Kozhi Milagu Curry/ Chicken Pepper Curry

Today being a Sunday, that too after the vegetarian days of Purataasi month and Navaratri, I decided to cook non veg. I saw this recipe in Chef Venkatesh Bhat's cookshow. It was quite simple and looked tempting. He also mentioned it as Superstar Rajnikanth's favorite ;-). I usually love pepper flavour and my husband is a big fan of chicken. So, this dish was a super hit today.

Ingredients:

1. Chicken - 400 gms

2. Big onion - 2 medium size(chopped)

3. Tomato - 2 small (chopped)

4. Ginger garlic paste- 1 &1/2tsp

5. Chilli powder - 1tsp

6. Turmeric powder - 1/4tsp

7. Coriander powder - 1tsp

8. Salt - as needed

9. Curry leaves - about half a fistful

10. Oil - 1&1/2 tbsp

To roast and powder:

1. Peppercorns/Milagu - a fistful

2. Fennel seeds/Sombu - about 1/3 of the pepper

Dry roast these two ingredients and make it a fine powder in mixie.

Method:

1. Clean and wash the chicken well.

2. In a wide bottomed vessel, heat oil, add the finely chopped onion and fry till it is golden brown (till when it starts caramelizing). There is a mild sweetness to the dish which is rendered by the onion.

3. Add the ginger garlic paste and fry till the raw smell leaves.

4. Add the tomato and saute till the raw smell vanishes and add in the curry leaves and stir. Curry leaves always go very well with pepper flavour.

5. Add in the chilli powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder and salt and mix well. Add in the chicken and mix well with the masala.

6. Add 1 and 1/2 to 2 tsp (as per your taste) of the ground pepper and fennel powder and stir well. Add around 1/2 cup water.

7. Let it boil till the chicken is cooked and the gravy reaches a semi dry consistency. Do not add more water else the consistency will not be reached and if you let it boil for long time there is a chance of chicken being overcooked. Winner combination with all Indian breads and hot rice and rasam!.

Multigrain Atta Halwa/Atta Halwa/Godhumai Halwa- with Jaggery

This is one of the easiest and healthiest sweets to make. I referred the recipe from divinetaste.com. In that website the halwa was made using wheat flour. But I had only aashirvad multigrain atta at home. However, I decided to give it a try and I just loved the result. The dish has a mild sweetness and is so tasty. Healthy too with the goodness of grains and jaggery.

There are two important things to note in this recipe. Its a very easy to make sweet but you have to do these two steps with care. The first one is the roasting part of the flour. It has to be done continuously atleast for 9 to 10 or 11 mins in low flame. Take care not to burn it. However, the color will change darker. If you do not roast the flour for an ample time, you will get a floury taste in the dish and it will be uncooked.

Second, is while pouring the jaggery syrup, you should be careful avoiding splatters on yourself but you should also assure there are no lumps formed by constant stirring.

 Ingredients:

1. Multigrain Atta/Wheat flour- 3/4 cup
2. Jaggery, powdered -3/4 cup
3. Water - 1 and 1/2 cup
4. Cardamom crushed - 2 or 3
5. Ghee - 3tbsp + 1tsp for toasting nuts
6. Salt - tiny pinch(optional)
7. Nuts ( I used badam) - for garnish

Method:

1. Heat the powdered jaggery with 1 and 1/2 cup water in a pan. Dont let it boil, Strain and set aside.(It will be a runny syrup only not to worry).

2. In a non stick kadai, heat the ghee till it melts. Add the flour and roast it on low heat. As mentioned earlier, you will get a toasted aroma and you will notice the color of the flour gets darker. This takes 10 or 11 mins.

3. Now, add the cardamom powder and a tiny pinch of salt (it is optional, in sweets a tiny pinch of salt enhances the flavour and sweetness). and give a quick stir.

4. Now add the jaggery syrup carefully stirring continuously to avoid lumps and be careful to avoid splatter. I used my ballon whisk.

5. You will see it all comes together very soon to a mass of halwa consistency, so you have to act very fast when adding the syrup.

6. Toast nuts with ghee and add it to the halwa. Serve and enjoy!.

Notes:

• The above quantity is sufficient for 4 people. Do not be carried away by the minimal amount of flour when roasting. You can see how it miraculously doubles up on adding the syrup.
• The dish has a mild sweetness which I loved. If you like your sweetness to be on the higher side, increase the jaggery and water accordingly. 

Ragi Sweet Balls/ Ragi Inipu Urundai

This is a very simple recipe that I saw in aval vikatan magazine. It can be made in a jiffy once you keep all the ingredients ready. It is a very nutritious recipe too since it contains ragi and jaggery and both are rich in iron. It just melts in your mouth. Even kids will love it.

Ingredients:

1. Ragi flour - 1 cup
2. Jaggery (powdered, I used achu vellam)- 1cup
3. Cashew - 10 to 12 broken
4. Cardamom powder - 1/2tsp
5. Ghee- just to grease hands

Method:

             1. In a kadai, dry roast the ragi flour in medium low or low flame. This is the most important step. It needs to be roasted till a nice fragrance arises. Take care not to burn the flour by stirring continuously. If the flour is not properly roasted you will get a uncooked flour taste in your balls. Transfer the roasted flour in a wide bowl.

            2.  Simultaneously, heat powdered jaggery along with little water just to immerse the jaggery till 3/4 level. Once the jaggery dissolves switch off the stove after a single boil. Strain the syrup and set aside.

           3.  Add the broken cashews and cardamom to the flour and mix well. Add the jaggery syrup little by little till you are able to form a big ball with the dough. You need to make sure there is no lumps formed in this step.

          4.  Grease your hands with little ghee and form small balls with the dough. Enjoy the tasty nutritious balls!