Chicken Kebab..

Chicken Kebab.. This is a easy recipe with very few ingredients which you can find easily at home and I have used curry leaves to enhance the flavour.. When ever I cook chicken kebab I always make it a point to change the recipe from the old one, sometime I add more ingredient or reduce what I have used in past. But this recipe has always stand out for the taste of curry leaves and it goes very well as a side dish with Briyani, Rice and Curry or even with Drinks.. If you have brine the chicken before then you can cook this right way or else it needs to be marinated for atleast 1 to 2 hours for the best result..

Ingredient's.

1/2kg chicken with bone (cut into medium pieces)

1tsp red chilli powder, 1/2tsp turmeric

1tsp coriander powder, 1/2tsp garam masala

2tsp lemon juice

1tsp ginger garlic paste

1/2tsp black pepper powder

2tbsp finely chopped curry leaves

1tsp finely chopped coriander leaves

1tsp cornflour

1/2 beaten egg

Salt to taste

Oil for deep frying.

For Garnishing.

10 to 15 curry leaves

4 to 5 green chilli.

Cooking Method.

Wash the chicken thoroughly and pad dry with paper towel and set it aside.

In a large mixing bowl, add all the ingredients and chicken (except Egg and Cornflour) and give a good mix and keep it in the fridge for atleast 1 hour.

Then take a deep frying pan add oil and allow the oil to become hot. In a meantime take out the chicken and add cornflour and beaten egg and give a nice mix and fry the chicken till golden brown and crispy, on a medium flame.. Once the chicken done before taking out from the oil, add curry leaves and green chilli fry for another few seconds, then take out the chicken on to a paper towel.

Serve hot as a side dish with Briyani, Rice and Curry or even with Drinks..

Omelette And Cheese Roll..

Omelette And Cheese Roll.. I'm not a big fan of cheese rolls, chicken rolls, egg rolls or any street food. It is not like I don't eat, I eat if there is no other option or someone else is eating and after seeing them if I can't control... Nowadays I'm trying out different types of breakfast with simple ingredients which is available easily at home. As my H leaves to office early morning by eating simple breakfast and I don't get a change to try out different dishes except on weekends. So I thought why don't I give a change to myself for eating good and different types of breakfast, in that way I'm happy and my H is also happy that I eat food... Sometime I don't even bother to take pictures after seeing the dish I feel so hungry I start eating there only... This is quick and simple rolls which kids and adults also can enjoy as breakfast or even as a snacks.

Ingredient's.

2 chapati (Roti)

1 egg

1 small onion, 1 green chilli (finely chopped)

Pinch of black pepper powder

2tbsp grated cheese

Salt to taste

2tsp oil.

Cooking Method.

Make a omelette by adding egg, onion, green chilli, pepper powder and salt. with 1tsp of oil and set it aside.

In a same frying pan, just heat both the chapati and divide the omelette into 2 position and keep it on the chapati and sprinkle grated cheese on both the chapati and roll it tightly.

Now again in the same pan, add the leftover oil and place the rolls and cook till the cheese is melted, That will take about 1 to 2 minutes. Take out from the pan and serve immediately.

Serve hot with Juice and some fruits..

Medu Vada/ Urad Dal Vada/ Lentil Fritters.

Medu Vada is a urad dal based fried snack, a delightful dish from the South Indian cuisine... When I was in India this use to be our breakfast on every Saturday, because there were so many South Indian restaurant near our house and I use to never feel like cooking on weekends, all you have do just get up from the bed go to have hot hot breakfast and then do what ever you want whole day.. After coming to UK my life has changed completely. On weekends we are stuck with bread omelette or cornflakes, if we want to eat something else then cook and eat. I really miss India and I keep asking my husband when are we going back? and he reply's - very soon. I have no idea when that very soon will come :)

Ingredient's.

100 gram urad dal

1/2 cup finely chopped onion

1/2tsp cumin seeds

1/2tsp black pepper (coarsely ground)

1tbsp finely chopped coriander leaves

Pinch of Hing 

Salt to taste

Oil for deep frying.

Cooking Method.

Wash urad dal several times until the water appears clear and soak it over night or atleast 5 to 6 hours.

Drain the water and blend dal to coarsely texture. Just using enough water as needed to blend. 

Then add onion, cumin, black pepper, coriander, hing and salt. Whip dal batter using a spoon in a circular motion for about two to three minutes until batter become light and fluffy.

In a deep frying pan add oil and allow oil to become hot on medium flame. To check if oil is ready put a little batter into the oil, oil will sizzle and batter should start expending upwards slowly without changing color.

Then place a plastic sheet on to a flat surface and apply little water, then put 2tbsp batter on to plastic sheet and slowly flatten the vada and make a small hole in a centre. Take the plastic sheet slowly up and leave the vada into hot oil for frying. Fry until they are golden brown..

Serve hot with Coconut Chutney and Sambar.

Dahi Vada.. (Curd And Lentil Vada With Tangy Tamarind Chutney)

Dahi Vadas are lentil dumplings topped with a spicy savory yogurt and tamarind chutney. These are great as a side dish on any occasion or served as a chat too.. This dahi vada was made by Nupur my friend on Diwali day in a different way and with different ingredients... I use moong dal to make dahi vade but she made it with urad dal, exactly the way we cook medu vada. It was very good and I'm happy to know one more recipe of dahi vada..

To be honest I'm not a great fan of dahi vada, because of that only I use to avoid cooking.. But this time it was totally opposite because of the tamarind chutney, I ate 2 dahi vada with lots of tangy tamarind chutney and chat masala.. It was awesome and I have a plan to cook it again in some time... Thanks to my friend Nupur for a such a yummy dahi vada recipe..

Ingredients For Vadas.

1 cup urad dal

Oil for deep frying.

Ingredient's For Curd.

1 1/2 cup yogurt

3tbsp milk

1tsp salt

1/2tsp roasted cumin powder.

Ingredient's For Tamarind Chutney.

1cup tamarind pulp

2tbsp sugar

3/4 cup jaggery

1/4tsp red chilly powder

1/2tsp roasted cumin powder

Pinch of salt.

Cooking Method For Tamarind Chutney.

In a heavy bottom pan, add all the ingredinets of tamarind chuteny and cook on a low flame, till tamarind pulp becomes semi thick and dark in color.. That will take about 30 minutes. (keep stirring in between to avoid sticking at the bottom) When it is done take out in a bowl and allow it to cool.

Cooking Method For Vada.

Wash urad dal several times until the water appears clear and soak it over night.

Drain the water and blend dal to very creamy texture. Just using enough water as needed to blend. 

Whip dal batter using a spoon in a circular motion for about two to three minutes until batter become light and fluffy. If needed add few spoons of water.

In a deep frying pan add oil and allow oil to become hot on medium flame. To check if oil is ready put a little batter into the oil, oil will sizzle and batter should start expending upwards slowly without changing color.

Then place a plastic sheet on to a flat surface and apply little water, then put 2tbsp batter on to plastic sheet and slowly flatten the vada and make a small hole in a centre. Take the plastic sheet slowly up and leave the vada into hot oil for frying. Fry until they are golden brown and fry the vadas in small batches

After you have made all of the vadas, place the vadas in luke warm water and soak for about 20 minutes.

Next squeeze the vadas gently to take out the water, be careful not to break the vadas.

To make Yogurt topping and Garnish.

In a large mixing bowl take yogurt, milk and mix until very smooth. add salt and cumin powder give a good mix.

Then soak all the vadas in the yogurt for at least twenty minutes, giving the vadas time to absorb the yogurt.

Slowly pick up each vada and transfer into a serving dish, pouring a few spoons of extra yogurt all over the vadas.

Just before serving, sprinkle red chilly powder and chat masala finish off with a drizzle of tamarind chutney.

Meethi Thepla.. (Indian Flat-Bread With Fenugreek Leaves)

Meethi Thepla is very famouse Gujarati snack bread. It is very flavorful and makes for a great travel or picnic food. You can serve with Pickle or with plain yogurt. Actually I love most of Gujarati snacks like Dhokla, Thepla, Khahkra and the most favourite of mine is Fafda, I simple love this snacks and can munch any time of the day.. I usually prepare thepla very often for the breakfast, because it is very healthy and easy to cook and easy to eat for the people like my hubby, who is always in a hurry..

You can make them in a bulk and store them for 4 to 5 days and they will taste same... There are many different version to cook, but I follow one very simple recipe sometime I do change ingredients but most of the time it is simple. Do try this recipe and serve healthy food to your loved ones..

Ingredient's.

1 cup Whole Wheat flour

1/2 cup Besan (Chickpea flour)

1 cup Methi (Fenugreek) leaves

2-3 tbsp Curd

1 green chilli (finely chopped)

1/4tsp ajwain (carom seeds)

1 tsp Coriander powder, 1/2 tsp Red chili powder, 1/2 tsp Turmeric powder

2 tbsp Oil

Salt to taste

Oil/Ghee,to roast theplas.

Cooking Method.

Chop meethi leaves finely and set it aside.

Take a big bowl and add wheat flour and besan along with all the masalas and mix well.

Add oil and curd and rub and mix the flour nicely. Now add methi leaves, with little water and knead till the dough is smooth and soft.

Grease your hands and knead it again until it gets the elastic texture. cover it and leave it for 10-15 mins. 

Make medium size balls of the dough and roll it to a disc of 6'' in diameter by dusting it in between with the dry flour.

Heat a tawa and place the rolled thepla on the tawa and let it cook slightly on one side. Turn it to the other side and apply oil and then turn it again and apply oi and let it roast on both sides till it forms the brown spots.

Prepare all the theplas in the same manner and stack them in a roti basket.

Serve the theplas hot/warm/cold with Pickle and yogurt.

Choba Ki Poori..(Diwali Snacks)

Choba Ki Poori.. You can call them as a (Big Gujia). choba ki poori method is same as gujia but without khova and they are big in size. This is muslim family recipe, they cook this on special occasions like marriage. From a bride side they have to cook this and send it to the grooms house before the day of marriage.. There are many other occasions we cook this if I start then I don't think one post will be enough to tell every thing.

This is my Husband's first Diwali away from home and I don't want him to miss anything because of that only I'm trying my best to make him not to miss anything. I cook gujia very often as he loves to eat them , but this time I wanted to try out something new for him so I thought of this recipe and it turn out to be tasty and he loved it. This is not the only thing, I have lots of plans and many dishes to cook. Hoping for the best :-)

Happy Diwali to my all blog readers and to my friends. May god bless you all with lots of happiness and many more years like this with your family and friends :-)

Ingredient's For Filling.

100gm dry coconut

1+1/2 sugar

1/4cup dry fruits (almonds, raisin, pistachio and cashew)

Ingredient's For Poori.

2 cups of maida

2tbsp ghee/oil

Water (to make a dough)

Oil for deep frying.

Cooking Method For Filling.

Grate the dry coconut.

Chop the almonds, cashew and pistachio into vertical small pieces.

In a vessel, add sugar, grated coconut and all the dry fruits. Give them a nice mix and set it aside. 

Filling is ready.

Cooking Method For Poori's.

Mix maida and ghee. 

Now add water and make dough.

Take small amount of dough and make a small chapatti, put the filling, apply water to the corners of chapatti and fold it giving a semi- circular shape. Press the corners of the puri with your nails.

In a deep frying pan heat oil, and deep fry the pooris to golden brown. Take out on to a paper towel.

Choba Poori is ready to serve.

Store them into Airtight container for more then a week..

Chutney Wala Aaloo.. (Potato With Garlic And Coriander Chutney)

Chutney Wala Aaloo... This is very famous dish in UP and Bihar states in India, almost in every house this would be the morning break fast with pooris... Already I have 2 or 3 posts of different version of this dish, but I cook this often, because of the garlic taste in it.. In my opinion this dish should be eaten when you have nothing to do, just sit in one place and eat. I'm telling you, you will eat more then 4 to 5 pooris with this sabji. Usually my H wants me to cook this on weekends so that he can enjoy slowly and he don't have to rush to office after eating... This can be served as a side dish or even as a starter or snacks..

Ingredient's.

3 medium boiled potato (peeled and cut into big chunks)

4 cloves of garlic

Hand full of coriander leaves

2 green chillies

1/4tsp mustard seeds

1/4tsp cumin seeds

Pinch of turmeric

2tbsp Oil

Salt to taste.

Cooking Method.

In a blender, add garlic, coriander leaves and green chillies and grind it to a smooth paste, by adding little water.

In a deep frying pan, add oil, mustard and cumin, when they splutter, add grounded paste and turmeric and fry for 2 to 3minutes. Then add turmeric and salt, fry for another few sec.

Now add the boiled potatoes and mix them gently and cook till the potato are mixed well with everything, that will take about 3 to 4 minutes.. Sprinkle some more chopped coriander leaves on top.

Serve hot with Pooris, Roti's or as a Starters.

Omelette And Cheese Sandwich..

Omelette & Cheese Sandwich.. From past 2 to 3days I'm only having omelette and cheese sandwich for the breakfast.. Actually this is routine in my house that we eat bread and omelette atleast 3 to 4 times in a week, sometime I feel bore and try new recipe in the same ingredients... This is one of the best recipe of normal bread and omelette to cheese and omelette sandwich. To cook this sandwich you don't need and fancy ingredients or appliances, you can cook just with few ingredients like (eggs, bread, cheese and onion) and it taste great with juice or a cup of hot tea... It can be served as a snacks too..

Ingredient's.

2 eggs

4 slices of bread

2tbsp cheese (you can use how much you want)

1 medium onion, 1 green chili (finely chopped)

Pinch of black pepper powder

1tsp oil

1tsp butter

Salt to taste.

Cooking Method.

In a large mixing bowl. add eggs, onion, green chili, black pepper and salt, mix them all together, and make omelette by using 1tsp oil.

In a mean time apply butter on to the bread slices and set it aside.

Once the omelette is cooked, take out on to a plate. Then on the same pan place the bread slices and sprinkle the cheese on top, now place half omelette on top of the bread and sprinkle some more cheese on top and cover it with another bread, and fry both the side until golden brown on a slow flame..

Repeat the same process for rest of the bread..

Serve hot with Juice or Tea.

Chicken Bezule.. (Mangalorean Street Food)

Chicken Bezule..Chicken bezule is a popular appetizer which is sold in the streets of Mangalore. These are perfect little bites fit for a cocktail party or even as a snack... I adopted this recipe from Vah Chef, I really like watch his videos on youtube, not because he cooks good, I like the way he eats after finishing his cooking, that makes my mouthwatering... I watch his videos quite often and never try any of them, but this chicken bezule video tempted me so much that I tried it immediately. It was tasting like the same chicken which I had in mangalore long back... This is one of the best chicken starter to serve on a rainy day or even when you have guest at home. Make this street food at home by adding your love and serve...

Ingredients:

1/2kg chicken (bite size pieces)

1tsp ginger garlic paste 

1tbsp lemon juice 

1tsp curd 

1tsp chilli powder , 1/2 tsp cumin powder, 1/2tsp coriander powder, pinch of turmeric

2 strands finely chopped curry leaves 

2 finely chopped green chilli

pinch of red food colour 

2tsp all purpose flour (maida)

1tsp corn flour 

Oil for deep frying.

Cooking Method.

Combine all the above ingredient's and Marinate for 2 to 3hours 

Heat oil in a deep frying pan and Fry the chicken pieces to crispy. Do not over crowd the pan. fry in a lesser quantity.

Then in the same oil deep fry few curry leaves and strain excess oil and sprinkle over the chicken..

Serve hot with sauce of your choice..

Vada Pav.. (Mumbai Street Food)

Vada Pav.. I have eaten this many times in Goli Vada Pav in bangalore, in starting I use to feel good and use to have 2 to 3 times in a week, then the masala what they use started giving me problem and I totally stopped eating Vada Pav. I always wanted to try at home, but use to feel why to do some much of work when you can get it from opposite of the road and stop myself from cooking.. But here there is no option what ever we want to eat I have to cook at home only and I really feel this is a very good opportunity for me to try out many recipes which I have been waiting to try from ages..

This was my second attempt to cook Vada Pav at home and it turn out to be the tastiest Vada Pav we have ever had and my H loved it and he ate 2 Vada Pav along with 2 green chilli. where he use to always by 1 and eat only half.. When ever he eats happily and more I feel my this much of effort is worth.. Enjoy the simple and tasty recipe of Vada Pav and make your family members happy..

Ingredient's For Vada.

3 medium boiled potatoes (peeled and mashed)

1 tsp ginger garlic paste

1 green chillies, 1 medium onion (finelychopped)

1/4 tsp tumeric powder

1/4 tsp mustard seeds

6-7 curry leaves

2tbsp oil

Salt to taste.

Ingredient's For Batter of Vada

1 1/2cups gram flour (besan)

Oil for deep frying

1 pinch of red chilli powder, 1 pinch of turmeric

1/4tsp ginger garlic paste

1 pinch of cooking soda (optional)

Salt to taste

6 Pav buns (square buns).

Ingredient's For Spicy Red Dry Chutney.

1tbsp red chilli powder

1/4 tsp cumin

8 curry leaves

1tbsp grated coconut

1/4 cup peanuts, 3tbsp sesame seeds

5 garlic cloves, 1 green chilli (finely chopped)

1 pinch of asafoetida

Salt to taste.

Cooking Method.

Step-1. First dry roast all the ingredients of spicy red dry chutney. and grind them into powder (do not add any water) and set it aside.

Step-2. Then in a mixing bowl, add all the ingredients of batter for vada and mix them nicely and make a thick batter like we make for bajji.. set it aside.

Step-3. Now in a deep frying pan, add 2tbsp oil, mustard seeds, curry leaves, when they start spluttering, add onion and green chilli and fry for 2 to 3 minutes. Then add ginger garlic paste, turmeric, potato and salt, fry for another 3 to 4 minutes. Take out the mixture in a separate plate and allow the mixture to cool. when the potato mixtures is cooled, make 6 to 7 large lemon size balls and keep it aside.

In the same frying pan add oil for deep frying the vada's. When the oil is hot, dip one potato ball at a time into the gram flour batter to coat well and then deep fry till golden. Drain on paper towels.

Take one Pav bun, slit in half (not completely - leave one edge joined) and put a spoonful spicy red chutney on it. Place a potato ball on the bun and fold over, pressing down gently.

Serve while the Vada is still hot with fried green chilli..