Poached egg curry/ Egg drop curry

                                                                               

Two years back we were invited by my husband's boss for dinner.His wife(native from andhra) is a great cook so along with other dishes she had prepared the delicious andhra style poached egg curry(egg drop curry).As i am always inquisitive about new recipes i had asked her the basic process of making this curry.She had used tomato base to make the curry.Here in this recipe, i have made the same egg drop curry with  coconut base giving it goan touch.This curry tastes super yummy when served with roti,bread or rice.It's a perfect dish for party or potluck.

This curry doesn’t require boiled eggs, so you don’t need to worry about boiling the eggs first and then wait for them to cool down a bit before peeling the shells.
For this curry, the raw eggs are directly dropped into the gravy instead of adding boiled eggs.Thus, this reduces the cooking time. So a tasty curry can be served under 30 minutes.The eggs are cooked in spicy gravy, so they absorb all the spices and curry tastes much more flavorful than regular boiled egg curry.This curry is the best to cook at times when you have unexpected guests and you don’t have much time to prepare food, but you still want to impress them with something really exotic then this curry comes to the rescue.

          Ingredients (serves 3-4)

• 6 eggs
• 2 medium size onions (chopped)
• 1 tomato (chopped)
• 3-4 tablespoons oil 
• 2 tablespoons ginger garlic paste
• 1 bayleaf
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 inch cinnamon piece
• salt (as per taste)
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1 tsp chilli powder
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/2 cup grated coconut
• Few coriander leaves chopped(to garnish)

          Method of preparation 

• In a frying pan take some oil (around 2 tablespoons)and fry 1 medium size chopped onion till it becomes translucent.
• Next in the same pan add grated coconut and shallow fry it nicely until coconut turns light brown and aromatic.
• Switch off the gas and let it cool down.
• After some time take this fried onion and coconut mixture and put in a blender,also add 1 tsp garam masala,1 tsp chilli powder and 1/2 tsp of turmeric powder.Grind altogether to make fine paste and keep aside.
• In the same frying pan take some oil,into that add 1/2 tsp of jeera,small peice of cinnamon and 1 bayleaf and saute it for a while.
• Then add ginger garlic paste and saute for a while.
• Take the flat bottom pan and add 1 medium size chopped onion and fry nicely till golden brown.
• Then add chopped tomato and fry till raw mell dissapears.Add little water if required.
• Then add the coconut gravy to the pan,also add salt and sugar and mix well and cook nicely for 3-4 minutes till it starts boiling.
• Reduce the flame to medium low and slowly crack the egg one by one and put in gravy keeping some gap between two eggs.
• Cover and cook on low medium flame for 8-10 minutes.
• Do not stir in between.After 10 minutes eggs will be cooked nicely then flip on the other side using spoon.
• Cook for couple of minutes more.Stir gently if required.
• Switch off the gas and garnish with coriander leaves.
• Serve hot with Roti/Pav/Rice.

          
          Note

• Instead of chopped tomato you can also use tomato puree.
• Dont stir the curry once the eggs are added.
• You can use the same recipe and add boiled eggs instead of adding the raw eggs directly into the curry.

          Happy cooking !

Chole biryani/ Kabuli Chana biryani

                                                                                                                                                                             

I have already posted Vegetable biryani post earlier on my blog.Commonly we make chole from this kabuli chana but this time i wanted to try kabuli chana biryani. The Kabuli Chana Biryani is a delicious one-dish meal made using  rice and white chick peas.This biryani is served with curd raita and pickle to make a tasty,healthy and satisfying meal for lunch or dinner.This biryani can be suitable for party or picnic.

         Ingredients

• Basmati Rice 1 cups
• Water as per requirement 
• White peas(kabuli chana)1 cup
• 1 Medium size Onion(chopped)
• Salt to taste
• Green cardamons 2
• Black cardamom 1
• Cloves (5-6)
• Black pepper(5-6)
• Cinnamon 1/2 inch stick
• Bay leaf(1-2)
• Caraway seeds (shahi jeera) 1 teaspoon
• Ginger-garlic paste 2 teaspoons
• Turmeric powder(1/4 tsp)
• Red chilli powder( 1 tsp) 
• Coriander powder (1 tsp)
• Jeera powder(1 tsp)
• Yogurt(1/2 cup)
• Saffron (kesar) a few strands
• Some milk for soaking saffron
• Garam masala powder (1 -2 tsp)
• Fresh coriander leaves chopped 2 tablespoons
• Fresh mint leaves chopped 2 tablespoons
• Fried onion(for layering)
• 1-2 tablespoon Ghee (for layering)
• 3-4 tablespoon oil
• 1-2 tsp Ghee (clarified butter)
• 2 tsp Lemon juice 

          Method of preparation 

• Boil rice in four cups of salted boiling water with green cardamoms,black cardamom,cloves,cinnamon,pepper,caraway seeds,lemon juice,2 tsp oil,bayleaf until three-fourth done.Drain excess water and set aside.
• For making fried onion add oil in a wok and heat it,when the oil is heated up, add the sliced onions.Stir for a while,fry the onions on sim flame.Fry them until a golden brown color is observed.Keep stirring in between so that all the onions are fried well and evenly attain the golden brown color.When the onions are fried well strain them out.Place them on a tissue paper and spread them loosely.
• Soak saffron in some warm milk and keep it aside.
• Soak kabuli chana previous night,next day cook them nicely with some salt and keep aside.You can use pressure cooker to cook peas.
• In a pan heat oil in a pan.Add onions and saute for a while,then add ginger garlic paste and saute again.Once this is done then add cooked white peas.
• Sprinkle salt,cover and cook on medium heat for two minutes. 
• Add turmeric powder,red chilli powder,coriander powder,jeera powder,yogurt and  garam masala and mix well.
• Simmer and cook for around 10 minutes.Add little water if required.after 10 minutes switch off the flame and let it cool for a while.
• Last and important step is layering all the things.
• Arrange a layer of biryani rice at the bottom.
• Over that arrange kabuli chana gravy(thick).
• In each layer sprinkle garam masala,coriander leaves,mint leaves,ghee,fried onion and saffron soaked in milk.
• Arrange 2-3 layers similarly finally cover the pan with the aluminium foil/dough and then put the lid.
• Keep the pan on hot tawa/flat frying pan and cook for around 5-7 minutes on medium flame.
• You can also heat it in microwave by putting biryani in micowave safe pan for 5-7 minutes on High power.
• Let it stand for five minutes.Serve hot with curd raita.

          Happy cooking !

Tomato salsa

         
I love this salsa,because its simple to make,yet delicious to taste !This salsa goes perfect with tortilla chips,crackers or even our papad! They can also be used as topping for burrito or in sandwichs also.Salsa refers to a Mexican style sauce with tomato as its main ingredient.The tomatoes added can be fresh or cooked.When salsa is made with fresh tomatoes, it is known as raw salsa or Mexican fresh sauce.

This may not be an authentic Mexican salsa recipe because,I have my own tweaks in this recipe.These days salsa is available in jars in supermarkets with spice levels ranging from mild to hot.Store bought salsa has so many scary preservatives and tons of sugar.Hence i prefer to make fresh homemade salsa rather than buying from store as you can make your healthy blend.It tastes better too! Try it and i am sure you will love it.

         Ingredients

• 3 medium size blanched tomatoes(finely chopped)
• 1 medium size Onion(finely chopped)
• 1 Green Chillies (finely chopped)
• 1 tsp Chilli powder
• 1/4 teaspoon roasted Cumin powder
• 1 tablespoon Coriander leaves(chopped)
• 2-3 tablespoons tomato ketchup
• 1-2 tsp Lemon juice
• 1-2 teaspoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Salt (as per taste)
• 1-2 tsp Sugar

          (Serves 3-4)

          
          Method of preparation

• To begin making the Salsa Recipe,first blanch the tomatoes and remove the skin. Blanching tomatoes are important, as it partially cooks the tomatoes and also gives a good taste to the salsa. 
• Once the tomatoes are blanched,chop them nicely.During this step i don't remove seeds of tomato but if you want you can do so.
• In a mixing bowl take the chopped tomatoes and then add one by one chopped onion,chopped green chilli,cumin powder,red chilli powder,salt,sugar,tomato ketchup,olive oil,lemon juice,chopped coriander leaves and mix nicely.
• Check the salt and spice levels and adjust to suit your taste.
• Salsa is now ready to be served along with tortillas chips.

          Note

• If you don't have time to blanch tomatoes then you can directly use the chopped raw tomatoes.
• You can increase or decrease the quantity of green chilli as per your taste.
• Before adding onion into the mixture you can store this salsa in an airtight container in fridge for couple of days. Add onion before serving.

          Happy cooking !

Banana chips/wafers

                                                                                 

Banana chips are my most favorite snack since childhood.Though we get readymade banana chips in indian stores in US ,i am little skeptical about the oil used by them for frying.I always wanted to try this recipe at home since a long time but was not possible as the special kind of surti banana used to make these chips are hard to find in indian stores here.

Surti raw bananas have a hard, green peel, and a slightly yellowish flesh inside.They are thicker than normal raw bananas, and longer as well.The peel too is thick and needs to be cut using a knife or peeler.They are also called as kerala banana or Nendran banana.This weekend when i had visited indian store i could luckily find some of these bananas.If you make chips with banana which have just begun to ripe,it will give little sweet taste to wafers.I borrowed this recipe from my aai and i am very much happy with the end result.

          Ingredients

• 2 Surti banana(unripe)
• Coconut oil for frying
• 1-2 tsp Salt
• 4-5 tablepoons water

         (Serves 2-3)

         Method of preparation

• Heat the oil in a deep non-stick pan on a slow flame.
• Apply some oil to your hands before cleaning the banana
• Cut both the edges of banana and make light vertical slits on the raw banana peels while taking care not to slit the raw banana.
• Remove the banana peel using your fingers.
• Mix 2 tsp of salt with 4-5 tbsp of water in a bowl and mix well till the salt dissolves completely and keep it aside.
• Slice half the raw banana using a slicer directly into the hot oil.
• If this step looks difficult for some, then they can slice the banana on a plate and they fry them taking care not to stick the pieces together while frying.
• Allow the banana slices to cook for a while and then add 1 tsp of salt-water mixture to the oil.Be careful while doing this as there is spluttering of oil during this step.
• Continue cooking the chips on a medium flame till they turn crisp from both the sides and the spluttering sound of oil-water stops,while stirring occasionally. Remove the banana chips from the oil and drain the excess oil.
• Repeat the same procedure to fry remaining banana chips. 
• Cool completely and serve or store in an air-tight container.

          Note

• I have used coconut oil for frying as it's more healthy and tasty,you can opt for other varities of cooking oil as per your choice.
• Use good slicer to make this banana slices, as thinner the slices more crispier the chips.
• This variety of banana gives natural yellow color after frying so no need to add turmeric powder to the salt water.
• If you want chips to be more spicy you can sprinkle some chilli powder or pepper powder as per your choice after frying.

          
          Happy frying !