PANEER BUTTER MASALA

INGREDIENTS:
  
  Paneer - 1/4 kg

  Big onion - 2 big

  Ginger-garlic paste - 1 tbsp

  Kashmiri chilly powder - 1 tsp

  Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp

  Turmeric powder - a pinch

  Cashewnut paste - 3 tbsps

  Kasoori methi - 1 tsp

  Tomatoes - 3, big

  Garam masala - 1/2 tsp

  Butter - 3 tbsps

  Fresh cream - 2 tbsps

  Salt
  
  PREPARATION:

•    Heat 1 tbsp of butter in a pan and fry the paneer cubes, till it turns golden yellow.Transfer the fried paneer into another bowl and pour a glass of hot water into it. Allow it to soak for 5 mins and drain away the water.Cook onion in boiling water for 10 mins and make it into a paste.Blanch the tomatoes,peel the skin and make it a paste. Now , heat the remaining butter,add the onion paste and fry it,till it turns brown.Now, add the ginger-garlic paste and cook for about 3-4 mins.Add the cashewnut paste and chilly powder to it.Now,add the tomato paste,coriander powder,turmeric powder garam masala and salt.Allow it to cook for 5 mins,under low flame. Add the paneer cubes to this. Add a glass of water to this and cook for about 10 mins,under medium flame.Allow the gravy to thicken and add the remaining butter and fresh cream to it.Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot.
    
   
  
  

SPICY MUTTON CURRY

INGREDIENTS:

 Mutton                                   -    1  kg

 Curd                                       -    2 tbsps

 Ginger-garlic paste                  -   1 tbsp

 Green chillies                                 -   3

 Small onions, finely chopped      -   15

 Big onion, sliced                        -    2

 Tomatoes                                     -   2

 Turmeric powder                     -  1/2 tsp

 Kasmiri chilly powder            - 2 tbsps

 Pepper powder                           -   1/2 tsp

 Coriander powder                     -   4 tbsps

 Aniseed powder                         -  1 tsp

 Garam masala                           -  1/2 tsp

 Oil                                                -    3 tbsps

 Coriander leaves, chopped    -  1 tbsp

 Curry leaves

 Salt

PREPARATION:

•  Clean the mutton and pressure cook it with curd, pepper, 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste, 1/4 tsp of turmeric powder, small onions and a little salt for about 10 mins in medium flame. Take a pan, heat oil and add the big onions and green chillies, fry till it turns slightly golden brown. Add the remaining ginger-garlic paste, turmeric powder and saute well. Add a little salt. Now, add the chilly, coriander and aniseed powders and cook for 2 mins. Add tomato puree to this. Allow it to cook for about 5 mins. Now, add the cooked mutton to this and mix well. Add the garam masala and cuury leaves to it. Cover it with a lid and cook till the mutton is tender and the gravy gets thick. Garnish it with coriander leaves and serve hot .

DUM ALOO

INGREDIENTS:

 Potato                                      -     1/2  kg

 Tomatoes                                -     4

 Red chilly                                -      2

 Cumin seed                             -     1/2  tsp

 Cinnamon                                -       1 "

 Bay leaves                               -      2

 Asafoetida                               -      a pinch

 Ginger chopped                      -      1 tsp

 Turmeric powder                   -      1/2   tsp

 Chilly powder                         -       1   tsp

 Cuminseed powder                -      1/2 tsp

 Oil                                            -       4 tbsp

 Sugar                                        -       1/2  tsp

 Coriander leaves, chopped    -       1 tbsp

 Salt 

PREPARATION:

•   Boil and peel the potatoes. Heat oil in a pan and add the cuminseed, red chillies, cinnamon, bay leaves and asafoetida. Fry them well. Now, add the chopped ginger, turmeric, chilly and cuminseed powders and saute well. Add sugar and salt. Now, the potatoes and tomatoes can be added. Mix well and keep it closed, while cooking for another 5 minutes in medium flame.            
•  If gravy is required, add a  cup of hot water or coconut milk and cook for a minute. Garnish with coriander leaves.

 

 

 

MIXED DAL

INGREDIENTS:

  Moong dal                           -         100 gm

  Black gram dal                 -         100 gm

  Toor dal                                     -         100 gm

  Bengal gram dal                      -         100 gm

  Masoor dal                                -        100 gm

  Ghee                                             -        50 gm

  Cinammon                                 -        2"

  Pepper                                         -         3

  Clove                                            -         2

  Kashmiri chilly                            -        2

  Cumin seed                               -        1 tsp

  Turmeric powder                        -        1/2 a tsp

  Big onion, finely chopped        -          2

  Ginger-garlic paste                   -        1 tbsp

  Green chilly, chopped              -        3

  Tomato, finely chopped          -         2

  Curry leaves                                 

  Coriander leaves, chopped     -       1 tbsp 

  Salt 

PREPARATION:

•    Pressure cook all the five dals together. Donot overcook it. Heat ghee in a pan and add Cinammon, clove, pepper, Kashmiri chilly, cuminseed and turmeric powder. Fry them well. Now,  add onion and fry till it turns slightly brown. Add the ginger-garlic paste and cook for about 3- 4 mins. The tomato , green chillies and curry leaves can be added now. Allow it to cook for another 3-4 mins . Now, add the cooked dal and salt to it and cook for 5 mins. Remove from fire. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with rotis or rice.
•   

RAJMA CURRY

INGREDIENTS:

     Rajma ( red kidney beans)                           -   350 gms

     Garlic                                                               -   1 tbsp

     Green chilly                                                    -    7

     Ginger                                                            -    1  tsp

     Ghee                                                               -    50 gms

     Onion, finely chopped                                  -   2

    Red chilly powder                                         -    1  tsp

    Tomato                                                          -     4

    Water                                                             -   450  ml

    Sugar                                                              -    1  tsps

    Salt as required

    Coriander leaves, chopped                          -   2  tbsps

 PREPARATION:

•   Soak the rajma in water, overnight. Pressure cook it adding salt and water. Grind the garlic, green chilly and ginger to a fine paste. Finely chop the tomatoes , cook it for a minute and pour it into the blender , to make it a fine paste. Now , heat the ghee in a pan and add onion to it. Fry the onion well, add the ginger, garlic and green chilly paste and fry for a minute or  two . Add chilly powder, cook for another minute. Now, the cooked rajma, strained can be added. Pour the tomato puree into this and stir well. Sugar and salt can be added, now.Cook for 5 minutes in low flame. Add chopped coriander leaves and serve hot .

CHICKEN FRY

INGREDIENTS:

  Chicken                                   -  500 gms

  Ginger garlic paste                -  1 tsp

  Turmeric powder                  -   1/4 tsp

  Kashmiri chilly powder       -    1 1/2 tsp

  Pepper powder                      -    1 tsp

  Chat masala                           -    1/4 tsp

  Curd                                         -    2tsps

  Salt 

  Oil to fry

PREPARATION: 

                            Clean and remove the skin of the chicken. Add all the above ingredients, except oil, and mix it well. Refrigerate it for about 2 hrs. Heat oil in a pan and add the chicken pieces one by one. Fry the chicken till both the sides are crisp. Serve hot.

KARIMEEN POLLICHATHU

INGREDIENTS:

       Karimeen, cleaned                          -  5

       Small onions                        -     12

       Green chillies                                   -     7

       Ginger- garlic paste                       -     1 tbsp

       Pepper, coarsely ground              -    1 tbsp

       Red chillypowder                            -     1 tsp

       Turmeric powder                            -    1/2  tsp

       Fenugreek powder                           -    1/2 tsp

      Tomato puree                                     -    1/2 a cup

       Finely chopped curry leaves        -     1 tsp

       Coconut oil                                           -    2  tbsps

       Salt to taste 

       Banana leaf

 PREPARATION:

•     Heat oil in a pan and add finely chopped onions and green chillies to it. Fry till the onions turn light brown. Add ginger-garlic paste and fry well. Now add turmeric, pepper, fenugreek and chilly powders. Leave it cook for about 1 min. Add the tomato puree and allow to cook till the mixture gets thick. Add chopped curry leaves and salt. Mix well and remove from fire. Take each fish and apply the above mix all over the fish. Leave it to marinate for an hour. Cut the banana leaf into 5 squares ( size of a note book ) . Place each fish onto the cut leaves and cover the fish, so that the masala does not ooze out. Grill it for 10 mins, till the leaf turns brown and dry.  You can also cook it on the tawa, covered with a lid. Remember to turn the fish, so that both the sides get cooked well. Serve hot.       

KERALA FISH CURRY

INGREDIENTS :

Fish                       -    500  gms

Grated coconut   -     2  cups

Small onion         -     5

Green chillies     -  4

Tomato, big      - 1

Chopped ginger   -   1/2 tsp, 

Turmeric powder -  1/4 tsp

Chilly powder        - 1 tsp

Fenugreek powder -1/4 tsp

Tamarind               - a  lemon - sized

Coconut oil               -   1  tbsp

Curry leaves

Salt

*  coconut oil can be substituted by any other cooking oil .

PREPARATION :

                             Cut and clean the fish with salt and water. Soak the tamarind in a glass of water. Grind the coconut, 4- small onions, 1- green chilly, turmeric, fenugreek, and chilly powders into a fine paste, by adding 1/2 a glass of water. Pour the mixture into a cooking vessel, add the strained tamarind pulp, chopped tomatoes and green chillies. Allow this to boil. Now add  the fish one by one , slowly into the curry. Add salt. Cook it for about 10 mins, covered with a lid, under low flame. Heat oil in another frying pan, fry the remaining chopped small onions till golden brown and add the curry leaves. Pour this into the cooked gravy and remove from fire. Serve hot with rice.

FRENCH BEANS CURRY

INGREDIENTS:

 French beans                     -   200 gms

 Onion                                  -  1

Ginger- garlic paste           - 1 / 4 tsp

Green chilly                        - 1

 Tomato puree                   -  2 tbsp

 Coconut                              -   1/4 a cup

 Cashewnuts                       -   4

 Turmeric powder             - 1/4 tsp

 Chilly powder                   -   1/2 tsp

 Jeera powder                   -  1/4 tsp

 Oil                                       -  1 tbsp

Coriander leaves to garnish

  PREPARATION:

                             Heat oil in a pan , add chopped onion to it and saute it , add ginger garlic paste , chopped green chilly , tomato puree and allow the oil to separate from the mix. Add chopped french beans and mix well.  Add turmeric, chilly and jeera powders.  Add 1/2 a cup of water .Cook it for about 5 minutes , covered with a lid. Grind the coconut and cashewnuts to a fine paste and add it to the curry. Cook for another 2 minutes. Add salt. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves. Serve hot with rotis . 

CRAB AND PEPPER

INGREDIENTS :

Crab , cleaned                -   500 gms

Big onion                         -    2

Ginger-garlic paste       -    1  1/2 tsp

Green chillies                 -     2

Tomatoes                       -   2

Turmeric powder         -    1 / 4  tsp

Pepper powder             -    1  tsp

Coriander powder        -    2 tsp

Jeera powder               -   1 /4 tsp

Fenugreek powder     -    1/4 tsp

Oil                                 -  3  tbsp

Lime juice                    -  1 tsp

Curry leaves and coriander leaves for garnishing

Salt

PREPARATION :

                             Clean the crab thoroughly . Heat oil in a pan and add the chopped onions and fry them well .Now add ginger-garlic paste , chopped green chillies and saute it for about 2 mins . Add the turmeric , pepper, coriander, jeera and fenugreek powders . Fry till the oil seperates from the masalas . Add chopped tomatoes and salt. Allow it to cook for about 5 mins in low flame , covered with a lid. Now add the crab and mix it well. Keep it covered and cook it for about 10 minutes in medium flame , stirring it occassionly. Now add the lemon juice , curry leaves and coriander leaves .Remove it from fire. Serve it hot with rice , rotis or dosas .

VEGETABLE CUTLET

• INGREDIENTS:
• Potatoes                                     - 500 gms
• Carrots                                       - 100 gms   
• Cauliflower                               - 100 gms
• Green peas                                - 50 gms
• Big onion                                    -  1
• Ginger-garlic paste                -  1 tsp
• Green chillies                            - 2
• Mint leaves , chopped            - 1 tsp
• Lime juice                                   -  1 tsp
• Pepper powder                         -1/4 tsp
• Garam masala                          - 1/4 tsp
• Bread crumbs                           - 100 gms
• *Beaten egg                                 - 1
• Oil for frying
• Salt

   

  PREPARATION :

                               Boil the potatoes , peel the skin , allow the potatoes to cool and mash them. Clean and boil the carrots , green peas and cauliflower. Mash them well. Heat about 1 tbsp of oil in a pan and add finely chopped onion to it . Fry the onion well, add ginger -garlic paste and finely chopped green chillies . Saute it for 2 mins . Add the pepper powder , garam masala and the mint. Now , add the boiled and mashed vegetables to this mixture. Mix it well. Add salt and the lime juice. Remove from fire. Allow it to cool. Make about 20 lemon sized balls out of it . Flatten it  into any desired shape . Dip each one of them in the beaten egg and roll it over the bread crumbs , to cover them completely. Heat oil in a frying pan and fry the cutlets , till both the sides are fried. Serve hot with ketchup.

* For the veggies , egg can be replaced by a thin batter of maida. 

BEEF FRY

     INGREDIENTS:

 Beef                                            - 500gms

Ginger-garlic paste                  -  1 tsp

Red chilly powder                     -  1 tsp

Pepper coarsely ground          - 1tsp

Turmeric powder                     - 1/2 tsp

Aniseed powder(saunf)           - 1/2 tsp

Small onion                               - 8

Vinegar                                      - 1 tbsp

Oil for frying 

Salt

Curry leaves

  PREPARATION :

                               Clean the beef , remove excess fat from the meat. Now , mix all the powders mentioned above . Add the ginger-garlic paste , vinegar , salt and crushed onion . Leave it to marinate for about 1 hour. Cook the marinated beef in a pressure cooker for about 15  minutes in low flame . Now , heat oil in a frying pan and fry the beef . Add curry leaves to it .  Serve hot.To make it more spicy , green chillies can be added along with the curry leaves.

CAULIFLOWER MASALA

   INGREDIENTS:

                               Cauliflower                         - 500gms

                               Turmeric powder              - 1/4 tsp

                               Ginger-garlic paste           -1/2 tsp

                               Pepper powder                  - 1/2 tsp

                               Coconut milk                      - 1 cup

                               Chat masala                       - 1/2 tsp

                               Oil                                        - 2 tbsp

                              Salt to taste

   PREPARATION:

                                   Clean the cauliflower and shred it into 2 inch pieces , wash it well with warm water . Put all the above ingredients in a pan , except oil and chat masala . Add 1/2 a glass of water to it and cook it for about 7 minutes in medium flame. When the cauliflower becomes tender and dry add the oil and chat masala to it. Fry it in low flame till the oil seperates out of the mixture .Serve hot with rice or rotis .                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

KARIMEEN FRY

INGREDIENTS:

                              Fish                           -500 gms

                               Garlic paste             - 1 tsp

             ( Aniseed ) Saunf powder       - 3/4 tsp       

                               Turmeric powder    -  3/4 tsp

                               Chilly powder           - 2 tsp

                               Pepper powder         -  1 tsp

                             * Lime juice                  - 1 tsp

                               Oil for frying

                               Salt

*Vinegar can also be added instead of lime juice.

PREPARATION:

                               Clean the fish with salt and water.Marinate the fish with all the above ingredients ,except oil. Refrigerate it for about 1 hour. Heat oil in a pan and fry the fish till both the sides are cooked.

                             Squid ,prawns and crab can be fried using the same ingredients .It is better to boil the squid and crab ,before frying it.

                               

PRAWN CHILLY MASALA

INGREDIENTS :

                    Cleaned Prawns       -500 gms

                         Onion                        - 2

                         Ginger                       - 1 tsp

                         Garlic                        - 1 tsp

                         Tomatoes                  -1 big

                         Green chillies           - 2

                         Pepper powder        -1 tsp

                         Cumin seed powder - 1/4 tsp

                         Coriander powder   -1   1/2 tsp

                         Fenugreek powder - 1/4 tsp

                         Turmeric powder   -  1/4 tsp

                         Oil                              -  2 tbsp

                         A pinchof sugar

                         Curry leaves  and coriander leaves  to garnish

                         Salt to taste.                                                                                                                                                                    PREPARATION:

                                 Clean the prawns and devein it. Heat oil in a pan and add chopped onions , ginger and garlic. Fry it till it turns golden brown . Now add tomato paste to it .Cook it for 2 minutes and add turmeric ,pepper ,cumin seed (jeera) , coriander and fenugreek powders. When the oil seperates, add the prawns and green chillies to it and mix it well . Do not add water. Add salt and cook  it for about 7-8  minutes , covered with a lid. Add sugar and mix it well. Cook it in low flame till the gravy thickens . Garnish it with curry leaves and chopped coriander leaves. Serve hot with rice or chappathis .

* Do not cook prawns for more than 10 minutes .It hardens, if it is overcooked . To enhance the taste of this dish , add about 2 teaspoons of cashewnut paste to the curry , while cooking the prawns .                

                                                                                                                         

CARROT HALWA

INGREDIENTS:
Fresh Carrots - 500 gms
*Milk - 1 litre
Sugar - 1 cup
Ghee - 3 tablespoons
Cardamom powder -A pinch
Cashewnuts - 10
Raisins -10
*Condensed milk -1/2 cup can be added instead of milk and sugar.

PREPARATION
Grate the carrots into very thin strands . Heat ghee in a pan . Add the carrots and cook till it turns light yellow in colour. Now add milk to it and cook it till the mixture becomes thick .Add sugar and stir till the halwa leaves the sides of the pan. Now add cardamom powder and remove from fire. Garnish the halwa with roasted cashewnuts and raisins.

ALEPPEY FISH CURRY

INGREDIENTS: 

Fish -500 gms

Small onion - 8

Red chilly powder -2 teaspoons

Coriander powder -1 teaspoon

Turmeric powder -1/4 teaspoon

Fenugreek (methi) powder -1/4 teaspoon

Tamarind - the size of a lemon

Red chilly - 3

Oil -3 table spoons

Salt to taste

Curry leaves

PREPARATION :

Clean the fish with salt and water.Grind the small onions ,chilly, coriander,turmeric, fenugreek and tamarind into a fine paste without adding much water.Now heat oil in a pan ,add the red chillies and curry leaves into it and fry it.Add the ground mixture and cook it till the oil seperates from the mixture.Now add 2 glasses of water and bring it to boil.The curry is ready for the fish to be added. Add the fish to it, add salt and cook it for 10 minutes in low flame , covered with a lid. Once the fish is cooked add some curry leaves and remove from fire. Serve hot with steaming rice .

CHANNA MASALA

INGREDIENTS:

Kabuli Channa - 200gms.

Onion - 2 big.

Ginger-Garlic paste -1 teaspoon.

Green chilly -2

Tomatoes -2

Turmeric powder -1/4 .

Chilly powder -1/2 teaspoon.

Coriander powder- 1 1/2 teaspoons.

Garam masala -1/4 teaspoon .

Chat masala     -   1/2 tsp

Oil -3 teaspoons.

Salt as required.

A pinch of sugar.

Soak the channa in water for 6 hours and pressure cook it for 10 minutes.Fry the onions, ginger garlic paste and green chillies in 1 teaspoon of oil ,now add tomatoes to it and fry till golden brown.Grind this mixture to a fine paste.To the remaining oil add turmeric,chilly and coriander powders keeping the flame low.Now add the ground paste and cook for 5 minutes.Add the channa,salt,garam masala and the sugar and cook for another 5 minutes. Add chopped coriander leaves.Serve hot.