Baked/Grilled Chicken Wings with Indian Spices

All grills out to kick start the rite-of-the season yet? I bet most of you guys have planned for a BBQ this long weekend right? I have heard the memorial day weekend marks the official start of the Barbecue season. Kebabs , hot dogs and burgers..time to get grilled and we thrilled!!!

If you have a Mannings' and Lebron crazy partner just like me , you can't just really wait for the sun to shine and start grilling. You really need to have some recipes that are handy especially for game days; thats when this recipe comes to the rescue, you can either grill it or just bake it.

Back home in Kerala , I did not even know chicken curry we make  had wings in it , and initially here , I used to view all those who eat the wings with a disgusting look. Now things changed and we are sort of addicted to it , a must have on exciting game days and sometimes as an appetizer @ parties.

Talking about Lebron James , can I really blame N for going crazy about him..Not really!!! Once upon a time, I used to get so mad with all these games , and then N took me for a game. That too court side seat directly opposite to JayZ( Beyonce didn't show up that day ) , and minutes after the game started even " the no clue about basketball" me started howling and rooting and booing . Wonder whether the drinks and the food they served did the trick ;)..Oh boy , that guy is really good!!!

You still have the chance to enter the giveaway of Monica Bhide's Modern Spice and it ends on Tuesday May 31st midnight, EST. You can leave your comments in the previous post. 

We are off to a vacation today , for a couple of days, a much deserved break for both of us. So will miss some BBQ parties we have been invited to, this long weekend. Anyways , we made this and commenced the season thus ;).

Recipe for Baked or Grilled Chicken Wings with Indian Spices 

(Serves 2-3 hungry people)

Ingredients:-

Chicken wings - 1 kg or  roughly 2 lbs

Bowl 1

Kashmiri Red chili powder - 1 table spoon

Ground Coriander - 1/2 table spoon

Ground Cumin - 1 tea spoon

Turmeric powder - a large pinch

Garam Masala - 1/2 to 1 tea spoon ( i use mix of green cardamom, cloves, star anise and cinnamon)

Onion chopped - 1 small or use 1.5 tea spoon of onion powder instead

Garlic chopped - 4 or 5 cloves or 1/2 to 1 tea spoon of garlic powder 

Ginger chopped - a small piece or 1/2 tea spoon of ginger powder

Yogurt 1/2 cup

Salt to taste

Bowl 2

Soy Sauce or Red wine vinegar - 2 table spoon (thats kin of my secret ingdnt, don't use if you don't like it )

Juice of 1 fresh lemon 

Olive oil or any cooking oil - 1 table spoon

Directions

Clean and remove the tip off the wings. If desired cut from the joints to make it two.

Place all the ingredients in Bowl 1 in a blender or food processor and puree it. 

Add a little water if needed. Reserve a table spoon marinade for later .

Marinate the chicken pieces with the paste and refrigerate it for minimum 4 or up to 24 hours.

Baking :- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place the marinated chicken pieces in an greased baking sheet and bake for 30-40 minutes. Meanwhile to make the glaze,combine all the ingredients in Bowl 2,  and the reserved marinade and make a thin paste . After 30 or 40 minutes, take out the chicken , baste it with the glaze on both sides and bake again for 15 to 25 minutes. if you want you can increase the temp to 400 degrees...Baking time depends on how you want it to be. I hate to see any pink inside , so i bake for a total of an hour plus, basting it halfway through.

Grill:- Light your grill to medium hot. Grease it with cooking spray. When its smoking hot , arrange the wings an inch apart without overcrowding and let grill for 12-14 minutes on each side , glazing with the glaze in between .

Serve warm with Lemon wedges , sliced onion, Mint chutney , Ketchup and a Soda..Yummoo!!!

Have a Great Weekend

Sarah

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Breakfast Hash + A Cookbook Giveaway

We love Diners @ anytime of the day !!! You can call it as an obsession to the always noisy cafe , bar and eatery ambiance , the locally influenced unique hash browns they serve, and you don't really have to "whisper" and "behave". N is so good in picking the best Diners where ever we go for a vacation and his instincts has never gone bad. We never mind the long waiting line , and the longest we ever had to wait was 50 minutes in a diner in DC and that too on a chilly morning. Today's recipe is inspired by a hash that i had from a diner in rural town in Tennessee 2-3 years back.

Breakfast Hash + Fried egg

Cook Book Giveaway - Monica Bhide's Modern Spice

Remember the Pistachio sambharam and Shrimp golgappa inspired by Monica Bhide's "Hotshots" from the book - Modern Spice? We loved that recipe so much and I send her a Thank you note. To my great delight the lovely Monica has agreed for a giveaway of the same book "Modern Spice - Inspired Indian flavors for the contemporary Kitchen " here @ Vazhayila.com .

A neat , pragmatic and easy to make collection of recipes ; that's what I liked the most about this book. Most of her recipes calls for relatively fewer ingredients, less time in the kitchen, and everything is so perfectly laid out for a contemporary Kitchen.

I am not passing a judgement about this book , just by turning pages , but i tried a couple of recipes and fell in love with some.........

...........like the "Hotshots"( you can find the recipe here).

She has done a very interesting and delicious take on the Western influences and the Indian inspiration , coming up with very creative recipes like crab tikkis , stuffed pappad, crabby vermicelli, tomato basil pilaf etc.etc...I loved loved the fennel chile rub , and made the Tilapia fry and it was awesome . I never thought fennel seeds could be this wonderful on fish fry.

Tilapia Fry with Fennel-Chile Rub

The Eggplant , Potato and tomato curry with cilantro was a quick fix and the trio worked perfectly with Chapati. 

Hotshots and Eggplant trio

In Nutshell, leave a comment for your chance to Win an autographed copy of " Modern Spice" here , or grab a copy from Amazon , to cook up satisfying meals without spending too much time in the kitchen ,at the end of a very busy day or spice up your weekend party with a Modern take on Indian Spices. As she says " As a new generation of modern Indians , we are changing everything . We love tradition , but embody change . Our style is refined , but tastes global."

You can see Monica's FB page here. Follow her to know more about her books.

To participate in this giveaway:-

• Leave a comment to this post or @ Vazhayila.com's FB page
• Open to readers from US, Canada and India ( Indian readers will be getting the Indian Edition)
• Last date for your chance to leave the comment will be May 31st midnight, Eastern Standard Time
• The winner will be picked randomly by N.

Now coming back to our regular affair........

Breakfast Hash, Toasted Whole Grain Bread , Fried egg, and Organic Juice.

As I mentioned earlier , this recipe is inspired by a roasted red pepper breakfast hash that i once had in a diner. It was a bit tangy and i couldn't find out what made the difference. I tried many times with a splash of soy sauce or red wine vinegar and was almost close but not to the perfection. On saturdays we eat our brunch from local diners , or else make this at home and we are good to go for the entire day ;)...

REcipe for Roasted Red pepper hash with Fried eggs

Ingredients:-

Potatoes diced - 5-6 nos 9 i used red potatoes with skin

Onion diced - 1 big

Red bell pepper diced - 2 medium

Garlic crushed - 2 cloves

Ground cinnamon - a pinch

Crushed black pepper - 1/2 tea spoon

Red chili powder - 1/4 tea spoon

Dried Thyme - a large pinch

A splash of red wine vinegar or soy sauce ( optional)

Salt to taste

Olive oil or any cooking oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a bowl toss all the ingredients except Red bell pepper,( keep a pinch of salt, a splash of olive oil and crushed black pepper for coating red bell pepper too) , and transfer to a greased baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Coat the bell pepper with salt , oil and black pepper and add to the baking sheet , toss well and bake again for another 12-15 minutes or until the bell pepper is charred slightly. Remove.

The next step is optional , I do this only to get that final crunch.

Transfer all this to a cast iron skillet and fry for 3-5 minutes and serve with fried eggs,sunny side up ;)

Breakfast Hash, Fried egg, and Organic Juice.

Good Day 


Sarah

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Kerala style Unakkameen Chakkakuru Charu curry-Dried Fish Curry with Jackfruit Seeds

Though summer officially starts only in June 2nd or 3rd week,the mauve tint has finally given way to kelly and lime green.!!! Don't you just love all these seasons for their uniqueness ? Though I will get easily bored with one season , and eagerly wait for the other , i consider myself lucky to experience all the four seasons.

A very unique combo from my Kuttanadan grandmas culinary repertoire , this is not a typical kuttanadan meen curry recipe , where usually the fish is cooked in a red chili infused curry sauce sans coconut .

Its more of an  Alapuzha style fish curry( Thenga aracha meen curry).  , where the dried fish and jackfruit seeds are cooked in a coconut sauce flavored with Fish tamarind aka Kudampuli.

Recipe for Onakkameen curry with Chakkakuru

Ingredients:-

To grind

Grated coconut - 1.5 cup

Red chili powder - 1 to 1.5 tea spoon

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tea spoon

Salt to taste

Fish tamarind / kudampuli - 2 nos

Dried Fish - 250 gm ( i used salted Cod cut into 2 inch pieces)

Jack fruit seeds halved - 1 cup 

Shallots chopped - 4-5 nos

Garlic chopped - 2 cloves

Green chili chopped - 1

Curry leaves - a handful

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tea spoon

Fenugreek seeds - 1/2 tea spoon

Directions:-

Soak Dried fish in water , in large bowl overnight or at least for 4-5 hours.

Soak Fish tamarind/Kudampuli in a cup of water.

Grind grated coconut ,salt , chili and turmeric powder to a fine paste

Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds . when they pop up add fenugreek seeds and fry for 30 seconds.

Add curry leaves and shallots and fry for 2-3 minutes and add garlic and green chili ,  fry for a couple of minutes.

Add halved jackfruit seeds, dried fish , coconut paste and soaked Tamarind with water ( add 1/2 or 1cup more if you need more gravy) , mix everything well and cook it covered for 15-20 minutes.

Uncover , drizzle a tea spoon of oil and curry leaves(optional) and simmer for 2-3 minutes and switch off the heat.

Serve with Rice.

Have a great Weekend

Sarah

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The Rain and The Fallen Beauty

I remember her dying , in rain's arms
But I know , I had no chance to prevent 
(From The Fallen Beauty)

Sarah

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Pistachio Sambharam + Shrimp Golgappa

It was a foggy , misty weekend with occasional drizzle , and the sky a thick cloudy soup , reminding us a lot about about the invigorating and charming monsoon evenings back home..We are yet to be recovered from the cold , salubrious or not , the nature created a perfect milieu for us to stay home , watched a lot of movies , with out goofing around much , yet we manage to make our presence for a dinner party at  a friends' place.

Talking about  rain , Monsoon is just days away in Kerala right? Remember how we all used to get drenched on the very first day of the school , the new uniforms , the bags and of course the new colored umbrellas with fresh smell on it , getting all soggy ?Good Times...

I guess ,with schools opening on all different dates  now, even Monsoon is in a fix as to when to make its grand entry ....

This recipe is inspired by "Hot Shots" from Monica Bhide's Modern Spice . Keeping the frame work , i altered it by adding spices and seasonings to my liking . I am not a big fan of pani puri or any chat for that matter , but this golgappa captured my taste buds like no other. 

Talking about Morum vellam aka Sambharam , I am a huge addict  , and i always have a bottle of spiced buttermilk , different seasoning each time , especially during Summer.

A simple drink and an appetizer , trust me , this is an excellent yet easy combo to serve at any party. Work your magic by adding your own ingredients just like me and serve. As Monica says , " Put the golgappa in your mouth and drink the soup , as you would eat a tapa with a glass of wine"

Recipe for Pistachio Sambaram / Spiced Buttermilk with Pistachios

Plain Yogurt - 1 cup

Chilled Water - 1.5 or 2  cups ( depends on how light you want it to be , i usually add 1.5 cup)

Shallots chopped - 2-3

Black pepper corns - 4-5 nos

Salt to taste

Pistachios - 3-4 table spoon ( shells removed and roughly chopped)

Lightly crush black pepper corns in a mortar and pestle .

In a bowl , add chopped shallots and crushed pepper , yogurt . Whisk well.

Add water , salt to taste and combine well. Add more water to make it in desired consistency.

Pour into glasses and top it with chopped pistachios.

Recipe for Shrimp golgappa /  Fried Crisp puris with Spicy Prawn filling

Golgappa - A packet may be ...20-25 nos.( depends on how much filling you put in each golgappas)

Shrimp - 1 cup ( i used the smallest salad shrimps i could get )

Onion finely chopped - 1 small

Garlic minced - 1 clove

Tomato finely chopped - 1 small

Red chili powder -  1/2  tea spoon

Turmeric powder - a large pinch

Mustard seeds 

Oil

If using raw shrimp , clean and de vein them. Heat oil in a pan and mustard seeds . When they splutter add chopped onion and garlic and cook till golden and add finely chopped tomato , cook till the oil separates. Add red chili and turmeric powder and mix well. Slide in the shrimp and cook covered for a couple of minutes. Uncover and stir fry a minute or two.( see notes at the end of the post ).

To serve :- Fill each golgappa with 1/2 or 1  tea spoon of shrimp filling and place on top of the buttermilk glass and serve.

Note :-

I used cooked salad shrimp and cooked for 5-7 minutes. if using raw shrimp , i advice you to cook for 10-12 minutes , sprinkling some water . Though they say , do not overcook shrimp , I prefer it to be a bit overcooked than undercooked , to be on the safer side. Shrimp can easily get your tummy sick :(

Good day

Sarah

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Goan Style Chicken Curry

Sneeze..Blow..Wipe.... Sneeze..Blow..Wipe ..Thats what we have been doing for some days. With the entire North East in the grip of the worst allergy ever , I cant say its unfortunate that we also fell as victims to it.

Do you know that chicken and spices are good when you have cold ? yeah really!!!

Bursting with flavorful spices , this Goan style chicken is a love at first dip. My mom makes only Pork vindaloo at home , and never chciken , and the logic she says is only pork gives you the amazingly delicious , highly unhealthy , fatty oil at the end...LOL..I love that a lot... This is not an authentic Chicken Vindaloo recipe , but  a mix of the same from Goan Food recipes , Vanitha , and my own.

Recipe For Goan Chicken Vindaloo
Ingredients:-
Chicken - 1 kg
Salt to taste


Turmeric powder - 1/2 tea spoon
Vinegar - 3 table spoon
Bowl 1
Kashmiri Red chilies - 10
Cumin - 1 tea spoon
Black pepper corns - 1 tea spoon
Cloves - 3-4
Cinnamon - 1 stick
Star Anise - 1 or 2
Bowl 2
Onion sliced - 2 
Tomato chopped - 1
Garlic - 3-4 cloves
Ginger - a small piece
Directions:-

Clean and cut the chicken into 2 inch pieces  and  apply salt and set aside for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile Soak all the ingredients in Bowl 1 in water for 15-20 minutes.

Heat oil in a pan add sliced onions and ginger and garlic , saute for 7-8 minutes and add tomato , saute well for another 3-4 minutes . Remove from flame . Grind this with all the soaked ingredients( Bowl 1) , turmeric and vinegar to a paste.

Transfer this to a cooking pot , add salt marinated chicken , and 1/2 cup of water , cook covered till done, for like 30 minutes. Uncover and let simmer for 5 minutes. Adjust the consistency of the gravy by simmering.

Note :- 

• You can omit Tomato and make it or  add 1 more table spoon vinegar .
• Adjust the number of chilies as per your heat level.

Good Day

Sarah

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Kashmiri Pulao/Pilaff ........... + Herbs!! Herbs!!

Aren't we all so lucky to have such wonderful mothers and aren't you all mothers out there doing an amazing job bringing up their kids with so much of love , care and support. All Super Moms ..Salute you!!!!

Oh Saturdays , the longest and the bestest days of my life , I love thee...We do a lot of outdoor things together on Saturdays and last weekend we even found some time to plant our lil herb garden. ..Adding some new life to our lives ....Here is a peek to some of the herbs we got this time....Mint , Parsley , Basil , Rose mary , and many more...

The culture and life style of people will be reflected in their cuisine and exploring the same gives you a lil insight to a place , without even visiting them. Its always a dream to visit Kashmir, even though I know its nearly impossible. So here I am taking a visit to the the paradise ( supposedly) through a simple yet rich dish adapted from Anjum's New Indian. where Anjum says .. Saffron , spices , nuts and dried fruits gives a unique flavor to this dish .. I didn't have any dried fruits with me , I made it minus the dried fruits.,Yet it is deliciously flavorful.

Recipe for Kashmiri Pulao ( Adapted from Anjum's New indian)

Ingredients:-

Oil

Cumin seeds - 3/4 tea spoon

Cinnamon Stick - 1

Cloves -3

Cardamom - 3

Bay Leaf - 1

Onion Sliced - 1 medium

Blanched Almonds roughly chopped - 2 table spoon

Raisins - 2 table spoon

Basmati Rice - 1 cup

Saffron Strands - a large pinch

Hot milk - 2 table spoon

Dried figs chopped - 1

Pistachios chopped - 2 table spoon

Salt to taste

Directions :-

Rinse Basmati rice , till water runs clear and soak while you saute onion. Soak saffron strands in hot milk

Heat oil in a pan and add cumin , cinnamon , cloves , cardamom and bay leaf and saute for 30 seconds. 

Add onions and cook till it is soft and golden and add chopped almonds and raisins and fry for 2-3 minutes.

Drain the rice and add to the pan , fry foe a minute and add 1 3/4 cup water , saffron milk figs and salt to taste.Bring to boil , cover and cook in medium flame  for 8-10 minutes . Switch off the heat, add the Pistachios and let it stand for 5 minutes. Fluff it with a fork and serve with a spicy curry like,

• Kerala Chicken curry
• Kerala Beef curry
• Mushroom curry with yogurt
• Achari Murg / Chicken with Pickling Spices

 

Sarah

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Snap Peas ( Mezhukkupuratti ) Stir Fry With Chili Flakes and Garlic

With media all over the world bustling with different views about the largest coup of our times, I guess my head is overcrowded with the overflow of too much information than I could handle. Can i blame myself? Who doesn't have the curiosity to know everything?

The weather has been so good here with brisk dry air and blue cloudless sky , except yesterday with the drizzling and a shade of gloom.  I am really making use of all the sun , thawing myself from the deep frost that the season gone by left on me , basking sunshine in my balcony with some interesting reads and lots of pink lemonade. The routine morning walks with friends is keeping my body fit and giving a refreshing start every day. How are you making use of the good weather?

Hilarious stage shows, hiking trips , exploring spring bounty in farmers market.... filled my last weekend and I am so looking forward to all the weekends to come , to have lots of trips and loads of fun :)....

Have you heard of Sugar Snap peas? Me..nope , until i saw this in a farm market last weekend. We love trying new seasonal vegetables , since it resembles snow peas , we oughta give it a try and brought home , along with lots n lots n fresh broccoli , asparagus and farm fresh eggs.

I made a stir fry with the sugar snap peas , adding chili flakes and garlic and turned out to be real good with a lil natural sweetness of the peas and heat of chili..

Recipe for ( Sugar) Snap peas stir fry with chili flakes and garlic.
Ingredients:-
Snap peas - 12 oz

Small onion chopped - 1/4 cup

Garlic crushed - 2-3 cloves

Red chili flakes - 1/2 tea spoon

Salt to taste

Musatrd seeds

curry leaves (optional)

Oil ( i used olive oil)

Trim the ends and cut the snap peas diagonal medium pieces. Boil in a cooking pot by adding water( one cup is good.add more if needed) and salt . Cook till it is tender and water is absorbed.

Heat oil in a pan , add mustard seeds .When they pop up add chopped onions and saute for 5 minutes 

and then add curry leaves and garlic and fry for a couple of minutes.

Add cooked snap peas and mix well. Sprinkle red pepper flakes and saute for another 6-7 minutes or till it is dry and browned. Serve warm..

Sarah

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Home Made Grape Wine - Recreating a Taste of Kerala

What , if anything , will be spared time's depredations? Oh dont think i have become a yogi or a philosopher all of a sudden. Its just that this thought got on my head from a book i was reading and made me ponder over how I spent my time and what can I spare without time taking it away........

So i tried my best to unplug myself from everything virtual , vazhayila , FB , Orkut ....for a week . Even my Tablet , i used it only to check some mails and read some books. I was in a world ,clearly my own,viewing it as it is , not from a third person observer , but as I am , enjoying the warmth , radiance and little precious moments of grace . I am happy that I did...

Thanks to all the lovely emails asking about my well being . I am doing good , in fact never been better. Nothing exotic been cooking in my kitchen other than salads and sandwiches , as i was better making use of my time than cooking. 

The recipe of the day is from Deepa Praveen's mom . It all started as a casual conversation with Deepa on Vazhayila.com FB page. After 5 minutes or so of exchanging some messages we found ourselves committing to this weekend project. We tried it for easter , for gracing the easter table with its very presence.. Deepa's moms recipe and my aunts tips worked well together to this magnificent final outcome.

Home made Grape wine was such a big deal on all easter and Christmas celebrations while growing up back home right? My mom never had to make it as my aunts or her friends used to send the wine baskets as holiday gifts all the time. After coming here , with all the varieties available here , i never bothered to make this too...But I am happy that I did this time , and know for sure , nothing can beat the home made ones. Thanks to Deepa and her Mom.

Recipe for Kerala Style Home Made Grape Wine  

(Recipe courtesy - Deepa Praveen and her Mom)

Total cooking time - 21 days + 2-3 weeks to get the clear liquid

( see notes @ the end of this post for tips )

Ingredients:-

Grapes - 1 kg ( I used black seedless grapes)

Sugar - 2 kg 

Boiled and cooled water - 3 to 4.5 litres.  (i used only almost 3 litres of water , to make it strong )

Wheat ( whole) / godhambu - 1 cup

Cloves - 7-8

Cinnamon stick - 2

Cardamom -3-4

Yeast - 1.5 tea spoon

Luke warm water - 1 cup

Rum - 2 spoon (optional)

Directions:-

In a clean vessel, boil 3 liters of water . Remove from heat .Let it cool completely.

Take a cup of lukewarm water in a bowl and add yeast and set aside for 10-15 minutes

Remove grapes from its stalk ,Wash clean it and pat dry well( there shouldn't be any moisture,) and crush it with clean hands. 

Take a clean( pat dry well) ,big glass jar( which can fit double the quantity of mix) with a tight lid , make a layer of crushed grapes in the bottom and sprinkle sugar ( either add half now and half later after 21 days or you can add full now)Wheat and spices and continue until you finish. 

Add the yeast ,the cooled water and cover the mouth of the jar with a clean cloth and tie it securely.( If you are adding rum , add it now or after 21 days) 

Cover it with a lid and keep it in a dark corner for 21 days.Take this everyday and stir it well with a clean spoon. 

On the 21st day , strain the mixture in a cotton cloth and remove the grapes and take only the liquid( add the rest of the sugar and rum , if you did not add it it in the beginning)  and keep it in the glass jar ( clean the jar and pat dry). 

Keep it for another 2-3 weeks, remove the sediments at the bottom every 2-3 days , until you get the clear water. 

After you get the clear wine , Keep refrigerated  in dark wine bottles to preserve the color .!!!!

Notes:-

• Take a big glass jar that can hold at least more than twice the quantity of water 
• Keep in mind , the final liquid you get will roughly be less than half of the total water you added
• The picture was taken during Easter , which was like a week after I strain it. The liquid was not that clear at that time , but we couldn't resist the temptation to taste it and it was oh so good.
• The color of the wine depends a lot on the grapes you use . I forgot the name of the grape I used , but i guess it was a chilean one.
• I did not add Rum in this prep, but i added when i made it later, and it gave me a different color.
• Mine turned out be a bit strong wine , since i added only 3 ltrs of water . Adding more water makes it light n thin.

Sarah

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