Chicken 65

Chicken 65 mmmm :P mouth watering deep fried spicy chicken recipe of south india. All the NV peoples of india must have tried this dish once in their life time. Well it carries lot and lots of stories.... some say the dish is prepared from 65 days old chicken.... some say 65 no of days marinating... some say year of invention of this recipe is 1965... in olden days the recipe was made with 65 different spices, this is one another story... and the final story is, the dish was prepared first in a millitary canteen where the recipe number is 65.. uff.
Delicious dish of south india, easy to prepare.

Ingredients:

For marinating

1. Chicken meat (white meat or red meat or with bones or bonesless) - 1/2 kg
2. Red chili powder - 2 1/2 tbs
3. Lemon juice - 5 tbs
4. Salt to taste
5. Thick Curd / yogurt - 5 tbs
6. Cooking oil - 1 tbs
7. All purpose flour (to observe the excess water from chicken and yogurt)/ maida - 4 tbs

For seasoning

1. Cooking oil - 1 tbs
2. Cumin seeds / jeera - 1/2 tbs
3. Saunf - 1/2 tbs
4. Mustard seeds + urad daal (white lentil) - 1/2 tbs
5. Big brown Onion - 1/2 finely chopped
6. Ginger garlic paste - 1 tbs
7. Chopped cilantro - one handful
8. Salt to taste

For frying

1. Cooking oil for deep frying chicken

Method:

1. Cut the chicken into cubes and wash & strain the water completely. Squeeze the lemon juice over the chicken pieces, mix well and keep it aside. After 1 min add all other ingredients mentioned below for marinating and mix well. Marinate the chicken for 2-3 hours.
2. Heat oil in a pan for deep frying and fry the marinated chicken in batches. Store the fried chicken on a tissue paper to remove the excess oil.
3. Heat oil in a pan for seasoning, and add all the ingredients mentioned below for seasoning one by one at 30 sec interval (for ginger - garlic paste saute for 1 min extra). Add the fried chicken to this seasoning and stir for a minute.
4. Serve hot with biriyani / curd rice. Can be served as a snack also.

Crispy ulundu vadai / Urad daal vada / Crispy indian donuts

Vadai is a most popular & healthy snack recipe of south india. Usually served with breakfast (Idli / pongal / Dosa). Coconut chutney or sambhar could be a prefect combination for this recipe. Can be served with yogurt and spices, then it is called dahi vada. Perfect winter comfort food and simple to prepare.

Ingredients:

1. Ulundhu / Urad daal (whole white lentil) - 1 cup

2. Big brown onion - 3/4 finely chopped

3. Green chili - 3 nos finely chopped

4. Cilantro / coriander leaves - 1/2 handful finely chopped

5. Asafeotida / hing - pinch

6. Salt to taste

7. Curry leaves - 6 nos finely chopped

Method:

1. Wash and soak the urad daal for 3 hours (1 - 1 1/2 hours is also enough). Wash the soaked urad daal and strain water completely. Grind the urad daal with salt & hing into a tight batter. Add 2 tbs of water for ease of grinding. Do not add water more than that.

2. To the batter add onion, green chili, cilantro and mix well.

3. Heat oil in a pan for deep frying. Drop small balls of batter into the oil. Stir with a slotted laddle so that the batter ball will be coated with golden brown color in all the sides. Intially while dropping the ball the oil bubbles, cook till it settles. Once the bubble settles, take out the vada with a slotted laddle. Store the vada on a tissue paper for few seconds to strain the oil. Serve hot with chutney or ketch up or sambhar.

Tip:- Make the batter into donut shapes instead of balls. That is the traditional way. I am bit lazy... so made into balls... :P

Thakali sadham / Tomato rice

This is a simple lunch box recipe and my all time favorite. The lovely colour of this dish flashes in my mind whenever i think of having something tasty.... Yummy rice recipe doesn't need any side dishes. Can be served with rice wafers or any pickle or raitha.

Ingredients:

1. Cooking oil - 3 tbs

2. Sesame oil / Gingelly oil - 3 tbs

3. Mustard seeds + urad daal (white lentil) - 1/2 tbs

4. Splited chick peas / Kadalai paruppu - 1 tbs

5. Turmeric powder - pinch

6. Green chili - splited vertically - 3 or 4 nos

7. Big brown onion - 3/4 finely chopped

8. Tomato - 3 nos

9. Salt to taste

10. Rice - Sona masoori / basmati - 1 1/2 cups

11. Mint + Cilantro - 1/2 handful (washed and chopped)

Method :

1. Wash & cook the rice in 3 cups of water in a pressure cooker / rice cooker.

2. In the meantime, Soak the whole tomato in hot water for 15 mins. Peel off the skin and mash thoroughly with hand. Keep this aside.

3. Heat cooking + sesame oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds + urad daal + chick peas. Once mustard seeds splatters add green chili and turmeric powder. After 30 sec add chopped onion & cook till it turns transparent. Add the mashed tomato and stir to blend with onion. Add 1/2 cup if water and salt to this and cook till it comes to a gravy consistency. Remove from fire.

4. By this time the rice could be cooked. Trasfer the rice to another container which should be big enough for mixing. Let the rice to cool down for 10 mins. Now add the tomato gravy to the rice and mix slowly & completely. Garnish with chopped mint & cilantro. Serve hot.....

Paal kolukattai / Traditional steamed rice balls in coconut milk

Kolukattai is a traditional indian recipe and it is believed that lord Ganesha loves this dish. Usually rice balls will be stuffed with jaggery coconut mix, but this variety of kolukattai is more popular in chettinad (south india). Simple to prepare and more apt & healthy dish for kids.

Ingredients:

-for dough

1. Rice flour - 1 cup
2. Salt - a pinch
3. Grated coconut - 1/4 cup
4. Crushed cardamom - 2 nos

- to cook

1. Coconut milk - 1/2 cup
2. Luke warm water - 2 1/2 cups
3. Milk - 1/2 cup
4. Powdered sugar - 3 tbs

Method

1. Mix everything mentioned below for dough with half cup of luke warm water and make a soft dough. Make small balls out of this dough and keep aside.
2. Boil the remaining water in a pan and drop the rice balls. Cook in medium flame. Cook till the outer layer of rice balls are trasparent (1st pic in 2nd row). This takes 4 mins.
3. Mix 1/2 cup coconut milk + 1/2 cup milk + 1/2 cup water which is used for steaming rice balls together and bring them to boil. Drop the cooked rice balls from step 2 to this boiled mixture and add sugar immediately. Cook this mixture for 2 mins in medium flame and remove from fire. Serve hot.

Paruppu urundai kulambu / Spicy gravy out of splited chick pea balls / Channa ball spicy gravy

This is a healthy-spicy recipe goes well with hot cooked rice. Chettinad special dish - pappad could be the best combination for this recipe.

Ingredients:

-to saute

1. Cooking oil - 2 tbs
2. Sesame / gingelly oil - 3 tbs
3. Vendhayam /Fenugreek seeds - 1/2 tbs
4. Mustard seeds + urad daal (white lentil) - 1/2 tbs
5. Curry leaves - 4 nos

- to cook

1. Big brown onion - 1/2 finely chopped
2. Tomato - 1 1/2 finely chopped
3. Tamarind pulp - 1 small lemon size ball (soaked in 1 cup of water for 30 mins, squeeze the juice and discard the husk) or tamarind juice - 6 tbs
4. Red chili powder - 1 1/2 tbs
5. Coriander powder - 1 1/2 tbs
6. Salt to taste

- for chick pea balls

1. Kadalai paruppu / Spilted chick pea / channa daal - 1 cup (soak in water for 45 mins)
2. Big brown onion - 1/2 finely chopped
3. Green chili - 1/2 finely chopped
4. Jeera / cumin seeds / Seeragam - 1 tbs
5. Salt to taste
6. 1/2 handful of cilantro - washed and finely chopped
7. Hing / Asafoetida - pinch


Method:

1. Wash the soaked chick pea and drain the water completely. Add salt & hing to it and grind coursely. Add 1/4 cup of water while grinding !!! do not add more than 1/4 cup water, the batter will be watery and cant make balls !!!
2. Add the remaining ingredients mentioned below for chick pea balls and blend with chick pea batter (pic 2 of row 1). Make them into small balls and steam in a idli cooker or rice cooker (1st n 2nd pic of row 2) for 20 mins. Keep the cooked balls aside.
3. Heat cooking + gingelly oil in a pan and add the ingredients one by one mentioned under to saute in 30 sec interval. Add chopped onion to this and saute till it onion turns transparent. Then add chopped tomato and cook till it gets mashed. Then add tamarind juice, chili powder, coriander powder, salt, 3 cups water. Mix them well and cook in medium flame.
4. Once the above mixture (mentioned in step 3) boils drop the chick pea balls one by one. Cook the chick pea balls in spicy gravy for 20 mins and remove from flame.
Serve hot with cooked rice.

Easy sambhar / Quick indian lentil stew

At times when i do late cooking this recipe immediately flashes in my mind bcoz the cooking + preparation time is 20 mins only.
We call this as Idli sambhar. Quick Moong daal recipe (south indian paasi paruppu sambhar) goes well with Idli / Dosa / Ven Pongal / Cooked rice.

Ingredients:

-to saute

1. Cooking oil - 4 tbs
2. Mustard seeds + urad daal (white lentil) - 1 tbs
3. Jeera / Cumin seeds - 1 tbs
4. Curry leaves - 4 nos
5. Hing / Asafeotida - pinch

- to cook

1. Moong daal / Pasiparuppu - 1/2 cup
2. Toovar daal / Red gram - 1/4 cup
3. Big brown onion - 1/2 finely chopped
4. Tomato - 3/4 finely chopped
5. Cilantro - 1/2 handful (washed and chopped)
6. Turmeric powder - pinch
7. Red chilli powder - 1/2 tbs
8. Green chili - 1/2 (splited)
9. Salt to taste

Method :

1. Wash Moong daal + Toovar daal in a pressure cooker and strain the water. To this add all the ingredients under to cook + pour water till the ingredients gets immersed and mix well.
2. Heat oil in a small pan and add all the ingredients under to saute one by one at 15 sec interval and add the saute to the pressure cooker.
3. Close the pressure cooker and cook for 4 whistles. Open the cooker lid after the gas goes off. Thats it. Serve hot with Idli / Dosa / Rice.

Egg pepper masala

Tasty recipe, goes well with Chappathi, Naan, Curd rice, Biriyani....

Ingredients:

-to cook
1. Egg - 3 nos
2. Small onion (prefered) - 10 nos finely chopped (or) 1/2 big brown onion finely chopped
3. Salt and pepper - as required
4. Cooking oil - 4 tbs
5. Mustard seeds + urad daal (white lentil) - 1 tbs

- to grind
1. Grated coconut - 5 tbs
2. Cumin seeds / Jeera - 1 tbs
3. Saunf / sombhu - 1 tbs
4. Cilantro / Coriander leaves - 1/2 handful finely chopped
5. Garlic pods - 1 no
6. Green chili - 1 no

Method:

1. Boil the eggs seperately and keep it aside.
2. Grind everything under grind and keep it aside.
3. Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds + urad daal. Once it splatters add chopped onion and cook till it turns transparent.
4. Add the grinded paste + salt and saute well. Add 1/2 cup of water and cook. Stir consiously. At one stage the paste gets cooked well and oil separates out from it. At this stage add splited egg + pepper powder and stir for a minute. Remove from fire and serve hot.

Indian spicy vegetable noodles (Chinese Schezwan style)

This is a medium spicy recipe suitable for both breakfast and dinner.

Ingredients:

-to cook
1. Plain noodles - 1 pocket
2. Carrot - 1 finely chopped
3. Frozen peas - 1 cup (choose ur choice vegetables like cauliflower, cabbage, mushroom etc)
(wash all the vegetables together and cook in microwave for 5 mins in one cup of water)
4. Lemon - 1/2
5. Salt to taste

-to grind
1. Garlic clove - 1
2. Red chilli - 1 big
(grind these ingredients with 1/4 cup of water and keep it aside)

-to saute
1. Mustard seeds + urad dal (white lentil) - 1 tbs (optional )
2. Brown onion - 1/2 finely chopped
3. Tomato - 1/2 finely chopped
4. Turmeric powder - pinch
5. Cooking oil - 4 tbs

Method:

1. Heat oil in a big pan, add mustard seeds + urad dal. Once it splatters add chopped onion and cook till it is transparent. Then add tomato and cook till it is smashed. Add turmeric powder at this stage and saute for a minute.
2. Add the garlic-chilli paste to this and cook till the green smell of garlic goes off.
3. Add the cooked vegetables and saute for 5 mins. Add 1 1/2 cups of water + salt to the vegetables and bring it to boil (for 1 pocket noodles : 1 1/2 cups of water). Then drop the uncooked noodles into it, mix well.
4. Cook the noodles for 15 mins then sqeeze a lemon over it, remove from fire.
Serve hot with tomato ketchup.

Dosa / Indian pancake

Dosa - Fabulous indian breakfast!!!! Most popular Indian breakfast/Dinner recipe available everywhere in south india. Goes well with sambar or any chutney.

Ingredients:

1. Idli rice / preboiled rice / long grain rice - 5 1/2 cups
2. Skinned urad daal (black lentil) - 1 1/2 cups
3. Methi / Fenugreek seeds - 4 tbs
4. Salt 3 tbs
5. Ghee / cooking oil


Method:

To prepare the batter

1. Soak rice +skinned urad bean + methi seeds overnight.
2. Next day, wash the mixture 2-3 times and drain the water. Grind the washed rice to a smooth consistent batter (if the blender is small, grind in batches). For 2 handful of rice mixture add one cup of water. Test the batter with fingers, you should feel the creamed urad daal. Grind till that consistency.
3. Add salt to the batter and mix well. Left the batter to ferment overnight. If you are living in a cold place, warm the oven for 10 mins and keep the batter inside the oven with a plate at the bottom (1st pic in 2nd row).
4. The fermented batter will be a pale yellow color (2nd pic in 2nd row).

This batter can be kept in fridge upto 15 days. Just before preparing dosa take out the batter from fridge.

To prepare dosa

1. Before preparing dosa each time, mix the batter well from bottom with a ladle.
2. Spread a ladle full of batter into thin circles on a preheated skillet. Then sprinkle some oil / ghee onto it. Cook till the dosa is golden brown and remove from fire.
3. Serve hot with sambhar or chutneys.

Cabbage poriyal / Indian cabbage curry

Cabbage poriyal - The vegetable need not be cabbage, carrot or beetroot or spinach can be prepared in the same way. Easy to cook and a tasty dish.

Ingredients

1. Cabbage - 1/2 Kg finely chopped
2. Green chilli - 1 roughly chopped
3. Grated coconut - 1/2 cup
4. Salt to taste
5. Mustard seeds + urad dal (white lentil) - 1/2 tbs
6. Brown onion - 1/2 finely chopped
7. Cooking oil - 3 tbs


Method:

1. Wash the cabbage and cook it on top of rice cooker (this saves lot of time) else cook in a separate pan with 1 cup of water for 10 mins.

2. Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds + urad dal. Once mustard seeds splatters add chopped green chilli and then onion. Cook till onion is transparent. Then add cooked cabbage + salt to it, saute well. After 10 mins sprinkle the grated coconut and remove from fire.

Tip:- Best side dish for sambar rice and a healthy food.