Kerala Egg Roast Recipe, Nadan Egg Roast Step by Step

Egg roast with appam or idiyappam is the quintessential Kerala-style breakfast. Egg roast or mutta roast is one of those recipes that has a few different variations especially in spice levels and consistency. We prefer our egg roast with some gravy while restaurant-style Kerala egg roast tends to have a richer, thicker gravy. No matter how you prefer to make egg roast, it uses the same basic ingredients and is very easy to prepare.

Egg roast has a very strong tie to my brother. During his time in Dubai, he'd land in the Cochin airport and before even saying hello, would start with "let's get mutta roast on the way home". It's a 2-hour drive from Cochin airport to our home in Kottayam and all the way, we'd be on the hunt for the perfect egg roast. Sometimes, you find them in the smallest roadside stalls where a chettan and his family would be making hot Kerala breakfast items like appam, puttu, idiyappam and such with a big bowl of kadala curry and egg roast to go with these. Such deliciousness!

After we get a hot steaming breakfast on the way, my mom would declare that she can make an equally good egg roast a home, if not better. And so during the 1-2 week customary stay, we would get to taste her homemade version of mutta roast with either appam or idiyappam. This is my amma's recipe, the way we love it.

For more Kerala recipes from my hometown, check out Malabar egg curry recipe, Kerala kadala curry, kothu roti recipe, and this spicy egg curry recipe.

KERALA EGG ROAST RECIPE

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Serves 4
Recipe source: Amma
Note: I have scaled down the recipe to serve 4, the portion in the pictures below was for 10 people

INGREDIENTS:
4 eggs
2.5 cups of onions, sliced thin, tightly packed
1 cup of ripe tomatoes, cut into small cubes
A fistful of fresh curry leaves
2 tbsp of coconut oil
1/2 tsp of red chilli powder (adjust to taste)
1/2 tsp of cumin powder (jeerakam powder)
1 tsp of coriander powder (malli powder)
1/4 tsp of turmeric powder
1/4 tsp of black pepper powder
2 green chillies (split - optional - adjust red chilli powder quantity accordingly)
3 tbsp of finely chopped coriander leaves (cilantro) for garnish
1/2 tsp of mustard seeds
1 tsp of freshly crushed garlic
1 tsp of grated fresh ginger

INSTRUCTIONS:

To Boil the Eggs:

Here's how I make perfect boiled eggs after seeing the instructions on Martha Stewart's website.

Wash the eggs thoroughly under running water and add to a pan of tap water. Use a large enough pan so that the eggs are not on top of each other and make sure there's enough water to cover the eggs completely.

Place on medium heat and bring the water to a rolling boil. Once it starts boiling well, turn off heat and cover the pan. Set aside for 30 mins or so while you prepare the gravy for egg roast.

To Make Kerala Egg Roast Gravy

In a large pan (we use cast iron pan usually and this gives the gravy a darker colour), add the coconut oil and mustard seeds. When the mustard seeds start to pop, add the sliced onions and curry leaves.

Roast the onions on low heat until uniformly light brown in colour. The key here is to not overcook or fry the onions too much. We are looking for cooked yet soft onions for the gravy. Keeping flame low makes sure the sides of the onions don't get burned.

Now add the ginger and garlic and saute for 30 seconds until fragrant. Then add all the spices - chilli powder, jeera powder, coriander powder, turmeric, and pepper. Fry for a minute on low heat.

Next, add the cubed tomatoes and green chillies (if using) along with 1 cup water. Remember to adjust the level of heat you'd prefer. We like our egg roast on the spicy side. Cook this gravy until the tomatoes are soft. This takes about 7 mins or so. Add more water if the gravy becomes too thick but too not too much. Egg roast is meant to have a thick non-watery gravy.

When the gravy is cooked and mushy, add chopped coriander leaves and salt. A pinch of sugar is a good idea too.

Now go back to our pan of boiled eggs and shell them carefully. Make small slits on the side of the eggs and pour the gravy on top.

Give the egg roast a gentle mix and let it sit for 10-15 mins for the eggs to soak up the gravy a bit.

All done! Serve Kerala egg roast with any side of your choice.

Rasgulla Recipe - How to Make Bengali Rasgulla Step by Step

Rasgulla. Say that word a few times and you will actually get a feel of how the spongy Bengali sweet rasgulla can taste like. You can buy pretty decent rasgullas in cans but nothing beats the taste of making rasgulla at home, especially during Diwali. TH is not a fan of sweets in general but give him rasgulla or rasmalai and that'll make his day. So this Diwali, I chose to make a fresh batch of homemade rasgulla and here's the step by step recipe for you.

The first step in making rasgulla is to making chenna. The process is similar to how paneer is made - curdling milk and separating the cheese from the whey. I am outlining the steps after you have made the fresh chenna so please check out this post on how to make chenna.

The chenna is made into balls and cooked in sugar syrup. I liked how Manjula's Kitchen had recipe of rasgulla made in a pressure cooker, eliminating a lot of guesswork and standing over the stove so I followed the same method. I made very minor changes in the quantities and such and also made much smaller balls than is usually done.

Check out some easy and delicious milk-based recipes I have shared in the past. They are really our favourite kind. You can make rasmalai using rasgulla in ten minutes, a super quick paneer payasam, delicious sandesh, a popular Bengali sweet, and many more. Check out full list of Diwali sweet recipes for more inspiration too.

BENGALI RASGULLA RECIPE

Preparation time: 40 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes
Makes 20 small rasgulla
Recipe source: Manjula's Kitchen

INGREDIENTS:
1 litre of full fat milk
2-3 tbsp of fresh lime juice or vinegar
1 cup of sugar
3 cups of water
1 tbsp of crushed pistachios (for garnish)

INSTRUCTIONS:

First, make chenna. After it has drained for about 30 minutes, give it a whizz in a blender or mixer to make it smooth and let out more water.

Remove and knead well for 3 minutes. At the end of it, you should be able to make smooth balls out of the chenna easily. If not, knead for a bit longer. The size of the rasgulla will double on cooking in sugar syrup so remember to make smaller sizes than you would like the rasgullas to end up as.

Add the sugar and water to your pressure cooker and bring to boil. Mix well for the sugar to dissolve, lower heat to very low and add the rasgulla balls gently into the syrup.

Cover the pressure cooker and cook without whistle for about 7-8 minutes on medium-low flame.

Turn off heat and wait 5 minutes before opening the cooker lid. You'll find spongy rasgulla that's doubled in size!

Cool completely, add crushed pistachios on top and refrigerate rasgulla in syrup until ready to serve. It will be delicious, I promise!

NOTES:

- The only step that could go wrong is the kneading and rolling of chenna. It's best to get the chenna as dry as possible (no need to press like making paneer though) and then knead for a good 3-4 minutes to get it as smooth as possible.
- I used lesser amount of sugar and these were perfect. The amount of sugar can be increased if you want the very sweet kind you get to buy
Rasgulla can stay fresh refrigerated for up to 4 days, in the sugar syrup so make some rasgulla for your loved ones and share a picture with me :)

Coconut Sesame Ladoo Recipe - Easy-to-make Diwali Sweet Recipes

Sesame or til ladoos are probably one of the easiest sweets you can make for Diwali or any festival. Traditionally, sesame ladoos are made with just two ingredients - sesame seeds and jaggery. However, in this sesame coconut ladoo recipe, I have added some desiccated coconut to make things a bit more interesting and also cooked the jaggery a bit to make the ladoos taste more candy-like. These ladoos are still very easy to make and take less than 30 minutes from start to finish. So here's wishing you a very sweet Diwali 2014 in advance with my list of 12 Diwali Sweet Recipes under 20 Minutes.

During the last few days in Sydney, I made a lot of odd things. Like many batches of almond cake and small sweets and modaks. I snacked on the mostly since I had a break between jobs but I also gifted a lot and realised how much I like cooking or baking for others. These ladoos were made one evening when I was bored out of my mind. I didn't look up any recipe, rather just threw some things into a pan and cooked it down. In retrospect, cooking the jaggery to the right consistency make have yielded nicer ladoos but these were really very good too and probably easier than waiting for the jaggery to reach a "hard ball" consistency, etc.

Diwali is probably my favourite time of the year, especially being a food blogger. I hear from many of you on recipes you've tried and it's extra special when you share festival menu pictures with sweets and snacks.

Making sweets for Diwali doesn't need to be an arduous task. Here are some quick and easy sweets for you to get started - 15 min coconut ladoo recipe, 15 min date and nut ladoos, 15 min apple kheer recipe, 10 min microwave palkova recipe, and my favourite badusha recipe if you have some more time in hand.

COCONUT SESAME LADOO RECIPE

Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Makes 10 ladoos

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup of sesame seeds (white and black would work)
3/4 cup of grated or powdered unsalted jaggery (palm sugar)
1/4 cup of desiccated coconut
1 tsp of ghee or butter

INSTRUCTIONS:

Coarsely grind the sesame seeds

Add the jaggery, coconut, and sesame seeds to a non stick pan and cook on low flame

Add 1/2 tsp ghee mix well to cook on low heat.

You'll find that the jaggery melts and becomes sticky, making it harder to stir but don't stop. Keep stirring gently on low heat.

In about 12-15 mins you'll end up with a thicker mass that leaves the sides of the pan. Keep going until it gets fairly thick and nearly impossible to stir further.

Remove from heat and let it cool down enough for you to handle comfortably. Grease palms in some ghee or butter and roll into small ladoos.

These ladoos stay at room temperature for 2 days or refrigerated for up to 4 days. Some softening of the jaggery is normal since we didn't cook it to the right consistency, etc. Doesn't affect the taste of the coconut sesame ladoos at all.

Enjoy, and wishing you lots of delicious sweet-making time this Diwali. 

Chow Chow Capsicum Curry Recipe - Easy Chow Chow Recipes

This chow chow capsicum curry is more of a dry curry recipe with some coconut and minimum spices. The sweetness of chow chow lends itself well to the flavours of capsicum and red chillies. Serve with rice and tomato rasam for a simple and tasty meal.

Chow chow tends to be a bit of a pain to peel due to its irregular surface. On top of that, it has some slime as you peel, which can stain your clothes and make your fingers stick long after. A tip when peeling chow chow - rub some oil on your palms and use the peeler as best you can. After that, chop it up and remove the remaining skin using your knife. In spite of giving out all this wisdom, I do sometimes deter from buying chow chow just because I am lazy to peel and chop it. There, I said it!

Simple recipes are the top priority in the mad rush that's my life right now. Chow chow (or chayote squash) is a readily available vegetable here and I love its inherent sweetness and texture in anything. While I usually default to chow chow kootu, we needed something to go with rasam rice and so this Kerala thoran-inspired dish was born.

We moved to Singapore over a month ago and stayed in a temporary place for 30 days. Our stuff arrived last week and we were magically able to coordinate moving into our rented apartment around the same time. More than half our things are still in boxes as we wait for new furniture to get delivered but I've managed to clear out the kitchen counters to be able to cook simple dishes, a welcome change after almost 45 days of eating out. I even managed an 8-day trip to San Francisco in the middle of all this!

I have set up a pantry from scratch numerous times and there's always a list of items I prioritise. Coconut tops the list and I find it hard to cook without it for more than 2 days in a row. Basic spices like coriander, cumin, turmeric, etc obviously feature in the list too. While a stir-fry is easier to put together and needs no grinding, there's something to be said about a coconut-based side dish to go with rasam and so this chow chow capsicum curry was born. You can customize in many different ways, using green chillies instead of red chilli powder, adding more capsicum in different colours, etc. I will leave that to your imagination.

A quick note to everyone who has been leaving lovely messages on Facebook and such. The fact that some of you missed posts made me get to work at 7am today just so I could post a recipe. There's no Internet at home yet and that's not going to change for another 10-12 days. Turns out life does go on without the Internet too!

For more delicious chow chow recipes, check out:
Chow chow kootu recipe
Chow chow chutney recipe
Chow chow sambar recipe

CHOW CHOW CAPSICUM CURRY RECIPE

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Serves 4

INGREDIENTS:
2 cups of chow chow (chayote squash), cut into small cubes
1 cup of capsicum, cut into small cubes
1/4 cup of grated coconut
3/4 tsp of cumin seeds
1/2 tsp of red chilli powder (adjust to taste)
2 of shallots (optional, but recommended)
A few curry leaves
2 tsp of oil
1/4 tsp of mustard seeds
1/4 tsp of turmeric powder

INSTRUCTIONS:

Heat oil and add the mustard seeds. When they pop, add the curry leaves, turmeric, and all chopped vegetables.

Stir well, lower heat, and cook covered for 10 mins or until the chow chow has turned soft. The capsicum should be cooked within this time too. You can sprinkle some water if needed but the water let out by the chow chow should be enough to cook it. Keep flame low to prevent the vegetables burning.

While your vegetables are cooking, coarsely grind the coconut with cumin seeds, chilli powder, and shallots. Do not add water while grinding.

Add this coconut mixture to the cooked vegetables along with some salt and stir through.

Cook for another 3-4 mins, stirring frequently. Check for salt and if all okay, remove from heat.

Easy, wasn't it?

Serve chow chow capsicum curry with rasam or sambar and rice. I also added some microwave banana chips to the meal to keep things crispy and interesting.