Semiya Payasam - Indian Vermicelli Pudding

  Semiya Payasam used to be the most frequent payasam that my mom used to prepare for us, and we simply love it every time. She also adds sabudana or tapioca pearls to it, which I still call as 'dot-dot' coz they looked so cute like little dots in my payasam. When I was a little kid, I used to search for them to eat them separately. When I prepared my first semiya payasam too, I made sure I used dot-dots in them. I made it first for the...

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Dessert Crepes - Nutella and Apple-Cinnamon

Crepes provide a wide spectrum for displaying creativity and variety. They can be both sweet and savoury. I have not tried the savoury version yet. I prepare the sweet ones on some weekends for breakfast. I have tried a variety of fillings such as Nutella - the irresistible Chocolate n Hazelnut spread, Crunchy Peanut butter, Morello Cherry jam, Rasberry or strawberry jam, coconut-cardamom mixture (madakku saan), caramel toffee spread, and most...

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Love Letters / Madakku Saan

Madakku saan is an authentic snack from kerala. Its a wonderful crunchy crepe thats just not too sweet but feels good in the tummy. They're also given the nickname "Love Letters" coz of the lovely sweet coconut mixture rolled up like a letter or packed in an envelope. :) It would make a cute gift to prepare for loved ones. Ingredients: For the crepe: Flour/Maida - 1 cup Water - enough to make a loose batter 1 egg Sugar...

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Spicy Corn Fritters

Its become sort of a routine to start the weekend with a "bread n eggs" brunch. We've been making omelettes for a while and decided to go for scrambled eggs for a change. I decided to make use of the sweet corn kernels lying in my freezer as an accompaniment. I did a quick search and found these simple spicy corn fritters. Its actually meant to be eaten as a snack with a dip. I did not bother using any dip since it was just an accompaniment...

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Caramelized Apple with Maple Mascarpone

I had brought a few apples too from Riyadh and I was too lazy to eat them as such. I tried to find a more interesting yet simple way of having them, so I searched a bit and found this lovely quick and easy dessert. It was so tasty we were licking it all off the plate!! Credit: Closet Cooking Ingredients: 1/2 tablespoon butter 1 apple (peeled, cored, sliced) 1/2 tablespoon brown sugar 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (powdered) 2 tablespoons mascarpone 1...

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Falafel Sandwich

Saudi Arabian Falafel Sandwich A lot of different ingredients go into Falafel sandwiches. But I try to keep it as close to the ones I've had in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in the popular shawarma shops such as Yamal Asham, Mama Nourra and Maccoys. Ingredients: Khubz (Arabic Bread/Pita) Falafels Garlic Sauce or Garlic Tahini Sauce French Fries Lebanese pickled cucumber/carrot/radish Chopped tomato Parsley Method: Spread Garlic Sauce or Garlic...

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Falafel

On some days I miss the food I grew up with in the middle east. Falafels are one of them. The first time I tried making these, it was a total disaster. I was inexperienced and decided to cook the chickpeas first before making the ground mixture and frying them. The result: As soon as the falafel hits oil, it just kept disentegrating into the oil and whatever is left is not cooked. God what a nightmare. Almost a year later, I tried this...

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Chicken Shawarma

Chicken Shawarma is the most loved and craved for snack that we get in Saudi Arabia. Brands like Yamal Asham and Mama Nourra have become so famous, they've become large chains. Maccoys for some reason seems to operate from the same old shop, though still so popular. The shawarmas that you get in Riyadh are the Lebanese style. When I went to Riyadh this time, I got a bottle of shawarma spice. Its just a spice mix and its contents are as...

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Chena Mezhukkupuratti - Stir fried Elephant Yam

Chena Mezhukkupuratti is a very tasty mezhukkupuratti which is easy to prepare and can be served with rice. Ingredients: Chena (Elephant Yam) : 1/4 kg Shallots  - 10 no Green Chillies - 2 nos (Cut legth wise at the bottom only) Coconut Oil - 4 tbsp Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp Red Chilly Powder - 1/2 tsp Salt - as required Method: Cut the yam into cube pieces. Slice the onions thin. Cook chena with salt, turmeric powder and chilly...

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Better-Than-Pita Grill Bread

Khubz is the Arabic bread known as pita in other parts of the world. Usually this is made in the traditional wood burning oven. It can also be made in the modern oven. Since I dont have either, I tried this lovely grilled bread from Epicurious Credit: Epicurious Ingredients: 2 cups all-purpose flour plus additional for dusting 1 teaspoon sugar 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon fast-acting yeast from 1 (1/4-oz) package such as Fleischmann's Rapid...

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Chicken pie Sambousek (Chicken Samosas)

I just came back from probably my last visit to the country where I was brought up, Saudi Arabia. I will surely miss that country for the abundant ingredients and the mind boggling varieties available in the numerous hypermarkets. One would simply get spoilt for choice. And the vegetables, I dont know how they keep it so clean and beautiful. The best hypermarket in Bangalore is put to shame! So I bought these Switz Sambosa leaves which my...

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Potato Thoran - Potato stir-fried with coconut

2nd January 2012 Happy New Year! Just got back from the place where I grew up - Riyadh. Its probably the last time I would visit this country, so feeling a bit sad and homesick. I made sure I jotted down most of the recipes of what my mom cooked during my stay :) Will post em when I make it on my own and take a picture of it. Had an annoying journey back, with a 5 hour long wait in Mumbai. Reached home and a serious jet lag set in. So I just logged...

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