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Friday, March 7, 2014

YUMMY MASALA CASHEWS


We all love this crunchy nut, don't we? This delicately sweet yet crunchy and delicious cashew nut is packed with energy, antioxidants, minerals and vitamins that are essential for robust health. Here are a few health benefits of these super nuts : 

  • Cashews have a lower fat content when compared to most other nuts
  • They contain soluble dietary fibre 
  • Contains magnesium and copper that help to strengthen bones and are good for blood flow.
  • Cashews (100 gms) have almost 7 mg of iron while beetroot has only 0.8 mg.
  • Cashews keep our arteries flexible, prevent plaque build up.
  • Promotes bone health and traditionally used to prevent night cramps.
Source
www.whfoods.com
Rujuta Diwekar ( https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?id=51805188423&story..)



Coming to the recipe. Its a quick evening snack and can be made in a jiffy! I have used chili powder, the same can be prepared using pepper powder too, if you prefer. 



INGREDIENTS

Whole Cashews - 20-30
Chili pwd - 1 tsp
Salt
Ghee for frying

METHOD

Heat ghee in a kadai and when hot drop the cashews. Fry until golden brown in medium flame. Before letting it to cool add the chili pwd and salt and give it a good mix. Let it cool for a few minutes and enjoy your masala cashews with hot tea. 


CHICKEN KORMA




This Chicken Korma recipe is my style and goes very well with idli and dosa. I wanted to try out something different with the marinated chicken I had. Since it was idli for dinner that day I wanted something not very spicy at the same time something that would go very well with idlis. I used the marinated chicken I had to make a korma my style. The ingredients required for marination is also given below. Here's my recipe to a tasty chicken korma/ chicken in a nutty gravy/ vellai (white) korma or however you want to call it. 

INGREDIENTS

Chicken - 250 gms
Onion (chopped) - 2
Tomato (chopped) - 2
Green chili (slit) - 2 [make it 3 if you prefer it spicy]
Ginger & Garlic paste - 1/2 tbsp
Turmeric pwd - a pinch
Coriander pwd - 1 tbsp
Chili pwd - 1 tsp
Garam masala - 1/2 tsp
Cardamom, Clove - 1 each
Cinnamon -  1/2 a stick
Coconut milk - 1/2 cup
Salt to taste 
Coriander leaves for garnish

To marinate 

Turmeric pwd - 1/2 tsp
Chili pwd - 1 tsp
Ginger & Garlic paste - 1 tsp
Lemon juice - 1 tbsp
Salt - 1 tsp

To grind 

Poppy seeds - 1 tsp
Cashews - 6
Add water when grinding to make it a paste. 

METHOD

Marinate the chicken pieces in the above marinade mixture for 30 mins.
In a cooker pan add little oil and add cardamom, cinnamon and clove. Immediately add the chopped onion and slit green chilies. After 2 mins add the ginger garlic paste and saute for about 5 mins. Now add the chopped tomatoes, chicken and all the masalas. Give it a good mix. Add very little water and close the cooker lid. Cook for 4 whistles and switch off. When the pressure releases add the prepared cashew paste. Keep it on medium flame and let it boil. Now add coconut milk, give it a stir and finish it off with chopped coriander leaves. It's a tasty chicken kurma made in a South Indian style- a good side dish for appam(hoppers), idiyappam(string hoppers), idli and dosa.