weekend dinner recipe Archives

Kothu parotta is a tasty dish from my state, Tamilnadu. It is wildly popular in south Tamilnadu (Madurai, Virudhunagar districts). It is basically a dish made from minced parottas, eggs and meat (usually chicken).
Kothu parotta is a special dish for me since it is the very first recipe that I tried in my life 🙂 I learned to prepare this dish from my mom. Back in my native, you can hear the distinct sound of mincing parottas on large open iron skillets (does not have handle and is set on top of an iron cauldron of fire) using spatulas in the evenings. I miss that sound badly 🙁 There are different varieties to make kothu parotta and there is one variety where you add gravy, called as chalna, to the minced parottas which tastes delicious – kothu parotta in restaurants are made this way and the chalna used is chicken based (yummy!
I personally like parotta more than chappati or poori and kothu parotta is my favorite. The Chalna used in kothu parotta, again has different varieties. I have tried different recipes and I believe I have narrowed it down to one particular recipe. I will post the recipe of soon. There are both vegetarian and non-vegetarian kothu parotta. I personally prefer the non-vegetarian one (for obvious reasons! – egg and chicken)

Here is the recipe for the tasty and filling kothu parotta. Enjoy!

KOTHU PAROTTA | EGG KOTHU PAROTTA | CHICKEN KOTHU PAROTTA

Recipe type: Dinner

Cuisine: Indian

Prep time: 5 mins

Cook time: 15 mins

Total time: 20 mins

Serves: 2

Ingredients

Oil – 1 !/2 tbsp
Onion (Finely chopped) – 1
Curry leaves – a sprig , divided
Tomato (Finely chopped,divided) – 1
Ginger garlic paste – 1 tbs
Green Chili (slits) – 3
Eggs – 2
Parotta – 4
Chalna – ½ cup
Salt as required
Black pepper powder – 1 tsp

Instructions

Shred the parottas into very small pieces with the help of your hand.
Heat a wok or a heavy bottomed kadai with oil, add chopped onion and curry leaves. sauté until the onion turns light brown/translucent.
Add in ginger-garlic paste. Stir fry till the raw aroma of ginger-garlic disappears.
Add chopped tomato and green chillies and sauté until the tomatoes are half cooked.
Add in the minced parottas and mix well and move the parotta pieces to one side of the pan.
Now add the beaten eggs along with salt on the side of the same pan and sauté (without mixing with the parottas) until the eggs are well cooked.
Mix well the eggs and the parottas.
Now comes the interesting part. Sprinkle chalna on top and mix well.
When the chalna is well combined with the parotta pieces, sprinkle black pepper ,curry leaves and remaining ¼ tomato pieces on top. Sauté for a minute and switch off the flame.

Notes

1. Here I have given the restaurant touch by dividing the tomatoes. But it can also be added altogether.
2. Avoid adding more chalna to the parattos as it might turn soggy.
3. In case if you have added more chalna, sauté until the parottas comes to the desired consistency.
4. Adding black pepper at last is my mom’s touch. It adds taste and takes egg smell.
5. Vegetarians can add green peas and potato instead of eggs.

Channa or Channa Masala is a very popular north Indian dish made from chick peas. You can find Channa Masala in almost all Indian restaurants, north Indian or south Indian. Channa is a very good source of protein and when cooked as a gravy it tastes yummy. In fact, it is one of my HB’s favorite dishes. We never fail to make Channa Masala at least once every two weeks.
The main step in preparing Channa Masala is the amount of time that you soak the chick peas in water before cooking. The more it is soaked, the faster it gets cooked. As I said above, it is a good source of protein and I heard from my HB that back in India, he and his friends used leave Channa soaked in water overnight and have a handful before hitting the gym, sort of like an energy booster. There is also a black chickpea called as Kondaikadalai in my native tongue that can be cooked similar to Channa Masala. I have given the recipe for that here . There are days when we cook Channa without any masala, i.e., not in a gravy form and have it for dinner. This type is called a Sundal in Tamil. It is a popular Prashadam dish in temples back home.
Channa Masala is a very good side dish for Chappati, Bhature (Channa Bhature is another popular north Indian dish), Poori and rice as well. And here is the recipe for Channa Masala. Try it in your home and as always comment on your experience and thoughts 🙂

CHANNA / CHOLE

Recipe type: Lunch|Dinner

Cuisine: Indian

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 20 mins

Total time: 30 mins

Serves: 2

Ingredients

Cooking or vegetable oil – 1 tbs
Cinnamon stick – 1 (2 inch)
Cardamom – 3
Cloves – 2
Bay leaf – 1
Cumin seeds – 1 tbs
Onion – 1
Turmeric powder – 1 tsp
Ginger & Garlic paste – 1 tbs
Green chillies, finely chopped – 1 no
Channa masala – 1 ½ tbs
Channa or chickpeas – 1 cup
Lemon juice – 1 tbs
Salt as required
Coriander leaves – for garnishing

to make puree

Tomato - 1 no
green chilli - 1 no

Instructions

Soak the channa/chickpeas overnight or for 8 hours.
Pressure cook the channa with little water and a tsp of salt for 3 whistles - It should be cooked in such a way that you could smash the channa by your thumb and index fingers.
Make a puree of tomato and green chilli in a blender and set aside.
Heat a wide pan with a tbs of oil, add the whole spices mentioned above followed by cumin seeds.
When cumin seeds start to splutter, add chopped onion and fry till they are softened and become translucent.
Add turmeric powder and ginger-garlic paste. Sauté until the raw aroma of ginger-garlic disappears.
Add the tomato puree and chopped green chilli. Saute for 2-3 minutes, stirring in between.
Add channa masala powder and little salt . Mix well and saute until oil seperates.
Add the cooked masala into boiled channa, mix well and pressure cook for another 2 whistles.
Sprinkle few drops of lemon juice on top and garnish with coriander leaves.
Serve hot channa masala with pooris, chapattis or steamed rice accompanied with lemon & onion slices.