Quinoa

by Deerga // June 11, 2015 // No Comments

Quinoa (pronounced as Kin-wa) is a product of South America and is a relative of spinach and beets. It looks like a variety of grain but actually is grown as plants. The part we eat is the seed which is gluten-free. You can even eat the leaves of a quinoa plant!

While no single food can supply all the essential life sustaining nutrients, quinoa comes as close as any other in the plant or animal kingdom. That’s because quinoa is what’s called a complete protein, meaning it contains all nine of the essential amino acids, which cannot be made by the body and therefore must come from food.

There are different varieties of quinoa but red, white and black quinoas are the most widely available. Among these white quinoa is the most popular variety. Red quinoa is more often used in salads. Black quinoa has sweeter taste. I have had only white quinoa so far. I find its taste closely resembling to rice but much healthier as mentioned above. I have given a detailed description of what quinoa is because I was not sure about the prevalence of this super food among people and wanted to create awareness as well.

Quinoa is very easy to cook and there are no special instruction as far as cooking is concerned. Just follow the same steps that you normally do for cooking rice. Below I have given the recipe for lemon quinoa which is very similar to lemon rice except that we substitute quinoa for rice. You can also alter this recipe to make tamarind quinoa just like tamarind rice. My dear friends have been requesting for a while to post quinoa recipes and I can’t wait to share the interesting recipes that I have in store. 🙂

Quinoa

Recipe type: Main

Cuisine: Indian

Prep time: 2 mins

Cook time: 10 mins

Total time: 12 mins

Serves: 2

Ingredients

Quinoa – 1 cup
Water - 1 ½ cups
Salt as required
Oil – 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds – ½ tsp
Urad dal – ½ tsp
Curry leaves - a sprig
Red chilli – 3 nos
Asafetida or hing – a generous pinch
Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp
Lemon, big – 1 no (or 2 if small)

Instructions

Wash the quinoa thoroughly in water, add 1 ½ or 2 cups of water and enough salt and pressure cook for three whistles.
Squeeze the juice of lemon and keep it ready. Heat a tempering ladle with oil and temper with mustard and urad dal. When they start to sizzle, add split red chillies and curry leaves. Add turmeric powder and hing. Switch off the flame and add lemon juice.
Add the tempering to the cooked quinoa. Mix well and serve it hot with potato fry or chips on the side. Enjoy! 

Fish Fry

by Deerga // June 8, 2015 // No Comments

Fish fry is the most popular dish among seafood in every Indian cuisine (as long as non vegetarian items are permissible). It is a very simple dish that stays true to its name i.e., fish that has been fried in oil. As I had mentioned in my fish gravy post, fish is one of my most favorite foods and anything made with it is a no brainer for me. I have been trying to make the perfect fish fry for quite some time and the problem for me was that I could not get the right fish variety. Most recently, I got to buy king fish (the one used back home for fish fry) and to my delight the fry I made from it turned out to be almost perfect ( 🙂 I will never say any of my dishes to be perfect since I always feel that there is still room for improvement) .

Fish fry is very popular back home and you can see vendors selling them along with other delicacies in beaches and as cart foods on streets. There are so many recipes to make fish fry but the one I have posted here is really simple. All you need are chilli powder, salt and lemon juice. For health conscious people out there, you can shallow fry instead of deep frying the fish. Fish fry with fish gravy is an awesome combination. You can also have it as an appetizer or as an evening snack 🙂

Try this simple and tasty fish fry in your kitchen and do let me know which method you prefer, deep fried or shallow fried?

Fish Fry

Recipe type: Appetizer

Cuisine: Indian

Prep time: 5 mins

Cook time: 5 mins

Total time: 10 mins

Serves: 2 fish pieces

Ingredients

Red chilli powder – 1 ½ tsp
Salt as required
Lemon juice – 1 tsp
Fish – 2 pieces ( I used seer/king/vanjiram fish)
Oil – 2 tbsp

Instructions

Wash the fish thoroughly with little turmeric powder to get rid of the raw smell.
Make a thick paste of red chilli powder, salt and lemon juice. Check for salt and spiciness.
Apply the paste on both the sides of the fish and leave it for at least half an hour.
Heat oil in a flat pan, place the marinated fish on it and fry for a minute until one side is well fried.
Flip over and cook the other side until crispy.
Place it on a plate lined with tissue paper. Serve hot with spicy fish gravy and white rice or just have it as is! Enjoy! 

Mango Bread

by Deerga // June 2, 2015 // No Comments

Today, I was in the mood for something sweet, something that describes the summer season and something healthy. Yep, it has got something to do with Mango. It is the Mango bread! The recipe for Mango bread that I have given below is truly healthy and is a light fare. It has no eggs, is made of wheat flour and has very little added sugar!
I came across this Mango bread recipe online recently and it immediately picked my curiosity. I have heard about banana bread, zucchini bread, raisin bread etc but Mango bread? It was the first time I have heard about it. But trust me, the bread tastes awesome. Mango bread can be had for breakfast or served as a snack. If you are left with more mangoes than you could possibly eat, I would say Mango bread is the way to go.

Mango bread is very easy to make and as said earlier, is healthy as well. Kids would love it. Try baking this unique bread variety in your kitchen and let me know how well you liked it 🙂

Mango Bread

Recipe type: Breakfast

Cuisine: Indian

Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: 55 mins

Total time: 1 hour 10 mins

Serves: 1 (9 x 5 x 3 inches) loaf

Ingredients

1½ cups wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
8 tbsp unsalted butter (1/2 cup or 1 stick), room temperature
¾ cup sweetened condensed milk
2 large mangoes or 1 cup mango puree
3 to 4 tsp sugar or add as required
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Instructions

Grease a loaf pan (9 x 5 x 3 inches) with butter or oil on the bottom and on all four sides and set aside.
Sieve flour, baking powder and baking soda together in a medium bowl.
Peel and cut the mangoes (measuring 1 cup tightly packed) and add it to the blender. Add sugar according to your taste and depending on mangoes' sweetness. Blend together in to a puree.
Preheat the oven to 350 degree Fahrenheit or 180 degree Celsius.
In a large oven safe mixing bowl, heat and melt the butter for 35 seconds. Allow it to cool.
Add in condensed milk to the butter and whisk together in to a smooth mixture.
Add in the mango puree and vanilla or mango essence and whisk together until well combined. – I would highly recommend using mango essence to get the complete flavor in the bread.
Add in the flour and gently fold them together using a spatula. – The important thing is not to over mix the batter. You do not want it to be smooth. Over mixing the batter will yield tough, rubbery bread. The batter might look thinner if you are using store bought mango puree.
Pour batter into prepared loaf pan. Shake the pan and even the batter on top using spatula.
Bake in oven (preferably in the middle rack) for 55 minutes, until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean – I covered the pan with aluminum foil after 35 minutes when it started to turn brown on top.
Turn out the bread onto a wire rack and allow it to cool. Serve the yummy mango bread as hot or cold for a breakfast or brunch or as an evening snack. Enjoy! 

Notes

1.Recipe also suggests to use cardamom powder or cinnamon powder or mango essence in place of vanilla extract.
2.Use a fiber less mangoes.
3.Wheat flour could also be substituted with all purpose flour.

Chicken Mappas

by Deerga // June 1, 2015 // No Comments

Chicken Mappas is a traditional chicken gravy from the state of Kerala, India. It is a very recent dish that I tried and very much liked it 🙂 Mappas is Kerala Christian style of cooking dishes entirely using coconut milk. So as the name suggests Chicken Mappas is chicken cooked in coconut milk 🙂

Chicken Mappas is one dish that tastes totally different than how it looks. It is a watery (stew like) gravy packed with full of flavor. Also, it is one of the easiest and simplest non vegetarian dishes to make. All you need is chicken, coconut oil, turmeric, green chilli and coconut milk. As you might know Kerala cuisine is known for its generous use of coconut oil and in Chicken Mappas that comes to the fore. It serves to be a major source of the dish’s distinct flavor.
Chicken Mappas is an excellent combination for Idiyappam (String Hoppers). It can also be served as a soup. Since coconut milk is used, Chicken Mappas gives you that fullness quiet easily even when had in small quantities. Do try this Mappas in your kitchen and do let me know what else it would go well with other than Idiyappam 🙂

Chicken Mappas

Recipe type: Main

Cuisine: Indian

Prep time: 5 mins

Cook time: 15 mins

Total time: 20 mins

Serves: 4

Chicken Mappas is a very simple and traditional Kerela style chicken stew packed with full of flavors.

Ingredients

Coconut oil – 1 tbsp
Whole red chilli – 2 nos
Shallots, cut lengthwise – 4 nos
Ginger, minced, crushed – ½ tsp
Garlic, minced, crushed – ½ tsp
Green chilli, finely chopped – 2 nos
Curry leaves – half a sprig
Coriander powder – 1 tbsp
Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp
Black pepper powder, freshly ground – ½ tsp
Salt as required
Chicken – ½ kg
Coconut milk – ½ cup

for tempering:

Coconut oil – 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds – 1 tsp
Whole red chilli – 3 nos
Shallots, cut lengthwise – 6 nos
Curry leaves – half a sprig

Instructions

Heat coconut oil in a flat pan and add red chillies, shallots, ginger, garlic, green chillies and curry leaves one by one. Sauté until onions turn translucent.
Add coriander powder, turmeric powder, pepper powder and salt. Sauté them and add the chicken. Add ½ cup of water. Stir to mix. Cover and cook until the chicken is well cooked.
Check for salt and finally add the coconut milk and cook for another couple of minutes. Switch off the flame.
Heat a small pan and add coconut oil. Add the above given ingredients one by one and fry until the onions turn golden brown
Add the above tempered mixture to the chicken mappas.
Serve the chicken mappas with hot idiyappams. Enjoy! 

Fish Gravy

by Deerga // May 29, 2015 // No Comments

Generally, I am big fan of any food items that has tamarind as one of the ingredients like puli kuzhambu (tamarind gravy), puliyogare (tamarind rice) etc. On those lines, one other dish that I like so much is the Meen kuzhambu/Fish gravy and this gravy also has tamarind as one of the ingredients. Fish gravy is one dish which literally took a lot of my effort in getting it right. Every time I try making this gravy, something or the other didn’t come together. I always suspected that the variety of fish I buy was the reason. So when I visited India recently, this was the dish I had on the top of my list to learn 😉 I tried fish gravy as soon as I returned home and voila! It turned out to be one of my best creations ever 😉

I always liked fish since my childhood. I like its texture and taste. The meen kuzhambu that I have given here is one of my mom’s signature recipes. The main ingredients that are used here, other than tamarind, are tomato and green chilli. Fish in general absorbs too much of hotness from the ingredients that we use (chilli and homemade sambar powder). So you need to add extra chilli and/or sambar powder to the gravy. Also, the addition of sambar powder gives thickness to the gravy (you can substitute coconut milk as well here).

One lesson that I learnt from this successful attempt of preparing meen kuzhambu/fish gravy is that if you have the right recipe, you don’t have to worry about the fish you use. So people do try this wonderful recipe and let me know your equally wonderful experience!

Other things that I have learnt,

Add extra oil while making fish gravy – enhances the taste.
Right amount of tamarind – gives the kick to the gravy.
Add extra spiciness – fish absorbs more spice.
Fish cooks real fast, so do not stir the gravy often once the fish is added – So that you don’t break/mash the fish.
And finally, like biriyani and pizza, fish gravy tastes excellent when had the next day! 🙂

Fish Gravy

Recipe type: Main

Cuisine: Indian

Prep time: 5 mins

Cook time: 25 mins

Total time: 30 mins

Serves: 4

A traditional and authentic fish gravy recipe made using tamarind extract and spices.

Ingredients

to marinate:

Homemade sambar powder or kuzhambu podi – 1 tbsp
Salt – ½ tsp
King or seer fish – 1 pound (5 pieces)

other ingredients:

Gingelly oil – 3 to 4 tbsp
Fenugreek seeds – ½ tsp
Shallots, cut to rings – 6 nos
Garlic cloves, cut to rounds – 5 nos
Tomatoes, big, finely chopped – 1 ½ nos
Green chilli – 1 no
Salt as required
Tamarind - Big gooseberry size
Jaggery - a very small piece (a generous pinch)
Homemade sambar powder or kuzhambu podi– 2 tbsp
Red chilli powder – 1 tsp
Grated coconut – 1 to 2 tbsp (optional)

to crush and temper:

Shallots – 1 no
Garlic cloves - 1 no
Ginger – 1”
Oil – 1 tbsp (oil used to fry the fish)

Instructions

Clean and wash the fish with a tsp of turmeric powder and marinate them with the above given ingredients. Cover and leave it for at least half an hour.
Soak tamarind in a cup of water and extract the juice or blend them in a blender to a thick paste.
Grind coconut and a shallot to a fine paste (this step is completely optional).
Heat oil in a kadai or any wide open deep pan and add fenugreek seeds. When they start to sizzle add chopped shallots. Sauté until the onion turn translucent and then add chopped garlic and fry for a minute until it turns golden brown.
Add chopped tomatoes and a slit green chilli. Cook until the tomatoes are mushy. It takes 2 to 3 minutes.
Add in the tamarind extract/paste and allow them to boil. Add a pinch of jaggery at this time.
Now reduce the flame and add sambar powder, red chilli powder and salt. Mix well and cook until the gravy leaves oil.
When the gravy starts to boil, check for salt and spice and add the marinated fish to the gravy. Cook until the gravy leaves oil. It takes about 5 to 8 minutes – Do not stir the gravy once the fish is added. Just slightly tilt around the kadai if you wanted to.
Meanwhile crush shallots, ginger and garlic in a motor and pestle.
If you are making a large batch, add coconut paste to the gravy five minutes after the fish is added to the gravy.
Heat a seasoning ladle and fry the crushed ingredients until light golden brown and pour them in to the fish gravy.
Enjoy the tasty fish gravy with hot rice and fish fry and experience the heaven! 

Notes

1.Here I have used king fish. You can use any variety of fish of your choice. I heard red snapper tastes excellent for fish gravy. 😉
2.I usually don’t add coconut paste to the gravy if I am making for just the two of us. I recommend adding it when you are making a large batch.
3.Adding jaggery enhances the tanginess of the fish gravy
4.If you are making fish fry on the same day, season the crushed ingredients in the left over oil. My mom always does this because it adds more taste to the gravy.

White Chocolate Cupcake with truffle filling

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

Thank you, guys for your love and support. I have received 1000+ likes for MyEdibleCravings Facebook page. It has been an amazing journey so far and I hope it continues to be so in the future as well. To celebrate this special milestone I decided to prepare something special; something that is sweet (obviously :)) and something exotic in taste. And that special recipe turned out to be that of a White Chocolate Cupcake with Truffle filling. It is a soft, fluffy cupcake with a creamy frosting and a silky smooth truffle filling which is the kicker. Don’t you agree that the name itself has its own taste?

Making White Chocolate Cupcake with truffle filling is a time consuming process and patience is the key. It is a sweet treat and is an excellent dessert to serve. To mix the batter and to whisk the eggs and chocolate, having an electric mixer will be handy (I used KitchenAid hand mixer). Also, as the name suggests, white chocolate is the star ingredient here and I went with Lindt-Lindor white chocolate varieties, both for the cupcakes and the truffle filling.

White Chocolate Cupcake with truffle filling is something I came across recently. I have been waiting for the right occasion to make it because as mentioned above, it is a little bit time consuming and I wanted a worthwhile cause to justify my effort ;). And 1000+ likes is indeed a worthwhile event for me to celebrate. I wish that after seeing the recipe down below, you too would give it a try for one of your memorable occasions in life 🙂

White Chocolate Cupcake with truffle filling

Prep time: 1 hour

Cook time: 25 mins

Total time: 1 hour 25 mins

Serves: 12 cupcakes

Ingredients

1¾ cups cake flour
2 tsps baking powder
⅔ cup milk, whole milk is best
½ a vanilla bean
4 egg whites, room temperature
6 tbsps butter
½ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup sour cream
12 Lindt-Lindor white chocolate truffles

For the frosting

6 Oz white chocolate for baking, chopped
1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
¼ cup butter (1/2 stick), softened
½ a vanilla bean
2 cups powdered sugar
White chocolate shavings (optional)

Instructions

Bring the eggs, butter and cream cheese to room temperature. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Place paper liners inside the wells of a muffin pan.
Sieve flour and baking powder in a small mixing bowl. Slit the whole vanilla bean in the center and scrape just half a vanilla bean paste. Combine milk and vanilla bean paste in a measuring cup (1-cup).
In a medium mixing bowl (2 qt.), beat egg whites on high speed of electric mixer until stiff peaks form. It took me 40 minutes to reach that stage using my hand mixer. Refer notes below.
In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and granulated sugar on medium-high speed until fluffy (it would take around 3 minutes); beat in sour cream until smooth.
On medium speed, add flour mixture in three additions, alternating with milk mixture in two additions, mixing until smooth.
Whisk in one-third of the egg whites with whisk. Fold in remaining egg whites using whisk. Divide batter evenly among liners.
Bake in the middle rack for 17-20 minutes or until wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove pan from oven on to a cooling rack.
Immediately snip a ½-inch-deep “x” on top of each cupcake using scissors. Press one truffle into each cupcake until flush with top of cupcake.
Remove the cupcakes from pan. Allow it to cool for 30 minutes or to room temperature. (Truffles will melt into cupcakes.)
Meanwhile, for frosting, place white chocolate in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave, uncovered, on high for 1 to 1 ½ minutes or until chocolate is mostly melted, stirring every 30 seconds if needed. Let stand 3 minutes or until slightly cooled.
In the same mixing bowl, combine cream cheese, butter and vanilla; using clean beaters, beat on medium speed until well blended. Slowly add powdered sugar; beat well.
Frost cupcakes and sprinkle with white chocolate shavings.

Notes

1.If you are using a electric hand mixer like me, I would advise you to follow these steps.
• Beat sugar and butter until fluffy in a large bowl.
• In a medium mixing bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form.
• Add sour cream to the sugar and butter mixture and beat until smooth. And then proceed with step 6 above.
2.You could also use double strength vanilla essence in place of vanilla bean. Add half tsp each for the batter and frosting.
3.I would recommend cooling the frosting in the refrigerator for about 10 to 15 minutes before decorating the cake with it. That way it will get perfect frosting. I used Wilton’s jumbo 2M pipe for frosting the cupcakes.

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.

Kadai Paneer

by Deerga // May 19, 2015 // No Comments

Paneer is a type of cheese that is common in South Asian cuisine. Paneer is made by curdling milk with the addition of lime or vinegar. Here in the US, cottage cheese or queso fresco (a variety of Mexican cheese) is the recommended substitutes. There are a variety of dishes made from paneer in north Indian cuisine. Here I have posted the recipe for one such popular dish called Kadai Paneer.
Kadai Paneer literally means paneer that is cooked in a cooking pot. It is a popular dish in Indian restaurants and often served during festivals and in functions. Kadai Paneer is one of the few dishes that I liked in the first taste. The recipe I have given below is of restaurant style Kadai Paneer. It is spicy and colorful dish (mainly because of the bell peppers) and goes well with chappati (or any Indian flatbreads), pulav/pulao etc.
For Kadai Paneer, fresh ingredients are the key. You have to make the ingredients like crushed ginger garlic, coriander powder and chilli powder only when it is time for them to be added, unlike other recipes where they are prepared beforehand. Try this restaurant style Kadai Paneer and enjoy it with hot rotis on a lay afternoon like I do – It does feel heavenly. 🙂

Kadai Paneer

Recipe type: Main

Cuisine: Indian

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 25 mins

Total time: 35 mins

Serves: 3

Ingredients

Cumin seed – a pinch
Onion, medium, finely chopped – ½ no
Garic cloves – 4 nos
Ginger – ¾”
Tomatoes, big, finely chopped – 2 nos
Coriander seeds – 1 tsp
Red chilli flakes – ½ tsp
Green or red bell pepper or capsicum, julienned – ½ no
Green chilli, finely chopped – 1 nos
Salt as required
Garam masala – a pinch
Paneer, cut to cubes – ½ pk
Kasthoori methi leaves or dry fenugreek leaves – 1 ½ tsp
Ginger, julienned – ¼ “
Cilantro, finely chopped - for garnishing

Instructions

Heat a kadai and add oil. When the oil is hot add cumin seeds. Wait until they start to sizzle. Add finely chopped onion. Sauté until they turn translucent. Meanwhile crush ginger and garlic in a motor and pestle.
Add the crushed ginger and garlic. Sauté until the raw smell disappears.
Add in finely chopped tomato and sauté well in a low flame. Meanwhile coarsely pulse the coriander seed and red chilli flakes for very few seconds. See notes below.
Add the coriander powder and mix well. Sauté and cook until oil separates.
Add in the julienned capsicum and green chilli. Mix and sauté them for couple of minutes until capsicum is half cooked – you could add very little water if you feel the mixture is dry.
Add salt and garam masala. Stir to mix.
Add in the paneer cubes and mix until the masala is well coated. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes and add kasthoori methi, julienned ginger and coriander leaves. Stir and cook for another couple of minutes and switch off the flame.
Serve delicious kadai paneer with any pulao or roti. Enjoy!

Notes

1.Fresh ingredients are the key for this recipe. Make crushed ginger garlic and coriander powder then and there when needed.
2.I added chilli flakes so it took me only very few seconds to blend them to a coarse powder. You could also add one red chilli in place of chilli flakes.
3.The coriander mixture has to be coarse and do not blend it to fine powder.

Kovilpatti Chicken Kuzhambu

by Deerga // May 17, 2015 // No Comments

Today, I am posting a recipe given to me by my friend who hails from Kovilpatti, a southern town in my home state of Tamilnadu in India. Kovilpatti is famous for its yummy kadalamittai (a sweet variety made from peanuts), matchstick and fireworks industry. Actually, the recipe is of chicken gravy but I have named it as Kovilpatti chicken kuzhambu in honor of my dear friend.:)
Kovilpatti Chicken Kuzhambu is a very tasty chicken gravy and the recipe does not have coconut as one of the ingredients. One other uniqueness of this gravy is the use of castor oil and believe it or not, it enhances the flavor. And Kovilpatti Chicken Kuzhambu is my HB’s favorite chicken gravy and is one of the recipes that are often made in our home.
Kovilpatti Chicken Kuzhambu goes well with white rice, dosa, chappati etc. Also, I would suggest using country chicken (naatu kozhi) for the gravy, if available since that is what is used back home for any chicken recipe. It gives excellent taste to the gravy and also an authenticity to the recipe. 🙂

Kovilpatti Chicken Kuzhambu

Recipe type: Main

Cuisine: Indian

Prep time: 5 mins

Cook time: 25 mins

Total time: 30 mins

Serves: 3

Ingredients

To grind:

Ginger – 1”
Garlic cloves – 8 nos
Green chillies – 2
Shallots – 6

Other ingredients:

Gingely oil – 3 tbsp
Bay leaf – 1 no
Cinnamon stick – ½ “
Fennel seeds – a pinch
Onion, big, finely chopped – 1 no
Tomato, big, finely chopped – 1 no
Chilli powder – 1 tbsp
Coriander powder – 2 tbsp
Whole black pepper, freshly ground, powdered – 1 tbsp
Cumin powder -1 tsp
Garam masala powder – a pinch
Salt - as required
Chicken – ½ kg (750 grams)
Cilantro – for garnishing
Castor oil – 3 drops

Instructions

Grind all the given ingredients under ‘to grind’ and make a fine paste.
Heat oil in a thick bottomed sauce pan and add bay leaf, cinnamon and fennel seeds. When they start to sizzle add in the chopped onions and sauté until they turn translucent.
Add the ground paste and sauté until the raw smell of shallots disappear.
Add the chopped tomatoes and sauté until oil gets separated.
Now add in all the powders (chilli, coriander, cumin, pepper, garam masala) along with salt and give a quick stir. Lower the flame and add very little water. Sauté until the raw smell disappears.
Finally add in the cleaned chicken pieces, stir well until the masalas are well coated on the chicken. Add a cup of water and check for salt. Cover the lid and cook in low to medium flame for 15 minutes or until the chicken is well cooked.
Add few drops of castor oil on top and cook for another couple of minutes. Switch off the flame and garnish with freshly chopped cilantro.
Enjoy this excellent kovilpatti chicken kuzhambu with white rice or any Indian rotis! 

Notes

1.Adding castor oil is to enhance the taste. You could also use coconut oil instead.
2.This gravy tastes good as it is. In case if you want add richness to the gravy (or making a big batch) you can either add ½ a cup of coconut milk and cashew paste or you could just add yogurt.
3.I like my gravy to be thick so I added just a cup of water. You can adjust it according to your own taste.

Anganan Biriyani

by Deerga // May 15, 2015 // No Comments

Coimbatore is a southern city in my home state of Tamilnadu. It is popularly known as Manchester of the south due to its textile industry. When you think of Coimbatore, the first that comes to your mind is the lilting Tamil (Kongu Tamil) accent spoken by the people there. I have had the fortune to hear that from friends at college. Thanks dears. Since mine is a food blog and I do know of a popular dish from Coimbatore, I would like to share that here. The dish is the famous Coimbatore Anganan Biriyani.Anganan Briyani is a very light biriyani in the sense that you won’t feel that usual heaviness that you have after eating biriyani. That is because of the less masala that you use in this variety. I have never had Anganan Biriyani back in India but seems that my HB had had (of course he did since it is ‘BIRIYANI’ ;)) It has been a while since I had made this variety of Biryani. I was going through my recipe collection the other day and came across it and here I am posting the recipe. The recipe below is for chicken biriyani and you can modify it other types like mutton or fish as desired.Try this Coimbatore specialty Anganan Biriyani at your home and experience the lightness that I talked about earlier. And yes, my HB did say that my version of Anganan biriyani tasted similar to the original! As always share your comments and experience below. Now, I am off to make Anganan Biriyani and until then, ciao 🙂

Anganan Biriyani

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 25 mins

Total time: 35 mins

Serves: 3 or 4

Ingredients

To grind and marinate:

Shallots – 6 nos
Green chillies – 4 nos
Lemon juice – 1 tbsp
Ginger garlic paste – 1 tbsp
Cinnamon stick – 1”
Cardamom – 2 nos
Cloves – 3 nos
Mace or javetri – ½
Star anise – 1 no
Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp
Yogurt – 2 tbsp

Other ingredients:

Oil – 3 to 4 tbsp
Cinnamon stick – 1”
Cardamom – 2 nos
Cloves -2 nos
Green chillies, slits – 5 nos
Mint, finely chopped – 1 cup
Onion, big, slits – 1 no
Chicken – 750 grams
Salt as required
Water – 3 cups (1:1/2 ratio, for 1 cup of rice add 1½ cups of water)
Seeraga samba rice – 2 cups (I used basmati)

Instructions

Wash and soak the rice in water for 30 minutes. Drain and save the water.
Grind all the given ingredients under ‘to grind’ and make a fine paste – marinade.
Make few deep slits until the bone on either side of the chicken and marinate with the above paste.
Heat a pressure cooker with enough oil. Add in the whole garam masalas and allow them to sizzle. Add green chillies, mint and onions. Sauté until the onions turn translucent.
Add the marinated chicken. Stir to mix and sauté for a couple of minutes.
Add enough salt and water. Cook for 15 minutes until the chicken is ¾th cooked.
Check for saltiness and add the rice, carefully mixing it and bring it to boil. When the water is ¾th absorbed or you see the rice on top, lower the flame and garnish with chopped cilantro and ghee.
Close the lid and dum cook (without whistle) for 10 minutes and switch off the flame. After 10 minutes, serve it hot with any raitha and gravy on the side. Enjoy! 

Notes

You don’t have to soak samba rice in water before you cook. And here the water ratio is 1:2, i.e for 1 cup of rice add 2 cups of water.