Baked Sesame Chicken Wings

I do have the habit of omitting certain words or sentences when I read up on something. Be it book, article or a recipe, which is probably why I finish reading quite fast. Pick up a book and if it really interests me - I could finish it in under a day but then, there is a catch to it - in my hurry to reach the fag bottom of the book - I miss names of certain characters, places and trust me at times even events that unfold. As the book progresses, if a reference is made to the part I unknowingly omitted (God forbid that happen), I am at total loss. 

Now, my husband knows why I finish reading books in half the time he takes!

I wouldn't say this is a great habit of mine because as the saying goes Half knowledge is dangerous. I have got into my own trouble with this. That set aside, when it comes to reading recipes I have had my good days and bad days. Good ones are when despite not following the recipe word by word - I end up with a recipe I created and the taste delights and the tragic ones which no where bears resemblance to the original recipe or the image that I had in mind.

This is one recipe that has been adapted and re-adapted over a period of time and now I call it mine. 

Here it goes for you - 

Ingredients

(serves 4)

For baking

1. Chicken wings - 800 gms 
2. Chilly powder - 2 tbsp
3. Pepper powder - 1/2 tbp
4. Olive oil - 1 tbsp
5. Garlic cloves - 6 whole crushed

For Sauce

1. Garlic cloves - 6-7 chopped
2. Olive oil - 1 tbsp
3. Soya sauce - 3 tbsp
4. White sesame seeds - 2 tsp
5. Coriander leaves - 1 bunch finely chopped
6. Honey - 2 tbsp
7. Salt to taste

Method

• Clean the frozen chicken wings thoroughly and set aside to drain off any excess water.
• Prepare the marinade by mixing together the chilly powder, pepper powder, salt and olive oil.
• Marinate the chicken and let it rest for an hour. Meanwhile pre - heat the oven at 180 degree centigrade for 15 minutes.
• Transfer the wings onto a baking tray and randomly toss in the crushed garlic cloves  and bake it at 180 degree for first 35 minutes and rest 10 minutes at 200 degree centigrade for a crispier outside.
• Remove from the oven and keep the tray covered with aluminium foil for 15 minutes.
• Dry roast the sesame seeds and set aside.
• In a pan, heat the oil and saute the garlic until cooked. Pour in the soya sauce and turn off the flame. Add the honey and mix this sauce well.
• Add the baked wings along with the juice oozed out on baking to the pan and coat the wings well with the sauce.
• For the final touches, add the roasted sesame seeds and finely chopped corriander leaves.

You may also note -

1. The oven timings and temperature are apt for the one I use, you may need to manipulate it as per your oven settings. Just cut open a piece and check if it has been cooked to the bone.
2. You need not add in the entire juice of the chicken into the sauce - only as much required for the sauce to form a good coating

Kala Chana Sundal/ Black Chickpea Sundal

Often happiness comes in small packets and learning to live in these small packets makes the complex system called life all the more meaningful. Not that I live to dot as per the philosophy I just quoted above but I do try and do want to. The same is applies to food as well - its not just elaborate buffet meals that satisfy your souls, it could be quick fixes like the recipe for today that brightens the soul. I do not mean to dampen the spirits - I know buffets can be more than soul satisfying for the foodie in us but a serene evening in the company of simple food can just do as well when hunger pangs are not too ardent.

Another beginners recipe - Kala Chana Sundal with minimum ingredients and that can be snack in itself or a side dish. Hoping on to the recipe.

Ingredients

(Serves - 2)

1. Black Chickpea - 1 cup boiled
2. Onion - 1 medium finely chopped
3. Coconut grated - 3 tbsp heaped
4. Coriander leaves - chopped
5. Chilly powder - 1 tsp
6. Oil
7. Salt to taste

Method

• Soak black chickpeas in water for at least 8 hours/overnight and pressure cook it up to 6 whistles. Drain off excess water and set aside the chickpeas.
• Heat oil in a skillet and add the finely chopped onions. Saute for two minutes until cooked and add the chopped coriander leaves. 
• Add chilly powder and saute till the masala is done. Add the coconut and saute till there is no trace of moisture content. This may take about 3 - 4 minutes on medium flame
• Tip in your chickpeas. Bind it well and cook it covered for a maximum of 5 minutes on low flame.

There you go - Kala Chana Sundal is ready. You could have it as a snack or goes well with rotis as well.

Vellarikka Pulissery/ Vellarikka Moru Curry

Talk of comfort food for Malayalis from that part of Kerala I belong to - Rice and moru curry will top the list. It is quick and brings out the Malayalee'ness'( I am sure no word exists as such in us but I just found it cute). We generally call it moru curry and only recently did I realise that pulissery is also the very same. 

A quick win for any lunch is making moru curry without any vegetables added. To bring out the dimensions, we do add cucumber, mango, pineapple or pumpkin. Similarly, you also have a choice of making it with the addition of coconut. The recipe I have put up is without coconut because we like it this way and generally most of the sadhya items do have coconut flavor, so why not keep it away from moru curry?

For the people who have not heard about this curry - it is nothing but tempered yogurt based curry.

So here is your recipe - 

Ingredients

(serves - 6 on an average)

1. Yogurt - 2 cups
2. Water - 1 cup + addittional for cooking the vellarikka
3. Vellarikka/ cucumber - 1/2 kg cubed
4. Green Chilly - 3 slit
5. Salt to taste

For tempering

1. Shallots - 3 tbsp chopped
2. Red Chilly - 2 sliced in half
3. Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp
4. Fenugreek seeds - 2 pinches
5. Curry Leaf - 2 sprigs
6. Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
7. Coconut oil

Method

Cook the cucumber/vellarikka and slit green chilly with water just enough to immerse the cucumbers. The cucumber turns slightly transparent once cooked. Ensure that very little of the water is left once it is cooked.

In a separate bowl, take the yogurt along with a cup of water and beat to combine well avoiding any lumps. Add the desired amount of salt at this stage.

Heat oil in a skillet and add the mustard seeds. Once it splutters, toss in the fenugreek seeds and curry leaves. Add the shallots, red chilly and cook till the shallots are done. Add in the turmeric powder and saute till the raw smell is no longer there. Reduce the heat and pour in the yogurt. Use a ladle to stir. Do not boil it - just stir for a minute or two on low flame and switch this off.

Pour this into the already cooked cucumber and heat it again on low flame for another 1 minute till combined. Adjust the salt at this stage.

Your pulissery/moru curry is ready to be served.

You may also note - 

1. Boiling the yogurt base will result in it curdling and may not be suitable for consumption.
2. The trick to know if your moru curry is done - lift the empty ladle and see if there are vapors coming out of the ladle. If yes, switch off the flame immediately.
3. If you are looking at making the curry without vellarikka - it is right on top in the third paragraph under Method.

Wishing you all a blessed Onam.

Nenthra Pazham Ari Pradhaman

Time is flying by quite fast. Feels like it was yesterday that we celebrated the last Onam. Onam brings with it a lot of cheer and freshness. The pookalam and the traditional attire is a delight to the eye  and the soul satisfying sadya for your palettes. Both of us are bought up outside Kerala and are not used to varied flavors of payasam or pradhaman. The safe bet has always been the semiya payasam, ari payasam, paripu payasam and palada pradhaman. And this year, it was time to try out something we hadn't tried earlier.

While sticking onto the traditional recipe, we have incorporated ari/rice as well ghee fried nenthra pazham chunks as well into the nenthra pazham ari pradhaman that we tried out.

Wishing you all a blessed Onam season. Meanwhile here is our recipe.

Ingredients

(Serves - 6)

1. Nenthra Pazham/Kerala banana - 3 medium
2. Jaggery - 100gm
3. Coconut Milk - thick extract - 1 cup
4. Coconut Milk - medium extract - 2 cups
5. Water - 1 cup
6. Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp
7. Sona masoori rice - 1/4 cup
8. Ghee - 3 tbps
9. Cashew nuts
10. Raisins

Method

• Cut 2 of the plantain into three pieces each and steam them. Once done, set aside to cool. Pulse the steamed plantain to form a paste. 
• Half cook the rice in water and drain it.
• In a deep bottom vessel, bring 1 cup water to boil and add the jaggery. Let the jaggery melt. Strain it to remove impurities if any.
• Transfer the strained syrup back to stove and add in the mashed plantain. Stir well to combine.
• Pour in the medium coconut milk extract and bring it to boil. Reduce the flame and add the half cooked rice along with the cardamom powder. Stir well to prevent it from sticking to the bottom.
• Once the rice is cooked, pour in the thick milk extract, Bring it to boil and reduce the flame. Let it simmer for 2-3 minutes before you switch off.
• In a separate skillet, add ghee and fry the cashew nuts till golden brown and raisins till puffed up. Add this to the pradhaman.
• Cut 1 plantain into small chunks and stir fry them in ghee till the color just begins to change to brown. Pour this into the pradhaman along with the remaining ghee and give it a good stir.
• Serve it hot or cold as suiting your palette.

You may also note - 

1. In case your mashed plantain does not combine well with the jaggery syrup due to lumps, just pass it through a sieve and it will mix well.
2. I have not specified the amount of cashews and raisins that you may use since you could alter it as per your likes.

Orange Iced Tea

Seems like we are past the peak of the summers.The weather still varies between hot/ dry and hot/humid and I hate the later of the two. Such days requires an extra boost of energy to keep you pumped up. On one such day, we walked into a café – Papa Roti and the Passion Fruit Iced Tea was the much needed refreshing punch we got.

Ever since, I have wanted to try this at home. The only Iced Tea I had tried earlier was the one marketed by Lipton and I stopped having it the moment I learnt about the sugar content that goes into it.

Orange and Lemon with a dash of mint seemed to be the perfect combo for the refreshing Iced Tea and there it was decided.

So here is my recipe for the summers.


Ingredients
(Serves – 4)

1. Water – 3 and ½ cups
2. Tea bags/ tea leaves – 3 bags/ 3 tsp
3. Fresh mint leaves – a handful
4. Orange Juice – ½ cup
5. Lemon juice – 2 tbsp
6. Honey/Sugar – 6 tbsp/ 3 tbsp
7. Ice cubes

Method:

Boil 3 cups of water and add the tea bag or tea leaves. Set aside covered for 3 minutes before removing the tea bags or straining the tea leaves. Let it cool for 15 minutes.

Mix the lemon juice along with orange, the remaining water and honey in a jug. Transfer the tea when cooled into the jug. Stir in well.

Lightly crush the mint leaves with your hands and toss into the jar. Leave it to chill in your refrigerator for about an hour. Serve it with ice cubes which adds to the final boost.

You may also note –

1. Iced Tea retains the freshness up to a day when stored in a refrigerator.
2. You may choose to strain the iced tea or serve along with the orange pulp and the mint leaves as is.
3. You may choose to replace honey with sugar.

Green gram Cooler

I can imagine the reaction of most of you when you hear the name of this cooler. I was witness to a similar reaction from my husband and cousin. I never attempted this cooler before although I was fully aware that something like this did exist. This one is very refreshing and provides the cooling effect you need most in the scorching Dubai summers. 

My love affair with this cooler dates back to my camping days in college. We had a mandatory 10 days camp every year where the first half of the day was spent in Sramadan - were we dug up and leveled grounds or dug up drainage around the local school areas. We started off at sunrise breaking for breakfast once and then again for juice at 11 am before we winding up at 1:00 pm. One amongst the hot favorite for the juice break was definitely the green gram cooler - which gave us much needed energy and enthusiasm to work harder.

In the ancient times, it was made using the traditional stone mortar and pestle, adding ingredient by ingredient, scooping out the juice and adding water to reach the desired consistency. 

Takes more time but the results are much more better than the one using the juicer.

Stop wondering if a cooler like this exist and take a look at the recipe below - 

Ingredients

(serves - 6)

1. Green gram - 1 cup
2. Jaggery - 1/2 cup grated (alter as per your preference)
3. Coconut - 3 tbsp heaped
4. Green Cardamom - 5

Method

• Dry roast the green gram on medium flame for 5 minutes to remove the raw taste. Soak this in water for 1 hour.
• Clean and drain excess water. Blend this to a paste along with the cardamom and 1 cup of water to a smooth paste.
• Add the coconut and jaggery and blitz it once again till combined.
• Now add the remaining water and mix it well. Sieve it to get rid of bigger particles.
• Chill for an hour and serve.

You may also note -

1. Be careful while roasting the green gram - do not burn it.
2. You may refrigerate it, stays good for 4 - 5 days.

Peanut Chutney

Last week I came across this article on my favorite self-help blog - Tiny Buddha on how as adults we get so engrossed in the race of life that things that once sounded beautiful to us no longer evokes us in the same feelings. So, I guess it is time to step back unlearn this way of life and bring in a change that makes life more beautiful. I keep saying I am a person who finds happiness in every small thing in life. But do I really? May be not! Yet, it is never too late. So I have pulled up my socks and have begun viewing life differently and enjoying the tidbits that comprises life.

And you know what! Life does seem more beautiful since the past three days incorporating just the below - 

1. Letting bygones be bygones.
2. Every single thing in your life has a reason! So live it up to brim.
3. Tomorrow has to come anyway, so quit worrying about it now!

Having said this - here is my recipe for the week Peanut Chutney straight out of my aunt's recipes! She always has this chutney bottled up and needless to say I always love eating spoonfuls right out of the bottle. It is perfect for week day breakfasts. Idli/Dosa and peanut chutney just perfect for tiffin boxes!

Here is the recipe - 

Ingredients

1. Peanuts - 1 kg
2. Garlic - 200 gm
3. Curry Leaf - 1 sprig
4. Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
5. Asafoetida powder - 1/4 tsp
6. Chilly powder - 1 tbsp heaped
7. Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
8. Fenugreek seeds - 1/4 tsp
9. Oil - 1 tbsp
10. salt - to taste

Method

• Dry roast the peanuts until cooked and set aside. You could peel the peanuts if you want to or it works well if you did not peel it as well.
• Heat oil in a Kadai, add the mustard seeds and let it splutter.
• Add the fenugreek seeds, chopped garlic and the curry leaves. Saute till the raw smell goes.
• Sprinkle the asafoetida, chilly and turmeric powder and cook the masala. Toss in the groundnut and mix well.
• Let this cool and add the required salt.
• Grind the contents together till it coarsely done. I love to bite into bits of peanuts hence the coarse texture. You may grind it to fine powder as well.
• Can be stored in a dry container for more than a month.

You may also note - 

• DO NOT grind it for a long time as you may end up having peanut butter chutney:)
• Increase the spice level to your taste.