Ani’s Kids Recipe,South Indian samayal & Tips!

Just to share with you……

Chettinad chicken is one of my all time favourites among chicken dishes. Chettinad is a small part in southern tamilnadu which is famous world over for its unique cuisine.The flavour of freshly grinded chillies, coriander and fennel, coconut and all other spices gives it a fiery taste.Once you taste any chettinad dish you will never forget the taste of it. In today’s version, chicken is simmered in coconut milk and gets its unique flavor from a blend of quite a few spices like fennel seeds, coriander seeds, poppy seeds, pepper corns, cardamoms and cumin to name a few. Bit of preparation goes into the making of this curry and there is no short cut method and if you have the time and the ingredients on hand, only then start to prepare and please don’t compromise with the ingredients if you want that authentic flavor.

Chettinad Chicken curry

Ingredients:

Make a paste:

1. green chillis – 2
2. garlic flakes – 8
3. ginger – 1?
4. poppy seeds (soak in warm water for 10 mts)  -  1 tsp

Roast and make a powder:

1. pepper corns – 1/2 tsp
2. cumin seeds – 1/2 tsp
3. fennel seeds – 3/4 tsp
4. coriander seeds – 1 1/2 tbsps
5. dry red chillies – 6 to8
6. cardamoms – 2
7. cinnamon – 1?
8. curry leaves – 6-7

9. tsp oil – 1/2

Preparation:

1.  Drizzle a vessel with oil and roast the cumin seeds, coriander seeds, peppercorns, fennel seeds, red chillis, cardamoms, cinnamon and curry leaves on medium heat stirring constantly for 2 mts. Remove from fire, cool and grind to a powder.
2.  Make a paste of the ginger, garlic, green chillies and poppy seeds. Keep aside.
3.  Heat oil in a cooking vessel, add the small onions and curry leaves and saute till transparent.
4.  Add the ground paste and cook for a minute before adding the chicken and cook on high heat for approx 4 mts and do stir the chicken once in a while.
5.  Reduce to medium heat, add salt, turmeric pwd and tomatoes and combine well. Let the chicken cook in this for 4-5 mts, uncovered.
6.  Now add the coconut milk and transfer the contents to a pressure cooker. Pressure cook for 4 mts or until one whistle. Open lid and combine well.
7.  Finally add the ground masala pwd and cook for 3 mts. Turn off heat and garnish with fresh coriander leaves.
8.  Serve hot with white steamed rice, biryani, chapatis or dosas.

Tips

Adjust the green chillis, red chillis and pepper corns according to your spice level. Ensure that the chicken doesn’t pressure cook for more than one whistle, as it could get mushy if pressure cooked beyond the required time. In fact, mutton is usually used for this recipe but it tastes equally good with chicken.

Just to share with you…………….

It has been almost a month I haven’t posted any recipes. The reason was we went to India for vacation. There  we had so many traditional items. Among them I am posting here one of the favourities of my Husband. You might have heard of Kadai which is a small bird. You can say a small chicken too.  People who belongs to Kadai kootam of Kongu vellar won’t eat this. Othewise most people eat this.

Marinated Kadai

Kadai Fry

Ingredients

1. Kadai – 4

2. Red chilli powder – 2 tsp (according to ur taste)

3. Turmeric powder -little

4. Red food color – 1/4 tsp

5. Salt – as needed (may be 1/2 tsp)

6. Lemon juice – 1tsp

7. Oil – for frying Kadai

Preparation

1. Mix Red chilli powder, turmeric powder, color powder, lemon juice and salt by adding one tsp of water.

2. Marinate Kadai using this mixture.

3. Keep the marinated kadai for atleast one hour ( longer the setting time better the taste)

4. Then fry the kadai in oil until itz one. It gets cooked soon since itz too soft.

Just to share with you …

This is simple and mouth watering chicken/Koli kolumbu recipe of TamilNadu (especially coimbatore district).

Ingredients

1. Chicken – 1 pound or ½ kg

2. Onion - 1/2 chopped

3. Green chillies -2 slitted

4. Curry and coriander leaves

5. Oil as need for saurting

6. Ginger –garlic paste – 2 tsp

For grinding

1. Onion -1 (if you have small onions/red shallots/chinna venkayam then take that equalent to big onion/periya venkayam/ballari venkayam)

2. Corriander seeds -3 tsp

3. Jeera – 1/2 tsp

4. Red chillies -4 to 5

5. Tomato small size -1

6. Grated coconut -2 tsp

7. Pattai/Cinamon sticks- 2

8. Cloves/Kirambu-2

9. Sombu- 1/4 tsp

10. Little turmeric powder

11. Whole pepper corns – ½ tsp

12. Oil as needed for frying above ingredients

Preparation

1. Fry well all the ingredients For Grinding and grind that well.

2. Pour oil in Kadai. Add cutted onions , green chillies (optional) and curry leaves when the oil is hot.

3. Add ginger-garlic paste and fry well until raw smell goes away.

4. Add chicken and fry well.

5. Then add the grinded masala , water and salt as needed and cook until chicken is done and oil separates on top.

6. Garnish with coriander leaves.

TIPS

Before putting chicken if you fry (not deep fry) in little oil. The chicken pieces will roll into round shapes which gives beautiful look for your gravy .

I know for most of the bachelor’ s find it very difficult to cook after coming from office.  I agree with you guys doing both jobs is really difficult in regular basis.  I want tomake you comfortable by sharing this recipe with you.

INGREDIENTS

1. Chicken – 500 gms.

2. Onions(sliced) – 2 nos.

3. Oil – 2 tbsps.

4. Salt to taste

FOR THE PASTE:

1. Poppy seeds(roasted) – 2 tsps.

2. Cashewnuts – 10 nos.

3. Coconut(grated) – 2 tbsps.

4. Coriander leaves(chopped) – 2 tsps.

FOR MARINATION:

1. Yoghurt(curd) – 1 cup

2. Ginger-garlic paste – 1 tbsp.

3. Chili powder – 1 tsp.

4. Coriander powder – 1 tsp.

5. Garam masala – 1 tsp.

6. Pepper powder – ½ tsp.

PREPARATION

1. Mix all the ingredients for marination.

2. Wash and marinate the chicken in the marinade for atleast 2 hours.

3. Grind coconut, coriander, poppy seed and cashewnuts to a fine paste and keep aside.

4. Take oil in a microwave safe container, add sliced onions and micro cook for 5 minutes.

5. Add the marinated chicken, mix and micro cook covered for 12 minutes.

6. Add the ground paste and salt and mix well. Micro cook covered for 5 minutes.

7. Serve hot garnished with coriander leaves.

Just to share with you….

This chicken gravy is little bit different from my ordinary chicken gravy . I use whole peppers for this gravy to make it really hot and spicy with other spices. One day I made my ordinary chicken gravy and I found Gravy was less when compared to the chicken quantity so I thought to adding Grinded coconut because in south India for making chicken kolumu at the same time I don’t want to lose the chilli/hotness so I added whole peppers along with coconut while grinding and it turned out good.

INGREDIENTS 

1. Chicken beasts :1Kg
2. Cinnamon,cloves,bayleaves :2 each
3. Onion (cutted into small pieces) : 2
4.Tomato (cutted into small pieces) : 3
5.Ginger-garlic paste : 1 tsp
6.Coriander powder : 1 tsp
7.Chilly powder : 1 tsp
8.Turmeric powder : ½ tsp
9.Salt : As required
10.Oil : 1 desert spoon
11.Coconut : 2tsp
12.whole black Pepper :1tsp(10-15 nos)
13.Big jeerakam(sombu)/fennel seeds :1/4 tsp
14.Coriander leaves for garnishing.

Preparation

1. Heat the oil in kadai.
2. Add cinnamon,cloves,bayleaves one by one
3. Add chopped onion and saute till golden brown
4. Add ginger- garlic paste and saute for 2 minutes.
5. Add tomatoes and fry
6. Add coriander powder, chilly powder, turmeric powder, salt and saute well.
7. Add chicken pieces and little water and mix well.
8. Cook for 15-20 minutes on low flame.
9. Grind coconut,sombu and whole balck pepper into fine paste and add to gravey
10. After 5 mins when itz done garnish with Coriander leaves.
 

TIPS

If you are using frozen chicken then as soon as you bought clean it add little chilli powder ,turmeric powder and salt and the keep in freezer. Whenever you want take out those and use it but remember reduce the amount of salt,chilli powder and turmeric powder while cooking. This method will give you more taste.