Crispy Fried Chicken

Everyone loves chicken,and that too a crispy one is definitely good treat! This is my first version of crispy chicken,there is still more to come.So I guess you could name it Crispy fried chicken 1..;) This chicken is perfect for lunch,dinner or it can be even had as a tea-time snack.Believe me its a must try recipe!

Ingredients:

1/2 kg chicken
1/2 tbsp ginger garlic paste
pepper powder according to spice level
salt to taste
3/4 cup original corn flakes ground to powder
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs
oil for frying

Method:

1.Marinate the chicken pieces with ginger garlic paste,salt and pepper for at least half an hour.
2.Combine powdered corn flakes,flour,baking powder,salt and pepper.
3.Whisk together milk and eggs.
4. Dredge chicken in corn flakes mixture;dip in milk mixture, and dredge in corn flakes mixture again.
5.Pour oil in deep frying pan ( do not use a non stick pan)  and on medium heat fry the chicken pieces until    golden brown.
6.Serve immediately.

Yellow Rice

Now this recipe is a must try for all those ghee rice lovers.Actually, You can consider it as ghee rice's sister ;). This dish is easy to prepare, tastes great and smells good too!! Try it yourself and lemme know:)

Ingredients:

2 cup rice
4 cup coconut milk
15 shallots chopped
1 tsp ginger garlic paste
3 cardamoms
cinnamon 2 inch
1 tbsp ghee
2 tbsp refined oil
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
salt to taste.

Method:

In a pressure cooker heat oil together with ghee.Add the cardamoms and cinnamon and fry for few seconds.Now add the shallots and saute till they are half cooked and then the ginger garlic paste and fry till the raw smell disappears.To this, combine the coconut milk with salt and turmeric powder and bring it to a boil.Now add the rice and pressure cooker it for three whistles.That's it.Now the yellow rice is ready to serve.Tastes great with mutton or chicken gravy!

Eclairs.

Ingredients:

for the case:
1/4 cup butter
2/3 cup water
1/8 tsp salt
2/3 cup flour(maida)
2 large eggs,slightly beaten

For the filling:
2 cups milk
1/4 cup white sugar
2 egg yolks
1 egg
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/3 cup white sugar
2 tbs butter
1 tsp vanilla extract.

For the chocolate icing:

1 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tbsp water
1/2 cup icing sugar
1 tsp butter
1 tsp vanilla essence

Method:

1. Preheat the oven.
2.Place butter, water and salt in a saucepan and bring to a boil. As soon as it comes to a boil, add the flour, remove from heat and beat well till the mixture leaves the sides of the pan.
3.When cool enough to touch, beat in the eggs with an electric beater (a little at a time, if not using an electric beater), till the mixture is light and fluffy.
4.Rinse a plastic bag (or icing bag) with water. Fill the bag with the egg and flour mixture and snip a 3/4"-1" hole in one corner.
5.Take an un-greased baking tray and pipe out straight lines of about 3" length, spaced an inch part.
6.Bake in a pre-heated oven in temperature 180C/350F for 30-40 minutes (they stop making a faint sizzling sound). Remove from oven and pierce on the side with a knife and leave to cool. They would sink if not pierced.
7.In a heavy saucepan, stir together the milk and 1/4 cup of sugar. Bring to a boil over medium heat.In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and egg. Stir together the remaining sugar and cornstarch; then stir them into the egg until smooth. When the milk comes to a boil, drizzle it into the bowl in a thin stream while mixing so that you do not cook the eggs. Return the mixture to the saucepan, and slowly bring to a boil, stirring constantly so the eggs don' t curdle or scorch on the bottom.When the mixture comes to a boil and thickens, remove from the heat. Stir in the butter and vanilla, mixing until the butter is completely blended in. Pour into a heat-proof container and place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until chilled before using.
8.Mix icing ingredients together over low heat, till well blended and smooth.
9.When puff cases are cool, snip a cut into the top half, enough for an icing nozzle to be pushed in to fill the cream in.
10.Slit the eclairs horizontally half way, till just short of the edge, so they stay joined. Pipe the cream into the cases with and icing gun or polythene bag.
11.Coat the exposed part with the icing, and serve. 

Drums of Spice

As the name suggests,for this recipe a lot of spice is involved.And these spice do not increase the level of hotness but gives more flavour and aroma to the dish.One more thing, a tandoor is required for the making of  this chicken.I used an electric tandoor.

Ingredients:

1 kg chicken drums

1 tsp fennel seed powder(sombu/perunjeeragam)

1 tsp cumin powder(jeeragam)

1 tsp garam masala

1 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
4 tsp ginger garlic paste

400 ml hung curd

chili powder as desired

salt to taste.

2 tbs oil.

Method:

1.Combine all the ingredients except the chicken and form into a paste.

2.Now add the chicken pieces and evenly mix them so they are fully covered with the paste.

3.Refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

4.Cook in the tandoor till the chicken is tender and they are browned.

5.Serve with mint chutney.

Quail Gravy

Everyone loves quail at home.So we have it often at our place.This is one recipe that my mother in law makes often and we just drool over it!

Ingredients:

5 quail
3 tomatoes chopped
3 big onions chopped
ginger garlic paste 2 tsp
chili powder 3 tsp
salt to taste
2 tsp khus khus seeds
4 tbs oil
half a cup of water
Cilantro for garnishing.

Method:

1.Combine ginger garlic paste,chili powder and salt and form a paste.
2.To this add the washed and cleaned quails and marinate them for at least half an hour.
3.In a deep pan,heat oil.
4.Add the onions and saute them till they are translucent.
5.Now add the chopped tomatoes and fry them till they are thoroughly cooked.
6.Add the marinated quails and mix them with the onion mixture for few minutes.
7.Add half a cup of water to the quails,cover the pan and cook for around fifteen minutes on medium flame.
8.Grind the khus khus seed with little water in a mixer grinder and add them to the quails.
9.Keep the quail gravy on high flame till the excess water gets evaporated.
10.Garnish with cilantro leaves.
11.Enjoy!

Karee Vadai

Got this recipe from  a blog 'Taste of pearl city'.Made it at home and it was delicious.Thank you Umm Maymoonah for this dish!!
Blog URL:http://tasteofpearlcity.blogspot.in/

Karee Vadai (Meat and Lentil Fritter) My Guest Post on Cooking Varieties

This recipe is my guest post on Cooking Varieties.  Actually I was supposed to do this long back ago with any recipe using Winter Squash, since it was really just the time we moved to India, I couldn't make it.  Ms.Wan was really kind and patience with me, I really appreciate that.
Finally when I was ready to do the post, it was just a couple of days before Ramadhan, so I decided to make some Iftar related recipes, so this kari vadai (meat and lentil fritters).  Thank you Ms.Wan for giving me this wonderful opportunity.

Kari Vadai is nothing but fritters made with fritters and lentils.  I have used here Chana dhal which is nothing but yellow split pea.  You can find this in any Indian grocery stores.  This is something which we have for our Iftar with Kanji (Soup).  This vadai can be prepared with uncooked meat also, but I cooked the meat and then used for fritters, since it reduces the cooking time for vadai, aslo you don't have to worry whether the inside is cooked or not and your oil doesn't get spoiled with all the meat fat. Hope you all enjoy this recipe

Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes
Make 15 to 20 vadai's

Ingredients:
Chana dhal (Yellow Split Pea) - 150 g
Boneless lamb- 150 g
Onion- 1 small sized finely chopped
Ginger garlic paste- 2 tsp
Cumin seeds- 1 tsp
Fennel seeds- 1 tsp
Chilli powder- 1 tsp
Garam masala- 1 tsp
Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp
Coriander leaves- 1 tbsp finely chopped
Lemon juice- 1/2 tbsp
Salt as required
Oil for frying

Method:
Soak the chana dhal in water for 2 hours.  Finely chop the lamb pieces and marinate with turmeric, lemon juice, salt and 1/2 tsp of garam masala.  Add oil in a pan, add the meat pieces  and cook  until the meat is completed cooked.   Now grind the chana dhal by adding very little water into a thick coarse paste.  Once the dhal looks coarsely ground, add the meat and grind it again.  Meat should also look like coarse pieces in the dhal.  Now add the spices, salt, onion, chopped coriander leaves and ginger garlic paste.  Mix it well.  Heat oil in a pan to shallow fry, once the oil is hot enough to fry, make patties out of the mixture and drop it in hot oil, keep the flame in medium and cook it on both sides until it looks golden brown in colour.  Serve the hot vadai's with green chutney.


Note:
 To check the oil is hot enough, drop a small amount of mixture in the oil, if it comes bubbling up immediately then the oil is ready to fry.
Also if your mixture doen't hold well and it's too crumbly, add some gramflour or all purpose flour to hold the mixture.

Coconut Pudding

Ingredients
• ½ cup tender coconut bits(optional)
• Vegetable oil for greasing a deep glass dish 
• 400ml Coconut Milk

• 6 tablespoons corn flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• ½ cup condensed milk
• chopped nuts
• A small pinch of salt

Preparation

1. Grease a dish and set aside. In a small bowl, stir together ½ cup Coconut Milk and corn flour until smooth.
2. In a medium non-stick saucepan, combine the remaining coconut milk, the condensed milk and sugar. Stir over medium heat until sugar has dissolved.
3. Add the corn flour and coconut milk mixture slowly into saucepan, while whisking continuously. Now stir in the vanilla essence, tender coconut bits and salt. Cook while whisking vigorously (do not allow to boil), until mixture is very thick and pulls away from the sides of the pan. This should take 4-6 minutes.
4. Pour the mixture into the greased dish and spread evenly. Let it cool briefly, then cover with plastic wrap/aluminium foil and chill until set, for at least 1 hour.
5.Cut the chilled coconut pudding into desired pieces and sprinkle each with chopped nuts.
6. Enjoy! 

Spicy Prawn Gravy

Regarding this recipe, it's one of the most favorite dish at home.We do cook prawns in different ways but we always come back to this one.It's tangy,spicy & mmm,a perfect recipe with lots of flavor!Do try and lemme know :).

 Ingredients:

1/2 kg prawns de-shelled and de-veined

3 tomatoes chopped finely.

1/2 kg shallots chopped or 3 big onions chopped.

(shallots give more flavor but if you are in a hurry use big onions)

1 tsp ginger garlic paste.

Few curry leaves

chili powder as desired

Salt to taste.

2-3 tbsp oil

Turmeric powder for washing the prawns.

Method.

1.Mix turmeric powder with the prawns and then wash them a couple of times.This helps to get rid of the prawns smell.

2.In a vessel add the prawns,chili powder and salt and marinate them for at least 15 minutes.

3.Heat oil in pan ,add the curry leaves and saute for a few seconds.

4.Now reduce the flame and add the ginger garlic paste and saute till the raw smell disappears.

5.Add the onions and fry for few minutes.

6.Now add the tomatoes and saute them till they are thoroughly cooked.

7.To this add the marinated prawns and fry for two to three minutes.

8.Add half a cup water,cover the pan with a lid and cook the prawns on slow flame till they are tender.

9.Remove the lid and on medium flame evaporate the excess water till the dish gets the gravy texture.

10.Now spicy prawn gravy is ready!

Fried ladies finger/bhindi/okra

This dish was introduced to me through my cousin.She has two teenage sons who are ardent lovers of crispy foods(I know most of us fall into that category ;)) So she hunts and tries out new recipes to satisfy them.Kids   usually hate veggies and to make them eat it, is so TOUGH! I know many of you would agree on that point.This fried ladies finger is something you mothers out there ought to cook for your kids for two main reasons.Number one its a yummy dish and number two its a vegetable,I mean kids eating a veggie that's a great achievement!

Ingredients:

1/4 kg ladies finger

2 tsp cornflour

11/2 tbs gram flour(besan flour)

chili powder as desired

salt to taste

2 tsp lemon juice

oil for frying.

Method:

1.Wash the okras and cut them diagonally.

2.In a vessel mix all ingredients except the ladies finger and oil and make a paste.

3.To this,add the ladies finger and mix them till the paste is evenly spread.

4.Deep fry in oil till they turn into golden brown.

note: Deep fry the okras in small batches otherwise they tend to stick together while frying. 

5.Crispy okras are ready to serve.

Thai saucy sardines.

 Sardines are rich in nutrients like selenium,B12,omega-3etc.Sardines are called "chala" in tamil.It is cheap compared to other fish and it is tasty too.Tried this recipe yesterday and my food critic acclaimed it was delicious!

Ingredients:

10 sardines cleaned.
1 tsp ginger garlic paste
3/4 tsp turmeric powder
salt to taste
2 tsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp crushed dry red chili
3/4 tsp pepper powder or according to your level of spiciness.
oil for shallow frying.
SAUCE
3 tbsp refined oil or olive oil
2 tsp butter
1 dried red chili crushed
1/4 cup coriander chopped
2 tbsp tomato sauce
3 tbsp lime juice
2 cloves garlic minces
1-2 tsp sugar.
salt to taste
METHOD:

1.In a bowl add the ginger garlic paste,turmeric powder,salt,chili,pepper powder,cornstarch and make  a paste.
2.Rub this paste on the sardines and keep aside for minimum half an hour.
3.In a pan heat oil and shallow fry the fish on both sides.Do not over fry it.
4.Remove the fish and keep it aside.
5.In a fresh pan,assemble all the ingredients and heat very briefly.Do not boil.Taste test for salt and sourness.
If too sour add a little more sugar.
6.On a serving plate arrange the fish and pour the sauce over it.(I ended up making double the given quantity for the sauce coz people at home just drool over sauce ;) but one to two tsp sauce is ample for a fish because this sauce is filled with flavor)

Quail Fry

Quail,the peasant's meat,  is also known in tamil as 'Kaadai'.It looks like a smaller version of "naatu Kohzi" or country chicken but tastes better.This quail fry is mouth watering dish and does not involve complicated steps..seriously I am not lying!.All it requires is marinating the quails and cooking them till they are tender.And quail doesn't use up much time to become tender.Give it a try..

Ingredients:

5 Quails
One tsp chili powder
one tbs lemon juice
two tsp ginger garlic paste
salt to taste
five tbs oil.

Method:

1.Clean the quails and cut into two           pieces,the body and the legs.
2.Assemble all the ingredients except the quails and oil and make a paste.Adjust spice and salt according to   your taste.
3.Now add the quails and make sure the paste is applied all over the quail.
4.Marinate for minimum one hour,longer the better because then you are giving plenty of time for the juice to seep in.
5.Heat oil in a large vessel,a non stick one is preferred.
6.Add the quails and stir.keep the flame in minimum.Close the vessel and cook the quail till tender.
7.Make sure to stir in between and if you find its dry drizzle some oil.

Creamy Pasta

This is my mother's famous dish.My mom cooked this yesterday for dinner and it was then i realized I ought to share this recipe with you guys as it was so yummy!I made prawns Manchurian as a side dish for this pasta and it tallied with it perfectly.Here goes the recipe for the creamy pasta:

Ingredients

500 gm pasta cooked
150 gm carrot chopped one inch long
150 gm  beans chopped one inch long
50 gm cheese grated
200 ml milk
100ml oil
2 eggs beaten
5 cloves garlic chopped
5 shallots chopped
pepper according to your spice level
salt to taste.
2 tbsp refined flour

Method.

1.Heat oil in a vessel.
2.Add garlic and onion and saute under low flame for five minutes.
3.Add the refined flour and saute.
4.To this add the beaten eggs and saute till half cooked.
5.Now add the vegetables and stir fry for few minutes under high flame,
6.Add the cooked pasta,milk,pepper,salt and cheese.
7.Nicely mix and cook covered for five minutes under low flame.
8.That's it!Now the creamy pasta is ready to serve.

Date Pastry

Regarding this recipe,it is my all time favorite.Did this recipe a long time back when schooling,when i was around nine years.We had this subject called "Home Economics" in which we learnt about food and hygiene.It was interesting and we did group cooking once in a while.It was then i had my first taste of 'Date pastry'.Made at home with my mom's assistance and it was a huge hit.But unfortunately lost the recipe after that.During this fasting a very good friend of mine told me that she made date pastry as there was so much of dates at home.I got excited! Got the recipe from her then and there and made a batch of it the very day..and everyone loved it!so here I am posting a favorite recipe of mine. :)

Ingredients:

1 Kg all purpose flour
5 tbsp baking powder
500 gm butter
500gm sugar(grind it in a mixer for one to two minutes)
4 eggs(keep one yolk to glaze)
1 tsp vanilla essence
Drop of almond essence

For the dates layer:
1Kg dates
100 gm cashew nuts chopped
1 tsp vanilla essence
Drop of almond essence


Method:

1.Pre-heat the oven.
2.Grind the dates in the mixer grinder after having added the two essence.
3.Add the chopped nuts into the dates mixture.
   Note: if your dates are dry soak them in water for half an hour and then grind them.
4.Now flatten the date mixture between two sheets of grease paper.
5.Mix the rest of the ingredients to form a dough and divide the dough into two.
6.Line a baking tray with grease paper.
7.Flatten one dough on the baking tray.
8.Now add the date layer.
9.Then again flatten the other dough on the date layer.
10.Glaze it with egg yolk.
11.Set the oven to 180 C.The hotness varies in oven.So adjust according to yours.
12.Bake till golden brown.

Chicken karahi

Yes today the recipe is about chicken karahi :)..i know there is plenty of chicken karahi recipes on the net and you might wonder why I am posting this recipe.It's because you wouldn't have been able to cook all the recipes and select the perfect one..so you see i've made your job easier ;)  With  a little bit of alternations from my side,here comes the perfect Chicken karahi recipe for you to try :)


Chicken Karahi.

Ingredients:

Chicken boneless cut into cubes - 1/2 Kg
Chili powder                              - 1 tsp or according to your level of spiciness
Turmeric powder                        - 1/4 tsp
Capsicum                                   - one chopped
Tomatoes                                   - 3 chopped
Onions                                       - 2 onions chopped  
Ginger garlic paste                      -  3/4 tbsp
Salt                                            - to taste
Oil                                             - 1/4 cup
Cilantro leaves                           - one tbsp chopped to garnish.


Method:

1.In a bowl mix ginger garlic paste,salt and the chicken pieces.
2.Heat oil.Add the chicken mixture and saute under medium heat till the water evaporates and the chicken gets fried.
3.Now remove the chicken pieces from the oil onto a platter.
4.Now to that oil, add onions and saute till they turn pink.
5.To this add capsicum and tomatoes and saute for five minutes.
6. Then add the spice mixture,that is turmeric and chili powder and a little bit of salt for the veggies to the                       onion mixture.
7.Saute for two minutes.Now add the chicken pieces,mix and close the cooking vessel.
8. Cook under low heat for five to ten minutes stirring in between.
9.Garnish with cilantro leaves.

   

Potato Chicken Gravy

Potato Chicken Gravy
This chicken gravy is ideal for steamed rice and chapatis.Its easier to make and doesn't have that much of masalas  involved.

Try and lemme know..

INGREDIENTS:
4 tbsp oil
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
1 large onion,chopped
2 medium tomatoes,chopped
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp coriander powder
1 chicken cut into pieces
1 cinnamon stick
2 cardamom
3 cloves
1 medium potato skinned and cubed
1/4 cup curd
1/2 cup coriander leaves
1 cup water
salt to taste.

METHOD

• Take a large bowl.
• Add chili powder,coriander powder,turmeric powder,salt and curd and make a paste.
• To this mixture add the chicken pieces and nicely mix them.
• Leave it aside for an hour or so for the juice to seep through.,but if your in a hurry it doesn't matter.
• In a deep pan heat the oil.Then add the mustard seeds on medium flame.
• Now add the cardamom,cloves and cinnamon and saute.
• To this add the onions and saute till golden brown.
•  Next add the chopped tomatoes and saute till the raw smell disappears.
• Now add the cubed potatoes and fry for two minutes.
• Next add the chicken pieces and the coriander leaves and keep stirring for two minutes.
• Now add the water and stir again.
• Close the lid and let it simmer till the chicken is cooked.
• Now the Potato Chicken Gravy is ready to serve.

Meat Balls

   I had some leftover meat in the fridge  so I thought of doing something  different for iftar today other than the same old samosas, cutlets etc.So I came up with this idea of meat balls in a tangy sour n sweet sauce..and its not my idea,that i have to say.I had it a long time back when i was a kid and it was mouth watering!so I kept on trying several recipes and today i found the perfect recipe and it was indeed superb!So here I am  posting my perfect meat ball recipe... 
                                     
Meat balls

Ingredients:

 For sauce

• 3 tomatoes diced
• 2tbsp tomato paste
• 5 tbsp tomato ketchup
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 7 cloves garlic chopped finely
• 1 onion finely chopped
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp mustard
• 1/4 tsp fenugreek seeds
• 4 tbsp vegetable oil                   

For meat balls

• 250g beef mince(if it is a left over meat remove all the flesh  and  grind it in the mixer)
• 4 tbsp breadcrumbs or powdered original cornflakes
• seven garlic cloves finely chopped
• 1 medium onion finely chopped
• 2 tsp finely chopped coriander leaves
• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp warm milk
• salt
• black pepper powder
• one green chili finely chopped(optionl)
• vegetable oil for frying

Method:

Sauce

•  Heat oil in a sauce pan,add the mustard seed and fenugreek.
• When they are brown,add chopped onions and saute till they turn brown.
• Add garlic and fry on very low heat for 5 minutes.
• Add chili powder and cook for one minute.
• Add chopped tomatoes and cook on high heat for about two minutes or till the tomatoes are pulpy and mingled well with the mixture.
• Now add the tomato paste and the ketchup.
• Add salt according to taste.
• sprinkle sugar and cook on low heat till meat balls are ready.
• If the mixture turns dry you can add a little water.

Meatballs

• Assemble the meat,onions,chili,coriander leaves,salt,pepper powder,chopped garlic cloves in a large bowl and mix them with your hands.
• Now add the egg and milk and mix.
• Now add the bread crumbs little by little  until you are able to make the mixture into a less sticky dough.
• Now make lime size balls and fry all sides on low heat for about 15-20 minutes.Remember it doesn't take this long if it is a precooked meat.So fry accordingly.
• When frying it is important to use a non stick frying pan.
• Fry them till they are medium brown on all sides.
• Using a slotted spoon add one by one to the sauce mixture.
• Cover and slow cook for about 30 minutes for the sauce to seep through.
• Make sure that the mixture doesn't become dry during the process of slow cooking.Sprinkle water once in a way.  

Ice cream with a twist

Do you have a tub of vanilla ice cream lying in the fridge and want to have it with a little bit of a twist? Then you have come to the perfect place..this recipie is more of assembling than making,so its very handy when there are visitors unannounced.try it and let me know..i assure you that you will surely love it!:)

 ICE CREAM WITH A FRUITY TWIST

Ingredients:

• vanilla ice cream
• strawberry preserve
• mangoes chopped finely
• chopped nuts of your choice

Method

• Take a dessert bowl.Add a spoonful of chopped mangoes.
• Then follow it up with ice cream
• Now add strawberry preserve,and if the preserve is very stiff and clumpy liquefy it with a spoonful of water.
• Now add a scoop of ice cream.
• Again add a layer of mangoes.
• Then again add a scoop of ice cream and finish it of with sprinkled nuts and its done!:)  .