Kitchen Corner-Try It

Naranga Achar/Lemon Pickle Do you love pickles? Condiments and pickles are surprisingly easy to make and are a must-have in my kitchen. Zesty and hot lemon pickle adds a punch to any meal. It goes well with steamed rice, curd rice or Rotis.This recipe is for those who love pickles and who have nostalgic feelings about homemade spicy, tangy and intensely lemony pickle. Most Indians will agree that pickles are an inevitable part of our lunch. This pickle is made by stuffing the spices into whole lemons, the way it is made by my grandmother and aunts. There is a great nostalgic feeling to this kind of lemon pickle. Grandmother used to make big jars of a stuffed whole lemon pickle when lemon trees in the backyard were harvested. She used to take out her huge ceramic pickle jars called bharanis to fill up with homemade pickles. If this pickle is made in the right way has a shelf life for about a year. The more it matures the better it tastes. Pickles are an integral part of

Baked Tilapia with Mint Mayo Marinade This is a simple baked fish with lemon and herb blend as seasoning along with a spread of mayo.Mayonnaise used in this recipe is flavored with minced garlic and mint.The fish I have used here is  Tilapia and is a perfect fish for baking.I tried the same recipe with trout and catfish. But this one is my favorite.If you do not like lemon mint flavor you can try other herbs like parsley or thyme. Ingredients Tilapia fillets-2 Lemon Pepper seasoning- 1/3 tsp ( it is a combination of lemon,pepper, celery seeds and garlic) Chilly powder- 1/3 tsp Salt to taste All Purpose flour-1/3 cup (to coat the fish) Fresh mint leaves chopped- 2 tsp Garlic paste- 2 clove Mayonnaise - 2 tsp lemon zest- a pinch Wash and clean tilapia fillets. Wipe off the extra moisture. Drizzle a few drops of oil on the fish and rub it on top of the fish.Mix lemon pepper seasoning, chilly powder and salt and rub on the fish. Allow the fish to marinate for five minut

Rava Vada Today's recipe is an instant tea time snack. It is deep fried fitters made with semolina/sooji Ingredients Rava- 1 cup Rice flour- 1 tbs Shallots sliced- 4-5 Yogurt-1 tsp Ginger chopped- 1 tsp Green chilly- 2 Curry leaves chopped- a few Salt to taste Oil for frying Soak one cup of Rava/semolina  in two cups of water for about half an hour. After half an hour strain and squeeze out the excess water using a cheese cloth. Add chopped green chilly, curry leaves, shallots,ginger and one tsp of thick yogurt. Mix in the rice flour. You can also add a pinch of baking powder at this stage. Heat oil in a pan. Wet your hands with water and make small patties. Carefully drop then in oil and fry till both sides become golden brown. It takes more time than ordinary vada to get browned up. Serve with ketchup or chutney. Try this.. Hope you will all enjoy

Cheerathandu Mooru Curry Today's recipe is very simple mooru curry/charu curry that is common accompaniment for rice in every Malayali household. This curry is spiced buttermilk with cheera thandu/red amaranth stem/Chinese spinach stems. Cheera ila or spinach leaves is usually made as thoran/stir fried with coconut. The stems are never thrown away and the have a wonderful flavor when used in sambar, aviyal or mooru curry. Ingredients Spinach stem/Cheera Thandu-2 hand full Yogurt- 1 1/2 cup Coconut- 1/3 cup Ginger- 1/2 inch peice Green chilly- 4-5 Garlic-2 pods Cumin- 1/2 tsp For seasoning Mustard seeds- 1/2 tsp Fenugreek seeds( uluva)- 1/3 tsp Pearl onion chopped-1 Dry read chilly- 2 Curry leaves- 1 spring Remove all the leaves from the stem and slightly peel out the skin and the thicker parts of the stem and make it even.Cut this into 2 inch long pieces. If the stem is too thick cut it down through the center and make it into two pieces. In a heavy

Spicy Pomegranate Chicken This recipe is inspired by the Persian pomegranate chicken stew,Fesengen, which is chicken or duck cooked in a rich sauce of walnut paste and pomegranate molasses. This curry has an Indian touch.Pomegranate juice is readily available in supermarkets or you can squeeze your own from fresh pomegranate. Here I have used the fresh ones. The sauce is sweet and slightly tart and is a really satisfying dish and the flavors is exotic. Ingredients Chicken- 1 1/2 lb Onions finely chopped- 2 medium Garlic cloves-6-8 Potato- 1 small (optional) Green chilly finely chopped-2 Turmeric powder-a pinch Chilly powder- 1/2 Coriander powder-3/4 tsp salt and pepper to taste Pomegranate juice- 3/4 cup Sugar- 2 tsp Lemon juice- a few drops Walnut roasted and powdered- 2 tbs Cinnamon powder- 1/2 tsp Nutmeg powder- 1/3 tsp Cardamon powder- 1/3 tsp Coriander leaves for garnish Clean chicken and remove the skin. Pat dry and marinate with turmeric po

Chole Bhature Happy New Year to all my friends and readers... Today's recipe is a popular breakfast recipe from Punjab- Chole/chickpeas curry and bhature. Bhature is a deep fried and puffed up bread made of white flour. If you like a spicy and warm breakfast nothing is more comforting than this combo. Ingredients For the Chole masala Chickpeas/garbanzo beans- 1 cup Dried mango- 2 to 3 pieces Dried Amla/gooseberry/nellikka-2 -3 pieces(optional) Tea bag- 1 Bay Leaf- 1 Salt to taste For the gravy Onion- 2 medium Tomato puree- 3/4 cup Ginger- 1 inch thick Green chilly-2 Chilly powder- 1 tsp Amchur powder- 1/3 tsp Anardhana/pomegranate seeds powdered- 1/3 tsp Coriander powder- 1 tsp Garam masala- 1/2 tsp Ginger powder- 1/3 tsp Roasted cumin powder- 1/2 tsp Nutmeg- a pinch Whole garam masala   Green cardomon-2 Cinnamon- 1 inch stick Clove- 2-3 Black Cardamon- 2 Soak chickpeas overnight for about 8-9 hours. In a cheese cloth place tea b