Shahi Paneer ('Royal' Paneer in Cashewnut gravy)

ON VACATION!!!

In this creamy side dish for chapathi, roti etc., fried paneer is cooked in cashewnut and tomato gravy. Cream or whole milk could be added towards the end for more creaminess. Other paneer dishes like makhanwala, makhani, butter masala, nargisi etc. have somewhat similar ingredients.
Recipe Courtesy: Mona's Zaiqa

Chicken Puffs

Puffs and cutlets were two of the snacks that me and my brother enjoyed to munch during our childhood. My dad used to buy them from the bakery on his way back from work. My mom never had to worry about refrigeration and reheating because there won't be any left in those brown paper bags! Thanks to Pepperidge Farm puff pastry sheets, I'm now able to do an attempt to make those delicious puffs at home. These pastry sheets could be found in the frozen section of the grocery store. This time I accidently bought pastry 'shells' instead of 'sheets' and had to roll them out and ended up having odd shaped puffs!!! But it tasted delicious...
Recipe Courtesy: Shriya of Spicy Tasty

Kerala Parippu Curry (Moong Dal Curry with Coconut)

Parippu curry is another important side dish for traditional Kerala feast. The feast starts with parippu curry, which is served with rice along with with ghee and pappadam (papad).
Recipe Courtesy: Sree's Recipes

Inji Curry / Puli Inji (Ginger Tamarind Pickle)

Inji curry or ginger tamarind pickle is one of the pickles served in traditional Kerala sadya (feast). Ginger is fried in oil and then cooked with tamarind extract, jaggery and other spices. This tangy, hot, sweet n sour pickle will make you crave for more rice.
Recipe courtesy: Yummy O Yummy

Cherupayar Parippu Payasam (Moong Dal Kheer)

WISH YOU A HAPPY AND PROSPEROUS ONAM...

A very happy and prosperous onam to all my friends who celebrate onam. We had our onam sadya (feast) on Sunday as today is a work day for me. Payasam is the most important part of traditional Kerala sadya. Traditionally, coconut milk is used for Kerala style parippu payasam. But this time we made this payasam with cow's milk, like the Tamil Nadu and Andhra style moong dal payasam. My inlaws are with us for this onam and my MIL also makes this version of parippu payasam, which is flavored with powdered cumin, dry ginger and cardamom. The color of the payasam varies from dark brown to golden brown based on the color of the jaggery used.
Recipe courtesy: MIL and Sailu's Kitchen

Niagara Falls

An obvious destination for parents visiting from India. This is my second trip to Niagara Falls and it was as exciting as the first one. 'Maid of the Mist' boat cruise and 'Cave of the Winds' tour are two of the favorite activities that I loved to do there.

Cabbage Thoran (Cabbage stir-fry with coconut)

A thoran is a stir-fry of vegetables, onion, spices and coconut. Thoran is served as a side dish in traditional Kerala sadya. Cabbage thoran is one of the delicious members of the thoran family.
Recipe courtesy: Seena's Simple and Delicious

Mathanga Vanpayar Erissery (Pumpkin Red Cowpeas in Coconut gravy)

Erissery is a side dish usually served in traditional Kerala sadyas. There are different varieties of erissery made with different combination of vegetables. Pumpkin - red cowpeas erissery is one of my favorites. Pumpkin or any other squash variety could be used for the dish. I used red chori (red cowpeas / azuki beans) here which is smaller than the vanpayar that we get in Kerala.

Recipe Courtesy: Yummy O Yummy

Vellarikka Kichadi / Pachadi (Cucumber in Coconut n Yogurt Gravy)

Kichadi/Pachadi is one of the side dishes in traditional Kerala sadya (feast). There are different varieties of kichadies made with different vegetables. In our part of the world we call this kichadi. In some other parts of Kerala this curry is called pachadi. Pachadi and kichadi have 'totally' different definitions in some other regional cuisines of India. It's all very confusing and I don't want to go into any details! Traditionally cucumber with yellow-orange skin is used for this curry.
Recipe courtesy: Shn's Mishmash I didn't grind mustards seeds with coconut, so mine should be kichadi as per the definition in the blog.

Kootu Curry (Chickpeas, Raw Banana and Elephant Yam with Coconut)

Kootu curry is one of the dishes that is served during traditional Kerala sadya (feast). It is a mixture (kootu) of 'black' chickpeas, elephant yam (chena or suran) and raw banana (plantain) with ground coconut and spices. One special feature of this curry is the use of ground peppercorn (black pepper). I used black pepper for grinding with coconut as well as for tempering. Another feature of the curry is tempering with fried coconut towards the end.
Recipe courtesy: Adukala Vishesham

Kolmbo (Konkani Sambar)

This sambar is slightly different from the sambar that I usually make. In kolmbo, spices (along with grated coconut) are freshly roasted and ground instead of using masala powder.
Recipe courtesy: Shilpa's Aayi's Recipes

Boston Whale Watching

One of the many fun activities to do in Boston is whale watching. After 90 minutes travel into the deep sea on high-speed catamarans, whales could be spotted. We were able to see two humpback whales, mostly with their tails up in the water. Tickets are available June through November and the whole tour takes around 4 hours.

Kovakka Thoran (Tindora / Ivy Gourd Stir-Fry with Coconut)

Tindora is one of the vegetables availabe fresh through out the year in the Indian grocery stores here. So it makes freqent appearence in our dining table in different forms. The recipe I used here is very similar to this thoran recipe in Giniann's blog Salt and Pepper.

Mango Banana Orange Smoothie

This smoothie is a delicious combination of fruits and very easy to prepare. Banana is a versatile fruit which could add a nice flavor to any smoothie. If you want the orange flavor to stick out, you may want to add more oranges.
Recipe courtesy: Chef In You

Thayir Sadam (Curd Rice / Yogurt Rice)

Curd rice, native to South India, is rice flavored with yogurt and seasoned with a variety of lentils. Sometimes, milk is also added to the rice to reduce the sourness of the curd. This is not something we usually make at home. I have a faint (sweet!) memory of eating thayir sadam when I was young while visiting a relative in (then) Madras.
Recipe courtesy: Deepa's Simple Home Cooking

Vegetable Stew (in coconut milk)

This is a Kerala style mixed vegetable stew in a coconut milk gravy. This versatile stew which could be served with appam, idiyappam or chapathi.
Recipe courtesy: Sarah's Vazhayila

This is a very similar version of vegetable stew that my mom makes. Here turmeric is added and hence the color. Vegetables, along with onion, ginger and green chilli, are cooked first and garam masala (cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, star anise), coconut mik or whole milk are added towards the end. Finally, stew is tempered with mustard seeds, whole red pepper, Malabar leaves (Indian bay leaves) and curry leaves.

Theeyal - Medley of Vegetables in Fried Coconut Gravy

Theeyal is one of my favorite side dish with rice. This is my mom's version of theeyal with lots of vegetables in it, usually the kind of vegetables used in avial. The vegetables are first cooked and the fried coconut gravy with spices is added towards the end. Tamarind exract is usually used as the souring agent.
Recipe courtesy: Kerala Recipes. I didn't use beetroot as mentioned in the recipe.

Boston Trolley Tour

My in-laws are visiting us and weekends are busy with travel these days. Boston is one of the oldest cities in US which played a prominent role in Americal Revolution for independence. If you are new to Boston, trolley tour is a good way to see around the city.

Idli Sambar

Idli with sambar and coconut chutney is a traditional breakfast of South India. It is summer now and I don't have any issues with batter fermenting. During winter, the batter needs to be kept in warm oven or needs to keep oustside for longer time for fermenting.
Recipe courtesy: Priya's kitchen for idli and Annita's My Treasure...My Pleasure for sambar

Baked Fish (Salmon)

This baked fish recipe uses only very little oil. If you are health concious or if you are short of oil (which was my case), you could bake fish in a convection oven. It tasted great!
Recipe courtesy: Yummy O Yummy

Sambharam (Spiced Buttermilk)

Summer is here and what could be more refreshing than a glass of flavored buttermilk! Sambharam is a traditional hydrating drink of Kerala, used as thirst-quencher during the hot and humid summer months. It is buttermilk flavored with ginger and spiced up with green chillies. It is also served with rice in traditional Kerala sadya (feast).
Recipe courtesy: Kairali sisters' Pazham Pappadam Payasam

Mattar Paneer (Paneer with Peas in Tomato Gravy)

The recipe that I used here is more like that of a restaurant style mattar (peas) paneer, where paneer and peas are cooked in a thick creamy gravy of tomatoes and spices and then flavored with a pinch kasoori methi (dried fenugreek leaves) towards the end. Native to Punjab, mattar paneer is a North Indian delicacy usually served with roti, naan or chapathi. Paneer is a fresh (not aged) Indian cheese made by curdling warm milk with lime juice or other acidic coagulating agents.
Recipe courtesy: Finger Licking Food

Mango Lassi

Summer is around the corner and we are in the midst of a heat wave. A glass of mango lassi is a good option to chill out in the scorching heat. Lassi is a Punjabi delicacy. DH loves mangoes and I made this lassi for him. I followed this recipe in the blog Priya's Easy N Tasty Recipes. I used  a pinch of cardamom powder for flavor.