Kerala Chicken Roast

Winter is definitely making it's presence felt in Bangalore this time, haven't taken off my sweater for the past few days!

Holiday Season (December) is one of my favourite times of the year. Not withstanding all the shopping and good cheer and general upliftment of spirits, it is a time for unrestricted appeasement of the soul, viz., indulgence in the finest of food. And that the time coincides with Winter, when the natural instinct is burrow and fill up while bulky outwear help the cause by concealing any recent additional pounds, is only testament to the cosmic forces that come together in encouragement of the indulgence!

We had a great time with family this past week at our native place and I still haven't got rid of the hangover. So much love, so much happiness, and last but not the least so much food! Oh how I miss everyone back home. Can't wait for another get together!

I admit I have been quite out of the blog world when I should have been posting recipes for Christmas and New Years. And yes I was cooking and eating and could have probably taken some pictures and blogged. However I was feeling frozen in place with inactivity for some absurd, inexcusable reasons. Believing you will forgive my lack of visits to your blogs and enthusiasm in blogging generally, I have a recipe for this very tasty Chicken Roast.

I got the recipe for this yummy Chicken Roast from the magazine "Vanitha". We enjoyed eating it and hope you do too. Here's Goodbye to 2011 and a warm welcome to 2012! Wishing you all a happy, joyous and blessed New Year!

Ingredients

Chicken (cut into medium size pieces)- 1 kg

Kashmiri Chilli powder - 1 tbsp (heaped)

Pepper powder - 1 tbsp (heaped)

Cloves - 7

Cinnamon stick - 4 pieces

Fennel seeds - 1 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Garlic - 2 to 3 cloves

Shallots/Pearl/Small onions - 12

Couscous (Kuskus) - 1 tbsp

Big onion (finely sliced) - 2 (medium)

Tomato (diced)-  2 (medium)

Potato (sliced) - 2 (small)

Curry leaves - 2 to 3 sprigs

Salt - to taste

Oil

Method

Dry roast cloves, cinnamon stick, fennel seeds for a few minutes and keep aside. Grind together kashmiri chilli powder, pepper powder, dry roasted spices, turmeric powder, garlic, shallots/pearl/small onions and couscous (kuskus) into a smooth paste and keep aside.

Fry sliced potato along with curry leaves with a pinch of chilli powder and turmeric powder till potato turns crisp. Keep aside.

Heat oil in a wok and saut'e big onions till light brown. Add ground paste and saut'e for a few minutes. Add tomatoes and saut'e till it turns soft and oil separates. Now add the chicken pieces and necessary salt into it and mix well. Cover and cook till almost done. Once chicken is almost done, separate the chicken pieces from the gravy. Heat oil in a pan and shallow fry these chicken pieces till golden brown. Add these shallow fried chicken pieces into the gravy and cook on a low flame till gravy reduces and thickens and chicken is cooked well.

Once chicken is cooked well, switch off flame and arrange on serving plate. Garnish with fried potatoes and curry leaves. Serve hot with pulav/roti/plain rice.

Notes:

1. The original recipe does not have tomato in it. I have used it in the above recipe.

2. Soak Couscous (Kuskus) for 1/2 an hour before grinding.

Source: Vanitha

Mushroom Masala

There was a time when I used to be sceptical about buying mushrooms and trying to prepare a dish using them. But my hubby’s love for mushrooms have pushed me to try out different recipes with it.

Mushrooms stir fried with onions, bell peppers and spices. A simple dish, but the earthy mushrooms and bell peppers will make you forget how simple, and every mouthful will be a delight. When trying new veggies or meats, I try to stick with familiar flavours to begin with. And thus today I have saute’ed these lovely musrooms with simple spices that we use everyday in our kitchens.

Anyway, I must say my decision to experiment with mushrooms wasn’t such a bad idea after all, it in fact has made me extremely happy because my hubby dearest loved it! The first few times I tried cooking mushroom, turned out to be not-so-good experiences and left me feeling very hesitant to try these again. But what can I say, this dish definitely made me feel glad about my decision to cook with mushrooms. Yippee!!

So here is how I made Mushroom Masala. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Button Mushrooms - 250 gms

Bell Pepper/Capsicum (finely sliced; green) - 1

Big Onion (finely sliced) - 2 (big)

Garlic (crushed) - 3 to 4 cloves

Green chilli (slit lengthwise) - 1 (adjust as per spice tolerance)

Red Chilli powder - 1 to 1 1/2 tsp (adjust as per spice tolerance)

Garam Masala - 1/2 to 3/4 tsp

Turmeric powder - a pinch

Salt - to taste

Oil - 3 tsp

Method

Clean mushrooms well and finely slice them. Keep aside.

Heat oil in a wok and add finely sliced onions, capsicum and a pinch of salt into it. Saut'e till golden brown. Once the onions have browned, add crushed garlic and slit green chillies and saut'e for 1 or 2 minutes. Now, add red chilli powder, turmeric powder and sliced mushrooms and mix well. At this time, adjust salt and cover and cook for 1 or 2 minutes. After 2 minutes, remove the lid and sprinkle garam masala and toss well. Keep stirring till water evaporates and masala coats the mushroom well.

When the oil starts to sizzle around the mushrooms slices, your Mushroom Masala is done. Switch off flame. Cover and keep aside for 15 to 20 minutes.

Serve hot with Rotis/Chapathis.

Aloo Aur Parwal Ka Masala - Potato & Pointed Gourd in Thick Gravy

I have to confess that my husband, Reju was never huge on vegetarian food. I have always been a great fan of veggie food and lately Reju has joined me too. But the sad part is I do not have too many veggie dishes to my credit and thus I'm on a mission to experiment with new veggie delights!

Last week was one filled with great fun, lovely get-togethers with cousins and family. And of course there was loads and loads of eating too. Today's recipe is an attempt at recreating a yummy veggie dish I tasted at my aunt's place during that fun get-together. The minute I tasted it, I had decided that I was definitely going to try making it soon. I'm sure many of you have heard about the vegetable, Parwal (Potol). Well I had heard about it but had never tasted it before. It was my first time, and I have to say, I really enjoyed the flavor.

Anyway, the experiment that comes close to achieving the desired result is as in the recipe that follows. This veggie dish cooked in a delectable masala is sure to become a great hit. It is simple and can be cooked in minutes. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Pointed Gourd (peeled, deseeded & diced)- 8 to 10 (refer notes)

Potato (diced) - 3 (medium)

Onion (1 onion diced & 2 ground to a fine paste) - 3 (medium)

Ginger & Garlic paste - 1 1/2 tsp

Tomato (finely chopped) - 1 (medium)

Turmeric powder - 1 tsp

Kashmiri chilli powder - 1 tsp (adjust as per spice tolerance)

Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp

Garam masala powder - 1/2 tsp

Cumin seeds - 1 tsp

Bay leaf - 1

Sugar - 1 tsp

Salt - to taste

Coriander leaves

Method

Peel, deseed and dice the parwal into small cubes and keep aside. Peel and boil the potatoes and cut into small chunks and keep aside.

Heat oil in a wok, add the sliced onion and fry till onions turn golden brown. Keep aside. In the same wok, fry the diced parwal till it turns golden brown. Once browned, remove and keep aside.

In the same wok, add a little more oil and add bay leaf and splutter cumin seeds. Saut'e for a few seconds. Add the onion paste and saut'e for 5 minutes. Then add ginger & garlic paste and saut'e till raw smell disappears. Add the tomatoes and saut'e till tomato turns soft and oil separates. (approx 5 minutes) Once the tomato turns soft, add turmeric powder, kashmiri chilli powder, coriander powder, salt and sugar. Combine well. Now add the fried parwal and boiled potatoes to it and stir thoroughly till the masala coats the vegetable well. Pour 1 cup water into this mixture. Cover and cook till veggies are done and gravy starts becoming thick. Once the gravy starts becoming thick, add the fried onions and sprinkle garam masala onto it. Mix well and add freshly chopped coriander leaves into it. Switch off the flame and keep closed for 10 minutes. Serve hot with rotis/chapathis.

Notes:

1. It isn't compulsory to deseed the parwal, you do not have to if you prefer it that way.

2. Make sure the gravy is a semi-thick consistency.

3. You can also substitute parwal with other veggies like cauliflower etc...

Spicy Mutton Roast

It has been a while since I made mutton at home. As you already might know, lamb or mutton is a very famous meat in Kerala. Most people are very enthusiastic about dishes involving lamb. It is rich, soothing and just makes you happy at the end of the meal. Christmas is a season to be jolly, and also eat, eat and eat! Be it an authentic traditional spread or a creative fusion of dishes from different parts of the world, Christmas always involves a lot of tasty delicacies, mutton or lamb (in any form) being a constant on the menu.

Getting good quality mutton is always an issue in Bangalore. Best to buy it from a good store. Luckily for me, there is this beautiful cold store called “New Frosty’s” that sells any kind of meat, poultry and seafood under the sun! Hurray! So I bought some fresh tender mutton from this store, expressly cut them into medium size pieces and put together this dish… Fried onions to a golden brown to produce that slightly sweet and caramelized flavour, paired it with fragrant and flavourful spices that takes this dish to the next level. The flavour of lamb, onions and spices blends in to make this exotic treat.

I got this recipe from mariasmenu.com, Thank you Maria for this lovely dish. I love it because it never goes wrong and is simply awesome.

Serve it up with hot rotis, parathas, or plain rice and succumb to the magic it weaves.

Ingredients

Mutton (cut into medium sized pieces) - 1 kg

Big Onion (finely sliced) - 4

Ginger & Garlic paste - 3 tsp each

Shallots/Small/Pearl onion (coarsely crushed) - 6

Red Chilli powder - 1 1/2 tbsp (adjust as per spice tolerance)

Turmeric powder - 3/4 tsp

Garam masala - 1 1/2 tsp

Fennel (perumjeerakam) powder - 1 tsp

Water - 1/4 to 1/2 cup

Salt

Oil (preferably coconut oil)

Curry leaves

Method

Heat oil in a pressure cooker and add sliced onions. Saut'e till onions turn golden brown. Add ginger & garlic paste along with crushed shallots/small/pearl onions and curry leaves and saut'e for a few minutes.

Mix the spice/masala powders with a little water or oil to make a semi-thick paste. Add this spice/masala paste to the onion mixture and saut'e till raw smell disappears and oil separates. Once oil has separated, add the mutton pieces and salt. Mix well and saut'e for 5 minutes. Now add water. Cover and cook till done. (15 minutes approximately) Once cooked and pressure has released, open the lid of the pressure cooker. Make sure the gravy is thick, if there is any excess gravy, reduce it to a semi-thick consistency. (retain 1/4 to 1/2 cup of gravy approximately in the curry)

To roast the mutton, transfer the curry to a non-stick pan and fry on a low flame till it is roasted well. (roast till moist or dry as per your taste)

And here you have yet another Christmas special, Spicy Mutton Roast, a dish packed full of flavour and can be prepared in a jiffy. You might think this dish too simple, but believe me it will be an instant hit! I guess sometimes the simple things in life produce the best results.

Notes:

If the pressure cooker is non-stick, you can do the roasting process in the cooker itself.

Do not add more than 1/2 cup water to cook the mutton.

If you want the roasted mutton to be dry, do not retain any gravy after cooking the mutton, let it evaporate completely.

Source: mariasmenu.com

Kozhi Piralan

Wow, it's December already! In a few weeks, it will be X'mas and New Year!! Feels like it was only yesterday that it was New Year's eve! Every week seems to be simply whizzing by...

As I already mentioned I got to spend a few days at both (Reju & myself) our homes over the last one month and have returned with a few good tried and tested yummy home recipes! :) So watch out, authentic recipes from different parts of India and other places are coming your way which will help make your life easy while hosting an elaborate dinner menu.

I always have chicken stocked and stacked away in my freezer because we have it atleast twice a week. Today's recipe was a combination of comfort and nostalgia, reliving flavours from my childhood and very easy to make. This chicken dish is my mom's creation and has always remained a real winner among all of us. Spice masalas and the subtle yet fresh taste of the pearl onions makes this dish a treat to your palate and leaves you wanting for more. The simple elements and ingredients of this dish makes it an even bigger hit!

So here we go, a simple and tasty chicken recipe with flavours from my hometown Kerala. I have shared below the way I cook them and I hope you will enjoy this as much as we did. Have a good weekend.

Ingredients

Chicken - 1 kg

For Marination

Shallots/Small/Pearl onions (finely sliced) - 18 to 20

Big onion (finely sliced) - 1/2 of 1 big onion

Garlic - 2 to 3 cloves

Green chilli (slit lengthwise) - 1

Curry leaves

Kashmiri Chilli powder - 2 tbsp

Pepper powder - 1 to 1 1/2 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1 1/2 tsp

Garam masala - 1 & 3/4 tsp

For Masala

Big onions (finely sliced) - 2 (big)

Oil (preferably coconut oil for enhanced flavour)

Method

Make small gashes on the chicken pieces and marinate it with all the ingredients listed under "For Marination". Let it rest for 1/2 an hour at room temperature.

Cook the marinated chicken in a pressure cooker with 2 tbsp water till almost done. (after the first whistle, reduce the flame to low and keep for a minute and then switch off flame) Once pressure releases, open the lid of the cooker and separate the chicken pieces from the gravy. (make sure you have 1/4 to 1/2 cup of gravy. If in case, you have more gravy than required, reduce it to the desired quantity.) Leave it aside to cool.

Heat oil in a wok and saut'e finely sliced big onions till it reduces in quantity. Drain oil and keep aside. In the same wok, add a little more oil if necessary and fry the chicken pieces till golden brown on both sides. Add the saut'eed onions into the chicken and stir continuously till onions turn golden brown. At this point, add the gravy and toss the chicken on a high flame. Stir till the gravy reduces and coats the chicken well. Switch off flame and serve hot with rice/chapathi/appam.

Source: Mama