Monthly Archives: May 2013

Peppered mushrooms


A quick and healthy side for the busy weekday..
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white / button mushrooms
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red onions, coriander leaves (cilantro), ginger, green chillies and garlic..all minced. You can add ginger garlic paste too, but I think the flavors work better when minced.
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Sauté the chillies, garlic and ginger in a tsp of oil.
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Sauté the onions and cilantro.
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Add the mushrooms. Sprinkle salt and cover and cook for 1 minute.
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Mushrooms will sweat and they give out a lot of water.Add 2 tsp of turmeric powder (optional).
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Add loads of freshly ground black pepper.
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Cook until all the water evaporates.
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If needed add a tsp of oil to crisp the mushrooms slightly.
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And its done. While it makes a great side for rice, I have also used it as filling for wraps, quesadillas and sandwiches. The whole thing will be done in 10 mins, unless you really take your time to chop  🙂
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Vegetable Kothu (minced) parotta (with egg).


Here is the recipe for vegetable kothu parotta. Chicken/Mutton parottas are done the same way except that we use the chicken/mutton curry instead of the vegetable curry.
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Ideally, the leftover kurma/salna is used to make kotthu parotta. Because I don’t have any leftovers, I am going to make a simple yogurt based vegetable korma.To start, heat 1 tbsp of oil and fry a couple of cloves, cinnamon sticks and fennel seeds.
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Sauté some onions, couple of green chillies and ginger garlic paste.
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Sauté the mixed vegetables, I am using carrots, green beans and green peas here. Add the chopped tomatoes.
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Sprinkle some salt and cover and cook. when the veggies soften, add turmeric powder, chilli powder , coriander powder and a pinch of garam masala or instead of all these you can just add your favorite curry masalas or meat masalas.Image
Add 3 tbsp. of yogurt.
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Add little water, sprinkle some coriander leaves and cook until the curry is done.That’s the vegetable curry. You can make chicken/mutton curry the same way or you can use the coconut based korma/salna.
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Now to make kothu parotta, chop some onions, green chillies, other green peppers (like bell peppers that is rich in flavor but not in heat), curry leaves and coriander leaves.
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Parottas (at room temperature), 2 eggs and your curry. (eggs are optional)Rest of the steps should be done right before serving and it takes only 10 minutes, so have everything ready and cook right before serving.
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Shred the parottas.
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I am cooking in a wok. You can also use flat skillets, but avoid the heavy non-stick pots or pans. The wok helps the parotta to crispen a little and also I like to use metal spatulas to cook this particular dish and the spatula minces the parotta as we mix everything .
In the wok, I have heated up  oil to sauté  fennel seeds, onions chillies, curry leaves and coriander leaves.
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Add the parottas and the curry.
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Add some coriander leaves.. as you are mixing keep mincing the parottas with your spatula. Cook in high heat, the parottas will crisp and mince easily.
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Move the parotta to the side of the wok and scramble two eggs in the wok.
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Mix the egg with the parotta…and its done.
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Fish Curry ( Chettinad style)


These days its quite easy to make fish curry by simply adding “fish curry masala” or some other instant powders and convince ourselves that “well, its not too different from what my grandma used to make ” 🙂 . It  is different from what grandma made. Here is the recipe for the traditional fish curry, definitely will be worthy of the efforts.

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Fish cleaned and cut and rubbed with turmeric powder and salt. (I have Tilapia here, Mackerel and King fish are better options.)

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shallots (or onions), tomatoes, garlic and curry leaves

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spice blend (Not taking any shortcuts today)
red chillies
coriander seeds
fennel
cumin
black pepper
raw rice (helps to thicken the curry)

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In a spoon of oil (I am using sesame oil – which enhances the flavor of this curry), fry the spices.

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Grind them with some curry leaves to a smooth paste.

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Dilute the masala and add tamarind and jaggery(vellam or brown sugar) to it. Add turmeric powder and salt to the mix and set aside.

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Add sesame oil to the pan and fry some mustard seeds. Sauté the onions, garlic and curry leaves.

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Sauté the tomatoes.

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when the tomatoes soften, add the masala.

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Let the curry boil and reduce.

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When its almost done , place the fish in the curry. reduce the heat, cover and cook without stirring.

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The fish will  cook in 5 mins , cover and set aside for 30 mins before serving.

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Serve with steamed rice. The curry tastes even better the next day ( there are movie songs written about the taste, if you won’t take my word for it 😉 )

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Chicken Noodle Soup


Traditional chicken noodle soup with Indian flavors.
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Carrots, corn, celery, onions , tomatoes, chopped cilantro and a spoon of ginger garlic paste.
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4 cups of chicken broth and chicken breast cut in cubes.
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I am using campanalle pasta for the noodle part. You can use any pasta or noodles. Cook the noodle/pasta as per box instructions.
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bay leaves, cloves, cinnamon, fennel, cumin, black pepper and cardamom
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Give a quick crush to the spices to release the flavors.
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Tie the crushed spices into a bundle, I have used a bounty paper towel. A clean cloth can also be used.
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In the pot, add a spoon of oil, and sauté the onions, ginger garlic paste, carrots and celery.Add the chicken, tomatoes and cilantro. Sprinkle some salt to sweat the veggies and sauté until chicken changes color.
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Add 4 cups of chicken broth and 2 cups of water.
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Place the spice bundle in the soup. Cover and cook in low heat for at least an hour.
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After an hour, remove the spice bundle.
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Add the cooked noodles/pasta. Season the soup with salt and pepper.
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To make the vegetarian version, replace chicken with chick peas or black beans and chicken broth with vegetable broth.
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Koottaanchoru


This is the Nellai version of Bisibelabath. The difference is in the vegetables and the spices used. I have greatly enjoyed this rice at my maternal grandmother’s place. This is a great one pot dish.Image

raw rice – 1.5 cups
Thur Dhal – 1/2 cup

Cook the dhal and rice together in a pressure cooker with 6 cups of water , some salt and 2 tsp of oil. You can cook them in a regular pot, add enough water so that cooked rice-dhal has a soft texture.

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I have small onions, radish, cooking banana, eggplants, flat beans and drumsticks. Traditionally, we use what we call as “Naattu Kaai” for this rice and avoid vegetables like carrots, peas and cauliflower.

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Chop the vegetables in big chunks as they have to withstand a long cooking process.

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Tamarind water and asafoetida.

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For the masala, grind red chillies, cumin, small onions, garlic and 1 tbsp. of coconut.

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In the pot add some sesame oil and fry curry leaves and onions.

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sauté the veggies.

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Add the tamarind water.

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Add salt, turmeric powder and asafoetida and cook until the raw smell of tamarind goes away in medium heat for at least about 30 mins. Add the masala and cook for another 15 minutes.

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Traditionally, drumstick leaves are added. As I can’t get them in my place,I have added some chopped methi.

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Add the cooked rice and dhal to the curry and mix well. Simmer for 15 mins, making sure the rice is not getting dry.

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Fry some curry vadaam (if you don’t have it, mustard seeds will do), red chillies and curry leaves in a separate pan and add the seasoning to the rice.

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Tastes good when its hot and tastes even better at room temperature. This is a great all-in-one dish with rice, lentils and vegetables and the combination of red chillies, cumin and garlic add layers of flavor. Back in my hometown, I have even tasted this dish with shrimp in it. You can try that too !

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