Cooking Kerala Matta Rice with Instapot

 I had to do a far and long search on the world wide web to arrive at these nifty surefire steps to get perfectly cooked matta rice every time, when using an Instapot (IP).

1. matta rice - washed & soaked for at least 30 min and drained. use a 250ml cup.

1.5 to 2 cups if using 3Qt IP

        3.5 to 4 cups if using 8Qt IP

2. Fill the IP container with water up to the 1/2 mark and turn saute on to warm up the water.

3.  Add the rice and then add enough water till the level is just below the Max mark.

4. Close lid and set vent to seal mode

5. Pressure cook on high for 12 min. Make sure 'keep warm' is selected.

6. Once cooking is done, wait until keep warm timer climbs up to 10-15 min

7. Wait until all pressure is released naturally or keep the IP under sink faucet and direct a gentle  thin stream of cold water to accelerate the process

8. Open, drain and enjoy delicious matta rice cooked to perfection!

I've noticed that rice drained this way, stays hot enough serve for quite a long time even if left as-is in the strainer.

Best Shrimp (chemmeen) Roast

This shrimp roast recipe gleaned from this vlog is simply to die for. With the shortest cooking time on the planet and a high taste quotient, this roast is a must have in our gatherings. Quite a savior I'd say since meat options are slowly receding from our cooking as we are going squarely into those age brackets that require us to be more health conscious . I don't know that shrimp is any more healthier than meats, but I am just going with that thought for now.

In The Mix

Mix 1

Shrimp - 1lbs cleaned (about 16-20 in number for an idea on the size)

pepper - 1/2 tsp or as desired

turmeric - 1tsp

dry red chili flakes - 2 tsp

chili powder - 1 tsp

salt to taste 

Mix 2

coconut milk - 1/2 cup or more

coconut oil - 2 tbsp

dry red chili flakes - 1 tsp

pepper powder - 1/4 tsp or as desired

curry leaves - 2 sprigs

salt to taste

garlic cloves - 4 to 5 peeled and crushed

coconut oil - 1-2 tbsp (no need to cover the full pan)

How To Do

Take all Mix 1 ingredients and mix well together. Set to marinate for a minimum of 30 min.

Take all Mix 2 ingredients and mix well together. Set to marinate for a minimum of 30 min.

After 30 min are over, heat a flat pan large enough to place the shrimp in a single layer. Keep at medium to high heat and add the coconut oil. 

Once the oil is heated, place the shrimps in a single layer. Cook for 1 minute.

Turn the the shrimp over (one-by-one helps), Sprinkle garlic and curry leaves over the shrimp and cook for 1 minute.

Add the coconut milk mix at this time gently over the shrimp. Mix together gently and cook for a minute or two depending on how much gravy you'd like to remain.

Remove from heat and enjoy over hot matta rice.

Best Cabbage Thoran

 Without much ado, I want to post some recipes from the web here that we have ended up using a lot. This is the first of such recipes. Adding here for easy reference. 

This is an unbelievably yummy 'thoran'. It gets its taste from marinating the veggie before cooking. Yup, you heard that right, veggies can be marinated! Another charming feature is the uber short cooking time. Shouldn't take more than 4-5 minutes! Here you go.

In The Mix

Mix 1

cabbage - 1 head, washed and sliced

shallots - 2, peeled and sliced round

green chili - 2, sliced round

curry leaves - 2 sprigs

salt - to taste

Mix 2

coconut oil - 3 tbsp

mustard - 1 tsp

curry leaves - 2 sprigs

dry red chili  - 2 halved 

grated coconut - 1/2 to 1 cup

How To Do

Prepare all of the Mix 1 ingredients and mix well by squeezing well together.

Set aside to marinate for at least 30 min.

On a crunch, you can prepare Mix1 with all except the salt the day before and keep in the fridge overnight and cook the next day after mixing with salt first.

Heat oil in large pan. Break mustard once oil heats up and the add cumin.

Mix in curry leaves and dry red chili and now add Mix1.

Cook uncovered on medium to high heat for 1-2 min, then stir together.

Cook for another minute, then add the coconut and mix well.

Gather the mix together in pan and cook for 1-2min.

Now remove from heat and keep covered for 5-10 minutes.

Enjoy!!