Tuna Cutlets

Tuna cutlets are one of my favourite snacks that my mom cooks for us. Whenever I go home on vacation, she'll always make sure she makes these for me at least once. They're just so soft on the inside and wonderfully crisp on the outside. Strangely, I love the combination of these cutlets with laban (that's Arabic for buttermilk). Dunking these hot and crispy cutlets into chilled laban is pure heaven! If you have nothing interesting for dinner, just plain rice and the usual veggie sides, a piece of cutlet on the side with some curd will always make it more enjoyable.

Ingredients:

For the cutlet mix:
Canned tuna - 1 tin white fish
Potatoes - 2
Onions - 1 large
Ginger - 1 inch
Curry Leaves - 1 or 2 sprigs
Ground pepper - 2 tsp
Salt to taste

Coating:
Egg - whole or egg white - 1
Bread crumbs to coat

Method:

Peel, cut potatoes to 3 or 4 pieces and boil them with some salt until soft and mash it well. Cutting them to small pieces will help it cook easily. Drain oil from canned tuna. I wash the tuna as well but its not necessary. Chop onions, ginger and curry leaves finely.



Heat oil in a pan. Add onions, ginger and curry leaves and saute till onions become translucent. Add the tuna to this. Sprinkle pepper powder and salt. Mix well. Now add the mashed potatoes and combine well to a good mix.
Shape into small cutlets before the mix cools down. Place the cutlets in the refrigerator to become more firm.
When you are ready to fry them, Add oil to cover a skillet (for shallow fry). Beat an egg in a bowl, get some bread crumbs on a plate. Dip the cutlet into the egg and then coat it with bread crumbs. Fry them until they turn golden brown.

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Jungle Time again

Its that time of the year again.. the Indian summer!! best time to hit the jungles.. This time we're goin for 5 nights!! woohooooooo!! And we also got a car.. no more back breaking bike rides, although they were fun and adventurous too.. So with a lot of space in the boot, I've decided to prepare breakfast and tea for our travel.

Our Menu for the drive:

1. Fish Cutlets (from Canned Tuna)
2. Chappatis
3. Tomato-Egg Curry
4. Love-letters for dessert
5. A flask of tea
6. An ice box full of beer cans, bacardi breezer & water
7. Chips: Onion rings

My plan tonight:

• Prepare cutlet mix and shape them into cutlets
• Prepare chappathi dough
• Boil eggs
• Cut vegetables required for curry
• Prepare love letter filling
• Prepare love letter batter

Early monday morning:

• Fry cutlets by dipping in egg batter and bread crumbs
• Roll chappathis and cook
• Make tomato egg curry
• Make love letter pancakes and stuff filling
• Make tea
• Carry tomato sauce sachets for cutlets

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Chettinad Chicken Curry

First night of non-vegetarian food after a whole week of eating bland stuff to recuperate from my fever.
Had three pieces of chicken breasts in the freezer which I defrosted, cleaned and cut up into little cubes. I made this amazing curry with lots of onions and garlic (more garlic than I have used throughout the past 5 months, my whole garlic stock is over now!)
But thoroughly enjoyed cooking this one.
Update: My hubby chose this recipe as his first "chicken" dish. After trying this again after 2 years, I must say the amount of garlic used is way too much!! So I have changed the quantity to make it more palatable.

Credit: http://solaiachiskitchen.blogspot.com/2008/03/chettinad-chicken-authentic-chettinad.html


It is needless to mention the specialty of this item in chettinad cusine.The mouth watering taste of this dish is known all over the world .All non vegetarians in Asia for sure would have tasted this at least once. There are hundreds of recipes for chettinad chicken on the net written by almost all food bloggers. Though many of them are similar to the original one. I have tried to find out the original recipe from my mother and grand mother and has presented the authentic chettinad recipe. For the authentic taste, the masala has to be grinded in the hand grinder. But these days it is rather impossible and hence has to be satisfied with the taste of the masala made in the mixie

Ingredients:

Chicken-750 gms
Pearl onion 30 or large onion 2
Tomatoes-2
Garlic 5 pods

To grind No1Ginger ½ inch piece
Small onion-10
Garlic-3 pods
Green chillies-2
Chilli powder-1 table spoons
Coriander powder-2 table spoons

To grind No2
Coconut grated-5 table spoons
Cashew nut-5 or kasa kasa (poppyseeds) -2 teaspoons
Fennel seeds-1 teaspoon

To season
Cinnamon-2 pieces
Fennel seeds-1 teaspoon
Clove-2
Cardamom-2
Birinji leaf-little
Mint leaf-handful
Curry leaf little

Traditionally chicken is not marinated before cooking in Chettinad chicken.As they used to cook in low fire for a long time in olden days the chicken will get the salt and hot taste once it gets cooked. These days the chicken we use is tender and gets cooked fast in gas stove. So I feel it is better to marinate the chicken for an hour before cooking. If you do not find time to marinate, then no problem.
To marinate1 teaspoon kuzhambu milagai thool(the powder used for sambar)-recipe availble on http://solaiachiskitchen.blogspot.com/2009/03/true-achis-kuzhambu-milagai-thool.html
My Note: I used Sriram's Cheeky Chettinad Chicken masala
Salt-1 teaspoon
Curd little
Ginger garlic paste-1 teaspoon

Method:

Mince the onion, garlic and tomatoes.
Keep the kadai in the stove. Season the curry with the items given in ‘to season’ in 2 tablespoons of oil.
Add the onions and saute with a pinch of salt for 3 minutes.
When the onions turn transparent add the garlic, sauté for some time
Add the chopped tomatoes. Sauté till the whole thing gets smashed.
Add the grinded paste of items given in No 1. Sauté it for a while.
Now add the chicken pieces and nicely mix all the masala over the chicken pieces.
You can see lot of water coming out of the chicken. Reduce the flame and cook for 10 to 15 minutes.
Once you find that the chicken pieces are almost cooked increase the flame so that the gravy becomes thick.
Once the curry gets thick add the masala grinded with the items given in No2 and mix nicely
Cook for another 5 minutes.
If you need the curry to be little watery add the masala little earlier and switch off when the curry is in the desired consistency.


The curry should be cooked till the oil seperates
My Note: I garnished with coriander leaves in the end. Served it on a bed of rice with a little curd and pickle. Although while eating I felt I could have eaten the rice just with the chicken curry. But did it just for bee's sake.

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Chocolate Pancakes

Made these delicious pancakes for breakfast today. I was all out on sugar, so compensated with sweet cocoa powder (by Cadury's) and brown sugar, and it was fabulous!
I put in all the powders together in a bowl, then added a cup of milk and whisked it a bit. Broke an egg into the bowl and whisked it again. Added melted butter and then started to make the pancakes. Simple!
I will be posting its pictures soon as I have finally bought a DSLR camera.. photographs undergoing post-production processing now.. oh yeah! gonna learn all the details about photography too!

Credit: http://www.versagrain.com/chocolate-pancakes.html
These chocolate pancakes are beautiful, fluffy and decadent! We have more delicious chocolate pancake recipes at the bottom of this page. Plus suggestions on how to make this recipe whole grain without compromising flavor. Try it! And tell us what you think at the bottom of this page.

Ingredients:

(Makes 10)
Time: 20 minutes

1 cup milk, warm
1 egg, at room temperature
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup all-purpose flour(see suggestions)
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup miniature chocolate chips (optional)

Suggested Toppings
Fresh bananas, strawberries, whip cream, powdered sugar

Method:

In a small bowl, whisk together milk, egg, and butter.
In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Mix thoroughly. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour in the egg mixture. Stir just until moistened (lumps are okay).
Heat a lightly greased griddle or frying pan over medium heat. Pour about 1/4 cup pancake batter for each pancake. Sprinkle the chocolate chips on top of each pancake. Cook 2-3 minutes per side or until cooked through. Serve warm with your favorite topping.
Follow this recipe then experiment with your own ingredients, using our tips and techniques, to create pancakes just for you!



Suggestions (for you) by substituting the all purpose flour for a whole grain flour. Whole wheat flour is an obvious substitute. Worried about compromising flavor and texture? Don't be! There are many types of whole wheat flours that are sweeter and lighter. Hard white wheat flour creates similar results as all white but is much better for you. There are other choices, too, like kamut flour, spelt flour, oat flour, and teff flour. These are all healthier alternatives. So explore...discover...and ENJOY!

Make this chocolate pancakes recipe even better
(for you) by substituting the all purpose flour for a whole grain flour. Whole wheat flour is an obvious substitute. Worried about compromising flavor and texture? Don't be! There are many types of whole wheat flours that are sweeter and lighter. Hard white wheat flour creates similar results as all white but is much better for you. There are other choices, too, like kamut flour, spelt flour, oat flour, and teff flour. These are all healthier alternatives. So explore...discover...and ENJOY!

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Coriander-Mint Chutney

There are tons of variations of this green chutney that I found on the net.

I particularly liked vahchef's green chutney post as it gives 3 different types of green chutneys that you can use. It doesnt involve onions in the basic paste. 

Also in Sanjeev Kapoor's post, I saw that the ratio of coriander to mint leaves is 2:1 (2 portions of coriander leaves to 1 portion of mint leaves), whereas in vahchef's post, its the exact opposite. I tried the Sanjeev Kapoor ratio as I feel coriander leaves are more mild and mint leaves are more strong, hence a little amount of mint will be sufficient. Also I do not have pomegranate seeds (dry or fresh), but as the purpose is to add a bit of sweet and tanginess to it, I already have the tamarind-date sweet chutney prepared and stored in the fridge. So I will be using couple of tablespoons from that. Another time I prepared it, I added a teaspoon of sugar.

Vahchef:


Sanjeev Kapoor:


Also in Showmethecurry's Coriander chutney post, I saw that adding a few drops of oil to the chutney helps in increasing the shelf life of the chutney. (they intended to freeze it, but I'm deciding to just chill it in the top shelf of the refrigerator)
Showmethecurry:


So in the end, this is what I did and it turned out just awesome!

Ingredients:

Jeera (cumin seeds) - 2 tbsp
Green chillies - 2 long ones (turned out to be quite hot so can change it to one next time)
Ginger - about 2-3 inch long piece
Garlic - 5 cloves
Coriander leaves - 1 bunch (2 portions)
Mint leaves - 1 bunch (1 portion)

Sweet tamarind-date chutney - 3 tbsp / Sugar - tsp / Dry pomegranate seeds - 2 tsp

Salt - a pinch
Lime juice - half a lime
Oil - 1 tsp

Method:

Blend all ingredients in a chutney grinder (mixer) except for oil and lime juice. You might have to open it, mix it up a bit and blend again. This process may have to be repeated about 5-6 times till you get a nice green paste. Better to fill the mixer jar upto half with the leaves first, and then slowly add the remaining leaves. Then squeeze half a lime into it and you can serve it as it is if using now. If you plan to store it in the refrigerator, add a teaspoon of oil (vegetable/canola/sunflower/palm) to it and mix well. Store in an air tight container.

Today, I served it with aloo tikki and sweet chutney along with paav. :) So sort of like a vada paav minus bhel and butter. It was an appetizer as dinner is going to take some more time.

When you make kababs or biryani and want a nice dip with it? Add 2-3 tablespoons of yoghurt to the chutney as per your liking and serve.

Tonight's dinner: Steamed rice, tomato sambar, fried pomfret smeared with the green chutney paste, mango ginger pickle and some curd with extra green chutney on the side :) yum!!

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Banana Pancakes

Another ripe banana used for breakfast today using this recipe. :)

Credit: http://www.easy-banana-recipes.com/caramel-banana-pancakes.html

Servings: 10-12 pieces (depending how big you make them)
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Comments:
Caramel sauce can be prepared days ahead, and kept in refrigerator. When needed, simply warm in pan or heat in microwave. To serve pancakes, place cooked pancakes onto a serving plate, topped with the sliced bananas and warm caramel sauce. Delicious!

Ingredients:

Ingredients for Pancakes:
2 ripe bananas, 1 diced/mashed (for batter) and 1 sliced (for serving)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 cups fresh milk
1 1/2 tablespoon castor sugar
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1/4 teaspoon salt
Ingredients for Caramel Sauce:
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup butter
3/4 cup whipping cream

Method:

1. Sift flour and baking powder in a large bowl. Stir in sugar and salt.
2. Whisk milk, butter and vanilla essence together until soft. Add to flour mixture and mix until combined, but still lightly lumpy.
3. Add bananas to the batter and mix.
4. Heat a non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Grease pan with a little extra butter. Working in batches, pour 1/4 cup of batter into pan and use a spoon to spread batter out to a 12cm (diameter) circle. Reduce heat to low. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until bubbles start to appear on surface. Turn the pancake over and cook for a further 2 minutes, or until cooked through.
5. Repeat with remaining batter, greasing pan in between pancakes.

Directions to Prepare Caramel Sauce:
1. Place all ingredients in pan and bring to the boil over moderate heat, stirring all the time until sugar dissolves.
2. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring often until nice semi-thick consistency is reached.

My note: I did not prepare the caramel sauce, as I already had ready made pancake syrup (Goody Pancake Syrup) which worked well with these pancakes. Good part about this pancake recipe as eggs are not being used in it. So makes it more healthy. :)

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Tomato Sambar - Tomato Lentil Stew

Quick and easy accompaniment with steamed rice.

Credit: http://www.tarladalal.com/Thakkali-(tomato)-Sambar-15592r

Ingredients:

4 to 6 big sized tomatoes
1 cup toovar (arhar) dal
a pinch of asafoetida (hing)
1/2 tsp turmeric powder (haldi)
2 tbsp sambaar powder

For Seasoning:
1/2 tsp mustard seeds ( rai / sarson)
few curry leaves (kadi patta)
1/2 tsp fenugreek (methi) seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
3 to 4 whole dry kashmiri red chillies deseeded and broken up
4 to 6 tbsp oil

For Garnishing:
3 to 4 tbsp chopped coriander (dhania) leaves
3 to 4 tbsp ghee
2 to 3 tbsp lemon juice

Method:

Steam the tomatoes peel off the skin mash well & keepPressure cook the thuvar dal with 2 cups of water, turmeric powder & asafetida pwd. tii soft (say for about 15 mins – on low flame after the first whistle.
Once the dhal is cooked remove from heat & leave to depressurize – open & mash well –keep aside
Take a vessel heat the oil kept for seasoning – when hot add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds, dry chillies,curry leaves
when mustard seeds crackle add the mashed dhal, sambar powder & 2-3 cups of water mix well
Let it bubble nicely till sambar thickness is achieved
Remove from heat add lime juice & garnish with chopped corriander leaves

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