Christmas Fruit Cake / Kerala Christmas Cake



 



 

The past few weeks at home have been really busy. I have changed jobs , and my new job is  a bit far from home and I am spending lesser time with my kids these days. And these changes have made them a bit cranky at home and school. Praying and hoping that it changes with time.

Chicken Biryani (Pressure cooker version)

Biryani is one of my favourite’s foods; I can eat biryani every day especially the one that my mom makes. Chicken biryani / or mutton biryani is always the lunch served at home on Christmas day.

Palappam

 

 

 

Its December …my most favourite month. And the preparations for Christmas are in full swing. The fruits are soaking in the refrigerator, the Christmas tree, the crib  the Christmas star and lights are all up. Adhya  is eagerly waiting for gifts from Santa Claus!! And my son’s is singing “ingle bell ingle bell ingle all ay..oh wa un" …!

Our little bonus baby- Another beautiful gift from above!

"Every good and perfect gift is from above coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like the shifting shadows"- James 1-17

As soon as our daughter Adhya was born we were  one super excited parents...documenting her every gesture from sounds that she made to her first words, her smile etc. Both of us were fighting to carry her, be with her to be her favorite.

Kallappam or Vellayappam

Another traditional breakfast item authentic to Kerala Christians is Kallappam or Vellayappam. In my house it’s called Vellayappam and my husband side they call it Kallappam (as Kalu / toddy is used to ferment it).

Mathiyum Manghayum Peera Pattichatu (Sardine and raw mango curry)

Keralites are fond of their fish from the ever famous Kerala fish fry to the fiery red Meen curry; malayalyees have umpteen ways to cook fish. This is because of Kerala’s long coastline, numerous rivers and backwaters, and strong fishing industry. And mathi (sardines) are a favorite among malayales. I haven’t come across any malayalee who feels otherwise.  Sardines are totally smelly and the whole house starts to smell once you cook them but once you start eating you just can’t stop  with one (to h#*  with the smell ! ).

Beef Curry (Kerala Style)

Beef curry is an all time favourite of Christians in Kerala. Easter, Christmas, Weddings or any special occasion would not be complete without beef dishes. Its an all rounder dish that can be served for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

A Little Purple Angel

              

"Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward". Psalm 127:3 .

Being born as a Christian this was what I heard all the time and I always wanted to have children and have a family of my own. Or rather every Indian girl was taught from childhood that she was born to raise her own family someday.

"Tis The Season To Be Jolly"- Chistmas Fruit Soaking For The Traditional Kerala Chistmas Cake

Christmas in November ....no not at all but the preparations have already begun! I found this beautiful poem about Christmas customs evolving through the ages

Christmas Customs 

Christmas customs brighten up mid-winter, says Arnold Kellett's poem, yet at the centre of Christmas there is a simple manger-bed.

Gulab Jamuns-With Homemade Khoya

I am the only one with a sweet tooth in our house. My husband refrains from sweets for health reasons and my daughter likes certain sweet stuff not everything sweet (mostly cakes and cookies that mommy bakes :) ) and my son does not like eating cookies or cakes not even sweetened cereal. So other than the occasional cookies or cakes mostly requested by my daughter I hardly make any sweet dish for desert.

Egg Masala Stuffed Buns

I just got back from an amazing (I would like to call it a SUCCESSFUL !! explanation to flow ) vacation with my family. A vacation that was filled with beautiful and pristine beaches in Krabi Thailand.   Both Adhya and Alan are beach freaks so this vacation was all for them.  Successful because we survived the almost 2 hour flight , 4 days and 3 nights filled with hot sunny beaches, nauseous speed boat rides, city tours and elephant rides with our two toddlers with almost no problems at all.

Chakka Kuru Manga Curry / Jackfruit Seeds And Raw Mango Curry

A friend and reader of the blog made my day yesterday!! She uploaded photographs of the dishes she prepared following my recipes from the blog on Facebook. I was so overjoyed when I saw the pictures. Thank You for your support Sangeetha Sreeekumar.

TGIF :Chilli Fish

How many of us like fish fry..I totally adore fried fish. My kids love to eat fish and my husband can’t eat lunch without fish and I would prefer fish fry to fish curry anytime. Add a little zing to your everyday fish fry with this finger licking recipe for chilli fish.

Onam Sadhya 2013

Onam is a harvest festival celebrated in Kerala, India as per the Malayalam calendar’s first month known as chingam. Unlike other festivals it celebrates King Mahabali’s moral victory over the gods and onam is a festival that is not associated with any particular religion.

Unniyappam - A Traditional Kerala Snack

The monsoons have started bringing along another bout of cold and cough in our household. It’s Adhya who is sick this time, kids in the day care they come down with everything and bring all of it home, and everybody else in the house catch whatever they bring. It’s a drag a never ending cycle.

ButterscotchTutti-Frutti Pull Apart Bread

Weekends are fun time for our kids, our family enjoys many weekend picnics we cannot afford weekend getaways and long vacations often with our two toddlers. However we enjoy many many outings to parks, playgrounds, nature centers, beaches, water park, zoo and gardens provided the weather and health of the little ones are good.

Chemmeen Peera Pattichathu/ Kerala Style Prawns

One of my favourite foods is my mom’s meen peera pattichathu. Whenever we have meen peera pattichathu at home my sister and I would actually take more time eating our food as we would be busy digging into the juicy coconut and fish and going for second helpings of the peera.

TGIF: Mini Calzone/Pizza Pockets

  

The first time I had pizza was during my school days it was this super yummy homemade bread pizza at a friend’s place. Even after all these years I still remember how it tasted. As I have mentioned earlier in the blog that my baking spree started during my stay in Los Angeles. And one of the first savoury bakes that I made was a bread pizza.

Rainbow cake

Parenting is tough! First you have to survive your baby’s childhood then the unmistakably difficult terrible twos. Although I was introduced to the terrible twos by my darling daughter Adhya I never knew that the mood changes and tantrums and I becoming frustrated over all this were actually a part of a toddler’s developmental characterization often called as the terrible twos. It’s also said that once your toddler turns three you hope for smoother sailing …

Swiss Roll Ice Cream Bombe

July is a month of birthdays at home, two of the most important birthdays fall in the month of July. Both dad and daughter not only share the same month but almost share the same day. I made this Swiss roll ice cream cake bombe for Adhya’s third birthday. We celebrated Adhya’s first two birthdays with a big party and cute little customized favours but this year’s celebration was low key as she would be celebrating her birthday at school too.

Green Tea Sesame Seed Bars

Do you take your kids for groceries shopping along with you? Well we do It happens that both my toddlers love to go for grocery shopping so we make it a family thing and all four of us do your weekly grocery shopping together. For those of you who have done it I am sure grocery shopping with young children is often a big challenge.

TGIF :Claypot Chicken Soup

Growing up in India we hardly ate out, eating out at a restaurant was when we either travelled or for celebrating something. While doing my masters in National University of Singapore was probably the most number of times in my life that I have eaten out. “Eating out” means not fine dining but at the university canteen. Unlike the university canteen that you find in India the canteen / eat outs across the university in Singapore are similar to a hawker centre

Kadala Curry

Kadala curry / or the black kabuli channa  curry has a unique and distinctive taste and flavour very unique to Kerala.

Parippu vada (Lentil dal fritters)

My dad  is a huge fan of parippu vada and my mom makes the best parippu vada in town.

Rava Upma

Rava upma is one of my favourite breakfast dishes. Its simple yet rich flavour can brighten up your day

Vazhakka erissery

Kerala is the land of coconuts and no sadhya or  feast is complete without coconuts. Coconut are used  in both savoury and sweet dishes. 

Kovakka thoran

Our lunch at home consists of rice, thoran, curry and fish or meat almost always. Vegetable thoran is an integral part of our lunch meal. I feel its a healthy and delicious way of eating vegetables.

Thakkali and Muringakka Curry

To begin todays's post about Thakkali and muringakka curry I would like to first talk about what curry is in Kerala cuisine.

Cauliflower Thoran

Thoran is a traditional dish made from vegetables usually cooked with coconut and spices and is taken along with rice.

Aviyal - Mixed Vegetable Stew

 Aviyal  is an authentic kerala mixed vegetable stew and no sadya (a traditional lunch) is complete without the aviyal. Even People who hate eating vegetables will love absolutely love this mixed vegetables cooked in coconut and spices.

A Battenberg cake for my princess to celebrate a big milestone.

This post was intended to be written on Thursday, but Thursday swallowed me whole. I was so, mentally and emotionally exhausted, it wouldn't have come out right.

Sweetened vanilla yogurt

I just love yogurt in any form be it the good old plain yogurt, spiced butter milk, or the fruit flavoured yogurts.

Kappa and Meen Curry - A Thank God its Friday Post (TGIF) !

 

One day at work while in the US, I got this email about a TGIF event in the department. It sounded like a party but for what?  then one of my colleagues said TGIF meant Thank God its Friday (TGIF) !

Strawberry Jam Cookies

Strawberry Jam Cookies

Strawberries are a favourite fruit among my two little  ones at home. Both can finish a box of fresh strawberry in no time and the same goes for some strawberry preserves on a piece of bread.

Pesaha appam and Paal

Pesaha appam and paal

Luke 22:19-20 “And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.”

In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you”.

I wanted pesaha appam and pesaha paal to be my first post,