Cook It Up With Saanams

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Ingredients:

• Eggs  : 4

• Flour : 2 level cups

• Sugar : 2 cups powdered

• Butter : 1 cup.

• Baking powder : 2 tsps

• Scraped coconut : 2 cups.

Method :

Mix everything as for other cakes and bake at 180 degrees C  or 350 degree F for about 25 to 30 minutes until done.

Coconut Cake

Ingredients:

• Maida (flour) 180 grams.
• Butter 150 grams
• Sugar 200 grams powdered.
• Baking powder ½ tsp.
• Salt ½ tsp .
• Cocoa 4 tbsps
• Nescafe (instant coffee) 2 tbsps
• hot water 100 ml
• Eggs 2
• Vanilla essence 1 tsp
• Soda-bi-carb ½ tsp
• Vinegar 1 tsp

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 deg F. Grease & dust a baking dish.
2. Dissolve the Nescafe & cocoa in the hot water. Sift maida , salt, soda & baking powder. Cream the butter with sugar. Beat the eggs, add vinegar , vanilla essence & add the butter. Add maida & the Nescafe mix. Mix well with the hand blender or cut & fold & mix well. Pour into the baking dish.
3. Bake in the preheated oven at 350 deg F for 25 minutes or till done. Put a knitting needle or a toothpic in the middle of the cake .It should come out clean & non sticky .Then it is done.
4. Sprinkle Castor sugar over the done cake to get a glazed look.

Ingredients

• Mutton – 1 Kg cubed
• Basmati Rice- 6 cups( Washed and drained)
• Ginger garlic paste-3 tsp
• Onions-5 medium sized sliced fine
• Coriander powder- 4 tsp
• 1 tsp(clove, cardamom and cinnamon powdered together)
• 1 tsp roasted zeera powder
• salt and chili powder to taste
• 1 tsp sugar
• lemon juice
• 9 cups water
• turmeric powder-1/2 tsp
• Oil/ ghee/ vanaspathi-3/4 cup.
• Garlic- 6 sliced
• clove – 10
• Cardamom-10
• Cinnamon- 1 inch

To grind together

• coconut- 1/2
• onions-6 medium sized
• zeera- 2 tbsp roasted
• Tamarind- a small marble size (can use tamarind extract )
• Coriander leaves -1 large bunch
• Green chillies- 6-8 a couple more if you like it spicier

Instructions:

1. Wash and clean mutton, add 2 tsp ginger garlic paste, turmeric powder, 1 tsp chili powder, salt and pressure cook the meat.
2. In a frying pan , to a little oil, add a few of the cut onions, fry a bit, add the ground masala, coriander powder,zeera powder,the clove Cinnamon cardamom powder,chili powder and a little salt.Let it fry a little bit till the masala changes color and the coconut loses its fresh smell.Add the cooked meat, the rest of the ginger garlic paste. Don’t add extra water but cook it the same water as the one you cooked the meat in.taste the curry made, add salt and chili if necessary and allow the curry to get dry.
3. In a vessel, pour 9 cups of water and bring to boil. add salt and let boil.
4. Use a pressure cooker, or a big vessel, put ghee/oil.Add the remaining sliced onions, sliced garlic, cinamon, clove and cardamom. Fry till onions turn brow. Add the rice.Fry a little bit .Add the curry and the boiling water, sugar and juice of the lemon. Check the taste for salt . Pressure cook as for rice or cook it the traditional way till water evaporates.
5. Best served with Raitha We generally have it with mango raita.

Coorg Mutton Pulao

Ingredients:

1 kg cleaned & deveined Prawns/Shrimps
1n half Tsp chilli powder (more if u like spicy food)
Salt to taste
1/2 tspTurmeric powder
2 finely sliced onions,
3-4 cloves of garlic finely chopped
1/2″ ginger grated
1/2 tsp- clove cinnamon n cardamom powdered
2 tsp sugar
2 bay leaf
1/2 coconut -coconut milk to be extracted (can use ready processed ones)
2 tbsp oil
2tbsp clarified butter (ghee)

Methods:

Marinate the Prawns or shrimp in salt. chilli powder & turmeric for half an hour
Take a cooking pan, heat the oil & clarified butter/ghee , to this add the prawns, fry till done, drain n keep aside.To the same oil add the bayleaves n garam masala .Add sugar .Add sliced onions, garlic & ginger & fry till onions are cooked well.Add the coconut milk & let cook till gravy thickens considerably n reduces to half. Now add the prawns, check for taste (salt n chiilli) & then cook till gravy thickens .Take off the pan & serve .

You can make this gravy like & tastes best with steamed rice. You can also add boiled potatoes to it.

Prawns/Shrimps in Coconut Milk

A staple in Coorg Rice rotis or akki otti as we call it can be had for breakfast or dinner.It goes well with a variety of chutneys , butter n ghee or can be served with any curry. You could try it with jams and honey as well. We have it with mushroom curry or bamboo shoot curry too.

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked rice

1 & 1/2 cups rice flour

salt to taste.

Method:

* Mix rice , flour and salt together in a thali or use a mixie … adding a lil water at a time and knead the dough of medium consistency

* Take a lime sized portion of the dough and roll out a roti as you normally would . The edges will not be as smooth as a regular wheat roti so flatten it with your hand or use a sharp round steel lid to smoothen the edges and cut the rough edge.

* Heat a tave or pan and  cook the roti on it… both sides for 2-3 minutes each.

* Roast the roti on direct flame till it puffs out taking care to see that it does not burn too much.

* Make the rest of the rotis in a similar way.

For crisper rotis you can add a little more rice flour while kneading.

Ingredients :

3-4 Boiled eggs cut .

Onions 2 medium chopped

2 green chillies chopped

3 tomatoes chopped

Chili powder n salt to taste

coriander powder- 2 tsps

turmeric- 1 pinch

ginger garlic paste- 1/4- 1/2 tsp

Method:

In a lil oil fry the onions tomatoes and green chillies, add the turmeric powder, chilli powder, salt, coriander powder and the ginger garlic paste. Fry till onions and tomatoes are well cooked . Add the eggs and chopped coriander leaves.

Serve hot.

Ingredients:

2 potatoes boiled and kept aside

Coriander powder- 2 tsps

chilli powder- to taste

turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp

ginger garlic paste- 1/2 tsp

Tamarind or black vinegar- very lil as per taste

Salt – to taste

Boiled eggs- 4 cut in half

1 slit green chillie

To grind together:

Half a coconut

2 medium sized onions

6 pods of garlic

2 tsps cumin seeds

Method:

Keep one tbsp oil in a pan. When hot add ground coconut mix, coriander powder, chilli powder, turmeric powder, ginger garlic paste, vinegar /tamarind. Add salt to taste and as much water you want to make it as curry consistency . When this comes to boil and the coconut loses its raw taste add the boiled potatoes and slit green chilli bring to boil and add boiled and cut eggs.

Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve hot with parathas or pooris .

Ingredients:

2 Large potatoes diced

4 onions sliced fine

2 tbsp maida

2 chicken soup cubes

Salt n pepper to taste

1/2 grated cheddar cheese

3 cups water.

Method:

Fry the onions in a little butter or oil,till it turns pink. Mix the maida and soup cubes with water and add it to the onions. Once it boils, add the diced potatoes, close the pan with a cover and let the potatoes cook for about 20 minutes. Mash the potatoes and add salt and pepper to taste. Add the grated cheese at the very end just before removing from the fire and serve hot.

Potato cheddar soup

Just to break away from the usual monotony of everyday cooking, I tried this exotic dish and believe me, everytime I have served it for guests at my parties, it has been well recieved.

Ingredients:

Garnishing:

a)  1 bowl  chopped coriander

b) 1 bowl spring onions chopped

c) 1 bowl garlic- chopped and fried till brown

d) 1 bowl- lime / lemon juice

e) 1 bowl- soya sauce with green chillies chopped .

f) 1 bowl- boiled and chopped egg

g) 1 bowl – chopped cucumber

h) 1 bowl- red chillies soaked in oil and ground to paste with oil.

Noodles :

Noodles – egg noodles cooked , drained and well tossed with a spoonful of oil. Keep aside.

Chicken Stew :

Chicken, 2 tbsps -oil, 1″ ginger, 5-6 pods of garlic , full pepper corn – 2 tbsp, spring onions- a small bunch chopped, green chillie sauce- to taste, white vinegar- 1 tsp, coconut milk- 1 1/2 coconuts thick milk, Coriander leaves, salt and pepper powder to taste. Soup cubes or chicken ready soup powder (optional)

Cook chicken in the pressure cooker for 1 whistle with salt, pepper and water. Drain the water when done and keep the stock aside. Shred the chicken and keep aside. In a pan,  pour the oil, add grated ginger and chopped garlic, pepper corn and spring onions. Fry a little bit, add the shredded chicken and fry some more. To this add green chillie sauce-as per your taste, pepper powder, white vinegar. Keep stirring for a while. To this add the coconut milk. Boil for a while and add chicken stock to it. You can add a soup cube or any ready soup powder. Taste and add salt to it.Boil for a while and when you feel it is done, add coriander leaves to garnish and remove from the flame.

To serve :

Keep chicken stew in a dish seperately. Keep the cooked noodles in another dish. All the garnishing in individual bowls arranged around the noodles and stew.

To be served, one has to first give bowls . Then  noodles are served, the chicken stew added to soak the noodles and the people can serve the garnishes as per thier taste, mix it well and eat

Bon apetit.

Burmese Chowsuey

Ingredients:

1 litre Milk

1 tbsp roasted sooji (rava) (semolina)

200 gms finely chopped dates (coarsely ground in a mixie)

Thick coconut milk

Sugar to taste.

A few cashewnuts chopped coarsely

Method:.

Boil the milk with the roasted sooji till it turns thick.Add coconut milk & sugar and cook on low flame . Remove from the flame. Add the cashews and the dates and mix well. Cool in the refrigerator and serve chilled.

NOTE: Do not cook once you add the dates.