Embark on a culinary journey through Kerala's vibrant flavors and beyond, mastering the art of home cooking with popular Indian dishes along the way. This blog is your one-stop shop for exotic spices, comforting curries, and delightful dishes that will tantalize your taste buds and impress your loved ones.
Monday, December 31, 2007
Monday, November 19, 2007
Recipe - West Indian chicken curry - Recipe sofeminine
Recipe - West Indian chicken curry - Recipe sofeminine: Ingredients :
6 chicken breasts
4 tbsp curry powder or paste
8 tbsp coconut milk
200g onions
1 apple
1 banana
Salt,
pepper,
oil Basmati rice
Recipe :
1. Brown onions in oil in a frying pan over high heat.
2. Slice chicken and add, cook until golden.
3. Add curry and coconut milk, cook for a further 5 minutes.
4. Add 1/4 litre water and chopped fruit. Season.
5. Cover and leave to cook over a low heat for 30 minutes.
6. Cook rice until fluffy then serve.
Advice : This dish is even better if prepared the day before and reheated. Try serving with a little desiccated coconut and chopped banana to decorate."
Monday, October 29, 2007
Chicken Fried Pieces
Monday, July 16, 2007
Kadai Chicken Curry Recipe-Kerala Style
Chicken curries have gained a lot of popularity the world over and one such flavorful curry is Kadai Chicken, a North Indian traditional chicken dish which is rich, creamy and spicy gravy cooked in a blended paste of tomatoes, onions, ginger, garlic, green chillis, cashewnut paste and Indian spices.We can prepare this in kerala style, please try
Ingredients:
Chicken - 1 kg
Onion - 5
Tomato - 3
Green Chilly - 10
Ginger - 1 piece
Garlic - 1 bulb
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Chilly powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - ½ tsp
Salt - As required
Oil - 1 desert spoon
Coriander leaves for garnishing.
Procedure:
Heat oil in a kadai
Add chopped onion, green chilly and sauté until golden brown
Add ginger, garlic paste and sauté for 2 minutes.
Add coriander powder, chilly powder, turmeric powder, garam masala, salt and sauté well.
Add tomatoes and sauté until tomatoes are half done and gravy becomes thick.
Add chicken pieces and little water and mix well.
Cook for 15-20 minutes on low flame.
Sunday, April 08, 2007
Beef Dry Fry Recipe Kerala style
This Beef fry from VKN’s My Dhaba is a typical Keralite dish with those sliced coconuts in it.This is one of my favorite recipe for Beef fry,and I think i’ve prepared it more than 3 or 4 times.Thanks to My Dhaba ,for such a simple and fail-proof recipe.As he says,this can be made with both beef and mutton.Next time i’ll be trying it with Mutton.
Anyway,here goes the recipe…
Ingredients:-
Mutton/Beef - diced into small pieces
Sliced Onion - 2
Finely crushed Ginger - 1 inch piece
Finely crushed Garlic pods - 6-8
Sliced Tomatoes - 2
Green chillies slit - 3-4
Coriander POwder -2 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt - to taste
For grinding:-
Fennel seeds - 3tsp
Black peppercorns - 8-10
Cinnamon - 1 inch size piece
Cloves - 4
Cardamom - 4
Bay Leaves - 3
Grind the above together to a fine masala powder .Keep it aside.
For popping:-
Oil - as needed
Ghee - 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Sliced Onion - 1
Curry leaves - 2 sprig
Thinly sliced Coconut pieces - 1 cup
Lemon Juice - 1 tsp
Method:-
Mix together onion,ginger,garlic,chillies,tomatoes,coriander powder,turmeric powder and salt along with meat and prepared ground masala powder.Cook it in a pressure cooker adding a little water,till the meat is well done.Don’t add too much of water,as the meat pieces will shed some water too.When the pressure is released completely ,open the lid and switch on the heat again,cook it till the meat pieces are almost dry.
Heat oil and ghee in another pan and pop the mustard seeds.Add sliced onion and saute it until brown.Add curry leaves and coconut slices into it and fry them for a while.Now add cooked meat and lemon juice.Fry it for some more time stirring frequently,until beef turns dark brown in color.It goes very well with rice.
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
Rasam Recipe for Vishu
Method of preparation
tuar dal - 1/4 cup
masoor dal - 1/4 cup
tomatoes - 1 16 oz.can or 4 large tomatoes
tamarind extract - 1/2 teaspoon
black pepper powder - 1/2 teaspoon
saunf (perum jeerakam/fennel seed)- 1/2 teaspoon (optional)
whole red pepper (dry red chilli) - 2 or 3
chilli powder - 1/2 teaspoon
turmeric powder - 1/2 teaspoon
hing powder - 1/2 teaspoon
methi seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
garlic cloves - 3
cumin seeds - 1 teaspoon
mustard seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
coriander and curry leaves - a bunch
salt to taste
Cook the dal well with sufficient water. Add the tomatoes,salt,
chilli powder, turmeric powder and tamarind extract. Crush the
cumin and garlic and add to the rasam with the black pepper.
Simmer for a few minutes and add the hing powder. Heat a little
oil in a fry pan and pop the mustard seeds. Add the methi seeds
saunf and curry leaves after removing the heat source and add to the
rasam. Garnish with coriander leaves.
Kerala Sambar Recipe – Vishu Special
Direction for preparation
tuar dal or yellow split peas - half cup
onions - 2 - medium
okra - 10 or 12 (fresh or frozen) (optional)
tomatoes - 3 large (or one can) - quartered
tamarind extract (available in Indian stores) - 1 tablespoon
coriander powder - 2 tablespoon
chilli powder - 1 tablespoon
turmeric powder - 1 teaspoon
methi powder - 1/2 teaspoon
hing powder - 1/2 teaspoon
mustard seeds - 1/4 teaspoon
methi seeds - 1/4 teaspoon
veg. oil - 1 tablespoon
salt to taste
coriander leaves, chopped - 4 Tablespoons
curry leaves - a few (optional)
Cook the dal with chopped onions,turmeric powder, chilli powder
and sufficient water. Cut the okra in two inch pieces and saute
them in a frying pan with one teaspoon oil till dry and slightly
browned.
Mash the cooked dal with a wooden spoon and add the salt,
coriander powder, methi powder,hing and the tamarind extract.
Simmer for a few minutes and add the tomatoes and okra and
half of the coriander leaves.
When the vegetables are cooked ,heat oil in a fry pan with
a splatter screen or a lid and pop the mustard seeds. Remove
pan from the fire, add the curry leaves and methi seeds. Add
this seasoning to the sambar and garnish with the rest of
the coriander leaves.
Hint. Other vegetables that can be added to sambar are potatoes
(which do not freeze well) ,shallots, pearl onions (available
frozen), cucumber, indian or oriental eggplant (baingan),
beans, carrots, lima beans drumsticks or squash.
Chilly Chicken Recipe for Easter
Ingredients
Chicken 1 lb (250gm)
Egg 1
Chilly powder 1 tspn
Paprika 1 tspn
Vineger 1 tbsn
Soy Sauce 2 tbsn
Salt as per taste
Onion 1
Green chilly 2
Cooking oil, for deep frying.
Preparation
1. Mix chicken with vinegar, 1 tbsn soy sauce, chilly powder,paprika, salt, and beaten egg. Keep aside for 2 hours.
2. Slice onion and green chilly thin.
3. Heat oil in a pan and deep fry chicken pieces. (Keep aside the remaining marinade). Remove from oil keep aside.
4. Remove oil from pan leaving about 1 tbsn. Add onion and green chillies and sauté till onion is translucent. Add the remaining marinade and cook till thickened. Add chicken pieces and remaining soy sauce and little salt. Heat through. Serve hot
Special Chicken Soup Recipe for Easter
Ingredients
Chicken Thigh (with bone) 1
Salt as per taste
Butter 1 tspn
Garlic chopped 1 tbsn
All purpose flour 2 tbsn
Dried rosemary 1 tspn
Water 4 cups
Pepper As per taste
Vineger 1/4 cup
Chopped green chilly 2 tbsn
Preparation
1. Cook Chicken with water and little salt.Let it cool and then remove the bone and shread the meat.
2. Heat butter and fry garlic till browned and add flour and rosemary and fry for 2-3 minutes.
3. Add Chicken along with the water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook for 2-3 mintes.
4. Add salt and pepper and adjust taste.
5. Serve with vineger and green chillies
Kerala Style Chicken Roast - Easter Special Recipe
1. Slice onion thin
Easter Special Carrot-Prawns Soup Recipe
Ingredients
Carrot 5
King prawns 6
Ginger 2 inch piece
Garlic 6 cloves
Onion 1
Fresh Ornage Juice 1/2 cup
Bay leaf 1
Butter 1 tbsn
Turmeric powder A pinch
Salt and pepper As per taste
Cream of coconut(unsweetened) 3 tbsn
Mint leaves 3
Preparation
1.Cut Carrot into 1 inch long rounds. Chop ginger, garlic and onion.
2. Heat butter in a pan and saute ginger, garlic, onion and Prawns for a while. Add carrots, bay leaf and 4 cups of water and bring to boil. Reduce heat and cook on law flame till carrot and prawns are done well.
3.Remove the Prawns and bay leaf and puree the soup batch by batch and return to pan. Add fresh Ornage juice and heat through.Adjust taste with salt and pepper and serve in 3 bowls.Put 2 prawns in each bowl and top with a tbsn of cream of coconut and a mint leaf.
Special Easter Butter Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
Chicken 1 lb
Tomato puree ½ cup
Cashew 10
Milk ¼ cup
Garam masala 1 tbsn
Chilly powder ½ tspn
Onion 1
Ginger-garlic paste 2 tbsn
Butter 2 tbsn
Salt as per taste
Turmeric ¼ tspn
Chopped coriander 2 tbsn
Preparation
1. Soak cashew in milk for 30 minutes. Grind cashew adding enough milk to get a fine paste.
2. Chop onion. Wash and pat dry chicken. Cut into bite sized pieces.
3. Heat 1tbsn butter in a pan, add onion and ginger-garlic paste and fry till onion is golden brown.
4. Add chicken and fry for while. Add tomato puree, Chilli powder, salt, turmeric, and masala, and cook for while.
5. Add cashew paste along with milk.
6. Cook covered till gravy is thickened and chicken is done.
7. Top with remaining butter and remove from flame.
8. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves. Serve hot with Roti or
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
Kerala Celebrating Vishu on 15th of April this year
Friday, March 30, 2007
DRY POTATO CURRY RECIPE
POTATO CURRY INGREDIENTS:
Yield: 4 servings
1 lb Potato; Red skins
Salt to taste
2 tablespoon Vegetable oil
1 teaspoon Mustard seeds
1 Onion; finely sliced
2 Garlic cloves
1 (1 inch) piece gingerroot;
1 Green chile; seeded, chopped
1 teaspoon Ground turmeric
½ teaspoon Red (cayenne) pepper
1 teaspoon Ground cumin
¼ cups Green pepper; strips
Instructions:
Cut Potatoes into ¾ inch chunks.
Cook potatoes in boiling salted water 6 to 8 minutes, until just tender. Drain and set aside. Heat oil in a large saucepan, add mustard seeds and onions. Cook 5 minutes until onions are soft, but not brown. Stir in garlic and gingerroot; cook 1 minute more.
Add cooked potatoes, chile, turmeric, cayenne and cumin. Stir well. Cover and cook 3 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are very tender and coated with spices. Serve hot, garnished with
Your DRY POTATO CURRY is ready.
Kashmiri Rogan Josh - Recipe
Yield: 6 servings
1 tablespoon whole fennel seeds
3¼ cups plain yoghurt
6 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 ¾" stick of cinnamon
½ teaspoon whole cloves
2½ teaspoon salt
1 pn asafetida
3 lb cubed lamb
4 teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1½ teaspoon dried ginger
3 2/3 cups water or beef broth
¼ teaspoon garam masal
Kashmiri Rogan Josh
Instructions:
Grind the fennel seeds until find. Put the yoghurt in a bowl and beat it with a fork until smooth and creamy. Heat the oil in a large pot over a high flame. When hot, put in the cinnamon and cloves. A second later, put in the ground asafetida. A second after that, put in all the meat and the salt. Stir the meat an cook, still on a high flame for about 5 minutes. Now put in the paprika and cayenne and give the meat a good stir. Slowly add the yoghurt, a small amount at a time, stirring the meat vigorously as you do so. Add all the yoghurt this way. Keep cooking on high heat until all liquid has boiled away and the meat pieces have browned slightly. Add the fennel and ginger. Give the meat some more good stirs. Now put in the water or broth, cover so as to leave the lid very slightly ajar, and cook on medium heat for 30 minutes. Cover completely and cook on low heat for another 45 minutes or until meat is tinder. Stir a few times as the meat cooks, making sure that there is always some liquid in the pot. Remove the lid and add the garam masala. You should have a thick, reddish brown sauce. If it is too thin, boil away some of the liquid.
Your Kashmiri Rogan Josh is ready. Good luck!
Rogan Josh - Recipe
Rogan Josh
Instructions:
Yield: 6 servings
2 1" cubes of ginger chopped
8 cloves of garlic
1½ cups beef broth
10 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 lb lamb or beef stew meat
10 whole black cardamoms
2 bay leaves
6 whole cloves
10 whole peppercorns
1 1" stick cinnamon
2 medium onions
1 teaspoon ground coriander
2 teaspoon ground black cumin
4 teaspoon red paprika
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1¼ teaspoon salt
6 tablespoon plain yogurt
¼ teaspoon garam masala
1 black pepper
Put the ginger, garlic, and 4 tablespoons water in blender. Blend well until you have a smooth paste. Heat the oil in a wok to medium high heat. Brown the meat cubes in several batches and set to one side. Put the cardamom, bay leaves, cloves, peppercorns, and cinnamon into the same hot oil. Stir once and wait until the cloves swell and the bay leaves begin to take on color. Now put in the onions. Stir and fry for about 5 minutes or until the onions turn a medium brown color. Put in the ginger garlic paste and stir for 30 seconds. Add the fried meat cubes and juices. Stir for 30 seconds. Now put in 1/6 of the yoghurt. Stir and fry for 30 seconds or until the yoghurt is well blended. Add the remaining yoghurt, a tablespoon at a time, in the same way. Stir and fry for another 3-4 minutes. Now add the rest of the broth (a little more for beef than lamb). Bring the contents of the pot to a boil, scraping in all browned spices on the sides and bottom of the pot. Cover, turn heat to low and simmer for about an hour if lamb and two if beef. Every 10 minutes or so, give the meat a good stir. When the meat is tender, take off the lid, turn the heat up to medium and boil away some of the liquid. You should end up with a tender meat in a thick, reddish brown sauce. All the fat that collects in the pot may be spooned off the top. Sprinkle the garam masala and black pepper over the meat before you serve and mix them in.
Your Rogan Josh is ready. Good luck!
Friday, March 23, 2007
Basic Fried Rice Recipe
Servings: 4
Ingredients:
* 2 teaspoons vegetable oil, divided
* 3 eggs, beaten
* 2 strips bacon, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch slices
* 4 scallions, trimmed and sliced into 1/4-inch rings (reserve 1 heaping tablespoon sliced dark green portion for garnish)
* 1 tablespoon minced garlic (about 2 cloves)
* 1 tablespoon minced ginger (about a 1-inch piece)
* 1/3 cup finely chopped carrot (1-2 carrots)
* 1-2 fresh chilies like jalapenos or Thai chilies, to taste, seeded and minced (optional)
* 4 cups cooked rice, at room temperature
* 2-3 tablespoons soy sauce
Directions:
In a large skillet or wok, heat 1 teaspoon of the vegetable oil over medium-high heat for 2 minutes. Pour the beaten egg into the pan and swirl the egg around to coat the entire bottom of the pan. When the egg is beginning to bubble, about 1-2 minutes, break it up into pieces using a spatula or wooden spoon, and remove from pan.
Add the remaining 1 teaspoon of oil to the pan over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and cook until crisp, 2 to 3 minutes. (If the bacon begins to burn, lower the heat to medium.)
Add the scallions, garlic, ginger, carrot and (if using) chilies to the pan and cook, stirring often, 1 to 2 minutes, or until the garlic becomes golden. Return the cooked egg to the pan.
Add the rice and stir to coat well with the other ingredients. Cook for about 2 minutes to allow the rice and egg to become hot. Turn the heat down to medium-low and pour the soy sauce over the rice. The pan may be quite full (depending on its size), so stir carefully to allow even distribution of soy sauce throughout the rice.
Taste for salt, and add an additional 1 tablespoon of soy sauce if you like. Sprinkle with the reserved dark green scallion slices to serve.
Variations:
* Add chopped raw shrimp (1/4 to 1/3 pound) 1 minute after adding the scallions, garlic, ginger and carrot.
* Add small cubes of firm tofu (about 1/2 cup) 1 minute after adding the scallions, garlic, ginger and carrot.
* Stir in small pieces of leftover cooked chicken just before adding the rice to the pan.
* For a mellower pork flavor, try pancetta instead of bacon.
* For Thai-style fried rice, sprinkle 1 tablespoon of Thai fish sauce over the mixture before returning the egg to the pan, and squeeze the juice from half a lime over the rice just before serving.
* To get more of your vegetables, slice raw green beans (about 1/4 to 1/3 cup) very thin (1/8 inch) and add them along with the scallions, garlic, ginger and carrot.
Marinated Chicken Breasts
Servings: 8
Ingredients:
* 1/2 cup broth
* 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
* 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
* 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
* 1/2 minced garlic cloves or 1 to 2 teaspoons garlic powder
* 2 teaspoons sugar
* 1 teaspoon crushed thyme
* 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
* Salt to taste
* 2 pounds chicken breasts, boned and skinned (8 halves)
Directions:
Place all of the ingredients except the chicken breasts in a jar with a tight-fitting lid and shake well. Rinse the chicken breasts and pat dry with paper towels. Place the chicken and marinade in a locking plastic bag, making sure the chicken is coated well (using a bag saves on cleanup, but a shallow dish works just as well). Marinate the chicken in the refrigerator for several hours, turning occasionally.
Prepare the outdoor grill or preheat the broiler or a stovetop grill pan. Grill the chicken or place under the broiler for about 10 minutes per side. Cooking time will vary depending on the thickness of the chicken. The chicken is done when the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees using an instant-read thermometer. Discard the marinade.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Cooking Horoscope
What to eat
In the section of culinary horoscope "What to eat" you will find out what dishes are recommended to you by "stars" for the welfare of your health and what should be excluded from the menu. There is some useful advice that can be not to your liking, but think of this horoscope as the recommendation of your doctor.
Aries (Mar 21 - Apr 19) | Taurus (Apr 20 - May 20) | |||||
Aries, as nobody else, must have rational invalid food. It can sound boring, but Aries has to prefer porridges, fish and vegetables, especially cabbage, radish, beet, to fat meat and fried potatoes. Greens such as parsley, dill and scallions are very good for Aries. Keep to a diet and do your best to avoid eating at nights.
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Taurus must know when to stop while eating, as gluttony is a major sin. You should remember that tasty things are not always healthy. Taurus needs different fruits: oranges, lemons, apples, plums and pears. Taurus has to form a habit to supplement the meal with light salads with carrot and cabbage.
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Gemini (May 21 - June 21) | Cancer (June 22 - July 22) | |||||
Gemini should pay more attention to albuminous products: eggs, cheese, nuts and farmer cheese. Prunes, raisins and dried apricots bear salutary influence on the nervous system. Geminis can treat themselves with olives and peanuts. Sometimes you can eat spicy and hot dishes with delight.
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Cancerians, by the nature, are the slaves of the stomach and they need to keep to a strict diet. Don’t get despaired there is a thing you can eat at no allowance – watermelon, it will purify your organism from refuses. Cancerians can give a treat to themselves with legumes or seafood, but only in moderate quantities.
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Leo (July 23 - Aug 22) | Virgo (Aug 23 - Sept 22) | |||||
Leo needs to include poultry in his food ration, but don’t get carried away. You should pay more attention to various fruits and dried fruits. Among numerous vegetables, it is worth to prefer squash and eggplant.
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Virgo, being a “lady” in everything, should keep to a vegetarian diet. Forget about fat fried pork or grill meat. The only thing you could allow from time to time is boiled chicken or stewed veal. But Leo is unlimited in apples and greens. Eat to your heart’s content!
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Libra (Sep 23 - Oct 23) | Scorpio (Oct 24 - Nov 21) | |||||
The rule that Libra must know like the back of the hand is not to stuff the stomach with everything that falls into the hands. Garlic, black current and cranberries are recommended to Libra as they are predisposed to vascular diseases. The perfect breakfast for them is acrospires. Libra should exclude spicy and hot dishes; it is better to diversify your menu with delicious sauces and vitaminous salads
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Scorpio needs overcome the love to hot sauces and must not abuse them at any case. The best vegetables for them are turnip, beet and cabbage. Milk products are good but in limited quantities. You can make a holiday for you with seafood and fish dainties.
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Sagittarius (Nov 22 - Dec 21) | Capricorn (Dec 22 - Jan 19) | |||||
For Sagittarians, the healthiest thing is mineral water; 1-2 bottles a day will make them feel much better. Sagittarius, as nobody else, is recommended to eat legumes – peas, beans and soy. Meat is better to exclude from the menu and eat soy meat. Don’t think about taste, but use. Greens, especially dill and celery can be eaten unlimited.
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Capricorns love refinement in meal – a beautiful tablecloth, silver settings, table and dish serving. As most Capricorns suffer from dysbolism, they should pay more attention to the separate nutrition. But they are the only sign that can eat anything the heart desires. It is even recommended to have a glass of wine before meal.
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Aquarius (Jan 20 - Feb 18) | Pisces (Feb 19 - Mar 20) | |||||
Aquarians belong to the category of people who should exclude all sweets from their menu – cakes, candies, biscuits are not for them. The most useful fruit is a pomegranate. Milk products can serve a good breakfast and a cup of kefir or clabber will substitute a late dinner. Never deny yourself light vegetable salads.
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Unfortunately, Pisceans get food poisoning most of all. They should exclude canned fish, spicy dishes and fries in fat from their menu. As to alcohol, it is better to drink pure vodka than exotic drinks but moderately.
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