Chicken Curry Pic: Priya Q

My impression about ‘ bachelors cooking’, let alone cooking complicated stuff was corrected by Q’s cousins …Akki and Arju… While Arju was secretive about his pepper chicken recipe; the flamboyant Akki was more than happy to share his recipe for his signature chicken dish ….. i have to admit it was absolutely finger licking good!

Chicken –  1 kg
Onion  (big) – 4-5 nos – sliced
Tomato – 2 nos – cubed
Ginger – 2 inch piece
Garlic – 1 pod
Green Chili – 5-8 nos
Coriander Powder – 4 tsp
Red Chili powder – 3-5 tsp
Tumeric – 1 tsp
Chicken Masala – 3-5 tsp
Coconut milk – 1 cup
Coconut Oil / Cooking oil
Coriander leaves / cilantro – for garnish
Salt to taste

1. Wash chicken and sprinkle about 1 tsp of salt and keep aside
2. In a wok fry 2 tsp coriander powder, 2 tsp chili powder, ½ tsp turmeric and 3 tsp chicken masala powder in 1 tbsp of coconut oil and remove off fire
3. Marinate chicken with the above fried spices
4. Grind coarsely ginger, garlic and green chilies and keep aside
5. In a wok heat oil and fry onions and saute well
6. Add remaining chili powder, coriander powder, turmeric and chicken masala
7. Now add the ginger-garlic-chili paste and fry well
8. Add tomatoes and saute
9. Add marinated chicken and mix well and cook for about 5 minutes
10. Add ½ cup water, close the lid and cook on low flame and bring to boil
11. Add coconut milk and cook for about 5 minutes
12. Check for seasoning
13. Garnish with coriander leaves / cilantro
14. Serve with rice / bread

Till next time ….happy cooking!

Easy Chocolate Cake Pic credit: Chitra Gupta

Thanks Chitra for the easy chocolate cake recipe

All purpose flour (Maida) – 1 cup (heaped)
Sugar – 3/4th cup
Refined Sunflower oil – 3/4th cup
Baking powder – ¾ tsp
Cocoa Powder – 1/4th cup
Vanilla essence- ½ tsp
Eggs – 4 nos

For Icing:  Chitra used the ready-made Pillsbury chocolate icing on this cake. To make your own home made icing you can use the following. Melt chocolate in a microwave safe bowl, add fresh cream to it. Initially it will become a bit hard, but keep adding the cream and stir well, till pouring consistency is reached.

1. Whip the eggs and sugar together in a blender, till the sugar dissolves completely, and the consistency is slightly creamy
2. Then add the vanilla essence and refined oil to the egg sugar mixture, whip again thoroughly
3. In the meantime, sieve together the maida, cocoa powder, and baking powder
4. Grease a baking dish and lightly dust with maida
5. Gently add the whipped mixture to the flour mixture, stirring continuously, beating the mixture till air bubbles are visible on the top.
6. Gently pour the mixture into the greased tin and bake in pre heated oven at 180 degrees for 45 minutes.
7. Check with a knife to see if done, cool.
8. Cut the cake into two equal halves, (use a thread to get a clean cut)
9. Slather the icing onto both the halves, join them again
10. Cover the cake with the icing, place in the fridge to cool and the icing to set
11. Later you can dust the cake with icing sugar, using a sieve, (can use any stencil too, to create patterns)

*for a healthier version, replace all purpose flour with wheat flour. The cake will be browner but tastes equally good.

Chitra Gupta is a homemaker and a mother of two lovely kids. She believes in making food interesting and enticing through lots of experimenting. She ensures her family has healthy food through the week. However, some days she believes in some sinful indulgence too!

Cashew-cheese curry Pic credit: Manish

This simple paneer (Cottage cheese) recipe is made more nutritious with the addition of some cashew. Another delicious contribution by Manish…

Cashew 150-200 gms (ideal for 4-5 people)
Onions – 1/2 kg
Green Chili – 2 nos (or according to taste)
Tomato – 4-5 nos (medium size)
Capsicum – ½ no (chopped) ..optional
Paneer (Cottage cheese) – 200 – 250 gms
Ginger-garlic paste – 1 tbsp
Garam Masala – 1 tsp
Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
Coriander leaves – for garnish

1. Grind onions (in a mixer) along with chillies( fry it with oil (as per the requirement ) for 5 mins on medium flame.
2. Add turmeric powder and salt then keep frying for next 10 mins
3. Add tomatoes (or 1 cup of tomato puree) and continue frying for next 5-7 mins
4. Add garlic-ginger paste and garam masala (as per the taste buds) slurry  into it while frying.
5. Keep the burner on low flame and fry continue frying
6. Add capsicum and continue frying until the mixture turns golden brown.
7. Slowly add water and let the mixture boil on low flame. Allow some of the water to evaporate, to make the curry thicker.
8. Fry the semi broken cashew in butter in a low flame till golden brown color .
9. Cut cottage cheese into 1 sq inch pieces and fry it in butter ,not necessarily golden brown
10. Garnish with coriander
11. Serve hot with Indian bread

* make the curry thick for better taste

PRECAUTIONS:-

• Fry the cashew and cheese separately.
• Fry cottage cheese gently (other wise the cheese will break into small pieces) Cheese may stick to the pan but don’t worry keep frying at low flame with light hands.
• Fry in batches (take small quantity at a time ) –of both cottage cheese and cahsew
• And put the fried cottage cheese immediately into the curry otherwise the cheese will become hard to chew.

Manish is practicing banker  who likes traveling , cooking , gardening and reading books, he holds a mechanical engineering degree and likes changing hobbies.

egg curry pic credit : Manish

Egg curry can be made in so many different ways…here’s one shared by a bachelor who loves to cook. Thanks Manish for sharing your recipe.

Eggs- according to the number of people (2 per person)
Onions- 1/2 kg per 6 eggs
Green Chili – 2 nos (or according to taste)
Tomato – 4-5 nos (medium size)
Mustard Oil – 3 Tbsp
Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
Chicken masala – 2 tbsp
Ginger-garlic paste – 1 tbsp
Coriander leaves – for garnish

1. Take the hard boil eggs and poke with a fork (this is to pass the steam out from the hard boiled eggs and avoid sudden splash of heated oil on face or hands)
2. Fry the eggs till brown and keep them aside

For curry

1. Grind onions (in a mixer) along with chilies
2. Fry above paste in mustard oil for 5 mins on medium flame
3. Add turmeric powder and salt then keep frying for next 10 mins
4. Add tomatoes (or 1 cup of tomato puree) and continue frying for next 5-7 mins
5. Add garlic-ginger paste and chicken masala and continue to fry
6. Keep the flame low and continue frying until the mixture turns golden brown.
7. Slowly add water and let it boil. Allow some of the water to evaporate to make the curry thicker.
8. Put the eggs inside the boiling curry and leave it for next 10 mins on a low flame in order to absorb the gravy.
9. Garnish

*Served with Roti or Rice.
*The curry can be made thick or runny depending on what you serve it with if served with Indian bread – thick, if with rice – runny)
*For better results prepare the egg curry 2 hours in advance and keep in fridge. Serve after re heating.

Meet Manish!..

Manish is practicing banker  who likes travelling , cooking , gardening and reading books, he holds a mechanical engineering degree and likes changing hobbies.

photo credit: avlxyz

Drive your Monday blues off with this unbelievably easy to make and yummy to taste Coconut pudding! Thanks Anna for the recipe!

Coconut -1 no
Milk-1litre
Gelatin -3tbsp (add to it 6 tbsp water)
Sugar 1 1/2 cup

1. Boil milk cool it
2. Extract coconut milk using the milk. (Don’t add water)
3. Add sugar
4. Dissolve gelatin (on double boiler)
5. Add to the coconut milk
6. Pour it into a wet pudding dish
7. Refrigerate

Anna an architect by profession is a beautiful mother of two equally beautiful kids. Besides cooking she works her magic into making stunning paintings!

Ridge Gourd chutney

Offbeat thats the word for this one. Unique chutney made from an equally unique and unconventional ridge gourd. The chutney is neither sweet or sour nor it is tangy. It has a distinct taste of its own and goes really well with rice or chappatis.

Ridge gourd – 250 gms (pic for reference at the bottom of the page)

Tamarind – 1 marble sized (Soak in water and extract the pulp)

Mustard – 1 tsp

Chana dal (gram dal) – 1 tsp

Urad dal (white) – 1 tsp

Dried red chili – 6 nos

Asafoetida – 1 pinch

Coriander leaves – 1/2 cup

Oil – 1/4 cup

Salt to taste

1. Shave off the ridges roughly and cut into small cubes
2. In a medium sized wok heat oil, add mustard and let it splutter
3. Now add asafoetida, both the dals and fry till golden brown
4. Fry red chilies separately and add the cubed ridge gourd and stir. Saute till soft and add it to the wok
5. Add the tamarind pulp, coriander, salt and grind it to smooth paste
6. Your ridge gourd chutney is ready to serve!

Ridge Gourd

Till next time…happy cooking!

Thanks Jaya for the recipe! Keep them coming

Meet Jayalakshmi…a wonderful cook and an excellent home maker

Sweet & Sour Chutney (sauce)

Little sweet with right mix tanginess makes this chutney so very delicious. And you use the healthy option as sweetner that is jaggery instead of sugar. Goes well with snacks and with meals too!

Tamarind – 1 lemon sized  (soak in lot of water)

Jaggery – 5 Tbsp (powdered)

Dried ginger powder – 1/2 tsp

Chilli powder – 1/4 tsp

Salt to taste

Cinnamon powder – 1 pinch (optional)

Clove powder – 1 pinch (optional)

1. Remove the seeds from tamarind and squeeze out well to get thick pulp
2. Heat a pan and add the tamarind pulp and add more water to it. Leave it to boil
3. Add jaggery, stir and bring to a boil
4. Add ginger powder, chili powder abd slat and keep stirring till consistency of the chutney turns thicker
5. Add Cinnamon and Clove powder if required
6. Your chutney is ready to serve

* you can also  use dates as as option for sweetness. Split the quantity between jaggery and date paste

* you can garnish with raisins

Till tomorrow….happy cooking!

Thanks Jaya for sharing your wonderful recipe

Meet Jayalakshmi

Mint Chutney

Unlike the regular mint chutney this one is a bit different due to the usage of different dal. Try it out for a variation

Mint leaves – from 1 small bunch

Green chillies – 3 nos

Ginger – 1/2 inch piece

Tamarind – 1 marble sized portion

Urad (white) dal – 1 tsp

Chana (gram) dal – 1 tsp

Oil – 2tsps

Salt to taste

1. In a pan heat oil and fry lightly both the dals. Add all other ingredients and fry
2. Add salt
3. Cool and grind it to a smooth paste in a blender
4. Serve with snacks or as an accompaniment to the main meal.
5. You can also add a sprig of curry leaves at the time of frying for a different flavor.

* a quick tip : fix a quick sandwich by spreading buuter and mint chutney on slice of bread, place cucumber/ onions / tomatoes and serve!

Till tomorrow …happy cooking!

Meet Jayalakshmi... contributor of this recipe

Onion chutney goes really well with dosa, idli or parantha! If you are planning a picnic or a travel then its obvious that you want to be less messy without having to carry any runny gravy items with you. In such cases and more Onion chutney can be your tasty savior

Oinions – 2 to 3 nos

Tamarind – 1 small lemon sized portion

Red chilli – 4-5 nos.

Curry leaves – 2 sprig

Urad (white) dal – 1tsp

Chana (gram) dal – 1/2 tsp

Salt to taste

Oil – 4 tsp

Mustard seeds – 1 tsp (for tempering)

1. In a pan heat 3 tsps of oil and fry both the dals for few seconds
2. Add roughly chopped onions and all other ingredients, salt and fry
3. Cool the mixture and grind to a smooth paste in a blender
4. To  pan add remaining oil and heat. Add mustard seeds and wait for it to splutter
5. Temper the ground chutney with mustard seeds
6. Serve

Till tomorrow….happy cooking!

Meet Jayalakshmi...contributor of this recipe… a super homemaker and a great cook

photo credit: rore

Well, am always impressed with men who can cook and more so when it comes to something as exotic as Honey Walnut Chicken. Rishi who is based out of USA sent me over this recipe for my Walnut week. Check it out…
Boneless Skinless Chicken breasts – 1 kg
Walnut – 1 cup (halved)
Honey – 1 tsp
Ginger – 1 tsp (finely chopped)
Rice Wine – 2 tsp
Cornstarch – 1 tsp
Brown Sugar – 1 tsp
Dark Soy Sauce – 2 tsp
Garlic – 2 tsp  (coarsely chopped)
Green onions – ½ cup (Cut 2” long. Slit in half)
Green bell pepper – ½ cup (Cut 2” long thin.)
Chopped white onions – ½ cup
Chinese 5 spice powder – 1 tsp*
Mix fruit jelly – 2 tsp
Salt to taste
Butter – ½ tsp
Sesame oil – 1 tsp

• Marinate chicken in ginger, rice wine, salt, cornstarch and Chinese 5 spice powder for atleast1 hr
• Roast walnuts with a bit of butter.  Add honey and mix till dry
• Prepare a mix of dark soy sauce, brown sugar and mix fruit jelly
• In a pan, heat oil. Stir-fry chicken and keep separate
• Add garlic and stir-fry
• Add green onions, green bell pepper and white onions and stir-fry
• Add cooked chicken and mix
• Garnish with roasted sesame
• Serve with fried rice or noodles

*The 5 spices if not available can be prepared at home. Combine schezwan pepper corns (if not available use normal pepper corns), star anise, cloves, cinnamon & fennel seeds and grind them to fine powder.

Thanks Rishi for sharing this fab recipe with us.

Meet Rishi…

Rishi Menon is a software consultant. He dabbles in cooking and photography in his spare time. You can check out his portfolio here