Egg Aviyal..

I am back with a bang after a gap.. Today i am going to post a quick easy to make side dish with our favourite ingredient Eggs... This dish goes well with steaming white rice and any gravy..


Ingredients You need:

Hard boiled Eggs - 2 nos
Potatoes - 1 no (optional)
Onions - 1 nos
Tomato - 1 nos
Curry leaves - 1 sprig
Green chillies - 4 nos
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt - As reqd
Coconut oil - 1 tsp

To Grind:
Coconut
Red chilly powder - 1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds - a pinch
Shallots
Curry leaves

Preparation
Grind the ingredients to grind to a coarse paste.
Boil thinly sliced potatoes, onions, tomato, silt green chillies in a pan with some salt and turmeric powder.
When the potatoes are cooked, add the ground coarse mixture into this and heat it till the gravy becomes thick.
Now sprinkle some coconut oil and a spring of curry leaves and switch off the flame.
Cut theboiled eggs to four quarters and mix with the coconut gravy.

Chicken Biryani...

The recipe for the day is Chicken biryani. It is an Indian delicacy where the mildly spiced chicken pieces are layered with herb favoured rice and served with raita.

I got this recipe from one of my colleagues... In the first sight, I was kind of disappointed with the long list of ingredients and numerous steps.. But believe me...its easy to make and definitely worth it...

Ingredients You need :
For marinating Chicken
Chicken - 1 Full
Big onions 3nos (Finely Chopped)
Tomatoes 2nos
Green chillies 20nos
Garlic 6nos
ginger 3cm
3-4 curry leaves
Coriander leaves
Pudina leaves
Corianderpowder - 3tsp
Turmeric powder - 1tsp
Lemon juice -1tsp
Curd - 3tsp
Salt - To taste

For the spices powder
Cardamom
Nutmeg
Cloves
Cinnamon

For Rice
Basmati Rice - 4 cups
Oil - 3 tsp
Ghee - 1tsp
Jeera - a pinch
Water - as reqd
Biriyani masala - 1tsp (optional)

For Layering
Big Onion 1no
Cashes and Raisins - as reqd
Oil -1tsp
Ghee -2 tsp
Pudina leaves
Coriander leaves
Spices powder

PreparationChicken Gravy

• Heat all the spices (Cardamom, Nutmeg ,Cloves, Cinnamon) and grint them into a fine powder for the masala.
• Chop the green chillies, garlic and ginger in a chopper and keep aside
• Take chopped onion, tomatoes, crushed green chillies,garlic and ginger in a big vessel and mix thoroughly. Tomato juice should mix properly.
• Add chicken to this and mix thoroughly.
• To this add coriander powder , turmeric powder, lemon juice and curd and mix.
• Put one spoon of the ground spices powder to the marinade and mix well.
• Keep the marinade aside for 20 minutes.
• After 20 minutes take some oil in a pan and heat.
• When its hot add the marinated chicken to this and cook on low heat till the chicken is cooked. No need to add water.

Ghee Rice

• Wash rice and keep aside
• In a pan heat oil and ghee
• Add a pinch of ground spices powder and biriyani masala(optional) when oil is heated
• Add pinch of jeera
• Add double the amount of water for the rice to cook.
• Add some salt.
• When water boils, add the washed rice and keep on low flame till the rice is cooked and keep aside.

For Layering

• Slice 2 big onions – very thin
• Add oil in pan and 1 spoon ghee. Fry cashew nuts and raisins and keep aside
• Deep fry the onions in same oil, till it become brown and keep aside(add pinch of salt for taste)

Final Layering

• Preheat the oven to 375 degree
• In an oven safe container, spread a layer of chicken gravy.
• On top of that spread a layer of rice.
• Over that place a layer of deep fried onions, a pinch of spices mix, finely chopped coriander and pudina leaves, fried cashew nuts and raisins over the rice layer
• Pour the chicken gravy and repeat the layering process till all the rice is over.
• Close the container with an aluminium foil and keep in the oven for 30 mts.

Serve the biriyani with raita, pappad and pickle..

I am sending this Biriyani over to Ravishing rice recipes event hosted by Nags and started by Meeta

Check for more Biryani Recipes at Foodista..

Fish in coconut gravy..!!

Fish is an indispensable item in Kerala menu. It comes in the form of either fish fry or fish curry or both in every household. Nothing is so sumptuous than a steaming cup of rice with fish curry and fish fry to accompany.

So the recipe for the day is Fish curry (Fish in coconut gravy). You can use any fleshy fish for this recipe. My favourites are Thilapia and Mahi mahi.. Generally fish curry is prepared in an earthern pot in Kerala which adds a unique flavour to the dish.

Ingredients You need

Fish (Mahi mahi/Thilappia/Mackerel/King Fish/Smelt)

Tomato(small)-1no
Green Chillies - 2 nos

2-3 pieces of Gambooge (Kudampuli)

Oil

To Grind

Coconut - 3/4 th of half piece
Chilly powder - 1 tblspoon

Coriander Powder - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Shallots - 2nos
Garlic - 2 nos
Ginger - oru piece (small)

To season

Shallots - 1 no

Mustard seeds

A sprig of Curry leaves

Red chillies - 2 nos

Preparation:

• Clean the Cambooge pieces in running water and soak them in luke warm water.
• In a mixer put all the ingredients to grind and 1/4 cup water and grind it to a thick paste.
• Now in a pan loosen this thick paste by adding some water.
• Add the fish pieces to this gravy and boil it in a low flame.
• Add the cambooge soaked water (along with the cambooge) to this and stir well.
• When it boils add the chopped tomato pieces and the slit green chillies
• Boil it in low flame for atleast 5 mins. If you want fish curry with thick gravy boil it for some more time. Make sure that the fish pieces are cooked properly.

For the seasoning:

• In another pan heat some oil and when its hot add mustard seeds, curry leaves, red chillies and finely chopped small onions. Saute them well and pour this seasoning over the fish curry..

Scrambled egg and peas...!!

Recipe for the day is Scrambled egg peas curry.. Its a great side dish which you can make in a jiffy...

Ingredients You need:

Medium size Onion 1no

green chillies 3nos

Cooked Peas 1/4cup

Egg 2nos

Garam masala 1/2 tsp

chilly powder - 1/4 tsp

turmeric 1/4tsp

mustard seeds

Oil

A sprig of curry leaves

Preparation

• Finely chop the onions, green chillies and set aside
• Heat oil in a wok and splutter some mustard seeds and curry leaves.
• To this add finely chopped onion, green chillies and saute well.
• Then add the powders turmeric, chilly and garam masala to this and stir well.
• Now add the cooked peas to this and saute well so that the peas is coated with masalas.
• Break the eggs into this and scramble well till it is cooked.

Watermelon Milk Shake..!!

Today im gonna post a simple and easy drink..Water melon shake..an ideal drink for summer!!

Ingredients You Need:
2 pound Watermelon slice
1 cup whole milk
Sugar
A scoop of ice cream (optional)

Preparation:

• Cut the watermelon into small pieces.
• Add the water melon pieces, milk and sugar in a blender and blend until smooth..

This goes to the 15 minute cooking event hosted by Mahimaa of Indian Vegetarian Kitchen.

Also sending this to AFAM-Melons event hosted by Ashwini of Ashwinis spicy kitchen...

Kungpao Chicken...!!

My first tryst with Kung pao chicken happened long back, during my first visit to T.G.I. Friday's. My order of main entree, low carb Dragon fire chicken, came with a grilled chicken breast glazed with Chinese Kung Pao sauce served with brown rice and broccoli. I fell in love with the Kungpao sauce at the first bite.. I became a big fan of their mashed potatoes as well..

After my last visit, I seriously thought of trying it at home. So this weekend we had a chinese day in with egg fried rice and Kung pao chicken.

Inredients You need:

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 teaspoon rice cooking wine (bought it from Shaw's super market)
2-1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/3 cup water
2 tablespoon oil ( i use corn oil)
8-10 whole dry chili peppers (if longer, cut in half)
1/4 cup diced green onion
1 teaspoon ginger paste
1 teaspoon garlic paste

11/2 teaspoon crushed red chili pepper
1/2 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 1/2 tablespoon water

For the Marinade:
1/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 egg
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 tablespoons oil

Preparation

• Cut the chicken breast into small pieces and keep aside
• Mix all the marinade ingredients.
• Add the cut chicken pieces into marinade,mix well and refrigerate at least 1 hour.
• Make a mixture of rice wine, soy sauce and water and set aside.
• Heat wok. Add 2 tablespoons oil and heat well.
• Remove chicken from marinade and add to wok. Stir-fry quickly for 2 minutes.
• Remove chicken and drain well.
• Now to the same wok add some oil, and add dry chili peppers. Stir-fry until they darken.
• Add green onions, ginger, garlic and crushed red chili pepper and stir-fry 15 seconds.
• Now add the chicken to wok, stir soy sauce/wine mixture and add; stir until sauce boils.
• Then add cornstarch mix to thicken. Stir and cook until ingredients are thoroughly mixed and the chicken pieces are cooked.

Baked Chicken in gravy..

Today's recipe is Baked chicken in gravy. It is a combination of many recipes that i have come across on the net. It goes well with chappathi or nan or poori...

Ingredients You need:

Chicken Drumsticks - 5 nos

One medium Potato

For Marination

chilli powder- 1 tblspoon
coriander powder- 1 tblspoon
ginger paste - 1/2 tblspoon

garlic paste - 1/2 tblspoon
turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
garam masala - 1/4 tsp

chicken masala - 3/4 tsp
lemon juice
Butter
salt to taste

Make a marinade of the above items and marinate the chicken and keep refrigerated overnight or atleast for 4-5 hrs.

Ingredients for gravy

1 Medium onion

1/2 of a medium tomato

Green chillies - 2nos (optional)

turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

chilly powder - 1/2 tsp

coriander powder - 1/2 tsp

garam masala - 1/2 tsp

chicken masala -1/2 tsp

fennel seeds - a pinch

Salt - to taste

Oil - 1 tsp

Preparation

• Cut the potato into thin long strips same as the way we cut for french fries.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degree Farenheit.
• In an oven safe bowl put the marinated chicken drumsticks and the cut potato pieces. Drizzle some oil over the chicken and the potatoes and bake the chicken in the oven for 15 minutes.
• After 15 mins take the chicken out, flip the pieces, baste it with some oil and bake it again for another 15 minutes. Mean while you can prepare the gravy.

For the gravy

• Heat some oil in pan, add the fennel seeds and saute. To that add the thinly sliced onion, green chillies and saute well.
• To the sauted onions add all the remaining powders and fry well.
• Now put in the cut tomatoes and stir well till the oil separates.
• Now add some water to this and boil to get the gravy. Dont forget to add salt.

After the intial half an hour of baking, take the chicken out, pour the above gravy over the chicken and bake it again for 30 minutes, flipping the pieces after 15 minutes.

Potato fry...

I was away from the blogging world yesterday. I thot i will stay away from it to finish off some long pending household chores.. Now you have guessed it right.. Yeah, I am a procrastinator..Besides, i was deeply engrossed in the book i was reading after a long reading hiatus. I was an avid reader long back. After that, maybe due to one reason or the other, i couldnt finish any single book i started reading and i was missing all the thrill, all the imaginery new worlds that opens up with reading. Thanks to Stephanie Meyers and her New-york times best seller "Twilight" for bringing them back to me. Maybe thats what i needed, a vampire romance novel. I finally finished a book after a long break. The novel has also been adapted to a movie. The next item in my to-do list is watch the movie and get hold of her second novel in the series "New Moon". Meanwhile i am waiting for the next novel i have ordered "Veil of Roses" by Laura Fitzgerald.

Coming to the recipe of the day, an easy to cook, less effort and tasty dish, Potato fry...

Ingredients You Need:
3 Medium size Potatoes
Red Chilli powder - 1 1/4 tsp
Salt - to taste
Oil - 1 tblspoon
Preparation:

• Peel the skin of the potatoes using a peeler and cut the potatoes into small cubes.
• In a wok, add the oil and heat.
• When the oil is hot enuf, put the potatoes and stir well so that all cubes get well coated with the oil.
• Now add the red chilly powder and salt and stir well.
• Once the potato cubes are well coated with the salt and chilly powder, u can close the wok with a lid and cook it covered on very low flame till the potatoes becomes tender and soft.
• No need to add any water. But you have to stir in between so that the potatoes wont get burned or stick to the bottom.

You can have it with rice. Rice, hot rasam and this potato fry is great combo!! I love it...

Aviyal - mixture of vegetables in exotic coconut sauce..!!

Aviyal is an inevitable part of Kerala cuisine.. One of the essentials in the Kerala Sadya/feast. It is a mixture of many vegetables lightly spiced with a special coconut gravy and flavoured in coconut oil and curry leaves. The vegetables commonly used are carrots, cucumber, raw banana, yam, drum sticks and ivy gourd.

In my recipe of avial here, i have used carrot, cucumber ,raw banana and ivy gourd.

Ingredients You need:

One Cucumber

Carrots - 2nos

Raw banana - 1no

ivy gourd - 8 nos

Turmeric powder – ½ tsp

Chilly powder - 1 tsp

3 sprigs of curry leaves

Finely grated Coconut – 1 cup

Green chillies – 6

Cumin seeds – 1/4 teaspoon

Small onions - 4 nos

Coconut oil – 2 tbsp

Sour Curd or small piece of tamarind ( I normally use tamarind as the curd we get here is not that sour)

Salt - to taste

Preparation

• Put tamarind ball (small size) in some hot water for the juice.
• Cut all the vegetables into 1 inch length pieces.
• Put all the cut vegetables in a pan with the turmeric powder, chilly powder and salt and boil (Add enuf water to cook the veggies)
• To prepare the coconut mixture put grated coconut, chopped small onions, green chillies, a sprig of curry leaves and cumin seeds into a blender and grind it into a crushed form.
• When theveggies are almost cooked, the water will evaporated by then, add the extracted tamarind juice and boil for 2-3 minutes.
• Now add the crushed coconut mixture into the cooked veggies and allow the coconut flavor to blend in with the veggies. Cover it cooked till the water is evaporated and veggies are well cooked. Do a salt test.
• Finally add the coconut oil and the remaining curry leaves to the aviyal which brings in the real flavour of kerala cusine.

I am sending this Aviyal to WYF Side dish event

Cabbage stir fry with coconut...

Whats your favourite color.. When some one ask me this question, i am confused.. I cant pick one color as such.. But definitely yellow is one among them.. Yellow yellow dirty fellow is not at all dirty for me!!! Its the color of freshness and hope.

Today i am gonna post a yellow dish, Cabbage Stir fry with coconut....

Ingredients You need:
Half of one medium size cabbage
Finely grated Coconut - 1/2 cup or as needed
Green chillies - 4 nos
2 Cloves of garlic
Turmeric powder - 1/4 teaspoon
Red chillies - 2nos
Mustard seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
a spring of curry leaves
Oil - 1 tblspoon
Salt to taste

Preparation:
Finely chop the cabbage, garlic and green chillies.

• Heat oil in a pan and splutter the mustard seeds
• Add the red chillies and curry leaves and wait for the curry leaves flavor to blend in.
• Next, add the chopped garlic, green chillies and saute. After a minute add the turmeric powder for a cool color.
• Add the cabbage, stir well and let it cook for sometime. Dont add water. Stir in between to make sure it wont stick to the bottom.
• Once the cabbage is almost cooked, add the grated coconut and stir well and cook till the coconut blend in with the cabbage.

Have a great weekend...

Angel hair pasta with Sausage sauce..

I had some pasta left in my grocery shelf. I had actually bought it as a substitute for vermicelli for making payasam/kheer. Yesterday i decided to put it to its actual use. To go with that i made a sauce of my own with some of the left overs. The sauce and the pasta can be made in a jiffy and is an ideal option for dinner especially if you are tired after a busy day..

Ingredients You Need:
Angel hair pasta
1 Medium size Onion
Half of a green Capsicum
2 Cups of Spaghetti sauce
One Sausage link
2 Cloves of Garlic
Pepper to taste
Salt to taste
Oil - 1 tblspoon

Preparation

• Finely chop the garlic, onion, capsicum and keep side. Cut the sausage into small circles.
• Boil water in a pan and cook pasta in it. Add a little bit of oil as well.

For the sauce:

• Heat Oil in a wok.
• Put the finely chopped garlic and saute for a minute
• Add the finely chopped onion and capsicum to it and saute well.
• Now Add the sausage pieces to it and fry well.
• After 2-3 minutes pour the spaghetti sauce into this and stir well.
• Add pepper and salt according to your taste.
• Cover and cook it for some time and your yummy sauce is ready to serve.

Different tryouts:

• In the same recipe instead of the sausage, you can add boneless chicken breast pieces.
• To make the dish more healthy you can add chopped carrots, beans and other veggies to the sauce.

Celery Payar Thoran..(Celery Green gram stir fry with coconut)

Green gram or cherupayar thoran is one dish i make almost every week. This time i decided to add celery also to my cheru payar thoran..

Celery is one another thing which i like to eat raw.. The habit started with the friday eatouts for which Buffalo wings were always our starters and celery came as the accompaniment with the buffalo hot sauce.... So last week i tried out celery-payar combination and as expected it was a great combination..

Ingredients you need:
Celery - 4 sticks
Green gram(Cherupayar) - 1/2 cup
1 Medium Onion
2 cloves of Garlic
Ginger - A small piece
Green chillies - 6 no
Grated coconut - 3/4 cup
Red chillies 2 nos
A sprig of curry leaves
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Cumin seeds/Jeera - 1/4 tsp
Garam Masala - 1/2 teaspoon
Turmeric powder -1/4 teaspoon
Oil - 1 tbsp

Preparation

Wash the cherupayar and pressure cook it. Finely chop the celery, onion, ginger, garlic and green chillies and keep aside.

• Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds,cumin seeds and allow them to splutter.
• Add red chillies and cury leaves when they splutter and saute well.
• Add garlic, ginger, chopped onions, green chillies and turmeric powder and fry till the onions are soft.
• Add the celery and stir well to mix everything
• Add the cooked cherupayar and grated coconut into it.
• Stir well and add the garam masala to it
• Add salt to taste.
• Cook it covered, until everything is evenly cooked.

Moru Curry..

It is an easy to prepare curry made with buttermilk. Its one of my fav dish which goes well with rice and some non-veg like beef or chicken..

Things You need:

Butter Milk

2 Small onions

1 Small piece of ginger(1 teaspoon)

2 cloves Garlic (1 teaspoon)

A sprig of curry leaves

Fenugreek pwder - 1/4 teaspoon

turmeric powder - a pinch

cumin seeds/jeera - 1/4 teaspoon

mustard seeds - 1/2 teaspoon

Salt - to taste

Oil

Preparation:

• Heat a wok. Pour a tblspoon oil into it.
• Once oil is hot, put the mustard seeds, jeera and fenugreek and saute for 2-3 minutes.
• Add the remaining ingredients onions, ginger, garlic and saute well. Add a pinch of turmeric powder as well.
• Now switch off the flame and add the beaten yoghurt/buttermilk to the sauted mixture and blend it.
• The last step is to heat the curry on low flame. Keep on stirring the curry. Dont allow it to boil or the curry may curdle..