Ethapazham Halwa (Plantain Halwa)

Ingredients:
Plantain - 3 No's (Nicely riped)
Sugar - 1 1/4 cup
Water - 1 cup
All purpose flour -2tbs
Ghee -1/4 cup
Nuts -1/4 cup

Preparation:
Steam the banana's and remove the outer skin & the black layer inside. Mash the bananas nicely with hand or make it to a paste in food processor/blender.

Take a large pan, add cup of water to it and boil, when it starts boiling nicely, add the mashed banana and sugar and keep on stirring. When it starts to boil and starts becoming thick add ghee little by little followed by all purpose flour by mixing it in water. Keep on stirring the mixture. When attains a thick consistency ghee will start to ooze out. At this stage add nuts mix well and remove from fire and pour into a greased pan. Allow it to cool and cut into desired shapes.

Peach Pulisery

Source: My sister

Ingredients:
Peach – 3 No’s
Grated coconut - ½ cup
Yogurt – 2 cups
Water - 1 cup
Green chili – 2 No’s
Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp
Red chili powder – ¼ tsp
Curry leaves – 1twig
Mustard seeds – ½ tsp
Cumin - ½ tsp
Salt & oil as required

Preparation:
Wash and peel the outer skin of the peach and cut into chunky pieces, if its small peach then you can just add whole peach.

In a pan add one cup of water and put peach, chili powder, turmeric powder, green chili, salt and cook till peaches are cooked and it becomes little thick. Grind coconut into a fine paste using little water and add to the peach mixture, stir and cook in low flame until it starts to boil, you can see some bubbles in the edges. Blend yogurt & cumin and add in the mixture and simmer for one or two minutes and remove from fire.

Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds and when mustard splutters add curry leaves and fry. Add this to the peach gravy and mix well.

Serve with rice. You can have papad, potato fry along with this. It will be a nice combination

Varutharacha Kozhi curry

Ingredients:
Chicken – 1 whole chicken
Onion – 2 medium size
Grated coconut – ¾ cup
Garlic – 10 pods
Ginger – small piece
Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp
Roasted Coriander & Chili powder - 2 tbs
Curry leaves – 2 twigs
Salt and oil as required

Preparation:
Cut the chicken into small pieces, wash nicely and keep aside. Grate the coconut and fry in a pan until brown and grind it to fine paste. In the same pan add the chopped onion, ginger, garlic and sauté until raw smell goes away. Add the roasted coriander chili powder, turmeric powder, salt and chicken, mix well and cook until the chicken gets cooked. Finally add the ground coconut and cook for few minutes. Add the curry leaves and remove from fire.

Server with Chappathi, steamed rice, bread, parotta

Beet leaf thoran

Ingredients:
Beet leaves - 1 bunch
Grated coconut - 2tbs
Turmeric powder -1/4 tsp
Red chili powder - 1/2 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - 1 twig
Salt & Oil

Preparation:

Wash the beet leaves nicely and finely chop the leaves along with the stem into small pieces.

Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds, when it splutters add the beet leaves red chili, turmeric powder, salt and saute and cover with the lid. Do not add any water. Once the leaves get cooked add grated coconut and curry leaves and mix nicely. After few minutes remove from fire.

Serve with steamed rice.

Sarkara Varatiya/Upperi - Plantain fry in jagery syrup

Ingredients:
Plantain - 3Nos (Raw)
Jagery Syrup - 3/4 cup
Cardamom Powder - 1tsp
Ginger Powder - 1 1/2 tbs
Cumin Powder - 1/2 tsp
Sugar (I used brown sugar) - 1 tbs
Oil for frying

Preparation:
Peel the outer skin of the banana, and cut into small thick pieces. Heat oil in a pan and deep fry them on low heat until they become golden brown and crispy.

Mean while make the jagery syrup. Add little water to the jagery and heat it up to make syrup, when the syrup starts becoming sticky consistency add cardamom powder, ginger powder and cumin powder and mix well and remove from fire. Now add the fried banana pieces to this and stir nicely so that he jagery gets coated well. Leave it for 2 to 3 minutes and then sprinkle sugar. When the sugar gets coated nicely, allow it to cool and sore it in an airtight container.

Egg Rice

Ingredients:
Rice (I used basmati rice) – 1 Cup
Egg – 2 Nos
Onion – 1 small
Tomato - 1 small
Bay leaves – 3
Cinnamon – 1 stick
Cardamom – 3 Nos
Curry leaves – 1 twig
Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp
Red chili powder – ¼ tsp
Salt and oil as required

Preparation:
Wash the rice nicely, cook and keep aside.
Chop onion and tomato into small pieces. Heat a pan adding required oil and put bay leaves, cinnamon and cardamom. Then add the chopped onion and sauté for a while, when the onion starts changing its color add tomato pieces to it. Now you can add salt, red chili powder and turmeric to it. Fry for 3 to 4 minutes until tomato gets cooked, then break the eggs into it and scramble nicely. Finally add the cooked rice to it and mix well and remove from fire. Transfer to a plate and serve.

You can have pickle/ salad as side dish.

Oatmeal Payasam

Ingredients:
Oatmeal - 1/2 cup
Milk - 4 to 5 cups
Brown sugar - 1 cup (if you want it sweeter then add an extra 1/4 cup)
Ghee/Butter - 2tbs
Raisin & Cashew nut - Few
Cardamom - 5 Nos

Preparation:
Heat a pan, add one tbsp of ghee fry cashew nuts and raisins and keep aside. In the same pan, pour the milk and later when the milk is about to boil add the oatmeal and keep stirring, allowing it to cook. When it starts getting thick add brown sugar and cardamom powder or whole cardamom. Finally garnish with raisins and cashew nuts and remove from fire. Allow it to cool and then serve.

Note: Don’t reduce the quantity of milk as it will become very thick. If you want you can add extra ½ cup of milk.