Fun n Fitness Mondays: 8 Christmas recipes you must try

SOUTH INDIAN

Palappam by Lisa Joji

Ingredients
1 cup raw rice 
½ cup boiled rice 
½ cup grated coconut 
¼ tsp yeast 
2 tsp sugar 
2 tbsp hot water 
½ cup coconut milk 
A pinch of salt s
2 tbsp sugar 

Method
Soak rice in water for 8 hours. Grind it with boiled rice and coconut. Then mix yeast and sugar in hot water and keep for 10 minutes. Mix the yeast mixture and ground mixture. Keep it to rise for 8 hours. After 8 hours add salt, coconut milk and sugar. Stir well and keep in the fridge. Heat a palappam tawa and make appams.

Karimeen (pearl spot fish) moile by Lisa Joji

Ingredients
2 whole Karimeen 
2 tbsp Ginger garlic paste 
4 onions, sliced 
7 green chillies 
A string of curry leaves
2 tbsp coconut oil 
½ tsp turmeric powder 
½ tsp cardamom powder 
½ tsp perumjeerakam pwd 
1 tsp Crushed pepper 
2 tomatoes, sliced
Salt
1 cup thin coconut milk 
 ½ cup thick coconut milk
Lemon juice            

Method
In a pan heat coconut oil, fry onion slices till pale brown. Add ginger garlic paste, green chillies and saute well. Add turmeric powder, cardamom powder, perumjeerakam powder and fry well. Finally add salt, crushed pepper and curry leaves. Add thin coconut milk, when it starts boiling add karimeen to it and cook till done. Add sliced tomatoes and lemon juice. Let it boil for a few minutes. Finally add thick coconut milk and remove from fire without boiling.

Kerala style chicken stew by Jeena Varghese

Ingredients
Boneless half kg chicken
2 small carrots
2 small potatoes
1 cup Peas
1 coconut
Whole garam masala – 2 inch cinnamon stick, 5 cloves and 1 tsp pepper corn
Few curry leaves
2 green chillies
1 inch ginger

Method 
Cut chicken into cubes and cook with salt and pepper powder and keep aside in a wok. Heat little oil and to that add whole garam masala, ginger julianed into thin slices, green chillies and curry leaves and let it splutter. When you can smell the aroma, add carrot cubes, potato cubes and peas. Stir, cover and cook for a while. Add required salt. When cooked add the cooked chicken and cook for 2 minutes. To this add second extract of coconut milk. Let it simmer for a while. When all ingredients have blended well, add first extract of coconut milk. Put the stove off, when it starts boiling. Add little pepper powder and garam masala powder. 

Duck Roast by Rita Kingsly 

Ingredients
1 big duck cut into medium size pieces
5 tbsp Coconut oil 
2 big onions, cut lengthwise (about ½ inch thick)
½ cup small kerala onions cut lengthwise
1 big piece of ginger, cut into long and small pieces
4 green chillies split lengthwise
2 tbsp pepper
Salt to taste
1 tsp turmeric powder
Garam masala as required (bada jeera, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon)
½ coconut grated coconut – extract 1 cup concentrated coconut milk and 2 cups of 2nd coconut milk from the same.
2 twigs of curry leaves

Method
Heat the oil in the pan. Add the big onions, small onions, ginger, garlic, green chillies and curry 
leaves and stir fry till slightly brown.  Add the salt, pepper, turmeric powder and mix well. Add the duck pieces and stir frequently for 5 minutes. Add the 2 cups of 2nd coconut milk. Add half of the garam masala. Cook till meat is soft and well cooked (if cooking in a pressure cooker, keep it in only for 4-5 minutes after whistle). Finally add 1 cup of the concentrated coconut milk and the remaining garam masala and heat in low flame (Make sure the temperature doesn’t rise to boiling point, as the coconut milk will curdle). If required add more pepper. Do not add coriander powder, coriander leaves or chilly powder.

MANGLOREAN

Pork Bafat by Majorie Saldanha

Ingredients
1kg pork cubes
5 big onions 
2 inches ginger 
3 green chillies
1 large garlic pod
6 cloves 
6 cinnamon sticks
2tbsps bafath powder or little less depending on how spicy you want it
Salt to taste 
1tbsp vinegar

Method
Cut pork into cubes, wash and drain well. Take all the above ingredients and mix in a vessel. Cook first on low flame and keep stirring. Add the pork and cook on a medium flame till done. Little tamarind pulp can also be added. Add 2 or 3 bay leaves while cooking. 

Sweet Pulav with Sweet Pulav Chutney by Majorie Saldanha

Ingredients
1 cup rice
2 large onions- crisp fry
2 tbsp cashewnuts
2 tbsp raisins
1 or 2 tsp sugar
2 cinnamon
3- 4 cloves
3 or 4 cardamom
Salt to taste

Soak 1 cup of good Basmati rice for 10 minutes. Heat oil and fry onions till brown, and keep aside. In the same oil or ghee add cashewnuts and raisins, add rice,  2 cups of warm water, salt, sugar, cinnamon, cloves and cardamom. Mix all slowly, cover and cook on low flame till water is absorbed. Sprinkle fried onions on top and serve.

For the chutney

Ingredients
1 and half tbsp raisins
1 inch ginger 
handful of mint 
coriander leaves (quantity should be half of the mint leaves)
4 or 5 dates
2 red chillies 
3 pods garlic 
2 green chillies 
small piece cinnamon 
2 cloves 
Salt 
Sugar 

Method
Grind to a smooth paste and serve. Add little water if required while grinding.

EAST INDIAN

Tongue moile by Beryl Murzello

Ingredients
3 tbsp ghee
2 dessert spoon bottle masala
2 tsp sugar 
4 tbsp vinegar
1/2 kg onions, cut in rings
6 green chillies
1 inch ginger
6-8 flakes of garlic
Salt to taste

Method
Slice the tongue, add salt and vinegar. Dry the tongue in an open pan with 2-3 tbsp of ghee till the water is absorbed. Remove and keep aside. Then add the onions, chilly, ginger, garlic and fry for a few seconds. Add garam masala (bottle masala), tongue and enough water to cook. Cook in a pressure cooker till done.

You can serve with fried potatoes

Bolene by Beryl Murzello

Ingredients
2 scrapped coconuts
250 gm soogi
3 eggs or 5 yolks
1 tbsp vanilla essence
Sugar (the weight of the scrapped coconut)

Method
Pour a cup of water in a vessel. Add sugar and keep it on fire. When the sugar melts, put it down and let it cool. Then add all the ingredients and keep for a few hours. Make little balls of the mixture and place them in a baking tray and bake it. 

Compiled by Avril-Ann Braganza and Averil Nunes