Chicken Frankie

by Deerga // May 25, 2015 // No Comments

I am very partial to non-vegetarian dishes in general and chicken in particular. There are numerous ways to cook chicken, be it an appetizer or an entree or a gravy, you name it and there is a recipe out there. Today, I am going to give you the recipe of one of my favorite chicken dishes, the Chicken Frankie. Chicken Frankie is a popular street food item in India. I was introduced to this amazing food item during my college days (sweet memories :)) There are a number of things that I miss from India like family, friends, mom’s food, marina beach, shopping malls etc and Chicken Frankie is one among them.

Chicken Frankie is basically a type of stuffed roll made from chappati/paratha and chicken. I believe it has its origin from north India (not sure about the exact location but it might have been Mumbai) and is a recent entry to the street food scene in Chennai, India. Chicken Frankie is an easy dish to make. I would say the only time consuming part in the whole process is the slicing of chicken in to small pieces! You can customize Chicken Frankie to suit your own preference like substituting the meat with any vegetables or egg, altering the spiciness etc.

In the US, I am yet to have Chicken Frankie. Agreed, there are similar dishes but I haven’t seen them matching to the tastiness of Chicken Frankie. Interestingly, my HB has never had it back in India :). Hope you too would make it often after trying this delicious and tasty desi street food, the Chicken Frankie, in your home 😉

Frankie

Recipe type: Main

Cuisine: Indian

Prep time: 5 mins

Cook time: 10 mins

Total time: 15 mins

Serves: 6 frankies

Ingredients

for the stuffing:

Oil – 1 tbsp
Cumin seed – 1 tsp
Onion, medium, finely chopped – 1 no
Ginger garlic paste – 1 tbsp
Tomato, small, finely chopped – 1 no
Green chilli – 1 no
Sambar powder or red chilli powder – 1 tbsp
Salt as required
Chicken, cut to small pieces – ½ kg (500 grams)
Cilantro, finely chopped – 1 tbsp

Other ingredients:

Uncooked Chapathi or rotis – 6 nos
Eggs, beaten – 1 no
Chilli sauce – 2 tbsp (optional)
Onion, slits, washed – 1 no (optional)
Oil to smear around rotis

Instructions

Heat oil in a tawa and add cumin seeds. When they start to sizzle add in finely chopped onion and sauté until they turn translucent. Add ginger garli paste and sauté until raw smell disappears. Add in chopped tomato and sauté until they turn mushy and leaves oil. Add salt and chilli or homemade sambar powder and give a quick stir. Finally add in the chicken pieces and stir to mix. Cover the lid and cook until the chicken is well done. Open the lid and cook until the excess water evaporates. Garnish with cilantro.
Heat a flat griddle pan and cook roti on one side, apply or brush beaten egg all over using a spoon, smear oil on the sides and flip over. After a minute or two, flip over again (egg side) and place 2 tbsp of the cooked chicken, some onion slits and chilli sauce. Roll them over tightly and wrap aluminum foil on one end of the Frankie. Serve it hot.

Notes

1.Make chapathi dough with equal portion of wheat and all purpose flour.
2.You can make any stuffing of your choice. Vegetarians can make it with mushroom, cauliflower, paneer, etc.
3.Adding chilli sauce is completely optional.

Idiyappam Sevai

by Deerga // April 26, 2015 // No Comments

Idiyappam is an ancient tamil dish (also popular in South Indian cuisine) made from rice flour, salt and water. It is also called as noolputt in Malayalam, Semige in Kannada and String Hoppers in English. There is a special tool to make Idiyappam which squeezes the dough (mixture of rice, salt and water) in to strings which is then steam cooked (usually a pressure cooker is used back home). Idiyappam Sevai is a dish that is made from Idiyappam and is usually served for breakfast or as a tiffin item.

Normally, I am not a big fan of Idiyappam, especially the sweeter variety that is had with coconut milk. So my mom used to make Idiyappam Sevai to satisfy my highly selective appetite 🙂 Similar to the days when Upma is had in our home (I don’t like Upma as well ;)), my mom used to make Idiyappam Sevai just for me. I love Idiyappam Sevai very much and it is super easy to make. You only use 5 ingredients to prepare this dish. Idiyappam can be had as is or with some chutney variety like coconut, onion etc.
Try this ancient, wonderful and easy to prepare dish in your home and let me know your experience.

Idiyappam Sevai

Recipe type: Breakfast or Tiffin

Cuisine: Indian

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 15 mins

Total time: 25 mins

Serves: 2

Ingredients

Oil – 1 tbsp
Fennel seeds – 1 tsp
Curry leaves – very few
Onion, medium, finely chopped – 1 no
Ginger garlic paste – 1 tbsp
Tomato, finely chopped – 1 no
Red chilli powder – 1 tbsp
Salt as required
Idiyappam (string hoppers), crumbled – 5 nos

Instructions

Heat oil in a wide pan and season with fennel seeds and curry leaves.
Add onion and sauté until they turn translucent.
Add ginger garlic paste and sauté until the raw aroma disappears.
Add chopped tomato and cook until oil they turn mushy.
Add in red chilli powder and salt and cook until oil seperates.
Finally add string hoppers, mix well and cook for a minute. Enjoy!

MUSHROOM PEPPER FRY

by Deerga // June 23, 2014 // 2 Comments

Mushroom is a popular ingredient found in Asian cuisine, especially, Korean, Indian and Japanese. It is a popular item in up-scale vegetarian restaurants back home. Do you know that mushroom is actually a type of fungus?! Mushroom pepper fry is a relatively new dish in my cook book. I learned it from a recipe that I found online. Mushroom pepper fry is one of those recipes that goes well with almost all main dishes, namely, rice, chappati, dosa, poori etc.

Mushroom pepper fry is what I call the vegetarian equivalent of mutton fry and trust me, it does taste similar. It is easy to cook and can be recycled to some type of gravy as well.

Do try this recipe in your home and let me know of your thoughts, including any new variations that you had tried or any suggestions!

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MUSHROOM PEPPER FRY

Recipe type: Lunch

Cuisine: Indian

Prep time: 5 mins

Cook time: 30 mins

Total time: 35 mins

Serves: 2

Ingredients

Oil – 2 tbsp
Whole spices – 1 bay leaf, 2 green cardamom, 2 cloves, 1 “ cinnamon stick
Cumin seeds – 1 tsp, divided
Onion, chopped – 1 no
Ginger-garlic paste – 1 tbsp
Curry leaves – a sprig
Green chilli, chopped – 2 nos
Tomato, chopped – 1 no
Turmeric powder – a pinch
Mushroom – 150 grams
Salt as required
Cilantro – to ganish
Lemon juice – 1 tbsp

To crush

Black pepper – 1 tsp
Garlic – ½ tsp
Cumin seeds – ½ tsp

For the seasoning

Butter – ½ tbsp
Crushed items
Coriander powder – ½ tbsp
Cumin power – ½ tbsp
Red chilli powder - ½ tbsp
Cilantro – ½ tbsp

Instructions

Heat oil in a wide open pan and add the whole spices. Add in half a tsp of cumin seeds, followed by chopped onion. When they turn translucent, add turmeric powder and ginger garlic paste.
When the raw aroma disappears add curry leaves. Add green chillies followed by tomatoes. Sauté well and simmer. Meanwhile wash and cut the mushrooms.
After the tomatoes are well cooked add the mushrooms and sauté well. Add in half a cup of water. Cover and cook for couple of minutes.
While the mushrooms are getting cooked, heat a seasoning ladle (or a small pan), add butter and season with crushed garlic, pepper and cumin seeds. Also, add all the powders and cilantro to the seasoning. Give a quick stir and add to the mushroom gravy. Add salt. Cook until all the water is evaporated and you get the nice and dry mushroom fry (or make it as a semi gravy according to your choice)