LAYERED MEAT PIE - MALABAR STYLE - "ATHISHAYA PATHIRI"

I called this dish “meat pie” because it’s got meat and some crust...but the method of preparation is none like the English meat pie. Taste wise, it’s "SPICY" and absolutely awesome!! Its a regional preparation of North Kerala called "Adhishaya Pathiri" in Malayalam.

Once more, I should warn you...it's a very very spicy dish! I love a lot of meat and thin layers seperating them but you could thicken the layers and adjust according to your taste. Addition of cream to the egg mixture will give you the custardy texture. I have not added it though because the authentic recipe does not have cream.

Here the recipe calls for baking. You can cook it on the stove too, at medium heat in a heavy bottom and heavy lid non-stick vessel. Meat can be replaced by vegetables or chicken too. 

Happy cooking J.

SMOKED SALMON WITH SPICY DILL SAUCE - AN EASY APPETIZER!!

Thanks everyone for voting me to the top 9 on FOODBUZZ.

As Christmas passes and the countdown for New Year is closing, I present to you a simple and quick appetizer - Smoked Salmon with spicy dill sauce. A tiny and quick post with lots of love and best wishes for every year ahead!! J

Ingredients:

Smoked salmon fillets - 2 deboned and rinsed for removing excess salt

Lime juice - from 1 whole lemon

Dill - 1 sprig for garnish

Peppercorns - few for garnish

For sauce:

Dill- 4 sprigs very finely chopped

Butter- 1 teaspoon

Green chillies - 3 chopped finely

Black pepper - ½ teaspoon

Cream - 4 table spoon

Cheddar cheese - 1 tablespoon freshly grated

Parmesan cheese - 1 teaspoon

Garlic - 2 cloves crushed

Salt for seasoning

Method:

1.       Cut salmon into 1 inch cubes and soak in lime juice for 15mins. If you want to infuse a lot of lime flavour, keep for more time.

2.       Meanwhile, prepare sauce. Heat a pan and melt butter

3.       Add garlic and sauté till aroma lingers.

4.       Add green chillies, dill and cream. Mix well.

5.       Add both cheese and let them melt in.

6.       If sauce is too thick, add a little hot boiling water to perfect the consistency. If you plan to top with sauce and serve, I recommend a little thick sauce otherwise, it will be too gooey.

7.       Now plate the salmon and serve topped with a spoon of sauce, some dill and a pepper corn.

Tips n Tricks:

·         Well, some of us can’t adjust to the taste of smoked salmon. If you have a blow torch, use that to sear the salmon marinated in lime juice and pepper. Otherwise, just marinate in lime juice and pepper, then pan. And serve with sauce.

GREEN APPLE & GREEK YOGURT - CINNAMON FLAVOURED SHRIKHAND and poached fruits in spice syrup!

First of all Seasons Greetings from Mj’s kitchen to all my dear foodie friends and every other visitor at Cardamom Hills!!! Up above is my little personalized wishes to all of you!!

I had put on my ‘lazy hat’ from last couple of days which I think has been reflecting on my blog too....but today something inspired me totally to go and give a nice stir-up to my dear kitchen who’s been missing me messing it up J and the result is a yummy dessert...yup, that’s what I have for you today. This main dessert will also be accompanied by a side dessert - poached fruits in spice syrup.

 So before we get on with our main recipe for the day, I’ll share my poached fruits. Kiwi, plum, watermelon and mango, now isn’t that a unique combo?

I’ll recommend putting the diced pieces of water melon in a pre-heated oven at 180⁰C for 2mins. Leave it inside till oven cools. Thus, melon pieces will lock the water in it, preventing your syrup from getting soggy when you put them in. Now dice all the other fruits up. In case of quantity of fruits, you could use a wee bit of your own brains and decide...hehe...

LAMB/MUTTON BIRYANI or GOSHT KI PAKKI DUM BIRYANI!!

Another B for Biryani....this time a flavoursome Lamb chucks cooked in spices till succulent, then layered with rice and cooked air tight for 30mins.

And by the time those 30mins are gone...your entire house would be filled with the most amazing aroma of spices. This would tempt you to open the lid and scoop out straight into your mouth from the stove. Please Beware: “This is an extremely hazardous act since you will end up burning your taste buds and leading a flavourless life at least for a week!” (Guaranteed out of personal experienceJ)

For pictorial references of initial process of preparing the gravy, please refer to my previous Biryani post. The difference here is we are cooking the meat and rice separately and then together in dum till flavours infuse into the rice.

The credits for this recipe go to one of my aunts. I’ll call her Aunt Sh. She makes awesome Lamb Biryani.

A SRILANKAN GETAWAY & MUSHROOM MAKHANI WITH BABY CARROTS!!

Don’t get me wrong...it’s a getaway not a give-awayJ .....Just got back after a lovely holiday and I still haven’t recovered from my holiday mood....hehe....the pic above is our recipe for the day but before that I have quite a bit to babble J so please bear with me!!

But the coolest thing was when I got back after 8 days of absolute isolation from internet and log into my blog. Guess what awaited me here....soooo many lovable comments, a #1 spot in the foodbuzz top nine for my last post and a stylish blogger award from a foodie friend: Toni at Boulder Locavore. Yuppiieeee!!!!! Can’t tell you how happy that made me =) Thanks to all of you wonderful people and foodbuzz for making me happier after a happy holiday J... Touch wood!! I know,I sound all charged up....it’s coz of an absolutely wonderful trip...thanks to Aj n my baby for thatJ.

I thought I’ll share a few clicks that we took during our little adventure before getting into today’s recipe which, I promise, is equally awesomeJ. After all, there’s no room for compromise when it comes food in a food blog right?

INDIAN STYLE PAN SEARED CHICKEN WITH OLIVES ACCOMPANIED BY TAMARIND CHUTNEY - A ZERO OIL STARTER!!

Thanks everyone for voting me to the top 9 on FOODBUZZ.



I got a couple of awards last weeks from foodie friends!! Thank you fellow bloggers (Dimah, Green girl and Mateja) for your generosity & encouragement!! I’ll do my list of awards as soon as I finish posting my party menu.

One more thing guys, I won’t be in touch with my blog for a week ( from tomoro until next friday) due to some travelling but don’t let that stop you from peeping in here and trying a few recipesJ.

So here is the second starter from our 4 course party menu - “Pan seared chicken marinated in Indian style spices and served with pickled green olives” J I have devised two dips to accompany our starter, one (Tamarind chutney) of which you can see in the picture and the other I’ll mention in our Tips & Tricks section.

When I say zero oil, I totally mean it!! I haven’t used any oil. It’s quick and simple too. Oh! N by the way you can coat your non stick frying pan with some butter, if you think it’s ok to have some extra but yummy caloriesJ.