Brain Fry (Mullai Varuval)

Lamb or Goat brain is kind of a delicacy for me, the mushy squishy texture is not something everyone likes, its got its own unique taste. Just ensure its cooked well and it doesn't take too long to cook either. Clean it well and should be good to go.


Ingredients

Goat or Lamb Brain 2 nos

Onion 1 no chopped

Tomato 1 no chopped

Ginger Paste 1/2 tsp

Garlic Paste 1/2 tsp

Red chilli powder about 1/2 tsp

Curry chilli powder 1/2 tsp

Turmeric Powder 1/2 tsp

Garam Masla 1/4 tsp

Curry leaves 4-5 nos

Coriander chopped small cup

Preparation

Cleaning the brain is essential, there will be a thin membrane over it which has to be removed and let it rest in warm water for 10-15 mins.

In a pan heat oil, add garam masala saute and then add onions, tomato, curry leaves, coriander, ginger and garlic paste. Cook until the onions turn translucent, now add turmeric, chilli powder, curry chilli powder and mix well. Let is cook thoroughly, now add the brain onto it and mix slowly from the sides in order not to mush the brains.Now add quarter cup of water and salt to taste, cover and cook further for 10-15 minutes under low heat. Remove cover and check, the onions should now turn brown to the right consistency, deglaze with a sprinkle of water.

Brain Fry

Mutton Kebab

Ingredients

Mutton Mince 250 grms

Onions 2 nos

Green Chillies 3 nos

Ginger 3-4 cloves

Ginger 1 piece (about an inch)

Coriander 1 cup

Pudhina 1 cup

Egg 1 no

Garam Masala 1 tsp

Red Chilli Powder 1.5 - 2 tsp ( warning 2 tsp is super hot)

Gram flour 2-3 tbsp

Bread crumbs 2-4 (as required)

Oil for pan frying

Salt

Preparation

Blend onions, green chillies , ginger, garlic, coriander, pudhina together. Now add the meat mince blend, add egg and blend further. Now transfer this onto a clean bowl, add garam masla, red chilli powder and mix well. Add gram flour and 2 tbsp of bread crumbs, mix well so that it removes any excess liquid.. Add more bread crumbs if required.Mixture will start to stick on  your hands, now just ball it up and place the bowl in the refrigerator for atleast an hour so that all the ingredient flavors are infused and the mixture is set.

Cooking the Kebabs

Remove from fridge and oil your hands, now make pattiesin any shape and place them on a hot pan preferrably cast iron. Pour oil around and cover them so that it steams  and cooks faster make sure you don't burn one side, after about 1-2 mins remove the cover and flip the kebabs and cook for another minute or two. Don't cover once you flip the kebabs this is done to retain the crispiness. Add oil if you want it to be even more crispier. Serve it with mint youghurt dip or mayo-bbq sauce and red chilli powder dip.

Another way to cook is, heat water in a deep dish and when it starts to boil, make balls of the refrigerated mixture. Once cooked they will rise up. Now place them on the pan and press down with a skillet and fry like above. One advantage here is that you could remove the patties when they just turn golden. Check the three patties on top in the picture.You can tell a marked difference in taste between the kebabs cooked in the two methods, the one that was directly fried is spicier whereas the ones put in boiling water and fried are milder. However both taste pretty damn good.

Mutton Kebabs

Karuvaadu (Dried Fish) Thokku

Karuvaadu (Dried fish) is an acquired smell which not everyone fancies. Those who know its taste will definely vouch on the comfort quotient that would bring along. Its a great accompaniment on a rainy day along with Onion Sambar or hot Rasam. Cooking karuvadu is very simple, choose your pick of the dried fish from the liked of bombay duck, nethilli, kandam ( chunks of fillet), prawn etc. and follow the recipe below.

Ingredients

Karuvadu 1 cup ( kandam karuvadu or chunky pieces of dried fish)

Onion 2 nos

Red chilli powder 1 tsp

Salt ( if needed)

Water 1/4 cup

Oil 1 tbsp

Preparation

First soak the karuvadu pieces in warm water for atleast 20-30 minutes. Heat oil in a pan, add onions to it. Now drain excess water from the karuvadu and add it to the onions, add chilli powder. No need of salt as the dried fish is salty enough. Add just a quarter cup of water, cover and cook for 5 minutes. Now remove the cover and let the water reduce and onions brown. If you want it more gravy add more onions, deglaze the pan with a sprinkle of water and  turn it off once the water evaporates. Check for salt.

Karuvaadu Fry

Karuvadu thokku sadham also tastes good, simply add cooked rice to the pan after transferring the karuvadu and mix well.
If you love it just share it.

Prawns Masala

Prawn masala is easy to make and goes well with almost any rice and gravy as an accompaniment

Ingredients

Prawns 1 cup

Onions 2 nos chopped

Tomatoes 1 nos sliced/ chopped / crushed

Green Chilli 1 nos

Curry leaves 4-5 nos

Ginger paste 1/2 tsp

Garlic paste 1/2 tsp

Turmeric powder 2-3 pinches

Red chilli powder 1/2 tsp

Curry Chilli powder 1/2 tsp

Coriander powder 1/2 tsp

Garam Masala 1/2 tsp

Water 1/2 cup

Oil 1-2 tbsp

Coriander  few chopped  (garnishing)

Salt to taste

Making the Masala

Heat oil in a frying pan and add curry leaves, garam masala, as it tempers add ginger, garlic paste and saute till the raw smell goes away. Now add the onions and tomatoes and cook well for 3-4 minutes. Crush the green chilli in a mortar and pestle and add it to the pan. Add turmeric powder, both the chilli powder, coriander powder as well as the Prawns and mix well so that the spices get mixed well and  prawns are well coated. Add 1/2 cup of water and cook until the water is reduced. Now add about tsp of oil and cook further the masala will be coating the bottom of the pan, deglaze by sprinkung water and cook till you get your desired consistency.

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Prawn Masala

Serve it as accompaniment along with any gravy and rice. Once you have transfered it from the pan, don't scrape the bottom of the pan instead add rice and mix well. Popularly known as Kadai Sadham when such dry dishes are made. 

I made this and Nethili Meen Kozhambhu  today, made a kal dosai with prawn masala in the centre and used the meen kozhambhu as side dish. Damn it was good.

If you like it, try it and let me know the result, is this description enough? comments are welcome and do share the blog.

Nethilli Meen Kozhambhu (Anchovies Fish Curry)

Nethilli (Anchovies) meen kozhambhu is different from the other Meen Kozhambhu that i had written earlier. Curry is much more thinner than the other one. This is totally my mom's recipe and was cooked under instructions from her.

Ingredient

Nethilli fish 2 cups( 250 grams)

Onions 2 nos sliced

Tomoatoes 3 nos (medium sized) Chopped

Green Chillies 2 nos slit

Garlic  1 whole pod , remove cloves and  split in half

Ginger 1 nos( an inch length) finely chopped

Coriander 1 cup

Tamarind size of large lemon

Water 3-4 cups

Mustard Seeds 1 tbsp

Urad Dhal 1 tbsp

Curry leaves 8-10 nos

Turmeric Powder 1/2 tsp

Red Chilli Powder 1.5 tsp

Curry Chilli Powder 1.5 tsp ( Aachi Kozhambhu Mellagai thool)

Coriander powder 1/2 tsp

Salt to taste

Cleaning the Fish

Its one of the easiest fishes to clean, pull the head off and the inners come out as well, with your index finger just follow through to clear anyother inners. Rinse thoroughly with turmeric and sea salt (kaal uppu). This will ensure the fish doesnt smell and is thoroughly clean.

Preparing the Kozhambhu

In a deep bottomed pan (Clay pan adds more flavor) heat oil and temper with mustard seeds, urad dhal and curry leaves until they crackle. Now add the onions, tomatoes, green chillies, garlic cloves, ginger and coriander; continue cooking till they onions turn translucent. Now add the turmeric powder, red chilli powder, curry chilli powder, coriander powder and mix well. Prepare tamarid extract by soaking th tamarind in 1 cup of water, it should be neither thin nor thick.  Add the tamarind extract to the pan when the oil starts to separate. Add salt and check for taste, it should be bit sweet and tangy. Add 1-2 cups, depending how thin you want the gravy to b. Cover and cook for 3-5 mins, when you open the raw flavors would have gone and  kozhambhu flavor can be smelt. Now add the fish, care should be taken to rid the fish of all water.  Cook for another 2-3 mins. Check for salt and voila your Nethilli meen kozhambhu is ready to be served with rice, dosa or idly.

Nethilli Meen Kozhambhu

Variations:

One can also add raw mango or sliced brinjal while sauteing the onions. For vegetarians, replace the fish with fried brinjal or boiled potatoes.

Local Eateries: Royapettah Part 1

I live in an area flooded with road side eateries like fast foods, tiffin centres, mess and biryani places. I have been hogging the foods since i was a kid. I am trying to post some of my favorite places that sell IMO good food. 

Muttai Kothu Parotta

Most of the messes or tiffin centres sell Parottas as a permanent dish in their menu apart from the regulars like Idli, Dosa. Not all of these places make kothu parotta mainly because its time consuming, however there are those eateries that do make these. I have tried Kothu parota in a number of such eateries  and this place dishes out lipsmacking kothu's. Priced at 45 Rs for a plate, it would certainly fill one's appetite. I was salivating  while the master was preparing the kothu. A "Serva" (gravy) is provided for sides and goes well with it.

Its located on Dr.Besant Road opposite to Royal Saloon, coming from Royapettah Hospital, its about 200 meters past the Charminar  biryani stall  on the right side.

Enter these co-ordinates on google map for a rough indicator of the shop 13.053275,80.270439

Kothu Parotta

Chicken Fried Rice and Chilli Beef at Star Fastfoods

Further down the road is a fast food centre dishing out noodles, fried rice. One can custom make the fried rice like extra spicy or less spicy. I have been having there food since 2006 and they do tend to recognise me. Chilli beef is made by frying the beef with corn flour coating and then sauteed with onions, chillies and tomatoes. I prefer the noodles more than rice anytime, however this time i ordered chicken rice mainly because my mom was having it. The portions are quite huge and if you have a good appetite then one can finish  both the rice and beef. Best to share it and not waste it. Chicken rice is priced at 45 Rs and Chilli Beef at Rs 35.

This place is located on Dr.Besant Road about 100-200 meters before the Ice House Police station, from Royapettah  hospital it will be on your right. Enter these co-ordinates on the Google Map 13.05299,80.272544

Chicken Fried Rice and Chilly Beef

Food  8/10

Price 9/10

Would I Recommend?  Yes. 
Disclaimer: Do not expect the surroundings to be extremely clean, and if your very conscious about hygenic conditions around the shop, best to avoid. One has to understand we are taking about road side eateries and the obvious surroundings that come with it.

To be continued with other local eateries around Royapettah..

Coriander and Tomato Rasam

Rasam, a typical dish that you would find any South Indian household as part of their daily meal. Growing up, i have always found Rasam on a daily basis. However, as times change Rasam is no more a daily accompaniment, reasons most often the Rasam is not finished and ends up wasted. However, rasam  according to me is  a great comfort food be it after a tiring journey or on a rainy day. Just pour a cup of hot rasam over hot bed of rice, a dollop of ghee accompanied by appalam or karuvadu. I am salivating just writing about it, i cannot think of any accompaniment that will not go well with Rasam. There are number of variants and this is just one of it.

Ingredients for Rasam

Tomato 2 nos

Tamarind size of a large lemon

Green Chillies 2 nos

Garlic Cloves 4 nos

Coriander 1/2 cup

Asafoetida 1/2 tsp

Mustard seeds 1/2 tbsp

Urad dal 1/2 tbsp

Curry leaves  

Rasam Powder 1.5 tbsp

Turmeric Powder 1/4 tsp

Dried red chilli 1 nos

Oil 1 tbsp

Water  2-3 cups

For Rasam Powder

Toor dal 1 cup

Pepper 1 cup

Jeera 2 cups

Curry leaves 1 cup

Dried Red Chillies 15 nos

Fenugreek seeds 1/2 tsp

Mustard Seeds 1/2 tsp

Preparing the Rasam Powder

Roast all the ingredients  until they start to brown, take off the heat and let it cool. Grind them to a coarse consistency and store in a jar.

Preparing the Rasam

Place the tomatoes and tamarind in 1.5 cups of hot boiling water. Remove the tomatoes and mash them up. Make a tamarind juice with the water left after boiling, starin and add to the mashed tomatoes.

Heat oil in a pan, add urad dal, red chilli, mustard seeds and asafoetida. Now, add the tamarind and tomatoes mixtures to it, add the curry leave, crushed garlic cloves, whole green chillies, coriander 1/4 cup and turmeric powder. Bring it to a boil, you will see it a bit froth. Turn the heat off and transfer it to a container with the rasam powder in it. Garnish with leftover coriander.

Coriander and Tomato Rasam

Do not overboil as you will lose the flavor of  the rasam.

Crispy Fried Prawns

Recipe is inspired from the show David Rocco's Dolce Vita, there he had prepared squid similarly.

Ingredients

Prawns shelled and deveined 1 cup

Milk 1/4 cup

Flour 3 tbsp

Dried bread crumbs 2 tbsp

Red Chilli Powder 2-3 tsp

Garam Masala 1/2 tsp ( optional)

Salt for taste

Oil for deep frying

Preparation

Soak the prawns in milk and set aside for 10-15 mins.

Next mix all the dry ingredients together. Now remove the prawns from the milk and add it to the dry mixture.  Heat sufficient oil to deep frying pan,  remove the prawns and shake them of  excess dough. Oil should be at medium heat, too hot  it will get burnt. Cook them in batches until they turn golden in colour. Drain and place them on kitchen paper to drain excess oil. Sprinkle some salt if required, serve them hot by themselves or with some mayonnaise and chilli sauce dip.

Fried Prawns

Biryani - Plain/Chicken/Mutton/Prawn/Vegetables

Biryani is considered  a very complicated dish, however it actually is one of the simplest dishes to make according to me. Mom dishes out lip smacking biryanis, there are a number of ways to make biryani and this is one version of it that i make too.


Ingredients

Onion 2 medium sliced
Tomatoes 2 nos diced
Garlic Paste 1 tsp
Ginger Paste 1tsp
Green Chillies 3 nos
Garam Masala 1/2 tsp
Chilli Powder 1/2 tsp or 1 tsp (depending on hotness level)
Coriander Powder 1/4 tsp ( can be avoided too)
Pudhina (mint)  chopped 1/4 cup

Oil 1/4 cup
Curd 2 tsp
Lemon 1/2
Raw Rice 1.5 cups (basmati preferred)

Water 3 cups
(Rice to water ration for raw rice 1:2 for basmati 1:1.5)
Star anise 1 nos
Cinnamon stick 1 nos
Dried Bayleaf 1/2 piece
Cloves 2-3 nos
Salt to taste

Making the Biryani
Wash the rice thoroughly and soak it in water for atleast  20 mins. Ideally soak the rice first and start your prep.
Heat oil in a pressure cooker, add star anise, cinnamon, bayleaf, cloves and fry till the start release their fragrance, add the garam masal and saute. Now add whole green chillies, choped mint and fry till chillies change color, now add the sliced onions and cook until translucent. Add ginger and garlic paste and cook until the raw smell goes away. Now add the tomatoes and cook further for 3-4 mins till the tomato starts to mush a bit. Now add the chilli powder and coriander powder, and mix well.  When the oil starts to separate add curd and mix well and cook for about a minute. Now, add rice after draining it thorougly, mix well and cook for atleast 1-2 mins then add  3 cups of water,  add salt. Mix well and put the lid on, when the steam starts to come out as a proper stream put the pressure weight on. Wait for 2 whistles, now turn the heat off, let the steam out, open carefully and mix well. Put the lid back on with the weight, now place the cooker over the stove with a tawa or griddle, this is done so that the rice doesn't get burnt and stuck to the bottom of the cooker. As they say in tamil, Adi pudikama irukka . Let it sit for 10-15 mins, check again now the rices will be separate and not stuck together. Squeeze half lemon juice and mix well, let it cool a bit for the tastes to blend.  Serve with soft boiled gooey egg and raitha.

For Chicken or Mutton Biryani
Marinate Chicken/Biryani with  chillipowder, Garam masala, curd, salt, 1/2 tsp of ginger and garlic paste. Let it rest for 30 mins, in the above preparation add the marinated mutton/chicken befored adidng the curd. Fry well till the oil starts to separate.

For Prawn Biryani:
Add the prawns before adding the curd

Vegetable Biryani

Add vegetables after adding the tomatoes.

PS: If you like what i am doing, please share. Its just a mouse click and it will be an added encouragement as well.

New Tandoori Tadka - Moved out

New Tandoori Tadka opened sometime back in second half of 2010 if i may recollect. It was one of those days we decided to get some food from outside. I decided to try out the Tandoori Tadka  on Radhakrishnan salai, upon entering the place i found out it was a pure vegetarian place. The restaurant has two levels, ground and first floor and tables are not too closely placed. I checked out their menu and the first thing that caught my eye was they serve Chinese food as well, was quite intrigued as they called themselves a Pure Punjabi kitchen.

I did engage in a conversation with the guy at the counter who looked like the owner and asked him about the chinese food in the menu. He said that it was due to their experience from their previous restaurant venture where customers asked for Chinese dishes and lack of such menu cost them customers. He also pointed out that Chinese food at their joint does not get influenced by the Punjabi kitchen. 

Menu at Tandoori Tadka is quite exhaustive, i ordered Paneer butter masala, Kadai vegetable, 2 Phulkas, 1 Rumali roti, 1 Butter Naan and a Garlic Naan.

The gravy portions are quite on the high side and taste wise the paneer butter masala was less spicy but tasted good. The paneer tasted fresh and size of the cubes were just right, coming to the kadai vegetable it was medium spicy. Even kadai vegetable had paneer in it, i am not sure whether paneer is an ingredient of kadai vegetable, however they were smaller in size compared to the other gravy.

Panner Butter Masala                                             Kadai Vegetable

Roti's were nice and soft, one has to ensure that you have them as soon as possible else they tend to get a bit chewy. 

 Butter Naan, Garlic Naan                     Phulka                      Rumali Roti

All the above cost me 566 rs i don't exactly remember the cost of the gravies. They were roughly about 

169 rs each and the naan around 30-40 rs.

Overall, the food was good and would rate this place in terms of pricing in the mid range. Way better than the Kabul restaurant situated just a 2-3 buildings away.

New Tandoori Tadka is situated on Radhakrishnan Salai  between Kabul and Reliance trends.

Food  7.5/10

Ambience NA

Service NA

Price 7/10

Would I Recommend?  Yes

The Pasta Bar Veneto

Me, my cousin and a friend decided to go out for dinner. We decided to go for an Italian dinner, our regular pick would be Little Italy. This time we decided to try something new and Past Bar Veneto was shortlisted. Personally, I have been wanting to check this place out for quite sometime now too.

Called them up for reservation and they said it would not be required. Was surprised, but again being a Pongal day and city deserted thought it would be empty. There are two restaurants in Chennai, one on Alsamall, Egmore and the other at Burkit Road, T.Nagar. We were heading to the T Nagar restaurant and getting there is not that easy since its situated on a one-way road and one has to navigate through by-lanes to reach the destination.

The restaurant shares space with a boutique, and restaurant is located at the rear of the property. I guess it has a good capacity of about 50-60 people; upon entering one would find an open bar style setup. I just wished it was a well stocked bar, well my wishes are endless that never actually get materialized. Too much of boring info moving on...

The place definitely was not empty and we got  seated promptly, the table we were shown was not cleaned properly and the table next us were into an argument with the waiter. That was not a good sign for a first time visit to the restaurant, we were provided the menu, which looked quite exhaustive, but in reality its not actually. It just looks exhaustive, we had to wait quite sometime for the waiter to take the order. When they did come to take the order, we informed him about the sticky table and was told that he would take care of it once we ordered.

We ordered 2 starters, Sesame chicken and Cheesy Jalapenos, when we  placed an order for a soup to be shared, he refused stating that they don't offer soups to be shared. I have eaten at a fair share of restaurants and this was the first time i have come across such a policy by a restaurant that doesn't let you place "one by two" order of soup. We skipped it and waited for the starters to arrive and the table cleaned while we chose the main course.

The table was cleaned by another person who felt as though we were pointing stuff out and did i mention the person who waited was putting a grumpy face.

By this time i was pretty sure that the dinner was going to end on a sour note, more often than not my intuitions are right and this time it was wrong.

Then the starters came and we didn't have to wait too long, first the cheesy jalapenos served with tomato ketchup. The menu describes it as Jalapenos stuffed with Cheese, fried. Fried check, Cheese check, Jalapenos check but is it stuffed jalapenos with cheese nope. It was more like cheese bites with some chopped jalapenos in it. But it tasted good. Next was the sesame chicken, its breaded chicken strips fried and coated with sesame seeds served with thousand island dressing. It tasted good too.

For the main course we ordered, Primavera Al panna with Spaghetti, Chicken Bolognese, Diavolo Pizza and Pesto Con Spinaci Pizza. First, the Diavolo pizza, a 9 inch thin crusted pizza, it was delicious and was filled with flavors of the different ingredients. Our pizza was little burnt at one end but no complaints it was very good.

Diavolo Pizza

Next was the Primavera Al Panna, spaghetti on cream white sauce with veggies served with a garlic bread. It tasted well however lacked the creaminess and could have used a bit more of sauce for soaking the garlic bread. 

Primavera Al Panna

Similarly, the Chicken Bolognese was served with a garlic bread and it too lacked the sauce element plus the chicken element was missing. Chicken mince was way too fine than you find in a bolognese sauce that one doesn't even find chicken. Both the pastas even though the tasted quite nice left us wanting for more.

Chicken Bolognese

Pesto con spinaci was no different from the diavolo, was well cooked and tasted as good as the freshly baked smell.

Pesto Con Spinaci

We did not order any desserts, the total bill came to 1,062. The starters were 125 and 135 Rs, the pastas were 175 and 195 rs and the Pizzas were 165 each. Service charge and taxes extra.

To sum it up, easy on your pocket and tasty italian food. Pizzas are a step ahead of their pasta colleagues in the menu list. Portions of main course are good per person and  starter portions could be increased. In my opinion, its a nice and cheaper alternative for Italian food in city compared to the Tuscana and Little Italy.

The Pasta Bar Veneto is located on Burkit road, refer http://www.thepastabarveneto.com for more details

Food  7/10
Ambience 7/10
Service 6.5/10
Price 8/10


Would I Recommend?  Yes, definitely

Suggestions: Please inform the waiting staff to put a smiling face and keep the table surfaces clean. Cheesy jalapenos could actually be made like described in the menu and provide a better dipping sauce than just ketchup. Wee bit more sauce to soak the garlic bread  and don't change anything about the pizza.

Pasta in Arrabiata-ish Sauce

Ingredients for Arrabata-ish Sauce

Onion 1 medium sliced (finely chopped)
Tomatoes 3 nos
Garlic Paste 1 tsp

Tabasco Sauce as needed

Oregano 1 tsp

Chilli Flakes 1 tsp

Pepper powder 1 tsp

Chilli Powder 1/2 tsp

Coriander chopped 1/4 cup
Vinegar 1-2 tsp
Olives
Olive oil 2-3 tsp
Salt to taste

Making the Sauce 

Fork the tomatoes and put  them in boiling water, then shock them with cold water and peel their skins. Take 2 tomatoes puree them in a blender set aside, dice the other tomato to be added later in the cooking. In a pan, heat olive oil and add onions, garlic paste and chilli flakes cook for about 3-5 mins.Now add the blended tomatoes and cook further, add chopped coriander, oregano, chilli powder, pepper powder, tomatoes and olives. Cook further and add 1tbsp of tomato ketchup and 2 tsp of vinegar. Cook until the sauce reduces to a thick consistency. Add salt for taste and your sauce is ready.

Pasta in Arrabiata-ish Sauce

Cooking the Pasta
Refer to my earlier for cooking the pasta easily Elbow pasta-in white sauce.

Toss the pasta onto the sauce and mix well, sprinkle parmesan if you have or shredded cheese like i did. Also, you could add more veggies either sauteed or boiled and for carnivores cook chicken or meat separately and toss it into the sauce while adding the diced  tomatoes. Add a dash of tabasco sauce as per heat requirements.