CHICKEN MOLEE (Traditional Fare)

We are very familiar with fish molee. The word “ MOLEE”, I think, is derived from the Portugese word “MOLOH” meaning sauce/gravy.

Kerala tourism popularises this dish almost exclusively using Karimeen/pearl spot, Sear fish or Pomfret. These fish are however seasonal & hence, fresh fish is hard to find.

And it is here that, this recipe becomes relevant. Juices from the chicken flesh gels well with coconut milk just as gracefully & the result is amazing & is there for you to try for yourself.

  

INGREDIENTS:

Chicken: 1 kg

Coconut milk: 1 cup thick

Coconut milk: 3 cups thin

Onion: 1 chopped

Green chilli: 8 to 10 slit

Ginger: 1 tbsp sliced

Garlic: 1 tbsp sliced

Turmeric powder: ½ tsp

Cinnamon stick: 1” piece

Cloves: 4

Cardamom: 2

Pepper powder: 1 tsp

Vinegar: 1 tbsp

Tomato: 1 sliced

Curry leaves: a few

Salt to taste

Coconut oil: 2 tbsps

METHOD:

Clean & cut chicken into medium sized pieces, smear a little turmeric & salt & keep aside for half an hour.

In a kadai, heat oil & add the whole spices, after it splutters add the sliced onion.

When light brown, add the slit chillies, ginger & garlic. Fry for a while.

Put in the chicken & sauté till the chicken flesh turns white.

Now, pour the thin milk, stir, cover & cook.

When chicken is done add salt, thick coconut milk & pepper powder.

Last, add the vinegar & curry leaves.
Arrange the sliced tomatoes over the molee.

Take off fire & serve. 

PAPAYA "MATHURA" CURRY (Maami's Corner)

With Onam around the corner I thought it is just apt to publish a very different sweet & spicy curry. Usually, ”Mathura “(Sweet) curry for a sadya is made with ripe banana or pineapple. This recipe is with papaya, not too ripe or raw.

Courtesy: Mrs. Sudha Kartha.

INGREDIENTS:

Papaya: 500 g

Dry red chilli: 5

Coconut: 1 cup

Turmeric powder: ¼ tsp

Salt: to taste

 For tempering:

Coconut oil: 1 tbsp

Mustard seeds: ½ tsp

Dry red chilli: 3

Shallots: 2 sliced

Curry leaves: a few

METHOD:

Cube papaya & cook with turmeric & salt. Mash a little with the back of a spoon.

Grind coconut with dry red chilli & pour into cooked papaya.

Let it simmer till thick.

In another Kadai, pour oil, splutter mustard seeds & add sliced shallots. Fry till brown.

Put in dry red chilli & curry leaves.

Pour into prepared curry & serve.

Fudge Tarts (Just Bakes)

Tarts cases are made with short crust pastry & the filling can be anything, sweet or savoury. Here, I have filled the tarts with a caramel fudge. The simplest filling for a sweet tart is Jam.

INGREDIENTS:

For tart case:

Plain flour: 250 g

Butter: 115 g

Sugar: 1 tsps

Baking powder: ½ tsp

Salt: a pinch

Cold water: to knead (about 2 tbsps) 

For the fudge:

Condensed milk: 200 g

Butter: 2 tbsps

Sugar: 2tbsps

Nuts & raisins: 2 tbsps each

METHOD:

 Grease & prepare tart tins or use paper cups.

Sieve flour with salt & baking powder.

Rub butter lightly into flour with finger tips till they resemble bread crumbs.

Add sugar (preferably powdered)

Add enough cold water to form dough with minimum handling.

Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Roll out on a floured board & cut into small rounds to fit the tart tin.

Line tin with the tarts & prick base with a fork (so that it doesn’t rise while baking)

Bake in a hot oven at 205⁰C for 15 minutes.

Remove from tin & cool. Store in an air tight tin till required.

 Fugde filling:

Make a caramel with butter & sugar. Pour condensed milk & stir till thick.

Add nuts & raisins.

Cool well & fill each tart case with a tablespoon of the fudge.

Duck Fry

This a dry duck preparation, which can be served with almost anything.

INGREDIENTS:

Duck: 1 kg

Onion: 2

Ginger-garlic paste: 1 tbsp

Oil: 1 tbsp + ½ cup

For the masala paste:

Pepper: 1 tsp

Coriander seeds: 1 tbsp

Dry red chilli: 10

Cinnamon stick: 1’ piece

Cloves: 5

Vinegar: 1 tbsp

Salt: to taste

METHOD:

Clean duck well, wash & dry it before cutting into big pieces

Heat 1 tbsp oil in pan & fry onion brown, along with ginger –garlic paste.

Grind with other ingredients for masala paste, using vinegar.

Smear this on the duck pieces & keep aside for 4 to 5 hours.

Now, heat half cup of oil & fry the duck pieces, a few at a time, till golden brown & remove.

When all are done, put the pieces into a pressure cooker along with a cup of hot water & cook for 10 minutes.

Open cooker & evaporate excess gravy & fry up the pieces well.

Serve with fried potatoes.

Oats cookies (Just Bakes)

INGREDIENTS:

Oats: 75 G

Butter: 125 g

Honey: 50 g

Dessicated coconut: 50 g

Castor sugar: 100 g

Plain flour: 100 g

Bi carb of soda: 1 tsp

METHOD:

Mix dry ingredients, except sugar, in a bowl.

Melt honey, sugar & butter in a sauce pan

Cool.

Add the syrup to the dry ingredients in the bowl & mix well.

Form into small balls & place on a baking tray with a gap between each.

Flatten them a little.

Bake in a pre heated oven at 170⁰ C for 8 to 10 minutes.

Cool well before serving.

Note: Do not add hot syrup to the dry ingredients, the biscuit may not spread while baking & may become tough.

Papaya Cheese

 I had this recipe with me for a very long time, but I did not ever want to try it, even though I remember tasting guava cheese, which was definitely worth trying.

 I have often wondered why they named it “cheese”, I guess it’s because of the smooth texture & cheesy flavour.

If anyone can give more info on this, please do write.

INGREDIENTS:

Papaya pulp: 2 kgs

Sugar: 1 ½ kg

Lime juice: juice of 2 medium limes

Ghee: 100 g

METHOD:

In a heavy bottomed pan, put in the papaya pulp & sugar. Heat till it boils & lower the flame.

Keep stirring till the mix thickens.

Add ghee a little at a time.

Add lime juice & stir till the mix forms a soft ball & ghee starts oozing from the sides.

Transfer onto a greased plate & let it cool well before cutting into pieces.

The natural colour of the papaya gives the cheese a pleasant eye appeal.  

The Sadya

We all take trouble to learn how to manage with the inadequate fork, knife and spoon, to conform to the norm. The more adventurous, amongst us, even venture to balance strands of those un-obliging & slithery noodles between chopsticks, whilst carrying on a casual conversation, all the while wearing an indifferent look...... been there.....done that, sort of...

 Wonder though, how many of us Keralites, know the art of serving & relishing a “SADYA”. It is not just about putting it all there on the leaf.... and then polishing it off.

 There apparently is a science as to what is being served where... and when.

 Timing the consumption of each delicacy, some individually, and others in strict combinations, is another matter that merits serious attention and rigorous discipline.

So here’s the when, how & whys of the Sadya delight .

History:

The grandiose saying “Naalum Kootty Unnuka” essentially implies that the 4,(repeat four)  accompaniments were all that was required to complete a  sumptuous sadya. Those were the modest Kaalan & Olan and the unassuming Erissery & Pulissery.

With time, came the changes we now know.

Even where vegetables are concerned, yam(chena), ash gourd (kumbalanga), colacassia (Chembu), red pumkin (Mathanga), snake gourd (Padavalam), long beans (achinga),bitter gourd (pavakka), drumstick, raw banana (pacha kaya) was all that we required to make a sadya. Now, the “English” vegetables have sneaked their way in. 

Serving:

  First, let us learn to lay the leaf –tender banana leaves are picked for this. The narrow end of the leaf should be on your left.

Start serving the fried items like chips, sharkaravaratti, pappadum & a small banana on the left hand lower half of the leaf, closer to the diner.

Starting from the left on the upper part of the leaf, place the pickles, Puli inji, Inji thayir, Pachadi, Kichadi,Kaalan, Olan, Erissery, Aviyal, Mezhukkupuratti &Thoran in that order, from left to right.(There are local variations like the Vada curry in South, Potato stew(prounced ISHTU) in the Travancore region & Theeyal in North Kerala, which finds it space between the erissery & aviyal.)

Rice is served on the lower half of the leaf.

Ingestion

Now, the diner separates a little rice to be eaten with dhal, ghee & a small pappadum crushed into it.

Next, is the Sambar. A little more rice can be taken aside for this & a depression is made in the centre, so that the sambar doesn’t flow out of the leaf. With this course, the thoran, erissery & the other dishes can be tasted.

Munch on the chips & sharkaravaratti in between.

It’s the turn of the rasam now. Rasam is watery, so be careful when it’s being served. (Folding the lower end of the leaf inward will help restrain its flow.)

After this, the first prathaman is brought. Generally, a white & brown prathaman will be on the list.

First the brown jaggery based one-either ada/wheat/banana/jackfruit payasam is served. To enjoy this, crush a pappadum & a small banana into the payasam, mix & enjoy. After this, you are expected to eat a little Olan (which is bland) to get rid of the sweetness of the first payasam. A lick of the Puli inji also helps.

Next, the sugar based payasam is served. It can be anything from Ada,rice or vermicelli.

Now a days people prefer to drink the payasam from a cup, but then you don’t get the full satisfaction of licking your hand from the base of your wrist band  to the very ends of your  finger tip---in one loud, long, lingering slurp! ...please do look around though....., lest you might offend those that are less immune to culture shocks, the way we do.)

Burp ...  (a little  ... to express your satisfaction  ... and not so much as to elicit disgust!)

To finish the Sadya, a little more rice is served to be eaten with Moru (butter milk).  

 Finish whatever is left on the leaf & fold the leaf inward, before you leave the table. 

The Sadya is washed down with a glass of warm “ Karingali  or jeeraka wellam” which aides digestion.   

PS : Just in case, I’ve taken all the joy of polishing a sadya .... Just go ahead and do what your heart tells you to do. I’ll still justify you... Thats what ONAM is all about.

Eat while its harvest time !