Ingredients:

• Potatoes – 4
• Red chilly powder – 3/4 tsp
• Coriander powder -1 tsp
• Cumin powder – 1/2 tsp
• Red chilly flakes – 1/2 tsp (optional)
• Crushed pepper – 1/2 tsp
• Chilly chicken powder – 1 tsp
• Garlic powder – 1/2 tsp
• Salt – to taste
• Oil – 2 tbsp
• Cumin seeds – 1/2 tsp
• Curry leaves – a few

Method:

Make a paste of red chilly powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, red chilly flakes, pepper powder, chilly chicken powder, garlic powder and salt with little water.

Boil the potatoes in a pressure cooker for one whistle and peel off the skin.  Cut the potatoes into cubes.

Marinate the potatoes with the paste for 5 minutes.

Heat oil in a pan and add the cumin seeds followed by curry leaves.

Fry the potatoes in low flame.  Gently toss the potatoes taking care not to break them. Fry until it turns golden brown.

Spicy potatoes ready!!!

Ingredients:

Toor dal,cooked – 1/4 cup
Tomatoes,finely chopped – 4
Tamarind,pulp – 1/4 cup
Garlic – 4-5 pieces
Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp
Coriander leaves,finely chopped – 1/2 cup
Salt to taste – 1 tsp

For Seasoning:
Mustard seeds – 1/4 tsp
Urad dal – 1/4 tsp
Hing powder – a pinch
Jeera – 1 tsp
Curry leaves as needed
Dry red chillies – 3
Green chillies, long slit – 2

To Make Rasam Powder:
Toor dal – 1 tsp
Jeera – 1 tsp
Pepper – 2 tsp
Coriander seeds/dhania – 1 tsp
Dry red chillies – 2

Blend these items into fine powder.

Instructions:

Cook the toor dhall in a cooker.  Smash the dhall once its is well cooked.

Chop tomatoes finely into small pieces.

Crush the garlic.

Soak the tamarind in hot water and extract the pulp.

Heat ghee/oil in kadai and do the seasoning one by one.

Add the chopped tomatoes.  Saute them.  Add the crushed garlic. Fry for few more mins. Then add turmeric powder,salt and let it cook for few more mins.

Add the rasam powder to the tomato mix and saute for few mins,add little water and let it cook.

Then add the tamarind pulp water.

Then finally add little dhall, let it cook. Allow it to boil. Switch off the flame. Garnish with coriander leaves.

This is one of my most favorite recipes. It’s my mom’s recipe. It is a very easy recipe and tastes sooooo good with rice, sambar or rasam.

Ingredients

Prawn/Shrimp – 1 kg

Small onion – 1/2 kg or Big onion – 3 big

Tomato – 1 medium

Garlic – 3 to 4 cloves crushed

Curry leaves – as required

Kuzhambu milagai thool – 1.5 tbsp

Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp

Salt – as per taste

Oil – 3 tbsp

Lemon juice – 1 tsp

Method

Clean and devine the prawns. Add some turmeric powder and little lemon juice during the last rinse, this will remove the smell of the prawns.

Wash peel and cut the small onions, if using big onion chop them finely.

In a kadai add the oil and season with curry leaves. Then add the crushed garlic and then the onions. Saute them till the onions turns translucent. Then add the chopped tomato.

Saute till the tomatoes are well cooked. Then add the turmeric powder and salt.

Mix well for a minute. Then add the prawns, mix well and cook in medium heat with the kadai closed. Do not add any water as the prawns will leave enough water.

Cook for about 10 min in medium heat. You will see lot of water getting released. Then add the kuzhambu milagai thool. You can also replace it with 1 tsp of red chilli powder and 1 tbsp of coriander powder. You can adjust this amount according to your required spicy level. Mix well and cook till the prawns change colour.

Cook till the masala leaves oil and becomes thick. This would take 10 to 15 min. Don’t cook for long or the prawns will become rubbery. Switch off and add a tsp of lemon juice and coriander leaves. Yummy prawn masala is ready. You can mix it with plain rice or serve as a side dish.

This is one of my favorite. I had this in one of a restaurant called The Mintt in Pittsburgh, the best ever. I tried it the same way at home and yes it did come out very well.  Lets have a look.

Ingredients:
Medium sized cauliflower, cut into florets (place it in salted hot water for 10-12 minutes, drain it) – 1

Maida/all-purpose flour – 4 tsp

Cornflour – 2 tsp

Rice flour – 1 tsp

Ginger-garlic-green chilly paste – 1 tsp

Color powder – a pinch

Salt to taste

Spring onions, finely chopped – 1/4 cup

Green chillies – 2 (CHOPPED)

Finely chopped garlic – 1/4 cup

Finely chopped ginger – 1/4 cup

Green Chilly sauce – 1 tsp

Red chilly sauce – 1 tsp (optional – if you want it to be real spicy then u can add this)

Soy sauce – 1 tsp

Tomato ketchup – 3 tsp

Finely chopped cilantro to garnish

Method:   Heat oil for deep frying.  In a bowl, combine all purpose flour, cornflour, rice flour, salt, ginger-garlic-green chilly paste, color powder and water to make a thick paste.  Dip the washed and drained florets into the batter.  Coat it well.  Then deep fry it.  Deep fry until the florets are well cooked and until it turns golden brown.  Place all the cooked florets in an absorbent tissue paper.  Next, in a pan, add oil.  Add chopped ginger, chopped garlic, green chillies. Saute for 2 minutes.  Now add soy sauce, tomato ketchup, green chilly sauce, red chilly sauce.  Mix well.  Add the fried cauliflower. Toss it well in medium high flame.  Add chopped spring onions.  Toss it again.  Remove from heat and garnish with cilantro at the end.  Tasty cauliflower dish is ready.

A known recipe with my own twist!

This recipe needs just few minutes for you to be in the kitchen… Just Okra, spices, Peanuts (or any nuts) and cheese. Isn’t that what you want?

Ok, so Here it is; No measures required just add it to your taste.

Okra – a Few

Peanuts / Cashews / almonds

Chilly Powder

Coriander powder

Curry Powder – for flavor

salt to taste

Preparation:

• Wash and pat dry the Okras. Cut the Okra Pods into half keeping the top and one side intact.
•  Mix Chilly powder, Coriander Powder and curry powder together like a paste.

•  Coarsely grind peanuts (or nuts of your choice) and mix it with the paste. Here I have not used any nuts but just the spicy mixture.
•  Take the mixture and gently stuff the split okras, set aside.

• In a pan, sauté the onions.
• Once onions are cooked translucent, place each Okra finger in the pan along with the onions and gently stir.

• Cook it in low flame.
• Once the okra is cooked (make sure the masala is not burnt), remove it from the pan and allow it to cool down.

• Now take some cheese out of your fridge, it may be any kind (Mozzarella, swiss, american, flavored cheese etc..). I used mixed cheese grated

• Stuff the cooked okra with the cheese gently and make sure they do not break. And garnish with lots of cheese on top of the okra fingers too.

• In the oven (mine is microwave / convection oven) place the okra dish in 150 degree C for more the cheese to melt down in the okra and make it a tantalizing one.

• Bring it out to see how the cheese has gone down to your okra pods to a heavenly melt in your mouth.

Enjoii this dish with Grilled Fish and freshly cut Cucumbers.

Try and Let me know…

Curly 🙂

I always love the boiled egg to be modified into a spicy dish. You can just show your own creativity and modify it as you like.  Here’s a simple way of making a spicy tasty egg fry.

Eggs – 2 (boil it)

Oil – 1 tsp

Chilly chicken powder – 2 tsp

Turmeric powder – 1 pinch

Salt – little (do not add salt if your chilly chicken powder already has salt contained in it).

Method:  Boil eggs.  In a pan, add oil.  Add turmeric powder.  Add chilly chicken powder.  Saute for a minute.  Cut the boiled egg into pieces.  Add the boiled egg into the pan.  Gently coat it with the masala.  Do not leave it for a longer time as it turns into a rubbery texture.  Once it is done, shift it into another bowl.  Cook in low flame throughout.  Spicy and tasty egg fry ready.

Note:  You can add curry leaves.  You can also alternate the chilly chicken powder with chilly powder (1/2 tsp) and coriander powder (1/2 tsp).

Paratha is a flaky layered flat bread made all over India!! A richer variation of the same is parota made with all purpose flour!!whenever we went to a restaurant 9 out of 10 times I would order this rich parota because it’s versatile and could be paired with both vegetarian and non vegetarian gravies!!The art of making parota should be mastered I would say!! Whenever I see a roadside cook make it I would stare as if it were the first time! The way they knead it, throw it up in the air ,clank clank clank sound of the tawa as the parota cooks ,appetizing aroma that would make you gulp some for sure!!
I ve experimented a lot of recipes to get a near to perfection of this yummy dish and voila finally got an easy yet awesome way of making it closest to the restaurant perfection ! Fear not you need not knead it for hours or circus the dough up in the air !This recipe was passed down by my mother in law and it’s a no fail way of making parota !! Gear up you are just hours away from tasting the king of all flat breads!!

Cooking time :4 hours(2 hours resting )

Ingredients(makes 8 medium sized servings )

All purpose flour(maida)-2 cups

warm water-1 cup

milk-3 tablespoons

oil- 3 tablespoons

salt to taste

sugar -1tsp

Method

Mix everything together into a loose,airy dough.It should be sticky and soft!

Cover with a damp muslin cloth and let it rest in a warm place for at least 2 hours

Make a runny paste with some flour and oil .Divide the dough into equal sized balls .Do not knead the rested dough as the incorporated air bubbles might escape!

Spread the balls using a rolling pin and stretch using hands! Shape really doesn’t matter so stretch as thin as u can!

Cut thin strips and pull them all together !Curl it into a spiral and set aside!repeat the same with the rest!

Apply some oil over the swirls and cover with a damp cloth .Let it rest for half an hour!

Pat the rested dough using fingers into thick rotis!

Cook them on a very hot tawa!apply oil as u turn them,once they turn golden brown cook on medium heat for few minutes

Stack few cooked parotta while hot and crush them with your hands!This brings out the layers in the parotas

Serve hot with chicken Salna or vegetable kuruma!!

Pictorial

sticky consistency of the dough

spread oil on the kneaded dough

Divide into equal portions

Roll out into thin chapathis

Make a runny paste with oil and maida and spread our evenly on the rolled dough

Stretch the corners using fingers

Cut into thin strips

Make swirls and cover with damp cloth(rest for 30-60 min)

Fry on a very hot tawa and smash vigorously between your palms

Serve hottttt!!!