Prawns Piyazi masala

I was working till the end of this Saturday and was completely drained out. Hubby wanted to take me out for lunch but I was in no mood to step out. I just wanted to languish in a cozy corner of my home, eating and resting. As I was craving for sea food, Mr. K got both prawns and fish. For me rejuvenating also meant some soulful cooking and binge eating. So I went to the Kitchen to churn out dishes that would be high on taste quotient and low on labor quotient. I prepared simple crunchy fish fry out of fish and Prawns Piyazi masala out of prawns.

I was actually making Prawns Piyazi masala the second time. The first time I made, it was for my parents and unexpectedly it came out really well. I loved this recipe much more as it was made in a jiffy and succeeded in pleasing my parents specially my father. So when you are in a hurry but yet want to give your prawns that unique treatment try out this recipe and I can vouch that you will be happy with the results.  

Prawns Piyazi masala

Serves: 3 to 4 persons

Ingredients: 

Prawns- 750 gms.

Marinate the prawns with the following ingredients:

Turmeric powder- 2 tsp.

Ginger-garlic paste- 3 tsp.

Lemon juice- 3 tsp.

Chili powder- ½ tbsp.

Rice flour- 1 tbsp.

Salt to taste

For the Piyazi masala

Onions (Small) – 7 (Finely sliced)

Ginger garlic paste- 1 tsp.

Chili powder- ½ tbsp.

Garlic- 20 cloves (finely chopped)

Green chilies-4 (slit length-wise)

Salt to taste

Oil- 2 tbsp. + 1 tbsp.

Procedure: 

Wash the prawns well and discard any extra water. Then marinate the prawns for about 30 minutes with the above mentioned ingredients. Take a pan and heat 2 tbsp. oil, add prawns, then cover and fry the prawns over medium flame for about 4 -5 minutes. Once the prawns are half done remove it from the pan and keep it aside. 

In the same pan heat 1 tbsp. oil, add garlic and when slightly browned add onions, green chilies, salt and keep on frying till it turns translucent. After that add ginger-garlic paste and red chili powder. Fry the onion for another 2 minutes. After that add the half cooked prawns and mix it well into the onion masala. Cover and cook for another 4-5 minutes or till the prawns are done. Our simple and spicy prawns piyazi masala is ready.

Notes:

Adding rice flour is very crucial to this dish as it gives a unique flavor to this dish.

Do not overcook the prawns otherwise it would be hard and rubbery.

Chicken koftas in walnut gravy

I love cooking so much because I love eating much more. So, even when I have to follow an elaborate process for a simple dish, I lovingly do so for the ultimate burst in my mouth that makes my heart smile. So here is a simple Chicken Koftas in walnut gravy that will take time to prepare but taste is going to make you feel happy in and out.

I love chicken in all avatars and I will keep on saying this time and again. I conceptualized the idea behind the recipe when I saw that charred powdered walnuts was used as a special flavoring for a gravy in a cookery show. I rarely get chicken mince to home. But for those rare times, I do make an effort to create unique dishes. So, this time I decided to play around with the nutty flavor of walnut with purely Indian gravy base. The outcome was a rich, creamy and nutty gravy floating around the soft juicy chicken kofta.

Chicken koftas in walnut gravy

Serves- 3 to 4 persons

Ingredients: 

For Koftas

Chicken mince- 350 gms

Marinate the mince with the following ingredients

Lemon juice -1tsp.

Onion (medium)- 1 finely chopped

Mint leaves- handful finely chopped

Coriander leaves – handful finely chopped

Garam masala- 1 tsp.

Coriander powder - ½ tbsp.

Roasted cumin- chilly powder- ½ tbsp.

Ginger-garlic paste- 2 tsp.

Green chili- 1 finely chopped

Besan- 3tbsp.

Salt to taste

Oil for deep frying

Marinate for an hour and wet your hands to form balls out of the mince

The above the mentioned quantity would make 12 large kofta balls.

For the walnut gravy

Onions (medium)-2 chopped, boiled and blended

Tomato (large)- 1 chopped and blended

Ginger garlic paste- 2 tsp.

Coriander powder- 1½  tbsp.

Cumin powder – 2 tsp.

Chilly powder -½ tbsp.

Turmeric powder- ½ tsp.

Walnuts- boiled for 4 minutes and blended with 1 tbsp. milk.

Mint leaves- 1 tbsp.

Coriander leaves- 1 tbsp.

Odia garam masala- 1 tsp.

Green chilies-2

Oil- 1 tbsp.

Salt to taste

Ingredients for tempering

Cinnamon- 1’’ inch

Cardamom- 2

Cloves- 4

Bay leaf- 1

Serves-2 -3 people

Procedure:

Firstly, deep fry the chicken kofta balls. Remove from heat and keep aside. Heat oil in a pan and add the ingredients for tempering. After it splutters and you feel a nice aroma, add the blended onion paste. Cook cover for 5 minutes, and then add the ginger –garlic paste and cook for another 3 minutes. Then finally, goes the blended tomato paste along with coriander- cumin- chilly and turmeric powder. Cook the masala well and after the raw smell of the spices disappear. Add the pureed walnut-milk paste. Cook covered for five minutes. After the masala is ready add water and salt, bring it to a boil and simmer it for 5-8 minutes. Then add the finely chopped mint and coriander leaves, the odia garam masala and the koftas. Give it all a final stir and switch off the gas.

Chicken koftas in walnut gravy tastes best with some naan or pulao.

Cheesy chicken paranthas

Comes winter and the craving for hot stuffed paranthas increases. My Mom makes the yummiest “aloo paranthas” and I have strong feeling that they are even much better than the ones I had in Delhi’s famous “paranthawali gali”. Am I biased? Well, being a foodie I have developed related level of objectivity in my appreciation and criticism of all the delicacies I get to taste.

I am going to share the recipe for “Cheesy chicken paranthas” that I had made as part of special Sunday dinner sometime back. It was my first try with chicken Paranthas and they turned out to be extremely flavorful and soft. The inclusion of cheese and spices makes it different and obviously yum. So, if you are looking out for the opportunity to be stuffed with paranthas, then you may well try out my version of “Cheesy chicken paranthas”.

Cheesy chicken paranthas

Serves: 2 to 3 persons

Ingredients: 

For parantha dough

Multigrain or whole wheat atta- 2 cups

Water as required

Salt to taste

For chicken stuffing

Chicken (boneless) - 150 gms (approx.)

Onion (medium)- 1 (finely chopped)

Coriander leaves- 1 tbsp (finely chopped)

Green chilies- 2 (finely chopped)

Garam masala- 3 tsp

Chaat masala- 2tsp

Black pepper powder- 3 tsp.

Tomato ketchup- 1 tbsp.

Cheese (grated) - ½ cup

Salt to taste

Oil- 2 tsp

For Paranthas

Ghee- in a small bowl

Atta- in a small bowl

Procedure:

For dough-Make soft dough using multigrain atta, salt and water. After kneading, let the dough rest for 30 minutes.

For chatpata cheesy chicken stuffing- Boil boneless chicken in salted water for 15 minutes or till done. Strain the chicken and let it cool. The chicken stock you get can be used in making gravies. After the chicken has cooled down, shred the chicken into smaller pieces. After that, heat oil in a pan, add the onions, green chilies and sauté it well. Then add chicken, garam masala, chaat masala, salt and coriander leaves. Fry it for 2 minutes and then add tomato ketchup and black pepper powder. Fry for another 1 minutes and take it off stove. Now add the cheese and give it a good mix. Now make 6 equal sized small balls of the stuffing and keep it aside.

For paranthas- Take small portion of dough and roll it into big lemon sized balls. Roll it into a small round disc. Now adjust the disc into the palm of your hands in form of a cup. Place the stuffing ball inside the cupped round discs. With very light hands seal the edges and again form a ball. Now dip the roundels in atta and again roll it out into a big round parantha. Be careful to roll it out with very light hands otherwise the stuffing may come out from the paranthas. Heat the tawa on medium flame. Once hot add the rolled out paranthas. Lightly roast one side, then flip it and add ghee on all corners and top. Once it is browned on both the sides, remove it from the tawa.

Chatpata cheesy chicken paratha tastes best with boondi ka raita.

Notes:

Don’t overcook/roast the paranthas otherwise it may turn hard.

The stuffing is spicy so you may reduce the quantity of black pepper used.

I have avoided adding oil while preparing the dough. But if you prefer you may add little of oil to prepare the dough.

Chicken Sukha Oriya style

It’s getting colder here in Bangalore and the winter is making its presence felt more strongly with each passing day. Last evening, Hubby suddenly complains of sore throat and cold. I am surprised, as he was all fine in the morning. I give him ginger tea, we have an early dinner and I go to sleep while he sits engrossed in TV. Today morning, like a baby he comes and confides “this all happened (bad cold) because I took bath in cold water last evening”. Like an infuriated mother I gave him a heavy dosage of scolding for his carelessness. Well, Bangalore climate is such that I use hot water for bathing almost all the year round and see what this man has done. I calm down and decide to prepare a comforting lunch for hubby-baby.

Then I zeroed down my mind search on Chicken Sukha. I make up my list of ingredients and then process of cooking. It is only after the final taste that churns out, I realize that this tastes exactly the way the chicken is prepared in most of the marriages back home. So, I end up naming it “Chicken Sukha Oriya style” Hubby liked it a lot and like an obedient child has taken medicines and is resting. Hopefully he gets well soon!! For all the those who want a warm and comforting chicken recipe “Chicken Sukha Oriya style” is for you.

Chicken Sukha Oriya style

Serves: 5 to 6 persons

Ingredients:

Chicken- 1 Kg

Marinate chicken with the following ingredients:

Curd- 200 gms

Turmeric powder- 2 tsp.

Chili powder- 1 ½ tbsp.

Lemon juice- 2 tsp.

For the Sukha masala

Onion masala:

Onions (large) - 3 (finely sliced)

Coriander leaves along with stems- 3 tbsp. (chopped)

Garlic- 20 cloves

Ginger- 1 ‘’ inch (chopped)

Coconut masala:

Copra or dry coconut powder- 6 tbsp.

Cinnamon- 2’’ inch stick

Black cardamom- 2

Green cardamom- 6

Cloves- 8

Dry masalas:

Black pepper powder- 1 tsp.

Saunf powder- ½ tsp.

Elaichi powder- ½ tsp.

Oil- ½ tbsp. + 1 ½ tbsp.

Salt to taste

Procedure:

 Wash and marinate the chicken with the above mentioned ingredient for about 1 hour. Heat about ½ tbsp. of oil in a Kadhai and add onions. Fry the onions well with some salt till translucent. Once the onion is done take it out and add the coriander stems, garlic and ginger to it. We do not cook the rest of the ingredients with onion. Now in another pan take copra, cinnamon, cloves, Green cardamom, black cardamom and cloves. Dry roast it under low flame till nicely browned. Take it off stove and let it cool. After that take onion masala and coconut masala along with some water and ground it into a fine paste.

Next heat 1 ½ tbsp. of oil in kadhai, add the marinated chicken pieces with salt and cook over high flame. Cover and cook the chicken cook in its own juices for 15- 20 minutes. Then add the coconut-onion mix masala paste and stir it well. Now reduce the heat to medium flame. Cover and cook till the raw smell of the masala disappears. Then add saunf powder, black pepper powder and elaichi powder. At this stage you have two options, either you may add little add to give it gravy form or like me dry up the masala for the chicken “sukha” avatar.

Notes:

If you like you may fry the garlic, ginger and coriander along with onions.

This a spicy chicken recipe, if you may reduce the quantity of chili powder used according to your preference.

Chicken Shepherd's pie with desi twist

How can "chicken" be a shepherd’s pie? It can be because “I” wanted it to be so. Being a hardcore “chickenterian”, I tried to give chicken a different casserole avatar with the fusion of Italian and Indian flavors . The result was pure deliciousness and we devoured it with all love and lust. In my recipe, I have attempted to add veggies and my all-time favorite potatoes. Though the recipe may look like a long process, you just need to be organized in your preparation and then it would seem easy. So do try it for special Sunday brunch and enjoy!!

Chicken Shepherd's pie with desi twist

Serves: 3 to 4 persons

Ingredients:

Potatoes (medium) - 4(sliced into thin roundels)

Chicken mince- 450 gms

Carrots- 3 (finely chopped)

Mushrooms – 1 ¼ cup (finely chopped)

Sweet corn- 1 small bowl

Capsicum (medium) - 1 (finely chopped)

Onions (medium)-2 (finely chopped)

Garlic- 3 tbsp. (finely chopped)

Oregano- 2 tbsp.

Black pepper-2 tbsp. + 1 tbsp.

Marinara sauce- 3 tbsp.

Tomato ketchup- as preferred

Turmeric powder- ½ tsp.

Garam masala- 3 tsp.

Mozarella+ processed cheese-1 ½  cup

Coriander leaves- 4 tbsp.

Oil- 3 tbsp. + 2 tsp.

Salt to taste

Procedure :

 Heat 1 tbsp. oil in a pan and add the chicken mince and salt. Cover and cook till the water has dried up. Then add oregano and black peeper powder (1 tbsp.), cover and cook till done. Meanwhile in another pan take about 1 tbsp. oil, add garlic and after it is fried add, onion. Sauté it for 2 minutes and then add carrots, capsicum, mushroom. Cover and cook for another 3 minutes. Then add sweet corn, marinara sauce and black pepper powder (1 tbsp.). Cover and cook till it’s done. After that heat about 1 tbsp. oil, add the sliced potato roundels, salt and turmeric powder. Cover and cook till the potatoes are fried on both sides.  

Now it is time for assembling all of them in a casserole. Take a baking dish, massage about 2 tsp oil in the dish. Firstly, layer the fried potatoes, then vegetables, corn and mushroom. Cover it with a layer of cheese. Sprinkle some garam masala, tomato ketchup and coriander leaves. Then layer it with chicken mince and cheese with some garam masala, tomato ketchup and coriander leaves. Follow the process and end with a layer of fried potatoes on the sides and lots of cheese with coriander leaves, tomato ketchup and garam masala. Pre-heat the oven at 180 degree Celsius and bake for 15-20 minutes.

 Chicken Shepherd's pie with desi twist tastes best with some hot soup and garlic bread.

Notes:

Marinara sauce has strong tangy flavor, so I suggest using tomato ketchup as per your preference.

I have used tinned button mushrooms in this recipe.

I have used lot of cheese as I like it that way. You may reduce the quantity of cheese if you don’t like it way too cheesy.

Chicken 65

With parents I never feel that I am a grown up and that too a married woman. I still feel like a teenager with bursting temper and unreasonable demands. I may have been upset with them for umpteen number of times but I always felt the aura of their abundant and self-less love all around me. I have been staying away from home for many years now and we do struggle to get our quality time together as a family. My husband understands my secret desire to be with them. So in his own way he tries to bring us together every year. Indeed, I am heavily blessed that my husband loves my family equally.

My father is a busy man and since childhood we have always seen him like that. But age doesn’t seem to have slowed him down. He still works passionately and untiringly. Life has been tough and his calmness keeps on surprising me. Now I am fast progressing towards completion of second year of my married life and now it’s the first time that he is coming to see me, him and our world far away. For this memorable day, I decided to make one of my fav chicken dishes- Chicken 65. I have avoided egg in this recipe as papa is allergic to eggs. But the exclusion of egg doesn’t make it any less tasty. They loved it and here is my recipe for the mysteriously named Chicken 65.

Chicken 65

Serves: 3 to 4 persons

Ingredients :

Marinate the chicken with the following ingredients:

Chicken- 500 gms (boneless and cut into bite size pieces)

Lemon juice- 3 tsp.

Chili powder- 3 tsp.

Black pepper powder- 1 tsp.

Turmeric powder- ¼ tsp.

Ginger-garlic paste- 1 tbsp.

Rice flour - 1 ½ tbsp.

Salt to taste

For Special 65 wala tadka

Curd- 1 cup

Garlic- 4 tsp. (finely chopped)

Ginger- 3 tsp. (finely chopped)

Green chilies- 3 (slit into halves)

Curry leaves- 3 small spring

Coriander powder- 1 tsp.

Kashmiri chili powder- 2 tsp

Chili powder- ¼ tsp.

Black pepper powder- ¼ tsp.

Turmeric powder- ¼ tsp.

Oil- 2 tsp. + oil to deep fry

Salt to taste

Procedure:

 Marinate the chicken with the above mentioned ingredients for marination except rice flour and salt for 1 hour. Meanwhile take curd, turmeric powder, kashmiri chili powder, chili powder and coriander powder. Whisk the curd well and keep it aside. Now heat oil in a Kadhai, and on the other side add rice flour and salt to the chicken and mix everything well. Make sure that the chicken pieces are well coated with rice flour. Now deep fry the chicken over low medium flame till crisp from outside and cooked inside. It may take about 2-3 minutes. Take care not to overcook the chicken otherwise it may turn hard. Strain the fried chicken and keep it aside.

Take about 2 tsp. oil in a pan and once hot add garlic, ginger and green chilies. Fry it for few seconds till fragrant. Then add curry leaves and fry for few seconds. Then add the curd mix and stir continuously to avoid curdling. Cook it for few minutes. Then pour in the chicken pieces and continue cooking till the curd is reduced and the chicken pieces are well coated. Do cook over high flame till done. Sprinkle black pepper powder and serve hot.

Chicken 65 tastes best with Biryani or roti.

Notes:

If you like egg, it may be used in the marination. Along with it do add some corn flour for giving the chicken pieces an even coating of the egg.

The recipe is high on spice level, so you may reduce the amount of chili powder used to your preference.

I forgot to add mustard seeds in the tadka, so if you want you may add about 1/4 tsp. of mustard seeds.

Apollo fish fry

It has been kind of a long break that I took. Well, I was quite busy with both my professional and personal life. God I wish I was good at multi-tasking, but alas I like to take up things slowly and mostly one at a time. I do panic when I have too many commitments to fulfill within a very short span of time. But then life is all about progressing, so here is what I have improved at. Last night when I was cooking, I realized that I have become much faster in completing my daily cooking chores. I was all smiles at the very self-appreciation moment.

Now coming to the “Apollo fish fry”, it is one of the best tasting Andhra fish recipes that I have tried so far. One bite into the "Apollo fish fry" you will taste the amazing mix of spiciness-sourness-crunchiness and tenderness. So whenever you manage to get some boneless fish, try it out for the very spicy and yummilicious treat.

Apollo fish fry

Serves: 3 to 4 persons

Ingredients:

Boneless fish- 500 gms

Marinate with the following ingredients:

Ginger-garlic paste- 1 tbsp.

Turmeric powder- ½ tsp.

Chili powder- 2 tsp.

Lemon juice- 2 tsp.

Pepper powder- ½ tsp.

Egg-1

Salt to taste

For frying

Oil to shallow fry

Maida- 2 tbsp.

Rice flour- 2 tbsp.

For tadka

Curd- ½ cup

Coriander powder- 2 tsp.

Kashmiri lal chili powder- 1 tsp.

Black pepper powder- ½ tsp

Garlic- 4 tbsp. (finely chopped)

Ginger- 1 tbsp. (finely chopped)

Curry leaves- 1 spring

Green chilies- 4 (sliced)

Coriander leaves- 2 tbsp. (finely chopped)

Soya sauce- 1 tsp

Red chili sauce- 2 tsp.

Oil- 1 tbsp.

Salt to taste

Procedure:

Clean fish properly and strain out any excess water. Then marinate the fish with the above mentioned ingredients for 30 minutes. Heat oil in a Kadhai to shallow fry the fish. Meanwhile, add rice flour and maida and coat the fish well. After that fry the fish on medium flame till a nice crust is formed and fish is cooked from inside. It will take about 1-2 minutes (depending on size of fish cut-outs). Strain the fish and keep aside. Fry the fishes in batches so that they don’t stick to each other.

Now for the tadka, heat oil in a pan. Meanwhile take curd, soya sauce, coriander powder, Kashmiri chili powder, red chili sauce and whisk everything well till nicely blended. Once the oil is hot, add ginger fry it for few seconds and then add garlic, fry it well till slightly browned. Then add curry leaves and green chilies and continue frying for 1 minute. Then add the curd mix and let it cook for 3-4 minutes on low flame. Finally add the fish and let it soak all the maslas. In the end salt, add coriander leaves and add black pepper powder, give it a final stir and serve.

Notes:

Don’t over fry the fish, as it could spoil all the flavors.

Adding rice flour will give it a nice crunch, otherwise you may add corn flour to it as a substitute.

Adding lemon juice is important to curb any foul smell in fish.

Use boneless and firm fish for this recipe.

Add salt only when required as soya sauce itself has high salt content.