cabbage onion fritters / Onion Cabbage vadai

This is one of the easiest and the tastiest snack that can be made and had on a rainy day. Just don't mind the oil. You WILL have to fry this snack, but it does not take too much of oil.

Ingredients:

sliced cabbage: 1 cup
Sliced Onions: 1 cup
Besan: 3 tbsp
Rice flour: 4 tbsp [The more crispier You want, the more rice flour u add]
Red chilly powder: 1/2 tbsp [adjust according to your spice levels]
Ajwain: 1 tsp [completely optional: It helps in digestion though]
Salt: to taste
Oil: to fry

Method:

1. Mix everything[except oil] together with very little water. The veggies and the flour should bind very well.
2. Fry small vadai sized portions in oil.
3. Enjoy with green chutney or any other chutney of your choice on a rainy day.

You can make these on non-rainy days too. But they taste extra tasty on rainy days.

Potato Fry

I call potato as " the Miracle vegetable". I was not very fond of potatos until I started cooking. To cook potato is the easiest task in kitchen, next to making hot water!

Ingredients:
Potato - 1 [clean, remove skin, cut it into cubes]
Chopped Onions - 1 no.
Mustard - 1 tsp
Urad dal - 1/2 tbsp
cumin - 1 tsp
Chilly powder / mommy's sambar powder - 1/2 to 3/4 tbsp [ depends on how spicy u need it]
garam masala - 1 tsp [ optional ]
Salt - as needed.
Oil - 2 tbsp

Method:
1. Oil in a big wide pan.
2. Cumin and urad dal in.
3. Let mustard splutter.
4. Saute Onions with a little salt. [fastens the procedure].
5. Chilly powder in.
6. Diced potatoes in.
7. Sprinkle salt. [ & garam masals if using]
8. Stir everything together.
9. Close the pan with a lid. You want the potatoes to be cooked in the steam. so no water.

Easy Potato fry is ready to go with your sambar rice or lemon rice or Tamarind Rice or the undisputed curd rice.

Much more easier version is coming soon!!

 

Kuzhi paniyaram with Tomato Chutney

The lazy cook that I'm, I do not do elaborate preparations for this delicacy. All I do is use the leftover dosai batter for making kuzhipaniyarams. I'm not even aware of how to make fresh batter for kuzhipaniyaram.I'm just happy with my dosai batter. Now for the method.

 

Ingredients:

 

1. For the batter:

 

Dosai batter - 2 cups.

rice flour - 2 tbsp.

Rava - 1 tbsp.

 

2. To saute and mix in the batter:

Chopped onions - 1

Chopped green chillies: 2

Cumin - 1 tsp

Channa dal - 2 tbsp

mustard - 1/2 tsp

salt - just for the onions

chopped curry leaves - 5 -6 leaves

 

Method:

1. oil in wok

2. mustard seeds in. Let it splutter.

3. Cumin seeds in.

4. Channa dal in. let it roast.

5. chopped onions in. let it medium fry for 3 - 4 mins.

6. Chopped green chillies and curry leaves in.

7. add salt.

8. Add the above sauteed ingredients into the batter[dosa batter + rice flour+ rava].

9. pour into the kuzhipaniyaram pan and make these delicious paniyarams.

 

Serve it hot with tomato chutney. 

 

 

Mushroom biryani

My love for biryani has no bounds!! I just love this dish. Biryani is a must have for both me and my DH at least once a week.I make biryani in a 5 quart pan. You can also do it in a cooker, without using the whistle.

Ingredients:

Mushroom - 1 cup [cleaned and sliced]
Basmathi rice - 1 cup [washed and soaked for 30 mins]
water - 1.25 cups
cinnamon - 1 inch
cloves - 3
bay leaf - 1 leaf
cardamom - 2 [optional]
cumin seeds - 1 tsp
fennel seeds - 1/2 tsp
GG paste - 2 tblsp
sliced Onions - 1
mint leaves - 2 hands full or one bunch
red chilly powder - 1/2 tblsp & coriander powder - 1 tblsp [this can be repalced with store brought biryani masala - 2 tblsp]
curd - 3 tblsp
Ghee - 2 tblsp
Oil - 3 tblsp
Salt - as needed.

Method:

1. Oil and ghee into the heavy bottomed pan.
2. cinnamon, cloves, bay leaf, cardamom, cumin seeds, fennel seeds in.
3. Onions in. fry them well.
4. GG paste in.
5. Mushrooms in. fry until water comes out of it.
6. curd in
7. red chilly powder & coriander powder in.
8. add the mint leaves.
9. Rice,water and salt in.
10. mix every thing together. Close the pan with the lid.
11. flame high for 7 minutes and then simmer until the rice is done.

Mix the biryani gently with a fork to get non sticky rice.
Serve it hot with onion raitha.

 

Simple and easy peas pulav

Try peas pulav with minimal ingredients.

Ingredients:

Peas - 1/2 cup

Basmathi rice - 1 cup [ soaked for 15-30 mins]

Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp

Sliced onions - 1 Large

jeera - 1/2 spoon

green chilies - 2 slit lengthwise. this is the spice quotient. 

bay leaf, cinnamon, cloves - 1 or 2 based on the size.

salt - as needed

Ghee - 1 spoon

oil - 1 spoon

Method:

1. Ghee and oil in wok.
2. Jeera in.
3. Bay leaf, cinnamon, cloves in
4. Green chilies in.
5. onion in. fry till translucent.
6. Ginger garlic paste in. 
7. Peas in. Fry all together for 2 minutes.
8. Basmathi rice in with 1.25 cups of water.
9. Close the lid and simmer for 10 minutes.
10. use a fork to mix the cooked rice. This makes sure that the rice remain as long grains.

Serve hot with onion raitha or dal or some spicy non veg gravy.

 

Pepper Chicken varuval

Husband wanted a chicken dish. Tried this recipe with cornish hen. It is a young chicken that weighs around 1 to 1.5 pounds. Aroung 500 to 700 gms. You get it as a whole chicken. You can buy it if you like to eat chicken with bones. You can als try this recipe with full grown chicken. Recipe is below.

Ingredients

cleaned and cut cornish hen - 1/2 a kilo
Chopped Onions - 2
Chopped Tomato -1
Ginger garlic paste - 1 spoon
Turmeric - 3/4 spoon
chilli powder - 1/2 spoon
coriander powder - 1 spoon heaped.
Pepper powder - 1 to 1.5 spoon
Salt - as needed
Oil - 3 full spoons

Method:

1. Oil in heavy bottomed and a wide kadaai.
2. Onions and Ginger garlic paste in.
3. Turmeric powder in.
4. Add the chicken. Keep stirring until the chicken turns white. It take around 5 mins.
5. Chilli powder, coriander powder and pepper powder in. Stir evertyhing.
6. Add the tomatoes. stir everything.
7. Add salt.
8. Close the kadaai with the lid. Water from the steam in the closed kadaai is all the water we give the chicken. Do not add any extra water.
9. Cook until the oil seperates out.
10. Give a final stir.

You pepper chicken varuval is ready to be savored with rice and rasam.

vegetable semiya upma

When I have to make semiya upma, I try to add in lots of veggies. Mixed veggies bag comes handy and I love them as it makes cooking a pleasure.

Vegetable semiya ingredients:

Roasted vermicilli: 1 cup
Mixed vegetables: 1 cup
Onion sliced - 1
channa dal - 1 tsp
urad dal - 2 tsp
cumin seeds - 1 tsp
mustard - 1/2 tsp
asafoetida - a pinch
oil - 2 tsp
curry leaves - few [optional]
green chillies - 2 [May be replaced by Red chillies]
water - 2 cups.
Salt - as needed.

Method:

1. Oil in wok.
2. channa dal in. wait till its a little brown.
3. urad dal in.
4. asofoetida in.
5. cumin seeds in.
6. mustard seeds in. wait for it to splutter.
7. slit green chillies in.
8.curry leaves, if using.
9. Chopped onion in.

10. Salt in the above mixture.

11. 2 cups of warm water in.

12. roasted vermicilli in.

13. mix all of it and wait for it to cook.

                         

Serve it hot with coconut chutney.