Aloo Biryani with Cucumber Raita, Chole-Dill Chaat, Rice Cake Flower

Siri of "Siri's corner" is guest hosting "Recipes for rest of us-Dinner" event, which is started by Ramki. My Aloo Biryani with Cucumber Raita goes to Siri.

Rachana of "The Gourmet Launchpad" blog is asking for "A Heathy Bite" for her healthy and tasty party appetizers event. I am sending her my healthy and tangy "Chole-Dill Chaat".

Chitra amma of "Chitra amma's kitchen" is hosting a cute event to celebrate her first blog birthday called "Kitchen Masterpieces" and asking us to create anything we fancy with food we eat. I took a hint from her own dosa art and made a Plate idli flower for her, hope she likes it!

Thanks to all of you, enjoy hosting! :)

Aloo Biryani with Cucumber Raita:
I made this Aloo Biryani the easy way. Instead of cooking and layering like the usual Biryani is done, I mixed the masala to already cooked rice and sauteed Potatoes like Pulao. Instead of Aloos, you can also add mixed veggies or meat to this Biryani masala too.

Also I am not supposed to use exact measures as per the rules of this event and recipe should be easy enough for a 10yr old to make this dish, so I threw in some "this and that" to make this Biryani. I cooked, peeled and sauteed the Potato cubes with a bit of salt in little oil first to make it easy to cook. Have fun!

Aloo Biryani:

1. Cook rice with pinch of salt, some lemon juice and bit of ghee, spread on a plate to cool. Prepare the Potatoes as above and set aside.

2. Heat oil, add few raisins, few cashews, few cloves, cinnamon pieces, crushed Cardamom pods.
3. Add about 2 handfuls of minced onion, fry until golden. Add ginger and garlic paste, saute for a minute.
4. Sprinkle coriander seeds powder, Cumin seeds powder, pepper powder, chill pd, pinches of turmeric, bit of garam masala, salt stir for a minute. Add some milk mixed with a pinch of saffron and Rose water, simmer until thickish paste. Ground poppy seeds added to Biryani will give a special taste.
5. Add potato cubes and rice and mix everything well. Adjust the spices and salt. You can garnish the Biryani with toasted Almond slivers if you like. Serve with Cucumber raita.

Cucumber Raita:
Mix enough yogurt, few pinches of salt, pepper pd, few cilantro and mint minced and cumin seeds powder and peeled and cubed cucumber pieces. Let it rest for a while before serving.

Serve with Biryani and enjoy! :)

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Chole-Dill Chaat:
This is a simple Chaat you can serve in a small bowl and a spoon in any Indian party. It's fairly dry, flavorful and nutritious too. If you don't like Dill leaves (Suwa bhaji), you could replace it with baby Spinach or Fenugreek leaves or skip the greens all together and use just Chickpeas.

Here is how I made it:
1. Heat 2 tsp oil, saute 1" grated ginger until slightly golden. Add 1/2 a bunch of chopped Dill leaves, pinch of salt and 1 tbsp water, stir fry for 2-3 mins.
2. Now 1 can of drained and rinsed Organic Chickpeas, enough salt and add 1-2 tsp or more chaat masala. Mix well and heat it through. It should wet but without gravy, not very dry either.
Since canned chickpeas are already cooked and soft, you just need to mix with spices and heat it.
3. To serve, squeeze some Lemon juice on top, mix and serve in a small bowl. You can sprinkle red onion chopped and sliced green chillies if you can handle it but not necessary.

Chaat masala:
1 tsp Coriander seeds powder, 1 tsp Cumin seeds powder, 1 tsp Amchoor/dry Mango powder, 1/4 tsp chilli pd, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/8 tsp black salt (Kala Namak) and 1/4 tsp coarse pepper powder. Mix all these and use as much as you need in the above Chole chaat or Aloo chaat or any Chaat!

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Rice cake/Thatte Idli Flower:
I used one Rice Pancake aka Thatte Idli or Idli steamed in Dhokla stand plates, cut a flower with a pancake flower mould, filled the middle with Zucchini chutney and stuck a carrot pickle there. Sprinkled some coarsely ground pepper powder around the idli and garnished the corners with some chutney powder! I know! It's a very juvenile art from me but then I am not artistic enough to make anything else! Hahaha!!
Thanks to Chitra amma, I enjoyed being a kid again for few minutes! :))

Enjoy the rest of the week, see you all later! :)

Caribbean Chicken Fricassee and a Blackeyed peas Rice

My healthy and low fat Caribbean Chicken Fricassee goes to Meeta's "Monthly Mingle" event. Michelle of "What's cooking?" is guest hosting MM event this month with a theme of "Healthy family dinners". Thanks to both of you, enjoy my slightly spicy, healthy and tasty Fricassee! :))

Here is a tasty and healthy fricassee of chicken with typical Caribbean flavors added like Allspice, Thyme, and not to forget Scotch Bonnet peppers if you can handle it! Well...I can't handle it, so I chickened out and used half of a Jalapeno which is more my style! :D

There are various recipes for the Fricassee of chicken and here I chose to make a Caribbean style Chicken Fricassee. Allspice is a unique berry (click here to see the photo and info, allspice is not Garam masala!) which has a distinctive aroma and taste, which is used in savory and in desserts as well. Since Caribbean cuisine has a little bit of Indian influence too, this would be a perfectly healthy brunch or dinner for any family, specially fit for a Winter meal with a little warmth of Jalapenos and peppers in the throat. Here is my version, hope you enjoy it too! :))

Caribbean Chicken Fricassee: I used my own fresh herbs from my herb pot for this dish, which I moved into my garage when the Winter chill started. They have survived beautifully although garage is pretty cold place too! Nothing like the aroma of fresh herbs when it hits the heat but you can use dry herbs as well. You can also add carrots and celery to it, I didn't. Make it with thicker sauce for noodles or thinner sauce like I did here to serve with rice, it's up to you.

You need:
1 tbsp olive oil or Canola oil,
1 tbsp butter,
2 lbs of chicken,
white and dark meats,cut into big chunks,
1 tbsp plain flour,
1-2 cup chicken stock,
salt to taste,
1 small onion, minced,
2 garlic, minced, 1" ginger, minced,
1/2 Jalapeno, sliced,
1/2 cup Tomato sauce,
2 tsp Vinegar, malt or cider vinegar or any you have, even Worcestershire sauce,
1/2 tsp Paprika,
1 tbsp fresh Thyme or 1/2 tsp dry Thyme,
1/2 tsp Oregano, few sprigs of Parsley,
2 tsp minced fresh Mint,
1 tsp Allspice powder,
1/2 tsp coarse black pepper.

Save some more herbs and 1/4 tsp Allspice pd to add at the end of cooking.

How to:
1. Take a pressure cooker or a deep dish, add 1 tbsp oil and heat. Then add chicken and stir fry until whitish. Sprinkle the flour on top, mix well to coat, stir for a minute and take the chicken out into a plate.
2. Add 1 tbsp butter, fry onion until translucent, add Jalapenos, ginger and garlic, stir for a minute. Add tomato sauce, saute for a minute. Now add all the spices, vinegar and chicken stock to the pan, mix well.
3. Add in the chicken, and pressure cook gently on low heat for mins or cover and cook in the pan until chicken is cooked through, doesn't take much time.
4. Open the lid, add all the saved herbs and pepper and allspice, simmer for 2 mins. Adjust the thinness as you desire adding water or stock and adjust the salt. Tastes better the next day.

Serve with either Blackeyed peas rice or Noodles. Serving this on a bed of mashed potatoes will surely please the kids! ;D

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Blackeyed peas rice/Pulao goes to Sudeshna of "Bengali Cuisine" blog's "Harvest-The festival of Rice" event. Thanks for hosting Sudeshna, have fun. Looking forward to the yummy rice round up! :))

Blackeyed peas are my favorite beans, specially those brown ones. Any rice dish made with these beans are extra healthy and tasty, a mild tasting dish for kids too who don't like spicy food. This Pulao goes well with either vegetarian or non-vegetarian dishes and is very easy and quick recipe to make if you use a microwave and canned Blackeyed peas, enjoy! :)

Blackeyed Peas rice/Pulao: Usually when I open any can of beans, I drain all the water and rinse the beans once before adding it to the dish. But here, I used all the water which comes with canned Blackeyed peas to make the Pulao more flavorful, delicious and it also gives a earthy color to this rice dish too.

Ingredients:

First, open a 8 or 12 oz can of Blackeyed peas, drain the juice and save the juice another bowl. Add enough water of stock to this bowl to make 3 1/2 cups of liquid and keep aside. We use this to cook rice later. Keep the drained Blackeyed peas aside for later too.

Keep these handy:
2 tsp oil and 1 tsp butter,
1" ginger and 2 garlic, minced, ground or grated,
2 cloves and 1 Bay leaf,
1 tsp Cumin seeds powder,
1 tsp or more salt,
1 tsp crushed peper,
2 cups long grain rice,
3 1/2 cups of liquid (stock or water combined with beans juice),
1/2 tsp dry mixed herbs or 1/2 tsp each of dry Thyme and Parsley,
Drained Blackeyed peas.

To make Pulao:
1. In a microwavable bowl, add 2 tsp oil and 1 tsp butter, heat it for a minute or 2 until hot.
2. Add 2 cloves, 1 Bay leaf, 2 garlic and 1" ginger paste to it, stir well and MW for 2 more mins.
3. Add 1 tsp cumin seeds powder, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp crushed pepper, 2 cups long grain rice, mix well to coat with oil and butter mixture.
4. Now, add 3 1/2 cups (this is my rice to water proportion, rice you use might have different proportion of water) water or vegetable stock or Chicken stock, including the drained Blackeyed peas water, dry herbs and mix well.
5. Microwave uncovered for 16 mins on high (100%). Now, add Blackeyed peas to it, mix well.
6. Cover the bowl with a plate this time and microwave at 50% for 6 mins.
6. Take out and fluff the rice with a fork to mix beans well, adjust the salt and pepper. Cover and serve when needed.

Enjoy the Super Bowl Sunday, see you all next week! :))

Crunchy Asparagus in Chilli-Garlic butter, Palak Dal-Roti from "City of Joy"

I made a simple and delicious Steamed Asparagus flavored with Chilli-Garlic butter for Marta from "An Italian in the US" blog for her "Fresh Produce of the Month" event. She has chosen "Asparagus" as her choice this month. Enjoy Marta, hope you like my simple side dish!:)




Since it's a steamed dish in the Microwave, I am also sending this to Srivalli from "Cooking 4 all seasons" blog's "Microwave Easy cooking" event with a theme of "Steamed" dishes. Thanks to you too Sri!:)

About Asparagus:


Asparagus is a perennial, an almost leafless member of the lily family. Asparagus has been used from very early times as a vegetable and medicine, owing to its delicate flavor and diuretic properties.It was cultivated by the ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans. Only the young shoots of asparagus are eaten, often stir-fried or steamed.
Asparagus is low in calories, do not contain fat or cholesterol and is very low in sodium. It is a good source of folic acid, potassium, dietary fiber. Info from WIKIPEDIA and you can read more about Asparagus is here.



Steamed crunchy Asparagus in Chilli-Garlic butter:
I usually stir-fry these Asparagus and sprinkle the spices and little Mayo or any sauce over it to serve as a side dish with Chicken patties like this post I have posted before. This time I have steamed and semi-fried in the Microwave and topped with Chilli-Garlic butter for a super quick side dish. Enjoy! :)



To make it, you need:
Chill-Garlic butter first: 1 tbsp (ie 3 tsps) softened butter, pinch of salt, 1/4 tsp Garlic pd or 1 plump garlic,chopped finely, 1/4 tsp chilli pd.Mix everything and chill in the fridge until ready to use.
Prepare the Asparagus: About 20-25 young Asparagus, 1/4 cup water or chicken stock, 1 tsp (1/3 rd of of above chilli butter mix) butter in chunks, 1/4tsp of salt if you are using just water (stock has salt already,do not add more!), 1/8 tsp coarsely ground pepper corns.
Crunchy mix: 1/4 cup Panko (Japanese breadcrumbs) plain or seasoned, 3 tbsp Parmesan cheese, 1/4 tsp garlic pd, 1/4 tsp dry Italian mixed herbs. Mix everything and keep aside.

How to make:
1. Hold each Asparagus at both ends and snap. It will break at the tender spot itself. Arrange them all in a Microwave proof dish.
2. Add water or stock, salt, 1/3rd of chilli-garlic butter and pepper, cover partially and cook on high for 3 mins. Uncover, flip the Asparagus gently and microwave again for 3 more minutes without cover.
4. Take the dish out, sprinkle bread crumbs mixture on top, add 1tsp more of chilli butter and microwave for 1-2 mins.
5. Take it out and add rest of (last 1 tsp) chilli butter on top and cover with a plate to melt it. Serve on the side with any meat dishes or veg dishes.


That's it!! Crunchy Asparagus flavored with Parmesan, Panko, Italian herbs and chilli-garlic butter is now ready to devour!:D

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Bhags from "Crazy Curry" has launched a new and interesting event for us to cook a dish from a novel you have read or movie you watched and named it "This book/(movie) makes me cook!". Sounds great. huh? Well....I had to get in there at the last minute because Bha as I call her is a great book lover like me. I chose to make a very humble "Dal-Roti" as the poorest people of Anand Nagar or "City of Joy" cook and enjoy in their everyday life! Yes, Dal-roti may not be not as glamorous as some dishes in other novels but it keeps their tummy full and fills the heart of all the poor but good hearted citizens of "the City of Joy" no matter what their daily struggles are. Hope the book enlightens you, makes you think how lucky you are compared to many slum dwellers' reality and these humble, comforting and delicious everyday dishes gladdens your heart too! :)

Sri reminded me of her "Roti Mela" event which going on in full swing right now. I am sending my Palak dal and roti to Srivalli from "Cooking 4 all seasons" blog for "Roti mela" as well. Enjoy Sri!:)

The City of Joy(Anand Nagar):
This book "The City of Joy" is written by Dominique Lapierre, who lived in Calcutta for sometimes to study, document and write this book, which is half fiction as well, based on his experiences there. Story has been made into a film with the same name with Patrick Swayze(Max Lowe), Pauline Collins(nun) and Om Puri(Hazari) as main characters.
I had read this book long time ago. Recently, I borrowed the movie from the library and watched it again. Do read if you haven't already or watch the movie. Story in brief goes like this:

Hazari Pal, a farmer from Bihar couldn't pay off his debts and moves his family to Anand Nagar, a slum in Culcutta (Kolkota) in the hope of making enough money to pay his debt and marrying his daughter but looses all his saved up money to a fraud who poses as a landlord as soon as they land in the city.
In desperation, he takes up a job of driving a hand driven Rikshaw, which is managed by a local "Dada", "Bhai" or "God father", underworld mafia style. During his work, he meets a Texan doctor who is visiting India to "find himself" who develops a friendship with him when Hazari rescues the robbed and beaten doctor who lying on the streets bleeding. Together, they meet a nun who introduces them to utter poverty and terrible conditions the slum dwellers live in, whom they try to help to improve with whatever little they have, running a free medical clinic.
When God father dies, his son takes over who determined to destroy the slums and uproot the people who live there, including shutting down the medical clinic run by the nun. As Hazari and the doctor sides with the nun, Hazari looses his only means of livelihood ie the Rickshaw and still doesn't give up hope as long as his family is with him to support and love!
The author writes in his book that inspite of all the trials and travails of the poorest of the poor in Anand Nagar, Calcutta, how they still manage to smile, enjoy simple pleasures of being with their loving family, help the neighbors with kindness in their time of need and enjoying the humble daily meal of warm Dal-Roti on the plate at the end of day spent doing hard physical labor as well as celebration of festivals with fragrant and delicious food served at these celebrations like dal, roti, Tandoori chicken and mint-coconut chutney with such joy which surpasses all the suppression, abuse of everyday and replaces it with faith, hope, love and dignity for life! :)

A humble plate of Hazari family's Palak Dal and Roti:
Palak dal literally means Spinach cooked with spicy lentil gravy and rotis are chapatis made of flour and baked on a griddle, a Indian flatbread similar to Tortilla, a nutritious and filling combo as common in North India as "meat and Potato" in US. Here is a step by step tutorial how to make rotis or Phulkas, the soft and puffed rotis. Enjoy the dal-roti!:)

Rotis/Chapatis:
You need: 1 1/2 cup plain flour, 1/2 cup Wheat flour, or 2 cups of wheat flour/atta, 1 tsp salt, 2 tbsp oil and about 1 cup or more warm water, just enough to make a soft and pliable dough. Do not add too much water at once when mixing, which makes the dough sticky.
To make Rotis/Chapatis:
1. Mix and knead all the above ingredients with enough water well to make a soft and pliable dough. Cover and rest for 15mins and divide the dough into 6 balls, roll each out to 6" circle.
2. Heat a iron or any griddle, bake each roti both sides and brush with little butter when done and keep warm until they are served.
Palak Dal:
You need: 1 cup Tuar dal, or Chana dal or Moong dal or Masoor dal (I used chana dal), 2 bunches of fresh spinach, chopped or 1 pack of frozen Spinach,thawed, about 2 cups water, 1/2 tsp turmeric, 1 tsp oil.
To season: 2 tbsp oil or butter, 1/2 mustard seeds, 1/2 tsp Cumin seeds, 1 onion, chopped, 2 garlic-1" ginger grated or ground to paste, 1 red chilly, 1/2 tsp chilli pd, 1 tsp Coriander seeds powder, 1/2 tsp Garam Masala, salt.
1 tsp lemon juice and cilantro for garnish.
To make dal:
1. Cook dal and Spinach with water and turmeric until soft. Mix well, add more water if it's too thick. I personally like my dal thickish to help scoop it up with soft rotis. Add enough salt.
2. Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, 1 dry red chilli and onion. When slightly reddish, add ginger and garlic paste, fry for 1 min and all the dry spice pds, stir for a minute.
3. Add cooked dal and spinach to the pan and simmer for 5 mins. Adjust the salt and spices.
Garnish with lemon juice and cilantro and serve with rotis and onion slices or mint chutney.

Have a joyful week. No matter how your day begins and ends, always count your blessings and keep smiling! :)

GREEK EASTER BREAD/ TSOUREKI PASCHALINO

Susan from "wild yeast blog" is hosting this month's "Baking bread day #8" with a beautiful theme of "celebration breads". I am sending her a fragrant Greek Easter Bread/Tsoureki Paschalino to celebrate Easter. Thanks for hosting Susan!:)
Bread baking day event is started by Zorra, who is also celebrating her birthday this month.
"I wish you a very happy birthday Zorra, celebrate and have fun!!"


Easter in Orthodox Greek tradition:
According to author Gary Van Haas ;
"The solemnity of Holy Week in the Greek Orthodox Church ends with the commencement of Easter celebrations, where it glorifies the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. In Greek religion, every Sunday is dedicated to the Resurrection of the Lord, but one hundred days also are dedicated to Easter, 50 before its actual preparation, and another 50 after it in commemorating the glorification of the Lord. Easter is therefore considered, the "Feast of Feasts". On Holy Saturday, the ceremonies of whole week come to a close as people begin to break their fasts, savoring specially prepared dishes like 'margeiritsa' soup, made of lambs innards. The rest of the day is spent preparing for next day's big lamb feast at the Easter Sunday celebrations".

Although we personally do not have Easter celebration at home, I thought I would bake Greek Easter bread for this event and gift the large bread to a friend who celebrates Easter. Easter for Greek Orthodox falls this year on April 27th and for others including USA, Easter is celebrated on March 23rd . Easter bread is traditionally baked with red Egg which represents new life, is one of the delicacies they bake on holy Thursday before Easter Sunday. This sweetish bread is also delicious for breakfast or with Feta cheese for lunch. Enjoy!:)

Greek Easter Bread:
Greek Easter bread also called Tsoureki Paschalino in Greek, meaning Easter Bread. It's another eggy bread beautifully shaped and very fragrant with Aniseeds to bake for Easter. I just had one problem with this recipe, my colored Easter Egg disappeared in the center after the bread is baked, so I stuck a few Dove milk chocolate Eggs on top, had to rescue my poor Easter bread from a sunken Easter egg!:D
It's better to add the colored egg on the top after you bake the bread instead of baking the bread with egg inside it! Of course you can always learn by my mistakes so you don't have to go Easter egg hunting in the deep center of the bread like I did!! Hahaha!!

Greek Easter Bread, Mardi Gras bread and Twister Bread:
These are all made with one dough but you can bake two huge Easter bread loaves with this recipe too instead of making three! And yes, DO NOT try to take photos by a huge window on a very sunny day! ;D


This recipe for Greek Easter bread is adapted by "Williams-Sonoma" Kitchen library book called "Breads". I made one traditional Easter bread and two other shapes just to keep it interesting, it's up to you decide what you want to do. You can also freeze the half of the dough for later too! Click on the collage below to make it bigger to see the step by step pics.

To bake this bread, you need:
Spice mix:
1 bay leaf, (remove this after boiling the spice water)
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon,
1 tsp crushed aniseeds,
1 tsp grated lemon zest,
1 cup water.
Liquid:
1/2 cup milk,
1/2 cup unsalted butter.
To add:
3 large eggs beaten,
1/2 cup sugar,
1 tsp salt,
1 pack or 2 1/4 tsp of Quick Rise Yeast,
4 cups of unbleached bread flour,
2-2 1/2 cups or less wheat bread flour as needed. (or just use 6-7 cups plain bread flour)
To top:
2 hard boiled and dyed red eggs (for two loaves,1 egg for each loaf),
or few chocolate eggs to top if you don't want to use hardboiled eggs,
1 egg+ 1tsp water to glaze,
2 tbsp sesame seeds to sprinkle on top.
Some colorful sugar for Mardi Gras bread! :D

To bake the bread:
1. In a bowl, mix the first 5 ingredients (spices+water) and heat for 2 minutes in the microwave, and discard the Bay leaf. Let the mixture cool to 110-115 F or until lukewarm. (Yeast will die if it's too hot or will not rise if colder than 110F!)
2. Heat milk and butter together for a minute in the microwave until it's lukewarm or 110 degrees. (Same applies here too, keep the temp at 110-115F)
3. On an electric stand mixer bowl with flat beater or by hand, beat the eggs first and then add milk mixture and spice mixture, then add in the sugar, salt and yeast.
4. Gradually add in 5 cups or more of bread flour until it becomes a soft dough and change to dough hook. Keep adding flour if needed up to 2 more cups or less and knead the dough until it's not sticky and pulls away from the bowl for 6-7 mins.
5. Brush the dough ball with oil, cover the bowl and let it rise to double in a warm place for an hour. When it doubles, punch down, place it on the counter.
6. Cut 1/5 of the dough and keep it separately. Shape the rest of the dough into two 8" loaves and place them on to two baking sheets, cover. (just make one loaf if you are using the other half of the dough for other shapes)
7. Cut 1/5 of the dough into 8 parts for 2 loaves and roll each part into a long rope, twist pairs of ropes together to make four twisted pairs of ropes.
8. Place 1 red egg on each loaf in the center (or save to add later) and criss cross two ropes over each egg and tuck in the end of the ropes underneath the loaf. Cover both loaves and let it rise for an hour.

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Egg wash:
9. Beat one egg with water for egg wash and brush the egg mix on the loaves and sprinkle both loaves with sesame seeds and bake them until golden brown for 35-45 minutes, or until it sounds hollow when tapped. Transfer the loaves to a wire rack to cool. Store in a airtight bag and keep it in the fridge to reheat, if you are not using the bread immediately. Best when freshly baked!

Note: Add the colored egg on top to serve or place a few Chocolate eggs on warm bread for a yummy gooey treat. My son ate a slice topped with Duncan Hines chocolate frosting! :D

To make Mardi Gras Bread and the Twister bread!
For colorful Mardi Gras bread: With half of the above dough, cut into half. Shape one to a round loaf, brush with egg, sprinkle colored sugar on top, place a chocolate egg in the center. Cover and let it rise to bake.

For Twister bread: With the other half of the dough ie 1/4 th of the whole dough, roll into about 16" rope, fold in half in the middle and twist the rope around itself and seal the end. Place a chocolate egg on top in the center groove and let it rise to bake later.

Freeze: You can make one Easter bread loaf with half the dough, freeze the other half of the dough for another day! That's it, hope you try and enjoy this Easter bread! :)

Another look:



Happy Easter and happy Holi cerebration to all of you, have a fun and peaceful holiday. Enjoy the Spring, I will see you all again in May!:))

SMOTHERED CHICKEN

Smothered Chicken flavored with Allspice is my contribution this week's "Weekend Herb Blogging" hosted by Kalyn herself this time around.My choice of spice this week for WHB is Allspice berries and powder.Thanks for hosting Kalyn:)


Allspice berries and Powder:

Allspice -(Pimento) is a the "dried unripe berry" of the Pimenta dioica which belongs to the family Myrtaceae. It is also know as Jamaica pepper.Spanish explorers chanced on to the Allspice plant in Jamaica in the beginning of the 16th century. The Spaniards thought the fruits look like pepper so they gave it the name of Jamaican Pepper and pimento from the word "pimienta", Spanish for peppercorn. The English name "Allspice" was given because the spice is said to have the aroma of several spices including cloves, pepper and even cinnamon and nutmeg and used often in Jamaican cuisine, specillay Jerk chicken.I love the mild flavor and taste of Allspice.(Info; Gourmetsleuth)

Some of us Indians tend to think of Allspice as "Garam Masala", which is a Indian spice powder made of several aromatic spices,also completely different from Allspice berries.The beauty of Allspice berries is they do look like Garam masala when powdered and smells great somewhat like Garam masala with mild flavor but they are NOT interchangeable in the dishes.You can't beat the flavor and the aroma our own Indian Garam masala!!;D


Southern Smothered Chicken:



You usually don't get this dish in any regular restaurant on the main street but might get it in one of those "Soul food" Mama's kitchen restaurants as I have seen in some southern towns. I love the simplicity and the great taste of this dish with a confetti of vegetables and a thickish gravy with simple spices.I added Allspice powder which gives it a wonderful flavor which may not be the traditional spice for Smothered Chicken but hey, anything to enhance the flavor if you ask me!

That said let's smother some Chicken, shall we?!:)

You Need:

2 chicken breasts,slice across to make it thinner and made into 4 slices.In a plate,mix 1/2 cup plain flour,salt,pepper,1/8 tsp cayenne pd,1 tsp Allspice powder,1/2 tsp Garlic and Onion pd, and 1 tbsp dried Parsley.1 cup Celery, 1/2 cup Onion,1/2 cup carrots,all chopped to similar size,1 garlic minced, 1-2 cups Chicken stock, 1/2 tsp Allspice pd for the gravy.Cook 2 cups of rice to go with it!


How to make it:


Heat a non-stick pan with 1 tbsp butter.Mix the flour well,save about 1-2 tbsp flour for Roux and keep it aside.coat chicken fillets well and shake off excess flour and place them in the pan until reddish on both sides.Take them off on a plate.To the pan,add all the chopped veggies and Garlic,saute until cooked and little brown on the edges.



Add salt,pepper, 1/2 tsp Allspice pd,saved 1 tbsp flour,stir for a while and add 1 cup or more chicken stock.Mix well,add in sauteed chicken pieces in to the sauce and let it simmer until chicken is cooked and sauce is thicker but not very thick.Add more stock if it's too thick.Garnish with Parsley and serve with a bowl of rice.That's all, a wonderful meal is ready!



Vegetarians: Skip the chicken and add thick sliced and sauteed Potatoes!! Tastes great too.


Here is a bowl of ultimate southern comfort food; Smothered Chicken with rice:




Enjoy!:))

CHICKEN-BELL PEPPER KURMA

Chicken Kurma/Korma with Bell peppers is my entry to Kalyn's "Weekend Herb Blogging", event to cook a dish featuring any herb, plant, vegetable, or flower.This week's host is The Chocolate Lady at "Inmolaraan" . Thank you hosting. My choice of vegetable this week is Green Bell Peppers!


Green Bell Pepper/Capsicum:



Bell Pepper is a cultivar group of the species Capsicum annuum. Colors include red, yellow, green and orange. Bell peppers contain a recessive gene that eliminates the capsaicin in the fruit meaning that they have none of the "heat" that many other varieties of peppers have. Bell peppers are sometimes grouped with less pungent pepper varieties as "sweet peppers".They are nutritious vegetables full of Vitamin6 ,Potassium and Vitamin C. (More info at WIKI)



Chicken-Bell Pepper Kurma:Serves 3-4

Chicken Kurma or Korma as it is called sometimes is a mild sauce with veg or non-veg, which is usually made with mild spices ,ground nuts and/or coconut.I have tried to cut down some calories by skipping coconut,adding just a few Almonds.You can make it spicy or mild by adding just enough chilli pd to your liking.



You Need:
3-4 skinless boneless Chicken Breast,1 large Onion minced,1" fresh Ginger and 2 Garlic minced, 1 large Green Bell Pepper diced, 1 Tbsp butter or canola oil,1 tsp Cumin seeds,1 tbsp Coriander seeds powder,1/2 tsp each cayenne pd and Paprika,1 tsp Garam Masala or 1/2 tsp Allspice pd,1/4 tsp cardamom pd,1/2 tsp Fennel seeds pd,1/2 tsp sugar,1/4 tsp Turmeric pd, 2 tbsp toasted Almonds ground with little milk,1/2 cup Plain Yogurt or fat-free Sour Cream,2 small tomatoes chopped or 1/2 cup Tomato sauce, salt and Cilantro.


How To:

Heat oil or butter,add cumin seeds.When brown,add minced onion and saute until soft and reddish.Put in ginger-garlic minced and stir-fry for 2 mins and chopped Green Peppers,fry.Add in all the dry spices and tomatoes.Saute until you see the oil specks on top.Add diced chicken,stir until they become white.Add 1 cup water or stock.



Cover and cook on medium heat taking care not to burn the bottom,add a little water more if needed.When cooked with thickish gravy,lower the heat,stir in sour cream or yogurt spoon by spoon and mix well.Adjust the salt and spices and simmer again until you get fairly thick gravy.Add almond paste and Cilantro,simmer for 5 mins.



Serve: with plain cooked Basmati or long grain rice or Pita bread along with Raita(salad) and some Potato crisps.

Note:
You could skip Yogurt and add a cup of coconut milk if you like.
You can skip any spices you don't have like Fennel seeds or Cardamom.
Add enough stock or water to make gravy enough for 4 servings but not too thin.
Always tastes better the next day if you have the patience to keep in the fridge overnight. Enjoy!:))

VEGETABLE BHATH

Vegetable Pulao/Bhath is my entry to Pooja at "creativepooja". Her theme this week is Valentine's day and to post some of our memorable moments of our lives and post a dish which our spouses like!Since I have already posted two desserts for V' day,I thought it's the right time for some nutritious savory dish.

Well..my husband likes everything and anything made with rice like Pulaos and Biryanis.So,this would be the perfect dish for him.I am sure he will like it.

Vegetable Pulao or Bhath:



You Need:

3 cups cooked long grain rice or Basmati,1-2 tbsp ghee or butter,1 tsp cumin seeds,2" cinnamon stick,2 green cardamom,4 cloves,1" ginger-2 garlic,1 tsp chili pd,1 onion,thinly sliced, 2 tbsp yogurt,2 tomatoes,chopped,1 cup sliced cooked Cholia(brown beans),1 cup chopped Zucchini,1 cup cubed cooked carrots, 1 tsp tumeric,2 tbsp coriander seeds, ,salt,cilantro and pinch of Saffron mixed with 1 tbsp of milk to sprinkle on rice(optional).


How To:


Toast cinnamon,cardamom seeds,cloves,coriander seeds,and grind with ginger,garlic,chill pd,turmeric with little water.Keep aside.Cook rice with little salt and 1/2 tbsp butter until done.Fluff the rice to seperate the grains,spread and let it cool in a wide pan.



Heat ghee or butter,add cumin seeds and onions and saute until they are golden.Add Zucchini pieces,saute.Add ground masala,fry for 3 mins,add in yoghurt,tomatoes, and fry until you see the oil on top. Now add all the cooked beans and carrots with salt,mix well and simmer for 5 mins until thickish paste.When rice is cooled,sprinkle saffron milk(optional),mix.



Add the cooked Pulao masala into the rice and mix well gently, adjust the salt and sprinkle some cilantro and mix.
That's it.Tastes great after few hrs of resting the Pulao.Serve with Salad,lemon slices and crisps or Pakoras and a yummy dessert!




Another arial look!! :D




What's my most memorable moment?
We used to live in Dover, England at that time.We were married for 4yrs by then, we felt we are ready to have a baby and we had our daughter about 9 months later.She was born 5 weeks pre-mature.Although she was healthy and perfect,the hospital kept her there for the first 4 days just keep an eye on her very mild Jaundice she had, which is normal for most newborns.

I went home on the 2nd day without her,felt strange but had to think of her wellbeing.When she came home on the 5th day, Arvind suddenly disappeared for few hrs and here I was, upset and thinking how insensitive of him to leave me alone NOW with the new baby!! He showed up hrs later and as I was about to open my mouth,he gave me a red little box!I opened it and my jaw dropped.

There it was! A beautiful Diamond Necklace with 5 stones in it for every year we have been married,my first ever diamond jewelry! He had driven from Dover to Canterbury just to buy it and drove back within few hrs to surprise me!! How about that for a memorable moment!!It did make me forget those 4 days alone at home without our brand new baby with us!

And that baby Trisha is going to be 16yrs old next month and just recieved a "National Association of High School Scholars" membership and a medal!! How about that for a "preemie"?!:)) Enjoy...

MATAR ALOO IN COCONUT-ALMOND SAUCE

Matar Aloo is my contribution to Pooja of 'creativepooja's VOTW. This week's special is 'Green Peas'!!Thank you for hosting Pooja!:))


Green Peas:


What's Matar Aloo?! Matar is Green Peas and Aloo is Potato in Hindi and they are smothered in Tomato-Coconut-Almond sauce.YUM!! Well...Alu Matar is a very popular dish in North India and elsewhere.I thought I would give it a South Indian twist and make it Matar Aloo since there are more Green Peas than Potato in this dish!I had a choice of choosing either frozen Green peas or dry Green Peas,I chose the latter because of firmer texture than the soft frozen Peas.Let get cooking,shall we?!:)


Matar Aloo in Coconut-Almond Sauce!




You Need:
1 tbsp butter,1/2 tsp Cumin seeds,1 cup dried Green Peas soaked overnight and cooked just until soft but mushy,1 Potato cubed,1 tsp each Ginger and Garlic paste,1 small onion minced, 1 big Tomato or 1/2 cup Tomato sauce, 1tbsp each Coriander seeds pd,Cumin seeds pd,1/2 tsp red chilli pd,salt,Cilantro and 1 tsp Sugar.
To Grind: 2 tbsp dry or fresh coconut,2 tbsp toasted Almonds and 1/2 tsp Garam Masala.

How To:


Melt butter,add cumin seeds.Add cubed Potatoes,saute until reddish.Put in minced onion until it gets color,then add Giner-Garlic paste and saute for a minute.Add in all the dry spices,stir fry until you see little butter on top.Add in Tomato.





Keep stirring until Tomato sauce thickens and you see the shine of butter in the pan.Add 1 cou of water,salt and cooked Green Peas with it's cooking water if any,(Do not add too much water,sauce should thickish), 1 tsp sugar and simmer gently.




Meanwhile,grind coconut,almonds,garam masala until very smooth and add to simmering Matar Aloo and mix well.Simmer (must be on low heat to prevent coconut fro curdling)gently for 10-15mins until thick and butter shows up on top.Adjust the salt and chilli pd to your taste.




This dish tastes great the next day,please have some patience!!
Serve Matar Aloo with either Poori or layered Parathas, lemon slices and sweet onion slices on the side!!



With Pooris(Indian Fried Puffed Bread):





With Layered Round Parathas(Wheat Bread) :





Enjoy a wonderful lightly spiced Matar Aloo!:))

RED LENTIL-DILL SOUP WITH DILL CREAM !

Here is my first ever contribution to Kalyn's Weekend Herb Blogging!:) This week's WHB is hosted by Ed of "Tomato". Thank you for hosting. The herb I am using this week is a very flavorful and aromatic "Dill", one of my favorite herbs!




The name "dill" is thought to have originated from a Norse or Anglo-Saxon word 'dylle' meaning to soothe or lull, the plant having the carminative property of relieving gas.Its fernlike leaves as well as seeds are aromatic, and are used to flavor many foods, such as pickled salmon, borscht, soups and pickles.(Info:WIKI)

Dill Leaves:
Dill are best when used fresh, as they lose their flavor rapidly if dried, however, freeze-dried dill leaves preserve their flavor relatively well for a few months.It is also very easy to grow a supply of plants in summer months.Dill oil can be extracted from the leaves, stems and seeds of the plant.(Info: WIKI)

Red Lentil-Dill Soup with Dill Cream:
This soup is inspired by Indian Dal. Dal-Roti (Lentil Gravy and Wheat flat bread) in India is as staple as Meat and Potato in the west.I chose to use Red Lentil for this as it is easily available and a bunch of aromatic Dill leaves with few Indian spices to make a delicious soup and topped with Sour Cream-Dill-Scallion cream and crisp fried Onion rings.You could add any veg and meat for texture and flavor if you like. Sounds great? Let's make some soup!:))


Serve this with some warm crusty bread to soak up all the soupy goodness!


How To Make Soup:



Cook 1 cup red lentils with 4 cups of water in the microwave until soft and whisk.Heat 1 tbsp butter or oil in a pan,fry 1 minced onion until soft,add in 2 minced garlic,stir for a min.Add in 1 tbsp Coriander seeds pd,1 tsp cumin seeds pd,1/2 tsp Garam masala or 1/4 tsp Allspice,1/4 tsp turmeric, 1tsp paprika,1/2 cup Tomato sauce.




Stir for 2 mins.Do not burn the spices. Add cooked,mashed lentils,salt,1/8 tsp chill flakes if needed and a bunch of Dill leaves finely chopped (save 2 tbsp Dill for garnish) to the pot and let it boil.You can add water or veg stock to thin it if you like at this stage.Cover and simmer until dill is soft and cooked.Soup is ready when you see a thin film of oil or butter on top,adjust the salt and spices!




Meanwhile,cut 1 small onion to rings and fry in oil until reddish and crisp,drain on the paper towel and cool. Mix 1/4 cup Sour Cream with 2 tbsp Dill leaves,1 tbsp rounds of Scallion,salt and pepper in a bowl.That's it!





To Serve: Ladle the soup into a bowl, add a dollop of Sour Cream-Dill-Scallion cream in the middle and garnish with crisp fried onion rings ,some Scallion rounds on top and serve with a chunk of crusty bread!! YUM!!!!
Note: You can add 2 tsp Rasam Pd (Indian Spice pd) if you have it in your pantry to make a tastier soup and serve with rice!


Delicious Lentil-Dill soup is ready to dig in!!:))


Have a great tasting warm and spicy soup on a cold day! Enjoy!!:)