Thursday, February 24, 2011

Potatoes with Fenugreek leaves


                                                          Fresh Fenugreek leaves

The neutral taste of Potatoes with  the bitter taste of Fenugreek leaves combines to make an absolute delight for vegetarians or potato lovers.

This North Indian delight takes 15 min of preparation time and 10 min of cooking time. Main task is to clean the Fenugreek leaves. It takes around 10 minutes to pluck the leaves and 5 min to boil potatoes. After separating the leaves, chop potatoes into small cubes. After this, sauté it in a pan with finely chopped fenugreek leaves.

Fresh methi leaves vs dried ones
I prefer fresh methi leaves from vegetable store than the dried ones. If you don't have time or a ton a patience, then you can use dried Fenugreek leaves ( kasoori methi).

Cheers,

Marina

Birthday Cake Designs

Edible Icing Sheet Birthday Cake

What's your kid's favorite cartoon? Wouldn't it be great to surprise your child with a colourful picture  birthday cakes? If you're interested, you can order edible icing cake for your kid's birthday. Apart from cartoon images, you can choose your kids favorite pictures to make a special birthday cake.

Picture Cakes Bangalore
To order edible icing cake in Bangalore, you can contact me with details. In Bangalore you can order edible icing cakes from IBCLR ( Mission Road, B'lore) or Sweet Chariot. 

If you're close to Cambridge Layout, Domlur or Indira Nagar side, then I can help you on customised birthday cakes or cupcakes.

How to order Custom made Birthday Cake:


Step 1 - E-mail me the picture or design or explain the design
Step 2 - Mention the type of cake
( Pineapple pastry, Black forest, Checkered, plain, etc)
Step 3-  Take delivery


Pls give me 48 hrs time for the order. Apart from cakes, I make cupcakes with different topping for any occasion. Contact me for details on custom made birthday cake, please contact me at 9379398865 ( Marina .
Thank you,

Marina

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Grilled Fish

Blue Trevally After Grilling
Grilled Blue Trevally - Vatta Fish
Couldn't help sharing this grilled fish with you folks. Recently the grill bug has got hold of me. This is making me "Grill crazy". Now I"m into all kinds of grilling in my OTG. If you're still reluctant to grill, then let this picture prompt you to try out in your kitchen.

Now I stopped oil fry and it's only grilled fish. After few trial and error methods you'll learn to make a perfect grille fish.

Use a non-stick pan and wrap the fish in butter paper and then cover it with aluminium foil. This covering will retain the moisture, and taste of the fish. Well, if you're keen to get the taste of roast, then grill it in the pan without covering it with foil paper.

Before you buy fish!
Many times my hubby was fooled by the fisher women in Trivandrum, Kerala. I don't know how they convince him to buy rotten fish!

Buying fish in Bangalore
If you're buying fish in Bangalore, I suggest you to head for the fish shop early in the morning. Select fish from the fresh stock. With every passing hour, the freshness will slide down.

Places to buy fish around Indira Nagar Bangalore

> Sargar Fish Stall - Domlur Bangalore. (They clean sardines for regular customers)
> NLP Fish Stall - Domlur Bangalore : Contact Jayaram ( 080 25353930) for home delivery( 2 - 3 km)
> Frostys - Michaelpalya, Indira Nagar, Bangalore ( 080- 25283024)

Have a nice day,

Marina.

Monday, February 21, 2011

Loaded Kerala Lunch


Looking back at few lip smacking lunches, I found this from my picture library. This fully loaded lunch had fish curry, parava fry, egg curry, carrot thoran, dal, and pickle. I remember eating to my heart's delight, and did'nt stop with one serving. 

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Chicken Wings Lunch


Green Peas Pulao and Alu Methi
What makes a delightful Sunday Lunch? Today I had a new item for my lunch. I had these tasty chicken wing grill along with peas pulao, alu methi and cutlet. In fact, I felt this lunch too heavy with all these attractive add ons. Since I didn't get time to make salad, I settled for low fat Nestle curd.

Why don't you try combination at your house? Apart from cutlet, rest of it is takes less time and money. I'm sure kids and grown up people will love this beautiful lunch idea. Pls give further suggestion or comments, to improve my trials

Order Chicken Wing Starter
If you have any doubts about this recipe, pls feel free to call me or mail me for detailed recipe. If you're in Bangalore you can call me to take chicken starter for your next party.

Grilled Soya Sauce Chicken Wings


OTG Grilled Chicken Wings

Chicken wing grill is my latest attempt for a cheap and tasty starter. I bought Chicken Wings from New Frosty's Indira Nagar, Bangalore. Then I marinated these chicken wing pieces with chilly flakes,soya sauce, pepper, chilly powder and a little of turmeric powder. Viola!

I grilled it for 10 min without applying any oil. It was an open grill. The fat from the chicken pieces was more than sufficient to give the wings a flight of taste. I had a different lunch today with this chicken wing recipe.

Order Chicken Wings for Starter
You can order Chicken wing as starter. I'll grill pieces with the same masala, and no oil. One plate of chicken wing starter will cost you Rs 50 ( 5 delightful pieces). Best part is the "No Oil" is used for this chicken starter. You'll love the natural taste and more that you can buy these grill chicken wing pieces at a very cheap price. Why don't you try it out for your next party.

If you're close to Cambridge layout, then give me a call at Ph # 9379398865 for wings!

Quick Dish Alu methi


Another beautiful Sunday with another delight. This time I used dry Kasuri Methi to make Alu Methi. It meant less work to clean the fresh Methi leaves. I could make this dish in 10 min. Yes, just under 10 min I made Alu Methi for three people.

A pack of dried Methi leaves cost under Rs 20/-. 

Another Fishy Lunch

Boiled rice with Grilled Fish, Fish Egg stir fry, Avial, Bringal stir fry
Power packed Kerala Lunch
I love it when lunch is packed with vegetables, fish and lip smacking curd curry. So, here the picture of one such lunch at Bangalore. In this lunch plate you can see eggplant ( kathirika stir fry), caviar ( Sear fish egg fry), avial, grilled Blue Travelly and curd curry.

This feast reminds me of this cliché , "there is no Greater Love than the Love of Food".

Thanks have a delightful day,

Marina

Saturday, February 19, 2011

Rohu Fish In Bangalore

Fresh Rohu Fish at Domlur Fish Stall

Bongs in Bangalore
Bangalore with superior work culture is steadily attracting professionals and educated folks from Bengal. With over four-lakh Bengali population, Bangalore has become their next home, offering everything from Durga puja celebrations to food delights.

Fish is an important part of Bengali culture and cuisine. There are many Bengali restaurants that cater typical Bengali cuisine - from sweets to fishy delights.

Rohu Fish Bangalore
Most fish stalls in Bangalore have regular supplies of fresh Rohus, Hilshas, Prawns, Magurs, and Katla. I took this picture of Rohu fish from NLP fish stall Domlur, Bangalore. Big fat Rohu are favorite for Bongs (Bengali Comrades).

Bengali fish curry in mustard oil - Try out this awesome  Rui Macher Kalia (Spicy Rohu Curry) .

Sea fish vs Fresh Water fish 
I'm a big fan of sea food. It's an in-born trait I picked from my childhood. In fact most folks from Trivandrum prefer sea fish to lake fish. We sea food lovers complain of mud taste in river fish. I'm sure fresh water fish lovers have their version of dislike about sea fish.

One exception to sea food crazy people is towards the delicacy of  Pearl Spot ( Karimeen ). This fish is unique to kerala's backwaters.If you're visiting kerala, try out Karimeen pollichathu or Karimeen fry.

Fish Cutlet in Bangalore
I make fish cutlet (mackeral/tuna) as per prior orders.You too can try these yummy fish cutlet for your next party. View fish cutlet page.

Pls follow me in Facebook

Friday, February 18, 2011

Oats with Strawberry and Grapes


Oats for Breakfast
Daily I have Oats as breakfast. Just 5 min of time and I've breakfast for two. There is nothing new when I take Oats for breakfast. The bland food goes in without trigging any emotions from my taste buds. For a change this time, I added fresh topping. Strawberry and seedless grapes on top of Oats aroused my sensory senses to an overdrive.

There are other thousand ways to improvise on Oats. Often I add two table spoon of Kellogg's Muesli to my Oats. The dry fruits and nuts in Muesli adds an interesting taste to my breakfast.

Here's what I did last (Summer) no last breakfast. Easy Oats recipe for a normal breakfast:

Ingredients:

Quaker Oats – 1/2 cup
Water - 1 Cup
Milk – 1 cup
Sugar – 1 Tbsp
Strawberry - few
Grapes-few

How To Prepare Oats

Cut all the fruits .
Cook the Oats with 1 cup of water for 5 mts
Then add Milk and Sugar and cook for about 2-3 minutes.
Transfer the cooked Oats to a serving bowl.
Leave the mixture to cool for 2-3 minutes.
Add the cut Fruits.
Your healthy Oats breakfast is ready.

You can try out other interesting variants to Oats. Pls share new combination you've tried on Oats.


Sunday, February 13, 2011

Muffin Love


Vanilla Valentine Muffins
If you think these muffins are cute, then gift it to someone you love. If you're from Bangalore you can get special love muffins for this Valentine. I sell Valentine muffins in packets or you can buy assorted muffin mix.

Heart Shaped Muffins to entice your love
Love just don't end or just begin only during Valentine Season. These heart shaped muffins are available all through the year. Just let me know 2 days in advance to order your muffin love pack.

With love & muffins,

Marina

P.S. Contact me to learn muffins/cup cakes. Get the basics with one-to-one baking classes. Contact me Marina @ 9379398865. (I'm located at Cambridge Layout, Opp Ranka Corner Apartments, 2 min walk from Sai Baba Temple, Halasuru. 

Chilly Chicken


Chilly Chicken
After a short gap, I made one of the most fav dish - Chilly Chicken. There're many admirers to my unique chilly chicken. It's unique b'cos of the recipe. The credit goes to my Grand Mom, Late Polly Cruz. She is an excellent cook, who in her times had extensive knowledge of western and Indian recipes. Most of her unique recipes has been lost with her. Anyways, there're few tasty dishes to cherish her memory.

Order Chilly Chicken in Bangalore
I make chilly chicken as per the order. If you're staying close to Cambridge Layout or around Indira Nagar, then you can contact me for large orders. Contact me at # 9379398865.

You can try this Recipe of chilly chicken

Ingredients

  1. Chicken - 1 kg
  2. Chopped onions- 2 cups
  3. Chopped tomato-2 cups
  4. Whole garlic-1
  5. Orange red color- 2 pinch
  6. Soya Sauce - 4 tbsp
  7. Oil-100gms
  8. Green chillie -15 (cut into round shape seedless)
  9. Chilly powder -3 tsp
Method to make chilly chicken

  • Marinate chicken with color,salt and soya sauce and keep it for one hour
  • Take a pan add oil and when it is hot add the crush garlic
  • Saute' till golden brown then remove it from the oil (this is only to give flavor for the curry)
  • In the same oil add chicken and chopped onions
  • When it is half cooked add red chilly powder and chopped tomatoes
  • Cover and cook till it is done.
  • Now add the green chillies and mix well.
  • Remove it from the stove, the green chilly should not loose the color.
  • Serve hot with fried rice
Regards,

Marina

Saturday, February 12, 2011

First Holy Communion Candles


First Communion Silver Candles
These are the First holy communion candles I made and delivered to our parish - Our Lady of Lourdes, Cambridge Layout, Bangalore. It's a simple design with three small white roses and two green leaf. It's a good start to carry my passion to make communion candles. Next time, I'll try with another design.

Custom Made Communion Candles Bangalore, Hyderabad
I also deliver candles as per your design. Get in touch with me to see other samples for first holy communion candles. I also make wedding favors in Bangalore. Contact me to order first holy communion candles

Thanks,

Marina

P.S. I also make funeral candles. 

Bread With Chicken Stew


Bread and stew is very a popular breakfast dish among Christians in Kerala. These days many Christian marriages reception include this food as the starter. Apart from stew, fish molly goes well with bread. I've posted appam recipe couple of months back. Check this post for appam recipe.

Valentine Special's

Delightful Cup Cake 
Valentine muffin & Cupcakes
It's the season of romance, love and friendship. Based on this theme, I made special Valentine muffins for lovers and losers. Even if you win someone's heart or loose out, there's something you can look forward.

As the adage goes, there is no love sincerer than the love of food.

Happy Valentine's day,

Marina

Kerala's Green backyard


Backwater Views
My blog is stuffed with all kinds of food. It's only about food, food and lot's of food. Too much of food talk is a turn off for many. So, I decided to break the food spell with a green view. This time it's a break from the oil and smoke to something close to nature.

Where is this backwater view?
During one of my trip to Trivandrum, I took couple of pics of backwater from the train. I took this picture from a place called Kapil. I hope this picture gives fresh air or diverts your mind from all the food stuffed posts.

Well, life is not all about food, neither is my blog. Let me take a break from foodie stuff to something more delightful .

With love,

Marina

Delightful Veg Lunch


After posting few pics on fish and meat delight, now it's time to post on veg delight. In the above lunch picture, I made three types of vegetarian side dish: palak fry(greens), potato curry & mixed veg fry.Usually I have boiled rice, but since it got over, I use Sona Masuri rice. I buy most of my provisions from Top and Town a department store at Cambridge Layout, Bangalore.

To make the lunch complete, I made Moru Kachiyathu (seasoned-buttermilk-curry). This simple curry is  favorite one for mallus and it can be prepared in less than 10 minutes.

Kerala Beef Curry

Red Hot Kerala Beef Curry
Kerala Beef Curry with Kappa
Almost all gathering or house-party in Trivandrum is never complete without Beef. Last October during a get-together I made kappa ( tapioca) along with Beef. It was a deadly combination, esp when  people are in high spirits. I bought Beef from Kunnukuzhy meat shop. I prefer the line piece (rib) along with extra bit of fat portion.

In another post I'll give beef recipe and tips to make good kappa curry.

Regards,

Marina 

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Sardine Kerala Curry

Sardine curry - Kerala Recipe
Kerala Mathi (Sardine) Curry
Sardine, ( Mathi, Challa), is one the cheapest, popular and the tastiest fish available in South India. When I say tastiest, its an opine from my taste buds. In sea food world of million choices ( Sear Fish, Promfret to anchovy), Sardine swims unique.

Health Benefits of Mathi
Sardines are rich in Omega and other good fats. It's good for your skin, hair and heart.

In Bangalore, all fish vendors sell sardines, but only a few give it cleaned. Cleaning sardines is a time consuming task and requires patience. I strong smell of sardine can stink your hand and even your clothes. Always use apron while cleaning sardine and after cleaning wash your hands in lime juice or with Kadala Mavu.

If you're living in an apt surrounded by veg folks, then strong smell of sardine fry can make vegies go mad with you. Watch out when you fry sardines, they have a bad reputation for its stink.

Your's through Sardines,

Marina

P.S. Learn how to make clean sardines

Appam and Chicken Stew

Appam & Chicken Stew

Appam Feast
Here's the picture of Chicken stew with fluffy Kerala appams. I made this lip-smacking appam for my breakfast.

I use traditional Appachatti to make Appam. The appam from appachatti come out better than non-stick pans. When you make Appam with Appachatti you get with better crusted border ( brown frilled skirts around white appam center). As a kid I used to love eating Appam's border, leaving the soft center in my plate. Now, time has mellowed my eating habits. I don't leave waste any crumbs on my plate.

Appam goes well with veg or non-veg stew or with fish molly. For a quick breakfast, I make egg roast as a side dish for appam.

Tips To Make Beautiful Looking Appams
Making appam can be bit tricky. It's filled with lots of unexpected surprises, and goof ups. When I started making appam, I faced many appam disasters. Sometimes, appam wouldn't come from the cheenachatti/pan and few times appam came out as dosa.

Recently my Mom told me to smear big onion on the Appachatti before pouring the appam batter. The grease from onion forms a non-stick layer on the pan. The onion grease layer in the appachati (pan) will help you to remove appam with ease from the appachatti. No more sticky worries.

Chicken Stew and Appam in Bangalore

Recently I made appam and chicken stew for a family get-together in Bangalore. If you have similar party orders, then give me a call ( two day's in advance).

I'm sure Appam still reigns as the #1 breakfast item with Malayalees households. Here's the recipe for making appam.

In Kerala appam is more popular among Christian communities. Apart from Kerala, Appam is popular in Sri Lanka.

Related Links:
Learn to Make Appam
I take cooking classes in Bangalore. Learn to make Apam, with one-to-one cooking class. In my cooking class, I'll give you the appam recipe and you get the chance to make appam by yourself.. If you're out of Bangalore, you can learn Appam from my online cooking class.


BTW:
If you have party order, contact me at # 9379398865 to enjoy traditional Appam and Stew in Bangalore. I'm located Near Domlur BDA Complex

Marinated Blue Travelly

Marinated Blue Travelly 
Heavy Indian Spicy Masala
How do you rate this flaming picture of Blue Travelly smeared with chilly paste, turmeric and salt? Doesn't it look too hot, too spicy? If you're not used to Kerala's spicy food, then you better avoid this kind of covering.

At Kerala, we mostly use this kind of paste to marinate fish. I used the same paste for grilling. After grilling this piece for 10 min in oven, the blue travelly ( Vatta) was ready for a lip-smacking lunch.

Regards,

Marina

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Muffins as Gift


I learned to make muffins from Manju's cake baking class. Since then I've improvised on muffin baking in my own way. Recently I gifted muffins to a baby girl as my b'day gift. I feel gifting your own creation gives a personal touch and meaningful to the gift.

Based on what you can or your interests, you can make something unique to give it as gift. 

Idli and Chammanthi


Idli and Coconut Chammanthi

Best part of life are the unexpected gift, help and support. Talking of giving food, my house owner frequently gives me idlies in the morning. Such unexpected breakfast are definitely a source of delight and I give it back to her when I make something new in my kitchen.

Are you a born giver or you can kick start this habit?
So,what's your sharing index? Do you frequently give or you look forward to get gifts from others. If you like cooking or baking, you can start giving a small share to your neighbors. If you're looking for ideas to give, then get it from  giveindia.org.

With love,

Marina. 

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Valentine Muffins


Treat Your Valentine with Heart Shaped Muffins
It's another Valentine season! Soon many hearts will explode with first touch of fresh love. Thinking of this romantic season, I baked "Valentine Muffins" for lovers and wannabe lovers.

Give sweet surprises to your Valentine or Valentine(s) with homemade muffins. :)

Would you be interested in Valentine cup cakes?
Call me at Ph # 9379398865 to order Valentine muffin to kindle your valentine.

Get the right impression with the first expression. Be unique as you are and stand apart from other Valentines!

Shine on,

Marina

P.S. Order for chocolate muffins, vanilla or orange marmalade muffins or heart shaped strawberry cake.  Choice is yours!

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Baked Fish - Baked False Trevally


False Trevally Grill
Parava in Malayalam or sudumbu in Tamil or False Trevally in English is a very popular fish in Kerala for it's taste. In Trivandrum we rarely buy Parava, b'cos it's very expensive. In Bangalore, I frequently buy Parava as the price is close to Snaper ( Rs 140 -160 a kg for Parava).

Parava Grill
Usually I make Parava kerala curry or just fry it in oil. This time I baked Parava after marinating it in chilly powder, pepper and turmeric powder. Along with the fish, I chopped few shallots and a pinch of few coriander leaves.

Usually I bake in the open tray, but this time I covered the fish in aluminum foil. This seals the flavor and avoids the dryness. As Blue Trevally has soft flesh, you can bake it under 10min. You can marinate this fish with different ingredients or stuff it with herbs for different taste.

Regards,

Marina

P.S: Watch this video on red snapper baking

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Kappa Puzhukku / Tapioca Curry

                                                              Kappa puzhukku

Tapioca  The Cuisine of Kerala
Kappa ( Tapioca) is a stable food for Keralities. Kappa and fishy curry is great delicacy in Toddy shops in Kerala. Most of guys ravish the taste of Kappa from toddy shops, and I go envy.

In Andhra its known as  "Karrapendalam", the Kannadigas as "Kolli" and the Tamilians as "Maravallikezhangu". Of all states, Kerala tops in the consumption of tapioca in India.

History of Tapioca in Kerala
Tapioca or Cassava, is a tropical tuber crop from South America. It's said to have reached Indian shores during 16th century.


In Bangalore you can buy Tapioca from many of the Department stores run by Keralites. At Cambridge Layout, Banglore, I buy tapioca from Top N Town department store. Last week I bought 1 Kg kappa to make kappa (Marichinee/ Kizhangu)  puzhukku.

Preparation is kappa is very simple.First peal the outer cover of Kappa. Cut it into 1 inch size chunks and boil till soft (around 15 min) in sufficient water. When it become soft, stain the water.Your kappa is ready.

Ingredients for Kappa puzhukku
  1. Tapioca - 2 cups/400gms
  2. Red chillie- 4
  3. Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp
  4. Cocount oil- 2 tbsp
  5. Garlic- 4 pods
  6. Jeera- 1/4 tsp
  7. Curry leaves
  8. Salt to taste.
This is how I made Kappa puzhukku
  • Cut tapioca into small pieces and add double the amount of water
  • Cover it and cook for 5-10mts, till it is fully cooked
  • Strain the water and smash the tapioca with a wooden spoon
  • Grind chillie, turmeric, jeera and garlic to a fine paste.
  • Add to the tapioca and boil for some time.
  • Heat coconut oil in a pan and add little mustard, curry leaves and  1 red chillie
  • Pour this over the cooked tapioca
  • Serve hot with meen curry
Kappayum Meenum ( Tapioca with Fish Curry )
You can take Kappa along with different side dishes. The most popular combination prefered by locals is   Fish curry, Beef or with Kanthari Mulaku Chammanthi or Bird’s eye Chilli Chutney. If you ask my choice, I would prefer fish curry.

So, if you haven't tried tapioca then why don't you try this tuber crop ( kappa) this weekend.

Marina

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Jam roll/Swiss roll

Jam Roll 
In the Year of Jam Roll 

Most of my fondest childhood memories are related to snacks or food I had after school. One snack that comes to my mind, relates to Jam Roll. We used to buy this soft curly Swiss roll from Jayram bakery at Medical colledge area in Trivandrum.

Now after all these years, I still get fancy of these yummy stuffs. Now I often make it at my place. But, nothing comes closer to the taste I had in those wonder years.

Jam Roll Ingredients:
  1. Maida -3/4 cup
  2. Baking powder-1 tsp
  3. Salt - a pinch
  4. Eggs-3
  5. Sugar -3/4 cup
  6. Cold water -2 tbsp
  7. Jam -3/4 cup
  8. Lemon extract - 4 tsp
  9. Powdered sugar
Steps to make Jam Roll:
  • Sift flour, baking powder and salt three times
  • Beat egg white stiff but do not let it get dry.
  • Fold in 1/2 cup of sugar
  • Mix egg yolks and water and beat until foamy.
  • Add 1/4 cup of sugar , beating until thick and yellow.
  • Add lemon extract
  • Fold egg yolk mixture into egg white mixture.and add the flour mixture.
  • Take a baking tray of  9"x14"x1" pan with greased wax paper.
  • Ppour the mixture and bake in moderate oven for 25 mts
  • Turn out on towel dusted with powdered sugar.
  • Remove paper and trim the edges
  • Mash Jam and spread on cake.
  • Roll up wrap in towel and cool.
  • Remove towel, sprinkle roll with powdered sugar.
  • Slice when cold and enjoy this yummy Jam/Swiss roll
Roll baby roll,

Marina

Note:- You can use cream instead of jam