Sweet Pongal

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups Raw Rice
3 cups Milk
1/4 cup Moong Dal
12 Cashewnuts
15 Kishmish pieces
1 cup Jaggery (grated)
1/4 teaspoon Saffron (crushed)
1 teaspoon Cardamom powder
4 tablespoons ghee or more
2 teaspoons of grated Coconut pieces

Preparation method 

Wash the rice and dal several times. Add Milk and pressure cook.As soon as the rice and dal are cooked to softness, add jaggery and ghee. Please cook on medium fire for some time.In the meantime you can fry Cashew nuts and coconut grated in one teaspoon ghee and keep them ready.Kishmish also can be fried little . Now add cashew, Kishmish coconut (all fried in ghee) and saffron, and cardamom powder. Bring to one or two good boils Stir well. Add more ghee and serve.

Butter Cake

 

Ingredients:

• 250g butter, softened
• 1 cup caster sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla essence
• 3 eggs
• 2 1/2 cups self-raising flour
• 2/3 cup milk
• icing sugar mixture, to serve

Method of preparation:


Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease one 8 inch square baking pan. Line bottom with wax paper or dust lightly with flour. Sift together the flour, salt, and baking powder.Cream the butter and blend in the white sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Beat until light and fluffy. Add the sifted dry ingredients to the creamed mixture alternately with the milk. Stir until just blended. Pour batter into prepared pan.Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 50 to 55 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched. Remove from pan and allow it to cool.Variation: Blueberry Cake; Add 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg to your dry ingredients and stir in 1 cup fresh blueberries into the batter before you bake it. Cut it into squares while it is still hot.

Chickhen with green peppers

  

Ingredients :

6 tbsp Oil
1 Onion, Chopped
1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder
1 tsp Coriander Powder
1 tsp Cumin Powder
1 tsp Chilli Powder
2 tbsp Water
750 gms Boneless & Skinless Chicken, Cubed
1/2 kg Tomatoes, Chopped
1 Green Pepper, Deseeded & Diced
4 Garlic Cloves, Chopped
2 Green Chillies, Chopped
Coriander Leaves
Salt To Taste.

Preperation method :

Heat the oil in a wok or saucepan.Add onions and fry until soft. Mix turmeric, coriander, cumin and chilli powder with water.Cook for 3mins, until the liquid is evaporated.Add the chicken and fry on all sides, then add the tomatoes and salt. Cover with a lid and cook for 15mins.Stir in green pepper, garlic and chillies. Cook uncovered, until the tomato juices are evaporated and the chicken is cooked well.Garnish with coriander leaves.

Cashew Chickhen

Ingerdients :

Chicken - 1 kg
Onions - 2 cups
(finely chopped)
Ginger - 2 small pieces
Cumin seeds(Jeerakam) - 1/2 tsp
Garlic pods(small) - 25 nos
Chilly powder - 2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt - As reqd
Coconut oil - As reqd
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Onions - 4 nos
(chopped length-wise)
Water- As reqd
Cashews - 20 nos
Tomatoes - 2 nos
Lemon - half of one
Coriander leaves - 3 stems

Preperation method :

Blend together onions, ginger, cumin seeds and garlic in a mixer grinder.Keep the cashew nuts immersed in water for 10 minutes.Blend it to paste in a mixer grinder.Heat oil in a pan.Add mustard seeds and when they splutter, add onions (chopped length-wise) and saute, till onion turns brown.Add the blended paste.Stir well and add chilly powder and chopped tomatoes.Add turmeric powder, salt and add washed chicken pieces.Add enough water and allow it to boil.When the chicken pieces are cooked, add lemon juice and stir well.Add blended cashews.When mixture starts boling again, turn off the flame.Garnish with coriander leaves.

Butter Chickhen

Ingredients :

1/4 pint/150ml natural yogurt

2 ounces/50g ground almonds
1 1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp crushed bay leaves
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp garam masala
4 green cardamom pods
1 tsp ginger pulp
1 tsp garlic pulp
14 ounce/400g can tomatoes
1 1/4 tsp salt
2 pounds/1kg chicken, skinned, boned and cubed
3 ounces/75g butter
1 tbsp corn oil
2 medium onions, sliced
2 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped
4 tbsp cream

 

Preperation method :

Place the yogurt, ground almonds, all the dry spices, ginger, garlic, tomatoes and salt in a mixing bowl and blend together thoroughly.Put the chicken into a large mixing bowl and pour over the yogurt mixture.Set aside. Melt together the butter and oil in a medium karahi, wok or frying pan. Add the onions and fry for about 3 minutes. Add the chicken mixture and stir-fry for about 7 to 10 minutes.Stir in about half of the coriander and mix well. Pour over the cream and stir in well. Bring to the boil. Garnish the indian butter chicken with the remaining chopped coriander to serve the chicken curry.

Fish Fry

Ingredients :

Any fish in full or sliced
Chilli Powder
Coriander Powder
Salt
Lime
One large onion
Mix Chilli Powder, Salt, 

Coriander Powder with lime juice to make a paste.
Add more lime juice to achieve the consistency of a loose paste.

Preperation method :

 Apply the masala to the surface of the fish and leave it for 1 hour.Place Flat pan on stove and add 2 spoons of oil.As soon as the pan gets hot, drop the pieces of fish on it.Add more oil, if the pieces seem to get stuck to the pan. Fry for 5 minutes.Reverse the direction of the fish / slices and leave for another 5
minutes. Note ( In these 10 minutes, the fish must be sufficiently cooked ). All the extra masala, if any is left over, can be added on top of the fish / slice.while it is getting fried.Remove fish and place on a plate.Garnish with Onions chopped in the shape of rings and a slice of lime.

Karaikudi fish cury

Ingredients :




Fish - 300 grams
Mustard seeds and Urad dal - 1/2 tspn
Curry leaves - 1 sprig
Onion - 1
Green Chili - 1
Ginger garlic paste - 1 tspn
Tomato - 1
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tspn
Tamarind - small gooseberry size
Sugar - less than 1/4 tspn or to ur taste
Salt - to taste
Oil - as required (Sesame oil is preferred)


Roast and Make a paste of:
 
Dry Red Chilies - 2 to 3
Coriander seeds - 1 ½ tspn
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tspn
Fennel seeds(Perunjeeragam) - 1/4 tspn
Peppercorn - 1/4 tspn
Toor dal (thuvaram paruppu)- 1/4 tspn
Fenugreek seeds (Vendhayam) - a pinc 
Curry leaves - 1 sprig
Coconut - 1 tspn

Preperation method :

  

Cut Onion, Green chili, Tomato into small pieces. Soak Tamarind in water for 15 minutes. After that extract a cup of tamarind juice from it. Keep all this aside.Heat 1/2 tspn of Oil in a pan. Add Dry red chili, Coriander seeds, Cumin seeds, Fennel seeds, Pepper corns, Toor dal, Fenugreek seeds, Curry leaves and Coconut then roast them till they are almost brown. Then remove from heat and let it cool on then grind into a very fine paste by adding little water.Heat 2 to 3 tspns Oil in a pan. Add Mustard seeds and Urad dal, once it starts spluttering add Curry leaves, Onion and Green chili, fry till they are golden brown.Add Ginger garlic paste and fry till the raw smell goes out. Add Tomato and mash it with the spatula.Then add Turmeric Powder, ground paste (from step 2) and fry for 2 to 3 minutes.Add Tamarind juice, 1 cup of water, Salt and Sugar to it. Bring this curry to boil once, then reduce the heat to medium, cover the pan with a lid and cook for 10 minutes. At this stage curry becomes thick.After that add Fish pieces and cook for 5 minutes or till the fish and gravy are cooked.