Curry Puffs

Curry Puffs are my one of my favourite ‘anyday, anytime’ snacks. Relishing Curry Puffs on the roads of Hyderabad with Irani Chai was my favourite pass time…especially on a rainy day. Though curry puffs at home taste better, the atmosphere is just not there. I miss those days very much 😦

Anyways, here goes the recipe.

Cooking Time: 45 Minutes

Serves: 3

Ingredients:

• Potato (Aalu, chopped into 1 inch pieces ) – 3 Large
• Green Peas (optional) – 1 cup (tea cup)
• Onions (finely chopped) – 2
• Tomatoes (finely chopped)- 2
• Ginger Garlic Paste – 1 Tsp
• Curry Powder – 1 Tsp
• Coriander Powder – 1 Tbsp
• Chat Masala – 1 Tsp
• Chilli Powder – 1-2 Tbsp
• Turmeric Powder – 1 Tsp
• Curry Leaves (torn) – 6
• Cumin Seeds – 1 Tsp
• Mustard Seeds – 1 Tsp
• Jus Rol Puff Pasty Roll – 1
• Oil – 5-7 Tbsp
• Water – According to Quantity
• A Pizza Cutter
• A Kadai

Method:

• Add oil to a kadai and let it heat. Then add mustard seeds and let them splutter. Add cumin seeds and fry them a little…later add curry leaves and fry till they are crispy
• Now add onions and fry till they are golden brown. Then add turmeric powder, ginger garlic paste and mix.
• Leave for a couple of minutes and then add tomatoes and mix well
• One the mixture becomes soft, add curry powder, coriander powder, chat masala and chilli powder
• Mix well and let it simmer for a couple of minutes on a low flame
• Now add potatoes, green peas and mix well. Add water to the mixture if necessary….in order to cook the potatoes. I usually do not cook potatoes in a pressure cooker before hand since I absolutely hate washing up 😀 I try to keep utensils to a minimum
• Once the mixture is partially cooked, turn off the flame and let it cool (very very important)
• The mixture will be going into the owen, allowing it to cook completely

• Once the mixture is cool enough, add it to the cut puff rol pieces and tap the openings leaving some gaps in between to let the heat out whilst in the owen

• Pre-heat owen to 150° centigrade for 5-8 minutes and place the tray with the puffs  in the owen. Leave it for 15-20 minutes but keep checking in between since they cook very quickly.
• Once the puffs swell up and reach light brown is colour, remove from owen
• Serve with Maggi Masala Chilli Sauce. Totally Yummy!!!

Pic Courtesy:http://www.secretrecipe.com.pk/cakes.html

Njoy!!

Beetroot Fry

Pic Courtesy: http://www.simplyfreshfruit.com.au/store/images/beetroot.gif

Beetroot is not one of my favorite vegetables….well actually, I tend not to like vegetables that are healthy for the human body 😉 but I am conscientiously trying to prepare more dishes with nutritious veggies. More about beetroot here.

Ingredients:

(Recipe Serves 2)

• Beetroots – 2 (Diced into 1 inch pcs)
• Onion (medium sized) – 1 (finely chopped)
• Garlic Cloves – 2 (finely chopped)
• Red Chili Powder – 1 tsp
• Salt – According to Taste
• Turmeric Powder – A Pinch
• Oil – 2 Tbsp

For Tempering (Talimpu):

• Mustard Seeds – 1 Tsp
• Cumin Seeds – 1 Tsp
• Urid Dal – 1 Tsp
• Chana Dal – 1Tsp
• Curry Leaves – 5

Method:

• Add oil to a pan and let it heat. Then add mustard seeds and once they start spluttering add cumin seeds, urid dal & chana dal.
• Once they turn golden brown in colour and curry leaves and the finely chopped garlic cloves
• Fry them a little bit and then add finely chopped onion
• Fry them till they turn golden brown in colour and then add the beetroot pieces
• Fry the beetroot until the pieces are crispy
• Turn off the flame and serve with rice or chapthis

Pretty straight forward 🙂

Recipe for Curry Puffs coming up tomorrow.

Njoy!

Recipe: Chicken Curry with Coconut Milk

I have been so utterly busy the last few days but the good news is that packing is almost done. Just a few bits here and there which can be dumped into a bin bag the day we leave…which is this friday 😀 I am not so much sad as excited about the move. New place, new people and making a home out of a house sounds very exciting. All this meant, I could only turn a few pages of my book 😦

Last sunday, we not only did most of our packing but also managed to prepare Chicken Biriyani and Chicken Curry with Coconut Milk 😀

S is a ‘pro’ when it comes to cooking Chicken Curry with Coconut Milk. It is one of our favourtie dishes. Goes very well with Plain Rice, Biriyani, Pulao Rice or even Chapathis or Parathas.

Ingredients:

1. Oil – 6-7 Tbsp
2. Onions (finely chopped) – 3
3. Tomatoes (finely chopped) – 2
4. Chicken – 1/2 Kg (Clean thoroughly with turmeric powder and water)
5. Canned Coconut Milk – 1
6. Ginger+Garlic Paste – 1 Tbsp
7. Cloves – 3
8. Cinnamon Stick – 3 half a inch pieces
9. Cardamom (Elaichi) – 3 (split open)
10. Green Chillies – 5 (Split longitudinally)
11. Curry Leaves – 6
12. Cumin Seeds – 1 Tsp
13. Mustard Seeds – 1 Tsp
14. Turmeric Powder – A pinch
15. Salt – According to taste
16. Coriander – To Garnish

Method

Add oil to a pan or a wok and let it heat.

Later add mustard seeds and let them splutter. Now add cumin seeds and fry. Add curry leaves and green chillies and fry.

Now add onions and mix them on medium flame until they turn golden brown in colour. Then add chopped tomatoes and mix well.

Once tomatoes turn soft, add a pinch of turmeric powder and ginger+garlic paste and mix well. Leave on simmer for atleast 5 minutes mixing it in between

Now add chicken pieces and mix well. Leave it on medium flame for atleast 10 mins mixing frequently in between.

Then add coconut milk and mix thoroughly. Close with a lid and leave for 10 mins mixing inbetween.

By now, you will see alot of water retention. Remove lid and let the curry cook on medium flame. (Do not add any water to the dish).

Approx after 20-30 minutes, water oozed out of the meat should have reduced leaving the curry nice and creamy. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with rice or chapathis

This time, I took some pictures 😀

Njoy!!

Recipe: Chapala Pulusu (Fish Curry)

Let me first start this post with some beautiful roses I got from a special someone 😀

{Click on the roses for larger version}

My Chapala Pulusu (Fish Curry) recipe was long over due. I am a great lover of my mom’s (and aunt’s) fish curry. It’s finger lickin’ good. Till date, I have prepared this dish only twice but it was totally awesome 😀

Back home, we usually prepare fish curry with local find…like Korameenu (not sure what it’s called in english…some say it is the Red Snapper. Any ideas?) and sometimes a Bochha. Since we don’t get any of these in the UK…we had to settle with Salmon.

Recipe Source: Ma

Preparation Time: 30-45 mins

Ingridients:

1. A Wok
2. Salmon (or any fish you desire) – 6 medium sized pcs, approx 3-4 inches each (If you are the one who likes to clean their own fish…you can but whole fish too)
3. Oil – 6-7 Tbsp
4. Yoghurt – 2 Tbsp
5. Onions – 3 (finely chopped)
6. Tomatoes – 2 (finely chopped)
7. Tamarind Juice – 35 ml (Take lemon sized tamarind ball and immerse it in 35 ml of warm water)
8. Green Chillies – 4 (Cut longitudinally)
9. Ginger Garlic Paste – 1 Tsp
10. Cumin Seeds – 1 Tsp
11. Mustard Seeds – 1 Tsp
12. Turmeric Powder- A Pinch
13. Asafoetida – A Pinch
14. Chili Powder – 1 Tsp
15. Salt – According to taste
16. Curry Leaves – 6-8 Leaves
17. Coriander Leaves – Handful for Garnishing

Method:

First, wash pieces of fish thoroughly and marinate them for 10 mins in yoghurt, Salt (1 Tsp) and Turmeric Powder (a pinch). Later, wash and drain

Then add pinch of turmeric, chili powder, ginger garlic paste to the pieces and mix well. Leave aside for 20 mins

In the meantime, chop onions, tomatoes and chillies

Add oil into wok and let it heat. Add cumin and mustard seeds. Once mustards start to splutter, add chillies and curry leaves

Now add onions and allows them to turn golden brown in colour and then add asafoetida and mix well

Add tomatoes, turmeric powder, chili powder and mix well

When tomatoes turn soft, add tamarind juice and salt. Make gravy into a thick consistency. Do not dilute it with the tamarind juice. Remember…you are not making sambar 😀

Leave it to boil. Later add your fish pieces and leave on simmer for 10-13 mins.

Garnish with coriander and it’s ready to serve.

I do not have a picture to put up 😦 but it should look like this…

Pic Courtesy of http://www.torchofindia.com/images/

Please note that this is an ‘Andhra Dish’ so could be extremely ‘hot’ for some. Reduce the number of green chillies and it should be fine.

Enjoy!!!!

PS: New pics put up in my photoblog. Do take a look and let me know what you think 🙂 Cheers

Wishes

Today is S’s Birthday and I am terribly busy. I baked a Banana and Walnut cake for him yesterday 😀 Yipppeeeeee. This will be just my second time…and it has turned out really good! The first time round..I baked a chocolate cake at a friend’s place…which was equally yummyy, but then she was guiding me each step of the way. I am thankful to Pras who not only helped me bake the cake but also for keeping the surprise a secret from S. He did not have a clue what was happening last night. ROFL! Somehow, I had this feeling that he knew what I was upto…but he didn’t!!!! I am sure he didn’t think I would bake a cake…I am the one who will order 😀 But the satisfaction I got after the end result was fantastic. It’s different…buying a cake and baking one. All your love, effort and hardwork goes into the one you bake…so it tastes even more delicious 🙂 I also made Vada with Coconut and Dried Red Chilli Chutney (the credit of which goes to Pras again) for breakfast, Chapala Pulusu (Smoked Salmon Fillet Curry-the credit of which goes to my mom) with Plain Rice for lunch, and probably S’s fav Peri Peri Chicken Indian Style for Dinner. Recipes will be coming up soon 🙂

Yup…the cake I baked 😀 and don’t worry…S is not 10 😀 There was no space to insert any more candles and looking at the cake…you can also say that I am not very good at decorating it either 😀