Dragon Chicken

Ingredients:

1. Boneless chicken pieces- 250g (cut into strips)
2. Black pepper powder- 1 tsp
3. Egg- 1
4. Ajinomoto (MSG)- 1 pinch (optional)
5. Salt- As needed
6. Corn flour- 1 tbsp
7. Oil (for deep frying)

8. Onion- 1/2 of a medium sized onion chopped finely
9. Ginger- 1 tbsp chopped finely
10. Garlic- 1 tbsp chopped finely
11. Dark soya sauce- 2 tbsp (low sodium preferred)
12. Tomato ketchup- 3 tbsp
13. Sugar- 1/2 tsp
14. Red chilli flakes- 2 tbsp
15. Juice of 1/2 a lime
16. Cashewnuts- 3 tbsp
17. Chopped coriander leaves- 2 tbsp
18. Ajinomoto- A pinch (optional)
19. Salt- As required


Method:

• Mix the chicken strips with salt, pepper, ajinomoto, egg and cornflour. Keep it aside for 30 minutes. Deep fry it and keep it aside. it doesnt take a long time to fry
• Then in another pan heat 3 tbsp oil. You can use the oil used for deep frying.
• Lightly fry the cashew nuts and keep them aside.
• To the oil, add the chopped onions and saute it till it becomes translucent. Then add the ginger and garlic. Stir fry this for 1 minute.
• Check for seasoning and add salt if needed.
• Once the raw smell goes, add the soya sauce, tomato ketchup, sugar, red chilli flakes, sugar and then mix them all together.
• Finally mix in the chopped coriander leaves and cashew nuts
• You can serve it with chappathi, fried rice or even eat it as it is as a starter.

Banana Bread

I love the smell of freshly baked bread. When we walk in to a coffee shop that bakes its own bread, the smell is heavenly. 

While reading historical novels, the description such as "the smell of freshly baked bread wafting through the air", always left a deep desire in me to learn how to bake bread. I haven't come around learning how to bake a proper bread. But I hope to achieve it one day. As of now, the only bread that I bake is Banana Bread. 

Banana bread is more of a cake than a bread. It can be eaten with jam or on its own. Once made, I  don't even know how it disappears. Most of the time, we are reluctant to eat bananas that has got black spots on it. Well the best part it that this recipe uses ripe bananas. So you really don't have to throw out any bananas. The rest of the ingredients are easy to find in your pantry.

Ingredients:

1. Bananas- 3 (ripe ones)
2. Egg- 1
3. Sugar- 3/4 cup
4. Melted Butter- 1/3 of a cup
5. Baking soda- 1 Tsp
6. Vanilla extract- 1 Tsp
7. A pinch of salt
8. All purpose flour- 1 and 1/2 cups (sifted)
9. Walnuts- 1/2 cup chopped (optional)

Method:

• Mash the bananas in a big bowl using a potato masher or a wooden spoon.
• To this add the egg and sugar. Mix well till the sugar is completely dissolved.
• Once the sugar is dissolved, add the melted butter, baking soda and vanilla extract along with a pinch of salt and mix well
• Mix the flour to the above mixture till the flour is well incorporated
• In another bowl, add the chopped walnuts and sprinkle 1 Tbsp of flour on it and mix well. This will prevent the nuts from getting settled to the bottom when baking
• Add the walnuts to the bread batter and mix gently. This step is optional.
• Preheat the oven at 175 degree celcius
• Take a loaf tin (I used a 30 cm loaf tin. You can use a smaller one). Apply a thin layer of butter inside it. This will help to remove the bread easily
• Pour the mixture into the loaf tin and bake it for 45 minutes or till a tooth pick inserted in the center comes out clean. The cooking time is dependent on the size of your pan and your oven. 
• Once done, allow it to cool for sometime. Slice and serve

Palada

Palada isn't something that we make at home. The first time i ever had it is when i went to Vanitha Utsav Kochi. They had a payasam stall over there. My husband bought it for me and i fell in love with it at the very first sip. 

Last onam, my cousin was visiting and we decided to make palada. Immediately I rang up my mom and enquired as to how to make it. We made it and send a whole dish of payasam with my husband for his friends. It was really nice.

Palada isnt something that you can drink a lot. But there is something about it that makes you want more of it. Anyway, here it goes...

Ingredients

1. Ada- 1 cup (store bought or home made)

2. Milk- 3 litres (fresh whole milk)

3. Sugar- 2 cups

4. Cardamom powder- 2 tsp

5. Sweetened Condensed Milk- As needed

Method

• In the pressure cooker add all the ingredients except the condensed milk. Mix well.
• Cook it on high till the first whistle. Then lower the flame and cook for another 15 minutes.
• Switch off the stove and let it rest for 30 minutes
• After this open the pressure cooker and cook it on medium flame till you get a creamy consistency. 
• To test it for the right consistency, dip a spoon in the payasam and it should coat the back of the spoon and when you draw a line through the back of the spoon, it shouldnt join immediately
• Add the sweetened condensed milk to adjust the sweetness.
• Let it rest for 30 minutes to 1 hour so that the flavour increases.
• Serve it warm. 

Welcome to my recipe book

As a kid I had no interest in cooking at all...

                   

My mom was a home maker so I had all the comfort of not having any responsibility in my life. Didn't have to do anything at all. The only thing that I learned later in life was to make a fried egg. When i was in the 10th grade, I asked her to teach me how to cook. Then she told me that she will teach me when the time was right. In spite of that she tried teaching me how to make dal (lentil) curry. Once I ended up burning the masalas and the next time i didn't cook the masala at all. In fact my little experiment with cooking was a fiasco. 

After that I didn't cook anything for a very long time. I finished my schooling and went on to college where I was staying in a hostel. So again no cooking or any interaction with the kitchen. The little experience I had over there was making instant noodles and scrambled eggs.

Then many years later I had to browse through many food blogs when my fiance started cooking at his place and I had to guide him through many recipes. Even then I really didn't know anything about cooking, not even how to make a simple tea. 

Finally I got married :). the worst part.... I didn't even know how to wash rice!!!! Thankfully for me, my husband had a little experience in cooking. So he started teaching me how to cook. Little by little I started learning how to cook. I am still learning...

Over the past 2 years I have a collected recipes from my mom, mom-in-law, aunts and friends. Food blogs and YouTube food channels have been a great help. So I thought that I will save all the recipes that I like in one single place and in that way start trying out a lot of my bookmarked recipes. I am new to blogging and writing too. I read as much as I can, but writing has never been my thing. So pardon me if I make any mistakes.

Love,

Dona.