Yum! Yum! Yum!

Beerakaya Chutney

Ingredients:
Beerakaya - 2
Green Chili - 3
Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp
Garlic - 4 cloves
Oil - 1 Tbsp
Tamarind - 1 Tbsp
Salt - 1 tsp ( per your taste)

Tempering:
Oil - 1 tsp
Red Chili - 1
Chana Dal - 1 tsp
Urad Dal - 1 tsp
Mustard Seeds  - 1 tsp
Turmeric - 1 pinch ( optional)
Curry leaves - 5

Preparatory Steps:

• Trim edges and peel Beerakaya ( Angular Gourd) and chop into small pieces. 

Method:

1. Heat non-stick pan, add 1 Tbsp oil to it. Add cumin seeds, garlic cloves, green chili. Add beerakaya pieces along with tamarind. Saute until beerakaya pieces becomes tender ( prob for 10 min). Switch off the stove and let the mixture cool in the pan. 
2. Once the mixture is cooled enough grind it all together along with salt in food chopper or Indian Mixie, until it becomes into smooth consistency. Do not add any water, that spoils the taste. Transfer the Chutney to serving bowl. 
3. In the same non-stick pan, add 1 tsp oil. Once it is hot, add red chili, followed by chana dal, urad dal. As lentils turn to golden brown, add mustard seeds, a pinch of turmeric and curry leaves. Switch off the stove. Add this tempering to chutney in the bowl and serve immediately with white rice and ghee.

Notes:

• Tempering is optional and you can skip it, serve the chutney as it is.
• Chutney tastes good with Dosa or Utappam as well. 

will be back with another traditional recipe,
Take Care until then!
-Mythreyi

Do you love Potato? Who doesn't! Majority of the kids favorite is Potato. My son Abhi is potato lover in our home. I always make something with potato twice a week for him. Usually I sneak in some greens in potato fry, and today's green is Broccoli, which is not his favorite at all. Shhhhh! He didn't notice a thing about broccoli and finished all the potato fry. I told him at the end though and he gave thumbs up for this stir-fry, Win-Win, wink! ;-) Here is the recipe for you, Njoy!



Ingredients:

As the name says this recipe is dry chicken recipe loaded with flavors of Cilantro (Kottimera). We use almost the same ingredients of the traditional chicken fry for this recipe. But you need a bunch of fresh cilantro for this recipe to get the great taste and flavor. Usually I make this recipe on the day of my grocery trip, so that I can use fresh cilantro for this recipe. This recipe is little spicy, lot colorful, super tasty and delicious. If you use 1/2 lb chicken, this dish will be ready under 30 minutes for dinner. If you can double the recipe easily to make large quantities also for potluck or parties etc. Here is the recipe for you, Njoy!

Cilantro Chicken Fry

Ingredients:
Chicken - 1/2 lb
Onion - 1/2 medium
Green Chili - 1
Cilantro - 1 Big Bunch ( chopped 2 cups)
Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 tbsp
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Garam Masala - 1/2 tsp
Oil - 2 Tbsp

Marinate Spices:
Turmeric Powder - 1 tsp
Red Chilli Powder - 1 tsp
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Coriander Powder - 1 tsp
Yogurt - 1/2 cup

Spices for tempering:
Clove - 2
Star Anise - 1
Cinnamon - 1

Preparatory Steps;

• Wash Chicken under lukewarm water and drain for 5 min until all the water is gone. In a small bowl mix everything under Marinate Spices section and form into a paste. Add this paste to chicken and rub it in all sides of pieces, and make sure chicken is coated well with marinade spices, close the lid for the bowl and set aside for 30 minutes.
• Chop green chili and onion into long thin slices. 

Method:

1. Heat Oil in nonstick pan, once the oil is hot, add clove, star anise and cinnamon. 
2. Add chopped green chili and onion slices and saute well. Add ginger garlic paste and mix it with onions and saute until the raw smell goes away. Add 1 cup of chopped cilantro to onion mixture in the pan close the lid on simmer on low heat. This helps for the cilantro flavors infuse into fry. Add salt to onion cilantro mixture and mix well. 
3. Now add marinated chicken to the pan and combine well with onion and cilantro mixture. Cook on low heat for 10 min with closed lid. Chicken oozes some water and gets cooked properly. 
4. Now open the lid and make sure the chicken pieces are becoming tender, cook on high heat without closing lid, so that all the excess water gets evaporated leaving chicken fry dry. Add remaining 1 cup of cilantro to the chicken and mix it well. Taste and adjust the seasonings as needed.
5. Finally top with garam masala and leave on the high heat for 5 min and switch off the heat. 
6. Serve hot immediately with white rice and tomato rasam.  

Notes:

• Marinate the chicken overnight in fridge to get even great taste and it helps for the chicken to cook fast and becomes tender. 
• To double the recipe, double the ingredients as needed to make this fry in large batches.

Will be back with another flavorful dish,
Happy Cooking until then!
-Mythreyi

When I was a kid, my mom used to make this Grated Carrot Stir-fry a lot. I haven't made this until recently, One day I was looking for some newness with Carrot, then I remembered my mom's recipe and made this stir-fry with addition of cashew nuts though. It was super hit and loved by hubby and kids. Since then I am making this grated carrot stir-fry at least once a week, because it's healthy, easy and can be made in jiffy! Here is the recipe, Enjoy!

Grated Carrot Stir-Fry

Ingredients:
Carrots - 4 ( medium)
Onion - 1/2
Cashew Nuts - 1 Tbsp ( chopped)
Red Chili dry - 1
Urad Dal - 1 tsp
Chana Dal  - 1 tsp
Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
Curry Leaves - 5
Cilantro - 2 Tbsp
Oil - 1 Tbsp
Salt - 1 tsp
Red Chili Powder - 1/2 tsp

Preparatory Steps:

• Peel and trim the edges of carrots. Grate carrots (small grating setting) with grater. 
• Chop the onion into long thin slices.

Method:

1. Heat oil in non-stick pan. Once the oil is hot, add red chili, urad dal, chana dal, as lentil browns, add cumin seeds and mustard seeds. After 1 min, mustard seeds splutters, then add curry leaves and turmeric powder. Add cashew nuts and mix with tempering. 
2. Add onion slices to the tempering and 1 Tbsp of cilantro and saute for 2 min. 
3. Add grated carrot to the pan and mix with onion slices. Saute for 3 to 4 min until carrot wilts and changes the color from bright orange to light orange or yellowish orange. 
4. Now add salt and red chili powder and mix well with carrot. Stir-fry on high heat for 2 more min until everything is combined. Taste and adjust salt or seasoning. 
5. Finally top with remaining cilantro and switch off the stove and transfer this to serving bowl and serve immediately with white rice. 

Notes:

• This goes well with Rice or Roti.
• If you prefer green chilies instead of Red Chili Powder that is fine too. Just replace red chili powder with chopped green chili but add it along with onions in #2.

Recently I have tried these Chocolate Pancakes by altering my popular recipe Old Fashionable Pancakes, it was a super hit with my kids. They love these pancakes, I serve these for breakfast on weekends and in lunchbox on weekdays. The recipe is super simple and these pancakes are super addictive. Here is the recipe, Njoy!

Chocolate Pancakes

 Ingredients:
All Purpose Flour- 1 cup
Cocoa Powder (unsweetened) - 1/2 cup
Baking Soda - 1 tsp
Salt - 1/8 tsp
Butter (unsalted) - 3 Tbsp
Brown Sugar - 1/3 cup
Egg - 1
Milk - 1 cup
Vanilla Extract - 1/2 tsp

Method:

1. In a medium bowl, mix all the dry ingredients APF, Cocoa Powder, salt and baking soda; close the lid and set aside.
2. In a large bowl cream the butter, add 1/3 of brown sugar and mix it well. Add 1 Egg and whisk it well until egg combines with sugar mixture. 
3. Add 1/2 tsp vanilla extract to 1 cup milk.  Add Milk to the sugar and egg mixture and mix well until everything is combined.
4. Now add dry flour mix to the wet ingredients and mix it with spoon until smooth batter forms. Leave it aside for 5 min, for everything to settle allowing the batter to slightly ferment.
5. Now heat the skillet at 250 to 300 F temperature. Pour ladleful of batter onto skillet and cook on both sides for 1 to 2 min, until Pancakes are done. Repeat the process until all the batter is done. 

Arrange pancakes in a wide plate, pour some maple syrup all over, dust powdered sugar on top and serve as it is or top with some fruit ( Blueberries or Banana).

Notes:

• If butter is not at room temperature, it won't cream properly, then microwave in glass bowl for 30 sec. 
• If you don't have brown sugar, you can replace with 3 Tbsp of  White Sugar. 
• As butter is already in the batter, you don't need to add any oil while cooking the pancakes.