Mutton Fry/Poriyal

What do you need

Mutton : 2 lbs ( boneless ,cut in cubes)
Small Onions : 20 no.s
Curry leaves  : a few
Red chilli powder  : 2 tsp
Jeera powder  : 1 tsp
Perunjeeragam : 1 tsp
Turmeric powder  :1/4 tsp
Pepper powder : 2 tsp
Oil : 3 tbsp
Cashews : a few ( fired) (optional)

To cook mutton  : 

Ginger garlic paste  : 2 tsp
Red chilli powder : 1 tsp
Turmeric powder : 1/4 tsp
Salt  : as needed


How you will make it

Mix  mutton along with turmeric powder, red chilli powder, ginger garlic paste and salt.Add a little water and pressure cook it until it's cooked tender. Note : I usually pressure cook all mutton pieces (both boneless and with bones )together and separate them for two different dishes.In this case I separated bone less  pieces for mutton fry and rest for a mutton gravy.

In a pan , heat oil and  saute perunjeeragam and  sliced small onion, curry leaves. Saute until onions are soft .Now add turmeric powder, red chilli powder , jeera powder and salt.Saute until raw smell is gone and add mutton pieces .Fry these on medium heat  until everything comes together and mutton pieces turn into brownish color. Finally add pepper powder and saute altogether.Switch off the heat and serve hot with rice/roti.

You can add fried cashews to make it extra special.

                                    

Potato-Mushroom Masala

What do you need

Potato: 2 cups (cubed)

Mushroom - 1 cup (sliced)

Onion - 1 large (Finely chopped)

Ginger garlic paste - 2 tsp

Red Chilli powder - 2tsp

Coriander powder - 1 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Salt - as needed

Oil - 2 tbsp.

Salt - as needed

Garam masala - 1 tsp

Coriander leaves - (chopped) for garnish

How you will make it

In a pan on medium high heat, heat oil and sauté onions until they are golden brown. Add in ginger garlic paste and sauté until raw smell is gone. Now add in all the masala powders and sauté in medium low flame. Once the masala is sautéed well, add in the cubed potatoes and salt. Mix and cook it covered for about 10 minutes on medium low heat. Check in between and make sure potatoes are not getting stick to the pan. Once the potatoes are almost cooked but not breaking, add in the sliced mushrooms. Cover and cook again. Mushrooms don't take much time to cook. Once they are cooked, switch off the flame and garnish with chopped coriander leaves. Serve it hot with rice or roti.We had this with rice and spinach sambar.

Chicken Mushroom Stir Fry

My way of sneaking in their 'not-so-fav' veggies with their all-time fav ingredient, Chicken :)

What do you need

Chicken - 2 lbs. (boneless)

Mushroom - 1/2 cup (sliced thin)

Green Capsicum - 1/2 cup (chopped)

Jalapeno Pepper - 1 (sliced)

Onion - 1 (chopped fine)

Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 tsp

Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp

Daniya/Coriander Powder - 1 tbsp.

Red chili powder - 1 tsp (optional if you want that extra spice level)

Tomato Sauce - 1 tbsp.

Oil - 2 tbsp.

Salt - As needed

How you make it

In a wok, heat 2 tbsp. oil and fry chopped onion until they are golden brown .Now add in the ginger garlic paste and sauté until raw smell goes away. Add in daniya & turmeric powder (and red chili powder) and sauté for about a minute before adding in the chicken pieces .Along with chicken pieces add salt needed. On high flame, sauté well until chicken is almost cooked. Now add in chopped capsicum and sliced mush rooms and 1 tbsp. of tomato sauce. Adjust salt if needed at this point. Keep sautéing until veggies and chicken are cooked and the dish is almost dry .Finally add in sliced jalapenos and sauté little more until they are soft. I garnished with chopped onion and served with naan.

Note: You can replace jalapenos with Thai green chilies. I had used only one jalapeno pepper and tried to take out seeds from half of it.

I had chopped capsicum/bell pepper into tiny pieces to make kids eat without any fuzz. If needed you can make them cut in normal stir fry size.

Poached egg in roasted coconut gravy

Poached egg in roasted coconut gravy/Udachu vitta muttai theeyal: though I have heard about this dish quite a few times but never tasted or tried before. So took this up as a challenge this weekend to make this delicious dish. One tick off of my "must try' dishes.

                            
 What you need

Eggs: 4

Shredded Coconut: 1 cup

Red chilli powder   : 2 tsp

Coriander powder: 3 tsp

Turmeric powder: 1/4 tsp

Salt: as needed

Tamarind Paste: 1 tbsp.

Water: a little

Oil: 1 tbsp. + 2 tsp

Mustard seeds:  1/2 tsp

Green Chillies: 4 (slit)

Curry Leaves: a few

How you will make

In a pan, heat 1 tbsp. oil and fry coconut, red chilli powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder. Fry on medium low heat until the mixture turns into dark brown in color (as seen in the picture). Let it cool down and grind into smooth paste with little water and tamarind paste. In another pan , heat 2 tsp oil and splutter mustard seeds and add in slit green chillies and curry leaves .Now add the ground coconut mixture , little water and salt. Let this boil on medium flame until oil separates. Once that happens, reduce the flame to low. Start pouring raw egg one by one in to the gravy. Let the eggs get poached and cooked completely on low flame. Switch off the heat once the eggs are completely cooked .Serve hot with rice.

Note: Just make sure you give enough time to get the egg cook completely on medium low flame. It takes more time than expected.

Spicy Tangy Chicken Roast

Tomatillos aka green tomatoes, these tangy lemony flavored cousins of  tomatoes is a big favorite of mine. I usually cook pacchadi / chutney with these goodies in a husk J

This time around I started using them more and more in my dishes as a much tangier replacement for tomatoes. Give them a try if you haven’t already.

Spicy Tangy Chicken Roast

What you need

Chicken - 1 whole (cut in small pieces)

Onion - 1 big onion (chopped fine)

Green tomatoes/tomatillos - 2 medium sized (chopped fine)

Ginger / garlic - 2 tsp (minced)

Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp

Coriander powder - 2 tsp

Salt - as needed

Curry leaves - for garnish

Oil - 2 tbsp.

For Powdered Masala:

Whole Red chillies - 4-6 (adjust according to your spice level)

Perunjeeragam /Fennel seeds - 1 tsp

Cinnamon stick - 1/2 inch

How you will make it

Make powdered masala using red chillies, fennel seeds and cinnamon and keep it aside. In a heavy bottomed pan, heat 2 tbsp. of oil and sauté chopped onions. Only onions are fried well and turn golden brown, add in minced ginger garlic. Sauté this on medium flame until raw smell goes away. Now add chopped green tomatoes and little salt. Cook this mixture until tomatoes are cooked well and mushy. Add in turmeric powder and coriander powder and sauté until the masala comes together and cooked well. Finally add in chicken and extra salt (if needed) and mix it well with the masala. Cook this covered on medium flame until chicken is almost cooked. Now open the lid and add in the powdered red chillies masala and curry leaves. Let the dish cook uncovered until it becomes almost dry with yummy tangy masala sticking onto the chicken pieces. Serve the dish with rice/roti.

Chicken Chukka - My kinda comfort food

As the title says, I can have this dish with a bowl of moru (yogurt drink) saadham anytime if offered :)
If you really like spicy food , then try and make this dish with that extra notch of spice level.You won't be disappointed.

What you need

Chicken  - 1 whole ( cut into small pieces)
Onion - 2 medium sized onion (sliced thin lengthwise)
Oil - 3 tbsp
Ginger - 2 tsp ( minced fine)
Garlic - 2 tsp (minced fine)
Coconut -  2 tbsp ( shredded)
Jeera powder - 1tsp
Perunjeera/Sombu powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder -1/4 tsp
Red chillies - 4
Pepper powder - 2 tsp
Daniya powder - 1 tbsp
Salt - as needed
Curry Leaves - a few


How you make it

Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan and fry curry leaves, red chillies.Add sliced onions and fry until it is golden brown.Once the onions are golden brown, add in minced ginger  & garlic.Saute until the raw smell is gone and add in shredded coconut.Fry until coconut is nicely roasted along with onions.The shredded coconut gives that extra flavor. Now add chicken and salt. Cook the chicken in medium high flame( no need to add water).Once chicken is almost cooked, add in the masala powders.Add jeera powder, sombu powder, pepper powder, daniya powder and add in extra salt if needed. Keep the medium high flame and cook until the masala is well cooked and comes together with the chicken pieces.Serve hot with Rice/Roti.

Cauliflower Pepper Sauté

Simple cauliflower pepper sauté served hot with rice and spinach dal for today's lunch.

What you need

• Cauliflower  : 1
• Onion : 1 ( chopped fine)
• Ginger - 1 tsp (minced)
• Garlic - 1 tsp (minced)
• Red chilies - 4
• Turmeric - 1/4 tsp
• Salt - as needed
• Oil - 2 tbsp
• Curry leaves - a few
• Garam masala powder - 1/4 tsp

Dry roast and grind

• Jeera/Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Pepper - 1 tsp

How you will make it

Cut cauliflower into small florets and cook it with  little salt and turmeric powder.Keep it aside.Careful not to over cook it.In a pan on medium flame, heat 2 tbsp of oil  and fry red chilies .Once they are roasted enough add in the chopped ginger and garlic.Reduce the flame a little and saute ginger/garlic.Now add chopped onion  and saute.You can add in little salt now to soften & cook onion better.Once onion is translucent , add turmeric powder , garam masala and powdered jeera & pepper. Once the aroma comes from the sautéed  ingredients add in the cooked cauliflower florets and needed salt ( remember we had added salt while cooking cauliflower and while sautéing onion).Add in the curry leaves and sauté until cauliflower florets gets coated  a little with the masala.Serve hot with rice/roti.