Category Archives: Recipe Index

Chicken, Gravy/Side Dish, Non Veg Recipes, Recipe Index, Recipes

Chicken Roast Recipe

Posted on by kavithapadmanaban
12
May

The Chicken Roast recipe is a South Indian recipe which involves the frying of chicken with a few basic ingredients. The recipe is simple as there is no adding onions, tomatoes or even ginger -garlic paste. It goes well with sambar rice or rasam rice. It can be made as a side dish for a party at home. Guests will surely love it.

The blending of the curry leaves and green chillies along with the chicken is a crucial step. It increases the aroma of the dish and makes it appetising. This quick and easy chicken roast recipe is very tasty and children love to eat it. Here no deep-frying is done and so less oil is used.

There is no marination process in this recipe and this saves time. It is the best choice for busy individuals who want to try home-cooked food and have less time. It is best to use a kadai as less oil is used. The kadai will prevent the sticking of the chicken. You can increase the quantity of oil to prevent the chicken from sticking.

Ingredients for Chicken Roast recipe

1 Kg Chicken ( cut into medium pieces)

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

1 and 1/4 tsp chilli powder

2 handfuls curry leaves

4 green chillies

2 tbsp corriander leaves

1 tsp salt  or salt to taste

Method

Take chicken in a kadai or a heavy thick bottomed pan or a cast-iron skillet and add 150 ml of water, chilli powder, turmeric powder and salt. Give a slight mix.

Close the Kadai with a lid and allow it to cook for 20 minutes on medium flame. Cook till the water evaporates.

Now add 3 tbsp of oil and mix well. At this stage add curry leaves and green chilli and give a gentle mix.

Lower the flame and keep cooking until the chicken gets roasted and there is a colour change in the green chillies.

Note: Keep stirring the chicken now and then.

Sprinkle corriander leaves and give a quick stir. The Chicken roast is ready to eat in 2 minutes.Enjoy chicken roast!

Recipe Index, Recipes, Starters, Veg Recipes

Paneer Capsicum Stir Fry

Posted on by kavithapadmanaban
22
Apr

Paneer Capsicum Stir Fry is an easy and tasty paneer recipe. The paneer is first marinated with chilli powder, ginger and garlic paste and then added to the onion and capsicum. This recipe is ready to eat in half an hour and is a great choice if you have sudden guests at home or need to pack tiffin. The ingredients added are simple and are easily available in the kitchen.

You can have them as a starter too. This Indo-Chinese recipe goes well with chappatis, rotis,pulkas. Paneer lovers would really enjoy the crunchy taste of onions and capsicum along with the soft paneer.

For more paneer recipes click Palak Paneer, Paneer Tawa Masala. Now let us see how to make Paneer Capsicum Stir Fry?

Ingredients

200 g  paneer cut into cubes

1 capsicum cut into  squares

1 onion cut into squares

10 -12 cloves of garlic (finely chopped )

1/2 tsp chilli powder

2 green chillies (finely chopped)

5 tsp of oil

1/2 tsp vinegar

1/2 tsp soy sauce

salt to taste

Method

The process involves 3 steps.

  1. Marination of Paneer

  2. Stir Fry of Capsicum and onion

  3. Combining the marinated paneer with the Capsicum and Onion

 1. Marination of Paneer

Take the cut paneer in a small bowl and add ginger and garlic paste, chilli powder and salt. Give a slight mix so that the ginger, garlic paste and chilli powder along with salt mixes evenly. You can use a spoon instead and delicately mix so that the paneer does not break into smaller pieces. Be careful while handling the paneer.

Take a small pan and heat it for 2 minutes. Add 1tsp of oil and heat it for a minute. Now add the marinated paneer to the pan and heat it for a few minutes (not more than 2 minutes)on medium flame. This process will help in further mixing the marinate with the paneer. Now let it sit till the other step of stir-frying the onion and capsicum are done.

2. Stir Fry of Capsicum and Onion

Take a pan and heat it. Now add 4 tsp of oil and heat it on a medium flame for 2 minutes. Add the chopped garlic and green chillies. Sauté till the garlic turns golden brown. Now add the soy sauce and vinegar and stir for a few minutes.

Then add onions and capsicum, mix well so that the vinegar and soy sauce blends with the capsicum and onions. Now heat for around 5 minutes on medium flame.

3. Combining the marinated paneer with the Capsicum and Onion

It is now time to add the marinated paneer to the capsicum and onion. Mix all the ingredients well but as before be careful not to break the paneer. Keep it on a medium flame for 5 more minutes. Give a final mix . Remove from the flame immediately and serve hot.

If you keep heating then the crunchy taste of onion and capsicum will not be there as it will be overcooked.

Enjoy eating and do let me know how it tastes.

 

 

 

Gravy/Side Dish, Recipe Index, Recipes, Veg Recipes

Palak Paneer

Posted on by kavithapadmanaban
26
May

Palak Paneer is an easy, healthy  Indian dish in which cottage cheese or paneer is added to spiced palak. Palak is spinach. The combination of palak and paneer is a delicacy and can be eaten with Indian bread like roti, naan and chapati. It can also be eaten with rice like ghee rice and jeera rice.

Palak is nutrient-rich and paneer has high protein content. Paneer and palak along with spices make a rich delicacy.  Vegans can use tofu instead of paneer. This is one of the most awesome gravy with spinach.

I have added paneer in this recipe without frying, but you can fry the paneer in oil for two minutes if you want. For a richer Palak Paneer, you can add cream.

Ingredients

4 teaspoon oil

1 teaspoon ghee

1 bunch palak (stem removed)

4 medium-sized onions (chopped)

3 green chillies

1 bay leaf

4 cloves

1-inch cinnamon

1 cardamom

5 cashew nuts

1/2 teaspoon chilli powder

1/2 teaspoon kasuri methi

1 and 1/2 teaspoon salt or salt to taste

Method

Blanching of Palak

Take around 500ml of water in a vessel and heat it till it starts to boil. Add green chillies to it. Then add half a teaspoon of salt and washed palak to it. Allow the palak to remain in the water for a minute and then drain the water. Wash again with cold water so that the green colour of spinach is retained.

Grinding the palak

Add the blanched and cooled palak and green chillies to a mixer. Without adding water grind the palak along with the green chilli. Then add a few drops of water to get a semisolid paste of palak puree.

Making of Onion masala

Keep the bay leaf, cloves, cinnamon and cardamom ready. Take a kadai or a heavy thick bottomed pan or a cast-iron skillet and heat it. Then add oil and heat it for 2 minutes. Now add bay leaf, cloves, cinnamon and cardamom to the heated oil.

 

After a minute add onions and stir. Add cashew and keep stirring till the onions turn golden brown.

Then add kasuri methi after crushing in the fingers and add ginger- garlic paste. Fry till the raw smell of the ginger -garlic paste goes.

Now add chilli powder and keep stirring for a few minutes. Then switch off the gas stove. Allow it to cool.

Grinding of the onion masala

Transfer the cooled onion masala to a mixie jar. Grind it without adding water. Then add a few drops of water to get a smooth paste.

Making of Palak Paneer

Take the kadai and heat it. Add ghee and heat it for less then a minute. Now add the ground onion masala into the kadai and fry until the raw smell of onions is not there. This usually takes 5-10 minutes.

Then add palak paste and mix thoroughly. Allow it to cook for another 5 minutes. Add salt and mix well. You can add cream if you want. I have not added it to this recipe.

Cook till the colour changes to a darker colour.

Finally, add the paneer and stir gently such that the paneer does not break. Cook for 2 minutes and switch of the gas stove.If you want your paneer to be crispier then fry them in oil and then add to the above palak.

.

 

Your delicious and mouth-watering Palak Paneer is ready! Enjoy:)

Gravy/Side Dish, Recipe Index, Veg Recipes

How to make Elephant Yam Fry?

Posted on by kavithapadmanaban
18
Mar

Elephant Yam Fry is tasty as well as healthy dish. It is usually called ” Vegetarian Fish Fry”.Elephant Yam Fry is a favourite of many and this spicy dish tastes good with sambar rice, rasam rice, curd rice, lemon rice. In this recipe, the yam is fried on a Tawa after tender cooking it with the spices.

Yam is called as “senai kilangu” in tamil and “suran” in hindi. Although Elephant Foot Yam is very tasty we must be careful while cutting it as it causes itching which persists for some time. But it is worth trying.

Precautions to be taken while cutting Elephant Yam

Elephant Yam has the tendency to cause itching both on the skin and on the tongue due to the presence of calcium oxalate. So some precautions should be taken while cooking it.

a) Apply coconut oil on the skin before touching the yam for cutting.

b) First remove the skin, cut the yam and then wash it.

c)Soak the Yam in tamarind water or buttermilk first and discard it.

d) If you skin is very sensitive then using rubber gloves is recommended.

Baking or pressure cooking the yam before cutting helps to reduce itchiness. However, in this recipe I have cut the Yam first and then cooked. Since I cook it with the masala it is more tasty.

Always go for the bigger yam as the smaller ones tend to cause more itching.

 

Now let us see, how to make Elephant Yam Fry ?

Ingredients

5 tablespoons oil

500 g of Yam (cut into thin slices)

1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder

1 teaspoon chilli powder

1 teaspoon ginger – garlic paste

1/4 teaspoon mustard

2 pinches asafoetida

a sprig of curry leaves

1 cm size tamarind

1/2 teaspoon salt or salt to taste

 

Method

Cooking of Elephant Yam

Take the cut yam pieces in a bowl and wash them. Then add water and add a piece of tamarind. Squeeze it well so that the pulp mixes with the water. Leave it for 10-15 minutes.

Remove the water and transfer it into a kadai. Now add turmeric powder, chilli powder,ginger-garlic paste and salt.

   

Then add 100ml of water. Close it with a lid and heat it on a high medium flame for 10 minutes.    

After 10 minutes remove the lid and keep heating till there the water evaporates. The yam should be half /tender cooked.

Tawa frying the Elephant Yam

Now take a heavy thick-bottomed Tawa or a cast-iron skillet and heat it for 2 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons of oil and heat it for another 2 minutes. Transfer the cooked yam to the Tawa and keep heating it on a low medium flame. If you want you can do it in 2 batches but I have done it in a single batch here.

You can add more oil if you want.

Occasionally (approximately around 4 minutes)keep turning the yam or stir the yam gently so that it does not get burnt. Keep doing this till you get the desired crispiness.

Tempering the Elephant Yam

Take a tempering pan and add 1 teaspoon of oil. Allow it to heat for a minute. Then add mustard and allow it to splutter. Add asafoetida and curry leaves. When the curry leaves changes colour and becomes crispy, switch off the gas. Add it to the yam on the Tawa.

Breakfast, Recipe Index, Veg Recipes

Wheat roti /Kothumai roti from wet grinding

Posted on by kavithapadmanaban
11
Mar

In this recipe of Wheat roti/Kothumai roti the whole wheat is soaked and blended coarsely to a semisolid paste and rotis are made from this. It is another option instead of making the usual dosa. Sometimes we get bored eating the same type of dish every day and at that time this dish becomes handy.

Since it is coarsely ground the fibre content is more and the taste is different from wheat dosa and wheat roti (made from wheat flour). This dish takes good with chutneys as well as gravies like onion chutney, coriander chicken masala or even plain coconut chutney.

Here you do not pour the batter like a dosa nor roll it like the usual roti but you pat it directly on the tawa using hands. If you are not comfortable with your hands you can also use a spoon. I have not used onions and green chillies but if you want you can add to increase flavour.

 

Ingredients

250 g of Whole wheat( for 5 medium sized rotis)

1/2 teaspoon salt or salt to taste

5 teaspoons of oil

Method

Soaking the wheat

Wash the wheat thoroughly. Soak the whole wheat for 2 hours at around 25 to 30°C in around 400 ml of water. Remove the water using a rice strainer.

Grinding the wheat

Transfer the wheat to the mixer .Add salt and blend it. Do not add water.

After some time add water gradually in few drops to form a coarse semi-solid paste. Do not add excess water as it will become watery.

Making of the wheat roti

Take a tawa and heat it .Apply oil using a brush. Do not add excess oil as it will be difficult to pat the batter. Now take a ladleful or handful of batter. Keep it on the tawa and immediately spread it equally on the tawa. You can use your hand or the ladle.

While using your hand if you feel the heat or it is difficult to spread the batter keep adding few drops of water till you get a circular uniform roti.

Now spread a teaspoon of oil uniformly on all sides of the roti Allow the roti to get heated up for around 2 minutes on high medium flame. Flip it over and allow it to cook for another 3 minutes.

If you want crispier roti you can heat it for a longer time.

Remove the roti from the tawa and serve hot with onion chutney…. trust me its the best combination

Breakfast, Recipe Index, Veg Recipes

Ragi Vermicelli Upma

Posted on by kavithapadmanaban
01
Mar

Ragi Vermicelli Upma is a  healthy, holistic South Indian vegetarian dish that can be taken for breakfast. As ragi is calcium-rich and thereby fortifies the bones it can be given to children and the elderly too. This gluten-free, vegan dish helps in checking sugar levels too.

To make it healthier you can add vegetables like carrot, beans and peas too. The same process can be followed for making wheat vermicelli upma, fox millet (thinai) vermicelli upma, pearl millet(kambu)vermicelli upma. A similar recipe is that of Lemon Sevai , which is also healthy.

This upma can taken with coconut chutney, pickle, banana or curd depending on your choice. For children, you can give it with banana. The best option is coconut chutney.

Method

Method for cooking the Ragi Vermicelli

The method varies for a brand and usually this procedure is written in the packet itself. Here I am using Anil brand wheat vermicelli.

Ingredients

180 g ragi vermicelli

1 litres water


Method

Take water in a big vessel. 

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Add the ragi vermicelli to the water so that it is fully immersed in water for 2 minutes. This is done to soften the ragi vermicelli.

Draining of water

Drain the water immediately. Remember you can’t use a colander as the vermicelli can easily pass through the holes. So you can use a micro-perforated strainer. If you do not have a strainer you can drain the water using the following method.
Close the vessel with a lid, hold the lid and the vessel together and slightly tilt the vessel so that only the water comes out. Finally, all the water is drained and only the softened vermicelli remains.

Cooking of the Ragi Vermicelli

Place this ragi vermicelli on an idli plate as shown below. Do not overcrowd it. You can use two idli plates if you want.

Keep this in an idli cooker and steam it for around 8 minutes. After the 8th minute, switch off the flame and remove the idli plates from the idli vessel. Allow it to cool.

Preparation of the ragi vermicelli upma

Ingredients

3 tablespoon oil

1 big onion (finely chopped)

2 big chillies(finely chopped)

1/4 teaspoon mustard

1/2 teaspoon broken urad dhal

1/2 teaspoon chana dhal

2 pinches asafoetida(hing)

a sprig of curry leaves

1teaspoon salt or salt to taste

1 tablespoon coriander leaves (finely chopped)

Method

Heat the pan or Kadai and pour oil. Wait for 2 minutes for the oil to get heated. Add mustard and allow it to splutter.

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At this stage add urad dhal, chana dhal and asafoetida. Let the urad dhal turn slightly brown.

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Now add onions, green chillies and curry leaves and saute. 

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Saute till the onions turn slightly brown.

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Then add the cooked ragi vermicelli and sprinkle the salt. Mix well. Finally, garnish with coriander leaves. Mix well so that the coriander leaves get distributed evenly and serve hot.


Enjoy the tasty dish with coconut chutney:)

Breakfast, Egg, Non Veg Recipes, Recipe Index, Recipes

French Toast

Posted on by kavithapadmanaban
23
Feb

This amazing simple dish is called pain perdu meaning “lost bread” in France while some call it Bombay toast or French toast. Whatever the name may be the basic process is the same. The bread is dipped in an egg-milk mix to give a custard-like taste. This mix is flavoured and sugared as per your taste.

Mostly thick bread slices are preferred. If you use thin slices of bread just dip it in the egg-milk mix and take it out immediately. Otherwise, the bread will become soggy and it will be difficult for handling. For better results, toast the bread. A perfect French toast should be crispy.

Usually, 1 egg for 50 ml milk (approximately) is taken. (In terms of the cup, for 1 egg 1/4 cup of milk is taken.)

Usually, butter is used for French toast. As butter has a low melting point the bread gets burnt very fast. In order to prevent the burning of bread, you can use any oil with a high melting point. Here I have used vegetable oil. You can also use olive oil. This increases the crispiness of bread.

Ingredients

2 teaspoon oil

2 eggs

100 ml or 1 cup (approximately) of milk

4 slices bread

2 tablespoons sugar

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

a pinch of salt

Method

Preparation of the mix

Add all the ingredients except the oil and bread into a shallow mixing bowl. Mix well using a whisker.

Preparation of French Toast

Take a tawa or a skillet or a grill pan and heat it. Then add butter and allow it to melt. Now toast the bread on both sides on a low medium flame so that it turns slightly brown in colour. Keep it aside.

Pour a few drops of oil on the tawa. Dip the bread in the egg-milk mix and remove it immediately. This is a very crucial step as the bread will tend to become soggy if kept for a long time.

Place it on the tawa. Heat it on a low medium flame for a minute and turn it over. Continue heating for another minute and remove from the tawa.

Top it with honey and berries lavishly and enjoy your French Toast 🙂

BASIC RECIPES, Recipe Index, Rice, Veg Recipes

How to cook rice?

Posted on by kavithapadmanaban
10
Feb

Cooking rice is a simple process but when you explore further you will learn a lot about it. Usually, white rice is used in everyday cooking and it cooks faster. But nowadays many have become health conscious and have started using brown rice.

On the basis of processing white rice is classified into two that is

a) Raw rice -In Tamil it is known as pachai arisi. This is directly obtained from paddy and cooks faster. Basmati rice and Zeera Samba rice are available as raw rice.

b) Boiled rice- In Tamil it is known as puzhungal arisi. This is processed rice and cooks slower. Basmati rice is also available as boiled rice.

Brown rice takes even a longer time to cook.

The cooking time varies depending on the type of rice you choose. The cooking time of rice also depends on many factors – variety of rice, whether pressure cooked or closed with a lid or cooked without closing the vessel, the mode of heating (gas stove, induction stove heat emission, microwave) and even the weather. By experience, you will know how to cook rice in all situations.

For example let us see how to cook rice on a gas stove with a closed lid using boiled rice at a normal temperature, say 25 to 30-degree celsius

Ingredients

1 cup of boiled rice

2 cups water

Method

Wash the rice around 2-3 times. Use a colander basket or a rice washing bowl to drain off the water. Take a saucepan or any vessel with a lid( make sure that the saucepan or vessel is big enough so that the water does not come out and the lid closes tightly and prevents the steam from escaping) and add the required quantity of water. Heat it to a gentle boil on medium flame.

Add the washed rice into the water at this stage.

Close the lid tightly and heat it on medium flame for 20 minutes. Switch off the gas stove and allow the rice to rest for 10 minutes. Do not open the lid.

After 10 minutes open the lid and fluff up the rice using a fork or spoon. Rice is usually bland and hence can be eaten along with a side dish like rajma masala, chicken curry or egg curry. You can also enjoy a whole variety of dishes with rice.

Rice tastes better when eaten hot. If you are eating along with dal or sambar you can add 1/2 a spoon of ghee to increase the flavour.

Note: You can add salt if you want but I have avoided salt for health benefits.

If you want softer rice you can add 2 teaspoons of extra water and increase the cooking time to 25 minutes instead of 20 minutes.

Enjoy eating rice, a staple food of India and many other asian countries with your favourite gravy!!

 

Non Veg Recipes, Recipe Index, Recipes, Seafood

Vanjaram Fish /Kingfish Tawa Fry(South Indian Style)

Posted on by kavithapadmanaban
30
Jan

Vanjaram Fish Tawa Fry is one of the tastiest and simplest recipes in non -vegetarian. The marination helps the masala blend well with the kingfish and the taste is really awesome. It is absolutely mouth-watering even when tasted with sambar rice or rasam rice. I can literally feel its amazing taste tingling my tastebuds.

You need not go to a restaurant to taste your favourite Kingfish but instead you can cook it in the house itself and still find it amazing by simply marinating and frying the fish.

In this recipe, the ingredients for marination are very simple as compared to Fish Tawa Fry (Tandoori style). The method of preparation includes simple marination and frying. Kingfish is also called Seer fish, King mackerel or Indo-pacific mackerel.

The minimum time for marination is 15 minutes. The same marination can be done for other types of fish too.

Ingredients

100 ml  oil or oil for shallow frying 

250 g /5 thin slices of Vanjaram fish

1tsp chilli powder

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

1tsp ginger garlic paste

1/2 tsp salt or salt to taste

Method

Marination of the fish

Wash the fish slices carefully. Remove the excess water. Add chilli powder, turmeric powder, ginger-garlic paste and salt. 

Smear it properly so that it is evenly distributed. Be careful as the slices tend to break. If you want you can mix the ingredients for marination beforehand and then smear the mixture on the fish slice. But I prefer smearing the masala on fish using the first method.

Leave it for at least 30 minutes in the fridge. The more the fish is marinated the tastier it is. If you want you can also marinate it the previous night itself.

Frying of the fish

Take a grill tawa and heat the tawa well. Add 100 ml oil and heat it well.

Now place the marinated fish on the pan on high flame. Do not disturb for 5 minutes. Now turn the pieces. Allow this side to cook for another 5 minutes.

Note: If the fish sticks to the tawa while trying to turn over, wait further.

TheVanjaram Fish Tawa Fry is now ready to be relished! Enjoy 🙂

Breakfast, Chutney, Recipe Index, Veg Recipes

Kovakkai Chutney/Ivy Gourd Chutney/Dondakaya Chutney

Posted on by kavithapadmanaban
19
Jan

Kovakkai chutney or Ivy gourd chutney is a South Indian vegan dish that is very tasty. This goes well with dosa, idli and uttapam.

This vegetarian recipe can also be taken with rice. While taking with rice you can add a small piece of tamarind (1/2 inch)when you are sauteing the kovakkai, tomatoes and green chillies.

It is known as Kovakkai (in tamil) and Dondakaya (in telugu). There are several other names like tindora, thondekai and ivy gourd. Kovakkai has several health benefits. Some of them are reducing blood sugar, improving metabolism and bone health.

Now let us see how to make Kovakkai chutney…

Ingredients for tempering

1/2 tablespoons oil

1/4 teaspoon mustard

1 teaspoon  urad dhal

 2 pinches asafoetida

1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds

a sprig of curry  leaves

Other ingredients

2 tablespoons oil

7 Kovakais/Ivy gourd (chopped in small circles)

4 medium-sized tomatoes(chopped)

3 green chillies

1/4 teaspoon salt or salt to taste

Method

Sauteing

Take a kadai or a heavy thick bottomed pan or a cast-iron skillet and heat it. Add 1 and a half tablespoon of oil and allow the oil to get heated. Add the chopped Kovakkai / Ivy Gourd and saute for a few minutes until it turns slightly brown in colour. 


Now add the tomatoes, green chillies and salt. Saute further.

 

Saute till the tomatoes become mushy and the green chillies change their colour. Then put off the flame. Allow the tomato-kovakkai masala to cool and then grind it.

Grinding of the tomato-kovakkai masala

Grind the tomato- kovakkai masala first without adding water. If required you can add very little water( a few drops) but remember not to add more. Pour the ground chutney in a bowl.

Tempering of the chutney

Note: Always do tempering on a low – medium flame.

Take a tempering pan and heat it. Add 1/2 tablespoon oil and heat for 1 minute. Then add mustard and allow it to splutter. 

Add asafoetida and urad dhal. Let the urad dhal turn slightly brown.

At this juncture, add the cumin seeds.

Then without further delay, add curry leaves. You will notice that the curry leaves become crispy with time. Switch off the flame and add this to the ground chutney in the bowl. 

Give a quick stir to find your kovakkai chutney ready!! 🙂

Serve the chutney with either dosa, idli or uttapam.