Vegetarian liver fry

by Deerga // February 23, 2015 // 3 Comments

Today I am going to give you one of the most unusual and tastiest dishes that I (or my husband to be precise) have ever had. It is the vegetarian liver fry. Sounds unusual, right? It is totally vegetarian and is made of Moong Dal.

I personally love liver fry and when I came across this recipe, I was skeptical. How would you compare a vegetarian dish to the awesome liver fry? But I was stumped when I tasted it. It was so good that my husband emphatically declared that it was one among my top 3 dishes that I have ever cooked 😉

Vegetarian liver fry is nutritional and very healthy. I would even say that it can be included in your diet routine. For those who miss non vegetarian dishes due to fasting or for health reasons, vegetarian liver fry will really be a welcome addition to the menu.
I thing I have said enough about vegetarian liver fry and it is time for you guys to try it in your kitchen and let me know your opinions 🙂

5.0 from 2 reviews

Vegan liver fry

Recipe type: side dish

Cuisine: Indian

Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: 15 mins

Total time: 30 mins

Serves: 2

Ingredients

Moong dal – ½ cup
Oil – 4 tbsp
Cumin seeds – ¼ tsp
Onion, medium, finely chopped – 1 no
Curry leaves – a sprig
Tomato, big, finely chopped – 1 no
Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp
Red chilli powder – ¼ to ½ tsp
Coriander powder – 1 tbsp
Garam masala powder – ¼ tsp
Sakthi biriyani masala – ¼ tsp (optional)
Salt as required
Coconut milk – ½ cup
Black pepper powder – ¼ tsp
Cilantro, finely chopped – 1 tbsp

Instructions

Soak moong dal over night. Drain the water and grind them in a blender into thick batter (idli batter consistency). Do not add too much water while grinding. Add quarter tsp of salt (or as required) to the batter and mix well.
Pour the batter on idli plates with a small ladle and steam them for 15 minutes in a cooker.
Meanwhile heat oil in a flat pan and add onions and curry leaves. Cook until onions turn translucent.
Add tomatoes and cook until they become mushy. Meanwhile cut all the idlis i.e vegan liver into an inch cubes or to the desired size pieces.
When the tomatoes are well cooked add all the masala powders (except pepper) and salt and mix well. Add in coconut milk and bring it to boil. It takes very few minutes.
Now add the idli cubes to the gravy and mix well. Close the lid and cook for a minute - For those of you who wants the gravy consistency can stop here.
Cook until the gravy is well absorbed and turns into a semi gravy. You will start noticing the oil in the sides of the pan.
Add pepper powder and stir well. Cook until it forms into a nice dry fry. Garnish with cilantro on top and serve hot! 

Notes

1.This vegan liver fry tastes even more better when it comes to room temperature.
2.Please be careful not to add excess water while grinding the moong dal.

Stuffed chicken breast with lemon butter sauce

by Deerga // February 21, 2015 // No Comments

Stuffed chicken breast is not my usual cup of milk (I hate tea :)). For a long time, I had wanted to cook something different than the run-of-mill cuisines like Indian or Chinese (they are the best though). After much deliberation I decided to make stuffed chicken breast with lemon butter sauce. I was hooked right away with this recipe as soon as I saw the lemon butter sauce.

Stuffed chicken breast is a healthy dish. You don’t use that much oil and the little that you use is olive oil. Also, you can customize this recipe with your own stuffing – can be an Indian stuffing made of potato and green peas, or stuffing made of nuts or your own stuffing recipe.

Stuffed chicken breast literally gets you stuffed 🙂 It is a rich and satisfying dish good for dinners. Try this wonderful, healthy dish in your home and let me know your thoughts.

Stuffed chicken breast with lemon butter sauce

Recipe type: Main

Cuisine: American

Cook time: 30 mins

Total time: 30 mins

Serves: 2

Ingredients

To marinate:

Lemon juice – 1 tbsp
Salt – a pinch
Chicken breast, - 2 pieces

For the stuffing:

Butter,unsalted – 1 tbsp
Cumin seeds – ½ tsp (optional)
Onion, medium, finely chopped – 1 no
Ginger garlic paste – 1 tbsp
Salt as required
Coriander powder – 1 tsp
Biriyani masala powder – 1 tbsp (I used Sakthi brand)
Broccoli, blanched, finely chopped – ½ cup
Paneer, grated – 2 tbsp
Cashews, roughly chopped, roasted– 5 nos

To powder the chicken:

Cayenne pepper – 1 tbsp
Onion powder – 1 tbsp
Garlic powder – ½ tbsp
Black pepper powder – 1 tsp

Lemon butter sauce:

White cooking wine – ½ cup
Lemon juice – from 1 ½ lemon
Shallots, finely chopped – 1 tbsp
Garlic, finely chopped – 1 tbsp
Salt – ¼th tsp
Black pepper powder – 1 tsp
Worcestershire sauce – a dash
Hot pepper sauce – a dash
Fresh cream – ½ cup
Butter, unsalted – ½ stick
Parsley, finely chopped – 1 tbsp

For garnishing:

Parsley, finely chopped – ½ tbsp
Pistachio, finely chopped – 1 tbsp

Instructions

Step 1:

Start by slicing the chicken into two thinner slices each. Wrap the plastic wrap over the chicken breast, flatten the chicken using meat hammer, one at a time. Keep it to one side.

Step 2:

Marinate the chicken with the above given ingredients and refrigerate overnight.

Step 3:

Heat butter in a pan and add cumin seeds. When they start to splutter, add chopped onions and sauté until they turn brown. Add ginger garlic paste and sauté until the raw smell disappears. Add salt, coriander and biriyani masala powder. Give a quick stir. Add a tbsp of water at this stage to avoid the masalas from getting burnt. Add the blanched and finely chopped broccoli to the masalas and sauté well. Cook for a minute or two. Finally add grated paneer and fried cashews and mix well.

Step 4:

Repeat step 1 only if you want to flatten the chicken even more (completely optional).
Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Dust the chicken with the above given seasonings on both sides.
Spoon some of the broccoli stuff in the corner.
Roll the chicken into a tight roll and secure it with some tooth picks or strings (To keep the chicken from unrolling).

Step 5:

Heat an iron skillet (Or any oven proof skillet) smearing some butter. Place the rolled chicken and cook for a minute until they change to white color, flipping in between. And then pop the pan in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes – Do not overcook the chicken breast as it tends to get harder when overcooked.

Step 6:

Heat a skillet until it gives smoke. Take out and add wine, lemon juice, garlic and shallots. Place it again on the burner and cook for a minute stirring or whisking continuously. Make sure to take the skillet away from the flame while adding wine since wine is combustible.
Add salt, pepper, and the sauces. Stir and cook for 3 minutes until the sauce comes to a syrupy consistency.
Finally add cream and butter. Stir well and cook for 2 minutes. Strain the sauce and garnish with parsley.
Drizzle the sauce on top of the sliced chicken breast and garnish with pistachios and parsley.

Notes

1.Make sure your lemon butter sauce is still warm while serving.
2.Do not overcook the chicken breast as it tends to get harder when overcooked.
3.Make sure to take the skillet away from the flame while adding wine for lemon butter sauce, because wine is combustible.

Prawn rice with Dragon Chicken

by Deerga // January 4, 2015 // No Comments

I wanted to post something special for the first post of this new year. So for the past few days, I have been contemplating about trying a different cuisine than the usual south Indian or the occasional north Indian varieties. So me and my HB, after much deliberation, decided on chinese cuisine. As for the actual dishes, we decided on Prawn rice and Dragon chicken.

Prawn rice is similar to fried rice except that in fried rice we add soy sauce. Also in fried rice, we cook the rice separately, then add other ingredients along with the cooked rice in a wok and cook them further. In Prawn rice we cook everything separately, i.e.., rice and prawn and then mix them together. Dragon chicken is an indo-chinese dish which is very easy to make. Guess the ‘Dragon’ came from the fiery red color of the dish. It is a dry and spicy dish that goes well with rice, chappati, fried rice or rotis.
Do try these dishes in your home and let me know your experience 🙂
BTW, a very happy & prosperous 2015!!! 🙂

Prawn rice with Dragon Chicken

Recipe type: Main

Cuisine: Chinese

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 20 mins

Total time: 30 mins

Serves: 2

Ingredients

For Prawn Rice

To marinate:

Prawn – 1 lb, 50 count
Chicken 65 masala powder – 1 ½ tbsp (I used shakthi brand)
Red chilli powder – 1 tsp
Salt – as required
Ajinamotto – ½ tsp (optional)
Corn flour – 1 tbsp
Water – 1 tbsp

For the rice:

Basmati rice – 1 cup
Ajinamotto – a pinch (optional)
Salt as required.

Other ingredients:

Oil – 2 tbsp
Scallions or spring onions – 3 tbsp, divided
Onion, slits, medium – 1 no
Green bell pepper, finely chopped – 3 tbsp
Salt – ½ tsp
Scrambled eggs – 1 cup
Salt if needed
Green chilli sauce – ½ tsp
Cilantro leaves – 2 tbsp
Garlic, minced – ½ tbsp

For Dragon Chicken

To marinate :

Ginger garlic paste - 1 tbsp
Crushed pepper - ½ tbsp
Egg whites - from 1 egg
Corn starch - ¼ cup
Soy sauce - ½ tbsp
Boneless Chicken thighs (cubed) - 500g

other ingredients:

Ginger - ½ tbsp, finely chopped
Garlic - 1 tbsp, finely chopped
Red chilli flakes - 1½ tbsp
Tomato sauce - 1½ cups
Soy sauce - 1 tbsp
Cilantro - 1 handlful, chopped
Spring onions - 1 stalk, chopped
Vegetable oil for deep frying

Instructions

Clean and marinate the prawns. Leave it for at least an hour and shallow fry them.
Cook rice separately. I cooked the rice using boiling method to get fluffy separate grains.
Soak the rice for 20 minutes in water. Boil enough water in a medium sized sauce pan and add the rice. Cook until the rice grains starts to sputter. Always stay close while cooking the rice by boiling method. Because rice cooks really quick in this method.
Heat oil in a skillet and add scallions and onions. Sauté till they turn translucent. Add bell peppers and sauté for a minute. Add them to the rice.
Sauté garlic separately.
Transfer the rice to a wide open mixing bowl or a wok and add the sauce, scrambled eggs, sautéed garlic and fried prawns. Mix them very carefully without breaking the rice. Garnish with spring onions and serve hot.

For Dragon Chicken:

Marinate the cut chicken cubes with the marination ingredients mentioned above and set aside for like 15 minutes.
Deep fry the marinated chicken until the cubes turn golden brown.
Heat a non-stick pan over medium heat and pour a tbsp of oil (you can reuse the oil used for deep frying)
Once the oil is hot, add the chopped garlic, garlic and saute until the raw smell goes away
Add in the chill flakes and saute for a little while.
Add in the tomato sauce and stir well.
Then add soy sauce and leave it until the broth comes to a boil
Add the fried chicken cubes to the broth and cook until everything is combined well (by now the mixture should have dried down i.e., not like a gravy anymore)
Garnish with chopped cilantro and chopped spring onion
Server hot with Prawn rice.

Notes

If you don’t have green chilli sauce at home, chop few green chillies finely and add them to a half cup of water. Allow them to soak for an hour and just use the water (2 tbsp) to the rice.

Nellore chepala pulusu

by Deerga // December 18, 2014 // No Comments

Nellore Chepala Pulusu is a non vegetarian delicacy from Nellore, a coastal town in the state of Andhra Pradesh. Chepala Pulusu means fish curry in tamarind sauce. After numerous misadventures with fish, this is the one that I was satisfied with. I came across this recipe during one of my diligent searches 🙂 for a fish curry recipe.

Nellore Chepala Pulusu is usually made using seer fish but I used catfish (you can use other fish varieties as well). As the name suggests, this curry tastes tangy because of the tamarind and goes excellent with rice. We had Achari fish as the side dish, which is another dish that tastes equally awesome (you can find the recipe for Achari fish here). Also, mango is added as one of the ingredients but the recipe that I have given below does not include it.

Do try this tangy and tasty fish curry in your kitchen and let me know your thoughts.

Nellore chepala pulusu

Ingredients

To dry roast and grind:

Fenugreek seeds – 1/2 tsp
Mustard seeds – 1 tsp
Cumin seeds – 1 1/2 tsp

Other ingredients:

Vegetable oil – 2 tbsp
Garlic cloves, roughly chopped – 10 nos
Tomatoes, medium sized , roughly chopped – 4 nos
Big onion, finely chopped – 1 or 2 nos
Curry leaves – a sprig
Tamarind, big gooseberry size, extracted – 1 cup
Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
Red chilli powder – 1 tsp
Coriander powder – 1 1/2 tbsp
Green chilli , slit – 1 or 2 nos
Sheer fish, boneless, cubes – 1/2 kg
Ground powder – 1 tbsp
Salt as required

Instructions

Heat oil in a pan and add chopped garlic and stir it occasionally.
Meanwhile puree the tomatoes and keep it ready.
When the garlic turns brown, add in chopped onions and sauté well. Add curry leaves and cook until the onions turn translucent.
Add in the tomato puree.
While the gravy is getting cooked, make the Nellore koora powder as given below.
Heat a small flat pan and add fenugreek seeds. Dry roast until they turn golden brown and remove it from the pan. Next add mustard seeds and dry roast them separately. When they start to crackle, remove it from the pan. Next add cumin seeds and toss them for few seconds until the nice aroma spreads. When cumin seeds seeds are well roasted, remove it from the pan. Allow them to cool and grind to a fine powder.
When the tomato gravy is well cooked add enough water and tamarind paste and allow them to boil.
Add all the powders and mix well. Add the slit green chilli and give it a stir. Cover and simmer the gravy until the raw smell disappears. It takes around a couple of minutes.
Now add the fish to the gravy. Cover and cook for 8 to 10 minutes.
Finally add the ground powder and enough salt to the gravy, mix well and cook for another couple of minutes. By now the gravy would have released oil on the sides. Sprinkle loosely crushed fresh curry leaves lavishly and switch off the flame.
It tastes excellent with steamed white rice.

Note:

Do not roast the ingredients too much otherwise the entire dish will be spoiled as they give bitter taste when roasted too much. Always to make the Nellore chaapala pulusu powder make the ratio as 1:2:3.
Try to make this powder just before adding to the gravy and so the fresh flavor retains.

https://myediblecravings.com/nellore-chepala-pulusu/

Achari Fish Tikka

by Deerga // December 7, 2014 // No Comments

Achari fish tikka is a Hyderabadi non-vegetarian dish supposedly having its origin from the Nizam cuisine. Achar is pickle in Hindi. So as the name suggests, Achari fish tikka is simply a variety of dish made from fish and pickle.
First when I came across this dish I was intrigued by the combination of fish and pickle (pickle with any other meat, for that matter). But after tasting it, I do see the use of pickle in this dish, it just tastes awesome.

I have had my own troubles when attempting to cook fish. For some reason, I am never satisfied with the end product when I prepare a fish based dish. So it has become the meat that I cook occasionally. But after coming across Achari fish tikka, I have cooked it twice already in the span of a month 🙂 Achari fish tikka is really easy to make and is healthy as well since we grill the fish in the oven. Please make sure to remove all moisture from the marinating ingredients as mentioned in my earlier post of chicken tikka found here. It goes well with almost any main dishes, be it rasam, sambar, chicken gravy or fish gravy etc. Usually Achari fish tikka is eaten as an appetizer with mint chutney on the side. But in our home, on days when I cook this dish, it is often had as a snack 🙂 and as a side dish.

Try this healthy and wonderful Achari fish tikka in your kitchen and let me know your equally wonderful thoughts and experience 🙂

Achaari Fish

Recipe type: Starter

Cuisine: Indian

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 25 mins

Total time: 35 mins

Serves: 2

Ingredients

Yogurt, hunged – 1 tbsp
Lemon juice – 1 tbsp
Turmeric powder – ¼th tsp
Ajwain – ¼th tsp (optional)
Amchur powder – ¼th tsp
Ginger garlic paste – 1 tbsp
Kashmiri red chilli powder – 1 tsp
Red chilli powder – ¼th tsp
Any pickle of your choice – ¼th tsp ( I used Priya onion pickle)
Salt as required
Olive oil or vegetable oil – 1 to 2 tbsp
Seer fish, cubes, skin removed – ½ pound (250 gms) – I used catfish

Instructions

Squeeze excess water in ginger garlic paste with the help of cheese cloth.
In a mixing bowl add all the above ingredients and make a paste.
Add fish cubes to the marinade and mix well.
Marinate the fish in the refrigerator at least for 2 hours.
Soak the wooden skewers in water for 15 mins.
Preheat the oven to 360 degrees F.
Insert the fish cubes on each skewers. Brush olive or vegetable oil on top of the fish and arrange skewers across the broiler pan.
Place the pan inside the oven and cook for 10 minutes.
Remove the pan, turn over the skewers and brush the fish cubes with little oil on top. Place the pan inside the oven and cook for another 10 to 15 minutes.
Enjoy the achari fish tikka with mint chutney or just as it is! 

Stove top method:

Heat the grilled pan and smear with little oil. Place the skewers and cook the fish turning over in between.

Notes

Fish cooks really fast when compare to other meats. So make sure to check in between and do not overcook the fish.
You could also add onion, tomato or bell peppers to this dish according to your choice.

Thalasseri Biriyani

by Deerga // November 30, 2014 // No Comments

Biriyani in general is a wonderful dish and is one of the most famous dishes from India. As many of you know, there are many varieties of biriyani like thalappakatti, anjappar, mughalai, hyderabadi, ambur etc. Today I have given you the recipe of a biriyani variety from Kerala called as the Thalasseri biriyani.

There is a story behind me making Thalasseri biriyani. To be frank, I had not even thought about this variety. When we went for Indian grocery shopping recently, I came across a rice variety called the Kalajeera rice. It closely resembled Seeraga Sambha rice variety from my state in India, Tamilnadu. Biriyani prepared in Tamilnadu use this rice variety and it literally adds an amazing taste to biriyani. So when I saw this rice variety I assumed kalajeera must be the name of Seeraga Sambha in Kerala and I was eager to try it out. But when I open the rice bag, I did not smell that distinct aroma that emanates from Seeraga Sambha rice and realized that I made a mistake. Still I did not want to waste a bag of rice just because it was not the variety that I want. Then I came across Thalasseri biriyani recipe. It is a very popular biriyani variety in Kerala and kalajeera rice is used to prepare it.

Thalasseri biriyani is a little bit similar to Hyderabadi biriyani except that we use tomatoes here. Also, if making a chicken variant of this biriyani, we need to cook the chicken first in tomato based gravy and then use that gravy with chicken to do the layering. Don’t get anxious by the number of steps given below; it is easy to prepare Thalasseri biriyani.

Thalasseri Biriyani

Recipe type: Main

Cuisine: Indian

Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: 35 mins

Total time: 50 mins

Serves: 3

Ingredients

To marinate :

Chicken - 500 grams or ½ kg
Red chilli powder – 1 tbsp
Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
Salt – ¼ tsp
Lemon juice – 2 tbsp
Ginger garlic paste – ½ tbsp (optional)

To make rice:

Ghee – 2 tbsp
Bay leaf – 1 no
Cloves - 3 nos
Cinnamon – 1”
Cardamom – 2 nos
Fennel seeds – ¼ tsp
Onion, big, sliced – 1 no
Kala jeera rice or Basmati rice – 1½ cups (soaked in water for 20 minutes)
Water – 2 ¼ cup ( 1 : 1 ½ )
Salt as required

To make gravy:

Ghee – 2 tbsp
Onion, big, sliced – 1 no
Green chillies, slits – 4 nos
Ginger garlic paste – 1 tbsp
Tomato, big, chopped – 1 ½ nos (if medium – 2 nos)
Cilantro & mint leaves, chopped – a handful
Garam masala – ½ tbsp
Sakthi biriyani masala – ½ tbsp (optional)
Yogurt – 2 to 3 tbsp
Salt as required
Fried chicken

For the toppings:

Cilantro, finely chopped – 1 to 2 tbsp
Onions, medium, sliced, deep fried – ½ to 1 no
Ghee – 1 tbsp
Garam masala – a generous pinch
Saffron, soaked in warm milk – a pinch
Food color – a pinch (optional)

Instructions

Step 1:

Make a paste of the given ingredients ‘to marinate’. - Try to extract excess water in ginger garlic paste before adding to the marinated paste. Marinate the chicken with the paste and leave it for at least an hour.
Heat enough oil in a deep flat pan and shallow fry the marinated chicken.

Step 2:

Heat ghee in a deep flat sauce pan (which has a tight lid) and all the whole garam masalas (bay leaves, cloves, cinnamon, cardamom and fennel seeds).
When they start to sizzle, add sliced onions and sauté well. Cook until the onion turns slight brown.
Add the rice, enough water and salt. Close the lid, simmer and cook for 5 to 10 minutes until the rice is ¾ th done – do not add excess water in this stage, or else you will not get the right texture.
When the rice is done, transfer them carefully to another container and keep it aside.

Step 3:

Heat ghee in the same thick bottomed sauce pan (which you used to cook rice), add onions and sauté well. When the onions turn translucent, add ginger garlic paste and cook until the raw smell disappears. Add green chilli slits and stir well.
Add the chopped tomatoes and cook until they turn mushy.
When the tomatoes are well cooked, add freshly chopped coriander and mint leaves.
Add yogurt, garam masala powder, biriyani masala and salt. Stir well and finally add the chicken. Mix well, cover and cook for another five minutes until the gravy is well blended with the chicken and forms the semi gravy.
Check salt and switch off the flame.

Step 4:

Heat a dosa pan and keep it ready.
Meanwhile layer the cooked rice on top of the gravy.
Sprinkle the freshly chopped cilantro and lemon juice on top.
Layer the remaining rice and sprinkle the remaining cilantro, garam masala(optional), fried onions, saffron milk and food color.
Cover the lid- the lid has to be really tight.
Place the sauce pan on top of the dosa pan, simmer and cook for 10 minutes.

Notes

1. I used the same sauce pan to cook the rice (step 2) as well as to make gravy (step 3) and to dum the biriyani (step 4) as my pan was very thick. You could also cook the rice in pressure cooker. But make sure the rice is ¾th cooked.
2. Try not to use store bought fried onions instead deep fry the onions at home. This will enhance the flavor to the biriyani.

Cauliflower fry

by Deerga // November 18, 2014 // No Comments

Cauliflower is one of those vegetables that is not often found in South Indian palate (especially Tamilnadu). It is a low fat, low in carbohydrates but rich in fiber vegetable. Cauliflower fry is one of the many varieties prepared using this vegetable. I came across this recipe when searching for a supplement to our diet (and yes we start a diet system many times a year, but sticking to one is a different story 🙂 )

The main specialty about this Cauliflower fry is the way it is cooked. Though it is called a fry, I actually use a conventional oven to cook. It is a very tasty dish, trust me. When you are uncertain about what side dish to prepare for Chappati or Naan etc remember this wonderful Cauliflower fry.

For those who don’t have an oven, you can cook this dish using a stove as well. Try this simple, delicious and healthy dish in your kitchen and tell me your experience. 🙂

Cauliflower fry

Recipe type: Main

Cuisine: Indian

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 45 mins

Total time: 55 mins

Serves: 4

Ingredients

To bake:

Cauliflower florets – 2 to 3 cups
Olive oil – 5 tbsp
Tomato paste or puree, thick – 4 tbsp (I used hunt’s)
Garlic cloves, minced – 1 tbsp
Kashmiri red chilli powder – 1 tbsp
Black pepper powder – 1 tsp
Coriander powder – 2 tbsp
Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
Garam masala - ½ tsp
Salt – ½ tsp

For the seasoning:

Oil – 2 tbsp
Mustard seeds – ½ tsp
Curry leaves – a sprig
Green chilli, slits – 4 nos
Ginger, julienned – 1 tbsp
Onion, big, slits – 1 no
Kashmiri red chilli powder – ½ tbsp
Red chilli powder – ½ tsp (optional)
Coriander powder – 1 tbsp
Dry fenugreek leaves or kasthoori methi, crushed – 1 tbsp
Spring onions or scallions – 1 to 2 tbsp

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and mix all the above ingredients in a large aluminium pan given under 'To bake'. Place it inside the oven and cook for 30 to 45 minutes until the cauliflowers are crunchy (stirring in between). For those who do not have conventional oven, just fry it in a pan on the stove until they are nicely done.
Meanwhile heat oil in a flat pan and season with mustard, urad dal, curry leaves and green chillies. When they start to splutter add onions and sauté until they turn translucent.
Add julienned ginger.
Add all the powders (coriander, chilli, salt, turmeric) and kasthoori methi. Add oven baked or stove cooked cauliflower. Sauté well and cook for 10 minutes.
Garnish with scallions and cilantro.

Notes

!To make tomato puree at home:
Roughly chop the tomatoes and sauté with little onion until they leave oil. Blend them to make a thick paste.

Keerai Kootu

by Deerga // October 27, 2014 // No Comments

Keerai (also called as spinach, greens etc) is one of the most healthy foods around. It is a very good source of iron and Vitamin A. Keerai (spinach) is a very popular ingredient and is found in almost all cuisines around the world. Keerai kootu (spinach side dish) is one such item that is popular in south Indian (Tamilian in particular) cuisine. It is a simple and tasty dish that can be eaten as is with rice, or as a side dish to another gravy like sambar etc.

When ever I think of Keerai, my childhood comes to my mind. I was not a big fan of spinach (as do most other kids I would say) and would always make my mom to cook another side dish whenever Keerai kootu is made. My hate relationship with spinach continued during my college days as well and there my friends made sure that I had some just because it is healthy (thank you dears!).

In general, when you cook spinach, make sure not to cover the pot since they lose color and I believe loses some of its nutrients as well. As I had said earlier, Keerai kootu is very easy to make that it literally takes 15 minutes to prepare. Try this wonderful, healthy, simple, tasty (I am running out of adjectives here!) dish in your home and let me know your comments.

Keerai Kootu

Recipe type: Main

Cuisine: Indian

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 15 mins

Total time: 25 mins

Serves: 3

Ingredients

Green leaves – a bunch
Moong dal – ¼ cup
Sambar powder – 1 tbsp
Turmeric powder – a pinch
Salt as required
Grated coconut – 2 tbsp

To temper :

Oil – 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds – ½ tsp
Urad dal – ½ tsp
Cumin seeds – 1 tsp
Shallots, finely chopped – 2 nos
Curry leaves – 5 nos

Instructions

Wash the leaves thoroughly and chop them.
Pressure cook the moong dal for 5 whistles. When done mash the dal and keep it aside.
Grind the coconut to fine paste adding very little water.
Boil enough water (2 cups) in a sauce pan and add sambar powder, turmeric powder,salt and green leaves. Allow them to cook for 5 to 10 minutes.
Add the cooked dal and mix well. Add the ground coconut paste and bring them to boil.
When done, finish it off with tempering. Serve hot with white rice.

Chicken Cawla

by Deerga // October 23, 2014 // No Comments

Chicken Cawla, interesting name, right? I am not sure about the origin of this dish but I am immensely grateful to whoever came up with this recipe – it is that good. I came across Chicken Cawla while watching a talk show and was hooked the moment I saw it. It is one of my HB’s most favorite dishes ever (no surprises here ;))

Chicken Cawla is something of a new entrant in my kitchen and right now, one of our favorite dishes. It is healthy (grilled) and tastes heavenly. The actual recipe for Chicken Cawla uses mustard oil but I used olive oil (trust me, it does tastes good!). One small trick to this wonderful recipe is to crush or grind the peppers right before adding to the chicken. This gives a fresh aroma and taste to the recipe.

Try this wonderful recipe and let me know your experience. As for me, I am off to make Chicken Cawla, yes, typing this recipe has made me hungry for it 😉

Chicken Cawla

Recipe type: Entree

Cuisine: Indian

Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: 30 mins

Total time: 45 mins

Serves: 3

Ingredients

Cilantro paste:

Cilantro – ½ a bunch
Curd – ½ cup
Green chillies – 2 nos
Salt – a generous pinch

To marinate :

Lemon juice – 2 tbsp
Ginger garlic paste – 1 tsp
Cilantro paste – 1 cup
Mustard oil or olive oil – 1½ tbsp
Salt as required
Chicken thighs – 5 pieces

Other ingredients:

Mustard oil or olive oil – 1 tbsp
Cooking oil – 1½ tbsp
Cloves – 4 nos
Fenugreek seeds – ½ tsp
Cumin seeds – 1 tsp
Garlic, crushed – 4 nos
Ginger, julienned – 1 tbsp
Whole red chillies – 2 nos
Onion, finely chopped – 1 no
Red chilli powder – 1 tbsp
Cumin powder – 1 tsp
Black pepper powder – 1 ½ tsp
Salt as required

Instructions

Step 1:

Grind together cilantro, green chillies and ginger garlic paste to a fine paste and mix them with curd.
Marinate the chicken with the above given ingredients and refrigerate it overnight or at least for an hour.
Chop onions, crush garlic and julienne ginger.

Step 2:

You can either tandoor the chicken in the oven or shallow fry them.

Tandoor method:

Preheat the oven to 420 degrees F.
Place the marinated chicken on the tandoori pan, spray cooking oil on top of the chicken and cook for 20 minutes. Remove the pan, turn over the chicken and brush them with little oil on top. Cook for another 5 to 10 minutes.

Stove top method:

Heat oil in a flat pan and place the chicken pieces one by one in the pan. Cook until the chicken is done on one side. When the chicken is done on one side, turn over the chicken pieces and repeat the same. When the chicken is well done on both sides, remove from the pan, filtering all the excess oil. Add the chicken to the masala we have made.

Step 3:

Heat oil (cooking & mustard) in a flat pan and add cloves, fenugreek seeds, cumin seeds, whole red chillies, crushed garlic and julienned ginger. Sauté well and add onions. Sauté until the onions turn brown. Add chilli powder, cumin powder, black pepper powder and salt. Add the grilled or shallow fried chicken to the gravy. Sauté well until the masalas are well blended with the chicken. Switch off the flame and serve hot.

Notes

I used olive oil to make this recipe.
Try to grind fresh pepper powder just before adding to the dish, as it enhances the taste of the dish.

Kollu Kuzhambu

by Deerga // October 15, 2014 // No Comments

Kollu Kuzhambu is a traditional gravy from my home state in India, Tamilnadu. Kollu or horse gram (in english) is a bean variety and is widely used in the cuisine of south Indian states. In Tamilnadu, kollu is widely used in a variety of chutneys, poriyals, rasam etc. In Siddha medicine, kollu is considered to be a bean with medicinal qualities.

I came across this kollu kuzhambu recipe online and as soon as I saw it, I decided to give it a try. I have never had kollu (in any form) in my life and was curious the moment I saw it. And it was worth the try because kollu kuzhambu is the best gravy variety that I have ever had in my life, hands down! The recipe that I have given here requires some ground work. You need to grow sprouts out of kollu before you use it in your recipe. Back to the medicinal properties of kollu, I recently learnt that kollu has anti-glycemic properties and prevents insulin resistence, hence an apt food for diabetic patients. I also learnt from my MIL that it increases your body heat and hence having it in moderation is advisable – as with any other food items.

Without any further delay, below is the recipe to my most favorite gravy of all time, the one and only Kollu Kuzhambu. Try it in your kitchen and let me know if it had become your favorite dish as well 😉

Kollu Kuzhambu

Recipe type: Main

Cuisine: Indian

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 20 mins

Total time: 30 mins

Serves: 4

Ingredients

To roast & grind:

Oil – 1 tsp
Shallots, whole – 10 nos
Cumin seeds – 1 tsp
Curry leaves – 5 nos
Grated coconut – 1 tbsp
Coriander seeds – 1 tbsp
Red chilli powder – 1 tbsp
Turmeric powder – ½ tsp

Other ingredients:

Oil – 1 tbsp
Shallots, halved – 5 nos
Curry leaves - few
Tomato, sliced – 1 no (In india 2 nos)
Sprouted horse gram – ½ cup

Instructions

To grow bean sprouts:

Soak the bean with enough water and leave it overnight or atleast 8 hours.
Transfer the sprouts to a muslin or cheese cloth, drain the water completely, and tie the cloth with a knot holding the beans inside.
Let it hang overnight leaving the excess water to drain.
The next day you will notice tiny sprouts grown out of the beans.
Let the sprouts grow more for another day which adds taste to the food.

To make gravy:

Half boil the sprouted horsegram along with little salt (for 1 whistle). Keep it aside.
Heat oil in a pan and add shallots. Sauté well. Add cumin seeds and curry leaves. Give a quick stir. Add grated coconut. Sauté well and add all the above given powders and switch off the flame. Allow them to cool and blend to a fine paste.
Heat oil in a pan and add shallots. Sauté well and add tomato. When they turn mushy, add half cooked sprouted horsegram and give it a stir. When the horsegram is half done, add the ground paste and enough water. Add enough salt. Bring the gravy to boil for 15 minutes. Cook until all the raw smell disappears. Garnish with cilantro.
Goes excellent with omelette.