introduction

About

Welcome to The Merry Skillet

create and share recipes that feature real food

I’m Jayanthi, and I love to cook. My mother and grandmother were great home cooks and they inspired me to record their recipes and as I grew, I began to add my own special twists to those recipes to make them something memorable to eat. I belong to a family of Palakkad Iyers, and our unique style of cooking made me want to share with my readers so that more people could know about our traditions. I also have a passion for gardening which comes from my father. In my apartment, we now grow various fruits and vegetables which I love to use in my cuisine. My favorite part about cooking is when the dish is complete and the wonderful aroma wafts around the house and then eating the delicious food of course!

The recipes I share have been passed down from generations, each one making their own little tweaks to make the food taste even better. Our ancestors never wrote recipes down, but they fondly taught us how to cook. I want to preserve those recipes so that many more can know about them.

I generally cook vegetarian dishes of Palakkad cuisine. But I also like making food from Bengali, North Indian, East Asian and Continental cuisines.

For my cooking, I love using traditional mud pots and soapstone vessels. I believe they add to the authenticity of the dish. Iron kadhai and skillets are very important for daily cooking too.

Through my blog, The Merry Skillet, I want to share information about Palakkad Iyer cuisine, Garden table recipes, and much more

Baingan ka raita

A very quick raita which goes along with pulao, biriyani and jeera rice.

Baingan ka raita 

1 medium baingan, burnt on the stove top. Peel and make into very small pieces.

1 green chilli chopped 

1/2 tsp jeera powder 

1/4 tsp kala manak

1 cup thick dahi/curd

Salt as required 

A few coriander leaves, finley chopped.

For the tadka 

1 tsp oil/ghee

1/2 tsp jeera

Method 

In a bowl add all the above ingredients, mix well, adjust salt, in a small pan pour ghee/oil once it's hot, add jeera. Let it crackle, pour into the prepared raita, and serve with pulao,rice, biriyani aur jeera rice.

Tomato Pickle

Prep Time
20 mins

Cooking Time
10 mins

Total Time
30 mins

Course
Pickles

Servings
5 People

Ingredients

• 10 Fresh tomatoes
• 4 dry red chilies broken
• 1/2 inch ginger
• 1 teaspoon mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon methi seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon chana dal
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 2 teaspoons of red spicy chili powder
• 2 tablespoons of gingly oil
• Salt as required

Cooking Instructions

	1.Wash, pat dry and slice tomatoes and ginger.
	2.Heat Kadai and pour gingly oil, add mustard seeds, methi seeds, chana dal and dry broken red chilies.
	3.Allow the mustard seeds to splutter.
	4.Add chopped tomatoes, ginger, turmeric powder, salt and chili powder. Give a toss.
	5.Cook in high flame till soft and tomatoes are well cooked. Tomato pickle is ready to be served.

Notes/Tips

 

I have used freshly plucked home grown tomatoes from garden. Some ripe and some of them were unripe.

A mixed bag of delicious tomatoes makes the pickle a tasty side dish with the main course.

Dum Aloo

Dum Aloo

Prep Time

30 mins

Cooking Time

25 mins

Total Time

55 mins

Course

Vegetarian Sides

Servings

5 People

Ingredients

20 small potatoes, boiled and peeled

Dry masalas

2 tsp dum aloo powder

1 tsp garam masala

1 tsp jeera powder

1 tsp coriander powder

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

1/2 tsp red chili powder

Salt as required

For the masala

2 medium onion chopped, make a coarse puree

2 tomatoes chopped, make a coarse puree

A small piece of ginger

2 cloves of garlic (optional)

2 green chilies

2 kashmiri red chilies (non spicy)

For tempering

3 tbsp mustard oil

1 inch cinnamon stick

10 peppercorns crushed

1/4 tsp jeera powder

1/2 tsp fennel seeds

For Garnish

A small bunch of chopped coriander leaves

Cooking Instructions

1

Wash, cook and poke holes in the baby potatoes with skewers, toothpick or fork. Pour mustard oil and roast potatoes till golden brown. Add turmeric, salt, jeera and coriander powder. Mix well.

2

Make coarse puree of onion and tomato separately, we will add them in different stages of cooking.

3

In a deep pan pour mustard oil, let it become hot, add jeera, fennel seeds, cloves, crushed cardamom and crushed peppercorns. Once they release aroma, add pureed onion and cook until golden brown.

4

Add all dry masalas, cook for a minute, add pureed tomatoes, mix well, cook in medium flame for about 4 to 5 minutes. The raw smell from the tomatoes should go away.

5

Further cook it for another 3 minutes in high flame le the gravy release the mustard oil. Now we can add the roasted potatoes. Add salt if needed. Mix gently, add a cup of water to adjust the consistency, bring to boil for about 5 minutes. Off the stove garnish the dum aloo with chopped coriander leaves.

6

Serve with any Indian bread, pulao, jeera rice as a side dish. Happy cooking!

Notes/Tips

If you wish you can add two tablespoons of cream of cashew nuts paste for thickening. A little yogurt can be added for a tangy taste if you desire.

Olan

Olan

Prep Time
20 mins

Cooking Time
10 mins

Total Time
30 mins

Course
Main

Servings
4 People

Ingredients

• 250 grams Ash gourd/Elavan
• 250 grams Yellow Pumpkin/Mathan
• 2 Green Chilli
• 10 Nos. Long Bean/Payar
• 1/4 cup Cow Pea/Perum Payar
• 1 Cup Coconut Milk
• 2 tbsp Coconut Oil
• A few curry leaves
• Salt as required

Cooking Instructions

	Soak for an hour and pressure cook cow pea/perum payar for two to three whistles.W 1.Wash, peel and chop ash gourd and yellow pumpkin into thin pieces. If you wish you can add long beans like I have used, cut it into 1 inch long peces.
2	In kalchatti/stoneware/clay pot pour hot water add all the vegetables, salt and green chilli, cook till soft, add coconut milk, it should be just heated. Off the stove add the cooked cow pea beans,  and two tablespoons of coconut oil, slit curry leaves and add them to the prepared olan. Adjust salt. You can serve this as a side dish with sambar.

Notes/Tips

I have made Olan without perum payar as I had a handful of fresh payar from my garden.

But the taste will be even better when we add soaked and cooked perum payar/cow pea.

Some times I cook Olan only with Ash Gourd and add jackfruit seeds.

Palak Paneer

Palak Paneer

Prep Time

30 mins

Cooking Time

25 mins

Total Time

55 mins

Course

Main

Servings

4 People

Ingredients

2 bunches of fresh palak

400 grams of paneer cubed

3 pods of garlic

1medium onion

2 green chilies

2 tablespoons of ghee

1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder

1/2 teaspoon jeera powder

1 teaspoon red chili powder

1/2 teaspoon of coriander powder

1/2 teaspoon of garam masala

Salt as required

Cooking Instructions

1

Wash, clean, cut and blanch palak. Use a hand blender to puree it. keep aside.

2

Peel and cut onion, garlic and green chilies. Use a small kadai to saute using little ghee. Keep aside.

3

Use the same kadai for roasting the cubed paneer. Now add the sauteed onion and garlic, mix well.

4

Add the paneer, onion, garlic and green chilies to the pure palak. Mix well.

5

Add the dry masalas. Give a quick mixing of all the ingredients.

6

Transfer to a serving bowl. Add a tablespoon of cream. Mix well before serving. Serve with pulkas, naan or any Indian bread.

7

We relish palak paneer with freshly made phulkas.

Notes/Tips

Select fresh palak for better results.

Make sure you wash the palak thoroughly well before to avoid sand and other dirt. I minimum wash palak three times before chopping it

Granola

Granola

Prep Time
25 mins

Cooking Time
30 mins

Total Time
55 mins

Course
Snack

Servings
4 People

Ingredients

• 2 cups assorted melon, flax seeds
• 1 cup rolled oats/ museli
• 10 broken cashew nuts
• 20 raisins
• 1/4 cup white/black sesame seeds
• 2 tablespoon of sugar
• 1tablespoon of honey
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil/coconut oil
• 5 crushed cardamoms

Cooking Instructions

1	In a kadai slow roast all ingredients by adding coconut oIl
1	Once they release Aroma add sugar, honey and crushed cardamoms. Mix well.
3	Transfer in a microwaveable bowl, further cook for 2: minutes. Open the microwave, mix well, cook for 1/2 a minute more.
4	Allow it to completely cool and then cut into desired shape. I crumbled it and put it in a clean glass jar.

Notes/Tips

I have added very less sugar as we have used raisins and mixed fruit museli.

You can add a few thinly striped dates if you like.

Always keep the flame very low while roasting the delicate seeds. Sesame seeds are added towards the end. As it may pop up when heated