The Kerala Kitchen

Round up of round ups and call for 2012 hosts!

2012-01-25T20:35:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year to you all, my fellow lovers of Kerala Cuisine!
I am back from my visit to Kerala and in the meanwhile a wonderful group of our members have taken over The Kerala Kitchen and I am so blown away with the awesome round ups and response to the event which has grown even more in their capable hands:

September 2011 was hosted by Divya of Easycooking and the Round up featuring many Onam specialties is posted on her blog here

October 2011 was hosted by Khushi of A Girl's Diary in between moving to the US! Her round up is posted on her blog here

November 2011- Fajeeda of Faji's Hot Pot and the round up is posted on her blog here

December 2011 was hosted by Sonia of Dinner Recipe Guide

January 2011 is being hosted by Kaveri of Palakkad Chamayal. Entry Period: January 1st to January 31st 2012
February 2012 will be hosted by Roshan of Roshanscucina Entry Period: Feb 1st to Feb 29th 2012

Thank you girls for being such awesome hosts!

I would also like to announce that there are spots open if you are interested in hosting the event this year. Just drop me a mail to magpiemails @ gmail . com with the subject KK hosting if you are interested in bringing The Kerala Kitchen to your blog.

Here's to a fantastic 2012!

Rose

Aug 2011 Event Round-up

2011-09-08T13:43:00.000-07:00

The wonderful host for Aug was Vidhya of Sugar N Spice

Head on over to her blog to read the round up and see the winners. Also the current month's Host is Divya of Easycooking. Do send your Onam special dishes and other Kerala inspired food to her here

Here is a list of the dishes that were sent in:

Ramya of Ramya's Recipe sent in this Mathanga Vanpayar Erisseri

Ramya of Ramya's Recipe sent in this Yam Fries

Shoba Shyam of Good Food sent in this Coconut rice

Ramya of Ramya's Recipe sent in this Koottu Curry

Ramya of Ramya's Recipe sent in Egg Kothu Porotta

Ramya of Ramya's Recipe sent in Fish Biriyani

Umm Mymoonah ofTaste of Pearl City sent in Neythili Meen Aviyal

Rinku Naveen of Rinku's Kitchen Treat sent in Kallumakkaya Upperi

Reshmi Mahesh of Easy Cook sent in this Collard Green Stir fry

Reshmi Mahesh of Easy Cook also sent in this Kerala Puttu

Kaveri of Palakkad Chamayal sent in this Chammanthi Podi

Karishma J Anand of Effortless cooking, Easy baking sent in thisMultigrain power-packed dosa

Nashira of Plateful sent in these Chicken puffs

Najla of Foodie Corner sent in this Layered Moss Pudding

Kaveri of palakkad Chamayal sent in this Mangai Kootan

Indu of Indugetscooking sent in this Kottayam Style Red Fish Curry

Najla of Foodie Corner sent in this Spring Roll

Sobha Shyam of Good Food sent in this Savoury Kozhukattai

Sobha Shyam of Good Food sent in this Vegetable Kurma

Jehanne of The Cooking Doctor sent in this Stir-Fry Tapioca with saffron

Roshan of Roshan's Cucina sent in Pazham-Puttu

Divya of Easycooking sent in this Neichoru ~ Ghee Rice

Smitha Mohanan of Food my companion sent in this Fried dried fish

Lastly Vidya's dish Kaya Bhaji

Onamashamsagal! Happy Onam :)

2011-09-08T13:27:00.000-07:00

Dear Kerala Kitchen Team,

Hridayam Niranja Onamashamsagal

....to you all and to your families!

Thank you all soo much for being part of this community and helping to celebrate, preserve and share our wonderful heritage and our cuisine.
I hope you all have wonderful (and delicious) Onam celebration and a lifetime of blessings!

I am wishing you all on behalf of Ria as well as she is traveling between Kannur to Kashmir having a great time with her family and friends and in the meantime conducting cooking classes, winning all Kerala cooking competitions and making thousands of chocolates for a cousin's wedding favours!

I am enjoying having my mother visit me ( she is making not one, but two types of payasam as I type :) and delayed posting the July round up for which I apologize.
Also want to thank those who signed up to host, especially last month's host Vidhya who posted the August round up on her blog here and the current host this month Divya of Easy cooking who is waiting for all your Onam goodies!

Here finally, is the wonderful dishes you all sent in for July 2011 Kerala Kitchen

Vegetarian

Vidhya of Kurry leaves sent in cherupayar dosa a breakfast crepe made with lentils

Ramya of Ramya's Recipe sent in Idli Upma a breakfast dish made with steamed rice idlis and spices

Swapna of Swapna's Cuisine sent in Dates Pickle which goes especially well with biriyani and aloo paranthas

Vidya of Kurry Leaves sent in Kadachakka Theeyal

Ramya Ramya's Recipe sent in Broccoli Thoran /Broccoli stir fried

Ramya of Ramya's Recipe sent in Mushroom thoran / stir fried Mushrooms Kerala style

Ramya o Ramya's recipes sent in Kalan a spicy and tangy buttermilk dish

Vidhya of Kurry Leaves sent in Kumblanga Puliserry / a spiced yogurt or buttermilk based curry

Vidhya of Kurry Leaves also sent in Avial a medley of vegetables in coconut

Zareena My experiments with food Mampazha pulisseri mangoes in coconut and yogurt

Meat

Sarah of Spooful of delight sent in some delicious Pepper roasted chicken

Najila of Foodie corner sent in some Chicken Cutlets perfect for appetizers or as a side.

Ramya of Ramya's recipes sent in some Chicken Stew

Akshaya of Akshaya's Recipes sent in some Kerala chicken curry

Ramya of Ramya's Recipe Mutton Biriyani

Vidya of Kurry leaves sent in some Mutton Biriyani

Lena Rashmin Raj of Lemon & spice sent in Kerala Mutton Roast

Seafood

Lena Rashmin Raj of Lemon & spice sent in Mathi Mulaku Curry Sardine in spicy red gravy

Ramya Ramya's Recipe Mussels thoran

Ramya of Ramya's Recipe sent in some Mathi or Sardine curry

Ramya of Ramya's Recipes sent in some Dried Prawns Chutney

Nashira of Plateful sent in some Chemmeen muringakka curry /Prawns and drumstick curry

Sweets/Snacks/Dessert:

Vidhya of Sugar N Spice sent in Unniappam

Najila o Foodie corner sent in Mango Layer Pudding

Najila also sent in Banana Fritters

Vidhya of Kurry Leaves sent in some delicious Mango Ice cream with carmelized mango

Vidhya of A portion to Share sent in Banana Fritters

Sudha of Sabda's kitchen sent in Jackruit Halwa

Sarah of Spoonful of Delight sent in Banana Mango tango

Jehanne of The Cooking Doctor sent in Neyappam

Swapna of Swapna's Cuisine sent in Passion fruit wine

Here are the winners!

For the best dish, I had to choose Swapna's Passion fruit wine!

For the best pic, I chose Vidya's mango Ice cream!

The Top contributor is Ramya of Ramya's recipes with 8 delicious entries!Congrats winners and thank you all for your amazing dishes! Here is your Kerala Kitchen member badges, do display them proudly on your blogs, we are so proud to have you on our team!

-Best wishes to you all!

Rose of Magpie's Recipes

The Kerala Kitchen June 2011 Round up

2011-07-16T02:56:00.000-07:00

This month's round up has my mouth watering. I am happy that since Ria will be making a trip home, I get to host again this month :) To participate, click here to go to my announcement post.

However, I too intend to be travelling soon ( trip to India- home! eating! shopping! lots of family recipe learning from my grandmas, moms and aunts! can't wait) so if you are interested in hosting The Kerala Kitchen in the coming months Aug-Dec 2011 do drop me a mail to magpiemails ATgmail DOT com or leave a comment here with your email id so I can get in touch with you and send you the details. There are still a few slots left to be filled for this year so do hurry and let me know! Really appreciate all your interest and willingness to host this event :) Seriously am so happy to have made so many wonderful and talented friends through this event! ( a little panjaram so you will forgive my lateness in posting the roundup :P)

Here are the awesome dishes we received:

Vegetarian Side Dishes:

Nashi of Plateful with Rasam I love Rasam and can happily drink it like a soup, although it is heavenly poured over mounds of soft rice!

Zareena of My experiments with food with Banana Blossom Thoran The lovely purple flower of the banana tree is cooked with spices in this tantalizing dish.

Khushi of A Girl's Diary with Chickpeas in Red coconut gravy Mmm perfect with puttu, rice or bread!

Anisha of Anisha the Foodie with Drumsticks and Mango curry Tangy green mangoes and drumsticks that absorbs the flavours from the curry, This is sure to be a treat for your tastebuds and take you straight to kerala!

Anisha of Anisha the Foodie with Chembu Fry If you are in the US you can ask for Taro root if you are looking for Chembu, and make this now for a taste of home!

Sangeetha of Kothivannu with Pappadam Thoran- how intriguing!

Vidhya of Kurry leaves with Cherupayar thoran or green gram stir fry a healthy everyday lentil dish

Vidhya of Kurry leaves with Kadala Curry packed with protein and perfect to soak up with puris or even rice

Ramya of Ramya's recipes with Appam and Vegetable Stew One of the all time favourite, unbeatable breakfast combos.

Ann of Anzzcafe sent in Coconut chutney/ Thenga Chamanthi the perfec accompaniment for a bowl of steaming hot rice. Yum!

Ann of Anzzcafe sent in Beetroot Pachadi don''t you think that is just the prettiest pink ever? this dish will be a hit for all of you with pink and purple crazy little girls or nieces!

Swapna of Swapna's Cuisine sent in Vellayappam with a super easy method to make them too!

Sabs of Shab's Cuisine sent in Beans Mezhukkupuratty one of our all time favourites

Julie of Tasty Treat sent in Sweet Pachadi, the traditional buttermilk based side dish enlivened with fruits- sure to be a hit with the kiddies!

Non Veg Dishes

Shabs of Shab's Cuisine sent in crispy Chicken donuts How innovative! You just have to check them out!

Shabs of Shab's Cuisine sent in Kerala Style baked chicken which I have already bookmarked as an easy and delish chicken dinner idea!

Dhanya of Dhanya's Tasty Flavours sent in Chatti Pathiri (layered crepe and egg dish) a treasure from the Malabar Muslim community

Ann of Anzzcafe with Kappa biriyani/ Tapioca and beef this is a a very popular street food, starchy, filling and deliciously comforting for many after a hard day's work, though it is not at all like the traditional rice based biriyani!

Sangeetha of Kothivannu too sent in Kappa Biriyani /Tapioca and Meat

Julie of Tasty Treat sent in spicy and tangy Chemmeen Manga Curry ( Prawns and Mango Curry)

Zareena of My experiments with food with a finger licking good Spicy prawns masala

Sunitha and Namitha of their totally cool collaborative blog Collaborative Curry with Prawns and Mango Curry This is just so gorgeous, I could dive right in !

Anisha of Anisha the Foodie with Pomfret Fry Oh Anisha, you have no idea how much I am craving Karimeen! Thanks for sending it to me, albeit virtually :)

Swapna of Swapna's Cuisine with Mathi Kappa Puzhukku / Mashed Tapioca and Sardines with Coconut and Spices This is such a great idea for a meal-in-itself! Would love it with some pickle. Yum!

Ramya of Ramya's recipes with Malabar Prawn Biriyani Biriyani is just the perfect one dish meal don't you think? sea food biriyani is a little more interesting than the usual chicken biriyani for sure! One of my favourite party foods :)

Sweets and Snacks

Rinku of Kitchen treats with Malabar style Kinnathappam Yet another malabar dish that I have never tasted :( Rinku wish you could send me a slice :)

Julie of Tasty Treat sent in Aval veliyachathu ( sweet poha or flattened rice) This is a tea time snack that is crunchy munchy delicious and loved by all :)

Sweets inspired by the flavours of Kerala:

Nashi of Plateful sent in this Quick Mango Passionfruit Pudding What a perfectly seductive combo! am sure that tastes just divine!

Nashi of Plateful with Fruit salad with oodles of exotic fruit! Perfect for the fruit filled summer days!

Julie of Tasty Treat sent in Plantain Pancakes Pancakes may not be traditional Kerala fare, but these with the addition of our favourite Kerala fruit ripe sunny yellow bananas is just a perfect breakfast sweet treat!

Julie of Tasty Treat sent in Sweet Plantain puffs What an innovative play on the popular Kerala bakery savoury puffs!

Zareena's Coconut Banana Almond Cake full of Kerala flavor with coconut and bananas!

No ice cream maker? No problem! Sarah of Spoonful of Delight sent in an innovative Mango Froyo / Mango Frozen Yoghurt made with fresh mangoes, hung yogurt and an electric mixer or a blender -sure to beat the summer heat ! Absolutely love it Sarah :)

Drinks:

Divya of Easycooking sent in this almost miraculous invigorating drink which is a favourite when one is ill from a cold or fever as it clears the nasal passages and contains the healing properties of ginger: Chukkum Kaapi ( Ginger Coffee)

For the best dish, I had to choose Sangeetha's unique Pappadam thoran though with so many great dishes, it was a really tough decision.

For the best pic, I chose Sunitha's Mango Prawns curry where I loved how she used the frayed gunny sack to make a wonderful rustic background for this bright orange curry.

The Top contributor is Julie of Tasty Treat with 5 truly tasty treats this month :)

Congrats winners and thank you all for another delicious month! Here is your Kerala Kitchn member badges, do display them proudly on your blogs, we are so proud to have you on our team!

Update: Here are the wonderful members who will be hosting the Kerala Kitchen in the coming months:

July- Me, Magpie of Magpie's Recipes Announcement post click here
August- Vidhya of Sugar'N Spice
September- Divya of Easy cooking
October- Khushi of A Girl's Diary
November- Fajeeda of Faji's Hot Pot
December- is still available ( email me at magpiemails AT gmail DOT com if you would like to host)

The Kerala Kitchen May 2011 - Round Up

2011-06-03T15:22:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful, amazingly sweet host last month- Sarah of Spoonfulofdelight! I know I shouldn't have favorites amonsgt KK members but I can't help it! Sarah is one of my favourite members. There I said it! She has enthusiastically participated every month right from our very first month and has spread the word to many of you, brining you into our family. When I was stressed out with my house shift and asked her if she would like to host last month, she immediately said yes, and even incorporated an easier way for us all to add our entries by using an online form. Thanks Sarah for being such a wonderful, gracious host and invaluable part of the Kerala Kitchen ! Here is the round up that was also posted on her wonderful blog full of goodies here

Time to Feast- The Kerala Kitchen May 2011 Round up by Sarah of Spoonful of Delight

What's been cooking in the Kerala Kitchen in May?

Lots of mouth-watering delicacies - each one wonderful in its own way.

So folks, its time to set the table (or rather lay the banana leaves) for an astounding feast from God's own country!

Vidhya's Flattened Rice with Banana 'N Coconut/Aval Aval Nanachathu

Renita's Lentil Pudding (Payasam)

Renita's Banana Fritters

Julie's Easy Beef Curry

Karishma's Pressure Cooker Biriyani

Priya's Chenai - Vazhai Erissery

Sobha's Soya Granules Thoran

Sobha's Simple Mango Pickle to spice up any meal

Sobha's Papaya Spinach Dal

A Mango Glass Pudding from My Potpourri of Recipes

Rose's Quick and easy scrambled egg curry with Coconut milk

Swapna's Green Papaya Salad

Swapna's Meatball Curry

Swapna's Vegetable Stew

Namitha's Beef Cutlets

Deepti's Spicy Egg Roast / Kerala Mutta Roast

Anzz's Beef Fry - Chukka Style

Anzz's Ulli Vada

Sangeetha's Chakka Varatti / Jackfruit Jam

Shabs' Apple Pola/Apple Kums

Shabs' Malabar / Kannur Fish Curry

Sonia's Easy Kerala fish curry

Nashira's Popsicles / juicy frozen fruits on a stick

Nashira's Watermelon Shake

Lastly, my dish for the event - Homemade Jackfruit Chips

Now for the tough part. It was a nerve-racking experience to try to choose the best from all the wonderful entries. I've been drooling at all the dishes and wishing that I could taste them. But since I had pick one dish which was the best one, I finally zeroed in on this one - Sangeetha's Chakka Varatti / Jackfruit Jam

The Award for the Best Pic goes to..... Let me tell you, choosing this one was even tougher than the previous one. I'd be overjoyed to award this to more than one pic. But then after a round of "eenie meanie mynie moe" or "eena meena deeka" (just kidding! I really spent hours trying to choose this one), the winner is Nashira's Watermelon Shake.

From the moment I saw this pic, I have been wondering, how did she take this shot. Truly original and captivating.

Next is the Award for the maximum number of entries. This one goes to more than one person and I'm loving it... The winners are (drumroll please) - Sobha and Swapna

Congratulations to all the winners and all the wonderful folks who partcipated in this event! Thank you all for the participation and the encouragement.

The Kerala Kitchen April 2011 - Round Up

2011-05-19T09:10:00.000-07:00

Hello wonderful people,

Why am I always late with round-ups? I never get it! Something or the other comes up always when I have to do a round up and then it gets dragged on and on. We are almost half way through May ...time sure flies! Anyhow let me get to the point...thank you all so much for consistently participating in our event month after month. We appreciate it !

So let's see what everyone cooked !

Dhanya's Ari unda

Nashira's Mango Spritzer

Nashira's Kakka Erachi Varuthathu

Zareena's Nadan Kozhi Varuthathu

Karishma's Malabar Special Fish Biriyani

Divya's Kadalaparippu Pradhaman

Divya's Olan

Dhanya's Vazhapoo Parippu Thoran

Rinku's Unniappam

Rinku's Easy Kalathappam

Rinku's Ela Ada

Rinku's Ada Payasam

Tina's Tender Coconut Smoothie

Zareena's Cherupayar Payasam

Anzz's Avoli Pollichathu

Anzz's Mango Fool Cheesecake

Anzz's Mixed Vegetable Kurma

Ramya's Mambaza Puliserry

Ramya's Muringakka Thoran

Nags Kappalanga Mezhukupuratti

Sarah's Kumbil Appam

Zareena's Cheera Thoran

Swapna's Kanjiyum Payarum / Rice Gruel and Lentils Stir Fried with Coconut

Vanpayar Thoran/ Red Gram stir fried with Coconut

Cherupayar Thoran / Green Gram Stir fried with Coconut

Indari Appam / Pesaha (Passover) Appam

Manga Achaar / Minced Mango Pickle (Sweet)

Jaathikka Wine / Nutmeg Fruit Wine

And last but not the least here's what I cooked for the event:

Pavakka Mezhukkupuratti

Pressure Cooker Pal Payasam

Now let's move onto the winners! Are you all excited to see who they are?

Nags for Kappalanga Mezhukkupuratti

Tina for Tender Coconut Smoothie

Swapna for contributing 6 delicacies!

And here's the Member Badge for all those who do not have one and would like to have one :-)

So see you all next month! Keep cooking!

-Ria

the Kerala Kitchen March 2011 Roundup

2011-04-11T03:07:00.000-07:00

First of all let me thank you awesome ladies for bringing over all these wonderful dishes to our virtual pot-luck last month. We have an incredible line up as you can see, our table is so wonderfully laden! I want to try all your dishes and so wish you'll could somehow attach a piece of the real thing along with your gorgeous pictures!

Welcome to all the awesome new members who have joined us and a huge thank you to those who are joining us this again this month. Thank you for the lovely comments about our new blog!We also have our very own facebook page (www.facebook.com/TheKeralaKitchen) as well as twitter page (www.twitter.com/keralakitchens) so that we can stay connected!

Here is the round up for March 2011

1.Divya Kudua of Easycooking sent in this delicious Ulli Sambhar, perfect to mop up dosas with!

2. I am also so very thrilled that she tried out a recipe from my blog to make this gorgeous Vegetable Ishtoo/Vegetable Stew in coconut milk! Thank you so much Divya, as a blogger you should know how great it feels to have someone ( especially a blogger you have been following for a long time!) try out one of your recipes and like it!

3. Priya Sreeram of Eq-myblog sent in the tangy relish Puli Inji

4. She also sent in this Urlakazhangu Ishtuu/Potato Stew

5. Here is Anita of Slyceofmylyfe with Pathiri and tomato curry

6. She also sent in one of my favourite snacks Aval Kazhachathu- a flattened rice (similar to poha) based sweet or snack

7. And here is Sadhana of SensibleVeg with Ragi Puttu & Kadala Curry ( a steamed ragi breakfast dish served with garbanso bean curry)

8. Sarah of Spoonful of delight tweaked her dish with an added surprise- melty gooey cheese! Here is her Vegetable cutlets with cheese

9. Ria of Ria's collection with Kozhi Achar perfect for making ahead for those days when one is too busy/lazy to cook- though I doubt Ria ever has that problem ;)

10. She also sent in this lovely Puttu (steamed powdered rice) and Kannur Fish curry.

11. Sneha of Inspirational Art Of Cooking.with some Date Pickle. All these delicious pickles remind me of my hostel days, when we used to survive on our mom's care packages of pickles! We used to just spread them even on bread or rotis for a dinner alternative to bland cafeteria food!

12. She also sent in some crispy Poories and masala. (deep fried goodness with a potato side dish)

13. And some delectable Chemeen Biriyani/ Prawn Biriyani ( a fragrant rice dish)

14. She also sent in some spicy Egg roast, a quick and easy delicious dish that I always make when I'm pressed for time and serve with Appams, Puttu, or just rice or bread.

I must add that I had the good fortune of meeting Sneha at a bakesale we participated in together. She is such a lovely sweet girl and I am so happy she is one of our members and brings us such tasty treats month after month!

15. Here is Zareena of My Experiments with food with some Sukhiyan / Green gram dal fritters, a treat I have never tried and so am very excited to discover!

16. She also sent in this Kurrukku Kaalan / Vegetable in thick curd gravy

17. She also brought over some delicious Kozhi kuttan / Kerala style Chicken in roasted spice gravy

18. Here is the incredibly talented Nashi of Plateful ( winner of January's best dish as well as top contributor for the last two months with the most number of entries) with some gorgeous and no doubt delicious dishes, starting with Meen Moilee / Fish cooked in coconut milk

19. Chicken 65/ Spicy fried Chicken

20. Cabbage Upperi / Stir-fried cabbage

21. Some crispy Tuna Cutlets

22. Inji Puli/Ginger Tamarind sauce

23. Avial/Mixedvegetables with coconut

24. Neychoru with kachumber and ulli surka/ Ghee rice Wow Nashi! Thank you for all these beauties!

25. Najila of Foodie Corner sent in a Malabar style sweet dish called Kayypola made with rice flour, and plantains that I have never even heard of before! I am learning so much from you all! That's what I love most about this event, apart from getting to meet all you wonderful and talented women!

26. Anzz of Anzzcafe sent in this Chettinad style Chicken Fry filled with the fire of roasted chillies, fennel, curryleaves..

27.Vidhya of Vidhya's good eats sent in this Kadachakka-varutharacha-curry ( Bread fruit curry)

28. She also sent in one of my favourite Trichur style sweet made of rice flour Kinnathappam!

29. Maria of Maria's Menu who is launching her much awaited cook book soon! sent in this delicious Manga Chammanthi/Mango Chutney Most of us who have ever searched for Kerala recipes, must have gone to her wonderful site, and I am so glad she has joined our little kitchen!

30. Sonali of the unique blog Only fish recipes which is indeed a treasure trove for fish lovers like me,sent in this delicious Alleppey Fish Curry

31. She also sent in this wonderful Crab fry with step by step instructions on how to clean the crab and cook it.

32. She also sent in a lovely garlic Traditional kerala style Fish curry

33. Usha of My Spicy Kitchen sent it a Spicy kerala chicken fry

34. Vimitha of My culinary trial room sent in Spiced Buttermilk

35. Shabs of Shab's cuisine sent me this wonderful Kallummakaya Nirachatu/ Stuffed Mussels Thank you so much for posting this recipe especially for us Shabs!

36. Bharathy of Spicy Chilly sent in this lovely Koorka Mezhukkupuratti/ or stir fried spicy Chinese Potatoes

37. She also sent in some crunchy munchy Parippu vadas/ Lentil fritters a popular snack that I can never resist having from the railways stations in Kerala!

38. She also sent in Nadan Tharavu Roast / Kerala Duck Roast which is a favourite at my grandmother's house, though I have never tried making it. Must ask my grandma for her recipe too as I'm drooling after seeing Bharathy's!

39. She also sent in Kumbalanga Cherupayar parippu Curry / Ash gourd and Moong dal Curry

40. And one of my father's favourite dishes Kaya Mezhukkupuratti/stir-fried raw bananas

I was happily surprised to find out when I first came here, that South American's use plantains a lot in their cooking too, so they are quite easily available here! Yay!

41. Her sister Nags of Edible Garden ( talent and sweetness seems to run in the family!) sent in this fiery hot Dry Indo-Chinese style Chilli Chicken, full of green chillies and red chilli flakes.

42. Priya of Priya's Easy N Tasty Recipes sent in this Chembu Moru Curry, it would be perfect to calm our tongues after that spicy chilli chicken!

43. She also sent in this easy and delicious Chicken Fry (Kerala Style)

44. Swapna of Swapna's Cuisine sent in this Kappalangaum (Omakkaum) Payarum Thoran (Stir Fried Raw Papaya & Red Gram with Coconut) She sent in some wonderful raw papaya dishes in our first ever roundup which was the first time I had heard of cooking with Papaya! Thanks Swapna! recently I also found out that the green papaya skin is a great meat tenderizer too.

45. She also sent in Varutha Meen Podichathu ~ A side dish made out of Leftover Kerala Fried Fish seasoned with coconut and spices

46. As well as Broccoli mappas/broccoli in creamy coconut sauce! How innovative! Great way to get the family to eat their veggies!

47. Home of cupcakes from mypotpourriofrecipes sent in this prawn and rice dumpling dish called Prawns Kaka Roti,

48. Last month's best dish winner Karishma sent in this Dahiwala Chicken Kerala style

Touch of Kerala: These are recipes that add a touch of Kerala to a non-traditional dish:

49. Divya Kudua of Easycooking being a true Malayali at heart loves coconut, and was so excited by all the good press it has been getting lately that she added deccicated coconut to her brownies for that Kerala touch to her awesome Brownie event that I am still recovering from! Go on, check it out! We'll wait :)

This month we also had our very first Kerala Kitchen Challenge, to try out a dish not many of us had tried before, the Malabar style Chatti Pathiri from Ria's wonderful blog

Here are the brave members who tried this wonderful dish, which even though is a little time consuming ( but not much) was quite simple to execute. It was amazing how everyone added their own special touches to it!

50. Sarah of Spoonful of delight veganized the Chatti pathiri because she was off eggs and meat for Lent. Here is her wonderful egg-less version filled with mushrooms and brinjal and other delectable veggies.

51. Cool Lassie of Pan Gravy Kadai Curry made her version of Chatti Pathiri with Whole wheat and red millet flour as well as a roasted veggie filling. She also posted Step-by-Step pics too!

52. Zareena made a wonderful Chatti Pathiri with chicken and scrambled eggs filling

53. And here is mine made with Whole-wheat flour and chicken filling

54. Let's end on a sweet note with Anita of Sliceofmylyfe who tried out the sweet version of the Chatti Pathiri adapted from Shab's recipe for it with condensed milk, dried fruits and nuts- heavenly!

As you can see, this wonderful dish can be made with so many variations! An it really is not that difficult. Go on try it! If you do, leave a comment here with a link to your Chatti Pathiri and I will include your link here as well.

Now coming to the part that I dread! Choosing the winners is so much harder when you have so many wonderful contenders!

For the best dish I had to choose Shab's incredible Mussels stuffed with rice dough where she used rice powder instead of grinding parboiled rice as is traditionally done.Thank you for enlightening us on how to cook mussels as well as this wonderful preparation Shabs!

For the best pic, I chose Zareena's Kozhi kuttan / Kerala style Chicken in roasted spice gravy, presented in a lovely dish that reminds me of the vangis or canoes cut out of the bark of coconut trees.

The top contributor with the most number of entries for the THIRD time running! is the amazingly talented Nashira, who was also the best dish winner in January. Seriously Nashi you are incredible!

So are you all! Thank you all, dear Kerala Kitchen members for this lavish spread! Here is your member badge! We are so proud to have you as our members!

Apologies for being a little late with the roundup, things were pretty hectic with my first ever bake sale, for the Japan earthquake relief effort, a week long sweet celebration mini- event as well as being the host this month for DMBLGIT the food photography event, with some of my favourite foodies as Judges :)

But I have to say-54 entries! wow! Our event is growing fast! I made sure to finish the round up tonight even if that meant staying up really late, so in my zombie like state if I have missed an entry, please leave a comment here and I'll add it asap.

Can't wait to see the goodies you'll are cooking up for this month's Kerala Kitchen, hosted by the awesome Ria of Ria's Collection!

Cheers,

Magpie

(My home on the net: www.magpiesrecipes.blogspot.com)

Hope you are all Challenging yourselves!

2011-03-17T18:58:00.000-07:00

Welcome to all the new members and hello again everyone! What do you all think of our brand new blog? Do let us know! After all- this is your space!
We are now on Facebook as well :) So don't forget to come by, add yourself there and say hi!

I had mentioned in my post announcing the March Kerala Kitchen that this month we would also try to challenge ourselves to try out something new- A Malabar style Chatti Pathiri that not many of us have encountered before.
I am proud to say that I have successfully completed the challenge and here is my beauty :)
I am so thrilled with it, and this is going to be my favourite new party dish :)
If I can do it, then you most definitely can! And let me say, it was much easier than it looks!

Chatti Pathiris can be made with many variations.

I made mine with Whole Wheat flour and used chicken sausages for the filling.

This can easily be made with veggies like mushroom, onions, corn, peas, bellpeppers, paneer, soy nuggets etc.

Also check out an awesome Sweet version of the Chatti Pathiris from Shab's blog.

For the original challenge recipe from Ria go to her blog here

Now go make it if you haven't already!

Also keep the entries for this month's Kerala Kitchen coming in to magpiemails AT gmail DOT com! Remember the last date is 30th March.

Make sure you have included a link to either the Kerala Kitchen page on my blog, or preferably, this new Kerala Kitchen blog!

See you all at the roundup. Until then, keep cooking, eating, blogging,smiling, laughing, loving and do also remember the many people in Japan affected by the terrible earthquake and continue to pray for them to be filled with hope and not despair as they rebuild their lives.

-Best wishes

Magpie

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I blog at www.magpiesrecipes.blogspot.com

Welcome to The Kerala Kitchen - February Round Up!

2011-03-10T15:11:00.000-08:00

Finally we have a new home for The Kerala Kitchen! From now on all the details you need regarding our event will be announced here. So do not forget to check back once in a while!

Let's kick start the new blog with a string of wonderul, wonderful food from the roundup for February's Kerala Kitchen!

Mutta Theeyal by Zareena

Marble Cake by Archana

Fish Cutlets by Zareena

Vegetable Mappas by Divya

Beef & Tapioca by Sarah

Kadala Curry by Anzz

Black eye pea & Acorn squash Eriserry by Vidhya

Prawn Theeyal by Nisha

Banana Halwa by Divya

Chembu Curry by Anisha

Chena Mezhukupurati by Anisha