Semiya Upma

Ingredients(Serves 3 - 4):

Vermicelli / Semiya --   1 cup, roasted - I used Bambino brand
Shallots                         --   2
Ginger                            --   1 tbsp, finely chopped
Green chillies              --   1-2
Mixed Vegetables     --   ½ cup (I used frozen carrot,beans, corn & peas)
Mustard Seeds            --   1 tsp
Urad dal                        --   1 tsp
Hing/Asafoetida        --   a pinch
Red Chillies                  --   2
Curry leaves                --   3 - 4 leaves
Oil                                    --   1 - 2 tbsp
Salt                                  --   as required

Preparation:

Thinly slice the shallots, slit the green chillies, chop the ginger and the vegetables.

I used roasted vermicelli, if using the non-roasted vermicelli, then add 1 tbsp of oil or ghee to the pan and roast the vermicelli on medium heat until it turns golden brown in colour.

In the same pan, add oil and once it is hot, add the mustard seeds and let it splutter. Add hing, urad dal , red chillies and curry leaves and saute until the dal turns light brown.

Now add the shallots, green chillies and ginger and saute until the onions are translucent. Add the chopped vegetables and fry it on a medium flame until half cooked.

Add 2 cups of water (double the amount of vermicelli.Add salt and do a taste check. Let the water come to a bubble boil. Add the roasted semiya and mix well. Close with the lid and let it cook on a medium low flame. Stir occasionally to check the doneness and make sure it doesn't stick to the bottom.

Serve hot.

Asparagus Thoran

Ingredients(Serves 4 - 5):

Asparagus                  --    250 gms
Turmeric powder    --   ½ tsp
Green chillies            --    4
Shallots                        --    2 small ones
Shredded coconut   --   ¼ cup
Eggs                               --   1 optional
Black Pepper              --   ½ tsp
Mustard seeds           --    ½ tsp
Red chillies                 --    2
Curry Leaves             --   few
Oil                                   --   2 tbsp
Salt                                 --   to taste

Preparation:

Clean and chop the asparagus into small pieces. I usually don’t use the harder part at the end. Mix the turmeric powder, slit green chillies, chopped shallots,salt and shredded coconut into chopped asparagus.

Heat the oil in a pan. Add the mustard seeds and let it splutter. Add the red chillies broken into small pieces and the curry leaves. Then add the asparagus mixture and sauté for a min.  Close the pan and let it cook for another 5 -6 min on a low flame. Check in between to make sure that it doesn’t burn to the bottom.

When the asparagus is almost done, break the eggs into the pan and mix well. Sprinkle a pinch of salt. Let the egg cook. Do a taste check and add more salt if required. sprinkle the pepper and give a good mix.

Serve hot with rice and curries.

White Bean Chicken Chili

Ingredients (Serves 4):

Chicken Breasts                --   2 lbs, cut into small pieces
Cumin Powder                  --   1½ tsp
Chilly Powder                   --   1½ tsp
Black Pepper Powder    --   1 tsp
Salt                                        --   as required
Canola Oil                           --   ¼ cup
Butter                                   --   3 tbsp
Yellow Onions                  --   ¾ cup , diced
Garlic                                   --   3 - 4 cloves, minced
Green Poblano Chillies --   2 large 
Jalapenos                           --   2 large. optional depending upon the tolerance
All-Purpose Flour           --  ½ cup
Chicken Stock                    --   1 qt
Chili Garlic Paste              --   1½ tsp
Chipotle Tabasco®          --   1½ tsp
Oregano                                --   ¾ tsp
Brown Sugar                       --   ¾ tsp
Canned White Beans        --   2 cups
Sour Cream                         --   3 tbsp
White Rice                           --   2 cups, cooked
Pico de Gallo                       --   ¼ cup
Green Onions                      --   ¼ cup

Preparation:

Clean and cut the chicken into small pieces. Marinate it with cumin powder, chilly powder, black pepper powder and salt. Keep it aside for 20 mins.

Wash the poblano chillies and the jalapenos and cut into half. Remove the seeds. In a cookie sheet lined with foil, place the chillies and bake for 10 - 15 mins @ 200 F until they are roasted and the skin peels of. Remove from the oven, remove the skin and cut them into small pieces.

Heat canola oil in a large sauce or soup pot. Add the marinated chicken into the pot. Cook / fry until the chicken is ¾ done.
Remove the chicken from the pot and keep aside.

             

Add the butter to the pot along with the left over oil. Add the onions and saute until they are translucent.

Add the minced garlic and the chopped chillies into the pot. Saute for 1 - 2 minutes. Add the flour into the pot. Mix well.

               

Keep stirring and add the chicken stock. Stir until there are no lumps left. Add salt as required.

Add the chili garlic paste, Tabasco®, oregano and brown sugar into the pot.

Let it boil and then add the chicken back to the pot. Simmer for 5 – 7 minutes then gently stir in the sour cream and white beans.

Serve with white rice and garnish with pico de gallo and green onions.

Recipe Courtesy: Cheese Cake Factory

Eggs in Poppy Seed Gravy

Ingredients(Serves 2 - 3):

Eggs                               --   2, full boiled
Fenugreek                   --   2 - 3 kernels / a pinch of powder
Poppy seeds               --   2 ½ tbsp
Mustard seeds           --   1 tsp
Cumin seeds               --   ¾ tsp
Ginger garlic paste  --    1 tsp
Red chilly powder   --   1 tsp
Coriander powder   --   1 tsp
Tamarind                    --   a gooseberry size or 2 tsp pulp
Coriander leaves     --   2 - 3 sprigs
Salt                                --   As required
Oil                                  --   1 tbsp

Preparation:

Hard boil the eggs, remove the shells and keep aside.

Soak the tamarind in water for 5 - 10 min and extract the pulp.

In a dry pan, add the poppy seeds, fenugreek and 1/4 tsp cumin seeds and roast until they are slightly brown.Let it cool and then grind. Start with no water and once it is slightly powdered, add few tbsp of water to form a thick paste.

In a wide pan, add oil and fry the boiled eggs, turning them frequently until the sides are slightly brown. Remove and keep aside.

Add mustard seeds and the cumin seeds to the same pan and let it splutter. Add ginger garlic paste and saute for a minute.

Add the turmeric powder, chilly powder, coriander powder and saute for few seconds. Add 2 cups of water and let it boil. Add the ground poppy seed / khus khus paste, tamarind extract and cook on medium high flame for 3 - 5 mins.

             

Cover with lid and cook on medium low flame for another 5 min. Stir in between to make sure that it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan. Add the roasted eggs and cook on medium flame until the gravy turns thick. This will take around 15 mins or more to thicken the gravy.

Switch off and garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

Serve hot with chapathi / roti / nan.

Recipe Courtesy: SailusFood

Varutharacha Fish curry / Fish in roasted coconut gravy

Ingredients(Serves 3 - 4):

Fish                                         --    ½ kg
Shallots                                 --   5 - 6 finely chopped
Ginger                                    --   2 tbsp, chopped finely
Garlic                                     --   7 - 8 cloves, chopped finely
Green chillies                     --   2 , adjust according to your spice level.
Tomato                                 --   1 medium size
Kudam puli                         --   2 (Or you can use a small gooseberry sized ball of tamarind) , soaked in water for 5 - 10 minutes
Turmeric powder             --   1/4 tsp
Red chilly powder             --   ½ tsp
Coriander seeds                --   1 tbsp
Whole Red Chilly              --   3 - 4 (The coriander seeds and whole red chillies can be replaced with 1 tbsp of  coriander powder and ½ tbsp of chilly powder. I have the Coriander – Chilly powder mix( 2 tbsp)  which I use mostly) 
Whole Pepper                     --   1 tsp
Grated Coconut                 --   1 cup
Mustard seeds                    --   ½ tsp
Curry leaves                        --   2 - 3 springs
Coconut Oil                          --   1 tbsp
Salt                                          --   to taste

Preparation:

Fry the shredded coconut with coriander seeds, whole red chillies, whole pepper, 1 shallot, 2 cloves of garlic and 1 sprig of curry leaves,  until coconut is brown in colour. Make sure you do this on a low flame and keep saute-ing as we need the coconut to be evenly fried and browned.
Remove it from the stove as soon as it is done as there are chances that the coconut burns in the pan. If using coriander and chilly powders, add them a minute before switching off the flame and mix it well with the coconut.

Let it cool and grind it to a fine paste/liquid form (check here and here).

Clean and cut the fish and keep aside.

In a clay pot, add the shallots, remaining garlic, ginger, slit green chillies, chopped tomatoes,salt, turmeric powder and red chilly powder. Mix well preferably with your hands until it is blended well and the tomatoes are slightly squishy. Optionally you can saute on low flame until these are well mixed and looks squishy. Add the soaked kudam puli with the water(or the tamarind pulp) and let it boil.
Add the ground mixture and mix . Let is boil.

Add the fish pieces and carefully stir in or swirl the pot so that the fish pieces are coated with the gravy. Let it cook and switch off the flame once done.

In another small pan, heat the coconut oil and add the mustard seeds and let it splutter. Add the curry and saute for couple of seconds and pour this on top of the curry.

Serve hot with rice. This goes well with chapathi / idly / dosa / puttu etc too.