Vegetable Hot Dog

Hot dogs are a staple of American food. But what is a vegetarian to do? Here is a vegetarian take on the hot dog. This is a recipe that was published in The Hindu newspaper in 1992. Saw it as I was looking through my recipe collection.

Difficulty level: Easy
Preparation time: 10 min + 2 hrs for mayonnaise
Cooking time: 45 min
Makes: 6-8 servings

Ingredients:


Hot dog buns: 8
Beetroot 'dogs': 8
Vegetarian mayonnaise: 1 cup (method given below)
Lettuce: 8 leaves

Beetroot 'dogs':
Cooked and mashed potato: 3 cups
Grated beetroot: 1 cup
Oil: 1 tbsp + for shallow-frying
Peanut(crushed slightly)- 2 - 3 tbsp
Bread crumbs: 1 cup
Saunf: 1 tsp
Salt: to taste
Chilli powder: 1 tsp
Garam masala powder: 1/2 tsp
Green chillies: 2, sliced
Onion: 2, thinly sliced
Ginger: 1" piece, thinly sliced
Cilantro: leaves of 1/2 bunch

Grate the beetroot. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a skillet and add the saunf. When it splutters, add all the chopped ingredients and fry well. Put in the potatoes, beetroot, salt, the masala powders, peanut and coriander leaves. Stir well till dry and let it cool. Shape the 'dogs' according to the size of the rolls. Roll in breadcrumbs, shallow fry in oil or ghee till golden. Remove and keep  (2 tbsp all-purpose flour/maida can be added to the mixture before making the 'dogs', so they do not break while frying)

Slit each roll, lengthwise. Apply a thick layer of the mayonnaise on the inner sides of the roll.
Place a dog and a lettuce leaf in the centre and sandwich it with the sides of the roll. Serve with chilli or tomato sauce. When served with a salad and a soup, this is a complete meal.

Vegetarian Mayonnaise


Thick fresh curds/yoghurt: 2 cups
Thick fresh cream: 1 cup
Grated cucumber: 1/2 cup
Grated cheese: 1/2cup
Salt, pepper: to taste

Pour the curds into a sieve or cotton cloth, to remove all liquid, and keep aside for 2 hrs. Collect the thick curd and mix with all the ingredients into a smooth paste. Refrigerate till required.

Egg-less Mayonnaise

Mayonnaise is used in may a dish but for people that don't eat eggs, dishes using Mayonnaise is usually out of bounds. Below is a version of Mayonnaise that doesn't use eggs.

Difficulty Level: Easy
Preparation time: 2 hrs + 5 mins

Thick fresh curds/yoghurt: 2 cups

Thick fresh cream: 1 cup

Grated cucumber: 1/2 cup

Grated cheese: 1/2cup

Salt, pepper: to taste

Pour the curds into a sieve or cotton cloth, to remove all liquid, and keep aside for 2 hrs. Collect the thick curd and mix with all the ingredients into a smooth paste. Refrigerate till required.

Mushroom Manchurian

Cauliflower Manchurian is a staple of the Vegetarian Indo-Chinese cooking in Kerala. For reasons that I will not go in now, I don't particularly like Cauliflower (Shhh.... please don't tell my kids). My husband suggested I try replacing the Cauliflower with Mushrooms and it actually worked out quite well.

One minor problem was the fact that between the kids and me, we ate so many of the fried mushrooms that the final dish was a bit less than the planned 3 servings.

Difficulty level: Medium
Preparation time: 45 min
Cooking time: 45 min
Yields: 2-3 servings

Ingredients:


Button mushrooms: 8 oz.(about 225 gms)
All-purpose flour: 3/4 cup
Cornflour/ cornstarch: 1/4 cup + 1 tsp
Ginger-garlic paste: 3 tbsp + 1 tsp
Soy sauce: 3 tbsp + 1 tsp + 1 tsp
Oil: 1 tsp + for deep-frying
Chilli sauce: 1 tsp
Chilli powder: 1/2 tsp
Whole red chilly: 1
Spring onion: 1/4 cup
Salt: to taste

Clean and cut the mushrooms into small pieces. I cut a medium-sized mushroom into 16 pieces lengthwise. Add 3 tbsps each of ginger-garlic paste and soy sauce, along with some salt (be careful with the salt, as the soy sauce contains salt too). Mix well and keep aside for atleast 30 min.

Make a batter slightly loose, with the all-purpose flour, 1/4 cup cornflour, 1/2 tsp chilli powder and 1 tsp soy sauce. Transfer the marinated mushrooms into this mixture. Deep fry in hot oil, in batches. Drain to a platter lined with paper towel.

In a skillet, add 1 tsp oil. Saute 1 tsp ginger-garlic paste and a split whole red chilly. Add 1 tsp soy sauce, 1 tsp chilli sauce,  finely chopped spring onions and fried mushrooms. Sprinkle 1 tsp cornflour uniformly on top and saute for 2 minutes.

Serve hot as appetizer ,with chilligarlic sauce or tomato sauce. Or if you are like me, have it with noodles or chapathi.

Variation:

If you prefer this with gravy (Sauce), right after you saute the ginger-garlic paste and red chillies,  add 1 1/2 cups water and bring to a boil. Gradually add 1 tbsp cornflour dissolved in 1/4 cup water, stirring continuosly until it resumes boiling. Boil till the gravy becomes transparent and reaches your desired consistency. Add the fried mushrooms, along with soy sauce and chilli sauce. Boil for 2 minutes and remove. Serve with noodles or rice.

Chocolate Burfi

I have always been fond of burfies. So I decided to make the chocolate burfi. This would be one of the easiest . Just to let you know, the resulting burfi will be soft and gooey, and that is the way I like it. This recipe from www.showmethecurry.com, is made in the microwave.

Difficulty level: Easy
Preparation time: 5 min
Cooking time: 10 min
Setting time: 2-4 hrs
Makes: about 30 pcs

Ingredients:


Instant dry milk(milk powder): 5 cups
Heavy whipping cream: 2 cups(1 pint)
Powdered sugar: 1 1/4 cups
Chocolate chips: 1/2 cup
Unsweetened cocoa powder: 1 tsp

In a deep microwave-safe bowl, mix the dry milk, whipping cream and powdered sugar well. Mix well.
Cook in the microwave for a minute at a time, taking it out and mixing it every time. Mine cooked for 8 min (every microwave is different, so keep a close eye on it). Look for the mixture fluffing and folding in. Stop cooking once the mixture is folding in. Mix again and pour 3/4 of the mixture onto a greased (or lined with waxed paper) baking pan . Spread and level the mixture with a spatula. To the balance of the mixture, add the chocolate chips and cocoa powder while it's still hot. Mix till all the powder is mixed in and the chips have melted. Pour this mixture to form the top layer.

Allow the burfi to set and solidify. Cut into desired shapes. Store in the refrigerator and serve at room temperature.

Masala Pappad

This used to be our favourite appetizer at a restaurant in Chicago. So I decided to re-create it at home. And here it is!

Difficulty level: Easy
Preparation time: 15min

Ingredients

Fried Lijjat pappad
Tomato:  1, cut into small cubes
Onion: 1, medium, finely chopped
Green chillies: 1
Chopped Cilantro: 2 tbsp
Lime juice: 1/2 tsp
Salt: to taste
Chat masala: 1-2 tsp

Add lime juice to the finely chopped onion along with a pinch of salt and mix well with hands. Keep aside for atleast 10 min. The longer it sits, the less oniony it tastes.

Mix the rest of the ingredients well into the above, except for the pappad.
Lay the fried Lijjat pappad pieces on a platter.  Sprinkle the mix evenly on the pappad. Serve immediately with a dash of chat masala on top.

Mixed Hakka Noodles

This is one of the most versatile of noodles. So every time I make it, I use different veggies. Here I've used chicken and eggs in addition to the vegetables I had in hand. You can use mushrooms, cabbage(red or green), kale, celery, asparagus, corn, bell peppers(Shimla peppers/capsicum), sprouts, nuts, other meats like prawns, mutton, beef etc. in addition to the usual carrots, beans we use while preparing noodles. Just be creative!

Difficulty level: Medium
Preparation time: 15min(plus 1-2 hrs for marinating meat)
Cooking time:  30 min

Ingredients

Chow mein noddles- 100 gms,cooked according to package directions
Chicken- 4 breast tenderloins(about 250gms)
Corn kernels- 5 tbsp
Edamame(shelled soy beans)- 5 tbsp
Celery- half of a stalk, cut into thin slices or about 5 tbsp
Asparagus- 3 stalks, cut into 2 " length or about 5 tbsp
Whole red chillies- 2 nos.
White pepper powder(or coarse ground black pepper powder)- 1/8 tsp+ a pinch
Turmeric powder- a pinch
Oil- 2 tbsp
Red chilli paste- 2 tsp
Ginger-garlic paste:1 1/2 tsp
Soy sauce: 2 tbsp+3/4 tsp
Eggs- 2
Salt- to taste


Marinate the chicken(cut into long thin strips) in 2 tbsp cornflour/cornstarch, salt, 1/2 tsp ginger-garlic paste and 3/4 tsp soy sauce. Keep aside for 1-2 hrs. You can do the rest of the meat separately  in a similar way.

Scramble the eggs with salt and a pinch of  coarse ground black pepper and keep aside.
Deep fry or shallow fry the chicken pieces  and keep aside. I used 1 tbsp oil and cooked the chicken pieces- a healthier option. Cook the vegetables in boiled salt water for 4 min and keep aside. If you like to bite into the raw vegetable pieces, you can skip this.

In a skillet, add 1 tbsp oil and add the whole red chillies, along with 1 tsp ginger-garlic paste. Saute until the raw taste of the ginger-garlic paste has gone. Add the onion and saute until it turns light brown. Add the chilli paste and white pepper(or black pepper) powder and saute for a while. Add the cooked vegetables and mix well. Add the scrambled eggs and fried chicken. Mix well. Add the 2 tbsp soy sauce and mix well. Add the cooked & drained noodles. Toss well using two wooden spatulas. Serve warm topped with spring onions/ green onions.

Vegetable corkscrews in cream sauce

This is one of my attempts to get my children to eat healthy. I guess it is a result of my experimentation. The vegetable pasta is made from a blend of pasta dough and vegetable puree.

Difficulty level: Easy

Preparation time: 5min

Cooking time: 11 min

Makes: 2 kid-size servings

Ingredients

Vegetable corkscrew pasta- 1 cup dry (I used the Organic kind from Natural Eddie's Spaghetti)

Salted butter: 1 tbsp

Heavy cream: 1/4 cup

Whole milk(full-fat milk): 1/4 cup

All-purpose flour: 1 tsp

Shredded cheese (I used a blend of Romano,Parmesan and Asiago chesses): 1/8 cup

Salt: to taste

Dry basil: a dash

Cook the pasta according to package instructions. Drain.

In the meantime, melt the butter and add the cream and milk. Once it starts to bubble, add the all-purpose flour while stirring continuosly.  Keep stirring for 2 min, to make sure the flour is cooked through without forming lumps. Switch off the flame and add the drained pasta along with basil. Mix well. Garnish with some more cheese and let the kids enjoy!!!

Kozhikode Chicken Biriyani

Of the many things Kozhikode is famous for, the chicken biriyani would be on the top of most lists. Like any self respecting dish, there are regional differences in how a biriyani is made and more importantly there are regional rivalries. So Hyderabad can keep its biriyani, I will take the Kozhikkoden one any day.

It is one of the easiest of all biriyanis as well. It does not have a whole lot of spices in it. It is a bit tricky to get the correct balance of the moisture and the garam masala, though. I got the recipe from one of the cookery books from one of  the Queens of Kerala Cuisine, Mrs. K.M.Mathew. This one is made in two stages and then assembled to get the final product. I used some oil instead of ghee, but it tastes better if made in all ghee.

Difficluty level: Medium
Preparation time: 1 hr 15min
Cooking time: 1 hr
Makes: 2-3 servings

Ingredients


Chicken: 10 breast tenderloins(about 500 gms) cut into bite-size pieces
Ginger: 3/4 inch cube, coarsely chopped
Green chillies: 2, cut into small round pieces
Tomato: 1 medium size
Yoghurt: 2 tbsp
Oil: 1 tsp + 1 tbsp
Ghee: 1 tsp
Basmati rice: 1 cup (soaked in water for 1 hr)
Hot water: 1 1/2 cup
Onion: 1 medium, thinly sliced
Lime juice: 1 tsp
Turmeric powder: 1/4 tsp
Saffron: 4-5 strands
Garam masala: 2 tsp
Salt: to taste
Optional: Dry fruits(raisins,dates etc): a couple of tablespoons, roasted in ghee

Dissolve the turmeric powder and saffron in lime juice and keep aside.

In a skillet heat 1 tsp oil and add the crushed ginger and green chillies. Saute until the raw taste of the ginger has gone. Add the chicken and mix well. Add the tomato cut into big pieces, along with yoghurt. Add salt to taste. Cover and cook for 10 min, or until done. Allow excess water to evaporate, but do not cook until the gravy  is completely dry. It should still be slightly moist when you switch of the flame. Keep aside and sprinkle 1 tsp garam masala uniformly on top, and mix well.

In the meantime, heat another skillet and add 1 tbsp oil and 1 tsp ghee. Saute the onion until light brown. Add the rice and saute until it turns translucent. Add the hot water and salt. Cover and cook on medium-low flame, for about 8 min (or until it is cooked) and allow all the water to evaporate. Switch off  the flame when all the water has just evaporated. Stir in the roasted dry fruits.

Pre-heat the oven to warm setting or the lowest temperature. To assemble the biriyani, take a 11 cup or 2.6 L  oven-proof dish. Add the chicken as the first layer and sprinkle 1 tsp garam masala again, uniformly, on top. Add the rice as the second layer. Use a spoon to press down the biriyani. Pour the saffron and turmeric powder dissolved in lime juice on top. Cover with aluminium foil and leave in the pre-heated oven for 15 min. Mix well and serve hot.

The best accompaniments are raita and tender mango pickle.

Animal pooris

Pooris are something that most households in India are familiar with. I just wanted to make it a bit more fancy and kid-friendly.

Ingredients
Whole-wheat flour( Atta)- 1 cup
Salt- to taste
Water- to make the dough
Oil- for deep-frying
Animal- shaped cutters

Make the dough like you would, for chapathi. Cover with a damp cloth and keep aside for a while (the longer it sits, the softer it gets). Roll out pooris thick. You can either roll out small rounds and then cut each animal out or roll out a big ball of the dough and cut out a few animals at a time. Deep fry the pooris and drain to a platter lined with paper-towel (so as to take out any excess oil).

Kids like to eat it as such or with sugar. For adults, masala curry is the best accompaniment, which is as follows.

Masala curry

This is slightly different from the traditional masala curry. For that, you can just omit the chilli powder and vegetable masala powder and there you have it!

Baby potatoes- 6 (cut into small pieces)
Onion- 1 small (thinly sliced)
Ginger- 1 inch piece (cut small)
Vegetable masala powder- 3/4 tbsp
Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp
Chilli powder- 1/4 tsp
Green chillies- 1 or 2(optional)
Salt-to taste
Oil- 1 tsp
Water- 1-11/2 cup
Curry leaves-1 sprig
Cilantro- a few leaves

Heat oil and saute the onions and ginger. Once the onions become translucent, add the curry leaves and green chillies. Add the potatoes and saute for a minute or two. Add the masala powders and salt. Now add the water. Cover and cook until the potatoes are done (about 15 minutes). Remove the lid and allow water to evaporate until the required consistency is reached. Stir in cilantro and serve hot.

Ammyar dosa/ ada dosa & urad dal chammandhi

This is one of the dishes which my mom's aunt used to make for me as a child. It is called Ammyar dosa in our part of the state. It was very similar to the Ada dosa which is made in other parts of India.


For people who are wondering what a dosa is, it is a crepe made from a batter of rice and lentil. This recipe is a take on the plain dosa with slight modification to the batter.


Difficulty level: Easy
Preparation time: 6 hrs+ 10 min
Cooking time: 10 min


Ingredients


Raw rice: 1/2 cup
Boiled rice: 1 cup

Bengal gram (കടലപ്പരിപ്പ് ): 1/4 cup

Red and black gram( തുവരപരിപ്പ്‌ & ഉഴുന്നുപരിപ്പ്  -equal quantities)- 1/4 cup

Onion- 2 medium
Red chillies- 3 or 4
Cumin- 1/2 tsp(crushed inside the palm of your head)
Asafoetida- 1/4 tsp
Curry leaves- leaves of 2 sprigs
Cilantro- 2 sprigs


Soak the rice, chillies and dals for 5-6 hrs. Grind all the soaked rice,chillies and dals and one onion, coarsely. Chop the other onion finely and add to the batter with asafoetida and salt. Mix in the curry leaves and cilantro leaves. Make nice thin dosas, pouring oil along the sides to make it crisp. 

You can serve it with Urad dal chammandhi.

This is also one of those dishes my mother-in-law makes for me all the time.

Difficulty level: Easy
Preparation time: 15 min


Ingredients


Urad dal: 1/2 cup

Dry red chillies: 3 or 4

Small onions: 5-6

Curry leaves: 1 sprig

Salt: to taste

Oil: 1 tsp

Saute all the ingredients expect salt, in oil, until the dal is light brown. Grind to a fine paste after it is completely cool. Add salt and mix well.

You can serve it with any other dosa or idli.

Easy No-Bake Mango Pie

I don't usually make pies at home. My husband has never liked them. He thinks filling a pie is a waste of time preferring to eat the filling by itself. I do like not-so-sweet desserts. I used to love the mini apple pies my friend, Aswathy, used to get me while I was pregnant (the sweet and tart combo was perfect, I guess). When I heard she had tried making a mango pie and was not very successful, I decided to see if could make one. The original recipe came from www.cooks.com.

There are two stages if you decide to take the longer, from scratch route- one to make the crust ready and then to make the filling. Or if you prefer the shorter route, you can get the pre-made/pre-baked crust and add the filling. Again, you can make the crust from all-purpose flour/maida or powdered graham crackers (I don't know whether this is available everywhere in the world).

I used a ready made Graham Cracker crust and it worked well. If you are adventurous and want to bake your own pie crust, there are a lot of resources available online.

Difficulty level: Easy
Preparation time: 15 min
Chilling time: 10-12 hrs

Ingredients:

1 graham cracker crust
4 oz.(about 125 gms) cream cheese
4 oz. cool whip
1/4 cup milk
1/4 tsp ground cinnamom
2 to 3 large extra-ripe mangoes (or mangoes from one 850 gms can)

Peel(or drain the can of mangoes) and slice mangoes  into 1 inch cubes, add cinnamon, and set aside. Beat cream cheese and milk until smooth. Add cool whip and mix well. Add mangoes and mix really well so as to get the mangoes uniformly distributed before pouring into the crust. Chill until set.

Dig in!

Cream of Broccoli

Most kids don't like to eat vegetables. I try to find creative ways for my kids to eat vegetables, sometimes with more success than others. Interestingly, what works one day will totally fail another day and then work again a few days later. I guess this is something every mother knows and is not limited to eating!!

I got the original recipe from a very popular website www.allrecipes.com. The only change I have made from the original recipe is that I have replaced some milk with cream to make the soup thicker.

Difficulty level: Easy
Preparation time: 10 min
Cooking time: 25 min

Ingredients

Broccoli florets-  8 cups
Chicken broth(or vegetable broth)-  3 cups
Butter-  2 tbsp + 3 tbsp
All-purpose flour-  3 tbsp
Milk-  1 cup
Heavy or light cream- 1 cup
Onion- 1, chopped
Celery- 1 stalk, chopped

Melt 2 tbsp butter in medium-sized stock pot, and saute the onion and celery until tender. Add broccoli and broth, cover and simmer for 10 min. I used the hand-blender to puree the soup right in the pot. Alternately, pour the soup into the blender, filling the pitcher no more than halfway full. Hold down the lid of the blender with a folded kitchen towel, and carefully start the blender, using a few quick pulses to get the soup moving before leaving it on to puree. Puree it in batches until smooth and pour into a clean pot.

In a medium-sized pan, melt 3 tbsp butter  and stir in the flour and add milk. Keep stirring making sure there are no lumps, until thick and bubbly and add to the soup. Add in the cream and stir well. Season with salt and pepper and serve warm, topped with cheese.

Parippu pradhaman (Traditional Lentil Dessert)

April 15th is Vishu. It is one of the most important festivals in Kerala. The celebrations include a traditional feast and a key part of the feast is a Payasam (Traditional Sweet). While Parippu Pradhaman is a relatively complicated Payasam, it is one of my husbands favorites. I felt it was time for me to tackle this one and share the recipe for others in time for Vishu. Armed with this recipe from my mother in law, who is one of the best cooks I know, I got started.

Difficulty level: Medium
Preparation time: 5min
Cooking time: 1 hr. total

Ingredients

Moong dal split(ചെറുപയര്‍ പരിപ്പ് ): 1/2 cup
Coconut milk: 3 tbsp+ 1 cup
Water: 2 1/2 cups
Jaggery: 6 medium-sized pieces
Cardamom powder: 1/4 tsp
Ghee: 1 tbsp
Raisins & cashews: about 1 tbsp each

Dry roast 1/4 cup dal on a medium-low flame. After 5 min., add the remaining 1/4 cup dal and continue roasting until it turns light brown in colour. Staggering the cooking of the dal this way helps the texture of the final product.

Transfer to a pressure-cooker with 3 tbsp coconut milk and 1 1/2 cups water. Cook for 3 whistles or until tender. Allow to rest until the pressure is completely released.

In the meantime, allow the jaggery to dissolve in 1/2 cup water, on a medium flame. Strain and add to the dal in the pressure cooker, along with 1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup coconut milk. Cook on medium-high flame until slightly thick. Switch off the flame and keep aside. Add the last 1/2 cup coconut milk and cardamom powder. Roast raisins and cashews in 1 tbsp ghee and add to the payasam. It can be used as a garnish or you can mix it in.  Serve warm or cold.

While the recipe seems complicated, the end results will truly be worth it. No "payasam in a packet" will come close to this. Good Luck.

Kerala Chicken Curry

I like to experiment with my cooking and seldom follow a recipe fully. This particular recipe I came up with worked very well for my husband. It is a bit spicy for the kids, though. It is ideal for people who like the taste of onion, but do not like to bite into it.

Difficulty level: Medium
Preparation time: 15 min
Cooking time: 30 min


Ingredients
Chicken - 12 breast tenderloins(about 750gms), cut into bite-size pieces
Onion - 2 small(cut into small pieces)
Shredded coconut- 1/4 cup
Tamarind paste concentrate- 3/4 tsp
Meat masala- 21/2 tbsp
Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp
Chilli powder- 1 tsp
Coriander powder- 2 tsp
Cumin(whole)- 1 tsp
Curry leaves- from 1 sprig
Ginger-garlic paste- 1 tbsp
Oil-1 tsp + 1 tbsp
Salt- to taste
Water- 1/2 cup


Heat 1 tsp oil in a skillet and roast the cumin, coconut and onion until the coconut turns light brown. Add the meat masala, turmeric powder, chilli powder, chilli powder and curry leaves . Keep stirring until the raw taste of the masalas are gone. Cool and grind to a fine paste.


Heat 1 tbsp oil and saute the ginger-garlic paste. Once it starts turning colour (the raw taste is gone), add the ground masala mix(from above) and saute for a while. Add the tamarind paste and mix well. Now add the chicken pieces and salt. Stir well and add the water. Cover and cook until the chicken pieces are cooked through (about 10 min). Let the water evaporate until it gets to the required consistency. Garnish with fried curry leaves and/or green chillies and/or fried onions.

Chicken shawarma

This is a meditteranean dish and I've re-created it. It is a fusion of the traditional way and the way I've seen it being prepared in India. If pita bread is not available, you could substitute it with chappathi. You can add shredded cabbage,lettuce,onion or thinly sliced/ cubed tomatoes along with the chicken.

Difficulty level: Medium
Preparation time: 1 hr+ 15 min
Cooking time: 15 min

Ingredients

Boneless Chicken- 4 breast tenderloins(about 200 gms), cut into thin strips
Yogurt- 1 tbsp+ 2 tsp
Minced garlic-1 tsp
Ground cinnamon- 1/4 tsp
Ground cardamom-1/4 tsp
Ground allspice- 1/4tsp
Dry parsley- 2 tsp
Chili powder- 2 tsp
Lime juice- 2 tsp
Salt to taste
Oil- 1 tbsp
Shredded cabbage,sliced onion, sliced tomato-some(optional)
Pita/chappathi- 3
Aluminium foil and wax paper

Marinate the chicken in 1 tbsp yogurt,ground cinnamon, ground cardamom,ground allspice, 1 tsp dry parsley, 1/2 tsp minced garlic, chilli powder, 1 tsp lime juice and salt. Cover and keep aside for atleast 1 hr.
Heat the oil and put the chicken and saute for a while(about 1 min). Allow to cook on medium flame for 10 min, stirring every 2-3 min. Cook for another 2 min for the meat to get crisp around the edges.

In the meantime you can get the sauce ready. Mix together 2 tsp yogurt(you can also use mayonnaise), 1 tsp limejuice, 1/2 tsp minced garlic, 1 tsp dry parsley and salt.

To assemble the shawarma, put a square piece of aluminium foil and wax paper on top. Keep the pita on the wax paper and spread a thin layer of sauce and then the chicken(and veggies, optional). Roll the pita tightly and then in wax paper and aluminium foil,in that order.

This is one way of doing it. The other way is to cut the pitas in half and fill the pockets with the chicken and veggies mixed with the sauce. Clearly not a technique you can use with chappathis.

Sweet corn chicken soup

Sweet Corn Chicken Soup may be the most popular dish in the Indo-Chinese genre. For those who don't know, Indo-Chinese cooking is an assimilation of Chinese cooking with Indian spices. Most of the dishes won't resemble the original Chinese versions but are much better suited to the Indian palatte that is used to spicy food.

My husband orders a bowl of sweet corn chicken soup at every restaurant that offers it with out fail. Usually though he laments at how poor the soup is and how he has had better. I have also tried different versions at home and this recipe from Tarla Dalal comes closest to the idealized version that he remembers.

Difficulty level: Easy
Preparation time: 5min
Cooking time: 20 min

Ingredients:
Chicken stock (or vegetable stock, for the vegetarian version) - 4 cups
Whole sweet corn kernels- 2/3 cup
Whole sweet corn kernels, crushed or grated- 2/3 cup
Chicken- 1/2 cup, cooked and shredded
Egg- 1, beaten slightly
Cornflour (cornstarch,as it is called in this part of the world)- 2 tbsp dissolved in 1/4 cup water
Sugar- 1 tsp(optional)
Salt to taste

Add the stock to a saucepan and add the whole sweet corn kernels. Cook on medium flame until the corn is cooked and tender (about 10 min). Add the crushed or grated corn and chicken and simmer for another 5 minutes. Make sure your cornflour paste has no lumps and add that in, stirring continuously until it is mixed uniformly. Allow to simmer for some time. On a high flame, add the slightly beaten egg as a steady thin stream (the thinner the stream, the more lacy you get it in the soup) while stirring continuously. Switch off the flame and keep stirring for about 2-3 min, just to make sure the egg laces are cooked through. Add the salt and sugar and serve.

You can serve it with chillies in vinegar (if you can make this a few hours ahead of time, it would taste nice and spicy), soy sauce, chilli sauce etc,.

You can just skip the chicken and egg, and you have the vegetarian version. Also, if you want the colourless/ almost creamish colour (like what you get in restaurants), you have to start with clear stock (I have used Swanson's organic chicken broth here).

Cilantro sandwich

This is a recipe I got from my mother-in-law as it was one of the dishes my husband liked as a child. It is a do-ahead filling and can easily be kept in the refrigerator for 7-10 days. It also makes a great light snack for a picnic.

Difficulty Level: Easy
Preparation Time: 5 - 10 Min


Ingredients
For the filling:
Cilantro- 1(4 oz. or almost 125gms) bunch
Shredded fresh coconut- 2 1/2 tbsp

Green Thai chillies (പച്ച മുളക്) - 2 (You may have to experiment a couple of times to get the right level of spice)

Salt-to taste

For the sandwich:
Bread- 4 slices
Vegetable spread/ butter- 1 tsp

Grind the coconut and green chillies to a fine paste, using as little water as possible. Add the leaves of the cilantro all at once and grind to a fine paste. Add salt and mix well. To assemble the sandwiches, apply the vegetable spread/ butter on one slice. Apply the green paste to the other slice. Put the sandwich together and cut off the edges to make it more beautiful.

The filling should give you a  lot of sandwiches, depending on how much you apply on each slice of bread. I made only 2 here, just for presentation purpose.

The green paste in the bowl is the filling, and NOT A DIP.

Pulled chicken dry fry

I once saw a cookery show on television and was inspired to try my version of the recipe. Even though it was a bit spicy for my kids, they still lapped it up, running eyes and nose not withstanding.

Difficulty level: Easy
Preparation time: 10 min
Cooking time: 45 min

Ingredients
Chicken - 8 breast tenderloins(about 500 gms), cut into bite-size pieces
Onion- 2 small(thinly sliced)
Tomato- 1 small(cut into small pieces)
Ginger-garlic paste- 1 tbsp
Meat masala- 2 tbsp
Chilli powder- 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp
Cumin powder- 2 tsp
Oil- 1 tsp+ 2 tbsp
Water- 1 cup
Salt- to taste
Curry leaves- 1 sprig

Heat 1 tsp oil in a skillet. Add the ginger-garlic paste and onion and saute until it is light brown. Add the tomato and saute until soft. Add the masala powders and curry leaves and saute. Mix in chicken pieces and saute for a minute or two. Now add water and salt. Cover and cook until it is done(about 10 minutes).

Open the lid and allow water to evaporate completely. Transfer the chicken pieces to a bowl and allow to cool slightly. Pull the chicken pieces into small pieces and transfer it back to the skillet with 2 tbsp oil. Allow chicken pieces to get crisp on a very low flame(about 30 min or until the desired doneness), stirring every 10 minutes or so. Garnish and serve hot.

It goes well with rice or chappathi.

Eggplant/brinjal fry

Eggplant/brinjal(വഴുതനങ്ങ) is a vegetable most kids and adults don't like to eat. When I decided to try this, I wasn't sure of how much success I would have. When my son ate the whole thing up, I was delighted. So these are the quantities of the spices I use when I make for him. (For fair warning, my kids are used to some amount of spice. You may want to make adjustments depending on your levels)  This method can be used for other vegetables which can hold its shape, like bittergourd(കൈപ്പക/പാവയ്ക്കാ).

Difficulty Level: Easy
Preparation Time: 5 - 10 Minutes (6- 8 Hours Marination)
Cooking Time: 15 Minutes

Ingredients
Eggplant- 1 medium size
Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp

Chilli powder- 1/2 tsp

Oil- 1 tsp+ for shallow-frying

Salt- to  taste

Clean and cut the eggplant into 1" thick pieces(mix the masalas immediately after you cut it, or they'll start changing colour). Add the turmeric powder, chilli powder, salt and 1 tsp oil. Keep aside for 6-8 hrs.


Shallow fry until it is light brown.

You can eat this as is like a chip or with rice (like my son).

Chocolate Mousse

This is one of my most popular recipes. Seldom has a friend not asked for the recipe after tasting it. I also get a lot of requests for this dessert when we are hosting friends. The original recipe came from one of the "Milkmaid cooking club" recipe booklets (They called it a Chocolate Souffle).

Level of difficulty: Medium
Preparation time: 15 - 20 Minutes
Setting time: 2 - 3 Hours

Ingredients

Cocoa powder- 3-4 tbsp

Sweetened condensed milk- 1 (400 gm) can

Chocolate pieces/chips- 50 gm (about a handfull)

Milk- 2 cups

Unflavoured Gelatine- 2 1/2 tbsp

Water- 1/2 cup

Whipping cream- 1 1/3 cup (if using the canned Reddi whip, one 7 oz.(about 200 gms) can)

Walnuts (or any other nut) - optional

Add gelatin to water and double-boil (in a bowl over a pan of boiling water) until completely dissolved.

In another bowl, add the cocoa powder to 1 cup milk and double-boil until it is a smooth paste. I like to add the chocolate chips/pieces at this stage, so that it is melted completely (The original recipe asks you to add it later but I find it doesn't completely dissolve then). Add the rest of the milk, the dissolved gelatin (chocolate pieces, if not added earlier) and nuts. Mix well.

Whisk cream until stiff peaks form. Fold into the above mixture (if you are using the canned whipped cream, empty the contents onto the above mix and fold in). Be gentle. The idea is to slowly fold the cream into the mixture and not to mix it and lose all the air that you had beaten into the cream.

Pour into the dish and chill until set. You can check for readiness when it has just a bit of a wiggle to it when you shake it.

Garnish with whipped cream and chocolate curls/shavings and/or French Vanilla rolled wafers and dig in.