Idly Sambar

This is a simple sambar we make in Madurai. I love to have this sambar with dosa. Egg dosa and this sambar is a staple sunday breakfast in our house.

Ingredients

Moongdal - 1/2 cup
Tomato - 2
Turmeric powder - 1/2 Teaspoon
Sambar Powder - 1 Teaspoon
Green Chilly - 2
Jeera - 1/2 Teaspoon
Mustard - 1/2 Teaspoon
Red Chilly - 2
Asafoetida - 1/2 Teaspoon
Oil
Salt

Method

1. In a pressure cooker, cook Moongdhal,tomato, turmeric powder , sambar powder and salt with 2 cups of water for 2 whistles.
2. Season with mustard, jeera, red chilly, asafoetida and curry leaves.
3.Garnish with coriander leaves.
4.Serve hot with idly or dosa.
 

Muttai Parotta

 

Ingredients

Parotta - 6
Egg - 4
Onion -1
Tomato - 1
Green Chilly - 1
Chilly Powder - 1Teaspoon
Coriander Powder - 1/2 Teaspoon
Pepper - 1/4 Teaspoon
Saunf - 1/2 Teaspoon
Mutton or Chicken Salna - 4 Tablespoon
Curry Leaves - Few
Curry Masal Powder - 1/4 Teaspoon
Oil
Salt


Method

1.Finely Chop the onions. Beat the eggs with little salt.
2.Cut parotta into big pieces. Mince them in  mixie for few seconds.
3.Heat oil in a pan and season with saunf.
4.Add the finely chopped onions, Curry leaves and green chillies and fry till they are golden brown.
5.Add Chopped tomatoes and fry for 3 minutes.
6.Add masala powders and cook till the raw smell goes.
7.Add the minces parotta and fry for 2 minutes.
8.Add the beaten eggs and salna to the parotta and keep on stirring tlll egg seperates from parotta.This process will take about 7 -8 minutes.
9.Serve hot.
 

Chicken Salna

Yesterday I prepared this chicken salna as a side for parotta. It was a close match to the salna we used to get from roadside parotta stalls back home in Madurai.

Ingredients

Chicken - 1/2 Kg
Onion - 1
Tomato - 2
Ginger Garlic Paste - 2 Teaspoon
Green Chilly -2
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 Teaspoon
Chilly Powder - 1 Teaspoon
Coriander Powder - 1/2 Teaspoon
Jeera  Powder - 1/2 Teaspoon
Curry Masala Powder - 1/4 Teaspoon
Corianer - half handful
Mint - 5
Cinnamon - 1 inch
Cloves - 4
Cardamom - 3
Coconut Milk - 1/2 Cup or Coconut paste - 2 Tablespoon
Oil
Salt

Method

1.Heat oil in a pressure cooker and season with cinnamon, cloves and cardamom.
2.Add finely chopped onion and fry till it becomes brown.
3.Add ginger garlic paste and slitted green chillies and fry for few minutes.
4.Cut tomatoes into big pieces and add them. Try not to mash them. Just stir it gently.
5.Add  coriander and mint leaves.
6.Add chicken pieces and all masala powders except curry masala and fry them for 3-4 minutes.
7.Add 2 cups of water and let it to boil. or we can pressure cook for 1 whistle.
10.After the chicken is cooked , add the coconut milk and curry masala powder.
11.Switch off the stove after it starts boiling.
12.Serve hot as a side for parotta,chapathi, idli or biriyani.

 

Authentic Chicken Fry

It's a simple chicken fry I used to make some years ago. And one of our friends who tasted this referred it  as authentic. I forgot the recipe and somehow I remembered this word and manged to get the same taste again.

Ingredients

Chicken - 1/2Kg
Onion - 2
Ginger Garlic Paste - 2 Teaspoon
Chilly Powder - 1 Teaspoon
Coriander Powder - 1/2 Teaspoon
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 Teaspoon
Crushed pepper - 1/4 Teaspoon
Cinnamon - 1
Cardamom - 2
Cloves - 3
Saunf seeds - 1/2 Teaspoon
Curry leaves - A handful
Salt
Oil

Method

1. Wash the chicken and dry them completely with kitchen towel.
2. Heat oil in pan and season with saunf (sombu),curry leaves, cinnamon,cloves and cardamom.
3. Add chopped onions and fry them for 3 minutes with little bit of salt (only for onion).
4. Add ginger garlic paste and fry for 2 minutes.
5. Add chicken pieces along with all the powders and fry them.
6. After chicken pieces are browned (takes about 6 minutes), add salt. It's important to add the salt at this stage. It helps the chicken to retain its juices.
7.Reduce the flame and cook till the chicken turns red and oil coming out.
8.Swithc off the stove and add the crushed pepper.
9.Serve hot with rice.

Chicken Fried Rice

Ingredients

Basmati Rice - 2 Cups
Carrot - 1
Beans - 6
Cabbage -  Small piece
Ginger - 1/2 Inch
Garlic - 5-6 Flakes
Green Chilly - 4
Pepper Powder - 1/2 Teaspoon
Salt - To taste
Soy Sauce - 1 Teaspoon
Chicken Stock Cube - 1(optional)
Chicken - 200gms
Egg -2 
Sugar - 1/2 Teaspoon
Oil
Spring onion - a small bunch.
Chilly sauce, tomato sauce, Sweet chilly sauce- Optional

Method

1.Boil water in a large vessel  and when its boiling add washed basmati rice. Add salt and 1/2 teaspoon oil and cook till its halfdone. It would take around 7 minutes. This is very important.  Rice should be seperate. When you feel it has to be cooked little further, switch off the stove and drain the water. Spread rice in a large tray and seperate them lightly with a fork. Handle them gently, because when rice is hot, if we keep on stirring with a heavy spoon, it will become mashed. Once the rice is cooled , store them in a tight container in fridge. This step has to be done on the previous day. Or if you are planning to prepare fried rice in evening , you can do this in morning.

2. Boil chicken with little salt and pepper powder. When done, shred them into little pieces. Or we can use the left over fried chicken.

3.Beat the egg togher with salt and little pepper.  Make scrambled egg with this mixture and keep it aside.

4.Heat oil in a pan , when its hot add sugar. After the sugar melted in oil , add the sliced white part of spring onion.

5.Add finely chopped ginger and garlic. Add slitted green chillies.

6.Now add finely chopped carrot, beans and cabbage. Fry them for 1-2 minutes in high flame. Add soy sauce and crushed stock cube.

7.Add Shredded chicken pieces and scrambled egg and fry them.

8.If you want to add chilly sauce and tomato sauce , add at this stage.

9.Now, slowly add cooked and cooled rice from fridge and mix it gently.

10.Add chopped green portion of spring onion and adjust with salt and pepper.

11.Serve hot.

Chocolate Cake

I baked this cake for Jane's birthday and I have to say that this is the best chocolate cake  I've ever tasted. Even far better than the cakes we get from bakeries. It was so moist and we enjoyed every bit of it. I used the recipe of Nigella.  Here it goes..

Ingredients

For the cake

•   100 gram(s) Plain flour
•   100 gram(s) caster sugar
•   1/2 teaspoon(s) baking powder
•   1/4 teaspoon(s) bicarbonate of soda
•   20 gram(s) cocoa powder
•   100   gram(s) unsalted butter (soft)
•   1 large egg(s)
•   1 teaspoon(s) vanilla extract
•   75   ml sour cream

For the icing

•   40   gram(s) unsalted butter
•   85   gram(s) dark chocolate (broken into small pieces)
•   150   gram(s) Icing sugar
•   60   ml sour cream
•   1/2 teaspoon(s) vanilla extract

Method

 

1. Preheat the oven 180C. Grease a 20cm Cake pan  and line with a butter paper.

2. Now, mix all the ingredients for cake in a bowl and mix them together with a electric beater.

3. Transfer to the cake pan and bake in the hot oven for 25-30 mins or till the inserted knife comes out clean.

4. Cool the cake in a wired rack.

5.Now, for the icing, melt the butter and sugar in a glass bowl in microwave for 1 minute. Repeat again till chocolate is melted. Take care not to burn the mixture.

6. Sift the icing sugar.

7. Now add sour cream and vanilla extract to the chocolate mixture and mix them. Add the icing sugar.

8. If the mixture is too thick , add 1 tablespoon of boiling water to the mixture.

10.Spoon the icing on the cake and with a spatula spread it gently. Enjoy.

 

 

Meen Sothi

It's another traditonal recipe from our native Rameswaram. Amma used to make this with Vaval(Pomfret) or Vilai Meen. She usually makes this instead of rasam with a regular meen kulambu on special occasions. It's mild and rich.

Ingredients

Fish - 1/2 Kg
Coconut milk - 1/2 Cup thick milk + 1 cup Thin Milk
Coconut - 2 Tablespoon
Jeera - 1 Teaspoon
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 Teaspoon
Tomato - 1
Tamarind - Size of a blueberry
Shallots - 2
Green Chillies - 4
Mustard - 1/2 Teaspoon
Fenugreek Seeds - 1/2 Teaspoon
Oil - 1 Tablespoon
Curry leaves - Few

Method

1.Grind coconut, jeera and turmeric powder into a smooth paste.
2.Add shallots and 2 green chillies to the coconut paste and crush them together in the mixie.
3.Soak tamarind in water and take juice after sometime. Mix it together with thin coconut milk, sliced tomato, coconut paste, 2 slitted green chillies and curry leaves.
4.Heat oil in a pan and season with mustard and fenugreek seeds.
5.Add the coconut milk mixture in to the pan.
7.When it is boiling , add the fish and let it cook for 5 - 6 minutes till the fish is cooked.
8.Add the thick coconut milk and switch off the stove.
9.Serve with rice.
 

Rich Fruit Cake

This is the fruit cake I baked for Christmas. It was wonderful.
Here goes the recipe for future reference.

Ingredients
1.Plain flour - 250gms
2.Butter -250gms
3.Sugar -200gms + 50gms
4.Baking powder - 2 tsp
5.Baking soda - 1/2 tsp
6.Egg - 5
7.Mixed Fruits - 2 cups
8.Orange and Lemon Peel - 2 tsp
9.Rum Essence - 2tsp
10.Vanilla Essence - 2tsp
11.Orange Juice - 1 cup
12.Cashew Nuts - 1/2cup Chopped + 15 to decorate
13.Mixed Spice powder - 2 tsp


Method

1.Mix orange juice ,rum essence with mixed fruits 1 day before. Next day , drain juice from fruits.
2.Heat a heavy bottom pan in a low flame. Put 50gms of sugar into the pan and slowly heat it till it melts and change into dark golden colour. Switch off the stove and carefully add 1/2 a cup of water. Switch on the stove and heat it till the caramel melts. cool the syrup.
3.Preheat the oven to 180C. Line 2 cake pans with 3 layers of baking paper.Sieve flour,baking powder ,baking soda mixed spice twice. Mix a handful of flour with the drained mixed fruits.
4.Mix Butter and sugar in a bowl.
5.Add egg and a teaspoon of flour. Beat well with electric beater.
6.Continue with all the eggs.
7.Now mix flour into the egg mixture with a wooden spatula.
8.Mix Caramel syrup, vanilla and rum essence into the cake mixture.
9.Add mixed fruits and nuts into the cake mixture and mix slowly in a single direction.
10.Pour this mixture into cake pans. Cover the cake tin loosely with 2 layers of baking paper and tie it around.
11.Bake for 1 hour or till the knife comes out clean..

Prawn Roast

I made this simple prawn roast yesterday as a side for vegetable biriyani.. We enjoyed a lot. Surely, this recipe is a keeper..

Ingredients

Prawn - 225gms
Chilly Powder - 1 Teaspoon
Lemon Juice -  Few drops
Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 Teaspoon
Salt - As required
Cornflour - 2 Teaspoons
Oil - 1 Tablespoon
Curry leaves - Few

Method

1.Clean the prawn and mix with all ingredients except oil and curry leaves. Let it rest for 30mins.
2.Heat oil in a tawa and arrange 10 prawns in a single layer.
3.Turn them after 3 minutes. Transfer it to a plate and cook the next batch of prawns.
4.Add curry leaves in the last batch.
5.Serve hot with rice..