Salmon Butter Fry

Here i come back with a continental cuisine with less spice but highly delightful as its blended with lots of herbs. Salmon is a fish which is really healthy and its rich in omega 3 and other vitamin essentials, however whenever i decide to make it like we do our regular Indian fish curry, it doesn't turn out well, as its little hard to deal with its flesh and i then decide to fry it with other Indian masalas. I feel the fry version is better than the curry one. I also made some lemon butter sauce which added a tremendous taste when you dip the pieces and have it. It just melts in the mouth :-)

                           But this time, i found a good way to cook salmon fillets which is rich in taste as well as i wanted the flesh part to remain juicy as well, and so i tried making it with a continental way, believe me it turned out so well and my BF just loved it. I added some ground pistachios as well, which added a unique taste and healthy wise, this way of making worked out well. The making is not tedious and all the ingredients are easily available in most super markets and you could make this in minutes. Here you go with the making..

 

Ingredients:

• Salmon Fillets- 3
• Lemon- 1
• Herbs- 2 Tspn
• Pepper Powder- 2 Tspn
• Chili Flakes- 1 Tspn
• Ginger Garlic Paste- 1 Tspn
• Grated Pistachos- 1 Tspn
• Any dressing(Optional)- 1 Tspn
• Egg- 1
• Maida- 3 Tspn
• Butter-2 Tspn
• Salt -- to taste

Method:

• Marinate the salmon fillets with all the above ingredients except egg and maida and keep aside for half an hour.
• After half an hour add eggs and dust the salmon fillet in the maida.
• Shallow fry in the butter after it melts completely and becomes hot,flipping both the sides and transfer to a paper towel.
• Serve hot with the sauce.

For Lemon Butter Sauce:

In a saucepan, add 4 tspn of butter,when it starts melting squeeze half lemon to it before the color started changing remove from fire, add fresh parsley to it and keep aside.
Tips:

"Adding dressing is very much optional however if you want to try, you could use caesar salad or mustard sauce.

You can use any kind of oil for the shallow fry of your optional.

Adjust pepper powder according to your spice level."

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Naatu Kozhi Kulambu / Village style Chicken Curry

Naatu kozhi kulambu is an all time favorite for most chicken lovers especially if you are from the south part of India. Its a spicy curry blended with all natural spices and coconut. The typical naatu kozhi kulambu normally doesn't comprises coconut, however i wanted the curry to be more thick and hence used it.The best combo while you make this village style chicken curry would be idly/dosa than having it with rice and thats the option for me and my bf too. This is a recipe which has a different taste as it has tamarind as well, however its optional if you don't want to add.

All i could imagine when i feel hungry is the cup of this curry with a egg dosa, fulfills the day! Its easy to make and tasty as well, but if you make this with the homemade masala powders it will give the best taste than making it with store brought masala powders. One important factor which makes the curry tastier is using a cornish hen / naatu kozhi, i bet it gives the best taste. You could get the cornish hen from most super markets. Its a must try recipe if you haven't tried it once!!! :)

Ingredients:

• Cornish Hen/ Naatu Kozhi - 2 lbs/ 1 1/2 Kg
• Tomatoes - 1 (largely chopped)
• Shallots - 1/2 Cup, Cut as two
• Tamarind paste or tamarind pulp - 2 Tspn
• Salt - to taste
• Coriander Leaves- To Garnish

To cook the Meat:

• Red chilli powder -- 1 Tspn
• Coriander powder -- 1 tTspn
• Turmeric powder -- 1/4 Tspn
• Ginger Garlic Paste -- 2 Tspn

To roast and grind:

• Shallots - 1/2 cup ,chopped
• Peppercorns - 3/4 tsp
• Cumin seeds - 1 1/2 tsp
• Fennel seeds - 3/4 tsp

To grind:

• Coconut - 1/4 cup
• Poppy seeds-1/2 Tspn

To Temper:

• Coconut - 1/4 cup
• Poppy seeds-1/2 Tspn

Method:

• Clean and marinate the chicken pieces with all the ingredients under “To Marinate with 1/2 Tspn of all the powders and keep it for an hour
• Dry roast all the ingredients under “To roast and grind” one by one and grind to a fine paste and keep aside
• Grind the ingredients under “To grind” and keep aside.
• In a hot pan add sesame oil and add all the ingredients under “To Temper”
• Add the sliced shallots and saute until turns translucent.
• Add all the rest of 1/2 tspn of powders,saute for 2 minutes until the masala smell goes from it.
• Add the marinated chicken pieces and sauté well ,until the chicken is well mixed with the masala powders.
• Add the ground onion paste and cook for a minute to combine well
• Pour the tamarind pulp and mix well, and cook it covered until the chicken is cooked well.
• After the chicken is cooked completely add the coconut paste and mix well.
• Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot.

Tips:

"You could replace the poppy seeds with some dry cashews dipped in water if you dont want to use the poppy seeds.
As this is village style chicken its better to use the sesame oil however its optional, and if you want to change you could make it with other oil of your choice.
Adjust the spice powder as per your spice level.
Adding tamarind is optional however it gives a better taste."

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Kappa Biriyani / Tapioca with meat Biriyani

If you are a fond of foods from thatukada/ street shops in kerala,then you may know how tasty this recipe could be. Its a unique recipe, as its a spicy combination of meat and kappa / tapioca. For people who is new to this recipe, you may get confused of the name, as its named as biriyani but it doesn't comprises any rice in it. Its known as different names in different parts of kerala. But as a whole kappa biriyani is a very famous recipe often served in most restaurants in God’s own country.

You can make it with any meat of your choice say with lamb,beef or chicken and even with pork. The authentic recipe is made out of beef, but me and my bf is not a big fan of beef, hence made it with chicken, but its obsoletely your choice.But one thing i could promise you is the taste, its incredible that any non vegetarian will fall in love with it. The overall process may look little lengthy but its worth to give a try at home. Hope you all will try and like it too :)
 

Ingredients:

To Cook Kappa:

• Kappa/Tapioca- 2 lb/ 1 Kg
• Turmeric Powder- 1/4 Tspn
• Grated Coconut- 1/2 Cup
• Ginger Crushed- small piece
• Small onions- 2
• Green chilies- 4 nos
• Salt- To Taste
• Water- 1 Cup

To cook the Meat:

• Chicknen/Beef/Lamb- 1 lb/1/2 Kg
• Chili Powder- 2 Tspn
• Small onions- 5-6 nos
• Coriander Powder- 2 Tspn
• Turmeric Powder- 1/4 Tspn
• Small Onion chopped- 3
• Curry Leaves- Few
• Ginger Crushed- small piece
• Garlic Paste- 4 crushed
• Garam Masala- 2 Tspn
• Pepper Powder- 2 Tspn
• Curry Leaves- Few
• Salt- To Taste
• Coconut Oil- 2 Tspn

To cook the Meat:

• Coconut Oil- 1 Tsp
• Green chillies - 3 nos
• Red chillies - 2 Nos
• Curry Leave - Few

Method:

Cooking Kappa:

• Add water to the cleaned kappa and pressure cooker it for 2 whistles or cook the kappa in the water until its completely cooked in a open vessel.
• After the kappa is fully cooked, drain the excess water and keep aside.
• Coarsely grind all the ingredients under “to cook kappa” and add this to the drained kappa and mash it well with a laddle.
• Keep aside once everything is combined well.

Cooking Meat:

• Marinate the meat with all the powders(adding 1 tspn of everything) under “to cook meat” along with the curry leaves and keep it for 1/2 hour.
• Pressure cook it for 2 whistles or until the marinated meat adding adequate water is cooked well.
• Keep aside the cooked meat.
• Now, in a separate pan, pour coconut oil, add small onions and green chilies and saute well until it becomes translucent, add all the rest 1 tspn of powders under “to cook meat” and saute well until the masala smell goes off from it.
• Add the pressure cooked meat to this and sauté well until the water evaporates from it.
• Now, add the cooked meat to the prepared kappa and combine well with a laddle.
• In a separate pan, pour oil and add all the items under “to temper” and add the seasoning to the combined kappa.
• Serve hot and enjoy !

Tips:

"When you cook kappa, make sure it shouldn't be so watery or hard, it should be in the consistency where when you break it it should be soft to do that.

Adjust the spice powders as per your spice level.

You can make it with any meat of your choice either chicken or beef, i made with chicken."

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Fish Puttu/ Meen Podimas

I want to give a best recipe as aim posting in my blog, after a long time, and was thinking what could be the best to give my readers, i decided something which is tasty and simple to make as well, and then i ended up making a fish puttu you may also call it as a “Meen Podimas”.I never tried it before but thought to give out a try as my bf is a big fan of it. You could make the same recipe with the crab as well, and that will taste good as well, but may find a little hard time, for breaking the crab shells and removing the meat from it, and so i made it with fish.

You can prepare it with any variety of fish of your choice, i made it with the fillets of tilapia which i got from the supermarkets, if you don't get it as a fillets, then you can go with the skin, but after the fish is steamed make sure you remove the bones,skins from it. I picturised serving it in a banana shaped cone just to look good, and so do not get confused if you need to make it in the same way.Hope you all like the recipe and look forward for your feedbacks as you always have done :)
 

Ingredients:

• Any Fish (Preferably Tilapia fillets)- 5 nos
• Large Onion- 1 finely chopped
• Garam Masala- 1 Tspn
• Fish Masala(optional)- 1 Tspn
• Turmeric Powder- 1/4 Tspn
• Coriander Powder- 1 Tspn
• Ginger Crushed- a small lemon size
• Garlic Crushed- 5 Pods
• Green Chilies- 4 Nos
• Coriander Leaves- a bunch
• Coarse pepper powder- 1 Tspn
• Cumin Powder- 1 Tspn
• Oil- 2 Tspn
• Salt- To Taste
• Mustard Seeds- 1/2 Tspn
• Cumin Seeds= 1/2 Tsp
• Curry Leaves- Few

Method:

• Clean the fish fillets with water and steam the fish pieces ( i used idly cooker for it).After its fully cooked keep it aside.Let it cool.
• When you are able to handle the steamed fish, shred it by hand and keep aside.
• In a separate pan, add oil, when it becomes hot add the mustard seeds,cumin seeds and curry leaves and after a minute add the chopped onion,green chilies, crushed ginger and garlic pieces and sauté well until everything combines well.
• Add all the powders listed in the ingredients with salt and sauté well until the masala smell goes from it.
• Now add the shredded steamed fish to this and give out a stir and combine everything well.
• Garnish with coriander leaves, Its ready to serve with hot rice or chappathi

Tips:

"You could replace the fish with the crab as well. However the process remains the same.

Adjust the spice powder as per your spice level, if you need more spicy you could use chili powder as i used the pepper powder instead as i don't want to change the color of the recipe.

Steaming the fish is good than boiling the fish in the water, as steaming gives better taste than boiling it separate.

Onions and other ingredients should be chopped finely to get a fine texture of the putt."

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Nethili Meen Fry / Anchovies Fry

I know its been a very long time I posted something, I was bugged up with lots of things still, I would manage to post but not regularly, I request my readers to kindly bare with that and provide your incredible support as always. Though I haven't posted anything for a while, everyday my readers count was high and stable, I thank you for that and this encourages me to develop my blog even in my busy schedule.This time I came with a recipe which is famous with most of the non vegetarians, I personally love this recipe and my hubby too. Its been a very long time I had the anchovies fry, as I had hard time in finding it in seafood shops. 

 
The cleaning is very simple but its a little more than the usual time for cleaning the fish, because of its size and the quantity you buy, just peel off the head and then make a slit with a knife near its neck and pull out all its intestine parts and its done. After its all peeled make sure you wash with rock salt(kalluppu) to remove any mud in it. You could make this with either frozen or the fresh fish, but my first choice would be the fresh ones.You are all set to make it and its very simple to make too. Here you go with the ingredients.
 

Ingredients:

• Nethili Meen/Anchovies- 1 lb/ 1/2 Kg
• Chili Powder- 1 1/2 Tsp
• Coriander Powder- 1 Tspn
• Turmeric Powder- 1/4 Tspn
• Fenugreek Powder- 2 Pinches
• Small Onion chopped- 3
• Curry Leaves- Few
• Ginger Garlic Paste- 1/2 Tspn
• herbs(optional)- 1/2 Tspn
• Pepper Powder- 1/2 Tspn
• Lime Extract- 1 Tspn
• Salt- To Taste
• Coconut Oil- To Shallow Fry

Method:

• Marinate the fish with all the ingredients except oil and keep it for at least 40 minutes.
• In a pan, pour little oil(just for shallow fry), arrange all the anchovies and fry it flipping it both the sides.
• Serve hot with rice.

Tips:

"If you want to make the fish more crispy then allow the fish to fry for more time in the oil.

Adjust the chili powder as per your spice level.

Adding herbs is optional however it gives a good aroma to the recipe.

Adding curry leaves will give extra taste for the recipe. Frying it in coconut oil is your choice however, it would be the best for this recipe."

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Bezawada Biriyani: Fried Chicken Biriyani

Unless the Hyderabadi Dum Biriyani. Bezawada biriyani is easy to make and doesn't need a lengthy marination for chicken. This biriyani is very famous in most of the Andhra non vegetarian restaurants. All you need to do is slice the chicken into small pieces i would prefer you to use the thigh or a breast part of the chicken.You can get it separately from super markets, you could use the fresh or a frozen piece. As this is a fried chicken biriyani, you gonna fry the chicken pieces first and then prepare the masala. The assembling is much similar how you did for the hyderbadi Dum Biriyani.

Though i make varieties of biriyanis, my all time favorite biriyani variety is the fried chicken biriyani as it is rich in spice and taste and it doesn't need absolutely a side dish to serve with, as it has a ample gravy masala along the chicken pieces in the biriyani. So, if you ever want to surprise your guests, your best choice would be the Bezawada Biriyani, may be a Raita will make this is as a perfect combo for your party. Here you go with the making :)

Ingredients:
For Marinating Chicken:

• Chicken cut as small pieces- 1 Lb/ ¾ Kg
• Chili Powder- 1 Tspn
• Coriander Powder- 1 Tspn
• Turmeric Powder- ½ Tspn
• Oil- To Deep Fry
• Lemon juice- ¼ Cup
• Ginger Garlic Paste- 2 Tspn
• Curd- 1 Tspn

To Cook Rice:

• Basmati Rice- 2 Cups (Soaked in water for atleast 1 hour)
• Cardamoms- 5 Nos
• Cloves- 4 Nos
• Bay Leaves- 2 Big
• Star Anise- 3 Nos
• Water- As needed
• Salt- To Taste

Other Ingredients:

• Fried onions( deep fry until it turns crispy)- 1 Cup
• Onion- 1 Sliced
• Tomato- 1 Sliced
• Green Chilies- 3 Nos
• Garam Masala- 2 Tspn
• Milk- ¼ Cup
• Saffron- few
• Rose Water- 1 Tspn
• Maida- 1 Cup
• Ghee- 2 Tspn
• Coriander Leaves- a Bunch
• Mint Leaves- a Bunch

Method:

• Soak the saffron in the milk and keep aside.
• In a separate pan mix the chicken pieces with all the ingredients under “for marinating chicken” and keep for half an hour, after half an hour deep fry the chicken and keep aside.
• In a pan, pour water, when it starts boiling add the spices listed under “to cook rice” and salt. Add the basmati rice and cook for a while. The rice should not be fully boiled. It should be 70% done. So, when you press it, it should be little hard and that’s the correct texture else getting the right biriyani is difficult.
• After its half cooked, drain the rice and keep aside.
• Now in a separate pan, add the ghee and saute the onion until it becomes soft, now add the tomato and green chilies,ginger garlic paste and saute again until the masala smell goes from it.
• Add the 1/2 tspn of curd and saute again, add the coriander,mint leaves and now add the fried chicken to it and give a stir.Switch off the stove.

 

Assembling the pan:
Please refer the Hyderabadi Dum Biriyani as its the same process.

• In the heavy bottomed pan, pour ghee at the bottom and spread it evenly, now, add the cooked masala chicken.
• On top of it, add the drained rice and top it again with crispy fried onions and again top it with rice. Overall the chicken should be at the bottom and the rice and onions should be on the top.
• After all the rice is layered pour the soaked saffron milk and on top of it, add the rose water it gives a good flavor.
• Close the pan tightly and make a maida dough, now, close the pan with the lid and press the maida dough around the lid to make it tight.
• Now, keep the pan in the stove in high flame for about 5 minutes and change it to low flame and cook in low flame for about 15 minutes.
• After the set time, let it stand for about 5 minutes. Serve hot with raita.

Tips:

"You can add the orange color mixed in water instead of using the milk soaked with saffron.

Adding rose water is optional however if you use, it gives an extra flavor to the recipe.

Adjust your spice level as per your need.

Avoid using excess turmeric powder as it may change the color of the biriyani"

 

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Whole chicken Masala Fry

I was thinking to post this recipe from a very long time. This is one of the best and unique chicken as its cooked as whole with all the masala. When I got the recipe from my Amma I wasn't very sure if I get as tasty as my Amma does because I was much confused if it will get cooked well in the center of the chicken,however I just followed the exact instruction from her and I was very much surprised that it was very similar like hers. She does it just like in short time and its one of my favorite from her cookbook. My Bf tasted it for the first time and he became a fan too :) I made this with the Cornish hen which is available in most supermarkets ( if its frozen you may have to put it in the hot water until it becomes smooth). As I made with the cornish I didn't attempted to clean anything inside the chicken.

If you are using the fresh organic chicken then you have to clean it well inside and outside with turmeric and salt and you can step into making it. The only difficult part in this case would be the cleaning and the main factor involved here is the patience, as we want all the sides to cook properly it takes a little more time than the usual chicken recipes. But one thing I can assure you is well, “the taste”. Yes, definitely you will never compromise on making something else once you tasted thie whole chicken masala fry. Here comes the making :)
 

Ingredients:
 
To Marinate:

• Chili Powder- 3 Tspn
• Coriander Powder- 4 Tspn
• Salt- To Taste
• Turmeric Powder- 1 Tspn

For Masala:

• Large Onion- 2 Sliced
• Garam Masala- 1 Tspn
• Ginger Crushed- a small lemon size
• Garlic Crushed- 5 Pods
• Green Chilies- 4 Nos
• Tomatoes Sliced- 3 Nos
• Coriander Leaves- a bunch
• Thick Coconut Milk- 1/2 Cup
• Hot Water- 1/4 Cup
• Cashew Paste- 3 Tspn
• Soya Sauce- 1 Tspn
• Ghee- 2 Tspn
• Oil- 2 Tspn
• Curry Leaves- Few

Method:

• Marinate the whole chicken with the ingredients under “to marinate” and keep aside for at least 1 hour.
• Deep fry 1 large onion chopped until it turns crispy in ghee and keep it aside.
• In a big thick bottomed vessel,pour oil and add the other 1 onion sliced,tomatoes,green chillies and crushed garlic and ginger and sauté well until it combines well.
• Add garam masala and add the marinated chicken and give a light stir for the masala to get into the chicken.
• Add hot water (a little) into the sides of the chicken and give a smooth stir.
• Close the vessel with the lid and cook it covered for 3 minutes.
• Reduce the flame to low and again flip the chicken and add the coconut milk (a little) and give a stir and again cook it covered for 5 minutes.
• At this stage the chicken must have cooked as 3/4th stage.Now repeat adding the hot water and coconut milk and flipping up and down the chicken until the chicken is fully cooked.
• After you are done with adding the entire hot water and coconut milk, do not cook it covered, just cook it uncovered for the gravy to become thick.
• You will now see the gravy thickened and the best way to check if the chicken is cooked would be pricking it with the fork and if goes smooth into it then it means you are done.
• At this point, in a separate pan, add oil and soya sauce and saute for a minute.
• Add this sauce to the cooked chicken( add it on the top) and few curry leaves and coriander leaves.
• Give a quick stir at the end.
• Assemble the chicken, by keeping some masala as the base for the chicken in the plate and on top of it,keep the chicken and then pour the remaining masala on top of it.Serve as whole to rice or chappathi.

Tips:

"Since we are cooking the chicken along with the gravy, always keep the flame as low so that it will not burn at the bottom.

At first when you begin, you will find it hard, and confused as the chicken gets separated from the masala but once the curry gets thickening pour the curries from the sides and pour it to the top of the chicken at regular intervals so that the chicken will observe the masala.

Handle the chicken with care while flipping it, as there may be chances for the wings or legs to break.Hence use essential utensils ( I used 2 large spoons for flipping the chicken).

Do not add the coconut milk and hot water as a whole in one time, add it in regular intervals it is a must, as the chicken gets cooked by doing that way."

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Palada Pradhaman

Palada Pradhaman the name says it all, its similar how you make the Ada Pradhaman. The difference is you make that with the jaggery and here we use the milk instead, its similar to how you make a simple semiya payasam. Its one of a very famous dessert served in most temples in Kerala and even served at weddings. The taste is really incredible that we have it at home with the Boli( a kerala dessert). The making is very simple as its not as lengthy as how you made the Ada Pradhaman. I really love the one which i tasted in "Padmanaba Swamy"  temple at Trivandrum. Omg! its just awesome,if anyone visiting that temple, do not forget to get that prasadam from the temple.

As I really wanted it simple and fast, I used the ready made ada which is store brought, but I used the small ones for making Palada Pradhaman remember it makes difference.The traditional method involves in two ways either by making it in uruli( a broad thick vessel) or in a pressure cooker. The one I made is the pressure cooker method. Which is easy and time consuming as well. Just one thing to make sure is if you are using the store brought ada always remember to wash and soak in hot water for about 10 minutes before you are getting into action :)

Ingredients:

• Ready made Rice Ada- 1 Cup
• Milk- 5 Cups
• Sugar- 2 Cups
• Cardamom Powder- 1/2 Tspn
• Ghee- 2 Tspn
• Condensed Milk/Milk Maid- 3 Tspn
• Cashews- few(optional)
• Raisins- Few(optional)

Method:

• Wash and soak the ada hot water for at least 10 minutes.
• Cook the ada in water of 2 cups and cook until it becomes soft.Drain and keep aside.
• In a pressure cooker, add the ghee,when it melts add the sugar and keep until its melted completely.
• Add the milk and the cooked ada and cook for 1 whistle.
• Open the lid and cook uncovered for another 20-30 minutes until it becomes thick.
• Add the condensed milk/milk maid and cardamom powder to it and stir for 2 minutes.
• Fry the cashews and raisins separately in ghee and add it to the payasam.

Tips:

"Usually in the traditional method, cashews and raisins are not used, so adding that is complete optional.

Adding condensed milk will give a good taste however its optional too.

Adjust the sugar as per your requirement, you can add the extra sugar at any point."

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Erissery - Pumpkin With Green Gram Dal curry

I am fulfilling the sadya recipes in my blog. Yes, Erissery is one among them. Its a very healthy vegetarian recipe with the ingredients as pumpkin and green dal. It makes a much taste difference,as it has a mild sweet and a little spicy. When i say it has a different taste it applies for its texture as well. Usually this recipe is little more liquid kind, however the one i made is thick. I like this one as better,but its your choice,it all depends how much water you use. Erissery is the most popular recipe in Trivandrum,mostly served in Sadyas for Vishu or Onam.

Traditionally, its made with with yam, unripe plantains and pigeon peas apart from using pumpkins. The one i made is authentically made in cities like Trivandrum and my amma just uses the raw plantain,pumpkin and the green gram. If you have not tasted this recipe you will definitely love making it again as it has a rich taste and coconut aroma. Its a ultimate treat for vegetarians :) If you are confused in making something different to your family,just go for this.
 

Ingredients:

• Raw Plantain- 1 Sliced as cubes.
• Pumpkin- 1 1/2 Cup Sliced as big cubes.
• Green Gram Dal- 1/2 Cup
• Turmeric Powder- 1/4 Tspn
• Coriander Powder- 1/4 Tspn
• Green chilies- 3 Sliced

To Grind as Paste:

• Coconut shredded- 1/4 Cup
• Garlic pieces- 2
• Cumin Seeds- 1 Tspn

To Temper:

• Coconut Shredded- 1/4 Cup
• Mustard Seeds- 1 Tspn
• Urud Dal- 1 Tspn
• Curry Leaves- Few
• Coconut oil- 1 Tspn

Method:

• Pressure cook the green gram dal for 3 whistles with water and keep aside.
• Grind all the ingredients under “To grind as paste” and keep aside.
• Add the green chilies and cubed pumpkins to the cooked green gram dal and pressure cook again for 1 whistle.
• After its all cooked, keep the flame low and add the grounded paste and turmeric,coriander powder and cook until the masala smell goes from it.
• In a separate pan, add all the ingredients except coconut and sauté well for a minute, switch off the flame and in the same heat add the shredded coconut and saute until it turns little brown.
• Add this to the cooked curry and give a stir.Serve hot with rice.

Tips:

"When adding pumpkin add water to the pressure cooker if needed.

As I mentioned I made it dry, however if you want to make it watery add water while at any point of cooking."

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Chicken Ghee Roast

Its been a little while that I posted a chicken recipe, as I wanted to post more vegetarian recipes for a break. Chicken ghee roast is a perfect combo for the Neer Dosa.The name says it all, its fully made with roasting all the masalas in the ghee, now you can imagine what taste it could be. Its a a flavorful chicken recipe made with good amount of ghee and spices. Another important factor is,this is one among the tasty mangalore recipes. Most of the mangalore recipes are common in kerala too.

Its always very difficult to find chicken variety dishes especially when you are in a hurry to prepare something to surprise your guests. If you are too much cautious about the calories you could substitute ghee with the normal oil however, the taste makes a huge difference. I bet you gonna fall addict with these ghee toasted chicken as this has unique cooking method and tamarind in it. Yes, even i wasn’t sure on the taste before making it,as it had tamarind as one of a ingredient lol,but it was incredible. Here comes the making :)

Ingredients:

• Chicken- 1 Lb
• Ghee- 1/2 Cup
• Tomato-1 Sliced
• Curry Leaves- few
• Curd- 2 Tspn
• Turmeric Powder- 1/4 Tspn
• Ginger garlic paste- 1 Tspn
• Salt- To Taste.

To Roast and Grind as Paste:

• Dry Red Chilies- 7 Nos
• Pepper Seeds- 1 1/2 Tspn
• Star Anise-1
• Cloves-2
• Fenugreek seeds- 1/4 Tspn
• Cumin Seeds- 1/2 Tspn
• Coriander Seeds- 1 1/2 Tspn
• Dry Coconut flakes- 1/2 Tspn
• Tamarind Paste- 1 Tspn

Method:

• Marinate the chicken pieces with turmeric powder,curd and ginger garlic paste and keep in refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
• In a pan, add the marinated chicken and cook it covered until the chicken is cooked completely. After its cooked keep it separate and do not throw the stock(the water released by chicken while cooking) as well.
• In a pan,pour 2 Tspn of ghee and roast all the ingredients under to roast and grind except coconut and tamarind paste.
• In a blender,add all the roasted spices and add the coconut and tamarind paste with 1 tspn water and grind as a fine paste.
• In a pan,pour remaining ghee and add the curry leaves and add the tomatoes and sauté well.
• Now add the grounded paste and salt and saute well until the masala smell goes from it. Add little by little the chicken stocks at regular intervals( total of 1/4 cup of stock).
• After all the masala smell goes from it, add the cooked chicken pieces to it and give a sitr.
• Garnish with more fresh curry leaves and serve hot.

Tips:

"While cooking the chicken separately there is no need to add water,as the chicken releases lot of water from it.

Save only 1/4 cup of stock to use while cooking the masala.

Adjust the red chilies as per your spice level."

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Prawn bajji and Tamarind Chutney

Prawn bajji - it may sound new, but the taste is incredible. There are lots of vegetarian variety bajjies made with plantain,potatoes. However, in the non vegetarian there are just few varieties reason being the meats may not taste good if its fully fried. Even when you make fish, you can make out the difference if its made as a full fried or as a shallow fry, as shallow fries are more better than the full fried version. Hence the best choice for making a non-veg bajji would be with prawns.The best combo for the prawn bajji is the tamarind chutney, its spicy and best when served with bajjies.

Tamarind chutney is the best dip for the prawn bajjies. When you are bored in the evenings and thinking for the best snack, prawn bajjies will be a best choice for you, as its very simple to make and your family will love it, i bet even the kids, as its not spicy. Lets move on to the making. My amma makes it at the nights of every new year and we really enjoy having it with lot of fun. She has two versions with the onion and the other one without onions. The one here i gave is without the onions.
 

For Bajji:
Ingredients:

• Prawns- 1/2 Lb or 200 grams
• Besan - 1/4 Cup
• Rice Flour- 2 Tspn
• Cornflour- 1 Tsp
• Kashmiri chili Powder- 1 Tspn
• Turmeric Powder- 1/4 Tspn
• Ginger garlic paste-1 Tspn
• Salt- To Taste.
• Oil- To Deep fry

Method:

• Mix all the ingredients with water to make as a thick paste and keep it for at least 1 hour.
• Drop it in the hot oil and deep fry until it turns brown.
• Transfer to the paper towel and set dry to remove excess oil.

For Tamarind Chutney:
Ingredients:

• Tamarind- half lemon size
• Red Chilies- 4 Nos
• Asafoetida-1/4 Tspn
• Ginger- a Small piece
• Turmeric Powder- 1/4 Tspn
• Salt- To Taste

Method:

• Grind all the ingredients adding little water.
• Serve with bajjies.

Tips:

"You can also add some chopped onions to the batter.

I added the kashmiri chili powder for the spice and color but if you don't want to use it, you can add some chili powder and a little of red color to the batter."

 

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Vada Kootu Curry : Trivandrum Special

Kottu curry is a vegetarian signature dish from Kerala. Its one of the most popular dish served in Sadyas. This is a very unique and tasty recipe because of the ingredients used. Kootu curries are made in different ways in different cities in Kerala. The one i presented here is made in southern part of Kerala especially in Trivandrum. Usually many of them uses the black pea and the potatoes in it, where in this is a unique recipe which has the ulunnu vada(urud dal vada) in it.

Kootu curry is the spiciest dish served in the sadya.Before you start making, grab some thick and thin coconut milk(1st and 2nd milk). So,if you have left over vadas you could use it or here you go how to make the urud dal vadas.The size may be little smaller than the normal urud dal vada.Here you go with how you make the urud dal vada for the kootu curry.

Soak the urad dal for 4 – 5 hrs and drain the water completely. Grind it to a fine paste adding little water, if required. Heat oil in a deep pan. Add 1/2 tsp crushed pepper corns and enough salt to the batter. Drop small portions of the vada mixture into hot oil. Fry them until golden and drain on to a paper towel. This yields about 15 small vadas.
 

Ingredients:

• Urud dal vadas (See above for the notes)- 10 nos
• Potatoes- 2 Sliced as medium size pieces
• Green Chilies- 3 Nos
• Small Onions- 4-5 nos
• Thick coconut milk- 1 Cup
• Thin Coconut Milk- 1 Cup
• Chili Powder- 1 Tspn
• Coriander Powder- 1 Tspn
• Turmeric Powder- 1/2 Tspn
• Salt- To Taste
• Coconut Oil- 3 Tspn
• Curry Leaves- Few
• Mustard Seeds- 1 Tspn

Method:

• In a pan,without adding oil add the chili,coriander and turmeric powder and roast for a while and keep aside.
• In a separate pan, add the thin coconut milk small onions,green chilies and potatoes and cook covered until its cooked completely.
• When it starts drying add the salt and the roasted powders and sauté again.
• Add the urud dal vadas and pour the thick coconut milk and cook again until it gets thick.
• In a separate pan, add oil when it heats up add the mustard seeds and curry leaves, add this to the curry and serve hot.

Tips:

"Adjust the chili powder as per your spice level.

If you are using the left over vadas, make it into smaller pieces and add that to the gravy.

Always use the fresh coconut for the milk than the frozen which gives a better taste.

You can use the ordinary oil as well if you dont want to use the coconut oil."

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Elumbu Kulambu

Elumbu kulambu - The name may sense wired but the taste is awesome if you are from the family who makes the elumbu kulambu you could know better about the taste and the nutritious benefit of it. This curry is best for lactating mothers and is often made for them to make them healthy. I make this curry at home when i get some mutton, so that i could use the bones for this and the flesh for the mutton cur-ry, but its always if you make it with the rib bones of the mutton for the better taste. Since it has just the bones, it takes a little more time to cook than the normal mut-ton cuisines, but its obsoletely healthy.

I agree,mutton is high fat content, but if you consume once in a while its good for health as it is rich in protein iron and other nutritious facts as well. Some make it with the bone marrow(Nalli elumbu) as well.Hence its all your choice to make it with.Before you go with the making, wash the bones thoroughly with turmeric powder. Here is the making :)
 

Ingredients:

• Mutton Nenju elumbu(Rib bones)-1/2 Lb
• Shallots-10
• Onion(large)- 1 Small size.
• Garlic-5 pods
• Tomato-2
• Ginger garlic paste-1 spoon
• Green chilies- 3 Nos
• Turmeric powder-1/2 tspn
• Salt- To Taste
• Chili powder (kuzhambu milagai thool)-1 tspn
• Coriander powder-2 tspn
• Cinnamon-1 small piece
• Clove-3
• Bay Leaves- 1
• Cardamom- 2
• Fennel seeds-1/2 Tspn
• Pepper corns-1/2 Tspn
• Small jeera-1/2 Tspn
• Coriander Leaves- few
• Curry leaves- few
• Gingely Oil- 1 Tspn

Method:

• In a pan, pour oil and add the onion and saute well, once it becomes translucent add the curry leaves,tomatoes and saute again. Once it becomes cool, add this to the blender and ground as a fine paste.
• In a pressure cooker add oil, when it heats up, add all the spices in the ingredients and saute well.
• Add the green chilies and ginger garlic paste and saute until the masala smell goes from it.
• Add the sliced large onion and saute again, now add the bones and the grounded paste and pressure cook for 5 whistles or until the bones cooked well.
• After the whistle sets off, open it and add the coriander leaves and serve hot with rice,idli or idiyappam.

Tips:

"Adjust the spice powders as per your spicy level.

Since we added all the spices, i didn't use the garam masala, but if you add it, it doesn't harm the curry.

Gingely oil is best for this curry, however you can add the ordinary oil as well."

 

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Ada Pradaman

I wish all my dearest readers a very happy vishu :) Its been always fun that I spent with my family in India for Vishu and I miss those days. Next to vishu kani, comes the sadya, the last and the best dish served in the sadya would be a perfect Payisam, and if its a Ada pradaman then it makes the day fulfilled. Its a little tedious not with the ingredients but with the time it takes. Either you could try with a readymade palada or you can make it at home too. Readymade adas are nowadays available in markets and it makes it easy.

Always remember to soak the palada for at least 10 mins in hot water so that it cooks well. Other ingredients includes just the jaggery and the coconut milk and you are all set for the making. Ada pradaman is actually made with two different kinds, one with the jaggery and the other one with milk and sugar. The recipe which I made is by the jaggery and soon will catch you with the milk recipe too which is named as palada pradaman. As like other payisam you have to first set with the three kinds of coconut milk which is onnaam paal(1st extract), rendaam paal(2nd extract) and then the munaam paal(3rd extract) which is very important. Here you go with the making. 

Ingredients:

• Ada - 1 Cup
• Sabudana(Soaked for 2- 3 hours) and pressure cooked- 1 Cup
• Coconut Milk as follows
• Thick coconut milk-Onaam Paal(1st extract)- 1 Cup
• Rendaam paal(2nd Extract)- 1 Cup
• Muunaam Paal(3rd Extract)- 1 Cup
• Jaggery-250 grams
• Cashews and Raisins- 1/4 Cup
• Ghee- 5 Tspn

Method:

• Cook the readymade ada in the water until it turns soft. Filter it and keep aside.
• In a big heavy bottomed vessel, add the ghee once it becomes hot, add the jaggery and stir well until it becomes thick.
• Add the cooked ada to that and stir again to combine well.
• Add the muunam paal and stir occasionally until it becomes thick.
• Now add the rendaam paal and again stir occasionally until it becomes thick.
• Add the cooked sabudana and add the onnaam pawl and stir continuously until it becomes thick.
• In a separate pan, add little ghee and roast the cashews and raisins and add those to the payisam.
• Add the crushed cardamom and serve.

Tips:

"After adding the 1st and 2nd milk stir occasionally, however be careful not to burn at the bottom and thats why we use a uruli( a thick bottomed vessel used in kerala for making payisam).

If you need more sweet, then you can add it in any point to the payisam while cooking.

Always use fresh coconuts for making payisam and its better if you do not use the frozen or packed coconuts."

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