Chicken Masala

A very simple and common chicken dish made in the south. Pleasing to the palate and a great combination to rasam and rice.

Ingredients :

Chicken – 2 lbs (cut into small pieces)
Onions – 2
Tomatoes – 2
Ginger Garlic paste – 2 Tbsp
Garam Masala – 2 Tsp
Coriander Powder – 2 Tbsp
Chilli Powder – 2 tsp
Turmeric Powder – ½ Tsp
Curry Leaves – 10-12
Coriander – handful (chopped)
Salt


In a tava, add oil and add the curry leaves. Add chopped onions and sauté until the onions turn glassy and transparent. Add the ginger garlic paste and sauté for about 5 minutes until the raw smell disappears. Add the chopped tomatoes and the powders and sauté until you see the oil coming out of the mixture. Add the chicken and the salt .
Close the tava until the chicken is cooked. Open and sauté for about 5 minutes until water evaporates. Garnish with a handful of chopped coriander.

Spicy Shrimp Varuval

This is a very simple stir fry dish. It uses very few ingredients so the flavor of the shrimp is not over-powered.

Ingredients:
Shallots – 10-15
Tomato Paste - 2 tsp

Garlic – 4-5
Chili Powder – 2 tsp
Pepper Powder – 2 tsp
Garam Masala – ½ tsp
Turmeric Powder – ½ tsp
Shrimp (Cleaned and De-veined) – 1 lb
Curry Leaves – 10
Coriander – a handful
Salt as required

Marinate the shrimp with the chili powder, pepper powder, garam masala, Turmeric and salt for about 10 minutes. Finely slice the shallots and garlic. Add oil in a tava, add curry leaves, onions and garlic. Saute until the onions turns brown. Now add the tomato paste and Saute well until it blends with the onions. Add the marinated shrimp and cook covered for about 15 minutes until the shrimp gets cooked. Uncover and fry for a few minutes until it becomes nice and dry. Garnish with chopped coriander.

Kothu Parotta

Whenever I have some mutton curry leftover from the previous day and of course have some frozen parottas in my freezer, what better dish to make than kothu parotta…its fast, easy and tasty. Makes a good snack or a light supper.




Ingredients

Cooked Parotta- 3
Onion- 1
Garlic – 1 tsp
Green chillies-3
Turmeric- 1/4 tsp
Pepper – 2 tsp
Curry leaves
Eggs-2
Chalna / Mutton curry - 1 cup
Coriander leaves - Handful

Heat oil in kadai and add the curry leaves, chopped onion, garlic , coriander and green chilies. When the onions are cooked and become slightly brown add the parotta and fry for a minute. I would generally shred the parotta before adding it to the kadai. This makes it easier to break them into smaller pieces and blend well with the rest of the ingredients. Now add eggs, salt and pepper. Mix everything together. When the egg is almost done add chalna / mutton gravy and break everything into small pieces using two spatulas. Check for seasonings. Garnish with a little bit of coriander leaves. Serve with raita

Chicken Noodles

Eating veggies is always a challenge in my house since we are such staunch non-vegetarians. With this dish, atleast three servings of vegetable enters into our system and plus lets not forget the chicken. You can avoid the chicken if you want , it tastes just as good with out it or you can add chicken and shrimp and take it to the next level :-) Its quick , easy and very simple to make.

Ingredients:

Chicken (Cooked and Shredded) – 1 Cup
Carrots – 3 Cups
Beans – 3 Cups
Cabbage – 3 Cups
Onion – 1
Eggs – 4
Soya Sauce – 1 tbsp
Noodles – 8 Ounces

Cook noodles according to the instruction on the package. Strain the noodles and rinse in cold water. Keep aside. Thinly slice length-wise the carrots, beans, cabbage and onions. In a large skillet, add oil and sauté the carrots and beans. Add a pinch of salt. Sauté for about 10 minutes until the veggies are cooked and crisp but not overcooked. Keep aside.
In the same skillet, add onions and cabbage, add another pinch of salt and sauté for 5 minutes. When done, remove and keep aside. The reason I sauté the veggies in this manner is because all these vegetables have different cooking time and when you add all of them together, some get cooked a little more than the others.
In the same skillet, add oil and scramble four eggs. Add chicken, sauté for about 2-3 minutes and add all the vegetables. Add noodles, soy sauce and check for salt. Mix the noodles well and serve hot. You can garnish it with sliced green onions.

Beet Salad

This is a very refreshing salad. I make this everytime I make Mutton curry. The two blend so well, it almost becomes a sort of like a comfort food.

Ingredients:

Beetroot – 1
Onion – 1
Green Chilies – 3-4
Tomato – 1
Vinegar – 2 tsp
Salt as required

Cook the beet with a little water in a pressure cooker. Slice up the onions, green chilies and tomato lengthwise.Once the beets are cooked slice them up lengthwise. In a bowl, add the sliced beets, onions, green chilies and tomato and crush them a little bit with your hands. This is done to let the juices out of the beets. Add the required amount of salt and add vinegar. The salad is generally a little sour, so if you want to add more vinegar you can do so. Serve with rice and mutton curry.

Minced Meat with Snow Peas and Green Peas

I love minced meat..Kheema mattar..its quick and easy to make and goes well with rice or roti's. I make this so many times that sometimes they get boring, so this time when i found some snow peas sitting in my fridge i jazzed it up a notch :=) I threw it in along with the kheema matar and voila....it tasted so good.


Ingredients:

Minced Meat (Lamb or beef) – 1 lb
Shallots (Sliced finely) – 10 – 12
Garlic (Sliced thin) – 5
Tomato Paste – 3 tbsp
Garam Masala – 2 tsp
Pepper Powder – 2 tsp
Turmeric Pwd – 1 tsp
Chili Pwd – 2 tsp
Salt as required
Coriander (chopped) – 2 tsp

In a pan, add oil and fry the shallots and sliced garlic until brown. Add the tomato paste and let it mix well into the onion mixture. Add all the powders and once mixed well add the minced meat. Close the pan until the meat is cooked. Once cooked, open it and add the snow peas and green peas. Let the vegetables cook for about a good 5-10 minutes and then fry well until all the water (if ever there is) evaporates.
Garnish with Coriander and serve hot with roti’s.