Andhra Chilly Chicken

 

                                       

      This is one of my favourite dishes mainly because its super spicy and yummy. Whenever we go out for drinks, I prefer ordering this dish.  I love to eat it with some white rice as well. So, I decided to make this at home and it turned out to be easy and delicious. I’m super happy about it. I made it few times when we had friends come over to my house for drinks.

    

     Andhra cuisines are known for its tangy, hot and spicy taste, and we Sri Lankan’s love spicy food too. Trust me Andhra food is spicy not like others who say it’s spicy and its not. 😊  I fell in love with this dish more when I had at the Hennur Banaswadi club. One of my hubby’s friend is a member over there and we often go to the club with them for dinner. They serve some delicious food.

 

      You will need

• ½ kg chicken
• 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
• 15-20 long green chillies
• 1 tsp vinegar
• 1 tbsp soya sauce
• 1 tbsp cornflour
• Salt to taste
• 2 tbsp oil
• ½ onion chopped
• 1 cup water

 

1. Grind the green chillies and ginger garlic paste together.
2. And marinate the chicken along with salt and the green chilli paste for half an hour or more.
3. Heat oil and fry the onions till golden and add the chicken and sauté for few minutes.
4. Now add soya sauce and vinegar and stir well. 
5. Add the cornflour and 1 cup of water mix well. And pressure cook for 1 whistle.

Coconut Rice

 

 While wondering what to make for Lunch or Dinner it's one of the biggest tasks of the day. I decided to make coconut rice for Lunch, as I wanted to try it out. I have eaten the other variation of coconut rice where coconut milk is added. 

 

   This recipe is mostly made in south India and its one of the favourite dishes made during festivals of Pongal and Navaratri. It’s prepared as a savoury dish and it has nuts in it. It can also be made as a dessert by adding sugar to it. 

  

Coconut rice can also be served with gravy or veg or non veg stews. I had made Beef curry to pair with it.  It’s a healthy and flavourful rice made with fresh grated coconut. Desiccated coconut does not taste very well as much as the fresh coconut. It’s always better to use fresh grated coconut for this recipe. 

My kids enjoyed eating this rice as it gave an entirely different taste. It’s also easy recipe to make as it doesn’t take much time. 

   You will need

• 2 cups cooked rice 
• 2 tbsp ghee
• ½ tsp urad dal
• ½ tsp chana dal
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 2 dry red chilies 
• 2 medium size green chilies slit
• 1 large onion 
• Sprig of curry leaves
• 1 cup grated coconut
• Salt to taste

1. Heat ghee in a pan add the mustard seeds and let it crackle. Add the curry leaves, chana dal and urad dal and sauté for a minute or two. 
2. Now add onions, red and green chillies. Saute till the aroma of the spices become strong and onions turn translucent.
3. Then add in the grated coconut and stir fry till the coconut turns golden colour. Do not burn the coconut by keeping it on flame for longer time or till dark brown. 
4. Lower the flame and add the cooked rice and give it a good mix. Add salt to taste. And it’s done.

You can add coriander leaves, cashews as I haven’t used in mine. And I served this rice with a spicy beef gravy.

Mushroom Noodles

  

Making noodles can be pretty easy. Especially when there are varieties of ways to make them. Thankfully I have foodies in my house who would love to try new food. When I make noodles, I try to make it different each time.

 I have made mushroom noodles, where I fried the mushroom separately and then added it. I added some carrots as well because I wasn’t sure about my kids 😊 it turned out tasty and kids loved the taste of fried mushroom.  I made this for lunch as I wanted something different from rice and chapatis.

          You will need

• 1 packet of noodles
• Water to boil
• 2 tsp of salt
• 1 tbsp oil
• 4 pods of garlic chopped
• 1 -inch ginger chopped
• 1 large onion
• 2 green chillies slit
• 1 large carrot cut length wise
• 1 tsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp vinegar
• 2 tsp pepper powder or to taste
• Pinch of ajinomoto

 

1. Bring water to boil adding salt and the noodles, cook for 4-5 minutes or as per instructions given in the packet.
2. Drain it and rinse in cold water. Drizzle oil and toss the noodles.
3. Heat oil in a non-stick pan and fry the mushroom till crisp. Leave aside.
4.  In a big wok add 1tsp oil add ginger, garlic, onions and fry till smell is gone. Now add the carrots and stir fry for few minutes.
5. Add the fried mushrooms, pepper powder, ajinomoto, soya sauce, vinegar and mix well.
6. Now add the noodles and fry for five minutes.

Voila your noodles are done. Its always easy to make noodles and make a great meal out of it. Do give it a try. 

Chicken Teriyaki

Chicken Teriyaki, I had seen this recipe all over social media and I wanted to try it. I was waiting for a right moment to make it and it was my in laws wedding anniversary. I ended up making teriyaki chicken.

It was so easy to make with simple ingredients and delicious. Teriyaki is a cooking technique used in Japanese cuisine in which food is broiled or grilled with a glaze of soya sauce, sugar and mirin.  With time and talent there are few more ingredients and substitutes added to the original recipe.  Like adding ginger, garlic, white wine, pineapple juice, sesame seeds etc.

 It has a great flavour to it even though its only few ingredients. I was sceptical on trying it but I’m glad that I decided to make it. It was delicious and specially if you like Chinese dishes you would like this as well.  Its super EASY!!

Even I did not have the mirin and the brown sugar instead I have added vinegar and jaggery. I give my kids jaggery instead of sugar so I have stock of jaggery most of the time.

 

 

                  You will need

• 1 kg Breast chicken
• 1 cup dark soy sauce
• 1 tsp vinegar
• ½ cup brown sugar (I used jaggery)
• 2 tbsp of corn flour (optional. Only if u want to have gravy)
• 2 tbsp oil
• 1 tsp salt

1.  First in a non-stick pan add oil and chicken. Let the chicken fry till golden brown on both sides.
2. In a bowl add soya sauce, vinegar and sugar mix well.
3. Once the chicken is done into d same pan add the soya sauce mix and stir it well. Let it cook till the gravy is dried.
4. At this point if u want gravy u can mix corn flour with ¾ cup water and add it to the sauce. And you will have a thick gravy. 
5. Once done garnish with sesame seeds. Serve hot.

Yellow Rice

It was my in laws Wedding Anniversary and I completely got the dates mixed up. I had to make something with no pre plan. Then I decided to make Yellow rice and Chicken Teriyaki and salad. It turned out to be a good combination and loved by everyone at home.  Didn’t get time to make something sweet.

They our celebrating their 38^th anniversary. It’s just Wooow!! It’s a long journey and a great example for us to stand by each other no matter what we go through in life.  Happy or sad times to stick to each other and not to give up. My mum in law is a great pillar of strength in my life. She takes care of my kids with no questions asked. I’m truly blessed to have her.

 So here is the recipe for yellow rice.  It can be a good combination with any kind of side dish as its also rich in flavour. Yellow rice is a popular traditional dish in cuisines like Asian, Caribbean, Spanish, South African, among others. Its usually made by mixing white rice with saffron or turmeric to give off the yellow colour in the rice.

This is an easy and simple recipe and all the ingredients are readily available. I have made this in pressure cooker, you can also make this in an open pot.

 

          You will need

 

• 2 cups rice
• 1tbsp of turmeric powder (you can add saffron if you have it would give a better version of yellow rice)
• 2 tsp of ghee
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 3 star anise
• Few cloves
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 cup of coconut milk

 

1. Wash the rice and keep aside.
2. In the pressure cooker add the ghee and fry the cinnamon, star anise, cloves and bay leaf. Sautee for few minutes and add the rice.
3. Sautee for few mins and add turmeric powder and mix well. Then add the coconut milk and adjust water accordingly. Add salt and let the rice cook in the pressure cooker. I let 1 whistle go and let the steam go on its own.

Chicken Nachos

 I celebrated my birthday on 15th May and my friend Heena was celebrating her birthday on 14th. We decided to celebrate our birthdays together since it's lock-down and we cannot go out anywhere. And these gals got us a cake, oh boy ! oh boy! it was a crazy corona cake. I have uploaded the cake pic as well. 

I was surprised to see this cake as I never expected it. We had an amazing night with great food and drinks. Not bad for a lock-down birthday. Heena made this delicious Chicken Nachos. Personally, I don't like it because of the smell. But i did taste few bites and every bite was like a flavour of explosion! Everyone loved it ! this was the special dish of the night. 

I asked her if I could use her dish to blog and she gladly agreed, and here I am writing about the delicious Chicken Nachos. It's a great go-to snack - appetizer. And its EASY ! 

   You will need 

 

• ½ kg mince chicken
• ½ tsp salt or to taste
• ½ tsp chilli powder
• ½ tsp cumin
• ½ tsp paprika
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp oregano
• ¼ tsp pepper powder
• 2 tbsp butter
• ½ cup BBQ sauce
• 200 gm grated mozzarella cheese
• ½ cup onions diced
• ¾ cup tomatoes seeded and diced
• 1 packet of corn tortilla chips (Nachos)
• Coriander for garnishing

1. Preheat oven to 350 F
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper on a baking tray and set aside.
3. Mix together chili powder, cumin, paprika, garlic powder, pepper powder and oregano. Sprinkle them over the chicken tossing to coat and set aside.
4. Heat butter in a skillet add the chicken and cook till almost done.
5. Stir in BBQ sauce and continue cooking till sauce is mostly absorbed and chicken is done.
6. Now spread tortilla chips in a single layer on the baking tray.
7. Sprinkle with half the cheese add BBQ chicken and then sprinkle with remaining cheese.
8. On top add onions and tomatoes. (you can also add olives if you like)
9. Bake for 20 minutes and top it up with fresh coriander cut into small.

 

Serve immediately. You could keep the chicken ready and just before serving you can bake it and serve. Do try and let me know.

Baby corn curry

 

Baby corn is not a vegetable that I would buy regularly. When I went to the shop, I saw them fresh and nice and thought of making a stir fry but ended up making a gravy. I haven’t tried my hands on a curry before. But I should say that this turned out to be delicious. Everyone at home enjoyed it with some hot rice.

Its of less spice and simple, yet an easy recipe. The spices gives it a rich flavour and coconut makes it a great combination to make the curry thick and flavourful.

      You will need

• 100 gm baby corn
• 1 ½ cup grated coconut
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 cloves
• 2 cardamoms
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 2 tbsp oil
• Salt to taste

 

To be ground

• 1 onion sliced
• ½ cup coriander chopped
• 2 green chillies
• 1 tbsp grated coconut
• 3 garlic pods
• 1-inch ginger

 

1. Add about 2 cups of water to the 1 ½ cup coconut and blend it. Strain it through a strainer and get coconut milk. you can adjust the water according to the consistency or thickness of milk you want. 
2. Add corn flour and mix well and keep aside.
3. Grind all the ingredients on ‘to be ground,’ now add oil in a pan and fry the paste for 2 minutes.
4. Add the cinnamon, cloves and cardamoms and fry for few seconds, add lemon juice and mix well.
5. Finally add the corn, coconut milk and salt. Mix well and cook for 5 minutes in medium flame.

hope you try it and enjoy your meal.

Carrot and Egg sandwich

  

 Egg is a great source of protein. You will find loads of eggs in our house 😉 and my kids love egg and bread. At least twice a week we have bread and eggs as a meal.

 I remember my mum making this sandwich when we are small. Specially to schools and tea parties.  But she used to keep it in the fridge and takes it out before serving. She even used to cut it into small squares. I suddenly remembered and called my mum for the recipe. But I haven’t added one vegetable that she told and that was beetroot. Yes, you can add boiled beetroot as another layer. It will look very colourful. May be ill make this sandwich again 😉

 This can be used for a great evening snack or for a kid’s party.  Hope you enjoy it.  

 

      You will need

• 6 slices of bread 
• 2 boiled eggs
• 1 large carrot shredded
• 3 sliced cheese
• 1 tsp garlic butter
• Salt to taste
• 1 tsp pepper powder
• 1 tsp oregano
• Cheese spread or mayonnaise – to spread on the bread

 

1. First smash the eggs in a bowl into it add garlic butter, salt, pepper and oregano and mix well.
2. Next take the shredded carrot and in this you can add salt and pepper if u wish. you also can boil the carrot for about 3-4 minutes.
3. Now take one slice of bread and use cheese spread and add the mashed egg. Take another slice and then use cheese spread and add a slice of cheese and the add the carrot mixture and place in on top of the egg mixture and cover it up with another layer of bread slice.
4. Now you can put this on a sandwich maker or heat it on a tawa till golden brown and crusty.

  

Kerala style Beef roast

 

 

 

Beef is one of the most loved red meat in our house. Since its lock-down and we cannot go to our regular eateries we are missing beef so much. When it’s the weekend we end up eating beef curry, idiyappam, or sheekh kabab, or veal 😉 now since we are missing it so much it makes us buy beef every weekend. 

Since I’m a Sri Lankan and Kerala food is similar I enjoy eating Kerala food. I tried this Kerala beef roast or the Keralites call it as Beef Ularthiyathu. It's a Slow Roasted Beef in a spicy aromatic masala with coconut bites and Curry leaves.

Using coconut oil is recommended for all authentic Kerala food recipes. As it will give that proper taste of Kerala food. This beef roast was delicious and mouth-watering. If you love beef this is one dish to show off when you have those special parties at home, it’s a great dish that can be served.  

 

This dish reminds me of the travel diaries to Kannur and all we ate was beef in different ways, it was delicious food and a beautiful place with lots of greenery and beaches. That's why its called Gods own country and It reminded me of home.

     You will need

•          1kg beef
•          2 large onions
•          2-3 green chilies (slit)
•          1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
•          ¼ tbsp turmeric powder
•          1 tbsp red chili powder
•          1½ tbsp coriander powder
•          2 tbsp pepper powder
•          1 tsp meat masala
•          ½ tsp garam masala
•          4-6 sprigs curry leaves
•          ¼ cup coconut bites
•          a pinch of mustard seeds
•          salt (as required)
•          oil (as required)

 

 

 

1.    Clean and cut beef into cube shaped pieces and Cook the beef in a pressure cooker with salt, pepper powder, meat masala, and a little water just enough to cover the meat.

2.    Pressure cook 3 – 4 whistles. It all depends on the quality of beef we get.

 3.    Heat oil in a pan and splutter mustard seeds. Add curry leaves, onions, green chilies, and a little salt. Sauté until the onions turn golden colour.

4.    Add ginger garlic paste, sauté for a minute until the smell is gone.

 5.    Add spice powders; chili, coriander, turmeric, garam masala, and mix well. Make sure to turn the heat to a low while adding the spice powders, so that it does not burn.

6.    Remove the lid from the pressure cooker and transfer the cooked beef with the remaining water to the pan, mix well with the masala and cook on a medium flame until the gravy dries out. Stir the gravy occasionally while cooking, to prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Add salt as needed.

 7.    Meanwhile, heat a little oil in another pan and fry the coconut bites. As it starts to brown, add curry leaves and fry it along with the coconut bites until browned. Keep aside.

 8.    When the gravy dries out, reduce the flame to a low and sauté the beef in the pan for 10-15 minutes. Add the fried curry leaves and coconut bites and mix well together. Toss until the meat is brown -black and dried out completely.

Its best served hot with rice, parotta, naan or any kind of bread.

Egg pasta

Today I have made an Egg pasta. Its also called as macaroni. Everyone at home loves pasta, specially my kids. When I make this I ensure I add vegetables. Pasta can be made in different varieties. Its one of the most liked dishes among kids and I think all mums out there will agree on that.😊

 Most of the time I either make egg pasta or chicken pasta. And it doesn’t consume much of time. It’s a quick and easy recipe.

You can add cheese, sauce, cream to make it more tastier. In this recipe I have added both cheese and cream.  And it tasted great! This would be a  great recipe for school snacks box as well. 

You will need 

• 400gm  any pasta

• water to boil

• ½ tsp salt

• 2tsp oil 

• 3tsp butter

• 2 garlic pods, finely chopped

• 1 inch ginger, finely chopped

• 1 onion, finely chopped

• 2 carrots diced

• ½ cup corn ( I have used frozen one)

• 2 medium size green capsicum finely diced ( can use other colours)

• 6 eggs

• Salt to taste

• 2 tsp chilli flakes

• 2 tsp pepper powder

• 2 tsp oregano

• I have used grated mozzarella cheese

• 2tsp fresh cream

1. First boil the pasta as per instruction on the packet with enough water, salt and oil. 

2. Once it’s done drain the water and run through cold water so that the pasta doesn’t cook further. Add little butter and pepper and keep aside.

3. While pasta gets cooked in a pan sauté  ginger and garlic pods in butter. Then add onion and sauté till transculant.   

4. Now add the vegetables and cook them well. 

5. Once the vegetables are done add the eggs and stir fry till egg is cooked. Keep stirring occasionally as the egg will get burnt. 

6. Once it’s almost done add pepper powder, oregano, chilli flakes and salt to taste. 

7. Lower the flame and add cheese and fresh cream. 

8. Stir it well and switch off the flame. 

Pasta is ready to be served. 

Bitter gourd salad

 

 Bitter gourd is a vegetable that many people would not prefer as its bitter and doesn’t taste that great. Specially try giving it to kids 😊 Me n my hubby loves bitter gourd when its fried. Even I don’t like it in gravy.

 

 I remember my mom making this when we were kids and we didn’t like it much, but I slowly started enjoying it. My mum is one of the most amazing cooks in her family. Even her sister (my aunt) is a good cook. When you go home, to Sri Lanka and when they make you a proper Sri Lankan meal its heaven on earth.

 

 Bitter gourd has many names to it like, bitter melon, karela, karavila etc.  and its widely used in Asian countries in different dishes and it has its own health benefits.

 This is a simple salad that you can use in your daily meal. It’s a Sri Lankan style salad. Even the Keralite’s making it like this may be few ingredients will differ.

         

             You will need

•          2 bitter gourds
•         Oil for deep fry
•         1 medium size onion
•         1 medium size tomato
•         1 tbsp lemon juice
•         1 tbsp pepper powder
•         1 tsp salt
•       2 green chillies chopped into small

 

      1.   When you cut the bitter gourd immerse them in salt water and then drain out the excess water by squeezing it out.

      2.  Deep fry the bitter gourd till golden and crispy. Do not over fry it.

     3.   In a bowl add the onions and green chillies, and once bitter gourd is fried keep adding them into the bowl. In this way even the onions get soaked in the oil and taste good.

    4.   Once it’s done add pepper powder, lemon juice, tomato, salt and mix well.

 

  Its always better to serve this immediately as it tastes better and fresh as the bitter gourd will be crispy at this point.

Soya fried rice

I'm sure everyone at home is wondering what to make as it's yet the lockdown. I'm sure we ain't gonna forget this year ever. Something to remember for a very long time.

As u know I have fussy eaters at home and convincing everyone at the same time is mostly difficult. Yet I try my best to make food for everyone ones taste bud. 

Soya is my hubby's favorite. Its rich in protein as well. And I was fed up of eating egg most of the time I thought about soya and saw that I could do a fried rice.. I instantly like the idea 😉 so here is the recipe. 

You will need 

• 3 cup water, for boiling
• ½ tsp salt, for boiling
• 1 cup soya chunks
• ½ tsp ginger garlic paste
• ½ tsp kashmiri red chilli powder
• ¼ tsp salt
• 2 tbsp oil

FOR FRIED RICE:

• 2 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 1 chilli, slit
• 2 tbsp oil
• ½ onion, finely chopped
• 1 carrot, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp cabbage, finely chopped
• 1 capsicum, finely chopped
• 1 tsp Schezwan sauce
• 2 tbsp vinegar
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp pepper powder
•  salt to taste
• 2 cup cooked rice

INSTRUCTIONS

• First boil water and add the soya chunks with 1/2 TSP salt for 5 minutes. 
• Then squeeze and drain off the extra water of the soya.
• In a bowl add ginger garlic paste, chilli powder, salt along with the soya mix well and marinate for 30 minutes.
•  In a wok heat 2 tbsp oil and saute the marinated soya for 3 minutes making sure it turns crisp and cooked well.
• keep the fried soya aside.
• In the same wok heat 2 tbsp oil and stir fry the garlic pods, green chilli and onion saute for few minutes.
• Then add carrot, cabbage and capsicum.
• Stir fry on high flame without overcooking vegetables.
• Now add schezwan sauce, vinegar, soy sauce, pepper powder and salt.
•  Add the fried soya and stir fry till combined well.
• Now add the cooked rice and stir fry making sure all the sauce is well combined.

Hope you enjoy the meal.