Creamiest Dal ever

So this was a completely flukey discovery I made a few weeks ago - and have since repeated it like 4 or 5 times because both me & Saugar love it. Made it this past weekend for my in-laws as well and they enjoyed it too.

 

I was about to make dal and instead of the usual toor dal I decided to use moong dal and added a new ingredient as a random experiment and it turned out brilliant.

 

In a pressure cooker cook a cup of moong dal (the yellow version) with whatever veggie you might want to add (optional). I usually add roughly chopped carrot or spinach. You only need to cook it for 1 whistle because moong dal cooks super fast.

 

In a pan fry some jeera, mustard and garlic with green chillies and curry leaves. Add half a cup of chopped onions and let them cook till light brown. Into the pan add the cooked dal. Once you mix in the onions and tadka into the dal properly, add a cup or so of soy milk (this was the random discovery...the dal had turned out too thick and instead of adding water I added soy milk). Add salt to taste. Turn the heat down and let it simmer slowly till you get the consistency you want.

 

My mother-in-law when she had this said she wouldn't mind taking it to work just by itself to eat as soup. It was just very creamy and comforting. Plus it's added protein!

 

Give it a try! :)

Loughborough Butter Chicken

Just saw the postings on the blog and realized there were none in April!! Slow month for experimental cooking??  Everyone must be busy with work/home etc..

 

Weekend before last when Prudy was here I had not seen him for two whole weeks, so decided to cook something VERY special and labour intensive.. I was meant to cook a homely chicken curry but when it was done it looked a lot like butter chicken :) So decided to call it Butter Chicken of Loughborough .. hehe.. 

 

 So I used thigh pieces and drumsticks for this.. would have used breasts but this was a special occasion so decided to indulge a little. In a bowl I mixed some mustard oil, chopped ginger, chopped garlic, lime juice and little corainder powder.  I marinated the chicken in this for a couple of hours.  After about 2-3 hours I applied a second marinade to the chicken.  In a pan with a tiny bit of oil I roasted whole garam masala (2-3 cloves, 4-5 peppercorns, cinnamon, bay leaf, black cardamom) and chopped/peeled almonds.  I crushed it all together, using a bowl and side of a belan :) then mixed it all in some plain yogurt, I also put in a bit of red chilli powder to this.  I coated the chicken pieces nicely in this marinade and leaved it for another 3-4 hours. This was done on a Friday and I was working from home so it worked out alright.. otherwise would have done it over night.

 

For the gravy, in a pan with oil I fried cumin seeds, chopped ginger/garlin and chopped onions and chopped green chillies till onions were translucent. I mixed a bit of coriander powder, garam masala, red chilli powder, salt in a bit of water and added to the pan. I also added 1 tsp of Shaan chicken curry powder not sure why I did that since all the masalas that were suppose to be in it I had already put in the chicken marinade or the pan... not sure if adding it made any difference.  Then added tomato puree (lots) to this mixture.  I then added just the chicken pieces from the marinade.  Once they were slightly cooked from the outside, I added the rest of the yogurt marinade, covered it with a lid and started cooking it on low heat.  Since the chicken pieces had a lot of oil and I had added some oil in my first marinade I didnt feel I needed to add any butter or cream, the yogurt already made it quite creamy as well. 

 

One tip that I saw on the net which I could have done as it sounded pretty cool.. was to make a small bowl out of aluminium foil and put inside it couple of small pieces of hot coal, you then float/place it in the cokking pot on top of the gravy while it is cooking and cover it.  It apparently gives a nice charcoaly flavour the the curry.  I will def try it next time.  My flatmates are into sheesha so there is always small pieces of coal available.. hehe..

 

Garnished the dish with chopped coriander and had it with rice and it was yummy as!!! :)

 

Ciao!

S

Spinach Roti

Hey girls!

I made some really healthy spinach roti today, thought i'd share the fun ;) .. I had found so many different recipes but I settled on one and made a few modifications to it.. Came out quite yummy!!

Spinach Roti
2 cups wheat flour
salt to taste

1 bunch spinach - chopped up
2-3 garlic cloves
small grating of ginger
2-3 green chillies
salt

I cooked down the spinach slightly along with the garlic, ginger, chillies n salt in a wee bit of oil. Once its lost almost all its water, I pureed it in the blender. I added this puree to the flour and used a bit more water to make the chapati dough. It came out stickier than usual and needed quite a bit of flour for the rolling out process but was worth it.. Quite nice, more for the health factor than taste even.. We just had it with plain yoghurt n some pickle (i mixed them both up) - was yummy :)

:)

Puran Poli/Bakshalu

Yesterday was Ugadi and every year on Ugadi my mum makes Bakshalu (Puran Poli) as do most telugu/kannada/marathi people I think. When I called to wish my parents and my mum was making them I got very sad cause I wanted some too. My mum told me that she would make me some when I'm home in december, and that she would also freeze a couple from Ugadi just so I don't miss out.

 

I thought about this for the rest of the day, and in the afternoon I decided that instead of pining for something I couldn't get (yes I was actually pining), why not just get off my ass and attempt to make some? Well with a little bit of luck, they turned out very well, considering it was the first time I made them. And to my surprise, it wasn't difficult at all. The whole thing only took an hour.

 

Thought I'd better keep a record of how I made it for next time, and where better to keep track of that than through the sisterhood? :)

So here goes:

 

Ingredients:

1 cup channa dal

1 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 tsp cardamom powder

2 tsp of oil

 

Cook the channa dal with 2 cups water in a pressure cooker till it is very soft and mushy. While the dal is cooking make a dough with the maida, water and a little oil. The dough should be pretty soft. Let the dough rest for a little while. Once the dal is cooked, open the pressure cooker, add in the sugar and the cardamom and start to cook it down till it becomes a fairly dry paste-like consistency. Take it off the stove and let it cool a little. Take a ball of the dough and a slightly larger ball of the channa dal filling. Flatten out the dough to a slightly smaller than palm size, add the ball of the filling and stretch out the dough to cover the filling completely. Flatten out the filled ball (use plenty of dry flour because it was super sticky) with your palm first then roll it out with a rolling pin into small rotis. (don't make them too flat). Cook on the tawa with a little butter on both sides.

 

 

Desi Tofu Recipes

Here are three tofu recipes that i've tried and made a few times, and all of them taste pretty good I think (the first one is my fave)

 

Coconut Tofu

(I know coconut is high in fat, but adding a tablespoon or so will add a lot of flavour and when I use low fat tofu, it's pretty much the only fat I'm adding)

 

1 cup firm tofu (chopped into small - smaller than half inch - cubes)

1 medium onion finely sliced

2 cloves garlic

1 tsp mustard seeds

1-2 tbps grated dried coconut

salt and chilli powder to taste

 

In a little bit of oil or cooking spray fry the mustard seeds for a couple of minutes. Add finely chopped garlic and fry a little more. Add the sliced onion and fry till golden brown (make sure they are really nicely cooked - the caramelization of the onions really adds the major flavour). Add the chopped tofu with salt and chilli powder and fry till the tofu starts to brown. 2-3 minutes before taking it off the stove add the dried coconut.

 

 

Palak Tofu

 

1 cup firm tofu (1/2-1 inch cubes)

1 cup frozen spinach

1 onion (finely chopped)

2 tomatoes (finely chopped)

2 tsp ginger-garlic paste

1-2 green chilles

1 tsp cumin seeds

salt to taste

Optional: 1-2 tsps dried methi, 1-2 tbsp yoghurt

 

In oil/cooking spray fry the cumin seeds and chopped green chilles. Add the onions and fry for a little longer. Next add the ginger garlic paste and the tomatoes and let it cook down. While the tomatoes are cooking, defrost the frozen spinach in the microwave and drain any excess water. Once the tomatoes are cooked down add the spinach and salt and stir. At this point an optional step is to microwave the tofu for a couple of minutes to get rid of excess moisture (because when you buy it, it's stored in water). Once the spinach looks wilted, add the tofu cubes and on a slow flame let the whole thing cook together so the flavours get into the tofu.

Optional parts: Towards the end, add some yoghurt to make it creamy (another idea is to all 1/3 cup of soy milk - which adds extra protein + gives it a creamy texture - this is a good trick for any curries that need milk/half-and-half). If it's yoghurt you added, it should get absorbed pretty quickly, if it's milk, you will have to let it reduce down. Just before you remove it from the heat add the dried methi

 

 

Capsicum Tofu

 

1 cup firm tofu (1/2 - 1 inch cubes)

1 onion (finely chopped)

1 chopped capsicum (whatever colour)

2 tsp ginger garlic paste

2 tbsp tomato ketchup

1/2-1 tsp garam masala powder

salt and chilli powder to taste

 

Again here too, you can microwave the tofu for a couple of minutes to get rid of the excess moisture. In oil/cooking spray fry the onion and let it brown. While the onions are cooking add the ginger-garlic paste. Once the onions are browned, add ketchup and stir it so it gets mixed into the onions. Add in the chopped capsicum and let it cook for 2-3 minutes - don't want it to get soft. Add the tofu cubes with salt and chill powder and stir and cook for a few minutes. Towards the end add the garam masala powder.

 

 

 

Hope you like 'em!

 

xo

M

 

 

Lamb Kheema - My trick to making my hubby happy

Saugar absolutely loves lamb and I used to be a bit wary of it cause I know it takes a long time to cook unlike chicken. And I'd never tried making it. 

But feb last year, the day after he proposed to me, I really wanted to do something special and gave it a try (I also made chicken cause I was scared the lamb wouldnt turn out right! hehe)...but it did! and he loved it! and can't have enough even now (If I send him to the grocery store saying just bring some sort of protein, he will probably return with ground lamb). Anyway here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

1lb/0.5 kg ground lamb

1 and a half onions

1 and a half tomatoes

1-2 green chillies

2 tsps ginger-garlic paste

3 tbsp yoghurt

2-3 tbsp grated coconut (i used dried - this is optional, but i really like the extra touch it adds)

a few springs of fresh mint (also optional)

1-2 bay leaves

3 pods cardamom

1 stick cinnamon

3 cloves

1 tsp cumin

Pinch of turmeric

1/2 tsp red chilli powder (or more if you like it spicy)

1 tsp coriander powder

salt

Marinate the ground lamb in yoghurt, half of the ginger-garlic paste, turmeric and a little salt. Mix it well and let it sit for about an hour.

In the pan add a little oil (don't need a lot because the lamb has a fair bit of fat in it) and add the cumin, bay leaves, cardamom, cinnamon and cloves and let them toast a little. Add finely chopped onions and fry till they are translucent to light brown. Add the remaining ginger garlic paste and fry a little more. Add the chopped tomatoes with the chilli powder, coriander powder and salt and let the tomatoes cook down. Once they are well cooked (don't appear like separate pieces - i dont know how else to describe it!), add in the marinated lamb and stir well so the whole thing is mixed. Cover the pan and let it cook for a while (shouldnt be more than 10-12 mins) on medium heat. Take off the cover and let it cook uncovered till the lamb appears completely cooked and a bit more dry. At this point add the grated coconut and cook for 2-3 more mins. At the last minute add the chopped mint and take it off the heat.

Hope you enjoy it as much as I do - or rather as much as my darling hubby does! lol

luv

M

Paneer Paranthas

Hey Megha

 

If you really want to make paranthas and also have paneer, what about paneer paranthas?

 

Here's a really quick recipe for it:

 

Make the paneer at home (im going to assume u dont know how and tell u  :p hehe just in case).

 

Bring whole milk to a boil in the pan and then curdle it with natural yoghurt once the curds have seperated from the water pass it through a sieve. 

 

Now put the paneer in a bowl and mix in chopped corriander and a little bit of garam masala and make sure u mix it throuhoughly so there are no huge lumps in the paneer mixture.

 

Parantha Dough:

 

Knead your atta with a tiny pinch of salt and a sprinkling of ajwain if you have iti looked it up on wikipedia and its called oma in telugu hehehe

 

The one thing to note is that your dough should be soft but not sticky or too wet or your paranthas will break. 

 

When you stuff your paranthas the best way to do it is roll out ur dough to almost a small chapati size...put the stuffing and then fully close it and re-roll....dont try and expand the ball and then put stuffing in immediately that's what makes ur paranthas break and also doesnt spread the stuffing evenly.

 

Cook paranthas in oil and serve with dahi, mango chutney and a nice cold glass of LASSI or garam garam chai :)

 

Ok im hungry now.....

 

Neeti try my parantha tip to see if yours come out better...its all in the dough tough...drier than a chapati dough but not as stiff as a poori dough ;)

 

xox

A

Butter Paneer

Ingredients:

Paneer marinade:
~500g Paneer
1tsp Ginger garlic paste
2tsp Tandoori masala (or garam masala if u have that)
1tsp chilli powder
3tbsp yoghurt

Gravy ingredients:
1-2 Onions (sliced finely)
2tbsp tomato paste (this is a must, makes a big difference.. worse case you can just use puree)
1tsp ginger garlic paste
1tsp garam masala
some chilli powder
~500mLs heavy cream. If you need even more gravy, you can add more cream or half n half (to feel better)

Method:
Add all the marinade ingredients together and set aside for about an hour
At the end of an hour, either bake it at 350F/180C for about 30min or just shallow fry in a pan with a bit of butter.

For the gravy, fry the onions with the ginger garlic paste until translucent.
Add salt, chilli & garam masala and continue frying until almost golden.
Add the tomato paste/puree and fry until it doesn smell 'raw' anymore
Finally, add half of the cream and heat through (try not to let it boil)
Add the baked/friend paneer and the rest of the cream. Mix and heat through.

For a finishing touch, if u have it, you could fry a bit of dry methi leaves in a bit of butter n add it at the very end.. Gives a very nice touch of flavour.. Also, if u want, u could also add some almond slices/slivers before adding the cream for a nutty bite..


:)

Trick to 'phooli-phooli' rotis

This is a VERY special technique for two reasons: Firstly you will get a phooli-phooli (blown up) roti every time if you follow this technique.  Secondly my naani ma taught me this and that is partly the reason I have been very reluctant to tell this to people as it makes me feel like naani ma has passed on a legacy to me. :) But the sisterhood needs to know and this awesome technique needs to be out there! :P

 

So first you have to make sure you bel (spread with the rolling pin) out the roti as evenly as possible. Then make sure the tawa is hot (I ususally use somewhere between medium and high)! Put the roti on the tawa for literally 5 seconds then flip it. If the tawa is the right temperature it would have just lightly browned that side. So once you have flipped it (after 5 seconds).. wait ... till little bubbles start appearing.. the bubbles will be like small bumps uniformly spread around the roti. Once you see them flip it again.. now this side will be completely cooked i.e. roti will be the whitish colour with light brown spots where the bumps had grown. Now you take a clean kitchen cloth and lightly press the roti (I have a dedicated cloth that I keep just for doing this). Once you start pressing you will start to see the roti blow up - almost instantly. Encourage it by lightly pressing the blown up bits so it spreads around. And thats it!! :)... fully cooked.. phooli phooli roti!!

 

PS: no oil needed to cook it... not even while kneading the dough.. just warm water and a little bit of salt while kneading.

 

S

Spinach Rice

Hey all!

I just experimented today .. wanted to make a single dish for lunch and tried spinach rice. I looked it up online and modified the recipe a lot just cos I can never follow a recipe straight (a weird prob of mine)..here's the final recipe that came out yummmmy

Ingredients
~ 1cup chopped spinach (i used frozen)
1.5 cups basmati rice
a small onion - sliced thin
3-4 green chillies slit lengthwise
salt
coriander powder
chilli powder (very little, remember the chillies)
ginger (a small piece chopped finely or *TIP* i usually just freeze ginger and scrape off a bit into the dish; this way, it comes out really fine so that u wont have the strong taste if u bite into a piece, not to mention u can store it forever)
Whole spices:
cardamon (1-2 pods)
bay leaves (1-2)
cloves (1-2)
cinnamon (1 long stick)
carraway seeds (1 tsp)

Method
We have to pressure cook this so the best way utensil to use for all the 'prep' is a pressure cooker. Alternatively, u could use the rice cooker container on the stove i guess..
Heat oil, add all the whole spices. Once aromatic, add the onions, chillies and ginger and fry till the onions are translucent. Now add the spinach, chilli pwd and coriander powder. Once the spinach is totally wilted and looks almost cooked, add the washed rice and fry for a few seconds. Now add salt to taste, and around 1.75 cups of water (this is what i used and the texture came out pretty good.. think 1.5 cups might give the perfect 'separate' rice texture) and pressure cook for 3 whistles.

We had it with raita & some leftover alu kurma.. Ram reckoned just the raita was best.

:)

Atte ka Halwa

Atte ka Halwa - a new addition to favourite Indian sweets list!

 

Hello Girls..

 

Sorry havent been emailing recipes for a while. Havent really been doing much cooking lately. Going to start my new job next week - 1st Feb! Busy looking for apartments and preparing to move houses 3rd time in less than 8 months. Also just found out my PhD viva will be held on the 18th Feb via video conferencing. So its all go at the moment.

 

But once things have calmed down a bit and I get into a normal routine (is that even possible?) I am going to start trying out some of those pasta and salad ideas.

 

As for atte ka halwa:

 

I didnt make it myself.. just saw it being made by our multi-talented cook (who we hired during the shaadi time in India). Apparently he was in the mehendi business before he got told by several customers that he was no good at it.. so he left and became a cook. :) He is a pretty good and resourceful cook, so I think change for the better for him.

 

So here is what he did - very simple:

 

• You will need equal parts of Wheat Flour, Ghee and Sugar (maybe 1 cup each)
• Heat the Ghee in a pan until it has melted completely.
• Add the wheat flour and stir in with the ghee, until brownish, not lumpy and the fat starts to separate.
• Add water (lots of it maybe 4-5 cups) and sugar.
• Keep stirring until it is halwa-like consistency (because it is atta the consistency will be much smoother than for example sooji (semolina) halwa)
• Take it off heat. Add dry fruits and nuts. Enjoy! YUM YUMM

Have fun!

 

Swati

 

 

Tamarind Rice

Yayyy! Thanks for the yoghurt rice Megs.. it is SO yummy! I'll try making it sometime , the recipe looks pretty easy too :)

Here's my 2 cents on the same note:

Tamarind Rice/Pulihara

You need:
Cooked rice - 1 cup
Tamarind paste - 1 teaspoon mixed with water (else about a tablespoon or two of tamarind pulp)
Peanuts/cashews - a handful
Green Chillies - 1-2 (depending on personal taste/hotness)
Ginger - a small piece or even ginger powder
Tumeric pwd - 1/2 tsp

Tadka:
Oil
Curry Leaves
Mustard Seeds

Start with the tadka, and add the peanuts, chillies, ginger into the tadka. Once everything is spluttery & the peanuts are well done, add the tamarind paste/pulp, tumeric and let it go for another 5-10 mins, till it condenses into a thick pulp. Mix this with the rice and voila.. ready!

I never was a big fan of this before but now quite like it.. the peanuts/cashews add a nice crunch to it so they are necessary in my opinion. In fact, u can actually even add a few chana dal to the tadka for an extra crunch. Have it with yoghurt and/or pickle and yum yum. You can also make the same thing with lemon juice, just do the same as above minus the tamarind. Add the mixture along with lemon juice to the rice (don't cook the lemon juice).

Enjoy :)

Spiced Yoghurt Rice

So here's my contribution. A recipe that every south indian everyone knows (and more likely than not loves). Spiced Curd/Yoghurt Rice. I'm pretty happy with my version after a couple of attempts...so here goes.

 

Ingredients:

1 cup rice - cooked

3/4 cup yoghurt - fat free is fine

 

For the tadka:

2 dried red chillies

A bunch of curry leaves

1 tsp pepper corns

1 tsp mustard seeds

A small pinch of dried ginger powder

 

Fry the tadka in oil till the dried chilles and the curry leaves are nice and crisp. Let it cool down a little.

Make sure the rice has cooled down as well.

Add the yoghurt to the rice with salt (to taste) and add in the tadka. Mix it with your hand if possible cause you want the fried curry leaves and chilles to get crushed and completely mix into the yoghurt and rice.

 

I know it's a very simple recipe, but the blog has been waiting for 2 weeks and this is something i love, and make both when i'm not in the mood to cook and also for festivals!

 

xo

M

 

Til Laddoo (or for the lazy ones among us, i.e. ME - Til ki Mithai)

My contribution based on my sankranti experiment

Til Laddoo (though mine was more Til Mithai - but hey it still tastes the same!)

Ingredients:

3/4 cup sesame seeds

1/4 cup cashew nuts

3/4 cup brown sugar

pinch of cardamom powder

Roast the sesame seeds and the cashew nuts in a pan till they are light brown.

In a pot add the brown sugar to 1/2 cup water and let it boil till it forms a syrup

Once it thickens a fair bit, add in the sesame seeds, cashew nuts and cardamom powder and let it boil further till the whole thing becomes a very thick mixture.

If you want to make laddoos let it cool down a bit and then shape them into laddoos

If you are lazy like me - grease a plate or tin and pour the mixture on it.

Once it cools down cut them into pieces

there you go :)

was very simple and fairly quick...worth a try i'd say

especially since it stores pretty well and you can put it away and have it a piece at a time.

Spicy chicken curry + more pulusu ideas

I totally love the sour/tangy curry!!! it is really yummmy... and i recently realised too that the sugar/jaggery at the end is very imp... When i first made this curry without the sugar/jaggery, Ram's like 'its sour..' i was like 'well, that's the point isint it.' (the name in telugu means 'sour').. but that's when he said its supposed to be sweet :D I thought he was nuts and laughed at him. But then he added jaggery to it the next time i made it and it tasted so much better with the sweetness!!

If I may, can I add that you can do the same curry with any veggie really.. tastes best with raw banana (again, learnt from Ram), okra and tomato.. In the case of veggies, u add them right at the beginning - after the onions brown a bit, add the veggies n fry them till they stop smelling 'raw' :D after that, u continue with the tamarind etc. Megs.. do u know any other veggies that r good for this? i can only think of these..

I tried making a spicy chicken over the weekend.. looked up recipes and mixed up a couple and ended up with this whcih tasted awesome and blew our mouths away.

Spicy chicken curry

Grind together into a paste (with a small amt of water if needed):
Cumin - 1 tsp
Poppy seeds - 1 tsp
Corriander seeds - 1 tsp
Whole cloves - 3
Cardamom pod - 1 small one
Ginger - small piece
Garlic - 2 cloves

Other ingredients:
Chicken  - I used 2 boneless breasts
Onions - 2, chop up as big/small as u want
Green chillies - 3, slit into halves
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp (maybe add acc to taste)
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Add the chilli pwd, tumeric pwd and a bit of salt to the chicken and keep aside for about 15-20mins. Meanwhile fry the onions in oil till brown, add the green chillies, chicken and the masala paste. Mix well and add a bit of water if u want gravy.. if u want it dry, dont add water. Cover and simmer till the chicken's done.

It turned out really yummy and very 'authentic' :D

:)

Egg Pulusu (Tangy Egg Curry)

Since this has been quiet since the holidays I thought I'd give it a kickstart again

Yesterday I tried one of my fave dishes from what my mum makes - and finally got it (almost) exactly the way she makes it so pretty excited...plus Saugar liked it, so that's always a good bonus :)

So here goes

(also the other thing about writing it out is so the next time i get my recipe right since it worked this time!!)

Egg Pulusu (Tangy Egg Curry)

4 Eggs

1 large onion - finely chopped

1/2 tsp tamarind paste

1 tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp ginger-garlic paste

10-12 curry leaves

1-2 dried red chillies

1/2 tsp cumin powder

1/2 tsp methi powder

1/2 tsp sugar

Hard boil the eggs

In a pan, add oil. Once the oil is hot, add mustard seeds, curry leaves and red chillies.

Once they start to splutter add the onions and fry till translucent

add in the ginger garlic paste and fry for a few more minutes (onions should start to brown)

Add the 1/2 tsp tamarind paste to half a cup of water (seperately) and mix so there are no lumps

Add this to the onions in the pan and increase the heat

Shell the hard-boiled eggs and make small slits in them (four lengthwise slits per egg) - deep enough that the curry can seep through but not so much that they break

once the water in the pan starts to reduce, add the eggs into the pan

Add salt, sugar and the cumin and methi powders

Mix well so the eggs are coated with the masala

Let it boil for 3-4 more minutes or till the gravy is not really watery

10 minutes can make a desi sweet? Hard to believe but true :) - Coconut Laddoos

My discovery of the day...a 10 minute, 3 ingredient mithai...pretty excited about it :)

This morning I suddenly remember coconut laddoos...it was a sweet my mum made for every diwali when I was young but later stopped cuz coconut is so high cholestrol etc. Anyway I called mum and asked her how to make it...she said she would boil milk, sugar and coconut together till it started to thicken but suggested I use sweetened condensed milk instead and give the microwave a try to avoid the mess (cuz she said it tends to spill etc)

So I did...and success! hehe

3 ingredients as I said: (the quantities below made 13 average sized laddoos)

400gms grated coconut (I used a frozen pack from the indian store - make sure it's frozen fresh coconut - the dried one will have too much of a coconut oil smell)

300gms condensed milk

1/2 tsp cardamom powder

If using frozen coconut defrost it completely in the microwave first

Mix all three ingredients properly so there are no lumps

Put it in the microwave for 3 minutes

Take it out - stir thoroughly

Put it back in for 2 minutes

Take it out and stir once again

(Repeat last two steps 2 more times or till it becomes thick enough - just keep an eye on it cause it might spill depending on the power of your microwave)

Once the mixture feels fairly thick

Spread it on a greased plate and let it cool

Once it's cooled make them into laddoos - place in the refrigerator so they firm up a bit

(Mine are in the fridge right now but me and Saugar had one each just after I made 'em and they're definitely a hit - especially for something so simple!!)

Merry Christmas!

xoxo

Megha

Coconut Chicken

Hey Megz...

Here is the recipe of my special coconut chicken curry. When I make it, I usually make lots.. cos we love it! hehe..

Ingredients:

• chicken thighs (~500gms)
  
• for marinade:
• curry powder (3 tbsp)
  
• red chilli powder (1 tbsp)
  
• salt (to taste)
  
• chopped onion (1 large)
  
• chopped green chillies (3-4)
  
• cumin seeds (2 tsp)
  
• curry leaves (4-5)
  
• chopped/grated ginger (2 tsp)
  
• chopped/grated garlic (2 tsp)
  
• tamarind paste (usually about 1-2 tbsp, really depends on how tangy you like your curry)
  
• white vinegar (1/4 cup)
  
• cinnamon powder (2 tsp)
  
• coconut milk (1 can)
  

1. Add marinade ingredients to chicken, rub it in well and keep it for a couple of hours
2. In a frying pan add some oil and bring to heat.
3. Add cumin seeds, cook well.
4. Add ginger garlic paste and saute well (about 1 min)
5. Add chopped onions and green chillies. Brown the onions well.
6. Add curry leaves.
7. Add tamarind paste and vinegar and cinnamon.
8. Add chicken to the frying pan and cook on med-high heat for about 10 minutes
9. Add coconut milk and bring to boil
10. Cook on low heat until chicken is cooked and all ingredients are well incorporated. You may want to cover and cook so you dont loose so much water.. unless you like your gravy thick.

Have fun! :)

s

Swati's "Better-than-Mum's" Chicken Drumsticks

Will we all be this forthcoming and prompt on a blog? Not sure about me.. at the moment I am happy keeping as an email discussion between 4 of us..

Ok so the news... last night I made chicken drumsticks based on a recipe I made up myself and they came out sooo good.. I got the best compliment from Prudy.. it was and I quote 'damn ammu.. so professional.. it tastes even better than my mum's chicken.. ooh but dont tell her .. she will kill me'.. LOL!!!

So here is what I did:
- chicken drumsticks marinated in dry spice mix (large amount of corainder powder, medium amount of garam masala, small amount of curry powder, red chilli powder to taste, salt to taste)
- fried 2-3 tbsp cumin seeds, chopped ginger and chopped garlic in a cooking pot in 2 tbsp oil
- brown 1 large onion
- add spice marinated chicken
- mix everything in the pot well (add little water if it is too dry just so spices and onions coat schicken drumsticks nicely)
- add lots of dark soya sauce
- garnish with lots of coriander and spring onions

It was so simple and it came out really well.. I think it had lots to do it with the cooking utensils.. I used non-stick cooking pot with lid.. and cooked mostly with lid on so chicken remained moist.. nothing stuck to the bottom of the pan which helped masalas cook real nice.. I dried the water at the end by jst putting on high heat with lid off for a few minutes..

We ate it with rice and rasam (that prudy made - he is a rasam expert!)..

yummy dinner!!

I am gonna try all the pasta sauces.. btw have never cooked with wine.. what is deglazing the pan?

And yes agree with all the pastry sheet ideas.. lol.. have tried one very similar to praneeti's myself.. instead of muffin tray used flat tray and made it like a pizza.. :D

Anch when I moved to the UK we didnt have a pressure cooker or a microwave-able pot large enough to cook rice.. I used to do the boil and strain rice method.. and I comp agree.. it makes the rice very light and fluffy.. but alas.. I have started using the microwave again.. just out of convenience sake. :( will get myself to go back to that method.. it does make a difference..

love to all.. sisterhood united..

s

 

Easy Peasy Chicken Curry

Oh, and here's the recipe i sent out on the recipe exchange email. It's what I make on the days that i'm really tired and not in the mood for experimentation or anything complicated

 

Ingredients:
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast (cut into bite sized pieces)
2 medium sized onions (red would be nice but any type will do)
1 large red or green pepper
1 tsp crushed garlic/garlic paste
1 tsp crushed ginger/ginger paste
1/2 - 1 tsp chilli powder/cayenne pepper - dependent on your spice tolerance :)
3 tbsp ketchup
salt

Chop the onions finely. Put them in the microwave for 2-3 minutes until a little tender.
Heat 1-2 tbsp oil in a pan. Once heated add the microwaved onions into the oil with the ginger and garlic. Stir to ensure the three ingredients are well mixed and there are no lumps of ginger or garlic. Let the onions cooked till almost browned stirring occasionally.
Chop the red/green pepper into bite sized pieces and add to the onions in the pan. Add the ketchup with the salt and chill powder. Stir to mix well and cook for 2-3 minutes.
Add in the pieces of chicken. Stir to ensure all the spices/veggies coat the chicken well and cook uncovered for 4-5 minutes till the chicken starts to turn white.
Cover the pan. Reduce the heat to medium and let it cook for 10 mins or so (check up to see when the chicken is almost completely cooked).
Once the chicken is almost completely cooked uncover and stir. Keep cooking uncovered for a few minutes till the chicken browns a little.