Mushroom Cheese Toast

Ingredients

4 Bread Slices

2 big Mushrooms (sliced)

Capsicum (cut into small pieces)

Onion (finely chopped)

Pepper (1/2 tsp)
Salt (1/2 tsp)
Butter 1 tbsp
Grated cheese
Tomato sauce

Directions - How to make

Heat a pan and melt butter on it. Now add the onions, capsicum and mushrooms one by one. Saute well. Add pepper and salt. Take off and mix them well with sufficient amount of grated cheese. Layer it on top of the bread slice and grill it for 15 minutes or toast them over the pan on medium heat. Serve the toast with tomato sauce.

Strawberry Ice-cream

Ingredients

1 cup sweet and juicy Strawberries (cut into pieces)
4 Strawberries for the topping
1 cup Sugar
1 cup milk
1 cup cream

Directions - How to make

Blend well the strawberries, milk, sugar and cream. Pour it in a bowl and keep it in the freezer. Blend it again after 30 minutes. Repeat the process around 4 times. It will make the ice-cream smooth.

Keep it for 2 hours and serve with fresh strawberries on top.

Note: Keeping in the freezer for long will make the ice-cream icy and hard as we are not adding gelatin and other ingredients normally used in the ice-creams. Also, the temperature needs to be taken care of which might not be possible when prepared at home.

Karuvattu Kuzhambu

Ingredients

200 gms Dry Fish/ dryAnchovies
Vadagam or (garlic, curry leaves and fenugreek seeds)

4 garlic cloves
1 finely chopped Onion
1 big tomato
Tamarind (big lemon sized)
2-3 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp coriander powder  
1 tsp turmeric powder
Salt
Oil
Curry leaves

Directions - How to make

Soak the tamarind in a cup of warm water. After a while, extract the tamarind juice separately. Add chilli powder, coriander powder, 1/2 tsp turmeric powder, curry leaves, half tomato and little salt to the tamarind water. Mix all the ingredients well and keep aside.

Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a wok. Add garlic, fenugreek seeds, curry leaves and onion. Saute well. Add the remaining half tomato. Add salt and 1/2 tsp turmeric powder Saute well to form a thick paste. Now add the tamarind extract. Add required water.Let it boil for a while. As soon as it starts thickening add the dry fish. Cook covered for 15 minutes. Take off and serve with rice.

Note: Be careful while adding salt as the dry fish might already contain salt.

Kathirikai Varuval

Ingredients

1 big Brinjal (cut into 1 inch cubes)

1 tsp saunf ( fennel seeds)

Curry leaves

2 tsp chilli powder

2 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp Garam masala
100 ml water
1 tsp salt
Oil

Directions - How to make

Boil brinjal cubes in a nin stick wok. Add salt and turmeric powder. Keep stiring. Crush the brinjals well. Once the water evaporates and brinjals are cooked, pour little oil. Add saunf and curry leaves. Further add chilli powder, coriander powder and garam masala. Mix them well. Keep stirring while adding little oil over the brinjals. Mash well and take off once the raw smell goes and the brinjals are cooked. Serve hot with sambar rice.

Spinach Cheese Toast

Ingredients  (Makes 4 Sandwiches)

2 cup finely chopped Spinach

2 Cheese slices (cut into halves)
2 Garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
1 Green chilli, finely chopped 
1  tsp butter
1/2 tsp salt
4 Bread slices (cut into halves)

Directions - How to make

1) Heat butter into a pan. Add green chilli and garlic. Saute well. Now add the spinach and little salt.  
2) Cook for a while until all the water evaporates from the spinach.
3) Spread the spinach stuffing over the bread slice. Layer a slice of cheese over it and cover it with another bread slice.
4) Repeat the same for remaining bread slices.
5) Toast the bread in a grill or a pan with little butter applied on the surface. Roast over medium flame. 
6) Serve hot with tomato sauce.

Hainanese Chicken Rice

This is the first time I tried something really challenging, Hainanese Chicken rice, a well known Chinese dish. Hainanese Chicken rice is a Singaporean dish which my husband used to often have during his bachelor days. He told me that it is one of his favourite cuisine and asked me if I could try it at home. I tried it yesterday for the dinner which came out really well, only that the soup was little salty because I wanted the chicken to absorb enough salt when its boiling in the soup. To make this buy either a free range or an organic chicken as it would be tastier. Whole chicken is traditionally used to make it, but I have used chicken thighs for convenience as cutting the whole chicken would be a real hurdle.

Ingredients

Chicken:                 

2 Chicken thighs (Boneless and skinless)                  

2 Spring Onions

5 Ginger pieces sliced

3-4 crushed Garlic cloves

Coriander leaves (handful) 

1 tsp Salt

Dark Soya sauce

20 Ice cubes

Rice:

1 1/4 cup rice  ( Serves 2) Soaked for 15 minutes

2 tsp Cooking oil (Vegetable oil/ Sunflower oil)

1 tsp Sesame oil

1 inch ginger minced

2-3 garlic cloves minced

2 cup chicken stock

salt

Chilli Sauce:

8 Red chillies ( deseeded)

1 inch ginger

2 garlic cloves

1 tsp Sugar

Salt

1 tsp lemon juice

2 tbsp chicken stock

Blend all the ingredients to make the hot chilli sauce. Add chillies according to how hot you want it to be.

Ginger Sauce:

2 inch ginger

6 garlic cloves

2 tbsp chicken stock

Salt

Blend all the ingredients to make the ginger sauce. Add water or chicken stock accordingly.

Directions - How to make

Clean the chicken thighs and remove any fat attached to it. Rub the skin with little salt to remove any dead skin. Wash it in running water and keep aside. Meanwhile boil water in a vessel  along with  ginger, garlic, coriander leaves and spring onions. Add little salt. Once the water comes to a boil add the chicken thighs to it. Make sure the chicken is immersed well in the water. Cook it covered for 20 minutes. Insert a knife into the flesh, if the juice runs out clear it means its cooked. Take off and quickly put it in a vessel full of  cold water. Add the ice cubes. Adding the chicken to the cold water makes the flesh tender. After 30 minutes remove the chicken and cut it into strips carefully.

Do not throw away the chicken water. That is the chicken stock that is used throughout and is also the soup which is served along with the rice.

For the rice, place the cooker on the stove. Heat the oil. Add the minced ginger and garlic. Do not let it brown. Add a tsp of sesame oil. Add the soaked rice immdiately. Mix them well. Add two cups of chicken stock to it. Once it starts boiling close the lid. Cook the rice for two whistles.

Prepare the chilli sauce and the ginger sauce with the chicken stock. The remaining stock can be reheated to make the hot soup by adding fresh spring onions to it.

Serve the Hainanese chicken rice with chilli sauce, ginger sauce and dark soy sauce. Garnish with sliced cucumber and tomatoes. Have this along with the delicious soup.

Aloo Paratha

Ingredients

For theStuffing:   
2 boiled potatoes (Grated) 

2 green chillies finely chopped

1 tbsp ginger garlic paste

1 tsp Cumin powder

1/4 Onion finely chopped (medium sized)

1 tsp Chaat masala

1 tsp salt

1 drop lemon juice

For the dough:

Wheat flour - 6 handful (makes 6 parathas)

Warm water

Salt 1 tsp

Oil 1 tsp

Directions - How to make

Knead the dough with little salt and warm water. Knead well to make a smooth dough. Add a tsp of oil to it while kneading. Keep it covered for around 20 minutes.

Meanwhile prepare the stuffing for the paratha. Cut the potatoes into halves. To avoid the potatoes getting soggy, always steam the potatoes in a cooker without adding water in the vessel. Only the cooker should contain water. Steam for 10 minutes. Once the potatoes are boiled, peel off the skin and grate them well.

Next step is to heat the wok. Add a tsp of oil. Once the oil is hot, add the finely chopped onions, green chillies, ginger garlic paste, grated potatoes, cumin powder, chaat masala, chopped coriander leaves and salt. Mix them well. Finally add a drop of lemon juice and mix well. Make six equal sized balls of the mixture.

Heat the non stick pan. Meanwhile prepare the paratha. Cut the dough into six equal parts and make 6 balls of dough. Now flatten the dough leaving the centre thick. Place the potato stuffing at the centre. Lift the sides and close it in top.Tighten it as if it is a screw. Cut off the top part of the dough.

Press the ball at the centre with your fingers. Just flatten the dough with your hand and then use the rolling pin. Dont make it very thin as the stuffing would spread then. Leave it a little thick as it tastes better. Now put it over the tawa. Turn it after a minute. Melt little butter on top of the paratha. Once the paratha starts puffing, the paratha is done. Repeat the same for the rest of your parathas.

 

                  Serve hot with curd and pickles.

Spicy Tandoori Chicken

Ingredients

Chicken legs or wings  (10 pieces)                                
Turmeric powder 1/2 tsp
Chilli powder 3 tsp
Coriander powder 2 tsp
Cumin powder 1 tsp
Garam masala 1/2 tsp
Ginger-garlic paste 5 tsp
Curd 1/2 Cup
Rice powder 2 tbsp
Lemon juice 1 tsp
Salt 1 1/4 tsp
Oil to coat

Directions - How to make

Wash the chicken in running water. Chicken with skin tastes better for grilling. Make cuts on the chicken pieces with a knife.

Mix all the ingredients except the chicken and oil in a large bowl to form a nice thick paste. Apply the mixture evenly over the chicken pieces so that the paste gets into the cuts as well. Keep it in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours. Keeping it in the refrigerator overnight will let the masala get in even well.

Preheat the grill for 30 minutes on medium heat. Meanwhile place an aluminium foil on the grilling tray to avoid the dripping masala dirtying the pan. Apply oil on the grill to avoid sticking.

Place the marinated chicken pieces on the grill and then inside the grilling oven. Keep turning the pieces every 10-15 minutes so that its cooked evenly. Apply oil over the chicken pieces while turning every time. It might take upto 30 - 45 minutes. It depends on the kind of grill one uses for grilling. I have an electric oven which was kept open throughtout. I adjusted the heat from medium to high in between. If left carelessly it might even burn the chicken on top. Once its done, insert a fork to check if the inside is done. If the fork comes out clean without sticking, the tandoori chicken is ready. Serve with onions and a piece of lemon. Garnish with coriander leaves.


Note: Red colouring powder or saffron powder can also be used in the mixture to give it a typical Tandoori Chicken look.

Muttai Kuzhambu

I have never prepared vadagam myself. It is also known as karuvadagam. If living in a foreign country, one might as well get it in the Asian stores there. My mother-in-law prepares this for me. This gives real taste to the curry. Next time I visit my hometown, I will ask her for the recipe and post that as well.

MUTTAI KUZHAMBU / EGG CURRY

Ingredients

1 tbsp Vadagam ( This is a dried ball of various spices. Alternatively 2 garlic cloves and fenugreek seeds can be used)

1 tsp saunf / fennel seeds

8 Garlic cloves ( slightly crushed)

1 big Onion

2 small tomatoes

Tamarind (Medium lemon sized)
2 tsp Kuzhambu powder (combination of coriander and chilli powder) or 1 1/4 tsp pure chilli powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
2 tbsp Oil
4 boiled eggs
Curry leaves 1 sprig
Coriander leaves

Directions - How to make

Soak the tamarind in a cup of hot water and let it stay for a while.

Heat oil in a wok. Add Vadagam, saunf, curry leaves and then 4 crushed garlic pieces. Fry them well. Now add chopped onion and 1/2 tsp salt. Keep stirring and saute till it becomes translucent. Add 1 chopped tomato to it. Make a thick paste by crushing it lightly with a ladle. Add 1 glass of water. Let it boil.

Meanwhile, extract all the tamarind water. Add the remaining 4 crushed garlic pieces, tomato, kuzhambu powder, coriander powder, 1 tsp salt and pepper. Mix them well.

Now add this tamarind mixture to the boiling curry. Add required amount of water. Boil well to form a thick curry. Once the curry thickens, add sliced eggs to the curry. Let it stay for 2 minutes. Take off and garnish with coriander leaves. Serve spicy egg curry hot with rice and papad/ apalam.

Easy Sponge Cake

This is a plain Vanilla sponge cake. If the cake is made for some special occasion, then it can be decorated  with chocolate syrup, choco chips, nuts or readily available topping mix. For making Chocolate sponge cake, you just have to replace 100 gms of flour with 100 gms of cocoa powder.

Ingredients

200 gms Maida ( All purpose flour)                                        
150 gms Butter
150 gms Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla Essence
Cardamom powder (2)
2 Eggs
1 tbsp Baking Powder
Cashews and raisins (Optional)

Directions - How to make

Preheat the oven at 190 C.

Blend all the ingredients together in a large bowl one by one. Start with the butter and sugar, eggs, baking powder, cardamom powder, nuts and finally the flour. Make sure the batter is smooth and of right consistency but not watery. If it is bit dry, one can add little cold water. Finally add the vanilla essence and mix well.

Pour the batter in a greased baking pan. Place the pan at the centre of the oven. It takes around 15-20 minutes. Once the cake puffs up and the sides turn brown, insert a knife and check if the knife comes out without sticking. If it does not stick, the cake is ready and it can be taken off from the oven. Cut it into small pieces and store in an airtight container. It can be kept for 2-3 days.