vegetable Au Gratin

Ingredients:

• Carrots - 100 gm
• Beans -  100 gm
• Cabbage - 3 leaves
• Capsicum - 1
• Mushroom - 4 to 6
• Cooked Noodles - 1/4 cup
• Tomato Ketchup - 6 tbsp
• Red chilli sauce - 2tbsp
• Cheese - 2 cubes
• Mozeralla Cheese - 3/4 cup
• Bread crumbs - 4 tbsp
• Butter - 1 knob
• Salt
• Pepper

For the white Sauce:

• Butter 1 tbsp
• Corn flour - 1 tbsp
• Milk 1 cup
• Salt and pepper - to taste

Method:

Cut the carrots into thin slices of one inch long. Cut the beans as strips of one inch. Boil carrot, beans and cabbage in little water with salt. Drain and keep aside.

De seed the capsicum and cut into thin strips.

Cut the mushrooms into 4 pieces. In a pan melt butter and slightly brown the mushrooms in it.

Make the white sauce. In a thick bottomed pan melt butter add the corn flour and stir well till bubbles come. Simmer the stove add the milk all at once and stir well lumps may form. Shred one cube cheese and add along with milk. Season with salt and pepper.

Butter a baking dish. Layer it with a thin layer of white sauce. Layer with one vegetable, followed by tomato ketchup (mix red chilli sauce along with this), noodles, other vegetable, mushroom, next vegetable and then pour all the white sauce evenly over it. Cover with grated mozzarella cheese and sprinkle the bread crumbs over it.

Bake at 180 degree celcius till the bread crumbs brown slightly. else micro wave it in grill or combination till the cheese melts.

Note: Salt to the dish is added in the sauce and in the vegetables. Do not boil capsicum. You can also flavor with oregano in the white sauce which will impart a beautiful smell. The mushroom is optional as are the vegetables. \You can also add potatoes if you like it with cheese. Increasing the quantity of white sauce after every layer of vegetables and also cheese improves the taste. But diet conscious people should avoid making Au Gratin often. This is a heavy dish. So it could be served for lunch or dinner.

Malli Sadham

Ingredients:

• Basmathi Rice - 1 cup
• Coriander leaves - 1 Bunch
• Onion - 1/4 cup
• Ginger - 1/2" piece
• Small Onions - 1/2 cup
• Garlic - 2 pod
• Green chillies - 4
• Tomato - 1/2
• Cloves - 2
• Cardamomk - 1
• Cinamon - 1"
• Bay leaf - 1
• cumin seed - 1 tsp

Method:

Soak Basmathi rice in 1 3/4 cup of water for 15 min.

Wash and clean coriander leaves. Grind coriander leaves, ginger, green chillies and cumin seed to a fine paste.

Heat oil in a cooker add the spices. Crush the garlic and add with the skin. Add the chopped onion and sauté for a minute. Add the chopped  tomato and cook till the tomatoes are cooked. Now add the ground paste and cook till the raw smell changes.

Add the rice along with the soaked water. Add salt Mix well. Close the cooker and simmer for 15 minutes without weight.

Turn off the stove and put the weight. Open after 10 minutes. 

Garnish with fried cashews and coriander leaves. Serve hot with Raitha.

Note: The onion and tomato are just for flavor add a very small tomato or half. and half onion is more than enough. For more taste and flavor add a spoon of ghee with the oil.

French Fries

Ingredients:

• Potatoe - 3
• Corn flour - 6 tb sp
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• Oil to fry

                                     

Method:

Peel and cut the potatoes into long strips. Soak it in salt water for 2 minutes. Take it out and pat dry on kitchen towel.

In a dry plate put the dried potato strips sprinkle salt and pepper and corn flour. Mix with fingers so that the flour coats the potatoes. Do not add water.

Heat oil in a kadai and fry the potato fingers. Keep the flame high while frying. When it turns to golden color drain and take it out of the oil. Serve hot with Tomato Ketchup.

Note: You can also Indianise the fries with Indian flavor by using Chilli powder instead of Pepper or Chilli flakes, little methi leaves, or crushed or dried pudhina leaves.

Paneer Mattar Masala

Ingredients:

• Paneer - 200 gms
• Green Peas - 100gm
• Onion - 1
• Tomatoes - 2
• Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp
• Jaggery - 1 tsp
• Tamarind juice - 1 tsp
• Coriander leaves
• Chilli powder - 2 tsp
• Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
• Garam masala - 1 tsp
• Salt to taste
• oil - 3 tsp
• Cinnamon - 1" piece

Method:

Heat 2 glass of water with 1/2 spoon of salt. In that hot water put the paneer cut into cubes and let it soak for 3 minutes. Drain and keep aside.

Slice the onions. In a kadai heat 1/2 spoon of oil and sauté the onions till they are slightly brown. Cool and blend them to a paste. Heat the remaining oil in the kadai add the cinnamon stick, onion paste and ginger garlic paste. Sauté well. Then pure the tomatoes and add to the kadai. Cook till the raw smell goes and water evaporates. Now add the chilli powder and turmeric powder. 

Add the paneer, peas, salt and a little water. Close and cook till the peas are tender. Add the tamarind juice and jaggery. Sprinkle the garam masala and turn off the stove. Garnish with Coriander leaves.

Note: Adding jaggery gives a slight sweet taste the minute you taste a spoon full, then the sweetness wont be felt. People who doesn't like that sweet taste can avoid jaggery.

Chicken curry type B

Ingredients:

• Chicken - 1/2 kg
• Onion - 3
• Tomato - 2
• Chilli powder - 2 sp
• Salt to taste
• Cinamon 
• Bay leaf
• Oil - 2 tbsp

Method:

Wash and clean the chicken. Slice the onion. Chop the tomatoes. Heat oil in a kadai add the spices followed by the onion. When the onions slightly browns add the chopped tomatoes and chilli powder. Cook till the tomatoes are soft and tender. Now add the chicken and little water. Close and cook. When half cooked add salt and check for spice, if needed add little more chilli powder as per taste. and let itt boil well and thicken.

Goes good with chapathi.

Chicken Curry

Ingredients:

• Chicken - 1/2 kg
• Small onions - 1/2 bowl
• Garlic - 6 to 10 pods
• Green Chilli - 2
• Coriander leaves 
• Curry leaves
• Coriander powder - 3 sp
• Chilli powder - 2 sp
• Turmeric powder - 1 sp
• Oil - 3 tb sp
• Split black gram dhal - 5 gm
• Fenugreek - 5 gm
• Salt to taste

Method:

Heat oil in a kadai. Add split black gram dhal, fenugreek seeds and curry leaves. Then add the onions and garlic and saute well till they are completely cooked. Add the chicken and all the powder spices except salt. Close and cook till tender with little water. Now add salt coriander leaves and cook open with little more water as per the consistency  that you need. Goes good with Rice for lunch and Idly Dosa for dinner.

Chicken Biriyani

Ingredients:

• Chicken - 1/2 Kg
• Basmathi rice - 2 cups
• Onion - 1 big
• Tomato - 1 big
• Garlic - 5 to 6 pods
• Oil - 3 tb sp
• Ghee - 2 tb sp
• Cloves - 2
• Bay leaf - 1
• Cinnamon - 1"
• Pudhina leaves - 1 cup
• Coriander leaves - 1 cup
• Green Chilli - 3
• Chilli powder - 1 tsp
• Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
• Curd - 1/2 cup
• Biriyani essence - 1/2 tsp
• Salt to taste

Method:

Soak the rice in water. For two cups of rice 3 1/2 glass of water. Clean the chicken.

Slice the onion and tomatoes. Crush the Garlic along with the skin.

In a cooker heat the oil and ghee together add the spices, followed by the garlic and onion. Sauté till the onions slightly brown. Then add the chillies and tomatoes. Cook till the tomatoes are tender.

Add the chicken, chilli powder, turmeric powder. Close and cook the chicken well. When the chicken is cooked well beat the sour curd well and pour into the chicken. Then add the salt. Add the pudhina leaves, coriander leaves, rice along with the soaked water. Mix well check for salt and spice. Close the cooker and keep it in sim for 15 minutes. Do not put the cooker weight.

After 15 min turn off the stove and put the weight. Open after 15 min sprinkle the essence and mix slightly with out breaking the rice. Serve hot with Raitha.