Spicy Chicken Masala (dry)

Its a traditional chicken recipe, which is done with a slight variation, easy to cook, and taste delicious.. This spicy rich in colour, mouth watering dish will make a perfect companion to different dishes lik paratha/ phulki , even dosas or hot steamed rice.
Yummm..This Spicy chicken masala made me hungryyy. I learned this recipe form one of my friend and tried this @ home...I was pleasantly surprised with the results. Tasted like mom’s cooking!!! Just PERFECT! It looks great n simple..great to taste too. MOST OF ALL I WAS ABLE 2 IMPRESS MY HUSBAND . HE JUST LOVD IT AND IS ASKING ME 2 MAKE IT AGAIN....so friends lets learn how to make this yummy umm recipe ....

Ingredients:


Chicken 750 gm
Oil- 3tblsp
Chillipower- 1tsp or as per your taste
Salt as per taste
2-3 cardamom
1 bay leaf
Thick Curd- 2 tblsp
Haldi/ turmeric powder- 1tsp
2-3 medium size onion chopped
Coriander leaves for garnishing


For masala:
Shredded coconut 2tblsp
Kaji/ cashews- 1tblsp
Green chilli- 2 nos
Ginger- 1” long
Garlic- 4-5 cloves
Whole garam masala ( cinnamon, cardamom, cloves-3-4)


Method:


Cut & clean the chicken pieces. Marinate the chicken with salt, haldi , chiili powder & curd for 1 hour.
Then grind the above ingredients which are given for masala...keep aside.
Take a pan. Heat oil. Add bayleaf & cardamoms..
Then add the onions. Sauté till they becomes light brown in colour. Then add the previously done grinded masala paste. & mix well. sauté for 5-7 min. Till masala done & oil separates from masala.
Then add the marinated chicken pieces & mix well. sauté for 15-20 mins. Chicken will release water..Cover a lid let it cook in it’s own juice. If required sprinkle some water with your hands so that the masala will not stick in the bottom. Cook for another 15-20 min. Keep stirring occasionally & check if the chicken is well cooked . If you want it to be more soft, cook them  for some more time.
You can add some garam masala if you want. 





Garnish with coriander leaves & njoy with rice/ pollau/ roti/ chapatti...



sending this to Chicken Feast hosted by http://www.myspicykitchen.net

sending this to Food on Friday – Asian Food hosted by http://caroleschatter.blogspot.co.nz

Pomfret fish curry

Ingredients:




Pomfret Fish   1 lb
mustard Oil  1 tblsp
Salt as per taste
Chillypowder- 1tsp
Haldi- ½ tsp
Onion chopped 2-3 nos.
Tomatoes chopped  2-3 nos ( grind it & make a paste)
Ginger  & Garlic paste- 1tblsp
Green Chillies chopped- 2nos.
coriander –cumin powder 1 tsp each
Garam masala 1 teaspoon
Fresh coriander leaves for garnish




Method:


Wash the fish and remove all the fins and scales by a knife.
Then slice it into big chunks. Apply little turmeric powder & salt over the fish and keep aside.
Now in a pan fry onion in oil till golden brown. add ginger garlic paste & fry till oil separates from masala. 
Then add the fish pieces. Mix well. then add freshly made tomato puree and Make gravy by adding desired amount of water. Adjust salt.
Cook on medium flame for 10-15 min till fish is well cooked. Garnish with fresh chopped coriander leaves & serve hot with steam rice.....

Healthy tasty Lemon Oats

Ingredients:

Oats 1 cup

onions- 2 medium size Chopped

Lemon juice- 1tblsp ( as per ur taste)

Haldi  powder  ½  tsp

Red chilly powder- ½ tsp

Channa dal 1 tsp

Roasted peanuts (handful)

Refined oil 2 tblsp

Mustard seeds ½  tsp

Curry leaves (handful)

Hing a pinch

Red chilli crushed 2 nos.

Salt  as per the taste

Water 1 cup

Method:

Heat oil in a pan .Splutter the mustard seeds.

 Add channa dal & roasted peanuts. Fry for 1min. Add hing, curry leaves, red chillies & chopped onions. Sauté for 1-2 min till onions are soft.

Add water when water starts boiling add haldi powder  & red chilly powder to the boiling water.

Then add the  lemon juice & salt. Mix properly.  Then add the oats and mix well.

Cook for another 1-2 minutestill oats becomes soft in medium a flame.  Serve hot.

sending this to the event  CWS - Oats event hosted by http://www.sizzlingtastebuds.com, Show case - Whats in your Lunch Box hosted by  http://divyasculinaryjourney.blogspot.com

sending this to Dish Name Starts with L hosted by http://akilaskitchen.blogspot.com

Mutton Curry/ Mutton jhol/ Mangsa jhol

Mutton curry...yumm.. It reminds me of my childhood. The very sound of Mangsa Jhola sends me right back to my mumma’s kitchen. Sssssssss I impatiently walked around the dining room as the  pressure cooker hissed & whistled, not once or twice but 4-5 times. With each whistle the appetizing aroma of the curry would trace the room , wafting in the air intensified. Mutton curry is the first thing that I learnt to cook from my Maa..  A Sunday Lunch menu, it was a tradition to have mutton jhol & steamed white rice for Sunday lunch..

 I have a lovely husband who is ever ready for mutton and plain rice...I see my husband also doing the same; he will keep asking every half a minute if meal is ready. So it makes all the more fun to have it. I could smell the aroma while writing the blog. This is heavenly. My husband & I both are from ODISHA J ...mutton curry we call it mangsa jhola.... The flavours are fantastic...I love spicy cooking once in a week. Its not only mouth watering and makes you feel like you ate a hearty meal. However cooking the normal way takes a little longer and its adds more to the flavours. Soo friendsssss  wit out much ado lets start the recipeJ ...

Ingredients:

Mutton    1 lb/ 500 gram         

Large size Potato 2 nos

Medium size onion- 2 nos Sliced

Onion paste 1 tblsp               

Garlic Paste- 1 table spoon   

Ginger Paste-1 tablespoon   

Red chili Powder- 1 tblspoon or as per your taste

Turmeric Powder-  1tsp        

Cumin Powder-Coriander Powder- 1tsp each        

Mustard oil/ refined oil  -3 tblsp     

1 tomato- chopped (optional)

1tblsp curd for marinating

salt as per your taste

1/2 tsp sugar

Whole Garam masala (2 bay leaves,  3 cardamoms, 2 inch long cinnamon, 2-3 cloves)          

Freshly grounded Garam masala ( powder of cinnamon, cardamom)

Fresh coriander leaves a handful

Method:

Wash and clean the mutton and trim the excess fat.  Marinate the mutton with 1 tsp turmeric, salt   , 1tblsp mustard oil & 1tblsp curd (Optional) .keep aside.

In the mean time cut the potatoes into halves and pan fry the same in a kadai with mustard oil. The potatoes will not be cooked but just take on a nice golden color. Do not cook further and keep aside.

Heat  a heavy bottom pan.  Add mustard oil into it.. Add slightly crushed bay leaf, cloves, cinnamons & cardamoms.

when they start spluttering , add 1/2 teaspoon sugar for nice colouring of curry , when sugar turns to golden brown add sliced onions .

Sauté for 1-2 min till the onions turns to golden brown in colour. 

Then add onion paste sauté for another 2-3 min.

Then add red chilly powder & ¼ tsp salt. Now add ginger garlic paste and go on stirring.

Add chopped tomatoes. Mix  well .saute for 5-6 min till tomatoes are blended well and oil begins to appear  out of the masala  & the masala colour changes to a darker shade...

Then add mutton. Add the dry masala and salt excluding the garam masala.

 Mix it all properly. Mutton will release a lot of water  so cook them with its own juice ..Stir the same continuously in medium  for about 30 minutes till all the water from the mutton evaporates  ..Now  add the potatoes & mix well. Then add 2 cups of water and cover with a lid.

Cook on a low flame for  40-45 mins. Keep stirring occasionally & check if the mutton is well cooked .

Or  When the mutton has lost its raw colouring and it smells nice you can transfer the whole thing to a pressure cooker along with the potatoes and cook it in the pressure cooker for 3-4 whistles.

Check the tenderness of the mutton. If you want it to be more soft, cook them  for some more time.

Add the freshly grounded garam masala powder.

Cover the lid immediately after adding the garam masala. switch off the flame & open the lid after 10 min. Mix the gravy properly. Garnish with coriander leaves.

 serve hot with steam rice, pollaus/ roti/naan/puri..etc.

Note: Tomatoes are not compulsory for this curry but If you are adding curd during marination  then don’t put tomatoes..

sending this to Show case - Whats in your Lunch Box hosted by http://divyasculinaryjourney.blogspot.com, Serve it Pressure Cooked/Slow cooked hosted by http://www.ohtastensee.com

Tasty & healthy Palak kadi

Ingredients:

Fresh palak 2 cups chopped 

1 cup yogurt

1 tblsp  besan

½ tsp Red chilli powder

Ginger grated 1 tsp

Salt as per taste

2-3 Red chillies

2tblsp oil

½ tsp Cumin seeds

haldi a pinch

½ tsp Cumin & coriander powder

Hing a pinch

¼ tsp of fenugreek seeds/ methi

2 cups of water

1 Green chillie- chopped

Curry leaves a few

Method: 

In a large bowl mix yogurt , besan & grated ginger. Beat well or u can just grind it in a mixer to avoid lumps.

Heat the pan on medium flame.  Heat oil.  Add red chillies, methi seeds, cumin seeds, chopped green chilles, hing, haldi, red chilli powder & sauté.

Then add the yogurt & gramflour mixture. Add coriander & cumin powder. 

Add add the palak to the gravy. Add salt according to your taste. Let it cook for about 10-15 min till the raw smell of gram flour goes & palak becomes soft.

Now the kadi is ready. Transfer it to bowl.

For seasoning add 1tsp oil in a pan. Add cumin seeds, hing, dry red chilles & curry leaves. Add red chilli powder & pour the seasoning over the kadi.

Garnish with coriander leaves. tasty & healthy palak kadi is now ready to serve. Goes well with hot steamed rice or paratha.

Srav's CC-Spring Seasonal Food,

Bottle Guard Peel Chutney / lauki chilka chutney /Sorakaya Pachadi:

Bottle gourd is a very healthy and popular Indian vegetable. Bottle gourd (also known as bottle squash or calabash gourd) has recently received worldwide recognition for its many health benefits. It can improve liver and nervous system function, as well as restore urinary, respiratory and digestive tract health. Bottle gourd is a rich source of fiber, protein and vitamins. It is good for people who have problems with their stomach and digestive system. Bottle gourd can be served in many forms like bottle gourd curry, chutney, juice etc.

We can make many varieties with Bottle gaurd. One of the varity is chutney. Bottle gourd chutney is also known as Suraikkai Chutney or Sorakaya Pachadi. Many time a very small portion that is left and there is nothing much that can prepared with it except chutney. We know that peels of many vegetables are rich in nutrients, still hardly we get a chance to make use of them. Once my friend Deepthi prepared this dish with Lauki Peels and it tasted pretty good.so after that i also tried this @ home & believe me the taste is awesome... J

Its simple to prepare like any other chutney. When making chutneys, whole spices are roasted in oil and ground to a fine paste with other ingredients.

Goes very well with rice and chapathi. It can be preserved for 2 to 3 days by kepping in fridge. this  is a perfect recipe to use  as a spicy side dish.

So lets start the recipe.....

Ingredients:

1 cup lauki/ lau/ bottle gourd peeled skin chopped

½ cup bottle gourd cubes

1/2 tbsp chana dal

1/2 tbsp split gram dal

Handful peanuts

1 big tomato (Optional)

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

2 dry red chillis, de-seed

2 green chillis, chop each into two

4-5 garlic cloves

1 tsp jaggery or sugar

1 onion chopped

gooseberry sized tamarind (soaked in 2-3 tbsps warm water)

salt to taste

2 tblsp oil

For seasoning/ tadka:

1/4 tsp mustard seeds

1/2 tsp white skin less urad dal

2 dry red chillis

few fresh curry leaves

hing a pinch

1 tblsp oil

Method:

 Heat oil in a pan,  add peanuts, Bengal gram, split gram dal, cumin seeds and stir fry for till the dals turn red. Then add garlic, red chillis, green chillis, and curry leaves and fry on medium heat for 1 minute.  

Then add the chopped bottle gourd cubes & skins and saute for 4-5 min. Add the chopped tomatoes. Mix well. let them cook for another 4-5 mts or till the rawness of the vegetable goes and the water evaporates.

Remove from heat and let cool.

 Once cool, add the sautéed ingredients along with tamarind extract jaggery and salt and grind to a paste. Then add the raw onions & grind again. Taste the chutney and add more tamarind paste if you want it more tangy.  If you used whole tamarind you can add some lime juice.

Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds and let them crackle, add hing, urad dal and let it turn red, add curry leaves and dry red chillis and stir fry for a few seconds. Pour the seasoning over the ground chutney.

 serve with hot rice or idlie or dosa.

    Benefits of Bottle Gourd

·        Its low fat and cholesterol content make it a light, low-calorie addition to any diet.

·        Its high fiber content helps reduce constipation.

·        The bottle gourd comprises 96 percent water, which makes it ideal for quenching thirst.

·        It also provides multiple vitamins and minerals including iron, sodium, potassium and trace elements.

·        When the liver is unable to filter nutrients properly, the bottle gourd can help restore liver health. Its sodium content helps balance liver function. Its thirst-quenching and fatigue-fighting properties also assist proper liver function.

·        Bottle gourd also fights urinary tract infections. The alkaline in it counteracts acidity associated with urinary tract infections, and relieves pain while passing urine. The bottle gourd is even believed to break down calculus or stones in the urinary system.

·        It is often used as a remedy for premature baldness and graying. Juice from the bottle gourd's leaves can prevent and cure balding and jaundice.

·        Bottle gourd can relieve symptoms of asthma and bronchitis, and also reduce headaches.

·        Its benefits for the nervous system include treatment of such disorders as insanity and epilepsy.

·        Try some bottle gourd and gain from its many health benefits. The bitter flavor can be easily masked by mixing it into foods that you already eat. Bottle gourd is an excellent way to supplement your diet as well as fend off and treat disease.


sending this to My New Series: Meal of the Month! hosted by http://roshellechefaldente.blogspot.com

Thattai Muruku

THATTAI MURUKU...WOW....this one is my all time favorite snack.This is a Traditional Indian savory snack prepared with butter, rice flour and sabu dana during festivals. 

let’s learn the process how to make this yummy muruku J

Ingredients:

•Rice Flour - 2 cups

•Curry leaves a few torn into pieces

•Chopped coriander leaves- 1tblsp & 5-6 green chillies

•Channa Dal - 2 tbsp

•Butter - 2 tbsp

•Red chilli powder - 1 tsp

•Hing - a pinch

•White Sesame Seeds - 1 tbsp , roasted

•big size sabu dana ½  cup
•Salt- to taste

•Oil - as needed to deep fry

Method: 

Soak channa dal in water till immersing level for 30mins. After that drain water and keep the channa daal aside.

Boil the sabu dana in a cooker with 1 cup of water . Give one whistle. Grind the green chilles  to a paste.

 Now in a mixing bowl add rice flour,  boiled sabu dana, melted butter, channa dal, sesame seeds, curry leaves & chopped coriander leaves, green chilli paste, chilli powder, salt and hing. Mix well until all is combined.

Now add water little by little to form a soft dough. Be careful in adding water. Slowly add some water and make a tight dough. Let the dough rest for 10 mins.

Take  a Ziploc bag/ plastic cover sheet. Grease it with little oil/ghee.

Form a lemon size ball from the dough and place it on the sheet.

Grease your fingers  with oil and press the ball with your fingers to flatten it. Do this for the remaining dough. The more the thinner, the thattais will be crispier.

Or u can just do one thing Just take a lemon size ball, roll out carefully with a chapathi roller as thin as possible. Cut rounds using cookie cutter  & then slightly flatten the sides  thinner using your fingers . Press it thin till its very thin, carefully take it from the plastic sheet and keep aside.

Heat oil in a pan/ kadai.  Keeping in medium flame carefully drop the thattais and deep fry until golden brown.

Turn them to cook evenly until  deep brown. Drop them on a paper towel to drain excess oil.

 Once cooled, store them in an air tight container and enjoy!




sending this to Snacks Recipes hosted by http://www.myeasytocookrecipes.blogspot.in