CHICKEN PUFFS

3 cups refined flour / maida


½ kg boneless chicken

2 onions chopped

2 teaspoons pepper powder

50 grams butter

½ teaspoon baking powder

1/2 kg oil for frying

Salt to taste

1teaspoon chillie powder

2 teaspoons chopped coriander leaves

1 teaspoon chopped ginger

Sift the flour with a teaspoon of salt and baking powder. Mix the butter with the flour and knead into a stiff dough using very little water. Keep aside.



Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a pan and sauté the chopped ginger and onions lightly. Add the mince, chillie powder, pepper powder, coriander leaves and salt. Stir well and cook on low heat till the mince is cooked and all the water dries up. Remove and keep aside to cool. Now take the prepared pastry dough onto a floured board and rollout into a thin sheet. Cut rounds of about 10 cm diameter with a saucer. Put a little mince on one half of the rounds and fold the other half over. Seal the edges by dampening with a little water. Prepare the puffs in this way till all the dough and mince is used up.

Heat oil for frying in a fairly deep pan till smoky. Slowly drop in the puffs one by one (as many as the pan can hold). Fry till crisp and brown on both sides. Remove from the oil and drain. Serve hot

SPICY TOMATO & SEMOLINA DELIGHT

3 tablespoons ghee or oil


1 cup semolina

1 teaspoon each of mustard and cumin seeds

1 sprig curry leaves

1 teaspoon ginger chopped

2 green chillies slit / chopped

2 onions sliced finely

1 large tomato chopped

2 teaspoons coriander leaves

2 cups hot water

salt to taste

A few fried cashew nuts to garnish



Heat 1 teaspoons ghee or oil in a pan. Fry semolina, stirring continuously, to a golden color on medium heat for about 2 or 3 minutes. Keep aside. Heat the remaining ghee (clarified butter) in a pan. Toss in the mustard seeds followed by the cumin seeds and fry till the seeds splutter fully. Add the curry leaves, ginger, green chillies and onions. Stir fry on medium level for about 3 minutes or till the onions are transparent and soft. Add the chopped tomatoes and simmer for about 3 minutes or till they are soft and cooked. Add half of the coriander leaves (reserving the rest for garnishing) and fry briefly till they wilt. Add the hot water to this and then mix in the roasted semolina and salt. Mix well. Add more hot water if the mixture is dry. Cover and cook on low heat for about 3 minutes or till the mixture is almost dry. Garnish with fried cashew nuts, grated coconut and finely chopped coriander leaves

GREEN BANANA FRY

2 green plantains

2 teaspoons chilly powder
½ teaspoon tumeric powder
Salt to taste
2 tablespoons oil
1 teaspoon cumin powder
2 sprigs curry leaves
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
Peel the green plantains and chop them into small pieces. Mix with the chilly powder, cumin powder, tumeric powder, and salt. Heat oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds and curry leaves. When the mustard seeds crackle, add the chopped plaintain and fry on low heat stirring constantly till the plantain is cooked.