Kerala has a significant Muslim population and during Ramadan, the cuisine of the state takes on an exotic look. There are many delicious and sumptuous Kerala special dishes that are served during iftar, the time when the Muslims break their fast.
10 Yummylicious Kerala Ramadan Recipes:
Some of the delicious Ramadan recipes from Kerala, God’s Own Country, are listed below, just for the foodie in you!
1. Kai Pathiri:
This is a traditional dish among Kerala Muslims. Easy to make, it is usually consumed during breakfast in Ramadan.
Ingredients:
- 2 cups roasted rice powder
- 1 cup grated coconut
- 5 shallots
- 2 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 2 cups water
- Salt
Preparation:
- Grind coconut, cumin seeds and shallots together. Keep aside.
- Boil water with salt and add the coconut mix and rice flour. Stir well and simmer for about 2 minutes.
- Cover the pot and let it stay for around 10 minutes.
- Mix the coconut and rice mixture with a spoon and knead into a smooth dough.
- Form lemon size balls and roll into thin, round shape. If the dough is sticky during the rolling process, use rice flour.
- Roast the pathiri on a thick, flat-bottom pan on both the sides.
- Soak the cooked pathiris in coconut milk to make it soft and enhance the taste.
This Ramadan dish is usually served with a spicy chicken, mutton or beef curry.
2. Chicken Cutlets Kerala Style:
Chicken cutlets make a great iftar snack, especially for kids. The dish is prepared using minced chicken and boiled potatoes.
Ingredients:
- 1/2 boneless chicken
- 3 boiled and mashed potatoes, medium size
- 1 big onion, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp ginger, finely chopped
- 2 green chillies, finely chopped
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp red chilli powder
- 1 tsp pepper powder
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1 cup bread crumbs
- 2 eggs, beaten
- Salt
- Oil
Preparation:
- Dice chicken into small cubes. Apply turmeric powder and red chilli powder and set aside for 10 minutes.
- Pressure cook the chicken until tender and then mince.
- Heat oil and sauté onions, ginger, green chillies until soft.
- Add chicken, garam masal and pepper powder to the pan and sauté for another 10 to 15 minutes.
- Let the mixture become cool and then add the mashed potatoes. Knead the mixture with your hands until all ingredients are well blended.
- Form small balls and flatten into patties.
- Dip each patty into the beaten egg and then coat with breadcrumbs.
- Deep fry the patties until golden brown.
Serve these Kerala style chicken cutlets with tomato ketchup.
3. Spicy Kerala Style Mutton Curry:
During Ramadan, it is important to eat proteins to keep you going during the long hours of fasting. This is the perfect recipe for Ramadan.
Ingredients:
- 1 kg mutton cubes
- 2 medium-sized onions, thinly sliced
- 2 tbsp coriander powder
- 1 tbsp red chilli powder
- 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 inch ginger root
- 6 cloves garlic
- 1 inch cinnamon bark
- 1 tsp white poppy seeds
- 3 cloves
- 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
- 2 cups grated coconut
- 2 gambooge (kudampuli)
- A sprig of coriander leaves
Preparation:
- Pressure cook the mutton with salt and set aside.
- Blend coriander powder, chilli powder, poppy seeds, ginger, garlic, turmeric powder, cinnamon, cumin seeds and coconut.
- Heat oil in a pan and sauté the onions until golden brown.
- Add the coriander and coconut mix to the pan and sauté further for 10 minutes.
- Add the cook mutton pieces and cover them with water.
- Cook until the gravy reduces slightly and then add the gambooge.
- Garnish with coriander sprig and serve hot.
Serve Kerala style mutton curry with appam or idiyappam. You also can serve it with pathiri.
4. Unnakkaya:
This is a traditional sweet snack consumed mainly in the northern part of Kerala during Ramadan. It is made from plantains and rice flakes.
Ingredients:
- 2 ripe plantains
- 2 cups grated coconut
- 2 crushed cardamoms
- 2 tbsp raisins, roughly chopped
- 4 tbsp rice flakes
- Sugar
- 2 tbsp cashew nuts, powdered
Preparation:
- Boil the plantains and then mash. Keep aside.
- Heat ghee in a shallow pan and fry cashew nut powder, chopped raisins, coconut and cardamom.
- Add sugar to sweeten the mixture.
- Add rice flakes to the mixture and blend all the ingredients with a spoon.
- Allow the mixture to cool and then sprinkle some cardamom powder.
- Oil your palms and form small balls of mashed plantains.
- Make a hole in the plantain balls with your thumb and stuff the coconut and rice flakes mixture into it. Seal the hole and shape the balls into cylinders.
- Deep fry the plantain balls until golden yellow.
Serve unnakkaya hot. You do not need an accompaniment with this dish. It is delicious by itself.
5. Sukhiyan Kerala Style:
Sukhiyan is a traditional snack consumed in Kerala and is perfect during Ramadan because of its low-fat protein and fibre content. It is made from whole mung beans, coconut and jaggery.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup whole mung beans (green gram)
- 1/2 cup jaggery
- 1/2 coconut, grated
- 1/2 tsp cardamom powder
- 1 tbsp ghee (clarified butter)
- A pinch of salt
- All purpose flour (maida)
Preparation:
- Cook the mung beans in a pressure cooker with 2 cups water and pinch of salt. Drain the beans and keep aside.
- Melt ghee in a heavy-bottom pan and add jaggery. Allow the jaggery to melt, while stirring it continuously.
- Add grated coconut and mix well; and then add cardamom powder and boiled mung beans.
- Cook for about 2 minutes and remove from flame.
- Make small balls and keep aside.
- Make a batter with all-purpose flour and water. Add a pinch of salt to the batter.
- Dip the mung bean balls in the batter and deep fry until crisp and golden yellow.
Serve this dish hot. While boiling the mung beans be careful not to over-boil the beans, as this will make it difficult to form the beans into balls.
6. Spicy Arabian Majboos:
This dish is similar to the Kerala Chicken Biryani and is quite popular during Ramadan in the northern part of Kerala.
Ingredients:
- 1 kg Basmati rice
- 1 1/2 kg large chicken pieces
- 2 medium-sized onions, finely chopped
- 1 carrot, chopped
- 1/2 inch ginger
- 1/2 cinnamon
- 6 cloves garlic
- 4 cardamom
- 4 cloves
- 2 tomatoes, sliced in half
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
- 3 hard boiled eggs
- Coriander leaves for garnishing
Preparation:
- Mix garlic, ginger, cardamom, cinnamon, lemon juice, salt, two tablespoon oil, cloves and turmeric powder in a bowl.
- Apply this paste on the chicken pieces thoroughly and set aside in the refrigerator for an hour.
- Heat oil in a large pan and sauté until translucent.
- Add the remaining spices, carrots, tomatoes, salt and chicken pieces and sauté for 5 minutes.
- Add water and bring to boil.
- Once the chicken is cooked, remove with a slotted spoon along with the tomatoes.
- Pass the chicken broth through a sieve and boil.
- Add rice to the broth when it starts boiling
- Cover the pan and let the rice cook.
- Lightly fry the chicken pieces.
- Spread the rice into a dish and place the fried chicken pieces.
- Garnish with boiled eggs and coriander leaves
Serve this dish hot with some Raita. It will taste great.
7. Erachi Pathiri:
This a traditional Muslim dish that comprises of fried bread stuffed with chicken. It is popular during Ramadan and is served at iftar.
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup minced chicken meat
- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
- 4 onions, finely chopped
- 10 green chillies, finely chopped
- One piece ginger made into a paste
- 8 cloves of garlic, mashed
- 1 tbsp coriander leaves, chopped
- 2 sprigs curry leaves
- 1 cup all purpose flour (maida)
- 5 eggs
- 1 tsp mint leaves, chopped
- Cardamom powder
- Sugar
- Salt
Preparation:
- Heat oil in a pan and cook the minced chicken with salt and turmeric powder.
- Sauté onions, ginger, green chillies, coriander leaves, curry leaves, mint leaves and garlic.
- When the onion becomes brown, add the cooked minced chicken and sauté until done.
- Make dough of all-purpose flour and make small balls.
- Flatten the balls with a rolling pin into circles.
- Add a spoon of the cooked chicken mince in the center and cover with another flattened ball.
- Seal the sides by pressing and pinching.
- Make a batter with eggs, a pinch of sugar and cardamom powder. Spread the egg mixture with a brush on each pathiri.
- Heat oil in a deep pan and fry the pathiri until golden brown.
Serve this delicious meat pathiri with ketchup.
8. Malabar Samosa:
This is quite a popular dish during Ramadan and many Muslim homes make it for iftar. Your guests will love the meat-filled triangles.
Ingredients For Samosa Sheet:
- 2 cups all purpose flour (Maida)
- Ghee
- Warm water
- Salt
Ingredients For Chicken Filling:
- 1/2 chicken mince
- 1 tbsp ginger paste
- 1 tbsp garlic paste
- 2 tbsp coriander powder
- 1 tbsp red chilli powder
- 1/2 tbsp turmeric powder
- 1/2 tbsp fennel seeds
- 1/4 tbsp garam masala
Preparation:
- Add oil and cook chicken with all the ingredients. Dry the water by stir frying.
- Make dough using all purpose flour, ghee and salt.
- Roll the dough into thin, rough shapes.
- Cut each circle into four pieces
- Fill the chicken masala into each piece and fold to make a triangle.
- Fry each triangle in hot oil, until crispy and golden brown.
Serve the Malabar samosa with some mint and coriander chutney.
9. Kozhi Pidi:
This traditional Kerala dish is made during Ramadan. It is nothing but steamed rice dumplings floating in delicious chicken gravy.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup rice flour
- 1/2 tsp fennel seeds
- 1 cup grated coconut
- 2 cups coconut milk
- 500 gm chicken, diced into small pieces
- 1/2 tsp ginger and garlic paste
- 3 green chillies, chopped
- 1 tsp red chilli powder
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
- 1/4 tsp garam masala
- 2 onions, chopped
- 1/4 tsp pepper powder
Preparation:
- Boil 2 cups of water for about 2 minutes.
- Add salt to the boiling water and 2 cups of rice flour and cook for about 3 minutes.
- While the rice flour is still warm, mold into small balls.
- Boil 1 cup water and toss the rice balls in the boiling water. Keep stirring continuously.
- When the rice balls are cooked half way through, add fennel seeds and coconut milk. Boil for 2 minutes and take the pan from the heat. Your rice dumplings or pidi are ready.
- Take a pan and roast the grated coconut and grind into a paste.
- Heat oil and sauté onions, ginger and garlic paste and green chillies for 2 minutes.
- Add red chilli powder, garam masala, pepper powder and coriander powder and sauté for another minute.
- Add the chicken, coconut paste, curry leaves and 1 cup coconut milk. Add salt to taste. Cook the chicken for around 8 to 10 minutes.
- Mix the pidi in the chicken gravy and serve piping hot.
This dish is a main course and does not require anything else.
10. Mint Lemon Juice:
During Ramadan, the body gets dehydrated and this refreshing drink is perfect for hydrating your body.
Ingredients:
- 1 juice of a large lemon
- 1/2 tsp crushed ginger
- 1/2 tsp mint leaves, chopped
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1/2 cup ice cubes
Preparation:
- Mix all the ingredients together in a juicer
- Run the juice through a fine-meshed sieve
- Add sugar to sweeten the juice
- Place ice in tall glasses and pour the juice.
- Garnish with mint leaves and lemon slices
Serve the mint lemon juice immediately, as the green color fades with time.
These recipes are filling, nutritious, and full of flavours. You will enjoy feasting on these recipes that will give you strength during your long fasting hours. Try them today and share with us any variation of these recipes that you may have tried.
