Chicken Tandoori - With Besan Flour Coating

Chicken Tandoori is my all time favourite.The main reason ,behind it is ,the healthier as it is baked with less oil.This time ,I wanted to prepare it a bit differently.So used fried besan flour as a coating.Made some change in the ,masala also.Grinded onion with cilantro to give an aromatic touch .We thoroughly enjoyed the chicken.

Ingredients:
1.Chicken drumsticks        -     7
2.Onion                             -    1/2
3.Chilli pwdr                      -    2 tbsp
4.Turmeric pwdr                -    1/2 tsp
5.Tandoori masala pwdr     -    1 tsp
6.Ginger                             -    1/2 inch
7.Garlic                              -    5 pods
8.Lemon juice                     -    1 tbsp
9.Besan flour                       -    3 tbsp
10.Curd                               -    1/2 cup
11.Salt                                 -    to taste
12.Oil                                   -     to brush
13.Cilantro                            -    a handfull


Method:
Marination:
* Wash the chicken and make slits on both sides.
* Grind onion,ginger ,cilantro and garlic together, into a fine paste.
* Take a muslin cloth ,add curd and remove the excess water from it.
* Take a mixing bowl add chilli pwdr,turmeric pwdr,tandoori masala pwdr,grinded onion paste,curd,lemon juice and salt.
* Mix it together ,without any lumps.And the paste shud be thick.
* Rub the chicken drumsticks with the masala and refrigerate it overnight.

Baking:
* Pre heat the oven for 350 degrees farenhiet.
* Take the chicken and bring it to room temperature.
* Take a pan ,roast the besan flour ,till it gives out nice aroma.
* Now add the besan flour to the chicken and leave it for half an hour.
* Cover the baking tray with aluminium foil ,spray some oil on it.
* Place the chicken in batches and brush little oil on top.
* Cook the chicken for 20 mins,turning it over every 10 mins.
* While turning the chicken,brush with oil.
* When the chicken is cooked 90 % ,turn the oven to broil mode.
* Keep the chicken in broil mode for 5 mins or untill it has golden brown spots.
* Totally the chicken would have cooked for 20 - 25 mins for every batch.
* Serve it hot with any pulao.





A closer look !!!

 
Note:
* We can also place the masala chicken in a ziploc and refrigerate.This way the chicken will be marinated well.
* Take care in turning the chicken around,because there may be chances for the chicken to get torned.
* Every oven has different settings,so cook the chicken accordingly.
* Place the chicken in equal intervals , this will make sure the chicken to get cooked well.
* I have cooked this chicken in 2 batches ,to make it cook well.
* In broil mode,the chicken will get darken quickly,so take utmost care to bake in broil mode.

Fluffy and Easy Pan cake

Pancakes are my son's favourite.He loves to eat it with the maple syrup.So we used to buy it in bulks from sam's club.But when I got this recipe from Vah chef, I completely stopped buying pancakes from shops.Because it was fluffy and fresh than the store bought.This is a very good recipe and easy too.Now I am preparing the pancakes in bulk and freezing them for future use in ziploc bags.We can also top the pancakes with fresh fruits  and feed the kids.Other alternative we can use for maple syrup is honey.

Ingredients:
1.All purpose flour - 1 cup
2.Egg                     - 1
3.Baking pwdr        - 1 tsp
4.Salt                      - a pinch
5.Sugar                   - 2 tsp
6.Milk                     - 1 cup
7.Oil                          - 1 tbsp

1.Mixing the dry ingredients   2.Mixing the wet ingredients
3.Beating the egg whites till peak.   4.Cooking the pan cakes in a griddle.

Method:
* Take a mixing bowl, add flour,salt, baking pwdr and mix it well.(dry ingredients)
* Separate egg white from the yolk in separate bowls.
* Take egg yolk,sugar,milk and oil.Beat them and mix well.(wet ingreients)
* Take the egg white and beat it for atleast  20 mins in a wide bowl.When we beat the egg whites,it will start forming foams.After 15 mins, we can see peaks forming on the whisk as shown on the picture.
* Now mix the wet ingredients and dry ingredients together .
* Finally fold in the egg white into the batter .Fold in well,so that there is airation in the  batter.

* Heat the griddle to a medium heat.
* Pour a laddle full of batter on the griddle .Cook for a minute and flip it over.
* We can see pores on top of the pan cake,as shown in the picture.
* This is because of the airation and it makes the pancake fluffy.
* Top with banana and enjoy with maple syrup.

Notes:

* Beating the egg whites is very essential in getting a fluffy pan cake.

* Care should be taken in cooking the pan cake,as there are chances for it to get black.

* Pancakes will cook in less then a minute ,so be very carefull.

* Mix the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients ,without any lumps.

Fish Dhum Biriyani

 Fish biriyani became one of our favourites .This was introduced to us ,by Saras, when she gave box full of this yummy biriyani.From  then 'H' wanted to have this often.We can either use fish fillets or the whole fish sliced.In this,marinated fish is partly fried ,mixed with the gravy and finally layered with the rice.This biriyani needs lot of onion ,because it should be able to prepare a good gravy.I have given the steps in a detailed manner, but the whole process is easy to prepare.Prepare this biriyani and make your Sundays colourfull.

Ingredients:

For the  gravy :

1.Tilapia fish fillets            -          15 pieces

2.Onion                           -           3 (big)

3.Green chillies                 -           2

4.Tomatoes                      -           2 (medium) or 1 cup curd

5.Ginger garlic paste         -           1 tsp

6.Chilli pwdr                     -           1 tbsp

7.Garam masala                -            1/2 tsp

8.Orange color                 -            a pinch

9.Cilantro                         -            1/2 cup (chopped)

10.Mint leaves                  -            1/2 cup (chopped)

11.Ghee                            -             3 tsp

For the rice:

1.Basmati rice                   -            3 cups

2.Water                            -            10 cups

3.Cinnamon                       -            1/2 inch

4.Bay leaf                          -            few

5.Cardamom                      -            3

6.Cloves                             -            4

7.Salt                                  -            1 tbsp

8.Oil                                   -              2 tsp

For Tempering :

1.Oil                                    -            1/2 cup

2.Cinnamon sticks                -            1/2 inch

3.Cardamom                        -            3

4.Bay leaves                         -            2

5.Cloves                               -            few

For marinating:

1.Chilli pwdr              -            1 tsp

2.Garam masala         -             1/2 tbsp

3.Ginger garlic paste   -             1 tsp

4.Lemon juice             -             1 tsp

5.Salt                          -             1/2 tsp

6.Turmeric pwdr          -             1/4 tsp

Method:

Marination:

* Wash the fish and drain it.

* Take a mixing bowl and add all the marination ingredients .

* Rub it with the fish and marinate it for 1/2 an hour in the fridge.

Cooking the rice:

Wash and soak the rice  for half an hour.Drain it for 20 mins.

* When the gravy is half cooked,start cooking the rice.

* Take a wide mouthed pan and add oil and splutter cinnamom sticks,cardamom ,cloves and bay leaves.

* Add water and bring it to rolling boil.

* Sprinkle salt and add the drained rice.

* Cook till it is 90 percent done.

* Strain the water and reserve it .

* The rice should not contain any water .

Preparing the gravy:

* Thinly slice the oninons ,slit the green chillies and cube the tomatoes.

* Take a pan,add oil and fry the fish partially on both the sides.

* In the same pan,add oil and temper with the ingredients under "for tempering" .

* Dump in the sliced onions and green chillies.

* Fry the onions well,till it turns golden brown.This is the very essential step for a tasty biriyani.

* Add the chopped tomatoes and sprinkle salt to cook them quickly.

* Let the oil separate from the masala.

* Add chilli pwdr,garam masala pwdr to the gravy.

* Saute till the masala looses its raw smell.

* Add the chopped mint and cilantro,saut it for a while.

* Now add the partly fried fish to the gravy and cook for a minute covered .

* After a minute ,take the fish with some gravy out.

Layering the biriyani:

* Now the pan has half the gravy.

* Layer it with cooked rice .

* Again layer the fish with gravy.

* Sprinkle orange color,ghee and cilantro.

* Tightly cover the pan  with a plate and place the reserved water on the top.

* Leave it for 20 mins .

* Remove the fish slices and fluff the rice with fork.

* Shred two pieces of fish and mix it with the rice.

* Serve rice with cooked fish.

* Serve it with raitha.

Note:

* Fish should not be fried fully.

* The rice should be cookeD 90 % ,if not the biriyani wont taste good.

* while layering ,the rice should be hot.

* Dont use laddle to mix the rice,always use fork.

* We can also use 1/2 cup of curd instead of tomatoes.

Iyengar Bakery Butter Biscuit / Nankattai / Short bread cookie

  Butter biscuit  or Nankattai ,is a very famous tea time snack .These bisuits are always available in the tea shops of Tamil nadu.A cup of tea will be a very best accompaniment for these biscuits.These biscuits are usually prepared  in Iyengar bakeries in TN.Wanted to try these ,for long.Today got a good recipe from the net.This is a inspiration from Divya's Recipes.She had garnished with nuts,which I have avoided,as I like the biscuits plain.These biscuits can be prepared in less than an hour.Try it it will be a treat for our bellies.

Ingredients:
 1.All purpose flour - 1 cup
2.Powdered sugar - 1/2 cup
3.butter - 1 stick (1/2 cup)
4.Baking pwdr - 1/4 tsp
5.Salt - a pinch
6.Cardamom pwdr - a pinch
7.Rice flour -  2 tbsp

Method:
* Pre heat the oven for 350 degrees farenhiet.
* Powder the sugar ,Sieve the flour and keep it aside.
* Melt the butter and cool it completely.
* Take a bowl,add flour,salt,powdered sugar,baking powder,cardamom powder and mix well.
* Slowly add the melted butter and make a dough out of it.
* The dough will be crumbly yet pilable dough.Dont be tempted to add some more butter to make it a soft dough.I did the mistake for the first batch.It made my biscuits flat and crispy.So stick to the measurements.
* Rest the dough for 15 mins ,by covering it.



* Cover a cookie sheet with aluminium foil .
* Divide the dough into equal sized balls.Slightly press them and arrange it in the sheet.
* Take a fork and press it .This step is purely optional.
* Bake the biscuit for 15 - 20 minutes in the middle rack, or untill it becomes golden brown.
* Take the biscuits out and cool them in wire racks completely.Store in air tight containers.
* Serve with coffee .

Note:
* Adding powdered sugar is different from adding normal sugar.
* If you want the biscuits to be bit sweeter, then u can add 1/4 cup more.
* The dough will be crumbly, dont ever try to add some more ghee,butter or milk to make it soft.Then it will be flat and crispy.
* No need to grease the foil with butter,as the dough itself has enough butter ,so it wont stick to the foil.
 * Bake the buiscuits in the middle rack,this will bake the biscuits slowly.If u keep it in the last rack then ,there are chances for the biscuits to become black.

Restaurant style Chicken 65 / Deep fried version / Version 2

  Chicken 65 is a very popular starter ,which originated  from tamilnadu - a state in India. It has some interesting stories ,like it was first prepared in a military canteen, by a local chef. Initially it was prepared out of 65 ingredients,hence its name chicken 65. I still remember the days at my mom's place , will prepare this  often. I would get a ready made mix to prepare the dish. But here,could not find those masalas,so prepared with the regular chilli pwdr. The secret lies in frying the chicken without any moisture,if not the chicken 65 will be soggy. Always,pat dry the chicken and then fry it.

Ingredients:

1.Boneless Chicken -                500 gm

2.Chili pwdr            -                 1 tbsp

3.Ginger garlic paste -               1 tbsp

4.Aachi chilli pwdr -                 1 tsp (optional)

5.Red powder -                        a pinch

 6.Corn Flour -                        1 tbsp

7.Salt             -                        as per taste

8.Oil for frying

Method:

* Cut and wash the boneless chicken and drain the water completely.

* Take a hand towel ,place the washed chicken on it and cover the chicken with towel.

* Leave the chicken,till the paper towel absorbs moisture completely .

* Take a mixing bowl,add chilli pwdr,ginger garlic paste,Achi chilli pwdr,red  color,corn flour,salt and a tsp of oil.Mix it well to form a thick paste.

* Once the chicken becomes dry,add it to the masala and toss it.

* Make sure the masala is rubbed all over the chicken.

* Marinate for an hour and deep fry it in hot oil.

* Strain the excess oil on a tissue paper .

* Serve with fried curry leaves.