THE PERFECT COOK BOOK

Hey Folks, Who doesn't like long and crispy French Fries? I bet everyone loves it! It is a quick and easy snack recipe, even though it is quick it requires very accurate cooking conditions, cuts, and precision for a crispy French Fry. The potatoes we choose should have higher starch content, which in turn means lesser water content, which makes a crispy French Fry. French Fries are perfect to have with Grilled or Barbeque Chicken . PREPARATION: The first step is to make a perfect cut out of the potato. The fries should be thin, and long. You can use it with or without skin. This is the place where precision matters, each fry should have the same thickness.  Once they are cut immediately transfer them into a bowl of cold water. Soon you will see the surface starch coming out of the potatoes, this is a very important factor for getting nice crispy fries. If we lose that starch too much, the fries will get burnt. So, quickly give them a rinse and transfer them to a bowl with clean wat

Hey Folks, Samosa is a triangle-shaped fried Indian snack with rich filling, which includes potato as the main ingredient. You can customize your fillings with different kinds of meat and vegetables. Chicken Samosa is a nice snack to have for an evening with Chai.  Samosa - The Perfect Cook Book INGREDIENTS: Shredded Chicken - 200 gm Boiled Potato - 2 medium-sized Boiled Carrot - 1 Onion - 2 Ginger Paste - 1 tsp Garlic paste - 2 tsp Turmeric Powder - 1/8 tsp Kashmiri Chilli Powder - 1 tsp Pepper Powder - 1 tsp Chaat Masala - 1/2 tsp Garam Masala - a pinch Salt - to taste Coriander Leaves Samosa Sheet Oil Serving : 10 - 15 samosa PREPARATION: For the filling, in a pan add oil. Once hot, add the chopped onion and saute well. Add the ginger garlic paste and saute until the onion turns golden. Now add the powders, turmeric powder, pepper powder, kashmiri chilli powder, chaat masala, garam masala, and salt. Saute well until their raw smell goes off. Now add the shredded chicken and saute we

Hey Folks,  Quickly sharing the recipe for samosa sheets. You can use the same for spring roll also. It is so easy to prepare and you can freeze it for about 2 months. INGREDIENTS: Plain Flour - 3 cups Salt - 1 tsp Oil - 1 tbsp Water PREPARATION: In a large bowl, sieve the plain flour / maida. Add salt and oil to it. Add about 1/4th of a cup of lukewarm water to the flour and combine everything well and knead it to a firm dough.  Divide the dough into equal sized portion. With this quantity you will get 10 equal pieces.  Roll each portion to form large circles, with minimum thickness. Dust flour in between to roll it out smoothly.  Now cute the edges and make it into rectangular shape. You can shape it as per your requirement. In a non-stick pan,  cook each side of the sheet for about 30 seconds. You can easily form maximum of 25 - 30 sheets from this. Once cooled, freeze it in a zip lock and use as required. Once you take it out for frying, don't let it outside for long, beacuse t

Hey Folks, Parippu Vada is one of the favorite tea-time snacks for Keralites all over the world. On a rainy day, every Malayali will crave this parippu vada regardless of where ever they are. I thought making parippu vada at home is too hard, but to my utter surprise I tried it out last day and it is so simple. So, I thought I will share this tasty and crispy  Parippu Vada recipe with my family out here!  Parippu Vada - The Perfect Cook Book INGREDIENTS:  Peas Dal - 1 cup Green Chilli - 2 Garlic - 2 - 3 pods Ginger - 1 small piece Shallots - 10 - 15  Dried Red chilli - 2  Fennel Seeds - 2 tsp Curry Leaves - as needed Salt - to taste Asafoetida Powder - 1/8 tsp  Coconut Oil PREPARATION: You need to soak the peas dal in hot water for 1 to 2 hours. If you are soaking it in normal water, soak it for at least 2 - 3 hours. Soaking it in hot water helps in making the vada crispier.  After soaking it drain the dal.  Keep a handful of parippu / dal apart. This whole dal gives and crunchy ef

Hey Folks, Crispy Chicken Donuts are something that is loved by people in all age groups. It is almost the same as chicken nuggets, except for the donut shape and the cheesy surprise inside. So, I am sharing the crispy chicken donuts recipe of my style. Hope you all will like it! Crispy Chicken Donuts - The Perfect Cook Book  INGREDIENTS: Boneless Chicken - 500 gms Green Chilli - 3 Garlic - 8 cloves Capsicum - 2 tbsp Coriander Leaves - as needed Paprika - 1/2 tsp Pepper - 1 tsp Turmeric Powder - 1/8 tsp Chicken Masala - 1/4 tsp Mozzarella Cheese - as needed Salt - to taste Egg - 1 Bread Crumbs - 2 cups Oil - for deep frying PREPARATION: Clean the boneless chicken pieces well. In a mixer, add the chicken, green chillies, and garlic. Mince the meat well so that you can make balls out of it.  Now slice the capsicum into tiny dices. You can skip this step, I like to have a crunchy element. If you like adding veggies, you can go with carrots, and onion or even you can add mashed potatoes. 

  Hey Folks, Vattayappam is a dish popular among the Kerala Christian community. It is a steamed rice cake that is prepared during celebrations at home like Christmas, Easter, and other special occasions. It is a very healthy dish and is easy to prepare. So today let's cook some sweet and hot Vattayappam. Vattayappam - The Perfect Cook Book INGREDIENTS: Soaked Rice/ Pachari / Onakkalari - 1 cup Cooked Rice - 2 tbsp Grated Coconut - 3/4 cup Semolina / Rava - 1/4 cup Yeast - 1/2 tsp Sugar - 1/2 cup or as needed Salt - 1/2 tsp Crushed Cardamom - 1 tsp Raisins - as needed Ghee - 1 tsp to grease the pan Water - as needed PREPARATION: We need to soak the rice in water for about 2 - 3 hours. I used Onalakkalari, so there will be a slight color change other than the white vattayappam you often see. If you use pachari then it will be white. We have to prepare the kurukku for vattayappam. For that to a pan add roasted semolina powder and water enough to dissolve it. Stir it continuously so t

  Hey Folks, Pazhampori is the most famous and signature tea-time snack of Kerala. It is a sweet snack made of ripened Ethapazham soft inside and crispy batter outside. It is one of the best snacks that you can grab from your nearest ' Chayakada '. Today I will be sharing The Perfect Cook Book recipe for some crunchy and sweet Pazham Pori. Pazham Pori - The Perfect Cook Book INGREDIENTS: Ripened Banana / Ethapazham - 5 - 8 Rice Flour - 1/2 cup All Purpose Flour / Maida - 1 cup Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp Sugar - 2 tsp (adjust according to the sweetness of the banana) Salt - a pinch Coconut Oil - as needed for frying Water - as needed for the batter PREPARATION: First, we need to peel the ethapazham and slice them into 4 pieces. Cut it half fully and then two pieces lengthwise. Usually, in chayakada they make big long pazham pori. But at home, I like them to be small and I like the color of it golden brown rather than yellow color.  These Ethapazham are rich in calcium and iron. I

  Hey Folks, Kappalandi Mittayi is a favorite snack recipe that can be made with just two ingredients. It is also known as kadala mittayi, or peanut chikki. This is one favorite snack of mine back from my childhood. So, let's make some Kappalandi Mittayi. Kappalandi Mittayi - The Perfect Cook Book INGREDIENTS: Jaggery - 1 cup Peanuts - 2 cup Water - as needed Cardamom Powder - a pinch Salt - a pinch PREPARATION: Always use peanuts without skin. First, we need to dry roast the peanuts. This helps in enhancing the flavor of kappalandi mittayi. Make sure peanuts are unsalted. Dry roast until they are light golden brown in color.  Transfer it to another plate and let it cool down completely. Next, we have to melt the jaggery. Add one cup of grated jaggery to a pan and melt it down. Once it is fully melted down, strain it into another pan. Stir continuously on medium to high heat. Add a pinch of cardamom powder and salt to it. To find the consistency of jaggery, take a bowl of water and

  Hey Folks, Chakkayappam or Kumbilappam is a traditional delicacy of Kerala. It is a sweet snack filled with the  richness of Jackfruit, Jaggery, and Coconut. The aroma of chakkayappam steamed and cooked out in edanayila is mouthwatering. Chakkayappam can be made in two different ways. Either we can use the raw jackfruit pulp or we can use chakkavarattiyathu. I am sharing the recipe from my grandmother who makes this yummy chakkayappam for us. So, let's start making the sweet jackfruit dumblings or Chakkayappam. Chakkayappam -  The Perfect Cook Book INGREDIENTS: Jackfruit Pulp - 2 cups Melted Jaggery - 1 1/2 cup Crushed Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp  Crushed Cardamom - 1 tsp Grated coconut - 1 cup Diced coconut - 1/4 cup Ghee - 1 cup Semolina Powder - 1 cup Water - as needed Indian Bay Leaf (Edanayila) - as required PREPARATION: First, we have to boil the jackfruit pulp or chakkapazham. For this to a pressure cooker, add chopped jackfruit pulp, crushed cumin seeds, and water for the pulp to

 Hey Folks, Coconut Crepe Wraps are commonly known as Madakksan in our place. It is a sweet snack filled with coconut and sugar. Today, I will be sharing The Perfect Cook Book recipe for Coconut Crepe Wrap . INGREDIENTS : ------------------ All purpose flour (Maida) - 1 1/2 cup Coconut - 2 cup Sugar - 4 tbsp Salt - to taste Cardamom Powder - 1/2 tsp Jeera Powder - 1/2 tsp Milk - 1/2 cup Water - as needed PREPARATION : -------------------  Let's prepare the filling. Heat a pan and add coconut and sugar to it. You can vary the amount of sugar according to your level of sweetness. You can also use grated jaggery as a healthier option. Let the sugar dissolve and coat the coconut, and turn the flame off. Now add a pinch of salt, jeera powder, and cardamom powder. The filling is ready, keep it aside. Now let's prepare the batter for the crepe. Take a bowl and add the maida. You can substitute maida with wheat flour or atta. Add 1/4 tsp of salt and give a nice mix. Now add milk and en

Hey Folks, Diamond Cuts is a sweet snack that all Indians love to have. It is known as madhuraseva in Kerala. It is a very simple and delicious snack loved among all age categories. Today I will be sharing The Perfect Cook Book recipe for Diamond Cuts .  INGREDIENTS : ------------- All Purpose Flour (Maida) - 1/2 cup Salt - to taste Sugar - 1 1/2 tsp Powdered Sugar - as needed Baking Powder - 1 pinch Ghee - 1 1/2 tsp Lukewarm Water - as needed for dough Coconut Oil - for deep frying PREPARATION:  ------------- First, we need to prepare the dough. Sieve in the maida and baking powder and give it a mix. Add salt very little amount for a taste and sugar to it. Add ghee to it and give it a nice mix. Now add lukewarm water as needed to form the dough into a tight ball shape. Let it rest under a damp cloth for 15 minutes before cooking.  After 15 minutes roll out the dough into thin sheets. Dust the rolling pad with a considerable amount of flour, else the dough will get sticky when you take