Chilli chicken

Sorry for a long gap.
Chilli chicken - yummy chicken recipe of south india. Goes well with rasam rice, curd rice.

Ingredients:

1. Chicken meat (boneless is prefered) - 1/2 kg
2. Fresh lemon juice - 4 tbs
3. Oil for deep frying

For marination:

1. Turmeric powder - pinch
2. Ginger garlic paste - 1 1/2 tbs
3. Chilli powder - 2 tbs
4. Garam masala - 1 tbs
5.Maida / all purpose flour - 5 tbs
6. Thick curd - 4 tbs
7. Salt to taste
8. Oil - 1 tbs
9. Mint coriander paste - 1/2 tbs

For garnishing

1. Big brown onion - 1 (sliced into circles)
2. Chopped mint and coriander leaves
3. Lemon juice - 1/2 tbs

Method:

1. Wash well and cut the chicken meat into equal cubes. Press the chicken meat with hand and squeeze out the excess water. Immediately add fresh lemon juice to chicken and mix well so that lemon juice sticks around the chicken pieces. Keep this aside for 5 mins. Adding lemon juice makes the meat tender so that the marination penetrates well into the chicken.
2. Add together and mix well the ingredients mentioned below for marination. If the mix looks watery (becoz of loose curd) add one more tbs of maida. Now marinate the chicken in this mix for atleast 3 hours.
3. Heat oil in a pan for deep frying and drop the chicken pieces. Fry well in medium flame till the chicken is coated with a crispy layer. Store the fried chicken on a tissue paper to remove excess oil. Fry the remaining chicken in batches.
4. When the chicken is hot sprinkle the lemon juice and garnish with onion and coriander leaves.
Serve hot!!!

Pattani kuzhambhu / Green peas gravy

Medium spicy recipe, goes well with hot steamed rice / chappathi. Both Channa dal (chick pea) and Green peas can be used for preparing this dish. Cooking this recipe using channa dal tastes like lamb !

Ingredients:

1. Green peas - 1 cup (soak the peas overnight in water)
2. Cooking oil - 4 tbs
3. Mustard seeds + urad dal (white lentil) - 1/2 tbs
4. Curry leaves - 4 nos
5. Big brown onion - 2 tbs (sliced)
6. Tomato - 1 no (chopped)
7. Tamarind juice - 1/4 cup
8. Sambhar powder or any masala powder - 3 tbs
9. Salt to taste
10. Chopped cilantro for garnishing

To grind

1. Big brown onion - 1/2 (sliced) or small onion - 10 nos (small onions are prefered for this dish)
2. Cumin seeds - 1/2 tbs
3. Khaskhas / Opium poppy (கசகசா) - 1/2 tbs
4. Grated coconut - 1/4 cup (optional)

Method:

1. Wash and cook pattani / green peas in a pressure cooker. Pour enough water till peas get immersed (but not soaked) for cooking. Keep this aside.
2. Heat 1 tbs oil in a pan and saute the ingredients mentioned under to grind except coconut. Saute till onion turns trasparent. Once the sauted ingredients cooles down grind them into a fine paste (dont forget to add coconut while grinding). Keep this aside.
3. Heat remaining oil in the pressure cooker, add mustard seeds, urad dal. Once it pops add curry leaves and onion. Once onion turns trasparent, add tomato and cook till it gets smashed.
4. Now add grinded ingredients, cooked peas, sambhar powder, tamarind juice, salt, 1 cup water (if required) and mix well. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Close the pressure cooker lid and cook in medium flame for 10 mins.
5. Garnish the recipe with chopped cilantro. Serve hot with rice / chappathi.

Tip:- If the gravy wants to be very thick do not add water other than used for cooking peas.

Peerkangai koottu (பீர்கங்காய் கூட்டு) / Luffa or Ridge gourd dal

Spiceless recipe. Goes well with sambhar rice / rasam rice / curd rice.
Easy to prepare.

Ingredients:

1. Peerkangai / Ridge gourd - 1 no (if it is big).
2. Mung dal - roughly 1/2 handful
3. Cooking oil - 2 tbs
4. Mustard seeds + urad dal (whote lentil) - 1/2 tbs
5. Curry leaves - 4 nos
6. Big brown onion - 1/2 no (finely chopped)
7. Green chilies - 2 nos (slited)
8. Salt to taste
9. Asafoetida / Hing - pinch

Method:

1. Wash and cut the ridge gourd. Click here to see how to clean and cut the vegetable.
2. Wash the dal in a pan and add ridge gourd to it. Add water till the dal and vegetable gets immersed. Add salt and cook this in medium flame. Cook till the dal gets soften.
3. Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds + urad dal. Once it pops add curry leaves and hing. Add green chilli and onion. Cook till onion turns golden brown.
4. Add this to cooked vegetable + dal, mix well. Serve hot with rice.

Ennai kathrikaai (எண்ண கத்திரிக்காய்) / Stuffed brinjal curry

Very delicious dish. Can be served with hot white rice or sambhar rice.
My hubby hate brinjal whereas i like this vegetable. Tried 2 other recipes using brinjal to make him eat and finally this recipe grabbed his attention.

Ingredients:

1. Violet brinjal - 6 nos
2. Cooking oil - 3 tbs
3. Gingelly / Sesame oil - 3 tbs
4. Mustard seeds + urad dal (white lentil) - 1/2 tbs
5. Finely chopped onion - 2 tbs
6. Finely chopped tomato - 2 tbs
7. Curry leaves - 4 nos
8. Salt to taste

To grind

1. Big brown onion - 1/2 roughly chopped
2. Grated / shredded coconut - 3/4 cup
3. Red chilli (big & dried) - 5 nos (no other spice will be added to the dish, based on ur taste adjust the red chilli nos)
4. Ginger - 2 nos small
5. Garlic - 2 nos small
6. Peanut (dry roasted) - roughly 1 handful
7. Turmeric powder - pinch
8. Mint & cilantro - 1/2 handful (optional)
9. Sesame seeds - 1 1/2 tbs (if u dont have sesame seeds, can use sesame oil instead)
10. Salt to taste

Method:

1. Heat 2 tbs sesame oil in a pan and saute the ingredients mentioned under to grind. Grind well the sauted ingredients into a fine paste. Keep this aside.
2. Wash and slit the brinjal at the centre (cut the brinjal from top like spliting it into 2 halfs but do not complete the cut. Stop at half inch above the bottom. Do similarly, perpendicular to the above cut) as shown below and stuff the brinjal with grinded paste.

3. Heat cooking oil + remaining sesame oil in a pan and add mustard seeds + urad daal + curry leaves. Once mustard seed pops add chopped onion and tomato. Cook till the tomato gets smashed.

4. Add 1 cup of water to the remaining grinded paste and add it to sauted tomato. Add little salt and wait till the gravy boils. Now place the stuffed brinjal inside it carefully and close the pan with a lid.

5. Cook the dish completely in medium flame. For every 2 mins open the lid and stir well without disturbing the brinjal. If required, sprinkle oil consiously.

6. Cook till oil seperates out. Sprinkle chopped cilantro and serve hot.

Tip:- Place the cut brinjal inside water before stuffing.