All Thingz Yummy !!!: January 2009

Friday

Announcing: Sunday Snacks - Grab n Go & Roundup for Sunday Snacks - Hot n Spicy

Tuesday

Indonesian Chicken Curry in Coconut Sauce

One of my co-workers, who likes spicy indian food.. sent an email to me the other day with a recipe his mom sent over for him to try... "I thought it was pretty good and reminded me of some Indian dishes I have had before. The coconut really helped to give it a nice curry “like” consistency but we all agreed that it was missing a little bit of spice (below is actually an updated version of that recipe with a few items that might add that kick). A refreshing and different dish to say the least. I have also found that when you have all of these ingredients on hand it’s so much easier to want to cook ;-)" ..and shared with me the recipe..for the Indonesian Chicken Coconut Curry...

Over the weekend, I tried it and I was really amazed with the results. I modified it a little bit to the liking of my family..and that is what I have posted here..

Ingredients:
2-3 lbs Chicken (skinless, boneless , cut into chunks)
1.5 Tbsp. chili powder (use 1 Tbsp for a milder version)
1.5 Tbsp Sambar Powder (The original recipe called for 1 tbsp. curry powder, 1 tbsp. turmeric powder , 1 tsp. cumin - I didnt have the curry powder or the cumin powder ready, so used the Sambhar powder instead)
1/2 Tbsp Garlic (minced/chopped)
1 large onion (chopped finely)
2 medium sized tomatoes(roughly chopped)
1/2 c. chopped cilantro
2 tbsp. oil
1 can coconut milk
Salt and pepper to taste

Process:
Heat oil in big pan and add the turmeric to it.
Then fry onion, tomatoes and garlic for a few minutes.
Then add the chicken and continue cooking for about 5-10 minutes on medium heat.
Add all the spices. Stir everything together for a few minutes and cook until the chicken is well done. Add the coconut milk, adjust salt, chilli powder and masala if needed. Stir well, and let it simmer for another 5 minutes until the gravy starts bubbling.. and some oil starts to separate. Add chopped cilantro, mix well and Turn off the heat.

It was really delicious, tastes very much like Tikka Masala.. and I will make this often, coz it was quite quick and simple to make.. Serve with Rice/Chapathi/Nan. Enjoy !!

Definitely a keeper..Thanks to David and his mom for sharing..!

Thursday

[+/-]

Yummy Chicken Tikka Masala

Chicken Tikka Masala as they say .. in the national dish of Great Britain.. that a whole lot of it is eaten there more than anywhere in the world.. !! Even India.. !Traditionally..tikka usually means like a big chunk.. but, I like this more with this pulled chicken style coz the chicken absorbs the juices from the gravy better this way..

Ingredients for marinade::
1 cup plain yogurt
2 Tbsp ginger + garlic paste

3 tsp Chilli powder (adjust per taste.. start with 1 tsp if you prefer a milder gravy)
2 tsp Garam Masala(2-3 Cloves, 2 Cardomom, 1/2 inch Cinnamon stick, some black pepper - Grind them to a fine powder. I use a coffee grider to make all my spice mixtures. Works great.. )
2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast(use the large chicken pieces as is..on the skillet or grill. They need to be pulled later after grilling)
salt to taste

Ingredients for gravy:
1 medium onion (chopped finely)
2 Tbsp butter (or ghee/clarified butter)
2 tsp red chilli powder (may use Paprika or Cayenne Pepper, adjust per taste.. use 1tsp for milder taste)
3 Tbsp ginger+garlic paste
3 Tbsp Cashew nut paste (soak whole unsalted cashews in water for sometime and then grind it into a thick paste)

4-5 juicy tomatoes (chopped very finely or pureed tomato, you may also use the tomato paste from can. Make sure the canned ones are not sweetened and are pure 100% tomato paste)
1 pint Heavy cream

Process:

Wash the chicken thoroughly and marinate in the ingredients mentioned above for the marinade.

In a wide pan, saute the onions in butter/ghee over medium heat until light golden brown. Add ginger garlic paste , saute a little then add the chopped tomatoes and saute.. Cover with a lid and simmer on medium heat until all of the tomato juice oozes out and is cooked until the raw smell goes away and is bubbling.. (about 15 - 20 minutes or more)

Meanwhile, grill the chicken on a cast iron grill/griddle (You can also use the regular grill.. since I made this in winter, I didnt feel like stepping out.. so, used the cast iron griddle.. in summer usually, I grill the chicken outside on the grill).. Turn periodically until the chicken pieces are done. Set them aside. When the chicken is a cool enough to touch, tear it into pieces, just with your hands. The pieces need to be about 2 - 3 inches long and about 1/2 inch diameter. (like you would pull the string cheese) pull.. the chicken..looks like below after done..

Add cashew paste and the heavy cream to the tomato gravy and cook. Adjust salt, chilli powder and garam masala as per your liking. Add the chicken and let it cook in the tomato gravy for about 5-10 minutes until the butter/oil/ghee starts to separate.. Turn it off and serve hot with Rice or Nan.. mmmmmmmm.. yummy..Enjoy !

Wednesday

[+/-]

Easy Yummy Hot Lentil Rice/Bisi Bele Bath

Bisi Bele Bath or Hot Lentil Rice as once my Kannada friend told me, is one of my favorite rice dishes.. And why not.. it has lots of lentils, vegetables.. is served hot and is spicy and is easy to make.. To add to everything, it is a nice filling comfort meal especially when temperatures are subzero outside :)

Ingredients:
3 cups rice
1 cup Tuvar Dal(Toor Dal/Kandhi Pappu)
3 Tbsp MTR Bisibele bath Masala (only MTR no other, available in Indian Grocery Stores)
Lemon size ball of tamarind (soaked and juice squeezed out)
1.5 Cups mixed veggies (peas, beans, carrot, potato, corn, cauliflower.. pretty much whatever you like)
2 Tbsp Ghee
2 tsp Turmeric
2 Green Chillies (slit length-wise - not fully but more than 2/3rd way through)
2 tsp Oil
salt as per taste
chilli powder as per taste

Process:
Soak the tamarind and keep aside. Wash the dal,Wash rice and put both of them into the rice cooker (you may cook it in a pan outside or in a pressure cooker too). Add a little extra water than you would usually do. Add some turmeric, oil, green chillies and the mixed vegetables. Add some salt as per taste and also 1 Tbsp of MTR Bisi Bele Bath Masala And cook the rice mixture.

When done, in a large pan add some ghee, and do the basic south indian tempering.. with mustard seeds, cumin, curry leaves. Now, add the rice, stir, squeeze juice from soaked tamarind, add it to the rice. Mix well. May add some water for a stirring consistency. Add the rest of the MTR masala. Also, stir in the rest of the ghee..
Add chilli powder and salt as per taste.. Mix well.. let it simmer for about 5-10 minutes until the ghee starts to separate.. Turn off the heat and remove from stove. Yummy... nutritious.. bisi bele bath is ready. Serve hot.

Goes well with some plain yogurt on the side or just by itself. My son loves this too.. and I like to serve it to him for all the goodies.. Its a nice hot comfort meal on a snowy tuesday evening !! Enjoy !

This goes to Harini/Sunshine Mom's FIC Yellow Event and also to Srivalli's My Legume Love Affair - Seventh Helping event initiated by Susan @ The Well-Seasoned Cook

Tuesday

[+/-]

Yummy Potato Fritters/Alu Bajji

[+/-]

Happy Sankranthi/Pongal and ideas for menu

Monday

[+/-]

Eggless Dinner Rolls for Breadline Africa

Harini AKA SunshineMom of Tongue Ticklers has tagged me for the Breadline Africa blogger bakeoff campaign.. And after a long delay I am finally posting this for the noble endeavour. The basic idea is to spread the word through blogs and find any possible donors that way..Please head on over to Harini's Blog or to their website for more details.. I couldnt find anyone I know that has already not been tagged for this, so I am inviting the readers to let me know if they are interested..

Ingredients:
5 Cups All Purpose Flour
2 1/4 Cups Milk
5 Tbsp unsalted butter
3 Tbsp Sugar
1 Package Active Dry Yeast (1/4 oz)
Oil as needed
Process:
In a heated sauce pan, warm the milk, melt 3 Tbsp butter and sugar into it by stirring continuously. Cool and when its lukewarm.. add the yeast to it. and set aside for 10 minutes until its foamy. Meanwhile in a large mixing bowl, mix the flour and salt together. Add the buttery milk yeast mixture to the flour and mix until a soft dough is formed. Its very sticky. Transfer this onto a very very well-floured working surface and knead until a soft elastic dough id formed. Grease another large bowl and transfer this into it, cover and let it rice. A warm place would work better. Let it sit for about 2 hours until it doubles in size. Knead the dough lightly and punch it a little to let all the carbondioxide escape. Divide into equal size balls and set them on your greased baking dish.With about 1-2inch gap between them. Optional: Brush the rolls with the remaining butter at this point. (I skipped this step and you'll see from the picture the top looks a little dry. But, I decided we dont need the extra butter and would always do it that way. It was very yummy..) Cover and again let it rise for about 2 hrs until they have risen back into shape about 2 inches high.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Bake the rolls until golgen brown, about 22-27 minutes.. Remove the rolls from the oven and let them cool a little. Transfer to cooling rack and let it cool completely before serving.

Serve with some butter/fruit spread or with dipping oil. These very delicious dinner rolls.. are sure to please your family.. Enjoy !

[+/-]

Matar Paneer/Tofu Masala with a twist

Aah ! the paneer.. !! Whatever you make with it, you can never go wrong. Its delicious.. (ofcourse its delicious.. it has significant fat content..and you know anything with fat in it.. is gotto be tasty :)) and goes well with anything.. Paneer is made from milk so, the calcium content is high too. Which makes a great food for kids. I like to substitute Paneer with Tofu whenever I can. I usually make this curry with a mostly tomato base since its easy with fewer ingredients, but this time, I was in short supply of those and decided to try something different.. Turned out very yummy...

Ingredients:
1 Cup Paneer (cubed) (OR Tofu for a healthier alternative)
1 Tomato (Large chopped finely)
1 Onion (Large chopped finely)
3 Tbsp Dry roasted peanut(skinless) powder
1 Tbsp Dry coconut powder
1/4 cup plain yogurt
1 Tbsp Ginger+garlic paste
1/2 cup green peas (fresh/frozen)
4 cloves
2 tsp Dry Coriander powder
1 Tbsp Lime juice (optional)
1/2 tsp Garam Masala (optional)
salt as per taste
chilli powder as per taste
Oil as needed (2-3Tbsp)

Process:
Heat some oil in a wide pan. Pan fry the paneer/tofu, add some salt and chilli powder to it. Set aside. In the same pan, add the cloves, ginger garlic paste and stir. Then add the chopped onions. Saute until golden brown. Add the chopped tomato, saute and cover with a lid. Make sure you stir it frequently until the juices ooze out and the tomatoes are all mushy. About 10 minutes.

In a separate bowl, mix the yogurt, the peanut powder and the coconut powder and mix well. Add this into the pan.Add some water (about 1/2 cup). You may add the coriander powder and garam masala (if you are using it) at this point. Add salt and chilli powder and adjust as per your liking. You may also add some lime juice for a tangy flavor. Stir this mixture. Add the green peas. Let the curry cook for 5 minutes. When the liquid is hot and seems to be bubbling, add the fried paneer/tofu.

Let it simmer on low heat for about 5 more minutes or until the oil starts to separate in the pan. Turn off the heat. Serve hot with rice/chapathi. Very delicious.