Chicken Butter Masala / Murgh Makhani Masala Recipe

Chicken Butter Masala is a healthier version of Butter Chicken without compromising taste.... I adapted this recipe from the Paneer Butter Masala recipe I posted long back. This doesn’t have much cream or butter in it and we can reduce or completely omit it if you make this on a regular basis. Usually when I make it just for us, I never add cream and always reduce butter to half; trust me it still tastes great :)....

Chicken Butter Masala / Murgh Makhani Masala Recipe

Ingredients:

Chicken  - 500 gms cut into 1” cubes (I used boneless chicken)

Turmeric Powder - ½ tsp

Onion - 2 medium, sliced thin

Chilly powder - 2 tsp

Ginger paste - 1 ½  tsp

Garlic paste - 1 ½  tsp

Tomato - 2 big, pureed to a fine paste in a blender

Fresh Cream - ¼ cup

Cashew nuts - 25gm (soaked in little water & grind to a fine paste)

Garam masala - 1 tsp

Sugar - 1 tsp

Roasted Cumin powder / Jeera powder - ½ tsp

Fenugreek leaves /Kasoori methi leaves - 2 tsp

Salt to taste

Butter - 2tbsp

Oil -1 tbsp

Tomato sauce - 2 tbsp

Water - 1 ½ cups

Coriander leaves - ¼ cup, finely chopped

Red food colour - 2 drops (I didn’t use it)

Method:

• Marinate chicken pieces with turmeric powder and little salt and keep aside for ½ hour. 
• Heat 1 tbsp oil in a non-stick pan and add sliced onion and sauté until translucent and soft (no need to brown the onions). Grind the sautéed onions to a fine paste and keep aside.
• Heat butter in a pan and add onion paste, ginger and garlic paste and sauté for 5 minutes. Lower the heat and add chilly powder and stir well. Add pureed tomato and tomato sauce and sauté well till the mixture becomes thick and oil starts separates from the masala.
• Add marinated chicken pieces and sauté well for 6-8 minutes.
• Add ground cashew nut paste, cumin powder, garam masala and kasoori methi leaves and salt.
• Add 1 ½ cups of hot water and boil the mixture for 3 minutes. Add food colour if using. Reduce the heat and simmer the mixture for 10-15 minutes or until the gravy is little thick and chicken pieces are cooked well.
• Finally add cream and coriander leaves mix well and turn off the heat. 
• Serve hot with Indian flat breads or rice.

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Kerala Chicken Stew Recipe / Kozhi Stew

Stew or Ishtew is a mildly spicy and creamy Kerala special delicacy which goes very well with appam,bread, puttu, chapathi etc. In most Kerala Christian families, Christmas or Easter breakfast is incomplete without appam and chicken or mutton stew. Stew has to be white in colour and you have to make sure not to brown the onion while sautéing. Cashew nut paste will enhance the flavor and make the gravy thick and creamy.

Kerala Chicken Stew Recipe / Kozhi Stew
Ingredients: 

Chicken - ½ kg (cut in to medium pieces, I used boneless chicken)

Potato - 1 small, cubed

Carrot - 1 small, cubed

Onion - 1, thinly sliced

Green chillies - 4, slit

Ginger - 1 tsp, finely chopped

Garlic - 1 tsp, finely chopped

Cinnamon sticks - 1 inch x2 pieces

Cardamom - 4

Cloves - 4

Black peppercorns - 1 tsp

Medium thick coconut milk - 3 cups

Thick coconut milk - 1 cup

Cashew nuts - 6 - 8 ground to a fine paste

Curry leaves - few

Salt - to taste

Coconut oil - 2 tbsp

Method:

• Heat oil in a pan and add cinnamon sticks, cardamom, cloves, black peppercorns and sauté. Add onion, ginger, garlic and green chillies and curry leaves and stir fry until they becomes soft and translucent. (make sure not to brown the onion).
• Add chicken pieces and stir fry for 2-3 minutes until the meat is lightly seared.
• Add cubed potatoes and carrots, medium think coconut milk and salt, and cook for 15-20 minutes over medium heat until the chicken, carrot and potatoes are fully cooked.
• Add cashew nut paste, thick coconut milk and vinegar, mix well and simmer for 2 minutes or until you get the required thickness.
• Serve hot with palappam, vellayappam, Idiyappam, Puttu, Chapathi or bread.

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Fish Tikka

Tried this recipe after seeing a popular cookery show, Annie’s Kitchen.  It came out really well so thought of sharing it with you. You can either grill or bake tikkas in the oven, use an electric toaster grill or on stove top. It’s a very easy and hassle free recipe. You can marinate the fish pieces and keep it overnight in the fridge before grilling. It is a perfect recipe to serve as a starter or as a main or side dish. A great addition to a party menu :) :) ...

Fish Tikka

Ingredients:

Boneless Fish - 1kg {can use Neymeen (Seer fish),  Motha (King fish) or any thick boneless fish pieces}

Onion -1 cup, cut into 1 ½“pieces

Tomato -1 cup, cut into 1 ½“pieces (remove seeds)

Capscium – 1 cup, cut into 1 ½“pieces

Butter – 3 tbsp

For the marinade:

Ginger paste - 2 tsp

Garlic paste – 2 tsp

Green chilly paste- 4 tsp

Mint leaves paste – 2 tsp

Ajwain powdered / Ayamodakam podi -1 tsp

Turmeric powder – ½ tsp

Dried fenugreek leaves / Kasoori methi- ½ tsp

Lightly roasted Besan/ chickpea flour/ kadala maavu - 2 tsp

Hung Curd (yogurt) - 4 tsp

Vegetable oil – 1 tbsp

Lemon juice -2 tbsp

Salt to taste

Method:

• Cut into 1 ½ inch pieces and rub the fish with little salt and vinegar to remove the fishy odour. Keep aside for 5 minutes. Wash well and pat dry on a kitchen towel.
• Mix all the marinade ingredients in a big bowl and add fish pieces and mix well to coat all the marinade to the fish pieces. Keep aside for half hour. (you can keep this marinated fish overnight in the fridge).
• Just before grilling, add onion, capsicum and tomato pieces to the marinated fish and well.
• Skewer the fish and vegetables alternately on skewers or tooth picks.
• If you are using an oven, place the skewered tikkas on the wire rack. Brush tikkas with melted butter and grill for 10-15 minutes overturning them every few minutes.
• If you are using stove top, melt little butter in a non-stick tava, add skewered fish tikkas and grill on medium flame until all sides are lightly browned and fish is cooked well.
• Serve hot decorated with lemon wedges and pudina chutney or sauce.

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Pork Pickle Recipe / Panniyearchi Achar

My Pickling bug continues and this time its Pork Pickle :) :)  Recently while emptying my freezer I found a packet of pork and thought of pickling it. I followed the chicken pickle recipe with slight changes. Worth the trial and we loved it. I highly recommend to use boneless pork pieces without the fat and increase or decrease the oil according to the pork pieces you use. Like I say in all my pickle recipe posts, you can keep pickle at room temperature, if you avoid adding water while preparing it. Always remember to use a clean sterilized dry bottle to store the pickle and always use a dry spoon to take the pickle.

Pork Pickle Recipe / Panniyearchi Achar

Ingredients:

Boneless Pork without fat - 500 gms

Ginger - 2 tbsp, chopped

Garlic - 2 tbsp, chopped

Curry Leaves – 2 sprigs

Salt to taste

Kashmiri Red chilly powder – 3 tbsp

Turmeric powder – 1 tsp

Asafoetida powder / Kaayam – 1 tsp

Fenugreek powder / Uluva podi - 1 tsp

Garam masala – 1 ½ tsp

Sugar – 1 tsp

Vinegar - ½ to 1 cup

Gingelly oil / Sesame Oil / Nallenna – ¾ cup

Method:

• Wash, clean and drain pork pieces. Add salt, turmeric powder and pepper powder and let marinate the pork for 1 hour.
• Heat oil in a pan, splutter the mustard seeds. Then add ginger, garlic and curry leaves and sauté well until golden brown.
• Add the marinated pork and fry till the pork pieces are light brown in colour.
• Lower the flame and add the powders and mix well till the raw smell goes.
• Add vinegar to taste and cook on low flame till the pork is cooked and the gravy is thick.
• Sprinkle sugar and check for salt and turn off the heat.
• Once the pickle is cooled transfer it to a clean dry bottle and use. 

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Mongolian Chicken Recipe

It’s been quite a while since I updated my blog. My son had a short year end break from school and also had to travel to India for my mother in law’s funeral. Now I am slowly getting back to my routine. If you haven’t got a reply for an e-mail or query please excuse me, will revert back soon…

P.F Chang’s restaurants are very famous all over the world and when it opened a branch in Kuwait few years ago, it was so crowded that people had to wait hours to get inside. Of course the food is good and one never regretted the long wait :D...  After tasting their food, I have tried to replicate some of the dishes like Spicy Chicken, Mongolian Beef etc at home.... This Mongolian Chicken is a healthier version of the beef and we all really loved the sweet and spicy chicken, which goes well with fried rice, noodles or even with plain rice! Do try and let me know how it turns out...

Mongolian Chicken Recipe

(Recipe adapted from here) 

Ingredients:

Boneless Chicken - 500 gms, cut into bite size pieces

Corn flour - ¼ cup

Vegetable oil - 2 tbsp

Ginger - ½ tsp, minced

Garlic - 1 tbsp, minced

Celery - 3 tbsp, chopped

Pepper powder - ½ tsp -1tsp

Soy sauce - 4 tbsp

Chicken stock - ½ cup

Brown sugar - 2 tbsp

Sesame oil - 1 tsp 

Spring onions -4 stems, chopped

Method:

• In a bowl, mix chicken pieces with corn flour until all the pieces are evenly coated.
• In a pan over high heat, add oil and when the oil is hot, add chicken. Cook until chicken is cooked through (about 4 minutes).
• Add garlic and ginger and cook for 2 minutes.
• Add soy sauce, chicken stock, celery, pepper powder and brown sugar and cook for 3-4 minutes, until sauce thickens.
• Turn the heat off, add sesame oil and spring onions. Stir well and serve with fried rice, noodles or white rice.

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Chemmen Mulaku Curry with Thenga Kothu / Kerala Konju Curry / Kerala Style Prawn Curry with Coconut Pieces

Chemmen Mulaku curry is a very easy to make Kerala delicacy. Prawns are cooked along with coconut pieces, kudam puli and masala. Shallots, coconut pieces and Coconut oil are a must for making this curry to capture the authentic taste. Coconut oil (pacha velichenna) poured on top of the cooked curry enhances the taste. A true Keralite will indulge this spicy prawn curry with rice; it is also one of my favorite prawn dish.

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Chemmen Ularthiyathu with Thenga Kothu / Kerala Style Prawn Roast with Coconut Pieces

This is another version of the Prawn Roast I had posted earlier. Prawn is briefly cooked with coconut pieces and masalas and is then roasted in coconut oil. This is a famous dish of the "Shappu Kada" (Toddy shops) across Kerala. This dried and spicy prawn dish goes very well with rice and moru curry, as a side dish or as a wrap with chapathi and is also a great cocktail snack along with thengin kallu (coconut toddy), or with scotch or beer. Do try this for Christmas or New Year and let me know which way you liked it :) :)

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Chilli Chicken

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Nadan Mutta Roast / Kerala Style Egg Roast

Mutta (Motta) Roast is a very popular side dish of Kerala, which can be served for breakfast, lunch or dinner!.... A very simple, easy to make side dish usually served with Palappam, Vellayappam, Idiyappam or Puttu for breakfast or as a side dish for chapathi or porotta for dinner or as a quick fix when guests shows up unexpectedly :) :) … Mutta Roast is also a very popular item in “thattukada” or road side eatery ….  Mutta roast can be used as a stuffing to make Mutta Puffs :)…

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Keema Stuffed Idiyappam / Meat Stuffed String Hoppers

Idiyappam / Noolappam / String Hopper is a typical Kerala breakfast usually served with different types of curries or even with sugar. It can also be prepared with meat or vegetable stuffing. Since I had some left over Keema Masala, I used it as stuffing. You only need to make the stuffing ahead of time and you can make stuffed Idiyappam for breakfast or dinner quite easily. It can be eaten as is or served with egg roast or kadala curry.

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Pork Vindaloo Recipe

Pork Vindaloo, is a hot and spicy dish popular in Goa and also amongst Christians in Kerala. It’s a very spicy dish and is served on special occasions like Christmas, Easter, engagement and baptism ceremonies. Like in any other recipe there are many different versions of this recipe. Some recipes add fried potatoes towards the end of cooking; I did not do so but if you wish you can add cubed and fried potatoes towards the end of cooking.  Vindaloo tastes better when served the following day and it goes well with breads, Palappam, Vellayappam, Sannas and all kinds of Indian breads and rice.  And for those who don’t like pork you can substitute with Beef, Chicken or Lamb....

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Chicken Biriyani / Kozhi Biryani

Like I said in my Mutton Biriyani post there are plenty of ways to make biriyani and every household has their own unique recipe for the same. This recipe is from my mom which many moons ago was published in Vanitha magazine. Whenever I make chicken biriyani I stick to this recipe as it is easy to make and can be prepared ahead of time and baked just before serving. So if you are planning to make biriyani on Christmas or New Year try this one and let me know :)

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Chicken with Bell Peppers

I have been making this for quite some time and it’s a Ree Drummond recipe. The original recipe is with Beef and here I used chicken instead, but I have tried beef also many times and both are equally good.... The main thing we love about this curry is that it goes with almost anything like rice, noodles or even with chapathi.....  It can be served as a side dish or as a main dish after mixing it with some noodles..... 

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Arabic Stuffed Zucchini in Tomato Sauce / Kousa Mihshi Recipe

Kousa Mihshi (Stuffed Zucchini) is an Arabic main dish and widely popular in this region. Minced beef / lamb is mixed with raw rice and spices and then stuffed inside the cored Kousa / koosa (marrow squash / Arabic zucchini) and cooked in tomato paste. I used minced chicken instead of red meat.... I got the basic recipe from my maid and then I searched on the net and made this dish to suit our taste buds.... While searching the net I remember reading on one site that you can make a vegetarian version of this dish by replacing the meat with chopped mushrooms, I never tried it though.... If you like zucchini you will enjoy this mildly spiced dish. Serve as a main dish along with some nice salad.... 

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Kerala Style Pork Fry / Nadan Panniyearchi Ularthiyathu

For special occasions like Easter or Christmas, meat is an inevitable dish in Kerala Christian homes, especially Erachi Ularthiyathu / Meat stir fried! I was surprised that I had not posted a Kerala meat fry recipe even after 5+ years of blogging!! It is because whenever I make meat, it does not last long enough to take pictures and also for such common recipes I have wondered about the need to post as almost everybody knows how to make it :).... But now a days I have been getting many requests for such recipes and hence I will make it a point to post those common Kerala recipes.....If you have any such requests do let me know :).... 

Pork is an absolute favorite of mine… I know a lot of you may be thinking while reading this as to how I could possibly think of eating Pork during Lent ;)....  Sorry guys I made this dish quite some time back and somehow delayed posting it.... Whenever I get hold of Pork, I tend to make Pork Veengali and this time for a change I made it like Kerala Beef fry..... Every home has their own way of making erachi ularthiyathu and this is how we make it at home.... If you are a Pork lover do try this and enjoy it with rice, appam, chapathi, bread or as a short eat with your favorite brand of rum/brandy/whiskey/toddy like a true Achayan (malayali Christian guy) way :D :D

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Pepper Chicken Masala

There are many different Pepper Chicken recipes; some are dry and some with little gravy…. Even I have a couple of different recipes … This recipe I got from my aunt and ever since I have been making this at least once a month… This goes very well with Indian pulavs and flat breads… Addition of coconut milk makes this curry very creamy…

My friend Bharathy of Spicy Chilly is hosting her first giveaway event along with CupoNatin… If you would like to participate in this giveaway and win exciting prizes check out her site and send in a spicy dish;  I am sending this spicy Pepper Chicken Masala to her… I love shopping through Flipkart…

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Nadan Kozhi Mappas / Chicken Mappas / Kerala Chicken Curry in Creamy Coconut Sauce

Kozhi Mappas or Chicken Mappas is a typical Syrian Christian delicacy, which is very common in Kerala Christian homes....Chicken cooked in a spiced creamy coconut milk and served with Palappam or Vellayappam is a regular breakfast in Christian families especially on occasions like Christmas, Easter and is also one of the items in ceremonies like Othukalyanam (Engagements), Weddings, Baptism etc... Back home we used to add potato and carrot along with the chicken and these veggie pieces cooked along with chicken in the gravy tastes delicious! You can make different versions of Mappas by substituting chicken with egg, mutton, beef, fish, duck or with vegetables like Broccoli, cauliflower, ladies finger, bread fruit etc…. Chicken mappas can be served with Palappam, Vellayappam, Chapathi, Idiyappam, Puttu or even with plain boiled rice with spiced yogurt.... 

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Kerala Mathi (Chala) Achaar / Sardine Pickle

Amma used to make fish pickle but she always used big fishes like King Fish (Motha), Seer Fish (Neimeen) etc.... Recently someone told me Mathi Pickle is very good and last week when I got some Mathi / sardines I tried it with a small batch.... I have adapted the recipe from B.F Varghese’s book and it came outwell..... You can either cut mathi into small pieces or use as a while fish like I did... A good side dish with rice, moru kachiyathu and thoran....

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Armenian Kabab Recipe

A great Appetizer / Snack for a cocktail party which can be made ahead of time and fried just before serving. I used minced chicken but you can use any minced meat. Try this with your choice of meat when you plan a party next time.....

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Empanada Gallega ~ September 2012 Daring Bakers’ Challenge

Patri of the blog, Asi SonLos Cosas, was our September 2012 Daring Bakers’ hostess and she decided to tempt us with one of her family’s favorite recipes for Empanadas! We were given two dough recipes to choose from and encouraged to fill our Empanadas as creatively as we wished!

Empanada (or empada, in Portuguese) is a stuffed bread or pastry baked or fried in many countries in Western Europe, Latin America, and parts of Southeast Asia. The name comes from the Galician, Portuguese and Spanish verb empanar, meaning to wrap or coat in bread.The filling for empanada can vary, meat, chicken, cheese, fruit and vegetables. It is really up to your taste and preference and there is plenty of room for creativity. It can be served warm or cold. I chose to make individual sized empanadas instead of one big one and I used ground meat filling with some slight differences.

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