Chicken Skewers & Potato Olives Salad

Potato Olives Salad 

Ingredients

• 3 lbs red potatoes, chopped
• 1 cup chopped celery
• ¼ cup chopped green onion
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• ½ cup chopped green olives with pimentos
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp pepper
• ½ tsp paprika
• ½ tsp cumin
• 
  

Instructions

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add chopped potatoes and cook for 20 minutes. Allow to cool
2. In a large bowl combine all ingredients and mix well.
3. Flavors are best if salad is prepared a few hours ahead of serving.

Chicken Skewers

Ingredients

• 1 cup plain yogurt
• 1/4 cup lemon juice from 2 lemons
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon finely grated peeled fresh ginger
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
• 2 teaspoons hot paprika
• 2 teaspoons freshly minced garlic (about 2 medium cloves)
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 pounds skinless, chicken breasts

Directions

1.Whisk together yogurt, lemon juice, oil, ginger, salt, smoked paprika, hot paprika, garlic, black pepper, cumin, and cayenne pepper in a medium bowl. Place chicken in a large resealable plastic bag. Pour in marinade and seal bag, removing as much air as possible. Place in refrigerator and marinate for 4 to 8 hours

Thread chicken tightly onto skewers. Clean and oil the grilling grate. Grill skewers until well browned on all sides and center of chicken registers between 160-165°F on an instant read thermometer, 3-4 minutes per side. Transfer skewers to platter and let rest for 5 minutes. Serve immediately

Simple French Croissants

Thanks to store-bought puff pastry, you really can make flaky, homemade chocolate croissants without the extra time and fuss

The puff pastry dough I used is from Pilsburry. We’re sure you’ve noticed their products in your grocery store. If you can’t find pilsburry puff pastry sheets, feel free to use another puff pastry dough, store-bought or homemade.

Simply roll the puff pastry out into a rectangle and cut into triangles. Then add your favorite chocolate to the middle and roll up. Or if you want to experiment, try marzipan and sliced almonds for almond croissants, jam, or even ham and cheese for a savory version. I sprinkled some roasted Sesame seeds and rolled the puff pastry on it.. Mine was filled with Peanut butter and Nutella.

Unniyappam

Ingredients needed

Raw Rice - 1 cup
Jaggery -1 cup + 2 tbsp
Banana - 1 (medium size)
Cardamom powder - a generous pinch
Coconut bits -3 tbsp
Roasted Sesame seeds - 1/2 tsp
Cooking soda - a pinch
Oil and ghee for cooking appams
Paniyaram pan or appa chatti

Preparation 

Wash and soak rice overnight or for 5-6 hours.

Drain the water and grind it to a smooth paste. Leave it for another 4-5 hours.(what I did was, I soaked rice overnight, ground it in the morning and prepared unniappams in the evening.)

Fry coconut bits in a little ghee and keep it aside.

Add grated jaggery, chopped banana to the ground rice and grind it again.(if jaggery has impurities,dissolve it in little water, strain it and then grind it with rice)

Add cardamom powder, sesame seeds, fried coconut bits, cooking soda and mix well. The consistency of the batter should not be too thin nor too thick, so adjust accordingly.

Method

Heat a paniyaram pan, add a tsp of oil + 1/2 tsp of ghee in each hole of the appa chatti or paniyaram pan.

 

When the oil + ghee becomes hot, reduce the flame to low and fill the holes with the batter. (fill only up to 3/4 th of the hole). Now cook covered in medium flame.

When the bottom starts  browning, flip it over to the other side with a spoon or a skewer.

Let the other side get cooked uncovered until golden brown. Once cooked, remove and drain on a kitchen towel.

Repeat the same process for the rest of the batter.

Note- You will get soft unniyappams only if rice is soaked for so long and fermented.

Method 2 (Instant version)

Rice flour - 1 cup
Wheat flour -1/4 cup
Jaggery - 1 1/4 cup
Coconut bits - 1/4 cup
Banana -1 medium size
Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp
Cooking soda - a pinch
Oil + ghee mix for frying
Appam chatti

Preparation

Fry coconut bits in 2 tsp of ghee and keep it aside.Heat 1/4 cup of water and dissolve jaggery in it. Filter it to remove impurities.Keep this ready.

Method

In a bowl, mix together rice flour and wheat flour.

Add chopped banana to it and mash it well.

Add warm jaggery to the above mixture.

Then add fried coconut bits, cardamom powder,cooking soda and mix well.This is the unniyappam batter.

Follow the same method as given in the first recipe for preparing unniappams.

Chettinad Vendakkai Saddam Recipe (Spicy Okra Rice)

Ingredients

• 1-1/2 cups cooked rice
• 10 Vendakkai (Okra/Bhindi), cut into small dices
• 1 onion, sliced
• 1 tablespoon thick tamarind paste
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1 teaspoon black pepper powder
• a pinch of cinnamon powder
• 1 teaspoon channa dal 
• 1 tomato, chopped 
• 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
• a sprig of curry leaves, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon oil
• ginger(small piece) and garlic(2 pods), chopped
  
  

  Directions

  1. To begin making the Chettinad Vendakkai Saddam Recipe (Spicy Okra Rice), we will first cook the okra along with the spices.
  2. Take a heavy bottomed pan and heat the spoonful of oil on medium heat. Add the onions, tomato, ginger and garlic and the Vendakkai and salt to taste. Stir fry on low to medium heat until the okra (Vendakkai) is well cooked and roasted. This will take about 10 minutes.
  3. Once the Vendakkai is well cooked, add the turmeric powder, curry leaves, cinnamon powder, black pepper powder, salt, thick tamarind paste and sauté the ladies fingers till it gets coated well with all the other ingredients. 
  4. Now, in another tadka pan, heat a teaspoon of oil. Add in the mustard seeds, channa dal and cashews. Allow them to crackle and get roasted until lightly browned. Add this to the Vendakkai mixture.
  5. Stir the seasoning well into the Vendakkai mixture. At this stage add in the cooked rice. Stir together all the ingredients until well combined. Turn the heat to low, cover the pan and simmer for 3 to 4 minutes.  Check the salt and spices and adjust to suit your taste.
  6. Finally, turn off the heat and transfer the Chettinad Vendakkai Saddam to a serving bowl.
  7. Serve the delicious tangy and spicy Chettinad Vendakkai Saddam Recipe (Spicy Okra Rice) hot along with a tomato onion raita.

Bhindi Rice

  Preparation Time : 15 mins | Cooking Time : 20 Mins |Serves: 2

    Bhindi| ladies finger|okra       8
    Basmati rice     1/2 cup 
    Onion      1
    Tomato     1/2 
    Sambar powder   2 tsp
    Ginger garlic paste    1/2  tsp
    Pav bhaji masala| garam masala    1/4 tsp
    Salt    as needed
    Oil    2 tblsp
    Cashew nuts | peanuts    little (optional)
    Coriander leaves     few       
      - See more at: http://www.jeyashriskitchen.com/2015/06/bhindi-rice-recipe-bhindi-pulao-lunch.html#sthash.g6OmGN9p.dpuf

Best South Indian Breakfast - Dosa with Tomato Chutney, Ladies FInger Sambar, Mysore Bonda

Best South Indian Breakfast - Dosa with Tomato Chutney, Ladies FInger Sambar, Mysore Bonda

 Dosa is a fermented crepe or pancake made from rice batter and black lentils. It is a staple dish in South Indian states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala. It is also popular in other parts of India, and other countries like Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Singapore.
Dosa is indigenous to South India; its exact birthplace in that region is a matter of conjecture.

Dosa making
A mixture of rice and urad dal (ulundu) that has been soaked in water is ground finely to form a batter. The proportion of rice to lentils is basically 4:1 or 5:1. The batter is allowed to ferment overnight. After the overnight fermentation, batter is mixed with water to get the desired thickness. the batter is then ladled onto a hot tava (griddle) greased with oil or ghee (clarified butter). It is spread out evenly with the base of a ladle or bowl to form a pancake. A dosa is served hot, either folded in half or rolled like a wrap. It is also served usually with chutney and sambar. The mixture of urad dal and rice can be replaced with highly refined wheat flour or semolina.


Ingredients : 1 1/2 cups rice 1/2 cup urad dal salt to taste Oil Masala

 Preparation :  shell Separately soak rice and urad dal at least 6 hour or overnight in water. Grind to paste. Mix together, add salt with water to make batter. Leave in room temperature overnight. Mix onion and chilies to the thin batter. Heat pan or griddle with little ghee or oil. Spread the mix on pan in circular motion to make thin Dosa. Cook on both the sides, if desired.

Dosa can be stuffed with fillings of vegetables and sauces to make a quick meal. They are typically served with a vegetarian side dish which varies according to regional and personal preferences. Common side items are:

Sambar : Here I made Ladies Finger Sambar in Hotel style.

Wet chutney: examples include coconut chutney (a semisolid paste made up of coconut, dal (lentils), green chilli and mint or coriander). I have Tomato Onion Chutney.

Dry chutney (podi): a powder of spices and desiccated coconut

Mysore Bonda : This makes the breakfast more enriching.