Egg Kurma

I've never been a fan of  using kurma powder to make kurma and have always wanted to try making it from scratch. So, tried out this recipe...turned out really yummy and we loved it. Do give it a try ;)

Original recipe from :

http://www.naliniscooking.com/2014/02/egg-kurma-muttai-kurma.html


The changes I made :

1. I omitted the ginger since I didn't have any.
2. I replaced chilli powder with dry chilli flakes.
3. I used 3 eggs as there wasn't too much gravy.

Overall a delicious recipe that I will surely try again.

Quick Sambar Rice

At last we have settled down in our new nest and the best part is the huge kitchen. My very own kitchen after 2 yrs of moving about. Yup it's big, more than 20 feet long and I just love it..haha...so you can see me doing more cooking n more yummy posts ;)

Now, to the dish of the day... a quick Sambar Rice cooked using the rice cooker. It tasted great and a great option for a quick dinner fix on weeknights. Since I've been doing more weeknight dinners lately, I thought of compiling it all in a category for easy referral in the future. So you can check out the tab 'Weeknight Dinners' for other yummy recipes.

 I used :

1 cup ponni rice
1/2 cup toor dhal (soaked)
1 large onion, sliced thinly
1 small carrot, sliced
a handful of french beans, sliced
2 tsp sambar powder
1/4 tsp asoefatida
2 stalks curry leaves
oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
some tamarind, dissolved in some water

Method :

Heat oil in a non-stick pan and add mustard seeds and cumin. Saute and add onion and curry leaves. Once onion is soft and fragrant, add beans, carrot and cook.
When vegetables are half cooked, add in sambar powder, asoefatida, and season with salt. Mix well and let it cook. You may add a little water here if needed. Once vege is 3/4 cooked, turn off heat.
In a rice cooker pot, add in washed rice with enough water according to the rice you choose.
Now add in the soaked dhall, cooked vegetable, tamarind extract and some salt.
Mix it and press or choose setting to cook. ( I used a digital rice cooker and chose White Rice setting).

Garnish cooked sambar rice with fresh coriander leaves and serve it with your favourite side dishes and raita.

Baked Fish In Banana Leaf

Baked Fish Masala in Banana Leaf is an Indian style fish dish, very flavourful and keeps the fish moist and soft. I made this as one of the dished for Father's Day dinner and it was enjoyed by all. I saved this recipe from online some time ago and only now managed to try it out.

Ingredients:

1 large pomfret, cut into big slices - I used 6 slices, baked in 2 batches
2 banana leaf and aluminium foil to wrap

- Rub fish slices with some turmeric, salt, ginger-garlic paste, lemon juice and set aside.

Masala:

2 big onions, sliced thinly
2 big tomatoes, sliced thinly
1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
1/3 cup grated coconut
1 tsp cracked black pepper
1 1/2 tsp chilli powder
3 tsp garam masala
1/2 cup chopped coriander leaves
1/2 cup chopped mint leaves
olive oil for cooking
salt to taste
mustard seeds and curry leaves

Heat olive oil in a pan and add mustard seeds and curry leaves. Next add onion and grated coconut. Saute till onion become soft. Then add ginger-garlic paste, tomatoes and cook till tomatoes are soft.
Add chilli powder, garam masala, black pepper, cook well. Then add mint and coriander leaves and salt to taste. Cook covered with some water sprinkled (if needed) till no raw smell. Turn off fire. Let it cool.
Once cool blend the masala to a paste.


- Heat oven to 200C.
- Take a banana leaf and heat it a bit over direct flame so it doesn;'t tear.

Now place masala in a layer on the leaf, arrange 3 fish slices on top of masala and cover the fish with more masala. Fold leaf to form a parcel and now cover the parcel with a layer of aluminium foil.

Bake for about 30 mins at 200C.

Meanwhile make another parcel using the balance masala and fish slices.

This dish best to be served hot with white rice.

Butter Chicken Masala

Here comes my 200th post. Can't believe I've actually done 200 posts...Super happy ;).

So this weekend I chose to cook a yummy, flavourful butter chicken masala. I did not use any red colouring so if you would like it to look red, you can add in some colour. Even my 2 year old enjoyed it.



Ingredients :

Oil for cooking.

To marinate :

1/2 kg boneless, skinless chicken pieces
1/2 cup yogurt
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp garam masala powder
1 tbsp. ginger garlic paste
salt to taste

Mix above ingredients and leave aside.

For masala,
3 tbsp. unsalted butter
Oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 large onion, chopped
2 tsp ginger garlic paste
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp garam masala powder
bay leaf -2
2 big tomatoes, pureed
1/4 cup cooking cream
1 tbsp. dried fenugreek leaves
salt to taste
water

Method:

Heat a oil in a pan and place the marinated chicken in a single layer and cook . Flip and cook on both sides. Remove and keep aside.

In a wok, heat butter, add cumin seeds and let them sizzle. Add in the chopped onions and cook till slightly browned. Add in ginger garlic paste, bay leaf and sauté for a min.

Add in chilli powder, garam masala powder and salt. Stir well and add in tomate puree. Cover and cook abt 5-8 mins. Add water as required.

Now add in chicken pieces and mix well. Cook on low heat till chicken tender. Add in cream and dried fenugreek leaves. Simmer for a couple of mins and turn off heat.

Serve hot.

Dry Spicy Prawns

I won this Modern Indian Cookbook in a recent contest and was excited to try out the wonderful recipes in it. The book is filled with yummy looking pics of glorious food that made me so happy to win it. Here's a pic of the book cover ;)

And here's the simple Spicy Prawns that was enjoyed by the husband..

Ingredients :

500 gms prawns
1 large onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, peeled
2 inches ginger, peeled
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp chilli powder
salt for seasoning
2 tbsp. cooking oil
1 stalk curry leaves (didn't have it when I made this)
1 tbsp. lemon juice

Method :

Clean, peel, de-vein the prawns. Blend together onion, garlic and ginger with a bit of water.
Heat a skillet and add the prawns, the blended ingredients, chillii powder and turmeric powder.
Season with salt. Mix well. Add water and bring to a simmer. Lower heat and cook with lid on about 5 mins. Take lid off and cook till the liquid evaporates. Then, add the oil and curry leaves, stir. Continue to cook till sauce thickens and coats prawns. Turn off heat.
Drizzle lemon juice over prawns and serve hot.

Vegetarians can replace prawns with diced peeled potatoes.

Easy Cabbage Kootu

A recipe after some time...this is an easy, quick to do recipe which tastes good, too.
Something you can make for dinner after work or on a busy day...got the thumbs-up from the husband.

All you need :

1/2 cup mysore dhall / dhall of choice, soaked for about an hour
2 cups sliced cabbage
1 large onion, sliced
1 tomato, sliced
2 cloves garlic
curry leaves
2 dried chillies
1 tsp mix spices / talipu
2 tsp sambar powder
1/4 tsp chilli powder / to taste
salt to taste
water - to boil dhall
water - for kootu

In a small pot boil water and cook dhall with garlic cloves and some salt till dhall is soft.

In another pot, heat some oil and sauté onion and curry leaves. Add cabbage, tomato, sambar powder, chilli powder, mix well. Add water just enough to cover ingredients and bring to a boil. Add salt. Once cabbage is cooked and gravy thickens, add cooked dhall with the garlic.
Meanwhile,  in a small wok, heat some oil, fry the dry chillies and mix spices. Add this to the kootu mixture, stir well to combine and turn off heat.
Easy cabbage kootu is ready. Can be served with rice / roti/ chappatis.

Tandoori Chicken Pizza with Cilantro Yogurt Dressing

A flavourful indian style pizza.......deliciously mouthwatering...and the yogurt dressing compliments the pizza so well....

Pizza base :

Use ur best pizza base recipe
Use a frozen ready pizza base (follow packet instructions)
Try out this pizza base recipe :

Smitten Kitchen

If ur making ur own dough, follow the recipe above, roll out onto your pan, bake for about 5 minutes till slightly cooked at 200C. Then remove from oven, assemble the pizza and bake again.

I bought freshly cooked tandoori chicken from the restaurant nearby (I love their tandoori chicken..succulent) for this pizza (less time consuming)....but you can always make your own..here is a recipe for it :

grilled-tandoori-chicken

To assemble the pizza :

tandoori chicken pieces
1/2 yellow bell pepper , sliced thinly
1 onion, sliced into rings
1 red chilli, deseeded and thinly sliced
a handful of low fat pizza cheese
 Leggo's tomato and mushroom pasta sauce / any pasta sauce of your choice

Spread a layer of sauce over your dough evenly. Sprinkle low fat pizza cheese..Then add sliced tandoori chicken pieces, yellow bell pepper, onion slices and red chilli slices. Sprinkle some salt and enough dried oregano....Bake at 200C for 10-15 mins or till pizza is cooked.

Serve with cilantro yogurt dressing :

2 tbsp. chopped cilantro
1/4 tbsp. minced ginger
juice of 1 small kalamansi lime
1/3 cup low fat greek yogurt

Blend all together...a delicious dressing...suitable for biryani as well...

Indian Style Chicken Mushroom Pasta

Bored with the usual tomato based pasta sauce? Here's one with a touch of spices to give it a new taste altogether....not as easy as opening a bottle n warming up the sauce but surely worth the extra effort..

You need :

Pasta (shell type / macaroni / bow tie pasta) - enough for 3 - cooked, drained and kept aside

1 small boneless, skinless chicken breast - cut into bite size pieces
5-6 button mushrooms - sliced
1 onion - sliced thinly
1 tomato - sliced thinly
a little turmeric powder
2 sprigs curry leaves
salt to taste
coriander leaves - garnish

For masala :

coriander seeds - 2tbsp
black peppercorns - 1 tsp
3 green chillies - chopped
5-6 garlic cloves - chopped
1 tsp olive oil

Heat oil in a non-stick pan and roast coriander seeds, peppercorns, garlic and green chillies. Let it cool and later grind the ingredients together till it makes a smooth paste by adding some water.

Next heat olive oil in pan, sauté onions till soft, add in chicken, mix well...later add in tomatoes, mushroom. Cook till tomato is soft. Add in ground masala, curry leaves, turmeric powder, salt and some water. Stir well and cook till chicken is cooked and gravy is a little thick.
Then, add in the cooked pasta and stir well. Taste and add in salt if needed.. Mix till well combined. Serve hot with coriander leaves as garnishing.

Black Pepper Mushroom Masala

Yummy vegetarian side dish..easy and quick to make...perfect even on weekdays.

 

I used :

1 packet of  fresh oyster mushrooms (sliced)
1 onion (sliced)
3 cloves garlic (minced)
1/2 inch ginger (sliced thinly)
1/2 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/4 tsp garam masala
1 tomato (sliced thinly)
salt
cracked black peppercorns (according to ur taste coz I like it spicy)
water
fresh coriander

Method:

Heat olive oil in a non-stick pan. Fry onion, garlic, ginger till fragrant. Add tomatoes and oyster mushrooms. Add in the coriander, cumin and garam masala. Mix and add in a little water to cook. Lastly add in salt and black peppercorns. Mix well. Garnish with fresh coriander. Serve hot with white rice.

Linked this to : http://cooking4allseasons.blogspot.com/2013/09/announcing-side-dish-mela-with-giveaways.html

Onion Egg Masala

• 2 – 2 ½ tbsp olive Oil
• 2 sprigs Curry Leaves
• 1 ½ tsp Ginger Garlic Paste
• 2 large Onions Sliced
• 3 Green Chilies slit vertically and cut into half
• 2 tsp Coriander Powder
• ½ tsp Turmeric
• 1 ½ tsp Chili Powder (adjust to taste)
• 1 tomato sliced
• Salt to Taste
• 6 Eggs boiled and peeled
• Cilantro to garnish

Preparation:

• Make slits on the boiled eggs. Arrange in a serving plate.
• In a pan heat olive oil, add curry leaves, ginger garlic paste and saute for a few seconds.
• Add onion and saute until translucent. This should take about 2-3 minutes.
• Add green chilies, coriander powder, turmeric, chili powder, tomato and salt. Stir well until all the spices are mixed well.
• Cover and cook for few minutes until onion and tomato are well cooked. Remove the cover.
• Fry for few more minutes, turn off the heat and transfer to the serving dish by poring the gravy on the eggs. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve.  

• The original recipe obtained from http://www.myspicykitchen.net/ 

Dry Spicy Tofu

I came up with this easy to make tofu recipe yesterday for lunch...spicy yet tasty..will definitely do this again when I need a spicy dish to kick up the meal ;)

You need :

4 tofu squares (cut into bite size pieces) rubbed with some turmeric powder and salt. Fried till slightly golden, keep aside)
1 1/2 tbsp chilli powder
2 big onions (sliced)
2 sprigs curry leaves
4 cloves garlic, choppped
handful of anchovies
oil for cooking
1/4 cup water
 salt, to taste

Method :
Grind together garlic and anchovies, keep aside..
 Heat oil in a pan. Saute onions till soft. Add in curry leaves, garlic and anchovies mix and chilli powder. Stir till well mixed. Add water. Cook till there is no 'chilli smell'. You may add more water if needed. Add in tofu and salt. Mix till tofu is well coated. Cook for a few minutes. Serve with white rice and dhall.

Chicken Pepper Fry (Kozhi Milagu Varuval)

 

This is one flavourful, aromatic, mouthwatering dish..this recipe is from my new addition to my cookbooks collection 'Mastering The Art Of Indian Cooking by Chef Sanjeev Kapoor'.

 

Ingredients:

2 skinless chicken breasts (cut into small pieces)
1 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp coriander powder
salt to taste
20 black peppercorn (crushed)
oil for cooking
1 inch ginger (sliced thinly)
10 cloves garlic (chopped)
2 medium onions (sliced)
2 sprigs curry leaves
1 large tomato (sliced)

Method :

1. Put the chicken in a large bowl, add the chilli powder, turmeric, coriander, salt, peppercorns and mix well. Set aside in the refrigerator to marinate about 30 mins.
2. Heat oil in a nonstick pan. Saute ginger, garlic and onions till onions turn golden. Add curry leaves, marinated chicken and saute for 10-15 mins.
3. Add the tomato and more salt to taste and saute till tomatoes are soft and cook till mixture is almost dry. Serve hot.

Stir Fry Bread

This is something my grandma used to do for breakfast when we were kids and I'll help her cut up the bread slices. It's so easy to make and will be a definite hit with kids ;)

6-8 slices of white bread (cut into cubes)
1 large onion (sliced)
1/3 cabbage (sliced thinly)
1/2 carrot (shredded)
2-3 tbsp butter
1/2 tsp or more chilli powder
salt to taste

Method :
Heat 1 tbsp of butter lightly on a nonstick pan..Saute the onion till soft. Add in chilli powder and mix well. Add in the cabbage and shredded carrot. Once cabbage and carrot are half cooked, add in bread pieces, the remaining butter and salt. Mix well to coat bread. Cook for a few minutes and remove from heat.

Eggless Moist Orange Cake

 

Hi everyone...Happy Tamil New Year...this is my first bake after a long absence. My Princess Shweta is a month old now and things are slowly getting into a routine. I managed to slot in a bake when she was taking a nap ;)....guess this is how things are gonna be for some time till she grows up...

Now, this cake is an easy bake, moist, fragrant with the right amount of sweetness. Do give it a try when u have only an hour to bake a cake as the preparation time I took was only 30 mins and 30 mins to bake. Most of the ingredients are things we usually have in the pantry.

Ingredients:

All purpose flour - 1 1/4 cup
Butter - 1/2 cup
Sweetened creamer - 1/2 cup
Brown castor sugar - 2 tbsp
Juice from 2 large oranges - freshly squeezed (1/2 cup)
Grated orange rind from 2 oranges
Baking soda - 1/2 tsp
Baking powder - 1/2 tsp
Vanilla extract - 1 tsp

Method :

Preheat oven to 180 degrees celcius.
In a mixing bowl,  beat together butter, creamer and sugar till well mixed.
In another bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and keep aside.
Next, add flour mixture and orange juice alternatively to the butter mixture and mix well with a wooden spatula. Add in vanilla extract.
Pour in a greased baking pan and bake for 30 mins or till skewer inserted comes out clean.

You may want to double the recipe if you want a taller cake which I plan to do the next time ;)

Linking this to : Nivedhanams - Bake Fest, Vardhini's Page

Coconut Dhal

Nothing tastes better with flatbreads than home made dhal...This time I tried out a simple recipe from Good Food and made some minor changes....the result : delicious, tasty dhal..served with parathas

Check out the original recipe here :
BBC Good Food

The changes I made :
I only used 1/2 the amount of coconut milk
I added a few cloves of garlic to the boiling dhal, 1/2 tsp of chilli powder and boiled it longer than the stated 20 minutes....

Prawn Masala

Yummy prawn masala....

You need :

10-15 prawns, peeled and deveined
1 medium onion, sliced
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 inch ginger, chopped finely
5 garlic cloves, chopped finely
3-4 dried chillies, sliced
1 1/2 tsp chilli powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
4 tbsp tomato puree
1 tomato, sliced  thinly
1 1/2 tsp garam masala
salt to taste
chopped coriander to garnish
water
3 boiled eggs

Heal olive oil in a non-stick pan, saute onions, ginger, garlic, cumin seeds and chillies till fragrant.
Add the chilli powder, turmeric powder, tomato, tomato puree and mix well. U may add a little water to make it into a thick gravy..Cook till chilli powder smell goes off and tomato slices are soft.
Then add in the prawns, salt and cook till prawns are cooked well..Add in coriander and turn off heat..Pour mixture over boiled eggs and serve hot..

Gula Melaka Ponggal

Gula Melaka (Palm Sugar)

Palm sugar is made from the sap of the palm tree. Fresh palm sap is boiled down shortly after collection to make concentrated heavy palm syrup. This syrup is poured into bamboo sections to form cylindrical shapes, or into small shallow bowls to form shallow hemi-spheres. The sugar range from, almost white through pale honey-gold to a deep, dark brown, with varying consistency.

Palm sugar is used throughout South East Asia – for both savoury and sweet dishes.

(Asian Food Channel)

I got this pure gula melaka (no added sugar) during my last visit to Melaka (a state in Msia)...it is fragrant...not so sweet..just perfect
I decided to make ponggal this year using gula melaka ;)

Wash 1 cup of rice with a handful of passi parupu...Boil 4 cups of water and rice..Add more water if needed..Stir once in a while so rice doesn't stick to bottom of pan...Cook till rice is very tender and soft.....Add in 1/2 - 3/4 cup of fresh milk, sukku powder, 2 pieces of cardamon, 3/4 cup of grated gula melaka and mix well...Lastly heat some ghee in a small pan and saute cashew nuts and raisin..Add this to the ponggal mixture and mix well...Add a pinch of salt...Mix..Turn off heat...Easy Ponggal is ready....

Gobi Manchurian

Ive always wanted to give this a try and managed to do it over the weekend...turned out delicious ;)

Ingredients :

For frying:
cauliflower florets (I used 1/2  a cauliflower)
7 tbsp plain flour
4 tbsp cornflour
1/2 tsp chilli powder or paprika
2 garlic cloves (pounded)
a bit of salt
enough water

For the sauce :
1 big onion (sliced)
2 green chillies (sliced lengthwise)
2 1/2 tbsp tomato ketchup
1 1/2 tsp chilli sauce or 1 tsp green chilli sauce
1 tsp light soy sauce
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
2 tsp cornflour (mixed with some water)
salt to taste

Method :

Heat oil in a non-stick pan. Fry onion and chilli till onions are soft and chilli turns colour. Add in garlic and fry for a couple of minutes.
The add in the ketchup, sauces and mix well. Later add in the vinegar. Mix for about 10 seconds and all in the cornflour mixture and cook till sauce thickens. Add salt if needed.

Next make the batter by combining all the frying ingredients with water. Heat oil. Dip cauliflower florets in the batter and fry till golden brown.

Once the cauliflower is fried, mix it all with the sauce till well coated. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot.

Linked this to :

Kitchen Chronicles : Only Vegan

Mango Lassi

A treat on a sunny day....yummy mango lassi.....

Got some indian mangoes at a local supermarket...sweet, juicy and smells awesome.....;)

This recipe makes 2...

1 big ripe mango, cut and spoon out the flesh into a blender.
1/2 cup Greek style Yogurt
1/2 - 3/4 cup fresh orange / mango juice
1/4 tsp pure vanilla
ice cubes

Blend all ingredients togethervand pour into glasses..Serve immediately... so yummy ;)

Linked this to :
Simple and In Season
Cool Summer Sips
Only Mango
Dish Starts With M
Splash Into Summer

Chettinad Style Soy Chunks Curry

Delicious curry with ground masala....:)

 

Ingredients:

1 cup dry soy chunks/Meal Maker
1 tablespoon oil
½ teaspoon black mustard seeds
¼ teaspoon cumin seeds
6 curry leaves

2 green chillies, slit. optional

4 shallots, chopped
3 garlic cloves, grind
2 small tomatoes, chopped
masala powder, see recipe below
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
coconut milk
Salt

coriander leaves

MethodRehydrate the soy chunks (meal maker) or granules according to package instructions.

Heat the oil in a medium saucepan. Add black mustard seeds and let them sizzle. Then add cumin and stir for 30 seconds. Add curry leaves and chillies, stir again. 

Then add onions, and sauté till the onions have softened. Add the garlic and tomatoes. Continue to cook on till the tomatoes are very soft.

Add the ground masala powder (recipe below), turmeric, and salt,fry for a minute.

Add soy chunks/meal maker and pour in 2 cups water. Bring to a boil. Continue boiling for about 5 minutes.

Pour in coconut milk according to preference and cook stirring for about 2 minutes. Taste the curry, adjust salt as needed

Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve hot.

For the masala powder
Ingredients1 tablespoons coriander seeds
1/2 tablespoon cumin seeds
1/2 tablespoon fennel seeds
1 small dried red chili, optional

MethodIn a small pan on low heat, Roast the ingredients till it lightly turns color and gets fragrant. Let the toasted spices cool a little. Then place in a  grinder and grind into a fine powder.