Wanderberry Tales

Biriyani was a routine feast for weddings and other functions in my part of Kerala until some time back. That gave way to Fried Rice, Chicken Curry and cutlets eventually and now it has finally settled on Rice and host of non vegetarian and vegetarian items to feast on. Beef Roast or Chicken Roast is a prominent item on the plate without which it feels incomplete. I have a strong penchant for roasted chicken, mutton and beef prepared the Malayalee way as I call it. The roasted masala releases a strong aroma coupled with beautifully caramelised onions and the slightly charred meat makes it a heavenly combo with flatbread and even rice. The key to getting this dish right is the proper roasting of the masala as you stir along to prevent it from burning at the bottom. I have tried chicken roast several times and I have not exactly got it the way I would love to have it. Then this mutton roast came along! I usually prefer mutton with gravy but for a change decided to give it a dry...

The festival of Vishu heralds the New Year for the Hindus in the South Indian state of Kerala. Vishukkani, Vishukodi, Vishusadhya, Vishukkaineetom are the  customs and practices symbolic with the Malayalee New Year. ( Know more about these customs ) Even today all these customs are followed with the reverence and sanctity they deserve. There is no festivity without an elaborate Sadhya that serves so many dishes that you get up from the banana leaf stuffed swearing never to eat so much again. Yet if there was even one item missing out of the sadhya you would feel amiss and would call it an incomplete sadhya!  Pachadi is a very common side dish for sadhya which is quick to make and can be made using different vegetables. Simply put, it is tempering the yogurt with veggies that go along with yogurt - Cucumber, beetroot,carrot, pineapple or even bitter gourd to name a few.  Recipe Preparation Time - 30 minutes Serves - 4 Ingredients Ginger – ¼ ...

With Easter just a day away marking the culmination of the Holy week and season of lent, Christian households would be prepping up a feast to celebrate the resurrection of Christ. Our celebrations often overshadow the real reason for the existence of such a day. To put it in a line - Easter Sunday celebrates resurrection of Jesus Christ from the tomb on the third day after crucifixion, fulfilling the prophecy that the Son of God would die for our sins and rise on the third day signifying eternal life. With a good share of Indian Christian population in the Southern state of Kerala, Easter Sunday would witness a day of festivity both at church and at homes. Here is a recipe that you can add on to the menu - Nadan Kozhi Porichathu/ Kerala Chicken Fry. Ingredients To Marinate – Chicken – 1 kg cut into medium or large pieces Ginger- garlic paste – 2 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder – 1 tsp Red chilli powder – 1 tbsp Turmeric powder – ½ tsp Fennel powder – 1 tsp Garam Mas...

Christmas is a time that brings back so many memories. Some are funny as can be! Good food comes with any celebration and Good food comes after so many failed attempts too! Christmas is no less. Our first Christmas together was within a month of moving to Dubai. The cooking range oven and the griller were totally new to me. All that Shibin wanted for Christmas was 'Karangunna Chicken' - loosely translated rotating chicken. Don't whack your brains! He only meant to have those rotisserie grilled chicken :) I had my chicken marinated and for reason best known to no one I decided to place the marinated chicken in the freezer! We went out shopping got back a little late - just in time for dinner which was till in the freezer. I had no time to defrost. I placed it in the oven to melt the stubborn ice. After a while onto the rotisserie. The chicken was big and the marinade was all dripping down which is when I realised that I needed a dripping pan too. After all the trials...

Festivities seem to gain more vigour and valour when you are away from your home country. Onam is one such festival and you can find onam celebrations happening till it is time for Christmas celebrations. Every weekend for the next two months in the UAE you are sure to find atleast one person in the traditional Kerala kasavu mundu/saree heading for Onam celebration somewhere. Pookalam ( floral designs), Thiruvathira (traditional dance form),vadam vali (tug of war), sadya (the grand meal) all form a part of this rich festival. This year is no less and I am counting on 3 sadyas this year. Just like Cake is to Christmas, Payasam is to Onam! Make a sadya or not -payasam is inevitable. This year I wanted to try some milk based payasam other than the semiya payasam. That is when my cousin suggested pineapple. I googled up a few recipes but wasn't quite convinced to try it out myself. Pineapple Rava Kesaribath is one of my favorite food - that is when it struck me to incorpor...

Biriyani is a feast in itself for most Indians but when it came to our PG gang ( running into the pre-wedding days for a while), biriyani was the solution to depression as well. Every emotion we could think of was followed by ordering biriyani from Mughal Empire in AECS Layout. We got a hike - its biriyani, we are tired - its biriyani, we got reprimanded by parents - its biriyani, manager gave us a earful - biriyani again, had a tiff with friends - biriyani all over again. Every emotion had a solution - Mughal Empire Biriyani. The guy taking the order at Mughal Empire need not be reminded of the address and the quantity - the only thing that varied was the type between chicken and fish. We lost count of the times we have ordered it but washed and kept intact all the 'white dabbas' they came in, only to be thrown out during every cleaning session! This is how biriyani became part of my life - we tried making biriyani couple of times when in the PG - none too succes...