Pazham pori /Ethakka appam (Banana fritters)

When ever I make pazham pori, my li'l sis comes to my mind. b'cos its her favorite.

My achachan(dad) used to get us mid morning snacks when we are home (he still gets us those when go home for vacations)

He gets each of us our own favs.mine is dal vada, my li'l sis's is pazham pori.

Very yummy sweet snack,not much difficult to put together.

I have always felt that it tastes the best if we make it with fully ripened bananas.(when the peel turns almost black)

I get bananas these days for my li'l one, her fav breakfast mashed with cereal.

She loved this version of banana too.She claps when she likes things(being a 10 month old, i guess that is her only way of letting me know she wants more)

At the very first bite, she jumped and clapped...oh,yeah! she likes pazham pori

I hope, you too will like them :)

You'll need:


Banana: 2 nos (fully ripened)
All purpose flour: 2-3 tbsp
Sugar: 1tbsp
Salt: a pinch
Oil: as required for deep fry

How to make: 

Peel the bananas and cut them half.Slice each half lengthwise into 3-4 pieces.

Mix all purpose flour and enough water to make the batter. Add sugar and salt.

The consistency should be right enoguh to coat bananas when you dip them in the batter.

Heat oil in a pan. When the oil is bubbling hot, dip the banana pieces in the batter and deep fry them for 2-3 min on each side, until they turn golden brown. Drain them on a paper towel n enjoy it hot off the stove :)

Kaya Erachi (Beef with plantain)

Though the name of the dish sounds a bit weird, this one is a real spicy, tounge tickling, yummilicious dish. 
This is one of my all time favorites. I'm sure people from Kerala know what i'm talking about. 
Its nothing but beef curried in lots of Indian spices and plantain. In my home, we have more plantain and less beef in it( just enough to get the flavor of it). But for meat lovers like my hubby I add lots and lots of beef :)
My dad makes it at times, he says in the house, only he knows the right blend of it ...and he gives us all some to taste before the meal time right out of the stove top...steaming spicy kaya erachi....yummmmmm


I can go on n on about this curry n the tales about it...let's get the ball rolling with the recipe...


You'll need:
To cook beef:
Beef: 1 lb (cut into small pieces)
Ginger Garlic paste: 1tbsp

Coriander powder: 1 tbsp
Chili powder: 1 tbsp
Turmeric powder: 1 tbsp
Garam masala powder: 1/2 tbsp

Salt: as required

For the dish:  
Plantain: 2 nos
Tomato:1 no (chopped)
Cilantro: A few sprigs for garnish
Onion: 1 no (medium size, thinly sliced)
Green Chili: 2-3 nos
Coriander powder: 1 tbsp
Chili powder: 1/2 tbsp
Turmeric powder: 1/2 tsp
Garam masala powder: 1/2 tsp
Salt: as required
Oil: as required


How to make:
Cook beef along with all the ingredients mentioned above.
Cut the plantain to small pieces and cook it with enough salt.
Heat oil in a pan and add oil. Saute onion and green chili till onion gets translucent.
Add chopped tomato and saute for some more time. When tomato gets mushy, add all the spice powders mentioned above. Cook this for 2-3 min and then add the beef and plantain to it.
Mix it all together and let it cook for 2-3 min, stirring in between.
Garnish with chopped cilantro.
Ta da...Gobble it down as such or have it with steaming hot white rice..enjoy!!

Welcome back with a smoothie

I know, it's been a while.I mean quite a while ;)

My mom always complains about my dad, someone has to keep pushing him from his back( at times its literally true) to get things done.And I can always relate myself to that, after all I a also a Capricorn like my dad...but, hey after all we have keep up our traits :)

Okay, so coming back to my lethargy, initially i blamed it on the so called "postpartum depression". I'm sure i wouldn't have even heard about such a thing if at all I had my li'l one back home in India.
My grandmother, who has 11 kids, 27 grand kids would definitely mock at me if I tell her about it.

My innocent li'l one(whom i blame these for anything n everything going wrong in my life these days) is almost one now.Don't you think its time for me to look for another lame excuse for my laid back attitude? I'm sure, it won't be hard for to find one ;)

We had a wonderful 2 months vacation back home in India. Still struggling to get things going here, especially with cooking, after enjoying 2 months of no cooking and only eating yummy days!

And of course TX invited us back with the scorching summer, which is really bad this time. Especially when you get back from Kerala,God own country where it rains and only rains during this time of the year.Oh, my! what a pleasant weather it was. Me and my li'l used to sit in our verandah, enjoy the heavy pour and the lush greens that dance in the rain.....Oh what a joy, Oh what a sight...... (this is from one of my baby's favorite cartoons)
I have to admit we see more baby TV than adult TV these days...i'm sure moms with a preschooler  in home would agree to that...these days, I hum rhymes, read Parents,Baby Talk, American baby and shop in the baby section....and I see all new mommies around me doing the same...so i guess, that is how its supposed to be (a good parent)

We get a lot of fresh fruits this time of the year, and got a couple of boxes of strawberries a few days ago, most of which we ate as such. By day 2-3, when they started looking not so fresh, i made this smoothie.
Here is the recipe:

You'll Need:

Strawberries: 8-10 nos (hulled and quartered)
Yogurt:  1/2 cup
Milk:      1/2 cup
Sugar:     1-2 tbsp
Ice cubes: as per required

Blend all the above together. Add more sugar as per your taste.

Enjoy your lip lickin' smoothie :)

P.S: yes,the book in the background is my li'l one's book of colors...see, this what I was saying earlier ;)