Sausage Ravioli

Things Needed:

Chicken Sausages
Onion
Tomato
Garlic
Marinara Sauce
Sugar
Salt
Oil

Method of Preparation:

1. Chop onions and tomatoes and garlic. Dice in the same size for even cooking.
2. Boil diced sausages. Thaw and saute. Set aside.
3. In a pan, add some oil, onions and tomatoes and cook till it turns golden brown.
4. Add 1 table spoon of Sugar and Salt to taste.
5. Add Marinara sauce to the mix and stir well while keeping the flames medium.
6. Add sausages to the mix. Let it boil for a moment.
7. Garnish it with shredded greens.

Perfect as either a standalone dish or a side to Momos/ Breads/ Rice Cakes. 

Recipe for a Quickie - Berry Blast

A perfect non-alcoholic thirst quencher when you really don't have the time to be creative and original.

Things Needed:

1 Cup of Cold Curd

2 Teaspoons of any Fruit Jam

3 Tablespoons of Sugar

4 Teaspoons   Cold Water as needed

.. And a pinch of Vanilla powder

To Do:

Take the curd, add some water and stir continuously to reduce the thickness. During the process, add sugar as well. Pour the mixture on to the blender and add in 2 spoons of Fruit Jam. Add a pinch of vanilla powder.Blend the mixture for 2 minutes. Pour the mixture on to a tall glass and let it settle for a minute. 

Mutton Ularthiyathu

Things Needed:

a.     Oil 3 Table Spoon

b.     Curry Leaves 15 leaves

c.     Big Onions 2

d.     Chilli Powder 2 Table Spoon

e.     Turmeric Powder 2 Tea Spoon

f.      Coriander powder 2 Table Spoon

g.     Coconut Half cup grated

h.     Salt To taste

i.      Mutton 250 grams

j.      Pepper powder 1 tea spoon

k.     Garam Masala/Meat Masala 1 Tea Spoon

 Method:

Bring oil to heat in a pan, and add dried red chilli, mustard seeds, curry leaves and sauté for 1 minute. Add green chilli, ginger and garlic finely chopped to the pan and after a minute add finely chopped onions also. Add garam masala, chilli powder, turmeric, coriander powder and pepper powder to the mixture in the pan. The mutton pieces (cooked with a pinch of turmeric powder and salt) and half cup grated coconut can be added. In low flame mix the mixture for 10 minutes. 

 Courtesy: Chitra

Kerala Prawns Roast

Things Needed:

a.     Prawns 250 gm

b.     Oil 3 Table Spoon

c.     Curry Leaves 15 leaves

d.     Small Onions 20

e.     Chilli Powder 3 Table Spoon

f.      Turmeric Powder 2 Tea Spoon

g.     Lime Juice 1 Tea Spoon

h.     Coconut 5-10 small chopped pieces

i..      Salt To taste

Method:

Bring oil in a pan to boil. Add finely chopped ginger and garlic to the pan with curry leaves. After sautéing the mixtures for a couple of minutes add chopped small onions and sauté, then add turmeric powder, chilli powder paste. Then add cleaned prawns (marinated in chilli powder, turmeric powder, lemon juice and salt). Close the lid and keep it cooking in low flame for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes add chopped coconut pieces to the pan and mix it well.


Courtesy: Chitra

Behind the Scenes of a Chicken Curry

Another really basic cuisine breakdown. All I had in my freezer was Chicken Breasts left over from the Grilled Chicken Gig. I was really tired and wanted to finish off the dinner process. Finally decided to go for the basic traditional curry style.

Things needed:

Diced Chicken
Onions

Lemon

Green Chillies

Mustard Seeds

Coriandar Powder

Chilli Powder

Turmeric Powder

Tomatoes

Ginger and Garlic Pips

Chicken Masala Powder

Curd

Salt and Oil as needed

Action Plan:

1. Get all your ingredients ready. Take the ginger and garlic pips and crush it to paste on a traditional stone grinder. Add in some lemon juice during the process. (Now, grinding part is optional and the only reason I did it was because of being too lazy to turn on the electric mixer for this job).

2. Chop the onions to semi-rings, tomatoes to dices and chillies to tubes.

All the ingredients ready and handy to go! 

3. Mix well and Marinate for a few minutes, the Chicken Pieces with Chilli Powder, Turmeric Powder, Ginger Garlic Paste, Salt and 2 teaspoons of curd. 

4. Pour some oil in a heated pan and add cut Onions to it. Stir Fry till golden brown and add in tomatoes, green chillies, chicken masala powder, ginger garlic paste, turmeric powder and coriander powder. Stir well. 

  

5. Add in the marinated chicken pieces. Mix them well with the fried masala mix in the pan. Add in water and salt as needed.

6. If needed you can change the mix to a larger vessel. Cook thoroughly with the lid closed. At every occasional check, you can throw in some spices to add some flavor (Cardamoms,Nuts, Leaves, Sticks etc).

You now have a very easy to cook yet tasty Kerala Chicken Curry in front of you. 

Enjoy!

Orange Grilled Chicken: A quick and easy dinner

This is an extremely easy dinner recipe.


Things Needed:
Chicken Breast Steaks 2 Pcs
An Orange
Salt , Pepper Powder , Butter
Microsoft  Microwave Oven


Method:
1. Set up your workspace. Get everything ready and handy. Defrost the chicken. Pre-heat the oven and double check all the ingredients.

At this moment, I was pretty unsure on what to eat after 3 hours of day sleep! Photo: Tripod

2. Put the steaks in water and boil it till cooked. Add in some salt and pepper during the process. 

3. Use a fork to check the cooking progress and once done, take it out. Brush some butter over the cooked steaks. Also add some pepper and salt (If you want to use any grill-sauce on this, now is the time to add in and marinate the steaks). Place the steaks in the grill rack.

4. Grill the steak for about 20 mins (turning sides at 10 mins). 

5. Once if its says Beep and you agree ; place the steaks on a plate and pour in few spoons of the stock (mixed with a cup of orange juice) over it. Serve the very next second!

Nostalgic Home Food 2: Idiyirachi (Beaten Dry Meat)

Another Nostalgic tastebud memory. The warm crunchy pieces of beaten dried beef multiplying into a thousand little pieces inside your mouth. It was called 'Idiyirachi' (beaten meat) and I tasted it for the first time from an old friend's lunchbox. Making Idiyirachi is not rocket science, not even soup science, but its not a fast deal as well. Here's the recipe, try it out once. Its worth the effort.

Things Needed:

Beef Steak Slices.

Salt.

Sunshine.

Make thin little pieces of the steak slices. Sun dry the pieces for at least 24 hrs. (Ideally that means 24hrs of sun. Moonlight not applicable). Take the pieces and beat to death fibrous dry pulp. Its always good to use the traditional stone beater for this one, but you can alternatively achieve this with 2 or 3 dry spins on your electric mixer. Add some salt, mix and store it in an airtight container. Now remember that its still raw. You can now prepare a variety of dishes with this beauty.

Quickie 1: 

Shallow fry the pieces with a little oil and Chili powder = Total Awesomeness!

Quickie 2 :

Oil fry the pieces with some onions, red & green capsicums, pepper powder and sauces. 

Enjoy!

Nostalgic Home Food 1: Mango Rice with Green Chillies

Here guys and gals, this is one from the list of my all-time nostalgic home food favorites. Now, don't expect anything fancy here. This is a strictly limited list and something very personal. Sometimes its all about the combination, sometimes its a custom-made culinary art. I am sure that many of you might be familiar with the cuisine I am gonna show you today and for those who have no idea how this feels in your mouth, give it a try. 

Mango Rice with Green Chillies

(Not a real picture; doesnt even look the same; just ignore the pic)

Pretty easy to make, this one is definitely a heavy meal by itself. This is a mix and make dish which you can make in less than 5 minutes.

Things needed:

Cooked Boiled Rice.

Ripe Mango- 1

Green Chillies- 2

Mashed Tapioca

Curd

Squeeze till the last drop of Mango to the rice. Add Curd to the rice. Add in lengthy chops of green chillies. Mix well. Add in some Mashed Tapioca (which is thoroughly cooked with a pinch of turmeric powder and salt). Add salt to taste. Mix well and Eat. This tastes best when used as a stand-alone meal. Enjoy!

Paneer Butter Masala

Ingredients:

Paneer - 200 gm
Onion - 2 medium-size (thinly sliced)
Tomato -1 medium-size
Ginger - Small size
Garlic - 2-3
Chili Powder (Kashmiri) - 1 ½ tsp
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - ½ tsp
Garam masala - 1 tsp
Cashew nut - 10-15
Cream - 2-3 tbspn
Green Chilli - 2
Kasoori Methi
Coriander leaf
Salt
Butter
Oil

How to:

1. Shallow-fry the Paneer with a little butter

2. Make the cashew nut into a paste and keep it aside

3. Heat oil in a pan. Add sliced onion. Fry till it turns golden brown. Add into it finely chopped Ginger-Garlic pieces. Then add Kashmir Chilli Powder, Coriandar Powder, Turmeric Powder and Garam masala to it and cook well. Add Salt as needed. Add Tomatoes and Stir Well. Once it becomes cool, grind it well in a mixer along with Kasuri Methi leaves and keep it aside

4. Put needed butter in a pan. Add the above prepared content onto it, then paneer, cashew paste and finally the cream. Mix well in low flame. Garnish with Coriander leaves and Butter. Can put two finely chopped chilies on top.

Pasta with Onions and Sausages

Last night was Pasta Night. I had a pack of Fusilli pasta and arrabbiata sauce. I've kept it really simple for the fact that I don't want to spend more time in the kitchen!


Ingredients:

Oil as needed
One Pack of Fusilli (Cork Screw Shaped Pasta)
Arrabbiata Sauce
Two Chicken Sausages
One Onion
Tomato Puree
Red and Green Capsicum
Basil Leaves
Salt as needed

PS: You can do it either with the Sausage cut to dices or with the wrap removed.

How to:

0. Cook the Fusilli as per Pack Instruction and Keep aside.
0. Boil the Sausages and Keep aside.
1. Heat oil in a pan.
2. Add nicely cut onions and stir fry till golden brown
3. Add in the dice cut capsicum
4. Pour in the tomato puree
5. Add the cooked pasta to the pan
6. Add dice cut / sausage content to the pan
7. Add in Arabbiata Sauce
8. Salt if needed
9. Mix well
10. Add in basil leaves
11. Simmer and Serve Hot