Capsicum Panini in Indian flavor

Panini or Panino is a kind of sandwich originated in Italy. I had no idea of this dish till I tasted one made by my neighbor aunty. She can merge any cuisine with our Indian spices and lots of butter and it will satisfy all my taste buds:) Gujarati foods have become my next favorite after Tamil foods because of her:) Then I saw one recipe by Giada in Foodnetwork Tv and saw how she made those thin sandwiches out of the thick baguette or heavy breads. After that also I didn't buy a panini maker, as I was much hesitant to ask for one more kitchen gadget while my existing collections is already voluminous :) Then the thanksgiving came and every other store we went was having a sale on this panini press and I silently waited without asking hubby for this. I watched all my friends filling their carts with these panini makers and came home with the electronics he wanted for  a long time (along with my other stuffs). But I was chanting 'panini maker' 'panini maker' silently and didn't want to say it loud:)  Hubby could have watched me looking at other's carts or my rantings  (about aunty's :) )could have made him...I don't know. But he bought me this panini maker with all those Kohls cashback offers we had got after the sale and presented as Christmas gift:) With my wish coming true, I am making panini quite often, exploring all the recipes with this. So you can expect more and more paninis from me , while you are trying this yummy capsicum panini in Indian flavor.

Panini in Indian flavor.

My Bella panini maker....wow!

Ingredients:
Whole wheat bread - 6 slices
green capsicum - 1/4
red capsicum - 1/4
onion - 1/4 cup
shredded cheese - 1 tsp for every sandwich
butter - 1 tbsp
Indian green chutney - 1/4 cup
tomato sauce - 1 tsp each sandwich

Method:
Heat the panini maker to maximum heat with the lid closed. After we see the ready button glowing, open the grill. (Read and follow the instructions carefully if it is the first time).
In the mean time place three bread slices on a plate and spread 1 tbsp green chutney and 1 tsp tomato sauce over the breads.
Put the chopped capsicum, onion and cheese over that. Place the other half of bread slice over the sandwiches.
Rub a piece of butter on panini press (bottom plate) in a small area and  place the prepared sandwich.(one at a time).
Place the lid gently (no locking) and the by the weight of the top plate the sandwich will get thin, crunchy and extremely good in one minute.
If needed apply some more butter on top and press again gently.
Take out using a spatula, slice and serve while it is hot.
 Simple panini is ready!

Serving suggestion:
Serve as breakfast or dinner as main course meal.

Almond candy

Almond candy is one of the easiest snacks I have found recently. Cooking something special on Fridays is a common scene in many households. I too love to make the weekends special by making a snack or special dinner on Fridays. Two weeks back, on a Friday morning I made this as a gift to hubby and kept it secretly in his snack box. Now this has become his another favorite :)

There are many versions to make this simple candy. But I have my own method to make it quickly in stove-top, though the original versions call for baking. So try this if you want some quick treat.

Glazed almond candy

Ingredients:
Almond - 1 cup
brown sugar - 1/2 cup (or little lesser)
cinnamon powder - 1/4 tsp
water - 2 tbsp

Method:
Heat a wok and dry roast the almonds in low heat till they smell good. It may take almost 3 minutes for the almonds to get toasted. Look for spots while heating. Then add the brown sugar, cinnamon and water and mix well.
Continue stirring and wait till sugar dissolves and coats the almonds.
Almost after 2 minutes of low heat roasting we will notice caramelizing of sugar and it will get hard. Don't heat further. Switch off. Transfer to a plate and let cool completely (almost for 10 minutes). 
Almond candy is ready!

Serving suggestions:
Store them in airtight containers and serve as snack or dessert.

Muttai kothu chapathi (Scrambled egg chapati)

Muttai kothu parotta (scrambled parotta with eggs) is another popular street food in Tamilnadu and Kerala. We can get this kothu parotta dish in almost all parotta stalls in Tamilnadu.
Instead of the regular maida flour parotta, occasionally I use my leftover whole wheat chapatis to make this kothu parotta for a special dinner. So I am giving my standard recipe here. But we can substitute chapatis in this recipe with plain parotta (frozen plain parotta , Ceylon parotta) to get the original taste. 

While growing up, my elder brother was the first one to introduce us with this kothu parotta. Going to a parotta stall or road side shop would not be a girly thing at that time. So my brothers would do it for us giving us a relaxed evening:) He used to buy this from some shop near Palay bus stand. After few months he started saying that this dish is the most sought one in that place and would buy the plain parotta with salna only, to avoid the queue. Then mom started making us this muttai kothu parotta at home using the plain parotta  he brings and I too got the knack from her. Good that I learned to make this kothu parotta, as this is my hubby's favorite food after briyani.  While we were newly married he was amazed at seeing his favorite dish done at home. Though he buy me this special dish on many weekends, he appreciates the good eggs at home, quickness and less expensive good food we get by making it personally:) Slowly I swapped the parotta with chapati in this dish. Nowadays whenever I make vegetable salna or kuruma with chapati for lunch , hubby will expect me to do this spicy dish for dinner:) This has become many of our friends' favorite too and so I am giving this as another post after my muttai parotta recipe.
Enjoy my version of muttai chapati and tell me how much you all love it:)

Scrambled egg chapathi / muttai kothu chapati with onion curd raita.

Ingredients: (for 2 plates)
wheat chapati / small parotta - 4 (or)  frozen parotta- 3
Egg- 3
salna or Kuruma- 1 cup (veg or Non-veg)
Red onion- 1
green chillies- 2
Tomato - 2
ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp
curry masala powder- 1 tsp
chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
pepper- 1 tsp
curry leaves- 2 sprig
cilantro - handful
oil- 2 to 3 tbsp
salt - 3/4 tsp

For garnish:
green chilly - 1
curry leaf - 1 sprig

Method:
*Cut or tear off the parotta/chapathi into very small pieces.
Keep aside.

*Heat oil in a broad thick bottom wok, add fennel seeds, after it gets red add the chopped onions and saute a little. No need to cook till red. Add ginger garlic paste and saute till raw smell goes.
Now add the finely chopped tomatoes and cook till it is cooked.

*Make some space in wok by moving all the fried items to one side. Pour the eggs, salt, chilli powder and stir it till the eggs get half cooked .
Then mix the egg with the onion and tomato and stir well.

*Add the scrambled chapati pieces and mix well. Reduce flame and continue sauteing.
Sprinkle curry masala powder, pepper powder, chopped cilantro,curry leaves.
Stir in low flame till it gets almost dry. Then pour the salna / kuruma. Mix well and switch off.
Sprinkle with finely chopped green chillies and curry leaves and serve piping hot.

Scrambled egg chapati is ready!

Serving suggestion:
Serve as dinner or lunch along with onion raitha.
Makes a good lunch pack too.

Pumpkin pie (simple)

Making a pumpkin pie was in my mind for a long time but some how I would pick one up from the grocery store during holidays and my pie baking would be postponed. At first I saw this Libby's famous pumpkin pie recipe on the back of the Nestle evaporated milk tin's label. I saved it like a treasure and bought everything as per list. Baking a pie from scratch would have been more appropriate for blogging, but I thought these kind of convenient groceries would make cooking more easier. I prepared this pie during last year Thanksgiving and it came out very well. This recipe is a keeper for me, as we both enjoyed it very much:) Hope you all like it too!

Pumpkin pie with kulfi icecream.

Semi homemade quick pumpkin pie.

(The following recipe will give 2 pies.But I had only one crust.  So I halved the recipe and made one pie with crust and reserved the remaining mixture for another pie without crust).

Ingredients:
Pumpkin puree - 1 can (15 oz)
Nestle evaporated milk - 1 can (12 fl.oz)
Sugar - 3/4 cup
egg - 2 large
salt - 1/2 tsp
dry ginger powder - 1/2 tsp
powdered cloves - from 3 cloves
cinnamon powder - 1 tsp
crust:
graham cracker pie crust - 2

(or) one 9 inch 4 cup volume deep pie crust.

Method:

Preheat oven to 425 deg F for nearly 15 minutes.

In a large bowl beat the eggs. Mix the pumpkin puree and evaporated milk. 

In a small bowl mix  sugar, spice powders, salt. Add this to the large bowl and mix well.

Pour into ready made pie shells.

Bring down the  temperature to 350° F.

Bake for 40 - 50 minutes or until an inserted knife comes clean.

Check every 10 minutes after 35 minutes.

The next important step is cooling the pie completely. Cool it on wire rack for 2 hours.

Pumpkin pie is ready!

Serving suggestion:

Serve slices of pie with whipped topping or ice cream.

Keep refrigerated till use.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If using frozen pie crust: Keep it in room temperature for 1 hour to defrost it. Don't microwave.
For 9 inch  pyrex glass deep pie plate: first heat upto 400 deg F for 10  minutes. Then reduce heat to 325 deg F.
Use the above recipe completely to make 1  pie. Bake for 45 - 55 min, checking every 10 minutes after 35 minutes.

Sauteed Broccoli snack

Broccoli is another cute looking member from cabbage family. It tastes great by itself without much seasoning. Italians brought this vegetable to USA. It can be eaten raw or cooked. Broccoli is often sold in bunches by $1.49 per lb or bunch and mostly not more than that. Also we can see it in freezer aisles as microwaveable. I like fresh ones very much as they are more crunchy. But we should rinse them in water thoroughly to remove any impurities. Cooking broccoli will take less than 2 minutes in my saute process.  I make this sauteed broccoli as snack for us whenever this vegetable comes in season. Try this and enjoy a delicious easy snack.

snack box

Ingredients:
Broccoli - 1.5 lb (2 crowns)
butter or Extra virgin olive oil - 1 tbsp
salt - to taste ( 2 pinches)
garlic -10 cloves
black pepper powder - 1 pinch


Method:
Separate small florets from the broccoli bunch. 
Fill water in a large basin and wash the florets. Take them out, discard the water.
Wash again and do this thrice to remove any sand or impurities.
Let the water drain.

In a sauteing pan , heat butter or EVOO. Add peeled garlic and broccoli florets.
Reduce flame and cook covered for less than 2 minutes. No need to add water.
Sprinkle salt, pepper powder and mix well.
Switch off.

Sauteed broccoli is ready!

Serving suggestion:
Serve as snack.
Also can be served as side dish with baked chicken.
Ranch dip can also be used as dip for this broccoli.
The left over can be refrigerated and used for 3 days.
We can do the same process in oven too, but it will take more time.

Paasi payaru ladoo

Whole green gram (பாசி பயறு) ladoo  is similar to nei ladoo. During this long weekend we had a snow storm and I wanted to make something nice for the evening snack quickly with simple ingredients. I had a pack of whole moong flour in hand, which I wanted to make use of soon. Then it came to my mind about nei ladoo made of moong lentil. Then I tried a similar version and got this flavorful ladoos. I love this sweet very much because of the lesser time consumption and wholesome ingredients. I am glad that hubby too appreciated this very much.
Hope you all like it !

Paasi payaru laddu

Moong flour ladoo ingredients

Ingredients:
whole green gram flour - 2 cup
brown sugar - 1 cup
(or) jaggery / white sugar
ghee - 2 tbsp or more *
ghee -  1/2 tsp (for shaping ladoo)
cardamom - 3
shredded coconut - 2 tbsp

Method:
Dry roast whole moong flour (paasi payaru mavu) till it smells good (2 - 3 minutes in medium flame).
(We can buy the moong flour in any grocery store or we can dry roast whole moong and get them powdered in a mill. But dry roasting is very important).
Melt 2 tbsp ghee and add to the flour.
In the vessel which we melt the ghee, roast the shredded coconut and add to the moong flour.
Powder the cardamom seeds and add it to the flour.
Put the brown sugar and mix well. Sprinkle little milk or water and knead gently, so that it looks wet. Don't add too much water.
*(If we are planning to make this laddoo as gift / to be consumed later, it may need more shelf life. Then avoid water and make it purely in ghee).
Apply pressure and make balls of equal size.
Let them cool and store in airtight container.
Green gram ladoo is ready!

Serving suggestion:
Serve as snack.
Makes 15 laddu.

Virudhunagar Chicken gravy

Virudhunagar is a town near Madurai. Many spicy and delicious non veg dishes have originated around that area and one among them is this chicken gravy. Also this chicken curry can be seen in any roadside parotta stalls or muniyandi vilas, or in few typical native restaurants.
 If one has to travel from Tirunelveli (Nellai) to Madras (Chennai) by bus or car  (roadway), they would have the chance to taste the spiciest curries along with parotta.  Those travels would be by night time and the drivers would make a few stops for dinner, snack, tea time on the way. Whenever we used to travel  that route (our native place -  Chennai), hubby introduced me to these foods which he had enjoyed in his bachelor days. Every stop would have some specialty like Jasmine flowers in Madurai .... In almost every stop he would wake me up and would buy me something like eatables or flowers or coconut water or milk and this habit is continuing even in US too:) I think that is the basis for my knowledge on local foods.
Back to the recipe, those typical roadside motels would have a combo of parotta , salna as a standard menu and a spicy oily chicken gravy on special orders. We call it as Virudhunagar chicken gravy or ennai (oily) kozhi curry or sometimes Nellai chicken curry. This oily gravy is very common in these places, as we can get many versions of it. The serving will be on a very small bowl but will definitely make you crave :)
The specialty of this curry is the amount of sesame oil we add. Nowadays people are making it in any oil they have, but pure cold pressed sesame oil (sekku nallennai)  is good for this.  As it is a more oily gravy, I make it on special occasions only. That day I wanted to make something very spicy and truly southern for one of my friend's family. So I made this parotta stall version of chicken gravy along with chicken briyani. We all enjoyed the dinner very much and I am very glad that it turned out similar to the restaurant curry.The next day hubby happily carried it in his lunch box too:)

Spicy Virudhunagar oily chicken curry (ennai kozhi curry)

Ingredients:
Chicken - 1/2 kg (1 lb)
sesame oil - 1/2 cup
curry leaves - 2 sprig
fennel seeds (sombu)- 1 tbsp
cinnamon (pattai) - 2 inch
bay leaf (brinji ilai) - 1
cloves - 1/2 tsp
red onion - 2 large
tomato - 2 (optional)
cilantro (malli thazhai) - a handful

To grind:
Ginger - 2 inch
garlic - 1 whole

To grind:
Coconut - 1/4 to extract milk

Marination:
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder - 3 tbsp
red chilli powder - 1 tbsp
black pepper powder - 1 tsp
cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
curry masala powder - 1 tsp
sea salt - to taste
thick curd - 1 cup

Method:
Choose chicken pieces with some skin and bone (example, thighs).
Rinse and clean the chicken.
Cut it into small pieces.
Mix curd , coriander powder, chilli powder, curry masala powder, turmeric powder and salt.
Marinate chicken in this paste for  4 - 6 hours or inside fridge overnight. The marination is necessary for more flavorful soft chicken pieces.
Heat a thick bottom wok (kadaai) along with oil. Add spices like fennel, cinnamon, bay leaf, cloves.
After the fennel gets mild red, add finely chopped onion, curry leaves. Then put the ginger garlic paste and cook till raw smell goes. Then goes the chopped tomato. Wait till oil separates. (I won't add tomato for this gravy, but some people like to add tomato to reduce the spice level). Then add the marinated chicken, stir well and cook covered in low flame for 30 minutes.
Extract milk from coconut.
Then add the coconut milk and cook covered in low flame again for 5 minutes or till oil separates. Stir in between. If needed add 1/2 cup boiling water in the end to get more gravy. I add water at the end and cook covered for 5 more minutes in medium heat.
Spicy Virudunagar chicken curry is ready!

Serving suggestion:
Serve as side dish with parotta, chapati, briyani.