Mocha sponge cake with Mocha cream

It was Papa's birthday on Dec 2nd and Manish requested that I bake a cake to celebrate. Well the hidden reason behind the request was also that he could have some cake himself :-) Papa is Manish's father and my sweet sweet father-in-law. I know I'm a bit late in posting this, but better late than never right!!

This year's December is full of celebrations for us. Papa's birthday, my Moms birthday, our Wedding Anniversary , our little baby's Choroonu (Annaprastha- the day that first solids are given to baby), then Chrsitmas , New Years Eve etc etc. Also Appu as we call our baby at home, turns 5month old this month - how time flies!! All in all several reasons to celebrate. I'm hoping I'll be able to celebrate each special day atleast by making one special dish.

So starting with Papa's bday cake :-) Both my parents-in-law love to have coffee. I guess in Kerala every house would have a coffee tree and they gather the coffee seeds and grind, roast and brew their own coffee and I must say that that fresh coffee tastes much better than our instant versions.
Thats when I thought maybe I should make a Coffee flavored cake with some chocolate in it, a combo that would suit my love of chocolate and their love for coffee.  :-)

Now I read several sites online and it states that Mocha or Mocha Latte is a combination of half espresso and half chocolate added to steamed milk. That's how I came to naming the cake as Mocha cake. Also the whipped cream topping flavored with Coffee and Chocolate gives an almost exact flavor of a Mocha latte.

I made a simple mocha flavored sponge cake and topped it with Mocha flavored cream and decorated with some chocolate flavored whipping cream. I used store bought whipped cream - Coolwhip , but you can use regular whipping cream and beat the cream until soft peaks appear. I gave the frosting on the cake top a swirly look instead of a smooth finish.
It wasn't a thick cake as I made just enough batter so that it gets over quickly :-) As we have lots of events to celebrate this month , I want each item to be enjoyed well, but at the same time it should get over too you know.
You can adjust the sponge cake recipe with my Mango Gateau recipe for a bigger sponge cake.

Mocha sponge cake with Mocha cream
Recipe source: My own ( decided after checking various websites for measurement)
You'll need
For Mocha sponge cake :
All-purpose flour - 1cup
Granulated sugar - 1cup
Baking powder - 1/2 tsp
Eggs - 3
Cocoa powder - 2 tblsp
Instant coffee powder - 1.5 tblsp ( I used Bru coffee)
Salt - a pinch
For moistening the cake:
Water - 3 tblsp (use warm water)
Instant coffee powder - 1 tblsp
Sugar - 1tblsp
For whipped cream topping :
Coolwhip - 2-3 cups
Melted chocolate - 1tsp (use semi-sweet chocolate chips)
Instant coffee powder - 1tsp
Powdered sugar - 2 tsp (optional)

Directions:
For Mocha sponge cake :
1. Preheat your oven to 350F and grease a 9" round baking pan with butter and keep aside.
2. Using an electric or hand beater, beat together the eggs and sugar for 8-10 minutes without stopping until a thick consistency is obtained.
3. Sift together the dry ingredients - all purpose flour, baking powder, cocoa powder, instant coffee powder and salt.
4. Add the sifted ingredients into the beaten egg-sugar mixture slowly and fold the ingredients together until incorporated well.
5. Pour the batter into the baking pan and bake for 20-25 minutes or until a fork inserted in the cake comes out clean.
6. Let the cake cool for about 30minutes.
For whipped cream topping:
1. Soften 1 tsp semi-sweet chocolate chips in the microwave.
2. Add the melted chocolate to the coffee powder and mix very well, it will form a thick paste.
3. Take some whipped cream and mix it with the coffee-chocolate paste.
4. Slowly fold in the rest of the whipping cream with the coffee and chocolate mixed cream and add powdered sugar as needed to sweeten the cream.
( As I haven't added water while mixing the coffee, the coffee will remain like little specks in the cream, if you do not like the bitterness of the raw coffee, then melt the coffee in little warm water before mixing with the melted chocolate)
5. Refrigerate for 15mins before frosting as the Coolwhip may start to thin out.
For assembling the cake:
1. Once the cake is cooled, using a sharp serrated knife , cut a thin line around the circumference of the cake and cut the cake slowly making two halves.
2. For moistening the cake, mix together the water, coffee powder and sugar and using a pastry brush, slightly rub this liquid inside the cake halves.(This will help to moisten the cake and also infuse further coffee falvor in the cake.You can moderate the taste depending on how much coffee flavor you'd like)
3. Get your cake stand ready and apply a little cream in the centre to avoid the cake from moving.
4. Place one half of the cake in the middle of the stand and add 2-3tblsp of mocha cream on it and smoothen in over the entire cake ( I used a butter knife to smoothen). You can add as much cream as you'd like depending on how thick you want your filling to be.
5. Place the other half over the cream filled half , and use the rest of the Mocha flavored cream to cover the rest of the cake , on the top and around the sides.

Suggestion: You can decorate with some chocolate flavored whipping cream if you like as I did. Just melt 2-3 tblsp of semi-sweet chcoclate chips or add cocoa powder and some powdered sugar and gently fold into the whipping cream and refrigerate for 20 mins before using. I used a star shaped Wilton cake decorating tip for the decoration.

Half the cake was over before I could take a snap of a slice to show you how it looked :-) We loved the cake , it had a really good taste and smell of coffee and the chocolate added an awesome richness. We made our little Appu cut the cake...he enjoyed cutting it I think ;-)
The cake was a bit chewy like a brownie though. I'm not a cake expert so I'm not really very sure what caused that. If you have suggestions definitely do let me know. Nevertheless it was a hit at home!!

Have a lovely December :-)

(Updated on Dec 8)
Sending this post to:
1.  Christmas Delicacy event hosted by Julie.

2. Jingle All the way event hosted by Kavi.

3. Bake with your Heart event hosted by Khushi.

4. Bake Fest # 2 , being hosted by Sangee Vijay , started by Vardhini of Zesty Palette.

-Manju

AchingaPayar Mezhukuperatty ( YardLong beans Stir Fry)

Snow Snow go away ,
    Little M wants to go out and play ,
        Snow snow go away!!
Its been a boring day today. Due to a snow storm here we've been sitting at home and watching TV all day long. Though we have a mall just opposite our apartment we din't want to take a risk by going out with the baby. He wants to play all the time now and simply loves to go out. He knows we are taking him out when we place him in his car seat. The moment he sits in his car seat he starts banging on the seat , indicating us to keep moving. :-)
I wasn't in the mood to cook anything elaborate either. I simply wanted to get done with my cooking and other household chores and sit and be lazy. I made this quick stir fry today for lunch and thought its an interesting recipe to share. Its one of my favorite and a very commonly made item at home.

AchingaPayar or YardLong beans is a very commonly used veggie in various Keralite cuisines. Its made as a stirfry , or is used as one of the veggies added to sambar or avial . Honestly speaking it very recently that I came to know that its even called as YardLong beans :-)
YardLong beans is also known as Asparagus bean or Chinese long beans. It has a lot of health benefits, like being a rich source of Vit A, C , magnesium, manganese, proteins, folate etc, to name a few. You can get more details from here.

I often prepare mezhukuperatty ( pronounced : Me-rhu-ku-peratty) , which is an authentic stir fry preparation in Kerala where the veggies are simply stir fried in few spoons of oil without any tempering. Any veggies like French beans, Carrots, Beetroot, Bittergourd etc can be used . Onions and green chillies can be added for extra flavor and spice. At home we sometimes add few thin slices of fresh coconut or dried coconut (copra) for an added crunch and flavor.
Like I've mentioned in my post on Beetroot thoran , no meal in Kerala is complete without some thoran or mezhukuperatty as a side dish.

This stir fry is really easy to prepare and I love the crunchy texture of these beans even after its cooked.

AchingaPayar Mezhukuperatty (YardLong beans stirfry)
Recipe source: My own
You'll need 
Yardlong beans - 1 lb
Red Onions - 1 large or 2 medium (thinly sliced)
Green chillies - 2-3 (slit lengthwise)
Coconut slices or Copra slices - 1 tblsp (optional)
Oil ( Canola or any Veg oil) - 2-3tbsp
Salt - to taste

Directions:
1. Wash the yardlong beans and cut each bean into 1 inch long pieces.
2. In a non-stick pan, heat the oil and add the cut beans, onions and green chillies and salt and saute for a minute . Cover and cook, stirring occasionally in between.
3. When the beans are almost cooked add the coconut slices and cover and cook for another 2-3 mins.
4. The Onions should get carmelised and the beans cooked well.

The carmelised onions , mild spice from the green chillies , the coconut slices and the mildly crunchy beans makes this an awesome side dish to be served with rice. Give this recipe a try for a healthy and tasty dish that can be enjoyed with any curry and rice or even with rotis.

- Manju

Chakka Kumbilappam or Steamed Jackfruit Dumplings

Kumbilappam is an authentic Keralite snack item. Kumbilappam genarally means Conical (kumbil) - Dumpling (appam). Its a steamed and sweet dumpling.

Here I present Jackfruit or Chakka Kumbilappam where a dough is prepared by mixing Jackfruit jam (Chakka Varatti) along with Rice flour and few spices to form a dumpling and is steamed using fresh Bayleaves (Vazhana ella) or Banana leaves ( Vazha ella). The jam is prepared by cooking ripe Jackfruit  along with Jaggery and reduced to form a thick jam like consistency.

The distinct conical shape can be obtained mostly if Bayleaves are used. The leaves are folded to form a conical shape, the dough is stuffed into the cone shaped space and then closed using the stem of the leaf.

What makes these dumplings special is the aromatic smell (almost Cinnamon like) infused into it by the Bayleaves while it steams. Dry bayleaves are commonly used in Indian cooking which provides a lovley smell and flavor to savoury dishes. 

I love these dumplings mainly because its healthy, sweet and really easy to prepare. This is a perfect snack for Jackfruit lovers. Sometimes banana is also added to the dough to add more sweetness and of course the flavors of banana and jackfruit make quite a unique combination.

According to my MIL , they used to eat cylindrical shaped dumplings , which is called Theralli during their childhood when they used to go for temple festivals (ulsavam) and it used to be a craze back then. But instead of Jackfruit it was made only with Banana, grated coconut and some spices in a Rice flour based dough.

I made these the traditional way , but I'm sure it can be made creative by adding some nuts or raisins or some other fruit jam in the dough for trying out different varieties. I had some jackfruit jam (Chakka Varatti) which was made at home in India and used that to make instant Dumplings.

This recipe make about 8 - 10 dumplings depending on the size of the leaf. I have provided step by step pics to help you all understand how this amazing snack item is prepared.

Chakka Kumbilappam Recipe
Recipe source: My MIL
You'll need
Chakka Vazhatti (Jackfruit jam) - 4-5 tblsp
Rice flour - 2 cups
Grated Coconut - 1 cup
Jaggery - 1 cup or 1/4 kg (scraped)
Cardamom (Elaichi) powder - 1/4 tsp
Cumin powder - 1/4 tsp
Dried Ginger powder - 1/4 tsp
Water - enough to make a smooth dough

Directions:
1. Mix all the ingredients together to form a smooth dough. ( To be honest I used less Jackfruit jam, so my dough looks almost white, if more jam is used , your dough would look more brownish)
Make small balls from the dough and keep aside.

2. Take a Bayleaf and hold it such that the stem of the leaf is facing up. Roll or twist the bottom of the leaf to form a cone and push the dough into the cone shaped space and close it by pushing the stem of the leaf into the centre of the cone (as shown)

3. Place all the cones in a steamer and steam for 15- 20 minutes. ( I used my idli steamer and placed the dumpling cones on each idli stand)

To make the Theralli or Cylindrical shaped dumplings: 
1. Take the Bayleaf and place some dough in a cylindrical shape at one end (not the stem end) of the leaf , fold the leaf and place another cylindrical shaped dumpling on the folded tip.
Again close with the stem of the leaf. Steam as mentioned above.

Suggestions:
1. If you do not have Chakka Vazhatti, you can prepare an instant version :
    a. Grind together 3-4 ripe Jackfruit bulbs.
    b. Melt 1 cup jaggery ,add this jackfruit pulp and 3-4 tblsp Ghee (Clarified butter) .
    c. Keep stirring on medium heat and reduce the pulp to a thick paste.
    d. If you like you may add 1/4tsp Cardamom powder for taste.
    e. Instant jam is ready.
    Add this Jackfruit-Jaggery jam to the dough and follow the rest of the steps.
Chakka Vazhatti is also made in the same way but it is made to reduce to such an extenet that its almost dry (with no more moisture) and this can be stored for months together after its cooled.

 

Enjoy these dumplings with a nice hot cup of tea and coffee. Its best when served warm. As I mentioned before its really healthy and tasty.
The sweetness from the jackfruit and jaggery , the coconut and the small hint of the spices added and most of all, the cinnamony smell of the bayleaves in the dumplings make this an irresistible combination.

Have a beautiful day!!


Sending this post to:
1.  Christmas Delicacy event hosted by Julie.

-Manju

Fish Biriyani...simply awesome!!

Biriyani is a rice dish flavoured with spices and cooked with chicken or fish or meat or simply veggies. It is a very flavorful and aromatic dish .
I simply love Biriyani and my mom makes the most awesome Chicken Biriyani I have tasted until now.
Being health conscious she doesn't use too much butter or ghee in her preparation, but the spices , chicken and the flavored rice mixed together simply compensates for all that. Though I haven't mastered her biriyani yet, I also try to make biriyani now and then whenever we get cravings to have something Gourmet I would say!! :-)

2 things that make this Biriyani recipe special is the fact I made my own biriyani masala powder (as I din't have any store bought powder at hand ) and its the first time I'm making biriyani with Fish :-) And something about having made everything homemade made this biriyani so much more tastier. It was a bit on the spicier side , but then we love having spicy food once in a while!

This biriyani was the result of an instant craving to have something special for lunch. Something special means always BIRIYANI :-) But I had no chicken in the freezer and we weren't in the mood to go and buy some, but I had some Tilapia fillets and there was no thinking twice, Fish Biriyani it is....I have eaten fish biriyani only twice , one was Shrimp and another time it was King fish. Both tasted awesome and unique in its own way. 

The aromatic whole spice flavored Rice, the spicy fish and masala , the carmelised onions , small crunch from the cashew nuts and sweetness from the fried raisins all makes this dish a fantastic combo!!

The recipe description may look lengthy, but that's only because I have tried to cover each small detail of the preparation process. Most of the ingredients are commonly found or used in most Indian households, specially the spices used. I have also provided Easier versions wherever possible. But trust me, the end result is amazing and you'll love it. And like my mom I have made it with very little butter and oil.

Again, this Biriyani recipe is totally mine and I'm sure there may be several other ways to prepare it. Suggestions are always welcome!!

Fish Biriyani Recipe
Recipe source : My own
You'll need
For the rice:
Basmati rice - 3 cups
Butter - 2 tblsp
Whole Cardamom ( Elaichi) - 3nos.
Whole Peppercorns - 6-7nos.
Cloves - 4-5nos
Cinammon sticks - 1 or 2 ( one inch pieces)
Saffron - 1 pinch
Star Anise - 1
Bayleaf - 1
Water - 6 cups
For marinating the fish:
Fish Fillets (Tilapia / Salmon / King Fish ) - 2-3 lb [Cleaned and cut into small pieces]
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Pepper powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Fenugreek powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt - to taste
Homemade Biriyani masala powder: (My version)
Cardamom seeds ( Elaichi) - 2 ( only seeds of 2 whole cardamom pods)
Whole Peppercorns - 5nos
Cloves - 5nos.
Cinammon sticks - 1 (one inch piece)
Dry Red Chilli - 2-3
Star Anise - 1/2 piece
Whole Corriander seeds - 1 tblsp
Jeera or Saumf - 1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - 3-4 leaves
For masala gravy:
Red Onion - 1 large ( thinly sliced)
Green chillies - 2-3 (cut lenghtwise) - optional
Ginger- Garlic paste - 1 tblsp
Tomatoes - 2 large
Yoghurt - 2 heaping tblsp
Mint leaves - 1/2 cup
Cilantro - 1cup
To Garnish
Red Onion - 1/2 large ( cut into thin rings or slices)
Cashew nuts - 1 tblsp
Raisins - 1tblsp
Oil (Canola / Vegetable Oil ) - as needed for frying
To color the rice yellow: ( optional )
Turmeric powder - 2 tsp
Water - 2 tblsp


Directions:
For cooking the rice:
1. Wash and soak the Basmati rice in water for 30 - 45 mins.
2. Drain the rice and spread out the rice on a clean washcloth or in a collander to dry.
3. In a deep cooking pot melt 2 tblsp of butter and put in all the whole spices except the Saffron and saute for a minute.
4. Add the rice and fry the rice by folding over gently for about 2-3 minutes.
5. Now add in the 6 cups of water , put in the Saffron strands , salt and cover the pot and cook until the rice is well cooked.
For making the Fish masala:
1. Grind together all the ingredients for the homemade biriyani masala powder and keep aside. ( Easier version : Use store bought Biriyani masla powder)
2. Grind together the tomato, yoghurt , mint and cilantro leaves without water and keep aside.
3. Marinate the fish with all the spices (red chilli powder, pepper powder, turmeric powder, fenugreek powder) and salt and mix well with some water so that the spices stick on to the fish. Refigerate for 30 mins.
4. In a non-stick skillet, on medium heat, add 2 tblsp oil and shallow fry the fish and keep aside.
5. In the same skillet add another 2 tblsp oil and saute the red onions, green chillies and ginger-garlic paste.
6. Add the Biriyani Masala powder and saute for 2 minutes.
7. Reduce the heat and add the tomato-yoghurt grinded mixture , add salt and stir the masala gravy until the gravy thickens. ( If the gravy is thick enough , you need not saute for too long)
8. Add the fried fish pieces into this gravy and mix gently.
For the garnish:
1. Slice the red onions into thin rings or cut the onion in half and slice thinly.
2. Heat some oil on high heat , in a frying pan and fry the onions until carmelised well.
3. In the same oil fry the cashew nuts and raisins and keep everything aside separately.
For setting the Biriyani:
1. Preheat the oven and set it to 200F.
2. If you'd like to color some rice yellow, roast the 2 tsp of turmeric powder until the raw smell comes off and mix with water and slowly sprinkle the turmeric water on about 1 cup 3-4 large scoops of the cooked rice and gently fold the rice over until all the rice strands are colored yellow. ( Easier version : Use yellow food color)
3. In a large oven proof vessel (like a dutch oven) make layers of rice, fish masala and garnish.
Procedure: Mix 3 large scoops of white rice with 1 large scoop of yellow rice , top the rice with 2 tblsp fish masala with 3-4 fish pieces , top it with the fried onions, cashew nuts and raisins. Again add the rice and
continue this layering until all the rice and fish masala is over and make sure the last layer ends with rice topped with the garnish.
4. Cover the vessel with a air tight lid and place it in the oven for 15 mins.
5. Biriyani is ready. Serve it with some cool Raita, spicy mango pickle and Papad...Yummmmy!!

Suggestions: 
a. While the rice is soaking in water , you can marinate the fish and start with the masala gravy preparation.
b. If you do not want to layer the rice with the fish, cook the rice and fish with masala mixed together. This makes the preparation faster.
c. You can moderate the amount of biriyani masala powder added , if you do not like too much spice.


Sending this post to:
1.  Christmas Delicacy event hosted by Julie.

2. Food of the Month - Contest hosted by Amy

-Manju

Irish Soda Bread & a Versatile Blogger Award !!

Hope you all had a very Happy Thanksgiving !! Did you all go shopping for the Black Friday doorbuster sales? We did ,and had an awesome time. We left from home at 10pm on Thursday and was back home only at 7am today. Give me any excuse for shopping :-)

Also I'm so happy to announce that I have received my first ever blogger Award !
Christy of My Kitchen Flavors - Bon Apetite has been so kind enough to send me a Versatile Blogger Award. Thank you so much Christy, you simply made my day!!

Today I thought of sharing a simple and easy bread recipe called the Irish Soda bread.
Irish Soda bread, as the name suggests used Baking Soda as the raising agent instead of yeast. It can be made plain, or filled with nuts or dry fruits or even made savoury using caraway seeds or crushed peppercorns. I made a sweet soda bread by adding dried Cranberries and we had it for breakfast along with some butter and a nice hot cup of tea. Later on we had it with some Red Wine and that combo was good too ;-)

The first channel I ever saw after having reached US was the Food Network channel. I love watching cookery shows but to have an entire channel showing food shows 24x7 was like a dream come true.

On one such occasion I happened to make note of this Irish Soda bread recipe by Ina Garten featured on her Barefoot Contessa - Back to Basics show. It looked so easy to prepare that I was just tempted to make it one weekend. The moment I woke up I went to go over the recipe again, make changes as per my requirements and bake away. When Manish woke up, the house was smelling heavenly and he couldn't wait to eat!!

Though I followed the recipe by Barefoot Contessa, I found her amount for the bread dough too much for the both of us, so I took a risk and made several changes from the original recipe, but it turned out pretty good nevertheless! And as she suggests in her show, its a much easier version of making bread where there is no kneading, no waiting for the yeast to rise and so on.

Irish Soda Bread Recipe
Recipe source: BarefootContessa-Food Network

You'll need
All purpose flour - 3cups
Baking soda - 1tsp
Baking powder - 1tbsp (optional)
Sugar - 1/2 cup
Egg - 1
Buttermilk - 1.5 cups
Butter - 1/2 stick
Orange extract ( or Orange zest) - 1/2 tsp
Cranberries - 2 cups ( or as per your choice)
Salt - 1/2 tsp

Directions
1. Preheat Oven to 375F
2. Whisk together the dry ingredients: All purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, sugar and salt.
3. Break the butter into cubes and mix it well into the dry ingredients forming a coarse texture.
4. Beat together the egg with the buttermilk and mix it slowly into the dry ingredients and blend it all together with a blender making a smooth and lightly wet and sticky dough.
5. Add the cranberries and orange extract/zest and mix well.
6. Lightly flour your working surface and place the dough on it, add more flour over the dough and mildly knead the dough until smooth.(Do not over knead).
7. Lightly brush the top of the dough with little melted butter to give a nice brown crust.
8. Place the dough on a baking sheet and make an X shaped cut in the centre of the dough (this allows the dough to rise and spread well) and place it on the middle rack of your oven.
9. Bake for 40-45 mins until a toothpick inserted into the dough comes out clean and also the loaf should sound hollow when tapped.
10. Remove and place it on a cooling rack for 15-20 mins. Cut the loaf into slices and serve warm with butter.

Suggestions: You can even make chive butter biscuits with the same batter by dividing the batter into smaller portions for the biscuits. ( you can adjust the amount of sugar as per your wish)

Again coming back to my award, it would have never been possible to maintain this blog if it hadn't been for the support and interest you all have shown in my little space here. I enjoy each minute here and want to share more and more recipes with you all. So a big Thank you to all of you , my friends!!

I'd love to share this award to the following bloggers whom I think are doing an awesome job with their blogs and are very versatile in their approach:
1. Shirley of Enriching your Kid
2. Sonali Pradhan of Only Fish Recipes
3. Khushi of A Girl's Diary
4. Aarthi of Yummy Tummy
5. Vardhini of Zesty Palette
Do accept the award by copying and pasting it on your blog and share it with 5 other bloggers.
(Award displayed above)

Have a great day everyone and do try out this easy Irish Soda bread!!

I'm sharing this post with:
1. Breakfast Club # 17 event hosted by Krithi , started by Helen of Fuss free flavours .
2.  Bake Fest #1 Event hosted by Vardhini of Zesty Palette.
3. Global Food Festival hosted by Kalyani of Sizzling Tastebuds

-Manju

Pineapple and Strawberry Pachadi

Pachadi is a typical Kerala side dish where a fruit or vegetable is cooked and is then added to yoghurt once the cooked mixture is fully cooled.  Almost like a Raita you can say!
Fruits like Apple, Pineapple, ripe Palntain etc or Veggies like Bittergourd , Pumpkin , Ladys finger etc can be used to prepare Pachadi and depending on the main ingredient the taste is amazingly different.

The recipe I'm about to share was a total experiment and I'm glad it turned out wonderfully well. We had bought a whole Pineapple a few days back and had been using it little by little to make Pinappale pachadi , Pineapple pulishery and also enjoying it as a fruit. But few more slices were left behind which was not enough to make a full fledged curry and no one was in the mood to eat it plain.
Finally I thought might as well make a small pachadi and finish it off when I thought why not add some Strawberries too.....that would add some volume to the dish and also might taste different.

The sweetness from the Pineapple , the slight tarty sweetness from the Strawberries, the tangy creamy Yoghurt and the mild hint of spice from the dry red chillies added during tempering made this an exceptional side dish for lunch, I could almost eat it like a dessert :-)
Hoping your tastebuds are flowing by now, lets check out the recipe now, shall we !!

Pineapple and Strawberry Pachadi Recipe
You'll need
Ripe Pineapple - 2-3 round 1" slices, cubed
Strawberries - 2-3 cubed
Small red onion or Pearl onion - 1 (thinly sliced)
Mustard seeds - 1 tblsp
Grated coconut - 2 tblsp
Yoghurt - 1 cup
Salt - to taste
For tempering:
Oil - 1 tblsp ( Canola / Veg oil)
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Dry Red Chillies - 1-2 (broken in half)
Curry leaves - 2-3 leaves

Directions:
1. Chop the pineapple and strawberries into small bite sized cubes and keep aside separately.
2. Using a mortar and pestle gently crush the grated coconut and mustard seeds until the seeds split in half and keep aside. (If you do not have a mortar and pestle just gently pulse once in a mixer grinder)
3. In a kadai or non-stick pan heat the oil on medium heat and crack the mustard seeds , dry red chillies and add the curry leaves.
4. Saute the small red onion (pearl onion) for a minute and add the Pineapple first.
5. Gently saute for 2 minutes or until the juices from the pineapple start coming out. (You may add little water if the pineapple is not ripe enough)
6. Keep the heat on low and add the crushed mustard seeds and crushed grated coconut and add required amount of salt and saute until the mixture is just warm.
7. Finally add the strawberries and turn off the heat. (The strawberries need not be cooked. The heat from the mixture will automatically cook the strawberries slightly)

8. Once the mixture is fully cooled add the yoghurt and mix well and check the seasoning.

Serve this with rice and some spicy curry or fish fry...yummm! My mouth is definitley watering and I totally enjoyed sharing it with you all too....
For those who like the dish more sweeter you can add some sugar or jaggery. You should be able to bite the pineapple and strawberries , what I mean is don't overcook it. The veggie version are usually made by roasting the veggies and then adding to yoghurt.
Do try this dish and let me know if you enjoyed it as much as I did....

And don't be scared to experiemnt with your dishes, you might just end up creating something Exceptional !!
Stay tuned for more and Have an awesome day!


Sending this post to:
1.  Christmas Delicacy event hosted by Julie.

- Manju