Chicken Biriyani...New year special..!

Ingredients and method:  (serves 6)
Chicken-1 Kg, cut into medium pieces
----for marinating chicken
Yogurt-3 tsp
Chilly powder-1.5 tsp
Coriander powder-1 tsp
Pepper powder-1/2 tsp
Chicken masala/biriyani masala-2 tsp
Turmeric powder-1/2 tsp
Salt

Marinate the chicken with the ingredients listed above and keep in refrigerator for 2 hours(the more you keep the softer the chicken would be)


---for cooking rice
Basmati rice-3 cups
Melted butter/ghee- 1/4 cup (or mix 1/8 cup of oil and 1/8 cup of butter)
Spices:(Cardamom-6,Cloves-7,Cinnamon-1" stick,Mace(jathipatri)-2,Bay leaves-4 )
Salt
Water

Wash rice 4-5 times in water and drain. Heat butter/oil in a pan, add spices and saute for while til you get the nice spicy fragrance. Transfer the rice into cooking vessel and add the spices along with butter/oil. Add water(I used 1.5 cup per cup of rice in rice cooker) and salt. Cook rice and once it is cooked spread it in a wide plate, it will prevent sticking of rice. Take care not to overcook rice.



----for making chicken masala/gravy
Onion-3, thinly sliced
Green chilly- 10-12, crushed
Ginger-1" piece, crushed
Garlic-3, crushed
Crushed spices(Cardamom-3,Cloves-4,Cinnamon-1" stick)
masala powders(Coriander powder-2 tsp, chicken masala/biriyani masala-2 tsp)
Yogurt-1/2 cup
Cilantro-1/4 cup, chopped
Salt
Oil-2 tbsp

Crush together green chilly, ginger and garlic. Heat oil in a pan and add crushed spices followed by crushed green chilly, garlic and ginger. Stir until their raw smell has gone. Add onions and saute till they are transparent. Add masala powders, saute for a while and add marinated chicken, yogurt, cilantro and salt. Cook chicken covered till the gravy become thick.


---for garnishing and layering
Onion-1, (to make fried onion-fry thinly sliced onions in butter till they are brown in color add 1 tsp of sugar and keep aside)
Cashew nuts and raisins-1/2cup(fry them in butter/ghee)
Cilantro, chopped-1/2 cup
Turmeric powder-1/2 tsp(for yellow color, heat turmeric in 2 tsp of butter, let it settle and take the supernatant liquid for giving yellow color)
Melted butter/ghee-4 tsp
Boiled eggs-4

 Apply butter on a baking dish and layer half of the chicken masala evenly (evenly spread chicken pieces). Then make a layer of cooked rice. Drizzle half of the melted butter and spread half of the cilantro. Repeat layering once again and finally garnish the top rice layer with fried cashew nuts, raisins, fried onions and cilantro. Keep boiled eggs on the top of the  rice. Drizzle the remaining butter and  yellow color(turmeric). Cover with an aluminum foil. Bake for 20 min at 350F. Serve hot with raita, pappad or pickle.


Tips:
1.If you want to warm the biriyani on stove top, prepare the layers of chicken gravy and rice in a big vessel and cover with a lid and cook in medium heat for 10-15 min until you get nice aroma of biriyani.
2. Just before baking/warming the biriyani, make few slits reaching up to the bottom of the pan/dish. Add few drops of butter/ ghee. The slits would help to warm up/ steam the biriyani fast.

Pepper Chicken Fry....Happy Christmas!

 Ingredients: 
--for marinating chicken
Chicken-2 lb, cut into 2 inch pieces
Pepper powder-1/2 tsp
Chilly powder-1 tsp
Coriander powder-1 tsp
Chicken masala-1 tsp
Turmeric powder-1/2 tsp
Lemon juice-2-3 tsp
Salt
---for frying
Onion-2, thinly sliced
Green chilly-3, sliced lengthwise
Ginger-1/2" piece, finely chopped
Pepper powder-2-3 tsp
turmeric powder-1/2 tsp
Curry leaves- 1 sprig
Salt
Whole garam masala(Cardamom-3, cloves-4, cinnamon-1 piece)
mustard seeds-1/2 tsp
Oil for frying

Method:
Marinate the chicken with the ingredients listed for at least 1 hour. Cook them without adding any water. Boil off any excess water and keep aside.
Heat oil in a a pan, splutter mustards and add curry leaves and  whole garam masala. Saute for a while and add ginger and green chilly. Add onions and stir occasionally until the onion turns slight brown. Add pepper powder, turmeric powder  and salt followed by cooked chicken. Fry until the chicken pieces become brown and the gravy coated on the pieces.

പുട്ടും മുട്ടക്കറിയും (Steamed rice cake with egg curry)

Ingredients: for puttu (makes 6-8 chiratta puttu)
Rice flour/puttu podi-3 cups
Grated coconut-1 cup
Water~2 cups
Salt
equipments needed: puttu kutty
Method: (for puttu)
Mix well rice flour and salt. Wet the flour by adding water little by little till it gets the correct consistency (usually determined by pressing a handful of wet flour, and it should assume the shape of the hands and should be easily powdered if you break it ). 
Add a layer of grated coconut and then flour finally top with one more layer of grated coconut. Attach to a pressure cooker and steam it for 5-8 min. Serve warm with any veg/non veg curries.

Ingredients for egg  curry:
egg-6 (boiled, halved)
Onion-2, thinly sliced
Tomato-2, finely chopped
Ginger-a small piece, chopped
Garlic-2, chopped
Green chilly-2, slit lengthwise
Thnin coconut milk-2.5 cups
Thick coconut milk-1/2 cup
Chilly powder-2 tsp
Coriander powder- 3 tsp
Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp
Garam masala- 1 tsp
Mustard seeds-1 tsp
Curry leaves- 2 sprigs
Salt

Method:
Boil eggs, remove shell and slice each  into two. Heat oil in a a pan. Splutter mustard seeds and add curry leaves, green chillies, ginger, garlic, saute for few min. Add onions and stir till the onions are transparent. Add chilly powder, coriander powder, garam masala, salt and saute until their raw smell is gone. Add tomato and cook until the tomatoes are mashed. Add thin coconut milk, bring it to boil and add eggs. Cover it for 5 min. Afterwards simmer it and add thick coconut milk, mix well (take care not to boil after adding thick coconut milk). Switch off the stove, add a small crushed garlic and cover with a lid. This would give a nice aroma to the preparation. Serve warm.

Kizhangu thoran/potatoes in grated coconut

Ingredients:
Potato-3
Green chilly-3, chopped
Grated coconut -3/4 cup
Onion-1, thinly sliced
Mustard seeds-1/2 tsp
Dry red chillies-1
Oil
Curry leaves - one sprig.
Salt

 

 Method:

1. Peel potatoes and cut them in into long thin pieces.
2. Heat oil in a wide pan, splutter mustards, add dry red chillies, curry leaves followed by potatoes and onions. Saute for a while and add green chillyies, grated coconut and salt. Saute for 5 min, add 1/4 cup of water and cook covered until the potatoes are done. Take care not to overcook the potatoes. Serve with rice.

Cheru naranga achar/ Lemon pickle

Ingredients:
Cheru naranga/ Lemon- 8
Garlic- 8-10, sliced
Ginger-1/2 inch piece(optional), sliced lengthwise
Red chilly powder-3 tsp
Asafoetida/hing/Kaayam-2 pinches
Fenugreek (uluva), crushed-3/4 tsp
Curry leaves- a handful
Vinegar-2 tsp
Sugar-1/2 tsp
Salt
Oil (gingelly oil/ sesame oil/ nallenna)



Method:
Wash, clean and pat dry lemons. Steam for 10-15 minutes.
Cut each lemon into 8 pieces. Save the juice that comes out of the lemon. Heat oil in a pan, splutter mustards and curry leaves. Throw in garlic and ginger. Saute till the garlic turns slight brown. Add chilly powder, crushed fenugreek, azafoetida, stir for 2 min and add vinegar. Remove from heat, add lemon along with the juice, salt and mix well until the lemons are coated with chilly powder. Finally add sugar and mix again. Let it cool and transfer to a airtight glass jar, tightly pack the lemon in it and  add 1 tsp of gingelly oil on the top (or a small piece of thin cloth wet in gingelly oil). The pickle will be ready to use after 2 weeks.

 

Beef Liver Fry

Ingredients:
Beef liver-1/2 Kg
Pearl onion-12, sliced
Ginger-1/2 " piece
Garlic-3-4, medium pieces
Whole pepper corns-1 tsp
Masala powders:
Chilly powder-1 tsp
Coriander powder-1.5 tsp
Meat masala/ Garam masala-1 tsp
Pepper powder-1 tsp
Turmeric powder-1/2 tsp
Salt
Mustard seeds-1/2 tsp
Curry leaves- a handful
Oil

Method:
Cut liver into medium sized pieces. Wash in plenty of water. Rub with 2 tsp of vinegar and wash again in water. Drain well.
Crush together ginger, garlic, whole pepper corns and keep aside.
Heat oil in a a pan splutter mustards and add sliced onions. Stir for a while, add crushed ginger, garlic and whole pepper corns. Saute till their raw smell is gone. Add masala powders, stir for 5-10min, add liver pieces, 1/2 cup of water, salt and cook covered until the meat is done. Open the lid and fry for some more time til the meat is dry and coated with masala. Finally add curry leaves. Serve warm.

Thenga aracha meen curry

Ingredients:
Fish- 2 fillets (I used tilapia fillets)
Green chilly-3-4, sliced lengthwise
Garlic-2, chopped
Kudam puli/Cocum/Kokum-2
Curry leaves-2 sprigs

For grinding:
Pearl onion-3
Grated coconut-1/2 cup
Turmeric powder-1/2 tsp
Chilly powder-1.5 tsp
Coriander powder-1/4 tsp

For seasoning:
Mustard seeds-1/2 tsp
Pearl onion-2, sliced
Coconut oil-2 tsp 

Method:

1. Clean fish and cut into medium pieces
2. Soak kudam puli in 1/2 cup of water.
3. Grind the ingredients listed to a fine paste by adding 1/2 cup of water.
4. Heat 1 tsp oil in a pan (clay pot) and add garlic and green chillies. Saute for 2 minutes add ground coconut paste, kudam puli along with water and salt. Bring it to boil and add fish. (Add 1cup water  if you need more gravy). Cook covered until the fish is cooked. Open the lid, add curry leaves and  simmer for 5 more minutes.
5. In another pan add 1 tsp of oil splutter mustards and add pearl onion saute until onions are brown, add this into the fish curry. Serve hot with rice or kappa
   

Kappayum meenum.

Egg roast with green chillies and pepper powder

Ingredients:
Boiled eggs-4, halved
Green chillies-3-4, slit lengthwise
Onion-2, medium sized, thinly sliced
Tomato-1, diced
Pepper powder-1/2- 1 tsp
Ginger-1/2 inch piece, chopped
Turmeric powder-1/2 tsp
Mustard seeds-1/2 tsp
Curry leaves- 1 sprig
Oil
Salt
Method:
Heat oil in a pan, splutter mustards and curry leaves followed by onion, green chillies, curry leaves, ginger and salt. Saute till the onions start to turn slight brown. Add turmeric powder, pepper powder, tomato and stir for 10 more min. Finally add sliced egg and fry for few minutes. Serve warm.

Koorka mezhukkupuratti (Chinese potato-stir fry)

 Ingredients:

1. Koorka/Chinese potato-1 lb
2. Pearl onion-12-15, or onion-1-diced
3. Chilly powder-1/2-1 tsp
4. Coriander powder-1 tsp
5. Meat/Chicken masala-1/2-1 tsp
6. Turmeric powder-1/4 tsp
7. Salt
8. Coconut slices(thengakkottu)-a handful  
9. Mustard seeds-1 tsp
10. Curry leaves- 2 sprigs
11. Dry red chilly-1-2
12. Oil-1 tbsp

Method:
Clean chinese potato, wash with plenty of water and cut into slices.
Mix the ingredients 1-8  and cook covered in 1 cup of water until the chinese potatoes are tender. Open the lid and boil off any water. In another pan heat oil, splutter mustards, add dry red chillies, curry leaves followed by the cooked chinese potatoes and saute for 10 min.Serve with rice.


 
Note: If you use already cooked and frozen chinese potatoes, just add 1/4 cup of water along with the ingredients 1-8 and cook for 10 min, just to coat the masala powders on the chinese potato.


Special thanks to Renjith and Sunila for getting our favorite koorka.

Leek and carrot stir fry

Ingredients:
Leeks-1cup, chopped (discard the dark green portion)
Carrot-1 cup, thinly sliced
Green chilly-2
Onion-1/2 cup,thinly sliced
Mustard seeds
Oil
Salt

Method: 
Heat oil in a pan and splutter mustard seeds and add curry leaves.Stir in leeks, carrots, green chilly ,onion, salt and stir fry until the carrots are tender.

Pork Roast

Ingredients:

1. Pork-1 lb
2. Chilly powder-1 tsp
3. Coriander powder-2.5 tsp
4. Any meat masala powder/ Garam masla- 1.5 tsp
5. Fennel powder(perumjeerakam)-1 tsp
6. Turmeric powder-1/2 tsp
7. Salt
8. Onion-2,medium slices
9. Ginger-1.5 inch piece, sliced lengthwise
10. Garlic- 5-6, sliced lengthwise
11. Green chilly-2, sliced lengthwise
12. Black pepper powder-1 tsp
13. Curry leaves- 2 sprigs
14. Crushed whole garam masala (Cardamom-3, Cloves-4, Cinnamon-1 inch piece)
15. Curry leaves
16. Mustard seeds- 1 tsp
17. Oil

Method:

• Cut pork into medium sized pieces. Rub with the ingredients 2-7. Cook the pork without adding any water(water will ooze out from the meat). When it is done, boil off any excess water.
• Heat oil in a pan and splutter mustard seeds and add sliced onion, garlic and ginger followed by green chilly. Saute for ~10min, add cooked pork, black pepper powder and stir until the pork is brown in color. Finally add crushed whole garam masala and curry leaves. 

 

Chicken curry with coconut milk

Ingredients:

• Chicken- 1Kg
• Onion-2, finely sliced
• Tomato-2,sliced
• Potato-2, diced
• Pearl onion-12, sliced
• Ginger-1.5" piece, sliced lengthwise
• Garlic-5-6, sliced lengthwise
• Green chilly-10-12, sliced lengthwise
• Whole garam masala-(Cardamom-6, Cloves-8, Cinnamon-1" piece, Star anise-1), lightly crushed
• Thin coconut milk-3 cups
• Thick coconut milk-1 cup
• Coconut Oil-2 tbsp
• Salt

Masala powders: (make a thick paste with water)

• Turmeric powder-1/2 tsp
• Coriander powder-2 tsp
• Fennel powder(perumjeerakam)-1 tsp
• Chicken masala-1 tsp
• Black pepper powder-1 tsp

For garnishing:

• Curry leaves-2 sprigs
• Cardamom- 4, finely crushed
• Black pepper powder-1/2 tsp

 Method:

1. Clean chicken and cut into medium sized pieces.
2. Heat oil in a pan and add whole garam masala, saute for a while and add pearl onion, ginger, garlic and green chillies followed by onion. Stir until the onions are transparent. Add tomatoes and stir for 5 more minutes. Now add the thick paste of all masala powders ans saute till the raw smell is gone. Add thin coconut milk, bring it to boil, add potatoes, chicken  pieces, salt and cook covered in medium heat until chicken is done.
3. Set the heat/flame to low and add thick coconut milk and mix. (Take care not to boil it once you added thick coconut milk). Remove from heat and garnish with the ingredients listed.
4. This goes well with palappam, appam, puttu, bread or chappathi.

Palappam

Ingredients: (for ~20 appams)

• Idlee rice-3 cups
• Cooked red rice-2 cups
• Grated coconut -1 cup
• Cumin seeds-1/4 tsp
• Cardamom-1
• Yeast-1 tsp
• Sugar-1 tsp

Method:

1. Soak idlee rice in water for ~6-8 hours. Drain and grind it with cooked red rice, grated coconut, cumin seeds, cardamom and water to get batter of loose consistency.
2. Add sugar and yeast to warm water and keep until both dissolves completely. Add this to the appam batter and mix well. Keep it covered in a warm place for 6-8 hours to ferment.(You can turn on the oven for 15 min and ~250F, turn off and keep the batter if the room temperature is low)
3. Once it's fermented, add salt. (Dilute it with coconut milk if the batter is too thick)
4. Heat appachatti, stir the batter and add one ladle full(~1/3 cup) of batter, swirl to make thin lacy sides. Then cook covered for two minutes. Serve with chicken curry, egg roast or any spicy curry.

 

Tomato rice (Thakkali choru)

Ingredients: (Serves-4-5)

• Basmati rice- 3 cups
• Tomato-3 
• Onion-1, thinly sliced
• Green chilly-3-4
• Ginger-1 inch piece,
• Garlic- 3-4,
• Curry leaves- few
• Cilantro-10 sprigs, chopped
• Thick coconut milk- 1 cup
• Whole garam masala- (Cloves-5, Cardamom-5,Cinnamon- 1 inch piece)
• Cashew nut and raisins-1/4 cup
• Butter/veg oil-2 tbsp   
• Salt

Method:

1. Wash rice in plenty of water and drain.
2. Crush together ginger, garlic and green chillies.
3. Dilute thick coconut milk by adding 3.5-4 cups of water.
4. Fry cashews and raisins in butter and keep aside.
5. Thinly slice tomatoes and cook with 1 cup of water. Mash the tomatoes well or strain to get ~1/2-1 cup of puree. Heat oil/ butter in a pan, add cloves, cardamom and cinnamon. Saute for a while and add crushed ginger, garlic, green chilly and curry leaves followed by onion.Stir until the onions are transparent. Add tomato puree and stir until the preparation is thick. Add this into rice along with half of the cilantro, salt and cook the rice in diluted coconut milk (You can use 1.5-2 cups of coconut milk for 1 cup of rice). Garnish with the remaining cilantro, fried cashew nuts and raisins and serve hot with any spicy curry.

Pacha thakkali thoran/ raw tomatoes in coconut

Ingredients:

1. Raw tomato/ pacha thakkali-2 medium
2. Grated coconut-1/2 cup
3. Shallots-6
4. Green chilly-1-2
5. Turmeric powder-1/4 tsp
6. Mustard seeds-1/2 tsp
7. Curry leaves- few
8. Dry red chilly-1
9. Salt
10. Coconut oil or any veg oil-1-2 tsp

Method:

• Finely chop tomatoes, green chillies and shallots. 
• Mix together grated coconut, turmeric powder, chopped tomatoes, green chilly, shallots and salt.
• Heat oil in a pan and splutter mustard seeds.Add curry leaves and dry red chilly. Then add the above tomato coconut mixture and cook covered in medium heat until tomatoes are done. Finally open the lid and dry it well. Serve with rice

Chicken Roast

Ingredients:

1.      Chicken-1 Kg

2.     Chilly powder-1.5-2 tsp

   Coriander powder- 3 tsp

   Garam masala- 1 tsp

   Turmeric powder-1/4 tsp

   Yogurt -4 tsp

        Salt

        Ginger- 1 inch piece

        Garlic -4

3.     Onion-2, thinly sliced

4.     Green chilly-3, sliced

5.     Curry leaves- 2 sprigs

6.     Pepper powder- 1 tsp

7.     Whole garam masala (Cloves-4,Cardamom- 4,Cinnamon-1 inch piece)-crushed

8.  Oil for frying

9.  Potato-1, diced (optional)

10. Tomato-1, diced
11. Coconut milk  ~2 cups

Method:

Clean chicken and cut into medium sized pieces.

Crush together ginger and garlic. Marinate the chicken with the ingredients 2 for 30min. Add one cup of water or thin coconut milk to the marinated chicken and cook covered until it is half done. Slightly fry green chilly and curry leaves and keep aside. Take out the chicken pieces from the gravy (Save the remaining gravy), shallow fry the chicken pieces and keep aside. Fry onions in a pan until they are transparent and add  the remaining gravy. Saute for a while and add the chicken pieces, fried green chillies, curry leaves, chopped tomato, crushed whole garam masala and pepper powder. Add ½ -1 cup of water or thin coconut milk to mix everything. Saute in medium heat until the gravy is thick and it is well coated on the chicken. Serve hot with rice.

Tips: If you like to add potato cook them with chicken. Take care not to overcook.

Chembu puzhungiyathu(Boiled Malanga)

 
Ingredients:
Chembu/ Malanga -4
Salt
Water
For mulaku pottichathu:
Yogurt- 1 cup
Pearl onion-5-6
Green chilly 1-2
Salt

Method:
Peel the skin of chembu (Malanga). Wash and cut into pieces. Boil in plenty of water until they are fork tender. Add salt, cook for 2 more min then drain all the water(Take care not to overcook). Serve hot with mulaku pottichathu.
Mulaku pottichathu: Crush together pearl onion and green chilly. Mix it with yogurt and add salt.

Buffalo hot wings

 
Ingredients:
Chicken wings-4 
Vinegar-2 tsp
Black pepper powder-1/2- 1 tsp
Chilly sauce-2 tsp
Hot wing sauce-1/4 cup
Butter for frying(~1/6 th of a stick)
Salt

Method:
Clean chicken wings (Do not remove skin), discard the tips and cut each into two pieces.You can make tiny gashes on the skin for sauces to penetrate.
Marinate with black pepper powder, chilly sauce, vinegar and salt for an hour.
Melt butter in a frying pan and add the marinated wings. Fry in medium heat for 10 min each side. Apply half of the hot wing sauce and fry both sides 5 min each sides. Stop heating, let sit for 10 min and coat well with the remaining hot wing sauce.  
Tips: You can bake at 400-450F for 20 min each side instead of frying.

Fish curry (Meen mulakittathu)

Ingredients:
Fish - 1Kg (I used Tilapia)
Kashmiri red chilly powder- 3-4 tsp
Coriander powder-1/2 tsp (optional)
Turmeric powder-1/4 tsp
Ginger-3-4 tsp(chopped)
Garlic-3-4 tsp(chopped)
Pearl onion-4-5(chopped)
Kudam puli-3-4 (medium)
Mustard seeds- 1/2 tsp
Fenugreek seeds(uluva)-1/2 tsp
Curry leaves-2 sprigs
Salt
Coconut oil/ any veg oil
Method:

1. Clean fish and cut into medium sized square pieces
2. Soak kudampuli in 1/2 cup of water.
3. Make a paste of chilly powder, turmeric powder and coriander powder in water.
4. Heat oil in a pan (preferably manchatti) splutter fenugreek seeds followed by mustard seeds. Add ginger, garlic and onion. Saute until the raw smell has gone. Now add the chilly powder paste, salt. Saute until you see the oil bubbling through the paste. 
5. Add soaked kudam puli along with water and bring it to boil. Finally add fish pieces, curry leaves, 1-2 cups of water and salt. Cook covered in medium heat for half an hour. After that simmer it until the curry gets thickened. 

The curry would taste better next day.  

One more method:
Follow the steps 1-4.Grind everything in a blender and make a paste. Transfer everything into a cooking vessel and follow the step 5. Serve warm with rice or kappa.