Murgh Kebab in Sesame Seeds

It was Sunday again.....time for some non-veg items. So when I searched in my freezer , I stumbled upon the chicken lollypops that I had kept for some other dish. An idea of a kebab covered with a little roasted sesame seeds (til) came to my mind. And I started working on it!!

Ingredients :

1. Chicken lollypop- 4
2. Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp
3. Red chilly powder- 1/2 tsp
4. Lemon juice- 2 tbs
5. Salt to taste
6. Ginger-garlic paste- 1/2 tsp
7. Black pepper powder- 1/2 tsp
8. Sesame seed (Til)- 1/2 cup
9. Olive oil- 4 tbs
10. Beaten egg- 1
11. Chopped onion , cherry tomato , rosemary- 1/2   cup
12.  Parsley (chopped)- 1 tsp


Procedure :

First wash the chicken pieces and dry them properly. Now take a large bowl and add turmeric , chilly , salt , ginger-garlic paste , lemon juice , pepper and mix them well. Next add the chicken pieces and marinate them in that mixture for over 2 hours (if you are in no hurry, then keep the chicken marinated overnight , it will make the kebabs delicious) . 

After marination , heat oil in a flat surface pan and dip the chicken in the beaten egg and parsley mixture. Then roll them over the sesame seeds. If you want you can double coat the chicken with the sesame seeds so that you will get more of them. When the oil is medium hot , fry the chicken pieces. After every 4 to 5 minutes turn the chicken pieces so that they get fried evenly from all the sides.

Now remove the chicken pieces and add the chopped onion , tomato , rosemary to it and a little salt and pepper. Fry them for a minute or two and turn off the gas.

Serve the kebabs hot with the fried onion and tomato and brush a little lemon juice over the kebabs.

Sukhi Sabzi Of Bandhgobi (Cabbage)

Bandh gobi or patta gobi is a very common vegetable in everyone's kitchen. I always prefer to have the sukhi sabzi (dry) of cabbage with roti and a plain daal. It takes hardly 20 minutes to cook a whole cabbage. The small cabbages are good for this recipe. 

Ingredients :

1. Small cabbage- 1
2. Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp
3. Coriander powder- 1 tbs
4. Salt to taste
5. Chilly powder- 1/2 tsp
6. Oil - 3 tbs
7. Cinnamon stick- 1 (crushed roughly)
8. Asafoetida (Hing)- 1/4 tsp

Procedure :

First remove the outer layers of the cabbage and start chopping it finely. Now heat oil in a deep kadhayi and add turmeric , cinnamon , coriander , chilly powder and salt to it. Mix well and add half of the cabbage to it. At first the cabbage will seem to overflow the kadhayi but cover the kadhayi for few minutes and you will find that the cabbage has left some water and reduced in volume. Now add the remaining chopped cabbage and mix it. Cover it again for another 5 minutes. Now add a dash of water so that the cabbage gets cooked nicely. When it is done , add the hing and a green chilly to it and cover the lid. Remove it from the flame after 2 to 3 minutes. Serve it hot with roti and daal.

Dhokla Recipe

Dhokla is one of my favorite Gujarati snacks. And today I tried my hands on it . And when I looked at those yellow soft cubes , that I made , I just could not help but dance all around my kitchen  ....:P. I have made this in microwave....but next time I will surely try the pressure cooker method.

Ingredients :

1. Gram flour (Besan)- 1 cup
2. Semolina (suji)- 2 tbs
3. Salt to taste
4. Sugar- 1 tbs
5. Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp
6. Sodium bi carbonate- 1/4 tsp
7. Eno fruit salt- 2 sachets
8. Ginger paste- 1/2 tsp
9. Green chilly paste- 1 tsp
10. Lemon juice- 3 tbs
11. Water- 3/4 cup
12. Oil- 3 tbs

For Tadka :

1. Oil- 2 tbs
2. Water- 1 cup
3. Mustard seeds- 1 tsp
4. Green chilly (halved)- 4 to 5
5. Lemon juice- 2 tbs
6. Sugar- 4 tbs
7. Coriander- few chopped
8. Coconut (grated)- 2 tbs for decoration purpose

Procedure :

First sift the besan properly so that no lumps remain there. Now add the suji , salt , sugar , oil , turmeric , ginger paste , chilly paste and water to it. Mix well so that no lumps remain there (mixing more will help your dhokla to be fluffy). Add more water if the batter remain a little thick. Make the batter thin so that it drops from your spoon. Add the lemon juice to it and mix well. Now grease a micrwave safe flat dish with a little oil. Remember this greasing is a very important part as if you do not grease the bowl your dhoklas will break down while removing from the bowl.

Now pour the batter into the bowl and mix soda and eno and just lightly mix it. Immediately cover the bowl with cling film and prick the film at few places. Microwave the mixture for 5 to 6 minutes at high level. Give another 7 to 8 minutes standing time to the dhokla. 

Now prepare the tadka. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and heat it over medium flame. Water will start boiling , reduce the flame and keep on cooking it until the water level reduces a little.

Spread the tadka over the dhokla and let it soak the tadka for another 15 to 20 minutes. This will make the dhokla little soft and at the same time the dhokla will catch the taste of the tadka very well. Cut the dhoklas into rectangles and decorate with chopped coriander leaf and grated coconut. Serve them with green chutney and tamarind chutney (for green chutney refer to pani puri recipe and for tamarind chutney refer to papdi chaat recipe ).

Review of Tidel Residency , Chennai

Tidel Residency is situated near ECR office at Thiruvanmiyur , Chennai. It is just 3 to 4 minutes away from the Thiruvanmiyur signal. It is approximately 10 to 15 kms from the Central station. You can book this hotel online through their own website. The tariff is around INR 1000/- per night for an ac room. The rooms are spacious and contain  TV , Geyser etc. Their restaurant is nice and serves some delicious food but it closes strictly by 3 p.m. They have a car parking facility. There are many shops around the hotel. You can just walk for a kilometer and get ATM (AXIS bank) , Spencer super market and many eateries in that area. The local vegetable market is also very close to that place. And one can avail buses from the few meters away bus stand. There are some religious places near it , like- Asthalakshmi temple , church etc. And the best part is that this hotel is situated very close to the beach. The beach is small but very calm. You can go for a morning walk at the beach. 

The hotel staffs are good and helping in nature. They have a call taxi facility too for station/airport drop (but I found it a little expensive). But I think this hotel is a good value for money and I will surely recommend this to everyone.

Gujiya Recipe

Any North Indian celebration is incomplete without its very special sweet dish called gujiya. Be it holi , diwali ....you will find this sweet dish everywhere. People use variety of stuffing for gujiya , but the most famous one is made up of khoya or mawa. Believe me , it is very easy to make this traditional sweet at home and I realized it when I finally made it.

                                                                                    

Ingredients :

1. All purpose flour (Maida)- 1 cup
2. Oil- 2 tbs and for deep frying
3. Sugar powder- 1/4 cup or according to your taste
4. Cashew , almond (chopped)- 1 tbs
5. Coconut (scrapped)- 1 cup
6. Khoya- 1 cup
7. Milk- 1/4 cup





Procedure :

Heat a kadhayi and add the khoya and the milk to it. When the milk starts boiling add coconut to it. Mix it well and keep stirring on medium flame. If you want , you can add a few pieces of broken cashew to it. Cook till the mixture turns a little brownish and dries up. Remove it from the heat and let it cool down for few minutes. Now add the sugar powder to it and mix it well. Sugar will be quickly absorbed and it will help the mixture to bind. Now keep the mixture aside.

Now make the dough. For this mix maida , 2 tbs oil and add a little water and knead properly. Keep adding little amount of water as required. Be careful , do not knead a very soft dough as it can cause air trapped inside and the gujiya will be inflated in shape.

Cover the dough with the help of a wet cloth and keep it aside for another 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes heat oil in a kadhayi for deep frying the gujiyas and make medium size balls from the dough and roll them into rotis of 3 inch diameter. Fill the stuffing into one half of the gujiya and moist the edges with a little water and seal the edges. Do not over stuff the gujiyas as it can burst while frying. Make few gujiyas at a time and slowly add them to the oil. While frying the first lot, let the remaining balls be covered by the wet cloth otherwise the moisture will not be there and the gujiyas will break. Fry each side for 5 to 7 minutes until they turn a little brown. Remove them from the heat and drain the excess oil with the help of paper napkin. Decorate the gujiyas with the chopped almond and cashews.

Sending this to Indian Methai Mela event.

Fish in Capsicum Sauce

I have always tried my hand on chicken and mutton, but this time I wanted to do something new with fish. As my husband is not very fond of fish , I always try to make the fish very spicy one, so that he eats it. But in this recipe I concentrated more on a sweet and sour taste and also a little red color that makes the dish look very yummy and hot!

Note down the list of ingredients for this recipe :

Ingredients :

1. Fish slices- 4
2. Lemon juice- 2 tbs
3. Salt to taste
4. Seasoning used for pizza- 1/2 tsp
5. Red capsicum- 1 large
6. Tomato- 1
7. Onion- 1 small
8. Garlic cloves (finely chopped)- 5
9. Tomato puree- 2 tbs
10. Vinegar- 1 tbs
11. Black pepper powder- 1 tsp
12. Milk- 1/4 cup
13. Cherry tomato- 5 to 6
14. Sweet corn- 1/4 cup
15. Baby corn- 1/4 cup
16. Butter- 1/2 tsp
17. Parsley (chopped)-1 tsp
18. Olive oil

Procedure :

First sprinkle a little salt and olive oil on the red capsicum and microwave it for 5 minutes. Then turn the capsicum and microwave for another 5 to 6 minutes on high. Take the capsicum out and cover it properly with a film so that it remains air tight. This will help you to peel the skin of the capsicum without much problem. If you do not have microwave then do it over flame normally as we do for Brinjal bharta . You must be thinking why have I microwaved the capsicum....simply to get a nice roasted aroma out of it.

After 15 minutes peel the skin of the capsicum. Add 1 tsp oil in a pan and add the chopped tomato (peel the skin before chopping) , onion , garlic , vinegar , pepper and salt. Cook for few minutes and then add the tomato puree and the peeled capsicum to it. Mash it properly. Add the milk and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes. At the end add butter to it and turn of the heat. Tomato will add its sweetness and the capsicum a little spice to this wonderful sauce.

After this blend this sauce in mixer so that you get a smooth paste. Keep the sauce aside.

Marinate the fish slices with lemon juice , a little salt and seasoning. Keep the fishes in refrigerator for 30 minutes. Lemon juice helps the fish to be tender so that it does not take too much time to be cooked.

After half an hour take the fishes out and heat oil in a flat surfaced pan and add the fishes one by one. Pour the capsicum sauce on the fish and cook each side for 3 to 4 minutes. Remember that it is very important not to over cook the fish  as it will take away the taste of the fish. Finally remove the fish and saute the cherry tomatoes , corns , parsley in the same sauce and add a little pepper to it. And serve it with the fish.

Mugh-Chicken Burger with Parsley and Corn

Yesterday, we went to a shopping mall and after a two hours of tiring shopping we headed towards our favorite place McDonald's. Though I was not feeling that much hungry, but when I took the first bite of the chicken burger there, I could not stop before I finished my plate. Suddenly my husband said that he never got this taste in any other burger anywhere and at that moment a question popped up in my mind " Can I change his verdict?" I mean, I have tried so many recipes and every dish had a wow effect......so why not try my hands in burger? It is a simple and easy recipe, but at the same time tasty too. So today morning I invented my very own Mugh-Chicken burger.

The name 'Mugh' is a short form for Mughlai. Yes, don't get shocked....I will unfold story later. So here is the list of ingredients that I have used :

Ingredients :

1. Big round bun (cut into half)- 2
2. Britannia cheese slices- 2
3. Parsley (chopped)- 1/2 cup
4. Sweet corn- 1/2 cup
5. Cabbage leaf (large)- 2
6. Chicken pieces (boneless)- 7 to 8
7. Black pepper powder- 1/2 tsp
8. White vinegar- 1 tbs
9. Worcestershire sauce- 1 tsp
10. Salt to taste
11. Ghee- 1/2 tbs
12. Bread crumbs
13. Corn flour- 2 tbs
14. Maida (All purpose flour)- 2 tbs
15. Olive oil
16. Tomato (roundly sliced)- 1
17. Burger mayonnaise- 2 tbs
18. Tomato ketchup- 1 tbs


Procedure :

The cabbage leaves should be freshly broken from the cabbage and cut into nice petal shape. Dip the leaves in warm water (with a little salt into it) before use. This is done to remove any kind of dirt from them and also to keep the leaves a little crunchy....so that when you will bite them, you  get a munching sound.

The most important part is the chicken tikki that you are going to place in between the buns. So for this first heat 2 tbs oil in a kadhai and add the washed chicken pieces to it and fry them over high flame. This will give a nice brownish tinge to the chicken. After 5 minutes start mashing roughly the chicken pieces with the help of your spatula. Now add the pepper, vinegar , Worcestershire sauce and salt to it. Mix well. Add 1/2 cup of bread crumbs and the ghee to it. Mix it properly and add a little water.

After cooking for 2 to 3 minutes turn off the heat. Now you may be wondering why I have added ghee to it...simply because ghee has a nice binding property. And do you remember the "mughlai story" that I have mentioned earlier.....it is because of this ghee which adds a nice aroma to your chicken tikki and a flavor that reminds you of a mughlai dish. Make medium balls from that mixture and press them to form a flat tikki. Keep these tikki in the refrigerator for 20 minutes so that they retain their shape.

Now make a smooth batter of corn flour and maida. The batter should be of a little pouring consistency. Now dip the chicken tikkis into this batter and then roll in the bread crumb and shallow fry them in 2 to 3 tbs oil in a flat surfaced frying pan. By shallow fry I mean that the tikkis should be half submerged into the oil. Now turn them after 3 to 4 minutes and cook the other side. Remove them and keep on a paper napkin.

Next add sweet corn , tomato ketchup , parsley , salt and a little pepper in a pan and cook them for 3 minutes. Now decorate your burger. First grill the back side of the bun in the microwave for 2 minutes (if you do not have a microwave you can do it easily on a tawa). Then spread the mayonnaise on the inner side of the lower half of the bun and on top of that keep the cabbage leaf in such a way that it forms a bowl shape. Put 1 tsp of the corn mixture on top of the leaf and then the chicken tikki and at last the cheese slice. Place one or two slices of the tomato and cover it with the remaining upper part of the bun.
Grill it till the cheese melts a little and done!!

What are you waiting for?? Take a bite....

Review of Crystal Residency , Chennai

This hotel is famous among those who go for their U.S. visa interview at Chennai U.S. consulate , because of its location. It is situated at Annasalai , just opposite to the consulate. Even the auto drivers at the railway station know this hotel very well. It is around 5 kms from the station.

The hotel has a 24 hours check-in /check out. The rate is INR 1600 plus tax (it is better to book your room in advance as it remains full most of the time). During check-in you have to make the payment. Also do not forget to carry your ID card as they take a print out of it during check-in. Rooms are clean , air-conditioned and have phone , TV. Though geyser was there in the bathroom , it did not work in our time ( but I guess u do not need it in Chennai's hot and humid weather). Breakfast is complimentary. You can either opt for idlis , vada and juice/tea or bread , butter , tea. Apart from that they have a multi-cuisine food service where you can get Chinese , North Indian and South Indian foods. Food is really tasty (specially biriyani) and not very expensive.

There is a subway just in front of the hotel which will lead you to the consulate within a minute. So I would recommend this hotel for those who want to stay near the consulate. Also you can get a transport to the railway station even late at night for the hotel's prime location.

Creamy Jacket Potato

Ingredients :

1. Medium size potatoes- 4
2. Butter- 1 cup
3. Salt to taste
4. Black pepper powder- 2 tbs
5. Onion (finely chopped)- 1 small
6. Sweet corn- 2 tbs
7. Worcestershire sauce- 1 tsp
8. Go spread cheese- 1 tbs
9. Hung curd- 3 tbs
10. Parsley (chopped)- 1 tbs
11. Vinegar- 1 tsp
12. Lemon juice- 1 tbs
13. Mayonnaise- 1/2 tsp

Procedure :

First boil the potatoes in a cooker until one whistle. Take the potatoes out and keep them under running cold water for a while. Prick them with the help of a knife. Now make the creamy sauce. For that mix 1 tsp butter , cheese , salt , 1 tbs pepper , parsley , vinegar , mayonnaise and curd in a bowl and whisk this mixture well. Next heat 1 tbs butter in a flat frying pan and add onion , corn , salt , little pepper and Worcestershire sauce. Saute this for 2 to 3 minutes. Next heat 1 tbs of butter and add the boiled potatoes. Fry them. Sprinkle salt , pepper and lemon juice on them. Turn the sides of the potatoes when they will turn brown. Now remove the potatoes from heat and make a deep cut with knife. Put the creamy sauce in that cut and on top of the potatoes and then put the onion mixture on it. Serve it hot.

                                                      

Garlic Bread @ Home

Ingredients :

1. Bread (round or rectangular shaped)- 4 slices each cut into halves
2. Melted butter- 1/2 cup
3. Onion (very finely chopped)- 1/2 cup
4. Tomato (finely chopped)- 1/4 cup
5. Garlic- 2 large cloves
6. Go Pizza Cheese- 1 cup
7. Green chilly ( chopped)- 2
8. Parsley (chopped)- 1 tsp
9. Olive (chopped)- 2


Procedure :

First heat a non stick pan and place the breads on it. Let the breads get a little crunchy from one side. Now turn off the gas. Brush the melted butter on top of the bread slices. Add a little onion and grate the garlic (use a very fine grater for this) on top of the slices. Do not add too much of garlic. Next grate the cheese on top of them and add the tomato , chilly , parsley , olive and the remaining onion. Add another layer of cheese and grill them in the microwave for 4 to 5 minutes. Sprinkle a little seasoning on top of it and your hot fresh garlic bread is ready to be  served.

Cheesy Potato Discs

Ingredients :

1. Potato- 2 large
2. Lemon juice- 2 tbs
3. Salt to taste
4. Black pepper powder- 3 tbs
5. Bread crumbs- 1 bowl
6. Cheese- 1 bowl
7. Olive oil
8. Tomato (chopped)- 1 large
9. Onion (chopped)- 1 large
10. Garlic paste- 1 tsp
11. Garlic cloves (chopped)- 5 to 6
12. Sugar- 2 tsp
13. Vinegar- 1 tbs
14. Soy sauce- 1/2 tsp
15. Worcestershire sauce- 1 tsp
16. Egg (beaten)- 2

Procedure :

Peel the potatoes and cut them in thin round shapes. Marinate the potato pieces with salt , garlic paste , pepper (1/2 tsp) and lemon juice for 10 minutes. Now mix bread crumb , rest of the pepper , salt and grated cheese in a bowl. Heat oil in a flat pan. Dip the potatoes in the beaten egg and then in the bread crumb bowl. Make sure the potato is covered from all the side. Shallow fry it on low flame. Turn the other side when it turns brown. Heat 1 tbs oil in another pan and add chopped garlic and onion to it. When the onion turns a little translucent , add tomato and all the sauces to it. Add sugar , vinegar and a little salt. Cover the pan and cook for few minutes. Add a little water and cook till the water dries up.  Now put one tsp of this tomato chutney on top of the fried potatoes and decorate with some grated cheese and cover it with a plate for few seconds so that the cheese melts a little. Serve it hot with coriander chutney.

Corn Stuffed Mushroom Bowl

Ingredients :

1. Mushroom- 1 bowl
2. Sweet corn- 1 cup
3. Mustard seed- 1/2 tsp
4. Mutton masala powder- 1/2 tsp
5. Salt to taste
6. Worcestershire sause- 1 tbs
7. Mushroom soy sauce- 1 tsp
8. Tomato ketchup- 1 tbs
9. Vinegar- 1 tbs
10. Black pepper powder- 1 tsp
11. Cumin powder- 1 tsp
12. Olive oil
13. Cheese- 1/2 cup


Procedure :

First separate the mushroom tails from the umbrellas and keep the umbrellas in worm water for 30 minutes. Heat 2 tbs oil in a pan and add mustard seeds , corn , mutton masala , salt ,  all the sauces , vinegar , pepper , cumin powder and small pieces of mushroom tails. Cook it for 6 to7 minutes until it dries up. Now add the mushroom umbrellas to it and fry them for 3 to 4 minutes. Add half of the cheese to it and mix well. Remove it from the flame. Now place each mushroom umbrella like a bowl and stuff them with the corn mixture and add some grated cheese on top of it. Serve it hot.

Nawabi Mutton Masala

Ingredients :

1. Mutton pieces- 4
2. Cinnamon- 4 to 5
3. Black cardamom- 2
4. Cloves- 5 to 6
5. Bay leaf- 1
6. Jeera (cumin)- 1 tbs
7. Green chilly- 2
8. Onion - 1 large
9. Curd- 1/2 cup
10. Ginger paste- 1 tsp
11. Garlic cloves- 5 to 6
12. Turmeric powder- 2/3 tsp
13. Red chilly powder- 1/2 tsp
14. Black pepper powder- 1/2 tsp
15. Salt to taste
16. Sugar- 1 tsp
17. Oil

Procedure :

First marinate the mutton pieces in curd , turmeric , red chilly powder , ginger paste , pepper and salt paste for an hour. Next roast cumin , cinnamon , cardamom and garlic. Grind them roughly in mixer. Now make a paste of onion and chillies. Heat 3 tbs of oil in a pressure cooker and add the bay leaf to it. Let it fry for 2 minutes and add the roasted and ground mixture to it. Cover it for 2 minutes and cook on low flame. Add the onion and chilly paste , sugar and cook till the paste turns a little brownish. Add the mutton and the remaining of the marinade to it. Mix well and cook on medium flame until it dries up. Add a little water and cover the cooker. Stir when the water dries up again. Now add about half a glass of water to it and close the lid of the cooker and cook it for 4 whistle. Next after cooling the cooker open the lid and cook the mutton for another few minutes so that the water dries up more. The gravy should be thick. Remove it from the flame and serve it.