38 - Green Chicken Fry

Green Chicken Fry is a delicious chicken dry fry bursting with flavor.

It  is cooked in typical spicy south indian style , cooked in good old coconut oil.

Ingredients

500 gm chicken 

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp chilly powder

1 tbsp black pepper powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp garam  masala powder
1  tsp fennel seeds
Coconut oil
salt, to taste

To grind

1 small onion, sliced

a bunch of coriander leaves
10 - 15 curry leaves
6 cloves of garlic
2 green chilies
1 cup curd

Preparation

Wash the chicken and add  to it all the powders. Grind together all the ingredients mentioned above to a smooth paste. Now add this to the chicken and mix everything well. Marinate it for atleast 1 hour. 

Heat the oil in a pan. Add a few curry leaves. Add the marinated chicken. Stir and mix well. Cover and cook on low flame. Stir occasionally. When the chicken is almost cooked, remove the lid and stir and cook till the gravy almost dries up and the oil seperates. Add some coriander leaves for garnish Switch off the flame and keep it closed. 

Serve hot! Enjoy!!

37 - Aloo Chana Masala

So with 2 hyper active school going boys growing up in this household, I am always on the look out for easy and simple recipes. And that is how I came up with this one. Easy, yet flavorful.

Ingredients

1 large onion, chopped finely

1" piece ginger, chopped finely

4 cloves garlic, chopped finely

2-3 green chilies (or as per taste) , chopped 

1 cup tomato puree

2 large potatoes , peeled and cut into small squares

1 can of chickpeas, or 1/2 cup chickpeas soaked overnight and cooked 

1 handful coriander leaves, chopped

1 cup water

1 tsp cumin seeds

1/2" piece of cinnamon

1 bay leaf

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp chilly powder, or as per taste

2 tbsp oil

salt, to taste

Preparation

Heat the oil in a pan. Add the cumin seeds. Once they begin to splutter, add  the bay leaf and cinnamon. Then add the ginger, garlic and green chilies. Stir for a minute and then add the onions(keep a handful of chopped onions aside) to this. Cook till the onions turn brown. Once the onions begin to brown, add the turmeric, chilly powder and salt. Stir and mix for 2 minutes. Add the tomato puree to this and mix well. Cook this covered on low flame till the oil separates. Now add the potatoes and the water. Again cook covered on a low flame until the potatoes are cooked well, but not mushy. Stir occasionally. Add the chickpeas and mix well. Cook till you get the required consistency of gravy. Add the chopped coriander leaves and  the handful of chopped onions that you kept aside. Keep covered and switch off the flame. 

Serve hot with rotis, naan or parathas. Enjoy! :)

36 - No Ginger No Garlic Chicken Roast

Back to recipe blogging! And it feels goooood! A year or more of procrastination, and now its time to be back with a bang.

This is definitely the easiest chicken recipe I have come across. So lets get straight to it.

Ingredients

500 gm chicken 

1 large onion, sliced

2 medium tomatoes, chopped

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

1 1/2 tsp chilly powder

1 tsp black pepper powder

2 1/2 tbsp oil

a few sprigs of curry leaves

salt , as required

Preparation

Heat 2 tbsp oil in a pan. Add the curry leaves.Then add the sliced onion. Saute till brown. Add tomatoes. Stir and cook till the tomatoes are well done and squishy. Add the turmeric powder, chilly powder and salt. Stir for a minute and then add the chicken. Stir for 2  minutes. Cover and cook on low flame. Stir occasionally. When the chicken is almost cooked, remove the lid and stir and cook till the gravy almost dries up. Now form  a ring with the chicken, and in the hole in the middle, heat the rest of the oil. Add the pepper powder to this oil. Cover this with the chicken and continue to roast  till it is dry. Add more pepper , if you require. Switch off the flame and keep it closed. 

Serve hot! Enjoy!!

35 - Chicken Kurma

The other day, we were having a family over for lunch and I was  responsible for the non-vegetarian dish. Its been so long since I cooked anything other than the occasional pasta or paneer curry for  my 5 year old. So I had no  idea what to cook or where to start.

It  was the husband who suggested that I make a gravy with coconut  paste. Typical Kerala style! :) Obviously, since my mom doesn't cook  non-vegetarian at home, I have no idea how "typical kerala" style should be cooked. Anyway, armed with  chicken, onions, a whole  lot of green  chilies, curry leaves and coconut paste, I started. And  this  is what I came up with... And if I may say so myself, it was yummmm! :)

Ingredients

1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp mustard
3 tsps coriander powder
3 onions, chopped
6 green chillies
curry leaves
1 kg chicken, thighs and drumsticks, skinned
1/2 cup curd, beaten
1 cup coconut paste
fresh coriander leaves, chopped
oil
salt, to taste

Preparation

Heat the oil in the pan.  Saute the cumin and mustard seeds till the crackle. Then add the chopped onions and let it cook till they turn golden. To this, add the green chillies, curry leaves, chicken and saute for about 4 minutes. Add the curd, water and salt to this and bring it boil. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes.  Add the coconut  paste to this and mix well. Then add the fresh coriander leaves and the coriander powder. Cook this till done.

Serve hot and Enjoy!! :)

34 - Eggless Banana Cake with Butter Cream Icing

"I'm so ripe. Either eat me or I'll burst out of my skin soon....."

That's what a few bananas in my kitchen told me the  other day. :) [ No, I'm not crazy,I'm just trying to write a blog. ] So, back to the bananas.  This was a yucky situation to say the least. I had to do something with them... either use them somehow or throw them away. And , no  I didn't want to throw  them away. So, I decided to bake - Eggless Banana Cake.

Ingredients


1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon sal
1/4 cup + 4 tbsp Vegetable oil
6 ripe bananas
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preparation

Preheat oven to 170 degrees. Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Puree the bananas in a processor . Mix the oil, vanilla and the puree with the flour mix. Gently fold all the ingredients together. Pour into a greased cake pan. Bake for 25 - 30 minutes , until a  toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool and frost with Butter Cream Icing.

Enjoy! :)

33 - Tiramasu Cupcakes

After taking a long hiatus, on account of  bringing a new little life  into this world, I am slowly trying to get my life back to normal. It is definitely taking its time because  I have now become very accustomed to the not doing anything in the kitchen and hence very lazy :)  ...my parents live in the same building, you see, and yes, I know, I am extremely lucky. :)

This Christmas, my sister and family came to visit us, and to meet the new member of the family. That's when  I decided to commence the baking again... and  I welcomed them with these delicious Tiramasu cupcakes! And I am sure my brother in  law will vouch for them. :)

Ingredients 

For Cupcakes

1 package yellow cake mix
1 1/2 cup coffee
3 eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil
12 ladyfingers ( Italian pastry), cut into bite size pieces

For  Buttercream Icing 

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp milk


Preparation

Cupcakes

Preheat the oven to 350 F.  Line the cupcake pan with baking cups.

In a large bowl, combine the cake  mix, coffee, eggs and oil. Beat this with  an electric mixer for  2 minutes. Fold in the ladyfinger pieces. Spoon into the baking cups. Bake for 18-20  minutes or until golden. Cool  cupcakes in pan for 5 minutes or so. Remove from the pan and cool completely.

Icing

Whip together the butter and the sugar in a bowl until well blended.  Add the vanilla and  milk to this. Whip this mix  again until light and fluffy.
* For more thickness, you can add  more  sugar.
* Vanilla essence can be added as per your taste.
* This will give you just about 1-2 cups of icing.

Ice the cupcakes and enjoy! :)

32 - Cream of Tomato Soup

Do you always opt for the store bought can of soup? Have you tried your own home made version? Well, I always went for the can and never thought I could pull off making soup from scratch. That's when I came across this recipe, and oh my god, it looked delicious and simple enough, I just had to try it. 

This is the link to the recipe I found - http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-cream-of-tomato-soup-156693

Paired with some yummy Spinach Pesto Grilled Cheese Sandwiches ( http://artistiquerecipes.blogspot.com/2012/09/31-spinach-pesto.html ), this becomes the lunch for the Gods! :)

Ingredients

Unsalted Butter - 2 tbsp

Onion - 1 small, chopped

Dried Basil - 1.5 tsp

Cloves - Ground, a pinch

Flour - 2 tbsp

Diced Tomatoes in puree - 1 can

Baking Soda - a pinch

Vegetable Stock - 2 cups

Milk - 1.5 cups

Tomato paste - as needed

Black Pepper powder 

Salt

Preparation

Melt the butter in a pot. Add the onions to this and cook for about 5 minutes, or until they are transparent and soft. Do not brown. 

Add cloves and basil. Cook for 1 -2 minutes. To this, add the flour. Cook for another 2 minutes stirring well.  Add the tomatoes, baking soda and vegetable stock. 

Lower the heat and let it simmer for 10 minutes.

Remove from flame. Once it cools down, puree it in a blender. Remember to do this in batches to avoid spills.

Pour this pureed soup back in the pot and bring back to the flame. Add the milk to this and stir to blend well. Add more milk, if required, to achieve the required consistency.

Add a little tomato paste to this for more tomato flavor. 

Add salt and pepper. 

Serve Hot and Enjoy!! :)