Daily Archives: November 18, 2013

Katharikai katta

Preparation Time : 5 minutes

Cooking Time : 25 to 30 members

Serving : 6 to 8 members

Description

A tasty , tangy , hot and sweet dish served as a side dish for biriyani in the ravuthar community of Tamil Nadu . Deepa Almaz requested me to post the recipe but my hubby’s place they serve a similar dish called ennai katharikai . I know to prepare the ennai katharikai dish not the katharikai katta . I very vaguely remembered going through the recipe of katharikai katta from my friend fathimas mother – in – laws from salem (meher amma ) hand written recipe book ( which I had taken a xerox of the entire book ) . I tried it out and it was tasteing exactelly as served at the weddings . One of the best treasures I own to date is the hand written xerox of Mehar ammas recipe book . It is filled with all authentic dishes which are fading away .

Ingredients

Ingredients	Quantity
To dry roast and grind to a smooth paste – mustard seeds	3/4 teaspoon
cumin seed	3/4 teaspoon
fenugreek seeds	1/4 teaspoon
pepper corns	3/4 teaspoon
sesame seeds	3/4 teaspoon

Ingredients for Main Dish

Ingredients	Quantity
Small onion	15 crushed
ginger	1 /2 inch piece crushed
garlic	5 flakes crushed
brinjals	12 whole slit at the into 4
gingily oil	1/2 cup
coriander powder	1 tablespoon
chilli powder	2 teaspoons
turmeric powder	1/4 teaspoon
salt	to taste
tamarind pulp	1/2 cup
jaggery	1 teaspoon

Method

Heat a non stick pan with oil in it . Add 1/2 of the crushed small onions , ginger and garlic .
Top with half of the ground masala and add the brinjals . Fry till the colour of the brinjal changed and becomes a bit soft for about 10 minutes .
Add the other 1/2 of crushed things and the ground masala . Stir well , top with coriander powder , chilli powder , turmeric powder and salt to taste .
Sauté for 2 minutes adding the tamarind pulp and very little water just enough to cook the brinjal and to get a thick flowing gravy .
Simmer and cook till oil floats on top and brinjals are soft and cooked through . Add the jaggery finally , mix well . Taste and adjust .
Serve hot with biriyani .

Oven Fried Deviled Chicken

Preparation Time : 20 minutes + 2 hours for marination

Cooking Time : 30 to 35 minutes

Serving : 6 members

Description

A healthy dish which I took note from the magazine prevention . My gym buddy jaya Bharathi passed it over to me . I have made some changes as the original recipe seemed to be very bland . yummy dish , been into a lot of experimenting recently for tasty healthy dishes . This is one among them . Give it a try flocks . Recipe and picture courtacy prevention magazine .

Ingredients

Ingredients	Quantity
Chicken pieces	8
chilli powder	1 teaspoon
ginger garlic paste	1 teaspoon
salt	to taste
vinegar	1/2 teaspoon
wheat bread crumbs	2 cups
pepper powder	to taste
chilli flakes	1/2 teaspoon
cumin powder	1 teaspoon
chopped coriander leaves	1 tablespoon
olive oil spray

Method

Marinate chicken pieces in chilli powder , ginger garlic paste , vinegar and salt to taste for 2 hours or more .
Preheat oven to 230 degree Celsius . Mix wheat bread crumbs , pepper powder , chilli flakes , salt to taste , cumin powder and coriander leaves together and set aside .
Dredge chicken in bread crumbs mixture , patting to coat all around . Line a shallow baking pan with foil paper and coat with olive oil .
Arrange the chicken pieces in single layer over the greased foil . Coat the top of the chicken with olive oil spray .( just sprinkle a few drops of olive oil over in case you don’t have a oil spray ) bake for 20 minutes .
Increase the heat to 400 degree Celsius and bake until golden brown and cooked through for another 10 to 15 minutes longer .
Serve hot with salad , tomato ketchup .

Ginger Chicken

Preparation Time : 30 minutes

Cooking Time : 12 to 15 minutes

Serving : 4 members

Description

A yummy not so spicy , light to the tummy Chinese style ginger chicken . Here in my hubby’s place in tirunelveli , we had very few Restaurants in the beginning when I was newly married . All the restaurants were not worth going and eating there as the ambiance was such . So when ever we want restaurant food it was ordered as take away and had at home . My hubby used to bring butter chicken and ginger chicken mostly for dinner as a surprise from a restaurant called chettinad . The ginger chicken was my favourite . It used to taste so yum . I tried it out at home as to my taste buds and wolla it was just like the one from chettinad restaurant . So no more ginger chicken from chettinad restaurant instead it’s made at home .foolish me should have had the restaurant ginger chicken itself , now it’s an added responsibility in my kitchen .

Ingredients

Ingredients	Quantity
Boneless chicken	1/4 kg
egg whites	2
Flour ( maida )	4 tablespoons
cornflour	4 table spoons + 1 teaspoon diluted in 1/4 cup water
white pepper powder	1/4 teaspoon
salt	to taste
ajinomoto	2 pinches
green chillies	2 crushed
garlic flake	1 crushed
onion	2 big cut into stripes
capsicum	2 cut into stripes
oil	4 tablespoons + to deep fry
ginger	25 grams ground and strained to get 1/4 cup juice( do not add more than mentioned as the chicken might Taste to gingery )
green chilli sauce	2 table spoons
vinegar	1/4 teaspoon

Method

Marinate cleaned chicken pieces in egg whites , maida , 4 tablespoons cornflour , white pepper powder , salt to taste and a pinch of ajinomoto along with little water if needed . Keep aside for one hour .
Deep fry the chicken pieces in hot oil over medium heat to a light golden brown colour and crisp . Drain and set aside .
Heat a wok with 4 tablespoons of oil . Add crushed garlic and green chillies , top with onions and capsicum .
Saute for 4 minutes . Pour the ginger juice , green chilli sauce , vinegar , salt to taste and a pinch of ajinomoto . Mix well .
Add one cup of water and bring to boil . Taste and adjust , add the fried chicken pieces and simmer for 2 minutes for all the flavours to infuse together .
Pour the diluted corn flour over and bring to boil stirring constantly .to get a semi thick saucy running gravy coated over the chicken pieces . Add more water if wanted .
Serve hot for lunch or dinner.

Snake gourd (Podalangkai ) Fry

Description

As a kid at home we were always fed a lot with Indian vegetables like brinjal , all types of potatoes , all types of gourds , Pumpkins etc . English vegetables like carrots , capsicum , green peas ect were rarely served as my dad didn’t like them much . But at boarding school most of our vegetables like carrots , beet roots , potatoes , green peas , cabbage were grown in school itself and we were fed a lot with the grown English vegetables . So my liking towards vegetables got balanced between Indian vegetables and English vegetables . This recipe of snake gourd my mother – in – law and myself took note of from a regional satellite channel when the satellite channels were newly launched in India . Since the first try of this recipe it’s a regular dish at home.

Ingredients

Ingredients
Quantity

Snake gourd 1 long one cleaned and cut into rings

tomato 1 medium size (ground)

small onions 3 (ground)

Ginger garlic paste 1/4 teaspoon

rice flour 3 tablespoons

chick pea flour 1/2 cup

Maida 1 tablespoon

chilli powder 1 teaspoon

thymol seeds ( ajwaan in Hindhi , omam in Tamil ) 1/4 teaspoon

salt to taste

red food colour a pinch

oil to deep fry

Ingredients	Quantity
Snake gourd	1 long one cleaned and cut into rings
tomato	1 medium size (ground)
small onions	3 (ground)
Ginger garlic paste	1/4 teaspoon
rice flour	3 tablespoons
chick pea flour	1/2 cup
Maida	1 tablespoon
chilli powder	1 teaspoon
thymol seeds ( ajwaan in Hindhi , omam in Tamil )	1/4 teaspoon
salt	to taste
red food colour	a pinch
oil	to deep fry

Method

Mix ground tomato , ground small onions , ginger garlic paste , rice flour , chick pea flour , maida , chilli powder , salt , thymol seeds and red food colouring together .
Mix well to get a smooth paste consistency by adding a little water . Taste and adjust .
Add the round cut snake guard to the mixed paste and gently toss well so that the paste gets coated around the cut snake gourds.
Set aside to marinate for 1 hour or more . Heat oil to deep fry in a kadai .
Drop one round of snake guard at a time into the hot oil so that they dont stick together.
Fry to crisp , drain and serve hot as a side dish for lunch or as a starter at parties for vegetarians .

Nutella Mug Cake

Preparation Time : 5 minutes

Cooking Time : 2 1/2 to 3 minutes

Serving : 4 members

Description

I always strongly feel I lag behind when it comes to cakes .my confidence level when compared to other dishes I prepare is nil when it comes to cakes . So I just keep posponding experimenting with cakes . The guit of this cake issue does haunt me very often . So finally for the past 2 days have been surfing a lot to get hold of an easy yummy cake to prepare . Came across this recipe which is made in 2-3 minutes in the microwave . Gave a try and was so good that even before I could take a picture my hubby gobbled it of . So I ended up taking a picture of the left over batter mug finally . Another interesting matter is last night Hamidha Shabeer sent me a message with the recipe and pictures saying she tried a chocolate mug cake asking me to post the recipe . What a coincidence , well great people think a like .

Ingredients

Ingredients	Quantity
Nutella	3 tablespoons
sugar	3 tablespoons
oil	3 tablespoons
maida	3 tablespoons
cocoa powder	3 tablespoons ( I used 1 1/4 tablespoon as my cocoa powder was really rich )
egg	1
Vanilla essence	few drops
baking powder	1/2 teaspoons
luck warm water	3-5 tablespoons optional ( I used 3 tablespoons as the consistency was to thick once mixed together . )
milk	3 tablespoons

Method

Beat egg , oil , vanilla essence and milk together in a large bowl .
Add the dry ingredients maida , sugar , cocoa powder and baking powder to the wet mixture .
Whisk well till well combined . Make sure there are no lumps in the batter . Add Nutella and mix well till well combined .
Add Luke warm water one tablespoon at a time if the batter is too thick to get the right consistency .
Pour the batter into microwave safe mugs and microwave for 2-3 minutes till done ( my cakes were ready in 2 minutes ) garnish with chocolate shavings or whipped cream .
Serve right away . Best eaten when warm with vanilla flavoured ice cream .

Notes

Each microwave differs so better to check every one minute once if your cake is done . ( mine was done in 2 minutes )

Vegetarians can substitute egg with 3 tablespoons of think curd .

Oreo Cheese Cake

Preparation Time : 30 minutes

Cooking Time : 40 to 50 minutes

Serving : 8 to 10 minutes

Description

A high calorie content dessert which can be had once in a blue moon .wonder why all the best tasteing foods are not good for health . Anything and every thing that is yummy to the tummy is so sin ful .i realised one thing that as growing older your resisting power toward food gets really bad . As a kid I used to hate desserts , sweets , eggs ( my nick name in school was egg , not sure why till date ) so on and so forth . But now there is nothing as I don’t like at all . Why , why why ? Gosh terrible time with my tongue to tummy . Guess its the same with most of us around . one , your taste buds must die or you should not know how to cook or be the worst fussiest person about food . i am none of what i mentioned so will have to deal with fact of being a great foodie .Recipe and picture courtesy Rehima Zenofer.

Ingredients

Ingredients	Quantity
Oreo biscuits	20 +10 crushed in a blender to a smooth powder separately( 20 for base and 10 for the top )
melted butter	1/4 cup
cream cheese	(8 ounce)3 packets softened
condensed milk	1 tin
eggs	3
lime juice	1 tablespoon
vanilla essence	2 teaspoons
Oreo biscuits	8 broken to small bits

Method

Preheat oven to 300 degree Fahrenheit ( 180 degree Celsius ) . Mix powdered 20 Oreo biscuits with the melted butter to get a crumbly coarse powder .
Press it down firmly on a spring foam pan or a baking pan . Beat cream cheese , condensed milk , lime juice , vanilla essence , eggs dropped one at a time to get a smooth batter with the help of an electric egg beater .
Fold in the broken Oreo biscuit bits . Pour the batter over the pressed Oreo biscuit base . Level the top .
Bake for 40 to 50 minutes till done . Make sure the top does not crake . Cool to room temperature and chill in the refrigerator over night .
Top the cheese cake with 10 powdered Oreo biscuits . Remove from spring foam . Cut into wedges and serve .

Shezwan chicken

Preparation Time : 20 minutes + 2 hours for marination

Cooking Time : 15 minutes

Serving : 6 members

Description

My brother and myself love Chinese food . We had a Chinese restaurent near our home in Coimbatore called Kowloon . Any opportunity we get to eat out we will make sure we end up there . What we order would be standard always . the shezwan chicken used to taste awesome . Once we had a get together at home with many guests coming over for dinner . We wanted to prepare a Chinese menu . My mom ( an over smart sofesticated lady by nature , my bro and myself don’t have that in us ) bribed the cook from the Kowloon restaurent and got him to cook the menu at home . I did take note of every thing the cook prepared and till date do follow it religiously . This recipe is also from the chef of Kowloon restaurent . I have another interesting story related to Kowloon restaurent . My brother in law nawaz is the same age as me . He did his collage in Coimbatore . My brother and my brother – in – law used to hang around a lot back then . Once they went to Kowloon restaurent restaurent for dinner . Finished dinner and paid the bill . As they were coming out of the restaurent , the waiter ran towards them and gave my brother – in – law a one rupee coin in hand . My brother not knowing what was happening stood blinking . My bother – in – law had kept a one rupee coin as a tip for the waiter .we have a great laugh over this incident till date .

Ingredients

Ingredients	Quantity
Boneless chicken cubed	1/4 kg
cornflour	1/4 cup
flour ( maida )	1/4 cup
egg whites	2
white pepper	1/2 teaspoon
salt	to taste
ajinomoto	1 pinch + 1 pinch ( optional )
oil	4 tablespoons + to deep fry
onions	2 cubed
capsicum	1 big cubed
ginger	1 inch piece crushed
garlic	3 flakes crushed
tomato sauce	4 tablespoons
sweet chilli sauce	2 teaspoons
light soya sauce	1/2 teaspoon
vinegar	1/2 teaspoon
sugar	1/4 teaspoon
chilli flakes	1 tablespoon
red chilli sauce	1 teaspoon

Method

Marinate cleaned chicken pieces in cornflour , flour , egg whites , white pepper , salt to taste and a pinch of ajinomoto for 2 hours .
Deep fry the marinated chicken pieces in hot oil to a light golden brown . Drain and set aside .
Heat 4 tablespoons of oil in a large wok . Add crushed garlic and ginger , fry for 1/2 a minute .
Top with cubed onions and capsicum . Sauté for a minute .
Lower the flame to medium and add all the other ingredients except for the fried chicken pieces . Mix well and bring to boil . Taste and adjust .
The sauce should taste sweet , sour and hot . Add the fried chicken pieces and toss well for about 4 minutes allowing all the flavours and sauce to infuse into the chicken .
Remove from heat and serve hot .