Strawberry cinnamon overnight oats

This is a protein packed easy breakfast. It has chia seeds and Greek yogurt to give you the protein boost for the day!

 

Ingredients:

1. Rolled oats - 1 cup
2. Low fat milk - 1 cup
3. Chia seeds - 1tbs
4. Cinnamon powder - 1/2 tsp
5. Vanilla extract - 1/2 tsp
6. Brown sugar - 1tsp (optional)
7. Greek yogurt - 2 tbs
8. Strawberry slices - 2 strawberry

Method:

1. Mix all ingredients in a mason jar (any tightly closed jar) and keep it in fridge overnight.

Use the overnight oats next day morning!

Beets n Dates Pickle

Beets n Dates pickle is a sweet savoury Kerala style pickle . It has beetroot, dates and raisins as the main ingredients. It goes very well with Biryani or ghee rice.

Ingredients:

1. Beetroot - 1 medium
2. Dates, deseeded - 12-15
3. Vinegar - 3/4 cup
4. Raisins - 10-12
5. Mustard seeds crushed - 1 tsp
6. Ginger, chopeed - 1 tsp
7. Garlic chopped  - 1 tsp
8. Green chilli chopped - 1
9. Curry leaves - few
10. Turmeric powder - 1/4tsp
11. Chilli powder - 1.5 - 2 tsp
12. Oil - 2 tbs
13. Brown sugar - 1 tsp
14. Salt to taste

Method:

1. Cut beetroot and cook well in minimum water
2. Blend cooked beetroot with vinegar and dates in a blender. Add water if needed,  to get pasty consistency. Small pieces of dates is fine too.
3. Heat oil in a pan
4. Sauté crushed mustard for less than a minute.
5. Add ginger, garlic and green chilli and sauté for 1-2 minutes
6. Add turmeric and chilli powder and raisins
7. Once Raisins are bulged, add beetroot paste to it and cook for 3 more minutes
8. Sprinkle some salt, as per your taste.

Beetroot dates pickle is ready. Store it in an air tight container in fridge.
Use it after a day.

Brownie

Satisfy the chocolate lover in you with this fudgy brownies with crusted top!

Ingredients

1. All purpose flour - 3/4 cup
2. Eggs - 3
3. Butter - 1/2 cup
4. Cocoa powder - 2 tbs
5. Salt - a pinch
6. Dark baking chocolate - 150g
7. Vanilla extract - 1 tsp
8. Instant coffee powder - 1/2 tsp
9. Chopped nuts/ chocolate chips - 1 cup (optional)

Method 

1. Preheat oven to 175 deg Celsius 
2. Prepare a baking tray with butter paper in it, size can be 30 cm x 15 cm or similar
3. Melt butter and chocolate in a double boiler or microwave, stirring in between
4. Once the chocolate mixture is smooth, and back to room temperature, add cocoa powder, coffee powder, sugar and mix well
5. Add one egg at a time and beat after each addition
6. Add vanila extract and mix it
7. Now, add flour and mix well
8. Add nuts or chocolate chip and stir minimum to mix it
9. Pour into prepared tray and bake for 30 min( tooth pick inserted for checking the cake will not come out too clean, but don't over bake )

Note

• All mixing is done with spatula or whisk manually
• The brownie can be prepared with milk chocolate or dark chocolate. It tastes equally good!!!

Baked Apples

Recipe on the way!!!

Malabar Chicken Dum Biryani

 

 

 

First of all let me thank Suja chechi, my cousin for sharing this recipe with me.

Let us directly move to the recipe now :)

 

Ingredients 

For rice

1. Kyma/Katori rice - 2.5 cups
2. Oil/ghee - 2 tbs
3. Cinnamon stick - small
4. Cardamon - 3
5. Star anise - 1
6. Cloves - 4
7. Bay leaf - 1
8. Salt to taste

For paste

1. Green chilli - 2
2. Garlic cloves - 4
3. Ginger - 1 inch piece
4. Yogurt - 1 tbs
5. Fennel seeds( perunjeerakam) - 1.5 tsp
6. Cumin seeds( jeerakam) - 1/2 tsp
7. Black pepper - 6
8. Cloves - 4
9. Cardamon - 1
10. Cinnamon -  small piece
11. Turmeric - 1/4 tsp

For chicken

1. Chicken pieces  - 1/2 kg
2. Onion sliced - 2 medium
3. Tomato cut - 2 medium
4. Salt to taste
5. Coriander leaves chopped - 2 tbs
6. Mint leaves chopped - 1 tbs
7. Lime juice - 1 lime

For garnish

1. Onion thin slices - 1/2 onion
2. Cashewnut split - 10-12
3. Raisins - 8-10
4. Coriander leaves chopped - 2 tbs
5. Ghee/ clarified butter - 2 tbs
6. Milk - 1/2 cup
7. Saffron - a pinch
8. Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Preparation

For chicken masala:

1. Make a paste using the ingredients from "For paste" list 
2. Clean chicken pieces and marinate using the above paste, salt and mix with onion slices and tomato
3. In a heavy bottomed vessel, add the chicken mixture and a cup of water to cook chicken well
4. When chicken is almost cooked add coriander leaves/minleaves and lime juice
5. Once chicken is cooked well and gravy is thick, switch off the flame for chicken. 

 

For Rice

1. Wash and clean rice
2. In pressure cooker or any other pot, heat ghee mentioned under "For rice"
3. Add everything except rice from "For rice" ingredients and stir.
4. Add rice and stir for a minute more and add 5 cups of water and salt to taste
5. Cook rice well.( If in pressure cooker 5 minutes in medium flame should be enough. Open the cooker only after full pressure is gone)
6. Once rice is cooked, fluff it using a fork so that the rice doesn't stick to each other

 

For garnish

 

1. Heat ghee in a pan
2. Add onion and fry till it is crisp and take it from ghee and keep it aside
3. Fry cashews to golden brown and raisins till they bulge  in ghee and keep aside. 
4. Mix turmeric and saffron in hot milk

 

Layering

1. Take an oven safe dish (if using oven) or a heavy bottom vessel with tight lid
2. Layer half of the chicken masala in it. 
3. Top with half of the cooked rice
4. Now add half of the fried garnish mix
5. Again layer the remaining chicken, rice and fried garnish 
6. Top with coriander leaves
7. And pour the turmeric saffron milk on the top
8. Close the lid and bake for 20 min
9. If not baking, heat a heavy metal griddle and keep biryani vessel with lid on , on top of the griddle for 20 minutes. 

 

The order I followed for the above is

1. Marinate chicken
2. Cook rice
3. While rice is cooking fry garnish items
4. Fluff the rice
5. Cook chicken
6. Make turmeric saffron milk 
7. Layer and bake

Malabar chicken dum biryani is ready to be served with salad, pickle and pappadam and sulaimani at the end :)