Quick Chicken Stir Fry Recipe (Kerala Style)

Chicken Stir Fry (Kerala style recipe)
Flavours and taste definitely have a strong impact on one's senses. Don't some tastes remind you of mom's cooking or take you back to a certain moment or place back in time. The curry leaves and fennel seeds have been playing havoc with my emotions for the last few days and make me feel terribly home sick. They gift me a trip back home every time to mom's cooking and the distinct variety of flavours that the Kerala cuisine has to offer. A cuisine so full of fabulous ingredients, though subtle can leave an everlasting impression. The culinary wonders of Kerala are definitely close to my heart. There are ingredients in my kitchen that transport me to a world that was mine some time ago but for now lost in the past. Childhood memories with grandmom, mom's fabulous cooking, the evergreen days at home and even a lovely holiday spent with hubby in a part of God's Own country just come by in a flash with just a bite or at times even a whiff. Equipped with a variety of ingredients I decided to perform a magic act the other day cause I was feeling terribly homesick and wanted to get home for atleast a moment. Lo and behold!!the fennel seeds and the generous addition of curry leaves all made it happen:). Back to reality all refreshed and rejuvenated:)

Quick Chicken Stir Fry (Kerala style)
Ingredients:
Chicken pieces - 200 gms (boneless bite sized pieces, washed and cleaned)
Turmeric powder or haldi - 1/4 tsp
Kashmiri chilli powder - 1 tsp
Pepper powder - 1/2 to 1 tsp
Ginger garlic paste (fresh) - 1 tsp
Vinegar or lime juice - 1 tsp
Fennel seeds powder - 1 tsp
curry leaves - 8 to 10
Garam masala powder - 1/2 tsp
Oil - 1 to 2 tbsp
Salt to taste
Method:
1- Mix the chicken pieces with all the ingredients (except oil) and keep aside for 15 minutes.
2- Take a kadai or non-stick pan and add the marinated chicken. Cook for 7-8 minutes.Add the oil and let fry for 5-6 minutes. Add in some fresh curry leaves and serve hot with rice or chapatis.

Spring Roll recipe - right from scratch

The spring roll is a snack that I like very much. This recipe is from a cookery class that I attended a few years back. The original recipe had egg in it however, had to take care of my vegetarian friends too and so the complete vegetarian version.

I was mighty impressed by the ease with which the chef made the thin pancakes however, never got to making these until a few weeks back. Guess it was a fear of failure that held me back for so long. With a lot of cooking happening these days and not many avenues for take-aways or eating out it was time to put my fears to rest and go ahead pamper my tastebuds. So the spring roll it was and believe me I was amazed at how easily I too could make these absolutely thin pancakes.

Coming to the recipe, there are basically 3 steps in this. The first being making the pancake which forms the outer covering, the second is to make a delicious filling and the third putting the roll together and deep frying it. These are a great way to get your little ones to eat veggies without a fuss. For the non-vegetarians you could add boiled and shredded chicken. A perfect lunchbox or party snack.
Ingredients for spring roll:
Maida - 4 tbsp
Salt - to taste
Water - as required
For filling:
Cabbage - 1/2 cup(cut into thin fine strips)
Carrot - 1/2 cup (cut into thin long strips)
Spring onions - 4 tbsp
Celery - 2 tbsp (chopped fine)
Oil - 1 tbsp and for frying
salt - to taste
sugar - 1/2 tsp
Soya sauce - 1 1/2 tbsp
Chilli sauce - 1 tbsp
Tomato sauce - 1 tbsp

Method for spring rolls:
1- Make a thin batter with maida, salt and water. The batter must of very thin consistency (like buttermilk).
2- Pour a ladle of the batter on a round pan and swirl it around to cover the entire pan. Let cook for a minute or two ( do not brown or make it crisp). The pancake must be thin and soft only then would you find it easy to handle while making the rolls.
3- Reapeat the process. You would be able to make 5-6 wraps from the batter.
For the filling:
1- Take a pan and add a tbsp of oil in it. Add in the cabbage, carrot and spring onions. Saute for a minute or two. Add the soya sauce, chilli sauce, tomato ketchup, salt and sugar. Saute till the sauces are well blended and veggies are soft. Keep aside.

Putting it all together:
1- Take a wrap and add in a tbsp of the filling. Fold in the two sides first and then roll. Close edges by sticking with a little of the batter. Deep fry till the outer cover turns crisp and golden brown. You may cut it into two before serving. Enjoy!!

Samosa - the perfect Indian snack recipe

Samosa
"Necessity is the mother of invention". I have heard this being used several times in the many years that I have been on this wonderful planet. However, never ever thought that necessity could really drive me so hard to try a hand at something that I have never ever done before. The "necessity" of your tastebuds can actually push you really hard "to the kitchen":)

The samosa has been a favorite tea time snack of mine. Although I have wanted to try a hand at making these crispy delights with the traditional potato filling, I have actually never got down to doing it till now. The reason for this being that the halwai's shop was just a hop, skip and jump from home. It took me only a few minutes to lay my hands on hot, crispy samosas with chutney...and not only samosas...whenever I did go to the halwai(which did happen quite often)was always very sympathetic towards the feelings of the other delicious eats that sat smiling along with the mouthwatering samosa. Now, now... I couldn't be partial at all... and so...with my share of samosas always came along a batch of tasty kachoris, jalebis and dhoklas too. Looking back all this is now just a sweet memory (or rather savory), and so, I had to get into the kitchen to please my poor tastebuds that have been deprived for long now:). So, the Samosa it was.

Ingredients:
For the crust:
Maida or all-purpose flour - 1 cup
Ajwain or carom or caraway seeds - 2 pinches
Salt - 3 pinches
Oil -3 tbsp
Water - approx 1/4 cup

Method For the Crust:
1-Mix together the all purpose flour and oil. When completely done, add in the ajwain and salt and mix well.
2- Now add the water little by little to make a smooth yet hard dough. Keep aside for approximately 30 minutes covered with a slightly damp kitchen towel.
3- Make small balls out of the dough. One cup of maida will yield about 10 medium sized samosas and thus, make out 5 balls out of the dough.
4- Roll out each ball into a circle and cut it into two. Make a cone shape out of each of the semi-circles and fill in a tbsp of the filling mixture. Paste the edges with water and keep aside.
5- When all the 10 samosas are ready, fry them in hot oil on medium heat. The temperature of the oil would make a big difference to the crust of the samosa.

For the samosa filling you could make your choicest potato, paneer or even chicken filling and have a wonderful treat.

Potato Pakodas - just right for the Mumbai rains

Potato pakodas
The Mumbai rains have been generous enough to bless us with occasional showers that create just the atmospehere to feast on some hot and crispy pakodas. The tiny drops of water going pitter patter on the window panes, a hot cup of chai and a platter of hot crisp pakodas..what more could one ask for. The drops soaking the dry soil bit by bit and the fresh smell of wet mud and greenery all around is truly a picture perfect setting. It is sure time to put on the kadai on to the hot stove and bring out those piping hot golden delights.

Rushina with her pakoda contest has provided just the excuse I needed to indulge. Potato pakodas it was and so in went the chunky potato slices into the gram flour (besan)batter for a royal dip and then were dropped into the hot oil to sizzle away. The house filled with the aroma that deep fried delights bring with them and I just couldn't wait to lay my hands on this lovely treat. Here is the easy potato pakoda recipe that we polished off with tea. This entry goes to Rushina's "hot" event.

Ingredients:
Potato -2 (cut into thin round slices, leave in hot water for 5-7 mins)
Besan - 4 to 5 tbsp
Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp ( you may increase it as per your taste)
Asafoetida - 2 pinches
Salt - to taste

Method:
1- Make a thick batter with the above ingredients(except potato) adding water as required.
2- Dip in the potato slices. Let the potato slices stay in the batter for approximately 5 minutes to soak in the flavor. Deep fry till golden brown. Enjoy!!