Category Archives: Sides

Chicken Vindaloo ( Replace chicken with tofu for vegetarian version)


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As much as I love cooking, I am very much intimidated by recipes that call for 25 ingredients and 30 steps 🙂 I have been cooking long enough to understand that good food can also be simple food. But there are exceptions to every rule. Chicken Vindaloo is one such recipe, involves more steps than normal, but completely worth all the efforts. A staple in Indian restaurants’ lunch buffet, this curry with chicken and potatoes is quite spicy. Its not the kind of heat that makes you reach for water after the first bite, but with all the different layers of spices, you will definietly start to sweat before your are done eating 🙂  I don’t mind spending an hour in the kitchen for this, because this could be the only thing I cook for the whole day. Make chicken vindaloo and steam some rice… lunch and dinner are taken care of (with no complaints :))  (The flavor profile closely matches with  chicken chettinad).

  • Step 1 (Making the spice blend)

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  1. black mustard seeds –  2 tsp
  2. cumin – 2 tsp
  3. black pepper – 1.5 tsp
  4. cardamom seeds – 2 cardamom (remove the pod)
  5. fenugreek – 1 tsp
  6. cinnamon –  three sticks (about an inch each)

(These quantiies are for 1.5 lbs of chicken)

  • Heat 1/2 tsp of oil in a pan and fry the spices. Add the mustard seeds first and the fenugreek at the very end. Image
  • Allow them to cool down for a bit and pulse them in a spice blender.

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  • To this add :
  1. 1 tsp of turmeric powder
  2. 2 tsp of red chilli powder
  3. 1 tsp salt
  4. 3 tsp of brown sugar

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  • Mix everything with 2 tbsp of vingear. Image

This concludes the making of the vindaloo spice blend.

  • Step 2 (Making the onion paste)

Chop 2 medium size onions. Image

  • In a big pot add 2 tbsp of oil and saute the onions. Image
  • The onions have to caramelize and turn brown. This will take approximately 8 – 10 mins in medium heat. Image
  • Cool them down and grind to a thick paste. The paste has to be brown in color, if not , the onions have not caramelized enough and that will definitely affect the taste of the gravy. Image
  • Step 3 (Marinating the chicken)

Clean and cut the chicken into cubes (preferably boneless). Marinate the chicken with the spice blend (step 1) and the onion paste(step 2) and set aside for at least 30 minutes.  Image

  • Step 4 (Making the Vindaloo Gravy)

The rest is quite easy. To make the gravy you will need :

  1. Medium tomatoes – 2
  2. Cilantro – a generous bunch
  3. Curry leaves – few
  4. Ginger garlic paste – 1 tbspImage
  • You will also need 1 large or two medium potatoes. Peel and cut into big cubes and leave them in water until needed.Image
  • In a big pot, add 2 tbsp of oil, and fry the ginger garlic paste.Image
  • Add the tomatoes, cilantro and curry leaves. Sprinkle salt to sweat the tomatoes.Image
  • When the tomatoes soften, add the marinated chicken.Image
  • Add the potatoes.Image
  • Cover and cook. There is no need to add water.Image
  • Usually the restaurant vindaloos are more like thin curries.  But I prefer a thick gravy. Remove from heat when the chicken is completely cooked and your preferred consistency is reached.Image
  • For thicker gravy, cook until oil separates.Image

This goes extremely well with rice or naan. It is a flavor packed dish, so just this and rice makes a sumptuous meal.

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Wonton Samosas (Spicy vegetable samosa)


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Here is an easy ‘shortcut’ recipe for the national snack of India. I am a big time samosa fan , right from school days. Hot samosas, freshly delivered to the school tuck shop at 4 p.m. every day..yummmmmm….Along with homeworks, record note books and tests, it was also a daily chore to make sure I had 65 paisa with me to buy samosa 🙂

The fillings are made different in different places. I am a little disappointed that most samosas available these days in the grocery stores and restaurants are the standard potato and peas samosas. While I love any filling, I crave for the spicy and crunchy onion and cabbage filling as we get in my hometown in India.

With rainy evenings forecast  fora week (NJ) , sounds like the perfect time to enjoy these samosas with a hot cup of tea 🙂

  • First step is to make the filling. Slice the onions and cabbage thin and long.

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  • Also dice one potato and two carrots. I have one jalapeno (seeds removed) chopped for an extra kick.

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  • Heat  1 tbsp of oil in a wok and saute the jalapeno.

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  • Now add the potatoes and carrots. Sprinkle some salt and cook for a couple of minutes.

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  • Add the cabbage and onion together. It is very important to have the crunchiness of the onions and cabbage until the very end, so a quick stir fry for a minute is all the cooking that is needed.Image
  • Add 1 tsp. of turmeric powder, 2 tsp of red chilli powder and 1/2 tsp of garam masala. Add more salt if needed.

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  • Mix well and cook for 2 minutes until the raw smell of the powders go away. Remove from heat and allow it to cool for sometime. That makes the filling.

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  • For the outer covering, I am taking a shortcut by using wonton wrappers. I find these in the vegan section of my grocer right next to Tofu.

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  • Mix 2 tbsp of all purpose flour with little water to make a paste which will be used as a glue to seal the samosas.

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  • In the wrapper, place the filling in one half (diagonally). If you place too much filling, the wrapper will rip, and too little filling makes for a tasteless samosa. But I assure you that you will find your happy medium by the time you are making your third samosa 🙂

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  • Apply the flour glue to the two edges and fold the wrapper over. If possible, tuck the edges to secure the filling.

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  • Prepare all samosas like this. If for a party, you can make these a day or two ahead and refrigerate  until you need them. Also you can freeze these  until when needed.

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  • Heat oil in a pan for deep frying and fry the samosas to a golden brown.

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  • The only thing left to do now is, sit by the window and enjoy the crunchy samosa, with hot tea while watching the rain 🙂

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Indian Finger Fish (Fish sticks)


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I grew up in a small coastal town, Tuticorin. My parents were busy doctors (still are..) and the earliest they would come home is 10 at night. It was our routine that we went out for dinner every Saturday night, and we always went to this particular restaurant called “Sugam”, coz’  it was the only restaurant that had most items in the menu still available at 10:45 p.m. ( Yeah, in our town, in the 80’s , night life ended in the early evening 🙂 ). As a child , there is not much to look forward to a late night dinner, as by then, hunger would have arrived and left and sleep was fast approaching. One of the few things that kept me awake and interested in dinner was the amazing “finger fish”  in that restaurant, crunchy on the outside and super juicy on the inside with the perfect blend of spices. That was my standard order every week. I will stop by the restaurant during my visit next month. I won’t be eating finger fish anymore, neverthless, I just can’t wait to relive the memories.

  • I am using Tilapia for this recipe. Any mid fish can be used. Clean and cut the fish fillets into finger shaped pieces. I used about three fillets today.

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  • Mix turmeric powder, chilli powder, black pepper, salt and garlic powder with a little water to make a paste. If you do not have garlic powder, you can use garlic paste.

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  • Marinate the fish with the paste and set aside for 30 mins.

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  • Beat an egg for the egg wash.

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  • Dip the fish pieces in egg wash and roll in bread crumbs. I prefer regular bread crumbs. Breading should be minimal, so I avoid panko.

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  • Prepare all the fish pieces this way.

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  • Heat oil for deep frying and fry the fish to golden brown. Once oil becomes hot enough for frying, lower the heat. If your fish sticks turn brown as soon as you drop them in the oil, it means the oil is too hot. The sticks should gradually turn from light brown to golden brown.

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  • As you know, fish cooks quickly. However, make sure it is done.

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  • Serve with ketchup. This is usually a big hit with kids.

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Idli Siyali


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This dish is one of my earliest food memories. But until recently, I never knew what it was called. While growing up I always referred to it as “orange idli upma” or “gundu idli” (coz’ of the big chunks) or simply ” that idli thing you made when we went to the park”.  Then when I started to cook, this was one of my earlier trials(as you will see below, its quite a simple recipe),  I started calling it “Masala idli”, adding ‘masala’ to a food’s name makes it official, right ? 🙂 Recently, while I was browsing for something else, I stumbled upon this familiar recipe and figured out it is called “Idli Siyali”. After all, this has a name , that too such a sweet name. 🙂

  • This is usually made with left over idlis. Your idlis “must”  be in room temperature if not colder. Fresh idlis will lose form and crumble.

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  • Cut the idlis into big cubes, roughly 1 idli into 4 pieces.

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  • To make the masala, you will need 1 big red onion, 1 medium tomato and few curry leaves. Tomato and onion should be cubed , no fine chopping.
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  • In a pan/wok,heat 2 tbsp of oil (sesame oil, preferred), splutter a tsp of mustard seeds and fry a tsp each of urad dhal and channa dhal to golden brown.

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  • Saute the onions and curry leaves, Onions do not have to brown.

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  • Add the tomatoes. Sprinkle salt to sweat the tomatoes.

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  • Tomatoes do not have to soften too much. Add 1 tsp of turmeric powder, 3 tsp of sambar powder (add more or less as you wish) and some salt. If you do not have sambar powder, use 2 tsp of red chilli powder and 1 tsp of coriander powder. Let the powders mix with oil.

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  • Add about 1/2 cup of water. Water allows the sambar powder to cook fast. But don’t add too much water, as the gravy is going to be reduced to a thick paste anyways. Also add a pinchof vellam/jaggery/brown sugar.

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  • Allow the masala to boil thoroughly and reduce. When you see the oil separating , it is done.

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  • Add the cut idli pieces to the masala and mix it gently without breaking them.

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  • Sprinkle coriander leaves  and remove from heat.

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You can use boiled egg instead of idlis in this recipe to make a quick egg masala.

Another variation, is instead of using tomatoes ,you can also use tamarind juice.

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Beach Sundal (Chick peas salad with green mango)


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I don’t know if I could call this street food, because I’ve only tasted these in Tamilnadu (South India) beaches. It is quite an experience, munching on this hot and spicy sundal while caressed by the salty ocean breeze. It is called  “Thengaa (coconut) Maangaa (green mango) Pattaani (peas) Sundal”. I have never tasted coconut in this sundal, so I don’t add coconut in my recipe.

  • Ingredients:

(Traditionally dried green peas are used for this sundal, but I love chick peas.)

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  • In a pan/wok, heat 3 tsp of oil and splutter a tsp of mustard seeds. Then saute the chopped green chillies, grated ginger and curry leaves.

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  • Then add the onions and green mango together and saute, just enough to take the edge off. The onions and mango shouldn’t become too soft.

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  • Saute the grated carrot. Again , make sure they don’t soften too much. Add salt to taste.

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  • Add the chick peas and mix with the other veggies. Add crushed garlic and mix well. Garlic is optional, but it is always wise to add some garlic to all your lentils/beans recipes 🙂

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  • Finally sprinkle the chopped cilantro and turn the heat off. Add more salt if needed. Also if you want to make it more spicy , you can add crushed red peppers.

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  • Cover with lid and leave the sundal in the same wok for at least 10 minutes (with heat turned off).

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  • And you have to serve this sundal in  paper cone to complete the beach experience.

[After I prepped all my vegetables today, I realised that my camera was completely out of charge. I couldn’t wait an hour for the camera to re-charge as the kids were already in the car with their beach toys. So all  pictures were taken with my windows phone today. Though I had some lighting issues, I think they turned out okay 🙂 ]

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