Coconut Grating Activity

All in a day's work in a Malayalee household!

Walk into a house in the morning and you'll most likely hear the sound of coconut grating coming from the kitchen or work area. Well, this is one task which Malayaliees are very familiar. 

Coconut is used in different ways in our recipes - grated ones used in avial or thoram, coconut milk is used in appam  and coconut bits in beef ularthiyathu. Yes, it's an unavoidable part of malayalee's diet. 

These days most homemaker find it easy to buy grated coconut from super markets or store grated coconut in freezer.

In our house, we usually grate couple of coconut in one go so that it can last a week or more. 

What about you? Do you grate as per use or buy grated coconut? Why do you think our recipes have so much of coconut?

Indian Cooking Class - Kerala Parotha and Chicken Curry

 Indian Cooking Class- Kerala Paratha and Chicken Curry 

Online Student's Work

Can't help but to share these gorgeous looking treats ( ice cream, jam and kulfi) made by Prathima. She did a fantastic work at recreating what she learned in the online Ice Cream making class and Jam & Squash class. Kudos to her!

With summer wave hitting us a bit too early, I feel the urge to make and stock these coolers.

.

Other upcoming online class, covers mocktails, and natural gelato ice cream class. The class recording is available for those looking to recreate these at home.

Bol - Flat Rice Bread

 Have you tasted Bol /Pol with Ribbon fish(Vala meen) roast ?

Bol / Pol - Flat bread - rice flour and freshly grated coconut. It is popular in Srilanka as Pol but in Trivandrum it’s known as Bol.

During our childhood days , we used to have it for breakfast along with Stew and for dinner it’s is mostly eaten with Fish Molly, now these are all forgotten delicacies .

So today I tried making bol and vala meen roast (Ribbon fish), tried to bring back some old memories.

Recipe for Bol

Fine rice flour - 1 Cup

Salt to taste

Fresh grated Coconut - 1/2 cup

Water - as required

Method

Take all the ingredients in a bowl and mix together using the water to thick form

Place a pan in the stove and flatten the dough to a thick form and prick it with a fork , cover and cook for 15mts on both sides 

Your bol is all ready to serve along with curry or Jam

#valameen #valaroast #valadrychillie #bol #srilankanpolroti #bolroti #trivandrumfoodies #eattoeat #marinacharles2004 #cookingclassintrivandrum #cookingclassinvarkala

20h

Varkala Trip

We are in love with Varkala Cliff Beach. Another trip on last Friday, this time we took the 5:55am Jan Shadabdi train from Trivandrum Central and reached Varkala by 6:20am

Had a lovely peaceful stroll along the cliff and had some hot steaming coffee.

The day went by peacefully ,were we relaxed at Blacksea restaurant and Del mar restaurant and by evening we had tea and took the 4:30 pm train back by 5:30pm.

More details about the trip on my blog

 http://mennas-cooking.blogspot.com. #varkala #varkalacliff #varkalabeach #journey #cliff #beach #lovetravelling #travellingbaker #indiancookingclass #sometingnew #happysouls #lifeisbeautiful

Christmas cake baking

 My grandmother Polly Cruz was famous for her Christmas cake, which she used to bake on the old coal Oven. We would love to eat pieces and even the crumbs of her Christmas cake because of the taste, and she always used her hands to mix it together in a huge pot. I still use her traditional Christmas cake recipe but follow my method of using the beater and oven to do the baking.

When it comes to Christmas Cake there are 3 stages, the first part being cutting the dry fruits and the second part is of soaking the dry fruits in liquor, caramelized sugar and spices for 40 days plus. My mom has a habit of soaking it for a year and final stage is baking the cake.

So Trivandrum City, Are you ready to learn the traditional way of making the Christmas cake this year?

Watch out this space for more details... Coming soon

Indian Cooking Classes Bangalore and Trivandrum

 Memories... 2014 Indian cooking Class at Menna's Indian Cooking Class Bangalore

Croissants Baking class at Trivandrum

Utterly butterly delicious croissants Everyone knows that croissants contain quite a bit(!) of butter - that’s what makes them so delicious and flaky. But have you ever tried to make croissants? If not, you’ll definitely want to join us for a Croissant Class.

#croissant #damishpastry #pattisarie #trivandrumbakingclass #trivandrumdiaries #trivandrumbakers #croisssantbakers

Kids Baking Class at Trivandrum

It was so much of fun having the kids around for the baking class.

Baking at home is an activity that can bring plenty of benefits to your life. It offers the perfect opportunity to create special moments with your friends and family

A wonderful Saturday teaching them and they seems to know everything and aiming to be future Master Chefs. Wishing those lovely kiddos All the very best.

#kidsbakingclass #kidsbakingclasstrivandrum #marinacharles2004 #mennasdelight #basicbakingclass #bakingclasstrivandrum #instafood #instabakes #instabakingclass #cupcakeclass

Bread Baking Classes Trivandrum

When life gets challenging, it’s often the simple things which can help us manage and boost our happiness level.  Today  was a – mindful bread baking session 

From kneading dough to taking a freshly-baked loaf out of a hot oven, bread-making is a mindful experience and a restorative craft that can help us all.  Happy Baking and I just love the freshly baked breads  

#breads #breadsofinstagram #freshbakes #Trivandrumbreads #egglessbreads #nopreseravtives #foodlovers #trivandrumbakingclass #trivandrumdiaries #mennasdelight #marinacharles2004

Sweaty Fondant Cake

Handling Fondant is difficult during rainy season and especially in costal areas. 

Control air temperature and humidity levels before and after covering a cake with fondant. A warm, humid room will draw moisture from the fondant and cause sweating. Turn on your air conditioner, or use a room dehumidifier and a fan to maintain cool, dry air temperatures.

It’s raining in Trivandrum for the past few days  and I am working with fondant figurines and not facing much difficulty because I am using Anna Austin’s (you can check her Insta for her amazing work) Modelling paste to make figurines, she is based in Kochi, kerala

You can buy through Amazon or through her website www.cakecanvas.in

For more queries and doubts about handling fondant, please get in touch with me at 9379398865

 

#sweatyfondant #fondantcakes #wetfondant #themecake #annaaustinmodellingpaste 

#bakingclasstrivandrum #bakingclassbangalore #bakingclasshyderabad

Kerala Breakfast

Puttu is the typical kerala breakfast, it is made with rice flour.

Roasted rice flour, when kneaded with water. The puttu flour is made by soaking rice in water for three to four hours, then laying it out to dry, after which the rice is lightly roasted and coarsely powdered.

Puttu is served either with Kadala curry (Channa) or simply taken with Banana and sugar

My crazy husband eat puttu with fish curry😃

 #puttu #puttupayarpappadam #puttupayar #puttufishcurry #keralabreakfast

Weeknight Dinner

Perfect for your busy weeknights, these spiced chicken legs are a huge family treat, and you can have them on the table in 30 minutes.

I got nice juicy chicken legs through swiggy from SPM Meat Merchants, Karamana, Trivandrum. I came across there service during the time of lockdown and always found the meat very fresh and tender.

Check for the recipe

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE CHICKEN

1½ tablespoons olive oil
1¼ teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon smoked paprika
¼ - ½ teaspoon pepper, to taste (optional)
8 chicken legs and thighs

FOR THE TANGY HONEY GLAZE

5 tablespoons honey
3 tablespoons cider vinegar, divided

Method

Set an oven rack in the top position and preheat the grill. Line with heavy-duty aluminum foil.

In a large bowl, mix together all the ingredients and add the chicken thighs and toss to coat evenly. 

Arrange the chicken on the prepared baking sheet. Grill the chicken for 10 minutes, flipping once halfway through. While the chicken is in the oven, prepare the glaze: In a small bowl, 

Whisk the honey with 1 tablespoon of the vinegar and brush on the chicken and grill for another 15 minutes and serve hot.

recipe courtesy- Once upon a chef 

#onlinecookingclasses #easychickenrecipes #chickenstarter #mennasdelight #marinacharles2004

Chakka Payasam

This payasam has the aroma and taste of jackfruit coupled with the flavors of coconut milk. both unripe and ripe jackfruit are in season and you can easily make this recipe with ripe sweet jackfruit.

Since  I got lot of Jackfruits, tried of trying out different types of Jackfruit recipes, now is the season of Jackfruits and if you are a lover of Jackfruit, you can try out many recipes during this season 

Loved the flavour of jackfruit in payasam, the entire house was smelling of Jackfruit when we made the payasam.

#paysam #jackfruit #jackfruitrecipes #jackfruitrecipes #sweetdishes #keralacuisine #onamspecial #keralasadya