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes.
• After 10 minutes take the frosting out and whip for another 5 - 6 minutes.  You will start seeing the difference  the frosting will come along as a smooth fluffy frosting.  Now add the cold melted chocolate and whip for 2 -3 minutes on high till chocolate is mixed well and frosting forms sharp peaks.
• Place the frosting into piping bags with Wilton 1 M tip and make swirls to decorate the cake.  I tried the swirls on a plate first and once they looked OK, I scooped the trial swirls on the plate and put them back into the piping bag and started decorating the cake. 

Notes:

• If you don't want your frosting to be too chocolaty, start with 1/4 cup of melted chocolate first and add according to the desired color and taste.
• Any left over frosting can be stored in air tight container in the refrigerator for a week.
• The decorated cake doesn't need to be refrigerated.

Tomato Cilantro Chutney

The word Cilantro itself makes some people run away from food. Lately I found a site that is for people who hate Cilantro. I personally know people who hate Cilantro flavor in their food. To me, any North Indian food without a Cilantro garnish is incomplete. I always keep a bunch in my refrigerator and use them in Mexican and Indian dishes.

Cilantro is a wonderful flavor offering herb. Cilantro is widely used all over the world to promote flavor to their cusines. Ancient Greece used cilantro essential oil as a component of perfume. During medieval times, the Romans used cilantro to mask the smell of rotten meat. This herb is a powerful natural toxic metal cleansing agent. The health benefits of Cilantro are:

• Studies suggests that they might prevent cardiavascular damage.
• Strong antioxidant activity.
• Anti diabetic activity.
• Anti anxiety effects.
• Improves sleep quality
• Might lower blood sugar
• Known for anit-bacterial activity
• Also an excellent anti-fungal agent.

Couple of years ago I was introduced to this Cilantro Tomato Chutney with some idli (lentil dumplings ) when I visited by brother and family in NY.  My SIL's mom makes this chutney.  They were awesome when accompanied with Idli.  Since then I make this chutney with Sambar (spicy lentil vegetable soup) whenever I make dosa (lentil crepe) or Idli.  This spicy chutney is low in fat because it doesn't use coconut as in regular Kerala Chutneys and they can be prepared very easily.  Our son Nathan will complain if he doesn't see this chutney on the side with dosa or idli, so I always make sure to prepare this chutney along with Sambar.  My personal preference is to combine it with Sambar and enjoy with crispy dosas.   You can also enjoy some baked veggie bread rolls with Tomato Cilantro Chutney.  Along with the recipe I would also like to share the tip to store Cilantro fresh in the refrigerator for 2 - 3 weeks. 

Serves - 4

4 - ripe medium size tomatoes chopped
1 - medium white onion
4 - green chili splitted
2 tsp - chopped ginger
1/4 cup - tightly packed chopped fresh Cilantro
1 tsp - oil
salt to taste

Tadka/Garnish
2 - thinly sliced shallots
1 - dry red chili broken into 2 halves
1/4 tsp - mustard seeds
1 1/2 tsp - oil
1 sprig - curry leaves

Directions

• In a non stick pan, heat 1 tsp of oil and add ginger, onions, green chili and chopped tomato with salt and cook on medium heat till the onions become translucent.  Now add the chopped Cilantro and cook it for 30 to 40 secs till the leaves are wilted.  Turn off the stove and let it cool.
• Once the chutney mix is cool, blend them by adding 1 cup of water till the desired consistency of chutney is attained.
• Transfer the chutney to the same pan and cook till it boils for 1 minutes.
• In a separate small non-stick pan, heat 1 1/2 tsp of oil and splutter mustard seeds.  Add sliced shallots and dry chili and cook till light golden brown.  Turn off the stove and add the curry leaves.  Be careful while adding the curry leaves, they splutter vigorously.
• Garnish the chutney with the tadka and enjoy with idli or dosa.

Tips to store Cilantro in the refrigerator

• Wash the Cilantro thoroughly to remove any mud or sand while they are fresh bought from the store.  Discard all the yellow leaves.  The key is to not let them go into the refrigerator before they are ready to be stored.
• Spread them on a kitchen towel or paper towel on the kitchen counter.  Let them air dry.  I usually flip them again after an hour.  Once all the moisture is gone, put them in big ziplog bag.  Make sure that there is enough room for the leaves to breath.  If too much leaves are squished into a small bag, they will perish fast. 
• Store them in refrigerator and they will remain fresh for minimum 2 -3 weeks.  Mine usually finishes within 2 weeks because I use them a lot in my dishes.

Notes:

• This chutney can be stored in air tight container in refrigerator for 2 -3 days.
• Adjust the amount of green chili if you don't prefer the chutney to be spicy.

Orange Blueberry Muffins With Greek Yogurt

Sunshine for the last few days are cheering up things around us.  Couple of days ago I noticed my tulip plants were sprouting and today I saw them being eaten by deer :(.  Signs of summer are all around us even though the temperatures are still dangling between 30's and 40's.  At least the sunshine keeps the mind refreshing and energetic.

Versatility in breakfast is one thing kids always asks for.  Providing a healthy breakfast keeps me on my toes to try different options that kids would enjoy.  I came across the citrus topped blueberry muffin in one of the BHG magazines and wanted to try from the day I saw them.  The recipe calls for butter, but I wanted to substitute it with something healthy and tried the non-fat Greek yogurt and I was really happy with the results.  I also added some orange juice concentrate to get the orange flavor and substituted half of all purpose flour with wheat flour.

Blueberries are rich in pro-anthocyanin natural pigment anti-oxidants.  They are low in calories.  These berries have other flavonoid anti-oxidants such as carotene-β, lutein and zea-xanthin.  The phyto-chemical compounds in the blueberry help rid off harmful oxygen-derived free radicals from the body.  They help to lower blood sugar levels and control blood-glucose levels.  They are good source of minerals like potassium, manganese, copper, iron and zinc.

Couple of years ago, I planted a small blueberry plant in my backyard and they produced 10-15 blueberries.  I am planning to plant more this year.  I am so excited for summer gardening :).

Nathan, who doesn't eat blueberries by itself loved the muffin when mixed with orange.  My daughter loves orange flavor.  So it was a great success.  I love the orange and blueberry combination and it was a moist muffin as you can see from the below picture.

Yields - 12 muffins

Dry Ingredients
1 cup - Wheat flour
1 cup - All purpose flower
2 tsp - baking powder
1/2 tsp - salt
1/2 cup - sugar

Wet Ingredients
1 - egg
1 cup - non fat plain Greek yogurt
1/4 cup - frozen orange concentrate thawed
1/2 cup - fresh squeezed orange juice
1/2 cup - oil
1 tsp - orange zest

1 cup - fresh blueberries

Topping
1 tbsp - finely shredded orange peel
1 tsp - sugar

Directions:

• Pre-heat oven to 375 degree F.
• Mix all the dry ingredients together.  It is better to swift it once so that all the ingredients are mixed well.
• Mix all the wet ingredients together till blended together and is lightly fluffy using a electric mixture.
• Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and gently mix using a rubber spatula.
• Fold in the blueberries gently and spoon the muffin mixture into muffin tins lined with muffin cups.
• Bake for 25 - 30 minutes till the top is light golden brown color.
• Transfer to a wire rack and top them with orange peel sugar mixture.

Notes

• If using frozen blueberries, add them into the batter just before baking, otherwise they will ooze out lot of moisture and the muffins will look bad.
• You can use a orange glaze as topping by mixing 1/4 cup powdered sugar with 2 - 3 tbsp of fresh orange juice and spoon them on the muffins.
• Store the muffins in air tight container.  You can also freeze them by keeping in zip lock bags.