Aloo ka Raita

Yoghurt is always a must at home with any meal. Yesterday I made this simple raita for dinner and we loved it. Very refreshing and wholesome. I love the "khatta-meetha" blend in some of the dishes and this raita is a perfect example of the same. The tanginess of the spices and sweetness of sugar makes this dish lip smacking good. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Potatoes (boiled, peeled & diced) - 2 cups

Yoghurt - 2 cups

Salt -to taste

Black Pepper powder - 1/4 tsp

Cumin powder (roasted) - 1 to 2 tsp

Red Chilli powder - 1/4 tsp

Coriander leaves (chopped) - 2 tbsp + little more for garnish

Sugar - 1/2 tsp

Method

Beat the yoghurt till smooth and pour into the serving dish. Add salt, black pepper powder, 1/2 of the cumin powder and coriander leaves to the potatoes and mix well. Transfer this potato mix into the yoghurt and garnish with rest of the cumin powder, red chilli powder, sugar and coriander leaves. Serve chilled.

Source: NDTV Good Times

Carrot Milk Shake

Surprised?! Well, it's true. This is probably one of the healthiest milk shakes I have ever had. I am usually not too big on milk shakes. But to day when I was chatting with my mom-in-law, she gave me this idea of an absolute healthy milk shake. I was thrilled and decided to try it today itself. And I must say it is healthy.

My lovely mom-in-law, Amma is a fabulous cook and I normally refer to her as "Express Cook" to others. She is so fast and doesn't waste any much time in the kitchen. I like that! I don't believe in slogging in the kitchen the whole day when you can do other fun things too. Cooking is all about fun, and what makes it fun is quick and easy cooking. My mom-in-law is a wizard at easy cooking. She gives me fun tips which reduces a lot of load in the kitchen. A lot of her cooking and dishes have inspired me and this post is dedicated to her. This is quite an easy drink and a no brainer. However I decided to write about it because if you are like me, you will be inspired to try something very healthy once in a while!

This recipe is for 1 glass/serving. Here is the recipe.

Ingredients

Carrots (grated) - 1 big

Chilled Milk - 3/4 of a glass

Crushed Ice - few

Honey - to taste

Method

Grind the carrot into a smooth paste by adding a little milk. Now whip this mixture with the rest of the milk, ice and honey. Garnish with fresh cream and a piece of carrot or however your imagination leads you. Enjoy!

Notes: For the healthier version, I have used skimmed milk and honey.

You can use full-fat milk instead of skimmed milk and sugar instead of honey.

Source: My Amma

Crispy Chicken

Ingredients

Chicken - 10 pieces

For Marinade

Green Chilli sauce - 1 tbsp

Tomato sauce - 1 tbsp

Chilli Garlic sauce - 1 tbsp

Soya sauce - 1/2 tbsp

Pepper powder - 1 tsp

Salt - to taste

For Batter

Maida - 1/2 cup

Corn flour - 1/2 cup

Red chilli powder - 1/4 to 1/2 tsp (as per spice tolerance)

Eggs (beaten) - 1 (optional)

Salt - to taste

Pepper - 1/4 to 1/2 tsp

Ajinomoto - a pinch

Water - just enough to for a semi-thick batter

Method

Make gashes in the chicken and marinate the chicken pieces with the ingredients mentioned under marination. Keep aside for 2 to 3 hours. (if you are keeping it overnight, keep it in the refrigerator)

Make a semi-thick batter with the ingredients mentioned under batter. Heat oil in a wok. Once the oil is hot and bubbling, dip the chicken pieces in the batter and deep fry till golden brown. Serve piping hot as a starter or as a side-dish to go with some lovely rice or noodles.

Source: Mom

Chicken Soup for the soul!

My style of cooking is keeping it simple, fresh and maintaining a balance in a dish. This simple and refreshing chicken soup is a classic example of such cooking. I always enjoy a hot chicken broth at any time of the day, it keeps makes me feel fresh and healthy because of the nice balance of veggies and chicken/meats in it. Of course you can always make a good veggie soup with the same recipe by just omitting the chicken/meats in it.

So here goes the recipe.

Ingredients

Chicken (cooked & shredded) - 1/2 to 3/4 cup

Chicken stock - 1 cup

Garlic (crushed) - 3 to 4 cloves

Shallots (crushed) - 5 to 6

Carrot - 1 (small)

Cabbage - 2 to 3 leaves

Cauliflower - 3 to 4 florets

Salt - to taste

Pepper - 1 tsp

Oil - 1/2 tbsp

Spring onions

Water - as required (depending on quantity required. That is, if you are adding 1 cup/bowl stock, then you need to add 3 cups/bowls of water to get 4 bowls of soup)

Method

Heat oil in a cooking pot and sauté garlic and shallots for about 2 to 3 minutes on a low flame. Add chicken stock and water and let it boil. When it comes to a boil, add carrot, cabbage and cauliflower and close to cook for a few minutes. Once the veggies have been cooked, add the cooked chicken along with pepper, salt and ajinomoto and cover and cook for about 1 minute on a medium flame and 1 or 2 minutes on a low flame with the lid open. Finally, add the spring onions, cook for a minute or two and switch off flame.

Notes: Cook the chicken with salt, pepper and a small piece of ginger because ginger enhances flavour of the stock.

Soto Ayam

Authentic chinese food is always so colourful and looks exotic. My love for this food though goes beyond the colour and how it looks. I am addicted to chinese food! But to tell you the truth, I haven't really experimented much with chinese food in my kitchen because the one or two times I tried, it wasn't very successful :(

This dish though is not an authentic chinese dish, more of a chinese-malay dish, but has it's origin from Malaysia. This was something my mom used to make on a weekend. Weekends were the time when she would always cook something special for us, oh and I must say, she used to cook up a storm. We used to just gobble up all that she made and this was one dish we all loved. My mom grew up in Brunei and spent a lot of wonderful years there as a young girl. She always had such interesting stories to tell us about the Sultan of Brunei, the lovely people and of course most importantly the yummy food! Her descriptions of the food was so mouth watering! She would talk about the umpteen number of small open air food stalls which would serve food ranging from hot soups with wantons to delicious spicy noodles and different varieties of rice. Food in Brunei has got a lot of influence from Malaysia because the Malay population constitutes a large part of the population there. (atleast at the time when my mum was there) So this dish is a re-creation of the Soto Ayam my mom used to enjoy at the busy open air food stalls there with a few changes here and there! In a nutshell, her version of Soto Ayam. And she definitely nailed it, I must tell you.

This dish is usually served with a simple chicken soup, white rice (basmati rice) and crispy chicken (batter fried chicken). The chicken soup is poured into the rice with a dash of soy sauce and eaten with the rest of the accompaniments and this is a complete balanced meal.

Light and full of flavour, this dish is an absolute hit. I know you only have my word to go by but try it for sure, you will not be disappointed.

Ingredients

Chicken (cooked & shredded) - 250 gms

Chicken stock - 3 to 4 tbsp

Dry red chillies - 4 to 5

Garlic - 5 to 6 cloves

Shallots - 5 to 6

Ginger - 1/2 inch piece

Pepper - as per spice tolerance

Salt - to taste

Ajinomoto - a pinch

Spring Onion - small bunch

Method

Pound garlic, ginger, shallots and dry red chillies and keep aside.

Heat oil in a wok and add dry red chillies, garlic, ginger, shallots and turmeric. Saut'e until onions turn light brown. Add the cooked chicken along with pepper and salt and saut'e for a few minutes. At this stage, add the chicken stock and cook on a low flame for a few minutes. Finally, add a pinch of ajinomoto and spring onions and toss for a few more minutes and switch off the flame.

Serve with basmati rice, chicken soup and crispy chicken.

Notes: Cook the chicken with pepper, salt and a piece of ginger because ginger enhances the flavour of the chicken as well as the stock.

Source: My Mom

Kerala Pepper Chicken

I am just the loving the weather out here in Bangalore, cool weather with occasional stormy rains, wow! I hope you are enjoying good weather where ever you are as much as I am. This morning, enjoying the cool breeze and bright sunlight finding it's way through the balcony and with some of my favourite music playing, I cooked. Have you ever tried cooking with music? It's wonderful.

So what did I cook? I made Kerala Pepper chicken, Kovakka Mezhukuperatti and Moru Kachiyathu.

Now, getting down to the recipe. I got this recipe from one of the cookery shows I watched sometime back. This Kerala Pepper Chicken is so scrumptious and extremely diverse because it goes well with rice, parathas, Kerala porottas and what not. And what makes it even more attractive is the simplicity of this dish. I promise you, you can't go wrong with this!

Every time I make this dish, we lap it up like we have been starving for days. So go ahead and try this and enjoy!

Ingredients

Chicken - 1 kg

Big Onions (diced) - 6

Tomato (diced) - 3

Green chillies - 6 to 8 (as per spice tolerance)

Crushed pepper corns - 3 tsp

Ginger & Garlic paste - 2 tsp

Garlic (crushed) - 6 to 8 cloves

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Curry leaves - 2 to 3 sprigs

Salt - to taste

Coconut oil

Method

Make gashes in the chicken and marinate it with crushed pepper, ginger & garlic paste, turmeric powder and salt. Keep aside for 1 or 2 hours. Pressure cook the chicken for 1 whistle. Heat oil in a wok, and saut'e green chillies, crushed garlic, curry leaves, onions and turmeric until onions turn golden brown. Throw in the tomatoes and saut'e till oil separates. Now, add the cooked chicken pieces and let it cook on a low flame till gravy is dry.

Notes: In case you have stock left after cooking the chicken in the pressure cooker, pour it towards the end while preparing the dish.

Kovakka (Ivy Gourd) Mezhukuperatti

Choru (Rice), Thoran (Veggie stir fried with coconut), Mezhukuperatti (veggie saute'ed/fried in oil), a non-veg dish and a curry constitutes a typical Kerala meal. Yummy! I enjoy a lovely Kerala meal anytime of the day. It's simple but there is something about it that makes you want to eat it again, again and again...! I actually enjoy making the normal rice and curry. (doesn't sound too exciting, I know)

I particularly love veggies and am not a hard core non-vegetarian. I can go all veggie at anytime but always end up cooking a non-veg dish too because my hubby, "the foodie" loves non-veg.

This veggie dish is an all time favourite of mine because I love Kovakka (Ivy Gourd) in any form! And like we treat most veggies in our cuisine, I sauteed this tasty veggie. It's safe to say it's universally preferred! The delectable flavours of this dish comes from the coconut oil, onions and chillies used in it.

Hope you enjoy this simple dish.

Ingredients

Kovakka/Ivy Gourd (sliced) - 3 cups

Big Onion (sliced) - 2 (medium size) {or small onions - 9 to 10}

Garlic - 7 to 8 cloves

Curry leaves - 2 to 3 sprigs

Red chilli powder - 3/4 tsp

Pepper powder - 1/2 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Salt

Coconut oil - 2 tbsp

Method

Take a cooking pot and add all the ingredients (except coconut oil) into it along with 2 to 3 sprinkles of water. Cover and cook till done.

Now heat oil in a non-stick pan and saut'e/stir fry the vegetable till light brown.

Now wasn't that quick?!! :)

Source: Mama