Chicken made easy....and healthy

There are many people including a couple of my cousins and my dear sis, who would like to make chicken, but do not have the patience or the ability to know when and how to add the particular ingredients to get the best results...

This is a recipe that will ensure good results...

1 kg Chicken (cleaned, and cut into pieces)
1 onion -peeled, sliced long
4-5 cloves of garlic
8-10 peppercorns crushed
1 stalk of celery, diced
1 potato- washed, peeled, sliced round
1/4 tsp oregano
3 fair sized tomatoes sliced round
1 tsp soy sauce/ oyster sauce
1 tsp paprika,
a pinch of turmeric
chilly powder according to taste
salt

heat the cooking pot, add 1 tsp oil..just enough to turn the onions golden , add the crushed garlic, saute till the smell is pleasant..add the chilli powder and chicken pieces. Once the meat turns white, add all the other ingredients ...yep! ...just toss in everything, turn the flame way down..medium or less...and wait 30 - 45 minutes...

check if the chicken is done ..just check the potaoes..if they are cooked through, it is time. there is no need to add water. there will be very less gravy, but it will taste really good. garnish with spring onions...

This is my own creation..just a change from the usual chicken masala we make.

P.S...If celery is not available, green peppers (capsicum) can be used to give a different but nice flavour.

Rosemaling - love it !!!

This is one instance where the pleasure I get while reading a book just doubled...!!!!...(imagine that...)

I was reading a book about a Norwegian girl lost at sea and her life afterwards...she thanks the people who rescue her and give her refuge by decorating a wooden box, decorating music sheets and painting decorative hair combs in the Rosemaling style..

So I searched the internet and found a great site with all things imaginable,decorated in this style...

And given here is my attempt at Rosemailing...I have not decided whether I should make it a wall hanging or make a pillow cushion out of it.....I just know that it is a highly addictive way to paint.

I would really love to get some comments/suggestions on this one....In case anyone is wondering, I used acrylic paint...

A simple salad - Peppers

I love salads...and since summer is nearly here, I will be making loads of salads. Other than being advantageous from a healthy point of view, I love the colours, tastes and textures that make up a salad.

This one was made mainly with peppers...I cut red, yellow and green peppers, added 1tomato and two boiled and sliced eggs to it.

For a dressing,
1 tsp of mayonnaise,
1/2 tsp of salad oil (I think oilve oil tastes best),
1/2 tsp of fresh, coarsely ground pepper,
salt to taste,
a pinch of sugar (I always add sugar to salads....it seems to add an extra something)
juice of half a lemon...

Some green peas (blanched) would make the salad better.

Toss together and enjoy.....

Maambazha koottan (Ripe mango curry)

This is the a very easy curry to make in the traditional way and the results are delicious.....!!!
Cut
2 -3 ripe mangoes
4-5 green chillies
200 gm ash pumpkin (kumbalanga)

Grind less than half a coconut with 1/2 tsp of jeera.

Keep aside 1 cup of beaten curd.

season
kaduku- 1/2 tsp
uluva - 1 pinch
2-3 dried red chillies
curry leaves


Peel the mangoes, cut the flesh and put the mango seeds along with the pieces into a thick bottomed pan. Slice the chillies , cube the ash pumpkin. Add water till the pieces are immersed...add 1/2 tsp of salt, 1 tsp of red chilli powder and cook till the pieces are cooked.
Add the ground coconut and simmer for a few minutes...by this time, the liquid should have reduced to more than half the initial measure.

Lower the flame and add the beaten curd...add more salt to taste. Switch off the stove before the curd heats up. Now add the seasonings.

Absolutely great with Rice, Inji curry (or tender mango pickles)and Pappadoms...

You can substitute the mangoes with semi-ripe bananas ..only ethappazham..no other variety will do.

One charcoal stick..........

I saw this picture in the newspaper one day and I had my inspiration....out came the box of charcoal sticks I had been hoarding, and I set to work..I had never drawn with charcoal before, nor had I seen anyone draw with it....



So with the thrill the picture inspired and a charcoal stick, I drew my picture, which when finished did not look anything like the original...but I like it....and that's what matters!!!!

M-seal craft

I start out with one thing, and eventually end up with an entirely different product from the one I had envisioned...that goes for both my cooking and craft experiments....I have rarely had to complain about the end products...so now-a-days, I just have a general plan in my mind, and improvise as i go on.

I had gone to a craft workshop where they were showing how to decorate earthen pots with flowers made of M-seal. I have had better luck with palydough or clay...but m-seal flowers(delicate ones) were not my forte....So I just gave up, gave all my attention to the procedure, got the pot home and decided to try my luck in a more relaxed environment...

The process was thus:

Immerse the pot in water for a few hours..it is porous and so would drink a lot of paint otherwise. let it dry

Prime the whole surface and a bit inside the opening with a mix of PVA glue and water (ratio
1:2). Keep it to dry

Shape the m-seal flowers, vines etc and stick on the pot surface according to individual tastes...

I was not happy with my flowers, so I made it into a Ganesha...

Glued the figure onto the surface of the pot.(Used fevicryl glue)

Painted the whole thing black.

Decorated the edges and highlighted the Ganesha with gold paint...

And I am happy with the results...

I would like your comments on the same.

Roast Chicken - my way

,

I know it is quite perverse of me to post this recipe just when we have to keep away from poultry due to the spreading bird flu hereabouts!!!!



But this is also another way to enjoy a dish I had made some time back....great memories!!!



Chicken - 1 whole dressed and skinned.



Curd - 1 Tbsp

Ginger garlic paste - 2 full tsp

Pepper - crushed - 1 tsp

Lime juice - frm one lemon

Butter - 1/2 tsp softened to room temperature (or 1/2 tsp oil)

Soy sauce - a dash

Salt to taste



Mix all the ingredients and make the marinade. Thoroughly cover the whole chicken inside and out, in the marinade. Keep for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Stuff 1 onion cut into quarters, 1 sliced tomato and some pieces of a celery stalk into the cavity.



Add 1 tbsp of water to the pressure cooker, layer the base of the cooker with onion and tomato slices (it adds to the flavour and prevents the chicken from sticking to the cooker)



I added other veggies like potato , and carrots and pressure cooked the chicken. Turn off the stove after two whistles, wait till the pressure drops and take the chickn out. In a non stick wok, add 1 tsp of oil, spread it well, remove only the chicken and brown it( about 5mints each side should do.) Keep the chicken on a platter.



Empty the veggies and the stock in the wok and reduce the liquid till it is thickened. Arrange the veggies(also tossed in a Zuchini at this point) around the chicken and pour the liquid over the whole.



Enjoy it hot.









-