Chicken Cutlet

I felt extremely happy last week to receive a call from an old blogger friend of mine. She just called into say that she is actively following and referring my ‘Aakrantham’ and trying out dishes from this. With a little hesitation, she asked me whether I can publish few of her recipes too in my blog. Though my joy knew no bounds when I heard this question, with a little show-off, I told her “aah..!! lemme see, anyhow you send me a recipe. After reviewing, I’ll let you know”. Within an hour an e-mail with subject line ‘Chicken cutlet’ popped up in my gmail window, which read as below:

Ingredients:

• Boneless chicken – 250 gm
• Cooking oil – for frying
• Onion - 2
• Garlic (cut into small pieces) - 2        
• Green chilli (finaly diced) - 1        

• Mint, coriander & curry leaves (chopped) – 1 Tbspoon 

• Ginger (cut into small piece) – ½ teaspoon
• Chicken Masala - 2½ Tbspoon
• Chilli powder – ½ teaspoon
• Turmeric Powder – ¾ teaspoon
• Potato – 1 Big
• Bread crumbs – as needed to cover
• Egg – 1 or 2
• Salt - to taste

How to:

 1.       Boil the washed chicken pieces with 1 Tb spoon of chicken masala and salt with a half cup of water till chicken is properly cooked. Drain the water if any, and mince the chicken.

2.       Peeled potato should be cut into small pieces. Pressure-cook this potato along with ½ tea spoon turmeric powder, salt and one cup of water. Mash these cooked potatoes well using a spoon and keep it aside.

3.       Heat 2 Tb spoon oil in a frying pan, add onion, green chilli, mint, coriander and curry leaves, ginger and garlic and fry until soft. Add chicken masala, chilli powder, ¼ tea spoon turmeric powder and salt and mix well. Fry for few minutes.  Add the minced chicken (as in step 1) and mashed potato (as in step2) and stir until mixed well.

4.       Take 2 Tb spoons of bread crumbs in a plate. Break egg and take the white part alone into another plate.  Make small balls out of the mixture made in Step 3. Dip this ball in egg white and then roll it in the plate of bread crumbs till it is fully covered. Shape the ball into a perfect round/heart as needed.

5.       Pour oil into a flat frying pan. To the heating oil, place the cutlets as made in step 4. Carefully fry both sides of the cutlet till it turns brown. Serve hot with tomato ketchup.

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Spicy Squid Masala (Koonthal masala)

The special attraction of today’s fish purchase was squid. Though I went with Aneesh to buy fish for his household, he told Nimmy (his wife) used to cook squid only in continental style and not aware of traditional recipe and thus he discouraged me from buying.  But I assured him that I’ll guide her to make, trying to recollect all lessons learned during my PG studies. To be frank, I was really eager to try it out once. I hoped Nimmy won’t have to kick me out of her kitchen. Straight away from market, I went to help her in kitchen, started cleaning squid and gave the instructions to Nimmy as below to prepare traditional koonthal masala.

Ingredients:

Koonthal – 250 g

Red chilli powder – 2 teaspoon

Kashmiri chilli powder – 1 tea spoon

Turmeric powder – ½ teaspoon

Salt – to taste

Grated coconut – 2 Tb spoon

Chopped onion – 1 big sized

Tomato cut into small pieces– 1 medium sized

Green chilli – 2 no.s

Ginger, garlic (crushed) – 1 teaspoon

Coriander, mint leaves – 1 Tbspoon

Garam masala – 2 pinch

Coconut Oil – to fry

How to:

1.       Clean the squid well and cut it into round pieces. Mix chilli powders, turmeric powder and salt in a pan and cook for around 10 minutes in medium flame without adding water. Once the water in squid is drained completely, add coconut oil into the pan to fry the squid. Squid just need to be shallow-fried. So just 2 Tb spoon of oil will be enough.

Drain oil and keep the fried squid aside, once it is half-fried.

2.       In the same pan and same oil put chopped onion, green chilli, garlic and ginger and fry until softened. Pour extra oil only if it’s needed. Add cut coriander and mint leaves and garam masala. Add salt as needed and if it needs to be spicier, add ½ teaspoon pepper powder.  Add the cut tomato and fry till tomato is softened. Add the grated coconut and fried squid into this mixture and blend well for 2 minutes in medium flame.

3.       Serve hot in a plate, garnish with tomato and green chilli.

Note: It’s an ideal spicy side dish for any rice varieties or pathiris/breads/chapathis.

Nimmy made chappathi and we three had it with koonthal masala. I could figure out a smile on Aneesh’s face with a satisfaction that the money spent for squid didn’t go waste because of me... You too try this and comment about your opinions.

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Unnakkai (Vaazhakkada/kaayada)

After trying out the recipe of ‘paalu vazhakka’, my friend called to thank me and tell that the dish was easy to make and delicious. As I’d given enough build-up about Malabar-snacks to her over the phone, she asked me for the recipe of ‘unnakkai’ J. Oh my God! I thought for a while and told her – “err...hmm...I don’t remember exactly, I mean I’ve a doubt in how do we make the stuffing for it. Is it fine if I recall and post it in blog?” She laughed and told – “Yea. It’s fine. You ask to someone and get the recipe. I’ll take from your blog”. Soon after cutting her call, called my mom and tuned her up with sweetest talks and tactfully got the recipe from her. I’m posting that recipe here for You...

Ingredients:

Plantain (ripe but stiff) – 3

Egg – 2

Sugar – ½ cup

Chopped cashew nuts – 3 Tbspoon

Raisins – 2 Tbspoon

Cardamom – 2

Ghee – 1 Tb spoon

Oil – for deep fry

How to:

1.       Steam or pressure cook the plantains till softened

2.       Peel off the skin from the cooked plantains and mash well with hand or in a mixer without adding water. If the mashed plantain is over-wet or shaky, roll it in a piece of cotton cloth for some time till it gets dried up.

3.       In a bowl mix egg, cashew nuts, raisins with sugar and mashed cardamom, well with continuous beating with a spoon.   

4.       In a pan, heat ghee and add the above mixture and stir well with a thin spoon for few minutes until the small egg pieces are separated from the pan.

5.       Spread some oil in your palm and take small balls from the mashed plantain, flatten the center a little with fingers and fill the egg mixture. Roll the plantain balls into a spindle’s shape.  (if the plantain balls are too sticky, add a little maida/rice flour into it or spread on palm so that it’ll be easy to shape)

6.       Deep fry these in hot oil in a pan till it turns brown.

Serve hot with tea. It’s one of the best choices for evening snacks.

Note: In ‘Paaluvazhakka’, instead of putting cut banana pieces, if unnakkai is added, it’ll be even yummier..!! Have a try?

*Photo courtesy : My Space.. My Taste.. My  World... 

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Chicken Samosa - Malabar Recipe

I bet no cuisine in the whole world can beat the traditional Malabar snacks’ taste. The ‘kozhikodan samosa’ is amongst the executive committee members of these snacks family.  It’s an essential item on any iftar table and the most sought morning and evening tea-time snack for all in Kozhikode. I took the recipe of the same recently from a friend of mine. Are you ready for a try with me?

How To:

For filling:

Boneless chicken – 250 gm

Chicken masala – 1 Tbspoon

 

Boil the washed chicken pieces with chicken masala and salt with a half cup of water till chicken is properly cooked. Drain the water if any, and mince the chicken.

Cooking oil – 2 Tbspoon

Onion - 2

Garlic (cut into small pieces) - 2

Green chilli (finaly diced) - 1

Mint, coriander & curry leaves (chopped) – 1 Tbspoon

Ginger (cut into small piece) – ½ teaspoon

Chicken Masala - 1½ Tbspoon

Chilly powder – ½ teaspoon

Turmeric Powder – ¼ teaspoon

salt - to taste

 

Heat the oil in a frying pan, add onion,green chilli, mint, coriander and curry leaves, ginger and garlic and fry until soft. Add chicken masala, chilli powder, turmeric powder and salt and mix well. Fry for few minutes.  Add the minced chicken and stir until mixed well. Chicken masala filling is ready.

for covering:

 

Maida - 225gm.

Rava – 2 Tb spoon

Salt – to taste

Cooking oil – 2 Tbspoon

Mix flour and salt into a bowl. Make a well into the centre and add the oil and enough warm water to make firm dough. Press the dough on a flat surface until smooth. Divide the dough into small balls and roll out the balls to bigger circles. Cut the circle into four equal pieces with a knife. Wet the longer edge with a little water with fingers and form a cone shape around your fingers, sealing the dampened edge.

Fill the cases with a Tbspn of your chicken masala filling and fold the opened corner to seal the top of the cone so that a triangular shape is made.

Deep fry the samosas in hot oil until crisp and brown take out and drain on a paper towel.

Delicious Malabar Samosa is ready to be served

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Paalu Vazhakka | പാലു വാഴക്ക - Dessert (Malabar Special)

 It’s iftar time at Monty’s home. The table is filled with so many tempting Malabar dishes.  The sweet dish which his sister served into my plate reminded me of my childhood days, having ‘paalu vazhakka’ from my Aunty’s home at Calicut. Its taste still lingers to my taste buds with a sweet nostalgia. I confirmed with her whether this dish is also the same and took the recipe from her. Sharing it here for you. Have a try....

Paalu vazhakka


Ingredients:
Sago rice ( sabudana/ചവ്വരി ) – 1 cup
Sugar – to taste
Cardamom – 2
Banana – big 2
Coconut (grated) - 1
Ghee – 2  teaspoon
Cashew nuts and dried grapes – 10 each
Small onion – 2


 How to:


1.       Put the grated coconut into a mixer jar, pour water just enough to dip the coconut and mix well. Squeeze this mixture to take thick coconut milk. The squeezed coconut milk should again be put in the mixer with more water and squeezed to take thin coconut milk. Keep both thick and thin milk separately in bowls.


2.       Boil the thin coconut milk and add the sago rice (without washing) into the boiling milk. Keep in low flames for 3 minutes. Slice the banana in a semi-diagonal angle into medium sized pieces and put these into the boiling sago rice. Close the vessel after switching off the flame.  Keep it closed for 10 minutes


3.       Open the vessel and add the thick coconut milk, required amount of sugar and mashed cardamom and boil in low flames for 2-3 minutes and switch off. Make sure that the dish came out in a comparatively thick consistency.


4.       Melt ghee in a small pan and roast small onion till getting brown and add cashew nuts and dried grapes. Roast it for few minutes.


5.       Serve ‘paaluvazhakka’ as prepared in step 3 and decorate with the roasted nuts n grapes. It’s a real tasty sweet that the taste will stick on to our tongue for days together.

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