Rajma

We are back after a fortnights break with this simple North Indian curry. Not that we were vacationing, we just got caught up with some personal errands that was long over due.

Red kidney beans gets the name because of its deep red skin and the visual resemblance to the kidney. In our homes, these beans are commonly cooked in a rich tomato based gravy with a hint of all the aromatic spices to finally call it the delicious Rajma.

Prep time (excluding the soaking) : 1hour
Ingredients


Red Kidney beans: 1 cup
Onions (finely chopped): 1/3 cup
Tomatoes (pureed): 2
Tomato ketchup: 2 tablespoons
Ginger-garlic paste: 2 teaspoons
Green chillies (slit): 2-3

Whole garam masala
Cardamom pods: 1-2
Bay leaves: 1
Cinnamon stick: 1
Cloves: 3-4
Star anise: 1

Jeera: 1 1/2 teaspoon
Turmeric powder: 1 teaspoon
Chilli powder: 2 teaspoons
Coriander powder: 2 teaspoons
Garam masala: 1 teaspoon
Chicken masala (optional): 2 teaspoons
Salt to taste
Coriander leaves: to garnish

* You could also use the canned pre-cooked red kidney beans for convenience sake.

Soak the red kidney beans over night. Pressure cook them with little turmeric (1 teaspoon), chilli powder and salt until soft. Heat some oil in another pan. Saute the jeera, cardamom pods, cloves, cinnamon stick and bay leaves. Add slit green chillies, ginger-garlic paste and the chopped onions. Sprinkle some salt. Let the onions start turning translucent and then add turmeric powder, chilli powder, coriander powder, garam masala, chicken masala mix well. Pour in the tomato puree and mix nicely until all the masala combines. Add the tomato ketchup. Also add some more water if you need to make it more gravyish. Add the boiled rajma beans and let everything come to a final boil. Give a gentle mash. Put lots of chopped coriander leaves and enjoy hot either with rice or rotis.

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Every time we buy bananas, we think of posting something like banana bread or banana muffins but never end up doing it. However better late than never, thanks to one banana that has been crying out loud for quite a few days now has given way to this recipe. We are sure that your kids and all the sweet teeth in your house will relish this treat anytime of the day.

Prep Time: 20 mins
Ingredients
Ripe Banana: 1
Butter: 1 stick / 1/2 cup
Sugar: 3/4 cup
Egg: 1
All purpose Flour: 1 3/4 cup
Baking Powder: 2 teaspoons
Milk: 1/2 cup
Chocolate Chips: handful
Walnuts: handful

Beat butter, sugar and banana until smooth. Add the egg, milk and beat it well. Sieve the all purpose flour with the baking powder and keep aside. Add the sieved flour and mix the whole thing until absolutely smooth. Mix in the chocolate chips and walnuts. Scoop the batter into the greased muffin tray or into the muffin paper liners. Make sure the muffin tray pockets are only 3/4th filled to prevent overflow. Sprinkle a few oats to get a nice toasty feel to the muffin.

Pre-heat the oven to 350° F. Bake until the muffins rise up fully and the center comes out clean when poked with a knife. Enjoy it as an evening snack or as a breakfast t0 go.

Thanks Sarah of Vazhayila for giving us the Sunshine award.
We would like to pass it on to Rak's Kitchen, 4th Sense of cooking, Yummy O Yummy, Thattukada, VeggieFare, TiffinCarrier, SimplySara, SailajaKitchen, PJ, BSaraswathy, Ratatouille and Nature Kitchen

Award winners, please pass this on to your favorite bloggers! Here are the Rules:

1. Put the logo on your blog or within your post
2. Pass the award on to 12 bloggers!
3. Link the nominees within your post
4. Let the nominees know they have received this award by commenting on their blog
5. Share the love and link to the person from whom you received this award
Cheers!!!!

Idichakka/ Young Jackfruit Thoran

Jack fruits, young and ripe hanging down from the trees, ladies sitting together in the backyard cutting this gigantic fruit in spite of the stains n the buzzing flies and finally making all the yummy things of it, is one great snapshot of our memories of summer in Kerala.

This dish may not be a big deal for those living in the tropical climates who are blessed to eat this amazing fruit annually. But for people like us in Seattle, Asian food stores become the biggest boon providing all these deprived luxuries in a can. So here's a simple thoran made out of the young baby jack fruit which is highly fibrous and a great aid in cleaning the bowel system.

Prep Time:15-20 mins

Ingredients
Young green jack fruit: 1 Can
Garlic pods: 1-2
Ginger (chopped/optional):1 teaspoon
Pearl onions/Shallots (crushed): 3-4
Grated coconut: handful
Curry leaves: a whole sprig
Mustard seeds: 1 teaspoon
Rice: 1 teaspoon
Dried red chillies: 4-5
Turmeric powder: 1 teaspoon
Salt to taste
Oil to fry

* If you are using fresh baby jack fruit, cut the inside into small pieces and boil it with some turmeric and salt until its cooked and keep aside. Since we have to restrict ourselves to the canned ones, its already soft sitting in the vinegar/salt water.

Drain out the baby jack fruit pieces from the can. Rinse thoroughly. Roughly smash it with a mortar and pestle until its flaky. Keep aside. Also roughly crush the pearl onions, garlic and the dried red chillies. Heat oil in a deep pan, splutter the mustard seeds, add the rice, curry leaves and chopped ginger. Saute for a min and then add the crushed onion-garlic -red chilli mixture. Sprinkle some salt and saute. When the rawness of the garlic and onions starts to fade away add the crumbled baby jack fruit pieces. Add turmeric powder and keep sauteing. Let it all mix in well. Finally add the grated coconut and keep tossing. The thoran is ready to serve with some hot steaming rice.

Our very first win !

We are so excited to share the news of our first win at an event- "Food for 7 stages of Life- Healthy Fast food " hosted by our Blogger friend Radhika. We have been so thrilled that anybody we meet now is forced to hear the story of our win.

When we heard of the event first, we were already at the last day of submissions and decided we didn't have time for anything elaborate. And with the very word "fastf ood", both of us jumped to say Fries and that's how our version of the Garlicy oven baked fries were born. Please stop by to look at the events round up for an amazing collection of quick n easy healthy fast food recipes.

This might sound like standing on a dais and giving an award acceptance speech and as much as the big list of "Thank yous" might get boring, we really owe that. So once again a big Thank you to Radhika for hosting this event and all our dear readers for the constant encouragement.