Masala Idli

Masala Idli

The infuriating thing about cooking is that sometimes you cook more than you need because you never know exactly how to allocate for each person and this gets worse if you have guests. We get overwhelmed with thoughts of running out of food and end up making more. So, definitely bound to have leftovers. And if there’s any king of all leftovers, then it would be none other than Idlis…. which anyone least expect for a meal. Throwing or discarding leftovers is never on my cards and I often find ways to utilise them for the next meal in a such a way that they are appetizing. Here is one way to recycle your leftover idlis……

Ingredients-1

6 nos        Idlis

2 no         Onion

1 no         Tomato

1 inch Ginger (crushed)

4 clove Garlic (crushed)

1 no        Green chili (minced)

¼ tsp Cumin seeds

¼ tsp Mustard

¼ tsp Fennel seeds

10 nos Curry leaves

¼ tsp Split black gram

¼ tsp Turmeric powder

½ tsp Red chili powder

1 tsp        Coriander powder

5 stks Coriander leaves

4 tsp       Oil

½ tsp Black pepper powder

¼ tsp Salt(or to taste)

Instructions

Roughly chop the idlis or cut them into big cubes. Some deep fry the idlis and then add to the masala but I prefer plain idlis tossed in masala. For the masala, heat oil in a kadai, splutter mustard, cumin, fennel, split black gram and curry leaves. Add chopped onions, green chilies, crushed ginger and garlic. Fry them till slightly browned. Add the chopped tomatoes and cook until it mashes. Now add turmeric powder, red chili powder, coriander powder, black pepper powder and salt. (Remember: Idli already has salt in it, so add whats necessary for the gravy) Fry until the masala cooks, add the chopped idli pieces and toss over medium flame until the masala coats well.  Garnish with coriander leaves and switch off. Serve them hot or pack it for lunch. Great for kids evening snack, picnic parcels or any quick fix.


Notes

Yield: 2 adult servings.
Adding little garam masala gives a new twist but optional.

Chicken Bajji

Chicken Bajji

Crispy Chicken fritters, kids would like them. (Chicken Bhaji / Kozhi bajji)

Ingredients-1

1 cup Chicken (minced)
½ no         Onion (finely chopped)
1 tsp         Ginger garlic (minced)
1 no          Egg
1 tsp         Red chilli powder
¼ cup Gram flour
2 tbsp Maida
2 tbsp Rice flour
6 nos Curry leaves (finely minced)
3 stks Coriander leaves (finely chopped)
½ tsp Salt (or to taste)
3 cup Oil (for deep frying)


Instructions

Mix all ingredients except oil to form a thick paste. Heat oil in a kadai or pan, grab some of that paste and drop in the oil like dumplings (smaller the better) and deep fry the bajjis on medium flame until golden. Serve it with any sauce. Yummmm

Notes

Maida Known as plain flour, you can also use All purpose flour.
Minced Chicken Can be bought minced from any supermarkets. Or use regular boneless chicken breast and pound placing them in between 2 plastic wraps. Then chop them with a sharp knife.
Make this bajji paste ahead of time and refrigerate. Deep fry just before serving. Serve them hot if you wish to have them crispy.
Do not reheat in microwave.

Cucumber Carrot Salad

Cucumber Carrot Salad

Simple healthy salad to cool you up, great for lunch box, travel and parties.

Ingredients-1

1 no          English seedless cucumber (6″)
1 no          Carrot
1 no          Onion (red)
½ cup       Chickpeas (fully cooked)
3 stks       Coriander leaves
½ tsp        Red wine garlic vinaigrette
2 tsp         Olive oil
¼ tsp        Salt
¼ tsp        Ground black pepper


Instructions

Soak (1/4 cup) dry chickpeas overnight, wash, drain and pressure cook with 1 cup of water. Drain the liquid and seaparte the cooked peas. Combine olive oil, red wine vinaigrette, salt and pepper. Whisk to blend well and keep aside. In a large bowl, combine diced cucumbers, diced carrots, diced onion, cooked chickpeas and coriander leaves. Slowly add the vinaigrette dressing and toss the salad for couple of times. Serve at room temperature on a warm toasted bread or as a side.

Notes

Serve at room temerature or refridgerate for 1 hour.
Use a tsp of lemon juice + pinch of sugar,  if you cannot fine red wine vinaigrette.
Yield: Serves 2 approx.

Malabar Egg Thokku

Malabar Egg Thokku

Malabar Egg thokku, a tasty side dish, prepared in coconut oil this egg gravy goes very well as side for any sort of rice dish, can also have the gravy with hot rice too..simple, easy  awesome dish, give a try friends..

Ingredients-1

4 nos Boiled eggs
10 nos Shallots
5 nos Red chillies (dry)(can decrease r increase)
¼ cup Grated coconut
2 T           Coconut oil
½ tsp Cumin seeds
Salt as per need
2 tsp         Cilantro leaves chopped


Instructions

Grind finely the shallots, red chillies, grated coconut with half cup of water in a food processor r blender..Heat the coconut oil n add the cumin seeds n stir until they get fried, add the grounded paste to the hot oil n stir them continously in simmer with lid closed n with enough salt until the oil get separates.. just cut the egg's both edges with a knife (make a small cross sign)..add the boiled eggs to the gravy n stir them well for a while, put off the stove n add the cilantro leaves…

Serve hot with hot rice..tasty Malabar egg thokku is ready..

Spicy Masala Tea

Spicy Masala Tea

Very good hot spiced tea to have while its too cold…made with a splendid choice of spices this masala tea tastes awesome … here we go..

Ingredients-1

2 nos Tea bags(can increase r decrease)
1½ cup Milk
1 no         Cinnamon stick
3 nos Cloves
1 tsp        Pepper corns
4 nos Cardamom(crushed)
Sugar as per need
1 tsp        Ginger pieces(crushed)


Instructions

Heat a half cup of water n add the tea bags, cinnamon stick,ginger pieces, cloves, pepper corns n cardamom n bring them to boil..n let them for few minutes in simmer..add the milk to the spiced tea n bring to boil..put off the stove, strain the tea n serve hot with enough sugar…

Spicy masala tea is ready to have..

Chettinad Mutton Curry

Chettinad Mutton Curry

Chettinad cuisine doesn’t need much introduction… its widely popular and known for its spice indulgence in any curry. Here is a preparation with mutton / goat meat made with my special chettinad blend. This is close to my chettinad chicken except have made some additions and entire masala is pressure cooked with meat.

Ingredients-1

2 nos Star anise (petals)
2 nos Cardamom
2 nos Cloves
2 nos Cinnamon stick (very small)
2 pinch Nutmeg powder(grated from whole nutmeg)
4 nos Dry red chili
6 tbsp Coriander seeds
1 tsp Cumin seeds
2 tsp Fennel seed
2 tsp Black peppercorn
1 tbsp Split roasted gram/pottukadalai
2 tsp Poppy seeds
6 tsp Dry coconut flakes/ desiccated / coparai thengai
4 clove Garlic
2 inch Ginger
2 nos Green chili (small)
3 nos Curry leaves
3 stks Coriander leaves
1 no Mace/jathipoo(just one petal)

Ingredients-2

2 lb Mutton (with bones /
1 tbsp Lemon juice
¼ tsp Salt (for marinade)
¼ tsp Turmeric (for marinade)

Ingredients-3

30 nos Shallots (sambar onions )(use 3 big instead)
1 no Tomato (diced)
2 nos Bay leaf
3 nos Black stone flower/ kalpasi
2 nos Kapok buds (marathi moggu)
10 nos Curry leaves (for tempering)
4 stks Coriander leaves (chopped for garnishing)
¼ tsp Turmeric powder (for gravy)
1½ tsp Salt (or to taste)
4 tbsp Oil
1½ cup Water (for pressure cooking)

Instructions

Starting from left to right dry ingredients involved in this preparation Star anise, Cardamom, Cloves, cinnamon, Nutmeg , Mace, Dry red chili, Coriander seeds, Cumin seeds, Fennel seeds, Black Peppercorn, Split roasted gram, Poppy seeds, Dry coconut flakes. Wet items include Garlic, Ginger, Green chili, Coriander leaves and Curry leaves.

Usually these spices are dry roasted and then added to the gravy. Since this preparation involves pressure cooking, I’ve decided to add them raw. You can also dry roast before grinding to add little punch to the gravy but not really necessary for this dish.

Marination : Combine washed mutton pieces, salt, turmeric and lemon juice and mix well. Let it sit for an hour before cooking. (Refer table-2)

Masala : Grind all the dry ingredients first in a mixie and then add the wet ingredients and grind to smooth paste. Add little water if you find difficult to run the mixie. Keep this aside. (Refer table-1)

Gravy : Take  a pressure cooker, heat oil, add bay leaf, black stone flower, kapok buds, and curry leaves. Toast them slightly, add the quartered shallots and fry till translucent. Now add the marinated mutton along with turmeric powder, ground masala paste and tomatoes. Cook for few minutes to brown them, add water and salt to it. Cover with lid and cook up to 3 whistles and switch off. When done, simmer for 15 minutes over low medium flame or until the gravy thickens to a semi thick state. You need not simmer if you wish to have it as a Kuzhambu, garnish with coriander leaves and serve with rice.

Kari Varutha sadam: At home we have this weird practice of torturing the Kadai or pan with which we prepare the gravy. After transferring the final gravy to a bowl, there will some masala sticking to kadai or cooker, we would add few drops of oil, temper with curry leaves, add little cooked rice and toss to scrape all the masala and make it stick to the rice. We call it kadai sadam or Varutha sadam, which taste very good when eaten plain straight from the kadai. You can make this out of any leftover gravy, try it!!!


Notes

Yield: 4 Adult serving + 2 kids (approx)

Can we pressure cook grated coconut?? This is one question which always prompts, the answer is Yes and its fine as it makes the grated coconut further soft and makes it easy for palate.

Its quite hard to get all the ingredients listed above, all these unique items contribute a lot towards the taste, so try to hunt or else make with what you have.

Chicken Chettinad

Chicken Chettinad

One of the spiciest, oiliest and most aromatic in India, a distinctive culinary style with judicious blend of spices is known as Chettinad cooking. This scrumptious chicken curry gets it flavor from two distinctive ingredients… Kalpasi and Jaathipoo.

Ingredients-1

1 lb         Chicken (1/2 kg approx, cut into small pieces)
2 tsp        Lime juice
¼ tsp Salt
½ tsp Turmeric powder

Ingredients-2

7 nos Dry red chilli
4 tbsp Corrainder/dhania seeds
1 tsp         Cumin seeds
2 tsp         Fennel seeds
2 tsp         Black peppercorns
3 tsp         Poppy seeds
2 tsp         Split roasted gram/pottukadalai
5 tsp         Dry coconut flakes/ desicated / fresh coconut
2 nos Cinnamon
3 clove Cloves
3 nos Cardamon
2 nos Mace/jathipoo (2 petals)
1 no         Star anise (2 petals)

Ingredients-3

2 nos Bay leaf
3 nos Black stone flower/ kalpasi
3 nos Onion
2 nos Tomato
1 no          Green chilli
1 tsp         Ginger garlic paste
1 tsp         Red chilli powder
6 stks Corrainder leaves (chopped)
10 nos Curry leaves
1 tsp         Salt (or to taste)
5 tbsp Oil
¼ cup Water

Instructions

 Marinate chicken with turmeric powder, salt and lime juice for atleast 1/2 hour. Dry roast all the ingredients from group 2 for about 3 minutes until they slightly release aroma and oil. (Note: For dry roasting – Each spices has to be dry roasted separately. If time is an issue, then combing altogether and roasting is OK.  Either way,  if possible try to dry roast coconut separately, as its got this tendency to burn quickly and doesn’t mingle well other spices.)

Grind the dry masala with ginger garlic paste to make a coarse powder and keep it aside. Heat oil in a pan and add bay leaf and kalpasi ; add chopped onions & green chillies and fry until golden brown; add marinated chicken and fry with onions for a while. Add chopped tomatoes along with red chilli powder, gound masala powder (Just add 3/4 of the masala powder and check the taste, if its not too strong for your taste, then add the rest) and salt.

When the masala turns dark brown add water and garnish with coriander & curry leaves. Serve hot with flaky porotta , biryani or any rice dish.