Tamatar Ki Kadhi

Phatte Huye Tamatar ki Kadhi : This was a joke that i had to mention on my blog !!! On being a part of a food forum, i have made some great virtual friends there where we keep posting "what's cookin in our kitchen" ," where we go to dine", "what we eat" etc...On one such post where a lady asked about making punjabi style aloo parathas, my friend Ritika Khullar mentioned the process and said that she fills the stuffing so much, that the parathas actually Phatte ( gets torn - here meaning, pops out of the covering)!!!! I loved that word and a series of conversations followed, with renaming my blog as "Cookin in Phatte huye pajamas"..Hahaha... So, lets dedicate this Phatte Huye Tamatar ki Kadhi to Ritika :)

I usually have this habit of watching the channel "Food Food", one of the most popular food channels in India, during my lunch time. Maybe it increases my apetite or it just makes the food more tasty!!! Whatever the reason, i love watching food while eating...One such weekday, i had Sanjeev Kapoor showing the recipe of Tomato Kadhi. The name sounded interesting, and i decided to make it the same evening. It tasted heavenly with rice !!! So, if you are bored to cook one such day, this kadhi and rice ( with accompaniments of papad and some achaar ) combination would surely be a go-go!!!

Ingredients :

Besan ( Gram flour ) - 4 tsp

Tomatoes - 5 big ( Pureed )

Red chilli Powder - 1 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp

Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp

Asafoetida - 1/4 tsp

Dry red chillies - 3-4

Sugar - 1 tsp

Salt - to taste

Fresh corriander leaves - a few ( chopped )

Pepper - to taste

Recipe :

In a bowl, take besan. Add red chilli powder, turmeric powder and salt ( according to taste ). Mix it well. Now add the Tomato puree. Add about 2 cups of water and mix it well again. Set aside for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat a kadhai and add cumin seeds and mustard seeds.( No Oil added ). When they crackle, add the asafoetida and dry red chillies. Now pour the tomato mixture into this and let it come to a boil. Reduce the flame and let it simmer for about 8-10 minutes ( or till it thickens )

If you feel the tomatoes are sour, add about 1 tsp sugar. Or else you can adjust according to taste. Now garnish with corriander leaves and pepper and serve hot with Steamed rice :)))

Happy Cooking :)

Chilli Chicken : Pan fried fritters

Chicken, hmmmmppphhhhh ??!!!! : Honestly, that is always my reaction when my husband ( who is a die-hard lover of meat) says he wants to eat chicken!!! I have made Palak Chicken( Recipe uploaded earlier ) and 1-2 gravies with chicken before, but i always get nervous when cooking meat... One, as i can never taste it( Being a vegetarian ) and two, as i don't know the recipes well.
I have learnt the marinating part well now... But i always end up thinking, what different should i make now??

So one such weekday, i decided to surprise my hubby by cooking chicken, as there were already some chicken pieces in the freezer. I was browsing through some food channels earlier , to see if they are showing any easy-to-cook chicken recipe... Didn't find any... Then i searched on the internet and found a terrific recipe by my favourite MasterChef Sanjeev Kapoor. This one is dedicated to him. 

I didn't have all the ingredients he mentioned there, so i did a few modifications and it turned out great ( according to hubby dearest )...:)


So, i really love this Mantra " Try and you will always succeed " :).... The fear of not cooking it right gets you nowhere, unless you try, make mistakes, improve on them and try again... And well, it's all worth it to get that contempt look on hubby's face:)))

Ingredients :

( Adjust the quantities according to the chicken pieces you have )

Chicken pieces - 6 small ( Preferred boneless, but i took what i had, so these are with bones )

Lemon juice - 2 tbsp

Ginger - 1 inch piece

Garlic - 3-4 cloves

Salt - to taste

Rice - 1 tbsp

Whole dry red chillies - 6 ( or according to taste )

Curry leaves - 5-6

Oil - 2 tbsp

Yogurt - 3 tbsp

Maida or cornflour - to roll the pieces

Corriander leaves - a few chopped finely and pepper ( to garnish)

Recipe :

Wash the Chicken pieces thoroughly and make slits all over in the pieces ( not too deep ).

Apply salt and 1 tbsp of lemon to the pieces and set aside.

Make a smooth paste of ginger, garlic, curry leaves, red chillies, rice and remaining lemon juice in a grinder.

Add this paste to the yogurt and mix very well.

Apply this yogurt mixture to all the chicken pieces , so it's coated properly.

Now, leave this for marination as long as you can in the fridge. I kept it for 3 hours, but you can even keep it for 4-5 hours.

Remove from the fridge 15 minutes before you are about to cook them.

Heat oil in a pan. Take the maida or cornflour in a plate.

Roll the chicken pieces in maida or cornflour ( so it's coated properly on all sides ) and put them in the pan.

Shallow fry for a minute, roll the pieces over and fry for 7-8 minutes, turning them frequently, so they are browned ( cooked ) on both sides.

Now add a tbsp of water ( or just sprinkle a few drops on top), cover with a tight lid, and cook on low flame till chicken is cooked completely ,(Takes about 4-5 minutes, keep sprinkling water if needed )

Garnish with corriander leaves and don't forget to sprinkle some pepper on top!!! Serve with tomato ketchup or green chutney :) Or they taste great just plain too :)

Happy Cooking :)