Mutton kuzhambu without coconut | Traditional mutton curry

Mutton Curry

This is my usual style of preparing mutton kuzhambu,where I grabbed the recipe from my mom and from her mom the recipe came through... So no doubt I can say this recipe a traditional style of cooking mutton in a very simple way. This is how most of us in our family prepare mutton curry.

Ingredients:

Mutton - 1/2 kg

Shallots - 2 cups

Dry red Chilli - 7-8

Curry leaves - few

Pepper - 1 tsp

Jeera/cumin seeds - 2 tsp

Rice -1 tsp

Dhania/coriander seeds - 5-6 tsp

Ginger - 1 inch size

Garlic - 3 pods

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Oil - 2 tbsp

To Temper/Seasoning:

Oil - 1 tsp

Pepper - 1/4 tsp

Dry red chilli -2

Curry leaves - few

Mutton Kuzhambu

Method:

1. Dry roast Rice,pepper and jeera.
2. Heat Oil and fry red chilli,dhania till the aroma comes out and keep aside. 
3. Then fry shallots and curry leaves till they are golden brown.
4. Now add turmeric powder,ginger,garlic and saute for a while.
5. Mix now all the fried ingredients,allow it to cool and grind to a fine paste.
6. Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a pressure pan,add cleaned mutton pieces and saute for about 5 minutes in low flame.
7. Now add grinded paste, 3 to 4 cups of water and cook for 4 whistles with salt.
8. Once the pressure is down, check whether mutton cooked soft. If not close the lid and leave for another 3-4 whistles.
9. Transfer to serving bowl and add tempering of pepper and curry leaves.

With tempering added

Note :

• Rice is added to give a thick texture to the kuzhambu/gravy.
• When buying mutton take with little amount of fat,so that it adds taste to the curry.
• You can increase the number of chillies according to your spice preference.
• Do not add more water as the curry becomes watery. Add water according to the consistency you require to eat with rice or Idli.
• Do not add coriander leaves as they might change the flavor.
• This curry would serve as better side dish for Idli during breakfast.

Traditional Mutton Curry

Chicken Tandoori | Tandoori on Tawa | Leg Tandoori | Simple Tandoori recipe

Ingredients:

Chicken legs - 8-9

Tandoori Masala - 4 tsp

Fresh curd - 5 tbsp

Lemon - 1/2

Red chilly powder -1 tsp (optional)

Garlic -2 full

Ginger - 1 finger size

Corn flour -1 tsp (optional)

Salt as required

Butter to roast

Method:

 1. Clean the leg pieces and make two slanting slits on sides (as shown)

 2. Marinate with lemon juice and salt for about 15 - 20 minutes.

3. Make a paste of ginger garlic with tandoori masala and add in the curd, corn flour and mix well.

 4. Marinate the leg pieces with the masala and leave for 2 hours, else refrigerate for 1 hour.

5. Heat the tawa and add a tsp of butter and roast well the pieces in low flame. Keep flipping the other sides to get cooked evenly.

 6. It takes about 20 minutes for a single piece to get fried.

 7. Serve with onion rings or any salad of your choice.

Chicken Tandoori

Note:

•  You can either use Flat bottom thick kadai/pan or else use the curved iron tawa. I tried on both and it came out similar.
• Because it takes about 20 minutes for a single piece to cook I tried out to fry using both burners.
• Felt that either of this wont give out perfect, but both pieces gave a similar touch of cooking. 

Tandoori on Iron Tawa

•  Adding Red chili powder is purely optional as I needed for bit spicier taste. 
• Rub well the paste all over and deep inside the slits  and then leave for marination.
• I do not have a grill pan so felt to try out on tawa or kadai....which turned out really awesome with the tangy lemon taste from the roasted slits.
• "Keep covered" to avoid oil bursts and sprays on you.
• Remove the burnt masalas leaving in oil if any.

One of iron tawa & other is thick kadai

Pepper Chicken dry | Pepper Chicken recipe

When my uncle came last week  I wanted to prepare something out of border from our traditional way of preparing gravies and curry and an usual method of preparing chicken kebab/65 as dry item. So I felt best choice would be Cardamom chicken (gravy) and Pepper chicken (dry) in restaurant style. This recipe I got from one of my friend's father, where he got from a hotel. Its so simple to make a dry item of chicken. My uncle who had come is a perfect critic of non-veg foods and I got the compliment its perfect and tasty. So wanted to share with a step wise pictures and I can also pin this for future reference.

Ingredients:

Chicken - 1/2 kg

Garlic - 1 full (use half of it with outer cover/skin)

Onion -1

Green chillies -2 -3

Curry leaves - few

Pepper - 2 tsp

Pepper powder - 2 tsp

Salt - 2 pinches

Lemon -1/2

To marinate:

Corn flour -3 tbsp

White pepper powder - 2 tsp

Soya sauce - 1/4 tsp

Salt as required

 Method:

1. Marinate chicken with the ingredients under "To Marinate' and set aside for 1 hour.

2. Heat adequate amount of oil and deep fry the chicken pieces.

3. Fry until slight golden brown and keep aside.

4. Finely chop the onion, cut the garlic into two halves, slit the green chillies, dry roast the pepper and grind to a coarse powder.

5. Heat oil in a kadai/skillet, add chopped onion, curry leaves, chilli and fry well.

6. Once the onion is fried add in the cut garlic and saute for a minute.

7. Now add in the fried chicken pieces.

8. Also add the crushed pepper, pepper powder,salt, sprinkle 2 tsp of water and mix well.

9. When the pepper and heat gets spread evely and chicken is soft remove the seeds of lemon and squeeze out the juice into it.

10. Transfer to a serving bowl and serve as a better simple side dish.

Pepper Chicken Dry

Note:

• I add half garlic with skin to get a fine flavor, you can also peel off and use them.
• Instead of using pepper powder you can add 1 tsp of pepper while roasting and grind to use.
• If you find the chicken get sticking with pan, then sprinkle little water and keep mixing. DO NOT pour water.
• Adding green chillies gives a better flavor compared to red chillies.
• Salt and spice can be adjusted according to your taste.

Pepper Chicken (Dry)

Cardamom Chicken

Cardamom Chicken

After a break of 1 week I felt to share something which I really worth a new try of chicken recipe. Usually in South we don't add more of cardamom in making traditional chicken recipes. So this I can say purely of North Indian touch.This reminds one of my Bengali friend who carries chicken with cardamom flavor. I tried out for the first time when my loving sis..as she likes to taste something new. It really turned out perfect and awesome. So this week I prepared the same when my Uncle came. Though my hubby prefers curry always in non veg, appreciated its perfect and from there I confirmed its really worth doing this simple gravy...(only u have to chop more onions:)

A very simple recipe for bachelors to cook....only required of chopping onions in fine pieces :-)

Ingredients :

Chicken - 1/2 kg
Onion - 4 big size (finely chopped)
Red chilli powder -3 tsp
Curry masal powder - 2 tsp
Cinnamon & Clove powder - 1 tsp
Crushed Cardamom - 7  Nos
Cashew paste - 1 tbsp
Gingelly oil - 3 tbsp
Salt as required

Method:

1. Clean and wash the chicken and drain out the water completely.
2. Heat 1 tbsp of oil and roast the chicken brown or  until they get half cooked.
3. Meanwhile heat the remaining oil in another kadai/tawa and fry onions until golden brown.
4. Add all the masala powder, salt and saute for about 5 minutes in low flame.
5. Add this ingredients into the roasted chicken and mix well.
6. Pour sufficient water about 1 cup, cover with a lid and cook in medium flame.
7. When it reaches the gravy consistency, add the cashew past, give a quick stir and keep covered for 5 minutes in simmer.
8. Transfer to a serving bowl and serve hot with Rice /Roti/Phulka of your choice.

Note:

• Clean the chicken properly to remove any blood clots.
• If you do not have curry masal powder, replace with garam masala. I use home made curry masal powder in health concern.
• Use boneless chicken if you wish for preparing this gravy, but I used with bones.
• Get the chicken pieces in medium size or small pieces of your choice.
•  1 tbsp of cashew paste can be made from 7-8 cashews.

Cardamom Chicken

Yoghurt marinated Chicken Fry | Bengali style of Chicken curry

Yoghurt marinated Chicken curry

Marinating of chicken and preparing curry is a North Indian style of preparing side dishes. This recipe of marinating chicken using curd is usually prepared by Bengalis.

Ingredients:

Chicken - 1/4 kg

Yoghurt - 2 tsp

Milk -1 tsp

Turmeric powder -1/4 tsp

Red chilli powder - 1 tsp

Garam masala - 2 tsp

Cinnamon & Clove powder - 1/2 tsp

Chopped coriander leaves -3 tbsp

Tomato -2

Salt as required

Oil - 1 tbsp

To grind as paste:

Ginger - 1 inch size

Jeera - 1/2 tsp

Coriander leaves - 1/2 cup

Method:

 1. Add all ingredients (except tomato, coriander leaves, oil) and Beat them up to a fine paste.

 2. Marinate the chicken for about 6 hours with the mixed paste.

 3. Heat oil in a pan/kadai and add the marinated chicken, Add required water about 1/2 cup,close the lid and cook in medium flame.

4. Grind the tomato to a fine paste and add the puree and cook.

5. When the chicken becomes soft and tender add the coriander leaves and put of the flame.

Marinated Yoghurt Chicken curry

• Light effect was not good, kindly bear with the picture quality.. But am sure you would really like this simple recipe of marinated chicken. 
• This recipe would be a simple method for bachelors to prepare.

Mutton soup | Mutton clear soup for Infants

As per the advice of my pediatrician, I started introducing chicken,mutton and fish to my son in his 9th month onwards. The baby care differs with each pediatrician, so consult with your pediatrician once before you can introduce any new heavy food stuffs. If  they are advisable to introduce here is a recipe you can go with.Very simple,plain and tasty too....


Also refer baby care space for more vegetarian infant recipes.


When introducing for the first time just boil the mutton pieces with turmeric powder, curry leaves and feed the soup. Then gradually increase the below ingredients.

Mutton Soup

Ingredients :

Mutton bones -4 pieces
Tomato -1/4 piece
Shallot -2
Garlic -2
Curry leaves -few
Turmeric powder -a pinch
Pepper -3
Toor dal -1 tsp
Jeera/cumin seeds -2 pinches
Salt as required






Method :

1. When you buy mutton wash them clean and collect the bone pieces.

2. Add all the above ingredients with 2 glass of water and boil.

3. Close the lid and cook for about 15 minutes in medium flame.

4. Now filter out the soup leaving the mutton pieces.







5. This can be mixed with idlis,smashed rice and feed the baby. Avoid the mutton pieces when feeding the babies below 15 months,as they do not know to chew properly.

Mutton soup

Note :

• Avoid the pepper and garlic when introducing the soup initially.
• Gradually start adding each ingredient one by one. 
• Salt can be added a pinch for infants above 1 year.
• you can also add a tsp of  the paste when grinding for Mutton kuzhambu. which gives thickness for the soup. I generally do this in my soups.

Chicken Biryani | Simple Chicken Biryani

Biryani is one of the favorite dish for most of the people. Though we have so many varieties of biryani around us, we sometimes look in for very simple method of preparing aromatic biryani. This recipe is a complete version by my sissy Anitha who made me the work so simple in making biryani. Many Thanks for her :)

Ingredients:

Chicken - 1/2 kg

Basmati Rice - 1 and 1/2 cup

Water - 3 cups

Clove & Cinnamon powder -1/2 tsp

Onion -1

Bay leaf -1

Oil - 3 tbsp

Ghee - 2 tsp

Coconut oil - 1 tsp  (optional)

To grind:

Ginger - Finger size

Garlic - 10 pods

Mint leaves - handful

Coriander leaves - handful

Tomato -1

Green chilli -3

Method:

1. Grind the ingredients given under to grind as a fine paste.

2. Grind equal ratio of Cloves and Cinnamon to a very fine powder and use 1/2 tsp of it.

3. Wash and soak the rice for 15 minutes before cooking.

4. Heat oil in a pressure pan, add bay leaf ,then add thin sliced onion and fry until translucent.

5. Add grinded paste and fry in medium flame.

6. When you smell the fine aroma coming out, add cinnamon powder.

7. Now add in the cleaned chicken pieces and saute.

8. From the given water measurement add 1/2 cup and mix well.

9. Cover with cooker lid upside down (as shown in pic) and cook the chicken.

10. Chicken should able to cut with spatula ( as shown in pic).This is the right consistency where you should add rice.

11. Add in the rice,salt and remaining water and mix evenly.

12. Allow it to boil and cook for few minutes without closing the lid. Mix gently in between.

13. When you find the rice is half cooked add the ghee and coconut oil and close the lid. Pressure cook for 1 whistle in low flame.

14. Once the pressure is down, mix the rice gently that rice should not break.

15. Transfer to serving bowl. serve either with Mutton Salna , Chicken Curry or Mutton Kuzhambu or raita or even with plain curd of your choice.

                      

Chicken Biryani with Mutton Salna

Note:

• Do not wash the rice more times as they tends to loose their flavor.
• You can also use biryani rice to cook this recipe. But take care to add the proper water measurement according to the rice you are using.
• I have added 3 chillies for low spice. You can add additional chillies according to your taste.
• Do not mix the rice more as basmati rice tend to break easily.
• Once pressure is down when mixing the rice, you can use the back of the spatula/laddle to mix.Because they are thin the rice do not break much.

Biryani with plain curd