The Pimenta

Chutneys     An unforgettable culinary delights from every region of India An accompaniment along with a starchy dish whether it is rice, wheat, millets or roots like tapioca, sweet potato and yams. It can be of a varied consistency or texture like paste, coarse paste, powder, coarse powder, smooth jam or coarse jam. It can be used with oils or not. Ingredients can be lentils, spices, vegetables, onions, tomato, and tamarind .Each crafted from what is locally available and in season. Some can be preserved for long; some has to be kept in refrigerator and has to be used In a week, and some to be used immediately. This dish is commonly prepared and used all over India with lots of variations as the imagination of the creative minds who make it. Here today introducing an unusual one almost resembles the coconut chutney used for Dosas and Idlis .This Chutney is used by vegetarians   and   vegans as an accompaniment   to Kerala Palappam .The cre...

Erissery or pumpkin and lentil curry- This is what the BBC food TV has listed one of the 10 Culinary delicacies from Kerala  Guests cooking Pumpkin Erissery at The Pimenta Cooking Holidays Cooked Lentil and Grated Coconut being cooked  This is a popular curry in Kerala, made from either raw plantains or sliced yams. It also usually includes slightly sweet pumpkin that has been boiled in water with salt, chillies or pepper, dried lentils, grated coconut, turmeric powder, cumin seeds and garlic, served on a bed of rice. It appears on most menus at religious festivals like Onam. Here we are cooking it with Pumpkin Also this dish can be prepared without using drop of oil and use of Cast iron pan and Clay cooking pot is advised. Please note this a  Couple's Recipe which can be cooked together standing opposite or side by side depending on the distance you need to keep . Pumpkin Erissery Ingredients A Grated coconut    ½ cup Cumin  ...

Garam Masala Ingredients  Ingredients toasted in a warm pan  Our guest Suchi Sharma the owner of Spicy Mama cooklng class in  Goa is having an hands on training at The  Pimenta where we exchanged skills. Please note she is doing it with her fingers in the pan . This indicates how hot the pan need to be  Garam Masala Toasted  spices ground in a coffee grinder and ready to be' be bottled and kept for use .   These are the ingredients for the Garam Masala we use in cooking south Indian food . Traditionally in Syrian Christians used Cardamom, Cinnamon, Clove and Black Pepper as a    base Masala powder. When times gone forward people also added Fennel. Later started adding Star Anise to this . In the Garam Masala used in The Pimenta Kerala cooking holidays .We prefer to keep away the pepper in this mix. But to dish to dish Pepper will be optional .Since we cook mostly vegan and vegetarian stuff here. The following are t...

Guests on a Monsoon day out near The Pimenta  Visiting a rubber band making unit in Monsoon . Rivulet in monsoon seassom Green Pappaya grown in and around great for cooking and salads  Monsoon Bajjis getting ready for the meal  Hot Puttu and Kadala on the table  Garam masala from the cooking program  Monsoon rains in Kerala is never dark uninterrupted or temperature going very low . It is showers and sun both happening in intervals . No and then  the rains might stretch on for a few days but sunshine is never far away. These monsoon magics  provide an equilibrium to life's natural flow                                                                                               ...

You can see the various stages of the Appam.  . We run two night two days Appam and Curry and Bean to Bar Dark Chocolate workshops at www.thepimenta.in   you can mail to harithafarms@gmail.com A favorite Syrian Christian Dish . This recipe is vegan Step 1(Custard) ½ cup coarse rice flour 3 cups water Combine and stir on a low heat until it thickens to a loose porridge like consistency, leave it to cool completely Step 2(Preparing the yeast) 1/2 tsp yeast 1 tbsp Sugar 1/4 cup water (lukewarm) Combine the above and cover and let it ferment and double in size Put yeast into the mix once it has cooled and then add 500g fine rice flour(slightly roasted) and combine and knead vigorously for 5/7 minutes with hands (bacteria form hands is needed)   along with the Custard made in Step 1 Leave overnight or 12 hours. Then add ½ tsp salt and 1 tbsp sugar and mix well. Ten slowly add ¾ cup thick coconut milk (made from ¾...

Pesartattu   Tomato Chutney     Vegan as well Vegetarian   accompaniment along with tit bits   Sweet and Sour Tomato Jam (Thakkali Thokku)                                                                   Ingredients. For Tempering 2 tbsp oil     Sesame Oil                                                           ...

Cauliflower Masala    A Vegan /Vegetarian Recipe   Ingredients Washed Soaked Cauliflower 150gms Chickpea Flour 4tbsp Cornstarch 1/2 tbsp Crushed Black pepper 1/8 th teaspoon Any vegetable Oil except Olive oil or low smoking oils(Coconut oil is used here ) 2 to 3tbsp Onion 75 gms Curry leaf a sprig Garlic ginger 1 to 1.5 tsp Spice powders Turmeric Powder 1/8 th tsp Chili powder   ½ tsp Coriander Powder 1 tsp Garam Masala   ¼ tsp Tomato purée 250 grams Salt to taste          Preparation 1.       Mix Cauliflower with Chick...

Vegetable Stew Ingredients Oil                  2 table spoon Cardamom      4 pods  Cinnamon       ½ inch Cloves                4 Black Pepper     10-15 Ginger Julienned    ¼ inch Garlic Cloves Julienned 4 Onion Sliced 40 grams All spice leaf or Bay leaf ½ Steamed Vegetables:- Potatoes, beans Carrot, green peas and any vegetable of your choice  175 grams Thin Coconut milk          125Ml Thick coconut milk            75 Ml Green Chilly 1 Curry leaf 1sprig Cashew nuts 6 Raisins 10 Instructions Heat the pan and add oil and heat the oil. Then pop the spices with a lid covering the pan so that the spices will not pop outside.(Cardamom. Cinnamon, Clove and Black pepper) When done add Ginger and Garlic and fry till the cooked flavor of the Ginger and Garlic...