Monthly Archives: February 2012

Karuvadu varuval (dry fish fry)


Fish fry we often found in many restaurants and at homes also, but dry fish fry , only those who like it ,they cook at home. The fish is very salty as it is marinated in a salt and left to dry in the sun like how we do for pickles. It is not eaten like any fresh fish at our home, few pieces of fish is enough, like a pickle it is eaten with other side dishes. If dry fish is fried , it can be eaten with simple dal and rice. It is cooked without adding salt and chilli to it. It is a very simple and easy dish.


Khar – Spicy dry fish masala


Khar is a very spicy and hot dish made with green chillies, onion and dry fish mixture. Khar is a very homely dish from my home town Anantapur (Andhra Pradesh) my grandmother, relatives and my mom prepare this at home, but with different techniques. My grandmother prepares khar with pestle mortal and mother with grinder or mixer, both gives different taste though same ingredients. khar is a very homely dish very spicy and hot dish , not available in restuarants my father always demands for this dish , whenever he visits his mother’s house.


Era varuval (tiger prawns fry)


The most favourite, tasty and delicious is era varuval (in Tamil) or Jhinga fry (prawns fry). My husbands and every bodies, who love seafood favourite is Era varuval (Prawns fry). In each house they do it differently with the spices. In fries especially, oil usage is more as, we are roasting it, oil is needed, but it is up to you to use or avoid it.


Achari murg


Achari Murg is a spicy chicken recipe of North India, made with the spices which go into pickle. It is different from the chicken Achari (pickles), which we get from the shops and in each place chicken achari is made with different spices and taste. This Achari murg is different from the other curries; you can try and know the taste. Spices are roasted and grounded in a pestle mortal or grinder.


Stuffed full chicken curry (Kozhi Nirachathu)


Stuffed full chicken curry is cooked on special occasions. Every home could have their own recipe. Kozhi nirachathu (stuffed chicken) is a kerelan dish in which a whole chicken is stuffed and cooked slowly. It is like Murg Musallam but the spices that are used in this are different.


Charga /chargha (fried or roasted whole chicken)


Charga/chargha is a very famous dish in Lahore and in Asian cuisine, especially in Pakistan. I tasted it in London (UK) in Lahore restaurant. Charga means, a full chicken which is marinated with spices, steamed and then fried or deep fried in oil/ghee. In each house or restaurant the chargha tastes different because of the marinade and the way it is cooked. For the marinade, curd (yoghurt), cumin powder, chilli powder, vinegar, ginger and garlic paste is used, but you can add your own spices.


Butter chicken with almonds


Butter chicken is a very popular dish in India and lots of other countries. Butter chicken can be cooked in many variations and it depends what taste you like. You can find this in every restaurant in India and in Indian restaurants in other countries.


Banno kebab


This kebab has the flavour of cardamom and saffron apart from the other spices. It is marinated, cooked in oven and then coated with egg and cashewnuts mixture and cooked again. The ingredients are similar to biriyani. There are a few spices added for taste. I liked this as it gives me the flavour and taste of saffron and cardamom.


Chicken sheekh kebab


This chicken sheekh kebab is flavoured with some special spices. you can make it in any shape, circle or like a sheekh kebab shape. Its taste is different with full of special flavours.


Whole chicken fry (Restaurant style)


Whenever I used to see full chicken hanging in restaurants to attract customers and later getting grilled/roasted, it used to apetise me a lot. I just thought of making a sort of tandoori chicken without an oven and made this full chicken fry using tandoori masala ingredients. I have prepared the marinade according to my taste, which is spicy, sour and tangy.