Cucumber Raita

Raita is a yogurt dish served with rice or as a dip. It has a cooling effect when eaten with other spicy foods. It can be made in several ways. I am giving you one of the simplest ones which everyone would like to try. I made this raita for the international food festival held in the Church and many people came and asked me for the recipe so thought of including it here.

Ingredients:

1. 1 kg plain yogurt
2. 1 medium sized cucumber
3. 1 tsp. cumin seeds
4. 1 tsp. paprika
5. salt to taste

Method:

• Remove the skin of cucumber and grate it.
• Roast the cumin seeds lightly and powder it.
• Add the grated cucumber, salt, cumin powder and salt to the yogurt and mix.
• Sprinkle the paprika powder on top and refrigerate.

Stuffed Green Peppers

Ingredients:

1. 5 medium sized fresh green, yellow or red peppers
2. 3 boiled potatoes
3. 1 medium onion finely chopped
4. 1 tblsp lemon juice
5. 1 1/2 green chillies
6. Salt to taste
7. A little sunflower oil

Method:

• Mash the boiled potatoes
• Mix the chopped onions, lemon juice, chillies and salt with the mash and keep it aside.
• Cut the stalk part of the peppers and remove the seeds
• Apply salt inside and fill it with the potato mixture.
• Brush oil all over the peppers and bake.

Lamb Stew

This curry can be made with lamb as well as chicken. Serve it hot with bread, appams, rotis or rice.

Ingredients:

1. 1 kg Lamb
2. 1 onion sliced thinly
3. 2 inch ginger cut into strips
4. 5 garlic cloves
5. 2 potatoes diced
6. 5 green chillies slit from the middle
7. 1 tblsp white spirit vinegar
8. 1 tin coconut cream
9. 1/2 tblsp. cake flour
10. 2 1 inch long cinnamon sticks (Two one inch long)
11. 10 cloves
12. 5 green cardamoms
13. 15 peppercorns crushed coarsely
14. Few Curry leaves (optional)
15. 1/4 cup sunflower oil
16. Salt to taste
17. 3 cups water

Method:

• Heat oil and fry the cinnamon, cloves and cardamom lightly.
• Add the onion, ginger, green chillies, curry leaves and garlic and saute. Keep them aside
• In another heavy bottomed pan add 2 tsp oil and saute the flour. When it is fried add the meat and saute it for 2 more minutes.
• Add vinegar, salt and water.
• When the meat is half cooked add the potatoes and sauted onion and spice mix and cook it covered until the meat is cooked through and the water has reduced.
• Add the coconut cream and bring to boil.
• Add the crushed pepper corns and serve hot.

Yogurt Salad

Ingredients:

1. 1/2 litre plain yogurt
2. 1 tomato sliced into small
3. 1 onion sliced into small
4. 2 green chillies cut into small pieces
5. salt as per taste

Method:

• Combine everything together
• Add a little water if needed and refrigerate.

Easy Chicken Biriyani

This is a very easy method for cooking chicken biriyani. It can be cooked in a very short time and does not need any curry with it except a yogurt salad.

Ingredients:

1. 1 kg Chicken cut into pieces
2. 3 cups basmati rice
3. 5 green chillies
4. 1 inch Ginger
5. 2 medium onions
6. 2 tomatoes
7. 5 cloves of garlic
8. 1/2 bunch of coriander leaves
9. Few mint leaves
10. 2 tablespoons coriander powder
11. 1 tablespoon chilli powder
12. 1 tsp cumin powder
13. 1 tsp turmeric powder
14. 1 tblsp garam masala or chicken masala (mainly a combination of powdered cinnamon, cardamoms, cloves, curry leaves, fennel seeds)http://www.pachakam.com/glossary.asp
15. 2 tbsp ghee (clarified butter)
16. 5 cups of hot water
17. 1 tbsp lime juice
18. Salt as per taste

Method:

• Grind all the items from 3 to 14 in a grinder into a paste
• Take a pressure cooker and heat the ghee in it. If you do not have ghee add 100 gms butter and let it melt.
• Add the ground paste and fry it until the ghee starts bubbling through the masala. Now put the chicken and a little salt in it and mix with the paste. Close the lid and let it pressure cook for 8 minutes.
• Open the cooker only after the pressure is gone from inside the cooker.
• Add the washed rice, lime juice, salt and hotwater to the cooked chicken and mix.
• Close the lid again and let it cook for another 6 minutes or until the cooker is about to give out a whistle.
• Off the stove and let the food remain in the pressure cooker until all the pressure is gone from inside the cooker. If you are using a electric stove top, move the cooker to a cooler stove top.
• You can garnish the biriyani with fried onion rings or fried nuts.

Note: Never open a pressure cooker when there is pressure inside, it can lead to a terrible accident.