Easy Chicken (Thick Curry)

Ingredients

·         1 lb. (1/2 kg) Chicken, cut into 1-inch cubes and washed.

·         1 Onion, chopped coarse in a chopper (or diced)

·         1 Tomato cut into medium pieces

·         1 tbs Ginger Paste

·         1 tbs Garlic Paste

·         1 tbs Coriander Powder

·         1 tsp Chillie Powder

·         1/2 tsp Garam Masala

·         1/2 tsp Cumin Powder

·         Salt to taste

·         2 tbs Sour Cream

·         1tbs Vegetable Oil

Method

1.      Heat Oil in a pan and sauté the onion to a light brown.

2.      Stir in Ginger and Garlic paste. Cook 2 minutes.

3.      Reduce the heat add all the items above, from Ginger paste thru Salt, and mix well.

4.      Add tomato and cook for 3 minutes.

5.      Add chicken cook until the water evaporates and the oil pools (mix is no longer bubbling water and oil seeps out of the mix).

6.      Turn off the heat, add the Sour Cream and mix well.

7.      A great side dish for rice or any type of bread including chappathi, poori or naan..

Cheru payaru (moong dal) Payasam

 

 

Ingredients

·         1 cup Cheru payaru (Moong Dal)

·         1 cup Jaggery (brown sugar)

·         2 cups Coconut Milk (1 can)

·         1 cup water

·         1 tbs Ghee

·         1tbs Raisin

·         1 tbs Cashew

Method

1.      Fry the Cheru payaru in a pan for 5 minutes.

2.      Set aside and let it cool for about 5 minutes.

3.      Wash (not soak) the fried Cheru payaru in water and cook it in a pressure cooker until 3 steam bursts.

4.      Wait until the steam subsides and it is safe to open the cooker (should not steam when you lift the weight on top). This could be up to about 10 minutes. Take the lid off.

5.      Turn the flame back on to medium heat.

6.      Add the Jaggery, stir the mix and cook for 3 minutes.

7.      Reduce the heat down to slim.

8.      Add the coconut milk and cook for 5 minutes, lightly stirring occassionally. The mix will become thick and viscous, but will still pour down from a spoon.

9.      Separately in a pan, heat ghee and lightly fry the cashew and raisins until the cashews turn a golden brown.

10.   Turn off the heat on the cooker. Transfer the contents to a serving dish.

11.   Add the fried cashew and raisins on the top and serve either warm or cold.

Mango Chammandhi

 

 

Ingredients

·         1/2 cup Mango cut into small pieces

·         1 cup grated coconut

·         3 small pearl onions (sambar onion or kunjiya ulli)

·         4 green chillies

·         1/2 tsp chopped ginger

·         1 curry leaf stem

·         Salt to taste

·         1 tbs coconut oil

Method

1.    It very simple. Just put all the above ingredients, except the coconut oil, in a blender (mixie) and grind to a coarse mix.

2.    It takes about 3 minutes in the blender. Stop halfway, after about a 1 ½ minutes, to stir the mix, folding in what is stuck to the sides of the bowl. This is a good time to check if the salt is enough. If the mix is sour add a little salt.

3.    Towards the end, check occasionally to ensure that the mix does not get to a fine paste.

4.    Transfer the mix from to a serving dish. Add the coconut mix and mix well. 

5.    The chammandhi is ready to eat. Best eaten with rice.