Maa Inji - Pachai milagu Oorugai / Pickled Mango-ginger with Green pepper!

Most of you had guessed it right :) but Mango-ginger is surprisingly unfamiliar to many, the humble root vegetable which belongs to the Ginger family has a bursting combo of the flavours of fresh raw mango and ginger!

I got introduced to this interesting vegetable in Tamil Nadu by my ma in law from whom I learnt this simple, guilt free, yet a much addictive pickle.

Cheers to Cilantro, Sumi and ? again who guessed the dish absolutely right as 'Pickle' :)

You Need:

Ma inji / Mango-ginger- peeled and cut - 1 cup

Fresh green pepper- 1/3 cup

Lime juice -2 tbsps

Red chilly powder- 1tbsp

Salt-a tspful or as needed

Gingelly oil- a tbsp

Mustard seeds- 1/4 tsp

Asafoetida-a fat pinch

Curry leaves- a few (optional-I avoided them)

Hot water- 1/4 cup scant

Method:

Scrape away the thin skin of the mango-ginger. Wash and dry using a clean towel.Slice them into rounds and then across resembling 'half moons' as in the picture.The bigger half moons can again be sliced into two if needed.

Wash the green pepper with the stalks. Dry using the clean towel. Divide each stalk into smaller pieces with your fingers by careful pinches. A few corns may drop off from the stalks and do not worry about it. Dry well.

Heat oil in a small kadai, splutter the mustard seeds, stir in the asafoetida and the curry leaves followed by the red chilly powder. Be careful with the flame. I generally put off the stove at this stage to control the heat, acting on the chilly powder.Throw in the mango-ginger slices along with the green pepper. Let the flame be minimum to medium now and stir well to combine. Add salt and lime juice. Mix in hot water to add to the liquid part of the pickle.

Transfer maa inji - milagu oorugai in a clean dry ceramic container or a glass jar and refrigerate to keep well.

Enjoy with rice and curd :)

Read More »

Tweet

Guess the root vegetable :)

Location- S. Usman Road, T.Nagar, Chennai.

You can see fresh green pepper in the farther end, the street seller weighing for me :)

Now, friends, can you guess the root vegetable in the basket?

...and again what I made with this light brown colored root veggie along with the fresh green peppers? :)

Clue - towards the spicier side :)

Read More »

Tweet

Best of 2010 ~ A look back with Top Ten Recipes!

Seconds giving way to minutes, minutes to hours, hours to days, days to months….seasons…

I realize how fast time flies when I settle down to review the top posts at the end of each year; yet another year which has whisked past, packed with all mixed moments and memories of cheer, joy, tears, bitterness, disappointments, surprises …

The year had been a roller coaster one with a fabulous start on the first post.....

Pongal, the South Indian harvest festival, celebrated in our ancestral bungalow.

The most proud blogging moments were the ones when the post detailing the traditional South Indian harvest festival of Pongal , got approved by the Food Buzz Team and got featured for the month.

Mini Savoury Buns

A recipe which got formed within minutes and made to reality within the next couple of hours! The hit post still surprises me with its amazing response, an example of a post which turns out to be overwhelming when you least expect , overtaking others which were worked on giving your heart and soul J

Homemade Indian Flavoured Pizza

The name says it all!A bit of hard work and lots of creativity. Lavi, no words to Thank you my friend, for this has turned out to be the 3^rd best post of the year!J

Tiramisu Cake

The exotic dessert which demanded a bit of creativity and lots of hard work ;)… won’t be the same for the seasoned bakers, anyway J.

One of my favourite bakes so far since we totally fell in love with the heavenly taste of the classic dessert!

Papaya Milkshake

A morning which called for a hurry burry breakfast.A simple spread of Idly and chutney, chilled milk on the kitchen counter, a ripe papaya in the crisper, idea by the husband and the pretty looking smoothie was born.The cute baby was photogenic and got extra popular :)

Appam and Kadala Curry

A Traditional Kerala recipe inherited from my mom. Many tried and got back with positive results.

Banana Fritters

Another age old and a common snack back in God’s own country.Thanks to my cravings which made me lay my hands on this one.

Mushroom Masala

A simple and a common North Indian Side dish which surprisingly got into the best posts list.

Whole Green gram Payasam


Whole green gram cooked soft in rich coconut milk and jaggery and you get hooked to the authentic taste of this traditional payasam of Kerala, made for Onam.

Aloo Methi with homegrown greens

Cubed potatoes cooked soft along with fresh and tender methi greens grown in the back yard.

Readers had obviously favorited the traditional recipes and Indianised bakes from my space for the year... :)

Happy moments like Chennai bloggers meet had been thrilling and funfilled!

The final day of the year pleasantly surprised me when 'The Hindu' published one of my recipes in the weekend Metroplus column.

To Sum up, I did have a contented and pleasurable year of blogging but am sure, still I have Miles and Miles to go..

I Sincerely Thank all my readers, followers and blogger buddies from the bottom of my heart for supporting me as always and I wish and hope this will continue for ever...

This goes to Valli's 'Best of year 2010' event!

Wishing you a Fabulous Year ahead, filled with Peace, Joy and Prosperity.

Cheers,
Bharathy :)

Read More »

Tweet

Recipe featured in 'The Hindu'

Iam much delighted to share the happy news with you that I got featured in today's mygrandma'sRECIPES, a column in The Hindu meant exclusively for foodies, featuring traditional recipes learnt from the grandmothers!

Having known about this column in Chennai edition of The Hindu, I was looking forward to the same in my town too!

A week ago I came to know about this column being introduced in my town as well, which just couldn't hold me back :)

Read More »

Tweet

Nadan Tharavu Roast / Kerala Duck Roast

The Season of Christmas is here again; the Santa, presents, cakes, Christmas trees, lights, stars, tinsel and baubles, all surrounded, making us feel the same spirit of merriment in the air!

The numberless ideas those vaguely popped in as a result of "what's to bake and blog for Christmas?"in my brain, froze when this flashed right on time, early morning, the Christmas eve!

What's better than this Nadan Tharavu Roast or Kerala Duck Roast, the authentic, traditional dish served for Christmas lunch in the Christian houses of Kerala?

Scoot to the crowded bazar all soaked in festivity, for a quick shopping to get the raw materials which weren't in stock.

Nadan Tharavu Roast/ Kerala Duck Roast

Ingredients:

Duck,(Nadan Tharavu preferable) cut into large pieces- 1 kg

Coconut Oil- 2 tbsps

Cinnamon- 2 one inch pcs

Cloves- 2

Cardamom- 2

Big Onions- 5 large or 450 gms- minced

Garlic- 8-10 cloves - finely minced

Ginger- 2 one inch pcs- finely minced

Green Chillies- 2-3 Split length wise until 3/4th

Ripe Tomatoes- 4- cut into small pieces

Curry powder/meat masala powder- 2 tbsps

Garam masala powder- 1/2- 3/4 tsp

Pepper powder- 1 tsp

Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp (add only if not included in the curry powder)

Curry leaves - a sprig or two

Salt- to taste

Coconut Oil- 1/2 - 3/4 cup- to deep fry the pieces

Method:

Heat the 2 tbsps of coconut oil in a wide thick bottomed kadai. Sauté minced onions until brown followed by ginger, garlic, green chillies, tomatoes and the powders. Mix well and sauté again for a minute or two so as to get rid of the raw smell of the powders.Throw in curry leaves. Add 2 cups of water (more or less) and bring to a boil. Add the duck pieces and close with a lid adding enough salt and simmer until the pieces are cooked.

Heat the 1/2 cup oil in the adjacent stove.Open the lid of the simmering curry, carefully spooning out the poultry pieces alone and deep fry one or 2 at a time. Take care not to fry much. Return the fried pieces to the curry.Simmer without the lid until the oil separates and the gravy coats the pieces.

Duck Roast tastes best if let stand for at least 4-5 hrs before serving.

Reheat and serve with rice, appam or any Indian bread.

The bowl is soon off to the table all set for the Christmas lunch! :)

Yes, I am in Kottayam for the holidays ;) and this is prepared specially for The Kerala Kitchen.

1. Butter nan (store bought)

2. Kappa puzhukku

3. Boiled white rice

4. Butter chicken

5. Pork Roast

6. Chicken Roast

7. Duck Roast

8. Mathi Mulakarachathu

Here's Wishing you All a Very Merry, Fun Filled and Feasty Christmas!

Read More »

Tweet