Chicken Pakoda

You will need:

• 2 chicken breast (½ lb )
  
• 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste(can substitue with chopped ginger and garlic to enhance the flavour)
• ½ cup gram flour
• ¼ cup rice flour
  
• 2 tsp chilli powder
• 2 tsp coriander powder
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp garam masala powder
• few curry leaves(chopped)
• salt as regd
• 1 lemon juice
• ½ cup Onion finely chopped(lengthwise)
• 2 green chilli (finely chopped) purely optional
• oil for deep frying(can go for baking too)
• ¼ cup water(enough to form a thick paste consistency)
  

Step 1:

Boil some water and add the breast pieces in it. Let it boil for 20 minutes.

Note:

(I used Rotisserie/grilled chicken breast. Shredded the chicken pieces using knife!!!)


Step 2:

Allow the chicken to cool for few minutes. In the mean time just slice the onion and green chillies.

Step 3:

Sieve the gram flour, rice flour together in a mixing bowl. Add salt, garam masala powder, chilli powder, coriander powder to it and mix it well. Add little water to form a very thick paste.It will look like this...(Urad dal vada / Methu vada consistency)



Step 4:

Check for salt and now add the onions, green chillies, curry leaves and mix it well. Now shred the chicken using hands or with the help of knife. Add the shredded chicken to the above paste.Now the pakoda batter is ready.

Step 5:

Heat the oil in a frying pan. Take small amount of pakoda batter and pour it in the oil and fry it till it turn golden brown color.

For crispy pakoda's better to have the flame in medium or low and fry for more minutes till it turn brown in color.

Serve hot with your favorite sauce..

You can add a pinch of red color also...

Thattai (Rice fritters)

Thattai is a very famous snack in South India. I was thinking to make this thattai few weeks back. But somehow i was not able to make it till today. Tried it today and i'm very happy. Because i made my hubby's favourite dish at home. Whoohoooo!!!!





You will need:

• 2 cups rice flour
• ¼ cup urad dal flour ( can use coffee grinder to grind it)
• 2 tsp cumin seeds
• 2 tsp sesame seeds
  
• 2 tbsp channa dal
• 1 tbsp moong dal
• 2 tbsp melted butter
• pinch of asofoetida
  
• pinch of baking soda(optional)
• 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
• 2 tsp paprika/kashmiri chilli powder(can substitute with chili powder also)
• 10 curry leaves(finely chopped)
• salt for taste
• roasted peanuts finely chopped (optional)
• less than ½ cup water
  
• oil fr deep frying and for flattening

Step 1:

Soak moong dal and channa dal in hot water for 15 mins.

Step 2:

Sieve rice flour and urad dal together in a bowl. In that add melted butter, cumin seeds, salt, baking powder, sesame seeds, asofoetida,curry leaves and mix it. Now strain the moong dal and channa dal. Add it to the above mix. At this stage the dough will look like this.

Step 3:

Now add water to the above mix little by little till you get a stiff dough similar to chapathi dough.


Step 4:

Heat oil in a medium heat. Now divide the dough into 4 parts and work with one by one. Take one part and flatten it. I used cookie cutter to get the shape.While rolling use oil just to stop dough from sticking.Flatten it to a thickness of credit card.

You can also do this without using cookie cutter. Just roll it into small balls(smaller than golf ball) and flatten it using hand or using rolling pin. Use oil to flatten it.
Step 5:

Fry it one by one and drain it in paper towel . Let it cool for 10 mins. Now you can enjoy with a cup of coffee/tea. Store the remaining thattai's in a air tight container.

Banana Bonda

Making bajji with ripe banana is very common and i have did that several times. But this time i thought of trying something different with simple steps. So just tried this in my own way. It was good and it taste similar to unniappam. Can name it as banana unniappam i think!!!!..



You will need:

• 1 ripe banana
• ¾ cup All purpose flour(Maida)
• 2 tbsp sugar(can increase or decrease depending on your taste).
• water just few tbsp (just enough to make dough)
• Yellow color a pinch(optional)
• oil for deep frying
  

Step 1:

Just mash the banana with the help of banana masher or using hands. Add flour to it and knead it well. Now add sugar and yellow color to it. Along with that add few tbsp of water to form a dough. The final dough should be thick like this....



Step 2:

Heat oil in a pan on medium heat. Take some dough in your hand (you can use spoon too) and put it in the oil. Don't worry about the shapes. We are not pro's right!!!!!.. Deep fry it till it become brown color.

Serve with hot tea/coffee and enjoy you evening time. Simple and tasty.. What else can you ask for?....

Banana Chips

I love banana chips. Same with my hubby too. In Nagercoil we can get this chips even in street side shops. So taught of trying this chips. Banana chips that we get from Indian store is not spicy enough. So 5 days back i tried this banana chips with riped plantains. But dint get the perfect taste. Specially dint get the crispiness. So next time when we went for shopping saw this unripe plantain in the Indian shop. Picked some from there and just gave it a try . Wow perfectly good and got the taste similar to the Nagercoil chips. We just loved this.

You will need:

• 2 unripe plantains(nenthram pazham in tamil)
• oil for deep frying ( can go for coconut oil for best result and aroma) But i tried with vegetable oil.
• ½ tsp salt (can decrease or increase depending on your taste)
• ½ tsp chilli powder(optional)
• ½ tsp turmeric powder
• ½ cup curd

Step 1:

Peel the plantains, using a knife cut the banana into half and soak it in curd for few minutes. I say half an hour just to remove serum. So now you will have 4 slices of banana.


Step 2:

Heat the oil in a pan. Keep the flame very low.

Step 3:

Using a slicer just slice one of the banana slices. When the oil is hot put a pinch of turmeric powder into it followed by the banana slices. Deep fry it till it turns golden brown color. (It took more than 4 minutes to fry each batch. Allow it to cook till it become crispy). Place the chips in a bowl lined with paper towel. Sprinkle a pinch of salt and chilli powder to it and toss it well.

Repeat step 3 for remaining 3 banana slices.

Note:

I used the slicer which is attached to the grater http://www.amazon.com/Pedrini-Black-Stainless-Pyramid-Grater/dp/B0000959EV/ref=pd_bbs_sr_4?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1199841835&sr=8-4


Step 4:

Finally toss it well and allow it to cool for 5 mins. After that save it in an air tight container. You can store this for more than a week.

Cashew Raisin Biscotti

Today i was planning to make cookies. So just kept the butter outside and was getting ready to make cookies. Suddenly Biscotti came into my mind. So just went ahead and search for few recipes. Got the good one. Then again i was not able to make final decision whether to make cookies or biscotti. Because i don't like Indian Rusks. But finally decided to try biscotti thinking if its not coming good then i can make cookies. You know what after making first batch i was very satisfied with the taste of this biscotti. So went ahead and made 2 more batches and stored it. And one more good news. it will stay good for more than 2 weeks. Just store it in air tight container or zip lock.

You will need:

• 1½ cup All purpose flour
• ¾ tsp baking powder
• pinch of salt
• pinch of baking soda
• pinch of nutmeg powder(optional)
• 2 Eggs
• ¾ cup sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla essence(can reduce to 1 tsp also)
• ¾ cup raisins (can go for dry cranberry, dry cherry too)
• ¾ cup roasted nuts( almonds. pistachio, cashew) i made with the mixture of three nuts.
  

Step 1:

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Step 2:

Preparing Dry Ingredients:

Take a big bowl,sieve the flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda. Keep it aside.

Step 3:

Preparing wet ingredients:

Take a mixing bowl add eggs and sugar and mix it well with an electric mixer high for minimum 5 minutes. Now add vanilla essence and nutmeg powder.
Step 4:

Now mix the dry mixture into the wet mixture little by little and continue to mix it with the electric beater.After adding the flour mixture, take a spatula and mix it for few more minutes, just to make sure the flour is mixed well with the wet ingredients.

Step 5:

Now with the help of spatula just fold in the raisins and nuts.

Step 6:

Butter the cookie sheet and pour the mixture into it as shown in pic below. Pat to 1 inch thickness.



Step 7:

Bake it for 20 minutes. Take the biscotti from the oven and let it cool for 10 mins. Please dont turn off the oven.

Step 8:

Cut the biscotti into ½ inch thickness diagonally. Bake them for 5 minutes with cut side down, remove and turn the cookies to other side and bake again for another 5 minutes. Switch off, remove and cool completely.


This will be crispy and crunchy. Specially we can take out for picnic or outing.

Can you believe that this biscotti doesn't have butter in it. Even without butter it taste wonderful. Give it a try and let me know how it came out for you!!!!

Boli

You will need

• 1 cup Bengal Gram (Kadalaparuppu)
• 1 cup Sugar ( I added 1¼ cup sugar because i love sweets)
  
• ¼ cup Gingelly Oil(Nallenna)
• 1 cup All Purpose Flour(Maida)
• Water - As reqd to form a dough
• ¼ tsp Nutmeg(Jathikka) powder
• ¼ tsp Cardamom(Elakka)powder
• A pinch of Golden Yellow Food color (Optional)
• Rice Flour or maida flour - to spread on the board,to prevent it from sticking
• ¼ cup Ghee

Step 1:

Preparing dough

Mix the maida flour and food color together .Add enough water and make it into a soft dough.Pour gingelly oil into it and knead it well until the dough become very soft.Keep it aside for 1 hour to make it more soft.

Step 2:

Making filling

Boil gram with plenty of water until it is cooked soft.Strain it well.Again add some more water,boil it and drain.Add sugar and 3 tsp of ghee into the cooked gram,allow it to cook in medium heat.

Stir continuously until the mixture becomes semi solid.Be careful,it should not become too hard.Now stir in cardamom powder and nutmeg powder into it.Mix well together and grind it using a mixer when its hot. If it becomes cold,the mixture can harden and makes grinding difficult.

STEP 3:

Rolling Boli

Now make equal number of lemon sized balls with both gram mixture and with the dough.Take a ball made of flour,roll out a little on a floured surface( rice flour is spread on the surface).Keep the gram ball in centre of the rolled dough.Cover the gram completely with the dough as shown in the picture.
Now using hand ,press it evenly and make it very smooth. Again roll it out as thin as possible.

Step 4:




Frying Boli

Heat a griddle and cook the bolis just like we do for chappathis.Apply little ghee on both sides.Keep it in an air tight container and keep it in the refrigeretor when it is cooled.Thus, it can be stored for a week.

Handy Hint:..

While rolling with gram mixture it will be sticky. So use lots of flour for rolling. And clean the tava with paper towel after making each boli. The end result will be mouth watering.

Meal Maker Cutlet

You will need

• 1 cup meal maker
• 1 potato
• 1 onion (finely chopped)
• ½ cup green peas (optional)
• 3 green chillies (finely chopped)
• 2 tsp ginger garlic paste
• 2 tbsp aniseed(sombu, perinjeerakam)
• 1 tbsp garam masala powder
• ½ tsp turmeric powder
  
• ½ tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
  
• some curry leaves (finely chopped)
• coriander leaves (finely chopped)
• salt as reqd
• oil for frying
• 1 egg
• 1 cup bread crumbs

Step 1:

Boil potatoes

Boil potatoes in microwave for 5 mins, then mash it using potato masher and keep it aside.

Step 2:

Soak and grind the meal maker

Soak the meal maker in lukewarm water for 15 mins. Drain them and squeeze them nicely. Then coarsely grind them using blender and keep it aside.

Step 3:

Saute the onions

Heat 2 tbsp oil in a pan and splutter mustard seeds,curry leaves and cumin seeds. Saute the onions and green chillies till it become transparent. Add green peas and stir it for 2 mins. Then add ginger garlic paste, garam masala powder, turmeric powder and aniseed and stir continuously for 2 mins.

Step 4:

Add the mashed potato and ground meal maker

Add mashed potatoes into the mixture and stir it for 2 mins and then add ground meal maker.Mix it nicely for 1 min and turn off the heat. Let it cool for some time.

Step 5:

Prepare egg and bread crumbs

Beat one egg into a bowl . keep bread crumbs in another bowl.

Step 6:

Dip it and fry

Heat oil in a pan for deep fry.I prefer low heat since everything is already cooked. Now make the mixture into small balls. Dip the balls first in the egg and then into the bread crumbs. Now deep fry it for 2 to 4 mins. Enjoy with mint chutney.

This cutlet tastes good with fried rice, and also as a snack.

Vegetable samosa/ Vegetable patties

You will need:

FOR CRUST:

• 1 cup all purpose flour(Maida)
• 1 tbsp sooji
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tbsp oil/Butter
• ½ tsp Ajawin(Omam) You can substitute ajwain with dried oregano also.
  
• ¼ cup luke warm water(as reqd to form a dough)

FOR FILLING

• 2 large potatoes
• ½ cup green peas
• 1 onion( finely chopped
• 1 tsp ginger garlic paste
• 2 green chillies(finely chopped)
• ½ tsp cumin seed
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1 tsp red chilli powder (optional)
  
• ½ tsp garam masala powder
• salt as reqd
• coriander leaves chopped
  
• 2 tablespoons oil

Step 1:

For the pastry

1. Sift the flour, add the salt, oregano and work in the oil.
2. Add in half the water and mix to make a soft dough. Add the rest if you need to.
3. Knead the dough until it is soft and pliable.
4. Roll out the dough to about a ¼ inch and cut out in circles.

Step 2:

Boil the potatoes

Boil the potatoes in microwave high for 6 mins and then mash it with potato masher to get mashed potatoes.

Step 3:

Preparing filling:

Heat the oil in a skillet or fry pan. Once the oil is hot, add the cumin and mustard seeds and fry until they splutter. Add the onions and cook until transparent. Add garlic, ginger paste and garam masala, coriander powder and chilli powder. Cook for about 3 mins. Add green peas and stir it for 2 mins. Then add the mashed potatoes and stir continuously for 2 mins. Add coriander leaves and salt. Remove from heat and allow it to cool.

Step 4:

Start stuffing:

Cut the pastry circle in semi circle shape. Now take one semi circle,moisten the edges with water and fold it like a cone. Place a spoon of filling in the cone and seal the third side using a drop of water. Press the edges with fork as shown in pic to make sure that the edges are closed.
Step 5:

For deep frying:

Heat oil to 350 F and cook the samosas until golden brown.

For baking:

Brush samosa with oil. Poke it with fork in the pastry for the steam to escape. By doing like this you can avoid the filling popping out. Place the samosas on a lightly greased baking sheet and bake at 400F for about 10 minutes, then turn it and bake for 10 mins or until golden brown. If you bake, the texture of the outside will not be as crispy as it should. I prefer baking since its good for health.

Handy Hint:

Serve it hot with mint chutney.

Masala Biscuits/cookies

You will need

• 2 cups all-purpose flour(Maida), plus more for rolling
• 3 tsp sugar
• 1 ½ tsp garam masala
• 2 tsp baking powder
• ¾ tsp salt
• 6 tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• ¾ cup buttermilk, plus more for brushing

Step 1:

Preheat the oven

We need to set the oven 375°F before beginning to make the cookies.

Step 2:

Slice the butter

Using a knife, cut in the butter until it is the size of small peas.


Step 3:

Preparing dough

In a medium bowl, whisk 2 cups of flour with the sugar, garam masala, baking powder and salt. Combine the ‚butter into the flour mixture. Then add buttermilk and stir until it turns into a dough.

Step 4:

Roll

Roll the dough on a floured surface until it is about half a cm thick. Select a pastry cutter, and starting at the edge of the dough, cut out the biscuits. Have some fun with the variety of shapes you can make. Place the biscuits straight onto the baking tray.Brush the tops with buttermilk.

Step 5:

Bake

Place the baking tray into the oven and cook until golden brown. This should take around 16 minutes, but watch carefully to make sure they don't burn.

Step 6:

Cool and serve

Take the tray out of the oven and leave it to cool. Then transfer them to a wire rack to become nice and crisp. Serve with a cup of coffee or tea. Enjoy!!!!

Chicken nuggets recipe

You Will Need

• 2 chicken thighs/breasts
• 5 oz ready made breadcrumbs or 6 slices of cut bread
• 2 eggs
• 3 fl oz vegetable oil
• 2 tsp ginger garlic paste
• 1 tsp garam masala powder
• 2 tsp pepper powder
• 1 oz plain flour
  
• salt as required

Step 1:

Trim the chicken

Take the chicken breast and cut off all excess skin, fat and bones.

Step 2:

Chunk the chicken

Cut the chicken into small chunks so they will fit into the blender.

Step 3:

Dry the bread

To make your own breadcrumbs the bread you use needs to be dry. This means stale bread. If you only have fresh bread, then place the slices in the oven at 200 F for one hour until they are dried – not toasted.

Step 4:

Make the breadcrumbs

Once the bread is dried, break it up into pieces and place it in your blender. Put the lid on and switch it on to the appropriate setting to make your breadcrumbs. Add any seasoning. Once the seasoning is nicely mixed pour the breadcrumbs into one of the bowls.

Step 5:

Blend the chicken

Wipe out the blender with some kitchen paper and add the chicken breasts. Pulse the chicken until roughly chopped. Now add ginger garlic paste,garam masala powder, pepper and salt and switch on the blender again, making sure everything blended well with the chicken. Once that is done, pour the mixture into one of the bowls.

Step 6:

Beat the eggs

Take the 2 eggs, crack them into a bowl and beat them together.

Step 7:

Prepare the coating

Line up the chicken mix, the flour, the eggs and the breadcrumbs in the four bowls.

Step 8:

Shape the nuggets

Rub your hands with some flour to avoid them becoming too sticky! Then take some chicken mixture and roll it in the palm of your hands to create a smooth ball shape about the size of a golf ball.

Step 9:

Coat the nuggets

Now take the nugget and roll it in the flour. When totally covered, roll it in the egg. Next, roll the nugget in the breadcrumbs and place it on a plate. Gently press down on it with the flat side of a knife to form the perfect nugget shape.

Step 10:

Fry the nuggets

Take your frying pan and put the vegetable oil into it. Heat the pan to medium so that the oil is hot but not smoking. Place the nuggets into the pan and cook gently on low heat for about 5 minutes turning them every few minutes so they don't burn.

Step 11:

Serve and enjoy!

Once cooked place the nuggets on kitchen paper to drain any excess oil.

Serve as snack or with salads. Enjoy!!!!

Parupu Vadai/ Masala Vadai recipe

Step 1:

You will need

• 2 cups bengal gram/chana dal
• 1/2 cup chopped onions
• 3 green chillis
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp chilli powder
  
• 1tbsp of chopped ginger
• curry leaves
• coriander leaves ( cilantro)
  
• salt
• oil for frying

Step 2:

Soak and grind

Soak chana dal in warm water for half an hour and drain it for half an hour. Then grind it without adding water such that it should not become a paste.

Step 3:

Adding ingredients:

Dal should be semi ground then add the rest of the ingredients just to fold them in with the dal. Don't grind them for long. May be only for a second or two.

Step 4:

Deep fry:

Divide the above mixture into equal portions, flatten in the palm of your
hand and deep-fry in vegetable oil till light-golden-brown. Drain the oil by placing it in the paper towel.

Serve it hot with a cup of tea or coffee.

Note:

You can freeze it after making masala vadas. Just microwave it when its needed. Not very crispy when you heat it after freezing. But the taste wont varies!!

Simple crispy cauliflower fry Recipe

Step 1:

You will need

1 cauliflower
2 tbsp corn flour
2 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp turmeric powder
salt as required
red food color
1 egg or some water just to thicken the paste
oil for deep fry

Step 2:

Slice the cauliflower

Cut the cauliflower into equal medium sized flower buds.

Boil the cauliflower

Boil water first and season it with salt and turmeric powder. Add the flower buds into it when the water starts boiling. Allow the cauliflower to boil for 3 miutes.Once cooked through, remove them with your slotted spoon and set aside in a paper towel to cool for 15 mins.

Step 3:

Make the coating

While the cauliflower is cooling, mix together the flour, chilli powder, food color and the salt.

Step 4:

Coat the cauliflower

Fully submerge cooled cauliflower in the bowl of seasoned flour, to ensure that they are completely coated by sprinkling some water or with one beaten egg. Set aside for minimum 1 hour.

Step 5:

Deep fry the cauliflower

Heat the oil in the saucepan over a medium high heat in preparation for frying. Drop the flour coated flower buds in oil and fry in a slow flame till they turn golden brown

Step 6:

Serve

Your Spicy fried cauliflower is now ready! Serve it immediately with vegetable biriyani or as starter while piping hot!