Wednesday, January 31, 2018

Potato Fry | Urulai Varuval | Accompaniment for rice

Potato Fry, a simple yet delicious accompaniment for rice. Though i already have few potato fry recipes in my blog, unlike those recipes, it doesn't require cooking of potatoes ahead. So whenever i forget to cook the potatoes along with dal, i used to make this delicious potato fry as an accompaniment for our lunch.
For this potato fry recipe, i highly recommend to use non-stick pan. Since the potato is raw, it sticks to the bottom of the pan easily while cooking, so non-stick pan helps to make this fry with much less oil, otherwise to avoid sticking and burning at the bottom, you may need little extra oil. Other than that, it's a super easy recipe and your potato fry would be ready in few mins. It tastes great with all kind of south indian meal, but my personal favorite is with bisi bele bath or with sambar and rice. If i make potato curry for kara kuzhambu, then i would prefer the potato podimas

Potato Fry

Preparation Time : 5 mins | Cooking Time : 10 minsServes :
Recipe Category: Accompaniment | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients
Potato - 3(medium size)
Garlic - 2 
Oil - 1 tsp
Mustard & urad dal - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - few
Turmeric - a pinch
Red Chili Powder - 1/2 tsp
Sambar Powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt - to taste 

Procedure
Peel and cut the potatoes into small cubes, minced the garlic finely. Heat the pan with oil, add mustard and urad dal, let the mustard crackle, then add the garlic. Saute in the oil for 30 secs.Then add the potatoes and curry leaves, give a good stir, so that the potatoes coats well in oil. Now add all the spices(turmeric,red chili and sambar powder) & salt.Give a good mix , cover it with lid and let it cook, till the potatoes are soft. Stir in between to avoid sticking at the bottom. Tada, Simple yet tasty Potato Fry is ready.
Notes:
  • Adjust the chili powder as per your liking, the given quantity is for medium spice.
  • Instead of sambar powder, you can use garam masala powder too.
  • Cut the potatoes into small cubes, it helps to cook them easy and fast.
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Monday, January 29, 2018

Paneer Paratha | Cottage Cheese Paratha | Paratha Recipe

Paneer Paratha, a delicious stuffed paratha made from Indian Cottage Cheese. Unlike other stuffed paratha(aloo paratha , gobi paratha or mix veg ), this doesn't require any cooking to make the stuffing, so it consumes very less time to prepare this delicious paratha. 
Those who are reading my blog regularly might wonder why there is hardly any paneer recipe here, the reason is simple, i was not eating paneer while growing up, so like many other international cuisine, this is also so new to me and initially i didn't like the bland taste of paneer., so very rarely i cook them at home. But nowadays, after experimenting various dishes with paneer, i'm quite confident on how to season  the paneer well to avoid the bland taste. And this paneer paratha is one of my favorite paneer dishes that i had tried on my own. Like i said before, there is no cooking involved in making this paneer stuffing. If you have the dough ready, within few mins you can make this delicious paneer paratha. I strongly recommend to serve them as hot, it tastes best when it's hot.Now let's check out the procedure for this delicious paratha.

Paneer Paratha

Preparation Time : 30 mins | Cooking Time : 15 minsMakes : 4 or 5  
Recipe Category: Paratha | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients
For dough
Wheat flour - 1 cup*
Oil - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste
Water - as needed
For Filling
Paneer - 1 & 1/2 cup (grated)
Cumin seed - 1 tsp
Green chili - 1 (finely chopped)
Coriander leaves - 1 tbsp (chopped)
Salt - as needed
*Here i have used more than a cup of flour, since i need the extra dough for plain paratha, but the stuffing quantity here would be enough for 1 cup of flour. 

Procedure
For the dough
Take the flour, salt and oil in a bowl, mix it well and then add the water and make a soft pliable dough. Cover with lid and let it aside for 30 mins.For Filling,
Now take all the ingredients for the filling in a plate and mix it well together with your hands and make 4 equal size balls.Divide the dough into 4 equal balls. Take a ball of dough and roll into thick disc with the sides thinner than the center, place the filling in the center.Gently gather the dough around the filling and seal it. Press the dough into thick disc with your hand.Then roll into paratha with rolling pin. Do the same for the remaining dough and filling.Heat the tava and place the rolled paratha on it.Cook on both sides until the brown spot appears on the top. Remove it on the place and gently apply butter on it.Serve hot with your favorite curry, pickle and curd.
Notes:
  • Paneer paratha taste best when it's hot.
  • Instead of cumin seed , you can use ajwain seed for flavoring too.
  • Instead of green chili, if you thought of using red chili powder, then heat a tsp of oil, switch off the flame and then add the red chili powder in the hot oil, let it sit for 2 mins, then use it in paneer. This helps to avoid the raw smell of chili powder in the paratha.
  • If the paneer is too dry and it can't hold the shape, then add the tsp of curd into filling. 


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Friday, January 26, 2018

Whole Wheat Pancakes | Atta Pancakes | Wheat Flour Pancakes

Whole Wheat Pancakes, easy to make yet so delicious pancakes made from wheat flour. We love pancakes and i would like to try different types of pancake whenever possible. I have already tried buttermilk pancakes and it's one of our favorite pancakes. So when i had come across this pancake recipe with buttermilk and wheat flour from pinchofyum, immediately i bookmarked it and the very next day itself , i tried it and as expected it turned out so delicious. These pancakes are so fluffy  and soft even though we used wheat flour instead of APF. 

For this time, i have made this pancake without any toppings, but you can add whatever toppings like chocolate chips or any of your favorite fruits. 

Whole Wheat Pancakes

Preparation Time : 10 mins | Cooking Time : 15 minsServes :
Recipe Category: Breakfast | Recipe Cuisine: American
Ingredients
Wheat flour/Atta - 1 cup
Egg - 1
Buttermilk - 3/4 cup
Oil - 2 tbsp
Baking powder - 1 & 1/2 tsp
Brown Sugar - 2 tbsp
Vanilla Extract - 1 tsp
Salt - a pinch
Water - as needed

Procedure
Crack open a egg in a bowl, add vanilla extract and sugar into it and whip it slightly until it becomes frothy. Then add the buttermilk into it.Add oil and mix it well together. Take all the dry ingredients like flour, baking powder and salt.Sieve all the dry ingredients into the egg mixture and mix well. Add enough water and make it as pouring consistency batter.Heat the pan and grease it with butter, pour a laddle full of batter into pan and cook on medium flame for 30 -40 secs, then gently flip the pancake and cook on other sides too.Do the same for the remaining batter. Tada, your wheat flour pancake is ready.Serve it with your favorite breakfast syrup and cofee/juice.
Notes:
  • If you don't have butter milk, take 3/4 cup of milk and add 2 tsp of lemon juice, leave it aside for 2 mins and use it.
  • Batter should be free flowing without any lumps. Depends on the flour you use, you may need more or less liquid, adjust accordingly.
  • Sieve all the dry ingredients to make sure they all mix together well.


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Wednesday, January 24, 2018

Egg Tava Fry | Egg Masala Fry | Boiled Egg Fry

Egg Masala Fry/ Egg Tava Fry, an easy to make egg recipe with the boiled eggs. When i'm too bored of eating plain boiled eggs, i used to prepare this. If i'm making this as side dish for sambar & rice or any kid of paratha/rotis, i use sambar powder for flavoring, but if it's for biryani or pulao,then i use garam masala powder instead of sambar powder. Now you get the idea, right?There is no strict procedure for this recipe, whatever spice you like, use that to marinate the eggs and fry it, Tada, your Egg Fry is ready. Now let's see how i prepared this.

Egg Tava fry

Preparation Time : 10 mins | Cooking Time : 2 minsServes :
Recipe Category: Side Dish | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients
Boiled Egg - 2 
Pepper powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric - a pinch
Red chili powder - 1/4 tsp
Sambar powder - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste
Oil - 2 tsp

Procedure
In a plate, take all the ingredients except oil and egg. Add a tsp of water and make a thick paste. Slice the boiled egg and add into the masala and coat well. If you have time, let it marinate for 10-15 mins, otherwise proceed to the next step.In a pan, heat the oil in the low flame, place the eggs on the pan and let it cook on each sides for one min, then gently flip the eggs and cook on other sides too.Switch off the flame & remove it on the plate.Tada, within mins, tasty egg masala fry is ready.
Notes:
  • Adjust the chili powder and pepper powder as per your liking.
  • You can make this with only pepper powder & skip the red chili powder and vice versa.
  • While cooking, keep the flame in low to avoid the burning of the spices.
  • Instead of sambar powder , you can use garam masala powder too.
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Friday, January 19, 2018

Srilankan Chicken Curry | Chicken Curry | Chicken Gravy

Srilankan Chicken Curry, an another famous recipe from the Srilanka. When comes to different cuisine, i'm always reluctant to try except few, Srilankan cuisine falls to that expectation category :-). 
Since the ingredients used in their cuisine are almost same as of my everyday cooking and i knew how it would tastes, hence i'm quite comfortable in give it a try. When i browsed through the Srilankan recipe, i noticed that their recipes are almost similar to south Indian recipes especially south Tamilnadu and Kerala!!!
As I said in my previous pol roti post, this curry is one such delicious side dish for roti and rice. The ingredients that go into that curry powder gives the curry a wonderful aroma and taste to the curry. The flavor from the coconut oil, coconut milk along with the curry powder takes this dish to a whole new level and wanting you to eat more & more(personal experience), it's really hard to stop !!!
In this recipe, tamarind is used to marinate the chicken instead of curd. Normally we use curd or tomato for tanginess when it comes to non veg dishes except fish, so i wondered how chicken would taste in tamarind base, honestly it's not at all overpowering  & the slight sweet from the tamarind goes well with chicken. 

I'm sure that from now on, this will be a regular dish in my home !!! For vegetarians, try the same with yellow pumpkin. After I had prepared my own Curry powder, I tried  the same curry with pumpkin instead of chicken and it turned out so delicious. ST normally doesn't like any pumpkin curry, but he also liked this very much. Ok, enough with the stories, now let's check out the recipe.





Srilankan Chicken Curry

Preparation Time : 30 mins | Cooking Time : 20 minsServes :
Recipe Category: Curry | Recipe Cuisine: Srilankan
Srilankan Chicken Curry, Chicken Curry, Ceylon Chicken Curry Srilankan Chicken Curry, a delicious and flovurful chicken curry made with curry powder and coocnut milk.
Ingredients
Chicken - 1/2 lb
Tamarind - a gooseberry size
Onion - 1/2
Tomato - 1 small
Green chili - 2
Ginger - 1 inch piece
Garlic - 4 cloves
Curry leaves - few
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Red chili powder - 1/2 tsp
Srilankan Curry powder - 1 & 1/2 tsp
Homemade Coconut milk - 1/2 cup 
To Temper
Coconut oil - 1 tbsp
Cinnamon - 1/2 inch piece
Cloves - 2
Cardamom -2

Procedure
First soak the tamarind in 1/4 cup of water for 30 mins, clean the chicken and wash it with turmeric powder and keep it ready.
Extract the tamarind juice from the soaked tamarind and add the chicken & salt and mix it well. Let it soak for 30 mins, in the mean time, cut the onion into thin slices, tomato into small pieces, slit the chili and thinly slice the garlic and ginger and keep everything ready.
Heat the pressure cooker add  the coconut oil and the tempering ingredients. Let it fry in oil for 30 secs.
Add the onions,ginger,garlic, green chili & curry leaves and saute till the onions becomes translucent and then add the tomatoes & give a good mix.
Add the chicken along with the tamarind juice and then add turmeric & chili powder.
Add the srilankan curry powder & enough water,mix it all well together and cook it for 3 whistle.
Once the pressure is released from the cooker, open the lid ,put it on low flame and then add the salt (remember we already added the salt while marinating the chicken,so this is for curry only )& coconut milk.
Let it simmer for 10 mins in the medium flame & switch off the flame.
Tada, Srilanka Chicken Curry is  ready. Serve it with roti or rice.

Related : How to make Pol Roti / Srilankan Coconut Roti


Notes:
  • If you have tamarind paste, use 1 &1/2 to 2 tsp instead of tamarind.
  • After adding the coconut milk, keep the flame in low to prevent curdling.
  • Freshly grounded srilankan curry powder gives great flavor to the curry but you can use the store bought curry powder also
  • Use bone meat for best flavor.
  • If you're using store brought srilankan curry powder, depends on the spice level of curry powder, adjust the amount of red chili powder. Many store brought powder have added the red chili too.
  • I have used home made coconut milk, but you can use store brought also.
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Wednesday, January 17, 2018

Pol Roti | Srilankan Coconut Roti | Coconut Roti Recipe

Pol Roti/ Srilankan Coconut Roti, a delicious roti from the little island of Srilanka, made from flour and freshly grated coconut. When I searched for Srilankan recipes, this pol roti was my first choice to give it a try! 

By knowing the ingredients itself, I knew that it would be my kind of roti. Generally I love any dish with coconut, so there is no surprise that I liked this roti too.
Adding coconut gives a unique texture to the roti, they are crispy on the outside because of coconut and soft inside. And also I came to know that these rotis are usually served with Srilankan chicken curry (which i will share tomorrow), hence i too tried the same way.

Pol roti with chicken curry and onion sambol  is one of the most delicious combinations i have tried so far, trust me on this, you have to try this combination.

 For vegetarians, instead of chicken, you can try the pumpkin curry in the same way and have it as a side dish or I guess even it would be delicious with any Indian curry too. Those who like coconut flavor and looking for different roti recipes, definitely give it a try. 




Pol Roti/Srilankan Coconut Roti

Preparation Time : 5 mins | Cooking Time : 15 minsMakes : 10 small rotis 
Recipe Category: Roti | Recipe Cuisine: Srilankan
Pol Roti, Srilankan Coconut Roti,Coconut Roti, Ceylon Coconut Roti Pol Roti/ Srilankan Coconut Roti, a delicious roti from the little island Srilanka, made from flour and freshly grated coconut.
Ingredients
All Purpose flour - 1 cup
Grated Coconut - 3/4 cup
Salt - to taste
Water - as needed 
Coconut oil - as needed

Procedure
Take the flour in a bowl, add coconut and salt into it.
Mix it with your hands until all the moisture from the coconut incorporated into the flour, then add the water little by little and make a soft pilable  dough.
Divide the dough into equal size balls, roll the dough into thick disc with rolling pin and use any lid/cutter & cut into neat round shape.
Heat the tava and drizzle some coconut oil and place the rolled dough . Cook it both sides on medium flame until the brown spots appears on them.Remove them on the plate. Repeat the same for the remaining dough.
That's it, your delicious Pol Roti is ready. Serve it with Srilankan chicken curry & onion sambol.

Related: How to make Srilankan Curry Powder 


Notes:
  • Depends on the moisture in the coconut, it may need more or less water, so first mix dough and coconut well before adding water into the flour.
  • Freshly grated coconut gives so much flavor to this roti, so i highly recommend to use freshly grated coconut.
  • No need to rest the dough for this roti, once the dough is prepared, immediately you can roll them and make rotis.
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