Trivandrum Chicken Fry

For all of you from Kottayam, you got to remember "Trivandrum Chicken Corner" near Logos Center at the end of that little strip mall. Back in the 90s that was the place for the yummiest fried chicken. The smell from that restaurant would draw you in. I been there a couple of times, not the best of ambiance for casual dining,but who cares, right? The chicken there tasted awesome! So I recently came upon this recipe from "Vanitha" by Late Mrs. K.M Mathew (Founder Chief Editor of Vanitha) couple months ago. Tried it out today, came out well I think. Try it out and let me know.

Ingredients
Chicken -2 lbs(I used drumsticks)
Chilly powder-2 heaping tsp
Shallots-10
Ginger/Garlic paste-2 tsp (the recipe called for fresh garlic and ginger, I was out of it)
Lemon juice-Juice from 1/2 lemon
Fennel seed-2 tsp(crushed)
Salt-as needed(I used Lawry's Garlic Salt)
Coconut oil


Directions
1.Clean and wash the chicken. Put slits in the chicken(three on each side) for the marinade to absorb into the meat.


2.Next take the shallots and crush them in a pestle and mortar and add the remaining ingredients except the oil into a dish and prepare a thick marinade.


3.Check the seasoning and add salt if necessary before covering the chicken pieces in the marinade. Coat evenly and refrigerate in the fridge for 4 hours or even longer.


4.Heat a deep pan with coconut oil and shallow fry the pieces in batches.


5.Serve hot with chappathi, onion and lemon on the side.

Strawberry Lemonade

Its been a while since I added any posts. My mom is in town for the summer to spend time with the grand kids. Which means I'm busy! And now with school out and my kids running around driving me crazy giving them something to cool to drink always seems to calm them down at least for a little bit. :) I tried this Strawberry Lemonade on a whim-I told my family that this would either be a hit or a miss before serving it to them. And it was a Hit! Served at our BBQ party this past weekend and everyone seemed to love it too!

Ingredients
Minute Maid Lemonade Concentrate-1 can
Strawberries-1 cup
Sugar-3/4 tbsp
Water-1/4 cup
Ice


Method
1.In a blender add about 3/4 cup of the strawberries(along with a splash of water) to make a puree.


2.In a large pitcher add the frozen lemonade concentrate and prepare as instructed. It's usually about 4 1/3 cans of cold water. Mix well.


3.Heat the sugar and water to make a syrup and let cook before adding this to the lemonade. Add the strawberry puree and mix everything well.


4.Next slice the remainder of the strawberries and add them to mixture along with ice.


5.Taste before serving chilled. You can add less or more of the syrup according to your taste

Tonight's Dinner

Pallappam,Egg Roast and Strawberry Lemonade for the Hubby

Nadan Egg Roast

Today's special for the hubby is Pallappam and Nadan Egg Roast. He loves egg dishes! So I decided to make an Egg Roast for dinner. This dish is a dry dish with no gravy. The more the onions the better because that is usually what everyone scoops out first.

Ingredients
Eggs-3
Onions-2(thinly sliced) *You can use more, I stop at 2 because of the tears*
Green chilly-2 (split)
Ginger-1/2 inch piece minced
Garlic-3 large cloves minced
Curry leaves-2 sprigs
Cilantro/Coriander leaves-for garnish
Mustard seeds-1/2 tsp
Chilly powder-1 tsp
Coriander powder-1 tsp
Garam Masala-1/2 tsp(freshly ground)
Tomato-1 (cut lengthwise)
Salt-to season
Oil


Directions
1.In a non-stick pan heat about 3-4 tbsp oil and splatter some mustard seeds. Then add the onions,garlic,green chilly and ginger.
*Tip- Add a bit of salt too helps the onions saute faster.


2.Once they are sauteed and have a deep rich color(make sure not to burn) you can add the masalas and cook them well. Make sure you cook them long enough so as to lose the raw taste and smell.


3.Now add the tomatoes and curry leaves. Saute this for a good 5-7 minutes until the tomatoes are cooked through as well.


4.In a separate pan boil water and cook the eggs for 5 minutes to get the perfect hard boiled egg. 
*Tip-Adding a bit of salt to the boiling water before adding the eggs makes the peeling of the shell easier.


5.Once the shells of the eggs are removed you can split them lengthwise and add them to the masala mixture.


6.Garnish with some coriander leaves for the final touch.

Spicy Lamb Curry

Lamb was a favorite in my household growing up. My dad had a special recipe where he used Black Elaichi  (black cardamon) which gave a North Indian flare to the dish. He did his BEd in Rajasthan, India, where he learned to make this and other North Indian dishes. This heavily spiced dish pairs well with chappathis. This is a spicy dish and not for the faint at heart.

Ingredients
Lamb-1/2lb
Black elaichi- 2 crushed
Cumin seeds-1/2 tsp
Cloves-4
Black peppercorns(whole)-10
Cardamon-4
Onion-2 (sliced)
Tomato-1 small quartered
Potato(medium)-1 diced into 1 inch pieces
Garlic-6 cloves (sliced)
Ginger- 1 inch piece ( sliced)
Chilly powder- 1 tsp
Coriander powder-2 tsp
Turmeric powder-1/2 tsp
Coriander(cilantro) leaves-a bunch
Oil
Salt


Directions
1.Cut the lamb into one inch pieces and wash well under cold running water. Place in a colander to drain.


2.In a pressure cooker heat about 5 tbsp of oil. Add the cumin seeds to splatter then add the black elaichi, cardamon, black peppercorns and cloves.


3.Once the spices release their aroma you can saute the onions along with the ginger and garlic.


4.You can next make a paste with the chilly powder, coriander powder and turmeric powder with a little bit of water. Add this to the onions once they are a golden color and the oil has separated.


5.Mix the spice paste in well and saute till the raw smell is gone. This will take a good 10 minutes on a medium flame.


6.Next add the diced tomatoes and saute till oil separates from the mixture before adding the lamb pieces and potato. Season with salt at this point.


7.Cover the lamb and potato with the masala and place the lid on the pressure cooker.


8.Cook till you hear three whistles and let is rest till all the pressure is released.


9.If the curry seems dry you can heat it again and add half a cup of hot water and let it boil. Add the coriander leaves and mix well. Garnish with some more coriander leaves.


Bon Apetit! Enjoy with hot chappathis or rice!!!

Strawberry-Watermelon Cooler
Been a while since I posted any new posts. Been busy with kids and the tons of "End of the Year" activities.I am going to make up for it all with several new posts. It has been unbelievably hot here so I thought I would start off with a cool drink recipe.
Watermelon is a summer staple. And for every BBQ party in the US, watermelon is a must have and you always end up with leftovers and lots of it too. Had some leftover from the weekend BBQ and wasn't sure what to do with it all. So I decided to make some watermelon juice. So I go to the fridge to get the watermelon and find a handful of strawberries. Ah why not let's add that too! So I come up with this easy to make and very satisfying Strawberry-Watermelon Cooler.

Ingredients
Watermelon chunks-4 cups
Strawberries-1 cup
Honey-4 tbsp
Lemon juice-2 tbsp


Directions
1. Add the watermelon chunks in a blender and puree it. Remember you don't need to add any water. Pour into a pitcher.


2.Next add the strawberries and make a puree. You might need to add a couple teaspoons of water to get everything properly blended and mixed.


3.Once you add the puree to the watermelon mixture, add the honey and lemon juice and stir with a wooden spoon.


4. Taste before serving. You can add more or less honey depending on your sweet tooth.

Always serve chilled! Happy Cooking!!!
*I have a Strawberry Lemonade recipe that I'll post soon too!!!*