CHICKEN CUTLET

Ingredients:-
Chicken - 1/2 kg (tender breast pieces)
Onion - 1 Big
Ginger - 1 tbsp (chopped)
Garlic - 1 tbsp (chopped)
Green Chillies - 3 nos (chopped)
Potato - 1 big
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Chilli powder - 1 tsp
Chicken masala - 1/4 tsp
Garam masala - 1 tbsp
Pepper powder - 1 tsp
Egg - 2 nos (big)
Salt - to taste
Oil - For frying

Method:-
Clean the chicken pieces and cut them into small pieces. Cook it with a pinch of turmeric powder and 1/4 tsp of pepper powder. Once cooked, allow it to cool. Mince the cooked chicken in a mincer and keep it aside.

In a vessel, boil our potato with a pinch of turmeric powder till its well cooked. Peel the potato and once cooled, mash it and keep it aside.

In a pan, heat 3 tbsp of oil, to this add our finely chopped onion, ginger, garlic, and green chillies. Saute it until the onion gets a golden brown color. To this, add 1/4 tsp of turmeric powder, 1 tsp of chilli powder, 1 tsp of pepper powder, 1/4 tsp of chicken masala, 1 tbsp of garam masala powder, and salt. Saute till the raw smell is gone. To this, add our minced meat and cook until the whole water content has evaporated.

In a bowl, mix the above chicken masala and  mashed potato and mix it well. Make small balls and flatten them with the palm of your hands. Dip them in whisked egg and then in bread crumbs. Fry them until golden brown or as you prefer.

Serve them hot with ketchup or any sauce you prefer.

Note:-
1). Use coconut oil or ghee for best results.
2). If you don't want it to be too spicy, you can avoid the green chillies.
3). You can add coriander leaves as well for taste.

Mathanga Parippu Curry/Pumpkin Dal Curry

Ingredient:-
Mathanga/Pumpkin - 150gm
Dal - 1 cup
Grated Coconut - 1/2 cup
Coconut milk - 4 cups
Powdered Cumin Seeds - Little less than a 3rd of a tsp
Pearl Onions - 8 nos
Green chilli - 2 nos (if you want it spicy increase the number of chillies)
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - 2 stands
Oil - 2 tbsp
Salt - to taste
Ghee/Oil - 1/2 tbsp

Method:-
Clean and cut the pumpkin into small pieces. Wash the dal. Pressure cook both dal and pumpkin together with a pinch of turmeric powder in coconut milk. Let cook for 3-4 whistles on low heat.

In a pan, heat 2 tbsp of coconut oil. Add curry leaves, pearl onion, and green chillies. Once the onions become golden brown, add cumin powder and turmeric powder. Saute it for a min. Add grated coconut to this mixture and cook for another minute. To this, add our mashed pumpkin and dal. Add salt to taste and cook until your desired consistency is achieved. To this, add 1/2 tbsp of ghee or oil and switch off the flame.

Serve hot with rice.

Note: -I use coconut oil because of the rich flavor, but you can use any other cooking oil you prefer.

Yummy Pancakes

Ingredients:-
All purpose flour - 1 cup
Baking powder - 1 tbsp
Sugar - 1 tbsp
Egg - 1 nos
Milk - 3/4 cup
Carbonated water - 1/2 cup (Optional)
Vanilla essence - 1/2 tsp
Unsalted Melted Butter - 2 tbsp
Salt - 2 pinch

Method:-
First sieve the flour and baking powder together. In another bowl, whisk the egg. To this, add milk, carbonated water, salt, sugar, vanilla essence, and melted butter. Now, add the milk mixture into our flour and make a lump-free paste and keep it aside for 20-30 minutes.

Heat a pan and once the pan is hot enough, simmer the flame. Now, pour one ladle full of our batter onto the hot pan and cook until you can see the bubbles appear, now flip them and cook the other side as well.

Serve hot with Hershey's Caramel Syrup. This combo works superbly.......................

Note:- I found a recipe from the internet which said using carbonated water could help your pancakes become fluffy and super soft, so just give it a try.

Easy Mathi (Sardine) Curry

Ingredients:-
Mathi (Sardine) - 8 nos
Pearl onions - 15 nos
Green chilli - 1 or 2 (optional)
Ginger chopped - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - 2 strands
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Chilli powder - 2 tsp (Kashmiri)
Thin coconut milk - 3 cups
Thick coconut milk - 1 cup
Kudampuli (Gambooge) - 2 pieces
Oil - 2 tbsp
Salt - to taste

Method:-
First clean and wash the sardine in a mixture of salt and vinegar, then wash it with water. Make some small gashes on it and keep it aside.

Make a mixture of 2 tsp of chilli powder and 1 tsp of turmeric powder by mixing it with water to form a slightly thin creamy paste and keep it aside.

Clean and soak 2 pieces of gambooge/kudampuli in 1/2 a cup of water and keep it aside.

Now, in a pan heat 2 tbsp of oil. To this, add chopped pearl onions, chopped ginger, curry leaves, and green chillies. Saute it till the onions become transparent. To this, add our chilli and turmeric mixture and saute till oil starts to separate. Now, add 3 cups of thin coconut milk (i use eastern coconut milk powder) and allow it to boil. To this, add our fish, kudampuli/gambooge along with the water, and salt to taste. Simmer the flame, cover and cook until the fish gets done and the gravy starts to thicken. Now, add 1 cup of thick coconut milk, stir and switch off the flame. Do not allow it to boil once you have added the thick coconut milk.

Serve it hot with rice, chapati, boiled chembu/colocasia, kappa, etc.....

Yummy Chicken Biryani (My Ammas Recipe)

Ingredients:-

FOR RICE:-
Biryani Rice - 3 big cups
Cinnamon Stick - 6 nos
Cloves - 8 nos
Cardamom - 12 nos
Ghee/Oil - 3 tbsp
Water - 6 big cups
Salt - To taste
Lemon juice of half a lemon

FOR CHICKEN GRAVY:-
Chicken - 1 kg
Onion - 4 big ones
Ginger paste - 2 tbsp
Garlic paste - 2 tbsp
Green chilli paste- paste of 5 chillies
Coriander powder - 11/2 tsp
Chilli Powder - 1 tsp (kashmiri)
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Fennel seed powder (perumjeerakam)- 1/4 tsp
Garam masala powder - 1 tbsp
Coriander Leaves - 1 cup
Celery - 1/4 cup
Salt - To taste
Ghee/Oil - 2 tbsp
Curd (thick curd) - 1 cup
Water - 1 cup

FOR GARNISHING AND LAYERING:-
Onion - 2 big ones
Cashew nut - 1 cup
Coriander leaves - 1 cup
Celery - 1/2 cup
Mint leaves - 1/2 cup
Ghee/Oil - 1-1/2 tbsp

Method:-

FOR RICE:-
First wash and keep aside the rice to drain for at least 15 minutes. In a vessel, place 6 cups of water and allow it to boil . Heat 3 tbsp of ghee/oil in another pot and add cardamom, cloves, and cinnamon. Once it starts to crack or when you get the aroma of the masala, add our drained rice to it and stir until the rice starts to crack. Now, pour the boiling water into the rice along with the juice of half a lemon and salt to taste. Cover and cook in a low flame until the rice is cooked and the water is dried. Spread it in a tray and keep it aside.

FOR CHICKEN GRAVY:-
First, cut and clean the chicken pieces and keep it aside to drain. Now, in a tawa, add 2 tbsp of ghee/oil and add ginger, garlic, and chilli paste. Saute for around 10 minutes and to this add 4 thinly sliced onions and saute till they turn transparent. To this, add 11/2 tsp of coriander powder, 1 tsp of chilli powder, 1/4 tsp of turmeric powder, 1/4 tsp of fennel seed powder and 1 tbsp of garam masala powder. Cook until the raw smell has gone. Now add 1 cup of thick curd to the masala and mix well. Add 1/2 a cup of water and chicken pieces into this. Add salt to taste. Cover and cook. Once the chicken pieces are cooked and the gravy starts to thicken, add 1 cup of chopped coriander and 1/2 cup of celery, mix well and switch off the flame.

FOR GARNISHING AND LAYERING:-
IN a pan , heat 11/2 tbsp of ghee. To this, add 1 cup  of chopped cashes and fry it until golden brown. Transfer it into a plate and keep it aside. Add 2 big thinly sliced onions into the same pan and fry till it turns dark brown in color. Switch off the flame and remove it into a plate.

In a dish, spread some ghee and start layering with a layer of chicken gravy topped with chopped coriander, chopped celery, chopped mint, fried onions, and fried cashews and on top of it, place a layer of rice. Repeat the process until the masala and rice is finished. The top layer should be of rice topped with chopped coriander leaves, mint leaves, celery, fried onions, and fried cashews. Bake it in an oven at 360 degrees for 10-15 minutes. Serve hot.

DOSA/IDILI BATTER

Ingredients:-
Idly Rice (or pachari)- 2 cups
Urad Dal (Uzhunne) - 1 cup
Cooked Rice - 1 cup
Fenugreek Seeds (Uluva) - 1/2 tsp
Water - As required

Method:-
Wash idly rice, urad dal, and fenugreek seeds. Soak them together or separately for at least 6 hours. In a mixer grinder grind the rice, urad dal, and fenugreek seeds by adding little water at a time. To this mixture, add 1 cup of cooked rice and grind it together until smooth. Keep the batter aside in a warm place for 10 - 12 hours for it to rise.


To make idly, add salt to taste and water only if the batter is too thick. Grease the idly pan with oil, so that the idly doesn't stick to the pan. Pour the mixture into the idly pan and steam it for 10-12 mins. Sprinkle little water while removing, so that it will come out easily.


To make dosa, the batter shouldn't be too thick, it should be easy to pour. Add salt to taste. Take a laddle full of dosa batter and add it to the dosa tawa or pan and keep spreading in circular outward motion. Cover and cook until slightly browned. You can add ghee while making dosa, it gives a really yummy and crispy dosa.

Easy Peechinga and Chemmeen Ularthu ((Ridge Gourd/Sponge Gourd)

Ingredients:-
Peechinga (Ridge Gourd/Sponge Gourd) - 2 (medium size)
Chemmeen (Shrimp) - 8 nos (medium size)
Pearl Onion/Onion - 10 nos/1 medium size
Chilly Powder - 1 tsp (If you want it to be spicy increase the amount of chilly powder or add green chillies)
Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp
Curry Leaves - 2 strands
Oil - 2 tbsp
Water - 1/2 a cup
Salt - To taste

Method:-
Clean and cut peechinga into small cubes.
Peel, clean, and cut the shrimps.

In a pot mix peechinga, chemmeen, pearl onion/onion, chilly powder, turmeric powder, curry leaves, oil, water, and salt. Cover and cook on a medium flame stirring occasionally until the oil starts to separate. Serve hot with rice.