Crispy Fried Cauliflower Florets

As a person I like to multi-task. I am never doing only one thing at a time and most of the times I get pulled up for this. Like, I can never read only one book at a time or I can never only just be watching televison, I just have to constantly work other things in to the equation. Like when I am baking cookies, I have to make ice cream with the crumbs, or I have to be on phone when I am watching television or sometimes even reading a book. Most of the times it can be rather annoying to the people around me, but like I keep telling them, "trust me, I have a system". So, quite naturally, I am partial to vegetable that can do two things at once, like my little cauliflower florets, which can  be appetizers/ snacks and then made into a curry in a jiffy.I have prepared crispy fried cauliflower florets today, but I'll show you how in a few quick steps it can be made into yummy curry too.

Here are the things you need,

• 1 large cauliflower cut into little florets
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 corn flour
• 1 tsp paprika/chilly powder
• salt to taste

Method:

1. Mix together the flour, cornflour,paprika and salt together along with water to form a thick batter.
2. Dip the cauliflower florets into it and coat it with the batter well and fry it in oil.
3. Serve!

Now, if you wanted to make a curry out of it, then this is what you would have to do,

1. In a large pan, saute diced onions, green chillies, finely diced ginger and garlic.
2. Then add diced bell peppers to it and saute until slightly soft.
3. Now add some soy sauce and tomato sauce and mix well.
4. Now add the fried cauliflower florets and toss it well, until the sauce coats everything.
5. Mix a 2 heaped tsp of flour with water and pour into the pan. This will thicken the sauce. If however, the sauce seems too think, then add a little more water to dilute it.
6. Let it remain on heat for 2 minutes and then serve hot! 

One step chicken curry or Delicious Onion chicken curry (I cant decide on a name!)

Who doesn't love a good curry? Particularly in England's wet weather, there is nothing that can keep me quite warm inside like a good spicy curry can. Most of the people I know are game for dinner of curry yet they all shy away from making one. Why you ask? Because curries always involve a lot of frying, grinding, mixing and seasoning of masalas and one wrong step can frankly ruin the flavours. So, for all of you who fancy a curry but don't wanna spend time on it. Here is a recipe for you. Came across it by chance and loved it when I ate it and then swore by it when I got the recipe. It is literally a one step chicken curry.

Here is what you need,

• 1 kilo Chicken with bones (Don't really fancy boneless chicken unless the recipe absolutely calls for it)
• 1 kilo Onions coarsely chopped
• 1 bunch of curry leaves
• 3 tbsp oil
• 3 tbsp paprika
• 2 cloves of garlic finely chopped
• 1/2 tsp of garam masala

Method:

1. In a pot, add the chicken and all the other ingredients and mix it all together thoroughly.
2. Now put the pot on simmer and cook until the chicken is nice and tender
3. Serve!

Simple, innit? So no more excuses for curry truants. You have to try this. Lemme know how it worked out for you. 

** Instead of curry leaves, I've tried the recipe with coriander leaves and the result was still yummy. So feel free to try different herbs if you like

**I know, Its about time I got a new camera and stopped relying on my sad sad mobile phone. :(

Little chubby egg bites

You know how unfair the world is to an egg? Its always with us for everything yet it never gets to enjoy the glory that chocolate or salmon or even chicken gets. NOT FAIR. You know, the egg reminds me of those studious kids, dare I say nerds, from high school. We need them for everything, from getting those sci-fi effects for class parties to loads of help with trigonometry and algebra and we sometimes even need them to bail us out of our sticky messes. Yet, they never enjoy the attention that the pretties and jocks get. The egg is much the same. From making a custard to delicious chocolate cake, we need them eggs for everything but we never give them their due. So in protest against their unfair treatment and in support of well..eggs..I dedicate the following recipe to them. Its so simple yet such a hit as a party snack. You go eggsies!!!

Here are the things you need,

• 3-4 eggs
• 1 cup of Gram Flour/Chickpea Flour
• 1 tsp Chilly Powder or Paprika
• 1/2 a bunch of coriander leaves finely chopped 
• Salt to taste
• Oil for frying 

See, dint I tell you it was simple,

1. Hard boil the eggs and cut it in quarters
2. Mix together the flour, chilly/paprika powder, salt and coriander leaves to form a thick batter
3. Now drop the quartered eggs in to the batter and coat it well
4. Drop it in piping hot oil and fry it until golden brown. The oil has to be piping hot so that it does not drink up the oil.
5. Serve! Yummy eggs!
6. Oh and for sauce, just make a normal sauce, one part tomato sauce and one part mayo. No sweat!

Ok, dont raise your eyebrows. Just because its so simple, it isnt tasteless. Infact from all the snacks that I serve when I have friends over, this is the only one where I never seem to have leftovers. So there you go, the little chubby egg bites. I love!

Chicken spring rolls

Well..this one really is a no brainer..something which most of us already know to make, I presume but nonetheless this is my dish of the day. Whats wonderful about this dish is that its multifaceted. Combine it with a good salad and some yummy sauce and its main course. Serve it alongside a drink and it becomes a snack. Pack and send it to school with you and its a kids meal. You can always play with the filling and the protein that you choose to put inside it but what I have done today is a pretty much straightforward version of the dish.

Here is what you need,

Shredded Chicken - 2 cups
Onion - 1 finely diced
Garlic - 3-4 pods finely diced
Carrots - 2 thinly sliced
Beans - 1 cup thinly sliced
Soy sauce - 1 tbsp
Chilly sauce - 1/2 tsp
Eggs - 2
Corn flour- 1 cup
Flour- 2 cup
Bread crumbs - 1 cup
Salt- To taste

Saute the onions and garlic well and add the carrots and beans to it. Continue to cook until the vegetables are half cooked.

Now add shredded chicken and cook. Remember to keep all the vegetables and chicken soft

Now add the sauces and mix well.

Season it with salt. Keep aside.

Now mix the flour,cornflour, one egg and water together and make a batter like a pancake batter (not too think, not too runny)

Now spread it on an oiled pan thinly, in the size of a large pancake.

Spoon a bit of the filling to the center of the pancake and roll it. Take care to tuck in the sides as you fold the pancake to seal off the edges.

Now dip in the roll in a whisked egg and coat it with bread crumbs and fry in oil.

The dipped and crumbed spring rolls can be stored in your freezer for up to 2 weeks and can be fried as and when required.

Lemony chicken and chilly potato

So today I saw this recipe for a lemony chicken on TV that I just had to try. It looked so yum and tender on TV itself that I could only imagine how lovely it would be if I tried it out. Well, I added a few additional things to it to make it a tad more spicy. Nonetheless, you should try it out too..Its really minimalistic in terms of the ingredients but the final product is uber awesome. Infact, all you guys out there with access to TLC, you should check out their Family Food Fights. Its a treasure house of traditional family recipes.

Here is what you need,

Chicken - Leg or Breast pieces
Zest of one big lemon
Zest of one lime
Grated Garlic - 4-5 pods
Juice one 1 lemon
A touch of grated ginger
Black Pepper powder - 1/2 tsp
Coriander leaves - One bunch, finely chopped
Potatoes - 2-3
Chilly flakes- 1 tbsp
Onions - 2 (cut into rings)
Salt to taste

Marinate the chicken using the zest of lime, lemon, coriander leaves, pepper powder, lime juice and salt and set aside for a minimum of 30 minutes. (The more the better)

Then, lightly oil a pan and fry the chicken until golden brown. Remember to cover the chicken as it fries to eliminate the need for more oil.

Once fried remove the chicken and rest it on kitchen tissues.

Now toss the already boiled and diced potatoes in to the pan in which the chicken was fried, along with the onions and chilly flakes.

Add a splash of lemon juice to the potatoes to give it a zingy effect.

Saute them for about a minute or two.

Serve the chicken on a bed of spicy potatoes and onion.

Fried Prawn Patties

So, this recipe is finger licking good. The good thing about this  is that its versatile. So, while I've used prawns here, the recipe lends itself fabulously to chicken, meat and even vegetarian options. You surely must try it out now. No excuses!

Here are the things you need,

For the patties:

Rice flour - 1 cup

Fennel seeds - 1/4 tsp

Grated coconut - 1/2 cup

Water - 1 1/2 cups

Salt - 1 tsp

For the filling:

Cooked prawns - 250 grams

Onion - 1 (Finely diced)

Garlic - 3-4 cloves (Finely diced)

Chilly powder - 1 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Salt - to taste

Oil  for deep frying

In a blender, mix together the grated coconut and fennel seeds thoroughly.

Bring the water to boil in a large bowl.

As it boils, add in the rice flour, the coconut-fennel mix, salt and mix well.

Remove from heat and knead the mix into a soft dough.

Make fist sized balls of dough and keep aside.

Heat a little oil in a pan and add the diced onion and garlic and allow it to saute.

Then add the salt, turmeric and chilly powder to it till the raw smell of the spices disappear.

Now, quickly add the prawns to the pan and mix well.

Since the prawn is already cooked, we only need to keep the pan on heat until all the spices and prawns are well mixed.

Heat oil in a deep bottomed dish. The oil must be really hot so that when we fry the patties, it does not soak up excess oil.

While the oil is heating up, spread a little oil in you hands and flatten out the dough balls into approximately a pancake size using your hands. 

Scoop a little of the prawn mix into the center of the dough and bring the edges of the dough together. Seal the edges well by pressing on it hard, so that no oil gets inside the patty as we fry it.

Now, drop the patty into the oil and fry it until it turns nice and golden brown.

Serve.

While, I've chosen to do a half moon kinda shape for the patty, you could mold them into balls, squares or basically any shape that you fancy. The key here however is that no matter what shape you choose, remember to seal the edges cause otherwise oil will enter the filling and your patties will become soggy.

Creamy coconutty wheat soup

A yummy, creamy coconut soup that is at once both rich yet extremely healthy. Its flavours are amazing and its so filling that a small serving can be a meal in itself. Sometimes combined with a curry, this soup is a staple during the month of Ramzan, specially in the southern part of India.

Here are the things you will need,

Broken wheat/ Whole wheat - 1/2 cup

Boneless Chicken - 2-4 bite sized pieces

Coconut Milk - 2 cups

Ginger - 1 small piece

Cinnamon stick - 1/2 a stick

Shallots - 3-4 finely diced

Butter - 4 tsp
Salt - to taste

Cook the wheat, chicken, stick of cinnamon and the piece of ginger together till the wheat is well cooked. If using a pressure cooker, the average time for cooking is about 15 minutes.

1/2 a cup of wheat usually requires about 2 cups of water to cook. So remember to add water according to your measure of wheat.

Once well cooked, remove the ginger and cinnamon from the mix and blend the remaining items. 

Pass it through a strainer.

Now, add the coconut milk to the mixture and mix well. Slightly simmer it for a minute. Season

On a separate pan, add the butter and saute the shallots till it becomes translucent.

Now sprinkle the butter sauteed shallots on to the soup and serve.

The soup is just perfect in itself but for those lovers of spicy, try adding a a few spoonfuls of your left over chicken/beef/mutton curry to the soup and lo behold its godsend..Really!

Stuffed Bun

 Here is another easy snack. A svaoury snack this time. Easy and quick to make, though there is not much baking involved unless you decide to bake the bun yourself, in which case, the recipe turn not so easy. :)

Things you need:

Buns
Onions - 1 (Finely diced)
Garlic - A whole head (Finely diced)
Ginger - a small piece
Chopped Beef - 500 grams
Salt- to taste
Egg - 1 (to coat the buns)
Chilly powder - 1 tbsp
turmeric powder - 1 tsp

Place the beef in pan and add salt, chillie powder and turmeric powder and leave it on fire until well cooked. Alternately, you could use a pressure cooker and cook the beef until tender.
Once cooked, place the beef in food processer and finely mince it.
Now heat a pan and saute the onions in butter/oil until they turn translucent.
Then add the diced ginger and garlic and saute them till they turn brown
Now, add the minced beef to the pan and gently fry it.
You can also add a bit of cilantro or celery to give it some extra flavour. .
Keep Aside until to cools down slightly.
Now slit the buns 3/4ths way to enable stuffing the beef.
Pack the buns tightly with the fried beef mince and press the buns between both your palms to keep it firm.
Then brush the buns with a whisked egg.
You can now either fry the buns lightly in oil or can place in on a baking tray and bake for roughly 10 minutes at 150 degree Celsius.

The advantage here is that the stuffed bun (before the baking/frying stage) can be made and stored for a few days. Its a great snack and its very filling too.

I know. the pic doesn't look it but trust me, those buns were delicious!!