Spicy chicken curry

I have decided! I am cooking this weekend, mere haathon banaya khana :D :D...

Menu set, shopping done, am all set! :D

For a good traditional lunch, we usually have rice, with some gravy, a veg dish and a non-veg dish. Today's non-veg dish is chicken curry

Even though the procedure I described below looks like rocket science, trust me it's not. Looks can totally be deceiving ;D

I talk too much sometimes, so I chitchatted into the recipe (for our own good only, knowledge sharing is after all a virtue na ;-)). That's why the recipe looks big. It's very simple, so you have nothing to worry in case you decide to try it sometime

What I used

1. Cleaned and cut chicken : 1/2 kg
2. Onions: 2 big ones
3. Curry leaves: 2 sprigs
4. Chopped coriander leaves: a handful
5. Tomatoes: 1 medium sized
6. Potato: 1
7. Finely chopped ginger and garlic: 2 teaspoons of each
8. Green chilies: 4
9. Chicken curry masala bought from store: 3 tablespoons
10. Coriander powder: 2 teaspoons
11. Red chili powder: 1 teaspoon
12. Coconut milk: 1 cup
13. Salt: to taste
14. Waster: as per gravy requirement
15. Mustard seeds: 1/2 teaspoon
16. Oil: 1/4 cup

How I made it

1. In a thick-bottomed vessel, heat the oil,splutter the mustard seeds and add the ginger garlic along with curry leaves
   If you don't like biting into the ginger and garlic in curries, I suggest using ginger-garlic paste so gravy is smoother
2. Once the ginger-garlic aroma starts to activate your olfactory senses, it is time to add the chopped onion and saute 
3. Keep the flame on medium and when the onions start changing color, add salt till onion is translucent
   I like biting into sauteed onion for its sweet taste. But if you like smooth gravy, reduce the flame and keep sauting till the onions have an almost melted mushy caramelized consistency
4. Once the onions have been cooked to satisfaction, add the chopped tomatoes. Just randomly slicing the tomatoes is also fine as they will just melt into the curry mix in the end
5. Keep stirring the contents till the tomatoes have become mushy
6. To this add the chicken masala, coriander and chili powders
   Ideally chicken masala alone is just fine, but since I like the taste of coriander, I added a little extra. If you don't like coriander, you needn't use it
7. Keep mixing till the raw smell of the masala is gone. In case contents start sticking to base of pan, add a bit of water to avoid burning of contents
8. To this mix, add the chicken pieces along with some salt and allow it to cook with closed lid on medium flame
   After about 15 min, you can see the chicken is releasing its water content and gravy is forming. It's better to taste the gravy at this stage to check for the balance of flavors so alterations can be made. 
9. To this, add the diced potato, green chilies and coriander leaves, and water if more gravy is required. Mix and cook with pan covered for about 10 min
10. Finally add the coconut milk and cook for about 40 min till the chicken is fully cooked
    After 40 min, you can turn off the flame and let the chicken rest so it can cook in the existing heat of the pan

Note: An advantage of adding potato to chicken curry is that it absorbs excess salt. So, if you added excess salt initially, adding potato is a useful way to balance the saltiness

This chicken curry coupled with the tanginess of lemon pickle alongside rice, a thoran and pulissery made my lunch a hearty one. I have felt lemon pickle to be a good combo with chicken and beef curries :D :D

Carrot thoran

Some days are just like that when there is a craving for no particular reason other than maybe my body just needs the nutrients from whatever I crave for. OK, that's not just a logical explanation, but it's scientifically proven ;-)

I can never be bored of the orange crunchy sweet carrots unless of course my system gets so carroty to the point that I only see the color orange around :P Just kidding!! Too much of anything is a show spoiler, so just have till you need and then STOP :D :D

So today for lunch, the side dish is carrot thoran

What I used

1. Uniformly diced carrots: about 4 medium-length ones
2. Diced onion: 1 big
3. Chopped green chilies: 3
4. Grated coconut: 1/2 cup
5. Turmeric powder: 1/2 teaspoon
6. Salt: to taste
7. Water: 1/4 cup
8. Oil: 3 tablespoons
9. Mustard seeds: 1 teaspoon
10. Curry leaves: 1 sprig

How I made it

1. In a pan, heat the oil, splutter the mustard seeds and add the curry leaves and diced onion. Heat on medium flame
2. While the onions are getting done, add salt followed by the turmeric powder
3. Once the onions have become translucent, add the chili and diced carrots and mix well
4. Ensure the carrots are completely coated with the oil so it will cook uniformly
5. Then add the grated coconut and mix well again
6. Once the contents are mixed well, add some water and keep the pan covered on medium flame occasionally stirring to ensure uniform cooking

Once done, take the pan off the flame and have a hearty meal :D

I find carrots to be a good combo with rice and meat dishes, especially beef fry :D :D 

Oh God! Am hungry again... :D :D

Omelette with coconut

Oh boy! Am I in a cooking mode today or what??

There is grated coconut, eggs, shallots and even better, curry leaves. Yes!! I know what to make ;D

The mere thought of a hot omlette with coconut and freshly made brown rice is already flooding my palette. Egg dishes are usually the last-minute go-to ones for their taste and simplicity and mutta porichathu is the queen of simple dishes

What I used

1. Eggs: 2
2. Coarsely diced shallots: about 1 tablespoon
3. Grated coconut: 1/2 cup
4. Green chilies finely chopped: 2
5. Curry leaves: a sprig
6. Salt: to taste
7. Oil: for frying

How I made it

It's so simple there is only one thing to do ;D

Mix all the aforesaid ingredients ensuring the amount of salt is fine and fry till the egg is done :D :D

TADAAA!!!! 

This dish pretty much goes with anything, rice, chappathi, bread or even simply munch on if you love eggs 

Godhambu appam

After a long time, once again I am hit with the frivolous energy to just cook and cook... The past 2 days I cooked more food than I could consume and my fridge is packed :D That's good in a way coz it will keep my purse closed and in turn, me rich by a couple of hundreds of rupees ;D yeyyy!!!!! See how some blessings come by.. Am suddenly rich and healthy :D :D

So came today morning and in the thought provoking process of reeling through my memory on the available options for breakfast, I decided to make ada coz it is easy and I had grated coconut, something that is very rare in my kitchen.

But as is typical of me, I reached the kitchen and suddenly, a revelation hit me and just like that, my plans changed! "Aaagh!!!"... I wanted the godhambu appam (wheat bread), which was more like a thick pancake, that my mom used to make along with the evening tea when my sis and I were kids. As they say, destiny has a way of making things work at the right time.. While it took about half an hour to finalise on the ada, it took only a few seconds to confirm on godhambu appam and since destiny comes prepared, it was one of those days when I had all the necessary ingredients ;D ;D Oh destiny!! You amaze me! :D :D

In the excitement that followed, my godhambu appam was ready in a couple of minutes and here is how I went about it

What I used

1. Wheat flour: 1 cup
2. Milk: add enough to make a loose batter
3. Cumin seeds: 1/2 teaspoon
4. Egg: 1
5. Grated coconut: 1/2 cup
6. Salt: 1/2 teaspoon
7. Sugar: 1 tablespoon based on how sweet you want
8. Oil: 1 teaspoon

How I made it

1. In a bowl, add the wheat flour, cumin seeds, salt and sugar and mix well
2. Stir the contents into a thick paste adding milk
3. Then add the grated coconut and egg and if required, add milk to get a moderately loose mixture that will spread on a pan
4. Heat a small pan with the oil and add the entire batter that we just prepared. Since it is a thick bread, keep the pan on low flame so the whole bread cooks through and after about 10 minutes, flip it to cook the other side
5. To test if the bread has been fully cooked, pierce with a fork and if the fork comes out clean, you can be sure it is done

Note: to make the bread softer and flufflier, about half a teaspoon of baking powder can be added and then keep the batter aside for a few mins before cooking so the baking powder can work its magic

For those who don't have all the ingredients (like I do most of the time) or are not a fan of egg and milk, just use water instead :D It will turn out just fine

So there it is!! A hot, tummy-filling godhambhu appam in about 20 minutes .. ideal for breakfast and evening tea