Mango Milkshake Recipe | How to make fresh Mango Milkshake at home?

Come summer, mango milkshakes have to be made.. Right? Yes, for us it is like "What is summer without a Mango Milkshake?' I would love to make some popsicles too but this year we are cutting low on sugar and some carbs too, so I guess the popsicles have to wait for another year maybe :( This milkshake can be tailored in many ways to suit our cravings and needs. You can make it rich by adding a pinch of saffron. You can make it healthy by skipping the sweetener. You can make it vegan by adding almond or coconut milk instead of the normal dairy milk. Or maybe add 2 scoops of ice cream instead of one ;) Choose as you may want to, but if the mangoes are reasonably sweet, then any variant of the shake is great and makes you feel  refreshed :) I generally make the shake with Alphonso (for it's bright colour :D) or Banganapally mangoes but you can choose any pulpy and reasonably sweet variety of mango for the shake..

Makes: 2 glasses

I Took: 

Preparation Time: 10 mins

I Used:

Alphonso Mango	-	2 medium sized ones
Milk	-	1-1½ cup (boiled, cooled & refrigerated)
Sugar/Jaggery/Sweetner (optional)	-	1-2 tbsp (As needed)
Ice cream (optional)	-	1 scoop
Saffron/Kesar (optional) Cardamom powder (optional)	- -	A pinch ¼ tsp
Nuts (optional)	-	2-3 tbsp

The Way:

1. Scrape the skin of the mango and trim the stalk off. Rinse it well in water. While trimming the stalk some milk can ooze out of the mango and it gives a weird taste if not rinsed properly

2. Cut the mango into small chunks and take them in a blender

3. Add milk to it and blend well

4. Now open the blender and taste the milkshake. If needed add sugar, kesar and ice cream and then give a final blend

5. Pour into tall glasses and serve cold. You can garnish with chopped nuts if needed

Notes:

• I use Alphonso (or Banganapalli) mangoes for it's colour and taste. It gives a deep yellow colour and the shake feels like store bought :) You can use any ripe, pulpy, sweet and fibreless mangoes of your choice for making the shake

• For a thick milkshake use less milk for blending. Also keeping the mango/mango pieces in fridge also helps

• If using ice cream, use vanilla or mango flavour so that the taste is not compromised much

• Use ice cubes while blending for chilled shake. It can make the shake a little runny. Instead use chilled milk and mango for making shake and serve the shake with ice cubes added in the glass

• You can blend in the nuts or use for garnishing. Sometimes I like to blend in the nuts when I skip adding extra sweetner. Then it feels like having an extra crunch and I do not feel that I have skipped the sweetner (At times it is for satisfying the mind too ;))

Cheers,

Chitz

Raw Banana Fry | Vazhakkai Fry | Vazhakya Tawa Fry | Vazhakkai varuval | Easy Vazhakka Roast

This is yet another shallow fry recipe that features quite often in my menu. As the husband man (and now at times the little man too) has a relatively low tolerance (it's the mind that speaks not the tummy ;)) towards veggies, I resort to more of frying the veggies and make them look like close cousins to non-vegetarian dishes ;) For me to feel less guilty, I mostly use 2 or at the max 3 tbsp oil and shallow fry them. It tastes yum and makes the boys eat (not love, no way I can make them I guess) the veggies as well. So this is a simple and crispy fry that pairs well with rice an curd or Sambar or Rasam or even with a Puli Kuzhambu :) Do try and let me know how you wooed your loved ones :)

Serves: 2-3 persons

I Took: 

Preparation Time: 20 mins

Cooking Time: 30 mins

I Used:

Raw Banana	-	2 medium sized ones (1.5 cups after cutting)
Chilly powder	-	1 tsp
Coriander powder	-	1 tsp
Turmeric powder	-	¼ tsp
Garam Masala Rice Flour (optional) Oil Mustard Curry leaves	- - - - -	½ tsp 1-2 tbsp 2-3 tbsp ¼ tsp 2 sprigs
Salt	-	As Needed

The Way:

1. Gently scrape the skin of the plantains with a knife or a scraper. Do not remove the whole skin. Lightly scrape, maybe just the black spots alone you can scrape away. Rinse them in water. Trim the edges and cut them into thin round slices

2. Take the cut plantain slices in a steel bowl. Add the red chilly powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder, garam masala and salt to it and mix well. Allow it to rest for 10-15 minutes

3. Heat oil for shallow frying in a frying pan

4. Once the oil is hot, splutter the mustard seeds and curry leaves. This is optional

5. Then reduce the flame to minimum. Arrange the plantain pieces in the frying pan and shallow fry them 

6. Once one side slightly turns colour, flip over and roast the other side as well. 

7. Once done, remove them onto a plate and fry the remaining plantain pieces also like this in batches and serve with rice and gravy

Notes:

• If you may like, add a ¼ tsp of ginger garlic paste also while marinating the plantain pieces

• If you like your plantain fry more crispier, add 1-2 tbsp of rice flour to the marination

Cheers,
Chitz

Green Mochai Puli Kuzhambu | Mochai Chenakizhangu Puli Kuzhambu | Field Beans Gravy with Elephant Yam

This post is in my drafts for over an year now :D Now don't go 'Ohh my' so fast.. I have some more drafts that dates back to 3 years as well ;) Sometimes I feel the pic is not good, sometimes I feel the recipe is not up to the mark, maybe the measurements need a lil more fine tuning ;) So whatever the reason maybe, I am working on it and at the earliest planning to clean my drafts. Either rectify the issues or discard the draft and start fresh. Let's see how great it goes :)

So today's recipe is one with fresh field beans. I was very skeptical about cooking with this bean as it was the first time I was seeing the fresh variety though I have had the dried bean so many times during my childhood days :) But my mom convinced me (over phone) that they too taste great if made into a puli kuzhambu (tangy gravy with tamarind) with elephant yam.. And I didn't think twice. I had the yam too handy.. So went ahead and made this lip smacking gravy. It is easy to prepare and uses the pantry staples. Do try if you get hold of some fresh field beans and let me know how you liked it :)  

Serves: 2-3 persons

I Took: 

Preparation Time: 20 mins

Cooking Time: 30 mins

I Used:

Green Mochai/Green Field Beans	-	⅓ cup
Chenai/Yam (diced)	-	½ cup
Onion (sliced)	-	1 medium sized
Tomato (quartered)	-	1 medium sized
Red Chilly powder	-	3 tsp
Coriander powder	-	3 tsp
Turmeric powder	-	¼ tsp
Asafoetida	-	½ tsp
Tamarind	-	A small lemon sized
Grated Coconut	-	¼ cup
Salt	-	As Needed

To Temper:

Oil	-	1 tbsp
Mustard seeds	-	¼ tsp
Curry leaves	-	2 sprigs

The Way:

1. Soak tamarind in ½ cup warm water for 20-30 minutes. Then extract the pulp and keep aside

2. Remove the mochai (field beans) from the pods just like you de-shell the green peas

3. Grind the coconut in a mixer jar along with little water to a smooth paste and set aside

4. Clean and cut the yam into 2 inch cubes. Also slice the onions and chop the tomato into 8 pieces

5. Now take the field beans, cut yam, sliced onions and cut tomatoes in a kadai or clay pot that you are going to use to make the gravy

6. Add red chilly powder, coriander powder (or sambar powder - refer notes), turmeric powder, asafoetida and salt. Add 1 cup of water as well

7. Mix together and switch on the flame. Allow it to boil and then lower the flame and cook it covered for 5 minutes

8. Now open the lid and add the tamarind juice. Allow it to get cooked in low or medium flame. This will take around 10-12 minutes

9. When the beans and yam are cooked, add the ground coconut to the gravy and mix well

10. Allow it to blend in the gravy and cook for another 3-4 minutes. Once the gravy has reached the desired consistency and the flavours have mixed in well, switch off the flame

11. In a tadka pan, heat oil. Splutter mustard

12. Add the curry leaves and switch off the flame. Add this tempering to the gravy and mix well

Serve with steamed rice and a stir fry of your choice.

Notes:

• Instead of red chilly powder and coriander powder you can add 2-3 tbsp of sambar powder. It will be more flavourful. Or you can add 2 tbsp of sambar powder, 2 tsp of red chilly powder and 2 tsp of coriander powder as well

• While grinding coconut, you can add a tsp of fennel seeds or poppy seeds as well. If then take care to boil the gravy well so that you do not get the raw smell of the fennel seeds 

• If yam is not available you can try with raw banana/plantain as well or maybe skip yam altogether. But yam does impart a earthy flavour to the tangy gravy. Do not skip if you can get hold of some

Cheers,
Chitz

Pavakkai Fry | Pavakya Fry | Kakarakaya Fry | Easy Bitter Gourd Fry (Deep Fry)

By know you guys would be knowing my family's love for bitter gourd. Though I am very picky about the dishes made with pavakkai, this one is a personal as well as family favourite. Deep frying can make even the boring bittery bitter gourd yum and this recipe is a testimonial for that ;) And even my guests adore this fry. It tastes yum with curd rice, rasam sadam and samabar sadam.. My little one munches them as such :D And this is the only way he eats bitter gourd. Can't blame him ;) So let's hop on to the recipe now..

Some other recipes with bitter gourd that are there in the blog are Pitla, Pavakya Pulin Curry, Pavakkai Puli Kuzhambu & Khatta Meeta Karela..

Serves: 2-3 persons

I Took: 

Preparation Time: 10 mins

Cooking Time: 15 mins

I Used:

Bitter Gourd/Pavakkai	-	2 medium sized ones
Red Chilly powder	-	1 ½ tsp
Coriander powder	-	1 ½ tsp
Turmeric powder	-	½ tsp
Tamarind Paste	-	1 tsp (or a gooseberry sized piece)
Grated Jaggery (refer notes) Salt Oil	- - -	1 tsp As Needed To deep fry

The Way:

1. Rinse the bitter gourd well in water. You can scrape off the edges if needed. Else can use them as such. Trim the edges and cut them into thin round slices. The seeds and the skin are edible. If you do not prefer you can remove the seeds

2. Take the cut bitter gourd slices in a bowl. Add the red chilly powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder, salt, jaggery and tamarind paste, besan and rice flour (if using) to it and mix well. I did not have tamarind paste handy so I added a goseberry sized tamarind instead

3. Allow it to rest for 10-15 minutes

4. Heat oil for deep frying in a kadai or tadka pan

5. First add the tamarind piece (if using paste, directly add the marinated bitter gourd slices) to it. After 30-40 seconds, add a batch of the bitter gourd pieces and fry it till it turns colour and becomes deep and crisp

6. Remove onto a plate and fry the remaining bitter gourd pieces also like this in batches and serve with rice and gravy

Notes:

• To remove some bitterness you can rub salt to the bitter gourd pieces and rest it for 20 minutes. Then rinse it under water and then use. Alternately you can soak in curd as well and squeeze or rinse off the curd and then use. But since this recipe calls for deep frying the bitter gourd, the bitter taste is not felt much and hence I avoid that step

• You can skip jaggery if you do not want. The tamarind and jaggery are to reduce the bitterness of the gourd

• You can add 2-3 tbsp each of besan flour and rice flour or either one of the flour to the bitter gourd slices while marinating. The flours will add a coating to the bitter gourd slices and make them look more appealing :) I generally do not add them

Cheers,

Chitz

Red Coconut Chutney | Kerala Style Coconut Chutney with Shallots | Easy Kerala Style Coconut Chutney

An idly or dosa breakfast at my place usually means there will be a red chutney or white chutney to accompany it :) Both are coconut chutneys with the red one made with red chillies and the white one made with green chillies. Very easy to make if there is grated coconut at hand. Usually I grate the coconut the previous night or during weekends and refrigerate (You can even freeze them if you have more quantity) them. Morning first thing I take the grated coconut from fridge and keep outside. And while grinding I use slightly warm water so that it grinds easily without a slimy appearance (frozen grated coconut tends to make the chutney slimy, so better to use freshly grated ones) This makes life easier on busy mornings :) So today I will share how I make the red coconut chutney :) Other chutney recipes on the blog are Onion Tomato Kara Chutney, Ulli Sammanthi, Pudina Chutney (without coconut), Pudina Chutney with coconut, Pudina-Verkadalai Chutney

Serves: 3 persons

I Took: 

Preparation Time: 10 mins

I Used:

Grated Coconut	-	½ cup
Red Chilly	-	2-3 nos
Ginger (optional)	-	An inch piece
Shallots/Small Onions	-	2-3 nos
Salt	-	As Needed
Water	-	As Needed

To Temper:

Coconut Oil	-	2 tbsp
Mustard	-	½ tsp
Curry Leaves	-	2 sprigs

The Way:

1. Take the grated coconut, shallots, red chilly and ginger in a mixer jar along with required salt. Add little water (¼ cup)

2. Grind them nicely to a smooth (as smooth or coarse as you want) consistency

3. In a tadka pan, heat oil. Splutter mustard seeds

4. Then add the curry leaves. Switch off flame

5. Add the tadka to the chutney

Serve with idly, dosa, uthappam, pongal !

Notes:

• Use freshly broken & scraped coconut. The taste really differs when you use even a day old (refrigerated) coconut

• Avoid using old coconut and also kopra

• Add water according to the consistency of the chutney that you need. I would suggest using less water while grinding. Add more if needed once you grind and transfer the chutney to a container

• Ginger is optional

• Adjust the chillies as per your taste. Quantity of ingredients given are guidelines and can be adjusted to suit personal tastes

• If the chutney becomes too runny, add more grated coconut and grind

Cheers,
Chitz

Cheera Thoran | Kerala Style Easy Red Spinach Stir fry with coconut | Keerai Poriyal

Ask any Mallu to choose between red and green spinach, the answer would be the red one. There is something closer to heart or home with the red spinach for the Malayali :) Especially if the Mallu is in a foreign land and somehow gets to see some red spinach in the market or store, the expression would be "Chummana Cheeraaaaaaaaaa" (Red Spinaaaach) and they would promptly buy it too ;) And there is no brownie points for guessing today's recipe, it's none other than the humble stir fry with the red spinach. It is easy to make like any other thoran, even better, coz there is no grinding or crushing of coconut involved like in some other thorans. Pair it with some curd or Pulissery and matta rice and it's just bliss. "Venel or omelette koodi aavam too ;)" (Can have an omelette too with that combo ;)) 

My other spinach recipes are Cheera Parippu Curry, Cheera Thalippu, Sirukeerai Paruppu Masiyal, Vallarai keerai Poriyal, Chembila Mezhukkupuratti, Chembin Thandu Parippu Curry & Palak Paneer

Serves: 3-4 persons

I Took: 

Preparation Time: 10 mins

Cooking Time: 20 mins

I Used:

Coconut Oil Spinach/Cheera	- -	2-3 tbsp 3 heaped cups - chopped
Shallots	-	10-12 nos - sliced
Red Chilly	-	2-3 nos
Grated Coconut	-	¼ cup

The Way:

1. Wash and rinse the spinach in water 2-3 times so that the dirt and sand is removed. Then spread them on a plate or kitchen towel and allow them to dry for 10-15 minutes

2. Then chop them finely and keep aside. Peel the shallots and slice them

3. Heat the coconut oil in a pan. Splutter the mustard seeds if using

4. Then add the sliced shallots and broken red chilly and saute

5. Saute till they slightly turn colour. Now add the chopped spinach and mix well. Then cover and cook them till done which will take around 10-12 minutes

6. In between open the lid and saute so that they don't get burnt or stuck to the bottom of the pan. If you feel it's too dry add 1-2 tbsp of water and saute. Don't add more, else it will get soggy

7. Finally once the spinach is cooked, add the grated coconut and saute for another minute or two. Switch off the flame and serve with a gravy of your choice

Notes:

• Can splutter mustard seeds in the beginning of needed. I generally do not do that

• You can also make without coconut. That also tastes equally good

Cheers,
Chitz

Gajar ka halwa | Gajar Halwa | Carrot Halwa Recipe | Easy Carrot Halwa recipe with full fat milk

Gajar ha Halwa is a traditional Indian dessert made with fresh red (Delhi) carrots, milk and sugar and of course some ghee. It is a winter delicacy as these carrots can be seen in market only during winters and especially in North India. It is a rare sight in the South. These carrots (most of them) are juicy and very yum to have as such, my little one loves to munch on them :) And the other special dish that can be made using them is this Carrot halwa or Gajar ka Halwa. I have also posted a Carrot Pudding last year using the same variety of carrots. If you are not able to find the red Delhi carrots but still would love to enjoy some halwa, go ahead and prepare with the normal carrots at hand. They too taste yum :)

This dish is a common sight in many weddings and so often you can find it in the Indian dessert section in the restaurant buffets. One of the best combos that you can go for is pair this halwa with a dollop of ice cream. I just love that combination. If you are not in a mood or like to have too much sweet, then this is an ideal way as the ice cream balances the sweetness of the halwa yet giving a rich feel :) 

There are many variations to this recipe, like using condensed milk or khoya. The richness varies with each variant. I & my family prefer it using full fat milk and hence the recipe I'm posting today is also the same. I always make this halwa using a heavy bottomed vessel but you can very well prepare it using pressure cooker or in a microwave as well. Somehow I believe the taste is a notch higher when you prepare the traditional way in a pan rather than pressure cook. 

Some tips that I follow to get my halwa great :)

1. Whenever available use red (Delhi) carrots to make this halwa. Also choose fresh carrots that are tender and juicy. Do not keep in fridge for a few days before you make it. Choosing it as fresh as possible makes a great halwa

2. Grate the carrots to medium thickness. Too thin will make your halwa mushy and too little in quantity. Preferably grate them using a hand held grater. Food processors make your life easier, but trust me, doing some things the traditional way will bring out better results :) After all, it's not everyday that we get to make the halwa, right :)

3. Some recipe calls for frying the carrot before adding milk. But that changes the colour of the halwa and I like the taste better when the carrots are not fried but just cooked in simmer in full fat milk

4. They stay good for a week in the fridge. You can serve hot or cold. If you like to serve warm, then microwave for a minute or two before serving

Serves: 3 persons

I Took: 

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 15 minutes

I Used:

Delhi Carrots	-	1 cup (heaped)
Full fat Milk	-	1 cup
Sugar	-	6 tbsp
Ghee  Cardamom Powder	- -	1 tbsp + 2-3 tbsp for frying cashews ½ tsp
Cashew Nuts	-	10-12 nos

The Way:

1. Rinse the carrots well in water. Then peel them and trim their ends

2. Grate them to medium thickness using a hand held grater (preferably) or a food processor

3. In a heavy bottomed pan (or kadai) add the grated carrots and milk and allow them to come to a boil on a medium heat. Then simmer

4. While on simmer, keep an eye, stirring in between. The carrots will cook in the milk and the milk will start to reduce and evaporate

5. When the milk has almost reduced, add the sugar, ghee and cardamom powder. 

6. Stir well and continue to cook on simmer, stirring in between 

7. In the meantime, heat ghee (around 2-3 tbsp) in a tadka pan. Fry the cashews on a low flame. Take care not to burn. Once they turn colour to golden, switch off the flame

8. Once all the milk is evaporated and the halwa becomes dry, add the fried cashews. Give a stir and switch off the flame

Serve warm or cold. Can garnish with more almonds, nuts or other dry fruits before serving !

Cheers,

Chitz