Thank you Vahchef

A few months back I came across the channel Vahchef on Youtube and from that day I have been regularly watching all his cookery videos and eagerly wait for new ones.He has videos on the making of many restaurant favourites and also few traditional Andhra dishes.

I have tried some of his recipes,keeping his valuable tips in mind and the results were much better than what I had expected.

Puris for making Pani Puri



Palak Paneer


Rasmalai


I have also tried several other recipes from his site such as naan,batura,aloo gobi,tomato dal,lamb fry and tandoori chicken and they were all so delicious.Do check his site vahrehvah if you haven't already.I certainly did learn and am still learning lots from him.I thank Chef Sanjay Thumma immensely for being so generous and sharing his knowldege with the entire world.

Masala Cookies

Masala cookies,has been my most favourite tea time snack.If you love them too,you must make this.The taste and texture is just like the ones we get in the bakeries back home.It is delicious with a cup of tea or coffee.

Ingredients
(makes about 30 cookies)

Maida - 2cups (260g)
Unsalted Butter - 180g
Baking soda - 1/2tsp
Sugar - 2tsp
Salt -1&1/2tsp/to taste

the spice mix

Peppercorns - 2tsp,coarsely crushed
Roasted Cumin powder - 1tsp
Asafoetida - 1/2tsp
Chilli powder -1tsp
White sesame seeds - 1tsp
Dry ginger powder - 1/2tsp
Garlic,grated - 2tsp
Ginger,grated - 2tsp
Curry leaves - a small sprig,finely chopped
Green chillies - 2,small,finely chopped
Coriander leaves,chopped - 1tbsp
Mint leaves,chopped - 1tbsp(optional)

Method

1.Sift the flour together with salt and baking soda
2.Rub the softened butter into the flour very well so that each flour particle is coated with the butter,till it resembles breadcrumbs (this is an important step while making the cookie,which will result in its right texture)
3.Add the spice mix and sugar, mix it well into the flour
4.Knead the dough lightly so that it all becomes a mass(do not add any water to the dough,add butter if needed)
5.Cover the dough with a cling film and place it in the freezer for about 15 to 20min(this is done just to firm the dough)
6.Pinch small balls from the dough,roll it smoothly and then gently press it between the palms
7.Line a baking sheet with baking parchment paper and place the flattened cookie balls
8.Gently press the surface of each cookie with a fork (touch the fork in dry flour before pressing to avoid sticking to the surface of the cookie)
9.Bake in a preheated oven (180°C)for 45 to 50min.
10.Remove and allow it to cool,stores well in an airtight jar.

Note:Do check the cookies after 35 min of baking,see that its base hasn't become dark orelse it will be bitter to eat.The cookies should have a nice brown colour though.I usually allow the cookies to cool on the baking tray itself after the baking time and the colour deepens henceforth.

Meen Porichathu/Fish Fry

This is how my mother makes fish fry using just the bare minimum spices for marination.To this basic marinade mixture one can also add ginger-garlic paste,lemon juice.finely chopped curry leaves,to add more flavour.

Ingredients

Fish(Kingklip) fillet = 1(whole or cut into pieces)
Coconut oil - to shallow fry

for the marinade
Pepper powder = 1/4tsp
Turmeric powder = 1/4tsp
Kashmiri red chilli powder = 1/4tsp
Salt

Method

1.Mix the pepper,turmeric,chilli powder,salt with few drops of water and make a fairly thick paste
2.Apply this paste over the fish fillet and marinate it for 10-15min
3.Heat oil in a non stick pan,place the marinated fish and after few seconds,turn down the heat to medium and fry till all sides turn brown
4.Drain excess oil and serve immediately

My entry for RCI-Kerala

Mangalorean Chicken Curry

Bangalore,my beloved city,my home.What I am today is thanks to all the facilities that Bangalore offered me.This post is dedicated to all the wonderful Kannadigas throughout the world,who are the most warm and generous of people.Celebrating the Regional Cuisines of India,is an excellent blog event initiated by Lakshmi K and this recipe goes to Asha who is the hostess for this month's RCI - Karnataka.

The preparation method of this Mangalorean curry has a lot of similarities with Kerala style of cooking a dish called varutharacha curry,wherein coconut is fried along with spices and then ground to a smooth paste.So I assumed that the taste of this curry would be almost similar to varutharacha curry.But,I was so wrong.

When I tasted it,it had a totally different flavour.I loved the taste,the smooth texture,but what gave it that flavour I didnt know.Then, I remembered the 1tbsp poppy seeds that I had added and the poppy seeds gave the curry a completely different taste.I have only used poppy seeds once and that was for making Indira's Bobbatlu.So was not very familiar with its flavour.And now that I have tasted,I would like to tell you that if you haven't used poppy seeds,may be you should.It was a delicious curry,tastes very restaurant-like and I personally loved it with chapati than rice.It had a nice brown colour and with time I found the colour getting deeper.

Recipe Source:Mrs.Lekshmi Nair

Ingredients

Whole Chicken - 1.125kg
Turmeric powder - 1/4tsp
Chilli powder - 1&1/2tbsp
Coriander powder - 1tbsp
Onion (medium,chopped) - 2(210g)
Tomato (medium,chopped) - 2
Coconut oil - 1&1/2tbsp
Salt - to taste

Coconut(grated) - 1cup
Garlic(sliced) - 2tbsp
Coconut oil - 1/2tsp
Black Peppercorns - 1tbsp
Cinnamon - 2" piece
Cardamom & Cloves - 3,each
Cumin seeds - 1/2tsp
Fenugreek seeds - 1/4tsp
Poppy seeds (khus khus) - 1tbsp
Onion (big,sliced) - 1(150g)

Method

1.Cut the chicken into small pieces and marinate it with turmeric powder

2.Deep fry the sliced onion till light brown,drain & keep aside.

3.Heat a pan to high, toast coconut for a minute or so and then add garlic and 1/2tsp coconut oil and continue to fry
4.Add the peppercorns and saute till coconut turns light brown
5.Lower heat,add the cinnamon,cardamom,cloves,fenugreek seeds,cumin seeds and fry
6.Add the poppy seeds and fry for a few seconds,turn off the heat and add the chilli powder and coriander powder and combine well
7.Allow to cool and grind along with the deep fried onion to a smooth paste using water

8.Heat 1&1/2tbsp coconut oil,saute the chopped onions till light brown
9.Add the chicken pieces and saute for 5min
10,Add the ground paste, tomatoes and salt
11.Add just enough water to slightly dilute the curry
12.Cover and cook
13.Goes well with plain rice,ghee rice,chapati,naan,parotta,appam

Read Mr.Abraham Tharakan's Bangalore memories and have a look at the pictures of Bangalore 60 years back.

Kung Pao Chicken

 

The recipe of this dish is straight from a cookery programme I saw on a malayalam TV channel.Recipe is from Chef Jose of Taj Residency,Ernakulam.He said that, Kung Pao chicken is the most popular dish to go with fried rice in Taj Residency.I am not surprised because the name Kung pao itself is so intriguing anyone would want to give it a try apart from the commonly heard manchurians and chilli chicken.

The method of preparation is similar to other Indo Chinese dishes as in frying and then adding the fried stuff into a particular prepared sauce.Only that, unlike most others where atleast two different types of sauces are used(soya sauce&oyster sauce,soya sauce&chilli garlic sauce etc)here only soyasauce is used.Another thing that distinguishes it is its use of nuts,either peanuts or cashewnuts.

Ingredients

Boneless Chicken - 150g ,diced
Egg(beaten) - 1tsp
Pepper powder - 1tsp
Chicken stock - 150ml
Dry red chillies - 4
Green chillies - 1 to 2
Garlic - 10g
Ginger - 10g
Ginger-garlic paste - 1tsp
Onion - 1
Capsicum(small) - 1
Sugar - a pinch
Spring onion - 10g
Cornflour - 15g
Dark soya sauce - 4tsp
Cashewnuts/Peanuts - 10g (fried in a tsp oil)
Peanut oil - to deep fry + 3tsp

Method

1.Marinate the chicken with ginger-garlic paste,pepper powder,egg,1tsp soya sauce and 1tsp cornflour for 20 to 30min and then deep fry
2.Heat 3tsp oil in a wok,add dried red chillies,slit green chillies,garlic and ginger(finely chopped)and fry for a few seconds
3.Add diced onion and capsicum and fry till onion turns transparent
4.Add the chicken stock,bring to a boil and add 3tsp soya sauce,sugar and cornflour dissolved in water
5.Add the fried chicken and garnish with chopped spring onions and cashewnuts
6.Serve immediately with fried rice

Other Indo Chinese dishes blogged
Chilli Chicken
Gobi Manchurian
Chicken in Hot sauce

Jackfruit Mousse

When Jai and Bee announced jackfruit as the ingredient for this months JFI,I was at first startled at their choice.But then I was also happy that this months JFI is going to be quite challenging for all of us.I am glad that they chose such an ingredient, it has made me think and think like i did for no other event before!How else would I have come up with a jackfruit mousse:)!

To my surprise and luck,I was able to find fresh jackfruit,cleaned and neatly packed at the Indian store here,but had to shell out quite a bit.We couldn't help but think of the days back home,wherein a single tree yields such high numbers of fruit that even after sharing it with friends,neighbours relatives,we were so fed up with this fruit.Here,it is but an exotic fruit with a heavy price label.A 500g pack costs 6.50CHF($5.28)!

So we ate the fruit with a new found respect for it :)Eventhough I have made a mousse out of jackfruit,it was only because I had to make something out of it for the event.Otherwise when you are living in places where it is not readily available,the best way to eat the ripe ones,are as it is.

For those who find the smell of ripe jackfruit overwhelming,this mousse does tone it down a bit.The fruit were not very ripe and hence I had to add more sugar to make it sweet.You can reduce the amount of sugar by using ripe ones.I served it with raspberries.The tartness of raspberries did complement the flavour of jackfruit.Try pairing it with different fruits too.

Ingredients

Fresh Jackfruit sliced = 300g
Sugar = 150g
Milk(cold) = 50ml
Whipped cream = 150ml
Gelatin = 4leaves





<Method

Boil the sliced jackfruit with just enough water to make it soft
Allow it to cool and blend it well with sugar till smooth
Keep about 4tbsp of the puree aside

Soak gelatin leaves in cold water for 5 min,squeeze out water and melt it and allow it to cool
In a mixing bowl add the melted gelatin,cold milk and mix well
Keep this bowl over a larger bowl that conatains ice cubes or ice cold water
Pour the jackfruit puree in while gently stirring using a wire whisk
Gradually add the whipped cream and fold it in gently using a wooden spatula
Keep refrigerated for a minimum of 1hour
Serve it cold with jackfruit puree,raspberry syrup and few fresh raspberries.

Divine!

Montreux,Switzerland

"I believe in God, only I spell it Nature"
~ Frank Lloyd Wright