Pepper Chicken

Pepper chicken is extremely flavorful chicken with a spicy peppery taste. It is a simple dish with little ingredients which can be put together quickly. The only spice used here is pepper but you can also add garam masala. What I love in this chicken is its simplicity but at the same time it has a wonderful taste and enticing flavors of pepper,ginger,garlic and curry leaves.

Ingredients
Chicken - 1 lb
( Here I have used boneless chicken)
Onion chopped- 1large
Ginger- 2 inch thick piece
Garlic- 8-10 cloves
Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp
Pepper powder- 1 1/3 tsp
( adjust according to taste)
Whole pepper- 1/2 tsp
Clove- 3
Curry leaves
oil
salt to taste
lemon juice- 1 1/2 tsp
Coriander leaves


Heat oil in a pan and add cloves and whole pepper and slightly roast. Now add ginger, garlic and curry leaves and fry till there is a nice aroma. Add onions and when slightly brown add turmeric powder and chicken. Stir fry in medium flame for two minutes. Add pepper powder and salt and half a cup of water and close the lid. When the chicken is cooked and all the water is absorbed add lemon juice and coriander leaves and mix well.

Try this...
Hope you will all enjoy..

Beetroot Sambar

The color and flavor of beets is unique and I love the ruby red color which it imparts to this dish. Beetroot sambar was very common in my grandmothers kitchen and we children used to go crazy with its color when we dip it with idlis.This is a quick and easy sambar and is literally a one pot cooking. It can be served as a side dish for idlis, dosa or rice.

Ingredients
Toor Dal/sambar parippu- 1/2 cup
Onion sliced-1 medium
Beet root- 1 large
Potato- 1 medium
Carrot- 1
Tomato- 1
Drum sticks- 3 or 4 pieces
(you can add any veggies of your choice)
Tamarind one lemon sized
Chilly powder- 1 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder- 3 tsp
Fenugreek powder- 1/3 tsp
Asafoetida- 1/3 tsp
Mustard seeds
Dry red chilly- 2
Curry leaves
Coriander leaves
Salt to taste
Oil

Wash Toor dal/sambar parippu and cook with enough water in pressure cooker. After 3-4 whistles remove the lid and mash the dal.
Add in the veggies and sliced onion and salt. Add one more cup of water if necessary and close the lid. Cook till the vegetables is done ( one more whistle in pressure cooker).
Dry roast the turmeric powder, coriander powder,  chilly powder and fenugreek powder in a very low flame and mix well with the cooked veggies and dal along with the tamarind pulp. Bring this to a boil and finally add coriander leaves and asafoetida.
In a pan heat oil and add mustard seeds. When it splutters add one tsp of chopped onion and saute. Fry red chilly and curry leaves and add this to the curry and mix well. Serve with idlis or rice.

Try this..
Hope you will all enjoy...

Fish Fried Rice

This is a delicious and easy  fried rice made with fish. It is a healthy and quick lunch box fix. This is inspired by a Thai fish rice which I read in a magazine. The original recipe makes use of salted fish and chicken to make fried rice. But here I have used only fish (unsalted).The first time I tried this recipe I used stir fry method to cook fish and the result was somewhat scrambled fish. So to avoid it I  marinated the fish and fried it before combining with rice. You can also add carrots, cabbage,bok choy or any veggies of your choice.

Ingredients
Fish Boneless- 3/4 lb
(I used King Fish)
Cooked Rice- 3 cups
Onion - 1 medium
Spring onions - a little
Capsicum - 1 cup
Celery- 1/2 cup
Soya sauce- 2 tsp
Fish sauce- a few drops(optional)
Chilly sauce- 1 tsp
Oyster sauce- 1/2 tsp ( optional)
Carrot- 1 small
Ginger- 1inch thick
Garlic- 3-4 
pepper powder- 1/2  tsp
corn starch- 1 tsp
oil


Cut fish into small pieces. Marinate it for 10 minutes with soya sauce and half tsp of pepper powder.Just before frying add in corn starch and toss and fry fish till done. Keep this aside. 
In the same oil add garlic and ginger and fry for a minute.Next add onion and continue stir fry followed by chopped celery, spring onion,capsicum and carrots. When the vegetables are almost done add in all the sauces and fried fish and stir fry for a few seconds. Now add cooked rice and stir and mix well. Fish fried rice is ready.

Try this..
Hope you will all enjoy..

Pazham Pori-Crispy Fried Sweet Plantain

Pazham Pori-Ethapazham pori

Pazham Pori or Ethapazham pori is a popular tea time snack of Kerala. It can be easily found in thattukadas/chayakadas in Kerala. Have you ever been to a chayakada before? They are tea stalls found in the nook and corner of Kerala.
In the olden days these stalls were the hub of the village or small communities and people used to gather morning and evening for tea, newspaper or radio news discussions. My grandmother always used to complain that my grandfather never used to drink morning tea at home. He always used to walk to the corner tea stall to drink tea, listen to the news and chat with friends..mostly discuss politics :)

Chayakadas serve tea, morning breakfast, and fitters. Pazham pori made with ripe sweet plantain is a favorite among the visitors or customers. Gone are the days of glory for these humble tea stalls but not the delicious and colorful fitters that adored their glass shelf containers. They still look mouth-watering. It is so yummy, you can't stop munching!

Pazham pori is also made at home as a quick and easy tea time snack. This is a sure winner if you have sudden guests at home. The flavor of ripe sweet plantains dipped in sweet cardamon flavored batter and then deep-fried in coconut oil to crispy golden is something that cannot be described I have added a pinch of turmeric powder for color( otherwise it will be off- white color)and once fried you will never notice any difference in taste.Give this recipe a try,you will surely love it.

Recipe for Pazham Pori

Ingredients
Ripe plantains - 3 medium
Maida-1 1/2 cup
Rice flour-2 tbs
Sugar- 2 tbs ( depending on the sweetness of plantain)
salt- a pinch
Baking powder- a pinch (optional)
Turmeric powder-a pinch
Cardamon powder- 1/3 tsp
Nutmeg powder- a pinch
oil for frying


To make the batter in a large bowl add flour, rice flour, salt and sugar, and whisk. Pour about a cup of water little by little and whisk until it forms a smooth lump-free batter. Add baking powder turmeric powder, cardamom powder, and nutmeg powder. Whisk till well blended. The batter should not too thick and not too thin. If it is too thick add a teaspoon or two of water. If thin add more flour. Let it rest for five minutes.
Heat oil in a heavy bottom pan.
Peel the plantain and cut into half and then slit it lengthwise. I cut three pieces lengthwise of each half.
Dip the plantains in the batter and deep fry in hot oil till golden. Flip and fry both sides till it is evenly crisp and golden brown. Drain excess oil using a paper towel. Enjoy with tea.

You might also like,
Thai Fried Bananas
Pazham Nirachathu
Pazham Boli
Pazha Pradhaman
Unni Madhuram/ Sweet Banana Balls
Ethapazham Halwa


Try this..
Hope you will all enjoy.

Chemeen Masala Varattiyathu/ Pan roasted Prawns

Chemeen Varattiyathu is a popular sea food delicacy of Kerala. It is not fried prawns but gravy with is almost semi-dry. It is a great side dish for rice. It has the enticing flavors of garam masala and coconut oil and curry leaves. It is spicy, peppery and a bit tangy due to the use of  Malabar tamarind or kudampuli. You can substitute kudampuli with  tomatoes or lemon juice. You can also add coconut pieces in the recipes  which adds to a sweet crunch along with the prawns. Try this easy recipe and let me know how it turned out for you :) Happy Cooking!

Cooking time- 20 minutes
Recipe Type-Side dish
Cuisine: Kerala/Indian

Ingredients
Prawns- 1 lb
Shallots chopped- 1 cup
Ginger and garlic paste- 2 tsp
Chilly powder - 1 1/2 tsp
Pepper powder-1/2 tsp
Coriander powder- 2 tsp
Turmeric powder- 1/3 tsp
Garam masala- 3/4 tsp
fenugreek powder- 1/3 tsp
Malabar Tamarind/kudampuli- 2-3 pieces 
Fennel powder- 1/2 tsp (optional)
curry leaves
Coconut pieces( Optional)
Coconut oil


Clean and marinate prawns with salt, turmeric, pepper and fennel powder and keep it aside for fifteen minutes.
In a pan heat oil and saute shallots till lightly golden brown. Add in ginger garlic paste, curry leaves and saute for a minute. Add in all the dry ingredients including garam masala and saute and immediately add the marinated prawns. Saute for another minute and add soaked kukum along with its water.The prawns will also release its own water. Cover and cook till the prawns is done. Remove the lid and stir and allow the masala to get well coated on the prawns. Serve with rice.

You might also like

Chemmeen Polichathu
Nadan Chemmeen Varuthathu
Prawns Ulathiyathu
Padavalanga Chemmeen Curry
Chemmeen Potato Masala
Goan Shrimp Curry

Try this...
Hope you will all enjoy...

Pecan Tarts

Pecan Tarts is a perfect bite sized dessert with a flaky crust, sweet center  and an inviting aroma. Seems it is a small fancy version of the original pecan pie. It will be a perfect dessert for Christmas. This is made in two stages. First the crust and then the filling.

Ingredients for the crust
Flour- 1 cup
Cream cheese- 1/3 cup
Butter- 1/2 cup
salt- a pinch


Ingredients for filling
Pecan - 1 cup
Egg-1
flour- 2 tsp
Sugar- 3/4cup
Dark brown corn syrup- 3-4tsp
Vanilla extract- 1 tsp
salt- 1/3 tsp


In a mixing ball beat butter and cream cheese till smooth.Mix in flour to form a dough. Do not knead too much. Just bring it into one mass and chill it in fridge for an hour. Spread the dough  with a rolling pin and cut out small circles. Press this down with your fingers into a greased muffin tin and keep ready. For the filling beat egg in a small bowl and mix in all the ingredients listed for filling. Carefully spoon in this mixture into the shells( about 3/4 of the shell)and bake at 300 degree F for 15 minutes or till the tooth pick inserted in the center comes out clean.Allow it to cool completely before serving.

I would like to thank my friends Jaisy, Shanavi, Kitchen Boffin, Kavitha and Kurinji for sharing some beautiful awards with me...sorry guys for being a bit late. All have wonderful blogs and I take this opportunity to thank each one of them for the constant support and encouragement.Thanks Kurinji  for sharing once again with me Lovely Blog Award. It is great joy to receive this award from you friend.


Thanks Jaisy and Shanavi  for this sweet award

I would like to share this with some of my blogger friends..
Pushpa
Sayantani
Sushma
Santosh
Satrupa
Jisha
Uma
Nisha
Vanishri



And also ..Thanks Fezi of Kitchen Boffin for sharing with me this beautiful award

This award has certain rules and it is to share seven things about myself and to pass the award to blogger whom I have recently met and who I think is fantastic. I would like to share this with

Kavitha 
Shanavi
Love2cook
Anand Rajasekaran
Nisa Homey
Rajeshweri
Priya Sreeram

Kavitha has tagged me with a questionnaire ( set of eight questions) twice and I am posting my answers. Thanks dear for tagging and it was real fun.I was also asked to tag eight blogger friends and keep the ball rolling :)The intention is to help us know each other better.Kavitha's questions and my answers...

1. What is your take on organic food , is it a big deal for you ?
It is not a big deal for me. There are some things in my shopping list which has the label organic like milk, eggs etc, but not all... as it may not be good for  my purse to pay 25- 40% etc to regular market price:)
I do love the concept of safe methods of farming and protecting nature. But it seems gone are those days when it was declared as a motto of organic foods-know your food and know where it is grown. Today due to increasing demands organic farms are adapting new techniques and it is a prestige for large corporate farms to develop  as part of their huge farms a division called Organic farm.

2. Do you time your breakfast,lunch & dinner or eat when you are hungry ?
Usually I eat breakfast and lunch when I am hungry, but have a time fixed for dinner as it is fun to have dinner together with my family. This is the time I can spend with my husband and son who is a  preschooler.

3. What inspired you to write a food blog ?
I am not sure about it. My husband used to take photos of food that I prepare and we made a separate file. One day I took up the idea of writing down the recipes tried and tested when I was chatting with my mother. She was very sad that she lost some of the family recipes of my late grandmother and great grandmother.

4. You try a new recipe and it does not turn out good,what will you do ?
I try to improvise on that dish by adding some other ingredients that I feel might improve its taste, but if it does not work I tell hubby about it and just dump it.

5. Name three ingredients you consciously avoid or eliminate even when the recipe calls for it ?
Store brought broth, canned fish, veggies and canned meat and vegetable shortenings.

6. Name three things you have to use in most recipes ?
Coconut, Pepper powder and garlic

7. How important is eating meals together as a family to you?
Its very important for me as it gives us the sense of being together and it is fun

8. You do not like a particular dish at your favorite restaurant,what will you do ?
I will never order:) But if it part of the main meal I will just keep it aside.

Now to the second set of questions

1)Are you a vegetarian, or have you thought about being one?
Those who come to my blog will surely know the answer:) I am not.. I have not yet thought of being one but I do enjoy vegetarian as much I love non vegetarian food.

2)Who inspired you to cook or bake?
I learned cooking from my mom and later after marriage from my Mom-in -law. I used to help my mother and my mother in law in their kitchens and they were very particular to reserve the less burden jobs for me ... probably they had a fear that I will make a mess of their kitchen:(.
Baking I learned after I came to US and am still  learning. I began with big holes and tunnels in my cakes but now  I have started to understand little secrets to make it somewhat perfect.

3) How do you celebrate Christmas?...or a favorite holiday of your choice?
We love to celebrate Christmas as my son love Christmas lights and decors. We also celebrate Onam and Vishu. Now we are away from family and relatives but we still try to imbibe the joy and happiness of these festivals.

4)Do you prefer to celebrate New Year's Eve with friends and/or family, or prefer to ring in the New Year quietly, and privately, at home?
We love to celebrate with friends and family while we were in India. But now ours is a small family with my husband, kid and myself. We will be mostly at home, we stay awake to welcome the New year, cut cake and then ring up our parents and relatives in India to be part of their happiness.

5)If someone were to ask you to bring dessert to a party, what would you bring? Store bought, or homemade, and if you were to make homemade, what would you make?
It has always been a tough decision for me. I ask hubby dear as he is my best critic. It is he who has tested all my recipes ..poor thing... hehehe:)

6) How will you celebrate your next birthday?
I love celebrating my husbands and sons birthday..I love planning and doing something different and to make the day special. But mine I leave it for them to decide..to be truthful I am not sure..last minute plans.

7)Do you have a New Year's resolution-and will you be sticking to it?
I do make New Year resolutions but I sadly admit that I did not stick to it last year.

I am passing the first set of Kavitha's questions to some of my friends :) Please keep the ball rolling:)

Sanyukta
Savitha Ramesh
Biny
Akila
Cool blogger
Kurinji
Kitchen Boffin
Kairali sisters

Thanks dear friends..
Have a great day:)

Capsicum Chicken/Varutharachatu

Varutharacha Capsicum chicken is a spicy and delicious chicken curry with bell pepper and roasted coconut gravy. I love adding potatoes and capsicum to my chicken. Here it is only capsicum or bell pepper ,but three different colors, red,yellow and green.You can add all three or just any one.The addition of capsicum gives this chicken curry a wonderful flavor and goes well with naans, chapathis and fried rice.

Ingredients

Chicken- 1 1/2 lb

Bell pepper diced( all three colors) - 2 cup

Onions sliced- 3 medium

Ginger garlic paste- 3 tsp

Green chilies- 4-5

Tomato-2

Chilly powder- 1 1/2 tsp

Coriander powder- 3 tsp

Turmeric- 1/2 tsp

Garam masala- 1 1/2 tsp

Coconut grated- 3/4 cup

Pepper powder- 1/2 tsp(optional)

Curry leaves

Coriander leaves

Mint leaves- 1 tsp (optional)

oil 

salt to taste

Clean and cut chicken into desired sized pieces and marinate with salt, pepper powder and a few drops of lemon juice and set aside for 30 minutes.

Dry roast coconut till evenly brown. Allow this to cool down and make a fine powder out of it.

Heat oil in a heavy bottom pan and pour one tsp of oil and saute the bell peppers for a minute. Drain and keep aside. (You can also add bell peppers and cook along with onions, but this method helps the bell peppers retain its crispness and at the same time imparts flavor). 

In the same oil  fry  mint leaves, curry leaves and ginger garlic paste. Fry till there is a nice aroma. Add onions and fry till golden brown.Add sliced tomato and cook till it becomes soft. Now add all the powder masalas and fry for a minute without getting burned. Add in chicken pieces and fry for a minute till chicken turns color and the masalas get well coated. Close the lid and lower the flame and cook for 3 to 4 minutes till the chicken starts shedding its water. Pour one and half cup of hot water and close lid and cook in medium till the chicken is almost done. Finally add the bell peppers, roasted coconut powder, a little of garam masala and simmer for two more minute. Garnish with coriander leaves.

Try this...

Hope you will all enjoy..

Pineapple Coconut Cake

Pineapple coconut cake is now my top favorite cake:) This is an easy and fragrant cake,sweet a little tangy,flavorful and buttery.If you like the combined flavor of pineapples and coconut you will surely love this. I have used sweetened pineapple in this recipe. You can use fresh pineapple with its juice which will make it even more flavorful. I did not add sugar as I have used sweetened pineapple, coconut and sweet condensed milk. You can add sugar as per your taste.It would be great with butter icing .  I used  whipped cream and pineapple rings and dusted with a little of confectionery sugar.

Ingredients

Flour- 1 1/4 cup
Baking powder- 1 1/2 tsp
Salt- 1/3 tsp
Sweetened Coconut- 1/2 cup
Sweetened Pineapple- 8 oz container
Eggs- 3
Butter- 1/2 cup
Vanilla essence- 1 tsp
Condensed milk- 1/2 cup
nutmeg powder- a pinch


Preheat oven to 350 degree F. Prepare cake pan by greasing with butter and dusting with flour and set aside.
Mix well the dry ingredients like flour,baking powder,salt coconut and nutmeg powder. Using a hand mixer beat egg and butter till light and fluffy. Blend in condensed milk and essence. Add the dry ingredients into the wet mixture little at a time and slowly incorporate. Mix pineapples with  two tsps of flour and slowly incorporate into the batter.Pour into the pan and bake for 20 minutes or till the tooth pick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Try this...
Hope you will all enjoy..