The Versatile Blogger Award

I have been shamefully neglecting this blog... And yet, i was touched and surprised to receive this award from Shalini Chandak. Her blog Craft Island is among one of many great blogs, that I check out frequently.

It has been really hectic for me, the past couple of months, and I have been actually late in posting this award. A big SORRY, for that ..!



To pass on this award, I pick the following fabulous bloggers...

Michelle Raleigh - Artventuring

Belinda Lee - Bel Lee Beads

Sheryl Westleigh - Handmade Business Blog

Thanks, again Shalini...

I hope that all of you will appreciate my new Website Swardaa, as much as this blog.

An eventful beginning to 2013

Days just fly by... and it had been a great start to 2013. Hope and pray that it continues... The best thing about New Year was that , i got to celebrate it with my family - my siblings, I and parents got together after about 3 and half years..so it was a big deal..!

And  we managed to get yet another bonus of 10 more days ...

So yeah my jewelry work, or blogging did not happen..but who is complaining? ...

And we got to celebrate our dad's birthday too....

Meanwhile between the travel and stay from Chennai , I have also been working on my new website, which fill feature my artisan Jewelry and Cold Porcelain crafts..

So until i am satisfied with the design aspect , I guess posting here is going to take a back seat..not that I have stopped experimenting with my cooking...but the fact is that , there has been a lot of Mom's fabulous food and eating out ...

So I need to gather some fresh material also...

Here is the new and Improved business LOGO

I hope that all of you , who have given such great support on my cook n craft blog, will do the same for my website too..

Please click HERE to go to 'Swardaa'.

Simple, boneless chicken fry

This is a post done on request - for someone who is attempting cooking non-veg for the first time...

Personally, I always like a chicken fry with the bone. But for a novice cook, a boneless one maybe easier - in terms of preparation.

N, this is just a very basic style and as you get better at cooking you can try and experiment with as many ingredients as you want.

Boneless chicken - 250 gms (breast or thigh pieces)
Red Chilly powder - 1/2 tsp (add more if you want )
Turmeric powder - a good pinch
Ginger garlic paste - 1/2 tsp
Lemon juice - 1/4 tsp
Salt - to taste
Few drops of olive oil or vegetable oil.

Mix all the ingredients together. Marinate for half an hour.

After that you can deep fry, pan fry or even stir fry the same, if they are cut in strips.

I prefer to shallow fry the chicken. Heat a flat pan well, add about 1/2 tbsp oil. Wait till the oil is hot. Then add the pieces one by one with a bit of space for turning them. When the bottom changes color, turn it to the other side. now, I just lower the flame to a medium , and let it cook through for about 8 - 12 minutes, depending on the thickness of the pieces. Then lid off and cook till both sides are lightly brown .

Garnish with some coriander leaves.

A basic curry

If you have a basic Indian curry recipe, it is just easy to add one or two ingredients and tweak it to make a variety of vegetable or meat dishes that go with rotis or rice.  This recipe is for about  600 - 800 gms of meat or vegetables.

Onions - 2 (peeled, and diced/ sliced)
Green chillies - 2 (slit)
Curry leaves - 1 stalk
Ginger - 1 inch (finely chopped)
Garlic - 2-3 cloves (finely sliced)
Coriander powder - 1 tbsp
Red chilly powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Garam masala powder - 1/2 tsp
Tomatoes - 2 (diced)
Salt to taste
Oil

In a wok, heat about 1/2 tbsp oil. Add the onions and the curry leaves.
Once the onions turn golden , add green, ginger and garlic and saute till the raw smell is gone.
Add the coriander powder, chilly powder and the turmeric powder with a tsp of water so they do not burn. Saute  till the water is gone and the paste is oily. Add the tomatoes and cook them soft. Add powdered garam masala.

Now add the meat ,or vegetables. Cover and cook. Add water or chicken/ vegetable stock for more gravy.

Add salt to taste, when it comes to a boil. Cover and cook till the main ingredient is cooked to your satisfaction.

Garnish with chopped coriander leaves/ fried onions/ friend chillies/ a mustard tempering/ spring onions etc.

I usually never have a strict recipe that I follow. Also adding a 1/4 cup of coconut milk, or a squeeze of lime juice OR even a 1/4 tsp of soy - just before the final garnish can do wonders.

A few tips for budding cooks ...

For those who like cooking, the earlier trial and error episodes in the kitchen may later become fun memories... especially, if the poor guinea pigs (read parents, siblings, friends or husband ...) are good sports and take the hits and misses in their strides .... If not, cooking could also become a huge chore. These are a few things that I observed while doing my own experiments and now are a normal part of my cooking process..

Raw Rice -

• If using the draining method, and you are using any kind of raw rice, top up with at least 2 inches of water above the rice level. Once the water comes to a boil, switch off and wait for 15 minutes, with the lid on. Most of the raw rice gets cooked. If the rice is not done, just bring the water to a boil again and then drain immediately. This is a good way to get perfectly cooked rice, and also save on gas. 

• In a pressure cooker, for 1 measure of rice, add exactly double the amount of water. then remove 1 tbs of water from it. Switch off after three whistles. Once the pressure is off, open the lid and fluff up the rice. 

Dal/ lentils

• Even the blandest dal curry tastes better with a few drops of lemon juice added after tempering.  

• When you do the tempering / tadka, add the mustard seeds, curry leaves, a pinch of cumin seeds,dried red chillies (your choice of tadka) and switch off  the stove. Finally, add 1/2 tsp of finely chopped green chillies. 

Curries

• Sauteing the ingredients properly is the key to any good curry. Before adding the powders and the masala, the aromatics - onion, garlic, ginger should be well sauteed and not raw. 

• Mix the powders in just a bit of water to make a paste so they do not burn and go black. 

• A pinch of sugar rounds off all the sharp edges in a curry. 

• Bring the gravy to a boil and simmer it on a medium low flame to get best results. 

Meat 

• Marinating in lemon juice and /or curd for even a half hour can enhance the taste of most meats. 

• Once the meat is put in the pan , and changes color on high heat, put a lid on, and cook on medium to get the best results. 

Fish

• Before frying fish , heat the frying pan evenly, then add the oil and heat it , and finally add the fish. This ensures that the fish will not stick to the pan. When the first side is done, the oil in the fish will bubble up . This will show that it is time to turn and cook the other side. The second side takes much lesser time than the first . 

• Cooking fish for a long time will not improve it's taste. Make sure the gravy is proportionate in taste, add the fish and cook for a maximum of 15 minutes. Lesser time, if the fish is small. Switch off, and the fish will cook more, in the curry. 

Hope this helps atleast a few of you out there...

Crab and prawns medley

I do not have a better name for it.. I have my hands full, - with my daughter's Ist quarterly exams, a website in progress, a couple of custom jewelry orders, and teaching 3-D murals to a student who is so nice, I feel like thanking her for coming to learn !!

But ... we still have to eat ... and I got some fresh crabs and prawns all on the same day!! Hubby wont eat the crabs, and I can NOT have them !!! And i did not have enough time to make different preparations... to my way of thinking, they came from the same place, and were going to the same place.. so I just decided to make them together ..

The result was what my husband called in his words, - 'Restaurant quality ' ..high praise indeed !! So how can I not post this ????

Crabs - 500 gms
Prawns - 500 gms

All cleaned, de-veined,

Marinate the crabs and prawns in for 15 minutes

Chilly powder - 1tsp (or less)
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Oil - Sunflower/olive/coconut oil - 1/2 tsp
Garlic paste - 1 tsp (freshly crushed is great)
Lemon juice - 1/2 tsp

Do not add salt to the marinade because it will draw out all the moisture and freshness. Next,

Onion  - 1 large , ( chopped into cubes)
Green chillies - 2 slit
Curry leaves - 1 stalk
Tomato - 1 large (cut into cubes)
Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
Pepper powder - 1/2 tsp
Coriander leaves - optional
Salt to taste.

Now in a wok, add 1 tbs oil , same as the one used to marinate. Saute the onions,  then the green chillies and curry leaves till the onions go golden.

Add the cumin powder and fry it a minute. Now add the prawns and crab with the marinade and toss in the chopped tomatoes.
Add about 1/2 tsp of salt now.
Lid on, and cook, for about 12-15 minutes stirring just about twice in between.

The prawns should be red , the crab shells should change color and tomatoes gone soft and mushy . If oil starts bubbling up, it is time to get it off the stove. Add more salt now, if needed.

Garnish with coriander leaves, some pepper and maybe a few drops of lemon juice.

Onam..

One year just flew past ... It has been an eventful year, from last Onam.

This year our folks are renovating our home , So they will be having a grand get-together at our mom's ancestral place. And here in Chennai, thankfully my daughter is having a day off on Thiruvonam, but my husband will be having one of his busiest days at the office, and so will be coming home, only at evening, as usual. Somehow an Onasadya at night does not have that same excitement...especially since it is just us...

Anyway, I wish all the malayalees around the globe, a very very HAPPY ONAM.

This image has been taken from the internet.

And for easy access to a few of the recipes that make up an Onasadya, here are the links from the previous years.

Mambazha pulisseri  , Olan  , Vendakka khichdi , Mathanga - vanpayar errisseri, Rasam, Beetroot Pachadi ,

Gothambu Payasam , Ulli curry, Beans Thoran,