Chicken Kabab

Chicken kabab is a very popular starter. Almost everyone who eat chicken are well known about this dish. I am sure most would agree with me on this. Chicken deep fried in oil with the extra seasoning makes it tasty and lip smacking. This is indeed a true mouth watering dry chicken dish. It’s not a tough job to get restaurant quality, this is a very easy method to cook at home with a restaurant style taste.So here is the recipe. Do try making these and let me know how it turned out.

Ingredients

4 tbsp maida/ all purpose flour
2 tbsp cornstarch/cornflour
2 tbsp red chili powder
2 tbsp ginger garlic paste
2 eggs
1 tbsp cumin powder
2 tsp garam masala
1 tsp coriander powder
Juice of 1 lime (or to taste)
3 green chilies, finely chopped
1/4 tsp red food colour,optional ( I used it)
Salt to taste
1 kg chicken, with bones
Oil for deep frying

Instructions

1. In a bowl, mix together all the ingredients from maida to salt. Add a few extra drops of water if the batter is very thick.
2. Add the chicken pieces and mix to coat well. 
3. Let it marinate, covered, in the fridge for 3-4 hours. 
4. Heat oil on high heat, in a deep vessel. Reduce the heat to medium-high and add the chicken pieces, a few pieces at a time. 
5. Fry for 3-4 mins turning the pieces occasionally. If you fry it further, the colour of the coating will change from red to brown, if you used food colour. 
6. Drain on paper towels and serve hot with a few lime wedges & onions rings.

Grated Carrot Stir Fry | Carrot Thurrumu Veppudu

Grated carrot fry is very easy to prepare, healthy, delicious and its super packed with nutrition. It makes a perfect side dish for lunch – plain rice, rasam, sambar or pulusu. All we need is just a tempering and add grated carrot, peas and stir fry. we can also add some flavours like grated coconut, kasuri methi, nuts powder(optional) its adds additinal taste to this simple tasty recipe.

Ingredients

2 cups grated carrot
½ cup green peas
1 green chilies chopped
pinch of turmeric
salt as needed
2 tsp. oil
1 sprig curry leaves
¾ tsp fresh grated ginger
½ tsp cumin / jeera
¼ to ½ tsp mustard
pinch of hing
1 tsp urad dal
1 tsp channa dal

Instructions

1. Wash and peel the carrots then grate them. 
2. If using dry peas, make sure to soak them overnight and boiled the peas. if using frozen peas, rinse them thoroughly under running water. 
3. Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds once get splutter, add cumin and dals. 
4. When the dals turn slightly golden, add ginger, hing and curry leaves. Saute till the good aroma comes from ginger. 
5. Add chopped green chillies, green peas, saute them. 
6. Add grated carrot, sprinkle turmeric, salt, mix well and cook for 2 minutes with covered lid. 
7. Remove the lid and cook until it gets fry by stirring occasionally. 
8. Now add any flovour powders as per your taste mix well and fry for 2 min, now you begin to smell the nice aroma of flavours mixed with natural sweet carrots.
9. Off the heat and transfer carrot fry to a serving bowl. Serve wit rice, rasam or sambar.

Horsegram Idli | Ulavala Idli | Kulith Idli

Horse gram or Ulavalu is widely consumed in South India. These lesser known beans are used in curries and soups. These beans are rich in nutrients. They contain plenty of calcium, phosphorous, iron and protein. By virtue of its nutrients and ayurvedic natural properties, the horse gram is considered to be beneficial to human and animal health. In olden days this highly energtic beans are given to horses, so that they can run fast.

Today Im preparing idly with this highly energetic beans, horsegram. It is same as the standard idly, for which we are using Urad dal. Here I used horsegram to make idly, they really came soft and pluffy. They are in light brown colour due to the colour of beans.

Ingredients

1 cup urad dal
1 cup horsegram(kulith)
2 cups idli rava
Salt - to taste

Instructions

1. Soak urad dal, horsegram, and rava seperately for about 4-5hrs. 
2. First grind the horsegram into smooth batter and take it into vessel. 
3. Now grind the urad dal into a very fine paste and add it to the horsegram batter.(if u grind them both the skin of the horsegram may not grind properly)
4. Squeeze all the water from the soaked idli rava and mix it to the batter. 
5. Add salt, and mix well. 
6. Leave the batter in a warm place overnight(or for 5-6hrs) for fermentation. 
7. Next morning, make idlis (steam like the normal idlis). 

Serve hot.

Bendakai Veppudu | Ladies Finger Fry | Okra Fry Andhra Style

Ladies finger is well known as Bendakaya in Andhra. It is one of the highly nutritious low calorie vegetable used in almost every house in india. It is often used to prepare curry, stir fry, pulusu and also added in samber. Almost everyone will like the awsome taste of it even, children also like to eat. Bendi can be prepared in many ways, today i'm sharing how to prepare bendakai veppudu(okra fry), it is the simplest version. It can be served as a sidedish with sambar, rasam, or dal. You can have it with with both rice and roti.

Ingredients

250 grams okra/bhindi/lady finger 2 tbsp oil
½ tsp mustard seeds
½ tsp urad dal
½ tsp cumin seeds
2 dry red chilies
8 to 10 curry leaves
1 medium onion, ½ cup chopped onion
¼ turmeric powder
½ tsp red chilli powder
a pinch of asafoetida/hing
salt as required
1 tbsp chopped coriander leaves for garnish

Instructions 

1. Rinse and wipe dry all the okra with a clean kitchen towel. then slice the bhindi in rounds. keep aside. 
2. Take a shallow frying pan, heat 2 tbsp of oil on low flame, add ½ tsp mustard seeds, ½ tsp cumin seeds & ½ tsp urad dal. 
3. Saute till the mustard seeds crackle and the urad dal turns golden. 
4. Next add 2 dry red chilies (broken and deseeded), saute for a second or two till the red chilies change color. 
5. Add ½ cup chopped onion,saute them till they turn soft. Add curry leaves. 
6. Now add turmeric powder, tsp red chilli powder and a pinch of asafoetida. 
7. Mix the spice powders with the rest of the ingredients. 
8. Now add the chopped okra, mix everything. 
9. Add salt, stir well again and saute on a low flame without covering the pan with a lid. 
10. Keep on stirring at intervals of 3 to 4 minutes for uniform cooking. 
11. Switch off the flame when the bhindi is done and cooked well. this takes about 12 to 14 minutes on a low flame. 
12. Garnish with coriander leaves and then serve bendakaya vepudu as a side dish with curd-rice, sambar-rice or rasam-rice. you can also serve this andhra style bhindi fry with chapatis. 

Bisi Bele Bath

Bisi bele bath or huli anna is a traditional Karnataka dish that is prepared in every kannadiga’s home. bisi meaning hot (temperature), bele meaning lentils and huli meaning sour, anna meaning rice. Bisi bele bath is dal and rice cooked together with tamarind and spice powders. As the name suggests it has to be served hot. It tastes best when seasoned in ghee and served hot.

To make bisi bele bath, you can use store bought powder, MTR works the best. Iam also sharing an easy bisi bele bath powder recipe that smells great and is aromatic to give that authentic touch.
 
Rice and dal can be cooked together or separately. I like to have both mushy, then you can cook rice and dal together.

bisi bele bath powder or use MTR powder

• 4 red chilli 
• 1 inch 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 cloves
• 1 tsp jeera
• 1 tsp urad dal
• 1 tsp chana dal
• 2 pinches methi seeds
• 1 ½ tbsp.coriander seeds
• 1 small marati moggu
• 1 tbsp. fresh or dry coconut

for bisi bele bath

• ¾ cup rice
• ½ cup toor dal (can reduce by 1 to 2 tbsps.)
• 6 to 8 shallots or 2 tbsp fresh grated coconut(use to make powder)
• Small lemon sized tamarind /
• 1 ½ tsp. jaggery / bella
• Salt to taste
• 1 tsp ghee

Seasoning

• 2 tsp. ghee (3 tsp suggested)
• 1 sprig curry leaves
• Few cashews broken
• Pinch of hing
• ½ tsp mustard
• 1 broken red chilli

Vegetables

• 1/2 cup green peas
• 4 to 5 beans 
• ¼ cup capsicum cubed (optional)
• ½ cup carrots diced
• 1 potato
• 1/2 cup cauliflower

Instructions

1. Dry roast all the ingredients one after the other mentioned for bisi bele bath powder. Cool them and set aside. Make a fine powder.
2. Wash and soak rice for at least 30 mins.
3. Pressure cook rice & dal for 3 whistle.
4. Soak tamarind in half cup hot water. Squeeze it and filter to a bowl.
5. Add the bisi bele bath powder, jaggery, salt to the tamarind juice. Mix well to remove lumps. Set aside.
6. Mash the dal and rice roughly. 
7. Heat a pan with 1 tsp ghee, add the vegetables and sauté for 3 to 4 mins.
8. Pour 1 cup of water and cook the veggies till they are ¾ done. This way they retain the crunchiness.
9. Pour the tamarind mix and stir well. Allow it to boil for few minutes.
10. Add the mashed rice dal and mix well. Add 1 to 1 ¼ cups water and stir well. Let the rice come to a boil on a medium flame. This takes around 4 to 6 mins.
11. Cook till the rice reaches a desired consistency.
12. Season with seasoning ingredients. Pour the seasoning over the bisi bele bath.
13. Ready to serve. Can be served with boondi, papad.