Crunchy Chicken Nugets

A fantastic chicken fry recipe which equally tastes great and an alternative for chilli chicken. Kids love it very much. This fry is a quick and easy recipe and there is no need of much spices and complex methods. Moreover it is too crunchy in every bite with real chicken flavour.

Ingredients:

1. Bone less Chicken - 250 gms
2. Egg - 1 no
3. Corn flour - 2 tbsp
4. Bread Crumbs - 1/ cup
5. Soy sauce - 2 tsp
6. Ginger garlic paste - 1 tbsp
7. Chilli powder - 1 tbsp
8. Pepper Powder -  1 tsp
9. Salt as per taste
10. Oil for deep frying

Cooking Method:

• In a pan add chicken followed by pepper, chilli corn flour, GG paste, salt and beaten egg. 
• Marinate it for an Hour.
• Cover the chicken pieces with bread crumbs.
• Deep fry in Batches.
• Finally fry the curry leaves in oil and spread over the chicken nugets.

Click the Image and zoom you will get clear stepwise pictures

Non-veg soup using Home made Soup Masala Powder

Non veg soups are always good for health and tastes great when we are affected by cold. Here chicken bones soup plays an important role for cold. I would have mentioned earlier in my Village style country chicken soup recipe about this chicken bones are good for cold soothing. Here I have given an easy soup preparation method by using home made soup masala powder. It tastes absolutely good with authentic spice flavour. 

Ingredients:

1. Mutton - 1/2 kg
2. Shallots - around 10 or less (depends on size)
3. Country Tomato - 2 no
4. Bay leaf - 1
5. Curry leaves - 1 sprig
6. Corainder leaves - fistful
7. Ginger Garlic paste - 1 tbsp
8. Red or Green Chilli - 1 no
9. Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
10. Pepper powder - 2 tsp
11. Cumin powder - 1 tsp
12. Soup Masala powder - 1 tbsp

Directions to make Soup:

• In a mixer grinder add onion, tomato, curry n coriander leaf, ginger garlic paste, salt and red chilli. grind it to a fine paste.
• In a pressure cooker add oil followed by bay leaf, ground paste, turmeric,pepper powder, cumin powder and soup masala powder.
• Saute it for a minute. Then add Mutton pieces and saute for some time.
• Now add enough water to cook the mutton.
• Close the lid and leave for about 8 whistles or above.
• Open the cooker after the pressure releases and garnish with coriander leaves.  

Click the Image and zoom you will get clear stepwise pictures

Delicious Mutton Soup is ready with Homely spice flavour.

Notes: 

• Alternatively you can replace mutton with chicken. 
• green chilli can be used instead of red chilli.
• Increase the soup masala powder according to your need.
• You can add more pepper powder for hot soup. It adds great flavour to your soup.

Keerai Masiyal / Green leaves Curry

It is my Mom in law's recipe. After my wedding only I came to know that without using Dal, simply we can make curry using green leaves / Keerai. As soon as it is done, it has to be consumed, This curry is so tasty with the flavour of coconut oil and a hot cooked rice. A good and Healthy greens Meal 

Ingredients:

1. Keerai / Green leaves - 1 Bunch
2. Shallots - around 10
3. Garlic - 2 to 3
4. Green Chilli - 2 
5. Coconut Oil - tbsp
6. Salt as per taste

Cooking Method:

Wash the Keerai thoroughly and chop into small leaves. Cut the onions and Garlic into pieces.

Click the Image and zoom you will get clear stepwise pictures

In a curry pan add some water and let it boil, as soon as the bubbles are seen add green chilli and after 2 mins add the chopped leaves.let it cook for some time in water. 

• After the keerai gets cooked or half cooked stage, add the chopped shallots and garlic and let it cook along with keerai for some time. If there is any water left in the pan pls do not discard it, collect it in other vessel. If there is no water left means, no problem at all. 
• Using a smasher or Mathu(long wooden laddle as shown in the pic) smash the keerai. 
• Then add the left over water along with coconut oil and stir the curry well.

Click the Image and zoom you will get clear stepwise pictures

As soon as it is done have it with Hot Rice and Vadam. A good and healthy side dish for your Meal.

Homemade Soup Masala Powder Recipe

I wish to share this precious recipe with you all since I got this recipe from my grand mother's age Old recipe book which my Mom had with her. Wow what a hand writing ... Its like a printed page ... Though the pages were tared here and there, somehow I could collect few pages. 
    As soon as I got this recipe, I tried Mutton soup ... Fantastic taste with aromatic spices blended with homely flavour. This soup recipe is mentioned to prepare only Non - Veg soup. So I tried only with Chicken and Mutton ... It was really good. I didn't get the correct measurements, still I prepared this soup Masala powder with some approximate units with the help of my Mom. If you find anything to be included or excluded please do. The below said Ingredients quantity turned out with nice flavour in my soup preparation. 
The given Ingredients measurements are approximate Only. Alter according to your needs. 

Ingredients:

1. Coriander seeds - 1 cup
2. Jeera / Cumin - 2 tbsp
3. Black Pepper - 2 tbsp
4. Fennel Seeds - 1 tbsp
5. Red Chilli - 10 nos (according to size) 
6. Clove - 6 nos 
7. Cardamom - 4 or 5 nos 
8. Cinnamon - 2 to 4 sticks
9. Methi seeds - 1 tsp
10. Poppy seeds - 1 tbsp
11. Rice - 1 tbsp
12. Mace / Jathibathri - 1 spear 
13. Marati Moggu - 2 nos
14. Stone Flower / Kalpasi - 4 nos
15. Nutmeg / jadikai - quarter or half
16. Bay Leaf - 2 nos
17. Curry leaves - 4 sprig

Directions to make Soup Masala Powder:

Collect all the Ingredients. First dry roast cinnamon, clove, cardamom, star anise, stone flower, Mace, Marati Moggu, Nutmeg, Bay Leaf separately in a medium flame. Keep it side.

Click the Image and zoom you will get clear stepwise pictures
  

Then dry roast coariander seeds, cumin, fennel, methi, rice, poppy, dry chilli, curry leaves, pepper etc over medium flame with constant stirring to ensure even roasting. Keep it aside.

In a mixer grind the spices which are first roasted and kept. It would have cooled right now. Then followed by next batch of roasted spices. Grind everything to a fine powder and store in an air tight container jar.

I made Mutton soup using this soup Masala powder... Was sooooo Delicious !!!

Notes :

You can increase or decrease the aromatic spices according to your flavour.

Agathi keerai poriyal /Green leaf curry using Keerai Masala powder

Agathi Keerai - " King of Greens "

Agathi keerai is one of the richest healthy greens among all other Greens. Many of us do not like to have this greens and neglect it because of its poor taste. Here I have given you the method to cook the greens as a tasty and flavourful side dish for your meal. 

For your convinience :

English: Agathi
TAMIL: Agathi Keerai
TELUGU: Avise
Hindi: Agasti
KANNADA: Agase
MALAYALAM: Agathi

Ingredients:

1. Agathi Keerai - 1 Bunch
2. Big Onion - 1
3. Shallots - 5 nos (optional)
4. Channa Dal - 2 tsp
5. Urad Dal - 1 tsp
6. Grated Coconut - 1/2 cup
7. Red Chilli - 2 nos
8. Keerai Masala Powder - 1 to 2 tbsp
9. Cooking Oil - 1 tbsp
10. Salt as per taste

Cooking Method:
Wash the greens thoroughly for 2 to 3 times and cut it as small leaves.

In a pan add some water and add the cutted greens along with some salt. Cook in medium flame until it gets cooked. Do not close the Lid (Greens must not be closed while getting cooked. I follow my Mom). Do not drain the water. Cook with water as needed.

In another pan add some oil followed by onion, red chilli and cooked greens. saute it for some time. Then add keerai masala powder followed by grated coconut. give a quick saute and switch off the flame.
  
Click the Image and zoom you will get clear stepwise pictures

Now your tasty and masala flavoured greens curry is ready to have with Rice.

Notes:

• For Variation you can use Murungai Keerai instead of agathi keerai. The same process as above.
• To make the curry quickly skip the 2nd step that is cooking the keerai separately. Instead, after sauting onions you can add keerai and then add water for cooking the keerai along with onions. After getting cooked add keerai masala powder.
• This masala powder is preferably used for cooking only Murungai and agathi Keerai. 

Keerai Masala Powder / Greens Recipe

Everybody would have heard masala powders for curry, gravy and for frying dishes, here it is strange to prepare masala powder for cooking greens. Most of us hesitate to have agathi keerai (one kind of green leaf) because of its poor taste. But there are many unknown factors hidden behind this agathi keerai. This keerai is known as " king of Green leaves ". It is a nutrient rich powerful green leaf which is consumed twice or thrice a month only with regular time interval. In the next post I will be posting How to cook the greens by adding masala powder.

Here I have given a masala powder which when added to this agathi keerai gives a rich flavour and it is too healthy and digestible masala powder. Here is the Recipe for U all. You can view How to cook agathi keerai using keerai masala powder here.

Ingredients:

1. Toor Dal - 2 tbsp
2. Channa Dal - 1 tbsp
3. Rice - 1 tbsp
4. Jeera - 1 tbsp
5. Dried Red Chilli - 4 nos

  
Directions to make Keerai masala powder:

In a pan add rice followed by other ingredients. Saute in low flame for about 2 to 5 mins(no need to add oil for sauting). switch off the flame. Let it be cool for some time. 

Click the Image and zoom you will get clear stepwise pictures

After it is cool add in a mixer grinder and grind it to a fine powder. 

Store it in an air tight container.

Sprouted Horsegram or kulthi Dhal Curry / Kollu Mulaikatiya Kuzhambu

This is my Mom's special and healthy curry. In our family all of us are fan's for this curry because the flavour of coconut and kollu both combined gives an extraordinary taste for this curry. I would like to share this curry to all my readers.

Ingredients:

1. Sprouted horsegram - 1 cup
2. Shallots - 10 nos
3. Tomato - 1 no
4. Coconut Chopped - 1/2 cup
5. Coconut grated - 1/2 Cup 
6. Dried Red Chilli - 3 nos
7. Sambar powder - 2 tsp
8. Curry Leaves - 1sprig
9. Coriander leaves - Optional

Cooking Method:


Soak Horse gram for atleast 8 hours. Drain the excess water and keep in it in a closed vessel over night. (I drained the water using juice filter and kept the horse gram as such overnight by closing the filter) The next morning you can notice sprouts in horse gram.

(The next morning I noticed the sprout came out through the holes. It was wonderful and amazing for me to see the sprouts in juice filter the next day)

Chop the shallots and tomato. Chop the Coconut as shown below. 

In a pressure cooker add oil followed by shallots, tomato, red chilli, chopped coconut, curry leaves one by one and saute for few mins. 
Next add Sambar powder and mix well.

Click the Image and zoom you will get clear stepwise pictures

Now add the sprouted horse gram and saute for some time. Now add enough water to cook the sprout. close the lid and give 7 to 10 Whistles.  

Now the sprout has cooked well. Separate only the sprout without coconut and keep in a plate.

• In a mixer grinder add the grated coconut and the sprout which has kept separately.  
• Grind both to a smooth paste. Add this grounded paste to the cooked sprouted curry. 
• Let it cook for 5 mins. If the curry is too thick you can add some water too. 
• Now switch off the flame and add coriander leaves. 

Now the sprouted horse gram curry is absolutely ready with a coconut flavour to have with Rice. Have a nice meal.

Notes:

• I used home made sambar powder. so this curry turned with utmost flavour.
• I am not sure with store bought sambar powder. You can substitute with red chilli powder, coriander powder and jeera powder instead of sambar powder.