Category Archives: Indian

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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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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Chicken Kola curry


“Kola”s are the Indian meatballs.
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Minced chicken (If you don’t get minced chicken, just grind boneless chicken without adding water).

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Roasted channa dal (pottukadalai) and fennel. grind them together and make dry powder. Or you can use besan and fennel powder.Image

This will be used to bind the kolas.

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chopped onions, chillies, coriander leaves and ginger garlic paste

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Sauté the onions, chillies, ginger garlic paste and cilantro.

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Add them to the minced chicken.

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Add turmeric powder, chilli powder , a pinch of garam masala and salt.

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Add the roasted channa dal+fennelseeds powder to the chicken and mix well.

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Make even sized balls (kolas) out of the meat and set them aside.

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Now for the gravy:
red chilies
coriander seeds
fennel seeds
cumin seeds
raw rice

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Fry the spices in a spoon of oil.

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Grind them with 3 tbsp. of grated coconut.

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Make it to a smooth paste and dilute with water.

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chop some onions, garlic, chillies, tomatoes and curry leaves.

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Use a shallow pan(so that all the kolas can be placed in a single layer). Saute the garlic, curry leaves ,chillies  and onions.

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Add the tomatoes and sauté until they soften.

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Add the prepared masala.(Picture 14)

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Add some tamarind water and salt.

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Bring the curry to a good boil and then place the meat kolas in the curry. This is how its traditionally done. If you are concerned that the kolas might break, you can shallow/deep fry the balls first before adding it to the curry. But then the kolas won’t be as juicy as the traditional way.

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Once you have placed all the kolas in the curry, reduce the heat, cover and cook until the kolas are done..

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Make sure the kolas are cooked all the way before removing from heat.

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Serve with rice. For the vegetarian version, make kolas by grinding soaked thur/moong dhal .
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Fish in cocount curry


My hometown is a small fishing town in the southern tip of India, so my love for fish shouldn’t be a surprise. Nothing compares to the taste of freshly caught fish cooked within hours. I became a vegetarian few years back and I have to say it would have been impossible if I am still living in my hometown. This curry is a traditional recipe and brings back memories of my school days, sharing lunches with friends, I had a couple of friends whose moms made awesome versions of this curry 🙂

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Fish – cleaned , cut and rubbed with turmeric and salt. (I have Tilapia here)

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Tamarind water (Even after all these years of cooking I can’t rightly judge how much tamarind I will need. I usually make a good amount of tamarind water and add to the recipe as needed and save the rest in the fridge and try to use it within 4-5 days).

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chopped onions, diced tomatoes and a generous amount of curry leaves.

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In a pan, add 2tbsp of sesame oil. Fry 1 tsp of mustard seeds and 1/2 tsp of fenugreek.
Saute the onions and curry leaves.

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When the onions lightly brown, add :  2 tsp of turmeric powder and red chilli powder (according to your heat preference) directly to the oil. This will instantly cook the chilli powder and take the raw smell out of it.

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Once the oil separates, add the tomatoes.

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When the tomatoes soften, add the tamarind water.

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Add about a cup of water and salt. Allow this to boil and reduce a little bit (until the raw taste of tamarind goes away).

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Add the fish pieces and allow it to cook for 5 mins. That’s all it will take for the fish to cook.

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While the fish is cooking, we can make the coconut paste. You’ll need :
grated coconut – 3 tbsp.
chopped onions – 1 tbsp.
garlic – 2 cloves
cumin – 2 tsp
curry leaves – some
(If you like a little punch, you can also add 1 tsp of black pepper. )
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Grind them all with water to make a paste.
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Add the coconut paste to the fish curry, stir in without breaking the fish .
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Sprinkle some more curry leaves, cover with lid and simmer for 10 mins. Allow the curry to stay in the pan for at least 30 mins before transferring to the serving dish.
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Serve with rice. You can drizzle a tsp of sesame oil in the curry before serving. Fish, curry leaves and sesame oil are like soulmates, they work very well together 
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