Brinjal Pickle (Maami's Corner)

INGREDIENTS:

Brinjals: 1 kg

Mustard sauce: 3 tbsps

Ginger –garlic paste: 1 tbsp

Green chilli: 10 slit

Turmeric powder: ½ tsp

Vinegar: 100 ml

Sugar: to taste

Salt: 1 tbsp

Oil: 200 ml 

METHOD:

 Cube brinjal, rub with turmeric & a little salt.

Heat oil in a pan & fry the brinjal brown. Keep aside.

In the remaining oil, fry the ginger-garlic paste & green chillies.

When fragrant, add mustard sauce & vinegar.

 Add a little sugar & remaining salt.

Stir in the fried brinjal.

Cool well & bottle.

Pineapple upside down cake (Just Bakes)

INGREDIENTS:

Pineapple: 6 slices remove stem in centre

Butter: 150 g unsalted

Sugar: 150 g + 5 tbsps

Maida/plain flour: 150 g

Eggs: 3

Vanilla essence/pineapple: 1 tsp

Milk: 2 tbsps if required

Baking powder: 1 ½ tsp

Salt: a pinch

Cherry: 3

METHOD: 

Grease a 10” cake tin.Pre- heat oven to 180⁰C.

If using fresh pineapples, stew them (cook in half a cup of water & 2 tbsps sugar.)  

Cool & line the cake tin with it. Place a halved cherry (cut side up) in the centre of the pineapple slices.  

Burn 3 tbsps sugar in a pan till golden brown & add 2 tbsps water to make a caramel syrup. Cool & pour over arranged pineapple slices. Now, cake tin is ready.

In a bowl, cream butter & sugar till fluffy.

Add eggs one at a time & whisk again.

Fold in sieved flour & baking powder.

Add a pinch of salt & essence.

If the batter is too thick, mix in 2 tbsps of milk.

Pour batter over the pineapple very carefully, taking care not to upset the arrangement.

Bake for 45 minutes or till top is brown. 

Let it sit in the tin for 5 minutes, then, unmould when still hot.

Kappa Puzhukku/Tapioca

This is how tapioca is usually made in Kerala.

An important point to keep in mind when cooking tapioca:-

Cook tuber in boiling water for a minute.

Strain.

Pour more water & cook the tapioca again till done. Strain again.

This is to remove the cyanide components in tapioca, which gives it a bitter taste.

INGREDIENTS:

 Tapioca/ kappa: 1 kg

Coconut: 1 cup

Cumin seeds: ¼ tsp

Green chilli: 6 /Kandari

Garlic: 2 pods

Shallots: 5

Curry leaves: a few

Turmeric powder: ½ tsp

Salt to taste

For tempering:

Mustard seeds: ½ tsp

Dry red chilli: 2

Curry leaves: a few

Coconut oil: 1 tbsp

METHOD:

Cook tapioca as mentioned above. Keep aside.

Coarsely grind coconut, cumin, green chilli, garlic, shallots, curry leaves& turmeric powder.

Make a well in the centre of the cooked tapioca, put in ground masala, salt & cover.

Let it steam till raw smell of the ground masala goes.

Mash with a spoon.

Heat oil in a frying pan & splutter mustard seeds, add dry red chilli cut in two & a few curry leaves. Pour over the mashed tapioca & serve with a spicy red fish curry.

Peanut Ladoos

 

INGREDIENTS:

Palm sugar/jaggery: 1 cup

Peanuts: 2 cups roasted & crushed

Cardamom: 1/2tsp

Ghee: 2 tsps

 

METHOD:

 

Melt the palm sugar/jaggery with 2 tbsps water, cool & strain to remove any grit.

Reheat the syrup, till it reaches a string consistency.

Add the nuts, cardamom powder & one teaspoon ghee.

Mix well, take off fire, cool a little & roll into small balls.

Grease your palm with a little ghee for easy handling.

Use almonds, cashew nuts, coconut or a mixture of different nuts to make yummy ladoos.