HOTCHULHA

Ingredients:

• Fresh Methi leaves – 1 Cup – chopped thinly
• Chanadal – 2 Tablespoons – Soak them in water for 30 minutes.
• Onion – 1 big – Cut into small pieces
• Ginger-garlic paste – ½ Teaspoon
• Turmeric – ¼ Teaspoon
• Coriander Powder – ¼ Teaspoon
• Amchur  Powder – ¼ Teaspoon or one pinch
• Green Chillies – 5
• Oil –  2 Tablespoons
• Salt to taste.

Method:

1. In a food processor put the soaked chanadal & green chillies, grind them coarsely, and keep them aside.
2. Take a heavy bottom pan, pour 2 tablespoons of oil, and bring it to heat.
3. Put the onion and sauté it for couple of minutes.
4. Add ginger-garlic paste and fry this until raw smell goes off. Add the chopped Methi leaves and fry them for couple more minutes.
5. Lower the heats, put Turmeric, Coriander powder, salt, and mix it well.
6. Now add the chanadal mix and fry this until chandal mix cook through.
7. Sprinkle Amchur powder, adjust the salt, and take it off from the stove. 

It goes well with hot Roties or White Rice with Sambar/Rasam.

Ingredients:

• Chicken Breast  –2 pieces
• Dried Pitted Plums – 10 – Chopped
• Green Olives – 10 – Chopped
• Capers – 1 Tablespoon with liquid
• Frozen Artichokes – ½ Cup
• Oregano – ½ Tablespoon
• Brown Sugar – 1 Tablespoon
• Salt & Pepper – as needed
• Jalapenos – 1 Teaspoon
• Olive Oil –  2 Tablespoons
• Grape Juice – ¼ Cup
• Garlic – 2 Cloves – Minced
• Balsamic Vinegar – ½ Teaspoon

Method:

1. In a bowl put chopped Plums, Olives, Capers, Jalapenos, Artichokes, Olive Oil, Balsamic Vinegar, salt and pepper and mix it well.
2. Place Chicken breast pieces on a baking dish. Put the dried plum mix evenly over the chicken. Marinate the Chicken in refrigerator for an hour.
3. Preheat oven to 350 ⁰ degrees.
4. Sprinkle brown sugar over the marinated chicken evenly. Pour the Grape juice over this.
5. Bake the chicken for 45 minutes, basting with the juice over the chicken 2-3 times while baking.
6. Transfer this chicken to a serving plate and Serve it with Cooked Couscous.

Tags: Chicken Bake, plum

Ingredients:

• Semiya(Vermicelli)  – 1/2 cup
• Raisins  – 1 tablespoon
• Cashews  – 1 tablespoon
• Ghee  – 1 tablespoon
• Sugar – 1/4 cup
• Ealachi  – 1/4 teaspoon
• Milk  – 2 1/2 cups

Method:

1. In a frying pan put ghee and fry the cashews and raisins,remove and keep them aside.
2. Now in the same pan put the semiya  and roast until golden brown and keep them aside.
3. In a sauce pan put the milk and sugar ,bring it to a boil add the roasted semiya and mix it gently.
4. Now add the fried cashews,raisins and ealachi powder and cook it until the  semiya is soft  and take it off the heat.

*You can serve this at room temparature or cold.

Ingredients:

• Rice  -1 cup
• Masoor Dal -1/4 cup
• Onion  -1small cut into long lengths
• Green chillies -5 cut into long lengths
• Cinnamon stick  -1 inch piece
• elachi -1
• Bayleafs -2
• Cloves -2
• Zeera  -1/4 teaspoon
• Ginger-garlic paste -1 tablespoon
• Turmeric -1 pinch
• Salt   –  To taste
• Oil  -2 tablespoon
  • Instead of oil you can put ghee.

Method:

1. Wash the rice and masoor dal and soak in water for 20 minutes.
2. Take a heavy bottom pan and put 2 tablespoons of oil and bring it to heat.
3. Put the bay leaves , zeera ,cloves ,elachi and cinnamon stick and fry it for couple of minutes.
4. Now toss in the onion pieces and green chillies and fry till the onions become soft.
5. Add the ginger-garlic paste and fry till the raw smell goes off,now put turmeric powder and salt mix it well.
6. Drain the water from the rice and masoor dal and put this in the pan and saute it for couple of minutes.
7. Add 2 1/2 cups of water, cover the lid and cook  till it absorb all the water.

Tags: kichidi, masoordal

Ingredients:

• Basmati rice -1 cup
• Fresh mint  -1/2 cup
• Frozen green peas -1/4 cup
• Onion  – 1 small cut into long lengths
• Green chillies  – 5
• Ginger-garlic paste – 1 tablespoon
• Bay leaf – 1
• Cloves  -2
• Cinnamon stick – 1 inch piece
• Salt – To taste
• Ghee / Oil -2 tablespoons.

Method:

1. Wash the Rice and soak it in water for 30 minutes.
2. Coarsely grind the mint and green chillis and keep it aside.
3. Take a heavy  bottom pan and put 2 tablespoons of oil / ghee and bring it to heat now add the bay leaf , cloves and cinnamon stick  and then saute them for a minute.
4. Add the onion and fry till the onion become soft.
5. Add the ginger-garlic paste and fry till the raw smell goes off.
6. Add the mint mix, drained rice , salt and peas and mix it gently.
7. Put 1 1/2 cups of water and cover with lid and cook it on medium heat.
8. Garnish it with few cilantro leaves.

*Serve this aromatic Pulao with raita or any gravy curry.

Tags: pualo, pudina

Ingredients:

• Beetroot – 1 medium – dice into small cubes.
• Tomato – 1 small, cut into small pieces
• Onion – 1 medium – cut into big pieces.
• Green chillies – 6
• Ginger Garlic Paste – 1 Tablespoon.
• Coriander Powder – 1/2 Teaspoon
• Clove Powder – 1/4 Teaspoon
• Turmeric – 1/4 Spoon
• Coconut – 1 inch piece
• Cilantro – 1/4 cup to garnish
• Oil – 3 Tablespoons.
• Salt to taste.
• Rice Flour – 1 Teaspoon
• Mint Leaves – 2 

Method:

1. Mix Rice flour in Curd and keep it aside.
2. In a food processor, put onion, green chillies, coconut, ginger & garlic paste and grind it to fine paste and keep it aside.
3. Take a pressure cooker and put 3 tablespoons of oil and bring it to heat.
4. Now put the ground onion paste and fry it till it seperates from oil.
5. Add coriander powder, clove powder, salt, mint leaves and turmeric powder  beetroot and tomato and mix it well.
6. At this point add the curd mix and 1 cup of water and put the pressure cooker lid on and let it cook for 3 whistles.
7. Now garnish it with cilantro.

Tip: Serve this with hot Roties.

Ingredients:

• Chicken Breast – 1 – Cut it into medium size pieces.
• Curd – 1/2 Cup
• Ginger garlic paste – 2 Tablespoons
• Turmeric powder- 1/4 Teaspoon
• Coriander powder – 1 Teaspoon
• Coriander leaves – 1/4 Cup – Chopped
• Coriander leaves – 2 strings for Garnish
• Red chillis powder – 1 Teaspoon
• Green chillis – 7 – cut them in long lengths
• Fennel seeds – 1/2 Teaspoon
• Fenugreek Seeds – 1/4 Teaspoon
• Cumin seeds – 1/4 Teaspoon
• Kalonji – 1/2 Teaspoon
• Mustard Seeds – 1/2 Teaspoon
• Salt to taste
• Oil – 2 Tablespoons

Method:

1. Heat oil in a heavy bottom pan and add the fennel, cumin, mustard, fenugreek and kalonji  seeds.
2. When they crackle, add the chicken and green chillies and fry it for  2 minutes.
3. Add the Ginger garlic paste and fry this until raw smell goes off. Add the turmeric, coriander and red chilli powders to the chicken mix.
4. Add Curd, 1/4 cup of coriander leaves, salt and mix it well.
5. Add 1/4 cup of water. Cover the pan with a lid and cook on medium  heat for 20 minutes.
6. Finally garnish it with coriander leaves. Your yammy Achari Chicken is ready.

Tip: Serve it hot with Rice or Roties.

Tags: achari chicken

Ingredients:

• Thick Dosa batter –  1 cup
• Chanadal – 1 Tablespoon – Soaked
• Green Chillies  – 3 – Cut into small pieces.
• Onion – ½  – Cut into small pieces.
• Zeera – ¼ Teaspoon
• Oil –  to deep fry
• Salt to taste.

Method:

1. In a bowl put all the above ingredients except Oil and mix them well.
2. Take oil in a heavy bottom pan and bring it to heat. Put spoon full of batter in small balls shape and let them  fry until they look golden brown.
3. Once they are done, take them out with slotted spoon and put them on paper towel so that all the excess oil can be drained. 

Serve this hot and have fun. You also can serve this with any chutney.

Tags: side, snack

Ingredients:

• Plantain – 1 Cut into small rounds
• Tadka Seeds – 1 Teaspoon
• Ginger- ½ inch piece
• Garlic  – 2 cloves
• Pepper – ¼ Teaspoon
• Red chilly powder – ¼ Teaspoon
• Curry Leaves – 1 Stem
• Salt to taste.
• Red Chilies – 2
• Oil –  2 Tablespoons

Method:

1. In a mortar and pastel, put the Ginger, garlic and pepper and grind it coarsely.
2. Take a heavy bottom pan, pour 1 tablespoon of oil, and bring it to heat.
3. Put the tadka seeds, curry leaves, red chilies and let them crackle. Add Cut plantain slices, salt, sprinkle it with 2 tablespoons of water, put the lid on, and cook it for 5 minutes.
4. Now take the lid off from the pan and let all the water evaporate and put the remaining oil in the pan and fry till the plantain looks crispy.
5. 5.       Put the ground ginger, garlic, pepper and red chillies powder and saute it for couple of minutes and take it off from the heat. 

It goes well with White Rice with Sambar/Rasam.