Chicken Tikka Quesadilla

  

Quesadilla is one of the easiest quick fix dinner ideas at my place. On days when I don't want to stand and cook for long and do not have the time to do so, this one comes in as a rescue , and a very yummy one too :)

What u need :
Quesadilla - 1 pack small
Cooked chicken - 2 Lbs ( I used pulled chicken or the baked chicken )
Shredded cheese - 1 pack ( Cheddar and Monterey jack )
Chicken tikka masala - 2 teaspoon (this is the kicker  I used Rajah brand)
Hot salsa sauce- 1 bottle
Sour cream - 1 tube
Chopped red onions - 1/2 cup
Chopped red tomatoes- 2
Chopped cilantro - 1/2 cup
Lemon juice- optional
Butter - 1 tablespoon

• Use a heated pan add some butter add the pulled chicken cook for few mins as this is already cooked does not take long just get the juices going. Add the chicken tikka masala I used Rajah tikka masala very authentic taste and flavor , cook for few mins more then put the heat off . 
• Take  a flat pan and heat it up , rub some butter and  put the quesadilla on the pan rub butter on the same too. Make sure there is butter on both sides, keep the flame low-med don't want to burn the quesadilla.
• Add the sour cream spread it on the quesadilla this works well to hold all the veggies and chicken together
• Add the pulled tikka masala chicken , then the cheese pile little of the onions , tomatoes, cilantro ,some more sour cream YUM ! 
• then few drops of the spicy salsa sauce and pack this one up .
• Just like in the picture all piled up goodness before getting rolled up 
• Bite into this & NJoy!

Papaya moru curry

What u need ~

Shallot - 1 chopped

Red Chillies - 5 - 6

Curry leaves- 1 spring

Garlic  - 1-2 chopped

Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp

Meethi (Uluva) Powder - 1/2 tsp

Yogurt (Curd) - 2 cups lightly beaten

Raw Papaya - 1 cup chopped cub sized

Salt - as needed 

Olive  oil - 1 tbsp

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

• Add the chopped papaya in a cup pf water , add salt, turmeric powder, green chillies optional  and boil till the papaya is well cooked.
• 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, meethi 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 . 
• Add the cooked papaya to the curd and mix well, serve with rice and Njoy!

Chicken Stew

Few years back while I was visiting my cousin and her new baby also got to meet her mother -in-law who had come over to help her out . That morning for breakfast they served homemade appams and chicken stew .

I have had a lot of chicken curries for breakfast , but this one was different it did not have a lot of spices very simple and delectable with chicken stewed in coconut  milk with the whole spices aroma along with potatoes and carrots garnished with toasted cashews and raisins .

The new baby was for sure the star , but chicken stew came very close :) her mom-in-law made it so well that I had to take down the recipe and recreate it at home. And so I did like many times  this recipe is one of my family's favorite breakfast dish goes really well with appams , pathiri and idiiappams .

What U need :

Organic Chicken -  2 whole chicken cut up in medium size pieces I used Cornish hen

Red Onion  – 1 large sliced 

Green chillies – 2 sliced optional

Curry leaves – 8 - 10

Carrot  – 1 medium

Potato – 1 medium (russet )

Garam Masala – 1 ½  tsp

Oil - 1 tablespoon 

Black peppercorns - 1 teaspoon powdered and whole

Ghee – 1 Tbsp for garnish 

Cinnamon – 1 inch stick

Green Cardamom – 3 or 4

Cloves – 3 or 4

Star Anise – 1

Bay leaves – 2

Garam masala - 1 teaspoon (dry mix of cinnamon, cardamon, cloves , star anise)

Coconut milk - 1 cup

Cashews - 5-8 roasted in ghee preferably 

Raisins - 1 teaspoon 

Salt as needed

• Marinate  the chicken with ground pepper ,leave this for at least an hour.
• In a large cooking pan, heat some oil or ghee is optional at this step add the whole spices and saute till the spices are heated up and exude the delicious aroma.
• Add in the sliced onion, green chillies and curry leaves and cook until the onion is brown .
• Then add the cube sized potato, carrots, and Chicken pieces along with enough salt and cover and let it cook on medium-low heat until chicken as well as the potatoes are almost cooked. 
• Add the garam masala to the stew cover and cook until the chicken is fully cooked and is usually 30 minutes totally so the chicken is fully cooked inside out.
• Then add  the coconut milk you can always add the thin milk first and towards the end add the thicker milk with cream, give it a stir  make sure this is on  a low  flame cook for few minutes more.
• Finally this step is the most crucial step this adds the authentic taste heat a separate pan , melt the ghee then add some thinly sliced onions fry  this till brown and crispy , add the cashews and raisins to this and fry for  a few seconds more add some garam masala , then pour this over the stew and turn off the heat. You don't need to stir as this point the ghee and cashews on the top of the stew give this dish a very authentic look.

Garnish with onions , curry leaves, cashews & raisins

Fried in ghee to top off the stew .

Serve with soft appams , dip into the yummy gravy and Njoy !

"Wish you all a very Happy easter !" 

Strawberry Jam with love

This is by far one of the easiest recipes to make, the other day while I was on  my usual grocery shopping rounds, I came across some really fresh and good strawberries in the produce isle and needless to add I had strawberry jam on my shopping list , those strawberries looked too tempting so I decided to make it from scratch with fresh strawberries  .

One of the recipes that I followed is pretty straight forward and easy done in 30 mins and gone in 2 days :)

What u Need ~

Strawberries - 2 cups cut up

Sugar - 1 cup

Green granny smith apple - 1/2 apple peeled and cut cube size

Blueberries - 1/2 cup

Lemon juice - 1 table spoon

• Wash and clean the strawberries cut up in cube size and add to a deep set pan . Add the sugar to the strawberries and cook for few mins , keep stirring the pan.
• Add the granny smith apples and the blueberries this adds in the much needed pectin and blueberries gives it a denser color. Cook this for at least 30 mins on medium flame with regular stirring.
• The consistency starts getting thicker , add in the lemon juice , once it has reached to a jam consistency not too thick . Put the stove off let it cool 
• Skim and discard the foam that usually tends to form on the top of the jam mixture .
• Spread it on toast or  scones and Njoy !

Happy Valentine's day !

Beef and potatoes curry

This is one of the traditional kerala beef curry recipe that I have made for years the only change is adding a little meethi leaves towards the end as garnish. Try this out the additional meethi does add a delicious flavor  to the meat and potatoes . You  can always add coconut milk for serving as a breakfast dish or make it a little dry  , it goes well with naan or bread.

What U need :

What u need ~
Beef cut up-1 pound
Red onion - 1 cup chopped length wise
Garlic -1 tablespoon chopped fine
Ginger- 1 tablespoon chopped fine
Potatoes - 1-2 chopped cub size
Curry leaves- 7-8
Turmeric- 1 teaspoon
Chilli pwd -1 teaspoon (add spice as needed)
Garam masala- 1 teaspoon
Black pepper ground- 1 teaspoon
Meethi leaves dried - 1 tablespoon
Oil -2 teaspoon
salt to taste
Bay leaves -2-3

Garam masala ~
Cardamon seeds - 4-5
Cinnamon stick - 1 inch
Star anise -2
Clove - 4-5
Fennel seeds - 2 tablespoon

Clean and cut the meat in bite size pieces add 1/2 cup water , salt , pepper, garlic pods ,  bay leaves, few curry leaves cook in the pressure cooker till at least 2 whistles let it cool down

Meanwhile heat up a thick bottom pan, add 2 teaspoon Oil,  add the chopped red onions and curry leaves cook till translucent.

Add the chopped ginger- garlic till raw smell is gone.

Add the garam masala , black pepper, cook for few mins , then add the cooked beef.

As beef is going to take some time to cook so cover the pan and let it cook on low flame, be sure to be mixing it once in a while so that it does not get burnt .

Add the cub sized potatoes  let it cook down for 5-10 mins till the potatoes are done .

After the beef starts to sweat out the oil , add the dried meethi leaves  .

Add salt as per taste if needed , and serve with hot rice or chapatti. 

NJoy !

Merry Christmas and a very happy and peaceful new year !

May your Christmas sparkle with moments of love, laughter and goodwill, 

And may the year ahead be full of contentment and joy. 

Wishing all my friends in the blog world Happy Holidays !

Cornbread stuffing

Growing up in an south Asian country thanksgiving was a foreign concept to me. The first year-round thanksgiving  I was totally clueless as to what is this holiday exactly about because there was a big fuss about cooking a lot of  food then shopping at crazy hours didn't make sense what are we celebrating ??

Then over the years it started to grow on to you the true reason why we celebrate thanksgiving - a day to give thanks as simple as it sounds is a very humbling and gratifying feeling. Every single day we take a lot of things and people around us for granted not realizing how important  little things are and giving thanks means a lot…a lil' gratitude goes a long way.
So give thanks to one and all .
Wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving !!


OK now to the recipe every one has their favorite mine has evolved over time its the corn bread stuffing YUM !
this is inspired from one of my favorite chefs Ina Garten , I tweaked it a lil' to suit our taste.

What you need  ;

1 cup 1-inch bread cubes I used corn bread 

1/2 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter

1/2 cups medium-diced yellow onion (2 onions)

1/4 cup medium-diced celery (2 stalks)

1 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 pound chorizo (spicy sausage)

1 cup chicken stock

1/4 cup dried cranberries

• Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F place the corn bread cubes in a single layer on a sheet pan and bake for 7 minutes. 
• Raise the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Remove the corn bread cubes to a very large bowl.
• Meanwhile, in a large saute pan, melt the butter and add the onions, celery, parsley, salt and pepper. Saute over medium heat for 10 minutes, until the vegetables are softened. Add to the corn bread cubes.
• In the same saute pan, cook the chorizo over medium heat for about 10 minutes, until browned andcooked through, breaking up the meat with a fork while cooking. Add to the bread cubes and vegetables.
• Add the chicken stock and cranberries to the mixture, mix well, and pour into a 9 by 12-inch baking dish. Bake for 30 minutes, until browned on top and hot in the middle. Serve warm Njoy !

Potatoes and spinach (Aloo palak )

As the weather starts to cool down it feels like winter is almost here, days are getting shorter and gets darker sooner but on the bright side Halloween decoration have started to show up in the neighborhood that is always FUN :)

On days like this feels eating something easy  and comforting and nothing better than potatoes. This is a pretty simple dish can make it with very few ingredients

What U need ~
potatoes - 2-4 peeled and cubed
onions - 1 chopped
ginger - 1/2 inch chopped
cilantro - chopped
spinach - 1/2 cup chopped
green chillies - 1-2 chopped
turmeric - 1/2 teaspoon
oil - to saute
salt as needed
cumin- 1 teaspoon

Heat a pan . add oil until hot add cumin seeds sauté for few mins, add the chopped , chillies, onions let it cook till the onions are soft and a little brown.
Add the chopped cube sized potatoes cook for a few mins.
Add salt , turmeric and let this cook till the potatoes are soft add the spinach towards the end as it cook very quickly.
Garnish with chopped cilantro serve with basmati rice or rotis. Njoy !

San Francisco Trip

One of the most visited cities in the united states, this was on our list for some time , since we live in the greater northwest it wasn't that hard to plan , so this summer we decided to embark into this awesome journey.

Here are a few glimpses of our trip , a snap shot of our sunny days in CA. 

If a picture is worth a thousand words then this should say it all.

Masala Dosa

Every one has one of those recipes that takes to to your happy place, this is one of mine and so is this for my little one and older one . Both of them love masala dosa & plain dosa , relishing  every bite of it .  

Recently on our visit to San franscico we visited a typical south indian restuarant and decided to have brunch there, this place was did  great job of maintaining the same culture and more important the taste of traditional south indian dishes, just like you would find in south India . Long crispy dosas in variety of options with colorful chutneys and sambar to go along and many more savory delicacies 

Thumbs up for dosa

Usually saturday mornings I make something that I grew up eating , so my kids could stick to the roots at least on the weekends :)

Masala dosa is one of the most  demanded on week ends  this savory dish is a crepe with  a filing of boiled potatoes with added spices in crispy layer of dosa .

What you need  for dosa batter :

Idli rice : 1 cup

Urad dal : 1/2 cup

Salt : to taste

Meethi seeds : 1 pinch 

Yeast: 1 teaspoon 

Soak the rice, meethi seeds and urad dal for 6-8 hours, then grind it in a mixer (I use the Indian one I got from back home). Over the last few years, I went through several trial and errors to make soft dosas and idlis in this cold country. 

Quite a few attempts were disasters with idlis as hard as rock, but at other times it turned out to be great.

I tried a little trick , after the batter is mixed into a paste , take a teaspoon of active yeast in warm water let it activate for a few minutes 

Add to the batter just like u would do for making appams but only the quantity is less as compared Cover this batter and leave it over night, next morning the batter will swell up which is a good sign of fermentation , add salt  if the batter is to make dosas make it thin and for idlis keep the consistency thick.

For the filling (masala) :

Boiled potatoes : 2 smashed 

Onions : 1 chopped

Chillies : 1 long slit

Curry leaves : 5-7 

Salt and turmeric as needed

Olive oil : 1 tsp

Urad dal : 1 tsp

Heat a pan . add oil until hot add urad dal sauté for few mins, add the chopped curry leaves, chillies, onions let it cook till the onions are soft and a little brown.

Add salt and turmeric then add the smashed potatoes leave some chunky pieces in gives the masala dosa an authentic taste, if needed you can also add chopped cilantro which is optional.

Add salt and mix well next to make masala dosas use the batter as mentioned earlier. heat a flat pan oil rub then at the right temp which u can check by sprinkling water on the pan it shud bubble ,  pour the batter in a circle form to make fresh piping hot dosas , add the potatoes add some oil on the sides to make it crispy fold from the sides. cook for few secs more then take it off the pan and keep aside try not to cover this as it may get soggy best is to eat while hot and crispy.

Serve with sambar or coconut chutney. Njoy !

Cranberry pickle

As the weather starts to cool down , the cooler breeze is a reminder of darker evenings and cloudier days. But on the flip side also a time to look forward to the winter days with Halloween right around the corner, and Thanksgiving peeing thru right behind, and of course fall colors has started to surround the neighborhood so it's  time to start cooking some fall vegetables.

Pickles have always been a absolute favorite of mine, the spicy , tangy taste that  gets your taste buds going is a perfect compliment to any simple food.

Usually I make a lemon, mango , and fish pickle the other day I crossed by some  good fresh red cranberry bag in the grocery store , a thought crossed my mind that sweet and tangy cranberry in a pickle form YUM !!
Next on my list was to stop my mouth from watering :) and on my way picked a bag and headed to the counter.
Now to the recipe

What you need :

Cranberry : half fresh and half dried (50% less sugar) is what I used

Ginger chopped : 2 tbsp

Green chillies chopped : 2 tsbp

Salt : to taste

Chilly pwd : 1 tsbp

Vinegar : 3 tsbp

Turmeric pwd : 1/2 tsp

Asafetida pwd : 1 tsp

Meethi pwd : 1 tsp

Olive oil : 2 tsp

Mustard seeds ; 1 tsp

Curry leaves - 5-10 leaves

Wash and clean the cranberries and let them dry. Cut the fresh cranberries into halves add some rock salt or regular salt with some turmeric , marinate for at least 1 hour.

Heat a pan add the olive oil , add the mustard seeds let them pop then add the chopped chilles, ginger, curry leaves and saute for 2 mins.

Add the dry spices , later add the cranberries both dried and fresh , saute for few mins add the vinegar , this makes the pickle a little loose let it cook for few mins then put the heat off.

Let the pickle cool before storing in a glass container , check the salt if needed .
Serve with hot rice and Dal Njoy !