Spicy Fish Biriyani

Thought of trying Fish Biriyani for a while now. My sis in law who lives in Chicago makes this and I first had a taste of this, like 8 years ago. Talk about procrastinating! The hubby loves the usual Chicken Biriyani so I never really thought of trying anything new. But I gave it try yesterday and it turned out rather well. ;)

Ingredients
For the Marinade
Fish fillets- 1.5 lb
Yogurt-2 tbsp
Chilly powder-1 tsp
Coriander powder-1/2 tsp
Jeera powder-1/2 tsp
Salt-as needed
Black pepper powder-1/2 tsp

For the Rice
Basmati rice-3 cups (soaked for 15 min)
Whole spices (Cardamom, Cinnamon stick, Black peppercorns, Cloves)
Water
Salt-as needed

Onions thinly sliced-2
Tomato-1 chopped
Ginger Garlic paste-1 tsp
Biriyani masala- 2 tbsp (I used Shan Bombay Biriyani)
Oil

Directions
1.Clean the fillets of fish and marinade with the marinade ingredients for a few hours and refrigerate.
2.Then shallow fry them 5 minutes on each side.
3.For the rice you can boil a pot of water with whole spices and salt.
4.Add the drained rice and cook covered for about 10-15 minutes until done. Then drain excess water and set aside.
5.In a pan sauté the onion along with the ginger garlic paste. Once browned add the tomatoes and the Biriyani masala.
6. Once all cooked and nicely browned you add the fried fish pieces and coat with the masala.
7.Lastly layer the cooked rice with fish masala and garnish with fried onions and coriander leaves.
8.Serve with a side of raita, pappadam and lemon pickle.

Parippu Vada

Happy New Year! It's almost the end of January and I didn't seem to get any time to update. Lame excuse, I know!!! Thought I'd start the year with a a very down to earth Malayalee snack "Parippu Vada".
Parippu vada is basically a Kerala style lentil fritter. A lot of you from Kerala remember this an evening snack. And if you have travelled by the Indian Railway who doesn't remember those station vendors with hot tea and vadas. One of the perks of travelling by train. This was my first attempt at this yummy snack. My mom had taught me the recipe when she spent the summer with us and I thought I'd give it a try today. Being so cold out, it's nice for the hubby to come home to some hot vadas!

Ingredients
Vada Parippu ( Yellow split peas)-2/3 cup
Onion-1/2 finely diced (Shallots would be a better choice, didn't have any on hand)
Dried red chilly-2 finely chopped
Ginger-1 tbsp finely diced
Curry leaves-5/6 thinly cut
Salt-as needed
Asafoetida-1/4 tsp
Oil-for frying

Directions
1.Wash and soak the lentils in just enough water to cover then and let it soak for about 2 hours.
2.Then drain all the water and place them in a grinder and grind (making sure not to add any water) and grind them in batches too.
3. To the mixture add the onion, ginger, dried chilly, curry leaves, salt and asafoetida.
4. Mix well with your hand, taste and form into thin patties.
5. Make sure they are not too thick in the center or else they'll be raw in the middle.
6. In small batches fry the vadas and enjoy warm.
Don't forget a nice hot masala chai to complete the experience. Happy Snacking!

Candied Pecans

Another sweet treat that I enjoy making around the Holidays is Candied Pecans. Another easy to make snack. This recipe uses basic ingredients,and the only time consuming part is baking them in the over for an hour.

Ingredients
Pecan halves-3 (6 oz) bags
Egg white-1
Water-2 tbsp
Vanilla extract-1 tsp
Sugar-1 cup
Salt-3/4 tsp
Ground Cinnamon-1/2 tsp
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
2. Whisk the egg white and water till nice and frothy. To this add the vanilla extract and mix.
3. In a separate bowl mix together the sugar, salt and cinnamon.
4. Place the pecan halves in the egg white mixture and coat the pecans evenly.
5. Then coat the pecans with the sugar mixture.
6. Once coated, grease a baking sheet and place the pecan halves onto the sheet and bake for 1 hour making sure to stir them every 15 minutes.
7. Let them cool before storing.
Easy gift giving-Buy a Christmas themed coffee mug. Place some candied pecans in a treat bag tie with twist tie,decorate with ribbon and an ornament and you are ready!!!

Peppermint Bark

It's Christmas time which means it's a time for sharing and receiving. I love the "sharing" part in the Holidays the most. Every year for the past couple of year I make Peppermint Bark to give away as treats to the kid's teachers and friends. It's easy to make and if you love peppermint ,you'll definitely love this sweet treat. There are different variations of this recipe found online but I have found using candy melts easier than using white chocolate. The melting is so quick and you really can't go wrong with it. You can mix white and milk chocolate to make fancier looking peppermint bark. To me, simpler is better!

Ingredients
Wilton Candy Melts(white)-2 bags
You can find these at Walmart, Michaels or any other craft store
Peppermint extract- 1tsp
Bob's Candy Cane-1 box(12 candies)

Directions
1.Crush the candy canes in a Ziploc and keep them aside.
2. Using the double boiler method I melt the candy melts. (Boil water and place the candy melts in another bowl and place over the boiling water. Turn the flame low, and mix the candies till they are nice and smooth) The candy melts come with microwavable directions too, which can be followed as well.
3. Add the peppermint extract and mix well. Take the mixture off the heat.
4. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and pour the mixture over and smooth it out evenly.
5. Immediately sprinkle the entire top with the crushed candy cane pieces. Cover evenly and then refrigerate for 20-30 minutes.
6. Break them into pieces and store in an airtight container. When storing use parchment paper to remove any excess moisture.It's that simple!
I love using festive tins lined with parchment paper or even holiday themed treat bags to gift them in.
Can't wait for next week to share them with all our loved one. Happy Holidays !!! Happy Snacking !!!

Thanksgiving Blessing Mix

Every year around the holidays I like to make some munchies to share with family and friends. For Christmas I love making some Peppermint Bark and Sugar Coated Pecans(recipe to follow).This year I thought I'd look for an easy snack to put together for Thanksgiving too. I came across the "Thanksgiving Blessing Mix" online and found it be very meaningful, it is a reminder of this great nation's blessing. All you need to do is bag this snack which you can put together in 5 minutes into favor-sized gift bags. You can use them as favors for you Holiday party or just share them with your family and friends. You also attach the the Blessing Poem with ribbon/raffia to make it look festive. I found some Thanksgiving themed treat bags with twine from Walmart for $1.99 and ribbon from Michaels (Sale 3 for $0.50). I got the poem printed at Staples on heavy card stock.
Here is the link to the poem-
http://christmas.organizedhome.com/sites/default/files/image/pdf/gift_tags_blessings_mix_thanksgiving_cornucopia.pdf

Ingredients
Bugles-2 cups
Pretzels-2 cups
M&Ms-1 cup
Raisins-1 cup
Peanuts/Nuts-1 cup
Candy corn- 1 cup
Hershey Kisses-16

Directions
1.Mix all of them together except the hershey kiss.
2.Pour about 1/3-1/2 cup into each favor bag and before tying place a Hershey Kiss into each bag.
3.Print out the poem ,useing a hole punch, punch a hole on them and thread a ribbon through.
* I doubled the quantities to make 16 bags and the bags were half filled. I was a bit more lavish on the snack.

Thanksgiving Blessing Mix Poem

Bugles: Shaped like a cornucopia or Horn of Plenty, a symbol of our nation's abundance.

Pretzels: Arms folded in prayer, a freedom sought by those who founded our country.

Candy corn: Sacrifices of the Pilgrims' first winter. Food was so scarce that settlers survived on just a few kernels of corn a day.

Nuts or seeds: Promise of a a future harvest, one we will reap only if seeds are planted and tended with diligence.

Dried fruits: Harvest gifts of our bountiful land.

M&Ms: Memories of those who came before us to guide us to a blessed future.

Hershey's Kiss: The love of family and friends that sweetens our lives.

That's it your favors are ready! A great snack to share this Holiday season.

Hershey Kiss Cookies

It has been a while since I added anything to the blog. The past couple of  months have been busy. In a couple more weeks I'll be more regular with the postings,I hope The blog has been neglected , I know.
I remember making these cookies for a bake sale when I was at Franklin Avenue Elementary School back in the day. The original recipe calls for peanut butter, but I wanted to try making it without it. The girls really don't like PB and it was a spur of the moment thing. My oldest daughter comes homes after school, telling me that it's Diwali-The Festival of Lights and that we Have to Celebrate! This festival is  very common in the northern parts of India and celebrated with sweets and firecrackers. Even though it isn't very significant down south in Kerala especially among Christian households, trying to make a 5 year old understand all that was too much of a hassle so I decided to make some anyway. If you're wondering, that's why the pictures of the cookies are alongside a "diya" or lamp.

Ingredients
Butter-1 cup
Sugar-1 cup
Egg-1
Vanilla extract-1 tsp
All Purpose Flour-1 1/4 cup
Unsweetened cocoa powder-3/8 cup
Baking powder-1/2 tsp
Salt-1/4 tsp
Sugar-1/6 cup (for decorating)
Hershey kisses-20

Method
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2.Cream together the sugar and the butter until its nice and fluffy.* Make sure the butter is at room temperature.
3.Next add the egg and vanilla extract and mix until smooth.
4.Now before adding your dry ingredients to the creamed mixture sift them to avoid any lumps.
5.Once all mixed, roll them into 1 inch balls and coat with the sugar and place in an ungreased cookie sheet spaced apart.
6.Bake for 8-10 minutes and cool on a wire rack and place the Hershey kiss into the center while they are still warm. We only did half the batch with the Hershey kiss, but they are delicious either way.
Enjoy!!!Happy Baking!!! The holidays are around the corner too, so Happy Holidays Everyone!!!

Once Again....Angry Birds

I was in the Angry Birds mood after playing Angry Birds Space over the weekend. So I decided on another more elaborate Bento for L's lunch. I used different kinds of cheeses for the two birds and kiwi fruit for the lil piggy.

For the sandwich angry bird I used Yellow American cheese and accented with ham, carrot, Nori seaweed and white American cheese.(The sandwich is just a chicken breast sandwich, if anyone was wondering.) For the red angry bird, I used a Mini Babybel cheese(softened cheese snack in red wax coating from "The Laughing Cow"....have you laughed today???). Again accented with Nori seaweed and white and yellow American cheeses. Added some height and crunch with some baby carrots. And last but not least the mischievous lil green piggy. He's a kiwi slice with some cream cheese and mini chocolate chip. Hope this Bento put a smile on your face! :)