Parippuvada (Lentil Patties)

Parippuvada is very traditional snack in Kerala (in fact you cannot get more traditional). It's an inevitable item on the menu of any local tea stall or canteen in Kerala. I doubt if it ever made it to the Taj's :-).

It's crispy and delicious. The recipe that I am sharing is my wife's recipe. She makes these deliciously and surprises me when I get back from office (although the vada is super delicious, it’s probably the “surprise” part makes me happier… he... he...)

Try it out... njoi...

Spice Level - Mild

Makes - 20 Pieces

Ingredients:

1. Lentil/Chana dal (split bengal gram/kadala parippu) – 2 cups

2. Onion – 1 (Big, finely chopped)

3. Green Chillies – 2-3 (Finely chopped)

4. Ginger – 1-2 Tsp. (Finely chopped)

5. Fennel Seeds – ¼ Tsp. 

6. Curry Leaves – 8 (Finely chopped)

7. Kayam (Asafoetida) – ⅛ Tsp.

8. Salt - to taste

9. Veg. Oil - to fry 

Preparation:

1. Soak dal for about 2 hours or until its soft. Make sure not to over soak so that it becomes crumbly. Drain dal and pat dry using a paper towel.

2. Lightly crush the dal for a few seconds in a blender. Again do not over-grind into a paste. We need atleast half of the dal whole (not crushed).

3. Into a mixing bowl add the crushed dal, chopped onion, green chilles, ginger, fennel seeds, curry leaves, asafetida along with salt. Mix well for a couple of minutes.

4. Heat the oil in a deep frying pan (or kadai) on high flame until the oil is hot. Reduce the flame to medium.

5. Make circular patties of about 2 inch diameter; make small balls of lime size and flatten the ball in your palm.Tip: Slightly wet your palm so that mix doesn't stick to your palm.

6. Deep fry the vadas/patties over medium flame until evenly cooked and golden brown.

7. Remove the vada off the oil using a slotted spoon and place it on a paper towel to remove excess oil. Serve warm with hot tea.

Coriander Chicken

This recipe was provided by my dear colleague Guru. This is his signature dish and I bet no one else can even get close to what he makes. Guru got this recipe from his family back in Uduppi and mastered it over time. It’s a very rich, flavorful, colorful and spicy dish.

He gave the recipe and luckily it came out good (not as good as the master though).

Try it out… Njoi…

Preparation time: 20 Mins

Cook time (incl. Prep. time): 45 Mins.

Serves: 6

Spice level: Spicy

Ingredients:

For Marination:

1. Chicken - 2 Lbs. (Clean, cut into small pieces)

2. Turmeric Powder - 1/2 Tsp.

3. Red Chilli Powder - 1 Tsp.

4. Black Pepper Powder - 1 Tsp.

5. Salt - 1/4 Tsp.

For Green Masala Mix:

6. Coriander leaves - 1/4 Lb. (Fresh, chopped)

7. Tomato - 1 (Medium size, chopped)

8. Garlic - 1 Pod (10 - 12 cloves, Chopped)

9. Ginger - 1 inch (Chopped)

10. Red Onion - 1 (Medium size, chopped)

11. Green Chillies - 10 - 12 (Chopped)

Other Ingredients:

12. Ghee - 2 Tbsp.

13. Veg Oil - 1 Tbsp.

14. Salt to taste

Preparation:

1. Marinate the chicken with turmeric, chilli, black pepper powder and salt. Cover it and keep it in the fridge for about 30 min.

2. Meanwhile, grind together chopped coriander leaves, tomato, onion, ginger, garlic and green chillies in a blender.

3. Blend for about 10 mins. or until all the ingredients are well ground into a fine thick green paste. Get the mix off the blender and set aside.

4. In a sauce pan, heat ghee along with a tbsp. of oil.

5. Add marinated chicken to the sauce pan and cook covered over medium-high heat for about 20 mins. or until the meat is three-fourth cooked. Stir occasionally.

6. Reduce the heat to simmer and mix-in the green masala paste.

7. Cook over simmer for another 15 mins. or until the masala is cooked and the raw smell goes. The green mix will have changed its color from dark bright green to a lighter shade of green (or brownish green).

8. Get the pan off the flame and serve it warm with roti/chappathi.

Avial (Mix Veg. curry)

Avial is a must have for feasts on all special occasions like, marriages, Onam, Vishu, etc. It's an all veg dish. I am not a great fan of veg. dishes, but I like this one and even crave for it at times.

Try it out... enjoi...

Preparation time: 10 Mins.

Cook time (incl. Prep. time): 15 Mins.

Serves: 6

Spice level: Mild

Ingredients:

1. Elephant Yam (Chena) - 3 Oz.

2. Green Plantain (Pachakkaya) - 3 Oz.

3. Drumsticks (Muringakkol) - 3 Oz.

4. Squash (Vellari) - 3 Oz.

5. White Gourd (Kumbalanga) - 3 Oz

6. Carrot - 3 Oz.

7. Green Chillies - 5 (Slit)

8. Yoghurt - 6 Tbsp.

9. Fresh Scraped Coconut - 1 1/2 Cup (or all from one half of the coconut)

10. Fennel Seeds

11. Shallots - 2 (Large)

12. Ginger - 1 inch piece

13. Curry Leaves - 15

14. Coriander Leaves - 2 strands

15. Coconut Oil - 1 1/2 Tbsp.

16. Black Pepper Powder - 1/2 Tsp.

17. Water - 1 1/2 Cup

18. Salt to taste

Preparation:

1. Clean the vegetables (ingredients 1 - 6) and cut into 1 1/2 inch long medium thick pieces.

2. In a large sauce pan cook the cut vegetables along with water, green chillies and salt for about 15 mins. or until the vegetables are 3/4 cooked.

3. Reduce the flame and add 3 tbsp. yogurt, shredded coconut and cook for another 5 minutes or until the vegetables are fully cooked

4. Meanwhile grind fennel seeds, shallots, ginger and 3 tbsp. yogurt into a fine paste.

5. Add the paste to pan and cook it until the curry starts to boil.

6. Turn off the flame. Mix in coconut oil, curry leaves, coriander leaves and pepper powder.

7. Cover the pan with a lid and let it settle for about 10-15 mins.

8. Avial is ready to be served. It goes good with rice.

Ulli Chammanthi - (Kerala-style Shallot Hot Sauce)

"Chammanthi" used to be an inevitable part of the common man's meal across Kerala. There are many varieties of chammanthi and this is just one of them. Sadly, this sauce (or any chammanthi) didn't make it to any restaurant menu (probably people thought it's not of restaurant status). Anyways I like it and rice with curd and chammanthi makes the happiest lunch for me.

Try it out... enjoi...

Preparation time: 10 Mins.
Cook time (incl. Prep. time): 15 Mins.

Serves: 6
Spice level: Super Spicy

Ingredients:

1. Shallots - 3 (Large, Skinned and cut into medium-large pieces)
2. Kokum (Kodampuli) - 8 (Small pieces)
3. Curry Leaves - 10 (Fresh)
4. Dry Red Chilles - 4
5. Coconut Oil - 3 Tsp.
6. Salt to taste

Preparation:

1. Heat coconut oil in a frying pan and fry the red chillies until light brown and the raw taste is gone. Remove the chillies off the pan and set aside.
2. Sauté shallots, kokum and curry leaves in the same pan and oil for about 3 mins. or until golden brown.
3. In a grinder, grind fried red chillies, shallots, kokum, curry leaves along with the oil into a coarse paste.
Note: Add more oil if you feel it's more spicy.
4. Mix in salt to taste and serve it with rice (even better with rice soup).

Kunefe (Turkish Dessert)

"Kunefe is a Levantine cheese pastry soaked in sweet sugar-based syrup, typical of the regions belonging to the former Ottoman Empire." - Wikipedia.

All said, this is one of my favorite dishes and used to search for restaurant just to have this. It was a longtime dream to make it on my own and fortunately it came out really good.

Try it out... enjoi...

Ingredients:

1. Shredded Fillo Dough - 12 Oz. (Get a full box of 16 Oz. and use three fourth of it)

2. Unsalted Butter - 2 Sticks (8 Oz., Melted)

3. Semolina - 3 Tbsp.

4. Milk - 1/2 Cup

5. Mozzarella Cheese - 1 Cup (Shredded)

6. Ricotta Cheese - 12 Oz.

For Syrup:

7. Water - 1 Cup

8. Sugar - 2 Cup

Preparation:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 400 deg. F.

2. Shred and break-up the Fillo dough strands into smaller separated pieces.

3. To a large mixing bowl, add the Fillo dough strands along with then melted butter. Mix well until the Fillo dough is fully drenched in butter.

4. Take a 7 inch round baking pan and spread evenly half of the butter drenched Fillo dough.

5. Heat a small sauce pan. Add milk into the pan and heat the milk.

6. Add semolina and bring it light boil (it will take hardly 1 min.).

7. Get the milk-semolina mix off the heat and add it to a mixing bowl along with ricotta and mozzarella cheese. Mix well with a whisk for 1 min.

8. Spread the cheese mix over the Fillo dough in the baking pan.

9. Add the second half of the butter drenched Fillo dough over the cheese mix.

10. Keep the pan in the oven for about 35-40 mins. or until the top of the Fillo dough is golden brown.

11. Meanwhile prepare the syrup in a sauce pan by boiling water and sugar together. Once the sugar is completely melted get the pan off the flame and let it cool.

12. Get the pan off the oven and let it cool for about 10 mins. Flip the Kunefe on a flat plate.

13. Pour the syrup over the kunefe, cut it into slices and serve warm.

Home-style Crispy Fried Chicken

My wife prepared this dish for Eid and distributed it among our friends. Although this recipe is nothing super extra, it received a lot good reviews and we had so many asking for the recipe. What makes this chicken fry stand out is that despite of the crispiness outside it's soft and juicy inside.

I was so confused on what to name the dish and finally decided to go with "Home-style" as I am not sure of of its connection to any authentic dish. Comments welcome... hehe...

Try it out... Enjoi...

Preparation time: 30 Mins.

Cook time (incl. Prep. time): 40 Mins. (Plus 4 hrs. of marinating)

Serves: 6

Spice level: Medium

Ingredients:

1. Chicken - 2 Lbs. (With bones, cut into medium cubes)

2. Red Chilli Powder - 2 Tsp.

3. Turmeric Powder - 1/2 Tsp.

4. Green Chilli - 1 (Chopped)

5. Fennel Seeds - 1/2 Tsp.

6. Black Pepper Powder - 1/4 Tsp.

7. Garam Masala Powder - 1/2 Tsp.

8. Ginger-Garlic Paste - 1 Tbsp.

9. Curry Leaves - 10-15

10. Egg - 1

11. Corn Flour - 2 Tbsp.

12. Lime Juice - 1 Tsp.

13. Salt - 3/4 Tsp.

14. Veg. Oil - 2 Cups (or required to deep fry)

Preparation:

1. In a grinder, grind together all ingredients except egg and corn flour to make a fine paste.

2. In a large mixing bowl, mix well the ground paste and corn flour.

3. Whisk egg in a separate bowl and add this to the ground paste - corn flour mix.

4. Add chicken to the bowl and mix well with the marinate mix, until the chicken is evenly well coated with mix.

5. Cover the bowl and keep it refrigerated for at least 4 hrs. (overnight preferred).

6. Heat oil in a frying pan or wok.

7. Deep fry the chicken pieces oil until golden brown. Note that it could take a bit longer to fry, nut its worth the wait.

8. Remove it from the oil using a slotted spoon and serve it warm.

Malabar Mutton Biriyani (Layered Dhum Biriyani)

Let’s celebrate the 50th recipe post with a Mutton Biriyani. Biriyani is my favorite food. There are so many versions of Biriyani and each region has its specialized version. The recipe I am sharing is what we regularly cook at home. It takes effort and a lot of patience to make it, but you will feel so happy once you eat it.

Try it out... Enjoi...

Preparation time: 3 Hrs.
Cook time (incl. Prep. time): 4 Hrs.

Serves: 5
Spice level: Medium

The layered dhum Biriyani is made by layering a set of cooked and raw components and steaming/oven-baking all these together in a closed container. It’s a complicated recipe and I will try my best to explain it in parts.

We need to have the following components ready before we start layering (these has to be prepared in the same order as below):
  1) Garam masala powder, Lime Juice, Ghee, Coriander and Mint Leaves (all raw ingredients)
  2) Meat Masala
  3) Fried Cashews, Raisins and Onions
  4) Cooked Rice

As for timing, we need the cooked rice to be the last. This is because the rice needs to be really steamy hot when we layer and this helps in blending the flavors together.

Ingredients:

For Meat Masala:

1. Mutton (Lamb/Goat) - 1 1/2 Lb. (Cleaned and Cut to medium-large cubes) I prefer goat for the added flavor
2. Turmeric Powder - 1/2 Tsp.
3. Black Pepper Powder - 1/2 Tsp.
4. Salt - 1/4 Tsp.

5. Veg. Oil - 4 Tbsp.
6. Ghee - 1 Tbsp.
7. Red Onions - 2 (Extra Large size, thinly sliced)
8. Garlic - 4 Tbsp. (Chopped)
9. Ginger - 4 Tbsp. (Chopped)
10. Green Chilli - 4 Tbsp. (Chopped)
11. Salt - 1 Tsp. (or to taste)
12. Red Chilli Powder - 3/4 Tbsp.
13. Turmeric Powder - 1/2 Tsp.
14. Coriander Powder - 3/4 Tbsp.
15. Garam Masala Powder - 1/2 Tsp.
16. Tomato - 3 (Medium sized, Chopped)
17. Yogurt - 2 Tbsp. (Nicely whisked)
18. Lime Juice - 1/2 Tsp. (Freshly squeezed from one half of lime. Do not throw away the lime peel/shell)
19. Cilantro Leaves - 1/2 Cup (Finely chopped)
20. Mint Leaves - 1/2 Cup (Finely chopped)

For Fried Garnish:

21. Veg Oil - 4 Tbsp.
22. Cashew - 1/4 Cup
23. Raisins - 1/4 Cup
24. Red Onions - 1 (Small sized, finely sliced)

For Cooked Rice:

25. Rice - 1 1/2 Lbs. (Washed and soaked in water)
26. Water - 6 Cups
27. Lime Peel/Shell - 1/2 Lime (Use the half lime from which the juice was extracted for masala)
28. Cardamom Pods - 4 (Spitted)
29. Cinnamon - 2 inch piece (Spitted)
30. Bay Leaf - 1 (Slightly crushed)
31. Ghee - 1 Tbsp.
32. Salt - 1 1/2 Tsp.

Other Ingredients for Layering:

33. Cilantro Leaves - 1/2 Cup (Finely chopped)
34. Mint Leaves - 1/2 Cup (Finely chopped)
35. Garam Masala Powder - 2 Pinches
36. Lime Juice - 2 Tsp.
37. Ghee - 3 Tsp.

Preparation:

Meat Masala:

1. To a pressure cooker add meat with turmeric powder, pepper powder, salt and 1/4 cup water. Cook covered with weight for about 15 mins. or until the meat is completely cooked and soft.
Note: cook time of the meat varies with the cut. If it’s not fully cooked after 15 mins., add few more tbsp. of water and cook until fully cooked.
2. Remove the cooked meat pieces from the cooker to a bowl and set aside. Discard the liquid.
3. Heat 4 tbsp. oil along with 1 tbsp. ghee in a thick bottom pan on high flame.
4. Add sliced onions along with 1 tsp. salt and sauté for about 15 mins., or until its translucent.
5. Meanwhile, grind chopped ginger, garlic and green chillies into a coarse paste.
6. Once the onions are translucent, add the ginger-garlic-chilli paste into the pan and cook for about 4-5 mins. or until the raw smell is gone.  
7. Reduce the heat to medium and add chilli powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder and garam masala powder to the pan. Sauté for about 4 mins. or until its cooked and the oil separates.
8. Add tomatoes and cook for another 3-5 mins., until the tomatoes are cooked and dissolved.
9. Bring the heat to simmer and keep it for a min. for the boils to come down.
10. Add whisked yogurt and lime juice to the pan and bring it to boil (on simmer).
11. Mix in chopped cilantro and mint leaves and let it blend in on simmer for another minute.
12. Mix in cooked meat into the pan and keep it covered on simmer for about 10 mins. and in meanwhile we can start with making our fried garnish.

Fried Garnish:

13. Heat 4 tbsp. oil in a deep frying pan.
14. Add cashew nuts to the pan and fry for about 3 mins. until the nuts are golden brown. Remove the nuts off the oil using a slotted spoon and set aside on a paper towel to cool.
15. Add raisins to the same pan and fry for about 2 mins. until the raisins are fluffy (blown up) and golden brown. Remove raisins off the oil using a slotted spoon and set aside on a paper towel to cool down.
16. Add sliced onions to the same pan and cook for about 10 mins. or until its golden brown. Remove the onions from the oil using a slotted spoon and set aside on a paper towel to cool.
Note: the onions will fry a bit more even after you get it off the oil and thus make sure not to over fry the onions in the oil.

17. The meat masala should be nice and well blended by this time. Get the masala off the stove and set aside.


Cooked Rice:

18. Bring 6 cups of water to light boil in a large sauce pan (or pressure cooker).
19. Add cardamom pods, cinnamon, bay leaves, salt and lemon shell to the water and bring it to hard boil.
20. Add soaked rice into the boiling water and cook the rice for about 10-12 mins. or until the rice is three-fourth cooked.
Note: not to fully cook the rice as it has to be further cooked in the dhum.

Layering:

21. While the rice is cooking, set a table with all the following ingredients for layering (I wanted to get a picture with all these set on a table but got into a time crunch)
   a) A large oven safe sauce pan with lid greased with ghee,
   b) Warm/hot meat masala
   c) Fried onions, cashews and raisins
   d) Garam Masala powder
   e) Lime Juice
   f) Chopped cilantro and mint leaves
   g) More ghee

22. Pre-heat the oven to 350 deg. F.
23. Once the rice is three-fourth cooked, strain the rice to remove excess water.
24. Quickly, layer one-half of the rice evenly in the greased sauce pan. The whole layering process should be done before the steam from the rice escapes.
25. Spread evenly over the rice layer - 1 tsp. of ghee, 1 pinch of garam masala powder, 1 tsp. of lime juice, one half of the fried onions, cashews and raisins, 1/4 cup of cilantro leaves and 1/4 cup of mint leaves.
26. Layer all of the meat masala over the rice and garnish layers evenly.
27. Add the remaining rice over the meat masala. Spread evenly.
28. Repeat the same step of spreading the garam masala powder lime juice, fried garnish, mint and cilantro leaves.
29. Cover the top of the pan with an aluminum foil tightly with all edges sealed.
30. Keep the pan lid over the aluminum foil to further tighten the seal. The idea is not to let any of the steam escape and also not to get the top portion burnt.
31. Keep the pan in the oven for about 35-40 mins. at 350 deg. F.


Final Mixing:

32. Get the pan off the oven and let it cool for about 5 mins.
33. Open the lid and then the foil. You will feel the exotic smell when you open the foil, but be patient as we are not done yet.
34. We need to mix well before we serve. As the pan is so tightly packed, it’s hard to mix it all at a time in in the same pan. Moreover, you would crush the rice in doing so. Hence we have to do it in parts.
35. Take a large serving dish and a long spatula or spoon. Cut a deep pie (starting with the top to the bottom of the pan) of Biriyani from the pan and move it to the serving bowl. Mix it well with a fork. Be gentle while mixing and make sure not to crush the rice.
36. Repeat the same process with the remaining Biriyani in the pan.
37. Serve it warm with raitha (yogurt dip).

Spicy Chicken Butter Roast

This is a simpler version of the famous "Mangalorian Chicken Ghee Roast". My dear Mangalorian friends, please forgive me. I used to be at Mangalore for about two years and really love this cuisine. Even here at U.S., we do have few friends who make awesome Mangalorian food (sorry I do not have consent to publish names... :-)).

And then there was "Sabu" who used to create magic with cooking. Poor mallu IT guy is probably caught in the wrong job... hehe... He once made chicken ghee roast and no one ever dared to attempt it again as he set the benchmark so high. "Sabu", if you are reading this, the offer is still on nd we are ready to bet all-in on your restaurant venture. :-)

Anyways, one day after the office hours I felt like having chicken ghee roast and guess what half of the ingredients were not at home. Being the lazy guy as always, I tried to make with what I had t home and it turned out to be really good. This was the recipe that I cooked.

Try it out... Enjoi...

Preparation time: 20 Mins.

Cook time (incl. Prep. time): 40 Mins. (Plus 4 hrs. of marinating)

Serves: 3

Spice level: Medium

Ingredients:

1. Butter - 6 Tbsp. (Melted)

2. Salt to taste

3. Curry Leaves - 8

4. Coriander Leaves - for seasoning (chopped)

For Marinating:

5. Chicken - 1 Lb. (clean and cut into small pieces)

6. Yogurt - 3/4 Cups

7. Lemon Juice - 1 Tbsp.

8. Turmeric Powder - 1/2 Tsp.

9. Salt - 1 Pinch

For Dry Masala:

10. Dry Red Pepper - 7 (Long)

11. Cumin Seeds - 1/2 Tsp.

12. Fenugreek Seeds - 1/2 Tsp.

13. Whole Garlic - 9-10 Cloves (Peeled)

14. Coriander Powder - 1 Tsp.

15. Black Pepper Whole - 4

16. Tamarind - 1 Tbsp. (Soak 1 small piece of tamarind in 1 tbsp. water or dissolve 2 drops of tamarind paste in 1 tbsp. water)

Preparation:

1. In a large bowl, mix chicken with yogurt, lime juice, turmeric powder and salt until the chicken pieces are evenly coated with the marinate. Keep it covered for atleast 3 hrs. (Overnight preferred).

2. Roast the dry masala ingredients (except the tamarind) one after the other and add it into a grinder.

3. Once all the ingredients are added to the grinder add tamarind and grind it for about 5 mins. until it becomes a smooth thick paste.

4. Get the masala paste off the grinder jar and set aside.

5. Add 3 tbsp. water into the same grinder jar and switch on the grinder for a min. This cleans the grinder and also helps collect every particle of the masala. Set aside the masala water.

6. Heat 3 tbsp. butter in a frying pan and add chicken to the pan. Fry the chicken for about 20 mins. on high-med flame until the chicken is three-fourth cooked.

7. Remove the chicken pieces along with the gravy and set aside.

8. Add the remaining (3 tbsp.) butter into same pan and let it heat.

9. Add the ground masala mix into the pan and fry it for about 5 mins. or until the butter separates. Stir occasionally and make sure it does not burn.

10. Add the curry leaves, chicken pieces along with gravy and the masala water.

11. Cook for about 10 mins. on low flame until the chicken is fully cooked and nicely coated with the masala.

12. Get it off the flame, garnish with coriander leaves. Serve warm with rice/roti.

Murghi Aloo Curry (Chicken Potatoes Curry)

Recipe and picture courtesy Sheji Shakeer. It's again a very simple dish and awesome gravy dish to go with rice.

Talking of meat and vegetables (or even potatoes), I remember one of my Muslim friends from Delhi region used to always tell me that they traditionally put some kind of vegetables while cooking meat curries. Actually, thinking about it it makes a lot of sense - it's a way of force feeding hardcore non-vegetarian with some vegetables... But, whenever we try such a curry, we end up having chicken as one serving and potatoes as the leftovers... Crazy meat-eaters... hehe.

Try it out... Enjoi...

Preparation time: 20 Mins.

Cook time (incl. Prep. time): 40 Mins.

Serves: 5

Spice level: Medium

Ingredients:

1. Chicken - 2 Lb.

2. Potatoes - 3-4 (Quartered)

3. Onions - 5 (sliced)

4. Tomatoes - 4 (Chopped)

5. Ginger garlic paste - 2 Tbsp.

6. Red chilli powder - 2 Tsp.

7. Coriander powder - 1 1/2 Tsp.

8. Turmeric powder - 1/2 Tsp.

9. Salt - 2 tsp.

10. Cloves - 4-5

11. Cardamom - 2

12. Cinnamon - 1 inch piece

13. Cumin seeds - 1 Tsp.

14. Whole black pepper - 6

15. Green chillies - 5-6 (Small, Chopped)

16. Oil - 4-5 tbsp.

17. Water - 2-3 Cups

18. Fresh coriander for garnishing

Preparation:

1. Heat oil in a pan.

2. Add onions and fry for about 10 mins. until golden brown.

3. Take out the onions with slotted spoon and let it cool on a paper kitchen towel.

4. Grind together fried onions and tomatoes and sauté it in the same oil in which onions was fried.

5. Add red chilli powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder and ginger garlic paste and cook for about 5 mins. or until till water dries and oil separates.

6. Add chicken and cook on high heat for 5 minutes.

7. Add water and bring it to boil.

8. Cover and cook for 10 minutes over medium heat.

9. Add potatoes, cumin seeds, cloves, black cardamom, whole black pepper and cinnamon. If the gravy is too thick add a bit more water.

10. Cook for another 10 minutes over low flame.

11. Add green chillies and cook for about 4 minutes or till potatoes are soft.

12. Sprinkle fresh coriander and get the pan off the flame. Serve warm with cooked rice.

Balti Chicken

If you are really hungry and craving for a chicken dish, then this is exactly what you try. It's really easy and all the ingredients are available at home most of the time. All of these without compromising the flavor and taste…

By the way, Balti are the people of Baltistan (Pakistan (Kashmir, Gilgit–Baltistan), Kargil, India and small pockets in Karachi, Rawalpindi, Islamabad & Lahore). Probably this recipe origiated there.

Try it out... Enjoi...

Preparation time: 20 Mins.

Cook time (incl. Prep. time): 40 Mins.

Serves: 3

Spice level : Medium

Ingredients:

1. Chicken - 1 Lb. (Boneless preferred, Cleaned and Cut into cubes)

2. Yogurt - 1 1/2 Tbsp.

3. Ghee or vegetable Oil- 2 Tbsp.

4. Red Onions - 1 1/2 (Large sized, Thinly sliced)

5. Tomatoes - 2 (Sliced)

6. Black pepper corns - 3

7. Cardamom Pods - 2

8. Cinnamon Stick - 1 Inch piece

9. Kashmiri Chilli powder/Paprika - 1 Tsp.

10. Garam Masala - 3/4 Tsp.

11. Ginger-Garlic paste - 1 Tbsp.

12. Cilantro leaves - 1 1/2 Tbsp. (Chopped)  plus extra to garnish

13. Green Chilles - 1 (finely chopped, may use 2 based on the spice level)

14. Lime Juice - Squeezed from one half of a lime

15. Salt - 1 Tsp. (or to taste)

Preparation:

1. Heat the ghee/oil in a wok or large heavy bottom pan.

2. Add onions and cook over medium heat for about 10 mins. or until golden brown, stirring occasionally.

3. Add the sliced tomatoes, peppercorns, cardamom pods, cinnamon sticks, chilli powder, garam masala, ginger-garlic paste and salt. Cook for about 5 mins. stirring constantly.

4. Add chicken and cook for 5 mins. or until well coated in the spice paste, stirring constantly..

5. Turn the flame to low, add yogurt and mix it until all parts well coated.

6. Simmer the pan covered, stirring occasionally, for about 20-25 mins. or until the chicken pieces are cooked and soft.

7. Stir in the chopped cilantro, green chilles and lime juice. Let it cook for 1 min.

8. Turn off the flame, transfer to a serving bowl. Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve warm with bread/roti/chapathi.

Spicy Goat/Lamb Liver Fry

Liver fry might sound gross to few, but trust me it's really soft and delicious if cooked the right way. And the below recipe does exactly that - cooking it the right way. It's a tried and tested recipe and I can get so many to vouch for me. It's really delicious.

Try it out... Enjoi...

Serves: 3
Spice level: Medium

Preparation time: 30 Mins.
Cook time (incl. Prep. time): 1 Hr.

Ingredients:

1. Goat/Lamb liver - 1 Lb. (Cleaned and cut into medium sized cubes)
2. Milk - 4 Tbsp.
3. Red Chilli Powder - 1 Tbsp.
4. Turmeric Powder - 1/4 Tbsp.
5. Ginger-Garlic Paste - 1 Tbsp.
6. Salt - 1/2 Tbsp.
7. Coconut Oil/Veg. Oil - 3 Tbsp.
8. Ginger - 2 pods/ 15 Cloves (Slivered and minced)
9. Curry Leaves - 2 twigs (including the stems)
10. Red Onion - 1 (thinly sliced)

Preparation:

1. Add cleaned and cut liver into a bowl along with milk. Let it stay there for about 5 mins. Drain the milk and wash the liver with clean water. Treating the liver pieces with milk helps in reducing the bitterness.
2. Marinate the liver pieces with chilli powder, turmeric powder and ginger-garlic paste. Coat all the pieces evenly with the marinate and leave it covered in the refrigerator for about 20 mins.
3. Heat oil in a large frying pan.
4. Add garlic and sauté it for 1 min.
5. Spread the garlic pieces evenly on the pan and layer the curry leaves over it.
6. Reduce the heat to simmer and layer the marinated liver pieces over the curry leaves. Let it cook covered for about 5 mins.
7. Flip the liver to pieces to cook the other side and leave it on simmer covered for another 5 mins. You will see water oozing out from the meat. Increase the heat to medium and cook covered for another 10 mins (flipping the liver pieces occasionally) until the liver pieces are three fourth cooked.
8. Add the onion on top of the meat and cook for about 15 mins. stirring and flipping occasionally until the onions are cooked and well blended.
Note: Make sure not to overcook the liver pieces as it becomes rubbery and hard if overcooked.
9. Get the pan off the flame and serve the dish warm with Roti/Chappathi.

Pineapple Sorbet

Sorbets are ice-cream like without the airy fluffiness and dairy products. Few of you reading this knows it's the second part that makes me really happy... ahem... ahem...

Anyways, it's a great treat which is harder than ice cream but a lot more flavorful. This one made of pineapple is ever more delicious.

Try it out... Enjoi...

Serves: 9

Spice level: --

Preparation time: 20 Mins.

Cook time (incl. Prep. time): 7 Hrs.

Ingredients:

1. Pineapple - 2 Cups (fresh, chopped)

2. Lime Juice - 1 1/2 Tbsp.

3. Sugar - 3/4 Cup

4. Mint Springs for garnish

Preparation:

1. Blend pineapple and lime juice in a blender or mixer for about 5 mins. until smooth.

2. Add sugar to the blender and blend for another minute until the sugar dissolves.

3. Pour the mix into a freezer safe container. Keep it covered in the freezer for about an hour or until the outside is hard and slushy inside.

4. Get the bowl off the freezer, mix it with a whisk until smooth.

5. Keep it back in the freezer covered for another 5 hrs. or until its firm.

6. Remove the sorbet off the freezer, garnish it with mint and serve it in an ice cream bowl.

Caramel Chocolate Shortbread

This is a layered dessert that involves different cooking techniques (baking, boiling and double boiling) which would leave the cook satisfied. Fortunately my wife was the cook here and I was the eater... hehe...

It's a very yummy dessert which you should try... Enjoi...

"Shortbread is a type of biscuit which is traditionally made from one part white sugar, two parts butter, and three parts flour (by weight). Shortbread is so named because of its crumbly texture." - Wikipedia

Makes: 12

Spice level: --

Preparation time: 25 Mins.

Cook time (incl. Prep. time): 2 Hrs.

Ingredients:

For Base (shortbread):

1. Unsalted Butter - 1/2 Cup + extra for greasing

2. All-purpose Flour - 1 1/4 Cup

3. Superfine Sugar (confectioners’ Sugar) - 1/4 Cup

For filling (caramel Filling):

4. Butter - 7 Oz or 14Tbsp

5. Sugar - 1/2 Cup

6. Sweetened Condensed Milk - 1 Cup

For Topping (Chocolate Topping):

7. Bittersweet Chocolate Square - 7 (broken into pieces)

Preparation:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 deg. F.

2. Grease a 9 inch square baking pan with butter and line parchment paper over it. Set aside.

3. Using a hand mixer blend butter, flour and sugar in a mixing bowl until well combined for 2 mins.

4. Press the mixture into the baking pan evenly using a wooden spatula or spoon.

5. Bake for 20-25 mins. or until the top is golden brown.

6. Meanwhile, add the filling ingredients (butter, sugar and condensed milk) to a sauce pan and heat it gently until the sugar is dissolved.

7. Bring the mixture to boil and simmer for 6-7 mins. stirring constantly until it's thick.

8. Remove the shortbread from the oven and pour the filling over it evenly.

9. Let it cool for about 10-15 mins.

10. Keep the pan in the refrigerator for about 40 min. or until the the filling is firm.

11. Double boil the chocolate squares to make the topping. (Simmer water in a sauce pan and place chocolate squares a heatproof bowl over the sauce pan until the chocolate squares are melted).

12. Remove the chocolate from the heat and let it cool slightly.

13. Spread the topping evenly over the shortbread and let it cool in the refrigerator until fully set (about 1 hr.)

14. Once fully set, remove the shortbread from the pan and cut it into squares. Serve chilled and store in a cool place.

Brinjal/Eggplant Coconut Curry

This is a traditional Malabar curry not crazy popular, but it's my Mom's favorite. It's creamy and tasty but always tastes a lot lot better when Mom makes it with love... :-).

Try it out... Enjoi...

Serves: 4

Spice level: Mild

Preparation time: 20 Mins.

Cook time (incl. Prep. time): 30 Mins.

Ingredients:

1. Coconut Milk - 3/4 Cup (Thick)

2. Whole Mustard - 1 Tsp.

3. Dried Red Chilli-pepper - 3

4. Fenugreek Seeds - 1/4 Tsp.

5. Water - 1 Cup

6. Brinjal/Eggplant - 1 Lb. (Small, cleaned and cut into small cubes)

7. Veg. oil - 2 Tbsp.

8. Curry Leaves - 10

9. Turmeric Powder - 1/2 Tsp.

10. Green Chilli - 1

11. Salt - 1/4 tsp.

Preparation:

1. Add brinjal with water, turmeric, salt and green chllies into a sauce pan and cook covered for about 10-15 mins. or untill the brinjals are soft and cooked.

2. Reduce the flame to simmer and mash the brinjal using a thick wooden spoon.

3. Add coconut milk and cook until it starts to boil. Get the pan off the flame and keep aside.

4. Heat 2 tbsp. oil in small frying pan and add mustard to it. When the mustards start to sputter add fenugreek seeds. dried red peppers and curry leaves. Sauté for about a half minute.

5. Get it off the flame and mix it with the brinjal curry to season it. Serve it warm with rice/roti/bread.

"Baba's" Egg Fried Rice

My 3 year old named this fried rice (she calls me Baba)... :-) She loves it. This is very simple fried rice and does not look any fancy. But if you are dad (or a mom) and your kid is bored of eating the same staple you have to try this. It's so easy that you could make it every now and then.

Try it... Enjoi...

Serves: 4

Spice level: Mild

Preparation time: 20 Mins.

Cook time (incl. Prep. time): 40 Mins.

Ingredients:

1. Rice - 1 Cup (cleaned, I used Basmati rice but you could use any white rice)

2. Water - 2 Cups

3. Veg. oil - 1 Tbsp.

4. Salt - 1 Pinch

5. veg. oil - 2 Tbsp.

6. Garlic - 5 Cloves (minced)

7. Ginger - 1/2 Tbsp. (minced)

8. Red Onion - 1 (small, cut into small cubes)

9. Green Chilli - 1 (Slivered)

10. Egg - 2

11. Salt - 1 Tsp.

12. Black Pepper Powder - 1 Tbsp.

13. Carrot - 1 (Shredded)

14. Red Bell Pepper - 1/2 (Cut into small cubes)

15. Vinegar - 1 Tsp.

16. Soya Sauce - 4 Tbsp.

Preparation:

1. In a pot boil 2 cups of water and add rice along with 1 tbsp. oil and salt.

2. Cook the rice for about 15 Mins. or until the rice is cooked. Strain the rice and spread it over a clean dry surface so that it doesn't sick to each other.

3. Heat 2 tbsp. oil in a large sauce pan and sauté garlic for 2 mins.

4. Add ginger and green chillies and sauté for another 2 mins.

5. Add onions and sauté for about 5 mins. or till the onions are translucent.

6. Crack open the eggs into the pan and stir it constantly to form small egg particles (very similar to scrambled egg).

7. Add salt and pepper to the pan and cook for 2 mins.

8. Add the vegetables (carrots, bell peppers and probably green peas or beans) and cook for 5 more mins. or until the veggies are soft.

9. Mix in rice, vinegar and soya sauce and sauté for another 5 mins or until the rice, sauce and veggies are well combined.

Note: taste the rice and if it’s too bland add a little bit more soya sauce.

10. Get the pan off the flame and serve it warm with Chinese gravy dishes.

Egg Chilli

One day I had a craving for Chinese food, but was too lazy to drive. All I had at home was eggs and launched a wide recipe hunt for a Chinese recipes using egg. I wonder why I do that always because I spend more time searching for the recipe than it would have taken to go get meat. I found this simple recipe on web and decided to give it a try adding my own twist to it... and it was very much worth the effort.

The best part about this recipe is that it uses the most common ingredients, which you would find at any home... and it's really tasty.

Try it out... Enjoi...

Serves: 4

Spice level: Mild

Preparation time: 20 Mins.

Cook time (incl. Prep. time): 30 Mins.

Ingredients:

For Omelet:

1. Egg - 5

2. Black Pepper powder - 1/2 Tbsp.

3. Salt - 1/4 Tsp.

4. Veg. Oil - 1 Tbsp.

For Batter:

5. Corn flour - 1 Tbsp.

6. All-purpose flour - 1 Tbsp.

7. Soya Sauce - 1 1/2 Tbsp.

8. Ginger-Garlic Paste - 1 Tsp.

9. Water - 1/4 cup

10. Veg. oil - for frying

For Gravy:

11. Garlic - 4 Cloves (Fresh, Minced)

12. Red Onion - 1 (Medium, cut into cubes)

13. Green chillies - 3 (chopped)

14. Red Bell Pepper - 1/2 (Cut into cubes)

15. Vinegar - 1/2 Tsp.

16. Soya Sauce - 1 Tbsp.

17. Tomato Ketchup - 1 Tbsp.

18. Veg. oil - 2 Tbsp.

19. Salt to taste

Preparation:

1. Beat eggs with salt and pepper.

2. Heat ½ tbsp. of oil in a medium sized non-stick frying pan. Pour half of the egg mix into the pan and cook it for 2 mins., flip it and cook for another 2 mins. Remove the egg omelet from the pan and set aside. Repeat the same process with remaining egg mix.

3. Once both the omelets are done cut it into thin strips and set aside.

4. Mix all the ingredients mentioned for batter (except oil) in a large mixing bowl to make a thick batter. Note: add water in parts so that the batter does not get too thin.

5. Add the egg pieces into the bowl and mix well slowly so that the batter is coated evenly over the egg pieces.

6. Heat oil in a deep pan and fry the batter coated egg pieces until golden brown. Remove the fried egg pieces off the oil using a slotted spoon and set aside.

7. Heat 2 tbsp. oil in a wok or non-stick pan and sauté garlic for 2 mins. or until the garlic is lightly fried.

8. Add onions and green chillies into the pan and cook for 5 mins. or until the onions are transparent.

9. Add bell peppers along with the egg pieces and sauté for 2 mins. or until the bell peppers are soft.

10. Mix in soya sauce, tomato ketchup, vinegar and a pinch salt into the pan and sauté for 5 more mins. Note: soya sauce is salty and hence add a small level of salt.

11. Get the pan off the flame and serve it warm.

Simple Veg. Pulav

Another veggie recipe from our dear sister Sheji Shakeer. Me being a hardcore non-veg., I am really happy that our sister is filling up the gap and providing some awesome recipes for the veggies...

Try it out... Enjoi... 

Serves: 4

Spice level: Medium

Preparation time: 30 Mins.

Cook time (incl. Prep. time): 45 Mins.

Ingredients: 

1. Cooked rice - 2 Cups 

2. Carrot - 1 (shredded)

3. Green Beans - 10 (Cut into small pieces)

4. Green Bell Pepper - 1 (Cut into small cubes)

5. Green Chillies - 3 (slit) 

6. Red Onion - 1 (large, sliced lengthwise)

7. Cinnamon - 1 Piece

8. Cardamom - 4

9. Cloves - 3 (lightly crushed)

10. Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp.

11. Garlic - 1 tsp. (minced)

12. Salt - 2 tsp.

13. Coriander Leaves to garnish

14. Ghee (or veg. oil) - 2 Tbsp.

Preparation:

1. Cook the rice and set aside. Do not overcook the rice that it gets sticky.

2. Heat the ghee or oil in a wide pan, add onions and sauté for about 7 mins. or until the onions start to brown.

3. Add the cinnamon, cloves, cardamom and stir fry for another 3 mins. or until the onions turn to a darker shade of brown.

4. Add the minced garlic and fry for another few seconds.

5. Add all the shredded vegetables, green chillies and mix well with salt.

6. Cook covered over a low flame for about 5 mins. or until the vegetables are soft.

7. Mix in the rice into the pan along with chopped coriander leaves.

8. Turn off flame and keep it partially covered until ready to serve.

Palm Seeds Milk Shake

We found canned palm seeds while shopping thru the aisles of a Chinese grocery store. I am not sure how common this seed is. But the picture on the can resembled tender coconuts and we decided to try making the tender coconut drink we usually make substituting with palm seed... and it was simply awesome...

Try it out... Enjoi...

Makes: 2 Cups (12 Oz. each)
Spice level: --

Preparation time: 7 Min.
Cook time (incl. Prep. time): 10 Min.

Ingredients:

1. Palm Seed - ½ cup
2. Milk - 3 cups
3. Sugar - 3 Tbsp.
4. Ice Cubes - 3

Preparation:

1. In a blender, blend palm seeds, milk and sugar for about 3 mins. until well-blended and creamy.
2. Add ice cubes and blend for another minute. You could add more milk you like it lighter or thinner. Serve chilled.

Kinnathappam (Traditional Malabar Steamed Bread)

Kinnathappam is a traditional Malabar recipe that dates back centuries. Malabarians now in their 50's get nostalgic when talking about this dish - they go back to their fond childhood memories of kinnathappam being served as breakfast by their Moms with lots of flavor and love. This dish is rarely served as a breakfast now-a-days, but it's so important not to forget our roots.

Try it out... Enjoi...

Serves: 4
Spice level: --

Preparation time: 25 Min.
Cook time (incl. Prep. time): 1 Hr.

Ingredients:

1. Basmati Rice - 1 Cup (cleaned and soaked in water for about 4-5 Hrs.)
2. Egg - 1
3. Shredded Coconut - ½ cup
4. Jaggery - 5 Pieces (about 5oz.)
5. Cardamom - 3 (powdered)
6. Cumin Seeds - ¼ Tsp.
7. Salt - 1 Pinch
8. Ghee - 4 Tsp. + 2 Tsp. for frying
9. Cashew nut - 10 (slivered)
10. Raisins - 8

Preparation:

1. Add jaggery to a sauce pan with boiling water and let it dissolve completely. Get the jaggery syrup off the stove, strain it using a fine mesh strainer (to remove all residues) and set aside for about 10 min to cool.
2. To a grinder/mixer, add rice along with jaggery syrup and grind it to a fine paste. This might take a while, but make sure there are no solid rice particles once it’s ground.Batter should be not too thick and not too thin.If you feel batter is watery add a few spoons of all purpose flour in to it.
3. Add egg, coconut, cumin seeds and salt into the grinder/mixer and mix well. Set aside the batter.
4. Fry the cashew nuts until golden brown in a small pan with 1 tsp. of ghee. Add raisins to the pan and fry it as well.
5. Add the fried cashews and raisins along with the ghee used to fry it to the batter and mix well.
6. Boil water in a steamer. A pressure cooker could also be used for the same, but without the weights.
7. Grease the steamer plate/vessel with 4 tsp. of ghee and pour in the batter.
8. Cover the vessel with aluminum foil and place it in the steamer.
9. Steam it for 25-30 mins. or until the top is firm.
10. Get it off the steamer and flip it to a serving plate. Serve it warm after cutting it to square/diamond slices.

Palak/Spinach Pakora

Another version of pakora that's very popular in the Kashmir area of Pakistan. Spinach typically stands for green and healthy, but this dish could be an exception and could make a non-spinach lover a spinach lover (in an unhealthy way... hehe...)

Try it... Enjoi…

Makes: 20
Spice level: Medium

Preparation time: 20 Min.
Cook time (incl. Prep. time): 30 Mins.

Ingredients:

1. Chick Pea Flour (Basin) - 1 Cup
2. Rice Four - 1 Tbsp.
3. Spinach - 1 Cup (finely chopped)
4. Red Onion - 1 (small, thinly chopped)
5. Ginger - 1 Tsp. (finely chopped)
6. Green Chilli - 3 (finely chopped)
7. Curry Leaves- 8 Leaves (finely chopped)
8. Coriander Leaves - ¼ Cup (chopped)
9. Chilli Powder - 1 Tsp.
10. Turmeric Powder - ½ Tsp.
11. Black Pepper Powder - ¼ Tsp.
12. Garam Masala Powder - 2 Pinches
13. Salt to taste
14. Baking Powder - 2 Pinches(Optional)
15. Water - 1 Cup
16. Oil to fry

Preparation:

1. Mix well ingredients 3 thru 13 in a mixing bowl.
2. Mix in chick pea flower, rice flour, baking powder and mix well with water to make a medium thick consistency.
Tip: Make sure to add water in small portions, mix well and check the consistency before adding more water.
3. Heat oil in frying pan, take small balls of a mix in a spoon and deep fry it till golden brown. Serve it warm.
Tip: Do not make the batter balls too thick that it doesn't fry evenly.

Chops Masala (Spicy Lamb Chops)

An easy delicious recipe from our neighbor Rabia Abdullah. She experiments a lot with cooking and to-date we regret for not meeting her earlier (a huge miss for a foodie). Anyways, better late than never and hopefully we can make-up for the lost time... hehe...

Lamb chops are an excellent way to start a feast (or rather a heavy luxurious feast). God knows where it originated and no one really cares... Grab a piece, bite into it and ...... (there are no words to express the feeling).

Serves: 2

Spice level: Mild

Preparation time: 20 Mins.

Cook time (incl. Prep. time): 40 Mins.

Ingredients:

1. Mutton chops - 1 Lbs. (cleaned)

2. Yogurt - 1 cup

3. Oil - 1 cup

4. Coriander - 1 cup (chopped)

5. Lime Juice - squeezed from 3 limes

6. Green chilies - 4 (chopped)

7. Ginger garlic paste - 1 tbsp.

8. Red chili powder - 1 tbsp.

9. Black pepper - ½ tbsp. (crushed)

10. Salt to taste

Preparation:

1. Heat a large bottom heavy pan and add mutton chops, ginger garlic paste, yogurt, red chili powder and salt. Note that there is no water added in this recipe.

2. Bring the mix to boil and let it cook covered on simmer for about 50 mins or until the excess water in the chops is evaporated. Make sure to stir it occasionally with a wooden spoon.

3. Add oil, black pepper, lime juice, green chilies and mix well and let it cook for another 10 mins.

4. The chops off the stove to a serving bowl, garnish it with sliced coriander and serve warm.

Blueberry Lassi

"Boom!!! That's a lucky break!!!" I wanted to make strawberry lassi but there weren't any strawberries home and hence thought of using blueberries instead.It turned out to be better than strawberries... in fact it was one the best drinks I ever had. You should try it...

Makes: 2 Cups (12 Oz. each)
Spice level: Easy

Preparation time: 7 Min.
Cook time (incl. Prep. time): 10 Min.

Ingredients:

1. Sugar - 1/4 cup
2. Cardamom - 2
3. Blueberry - 1 cup (fresh)
4. Yogurt - 1 cup
5. Ice Cubes - 4

Preparation:

1. Powder sugar and cardamom in a grinder or using a mortar.
2. In a  blender, blend blueberries, yogurt and sugar-cardamom powder for about 2 mins.
3. Add ice cubes and blend for another minute and that's it. Serve chilled.

Garlic and Parmesan Chicken Wings

Chicken wings are the perfect appetizers for any party. They come in a variety of flavors and spices from the hottest to sweetest. The one below is a mild spicy kid-friendly version specially made for my three-year old. She said "Baba, it's yummy... I need more..."  Try it out and enjoi...

Makes: 4 Wings (2 pieces each)

Spice level: Mild

Preparation time: 30 Min.

Cook time (incl. Prep. time): 1 Hr. 10 Mins.

Ingredients:

1. Chicken Wings - 1.2 Lbs. (4 wings, separated at joint, cleaned and dried)

2. Water - 3 Cup

3. Vinegar - 1/8 Cup

4. Soya Sauce - 1/8 Cup

5. Bay Leaf - 1

6. Salt - 1/8 Cup

7. Dried Thyme - 1/2 Tsp.

8. Dried Oregano - 1/2 Tsp.

9. Garlic - 3 Cloves (minced and ground with a pinch of salt)

10. Crushed Red Pepper - 1 Tbsp.

11. Olive Oil - 1 1/2 Tbsp.

12. Black Pepper Powder - 1 Tsp.

13. Bread Crumbs - 1 Tbsp. (fine)

14. Parmesan Cheese - 1/2 Cup (finely grated, in parts)

Preparation:

1. Boil water in a deep sauce pan with vinegar, soya sauce, bay leaf, thyme, oregano and salt.

2. Add chicken to the pan and bring it to hard boil and let it boil for 15 mins.

3. Using a slotted spoon remove the chicken pieces off the pan and let it cool for 15 min. on a cooling rack (or some slotted plates or strainer).

4. Mix olive oil, garlic, red peppers, black pepper and bread crumbs in a large mixing bowl.

5. Add chicken wings into the bowl and toss it well the spices.

6. Split the cheese in three parts and one part at a time to the bowl and mix well.

7. Grease a baking tray with oil and spread the wings over it with some space between each wing. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese lightly over each wing.

8. Pre-heat the oven to 450 deg. F

9. Bake the chicken wings for about 20 mins. until it’s perfectly cooked. Get it off the oven and serve it warm.