Chatti pathiri (Chicken filling)

Admit it. We've all hidden our favourite food from family at least once...  😛

Hey guys! This delicious, mouthwatering and oh-so-amazingly satisfying food was first introduced to me by the lady who came to look after me & Ehsaan after my second delivery. I had delivered a week or so before Ramadan. So I got to try out quite a lot of wonderful snacks prepared by her for breaking fast for my husband and my mom (who had come along from Saudi to help me). This is like a mix of chicken samoosa, chicken puffs and eggs without all the excess oil of puffs.
It's soooo good I've made it quite a lot of times after that...

I make the filling with chicken. I dont like biting into onions so i cut them as small as possible before using it in the making the filling. No curry leaves either (again I don't like biting into them)
If you have chicken, big onion, maida, at least 3-4 eggs you're good to go...

This is how I made it:

Ingredients:

• Chicken cleaned and cooked in pressure cooker with salt and pepper and then shredded once its cooled down.
• 2 to 3 big onions finely chopped
• Half an inch chopped, crushed ginger
• 2-3 cloves of garlic, chopped and crushed
• Pepper powder to taste
• Turmeic powder 1/4 tsp
• Garam masala 1/4 tsp
• 1 cup Maida
• 4-5 eggs
• Water
• Oil
• Salt to taste

I make the chicken filling the same as I would make for samoosas.

• Heat 2-3 tbsp oil in a sauce pan, add the chopped onions, crushed ginger & garlic
• Let that cook for a minute or 2 until you see them going brown. Do be careful not to keep the flame too high which would burn them easily.
• Add pepper powder, salt, garam masala and turmeric powder. Mix well
• Now add the shredded chicken. Mix well. Check salt and spice. Add salt or pepper if needed
• Cook for some 2-3 minutes on low flame and then keep aside.

Now there are two ways you can make the pathiri's/appam's one is the dough method and the other the batter method. I have only ever tried the batter one and as its so easy and tastes great I'm sticking to it.

• Mix the maida, water, an egg and salt into a medium consistency batter... not too thick nor to runny.
• now use a medium sized pan to make 8-10 appams. Cook on both sides
• This is going to be thin and soft.
• Keep aside...

Note: One thing you must keep in mind is the pan u are finally going to put all this in should not be bigger or smaller than the size of the appam. 

Now what I did was I cooked this on my stove in my normal deep bottom sauce pan which I use to make curry. I first greased the pan with oil. Took my first appam and dipped it in a bowl with beaten egg+ salt. The appam should be fully coated with egg. This becomes the bottom-most layer. My appams were just the right size for the pan. On top of the appam I added the chicken mix. And then appam and so on till I used up all the appams. The left over chicken mix i stored in freezer to be used later. Whatever beaten egg was left over I poured over the top which seals up gaps between layers.
Then I covered it up with its lid and let it cook for 5 minutes on high flame and then 10 minutes on low flame. Turned it over and cooked the other side too. You have to take cake not to burn this and also while turning in over...

And there you have it, its done!! The above pics are of 2 different times I made them. In the last 2 pics I sprinkled some dried mint leaves powder on top...

Do try this! You'll love it I'm sure :)

Masala Rice Balls

This was something I had made during Ramadan last year. Took pics just before Iftari and then totally forgot about posting it.I had came across this recipe on vahchef's fb page. These are crispy balls which taste just like cutlets but made with cooked rice.

I made a few changes from the way the vahchef made it. What he did was make a ball out of rice and then fill it with a mix of potato masala mix(what u wud make for veg cutlets). But my rice balls came out kinda sticky and so I just mixed everything up and made into balls...

And also, as my hubby likes to have a non-veg item with everything, I added small chicken pieces to the masala mix. It came out pretty good! Alhamdulillah. :)

 It's quite easy to make.
Here's what all you'll need:

• Cooked Rice - 3 cups(Best to use basmati or ponni or those rice which u can mash easily)
• Potatoes- 2 medium(Boiled and mashed)
• Ginger garlic paste(or finely chopped) - 1 tbsp
• Onion finely chopped - 1 big
• Boneless chicken cut into small cubes - Half a cup
• Red chilly powder - 2 tsp
• Garam malasa - 1 tsp
• Green chillies chopped finely - 2 or more depending on ur taste buds
• Coriander leaves - a handful, chopped finely
• Cumin seeds - 1 teaspoon
• Oil for frying
• Eggs - 1 big or more if u need
• Bread Crumbs - How much ever u need
• Salt to taste

Directions to make:

• Heat a tbsp oil in a pan add cumin seeds. Let it flutter for half a minute then add in the onions, green chillies. When the onion starts turning brown add in the ginger garlic paste. 
• Add red chilli powder and garam masala. Saute for a few minutes then add in the small bone-less pieces of chicken. Add salt and let that cook for 3-4 minutes. It doesnt take long.
• Now add in the potatoes. Mix well and check salt. (Squeeze in some lemon juice if u want). Cook for a few minutes to make into a nice thick masala mix. Switch off flame.Keep aside.
• In another bowl take the cooked rice, add coriander leaves and a little salt. Mix well. 
• Now make balls with the rice mixture.... and with the chicken-potato as the masala mix in the centre. (While making this it all got too sticky for me and I just mixed it all up. Iftari time was drawing near.)
• Beat the egg into a bowl... and just how u would make a cutlet, dip the balls into the egg and coat with bread crumbs.
• Deep fry in hot oil.
• Enjoy!! :)

I added boneless cubes of chicken rather than cooked shredded chicken coz my family likes to bite into the cubes. Do whichever u find easy or convenient. 

Try this. Whatever my son loves, I call it a success! :)
It's one crispy awesome snack. Make whichever dip u like and enjoy with tea!
:)

Pani Poori

I made this with my mom-in-law when I had gone for vacation to India the year before last. It turned out pretty good :) When u have somebody to cook with you, cooking gets more interesting and fun.

I had these pics with me since then. I thought I'd make it myself coming back to Dubai, but I never got to it. So here I am posting the recipe with the old pics :)

The pooris... they turned out really good. Crispy, nice :)

For making the poori you'll need:

• 1 cup semolina (rava or sooji)
• 1 tbsp all purpose flour
• a pinch of salt
• warm water for mixing
• oil

How to make:

• Mix semolina and salt. Then add some warm water.. just enough water to make it a bit grainy...not a paste. So that wud be just 3-4 tbsp of warm water.
• Now mix in the all purpose flour to make into a tight dough. Maida is added to absorb the moisture. If the dough is soft add a little more maida to tighten it.
• Kneed the dough for some 5 minutes. Add a few drops of oil and kneed again.
• Then let it rest for 15-20 minutes.

• After you have let it rest for 20 minutes, roll the dough very thin to make round pooris. The thinner the better. My mom-in-law did this part, rolling it real thin. If its thin you'll get delicate crispy balls on frying and is much tastier than thick ones.
• Use round cutter to get nice shapes... or u could use cap of bottle or anything small and round.
• Fry them in a deep bottom vessel with hot oil.
• Thats it. Quite easy... :)

Here is the pani.
What I did was mix the following:

• 1.5 cup water
• 3/4 cup of tamarind pulp (made this by soaking tamarind in water and sqeezing all the pulp out)
• salt to taste
• pepper powder 
• chilli powder

Make  paste with the below ingredients and add to the pani

• 1 or 2 green chillies
• a few coriander leaves
• a few mint leaves
• Tamarind(if needed)

What you have to note here is check before adding chilli powder and pepper... add if u really need it or it'd be a bit tooo spicy to ur taste. Same thing with salt and tamarind... check taste as u mix ingredients into the pani. Add chat masala if u have.. 

For the stuffing we made some fried potato cubes, some chole and finely chopped onions. Here you can add more items like a paste of chilli+yogurt+tamarind.. or chopped tomatoes.. whatever u want! :)

Its just sooooo yummy and filling!! :)

Medu Vada

Friday morning I was searching the net for a nice easy recipe... something to make for Iftar. It had to be something simple... and by simple I mean: less mess to clean up after. I guess this is why I hate cooking to start with. All the dishes to do and the cleaning up...
I'm not so familiar with food names Indian or others... so even if I did come across something I've had, the name might make me think it as something new, until I go thru the ingredients. As a kid I wasn't much into any food. I'll eat if I was really hungry and mostly it was Indomie noodles or some sandwich or the potato+maccaroni + maggie cube+ milk thing I used to make... I liked that combination and used to make every time I felt I needed a snack....
I've had vada's made of urud daal but when my brother-in-law, Nafih, mentioned this soft, donut-shaped vada made of urud daal, I thought it must be something new. He said my mom-in-law makes real good vada's... and so that was it.. it intrigued me... if he'll like it then I'll try making it...
Getting the men to eat is not something easy. After having a baby, I love practically every and all kinds of food. But that is not the case with my husband... or his brother... Good thing my son takes up from me on eating habits :D

After blogging about food for more than half the year, I'm not only starting to love the way food looks, I also developed a more than healthy appetite for them. Searching for new recipes to try out, I've come across some really amazing food blogs. I love to read them coz they write with such passion about food... it's really inspiring :) . Steffy and I will be updating our Blogs v luv with the lovely blogs we come across. Some of the most recent being: Foodelicious, Kurryleaves and The Big Sweet Tooth... such charming ladies behind these blogs :) ... Do check them out... I'm sure you'll love them...

Coming back to the Vada's..... as i said i thought they were something new until I checked Google.... Google says its the same stuff u make for dahi vada excluding the dahi...
I really am no good at food and names... :)

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients: 
- Urud daal - 1 cup
- cumin seeds - 1 tsp
- a few curry leaves, finely chopped
- chopped onions - 2 to 3 tbsp (optional)
- Ground Pepper - 1tsp
- Asafoetida - a pinch
- salt to taste
- Oil for frying

How to make:
Soak Urud daal for 6 hours or over night.
Blend it into a course, thick paste. When blending add as little water as possible.
Add the cumin seeds, chopped onions, curry leaves, pepper, asafoetida and salt. Mix well. Beat the batter with a spoon until its all fluffy....

Make into donut shape and deep fry... fry until they turn golden brown...

This chutney is my current favourite dip. There is tamarind, coriander and chillyyy!!! All my favourites mixed together to give a mouth-watering, spicy dip for vada's, cutlets, onion rings....

I was more in love with the dip than the vada's. Quite easy to make too.

Blend together 1/2 cup of chopped coriander leaves, 4 tbsp of thick tamarind paste, 2 green chillies and salt. Make it into a paste.... 

Enjoy!!  :)

Crispy Onion Rings

This is one easy-to-make, mouth-wateringly deeelicious, crispy-crispy snack. :)
My elder sister, Shahmida, introduced me to this.

All u need are some onions, Gram flour, Rice powder, Chilli powder and salt...

Make a batter with 1 cup gram flour, 1/4 cup rice powder, 1/2 tsp chilli powder and salt. Add just enough water to get a thick batter kinda like idly batter...

Slice the onions into rings, Dip in the batter and deep fry in hot oil. It is all bound to stick together, so put one at a time if ur not in a hurry :)

Serve ASAP so that it stays crispy.. :)

Serve with a nice sauce to dip and eat... tamarind-dry red chilli-coriander is a good combination if u want a spicy-sour one. Tomato Ketchup would also do.

I don't like ketchup as a sauce. I like it on bread... as a sandwich :D. One of my friend back in KG used to always get Tomato Ketchup sandwich :D and I used to go home, ask my mother to make me that. Since then I love it. I still do :)

Chicken Cutlets

Yeeessss..... only one cutlet....

It's been a week since Ramadan started and I haven't been able to take any pics of the food I make. I always cook just before Iftaar and there wouldn't be any time for pics. And later there won't be any left overs to show how it was either.

But yesterday, I managed to save one cutlet! :P

Here's the recipe for about 20+ cutlets:

- 1/2 kg Boneless chicken cut into small pieces
- 2 Potatoes (Pressure cooked.. then mashed)
- 1 Big onion sliced into fine cubes
- 4-5 cloves of garlic sliced finely
- ginger (half or just a little more than half the amount of garlic u take)
- 2 green chillies sliced finely
- pepper powder - 1 tsp (add more if u want)
- salt to taste
- chopped coriander leaves 1/4th of a cup
- 1 egg
- Bread crumbs
- Oil for frying

If ur potatoes are big add only 1. It's better to have more chicken than potatoes...

Heat oil in a big frying pan. Sautee onion till it becomes soft. Add ginger, garlic and green chillies. Cook for a minute or 2 then add in the chicken pieces, salt and pepper. Cook the chicken well. As it's boneless and small they'd cook fast. If there are big pieces of chicken do try to break them down. When u feel the chicken is cooked switch off stove. Add in the potatoes and coriander leaves. Mix everything well. Add salt or pepper if needed.

(Do be careful with the salt. If salt is less in the cutlet u could always serve it with a nice chilli or ketchup sauce. No one would notice the salt....but an excess of salt in cutlet? What can be done for that? Any ideas?)

Beat the egg in a bowl.

Now, after u've let the mixture cool down a little, make small cutlets in whatever shape u want. Dip the cutlet in the egg, then coat it with bread crumbs. Do that for the rest of the cutlets.
When you are done with all, fry in oil till they turn golden brown. Fry only as much as u need. You could freeze the rest for cooking later.

You could make cutlets with leftover chicken too. The number of cutlets will depend on the size of your cutlet...

Dahi Vada

Hey guys! :)

It's been a long time since I last posted. I've been a bit busy of late... and when I did get the time, I was lazy... :)

My in-laws had come a month back so I'd got out all my love for making beautiful food with a relish. Tried out lots of stuff.. mostly sweet dishes... but a lot of times it was just that... good to look at... :P

But these vadas, they were a smashing success!

The first time I had dahi vadas were from a Pakistani neighbour's place back in Saudi. They were soooo good, I asked my mom to make it when I got back home. Dahi vada was something new at my home. I don't remember anyone making them back home in Kerala either. Not in my place...

My mom took the recipe from aunty and since then Dahi vadas have always been a must-have dish during Ramadan....

That was a long time ago... when I was in the 3rd grade I think...
After getting married this is the first time I've tried it.

For the vada you'll need
- Urud daal - 1 cup (you'll get around 20+ medium vada's)
- cumin seeds - 1 tsp
- 3-4 curry leaves, finely chopped
- chopped onions - 2 tbsp (optional)
- salt to taste
- Oil for frying
(Actually for the vada all u need is urud daal and salt. The cumin seeds, curry leaves and onion adds extra taste. That's the best part of cooking at home after all. You can make it as you like it)

For the Dahi
- Dahi (add water to thin the yogurt.. I use the Almarai Leban we get here in the gulf)
- A handful of coriander leaves
- 1 tbsp cumin seeds
- green chillies 1-2 (this depends on how hot ur chillies are. If 2 are not enough add more)
- salt to taste

For garnishing
- Coriander leaves
- Urud daal - 1 tbsp
- Kashmiri chilli powder
- Chaat masala

How to make:
- Wash and soak the daal in water for about 4-6 hours.
- Grind it into a smooth paste. Don't add too much water for grinding. It should be a thick, smooth paste.
- Add salt, cumin seeds, onion and curry leaves. Mix well.

Heat oil in a large pan and drop spoonfuls of batter into it. Fry until it turns gold drown. Do make sure the oil is hot before dropping the batter in.
Take the hot vadas and put them in a mixture of cold water and salt for 2-3 minutes. Then squeeze out the water and keep aside...
Make small vadas.... once its soaked in water and then later the dahi, it'll swell up and be twice its size... unless, ofcourse, its BIG dahi vadas you want....

Now for the dahi part:
Blend together the cumin seeds, green chillies, coriander leaves and yogurt. Add salt (according to your taste) to the mixture.

Now arrange the vadas in whatever dish u want to serve it in and pour the dahi mixture over them.
For garnishing u could simply use coriander leaves. I roasted some urud daal in oil and poured over the dahi vada. If u like something crunchy this is a good option. I love it with chick peas too.
Then I just sprinkled some kashmiri chillie powder and Chaat masala on top to give it that spicy look of the Indian food :)

These vadas turned out really soft and everyone loved it. I like collecting such simple snack ideas. Easy to make for guests. There was this recipe I came across a few days back for making stuffed dahi vada: http://cooking-goodfood.blogspot.ae/2012/03/stuffed-dahi-vada.html. It looks yum yum....planing to try it out soon... :)

Tata for now... will catch up later when I have some other beautiful yummilicious food and recipe... :)