Jackfruit Appam.

 

Ingredients:

(Ripe) Jackfruit (cook & make to pulp)        - 1 cup

Rice flour                                                             -1 cup

Jaggery                                                                 -3/4  cup

Grated coconut                                                   -1 cup

Cumin seed powder                                           -1 pinch

Cardamom powder                                            - 1 pinch

Mix all the ingredients well. Take some leaves of the knotty tree (‘Laurus Cassia’).Fold the leaves, pin it with the mid-rib of coconut leaf and fill the mixture. Steam for 30 minutes to cook. Allow to cool. Garnish with nuts and serve.

Callisia Repens- A Beautiful Hanging Plant.

 

Callisia Repens.

Callisia repens, commonly known as Turtle Vine is a low-growing, trailing succulent prized for its dense, ground-hugging foliage. 

Native to Central and South America, this hardy perennial produces small, fleshy, heart-shaped leaves that cascade gracefully from pots or spread as a lush groundcover. 

Its leaves range from bright green to variegated pink and cream in the popular 'Pink Lady' cultivar, especially when grown in bright light. 

Easy to care for, Callisia repens thrives in well-draining soil and tolerates both sun and partial shade, making it a favorite for hanging baskets, terrariums, and border plantings. 

Occasionally, it produces small white flowers, adding a delicate touch to its already charming appearance.

Callisia repens, ( creeping inchplant, Bolivian Jew or turtle vineis a succulent creeping plant .

Tender Jackfruit Thoran.(A vegetable curry.)

 

Ingredients:

Cleaned & sliced tender Jackfruit.         250 gm

Grated coconut.                                          100 gm 

Pepper powder.                                1/2 teaspoon 

Chilli powder.                                     1 teaspoon 

Turmeric powder.                               1/4 teaspoon

Garlic- sliced.                                       1 teaspoon

Onion - sliced.                                        1 teaspoon

Oil.                                                     2 teaspoons 

Curry leaves.                                    5-6

Salt.                                                     A pinch.

Water.                                                  1cup 

Cook tender Jackfruit with salt and water.

Mash it well.

Heat oil in a pan.

Add garlic,onion & curry leaves.

Stir well to roast.

Add pepper powder,chilly powder & turmeric powder.

Add grated coconut. Stir well.

Add mashed tender jackfruit.Stir well.

Close the pan for two minutes to cook.

Remove from heat.

Serve hot.

                                                 

                                                 

 

Spinach - Drumstick leaves Thoran.(A vegetable curry)

 

Ingredients:

Spinach.                   1 cup 

Drumstick leaves.   1 cup 

Grated coconut.        1/4 cup 

Small onion.                2

Chilli powder.              1 teaspoon

Turmeric powder.        1/4 teaspoon 

Pepper powder.            1/4 teaspoon.

Salt.                                  A pinch 

Coconut oil.                     1 tablespoon.

Heat a pan.pour oil.When it becomes hot add sliced onions,roast,add chilly powder and turmeric powder,stir well,add sliced spinach, drumstick leaves, grated coconut & salt.Stir to cook for 2- 3 minutes.Serve hot.

Carrot- Milk Halva.

 

Ingredients:

Carrot.                400gm.

Sugar.                  200gm.

Ghee.                    3 Tablespoons.

Cardamom.          2

Raisins.                 20 gm.

Nuts.                      20gm.

Cornflour.               2 Teaspoons.

Milk.                        1 cup

Water.                      1/2 cup.

Grate carrots.Heat a pan,add ghee,add sugar,stir well,add water,add grated carrots,stir to cook.

Mix half of the milk with cornflour.Add the remaining milk to the cooked carrot,stir to make it thick.Add cornflour- milk mix.Add cardamom powder.When it becomes thick, remove from heat.Apply some ghee in a tray, Spread raisins and nuts.Layer the carrot mix, level well,Spread raisins and nuts on the top to garnish.Allow natural cooling,cut into pieces.

Orange Cake.

 

Ingredients:

Orange.              1kg.

Sugar.                  150gm

Thick curd/

Condensed milk.    1/2 cup

(or eggs 2)

Orange zest.             1 teaspoon.

Melted butter.            1/4 cup

Flour.                            150 gm.

Baking powder.            1 teaspoon.

Baking soda.                1/2 teaspoon.

Orange juice.                 1/2 cup.

Orange food colour.       Few drops.

Grate orange and take orange zest.After, take the juice and keep aside.

Beat sugar with curd/ condensed milk/ eggs.

Add orange zest and butter,beat well.

Add flour, baking powder,baking soda.

Add orange juice.Mix well.Add colour too.

Pour the batter to a greased cake bowl.

Bake 180°c/ 40 minutes.

Decorate with icing cream and orange syrup.

 

Butterscotch Cake.

 

Praline preparation :

Sugar -  1 cup 

Butter - 2 tablespoons

Cashew - 1 cup 

Heat a pan. Add sugar and water. Stir to boil. When it began to brown,add butter,stir well.

Add cashew and stir,move to a butter paper. Allow to cool. Remove from butter paper, crush in a mixer, keep aside.

Butterscotch syrup preparation.

Sugar - 1and half cup.

Water - half cup 

Butter - 25 gm 

Whipping cream - half cup 

Vanilla essence - 1 teaspoon

Heat a pan. Add sugar and water,stir to become brown,add butter and whipping cream,stir well to a creamy consistency. Allow to cool.

Base cake preparation.

Maida - 150 gm.

Sugar - 150 gm.

Egg - 2

Sunflower oil - half cup.

Baking powder - 1 teaspoon.

Baking soda - half teaspoon.

Vanilla essence - 1 teaspoon.

Milk - half cup.

Beat egg. Powder sugar,add to the beaten egg, again beat well,add vanilla essence,beat well, add sunflower oil,beat well. Mix maida,baking powder,baking soda and seive well two - three times,add it to the wet ingredients, mix well. Adjust consistency by adding milk. Pour to a cake tin, bake in a 180° pre- heated oven for 45 minutes.

Frosting, decorating.

Whipping cream - 2 cups.

Keep the beater blades  and bowl in freezer for a day. Place the bowl above ice cubes in a tray. Pour the whipping cream to the bowl,beat well until it becomes stiff peaks.

Cut the cake into three layers. Place one layer on a turntable,apply butterscotch syrup, spread cream,spread praline.Repeat the process. Top with  cream and sauce. Decorate with whipping cream using suitable nozzles. Apply cream and praline on the sides of the cake too. Refrigerate for  two hours to set.

Delicious butterscotch cake is ready.

 

Eravikulam National Park.

 Eravikulam National Park - Munnar.

Eravikulam National Park sits in Kerala's Idukki district, part of the Western Ghats. It's best known as home to the largest surviving population of the Nilgiri tahr, an endangered mountain goat found nowhere else in the world.

The park's rolling grasslands and shola forests reach elevations of over 2,600 meters at Anamudi, the highest peak in peninsular India. 

It's also famous for the neelakurinji, a shrub that blooms in a striking blue-purple flush only once every twelve years, drawing visitors from across the country when it happens.

Only a small section, Rajamalai, is open to tourists, keeping most of the park undisturbed for conservation.

Eravikulam National Park, located near Munnar in Kerala, is a beautiful sanctuary known for its rolling grasslands, mist-covered mountains, and rich biodiversity. 

With its cool climate, breathtaking landscapes, and unique wildlife, Eravikulam is one of Kerala’s most treasured natural attractions.

The best time to visit Eravikulam National Park near Munnar is generally from September to January, when the weather is pleasant and the hills are lush and beautiful. 

The park is usually closed during the Nilgiri tahr calving season in February - March, although exact closure dates can vary. 

It is a pleasurable experience to visit these mesmerizing nature.

Red - whiskered Bulbul@ Eravikulam National Park.

 

Munnar, Kerala, India.

Two Red-whiskered Bulbuls sat close together on a low branch, their scarlet cheek-patches bright against the muted greens of Eravikulam's canopy.

At Eravikulam National Park, a flash of crimson caught the eye.  Two Red-whiskered Bulbuls perched lightly on a shrub,  their dark crests raised like a small flame against the grey mist. 

The hills lay hushed around them, grasslands rolling toward Anamudi's distant peak, and for a moment the little birds  seemed to hold all the quiet of the Western Ghats in their  small, watchful stillness. 

One preened the other's feathers with quiet patience, the mist drifting past them in soft curls, while the hills stretched silent and endless beyond.

 For a moment, the pair seemed to belong entirely to that high, quiet world - two small red whispers, keeping each other company under the pale Munnar sky.

I walked near to it slowly slowly, with silent footsteps, to watch them close, but soon they flew and disappeared among the lush greenery.

പ്രണാമം മഹാത്മാവേ!

 

"പ്രണാമം മഹാത്മാവേ!"

"ഞാനൊരു ഹിന്ദുവു,മൊപ്പമൊരു

ക്രിസ്റ്റ്യനും, മുസ്ലീമു,മെഹൂദനും,

സർവ്വോദയം ദിവ്യമാനവലക്ഷ്യം,

ജാതി,മത, ലിംഗ,ഭേദമന്യേ, വികസനം,

ഈ പ്രബുദ്ധ മാനവക്ഷേമത്തിന്നായ്

സ്വയം ഭരിക്കുക,സ്വയമടക്കുക."

ഈ പരമമാം, സ്നേഹമേ! അഹിംസയേ!!

നമിക്കുന്നു ഞാൻ,ഭാരത,മഹാത്മാവേ!!

Rava Laddu.

Ingredients:

1.     Rava                           -1 ½ cup

2.     Ghee/Vanaspati            - ½ cup

3.     Sugar                          - 1 cup

4.     Cashew nut               - 3 spoons

5.     Kismis                         - 3 spoons

6.     Cardamom powder – ¼ spoon

Method

Fry rava in 2 spoons of ghee till it becomes golden brown colour. Remove from heat, add sugar and grind. Heat the remaining ghee, fry nuts and kismis and add it to the rava-sugar mixture. Mix well adding cardamom powder. Make round balls and decorate with cherry pieces.

Prawn Pulavu.

Ingredients:

1.Basmati rice              : 1 kg

2. Onion                        : 4

3. Ginger-garlic paste   : 2 spoons

4. Water                        : 10 cups

Milk                              : 1 cup

Salt                               : 1 spoon

Garam masala            : 2 spoons

Knotty leaves              : 4

5. Prawn                       : ½ kg

6. Green piece            : 1 cup

7. Ghee                         : 1 cup

8. Sliced capsicum      : 1

Method

Soak rice for half an hour. Slice onion. Heat ghee and roast onion and keep aside half of it. Roast the remaining onion adding ginger- garlic paste for 5 minutes. Add the fourth ingredients and boil. Add rice, prawn and green piece. Cook for ten minutes in low flame. Serve after garnishing with capsicum and roasted onion.

Fruit Salad.

Ingredients:

Fruits                                - 1 kg

Custard powder              -2 spoons

Milk                                   -   500 ml

Sugar                                 - 6 spoons

Method

Slice fruits into small pieces and mix three spoons sugar and keep for cooling in fridge. Take two spoons custard powder, add two spoons milk and make it a paste.

Boil 500ml milk adding three spoons sugar. Add the custard paste into the boiling milk whisking well for five minutes to become a creamy paste. Remove from heat and allow natural cooling. Keep in the freezer for one hour. Add cut pieces of fruits and serve.

Chocolate Cake.

Ingredients:

Eggs                                     5

Flour                                    250 gm.

Sugar                                   250 gm.

Butter                                  250 gm.

Cocoa                                   2 table spoon

Vanilla essence                   1 teaspoon

Baking powder                    1 teaspoon

Sift flour and baking powder together. Cream butter and sugar till it becomes fluffy. Whisk egg. Add flour to it and whisk again. Add butter, sugar, vanilla essence and cocoa and whisk again. Grease a cake tin. Pour the mixture, bake at 180 degree C in a pre-heated oven for 45 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

White Sweet Roses Cake

Ingredients:

Maida.                      120 gm

Sugar.                      100 gm.

Egg.                           3

Vanilla essences    1 teaspoon.

Baking powder.     1 teaspoon

Baking soda.            1/2 teaspoon

Sunflower oil.          100 ml 

Whipping cream.    200ml

Sugar syrup.              100 ml

Dry fruits.                   50 gm

Beat eggs.

Add vanilla,beat well.

Add sugar,beat well.

Add sunflower oil,beat well.

Add dry ingredients,stir well.

Bake in 180° pre heated oven for 45 minutes.

Allow to cool.

Beat whipping cream to stiff peaks.

Layer the cake.

Apply sugar syrup.

Apply whipping cream.

Repeat the process.

Cover the cake with whipping cream.

Decorate with suitable nozzles.

Allow to set in refrigerator for 2 hours before use.