RBPlatters

Breaded Red Snapper with Coriander Flavoured Butter

2016-08-22T13:35:00.001+05:30

Fish is always my favorite and this recipe was just so good. I referred the recipe from Chef Sanjeev Kapoor website which was using Pomfret fish and Parsley butter. I tried using red snapper fish and coriander instead. It was just so wonderful and crispy on the outside and the coriander butter was so good with the fish.

Ingredients

Red Snapper fish(whole with just head cutoff and few slits on body)- 5
Red chilli powder - 21/2 teaspoon
Turmeric powder-1/4 teaspoon
Pepper powder - 2 generous pinches
Mustard paste- 2 teaspoon
Crushed Garlic- 2 teaspoon
Lemon Juice- 1 1/4 teaspoon
Egg-1
Bread Crumbs/Rusk Powder - 1 cup
Grated cheddar cheese- 3 to 4 tablespoons
Corn flour - to dust
Oil+Butter- for shallow frying the fish
Salt - as needed
For the butter:
Softened butter - 1/2 cup
Coriander - finely chopped from 5 sprigs
Pepper powder - a pinch or two
Salt - as needed- if using unsalted butter’'

Recipe Preparation

Clean the snapper well.
Mix chilli powder, turmeric powder, salt,crushed garlic, pepper powder, lemon juice, mustard paste in a small bowl.
Set the snapper on a plate and brush the fish with the mixture done above. Make sure the masala gets well inside the slits.
Let the fish marinade for 15 minutes.
For the coriander flavoured butter, take the softened butter in a bowl, add the finely chopped coriander and pepper and salt if needed. Set aside.
Take the egg in a plate and beat it lightly. Mix bread crumbs and cheese in a bowl. Take the corn flour in a plate.
Heat a pan with some oil and butter to shallow fry the fish.
Take the marinated fish and dust it with little corn flour on both sides.
Dip it in the egg and coat it with the bread crumb and cheese mixture well on both sides. Cook it in the heated pan till both sides are crispy and golden brown. Ensure fish is fully cooked.
Serve hot with coriander butter!!

Notes::

1. You can add extra chilli powder if you want it more spicy

2. Use softened butter for making the coriander butter. It should not be nearly melting when making the coriander butter.

Mutton Vegetable Dalcha

2016-04-08T13:34:00.001+05:30

This is a lentil based gravy with mutton and vegetables. It is a super hit with biriyani. Try it and am sure it will get you addicted. The aroma of the gravy just fills your house. Recipe reference jopreetskitchen.com

Ingredients:

Mutton(with bone) - 250 gms
Masoor dal - 1/4 cup
Tamarind paste-1/4 cup
Brinjal(medium sized)-3
Drumstick -1
Big onion - 1 chopped
Ginger garlic paste - 1 tablespoon
Turmeric powder - 1/4 teaspoon
Chilli powder - 1 teaspoon
Fennel seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
Jeera - 1/2 teaspoon
Cloves - 2
Cinnamon -1 small stick
Salt - as needed
To Temper::
Mustard seeds - 1 teaspoon
Jeera -1/4 teaspoon
Red Chillies - 3
Curry leaves - few
Fenugreek seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
Garlic - 4 to 5 small pods

Preparation:

Soak tamarind in warm water for half an hour and extract tamarind paste. Cook masoor dal in cooker with 1 and 1/2 cup water for 2 whistles and set aside.
Wash and clean mutton well.
Heat cooker with 2 teaspoon oil, add the jeera,fennel seeds,clove and cinnamon. Add chopped onions and saute till transparent.
Add ginger garlic paste and saute for 2 minutes. Add the mutton, turmeric powder, chilli powder with little salt just enough for the mutton.
Add some water for mutton to be cooked and close the cooker. Cook for 5 to 6 whistles in medium flame till 1/2 cooked. Chop the vegetables in the meantime.
Now open the cooker once pressure releases, add in the vegetables and cook for 1 more whistle.
Now heat a deep pan with 2 teaspoon oil, temper with mustard seeds,jeera,fenugreek seeds, red chillies, garlic and curry leaves.
Add in the cooked mutton and vegetables(along with water) and mix. Add in the cooked dal and tamarind paste.
Mix everything well and add salt as needed. Add little water if needed and bring everything to a boil in low flame. Switch off after the mutton is cooked and gravy is creamy.
Serve with briyani the best combo or pulao or roti.

Note: Instead of masoor dal you can use toor dal or chana dal too.

Carrot Ginger Lime Juice

2016-04-06T14:34:00.001+05:30

It is a simple recipe and the ginger and lemon adds a beautiful zing to the carrots. You will definitely love this drink. Recipe reference Chef Sanjeev Kapoor website.

Ingredients

Carrots - medium sized -5
Ginger - 1/2 inch piece
Lemon juice - 1 teaspoon
Lemon- 1
Sugar - 1/8 cup
Fresh Mint leaves- 10 to 15
Chilled water - 2 glasses or as needed
Ice cubes – optional

Preparation

Wash and scrape skin of carrots. Pass through juicer to extract juice. I got 1/2 cup of juice from 5 carrots.
Peel skin of ginger completely and extract juice. Mix it with the carrot juice.
To prepare sugar syrup, take a pan add sugar and 1 tablespoon of water and heat and stir till completely dissolved. Switch off and add lemon juice.
Take 2 glasses, add the prepared sugar syrup, cut lemon into slices and add two of them in the glass. Add 5 mint leaves and the carrot ginger juice. Add chilled water as required and stir.
Repeat same for next glass. Add some ice cubes if needed and serve chilled!.

Paneer Macroni/Pasta in Indian Style

2016-03-30T22:20:00.001+05:30

An Indian flavour to the Italian based pasta. As I live in a place where I dont get much of any ingredients to make a variety of international dishes, I thought why not give the Indian touch and I was glad I thought so. Try this simple pasta dish and its super yummy!.

Ingredients

Macaroni - 1 and 1/2 cups
Water - 3 and 1/2 cups to cook macaroni
Salt - 1/4 teaspoon while cooking macroni+as needed
Oil - 2 teaspoon
Butter - 2 teaspoons
Paneer - 200 gms
Ginger garlic paste - 1 1/2 teaspoon
Onions cubed - 1
Tomatoes chopped - 2 small
Slit green chillies - 3
Chilli powder - 1 1/2 teaspoon
Curry powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Garam masala - 1/4 teaspoon
Tomato ketchup - 1 teaspoon
Cheese grated(optional) - 2 teaspoons

Preparation

To cook macaroni, boil water in a deep vessel. Once it starts boiling, add the macaroni, 1/4 tsp salt and few drops of oil. Let it boil for 5 to 6 minutes. The pasta should be soft yet firm. Take a bite and if cooked proceed.
Strain the pasta in a filter and rinse it with running cold water. This is to make sure pasta stays non sticky. Set aside.
Heat a wide kadai, add oil and butter. Add the cubed onions and saute till transparent. Add the green chillies and saute.
Add the ginger garlic paste and saute. Add few drops of water and simmer till raw smell leaves.
Add chopped tomatoes and mix well. Cook till the raw smell leaves.
Add the chiili powder, garam masala, curry powder and little water and mix well. Stir for a minute.
Add in the grated paneer. Add 1tbsp of hot water and stir fry till paneer cooked.
Add in the cooked pasta/macaroni and mix well for the masalas to combine. Add salt and mix. Simmer for two minutes. Add grated cheese and switch off.

Notes:

Make sure the pasta is cooked well before proceeding. Oil is added while boiling to prevent stickiness.

2016-03-28T18:40:00.001+05:30

Mulligatawny Soup

This is my favourite soup and its Srilankans national soup too. I first tasted this soup in Anjappar Restaraunt and loved it. Now this is the soup I order every time. Saw the recipe from Samayal Samayal cookshow by Chef Venkatesh Bhat.

Ingredients:

Masoor dal - 100g
Oil - 2 tablespoon
Big onion - 2 sliced
Dessicated coconut -100g
1 green apple - sliced(seeds removed)
Jeera - 20g
Jeera powder - 15g
Whole black peppercorns - 20g
Garlic - 10 cloves
Turmeric powder -1/2 teaspoon
Chilli powder - 1 teaspoon
Sugar - around 15g
Salt - as needed
Coriander stems chopped - 1fistful
Curry leaves - 1 fistful
Green chillies - 2 sliced
Milk - 100ml
Curry powder - 1tsp
Lime juice - from 1 lemon
Cooked rice – for garnish

Preparation:

Cook masoor dal in pressure cooker with about 1 ltr water till it reaches a mashy consistency (5 to 6 whistles). Set aside.
Heat a deep, heavy pan. Add 2tbsp of oil and add the sliced onions and fry till golden brown. Add the dessicated coconut and fry for a minute.
Add the sliced green apple and fry for two minutes. Add the jeera and whole pepper and saute well. Add the garlic cloves and saute well.
Add the cooked dal along with the water and mix. Add the turmeric powder, chilli powder,salt and mix well.
Add the jeera powder, sugar and add a little more than 1/2 ltr water and cover and cook for 15 minutes.
Add the fresh curry leaves and cut coriander stems. Add the sliced green chillies.
Add milk mix well. Add the curry powder and mix well. Let the soup boil for a minute. Add cooked rice for garnish(about 1 fistful). Add the lemon juice just before serving. Serve hot!

Notes:

Do not skip the green apple, It gives a beautiful flavour. In case you want to strain the soup, do not waste the pulp, grind it to a chutney and use it because it is full of nutrients. However strain it before adding milk.The soup I had in the restaurant was not strained, but in the cookshow the chef strained the soup. I prefer it as such. You can even add cream in addition to the milk to make it more rich.

Nannari(sarasaparilla) Sarbath using Homemade Nannari Syrup

2016-03-25T16:51:00.000+05:30

People from Tamilnadu will very well know this sarbath (chilled drink). This is one of my favourite natural coolers during the summer season. The nannari root has a magical cooling property. These roots are available in naatu marunthu kadai(country drug store).Try this at home and I am sure you will love it. Homemade is best as it contains no preservatives. Recipe inspired from SharmisPassions blog.

Ingredients:

For the nannari syrup:
Nannari roots - 50gm (1/2 cup)
Sugar - 250 gm(1cup)
Water - 2 1/2 cups
Lemon juice - 2 teaspoon
For the sarbath:
Nannari syrup - 2-3 tablespoon
Chilled water - 1 glass
Ice cubes - as needed
Lemon juice - from quarter of a lemon(or more as per liking)
Method:

First, for the nannari syrup, clean the nannari roots well with water 2 or 3 times to get rid of the sand.
Dry it in a newspaper for about 15 minutes till there is no moisture.
With a help of a pestle, crush the roots so that it loosens up. Break open the root and discard the white part which is inside. Collect the brown part alone for all the roots.
Put this in a mixer and pulse it one or two times to break it further. Do not grind.
Boil the water till bubbles start appearing. Switch off and add the roots and close it with a lid. Let it stay overnight like that.
After that, double fold a muslin cloth and strain the soaked syrup. Add the sugar and mix well till dissolved.
Now heat the syrup till a single string consistency is achieved. It may take up to 20 mins.
Once done, switch off (syrup will be like honey consistency) and let it cool completely. Now add the 2 tsp lemon juice. Store in a clean container in the fridge.
For the sarbath, in a glass, take 2 or 3 tablespoon of the syrup, add the chilled water, ice cubes and mix well. Add the lemon juice and mix and serve!. Heaven I must say!!

Notes:
This does not contain preservative, so better to store in fridge. Store bought syrups are usually bright yellow. You can add food coloring while the syrup boils if you want too. But I preferred the natural way. I can surely say homemade nannari sarbath tastes way more good than the store bought!.

Banana Kesari/Banana Sheera

2016-01-25T14:52:00.001+05:30

I made this for Thai Poosam yesterday and it was so good. Its very simple with a melt in mouth texture.

Ingredients:

1. Rava - 3/4 cup
2. Warm Milk - 1/4 cup
3. Saffron - a generous pinch
4. Sugar - 1/2 cup(or more according to sweetness of banana)
5. Bananas - I used 5 of small variety. If you are using big, 1 is enough.
6. Water - 1 and 1/2 cups
7. Cashews and Raisins for garnish
8. Cardamom powder - 1 pinch
9. Ghee - 1tablespoon for roasting rava+3 tablespoon or more as needed.

Method:

1. In a wide kadai, heat 1 tbsp ghee and add the rava. Roast in low flame for about 5 minutes. This step yields a good texture to the kesari. Do not let the rava burn.
2. Add cardamom powder and mix.
3. Soak saffron in warm milk. Mash the bananas and add it to the rava and mix well.
4. In a vessel, boil water vigourously. Add this to the rava kadai (keep in low flame) and quickly mix well. There should be no lumps. Be careful not to splatter your hand.
5. Add the saffron milk mixture and stir well. Once the mixture gets thick, add sugar. It will begin to loosen up. Stir well so that sugar is blended in.
6. Add the 3 tablespoons of ghee little by little and stir till the kesari starts leaving the sides of the kadai. Fry the cashews and raisins separately in little ghee and add it to the kesari and mix . Serve!.

Notes:

Use a wide and somewhat deep kadai to avoid splattering in your hands. Also be conscious to mix without lumps.
Sugar can be adjusted as per taste. This was just right for us.
Roast rava well in ghee in low flame but do not burn it. It will totally alter the flavour.
This measurement is sufficient for 3 to 4 people.

Maarkandam Soup/ Nenju Elumbu Soup/Mutton Rib Bone Soup

2016-01-24T12:51:00.000+05:30

This is my winning (Wildcard) recipe entry in the BetterButter Soups,Smoothies and Beverages contest. This soup is very

helpful for cough and wheezing problem.

Ingredients:

Mutton - Rib bone pieces/Nenju elumbu - 200gm
Coriander seeds - 2 tsp
Black Peppercorns - 2 tsp
Jeera - 2 tsp
Fennel seeds - 1 tsp
Small onions - 10
Ginger - little more than 1/2 inch piece
Garlic pods(I used the large variety) - 4 to 5
Salt - as needed
Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp
Pepper powder (optional)
Gingelly oil - 1 tbsp +1 tsp
Coriander leaves - 1 small bunch
Water - 2 cups

Method:

First clean the mutton bones well with water mixed with little turmeric. Rinse well.
Dry roast coriander seeds, peppercorns,jeera,fennel seeds, small onion, ginger and garlic in medium low flame for about two minutes. Dont let the spices burn. Set aside to cool.
Pulse the dry roasted spices in mixie for about 5 to 6 seconds to a coarse mixture.
In the pressure cooker, add the mutton, the ground coarse spice mixture, turmeric powder,salt, coriander leaves and water. Add 1tbsp of gingelly oil. Close the cooker, after 1 whistle simmer for 15 minutes till the bones are tender to eat.
Open and add more pepper powder only if needed and drizzle 1 tsp of gingelly oil on top. Serve hot!.

Mutton Briyani Recipe - using Pressure Cooker

2016-01-10T23:55:00.000+05:30

Whats Sunday without non veg?. And what makes it more special is everyones favourite biriyani. This is the recipe we follow in our home for long and my husband loves it. You may be bit hesitant seeing the long procedure. But its definitely worth the try. And once you master it, making it is just a breeze. Follow the recipe as such and its sure to be your favourite. Give it a try and let me know.

Ingredients:

For marinating and cooking the mutton:

Marinating the mutton:

Mutton - 300gms
Ginger garlic paste - 1teaspoon
Chilli powder - 2teaspoon
Thick curd -1tsp
Turmeric powder - a pinch
Salt - just as required for the mutton alone.

Cooking the mutton:

Small onion - peeled and chopped - 1/2cup packed
Tomato -1 chopped
Coriander leaves - 1 small bunch
Water - as required to cook mutton
Oil - 1 and 1/2 tsp

For the biriyani masala paste:

Green chilli - 8( I used long variety)
Fennel seeds - 1tsp
Cinnamon - 1 inch piece
Cardamom -1
Cloves - 2
Cashews - around 10
Ginger Garlic paste - 1tsp
Ghee - 1tsp

For preparing briyani:

Seeraga Samba rice - 1 and 1/2 cups
Big onion - 1 sliced
Mint leaves - 1 fistful
Coriander leaves - 1 fistful
Salt - as needed
Garam Masala - 1/4 tsp
Lemon juice - just a little squeeze
Water - Mutton cooked water + Coconut milk - 2.5cups for 1.5 cups rice.

To temper:

Ghee + Refined oil - 1tsp + 2tsp
Cinnamon - little piece
Clove -1
Bay leaf -1
Star anise -1
Fennel seeds - 1/2tsp

Method:

1. Clean and wash mutton pieces well. Marinate them with the items given under "Marinating the mutton" section for 15 minutes.

2. Wash rice and soak it water and set aside.

3. Peel the small onions and chop them, Chop tomato.

4. Once mutton is marinated, heat cooker with oil, add small onion, saute for a minute. Add tomato, coriander leaves and saute for a minute, Add the marinated mutton, water and close the cooker. Simmer it after 1 whistle till the mutton is 3/4 cooked(about 7 mins). Dont let it cook completely. In the forthcoming processes, mutton will be cooked further. So see that it is 3/4 cooked but not less than that also.

5. While the mutton is cooking, lets prepare the biriyani paste. Roast the ingredients under "For the biriyani masala paste" section except the ginger garlic paste with 1tsp ghee just for a minute. Let it cool.

6. In a small mixie jar, add the roasted items with ginger garlic paste and little to water to grind to smooth paste.

7. Extract coconut milk and set aside. Slice the onion and keep ready mint and coriander leaves.

8. Once the mutton is 3/4 cooked, drain the mutton cooked water and keep aside. You need the mutton cooked water (stock). DO NOT DISCARD it. Measure the water (I got 1 and 1/2 cups) and coconut milk to 2.5 cups. If needed add extra water to make 2.5 cups. Keep aside in a vessel. Set the mutton aside.

9. In a cooker, add the items under "To temper".

10. Add the sliced big onion and saute till lightly browned.

11. Add the mint and coriander leaves and saute. Add the ground biriyani masala paste. Add 1 or 2 tsp of water and mix well and simmer the flame for five minutes. Stir occasionally. This is for the raw smell to leave.

12. Add the cooked mutton and mix well. Simmer for five minutes. Stir occasionally so that the mutton does not stick to the bottom.

13. Add the garam masala and mix.

14. Add the mutton cooked water and coconut milk (Both jointly consituting 2.5 cups) which you have set aside in a vessel. Mix well. Add required salt and mix well(remember there is salt in mutton as well. Adjust according to that).

15. Drain the water completely from the soaked rice, and add it to the cooker. Mix well. Close the cooker without weight. Once steam starts coming add the weight and immediately simmer the flame.

16. Simmer for ten mins. Switch off and let the pressure release by itself. Open the cooker , squeeze a bit of lemon and mix lightly. Serve hot with raita and egg!.

Notes:

Be careful with the water quantity. You dont want to your briyani to turn soggy. Just 2.5 cups(mutton stock+coconut milk+water if needed) for 1.5 cups pre-soaked rice.
I use seerga samba as it is the one which is best for this dish. If unavailable use basmati.

Methi Thepla

2016-01-09T23:14:00.002+05:30

I had a bunch of fenugreek leaves and wanted to try something different, when I came across this dish. This is like a spiced flavourful roti which can be had as such or with raita. Lets get to the recipe.

Recipe reference: FlavoursOfMumbai

Ingredients:

2 cups wheat flour
½ cup besan flour
3 tbsp ghee for the dough + more as needed for frying the thepla
1 cup fresh fenugreek leaves(Methi leaves)
Salt as needed
2 tbsp red chili powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tbsp coriander seeds+1tbsp jeera + 1 tbsp fennel all ground to fine powder
100 ml yogurt mixed with little water
2 tbsp water (adjust as needed)
1 tbsp ginger garlic paste

Note: If you have readymade fennel powder,coriander powder and jeera powder you can use 1tbsp of each instead.

Method:

1. Pluck the stems of fenugreek leaves. Wash them well, chop them.

2. Add the wheat flour, besan flour, spice powders, salt, chopped fenugreek leaves in a bowl and mix well.

3. Add in the yogurt mixed with water and knead well. Add in the 3tbsp ghee little by little. Knead well with your hands.If needed add extra water and knead to form a non sticky dough.

4. If the mixture is too sticky add a bit of flour to adjust, if its too dry add little ghee. Once you obtain a soft non sticky dough, set aside covered for 10 mins.

5. Shape round balls from the dough and roll them with a rolling pin to flat discs like roti.

6. Heat dosa tawa, when hot add the roti and cook them drizzling with ghee as needed. Let it cook evenly on both sides by flipping it. Serve hot with raita!.

Banana Chocolate Brownies made with Jaggery

2016-01-08T20:23:00.000+05:30

Well it may sound strange to make brownies with jaggery but I just tried and it tasted awesome. These are chewy, fudgy brownies not fluffy like cake but tasty with a crumbly crust and chewy texture inside. I referred the recipe from here. The original recipe used brown sugar I replaced with jaggery.

Ingredients:

Maida - 3/4 cup
Chocochips (I used Harima brand)- 2/3 cup minus 1 tbsp
Powdered jaggery - little less than 2/3 cup
Banana (ripe) - 1
Vanilla essence - 1/2tsp
Egg -1
Butter (softened) - 1/2 cup
Salt - 1/4tsp

Method:

1. Melt butter in a pan in medium low flame. Remove from the heat and add in the chocochips and stir with a whisk till the chips are completely melted and combined.

2. Beat the egg slightly, add the powdered jaggery, banana, vanilla essence, salt and beat well with a electric beater for 2 minutes till everything is mixed well.

3. Add the melted chocolate mixture to the above mixture and just give it a mix. Add in the flour little by little and beat well till combined completely.

4. Preheat oven to 165C for ten mins. Meanwhile grease the cake tin with butter. Spoon the batter into the tin.

5. Bake the batter in the preheated oven for 15 to 20 mins till the top turns crumbly and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Set it to 15 mins then if needed bake for extra 5 mins. Do not overbake and burn the brownie.

6. Cut the brownie into squares and serve with icecream, chocolate sauce. Garnish with chopped nuts if desired.

Chocolate Arrowroot Biscuit Rolls

2015-12-18T14:53:00.000+05:30

This is a recipe I came across in Sanjeev Kapoors site. I had a Nutrichoice Arrowroot biscuit packet lying at home and accidentally came across this recipe. It would make a quick and yummy treat for christmas.

Ingredients:

For the dough/outer covering:

Arrowroot biscuits- 12
Powdered sugar - 2 tablespoon
Cocoa powder - 1 tablespoon
Milk - as needed ( around 1 to 2 tbsp)

For the filling:

Dessicated coconut - 1 cup
Cocoa powder - 2tbsp
Powdered sugar 3 tbsp
Cardamom powder - 1/2tsp
Vanilla essence - 1tsp
Butter - 2tbsp

Method:

1. To prepare the dough, powder the biscuits in mixie. Add the powdered biscuits, sugar and cocoa powder in a bowl. Add milk little by little and form a soft dough.

2. For the filling, mix all the ingredients under "for the filling" section in another bowl.

3. Spread a clean plastic cover/sheet (if you have have a cling wrap it would be more easy), I didnt have cling wrap so used a clean plastic cover. Grease it with some butter and roll the dough with the chapathi roller pin to a rough circle.

4. Spread the filling in the middle and press down a little. Now start rolling from the top to bottom (along with the sheet) and form a cylinder. Roll it a bit tight. Seal the edges by tying a knot.

5. Pop it in the freezer for 2 hrs. Take it out, release the edges and remove the plastic sheet. Cut into circular slices and serve!.

Notes:

Take care to ensure mixie is dry before powdering the biscuits.
The original recipe calls for 3tbsp cocoa in the filling and 2 tbsp in the dough. I made the filling with 3 tbsp but it seemed to have the bitterness of cocoa. So I have given it as 2 tbsp here. Just add 2 tbsp and if its not enough add more after tasting. I used weikfield cocoa powder.
Add milk little by little. Adjust as per requirement.
You can add chopped nuts in the filling too.

#KidsDelightChocoGiveaway

linking this to Kids delight event link1 and 2

Kozhi Milagu Curry/ Chicken Pepper Curry

2015-10-25T22:24:00.001+05:30

Today being a Sunday, that too after the vegetarian days of Purataasi month and Navaratri, I decided to cook non veg. I saw this recipe in Chef Venkatesh Bhat's cookshow. It was quite simple and looked tempting. He also mentioned it as Superstar Rajnikanth's favorite ;-). I usually love pepper flavour and my husband is a big fan of chicken. So, this dish was a super hit today.

Ingredients:

1. Chicken - 400 gms

2. Big onion - 2 medium size(chopped)

3. Tomato - 2 small (chopped)

4. Ginger garlic paste- 1 &1/2tsp

5. Chilli powder - 1tsp

6. Turmeric powder - 1/4tsp

7. Coriander powder - 1tsp

8. Salt - as needed

9. Curry leaves - about half a fistful

10. Oil - 1&1/2 tbsp

To roast and powder:

1. Peppercorns/Milagu - a fistful

2. Fennel seeds/Sombu - about 1/3 of the pepper

Dry roast these two ingredients and make it a fine powder in mixie.

Method:

1. Clean and wash the chicken well.

2. In a wide bottomed vessel, heat oil, add the finely chopped onion and fry till it is golden brown (till when it starts caramelizing). There is a mild sweetness to the dish which is rendered by the onion.

3. Add the ginger garlic paste and fry till the raw smell leaves.

4. Add the tomato and saute till the raw smell vanishes and add in the curry leaves and stir. Curry leaves always go very well with pepper flavour.

5. Add in the chilli powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder and salt and mix well. Add in the chicken and mix well with the masala.

6. Add 1 and 1/2 to 2 tsp (as per your taste) of the ground pepper and fennel powder and stir well. Add around 1/2 cup water.

7. Let it boil till the chicken is cooked and the gravy reaches a semi dry consistency. Do not add more water else the consistency will not be reached and if you let it boil for long time there is a chance of chicken being overcooked. Winner combination with all Indian breads and hot rice and rasam!.

Multigrain Atta Halwa/Atta Halwa/Godhumai Halwa- with Jaggery

2015-10-17T22:05:00.001+05:30

This is one of the easiest and healthiest sweets to make. I referred the recipe from divinetaste.com. In that website the halwa was made using wheat flour. But I had only aashirvad multigrain atta at home. However, I decided to give it a try and I just loved the result. The dish has a mild sweetness and is so tasty. Healthy too with the goodness of grains and jaggery.

There are two important things to note in this recipe. Its a very easy to make sweet but you have to do these two steps with care. The first one is the roasting part of the flour. It has to be done continuously atleast for 9 to 10 or 11 mins in low flame. Take care not to burn it. However, the color will change darker. If you do not roast the flour for an ample time, you will get a floury taste in the dish and it will be uncooked.

Second, is while pouring the jaggery syrup, you should be careful avoiding splatters on yourself but you should also assure there are no lumps formed by constant stirring.

Ingredients:

Multigrain Atta/Wheat flour- 3/4 cup
Jaggery, powdered -3/4 cup
Water - 1 and 1/2 cup
Cardamom crushed - 2 or 3
Ghee - 3tbsp + 1tsp for toasting nuts
Salt - tiny pinch(optional)
Nuts ( I used badam) - for garnish

Method:

1. Heat the powdered jaggery with 1 and 1/2 cup water in a pan. Dont let it boil, Strain and set aside.(It will be a runny syrup only not to worry).

2. In a non stick kadai, heat the ghee till it melts. Add the flour and roast it on low heat. As mentioned earlier, you will get a toasted aroma and you will notice the color of the flour gets darker. This takes 10 or 11 mins.

3. Now, add the cardamom powder and a tiny pinch of salt (it is optional, in sweets a tiny pinch of salt enhances the flavour and sweetness). and give a quick stir.

4. Now add the jaggery syrup carefully stirring continuously to avoid lumps and be careful to avoid splatter. I used my ballon whisk.

5. You will see it all comes together very soon to a mass of halwa consistency, so you have to act very fast when adding the syrup.

6. Toast nuts with ghee and add it to the halwa. Serve and enjoy!.

Notes:

The above quantity is sufficient for 4 people. Do not be carried away by the minimal amount of flour when roasting. You can see how it miraculously doubles up on adding the syrup.
The dish has a mild sweetness which I loved. If you like your sweetness to be on the higher side, increase the jaggery and water accordingly.

Ragi Sweet Balls/ Ragi Inipu Urundai

2015-10-14T15:59:00.001+05:30

This is a very simple recipe that I saw in aval vikatan magazine. It can be made in a jiffy once you keep all the ingredients ready. It is a very nutritious recipe too since it contains ragi and jaggery and both are rich in iron. It just melts in your mouth. Even kids will love it.

Ingredients:

Ragi flour - 1 cup
Jaggery (powdered, I used achu vellam)- 1cup
Cashew - 10 to 12 broken
Cardamom powder - 1/2tsp
Ghee- just to grease hands

Method:

1. In a kadai, dry roast the ragi flour in medium low or low flame. This is the most important step. It needs to be roasted till a nice fragrance arises. Take care not to burn the flour by stirring continuously. If the flour is not properly roasted you will get a uncooked flour taste in your balls. Transfer the roasted flour in a wide bowl.

2. Simultaneously, heat powdered jaggery along with little water just to immerse the jaggery till 3/4 level. Once the jaggery dissolves switch off the stove after a single boil. Strain the syrup and set aside.

3. Add the broken cashews and cardamom to the flour and mix well. Add the jaggery syrup little by little till you are able to form a big ball with the dough. You need to make sure there is no lumps formed in this step.

4. Grease your hands with little ghee and form small balls with the dough. Enjoy the tasty nutritious balls!

Banjara Gosht/Mutton curry in Gypsy Style

2015-09-07T17:07:00.001+05:30

While I was browsing for mutton curry recipes to prepare for the weekend, I came across this recipe from Chef Sanjeev Kapoor's website. It was so delicious and lip smacking. Its has such a simple procedure too.

Ingredients:

Mutton- 350gm
Bay leaves -2
Cloves -2
Peppercorns - 5
Dry red chilli -3
Onion sliced - 1
Ginger garlic paste - 1tbsp
Red chilli powder - 1 tbsp
Coriander powder - 1tbsp
Turmeric powder -1/4tsp
Yogurt - 2tsp
Salt -as needed
Oil - 2 to 3 tbsp
Coriander seeds crushed - for garnish

Method:

1. Cook mutton for 3 whistles in medium flame( or till half cooked) with salt and enough water. Drain and reserve the stock(mutton cooked water).

2. Heat oil in the cooker, add the bay leaf, cloves, broken red chillis and peppercorns. Saute for a minute.

3. Add the sliced onions, saute till translucent.

4. Add the ginger garlic paste and saute til raw smell leaves.

5. Add the red chilli powder, turmeric and coriander powder and saute for 2 mins.

6. Add the half cooked mutton and mix well. Now add the mutton stock and pressure cook for 4 or more whistles on medium flame till it is cooked well.

7.Open the lid and adjust salt. whisk yogurt separately and add in the gravy stirring well. Just give it a single boil and switch off.

8. Garnish with crushed coriander seeds and serve with hot steamed rice!.

Notes:

You can cook the gravy in pan too but it takes quite sometime. So if you are patient enough you can go for it :).

Baby Corn Milagu Varuval/Baby Corn Pepper Fry

2015-07-18T16:06:00.000+05:30

This is a recipe I saw in Chef Venkatesh Bhat's cookery show and is a wonderful snack. Its specially good to eat in rainy weather. If you love pepper flavour then this is for you.

Ingredients:

Baby Corn - roughly chopped (2 cups)
Rice flour - 1 and 1/2 tsp (see notes below)
Corn flour - 3/4 tsp (see notes below)
Ginger Garlic paste - 1tsp
Pepper powder - 2 tsp
Curry leaves - few
Freshly ground pepper - 1tsp (for garnish)
Salt -as needed
Lemon juice - 1/2 tsp
Oil - for deep frying

Method:

1. Chop baby corn roughly. First we need to parboil the baby corn. To do this take about 3 to 4 cups of water in a vessel and let it boil. Then add baby corn with a pinch of salt and let it boil for about 3 minutes.

2. Strain the water, take the baby corn, rice flour, corn flour, pepper powder, lemon juice, ginger garlic paste along with it. Mix well. Finely chop curry leaves and mix well such that the curry leaves stick to the corn. Let this marinate for 10 to 15 mins.

3. Once marinated, heat oil in pan, and fry the baby corn till golden brown. Since we have already parboiled the baby corn, once it turns golden brown we can take it out. It will be very crisp. Drain in tissue paper and add freshly ground pepper on top. Serve hot!.

Notes:

The corn flour and rice flour quantity should be in such a way that the pepper and curry leaves stick well to the corn. Adjust accordingly. Dont add too much also.

Adding freshly ground pepper towards the end gives a great flavour. I just used my mortar and pestle to make the freshly ground pepper for garnish.
Curry leaves and pepper are a great combo.
Always serve hot.

Gulab Jamun with Milk Powder

2015-07-05T00:51:00.003+05:30

Gulab Jamun has always been my favourite sweet from childhood. These lovely balls make my mouth water whenever I see them in sweet shops. However, my favourite is what my Amma makes. Though she makes from a store bought mix, she makes it so perfectly that they melt in mouth instantly. When I was small, she used to make for my birthdays and diwali and I used to just relish them. Now after marriage, I tried the same store bought mix and got perfect results. But I have always wanted to try gulab jamun using homemade mix. I browsed the internet and got a recipe using milk powder. But my first attempt at the jamuns using milk powder turned out very hard :(. I was very disappointed.

However I got the courage to make them once again. This time I used a recipe I had saved long ago in a word document and the results were just perfect. I was so happy and even my husband loved it a lot. So here is the recipe. Just follow it exactly and you will get perfect results. Read the notes section for the hints to get the perfect jamun.

Ingredients:

Milk powder - 1/2 cup
Maida/all purpose flour - 1/4 cup
Ghee - 1 tbsp
Milk - 1/4 cup (if needed add more or less. )
Baking soda - 1/4tsp
Oil and ghee(if using) - as required to deep fry

For the sugar syrup:

Sugar - 1.5 cups
Water - 2 cups
Rose essence - 3 to 4 drops

Method:

1. Mix milk powder, maida and baking soda in a wide bowl.

2. Add milk gradually and gather to form a dough. The dough will be sticky but soft. Just knead very slightly for 1 min or so. Do not over knead or knead too hard.

3. Now we can start making the sugar syrup. In a heavy bottomed vessel, take the sugar and water and boil it for few mins. Maybe for 8 mins in medium low flame.

4. Once the sugar syrup is done, switch off and add rose essence. Heat oil in kadai, Grease your hands with little ghee and make smooth and small balls out of the dough. Deep fry them keeping the flame in low. Roll them gently to cook evenly.

5. Cook 5 to 6 balls at a time till deep golden brown and drain them and add it to the hot sugar syrup. Wait atleast 1 hr or 2 hrs so that the jamuns absorb the sugar syrup well. Enjoy your jamuns!.

Notes:

Dont knead the dough too much.
Always fry the jamuns in low flame or medium flame maximum so that insides also get evenly cooked. The oil should be hot enough to cook the jamuns but not too hot as to burn them. If the oil temp is very low in between increase to medium if required.
You can add cardamom powder instead of rose essence. Also some nuts in sugar syrup if preferred.
The most important thing while shaping the jamuns is that the balls should be smooth without any cracks. If there are cracks the balls will open up on frying.
Also, another thing to note is that, the balls should be shaped small as they increase in size when they absorb the syrup. Almost double. You can see the difference in size in the last two pics.
You can also use ghee and oil in 50:50 ratio for frying. It sure adds extra taste. I always do it like that.
Give minimum 1 hr standing time.

Banana Appam/ Vazhaipazha appam/Banana Paniyaram

2015-06-30T22:01:00.002+05:30

I saw this recipe in Dinakaran newspaper and wanted to give it a try. I dont like bananas yet wanted to try this as this was made with wheat flour and jaggery and seemed to be a very healthy recipe.

In the original recipe they had deep fried the appam but I wanted to reduce the calories in it so made it in paniyaram pan. The appams were so soft and spongy with a very nice banana flavour. Even the banana hater like me loved it. Tastes best when served hot.

Ingredients:

Banana - 1
Jaggery/Vellam - 1/2 cup
Wheat flour/Godhumai maavu - 1 cup
Rice flour/Arisi maavu - 1 tbsp
Cardamom powder - 1 pinch
Cooking soda - 1/4tsp
Salt - a pinch
Milk (optional) - 2tsp
Oil/Ghee - as needed
Water - as needed

Method:

1. Heat kadai, dissolve jaggery in 1/4 cup of water till it dissolves. Strain in a vessel to remove impurities.

2. Mash the banana well and add it to the strained jaggery syrup and mix well. Add the flours, soda,salt,cardamom powder and mix well.

3. Add the milk if using, and enough water to make a thick batter.

4. Heat paniyaram pan, apply ghee/oil on the moulds (I used ghee). Add a tbsp of batter to each of the moulds and cover the pan. Cook for about 2 mins till nicely browned and flip and cook without closing for another 1 or 2 mins till completely cooked. Do this on low medium flame for the inside to get cooked well.

Notes:

You can also deep fry the appams.
Ghee sure gives a nice flavour.

Chettinad Fish Fry/ Chettinad Meen Varuval

2015-06-21T23:12:00.001+05:30

I came across this recipe in a Chettinad cookbook which my dad presented me. It came out good so sharing it here.The specialty of this dish is that it has a crispy outer layer to it. Gives a nice twist to our usual fish fry.

Ingredients:

Fish (Vanjaram/Seer fish) - 1/2 kg
Chilli powder - 2tsp
Kuzhambu masala thool- 1 and 1/2tsp
Turmeric powder - 2 pinches
Salt - as needed
Lime juice - 1 tsp

To roast and grind:

Channa dal - 1.5tsp
Urad dal - 1.5 tsp
Mustard/Kadugu - 1tsp
Curry leaves - few
Red chillies - 2
Pepper - 1tsp

Method:

1. Clean and the fish thoroughly.

2. In a bowl, add the chilli powder, kuzhambu masala thool, turmeric powder,salt , lime juice and make a thick paste. Add water if needed to make the paste.

3. Marinate the cleaned fish with the masala paste. Let it rest for 1 hr minimum.

4. Dry roast the ingredients under 'To roast and grind'. Grind to a coarse powder.

5. Take the marinated fish. Coat the fish with the powder prepared from the previous step.

6. Heat oil in the pan, place the fish and cook on low flame on both sides till nicely browned and well cooked. Cooking in low flame gives a crispy layer to the fish.

7. Do not keep on turning the fish as it may tear the layer sticking to it.

Easy Chocochip cookies and Whipped Cream Dessert

2015-06-19T23:55:00.001+05:30

This is one of the dessert ideas which you can make within ten minutes if you have 3 ingredients in hand. Chocochip cookies, whipped cream and chocolate syrup.

I had baked some chocochip cookies and had 4 or 5 left. I had bluebird whipping powder packet in hand so thought of this idea. The outcome was really great and I got the feeling of eating an icecream with chocolate and nuts. :). This would be a delight for kids as well as for guests. It is very simple yet very tasty.

Ingredients:

Chocochip cookies - 4 or 5 ( more if you have small sized ones. Mine were quite big)
Chocolate syrup - as needed ( I used hersheys brand)
Blue bird whipping cream powder - 50g.
Ice cold water - 1/4 cup for making whipped cream

Method:

Crumble the cookies. Beat the whipping cream powder and ice cold water until soft peaks form. It is just a layered dessert so soft peaks will be sufficient.

2. In a glass, start assembling the dessert. Place some whipped cream, then some cookie crumble and drizzle some chocolate syrup. Repeat till you reach the rim of the glass.
3. Garnish as per your preference. I just drizzled some choco syrup and placed a cherry for 1 glass and dusted some cocoa powder and choco syrup for the other.
4. Place in refrigerator for half an hr or till chilled. Serve!.

Notes:

The above dessert can be modified as per your tastes. For example, if you have leftover chocolate cake you can use them instead of the cookies, you can add chopped fruits as a layer, or even jam. You can even add nuts of your choice.So let your imagination fly :)
My cream layer was bigger as I do not like too much crunchiness. So if you want your dessert to be more crunchy make the cookie layer big.
If you plan to use the whipped cream later, refrigerate till use.

Sala Meen Fry/Sardines fry

2015-06-14T17:57:00.000+05:30

I usually love fish especially small fish like sala meen and nethili fish. These tiny fish called sala meen are very good for our skin and hair growth. Also they are good source of omega 3 fatty acids and calcium and folate.

I saw this recipe in a Zee tamil channel program called Anjaraipetti. In the show they used nethili meen. I use the recipe for both sala meen and nethili meen and both come out very tasty. In the original recipe they cooked according to Kerala style using coconut oil, but I use normal refined oil as I dont use coconut oil much for cooking. So, if you want a typical Kerala flavour you can use coconut oil. This recipe is very flavourful as such with a wonderful curry leaves aroma.

Ingredients:

Sala meen/Sardines - around 25 to 30
Garlic - 7 to 8 pearls
Ginger - 1 small piece
Peppercorns - 3/4 tsp
Fennel seeds - 1/2tsp
Chilli powder - 2 and 1/2 tsp (I used homemade)
Turmeric powder - 2 pinches
Salt - as needed
Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp
Lime juice - from half a lemon
Oil - 1/2 tsp
Oil - to shallow fry
Curry leaves - a bunch

Method:

1. Grind together garlic,ginger,peppercorns,fennel seeds, chilli powder, turmeric, coriander powder,salt, lime juice,1/2tsp oil along with little water if needed to a thick paste. Dont grind it too watery.

2. Clean the fish well and marinate it with the ground masala and set aside for 30 mins.

3. Once the marination is done, heat a pan with oil for shallow frying. Spread the curry leaves such that it forms a horizontal bed and place the fish over the curry leaves as shown below.

4. There evolves a lovely curry leaves aroma from the pan. Place the flame in medium low and once the bottom turns a brown color gently flip to the other side using a spoon. It may take 2 to 21/2 mins. Cook on the other side too. Repeat the process for all fish. You can have the crispy curry leaves as such and it tastes so good. I love to eat them as such. So dont miss it if you are a curry leaves lover.

Veg Macaroni / Pasta Recipe

2015-06-06T13:50:00.002+05:30

I came across this recipe in Aval Vikatan and tried it. It came out awesome so wanted to share here. I had a packet of macaroni lying idle for 1 month and this was the perfect recipe for it. This recipe would be sufficient for 3 people. And its healthy as well as we add vegetables and spinach.

Ingredients:

1. Pasta/Macroni - 1 packet (200gms)
2. Pasta sauce - 3/4 cup
3. Garlic - 4 cloves, finely chopped
4. Carrot - 1 big finely chopped
5. Cucumber - 1 big finely chopped
6. Palak - 1 cup (I used ponnangani keerai as I didnt have palak in hand)
7. Olive oil - 1&1/2 tbsp
8. Salt - as needed
9. Cheese, grated- just for garnish

Method:

1. Cook the macaroni as given in the pack. Reserve some of the cooked water. Once cooked wash it with cold water and toss it with a tsp of oil so that it does not stick to each other.
2. Heat oil in kadai, add the garlic and saute. Once browned, add the vegetables and spinach. Saute for some time and close the kadai with little water till the vegetables get cooked.
3. Add the cooked pasta and mix well so that it is combined with the vegetables.
4. Now add the pasta sauce and mix well. Add required salt and mix.
5. Sprinkle with grated cheese and serve hot!.

Notes:

The original recipe called for two cups of pasta sauce. But since my husband doesnt like too much of sauce in his dish I reduced. And it was just right. If you reduce further it would become dry.
I made homemade pasta sauce following this recipe and its very simple to make too.
You can also add capsicum if you want.
I didnt have palak so I used ponnangani keerai. I didnt find much alteration in taste.
I finely chooped the veggies so that it will be cooked soon. If you want you can chop them big.
I added salt in pasta sauce already so I reduced accordingly.

Mint Lime Ginger Cooler

2015-06-05T17:38:00.001+05:30

I saw this recipe in a supplement of Aval Vikatan and it came out so good. I replaced the sugar in the recipe with honey still the result was awesome. Its very simple and is good for digestion and urinary tract infections.

Ingredients: (Serves 2 people)

1. Pudhina/Mint leaves - 1 fistful
2. Ginger - 1 inch piece
3. Salt - 2 pinches
4. Honey/Sugar - as needed (I used 4 spoons of honey)
5. Lime juice - 1 tsp
6. Chilled water - 400 ml

Method:

Take mint leaves, ginger and salt in a small mixie. Add little chilled water and grind to a paste.
Filter it by adding little chilled water. Collect the juice in a bowl.
Add the remaining water, lime juice, honey/sugar and mix well. Serve!.

Moong Dal Paneer Masala

2015-05-25T23:31:00.000+05:30

When it comes to paneer dishes, I mostly make paneer butter masala at home. But today I wanted to try something different and was going through some cookbooks. I got this interesting recipe and tried it. It was really tasting good so posting it here.

Ingredients:

Paneer - 200gms
Yellow Moong dal -1/2cup
Turmeric powder -1 pinch
Chilli powder - 1tsp
Coriander powder - 1/2tsp
Kasuri methi - 2 generous pinches
Onion - 1chopped
Tomato - 1 chopped
Ginger - 1/2 inch piece finely chopped
Green chilli - 2 slitted
Coriander leaves - for garnish
Salt - as needed

To temper:

Ghee - 1/2 tsp
Refined oil -1tsp
Jeera -1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - few

Method:

1. Pressure cook moong dal with water and turmeric powder for 2 whistles or till cooked. Add little water and mash it.Keep separate.

2. In pan heat ghee and oil, temper with jeera and curry leaves. Add green chilli, ginger chopped and saute for sometime. Add onion and saute till translucent. Then add the tomato and saute till mushy.

3. Add the chilli powder, coriander powder and stir. Add the cooked dal with little water. Mix well.

4. Add chopped paneer cubes,salt and mix well. Keep covered for 2 to 3 mins. Dry roast kasuri methi in a kadai and crumble it and add it to the gravy. Let it boil for sometime in low flame till paneer is cooked.

5. Switch off and garnish with coriander leaves. Serve with roti/poori.