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Showing posts from 2012

Madatha Kaja/South Indian Sweet rolls

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Yet another Andhra delicacy from my kitchen to yours! Today I attempted to make the famous Kakinada Kaja which turned out really well and Yummy. For people from my place, this dish needs no introduction. But for people who does not know, these are layered sweet rolls made out of all purpose flour and dipped in sugar syrup with each layer filled with that finger licking sweet syrup with a hidden note of cardamom powder. These sweet rolls are an absolute feast for people with sweet tooth. Hope you guys will try this out and enjoy this dish!! Ingredients 2 cups All purpose flour(Maida Pindi) 4 tbsp rice flour(Biyyam Pindi) 2 tbsp + 4 tbsp melted butter(Neyyi) Pinch of baking soda Oil for deep frying For Sugar Syrup 5 cups Sugar 3 cups water couple of pinches of cardamom powder(Yalukkaya podi) Method In a large bowl mix all purpose flour, 4 tbsp melted butter and baking soda. Once the butter is well incorporated into the flour add little water and mix the flour and

Newyork Cheesecake with mixed berry sauce

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When it comes to cooking, baking and that too making cakes is one thing that intimidates me a lot. I am a lot skeptical when I first thought of making a cheesecake. But I made it anyways. This is my first ever cheesecake and guess what it turned out awfully good :). I can tell that it tasted very well as my husband too this cake to work and he said it is all gone in the first hour itself!!! I am so happy and just wanted to share this sweet recipe with you all.. The only one thing I will warn you is to be patient while making the cake. Enjoy :) Ingredients For Crust 2 cups graham cracker crumbs 1/4 cup sugar 1/2 cup unsalted melted butter 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon For Filling 32 ounces cream cheese(preferably Philadelphia original cream cheese) 1 1/4 cup sugar 3 tbsp all purpose flour 5 large eggs 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream 1 tsp pure vanilla extract For Topping 1 cup sour cream 3 tbsp sugar 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract For Garnish 2 cups

Chicken Pachadi/Chicken Pickle

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Today I made a dish from my mom's diary - Kodi Pachadi/Chicken Pickle. My mom always used to have this on hand just because I am a picky eater growing up and if I did not like the curry she cooked that day, she would make sure that there is something for me to eat. Mom is mom always - Love u lots amma :).. I have tried lot of versions of this pickle but by far this is my favorite. This recipe does not use mustard seeds or does not call for tadka or talimpu. Preparing this dish needs little patience and time but at the end of the day all that work is worth it. Hope you guys will like it as much as I like it :) Ingredients 1 1/2 kg or 3.3 lb boneless Chicken cut into bite size pieces(Bone in chicken can also be used) 1/2 kg or 500 ml vegetable oil 3/8 cup(1/4 cup + 2 tbsp) salt 3/8 cup(1/4 cup + 2 tbsp) red chili powder 3/8 cup(1/4 cup + 2 tbsp) lemon juice For Paste 5 whole garlic(150 grams) 100 grams ginger(Allam) 50 grams (3/4 cup) coriander seeds(D

Onion Samosa with wonton sheets

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This weekend I was organizing my freezer and saw a pack of wonton wrappers and the first thing that came to my mind was wonton soup. But I was not at all in a mood to have soup.. so thought of doing something different and finally made Onion Samosa . Onion samosas are crispy, sweet and savory tiny pockets packed with tons of taste. While I was a child, back in India, onion samosas are like pop corn to us whenever we go watch a movie.  The ones they used to sell at the movie theaters are bite size and I used to eat 10 of them easily at a stretch. Good old memories..... Here is a simple and easy recipe to make onion samosa with a very few ingredients on hand. Give it a try :) Ingredients Wonton sheets Oil for Deep Frying For Filling 1 cup sliced onion 3/4 cup pressed rice/Poha/Atukulu 2 green chillies minced handful of chopped coriander leaves/Cilantro 1/2 tsp ginger garlic paste 1 tsp red chili powder 1/2 tsp cumin powder 1/2 tsp chat Masala or 1/2 tsp lemon jui

Guthi Vankaya Koora/Stuffed Eggplant

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Guthivankaya koora - The one recipe that will make mouth water for people from Southern part of India....well, atleast for people from my home state - Andhra pradesh :) .. Stuffed eggplant with hot steamed rice and a touch of ghee...ummm..ummmm....ummmmm. In my opinion, even non-veg dishes will not be able to compete with this one dish. That is how tasty this curry will be.. There are 101 ways to make the stuffing for egg plants. Here is one of my favorite stuffing I wanted to share today. It is spicy, tangy, nutty, rich, with a hint of sweetness and last but not least--Yummy!!! Give it a try and from my own experience, I promise you will be asked to make this dish more often :). Good Luck... Ingredients 10 to 12 small round eggplants 2 green chillies slit lengthwise 1 tsp sugar(Optional) 3 to 4 tbsp oil For Paste(Masala) 1/2 cup peanuts 1/4 cup dry coconut 2 tbsp sesame seeds 3/4 tbsp tamarind paste(or extract from small lemon sized tamarind) 8 to 10 dried red chillie

Kobbari Billalu/Coconut Burfi

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I have leftover shredded coconut sitting in my freezer. I thought of making something that does not require lot of ingredients and which is not time consuming. This recipe is very easy to make and perfectly fit the bill for people with sweet tooth...Enjoy!! Ingredients 3 cups shredded/grated unsweetened coconut 3 cups Sugar 2 tbsp Butter 1/2 tsp Cardamom powder 1/2 cup milk(optional) Method Grease a plate with ghee or line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside. Melt butter in a non stick pan. Add coconut, sugar, cardamom powder and Milk to the pan. Mix well. Keep stirring. Let the sugar melt and the mixture comes together into a paste. Keep stirring all the time. Let it cook on medium heat till the moisture is almost gone and the mixture is light golden brown in color. Transfer the mixture to the greased plate and cut into desired shapes. Let the mixture cool down and harden. Note If using sweetened shredded coconut use 2 1/2 cups sugar for 3 cups shr

Chicken Gassi/Chicken in spicy coconut gravy

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Craving for something spicy and rich? Here is one dish which satisfies that craving especially on a cold winter day - Chicken gassi. This is a traditional manglorean dish and of course one of my few early culinary adventures after I started cooking. I really do not remember where or from whom I got this dish but it ended in my kitchen and in my recipe diary. Today I wanted to share this recipe with all the spice food lovers out there..Give this recipe a try for sure..I promise you will not be disappointed at all :) Ingredients For Marinade 2 lb chicken 2 tbsp ginger garlic paste 1/2 tbsp lemon juice 1 tsp turmeric  Salt per taste For Paste 1/4 cup dry coconut powder or 1/2 cup freshly grated coconut 1 medium onion 1 tsp black pepper 10 dried red chillies (increase or decrease per spice level) 1 tbsp coriander seeds 1/4 tsp fenugreek seeds(menthulu) 1 tsp cumin seeds 1 tsp oil For curry 2 medium onions chopped finely(around 2 cups chopped) 2 tsp tamarind p

Uggani

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Today I made Uggani, one of the special dishes prepared in Rayalaseema. It is often paired up with Mirchi Bajji in seema. Uggani is made with puffed rice(Maramaralu) and tastes really good even served on its own.. Well, the way I prepared this dish might not exactly be the authentic seema way but trust me, it did taste YUM!!! Just give it a try and find it for yourself :) Ingredients 4 cups puffed rice(Maramaralu) 4 tbsp Roasted chana dal(putnala pappu/veyinchina senagapappu) 1 medium sized onion 1 big tomato 7 to 8 green chillies Salt for taste 1/2 lemon Tempering 1 tbsp oil couple pinches of turmeric 1 tbsp chana dal 1 tsp mustard seeds couple of sprigs of curry leaves Method Soak the puffed rice in big bowl of water. Let sit for 3 to 4 minutes and then squeeze off all the water and set aside. Do not soak the puffed rice more than 5 minutes and try to squeeze as much water as you can. Grind the roasted chana dal to fine powder and set aside. Mince the gr

Magic 7 layer Bars

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I have a Thanksgiving luncheon at my office this week and I wanted to make some dessert for the event. I was looking for something quick, easy and tasty and this recipe on joyofbaking.com caught my eye. This recipe was so simple and easy to make and tasted out of this world as well. Give it a try and see for yourself :) Ingredients 1/2 cup  unsalted butter, melted 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (or crushed Digestive Biscuits) 1 1/3 cups sweetened flaked or shredded coconut 1 cup  bittersweet or semisweet or white chocolate chips 1 cup butterscotch chocolate chips 1 cup  chopped walnuts or almonds or mix of both 1 - 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk Method  Preheat oven to 350F and place the rack in the middle of the oven. Take a 13x9 inch baking dish and Lightly butter or spray with a non stick cooking spray. Melt the butter and pour it evenly over the bottom of your pan. Sprinkle the graham cracker crumbs evenly over the butter. Sprinkle the coconut ove

Crunchy Almond Chicken and Rice Casserole

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I want to share a recipe I made for my hubby dear's thanksgiving potluck at work. This is one dish you can make for big work potluck parties which is very easy and does not consume much of your time. I can tell that this dish turned out real well from the fact that there are no left overs. They ate it ALL!! All the chopping and dicing can be made ahead the night before and all you got to do on the day of is to put everything together.... Ingredients 1/3 cup Butter 1 medium Onion finely diced 3 stalks Celery finely diced 1/4 cup all purpose Flour 2 cups Milk 1 1/2 tsp Salt 1 tsp Pepper 1/4 tsp Nutmeg 1 tsp Thyme 4 cups cooked Chicken, diced (around 2 lbs boneless chicken) 3 cups cooked Rice 1 can (8 ounces) sliced water chestnuts drained 1 cup Mushrooms sliced 1/2 cup slivered Almonds Topping 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (about 15 to 20 crackers) 4 tbsp butter, melted 1/4 cup slivered almonds + hand full Prep Work on previous day Preheat the oven

Mysore Pak

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Today I made one of the traditional and melt-in-mouth Indian dish  - Mysore Pak. Many people think this is one sweet which is very hard to make. But if you have time on hand this is one recipe which is real easy to make. Here is version of Mysore pak recipe from my mother in law. If you follow the exact measurements and procedure there is no way you can go wrong. Knowing the right time to take the mixture off the stove is the key. Little patience, attention and time is all you need to make this yummy sweet.. Good luck :) Ingredients 1 cup Besan 2 cups Sugar 3/4 cup water 1 cup Ghee or clarified butter(I melted 1 1/2 cup of butter sticks) Method Melt the butter in a pan. Add 3 to 4 tbsp of melted butter(or ghee) to besan flour and mix well. Set aside Now take a deep plate or baking pan, apply ghee all over the plate and set aside. Take the sugar and water in a deep pan and place it on medium heat on one stove. On another stove heat the ghee in another pan simultaneou

Tomato Pulao

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I had left over rice on hand and I do not eat meat on Thursdays. So I am thinking of making a vegan recipe and then one recipe from Sanjeev Kapoor's collection passed my mind. This is customized version of the recipe to match my taste. You can alter it any way you want and add whatever vegetables you have on hand. This is a one dish meal with lot of veggies and lot of taste packed into it, just like that. Just give it a try! Ingredients 1 tbsp oil 2 medium sized onions cut into cubes 2 tsp ginger garlic paste 2 big tomatoes cut into cubes 1/4 cup tomato paste or any tomato sauce used for pastas 2 tbsp Tomato Ketchup 1 1/4 tsp red chili powder 1/2 tsp turmeric 2 tsp pav bhaji masala 1 green bell pepper cut into cubes 2 green chillies minced 2 small Potatoes boiled and cut into cubes Salt per taste 6 cups cooked rice(I used approximately 2 1/2 rice cooker cups raw rice cooked) 1/4 cup green peas For Garnish Handful of Coriander Leaves Method Heat oil i

Tangdi kebab

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Back in the days there is one recipe that caught my eye while browsing - Tangdi Kabab. I did tweak the recipe to match my taste. This is one of the famous kabab recipes in northern part of India. I prepared tangdi kabab for the weekend and made some lemonade to go with it. I have to tell you this meal made my hubby dear's weekend. Tangdi kabab makes a great starter for parties. The next time you host a party for a smaller group, this is one recipe worth trying..Good Luck!! :).... Ingredients Marinade A 1 tbsp lemon Juice 10 Chicken Drumsticks 1 tbsp Red chilli powder Salt per taste Marinade B 1 cup tightly packed coriander leaves + 2 Green chillies made to fine paste 1 cup thick Yogurt 2 tbsp ginger garlic paste 1/2 tbsp Garam masala powder 1/2 tsp black pepper powder 2 tbsp Besan(Senagapindi) 1/4 tbsp cumin powder 2 tbsp oil Garnish 1 Onion sliced lengthwise handful coriander leaves chopped Lemon quarters couple of pinches of chat masala

Chikkudukaya Vepudu/Valor beans Fry

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Today I made another of my all time favorite - Chikkudukaya Iguru. I bet there will not be one person from Andhra pradesh  who does not know this curry. This is one of the most simple and quick recipes that can be made in no time... Give it a try and see for yourself that how simple, quick and Yum this recipe is!! Ingredients 1 lb Valor beans/Indian broad beans(chikkudukayalu)(String the beans and cut them into 1 inch sized pieces) 2 cloves Garlic 2 dried red chillies 1 tsp Cumin seeds 1/2 tsp Red chilli powder Salt per taste 1 1/2 tbsp Oil For Tempering 1 tsp mustard seeds 1 tsp Chana dal Couple of pinches of hing/Asafoetida(Inguva) 5 to 6 Curry leaves Method Fill a big pot with water and bring it to a boil. Add generous amount of salt and the valor beans and let the beans cook till they are tender(approximately 15 to 30 minutes depending on toughness of the skin). Drain the water and set the beans aside. Crush the garlic pods and set aside. Heat oil in a pan.

Chicken Fry - Dry

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Simple and quick chicken fry which goes well as an appetizer or as dry item on the party menu. Give it a try and I bet half the dish will be gone even before it is served!! Ingredients For Marinade 1 lb boneless chicken 4 tbsp ginger garlic paste 2 tsp Red chili powder 1 tsp cumin seeds 3 tsp Fennel seeds 1/2 tsp garam masala powder 2 tsp lemon juice 1 egg salt per taste For deep Frying 2 tbsp All purpose flour(Maida) oil for frying For Garnish 1/2 big onion sliced lengthwise 10 green chilies slit lengthwise handful of curry leaves Handful of cilantro leaves Method Cut the chicken into bite size pieces and clean them. In a small bowl beat the egg well and set aside. In a big bowl take chicken pieces and add in all the marinade ingredients except for the egg. mix real well. Now add in the beaten egg and mix well. Set aside for an hour. After an hour sprinkle the all purpose flour on top of the marinated chicken and mix well. Line a plate with paper towel

Chakrapongali/Sweet Sticky Indian Rice

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With Dasara around the corner I thought of sharing a sweet which very often is made as offering to God. For every festival I remember my mom making 2 out of the following four items for prasadam - Palatalikalu, Chakrapongali, Garelu and Pulihora. Today I just wanted to share one of those which is also one of the famous offering in most of the temples - Chakra Pongali.  Happy Navaratri and Happy Dasara Folks!! Ingredients 1 cup Rice 1/2 cup Moong dal 2 cups Water + 1 cup Water 3 cups Milk 1 3/4 cups Brown sugar or 1 1/2 Jaggery grated fine 4 tbsp clarified Butter or ghee Couple of pinches of Cardamom powder pinch of edible Camphor (pacha karpuram)(Optional) Cashews and Raisins Small piece of dry coconut chopped into bite size pieces Method Rinse the rice and moong dal and set aside. Heat 1 tbsp butter in a pan.Add cashews to the pan and fry till golden brown. Take the cashews out of the pan and set aside. Add the raisins to the pan and fry till they bulge. Take the

Chicken Biryani - mom style in pressure cooker

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My first taste of Biryani is from my mom's kitchen. She used to make amazing biryani even before I knew the concept of restaurants and carry outs. She is my true inspiration when it comes to cooking(just cooking :P he he he).  I have tasted and made many biryanis later but for me My mom's is the best when it comes to Chicken biryani. Today I made this dish the same way my mom used to make with very slight changes. Try it out and I bet this will become your favorite too.... Ingredients For Marinade 2lbs Chicken 1 cup thick Yogurt 1 tbsp Red Chilli powder 1 1/2 tbsp Ginger garlic paste 1 tsp Shai Jeera 1 tbsp Gram masala 1 tsp Cumin seeds Salt per taste(may be a tsp to 2. I usually go by my hand) For Biryani 4 cups Rice 5 cups Water 3 tbsp + 2tbsp Butter or ghee 4 tbsp oil 5 or 6 curry leaves 2 large Onion chopped length wise 1 big Tomato sliced length wise 10 Green chillies slit length wise 1 1/2 tbsp ginger garlic paste 1 big bunch of coriander/cil

Chicken Chalna/Chicken in nuts gravy

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If You are looking for a side dish to pair up with Biryani or Pulao dishes I have one dish for you - Chicken Chalna. Chicken Chalna is a famous dish in Tamilnadu and I came across this dish online while browsing for something else. I added my own little twists to make it match my taste buds but in a good way though :).. This dish is not too spicy yet not too mild...not too thick yet not too thin but carry perfect consistency and taste to go well with Biryani or any spicy rice dishes. Give it a try.... Ingredients 1 lb Chicken (with bones) 1 big Onion chopped fine(around 1 1/2 to 2 cups of chopped onion) 1 Tomato chopped fine(around 3/4 cup chopped tomato) 2 Green chilies slit lengthwise 1 1/2 tbsp Ginger garlic paste 1 tsp Red chilli powder(per spice level) 2 tbsp thick Yogurt 1 tsp Garam masala 1 tbsp Oil Salt per taste For Paste 6 Cashew nuts 4 tbsp grated coconut powder 2 tbsp peanuts(Verusenaga gullu) dry roasted and peeled 1 tbsp cumin seeds 1 1/2 tbsp