Snow Peas Stir Fry

Ingredients (Serves 3 - 4):

Snow Peas                            --   250gm
Turmeric Powder             --   ¼ tsp
Green chillies                     --   2, slit lengthwise
Shallots                                 --   2 - 3
Mustard seeds                    --   1 tsp
Red chillies                          --   2
Curry Leaves                      --   1 sprig
Oil                                            --   2 tbsp ,  I use coconut oil
Salt                                          --   as required

Preparation:

Clean and cut the snow peas.

Heat oil in another pan. Add the mustard seeds and let it splutter. Add the curry leaves and broken dry red chillies. Add the chopped shallots,and saute until the shallots are light brown.

Add the turmeric powder, green chillies and cut peas and mix well. Keep it on a low flame and let it cook with the lid on.

Serve hot with rice.

Jam Roll / Jelly Swiss Roll

Ingredients:

Eggs                           -- 4 large
Sugar                         -- 1 1/3 cup
Water                        -- ½ cup
Vanilla                      -- 2 tsp
All-purpose flour -- 1 cup
Baking powder      -- 1 ¼ tsp
Salt -- ¼ tsp
Confectioner’s sugar -- ½ - ¾ cup(for rolling and sprinkling)
Your favorite jam or jelly -- 1 cup, or more

Preparation:

Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Generously butter a 17x12 pan. Line with a piece of parchment paper and butter it as well.

Beat the eggs until very thick and pale yellow, about 5 minutes. Gradually beat in the sugar. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the water and vanilla. Still on low speed, gradually add the flour, baking powder, and salt, beating just until blended.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Be sure to spread the batter into the corners.

Bake for 12-15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Meanwhile prepare a tea towel with a generous dusting of powdered sugar.

Remove the cake from the oven, loosen it from the edges of the pan, and immediately invert the hot cake onto the prepared tea towel. Carefully peel away the paper. Dust the cake with powdered sugar.

While still hot, carefully roll the cake and towel starting from the narrow end. Cool the rolled cake on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes.

Unroll the cake and remove the towel. Spread the jam or jelly over the inside surface of the cake. Re-roll the cake. Trim the edges as required.

Decorate as per your wish. This is how I did - to have it resemble the jam roll which we get back in Kerala.

Spread a thin layer of jam on the cake roll. Roll in in Sugar crystals. The jam should be just enough to hold the sugar crystals over it.

Receipe Courtesy: Lanascooking

Crispy Coconut Cookies

Ingredients (Yields 20 - 24 cookies):

Butter -- 3 tbsp
Unsweetened shredded coconut -- 2 ½ cups
Eggs -- 2 large
Sugar -- 2/3 cup
Fleur de sel or any sea salt -- 1 – 1 ½ teaspoons

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 350°F and line the baking sheet with parchment paper.

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan. Remove from heat and add the coconut. Mix well so the coconut is well-coated with the butter.

Beat the eggs with a mixer on medium speed just until blended. Add the sugar and beat on medium-high until the mixture is light-colored and fluffy. Combine the butter-covered coconut gently with the egg mixture and mix well.

Drop 1 tsp of the batter onto the baking sheets and press down until it is flat. Have an inch space between each cookie. Bake for 7-10 minutes until golden. Remove from the oven and immediately sprinkle the tops of each cookie with a pinch of the fleur de sel.

If the cookies sit and cool too much the fleur de sel won’t stick. As soon as they are cool, store in an air-tight container otherwise they will lose their crispness.

Receipe Courtesy: Semiswede

Thin and Crispy Chocolate chip cookies

Ingredients(25-30 cookies):

All-purpose flour  -- 1 ¾ cups
Baking soda             -- ¾ tsp
Salt                              -- 1 tbsp
Butter                         -- 14 tbsp, melted
Light brown sugar -- ½ cup packed
Sugar                           -- ½ cup
Light corn syrup    -- 2 tbsp, optional - I did not use
Vanilla extract        -- 1 tbsp
Milk                              -- 2 tbsp
Bittersweet chocolate chips -- 1 ½ cups
Chopped nuts           -- 1 cup, optional - any nuts of your choice

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt.

In a mixer, cream the butter and sugars until fluffy(and corn syrup if using), 3 - 4 minutes.

Stir in the vanilla, then the milk. Add the flour mixture all at once and blend just until a dough forms.

Fold in the chocolate and nuts. Chill the dough.

Make small balls out of the dough(approx 2 tbsp), then place on the baking sheet and gently flatten them. Place about 2 inches apart

Chill the dough between batches. Bake until the edges are dark golden brown, 14 to 17 minutes.

Let cool slightly on the baking sheet, then transfer to a baking rack.

Receipe Courtesy: NY Times

Muringayila Thoran / Drumstick leaves stir fry

Ingredients (Serves - 4 - 5):

Muringayila / Drumstick Leaves -- 5 - 6 cups, separated from the branches
Coconut Oil             -- 1 tbsp
Mustard Seeds       -- 1 tsp
Red Chillies             -- 2
Grated Coconut     -- ¼ cup
Shallots                     --  2 - 3
Green Chillies         --  2
Turmeric powder  -- a pinch
Salt                              -- to taste
Egg                              -- 2, optional

Preparation:

Wash the leaves well under running water. Spread it on a paper and let it dry.

Crush the coconut, green chillies, turmeric powder and shallots in a mortar and pestle or just pulse using a mixer.

If using eggs, beat the eggs in a bowl with some salt and keep aside.

Heat the oil in a pan and scramble the eggs into small lumps. Remove and keep aside.

Heat oil in the same pan and splutter mustard seeds and then add the dry chillies. Add the crushed coconut mixture and saute for a minute.

Add the drumstick leaves and mix well. Reduce the flame to low and let it cook covered. Saute at every 1 - 2 minute intervals, so that the leaves do not stick together.

Mix the scrambled eggs into it.

Serve with any kind of rice.