Broccoli and Egg Stir Fry

Broccoli 1 big flower
Egg 3 nos
Grated coconut ¼ cup
Shallots 1 big, thinly sliced
Green chilly 1 no, finely chopped
Mustard seeds ½ tsp
Cumin seeds ½ tsp
Dry red chilly 2 nos
Red chilly powder ½ tsp
Salt as needed
Oil 1 tsp

Preparation

Clean and cut the broccoli to medium size florets, using a chopper/food processor, finely chop the broccoli. Set aside.

Pulse together coconut and cumin seeds using a blender for a couple of times. Set aside.

Heat oil and splutter mustard seeds. Add the dry red chilly and shallots and sauté for 30 seconds. Add the eggs one by one and scramble them really well until they are well cooked. Now add the red chilly powder, salt, mix well and add the chopped broccoli. Mix to combine and cook covered for 5 more minutes at medium heat. Make sure to stir in between once or twice. Open lid, add the coconut-cumin mixture, adjust salt and give a final mix. Take off from the stove and keep covered until ready to serve.

Tips

You don’t have to finely chop the florets, if you prefer bigger chunky broccoli pieces
One can add garlic and turmeric powder, as to their preference

Egg Curry ...

Eggs 4  hardboiled
Egg, beaten 1  (secret ingredient
Red onions 2 medium, thinly sliced
Tomato 1 medium, thinly sliced
Green chilly 2 nos, slit
Ginger garlic, freshly crushed 1 tsp each
Red chilly powder 1 tsp
Coriander powder 2 heaped tsp
Turmeric powder ¼ tsp
Black pepper powder ½ tsp
Coconut milk, thick ½ cup
Water ¾ cup
Curry leaves 2 sprigs
Salt as needed
Oil 1 TBSP

Preparation

Hard boil the eggs and de-shell the same, set aside. Beat one egg well and keep aside.

Heat oil in a non stick pan and add the oil. Sauté onions along with curry leaves until golden brown. Next add the crushed ginger and garlic, mix well and cook for 2 more minutes. Now add the red chilly powder, coriander powder and turmeric powder. Mix well to combine and cook until the raw smell from powders are all gone. Next add the tomato slices and cook for another 3 more minutes. Reduce heat to medium and add the coconut milk, pepper powder and water. Adjust salt and mix well, allow it to boil. Once boiling add the halved eggs. Mix well and let it boil again. Once boiling reduce heat to simmer and add the beaten egg and stir immediately. Switch off flame and transfer to a serving bowl. This is an excellent pair for appams, puttu, idiyappam and rotis

Beef Stir fry...

For marination

Beef 2 lbs, cut to small bite size pieces
Turmeric powder ½ tsp
Lemon juice 1 tsp
Salt as needed

Marinate the beef with the above ingredients for 30 minutes at room temperature. Pressure cook this for 3 whistles and reduce flame to low-med and cook for another 8 more minutes. Switch off flame and allow the pressure to release by itself. You dont need to add water as the meat will ooze out lot of liquid during the cooking process. Set aside.

For roasting beef

Red Onions 2 big, chopped
Ginger 1’ piece, chopped
Garlic 5 cloves, chopped
Curry leaves 2 sprigs
Green chilly 3 nos, chopped
Red chilly powder 2 tsp
Corinader powder 5 tsp
Garam masala 1 ½ tsp
Fennel seed powder 1 tsp
(perumjeerakam)
Black pepper powder 1 tsp
Thick coconut milk ½ cup
Coriander leaves a handful, chopped
Salt as needed
Oil 2-3 TBSP
eparation

Heat oil in a pan (med high) and sauté the chopped onions until golden brown in color. Now throw in the ginger, garlic, curry leaves and green chillies and sauté for another few more minutes. Once the raw smell goes off, add the chilly powder, coriander powder, garam masala, fennel seed (perumjeerakam) powder, black pepper powder. Saute this until raw smell from powders are gone and everything is blended well. Now add ½ cup thick coconut milk. Reduce flame to medium and let the coconut milk gets reduced to ¾ volume. Add the coriander leaves and the cooked beef. Mix well and roast the beef till a black-brown color. Do a taste test and add more salt, if needed. Delicious beef fry is ready, but to add more taste we like to add sliced onions at this stage and sauté for 5 more minutes. Enjoy this with steaming hot rice


If you prefer add chopped coconut slices along with sautéing onions
Make sure you roast the beef until it fetches a black-brown color as in the picture
Adjust the heat as per your taste, as the taste of this dish is mainly from the blend of heat from green chilly, red chilly powder and pepper powder

Gobhi/Cauliflower "Au Gratin"

Gratin in French is any food preparation which has a brown crust on them. The crust can be with eggs, cheese or breadcrumbs. This is a simple cauliflower gratin with silky béchamel sauce (white sauce). Following recipe is an excellent way to introduce this flower vegetable to kids. And here is what you will need..

To prepare the sauce

Butter 6 TBSP
All purpose flour 6 TBSP
Onions (chopped) ½ of one onion
Milk (warm) 2 cups
Mozzarella cheese ½ cup
Salt as needed
White pepper powder to taste
Preparing the Sauce

Melt the butter in a saucepan in a low flame. Add the onions and sauté until they are slightly brown. Add flour to this and stir continuously paying attention not to burn the butter –flour mixture. Switch off the flame and allow this to cool to bearable warmth. Now put the pan back on a lower flame and add warm milk little by little till you get a smooth paste like consistency. Then pour in all of the milk and keep stirring with a whisk until milk starts to boil. Add salt and pepper powder. When no lumps are found add the cheese. Stir until a saucy thick consistency is attained. Remove the sauce off the stove and transfer to a bowl. Keep this aside.

Tips


Both the butter-flour mixture and milk should be warm so that the flour dissolves easily in milk

For the Gratin

Cauliflower 1 medium (cut to medium florets)
Butter 1 TBSP
Bread crumbs 2 tsp
Basil leaves 1 tsp,dried or fresh
Cheddar cheese 2 tsp divided
Olive oil 1 TBSP
Vinegar 1 tsp
Water to cook cauliflower
Salt as needed

Preparing the Gratin

Preheat the oven to 325 F.

Wash and cut the cauliflower to medium florets. In a deep bottomed pan, add water, vinegar and salt and cook the cauliflower till half done. Meanwhile, mix together 1 tsp cheddar cheese, breadcrumbs, basil leaves (fresh or dried) and olive oil and keep aside. Now grease a baking dish (preferably glass/pyrex) with butter. Spread the cauliflower on the dish and sprinkle rest of the cheese over them. Add the prepared béchamel sauce over the florets. Make sure the florets are covered with the sauce. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs-cheese-basil leaves-olive oil mixture on top and bake it uncovered in the oven for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes turn oven to broil mode and leave for 5 minutes. Switch off the oven and remove the dish after 5 more minutes and serve hot with any kind of bread, naan

Rice Laddoo/Parcels

Rice flour 1 cup (can use idiyappam or puttu podi)
Grated coconut ¾ cup
Jaggery ¼ cup, melted
Cumin seeds ¼ tsp (optional)
Cashew nuts and raisins 2 TBSP each (Optional)
Cardamom seeds 2-3, crushed
Salt a pinch
Boiling Water as required
Banana leaf 6-8nos (alternately you can use parchment paper if banana leaves are not available)

Preparation

Melt the jaggery at medium heat with little water and once it forms thick syrup, mix the coconut, cashews and raisins and cardamom with it. Stir well and when the mixture becomes dry, switch off the flame. Set aside.

Mix cumin seeds with rice flour. Bring water to rolling boil, add salt. Now add water little by little to the rice flour until it forms to a dough, stirring continuously using a wooden spatula. Allow this to cool for some time and knead well with your hands. Make medium to large sized balls with the dough. Place each ball on the banana leaf and flatten them thinly on to the leaf with your fingertips as seen in the picture.(Dip your fingertips occasionally in water as it helps the flattening easy.) Place a tablespoon or two of the coconut jaggery mixture onto one side of the dough. Fold the leaf from the other side and seal edges. Set aside. Repeat the same with the rest of the dough. Steam cook for 20-30 minutes in an idli cooker or steamer. Switch off flame and take the ada outside and allow to cool for 10-12 minutes before serving. You can either serve it on the banana leaf itself or take it off onto a plate ..Serve warm…

Cakes....Choco...Tangerine

Cake flour 2 ¼ cups,
Light brown sugar 2 ¼ cups
Unsalted butter 4 oz/ 1 stick (room temperature)
Eggs 3 nos
Cocoa powder 3 TBSP
Sour cream 1 cup
Boiling water 1 cup
Baking soda 2 tsp
Vanilla extract 1 tsp
Salt ½ tsp
Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 F.
Grease and flour two 9 inch cake pans and set aside.

In a mixing bowl, cream the butter with the help of a mixer. Next add the brown sugar and combine well with butter. Add eggs one by one and combine with butter and brown sugar till light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla and cocoa powder. Next add baking soda and salt. Now using a wooden spatula, mix everything well. Add flour and sour cream alternately beating until smooth. Pour boiling water to the batter, stirring with the spatula until well blended. Pour equally into the prepared cake pans and bake for about 30-35 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Allow it to cool in the pan itself for 5-10 minutes and then invert to a plate and cool it completely before frosting if you plan to. Enjoy!!

Notes: You can use all-purpose flour instead of cake flour. Make sure you add about 2 tsp of baking powder if you are using all-purpose flour.

I frosted the cake with Betty Crocker’s creamy milk chocolate frosting and it was a perfect balance with the not so sugary cake.

Tangerine Cake

All-purpose flour 2 ½  cups
Sugar 1 ¾ cups
Baking powder 1 tsp
Baking soda 1 ½ tsp
Salt ½ tsp
Eggs (beaten) 3 large
Vegetable oil ¾ cup
Unsalted butter 2 oz or ½ a stick
Sour cream 1 (8 oz tub)
Freshly squeezed tangerine juice 1 cup
Tangerine zest 1 TBSP

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray 2 (9-inch) circular cake pans with vegetable oil cooking spray. (We used parchment paper to prevent sticking of the cake to the pan). Add the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a large bowl and mix everything using a spatula. Add the beaten eggs, vegetable oil, butter, sour cream, tangerine juice and zest. Mix everything well together. We did it by hand but you can use a mixer if you have one. Pour the batter evenly into both the pans. Bake for 35 minutes. Check whether the cake is cooked well using a wooden toothpick. Remove the cake the oven and let it cool completely. When cooled, the cake is ready for the icing.

Tangerine Icing for both the cakes

Butter, ¾ stick, room temperature
Cream cheese, 1 (8-ounce) package room temperature
Confectioners’ sugar  3 ¾ cups or use the 1 lb packet of confectioners’ sugar
Tangerine juice 3 ½ tablespoons
Tangerine, zested ½ tsp

Mix the butter, cream cheese and sugar together in a large bowl. Add in the tangerine juice and zest and combine everything until you get the consistency of icing.

Directions for icing the cake

Make sure that the surface and the edges of the cake are smooth without any irregularities. Pour the icing onto the top of the cake and slowly spread it to get an even, smooth layer over the top and then slap some icing on to the side of the cake and move the spatula around the side of the cake until you get an even layer of icing. Decorate the cake using orange slices and orange zest. Keep the cake chilled until it is ready to be eaten. 

A Quick Egg Dish

Hard boiled eggs 6 nos, cut into halves
Black pepper powder 1 tsp
Garam masala ½ tsp
Salt as needed
Olive oil ½ tsp
Onions 1 big, sliced
Red chilly powder ½ tsp
Green onions for garnishing
Oil 1 tsp
Preparation
Heat oil in a pan and sauté the onions till golden brown. Add salt and red chilly powder. Mix well and cook until raw smell goes off. Set aside.
Heat olive oil in a skillet. In a bowl mix together, pepper powder, garam masala and salt. Take each half of the boiled egg and dip in the masala mixture and fry both sides until browned.
Make a bed with the sautéed red onions onto a rectangular plate. Arrange the fried eggs and sprinkle chopped green onions.

Sandwich ....

a great sandwich for lunch and picnic boxes

Onion ½ of a medium, finely chopped
Green bell pepper ½ of a medium, finely chopped
Cucumber ½ of a small, finely chopped
Carrot 1 small, finely chopped
White pepper powder- ½ tsp
Sour cream 2 –3 tsp
Semolina/Rava 2 tsp
Tomato Ketchup to spread on the bread slices
Bread slices White/ wheat
Salt as needed
Preparation
In a bowl, add all the finely chopped veggies along with salt. Mix it well and add white pepper powder, semolina/rava and sour cream. Mix well to combine.
Toast the bread and spread ketch on to slices evenly. Set aside.
Heat a pan with little oil. Now spread the vegetable mix onto bread slices and place it on the pan with veggies side down. Let it roast for about 2-3 minutes. Turn the bread and top it with another bread slice with ketch up on and gently press the sandwich using a spatula to get a seal. This recipes yields around 8-10 sandwiches.

Veggie Minty Sandwich

For the spread
Grated coconut ½ cup
Shallots 2 nos
Green chilly 1-2 nos (optional)
Mint leaves about 3 TBSP chopped
Salt as needed
Preparation
Add all the ingredients into a blender with little water and grind to a smooth paste. Set aside
For the filling
Potato 1 medium, boiled and mashed
Green/red/yellow pepper ½ of 1 medium, finely chopped
Carrot ½ of 1 medium, finely chopped (You can also add veggies of your choice but you should chop them finely.)
Pepper powder ½ pinch
Oil 1-2 tsp
Salt as needed
Preparation
In a pan add oil and sauté all the veggies along with pepper and salt. Once veggies are cooked through add the mashed potato and mix well. Set aside to cool.
*If you prefer you can add ¼ tsp turmeric powder and mix well.
For the sandwich
Bread slices (white or wheat)
Cut the edges of the bread (optional). Spread the chutney onto one slice and the potato filling (thick layer) into another slice. Place one over the other and cut into quarters

Some Chicken Recipes....

Chicken Cutlets
*Cooked and minced chicken  2 ½ cups, packed
Red onion, finely chopped 1 big
Minced ginger 1 TBSP
Minced garlic ½ tsp
Green chilly, finely chopped 1 TBSP
Curry leaves, finely chopped ½ TBSP
Potato, medium 1 no, boiled and mashed well
Black pepper powder 1 tsp, divided
Fennel seed powder ½ tsp
Garam masala ½ tsp
Salt as needed
Egg, beaten 1
Bread crumbs

*Cook boneless chicken with salt, ½ tsp pepper half of ginger, garlic and green chilly in a pan with little water. Allow to cool and mince using a blender. Alternately you can pressure the chicken for 2 whistles.

In a pan, heat 2 tsp oil and sauté onions and add salt. Add rest of ginger, garlic and green chilly and sauté for 3 more minutes.Once sautéed, add little remaining pepper powder, fennel powder and garam masala. Mix well and add the minced meat. Combine well and add the boiled, mashed potato. Mix well and switch off flame. Allow to cool. When the mixture reaches bearable warmth, make small balls out of it, flatten them between your palm and dip in egg and roll in bread crumbs (The cutlets can be stored in freezer in air tight container in this form for about 3 weeks). Set aside. You can either shallow fry in oil until golden brown or bake the cutlets at 400 F for about 12-15 minutes on each side…Enjoy warm..

Notes:

• You can follow the same procedure to make beef and mutton cutlets, but make sure that you pressure cook the meat for a couple more whistles as they need more cooking time.
  
  
  
  Chilly garlic-ky chicken
  
  
  Boned chicken ½ lb, I used chicken thighs
  Dry red chilly 10-12 nos
  Garlic pods 10-12 medium pods
  Red onions 3 nos, medium, thinly sliced
  Tomato 2 nos, medium chopped
  Vinegar/lemon juice 2 tsp
  Oil 2-3 TBSP
  Mustard seeds 1 tsp
  Salt as needed
  Preparation
  
  

  Wash and clean the chicken and cut them into medium size pieces, set aside.

  Heat 2-3 TBSP oil in a pan at high flame. When it is fuming hot, reduce heat to low and add dry red chilly, and take them out immediately. Set aside. Now add the garlic pods and fry till they fetch a golden brown color. Drain them out of oil and allow the fried red chilly and garlic to cool down. To the same oil, splutter mustard seeds and then add thinly sliced onions. Sauté this until translucent. Add the chicken along with salt and vinegar. Cook covered until chicken is 70% cooked. Open lid and allow the liquid to evaporate, if any.

  Meanwhile, grind the red chilly, garlic and tomatoes to a fine paste. Add this ground paste to chicken and mix well to combine. Cook for another 5 -10 minutes or until oil separates. Switch off flame and add curry leaves.

  
  

  
  Chicken Stew

  Chicken 2 lbs, cut to bite size pieces
  Big Onion  2 nos, chopped
  Green chilies  6 nos, split lengthwise
  Ginger 1 big piece juliened
  Garlic 10 -18 pods juliened
  Cloves, cardamom, cinnamon  1tsp powder or whole 6 each
  Coconut  1 cup (ground to a paste)
  Coconut milk  ½ cup thick milk and ½ cup thin milk
  Turmeric powder  ¾ tsp
  Lemon juice  3 tsp
  Curry leaves  2 sprigs
  Salt  as needed
  Mustard seeds 1 tsp
  Oil  2 TBSP
  Coriander leaves to garnish
  
  
  Preparation
  
  
  Heat oil (med high)and splutter the mustard seeds. Saute the whole spices and then ginger, green chilies and onion in that order for a minute. Now throw in the garlic and saute until a nice aroma oozes out. Add the coconut paste and turmeric powder. Cook till the water from the coconut paste has evaporated completely. Add the chicken pieces, salt and thin milk (randaam paal). Cover and cook till the chicken is done. Once the chicken is done, add lemon juice and remove from heat. Now, add the thick coconut milk (onnaam paal) and keep covered for a few minutes. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves