Avacado Deviled Eggs

A wonderful quick finger food for those who like avocados.

Ingredients:

• Hard boiled eggs – 10
• Avocado – 1
• Lemon juice – 2 tsp
• Mayonnaise – 1/4 cup
• Salt – to taste
• Pepper – to taste
• Cilantro leaves – to garnish

Method:

• Peel eggs and cut in half.
• Scoop out the egg yolks and arrange the egg whites on a server.
• Mix avocado pieces, egg yolks, lemon juice and mayonnaise until smooth using a food processor or mixie.
• Season with salt and pepper.
• Transfer the mixture into a ziplock bag.
• Cut the corner of the ziplock bag and pipe the egg yolk mixture into the egg whites.
• Garnish with cilantro and serve immediately.

Hyderabadi Chicken Dum Biryani

This recipe is from Vahrehvah.com. The biryani is cooked in layers. First is the chicken layer, followed by the rice. The half-cooked rice cooks from the steam of the chicken gravy, resulting in an aromatic rice. Mix it up and you get the perfect hyderabadi biryani. The chicken is very tender and will just fall off the bone.

Ingredients for Caramelized Onions:

• Onion – 1 and a half big onion, Julienne
• Oil – 2 tbsps

Ingredients for marinating chicken:

• Whole chicken – 1.5 lb Or a little more, washed and drain the water
• Ginger garlic paste – 1 inch ginger + 4 cloves of garlic, grind into a fine paste.
• Serrano pepper – 1 and a half pepper cut into big chunks
• Mint leaves – 1/4 cup, chopped, plus more for garnishing
• Cilantro  leaves – 1/4 cup,chopped, plus more for garnishing
• Whole peppercorns – 1/2 tsp
• Cumin seeds – 3/4 tsp
• Red chilli powder – 2 tsp
• Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp
• Cumin powder – 1.5 tsp
• Corriander powder – 1.5 tsp
• Bay leaf – 2
• Cinnamon stick – 1 big stick
• Jathipathri – 1 tbsp
• Cloves – 2
• Cardamom – 5
• Cashews – 10
• Oil -3.5 tbsps
• Lime juice – juice of 1/2 a lime
• Curd – 1 cup + 1/4 cup
• Salt – to taste

Ingredients for cooking rice:

• Water – as required
• Oil – 2 tbsps
• Salt – to taste
• Cumin seeds – 1/4 tsp
• Basmathi Rice – 3 cups
• Orange food color – as required or saffron  soaked in water
• Cilanto and Mint – for garnishing

Method:

• Heat oil in a pan and fry the onions until they turn a bit darker than golden brown.
• Set them aside.
• Mix all the ingredients specified in the marinate list above. Let the chicken mixture marinate for 1 hour to 4 hours if you have the time.
• Add 1/4 cup of the caramelized onions to the chicken marinade.
• Soak basmathi rice in water for 30 minutes.
• Transfer the chicken marinate to a heavy bottomed vessel with a tight-fitting lid.
• Boil water in a big vessel to cook rice.
• Add salt to taste to the water you are going to cook the rice in. Try tasting the water and add salt accordingly.
• Add oil and cumin seeds to the water.
• When the water boils, add the soaked rice. Cook rice till half done.
• If you smash the rice using your finger, it must crumble.
• Drain the rice using a colander and transfer the drained rice to the vessel that contains the chicken marinate. Do not mix. We have to create layers. Gently even out the rice.
• Sprinkle the remaining caramelized onions over the rice. Do not mix.
• Top the onions with chopped mint and cilantro. Do not mix.
• Mix orange food color in water and sprinkle it over the rice. Or add saffron water.
• Cover the vessel with a clean kitchen towel and close the vessel with the lid. Make sure that the lid fits tightly.
• Cook the biryani for 5 minutes on high heat, 15 minutes on medium heat and 8 minutes on low heat.
• Transfer the biryani to a big serving dish and mix gently.
• More salt can be added if required and make sure you mix it gently.

Tomato Sevai

Tomato Sevai can be made with vermicelli or left over Idiyappam. I have used left over Idiyappam in the recipe below.

Click here for Idiyappam recipe.

Ingredients:

• Oil – 2 tbsps
• Mustard Seeds – 1/4 tsp
• Curry Leaves – 10 leaves
• Onion – 1/2 cup, chopped
• Serrano pepper – 1 and a 1/2, cut lengthwise
• Salt – to taste
• Tomatoes – 3, Ripe Roma tomatoes ground into a fine paste
• Idiyappam – 3.5 cups
• Cilantro – to garnish

Method:

• Heat oil in a pan.
• Add mustard seeds and wait till it splutters.
• Add curry leaves, onions and serrano pepper.
• Saute until the onions turn golden brown.
• Add the ground tomatoes.
• Add salt to taste.
• Cook until the ground tomato changes color.
• Turn off the heat.
• Add Idiyappam and mix well.
• Garnish with cilantro.

Happy Valentines Day 2013

For the chocolate lovers. Here are few of my recipes to enjoy.

Molten Mocha Cake

This is a warm chocolate cake recipe. Chocolate flows out of the cake when the cake is cut. Perfect serving size to satisfy chocolate craving. Instant coffee powder and chocolate goes hand in hand in this warm gooey chocolate dessert. There is nothing complicated in this recipe. Surprise your valentine with this chocolate dessert that can be served with vanilla ice-cream. Can be served with fresh strawberry too. Make any day a special one with this wonderful cake.

I used nestle instant coffee. Since they are granular, I added the coffee powder to the chocolate and butter mixture and melted them together. Even if they don’t melt completely, don’t worry. They will melt when the cake is baked.

The ingredients below yields 2 molten mocha cakes.

Ingredients:

• Unsalted butter – 2 tbsps, plus more for coating the ramekins
• Confectioner’s sugar – 1/3 cup, plus more for dusting the ramekins
• Semi sweet chocolate chips – 2 oz
• Instant coffee powder – 1 tsp
• Egg – 1
• Egg yolk – 1
• Salt – a pinch
• All-purpose flour – 3 tbsps

Method:

• Preheat oven to 400F.
• Butter two 6oz ramekins.
• Dust the ramekins with confectioner’s sugar and tap out the excess.
• Place butter, chocolate and coffee powder in a microwave safe bowl and microwave in 20 seconds increments , stirring after each, until the mixture has melted. Do not worry if the coffee powder has not melted.
• Let the mixture cool down a bit.
• In another bowl, whisk together egg, egg yolk, sugar and salt until well combined.
• Add the chocolate mixture to the egg mixture and whisk until well combined.
• Add flour and mix until just combined.
• Pour the batter into the ramekins and bake for 12 minutes. Rotate the ramekins in between.
• The cake is ready when a toothpick inserted 1/2 inch from the edge of the ramekins comes out clean. The center will be wet.
• Let the ramekins cool down on a wire rack for 10 minutes.
• Run a toothpick around the edges of the ramekins to loosen the cake.
• Invert the ramekins onto a plate and serve immediately.

Sambar

The ingredients to make sambar are the same in every household. But the sambar powder used in every home differs. My mom never used sambar powder. She uses her blend of chilli powder along with one green chilli. And no tamarind in her sambar. When I came to the US, my husband taught me his version of sambar. He used his mom’s sambar powder and tamarind extract. Click here for the sambar powder recipe.

For a thicker sambar, use more toor dal. I add sambar powder and tamarind extract according to my taste. Trust your taste buds and add the ingredients. And sambar thickens when it cools. If it becomes too thick, you can add water and salt if required and let it boil before serving.

Ingredients:

• Toor Dal – 3/4 cup
• Tomatoes – 1/2 a tomato, chopped
• Hing/ asafoetida – 4 pinches
• Tamarind – 1 tbsp, soak tamarind in hot water
• Pearl onions or regular onions – 3/4 cup
• Vegetables – drumstick, or mixed vegetables of your choice.
• Sambar powder – 1.5 tbsps, adjust according to taste
• Salt – according to taste
• Water – as required
• Oil – 2 tbsps
• Mustard seeds – 1/4 tsp
• Curry leaves – 10 leaves
• Onions – 1/4 cup, julienne
• Cilantro – to garnish,optional

Method:

• Pressure cook toor dal and tomatoes using water in a pressure cooker until the dal is fully cooked. 4 to 6 whistles.
• Add hing to the dal and mash the dal using a dal masher.
• Add onions, vegetables, sambar powder, salt and tamarind extract( strain the tamarind and use the juice. add according to your taste).
• Add water as required.
• Taste and add more salt, sambar powder or tamarind extract.
• Pressure cook again for one whistle.
• For the seasoning, heat oil in a pan.
• Add mustard seeds and wait till it splutters.
• Add curry leaves and onion.
• Saute until the onions turn light brown.
• Turn off the heat and add the seasoning to the sambar.
• Garnish with cilantro.

Sambar Powder

This sambar powder recipe is from my MIL. I have been using this powder for a very long time. It requires no roasting.
Click here for Sambar recipe.

Ingredients:

• Dry Red Chilli -50 grams
• Coriander Seeds – 25 grams
• Cumin Seeds – 1 tsp
• Fenugreek Seeds – half of 1/8tsp

Method:

Grind the above ingredients in a mixie to a fine powder. As fine as possible. Store sambar powder in an airtight container.