Gobi Manchurian

Gobi Manchurian is a wonderful appetizer and a great side dish for fried rice and is immensely popular Indo Chinese dish.This fusion food is a flavorful and delicious starter and one of my favorite.I made this dry to suit my taste,but can make it with gravy by adding vegetable stock.Try this you will surely love it.

Ingredients
Cauliflower florets- 4 cups
corn flour- 1/3 cup
Maida- 3 tsp
salt to taste
pepper powder- 3/4 tsp
oil

For the sauce
Onion - 1 small
Spring onions chopped - a hand full
 Garlic cloves- 3-4
Ginger chopped- 1 tsp
Tomato sauce- 1/3 cup
Soya sauce- 2 tbs
sugar- 1 tsp
Chilly sauce- 1 tbs
 Vegetable stock/water- 1/3 cup
Corn starch- 1 tsp
oil
 

Mix flour, corn flour, pepper powder and salt with water to form a batter( thinner than dosa batter). Dip the florets into this and deep fry them till crispy and set aside.

Heat oil in a pan and add ginger and garlic and fry till there is a nice aroma. Add onion and saute till it changes color. Now add soya sauce, tomato sauce,chilly sauce and sugar and mix well. Mix in corn starch with water or stock and let  this come to a boil and thicken. Now add the fried cauliflower florets,spring onion and coat well and stir till it is almost dry. 

 

Try this..
Hope you will all enjoy..

Kerala Chicken Roast

Spicy Kerala Chicken Roast is another nadan recipe and a family favorite. It is a dry version and is great accompaniment with rice, chapathi or fried rice.The chicken in this recipe is usually deep fried or shallow fried, (some times whole stuffed chicken ) and then coated with the masala. Here I have shallow fried the chicken.It  tasted delicious with fried rice. Give this recipe a try...



Ingredients
1)Chicken - 1 lb
 Chilly powder -1 1/2
Turmeric powder-1/2 tsp
Powdered Garam masala-
(Two tsp of fennel powder, 5-6 cloves,2 inch stick
cinnamon, a small piece of nutmeg, 2 cardamon )
Vinegar- 1 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste

For the Masala
Thinly sliced Onion- 2 medium
Thinly sliced ginger- 3-4 tsp
Thinly sliced garlic- 3-4 tsp
Chopped green chilly- 2
( I used 2 Jalapeno pepper instead of green chilly)
Coriander powder- 3/4 tsp
Chilly powder- 1/2 tsp(optional)
Turmeric powder- a pinch
Meat  Masala- 1 tsp
Curry leaves
Pepper powder- 1/2 tsp
oil

Dry roast the ingredients under garam masala and make a fine powder.Clean and cut chicken and marinate with all the ingredients listed under section one for about an hour. Cook this marinated chicken with half a cup of water till done. Heat oil in a pan and shallow fry the chicken pieces till it is crispy in the outer and set aside. (You can also follow the deep fry method. Fry the marinated chicken in medium flame till crispy)

Heat oil in a pan and saute ginger and garlic till there is a nice aroma followed by onions, green chilly and curry leaves till the onions become golden brown. Add in turmeric powder, coriander powder and pepper powder and garam masala and fry for a minute. Now add the  fried chicken and roast for two to three till it is completely dry and the masala gets well coated over the chicken. Serve with rice, appam or chapati.

You might also like,
Naadan Chicken Curry
Chicken Liver Fry
Chicken Peralan
Kodavu Style Chicken Fry
Irachi Peera/Chicken with Shredded Coconut

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

Unnakaya

Yet another Malabar recipe and this time it is a delicious snack called Unnakaya.It is a sweet and delicious snack made with plantains and stuffed with a sweet coconut and nut filling.There is also a non vegetarian version with egg stuffing which  is most popular during the Ramadan fasting.Mine is the vegetarian version.

Even though it is a very popular recipe, I must admit that I am trying this for the first time and that too after watching many cookery shows and demonstrations to bring somewhat perfect consistency for the dough and shape.My family really enjoyed this yummy snack.

Ingredients
Ripe Plantain- 2
Coconut- 1/2 cup
Sooji/rava- 2 tsp ( optional)
Sugar- 3-4 tsp
salt- a pinch
Raisins- a few
chopped cashew nuts- a little
ghee- 2 tsp
Cardamom- 1/3 tsp

To make the filling

Heat ghee in a pan and fry cashew nuts and raisins followed by rava. Stir fry this for a minute and add coconut. Fry this till it attains light  golden brown.Add sugar and blend well with the coconut mixture. Let this cool.
Steam cook plantains till its is soft. Peel off the skin and run knife through the center remove the small black seeds in the center. Mash this in a grinder or hand blender without using water into the form of a dough. You can add a pinch of salt to this. Make lemon size balls and flatten then between your palms. Put the filling in the center and seal the edges. The best way is to take between your two hands and gently fold and press the edges and roll . Heat oil in a pan and deep fry the unnakayas in medium flame or shallow fry in a non stick pan. Enjoy with tea.

Tips
1) Use plantains which  is ripe but yet firm. Do not use over ripe soft ones as you will not get the correct consistency and will be difficult to hold together.
2) Mash the plantains when it is slightly warm, otherwise it will get dried out and will be difficult to grind especially if you are using a mixer.
3) If you feel that it is very difficult to bring the mass together you can add a two tsp of water while grinding plus one tsp of rice flour.
4) Do not make it into a very smooth mixture as there will be a tendency to tear apart.
5) Grease you hands with ghee while making the balls. You can also flatten it on a greased plastic sheet or parchment paper and gently press them together.

Try this..
Hope you will all enjoy..

Malabar Pathiri

Pathiri is part of the cuisine of the Muslims of the Malabar region of Kerala. It is fluffy and soft flat bread made with roasted rice flour and coconut paste. There are different varieties of pathiris and some have more  elaborate procedures. This is a simple basic pathiri and it is a delicious combo with spicy chicken or mutton curry.

Ingredients

Roasted rice flour- 2 cups
Water- 2 1/2 cups
salt -to taste
sugar- 1 tsp
coconut oil/butter- 1 1/2 tsp


Grated coconut- 3/4cup
shallots- 2
cumin - a pinch
Rice flour- 1/3 cup


Make a fine paste of coconut, shallots and cumin. 
Bring water to a boil. Add salt, sugar and butter and the coconut paste and stir well. Now add the rice powder little by little and mix in till all the water is absorbed by the flour and it comes to one mass. Close with a lid and switch off the flame. Let is rest and cool down. 
Now knead this into a smooth dough by greasing your hands with little oil. Make lemon shaped balls and flatten and roll  like a chapati using rice flour. You can use plastic cover or butter paper to avoid sticking to the board. Place on greased hot tawa and cook evenly on both side. When it puffs up remove from the pan. Serve with any spicy curry.

Try this..
Hope you will all enjoy..

Stuffed Fish Fry

This is a delicious stuffed fish fry which is tangy and spicy.I was fascinated when I saw a stuffed Pomfret recipe. Usually there are different types of stuffing like sauteed prawns or crab meat. But here I used a tangy tomato and onion masala very similar to the Karimeen  pollichathu, that I posted earlier. You can use two fish fillets and make a  sandwich or slit through the fish very close to its bone and fill in the stuffing. Give this recipe a try,you will surely love this.

Fish - 2
Chilly powder- 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder 1/3 tsp

Lemon juice- 1 tsp
Salt- to taste



For the masala gravy
Onion diced - 1
Tomatoes - 2 medium
Green chilly - 2
Curry leaves chopped- 2 springs
Ginger- garlic paste- 2-3 tsp
Chilly powder- 1/2 tsp
turmeric powder- a pinch
Garam Masala-  1/2 tsp
Vinegar - a few drops( optional) 
Coriander leaves
salt to taste
oil 

In order to prepare the masala heat oil in a pan and saute green chilly, ginger garlic paste, curry leaves till its raw flavor disappears. Add onions and saute till golden brown. Add chilly powder, turmeric powder and garam masala. Now add tomatoes and cook till it becomes soft ( you can at this stage add prawns or mashed potatoes if you like). Finally add vinegar and coriander leaves.

Clean the fish and cut open the stomach of the fish and slide in the knife and slit open length wise close to its bone thus making a pocket. Do not cut open. Squeeze lemon juice and let the fish rest for two minutes and wash again. This will help eliminate the fishy smell. Make a paste with chilly powder, turmeric powder, salt and marinate the fish and keep aside for five minutes. Stuff  the fish with the masala paste and fry in medium flame ( you can also cover with a lid for two minutes while frying to ensure that it gets properly cooked) till both sides are evenly cooked. 


Try this..
Hope you will all enjoy..

Peanut Butter Cookies

Here is a delicious and easy to make cookies,with its traditional crisscross fork mark.Peanut butter cookies is one of the favorites especially among kids and is easy to put together.

Ingredients
Flour-1 1/3 cup
Baking powder- 1 1/2 tsp
Butter 1/2 cup ( or margarine)
Creamy Peanut butter- 1/2 cup
Sugar-1/2 cup
Brown sugar- 1/3 cup
Milk-3 tsp
egg - 1
Vanilla extract- 1 1/2 tsp


Mix flour and baking powder and keep aside. 
Cream butter,peanut butter sugar and brown sugar till light and fluffy.Add in eggs, milk and vanilla essence. Beat well till fluffy.Mix in the flour till it forms a single dough. Cover and refrigerate for two hours.
Line cookie sheets with butter paper. Shape dough into one and one half inch balls, press down a little and gently flatten in crisscross design using a fork. Bake in 250 degree F for 10 minutes,cool in the cookies sheet for 3-4 minutes and remove to cooling rack. Store in air tight containers when the cookies is completely cooled.

Try this..
Hope you will all enjoy..

Chicken Fried Rice

Chicken fried rice is simple and easy to make rice dish and perfect for any occasion . Add in stir fried vegetables,chicken, mushrooms or eggs and a  filling meal is ready -a delicious twist to left over rice. It is always better to use left over chilled rice for fried rice. Chilly garlic sauce, fish sauce or oyster sauce can be added according to taste.

Ingredients
Cooked rice- 3 cups
Boneless chicken-cut into strips- 1 cup

Soya sauce dark-a few drops
Soya sauce - 2 tsp
Vinegar- 1 tsp
oyster sauce- 1 tsp
Onion-1/2 small onion
Garlic- 4 pods
Ginger chopped- 1/2 tsp
Spring onion chopped- 1/3 cup
Chopped vegetables- 3/4 cup 
( here I have used carrots,celery,green beans and cabbage)
Corn starch-1 tsp
Spice powder- 1/2 to 3/4 tsp (optional)
(coarsely grind black Pepper, chilly flakes, clove-2, star aniseed -1/2, sugar 1/2 tsp)
 

Cut chicken into thin strips.  Marinate with 1 tsp soya sauce, pepper powder, corn starch and vinegar. Marinate this for ten minutes. 
Pour two tsp of oil in a pan add the minced garlic and ginger and after a minute  add chicken and fry till and cooked through and golden brown. Strain from the oil and keep aside.
 In the same pan stir fry all the vegetables starting with onion, and after a minute add carrots and green beans fry for two minutes and finally toss celery and cabbage and stir fry for a few seconds
Return the fried  chicken to the pan along with the cooked rice . Drizzle  soya sauce, dark soya sauce, oyster sauce and spice powder. Mix well and finally garnish with spring onion.

Try this..
Hope you will all enjoy