Wanderberry Tales

With Easter just a day away marking the culmination of the Holy week and season of lent, Christian households would be prepping up a feast to celebrate the resurrection of Christ. Our celebrations often overshadow the real reason for the existence of such a day. To put it in a line - Easter Sunday celebrates resurrection of Jesus Christ from the tomb on the third day after crucifixion, fulfilling the prophecy that the Son of God would die for our sins and rise on the third day signifying eternal life. With a good share of Indian Christian population in the Southern state of Kerala, Easter Sunday would witness a day of festivity both at church and at homes. Here is a recipe that you can add on to the menu - Nadan Kozhi Porichathu/ Kerala Chicken Fry. Ingredients To Marinate – Chicken – 1 kg cut into medium or large pieces Ginger- garlic paste – 2 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder – 1 tsp Red chilli powder – 1 tbsp Turmeric powder – ½ tsp Fennel powder – 1 tsp Garam Mas...

When the rest of the world battles with Monday morning blues, we over here in the gulf battle the very same blues but on a Sunday instead ( Yeah, well our weekends are Friday and Saturday). I took quite a while to get used to this fact when we moved here from India. Even now I end up mixing the days - Friday for a Saturday and Saturday for a Sunday! Nevertheless The beginning of the week is hard and energy peaks as you move towards the next weekend. Alas, we are humans ! We know work is worship but nothing can take away those lazy weekends idling on a couch with family or those fun get together, shopping and more that can happen only on weekends. The theory that would apply to most of us for the beginning of the week is the one propagated by Newton - A body at rest tends to stay at rest unless and until acted upon by an external force which is why I had to drag myself out of bed this morning to Yoga class and post the class sit down to publish this post. Looks like I need a lot of ...

I have lived in Karnataka most of my life exempting the last 3 years in Dubai. Back in the days most of Kerala delicacies never crossed the Kerala borders. I lived close to Mangalore and Mangalore is only an arms distance away from Kerala (not literally:P) Despite this, it was a rarity to find any of the Kerala treats in Mangalore region or any neighboring areas. May be if you hunted down, you would find it in some corner of Mangalore unlike today when Kerala food is as popular in these regions. My parents say that after every vacation, when we come back from Kerala we had to lug across cartons filled with fish pickle, mango pickle, ari unda, achappam, ethekka upperi, chakka upperi, aluva, jelebi, puttu podi anything and everything. Now almost all of these are available in Mangalore sparing them the trouble of carrying cartons. My mother even ranted on once about how we managed to put everything into the bus at Mangalore station including me and my dad but before she and my sis...

We first ordered Kozhi Nirachathu at a popular restaurant in the UAE. We ended up with a butterflied chicken in a spicy masala along with a side of egg roast which absolutely did not complement each other that too at an exorbitant price! After almost a year we got to taste this dish again at another restaurant. This time the egg roast stuffed inside the chicken and the chicken was deep fried - it tasted heavenly.  I was skeptical of getting a whole chicken deep fried until I read up a few recipes and saw a couple of videos. Yes, you can actually cook a whole chicken on stove top without deep frying it! It is not all that time consuming either. Kozhi Nirachathu or stuffed chicken with gravy is a dish from Kerala that involves cooking a whole chicken with gravy and egg roast stuffed in the cavity.  Egg roast is made separately and stuffed into the marinated whole chicken before cooking the chicken in the gravy. When you want a whole chicken on table and you do not ha...

My very first attempt at making the humble chicken curry was born out frustration of a year long preparation for the 12th standard board exams which was no less than a nightmare. I remember hunting for a recipe from the old cookbooks and landing on one recipe, although I cant remember the name - it was some sort of a Parsi preparation. My sister till today says nothing can beat the first chicken curry that I made - I have till date not been able to replicate it and neither do I know where that recipe book is. Although the outcome of my first attempt was delicious, I remember using copious amount of oil and just because I was not sure if the chicken was cooked - I vaguely recollect taking it out of the curry, frying it and dropping it back in:) One thing the recipe called for was using cashew paste and I have just done that in this recipe using chicken drumsticks. Some characteristics just don't die with time - one such is my penchant for chicken legs.  Thank God the chicken has ...

Biriyani is a feast in itself for most Indians but when it came to our PG gang ( running into the pre-wedding days for a while), biriyani was the solution to depression as well. Every emotion we could think of was followed by ordering biriyani from Mughal Empire in AECS Layout. We got a hike - its biriyani, we are tired - its biriyani, we got reprimanded by parents - its biriyani, manager gave us a earful - biriyani again, had a tiff with friends - biriyani all over again. Every emotion had a solution - Mughal Empire Biriyani. The guy taking the order at Mughal Empire need not be reminded of the address and the quantity - the only thing that varied was the type between chicken and fish. We lost count of the times we have ordered it but washed and kept intact all the 'white dabbas' they came in, only to be thrown out during every cleaning session! This is how biriyani became part of my life - we tried making biriyani couple of times when in the PG - none too succes...

The festive season is incomplete without my favorite dinner - Slow roasted chicken with vegetables. It's been two years since we moved to Dubai and I have lost count of the number of times of I have made roast chicken. This was one thing that Shibin wanted to have ever since the decision to move to Dubai was made since his Mom made it for him when they were in Al-Ain! My first attempt at baking a chicken was a total disaster. I marinated the chicken a day in advance and I froze it! I did not thaw it before moving it into the oven. It sat in the oven for 2 hours and never cooked. We had to chop the half cooked chicken and fry it on a pan. Also, I had to throw off the vegetables since it tasted disgusting with the marinade I made. I am talking of our Christmas dinner two years back and we had our dinner finally at 12 am!! Ever since that episode, I have strived hard to perfect this - Tried different marinades and I stick to my favorite - seasoning of pepper, salt and lime ju...

I do have the habit of omitting certain words or sentences when I read up on something. Be it book, article or a recipe, which is probably why I finish reading quite fast. Pick up a book and if it really interests me - I could finish it in under a day but then, there is a catch to it - in my hurry to reach the fag bottom of the book - I miss names of certain characters, places and trust me at times even events that unfold. As the book progresses, if a reference is made to the part I unknowingly omitted (God forbid that happen), I am at total loss.  Now, my husband knows why I finish reading books in half the time he takes! I wouldn't say this is a great habit of mine because as the saying goes Half knowledge is dangerous . I have got into my own trouble with this. That set aside, when it comes to reading recipes I have had my good days and bad days. Good ones are when despite not following the recipe word by word - I end up with a recipe I created and the taste delights and...

On our recent trip to Archies library here in Dubai, I came across a cook book written by Madhur Jaffrey. A flip of the pages and I am her instant fan. The simple style of writing and her way of bringing in a personal touch to each of these left a strong impression on me.  It wasn't just her recipes but the intricacies of cooking she detailed in her book that mesmerized me.  From how to perfect your sauces to the tempering of the spices - it is all in there. True Indian cooking still original to her roots - that is Madhur Jaffrey's cooking to you. Having said this, it is my sincere endeavor to give my recipes a personal touch and keep it simple. Here is my latest venture in the kitchen - a retake on the pepper chicken by bringing in flavors of corriander and spiciness of green chilly. Ingredients Chicken - 1 kg ( cleaned and cut) Onion - 2 medium Curry leaves - 2 sprigs Salt to taste Oil For marinade: Pepper  - 2 tbsp coarsely ground Coriander leave...

Come the Fridays (Oh yeah that's right, weekends are Fridays and Saturdays in UAE) and the desire to try out something new in the kitchen erupts. We desperately needed a snack to pump us out of our laziness into action! I had a chicken breast in my fridge and mozzarella cheese too. Well, Friday magazine also published a recipe of Beef and Mushroom rolls which came as my inspiration. So it was decided, I am gonna make a roll and I am gonna bake it as well. I made the Filo pastry for the rolls as well, I must say it came out pretty good - definitely worth a try. Ingredients For the Filo pastry All Purpose Flour - 2 cups Warm Water - 3/4 cup Salt - 1/2 tsp Olive oil - 3 tbsp Corn Flour - for dusting For the filling Chicken - 200 gms Onion - 1 big finely chopped Garlic - 1 tbsp finely chopped Parsley - a handful chopped Pepper powder - coarsely ground Tomato sauce - 1 tbsp Mozzarella cheese - 200 gms Salt to taste Oil - 2 tbsp Method To make the...

I happened to leaf through the pages of my diary and came across this recipe taking me back to my PG days in Bangalore. With a lot of time in hand, nothing better to do and whenever I managed to overcome my lazy mode, I stepped into the kitchen for my adventures. Crunchy Oats Chicken was the result of one of these adventures.My friends and I spent quite a time debating on what the name of the dish should be. Chinese Oats Chicken we named it, is what the diary entry says! And one day we said, we will all look into this recipe journal and cook for our husbands'. Well my Mr. Husband did not find the name catchy enough and we renamed it to Crunchy Oats Chicken. So here we have the Crunchy Oats Chicken and a dip that goes along. A quick recipe -even your kids will enjoy, it is only mildly spiced with a sweet and sour dip. Ingredients for the sweet and sour dip Tomato sauce - 3 tbsp Soya sauce - 1 tbsp Honey - 2 tbsp Garlic - 1 tbsp chopped Ginger - 1 tbsp chopped Onio...

I am back from my vacation ! 3 beautiful weeks and so many memories - just the perfect start. A new year and a lot more resolutions. A growing vigor and enthusiasm to do a lot more this year. While I ponder on where my resolutions and vigor takes me why don't you guys go ahead and catch my latest recipe. Chicken Sukka - a Mangalorean style chicken preparation that uses plenty of coconut and quite a bit of spices - name it and you have it. The dish goes along well with dosa, neeru dosa, sanna, chapatti to name a few. So here is the recipe - straight out of my akka's kitchen. Ingredients For the masala - (you can choose to make the masala and refrigerate it. Lasts for 4-5 months. Kashmiri Chilly - 50 gms Pepper Corns - 2 to 3 tbsp Coriander seeds - 2 to 3 tbsp Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp Fenugreek Seeds - a pinch Ajwain - a pinch Turmeric Powder - a pinch Garlic - 2 pods For the dish Chicken - 1 kg cut into small pieces Coconut gr...

Kundapura Chicken Curry is a traditional chicken preparation popular along the coastal belt of Mangalore - Udupi - Kundapura region. It is an excellent accompaniment for kori rotti, sanna , neeru dosa and rice as well. So that is another jog down the memory lane. Takes me back to Brahmavar and the tastes of Brahmavar which I grew up to love. It's not just the food but also the special people in my life who cooked this for me. My two akkas Geetha akka and Sabitha akka who took care of me and my sister just like their kids. I am sure Geetha akka is still waiting for me to get home to prepare her special dishes. Here I have the recipe of Kundapura Chicken for you - Ingredients Onions - 2 chopped Tomato - 1 chopped Curry Leaves - 1 sprig Cumin seeds - 1 tsp Coconut milk - 1 cup Chicken - 1/2 kg Oil salt to taste For the paste - Ginger - 1 tsp chopped Garlic - 1 tsp chopped Cinnamon sticks - 1 inch stick Cloves - 5 to 6 Whole pepper - 1 tsp Coriander see...

Did I not tel you that every dish has a story to tell.  This one connects my mother and my husband:) It's my mothers quick recipe that she packs when either me or my sister travel. She happened to cook this once, when my husband was home. He just loved it  and could not believe it was so simple to make.  He named the dish " Onion Chicken" and I retained the name in this blog. Time and again he has asked me to replicate the recipe and I have failed time and again. He " claims" - Ria your dish is good but definitely not like your mother's. Well, today I had my mother send me the recipe and tried it out in my kitchen. Yet I could not match her dish. After all your mothers recipe is always special. Nevertheless we loved the chicken and had a hearty meal. This is a very easy recipe ideal for working women who want to put together something for dinner after a long day at work. So, here goes -  Ingredients Chicken - 800 gms Onion - 3 big - ...

My inspiration for blogging is a college friend of mine - Anupa. We first started blogging when we were done with our MBA and were awaiting campus placements. A while after we got job, Anupa moved to USA and restarted blogging. Well, this time it was all about cooking and I was quite impressed with her work. I guess I took the inspiration from her again and started posting recipes here. Few days back, I was just going through her blog - palaharam.blogspot.in and I came across this recipe of lettuce wraps. I had quite a bit of lettuce in the fridge and the pictures of the wraps Anupa put in looked lovely. Well, I decided to have my own take of the recipe. Let us take a look at what goes into the recipe - Ingredients Fresh Lettuce - cleaned and dried Chicken - 1/4 kg diced into small pieces Onion - 1 big diced Ginger - 1 teaspoon minced Garlic - 1 teaspoon minced Soya sauce Tomato sauce Roasted Peanuts - 3 tablespoons Spring Onion - 1/4 cup Chopped Coria...