Chettinadu Masala

Ingredients :

• Coriander seeds : 2 Tblsps
• Fennel seeds : 2 tsps
• Black Pepper : 1 tsp
• Cloves : 5-6
• Cinnamon: a small piece
• Shaha Jeera/ Cumin : 1/2 tsp
• Dagad Phool :small piece
• Khaskhas/Poppy seeds : 1/2 tsp
• Kashmiti Red chillies : 8
• Shredded coconut : 1/4 bowl/2-3 Tbslps

Procedure:

• Dry Roast all the spices (mentioned above) and red chillies  on medium heat using very little oil.
• Then add shredded coconut and roast again until it turns brown.
• Cool down and grind to a coarse powder in blender.
• Then add some water (4 tsps) and grind into a coarse paste.
• Add more water  if required and grind into a thick paste.
• Note: This paste appears a little coarse and not smooth. That is Ok.
• Use in Chettinadu Chicken / Chettinadu fish recipes.
• Tip : This masala is added to the chicken/fish gravy not during marination but after the chicken/fish pieces are cooked. Use Sambar masala for marination for Chettinadu recipes.

Malai Kofta

Ingredients:

Koftas:

• Potatoes - 3 big 
• Paneer- 4 Tblsps
• Cornstarch - 2-3 tsps
• Ginger - small piece
• Green chillies- 6
• Salt
• Cumin seeds- 1/2 tsp
• Coriander leaves
• Amchoor powder- 1/4 tsp
• Dry fruits (Cashew nuts, Raisins)- each 15
• Oil- 1/2 tsp

Gravy:

• Onion: 1 small
• Tomatoes: 2
• Khada garam masala- cloves(4), black pepper(4), Cinnamon(small piece), cardamom(2) , dagad phool(small piece)
• Ginger- small piece
• Green chillies- 3
• Milk - 3 big coffee mugs full
• Rasoi Magic Malai Kofta Masala- full packet
• Salt
• Honey - 1/2 tsp
• Mawa Powder- 1 tsp
• Red chilli powder- 1 tsp
• Coriander leaves
• Lemon juice
• Cashews- 10

Oil - for frying Koftas

Procedure:

Koftas:

• Boil potatoes, peel skin and mash.
• Mash Paneer and mix it to the potatoes
• Grate ginger and add to the potato-paneer mixture.
• Chop  green chillies and add .
• Now add salt, amchoor, dry fruits, coriander leaves chopped, cumin seeds and corn starch.
• Knead into a dough adding little oil.
• Make elongated oval shaped koftas and deep fry in Oil.
• Keep aside on a Paper Towel to get rid of extra oil.

Gravy:

• Heat 1/2 tsp oil in a pan.
• Add chopped ginger, green chillies , khada garam masala and fry for a minute.
• Now add lengthwise cut onion and fry for another 2-3 minutes until it turns brown.
• Now add chopped tomatoes and fry for about 3-4 minutes till the tomatoes get puply and soft.
• Let the mixture cool down, then puree it in a blender.
• Microwave about 3 cups milk (3 large coffee mugs).
• Add Rasoi Magic Malai Kofta Masala to the boiled milk and mix well.
• Heat 1/2 tsp oil in a pan.
• Add chopped cashews and fry for a couple of minutes.
• Now add the onion-tomato puree and fry for another 5 minutes.
• Add the boiled milk with Rasoi Magic and mix well.
• In goes Mawa powder, Red chilli powder, salt , honey.
• Cook on a medium flame for 4-5 minutes. Then the milk starts boiling and gravy starts thickening.
• Add lime juice and coriander leaves.
• Add Koftas to the gravy and cook for 2-3 minutes .
• Serve hot with Roti/Naan.

Pesarattu

Ingredients:

• Sprouted Moong :  1 bowl
• Ginger: small piece
• Garlic: 3 cloves
• Green chillies - 6
• Onion - 1/2
• Salt
• Sooji : 1/4 bowl
• Rice Flour : 3 Tblsps
• Water : As required
• Oil

Procedure:

• Blend Sprouted moong, ginger, garlic and green chillies adding little water coarsely.
• Add some more water to get dosa batter consistency.
• Add Sooji, rice flour and salt and mix everything well.
• Chop onion and keep aside. You can sprinkle it on the Pesarattu or mix it with the batter per choice.
• Heat a pan and spray some oil.
• Once hot pour the batter on the pan. Spread it all over the pan to get a thin pesarattu. Sprinkle onion on it.
• Pour some oil on the sides of the pesarattu.
• Note : If the batter appears thick due to addition of sooji and rice flour, add some more water. We need thin ,liquidy, flowy  batter for crispy pesarattus.
• Cook covered with a lid for a couple of mins.
• Flip and cook again without lid for a couple of minutes.
• Apply ghee before removing from pan.
• Serve hot with chutney/yogurt.
• This is quick n healthy snack :)

Tofu Tikka

Ingredients:

• Extra firm Tofu - 1 pack
• Onions - 2
• Bell Peppers - 2
• Tomato - 2
• Yogurt - 3 Tblsp
• Tandoori Chicken Masala - 3 tsps
• Red chilli powder - 4 tsps
• Salt
• Turmeric- a pinch
• Oil - 1 tsp
• Ginger Garlic paste - 2 tsps
• Corn flour/ Corn Starch - 4 tsps
• Lime juice - 2 tsps

Procedure:

• Chop Extra firm tofu, onions, tomatoes and bell peppers into cubes
• Take them in a bowl and add 1 tsp oil, a pinch of turmeric, yogurt, tandoori chicken masala, red chilli powder, salt, ginger garlic paste and 2 tsps corn starch.
• Mix everything well and coat the tofu and veggies with the masala. Let it marinate for atleast an hour.

• Soak the wooden skewers in water for an hour until the tofu and veggies marinate.
• After about an hour, insert the marinated tofu and veggies into the skewers .
• Preheat oven to 375 F . Line a baking sheet with aluminium foil and place the skewers with the tofu and veggies on the aluminium foil.
• Sprinkle Corn strch on all the skewers just before baking.

• Bake at 375 F for 15 min and then broil at 450 F for 5-7 mins. Do rotate the skewers in between so that all sides are evenly baked.
• Check in between to make sure the veggies arent burnt.
• The veggies do burn and  turn black by the time we finish broiling. 

• Take out the skewers, and sprinkle lime juice on the tikka.
• Serve hot as an appetizer :)

Ghavachi Kheer ( Daliya Kheer / Cracked wheat porridge)

Ingredients:

• Daliya- 1 cup
• Water- about 2 cups
• Jaggery - 1/2- 3/4 cup
• Shredded Coconut - 1/4 cup
• Dry fruits ( cashew, Almonds, Pistachios) - each 8-10
• Ghee - 2 Tblsps
• Milk - 2 cups
• Cardamom powder - a pinch

Procedure:

• Pressure cook Daliya . Add enough water to soak the daliya completely.
• In a pan, heat about 2 tsps ghee.
• Fry the dry fruits in ghee. 
• Then add shredded cocnut and fry it for a minute
• In goes 1/2 cup  jaggery. Keep stirring until the jaggery melts and starts boiling.
• Now add the cooked Daliya and mix everything well.
• Check taste. This should be a  a little more sweet than usual. The sweetness reduces after we add milk.
• If required, add 1/4 cup jaggery and keep stirring the contents.
• Boil 2 cups milk and add it to the pan.
• Mix everything well and let the kheer cook for 3-4 minutes.
• Finally add cardamom powder.
• Serve hot/cold.
• Note: This kheer thickens when we refrigerate it. Add boiled milk at the time of serving.
• Enjoy :)

Kothimbir Vadi (Cilantro Vadi)

Ingredients :

• Cilantro leaves - 2 cups
• Besan - 1 cup
• Rice flour - 2 Tblsps
• Groundnut Powder - 2 Tblsps
• Green chillies - 6
• Garlic cloves - 3
• Ginger - small piece
• Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Asafoetida- a pinch
• Turmeric - a pinch
• Red chilli powder - 3 tsps
• Amchoor Powder - 1/2 tsp
• Salt
• Sugar - 1/4 tsp
• Baking Powder - 3/4 tsp
• Oil - 2 Tblsps
• Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp
• Sesame seeds - 1 tsp
• Curry Leaves - 6
• Lime juice - 1/2 tsp

Procedure:

• Clean Cilantro leaves, chop and keep aside.
• In a blender, blend green chillies, cumin seeds, ginger and garlic together adding very little water.
• In a bowl, mix coriander leaves, besan, rice flour, green chilli-ginger-garlic paste, roasted groundnut powder, salt, sugar, amchoor powder, asafoetida ,turmeric powder and baking powder,
• Add water as required to the batter and start mixing the contents. Do not add too much water. The batter should be of pouring consistency,
• Check taste , add salt, red chilli powder if required.
• Grease a steamer vessel /idli stand with oil and pour the batter in it to fill half the vessel.
• Steam the batter for about 10-15 minutes.
• Once done, let the steamed vadis cool down, then cut  into square pieces.
• Tadka: Heat some oil (2 Tblsps) in  a pan. Once hot, add mustard seeds , asafoetida, turmeric, curry leaves, sesame seeds.
• Add the kothimbir vadis to the pan and mix the contents so that the tadka coats the vadis.
• Finally sprinkle some lime juice.
• Serve Kothimbir Vadi as a tea time snack.

Note: You can also deep fry the steamed Kothimbir vadis before shallow frying them in the tadka. That would add a lot of calories, so I skipped the deep frying part !

Hyderabadi Chicken Dum Biryani

Ingredients :

Marination:

• Organic Chicken breasts/thighs- 2 bowls full
• Yogurt- 2 Tblsp
• Ginger- Garlic-Coriander leaves (with stems)- Cumin - Green chilli paste - 1 Tblsp
• Kiwi/Pineapple/Papaya paste - 2 tsps
• Turmeric- 1/4 tsp
• Red chilli powder - 6 tsps
• Green chillies - 4-5
• Mint leaves-4
• Coriander leaves- 1/4 bowl
• Oil - 1tsps
• Garam Masala- 1/4 tsp
• Chicken Masala- 1/2 tsp
• Shaan Chicken Biryani Masala - 3 tsps
• Cumin- Coriander powder - 1 tsp
• Salt

Rice:

• Basmati Rice-4 cups
• Khada Garam Masala- Tej patta, cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, dagad phool, cumin- together 2 tsps
• Ghee - 1 tsp

Garnishing:

• Onion - 1
• Dry Fruits (cashews, almonds, pistachios)- each 10
• Saffron soaked in 2 tsps milk
• Green chillies dipped in lemon juice- 5
• Coriander leaves - 1/2 bowl
• Mint leaves- 5-6
• Ghee- 2 Tblsp

Procedure:

Step1:

• Marinate chicken with the ingredients listed under marination for atleast 5-6 hours.

Step2:

• Pressure cook the chicken with about  2 cup water. This takes about 10 minutes (4-5 whistles)
• Drain the gravy from the pressure cooker and keep aside.

Step3:

• Let the chicken pieces be in the pressure cooker. Add 2 cups basmati rice to the chicken pieces. This needs 3 & half cup chicken gravy. If there is not enough gravy, add water to the gravy to make it 3 and half cups. Use this to cook 2 cups of  basmati rice.
• So we are cooking half of the basmati rice in chicken gravy along with chicken pieces.
• Pressure cook until 1 whistle.
• Check if the rice is cooked, if not, pressure cook until 1 more whistle. Do not overcook the rice. The rice should be almost 3/4th cooked.
• Now spread the rice along with chicken pieces on a plate and let it cool down.

Step4: 

• Slit green chillies (5) lengthwise and soak in lemon juice.

• Soak a few strands of saffron in 2 tsps milk.

• Chop onions lengthwise and fry until brown and crisp
• Chop dry fruits and fry on some oil/ghee.
• The above mentioned items are required for garnishing. So, keep them ready.

Step5:

• In a separate vessel take about 7-8 cups water. Add khada garam masala, salt and 1 tsp ghee to it and let it boil.
• Once the water starts boiling, add 2 cups of Basmati rice to it .
• This takes about 7-8 minutes to cook. Keep stirring and check if the rice is cooked.
• Once the rice appears to be cooked, immediately drain the water and spread the cooked basmati rice on a separate plate to cool.
• Let the rice cool for about 10-15 minutes.

Step6:

• Preheat oven to 375 F
• Line an oven safe pan with 1-2 tsps ghee
• Spread 1/3 rd of the white rice on it.
• Sprinkle some drops of saffron milk,
• Then spread 1/2 of the rice that was cooked  with chicken gravy along with chicken pieces.
• Sprinkle some chopped coriander leaves, mint leaves,dry fruits, brown onion slices and green chillies soaked in lemon juice 
• Now spread another 1/3 of the white rice over it.
• Repeat the procedure of layering it with saffron milk, basmati rice cooked with chicken gravy, chicken pieces and other garnishing items.
• Finally spread the left over white basmati rice and garnish it with dry fruits, saffron milk, coriander, mint leaves, brown onion slices and green chillies.
• Finally drop lots of ghee(2 tsps at each side ) on the sides of the pan as well as on top of the white rice.

• Cover with an aluminium foil and bake at 375 F for 12-15 mins.

• Covering with the aluminium foil doesnt allow the steam to escape and the biryani cooks on Dum.
• Heavenly Biryani is finally ready !
• Serve with Raita and lemon wedges :)