Category Archives: Recipes

All Recipes

Chop N’ Drop Chicken Curry

Posted on by
2

Chop and Drop Chicken Curry

As promised, here is my Chop n’ Drop Chicken Curry recipe. I hope you made the Home-made Garam Masala that I posted last week, because this recipe calls for it. You will be surprised at how easy it is to make this tasty North Indian flavored dish.

Yesterday, I visited two of my friends. It was a fun day for me as I got to test this recipe in their homes. For me, it was a great learning experience, because I was cooking in a different environment with different equipment. For example, I have a gas stove in my kitchen and they had electric stoves in theirs. As a recipe developer, I realized that I described my recipes using the experience I had with a gas stove which might differ slightly with an electric stove.

The best lesson that I learned from cooking with friends was that sharing the cooking experience brought me much more joy than cooking by myself. I have those two friends to thank for this new enlightenment!

Chop n’ Drop Chicken Curry
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 25 minutes
Serves: 6-8

3 pounds chicken, (one large chicken, cut into pieces)
2 cups thinly sliced onion
2 tablespoons grated garlic, (one whole head or bulb)
3 teaspooons Kashmiri chilli powder, (depending on heat and your preference)
½ teaspoon turmeric powder
2 tablespoons coriander powder
¼ cup water, (or less depending on how much water your chicken gives out)
Salt
2 cups diced ripe tomatoes
2 tablespoons grated ginger, (or cut into short, thin strips – like matchsticks)
¼ cup ghee
3 teaspoons garam masala, (use Home-made Garam Masala)
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
3 green chillies, slit down the middle, (optional)

Add chicken, onion, garlic, chili, turmeric, coriander, water and salt to a heavy bottomed, wide pan. Please note here that you could add anywhere from two tablespoons to a quarter cup of water, and this would depend on how much water the chicken gives out and whether you drained the chicken well after you washed it. Mix all the ingredients and place on high heat and bring to a boil. Once it comes to a rolling boil, add tomatoes and ginger, stir well, and cook on medium-high heat until the water evaporates and the chicken is cooked – about 10-15 minutes. Add ghee. Stir and fry until the oil separates and the chicken is roasted. Sprinkle garam masala, cilantro and green chillies. Mix everything, cover and cook for five minutes on low heat. Serve with chapatis, naan or rice.

Note: This chicken curry tastes best with the Home-made Garam Masala that you will find in last weeks blog post. You can use one large whole cut up chicken or a combination of pieces. Chicken in the U.S. cooks much faster than in India. So, I cooked it on high heat on a gas stove during the whole process. You may have to adjust the heat and time to make sure the chicken cooks well. I also used ghee for this recipe which added a distinct North Indian flavor and richness to the dish.

 

Cranberry Sauce

Posted on by
7

Cranberry Sauce3

Happy Thanksgiving to all my readers and my Facebook friends. Here is a recipe for cranberry sauce that I make for my family Thanksgiving dinner. This recipe is so easy and delicious that you will never buy another can of cranberry sauce again! It has an Indian spin to it, in that, I add a little dry chilli flakes while cooking the cranberries, but it is totally optional. You can add it if you like. This recipe can be make in advance. Just heat it up and serve.

The recipe is very basic and you can make it your own by adding ingredients, such as, chopped Granny Smith apple, slivered almonds, pecans, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice. Instead of sugar you can use maple syrup and instead of orange juice you can use cranberry juice. So, once you have the basic recipe, you can dress it up with ingredients that you like.

Enjoy the tangy, sweet, and spicy taste of this super easy cranberry sauce at your thanksgiving table this year.

Cranberry Sauce
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 12 minutes
Serves: 6

1 cup water
¾ cup granulated sugar
12 ounces fresh cranberries, (340 g)
½ cup fresh orange juice
¼ teaspoon dry chilli flakes, (optional)
1 tablespoon orange zest
orange segments for garnish

In a small saucepan bring water to a simmer. Add sugar, fresh cranberries, orange juice, chilli flakes, and zest. Stir until the sugar dissolves and the cranberries begin to pop. It will take about 10-12 minutes.

Remove, dish out into a beautiful bowl, garnish with orange segments, and serve.

Fish Curry

Posted on by
Reply

Mangalorean Fish Curry

Today’s recipe is one that I learned from one of my Mangalorean friends while I was in Manipal. I found a lot of similarities in the way we both prepared this dish. Both of us used coconut, curry leaves, garlic, and chillies. So, I shared my recipes from Kerala with her in exchange for her Mangalorean recipes. This fish curry uses tamarind as a souring agent. I added an extra seasoning of two teaspoons of oil, mustard seeds, and curry leaves before I took the above picture, but that is optional.

All you need is a pot of steamed rice to relish this fish curry. I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did.

Fish Curry
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 25 minutes
Serves: 6

3 pounds rock fish, cut into slices
Salt
½ teaspoon turmeric powder
5 dry whole red chillies
1 tablespoon whole dry coriander seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon whole black peppercorn
4 fenugreek seeds
1 cup finely chopped onion
2 tablespoons chopped garlic
1 cup water
4 tablespoons oil
½ teaspoon mustard seeds
1 sprig curry leaves
1½ cups coconut milk
2 tablespoons tamarind extract

Using a paper towel, pat the slices of fish until dry. Rub a little salt and turmeric powder over them and marinate them in the refrigerator for 10 minutes.

In a small pan, over medium-low heat, roast the chillies, coriander, cumin, peppercorn, and fenugreek seeds until fragrant. Cool completely. Add all the roasted ingredients, half of the chopped onion, garlic, and half cup of water to a blender and grind to a fine paste.

Place a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add oil, and when it shimmers, add the mustard seeds. When the mustard seeds splutter, add the curry leaves, and the rest of the chopped onion. Sauté until onion is lightly brown. Add the ground paste and cook until the oil separates. Add the coconut milk, tamarind extract, half cup water, salt, and fish slices. Stir gently, cover with a lid, and cook over medium heat for 15 minutes or until the fish is cooked. Garnish with curry leaves. Serve with steaming hot rice.

Boondi Ladoo

Posted on by
2

Boondi Ladoo2

Happy Diwali to my readers and friends who celebrate the Indian Festival of Lights. May the new year bring you and your family prosperity, good health, and happiness.

When I walked into my local Indian grocery store the shelves were full of Indian sweets. My mouth was watering and memories of my time in India flooded my mind. I remember oil lamps on the porch of almost every home, firecrackers lighting the skies, children dressed is new outfits, neighbors sharing sweets with each other, and the aroma of wonderful sweets being prepared wafting in the air. Right then I decided to make boondi ladoos and bought all the ingredients I needed and headed for my kitchen.

Boondi ladoos are not the easiest to make but if you have patience, pay close attention to the measurements of the ingredients, read the instructions and notes carefully, you too can make boondi ladoos that you can enjoy and share with your friends. You will also need a boondi maker (to make the small balls, which are called boondi in Hindi, that collectively make each ladoo) or a skimmer – a flat ladle with holes in it to make the boondi. The Indian grocery stores in the U.S. carry it. I added a twist to the fragrance and taste of these boondi ladoos with orange blossom water and red rose water. I hope you will enjoy my version of boondi ladoo.

Boondi Ladoo
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 35 minutes
Makes: 20

For the boondi:
2 cups Bengal gram flour, (besan)
1 pinch of baking soda
1 pinch salt
1 pinch of orange food color powder, (optional)
1¼ cups water
Oil for deep frying
2 tablespoons lightly roasted melon seeds
1 tablespoon chopped pistachios

For the syrup:
2 cups sugar
1½ cups water
2 pinches of orange food color powder, (optional)
1 teaspoon orange blossom water
1 teaspoon red rose water
1 teaspoon of cardamom powder, (optional)

Sift gram flour, baking soda, salt and food color into a large bowl. Add half the water and mix with a wooden spoon. Add the rest of the water a little at a time and stir until the batter is smooth. The batter is the right consistency when it drops through the holes of the skimmer easily. Let the batter rest while you make the syrup.

In a large pan combine sugar and water and boil for 15 minutes over medium heat. Brush the sides of the pan with water as it is boiling, so that the sugar does not crystallize and use a candy thermometer. The syrup is ready when the thermometer reads 220 F. Another way to check whether the syrup is ready, if you don’t have a candy thermometer, is when you touch a drop of cooled syrup between your forefinger and thumb, a thin string is formed. Turn off the heat. Add food color, orange blossom water, rose water, and cardamom powder. Add the melon seeds and stir well.

Heat oil in a wok to 350 F. Pour a small amount of batter on the skimmer and tiny droplets of the batter will fall through the holes in the skimmer, into the oil, and form boondis. Hold the skimmer about two inches from the oil to form round boondis. Of course, you need to be careful when you do this. As soon as the bubbles stop forming around the boondis (the boondis should not be crisp and turn brown) drain the oil with a slotted ladle and put them into the syrup. Stir them every time you put a new batch of boondis into the syrup.

Mix until all the boondi and melon seeds are well coated with syrup. When the mixture is cool enough to handle make ladoos. Garnish with chopped pistachios.

Notes:
– If the batter is too thick the boondi will be flat. Add a few drops of water at a time to get the batter to the right consistency so the boondis will be round.
– Hold the skimmer about two inches from the oil, otherwise your boondi will have tails.
– You will see black specks on the ladoos if you add cardamom powder. So you can avoid that by just using the orange blossom water and red rose water.
– Start making the ladoos as soon as possible. If you let the mixture get cold you will not be able to form ladoos.
– You can also put the boondi and syrup mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle and run it for about five minutes. If the mixture does not come together to form a ball, add 5-6 tablespoon of boiling hot water, while the mixer is on and run it for another five minutes.

Mirchi ka Salan

Posted on by
Reply

Mirch ka Salan

The spicy, tangy and nutty gravy of mirchi ka salan makes it the perfect accompaniment to biriyani. It doesn’t necessarily have to be the famous Hyderabadi biriyani. It goes well with vegetable biriyani, chicken biriyani, egg biriyani and any other biriyani you make. I even enjoy it with plain rice, puris and naan. I hope you will enjoy my version of mirchi ka salan.

Mirch ka Salan

Prep time: 8 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Serves: 6

Ingredients:
10 large (mild) green chillies
2 tablespoons desiccated coconut
2 tablespoons white sesame seeds
2 tablespoon unsalted roasted peanuts
1 cup roughly chopped onion
2 tablespoons roughly chopped ginger
2 tablespoons roughly chopped garlic
¼ cup sesame oil/vegetable oil
½ teaspoon mustard seeds
½ teaspoon cumin seeds
½ teaspoon nigella seeds
3 fenugreek seeds, (optional)
1 sprig curry leaves
½ teaspoon turmeric powder
3 teaspoons coriander powder
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1 teaspoon Kashmiri chilli powder
2½ cups water
Salt
1 tablespoon brown sugar
3 teaspoons tamarind extract

Directions:
Wash, dry, and slit green chillies lengthwise without cutting the chillies into two. You can remove the seeds or leave them in depending on the amount of heat you prefer. In a large, non-stick frying pan add one tablespoon of oil. Shallow fry the chillies until the skin of the chillies blister. Set aside.

In a small non-stick frying pan, over medium heat, roast desiccated coconut until light brown. Remove and set aside. Next, roast white sesame seeds until lightly toasted. Put it along with the coconut. Cool completely. Add the roasted peanuts to the toasted coconut and sesame and grind all three to a smooth paste with three tablespoons of water. Set aside.

Next, grind the onion, ginger and garlic with two tablespoons of water. Set aside.

Place a heavy bottomed pan over medium-high heat. Add three tablespoons of oil and when it shimmers, add the mustard, cumin, nigella, and fenugreek seeds. When the mustard seeds splutter, add the curry leaves and the ground onion, ginger, and garlic paste. Cook until it turns light brown and the raw smell of garlic disappears. Then add the ground desiccated coconut, sesame, and peanut along with the turmeric, coriander, cumin and chilli powder. Cook for two minutes. Add water, salt, brown sugar, tamarind extract, and bring to a boil. As soon as the gravy begins to boil, turn the heat to low. Add the green chillies and simmer for eight minutes or until the gravy thickens. Serve hot with biriyani, puris or naan.

Vote for my Almond Brittle Recipe

Posted on by
6

almond-brittle24

The holidays are just around the corner, and during this time, many of my friends ask for my Almond Brittle recipe. I’m reposting the recipe below, and I’ve also entered it in the Fisher Nuts “My Fresh Twist” recipe contest. Click here to vote for my recipe! You can vote for my recipe five times a day until November 5. Hint: Just hit the vote button 5 times in a row! Many of you have tried and tasted my Almond Brittle so I am sure I’ll get your vote. Thanks for your support.

This recipe was originally posted on December 18, 2012.

Almond Brittle
½ stick butter (4 tablespoons), room temperature
¾ cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup slivered almonds
2 tablespoons sesame seeds

Line a baking sheet with foil and set aside.

Place a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Add butter (make sure it is at room temperature), sugar and salt. Stir with a wooden spoon until the butter, sugar and salt are well incorporated, and then add almonds and sesame seeds. Turn heat up to medium-high.

This is the point where you have to pay close attention, and keep stirring constantly. When the almonds and sugar begin to brown, and turn to a light caramel color, and you see the melted butter separate from the rest of the mixture, turn off the heat. Very carefully, pour the mixture onto the foil lined baking sheet. Spread to a thin, even layer with the back of the wooden spoon. Let the almond brittle cool completely before you snap them into pieces.

Store in an airtight container. Or, put them in little bags or boxes, as shown in the picture, and share them with your friends. They make delectable little gifts for Christmas.

Video tips for perfecting your almond brittle

Honey and Spice Roasted Almonds

Posted on by
4

Honey & Spice Roasted Almonds4

WARNING – These Honey and Spice Roasted Almonds are highly addictive!

I’ve tried different spice mixes and I think I finally found the winning combination for these honey and spice roasted almonds. The fusion of sweet, salty, spicy, smoky flavors and, of course, the crunch makes these nuts the perfect snack. At least that is my opinion. Let me know what you think, once you’ve tried them yourself.

Honey and Spice Roasted Almonds
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Serves: 10

3 cups whole raw almonds with skins on
2 tablespoons Turbinado sugar, (raw sugar)
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons chilli powder, (depending on heat and your preference)
½ teaspoon smoked paprika, (optional)
½ teaspoon cumin powder
½ teaspoon coriander powder
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon water
2 teaspoons peanut oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spread almonds onto a foil-lined baking sheet. Bake for eight minutes, rotate the pan, and bake for another eight minutes.

While almonds are toasting, combine sugar, salt, chilli, paprika, cumin, and coriander powder in a small bowl and set aside.

In a wide-bottomed saucepan bring honey, water, and oil to a boil, over medium-high heat. You will see small bubbles appear on the surface. Immediately stir in toasted almonds and cook until the nuts are all coated and the liquid is absorbed. Turn off the heat. Sprinkle the sugar, salt, and spice mix over the almonds. Toss well to coat all the almonds.

Spread nuts back onto the foil lined baking sheet in a single layer. Cool completely and break the almonds apart. The honey and spice roasted almonds can be stored in an air-tight container for a month. But, I bet they won’t last that long!

Stir-Fried Chinese Broccoli and Carrots

Posted on by
4

Stir-Fried Chinese Broccoli and Carrots

I saw bunches of fresh Chinese broccoli or Kai-lan, as they called it in my local Chinese grocery store. I was curious, so bought two bunches and looked it up in Wikipedia. It comes from the same family as regular broccoli, but it has a much stronger taste.

How do you pick fresh Chinese broccoli? You select a bunch that has dark green leaves and you look at the end of the stalk. The middle of the stalk should be one color, a creamy translucent color. Old Chinese broccoli stems will be dried up, with a hard, white opaque center. So, don’t pick those.

This quick and easy stir-fry took less than 15 minutes to make. If you’ve tried cooking a new vegetable that you found in your grocery store, tell us about it in the comments section.

Stir-Fried Chinese Broccoli and Carrots
Adapted from Spicetrekkers
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 6 minutes
Serves: 4

15 stalks Chinese broccoli, washed and dried
2 carrots, peeled
2 tablespoons peanut oil
½ teaspoon mustard seeds
4 garlic cloves, peeled
½ cup sliced red onion
1 tablespoon minced ginger
½ teaspoon chilli flakes, (depending on heat and your preference)
Salt

Cut the Chinese broccoli into leaves and stalks. Trim and discard the very bottom of the stalks. Slice the stalks thinly at a sharp angle. Keep them in a bowl. Slice the carrots thinly at a sharp angle and put them in the bowl along with the stalks. Cut the leaves into bite size pieces and keep in a separate bowl.

Heat a wok over high heat. Add oil and swirl to coat the sides of the wok. When the oil is hot, add mustard seeds. When they splutter, add the whole garlic cloves and stir-fry for five seconds. Add the onion and ginger and stir-fry for another five seconds. Then add the carrots and the sliced stalk. Stir-fry for two minutes. Add salt and the broccoli leaves. Continue stir-frying until the leaves are just wilted. Make sure that the vegetables are tender but somewhat crunchy. This dish goes well with rotis or parathas.

Egg Curry – Kerala Mutta Curry

Posted on by
14

Egg Curry4

Egg curry or mutta curry, as we call this dish in Malayalam, is a faithful standby when unexpected guests arrive at lunch time or when the vegetable bin is empty in the refrigerator. Every Indian family has their own style of making egg curry. The egg curry recipe that I am sharing with you today, is from Kerala. Coconut milk, curry leaves, vinegar, and garam masala gives this dish its creamy, spicy, and aromatic fragrance and flavor. The versatile egg curry can be eaten with rice, chapatis, appams or string hoppers. It’s a good dish to have in your recipe collection.

Enjoy!

Egg Curry – Kerala Mutta Curry
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 25 minutes
Serves: 6

Ingredients:
6 hard boiled eggs
4 whole dry red chillies, (depending on heat and your preference)
3 teaspoons whole coriander seeds
¼ teaspoon whole black pepper
¼ teaspoon fennel seeds
1 one-inch piece cinnamon
2 green cardamom, seeds only
2 cloves
¼ teaspoon cumin seeds
3 tablespoons coconut oil
½ teaspoon mustard seeds
1 sprig curry leaves
1 cup finely diced shallots
2 green chillies, slit in half (optional)
1 teaspoon finely diced ginger
1 teaspoon finely diced garlic
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 (13.66 fl oz) can coconut milk, unsweetened
1 cup water
3 medium potatoes, quartered
2 teaspoons vinegar
Salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
A few curry leaves to garnish

Directions:
In a small non-stick frying pan, over low heat, roast the dry chillies, coriander seeds, whole black pepper, fennel, cinnamon, cardamom, and cloves. When it starts smelling fragrant, add the cumin seeds and roast for 10 seconds. Remove from the heat and cool the spices completely. Powder in a coffer grinder and set aside.

Place a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add oil and when it shimmers, add the mustard seeds. When they splutter add the curry leaves, green chillies, onion, ginger, garlic, and turmeric. Cook until the onion turns translucent. Add the powdered spices and stir. Mix one cup of coconut milk with one cup of water and add it to the pan. Add the potatoes, vinegar, and salt. Cook for 15 minutes over medium-low heat. When the potatoes are done, add the boiled eggs and the remaining coconut milk. Let the curry simmer for five more minutes. Remove from the heat, add freshly ground black pepper, and garnish with curry leaves.

Minced Chicken Puffs

Posted on by
2

Minced Chicken and Egg Puffs

Two lovely young ladies have asked me to share a recipe for puffs, so this blog post is especially for them. Chicken puffs, eggs puffs, and vegetable puffs bring back memories of bakery shops in India. The lovely aroma that came from these shops, as you passed by, was magnetic.

Egg puffs were a popular item in a bakery in Manipal and my children and I would pick some up every Friday afternoon. It was in Manipal where I learned how to make puff pastry from scratch. My teacher was a young lady from Malaysia. Making puff pastry is a tedious process and since puff pastry sheets are available in the frozen section of our grocery stores in the U.S., I’ve used them to save time. This recipe will give you the basics on how to make puffs but use your imagination to make the filling your own. Enjoy.

Minced Chicken Puffs
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 35 minutes
Serves: 6

Ingredients:
1 pkg. (17.3-ounces) Puff Pastry Sheets, thawed
2 tablespoons oil
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
½ teaspoon cumin seeds
2 cups finely chopped onion
Salt
1 tablespoon finely chopped ginger
1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
2 teaspoon finely chopped green chillies, (depending on heat and your preference)
2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro
¼ cup finely chopped tomato
3 teaspoons Shakti meat masala powder, (or any other meat masala powder)
1 pound minced chicken
1 egg
1 tablespoon water

Directions:
Thaw the pastry sheets at room temperature for 40 minutes or use the directions on the package. Heat the oven to 400°F. Lightly grease or line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Stir the egg and water in a small bowl with a fork.

Heat oil in a small non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat. Add mustard seeds and when they sputter add cumin seeds, onion, and salt. Cook onions until they turn translucent. Then add the ginger, garlic, green chillies, and cilantro. Cook for three minutes or until the raw smell of the garlic disappears. Add tomato and the meat masala powder. Let the tomato cook until the oil separates. Turn the heat to low and add minced chicken. Break up the chicken with your wooden spoon, so there are no lumps. Then turn the heat to medium. Cover with a lid and cook for 10 minutes. Stir to dry out any water that may remain. Remove from heat and cool completely.

To assemble the puffs:
Unfold one pastry sheet on a lightly floured surface.
Cut the pastry sheet into three strips along the fold marks. Gently roll each strip to make it slightly wider.
Cut each strip in half crosswise, making six pastry rectangles.
Place the pastry rectangles onto the baking sheet.
Put one heaped teaspoon of the chicken filling onto each pastry rectangle.
Brush the edges of the pastry rectangles with a little egg mixture or water.
Fold the pastries in half over the filling to form small rectangles.
Brush the filled puffs with the egg mixture.
Put the tray in the freezer.
Repeat this process with the second puff pastry sheet.
Bake the puffs for 20-25 minutes or until they are golden brown. Let the puffs cool on the baking sheets on wire racks for 10 minutes. Serve with ketchup or cilantro and mint chutney.

Please note:
There are two pastry sheets in one package. If you do not want to use the second pastry sheet, you can wrap it in parchment paper, put it in a ziplock bag, and freeze it. Or, you can fill the puffs and freeze them individually wrapped in parchment paper. Bake them at 400°F for 30-35 minutes straight from the freezer. No thawing required.