The 'potluck - chicken ' event .. Round up !!!

I am very glad to release the roundup for my first event in the Potluck series , the 'chicken' .

Event scheduled : May 11 - June 20
Number of entries: 127

When I started blogging nearly an year ago, I hardly had a clue if I would be able to host an event. Still remember how anxious I was , to see my recipe in an event which I took part for the first time. You know what friends, I clicked that blog nearly for 50 times to see my recipe in the round up:)
First time hosting too panicked me enough but the eagerness to collect and try so many chicken recipes pushed me to choose the theme as 'CHICKEN'.
Actually the way you all supported it encouraged me a lot.
My sincere thanks to all for sending their kitchen treasures to the event.
I clubbed the entries in a possible alphabetic manner. Please excuse and point me out if I can do anything better.
Mostly I mentioned the blog name for the bloggers who have not given the name in their own blog profile (just to protect their privacy even though they happily sent me their names).
Thanks to all the participants for sending their lovely entries. I have tried my best to check and publish all the entries. But my apologies if something got missed. Do drop a comment and I will do the needful.
(event mail id: vikiskitchen@gmail.com)

I am dedicating this event to all the foodies out there.
We got recipes ranging from Kashmir to kanyakumari , Bombay to Calcutta and even beyond the borders.
What's more important for a true chicken lover than trying them at their home?
So here is the round up with all those adorable pictures and recipes.
Enjoy the round up and Happy cooking !

Chicken cutlet From Akal's Saapadu.
Shahi Chicken Kurma from Akal's Saapadu.
Crunchy Fried Chicken from Akal's Saapadu.
Cashew Chicken from Ashwini of Nanna Adige .
Chicken curry from Ammu of Nature kitchen.
Chicken kuruma from Ammu of Nature kitchen.
Chicken Vindaloo from South recipes of AnuRadha.
Chicken Korma from Aquadaze of Served with Love.
Chicken in Oyster Sauce from Aquadaze of Served with Love.
Slow Roast Chicken with Red Wine Sauce from Aquadaze of Served with Love.

Chicken 65 from Aysha Dileen.
Pepper Chicken from Rupali of Chakhlere.
Chilli Chicken from Dharani Jagadeesh of Dharani's kitchen.
Chettinad Pepper Chicken from Dharani Jagadeesh of Dharani's kitchen.
Chicken Biryani from Divya Vikram of Dil Se..
Bombay Biryani from Dolon Das of Doloncookbook.
Easy Breezy Chicken Curry from Dolon Das of Doloncookbook.
Oven-fried chicken strips. from Gita Jaishankar of Gita's kitchen.
Chicken Curry from Happy Cook of My kitchen treasures.
Chicken Briyani from Hemamalini Thiyagarajan of salt2taste.
Chilli Chicken from Hemamalini Thiyagarajan of salt2taste.
Quick Chicken Gravy from Hemamalini Thiyagarajan of salt2taste.

Chicken in poppy seed gravy from IndoSunGod of Daily Musings.
Chicken Rice from Jasmine Subashini of Sugary Spicez.
Chicken Tikka Masala from Jasmine Subashini of Sugary Spicez.
Chicken Dum Biryani from Kalyani of Kalyani's kitchen.
Chicken Kurma from Kavitha of kavitha vin kaivannam.
Sweet and Sour Chicken from Kavitha of kavitha vin kaivannam.
Garlic Chilli Chicken from Kavitha of kavitha vin kaivannam.
Pepper Chicken from Kavitha of kavitha vin kaivannam.
Easy Baked Chicken from Kavitha of kavitha vin kaivannam.
Ginger Chicken from Kavitha of kavitha vin kaivannam.
Chicken Keema from Kavitha of kavitha vin kaivannam.
Kozhi Kulambu from Kayal of Kayal's Kitchen

Murgh Khorma from Lubna Karim of Yummy Food.
Murg Kaali Mirch Kabab from Lena Rashmin Raj of cooking with Lena.
Chicken Malaidar from notyet100 of Asankhana.
Chicken roll from Oriya Foodie of Oriya food.
Hadi wala chicken from Oriya Foodie of Oriya food.
Chicken Kola Urundai Kuzhambu from Padma srinivasagam of Padma's recipes.
Chicken 65 from Padma srinivasagam of Padma's recipes.
Pepper Chicken Fry from Padma srinivasagam of Padma's recipes.
Chicken Kurma from Padma Rekha of Plantain leaf.
Andhra Chicken fry from Padma Rekha of Plantain leaf.
Shredded Chicken in a braid from Phanitha of Phanitha's kitchenette.
Tandoor Chicken from Pinky of Esho-bosho-aahare.

The following entries are from Malar Gandhi of Kitchen Tantra.

Tandoori Chicken
Grilled chicken biryani
Grilled whole chicken
Chicken bonda
Ginger Chicken
Arcot chicken biryani
Saffron Chicken pilaf
Jerk Chicken
Cornish Hen curry
Cornish Hen Manchurian
Country chicken Tomato curry
Chicken Pickle
Country Chicken Soup
Country Chicken Fry
Tomato Chicken Thokku
Nilgiri chicken Kuruma
Country chicken Kuzhambu
Pepper Chicken Kuzhambu
Chicken 65
Kozhi Rasam
Nei Kozhi
Hot cornish Hen
Achaar Chicken curry

The below entries are from Lavanya Sivavijayakumar of Spice India.
Chicken Tikka Kathi Kabab
Chciken Jalfrezi
Chilly Chicken
Spicy and Crispy Chicken
Spicy Pepper Chicken Curry

Chicken fry/Tandoori chicken from Pooja of Pooja's Kitchen.
Chicken Ularthu(Roast)-Kerala Style from Pooja of My experience with cooking.
Kung Pao Chicken from Pooja of My experience with cooking.
Coriander Chicken from Poornima of Poornima's tasty treats.
Chicken Biryani from Poornima of Poornima's tasty treats.
Lemon Pepper Chicken from Poornima of Poornima's tasty treats.
Chicken Manchurian. from Poornima of Poornima's tasty treats.
chicken Biryani from Prasu of Prasu's kitchen
Chicken Tikka from Preeti Nilesh of Khaugiri.
Chicken Seek Kebab from Preeti Singh of Shail.
Chili Chicken from Preeti Singh of Shail.

Barbeque chicken from Priyameena of Madurai style.
Jeera Chicken Roast from Priya Suresh of Priya's easy n tasty recipes.
Chicken Pakoda from Priya Suresh of Priya's easy n tasty recipes.
Chettinad Karuveppillai Chicken from Priya Suresh of Priya's easy n tasty recipes.
Pasta, Chicken N Bellpepper Salad from Priya Suresh of Priya's easy n tasty recipes.
Potatoes N Chicken Sausage Gratin from Priya Suresh of Priya's easy n tasty recipes.
Chicken Sambhar from Priya Suresh of Priya's easy n tasty recipes.
Chilly Chicken from Priya Suresh of Priya's easy n tasty recipes.
Chicken Masala from Ramya Vijaykumar of Memory archieved.

murgh methi malai from Sangeeta khanna of healthfooddesivideshi.
Kerala chicken stew from Sangeeta khanna's another blog , Banaras khana.
low fat chilly chickenfrom Sangeeta khanna of healthfooddesivideshi.
Low fat butter chicken from Sangeeta khanna of healthfooddesivideshi.
chicken kali mirch from Sangeeta khanna of healthfooddesivideshi
My style Chicken Briyani from Sanghi of Sanghi's Food Delights.
Classic Chicken curry from Sanghi of Sanghi's Food Delights.
Classic chicken roast from Sanghi of Sanghi's Food Delights.
Chicken Spicy curry from Sanghi of Sanghi's Food Delights.
Ginger chicken from Saritha of My kitchen aroma.

Kashmiri Chicken from SGD of cookadoodledo.
Chicken 65 from Sowjanya of Mommy's cuisine.
chili chicken from Sree of Taste spell.
Spicy Chicken with Green Chillies from Sujatha of spicy khazana.
Chicken Cacciatore from SuperChef of So I married a meataholic.
Kolchick from Usha Nandhini of Usha Nandhini's recipes.
Chicken curry from Valarmathi of Simple and Yummy recipes.
Chicken kheema from Vineela Siva.
Chicken keema noodles from Vineela siva.
Chicken Tikka masala from Vrindha of Sankeerthanam.
Mint Harissa Chicken from Yasmeen of Health Nut.

The below are from Viki of Viki's kitchen.
Bachelor's chicken Thokku
Butter Chicken
Chettinad chicken curry
Chicken Salna for Parotta
Country style Chicken curry
Kushka
Indian Chicken curry in Oven
Pepper chicken
Chicken 65
Nilgiri Chicken kuruma
Indian style deep fried Chicken
TamilNadu Muslim's wedding special Biryani

Enjoy blogging!

Have you missed to send your recipe?
If you have some incredible chicken recipe and want to include it in this event, just post the URL in the comment space for this post.
I will be more than happy to include them. (I will try to make a slide after reaching some number).

Lateral entries:
Kozhi varutha kari from Lissie of Salt and spice.
Chicken karahi from Rina of Rina's recipes.
Quick chicken roast from Rina of Rina's recipes.
Chicken tikka pizza from Varsha vipins of Will-o'-the-wisp.
Mughal Biryani from Varsha vipins of Will-o'-the-wisp.
Kerala Chicken fry from Varsha vipins of Will-o'-the-wisp.
Kerala chicken roast from Varsha vipins of Will-o'-the-wisp.
Chilli chicken fry from Varsha vipins of Will-o'-the-wisp.
Malabar chicken biryani from Varsha vipins of Will-o'-the-wisp.
Chicken Biriyani from Sarah Naveen of Vazhayilaa.
Chicken curry In coconut milk from Sarah Naveen of Vazhayilaa
Butter Chicken from Sarah Naveen of Vazhayilaa
Chilly Chicken from Sarah Naveen of Vazhayilaa
Oven Roasted Mint Chicken from Sarah Naveen of Vazhayilaa
Kerala Fried Chicken from Sarah Naveen of Vazhayilaa

------------------------
Whole roasted chicken in Indian masala by Viki's kitchen

A cheerful reminder and some reposts

I welcome and remind every chicken lover to participate in the event 'Potluck - Chicken' event hosted by me.
The Last date to send your recipes is June 20 (Sat) , 2009.
Please see the link to read more.

Re-posting few of my recipes for the event.Hope to publish the round-up within a week.Don't miss it :)


Kushka


Chicken 65



Pepper chicken


Country style Chicken curry



Nilgiri Chicken kuruma



Indian style deep fried Chicken


Chettinad chicken curry

Pattani kadalai Kuruma

It is also called kaanja pattani kuruma in Tamil (Dry peas kuruma).

It is one of the signature dishes of my mom.
Like many in India mom lived in a joint family system where we need to cook for everyone's need. But she was a happy little lady with great loving Inlaws:) who pampered her with lot of affection.
Those days reminds me of some beautiful picture portrayed in canvas.
Nevertheless to say She had to cope up with so many patch up works in the kitchen when she was not having the Fridge. One such thing is the back up plan with dry peas.
She used to do it often along with rice for lunch and the rest would be saved for the chapathi for the dinner.
Having a pack of dry peas in the pantry can save your day often:) A little soaking and some curry powder can be enough to cater a surprise guest.
We can buy the whole dry peas in any Indian Store. The peas can come in yellow and green color. Both do good but the yellow one tastes great.
Here is the recipe for the simple pattani kuruma.




Ingredients:
Dry peas (whole with skin) - 3/4 cup
tomato - 1
Red onion - 2 (medium size)
green chillies - 4
coriander leaves - a handful.
mint leaves - few
curry leaves - few
shredded coconut - 1/2 cup
cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
red chilli powder - 1 tsp
turmeric powder - a pinch
coriander powder - 3 tsp
garam masala powder - 1 tsp
salt - to taste
olive oil - 1 tbsp
Fennel seeds - 1/2 tsp
bay leaf - 1

Method:
Soak the whole dry peas in cold water overnight or in hot water for 5 hours.
Put it in a pressure cooker vessel and add enough water to immerse it (not above the peas). If the water level is above then we our peas will become mushy.
If the peas is under-soaked, then add water enough to cover the peas and it should stand 1 inch above the peas level. 

Pressure cook till we get one whistle reduce flame and keep in minimum for 5 minutes. Then switch off flame and open the lid after 10 minutes .The peas have the tendency to get over cooked if gone beyond one whistle.

Grind ginger and garlic together. Keep aside.
Then grind shredded coconut , cumin seeds and 1 onion together. keep aside.

Heat oil in a pan. Fry some fennel seeds and bay leaf.
Add the chopped onion, green chillies ,curry leaves, cilantro and mint leaves. After the onion turns golden brown , add ginger garlic paste and saute well.
Now add chopped tomatoes and saute till oil separates.

Add 2 cups of water, chilli powder, turmeric powder , curry masal powder , salt and stir well. Boil till the raw smell vanishes.

Add the coconut masala and let it come to a boil.

Then add the cooked peas along with the water.
Mix well , check for salt and let it boil for two minutes.
Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve hot.

Pattani kuruma is ready!


Serving suggestions:
serve hot with rice ,chapathi or naan .
Makes 4 cups of pattani kuruma .

Indian Chicken curry in Oven

Last week my friend Gita and myself were discussing about some healthy dishes. Here I should mention her creativity . She is very innovative at making many healthy and oil-less dishes. she asked me if I have any Indian version of chicken curries that can be made in a more healthy way. That was a brain storming question for me as my poor soul always craves for more grease:)
By the time something sparked me of my oven baked curry.
Actually I started making a curry like this whenever I get to make a batch of chicken for more people and if I run out of such a big wok and time:)
Moreover making a reddish curry in a wok may need a lot of oil and time. So I just told her about my version of making the Indian chicken curry in a conventional Oven and also admitted how kiddish is it to post it as a recipe.
But she encouraged me to post it.
So here is an Indian chicken curry made in oven .

Event:
Including this 'Indian chicken curry made in oven' to the event The potluck - chicken ' hosted by me.


Main Ingredient:
Chicken (with bones) - 2 lb

To temper:
olive oil - 2 tbsp
Onion - 1 (big)
curry leaf - 1 brig
cilantro , mint leaf - a handful
tomato - 2
fennel seeds - 1 tsp

To grind :
Paste 1.
fresh / dry Ginger - 2 inch
garlic - 4 pods

Paste 2.
curd - 1 cup
poppy seeds - 1 tsp
cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
cinnamon - 1 inch
cardamom - 2
cloves - 4
fennel seeds - 1 tsp
black pepper - 1 tsp

others:
chilly powder - 1tsp
coriander powder - 2 tbsp
turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp




Method:
Step 1:
Wash and clean the chicken. Chop it into big chunks.
Dry roast all the ingredients given in paste 2 except yogurt (curd) and grind them together with curd. (Other wise mix 2 tsp Shakthi garam masala powder with curd to get paste 2).
Add 1tbsp salt , turmeric powder,paste 2, chilly powder and coriander powder.
Keep refrigerated overnight, so that the pieces get well marinated.

Step 2:
Next day:
Remove the skin of ginger and garlic and grind them to a fine paste.
Chop the onion, tomato separately and keep aside.

Step 3:
Heat oil in a wok. Add fennel seeds. After it becomes red, add the chopped onion and fry well till it becomes golden brown.
Then add the chopped tomatoes and cook till it becomes mushy.
Now add the ginger garlic paste and fry well.
Then add the marinated chicken pieces .

Preheat the oven to 425 deg C.

Step 4:
Heat the wok for less than 5 minutes.
Now taste the masala and adjust the salt.

Step 5:
Now arrange the chicken pieces with masala on a baking foil / bake ware.
Cook it in 425 deg for 45 minutes. Stir it every 15 minutes.
After that keep the oven in broil mode and cook for 5 minutes.
Switch off and leave the chicken there for another 5 minutes.

Oven baked Indian chicken curry is ready!


Serving suggestions:
Serve hot with roti, chapathi or cooked rice.

Note:
This version doesn't require a big wok or more oil or care.
You can cook it side by side while making biryani or arranging the table.
All you need is just an hour. Enjoy!

Azhagar Kovil Dosai

About Alagar Temple / Azhagar kovil: Azhagar means charming person. Here it represents a beautiful God Krishna. Azhagar Kovil (Alagar temple),is a temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu (aka., Lord Krishna) situated 21 km from the city of Madurai, which lies in the Tamil Nadu state of India.It is situated on a very beautiful hill with lush herbal forest. Specialities: Dosa: As Panchamirtham in Palani and Laddu in Tirupathi, in the Kallazhagar temple, Dosa is very famous. The grains donated to the temple are ground and made to dosas and offered to the visitors as prasadham (divine food) here. Noopura Ganga or Silambaru: This is a perennial river flowing from the feet of Rakkayee Amman from a cave in the temple. The theerthamn (holy water) from a spring inside the Temple is believed to run through so many rare herbs. So it is considered as a healing water for so many uncurable diseases. The lamp in the temple is kept burning for ever. Azhagar Kovil dosai: In the madapalli (the vegetarian kitchen to prepare offering for God), they prepare a crispy and unique dosa for offering to God and then distribute it to visitors. Actually they deep fry the dosai batter in ghee. But I have modified the preparation technique to suit our life style. I tasted this in my childhood while my chithappa (Gandhi chithi) worked there as temple EO.  Ingredients: Whole black gram (with skin) – 1 cup Raw rice (pacharisi/ unboiled rice) – 2 1/4 cups Fenugreek seeds – 1 tbsp Salt – 2 tsp whole Black pepper - 2 tbsp cumin seed - 1tsp curry leaf - 2 brig asafoetida - 1/8 tsp mixture of ghee 1 tsp + sesame oil 1 tbsp Batter preparation: Wash and soak rice separately for 8 hours or overnight. In another vessel wash and soak the urid dhal and fenugreek seeds together for about 8 hours. Grind dhal to coarse texture. Rice should be ground separately and finely. Don't add lot of water. The batter should be thick like softened butter. Add salt and mix the ground urad dhal with the rice mixture . Store this in a large vessel so that there is enough space for batter to rise. Grinding and storing of batter should be done the previous day, preferably in the night so that the batter would be ready the next day. The batter should be allowed to ferment for about 15 – 18 hours. I usually keep it inside the oven to get warmth. Home made Azhagar koil dosai: Grind the black pepper, cumin seed, curry leaf to a coarse powder.Just before we start preparing the dosa mix the asafoetida powder and the ground powder and mix well with the batter. Heat a dosa tawa (non stick or iron).Drizzle 2 drops of sesame oil+ghee over the pan. Using a clean cloth or wooden spatula rub the oil uniformly over the tawa. Take a ladle of batter and pour it gently over the tawa and do not spread it or press it.Reduce the flame to medium heat. Generously pour a 1/2 tsp oil+ghee around the dosa. You can add more ghee for kids:) Turn over the dosa when it starts getting mild red. cook both sides and take out the dosa . Again increase the flame, apply oil and repeat the above process to make more. Serving suggestions: This Azhagar koil dosai won't even need any side dish. But we can serve it with idly podi or butter or coconut chutney or idly sambar. Event: Sending these Azhagar kovil dosas to Divya Vikram's Show me your breakfast event. Note: Water should not be added the next day after it ferments. Dhal should be ground preferably in a grinder for at least 20 minutes and rice for 30 minutes. The batter can also be made using an "Indian Mixer". keep the remaining batter refrigerated.

Chicken Salna for Parotta

Other names: Chicken chalna / road side stall parotta kuruma.

If you stroll along the streets of Madras or any place in TamilNadu(India) like Madurai , Tuticorin ,Kovilpatti , Tirunelveli etc., in the night , you won't miss to hear the word parotta and salna. Parotta with Salna is a common street food in TamilNadu and kerala. It is called the staple food of the bachelors and Truck drivers there.
Chicken with some bones and skin is the flavor riser in a salna. It is made in a jiffy way to satisfy the taste buds of hard workers (but loved by all classes). We can make a vegetarian version with potato , cauliflower, beans also but the popular one is with chicken.
The chicken salna is much equivalent to a kuruma or soup except for its less addition of chicken and some different ingredients. Look at the simple ingredients like besan flour and groundnut.... don't add cashews or poppy seeds to get the original taste. You cannot relish the salna unless otherwise you make it along with parotta.
I am narrating a parotta stall version for the famous chicken salna (chalna).



Event:
Including this Chicken salna to the event The potluck - chicken ' hosted by me.


Ingredients:
Chicken (with bone) - 200 gm
Red Onion - 1
Tomato - 2
cilantro + mint leaf - a handful
Potato - 2
curry leaf - 2 brig
Bay leaf - 2
fennel seed - 1 tsp
cinnamon (pattai)- 2 inch
ghee / vanaspathy - 3 tbsp

Red Chilli powder - 1 tsp
Coriander powder - 3 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt - to taste

To grind :
Shredded coconut - 1/2 cup
Green chilli - 4
cardamom - 4
cumin - 1 tsp
(roasted)groundnut or puffed channa dal - 2 tbsp

Ginger - 2 inch
Garlic - 3 pods

besan flour - 1 tbsp
Sour Curd - 2 tbsp

Method:
Chop the chicken pieces along with some skin and bone (approximately 150 - 200 gms).
Wash and clean the chicken . Apply Turmeric, 1 tbsp curd and keep aside.

Chop onion, Tomato separately and keep aside.

Grind ginger + garlic together.
Grind the other items given to grind and keep aside.

Heat 2 tbsp oil in a wok.
Add the fennel seeds, cinnamon, bay leaf and let the fennel get red.

Then add the chopped onion , curry leaf, cilantro, mint and saute till the onion becomes golden.
Then add the ginger garlic paste and saute well.
Now add the chopped tomatoes and cook till oil oozes out.

Then add the chopped chicken, chilli powder, coriander powder ,salt, potatoes and stir well.
Add a cup of water and cook the chicken for 15 minutes or till the meat is cooked completely.

Then add the ground masala with 3 cups of water.
Let it come to a boil.

Beat the 1 tbsp curd with besan flour and add 1 cup water .
Pour this mixture into the boiling salna.
Cook for another 30 minutes in medium heat.
The consistency of the salna should be thin.

switch off flame.
Sprinkle a few slit green chillies, crushed cardamom (2) and close the lid.

Chicken salna is ready!

Serving suggestions:
Serve hot with parotta , Idly, Idiyappam .
Makes 1 liter of Chicken salna.
Parotta with salna:

Click here to see How to make parotta at home.

The very thought of the hot parotta loosened and mixed with the chalna packed in a banana leaf makes me nostalgic. Oh , yeah . That's how they pack in India before the arrival of plastic sheets:) The flavor of the banana leaf and the parotta chalna can definitely lit up a lot of smile in our faces:) Hope you all fall in love with this combination forever.
Happy cooking friends!

Kollu rasam

There is an old saying in tamil, "illaithavanukku ellu kozhuthavanukku kollu" which means , "feed the thin person with sesame and stout person with horse gram".
That is a fantastic proverb on diet for various body structures:)
Horsegram (kollu in Tamil), is a much neglected gram / lentil with a lot of medicinal value. The rich fiber content and the body heat generating property of horse gram helps in reducing the body fat in a fast mode.
Here comes a rasam / Indian soup with Horse gram.

Kollu rasam:




Ingredients:
Horsegram - 4 tbsp
Tomato - 1 (big and juicy)
garlic - 3 pearls
Tamarind - a strawberry size
Black pepper - 1 tbsp
coriander seed - 2 tsp
cumin seed - 1/2 tsp
garlic - 3 pearls.
oil - 1 tbsp
mustard - 1/2 tsp
fenugreek - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder - a pinch
Asafoetida - a pinch
salt - to taste

Method:
First carefully examine the horsegram and remove any stones present.
(Actually wherever you buy , few stones with the kollu is unavoidable because of its similarity with pebbles).
Dry roast the horse gram till you hear a popping sound with a nice aroma and powder it.

Extract juice from tamarind.

Dry roast pepper, coriander, cumin and powder them together with fresh garlic. This is the fresh home made rasam powder.

Heat oil in a wok. Add mustard, fenugreek and asafoetida. After the mustard crackles , add the curry leaf and chopped tomato and fry till oil oozes out.

Pour two cups of water and add the powdered horse gram, turmeric powder and let it come to a boil.

Now add the tamarind extract and once again boil it.

Then add the prepared rasam powder.

As soon as the rasam starts to boil, immediately switch off and add salt. Garnish with finely choppoed cilantro.

Kollu rasam is ready!


Serving suggestions:
Serve hot over plain cooked rice.
Goes well with a simple thovaiyal (thick chutney) and appalam.

Note:
Some people pressure cook the horsegram to make dhal. While doing so , we can save the left over water from the cooked horse gram and use it to make rasam instead of powdering it.

Ok guys! Have You started shopping for Horse gram:)

Athirasam (with store bought rice flour)

Athirasam can be classified as an Indian version of doughnut but made with rice flour and jaggery.

Please see my traditional athirasam recipe too. It will give best results always, if we can make the flour using our mixie.

Tradition:
Athirasam is a common sweet made in TamilNadu. I have seen people frying these doughnuts for all the festivals they celebrate. In India, the traditional marriages are very expensive, that too a lot from the bride's side. It is a custom to give a lot of sweets and snacks like ladoo , athirasam , halwa, mixture, murukku, fruits etc to the bridegroom's house along with the jewels, money and ofcourse the bride too:).The snacks and sweets (that the bride brought) would be distributed by the mother inlaw to her friends and neighbors as 'maruveettu palagaram' that means snacks from bride's side. The sweets are prepared in certain numbers like 100 or 500 or more depending on the inlaws' request. Our athirasams also find a solid place among the gifts. Even now in villages, athirasam is a must to accompany a bride while entering the groom's house as one of the various gifts she bring.
Hope now you understand the importance of this humble sweet:)

My version:
The original athirasam recipe, calls for powdering the soaked rice in a rice-mill.
I can't find a mill here. So I altered the original recipe to suit the availability.
This athirasam recipe is my very own creation and I tried my best to get a typical Indian athirasam.
Actually if you can powder the wet rice or searching for an authentic athirasam then click here to see how Kribha has done it.

Athirasam


Ingredients:
white Rice flour(very fine) (store bought) - 2 cups
Jaggery (crushed) - 2 cups
sugar - 1/4 cup
poppy seed (kasa kasa) - 2 tsp
sesame seed - 1 tbsp
cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp
dry ginger powder - 1/2 tsp
milk - as required (say 1/4 cup)

Method:
Measure and put the flour into a wide mixing bowl.
Mix cardamom powder, sesame, poppy seed, dry ginger powder and keep adide.
Now we are going to fake our store bought flour to get that home made wet flour.
So sprinkle very little cold water (1/2 cup exactly) to moisten the flour.
Let it rest for an hour.

The athirasam flour (moistened to get the real texture).


Measure and put the jaggery + sugar on a vessel along with 1/4cup water and heat it in medium flame.
Check the consistency of the syrup to get a one string consistency.
(One string consistency: While stirring the syrup with a spoon, take the spoon above the vessel and let the syrup flow down to the vessel. If it forms one string like flow, then it is called one string consistency and if it forms two distinct strings then it is called two string consistency, which is of course a thick syrup).

Don't go for uruttu patham (update 2014): if it became soft ball or uruttu patham, then add 1/4 cup water and heat and bring back. {Soft ball consistency. (Soft ball consistency - uruttu patham : If we drop 1/2 a tsp of jaggery solution in cold water, it should not dissolve. We should be able to roll that into a soft ball). (or do this step using a candy thermometer - candy stage temp).}


Take care not to burn the syrup. Because making the perfect syrup is the only secret behind good athirasam.
Then pour the hot syrup over the flour and mix well so that the flour gets cooked a bit in that heat.
It should come to a sticky dough.
Add 3 tbsp milk to this and knead again. This gives soft athirasam. (updated 2014)
Now we can place the dough in a cling wrap and protect it airtight for a day  or upto 3 days .
Next day heat 300 ml vegetable oil in a wok.
Make adhirasams like very flat vadais (They will swell while frying) and deep fry in medium heat.
(I pierced a small hole in the center to facilitate the perfect cooking. But some people won't pierce it. Both are correct. In Southern Tamil nadu , we make a hole , whereas in Chennai they won't)
Take out when it becomes deep red in color.
Drain oil in a paper towel and let them cool.
Store them in airtight containers for a week.

Makes 25 - 30 athirasams depending upon the size.
The athirasam will become perfectly soft after 2- 3 hours.

Note :
Original recipe - rice jaggery proportion:
If we take 1 kg rice then use 3/4 kg jaggery + 3 tbsp white sugar.
syrup consistency : 2 string , but if dropped in a cup of water , then we should be able to roll it into soft balls.

Featured in Foodista:

Adhirasam

TamilNadu Muslim's wedding special Biriyani

North Indian biryani and Hyderabadi Biryani are entirely different from the TamilNadu Muslim's version.

In TN , the rice is cooked in the gravy along with meat (known as the Arabian method). While in the other versions, they cook the rice and meat separately and mix afterward in the dhum process (slow cooking).
Click to see my youtube video  on

Chicken Dum biriyani and on 'Tips to make tasty biriyani'

I am sure any one out there who have tasted the biryani in a TN Muslim marriage (or the one prepared by a chef trained to do so) will always seek for that stunning taste. Some years ago , while working in India I met an interesting Accountant, whose hobby is to cook for wedding parties. Beyond the regular office job and despite of his wealthy background he had a crew to join him for this extra job, which he liked very much. One of my colleague told me about this famous chef who happened to sit in the midst of many files.
On my request, without any hesitation he shared me the secrets beyond this famous biryani and some interesting facts too.
From then whenever I prepare a biryani, I remember the way he passionately explained me:)

Noting his version below to appreciate and enjoy.
1.They use only halal meat.The meat should be marinated with curd, salt for few hours to overnight.

Weight of meat should be equal to that of rice.Use red meat only or use a whole chicken along with bones.
2.They pray to God before making biryani, as they consider it as food for the God.
(I always appreciate the dedication and love).
3.They consider inviting all the people they know for the feast.
(oh yeah , how can we feast a tasty food without any social consciousness).
4. They start cooking as early as 2 AM to serve for a feast in the lunch. The secret is the long hours of dham in low heat. (That 10 hrs of cooking makes it yummy!).
5. Don't use chilli powder, coriander powder,  poppy seed, Turmeric powder , garam masal powder. This briyani should not be spicy, but we should get the green chilly flavor only.
6. Use good quality milk, saffron , rose essence , ghee.
7. They serve the food in a very large plate (called thambalam) and the close family members eat together in the same plate, whereas guests are served separately.
(Most of the Muslim marriages serve Mutton biryani, but I have used chicken and simplified the procedure enough to make it in small batches at home. If you are using mutton,then don't cook it in a pressure cooker. Instead cook mutton in direct heat, but add a pinch of meat tenderizer powder or a piece of raw papaya to reduce the cooking time or lamb)

Briyani with carrot raitha

carrot raita and tomato sweet are served with briyani in Muslim festivals in my neighborhood

Ingredients:
Basmathi rice or jeeraga samba or kali jeera rice - 1/2 kg (approximately 3 cups)
Chicken - 1/2 kg
(with bone / leg piece is good. Don't use breast piece / white meat for this recipe)
salt - To taste
Green chilly - 6
Red onion - 100 gms (2)
Tomato - 100 gms (4)
Lemon - 1/4
ghee - 1/2 cup
oil - 1/4 cup
Rose water - 2 tbsp
(or a drop of rose essence)
Milk - 1/4 cup
curd - 1 cup (optional but tastes good)
saffron - a pinch

Paste 1:
cilantro - 10 plants (leaves only)
mint leaf - 10 sticks (leaves only)
green chilly - 4

Paste 2:
Ginger - 2 inch
garlic - 10 pearls

To dry roast and powder:
Fennel seed - 1 tbsp
cinnamon - 1 inch
cardamom - 4
cloves - 6
Black pepper - 1 tbsp

For tempering:
cinnamon - 3 inch , 1 star aniseed, cashews - 10 ,1 tsp Sea weed (kalpaasi), a small chip of Nutmeg (jathikkai), 1/4 of a mace, raisin - 10, bay leaf - 2 , cardamom - 5, cloves - 6.

Preparation:
Clean the chicken and cut it in to big pieces. Wash and Keep aside.
Rub a tsp of salt + juice of 1/2 lemon, 1 cup curd and leave it for an hour.
(overnight marination inside fridge yields very tasty juicy chicken pieces in biryani).

Chop the onion in lengthwise.
Chop Tomato into small cubes.
Keep the green chillies as full, don't cut it.
Dry roast and powder the items given.
Grind ginger and garlic together to a fine paste.
Grind cilantro, mint, green chilli to a very fine paste.

While we start tempering,  rinse and clean the rice. Soak it in water for 10 minutes , drain water and let it remain for 1/2 an hour (while we saute and cook the meat). Don't soak for more time. The rice may break by over-soaking.


Method:
Heat oil + ghee in a  broad bottom vessel meant for biriyani.
Soak the rice in room temp water for only 10  minutes.
Toss in a small bark of cinnamon, 1 star aniseed, cashews , 2 rose bud, 1 tsp Sea weed (kalpaasi), a small chip of jathikkai(nutmeg),  raisin.
Immediately add the chopped onion + little salt and fry till it becomes golden brown.
Add the ginger garlic paste and stir well till the raw smell vanishes.
Now add the finely chopped tomato and cilantro paste (paste 1). Saute till the tomato gets mashed and oil starts showing off.  USE GHEE GENEROUSLY.
Now put the chicken pieces along with some more salt, a cup of water , powdered masala and cook it covered.
Cook till all the water gets absorbed by the chicken and the chicken is almost cooked .
Put the soaked rice.. and saute it gently without breaking the rice grains.
Now add water just enough to immerse the rice and meat completely.  Start heating and let the rice gets cooked 50 %. Ensure that some water is standing above the rice. If not add boiling water so that water stands 1/2 inch above that rice.
(No need to measure the water. Literally it is not possible to measure the amount water if biryani is prepared in large quantities. ).

Put some freshly chopped mint, cilantro leaves and uncut green chillies.
As soon as the water starts boiling, we can see some holes start appearing on rice. close the vessel with a tight lid and let the rice absorb all the water. Now the rice will be 70 % cooked. Switch off the flame.

Dhum process:
Actually while cooking for large parties the chef used to cook the biryani in large stoves burning with fire wood. And at this point they put off fire and make the biryani sit over hot charcoal. Moreover they close the edges of the lid with wet chapathi / roti dough to prevent steam to escape and cook the food in low heat.They put lot of hot charcoal also above the lid. After 5 hours they will get a perfect biryani, with that long grain rice becoming soft, firm and some what short:)
I simplified the above process with a home adopted dhum process.

Home adopted dhum process:
Start heating a thick dosa tawa . (Dont't use your regular dosa tawa. Because you may spoil the dosa tawa while doing so. So I use my chapathi tawa)
Place the biryani vessel over the hot tawa.

Now mix the milk , rose water and saffron and sprinkle it all over the rice. (This generates enough steam to slow cook the rice).
Spread the raisins all over the rice.
Sprinkle some more ghee (2 tbsp) over the rice.

Reduce the heat to minimum. Close the vessel tightly using a flat lid / plate.
Using a wet chapathi dough, cover the lid's edge to seal completely.

Before hand bring 2 liters of water to boil in a vessel. close it with lid.
Place it above the biryani vessel and lid.
Reduce flame to minimum.
Let the setup remain for nearly 2 hours. (2 hours is enough for a smaller batch , less than 2 kg rice).

After that we need not stir the biryani.

After 2 hours we can get a good biryani smell filling the house.
Take it out and enjoy.

TamilNadu Muslim style Biryani is ready !

Serving suggestions:
Mostly in TamilNadu Muslim marriages they Serve it hot with Thakkali thithippu (a kind of Tomato jam) , onion - carrot raitha , any spicy non veg curry , of course a semiya javvarisi payasam and a special dish called dhalsa (a thick dhal curry made with some mutton).
The above said quantity would be enough to serve 4 adults.

Note:
Rice calculation - for 1 adult use 3/4 cup of rice.
Jeeraga samba rice (Jeera rice) will give more flavorful Tamilnadu biryani than the basmati.

Hope I tempted you enough by describing a TamilNadu Muslim marriage feast:)
Enjoy!

Including this TamilNadu Muslim's Wedding special Biryani to the event The potluck - chicken ' hosted by me.


For mutton briyani:
Just proceed like the same method, but don't add tomato, salt or lemon without cooking the mutton. It will delay the cooking of mutton. So after the ginger garlic paste (without vinegar), add the mutton and cook in direct heat or pressure cook (medium flame in 10 minutes after 1 whistle). Then add tomato, salt and prepare the briyani just like chicken briyani. If you have lesser time to prepare the goat (mutton) briyani, then just pressure cook the meat (though it is not traditional).

-------------------------------------------------
update: 2014

Onion getting fried in ghee + oil

Marinated chicken. Adding curd is optional , but tastes good.

Onion, ginger garlic paste, tomato, cilanto mint , green chilly masala paste cooked

after adding chicken and oil separates

Cook the chicken masala till it tastes perfect and oil separates.

See  little water standing above semi cooked rice. Briyani is ready for dhum.

Dum in oven . Cover tightly with aluminum foil and heat 350 deg c for 30 minutes and reduce to 250 for 1.30 hours

(OR) Keeping dum in stove. Top vessel has very hot water. Heat every 15 minutes and keep the water above the briyani vessel and stove in minimum heat.

Briyani after dum cooking

Chicken briyani in  SouthTamilnadu Muslim style. It won't be very grainy like North Indian briyani But well cooked and not mushy.

Pachai payaru Sambar

Green gram sambar became my favorite after tasting it in a friend's house . It was yummy to the core with those soft thick dosas and from then I longed to test run it in my kitchen. However did not get a chance to make a sambar with whole green gram and end up with just a chutney. Finally one day I tried this and it came out very well. Actually I made it with venn pongal.
Pardon me for my poor picture:( My camera didn't do any justice.
Hope everyone loves a sambar loaded with tons of fiber!



Ingredients:
Whole green gram (with skin) - 3/4 cup
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Tamarind- an amla size
Red chilly powder - 1 tsp
coriander powder - 2 tsp
asafoetida - a pinch
salt - to taste
Brinjal - 2
Tomato - 1
curry leaf - 1 brig
oil - 1 tsp
mustard seed - 1 tsp
cumin seed - 1/2 tsp

Method:
Soak the green gram for whole night or let it germinate.
Pressure cook it along with 2 cups of water , asafoetida , Turmeric powder, chopped onion for 5 whistles or till the green gram becomes tender.
Once the pressure gets released, mash the cooked dhal with cumin seeds gently using a ladle .keep aside.

Heat oil in a wok. Splutter the mustard seeds.
Add few curry leaves and fry the chopped vegetables for some time.
Then add the tamarind extract, chilli powder, coriander powder and bring it to a boil.Add salt to taste. Let the vegetables get cooked.
Add 2 cups of water.

Then add the mashed green gram and switch off once the sambar comes to a boil.

Green gram sambar is ready!

Serving suggestion:
Serve as side dish with Venn pongal , Idly , dosai.

Butter bisuit

I don't know the exact name of this biscuit. But in my home town (Tirunelveli, TN,India) they call it as soosbery biscuit / butter biscuit and in other places as suji biscuit that means a biscuit made of ghee / clarified butter.
In some bakeries they make it with dalda / vanaspathi .
I have been searching for this recipe for a long time, as we cannot get it here. Luckily I came across Subhie Arun's excellent recipe for it.
I am recording the recipe again for my own use. Thanks dear for sharing this rare recipe. only thing I modified is flattened it a bit, just to get my home town biscuit:)
The biscuits came out just exactly like the Tirunelveli bakery's butter biscuit ...just try it and enjoy the weekend.



Ingredients:
Ghee - 1/2 cup
Icing Sugar - 1/2 cup
Baking powder- 1/4 tsp
All purpose flour - 1 1/4 cup
Salt a pinch

Method

Preheat the oven to 350 degree C.
1. Mix ghee and sugar in mixing bowl with a fork to get a creamy texture.
2. Mix well the salt,baking powder and flour.
3. Add everything together , knead and make a dough like chapathi dough.
Make a soft dough.The dough should be slightly sticky on your finger.
(adjust flour and sugar to get the dough consistency).
4. Place an aluminium foil on a baking tray. Make small balls , slightly flatten it and place it on the baking tray and bake for just 8 - 10 minutes depending upon your oven.
5.Remove the biscuit once it starts leaving the tray. Don't worry about it being soft now, after cooling it becomes hard.
Let it cool and then store in air tight container.
Butter biscuit is ready!

Note:
Makes 20 biscuits approximately.

Award:
Surprisingly while publishing this "Subhie's version of butter biscuit, I got an award from her. Great coincidence ...right:)

Thank you dear. I feel honored.

Bachelor's chicken thokku

A very easy Indian chicken recipe that could be helpful for a beginner.Thokku means a thick gravy

I crafted this simple chicken thokku recipe for my friends and brothers who longed to have home cooked food. Before blogging, I used to email this recipe to whoever asks me for a simple chicken recipe. All those who used this recipe were almost bachelors at that time, so I christened the recipe as Bachelor's chicken thokku.
Surprisingly one day hubby asked me to take rest and he told me that he wants to cook some chicken for me.
I started freaking out and was terribly upset to hear that, because I have never seen him inside the kitchen and I didn't want to end up hungry on a weekend.
Some how he managed to get my approval and I wrote the procedure on a piece of paper, gave him a brief tour on masalas and went out with a faint heart.
You know what friends? After some time I started sensing his success through my nose and rushed into the kitchen. I could not believe my eyes. While I was just sitting and waiting to find some fault:) the chicken thokku appeared in the wok with great taste and I enjoyed my real holiday devouring the chicken. From the moment I became very confident that anyone can make a decent home cooked chicken curry with this recipe.



I took a snap of what he cooked and publishing it on behalf of hubby for the event ' The potluck - chicken ' hosted by me.

Ingredients:
Chicken - 500 gms
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Chilli powder - 1 tsp
Black pepper - 1 tsp
coriander powder - 3 tsp
cumin powder - 1/4 tsp
Garam masala powder - 1/2 tsp
(Garam masala powder should have cinnamon, cloves, cardamom as main ingredient)
Salt - to taste
Red onion - 2 (100 gms)
green chilli - 2
Cilantro , mint leaf - a handful (to garnish)
Tomato - 4
Ginger garlic paste - 2 tbsp
(grind 2 inch ginger and 3 pearls of garlic together to get the ginger garlic paste)
Oil - 5 tbsp
Fennel seed - 1 tsp
curd (plain yogurt) - 1/2 cup

Preparation:
1.Wash and clean the chicken. Remove skin and fat. Apply some turmeric all over and rinse again .
Cut it into medium size pieces and keep aside.

2.Chop the onion and tomato separately.

3.Grind 2 inch ginger, 3 garlic pods , green chilly , black pepper together to a fine paste.
or simply use the black pepper powder, chopped chilly and store bought ginger garlic paste.

Method:
1. Heat the oil in a wok , add the fennel seeds and let it become red.
Then add the chopped onion and fry till it becomes golden brown.
Now put the ginger garlic paste and fry till the raw smell goes.
Add the chopped tomato and fry till it becomes mushy.

2.Now add the chicken pieces , curd , all the powders mentioned above, salt, and a cup of water.

3.Cook tightly covered in low heat for an hour. stir it once in every 15 minutes.
Then put off fire after the oil starts showing and the meat is done.

4. Garnish with chopped cilantro and mint leaf.
Bachelor's chicken thokku is ready!

Serving suggestion:
Serve as side dish with plain white rice or any Indian bread.

Pachai Puli thanneer Rasam

Here comes another interesting rasam 'Pachai puli thanneer' rasam that means raw tamarind extract rasam . To make this rasam we won't need a stove.
May be this rasam could be a very old cuisine prepared by the travelers in India.
The other name of this rasam is 'vandikkaaran rasam', that means the rasam prepared by the bullock cart drivers:)
In those days , before the invention of motor vehicles, people were traveling in bullock carts from place to place. Some times they may take even a month to reach their destination. So they would take rest once in a week in a nearby city and would stock up some grocery items and food. The restaurants were rare to commons and the annachathiram (free meal place) would be scanty. So, in the mean time they would have prepared Puliyotharai, lemon rice, curd rice etc for the first three days and for the next coming period they need to cook , at least for two days.
The only way to sustain the travel was to cook the rice with the available wood and to fix up some easy side dish like rasam and thovaiyal (hand ground chutney). Thus comes the invention of this raw tamarind rasam.
May be we also find it very easy to fix a delicious simple dinner, if running late. Good for the summer too:)
I remember those days when my elder brother and myself voraciously consuming the rice without any hesitation with our mom's puli thanneer rasam:)



Ingredients:
Tamarind - size of a small key-lime
Shallot onion - 10
(or 1 red onion)
green chilly - 2
cumin seed - 1 tsp
curry leaf - 1 brig
water - 3 cups
salt - to taste

Method:
Extract the juice of tamarind by soaking it in water.
Finely chop the onion, green chilly, curry leaf and mix it with the tamarind water.
Add cumin seeds and salt.
Let them soak for an hour or we can use it immediately also.
Pachai puli rasam is ready!

Serving suggestions:
Pour over piping hot fully cooked rice along with any thogaiyal , vadagam or appalam as sides.

Note:
Prepare more quantity of rice than the usual amount and you will find the reason after tasting this rasam:)

Puthina (Mint leaf) rasam

Puthina / Mint leaf is my favorite herb. I love to add mint in my tea. Mint leaf is believed to do a lot of good to our intestine, memory power , skin, breathing system etc etc. Moreover the plants add a touch of greenery to our house. So I proudly display some plants always in my window garden. Mostly the price of a bunch will be expensive in USA. But surprisingly last week I bought some mint leaf bunches for very less price in the Indian stores.
 I am posting two vegetarian recipes with mint leaf today.




Mint leaf Rasam / Pudina Rasam:
Ingredients:
Cooked Toor dal (Red gram) - 1/2 cup
Tomato - 100 gm
garlic - 3 pearls
Tamarind - a gooseberry size
Black pepper - 1/2 tbsp
coriander seed - 2 tsp
Dry red chilly - 3
cumin seed - 1/2 tsp
garlic - 3 pearls.
Mint leaf - a small bunch (1 1/2 cup chopped leaves)
oil - 1 tbsp
mustard - 1/2 tsp
Asafoetida - a pinch
salt - to taste

Method:
Cook the Toor dhal and mash it .
(I take out the necessary dhal after pressure cooking for sambar).
Extract juice from tamarind.
Dry roast pepper, coriander, cumin, red chili and powder them together with fresh garlic.
Wash and clean the mint leaves. Chop the mint leaves finely.
Heat oil in a wok. Add mustard, cumin , asafoetida. After the mustard crackles , add the chopped tomato and fry till oil oozes out.
Pour the mashed dal, powdered masala, tamarind extract, chopped mint leaf and let it come to a boil.
As soon as the rasam starts to boil, immediately switch off and add salt.
Mint leaf rasam is ready!

Serving suggestions:
Serve over hot plain rice.
Goes well with a simple thovaiyal (thick chutney) and appalam.

Events:
Mint leaf rasam goes to JFI : Mint event hosted by Ashwini of Spicy cuisine. originally created by Indira of Mahanadi.

Also sending this mint leaf Rasam to the SWC - cooking with greens event hosted by Sowmya of creative saga.

Award:
I am very much excited when two of my friends Ann of Happy and healthy cooking and Ammu of Nature kitchen passed me this beautiful award.

Thank you friends. I feel honored.
I think it is appropriate to pass on this award to all who visit me. Feel free to pick it up buddies.
Enjoy!

Puthina thuvaiyal (Mint leaf chutney)

Here comes a very refreshing chutney made with the aromatic fresh mint leaves.
My mom used to say , " A few mint leaves in our daily cooking will drive away the body odor and bad breathe ".
There are so many versions in this thuvaiyal. But I am narrating a very basic method.



Mint leaf chutney / Pudina chutney:

Ingredients:
Mint leaf - a small bunch
urid dhal (black gram) - 1 tbsp
tamarind - a gooseberry size
Dry red chili - 4
salt - 1/4 tsp (check taste)
shredded coconut - 2 tbsp

Method:
Soak the tamarind in little water.
Heat 1 tbsp oil in a wok.
Fry the red chili to get nice flavor. Take it out and keep aside.
Fry the urid dhal to red.
Then add the mint leaf and sautee till the mint leaf becomes little tender.
Do not fry it more than that. Let it cool completely.
Grind it along with fried chili, tamarind, salt and shredded coconut to a fine paste with almost very very little water in a mixer / blender.
Garnish with fried mustard seeds.

Mint leaf chutney is ready!

Serving suggestions:
Goes well with chapathi, Idly , dosa, any rice.
I love it with curd rice.

Events:
Mint leaf chutney goes to JFI : Mint event hosted by Ashwini of Spicy cuisine. originally created by Indira of Mahanadi.

It took just 15 minutes to get the entire dish done. So I am eager to end this chutney to the 15 minutes cooking event hosted by Mahima of Mahimaa's kitchen's.

Also the mint leaf chutney goes to the SWC - cooking with greens event hosted by Sowmya of creative saga.

Butter chicken

Butter chicken is a kind of less spicy but creamy side-dish prepared in India. Due to its silky texture and lesser spice it is loved all over the world. So if you are new to Indian cuisine but eager to try some Indian restaurant then you can safely go for a butter chicken. I am sure you will become addicted to that creamy chicken with lots cashews and butter. The origin of butter chicken can be traced back to the Mughal period. It is a common dish in Delhi restaurants. Even though general recipe of butter chicken is well known, the actual flavor can vary from restaurant to restaurant even within India. Butter chicken is usually served with naan, roti, parathas or steamed rice.
Including this silky butter chicken for the event 'Potluck - chicken' hosted by me.

Butter chicken / Murg Makhani :



Ingredients:
Chicken (boneless & skinless) - 2 lb
thick curd - 2 tbsp 
Red Onion - 1 (50 gm)
Tomato - 3 (100 gm)
cashew nut - a handful (20 numbers)
Butter - 100 gm (1 bar / 8 tbsp)
ginger - 2 inch
garlic - 6 pods
salt - to taste
Chilly powder - 1 1/2 tsp
coriander powder - 2 tsp
cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
fennel seed - 1/2 tsp
cloves - 6
cardamom - 4
bay leaf - 2
cinnamon - 1 inch
oil - 4 tbsp
dried methi leaves (kasuri methi) - 2 tbsp
fresh cream - 2 tbsp (or) whole milk - 1 cup

Method:
1.Grind ginger and garlic to a fine paste.

2.Clean the chicken pieces in running water. Again apply 1/2 tsp turmeric powder and wash finally.
Cut it in to medium size squares. Pat dry with a paper towel.
Apply salt, ginger garlic paste, thick yogurt 2 tbsp and mix well.
Let it marinate for an hour.

3.Then heat 3 tbsp oil in a wok and fry the chicken pieces just till the chicken becomes golden grown in the outside.
(No need to cook it till crispy).
Take out the fried chicken.

4.Add another tbsp oil and fry the chopped onion to golden. Keep aside.

5.In a lidded vessel cook the whole tomatoes with 1 cup of water till their skin cracks.
Let it cool.

6.Peel the skin and grind the tomato along with cashews, fried onion, cumin seed, cloves, cardamom, cinnamon. fennel seeds.
Mix the masala with fried chicken, red chilly powder, coriander powder, red food color , salt and mix well.

7.Melt butter in a pan, add cardamom, cloves, bay leaf, fennel and add the mixtue.
Fry well till the gravy thickens.
Finally garnish with chopped cilantro, fresh cream (optional) and dried methi leaves.
Butter chicken is ready!

serving suggestions:
Serve as side dish with any Indian bread.
Goes well with Naan , paratha , plain rice and chapathi.

Note:
I did not add any fresh cream before serving. But if you like a less spicy version , then add a tbsp of fresh cream per serving.
Instead I have added 1 cup whole milk.
Decorated the dish with my home-grown mint leaf:)
Instead of frying the chicken pieces, we can bake them in oven at 375 dec C for 20 minutes and use as told above.

Announcing the event 'The Potluck - Chicken '

After going through many useful blog events I felt it very interesting to start an event chain. The name of the chain is 'The Potluck' .
A potluck is a gathering of people where each person is expected to bring a dish of food to be shared among the group. I invite all of you for my Potluck with your amazing dishes.
The theme for this event is 'Chicken'.
Are you a fan of chicken dishes and waiting to post your recipes for an event? Send it to the 'The Potluck - Chicken' event. (Veggie friends need not worry, I will announce a theme for you in the upcoming event).


Here are some rules:

1) Make any dish with chicken as the main ingredient and post the same in your blog and link back to this announcement. Feel free to use the logo.
You can send in your entries from the archive also, provided they are re-posted for this event between May 11 and June 20, 2009.

2) Multiple entries are most welcome .

3) The entries sent to 'Potluck - Chicken' can be entered to other events.

4)you can send your entries to vikiskitchen@gmail.com and the Subject as The Potluck - Chicken , with the following details.

Your Name:
Blog URL:
Recipe Name:
Recipe URL:
Attach a picture of the dish.

5) Non bloggers can send their entries with the recipe details and picture if any to my email account.

Send it on or before June 20, 2009.

Looking forward for your delectable dishes.....

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Results are in the below links:

with images:
links only:

Carrot cake - Repost

I prepared this carrot cake with marshmallow bunnies for the Easter 2009.
I am re-posting this Easter carrot cake for Sanghi's FIL : Carrots event.
Dedicating the carrot cake to my hubby as his passion for carrot cake made me dig into Google to get this recipe. This is a fusion of 3 or 4 original recipes and I added many ingredients to make it more delicious. I am sure anyone can make this carrot cake without fail and I am revealing all my secret ingredients below.


Ingredients:
Any brand 'moist white' cake mix - 1/2 of 1 lb pack.
water - 1/2 cup (half of the amount said in the pack, as the carrot , pineapple will release some water)
Powdered cinnamon - 2 tsp
vegetable oil - 1/3 cup
egg - 1
cocoa powder - 1 tsp
orange peels - 2 tbsp
vanilla extract - 1 tsp
shredded carrots - 1 cup
Shredded coconut - 1/2 cup
chopped walnuts - 1/2 cup
raisins - 1/4 cup
crushed pineapple in can (drained)- 1/2 of a 8 oz can.

For Butter cream icing:
Unsalted butter - 1/2 bar (5 tbsp)
confectionery sugar - 2 cups
milk - 1 tbsp
vanilla essence - 1 tsp
Food colors like orange , yellow and green

Method:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan.
Mix water, oil, egg and vanilla using in a blender / mixie.
Add cake mix flour, cinnamon and run the mixer again to get a smooth batter.
Pour the batter to a broad bowl.
Add the carrots, coconut, walnuts and pineapple and mix well with a spoon.
Pour into a round pan. Bake at 350 degrees for about 35 - 40 minutes..
Allow to cool and turn it upside down.

Frosting:
Mix softened butter with confectionary sugar, milk and vanilla essence.
This can be of a thick conssistency like a murukku flour.
Keep 1/2 cup icing separate , to add color.
Spread the white icing uniformly all over the cake by using a knife or icing tool.
Mix colors to the remaining icing .
Then decorate the cake with color icing using the icing cone.
If you do not have an icing cone then fill the colors to small zip lock covers , cut a small opening at a corner and decorate the cake.
The ultimate carrot cake is ready!

Note: The above said quantity is enough to make one round cake of 2 inch height.
So , double the quantity to bake 2 rounds .
Adding 2 tbsp of chocolate cake mix will enhance the taste.
Adding orange juice instead of water will make the cake more flavorful.


Serving suggestions:
Refrigerate the cake and serve chill as dessert.
Makes one round cake.