Chicken Kadai

There are many ways to prepare this dish. It is a mild dish and can be had with rice or bread.

Ingredients

1- Chicken – 1 kg
2-  Oil- 2 tablespoons
3- Garlic paste- 3-1/2 teaspoons
4- Whole red Kashmiri chillies - 8 or 1 tspn chilli powder
5- Coriander seeds- 1 tablespoon pr 1-1/2 tablespoons of coriander powder
6- Tomatoes chopped- 1 kg
7- Green chillies slit- 4
8- Ginger chopped- 1/4 cup or 2 tspn ginger paste
9- Coriander leaves- 1/2 cup
10- Garam masala powder- 2 teaspoons
11- Kasoori methi- 1 teaspoon
12 - Salt to taste
13- Onion diced- 1 
14- Capsicum diced (Optional) - 1

Method

Pound red chillies, coriander seeds and keep aside. Heat a teaspoon of oil and saute the onions and capsicum till translucent. Keep aside.
Heat oil and add garlic paste and saute over medium heat till light brown. To this add pounded spices and stir for 30 seconds. Add tomatoes and bring to a boil. Add green chillies, ginger paste and 1/3rd of coriander leaves. Reduce the heat and simmer for 4-5 minutes. Add the chicken and let it cook, stirring occassionally till the fat leaves the masala. When the chicken is done, add the sauteed onions and capsicum along with garam masala powder and kasoori methi. Stir well and let it cook for 2 minutes. Switch off the heat and transfer to a serving bowl. Garnish with remaining coriander leaves

Paneer Peas Masala

Have always enjoyed this dish in the restaurant but was yet to try it at home. Now I did and it is going to be a frequent one for sure. The recipe courtesy goes to Maria of Maria's Menu. The original recipe calls for poppy seeds which is a banned item here in Kuwait.

Ingredients

1.       Paneer – 250 gms

2.       Peas – ½ cup (I used frozen peas)

3.       Onion – 2 medium, chopped finely

4.       Crushed/grated ginger and garlic – 1½ – 2 tsp, each

5.       Chilli powder – 2 tsp

6.       Coriander powder – 2- 21/2 tsp

7.       Turmeric powder – ½ tsp

8.       Garam masala – ½ -1 tsp

9.       Tomato – 1-2 medium, pureed

10.   Kasuri methi – ½ tbsp

11.   Jeera – ¼ tsp

12.   Cashew nut or Almonds –2 tbsp

13.   Salt

14.   Oil

15.   Coriander leaves

Method

Soak cashew nut 2 tbsp hot water for 10-15 mins. Grind them to a smooth paste. Heat oil in a pan and add jeera. Add onion and fry till it becomes golden brown in colour. Add grated/crushed ginger and garlic. Cook for 2-3 mins, till the raw smell goes. Add the masala powders. Cook for 2-3 mins. Add pureed tomato, salt and kasuri methi. Mix well. When oil starts appearing, add paneer and peas. Mix well. Add 1.5 cups hot water. Bring it to a boil, reduce the heat. Cover and cook till the gravy thickens. Add ¼ -1/2 cup hot water to cashew poppy paste. Mix well and add to the curry. Stir and let it cook for 3-5 mins. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and remove from fire. 

The dish was lip smacking and the entire family enjoyed it!

Carrot and Almond Pickle

I often make carrot pickle but recently I made it with almonds and I ended making a more nutritious pickle!

Carrot and Almond Pickle

Ingredients

1. Carrots either sliced lengthwise or fine - 1 1/2 cup
2. Ginger and Garlic finely sliced - 3 Tbspn
3. Chilly Powder - 2 Tbspn or as per taste
4. Turmeric powder - 3/4 tspn
5. Fenugreek - 1 tbspn
6. Mustard - 1 Tspn
7. Channa Dal - 2 Tbspn
8. Almonds flakes- 2 or 3 Tblspn or 8 nos.
9. Hing - 1/2 tspn
10. Gingelly Oil - 3 Tbspn
11. Vinegar - 1/4 cup

Method

Pound ingredients 5-8 coarsely and fry in oil. Once browned, add the ginger and garlic. Fry it until the raw smell leaves. Switch off the fire and add the rest of the powder. Add vinegar and carrot and let it boil. depending on your taste you can let the carrots cook or let it retain it's crunchiness.

I also fried a few small onions with curry leaves and added to the pickle.

Enjoy!

Fish Curry without Fish / Meenillatha Meen Curry / Vazhakka – Manga Curry / Plantain and Mango Curry

It is the Lent season and many will be wondering what to cook. Though I am not fasting, Hubby on his short trip to Kerala brought some good stuff from our kitchen garden. Yam, raw banana, coconut, raw mangoes, curry leaves and even the small jack fruit! Hence I needed no excuse to make the following curry which the household has enjoyed earlier.

Fish Curry without Fish / Meenillatha Meen Curry / Vazhakka – Manga Curry / Plantain and Mango Curry

Ingredients:

1.       Plantain or raw banana – 1 cup (sliced lengthwise)
2.       Mango – a few pieces as per the sourness / or a small ball of tamarind
3.       Green Chilly – 3 or 4 cut lengthwise
4.       Turmeric powder – ½ Tspn
5.       Salt – as needed

For grinding to a fine paste
6.       Whole coriander seeds – ½ tspn or 1 tspn coriander powder
7.       Chilly powder – 2 Tspn
8.       Small onions – 6 pieces
9.       Coconut – 1 cup scraped

Method

Boil ingredients 1-5 with 1 cup of water until it is half cooked (If you are using tamarind instead of mango, add it when the banana is half cooked). Add the ground paste to this and let it cook well. You can either add fresh coriander leaves or splutter mustard/small onions to garnish.

Curry ready to be had with rice. It is veryyyyyyyyy tasty!