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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Neer Dosa

Neer dosa the word itself says it all. It’s named so, as the batter prepared for making this should be very much watery. Neer dosa are very much famous in Karnataka and mangalore as well. The beauty of this dosa variety is the process as most types of dosa require the batter to be fermented for a few hours or even a day. However, fermentation can be skipped while preparing a neer dosa.The best side dish for this dosa would be a chicken ghee roast which is coming soon in my blog. However, if you are a vegetarian sambar, chutney (coconut or coriander or spicy tomato or other chutney of choice) would be a best choice as its side dish.

As you see the pictures, they are very much soft, smooth and it just literally melts in your mouth. The texture looks like a thin paper which anyone will fall love with. Especially, this is one of the kid’s favorite. All you need to do is just soak the rice and grind with coconut and you are all set with the batter. Ts very much similar to Kerala Appam, the variation was the fermentation as the neer dosa doesn’t need that.The most interesting fact is using the tawa for making it, as we are not using a dosa pan for making it.Here you go with the making of these cute snow white dosas, a Mangalore signature dish :)
 

Ingredients:

• Raw Rice- 2 Cup
• Coconut Shredded- 1 Cup
• Salt- To Taste
• Water- Atleast 2 cups( it should be very much watery, hence the quantity of water may vary)

Method:

• Soak the rice for atleast 2 hours.
• Grind the rice along with the coconut and grind it to fine paste.
• Add salt and the water and make it watery.
• Pour the batter in a ladle to a non stick tawa/skillet and cook until the dosa is cooked well. Flip other side if needed and fold in four sides and serve hot.

  
Tips:

"The neer dosa doesn’t need fermentation, however if you want to, then you could keep the batter overnight.

You can also add some boiled rice while grinding. However its optional.

Add as much as water needed to make the batter watery."

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Hyderabadi Chicken Dum Biriyani

Who doesn’t love the taste of a perfect biriyani? I bet no non vegetarians does that. Especially the hyderabadi chicken dum biriyani. Hyderabad is always famous for biriyani and even in many other cities, there are certain restaurants which serves exclusively the hyderabadi chicken dum biriyani. Nowadays the fame of biriyani is getting rich day by day. Especially during the weekends everyone would be longing to go restaurants to have a perfect biriyani. Hyderabadi chicken biriyani takes the first place among all the varieties. I never thought I could make a tasty hyderabadi biriyani at home and I thought the making would be tedious as well until I tried it.

This biriyani is not like an usual one, as the entire process is different as the chicken should be kept in refrigerator overnight to get the best result and it should be as dum at the last stage and that how it stands for the name.

Before making it, the vital ingredient would be the roasted onions. It’s very essential as it gives a good flavor and a taste to the biriyani. So, deep fry few onions until it becomes crispy and we use that for the layering process. Also make use big pieces of chickens for it. It goes well with raita and fried chickens. I made raita with the salad tomatoes and cucumber. As I said, it’s made by dum, always use a air tight with thick bottomed container. Also some uses the readymade masala however, I don’t want to compromise on that and I made freshly ground masala powder.I have posted few snaps when I am preparing, it may help you to understand better.
 

Ingredients:
For Marinating Chicken:

• Chicken cut as Big pieces- 1 Lb/ ¾ Kg
• Chili Powder- 1 Tspn
• Coriander Powder- 1 Tspn
• Turmeric Powder- ½ Tspn
• Mint Leaves- 1 Cup
• Coriander Leaves- 1 Cup
• Oil- half Cup
• Green chilies- 3 nos
• Lemon juice- ¼ Cup
• Ginger Garlic Paste- 2 Tspn
• Curd- 1 Tspn
• Grounded Powder(See below)

To Ground as powder:

• Cardamoms- 5 Nos
• Cloves- 4 Nos
• Bay Leaves- 2 Big
• Star Anise- 3 Nos
• Coriander Seeds- 2 Tspn
• Pepper Seeds- 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

To Cook Rice:

• Fried onions( deep fry until it turns crispy)- 1 Cup
• Milk- ¼ Cup
• Saffron- few
• Rose Water- 1 Tspn
• Maida- 1 Cup
• Ghee- 2 Tspn

Method:
For Stuffing:

• To start with, first make the masala powder by grinding all the ingredients under to ground as powder and keep aside.
• 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” along with the grounded powder and keep it in refrigerator overnight.
• The next day, soak the rice for about 1 hour and take the chicken from the refrigerator before you make.
• 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 half 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.

Assembling the pan:

• In the heavy bottomed pan, pour ghee at the bottom and spread it evenly, now, add the marinated chicken pieces (please note chicken is not cooked; it’s the chicken which is marinated overnight).
• 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 15 minutes and change it to low flame and cook in low flame for about 10 minutes.
• After the set time, let it stand for about 5 minutes. Serve hot with raita.

Tips:

"Do not get confused if the chicken will be cooked as we are adding the marinated chicken, as the chicken pieces will be well cooked in the dum itself. Hence don’t be panic on that part.

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

If you don’t want to grind the masala powder, you could use just the readymade garam masala powder.

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

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