My Kitchen in SA

Chicken fry with kerala porotta

2009-05-24T12:03:00.001+02:00

Our dinner for our wedding anniversary... Chicken fry kerala style with porottas... yumm..yummm....

Easy Chicken Curry/Fry

2008-09-10T10:16:00.001+02:00

This is a very easy chicken curry/Fry. You can decide the amount of gravy you like or whether you want it fried. I usually end up making this when i've very little time to cook the chicken as this dish rarely needs anything more than the occasional stirring. By very little time, what i mean is that you dont have to stand next to the dish stirring all the time and checking whether onions and tomatos are cooked or whether the spices are burning... Just mix it all together and add to the pan..

Here's how..
(*Note: Adjust spice levels according to your taste...We like it very hot !)

Ingredients:

1 big onion thinly sliced
1 tomato sliced
*2 cloves of chopped garlic
*a small piece of ginger - cut into thin long strips
(*You can substitute this with store bought ginger/garlic paste to save you some more time - 2 tsp)
2 green chillies - slit
2 tbsp thick yoghurt
2 tbsp veg oil
1 tbsp lime juice
2 tsp chilli powder
2 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp garam masala
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
3 sprigs of curry leaves
salt to taste
1 kg chicken - skinned and cut into medium sized pieces (on the bone preferably)

Method:
Marinate the chicken with all the above mentioned ingredients and rub the marinade into the pieces. You could also make some incisions on the pieces to ensure that the marinade penetrates. Set aside for 15 minutes or as long as you have time.. Now pour some oil into a pan and once its hot, add the chicken along with all the marinade to it. Stir on high heat for 5-7 minutes or till the juices start flowing from the chicken. Now lower the heat to medium and cover and cook for another 10 minutes. Take the lid off and let the chicken cook uncovered. At this stage you can decide how much gravy you prefer. I usually let it cook till there's very little gravy in the chicken. Serve hot garnished with some lime wedges.

This is best served with naan or tandoori roti.

Technorati Tags: chicken

Tandoori Roti

2008-09-09T09:54:00.006+02:00

What to cook on a weeknight is usually a big dilemma for me.. I would normally consider cooking 10 different things and waste over an hour wondering which one to cook. Then usually end up asking hubby dear to make that decision(Wish i would just do that in the first place !!)..One such night was last night.. He took out one of my many cook books and flipped through them, found something he liked and insisted that i cook it. Now that i had asked him to do so, i had to cook whatever he asked for . "Vadi koduthu adi vangikya..." (loosely translates to - Give the stick and get the beatings) . Anyways he had chosen "Tandoori Roti" for dinner. Now i cannot for the life of me, cook decent chappati's so Tandoori Roti was an even scary option. But i had some leftover rice in the fridge as a fall back plan if everything else failed...so thought of giving it a try. But they turned out really good...and it was so easy to make, infact i prefer making them to chappati's... I made a spicy chicken curry to go with it and the combination was real good...

The recipe for Tandoori Roti was taken from "Mridula Baljekar's book - Great Indian Feasts". Here's my version of the original recipe.

Ingredients :
2 cups self-raising flour(Maida) plus extra for dusting
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp yeast
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsps plain yoghurt
1 tbsp baking soda mixed with water.

Method:
Put the flour, sugar, salt and yeast into a large mixing bowl and mix well. Beat the oil & yoghurt together and add it to the flour. Gradually add the soda water and mix until a sticky dough is formed. .Transfer the dough to your work surface and knead it till its soft and springy and does not stick to the worksurface any more. Place the dough in a bowl and cover it with a damp cloth. Leave the dough to rise for 1 - 1/2 hrs.

Preheat the oven to 220 C. Line a baking sheet with greased baking paper.

Divide the dough into 8 equal sized portions. Make small balls from each of them then flatten it to form a round cake. Dust each cake in a little flour and then roll it out to a 10cm/4 in circle. Place on the prepared baking sheet and bake on the top shelf of the oven for 5-17 minutes or until puffed and browned in patches.

Serve with some fried chicken or spicy chicken curry

Rava Onion Uthappam

2008-08-22T10:58:00.000+02:00

When i used to work in SEEPZ in mumbai we used to go out to this place called Kay dees for our lunch. They used to serve the loveliest Rava onion uthappam's ive ever tasted. I tried to recreate the same taste the other day. Well cant say it was a complete succes...
The first few uthappams just stuck to the pan(i did use a nonstick pan) and wouldnt come out. The rest didnt cook properly and i had to dump those too. Now the batter was sufficient for just two uthappam's. Its then that i got the hang of it. Oil !!! and lots of it.... that makes the uthappam nice, soft n lacy without sticking to the pan. Also, you need to pour out the batter real quickly in small sections around the pan and then give it a swirl to join them. This needs to be done super quick so that the uthhapam are nice and thin...

Here's the recipe..give it a try

Mix 1 cup of rice flour with 1 cup of rava(semolina).Add some chopped onions, green chillies, curry leaves, salt and 1 teaspoon of curd. Mix all this together. Now add around 2-3 cups of water. the batter should be slightly runnier than your dosa batter. Set aside for 5-10 minutes. Now heat a non stick pan and pour the batter in it. Pour it across the pan in small portions and then swirl the pan around so that the portions join. The uthappa doesnt have to be nice n round.. Now pour some oil around it. Let it cook till you see the sides leaving the pan and crisping up. Now flip it over and let the other side cook. Remove and serve hot with green coconut chutney or like i did with my mother in law's chammandi podi (chutney powder).

I had to make some more batter after i finally got the last two right :)..

Prawns Biryani

2008-07-22T16:01:00.000+02:00

I keep telling people that one of the biggest tragedies of my life is that my husband is allergic to prawns !! Seriously, i lovvee prawns and he cant even stand the smell of it..!!so the only time i cook it is when i have guests over otherwise i feel guilty about eating it all by myself. The other day i had few prawns leftover from an earlier dinner party and i had no idea what to cook out of it. If i made some curry, that would mean making another curry for my husband. Not a good idea. So i thought of making biryani..made the masala and divided the same masala adding prawns to one pot and chicken to another.. Two biryani, two very happy people :)

Anyways here's the recipe.

Ingredients
2 big onions - finely chopped
ginger - 1 inch piece
garlic - 4 cloves
1 big tomato - finely chopped
Bay leaf - 1
Cloves -4 to 5
coriander leaves - 1 tsp
mint leaves - 4 to 5
chilli powder - 2 tsp
coriander powder - 1 tsp
turmeric powder -1/4 tsp
Garam Masala - 1 tsp
salt to taste
Prawns : 250 gms - shelled and deveined.
Rice : 3 cups
Water : 4 cups

Method:

Wash and soak the rice for about 10-15 minutes.
Blend together the ginger,garlic, coriander, mint leaves and marinate the prawns in this mixture and set aside. Meanwhile in a heavy bottom vessel, add some oil. Add bay leaf, cloves and fry for a minute. Now add the chopped onions till its soft and golden brown. Add the tomatoes and cook till it starts leaving the oil. Add all the spice powders , garam masala and fry till the raw smell goes away.
Add the prawns and stir fry till the prawns start changing color. Now drain the soaked rice and add it to the pot. Add the water,salt and stir gently to mix everything. Cover the pot with a lid and let it steam on low heat for half an hour.

Serve garnished with fried onions, cashew nuts and chopped coriander

Prawns Fried rice

2008-01-10T14:12:00.000+02:00

Having lotsof leftover rice in the refrigerator...sick and tired of wanting to eat them with the same combi of curry n veggies, well this is the best alternate option you can come up with.

I had some frozen tiger prawns too, which i used in here. You can omit this or substitute it with chicken or either use just plain veggies.

Ingredients :-
Prawns - 250 gms
Red chilli paste - 2 tsps
Soya sauce - as per taste
Sesame oil - 2 tbsps
Veggies - 1 cup of diced veggies (red n green peppers, carrots etc)
eggs - 2
salt to taste
cooked n cooled rice - 2 cups
onions finely chopped - 1 (use spring onions 3-4 for a better flavour, i didnt have any)
ginger, garlic and red chillies finely chopped - 1 tbsp each

Method:
Marinate the prawns with 1 tsp of red chilli paste, sesame oil 1 tbsp and soya sauce 1 tbsp. Keep aside while you finish chopping the vegetables approx 10-15 minutes.

Heat a wok and add some oil to it. Beat together 2 eggs, add salt and pepper and pour it into the wok. Fry the omlette on both the sides, remove from wok and keep aside. Cut it into thin long slices.

Clean the wok and keep it on high heat. Add some oil. Once the oil is close to smoking point, add the chopped ginger garlic and red chillies. once these soften add the onions and fry till soft. Throw in the prawns and stir them around till they start to become pink.
As soon as the prawns start to change color, add the veggies and stir around.
Note: Do not wait for a long time to cook the prawns as they will continue cooking while you add the vegetables. Else they might become too rubbery.
Add rest of the soya sauce, sesame oil and red chilli paste (optional if you dont like it too hot) and salt. Once the veggies have softened, add the rice and stir till everything is mixed. Finally add the slices of omlette and garnish with coriander.

Find other yummylicious fried recipes here, here and here.

Varutharacha meen curry - fried and ground fish curry

2008-01-06T11:28:00.000+02:00

I was hunting for the perfect accompaniment to go with kerala appams(rice pancakes that look like mini UFO's turned upside down :D). I called up mom immediately and this is the recipe she gave me. My mom is even worse than me when it comes to giving the measurements n also the ingredients :( but thankfully this time i did remember exactly how much i added

In a frying pan, heat 1-2 tsp of oil (coconut oil), fry around 1/2 cup of dessicated or freshly grated coconut. When the coconut starts changing color, add 3-4 peeled pearl onions or shallots. Fry for a minute taking care that the coconut is not burning and stirring continuously. Reduce the heat to low and add 3 tbsps of coriander, 2 tbsp of chilli powder. stir in and take off the heat immediately. Grind this into a smooth paste once its cooled.

In a saucepan or meen chatti(if ur the lucky people who have one), add the ground spicepaste, 2-3 cups of water and some kudampuli(fish tamarind) soaked in water. I normally use just one piece of kudampuli as it can be very overpowering. You can substitute this with tamarind paste or pulp soaked in water. Once the mixture comes to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer and add the cleaned and washed fish pieces (250-300 gms cut into small pieces). I used a firm fish called KingKlip, you may use small fishes like mackerel, sardines etc or even pomfret king fish etc.. Let the mixture simmer for atleast 15-20 minutes till the gravy thickens. Add salt to taste.

Separately fry some finely sliced pearl onions/shallots preferably in 2-3 tbsp of coconut oil for the authentic taste, add fenugreek powder and curry leaves. Add this to the fish curry and let the curry rest for atleast 15-20 minutes before serving. The longer the curry rests, the better it taste. Enjoy with hot steaming appams or plain rice.

Vegetarian Cooking Series II : Simple Potato bhaji

2007-06-15T10:31:00.000+02:00

Hari, this dish is a quickie... u can just do this when u have very little time n patience and yet feel like having somethin nice n tasty...

just peel n chop some potatoes finely... in some hot oil, add a few cumin(jeera) seeds, put in 1 tbsp chilli pwder, 1/4 tbsp turmeric powder and also some garlic(optional). then add your potatoes and some salt and toss them around, till the masala coats it. chop some coriander leaves and mix it in just before serving... just fry for 5-8 minutes till the potatoes are cooked. DONE !!!

P.S: do give the potatoes an occasional stir.

Vegetarian Cooking Series I: - Bhagare Baingan

2007-06-13T18:31:00.000+02:00

(Hari, this post is for you )

I found this recipe in one of the books ive recently purchased from South africa - Indian Delights. This book reflects the amazing amalgamation of the various cultures and cuisines that south africans have been exposed to over the years. Indian, Pakistani, Malaysian etc...

I dedicate this post to my very good friend Hari. He being a vegetarian requested me to add some vegetarian recipes that he could try. Hari being an excellent cook (Self declared !!) i wanted to give him some different recipes, that he normally would not try... Here goes bacchu..oops Hari...

Ingredients :-
6 medium sized brinjals
1 onion, finely sliced
chilli & coriander powders (1 tbsp each)
turmeric powder - 1/4 tbsp
tamarind pulp/extract - 5-6 tbsps

for grinding
1/2 cup grated coconut
1 tbsp coriander seeds
2-3 dried red chillies

Method:
Dry roast (fry in frying pan without any oil) all the ingredients for grinding. Fry till you see the coconut browning and can smell all the spices. Grind this mixture with as little water as you can add. Slit the brinjals lengthwise into 4, keeping the stems intact. Smear the mixture inside the slits and over the brinjals.

In some oil fry the onions till nicely browned , add the masala powders adn the remaining ground masala and fry them for 5 minutes on medium heat. if they start sticking to the pan, add a few drops of water. Add the brinjals and stir carefully till the masala is coated onto thebrinjals Add the tamarind pulp/extract and 2 cups of water. Add salt to taste and let the mixture simmer for 15-20 mts, or till the gravy thickens.
Serve with chappatis or as a side-dish with rice and daal.

Note : You can omit adding water, if you prefer a dry dish. That tastes equally good...

Grilled Butterfly Prawns

2007-02-08T15:21:00.000+02:00

I never enjoy my food when i eat using a fork and knife. It just doesnt taste as good as when you eat using your fingers and ofcourse the last yummy lick to your fingers...dont you love to get your fingers dirty. This dish lets you dig in with both your hands and watch your guests/family enjoying every second of it.

Ingredients
Prawns - With shell and tail intact (500 gm)
butter - 1/2 cup
red chilli paste - 2 tbsp
ginger/garlic paste - 1 tbsp

Method:
Cut out the head of the prawns. Now with a sharp edged knife, make a small incision which runs against the length of the prawn. Do not make the incision too deep as it would then cut the prawns into two halves, which we obviously wouldnt want.

When the incision reaches the tail, make the cut a little deeper and you will find that the prawn automatically opens up easily. With the help of the knife, make smaller cuts on the incision so that they open up further.

Wash and pat dry the prawns. Now marinate the prawns with ginger garlic paste, lemon juice and salt to taste. Leave the prawns to marinate for 15 mts to an hour.
Note: In case you are using salted butter, adjust salt levels accordingly. Ideally i marinate the prawns and pop it in the oven just before im serving. That way, im sure the prawns are nice and piping hot. It doesnt taste as good when its cold.
Now mix the butter with the red chilli paste.Apply this mixture to the insides of the prawns. Arrange the prawns on a baking tray. Drizzle some olive oil over the prawns and let it grill in a preheated oven for 15 mts at 180C.

Serve immediately.

P.S: This is another one of my dearTholsieAmma's recipes

Egg Roast

2007-02-03T12:09:00.000+02:00

This is a family favourite and my mom just whizzes this up, when there is nothing interesting for dinner.. Ive also been following her footsteps religiously ;)

Boil and shell eggs(4), make 4 tiny slits on the egg. Cut 1 big onion into thin slices, also chop some ginger into juliennes. In a frying pan, add some oil and add the onions and ginger and some curry leaves. when the onions are nicely brown, add coriander powder(1 tbsp), chilli powder (1 tbsp), turmeric powder (a pinch), some salt. when the oil starts to separate from the mixture, add the eggs. Coat the eggs lightly with the masala mixture and let it fry for around 5 mts or so. Take it out from the heat and serve the eggs roast with chappati's or rice. I had made rice and some boring daal, so served the eggs with it :)

Easy Breezy Crab Curry

2007-02-02T17:47:00.000+02:00

Ive learnt this recipe from one of my most adorable person here in South Africa - Tholsieamma. She calls me her daughter-in-law :) Last time we went to their place, she painstakingly cleaned the crabs and cooked it.. Her recipe was so simple and the taste so delicious that i wanted to try it out immediately. But unfortunately for me, having never cooked crab before i was skeptical. The other day i found some nice frozen crabs which were cut into decent pieces. Atleast no tension of prying apart the claws and wondering which side to cut !!

One of the hints amma told me while cleaning/cutting the pieces is that you must cover the piece in a kitchen towel and then give it a nice whack to break it. Else the shell splinters and can also enter your eye. Thankfully for me i didnot have to struggle with the crabs i got, cos they were nicely cut and only had to give it a few cuts here and there. Lots of small talk now lets crawl to the recipe.:)

Clean and wash the crab. Marinate the crab with ginger/garlic paste and red chilli paste for 15 mts. In some oil/ghee, fry the crab pieces with some curry leaves, till the crab pieces turn pink.Remove and set aside.

To the same pan, add some more oil/ghee and add diced onions(1 big) and fry till golden. Add some cumin/jeera powder(1/4 tbsp), red chilli powder(2 tbsp), coriander powder(1 tbsp) and fry till the raw smell goes. Now, add a can of tomato puree or you could make a paste of tomatoes(1 big) which have been added to briskly boiling water and then have their skin removed and ground to a nice puree. i prefer the second version, as it adds more flavour to the curry. Once the oil starts separating from the onion/tomato puree mix, add tamarind paste (1 tbsp) 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil and then add the fried crab pieces to it. Season with salt and allow to simmer with the lid closed, for 10-15 minutes till the gravy thickens. If you wish to thicken the gravy further, add some more coconut milk/cream just before you take it off the heat.

Serve hot with rice/chappatis

Strawberry Cheesecake

2007-01-15T21:58:00.000+02:00

Strawberry cheese cake served with a nice dollop of vanilla icecream and fresh strawberry.

Baking has always spelt disaster for me. I never ever follow the measurements given in a recipe and always end up with what cannot even closely be described as a "royal mess". Finding fresh strawberries the other day urged me to find a recipe in which to use them and so began the hunt for a great recipe. All search results pointed towards cheesecakes and i gave up, wise that i was from past experiences. As the strawberries were fast moving towards decay, i gave myself a now or never motivation and began. I found the following recipe on http://www.cooks.com/rec/doc/0,196,152170-245199,00.html

1 3/4 c. fine graham cracker crumbs (about 20)1/4 c. finely chopped walnuts (opt.)1/2 c. butter, melted1/2 tsp. cinnamon

FILLING:
3 well-beaten eggs 1/2 c. sugar, 1/2 tsp. almond extract, 2 c. dairy sour cream ,2 (8 oz.) cream cheese, 2 tsp. vanilla,1/4 tsp. salt

GLAZE (opt.):
2 c. fresh strawberries
3/4 c. water
1/2 c. sugar

Make crust and press to sides and bottom of 9 inch springform pan. Sides should be 1 3/4 inches high.

FOR FILLING: Combine eggs, cream cheese, 1/2 cup sugar, vanilla, almond extract and salt. Beat until smooth. Blend in sour cream. Pour in crust. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes or just until set. Chill thoroughly 4 to 5 hours. Filling will be soft.
GLAZE: Crush 1 cup strawberries. Add water and cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Cook and stir until mixture is thick and clear. Cool room temperature. Halve remaining berries. Place atop chilled cheesecake. Pour glaze over. Chill 2 hours.
Serves 10.

As usual, i didnt follow the recipe exactly and made a few modifications and behold...surprise..surprise...it turned out well...

These were the modifications i made...

I used marie biscuits to make the base. I put the biscuits in the grinder to get a smooth powder and then mixed this with the butter. Kept it on low flame till the butter melted and was well incorporated with the biscuit crumbs. This ensured that the base set well.
I had purchased cottage cheese and not cream cheese. I also added some 250ml of cream to the mixture.
The cake did not set well after 30 minutes, so i kept it in the oven for another 15 mts.
Some recipes call for adding 1/4 tbsp of cornstarch to the glaze, to make it thick, but i avoided this as i felt it would change the taste of the glaze...

Tomato chutney

2006-10-01T17:41:00.000+02:00

Lazy sunday mornings....before the depression of the pending monday morning blues finally settles on.. What better way to kickstart your day with steaming hot dosas and tomato chutney. Heres how you make the chutney..

chop 1 big onion, fry it in little oil till its nicely brown, add some coriander pwder (1/2 tbsp), chilli powder(1-2 tbsp), turmeric(a pinch) and some cumin(a pinch). Once the mixture is nicely cooked, add some 2-3 chopped tomatoes and add 1/2 tbsp sugar to balance the sourness....cook till the oil start seperating from the mixture and then add finely chopped coriander leaves.

Allow the mixture to cool, before grinding it to a nice smooth paste. Serve with hot crispy dosas.

Chicken Fry

2006-09-30T11:15:00.000+02:00

This one is a sure FIRE hit for your parties(cos its also very hot ;) )... i didnt measure anything, just added everything according to judgement, so the quantities are just a rough guess.. do change according to ur liking

Ingredients:-
Chicken drumsticks

Marinade:
chilli powder 4-5 tsps (accordin to ur spice tolerance)
pepper corns 5-6
turmeric powder - 1/4 tbsp
Garam masala - 1/2 tbsp
coriander powder - 1 tbsp
soya sauce- 1 tbsp
vinegar - a small dash
ginger and garlic paste - 1/4 tbsp
salt to taste

Method

Make deep gashes on the drumsticks and rub it with some lemon juice. wash after 5 minutes and pat dry. Grind all the ingredients mentioned in the marinade without water and apply to the drumsticks. Keep for 4-5 hours.

Shallow fry these in some oil in a frying pan..cook covered for 10-15 mts, occassionally flipping the pieces, so that it gets fried evenly on all sides. Serve with mint chutney and lemon wedges.

Onam sadhya

2006-08-17T15:13:00.000+02:00

ente onam sadhya.... pakshe ella kittilla.. :-(

sambhar, moru kuttan, beans thoran, kaya upperi, pazham, payasam........

putttu kadala

2006-08-15T07:36:00.000+02:00

puttu, kadala, pinne oru glass kaapi.... !!!

Kerala Style Beef Fry

2006-08-03T12:01:00.000+02:00

me being a hindu and that too being born and brought up in bby,it was a taboo to eat beef. at our place mom only used to cook chicken and other sea-food. It was only when i moved to Joburg, tht i finally got the courage to make beef.
I didnt want to try any curry style, cos tht's how i usually make the chicken...this time i wanted to surprise hubby dear with my naadan(local) version of beef-chilly. he used to keep raving abt the beef dishes that u get in kerala(even hindus over there eat beef..no taboo...its a favourites amongst the mallus)
This is how i went abt it...with fingers crossed. Did turn out well...

Ingredients :-
beef- 500 gm(cut into small cubes)
2 large onions - thinly sliced
coconut silvers - 2 tbsp
ginger julieenes - 1 tbsp
green chillies - 4-5 sliced diagonally
garlic crushed - 1/2 tsp

For grinding
pepper - 4-5
chilli powder - 1/2 tbsp
coriander powder - 1 tbsp
curry leaves - 2 sprigs
turmeric powder - 1/4 tbsp
salt - to taste
cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp

Method:-
Cook the beef with some salt and turmeric powder and water....In some oil, fry the cumin seeds, when its done add the ginger and garlic.After some time, add the chillies and the curry leaves...when the chillies start to change color, add the onions & the cocunut silvers and fry them till theyre golden brown.
Meanwhile, grind, chilli, coriander and pepper but not too fine, so that u can bite into them and feel the heat ;) . add this to the fried onions once theyre properly browned.add the cooked beef and some of the broth to this mixture and let it fry. Fry the beef,till the color changes to a nice dark brown color.......njoy wid roti's or as a side-dish wid rice...

Do also check out LG's Bombay Beef Fry

Peas Pulao and Gobi Manchurian

2006-08-01T11:48:00.000+02:00

There have been days when i hate the sight of my kitchen, forget entering into it..and some days, i cant wait to start cooking. On those rare occasions( rarely rare) occasions, i cant stop cooking...and its at times like those tht my food tastes better than ever.Last nite i had this urge to cook and unfortunately there wasnt
much in my refrigerator...a can of peas and cauliflower...tht's when i decided the menu for dinner, peas pulao(am not sure abt the differences betn pulao and biryani & not sure wat to call this) and gobi manchurian.

peas pulao

Ingredients:-
For grinding

cloves 4-5

cardamom 1

cinnamon 1 small stick

pepper corns 4-5

For masala

coriander & pudina leaves

onion 1 medium sized

tomatoes 1

peas 1 cup

rice 2 cups (basmati)

bayleaf 1

green chillies slit 1-2

salt to taste

water - 4 cups

Method:-
grind 4-5 cloves,cardamon,small stick of cinnamon and some pepper corns. keep this aside. also grind some coriander and pudina leaves
In some oil, fry a bayleaf and add the ground spices...once its flavours are released, add onions, ginger-garlic paste and green chillies. after the onions soften, add the coriander-mint paste and fry for some time till the raw smell goes. add tomatoes,salt and peas. add the soaked rice into this masala. Mix the rice well and
add water and pressure-cook for 2-whistles. keep it closed for some time, so that the rice will cook in its own steam...

gobi manchurian

Ingredients:
1 medium-sized cauliflower broken into florets

cooking oil to fry the florets

1 tbsp garlic& ginger, finely chopped

3-4 tbsp green chili, finely chopped(add more if u like it hot!!!)

½ tbsp corn flour mixed with 2 tbsp of water

Salt, to taste

2 tbsp Soya Sauce

1/4 tbsp chili sauce

2 cups of water

For the batter:

1/2 cup Corn Flour

¼ tsp red chili Powder

Salt to taste
Method:
Mix corn flour, red chili powder, salt and a little bit of water to form a batter. This batter shoule be thick enough to coat each cauliflower floret. Dip the florets in this batter and deep fry till golden brown. Set aside on paper-towels to drain the excess oil.Heat oil in a pan and chillies,ginger, garlic.fry till the raw smell goes and then add the chilli paste and the soya sauce. fry for a minute and then add water. Bring the water to a boil.
dissolve some corn-flour in water and add it to the boiling sauce, while continuously stirring so that no lumps are
formed. Once the sauce thickens, add the fried florets. let it cook in the sauce for 2-3 minutes. garnish with chopped spring onions.