Kerala Style Kozhi Pidi/ Rice Dumplings in Chicken Gravy

As fasting is going on, watching the food related videos online makes us crave to try all the dishes. One such dish is this rice dumplings in chicken gravy. My daughter saw this on a food channel and asked me about this dish. As I grew up in Andhra, I ate mostly Andhra dishes and I just heard about this dish but never tasted it, so when she asked I thought of giving it a try and here I am today with the recipe in my blog.

This is a very delicious and delightful dish which is popular in the northern region of Kerala. This dish has carbs and proteins all packed in one making it a one pot meal.

Steamed Pidi

This Kerala delicacy consists of steamed rice dumpling that is soaked in the chicken gravy which can be relished as a dinner or a snack which will be very filling. Some people will just cook the pidi (rice dumpling) separately in coconut milk gravy and will have it along chicken curry, here I mixed both which formed as a delicious, thick dumpling gravy. My daughter tried it for the first time and loved it, hope you will also try and let me know how it turned.

Ingredients:

For Rice Dumplings:

1. Rice Flour- 1 Cup
2. Water- 1 Cup
3. Salt- a pinch
4. Coconut- 1/4 Cup
5. Garlic- 1
6. Cumin Seeds- 1tsp

Method:

1. Grind the coconut, cumin seeds and garlic to a fine paste. Keep this aside.
2. Boil water with a pinch of salt and the ground paste. Mix well.
3. When the water starts boiling add the rice flour slowly and mix using a wooden spoon without forming lumps.
4. Mix it well on a low flame and close with a lid. After 5-10 minutes switch off the flame. Mix ones again and let it cool.
5. Knead it well to make a smooth dough. Oil your palms and make small balls, when done steam all the rice balls in a steamer till done. Keep this aside.

Ingredients for Chicken Gravy:

1. Chicken- 2lb
2. Onions- 2 
3. Green Chillies- 3-4
4. Ginger-Garlic Pate- 1 tbsp
5. Tomatoes- 1
6. Red Chili Powder- 2 tbsp
7. Turmeric Powder- 1 tsp
8. Coriander Powder- 1 tbsp
9. Garam Masala Powder- 1/2 tbsp
10. Oil- 2tbsp
11. Salt- as required
12. Water- 2 cups

To Grind:

• Coconut (grated)- 1Cup
• Fennel Seeds- 2 tbsp

Method:

1. Clean and wash the chicken and keep this aside.
2. Grind the coconut and fennel seeds to a fine paste.
3. Heat oil in a pan add the onions and saute till they become translucent. Add the green chillies, ginger-garlic paste and chopped tomatoes. Mix well till everything blends together.
4. Add salt, red chili powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder and garam masala powder, mix and add the chicken pieces.
5. After stirring for about 5 minutes add water and coconut paste. Close it with a lid and let it cook for 10- 15 minutes on medium flame.
6.  When the gravy is done, mix the steamed rice balls keep over low flame for 4- 5 minutes till it combined well. Serve hot and enjoy.

Haritha's Stuffed Brinjal Roast/ Vankaya Kaaram Koora

Today's post is a dish made with brinjals. A very popular dish  from Andhra. My friend Haritha, who has a YouTube channel in the name of "Haritha's Home and Kitchen" made this dish when we had a get together at my place. She is an amazing cook and you can visit her channel which has lots of cooking videos and authentic recipes. 

I love brinjals but you all might know by now that my husband doesn't like brinjal and so ones in a blue moon I will be making brinjal dishes. As my friend knows about this, she made the delicious roast just for me.

This is a simple dish with minimum ingredients. My mom prepares amazing Andhra dishes, the most famous one is gutti vankaya koora/ Stuffed brinjal curry. In this dish, you have to grind the masala and stuff it in brinjal and roast till done. Within minutes yummy brinjal roast will be ready. Please try this dish and let me know.

Ingredients:

• Brinjal- 7-8
• Oil- 2tbsp

Masala:

1. Grated Coconut- 1Cup
2. Cumin Seeds- 2tbsp
3. Red Chili Powder- 3tbsp
4. Garlic Cloves-4
5. Salt- as required

Method:

1. Cut the brinjal length wise keeping the stem intact. Immerse them in water for 5- 10 minutes. 
2. Grind the masala to a paste. Stuff this masala in brinjal. Repeat with all the brinjals till done.
3. Heat a deep bottomed vessel and pour oil, when it becomes hot, add the stuffed brinjals and mix well. Stir well till everything is mixed and the brinjals become soft and tender. Enjoy with hot rice.

One Pot Mushroom Stroganoff

Mushrooms are a staple in our house. I try different varieties of dishes using mushrooms and one day when I was going through some instagram posts, I came upon my favorite chef "Healthy Living James"page and he posted a new recipe using mushrooms. The name looked familiar, stroganoff. I had chicken stroganoff before, but this one using mushrooms was new to me. The ingredients are also so easily available in our pantry and so I tried making it the same day. It came out perfect and super delicious. We had it along with brown rice for lunch and along with quinoa for dinner.

This one pot dish will be liked by all. This dish only requires minimum ingredients and is not at all time consuming. The mushroom gives a meaty texture, coconut milk gives a creamy flavor to the dish.

Coming to my favorite chef, James, who is a qualified health coach, with a healthy living. His recipes are so easy, simple, quick and healthy dishes. I have tried many of his recipes, one of recipes from his blog that I have posted was Quinoa and Potato cakes. A beautiful blog with amazing recipes. Hope you all will try this mushroom stroganoff . If you tried, please let me know how it turned.

Inspired From Gluten Free Mushroom Stroganoff:
Ingredients:

1. Mushrooms- 10-15 ( roughly chopped)
2. Onions- 2 (chopped)
3. Garlic- 1 tbsp
4. CoconutMilk- 1 Cup
5. Dijon Mustard- 1tsp
6. Red Chili powder- 1 tbsp
7. Lemon Juice- 1 tbsp
8. Olive Oil- 2 tbsp
9. Salt- as required

Method:

1. Heat oil, add the minced garlic, onions. When they turn translucent add the chopped mushrooms and stir till they turn soft.
2. Add the coconut milk, mustard paste, red chili powder along with salt. Add the lemon juice and let it cook for almost 10 minutes.
3. When done garnish with some cilantro or parsley and enjoy.

Simple and Easy South Indian Fish Curry/ Meen Kulamb

I first tasted this fish curry, when my dear friend made it for a potluck and instantly we all liked it. From then on,  I started making this fish curry by asking her for the recipe. When I made the first time, I forgot to note down, so the next time again I asked her for the recipe and this time I noted it and here I am sharing the recipe in my blog. I never made a fish curry other than the Kerala style. My daughter likes this fish curry a lot, as this is not at all spicy. A perfect kid- friendly dish. Of course in any dish we can adjust the spices accordingly.

This is a delicately flavored, finger- licking, delicious dish in a bowl which can be served in a party along with appam/ idiayppam. I am sure that this will be an instant hit. This is a simple and an easy dish with a combination of freshly roasted and ground spices and tangy gravy in which the cleaned fish pieces gets cooked till done. Here in my house, fish curry is everyone's favorite and this is a perfect one, which we all like to have anytime. Please try this recipe and let me know how it turned out.

Ingredients:

1. Fish Slices - 15- 20 nos
2. Oil- 2 tbsp
3. Onions(roughly chopped)- 2 nos
4. Tomatoes (chopped)- 1 no
5. Garlic Cloves- 6-7 pieces
6. Coriander Seeds- 1 tbsp
7. Pepper Corns- 1/2 tbsp
8. Cumin Seeds- 2 tsp
9. Turmeric Powder- 1 tsp
10. Red Chili Powder- 1 tbsp
11. Mustard Seeds- 1/2 tbsp
12. Fenugreek Seeds- 1 tsp
13. Asafoetida Powder- 1/2 tsp
14. Tamarind Extract- 1 tbsp

Method:

1. Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a pan, add the cumin seeds, coriander seeds, pepper corns along with roughly chopped onions. Stir in between till it becomes translucent.
2. Add the tomatoes and garlic. Stir till they get well blended with each other. After for about 5- 10 minutes, switch off the flame and let it cool.
3. After the mixture cools down, grind to a paste. Meanwhile heat the remaining oil in a pan, splutter mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, curry leaf and asafoetida.
4. Add the ground paste, salt, red chili powder and turmeric powder. Mix well. When the raw smell disappears add little amount of water, stir and allow the gravy to boil. Add the cleaned and washed fish pieces and cook on a low flame till done. Turn off heat and serve along with steaming hot rice.

Chicken in fenugreek leaves and Cream/ Methi Malai Murgh (MMM)

Methi Malai Murg is a creamy chicken, curried in yogurt and cream with a punch of dried fenugreek leaves. This is popular Indian cuisine, which comes from the Mughals and is a perfect side dish for rotis, naan, rumali rotis.

This creamy, silky chicken gravy is a perfect show stopper for any parties. This is stunningly tasty, super quick and a perfect winter dish to keep you warm. This dish will be liked by all.

The chicken gets cooked well with all the spices along with yogurt and cream and the addition of kasoori methi will give an amazing aroma and flavor to the dish.

Kasoori methi is dried fenugreek seeds, which is used in most of the Indian cooking. These leaves are slightly bitter and are crushed to enhance the flavors before adding to a dish. These are easily available in all the Indian stores across the US. I loved the flavor of these dried fenugreek seeds when I first used them in Rara Chicken- a Punjabi dish. Try making this dish at home and I am sure that everybody will fall in love with this dish.

Ingredients:

1. Chicken- 1 1/2 Pounds
2. Oil- 1 tbsp
3. Whole Spices (Cardamom, Cloves, Cinnamon) - 1 tbsp
4. Bay Leaf- 1 no
5. Onions and Green Chilies (chopped) - 2 nos
6. Ginger & Garlic Paste- 1 tbsp
7. Tomatoes (chopped) - 1 no
8. Yogurt- 1/2 Cup
9. Red Chili Powder- 1 tbsp
10. Coriander Powder- 1 tbsp
11. Turmeric Powder- 1 tsp
12. Cumin Powder- 1/2 tsp
13. Garam Masala Powder- 1 Tsp
14. Salt- as required
15. Fresh Cream- 1/3 Cup
16. Kasuri Methi (dried Fenugreek Leaves) - 3 tbsp

Method:

1. Clean, wash and drain the chicken pieces. Keep it aside.
2. Heat oil in a pan, add the chopped onions and green chilies. Saute till the raw smell disappears. Add the ginger- garlic paste. Mix well.
3. Add the chopped tomatoes and when they turn mushy, add the red chili powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, turmeric powder, and the garam masala powder.
4. Stir well, add the yogurt along with chicken and salt. Mix till everything gets well blended.
5. Add 1/2 cup of water and close with a lid till the chicken gets cooked well. Once the chicken gets cooked, add the cream and adjust the consistency of water.
6. Sprinkle with the Kasuri Methi to the cooked chicken and cook for about 2 more minutes and switch off the flame. Serve the hot MMM along with rotis/ pulav.

Zaffrani chicken/ Saffron Chicken

First of all my apologies for a long break. It's almost a month since my last post. For the Christmas vacations, we visited my native. Though I missed my little space, I was having fun with friends and family as we were going after a long 3 and a half years. After all the jet lagging and settling down, am back with a new post. Now on, I will be regular and will be updating my blog space often.

Today I am here with a new, rich, creamy and delicious Zaffrani Chicken. Zaffrani Chicken is a dish made with chicken, spices and with a tinge of saffron. The small amount of saffron leaves a beautiful flavor to the dish that lasts till the last bite.
I ate this delicious dish in Bangalore long back and till now, I cannot forget the flavors. When some friends were visiting us, I recollected about this dish and made it instantly, which is a super hit. I made different varieties of dishes using chicken but completely forgot about this finger-licking delicious dish. Though a small amount of saffron is added to the dish, the flavor is spread throughout.

A perfect dish in this cold weather and a party favorite, I hope everyone who is reading this post must try immediately. The zaffrani chicken is well blended with the yogurt and spices and flavored with saffron. This dish goes well with any of the Indian bread or pilafs. This dish is mildly spicy but more creamy, rich and undoubtedly a royal treatment to our palate.
Ingredients:

1. Chicken- 1 pound
2. Onions- 2 nos
3. Ginger- Garlic Paste- 1 tbsp
4. Yogurt- 1 cup
5. Cashew Nuts- 7-8 nos
6. Red Chilli Powder- 1 Tsp
7. Turmeric Powder- 1/2 Tsp
8. Coriander Powder- 1 Tsp
9. Saffron- a pinch
10. Milk- 1 tbsp
11. Whole Garam Masala- 1/2 Tbsp
12. Oil- 1 tbsp

Method:

1. Heat oil in a pan, add the whole garam masala. Then saute the sliced onions till they turn translucent. Add the ginger- garlic paste. Stir till the raw smell disappears. Switch off the flame and let it cool. Grind to a fine paste and transfer into a pan on low flame.
2. Soak the saffron in the warm milk for some time. Grind the cashews with little water to make a paste. Keep these aside.
3. In the above onion mixture add the red chili powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder. Mix and saute on medium flame for a minute. Add the washed chicken pieces along with yogurt and salt. Mix well. In this add, the cashew paste soaked saffron milk, and stir. 
4. Add little water cover and cook till the chicken pieces are well blended with the spices and becomes soft. Serve warm along with rotis or pilaf.

Lamb In Yogurt Gravy/ Dahi Gosht

Lamb in yogurt gravy is my mom's style of preparation which she makes within no time. In this dish the lamb is cooked slowly in a spicy onion- yogurt based gravy till it absorbs all liquid and becomes a semi- gravy.

This month's MFB challenge is a special EID dish which is prepared at home or anywhere in the world. So today I choose my most favorite, my mom's lamb dish which is a delicious, mouth-watering dish which is one among her different varieties of dishes. Before going for the morning Eid prayers, my mom would prepare breakfast, like appam or idiyappam and this amazing lamb curry, which can be prepared in a very less time. After the prayers, we all enjoy the delicious breakfast. Today I am with this perfect dish for the perfect occasion. I hope you will try this and will love it.
In this dish, I made a paste of coriander leaves and added them as you all might know that my husband doesn't like the leaves to be seen on top. Like that also it tastes good. Try this out and let me know.

Ingredients :
For Marination:

1. Lamb- 2 lb
2. Red Chilli Powder- 2 Tsp
3. Garam Masala Powder- 1 Tsp
4. Turmeric Powder- 1 Tsp
5. Ginger - Garlic Paste- 1 tbsp

For Masala:

1. Oil- 2 tbsp
2. Cloves, Cinnamon and Cardamom- 1 tbsp
3. Onions- 3 nos (chopped)
4. Tomato- 1 no (chopped)
5. Ginger- Garlic Paste- 2 tbsp
6. Curry Leaves- few
7. Red Chilli Powder- 1 tbsp
8. Coriander Powder- 1 tbsp
9. Turmeric Powder- 1 Tsp
10. Garam Masala Powder- 1 Tsp
11. Curd- 2 cups
12. Coriander Leaves- a bunch (chopped)

Method:

1. Wash the lamb pieces and marinate with the ingredients under marination. Keep this for about 30min- 2 hrs.
2. Heat oil in a pressure cooker, add the chopped onions, once they turn translucent add the ginger- garlic paste and tomato, stir till the raw smell disappears.
3. Add all the spice powders, mix well add the marinated lamb. Stir till everything gets well blended and cook on medium-high heat, till all the water gets evaporated.
4. Add the curd, mix well and on low heat cook on pressure till few whistles or till the meat gets cooked well. If there is liquid left out, cook on slow flame till all the liquid gets absorbed well in the gravy. Garnish with the chopped coriander leaves and enjoy steaming lamb curry along with your favorite roti/ kulcha/ naan/ ghee rice/ appam /idiyappam or anything of your choice.

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Bittergourd in Coconut milk Gravy/ Pavakka Paal Curry

I know that many of us don’t like the bitter gourd in any form. But the dish which I am going to introduce you will make you love bitter gourd and will not say no to this any longer.

I like bitter gourd fry/ mezhukuparati as my mom make it very delicious. I like to have it along with rasam. There are 2 varieties of bitter gourds. Dark green color and white color bitter gourds. The white color bitter gourds, which is available in abundance in Kerala are not at all bitter. But the dark green coloured ones are more bitter and to reduce the bitterness different methods are used like adding salt to the chopped bitter gourd pieces and keep it for some time after that squeeze out the pieces, the other method is to add tamarind extract while cooking, then the last method which I know is by adding yogurt to the sliced bitter gourd pieces and after sometime squeeze out and use. This method is what I used here as we won’t get the white colored bitter gourds here. Through these techniques, we can reduce the bitterness and this healthy, nutritious, fiber-rich vegetable can be used.

In this recipe, the coconut milk is very well blended with the spices and the crispy fried bitter gourd gives an appetizing flavor. I got the recipe from here. From the time I started preparing this dish, it has become one of our favorites and so I made this ‘n’ number of times. Here is the recipe for mouthwatering, easy, simple and not so time-consuming dish. Hope you all like this.

Ingredients:

1. Bitter gourd- 2 nos
2. Yogurt- 1tbsp
3. Salt- as required
4. Red Chilli Powder- 1tsp
5. Oil- 2 tbsp
6. Mustard Seeds- 1 tsp
7. Onions (sliced)-1 no
8. Green chilies- 2 nos
9. Tomatoes (sliced)- 1 no
10. Curry Leaves- few
11. Turmeric Powder- 1tsp
12. Red Chilli Powder- 1tsp
13. Thin Coconut milk- 1 Cup
14. Thick Coconut Milk- ¼ Cup

Method:

1. Take out the milk by grinding the grated coconut along with 1/4 cup of warm water. This is first milk or thick milk. Again pour 1 cup of warm water and grind to take out second milk or thin milk. Keep this aside.
2. Cut the bitter gourd into thin slices. In a bowl, add yogurt, red chili powder, turmeric powder and salt along with the sliced bitter gourd pieces. Keep this for 10- 15 minutes. Heat oil and fry the marinated bitter gourd pieces till golden brown and crispy. Drain this on a kitchen towel.
3. In the same oil, splutter mustard seeds. Add the sliced onions along with curry leaves, slitted green chilies and required amount of salt.
4. When the onions turn translucent add the sliced tomatoes and stir. Add the turmeric powder and red chili powder. When they turn mushy and the oil separates add the thin coconut milk.
5. Mix well, adjust the salt and add the crispy fried bitter gourd slices. Close with a lid and let this boil for about 3 minutes.
6. Switch off the flame and add the thick coconut milk and give it a nice stir. Serve along with steaming hot rice.

Eggs in Tamarind Gravy/ Kodiguddu Pulusu

As I grew up in Andhra Pradesh, I like all the dishes. Among all the curries which my mom makes, one of my most favorite is this egg curry, which is called as “pulusu”.

Pulusu in Telugu means sour curry. Tamarind is used to get the sourness for the gravy. To balance the sourness, we add jaggery/sugar. We can make this tamarind gravy adding different vegetables.

In this, the boiled eggs are cooked in onions and tamarind gravy, which is then tempered with mustard seeds and curry leaves. Different varieties of egg curries are made, but this version goes well with steaming hot rice as well as roti. This can be made easily on a lazy day without much hustle.

I shallow fried the boiled eggs, before adding in the gravy as I like the crisp outer cover. You can add the boiled eggs directly without frying. Try this out and let me know.

Ingredients:

1. Eggs- 4- 5 nos
2. Onions (chopped)- 2 nos
3. Green Chillies (slit)- 2 nos
4. Red Chilli powder- 2 tbsp
5. Coriander powder- 1 tbsp
6. Turmeric Powder- 1 tsp
7. Cumin powder- 1 tsp
8. Oil- 1 tbsp
9. Mustard Seeds- 1 tsp
10. Garlic Pods- 5- 6 nos
11. Curry Leaves- few
12. Salt- as required
13. Tamarind- a lemon size ball
14. Jaggery- 1 tbsp

Method:

1. Soak the tamarind in a cup of warm water and extract the juice. Keep this aside.
2. Boil the eggs till done and discard the shell. Heat oil in a pan and shallow fry the hard boiled eggs for about 7- 10 minutes, stirring in between. When it is done, remove the fried eggs on a plate.
3. In the same oil splutter mustard seeds along with garlic pods and curry leaves.
4. Saute the chopped onions until translucent. Add the green chilies and all the spice powders along with salt, stir till the raw smell disappears.
5. In this add tamarind juice and 2 cups of water, bring to a boil. Add jaggery to balance the tanginess of the tamarind. Let this simmer for 5 min. Drop the shallow fried eggs in the gravy and let this cook for about 10 min. When u get the required gravy consistency switch off the stove and serve with steaming hot rice and enjoy.