Madurai chicken kuzhambu

Preparation time:10 mins
Makes 2 servings
Cooking time: 20 mins

Ingredients:

Chicken - 1/2 kg
Shallots- 1 cup
Red chilly - 2
Green chilly - 4
Tomato- 2
Ginger Garlic  paste- 3 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves- few
Salt
Oil

To Grind:

Red chilly- 8
Coriander seeds- 11/2 tsp
Pepper - 1 tsp
Cashewnuts - 10
Grated Cocunut - 1/2 cup


Procedure:
1.Heat oil in a pressure cooker or pan and add curry leaves, red chilly and finely chopped onion.
2.Saute till onions are translucent., then add ginger-garlic paste and tomato.
3.Saute for few minutes , now add chicken pieces, turmeric powder and green chilly.
4.Add enough water, salt and the grinded paste.
5.Allow it to cook for 4 whistles if used a pressure cooker.

Serve hot with plain rice, biryani or idli / dosa.

Chicken Biriyani

Preparation time: 30 mins
Makes 2 servings
Cooking time: 20 mins

Ingredients:
Chicken pieces - 1/2 kg
Biryani rice - 1 cup
Ginger- garlic paste - 2 tsp
Tomato - 1/2 cup
Onion - 1/2 cup
Bay leaf- 2
Cinnamon - 1/2 inch
Cloves- 4
Cardamom - 3
Cocunut milk - 1/2 cup
Lemon - 1
Salt
Ghee

To grind :
Green chilly - 10
Ginger - 1 inch
Garlic- 3 pods

To marinate:
Curd - 4 tsp
Garam masala- 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Ginger - garlic paste - 1 tsp
Salt


Procedure:

1. Marniate the chicken for half an hour.
2. Soak rice for half an hour.
3. Heat ghee in a pan, add bay leaf, cinnamon, cloves and cardamom.
4. Fry until a nice aroma comes.
5. Now add onions and fry until translucent.
6. Now add the grinded paste and saute for some time.
7. Add the chicken pieces along with marinated mixture.
8. When the chicken is half done, add tomato, cilantro and mint leaves.Mix well.
9. Now add the rice, cocunut milk and water.
10. Adjust the salt and add lemon juice.Cook till its done.

Serve hot with Onion raitha and Chicken Curry.

Note:
1.If you are using an electric cooker, Follow the procedure till step 8, (Allow the chicken to cook fully)and then transfer the contents of pan to cooker and follow the other steps.
2.You can also grind the chilly and ginger-garlic paste seperately, so that you need not grind it once again for marination.
3.The rice used in this recipe is seeraga sambha .You can also use basmathi rice, if the mentioned variety is not available.
4.If you are using a pressure cooker, don't wait for the chicken to cook, keep it for 4 whistles and simmer for 10 mins.

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

We have this routine Friday evenings movie time at my BFF's place, its become so important for us that we try to avoid any other plans that might come up on that day. Five of us usually (sometimes the count increases to even ten) get together for the awesomest tea ever..So its become a ritual to have some appetizer or munchies for this evening..I get inspired on these days to make a dish as I have the guinea pigs ready for my experiment and thus this cake was made on Friday. We had to bid farewell to two families that friday and so it was even more special and had to be done right :) My oven and my ingredients didn't let me down this time and the output as you can see was as expected !! Below is the recipe for you to boost your confidence in baking.

Preparation Time: 15 mins
Makes about 15 slices and many gulped even before the actual dessert time.
Cooking Time: 1hr and 10 mins

Ingredients:

Butter - 1/2 cup or 1stick of butter
1 and 1/3 cups of Brown sugar
Pineapple slices - I got a tin from the grocery store here you can also try to use fresh pineapple - 9 slices
2 and 2/3 cups of All purpose flour
2 cups Sugar
2/3 cup Shortening
3 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Salt
1 and 1/3 cups Milk
2 Eggs

Procedure:

• Heat oven to 350 F. I used a Rectangle deep dish baking pan (you can use even a square pan), Melt butter and spread it on the pan. Sprinkle brown sugar evenly over the butter. Arrange pineapple slices over brown sugar.
• In a bowl, beat the remaining ingredients with electric mixer if you have or a hand mixer or even a beater for about a minute scraping the bowl constantly. Beat even faster for about 3 minutes. The batter should be mixed well and you can pour the batter over the pineapple slices on the baking pan.
• Bake for about 50 - 55 minutes or till toothpick when inserted comes out clean. Immediately place a heatproof plate of about the same size as the pan over it, turn plate and pan over. Leave pan over cake a few minutes so that even the brown sugar mixture is on top, remove pan. The cake would be upside down now, the pineapple slices on top. 

You don't need to serve the cake. People will be running towards the cake because of the aroma once you take it out. Yummmmm !!!

Notes :

•  The number of pineapple slices on the cake will change depending on the size of the pan.
• Make sure not to let the cake get over burnt. If you know about the heat in the oven, chk within 40 -45 minutes too.

Spicy Orange juice

Preparation time: 10 mins


Ingredients:

Orange - 2
Ginger - 1/4 inch piece
Sugar (optional)
Ice cubes(optional)

Procedure:


1.Peel the oranges and discard the white part.
2.Blend all the ingredients in a blender.

Serve Chilled.

Note :
If you a citrus juicer, make orange juice seperately and mix with ginger juice.

Desi Grilled Sandwich

Preparation time:15 mins
Makes 2 servings
Cooking time :3 min


Ingredients:

Cucumber - 1
Tomato - 1
Onion -1
Capsicum -1
Butter - 2 tsp
Red chutney- 3 tsp
Chat masala - 1/4 tsp
Thick wholegrain Bread Slice - 4
Salt

Procedure:

1.Cut cucumber,onion and tomato into round shapes.
2.Chop capsicum finely.
3.Apply butter on a bread slice and place cucumber, onion, tomato and capsicum.
4.Sprinkle chat masala and salt.
5.Apply red chutney on another slice of bread and place it over the vegetables with chutney side facing inwards.
6.Place this in a preheated iron grill, close and cook until crisp.
Serve hot with Orange juice.

Red Chutney

Ingredients:

Onion - 1 small
Tomato - 2 small
Garlic - 1 pod
cumin seeds - 1 tsp
cilantro
Oil

Procedure:


1.Fry the above ingredients in  oil , allow to cool and grind with little water.

Note :
Chutney can be stored in airtight container for a week.

Moong waffle

Preparation time:3-4hrs
Makes 8
Cooking time: 15 mins  (each)

Ingredients:

Moong dal- 1cup
Green chilly- 4
Ginger- 1 inch piece
Cumin seeds-1/2 tsp
Rice flour - 3 tsp
Oil
Salt


Procedure:

1.Soak the dal for 3 to 4 hours.
2.Grind moong dal, ginger and green chilly. Add the other ingredients to the mixture, except oil.
3.Spray oil over preheated wafle iron.
4.Pour the mix onto the hot iron.Cook till crisp.
5.Sprinkle chat masala.
Serve hot with chutney or tomato sauce.

Note:
If you dont have waffle iron , dosa can be made in pan.

Pomegranate Orange punch

Preparation time: 15 mins

Ingredients:
Pomegranate-2
Orange - 3
Sugar (optional)
Ice cubes(optional)

Procedure:
1.Peel the oranges and discard the white part.
2.Cut the pomegranate and scoop the seeds.
3.Blend all the ingredients in a blender.
Serve Chilled.

Note :
If you have a citrus juicer , make orange juice seperately and mix with pomegranate juice.
Dilute with water, if needed.

Egg Puffs

Puffs : the very thought of it makes me my eyes pop. Egg puffs are one of the things I worried about missing , when i moved to US. I always thought puffs are the secret recipes of our Indian bakeries. Imagine my delight, when i saw the golden crisp vegetable puff my friend made one day. :) Bless her and the recipe sites which helped me make my own puffs thereafter.
Its a very simple recipe if we get those puff-pastry sheets.

Preparation Time : 45 mins ( to thaw )
Cooking Time : 20 mins
Makes 12

Ingredients: 

Puff Pastry Sheets(Frozen) - 1 packet ( it has 2 sheets )
Eggs - 6
Onion - 1 medium, sliced thinly lengthwise
Tomato - ¼ cup or 1 small, chopped
Turmeric - 1/4 tsp
Chilli Powder - 1 tsp
Cumin Powder - 1 tsp
Garam masala powder - 1 tsp
Chicken masala powder - 1 tsp or egg masala powder
Coriander Powder - 1 tsp
Cilantro - 1 cup, chopped
Salt
Oil

Procedure :

1. Thaw the puff pastry sheets for about 45 minutes or as per the instructions on the carton. 
2. Pre-heat oven at 400o F.
3. Hard boil the eggs and keep it aside.
4. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a kadai and saute onion to pink. 
5. Add the tomato and let it cook.
6. Now add turmeric and rest of the masala powders - chilli powder, garam masala, coriander powder, cumin powder and chicken masala powder. 
7. Adjust Salt.
8. Give it a good mix and let the masala powders cook for about 5 mins. 
9. The End result should be nicely cooked-brown semi-gravy.
10. Garnish with chopped cilantro and let this cool for about 5 -10 mins while you peel the shell of the eggs.
11. Slice the eggs into halves.
12. Cut the thawed pastry sheets into squares, big enough to wrap the egg. The sheets are roll-able like chapathi dough. 
13. Take a piece, Keep a spoon of the onion gravy, half of the egg on one side of the sheet and fold the other half  over it. 
14. Or you can keep the gravy and egg in the centre of the square and bring the corners to the centre. 
15. The other option is folding the sheet diagonally. 
16. Either of the above ways, make sure you press the folding sides to one another to wrap it fully.
17. Prepare the same way for rest of the sheet. 
18. Keep them in a baking pan and keep it in pre-heated oven for 15 mins. 
19. Take it out after 15 mins and cut it in to halves, to serve.

Crispy hot egg puffs are ready to relish. Serve with Ketchup :)

Notes :

• Before keeping the puff in oven, you may brush it with egg yolk. This gives a nice golden brown shade to the puff. 
• You can alternate the filling with vegetables, mushroom , channa etc instead of egg, as desired. 
• You get puff pastry sheets in any of the departmental stores in frozen food section. 1 packet has 2 sheets. folded into 3 strips. The strips can be cut into half and used for 12 puffs. These sheets are like chapati dough, we can roll it according to the requirement. 
• If making veggie or any other filling puffs, you may cut the strips into 3 and roll it accordingly. Egg need more space thus we cut the sheet-strips into half. 
• Do not roll too much; a very thin sheet might get burnt in the oven. The sheets need to be considerably thick. (experience speaking ;) )

Pavakkai Puli kozhambu / Vathakuzhambu

Vathakuzhambu is traditionally made with vattrals or dried veggies like sundakkai etc. But this recipe could also be made with everyday vegetables like bitter-gourd, brinjal, garlic, okra etc. Puli kozhambu's usually tastes great on the second or third days :)

Preparation Time : 10 mins
Cooking Time : 30-40 mins
Makes - 4 servings

Ingredients:


Bitter Gourd - 1, de-seeded & sliced into thin rounds.
Onion - 1 medium, sliced
Tomato - 1, chopped
Tamarind - 1 medium gooseberry size.
Green Chillies - 3, slit
Dry Red chilli - 2
Asafoetida - 1/4 tsp
Rice Flour - 1 tbsp
Fennel Seeds - 1 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Chilli powder - 1 tsp
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Sambar powder - 2 tsp or Vathakozhambu powder - 2 tsp
Salt
Oil or Gingelly oil (optional)
Curry Leaves - 1 sprig

Procedure :

1. Soak the tamarind in 2 cups of warm water.
2. Sprinkle salt on the sliced bitter gourd and leave it for about 5-10 minutes. Then squeeze the water out.  This will reduce the bitterness.
3. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a pan and fry the bittergourd to brown color. 
4. Remove it and keep aside.
5. In the same oil, add the mustard seeds to splutter.
6. Now add fennel seeds, dry red chilli and curry leaves.
7. Add asafoetida, fry onion to pink color. 
8. Now add chopped tomatoes followed by turmeric, chilli powder, coriander powder and sambar powder (or vathakuzhambu powder).
9. Adjust salt. 
10. Saute these well till it comes to a thick gravy consistency. 
11. Now add the fried bitter gourd and mix well.
12. Pour in the tamarind juice. 
13. Let this mixture come to a boil 
14. Add water to the rice flour and make it into a thin paste.
15. Pour this into the kuzhambu and keep stirring continuously. Rice flour helps in thickening of the curry.
16. Reduce the heat to medium/sim, cover and let it cook for about 10-15 mins, till the curry comes to a thick consistency. 
17. Top it off with a teaspoon of gingelly oil. 

Serve Hot with Rice and Appalam :) 

Til wale Aloo Palak Sabzi

Tillwale Aloo palak , kinda sounds liek dilwale dulhaniya le jayenge ? I know ;)  Till is Hindi for sesame seeds which adds a distinct flavour to this recipe. I got this recipe from Sanjeev Kapoor's site. Very easy and very Healthy accompaniment for Roti. :D

Preparation Time : 10 mins
Cooking Time : 20 mins in medium heat
Makes 3 servings

Ingredients:


Baby potatoes - 3 or 1 medium Potato
Spinach - 2 cups, chopped
Garlic - 3-4 pods, sliced into two
Onion - 1/2 cup, chopped
Green Chillies - 2-3, slit
Sesame seeds - 1.5 tsp, roasted
Cumin Seeds - 1.5 tsp
Asafoetida - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
Chilli Powder - 1/2 tsp
Cumin Powder - 1 tsp
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Yogurt - 2 tbsp

Procedure :

1. Wash the baby potatoes and chop them into medium size chunks with the skin on it. Do NOT peel the skin. 
2. Dry roast the sesame seeds and keep it aside.
3. Heat oil in a kadai and fry jeera in it.
4. Add the sliced garlic, green chillies and onion. 
5. Add a pinch of asafoetida and a pinch of salt.
6. Saute them well till onion turns light brown in color. 
7. Now add the diced potatoes.
8. Give it a good mix, adding turmeric, chilli powder, coriander powder and cumin powder one by one in that order. 
9. Cover and cook the potatoes for about 5 minutes.
10. Now add the chopped spinach to the kadai. 
11. Adjust salt. 
12. Saute the spinach well till it shrinks . 
13. Cover and cook for another 4-5 minutes. 
14. Add 2 tbsp of yogurt and mix well. 
15. Let this cook for 2 minutes. 
16. Garnish it with the roasted sesame seeds. Mix well.

Serve hot :) 

Notes :

• Do not add any water to the curry. Spinach has enough water to cook potatoes too. :) 
• Optionally you may boil the potatoes in prior and add it (or) microwave the chopped potatoes for about 4-5 mins and add to the kadai. 
• When yogurt is added, sabzi becomes little watery. Cook for 2 mins for the curry to come to a dry consistency.