Happy weekend !!!

Milagu, kozhi vathakkal / Pepper chicken

 

I  got this recipe from one of my friend. Thank you Raghavan for this simple and tasty recipe. When I heard about this dish, I am sure it is going to taste great. I do make pepper chicken but in a different way with many spices. But this recipe is very simple without any spices other than pepper. I have heard from my dad that his grandma prepares mutton only with salt and green chillies !!! Even NV when prepared in the simplest possible way,  tastes very yummy and satisfying and this dish is one such example. Try it you will defintely love it :).

 

Ingredients :

Chicken- 1/2 kg

Onions (preferably shallots)- one cup

Green chillies

Black pepper corns - 2 tbspns

Turmeric powder- 1/4 tspn

Salt to taste

Oil- 4 tbspns (preferably gingelly oil or seasame oil)

Method :

Clean the chicken and cut them into small pieces. Peel and slice the onions. Mince the green chillies. Heat oil in a pan. When the oil is hot enough add the onions, green chillies, salt and turmeric powder. Simmer the flame. Saute the onions until they become soft. Now add the chicken pieces and mix well. Let the chicken cook in a low flame. Mix the onion, chicken mixture frequently. When the chicken is cooked add the coarsely powdered black pepper and mix well. Remove from fire after 2 minutes. A very tasty pepper chicken will be ready. This dish tastes very yummy with hot rice. Try to eat it when you are run dowm with cold or flu, I am sure you will feel better :)

Taste enhancing tips for this recipe : If you need more gravy add more onions . Never add even a drop of water. This dish needs more oil the usual. Cook only in a very low flame and use a heavy bottomed vessel. Freshly ground pepper greatly enhances the taste. Use tender chicken. You can also add lots of curryy leaves. Happy cooking !!!

Chinna vengaya sambhar / Shallots sambhar

 

This is one of my favourite sambhar. I actually forgot about this recipe until I saw Viki's post on this. I just can't wait to prepare it. It is one of the most tastiest and aromatic sambhar. This dish goes well with hot rice, idly or dosa.

The scietific name of shallots is Allium ascalonicum. It is a relative of onion but tastes a bit sweeter than the onions. Shallots are easily digestible and contains 6 times more phenolics than the lowest ranked onions. They also have the most antioxidant activity than any other members of onion family. If you wonder what are these phenolics and anti-oxidants, they are the substances which provide shallots and onions their anti-cancer property. So presence of more of these substances tells us that they are potent anti-carcinogenic agents. Shallots are low in saturated fats, cholesterol and sodium. They are high in Vitamin A, vitamin B6, vitamin C, manganese, folate and pottasium. (Source : Wikipedia and natural environment website)

 

Ingredients :

Small onions or shallots- 20 nos if small and 10 nos if they are big

Toor dhal- 1 cup

Tomato- 1 no

Green chillies- 4 nos

Tamarind- size of a small lemon

Curry leaves- a handful

MTR sambhar powder- 2 tbspns

OR

Coriander powder- 2 tbspns and chilli powder- 1 tspn

Fenugreek seeds- 1/2 tspn

Jeera and mustard seeds- 1/2 tspn each

Coconut scrappings- 1 tbspn

Turmeric powder- 1/4 tspn

Asafoetida- a pinch

Salt to taste

Oil- 3 tbspns

Method :

Peel the onions and cut them into 2 if they are very large (here the shallots are very big, no need to cut the small variety shallots you get in India). Cut the tomatoes. Longitudinally slit the green chillies. Cook toor dhal until soft and mash them using a wooden spatula or masher. Soak the tamarind and extract the juice. Now heat oil in a pan. When the oil is hot add the fenugreek seeds. When they brown and emit a nice aroma add mustard and jeera. When they splutter add the onions, green chilli, curry leaves, turmeric and a pinch of asafoetida. Suate for about 1 minute. Now add the tomato pieces and saute for 30 seconds. Add sambhar powder or coriander and chilli powder to the mixture and saute for 30 seconds. At this stage add the tamarind juice and enough water. Allow the mixture to boil. Now add the cooked dhal and allow it to boil once again. Simmer the mixture for another 10 minutes or until the oil seperates out. A very aromatic sambhar will be ready to be served.

Taste enhancing tips for this recipe : Read it here. The onions should not become too soft. It must stay in sambhar firm like a vegetable. So reduce the sauting time. Happy cooking !!!

.

This recipe goes to Priya's Easy N TastyRecipes,  Healing Foods-Onion event. This event was started by Siri of Siri's corner. This is the link for her event announcement page. Great theme Siri and thanks Priya for hosting this event.

Milagu Vendakkai / Black pepper stuffed ladies finger or okra

 

This easy recipe was given by my dad to me. I think he read it in some magazine. My dad was the first person to encourage my cooking expeditions :). Whatever dish I prepare he just loved it. I am not sure whether he liked the dish or the fact that it was prepared by his daughter. Sometimes when my mom says  to him that I prepared a particular dish (eventhough I haven't ) he appreciated it whole-heartedly and vice versa :). So I am sure that the love for his daughter made him appreciate the dishes prepared by me. But those appreciation s helped me to grow better and better :). I would love to dedicate this blog to my loving and caring dad. Try this recipe. It is very simple, very tasty and very healthy way to enjoy ladies finger.

Ingredients :

Vendakkai / ladies finger / okra- 6 nos  (select fresh, green and tender ones) 

Freshly ground black pepper powder- 1 tspn

Salt- 1/4 tspn

Oil- 3 tspns

Method :

Make a longitudinal slit in vendakkai as shown in picture. Mix black pepper powder and salt. Apply a thin coating of the above said mixture inside the slitted ladies finger. Heat 3 teaspoons of oil in a pan. When the oil gets hot simmer the flame and place the vendakkai on hot oil. Turn ladies finger more often until they get brown tints all over their outer skin. The pepper stuffed vendakkai will be ready to be relished.

Taste enhancing tips for this recipe :  Instead of cooking them in a pan you can grill them. Before grilling spray a thin coating of oil. This pepper stuffed vendakkai will be loved by everyone in your grill party. Happy cooking !!!

This entry goes to Tasty apetite's I love my dad event. Thank you Jay for hosting this lovely event.

Thakkali saadham / Tomato rice

 

I brought some attractive, reddish, juicy and ripe tomatoes. They looked very beautiful, I enjoyed clicking them :). I have two people in my home who love tomatoes crazily- my mom and my hubby. My mom's vegetable shopping is never complete without buying tomatoes and so is Rajender. Both of them love dishes made with tomato too.

The scientific name of tomato is Solanum lycopersicum. It is also called as love apple (!!!). Tomato plant is grown world-wide for its edible fruits.  There are 7500 varieties of tomatoes (surprising isn't it ?). Tomatoes are rich in lycopene which is a powerful anti-oxidant. The lycopene in tomatoes are better absorbed by our body when they are cooked or preserved. Lycopene offers protection against neurodegenerative diseases and some forms of cancer. Tomatoes are also rich in vitamin C and vitamin A. 

The tomato rice I prepare will be more like a biriyani. I love the version without much spices too. Actually this recipe is very easy and can be prepared in a few minutes time.  Try this one-pot dish for a healthy, easy and enjoyable meal.

Ingredients :

Tomatoes- 4 nos

Onion-1 no

Basmati rice- 2 cups

Garlic- 4 pods

Ginger- 1/2 inch piece

Green chillies- 4 nos

Cardamom- 2 nos

Cloves- 3 nos

Cinnamon- 1/2 inch piece

Fennel seeds- 1/2 tspn

Red chilli powder- 1 tspn (adjust according to your taste)

Oil- 3 tbspns

Salt to taste

Method :

First grind half of the onions, green chillies, ginger, garlic and fennel seeds into a paste. Heat oil in a pressure cooker ( I prepared it in a pressure cooker, you can use rice cooker too). When the oil is hot add  cardamom, cinnamon and cloves. When they emit a nice aroma add the onions and saute well. Then add the ground paste and chilli powder. Saute until the raw smell disappears. Now add the cut tomatoes and saute till they become soft. To the above mixture add rice and mix well. Then add enough water  and salt to taste (I add 3 cups water for 2 cups of basmati rice). Close the pressure cooker and cook for 3 minutes after the first whistle comes. Remove from fire and open the cooker after 10 minutes or after the pressure is released.

Taste enhancing tips for this recipe : Quality of toamto is very important. Look for ripe but firm, red tomatoes. Do not add too much spices. Very little will give a nice aroma and taste. The dish will be much tastier if the tomatoes are a bit sour. Happy cooking !!!

Have a beautiful weekend !!!

Era varuval / Prawn fry

This is a very simple prawn fry. We just loved it. Hope you will also like it. Here we get big variety,  frozen prawns but nothing can be compared to the small variety, fresh prawns which I ate when I am young.  Might be the above statement is true or might be its just the age that matters :). My mom used to deep fry the prawns and I still have that taste in my tongue, a bit sweet yet spicy and crispy hmmm...:).

Ingredients :

Prawns- 250 gms

Onion- 1 no

Tomato- 1 no

Garlic- 2 pods

Ginger- a 1/2 inch piece

Green chillies- 4 nos

Black pepper corns- 20 nos

Red chilli powder- 2 tspns

Coriander powder- 1 tbspn

Cuury leaves- 20 leaflets

Coconut scrappings- 1 tbspn

Cinnamon- 1 inch pice

Cloves-4 nos

Fennel seeds- 1/2 tspn (optional)

Salt to taste

Oil- 3 tbspns

Method :

Cut onions, ginger, garlic, tomato into pieces. Heat 2 teaspoons of oil in a pan. Fry onions, green chillies, ginger and garlic until they become brown. Now add tomatoes and saute well until they turn soft. Add pepper corns and coconut scrappings to the above mixture and saute for 30 seconds. Remove from fire. Allow the mixture to cool and grind them into a paste in food processor. Wash prawns and keep aside. Now heat a pan with 3 tablespoons of oil. When the oil gets heated add cloves and cinnamon. When they emit a nice aroma add the ground paste. Saute well for few second and to this add red chilli powder, coriander powder and turmeric powder. Add enough salt to this mixture. Fry for a few seconds and then add prawns to it. Add half-a-cup of water and allow the mixture to boil well. Simmer the mixture until all the water content is gone. Remove from fire and garnish with coriander leaves. When serving squeeze lemon juice on the dish.

Taste enhancing tips for this recipe : The taste is much better if you fry the onions until it turns brown. Do not cook the prawn in high heat for a long time. They become rubbery. You can add fennel seeds when grinding the masala. It enhances the flavour of the dish. Add lots of curry leaves when making any sea food, that makes a lot of difference. Happy cooking !!!

Nataraja Iyer Rasam

 

This rasam recipe was invented by Nataraja Iyer. Long time ago he wrote a cookery column in a tamil magazine. At that time he gave this recipe to his readers. My mom used to prepare it often. It was a big hit in our household. Everyone liked it. I forgot this recipe for a long time and one fine day I  remembered about this rasam. I asked my mom for the recipe even she could not remember it. So I searched in internet and found a single post about this rasam.

This rasam preparation is very unique. We never boil tamarind juice when making rasam but this recipe calls for boiling the tamarind extract. Nataraja Iyer asked the readers to prepare this rasam in a brass vessel (pithalai sombu) for a better taste. I do not have any brass vessel. So I prepared it in a heavy-bottomed aluminium cooker. This is the most flavourful rasam I ever had. Anybody will get hooked to it,  because of  its nice aroma and excellent taste. Try this, you will love it.

 

Ingredients :

Cooked and mashed toor dhal- 1 cup

Tamarind- size of a lemon

Dried red chillies- 5 nos

Green chillies- 4 nos

Curry leaves- 20 leaflets

Jeera seeds- 2 tspns

Black whole pepper- 1 tspn

Turmeric powder- 1/4 tspn

Asafoetida powder- 1/4 tspn

Mustard, fenugreek and jeera seeds- 1/2 tspn

Jaggery (vellam)- a small piece

Garlic- 3 pods (crushed)

Salt to taste

Oil or ghee for tempering- 1 tbspn

Method :

Cook and mash toor dhal. Mix 2 cups of water to it and keep aside. Take tamarind and soak it in 3/4 cup of  warm water for 10 minutes. Extract the tamarind juice by squeezing it . Now add 3/4 cup of water again to the extracted tamarind juice. Once again add 3/4 cup of water. Take the tamarind juice in a brass or any heavy-bottomed vessel. To this add broken red chillies, crushed green chillies, curry leaves,  a small jaggery piece, salt, turmeric and asafoetida powder. Boil this mixture well until it becomes half of its original volume. Now add the cooked dhal and coarsely ground jeera and balck pepper seeds to the boiled tamarind mixture. Boil this mixture again until a froathy layer forms on the top. Remove from fire. Take a pan. Heat oil or ghee. When the oil gets heated add mustard, methi seeds (fenugreek) and jeera seeds. When they splutter add curry leaves and crushed garlic. Switch off the stove and transfer the tempered ingredients to the rasam. Garnish with fresh coriander leaves. A very aromatic rasam will be ready to be served.

Taste enhancing tips for this recipe : Use brass vessel if possible or any heavy-bottomed vessel. Do not miss any ingredients. Ghee adds a lot of flavour. Use tamarind which is sour enough. Happy cooking !!!

Broccoli-Seasame stir-fry

When I am very young I read about broccoli in English story books.  Most children,  in the books I read,  hate to eat broccoli  and their parents made sure they eat broccoli because it is very good for health. I used to wonder how that vegetable would look !!  I saw broccoli for the first time after I came to Germany. A green coloured cauliflower !!! I tasted it for the first time in mensa (canteen). In canteen they used to serve a cup of boiled broccoli. To tell the truth I hated it on my first encounter itself. Rajender loves this vegetable (thats very strange !!!). He has read that broccoli has many anti-cancer compounds and I am sure that is the reason for his broccoli love :).

 

The scientific name of broccoli is Brassica aleracea. It is rich in cancer fighting phytochemicals and anti-oxidants. Broccoli is high in Vitamin C, K and A. It is also a rich source of dietary fiber. It is also shown to have anti-viral and anti-bacterial properties.

I hated broccoli until I found this recipe. Whenever I came across broccoli in grocery shop I felt a sense of guilt running deep inside me.  The first reason for this is,  Rajender loves it and I am not ready to cook it for him and the second reason is,  I am avoiding such a nutritious veggie.  I was sure that Indian way of cooking cannot make this veggie any better. More and more you cook this veggie,  worser it becomes. So I tried to find a non-Indian recipe version for this vegetable (in internet, sorry I do not remember the source) and  here it is for you :

Ingredients :

Broccoli- 1 no

Lime- 1 no

Seasame- 2 tbspns

Red chilli flakes- 1 tspns

Jeera seeds- 1 tspn

Garlic- 2 cloves

Olive oil- 2 tbspns

Method :

Cut broccoli into bite sized pieces as shown in picture. Make thin slices of garlic. Squeeze out the juice from half lime piece. First, steam the broccoli until it is cooked but it should retain its firm texture. The steaming process takes approximately 5-8 minutes. Now heat a pan. Add olive oil. When the oil gets heated add seasame, jeera and sliced garlic. Fry for a few seconds until the seeds splutter and the garlic browns. Add steamed broccoli to this mixture. Simmer the flame and mix everything well. Remove from fire after 3 minutes. Sprinkle lime juice and chilli flakes on it.  Add salt to taste. Broccoli stir-fry will be ready to be served.

Taste enhancing tips for this recipe : Make sure you do not over-cook this vegetable. It must be cooked but should retain its firmness. Steaming is the best option because boiling in water leads to the loss of cancer- protective phytochemicals. Try to retain its bright green colour. If you cook it too much it becomes light green in colour and doesn't look or taste appetizing. Follow the exact recipe. This veggie never mingles well with our Indian spices (my personal opinion), so avoid them. Never discard broccoli stem,  thats the tastiest part.  Happy cooking !!!

Rava dosai

A very simple dosa preparation. No need for soaking, grinding, mixing, fermenting etc. This is a slight variation of the usual rava dosai preparation. I have used eggs instead of maida. I learned this from one of my friend. They taste much better than the maida version. A healthy version too because we are substituting a simple carb with good quality protein. Try it for a wholesome breakfast.

Ingredients :

Rava- 1 cup

Rice flour- 1/2 cup

Egg- 1 no

Cashew kernels- 8 nos (broken into small pieces)

Ginger- a small piece (minced finely)

Curry leaves- 10 leaflets (minced finely)

Green chillies- 4 nos (minced finely)

Jeera seeds- 1/2 tspn

Salt to taste

Oil for frying (you can use ghee if you wish)

Method :

Mix all the items mentioned above except oil. Make a batter by diluting the mixture with water. The batter should be very thin. It must be several times thinner than dosa batter and if you take the batter in a laddle and pour it, it must fall freely like thick buttermilk. After preparing the batter wait for half-an-hour. Now heat a pan. When the pan is hot enough pour a laddle of batter. You normally get a net-like dosa as shown in picture. No need to spread it. Dribble oil  and fry both sides until it turns crispy and golden brown. Serve with coconut chutney.

Taste enhancing tips for this recipe : The most important thing is you need to have a good pan. Use a thick bottomed pan in which the heat spreads evenly and at the same time slowly. Simmer the flame. Do not keep on high flame. The above mentioned points will help in cooking the rava dosa evenly. They also remain intact and crispy. I have only a hot plate.  The pan I use becomes hot quickly and that too only in the center. I had hard time getting a properly shaped dosa. I think electric pan can do wonders, when preparing rava dosa.  Cashews and ginger impart a very nice taste to the dosa. Happy cooking !!!