Mutton kheema curry

I am sure many of you will love to get a grand breakfast on festive days or Sundays. In my hometown, they prepare many delicacies like liver curry (eeral kuzhambu), mutton kuruma , paya (goat leg kuruma) etc along with idly / dosa to honor the guests. I have seen the grannies starting to slow cook the goat leg even before the dawn. Mostly the Sons in law are always lucky there to enjoy such a nice feast. Anyway we ladies have to struggle in the kitchen even on the festivals.

Though I prefer to make a mutton kuruma for idly for my guests, I don't like the long hours, the mutton takes to get cooked. So I prefer to make liver kuzhambu or the mutton kheema, which gets cooked in 30 minutes (without pressure cooking).

So here is that simple , yet delicious mutton kheema curry.

Ingredients:
Minced mutton (kheema)- 1 lb
onion - 1 big (or) shallot - 15
curry leaf - 2 sprig
ginger garlic paste - 2 tbsp
Tomato - 2 (big)
mint, cilantro - a handful each
coconut milk - 2 cup (from 1/2 coconut)
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
garam masal powder - 1 tbsp
red chilly powder - 1 tbsp
coriander powder - 3 tsp
Sesame oil - 1/4 cup
Fennel seed - 1 tsp
cinnamon - 2 inch

Method:
Buy a well minced mutton kheema. Wash and clean once. Remove the sediments , if present.(If we cannot get the minced meat, then we can grind the boneless mutton in a mixer instead).

Heat oil in a wok. Add the fennel, cinnamon and let it get red.

Then add the finely chopped onion, curry leaf and fry till the onion becomes golden brown.

Next put the ginger garlic paste and cook till raw smell vanishes (30 seconds).

Then add the finely chopped tomato and saute till oil separates.

Add the cleaned minced meat fry for some time, till we see the fat changes color. Add all the powders said above, add some water to cover the meat.

Cover and cook till the meat gets cooked. Wait till we see oil starts separating, if we need a thick curry. (we can use it as such if needed).

Pour the coconut milk and adjust the salt, water .

Switch off. Mutton kheema curry is ready!

Serving suggestions:
Serve as side dish with idly, dosa, chapathi, ghee rice, biryani etc.
Serves 5 people.

Porikadalai laddu

Here is a sweet that we can prepare in a jiffy!

Other names: Pottu kadalai ladoo, maladu, nei laddu, nei urundai, dalia ladoo.



Ingredients:
Puffed channa dhal - 1 cup
sugar - 1 cup
(sugar : dhal = 1:1 ratio)
ghee - 1 cup
cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp
cashew nut - 10
raisin - 10

Method:
Dry grind the puffed channa dhal and sugar to a fine powder.
Mix the cardamom powder with it.

Heat a tsp of ghee and fry the cashews, raisins. Mix it with the powdered dhal.

Melt the ghee.

Mix it with the powdered dhal little by little and make small key-lime size balls while it is hot. (Melt the ghee then and there while preparing the ladoo).

Pottu kadalai ladoo is ready!

Serving suggestions:
Serve as snack.
It can be stored in air tight container for a week.
Makes 12 ladoos (approx).

Alternative method:
I made this ladoo for a quick snack and changed the recipe by reducing the ghee. But the traditional method explained above tastes better than my healthy version. Anyway if you need some snack with less ghee follow mine:).

Here I have added only 1 tbsp ghee. Replaced the ghee by very little milk, as the addition of milk with sugar makes it easy.

But this ladoo won't last long in room temperature, because of the addition of milk.