Paper Dosa and Coconut Peanut Chutney

I have been MIA for the past month. Its not that I couldn't take time at all..but its the kind of void that you go thru sometimes..no mood to blog at all..It was first for a week, then two and so quickly its more than a month already..Even now I am just forcing myself so that my Blog Archive will show this month.

Summer is in full swing with temperatures hitting 28c-32c, feels like 40, something we are not used to here....kids are enjoying their summer holidays and having fun time.. so do we parents..Food is first thing first that pops up in holidays..With picky eaters we always have to be on the look out to entice them with something they look forward to eat.

Dosa with coconut chutney is one of kids fav..This coconut chutney is a variation by adding peanuts instead of roasted gram. Kids don't know the difference though. And the dosa is also made crispy to fold like a paper

Coconut Chutney - Type II

Coconut with Peanuts and Red chillies:
Ingredients :
To Grind:1 cup grated fresh/frozen coconut
1/2 cup Roasted Peanuts
1 tsp cumin seeds (optional)
4 Red chillies (increase or decrease accordingly)
A small piece of Ginger (about 1/4 inch)
1 Big marble size tamarind ball
Salt to taste
Enough water to grind these into a smooth paste

For Tempering/Tamlinpu:
1 tsp oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp urad dhal
2-3 red chillies cracked
8-10 curry leaves
1 pinch of Asafoetida/Hing/Inguva/Perumgayam

Method:
In a chutney grinder, put all the ingredients in the grinding list and grind them thoroughly to a smooth paste/chutney.
Transfer to a serving container.
Heat up the small tempering vessel add oil, after the oil is hot, allow mustard to splutter and add the rest of ingredients one by one ending with Asafoetida, fry for a few seconds and spread on the prepared chutney.

Paper Dosa
Follow the instructions here to make dosas, just increase the rice flour by 1/2 cup more and fry them for longer time to make them paper crisp...

Enjoy with coconut chutney and sambar.

Chicken Stir Fry with Vegies

Its a happening week here in Toronto..With the G8/G20 just days away and all that tight security in action, earth quake was the least expected in GTA(Greater Toronto Area). We were taken by surprise when a rare earth quake hit this afternoon, as our building shook, so did we..By God's grace no damage and we survived....

Hopefully all the pomp of G-summit will also end safely this weekend.

Coming to the recipe...this is one simple quick chicken stir fry with a few vegies thrown in. I usually stock up on frozen chicken breasts, to add in chicken soup, chicken noodles, chicken fried rice or to make chicken pakora. This time wanted to try out a stir fry with some vegies.

Ingredients :
2 Skinless chicken breasts (fresh or frozen)-cut into 2 inch strips
2 cups chopped Choice of vegies(Broccoli, Cauliflower, Bell peppers, Carrot)
1 tsp sesame or olive oil
1/2 tsp ginger garlic paste
A few sprinkles of Soy sauce
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
Salt to taste(if necessary)

Procedure:
In a wok, add oil when hot and then add ginger garlic paste and fry a till raw smell is gone.
Add chicken strips and fry till chicken is half done.
Now add vegies and stir fry.
Sprinkle soy sauce and mix thoroughly.
Check for saltiness and adjust salt if necessary.
Add black pepper powder and fry till chicken is done and vegies are till crisp.
Remove from heat and serve with plain or fried rice.

Pepper kheema Curry

AKA Miriyalapodi/Milagu Khiama

Yet another dish from Granny's creation. Kheema(mince)can be made with any meat you prefer. It is so versatile that just changing the spices and combinations can result in a great new taste each time. Kheema can be cooked with a combination of different vegetables. Mom sometimes use to add potatoes to it..Mutton Kheema with potatoes used to be an amazing dish. One famous dish in North India is Matar kheema where minced meat is cooked it with green peas. Another interesting recipe is when Ridge Gourd(Birakaya) is added to kheema curry. Hope to blog all these kheema dishes soon. For now sharing Pepper Kheema which I frequent in my kitchen. A must dish back home for new moms who are nursing their babies. Usually kheema was cooked at home with red chilly powder to spice it up. I learnt from granny to replace chilly powder with black pepper powder to cut the heat and to give a totally different flavour to kheema curry. Miss granny whenever I cook this Pepper kheema.

Ingredients :
1 lb - Minced or Ground Meat/Kheema of either Beef or Mutton
1 Tbsp - Oil
2 Big Size Onions, sliced
2 Green chillies
6-8 Curry leaves
1/4 tsp tumeric powder
1Tbsp Ginger Garlic paste
1/2 tsp of Garam Masala powder(Home made)
1Tbsp Black Pepper powder
Salt to taste
Finely chopped Coriander

Method :
Wash Kheema several times to remove any excess fat and blood. Keep aside
Heat oil in a kadai/wide pan.
Add onion, green chillies, curry leaves one by one and cook till onions are translucent.
Add tumeric powder and fry 2 seconds.
Add ginger garlic paste and keep mixing so that it doesn't stick to edges.
Now add the washed, cleaned kheema and salt.
Add garam masala powder
Mix well.
Cover and simmer for 8-10 minutes or till the kheema changes color, stirring occasionally.
Now add the crushed pepper powder to the kheema curry and cook till the kheema is fully done.
Sprinkle some water if it is too dry while the kheema is cooking.
Once the kheema is cooked and leaves oils add coriander and remove from heat.

Serve with plain rice, rasam Parupu Rasam,or sambar.

Potato Bonda / Batata Vada

AKA Urullaikizhangu/Bangaladunpa/Aloo Bonda

My my, the past one month was so packed with action. Good it all is coming to an end this week. Though more is coming up from next week at least there is no made rush for it. We had three b'days in the family over the last 30 days, but had to postpone the bash till now. Two days back was dear hubby's b'day and he's the lucky one to get the feast right away.

Growing up Potato bonda was restaurant or street food fair. Somehow elders at home didn't frequent this speciality. I remember granny making this once and that was real tasty and special. Other fond memories are when we travelled in Indian trains. You can't miss these out for a morning or evening snack which is gently accompanied by coconut chutney.

Ingredients :
2-3 cups Oil for deep frying

For batter :
1 cup gram flour
Baking Soda - A pinch
1/2 tsp Red chilly powder
1/4th tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp Chat masala powder( optional)
a few sprinkles of Asafoetida/hing/perumgayam/inguva
Salt to taste
Enough Water

For Filling :
2 cups Potato Masala

Method :
Prepare the potato filling in this way.
In a bowl add ingredients for batter and add water little by little mixing with hand to make a smooth batter of medium consistency(little thicker then loose).
Keep aside.
Heat oil in a wok or kadai or deep pan.
Make medium size balls of potato masala.
once the oil is hot, dip each potato ball in the batter to coat evenly and deep fry them till golden yellow.
Remove from oil and place on a tissue paper to take out excess oil.
Serve warm or at room temperature with choice of chutneys..Coconut,Peanut-Coriander,Green chutney etc.

Spicy Chicken Strips / Masala Chicken Pakora

AKA Chicken Pakoda or Pakodi

This is one easy to make food for starters. I use frozen chicken breasts to make these. Never seen or tasted these chicken strips or fitters anywhere. Just that I had this frozen chicken breasts in my freezer and decided to treat husband and kids one evening. So with fingers crossed I whipped up this recipe and it was a hit. Trust me I myself was surprised that this turned out be one tasty snack. Would be great for a perfect starter dish.

For a healthier version you can even bake them in regular oven instead of deeping.

Ingredients :
Two Chicken breasts, cut into thin long strips about a finger length.
Oil for frying.
for the spicy masala covering:
Corn flour/Channa flour - 1/2 cup
Rice flour - 1 tsp
Ginger - Garlic paste - 1 tsp
Chilly powder - 1tsp
Black pepper powder - 1/8 spoon
Tandoori Masala - 1 tsp
Garam Masala - 1/4 tsp
1 tsp Yogurt
A few curry leaves
Salt to taste.

Sauce or ketchup to serve with.

Method :
In a mixing bowl add all the ingredients for covering with enough water to make a paste.
Add Chicken strips with the above marination and let aside for half to one hour.
Now either deep fry or pan fry the chicken pieces in oil till redish brown.
If baking, place foil on a tray and grease with pam or olive oil.
Spread the chicken strips with even gap.
Bake at 325F 10 mins each side or untill done.
Serve with chilly or tomato sauce.

Cherry Almond cake

No doubt desserts are packed with calories..but its not just the cals that count but the effects of them on our bodies. If we can't give up them at least find out ways to make these desserts as much diet friendly..

Wiki says Almonds are a rich source of vitamin E. They are also rich in monounsaturated fat, one of the two "good" fats responsible for lowering LDL cholesterol.

Claimed health benefits of almonds include improved complexion, improved movement of food through the colon and the prevention of cancer.
Almond is considered a nutritive for the brain and nervous system. It is said to induce high intellectual level and longevity.

Due to its low-carbohydrate ratio and its good dietary fibre almond flour is very desirable for use in cake, cookies and bread recipes by people on carbohydrate-restricted diets and patients suffering from diabetes.

This said I got an opportunity to make use of my stocked up almonds. To add a little color and fruit I choose to go with sweetened juicy cherries which where in my fridge for a long time. These cherries remind me of my childhood days when my granny use to(very rarely) buy them and treat us. There was this big jar of sweetened red juicy cherries in one of the most popular sweet shop in the city I lived back home. I used to drool at that jar of cherries when ever I visited the sweet stall. Since they were expensive, elders at home used to buy them only when we baked cake at home. So the moments with these cherries were precious.

Now here we go with the most nutritious almonds and treasured cherries to bake one sumptuous cake.

Ingredients
400 gms butter(softened)
1 -3/4 cups sugar
5-6 eggs

Flour & Powders:
1-1/2cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground allspice (optional)
1 pinch salt

Liquids:
1 tbsp almond extract
1 tbsp Cherry extract
1 tbsp lime juice
1/2 - 1 cup Evaporated milk

Fruit & Nut:
1/2 cup cherries in syrup (assorted, sliced)
1/2 cup Almonds made into Almond Paste or use store bought

For Almond Paste :
1/2 cup ground almonds
4 Tsp of milk
a pinch of rose water
2 Tbsp Sugar or Honey

Garnish:
5-7 Cherries sliced
5-7 Almonds chopped

Directions:

Blanch Almonds by adding them to boiled water and peel off skin. Dry them fully.

Grind Almonds to make powder.

Boil sugar with just a little water to soft ball consistency and add all the other ingredients under almond paste. Once the paste leaves the vessel remove from heat and pour into a small bowl for later use.

Alternatively you can use store bought Almond paste too.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour your desired cake pans. I usually use a loaf pan and a square pan.

Measure all ingredients and keep them ready, Take butter out of fridge before an hour to soften it.

Beat butter, sugar in a large bowl until they turn creamy Add in eggs. Beat on low speed of electric mixer until blended, then on high speed for 5 minutes until light and fluffy.

Combine and swift together flour, allspice(if adding, baking powder, soda and salt in a separate bowl, and fold these dry ingredients alternately with liquid ingredients except milk. Keep mixing

Add almond paste, mix. Add milk according to the consistency of the batter. Keep mixing while adding. Add sliced cherries. Gently mix to combine.

Pour into Prepared greased pan/pans.

Garnish with sliced cherries and chopped almonds

Bake in preheated oven for 40 to 50 minutes

Once the cake rises and gets the shape and is browning on the top, then remove from the oven and cover it with foil, shiny side up, and bake for the remaining time or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.
Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.

Ajwain Rice/Omam Sadam/Vaamu Annan

This was a staple breakfast rice for us in my mom's cooking back home. Whenever there was left over rice from night dinner, the next day morning amma used to either make pulihora or vaamu annam(Telugu). Here I cook fresh rice just for the purpose making this ajwain rice(Hindi). Mostly this rice is special for its medicinal effects. Turmeric purifies, Omam(Tamil) helps in digestion and reduces Flem, garlic removes gas and lowers cholesterol..

So with all those good qualities and not to mention good taste this is one rice to include in our menu once in a while. To cut the pungent flavour of ajwain this rice is best served with a dessert..usually Boondi laddu,Bombay or Tirunelveli halwa.

Ingredients :
4 Cups Cooked Raw Rice (Basmati, sona masoori or ponni)

for Tempering:
2 tsp Sesame oil
1 tsp Ajwain/Omam/Vaamu or Carom seeds
5 Red chillies broken into pieces
10- 12 Curry leaves
5 -6 Garlic pods beaten
1 Medium Onion cut into thin stripes
1/2 tsp Turmeric
Salt to taste
Procedure:
Heat oil in a Kadai(Wok), add Ajwain seeds and fry till they leave aroma.
Add red chillies, Wait a few seconds, add curry leaves and after the spluttering noise stops add garlic pods, fry a little.
Now add onions and fry them till they cook but still crunchy.
The onions should change color on the outer edges but still be pal from inside.
Add turmeric and fry till raw smell is gone.
Now add rice and salt and mix well for about 1-2 min, so that every morsel is evenly coated with the tempered seasoning.
Remove from heat and serve after 15 min for the rice to observe the flavours.

Serve by itself or with a choice of sweet.