Lavanya's Hyderabadi Dahi Bhindi Masala

Ingredients:

3-4 cups Bhindi/Okra, washed, dried and cut into 1 cm pieces
1 large Onion, finely chopped
2 large Tomatoes, finely chopped
1 tsp Ginger-Garlic Paste
1 tsp Sugar (Optional, to balance the sour taste of amchur and yogurt)
1 cup Yogurt, beaten
1 tbsp Grated Coconut, fresh/frozen
6-8 Cashew Nuts, soaked in warm milk for at least 10 mins
½ -1 tbsp Kasuri Methi/Dried Fenugreek Leaves
1 tsp Garam Masala/Kitchen King Masala
½ -1 tsp Red Chilli Powder (Adjust acc to taste)
½ tsp Turmeric Powder
½ -1 tsp Amchur/Dry Mango Powder
½ tsp Coriander Powder
1-2 tbsp Oil
Salt to taste

For Tadka/Tempering:

1 tsp Mustard Seeds
½ tsp Jeera/Cumin Seeds
A Pinch of Hing/Asafoetida
Few Curry Leaves
1 tbsp Oil


Method:

Sprinkle little salt to okra pieces and mix well. Keep it aside for half an hour. This helps in reducing the sliminess while frying the okra. This step is optional.

Heat 1-2 tbsp of oil in a pan and add okra pieces to it. Fry them continuously at high flame till they turn brown retaining their crispiness, about 7-10 mins. Alternatively you can also deep fry them but I prefer pan frying for healthy option.

Transfer these fried okras to a plate lined with kitchen/paper towel and keep them aside till needed.

Grind soaked cashews and coconut to smooth paste adding the milk used for soaking. Keep it aside till needed.

Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds to it. When mustard starts to pop and splutter, add cumin seeds, hing and curry leaves and sauté it for a minute till cumin seeds turns golden brown in colour.

Now add finely chopped onions and fry till they turn light golden. Add ginger-garlic paste and fry for another minute till their raw smell disappears and onion turns golden brown.

Now add all the dry masalas (garam/kitchen king masala, red chilli powder, amchur, turmeric and coriander powder) along with Kasuri Methi and fry for a minute in low heat.

Mix in finely chopped tomatoes and sauté till they turn pulpy and release their juice, about 2 minutes. Now add ground cashew-coconut paste and mix well. Keep stirring for a minute.

Add yogurt, sugar and salt to taste and stir well. Depending on the consistency of gravy required, add ½-1 cup of water and mix well. Simmer the gravy and let it cook uncovered for another 5 minutes.

Mix in fried okra and adjust the seasonings. Add little more water if you think the gravy is too thick and simmer for another 3-5 minutes.

Serve this delicious gravy of Hyderabadi Dahi Bhindi Masala with any roties or flavoured Basmati rice and enjoy.

Lavanya's Peerkangai Pachadi

Cut 2 peekings into small peices.
Cut 2-3 green chillies. Finely chop 1 big onion.

Pressure cook the above with very little water and cumin seeds for 2 whistles. Cool and pulse it in the mixer. If there is lots of water, save it and use for grinding coconut and soaking tamarind.

Grind one spoon of grated coconut and cumin. take extract from tamarind - 1.5- 2 ounce approximately.

In a kadai do tempering with mustard seeds, jeera, curry leaves and 2 dry red chillies. then add finely chopped onion and fry till it turns brown.

Then add the coarse peekings mixture,coconut jeera paste, tamarind extract,salt and turmeric and hing and bring to boil. remove from heat when done.

Thattukada Chicken (Sig)

Ingredients

1 lb Chicken pieces, bone-in, preferably drumsticks
1 tbsp Ginger-Garlic paste
3/4 tsp Coriander powder
3/4 tsp Red chilli powder
1 pinch Turmeric powder
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp rice flour
Salt to taste
1/2 cup oil (use coconut oil for the real thattukada taste)
Juice from 1 lemon
Garnish
2-3 sprigs curry leaves
5 green chillies
1 cup thinly sliced onions

Method

Clean the chicken and pat dry. If using drumsticks, make a few slits, if using a whole chicken, cut into medium sized pieces.

Mix the ginger-garlic paste, coriander, chilli, turmeric, garam masala and rice flour along with the lime juice to make a paste.
Marinate the chicken in this paste for an hour or overnight in the refrigerator.

Heat the oil in a pan and fry the chicken in medium-low heat till brown on all sides.

Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.

Mix the sliced onions for garnish in the remaining marinade.

In the same oil, deep fry the marinated onions till crispy and keep aside. Now deep fry curry leaves and slit green chillies if using (remove the seeds from the chillies to reduce heat).

Garnish the fried chicken with lemon wedges, fried onions, curry leaves & chillies

Lavanya's Garnish for Poriyal

Boil the vegetable. It could be either one of the following:
green beans
cabbage
green beans + cabbage + carrot
boiled and peeled and cubed potato
broad beans
cluster beans
kovaikkai
pavaikkai
boiled and cubed valaikkai

In a mixer, dry grind the following without adding water:

green chillies
jeera
garlic
fresh coconut

In a kadai, heat oil and add mustard seeds. When they start to splutter, add urad dal and onions and curry leaves. When onions are tender, add the vegetable and the dry ground mixture and saute well. Serve with chapathis or rice.

Lavanya's Chicken curry for Idiyappam/Parotta

Ingredients:

chicken marinated in ginger garlic paste and little yogurt - 1 kg
green chillies - 5
grated coconut -1 cup loosely packed
onion - 3 meduim sized
tomato - 2 small roma tomatoes
coriander powder - 3 tsp
turmeric powder
1 big bunch of cilantro

Method:
In a kadai, heat some oil and add little sombu, 1 pattai, 1 lavangam, and few peices of kadal paasi.

Then add thinly sliced onions and 2 slit green chillies and fry till onions are translucent.

Now add tomatoes and fry till they get a little mushy.

Now add chicken and salt and coriander powder and turmeric and fry for a few minutes till the raw ginger garlic smell goes away.

Now make a fine paste of remaining green chillies and coconut and add to chicken and add enough water and cover and cook.

When almost done add the chopped cilantro and boil for 5 more minutes.

Cilantro is the highlight of the dish. You may add some lime juice too if needed.

Serve with idiyappam or parotta.

Lavanya's Mochai Upma

Ingredients:

Young tender mochai - 1 cup
dry red chillies - 4
Jeera - 2 tsp
salt
curry leaves
cilantro
rava - 1.5 cup

Method:

Boil the mochai separately and cook till tender. Save remaining water if any.

In a kadai, add oil and mustard seeds and dry red chillies and jeera and curry leaves and salt and when they start spluttering, add enough water for teh rava to cook.

When the water starts boiling add the cooked mochai and stir in the rava gently.

Make sure there are no lumps. Cover and cook. When almost done, add chopped cilantro and cook for 2 minutes. Serve hot.

Lavanya's Valaikkai(Plantain) Puttu

Ingredients:

Valaikkai - 2
Onions(shallots would taste better) - sliced
Green chillies - 2 slit lengthwise
Jeera powder - 1/2 tsp
2 cloves crushed garlic
Salt
Curry leaves

Method:

Take a kadai and place the full valaikkai in it. Add water to just cover the valaikkai and close with a lid. Cook until the valaikkai has changed color outside. Do not overcook it. (Probably 15 mins after the water starts to boil). Let it cool and peel the skin off and grate it with a grater.

In another kadai, do tadka of mustard seeds, urad dal and when they start to splutter, add the curry leaves, onions and green chillies and crushed garlic. Saute for a few minutes and then add the grated valaikkai and jeera powder and salt and mix well. Serve hot with sambar sadham.

Neji's Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:

Flour 2 2/3 cup
Unsweetened Cocoa 1 ¼ cup + 2 tbsp
Baking powder 2tsp
Baking soda 1tsp
Sour cream 1 cup
Salt 1 tsp
Vanilla extract 2tsp
Butter 2 cups
Sugar 2 cups
Eggs 2
Strong coffee 1 ¼ cup

Bake at 350 degrees ; 9” pan(three) for 40 to 45 minutes

Neji's Plum Cake

Ingredients

Butter 1 cup
Sugar 1½ cup
Egg Yolk 5
Raisins 2 cups
Raisin paste 1 cup
Cashew ½ cup
Orange juice ¼ cup
Lemon juice 1tsp
Rum or Brandy 2 tsp
Vanilla 1tsp
Rose water 2tsp
Orange peel(powdered) 1tbsp
Flour 11/4 cup
Baking pd 1tsp
Salt 3tsp
Cardamom 12
Cinnamon 2piece
Nutmeg small piece
Milk 1/2 cup
Egg white(mixed) 5
Granulated sugar(add this at the end) 5tbs

Method:

Mix sugar and butter first.
Add all one by one and mix with mixer.
Bake at 350 degrees for 50 mins.

Lavanya's Beans Poriyal

Ingredients:

Green beans
onion
coconut
green chillies
jeera
garlic
mustard seeds
urad dal
curry leaves

Method:

Microwave the beans with very little water. (Do not overcook. Its nice if they are crispy).

Grind coconut, green chillies, jeera and garlic - dry grind without water.

In a tava heat little oil and mustard seeds. After they splutter add urad dal and curry leaves.

Add finely chopped onion and salt and fry for few minutes.

Now add the ground coconut mixture and saute for a minute.

Now add the beans and toss until its well coated with the seasoning.

Remove from heat and serve.

Lavanya's Channa Masala

Ingredients

Channa - 2 cups (cooked)
Grind 1/2 cup of cooked channa
Chopped Onions - 1 cup
Tomatoes - 2
Garlic - 3 cloves grated
Ginger - 1"x1" grated
Coriander powder - 2 tbsp
Amchur powder - 2 tsp
Garam masala - 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste
cilantro

Method

Saute onions and add garam masala, ginger, garlic Add tomatoes, coriander powder and amchur powder.

Saute till everything integrates and oil separates.

Add water (about 2 cups), channa paste, salt and channa Let it simmer covered for about 20 minutes.

Garnish with cilantro.

You can add black pepper or chilli powder if you want to make it hot - yeah, like you can escape it:-)

Sushma's Bell Pepper Chutney

Ingredients

Bell pepper(green) – 1
Tomato -1 medium
Green chilles
Oil – 3 spoons
Jeera – ½ spoon
Tamarind
Salt
Garlic paste – a pinch

For tadka : urad dal , chana dal , mustard seeds , curry leaves

Process:

De-seed the bell pepper.

Chop bell pepper and tomato into cubes of medium size.

Take a spoon of oil and sauté them until soft . Make sure the contents appear dry by the end.

Let it cool.

Grind the vegetables with salt , jeera and garlic .

According to taste you can also add little bit of tamarind and few green chilles, if needed.

Season with tadka.

Jyothsna's Kalee/Mudde (Ragi Ball)

1) Mix the Ragi flour in tamarind juice. Let it marinate for about 15 – 30 minutes. The consistency of the mixture should be like idly batter.

2) In the pan add some Gingili oil (or) canola oil. Add mustard, cumin, urad dhal, channa dal and curry leaves.

3) After the mustard splutters, add thinly sliced ginger, green chilies, red chilies. Add some salt and asofotedia.

4) Now pour the mixture (from step 1) and reduce the flame of the stove. Let it stand for some time and keep stirring it. Let it thicken and get to the right consistency.

Alternatively, You can mix the dry Ragi flour in water instead of tamarind juice. Repeat all the other steps 2 through 4. After it is done you can add some lime juice on top. This will be nice too. These preparations do not need any side dish and is pretty easy.

Vegetable Chutney

Saute' green chillies, onion

Add broccoli, red pepper and fry lightly and let it cook for 15 mins.

Then add tomato and let everything cook.

Then grind the whole thing adding garlic, salt, tamarind paste, jeera.

Season with mustard, urad dal and curry leaves.

Seema's Mutton Curry

Ingredients:

Mutton 1lb cut into cubes (best with bones)
Cloves 5
Green Cardamom 3
Black Cardamom 1
Bay Leaves 2 (small)
Cinnamon 1 small stick
Onion 3 small (or 1&1/2 big ones)
Tomato 3
Green Chillies to taste
Ginger 1inch
Garlic 5 cloves
Tomato paste 1tbspn
Turmeric powder 1/4tsp
Cumin powder 1tsp
Coriander powder 2tsp
Red chilli powder to taste
Garam Masala 1/4tsp
Salt to taste
Coriander leaves for garnishing

Method:

1. Grind onions, tomatoes, ginger, garlic and green chillies.

2. Heat oil in cooker, add the whole garam masala. Add the above puree. Let it cook till all the moisture is evaporated.

3. Add tomato paste, salt, coriander powder, cumin powder, red chilli powder and turmeric. Stir for few seconds and then add the mutton. Let it cook on low flame for 20mins....more the better. Keep stirring in between as the tomatoes/tomato paste tend to burn easily.

4. Then add water about 2cups or whatever the consistency needed. Mix well, close the cooker and give 2 whistles.

5. Once the pressure is released, check the seasoning.

6. Add garam masala and coriander leaves. Serve hot with rice or chapati.

NOTE:

* If you dont have tomato paste, use additional 2-3 tomatoes while grinding.

* Its best to let mutton cook on low flame. But if you have a time crunch then pressure cook.

Lavanya's Valaikkai

Ingredients :

valaikkai
onions
tomatoes
ginger & garlic paste
pattai
lavangam
coriander powder – very little
chilli powder
salt
coconut
sombu

Method :

Cut the valaikkai lengthwise and then chop into ¼ inch pieces.

Deep fry these in oil and keep aside.

Grind the coconut and sombu and keep aside.

In a pan, add oil and season it with pattai, lavangam etc.

Add the onions and sauté till brown and then add gg paste and once that is cooked, add tomatoes.

Now add turmeric, salt, coriander powder, chilli powder and allow it to cook.

Now add the ground coconut and sombu mixture and allow it to come to a boil and cook.

Then add the fried valaikkai and keep it covered for 5 – 10 minutes until the gravy is absorbed by the valaikkai.

PS : you can also use potato instead of valaikkai.

Chetan's Koli Saaru

On a tava fry the below:
mustard seeds
curry leaves
patte
lavanga
onions.

Grind this fried stuff with corriander leaves, ginger, garlic, tomato and coconut milk.

Fry some more onions, and then add chicken, chilli pwd, and dhania pwd, and cook for a little bit.

Add the ground masala, water, and pressure cook it.

Seema's Beetroot Raita

Peel one small to medium beetroot and cook in microwave for 3 mins with very little water and then grate it or chop it (whichever way u like it).

Mix it with yogurt and salt.

I added a little milk as yogurt was very thick.

Then for seasoning, heat oil, add mustard seeds, curry leaves(chopped) and chopped green chillies or red chilli flakes.

Neji's Flan

Ingredients

Sugar - 1 cup
water - 2 tbsp
Mix this and caramalize over medium temperature.
Pour it to the pan.Let it solidify.

Fat free cream cheese - 1/2 packet.
Egg - 4
Milk - 1.5 cup
Condensed milk - 1 can
Vanilla - 2 tsp
Sugar -1/4 cup.

Method

Mix everything.

Bake(waterbath) it at 375degree for 40 min.

Baking time may change according to your pan size & oven. So keep an eye the first time when you bake it.

Johanna's Hummus

Ingredients

1 can (16oz) chick peas drained and rinsed

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (I use a bit less, too sour)

3 T tahini (sesame butter found at Heinen’s or Aladin’s

2 cloves garlic, finely minced

Salt to taste

Extra Virgin Olive Oil to taste

Method

Put all in Food Processor and blend. If too thick, add a tablespoon or 2 of water until proper consistency (soft and creamy).

Remove to shallow dish. Drizzle with Olive Oil and sprinkle with sweet or hot paprika and parsley. I like serving room temp after hummus has set and blended awhile.

You can also blend in green onions or dill or whatever seasoning floats your boat

Seema's Gajar ka Halwa

Boil 1liter of milk and reduce to half.

Keep on stirring to avoid burning.

Add 1kg carrots (grated), let it cook well.

Add sugar (1/2cup plus more....according to taste) and mix well.

Meanwhile, chop nuts and crush 8 green cardamom seeds to powder.

Add them to the halwa.

Now add khoya (approx 100gm). Cook till you get the required consistency.

Add 1tbsp ghee and turn off the stove.

Fouzia's RasMalai

1 Cup Nido Pd
1 tb sp Maida
1 tsp Baking Pd
1 Egg
Milk – sufficient for soaking 16 Rasmalais.
Pistachio few coarsely powdered
Sugar according to taste

Boil Milk and sugar in a wide mouthed pan. This helps rasmalai to soak evenly not sticking to one another

Beat the egg and combine it with Nido Pd, maida, baking pd. Make 16 small equal sized patties.

When the milk boils, add these patties and cook on low for 4 mins. And cook on high for 1 min and turn off the stove.

Let it cool and then sprinkle the pistachio pd and refrigerate it over night.

Fouzia's Aloo Baingan

1. Take American Baingan (Large elongated ones) and cut them thinly.

2. Sprinkle Haldi,salt and Red Chill powder on them. Coat with 4-5 TBSP oil and bake on a cookie sheet at 375 till they are done. Turn couple of times in between so they bake even.

3. In a broad saucepan , put oil . Add crushed red chilies, White jeera , Mustard seeds and Kalonji (about 1/2 teaspoon each) and fry for a minute.

4. Add 4-5 thinly sliced tomatoes to oil. Add salt, Red chilli powder, Khatai Powder (amchur powder) and haldi. Fry for a minute.

5. Peel and thinly slice potatoes and place on top of tomates. Cover the sauce pan and simmer on medium or low heat so the potatoes are half done. then add baked Baingan and on top. Cover and simmer till potatoes are done.

Madhavi's Mom's Egg Curry with Cabbage

Ingredients

1/2 head cabbage - grated
6 hard boiled eggs - pierce using a fork.
1 onion - grated
1 each - Clove, Cinammon and Cardamom
1 tsp grated Ginger
2 Green Chillies
1/4 tsp garam masala pd
1 tsp Chilli Pd
Oil


Method

Heat oil, add the whole garam masala.

Add onion and fry till soft. Add ginger.

Add G Chillies and cabbage and fry till almost done.

Add Chilli Pd, Salt and Garam Masala and cook till done.

Add the pierced eggs and cook tossing them in cabbage masala for 3-4 mins.

Madhavi's Mom's Pudina Chutney

Ingredients:

2 bunches of Mint
4 tsp urad
2 tsp channa dal
2 tsp dhaniya
little bit of mustard, methi
red chillies
tamarind a small lemon size.
garlic 6-7 pods
salt

Method:

Microwave the tamarind with very little water to make it soft.

Heat oil and fry the dals, red chillies, dhaniya, mustard and methi. Set them aside.

Fry mint in some oil till the raw smell goes away.

Take all the above in a dry mixer and pulse till almost fine but coarse consistency.

Stuffed Karela (Mahanandi)

Ingredients:

(Ingredients are for 6 karela. A steam-cooker and a wide, thick-bottomed skillet or pan are needed for preparation.)

Karelas - Young and fresh looking karelas, about hand or palm length are the best ones for this recipe. One or two karelas per person.

Stuffing - for 6 karelas, we need about half cup pappulu (dalia), quarter cup finely chopped dried coconut pieces, 6 Indian variety dried red chillies and half teaspoon each - cumin and salt. Take them in a mixer and grind to fine powder. Keep this stuffing in a cup on the side.


Peel the Karela outer ridges lightly. Rinse under water.

Place a steam cooker on the stove-top. Fill the cooker to quarter with water. Add a teaspoon of salt to water. Place the karelas in a steam basket. Cover tightly with lid. Bring the water to boil and steam-cook the karelas to tender. Takes around five minutes. Pay attention to the process and do not overcook the karelas to mush. Remove the basket and let the karelas cool.

With a sharp knife, cut karela lengthwise, keeping the edges intact like shown in the photo above. Scoop out the seeds and keep them in a cup. Prepare all of them this way and line them up for stuffing.


Fill the karela shell with stuffing. Add about a tablespoon of powder to each one, and spread along the length.

Bring the cut edges together and run a thread around the stuffed karela. Tuck the thread edges underneath a round. Karela will hold the shape and would remain closed during sautéing. There is really no need for tying the knot or needle threading.

Place a wide pan on stove-top. Add and heat a tablespoon of peanut oil. Place the stuffed and threaded karelas in a single row. Also, on the sides, add the seeds removed from karelas. On medium-low heat, sauté karelas to golden, turning frequently. Take care not to blacken or burn them. The seeds also get grilled to crisp.

Place the sautéed karelas in a serving dish after removing the thread. Sprinkle few tablespoons of remaining stuffing powder and also roasted karela seeds. Serve warm with rice, daal/sambar or yogurt rice.

Menthi Kura Pappu (Mahanandi)

Ingredients:

One bunch of fresh fenugreek - washed and leaves plucked
4 fistfuls of Toor dal
1 medium sized onion and tomato - chopped
1o green chillies - finely chopped
Small lime sized tamarind
1/4 tsp of turmeric
Salt to taste

For popu or tadka :

1 tsp each of oil or ghee, mustard seeds, cumin and urad dal
1 garlic clove - finely chopped
Few curry leaves and few pieces of dry red chillies

Preparation:

Cook dal: In a pressure cooker, take toor dal, fenugreek leaves, onion, tomato, green chillies, tamarind and turmeric - add one glass of water and pressure cook them till 3 whistles. When the valve pressure is all released, remove the lid, add half teaspoon of salt and mash the dal using a wood masher to smooth paste.

Do the popu: In a deep bottomed vessel, heat one teaspoon of oil, add the remaining popu or tadka ingredients. Saute till the seeds start crackling, garlic turns red. Pour the cooked and mashed dal, stir well and cover. Tastes great with rice and chapati.

Mango Pappu (Mahanandi)

Ingredients:

1 green mango
1 medium sized red onion - sliced into big chunks
4 fistfuls of toor dal (¾ cup)
1 teaspoon of chilli powder
¼ teaspoon of turmeric
½ teaspoon of salt or to taste

Popu/Tadka

1 tsp of peanut oil or ghee
1 tsp of each - mustard seeds, cumin, urad dal, chana dal
4 to 6 dried red chilli pieces and curry leaves
2 garlic cloves - finely chopped

Method

1.Wash green mango thoroughly to remove any pesticide sprayings. Dry it with a towel then cut it into small cubes. I don’t like to peel the mango for this recipe. The tough outer skin of mango, imparts kind of tarty flavor to the dal, so following the tradition, I also keep the skin. Scrape any white flesh attached to the seed with a peeler and then only discard the seed. (see this photo for the stripped seed.)

2. Take toordal, mango, onion, chilli powder and turmeric in a pressure cooker. Add one and half cups of water. Close the lid and pressure cook until 3 whistles or until you are sure the dal is soft and crumbly. Turn off the heat and wait for the pressure to go off.

3. After all the valve pressure is released, remove the lid. The contents usually are cooked soft by now, add salt and with a wood masher, mash the dal, until all the toordal turns into fine mush.

4. In a vessel, heat peanut oil or ghee, Toast the popu ingredients in this order. First add dried red chilli pieces, garlic and chana dal. Then urad dal and curry leaves, finally add and toast cumin and mustard seeds.

5. Remove the mashed mango dal from pressure cooker and add it to the popu in the vessel. Stir to mix and cover the vessel with a lid so that the dal could absorb the flavors of popu

Serve with rice and ghee, a dry sauté curry by the side and some papads for a memorable meal.

My preference: Mix mango dal with rice and ghee thoroughly. Shape the mixture into small rounds and have them with papads preferably sago (sabudana papad).

Uppu Kari ( Sig)

Ingredients

1 lb Lamb/Goat meat with bones cut into small cubes
1 tbsp ginger paste
1 cup sliced onions
10 cloves garlic minced
12 split dry red chilies
1″ cinnamon stick
1 tbsp fennel seeds
1/2 cup grated coconut or coconut flakes
1 bunch curry leaves
Salt for taste
oil for sauteing

Method

Marinate the cubed meat with salt and keep aside for an hour.

Add the ginger paste to the meat and pressure cook till the meat is tender(about 7 minutes after the first whistle). Alternatively you can cook the meat and ginger mixture in a regular sauce pan along with a cup of hot water till the meat is tender and the gravy is completely dried up.

In the mean time, heat oil in a large frying pan, fry the cinnamon, fennel seeds and the split red chilies till fragrant and keep aside.

In the same pan, saute the onions and garlic till brown. Add the curry leaves and the fried spices from the previous step and mix well.

Check the cooked meat and dry most of the liquid that might have formed during the pressure cooking process.

Add the dry cooked mutton into the pan with the fried onion and spices and mix well till the remaining moisture is all dried up.

Add the grated coconut to the pan and fry till the coconut is slightly brown.
Serve hot with rice.

Spicy Chicken Fry Recipe ( Sig)

Ingredients

Chicken 1 Whole
Dry Red Chillies - 15
Coriander Seeds - 1/4 cup
Shredded coconut - 2 cups
Cashew nuts - 1/4 cup
Sliced Onions - 2
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Cinnamon - 1″
Cardamom - 2
Cloves - 5
Curry Leaves - 1 bunch
Tamarind paste - 1 tbsp
Salt to taste
Oil - to fry

Directions

Heat a pan and dry roast the red chillies , then the coriander seeds and finally the grated coconut. Transfer to a spice grinder.

Add a little oil and fry half the onion slices till brown. Grind all these together along with the cashew nuts and the spices to make a smooth paste.

Heat oil and fry the remaining onions. Add the chicken pieces and cook till half done.

Add the ground mixture and fry for a while. Then add the curry leaves and stir for a while.

Add tamarind paste and cook till all the gravy is absorbed and the oil starts seperating. Garnish with some coriander leaves.

Mutton Stew ( Sig)

Ingredients

2lb Goat/lamb meat with bones cut into medium sized pieces
1 tbsp oil
6-8 cardamom pods
6-8 cloves
1 tsp whole black peppercorns
1" piece of cinnamon
2 star anise
4 bay leaves
1/2 cup thinly sliced shallots
2 tbsp thinly sliced (julienned) ginger pieces
2 tbsp thinly sliced garlic pieces
2-3 green chilies sliced
1 can coconut milk
a few curry leaves
salt to taste
1 tbsp vinegar

Method

In a large pressure cooker, heat some oil and add the cardamom, cloves, pepper, cinnamon, star anise and bay leaves and sauté for a minute. Add the sliced shallots, ginger, garlic and green chilies and saute till soft. Add the meat and curry leaves and mix well. Fry for a few minutes till the meat pieces are heated through.

Add the coconut milk. vinegar and 1/2 a cup of water and mix well. Add salt to taste and close the pressure cooker .Cook on high till the first whistle (when the pressure cooker has reached the full pressure). Reduce the heat to medium and cook for about 12 minutes. Remove from the heat and let it cool.

The meat has to be fall-off-the-bones tender to get the full impact. As I mentioned before, I like to keep it in the fridge overnight and heat it up next morning.

Mutton Pepper Fry ( Sig)

Mutton(boneless) - 1/2 kg
(boneles)
Chilly powder - 2 tbsp
Garam masala powder - 1 tsp
Coriander powder - 2 tbsp
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - 1 sprig
Green chillies - 6 nos
Ginger(chopped) - 1 tbsp
Shallots(Kunjulli)(chopped) - 1 cup
Pepper(crushed) - 1 tbsp
Ginger-garlic paste - 1 tbsp
Salt - As reqd
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Coconut oil - 1/4 cup


1)Clean and cut mutton into medium pieces.

2)Cook the mutton along with chilly powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder, salt, ginger-garlic paste and a few curry leaves in a pressure cooker.

3)Heat oil in a pan or a kadai.

4)Splutter mustard seeds.

5)Add curry leaves, shallots, green chillies and ginger and saute, till it becomes golden brown.

6)Add the cooked mutton and cook, till the oil separates and is well roasted.

7)Add pepper and garam masala and saute for 1 - 2 mins.

8)Garnish with curry leaves.

Mutton Chops in a Black Pepper Sauce ( Sig)

Ingredients

Goat Rib Chops – 8
1/4 cup sliced shallots
10 garlic cloves
1/2 cup yogurt
Salt to taste
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 large onion, thinly sliced
A few curry leaves

For the Spice Powder

2 tsp whole black peppercorns
2 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 star anise
4 cardamom pods
1” cinnamon stick

Method

Process all the ingredients listed under “For the Spice Powder” in a spice grinder or a coffee grinder to form a coarse powder.

Place the garlic cloves, sliced shallots, powdered spices and yogurt in a food processor and blend to form a thick marinade.

Place the cleaned goat chops in a pressure cooker and pour this marinade over.Add the salt and turmeric powder and mix well to coat the chops. Let it marinate for 30 minutes.

Pressure cook the chops for 10 minutes after the first whistle on medium heat. Open the cooker once it is cool. There will be a lot of liquid in the cooker. Remove the chops using a slotted spoon and return the cooker to the stove and reduce the liquid down to a thick gravy.

In a large frying pan, heat 1 tbsp oil and sauté the thinly sliced onion till soft. Add the curry leaves and sauté till onions start to brown. Add the cooked mutton chops to this pan and let the chops brown on all sides, turning frequently. Pour the reduced gravy over and turn the chops around to coat them evenly with this gravy and onion mixture. Switch off the stove when the chops are well covered with the sauce.


Notes
1. Goat chops tend to be really fatty. If that is the case, you will be able to separate out the oil when the gravy is thickened. Use some of this fat to fry the onions instead of using extra oil. You might even want to pour as much of the separated oil out as possible.
2. In case you don’t have a pressure cooker handy, the chops can be cooked in a regular pan too. Add 1.5 cups hot water to the marinated chops and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover and cook for 30 minutes till the chops are cooked through.

Madurai style mutton chukka ( Sig)

Ingredients

2lb goat meat, cleaned and cut into small pieces
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
6 red chilies
1 tsp whole black peppercorns
1 tsp cumin seeds
1” cinnamon stick
10 cloves Garlic
2 tbsp thinly sliced ginger pieces
1 tsp oil
Salt to taste
Plenty of curry leaves

Method

Dry roast the spices and grind to a smooth powder.

Heat the oil in the same pan and sauté the ginger and garlic.

Grind this to a paste with 1tbsp water. Marinate the mutton pieces with salt, turmeric powder, powdered spices and the ginger-garlic paste.

Let it marinate for 30 minutes.

Place the marinated mutton in a pressure cooker. Close the cooker and cook for about 6 minutes after the first whistle (after it comes to full pressure) on medium heat. Let it cool naturally. No need to add water, as the meat would give out plenty of liquid during the cooking process.

When the pressure cooker is cool enough to handle, open it. Since goat is very fatty, the liquid in the cooker will have plenty of oil floating in it. We don’t need to use extra oil to fry the mutton. Carefully pour the liquid from the pan into a large sauté pan. Heat this liquid on high heat till most of the water evaporates and only the oil remains. If there isn’t enough fat in the pan, you can always add a tbsp oil into the pan at this point.

Add the cooked mutton pieces along with half of the curry leaves into the pan. Sauté till all the liquid is gone and the mutton pieces are browned on all sides. Stir in the remaining curry leaves and remove from the heat.

It is best with rice and a really light gravy, like daal.

Kozhi Uppu Varuval (Sig)

Ingredients

1.5 lb Chicken, leg and thigh pieces, skinless, bone-in
Salt to taste
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
2 tbsp oil
1 tbsp fennel seeds
15 dry re chillies (broken into half)
2 cups onions, chopped fine
2 cups tomatoes, chopped fine

Method

Cut the chicken into desired size, not too small. Marinate the chicken with the salt and turmeric powder and keep aside while preparing the other ingredients, like cutting the onions and tomatoes.

Heat the oil in a large pan and add the fennel seeds and broken red chillies and saute for a minute. Don’t let the spices burn.

Add the chopped onions and fry till brown, now add the chopped tomatoes and saute till well-blended.

Add the chicken pieces and saute. Keep some hot water ready by the side of the stove. Keep sprinkling some hot water on the chicken pieces while frying, if the pan gets too dry. Cook for about 10-12 minutes till chicken is tender. Add a bit more oil if needed to brown the chicken at the end.

Garnish with cilantro and serve with some fresh lime squeezed over.

Fish Curry - Tamil style (Sig)

Ingredients

Trout (You can use fish filets as well) 1 lb
Turmeric powder 1/2 tsp
Green chilies 5
Cumin 1tsp
Fenugreek seeds 1tsp
Mustard seeds 1/2 tsp
Tomatoes 2 medium sized
Tamarind paste 1tsp
Curry Leaves 1 bunch

To Grind

Shallots 1 cup
Black pepper seeds 1tbsp
Fennel seeds 1tbsp
Red chili powder 3 tbsp
Coriander powder 1/2 tsp

Directions

Clean and cut the fish into 1/4 ” steak pieces.

Marinate with a 1/4 tsp red chili powder and salt.

Heat oil in a pan and flash fry the fish pieces and keep aside.

Grind all the ingredients in the second set to a smooth paste and keep aside.

Heat oil and fry fenugreek seeds, mustard seeds and cumin. When the mustard seeds start to splutter, add split green chilies and fry.

Add tomatoes cut into small pieces and fry , mash the tomatoes while frying. Add the ground masala paste, curry leaves and turmeric powder to the pan and fry till the masala is cooked .

Add enough water and tamarind paste to the pan and bring to a boil. Add fish pieces and cook for 10 minutes till the desired thickness.

Erissery – Butternut Squash Curry (Sig)

Ingredients

2 cups diced butternut squash
3/4 cup grated coconut
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
2 green chilies
1 clove garlic
salt
1 dsp oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
3 dry red chilies
1 bunch curry leaves
2 dsp chopped shallots

Method

Keep 2 tbsp grated coconut aside. Grind the remaining coconut along with turmeric powder, green chilies and garlic to a coarse paste.

Cook the squash pieces in a sauce pan with just enough water to cover the pieces.
When the squash pieces are cooked, mash the pieces, add the ground paste and salt and cook on low heat for about 3 minutes.

Seasoning: In a different pan, heat oil and splutter the mustard seeds. Add the chopped shallots, dry red chilies, curry leaves and fry. Then add the grated coconut kept aside initially and fry till the coconut turns light brown. Add this seasoning to the prepared curry and stir well.

Serve hot with white rice and papadams.

Note:
I made this with the frozen diced butternut squash from the organic market. When I use a whole fresh butternut squash I normally bake it in the oven, or even pop it in the microwave till the skin gets soft and the inside flesh can be scooped out with a spoon. If you do that, just substitute the diced squash with the flesh in the same quantity.

Chicken Chili Fry (Sig)

Ingredients

1 lb skinless bone-in chicken thighs cut into bite size pieces
3/4 tsp red chili powder
salt to taste
1 tbsp oil
1/2 cup thinly sliced onions
12 medium sized green chilies sliced lengthwise into four (or to taste)
1 tbsp crushed garlic
1 tsp grated ginger
1 cup curry leaves
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

Method

Marinate the chicken pieces with salt and chili powder and keep aside for 15 minutes.

In a large frying pan, heat 1/2 tbsp oil and add the onions, green chilies and garlic. Season with salt.

Saute till onions start to brown. Remove and keep aside.

Add the remaining oil to the pan and let it heat through. Add the marinated chicken pieces to the oil and cook stirring frequently on high heat till the chicken pieces are cooked through.

Add the grated ginger, curry leaves and the fried onion-garlic-chilies to the pan and mix well. Cook on medium high heat stirring frequently till the chicken pieces start to brown.

Add the lemon juice and mix well, remove from the heat and serve hot with a cold brew.

BTW don’t skimp on the curry leaves, the aroma from the curry leaves is what makes this dish so wonderful.

Bitter Gourd-Tomato-Tamarind Curry (Sig)

Ingredients
2 tbsp oil
2 medium sized bitter gourds (~2 cups bitter gourd slices)
¼ tsp turmeric powder
¼ tsp mustard seeds
A few curry leaves
½ cup onions, diced
3/4 tsp red chili powder
3/4 tsp coriander powder

Powder these spices

½” cinnamon stick
2 cloves
3 cardamom pieces
½ tsp fennel seeds
¼ tsp cumin seeds
2 large tomatoes (1 cup tomato puree)
1 small ball tamarind (1 tbsp tamarind paste)
Salt to taste

Method

Soak the tamarind in water, if not using the paste. Paste can be added directly.

Puree the tomatoes in a food processor if using whole tomatoes.

Cut the bitter gourds into half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Slice each halves to thin pieces, widthwise.

Heat about ½ of the oil in a sauce pan and sauté the bitter gourd pieces along with a bit of salt till they start to brown a bit, but still soft.
Add the turmeric powder and sauté for another minute or so. Remove and keep aside.

Add the rest of the oil to the pan and splutter the mustard seeds.
Add the onions and curry leaves and sauté till soft. Reduce the heat to low and add the red chili powder and coriander powder.
Sauté on low heat till the spices are brown.
Add the pureed tomatoes and mix well to incorporate. Bring it to a boil.

Add the sautéed bitter gourd pieces and ground spices and saute for a few seconds.

Add ½ cup hot water and mix well to combine. If using tamarind paste, add that now. If using soaked tamarind, use a spoon to press the tamarind down to get all the juice out of it and add the tamarind water to the pan.

You might want to repeat the process with more water to make sure you get all the good stuff out of the tamarind. Bring this to a boil. Adjust the liquid if necessary by adding more hot water.

Close the lid and simmer for about 10 minutes. If the gravy is not thick enough, remove the lid and increase the heat to thicken it a bit more. Check and add more salt if needed. Serve hot with rice and a simple green vegetable stir fry.

Red Lobster Cheddar Biscuits

Ingredients:

2 ½ cups Bisquick baking mix
¾ cup cold whole milk
4 tablespoons cold butter (1/2 stick)
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
1 heaping cup grated cheddar cheese

Brush on Top:

2 tablespoons butter, melted
¼ teaspoon dried parsley flakes
½ teaspoon garlic powder
pinch salt

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
2. Combine Bisquick with cold butter in a medium bowl using a pastry cutter or a large fork. You don't want to mix too thoroughly. There should be small chunks of butter in there that are about the size of peas. Add cheddar cheese, milk, and ¼ teaspoon garlic. Mix by hand until combined, but don't over mix.
3. Drop approximately ¼-cup portions of the dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet using an ice cream scoop.
4. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes or until the tops of the biscuits begin to turn light brown.
5. When you take the biscuits out of the oven, melt 2 tablespoons butter is a small bowl in your microwave. Stir in ½ teaspoon garlic powder and the dried parsley flakes. Use a brush to spread this garlic butter over the tops of all the biscuits. Use up all of the butter. Makes one dozen biscuits.

Nalini Aunty Thovayal

Dry Fry Toor Dal – 1 Kai

Dry fry 3-4 Red Chillies and Curry leaves.

Grind all together with Coconut 3-4 pieces

Bhavana's Chettinad Chicken

Ingredients:

500g chicken
250g tomatoes
100g onions
50g ginger-garlic paste
1 bunch curry leaves
1 bunch cilantro leaves
6 green chilies
Salt to taste
100g oil
1/4 cup fresh grated coconut
6 red chilies
15g black peppers
15g cumin seeds
15g sounf
10g garam masala


Method:

1.Clean the chicken and cut into pieces
2.Fry grated coconut, black pepper, red chilies, cumin seeds, garam masala and sounf in a pan and make a thick paste
3.Heat oil in a pan, fry chopped onions, ginger-garlic paste and curry leaves. Add chicken pieces, salt and cook in a low flame until it becomes tender.
4.Add the above paste to the chicken pieces and cook for 15 minutes, then add tomatoes and cook for another 5 minutes.
Sprinkle the cilantro leaves on the pieces and serve hot

Mamatha's Methi Pulao

Ingredients

1 cup rice
1 Cup Methi (either fresh or frozen)
1 tb sp Oil
1 small onion
1 tsp Ginger and Garlic paste
Cinnamon, Clove, Bay Leaves - 2 each
1 Tomato
Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Dhaniya powder - 1 tsp

Method:

Heat oil.
Fry Cinnamon, Clove, Bay Leaves, onions, ginger & garlic paste.
Add tomatos, methi leaves and fry till methi is wilted.
Add Chilli powder, Dhaniya powder and fry.
Add washed rice and water and close the cooker and cook.