Posts by OCS | Saute Fry N Bake

Hassle bake potatoes

Preparation Time : 15 minutes

Cooking Time : 50 minutes

Serving : 6 members

Description

Came across this recipe and picture from the world wide net . Simple recipe that’s wonderful visually packed with flavours as well .

Ingredients

Ingredients	Quantity
medium size potatoes	6
Cloves Garlic, thinly sliced	2 - 3
Olive Oil	2 tablespoon
Butter	30 g
Maldon Sea Salt	as needed
Freshly Ground Black Pepper	as needed

Method

Preheat the oven to 220˚C (425˚F). Put the potato on a chopping board, flat side down. Start from one end of the potato, cut almost all the way through, at about 3 to 4 mm intervals.
Arrange the potatoes in a baking tray and insert the garlic in between the slits. Scatter some butter on top of each potato. Then drizzle the olive oil and sprinkle some sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Bake the potatoes for about 40 minutes or until the potatoes turn crispy and the flesh is soft.

Raan

Preparation Time : over night marination + 40 minutes

Cooking Time : 2 hours 40 minutes

Serving : 8 to 10 members

Description

Raan as known to the world but at home we call it thodai kari meaning thigh meat in tamil this dish came to our family through my aunt meher nisha (dad’s younger brother’s wife) who hails from a place called pudhukottai in tamilnadu . We make this dish mainly after eid as we always have a lot of meet left over and is a terrific impressive dish best served at family style feasts . I urge you all to try this show stopper at your homes at least once . time consuming dish but good things come to those who wait . The beautifully caramelised top with the revealing fatty bits of meat melting in your mouth full of exotic blends is to die for and is a sure fire crowd pleasure . pudhukottai always brings memories of a hoilday i had when i was a kid . Huge bungalows under one compound grand spread of home cooked comfort food on the table every meal . Each house crowded with herds of hearty people in all age groups . All this together offers warmth and a sense of well being . I still remember , I hid myself in a store room not wanting to leave puthukottai . My aunt had to literately pull and drag me into the car to leave to coimbatore . I didn’t say good bye instead said , i will be back .

Ingredients

Ingredients	Quantity
Lamb thigh( back thigh full with the leg ,with out fat and wedged , draw lines or slit through out )	2 1/2 kg
Cumin powder	2 tablespoons
Onion	1 1/4 kg ground
Tomato	1 kg ground
Garlic paste	150 grams
Ginger paste	150 grams
Cinnamon , clove , cardamom	10 grams each
Pepper powder	10 grams
Curd	1/4 litre
Ghee	2 cups
Turmeric powder	4 teaspoons
Chilli powder	4 tablespoons or to taste
Salt	to taste
Lime juice	1 1/2 limes
Raw papaya ground	6 small papayas (peeled and deseeded )

Marination of the thigh the day before

Mix ground raw papaya with salt to taste and 1 teaspoon turmeric powder . Apply it all over the lamb thigh and set aside in the refrigerator over night .

Method the next day

Wash the marinated meat cleanly making sure no papaya paste is stuck to the lamb thigh . Drain and set aside .
Heat a huge heavy bottomed vessel with a lid making sure your lamb thigh fits in . Pour ghee , once hot add cinnamon , cloves and cardamom . Once they crackle add the ginger and garlic paste and fry to crisp .
Top it with the ground onion paste and fry till the raw smell evaporates and oil separates . Add the tomato purée and keep stirring till oil floats on top .
Add curd , pepper powder , cumin powder and salt to taste ( be careful with the salt as we have marinated the meat with salt already ) .
Add the lamb thigh and keep turning the thigh over every 5 minutes once for 15 minutes making sure not to burn the bottom and the colour of the lamb thigh changes . Add hot water just enough to cover the lamb thigh .
Cover and cook for TWO HOURS in low heat until the thigh is cooked through and falls apart from the bones . Make sure not to burn the bottom and the masala .
Keep turning the thigh every twenty minutes once . Once the thigh is cooked and the water had reduced to a saucy gravy consistency , add lime juice and mix well . Taste and adjust .
Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve hot with any thing and every thing .

Note

You can follow the same process of the entire recipe and then transfer to a baking tray , that fits the lamb thigh with the water and masala .
Cover loosely with a foil paper and bake in a preheated oven at 350 degree Fahrenheit for one hour and then reduce the heat to 275 degree
Fahrenheit and bake again without the foil for another one hour , turning sides every 1/2 an hour once .

Waffles

Preparation Time : 10 minutes

Cooking Time : 15 minutes

Serving : 4 to 6 members

Description

A waffle is a batter-based or dough-based cake cooked in a waffle iron patterned to get a characteristic size,shape and surface impression. There are many variations based on the type of iron and recipe used, with over a dozen regional varities throughout the world, particularly in Belgium, France, Netherlands, Scandinavia and the United states. This recipe is a basic recipe of the waffles served with honey. My sandwhich toaster at home was out of order, so had to get one instead. Went on a holiday to Bangalore and while shopping the sandwhich Toaster was there in my mind. I was spoilt of choices and confused. Finally stuck my mind to the morphy Richards one as it came with detachable waffles mould (been wanting to get one for a very long time), sandwhich toaster and a grill. Was super excited and grabbed it.Wanting to make waffles with my new morphy Richards but not knowing the recipe was the next problem. My daughter ANISHA helped me get an easy recipe from the net as i was so dum then with anything related to the internet (even now can call myself dum as all these electronic gadgets confuse me a lot)tried out waffles and wolla worked pitch perfect. Now waffles are a regular at my breakfast table.

Ingredients

Ingredients	Quantity
all-purpose flour	2 cups
salt	1 teaspoon
baking powder	4 teaspoons
white sugar	2 tablespoons
eggs	2
warm milk	1 1/2 cups
butter, melted	1/3 cup
vanilla extract	1 teaspoon

Method

In a large bowl, mix together flour, salt, baking powder and sugar; set aside. Preheat waffle iron to desired temperature.
In a separate bowl, beat the eggs. Stir in the milk, butter and vanilla. Pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture; beat until blended.
Ladle the batter into a preheated waffle iron. Cook the waffles until golden and crisp. Serve immediately with a drizzle of honey .
Can be served with chocolate sauce , Nutella spread , strawberry syrup , sliced bananas , strawberries , mango sauce or ice cream .

Fish curry – Tamil style

Preparation Time : 30 minutes

Cooking Time : 25 to 30 minutes

Serving : 6 members

Description

Fish curry. Yes i know, i have already posted a fish curry recipe (that’s fusion fish curry of mallu + Tamil). This is a typical Tamil style fish curry, recipe source chef dhamu. (when i attended his cooking classes recently). Travel to any state of india and the local cuisine will have several fish curries innate to that region. The best part of this fish curry is there is no coconut used and it tastes goes with a slight sweet element in a savoury dish which heightens the flavours and creates a balance.My previous posts for the past week were filled with desserts and mock tails, (the on going heat of summer at my place is just not letting me think of non – veg) did think should post a non – veg dish tomorrow, by then sunjay vaidya(follower of saute, fry n bake) messaged me asking me to post something related to beef, meat, chicken or fish. Fish, always brings memories of me in Palghat as a kid going to a near by shallow stream to have a bath (very rarely)during my holidays, Our battalion of cousins accompanied with our maid at home as our body guard. We used to do fishing with our towels by holding the corners of the towel and lowering the towel into shallow crystal clear stream with all the fish visible in the water, lift the towel when some fish (tiny ones) are above the towel. Immediately transfer it into a bottle of water and take it home. Years later after marriage when my kids were little, we went to my co-sisters rubber estate near nagarcovil were there was a similar stream (more rocky).As habits are hard to die, i did fishing with the towel, this time with my sister-in-law on the other side of the towel. The fish in the estate were so clever that nothing was being caught by us. I saw a huge head of a fish peeping out near a rock. So silently my sister-in-law and myself went and just lowered the towel. A long huge snake just jumped out of water,spinning and curling itself up above the water and towel.All of us (a gang of 15 people)just ran out of the stream shouting and howling. Even till date my kids tease me saying mom is really good at fishing snakes.

Ingredients

Ingredients	Quantity
Gingely oil ( nalla ennai )	5 tablespoons
Vengaya vadagam	4 crushed , ( these are small onion flitters made with urad dhal and dried out in the sun , easily available at super markets and department stores all around Tamil Nadu )
Mustard seeds	1/2 teaspoon
Dry red chillies	2 torn
Curry leaves	few
Fish	1/2 kg cleaned
Tamarind pulp	of 2 lemon sized balls
Turmeric powder	1/4 teaspoon
Chilli powder	2 tablespoons
Coriander powder	3 tablespoons
Green chillies	2 slit
Small onions	1/2 hand full crushed + one hand full chopped
Garlic	6 flakes whole
Tomato	2 big chopped
Salt	to taste
Jaggery	a small piece
Coriander leaves	few chopped
Curry leaves	few crushed to garnish

Method

Grind coriander powder , chilli powder and turmeric powder to a smooth paste . marinate cleaned fish in 1/4 of the ground masala paste along with salt to taste .
Add 3 cups water to the tamarind pulp and mix the remaining masala paste , along with salt to taste and set aside . Heat gingely oil in a mud pot .
Add mustard seeds , dry chillies , curry leaves , crushed small onions , garlic and vengaya vadagam . Once the mustard seeds splutter and onions are crisp , add green chillies , chopped small onions and tomatoes .
Fry till it gets a thick gravy consistency and oil floats on top . Pour the tamarind masala water over and bring to boil covered with a lid . Once the green chillies are cooked , raw smell goes and oil floats on top , drop the marinated fish .
Cook for 4 – to 5 minutes . Once the fish is cooked simmer the flame and add the jaggery . Mix gently making sure the fish does not break and the jaggery dissolves into the gravy . Taste and adjust .
Serve hot garnished with chopped coriander leaves and crushed curry leaves . Best served with white boiled rice or piping hot idlis .

Colourful jelly surprise

Preparation Time : 35 minutes + setting time

Cooking Time : 20 minutes

Serving : 6 to 8 members

Description

Colorful jelly surprise. A recipe i came across in a food blog. Liked it so much as it looked so colorful and the recipe seemed easy to follow. A treat to the eyes, hands to the mouth, mouth to the tummy, it’s yummy , yummy , yummy . children to adults and every one will love this colourful vibrant dessert . Jelly was one dessert my mom used to make once in a blue moon for me and my brother when we were kids. She used to chop up mixed fruits and mix it with red colored jelly. Mom was a working woman as she used to help dad in his business. So very rarely was she at home or in the kitchen. I used to love it when mom was home and mainly in the kitchen. I guess this was one reason for me wanting to become a house wife. (sounds weird, i know but that’s the fact)in school all my friends and class mates used to talk about becoming doctors, architect’s , so on and so forth. But my mind was stuck to becoming a house-wife . I am happy being one with all the liberty and time spent at my expense of doing things i like most.(cooking, taking care of my family, shopping emptying my hubby’s pockets…)the cereer of motherhood and home making is beyond value and needs.No justification, it’s importance is in-calculated.

Ingredients

Ingredients	Quantity
jelly - Raspberry flavour + 1 tablespoon gelatine	1 packet
Jelly - Orange flavour + 1 tablespoon gelatine	1 packet
jelly - ( blue color) mint flavour + 1 tablespoon gelatine	1 packet
jelly - Strawberry flavour+ 1 tablespoon gelatine	1 packet
Jelly - Lime Flavour + 1 tablespoon gelatine	1 packet
China grass ( agar agar )	10 grams soaked in 1 cup water
Hot milk	1/2 litre
Sweetened Condensed Milk	1 can

Method

Set each jelly according to instructions in the packets , but make sure to reduce the amount of liquid (water) in each by 1/4 cups and add the mentioned gelatine along . ( this helps the jelly set faster and harder so it will hold the shape later on)
Stir for at least 2 minutes , until completely dissolved. Pour each jelly into separate small shallow food storage containers .
Refrigerate for 2 hours or until firm.( my red , orange and yellow coloured jelly ‘s crumbled on my first try and I could not use them )
Heat 1/2 litter of milk . once it starts to boil add the soaked China grass and boil till the china grass had dissolved well .
Add condensed milk; mix well. Strain and Cool slightly. Cut the set jelly into cubes.
Mix all the colours and place in a pudding dish( which should either be greased with oil or lined with cling film), but take care not to let them crumble.
Pour milk mixture over cubes. If necessary, stir very gently to distribute gelatin cubes. Refrigerate till firm and set. ( about 2-3 hours)
Cut into small squares or bars and serve cold.

Palm fruit juice

Preparation Time : 15 minutes

Cooking Time : nil

Serving : 4members

Description

Palm fruit juice . An authentic juice very own to my in-laws place. At moms place we usually mix palm fruits into rosemilk but this juice is more lite, refreshing and helps you beat the heat of summer as a cooling agent. The nutritional boost of this juice will make them your go-to-food to beat the summer heat. Made with just 3 easily available ingredients at home, is a must try for all and easy is always beautiful.All my cousins and friends living abroad miss the palm fruit as most of our other ingredients are available in Asian or Sri Lankan stores. My sister fazeem never misses an oppurtunity to gobble up palm fruits on her visits to india. Only when seeing people from abroad crave for our local produce, it hit me with a spark to respect the season’s best produce. Food is a gift and should be treated reverentially, romanced, ritualised and seasoned with memory.

Ingredients

Ingredients	Quantity
Palm fruit	20 peeled
Sugar	to taste
Lime juice	a squeeze

Method

Mix all the above mentioned ingredients together and squeeze your hand into the mixture till the sugar dissolves and gets to a semi runny consistency with small bits of palm fruit floating around .
Keep in the refrigerator to chill . Serve chill .

Nutella apple cream cheese crapes

Preparation Time : 20 minutes

Cooking Time : 15 minutes

Serving : 4 to 6 members

Description

Nutella apple cream cheese crapes. A recipe i came up suddently with all the available ingredients at home for brakfast. I was confident about the results as every ingredient used is sure a fire cracker combination with basic crapes, apples and a chocolaty cheesy mixture. One weird thing about this recipe is there is no water required. Water reminds me of one incident that stuck to my mind as a kid. There was a house called kannadi maligai near our house in saibaba colony at coimbatore. A huge bungalow with a lot of glass (guess that’s why it was called kannadi maligai which means glass bungalow in Tamil)they had a big mud pot of water with a tumbler, kept out of their house near the gate. Once on a hot summer day, i was crossing that house by walk and saw so many people drink water from that mud pot. Then and there i made up my mind that i should also do the same inshaallah when i own a house to cool off people from their thirst with warmth and a sense of well being. Now i have a mud pot of water in front of my house. Whenever i see people drink water from it, my heart is filled with soothing effect. My house is addressed as the house with a mud pot of water by every one now and the best part is in case the water in the mud pot is over , people ring the gate bell and ask us to fill the mud pot with water. A little humble thing done with generosity makes a big difference to others.

Ingredients for the crapes

Ingredients	Quantity
Maida	75 grams
Eggs	2 lightly beaten
Milk	150 ml
Salt	a pinch
Vanilla essence	1 teaspoon

Ingredients for the filling

Ingredients	Quantity
Apples	4 cored , peeled and chopped
Sugar	50 grams
Nutella	200 grams
Cream cheese or mascarpone cheese	200 grams
Icing sugar	to dust

Method

Mix all the ingredients together for the crapes , making sure no lumps are formed . set aside for 10 minutes .
Cook the chopped apples with sugar till cooked through and the moister dries out . set aside to cool . Heat a non – stick kadai ( appam kadai ) and pour 1/2 cup of batter and rotate the pan to get an evenly thin crape .
Close and cook for a minute . Remove and set aside . Do the same till all the batter is over .
Mix cream cheese or mascarpone cheese and Nutella together . Apply a tablespoon of Nutella cheese mix all over one side of the crape .
Scatter 1 tablespoon full of the cooked apples over and fold into triangles .
Do the same with the remaining crapes , Nutella cheese mix and cooked apples . Finally dust icing sugar over and serve warm or chill .

Mashed potatoes

Preparation Time : 10 minutes

Cooking Time : 25 minutes

Serving : 4 members

Description

Mashed potatoes. A recipe e-mailed to me by my friend Meera aboo thambys son athik Thamby. He is in college and helps his mom in the kitchen at times. This mash was made by him completely. How i wish all sons were like athik to help their moms in the kitchen. My son afzar loves food and a little bit of cooking too. He makes maggi noodles and makes dosas at times. But all this happens very rarely. My children booed me saying my blog is filled with their stories, likes and dislikes. My life revolves around them and my mind is stuck to them. most of all i am their mother. Aren’t we mothers so self centred with our children and family.

Ingredients

Ingredients	Quantity
potatoes	800 grams
butter chopped	40 grams
hot milk	1/3 cup + extra butter, to serve
Salt	to taste
Pepper	to taste

Method

Peel potatoes and cut into large pieces . Cook in a large saucepan of boiling salted water for 20 minutes or until very tender but not falling apart.
Drain potatoes well. Return to saucepan over low heat. Shake pan gently until any remaining water evaporates. Using a potato masher, roughly mash potatoes.
Add butter and hot milk to potatoes. Beat with a wooden spoon until fluffy. Season with salt and pepper. Serve topped with extra butter and salt and pepper.

mother base gravy

Preparation Time : 40 minutes

Cooking Time : 40 minutes

Serving : 10 members

Description

We all go to restaurants and order different gravies and in no time it’s on our table and I always used to wonder if we can do this at home …….Off course we can ,and can make different gravies in no time and reason in is restaurants they have mother base gravy which they use commonly in all gravies ,if we make that home ,we can for sure win the hearts of each member of our family .
Best part of this mother base gravy is that you can divide it into smaller portions and freeze it ,( label it. ) and can used later and I am very happy to share the recipe of mother base gravy ( restaurant style ) with you all.
Description and recipe shared by Anisa Arif . I got to know Anisa Arif through my friend sulu . Anisa Arif is a spice queen and is the proud owner of the zaiqa the spice store . Peeps please check out her spice powders as they are worth trying and a boon to people when pressed for time to entertain food at home . I did gift my sister Fazeem an entire set of her spice powders on her visit to India on a holiday from United Kingdom . Fazeem did like all the spice powders and I use them as well on lazy days a lot . Here’s the link to her Facebook page where she takes orders . Please check it out , order and enjoyment guaranteed by me .

Link : https://www.facebook.com/ZaiqaTheSpiceStore

Ingredients

Ingredients	Quantity
cashew nut and melon seeds	100 gms (each). Soak together in warm water for 30 minutes and make fine paste.
Finely chopped onions	1 kg
Oil	1/2 cup
Tomato paste	1/2 kg ( blanch the tomato ,remove the skin and mark it into paste)
cardamom	5
cinnamon	1 inch
Chilli powder	2 tablespoon
Coriander powder	1 tablespoon
Cumin powder	1 teaspoon
Turmeric powder	1/2 teaspoon
Dry fenugreek or kasuri methi	1 teaspoon
Cardamon powder	1/2 teaspoon
Red color	1/4 teaspoon
cloves	5
Ginger garlic paste	4 tablespoon

Method

In a non stick pan add oil, add cardamom, cloves & cinnamon sauté for a minute add chopped onions , sauté till golden brown.
Add ginger garlic paste , sauté till the raw smell goes then add tomato paste , cook in slow flame and keep stirring to avoid burning, (this step is very important). Add cashew & melon paste, and add chili powder, coriander powder , turmeric powder ,cumin powder ,cardamom powder and dry fenugreek and red colour and cook for another few minutes and the base gravy is ready .cool the gravy and can be stored in boxes.

Given below are the gravy options that you can make with this mother gravy
Vegetarians – You can substitute chicken with paneer or cauliflower or mixed vegetables.

Method for Butter Chicken

In a pan, add (oil 2-3 tbsp), add 1 -2 cups base mother gravy, sauté add cooked chicken pieces ( grilled with butter chicken masala or red chilli pwd, haldi, garam masala),
Saute chicken pieces well in the base mother gravy, add 2-3 tbsp of tomato ketchup, 1/2 tsp kasoori methi powder, 1 tbsp butter chicken masala, 1 tsp garam masala, salt to taste and 1/4 cup cream simmer for 5 mins and serve.

Method for Hyderabadi Chicken

In a pan, add (oil 2-3 tbsp), add mix of (dried chillies whole, saunf, zeera, mustard seeds), chopped garlic 2 tsp, fry well add 1 -2 cups base mother gravy, sauté add cooked chicken pieces ( grilled with butter chicken masala or red chilli pwd, haldi, garam masala),
Saute chicken pieces well in the base mother gravy, add 2-3 tbsp of tomato ketchup, pepper powder, zeera powder, salt to taste, little ghee and sauté well on high flame for 2-3 mins and serve.

Method for Chicken Tikka Masala

In a pan, add (oil 2-3 tbsp), chopped garlic 2 tsp, 2-3 tbsp of tomato ketchup, elaichi powder about ½ teaspoon, add 1 -2 cups base mother gravy.
Saute add cooked chicken pieces ( grilled with any tandoori tikka masala or red chilli pwd, haldi, garam masala).
Saute chicken pieces well in the base gravy, add 2-3 tbsp of grated boiled egg, 1 tsp rose water, salt to taste and serve.

Other Variations

Chicken masala : Add chopped capsicum is added in chicken tikka masala along with little tandoori masala.

Dopiaza gravy : Same process as hyderabadi gravy but sauté 1 cup sliced onions are added in the end along with green chillies.

Dhabba Style : Give a tempering with zeera and red chillies, with alot of emphasis of frying/sautéing the masala, addition of grated paneer and dhabba masala, and top with butter before serving.

Achari Chicken : Same process as dhabba style add 2 tsp achari masala.

sweet pepper pesto pinwheel

Preparation Time : 40-50 minutes

Cooking Time : nil

Serving : 6 members

Description

Pinwheels always excite me as the circular shape with colours popping out here and there is a visual treat . My first pinwheel experience was not a good one though which was sent over by a Neighbour made with colourful vegetables . Looked nice but the taste was awful . I have tried pinwheels with rotis and dosas but never with bread . I came across a recipe in one cook book that was given to me by my hubby’s friend that made me want to try the recipe then and there . There were two recipes side by side both of pinwheels , I have combined both together and created this recipe as one pinwheel showcasing the delightful dimensions of flavours to combine as one . Made it when I had my daughter and son – in- law visit me at home for breakfast . These circular colourful beauties with minimalist use of spices did enhance the dinning table with raised eye brows and was devoured in seconds vanishing away that brought a board smile on me to end a wonderful family breakfast of togetherness .

Ingredients Main

Ingredients	Quantity
White bread	1 loaf unsliced
Red bell pepper	1/4 cup chopped
Yellow bell pepper	1/4 cup chopped
Parmesan cheese	1/4 cup grated
Pesto sauce	3/4 cup

Ingredients for pesto sauce

Ingredients	Quantity
Garlic	1 tablespoon chopped
Fresh basil leaves ( can use tulsi leaves )	1 1/2 cup
Salt	1 teaspoon
Black pepper	2 teaspoons
Toasted pine nuts or walnuts	5 teaspoons chopped
Olive oil	3/4 cup
Parmesan cheese	50 grams grated

Method for pesto sauce

In a blender , combine basil , salt , pepper , garlic , walnuts and oil .
Blend them at high speed until the ingredients are smooth . The sauce should be thin enough to run off the spatula easily .
Transfer the sauce to a bowl . Stir in the grated cheese . Pesto sauce is ready .

Notes

The pesto can be thinned further by adding 1-2 tablespoons of hot pasta water that is used to cook pasta .

Method for pinwheels

Cut bread loaf into 4 horizontal slices , discard the edges . Place one slice on a board , spread 1/5 cup of pesto sauce evenly on it .
Sprinkle 1 1/2 tablespoon each of red , yellow pepper and grated cheese on it and roll the bread tightly .
Place over plastic wrap and roll tightly , secure both the edges by twisting the plastic wrap like eclairs sweet paper tightly .
Repeat the same with all the bread slices . Place all the rolled bread slices on a tray , cover with a wet cloth .
Place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or until to be served . When chilled , remove plastic wrap , slice the rolls into 1/2 inch circles with a sharp knife .
Arrange over serving plate , sprinkle grated Parmesan cheese and serve . ( I didn’t sprinkle cheese over ) .

Notes

If you find the bread difficult to roll , place over a wet towel and roll them .