Egg Kuzhipaniyaram Masala Bhaat / Egg Appe Masala Bhaat ( No Tomato Recipe )

                                                          Happy Weekend Friends :)

One pot recipes are always my family's favourite meal than the regular menu like kuzhambu, sambhar etc. Today's recipe is also an one pot flavourful rice prepared using freshly ground masala and eggs. Since eggs play a major role in my pantry, I love including it in our menu in a different way. In this recipe, I had prepared eggs in the form of Appe / Kuzhipaniyaram and cooked along with rice and masala. Trust me ! The taste will be really delicious since the juice of freshly ground masala gets into the eggs. Boiled eggs can also be used but adding in this kuzhipaniyaram form will sure enhance the taste of eggs. Adjust the quantity of red chillies and green chillies according to taste bud. This rice goes perfect with onion raita or any varieties of raita.

The same recipe can also be prepared in the form of regular omelette instead of kuzhipaniyaram.  Check out my Egg Omelette pulao for the reference.

Ingredients :

For Masala Powder :

1 1/2 Tbsp Coriander seeds
5 - 6 Red chillies ( adjust according to taste bud ) 
1 Tsp Black pepper corns
1 Tsp Jeera / Cumin seeds 
2 Cloves 
1/2 inch Cinnamon stick 
3 Tbsp Coconut, grated 

For Masala Bhaat :

2 - 3 Tbsp Oil / Ghee 
1 Tsp Cumin seeds
1 1/2 Tsp Ginger garlic paste
Few Mint leaves  
1 1/2 Cup Rice 
2 Onions, finely chopped 
3 Green chillies, sliced ( adjust according to taste bud ) 
1/2 Tsp Turmeric powder 
3 Cups Water 
Salt to taste 
4 Eggs

Method :

Before starting the cooking process, wash the rice and soak it in water.

Dry roast the ingredients given in "For Masala Powder" and grind into fine powder. Keep aside.

Beat 4 eggs by adding little salt and prepare kuzhipaniyaram omelette using Kuzhipaniyaram / Appe pan.

Once done, keep aside and start the cooking process for masala bhaat.

Heat oil / ghee in a thick bottomed pan or cooker and add cumin seeds followed by mint leaves, green chillies and ginger - garlic paste.

Saute till the raw smell of ginger - garlic paste goes off and add chopped onions.

Saute till the colour of onions changes into light brown colour.

Now add the prepared egg kuzhipaniyaram along with turmeric powder, chilli powder and ground masala powder ( add little water if the masala is very dry ).

Mix well, cover and cook it for 2 - 3 minutes in a low flame.

Meanwhile, drain the water from rice and add it to the masala. Mix gently without breaking the rice.

Add the required amount of salt along with the measured water.

Cover the pan with alumnium foil and close it with a lid.

Simmer the flame and cook until the rice is cooked.

Rest the masala bhaat for at least 10 minutes before serving.

Garnish with coriander leaves or mint leaves along with a little ghee for the flavour.

Serve hot.

Serving Options :

Serve hot with onion raita or any varieties of raita. 

Dal Faraa

After Bihari cuisine ( click HERE to view my Bihar special Spinach Dal Pithi ), We the members of Shhh Secretly Cooking Challenge group got a lovely chance to explore Chattisgarh cuisine and their food culture. It's amazing to know that there are wide varieties of healthy recipes used in Chattisgarh cuisine and most of the traditional recipes are made up of using Rice, Rice flour, Dal and green leafy vegetables. The few popular Chattisgarh recipes are Muthia, Aamat, Bara, Bhajiya, Chilla etc.

For January month, I was paired with a lovely blogger Sharanya Palanisshami who blogs at Sara's Tasty Buds and I was given Masoor dal and Red chilli powder as my secret ingredients by her. Using those lovely ingredients, prepared a delicious and super healthy dish called Faraa. Faraa is nothing but a healthier version of desi style Momos. The outer covering is prepared using wheat flour and the stuffing is usually prepared using chana dal. Since I got Masoor dal as my ingredient, I had included it along with the chana dal and yeah, it indeed made the dish more healthier. I had to mention that this dish was a super hit among family members and in-fact, I am planning to prepare it again using more varieties of dal to make it more healthier. This dish can be served as a healthy breakfast or an evening snack along with tea / coffee / green tea. The steamed ones can also be served as such but the seasoning enhances the taste of the dish. This delicious dish goes perfect with Momos chutney or any spicy chutney.

Here are my few suggestions of chutney varieties to go with this healthy Faraa...

Tomato - Garlic Chutney 

Mint - Tomato Chutney 

Mint Curd Chutney 

Click HERE to view other interesting chutney recipes.

Friends, check out my partner Sharanya Palanisshami's page to view her recipe prepared using the secret ingredients given by me.

Ingredients :

For Wheat flour Dough :

1/2 Cup Wheat flour 
1 Tsp Oil 
Salt to taste 
Water, as needed 

For Stuffing :

1/4 Cup Chana dal
1/4 Cup Masoor dal
1/2 Tsp Cumin seeds / Jeera Seeds
2 Green chillies
2 Garlic Pods
1/4 Tsp Turmeric powder
1/4 Tsp Red chilli powder
A pinch of Garam Masala powder
Salt to taste

For Seasoning / Tadka :

1 Tsp Oil 
1/2 Tsp Mustard seeds
1/2 Tsp Cumin / Jeera seeds 
A pinch of Hing powder 
2 Dry red chillies
Coriander leaves for garnishing

Method :

Add wheat flour in a bowl along with a required amount of salt, water and oil.

Combine together and knead well to form a soft dough. Cover and keep aside.

To prepare the filling, soak both the dals for couple of hours in a water.

Drain the water and add it to a blender along with garlic pods, cumin seeds, green chillies, turmeric powder, chilli powder, garam masala powder and the required amount of salt.

Grind into fine paste and keep aside.

Now divide the prepared wheat flour dough into equal sized balls.

Take one ball and roll into a circular shape using rolling pin.

Stuff it with the prepared dal mixture and seal the edges like we do for Somas / Karanji / Kozhukatai / Momos.

Steam it for about 15-20 minutes and allow the prepared Faraa to cool.

Once cooled, cut each faraa into 3 - 4 pieces and keep aside.

Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds.

Once it starts spluttering, add cumin seeds followed by hing and dry red chillies.

Add the faraa pieces and toss it for couple of minutes in a low flame.

Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot.

Serving Options :

Serve with Tea /  Coffee / Green Tea.

Eastern's Jackfruit flour Review / Fara Using Jackfruit Flour

I am excited to share my views on an interesting and nutritious flour which was launched by Eastern Condiments in the name of "jackfruit 365". This flour is prepared using green jackfruit. Isn't interesting? Just the addition of a 1/3rd portion of this flour to any dishes like idly, dosa, roti, puttu etc makes the meal healthier. The green jackfruit flour is rich in dietary fiber which helps in weight loss and also, it regulates the blood glucose levels. The texture of flour is similar to the wheat flour and has a mild bitter taste of the green Jackfruit. But the bitter taste doesn't affect the taste of the dish as only 1/3 rd of Jackfruit flour is recommended to use along with any recipe. Have to thank Eastern group for introducing such an amazing flour. The concept of adding this flour to any dish is very much impressive as this helps to maintain a healthy lifestyle with our regular cooking.

Check out the Nutrition information of Jackfruit flour in the below pic!

The recipe booklet is also available inside the pack ( Malayalam Lang ) and also, check the page given in the below picture for more info.

Here are few dishes which I had prepared using this healthy flour...

 And coming to today's recipe...

Fara is nothing but steamed dumplings. The soft dough is prepared using rice flour and shaped into the desired shape and further steamed or blanched in a water. There are so many varieties of Fara like chawal fara, dal fara etc and the one which I am sharing today is a quite simple yet healthy dish. I have included Jackfruit flour along with rice flour to make the dish more healthier and we all loved the taste of it. This can be served as breakfast or an evening snack along with coconut chutney or any spicy chutney.

Ingredients :

1 Cup Rice flour 
1/3 Cup Jack fruit flour
Hot water, as required ( do not use boiling water )  
1 Tsp Oil 
Salt to taste 

For Seasoning :

1 1/2 Tsp Oil 
1 Tsp Mustard seeds
1 Tsp Cumin seeds / Jeera seeds
A pinch of Hing powder / Perungayam 
2 - 3 Dry red chillies
Few Coriander leaves 

Method :

Take rice flour, jackfruit flour and the required amount of salt in a bowl.

Add hot water little by little and combine the flour. ( Use wooden spatula to combine the flour as hot water is added ).

Add oil and knead into soft dough.

Now make small equal sized balls out of the dough and cover it with a damp cloth to avoid the dough getting dried.

Grease the palm using little oil, take one ball and gently roll it to get a cylindrical shape.

Repeat the process for the remaining dough and steam it for 10 - 15 minutes.

Once Fara is prepared, transfer it to a bowl and keep aside.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a small pan and add mustard seeds.

Once it starts spluttering, add cumin seeds followed by hing and red chilies.
Now add the seasoning to the prepared Fara and garnish with coriander leaves. 

Serving Options :

Serve with coconut chutney or any spicy chutney.

Stay tuned for Gnocchi and Idiyappam recipes which are prepared using Jackfruit flour. 

Disclaimer : This is an honest review based on my taste and preferences Only !

Spicy Mutton Fry using FishandMeat Product

Spicy Mutton fry is a perfect side dish to serve with Rasam rice when you are down with cold during the winter season. Apart from Rasam rice, this fry goes well with plain rice and also, with sambhar rice. Frying chilies in an oil before adding the cooked mutton masala enhance the spiciness in the fry and in addition gives a delicious taste. The freshly ground pepper gives an extra punch to the dish. If you are a spicy food lover, then this mutton recipe is a must try dish.

After started getting fresh meat and seafood from FishandMeat, my frequency of traveling to market has reduced. Ordering the product is also quite easy either I have to order using their App or just through whatsapp. Recently received an IQF done mutton pieces from FishandMeat and the taste was similar to the fresh ones. IQF (Individual Quick Freezing ) is one of the freezing method followed in the food industry. Apart from meat, any smaller pieces of food items like berries, small fish, poultry, prawns and diced vegetables can be stored by this method. This method helps the product to retains its shape, color, taste, and smell.

The product has to be removed from the freezer only before starting the cooking process. Just drop the packet in a big bowl of water for about 20 minutes. This helps the meat to de-freeze and later, it can be used for cooking.

                The meat looked fresh and tender as shown in the pic below after 20 minutes. 

I have to thank FishandMeat for introducing such a technique which indeed helped me to learn more about this freezing method. I prepared a spicy fry out of this meat which turned out really yummy and here comes the recipe...

Click HERE to know more about FishandMeat Product!

Ingredients :

250 gms Mutton pieces 

2 Big Onions, finely chopped 

1 Big Tomato, finely chopped 

1 Tbsp Ginger garlic paste 

1/2 Tsp Turmeric powder 

1 Tsp Red chili powder 

1 1/2 Tsp Coriander powder

1 Tsp Jeera / Cumin powder 

Salt to taste 

4 - 5 Green chilies, slit

3 Tbsp Oil 

2 - 3 Tbsp Freshly ground Pepper powder 

2 Sprigs of Curry leaves 

Method :

Wash mutton pieces and add it in a pressure cooker along with finely chopped onions, tomato, ginger - garlic paste, turmeric powder, chili powder, coriander powder, cumin powder and a little salt. 

And 3/4 cup of water and pressure cook it for 1 whistle and simmer the flame for 15 - 20 minutes. 

Once done, switch off the flame and wait until the pressure gets released from the cooker. 

Heat oil in a pan and add green chilies. 

Fry it for half a minute and remove from the pan. Keep aside. 

Add curry leaves followed by cooked mutton masala along with the water and cook until the water reduces. ( adjust salt, if necessary ). 

Add freshly ground pepper powder and the fried chilies back to the fry. 

Cook it for another couple of minutes. 

Switch off the flame and serve hot. 

Serving Options :

Serve with plain rice, sambhar rice or rasam rice. 

Watermelon Sweet Pongal

After posting so many recipes using watermelon rind in the past, here comes an interesting tasty Pongal recipe using rice, demerara sugar and watermelon rind. The rice is cooked along with grated rind in a watermelon juice and water. Then, demerara sugar is added to the Pongal along with the fried nut and raisins. This unique Pongal is a brilliant way to use the rind of watermelon instead of throwing it and indeed it gives as delicious taste. Regular refined sugar or jaggery can also be used as the substitute of demerara sugar.

Ingredients :

1/4 Cup Rice 
1/4 Cup Watermelon Rind, grated 
1/2 Cup Demerara Sugar 
1 Cup Watermelon Juice 
1 Cup Water 
2 Tbsp Ghee
5 Cashews
7 Raisins
1 Elachi, Crushed 

Method :

Wash and cook rice along with watermelon rind using water and watermelon juice.

Once the rice and rind get cooked, add Demerara sugar and cook until the sugar melts and gets a Pongal consistency.

Meanwhile, heat ghee in a small pan and add cashews followed by raisins and elachi.

Fry them and add it to the prepared Pongal.

Serve hot.

Note : 

Cook the rice in a low flame and keep stirring.

Increase the quantity of ghee to enhance the flavor.