A fish curry which any beginner in the kitchen can try out. With very few ingredients this fish curry can be made in minutes yet be very different and unique in taste. The gravy resembles a lot to the traditional Kerala style Varutharacha meen curry but does not involve any of those difficult steps.. try this easy fish curry and impress your loved ones.

Ingredients

• Fish: 500 gms ( i used mackarel)
• Coconut Oil: 4 Tbsp
• Shallots: 6-7 nos chopped
• Chopped ginger : 1 Tsp ( Optional)
• Coriander Powder : 1 Tbsp heaped
• Kashmiri Chilli powder : 1.5 Tbsp heaped
• Turmeric : 1/4 Tsp
• Thick Coconut Milk : 300 ml 
• Salt to taste
• Curry leaves
• Pot tamarind / Kudam puli ( cambogia ): 3 small pieces

Method

1. Add oil to a non stick pan or kadai ( preferred not to use earthen pot) and when oil is hot add the shallots and saute until light brown
2. Reduce flame and add all powders and saute till oil separates ( about 2 minutes)
3. Immediately add the fish and coat well with masala and allow to fry in the masala for 2-3 minutes. 
4. Now add the thick coconut milk and pot tamarind and wait for the boil. Once it starts boiling add salt, close and cook for 10-12 minutes on medium flame. Once the fish is cooked add the curry leaves and switch off flame.

Note: You can use fresh coconut milk or powder. I used about 5 tbspn of coconut milk water mixed in 300 ml of lukewarm water to make thick coconut milk. Either way tastes good. 

Easy Cooking!!

Shabana 

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A pan seared chicken dish with thick gravy using a perfect combo of  coconut milk and mangoes. A dish of Thai origin but can satisfy everyone's taste buds.

Ingredients

1. Chicken: 500 gms 2. Ripe Mango: 2 to 3 3. Canned coconut milk: 400 Ml 4. Onion: 2 5. Green Chilli: 2 6. Garlic: 4 - 5 cloves 7. Turmeric powder: 1/2 Tsp 8. Chicken Masala: 2 Tbsp 9. Salt 10.Pepper: 1 Tsp 11.Oil: 2 Tbspn

Method

1. Make a puree of mango and coconut milk and keep ready. Use only the thick coconut milk on the top of the tin. 2. Heat oil and saute the garlic. 3. Add chopped onions and slit green chilli and saute for 5 mins 4. Add turmeric and chicken masala powder 5. To this add the chicken and salt and allow to cook for 10 mins with open lid 6. Add the mango puree and close and cook 7. Add pepper and saute for another 5 mins 8. To adjust consistency add the water in the coconut milk can itself.

Happy Cooking!

Shabana

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Ingredients

Black Chick pea: 1 cup Water to soak the pea: 4 Cups Onion: 1 Ginger garlic: 1 tbsp Tomato: 1 Coriander powder: 1.5 Tsp Red Chilli powder: 1 Tsp Garam masala: 1/2 Tsp coconut Oil: 2 Tbspn Salt For tempering: Mustard seeds curry leaves
Oil: 1 Tsp
green chillies slit: 3
garam masala: 1/2 Tsp

Method

1. Soak the pea overnight in water 2. Add oil to pressure cooker and saute the onions for 5 mins. Add ginger garlic and cook 3. Add chopped tomato and cook until soft 4. Add all the powders for gravy and saute 5. Allow this cool down and grind well by adding little water. Grind to a fine paste 6. Add this paste to the same cooker and add the soaked chick peas 7. Mix well and add the left over soaked water 8. Add salt and cook for 10 whistles 9. Open when steam goes. 10. Prepare the tempering by heating oil and add mustard and curry leaves and green chilli. Switch off flame and add the garam masala and add this to the boiling gravy. 11. Serve with any kerala breakfast

Traditional Cooking!

Shabana

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Coconut Kheer ...A very tasty Kheer or Payasam made in less than 5 Minutes. It just needs two main ingredients and you get an option to customise your kheer by adding any garnishing of your choice. With so little time and effort I was definitely not expecting this taste. But on tasting, i decided to share this easy recipe and save a lot of your time.

Ingredients

1. Ready made coconut milk: 400 ml tin
2. Sweetened condensed milk: 1 tin (397 gm)
3. Any nuts of your choice: 2 to 4 TBspn
4. Khas Khas or sabja seeds or sago seeds: 2 to 3 tsp

Method

1. Soak the khas khas or sago seeds in water. If using sago just cook it for 10 mins after soaking
2. Mix well the coconut milk and condensed milk in a bowl with a fork or hand whisk
3. Add desired nuts and soaked khas khas and mix
4. Chill for few hours or overnight.
5. Serve cold

Happy Cooking 

Shabana

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Instant Biriyani / Thattikootu Biriyani

Do you feel preparing a biriyani requires a lot of chopping and sautéing? Then try making this way and you will be surprised with the taste of this biriyani without adding any onions, tomatoes, ginger or garlic.

Ingredients

For the Chicken

Chicken: 1 kg

Chicken masala: 4 Tbspn

Curd: 3 Tbspn

Salt

Oil: 5 tbspn

For the rice

Basmati Rice: 3 to 3.5 cups

Water: 6 cups for 3 cups of rice

Ghee: 2 tsp

Whole Spices: cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, pepper, bay leaf

salt

For garnish

carrot: 1 grated

Mint and coriander leaves: handful

Method

1. Marinate the chicken with salt, chicken masala and curd and set aside for an hour

2. Meanwhile prepare the ghee rice. Heat ghee and add all whole spices. Add water and allow to boil. Now add salt and rice and cook until all water is gone.

3. Add a tsp of oil and saute the grated carrot for 5 mins

4. Add 5 tbspn of oil to the marinated chicken and cook without adding any water.

5. Give some time until the chicken is cooked and all water is dried up and the masala is very well roasted. This is the only step which you will need to give some time otherwise the raw taste of masala might be prominent.

6. Now add the chopped coriander and mint leaves and give a mix

7. Now add the cooked rice and mix well. Also add the carrot along with this and give a final mix

Yummy biriyani is ready in less than 20 mins.

Happy cooking 

Shabana

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Kheema Pakora is a crunchy tasty snack which takes less than 15 minutes and just 2 steps. 

Ingredients

1. Meat mince: 250 gms 2. Onion: 2 small finely chopped 3. Green chilli: 2 nos finely chopped 4. Ginger garlic paste: 1tbsp 5. Garam masala: 1 tsp 6. Chilli powder : 1 tsp 7. Coriander leaves: handful finely chopped 8. Salt to taste 9. Oil to deep fry 10.Gram flour ( kebab flour/ kadala maavu) : 3 tbsp or more to make the kheema mix thick

Method

1. Add all ingredients except oil to a large bowl and mix well. Adjust kebab flour for consistency 2. Heat oil and drop small pieces of the mix and fry until golden brown in medium heat. Pakoras are ready to serve.

Happy snacking
Shabana

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Pepper Chicken

Pepper Chicken... Chicken pieces cooked into a thick saucy gravy with pepper and spices. It is a perfect preparation to serve with rice or chapati (Indian bread). Always prefer to use freshly ground pepper to the store bought pepper powder.

Ingredients

• Chicken : 1 kg
• Ground pepper: 3 Tbspn
• Curry leaves
• Green chilly: 3-4 slit length wise
• Onions: 2 finely sliced
• Turmeric: 1/4 tsp
• Chicken Masala: 1.5 Tsp
• Cashews: 8 - 10 pieces
• Ginger garlic paste: 2 Tbspn
• Tomato: 2 Small finely chopped
• Thick coconut milk: 1/4 to 1/2 cup ( optional)
• Salt
• coconut oil: 3 Tbspn

Method

  1. Heat oil and splutter the curry leaves.
  2. Add ginger garlic and saute for a minute, then add onions, green chilly and salt

  3.Once the onion is light golden add the turmeric and chicken masala and saute for 2-3 minutes. To       this add the pepper powder, tomato and cashews and mix well

 

  4. To this masala add the chicken and mix well, cover the pan and cook until done with occasional          stirring.

5. Once chicken is done add the coconut milk , if preferred and switch off the flame and mix well.

Note: The coconut milk in this recipe is just to thicken the gravy a bit and give a saucy consistency. That makes this dish a great combination for paal appam or any roti. The cashews are also optional and can be added if you prefer a little bit of cashews in between this spicy saucy pepper chicken.

Spicy Cooking!

Shabana

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Chicken Chukka

This is one alternative to chicken fry which i have always relished eating as a side dish with biriyani or kerala rice. This dish requires marinating chicken with a special blend of spices for an hour and that is all you need to spare to make this tasty chukka chicken.

Ingredients

Dry Masala:
Dry Red Chillies: 7-8 / or dried kashmiri chillies - 10-12 nos
Coriander Seeds:  3 table spoon
Cinnamon : 3 cm piece
Cardamom: 4 nos
Clovers: 5 nos
Cumin Seeds: 2 tsp
Kashmiri Chilli Powder – 3-4 tsp

Wet Masala:
Coriander Leaves : handful
Green Chilli: 2
Ginger Garlic Paste: 2 table spoon

Other Ingredients

Chicken: 1 Kg ( Small pieces)
Oil: 4 to 5 tablespoons
Onion: 2 medium finely chopped
Salt to taste
Coriander leaves a handful finely chopped

Method

1. Take the above dry masala in a blender and powder them finely and add to the cleaned and drained chicken
2. In the same blender and add the wet masala and little water and grind to smooth paste to puree and add to the chicken
3. Mix both these dry and wet masala mix well to coat the chicken and marinate for 1 hour or longer
4. After an hour, heat oil in a kadai and saute the onions until light brown
5. Now add the marinated chicken and toss well in the oil. Cover and cook on a low heat for 15 mins, now water from the chicken will come out. Mix well and cover again and cook on low heat for another 15 mins.
6. Now increase the heat and cook till the water is evaporated and chicken is done.

Tasty Chicken chukka is ready to be enjoyed as a side dish with any Indian meal. 

Happy Cooking!

Shabana

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Melting Moments

Melting moments.... these butter cookies are so light , crumbly and buttery that they literally melt in your mouth. As simple as 3 ingredients whipped and baked would create melting moments in you.  

Ingredients

1 cup = 250 ml

• All purpose flour: 1.5 Cups
• Corn Flour: 1/2 cup
• Salt: 1/4 Tsp
• Unsalted butter/ Margarine: 200 Gms
• Powdered Sugar: 1/4 Cup and some for dusting on top of the baked cookies
• Vanilla essence: 1/2 Tsp

Method

1. In a mixing bowl combine all purpose flour, cornflour and salt and keep ready
2. In another bowl beat the unsalted butter and 1/4 cup sugar and vanilla essence. ( You can use a hand mixer or a stand mixer with paddle attachment)
3. Add the flour mixture to the butter mix little by little until well combined.Once its done refrigerate for 20minutes so dough firms up. ( If you are using a stand mixer with paddle attachment the mixture would form into a dough after mixing and it can be shaped to cookies without refrigerating. But using a hand mixer would give a slightly loose dough and the consistency would become harder once refrigerated.)
4. Once the dough is ready pre heat the oven for 15 minutes at 180 degree Celsius and start making lime sized balls out of the dough and arrange it on a baking tray lined with baking paper. 
5. Bake the cookies at 180 degrees for 15 - 20 minutes. Bake time would vary depending on the size of the cookie. Once done the cookie would slightly change colour at the bottom and can be separated from the baking paper easily.
6. Allow the cookies to cool for 5 minutes and then dust the cookies with powdered sugar using a sieve so that there are no lumps of sugar on the cookies. 

Delicious cookies are ready to be shared with your loved ones with a hot cup of of coffee... 

Happy Baking!!

Shabana

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Corn Cheese Balls

Corn Cheese Balls is a simple home recipe which takes only a few minutes to make on those lazy afternoons and moreover its tasty and healthy especially for the kids !

Ingredients

• Canned Corn: 1 cup ( drained )
• Mozzarella cheese: 1/2 Cup
• Green Chilly: 1 finely chopped
• Very little salt
• Garam masala or Chaat masala : 1/2 tsp ( optional)
• All purpose flour: 2 Tsp
• Bread Crumbs to roll the corn balls
• Egg : 1 or 1/4 Cup milk
• Oil to deep fry 

Method

• Add the corn to the blender and pulse to a coarse paste

• Add all the other ingredients except bread crumbs, oil and egg and mix well until well incorporated

• Make lime sized balls and keep in freezer for 10 minutes

• Take the balls out and dip in milk or egg and roll it over the bread crumbs 

• Deep fry until golden brown.
• Serve hot with mayonnaise or ketchup. 

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Happy frying!!
Shabana

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Fluffy Idlis and Chutney recipes

The toughest part of making idlis at home is to grind the rice in a normal blender or mixie. Not everyone would have an electric stone grinder, and even with a stone grinder making the batter with rice is a time consuming process. So I wanted to try out making the batter with urud dal and rice flour. I got the recipe and tried it couple of times and i am sharing that right proportion here for all my readers so that you can try out in your normal blenders or mixie to get fluffy hot idlis !!

Ingredients

1 Cup = 250 gms

• Rice flour: 3 cups
• Urud daal: 1 cup
• Cooked rice; 1 fistful (Optional, for faster fermentation)
• Water for rice flour: 3.5 cups
• Water to grind the urud daal: less than half a cup
• Salt

Method

Soak the urud daal in water for 3-4 hours.

Once the daal is ready to be ground, mix the rice flour with the water and make a thick batter and keep aside. ( no blender required)

In the jar of your mixie add the drained urud daal and the cooked rice and grind to a smooth paste with very little water. Daal will be ground easily in 1-2 minutes.

Once the daal is ready pour it into a large vessel and mix the rice flour batter with a ladle or heavy spoon

Add about a teaspoon of salt and mix well and allow to ferment overnight.
Next morning stir the fermented batter very well and make soft fluffy idly and enjoy with chutney of choice.

Coconut Chutney with red chilli powder

In a blender add half cup grated coconut, 1-2 tsp red chilli powder, 2-3 shallots and grind well by adding little water. Heat a teaspoon of oil in a kadai and splutter some mustard seeds, 2 dry red chillies and few curry leaves. To this add the ground coconut and mix well in low flame. Switch off flame before the chutney reaches a boil.

Coconut Chutney with green chilli

In a blender add half cup grated coconut, 1 green chilli, 2-3 shallots and grind well by adding little water. Heat a teaspoon of oil in a kadai and splutter some mustard seeds, 2 dry red chillies and few curry leaves. To this add the ground coconut and mix well in low flame. Switch off flame before the chutney reaches a boil.

Onion Chutney

Add a tablespoon of oil in a kadai and saute 1 large onion until it gets translucent. Add a teaspoon of red chilli powder and a small ball of tamarind and mix well. Once cooled blend this until smooth. Optionally you can add the tempering. (Heat a teaspoon of oil in a kadai and splutter some mustard seeds, 2 dry red chillies and few curry leaves)

Happy cooking!!
Shabana

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Bread Pudding - No Bake, Eggless

An eggless no bake bread pudding for those who want a healthy dessert! The combination of sweet milk and bread with the caramelized sugar makes this pudding a favorite for all those dessert lovers. The earlier recipe I posted of  Bread pudding was a baked one and I used eggs. Upon requests from the vegetarians and the non bakers I am posting a no bake eggless bread pudding here. Do try and post your feedback and doubts in the comments section !

Ingredients

• Milk: 500 ml
• Gelatin: 1 Tbsp ( or China Grass 5 gms )
• Milkmaid: 1/2 tin (200 gms)
• Bread Slices: 4
• Fresh Cream: 100 ml
• Sugar: 4 Tbsp for caramel & 4 Tbsp more for milk

Method

1. Dissolve the gelatin in 2-3 Tbsp of boiling water and keep aside
2. Boil the milk with 4 tbspn of sugar
3. Meanwhile trim the edges of the bread and cut it into small pieces
4. Mix the milkmaid and the cream in a separate bowl and keep ready 
5. Add the dissolved gelatin to the milk mixture
6. Soak the bread pieces in this milk mix and keep ready 

Soaked bread in milk, cream and milkmaid

       7. Add the milk maid and cream mix to this and mix well and keep ready to be transferred to the pudding dish.
       8. Now to make the caramel, add the sugar to a heavy bottom pan and melt it on medium flame without stirring and until it becomes brown and smells like caramel as shown in the video below. Make sure not to burn it.

        9. Pour this into the dish in which you will be setting the pudding, on top of this pour the milk and bread mixture and allow to set overnight

Caramel

        10. Cut into slices and serve with caramel side up. or simply serve it with bread side up with some drizzled caramel.

Note: If you are using an aluminium dish to set your pudding then you can caramelize the sugar in the same pan and simply add the milk mixture over it and set in fridge

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Happy dessert time!!

Shabana

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Two Ingredients - Fat free Dates Balls

No bake dates balls contain just two ingredients and they are super healthy. Pop them into lunch boxes, snack on them, or use them to satisfy your sweet tooth in a healthy way...

Ingredients

• Dates: 150 Gms ( deseeded and chopped)
• Desiccated coconut: 125-150 Gms
• Some desiccated coconut for coating the dates balls

Method

• In a blender or processor add both the ingredients and blend until a crumble consistency is obtained. Roll it to balls of preferred size and then roll it over the desiccated coconut to get an even coating. Enjoy these delicious and healthy sweet.

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Easy Cooking!!

Shabana

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Chicken Hariyali

I decided to try this recipe on the request of one of my dear blog subscriber , Shaikh Tasneem. This was the first request I got on my blog and I was really excited to try it for her and it came out real good. This recipe is from Punjabi cuisine and is really very quick and healthy with all those greens. It requires very less sautéing and ingredients. Try it at your home and I am sure your family will be surprised !

Ingredients

Serves: 4
Cooking time: 20 mins
Preparation time: 10 mins

• Chicken; 1/2 kg (cut into small pieces)
• Ginger garlic paste: 1 Tbsp
• Oil: 4 Tbsp
• Mint leaves; One fistful (1/3rd Cup)
• Coriander leaves: one fistful ( 1/3rd cup)
• Spring onions: 2 ( take all the white potion)
• Green Chillies: 5 nos
• Yogurt: 1/2 Cup
• Garam masala powder: 1/2 tsp
• Cumin powder: 1/2 Tsp
• salt to taste

Method

1. Add oil in a pan and saute the ginger garlic paste for 1-2 minutes. 
2. Add the cleaned chicken to this and let it cook uncovered on medium heat for 5 minutes

 

3. Meanwhile grind the mint leaves, coriander leaves, spring onions and green chillies to a smooth paste adding little water.

 

 

4. Add this paste to the chicken along with the salt, cumin and garam masala powder and allow it to cook for another 15 minutes until the oil is separated.

 

 

5. While it is cooking, beat the yogurt and keep ready.

 

6. Once the chicken is cooked add the yogurt and mix well and boil until it reaches desired consistency.

 

7. Serve hot with rotis or rice.

 

Note: If you prefer Chicken Hariyali with more gravy you can switch off the flame immediately after mixing in the yogurt. I preferred a thicker gravy so i further boiled it for 10 minutes for getting a thick coat of gravy on the chicken pieces.

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Happy cooking!!

Shabana

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