Puri - Chicken Therakal

Dishes From Fellow Samayalites

Puri - Chicken Therakal:-I tried KK-Kitchenmate's Puri-Chicken Therakal.Came out Good.This one is a keep.Some Samples

Awesome Blossom

Awesome Blossom :- It is the name of an appetizer served in Chili's Restaurant, a fresh whole onion sliced to look like flower "blossom" and served crispy-crunchy and steaming hot.

Chili's Awesome Blossom Pics

Here is my version of it.

Ingrediants

• Onion-1 medium
• Besan/Gram Flour(kadalai maavu in tamil)-little more than 1/2 cup
• Rice flour-2 tbsps (makes it crispy on the outside)
• Baking soda-2 pinches
• Red Chilli Powder-1/2 tsp
• Pepper Powder-1/4 tsp
• Salt-as required
• Water-to mix the flours
  
• Oil-to deep fry

Method

Cut the onions with the roots on so the layers are not seperated like in the pics.(Chili's version looked like a whole fried onion.I tried to cut the onions that way but ended up with the below version)


In a bowl add all the dry ingrediants and add water little by little to make into a dipping consistency.It shouldn't be too watery or too thick.The battery should coat the onions well.Use your fingers to seperate the individual petals as you dip into the batter so that each layer is coated well with the batter and drop them into the oil.Deep fry till golden brown and crispy.

Awesome blossom - my version

Serve it with hot tea/coffee with chutney or tomato sauce or any spicy sauce.

M's Comments

• Taste-super
• Appreance-not bad for a copykat
  

After posting my version,i came across the almost original recipe at Awesome Blossom

Madurai Style Chicken Kuzhambu

Madurai Style Chicken Kuzhambu :-I call this kuzhambu Madurai style because it tastes similar to the kuzhambu we get along with paratha in Madurai.I got this recipe from my friend Kamala who is from Madurai.

Ingrediants

• Chicken with bones-1 pound (chicken with bones tastes better than boneless chicken)
  
• For dry powder-kus kus 3/4 tsp,black peppercorns 1/2 tsp,fennel(sombu) 1/2 tsp,dry red chillis 3
• Masala-Medium Onion,Tomato-1 roughly chopped,Green chillis -3,Garlic-3 pods,Ginger-1/2 inch
• Coconut grated-4 tbsps
• Seasoning-Cinnanom 1 stick,cardamon 3 pods
• Salt-1 1/2 tbsps
  
• Oil-4 tbsps
• corriander leaves-4 stripes chopped
  

Method

• Clean chicken and marinate it with little salt,turmeric powder,chilli powder,Meat/chicken masala,lime juice
• In a kadai without oil dry roast the powder ingrediants,transfer to blender and powder it
• In the same kadai heat 1 tbsp oil ,add the masala items one by one and saute for 3 to 4 mins and then transfer it to the blender and grind it along with the already powdered dry ingrediants.Run the blender until all are well grinded.Afterwards add the coconut and once again run the blender.
• Heat the cooker,add the rest oil followed by the seasonings,Now add the mixture from the blender and saute for 4 mins.Always the onion,tomato mixture tends to boil and spread around.Dont worry slightly close the cooker with lid so that you dont get a springler of masala around the cooker.
• Add the chicken and mix it well with the masalas.Add salt.Put on the weight and cook for 4 whisltes.
• After the pressure is released,add corriander leaves.
• Serve with paratha,plain rice,briyani .
  

I personally like it because,it is very easy to prepare and tastes good.It takes around 45 mins for the whole process.

Madurai style Chicken Kuzhambu

paratha with chicken kuzhambu-Saturday Night Dinner

M has asked me to include his comments too-He said 'Supera Iruku'

Food Experience : Bad Pizza ever had

Food Experience :- I decided to put this tag because i believe each one of us will surely have an unforgetable experience(good/bad) with food.Ofcourse life isnt always perfect.We have both good and bad.We learn from the bad and enjoy the good.

I would like to share an experience about the (bad) pizza i had(wait it is not home made.It was a delivery from pizza hut).

Here goes the story,Couple of weeks ago,i remember it was a thursday evening,I was loaded with work the whole day,no handy dosai maavu too in fridge.So i had planned for a take-out for dinner.When Murugesh came home from office,i asked him if he is ok with pizza for dinner.He said yes and left for his Golf practice.It was about 7 p.m.I did a little bit cleaning and as it was 7:30 ,i thought i would place the order for pizza.So as i dialed,some lady answered the phone,a kid shouting behind her,she asked me to hold for a sec(my thoughts were running, it dosen't look like an restuarant environment). Anyway i placed the order,i told my home address,told my home phone number,my apt no A as in Apple,she said it would take 45 mins.I said ok and hung up.

I recently read the book The World is Flat.A chapter in that book explains about out-sourcing jobs,say for example when you go to a drive thru and order,the phone call actual goes to another place where a housewife working from home would take the order and then transfer it to the restaurant and by the time your are near the pick-up window,your order is ready.I was amazed to read it.Back to my story,so i thought this too sounds similar to it.

It was already 8 p.m so i was ready with the money and waiting.M too came home from golfing and we were ready for dinner waiting for the delivery. It was 8:30 no pizza.So we called back, the same lady answered and said delivery is on its way.It was 9 p.m no sign of pizza.Both of us were hungry.Called back,they said the home was locked so the guy returned.Guess what they delivered to APT E instead of APT A they tried to reach us through phone but no answer blah blah....At last they said pizza will be delivered in 10 mins.

10 p.m we got the pizza 2 1/2 hrs after placing order.The delivery boy said the same story about APT E etc.I was so hungry that i gobbled 3 slices,didnt care even to re-heat it.I told Murugesh if somebody asked about bad pizza i would tell this story.

Share your food experinces.I tag Sudha-Samayal,Ironchef-Tastycooks,KK-Kitchenmate,Prema Sundar-My Cook Book,RP-My Workshop,Annita-My Treasure... My Pleasure,Archana-Spicyana ,Pavani-Cook's Hideout and others who would like to share.

Kola Urundai / Mutton Balls

Kola Urundai / Mutton Balls :- It can be made with ground chicken/mutton for non-veg version and plantain flower (vazhaipoo in tamil) for veg version.

Ingrediants

• Ground chicken/mutton - 1 box/1 pound
• Small Onions/Shallots - 8 to 10 finely chopped
• Green Chillis - 6 finely chopped (add more if you want it more hot)
• Turmeric pwd - 1/4 tsp
  
• Garlic - 5 cloves finely chopped
• Mint Leaves - 7 stripes finely chopped
• Corn flour - 1/2 tsp
• Salt - 1/2 tbsp
  
• Egg - 1 beaten
• Bread Crums - plain (any brand)
• Oil - to fry
  

Method

Heat little oil in a kadai,add the garlic,green chillis,onions one by one and saute for 3 mins.Add the mutton/chicken fry for a while say 4 mins.Add the turmeric,salt and continue frying until all the water/moisture evaporates and the mixture becomes nicely fryed/cooked.It may take another 5 mins or so .Add mint leaves and allow to cool for a while.

Fryed Mixture ready to be transfered to a blender

Transfer the contents to a blender/food processor and grind it.In another bowl,add the beaten egg to the ground mixture, mix it,add the corn flour and mix well(this egg and corn flour is the binder to keep the contents tight).Make small balls,coat each one in bread crums and deep fry in oil until golden brown.

Kola Urundai / Mutton Balls

Serve as a appetizer or as a side for briyani,fried rice.

Szechuan Egg Fried Rice

Szechuan :-This style of cooking originates from the Szechuan region of China . It is hot, spicy and full of flavour. It is almost the same as our version Indo-Chinese Fried rices,except szechuan fried rice is made with szechaun sauce(my version).

You can say it is 50% store bought,50% home-made.

szechaun sauce,vegetables (store bought)

Ingrediants

• Basmati Rice-2 cups(cook it in 3 and 3/4 cups of water with little oil,salt.Oil is added so that the rice doesn't stick to each other)
• Stir fry Vegetable pack-1 (follow directions on the pack to defrost)
  
• Scallions(green onions)-2 finely chopped
  
• Garlic-4 cloves most finely chopped
  
• Ginger-3/4 inch finely chopped
• Dried Red Chilli Flakes-1/4 tsp
• Szechuan Sauce-4 to 6 tsp (depends on how much dense/spicy you want)
• Tobasco RedHot Sauce (optional)-as required to add more spicyness
• Egg-3
  
• Pepper pwd-1/2 tsp
  
• Salt-as required
• Oil-preferably EVOO(Extra Virgin Olive Oil)

Method

Heat a wok/heavy bottomed kadai,add oil,when oil is heated add the chrushed chilli flakes so that the oil is infused with the flavours of the chilli and becomes chilli oil.It is the base for szechuan fried rice.Now add the chopped garlic,followed by chopped ginger.Saute it for a 2 mins.
Add the defrosted vegetables and cook until they are fully cooked.It takes about 8 mins or so.Add the szechuan sauce and coat the vegetables nicely with the sauce.Cook for 3 mins.Add salt,pepper pwd and give a taste.If more spicyness is required,add little bit tobasco sauce at this stage..Now add the cooked rice to it and mix well.Heat another pan for egg scrambles.Add it to the mixture.Sprinkle the scallions and give a final mix.

Szechuan Egg Fried Rice

Side Dish

I tried Annita-My Treasure My Pleasure 's Gobi recipe.

Turned out pretty good.I made it little bit saucy.

Variations

Chicken instead of egg or simply vegetable fried rice

I am thinking of repeating this recipe with chinese with rice for more authenticity.

MEME- About ME, ME and Only ME

Memories of Boston

Christmas Decorations in Downtown Boston

snow on tree near my apartment during 12'' snow

I am surprised : Aah!Even I got tagged.

I thank : TastyCooks and Annita of My Treasure...My Pleasure for tagging me

I wonder : how these blogs help us share our memories,wishes ...

I feel : i have many friends now

I dream : of driving in a long never ending road with green fields on either side,listening to melody songs,windows down,cool breeze coming in

I regret : the days i wake up late

I wish : i had my college days back(Oh! those days)

I want : everything to be in the right place(in the house)

I like : boston (my first city in US)

I am thinking : of working out daily

I expect : my first time recipes to turn out to be good

I moved : to Charlotte,NC

I tag Rp of My Workshop,Santi of www.santhiskitchen.com(Me and My Kitchen)

Bachelor's Dish-Bread Masal

Bachelor's Dish-Bread Masal-This can be a evening snack with tea/coffee if you are so hungry.It is one of the speciality items in ARASAN bakery in Tirunelveli Junction.Here is my version of it.

Ingrediants

• Bread-any kind
• For Masal-Onions,tomatoes finely chopped 1/2 cup,green peas 1/2 cup
• Powders-turmeric,redchilli
• Seasoning-mustard seeds,curry leaves
  
• Oil
• Salt-to taste

Method
Heat a pan,add oil,when oil is heated,add all the seasonings,then add onions saute for 2 mins,add the tomatoes and saute for 2 mins.Now add the peas and the powders.Cook till the peas are cooked and the raw smell of the powder goes away.It may take 3 to 4 mins.

Heat another pan,toast the bread slices in butter/ghee and keep it aside.Place the stuffing in between two slices of bread.Bread masal is ready.You can have 2-tier or 3-tier depending on how much hungry you are.

Bread Masal-evening snack with tea/coffee

Instant tomato chutney/Thakali chutney

This week i am posting all easy dishes because last week was so hectic that all my instant dishes came in hand to put food on table.There is an old say in tamil like "naan peta inbam peruka iv vaiyakam" which means share your own joy with the world.Hoping that this might help someone ,someday,somewhere.A good varation for tomato/thakali lovers.

Here it goes,Instant tomato chutney/Thakali chutney

Ingrediants

• Tomatoes-2 big nice ripe only,finely chopped.(the finer the tomatoes are chopped,the quicker it is cooked.Tip to save time)
  
• Powders-turmeric pwd 1/4 tsp,redchilli pwd 1/2 tsp,hing/Asafetida/kaayam(in tamil) 2 to 3 shakes/pinches
• Seasoning-mustard/kaduku,curry leaves
  
• Salt-to taste
  

Method
Heat a pan,add oil,when it is heated add mustard,when it splutters add curry leaves.Now add the chopped tomatoes.Allow it to cook for 2 mins.Add all the powders and then cook for another 4 mins.Add salt.It normally takes within 10 minutes to make this chutney.Serve it with idli/dosai.

Instant tomato chutney/Thakali chutney-side for idli/dosai

Pepper Mushroom

Pepper Mushroom-Again,this is one of my easy dish(easy means made in less time).

Ingrediants

• White button mushroom-1 box/1 pound chopped

(To clean mushrooms, wet any towel in water(damp towel) and using it rub the dirt on the mushrooms.Mushroom tends to let out water when they cook.So if you wash mushrooms directly in water,it becomes rubbery when cooked and loses taste)

• Onion-1 medium finely chopped
• Tomato-1 small finelly chopped
• Cilantro/kothamalli illai(in tamil)-6 or 7 stripes finely chopped
• Powders-turmeric 1/4 tsp,redchilli pwd 1/4 tsp,cumin pwd 1/4 tsp,pepper pwd 3/4 tsp
• Seasoning-cumin/jeera seeds
• Oil-3 tsp
• Salt-to taste
• Lime juice-2 to 3 squeezes
  

Method

Heat a kadai on stove,add oil,when it is heated,add the cumin/jeera seeds for seasoning.When it splutters,add onions saute for 2 mins,add tomatoes and cook for another 2 minutes.Add the chopped mushrooms and coat it nicely with onion and tomato mixture.Now add the powders.Cook for another 4 to 5 minutes.Mushroom loses its water contents in this stage.Let the water to evaporate making the contents thick.Add salt and cook for 1 min.Remove from heat, garnish with chopped corriander leaves.Add lime juice.

Serve as a side dish for chapatis.

pepper mushroom-side dish for chapatis

Variations:

• Adjust the pepper powder depending on how much hot you want the dish to be.
• It tastes good if cooked with EVOO-Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
  

Preparation time:

• Side dish-15 to 20 minutes (from scratch to finish)
• Chapatis-30 minutes (again with multitasking effort)