Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Egg kuruma

Whenever we say egg curry, the only thing that comes into the mind of many people is a spicy red hot egg curry. But there are many versions all over India. Sometimes we may need an egg curry with more gravy to go along with rice or idiappam (rice noodles). Then I would choose this curry or kuruma with lots of coconut masala. This kind of  egg curry with more gravy is a common in Southern Tamilnadu and kerala. On that day I made this with veggie briyani for one of my friends who likes egg curry very much and insisted on making my hometown version. Though I like her version also very much, I made it for her and we all had an amazing dinner.

 Egg kuruma.
Ingredients:

Egg - 6

Ingredients:
tomato - 2
Red onion - 1
coriander leaves - a handful.
mint leaves - few
curry leaves - few
coconut milk - 1/2 cup
red chilli powder - 1 tsp
turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
curry masala powder- 1 tsp
coriander powder - 2 tsp
salt - to taste
oil / ghee - 2 tbsp
cinnamon - 2 inch
Fennel seeds - 1 tsp
bay leaf - 1
ginger garlic paste - 1 tbsp

to grind:
cardamom - 3
shredded coconut - 1/4 cup
cashew - 4
poppy seed - 1 tsp
cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
green chillies - 4

Method:
*Grind ginger and garlic together.
*Dry roast the poppy seeds, cashew and grind the items mentioned to a fine paste.
* Hard boil the eggs , peel. Make 3-4 slits lengthwise on all the eggs.
Keep aside.
* Heat oil / ghee in a pan. Add fennel seeds, cinnamon 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.Then add the chopped tomato and fry till it is completely cooked.
* Put  chilli powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder , curry masala powder and stir well till raw smell goes. Add 2 cups of water. Close the lid and cook for 5 minutes.
* Add the coconut masala and let it boil to give a nice flavor.
* Put the prepared eggs. Bring to a boil.
*Before switching off add the coconut milk. Switch off immediately.
Egg kuruma is ready!

Serving suggestions:
This is one best side dish for vegetable briyani,  parathas, parotta, any briyani, dosai,  idly, appam and idiyappam.

Thursday, May 16, 2013

Masal dosai

Idly and dosai are popular dishes of Tamilnadu, India. They are consumed as a main course for dinner and a staple for breakfast. Proper fermentation of the batter is the key behind the successful idlies and the hot climatic condition prevailing there throughout the year will make the idly petal soft. Though making the perfect idly depends on how much care we give for maintaining the temperature, dosa comes handy for all who long for native food.

We can see an idly vs dosai scene in almost any Indian house. When the mother wants to steam some idly in a jiffy, one fuzzy person may always demand for a dosai . That demanding person can be satisfied only by a hot dosai, while others has to eat the idly:) Just like that whenever anyone goes to an Indian restaurant , crispy dosai would be in the top preference. The restaurants would serve the dosai with variety of chutney and that makes the platter pretty.Mostly I make coconut chutney or sambar only and rarely both. But I would make masal dosai if I have some left over poori kilangu after having poori the previous day. Nowadays readymade batter is also available everywhere (I suggest making your own batter for fresh taste) and so dosa making becomes more handy.
 
Prepare this delicious Masal dosai and enjoy!

Masal dosai with sambar and chutney.

Take a look inside: ) Potato masala stuffed inside a thin crispy dosai.

Ingredients:
Dosa batter - 1/2 cup per dosai
potato masala filling - 2 or 3 tbsp per dosai
sesame oil / ghee - few tsp

Method:
For making perfect crispy dosai we may need a thick dosa tawa, sharp spatula, a medium sour dosa batter.
Add a tbsp besan flour for 2 cups of dosa batter and mix well. (Besan flour gives dosai a red hue. Some times I skip this step).
Apply one drop oil on tawa and spread uniformly using a spatula.
Heat the tawa to maximum. Check the heat by sprinkling a drop of water. Wipe the tawa clean, using a kitchen towel.
Now without applying oil to the tawa, pour a ladle full of batter on it. Using the back of the flat spatula or a small cup, spread the batter to a thin circle.
Drizzle few drops of ghee or sesame oil.
As soon as it shows little red color, flip , reduce heat and cook for 10 seconds.
Flip again, so that the beautiful red side lays down. Place 2 -3 tbsp of poori masala in the center and fold , so that the red color shows up.
Some people fold thrice like a newspaper (see photo above) and some fold only once so that dosa looks like a semicircle.
Masal dosai is ready!

Serving suggestions:
Serve hot immediately (for crispiness) with coconut chutney and sambar.

Note:
For details on dosa making see my paper roast dosai recipe.


Potato fry (Urulaikilangu varuval)

Potato fry (urulaikilangu varuval) is a famous but simple side dish in Indian cuisine. This can be prepared in a jiffy and a staple in many ...