Tapioca Cutlets

Whenever Hubby feels like eating tapioca, he picks the frozen ones from the local store forgetting that I have more such ones sitting in the freezer! Since I always wanted to try the cutlets I thought it would be the best way to exhaust the same. It turned out pretty good and we had a visitor who took the recipe from me to bug his wife :)

Tapioca cutlets

Ingredients

1. Tapioca - 900 gm
2. Onions - 2 nos.
3. Ginger  - 2 inch piece
4. Green Chilly - 4 ones
5. Garam Masala - 1 tsp
6. Pepper powder - 1/2 tsp
7. Salt to taste
9. Coriander leaves - a small bunch

Method

Boil and drain the tapioca. Mash it well. Saute the onion, ginger and green chilly until well softened. Add the powders and then the tapioca. Mix it well. Make cutlets by rubbing some oil on your palms and making small patties which is dipped first in egg and then bread crumbs. Fry them in oil and enjoy with ketchup!

Prawns in roasted Coconut gravy / Thenga Varutharacha Chemmeen Curry

It is time to empty the fridge since our vacation days are not far away. Starting with the freezer there are a couple of items that have been begging my attention. Guess I would need to double my cooking and halve the purchases. Had some frozen prawns left over from my last cooking which I wanted to finish. That is when I realized that I had some roasted coconut too. When I return from a vacation, I usually bring coconut in 3 forms. One is shredded and fresh, as chunks and a good part half roasted. The roasted one saves me much time while cooking.

So here is a super recipe for a prawn curry. It is guaranteed to make you eat more rice or chapathi than you intended to :)

Prawns in roasted Coconut gravy / Thenga Varutharacha Chemmeen Curry

Ingredients

1. Prawns, deveined and cleaned - 500 gms
2. Button onions - 3 or 4
3. Ginger - a big piece
4. Garlic - 4-5 cloves

This is the amount I used

Once sauted

6. Chilly powder - 3 tsp
7. Coriander powder - 2 tsp
8. Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
9. Fenugreek powder - 1/2 tp
10. Kokum (Kudampuli) - 1 or 2 depending on the size
11. Salt to taste
12. Coconut slices - 1 tbs (optional)
13. Roasted coconut - 1/2 to 1 cup (depending on it's availability)
14. Mustard seeds - 1/2 tspn
15. Curry leaves  - a few

Method

Crush the ginger/garlic/small onions. Heat a tablespoon or two of coconut oil and splutter some mustard seeds. Saute the crushed items until slightly brown. Pour 1/4 cup of water and add the powders. Stir it until the oil leave the sides. Don't let it burn. Pour a cup of water and add the kokum and curry leaves. Since my frozen prawns may let out water, I reduced the amount. Adjust accordingly. Once it starts boiling, add the sliced coconut and prawns. Close and let it boil. Meanwhile grind the roasted coconut to a paste and add it to the boiling prawns. Let it simmer until the prawns are cooked and the gravy has thickened.

Enjoy! It was very tasty and the whole stuff disappeared in a short while!

Hyderabad Chicken

This is another Mughlai style chicken which turned out good.

Hyderabad Chicken

Ingredients

1. Chicken - 1 kg - chicken
2. Sesame seeds 1 Tbspn
3. Almonds / Peanuts / Cashewnuts - 10 or 12 numbers

4. Onion - 1 sliced fine
5. Crushed Ginger - 1 tbsp

6. Crushed Garlic - 1 tbsp

7. Crushed Green Chilli - 1 tbsp
8. Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
9. Curd - 1 ½ cups 

10. Garam masala - 1 tsp 

11. Black cumin seeds - ¼ tsp 

12. Lemon juice - 1 tbsp

13. Milk - 1 tbsp

14. Tomato puree or paste - 2 tbsp

15. Coriander leaves - a bunch

Method

Cut the chicken into large cubes.Fry the sesame seeds and nuts until slightly brown and then pound once cooled.  Mix the paste with a little milk. Fry the onions until browned with salt. Place the ground paste, ginger, garlic, chilli, turmeric, yoghurt, garam masala, cumin seeds and a pinch of salt in a large bowl and mix together. Stir in the fried onion and then the chicken. Leave to marinate for 10 minutes but not for long. 

Place the marinated chicken in a pan and cook it over medium heat until the chicken is cooked. Stir it occasionally so that it does not stick to the bottom.

Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and add lemon juice before you serve.

 

Braided Bread

I ventured into bread making only recently since I thought it was time consuming, but soon I realized that it was easier than making chapatis! Braided bread lets you have some great fillings and you can get away with some salads to accompany it. The shapes are yet evolve but the taste was fine :)

Braided Bread

Ingredients

1. Flour - 3 cups ( I used 2 cups of all purpose flour and 1 cup wheat flour)
2. Yeast - 2 tspns
3. Milk - 1/2 cup
4- Butter - 2 Tbspn
5. Egg - 2 nos. (optional for vegetarians)
6. Brown sugar - 1 Tbspn
7. Salt - 1/2 tspn


For the filling

1- Onion - 1 sliced finely
2. Garlic - 5 cloves, sliced finely
3. Cheese - any kind ( I used Cream cheese)
4. Mix of herbs - 1/4 tspn each ( I used Oregon, Dill, Methi, Rosemary etc)
5. Tomato paste - 2 tbsn

Method

Warm the milk with butter and dissolve the yeast and sugar in it Leave it until yeast froths. Whisk the eggs into the milk mixture and pour the milk and eggs into the flour and stir with a large spoon, dough whisk, or spatula. If you are using a stand mixer, knead on low for a few minutes, adding flour as needed.

Place the dough in an oiled bowl and make sure to coat the dough with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rise until doubled in size, about 60 minutes.

Meanwhile stir the onion and garlic in butter or olive oil until brown. Add the herbs and the tomato paste. Leave it aside.

Punch down dough and divide into 4 parts. On a lightly floured mat roll each part as thin as you can and spread the mix. You can either spread the cheese before spreading the filling or mix the cheese with the filling.Now roll each third into a 15-inch rope. Optionally one can cut each rope through the centre but not right through.  Line a baking sheet with parchment and lay 3 ropes on parchment. Braid loosely, pinch ends and tucker under to seal. Cover and let rise in a warm place until very puffy, about 30-45 minutes. Mix 1 tsp water with the tablespoon of reserved egg and brush over braid. Bake at 400F for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely before cutting.

The fourth roll can be made thus:

Roll the dough to half inch thickness and cut the sides. After spreading the filling, you can braid it. It is very easy!