Mommie Freida's Chicken chilli

Happy New Year to all my readers. 

Thanks to all your emails, wishes, and encouraging words. Above all, I am really delighted to know my small set of recipes worked for you as it was for me.  Hope to hear more comments from you. 

Happy Cooking

Ingredients

• Chicken - 1 kg 
• Eggs - 2 Nos.
• All purpose flour - 3 tbsp
• Chilli sauce - 3 tbsp
• Soya sauce - 3 tbsp
• Onion, sliced - 3 cups
• Green chillies - 7 Nos.
• Tomato sauce - According to taste
• Coriander leaves, chopped - handful
• Salt as required
• Oil for cooking
• Food color (optional)

Method

Cut chicken into small pieces and wipe off excess water from it with a towel.

In a large deep bowl, beat the eggs. To this, add flour, whisk nicely. Now add chilli sauce, soya sauce, and salt. Whisk again thoroughly. If you have decided on adding food color, add it now. Combine chicken to this and marinate for 1 hour.

After one hour, in a frying pan, fry the chicken pieces.

After frying chicken, pass the remaining oil through a sieve. Now pour the oil back to the frying pan and start sauteeing the onions. when the onions are half sauteed, add green chillies and lightly saute them. At this stage, add chicken, tomato sauce, and coriander leaves and mix well. Cook for another 5 minutes in low flame and you are done with your chicken chilli.

Served best with fried rice or a bed of noodles.

• I have not used food coloring here, though the addition lends a beautiful sheen to the chicken pieces. 
• The marinade will stain some chicken pieces black, but it doesn't really disturb the taste. 
• Addition of tomato sauce is up to you. I always end up adding a bit more of tomato sauce before serving as we all like sweetness in the dish. 

Anjum's Anglo-Indian Tomato Soup

As I weed out the troubles,
the more merrier I am in the company of books that I behold.
The learning curve rides me higher to the infinite.
I call it a day when I can put my legs up and a couch to straighten my back, 
and hands to reach for that perfect bowl of soup.

This is just the right soup shouting the Anglo-Indian side of things with correct blend of spices, veggies, and milk. The recipe is a keeper and a crowd pleaser. Can't wait to soup it up next time. 

Don't forget to check on my healthy tomato soup if you are saying no to cornflour and milk. 

Ingredients

Butter - 1 tbsp

Vegetable Oil - 1 tsp

Bay leaf - 1 large

Carrot, chopped - 1 No. (large)

Celery stalk, chopped  - 1

Onion, chopped - 1 small

Garlic - 2

Ginger - 3/4 inch

Cornflour - 1 tbsp mixed to a paste with some water

Ripe tomatoes, chopped - 650 g

Sugar - 1 tsp

Black pepper - 1 tsp

Salt as required

Milk - 100 mL or Cream - 25 mL

Water - 300 mL

Coriander leaves as garnish

• Always use ripe red tomatoes for the soup. It makes a big difference. (Nobody wants to drink an ultra sour soup). 
• Don't forget to use the sugar. It gives a restaurant feel to your tomato soup.
• If you run out of milk, try small amounts of cream as a substitute. It's just fine.
• If you are using milk, while pureeing the veggies, run milk and water little by little in the food processor. The exact recipe by Anjum Anand says it gives a double cream texture.

Method

In a non-stick pan, heat the butter and oil. Add bay leaf and fry for 20 seconds. Now add chopped onion, carrot, celery, garlic and ginger. Close the lid and cook them well. (Don't forget to open the lid and stir in between). Now add the cornflour paste and stir for 1 minute. Add the chopped tomatoes, salt, sugar, and black pepper. Cook till the tomatoes are all mashed up. Now cook the mixture for another 5 minutes. Discard the bay leaf. Allow it to cool and then transfer it to a blender along with water. Once it is pureed, transfer it back to the pan and return to boil. Switch off the stove. While still hot, add cream and stir well. Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve hot with breads of your choice. 

Pork Vindaloo - Cheats Version

Being in a Muslim country it is hard to find pork, but at Spinneys we are spoilt for choice with an array of fresh to frozen pork meat and all products pork. So a shopping trip to Spinneys is never complete without some pork and wine. These are the very bits which keep us here more or less tied to the homely feeling we get for christmas back home, but I miss my Kochi, family and friends, and holy jolly time we have for Christmas.

@ Indrani - I am sending you some through email. Want to let you know very few days pass by where I am not thinking about you. Miss fun old days and sing-a-song affair we used to have in front of Vindaloos. 

Ingredients
Pork - 1/2 kg
Onion sliced - 2 medium
Ginger paste - 1 tsp
Garlic paste - 1 tsp
Whole grain mustard  - 1 tsp (Wholegrain mustard in a jar, not Dijon mustard)
Cumin powder - 1/4 tsp
Garam masala powder - 1/2 tsp
Kashmiri Chilli powder - 2 tbsp
Green chillies - 2
Vinegar - 2 tbsp or as required
Salt
Oil
Curry leaves

Method
Clean and cut pork into square cubes.

Soak ginger paste, garlic paste, whole grain mustard, cumin powder, garam masala powder, and Kashmiri chilli powder in vinegar.

Heat oil in a pressure cooker, saute onion, green chillies, and curry leaves. When the onion starts to become transparent, add soaked masalas. When the raw smell of masala leaves, add pork and salt. Mix well so that the masala coats the pork. Close the cooker and cook till 2-3 whistles. Start checking after 2 whistles to make sure if it is done. If it is not done, close the cooker and wait till the third whistle. Open the cooker and reduce water if any to get a thick consistency as shown in the picture.

Note:- Always use Kashmiri chilli powder as it lends a deep orange color to the dish and won't burn your tongue.

Enjoy your Vindaloo in moderation.

Keep some for the next day as it tastes best.

Finally, have this with some rice and moru charu/moru curry/pineapple pulissery.

Beef stew/Ishtew

Come Easter or Christmas, we are ready on your table in the mornings. Adults and kids look forward to me for a great start in the mornings with some veggie and coconut goodness. Does that sound familiar to you? The above stated is a typical Christian home serving istew/stew for breakfast. Christian festival gatherings are never complete without appams and beef/mutton stews, though a lighter version in the form of vegetable stew is gaining popularity nowadays.  

Ingredients

Beef - 1/2 kg

Onion - 1 big, sliced

Potato - 1 big

Carrot - 1 

Ginger - 1 tsp chopped 

Cinnamon stick - 1 piece

Cloves - 4 nos

Cardamom - 2 nos

Peppercorns - 1/2 tsp

Green chillies - 6

Curry leaves

Coriander leaves - 1 tbsp

Mint leaves - 1 tsp

Eastern Coconut Milk in tins - 3/4 cup

Directions
Cook beef in a pressure cooker with salt, green chillies, and ginger until well done. Keep aside.

Slice carrots in round shapes. Cut potatoes in cubes.

Heat oil in a pan, splutter cinnamon, cloves, peppercorns, and cardamom. Saute onion, green chillies, and curry leaves. When onion becomes transparent (don't fry the onions for too long), add water, potato and carrot. When carrot and potato is half boiled, add cooked beef along with stock. Now close the lid and cook potatoes and carrots in low flame. When potatoes and carrots are cooked, add 1/4 cup of coconut milk along with water. When it starts to boil and thicken, add remaining coconut milk (remaining 1/2 cup). When it is about to boil, take out beef stew from stove (don't boil). Garnish with coriander leaves and mint leaves.

Serve with fresh white appams and bread.

Enjoy next day with puttu/steam cakes!!!

Sending this to Divya Pramil's event - 60 days to Christmas

Mamma's Curried Steak

If marriage happens between two families, then I can very well say that I got married to a family of meat lovers. Me ..... being born and brought up in Cochin, it was definitely easy to gel with them. Anglo-Indian households have a distinctive character of its own. They are one big merry making lot who love to eat, eat and eat. Most of the dishes cooked in their kitchens resembled or were almost the same, which my Mom used to make. But definitely not this one, this certainly has got an Anglo touch to it.

The recipe is from the Iron lady of the house, whom we lovingly call Mamma (my hubby’s granny). She has a unique character of her own, always seen hale and hearty, running around the house, and doing her chores. No wonder she brought up 12 children all alone. The dish we are talking about is Iron lady’s signature dish and familiar to the members of family as Mumma’s beef curry.

Immediately our marriage, we spend some days with her. On one of the days, Mumma prepared this curry for us all by herself. How wonderful is that! and Wow much to my surprise, it was steak in curried form. Felt like eating out at a steakhouse with a Kerala twist to it. Was purely a treat for me and fell in love with it for the first time. Love you Mumma.

The dish was very inviting showing the Anglo-indian side of them so evident. There is one more unique recipe which is famous in the family and that comes from Papa (hubby’s grandpa). It is really a tough competiton for Mamma’s beef curry. Papa’s beef curry is too simple yet it tastes scrumptious. Can I say simplicity at its best …..oh, yeah, it is. I will be posting it soon.

Cheers to Mumma.

Ingredients
Beef - 1 kg (Ask the butcher for steak, you can cut and flatten them later to your desired sizes)
Shallots - 2 handfuls
Onion - 2 medium
Garlic - 1 floret
Ginger - 4 inch piece
Green chillies - 3
Curry leaves - 4 sprigs 
Pepper powder - 2 tbsp
Fennel powder - 1 1/2 tbsp
Garam masala - 1 tbsp
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp

Directions
1. Wash and clean the beef and let it sit for sometime so that all the water goes off. Pound beef pieces one by one with a knife horizontally and vertically to get flattened beef steaks. 

2. Slice the onions. Chop ginger and garlic. Using a pestle and mortar, pound the shallots, half of the ginger chopped, half of the garlic chopped. Now add pepper powder, fennel powder, garam masala, and turmeric powder to this and pound them again. 

3. Keep the other half of ginger and garlic for later use. 

4. Heat oil in a cooker, saute onion, reserved ginger and garlic. When it is sauteed well, remove it and keep it aside in a plate. 

5. Now saute the already pound shallots, ginger, garlic, pepper powder, fennel powder, garam masala, and turmeric powder. When they are sauteed well, add the flattened beef pieces and reserved things from #4.

6. Mix well and pressure cook till two whistles. Mummas curried steak pairs equally with rice, chapathi, idiappam, or tapioca. 

Enjoy! 

When you strike beef horizontally and vertically, the steak will become like the one shown in the picture above.