Mutton Curry - Kerala Style

Today I am sharing my mom's Kerala mutton curry recipe. Kerala mutton curry is our all time favorite.This is a simple mutton curry but yet very delicious.I hope you will enjoy this side dish with any kind of rice preparations or chapati, palappam,paratha etc.....

Try out this recipe if you want to relish the taste of Kerala food.This will definitely bring you the nostalgic memories of home cooked food.
Ingredients:

• Mutton-1kg,cut into medium size pieces
• Turmeric powder-1/4tsp
• Black Pepper-1tsp,freshly crushed
• Vinegar-2tsp(10ml)
• Small onion/shallots-20-25,sliced
• Big Onion-1,small chopped finely
• Ginger-1tbsp,minced (2'' size)
• Garlic-1tbsp,minced 
• Green Chillies-2,slit
• Chilli powder-1.5tbsp
• Coriander powder-1tbsp
• Bay leaves-1
• Cinnamon-a small piece(1/2'' piece)
• Cardamom-3
• Cloves-5
• Garam masala-1tsp
• Tomatoes chopped-2,medium size
• Curry leaves-2 sprigs 
• Salt to taste
• Oil-as required

 Method:

• Wash mutton pieces and drain it well.Marinate meat with turmeric powder,crushed pepper,vinegar,1/2tbsp ginger,1/2tbsp garlic,1/2tbsp garam masala,half of the chilly and coriander powders,chopped big onion and salt.Keep aside for about 30 minutes to 1 hour.
• Cook  the marinated mutton pieces with 1 cup water in a pressure cooker or slow cooking method until the meat is cooked well. 
• Heat oil in a pan.Add bay leaf,cinnamon,cloves and cardamoms and saute for few seconds.Add thinly sliced small onions and saute in a low flame until it turns translucent.Now add green chillies, and 1/2tbsp ginger and garlic to this.
• Tear off half of the curry leaves and add to this.Saute it well for few minutes.Add half of the chilly and coriander powders to this and stir well till the raw smell goes off.
• Add chopped tomatoes to this and stir fry for few minutes,until the tomatoes are cooked well.   
• Now add the cooked meat along with gravy and stir well and bring it to boil.Now add the freshly crushed garam masala powder and mix well.
• Reduce the flame and allow it cook till the gravy starts to thicken a bit.Adjust the salt.Just before turning off the heat,add some more curry leaves and sprinkle a pinch of garam masala powder.
• Switch off the heat when the gravy is thick enough.
• Let it rest for 30 minutes before serving as it takes time for all the spices and masalas to mix together.

 NOTES:

1. I recommend to cook the mutton pieces slowly with covered for nearly 1hour.Keep stirring it occasionally and replace the lid.

 Serve warm with Ghee rice,plain rice,chapati,paratha or Kallappam(Laced Pancakes).  

Happy Cooking!!!


 

Athishaya Pathiri !! (Layered Pancake With Chicken) -A Malabar Dish

Athishaya pathiri is a popular cuisine among the muslims of North Malabar and Malabar in Kerala.It is mostly served with tea as a snack. 
I made this delicious Malabar dish for Kerala Kitchen's cook along for this month.When Rafeeda of The Big Sweet Tooth posted this recipe,I decided to try it very early.But I was worried whether the layers would stay together or fall apart.
But when I start preparing it was quite easy for me.I cook the pancakes and layering of the pathiri in the pan simultaneously.I was able to manage assembling and making pancakes at the same time.We really enjoyed this dish and had it for dinner today.

Here is the recipe for Athishaya pathiri

Ingredients:

• Chicken boneless-250g
• Coriander powder-1/2tsp
• Turmeric powder-a couple of pinches
• Black pepper powder-1tsp 
• Salt to taste 

For the filling:

• Onion-2,big,finely chopped
• Ginger-1''piece,finely chopped
• Garlic-4-5cloves,finely chopped
• Green chillies-3,finely chopped (as per your tolrance level)
• Fennel seeds powder-a pinch
• Garam masala powder-1/2tbsp
• Turmeric powder-a pinch
• Coriander leaves-1/4cup,finely chopped 
• Lemon juice-juice of half lemon
• Oil-as required

 

 For the pancakes:

• All purpose flour/Maida-1cup
• Eggs-1
• Milk/coconut milk-1/2cup
• Salt-a pinch 
• Water-1 cup

For egg mix:

• Eggs-3
• Crushed pepper-1/2tsp
• Salt-a pinch 

 

Method:
For the filling(chicken masala):

• Wash and cut the boneless chicken pieces.Cook it with coriander powder,turmeric powder,pepper powder and salt till it turns tender and all the water is evaporated.
• Shred the chicken pieces using your fingers or mince it in a grinder and keep aside.
• Heat coconut oil in a pan, add chopped onions and saute till it turns transparent.Add ginger,garlic,green chillies with a pinch of salt.Saute till the raw smell disappears.
• Add turmeric and pepper powder to this and stir for few seconds.
• Add cooked minced chicken to this and mix well and cook on low heat for few more minutes.Add garam masala to this and mix well.
• Add chopped coriander leaves and stir for few more minutes.Add few drops of lemon juice and stir well.Adjust the salt and switch off the heat.

Egg mixture:

• Whisk the eggs along with the pepper powder and a pinch of salt.

Pancakes:

• Whisk together flour,eggs,milk and enough water to make a smooth thin batter without lumps.
• Heat a flat pan and pour a ladle full of batter and make thin crepe/pancake.Swirl the pan in a circular way to turn a thin pancake.Cook for a minute.
• Do not flip,just cook on one side.Transfer them to a parchment paper or plain paper to avoid sticking to each other.
• You can make around 10 pancakes with this batter.

  Layering:

• Grease a pan or a cake tin in which the pancake fits with ghee and place the first pancake in the pan.
• Make a second pancake and dip it well in the egg mix and place it on the first pancake.Sprinkle chicken masala over it.(around 2tbsp)
• Place another pancake dipped in egg mix on top of the chicken masala.Keep repeating the process till all the pancakes have been used.
• When it reaches the top layer,keep 2 pancakes,just as how we did for the base of this.
• Pour the remaining egg mixture on the top of the layered pancakes.It covers whole assembly of the pancakes by itself.
• Keep the pan over medium-low heat with the lid tightly closed.Cook until the egg mixture is absorbed and golden brown on top for around 15 minutes.
• Now slowly flip this on to a flat plate and flip it back into the pan,the uncooked side is down.cook for another 5-10 minutes.Flip it on to a plate.
• You can also bake it in a pre-heated oven at 180 degree Celsious for about 15-20 minutes or till the top gets baked well.

    NOTES:

• Make sure that the crepes/pancakes are very thin.Thicker crepes won't give the  real taste.
• You can use any vegetable oil instead of ghee.
• Make sure that the flame is low while cooking so that the sides don't get burned. 
• You can cook the chicken masala without adding chopped coriander leaves too.   

Flip it on to a serving plate and cut them into wedges and serve hot..... 

Happy Cooking!!!

   

Cheera /Thoran(Stir Fried Amaranth Leaves With Crushed Coconut)

Today I am sharing the recipe of Cheera/red spinach thoran.Cheera is an excellent source of many vitamins, minerals and anti-oxidants.It is available in different colours and textures.In Kerala we have the purple coloured kerala spinach with thin leaves.It has less water content and less nutrition when compared to palak(spinach)or amaranth leaves.

Many delicious side dishes and snacks can be prepared from cheera,among these cheera avial,cheera thoran,cheera pachadi and cheera cutlet are the most popular dishes.

Cheera Thoran Kerala Style

Here is the Recipe!!
Ingredients:

• Cheera/red spinach-1 bunch
• Grated coconut-1/2 cup
• Shallots/small onions-5-7
• Garlic-1-2 pods,finely chopped
• Green chilies-3-5,chopped finely(as per the spice level)
• Turmeric powder-a  couple of pinches
• Coconut oil-as required
• Mustard seeds-1/2 tsp
• Salt to taste

Cheera Thoran Kerala Style

Method:

• Wash cheera/red spinach thoroughly and keep it in a strainer to remove the water completely.Chop it finely.
• Crush the grated coconut along with 2-3 small onions,2 green chilies,turmeric powder without adding water.  keep aside.
• Heat coconut oil in a pan and splutter mustard seeds. Add chopped small onions, garlic,green chilies and saute for few minutes.
• Add chopped leaves and mix well.Stir for few minutes on a high flame.
• Add crushed coconut mixture to this and add salt,stir and cook on a high flame until all the water evaporates and thoran becomes dry.

NOTES:

• Do not overcook red spinach leaves.Drain off water completely and cook.
• Add less coconut than the measurement of cheera/ spinach leaves.
• We can cook thoran without grinding the coconut mix also.Saute chopped onion,garlic,green chilies and add grated coconut at the end.  

Cheera Thoran /Red Spinach Stir Fry With Coconut

Serve warm as a side dish along with Rice.....

Happy Cooking!!!