Hot & spicy raita - A perfect Dip

Raita the most popular south Indian dip can be made in different variations.  This is simple & easy way of making raita just with onion & tomato as the main ingredients.  Addition of grounded coconut spicy paste adds the flavour & taste simply delicious.  Perfect side dish for biryani & I served it with chicken biryani this weekend.

Ingredients :

1. Curd - 1 cup
2. Onion - 1 no (Finely chopped)
3. Tomato - 1/2 no (chopped)
4. Mint leaves - 1/4 cup ( Finely chopped)
5. Corriander leaves - 1 tbsp (Finely chopped)
6. Grated Coconut - 2 tbsp
7. Green chillies to spice
8. Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
9. Chaat masala to sprinkle
10. Salt to taste

Direction to cook :

1.   Grind together the coconut, cumin seeds & green chillies.

2.   Combine all the ingredients together along with the grounded masala.  Adjust the salt to taste.

Sprinkle the chaat masala & serve it with biryani.

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Mint Pulav

Most of us face the problem of deciding what to pack for the lunch today.  Sometimes, I decide it little earlier but most of the time I cook the dish which flashes in my mind in that second.  So, my collections of lunch box menu is growing in size & this mint pulav is perfect.  Fresh mint leaves should be used for this dish for real taste & flavour.  I like to add  corriander leaves, sometimes equal proportion to mint leaves for taste difference.  This can be served with raita, pakoda or with papads.  

Ingredients :

1. Raw rice /Basmati rice - 1 cup
2. Mint leaves - 1/4 cup (small bunch)
3. Corriander leaves - 1 tbsp
4. Green peas - 2 tbsp
5. Potato - 1 medium sized
6. Onion - 1 1/2 no
7. Grated coconut - 5 tbsp
8. Green chillies - 2 nos
9. A small piece of ginger
10. Tamarind pulp - 1/2 tsp (concentrate)
11. Oil - 1 tbsp (or ghee) plus 1 tsp
12. Cloves - 2 nos
13. Cinnamon stick - 1 no
14. Bay leaf - 1 no
15. Cardamom - 1 no
16. Salt to taste

Direction to Cook :

1.   Heat 1 tsp of oil, add green chillies, ginger, 1/2 onion, mint leaves, corriander leaves & salt to taste.  Allow it to cool.

2.   Grind the cooked mint leaves mixture with the grated coconut & tamarind pulp to smooth paste.  

3.   Heat oil / ghee in the pressure cooker, add cinnamon stick, cloves, cardamom, bay leaf & finely chopped onion.  Saute till tender.

4.   Add grounded paste, green peas, diced potato & rice.  Add enough water (For 1 cup raw rice = 2 cups of water ; 1 cup basmati rice = 1 cup of water) & salt to taste.

Serve with raita.

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Semiya upma with scrambled egg

Most of our sunday food menu begins with this delicious yet simple semiya upma with the touch of scrambled egg for additional flavour.  Combination of cinnamon, cloves & mint leaves will bring unique taste to this dish.  It simply taste yummy :)

Ingredients :

1. Vermicelli semiya - 1 cup
2. Oil - 1 tsp
3. Cinnamon stick - 1 no
4. Cloves - 2 nos
5. Mint leaves - 1 tbsp
6. Green chillies - 3 nos
7. Onion - 1 no
8. Water - 1 1/4 cup
9. Ghee - 1 tsp
10. Salt to taste
11. Egg - 1 no
12. Black pepper to taste

Direction to cook :

#   Heat ghee in the pan & roast the semiya.  Keep aside.

#   Heat oil in the another pan, add cinnamon stick, cloves, mint leaves, green chillies & lengthwise sliced onions.  Saute for 4 mins.

#   Add water & salt to taste.  Bring it to boil.

#   At this stage add the roasted semiya.  Cover and cook till done.

#   Meanwhile break the egg in the another pan.  Add salt & scramble when it is half cooked.  Finally add the pepper powder. 

#   When the semiya is cooked, add the scrambled egg & mix throughly.  Switch off the flame immediately.

Serve warm.

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Masala vadai

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I like to make this spicy & crispy masala vadai very often. Its my favourite snacks & like to have it with tomato ketchup.

Ingredients :

1. Channa dal - 1 cup
2. Finely chopped onion - 1 no
3. Curry leaves - 1 tbsp
4. Corriander leaves - 1 tbsp
5. Saunf (Fennel seeds) - 1 tsp
6. Mint leaves - 1 tbsp
7. Chilly powder - 1 - 2 tsp
8. Salt to taste
9. Oil for frying

Directions to cook :

£ Soak the channa dal for 2 hrs. Preferably overnight.

£ Drain the water & retain 1 tbsp of soaked channa dal seperatly. Grind the balance dal without adding water.

£ Add & mix the other ingredients (except oil) to the grinded dal. Also add the retained dal to the mixture.

£ Meanwhile heat the oil in the pan. Take a tbsp of dal mixture & make a flat disc and deep fry them till golden brown in either side.

Serve warm with tomato ketchup.

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Chicken curry & chicken kuruma with leftover mint chutney

It gives us a little happiness to see when there is no leftover. But the fact is, even the leftover can be turned to yet another delicious dishes. I made mint chutney morning & with the left over I made chicken curry for the afternoon & chicken kuruma for the night.

It was nice to see and taste different dishes from morning till night. Addition of mint will enhances the flavour & taste. It taste great :)

Chicken curry

Ingredients :

1. Chicken - 500 gms
2. Cinnamon - 1 stick
3. Cloves - 3 nos
4. Finely chopped onion - 2 nos
5. Riped Tomato - 1 large
6. Ginger garlic paste - 1 tbsp
7. Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
8. Chilly powder - 2 tsp (as per us spice level)
9. Mint chutney (leftover) - I used 3 to 4 tsp
10. Salt to taste
11. Oil - 2 tsp

Directions to cook :

# Clean & cut the chicken into small pieces.

# Heat oil in the pan, add cinnamon stick & cloves.

# Add finely chopped onion & saute it for 3 min. Add ginger garlic paste.

# Add finely chopped tomatoe, turmeric powder & then chilly powder.

# Add the salt & mint chutney. Cover and cook till chicken becomes tender.

Serve hot with steamed rice.

Chicken kuruma

Ingredients :

1. Leftover chicken curry
2. Coconut paste (according to the qty of curry)
3. Salt to taste
4. Corriander leaves.

Directions to cook :

# Grind the coconut to a fine paste.

# Mix the chicken curry & coconut paste. Add some water for little thin consistency.

# Allow them to boil. Add salt & garnish with finely chopped corriander leaves.

Perfect for rotis.

Sending this to the event "The Potluck - Chicken" hosted by Viki.

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Mint chutney

Most of the south indian houses, chutneys are often made to accompany with dosa, idly & sometimes even with rice. Chutney with sambar are the best partners to specify. Mint chutney is really tasty and healthy dip for its medical benefits.

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I like to serve this chutney with the seasonings on the top (without stirring them). Even the leftover can be used in the other dishes like chicken curry, sandwich and even in eggs. It's really handy :)

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Ingredients :

1. Mint leaves - 1/2 cup
2. Coconut - 1/2
3. Red chilly - 4 nos
4. Hing a pinch
5. Ginger - small pc
6. Urad dal - 2 tsp
7. Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
8. Tamarind juice - 1 tsp
9. Curry leaves - 1 tbsp
10. Oil - 2 tsp

Directions to grind :

# Heat 1 tsp of oil in the pan, add 1 tsp urad dal, 2 red chillies, hing, ginger piece and finally mint leaves. Saute it for 2 min & switch off the heat. Dont overcook the mint leaves.

# Once cool, grind the mint leaves with the coconut, tamarind juice and salt to taste.

# Meanwhile, heat 1 tsp of oil in the pan, add urad dal, mustard seeds, 2 red chilly & curry leaves.

# Mix this seasonings in the grinded chutney.

Serve with dosa, idly or even with rice.

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