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..

 

Minced Mutton Cabbage Gravy

This is a special item prepared by Amma. We can replace cabbage with green peas or pachai mochai. Goes well with Rasam rice or rotis.

Ingredients
Minced mutton - 250gms
Onion - 1 Finely Chopped
Tomato - 2 Finely Chopped
Cabbage - 200gms
Ginger Garlic Paste - 2 Teaspoon
Chilly Powder - 1 Teaspoon
Coriander Powder - 1/2 Teaspoon
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 Teaspoon
Green Chilly - 2
Cinnamon - 2 +1
Cardamom - 2 +1
Cloves - 4 +1
Saunf -1 + 1/2 Teaspoon
Coconut - Little
Poppy Seeds - 1  Teaspoon
Salt - As required
Oil - 1 Tablespoon

Method
1. Heat oil in a pressure cooker and season with Cinnamon, Cardamom,Cloves and Saunf.
2. Fry onion till golden brown with a pinch of salt.
3. Add Ginger Garlic paste, Green chilly, Tomatoes and all the masala powders and fry till the oil    seperates.
4. Add Minced mutton and fry for 2 minutes.
5. Add Chopped Cabbage and fry till the raw smell goes.
6. Add a cup of boiling water and let it cook for sometime.
7. Grind Coconut, Little saunf, Poppy seeds, Cinnamon, cardamom, cloves into a fine paste and add
     this to the gravy.
8. Add salt .
9. Close the pressure cooker and cook till 2 whistles come.
10. Serve with hot rotis or rice.