Flavors of the South : Kerala Style Chicken Tomato Roast

Someone, somewhere seems to have a vendetta with Bangalore. We seem to have become quite the dumping ground for the impetuousness of our weather mother. In the last two months we have had the harshest of summers so far. And I have been sneezing almost the whole day, every single day, because it’s pollen time here! (thanks to the allergy streak that runs in our family!) Sneezing, feeling like a zombie by the end of the day, managing a home and of course most importantly entertaining a one and a half year old toddler who is now constantly throwing tantrums for absolutely nothing at all is not just tiring but leads to “Brain Freeze”!!! (Yes, yes I’m finding excuses to say I was busy and hence couldn’t blog for long! Lame but true!!!) But THANK GOD FOR THE RAINS!!! Hoping that the heat settles down and the cool pleasant weather that Bangalore is famous for gets back soon.

You can well imagine how super excited I am about today. Oh, how come, you ask? Well I’m blogging after nearly 3 months and I cannot tell you how happy I am to share this sumptuous recipe with all you beautiful people.

I wanted to share a lovely recipe for an easy and super tasty chicken roast that would be perfect for any occasion; you actually don’t even need an occasion to make this yummy dish. This is one of the first dishes I learnt after marriage and I don’t know how I missed sharing this with you all this while!! Silly me…

I like this dish because it is quick to put together; a no fuss recipe and loaded with flavor. Chicken marinated in spices and cooked in a thick coconut gravy, heavenly is all I can say! This succulent chicken dish is so deliciously tantalizing. And when teamed up with simple jeera rice, pulav or phulkas, it is simply irresistible.

So let’s get on to this delicious recipe. Cook it up for family and friends. Cook, share and feel happy. Enjoy!

Ingredients

1/2 kg Chicken

Ingredients for Marination

1/4 teaspoon Turmeric powder

1 teaspoon Red Chili/Kashmiri Chili powder

1 teaspoon Vinegar

Salt; to taste

Ingredients for Masala

3 large size Big Onion; finely sliced

1 tablespoon each of Ginger & Garlic paste

2 & 1/2 teaspoons of Coriander powder

1 & 1/2 to 2 teaspoons of Kashmiri Chili powder

1 teaspoon Garam masala

1/2 teaspoon Fennel powder

2 large Tomatoes; finely sliced

3/4 to 1 cup Thick Coconut Milk

Curry Leaves

Salt; to taste

Coconut oil or any Refined oil (refer notes)

Method of Preparation

Wash and clean the chicken pieces and make deep gashes in them. Marinate the cleaned chicken with ingredients listed under “Ingredients for Marination” and keep in the refrigerator for half an hour. (overnight marination provides best results)

Shallow fry the marinated chicken pieces till it becomes golden brown on either side & the chicken is half cooked. (refer notes) Remove the chicken pieces from the pan.

To the same pan, add the sliced onions & a pinch of salt. Cook till onions turn golden brown. Add the ginger & garlic paste and cook for about 3 to 4 minutes or till raw smell disappears. Throw in the coriander, red chilli, garam masala & fennel powders and fry for a few minutes till masala is cooked through. Add sliced tomatoes & curry leaves along with enough salt and mix well. When the tomatoes become soft and oil appears (add one or two splashes of water to get a nice paste like consistency), add the fried chicken pieces and give a good stir till the masala coats the chicken well. Now add the thick coconut milk and mix well. Cover and cook till the gravy is very thick. (15 to 20 minutes approximately) The chicken pieces should be succulent & coated well with the masala. This curry has a semi-thick gravy. Serve hot with plain rice/pulav/roti/appam.

Notes:

1. You can use any refined oil for this dish but honestly coconut oil enhances the flavor and lifts the dish to a whole new level. So it’s totally your call!

2. If you want to avoid excess oil usage, you can skip shallow frying the chicken. Directly proceed to cooking the marinated chicken pieces in a non-stick pan with very little oil and then adding this into the prepared tomato and onion masala with coconut milk.

Recipe Courtesy: Vanitha (with a few tweaks of my own!)

Kashmiri Style Chicken Curry

Hello February! I can't believe you are already here! January was such a whirlwind with most of the month packed with family visiting from far, get togethers and wedding celebrations and what not…! :)

I have not posted anything since a long time. Though I wanted to; just that fitting that into my schedule is a task! I have resolved innumerable times that I will not procrastinate... I will be regular... but things just never work as planned in my life, especially when this food blog is concerned. Though I did find a little time to do a quick post containing easy and healthy breakfast ideas for babies and toddlers and I hope these recipes help all those supermoms out there.

February is also a very happy month for me. Why?! Well there are a couple of reasons. :)

The First being, my recipe for Home-made Baked Chicken Nuggets was featured in the ‘Recipe of the Week’ section of Kids Directory. It definitely was a happy moment for me. For those of you who haven’t come across Kids Directory, here is a peek into what it’s all about:

Kids Directory is an online and offline guide catering to Bangalore families. It is an excellent resource directory solely dedicated to helping parents in Bangalore identify various resources and businesses that can be of benefit to their families.

They provide a wide range of information about schools, camps, childcares, products & services for children, retail stores, lessons, afterschool activities, family friendly events and restaurants in Bangalore, party planning, and a lot more. And what’s best, their publications are available for pick up at various locations spread across Bangalore for FREE! Yes, Mommies and Daddies, for free and they sure are valuable resources for us parents.

For more details on Kids Directory, please visit their website on the below link:

http://kidsdirectorybangalore.in/

Here is the link to my Recipe Feature in their Online publication:

http://kidsdirectorybangalore.in/2014/01/31/homemade-baked-chicken-nuggets-give-your-kid-one-and-hell-come-running-back-asking-for-more/

The Second reason for my joy is today’s post is my hundredth recipe post on my blog. So here I present my hundredth post with this awesome Kashmiri Style Chicken Curry. I have mostly covered food from Kerala, where I come from, however, making it a repertoire from around the world has been and still is my goal.

I am so happy you kept me company by encouraging, complimenting, flattering and just showing up. Without your support it would not have been such a great experience. Heartfelt thanks to my dearest family and friends who stood by me and pushed me to make this blog happen. And of course a big tight bear hug to the two most awesome people in my life, my Husband R– my bestie and my favorite little one year old – my Daughter M. Love you both to bits. :)

So today I'm doing a quick post, about a delicious dish I found in a magazine the other day. I just randomly picked up this magazine, flipped through the pages and found this simple chicken recipe and decided to give it a try.

This dish is a good, down-to-earth and homey style chicken preparation.

What I love about this recipe, besides it being a breeze to make, is that everything about it shouts out KASHMIR in capital letters. The aromatic spices, onion and thick tomato gravy clubbed with the rich taste of cashewnuts and raisins cannot get more Kashmiri.

This scrumptious chicken curry paired with a simple pilaf, plain steamed rice or rotis is one of the simplest and tastiest meals you can make. It can be served as a whole meal or added to the table as part of a more elaborate spread especially when you have a house full of hungry family and friends.

Let me just stop going on about it and get to the recipe. Hope you enjoy your ride to Kashmir with me!!

Ingredients

1/2 kg Chicken; cleaned & cut into medium size pieces

1 big size Red Onion; finely chopped

1/2 teaspoon Ginger; finely chopped

1/2 teaspoon Garlic; finely chopped

1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons of Kashmiri Chili powder (adjust as per spice tolerance)

1/4 teaspoon Turmeric powder

1 teaspoon Coriander powder

Salt; to taste

Refined Oil

1 to 2 Cardamom pods

1 to 2 Cloves

A medium size piece of Cinnamon stick

2 medium size Red Onions; finely sliced

2 medium size Tomatoes; finely chopped

4 to 5 teaspoons of Cashewnuts; fried & kept aside

1 to 1 1/2 tablespoon Raisins; fried & kept aside

Generous amount of Coriander leaves; finely chopped

Method

Grind together onion, ginger, garlic, chili, turmeric and coriander powders along with salt to a smooth paste. Marinate the chicken pieces with the ground paste and keep aside.

Heat oil in a wok and fry the spices. (cardamom, cloves and cinnamon) till raw smell disappears. Add the sliced onions and sauté till onions turn light brown. Now add the marinated chicken into it and sauté till pink color of chicken goes away.

Once the chicken is sautéed well, add the chopped tomatoes and stir well. Pour enough water into this and combine well. Check for salt at this time and add if necessary. Once this comes to a boil, turn down the heat to a gentle sim and cover and cook the curry till the chicken is cooked through and gravy has reduced. (this curry has a semi-thick consistency)

Once the gravy is nice and thick, switch off flame and add the fried cashewnuts, raisins and lots of fresh coriander leaves.

Voila! Chicken curry is ready, get ready to devour!

Recipe Courtesy: Vanitha

Kerala Chicken Roast

Winter is definitely making it's presence felt in Bangalore this time, haven't taken off my sweater for the past few days!

Holiday Season (December) is one of my favourite times of the year. Not withstanding all the shopping and good cheer and general upliftment of spirits, it is a time for unrestricted appeasement of the soul, viz., indulgence in the finest of food. And that the time coincides with Winter, when the natural instinct is burrow and fill up while bulky outwear help the cause by concealing any recent additional pounds, is only testament to the cosmic forces that come together in encouragement of the indulgence!

We had a great time with family this past week at our native place and I still haven't got rid of the hangover. So much love, so much happiness, and last but not the least so much food! Oh how I miss everyone back home. Can't wait for another get together!

I admit I have been quite out of the blog world when I should have been posting recipes for Christmas and New Years. And yes I was cooking and eating and could have probably taken some pictures and blogged. However I was feeling frozen in place with inactivity for some absurd, inexcusable reasons. Believing you will forgive my lack of visits to your blogs and enthusiasm in blogging generally, I have a recipe for this very tasty Chicken Roast.

I got the recipe for this yummy Chicken Roast from the magazine "Vanitha". We enjoyed eating it and hope you do too. Here's Goodbye to 2011 and a warm welcome to 2012! Wishing you all a happy, joyous and blessed New Year!

Ingredients

Chicken (cut into medium size pieces)- 1 kg

Kashmiri Chilli powder - 1 tbsp (heaped)

Pepper powder - 1 tbsp (heaped)

Cloves - 7

Cinnamon stick - 4 pieces

Fennel seeds - 1 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Garlic - 2 to 3 cloves

Shallots/Pearl/Small onions - 12

Couscous (Kuskus) - 1 tbsp

Big onion (finely sliced) - 2 (medium)

Tomato (diced)-  2 (medium)

Potato (sliced) - 2 (small)

Curry leaves - 2 to 3 sprigs

Salt - to taste

Oil

Method

Dry roast cloves, cinnamon stick, fennel seeds for a few minutes and keep aside. Grind together kashmiri chilli powder, pepper powder, dry roasted spices, turmeric powder, garlic, shallots/pearl/small onions and couscous (kuskus) into a smooth paste and keep aside.

Fry sliced potato along with curry leaves with a pinch of chilli powder and turmeric powder till potato turns crisp. Keep aside.

Heat oil in a wok and saut'e big onions till light brown. Add ground paste and saut'e for a few minutes. Add tomatoes and saut'e till it turns soft and oil separates. Now add the chicken pieces and necessary salt into it and mix well. Cover and cook till almost done. Once chicken is almost done, separate the chicken pieces from the gravy. Heat oil in a pan and shallow fry these chicken pieces till golden brown. Add these shallow fried chicken pieces into the gravy and cook on a low flame till gravy reduces and thickens and chicken is cooked well.

Once chicken is cooked well, switch off flame and arrange on serving plate. Garnish with fried potatoes and curry leaves. Serve hot with pulav/roti/plain rice.

Notes:

1. The original recipe does not have tomato in it. I have used it in the above recipe.

2. Soak Couscous (Kuskus) for 1/2 an hour before grinding.

Source: Vanitha

Chilli Beef to say "Happy B'day Reju" !

Dear Reju,

I wish for you to have people to love, people in your life who will care about you as much as I do. Happy Birthday dear!

Dear Readers,

My spirits are quite high today, it's my dearest hubby boy, Reju's birthday. I wanted to make something special for Reju to wish him on his Birthday and to let him know how special he is to me. And knowing his love for red meat (beef, mutton anything) I decided to make this yummy chilli beef dish. I hope you all will join me in wishing him a very happy Birthday.

This was my first attempt at making this dish and it turned out to be a success! Yippee!! And Reju, this recipe is specially for you. Love you... :)

Ingredients

Beef (cut into medium sized cubes) – 1/2 kg

Big Onion (sliced or diced) – 2

Capsicum (diced) - 1/2

Ginger (finely chopped) – 1 1/2 inch piece

Garlic – 7 cloves

Green chillies (chopped) – 4

Pepper powder – 2 tsp

Turmeric powder – 1 tsp

Curry leaves

Soya sauce – 2 tbsp

Tomato sauce – 1 tbsp to 2 tbsp

Cornflour – 1 tbsp

Oil – 2 tbsp

Garam masala – 1 tsp

Coriander powder – 2 tsp

Kashmiri Chilli powder – 1 tsp

Salt

Method

Grind garlic into a paste. Cook the beef with garlic paste, turmeric powder, kashmiri chilli powder, coriander powder, garam masala and salt. Once cooked, open the lid of the pressure cooker, remove ½ cup of the gravy/stock and keep aside. Reduce the remaining gravy/stock by cooking on a low flame.

Heat oil in a wok and sauté onions and capsicum till it turns soft and reduces in quantity. Add ginger, green chillies and curry leaves and saut’e till raw smell of ginger disappears. Stir till aroma spreads out. Add the cooked beef with pepper powder and sauces. Adjust salt.

Now mix cornflour with the gravy/stock that has been kept aside and add this to the dish. When it starts boiling, remove from fire and garnish with coriander leaves.

Serve hot with fried rice/chapathi/roti and loads of LOVE :)

Kerala Style Tomato Fish Curry

Kerala is a southern state in India bound by the Arabian Sea on it's west. This coastline is a beautiful state filled with lush greenery on all sides mainly comprising of tall coconut trees and the clear blue waters that add to our culture and unique cuisine. The variety of fish we enjoy from the sea our diverse and obviously holds an important part in Kerala cuisine. And thus that is why we see that a large population in Kerala are non-vegetarian, unlike most other states in India.

Personally, I like vegetarian food. I’m not too much of a meat eater unlike my hubby dearest who loves any kind of meat, be it chicken, beef or anything. But to me, fish is very 'vegetarian' because back home, fish was a part of our daily menu almost everyday. When I left for college and had to stay in a hostel (which was so much fun) I always missed my mum’s fish curry and fry. But I must say the food in that hostel was much better compared to other hostels. The fish fry, beef cutlets, chicken curry, gobi manchurian, everything was fantastic.

Today I want to share one of my favourite fish recipes, fish curry prepared with tomato and coconut milk. Fish like I said holds pride and a very important part in our cuisine and I promise you this dish makes the fish so tasty and juicy on the inside, it will leave you wanting more. Hope the taste will transport you to the breezy, coconut swaying coastlines of Kerala.

Ingredients

Fish - 1/2 kg (7 to 8 pieces approx)

Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp

Big Onions - 2

Tomato - 2 (big)

Ginger & Garlic paste - 2 tsp

Red Chilli powder - 1 tbsp; heaped (alter as per spice tolerance)

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Thin Coconut milk - 1 1/4 cup

Thick Coconut milk - 1/4 to 1/2 cup

Fenugreek powder (uluva podichathu) - 1/4 tsp

Coconut oil

Curry leaves - 2 sprigs

Salt - to taste

Method

Heat oil in a meen chatti (earthenware) or any wok and splutter mustard seeds. Add onions and saut'e till light brown. Once the onions have browned, add ginger & garlic paste and saute for a few minutes till raw smell goes away. Then throw in the red chilli powder and turmeric powder and saut'e till raw smell goes away. Sprinkle a little water to moisten the masala. Now add the tomatoes and salt and saut'e till oil floats. Add the thin coconut milk along with the fenugreek powder and let it boil. Once it starts boiling, add the fish pieces. Let it cook on a high flame for a few minutes and then switch over to  a low flame and let the fish cook till done and gravy reduces. Once the fish has been cooked well, add the thick coconut milk and stir for a few minutes. Do not let it boil too much. Garnish with fresh coconut oil and curry leaves. Serve with rice, chapathi or appam.

Source: Mama

Meen Vevichathu/Fish Curry - Kottayam Style

I still have such fond memories of my holidays I used to spend at my grand parent's home. The man on a black ferry (vanji/vallom) would paddle by the small river at the backside of our home selling fish and other goodies. We even used to travel by these ferries to homes on the other side of the river bank. I still remember running out of bed with tousled hair and a puffy morning face with other children to catch fish from this little river. They had a very fascinating method of fishing. It was called "Kudukka" which were coconut shells filled with bait sealed with cloth and a tiny hole in the middle. These were placed at different spots in the river and within a few minutes these "kudukka" 's would be loaded with a myriad of fresh water fish. Of course there were other kinds of fish too (caught by the hook or net) like mackarel, sardines etc...

I was also very fascinated by the way this fish used to be cleaned. My ammachi's (that's what I call my paternal grandma) help (Pennamma) used to sit on a low stool (called korandi) and clean the fish under ammachi's supervision and I would be squatted nearby listening to ammachi's interesting stories and closely watching them trim the fins and tail dexterously off the fish and laying them into a clean pot nearby. There would be so much cleaning, rubbing it on stone and then tossing it around in the pot with rock salt. Of course, nowadays we get all our fish cleaned, skinned and filleted as per requirement and making a fish curry these days is one of the easiest tasks one could do.

Meen Vevichathu or this style of fish curry is the most sought after dish at every home in Kerala. As you already know I am a huge fan of fish in any form and thus decided to make a nice spicy Kottayam style Fish Curry for lunch today. Meen Vevichathu, I must say makes me feel instantly at home. Here is a simple yet delicious fish curry my family makes often. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Ingredients

Fish - 1/2 kg (cut into medium size pieces)

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Fenugreek powder - 1/4 tsp

Ginger (finely chopped) - 1 inch piece

Garlic (finely chopped) - 8 to 10 cloves

Shallots/Small/Pearl onions - 10 to 12

Cocum/Kudampuli - 1 piece soaked in a little water for cleaning fish + 3 to 4 pieces (depending on sourness) soaked in 1/4 cup of water for cooking the fish

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Red Chilli powder - 1/2 tbsp

Kashmiri Chilli powder - 2 to 2 1/2 tbsp

Curry leaves - 2 sprigs

Coconut oil - 1 to 1 1/2 tbsp

Salt - to taste

Method

Wash and clean the fish with 1 piece of cocum/kudampuli soaked in water and keep aside. Mix turmeric powder and chilli powders with water to make a watery paste and keep aside. Heat the meen chatti (earthenware) or a pan and once hot pour oil into it. Splutter mustard seeds. Add chopped shallots/small/pearl onions, ginger, garlic and curry leaves and saut'e till onions become soft and the raw smell of the aromatics disappear. Now, add the masala paste and saut'e. Add about 3 to 4 splashes of water into this and keep frying till oil surfaces. Add a little more water and mix well. Then, add the soaked cocum/kudampuli along with the water and mix well. Add salt and bring it to a boil. When it starts boiling, add the fenugreek powder and stir well. At this time, add the fish pieces into it and cover and cook. When the curry starts boiling, cook for 1 or 2 minutes on a high flame and then reduce the flame to sim and cook the fish till done. (20 to 25 minutes approx) Make sure the gravy is thick. Serve with Rice or Kappa. (Tapioca)

Notes: The fish curry has to rest for a few hours before it is kept in the refrigerator. This helps enhance the flavour of the curry.

Source: Mom

Naadan Beef Curry

Beef has always been a big favourite among the Syrian Christian community in Kerala. No occasion is complete without a beef dish. Some of the best beef dishes hail from Kottayam, Tiruvalla and other parts of Central Kerala.

Today, I am sharing a beef curry which is extremely easy and yummy!

Enjoy!!!

Ingredients

Beef - 1kg

Turmeric - ½ tsp

Salt - to taste

Shallots chopped - 5 to 6

Big Onions chopped - 1  cup

Ginger Paste - 1 tbsp

Garlic paste - 1 to 1 ½ tbsp

Curry Leaves - 2 to 3 sprigs

Coconut Oil - 2 tbsp (I used Olive oil)

Meat Masala - 1 tbsp

Garam Masala - ½ tsp

Red Chilli powder - 1 tsp

Kashmiri Chilli powder - 1 tsp

Coriander powder - 1 tsp

Pepper powder - 1 tsp

Coconut pcs (Thengakothu) - ¼ cup

Tomato – 1

Method

Clean the beef and cut into small pieces. Marinate the beef with turmeric and salt and keep aside.

Pour oil in a pressure cooker and sauté the onions till they turn golden brown. Add ginger & garlic paste and sauté till raw smell is gone. Now, throw in all the spice powders and sauté for a few minutes. Now, add the tomatoes and sauté till oil separates. Then, add marinated beef along with the coconut pieces (thengakothu) into this and combine everything well. Add curry leaves and about 3/4^th cup of water and cook upto 3 whistles on a high flame and keep on a low flame for about 15 to 20 minutes. (Depending on cooking time of meat)Open the pressure cooker when the steam is completely released. If there is excess water, reduce it by keeping it on a medium flame till you get the right consistency.

Serve with Rice/Roti/Kerala Porotta.

Source: My Mama