Madatha Kajalu/Sweet Kaja

Ingrdients:

·        All purpose flour: 1 cup

·        Rice powder: 2 tbs

·        a pinch of salt

·        Sugar: 1 cup

·        Water: 1/2 cup

·        Ghee: 2 tbs

·        Cardamom powder: 1/2 tbs

·        oil for deep fry

Method:

Add a pinch of salt to 1 cup of maida.  Mix well in a large bowl.  Add sufficient water and make a smooth dough. Cover and leave it for at least 20 min.  

Now divide the dough into equal parts and roll them to thin rotis.  

Now take a roti, apply ghee to it evenly all over. Sprinkle rice powder over it and spread it all over

Now place another roti over it and repeat the same procedure.  Place around 3 rotis in the same manner and roll the rotis together

Now cut the roll to equal portions with a knife.  Slightly roll each piece with the roller.  Prepare all the kajas in the same manner.

Heat oil for deep fry.  Fry the kajas in a medium flame until they turn to golden color.  Remove from the oil and place them on a absorbent paper.

Take a cup of sugar in a thick bottomed vessel and add half cup of water to it.  Heat it and make the sugar syrup.  ( the sugar syrup should be one thread consistency).  Add the cardamom powder.

Now drop the fried kajas into the sugar syrup.  Leave them for 2 to 3 mins. and turn them to the other side.  Leave them for another 2 to 3 mins. and remove them.  Allow them to cool and store them in a air tight container.  

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Make Mysore pak within 10 minutes

Ingredients:

Besan flour: - 1 cup
Sugar: - 2 cups
Ghee: - 1 and 3/4 cups + 1 tbsp
Oil: - 1/4 cup
Water: - 1/2 cup(for sugar syrup)

Method:

Heat ghee and add 1 tbsp of hot ghee to the besan flour. Mix it and it will look like breadcrumbs now, set aside.

Add water to sugar and boil it till one string consistency is reached.At this stage sprinkle the besan flour little by little, keep stirring to avoid lumps.In parallel mix oil + ghee and heat it up, keep it ready.

Keep adding the flour little by little and keep stirring till the flour is well blended with the flour but all this should be done quickly. Pour ghee + oil mixture little by little and keep stirring.Ghee gets absorbed quickly so and it forms a thick mass and forms frothy.

Then it forms a slightly porous texture leaving out ghee at the sides(even if it does not leave out ghee switch it off once it reaches the texture). Immediately transfer the mixture to the greased plate and pat it well with a spoon or a flat laddle. When it is still warm mark pieces, cool down and store in an airtight container.

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Chilli Mutton fry

Ingredients

400 gm boneless mutton pieces (cut into small pieces)

Tomatoes (or 1 tbsp tomato puree): 2 chopped

Onions: 2 chopped

Red chillies: 12 no.s

Coriander seeds: 1 tsp

Garlic flakes: 5

Ginger: 1 inch in size

Coriander leaves: 2 tsp chopped

Curry leaves: 1 sprig

Salt  to taste

Water: 3 cups

Oil: 1 tbsp

Method:

Grind together red chillies,coriander seeds,ginger,garlic and coriander leaves into a fine paste.

Heat some oil in a pressure pan and saute curry leaves and chopped onions till golden brown.

Add the ground masala and saute for a min.

When oil begins to separate add mutton pieces and salt.keep on stirring .

After 3 mins add the chopped tomatoes and 3 cups water and mix well.

Close the pressure pan and pressure cook for 12 mins.

After 12 mins,turn off the flame.

Serve this hot with rice,idli,chapathi,dosa,parathas...

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Chicken 65

Ingredients

Boneless chicken: - 250 gms/1/4 kg (cut into small bite sized pieces)

Oil for deep frying

Yogurt: - a little less than 1/2 cup (perugu/curd)

Salt to taste

Turmeric powder: - 1/4 tsp

Red chili powder: - 1/2 tsp

Coriander powder: - 1/4 tsp

For Marination:

Turmeric powder: - large pinch

Red Chili powder :- 1 tsp

Black pepper powder: - 1/4 tsp

Ginger garlic paste :- 1 tsp

Lemon juice :- 1/2 tbsp

Salt to taste

To coat chicken that has been marinated:

Egg :- 1

Cornflour :- 1 1/2 tbsp

Rice flour :- 1/2 tbsp

For Tempering/poppu/tadka:

Cooking oil: - 1/2 tbsp

Curry leaves :- 1 sprg

Garlic :- 2 cloves, minced (optional)

Ginger :- 1/2", minced

Green chilies :- 4-5, slit length wise

Method

Marinate bite sized pieces of chicken in the ingredients called for marinade for 1 hour.

In a bowl, mix yogurt, salt to taste, turmeric powder, red chili powder and coriander powder. Keep aside.

After marinating the chicken, add egg, cornflour, salt to taste and rice flour to coat the chicken. Add a tbsp of water if required.

Heat oil for deep frying. Once the oil is hot, add a few chicken pieces into the oil without crowding the vessel and cook on medium flame. Once the chicken is almost cooked, increase flame and deep fry the chicken pieces till golden brown.

Remove onto absorbent paper. Keep aside. Repeat with rest of the chicken pieces.

Heat a cooking vessel, add a tbsp of oil. Add garlic and ginger and saute for a few seconds. Add curry leaves and green chilies. Saute for a few secs. Add the deep fried chicken and toss well and cook for 2 mts.

Add the yogurt mixture and cook on low to medium flame, mixing the contents well. Toss the chicken till the yogurt dries up and the chicken absorbs the yogurt mix.

Remove onto a serving plate. Garnish with coriander leaves.

Tips

Garlic is optional ingredient.

Yogurt/Curd is essential ingredient. It gives the chicken texture and flavor.

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Best and easy way to cook Prawn 65

INGREDIENTS

1.     Prawns - 200 grams (Shelled and De-veined)

2.     Red chilli powder - 1 spoon 

3.     Ginger-Garlic paste - 1.5 spoons 

4.     Corn flour - 1 spoon 

5.     Besan flour / Gram flour - 2 spoons 

6.     Egg yolk - 1 (Keep the egg white aside for preparing soup)

7.     Lemon Juice - 2 spoons 

8.     Salt - As per taste 

9.     Oil - For deep frying 

PREPARATION METHOD

·        Wash the prawns well, pat dry them and set aside. 

·        In a bowl add all the above ingredients along with the prawns and mix well. Do not add even a drop of water. 

·        Leave the marinated prawns aside for 10 - 15 minutes.

·        Deep fry them, until they turn golden brown.

·        Serve!

TIP 1: The crispiness will fade as time passes and will soften, in such cases deep fry them again for a few seconds just before serving. You can use the same tip for other fried dishes too. But take care not to fry them too much.

TIP 2: Fry on a low flame never fry on a high flame, on a high flame the outer batter will get cooked but the inner portion will remain uncooked. 

TIP 3: You can add some curry leaves along with the prawns while frying to get a good aroma and flavor. 

TIP 4: Always before frying check whether the oil is ready for frying. To check that, add a drop of batter and see whether it comes up, if it does not then the oil is not ready. The drop should come up.

TIP 5: Never overcook prawns. If overcooked they will become too rubbery and will lose their juicy nature. To retain the juiciness just fry them for few minutes (2-3 minutes) on a low flame.

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Arati Puvvu Pesarapappu Koora - Banana Flower with Green Gram Curry - Indian Recipes/Andhra Vantalu

Ingredients:

• Banana Flower: - 200gms
• Turmeric Powder: - 1tsp
• Green Gram: - 25gms
• Bengal Gram: - 1tsp
• Black Gram: - 1tsp
• Mustard Seeds: - 1/2tsp
• Cumin Seeds: - 1/2tsp
• Green Chilies: – 3
• Ginger: - Small Piece (Make Paste of Ginger & Chilies)
• Curry Leaves: – Few
• Red Chili Powder: - 1/4tsp
• Turmeric Powder: - 1/4tsp
• Salt to Taste
• Oil: - 4tsps
• Vadiyalu & Curd Chilies: – Few

Basic Preparations:

Peel the leaf like things on the banana flower and find stems attached to the leaves. Take the stems and discard the leaves. Take each stem and observe carefully. There will be a flat and thin disc like cover which is called PILLELLU IN TELUGU. Remove the PILLELLU by plucking. Similarly find a thin stalk in the center of the stem which has a ball like sticky thing on the top. These are called DONGALLU (thieves) IN TELUGU. Remove the DONGALLU by plucking. For each stem we will find one DONGADU and one PILLEDU. Remove these two things from each stem. It is un- interesting to do this job by one person. So this job is done collectively by all family members. In olden days this job was entrusted to children. To make them do this job elders used tell them “Come let us play DONGA POLICE AATA ----Thief & Police Game”. If all the family members are involved in this job, it will be easily done.

Remove the leaves and take out the stems. And in each stem again remove the DONGADU and PILLEDU by plucking. As you go on plucking the leaves the size of the banana flower will become smaller and smaller. At this stage it will be difficult to remove the leaves. So chop that portion finely and add to the florets. At the end of this process you will find your fingers to be sticky and dark brown in color. Smear oil on both of your palms and add some salt. Now rub your palms applying force on the areas where it is dark in color. As salt is abrasive it will clean the dark spots of the banana flower. Then clean your palms with soap.

Preparations:

Take green gram into a bowl and wash it. Add water and soak the dal for 20 minutes.

Take banana florets into a processor bowl and add turmeric powder. Run the processor and chop them finely. Add the chopped banana florets to a bowl of water and wash them. Change water and wash the florets thoroughly for 5 to 6 times. As banana florets are bitter (HERE VAGARU) in taste we need to wash them thoroughly to remove the bitterness. So change water and wash them 5 to 6 times. After washing remove all water from the chopped florets by pressing between palms.

Take a microwave safe bowl and add the washed florets. Add 50ml water and place this bowl in a microwave oven and cover it partially. Now cook the florets on high power for 5 minutes. Remove the bowl from oven and strain the cooked florets into a strainer. Remove all water by pressing it with a spoon.

Fry the KOORA VADIYALU and curd chilies in sufficient oil till golden in color.

Method:

After 20 minutes, when the dal is soaked well, remove all the water from it.

Heat a pan and add oil to it. When oil is hot add the Bengal gram followed by black gram. Fry till the seeds start changing color. Then add mustard seeds and cumin seeds. Fry till the seeds splutter. Then add green chili-ginger paste and curry leaves. Fry the seasoning well and add the red chili powder, turmeric powder and mix well. Add cooked banana florets, soaked and drained green gram, and salt and mix well. Cover the pan and cook on low flame for one minute. Transfer the curry to a serving bowl and serve hot with plain rice and fried KOORA VADIYALU and curd chilies.

Points to Remember:

This curry will taste slightly bitter (VAGARU IN TELUGU). Some people like this VAGARU and they enjoy this curry.

Involve your family members in cleaning the banana flower.

Take care about the sticky thing coming out of the banana flower. If the sticky thing comes in contact with your clothes it will permanently remain forever. So avoid contact with the clothes you are wearing. Spread an old cloth and start removing the stalks.

Banana flower has lot of nutrients and is good for health. For pregnant ladies it helps in lactation formation. For ladies suffering from menstrual disorders this flower is beneficial. 

I personally do not know what nutrients we get after so much of washing.

But it is absolutely necessary to wash it 5 to 6 times to remove the bitterness.

Serve this dish with fried VADIYALU and curd chilies which will add crunchy flavor to the bland taste of the curry.

Enjoy !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Arati Davva Ava Kura – Mustard-flavored Plantain Stem Stir Fry -- Banana Stem curry

A praise worthy Andhra delicacy Curry is Arati Davva (Doota) aka tender plantain stem. Removing the outer layers of the stem to reach the nutritious core is a labor intensive process but worth every bit of effort. The edible core of plaintain stem is used to prepare stir fries, dals, kootu, juice and even salad. One important step to follow during the chopping of the edible stem is to place the arati davva pieces in diluted buttermilk to avoid discoloration.

Davva is usually cooked as a stir fry that is seasoned with spices, ginger, curry leaves and flavored with tamarind and mustard powder. The mustard brightens the crunchy plantain stem pieces with a unique flavor and heady aroma.

Arati Davva Aava Kura Recipe

.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups chopped tender plantain stem/arati davva (soaked in diluted butter milk)

big pinch turmeric powder

1 green chillis, chopped

Ginger: 1 tsp finely chopped 

Tamarind paste: 2 tbsps 

Oil: 1 tbsp 

salt to taste

For seasoning/poppu/tadka:

Mustard seeds: 1/2 tsp 

pinch of cumin seeds

1 tsp split black gram dal/minappa pappu

1 tsp channa dal/senaga pappu

1-2 dry red chillis, tear and de-seed

Curry leaves: 10-12 

pinch of asafoetida/hing

1/2 tsp mustard pwd

1 Cook the arati davva along with turmeric and salt in the diluted buttermilk till soft but not mushy. Drain any left over water.

2 Heat oil in a vessel, add the mustard seeds and let them pop. Add the cumin seeds, gram dal, channa dal and let it turn golden brown, then add the curry leaves, green chillis, dry red chillis, ginger and asafoetida.

3 Immediately, add the cooked arati davva pieces and combine. Adjust salt, add tamarind paste and combine. Cook on low to medium flame for about 10 mts, till the rawness of tamarind disappears. The arati davva should retain a bit of crunch.
4 

Turn off heat. Add the mustard pwd and combine.
5 Serve with hot rice.

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How to Blanch tomatoes

·                  Bring water to boil. Place the tomatoes gently in the boiling water and cook for 2-3 minutes. (The time varies depending upon the size of the fruit). The smaller ones take lesser time.

·                  Remove from flame.

·                  Immediately remove the tomatoes and place it in cold water.This is done to prevent it from getting cooked further.

·                  Remove it from cold water immediately. Peel the skin, remove the seeds and grind it to a paste.

Tomato puree is now ready to be used for gravies, soups, sauce etc

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Mixed Beans soup/Bean soup/Beans soup recipe

Ingredients needed

Mixed beans -1/2 cup
Onion (finely chopped) -1
Garlic cloves (finely chopped) -4
Butter -1 tbsp
Tomato - 3 big blanched and pureed- How to blanchtomatoes?
Water - 2 cups
Salt and pepper as required
All purpose flour (maida) -1/2 tsp

Preparation

Soak beans overnight. Rinse it, add a cup of fresh water and pressure cook beans with salt for 3 whistles.The beans seeds should be soft but not mushy.

Blanch tomatoes and puree it in a blender.

Method

Melt half tbsp of butter in a pan, add onions, garlic and saute for a few seconds.

Then add tomato puree, cooked beans, 2 cups of water and needed salt. Pressure cook for 1 whistle and simmer for another 10 minutes. Switch off the flame.

Melt the remaining butter over medium heat, add flour stirring continuously.

Once the flour changes color and looses its raw flavor, (which will take only few seconds) add the soup slowly constantly stirring so that no lumps are formed.

Reheat the soup, add needed pepper powder.

Serve hot with bread croutons, cream or butter (anything you prefer) or have it hot just like that.

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Chicken rolls

Ingredients: 

Chicken: 250 gms Boneless without skin cut in small pieces

Tandoori masala: 1 1/2 tbsp

Salt: to taste

Chilli powder: 2 tsp

Turmeric: 1 tsp

Ginger garlic Paste: 1 tbsp

Onion: 2 medium thinly sliced (long)

Lime juice: 1 tbsp

Coriander Leaves: Finely chopped for garnishing

Chat masala: for garnishing (Opt)

Butter: 1/2 tsp

For Roll: 1 Cup maida

Hot water for kneading

Oil to cook

Directions: 

First we prepare the marinate for the chicken. Mix Tandoori masala, Salt, Chilli powder, Turmeric, ginger garlic paste. Add this mixture to chicken and mix well. Cover and set aside in refrigerator to marinate for min 2 hours.

In a cooker or kadhai heat oil, when hot add the marinated chicken and let it cook covered for 10 mins. (Boneless pieces cook faster do not over cook)Keep stirring to avoid burning, if it sticks to kadhai sprinkle little water.

When cooked remove from heat and add butter, and set aside to cool.

For the roll: mix all ingredients and knead a soft dough. Roll out flat rounds using a rolling pin and cook on tawa (griddle) using oil

Assemble: To assemble, mix onion and lime juice spread about one tbsp of this mix on to the roll, then add the chicken, garnish with coriander leaves and Chat masala(opt). Your Chicken roll is ready to be served hot

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