Creamy chicken soup using rice cooker - one shot soup - Step by step

           Rice cooker does magic ,by creating several dishes in one shot. When initially,Geetha and me started thinking about the dishes, we were just blank. When we started exploring the recipes, we were astonished by the n number of dishes we can prepare using rice cooker. when we are travelling , this helps us to prepare dishes without a kitchen. Starting from a soup, curry, biriyani,or even a dessert can be prepared using this gadget. One more advantage about this, is we can just add everything and close it. We can , do our other works.When it is finished,it calls us bu a whistle :P  An advantage this series, is I cooked all the dishes, by keeping the rice cooker in my patio. This helped me to get clear pictures ,unlike the ones, which I click in my dark kitchen:( Check this creamy chicken soup and indulge in its taste.

Preparation time: 5 mins

Cooking time - 25 - 30 mins

Serves - 2

Ingredients:

1.Chicken pieces - 1 cup

2.Carrots - 1/4 cup ( chopped)

3.Broccoli - 1/4 cup

4.Chicken broth - 2 cups

5.Salt - to taste

6.Pepper powder - to taste

7.Minced ginger - 1 tsp

For the white sauce :

1.Butter - 1 tbsp

2. Flour - 2 tbsp

3.Milk - 1/2 cup

4.Corn flour - 2 tsp ( optional)

Method:

*  Wash and clean the boneless chicken and chop them into small pieces. Similarly chop the carrots and separate the nroccoli florets. Finely mince the ginger. Ginger is added to take the raw smell of the chicken. It should be finely minced, if not we will get small chunks of ginger, while drinking.Add them to the inner bowl of the rice cooker. * Now add the chicken broth to the rice cooker. This is very much needed to get a tasty soup. If you want tot prepare chicken broth, quickly, add some chicken with bones to the pressure cooker along with water,some chopped onions and carrots. Cook it for 3 whistles, once broth is made, remove the chicken and veges from the broth and use the liquid.But if you don't have, then add plain water .  * Close the lid of the rice cooker and turn it to brown rice setting. If you don't have this model rice cooker, just turn it to cook mode. When the button turns to warm mode, without cooking the chicken, just turn the setting to cook again. In my case, brown rice setting is the slowest mode, so my chicken cooked perfectly. * While the soup is cooking, we will prepare the shite sauce. Take a pan, add butter. When the butter is melted, add flour and saute it in butter. When the flour is sauteed, add milk and whisk it. It should form a creamy sauce. If the sauce is still thin, add a tsp of corn flour to make it thick. Now keep it aside.    (If you don't have any vessel to prepare this white sauce, when you have taken the rice cooker alone, then just saute the chicken and other veges in butter and mix corn flour at the end to prepare a creamy soup.or just skip this white sauce part .) * Open the lid and check the chicken, if it is cooked well, dump the white sauce to the soup and close the lid. Cook it for 5 more minutes and turn it off. The soup will stay warm inside the rice cooker. At last add salt and pepper and mix.                                                                     Serve it with some croutons or fried bread.

Notes:

* We can add any vegetables to the soup. Like some peas,or potato .

* We can also add some brown rice or wild rice, to give a nutty flavour to ths soup.

* Any kind of seasoning can be added to the soup.

* The chicken should be cut into small pieces, for it to cook fast.

* We can also add some cooked noodles into the soup.

Linking this to "Friendship 5 Series ", started by "Savitha Ramesh" and "Geetha Achal"

How to make coffee using rice cooker - Step by step - Friendship 5 series

    From today, we are going to post recipes , which are cooked uisng rice cooker. Most of the recipes, are cooked from start to finish in a rice cooker.Check this space for the next 4 days for interesting recipes.

     Rice cooker, saves our time and acts as a multi purpose gadget ,to cook so many dishes. When we don't have any other utensil, then we can rely on these reci cookers for simple meals. When we went to a trip, this rice cooker helped us in many ways.On one of the trips,my friend and me prepared coffee using the rice cooker, as that particular hotel, didn't had kitchen. To our surprise, coffee was so good.

We can make numerous dishes using rice cooker. It needs , just our imagination :P

Ingredients:

1.Whole milk - 2 cups

2.Instant coffee powder - 2 tsp

3.Sugar - as needed

4.Water to fill the rice cooker

* Cover the rice cooker bowl with water ,about 2 inches high.Take a bowl of milk and place it inside the rice cooker. Close it .  * Turn the rice cooker setting to cook, in my case, I turned it to rice mode. It took me around 12 - 15 mins for the milk to get boiled. * Take a cup, add coffee powder and sugar. Let it be kept ready. I used taster's choice coffee powder. You can use any brand. It should be instant powder. * My milk boiled after 12 mins approx. The steam started to come out of the rice cooker. The milk will be really hot. * Mix the milk with coffee powder and sugar.  Mix them, till you get froth. Serve hot. Coffee is ready to be served. Serve it with some biscuits.

Notes:

* Every rice cooker differs by the settings, so boil the milk accordingly.

* My milk was pasteurised, so it took me less time, if your milk is not pasteurised, then boil it for more time.

* If your rice cooker, comes to warm mode, before the milk is getting cooked, turn it again to cook mode.

* Always use quality coffee powder to get a good coffee.

* Similarly we can make tea too.

Linking this to "Friendship 5 Series ", started by "Savitha Ramesh" and "Geetha Achal"

http://geethaachalrecipe.blogspot.com

Motichoor Laddoo - மோதிசூர் லட்டு - Diwali special - Step by step

   Wishing all my friends and well wishers a "Very Happy Diwali ". Let the festival of lights bring you smile and happiness forever.

   Motichoor laddoos are very famous in North Indian cuisine. Whenever we go to a north Indian sweet shop, these laddoos will always grab my attention. The difference in motichoor laddoo, is the boondhis are grinded after getting soaked in sugar syrup. This allows us to shape the laddoo very good. Also, it looks uniform and beautifull. When I was searching through the net, this particular page inspired me. This recipe calls for khoya. Luckily I had some khoya at home. So added it to the laddoo. But if you don't have, just skip this . these laddoos were so juicy and soft. Very apt  and like that of ,what we get in stores. My friend and me prepared these beautifull looking laddoos for this diwali. Within 2 hours, flat we finished these laddoos. Its always fun to have some around to cook :P

Check my boondhi laddoo recipe here

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time : 2 hours

 Yield : 90 - 95 ( approx)

Ingredients:

For the laddoo :

1.Besan Flour - 8 cups

2.Baking soda - 1/4 tsp

3.Water - as needed

4.Orange colour - a dash

5.Oil - for frying

6.Melon seeds - 1/4 cup

7.Khoya - 1/2 cup (optional)

8.Saffron - a big pinch for garnish

For the syrup:

1.Sugar - 8 cups

2.Water - 4 cups

3.Cardamom pwdr - 1/4 tsp

4.Vinegar or lemon juice - 1/4 tsp

Method:

  

* First let us prepare the sugar syrup and keep it ready. Take sugar and water in a pan. Bring it to boil. After some time, it will reach 1 string consistancy. Add few drops of lemon juice or vinegar. This will stop the process of crystalisation.Now add cardamom powder and leave it aside. Let the syrup be cooled for some time. Let us prepare the boondhis. Take a mixing bowl, add besan flour, baking soda,orange food colour and water. Mix it a thin batter out of it. * Heat a pan of oil. Let the oil be about 2 inches high. Place the boondhi karandi on top of the pan. Pour a laddle full of batter into the oil. The boondhis will raise beautifully in oil. Once the boondhis are cooked , remove them from oil. The boondhis should not be cooked till crispy. They have to be cooked soft. Baking soda does the magic, by keeping the boondhi soft. Remove the boondhis from the oil and strain it on paper towel. * Strain the boondhis on a paper towel. Meanwhile, add a drop of orange colour to the sugar syrup. We can also add some rose essence to the sugar syrup. This will bring an exotic flavour to the laddoos. always make sugar syrup in a wide pan. Because, when we mix the boondhis, there should be enough space in the pan. * Transfer the fried boondhis to the sugar syrup. Let the boondhis get soaked for about 15 minutes. When we want to make boondhi laddoo (normal ones), we can just shape the laddoos now. When the boondhis are soaked well, transfer the boondhis along with the syrup to a blender and pulse them coarsely.I like my laddoo to be bit grainy. If you want your laddoos to be fine, then grind them finely. If you want, we can add few spoons of warm water, while grinding. Since the sugar syrup was enough for me, I didin't add . * Transfer the grinded boondis to a wide pan or plate. Add the khoya and melon seeds to the mixture. Adding khoya is purely optional. But it gives a unique taste to the laddoo. Mix them well.Scoop the boondhi mixture in a laddle and shape them into rounds. Initially, the mixture will be bit watery, but after you shape them, the laddoos will become hard. Shape the laddoos and keep them aside. Leave the laddoos out ,till they become intact. Store them in air tight container. Since these laddoos has khoya, store them in fridge. After some time, we can  reshape the laddoos . Because initially, it may look shabby. But after some time, it will shape properly. Finally garnish the laddoos with chopped nuts and saffron.

Notes:

* Don't fry the boondhis till crisp. If not we will not be able to shape the laddoos.

* The sugar syrup should not become crystal.

* If you don't have khoya, just skip it. Without khoya, the laddoo can be stored at room temperature for atleast a week.

* We can also add chopped cashews instead of melon seeds.

* Leave the boondhis to soak in sugar syrup for atleast 15 mins.

Ribbon Pakoda - ரிப்பன் பகோடா-Diwali Special - Step by step

     I am not in the mood to blog for the past 1 week. The thought of Ebola is making me sick. I pray everyday for the people, who suffer from this deadly disease. West Africa is the epi centre  of this deadly disease. Almost 4500 people have lost thier lives . So lets hold hands together and pray for the victims, to come over this. Also. thank all the care givers, who has kept thier life in stake and  help the victims there. 

       Coming to the recipe, this is very simple savoury ,which can be cooked under 30 minutes. Besan flour gives a crunchy texture to the pakoda. We can spice up the pakodas, using chilli powder or red chilles. Have a happy and safe diwali.

Preparation time : 10 minutes

Cooking time : 15 mins

Yield - about 3 cups 

Ingredients:

1.Besan Flour - 2 cups

2.Rice flour - 1 cup

3.Garlic pods - 4 to 5

4.Red chillies- 6 to 7

5.Hing - a pinch

6.Oil - for frying

7.Water- to knead

8.Salt - to taste

Method:

* Take garlic pods and red chillies in a blender and grind it finely, without any chunks. * Take besan flour,rice flour,salt and hing in a mixing bowl. * Now mix the grinded red chilli and garlic paste to the bowl. Heat a pan with oil to fry the pakodas. * Add a tbsp or 2  of hot oil to the bowl. Add water little by little to form a soft dough. * Divide the dough into equal sized balls. Take your ribbon pakoda mould . * Grease the murukku press with oil. Fill the Press with the dough and close. * When the oil is hot, press the dough ,like that of a ribbon. Let it cook for 1 or 2 minutes.Flip it around and let the oil stop making noise. This is the right time to stop the flame. * Once  the pakodas are cooked, take them out, strain the excess oil using a paper towel. Break them into pieces and store in air tight container. Notes: * We can also add chilli powder instead of using red chillies. * My ribbon pakoda press had big holes, hence the thickness of my pakodas are thick. * We can also use 1 cup of besan flour and 1 cup of rice flour, to get a crispier pakodas. * Adding hot oil, makes the pakodas crunchy, so don't skip it. * Alter the number of red chillies, according to your taste.

Strawberry Cake - Baking Partner's Challenge

This month's Baking partner's Challenge was thrown to us by Divya Ashok of "Divya's Diner".This recipe was very moist and tasty. While preparing the batter, I literally licked the dough. It was that tasty. I couldn't take pictures properly,as they vanished in minutes. Finally, I was left with a single slice.Try this tasty strawberry cake. You fall in love soon.

Recipe adapted from : America’s Test Kitchen

Ingredients:

For the Cake :
1 cup + 2 tablespoons of Cake flour
2 teaspoons of Baking powder
½ teaspoon of Salt
¾ cup + 1 tablespoon of Sugar
6 tablespoons of Unsalted butter
2 large Eggs (or 3 large egg whites) or 1/2 cup yogurt
¼ cup of  the strawberry puree:
1 teaspoon of Vanilla extract
½ teaspoon Strawberry extract

For the Strawberry puree:
1 lbs(454g)  of very ripe fresh Strawberries (frozen strawberries without sugar)
1 tablespoon of Sugar

Method:
• Wash and hull fresh ripe strawberries. Cut it in to small pieces and transfer it to a bowl. Add a tablespoon of sugar and give a quick mix. Cover it and allow it to sit for 2-3 hours/ overnight in the refrigerator. Strawberries will become tender and juicy. I kept it for 2 hours. Cook the strawberries, with the sugar ,till it becomes, tender.

• Simmer the tender strawberries in a pan with ¼ cup of water for 20-25 mins in low flame. (Taking care not to burn any). Mash it well with a spatula and allow it to cool. Transfer the contents to the blender with ¼ cup of water and puree the cooked strawberries. Filter the puree to remove any chunky pieces. Again bring the filtered puree to the stove and slow cook it in low flame for another 15 mins. Reduce the puree to 1/4 cup.

 

• Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease (butter/shortening) and dust (flour) two 6” pans. (I have halved the recipe and made it in two 6” pans). Take required butter, cut them in to pieces and allow them to sit at room temperature. Since it is the month of purattasi, I skipped eggs and replaced with 1/2 cup of yogurt. 

Wet ingredients:
In a small bowl, take ¼ cup of cooked strawberry puree and add ¼ cup of milk, yogurt and whisk it. Add vanilla extract & strawberry extract.

Dry ingredients:

• In a large mixing bowl, sift cake flour. If you cant find cake flour, substitute with all purpose flour (APF) and corn starch. Add baking powder and salt. Mix it slowly in a stand mixer with paddle attachment or with a hand held mixer. Toss in softened butter and continue mixing till you get ‘bread crumbs’ like texture. 

Slowly add the wet ingredients mixture little by little and the cake batter is ready.  This is going to be the color of the cake once baked and its not going to turn pink. So if you want the cake to look pink, add few drops of beet juice or pink food color.

Pour the batter equally in to two prepared pans. The mixture will not be runny and it will be difficult to spread.Bake it at 350 degrees for 25-30 mins or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.

Once done, remove the pans from the oven and let it sit in the counter for 10 mins. Once it is cooled, torte the cake, fill the strawberry puree. Frost it with a dallop of whipped cream and enjoy.

Linking this to Swathi's "Baking Partner's challenge".

Microwave mysore pak - மைக்ரொவேவ் மைசூர்பாக் - Low Calorie Version - Step by step - Diwali special

   This is one easy sweet, which "Chithra Viswananthan" gave the recipe, one day on her "Facebook" page. I noted it and was waiting for a right occasion. What else can be so special , than Diwali. The microwave version was very easy. No hassle of taking string consistancy. This can be whipped within 5 to 6 minutes. Since we have used less ghee, it is so healthy too. For me 2 cups of sugar was way too much, so I used 1 /2 cups of sugar. You can increase or decrease the sugar level according to your taste. Try this and let me know, how it turned out.

Check my Sree Krishna Sweets style Mysore paa recipe here

Preparation time : 5 mins
Cooking time : 10 mins approx
Yield : 12 pieces

Ingredients:
1.Besan flour - 1 cup
2.Sugar - 2 cups or less. ( I used 11/2 cups of sugar )
3.Ghee - 3/4 cup
4.Sugar - 1 tsp ( to sprinkle on top )
5.Saffron strands - to garnish.
6.Water - 1/2 cup

Method:

* Take a big microwave safe bowl. Add ghee to it and melt it in the microwave for 1 minute. The bowl should be big, if not there are chances for the mysore pak to over flow. * Grease, a square tin with ghee. Now add the sieved besan flour  to the melted ghee and whisk it. Whisking is necessary, to get a lump free mysore pak. Add the besan flour ,when the ghee is hot, it will partially fry the besan. remove the besan + ghee mixture to another pan. * In the same bowl, add sugar and water. Microwave for 1 minute or 2 . Mix it thoroughly, till the sugar is melted well. Microwave settings vary from one to another. The goal for us is, to dissolve the sugar. We can also use powdered sugar, instead of  granulated. This way, the sugar will melt easily. But always use less powder sugar, compared to the granulated. Say for example,instead of using 2 cups of granulated sugar, we can use 1 cup of powdered sugar.  * Now add the besan mixture to the sugar syrup and whisk. Microwave for 2 minutes, stirring in between . * Microwave for another 2 minutes ,stirring in between.You will see , the mixture loosing moisture. After 1 more minute, the mysore pak will reach this consistancy, that is, when we take the mixture in our wet hands, we should be able to make a small ball out of it. This is the right consistancy. If you want , we can microwave for 1 more minute, to get a honeycomb texture. But  I stopped at totall of 5 minutes for the besan to cook. Roughly, your mysore pak will be ready by 4 - 5minutes, after the besan is mixed with sugar syrup. * Transfer the content immediately to the greased tin. Flatten it using the back of the spoon. The spoon should also be greased. Sprinkle some sugar on top. Cut the mysore pak, partially, when it is still warm. Cool the mysore pak and cut them completely. Store the mysore pak in air tight container. It will stay fresh for atleas a week on the counter top.

Notes: * The besan mixture should be mixed every now and then, while microwaving. * We can also use powdered sugar instead of granulated sugar. * The ghee can be increased , if you want a melt in mouth mysore pak. * We can also line the square tin with butter paper, it will be easy for the mysore pak to come out. * We can also use melted ghee.

Linking this to "Friendship 5 Series ", started by "Savitha Ramesh" and "Geetha Achal"