Dal Fry- Restaurant Style

I always like the way they serve Dal Fry at restaurants. Its got that spicy touch blended with the right flavor that can make anyone lick up the whole dish within a few minutes.

Dal Fry that has been prepared here is a closer version of the restaurant style Dal Fry. Anyone can prepare it if done with care and lots of love ;)

Ingredients

• Toor Dal - 1 cup
• Water - 2 cups
• Onion - 1
• Tomato - 1
• Green chillies - 2
• Red chillies - 4
• Curry leaves
• Ginger Garlic paste- 1 tsp
• Asafoetida - 1/4 tsp
• Chilly Powder - 1/2 tsp
• Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp
• Kasuri methi-  a pinch or two (Optional)
• Oil/Ghee
• Corriander leaves (Optional)
• Water - 1 cup
• Salt 

Method

• Wash toor dal and cook them in a pressure cooker with 2 cups of water and keep aside
•  In a kadai, pour oil or ghee allow the oil to heat
• Add mustard seeds and pop them
• Add curry leaves and red chillies 
• Add chopped onions and green chillies 
• Saute well
• Add red chilly powder and turmeric and saute well
• Add ginger garlic paste, tomatoes and saute well
• now add some water and now you may add the cooked toor dal to the kadai
• Mix well
• Add salt, Asafoetida, kasuri methi and corriander leaves
• Let it boil
• Switch off flame
• Serve in a bowl and let it accompany rotis 
• Enjoy!!

Super Fast Fried Chicken

When you are planning to make chicken fry and that too within a few minutes, then you can always rely on this recipe.

Usually I make this quick fried chicken when I am usually in a hurry to pack lunch. This one actually saves a lot of time and it is a real delight to the taste buds too. 

All you need to do is cut the chicken into small pieces and add the right amount of spices with exact amount of salt, deep/shallow fry and Tada! your quick fried chicken is all set to be served or packed. 

Ingredients

• Chicken pieces - 1/4 kg
• Ginger Garlic paste- 1/2 tsp
• Red Chilly powder- 1/2 tsp
• Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
• Garam Masala - 1/8 tsp
• Salt
• Oil

Method

• Clean chicken pieces 
• In a bowl, add Ginger Garlic paste, Red chilly powder, Turmeric powder, Garam Masala and Salt. 
• Mix them well
• Now add the chicken pieces to the bowl
• Mix the spices with the chicken 
• You may fry them immediately
• Heat a pan
• Add oil
• Add the chicken pieces to the hot oil 
• Fry the pieces 
• P.S: This will take around 5 to 10 min
• You may place the fried pieces of chicken on a tissue so that you can get rid of the excess oil from them
• Serve hot or pack them for your child's lunch box.
• Enjoy!!

Potato Song

Potato Song is the traditional dish of the people of Goa. This is a very simple dish with least number of ingredients, and it does tastes good.

This dish does not consume too much of your time, and the wonderful color of the dish brings in more appetite. Potato song is a dish that is to be accompanied with rice. But I loved having the dish with Chapatis. Was tasty and easy to cook too.

Ingredients

• Potato - 4 nos
• Onions- 2 large
• Chilly powder - 1 1/2 tsp
• Tamarind paste - 1/2 tsp
• Coconut oil - 2 tbsp
• Salt

Method

• Take a kadai and heat it
• Add coconut oil to it
• Add finely chopped onions to it and saute well
• When the onions have turned translucent, add the chilly powder and saute well
• Now you may add the potato cubes to it 
• Add salt and water (1 1/2 cups) and mix well
• Place the lid over the kadai and allow it to cook for 10-15 min
• Add tamarind paste and cook for 1 min
• After 15 min, you may switch off the flame
• Remove the contents to a bowl 
• Serve hot with rice or chapatis
• Enjoy a quick and easy side dish within no time!!

Cooking Measurements

Know more about measurements in cooking. 

1 Pinch = 1/8 teaspoon= .63 ml
1/4 teaspoon = 1.25 ml

1/2 teaspoon = 2.5 ml

1/3 tablespoon =1 teaspoon= 5 ml

1/2 tablespoon= 1.5 teaspoon= 7.5 ml

1 tablespoon = 3 teaspoons = 15 ml

1/4 cup = 4 tablespoons = 62 ml

1/3 cup= 5.3 tablespoons= 83 ml

1/2 Cup = 8 tablespoons= 125 ml

1 Cup = 16 tablespoons = 250 ml

Chicken Cutlet

Cutlets can be anyone's favorite. Chicken cutlets can be fun to have during a festive occasion or when you feel like eating something special occasionally. Chicken cutlets are my favorite and I would like to share the recipe with all my friends.

Ingredients

• Chicken-  1 kg (boneless)
• Potatoes - 2 nos
• Onion - 1 large
• Green chilies - 2 
• Ginger Garlic Paste- 1/2 tsp
• Carrot - 1 no
• Beans - 250 gm 
• Coriander leaves - a small bunch
• Pepper powder - 1/4 tsp
• Garam masala- 1/4 tsp
• Bread crumbs
• Eggs
• Salt
• Oil

Method

• Cook the chicken pieces 
• Remove bones if any
• Grind it in the mixer for a second or two. Make sure you do not make it to a paste.
• In a pressure cooker, cook potatoes 
• After cooling, peel off the skin and mash it with a spatula. Do not make it to a paste.
• Chop the vegetables finely, including onions and green chillies
• Heat a pan and add oil
• Add the finely chopped onions to the pan, saute for 5 min
• Now add the finely chopped vegetables and saute well
• Add salt 
• Add a pinch of turmeric powder to the pan and saute for 2 min
• Close the lid and allow it to cook for 10 min
• After 10 min, switch off the flame and let it cool
• After the vegetables have cooled, add it to the chicken 
• Add sufficient salt if you need some
• Now add 1/2 tsp of pepper powder, mashed potatoes and coriander leaves to the chicken and mix well
• Divide it into small balls
• In a flat surface, (a plate which is kept upside down would do) you may pat the balls into flat cutlets. Pat it with the help of a knife or a flat spoon. Make sure you dip the balls into a vessel with some bread crumbs
•  In a small bowl, beat up 1 egg with a pinch of salt and keep it aside
• Now heat pan, and add oil for deep frying
• When oil is hot, you may take a cutlet mix and dip it in the beaten egg
• Remove excess egg content and then put it onto the hot oil for frying
• Fry it for 5 min, now turn it other way round till you find the cutlet gain a slight brown color.
• Remove the cutlets from flame and place it on a tissue paper for draining excess oil
• Serve hot. You will really enjoy the yummy taste of Chicken cutlets.