Cooking and me: Why this blog!

Hi! 

Thanks for the visit! 

I am a newbie blogger. Please have patience with me till I get used to the tool and the whole process. I plan to blog about the recipes which I have tested in my lab (which is my kitchen) and which have yielded yummy results. 

Let me share an incident that happened nearly 26 years back. I am basically from Kerala and had just arrived in Bangalore after marriage. I had warned my husband that my cooking skills are very poor and I totally depend on my mother’s recipe book to even making a simple tea (Strangely, I always used to get confused with the quantities of sugar, tea powder, milk, etc). But, guess he didn’t really fathom the extent of my ignorance and to my utter shock brought his close friend along with him for lunch the next day of our arrival in Bangalore. I had made rice, sambhar and a potato mezhukupuratti, at least that is what I had intended to make. Let me admit now that they looked very different from how they are supposed to be. Our friend finished his lunch without uttering a word. He even gingerly thanked me for the delicious food! On the way back to office, to say the least my husband had to bear the brunt of his teasing attack. My cooking skills became a joke among his friends! 

I think, I have come a somewhat long way from that stage. Strangely, here I am writing a food blog. As the saying goes history repeats itself. Now, I am mother of two daughters and both of them have very questionable cooking skills as of now. I am too lazy to write a recipe book. Instead, plan to do this blog to cover all the basic food items that we prepare in a typical Malayali household. I was also forced to learn few exotic dishes like pizza, pasta, fried rice, etc since my daughters and hubby are fond of them. I will share here only the recipes that I am confident about and tested multiple times with good results. I honestly believe in the saying that the best way to get into anyones heart is by serving them yummy food!  Hope this blog will help my girls / nieces / nephews when they start their separate journey. I will be happier if it will be of any help to others as well.

The recipes here are mostly inherited from my mother and mother in law who are excellent cooks and also inspired by the numerous recipe blogs and videos that I watch everyday. 

Please feel free to drop in a message if you like something here or have any suggestions for improvement. I really appreciate and look forward to your comments.

May Goddess Annapoorneshwari who is the author of all recipes in this world shower us with her divine blessings.

Love

Geetha

PS: Our friend took a transfer to Kochi and visited us many years later in BLR. And this time around, he was genuinely praising the food presented to him and had multiple helpings. 

Prawn Peera

Ingredients 

1. Prawns - 250 gm
2. Coconut - 1 cup
3. Shallot - 10
4. Ginger - 1 inch
5. Garlic - 5 cloves
6. Green chilli - 3
7. Red chilli powder - 1 tbsp
8. Coriander powder - 1/4 tbsp
9. Turmeric powder - 1 pinch
10. Curry leaves - bunch
11. Coconut oil - 1 tbsp
12. Salt - to taste
    

Procedure

1. Clean, peel and devein prawns. Make sure the viens on the top and bottom part of the prawns are removed. 
2. If the prawns are big, cut it into two or three pieces
3. Slit the green chilli lengthwise
4. Pulse coconut, ginger, garlic, shallots, red chilli powder, turmeric powder and coriander powder  twice for 2 seconds each.
5. In a manchatti, place the pulsed coconut mixture.
6. Add green chillies and salt.
7. Add cleaned prawns. Usually prawns will ooze water. So, there is no need to add water.
8. Close and cook for two minutes. 
9. Mix the dish and cook for five minutes.
10. Add oil and curry leaves and mix again.
11. Close and cook for another 2 minutes.
12. Yummy prawn peera is ready to be served with rice.

Note: Prawns should not be cooked for more than ten minutes. Other wise, it will turn rubbery.