Spicy Chicken Briyani

Ingredients:

(Serves 4)
4 pcs of chicken drumstick
4 hard boiled eggs
2 cups of Basmathi rice (70% cooked)
1 tbsp of coriander powder
1/4 tsp of cumin powder
1/4 tsp of fennel powder
1 tsp of red chilli powder
1/4 tsp of turmeric powder
1/4 tsp of garam masala
2 onions (chopped)
2 tomatoes (chopped)
2 green chillies (slit)
1 tbsp of ginger garlic paste
2 tbsp of cashew nuts
2 tbsp of raisins
A bunch of coriander leaves
1/2 cup of mints (chopped)
1 cinnamon stick
2 star anise
4 cloves
2 cardamom
3 tbsp of ghee
1 cup of water
Salt to taste

In a pan, heat ghee and add cinnamon stick, star anise, cloves, cardamom and stir for a minute then add  chopped onions fry until translucent. Now add in ginger garlic paste, mix well and add chopped tomatoes and cook until tomatoes turn mushy. Then add green chilli, chilli powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder, fennel powder and cumin powder, mix everything together so that the spices incorporates well and add in chicken drumsticks, half a cup of water. Let all this cook on medium flame until the chicken is cooked and the liquid is evaporated.

Now add in boiled eggs, 70% cooked rice to the chicken mixture mix everything well and pour in the balance water, adjust seasoning and cover to cook until rice is fluffy. Mix in coriander and mint leaves to the rice and cover for a couple of minutes so that the flavor will be infused in the rice. Finally add in cashews and raisins that have been fried in ghee to garnish.

Now our Spicy Chicken Briyani is ready to be served. Do try and let me know how it turned out for you!

Chicken Kofta Kurma

Cooking is always have been a passion for me, especially when my husband loves my cooking and gets very happy when I take the effort to cook varieties of food for him to try. Being some one who always travel all around the globe, he have tasted lots of food and remembers it when I cook for him. Blogging have been an advantage for anyone who love to cook and try on new recipes, I get this recipes from my fellow blogger sisters who share the same passion.

Many of us definitely know Priya from Priya's Versatile Recipes where she have even done a guest post for me Vegan Christmas Fruit Cake. I have known Priya for few months now and I was digging some chicken recipes in her archive and found this recipe, as you all know I really admire her cooking and photography skills trying her recipe was exciting. I love Chicken Kofta Kurma as it was so creamy and thick not forgetting you would ask for more once you taste it.

Now let's look at how to cook this wonderful, lip-smacking dish;

Ingredients:

For Chicken Balls:
3 Chicken breast pieces (I used 250g of minced chicken)
1 Onion (big & chopped)
1tsp Garam masala powder
1 Green chilly (chopped)
1tbsp Corn flour
Salt

For Kurma:
1 onion (chopped)
2 tomatoes (chopped)
2 green chillies (slit opened)
1tbsp ginger garlic paste
1cup yogurt
5 cashewnuts
1tbsp coriander powder
1/2tsp red chilly powder
1tsp cumin powder
2 tbsp grated coconut
1 cinnamon stick

1 star anise
Chopped coriander leaves
Chopped mint leaves
Salt
Oil

In a bowl mix all the ingredients for chicken balls and make medium sized balls and keep aside.

Blend coconut, cashew nuts and yogurt to a fine paste without adding any water and keep aside.

Heat 3 tbsp of oil, fry cinnamon stick, star anise, onion, green chilli and tomato until aromatic. 

Then add ginger garlic paste and salt cook until all the ingredients are soft

Now add coriander powder, chilli powder and cumin powder and stir for a few seconds.Then add all the blended ingredients to the veggies and cook until the raw smell is gone approximately 5 minutes. 

Then add the prepared chicken balls to the gravy and cover to cook for another 5 minutes without stirring, this is to ensure that the chicken balls cook without breaking loose.

Once the chicken balls are cooked, simmer the gravy in low heat until it thickens and oil is 

separated from the gravy, this shows that the gravy is done and ready to be served

Now our Chicken Kofta Kurma is ready to be served, garnish with coriander and mint leaves

Do try and let me know how it turned out!

Healthy Chinese Style Mix Vege

Ingredients:

2 cups of Cauliflower (cut into florets)
1 pack of Holland Peas (cut into 2)
1 carrot (cut thinly into semicircle)
10 pcs of cashew nuts (optional)
1 tbsp of diced garlic
2 tbsp of oyster sauce
1 tbsp of corn slurry
1 onion (sliced thinly)
1/4 cup of water
1 tbsp of oil
Salt to taste

In a pan heat oil and fry cashew nuts until golden and keep aside.

In the same pan, fry onion and diced garlic until fragrant, add Cauliflower, Carrot and Holland Peas and fry for a minute. Pour water, add in oyster sauce and salt, cover to cook for a couple of minutes. Finally add in corn slurry and stir well to incorporate with the veges to thicken the gravy.

Garnish with fried cashew nuts and our Healthy Chinese Style Mix Vege is ready to be served.

Do try and let me know how it turned out for you!

Keralan Briyani

The moment I saw this recipe in Sherin's Kuk's Kitchen, I told myself I'm definitely going to try this but I have made some changes to it. But no much changes but I didn't add chicken to this dish as the recipe calls for as we get a lot of vegetarians guests for Diwali. Sherin, thank you so much for sharing this recipe with everyone, the taste was awesome.

Okay now let's check the recipe;

Ingredients:

4 cups of rice 
6 pcs cardamom 
6 pcs cinnamon 
6 pcs cloves
1/4 cup of ghee 
4 large onions (sliced)

2 tbsp of ginger garlic paste

5 green chilli paste

15 pcs of cashewnuts

30 pcs of raisins

1/2 cup of yoghurt

5 cups of water

1 lemon (squeezed)

1 small can of crushed pineapple

A few drops of rosewater

Salt to taste

Coriander and mint (garnishing)

Dry blend masala:
1pc cinnamon 
6 pcs clove

1 tsp nutmeg

6 pcs cardamom 
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp fennel
10 pcs peppercones 

Dry roast and blend all the ingredients for masala and keep aside.

Fry raisins ans cashew nuts in ghee and keep aside. Fry sliced onion until crispy golden brown and keep aside.

I have used rice cooker to cook this dish, pour ghee and fry cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, ginger garlic paste, green chili paste fry for a minute then add washed rice and fry together in the ghee. 

Pour water, yoghurt, lemon juice, rose water, crushed pineapple and let rice completely cook until fluffy. 

Finally add a few drops of saffron with milk and garnish with fried onions, cashews, raisins, coriander and mint leaves.

Now our Keralan Briyani is ready to be served, do try and let me know how it turned out for you!

Brown Sugar Kesari

This is the last dish I made for Navrathri, Brown Sugar Kesari. I always prefer to use soft brown sugar for cooking as it gives better taste compared to white sugar. Brown sugar is less sweet compared to white sugar meaning 1 cup of white sugar is equal to 2 cups of brown sugar, that's how I would compare the sweetness of both these sugar. So I usually use only half cup or 1 cup of brown sugar to substitute for white sugar to bring down the sweetness.

Okay now let's go to the recipe now;

Ingredients:

1 cup of sooji/ semolina
10 pcs cashewnuts
10 pcs yellow raisin
1/2 cup of coconut milk (thick)
1/4 cup of brown sugar
Few drops of yellow coloring
1 cup of water
2 tbsp of ghee

In a pan, heat 1 tbsp of ghee and fry cashews and raisin then add water and let it boil, then add brown sugar and salt. Turn flame to low and pour in coconut milk and let it simmer for about 2 minutes don't let it over boil as it will give oily taste.

Now add in  yellow coloring and sooji slowly, constantly stirring  to avoid clumping. Mix everything well, finally add in balance ghee and mix well. Place Kesari mixture in any mould or tray then cut into desired shapes and serve.

Now our Brown Sugar Kesari is ready to be served. Do try and let me know how was it.

Do join my event Halloween Recipes 2012

Kalkandu / Rock Sugar Pongal

Ingredients:

1 cup of raw rice (washed and drained)

1/4 cup of rock sugar/ kalkandu

10 pcs cashew nuts

10 pcs raisins

3 tbsp of milk

1 tbsp of ghee

1 tsp of salt

2 cups of water

In a pan, heat ghee and roast cashews and raisin until golden, pour water and let it boil. Once water boils add in rice and let it cook until soft.

Now add in salt, kalkandu and milk and let all incorporate well, cook until pongal thickens and water completely evaporates. Let the pongal cool down before serving.

Now our Kalkandu/ Rock Sugar Pongal is ready to be served.

I'm sending this recipe to Priya's Event Navratri 2012

Sakkarai Pongal/ Palm Sugar Pongal

Hello everyone, how's your Navratri celebrations going on? I hope everyone are very well blessed with Durga ma's blessing. As for me this is a great week of the year ever, okay for today's neiveidyam I have cooked Sakkarai Pongal or Palm Sugar Pongal. 

This is a pongal loved by my whole family, be it the young ones or the oldies. We don't add so much of sugar until it's so sweet and people who are very concerned about health can't consume. Now let's check our how I cooked this;

Ingredients:

2 cup of cooked rice

1/2 cup of palm sugar (dissolve in 1 cup of water)

1/4 cup of white sugar

3 tbsp of milk

2 cups of water

10 cashew nuts

10 yellow raisins

1 tbsp of ghee

2 cardamoms

A pinch of salt

Heat ghee in a pan

Fry cashew nuts until golden brown

Add in yellow raisins with the cashews

Pour palm sugar mixture, sugar, salt and bring to a boil

Add cardamom, when palm sugar mixture boils and reduce in quantity

Add cooked rice and mix well

Add milk and mix well, let water evaporate

See this is how pongal should be after water evaporated

Now our Sakkarai Pongal is ready to be served

Do try and let me know how it turned out for you!

I'm sending this recipe to Priya's Event Navratri 2012