Lemon Pickle | Instant Lemon Pickle | Boiled Lemon Pickle | Elumichai Urugai | Instant Naranga Achar

I know many of you are not fan of lemon pickle. Even I am not. But the hubby devours this pickle. That is why I make this at least once a year. It is very simple and easy to make. Just make sure that you do not boil the lemons for a long time. Else it will start oozing out all juice and the pickle tends to become very sour. You need to boil just enough to make them soft so that the flavours sink in nicely :) And as far as possible do not use a plastic container to store the pickles. It tends to get spoilt very fast. So let's now see how to make this easy to make, instant lemon pickle, shall we?

Preparation Time : 15 minutes

Cooking Time : 10 minutes

Recipe source : Ma

Makes : A 300 gm bottle 

I Used:

Lemon	-	Around 10-12 normal sized ones
Salt	-	As Needed
Gingelly Oil	-	¼ Cup
Mustard	-	1 tsp
Asafoetida	-	2 tsp
Red Chilly Powder	-	1 tbsp
Turmeric Powder	-	½ tsp
Mustard	-	2 tsp
Fenugreek	-	2 tsp
Mustard-Fenugreek powder	-	½ tbsp

The Way:

1. In a pan dry roast the mustard seeds and fenugreek seeds for 4-5 minutes on low flame. Take care not to burn them. It starts giving a nice aroma and also the mustard will start spluttering. Then off the flame. Allow it to cool and powder them in a clean and dry mixer jar. You can grind this powder in bulk and use it for all of your pickles

2. Rinse the lemons nicely in water. Then pat it dry using a kitchen towel. Then cut the lemons into 4 pieces. Then take the cut pieces in a pan. Add required salt and give a mix. Then boil them in medium flame for 3-4 minutes till they become soft. Then switch off the flame

3. Take a pan and heat the gingelly oil (nallennai). Now reduce the flame. Splutter the mustard seeds

4. Then add asaoetida, don't go stingy here :) Add it liberally

5. Now add red chilly powder, turmeric powder and saute for a minute

6. Pour this tadka on to the boiled lemon pieces

7. Give a nice mix and then add the pickle powder - mustard and fenugreek powder and give a nice stir. Pickle is ready 

8. Store the pickle in a clean, dry, glass container. You should be able to see oil floating on the top of the container else chances of the pickle getting spoilt are very high. Leave in a clean place for a day or two for the flavours to soak in and then refrigerate it

Notes:

• Do not boil the lemon for a long time. It will ooze out all the juice and the pickle will become very sour. Just to make them a little soft is fine
• Store in a clean and dry glass container for longer shelf life
• Refrigerate if possible after a day of making the pickle for longer life
• Always use a clean dry spoon to take the pickle from the bottle
• Allow a layer of oil on top of the container for longer life and it prevents from mold formation on top of the pickle

Cheers,
Chitz

Ambur Mutton Biryani | Ambur Biryani | Easy Mutton Biriyani

So without much delay, let me wish all you wonderful friends & readers 'A Happy & Prosperous New Year'. How did the new year go for you all? Hope it was a colorful and bright one :) I have yet another reason to celebrate this new year. My blog turned one this year. To be exact, day before yesterday. The blog did bring out a year of fun, learning & a new excitement for me. I do not want to bore you guys with long speeches of my enthusiasm. 

So what am I bringing you today? It is not a sweet or dessert. By now, you must be knowing that I celebrate the anniversaries & occasions with chicken & mutton rather than sweets & cakes :) This is yet another amazing biriyani recipe that has been a constant hit in our kitchen. Actually I am only the photographer for this recipe. Everytime, to be frank every Sunday, it has been Deeps who makes this at our home :) We always are on the lookout for different varieties of biriyani & the famous South Indian Ambur biriyani was on our list for a long time. Once we tried it it become quite a regular at our place. Even our guests are a huge fan of it :) So try it out, you guys will definitely fall for it !!

Ambur Biryani is one of the famous food recipes of South India which emerged during the Nawab of Arcot's regime. This was served for the army of Carnatic as it was difficult to prepare Rotis or Parathas to cater to the need of lakhs of jawans. Today, it is served in all Muslim weddings along with Chicken Kebabs & sweet dishes. Courtesy: Wikipedia

 

Recipe Source : Adapted from Here

Marination Time : 1 hour

Preparation Time : 10 minutes

Cooking Time : 40-45 minutes

I Used:

Basmati Rice - 2 ½ cups Water - 4 ½ cups (2 ½ * 1 ¾ cups) Mutton - ½ kg Onion - 3-4 nos - medium - sliced Tomato - 2 small nos - chopped Ginger-Garlic Paste - 1 tbsp Mint leaves - ½ cup - chopped Corainder leaves - ½ cup - chopped Red Chilly powder - 1 tbsp Coriander powder - 1 tbsp Turmeric powder - ½ tsp Oil - ¼ cup Ghee - ¼ cup Salt - As Needed

To Marinate:

Red Chilly powder	-	1 tbsp
Coriander powder	-	1 tbsp
Turmeric powder	-	½ tsp
Garam Masala	-	1 tbsp
Yogurt	-	½ cup
Ginger-Garlic paste	-	½ tbsp
Lemon juice	-	2 tsp

Whole Spices:

Cinnamon	-	1 inch stick
Cloves	-	2
Cardamom	-	2
Bay leaves	-	2
Star Anise	-	2

To Grind:

Cashews	-	10
Fennel Seeds	-	½ tsp
Cumin Seeds	-	¼ tsp
Green Chilly	-	2
Garlic	-	3

The Way:

Preparation:

1. Marinate mutton with the ingredients listed under 'To Marinade' for about 45-60 minutes
2. After an hour pressure cook the marinated mutton with sufficient water until done and keep aside
3. Wash and soak the rice for about 10-15 minutes
4. Add 2 tbsp of ghee in a pan & fry the soaked basmati rice for 2 minutes
5. Grind the ingredients under 'To Grind' into smooth paste and keep it aside

Cooking:

1. Heat ghee and oil in a wide bottomed pan. Add the whole spices to it and fry them in a low heat until a nice aroma comes out
2. Now add the sliced onions and fry till it becomes translucent. Add ½ tbsp of ginger & garlic paste and saute for 2-3 minutes until the raw smell goes off
3. Then add red chili powder, coriander powder and add turmeric powder. Fry well and add the chopped tomatoes along with salt and fry them for 3-4 minutes
4. Finally add the mint leaves & coriander leaves and mix it all together. Add the pressure cooked mutton and mix well 
5. Now add the ground paste and saute it for another 5 minutes in low flame
6. Then add the fried basmati rice to the gravy and water and mix well. Sprinkle some coriander leaves.
7. Taste the mix for salt and hotness. Add if required to suit your taste buds
8. Cover the pan and cook in medium fire for 15 minutes
9. After 15 minutes check if the rice is done and water has evaporated completely. Else  reduce the flame further and cook for another 5-10 minutes
10. Once the rice is done, off the flame and leave the pan in the heat of the stove till you serve

Serve with onion-cucumber raita, mint-coconut chutney & mutton gravy of your choice.

Notes:

• Rice : Water ratio of 1:1 ¾ works perfectly well for me. I use India Gate basmati rice for making this biriyani

Cheers,

Chitz

Chinese Almond Cookies - Baking Partner Challenge #13

Here comes yet another beautiful challenge from the Baking Partners. This time it's cookies from around the world & I chose to go Chinese with these beautiful Almond cookies. I have baked Ameretti cookies (Italian) before, so I was sure that this would also be acceptable to our taste buds. And as I had expected this tasted crunchy & great with the lovely almond flavor. It's very easy to make & I found the method quite similar to the Indian flat bread 'Chapathi/Roti' :) Try this out as your yummy tea time snack !

Recipe from here

Makes: 8-12 cookies

I Took: 

Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Refrigeration Time: 1 hour
Baking Time: 20-25 minutes

I Used:

All purpose flour	-	¾ cup + 1 tbsp
Butter	-	4 tbsp
Sugar	-	¼ cup
Almond paste	-	2 ½ tbsp
Baking powder	-	½ tsp
Vanila Essence	-	½ tsp
Grated lemon zest	-	1 tsp
Salt	-	¼ tsp
Egg	-	1 tbsp
Beaten egg white	-	of 1 egg
Almonds	-	8-12 no

The Way:

1. In a large bowl sift together all purpose flour, baking powder & salt together. For even mixing sift for two or three times
2. Beat the egg nicely & keep aside
3. In another wide bowl cream the butter until pale yellow. You can use an electric mixer or whisk. I used whisk
4. Add ¼ cup sugar, almond paste, lemon zest & amaretto (or vanilla essence) & mix until it is smooth & lump free
5. Now add about one third of the beaten egg and mix well. Now gradually add the flour & mix well until everything is fully incorporated. Use hands instead of whisk while incorporating flour
6. Transfer the dough into a parchment paper & refrigerate it for about an hour
7. Preheat the oven to 175 degree C in conventional mode. Adjust the rack to the lower third of the oven. Line baking sheets with parchment paper
8. Once the dough is chilled, prep your working surface with 1 tbsp of sugar. Roll the dough over the sugar and then make small balls out of it (like you do for Indian flatbread or chapathi)
9. Flatten out the balls into cookie shapes of your desired diameter & thickness using your palm. Place them two inches apart on the prepared baking sheets
10. Brush each cookie lightly with beaten egg white and press a whole or chopped almond into the center of each 
11. Bake for 15- 20 minutes or until golden brown around the edges
12. Remove the baked cookies from the oven and allow to cool  to room temperature before serving

Notes:

Almond paste is nothing but powdered almond. Grind around 15-20 almonds in a mixie to get the above mentioned almond paste

Cheers,

Chitz

Chicken Masaledar | Spicy Chicken Masala Recipe

Chicken cooked over slow fire in onion paste & Indian masala

 Looking for a simple & easy chicken recipe? Here is the one for you. No coconut, no tomato, no elaborate methods, just a curd marinated chicken slow cooked in pureed onion & the common India masalas. I made this to pair up with my Coconut Milk Rice. It tasted awesome, spicy enough for the rich rice & blended perfectly with it. This recipe is from my mom's old cookbook, the one which I talk about quite often ! Let's say that was her blog during her younger days. I enjoy cooking dishes from it coz they always turn out perfectly well for me & also it makes me nostalgic. Nostalgia part is because I used to pen down the recipes in the diary for her. See, I had a very good handwriting when I was young, so she let me write it down for her. There are almost 200 odd recipes in it & this time when I went on for vacation I xerox-ed the entire diary & took it with me ! So look out for more recipes from that diary here at my space. Let's now see how to make this tasty & spicy masala chicken..

Recipe Source: Ma's Ole Cookbook

I Took: 30 minutes + 1 hour for marination

Serves: 2-3 persons

I Used:

Chicken	-	250 gm
Onion	-	1 no - big sized - sliced
Green Chilly	-	2 no
Ginger-Garlic Paste	-	1 tbsp
Curd	-	¼ cup
Lemon Juice	-	1 tbsp
Red Chilly Powder	-	1 ½ tsp
Coriander Powder	-	2 tsp
Turmeric Powder	-	1 tsp
Garam Masala	-	1 tsp
Pepper Powder	-	½ tsp
Oil	-	2 tbsp
Salt	-	As Needed

The Way:

1. Clean & cut the chicken into pieces. Marinate the pieces with curd, lemon juice, ½ tsp turmeric powder & salt for 1 hour
2. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan. Add the sliced onions & fry till it becomes golden brown. Remove from fire. Cool & grind it to a fine paste
3. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan or wok. Add the ginger-garlic paste & crushed green chillies & fry for a while. Take care not to burn
4. Add the ground onion paste & fry for 1 minute. Now add the red chilly powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder, garam masala & pepper powder & fry well
5. When masala leaves the side of the pan, add the marinated chicken pieces & cook on slow fire till the chicken is tender 

Serve hot with chapathi/tandoori roti/jeera rice/coconut milk rice

Cheers,

Chitz

Lemon Glow Chiffon Cake - Baking Partner Challenge #12

So Baking Partners are back with a bang to celebrate it's one year anniversary of successful baking.. Yes, we have turned 1 year old. And this time there were 2 suggestions for baking the recipe of the month 'Cakes'. Humi suggested 'Medovik/Russian Honey Cake' & Saraswathy suggested 'Chiffon Cakes'. As I had an eye on baking Chiffon or Foam cakes from a long time, I chose Chiffon cake for this month's challenge. Thanks Saraswathy & Swathi for this wonderful challenge. Now let me share some facts with you that Saraswathy shared with us on Chiffon cake.

Chiffon (pronounced She-fon) cakes are a type of foam cakes and are light & soft & definitely yummy !! They contain egg yolks and whites separately whisked and folded in together with vegetable oil, all which makes them moist, soft & light.. This cake doesn't call for butter & the lower quantity of sugar gives me an extra reason to savor this low cholesterol cake;) Use of oil instead of butter aides in the airy quality of the cake & gives a longer shelf or refrigeration life. Refrigeration makes the oil in the cake soft & the cake becomes all the more tender. Deeps liked to have it chilled & directly from the fridge. He said, 'It tastes better when chilled'. Even my neighbor & friend 'P' was very happy with the cake & said it tasted awesome :D

The chiffon cake was created by Harry Baker, a Los Angeles insurance agent, in 1927.  Baker carefully guarded his secret technique for almost two decades, only selling his cakes to celebrities and the famous Brown Derby restaurant. The popularity of his cakes grew quickly, and he eventually sold the recipe to General Mills in 1947. 

I have halved the recipe here & used some substitutes for ingredients not available in this town. Refer the notes too while baking this cake, as they can help you get a perfect cake on your first attempt itself. The whisking of the egg whites is the most important part.. U get that right, consider half the work done. So lets see how to make this soft & tender cake. I have used normal buttercream icing & strawberries for serving.

Recipe Source: Adapted from The Cake Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum

Serves: An 8 inch round cake pan with a ramekin in the middle

Store: Stays fresh for 3 days in room temperature, 10 days refrigerated, 2 months frozen

 

I Took:

Preparation Time: 30 minutes

Baking Time: 50 minutes

Cooling Time: 85 minutes

I Used:

Dry Ingredients All purpose Flour - 1 cup (refer notes) Corn flour - 2 tbsp Caster Sugar - ¾ cup Salt - ¼ tsp Baking Soda - ¼ tsp Lemon Zest - ½ - 1 tbsp Wet Ingredients Canola/Sunflower Oil - ¼ cup Large Egg yolks - 1 no / 65 g Water - ⅓ cup Lemon juice - 1 tbsp Vanilla Essence - ½ tsp For Meringue Cream of Tartar - ¾ tsp (refer notes) Sugar - 1 tbsp Large Egg Whites - 3 nos
The Way:

1. In a large mixing bowl combine the dry ingredients. First work the sugar & lemon zest together with your fingertips until the sugar is grainy & very aromatic. Add the all purpose flour, corn flour (or the cake flour - refer notes), baking soda and salt to it
2. Whisk together until all the dry ingredients are incorporated. If you have a stand mixer, use the beater attachment & beat on low
3. Then make a well in the center of the ingredients and add the oil, egg yolks, lemon juice and vanilla. Mix until the batter is smooth & has no lumps. In a stand mixer, mix for about 1 minute on medium speed
4. In a second large mixing bowl, beat the egg whites until they are foamy. Add lemon juice (or cream of tartar) & beat (if on stand mixer, beat on medium speed) until they reach soft peak stage. This happens when the whisk or the beater start to leave a trail or when the peaks fall over when the whisk is raised
5. At this stage add the 1 tbsp sugar & continue to beat the egg whites until they form stiff peaks when the whisk is raised
6. Using the balloon whisk (or a slotted spoon) add ⅓ of the egg whites to the cake batter & gently stir until incorporated. Add the remaining egg whites to the cake batter and very gently fold them into the batter until they are incorporated and no trace of egg whites remain
7. Pour the batter into an ungreased tube pan and run a metal spatula or knife through the batter to prevent air pockets. If you do not have a tube pan but would like to have a similar shape, then place an oven usable ramekin in the centre of your round pan and pour the batter to the sides of the ramekin as I did
8. Preheat the oven on conventional mode at 165 degrees
9. Bake in the lower rack of the oven for 50-55 minutes (refer your oven manual too) or until the cake bounces back when lightly pressed in the center
10. Once cooked, take the cake pan & immediately turn it upside down on a bottle (or another ramekin or tumbler - whichever suits best for the pan). Allow to cool completely which took about 85 minutes for me
11. Use a palette knife and loose the sides of the cake. Pull out the sides and work similarly on the bottom. Turn it over on to a plate upside down & sprinkle with a dusting of icing sugar or a topping of your choice & serve

Notes:

• Do not grease or line or flour the cake pan. This will hinder the cake from rising up
• Always use large eggs as called for in the recipe. Do not use medium or small sized eggs
• Try to use castor sugar than normal ones 
• The recipe calls for cake flour, but since I could not get it here, I used the substitute. Take an equal amount of All purpose flour. Remove 2 tbsps of flour from it & replace it with 2 tbsps of corn flour (NOT corn meal). This works just fine
• Cream of tartar is used to stabilize the egg whites while beating up. Since I couldn't get those, I used the substitute lemon juice. Works perfectly OK
• Make sure that the bowl used to whisk egg whites are clean & grease free. Traces of grease or egg yolks will not guarantee you proper whisking of whites
• Proper & correct whisking of egg whites is essential to ensure the texture of the cake. Under or over beating can cause the cake to collapse or become too hard. Do the 'Overturn bowl test' to ensure that your whisking is the right amount. When you overturn the bowl of the whisked egg whites, it should hold & must not fall off
• Do not let the egg whites sit for long once whisked. Immediately fold it onto the cake batter as this stage of stiff peaks is short lived
• Take care while folding in the egg whites as over folding can cause the egg whites & thus the cake to deflate. Fold in gently using a whisk
• Before pouring the batter into the pan, take the bowl and hit against the kitchen counter. This will cause bubbles to rise up to the top and pop. Do not hit the pan after pouring the batter as this may cause the formation of more bubbles

Here are some links that helped me greatly. Hope you guys too find it useful !

http://allthatmatters2rei.blogspot.no/2008/07/chiffon-cake-tips-and-trouble-ii.html

http://www.ironwhisk.com/2012/07/tutorial-chiffon-cake/

http://www.ehow.com/info_8399101_chiffon-cake-tips.html

Cheers,

Chitz

Wanna see what the others in the Baking Partners group baked?? 

Chettinadu Kozhi Kulambu

Chicken cooked in Chettinadu Style with shallot & tomato paste & freshly ground coconut masala

If there is one ingredient with which I would cook anytime without getting bored then that would be chicken. And every time I like to try on a new type or variety. And mostly only when there are guests, would I make an already tried & tested version. Just to be on the safer side u know..  

There are some other great chicken recipes, passed down from my mom, which I thought would make it to this place before this one. But somehow this one made it first. This is an extremely flavorful desi style chicken curry. The pre-process involved is a little bit of effort. But believe me, once the dish is done, you will feel every second of the work that you put in was very worth it :) And serve it with some hot idiyappam or idly or dosa or steamed rice, you will experience some unseparable combos. Last but not least, I would not suggest this with any biriyani or other elaborate one pot meal.. So go, make some and have fun eating !!

Recipe Source: Sanjeev Kapoor

Serves: 4 persons

I Took:

Preparation Time: 30-40 minutes

Cooking Time: 20-30 minutes

I Used:

Chicken	-	500 gms
Yogurt	-	2 tbsp
Turmeric powder	-	1 tsp
Ginger-garlic paste	-	2 tsp
Grated coconut	-	3 tbsp
Poppy Seeds / Khus khus	-	1 tbsp
Green Chilly	-	1 no
Fennel Seeds	-	1 tbsp
Shallots	-	20 - 25 nos
Tomato	-	2 nos
Garlic	-	4-5 cloves
Red chilli powder	-	1 tbsp
Coriander powder	-	2 tbsp
Curry leaves	-	1 sprig
Mint	-	2-3 sprigs
Bay Leaf	-	1
Cinnamon	-	1 inch stick
Cloves	-	2
Cardamoms	-	2
Lemon juice	-	2 tsp
Oil	-	3 tbsp
Salt	-	As Needed

The Way:

Prep Part

1. Marinate the cleaned chicken pieces (cut into medium sized pieces) with yogurt, ¼ tsp turmeric powder & ginger-garlic paste. Refrigerate the marinated chicken for 15-30 minutes
2. Grind together coconut, poppy seeds, green chilli and fennel seeds to a fine paste
3. Grind the shallots to a fine paste
4. Grind the tomatoes and keep the puree aside
5. Crush the garlic
6. Mix red chilly powder, coriander powder and the remaining turmeric powder with ¼  cup of water to make a smooth paste

Cooking Part

1. Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan. Add bay leaf, cinnamon, cardamoms and cloves and saute
2. When the aroma of the spices start coming, add the crushed garlic & shallot paste 
3. Saute well on medium heat till the shallots turn golden in color
4. Add the powder paste (Step 6 of prep part) and saute till the raw smell goes off
5. Dash in the curry leaves & mint leaves and mix well
6. Now add the coconut paste and saute for another 2-3 minutes
7. Mix in the tomato puree and saute for 2-3 minutes
8. Now add the marinated chicken and salt and combine well
9. Add the required amount of water (around 1.5 - 2 cups) and cover the pan and allow the chicken to cook. Note that the chicken would release some water, hence adjust the quantity of water that you add accordingly
10. Allow 10-15 minutes of cooking depending on the chicken, for it to be well cooked
11. Sprinkle the lemon juice over top & serve hot

Cheers,

Chitz