Paneer Rolls

   

 Ingredients:

    1 cup Grated Paneer
    1 potato -(boiled,peeled and mashed)
    3 green chillies
    2 cm size ginger(peeled)
    5 garlic cloves (peeled)
    1 1/2 tsp salt
    1/2 tsp garam masala
    1/4 tsp turmeric powder
    1 tsp fennel seeds
    2 big onions - finely chopped
    few finely chopped coriander leaves
    few finely chopped mint leaves
    2 eggs-(beaten well with salt - 1/2 tsp)
    2 tbsp bread crumbs
    5 tbsp refined oil

Method:

    1. Grind green chillies, ginger and garlic into a paste.
    2. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a kadai and saute chopped onions till golden brown.
    3. Add coriander and mint leaves,fennel seeds and green chillies-ginger garlic paste. saute till oil separates from the mixture.
    4. Add boiled and mashed potato next and then turmeric powder, garam masala and salt . mix well.
    5. Add grated paneer and saute till the mixture becomes thick and evenly spread like dough. Remove from  fire. Let it cool for 20 mins.
    6. Form into desired shape.
    7. Dip the Rolls in beaten egg(or corn flour paste)  and then roll them in breadcrumbs.
    8. Heat the remaining 4 tbsp. of oil in a frying pan and shallow fry until golden brown on both sides.

         Serve hot with tomato ketchup or your favourite chutney.

Pineapple Pachhadi

Ingredients :

    Ripe Pineapple (finely chopped) – 1 medium sized Pineapple
    Turmeric – 1/4 tsp
    Red Chilly Powder – 1/2 tsp
    Curd/Yogurt – 1/2 cup
    Salt – to taste
    Sugar or Jaggery – to taste (optional)
    Water – as needed

For grinding:
    Grated Coconut – 1 cup
    Green Chillies – 3 small ones
    Cumin (Jeera) – 1/4 tsp
    Turmeric Powder – 1/4 tsp
    Mustard seeds- 1/2 tsp
   
 For Seasoning:
    Oil – 1 tbsp
    Mustard Seeds – 1/4 tsp
    Dry Red Chillies – 3 to 4
    Curry Leaves – A sprig

Preparation Method

   1. Remove the skin and its pines from the pineapple. Then remove the hard core part of the pineapple and dice them into small pieces.
   2. Cook the pineapple in little water along with salt, 1/4 tsp turmeric and 1/2 tsp Red Chilly Powder until soft.( i prefer to pressure cook them 15 minutes on medium)
   3. Meanwhile, grind coconut and the other ingredients to form a nice paste and keep aside.
   4. Blend yogurt with little water and salt and keep aside.
   5. Once the pineapples are cooked, check for sweetness, you can add sugar or jaggery if the pineapple is not sweet enough for your taste. Add the ground coconut paste .
   6. Continue cooking on medium flame for another 8-10 minutes till it becomes thick.
   7. Remove from stove and add the yogurt. Mix well.
   8. Heat oil in a pan. Splutter mustard seeds and saute dry red chillies and curry leaves for a few minutes.
              Pour seasoning over the Pineapple Pachadi.

Payyoli Chicken Fry

Ingredients:

1kg chicken  (Young chicken) I used Cornish game hens 

75 gram or 4 tablespoon of  Whole red chilly paste ( boil the whole red chilly for 1 hr, then drain and grind them to a smooth paste without adding water)

3 Tablespoon  Ginger paste

1 Teaspoon Meat Masala

3/4 Teaspoon  Turmeric powder 

3 Tablespoon Vinegar 

Salt to taste

1/2 cup Grated Coconut  

5 to 6 ( slit into four )  Green chilly        

8 to 10 leaves  Curry leaves  

3 to  4 cups of  Coconut oil / Vegetable oil    

Method :

1.Marinate the chicken pieces with  2 table spoon of ginger paste , salt to taste and 1 table spoon vinegar

   for 15 minutes.

2. Mix all the below Masala's to make a smooth paste.

   4 Tablespoon of boiled red chilly paste , 3/4 teaspoon of turmeric , 1 teaspoon of meat Masala, 1/2  teaspoon of ginger paste ,a pinch of salt ( we have added some salt to the chicken before so just add

a pinch of it now ), 2 table spoon of vinegar . Mix the paste well .

3. Now rub the ginger marinated chicken with a little more than 3/4 of the above mixture.

4. Save the rest of the it to marinated the grated coconut .

5. Keep the chicken aside for 15 to 20 minutes to marinate.

6. Heat the oil in a large wok. When it is hot enough to fry the chicken, lower the flame to simmer and put the  chicken pieces into it .

4. When it is half done , add the marinated coconut into it.

5. When the marinated coconut  turns light brown add the slit green chillies and curry leaves

6. Fry for 5 more minutes and then transfer them to a serving dish. ( don't forget to take all the marinated grated coconut from the oil. They taste the best)

Vegetable Spring Rolls

Spring rolls are a large variety of filled, rolled appetizers similar to the Chinese spring roll found in East Asian and Southeast Asian cuisine. The kind of wrapper, fillings, and cooking technique used, as well as the name, vary considerably within this large area. Fried spring rolls are generally smaller and crisper. They can be sweet or savory; the latter are typically prepared with vegetables. This version is fully wrapped before being pan-fried or deep-fried. Non-fried spring rolls are typically bigger and more savory. In contrast, non-fried spring rolls typically fill the wrapping with pre-cooked ingredients.

Ingredients:

For Making Rolls:

1/2 Cup maida (all purpose flour)1 Cup milk

A pinch Soda-bi-carb ( optional)Oil for deep frying

1/4 tsp Salt

For the Stuffing :

7-8 French beans, half boiled
1 Onion, finely chopped
1/2 Cup cabbage, cut into thin and long strips
1/2 Cup Capsicum, cut into thin and long strips
1/2 Cup Carrot, cut into thin and long strips
1/2 tsp Sugar
1/2 tsp White Pepper
1 tbsp Oil
2 tsp Soya sauce
1 tsp Corn-flour 
Salt as required

Method:

For the Filling :

1.Cut the sides of the beans and put them in boiled and salted water for about one minute. Now Strain it through a strainer.
2.Cut it along with all the other vegetables into thin and long pieces
3.Take a pan and heat oil in it. Add chopped onions and fry for about 1 minute.
4.Add sugar, salt, white pepper, all the vegetables and cook for about 1 minute.
5. Combine soya sauce with it, mix well.

For the Pancake crust :

1. Take a bowl and add salt to maida, milk, along with soda-bi-carb to make a fine batter for pancakes.
2. Heat a nonstick pan and put half of the paste onto the pan and stir the pan so the paste spreads equally on the pan.
3. When the bottom of the pancake is cooked, remove it from the pan and set aside on a dry cloth, not to cook the top portion of the pancake.
4. Make the second pancake with the remaining paste in the same way.

Preparing the spring Rolls:

1. Place half the stuffing on the cooked side of each pancake and fold both the sides onto the stuffing.
2. Now hold the sides and turn upward.
3. Combine corn flour with 1 tsp water and cover the sides with the corn-flour paste.
4. Heat oil in a pan and fry spring rolls on both the sides until it becomes golden brown.
5. Put them on a tissue paper and cut them into 1 inch pieces.

Gulab Jamun

Ingredients:

1 cup nonfat milk powder
1/4 cup All Purpose flour (plain flour, maida)
3 tablespoons room temperature unsalted butter
1/4 cup room temperature whole milk
Pinch of baking soda
1 3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup water
4 coarsely grounded cardamom seeds
1 tablespoon sliced almonds and pistachio
Oil for deep-frying

Method:

For Syrup
1. In a large pan, add water, sugar, and ground cardamom seeds and bring it to a boil.
2. Let the syrup boil for 5 minutes then remove it from the heat. It should be one
thread consistency
3. Set the syrup aside.

For the Jamuns:

1. In a bowl, mix milk powder, flour and baking soda. Add the butter and mix well.
2. Now add milk to make soft dough. The dough will be a bit sticky.
3. Cover the dough with a Moist cloth for a 10 minutes. Milk powder will absorb the extra milk. If the dough is dry, add more milk, the dough should be soft Otherwise the jamuns will not turn out good .
4. Knead the dough. Grease your hands with butter/Ghee before working with the dough.
5. Divide the dough into about 18 to 20 equal portions and roll them into round balls.
6. Heat the oil in a frying pan on medium heat. The frying pan should have at least 1 ½ inch of oil. To test if the oil is the right temperature, place a small piece of dough into the oil; it should take a minute to rise. If dough rises faster, oil is too hot; if dough just sits without rising, oil is not hot enough.
7. Place the gulab Jamuns in the frying pan. Gulab jamuns will expand in almost double the volume due to the baking soda , so give them enough space.
8. While frying keep rolling the gulab jamuns around so they are evenly browned. Fry until the gulab jamuns become dark brown.
9. Let the gulab jamuns cool off for a few minutes before placing in the hot syrup.
10. The gulab jamuns should sit in the hot syrup for at least 20 minutes prior to serving. Overnight soaking would be best

Gulab jamuns can be kept at room temperature for about a week


Tips :

1. If the gulab jamuns are fried on high heat, they will become hard inside and not fully cooked.
2. Too much baking soda will cause the gulab jamuns to get too soft or they will break apart when frying.

Kerala Dal vada/ Parippu Vada

Ingredients :

2 cups Channa dal or yellow split peas
3 or 4 hot green chilies, finely chopped (less for milder taste)
Salt to taste
6 to 7 pearl onion thinly chopped
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro leaves
A few sprigs of curry leaves
6 cups vegetable, coconut oil for deep-frying

Method :

1.Soak Channa dal / thuvar dal in water for 3 to 4 hours and then drain in a colander.
2. In a food processor / Blender combine 1 3/4 cup of the soaked dal with salt and grind coarsely
3. Add the remaining soaked dal to the coarsely grounded dal. The ground mixture should be very thick so that it can be shaped into small discs.
4. Remove from the processor, sprinkle chopped green chilies, onion, grated ginger, cilantro leaves and curry leaves and mix well.
5. Heat the oil in a heavy bottomed pan. When the oil is hot, wet the palms of your hand and shape about two tablespoons of the dal mixture into a 1 1/2 to 2 inch round disc. Pierce in between the vada (like we do for medhu vada)
6. Slide the vada gently into the hot oil. Repeat with the remaining mix. Fry vadas on medium heat for approximately 4 to 6 minutes till they turn golden brown and crisp.
7. Remove from the oil and drain.
Serve hot with tea.It may be served with coconut chutney and / or sambar.

Tips:

1. Since the dal absorbs water during soaking, there is no need to add extra water when processing.

Tutti Frutti Tea Cake

Ingredients:

2 cups all purpose flour/maida

2 tsps baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 1/4 cup granulated white sugar

1/2 cup soft white butter

2 eggs, room temperature

1/2 cup low fat milk

1/2 cup tutti frutti

2 tsps pineapple essence or vanilla essence

Method:

1 Preheat oven to 175 C. Grease and flour a loaf tin.

2 Sieve maida, baking soda and baking powder twice and keep aside.

3 In a bowl, cream butter and sugar till smooth and creamy. Add one egg at a time and beat till well combined. Add Vanilla/pineapple essence and combine.

4 Now add the flour in three additions alternating with milk, starting with flour and ending with flour. Mix till well in low speed.

5 Sprinkle some flour over the tutti frutti to coat them. Add this tutti frutti to the batter and fold gently into the batter. Do not beat it but just fold until combined.

6 Pour batter into the greased and floured loaf tin. Bake in preheated oven for 40-45 minutes or till a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.

7.Place on a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes. Remove cake from pan and slice.