The Avial story

The wonderful thing about myths and legends is that everyone has a different version.The other day when on Onam(harvest festival in kerala) we decided to go the whole nine yards and have a feast,we discussed all the dishes and I waxed eloquent to the husband (who doesn't belong to our community so I once in a wile cook up a story just to make it interesting)on the origins of Avial ( a mixed vegetable dish ).My mother was at table with us and didn't say much but I was called aside after the meal and told very firmly that my version of the story was all just avial(meaning i had cooked up a storm out of nothing) so I had better set the record straight.Well as her story seemed more like an original I decided to record it.Legend has it that the reigning king of kerala decided to have a feast on Onam and ordered the chef to stir up a storm.Now like in most high profile kitchens there is a lot of waste.Cooks and cutters in their desire to present the best of the best,most often than not,tend to remove the best parts of the vegetable like the skins along with a lot of the flesh and naturally if cost is not a problem (which in this case it wasn't) then why ever not.The head chef however was pretty upset about the wastage going on in the kitchen and as his brief was to prepare a new recipe he decided to salvage all of the stuff that was being cut away from all the vegetables and use it into a new recipe.So in went all the vegetables in one big dish.Dinner served and the guest were constantly asking for repeats of the mixed vegetable dish.Naturally the king needed to know what this was all about so the head chef was summoned and asked the name of the dish.Now the poor man could hardly admit to using discards and getting away with it but being a nice sort of a bloke he decided to call it "avial".This comes from a slang word in Malayalam which means all the bits and pieces and thereafter "avial became standard fare at all Onam lunches.

Rich Pork Chops

Pork chops with good amount of fat-5 pieces
olive oil-1 tbl sp
honey-a good drizzle
soy sauce-2 tbl sp
hoisin sauce-1 tbl sp
oyster sauce-2 tbl sp
tomato sauce-2 tbl sp
ginger and garlic paste (ground with cardamom,cinnamon,pepper,cloves and cumin seeds) 1 tbl sp
red wine-use half a glass or more(if the wine is not fit for drinking never waste it just add to the dish)
salt(optional)
a red chili masala(we got this special variety from Bombay with onion powder and a fantastic flavour but plain chili powder can be used)
red onions-4 medium ones sliced
fresh coriander leaves for garnish
Method
Mix all of the above ingredients together (except the onions and the red wine)and add to the pork chops.Marinate well and store in fridge for about six hours(this requires planning but half and hour will also do if greed gets the better of you)
heat a cooker on high and add a drop of oil.Sear the pork chops on high heat to seal in the juices and remove to a plate.Mix the sliced onions into the remaining marinade and fry in the remaining juices in the cooker.When nicely brown,return the pork chops to the cooker mix well,add the red wine and pressure cook for half an hour.
Serve garnished with fresh green coriander and steamed rice.

Porky Pig

It isn't everyday that we eat Pork simply because its a meat that if full of fat(which is not such a good thing on a regular basis) and we find it difficult to digest.We eat pork as sausages and ham and sometimes as bacon,mostly to add flavour to our risotto and other dishes.But once in a while we make an exception.My nephew is a die hard pork fan and were he in America when Obama referred to a pig with lipstick,chances are that the boy would have called Obama to find out where the pig was (never mind that the rest of America was getting their knickers in a twist over the comment)So he buys some pork chops,oozing with thick layers of fat.Fantastic stuff.We decide to make a family meal of it and since one is not very familiar with pork recipes,(since we don't cook it so often) we search the Internet and modify to our ingredients.The finished product is rich and tasty.A day after eating it I am still recovering from the feast.Naturally if we had done a bit of planning and marinated it over night the results would have been even better but since home cooking is all about innovation and making do with what we have and thinking on ones feet,well it all turned out to be rather good.So the recipe in its modified version is her for all to use.

Chocolate cake

1 cup flour
1 cup icing sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
4 eggs separated
1/2 cup icing sugar(separate)
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 tsp lime juice
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup water

soft flour,sugar,cocoa and baking powder and baking soda and keep aside.
in a separate bowl,beat together egg yolks,gradually adding the oil and water.Fold in the sifted flour and continue beating.
In a separate bowl beat egg whites with remaining icing sugar until the it forms peaks.Fold into the already beaten mix.
pour into baking tray(no need to grease tray) and cook on high heat for 10 minutes.Turn down oven to 180 degrees and continue baking for 1/2 an hour.
Serve with some hot chocolate sauce.

Cake and calories

There is something to be said for all that calorie burn that happens at gyms.It gives me at least the confidence to try out new things (as in food).It also teaches me to overcome my biggest fears.For instance when baking a cake.We all know that baking is about precision but then look at it this way.What can possibly go wrong with a combination of eggs,butter,chocolate,and flour.Nothing really,it may not look like the real thing if the measurements go wrong but its still edible.So to overcome my latent fear of all things measurable,I started with chocolate pudding.The first attempt went drastically wrong so we had to drink thick,gooey chocolate for days on end.At the second attempt it was better,firm like its supposed to be but a little fine tuning required.
The cake was a different story altogether.The first thing about embarking on a journey of uncharted territories is that it comes with its own set of baggage,so remember to bake requires equipment.My fist investment was in an oven,followed by a hand blender and now i am on the look out for a good baking dish.The wonder of mastering measurements is to convert all into cup measures.This way depending on the cup size one can determine the size of the cake and also decrease or increase on requirement.My sister is who is a master of the short cut introduced me to the cup measure .Yesterday a new cake was baked and it came out beautifully and tasted so yummy that my first faltering steps into baking are proving to be just a wee bit rewarding.This of course means that i cant stop now and that the calories will build up,but then again with a one year membership at the gym all is well that ends well

Sand

Sand,that's the stuff we used to build castles and play in when we were kids.Last week my mother unearthed a recipe that we had long ceased to use.Its a old recipe that's common to most homes in kerala,used as a common snack or as a celebration dish depending on the mood of the maker.
Its called "avalospodi" and is made from rice.The rice grains have to be soaked in water for about an hour and then left to dry(semi dry).Its then ground coarsely and roasted adding grated coconut and whole cumin seeds.A little salt to bring out the flavours is added. Its roasted till golden brown and then served with sugar which is mixed into it.As children my friends called it sand.Recently I met a friend after many years and the first thing she remembered was "sand".Does your mom still make sand she asked as an opening line.Funnily enough my mom had made sand two days ago and then made it onto little laddoos by mixing the sand with some ghee.Then she makes a syrup using jaggery,adds a bit of dry ginger powder.When the syrup is warm but not hot,she add the sand into it,rolls it into ladoos and then coats it with rice flower.Luckily we had enough to share with my friend and we couldn't believe how we had unearthed it just in time for her arrival.

Unrecognizable thats who i am....

You could have known me for twenty years of your life but if you haven't seen me in six months,chances are that you will walk right past and not acknowledge my presence.That's because you wont have recognised me.Now lets get this right,its nothing to do with height weight and all that other stuff.Its just that over the years for some strange reason I look different almost everyday.I wasn't aware of it until a professor insisted that I sit in the same place in class ever day.He swore that he had to search for me as the look changed every day.Not surprising then that I am constantly walking up to old schoolmates and college mates and having to introduce myself and hear them gasp in surprise at the change.I am convinced that its all about the rest of the world having bad recognition skills.
Imagine my surprise then this morning as I stood waiting for the butcher to cut the chicken for me.A couple walked into the shop and I knew instantly that the woman had been with me in school or had she worked with me.A quick scramble through my brain files and i knew that she was a classmates sister from school.Should I confirm it?.Or should I just go by after all she had known me for sixteen odd years(years when we moved from being children to teenagers to young adults...where the most change happened).I decided to let it pass and was just about to leave when she smiled and we both started to say something....well wonders never cease.She remembered me and we exchanged notes of fellow school friends.It left me convinced that this was all about recognition skills or that the brains ability for long term memory is far greater than short term ones.Shared experiences,time spent it all matters.Of course even in the case of girls who didn't recognise me,the fact remained that when we did get over the initial shock,life was back to normal.So here I am all ready to go out again this evening and chances are that there will be people who know me but wont recognise me.One things for sure,I am safe from being identified from any police line up and that's for sure....like they say there is always a silver lining.

Discovery

After years of eating the same old unimaginative food(that's what happens when one has to plan a menu keeping in mind the skills of the cook)it was a delight when my mother came to stay with us.She unfortunately was also a victim of unimaginative food(having to get outside catering as she wasn't up to cooking )and has long forgotten the taste and aromas that can ignite appetites.
Well we decided that perhaps the time had come to revive some long forgotten recipes.
Today our curries have extended from the tried and tested,sambar and dhal to some dhal with veggies,theial with ladies finger(okra),kalan and olan and kachya moor.All varieties to be eaten with rice at lunch or dinner.Breakfast does come with appam and chicken stew and that sees us eating well into lunch.The rich creamy stew thickened with coconut milk is so good that long after the stomach groans we continue eating.Puttu and kadala curry(chickpeas) is another new breakfast food at our place.
We are still trying out old recipes,dictated by the seasons and the veggies available.Yams,stems,leaves whatever there is in the market and we haven't got bored as yet.

fried sardines and left over juices

Having lived off the coast with the sea within wish able distance,my love affair with sea food goes back to when I was born.My parents loved fish and there wasn't a day when we had fish in some form or the other.The variety was endless but best of all was the sardines.In winter,they arrived fresh and chubby with the fat literally oozing off their skins.My mom would fry them in oil with chili powder salt and turmeric and the aroma filled the house,our clothes and wouldn't go for many days.It was a stink actually but i choose to call it an aroma as the juicy flesh was something to die for.Winter sardines were full of fat and good fat(omega 3 oils) but we didn't know that then.We ate them for the sheer joy of sinking our teeth into which flesh.The highlight was the pan in which it was fried.All the masalas and juices would linger in the pan and we would mix hot rice into it.My mother divided the portions into three to avoid sulking children as this was a huge bone of contention among us,the elder sister always loosing her share to the youngest.To this day sardines make me salivate in sheer anticipation of wonderful taste.

Banana skin porial

skin of raw banana
grated coconut
garlic,green chili and cumin seeds
water
turmeric
salt to taste
tempering-oil (i teaspoon)mustard seeds and curry leaves

The banana variety have to be the ones used for making chips,nothing else will do.Chop into tiny bits and add grated coconut salt and turmeric and water.Crush the garlic,green chillies and cumin seeds coarsely and add to mix.Cook uncovered on slow flame till the skins are well cooked.
temper by heating oil,splutter mustard seed and add curry leaves.Mix into the cooked mixture and serve.