Pazhamangaakari - Kerala ripe mango and lentil

Another delicious ripe mango dish with lentils and coconut.

Hungarian beef and potato soup

On one of those cold early spring days, when winter is over, but has not yet moved away, a hearty beef and potato soup is welcome. And for a change of flavors, I made this Hungarian one. The caraway seeds, paprika and marjoram are what makes this one different.

St. Patrick’s Day 2019

Rice cooker

Never thought a rice cooker will make my life easy! The Aroma rice cooker, available on amazon.com, with its saute and simmer function lets you do so much more. A delightful surprise. Soups, stews, stirfries, and of course, our parboiled rice. Which by the way is not pre-cooked rice.

a lentil-based beef stew with vegetables that I made in this cooker. A so-called curry from our parts.

Frogmore stew

comfort food from the South.

Dublin/Irish coddle

Usually I make the Irish-Ameican corned beef and cabbge for St Patricks Day. This year, went for Irish coddle. Simple but tasty with Irish soda bread.

Sambar

Sambar is one of the staples in our house. There will be some always. It goes well with rice, rotis, dosa and idli and vada etc etc. And it is healthy and spicy delicious and aromatic. It has a lentil base, and all kinds of vegetables, all kinds of spices including turmeric, coriander, asafoetida, and a few others.  One of the basic food item of South Indians. A soup, a stew, a so-called curry.

this one is special because I used a mandolin to prep the vegetables. Till now I did everything by hand, as I realize that I am kind of a perfectionist. Each vegetable piece had to certain shape and size.
But once I used the gadget, things looked different, but somehow easier. Tasted the same, anyway.

final seasoning with mustard seeds, dried chillies, spices

rice and sambar and ground beef

Lamb ragout with farro and spring vegetables

Waiting at the counter at the grocery store,  saw the picture of a stew on the cover of a magazine,. Came home, googled and found it in bon appetit magazine. Unfamiliar flavors, especially that of dandelion greens. But we enjoyed it.
The method and the spices used aren't that different from other stews. The greens is what made the taste different, I think.

prep:

Christmas 2017

Countdown to Christmas 2017

When Christmas arrives, Europe, especially England, calls. I have written about my liking for those quaint  olde English pubs, castles, cottages and of course, food. This year wasn't too crazy, I made just a few.

The rock cake and sticky toffee pudding are favorites of kids over there, I hear. And of Harry Potter too! But I did not make a sticky toffee pudding. Instead, I made a gingerbread cake and the sticky sauce of the toffee cake., because I wanted to make gingerbread. I substituted golden syrup for the molasses in the gingerbread recipe, and for treacle in the sticky sauce one. In any case, it was delicious. When eaten warm, it was heavenly!

As usual, the Kerala style plum cake was made ahead. Christmas cookies are the usual ones, except this time, my decoration is kind of sloppy. Also, forgot the nose on the snowmen!

Linzer cookie

rock cakes

gingerbread

warm gingerbread with sticky sauce

Christmas cookies

Christmas eve 2017


Appetizers

lamb chops

latkes

Soup:

butternut squash soup with spiced cream as garnish

and bread

pain d'epi

Should have diluted that soup a tad bit, but by then, the roast and the accompaniments were calling for my attention, and so, just served it as it is. It was a meal in itself!

For the main course, this X'mas eve, I prepared a typical English roast. Roast beef, roasted potatoes, Yorkshire pudding, and gravy. Gave an American touch with the creamed spinach.

roast beef dinner

Desserts:

Kerala style plum cake, creme brulee

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the clink of the spoon  against the caramelized sugar on top, and the softness of the pudding inside! yum!


On Christmas day, a pared down Nazrani Christmas. For breakfast, Paalappam and lamb stew. Just our fish in spicy coconut sauce, fried fish, Beef cutlets, and a vegetable. Paalalppam looks a bit tattered! waiting and transferring didnt go well.

paalappam and lamb stew

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paalappam and stew - an earlier better pic

Nazrani beef varattiyathu with leftover roast beef