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

Potato and Mushroom Curry (For rice or Roti)

I never wished for a summer this hot to burn you when you are out even for a minute :(
temperature here reached as high as 105 Degree F last week and more expected in the coming months.
Though I like to have Non vegetarian dishes always, this time of the year is when we'll need to avoid rich, spicy, non vegetarian foods and concentrate on making food cooling and simple as much possible, especially for those who are out in the sun during day time.
Drinking lot of water, fruit juices, coconut water, including yogurt once in a day, having at least 1 fruit daily (Watermelon, Grapes and other fruits with lots of fluids in it)  and including herbs like mint  and other cooling vegetables like Cucumber regularly are ways to keep our body cool.

I felt guilty when I had chicken continuously for 2-3 days last week so decided to go vegetarian at least for few days, though its not an easy task to keep my family happy with the same.

This is a simple and tasty potato curry, recipe is typical way of making potato curry for rice in Kerala, I just included mushroom to make it extra nutritious,if you dislike mushrooms may avoid the same and make it even simpler :)
Used Button mushrooms here, as these are good source of Vitamins and Minerals, benefited only if they aren't overcooked, hence care should be taken while cleaning and cooking the same, a quick rinse under running water then patting'em dry using kitchen towel or tissue is the best way to clean them, as the more it gets exposed to water, more nutrients (B vitamins) gets drained away, also slicing the same just before cooking them keeps its nutrients intact.

Ingredients 

Potatoes - 3 no's cut in to small size pieces.
Button mushrooms - 5-8 numbers ( cleaned and sliced as written above)
Onion - 1 small , sliced
Tomato - 1/2 of 1 whole tomatoes thinly sliced
Ginger & Garlic - 1 tsp finely chopped
Green Chili's - 2 no's slit
Fennel Seeds/Perumjeerakam - 1/2 tsp
Coriander Powder - 1 tbsp
Red Chili Powder - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp
Coconut Milk -(Thick) 1/2 cup
Oil - (Coconut oil or any Vegetable Oil) 1 tbsp
Salt to taste
Curry leaves - 1 or 2 springs (Optional, I didn't use)

Method 

* Boil and cook potato pieces until cooked nicely, keep aside.

*Heat oil in a pan(Cheena chatti) , add first fennel seeds first , followed by ginger,garlic, onion and tomato pieces & Curry leaves (if using). Saute till the oils starts to separate.

* Add the powders (Coriander powder, Turmeric powder and Red chili powder) , cook for a minute and add sliced mushrooms(slice them just before adding it for cooking)

* Saute for 2 minutes in medium heat, until the mushrooms starts to sweat and release water.

* Add the cooked potato pieces along with the water in which it was cooked, add salt , stir and cook for another 5 minutes until the curry starts to boil and reduce.

* When the curry reaches the needed consistency (Thick or thin as you want it to be) add Coconut milk, stir and switch off the heat.

Enjoy potato and mushroom curry with plain rice,  Roti or any Bread.

Notes :
            Make this curry thick or thin, how ever you want it to be, if you like it thick boil the curry until very less water left before adding coconut milk.
            Coconut Milk is optional too, though it makes this dish rich and extra flavorful.
            This curry thickens a bit when it sits because of the potatoes in it.
            May omit Mushrooms and make these with potatoes alone 

Boiled Egg Sandwich (Indian Style)

I am attracted to the Roses seen everywhere here during this time,

standing heads-up in front of houses,welcoming guests with its charming smile...

can't wait to see my roses bloom...as its Summer 

Time for Mom's,  to do some extra multitasking , trying hard to keep their super energetic kids busy during the vacation. 

Very filling and nutritious sandwiches these are , easy to make too 

something worth to be in the list while you pack your food-basket for summer-picnic. 

Ingredients 

Bread (White or any Grain) - few slices 

Boiled Eggs - 1 or more (Depending on the number you want to make)

Green Chutney - Few Tbsp's (See recipe below)

Butter - Few Tsp's 

Tomatoes slices - few 

Onion rings - few (Optional, I didn't use)

Salt & Pepper to taste.

Recipe for Green Chutney with Coconut.

Coconut grated - 1/2 cup 

Green chili's - 1 or 2 no's (adjust as per your preference)

Cilantro/Coriander Leaves - few springs(Use more or less as per your preference) 

Mint Leaves - few (Optional) 

Salt to taste 

Method for Green Chutney - Blend all ingredients to make a coarse paste (May sprinkle some water to make the blending easier)  

Note : The color of the chutney depends on the leaves, if you like the taste of cilantro/coriander leaves add more to make it look more green, this also makes the sandwich colorful. 

Assembling the Sandwich 

* Spread butter over one side of the bread slices & Spread Green chutney over it. 

                       

Wish I had more Cilantro to add in my Chutney,
would have looked more green then , making this sandwich look colorful :( 

* Place Egg slices over the chutney & Sprinkle salt & pepper. 

* Place Tomatoes (and Onion -if using) over the Egg slices.

   

* Cover this with another piece of Bread - spread with some butter on the inside. 

* Cut its ends off , slice to make desirable shapes and Serve. 

Notes 

            : Use any bread /Bun that you like , may toast the bread slices with some butter if you like. 

            : Use more Cilantro/Coriander leaves in the chutney to make it look more green, also makes the sandwich colorful. I didn't have much Cilantro to add  :( 

            : Add onion to give this sandwich some crunch, if you dislike the taste of raw onion, rinse the onion rings with some water after mixing it with little salt, drain'em nicely or else it will make the bread soggy. 

            : Health conscious ? Use the white part of the eggs alone  & enjoy it guilt free 

Cheers

TN

    

            

Chutney Powder for Idli / Idli Podi (Kerala Style) Recipe

"Idli" with Sambar is said to be India's most healthiest Breakfast dish as per many surveys including one conducted by the Times of India - a leading News paper there.

 though there are many controversies regarding the use of white rice in making Idli-batter, 

I believe that its super healthy, as Sambar is a perfect combination of proteins from Dal/ Pulses and all essential vitamins and minerals with the variety of mixed vegetables that we add in it.

This with Idli - a steamed , no oil Break fast with rice and Dal(Pulses) again contributes the perfect amount of Carbohydrates and protein to jump start the day. 

what ever the controversies may be, Its my most preferred  Breakfast, not just because its tasty but also because its easy to make if we have the batter prepared, it stays in fridge for a couple of days, making morning's stress free.

Idli Powder / Chutney Powder is a great accompaniment to Idli / Dosa or any variety of Dosa dishes that we can make. For me its an asset to keep in the pantry, in case if I don't have time to make Coconut chutney or Sambar every-time you make Idli / Dosa's. 

Its NA's favorite too, I think its liked by most kids, give it a try if you haven't,
 as it will make your life better if your kids like it :) 

There are different varieties of the same, I usually make it less spicy as NA is the one who likes it the most here, use more chili's or peppercorns to make it spicy also it alters the color of the same making it little dark.

Ingredients 

Urad Dal /Uzhunnu (I use split,may use whole Urad dal) - 1 cup 

Channa Dal / Kadala Parippu - 1/4 cup

Dry Red chilies - 7 no's or more  (adjust as per your preference) 

Black Peppercorns - 1 tsp (may add more) 

Asafoetida /Hing/Kayam - 1 tsp

Curry Leaves - few springs (Add more if you have) 

Raw Brown Rice/Kerala rice  - 2 Tbsp (Optional)

Garlic - 3 to 5 No's (Optional) 

Salt to taste

Method 

* In a kadai/Pan add Urad dal(Uzhunnu) , Channa Dal(Kadala Parippu) & Raw Brown Rice (if using) Roast these ingredients in medium heat, stirring constantly until everything starts to turn lightly brown.

* Add then Dry red chili's , Curry leaves, Garlic(if using) and Peppercorns and continue to roast'em in medium heat for another 5 to 7 minutes, until raw taste of everything leaves and turns light brown.

* Switch off the heat, and add Asafoetida(Kayam) & salt to taste. Allow to cool a bit. 

*Grind these to fine powder and store them in any air tight container, stays out for several months.

*Mix this with Gingely Oil(Nallenna) or Ghee or any oil & enjoy with Idli or any Dosa.

Cheers
TN

Paniyaram with leftover Idli/Dosa Batter

Each house has a front door, with an unique key,
though it opens up the "Life" of the person living in that house,
to an outsider or to a guest, this "Life" is just an other "Story".

 Heard these words somewhere and I thought its worth sharing :)

What I think about the words above -  "Experiences can never be shared and so are lessons learned through experiences, It also cannot be described for other's to learn,
it will all remain as a story"

These snacks are super easy to make if you have left over Idli or Dosa Batter in the fridge.
Do give it a try :)

Ingredients 

Idli/Dosa batter - 1 to 2 cups
Mustard - 1/4 tsp
Onion - 1/2 of small Onion -finely chopped
Ginger finely chopped - 1/2 tsp
Green chili's - 1 or 2 finely chopped or else may use crushed Black pepper or Red chili Powder
Carrot grated - 1 small (Optional)
Coconut grated - 2 to 4 tbsp (Optional -I didn't use)
Cilantro/Coriander leaves - few springs finely chopped
Baking Powder - a pinch (Optional)
Oil - 1 tsp + for frying
Salt to taste
Water & Rice flour - to adjust the consistency (Optional)

Method 

* Heat 1 tsp oil in a pan, pop mustard seeds first then add finely chopped Onion, ginger & grated carrot. Saute for 3 to 5 minutes,switch off the heat and allow to cool a bit.

* In an other bowl, mix Dosa/Idli Batter, salt , baking powder or soda (if using) , grated coconut (if using) and chopped cilantro/coriander leaves.


* Add the sauteed vegetable's to this batter, mix well , if the batter looks thick sprinkle little water to make it loose , if the batter looks liquidy add little rice flour, it should be thick like Idli Batter.

* Heat little oil in a Paniyaram/Unniyappom pan, and add 1 tbsp (or lesser) of the batter to each holes.

* Fry'em until they look golden brown.

*Serve hot with any Chutney

Enjoy!

Notes :

           Use Unniappom/Paniyaram pan if possible to get that nice shapes,
           otherwise may deep fry them, spoon in equal quantity of batter to the hot oil, may not get the same shape but definitely tastes the same :)

Cheers
TN

Mango Lassi (Recipe - My way)

The other day I was talking to one of my friend some nonsense's as we usually do but at some point we deviated our conversation to a topic about how women are being exploited these days.
As at least once in our life time would we undergo a situation when we are being held back only because of the gender that we belong.
It does happen as it used to, History tells us so was my opinion, as its "His -Story and not Her-story"
She was not convinced and asked me why only women were supposed to cover their head while in Church ? my reply was "probably because of respect that we need to show when in the presence of God"
again she opposed it quoting Genesis when Adam and Eve had nothing to wear and God used to talk to them...
I don't have an answer ,but in Genesis it also says "Eve" was created for "Adam"
So that means women created for Men????
I don't know...
Anyways dedicating Song "Feel the rain on your skin"by Natasha Bedingfield
to all Women reading this post

Also Salute all the Mothers in this World, for the love and care that they contribute,
respect them for all the pain they suffer and for the sacrifices they do every day.

Mango season again :)
this time I want to share a very popular Indian drink - "Mango Lassi"
though the recipe here is my way making it and not the authentic Lassi recipe - Click -veg recipes of india.com for that authentic recipe.
Do try this recipe here also as it tastes good, you would like it for sure :)

 Ingredients 

Mango - 1 no sliced (May use Mango pulp 1/4 cup - if off-season)
Sugar - 3 tbsp or more (adjust as per your preference), may use milkmaid instead.
Vanilla essence - few drops
Milk - 1 cup
Thick curd - 1 cup
Ice cubes - hand full

* Blend all the ingredients together until smooth (do not blend Ice cubes now)
*Add ice cubes to it and beat again for another a minute.
*Pour to a serving glass and enjoy !

Happy Mothers Day in advance :)


Found this Blog -  www.gharanarestaurant.com , to be very interesting & informative.
Link here has the list of most popular soothing and yummy Indian Drinks.
Do give it a try  :)


Cheers
TN