Chicken Salad Wraps/Chicken & Salad Wraps

My third post for this week's blogging marathon is definitely a complete meal. Loaded with vegetables and chicken chunks, this chicken salad wraps makes a filling meal. Chicken salad is a simple salad prepared with chicken or else as a mixed salad with chicken and handful of vegetables which calls for lettuce, tomato, avocado etc with mayonnaise or salad dressing. And this chicken salad can be used very much for making sandwiches. My kids have been asking this chicken salad wraps since a while and i have been skipping it as well. When i picked Wraps and Rolls as theme for this week's blogging marathon, i couldnt even think more than dishing out this wraps. Usually chicken salad is prepared either with leftover chicken chunks or else with grilled chicken chunks. But i opted for boiled chicken chunks which works awesome for making this filling sandwich.

Herbal Chicken Biriyani/Green Chicken Briyani/Mooligai Kozhi Biriyani

My kids are meat lovers, though i love vegetarian foods, i had an obligation to cook meaty foods atleast a meal per day. Though i cook meat dishes often, i post them very rarely in my space. If you check non vegetarian dishes in my space you will find them lesser than the vegetarian dishes. Dunno why i think twice to post meat friendly dishes here. Since its sunday today, i felt like posting this flavorsome green chicken biriyani aka Herbal chicken biriyani i cooked recently for our lunch as sunday special. This chicken biriyani tastes absolutely fabulous with eye pleasing green colour. Though this dish is also named as Nilgiri Biriyani, i felt like naming this dish as Herbal chicken biriyani as this dish calls handful of mint and coriander leaves with couple of spices. Yes this dish is completely cooked in a special mint & coriander leaves paste grounded along with whole garam masala, green chillies. This briyani is tomato-free dish, only onions is used in this dish with ginger garlic paste. I used yogurt to prepare this biriyani, if you want to make them more flavourful, just replace the yogurt with freshly squeezed coconut milk.

Arachi Vitta Kozhi Kuzhambu/Chicken Gravy with Grounded Masala

Once a new week starts, i plan myself earlier to make some meaty dishes during weekend, especially for our Sunday lunch. Since am working now, its really hard to cook some fingerlicking Indian curries during the weekdays. Dinner will always goes from easy breezy dishes like salads, soups and sandwiches as its easy to dish out with less efforts after spending an hectic day.Obviously we always have a super duper Sunday lunch with meat dishes. Chicken, this lean meat is rich in proteins, and i love chicken very much. Though hubby love mutton, my pick is always chicken. And my today's dish is a flavorful chicken gravy prepared with a grounded masala. This chicken gravy is definitely a fabulous dish if you ran out of spice powders like coriander powder and chilly powder.

Murgh Kalimirch/Black Pepper Chicken

Murgh Kali Mirch is also known as Kali Mirch Ka Murgh, which means Black pepper chicken. This chicken dish is one of the most popular and flavourful side dish which you can have with anything. Serve this fingerlicking goodness chicken curry with some flaky parathas or else as side to serve along with simple pulao or fried rice, you can enjoy this lipsmacking chicken without any guilt. Its been a while i have posted a non vegetarian dish in my space, dunno why i kept postponing to post non vegetarian dishes in my space. Eventhough i do cook varieties of non vegetarian dishes especially on sundays, i forget to click them hence i have been delaying in posting non vegetarian dishes in my blog. Few days back, i got a message from a fellow follower asking me to post a chicken based dish. Obviously how can i stop myself posting a chicken curry, hence today's post is this extremely delicious spicy chicken curry.

Chinese Pan Fried Baozi Buns/Chicken & Carrot Panfried Baozi

Chinese foods are our family favourite and seriously i enjoy their varieties of foods served in chinese restaurants. Am living in Chinatown and obviously i dont need to run or search for chinese ingredients, just few minutes walk i have couple of chinese stores to hunt those specific ingredients to dish their dishes easily at home. And this week is going to be some delicious chinese foods i have dished out for this week's blogging marathon as this week's theme is 'Homemade Chinese Take Away Foods'. Srivalli gave this Buzzfeed link to try our hands to make out some incredible chinese foods at home. While going through this link, most of this take away friendly chinese foods tempted me a lot, obviously i couldnt resist to give a try to this ultimate baozi buns. As an ardent fan of Chinese foods, i was literally drooling over all those beautiful dishes and seriously i was struggling to pick three delicious dishes out of those 28 dishes the link shared.

Kovai Hotel Angannan Naatu Kozhi Biriyani/Coimbatore Hotel Anganan Special Chicken Biryani

Sunday lunch is always special that too when we make a biriyani which is quite popular in Tamil Nadu. Actually i never had a chance to taste Coimbatore Hotel Angannan's special Biriyani but trust me google master will definitely help to replicate many traditional dishes at home just with a click. I have been looking for a different biriyani recipe since a while as i was bored to cook the same routine style of biriyani. When i was googling i got hooked to a cookery show where the chef prepared this Kovai special Hotel Anganan chicken biriyani with simple ingredients. Obviously i couldnt resist to give a try and this biriyani came out simply flavourful.

Kalmi Kabab/Chicken Kalmi Kebab

Kalmi Kebab, calls always for chicken drumsticks, though chicken thighs makes excellent, juicy, succelent, tender kebabs. Kebab lovers will definitely fell in love this meaty kebab, this kebab is a must if you want to give a try kebabs at home. Homemade kalmi kebabs calls for mild spices and the marination plays an important role to get juicy kalmi kebabs. Tandoori ovens are usually used for making kebabs, however baking in oven works awesome to dish out this succelent chicken thighs. If you have went through my earlier post, you might have noticed that am posting Kebabs varieties for this week's blogging marathon. After a creative drumstick pulp kebab, i couldnt stop posting this delicious Kalmi kebab.

Vegetable & Chicken Enchilada Soup

I have many versions of some incredible enchilada soup with chicken, however i couldnt resist to add some vegetables to make this simple soup more nourishing and filling. With sweet corns and cooked black beans add the crunchy texture and protein to this incredible soup. Though some Enchilada soup calls for cheese and cream i opted for a simple version of this soup. If you love spicy soups for your lunch or dinner, am sure this soup will definitely tickle your tastebuds. Trust me, this soup is full of flavors with shredded chicken, black beans, sweet corn kernels and a handful of vegetables, you will thoroughly enjoy this soup. Though many versions of this Enchilada soup calls for crockpot/slow cooker, i opted for an easy breezy cooking. I went for pressure cooking method, however if you have crockpot, this soup calls for less time to prepare, and crockpot will take care of the rest.

Chicken 65 Biriyani/Chicken 65 Biryani

Have you ever tried combining chicken 65 and biryani together as one pot meal?, if not then you are missing something. This chicken 65 biriyani makes an excellent meal for a party get together, family get together or else simply for a special sunday lunch. Actually i love to serve biriyani cooked with chicken,mutton or prawn along with chicken 65 and raita but imagine how delicious this biriyani will be if both chicken 65 and rice gets cooked in a spiced aromatic paste. My family members are great fans of chicken 65 and briyani obviously this one pot meal was their favourite since ever i served them for their sunday lunch.Though this briyani goes for both frying chicken pieces and cooking kuska like biriyani, dont forget to give a try to this interesting and delicious one pot meal. If you are a vegetarian, do try this biryani with Paneer 65 or else with vegetables like baby potatoes or cauliflower, the choice is yours.

Pizza Soleil/ Sun Shaped Mushroom & Chicken Sausage Pizza

Sun shaped pizza, you might have crossed this beautifully stuffed sun shaped pizzas if you would have searched for a different shape pizza's collection easily available in this virtual world. Recently i baked this gorgeous looking pizza at home as am a member of a French Baking Group Defi Boulange, created  by Nadia and Manue.Its a group where Manue and Nadia shares their beautiful bakes every month and the members of this group should bake their version of the month's challenged bake with their own ingredients. This month's challenge is this Pizza Soleil, soleil means Sun in French as this pizza looks like a Sun, the name suits absolutely prefect na. Since my kids are in vacation, we had loads of fun making this pizza at home and the measurements given for making the dough for this pizza is quite enough to feed largely 4-5peoples. Make it for a lunch or dinner and enjoy with a salad, am sure you will definitely have a satisfying meal.

Potato Assaadu & Chicken Puttu - Pondicherry Special

Pondicherry - this place is very special to me, yes its my hometown. Pondicherry is in Southern part of India, its one among the Union territory, we have our chief minister and a chief secretariat.Pondicherry, heavily influenced by French, we have the street names in French, yes The french way of life left a deep impact in our lifestyle and in our cuisine. Pondicherry cuisine, is a mixed cuisine of French, Tamilnadu, Andhra, Kerala and with some Bengali touch too.Pondicherry cuisine involves many spices,obviously gravies and side dishes are prepared basically with  mixed paste  of coconut,poppy seeds and cashewnuts or simply stir fries have grated coconut definitely in it thus this cuisine have very rich flavourful dishes.Pondicherry is one of the famous tourist place and now its one of the fetish place for movie shootings,you cant miss a movie shooting atleast once a week, because of this many 5 stars hotels are showing their head here and there in Pondicherry. Pondicherry is called French Riviera of the East.

Been born in Pondicherry, i have been pampered by many traditional dishes and when i was about to chose a traditional dish i picked Assaadu which means literally Kurma. Christian community in Pondicherry calls their kurma as assaadu and this dish is prominently prepared with meats or seafoods, but i prepared mine simply with potatoes. You might have heard the name kavappu which means bhajji, the gramflour coated fritters. Most important spices cooked in this cuisine is peppercorns,fennel seeds, cumin seeds,poppy seeds,coriander seeds. Since Pondicherry is situated near Bay of Bengal, we are seafood lovers and we get super fresh seafoods. My today's post from my place is Potato Assaadu and chicken puttu aka shredded chicken, actually we make puttu  with shark fish/Sura meen which is quite famous in my place, i simply replaced the shark fish with chicken.Both dishes served with rice makes a satisfying meal definitely.

Rendez Vous With A Foodie - Usha Rani of Maha's Lovely Home

Twice a month am introducing newbie bloggers to this immense blogging virtual world, just to showcase their blogs with their guest posts they prepred specially for me and i named the event as Rendez vous with a foodie. Many new fellow bloggers came towards me to join this event and shared their fabulous dishes since ever i started this event. Happy that this event is going successfully since a year. I came to know more about my guest hosts through their replies they shared for my questions along with their guestposts. Each and every posts of my guest hosts are unique in their own way.

Blogging,this immense virtual world is definitely very close to my heart, i gained a bunch of good friends, well wishers and many blogger sisters. My today's guest is also one among them and she was a wonderful person who blogs at Maha's Lovely Home.Actually i crossed her before a year and we became closer to each one through FB. She is one of my sweet sister and a young mom of two cute kids who blogs frequently with healthy stuffs. Her healthy bakes which are completely eggfree,butterfree and sugarfree will definitely makes you awestuck and her collections of foods are just tremendous.Just go through her space, you will get a good collections of beautiful dishes you can dish out without any struggle. I have couples of favourites from her blog and trust me you will definitely enjoy going through her space.

Let's hear from Usha Rani of Maha's Lovely Home..

Iam happy to write a guest post for Priya`s versatile blog where the wonderful lady shares interesting food recipes.. Priya sis is a lovely person n cares very much about other bloggers too..I really admire her cooking and especially baking skills.She is very down to earth,simple and spends her valuable time to write comments in each and every blog almost.Some times I surprise,that how she manages home,kids and blog.I tried few baking recipes from her space and they came out simply yummy.Also,Iam a big fan of her non-vegetarian recipes.Even though she presents a single picture,it says allot about the recipe.To be honest,hubby and kids of priya sis are very lucky on getting such a human being as life partner and mother...Sis,,I wish you all the best to future and to your blog..Keep sharing healthy recipes like this always with full of health and wealth.God bless you and your family for ever..

Actually my guest post was in march,and due to the occasions of my kids in India, I was busy and informed to sis that I can`t mail the post.Without any annoys she extended it and gave a chance to write today.Such a sweet lady..Thank you so much for giving this opportunity and Iam feeling thrilled on sharing a recipe in an amazing blog..Thank you so much once again!!!

1)Tell us about your blog and you?

Me Usha Rani.wife of simple+smiley good  business man and the most Important proud ful  mother of world`s beautiful handsome and sexy boys(MAHADEV N MAHADHIP)..an experimental girl...I write at Mahaslovelyhome which is my cook blog.It`s a very simple blog with south indian and baking recipes(mostly). I share recipes which are easy to cook and saves time mostly.Recently what I observed is more than the traditional n authentic recipes,I have my own creative recipes in my blog. also recently started another blog with name SOME THING HELPFUL where I share blog related techniques,kitchen tips which helps every one...

2)Before and after blogging, tell us what blogging changed your life?

I started my blog in 2011 november.on that time my little son was months baby and up to one year I posted recipes without touching others blogs.that means it was in sleep mode.Again in december(2012) seriously decided to work on it..Blog kept me always busy,made me to think creative,still learning photography,blessed good friends and most Important It made me to feel  that Iam not alone. Because  here in Foz we don`t have any Indian(hindu) people.so, you can imagine my situation..

3)When and what motivated you to blog about food?

When I was new to here(foz) I was depended on few blogs who posts step wise pics too..One fine day while I was in front of the system unexpectedly created my blog with my kids name and later took it serious to work on it..

4)There are a tons of blogs/pages on food these days, what accordingto you is the speciality of your blog and the food you cook?

 what you said is right!!..I observed many blogs.N every year the number is increasing,.It`s really a good improvement..Coming to my case,baking recipes of MLH are healthy n proudly what I feel is  most of the recipes are egg less and butter less.Even though my english is not,I feels happy whenever I write about my kids. :)

5) When it comes to cooking, who is your inspiration?

Inspiration!!!..Cooking is not a civil examination to inspire from others..According to me every woman is a good cook. when she turns into wife post,obviously she cook tasty food with  a  touch of love for her family..After thinking seriously about this question I think my mom, Hubby and my heart and soul are the inspirations.

6)Every newbie blogger faces tons of challenges when its comes to blogging, tell me about one of the challenges you faced and how did you overcome it?Please specify with the facts.

To change the look of blog I suffered allot and using google I(am) learned(ing) about gadgets and widgets which are important to blog.also,I suffered allot for recipe index and blog header.With the help of other blogs and websites I learned at least some thing which  helped my blog.

7)What is your best recipe and your favourite recipes you have blogged till now?

Each n every recipe is my favourite in my blog., a few,chicken dum biryani,ice cream recipes,mango recipes,all diet juices are my favourite.

8)Few tips about food photography?

I think iam unfit to answer this question..Heheehe..even though I handle canon,truly don`t know any thing about photography.But, will share personally what I feel,

1.Use pleasant looking colors kitchen towels.Also If you use veggies or fruits try to assemble fresh ones.

2.Arrange the food(recipe) neatly in the serving bowl(plate)

3.Try to click in day time.means natural light.

4.Click from different angles and click from top positions may looks good(I believe)

5.Keep it simple n don`t load with un necessary stuffs.

6.step wise pics are really helpful .

9)What is your budget for the props,do you have any or else do you manage with your household stuffs?

After deciding to settle down here in foz I started purchasing kitchen materials especially for blog purpose.in the previous two years I purchased allot and I kept blog using stuffs separately.few are high in price too and decided to don`t buy any thing this year.;)

10)How do you plan your blog posts? Do you post rarely,regularly or once a week?

From last year Iam regular in blogging,posting 3-4 recipes per week.even in the 2 last months, when I was in my India trip I arranged scheduled posts and still I have some more posts in draft..But,This year I have some Important promises.So.hope I will be regular same like always.

11)Do you have any other passions apart from food blogging or blogs you own?

Yeah.I love drawing,reading novels+stories,listening music,shopping,watching detective shows n madly watches movies.Nowadays spending some time on FB too.;)

Coming to the recipes,Walnuts are very healthy and less in calories.But sadly my two kids hates to eat those nuts.So,specially for them I prepared this rice by adding big handful walnuts and they liked it very much.For a combination I cooked chicken kurma in south indian style by using coconut as a main ingredient and both are tasted good. 

PREPARATION TIME- 30 MINUTES

COOKING TIME- 20+20 MINUTES

CARROT WALNUT PULAV:

WHAT YOU NEED

Grated carrot-1 cup

chopped  green bell pepper-3/4 cup

canned sweet corn-3/4 cup

walnuts-15

basmati rice-2 cups

red chili powder-1 tsp(as per taste)

salt-to taste

onion-1 med size

biryani garam masala-1 tsp

turmeric powder-1/2 tsp

ginger garlic paste-1/2 tbsp

coconut milk-1/2 cup

TO TEMPER

1 tbsp-oil

1 tbsp-ghee/butter

cardamom pods-3

cloves-4

cinnamon stick-2 inches

shahejeera/black cumin-1 tsp

HOW TO COOK

Heat a pan and dry roast walnuts and break into 4 pieces.Wash rice and soak for 20-25 minutes.

Heat a big pan with oil+ghee and saute Ingredients which given below to temper.

Fry well and throw chopped onion and saute for 2 more minutes in big flame.

Next add carrot,bell pepper and corns and mix well..Add enough salt and let it cook for 2-3 minutes.

Then add GGP,chili powder,turmeric and mix once again..after 2 minutes add coconut milk,masala powder and walnuts..stir once again well.

Then add enough  water and rice and let it cook until rice done.

Chicken Kurma:

WHAT YOU NEED

Chicken boned pieces-900 grams(i used frozen thigh pieces/small drum sticks)

coconut-med size 1/2 kernel

khus khus/poppy seeds-1 tbsp

red chili powder-to taste

salt-to taste

turmeric powder-1/2 tsp

chicken garam masala-1 tsp

ginger garlic paste-1/2 tbsp

mint leaves+cilantro leaves-hand ful

cumin powder-1/2 tsp

onion-1 big

tomato-1 med size

green chili-2 long

yogurt/curd-1/2 cup

coriander powder-1/2 tsp

oil-2 tsbp

cardamoms-3

cloves-4

cinnamon stick-1 inch

bay leaf-1 small

black cumin-1 tsp

HOW TO COOK

Wash twice chicken and remove skin part.Marinate with curd/lemon juice and turmeric,salt,chili,cumin  powder fro 30 minutes at least.

Now heat pressure cooker with oil and fry cardamoms,cloves,cinnamon stick,bay leaf,black cumin for half minute.

Then add chopped onion ,chopped green chili and fry til turns into light browny.Then add chicken and mix well..After 3-5 minutes add chopped tomato to this.mix once.

Now add washed green leaves and mix.pressure cook for 2 whistles in medium flame.

Mean while chop coconut and grind with khus khus by adding lit bit of water.

Once after releasing pressure in cooker turn on again and add coconut mixture and cook for 5 minutes in high flame.stir in between to avoid burning..

Finally add garam masala and and coriander powder.turn off after 5 minutes and throw some more fresh coriander leaves if you have and serve hot with rotis or pulkas.

Hope you all enjoyed this fantastic dishes from Usha, stay tuned for an another beautiful guest post by an another buddy blogger.

Chicken Ghee Roast/Ghee Chicken Roast

Chicken is one of the lean meat we love to have atleast once a week especially on Sundays. Sunday lunch is always special if hubby is at home. Coz he works two weekends alternatively and if he is at home, he love to have a feast especially on Sunday lunch. I'll prepare either biryani or else a gravy with chicken to serve mostly for our sunday lunch. While i googling i got hooked to this Mangalorean special chicken ghee roast at Charishma's space. Her pictures pulled me a lot and immediately i planned to make this juicy and highly flavourful chicken ghee roast for our sunday lunch. I simply served this chicken ghee roast with a simple sambhar bhath and we enjoyed our lunch thoroughly.

If you want to make a different chicken roast, you should give a try to this dish, am sure this chicken ghee roast will become your favourite. Its our family favourite now and even i passed this recipe to my French friend who loved spicy Indian foods. Seems she already prepared thus chicken ghee roast twice. Ghee plays an important role in this chicken roast, dont skip ghee also ghee is good for health. Frequent intake of ghee is not good but once a while you can take them without any guilt.However i tempered this roast with a cinnamon stick, which is completely optional.Its 4th sunday of the month and since i belong to a group of friends who blogs on sunday for the event Let's Brunch On Sundays am posting this fantastic chicken roast.

Parangipettai Chicken Biryani/Chicken Biriyani - Parangipettai Special

Biryani,this word itself makes me hungry, we love biryanis not only for the special occasions. Mostly we love to enjoy them for our sunday lunch.When i was searching for a new biryani, i googled for it and i ended at Asiya Akka's Samaithu Asathalam and picked her Parangipettai biryani. Instead of mutton, i went for chicken and followed her recipe prefectly. Seriously this biryani turned out extremely delicious and very flavourful, this Parangipettai briyani goes for a special spice powder which goes for white pepper, poppyseeds, cumin seeds, cardamom, cinnamon stick and cloves.

This spice powder enhances the flavor of this biryani and we seriously enjoyed this beautiful biryani for our sunday's lunch. Thanks to Asiya akka for sharing this flavourful Parangipettai biryani, and learned a new biryani from you.

Rendez Vous With A Foodie - Rafeeda of The Big Sweet Tooth

We might have crossed so many friends in our life, some may stay and some may go but some will never go and they will stay in our heart for ever. This blogging world brought me many friends who later became my virtual sisters and the number of virtual sisters are increasing day by day, but never mind i just adore the support and the love they brings me. Whenever i ask their support, they will definitely shower me with their huge support, thats why i created this event Rendez vous with a Foodie. I know i can trust my co-bloggers aka my virtual sisters to join their hands to make this event and trust me they proved that and this event is a big hit. I have to say big thanks to each and everyone for giving me this support.

If you are my follower,you might have noticed that every 7th and 20th of the month i'll be introducing a newbie blogger to this immense virtual world.My today's guest is known other than Rafeeda of The Big Sweet Tooth, a wonderful person, absolutely a very sweet sister who cares a lot for others. Earlier i thought she might be a homemaker who cooks quite often then later from her posts i came to know that she is a working mom with two adorable kids. I was astonished to see how frequently she blogs and participates in many challenges eventhough she is busy working mom.

Initially, her blog's name attracted me a lot, coz am also having a big sweet tooth. When you saw someone who is having the same taste and same passion for foods obviously you will get attract to them and you may turn curious to know more about them.This is wat happened for me when i crossed Rafeeda's space, happy that she is an adorable person who have a huge heart thus i simply became her ardent fan. Actually I always love her Malabar dishes and obviously i was waiting eagerly for her guest post. Trust me, she didnt disappointed me and send me a wonderful,droolworthy Malabar Biryani. Thanks Rafee Sis, coz of you finally my space have a wonderful Malabar biryani now.

Rendez Vous With A Foodie - Nalini Suresh of Nalini's Kitchen

Twice a month am introducing newbie bloggers to this immense blogging virtual world, just to showcase their blogs with their guest posts they prepred specially for me and i named the event as Rendez vous with a foodie. Many new fellow bloggers came towards me to join this event and shared their fabulous dishes since ever i started this event. Happy that this event is going successfully since the month of march and i came to know more about my guest hosts through their replies they shared for my questions. Each and every posts of my guest hosts are unique in their own way.

Today is 7th october and its time for an another guest post, today's host is very much close to my heart.Life is beautiful when you are surrounded by simple and broad minded peoples as like you, couple of months back my days were not that much funfilled as like now. Yes few buddies from this immense virtual world came very much closer to me and i got a bunch of close friends to whom i can share my happiness and sorrows, trust me they are my family now, eventhough we never had a chance to meet personally, virtually the bond between us is getting more closer and closer.One among those kind hearted and very humble person is Nalini suresh of Nalini's Kitchen, eventhough she is very busy with a young boy and a toddler baby gal she blogs quite frequently. Seriously i admire her enthu  and loves her fabulous dishes she shares in space.

I can talk for hours about Nalini, she is a very jovial person she can change her environment in a couple of second with her humour. Many peoples can come and go in your life but only few will stay with us, Nalini is one among those person very special for me.Nalini is a wonderful,sweet,honest,modest, down to earth and a humble heart, who will get very much easily closer to you. I love her space, she shares many beautiful dishes with eye catchy clicks, anyone can learn easily with her detailed stepwise pictures. When i asked Nalini to make this guest post, i asked her to share some village style foods coz my space have rare numbers of village style foods.She was kind enough to accept and send me a fantastic village style food,which makes me nostalgic.

Lets hear from Nalini of Nalini's Kitchen..

Today I am so excited to do a guest post in one of a well known blogger Priya.She is one such caring person and passinate blogger,never forgets to visit my blog with her lovely words.Though she ia a mom of 3 kids her dedication towards blogging is amazing and like the way she posts.She is a wonderful baker and all her baked goodies are super duper.

When Priya came up with the idea of rendez vous for newbies I was really happy and excited.
Coming to the recipe,its a village style chicken recipe which is a stew like preparation popular in Southern part of Tamilnadu.This saaru/stew goes very well with Idly,dosa,idiyaapam and even plain white rice.

1)Tell us about your blog and you?
I am Nalini Suresh,full time home makerlives in U.S with my hubby and 2 kids.I blog under Nalini's Kitchen which is 2 years old.

2)Before and after blogging, tell us what blogging changed your life?
I always have a passion towards cooking and like to do lot of experiments in the kitchen.So I don't feel any changes after I start the blog except the interest towards photography and props hunting.

3)When and what motivated you to blog about food?
Couple of my friends motivated me to start a blog after tasting my foods and my hubby dear supported me to start a blog.He helped me a lot to create the template and buying props.All the credit goes to him.

4)There are a tons of blogs/pages on food these days, what accordingto you is the speciality of your blog and the food you cook?
I cook simple,healthy South Indian vegetarian and non vegetarian food and eggless baking.Most of my recipes are with stepwise pictures which would be very helpful for the beginners.

5) When it comes to cooking, who is your inspiration?
Of course its my mom.Being a full time working mom she cooks and feed us delicious and the same time a healthy food.She has lots of interest and passion towards cooking and trying out new recipes.

6)Every newbie blogger faces tons of challenges when its comes to blogging, tell me about one of the challenges you faced and how did you overcome it?
I have lots of technical issues in my blog which I cannot fix it.My hubby dear and my friend Revathi helped me a lot to come out this issue.
Next thing is I was not aware of the social medias like Facebook,Pintrest.Sangee of Spicy treats helped me a lot.

7)What is your best recipe and your favourite recipes you have blogged till now?
All my recipes are favorite,the best ones are karivepillai kulambhu,kathirikkai konda kadalai kulambhu,Pepper chicken,mutton sukka and my native's special sweet Asoka Halwa.

8)Few tips about food photography?
Take pictures in the natural light with a decent and neat presentaion.
Don't use flash and try to take pictures in a day light.
Try to take pictures in different angles.

9)What is your budget for the props,do you have any or else do you manage with your household stuffs?
I don't have any bugets but I make sure the buget won't go beyond 10USD.I have interest towards buying the culinary gadgets and crockery before blogging,so I use some of my household stuff also.
But now the interest has become more and whenever I go for shopping never forget to get a small prop for my blog,it doesn't matter if its a big mall or dollar store.

10)How do you plan your blog posts? Do you post rarely,regularly or once a week?
I try to post 4-5 recipes per week but these days with a year old active girl at home its really difficult to post like before so i limited to 2-3 posts per week.

11)Do you have any other passions apart from food blogging or blogs you own?
Yes,I do embroidery,knitting and painting.But these days with my lil one its hard to find time to do,so I do it rarely.

Village style Chicken Stew/Kozhi Saaru

Ingredients:
Chicken(with bones)-1lb(450 gms)
Onion(finely chopped)-1
Green chilly-2
Turmeric powder-1/4tsp
Red chilly powder-1tsp
Curry leaves-1 sprig
Coriander leaves(chopped)-for garnishing
Oil-2tbs
Salt-1+1/2tsp

To saute and to grind:
Shallots-10
Tomato(medium size)-2
Ginger-1 inch piece
Garlic-4-5 cloves
Red chilly-3-4
Coriander powder-1tbs
Coconut(grated)-3tbs
Cloves-3
Cinnamon-1 inch piece
Fennel seeds-1tsp
Cumin seeds-1/2tsp
Black pepper-1tsp
Poppy seeds-1/2tsp

Method:
Wash and clean the chicken and cut into bite size pieces.Add the turmeric,red chilly powder and 1/2tsp of salt to it and mix it well.
Keep it aside.

Heat a pan with 2tsp of oil,crackle the fennel and cumin seeds then add the other whole spices.Now add the shallots,garlic and ginger,saute it till transparent.

Now goes in the chopped tomatoes,cook it until mushy,finally add the grated coconut and coriander powder,give it a mix.Put off the fire.Let it cool down completely,grind it to a fine paste.

Heat the pan with the remaining oil,once the oil becomes hot saute the onion,curry leaves and green chilly till transparent.Add the chicken pieces and saute till it changes the color.

Now add in the ground masala paste,salt and mix it well.Add 3 cups of water to it and cook it covered in a medium flame till the chicken becomes tender and soft.

Finally sprinkle the chopped coriander leaves and put off the fire.

This curry needs to be slightly watery so adjust the cocnsistency accordingly.

If you want to use ginger and garlic paste omit the whole ginger and garlic while sauting and use it while making the curry,after the onion is sauted.

Hope you all enjoyed Nalini's delicious chicken stew, stay tuned for an another guest post from an another young and newbie blogger soon.

Rendez Vous With A Foodie - Sadhana of Success Stories of My Recipe

You guys know that every month i'll be introducing a budding blogger and it happens twice a month, honestly i have to say a big thanks to my guests for making this event a big hit. Thank god even in this virtual world,am blessed to have a good bunch of friends who are really close to my heart. If you are food blogger and your blog is just less than 2years old, dont forget to ping me for joining in this event. I'll be happy to showcase your blog in my space without any hesitation.Today am introducing one of my best buddy since my earlier age of blogging, our friendship is growing day by day and eventhough we are far away, we have shared many pleasant moments together both virtually and personally. 

Butter Pulao, Mughlai Kesar Murg & Bread 65 ~~ A Virtual Birthday Party for Divya Pramil

Celebrating virtually a friend's birthday, seriously am loving it. Eventhough many miles separates us we, a bunch online friends aka bloggers trying our best to celebrate birthday of each and every person of our small group. Today Divya Pramil of You Too Can Cook, a young and bubbly chef aka one of my best sister celebrates her birthday and we cooked few party dishes from her space to celebrate this day.

Happy Birthday Divya Pramil, make god bless you.Look up to the sky, too many stars are shinning up there, i want to see you shinning like a star on the sky of life, have a sparkling birthday Sister.

To a wonderful person i crossed in this virtual world, i cooked three dishes from her space to celebrate virtually her birthday. She shares many beautiful dishes and her breath taking clicks will definitely tempt you also you will learn easily her dishes through her stepwise pictures. Hope Divya will love and enjoy my virtual treat, but seriously everyone at home enjoyed this beautiful dishes and Bread 65 is our recent favourite.Dont forget to check out Sangee,Manjula Bharath,Divya Prakash,Vijayalakshmi,Preeti Tamilarasan,Shama Nagarajan,Priya Ranjit and Pretika the other bloggers joining their hands with me. Go through their blog and enjoy the virtual feast we cooked for Divya's virtual birthday party.

 Butter Pulao from Here
  

1cup Basmati rice (washed & soaked for 30minutes)
1no Onion (big& sliced)
1no Green chilly (slit opened)
2nos Garlic clvoes (chopped)
1/2tsp Pepper powder
10nos Cashew nuts
5nos Raisins
Salt
3tsp Butter
2cups Water

Heat a pan,add a teaspoon of butter, add the cashew and fry until they turns golden brown.

Add the raisins to the same butter and fry until they turns brown. remove and keep aside.

In a pressure cooker, heat two teasppon of butter,once the butter starts melting, add the slit opened green chilly,chopped garlic, saute for few seconds.

Add the sliced onions,saute well until they turns transculent.

Now add the salt, pepper powder,cook for few more minutes.

Add the soaked basmati rice,saute for a minute, add 2cups of water, stir.

Now add the fried cashews,raisins, give a stir and close the cooker with a lid, dont put the weight and cook the rice in low flame.

After 5 minutes, check the water and rice, if the rice is cooked and no more water, out off the stove.

If the rice is not cooked again for few minutes.

Toss gently the rice, dont stir much and serve with raita.

Bread 65 from Here:
3nos Bread slices
1/4cup Gram flour
1tbsp Rice flour
2tsp Cornflour
1pinch Baking soda
1/2tsp Ginger garlic paste
Few curry leaves (chopped)
1tsp Red chilly powder
1/4tsp Fennel seeds (crushed)
Salt
Oil for frying
Yellow food colour - A pinch

Cut the bread slices as small cubes.

Take a medium size bowl with gram flour,corn flour,rice flour,baking soda,ginger garlic paste,chopped curry leaves, red chilly powder,crushed fennel seeds, salt and yellow food colour, make a thick batter by adding enough water.

Batter should not be watery.

Heat the oil for deepfrying, dip gently the bread cube in the prepared batter and drop immediately the hot oil.

Fry until they turns brown, dont over crowd  and fry in small batches.

Remove from oil and drain the excess of oil with a paper towel.

Enjoy!

Mughlai Kesar Murg/Saffron Chicken from Here
1/2kg Chicken
2cups Thick curd or Yogurt
1/2cup Warm milk
3tbso Fresh cream
1tsp Saffron
1/2tsp Ginger powder
1tsp Red chilly powder
2tsp Coriander powder
1/2tsp Fennel powder
1/4tsp Turmeric powder
a pinch Asafoetida powder
1tsp Cumin seeds
Salt
Oil
Chopped coriander leaves (optional)

Wash the chicken pieces thoroughly, add the curd,ginger powder,chilly powder,coriander powder,fennel powder,turmeric powder,salt and mix well until the chicken pieces gets well coated.

Keep aside for half an hour.

Meanwhile soak the saffron strands in warm milk and keep aside.

Heat a kadai with oik, once it gets hot, gently remove the spiced curd coating from the chicken and drop it in hot oil.

The curd may get dispersed in oil,but dont worry,fry the chicken until they get half cooked.

Remove the chicken pieces from oil.

Heat an another pan with oil, let crack the cumin seeds, add the asafoetida.

Now add the curd mixture used for the chicken marination,stir well and cook for few minutes until the oil gets separates.

Add the fried chicken, stir well.

Add a cup of water to the cooking chicken and cook everything in medium flame until the gravy gets thickens.

Finally add the saffron milk,cook for few minutes.

Add finally the fresh cream,mix well and remove from flame.

Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

Enjoy with butter pulao.

Sending to Srivalli's Side dish Mela.

Rendez Vous With A Foodie ~~ Arthy of Sumanarthy's Kitchen

Today is 7th june and am happy to introduce an another budding blogger today as am hosting Rendez Vous With a Foodie,an event where newbie bloggers share about them, their passion for foods,blogging and with a beautiful guest post. I started this event just to showcase new bloggers to this immense virtual blogging world and this event runs twice a month.For some personnal reason,i couldnt able to do this guest post last month itself, thanks to my hosts of this month for understanding my situation.

Coming to today's guest host, its none other than Arthy of Sumanarthy's Kitchen, Arthy is from Malaysia and her space is a treasure for Malay cuisine, you can cross variety foods there. I came to know Arthy few months back, one day she pinged me and asked a guest post, immediately i accepted her request for guest posting, then we started chatting rarely.Then an another day,i got to know more about her through an another blogger, now we are best buddies and she call me Ka with loads of love. She is very lovable,down to earth,honest,modest and very adorable person with a huge heart, ask her some tips for dieting she will immediately share A-Z about dieting.Thanks Arthy dear for sending me this beautiful guest post and am honoured.

Lets meet our this month's host Arthy..

Wow, blogging is an awesome experience getting to know many sisters all over the world, even without meeting face to face the chemistry is fantastic....hehehe, I got to know Priya Suresh ka of Priya's Versatile Recipes last year while blogging and she have even done a guest post for my blog.

1)Tell us about your blog and you?
Okay, now let me introduce myself for those who don't know me, I'm Arthy of Sumanarthy's Kitchen. I started blogging in the year 2011 but lost my older blog due to unforeseen circumstances and started this blog. I have been actively blogging ever since, I'm Biomedicine post grad who have been learning to cook since the age of 11.

2)Before and after blogging,tell us wat blogging changed your life?

Life before blogging was plain as I hardly mingle around with strangers but blogging made me a much more approachable person and I have been trying a lot of recipes out of what I have tasted and learnt from my mom.

3)When and what motivated you to blog about food?
I was so much motivated to start a blog on my own when I wanted to share those recipes I have learnt from my mom and aunt, blogging was the only way I could introduce wonderful family recipes which I love. Another must mention reason that motivated me to blog is my beloved hubby who loves home cooked food, I learnt cooking variety of dishes to impress him and all this while he inspires me to try out new recipes and not forgetting my other family members.

4)There are tons of blogs/pages on food these days,what according to you is the speciality of your blog and the food that you cook?

There are tons of blogs out there but what I can say about my blog is that, most of the recipes are from my mom and some I have created over these years of cooking.

5) Every newbie blogger faces ton of challenges when its comes to blogging,tell me about one of the challenges you faced?
The first challenge that I faced was when I have just started blogging, I didn't know anything bout blog but over time I have learnt a lot of things that improved my blogging not forgetting some of blogger sisters helped me to correct the mistakes that I made. The second will be food photography, when I started blogging I wanted to present the dish I prepared as it is but after visiting many other sisters, I got to know how important it is food styling and food photography to promote my recipes and blog.

6)Few  tips about food photography?
I'm still in learning process and I don't have much tips on food photography but what I can say is that you don't need expensive and exclusive props or camera but the interest and initiative to present the dish you cook is very much appreciated.

7)Wat is your budget for the props,do you have any or else do you manage with your household stuffs? How do you plan your blogspots?

I don't have any specific budget on props and I make use of what I have at home, previously when I was not working I post a new recipe almost everyday but now since I'm busy with business and work, my schedule is quite tight and I rarely post. I need sometime to adjust to the timing of taking pictures as by the time I reach home it would be evening and the lighting is not favorable for clicking.

8)Do you have any other passions apart from food blogging?
Apart from blogging I love reading novels and sewing but I hardly find time for both these hobbies. Best recipes that I would have blogged so far would be my varieties of Sambals as Malaysia is so famous for the it.

Anyway I would love to take this opportunity to thank Priya ka for the wonderful chance given to me to share about my blog and recipes. Love you ka!

Now let me bring you to the special recipe that I have prepared for my lovely Priya ka, Coriander Pepper Chicken. This is a very simple but delicious dish that you should taste, I'm sure people who don't fancy spicy food would definitely love this.

Coriander Pepper Chicken:

Ingredients:

500g of boneless chicken (cut into small pieces)

A bunch of coriander leaves

1 large tomato (sliced into wedges)

2 large onions (sliced thinly)

2 tbsp of coriander powder

1/2 tbsp of crushed black pepper

1 tsp of whole black pepper corns

1/4 tsp of turmeric powder

1/4 tsp of fennel powder

1/4 tsp of cumin powder

1 cinnamon stick

1 star anise

3 tbsp of oil

1 tsp of ghee

Salt to taste

In a pan, heat oil and fry cinnamon stick, star anise and onions until translucent, then add in the chicken pieces, turmeric and salt, this mixture should be fried without adding any water as the chicken will release enough water to cook it.

Now add in coriander powder, cumin powder, fennel powder and black pepper corns and let this cook together with the chicken.

Now add in ghee, tomato and chopped coriander to the chicken and let it cook until tomato is totally mushy and blends well with the chicken gravy.

Let the chicken fry in the oil and completely cooked, finally add in the crushed black pepper according to your spice tolerance.

Now our Coriander Pepper Chicken is ready to be served with roti, plain rice or anything you wish. I hope you will try this dish and let me know how it turned out for you!

Droolworthy coriander pepper chicken na, hope you guys have enjoyed this hot and spicy chicken fry, dont forget to visit Arthy's space.

Stay tuned friends, i'll be back with an another newbie blogger on 20th June for this event.

Chicken Manchurian

Chicken manchurian, while going through my recipe index few days back, i noticed that i havent posted yet our family favourite Indo chinese dish manchurian with chicken.This manchurian tastes absolutely delicious,yummy and a tasty side dish to enjoy thoroughly with a bowl of fried rice.If you are bored of usual stir fries or gravies prepared with chicken, this yummy manchurian will definitely satisfy your tastebuds.Sending to Julie's Flavors of Cuisine-Chinese.

2cup Chicken (cubed)
1/4cup All purpose flour
1/4Cornflour
1tsp Ginger garlic paste
1tsp Green chili paste
Salt

For manchurian:
1no Onion(diced)
2nos Capsicum (cut into small square pieces)
4nos Garlic cloves(chopped)
2tbsp Soya sauce
2tbsp Tomato ketchup
1tsp Rice Vinegar
1tbsp Cornflour dissolved in water
Salt to taste (if needed)
Oil for deepfrying the chicken
Oil for sauting


In a large bowl, combine all purpose flour, cornflour, salt, garlic-ginger paste and the green chili paste.Mix well with water to get a thick batter.

Heat oil in a pan.Dip the cubed chicken in the batter,drop gently to the hot oil and  fry in oil. Drain the excess of oil and keep aside.

In a flat pan, add some oil and when it smokes add the chopped onions and capsicum and saute for few seconds.Now add the chopped garlic,salt and fry for a minute.

Add the soy sauce and vinegar,stir for a minute. Reduce the heat and then add the cornflour-water.

The mixture will start to thicken, keep on stirring on low heat and when the mixture turns semi thick add the tomato ketchup and then add fried chickens.

Stir continuously for a couple of minute when it becomes soft, take it out from fire.

Garnish with chopped spring onions if needed.

Serve hot with noodle or fried rice or as appetizier..