Chicken Hyderabadi Hot nSpicy~ contribution from Sonal Kaza

The other day I had friends over for dinner and it was a potluck. Sonal, a close friend of mine, prepared  Chicken Hyderabadi, an Andhra style chicken that is full of flavor and spice. So nice of her to share her recipe with all of us. Enjoy !!!!

Ingredients

2 pounds chicken (cleaned and cut into medium size pieces)

3 tbsp ginger garlic paste

2 medium size onions chopped

4 tbsp oil

Ingredients (For Marinating)

2 tsp red chili powder

salt to taste

4 tsp coriander powder

1 tsp turmeric powder

Ingredients(For Dry Masala)

4 tbsp whole coriander seeds

2 tbsp uncooked rice

1 tbsp fennel seeds

1 tbsp whole peppercorns

2 tsp cumin seeds

8 to 10 whole red dried chilies

Ingredients (for garnish)

1 green bell pepper sliced

10 to 12 curry leaves

1 tsp fresh coriander leaves chopped

2 tsp oil

Method:

1.Take red chili powder,turmeric,coriander powder ,salt and rub this marinade onto the chicken pieces and keep chicken marinated for an hour or two.

2. Heat a pan, and on medium heat  dry roast the masala ingredients and grind to a fine powder.

3. Heat 4 tbsp oil in a thick bottomed pan, add in onions, brown to a golden color, add ginger garlic paste and marinated chicken pieces. Stir  for  15 to 20 minutes. Add 1cup (200ml) water,continue to cook over medium heat.

4. Add  powdered masala to  chicken  continue cooking another 10 to 15 minutes until the chicken is cooked.

5. Heat 2 tsp oil shallow fry bell pepper and curry leaves, remove and  garnish over the cooked chicken, sprinkle some fresh chopped coriander.

Chicken Hyderabadi

Thanks Sonal for sharing such a tempting chicken recipe with All!!

Cruise Trip to Mexico

Friends, today I would like to share with you some memories of a cruise trip my family and I took to Mexico in December 2011. We went with our friends and their children. We were eleven of us on this beautiful Carnival Spirit Cruise. It was 7 day trip to Cabo San Lucas in Mexico. It was our first ever cruise trip and obviously we were all very excited. Cabo San Lucas is a beautiful town with gorgeous beach touching the Pacific Ocean. The weather was nice and warm in December, though the water was a bit cold. People in this city were very fun loving and pleasant to talk to. Place and people reminded me of Goa, very laid back, relaxing and fun town. Main language spoken in Mexico is Spanish. 

Ocean View in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

Their food culture is quite similar to our staple Indian food. While we have Rotis, Vegetable, Lentils, Meat and Rice, Mexican food consists of Tortillas (similar to Rotis), Beans, Meat, Vegetable and Rice. Their food is very tasty and colorful. We went to this small mexican restaurant which had awesome food and excellent Tequila. Tequila is famous alcohol from Mexico which is used in making drinks such as Margarita. We enjoyed the food and the Tequila. I am sharing some pictures of the dish we enjoyed. This is Chicken Enchilada. 

Chicken Enchiladas

I would also like to share some pictures of Cabo San Lucas and the famous Tequila. 

Tequila

More pictures of Cabo San Lucas......

Colorful Glass work at the factory

Happy Republic Day!!

A Very Happy Republic Day to All!!

 Republic Day is celebrated on Jan 26 every year, to remember the day India's  Constitution came into force on Jan26th 1950. It represents the true spirit of Independent India , this year is the 62nd Republic Day for India.
Republic Day is a gazetted holiday on Jan 26 each year, government offices and  most business are closed on this day to take a day off from work to celebrate the Republic Day.

Indian Flag

There is a grand Republic Day parade that takes place in New Delhi, the Capital of India.There are fond memories, as children  of viewing the Parade on Television with family in India.

Rainy Day

Hi Friends,

It's pouring in the Bay area today and the air is cold. Have some perfect plans for the evening...hot onion fritters (pakodas) at tea time, easy and tasty snack that goes perfectly well with tea on a cool afternoon. Also  the big game is on, as 49ers  (SFO football team) are playing against NY Giants. My son and husband will be glued to TV watching the game. During the tea time we'll treat ourselves to crispy onion pakodas and enjoy it with tea....

Ingredients:

1 cup gram flour (Besan)

2 medium sized onions sliced or chopped

2 green chilies chopped fine

1/4 tsp of baking soda

1  tsp salt

1 tsp red chili powder

1 tsp chaat masala powder (available in Indian grocery store)

1/4 tsp cumin seeds

Oil for frying (Vegetable oil)

1/2 cup water

3 to 4 curry leaves

2 tsp fresh chopped coriander leaves

Method:

1. Peel onions and either slice or chop into medium sized.

2. In a shallow dish combine gram flour,salt,red chilly powder,cumin seeds,chaat powder, freshly chopped coriander,few curry leaves(optional). 

3. Add just little  water to make a thick paste.Mix in the onions into the batter.

4. Heat oil and using a spoon drop in spoonfuls of the prepared onion batter into the hot oil and fry until golden and crisp. Remove from oil.

5. Enjoy crisp hot onion pakodas with coriander chutney and tea.

Onion Pakodas

Participation Award:)

Carrot Pudding (Gajjar Halwa) Recipe

Halwa is a sweet and delicious dessert of India. It is prepared in many different ways. Carrot Pudding is a popular Indian desert and it is prepared by using carrots and milk.


Growing up in India , I remember the times when my mom made this dessert and the sweet aroma from the cooked dessert filled the kitchen and other rooms. I have tried to create the same taste, so wanted to share the recipe. It is really easy and the result is rewarding ....hot halwa in cold season..makes a good combination.


Ingredients:
2 pound peeled and grated carrots.
1 cup milk
1/2 cup / 200 gm condensed milk
2 to 3 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp clarified butter( ghee)
3 to 4 small cardamom powdered
50 gm cashews and raisins for garnish
1/4 cup almonds powdered
2 to 3 strands of saffron


Method:
1. Heat 1 tsp ghee in a kadai (wok). Add cashews, raisins saute for few seconds, remove and keep aside for garnish.
2. In the same wok, add 3 tbsp clarified butter, add in the grated carrots, stir for about 5 minutes.
3. Pour in the milk, further cook till the milk evaporates.Now add the condensed milk and sugar.Keep stirring well till the milk gets absorbed. Add almonds, cardamom powder & 2 to 3 strands of saffron.
4. Allow to cook for another about 10 minutes on high to medium heat, stirring  till all the liquid evaporates, and halwa turns nice deeper color. Garnish with nuts and serve hot.


You can also top it with cream and berries.

Carrot Halwa With Cream And Berries

Weekend with Friends!!!

Friends,
Hope you'll had a good weekend spending fun time with friends & family. We too had friends over for Karaoke night last weekend. Had a great time singing and listening to melodious songs. Each one, sportingly, sang their best and made the evening lively. It was a potluck, so my friends got delicious Indian food, that we all relished. My friend Sonal, prepared a South Indian style chicken dish, which we all loved and asked her to share the recipe with us.  For dessert I made an Indian dessert ,called carrot pudding and gave it a western twist by adding fresh cream and berries, all my friends enjoyed the presentation. Here is the photo, I will soon be sharing the recipe of Carrot pudding (perfect for the cold weather) on Spice n flavors recipe page, so look forward to hearing from us...until then Happy Cooking !!

Welcome to Spice N Flavors blog !!!

Hi Friends,
After successful launch of my website, I am now ready to launch Spice N Flavors blog. In this blog we will talk about tested recipes, cooking tips, and share travel culinary experiences with photos and videos. The idea is to create a platform on the web for people who enjoy good food, like to cook, try out new dishes, and talk about their food experiences.