Came across this interesting recipe on a youtube video last Sunday and decided to cook it. This is probably a Hyderabadi dish because the fried onion, curd and mint combination is something I see a lot in Hyderabadi cuisine. I am glad I cooked this dish because not only was it very easy, but also the richness of the dish makes it a very good dish to cook when you have guests over.




Method
1. Take a non stick pan and add 1 tbsp oil. When the oil is hot, add 2 medium sized onion juliennes and saute till brown.
2. When onions are brown, add 2 tsp of ginger garlic paste and saute. Add handful of curry leaves and saute. Add 1 tsp coriander powder, 1 tsp cumin powder, pinch of turmeric, salt and saute till the spices are well cooked. Sprinkle some water if the spices are getting charred.
3. Add 1/2 kg chicken and mix well. Saute for 3-4 mins. Add 1 cup of yogurt to the chicken and mix well.
4. Make a fine paste of 1 cup of coriander, 1/2 cup of mint, 3-4 green chillies and 1 tbsp of grated coconut with little water. Add this to the chicken and mix it well.
5. Add 1 cup of water and cover and cook for 20 mins or till the chicken is well cooked
6. Add cream if you want a richer gravy and a pinch of garam masala before taking it off from the stove

Serve hot with chappatis.

My blog is heavy on non-veg dishes so decided to cook some veg dishes today to balance it out :) 

Last time when I cooked paneer butter masala, I realised that the taste of methi, tomato and paneer is a very good combination. So decided today to cook with original methi(fenugreek) leaves and not kasoori methi. This dish is absolutely tasty - has a bitterness imparted by the methi and the tangy taste from tomatoes.

Method

1. Heat 2 tsp oil in a non-stick pan. When hot, add finely chopped 2 medium sized onions and saute till brown.Add a pinch of salt to the onions for flavor
2. Add 2 tsp ginger garlic paste and 2 finely chopped green chillies and saute for 2 mins. Add 1 tsp red chilli powder, 1 tsp coriander powder and saute. Sprinkle some water in case you feel the masalas are getting scorched.
3. Add 1/2 cup of methi leaves and saute for 5 mins till methi is completely cooked
4. Now add 3 finely chopped medium sized tomatoes  and cook for 2-3 mins
5. Add 1/2 cup water and cover and cook till the tomatoes are mushy and well cooked.
6. Now add 200 gms of paneer cut into cubes and mix well
7. Add 1 tsp amchur powder and mix and cook for another 5 mins and your dish is ready.
8. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with chappatis

I had always heard of ghee roast but never tasted it. Decided to cook it finally and it did turn out well. Extremely spicy, hot and tasty :)

Method

1. Marinate 1/2 kg chicken with 1 tsp turmeric powder, juice of 1 lemon, 1 tsp chilli powder, salt and 2 tbsp curd. Keep aside for at least 1 hour.

2. Take a pan and dry roast 3-4 red chillies, 1 tsp coriander seeds, 1 tsp cumin seeds, 1 tsp pepper corns, pinch of fenugreek seeds and grind along with 6-7 garlic flakes and 1 marble sized ball of tamarind.

 3. Place a large pan and add 1 tbsp ghee. Add all the marinated chicken once the ghee is hot and saute for a min. Add the masala paste and fry till the chicken is coated. Add more ghee if you like it. Adjust the salt and let it cook on a slow flame. You can add a pinch of sugar if you like
4.Take of the flame and serve as a side dish.

Had an unused bunch of spring onion lying in my fridge for a week now..wanted to use it for my cooking today was in no mood for Chinese.Hence went online and googled for spring onion recipes and came across this nice Sambar recipe.
The sambar came very close to what is offered in udupi restaurants.

Method

1. Chop  around 20 stalks of spring onion along with the green leaves and keep aside. Finely chop 2 tomatoes and set aside.
2. Boil 1/2 cup of toor dal and keep aside.
3. Grind 1/2 cup of coconut, 2 tsp of cumin seeds, 2 tbsp of sambar powder,  pinch of turmeric powder, 1 marble sized ball of tamarind  and 1 tsp of jaggery powder to a fine paste with water and keep aside.
4. Heat 2 tsp of oil in a pan and add 2 tsp of mustard seeds. When they splutter add pinch of asafoetida and 1 sprig of curry leaves. 
5. Add the chopped Spring Onions &  tomatoes and mix well. Cook till the onions and tomatoes are soft.
6. Now add the ground paste, toor dal and 2 cups water and let the gravy boil for 5 mins. You can adjust the jaggery and salt now.
7. Garnish with coriander and serve with steamed rice.

I guess I can just replace the spring onions with onions, add more water and get a good sambar to go with hot idlis.