Easy Curd Curry

Now, this is a life saver am talking about. When 4 of us friends decided to stay together renting out a house in Bangalore with no idea what awaited us, it really was. Ask any youngster staying alone and he/she is sure to turn up with their own version of curd curries. This had always been our fav, especially on days when there were no vegetables at home(which happens to be, lets try, almost every day?) We have made it with just onion, tomatoes, chilli pwdr, salt and curd having run out of every other thing in the house. So, feel free to miss any ingredient as the situation demands as long as you have the determination to finish the curry off :)

Ingredients:
Curd     - 1 cup
Onion   - 1
Tomato - 1
Turmeric powder - A pinch
Salt       - as  per taste
Green Chillies - 2 (use chilly powder if not available)

All of the below or whatever is available can be used:
Ginger
Garlic
Curry leaves
Dried red chillies
Cumin seeds / Cumin powder
Mustard seeds
Coriander leaves

Splutter mustard seeds. Once done add cumin, curry leaves and dried red chillies. Add onion and salt to this and saute well. Once you feel that the sauting will do, add green chillies, ginger and garlic. After a minute, add diced tomatoes. Once the tomatoes are well cooked, add turmeric powder and mix well.  If using cumin powder or chilly powder add them at this stage. Add curd and coriander leaves, and turn the stove off.

Variations:
If you are a person whose fridge is well stocked, you may add cucumber/green papaya/any vegetable you deem fit after adding turmeric powder.
If you have the energy and patience to scrape coconut or if you happen to have some handy, you can grind it with a few cumin and mustard seeds and add it to the mixture and bring it to a boil(before adding the curd).

Meen Thoran

I had a few canned boxes of Tuna at home, with which I wanted to experiment making thoran. I have heard that it tastes better with Sardines, but for today, tuna will have to do. Till date, hubby has been the tuna expert with the curry he makes. I will post his recipe one of these days.

Ingredients 
Canned tuna in water - 2
Turmeric powder       - 1/2 tsp
Coconut                    - 3/4 cup
Green Chillies            - 4
Shallots(Cheriyulli)     - 5-10 nos
Ginger                       - 1" piece
Heing(kayam)            - small piece
Curry leaves              - 5 leaves
Mustard seeds
Salt

Cook the tuna with just turmeric powder and salt. Meanwhile, crush the coconut, green chillies, shallots, ginger, heing and curry leaves without adding water. Once the tuna is cooked, add the ground coconut, and mix well. Adjust salt. Once it's well cooked, add tadka with mustard seeds and curry leaves. You may also saute some shallots and add them along with the tadka.

Alteration:
If using some other fish instead of tuna, add kudampuli or plain puli while cooking the fish in the first step. Most people do not like the taste of puli in tuna which is why I have not added it here. But if you prefer it that way, feel free to go ahead and add a little.

(As always, I apologize for the pic :(  )

Butter Cookies

I badly wanted to make cookies after seeing them in all shapes and sizes in various stores here, and I set out to experiment. The cookies which came out tasted great but didnt look all that great (I dont have a cookie cutter). The recipe, though, is simple enough even for kids to follow.

Ingredients:
All purpose flour - 1 cup
Sugar                  - 1/2 cup
Butter                  - 1/2 cup

Whisk together all the ingredients in a mixing bowl. Make small rounds and press them to shapes as you wish.  And bake them at 375 F for 10 mins. Let them cool. And crispy cookies are all so ready for you to taste. Isn' t that easy?

Alteration:
You may use ghee instead of butter and that comes out great too.

Ila Ada (without ila)

From the time I decided to start a recipe blog(just a couple of days ago), I have been thinking of what the first recipe should be. And today I decided that it should be ila ada. Ila Ada or Ileda(as its pronounced tat way) is made from rice flour flattened on a piece of  banana leaf. with a wonderful filling It has always been my favourite sweet.
I had this craving for Ileda since I moved to NJ, but couldn't find any banana leaves, which was when I decided to experiment with Aluminium foil.

Ingredients:
Rice flour -  1 cup
Water      -  1 cup
Coconut    - 1 cup
Jaggery(Vellam/Sharkara)  - 5-6 medium sized pieces
Cardamom - 1 or 2, as per taste

Recipe:
Bring water a boil. Add the rice flour to it, mix well and take it off the stove. Once it has cooled down, mix it again with hands and make a dough.
Melt the jaggery in the stove, and add shredded coconut to it. You may increase/decrease the quantity of coconut and jaggery to make it taste the way you want. You may also add cardamom to suit your taste since it adds to the flavor. But since my husband totally hates the taste of cardamom, I generally do not add any.

Now, cut aluminium foil in a square shape(for those of you blessed enough to procure banana leaves, please use it since its smell is more than enough to add to any recipe). Place a ball of the rice flour dough on the center, and flatten it into a spherical shape using your hands. place some coconut-jaggery mixture to the center and fold the foil so that the 'Ada' is folded onto half and the sweet mixture spread within it evenly.

Steam for 15 mins (I used my idli thattu), and Ila Ida(or shall I call it 'foil ada'? :)  is ready to be placed on the table.

An alteration:
You may use sugar instead of jaggery if you do not like the taste of it. I have heard a lot of friends saying that they like the coconut-sugar mixture better than the coconut-jaggery version. That depends totally on your taste.

Hope you enjoy this sweet.