Nadan Chicken Cutlet – Kerala style Chicken Croquettes

 

Hello my Dear Wonderful People!

How are you all doing? Happy Valentines day! A day for love, a day to be loved and a day for love to be loved! Yup.. Its one whole day when we get to show our special people that they matter to us. And unlike many people, I absolutely love the idea of having this day. No it doesn’t not mean that we can’t show love on other days, and if you see it like that then I feel sorry for you. If you giving me another chance to show you how much you mean to me and you make it mandatory on the 14th of every Feb then I am taking it! Cause you know what? no matter how hard I try, some days, I forget to tell you how much you mean to me. Somedays I try but I might not be able to get to you cause you were having a bad day. But today I am going to take that day. Also maybe 20 years from now, this day might not mean as much as it does today but so what? Today is what matters right?

So on this special day, I decided to make my husband his favourite deep fried snack. These cutlets. I do not make them often, infact the last time I made them was close to a year ago. Simply cause they are deep fried and they involve quite a few steps. But once you make them, you could make a large batch and freeze them and use them as and when you want. That is what I did this time 🙂 This recipe is from my grandmother and her cutlets are out of this world. These little bites of heaven are perfect for a evening snack or a great side for dinner time. There are many variations to these cutlets, some people add cashews to the meat and some others fry the meat and add rice flour. My recipe is quite straightforward. Boil / cook each part of the recipe. Combine , dip , coat and fry! FINISH!

 

Ingredients :-

1. Chicken – 500 gms ( boneless)
2. Potatoes – 4 large
3. Onions – 3 cups ( chopped fine )
4. Green Chillies – 10 ( adjust to taste)
5. Ginger – 4 inch knob
6. Garlic – 14 cloves
7. Turmeric Powder – 2 tsp + 1 tsp
8. Coriander Powder – 4 tsp + 1 tsp
9. Garam Masala Powder – 3 tsp
10. Pepper Powder – 2 tsp
11. Fresh Coriander Leaves – 1 cup ( chopped)
12. Mint leaves – 1 cup (chopped)
13. Salt – 1 tsp + 2 tsp + 1 tsp ( adjust to taste)
14. Oil – 2 tbsp + more for deep frying
15. Eggs – 2 ( beaten )
16. Bread Crumbs – 1 cup ( more according to shape of cutlet)

Instructions :-

1. Peel potatoes and boil till soft. Set aside
2. In a pressure cooker add the chicken pieces. Then add 1 tsp turmeric powder + pepper powder (2 tsp) + Coriander powder 1 tsp + 1 tsp salt. Pressure cook the chicken for 3 whistles. ( If you do not have a cooker, just use a pot and boil the chicken till cooked well.)
3. Once the chicken is cooked, open the cooker and look for water. If there is excess water, cook the chicken on high flame till all the water has evaporated. Same for when cooking in a pot. Once all the water has evaporated, set aside to cool down
4. Then in a blender, blend the chicken to form a coarse paste. Make sure not to grind it too much. You want some chucks of chicken to remain
5. In a large flat bottom pot, add 2 tbsp of oil. Once the oil is hot. add the onions and fry till golden brown. During this time in a mortar and pestle add the ginger + garlic and green chillies. Crush to form a nice coarse paste
6. Add the ginger paste to the onions and fry till the garlic looses its raw smell
7. Then add the rest of the turmeric powder + coriander powder + garam masala powder. Give it a good mix and fry till the masala has cooked well into the onion mixture
8. Set aside to cool. During this time lets get our assembly line ready 🙂
9. In one plate add the boiled potatoes + the onions spice mixture. Add the fresh mint and coriander
10. Mix with your hand to evenly distribute all the ingredients. Then add the ground chicken
11. after you have mixed the chicken with the rest of the spiced potato mixture, make small patties of equal size and set on a large cookie sheet or plate
12. Now with one hand dunk the patties into the light beaten egg mixture and then into the bread crumbs to coat evenly
13. Set aside in a large plate ready for frying!
14. In a large wok or Khadai, heat oil
15. Once the oil is hot ( on medium heat) fry the patties till golden brown
16. Reserve on kitchen paper to drain excess oil
17. Serve right away with ketchup!

Advertisement

Green Masala Prawn Biriyani – ( Spicy Green Masala Base )

 

Hello My dear wonderful readers!

How are you all doing today? I am back with a simple prawn biriyani that is very different in flavour compared to my other biriyani recipes. I do have two other biriyani recipes such as the

Prawn Biriyani and Thalassery Biriyani

Compared to those two this recipe is super easy. Unlike many other kinds of biriyani, this recipe does not use the layering technique. Its mostly a one pot dish and since prawn cooks faster compared to other kinds of meat, this one is a keeper.

The green colour this dish has is from the rich green paste that is made from grinding coriander and mint leaves. The dish can be as spicy as you like. All you have to do is adjust the heat by adding as many green chilies as you may want.

For health reasons, I have used coconut oil in my recipe but you could use ghee / clarified butter for a richer more fragrant dish. Along with a cooling raita and some cut cucumbers, this biriyani is your perfect weekend lunch. If there are left overs, maybe dinner too 🙂 . I usually make a big batch cause then two or some times three meals are sorted!! and no my boys love biriyani and they do not get tired of it. LOL .

Speaking of the boys, the little one is doing much better and every day he picks up a new word and yesterdays word was “Actually”. So he goes “Amma Actually car stuckada ” – Its only after he says these words do I go back and recollect why and when I used those words. It is so funny. Some times the words are in the wrong places and those instances are so so funny. In fact there was this advertisement in the newspaper that had a family, father, mother, sister and brother, sitting together and smiling. So I asked him what he was doing and he replied, “That’s a famileeee ” . I was quiet impressed. So I asked him where is his family and he turned and pointed at the door 😦 That’s when I realized his family i.e., his grandpa and grandma and cousins who were here for the holidays. Well he continued reading the newspaper and he did not say a word about it again.

So now lets get back to the food!!

Ingredients :-

1. Rice – 3 cup ( i used basmati rice )
2. Bay Leaf – 2
3. Cloves – 4
4. Cinnamon – 2 inch stick
5. Cardamom – 5 ( bruised with the back of a spoon)
6. Pepper Corns – 1 tbsp
7. Cumin Seeds – 1 tsp
8. Mint Leaves – 1 cups (packed tightly)
9. Green Chillies – 6 large (adjust to taste)
10. Coriander Leaves – 2 cups (packed tighlty)
11. Ginger – 1 large knob (size of a lime)
12. Garlic – 10 medium size cloves
13. Coconut oil / Ghee – 2 tbsp
14. Prawns – 500 gms ( deveined and cleaned)
15.  Salt to taste
16. Turmeric Powder – 1 tsp
17. Coriander Powder – 2 tsp
18. Garam Masala Powder – 2 heap tsp
19. Water – 5 cups
20. Onions – 2 cups (sliced)
21. Tomato – 1 cup

Instructions :-

1. Wash and soak rice in water for 15 mins
2. During that time in the bowl of your blender add mint leaves + coriander leaves + green chillies + ginger + garlic + cumin seeds and a little water. Blend to form a nice green paste. Make sure that the ginger grinds well and forms a nice thick paste
3. Now in a large heavy bottom pot, heat the oil. Keep the flame on a medium
4. When the oil is hot, add the bay leaves, cloves, cinnamon, pepper and cardamom.
5. Once they begin to release a nice aroma, add the onions and saute till light golden brown
6. Then add the tomatoes. Next add the spice powders, turmeric powder, coriander powder, garam masala powder and give it a good mix
7. Let the mixture cook for 3 mins
8. Then add the green mixture to the pot and cook till you see oil separating from the sides of the masala
9. Now its time to add the prawns. Turn the heat up and cook for 1 min
10. Then add the rice and water. Mix the rice well with the green masala and add salt ( 2 tsp)
11. Cover and cook till the rice is cooked well
12. You can serve this just as is

For garnish – OPTIONAL

1. Heat one 1 tbsp ghee/ coconut oil and deep fry some cashew nut and thinly slices onions
2. You could sprinkle them on the top just before serving

Strawberry, Pistachio and Rose Lassi

Hello my dear wonderful readers!

Did I tell you how awful last week was? And I am still hopeful that this week will be better. I haven’t started using my new camera. These photos are from the old one but I will write about the new camera soon. For now I am leaving you with this simple recipe for the perfect summer afternoon/ evening drink.

Ingredients :-

1. Fresh Strawberries – 3 cups
2. Thick Yogurt – 2 cups ( cold)
3. Water – 1 cup ( cold)
4. Rose Essence – 2 drops
5. Pistachio – 10 – 11  (half chopped fine)
6. Sugar – 2 – 3 tbsp ( according to taste)

Instructions :-

1. In the bowl of your blender add all ingredients  apart from the chopped pistachio
2. Blend for 5 – 6 mins or till the mixture is smooth and red
3. Pour into individual glasses and garnish with chopped pistachio
4. Serve cold