Chiken Fry with coconut

Chicken Fry with Coconut:

There are so many dishes to make chicken but every time I cut up chicken , it ends up in the same old curry style so this time I decided to make it a little different way.This dish is partly inspired by a u tube cook and partly by my dad who is a fantastic cook.

There are very few people who enjoy cooking and my dad is one of them, he made sure that everyone who was around participates in the cooking process even if it was just watching him cook which was so entertaining , and the cooked dish usually was a winner!! He made the whole process of cooking so easy and enjoyable looking back I guess that was one of the reasons I love to cook :)

This year as we are planning our trip to India there are so many things on the TO DO LIST most of all is to spend some quality time with family and friends and also get to eat some great Indian food .Most of the time we go out to eat is to some fancy Indian Restaurant and end up having Indian dishes unheard of so me and my hubby usually sneak out the house under some shopping pretense and coz we love to eat the street food pipping hot vada pav's , pav bhaji and my favorite the hot masala dosa right of a tava on the streets of Mumbai irresistible . We manage to have all these every trip , trying to keep the tradition on for this trip too.

Coming back to the recipe this a a little time consuming dish but all the time and effort put in in the end is well worth it.

What u need :

• chicken – 1 full cut up in bite size pieces
• onion – 1 cup chopped
• coconut grated - ½ cup
• ginger garlic – 1 tablespoon chopped
• red dried chillies – 4-5
• black pepper whole – 1 teaspoon full
• cinnamon bark- 2-3
• cloves- 4-5
• bay leaves – 3-4
• cardamon – 3-4
• anise star- 2-3
• curry leaves - 1-2 springs
• oil – 1-2 tablespoon
• salt to taste
• turmeric- 1 teaspoon full
• paprika 1 tablespoon

Heat a small pan and roast the whole spices for a few minutes , set aside to cool .In the same pan roast the grated coconut till they r crispy and brown this usually takes 5-10 mins be careful to not burn the coconut.Now mix the coconut with the spices using a blender , mix till it is in a fine shredded form do not add any water this has to be in a dry texture.Heat a pan add oil , saute the chopped onions , add ginger garlic and cook for 5-10 mins add the curry leaves too.Add the coconut mix , along with spices turmeric and the paprika add the chicken to this mix cook for at least 20 mins till the chicken is all cooked well. Serve with hot rotis!!

Dal Fry

After a long hectic travel day or a long round of high calorie fattening foods all u feel like eating is something simple and comforting. Usually after we r back from a hectic trip I try to whip up some simple Dal and Rice just brings back goodness in every bite!! A little pickle and yogurt um um good!!

Looking back through ancient India till today one of the most prominent dishes that show up in each and every Indian cuisine be North Indian, South Indian, West or East Indian is undoubtly the dal rice.I think every Indian restaurant has this dish on its menu may a little more fancy version of dal , like dal makhani , or dal tadka , or on the south side parippu etc but all these boils down to the same thing. I remember flipping pages of international magzines mostly the travel or food magzines where u stuble upon an article about India and a snap of a plate of rice and yellow gravy by the side ( dal ). Brings back so many warm memories.

Dal basically is also called lentils and fall in the category of pulses loaded with protein. Easily available in most Indian stores actually now I have seen them in the regular grocery stores too, usually in the Asian aisle. There are quite a few varieties of dal for that matter

Like:

Toor dal , Masoor Dal & Moong Dal

Many more u can add on , but these are the most common ones found almost in every Indian Pantry.

I remember when we were young my parents used to get all their groceries from this one store where everyone goes to, and usually a whole year’s worth, not by pounds but by kilos. Same with rice in our kitchen there was this huge aluminum vessel filled with dal which as and when my mom could use the lentils it was like a magic vessel which was never empty which my mom always made sure . My mom made dal almost few times a week it goes a long way, made be mostly in sambar form by adding lots of vegetables to it.

I always loved simple dal and rice so fulfilling and comforting usually I make it with toor and masoor dal mixed in equal proportion.

Sometimes I boil them in excess and store in the freezer in smaller containers then as and when needed U can thaw and use it.

Now to the recipe what u need :

· Toor dal ½ cup

· Masoor dal ½ cup

· Onion chopped fine ¼ cup

· 1 Tomato chopped

· 2-3 chopped garlic

· 1-2 green chillies ( optional )

· Cilantro chopped ¼ cup

· 1 teaspoon dried fenugreek leaves (meethi )

· 1 tablespoon olive oil or any u prefer

· ½ teaspoon full turmeric powder

· 1 teaspoon full or mustard seeds and jeera

· Salt to taste

Boil both the dals after washing few times in water, usually I boil it in a cooker with the water level an inch above the dal , u can also boil it in the deep set pan but takes a lot longer. After the dal has cooled down .Heat a pan with the oil add the mustard and jeera when they start to pop add the chopped onion cook for a few minutes . Then add the chopped garlic and green chillies sauté till soft and a little brown in color.

At this point u can also add a chopped tomato which is optional, cook the tomato thru then add the dried fenugreek leaves which have a very strong flavor absolutely flavorful this ingredient will just seal the deal for u, makes the dal so yummy and AUTHENTIC. Add the turmeric powder stir for a few minutes and add the cooked dal make sure it is a thick consistency u can add water as per your preference.Add salt in the end if water is added do let it boil then add the chopped cilantro leaves for garnish.

Serve with hot steaming rice or rotis too .Enjoy !!

Cabbage Thoran

Cabbage Thoran

Such a universal keralite side dish, in Kerala practically every vegetable can be turned into a thoran just because of the abundance of coconuts all around the state.

But also makes every vegetable simple delectable I remember one of my aunt's in Kerala use to make okra thoran which tasted good of course it was loaded up

with shallots and grated coconut. I like the thorans , but by far the one that tops the list will be the cabbage thoran also because my brother loves this thoran

goes great with fried fish and Moru curry.

In India my neighbor who lived next door to us was a fantastic cook and the way she sliced cabbage was a sight in itself, most common way to chop the vegetable down south was and is to use a finger glove to protect ur finger which still gets bruised at the end of the ordeal

Cutting by holding the vegetable in ur hand which needs a talent not everybody can do it but sure with some practice and cuts u will get there and not using the chopping board, but the product was amazingly fine and small.

Coming to the US I was surprised when I walked through the grocery store aisles especially the produce, that cabbages are available in so many varieties, the usual one the green cabbage that we get in India then the red cabbage more like a purple red which I not a big fan of then who can forget the lil' version called Brussels sprouts.

A whole lot to choose from, I have tried all of them Brussels sprouts do taste a little different than the regular green cabbage and good too.

Now to the recipe which is a super simple and easy dish to make,

what u need

Cabbage 1/2 chopped fine

Grated Coconut 1/4 cup

Shallots 1-2 chopped

Ginger 1/2 inch grated

Green chillis chopped 1-2

Curry leaves 1 spring

Mustard seeds 1 teaspoon

Oil to cook 1-2 teaspoon

Salt to taste

Heat a non stick pan , add oil to the pan , after a few minutes add mustard seeds when they start to pop, add the chopped shallots, ginger, green chillis and curry leaves , and sauté for a few minutes.

Add the chopped cabbage and the grated coconut together sauté add salt as needed let it cook for 10 minutes

In between keep stirring the pan to avoid the thoran getting burnt. Once the cabbage looks translucent u can switch the heat off

I like to cook it a little more to brown the cabbage just a tiny bit adds flavor to the dish.

Serve with rice or rotis too.

Merry Christmas & happy new year

It's the most wonderful time of the year
With the kids jingle belling and everyone telling you
"Be of good cheer"
It's the most wonderful time of the year.

WISHING ALL OF YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS
 AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR 2010!!
HOPE U ALL N! JOY THIS WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR!

T

Moru Curry

Moru Curry is a traditional side dish at any keralite home , perfectly blends with chicken , fish , meat or vegetables, This dish is basically yogurt sauteed with mustard seeds and shallots, some variations of theses are by adding either mango, pineapple, raw bananas, white cucumber etc . The addition of veges just makes it more hardy and filling. I remember having this dish almost every few days but still was never bored of it , if nothing kalan or pulissery is always there which are the other names for this yummy dish.

This Year as Christmas is just around the corner the one thing we all look forward to is the warmth, and goodness, with our family and yes ! the yummy food. This dish was a regular side dish for all Christmas dinner's we had along with the family and still is .There are always the popular ones like chicken curry , beef olatheyadhe and pork vindaloo. Along all the other dishes are on the list I decided to share this one something simple and super easy still so tasty!! It perfectly complements the non-vegetarian dishes sort of adding a added comfort level to the dishes. What u need: 1 shallot chopped 5-6 red Chillies 1 teaspoonful garlic chopped ½ tea spoon Turmeric Powder ¼ tea spoon Methi (Uluva) Powder ¼ tea spoon Cumin (jeera) Powder 2½ cup Yogurt (Curd) salt, oil, mustard seeds, and curry leaves. Heat oil in a deep set pan add mustard seeds , red chillies, garlic curry leaves and chopped shallots. Stir for a while and then add the turmeric powder, methi powder, cumin powder and salt. Now add some water. Cover it and cook for some time. When cooked well, switch off the stove, and after a while add the whipped yogurt to it, stir well. add the whipped yogurt gently in to the pan with stirring it . Add salt in the end with constant stirring . U can also add coconut milk for a rich flavor . Other options also include adding cooked cub sized veges like white cucumber, raw banana or pineapple too. Enjoy with rice !!

Baked Chicken with herbs

Thanksgiving is always such a great time to reach out and celebrate the season, before coming to the US little did I know of such a tradition existing, but now that my lil' kinder gardener comes homes with all the educational information it is so interesting to learn about Thanksgiving and what it has evolved in.
Every year we at home celebrate Thanksgiving by giving thanks to all the people who make your life and world a beautiful place, also we make the dishes only difference since we do not have a big family around whom we always MISS during the holidays , so the big Turkey is substituted by a whole chicken which a family of four can easily devour.

this baked chicken is super simple and a delicious,

What u need:

whole chicken thawed
butter - 2 tablespoon RT(room temp)
all herbs -thyme, oregano, rosemary my favourite
rock salt- as needed
black pepper- freshly crushed
lemon-1 cut in slices

Rub the dried chicken with butter, salt and pepper all around
make sure to go under the skin of the chicken.
Add the herbs to the baking pan rub lemon on the chicken
keep it for at least 2 hours in the fridge.
then Preheat oven to 400°F Cook for 30 minutes at 400°F.
Then lower the heat to 350°F and cook for 10-30 minutes more (approximately 14 to 15 minutes per pound total cooking time) until juices run clear (not pink)
when poked with a sharp knife or the internal temperature of the
chicken breasts is 170°F and the thighs 185°.
serve with potatoes and Njoy !