Ingredients

Green Capsicum – 1 cut into small cubes

Mushroom – 200 gm cut into small cubes

Onion – 1 sliced

Green chillies – 5 slit

Curry leaves – 1 sprig

Pepper powder – 1/4 tsp

Coriander leaves – 2 tbsp chopped

Eggs – 2 beaten

Salt – to taste

Oil – 1 1/2 tbsp

Method

Heat oil in a non-stick pan and add onions, green chillies and curry leaves.  Fry till the onions turn light brown.  Add pepper powder and stir for a few seconds.  Add capsicum, mushroom and salt to taste.  Cook covered on a medium flame.  Stir in between.  Open the lid and add beaten eggs and coriander leaves.  Stir-fry till the eggs are well cooked.  Serve delicious ‘Capsicum, Mushroom and Egg Stir-fry’ as a side dish for rice, bread and chapathi.  Enjoy!

Ingredients

Chicken – 1 kg cut into small pieces

Onions – 2 sliced

Ginger – 2″ piece chopped

Garlic – 4 chopped

Green chillies – 4 slit

Curry leaves – 2 sprigs

Turmeric powder – 1 tsp

Garam masala – 1 tsp

Pepper powder – 2 tsp

Vinegar – 2 tbsp

Water – 1 cup

Salt – to taste

Oil – 2 tbsp

Method

Heat oil in a pan and add onions, ginger, garlic, green chillies and curry leaves.  Fry till the onions turn golden brown.  Add turmeric powder and garam masala. Then add the chicken pieces, vinegar, salt and water.  Mix well and cook covered till done.  Open the lid and add pepper powder.  Mix well and simmer for another 2 minutes till the gravy is thick.  Lip-smacking ‘Pepper Chicken’ is ready to be served!

This quick and easy ‘Pepper Chicken’ goes well with rice, chapathi, bread, appam or idiyappam.  Enjoy!

Award

My friend Sarah has passed on this beautiful award.  Thanks a lot dear for remembering me!

I would like to share this award with Asha, Cynthia, Finla, Priya, Padma and Raks.

Ingredients

Chicken – 1 kg cut into pieces

Onions – 2 chopped

Ginger garlic paste – 2 tbsp

Tomatoes – 2 chopped

Curry leaves – 1 sprig

Turmeric powder – 1 tsp

Water – 1 cup

Salt – to taste

Oil – 2 tbsp

Coriander leaves – 1 tbsp chopped

For the Paste

Grated coconut – 1 cup

Dry red chillies – 6

Peppercorns – 1/2 tsp

Poppy seeds/ Khus khus- 2 tsp

Coriander seeds – 1 tsp

Cumin seeds – 1 tsp

Fennel seeds/ Perumjeerakam – 1 tsp

Cinnamon – 4 ” piece

Cloves – 4

Cardamom – 1

Method

Heat a little oil in a pan and roast the grated coconut till light brown.  Add rest of the ingredients and roast till aroma comes out.  Allow it to cool and grind to a paste.  Heat oil in a pan and fry onions till golden brown.  Add ginger garlic paste and fry for a minute.  Add turmeric powder, tomatoes, curry leaves and salt.  Fry till oil separates.  Now add the ground masala, water and the chicken pieces.  Mix well, cover and cook till done. Stir in between.  When the gravy is thick, switch off the flame.  Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.  Serve delicious ‘Chicken Chettinad’ with rice, roti, idli, dosa or bread.  Enjoy with your friends and family!

This is a very tasty South Indian style Chicken Curry and as the name indicates, the chicken pieces are marinated and fried before making the curry.  You can serve it with rice, parathas, appam, dosa, puttu or bread.

This is my entry for the event “The Potluck – Chicken” initiated by dear Vicky.

Ingredients

Chicken – 1 kg

Chilly powder – 2 tsp

Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp

Ginger garlic paste – 1 tbsp

Salt – to taste

Curry leaves – 2 sprigs

Cardamom – 3

Cloves -4

Cinnamon – 1″ stick

Peppercorns – 1 tsp

Onions – 2 pureed

Ginger garlic paste -1 tbsp

Coriander powder – 2 tsp

Tomato puree – 1/2 cup

Tamarind  – a small lime size

Water – 2 cups

Oil – as required

Coriander leaves – 1 tbsp chopped

Method

Marinate the chicken pieces with chilly powder, turmeric, ginger garlic paste and salt.  Keep aside for 30 minutes.  Meanwhile, puree the onions without adding water.  Soak the tamarind in half a cup of water.  Heat oil in a frying pan and fry the marinated chicken pieces till they are half done.  Add the curry leaves to the pan before removing the chicken.  Take out the chicken pieces from oil and keep aside.  Heat 2 tbsp of the left over oil in a pan and add the whole spices.  Then add the onion puree and ginger garlic paste.  Fry till the raw smell goes.  Add the coriander powder and fry for another minute.  Now add the tomato puree and the tamarind pulp.  Add water and mix well.  When it boils, add the fried chicken pieces.  Mix well and cook covered on a medium flame till the chicken is done.  Open the lid and adjust the salt.  When the gravy is thick, switch off the fire.  Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot!

‘Chicken 65′ is a South Indian delicacy.  It is a spicy, deep-fried chicken dish which can be served as a snack, starter or side dish with pulao, parathas and rice.   It is so easy to prepare and can be refrigerated and fried as and when required!

Ingredients

Chicken – 1 kg

Yogurt – 1 cup

Chilly powder – 2 tsp

Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp

Ginger-garlic paste -1 tbsp

Orange red color – 1/4 tsp

Curry leaves – 3 sprigs

Vinegar – 1 tbsp

Salt – to taste

Oil – for frying

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Method

Marinate the chicken pieces with yogurt, chilly powder, turmeric powder, ginger-garlic paste, orange red color, vineger and salt.  Keep it refrigerated for an hour.  Add more chilly powder if you want to make it spicier. Heat oil in a pan and fry the chicken pieces on a medium flame.  Just before removing the fried chicken pieces from the oil, add few curry leaves so that the chicken absorbs the aroma of the curry leaves.  Fry the chicken in two or three batches and repeat the same process as mentioned.  Garnish with onion rings, green chillies and lemon wedges.  Yummy ‘Chicken 65′ is ready to be served!

Ingredients

Salmon steak – 250 gm

Mustard seeds – 1/4 tsp

Onion – 1 sliced

Ginger – 2″ piece chopped

Garlic – 2 chopped

Green chillies – 2 slit

Curry leaves – 2 sprigs

Kashmiri chilly powder – 2 tsp

Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp

Coriander powder – 1 tsp

Tamarind – 1 gooseberry size

Tomato paste – 2 tsp

Water – 2 cups

Sat – to taste

Olive oil – 1.5 tbsp

Method

Clean and cut the salmon steak into 3″ size cubes.  Soak the tamarind in half a cup of water.  Heat oil in a pan and splutter mustard seeds.  Then fry the onions, ginger, garlic, green chillies and curry leaves till onions turn light brown.  Add the chilly, turmeric and coriander powders and fry for a minute.  Add the tomato paste, salt and the tamarind extract and mix well.  Pour one and a half cups of water.  When it boils, add the fish pieces and cook covered for 10 minutes on a medium flame.  Open the lid and let it simmer for another 10 minutes more.  Stir occasionally without breaking the fish pieces.  Put off the fire once the gravy is thick and the oil starts floating on top of the curry.  Heart-healthy fish curry is ready to be served!

Instead of coriander powder, you can also add curry powder, fish masala or chicken masala!

Chicken Pulao is a South Indian Dish in which chicken is cooked along with rice. In Kerala, we make only Chicken Biriyani in which the chicken is prepared separately and then rice and the chicken are arranged layer by layer and then put on dum or baked. I learnt to make Chicken Pulao only after coming to Bangalore. In fact, it is quite easy to prepare and tastes really good. I have used Saffron Essence in this dish. You can substitute it with Saffron strands soaked in little milk.

This is my entry for the Think Spice : Saffron event being hosted by Sunita of Sunita’s World.

Ingredients:

Basmati rice -2 1\2 cups
Chicken -1 kg
Onions -3 sliced
Tomatoes -2 chopped
Green chillies -3 slit
Ginger – garlic paste -2 tbsp
Coriander leaves -2 tbsp chopped
Mint leaves -2 tbsp chopped
Biriyani masala powder -2 1\2 tbsp
Turmeric powder -1\2 tsp
Bay leaf -1
Cinnamon -1″ piece
Cardamom -3
Cloves -3
Curd -1 cup
Water -3 cups
Salt -to taste
Ghee -1 tsp
Oil -3 tbsp
Cashew nuts -2 tbsp
Raisins -2tbsp
Ghee -1 tsp
Saffron essence -1 tsp
Juice of half a lime

Method:

Clean and cut the chicken into big pieces. Wash the rice and soak in 3 cups of water for 20 minutes. Heat ghee and oil together in a pressure cooker. Put the bay leaf and whole spices. Add the onions and green chillies. Fry till the onions turn golden brown. Add the ginger – garlic paste and fry for a minute. Now add the biriyani masala powder and turmeric powder. Fry for few seconds. Add the tomatoes and salt. Fry till the oil separates. Add the chicken pieces and chopped coriander and mint leaves. Fry for 5 minutes till the chicken is half cooked. Add the curd and mix well. Then add the soaked rice along with the water. Finally add the lime juice and saffron essence. Mix gently and close the lid. When the first whistle comes, reduce the flame to low. Cook for 4 minutes and put off the fire. Meanwhile, heat 1 tsp ghee in a small pan and fry the cashewnuts and raisins. Keep aside. Once the pressure is gone, open the lid of the cooker. Keep it open for 10 minutes and transfer the pulao to a serving dish. Garnish with fried cashewnuts and raisins. Serve hot with tomato salad, pickle and pappads. Enjoy!

The photograph was taken with a Nikon coolpix L4 camera. Lens: 6.3 – 18.9 mm. It was taken around noon in a naturally lit room.

What you need:

Eggs -6
Onion -1 big, chopped
Tomato -1 chopped
Green chillies -3 chopped
Curry leaves -1 sprig
Sambar powder -2 tsp
Turmeric powder -1\4 tsp
Salt -to taste
Oil -2 tbsp
Coriander leaves -1 tbsp chopped

Method:

Heat oil in a non stick pan. Put the onions, green chillies and curry leaves. Fry till the onions turn pink. Add the sambar powder and turmeric powder. Fry for a few seconds. Now add the tomatoes and fry for 2 minutes. Beat the eggs well and add to the pan. Also add salt. Fry well till the eggs do not stick to the pan at all. Finally add the chopped coriander leaves. Serve hot.