Fish kulambu (curry)

Fish kulambu is a popular traditional South Indian curry.  My grandma used to cook fish curry in an earthen pot that enhances the taste of the kulambu. Also, She used to add raw mango to the kulambu.  I like the combination of Fish and raw mango. Fish kulambu tastes better the next day.  Fish curry goes well with rice and dosa. You can use any fish of your choice. This is the version of fish curry without coconut. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Cat Fish/Red snapper/King Mackerel - 2-3 pounds
Onion - 2 medium finely chopped.
Tomatoes - 2 medium finely chopped
Green chillies - 4
Garlic pods - 8-10
Tamarind - lemon size
Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Cumin powder - 1 tsp
Coriander powder - 3 tsp
Fenugreek - 1 tsp
Cumin - 1 tsp
Fennel seed - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves
Coriander leaves

Method

Soak tamarind in 2 cups of warm water and extract the juice.

Heat oil in a pan. When hot, add mustard, cumin, fennel seeds and fenugreek.  When the mustard sputters, add onion, garlic, green chillies and curry leaves. Let it fry till the onion turns golden brown. Add the tomatoes and let the tomatoes blend well with the onion.  Add salt, turmeric powder, chilli powder, cumin powder and coriander powder and fry for 3-4 minutes.

Add the tamarind juice. Mix gently and allow it to cook till the raw smell of the tamarind disappears.

Add the Fish and let the fish cook in the tamarind/tomato/onion sauce for 15-20 minutes.  Stir the mixture carefully without breaking the fish.  Garnish with Cilantro.

Ribbon Pakoda

Ribbon Pakoda is a popular snack in India. It is a simple, easy to do snack for any occasion.   The main ingredients are rice flour and gram flour (besan).  This has become our family snack for long drives. My girls love this snack very much and I am sure you would too. You need a Murukku mould (picture) for preparing this snack.

Ingredients

Rice Flour - 2 cups.
Gram Flour (Besan) - 2 cups
Chilli Powder - 2 tsp.
Salt  - 2 tsp.
Hing  (Asafoetida) - a pinch.
Butter  - 2 tsp.
Water

Method

Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl and add butter (room temperature). Add water to the mixture and gently knead it into a soft dough. The dough should not be watery. Also, you should be able to press it with the mould easily.

Heat oil in a deep wide pan and fill the mould with some dough. Now squeeze the dough from the mould in the hot oil. Let the pakoda cook for a couple of minutes. Turn the pakoda and cook both the sides till it becomes golden brown.

Remove from the oil and keep them in a paper towel to drain the oil. Repeat the procedure with the rest of the dough. Let the Pakodas cool and store them in an air tight container.

Enjoy!

Beetroot Halwa

Beetroot Halwa is an Indian sweet made with beetroot and milk.  If you like beets, you would enjoy this sweet dish. Beetroot Halwa can be served as a dessert or as a sweet dish with your meal.  Enjoy! 

Ingredients

Beetroot - 2
Sugar - 1/3 cup
Milk - 1/4 cup
Ghee - 2-3 tsps
Cardamom - 3 (optional)
Cashews (optional)

Method

Grate the beetroot and cook the beetroot with milk in a pan.  Keep stirring the mixture till the moisture gets evaporated. Add sugar to the beetroot mixture and keep stirring. Fry the Cashews in ghee in a different pan and add them to the beetroot. The mixture changes to a bit dark in color.  Add the ground cardamom. Enjoy the beetroot halwa!

Chocolate cake

Thanks to Susan Head for this recipe.  I had this chocolate cake in our Church gathering and this is one of the best cakes I ever had.  Surprisingly, the recipe was very simple.  The cake is so moist that it doesn't need any frosting.

Ingredients

1 Box French Vanilla cake mix
12 oz pkg of chocolate chips
2 small boxes chocolate instant pudding mix
4 eggs
1/2 cup oil
11/2 cup water
2 tsp vanilla

Method

Grease a cake pan.  Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl (I used a hand mixer) and pour the mixture in the cake pan.

  Bake at 325 for an hour.  Maybe a little longer. Let the cake cook before taking it out of the pan.

Enjoy!

Easy chicken curry

Thanks to Viguna for this recipe.  This is an easy recipe for Indian chicken curry with few ingredients but tastes really good. The recipe requires a single masala. I have tried this recipe with boneless and whole chicken and it turned out great both times. The chicken curry goes well with Parathas, Naan or rice. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Boneless or whole chicken - 2-3 pounds.
Onion - 2 medium
Tomato - 1
Green chillies - 3-4
Garlic paste - 1 tsp
Ginger paste - 1 tsp
Memoni Mutton Biriyani Masala (SHAN) - 1-2 tsp
Curry leaves
Coriander leaves

  

Method

Heat 2 tbsps of oil in a skillet and add the onions, green chillies, and curry leaves. Saute the onions till they are golden brown. Add ginger-garlic paste and saute for another 3-4 minutes on medium heat.

Add the tomatoes and let the mixture cook for 3-4 minutes.  Now, add the chicken and the masala powder and mix well.  Cover the pan with a lid and cook the chicken on medium heat.  Stir the mixture now and then.  Cook till chicken pieces are soft and you get the desired curry consistency.

Garnish with fresh coriander leaves.

Note:  The masala powder has salt and hence you don't need to add salt.  You can add a little salt if required.

Spinach curry

Spinach curry is one of my favorite side dishes.  This recipe is simple enough that you can make it frequently,  It is a healthy side dish and the combination of spinach and moong dhal tastes good.  Spinach curry goes well with rice and chapathis.

Ingredients

Chopped Spinach - 4 cups
Onion - 1 medium
Green chillies - 3-4
Garlic - 3-4 pods
Curry leaves
Moong dhal - 1/2 cup
Mustard - 1/2 tsp
Urad dhal - 1/2 tsp
Salt

Method

Cook the Moong dhal in water with the garlic pods. 

Heat oil in a pan and add some mustard seeds and Urad dhal.  When the mustard seeds splutter, add onion, green chillies and curry leaves and fry till the onion becomes golden brown.

Add the spinach and salt and mix them well. Cover the pan with the lid and cook the spinach. When the spinach is cooked, add the cooked moong dal to the above mixture and combine well.

Keep on stirring till you get the desired consistency.

Pepper Chicken curry

One of our family favorite chicken curry is pepper chicken curry which is loaded with freshly ground pepper. This is a simple recipe yet it tastes very good and the taste is different from other traditional chicken curry.  The recipe calls for fresh ground pepper. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Chicken - 2-3 pounds.
Medium Onion - 2
Tomatoes - 2
Green chillies - 5
Garlic paste - 1/2 tsp
Ginger paste - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric - 1/4 tsp
Red chilli powder - a pinch
Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp
Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
Garam masala - 1/4 tsp
Ground pepper (fresh) - 2-3 tsp
Salt
Curry leaves
Coriander leaves

Method 

Heat Oil in a pan and saute the onions with curry leaves and green chillies till the onions are golden brown.  Now, add the garlic and ginger paste.  Add the tomatoes and then add the spices (turmeric powder, chilli powder, cumin, coriander powder and Garam masala) and fry the onion/tomato mixture for 2-3 minutes.

Add the cut chicken and add salt and the freshly ground pepper powder.  Stir well and  cook the chicken on medium flame for 20-25 minutes.  There is no need to add water as the chicken will cook in the onion/tomato mixture.  Keep stirring often.

When the chicken is cooked, simmer uncovered for 5-10 minutes so that the gravy is thickened.  Garnish with cilantro leaves.

Enjoy with Chapathis, Parathas, Naan or Rice.

Poori with Potato Masala

When I was growing up, one of the special dishes for weekend breakfasts would be Poori with potato masala.  I liked Poori so much that Mom would save some Pooris for my Lunch. Pooris go well with potato masala and it is very easy to make.  Now, my girls like to have Pooris on the weekends.

Ingredients

Wheat Flour - 2 cups

Water

Salt - 3/4 tsp

Oil - 2 tsp

Oil for Frying.

Method

Mix the flour with salt, required water and 2 tsps of oil until you get a nice soft dough. Make small balls of the dough and flatten each ball using a rolling pin. Poori has to be a little thick than what we do for chappathi.

Heat oil in a pan and deep fry pooris.

Drain the Pooris in a paper towel.

Potato Masala

Ingredients

Boiled potatoes - 2

onion- 1 (sliced)

green chillies- 4 (sliced)
turmeric powder- 1/4 tspginger- few bits (optional)

curry leaves

Coriander leaves
water
salt

Method

Heat 2-3 tablespoons of oil in a pan and add some mustard seeds and urad dhal. Add onions, green chillies, ginger and curry leaves. Now add mashed potatoes, required salt, turmeric powder and water. Bring the mixture to a boil.  Garnish with coriander leaves and serve the potato masala with pooris.

Chana Masala

Chana Masala (spicy chickpeas) is one of popular vegetarian dishes in Indian restaurants.  The dish is easy to prepare, delicious and healthy.  Chana Masala goes well with Puris, Chapathis, Naan and Parathas.  

 Ingredients

Garbanzo beans - 1 cup
Onion - 1
Green chillies - 3
Tomato - 1
Garlic paste  - 1/2 tsp
Ginger paste - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
Garam masala - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves
Coriander leaves
Salt

Method 

Soak dried chick peas in water overnight.  You can use the canned chickpeas too.

Heat oil in a skillet over a medium-high flame. Add the onions, green chillies and curry leaves and fry the onions till they are golden brown.  Add the ginger and garlic paste and fry the mixture for few minutes.  Add the tomatoes and fry the mixture until the tomatoes blend with the onions.

Add the drained chickpeas, chilli powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, garam masala and salt. Stir well and cook over medium heat.  (I used pressure cooker to cook the chickpeas).

Garnish with chopped green coriander leaves and serve hot.

Butter Chicken

Butter Chicken is one of my favorite dishes.  It is one of the best known Indian foods all over the world. The dish is flavored and can be prepared  hot or mild. Butter Chicken goes well with Parathas, Naans, Chapathis or white rice. This recipe has been tested numerous times and is loved by everybody. My 3-year old loves it so much that she eats the butter chicken alone. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Boneless chicken (skin removed) - 2 pounds.
2 medium onions
2 medium tomatoes
1 tsp ginger paste
1 tsp garlic paste
Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder - 2 tsps
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Cumin powder - 1 tsp
Garam masala - 1 tsp
Cloves - 4
1" stick of cinnamon
3 bay leaves
8-10 almonds
3-4 pods of cardamom
Salt to taste
Curry leaves
Coriander leaves
Yogurt - 1/3 cup
Butter
Half and Half

Method

Marinate the chicken with half the amount of spices (chilli powder, coriander powder, garam masala) and yogurt overnight.

Heat butter in a deep pan.  When it is hot, add the whole cinnamon, cloves, bay leaves and the cardamom.  Add the onions and fry the onions till they are golden brown in color.  Add the ginger and garlic pastes and fry for a minute.

Add the tomatoes and let the onion and tomato mixture blend well.  Add turmeric, salt and the remaining spices.  Let the mixture cool and blend the mixture.

Saute the chicken in a little butter and then add the onion/tomato to the chicken and let the chicken cook on medium heat till the chicken is tender.

Grind the Almonds with some water and add the almond paste and the sauce gets thickened.  Add some half and half (this will make the dish less spicy - mild) and this will further thicken the sauce.  

Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with Chapathi, Naan or white rice. Enjoy!

Crab curry

Spicy Indian Crab curry is a popular seafood recipe in India. This crab curry is perfect for cold weather and good for some health issues like cold as well. You can increase the spices if you like it hotter. My husband's favorite dinner.

Ingredients

 
Live blue crabs - 6 (cleaned and washed)
2 medium onions, chopped
1 tomato, chopped
3-4 green chillies
Curry leaves - 10
1 tsp garlic  paste
1 tsp ginger paste
Turmeric powder - a pinch
1 tsp pepper powder
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp coriander powder
salt to taste
Chopped coriander leaves

Method

Heat a little oil and saute the onions. Fry the onions in oil till they become translucent. Add green chillies and the curry leaves. When the onions turn light brown in color, add the ginger and garlic paste.  Add tomato and cook on medium flame for 3-4 minutes.

Add the spices turmeric powder, pepper, chilli powder, cumin and coriander powder to the onion/tomato mixture.

Add the crabs and stir well. Pour 1/2 cup of water and cook the crab curry on medium heat for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat when crab curry thickens. Garnish with coriander leaves.

Spicy Indian crab curry is ready. Serve with rice or Chapathis

Chicken Acapulco

 

I had Chicken Acapulco in one of our Church gathering and I really liked the dish. It lacked some Indian spices and hence I modified the recipe adding some spices and I liked this version even better.  Now, this has become one of my husband's favorite dinner.

Ingredients 

1 medium onion, chopped
3 cups chopped boneless chicken (small pieces)
1 (8-ounce) carton sour cream
Green chillies
Chicken tikka Masala - 1-2 teaspoon.
1 tablespoon butter
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 (4.5 ounce) jar sliced mushrooms, drained
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sliced almonds
8 ten inch flour tortillas 

Topping Ingredients

1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup milk
11/4 cups of shredded sharp cheddar cheese.
Optional : 1/4 cup sliced green olives 

Method 

Saute Onion in butter in a large saucepan until tender.  Add green chillies to the onion and then the chicken.  Then, add 1-2 teaspoon of Chicken Tikka Masala and cook the chicken in the masala.  Let the chicken be cooked well and dried.  Once the chicken is dried, add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.  

Spoon about 1/2 cup chicken mixture in center of each tortilla; roll up and place seam side down in a lightly greased 13 x 9 baking dish.

Combine the topping ingredients; spoon over tortillas. Optional : sprinkle topping with green olives.

Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 35 minutes or until cheese is completely melted and topping is bubbly.

You can omit the almonds from the filling and sprinkle them on the top of the casserole.