Tag: familyrecipe

Delish Green Beans with Coconut

On By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Food, India, RecipesLeave a comment

Today we are featuring a post from our friends at A Global Affair who provide wonderful content on travel and delicious recipes.

Many moons ago, when my mom had to leave for India for an extended period of time to care for my grandfather, she wrote down a bunch of recipes of the staple, time honored dishes that my family from Kerala had served for generations in their kitchen. Before I had any money to buy any sort of cookbook, these recipes became my guidepost; a primer that ensured that I would carry on creating the tastes of my mother, grandmothers, aunts and more in my kitchen. Of course, in the rush to give me these recipes, mom sometimes missed writing exact quantities or an ingredient, but they were enough of a foundation to enable me to cook.

Beans Poduthol, also called as Thoran, is a simple dish of whatever veggies are on hand, some oil and spices and lots of freshly grated coconut. It is the kind of dish that is not only super yummy and healthy, but also makes me feel with every spoonful that all will be okay in this world.

Ingredients:

  • A pound of beans, washed, destringed and cut into small pieces
  • A tbsp of oil (traditionally coconut oil is used)
  • A tsp of mustard seeds
  • A tsp of urad dal (skip if you don’t have this, it adds crunch)
  • One or two dried red chili pods broken
  • 1 tsp turmeric powder
  • 1 tsp salt (adjust to taste)
  • 1 tsp cumin powder
  • Four tbsps freshly grated coconut
When I copied mom’s recipe into my first attempt at organizing recipes.

How to:

1. Heat oil in a pan.  Fry the mustard seeds, urad dal (if using) and dried chilly pods.  When the mustard seeds start popping, add the beans, turmeric powder, salt and cumin powder and toss well.

2. Cover and cook till the beans are cooked, yet crunchy (about 10-15 minutes).

3. Add the fresh coconut and toss a few times.

Enjoy!

PS. You can prepare cabbage, spinach, carrots, and raw bananas in a similar fashion.

Breakfast for Dinner

On By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Recipes9 Comments

Every now and again, you just get in the mood for having breakfast at dinnertime. Whether its pancakes, waffles, or eggs, it is just very comforting, especially since we rarely sit down to a hot breakfast due our hectic work schedules. This was a family recipe long before restaurants starting creating skillets with a variety of breakfast items tossed into a single dish, so we must have been ahead of the curve on this one. In fact, we don’t have a real name for it, more of a nickname. Depending upon which family member you talk to, it is either egg slop or goop, but clearly those are terms of endearment.  We make it with a spicy chili sauce, but you could easily substitute any sauce that suits your taste.  We hope that you enjoy it, we certainly did, as we always do when we have this hearty breakfast dinner.

The Finished Product 🙂

Ingredients (Serves 2)

  • 4 Large Eggs
  • 2 tbsp Unsalted Butter
  • 3 cups Hash Brown Potatoes
  • 3 tbsp Vegetable Oil
  • 3 cups Water
  • 1 1/2 tbsp Chili Powder
  • 3/4 tbsp Garlic Powder
  • 1/2 tbsp Cayenne Pepper (optional)
  • 1/2 tbsp Salt
  • 1/4 tbsp Ground Black Pepper
  • 1/2 cup All-Purpose Flour
  • 1/2 to 1 cup Shredded Cheese

Chili Sauce

Eggs in Skillet

Instructions

You can prepare the hash browns according to the package, but we’ve found an alternative solution that reduces the amount of oil necessary and makes them a little healthier.  Place the hash browns into a plastic bag with the vegetable oil and shake until they are well coated.  Preheat an oven to 450 degrees.  Spread the hash browns out onto a cookie sheet, ensuring that they are in a single layer and that they aren’t too crowded, and sprinkle with salt.  Place the hash browns into the oven and cook for 30 to 40 minutes, flipping them half way through, until they are golden brown and slightly crispy.  While the hash browns are cooking, prepare the chili sauce by whisking the flour with the cold water until all lumps have been removed.  Alternately, you could make a roux by combining the flour with 2 tablespoons of melted butter and then adding the water.  Whisk in the chili powder, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper.  Heat the sauce, while continuously whisking, over medium heat until it just starts to boil and then turn down to low, just to keep it warm.  If the sauce thickens too much, add water to keep it at the desired density.  When the hash browns have finished, pull them out of the oven and heat the oven on broil at 500 degrees.  In a skillet, heat the butter on medium-high heat.  Add the eggs and cook them sunny-side up or to your desired style.  Place half of the hash browns onto two oven-safe plates.  Cover with the desired amount of sauce (the recipe makes more sauce than needed, but is great for leftovers and other recipes).  On each plate, put two eggs on top of the hash browns, top with half of the cheese, and put the plates into the oven on a high rack.  Broil for 5 to 10 minutes, watching closely so as not to burn the cheese, and remove when the cheese has fully melted.  Be sure to put hot pads under the plates when serving the dish as the plates will be extremely hot.