KUTTANADAN DUCK ROAST a virtual' virunnu' and a happy blog!

"Truly great friends are hard to find,difficult to leave, and impossible to forget".

Author Unknown

How many of you believe that we can be  friends  real good friends with people whom we have never met? Well, I am a strong believer of that. It could be the simplest of reasons for you both to be friends with each other. For me, through my love for food, have found many like-minded foodie friends who have been blogging as passionately or I would rather say, more passionately than me. Food was the topic that drew us closer, but as the days passed by, we realise there is something more that than just food! :) This is the best part of blogging.

So here is my lovely friend Maria , who instantly accepted my request to feed my ever-so- hungry blog during my wedding preparation time! It was a very short notice for her, but I was 100% sure that she can do it, because , she is a marvel at cooking! For all those who haven't been to her space,do check out her space!





I dont know how many of you know me, so I will do the introduction part first. I am Maria and I have a small space called MariasMenu.

It’s the first time I’ve got an opportunity to do a guest blogging, thanks a ton Ria dear. Am very excited about it :)

Before going to the recipe, let me wish our lovely bride & groom (Ria & Jobin) a happy & blessed married life!! I would like to quote a few lines from a wedding card, that I got for my wedding. I Liked the lines in that card, hence thought of passing it to you too.

A happy marriage means these things -

sharing little happenings,

togetherness that never ends-

hand in hand,

the best of friends,

encouragement,

a little kiss,

lots of pride in one another,

being honest with each other.

A happy marriage is

love and laughter,

and living happily ever after!!

May your marriage be filled with loads of love & laughter and may you live happily ever after!!

Now about the recipe…When Ria asked me to do the guest post I agreed immediately, even without thinking what will I post. As the days passed by I was getting more and more confused about what to make.

Then one day, I was chatting with my friend who got married recently and she happened to tell me about the “virunnu”. Virunnu kodukkal or rather virunnu (as its popularly known) is an age old tradition that we have in Kerala. Soon after the wedding, the newly weds start getting invitation from their relatives and friends (from both sides) to visit them. Its a time where you get to know the family of your spouse in detail. Not to mention that the highlight of the virunnu is the grand feast prepared by the host for the newlyweds. Each host tries their best to impress the bride & groom with their masterpiece dish :)

Now when my friend mentioned the word virunnu, I suddenly thought about Ria. I was thinking what will be that special dish that I would like to prepare for them. Finally I zeroed in on kuttanadan duck roast. If you are a frequent visitor here at Ria’s place, am sure you might have noticed her love for Kuttanad or rather her “motherland” ;). So here I am with this Kuttanadan duck roast especially for you. Hope you both will like it. Let me tell you how happy I am that I could atleast give you a virtual “virunnu”.

Once again wish you both a beautiful married life!



Here is the recipe:

1. Duck – 1/2 kg (after cleaning)
2. Shallots (small onion) – 1/4 cup, chopped
   Ginger & garlic – 1 – 1.5 tsp, chopped
   Chilly powder – 1-1.5 tsp
   Coriander powder – 2-3 tsp
   Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp
   Garam masala – 1 – 1.5 tsp
   Black pepper powder – 1/2 tsp
   Vinegar – 2 tbsp
   Salt
3. Curry leaves
4. Oil & ghee
5. Onion – 2, sliced finely
   
   For garnishing
6. Onion – 1 small, sliced finely
   Potato – 1 medium, cut into wedges & boiled
   Curry leaves

Grind number 2 ingredients into a fine paste. Marinate the cleaned duck pieces with half of the ground paste. Keep it aside for 1 hour.

Heat oil in a pan (you can use a combination of oil & ghee also) and shallow fry the marinated duck pieces till it turns golden brown colour. Keep it aside. In the same oil add the finely sliced onions & cook. When the onion becomes golden brown colour add the remaining half of the ground masala. Fry it till the oil starts appearing. Add 2 cups of boiling water to the onion and masala mix. Combine well.

Transfer the fried duck pieces and the onion gravy to a pressure cooker. Cook till the duck is done. The cooking time varies depending on the type of duck (broiler or free range).Once the pressure is gone, open the cooker & cook till the gravy thickens. This curry usually doesn’t have much gravy, so you need to cook till the water is almost dried and each piece is thickly coated with the masala. Transfer the duck pieces to a serving dish and garnish with fried onions, potatoes & curry leaves. Serve hot with rice or appam.

For garnishing

Heat oil/ghee in a pan and fry the boiled potato wedges, remove from pan, In the same oil fry the thinly sliced onions & curry leaves.

Notes: I cooked the duck with skin on. Since I used a broiler duck, I cooked it for 5-6 whistles on high flame.

Thank you SO much Maria for doing this for me! Muah! We thoroughly enjoyed the virtual 'virunnu'!

KONJU VARUTHATHU ~ Pan Fried Scampi in Kerala style ~

'Konju' is a speciality of Kuttanad and this was one of the highlights during my parent's engagement back in 1982 :) Even now when people talk about that day, they always remember to bring up the topic of 'those huge prawns' :)

My grandad used to cultivate them in the natural pond in our backyard in Pallikuttumma. So we always had them in plenty. But nowadays, we buy it from the fisherman :(

My mom's bro makes it a point that we have it everytime we go there :) And last time when he visited us, he brought these. They were so good! But for a person like me, you cannot eat more than one! It is almost 8 inches long and weighs quite a bit :)

KONJU VARUTHATU

Recipe source: Amma

Ingredients:

Konju/Scampi/Prawns-4

Red Chilli powder1-1 1/2 tbsp ( depending on your spice tolerance level & also the type of chilli powder used. We mix Kashmiri chilli powder + regular red chilli powder so that it has a beautiful colour and is not too spicy)

Turmeric powder-1/2 tsp

Salt-to taste

Water- few tbso, just enough to make a thick paste

Oil for shallow frying- 5-6 tbsp ( we prefer coconut oil)

Skewers (optional)

Method:

• Clean the scampi and let the head remain intact.
• Make a thick paste using red chilli powder, turmeric powder,salt and water.
• Coat the scampi with it and shallow fry it,covered. It takes much more time than prawns as it is very thick and fleshy.
• Serve hot with rice.

Kappa Kuzhachathu / Mashed & Seasoned Tapioca - A definite food on board!

As promised in my last post , this one is loaded with pics from my recent trip to Pallikuttumma :) We always have family get togethers! My family on the maternal side is HUGE with 72 members and is growing stronger!! :D We always seem to have some sort of a get together... weddings,baptisms,birthdays,anniversaries and even if there is nothing we create a reason to come together and have fun! I really din't think I would be able to make it with my 'swollen ankle' but I did and I have to say I'm GLAD that I did ( inspite of all the 'painful' moments of limping!! ;P)
The main attraction this time was the 'house boat' trip! It was my nephew Rohan's 1st birthday and it was celebrated 'on board'! :) Must apologise for not including any of the birthday celebration snaps as my cam was downstairs and I had no means of getting it upstairs with my ankle. But I managed to click some when I could :) One of the main/must have food on such a trip is 'Kappa Kuzhachathu' with a spicy Kerala Fish Curry!! It's usually the main food in 'kallu shap' ;D which means TODDY SHOPS and they are seen every 100 mts in my 'motherland':DWhen I got back from the trip Amma was making this dish at home! It's perfect during rains! It's been raining in Kannur since 3 weeks... continously!!

Kappa Kuzhachathu/Mashed & Seasoned Tapioca

Ingredients:

Tapioca -500g

Salt-to taste

Water for boiling tapioca

Grind together:

Coconut, grated -1 1/4 cup

Green chillies - 3-4 (depending upon your spice tolerance)

Turmeric powder-1/2 tsp

For seasoning:

Dry red chillies, torn - 4-5

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Coconut oil - 4-5 tbsp

Shallots -5-6, cut into rounds

Curry leaves- 1 sprig

Method:

• Peel & wash tapioca. Chop them into bite sized chunks making sure the centre strand of root is removed and boil in plenty of salted water.
• Drain the boiled tapioca.
• Grind together grated coconut ,green chillies and turmeric powder.
• Take a heavy bottomed vessel .Add the boiled tapioca & the ground ingredients. Mix well. Mash lightly ( Do not make it pasty)
• Let it cook on medium flame for 3-4 mins so that the raw taste of the ground ingredients is no more present.
• Check for salt.

For the seasoning:

• Heat oil.Splutter the mustard seeds & add the remaining ingredients. Fry till the shallots turn light brown.
• Pour this onto the mashed tapioca and mix well. Serve hot with any spicy fish curry or have it as is.

Now is the time for the much spoken trip pics! :) I stayed with my Amma's twin sis & family for a night in their estate bunglaow in Kothamangalam,Eranakulam Dist (Cochin). They have been running a homestay at their estate for about 7 years now. It's called the Mundacakal Plantation Homestay and they have been given 'Diamond' rating by Kerala Tourism Board and have been recieving rave reviews by many ! They appear in almost all international tourist guides.

Click on the pic or here to check their website! Make sure you book ahead incase you want to stay with them because they are usually booked completely 8-9 months ahead!! :D

Now starts the journey! :)



I know I know there weren't many pics... but something is better than nothing right?? :P

Hope y'all have a great day!!

Kuttanadan Chicken Roast

It's water water everywhere! That would be my best description for Pallikuttumma(Kuttanad,Alleppy). If there is any place on earth (I visited till date ;D) that I haven't had enough of the beauty,food and everything nice is my "MOTHERLAND" [Story for that weird name follows :D] We usually alight at Changanaserry and someone would already be there to pick us up and the best part of the vacation starts from Perunna ( that's where you take the turn to this heavenly place on earth)! There's something about the smell in the air...i love it! It's a mix of hay,water hyacinth,ducks, paddy and of course the water too! It's so rustic[hehe.. like rustic bread!] I just cant get enough of it!! The whole of Kuttanad is surrounded by water, full of ducks quacking all around,with snake boats small & big... mmm lovely memories flooding back! Just waiting for my next visit to Pallikuttumma!! :D

Today's post is all about the Chicken Roast Amma makes. It's got nothing to do with the western style roast...it's absolutely different!

It's an absolute simple recipe which is super duper easy ! I can promise you rather guarentee you that it will be an instant hit!! You just cannot go wrong with this one!! :)

Kuttanadan Chicken Roast

Recipe from my mom

Chicken- 1 kg cut into pieces

Red chilli powder-2 tbsp [We use Kashmiri red chilli powder because it lends a beautiful colour and is less spicy]

Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp

Onions-5-6 medium sized ,sliced fine

Tomatoes-2 big,chopped

Garam Masala-1 tbsp

Salt-as required

Ginger garlic paste- 2 tbsp

Water-1 1/2 cups

Ghee/Oil- 1/2 to 1 cup [We use half ghee -half oil]

Curry leaves-1 sprig

Method:

• Put chicken pieces, powders,salt and ginger garlic paste,onions,tomatoes and 3-4 tbsp of oil/ghee into the cooker and give it a mix.
• Cook on medium flame for 1 whistle.
• Remove the pieces. Reserve the gravy.
• Fry the pieces in oil/ghee till lightly browned.Keep aside.
• To the reseved gravy,add water and saute till it's dark maroonish brown in colour. Add oil/ghee if necessary.
• Add the fried chicken pieces and mix till well coated.
• Garnish with curry leaves and serve hot with rice,chapathi,parata etc.

The story behind"MOTHERLAND"

This happend when I was in class 2. I clearly remeber that I was sitting in the second last bench when this happend and it was almost time to go home.

We had a girl called 'Aline' in our class. She came from Dubai and could speak fluent English! OMG! now that's something big for us then! LOL! And we tried our level best to speak to her in English(she is a Konkani,but can speak Malayalam as well!) ! And it so happend that our school was closing for Christmas holidays and we kids were busy discussing about it. I was going to my Amma's house. And since Aline was sitting next to us, I was conscious to speak in english. Then my friend asked me " Ria, Ni evideya poonne?? " (which means-Ria, where are you going?) and in reply to that I said " To my 'MOTHERLAND' for 4-5 days and then i'll be back to myFATHERLAND!!!! "

LOL! I can't stop laughing even now! And the best part was no one...not even Aline...our english GURU then realised the mistake!! :P Now I know how much she knew!!

To know how much that english GURU knew...here's another story:

Most of the blogs have these lines under their post...to CONTINUE after the jump or toCONTINUE reading click here.... etc . Whenever I read that word this story comes into my mind:

Again in class 2 with Aline our english GURU :D

We used to have dictation( the teacher says a word and we need to spell it) for 10 english spellings every week.So we used to write it in our 'test book'. And even then there would be lot of space on that page. And after the test, we would line up in a queue next to the teacher's table for correction. Our teacher's name was Ms.Margaret.

After mine was corrected,she put the marks and signed on it. Then she said, "You canCONTINUE here(For the next test )". DAMN!! now what does continue mean?? Did that mean... to write down the spellings 10 times each?? (din't have the word imposition in my dictionary then LOL! ) or did it mean that I need to do wait there next to her???

I still clearly remeber the tension I had then!OMG! that classroom is coming into my mind now! :D So I ran to Aline without losing anytime (What if I get beaten by our teacher??) and asked her the meaning of CONTINUE ?? ALAS! she shook her head! LOL! I had no other go but to go back to my seat and wait ( din't have the nerves to go back to my teacher...she was a terror for us! ) hehehe...

Now it's time for y'all to see my MOTHERLAND! I love Pallikuttumma!!!

...paddy field

Kathakali performers being transported in a vellam/snake boat

Karimeen/Pearl spot barbeque night.

Hmmm... I felt like I just had a short trip back to my MOTHERLAND...did y'all feel the same?? ;)

-Ria