Honey Grilled Chicken

I was really bored of trying out the usual way of grilling the chicken using chilli powders & all the other masalas & I was really dying to try out something new... Talking about this recipe, its really simple.... & the unusual blend of honey, green chillies & soya sauce make a very delicious dressing for the chicken.

So here goes the detailed recipe :-

500 gms boneless chicken, cut into bite sized pieces
lemon wedges, for garnish

For the marinade :

2 tbsp soya sauce
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp honey
2 tsps sesame oil (I did'nt have sesame oil, so settled down for olive oil)
2 green chillies, finely chopped
1 heaped tbsp finely chopped corainder leaves
salt, to taste

Combine all the ingredients for the marinade in a large bowl & mix well. Add the chicken pieces turning them to coat them well in the marinade. Cover the bowl & refrigerate for atleast 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 deg F. Place chicken pieces on an oven proof dish & grill uncovered for 15 - 20 mins on one side & another 15 - 20 mins on the other side. Once done, turn over the chicken pieces once or twice more & grill till they get browned all over. You could also barbecue these on live coals.

Serve hot with lemon wedges & any chutney of your choice.

Bread Nest

Eggs are my favourites & I love them in almost everything. So this morning thought of getting a bit creative with them. Children will love the look of this amazing breakfast & we adults too will love this special treat.

To make this special treat, you will need :-

4 slices of bread
4 eggs
1 small onion, thinly sliced
1 tbsp chopped green garlic
pepper powder, to taste
salt, to taste
chopped parsley
little ghee or oil, for frying

Take a slice of bread & using a cookie-cutter or the mouth of a small katora or glass, cut rounds of the middle of the bread slice leaving atleast 1/2 inch space from all the corners. Follow this for all the slices. Keep the roundels aside & the bread slices with the holes aside.

Mix the onions & the green garlic & a tsp of chopped parsley together in a bowl & set aside.

Heat a pan. Put some ghee or oil & spread it around the pan. Keep the bread slice with the hole on the pan. Put the onion-green garlic & parsley mixture in the hole of the bread slice & just saute the mixture in that small space for 30 seconds. Break an egg carefully into the hole of the bread. Sprinkle salt, pepper powder & some chopped parsley on the egg. Cover pan & lower flame & let it cook till the yolk of the eggs turn pink. Repeat this process for all the slices.

Toast the bread roundels till lightly brown & serve it along with the bread nest.

Now here... you could get creative & use almost anything edible thing that comes to your mind. You could also try putting some grated cheese or tomatoes or even whip up the eggs with all the spices that you would use to make an omlette & pour the batter into the holes of the bread slice.

Enjoy !!!!!!!

Eggs In Spicy Onion Sauce

Another success story with Maya Kaimal. I have just seemed to have fallen in love with her recipes. She brings beautiful dishes from the heart of Kerala & the kind of spice blend that she uses in her cooking makes the dish really unique in taste & look. I had already tried her Beef/ Lamb With Crushed Peppercorns & it was simply fabulous. Now, this one turned out to be a hero too. A must try I must say. You definitely don't want to miss out on the good stuff.

Below is the recipe, with a very minor modification made by me while cooking :

2 tbsp ground corainder seeds
1 tsp ground fennel seeds (saunf)
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper powder (if you don't have this, you could substitute with your regular chilli powder)
1/8 tsp pepper powder
1/8 tsp cinnamon powder
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/8 tsp cardamom powder
2 tbsp oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
10 curry leaves
1 whole dried red chilli
2 medium onions, thinly sliced
salt, to taste
1 cup chopped tomatoes
1/4 cup coconut milk
8 extra large eggs, hard boiled & halved
chopped corainder leaves, for garnish

In a bowl, combine the corainder powder, fennel powder, cumin powder, turmeric powder, cayenne pepper powder, pepper powder, cinnamon powder, cloves powder & cardamom powder with 1/3 cup water & make a paste. Set aside.

Heat oil in a kadhai/ wok. Add mustard seeds. Once the seeds splutter, add the curry leaves & the whole dried red chilli. Saute for a minute. Add the thinly sliced onions & saute till they turn light brown. Add the spice paste & salt. Cook over moderate heat for 5 minutes, adding a few tbsps of water if the pan turns too dry. Add the tomatoes & saute till they turn soft & mushy. Add 3/4th cup of water & simmer over low heat, stirring occassionally until the sauce turns thick. Add the coconut milk & stir to mix well. Add the eggs. Spoon some sauce over the eggs. Cover & cook over low heat until the eggs are just heated through.

Garnish with some freshly chopped corainder leaves & serve hot with steamed rice.

Badrak Wala Chapli Kabab

Hmmmm... something worth trying & not much of a task. I got this recipe from Ismail Merchant's recipe collection & its awesome. A must try...... I must say...

Well... sorry about the poor presentation. As you know, when the aroma of such a wonderful dish takes on you, you really don't have the patience to control your tastebuds... These were just removed from the pan & gulped over in exactly 15 seconds.

Here's how you make it :

1 1/2 lbs lean ground beef
2 medium eggs
1/4 cup plain yoghurt
1 inch ginger, grated
1 green chilli, chopped fine
a few chopped corainder leaves (he never specified corainder leaves, but I love corainder in all my dishes)
salt, to taste
1 - 2 cloves garlic, chopped

Combine all ingredients thoroughly. Though he never specified, I kept the marinated mince in the lower compartment of the refrigerator for a couple of hours for the flavours of the spices to be absorbed by the meat. Moreover, refrigeration also makes it easy to handle the shaping of the kababs. Shape into kababs & keep flattening it till it turns out thinner, but easier to handle. As per Ismail Merchant, these kababs are broiled in a broiler. But, I pan fried some in very little oil. While the rest of them were grilled in an oven till browned all over. The kababs were unbeatable. I guess these might taste good even if you barbecue them on coal.

Methi Bhaji With Prawns & Potatoes

This is one amongst my favourite dishes. I learnt this from my mother. She makes this with the young fenugreek leaves grown on sand. But the young fenugreek leaves are not available here in the US, so I settle down with the mature ones. The prawns/ shrimps add more flavour to the dish. However, if you are a vegetarian, you could skip the prawns. It tastes good without it too. During summer, I grow my own methi bhaji & they are usually ready within a week. All you got to do is fill a plate made of plastic or mud (2 to 3 inches deep) with sand (sea-side sand). Soak fenugreek seeds overnight. Next morning, throw the water & spread the seeds on the sand. Cover the seeds with some more sand & water them daily. Within a week you will have young tender fenugreek leaves ready to cook. Just discard the roots & you could use the leaves & stem to cook. These are more tastier than the mature ones.

So heres how we make it :

1 bunch fenugreek leaves (methi bhaji)
1 big potato, peeled & chopped into small pieces
2 medium sized onions, thinly sliced
1 cup of prawns or shrimps (optional, incase you are a vegetarian)
2 green chillies, finely chopped
2 tomatoes, finely chopped
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
salt, to taste

If you are using the mature fenugreek bhaji, pick out the leaves, wash well in cool water (you may need 3 to 4 washes to completely remove the sand), then chop & set aside. Incase, you are using the tender young fenugreek bhaji, discard just the roots, wash it well with water to remove all traces of sand & chop them along with the stems. Set aside

Heat oil in a wok/ kadhai. Put in the chopped green chillies & fry them for a few seconds. Put in the sliced onions & saute till they turn transparent. Do not brown the onions, the bhaji won't taste good. Next add the turmeric powder & saute for a minute. Put in the fenugreek leaves, potatoes & tomatoes, salt & mix well. Cover the vessel & keep on low flame till the bhaji is cooked. Lastly, add in the prawns/ shrimps. Mix well. Cover & cook again till done. Serve hot with chapatis or steamed rice. I like this bhaji more with chapatis.

Dutch Baby

Hmmmmm... So I had a Dutch Baby for breakfast today. I had this recipe in my diary. Don't really remember the source of the recipe, but was tempted to try it out this morning. It was awesome. Infact, everybody liked it & my family asked me to make it again in the evening. It is usually made in a round pie-pan, but I settled for a square pan as I did'nt have a round one.

To make it, you'll need :

1/2 cup milk
2 eggs
1/2 cup all-purpose flour or maida
1 tbsp butter
powdered sugar
freshly sqeezed lemon juice
melted butter

Preheat oven to 450 deg F for 15 mins.

In the mean time, blend milk & eggs in a blender for a minute. Put in the flour & blend again for a minute or 2. Put a tbsp of butter on a pie pan & keep it in the oven for 10 seconds. Remove & tilt the pan to spread the butter all over the base of the pan. Pour in the batter & bake for 10 - 15 minutes. It should puff up & collapse when it comes out of the oven.

Top with some melted butter, powdered sugar & a squeeze of a lemon. Enjoy !!!!

Batata Poha

When Meena from Hooked On Heat announced the From My Rasoi - Breakfast event, the first thing that came to my mind was Batata Poha that my mom used to make. She would make it so delicious that we would almost fight for the last bit of the poha in the vessel. On my mothers trip to the US, my husband learnt it from her & almost fell in love with it. Till date he is trying to master the art of making the Batata Poha, struggling to give it the same look and taste as how my mother made it.
So here comes From My Rasoi to yours for breakfast - Batata Poha :

2 cups poha (thick flattened rice)
1 big potato, boiled, peeled & mashed roughly
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
few curry leaves
1 green chilli, finely chopped
1 small to medium sized onion, chopped
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/4 tsp salt or as per your taste
1 tbsp sugar
a lemon
1 heaped tbsp of grated coconut, for garnish
chopped corainder leaves, for garnish
1 tbsp oil

Take poha in a bowl & wash it well using your fingers. Drain & set aside. Do not soak the poha.

Heat oil in a vessel. Put in the mustard seeds & let it splutter. Next add the curry leaves & let it sizzle in the hot oil. Add the chopped green chillies & fry till it turns crisp. Next add the onions & fry till they turn just transparent. Do not brown it. Add turmeric powder & saute for a few seconds. Add the washed poha & mix well. Add salt, sugar & mix well. Add the roughly mashed potatoes & mix well. Pour over the lemon juice & mix well. Garnish with grated coconut & chopped corainder leaves. Cover the vessel. Set aside.

Now take a big pan & keep it on high flame. Once the pan heats up, turn flame to low & keep the vessel in which the poha is cooked on the hot pan & leave it aside for 10 minutes or so. This process is also called as Dum, which is generally done for biryanis. This will help the flavours of the spices to absorb into the poha.

Once done, serve hot.

Pepper Fried Chicken

Chicken time again!!!! That mighty bird litterally gets chopped all the time. I learnt this simple & delicious recipe from my mother. Its not much of a recipe tough. Very simple & easy to make. I cook it more often as an accompaniment with dal & rice.
I did'nt really have the time to make a good presentation of this dish, as I was so very hungry & had to just eat.

This is a must try. I am sure you are gonna like it & yes... cooking this is not a big task too..

I used :

2 chicken drumsticks, cleaned
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper powder
1/2 a small cube of chicken bouillon
salt, to taste
1 tsp olive oil (you could use any other cooking oil too)

In a bowl, mix together the turmeric powder, pepper powder, chicken bouillon & salt (be considerate with the salt, as the bouillon already adds some saltiness to the dish).

Make slits all over the chicken pieces using a knife. Apply the marinade mix all over the chicken pieces, rubbing well into the slits. Cover the bowl & set aside for 30 minutes.

In a frying pan, heat oil. Put the chicken pieces in the pan. Cover the pan & lower the flame. Let simmer for 10 minutes. Turn over the chicken pieces, cover & cook again till done. Now, remove the lid of the pan & let the chicken cook for sometime till it gets a little browned & the stock that gets collected around is absorbed.

If you are using more chicken pieces, you will need to fry these in batches.

Enjoy with steamed rice & dal.

Vegetable Sambhar

The recipe for sambhar varies from people to people. I make my sambhar as below. This is one of my husbands favourite. Sambhar is usually eaten with idlis or dosas etc. I love to eat my sambhar with just plain steamed rice accompanied with a fried chicken or cutlet. So here goes the recipe :

1/2 cup tur dal (yellow lentils)
1 cup vegetables, chopped (I used brinjals, drumsticks, tomatoes, green beans)
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 heaped tbsp tamarind paste
1 1/2 heaped tsps sambhar powder
2 dried red chillies, torn into pieces
1 medium sized onion, chopped
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds (methi seeds)
salt, to taste
1/2 tsp cumin seeds (jeera seeds)
pinch of asafoetida (hing)
a sprig of curry leaves, torn into pieces
handful of chopped corainder leaves
2 green chillies, chopped
2 tbsps oil

Pressure cook dal with turmeric powder, salt & all the vegetables till done. Set aside.

Mix sambhar powder with the tamarind paste & set aside.

Heat oil in a vessel. Add mustard seeds & let splutter. Once done, add the cumin seeds & dried red chillies & fry till the chillies brown a little. Add onions, fenugreek seeds & asafoetida & fry till the onions turn soft & transparent. Add the cooked dal & let it give a mild boil. Add the sambhar-tamarind paste, curry leaves, half the corainder leaves & green chillies. Stir well to ensure that the paste has completely dissolved. Turn flame to low & let simmer for 5 minutes. Add the remaining corainder leaves, stir & let the sambhar heat through for another 2 to 3 minutes.

Serve hot.

Traditional Egg Curry

This is the traditional way my mom prepares the mangalorean egg curry at home. Very delicious & my favourite meal. No matter how much I try, the curry does not taste as perfect & as delicious as my mom's preparation. Well... sometimes cooking is more than just a recipe.

My mother usually grinds this masala on a stone grinder, making the paste really fine. Here in the US you dont get stone grinders... but the blender will do just the perfect job.

Here I am sharing the recipe of my favourite dish.

6 eggs, hard-boiled, peeled & halved
1 small to medium onion, thinly sliced
1 tomato, cut into wedges
2 potatoes, peeled, halved lengthwise & then quartered
1 raw egg, beaten
salt, to taste
3 tbsp oil

Grind to a fine paste:

4 tbsp grated coconut
6 - 7 dried kashmiri red chillies
1 tbsp corainder seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 medium onion
2 cloves garlic
1 heaped tsp tamarind paste

Grind the masala to a fine paste. Remove the paste & set aside.

In the same grinder, put 2 cups full of water & pulse the blender. Remove this masala water into a deep saucepan. Put in the tomato wedges & potatoes, along with some salt. Keep the vessel on medium flame & boil till the potatoes are cooked. Put in the beaten egg & stir till the eggs are scrambled & done. Set aside.

Heat oil in a kadhai. Add the sliced onions & fry till they turn golden brown. Add the masala paste & fry for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Becareful as the masala splatters, while cooking. Add the potato & tomato mixture & enough water to make a thick gravy. Add salt & let it come to a boil. Lower the flame & add in the boiled & halved eggs. Cook for 2 mins & remove from flame.

Serve hot with steamed rice as below.