Pepper Chicken

Ingredients:
(A)
Broiler chicken : 600 gms (good pieces)
Ginger-garlic paste : 1 Tbsp each
Curds : 150 ml
Vinegar : 1 Tbsp
Salt : 2 tsp
Chilli powder : 1 tsp
Haldi/Turmeric powder : 1/2 tsp
(B)
Large onions : 2 Chopped and ground coarsely in a mixie
Ginger garlic paste : 1 Tbsp each
Coriander/dhania powder : 1 Tbsp
Pepper : 2 Tbsp pepper corns freshly powdered
garam masasla powder : 1 tsp
Green chillies (slit) : 4
Tamarind lime size : soak in water and extract thick juice
Curry leaves(karbev) : 10 to 15
Refined oil : 6 Tbsps or 100 ml
Salt : 1 tsp ( adjust salt)

For seasoning : Coconut oil, 1 tspfull mustard seeds ,2 dry red chillies and few curry leaves.

Method:
Mix the items under (A) and marinate the chicken pieces in it for 1 hour.
Take a thick pan and pour the oil into it. Keep on stove and when hot add the ginger-garlic paste and saute.When the raw smell goes, add the onion paste and saute, add the the garam masala, pepper, dhania powders,slit green chillies and karbev leaves next and saute well. Keep turning till the mixture is fried nicely and oil is leaving the sides of the mixture. Add salt and the marinated chicken pieces, pour the tamarind juice. Mix well and cover and allow to cook adding very little water to help in cooking the chicken pieces. Instead of water you can also use 1/2 cup of coconut milk for cooking the chicken in the gravy. This enhances the taste of the curry.The chicken pieces should cook well in about 15 minutes. Finally season with the seasoning items and decorate with chopped coriander leaves . Serve hot with chicken biryani.This is a spicy Southie Indian chicken curry.

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Beetroot Raita

Ingredients:
Beetroot large : 1
Thick and fresh curd : 300 ml
Oil : 1 tsp
Mustard : 1/2 tsp
Green chillies : 1 small
Coriander leaves : Finely chopped 2 Tbsps
(Cilantro)
Salt : 1/2 tsp
Method:

Scrape and wash beetroot and shred fine. Keep in a glass bowl with a teaspoon of water and cook in micro-oven for 3 minutes at 600 Deg C.Allow to cool. Add the curds and salt, mix well.Season with mustard seeds and chopped chillies in hot oil. Garnish with the chopped coriander leaves. Serve as a side dish with any Indian meal.

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Knol-khol Kurma

Ingredients:

(A)
Knol khol/ganth Gobi : 2 medium sized scraped and cubed to small pieces
Carrot : 1 medium sized scraped and cubed into small pieces
Baby-corn : 2 medium sized chop into 1/4 inch pieces
Shelled peas : 1 fistfull

(B)
Fresh coconut scrapings : 3 Tbsps
Onions : 1 large minced
garlic : 2 pods
Ginger : 1/4 inch
cardamom and Cloves : 3 each
green chillies : 4 or 5
Coriander seeds : 1 tsp
Rice/wheat flour : 1/2 tsp

(C)
Refined oil/Ghee : 3 Tbsp
Kasoori Methi : 1 tsp
Cream of milk : 1 Tbsp
Salt : 1 1/2 tsp or to taste
Method:
Cook the vegetables under (A) in a cooker or micro-oven with very little water taking care not to overcook .
In a mixie, grind to a smooth paste the items under (B).
In a thick pan/Wok add the oil/ghee and place on a stove.When hot add the masala and saute well till oil leaves the masala.To this add the cooked vegetables and salt. Mix well and let boil for 5 minutes.Sprinkle the kasoori methi on top and cover and cook for 1 min.Last add the cream of milk on top and cover and keep. Serve hot with rotis or chappathis.As this kurma is white in color and has a fine aroma, children will love it and is a good way to make them eat vegetables.

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Date Halwa

This recipe is from my friend Radha who always tried out new stuff and shared it with me.
Ingredients:

Seedless dates : 1 cup
Milk : 1 cup
Sugar : 1 cup
Ghee : 4 Table spoons
Cardamom 4 powdered, 2 Tbsps of chopped cashewnuts and pistachios

Method:

Wash the dates well and chop into small pieces.Add this to the milk.Add a 1/2 cup of water also and pressure cook for 10 minutes.Take it out of the cooker and lightly mash with a pestle.Transfer the contents to a thick pan and add sugar.Keep on fire and stir continuously till sugar is totally dissolved. Next add the ghee a little at a time and keep on stirring till the halva leaves the sides of the pan. Remove from fire and add the cardamom powder mix well and pour on to a grease thali.Garnish with the nuts and cut into cubes and serve.

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Kalakand with Milkmaid

Ingredients:
Milkmaid : 1 tin ( 400gms)
Milk : 2 cups
Sour Curd : 2 Tbsps
Sugar : 2 tsps

Method
Pour the 2 cups of milk in a thick vessel. Boil the milk and add the sour curd to curdle the milk. Add the milkmaid tin contents and sugar to this and keep boiling till the mixture dries up and leaves the sides of the vessel. remove from fire and set in a large greased plate with edges (not a flat plate- in Indian , a thali)When cool cut into pieces. Store in a container. Keeps for a week in cool climate outside the refrigerator, if at all people are not around to finish it in a couple of days!

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Easy Coconut Cookies

This is also a recipe from a magazine which I copied to my recipe book long back,I do not remember which magazine, but this comes out well and children love it .

Ingredients:
Flour (maida) : 1/2 cup
Castor Sugar : 1 cup
Grated coconut : 2 cups
Egg whites : of 4 eggs
Vanilla essence : a few drops ( 3 or 4)

Method:
Beat egg whites till stiff.Add vanilla essence. Mix in the flour and coconut scrapings and mix well. Take a baking tray and grease it.Sprinkle some flour on to the greased tray. Now drop tablespoons full of the mixture on to the tray and bake in moderate oven (250 deg Centigrade) for about 15 minutes or till golden brown. Cool and then store in an air-tight container.

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Jam biscuits/Cookies

This is a recipe from a magazine which I copied in my recipe book long back,I do not remember which magazine, but this comes out well and children love it

Ingredients:
Multipurpose flour (maida) :600 gms
Butter/dalda :600 gms
Rice flour :300 gms.
Sugar :300 gms
Milk :250 ml
baking powder : 2 gms
Vanilla essence : 1/4 tsp
Mixed fruit jam : 400 gms bottle (to be used as desired)

Method :
Cream fat and sugar.Add the vanilla essence and milk.
Sieve the two flours and baking powder together and add the above mixtures to this to make a smooth dough. Make into small balls and flatten between your palms or roll out the balls to 1/4 inch thick rounds (discs!)and smoothen the edges.Arrange in a baking tray and bake at 400F (200C )until they are golden brown .Allow to cool.Spread the jam on one and sandwich with another biscuit.Keep in an airtight container taking care to arrange neatly. Children will love this.

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Jaggery syrup for dosas

Children are fussy about food is it not? And if you made dosas they do not like chutney or sambar with it. Probably you serve them ghee and sugar or may be jam? But here is a simple jaggery syrup ( which is better and healthier than refined sugar).

Ingredients:

Jaggery : 500 gms.

cardamom : 3 or 4 peeled and powdered fine

Method:
Put the jaggery in a thick pan and pour a cup of water.Keep on stove and let it boil and melt. When all the jaggery is dissolved use a fine strainer or clean cloth to strain this thin syrup. In India jaggery has some impurities and small stones/sand.by straining this way you get clean syrup. Transfer this clean syrup to a thick pan and keep boiling till it thickens and forms syrup of 1 to 2 string consistency. Add powdered cardamom and stir well.When cool this syrup should be fluid enough to come on a spoon ( like honey).If not you can add a little bit of water and keep on stove for one boil.When cool store in a air tight container and serve with iddlies and dosas to the kids.See how they will love it.

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Deep Fried Drumsticks

There I come up with one more of drumstick recipe. This is a very tasty fry and you will like it surely.Here’s how

Ingredients:
Fresh and tender Indian Drumsticks
(Peeled and chopped into 2 inch pieces.) : 6 or 7
Red Chilli powder : 1 Tbsps
Table salt : 1 tsp or a little bit more as per taste
Rice flour or maida(all purpose flour) : 2 to 3 Tbsps spread on a plate
Refined oil 2 cups for deep frying

Method:
Peel and cut the drumsticks as shown in the picture.Wash well and let the water drain. Put these in a flat bowl. On to the drumstick pieces sprinkle the salt and chilli powder and shake the vessel up and down gently in such a way that the salt and chilli powder get adhered to the drumstick evenly. Keep aside for one hour. Just before lunch is served you must fry this.
Next roll the drumstick pieces in the rice flour and tap the extra flour off, keep all the pieces ready for frying. When the oil in the pan is hot and ready for frying, drop the drumstick pieces in the hot oil and with a strainer spoon turn over lightly.Once you drop the pieces in oil, reduce the flame of the stove slightly. Turn gently in the oil till goden brown and crisp and remove from oil and put it on the brown paper/newspaper in a plate so that the excess oil will be removed.Serve hot with a South Indian meal.I am kind of sure this is not a very common recipe.Am I correct?

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Drumstick Palya/Curry

You may be wondering why so many recipes of drumstick and its accessories! We have a drumstick tree in our backyard and when it is season ,we distribute the harvest of the juicy drumsticks ( everybody says these short drumsticks taste special, and it is indeed true)to our neighbors and with what is left I used to make so many types of dishes and this is a simple one at that.

Ingredients:

Tender drumsticks : 6 or 7 Chopped into 2″ pieces.
Red dry chillies : 5 or 6 cut into small pieces
Jaggery : 100 grams
Refined Oil : 1 Tbsp
Mustard and urad dhal : 1 tsp each:
Salt : 3/4 level tsp or as per taste
Method:
Take a banali (kadai/thick deep pan),keep on lit stove, add oil when hot add the mustard, when it splutters, add the red chillies pieces and urad dal. When the dal becomes golden brown, drop the drumstick pieces and add one cup water.Cover and cook till done. Now you can add the jaggery and cover and cook again adding water if necessary. The jaggery should melt and get absorbed in the drumsticks and the water in the curry will turn into a thick liquid because of the jaggery. This is the indication that the curry is done.Transfer to serving dish and serve hot with a South Indian Meal.

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