Friday, April 30, 2010

Strawberry Roulade



Ingredients:
1. Powdered sugar - 2tbsp
2. Eggs - 4
3. Granulated sugar - 3/4 cup
4. Cold water - 1/4 cup
5. Vanilla extract - 1 tsp
6. All-purpose flour - 1 cup
7. Baking powder - 1tsp
8. Salt - 1/4 tsp
For the Filling:
1. Heavy cream - 1 cup
2. Fresh strawberries - 8
3. Granulated Sugar - 4 tbsp
4. Water - 1/4 cup
Whip the cream till it forms stiff peaks. You can add powdered sugar according to your needs while whipping the cream. Cut 4 strawberries into small pieces and mix it with the whipped cream.
In a pan, heat water and sugar and add remaining strawberries to it. Mash up the strawberries when it gets soft. Continue till the liquid thickens into a jelly like consistency.

To make the roll:
1. Heat oven to 375F. Line a 15x10x1 -inch pan with foil and grease it with shortening. Sprinkle a clean towel with powdered sugar and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, beat the eggs till it gets thick and lemon colored.
3. Gradually beat in granulated sugar until light and fluffy.
4. Beat in water and vanilla.
5. On low speed, beat in the flour, baking powder and salt.
6. Spread the batter evenly on the pan and bake for around 8 to 12 minutes or until cake springs back when touched lightly in the center.
7. Immediately loosen cakes from edges of the pan and turn upside down onto the towel sprinkled with sugar.
8. While the cake is hot, carefully roll up the cake and the towel. Place it on a wire rack and let cool completely .
9. Carefully unroll the cake. Remove the towel. Spread the strawberry jelly over the cake followed by the whipped cream filling. Leave an inch border as the filling will spread out while rolling it up.
10. Loosely roll up the cake and wrap it in foil. Refrigerate for 30minutes.
11. Sprinkle with powdered sugar if required and cut it into 1 inch thick slices.

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Pork Vindaloo




Ingredients:

Pork - 1kg

To grind :
Dried red chilli - 10
Whole Pepper - 1 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Fenugreek seeds - 1/2 tsp
Fennel seeds - 1 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Cardamom - 5
Cinnamon - 2 (2"inch piece)
Clove -6
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Green chillies - 2
Garlic - 1 whole pod chopped (reserve 1/3rd for later)
Ginger - 2 " piece chopped (reserve 1/3 rd for later)
Vinegar - enough to grind into a smooth paste

For the gravy:
Onion - 2 (sliced)
Tomato - 1
Green chillies - 3
Oil
Salt to taste

1. Cut the meat into big chunks.
2. Make a paste out of the ingredients mentioned above and marinate the pork. Leave it in the fridge overnight.
3. Pressure cook the meat for one whistle and wait for it to cool down. There will be some gravy too. Pop it into the fridge again for minimum 2 hours.
4. Remove the chunks of meat from the gravy. Reserve the gravy for later. Now slice the chunks of meat. Each slice should be 1/4 " thick.
5. Shallow fry these slices till they turn dark brown in colour. Make sure not to overdo the frying process as this will make the pieces hard.
6. In another pan, add oil and saute the onions till golden brown.
7. Add the reserved ginger and garlic and fry for a minute.
8. Add the green chilli and the tomato and saute till the tomato gets mushed up. Add a pinch of sugar at this stage.
9. Pour in the reserved gravy from cooking the pork. Mix well and saute till the oil separates. The gravy will turn into a nice dark brown colour.
10. Now add in the fried pork pieces and give it a good mix. Keep stirring for a minute.

Pork vindaloo is ready and it goes well with ghee rice and fried rice.

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Chicken Biriyani



This is a very simple and delicious recipe invented by my mom. The best part is that you don't have to chop a whole lot of ingredients. Instead, you let the blender do all the job. Sounds good right?







Ingredients:

Onion - 2 big ones (sliced)

To marinate:
Chicken - 1 kg
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Garam masala - 3 tsp( You can substitute this with eastern biriyani masala if you have it)
Lime juice - 1 tbsp
Salt to taste

To grind:
Curd - 1 cup
Coriander leaves - 1 big bunch
Mint leaves - 1 small bunch
Garlic - 2 cloves
Ginger - 1 inch
Tomato - 1 medium
Green chillies - 3 or 4

For garnish:
Onions - 2 sliced
Cashewnuts - a handful
Raisins - 10
Ghee for frying the raisins and cashewnuts
Oil for deep frying the onions

Fry the onions till golden brown. Also fry the cashew nuts and raisins in ghee.

Spice powder:
Cinnamon - 2 sticks
Cloves - 4
Cardamom - 2
Make a coarse powder out of the spices mentioned above. This powder will be used during the final layering.

For preparing the rice:
Rice - 3 cups (washed and drained well)
Lime juice - 1/2 tbsp
Cinnamon - 4 (1" sticks)
Cloves - 5
Cardamom - 4
Oil - 1/2 tbsp
Salt to taste

Bring the water to a boil. Add the spices, lime juice , oil and salt to the water. Add the rice. Once the rice is almost cooked but not fully cooked, quickly drain and pour cold water over the rice. This is done to stop the cooking process. Rest of the cooking takes place in the oven.


Preparing the chicken:
1. Marinate the chicken with all the powders and set aside for 30 minutes. I usually cut and marinate the chicken the previous day. This way my work reduces the next day and the chicken will be marinated well too.
2. Grind the coriander leaves, curd, mint leaves, tomato, ginger, garlic and green chillies. Pour this mixture to the chicken. Set aside for 30 minutes.
3. Now take out the chicken pieces from the marinade and shallow fry it. Reserve the marinade as it will be used for making the gravy later. Also do not cook the chicken completely. This is done so that the chicken pieces remain firm during the cooking process to follow.

Making the gravy:
1. In a large pan, heat oil and add the sliced onions. Saute till it turns into a light brown colour.
2. Add the reserved marinade. Stir well. Cook for about a minute or two.
3. Add the chicken pieces and mix well.
4. Cover and turn the flame to low. Once the water from the chicken pieces comes out, turn the flame to medium and cook till the gravy becomes a nice brown colour.
Now the gravy is ready.

Final layering:
Keep the following items nearby:
1. Rice
2. Chicken gravy
3. Fried onions, nuts and raisins
4. Spices powder
5. Juice of a lime
6. Coriander leaves - 1 tbsp

Generously grease a baking dish. Layer the rice first. Use almost half of the rice. Then sprinkle 1 tsp of lime juice, half of the spices powder and half of the fried onions. Layer the chicken pieces with the gravy(use the entire chicken gravy). Top it with the remaining rice. Followed by lime juice, spices powder and coriander leaves. Cover tightly with a foil paper and bake at 350F for 30 minutes. After that, turn off the oven and let the dish remain in the oven for another 20 minutes. Now the biriyani is ready. Garnish it with the remaining fried onions, nuts and raisins.

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Aviyal



Ingredients:
Vegetables - 3 cups cut into 1 inch thick pieces ( You can chose any vegetable of your choice. I usually have atleast 4 different vegetables like carrot, plantain, green beans and potato. If you can get drumsticks, add that too. If you like a soft vegetable in your aviyal, add a cucumber!)
Curd - 2 tbsp + 2 tbsp
Curry leaves - 2 sprigs
Coconut oil - 1 tbsp + 1/2 tbsp
Salt to taste

To grind:
Grated coconut - 1 cup
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Green chilli - 2

1. In a non stick pan, mix together the vegetables, 2 tbsp curd, 1 tbsp coconut oil and salt. Cover and cook on low to medium flame by stirring occasionally. Be careful not to burn the vegetables.
2. Grind the coconut, cumin seeds and green chillies with little water. Add turmeric to it and blend it again.
3. Once the vegetables are cooked well(Do not overcook the vegetables), pour in the ground mixture and mix well. Cook for another 2 minutes.
4. Add the remaining curd. and also adjust the salt. Stir for a minute. Turn off the flame.
5. Add the coconut oil and curry leaves and give it a good mix.

Enjoy this dish with rice and sambar!!!

Friday, April 16, 2010

Pork Ularthiyathu ( Pork fry)


Ingredients:

To mix:
Pork - 1.5 kg (Select meat with little fat. This keeps the meat from drying out during the frying process)
Big onion - 1/2 of an onion (chopped)
Garlic - 2 cloves (chopped)
Ginger - 2" piece (chopped)
Green chilli - 2 (slit)
Coriander powder - 2 tbsp
Garam masala - 1 tsp
Chilli powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - 1 sprig
Coconut oil - 2 tbsp
Salt to taste


To temper:
Shallots/pearl onions - 6 (crushed)
Garlic - 5 cloves (crushed)
Coriander powder - 2 tsp
Garam masala - 1 tsp + 1/2 tsp(reserved to put at the end)
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Pepper powder - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - 2 sprigs
Coconut oil - 3 tbsp

1. Mix together all the ingredients mentioned above and leave it for 30 minutes. Cover and cook the pork.
Tip : Do not add water. Cover the vessel and put on low flame for 5 minutes. The water from the meat will ooze out. Cook till the meat is well done.
2. Once the meat is done, put the flame to high to get rid of any excess water. Keep stirring.
3. In another pan, heat coconut oil and add the crushed shallots and garlic. Saute for a minute or till the shallots turn into a nice light brown colour. Note that the flame should be sonewhere between low to medium to make sure it doesn't get burned.
4. Add all the powders except for the pepper powder. Saute for 1 minute or till the raw smell of the masala goes.
5. Add the curry leaves and fry for another minute.
6. Add this to the pork and mix well. Adjust the salt. Add the reserved garam masala(1/2 tsp) and pepper powder and give it a good mix.
7. Now keep the flame low and stir the dish occasionally till it turns into a dark brown colour. Add extra coconut oil if the meat looks dry.

Enjoy this dish with hot steamed rice!!!


Channa Masala




Ingredients:
Cooked Channa - 3 cups (reserve the water left after cooking the channa)
Onion - 1 medium (chopped)
Tomato - 1 (chopped)
Garlic - 2 cloves (chopped)
Ginger - 1" piece (chopped)
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Channa masala powder - 1 1/2 tbsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Whole garam masala - Bayleaf , cinnamon, cloves, cardamom ( 2 each)
Lime juice - 1 tbsp(optional)
Coriander leaves - 4 tbsp (chopped)
Oil - 3 tbsp
Salt to taste

1. Heat oil in a non stick pan and add the cumin seeds and the whole garam masala. Saute till the cumin seeds changes colour.
2. Add the onions. To fasten the cooking process, always add a pinch of salt to the onions. This will help ooze out the water from the onions and fasten the cooking process.
3. Once the onions are light brown in colour, add the ginger and garlic and saute on medium flame for a minute.
4. Add the tomatoes, turmeric powder and the channa masala powder. Saute well till the tomato gets all mushed up.
5. Now add the water thats was reserved from cooking the channa. Just one cup or less will do. Wait for the mixture to boil.
6. Add the channa and mix well. Adjust the salt. Add the lime juice for more sourness. Cover it and let it cook for 2 mins.
7. Now mix well again. Garnish with coriander leaves and cover the dish and let stand for 15 mintues.
8. After 15 minutes, mix well again and it's ready to serve.


This dish goes well with batura or poori. The recipe for which I'll be posting shortly!

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Fish curry



My cousin, Tina, tried it out and sent me the pics.... looks yummy Tina!!!





Ingredients:
Fish - 10 pieces (salmon/kingfish)
Shallots - 4 (crushed)
Garlic - 2 cloves (crushed)
Ginger - 1" piece (sliced)
Green Chilies - 2 (slit)
Tomato - 1 (chopped)
Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
Chilli powder - 2 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Fenugreek seeds - 1/2 tsp
Thin coconut milk - 1 1/2 cup
Thick coconut milk - 3/4 cup
Kodam puli - 3 small pieces
Vinegar - 1 tbsp (optional - for more sourness)
Salt to taste
Coconut oil - 4 tbsp

To temper:
Shallots - 5 (sliced)
Curry leaves - 2 sprigs
Coconut oil - 3 tbsp


1. Place the puli in some warm water(1/2 cup). After 5 mins, throw away the water and fill it again with the same amount of warm water.
2. In an earthern vessel(chatti), splutter the mustard seeds followed by fenugreek seeds in coconut oil.
3. Add the shallots, ginger, garlic and green chilli. Saute till the shallots turns light brown in colour.
4. Add the powders(turmeric, chilli, coriander) and stir fry for a minute.
5. Add the tomato pieces followed by puli along the water. Mix well and adjust the salt.
6. Once the curry starts boiling, add the second milk. Wait for the curry to boil again.
7. Slide in the fish pieces. Fish will take only 5 to 10 minutes to cook. So increase the flame after 5 minutes to reduce the gravy.
8. When the pieces of fish are visible on the top, reduce the flame and add the thick coconut milk. Adjust the salt.
9. Turn off the flame once the curry starts to boil. At this point, you can add the vinegar if needed.
10. For tempering, heat coconut oil in another pan . Throw in the shallots and curry leaves. Saute till the shallots turn light brown in colour.
11. Pour over the curry and mix well. Be careful not to break the fish pieces.

The curry should sit for an hour. So make sure you make it well ahead of time. Enjoy it with rice!

Chocolate Brownies

This one is for all those chocolate lovers......Yesterday, I happened to see a mug that had this writing on it.."Where there is chocolate, there are no worries!!!". And from then on I have been craving for something chocolatey.... and this how I got inspired to try out these amazing brownies that I saw on BBC cooking.. a site that my brother had sent me loooooong back but never got the time to check it out!

A quick look at the ingredients....





Ingredients:

1. Unsalted butter- 4 oz plus extra for greasing
2. Caster sugar - 6oz
3. Eggs- 2
  • 4. Plain chocolate - 11/2 oz
  • 5. Walnuts - 2oz (optional)
  • 6. Vanilla extract - 1 tsp
  • 7. Instant coffee granules - 1 tsp
  • 8. Warm water - 2 tbsp
  • 9. Baking powder - 1 tsp
  • 10 . Plain flour - 2 oz
  • 11. Cocoa powder - 2oz
  • To serve:

  • Icing sugar, for dusting

1. Preheat the oven to 350F.

2. Prepare the cake tin. Grease an 18cm/7in square cake tin and line with non-stick baking parchment.

3. In a clean bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time.

4. Chop the chocolate and put to one side.

5. Chop the walnuts, if using. Gently fold the nuts and chocolate into the butter and egg mixture. Add the vanilla extract.

6. Dissolve the coffee granules in two tablespoons of warm water and add to the mixture. Mix together well.

7. Add the baking powder, then sift in the flour and cocoa powder. Mix well; the mixture will be quite wet.

8. Spoon the brownie batter into the prepared tin and level out the top with a spatula.

9. Bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes. Allow to cool in the tin for ten minutes, then place on a wire rack to cool.

10. To serve, cut into rectangles and dust with icing sugar.




Monday, April 12, 2010

Cashew Peanut Chicken

This one is my mom's creation. She happened to taste a similar dish in a restaurant and had to recreate it. So she gave me a rough idea of the ingredients and said I could try it out with whatever sauces I liked! Given the freedom, I took this opportunity to try out most of the sauces I had in my refrigerator... and I must say, I was quite happy with the result!





Ingredients:
Chicken - 1/2 kg
Carrot - 1 cup (1 inch long thin slices)
Capsicum - 1 cup (1 inch long thin slices)
Onions - 1 small (thinly sliced)
Garlic - 2 cloves
Sugar - 1 tsp
Cashewnuts - a handful
Peanuts - a handful
Dried red chilli -5
Egg - 1
Corn flour - Enough to coat the chicken
Lime juice - 1 tbsp
Pepper - 1 tsp
Oil - 1/4 cup plus enough for deep frying
Salt to taste

To mix:
Tomato sauce - 1 1/2 tbsp
Soy Sauce - 2 tbsp
Teriyaki sauce - 2 tsp
Schezwan sauce - 2 tsp
Hot chilli sauce - 1/2 tsp
Honey - 1 tsp
Garlic powder - 1 tsp

1. Marinate the chicken pieces with lime juice, pepper and salt. Set aside for 15 minutes.
2. Add a beaten egg to the chicken and mix well. Put the chicken into a strainer. This is done to remove excess egg.
3. Toss the chicken pieces in cornflour. Again put the chicken pieces into a strainer to remove excess cornflour.
4. Deep fry the chicken pieces until they are nice golden brown in colour.
5. In a pan, add oil and throw in the crushed garlic. Remove the garlic from the oil when it starts to turn light brown in colour. Fry the red chillies and the nuts in oil and keep aside.
6. In the same pan, saute the onions till it gets translucent. Add the carrots and the capsicum and cook till they are done.
7. In a small bowl, mix together all the sauces and powders mentioned above. Add this to the vegetables and mix well. If you like to have some gravy, add quarter cup of chicken stock.
8. Add the sugar and throw in the chicken pieces. Toss it till the chicken pieces are well coated. Stir for a minute.
9. Transfer this to a serving bowl and mix in the fried chillies and the nuts.
This dish goes well with fried rice/noodles.

Friday, April 2, 2010

Pineapple Pachadi

Sweet and spicy.....a definite treat to the taste buds! This is one of my favorite vegetarian dish and the one that I look for in every sadhya. Last onam, my husband's cousin made this and I was fortunate enough to taste it. I must say, it was simply awesome!!! And, as usual, I had to get the recipe and try it on my own. Fortunately, it came out well and I finally decided to post it.


Ingredients:

Fresh pineapple - 2 cups(cubed)
Sugar - 4 tbsp
Thick coconut milk - 1/2 cup
Yoghurt - 5 tbsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Chilli powder - 1/4 tsp

To grind:
Coconut - 1 cup(grated)
Green chillies - 2
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp

To Temper :
Coconut oil - 2 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Dried red chillli - 2
Curry leaves - 2 sprigs

1. In a vessel(preferably an earthern vessel/chatti), cook the pineapple with the sugar. Remember not to add water as the water from the pineapple will ooze out. Cook till the pineapple is soft and the water has dried up.
2. Add the turmeric and chilli powder.
3. Grind the ingredients mentioned above with little water. Add it to the pineapple mixture. Cook for 1 minute.
4. Next add the coconut milk and stir well. Adjust the salt and also the sweetness of the dish. The sweetness can be increased by adding sugar.
5. Lastly add the curd. Check for the sourness of the dish after adding each spoon. Mix well and turn off the stove.
6. For tempering, heat coconut oil another pan. Add the dried red chilli first. After few seconds, splutter the mustard seeds and add the curry leaves. Pour over the pineapple pachadi and mix well.
7. Enjoy this delicious dish with rice!






Pesaha Appam and Paal





For Pesaha Appam:

Roasted Rice powder - 1 cup
Urad dal - 3 tbsp (soak in water for 1 hour)
Small onion(shallots) - 3
Garlic - half of a clove
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Coconut - 3/4 cup (grated)

1. Grind the coconut, urad dal, small onions, garlic and cumin seeds using required amount of water.
2. Add in the rice powder and blend it well in a blender. Add water if required. The consistency of the batter should be like idli's batter.
3. Brush some oil in a pan and pour the batter. Make a cross using the palm leaf and place it on top.
4. Steam it for around 15 to 18 minutes.
5. Wait till it completely cools down before transferring it to a serving dish.

For Pesaha Paal:

Coconut milk - 3 cups(medium consistency)
Jaggery - 200 g
Roasted rice powder - 2 tbsp
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp (powdered)
Cardamom - 4 (powdered)
Dry ginger powder(chukku) - 1/2 tsp
Salt - a pinch

1. Place jaggery in the coconut milk and set aside for 30 minutes.
2. Once the jaggery has melted, Strain the mixture and place it on medium flame.
3. Make a thick paste with the rice powder and water. Add this to the milk. This is done to thicken the milk a little.
4. Add the powdered spices and salt.
5. Turn off the flame once the milk thickens. Pour it into a serving dish and place a cross made from the palm leaf.