Noone Vankaiye - Spicy Brinjal Fry

Ingredients:

Make a dry powder mix of:
Coriander seeds - 3 tsp
Poppy seeds - 1 tsp
Whole Cloves - 6
Cardamom - 6
Cinnamon stick - 1 inch

Onion - 1 and 1/2 large no. (finely chopped)
Ginger Garlic Paste - 2 tsp
Tomato paste - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
Chilli powder - 1 and 1/2 tsp
Brown Jaggery - small lime size
Small purple eggplants - 6 (slit like a flower in the center)
Oil
Salt

Method:

Heat oil in a deep nonstick pan,  fry the above on low flame until the oil seperates from the masala. Add the jaggery last. In a seperate pan, fry the eggplant for about 30 seconds. Once cooled, stuff the eggplants with the masala. Place these stuffed eggplants with the rest of the masala and cook for sometime.

Best eaten with White rice and rasam, my favorite combination!

Paneer Tikka Masala

Ingredients:

2 tbsp butter

Onion - 1 finely minced
1 tsp garlic paste
1 tsp. minced ginger
2 green chili, chopped
Tomatoes (puree) - 4

1 tsp garam masala
2 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 cup cream
1 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp. turmeric powder
3-4 tbsp. thick yogurt
salt to tase

5 tsp. lemon juice
250g paneer cut into cubes and fried.
cilantro - garnishing

Method:

Heat the butter in a pan. Add all the ingredients one by one as listed above and cook for an hour on very low flame.Stir for a few minutes till the sauce thickens.Add the paneer in the sauce and cook for 5 minutes on medium flame.
Serve hot garnished with fresh coriander with your choice of Indian bread or rice.

Fish cutlet.

Ingredients:

Mackreal fish or tilapia
Onions - 3
Ginger - 1 full tsp
Garlic 1 full tsp
Green Chillies 6
Turmeric Powder 2 tsp.
Jeera Powder 3 tsps.
Pepper Powder 2 tsps.
Corriander Leaves One handful
Lime (Small) - 2
Eggs - 2
Water - accordingly
Semolina/ breadcrumbs
Oil for frying
Salt to taste


Method :

Marinate fish with lime, salt, turmeric, jeera and pepper powder.

Chop the onions, ginger, garlic and green chillies very finely. Take little oil in a pan and fry onions, ginger, garlic and green chillies. When fried well, add 1 tsp. turmeric powder , 2 tsps, jeera powder and then 1 tsp of pepper.
Separate the flesh of the fish from bones and mash the mixture nicely. Then add the onion mixture,eggs and finely chopped coriander leaves and mix well.

Take a little portion of this mixture make a small ball and then flatten it with your palms and roll it in semolina (rava) and shallow fry on medium fire. Serve with ketchup or pudina (mint) chutney.

Butter chicken - boneless.

Coming up shortly...

Pakki or Kachi Chicken biryani recipe

Two ways of making chicken biryani - Pakki biryani, cook the meat separately and then layer it with the rice, then seal and cook on a very low heat. Kachi biryani, marinate the meat, place it at the bottom of the pot and cover it up with 3/4th cooked rice, again seal and cook on a very low heat.

recipe coming up shortly ....

Aloo paratha

Payisam - South Indian sweet dish!

Ingredients :

Vermicelli - Semiya - 1 cup
Sugar - 1 and a1/2 cup
Milk - 2 cup
Cardamom - 3 pods
Cashew - 3
Raisins - 6
Ghee - 2 tbsp

Method :

Fry the Semiya in ghee until slightly golden brown. To this add milk and sugar, stir continuously. Add the powdered cardamom. Mix well. Fry the cashews in the remaining ghee and add to the payisam along with the raisins.

Uttappam

For batter :
Soak - for minimum 3 hours
Urad dal - 3/4 cup
Sona masoori rice or jasmine rice - 2 cups
Blend the above with 1 cup of 'Avalakki', into a paste (don't make it very smooth).
Add some baking powder and salt, and let it ferment for about 8 hours.

Rest of the ingredients - toppings:
Onions, tomato, green chillies, coriander leaves and curry leaves - very finely chopped. Add a pinch of salt and a pinch of jeera powder for taste. Mix them all in a separate bowl.

Take a dosa pan, preferably a flat one, pour a small cup size of the batter on it, (spread it evenly like a flat pancake). The thickness of the dosa needs to be slightly thicker than the normal masala dosa. Immidiately spread the toppings all over the batter and sprinkle oil generously on it. Once it turns dark brown, flip it. Leave it on for about a minute and transfer it to a plate. Serve hot along with some coconut and mint chutney.

Vegeteable Korma

Ingredients :

Vegetables - carrot, peas, lima beans, cauliflower, green beans - chopped.
1 small onion, sliced
2-3 tbsp ghee (clarified butter)
Salt to taste
Coriander leaves for garnishing.

For the gravy, blend the following into a very smooth paste: 1/2 a coconut, shredded, 1 small onion, 5-6 flakes garlic, 1" piece ginger, 2 tbsp curd (plain yogurt), 1/2 tsp poppy seeds, 1 tsp cumin seeds, 1 tsp coriander seeds, 3 green chillies, 2 dry red chillies, 2-3 peppercorns, 1/2 tsp saunf (fennel), 1 small stick cinnamon, 1 cardammom, 2-3 cloves, 1 tbsp cashewnuts, 1 small tomato, 2 tsp thick tamarind juice or 2 tsp lemon juice.

Method :

Steam the vegetables till they are about half done.Remove and set aside.Heat the ghee and fry the sliced onion tillit starts changing color.Now add the blended masala and fry till the oil separates. This will take a minimum of 15 minutes. The more the masala fries, the better the flavour. Lowerthe heat and sprinkle a little water and continue frying and stirring continuously.When the masala is fried well and turns aromatic, add the half cooked vegetables and salt. Add some water and mix well.Put it back on the stove and bring it to a boil on low heat.
Once the vegetables are done, remove from heat. Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve hot with chapatis or plain rice

Red chicken gravy, spicy.

Ingredients :

Chicken thighs - 6
Onion - chopped - 2 medium
Ginger-garlic paste - 1 cup
Yogurt - 1/2 cup
Green chillies - cut long
Lime juice - 4 tbsp
Mix - 1/2 spoon each of dhainya powder, chilli powder, and garam masala.
Red tandoori color
Salt & oil

Method :

Marinate chicken in ginger-garlic paste, lime juice and yogurt for few hours. In a large skillet, heat oil, remove each piece from the marinade and fry in oil until the chicken turns brown on both sides. Keep them aside. In the skillet, add one chopped onion and chillies. Now add the remaining marinade and the masala mix, and cook on medium heat till oil separates from
the paste.Now add the chicken pieces and cook it. Add the remaining chopped onions towards the end and sprinkle some lime juice when done. Serve hot with rotis or butter naan.

Vegetable pulav

Ingredients :

Basmati rice - 2 lb
Onion - 1 sliced
Cut carrat and peas - 1 cup
Spices - few each for seasoning
Pudina - 1 cup chopped
Coconut milk - 1 can
Turmeric 1/2 tbsp
Oil & salt
Grind - 1 cup of -
Coriander
Green chillies
Onion

Method :

Heat oil, add all the ingredients one by one, except for the coconut milk. Fry everything till oil separates from masala. Now add the coconut milk and cook for sometime. Add rice and pour the required amount of water and cook till its done. Garnish with coriander leaves.
(I have also put up the recipe for 'vegetable biryani' in one of my earlier posts.)

Egg in chicken liver curry

Ingredients :

Chicken liver - 1.5lbs
Eggs - 4 (boiled)
Onion - 1 big, 3/4th sliced strands
Curry leaves - 2 strands
Dhaniya powder -1/2 tbsp
Pepper powder - 1 tbsp
oil and salt
Grind-
Onion - 1/4
Pudina - 1 tbsp
Coriander - 2 tbspy
Red chillies - 6

Method :

Heat oil, fry the onions and curry leaves. add the paste and fry till the oil separates from masala.
Pour water and cook for sometime. Add the liver and egg and cook for15 minutes . Serve hot with rice or chapaatis.

Chicken reshmi kababs.

Ingredients :

Boneless chicken - cut into cubes - 1lb
Herb vinaigrette - 3/4 cup [can be bought from 'whole foods store or made at home]
(¼ cup of olive oil, 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar,1 tablespoon of finely chopped fresh oregano, 2 teaspoons of finely chopped fresh rosemary, 1 teaspoon of whole grain Dijon mustard, Salt, Freshly ground black pepper)
1/2 cup butter
Lemon juice - 3 tbsp
Garlic paste - 2 tsp
white pepper powder - 1 tsp
Yellow or green food color - a pinch.

Method :

Mix all the ingredients and let it marinade for atleast 12 hours . Pre-heat oven at 400 degrees and then cook the chicken for about 20 minutes or until done, brushing it with olive oil at regular intervals. Serve with pudina chutney.

Spicy Chicken kababs

Ingredients :

Boneless chicken - 1 lb (cut into small cubes)
Lemon juice - 2 tbsp
Dhainya powder - 2 tbsp
Jeera powder - 2 tbsp
Chilli powder - 2 tbsp
Garam masala - 2 tbsp
Salt
Fresh cream - 1/4 cup
Red tandoori color - a pinch

Method :

Mix all the above ingredients with the chicken in a bowl, expect the cream. Let it marinate for at least 24 hours in the refrigerator. Pre heat the oven at 400 degrees. Mix the chicken with the cream sometime before grilling it. Keep in oven for 20 minutes while brushing oil or butter at regular intervals. Serve hot with pudina chutney.

Chicken keema with potatoes and peas.

Ingredients :

Ground Chicken - 1 lb
Peas - one cup
Potato - half cooked and cut into cubes - 3 small
Onion - 1 small- chopped
Onion - 1 small - paste
Ginger and garlic paste - 2 tbsp
Tomato paste - 1 tbsp
Bay leaf - 3
Blend together : (quantity depends on how much gravy you want in the keema)
Coriander seeds, cumin seeds, black pepper corns, red or green chillies, 1 cinnamon stick.
Turmeric
Lime juice - 1 tbsp
Salt
Oil

Method :

Take a large saucepan. Heat oil, add the bay leaf. Then add the chopped onions and fry. Add the rest of the ingredients except the chicken and lime juice and fry till the oil separates from the masala. Now add the chicken and fry for sometime. Then add the potato and peas and cook everything till its done. Garnish with lime juice and chopped coriander.

Sheek kabab (pork)

Ingredients :

Ground pork (any ground meat of your choice) - 1 lb
Onion - 1 small -minced
Green chillies - (minced)
Ginger garlic paste - 1 tbsp
Cumin powder - 1 tbsp
Garam masala - 1 tbsp
Coriander powder - 1 tbsp
Lime juice - 2 tbsp
Egg - 1
Butter - 1 cube
Salt
Olive oil - 2 tbsp

Method :

Mix all the above ingredients in a bowl. Make them into shapes like a hot dog. Mold the meat onto the skewers and place them in the oven - pre-heat oven at 450 degrees and then place them inside for about 45 minutes or till done. Brush it with oil at regular intervals. Serve hot with pudina chutney.

Tandoori chicken

Ingredients:

Chicken drumsticks and thighs with bone - 4 pieces each
Dhaniya powder- 3 tbsp
Jeera powder - 3 tbsp
Chilli powder - 2 tbsp
Black pepper powder - 2 tbsp
Ginger-garlic paste - 2 tbsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tbsp
Yogurt - 1/2 cup
Lemon juice - 2 full lemons
Red tandoori color
Butter - half a block
Salt

Method:

Mix all the above ingredients and marinate the chicken for atleast 24 hrs. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and cook in oven for 45 minutes.
Serve hot with pudina or mint chutney.