Daily Archives: April 2, 2014

Peanut salad

Preparation Time : 10 minutes

Cooking Time : 10 minutes

Serving : 4 to 6 members

Description

Peanut Salad . At home (moms place and hubby’s place)we never have a salad except for onion raitha (thayir chutney)served with biriyani and raw mango mixture. I try my best and add salads to the menu at home but i fail always as the salad kept in the table stays as it is. The mind set of everyone at home of having food pipeing hot is the issue here . But i am not going to give up as I confidently feel i can make a change . As i did with making my hubby try other cuisines.Initially he used to eat only South Indian cuisine.Even North Indian cuisine was a big no no.Boiled peanuts always brings a lot of good old memories to me. Our saree shop in Coimbatore was located in Oppanakara street , a very crowded place in the heart of the city.Everynight by 10.30 to 11 was the closing time of our shop.Dad used to be busy with his accounts , mom helping him out . myself and my brother playing around waiting for our parents to come soon.the entire crowded road used to be quite and empty . There was a particular man who used to sell boiled hot peanuts in the night . The entire road used to have an aroma filled with boiled peanuts . Myself and my brother were given a packet of the boiled peanuts every night as a brunch in the shop before our late night dinner at home .

Ingredients


boiled peanuts	2 cups
onion	1 big chopped finely
tomato	1 big chopped
green chillies	1 chopped
lime	a squeeze
salt	to taste
dates	6 pitted and sliced

Method

Mix all ingredients together . Taste and adjust .
Set aside to marinate for an hour . Serve at room temperature as a salad , side dish or a snack any time of the day .
I usually end up serving this left over salad to all while watching the television .

Note

Follow the same recipe substituting boiled chick peas instead of boiled peanuts .

Prawn Biriyani

Preparation Time : 25 minutes

Cooking Time : 45 minutes

Serving : 4 to 6 members

Description

Prawn Biriyani . A mouth watering , hearty , full flavoured indulgence . I was having a chat with my hubby’s neice Rahima Zenofer and just asked her what they had for lunch . She told prawn biriyani. The minute i heard that wanted to try it out. I am a keen cook and often can’t resist trying out a recipe i particularly like. Immediately got the recipe from her mom Wahidha and tried it out the next day. It turned out absolutely pitch perfect. I have to confess that i ended up eating most of it .(that’s what happens usually , shameless me)

Ingredients

Ingredients	Quantity
prawns	1 kg
onions	3 sliced
tomato	2 big chopped
green chillies	6 slit
ginger garlic paste	1 teaspoon each
cinnamon	2
cloves	2
cardamom	2
lime	1/2
turmeric powder	1/4 teaspoon
ghee	100 grams
curd	100 grams
chilli powder	1 1/2 teaspoon
pepper powder	2 1/4 teaspoon
cumin powder	1 teaspoon
fennel powder	2 1/2 teaspoon
mint leaves and coriander leaves	1/4 hand each chopped
rose water	1/4 teaspoon
saffron	a pinch soaked in 2 tablespoons of milk
basmati rice	3 1/2 cup
water	4 1/4 cup
cashewnut	10 + coconut grated - 4 teaspoons ground together to a smooth paste
salt	to taste
bay leaf	1

Method

Marinate cleaned prawns with curd , salt , turmeric powder , chilli powder , cumin powder , pepper powder and fennel powder . Set aside .
Wash rice and soak in water . Heat ghee in a pressure cooker ,add cinnamon , clove , cardamom and bay leaf . Once they crackle top with onions and sauté till dark brown for about 8 minutes .
Add ginger garlic paste and fry to brown and crisp . Top with tomatoes and green chillies and sauté till tomatoes break down and gets to a gravy consistency .
Pour the marinated prawns along with mint leaves and coriander leaves . Mix well pouring water and pressure cook for 1 whistle .
Add cashewnut and coconut paste , lime juice and rose water . Mix well and bring to boil . Taste and adjust .
Salt , sourness , hotness should be more than required only then when cooked with rice will taste good . Add the soaked rice along with saffron . Mix well .
Pressure cook for 1 Whistle and simmer the flame for 5 minutes . Once the whistle sound settles down . Prawn biriyani is ready . Serve pipeing hot with onion raitha .

Mutton kurma

Preparation Time : 15 minutes

Cooking Time : 20 minutes

Serving : 6 to 8 members

Description

Mutton Korma (kurma that’s how we pronounce it as) this is an authentic dish from my moms place. We have so many different gravys and curries made with mutton and chicken and each one must be had with particular dishes only. Each gravy has a different name to it like korma , charu , stew , manja thanni , ottha paalan charu and goes on …. we never have any non vegetarian curries with plain white boiled rice nor do we serve these curries for lunch except for ghee rice we serve korma and coconut rice is served with kaaei charu.But at my Hubby’s place they have just one style of curry made both with mutton and chicken. they use it for every thing possible and have it in all the three meals of a day . At hubbys place , they call their curries as Salna mainly or else aanam. My aunt Thasneem got married to a proper Tamil family who live in chennai but hail from viruthunagar. She had a tough time getting used to their Food habits.

Ingredients

Ingredients	Quantity
mutton or chicken	1 kg
( coriander powder - 10 teaspoons , ginger garlic paste - 2 teaspoons , cinnamon -2 , clove - 2 )	grind together to a smooth paste
big onions	2 sliced
small onions	15 grind coarsely
green chillies	2 grind coarsely
tomato	2 chopped
green chillies	4 whole
curd	4 teaspoons
chilli powder	1 teaspoon
coconut	1/2 ground to a smooth paste
mint and coriander leaves	few
cinnamon	2
clove	2
cardamom	2
oil	4 tablespoons
ghee	4 tablespoons
potato	3 each cut into 4
lime	1/2
salt	to taste

Method

Marinate mutton with ground masala , salt , curd , mint and coriander leaves , whole chillies , 1/2 of small onions , tomato and 1/2 of sliced onions . Set aside for half an hour .
Heat oil and ghee in a pressure cooker add cinnamon , clove , cardamom, sliced onion , small onion and ginger garlic paste .
Sauté till brown in colour . Top with chilli powder , coarsely ground green chillies and marinated meat . Stir well till the colour of meat changes and lets out some liquid .
Add the potatoes . Stir well . Add enough water to cook the meat and pressure cook till meat is tender and cooked through .
Add the ground coconut and a big squeeze of lime . Mix well and bring to boil and let all the flavours infuse together .
Then simmer till oil floats on top . Serve hot with ghee rice ( nei choru ) or parrot has .
No harm in having this with bioiled white rice .

Note

This korma is mainly served with ghee rice and with kerala parothas only at home . Be experimental and try it with every thing possible .

Cup cakes with Raspberry Icing

Preparation Time : 20 minutes

Cooking Time : 20 minutes

Serving : 6 members

Description

Cupcakes with raspberry icing . This is my first try on cupcakes. I felt ok but have to better myself for sure. My daughter ANISHA is into cup cakes now a days .So for her sake atleast i have to update myself in cupcakes. My last stay in coimbatore , she craved so much for cup cakes . Finally found one small shop where they sell cup cakes.She got a few but have to say they were way too expensive and didn’t taste good or appear good. My gal was all praises about my friend gazeena sulu kunahmed and her cup cakes. Sulus cup cakes look so beautiful that we will not want to eat them. (meaning just admiring them will be worth) Uum ok happy republic day to all. I am a real patriotic person. But i feel our patriotism stops with schools and colleges. Have to mention about my experience in my last visit to a movie theatre in fun republic mall in Coimbatore. Before the movie could start they played a musical and visual of our national anthem asking everyone to stand up. I was so surprised but had goose bumps.

Ingredients for cupcakes

Ingredients	Quantity
flour	1 1/2 cups
sugar	2/3 cups
eggs	3
butter ( room temperature )	1/2 cup
vanilla essence	1 teaspoon
milk	1/4 cup
baking powder	1 1/2 teaspoon

Ingredients for Icing

Ingredients	Quantity
butter	100 grams ( room temperature )
icing sugar	200 grams
rasburry jam	2 tablespoons

Method for cupcakes

Preheat oven to 180 degree Celsius ( 350 degree Fahrenheit ) . Line muffin cups with paper lines .
Beat butter and sugar with an electric beater till fluffy . Add eggs one at time beating well along with the vanilla essence finally .
Mix flour , baking powder and salt a pinch ( if useing unsalted butter ) together .
Alternatively add flour and milk in three additions with the mixer on low speed , beginning and ending with flour .
Fill the muffin cups with the mixed batter to 3/4 and bake for 20 minutes or until cooked through .
Check by inserting a tooth prick in the Center of cupcake and it comes out clean , it’s set and cooked . Remove and cool .

Method for Icing

Beat butter and icing together till fluffy and smooth . Mix in the rasburry jam ( purée the jam if thick ) .
Pipe the icing with diffrent nozzels on the muffins . Serve at room temperature .
Make sure the cupcakes are cooled down completely or else the icing starts to melt . ( I piped the icing when the cupcake was warm with excitement but it all melted , dum me )

Carrot chapathi

Preparation Time : 20 minutes + 1 hour for the dough to rest

Cooking Time : 1 1/ 2 minute for each carrot chapathi

Serving : 4 members

Description

Carrot chapathi . My hubby complains about the my menu at home being the same always (the best way to win a heart is through their stomach , that’s my motto) so my regular chapathis just changed to carrot chapathis instantly. I had some grated carrots left over which i wanted to use for salad in my refrigerator. The chapathis was even more soft and tasted a bit sweet.My hubby likes vegetable korma whenever i make chapathis to accompany it and he wants a lot of mixed vegetables in the korma.The korma should be thick with just vegetables and a little gravy coated around. Gosh how much vegetables can a person consume at a time. This chapathi having carrots inside saved me from his complaints of regular menu and his wanting for more vegetables. These are little tips and tricks that are perfect for home cooks and beginners. Health fanatics to can take in account of this recipe instead of having regular chapathis have it with a healthy twist.

Ingredients

Ingredients	Quantity
wheat flour	2 cups
salt	to taste
sugar	1/4 teaspoon
water	as required
carrots	2 grated

Method

Mix wheat flour , salt and sugar together . Gradually add water and knead to a smooth dough . Keep aside for an hour .
Pat and knead again . Make lime size balls and roll out into medium sized circles .
Apply 1/4 teaspoon of oil all around the chapathi on one side facing you . Place a tablespoon of grated carrots in the Center .
Fold all the four sides to get a small square . Do the same with the remaining dough and carrots .
Roll the small squares into square shaped chapathis . Heat a tawa and roast the chapathis on both sides till cooked through .
Serve hot with desired subji , gravy or korma .

Siriyan Kibbha bin saniya

Preparation Time : soaking broken wheat over night + 20 minutes

Cooking Time : 1 hour

Serving : 8 to 10 members

Description

Siriyan kibbha bin saniya . I got this recipe from a satellite channel . A very meaty dish. My knowledge about world cuisine was very little until satellite television channels were launched in india.This dish is a baked savoury dish . from the time i started to cook till a few years bake i was not at all at ease with baking and using an oven let it be for savoury or sweet.One fine day i made up my mind to break the myth of my baking fear. I pushed myself to get out side my comfort zone and started baking. Only then did i realize that thinking what i know is enough is not the attitude you should have in you.Always be ready to welcome more and more new challenges and get experimental. I am a self taught cook and whatever i know till date are learnt by my change in attitude. Oops i just went far away from the dish.I did use mixed vegetables for the stuffing along with meat but its better of as the original recipe demands.

Ingredients

Ingredients	Quantity
minced meat ( keema )	1 kg
seven spice powder ( mix of cinnamon , clove , cardamom , coriander ,pepper , chilli , turmeric )	1 teaspoon
chilli flakes	to taste
onions	6 chopped finely
butter	2 tablespoons
broken wheat (wheat rawa big ones kurunai )	2 cups heaped soaked in water over night
olive oil or ghee	3 tablespoons
pine nuts or any nut of your choice	1/4 cup chopped
salt	to taste

Method

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil cook 1/2 the minced meat with seven spice powder , salt , pepper , chilli flakes , 1/2 chopped onions till the minced meat is cooked and gets to a dry consistency .
Fry the chopped nuts with butter and mix along with the cooked minced meat mixture . Set aside .
Grind the other 1/2 of the minced meat to a smooth paste . Season with salt , pepper , chilli flakes , onions and socked , drained broken wheat and mix together to get a dough .
Take a round baking pan . Grease it with butter . Fill the bottom of pan with 1/2 the ground minced meat mixture evenly to form a 1/4 inch thick base . Use wet hands to flatten the top to get an equal proportion on top .
Top the dough base with the minced meat nuts mixture evenly . Then top the other 1/2 of the ground minced mixture .
Repeat the same process as for the base . Cut the entire kibbha bin saniya with a wet knife like we cut a pizza .
Pour oil over the top . Bake in a preheated oven at 180 degree Celsius for 40 to 45 minutes or until cooked through .
Serve hot .

Chocolate and Coconut Balls

Preparation Time : 20 minutes

Cooking Time : nil

Serving : 6 to 8 members

Description

Chocolate and Coconut Balls . Decadent rich dessert made with few simple ingredients transforming into a decilious sweet. I came across this recipe in one of the food blogs. Gave it a try when my daughter was here. She being a chocoholic melted eating my chocolate balls (I liked the coconut balls better) its so simple that i taught this to the kids that attended my kids workshop. They had so much fun preparing this dish more than i had putting them together. These balls are perfect to be given away as gifts. To high lighten them cover them in transparent paper tied with coloured bows or arrange them in cute small boxes. Should be had in 3 to 4 days and always kept in the refrigerator.

Ingredients

Ingredients	Quantity
chocolate biscuit	200 grams ( I used Bourbon biscuits )
condensed milk	3/4 tin
grated chocolate	as needed
grated coconut	as needed

Method

Crush and powder the biscuits in a blender .
Add the condensed milk little by little into the powdered biscuit and knead well to get a dough .
Roll the dough into small balls , then roll half the balls in grated coconut and the other half in grated chocolate ( I used Cadbury milk chocolate ) .
Refrigerate till firm and serve chill .

Pachai avaraiyum kaimavum

Preparation Time : soaking over night and cleaning of hyacinth beans 20 minutes + 10 minutes

Cooking Time : 20 minutes

Serving : 6 members

Description

Pacchai avairaiyum kaimavum that’s how we call this dish at home . It is made of hyachinth beans and minced meat.This dish is a familiar classic among our family members.The hyacinth beans are available in the market only during a particular season once in a year. There are two types of hyacinth benas one pink coloured skin and green skinned. The one we get in India is the green skin one. The outer skin is removed to get small light yellow greenish beads inside. Then we soak the beans over night and peel the skin and then prepare the dish.A lot of work goes into the process of making this dish but worth the pain , I assure you that . Well good things comes to those who wait. This recipe is my grand mother balkees perimas.At home whenever i prep up to prepare a dish from moms place, my maid is like ayyoo because there is so much more extra work to do . My maid always complains about why are the dishes from your moms place so elaborate and pain taking .

Ingredients

Ingredients	Quantity
minced mutton	1/4 kg
hyachinth beans ( pacchai avarai )	1 kg (peeled , inside seeds soaked over night and remove outer skin by pressing gently between your thumb and index finger )
ginger garlic paste	1 teaspoon
small onions	1 hand full chopped
green chillies	2 chopped
coriander leaves	1 tablespoon chopped
turmeric powder	1/4 teaspoon
coriander powder	2 tablespoons
chilli powder	1 teaspoon
salt	to taste
coconut oil	1 teaspoon + 2 tablespoons
cinnamon 1 + clove	1 powdered together
Water	3/4 cup

Method

Mix minced mutton together with all the ingredients except for coconut oil 2 tablespoons and the hyachinth beans .
Pressure cook the minced mutton mixture for two whistles till the minced mutton is 3/4 cooked .
Now pour the minced mutton mix into a large non stick kadai adding the hyachinth beans together .
Bring to boil and cook till the minced meat and the hyachinth beans are cooked through . Pour 2 tablespoons of coconut oil and mix well .
Simmer for 5 minutes till oil floats on top and all the flavours infuse together . It should be of a semi thick gravy consistency .
Serve hot with rice or chapathi as a side dish . We were served this dish only for lunch and the left over for dinner.