Sinful Curry

Known to be the spiciest and the most aromatic cuisine of India, the Chettinad cuisine is one of my favorites. I’ve spent many glorious evenings in Chennai wiping away plates of Biryani and sucking on spicy succulent crab meat while my totally vegetarian best friend V, looked on with great amusing interest. I’m sure her smirk would disappear in a tick had she only known the great void (tragedy) her vegetarian life had conferred on her. Anyway, coming back to serious cooking,  here’s a vegetarian version of the popular Chettinad biryani which is so flavorful that I’m sure even a die hard meat eater would easily go for a second helping . Ingredients 1 lb veggies of your choice. (I used, cauliflower and broccoli florets, diced bell peppers and carrots, peas and  potatoes cut into long strip like fries) 3 cups basmati rice 1 large  or 2 medium sized red onions finely sliced 3 large tomatoes, diced in chunks  2 tbsp chopped cilantro/coriander leaves 11/2 tbsp ginger garlic paste 1 tbsp cho...

Navratan Korma, meaning a mixture of nine gems is a delicious vegetarian dish from the Mughlai cuisine. The nine gems indicate the nine veggies, fruits and nuts that go into the dish. Influenced by the imperial kitchens of the Mughal empire this is as grand and as rich as any vegetarian dish can get. Ingredients 10 oz of paneer/cottage cheese 1/2 cup cashew nuts  1 large onion chopped 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste 1/2 tsp cumin powder 1/2 tsp turmeric powder 1/2 tsp white pepper powder 1 tsp punjabi garam masala 1 1″ piece of cinnamon 2 bay leaves 1 pod of bruised cardamom 4 cloves 3-4 cups mixed veggies(I used cubed potatoes, chopped French beans, diced carrots,green peas,cauliflower florets, diced bell pepper) 1/4 cup pineapple chunks 10-12 raisins 2-3 tbsp heavy cream 2-3 tbsp refined oil Salt to taste Directions Cut the paneer into slabs (not cubes) and toast them on both sides in a non stick pan in 1 tbsp of oil. Make sure you don’t over do it. Both the sides should have just a ...

This simple dish goes amazingly well with Indian breads. I’ve used Portobello mushrooms here. But, you can use any kind you like. The mushrooms and the potatoes so readily absorb the sweetness of the coconut milk that every bite of it leaves you wanting more. Though you can make this dish with just mushrooms I’ve added potatoes too, only because I wanted more volume and they being the most versatile of the veggies I knew would remain subtle and not over shadow the mushrooms in this dish. Ingredients 1 lb Portobello mushrooms chopped into chunks 3 red potatoes 1 large onion finely chopped 1tbsp ginger-garlic paste 3 –4 green chilies chopped 2 tomatoes chopped into chunks 1 sprig of curry leaves 1/2 tsp cinnamon-clove spice mix 1/4 tsp turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper 1 cup canned coconut milk 1/2 tsp roasted cumin powder 2-3 shallots finely sliced 1/2 tsp red chili powder 1 tsp of lemon zest 1 tsp black mustard seeds 1 tsp coriander powder 1 tbsp choppe...

This easy to make dish is a variation of my kerala chicken curry. I’ve simply replaced chicken with eggs here. This makes a great accompaniment for rotis or appams. Ingredients 6 boiled eggs each cut into half 1 medium sized onion, finely sliced 2 -3 shallots finely sliced 1/4 tsp kerala garam masala 1/2 tsp coriander powder 1 tsp chili powder (base it on tolerable spice level) 2 tbsp coconut Oil 1/2 tbsp ginger-garlic paste 1/2 tsp turmeric powder 1/4 tsp roasted cumin powder 1/4 cup canned coconut milk ( use 1 cup thick coconut milk if you are making fresh from scratch) salt to taste one sprig Curry Leaves 1/2 tsp black mustard seeds 1/4 tsp whole black pepper corns Directions Heat 1 tbsp of coconut oil in cooking pan, splutter 1/4 tsp mustard seeds, add cumin, pepper corns and onions and sauté till the onions are nicely caramelized. The onions have to attain a deep brown color. Add ginger-garlic to the pan and continue sautéing until the oil separates. Add turmeric, chili, coriander...

  Had one of those rare weekends when everything went as planned. A quiet Saturday with friends of the family, a flawless Sunday with a long afternoon nap, clean to-do list, and best of all, with Monday being a holiday, absolutely no dreadful Sunday-Evening-Jitters. Yes, I bask in the  luxury of weekends and all. But the torture I go through at dusk every Sunday,  at the thought of having to get back to work the next day, makes me sometimes wish they never happened. Silly me, I agree. I choose the monotony of a work week forever, over a roller coaster of work, fun,  and back to work again. Anyway, well rested and in high spirits on Monday evening I drove to the market, having decided to treat my DH with some well deserved home cooked meal. He did a fine job at making the weekend perfect for me. Among many other things, he’d gotten the  house  immaculately spic without me having to raise a finger (sigh! if only we had more valentines day weekends). So, when my fish monger showed of...

  Had one of those rare weekends when everything went as planned. A quiet Saturday with friends of the family, a flawless Sunday with a long afternoon nap, clean to-do list, and best of all, with Monday being a holiday, absolutely no dreadful Sunday-Evening-Jitters. Yes, I bask in the  luxury of weekends and all. But the torture I go through at dusk every Sunday,  at the thought of having to get back to work the next day, makes me sometimes wish they never happened. Silly me, I agree. I choose the monotony of a work week forever, over a roller coaster of work, fun,  and back to work again. Anyway, well rested and in high spirits on Monday evening I drove to the market, having decided to treat my DH with some well deserved home cooked meal. He did a fine job at making the weekend perfect for me. Among many other things, he'd gotten the  house  immaculately spic without me having to raise a finger (sigh! if only we had more valentines day weekends). So, when my fish monger showed off...

This mouth watering chicken curry drenched in coconut milk, seasoned with shallots, mustard and curry leaves is very unique to the character of Kerala. More specifically, Kottayam. Though so distinct to this region, this curry goes well with possibly anything you can think of – rice, rotis, naans, bread, dosas, idlis, paal appams, iddi appams an endless list. But, being from Kottayam, obviously I think it is best matched with kappa (tapioca). Come rain or shine, the malayalee in me is always ready for a bowl of  kozhi curry and kappa . Curry Chicken in Coconut milk - Kerala Style Ingredients 2 lb chicken skinned and cleaned 1 large or 2 medium sized onions, finely sliced 4 -5 shallots finely sliced 1/2 tsp kerala garam masala 1 tsp coriander powder 2 tsp chili powder (base it on tolerable spice level) 4 tbsp coconut Oil 1 tbsp diced garlic 1 tbsp grated ginger 1/2 tsp turmeric powder 1/4 tsp roasted cumin powder 1/2 cup canned coconut milk ( use 1 1/2 cup thick coconut milk if yo...

This mouth watering chicken curry drenched in coconut milk, seasoned with shallots, mustard and curry leaves is very unique to the character of Kerala. More specifically, Kottayam. Though so distinct to this region, this curry goes well with possibly anything you can think of - rice, rotis, naans, bread, dosas, idlis, paal appams, iddi appams an endless list. But, being from Kottayam, obviously I think it is best matched with kappa (tapioca). Come rain or shine, the malayalee in me is always ready for a bowl of  kozhi curry and kappa . [caption id="attachment_214" align="aligncenter" width="524" caption="Curry Chicken in Coconut milk - Kerala Style "] [/caption] Ingredients 2 lb chicken skinned and cleaned 1 large or 2 medium sized onions, finely sliced 4 -5 shallots finely sliced 1/2 tsp kerala garam masala 1 tsp coriander powder 2 tsp chili powder (base it on tolerable spice level) 4 tbsp coconut Oil 1 tbsp diced garlic 1 tbsp grated ginger 1/...