Kerala Beef Fry (Ollarthiyathu)

This is the first time I'm making Kerala Beef fry,thanks to a generous family friend,who e-mailed this authentic recipe to me yesterday!The beef is cooked with a beautiful combination of aromatic whole spices and stir fried with onions/shallots,curry leaves,green chillies and coconut slices.I love how the coconut slices add a nice crunch,and imparts a really nice flavor to the dish.

Recipe Source : Jacob George (Thank you Uncle for this recipe!)

Ingredients 

• 2.2 lbs (1 kg) Beef-tender meat cut into 1 inch pieces

Marination

• 1 and half tablespoons -Chilly Powder
• 1/2 teaspoon-Turmeric Powder
• 1 tablespoon-White Vinegar
• Salt to taste

Method for Marination

1. Clean and wash the cubed beef pieces,pat dry with a paper towel.
2. Add  the chilly powder,turmeric powder,white vinegar and salt to the beef cubes.
3. Allow the meat to marinate for 30 minutes.(If you are pressed for time keep the marinated meat in the refrigerator for 10 minutes)

Ingredients for cooking the Beef

• 2 Onions sliced  or 200 grams= 3/4 cup of shallots (shallots work the best,you can use onions,if you don't find shallots )
• 1 and half tablespoons- Red chilli powder (adjust to spice level)
• 1/2 teaspoon-Turmeric powder
• 1 and half tablespoons-Coriander powder
• 1 teaspoon-Pepper powder
• 1 inch Cinnamon stick (broken into two pieces or two small sticks)
• 1 Green Cardamon Pods1
• 1 teaspoon-Aniseeds
• 1 teaspoon-Fennel seeds
• 1 and half tablespoons-Ginger slices
• 1 and half tablespoons-Garlic slices
• 2 tablespoons of Coconut oil 
• Salt to taste

Method for cooking the meat

1. In a large pressure cooker or heavy based pot,add the coconut oil.
2. When the oil is heated,add 2 onions or shallots and saute them till they turn a golden brown color.
3. Add the ginger and garlic slices,and saute them till they are cooked.
4. Add the spice powders (chilly,turmeric,coriander powder and pepper powder)saute this for a quick minute.
5. Add the whole spices (cinnamon sticks,fennel seeds,aniseed seeds and cardamom pods).Saute this for a few minutes,till the oils separates.
6. Add the marinated beef cubes and add salt to taste and saute the meat and the spices till everything incorporates nicely.
7. Add enough water to cover the meat and pressure cook ( if your meat is tender you can cover the pot with a nice fitted lid and cook the meat for 15 to 20 minutes or until your meat is cooked,I pressure cooked my meat for 3 whistles)

For frying the meat

• 2 Onions or 200 grams of Shallots ( 3/4 cup)
• 4-5 Green Chillies-slit ( adjust to taste )
• 1 cup of sliced coconut
• 20-30 Curry Leaves
• 2 tablespoons of Coconut Oil
  
  Method for making the beef fry 
  
  1. In a wide based pan,add the coconut oil. 
  2. When the oil is heated, add onions,and saute the onions to a golden brown color.
  3. Add the green chillies,coconut slices,curry leaves and saute these to a nice golden brown color.
  4. Add the cooked beef to this mixture ( add a teaspoon of oil and leave it on the heat)
  5. Stir fry this,stirring once in a while for five to ten minutes .
  6. Add salt if needed,and the water in this dish should have completed evaporated.
  7. This dish tastes the best the following day,as the meat absorbs all the spices really well.
  8. This dish is a good appetizer,can be eaten with rice or any Indian flat breads.

Turkey Salad with Cranberry Dressing.

I love thanksgiving leftovers,there's a ton of meals that can be made with leftovers,I love making turkey omelets,turkey soups,sandwiches,and salads.This salad is made using the leftover turkey and for the dressing I used the homemade cranberry sauce and added olive oil balsamic vinaigrette and made a cranberry dressing!

For the Salad

• 2 Cups of Spinach ( Sliced lengthwise,I used organic baby spinach leaves)
• 1 Small Apple ( sliced)
• Left over turkey slices ( you can use as much or as little as you like)
• A handful of pecans

For the dressing

• 1 Cup of Cranberry Sauce (I made my cranberry sauce at home,it was very chunky and thick)
• 1/2  cup of Olive oil Balsamic Vinaigrette (adjust to taste)
• 1/4 cup of water (to make the dressing thinner-adjust to desired consistency)

1. I added a cup of cranberry sauce,balsamic vinaigrette and water in a blender and gave it a quick pulse or two until all the ingredients were incorporated.
2. Add the dressing to you salad and enjoy!

Kichidi(Rice,Lentils and Spinach)

Hope everyone had a wonderful thanksgiving.We had a nice quite one this year,as a few of us were under the weather,and are now on the road to recovery after a few bouts of cold and sore throats!

The holiday season calls for rich decadent meals and after a few meals like that we crave simple comfort food,and nothing is more satisfying to us than a steaming cup of kichidi and a dollop of ghee.Kichidi is a rice based dish;the rice and lentils are cooked together along with aromatic whole spices and a good serving of vegetables of your choice (I added spinach in this one!).

Recipe Source : My Mother-in-law

Ingredients

• 2 cups of Basamati Rice
• 1 cup of Lentils ( I used masoor dhal,you can also use the small spilt yellow dhal)
• 1 and 1/4 cups of Spinach (tightly packed,I used frozen chopped spinach,you can use vegetable of your choice,carrots,peas or potatoes)
• 2 Large Onions(sliced)
• 1 tablespoon of ginger-garlic paste
• 2 green chillies (slit,add more if you like it spicier,adjust to spice level)
• 1 inch Cinnamon stick
• 4 cloves
• 6 Green Cardamom pods
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1 teaspoon of cumin seeds
• 2 tablespoons of ghee or oil of your choice
• 4 cups of hot water
• Salt to taste

Method :

1. Wash the basamati rice in couple of changes of water.(drain all the water,from the rice and set aside)
2. Wash the lentils in couple of changes of water and drain all the water.
3. Heat a heavy based pan,add two tablespoons of ghee,when the ghee is heated add the cumin seeds,and they will sizzle.
4. Add the whole aromatic spices (cinnamon,cardamom and cloves) and fry this for a quick minute.
5. Add the sliced onions and saute them till they become translucent.
6. Add the ginger and garlic paste and saute this till all the raw smell goes away.
7. Add the green chillies,saute for another minute.
8. Add the turmeric powder,add rice and fry the rice for a quick minute
9. Add your lentils and fry this for another minute.
10. Add the vegetables,I added frozen spinach,sauted it for another quick minute.
11. In another pot boil 4 cups of water.
12. Add 4 cups of hot water to the rice,lentil and vegetables,add salt and taste the water,it should taste a little salty.
13. Cover the pot with a fitted lid and cook for 15-20 minutes till all the water has evaporated and the rice is cooked.( stir once in between)
14. When the rice is cooked you can add a dollop of ghee prior to serving,enjoy the kichidi with your favorite curry,our favorite combination is kichidi and meatball curry,click here for the recipe: Meatball Curry (just the way my mother-in-law makes it!)
    
    I'm taking part in the Cooking with Seeds (CWS)-Rice event,hosted by The Big Sweet tooth,here