Chicken curry – Quick and Easy

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Ingredients:

Chicken – 1/4 kg

Small onions – 10 to 12

Tomato – 1 (chopped)

Ginger-Garlic paste – 1 tsp

Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp

Chilly powder – 1 tsp

Coriander powder – 1 tsp

Fennel seeds – 1 tsp

Cinnamon – a small piece

Cloves – 2

Curry leaves

Salt to taste

Cilantro to garnish

Method:

Wash chicken. Heat the pan.  Add cinnamon, cloves, fennel seeds. Fry for a few minutes.  Blend this into fine powder. In another pan, add oil.  Add small onions saute and add tomatoes.  Saute until it becomes soft. Grind this into a paste.  Now in a separate pan, add oil. Add ginger-garlic paste.  Add curry leaves. Fry for 2 min. Now add chicken. Mix well and saute for 5 min.  Add turmeric powder, chilly powder, coriander powder, salt one by one. Cook for 5 to 10 min. Now add the onion and tomato paste.  Mix well.  Add some water and cook well in medium flame.  Once the chicken is well cooked, add the spice powder (cinnamon, cloves, fennel seeds) and cook for another 10 minutes in low flame. Switch off the flame.  Finally garnish with cilantro.

Tasty Potato Fry

 

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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!!!

Paruppu Rasam

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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.

Prawn or Shrimp masala / Eral thokku

20141025_134037This 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.

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Saute till the tomatoes are well cooked. Then add the turmeric powder and salt.20141025_130325

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.

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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.

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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.

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The Fall – “Every leaf is a flower”

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The best season among all where the world around you would seem like a painting. The best colors in combination portraying the creator’s own creativity.  A peep through my window early in the morning would just make my day, those vibrant colors, wow… what a fresh and lively morning! Definitely “Every Leaf is a Flower” and all those trees standing up bearing its beautiful leaves with wonderful colors, a visual treat. The slight drizzle and the cool breeze adds more beauty and my cool walk would just give me back all the energy I need. Each leaf fall would make me think if there is anything that I can do to make them not fall, to make them stay colorful and vibrant forever…but it just falls making us feel sad and reminding us of the nailbiting weather ahead… but as long as the colors are on it stays as the best…. and once again the creator just awes me!!!

Cauliflower Manchurian

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.

Cheese Stuffed Okra

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.

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  •  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.

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  • 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.

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  • 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.

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

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  • 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.

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  • 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.IMG_7712

 

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

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Enjoii this dish with Grilled Fish and freshly cut Cucumbers.

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Try and Let me know…

Curly 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spicy Egg Fry

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).

 

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Tasty onion curry within minutes

 

 

There are days when you feel you are in no mood to cook for a long time or your fridge is completely out of vegetables or you are just thinking and thinking looking into all the blogs searching for an easy and quick recipe, here’s something I have to help you out!!! Lets have a look.

Small onions – 10

Garlic – 10

Tomato – 1

Coconut paste – 2 spoons

Curry leaves – Little

Gingely oil – 2 tsp

Tamarind paste – Little

Fenugreek powder – A pinch

Chilly powder – 1 tsp (adjust according to the spice level)

Coriander powder – 1 tsp

Mustard seeds – Half a tsp

Cumin seeds – Half a tsp

Cilantro to garnish

Salt to taste

Method:  In a pan, add oil.  Add mustard seeds.  Let it splatter.  Add cumin seeds.  Add curry leaves.  Now add the small onions, let it fry, add salt.  Add garlic.  Fry and then add tomato.  Saute it well until the oil oozes out.  Add chilly powder and coriander powder.  Saute well for few minutes.  Add tamarind paste.  Saute well.  Now add coconut paste. Mix well.  Let it cook for sometime.  Now you can see this becoming into a thick gravy.  Add water if you want to be liquidy.  Finally garnish with cilantro.  Serve with hot rice and little ghee.

 

Milagai/Red Chilly chutney

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This is one of my favorite that my granny makes.  It tastes so good with Idly and Dosa. Well, lets have a look.

Ingredients:

Red chillies – 10

Garlic – 10

Onion – 1

Tomato – 1

Tamarind pulp – little

Asafoetida powder – 1 pinch

Jaggery – 1 tsp

Curry leaves little

Mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp

Gingelly/Sesame oil – 1 to 2 tsp.

Salt to taste

Take a pan.  Add oil.  Add red chillies. Add garlic. Fry for 2 to 3 min.  Add onion. Add salt.  Saute.  Add tomato.  Add tamarind pulp. Once its well cooked. Take off the pan from the flame.  Allow it to cool.  Now grind this mix.  Now, take a pan.  Add oil.  Add mustard seeds, add asafoetida powder, curry leaves.  Sim the flame.  Add the ground mix.  Take care to cook in low flame as it splatters. Cover it with a lid.  You can feel the raw smell going away after a few minutes.  Now add jaggery.  Mix well.  Switch off the flame.  Spicy chutney ready.