Chicken Roll

Happy Independence day weekend.
Hope you'are all having fun....waiting for the fire works.
I am super happy today as its the 200th post in this blog.
Thanks to all who visits this blog frequently :)

Have a very filling snack to share, this was my childhood favorite, used to enjoy these after school when my brother buy these from the bakery nearby our house,
here in the US I haven't seen much local bakeries like what we had in India,other than the fast-food chains, other local bakeries here are really expensive :(
These bakery store's in every nook and corner in our place used to be our "Hunger 911" a relief for the working mother's.

Its little tricky & time consuming, to make the pan cake to wrap the filling then coating and frying'em, but worth doing I must write.
Its also calorie rich, once in a while its fine ;)
You may buy the Spring roll wrap's that we get in the grocery store's here instead of making everything from scratch, in that case you need not have to coat'em in egg or bread crumbs.
I did this the traditional way of making'em in my place, wanted to spend some time cooking today because I made this for my Blog...Well...usually its for my family ;)

Here's is the recipe

Ingredients 

For the Filling 

Chicken Breast - 1 pound (Approx) slice'em to big chunks.
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
Vinegar - 1 tbsp
Ginger and Garlic - Minced 1 Tbsp each
Green Chili's - 2 no's (Adjust as per your preference)
Black Pepper corns - 1/2 tbsp (Whole)
Cinnamon stick - 1 small
Cloves - 3-5 no's
Cardamom - 4-6 no's
Salt to taste

For roasting the Filling 

Onion - 1 Medium (finely chopped)
Cabbage - 1/4th of 1 medium head (finely chopped) - Optional
Celery - 1/4 cup (finely chopped) -Optional
Vegetable Oil - 2 tbsp

For the Wrap 

All purpose flour - 1 to 2 cup's (Approx)
Soy sauce - 1 tbsp
Salt to taste
Water - to make the batter (need a free flowing batter, lighter as possible)

For Coating & Frying 

Egg's - 2 no's (Lightly beaten)
Bread crumbs - as required (I used store bought Bread crumbs seasoned with Italian seasoning)
Oil- for frying

Method 

Make the Filling 

* Mix well all the ingredients given under filling, rub them nicely to the chicken breast pieces and cook'em in low heat, till the water in the chicken is all dried and the chicken pieces are well cooked.
(May add little water to the marinade to prevent the pieces stick to the bottom of the pan, do not add more water)

* Grind or use the shred option in your blender to shred the cooked chicken pieces, shred'em along with the spices and all the other ingredients it was cooked with.

* Heat 2 tbsp oil in a pan, saute onion , celery and cabbage (finely chopped), cook these in high heat stirring continuously till the onion's looks golden brown, mix in the shredded chicken mixture, stir and cook again for another 5- 7 minutes in high heat. Switch off the heat and allow to cool.

Make Wraps 

* Mix All purpose flour, salt,soy sauce and water to make a thin batter(Make it thin as possible)
  (Adjust the flour and water accordingly)

*Heat a pan cake pan (or a Dosa pan) keep the temperature in Low to medium only

* Pour a ladle full of the batter to the heated pan(pan shouldn't be too hot), make these pan cakes as thin as possible (Heat should be low otherwise its not possible to make thin pan cakes)

*Flip to the other side and cook till the pan cake's looks done on both sides.

* Place these pan cakes on a plate, add 1 tbsp (or less ) of the filling on the middle of the pan cakes.

* Roll'em as shown in the pic, may use little batter at the ends to make it thick and keep the wraps tight.

Coating & Frying 

* Heat Oil in a shallow pan,(Usually its deep fried, I tried to shallow fry'em and it came out good)

* Dip each Roll's in lightly beaten eggs first then coat them with bread crumbs.

Keep the heat medium to low, as the breadcrumbs tend to brown faster, I was little impatient here (As usual)

* Fry each Roll's in medium heat till all sides look brown & Crispy in the outside.

Enjoy a very filling and delicious evening snack.

Thanks to all my friends and readers, for the support and inspiration,
this keep me going :)

Happy 200 rt post :)

Cheer's
TN

Chicken Sukka / Chicken cooked in dry roasted Coconut

This dish name "Chicken Sukka" is very much Mangalorean (Mangalore is a place in Karnataka , neighboring to Kerala) but the recipe here is little different, as I watched a cookery program where they had a Chicken dish, the Chef in a Resort in some forest in Kerala explained that he got this recipe from tribal People there , they during the olden days used to dry roast coconut with ginger and some spices , grind these and used to carry it with them while on their way for hunting,
as roasted coconut stays for some time even without refrigeration, Interesting isn't it ?

I decided to give it a try the same day itself and searched of a similar recipes in the net, this name "Sukka" -meaning Dry or water-less in Hindi and the Mangalorean way of preparing it seems almost similar. And it came out really well but others who tried it here said it goes good with Rice alone , as I served it with Chapathi/ Indian Bread :(

Ingredients 

For Marinating

Chicken - 1/2 Pound (Small Pieces)
Pepper Powder - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
Lime Juice - juice from 1 Lime
Salt to taste

For Roasting and Grinding 

Coconut - 1 cup
Ginger - 1 Tb Sp (chopped)
Coriander seeds or Powder - 1 Tb Sp
Fennel seed Powder /Uluva podi - a pinch
Meat Masala Powder - 1/2 tsp (Recipe Follows)
Dry Red chili's -  5 No's (I used chili Powder 1/2 Tb SP) -Adjust as per your preference
Curry Leaves - 2 Springs
Tamarind Paste(Valan Puli) - 1 tsp

For the Gravy 

Oil - 2 Tb Sp (I used Coconut Oil)
Mustard Seeds - 1/4 tsp
Onion - 1 medium sliced
Garlic - 2 no's crushed
Curry Leaves - 1 spring
Meat Masala - 1/4 tsp
Salt to taste

Method 

* Marinate the Chicken Pieces with the ingredients given for marination , keep for 1/2 an hour to 1 hour.(Better to cut chicken to small pieces as it helps'em to cook faster,especially if using chicken with its bone, as this recipe doesn't need water for cooking hence may take little longer to get cooked)

* In a pan (Preferably Non stick pan) dry roast Coconut till they look brown , when its starts to become brown add in the rest of the ingredients given under roasting (Other than Tamarind) and stir vigorously , keep the heat to low , roast again for about 2 minutes in low and switch off the heat. Grind these roasted ingredients along with tamarind to make a thick paste(Use little water to help'em get ground easily)

* In a thick bottom pan , heat oil , shallow fry the chicken pieces (2 to 4 minutes on each side , remove the pieces and keep aside. Then pop the Mustard seeds in the same oil ,  add crushed garlic(Traditionally they use garlic with its skin just crush the whole garlic and use) then add sliced onion, saute till the onion turns nice Golden brown in color , add in the shallow fried chicken pieces and the roasted and ground - coconut mixture and some salt, stir and cover this dish for  7 to 15 minutes stirring occasionally(Cooks faster if boneless)

* May sprinkle little water in between as this dish tends to go dry and sticks to the bottom easily, when the chicken is all done sprinkle Meat Masala and the curry leaves,Then Serve with Rice.

Meat Masala - Kerala Style 

Fennel Seeds - 1/4 cup
Pepper Corns - 1 Tb Sp
Cinnamon - 2 inch size Pieces
Cloves - 5 to 7 Pieces
Cardamom - 7 to 8 Pieces

Dry Roast all these ingredients in low heat and grind to make a powder , store these in an air tight container.

Notes :

          Even though the chicken pieces are shallow fried , do not add more oil as the roasted coconut will release more oil while cooking ,do sprinkle little water in between if the dish tends to become dry.

          Cut chicken in to smaller pieces as mine was little bigger and it took more time for them to get nicely cooked or else use boneless pieces.

Cheers
TN

Butter Chicken / Murgh Makhani

Its hard to resist grilled or fried chicken in a creamy rich gravy.....
This is one among the very popular Indian Chicken dish...
A must try recipe for those who haven't tasted it , next time you visit any Indian restaurant.

Ingredients 

Chicken - 2 Breast pieces (cut into small pieces)

For Marinating 

Lemon juice - 1 Tb Sp
Red chili Powder /Cayenne Pepper - 1 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp (Optional)
Olive oil or Vegetable oil - 2 tsp + more for grilling , baking or frying.
Caraway seeds / Ajwain - 1/4 tsp crushed ( or else use fennel seeds )
Salt to taste.

For the sauce/Curry/Gravy

Butter - 2 to 3  Tb Sp
Onion - 1 small finely chopped (Optional , Onion is not used traditionally)
Ginger and Garlic paste - 2 tsp each
Tomato's puree - from 3 medium sized tomatoes (or else use canned tomato Puree)
Yogurt - 3 Tb Sp
Red Chili Powder - 2 tsp (or more as per preference)
Kasuri Methi / Dried Fenugreek leaves - 1 Tb Sp crushed / powdered.
Cashew nuts - 2 to 4 Tb Sp
Fresh Cream - 1/4 to 1/2 cup (Makes the curry thin or thick and rich too)

Masala's / Spices 

Garam Masala Powder / Meat Masala Powder - 1 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp
Cardamom - 4 no's crushed
Cloves -2 no's
Cinnamon stick - 1/2 inch small piece

Method 

* Marinate the chicken pieces with the ingredients given for marination , keep for at least an hour (if possible overnight).

* Line the skin of tomatoes with a knife and boil it for 15 to 25 minutes , peel off the skin and puree the same. Powder cashew nuts , mix 3 Tb Sp(Approx) water to the powdered cashew nut , mix and keep aside.

* I grilled the chicken pieces in a 400 Degree preheated oven for approx 12 minutes turning the sides in between , may cook on a grill till the pieces looks nice and golden brown and cooked through , keep the cooked chicken pieces aside. 

Drizzle few drops of oil over the pieces before grilling it.

* Heat butter in a wok/Kadai , when it melts add the crushed whole spices / Masala's ( Cardamom , cloves , cinnamon and Cumin seeds) saute and then add the ginger and garlic paste , saute till done and add finely chopped onion(if using) , cook till the onion looks golden brown.

* When the onion are nicely done, add tomato puree,stir , cover with a lid and cook till the puree reduces and are done (Almost takes 15 to 20 minutes , stir occasionally) 

* Add red chili powder and stir then add the cashew nut paste , cook in low heat for 2 to 4 minutes and then add curd, stir to combine.

* Add the chicken pieces to the gravy , May add up to 1/2 cup water to the gravy (if you want it loose or else sprinkle some water, I washed the baking dish used for grilling the chicken with little water and poured it to the gravy) Cook for another 3 to 5 minutes.

* When the gravy starts to thicken ,add salt , Garam Masala/Meat masala  powder , Kasuri Methi / Dried fenugreek leaves crushed and cream.

* Stir to combine well and switch off the heat.

Serve with Naan bread or any Rice dish. 

Traditionally served with a teaspoon of butter on top which melts over the dish and makes it extra rich. 

Notes :
       This dish can be made with lot of alterations as per preference , like frying the chicken pieces instead of baking /Grilling it , adding whole cashew nuts to make it extra rich.
        May substitute cream with evaporated milk , more curd etc and also using Margarine instead of butter , the result varies as you know Butter and Cream gives the best result :)
        

Cheers

TN

Orange Chicken

The Best Americanized - Chinese Dish that I have ever made at home. Thanks to Rinz - My friend who introduced this dish to me while in " Panda Express " in fact it was she who prepared this dish at home before me trying it....
Its a little sweet Chicken dish but I made it little spicy as Indians always choose spicy food especially when its with any meat preparation , I never even imagined of  preparing a sweet Non vegetarian dish while in India.

Recipe Slightly Adapted from Damndelicious.net

Ingredients 

Chicken Breast - 2 medium sized cut into chunks
Colored Bell Peppers - 2 no's (Optional-its not used in the original recipe)
Green Onions - 3 no's chopped (white and green part)
Brown Sugar - 2 tsp (or more , adjust as per your preference)
Garlic - 3 no's minced
Ginger - 1/2 tsp Chopped
Pepper Powder - 1/2 tsp (Adjust as per your preference)
Oil - for frying
Egg - 1 no beaten
Corn flour - 1/4 cup (Approx)
White Sesame seeds - 1/2 tsp (Optional)

For Marinade & Sauce 

Orange zest and juice - from 1 orange
Vinegar - 3 Tb Sp
Soy Sauce - 2 Tb Sp (I used light)
Chili Sauce or Sriracha - 1 Tb Sp (Or less)
Salt to taste
May use Chicken Broth 1/4 cup (I didn't use)

Method 

* To make the marinade , whisk together all the ingredients given under Marinade , keep aside.

* In an Ziploc Bag or a bowl , combine chicken , a pinch of salt and some Marinade mix (little to coat the chicken pieces - 1/4 portion of the total marinade mixture) , Marinate for at least 30 minutes.

* Heat oil in a wok , while the oil is heating , drain and discard  the marinade mixture from the chicken pieces (marinated liquid) , dip each chicken pieces in beaten egg first then coat'em in Flour and fry the pieces in the heated oil till golden brown and cooked through, keep aside.

* In an other pan , heat 2 Tb Sp oil (from the fried oil) , add ginger and garlic minced , saute for a minute and add the white part of green onions , saute for an other 1 minute and then add the rest of the marinade , sugar & Pepper Powder, let it start to boil.

* When it boils and  reduces a bit add in the chicken pieces and Bell pepper pieces (If using) , turn heat on high stir to combine all ingredients well , cook for just 2 to 4 on high heat and switch off the heat (the water should have been dried by then)

* Garnish with chopped green part of green onion and some sesame seeds (If using)

Notes : Chicken should be cooked thoroughly while deep frying it and shouldn't be cooked for more time in the sauce as then it looses its crispness and becomes soggy , I actually did this mistake ;)
 still it was tasty.


Cheers
TN

Loaf Bread with minced meat filling

Hope you enjoyed Mothers Day weekend , this is the first time that I was pampered as a mother.
In India we never even knew Mother day / Fathers day and many other days - dates existed....but I think recently there are all such changes happening , as there is a good increase in the usage of social networking sites like Facebook and even our media's have changed their priorities.

NA gave me a card with her finger prints and some wordings written on it  , something her teachers helped her with and I think this made Soccer man think about it this time...
My return gift was that "satisfied smile" and also this pic being put up in Facebook timeline

But my usual visitors haven't visited me after I placed this feeder....not sure the reason :( :( 

and I am now researching on how to attract birds to the feeder....

The Chicken cutlets I made got over and it was time to make the next batch , so made beef cutlets with the minced beef , saved a little of it to fill'em in this bread , a similar recipe I had bookmarked a few days ago from Sandra's Easy Cooking  - in which she's filled the bread with a little sweet filling. 

Make your own favorite filling for the same , may make it sweet or spicy , choose the ingredients to be filled  any root vegetable's like potatoes or else any jelly filling & cream cheese or else spice'em up with any minced meat filling , may even fill'em up with Cheese / Paneer. 

Here is how I made the filling. 

Minced beef - 1 cup (Approx) or else use minced chicken

Vinegar - 2 Tb sp or else use Lime juice 

Onion - 1 small 

Ginger and Garlic paste - 1 Tb sp

Pepper Powder - 1 tsp

Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp (Optional) 

Green chili's / Jalapeno Peppers - 2 no's finely chopped.

Oil - 3 Tb sp 

Salt to taste.

Potatoes - 1 medium sized boiled and mashed.

Garam Masala Powder or  All spice powder - 1 tsp (Optional) 

Method 

* Mix the minced meat with salt , pepper powder and vinegar , cook'em till done (Water in the meat should be dried hence cook keeping it open , stirring in between)  

* Heat Oil in a thick bottom pan , add finely chopped green chili's , ginger and garlic paste (or crushed) and the finely chopped onion , saute till they turn golden brown in color. 

* Add the cooked minced meat and stir well to combine , then add All spice or Garam Masala or any spice which you prefer in meat , may also add cilantro which gives a distinctive flavor to the filling. 

* Add the mashed potatoes to this meat mixture , add enough salt and stir to combine everything well and switch off the heat and the filling is ready. 

For the Bread - 

As usual mixed some wheat flour , but its optional if not using wheat flour make with 2 cups All purpose flour 

Wheat Flour - 1/2 cup (Optional)

All Purpose flour - 1 and 1/2 cup ( and more used for dusting and folding) 

Active Dry Yeast - 1 and 1/2 Tb sp 

Sugar - 3 Tb sp (If you want it sweet , may add more) 

Egg  - 1 

Milk - 1 cup (Approx , may use just Lukewarm water otherwise ) 

Salt - 1/4 tsp 

Butter or Olive oil - 2 Tb sp (and more to coat the dough when kept to rise) 

For Milk Wash - Milk and some sesame seeds (Optional)

Method 

* Mix 1 sugar to 1 cup lukewarm milk or water , then add yeast (touch to check the temperature of milk/water , it shouldn't be too hot to kill the Yeast)  Keep for 5 to 7 minutes , wait till the yeast wakes up and says Hi - you can smell it :) and also the milk/water slowly rises. 

* In the mean time sift together All purpose flour , wheat flour (if using) , salt and sugar. (May make it with only All purpose flour ) add the activated yeast mixture (yeast and milk Mixture) to the sifted flour mixture and mix , then add in 1 beaten egg.

* May use a stand mixture to mix this dough to make it smooth and pliable ( Add flour or extra milk/water as needed  to make it pliable if necessary) mine was little on the wet side but that's alright , may add flour later. Coat the dough with butter or olive oil . Cover the bowl with a wet kitchen towel/Paper and keep in a warmer place for'em ti rise. 

* After 1 hour the dough rises and becomes double in size , punch'em down and work with it (punch , stretch the dough and fold for sometime 5 to 7 minutes) Roll out the dough to about 1 inch thickness (or more , make it thick that's the bottom line).

* Brush some melted butter over the rolled dough and then place the filling on top.

* Fold one side of the dough , tuck in the 2 sides and then roll it to a loaf shape (oval shape). Place this dough in a loaf shaped baking pan and cover it with a wet towel again and keep it to rise again in a warm place. 

* After an hour or so the dough in the pan would have risen , brush the outside with milk to give it a milk wash  (or else use egg white and little water) may sprinkle some sesame seeds on top.

 * Bake in 375 degree preheated oven for about 35 to 40 minutes until the outside looks nice and brown. 

Think I over baked this bread a bit , as I was not sure if the inside would have been done nicely , 

should check the outside color , don't need them dark brown. 

* Cut and serve !! 

Notes :

          : Ensure that the yeast is active , that's when you mix it with lukewarm milk/water , after 5 minutes it should slowly start to rise / should show some changes, I think this is the key step during the making of bread. 

        :  Also give the dough enough time to rise , it usually happens if the yeast is active , keep it in the warm place, only if it rises can we be sure  that the bread is going to be soft and good in texture. 

         : While rolling out the dough , keep it thick while rolling'em back to make a log shape , keep it tight as possible because of the holes that may form in the inside (around the filling) while Rising/Baking.

        : I don't have a stand mixer so use my hands to make bread , its comes out well 

          Its kind of exercise for hands while making fresh soft bread at home :) hence please don't hesitate to try making bread at home even if you don't have a stand mixer. 

Cheers

TN

Chicken Cutlets

Little time consuming but worth doing as this is what I fill NA's lunch box with , lot more healthier than the frozen nuggets. 

A tasty snack too , may fill'em in a bugger bun or else enjoy with a Sarlas - Onion salad.

It should be brown on all sides and  that happens when its deep fried , I usually shallow fry it - fry till brown on both sides hence looks little less attractive than the regular cutlets.

Ingredients 

Stage 1 (To marinate and cook the chicken) 

Chicken (Boneless) - I used 2 chicken breast pieces

Black pepper corns - 2 tsp (as per your preference) 

Cinnamon stick - 1 small piece 

Cloves - 3 no's 

Cardamom - 3 to 5 no's 

Ginger - 1 inch size small piece 

Garlic - 4 to 6 no's 

Curry leaves - 1 to 2 springs (optional , I didn't use) 

Turmeric Powder - 1 tsp 

Vinegar - 3 Tb sp

Salt to taste

Oil- olive oil or coconut oil 1 Tb sp 

Stage - 2 

Potatoes - 2 medium sized boiled , skin removed and mashed.

Onion - 2 medium finely chopped 

Green chili's - 2 to 4 no's finely chopped ( as per your preference)

Ginger - 1 Tb Sp finely chopped 

Garlic - 1 Tb Sp finely chopped 

Garam Masala or any Meat masala Poweder or All spice powder  - 1/2 tsp (Optional) 

Chili Powder/Paprika powder - 1 tsp.

Oil - 3 Tb sp for sauteing 

Salt to taste.

Stage - 3  

 1 egg to coat the cutlets and some bread crumbs 

Oil for frying 

Method 

* Cut the chicken pieces in to big chunks and marinate with the ingredients in stage 1-  Ingredients under marinating) for some time (1/2 an hour) , cook the chicken pieces open till water in it dries off (almost takes 25 to 40 minutes) 

* Once cooled , shred the cooked chicken pieces along with the whole spices using a food processor/ chopper/ blender ,  keep aside. 

* In an other pan , add oil to saute onion , green chili's , ginger and garlic till golden brown, add red chili powder and then add in the shredded chicken pieces , stir and saute this for 5 to 7 minutes in medium heat (there shouldn't be any water left in the chicken, if any saute till its all dry)  then add the mashed potatoes and Garam Masala(If using) , salt (just for those extra potatoes and masala as the chicken is cooked with salt too) Stir to combine everything well and switch off the heat. 

* When the mixture cools down a bit and its bearable to work with your hands , shape'em to what ever shape you like , I made it circle for the ease of it (heart shape or oval looks good too) 

*  Dip these shaped cutlets to lightly beaten egg first then coat'em with bread crumbs.  

* Store these in an air tight containers , stays good till 1 week in refrigerator, or else freeze it to keep it for longer time period. 

* Could make 23 Cutlets with the amount of ingredients here, deep fry them or else shallow fry'em in a pan till both sides are brown.

Cheers 

TN