Spicy Peanut Chutney

Spicy Peanut Chutney

A Quick and a delicious Chutney !!

Ingredients

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Peanuts - 1/2 cup

Coconut - 2 tbsp

Red chillies -3

Tamarind - small marble size

Garlic - 1 big clove

Cumin seeds - 1 tsp

Curry leaves - few

Salt

To season:

Oil-1 tbsp

mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Urud dhal-1 tsp

Red chillies-2

Method:

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You can very easily oven roast the peanuts.Here is how.Place the peanuts without shell in a baking sheet or a wide pan.Place them in single layer.Preheat the oven to 350 degreees.Keep the peanuts in oven and cook for 17 - 20 minutes.You have perfectly roasted peanuts.Peel off the skin.Take them in a blender along with coconut,cumin,curry leaves,tamarind,garlic and salt.Blend well.Taste and adjust the spice and salt level.Take it in the serving bowl.Heat oil.Oh yeh let it really heat up.Be patient.Add the mustard seeds,urud dhal and red chillies.Pour it over the chutney.Serve hot with dosai !!!

Strawberry Milkshake

Strawberry Milkshake

Summer has started.It is getting hotter and hotter day by day.What more is refreshing than a cool homemade milkshake??!! Strawberries are yummy and healthy too!! Cool off the heat with this easy and fun milkshake!!

Ingredients:

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Milk - 500 ml

Strawberry - 8

Sugar - 3 tbsp (add it to ur taste)

Whipped cream - get the squeeze can of whipped cream like 'Reddi wip'....it has more shelf life...

Nestle Nesquick Strawberry powder (or any strawberry milkshake powder) - 3 tbsp (you get this in the coffee and malt aisle)

Method:

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In a blender,take the washed strawberries and little milk.Blend well.Now add the remaining milk,a good squeeze of whipped cream,sugar,nesquick strawberry powder and blend again.

If you do this with cold milk,then it would be cool.If you want it more cool, add a couple of icecubes and blend again.Chill!!!

Paruppu Vadai

Paruppu Vadai

A delicious Indian snack.Very easy to make too.My husband's favourite...but since it is deep fried,he gets it once every year...his birthday..lol!!!

Ingredients:

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Chana dhal - 1 cup

Onion - 1

Curry leaves - few

cumin seeds - 1tsp

green chillies - 3 (add acc' to ur spice level)

Chana dhal flour/aka Besan flour

salt

Method:

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Soak the chana dhal for atleast 2 hrs.Drain water from dhal.Grind the dhal coarsely.Never add water,not even a drop.Take it in a bowl.Add the minced onion,curry leaves,chillies,cumin and salt.Add chana dhal flour if you feel it won't stick together otherwise if you are fine with the consistency,need not add the flour.make balls,flatten and deep fry.Do not keep it in high flame.Keep in medium heat.Only then you get a crispy and well cooked vadais.Serve hot!!!

Tomato Biryani

Tomato Biryani

This one is for all my vegetarian friends...Hope you guys are happy now!!!

Ingredients:

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Basmati Rice - 4 Rice cooker cups
Onion -1
Peas -1/4 cup
cinnamon - 1 (1 inch size)
Clove -2
Aniseed - 1
bayleaf -1
Butter - 3/4 stick
Oil - 1/4 cup
Tomato - 4
Salt - to taste

To Grind:
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Garlic - 10 cloves
Ginger - 1 inch
Green chillies - 4
Cinnamon - 1
Clove -2
Fennel seeds - 1 tbsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tbsp
Whole pepper - 10-15
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Coriander leaves - some
Mint leaves - 10-15 leaves

Method:
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Soak the basmati for 30 minutes.grind the masala and keep aside.Heat the butter and oil in a pan.Add the whole spices.Now add onion and saute it well till it becomes golden brown.This step is very important for any biryanis.You have to really cook the onion till you get a good aroma.Now add the ground masala.Add the tomatoes.Try to cook this in the oil for sometime.Add 1 cup of water and continue cooking.Add peas.Cook well till the oil seperates.Now add the remaining measure of water.1: 1 1/2 ratio.So for 4 cups of rice,6 cups of water.We added one cup earlier so now add 5 more cups.Now add salt.This step is also very important.You have to add correct amount of salt.When you taste,you should feel it is a little salty.Only then when you add the rice,it gets the salt.Now cook for a few minutes till the water is all soaked up by the rice.Make sure that it doesn't get too dry.Cover the pan airtight with an aluminium foil and put it in the oven.Preheat oven 350 degree and keep for 20 minutes.Serve hot with raita and chips.You can switch off and leave it in the oven and take it when you want to serve..it remains hot!!!!

Ps:Transfer the pan from the stove to the oven immediately before it loses any heat.

Poondu Kulambu

Garlic Kulambu

Needless to say,Garlic has so many medicinal values.It is a powerful anti-biotic.It can reduce cholesterol and many many more benefits that it is actually called "wonder drug " in the herbal world.Thankfully we use a lot of garlic in our cooking.

Ingredients:

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Gingely Oil - 6tbsp

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Fenugreek Seeds -2 tsp

curry leaves
Garlic - big cloves - 20

Small onion -10 or onion-1

Chilli powder - 1 tbsp

Coriander powder - 1 tbsp

Tamarind water - 1/4 cup

(What i do is soak half block of tamarind in a tupperware with little water and keep it in fridge.So that you can take it and use anytime you want.)

Asoefotida-1 pinch

Salt - for taste

Method:

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Heat gingely oil in a cooker.Add curry leaves,mustard seeds and fenugreek seeds.Now add the garlic cloves and the onion and roast for a few minutes.Add chilli powder,coriander powder ,asoefotida,and roast this for a minute in oil.Then add the tamarind water.Add salt.Add some water and close the cooker and cook for 4 whistles.Serve with rice.

Prawn Gravy

Prawn Gravy

One of my favourite seafoods.I long for the fresh prawns that we get in india.So I get raw shrimp,not so big,not so small..just the right size gives the right taste for a gravy.My husband never liked the crunchiness of the prawns but he loves it if it is soft.I thought of quit making prawn until oneday an idea dawned on me and its working perfect everytime...Marinate the shrimp in lemon juice...Now I'm very close to the prawn gravy in india though I cannot beat it...

Ingredients

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Shrimp
Onion - 1
Tomato -1
lemon juice
curry leaves
cumin seeds - 1tsp
Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp
Garlic -small pieces
Green chilli -2
Chilli powder-1 tsp
Cumin powder - 1tsp
coriander leaves
To grind:
Roast in some oil and then grind.
Onion-1
cumin seeds - 1 tsp
fennel seeds - 1 tsp
whole pepper -10

Method:
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Marinate shrimp in lemon juice and salt for atleast 2 hrs.Heat 2 tbsp oil.Add curry leaves,cumin seeds,garlic pieces and green chillies.Add onion and saute it till it becomes golden brown.Add chilli powder,cumin powder,turmeric powder.Add the ground paste.Cook them in the oil.Do not add water now.You can add little water if it burns.Add tomato.Cook till the oil seperates.Add shrimp and less salt as you have salt in shrimp.cover and cook.Keep in sim.Try to cook with the water that comes out of the shrimp.Garnish with coriander leaves.

Pappu's Chinese Chicken

Pappu's Chinese Chicken !

Pappu - that is me ofcourse.I kinda invented this recipe when I started cooking in the first year of my college.So my family named it after me..Hehehe...They really love this chinese chicken and I am happy to share it with you.This is a good side dish for fried rice.

Ingredients

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Boneless chicken - 1 pound

Chilli powder - 1 tsp

Coriander powder - 1tsp

Spices -one of each(cardamom,cinnamon,aniseed,clove)

sugar - 1 tsp

oil

onion - 1

capsicum - 1/2

ginger garlic paste- 1 tsp

soy sauce - 1 tbsp

tomato sauce - 2 tbsp

coriander leaves

salt

Allspice powder - 1/2 tsp (you get this in chinese isle) -optional

garlic -small pieces

Cornflour

Method:

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Marinate the chicken with chilli powder,danya powder,soysauce,salt.Heat oil.Add the spices and sugar.Adding sugar gives a nice smell.Add onion.Add ginger garlic paste and saute well.Add capsicum.Add all spice powder and some color if you want.now add the chicken.Add salt,tomato sauce.Cook with some water.When the chicken is cooked add cornflour mixed in some water and let it cook.Finally add the garlic pieces and cook for another 5 minutes not more than that.Garnish with coriander leaves.

Chinese Egg Fried Rice

Chinese Egg Fried Rice

Indo-chinese has an unique flavour.Very tasty indeed.Chennai's roadside fastfoods are ultimate spots to have fried rice and chilli beef.But the problem is they add Msg like water which gives that smell and taste.So to compromise between taste and health,add no more than a teaspoon of ajinamoto and add it no more than once every week.You can do this without adding msg too.But believe me it makes a difference.

Ingredients:

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Basmati rice - 1cup

Peas -1/4 cup

carrot - 1/4 cup

(get the peas and carrots combo in the frozen section..makes the job easier)

capsicum-1/2

onion -1

garlic pieces (or) garlic powder

Spring onions

eggs-2

Pepper

Soysauce

salt

Ajinamoto - 1 tsp

Chilli garlic sauce (you get this in the asian aisle) - 1tsp-this gives more heat and flavor -optional

Method:
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Cook the rice 1:11/2 ratio in rice cooker.Cook it before 1-2 hrs before making the fried rice.As soon as the rice cooker goes in warm mode,plug off and open the lid..fluff and let it cool.Heat oil in a big wide pan.keep in high heat.Add the garlic pieces or garlic powder.Add onion,capsicum,peas and carrot.Saute them well.Add the 2 eggs now(In a wide pan scramble the egg in one corner before you mix with vegetables..if you are not using wide pan add already scrambled eggs) and cook.mix it all well.Add soysauce,chilli garlic sauce,pepper,ajinamoto and salt.Now add the rice and saute it well for about 10 mins in good heat.Garnish with spring onions.

Capsicum Chicken

Capsicum chicken

Once again,my mother's creation.Easiest way to make a delicious chicken.We used to go to church on every sundays and come late @1.00 pm,very very hungry.So rasam and chicken fry was easy to make and it became a traditional sunday afternoon meal for us.And for a variation,my mom used to make this chicken.
I do this often but I did not come up with a name for it until recently I made this for a potluck and everybody there said that my 'capsicum chicken' was delicious.For me it goes well with rasam and rice...but it goes great with any pulao too..

Ingredients
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Chicken -1 kg-boneless
Oil-1 cup
Onion - 2
Tomato -2
Capsicum -1
Green chillies - 7
Soysauce - 1 tsp
Salt

For marinade:
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If you have a good chicken 65 masala..put that,salt,little lemon juice and 1 egg white and marinate for atleast 1 hour.
If you do not have chicken 65 masala,Add chilli powder,ginger garlic paste,food color red,lemon juice,salt and 1 egg white to chicken and marinate.

Method:
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Heat oil.Roast the chicken just like chicken fry.When it is 3/4th done,drain 3/4th of oil and add the chopped onion,tomato,capsicum and green chillies at the same time and saute it in good heat.Add some salt and soysauce.Keep on cooking till everything cooks well and till it looks delicious!Garnish with coriander.

Tamilnadu Chicken kulambu

Koli Kulambu

There are million ways to make chicken.Isn't that wonderful!! But rice as a complement only one method rocks...a good koli kulambu...My mom makes very tasty koli kulambu and she learned it from my pattima...so this recipe is being passed on from generation to generation!!!

Enga veetu koli kulambu
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Ingredients
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Gingely oil - 1/4 cup
Chicken(with bones)
Spices(cardamom,cinnamon,aniseed,clove,bayleaf)-1 each
Onion - big 1
tomato - 2
chilli powder
coriander powder
turmeric powder
cumin powder
salt to taste
coriander leaves

Paste#1
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Whole Pepper seeds-10
Fennel seeds-1 tbsp
ginger-1 inch
garlic-10 cloves

Paste #2
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coconut
cumin seeds

Method
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Grind the two paste and keep it aside.Heat oil in cooker.put the spices,cumin seeds,curry leaves.Add onion and saute well.Put the chilli powder,coriander powder,turmeric powder and saute in oil.Add tomato and paste #1.Cook well till the oil seperates.Add chicken,salt and the Paste #2.Close cooker and cook for 2-3 whistles.Then add salt if required and add some cumin powder.Garnish with coriander leaves.