Turkey Meatballs

This is an easy recipe to make your kid have some protein and veggies. Perfect for his lunch box. It goes with carbs like spaghetti, pasta or a rice dish too. Not to mention it is extremely yummy!

Ingredients
Ground turkey 2 lb
Bread crumbs 1.5 cup
Eggs  2
Onions 1
Parmesan Cheese 1/4 cup
Vegetables like Spinach, Celery 1 cup
Coriander leaves 1/2 bunch
Tomato paste or ketchup 3 tbsp
Black pepper powder 1/2 tsp
Lemon juice to taste
Salt
Oil

Method

1. Squeeze water from turkey with tissue so that excess water is drained off
2. Finely chop all vegetables
3. Mix all ingredients
4. Make lime sized balls
5. Grease pan and arrange balls atleast 1/2 inch apart
6. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 mins

You can freeze them for upto a month. 

Enjoy!

Easy Quesadilla

This is an easy peasy mexican Quesadilla  recipe. Its got lots of cheese and sourcream so I prefer to go the fatfree variety but still tastes good.

Ingredients

corn-bean salsa - store bought from walmart

1 medium onion chopped

1 bell pepper chopped

salt as per taste

pepper as per taste

sour cream as per taste - I use the lighter variety

Flour tortilllas

shredded cheese - I use Krafts 4 blend fat free cheese 

olive oil

Method:

1. Stir fry onion and bell pepper for 3-4 minutes with a sprinkle of salt
2. In a vessel, make filling mixture by mixing together salsa, onion- pepper fry, salt, pepper and sour cream.
3. Heat tortilla in pan with olive oil on both sides
4. Apply thin layer of sour cream on 1 side
5. Put cheese on one half of the tortilla
6. Spread filling mixture on top
7. Top with cheese
8. Fold the tortilla
9. Heat in low till cheese melts

Tip:

Add stir fried, shredded chicken in filling mixture if you crave for a chicken quesedilla!

Chicken/Fish Cutlet

This is a very tasty recipe for making cutlets. My mom makes beef and chicken cutlets. I have ventured to try fish and vegetable ones too. They are yummy and like they say, no one can have just one.
Ingredients:

1. 2 big size potatoes mashed
2. Bunch of cilantro
3. 6 green chilies
4. 1 onion finely cut
5.  2 cup ground chicken or beef OR 2 cans tuna
6. 1 tsp red chili powder
7. ¼ tsp turmeric powder
8. 3 egg whites
9. 4 bread slices
10. Oil
11. Salt to taste

Method:

1. Heat the bread slices in microwave till they become stiff. Grind them in grinder to make breadcrumb powder. The powder should be fine.
2. Fry onion and green chilies. Add chili and turmeric powder.
3. When onion turns transparent, add tuna/chicken/beef and fry till cooked/done. Keep aside for cooling it down.
4. Mix this fried mixture with mashed potato, cilantro and salt to make dough.
5. Divide the dough to make oval shaped patties with this dough. Size is around 3“ long and ¾ “ thick. Press it in centre to flatten it a bit.
6. Roll this patty in egg white and then in breadcrumb powder. Make sure that the patty is coated completely in this powder. To make crunchier cutlets, repeat this step.
7. Deep-fry the patties till the color turns golden brown.
8. Remove the patty from oil, strain oil and place them on tissue to remove excess oil

Serves 4
Serving suggestion: Serve hot with tomato ketchup

Gongurra Mutton Curry

Another staple from my husband's town. This is a combination of meat and greens, so is very healthy than just a regular meat dish. It is made very spicy traditionally but I prefer to cut down on the spice.

Ingredients:
Mutton
Gongura leaves (Sorrel leaves/Pitwaa)
Onion
Chillies
Red Chilli powder
Oil
Salt

Method:

1. Cook Mutton separately as done in Mutton Curry
2. In a Pressure cooker put a layer of onion, chillies, chilli powder then top with Gongura leaves
3. Close cooker and cook till 1-2 whistles
4. Remove whistle and top and cook for 5 mins till Gongurra is done, Stir so that the leaves are smashed
5. Add mutton pieces and Oil from the curry, Add extra oil if needed
6. Cook for a few mins till oil separates at the top
7. For extra flavour add pudina leaves and boil

This cury tastes best the next day when the flavor of the leaves seep mutton pieces

Andhra Style Mutton Curry

Traditional Mutton curry recipe from my Mother-in-law's kitchen! You could just use this as a regular meat curry or use this curry as base to other curries like, Adding gongurra leaves for Gongurra Mutton curry.  You can also add veggies like potato, tomato, drumsticks for extra flavor. Test your imagination!

Ingredients:
Mutton
Onion
Chillies
Coriander
Mint
Ginger Garlic paste
Red Chilli powder
Garam Masala Powder
Salt
Oil

Method

1. Heat oil in presuure cooker and add onions and chillies till golden
2. Add ginger garlic paste and saute
3. Add mutton pieces and mix
4. Add Red chilli powder, garam masala poder, coriander and mint leaves
5. Add salt to taste
6. Add little water and close pressure cooker til 2-3 whistle
7. After 2-3 whistles remove whistle and cook on sim flame for 10-15 mins

 You can set aside around 1/4 kg mutton pieces for Gongura mutton curry

Chilly Chicken

In the mood for some indo chinese today...Dug up this awesome recipe from Mommy dearest!! Love you mom!

Ingredients:
1 Medium sized skinless, boneless chicken
5 tsp Corn flour
1/2 tsp Pepper powder
2 Spring Onions
7-8 Green Chillies
2 tsp Soya sauce
1/4 tsp Ajinomoto
1 cup Chicken Stock
Oil
Salt

Masala paste:
Grind following ingredients to a smooth paste
10-15 flakesgarlic
1" ginger

Method:

1. Cut chicken into 1 inch sized cubes
2. Marinate chicken with 3 tsp corn flour, half tsp salt, half tsp pepper powder and half masala paste (See Alternate Marination)
3. Keep aside for some time
4. Heat 4 table spoon oil, fry chicken pieces little at a time.
5. Keep fried chicken pieces aside
6. Add to remaining oil spring onions (cut thin slices),remaining masala paste, green chillies.
7. Let it cook on slow gas.
8. Add sauce, ajinomoto, half tsp salt, 2 tsp corn flour(blend in little chicken stock).
9. Add chicken pieces, one cup chicken stock .
10. Cook on slow gas til chicken is tender.

Alternate Chicken marination :
2 tsp vinegar
2 tsp soya souce
1tsp chilli pdr
ginger garlic paste
half tsp pepper pdr
salt
Enjoy with ..well...goes with anything. Tonight I am gonna have with Mommy's Indo Chinese Fried Rice!

Kerala style chicken curry

On all our festivals, we have to begin our day with appam and chicken curry. I took it for granted during those days. I crave for it now. Yumm Yumm Yummmyyyyy.

Ingredients:
1) Chicken- cleaned and cut into 1-2 inch pieces - 1 kg

2) lemon juice - 2 tbsp
3) coriander powder - 1 1/2 tbsp
4) yogurt - 1/2 cup
5) salt

6) Onion -1/2
7) Fennel seeds - 1 tsp
8) cloves- 2
9) cardamom - 2
10) cinnamon sticks - 3
11) bay leaves- 2
12) greeen chilies - 5
13) ginger- 1 inch
14) garlic - 3 cloves
15) poppy seeds - 1 tsp
16) curry leaves - few

17) Onion, cut lengthwise - 1 1/2
18) corriander powder- 1 tbsp
19) red chilli powder - 1 tsp
20) turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
21) chicken masala - 3 tbsp
22) Tomato, cut finely -1
23) Coconut milk - 3/4 can
24) Corriander leaves - a bunch
25) Vegetable oil

Method:

1) Marinate chicken in ingredients (2-5) for an hour
2) Fry ingredients (6-16) in canola/veg oil till onion becomes golden brown
3) Grind them with little water to make a paste and keep aside
4) Fry remaining onions till golden brown in remaining oil.
5) Add remaining masalas
6) Then add tomatoes and cook till done.
7) Add chicken pieces along with sufficient water to cook it.
8) When chicken is half done, add ground masala paste and stir
9) After a while, when chicken is almost done, add coconut milk.
10) When chicken is done and oil separates, put off stove
11) Garnish with corriander leaves

Tip: You can adjust spiciness with coconut milk. If you add too much cocnut milk, the result might be sweet. So just add till gravy attains required thickness and tinge of sweetness.
My friend, Sarat, added lotsa lemon juice while marinating and the result was real good. Try it

Serves: 6

Serving Suggestion: Serve with plain rice, kerala parotta or appam