Potato Masala/Subji

Potato masala will be our regular side dish with poori. It is easy to prepare and goes well with poori/chapathi…..

Ingredients:

Potato	3
Ginger	2 inch piece
Garlic	5 to 7 cloves
Onion	1
Green chilly	5(medium)
Oil	2 tspoon
Dry red chilly	2
Mustard	1/2 tspoon
Curry leaves	1 pinch
Salt	to taste
Turmeric powder	1/2 tspoon
Garam masala(optional)	1 tspoon
Water	1/4 cup

Preparation:

(1) Peel the skin of potato. Boil it in pressure cooker by adding water for about 3 whistles. Once it is boiled, mash it and keep aside.

(2) Meanwhile chop onion, garlic, ginger and green chilly. Keep it aside. Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard. Once it splutters add dry red chilly and curry leaves. Now add ginger and garlic. Saute till the raw smell goes off.

(3) To this add chopped onion and little salt. Saute well. Now add green chilly and saute till the color of onion changes brownish.

(4) Reduce the flame to low. Add turmeric powder and mix once. Add mashed potato with it and mix well.

(5) Now add water, garam masala and salt. Mix well. Make a salt test. Close the vessel with a lid and allow to cook for 10 minutes in low flame. Your potato masala is ready.

Have it with your chapathi/poori..

Tips:

• Don't add too much of water.
• You can replace water with thin coconut milk which enhance the taste.

Cabbage Thoran

Thoran is easy to cook,cabbage thoran too. This is cooked without adding water and also tastes too good.

Ingredients:

Cabbage	1(small)
Oil	2 to 3 tspoon
Urad dal	1/2 tspoon
Mustard	1/4 tspoon
Dry red chilly	2
Curry leaves	1 pinch
Salt	to taste

For grinding:

Grated coconut	1/2 tspoon
Garlic	3 cloves
Cumin seeds	1/2 tspoon
Turmeric powder	1/2 tspoon
Chilly powder	3/4 tspoon

Preparation:

(1) Remove the outer leaves of cabbage and finely chop it. Keep it aside.

(2) Grind all the ingredients shown under "for grinding" heading in a mixer without adding water. Make a coarse mixture. Keep it aside.

(3) Heat oil in a pan. Add urad dal and saute for some  seconds. To this add cumin seeds and mustards. Once mustard crackles add dry red chilly and curry leaves. To this add chopped cabbage and salt. Mix well.

(3) In low flame saute it till it is completely cooked(If you find it too dry, sprinkle water over it or add oil). Once cabbage is cooked well add the ground mixture to it and mix well. Switch off the flame. Close the vessel with a pan. Your cabbage thoran is ready.

Have it with your rice

Tips:

• Cabbage should be chopped finely, which helps in easy boiling.
• Since we don't use water to cook, stir the cabbage contents in between to avoid burning.

Varutharacha Mutton Curry

This was my weekend special, got this recipe from a cookery show. Taste was awesome, got thumbs up from my hubby  ;)

Ingredients:

Mutton	1 kg
Coconut milk(thin-rendam pal)	3/4 cup
Coconut milk(thick-onnam pal)	1/4 cup
Ginger	2 inch piece
Garlic	6 to 8 cloves
Green chilly	2
Chilly powder	1 tspoon
Turmeric powder	1/2 tspoon
Curry leaves	1 pinch
Salt	to taste

For stirring in oil and grinding:

Oil	2 tspoon
Coconut	1&1/4 cup
Small onion	18 to 20
Dry red chilly	3
Coriander powder	1 tspoon
Pepper powder	1 tspoon
Curry leaves	1 pinch
Water	less than 1/4 cup

for tempering:

Oil	1/2 tspoon
Small onion	2
Mustard	1/2 tspoon
Dry red chilly	2(small)
Curry leaves	1 pinch

Preparation:

(1)  Wash and clean mutton. Cut into medium pieces. Keep it aside. Extract coconut milk from coconut and make thin and thick milk. Keep it aside. Chop ginger, garlic and green chilly. Keep it aside.

(2) Heat the pressure cooker and add mutton pieces with thin coconut milk. Add ginger, garlic, green chillies, chilly powder, turmeric powder, curry leaves and salt. Mix well. Cook it for 3 to 4 whistles. Keep the remaining water with it which can be used for making gravy. Keep it aside.

(3) Mean while heat oil in a pan. Add grated coconut and stir for 2 minutes. Now add peeled onion, curry leaves and dry chilly into it. Saute till the color of coconut changes brownish. Switch off the flame, add coriander powder and pepper powder. Mix well and allow it to cool.

(4) Once it is cooled, grind it in a mixer by adding water and make a fine paste.

(5) Add ground paste to the cooked mutton pieces with the water in it. Mix well. Make a salt test here. Close the vessel with a lid and allow to heat it in low flame for 5 to 10 minutes. Let the flavor sets well.

(6) Mean while heat oil in a pan and temper with the ingredients shown under  "for tempering" heading. Pour it to the mutton pieces. Add thick coconut milk. Mix once and switch off the flame. Your varutharacha mutton curry is ready. Close the vessel with a lid for 5 minutes before serving (Since it was hot i couldn't get a clear picture finally).

Have the curry with your appam/chappathi/rice/idly/dosa

Tips:

• Thin coconut milk is made by mixing water with thick coconut milk. 
• If you want the gravy as thick, reduce the amount of thin coconut milk.

Strawberry Bread

I made this bread on my hubby's bday instead of cake…. Enjoy this healthy dish in morning as well as in evening...

ingredients:

Maida	2 cup/260 gm
Egg	3
Butter(unsalted,at room temperature)	1/2 cup/110 gm
Powdered sugar	3/4 cup/150gm
Vanilla essence	1 tspoon
Strawberry	1&1/2 cup/360 gm
Nuts(i used almonds and walnuts)	1/2 cup/110 gm
Baking powder	1/2 tspoon
Baking soda	1/2 tspoon
Yogurt	1&1/2 cup/360 gm
Salt	1/4 tspoon
Ground cinnamon(optional)	1 tspoon

Preparation:

(1) Chop strawberries into small pieces. Also crush the nuts. Keep both aside.

(2) Take a large bowl and add butter to it. Beat it with an electric mixer or hand mixer till it is softened. Now add sugar to it and beat well until light and fluffy.

(3) To this add eggs one by one, beating well after each addition. Now pour vanilla extract and beat well. Now the ingredients will be in liquid form. Keep it aside.

(4) In another bowl add maida after sieving two times. To this add baking soda, baking powder, ground cinnamon and salt. Mix well. Keep this dry ingredients aside.

(5) Add this dry ingredients and yogurt to the beaten butter ingredients. Add it alternatively starting and ending with the dry contents. Now you will get a medium thick dough.

(6) To this dough add strawberry and nuts. Mix well. Dough for the preparation of bread is now ready.

(7) Mean while preheat your oven to 350 degree Fahrenheit. Spray the baking vessel with oil and pour batter into it. Bake it in oven for about 60 to 70 minutes or tooth pick inserts comes out clean.

Your strawberry bread is now ready.

Tips:

• Dark brown in bread is from the ground cinnamon. You can skip it if you want.
• Always fill the dough to half of the baking vessel since the amount of dough will rise while baking.

Chicken Fried Rice

Chicken fried rice was our new year special dish. It came out too good…...

ingredients:

Chicken(boneless)	250 gm
Basmathi rice	3 cup
Egg	3
Carrot(finely chopped)	2(medium)
Cabbage(finely chopped)	1/4(small)
Green peas(english peas)	50 gm
Big onion(chopped to small slices)	1(medium)
Bell pepper(chopped)	1/2
Ginger(crushed)	2 inch piece
Garlic(crushed)	6 to 8 cloves
Pepper powder	4 +1 tspoon
Vinegar	1 tbl spoon
Chilly pepper sauce	2 tspoon
Soya sauce	2+2 tspoon
Lime juice	2 tspoon
Oil	1 tbl spoon
Salt	to taste

Preparation:

(1) Wash and clean chicken. Cut into small pieces. Add pepper powder, salt and lime juice. Mix well. Keep it aside for marination about half an hour.

Wash rice and boil it in a cooker. Drain the water completely. Once the water is drained out spread cooked rice on a paper so that rice will not stick each other. Keep it aside.

Mean while chop onion, carrot, cabbage, ginger, garlic and bell pepper. Keep it aside.

(2) Once the chicken is marinated heat a vessel to cook chicken. Add chicken pieces along with half cup of water. Close the vessel with a lid till it is cooked(around 10 to 15 mints). Drain the water completely. Keep it aside. Mean while beat egg in a bowl by adding salt and pepper powder. Saute it in a heated pan and make a quick egg bhurji. Keep it aside.

(3) Now heat oil in  a large vessel. Add ginger and garlic. Saute till the raw smell goes off. Now add onion slices. Saute till the color changes to light brown. Now add chopped carrot. Reduce the flame to low. Saute for around 10 minutes.

(4) To this add green peas and cabbage. Saute for 5 minutes.

(5) Now add little salt and soya sauce. Mix well. To this add cooked chicken. Mix well

(6) Add chilly pepper sauce to it and again mix well. Now add cooked rice followed by vinegar and soya sauce. Mix well. Continue stirring in between for about 5 to 7minutes. Switch off the flame. Your chicken fried rice is now ready.

(7) Close the vessel with a lid for 5 minutes before serving so that the flavor sets well. Garnish with bell pepper.