Fusioned Bliss-Chettinad Chattipathri & Choondu chutney!
It’s the 31st of Jan and in Munnar the nights have been pretty much cold..well although we haven’t had snow the temperature had dropped down to -3/-2 a few days back. Tomorrow it’s my little ones bday and he’s super excited..of course how would he not be excited… I too was very much the same. He’s been advising me for the past few weeks of how his cake should be …he was more into getting me to make Ben 10 figurines for him. Hmm..but I wasn’t able to strain much and did him a cake .When I just got over with the frosting part the icing bag slips and falls on the edge of the cake causing a havoc on the frosting. Hearing me squeak ..he came near me and voiced smiling at me,”Amma ..Don’t worry its still a very beautiful cake ..I am so happy you made it for me.” I felt my heart sink at that moment…I hugged him and told him I would do the best I could. And I could do justice to an extend to his cake…really happy that I could.Tomorrow it’s the first time he has some of his friends for his birthday and so it’s a Big day for my boy as he’s turning 7!
“Mother’s Recipe”, the market leader in After accepting their invite in a Indian Pickles has a Product range that now consists of Pickles, Condiments, Blended Spices, Papads, Appalams, Curry Pastes, Curry Powders, Ready to Cook Spice Mixes, Ready to Eat meals (Canned and Retort Packing), Mango Chutneys, Ethnic Chutneys, Canned Vegetables, & Mango Pulp. It was indeed pretty much exciting to have an invite from them to participate in their Mother’s Recipe: Innovative Recipe Challenge’!
After accepting their invite in a week or so I have my hamper of their variety goodies at my doorstep.So heres my entry for the challenge.I took up the pack of the ready mix of “Chicken Chettinad “ and the pack of “Gujarati Choondo pickle”.I wanted to bring in a traditional fusion to the recipe. The pickle was very sweet compared to the normal pickle with a had a wonderful tangy taste. I infused the chettinad chicken with the Chattipathiri a traditional keralan Lasagne and popped up a dip with the pickle.Heres the recipe..
- Chettinad Chatti Pathiri
- 2 cups of Wheat flour
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup of thick coconut milk
- ½ tsp of black pepper powder
- Salt to taste
- For the filling
- 1 pack of Mothers recipe Chicken Chettinad mix
- ½ kg chicken (boneless) pieces
- Make a batter of flowing consistency with wheat flour adding water and salt.
- With the batter make 6-8 dosas on a hot flat pan and keep them aside.
- Fry the chicken pieces in 2 tbsp of oil till the chicken goes golden in colour.
- Take it off the pan and shred the chicken pieces in a chopper/mixer.
- Now as per the directions on the pack, mix the contents of the pack to 1 ½ cup of the
- water without any lumps.
- Add this into a pan, let it simmer, add in the shredded chicken and cover and cook till
- the chicken is cooked.
- Evaporate the stock once cooked so that it coats the chicken well and dry fry it in the
- pan and keep aside.
- Beat the eggs well with black pepper powder and salt.
- Dip all the dosas in the egg mixture.
- Place a dipped dosa on a plate and on the top lightly coat the coconut milk on thee
- dosa with your fingers.
- Spoon in and spread the filling on the dosa and place another dipped dosa on top
- smear coconut milk , the spoon the chicken filling and place another dipped dosa
- making a sandwich Stack at the least 6 to the max 8 dosas in the stack.
- Heat a wok /a heavy pan with 2 tbsp of oil, place the stacked dosas and cover it with
- a lid and cook on medium flame.
- Remove from flame once cooked.
My kids were very much fascinated by this version of the lasagna .In an hour there was nothing left. ..
A homemaker who fell head over heels in love with food -an award-winning cookbook author, food blogger, award-winning culinary demonstrator
A kickstart with the Cornish Soft Roast!
The start of the new year is the start new resolutions. The first resolution of mine..was to update my blog!!!After 14 whole days with the start off the new year …theres been things that I am back to ..and one is that I’m back to baking 😉 But not that I would have time for orders…but just for my family and friends!Have heard on different types of roast chickens but had never dared to try out recipes just a bit sceptical on how it would turn out to be 😛 So when Ali dropped in for one of my classes and gave me a wonderful recipe on his mom’s fav recipe…I really had a reason to try it out …and it was a hit!
The traditional British and Irish meals mainly consists of roasted meat , vegetables and puddings. The English roast is also a main part of the Christmas dinner. The roasts can be done with beef , chicken , lamb and turkey. As it’s the Christmas time, today’s recipe is the Cornish Soft roast chicken which has a crispy skin and the meat is soft and tender on the inside.
- 1 whole chicken (cleaned with skin)
- 2 large onions sliced in circles
- ¼ cup of chopped celery
- 1 lemon
- 3 potatoes cubed
- 3 tsp of flour
- 2 cups of chicken stock water
- Salt to taste
- For the Filling
- 3 big onions chopped
- 30 g of butter
- 3-4 sausages sliced
- 1 egg whisked
- Fresh Bread crumbs from 3 slices of bread
- 2 tsp of parsley chopped
- 2 tsp of sage leaves chopped
- Salt and pepper to taste
- For the Glaze
- 2 tsp of soy sauce
- 1 tbsp of butter
- 4 tbsp of chicken stock
- Heat butter in a pan and sauté the chopped onions till pale in colour on low heat stir
- in sage and parsley along with the sausage pieces.
- Add in the egg and bread crumbs and keep stirring.
- Pour about ¼ cup of chicken stock water, cover and cook for around 10minutes.
- Add a salt to taste and pepper as needed for the spice.
- Fry the mix till the water evaporates and keep aside.
- Rub and marinate the chicken with the juice of a lemon and a generous amount of
- salt.
- Stuff the inside of the chicken with filling and place it in a roasting dish.
- Pour in some of the chicken stock until the stock sits about a quarter of the way up
- the chicken.
- Place the onion rings into the stock around the sides of the chicken.
- Place the cubed potatoes on top and in between the onion rings.
- Sprinkle the flour over the onion rings and potatoes to help to thicken the stock.
- Preheat the oven at 180 degree Celsius.
- Place the roasting dish in the centre rack of the oven and keep checking every 20
- mints or so to ensure the stock doesn’t become too dry, the stock should reduce but
- not dry completely.
- When the chicken is half way cooked start preparing the glaze.
- Melt butter in a small pan, mix in the soy sauce and chicken stock.
- Brush it on the chicken and continue with the roasting of the chicken.
- Cook until the chicken is thoroughly cooked for about one and half hours.
- Garnish with chopped celery.
A homemaker who fell head over heels in love with food -an award-winning cookbook author, food blogger, award-winning culinary demonstrator
Soya Ginger Chicken ..a variant!
Back after the rice porridge recipe with a new post. Its been quite some time since I posted a non veg recipe. Soya chunks have always had their fav place with my kids and I keep trying out more variations with it .The soya chunks have the best source of fiber and is quite high in protein content.
Its like the magic pill bundled up with all the good things. Last Sunday I was planning on what to cook for dinner and then popped up with this recipe of Soya Ginger Chicken.I have been using both sizes of soya chunks for my cooking..but have always found a soft spot for the mini soya chunks on count of their delicacy.
- ½ kg of Chicken cut into small pieces
- 1 cup of mini soya chunks
- 2 tsp of Soya sauce
- 2 tbsp of ginger sliced finely
- 2 tbsp of garlic sliced
- 2 large onions chopped
- 1 tbsp of Kashmiri chilli powder
- 1 tsp of Garam masala powder
- 2 tsp of coriander powder
- 3 tsp of Chicken masala powder
- 1 tsp of black pepper powder
- 1 tomato pureed
- 3 tsp of oil
- Salt to taste
- For Tempering
- ¼ cup of sliced big onion
- 4-5 green chillies slit
- Oil
- Curry leaves
- Soak the soya chunks in hot water for about 15minutes.
- Heat oil in wok, sauté ginger and garlic, chopped onion till translucent.
- Pour in the soya sauce and keep stirring, add in the chilli powder, coriander powder,
- pepper powder, garam masala powder and chicken masala powder.
- Stir till the raw smell from the powders subside.
- Add in the pureed tomato paste, ½ cup of water and let it simmer.
- Wash the soya chunks in cold water and squeeze them out into the sauce along with
- the chicken pieces.
- Add required amount of salt and cover and cook the chicken till tender.
- Thicken the sauce so that the chicken & soya are coated and turn off the flame.
- In a small pan fry out the sliced onions till in caramel color along with the slit green
- chillies and curry leaves.
- Temper the dish with the fried items and add 2-3 tsp of chopped coriander leaves
- before serving.
- Best served with rotis and fried rice.
Heres the feature that came up in the magazine Mahila Chandrika a Chandrika daily publication..
A homemaker who fell head over heels in love with food -an award-winning cookbook author, food blogger, award-winning culinary demonstrator
A .com munching on Empanadas ;)!
I have been working on posting on my .com for the past days.This post for basically to be put up on my blog but it lagged from all the way from September to November.As its said that ‘better late than never’..heres my post on Emapanada Gallegas.
Empanada is a basically stuffed bread that’ s been baked or fried out .The roots of Empanadas lie in Spain & Portugal…though there are many variations in many countries.This post is dedicated to the DB challenge for September.Thanks to Patri for the awesome recipe.:)
Empanada Gallega
For the crust:
Ingredients
5-1/3 cups bread flour
2 cups of lukewarm water (about 85°F/30ºC), approximately
1 tablespoon fresh yeast
2 teaspoons salt
4 tablespoons oil
1 large egg, for egg wash
Sift the flour into a big bowl and make a well in the middle. Rub the yeast in with your fingers.In a small bowl, mix the water and the salt.Now, using your fingers or a wooden spoon, start adding the water and mixing it with the flour-yeast mixture. Keep on working with your fingers or spoon until you have added enough water and all the flour has been incorporated and you have a messy ball of dough.On a clean counter top, knead the dough for approximately 10 minutes.Clean and oil the big bowl you used for mixing and place the kneaded dough in it. Cover it with a napkin or piece of linen and keep it in a warm, drought-free place for approximately 40 to 50 minutes.Once risen, turn the dough back into a floured counter and cut it in half. Cover one half with the napkin to prevent drying.Spread the other half of the dough using a rolling pin. You can use a piece of wax paper over the counter, it will make it easier to move the dough around. Depending on the shape of your oven pan or cookie sheet, you will make a rectangle or a round.Now, the thinness of the dough will depend on your choice of filling and how much bread you like in every bite. For your first time, make it about 3mm thin (about 1/10th of an inch) and then adjust from that in the next ones you make.
For the filling:
3 medium sized Onions chopped
1 tbsp of ginger & Garlic chopped
5 green chillies finely chopped
2 cup of cooked shredded chicken
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
2 tsps of black pepper powder
1 tsp garam masala powder
curry leaves chopped
coriander leaves chopped
In a pan pour about 2 tbsps of oil,saute the ginger & garlic with the chopped onions till translucent.Add in the green chillies,and stir for a few minutes.Now add in the powders& chicken .drizzle oil on the sides of the pan stir fry the chicken mix with salt.Add 1/2 tsp of garam masala, coriander & curry leaves before turning of the flame.
Assembling
If you haven’t used wax paper, either lightly flour or line with wax paper your pan or tray.Cover the base and sides with the dough. Using the rolling pin or a knife, cut the extra dough.Place the filling, making sure it is cold and that all the base is covered. Using a hot filling will make the bottom layer of the empanada become soggy. Be careful to avoid adding too much oil from the filling, try to make it as “dry” as possible.Start preheating your oven to moderate 350°F/180ºC/gas mark 4.Take the other half of the dough and spread it out to the same or less thinness of the base. You can use a piece of wax paper for this too. Take into account that this “top” dough needs to be smaller around than the bottom, as it only needs to cover the filling.If not using wax paper, move carefully the top to cover the filling. If using wax paper, transfer the dough, turn upside down, cover the filling and gently peel off the wax paper.Using your fingers, join bottom and top dough, when you have gone all the way around, start pinching top and bottom together with your thumb and index finger and turning them half way in, that way you end up with a rope-like border.When you are finished, make a 1 inch hole in the middle of the top layer. This will help hot air exit the empanada while it’s baking without breaking the cover.Using a fork, prick the top layer or, using scissors, make snips that go all the way through the top layer.In a small bowl, beat an egg and add a tbsp of cold water. With the pastry brush, paint the top of the empanada with the egg wash. Place the empanada in the oven and bake for about 45 minutes. Check that the bottom part is done.
I made different shapes of empanadas..and loved simply baking them..Hope u too enjoy this Empanada Ride!
A homemaker who fell head over heels in love with food -an award-winning cookbook author, food blogger, award-winning culinary demonstrator
A Birthday note Buttered with Badami Chicken and Puffy Baturas!
This year’s birthday was a very very special one to me with my best buddies.Thank u guys for all your sweet wishes through FB.Luv u my TMS pals for giving me a special birthday wish and as part of the b’day I had no idea of making a cake and that too for my bday..the main thing was that I was damn lazy.If it was not for my friend Dhans I wouldn’t have ever made one:P
It was a total dillemma on who’s going to cut the cake with the cake almost done.Both my kiddos were on to cutting the cake and at last the three muskeeters were cutting the cake singing in chorous “Happy Birthday to you Amma!”….and I was clickin all this:D
What better way could I have my birthday celebrated!:D
Baturas the puffed yoghurt bread is one of my favs and when you have Badami chicken to accompany it the taste really gets richy rich.
Batura/Puffed Indian yoghurt bread
2 cups of all purpose flour
4 tbsp yoghurt
1tsp salt
1tsp sugar
1tsp yeast
3tsp of ghee
1 egg whisked
Oil for frying
In a bowl measure in the flour and making a well in the center,add in all the ingridients and mix well to make a soft dough.You can add up to 1/4 cup of water if you feel the ingridients dont come together.Let the dough rest for about 2 hrs covered,so that it gets doubled.Punch and knead the dough into balls and roll them out in to discs of about 5inch with a rolling pin.Heat oil in a kadai and fry these flat breads till puffy and golden on both sides.
Badam Chicken/Almond Chicken
1/2 kg chicken pieces
1 cup large onion sliced
2 tsp of ginger garlic paste
1/2cup of yoghurt
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
3 tsp chilli powder
3 cloves
2 cardamom
1 piece of cinnamon
1tsp sugar
10-15 almonds soaked and ground into fine paste
3/4 cup of tomato paste
2 tsps of chopped cilantro
salt to taste
Marinate the chicken pieces with yoghurt ,turmeric powder and salt keeping it for about an hour.Heat about 4tsps of oil in a kadai and add sugar and when it browns saute in the sliced onions till slightly brown.Transfer 1/4th of the sauted onion from the kadai and keep it aside.Add in the whole spices,ginger garlic paste,chilli powder and saute well on medium flame.Add in the tomato paste and mix well till the oil seperates.Add in the chicken pieces to the masala and stir well on high flame.Pour 2 cups of hot water and cook covered on medium flame.When the chicken is well cooked,stir in the badam paste and when the gravy thickens,garnish with chopped cilantro!
A homemaker who fell head over heels in love with food -an award-winning cookbook author, food blogger, award-winning culinary demonstrator
Chicken Donuts for snack time!
When the holidays wind up and kiddos are off to school the four ‘O’ clock menu gets up on the hit list.Feeding them with snacks at times really gets on my nerves…with a variety every day…:S
This recipe was one that I had written down sometime back..
Chicken Donuts
1/2 kg chicken minced
5-6 green chillies chopped
1 1/2 cups bread crumbs
1 cup of all purpose flour
1tbsp pea flour
2 tbsp ginger garlic paste
1/4 cup pudhina (mint leaves) chopped
1/8 cup curry leaves chopped
2 tsp white pepper powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 medium sized potatoes mashed
3 eggs(whisked)
salt to taste
Mix all the above ingredients with the minced chicken to make a dough.Flatten the dough on a cutting board with fingers and cut out shapes with a donut cutter.Deep fry these chicken donuts in oil till golden brown.
Serve them hot with tomato ketchup..
A homemaker who fell head over heels in love with food -an award-winning cookbook author, food blogger, award-winning culinary demonstrator
CHICKEN ULARTHU
- Marinate the chicken pieces with chilli powder,turmeric powder,coriander powder,fenugreek powder,garam masala along with salt and vinegar.Keep it aside for 1/2 an hour.
- Coarsely grind the scraped coconut,large onions,ginger,garlic,black turmeric, fennel seeds , red chilli powder,turmeric powder, garam masala all together.
- After the time span mix the ground mixture well with the marinated chicken pieces.
- In a heavy bottomed wok on flame,pour 3 tbsp oil and add in the chicken mix.Stir and cover the vessel with a vessel keeping it on low flame.
- After 5 minutes you can see the water coming out from the chicken.Stir the chicken and close the lid again.Take care that the chicken doesnt stick to the wok.
- Repeat the procedure till the chicken is well cooked.If you feel that the chicken is sticking to your pan too much ..drizzle oil lightly on the sides of the wok and stir well.
- Stir till the chicken mix becomes dark brown.It took me an hour and half.
- Add the curry leaves and 1 tbsp of coconut oil over the chicken ularthu.
- Mix well and remove from flame.
A homemaker who fell head over heels in love with food -an award-winning cookbook author, food blogger, award-winning culinary demonstrator
Hi! I am Nimi Sunilkumar…an award winning cookbook author /culinary demonstrator/freelance writer / food photographer/food blogger …spiced with the flavors of food..
