Chicken chettinad

Chettinad cuisine is the most renowned fare in Tamil Nadu repertoire. It is spicy and incredibly aromatic 

This cuisine uses variety of spices and the dishes are made with freshly ground masalas. Most of the dishes are served with rice and rice based accompaniments.

Chettinad cuisine offers a variety of vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes. Chicken chettinad is one of them and is very popular.

I have made many north Indian chicken dishes like Chicken hariyali, Chicken tikka, Chicken tikka masala, butter chicken, etc. but this time thought of making a south Indian dish and it was finger licking good.

Preparation time - 3 hours

Cook time - 1 hour

Serves - 3


Ingredients -



a. For the marination -


1. Chicken - 500 gms
2. Turmeric powder - 1 tsp spoon
3. Chilly powder - 1 tbsp
4. Ginger paste - 3/4 tbsp
5. Garlic paste - 1 tbsp
6. Pepper powder - 1/2 tbsp
7. Lemon juice - 1 tbsp



b. For the masala -

1. Grated coconut - 1 cup
2. Red chilly - 3 to 4
3. Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
4. Coriander seeds - 3/4 tbsp
5. Fennel seeds - 1 tsp
6. Cinnamon stick - 1 small
7. Cloves - 3 
8. Cardamom - 2 to 3
9. Poppy seeds - 1 & 1/2 tsp




c. For the gravy -

1. Finely chopped onion - 1 medium
2. Curry leaves - 4 strings
3. Tomato puree - 1 cup
4. Roasted and grounded masala (Made from the above listed 'b. For the masala' section)
5. Oil
6. Salt




Procedure -

1. Clean and wash the chicken. Pat dry with a clean cotton cloth and cut into cubes or medium size piece.

2. Marinate the chicken pieces with the ingredients listed in section 'a. For the marination' and refrigerate for 2 hours.

3. In a kadhai, add red chillies, cumin, coriander, fennel, cinnamon, cloves and cardamon. Roast for 3 to 4 minutes on low flame.

4. Add poppy seeds and coconut. Mix and roast till it turns golden brown.

5. Once it cools down grind into a fine powder. Do not add water.

6. In the same kadhai, add oil. Once the oil turns hot add half curry leaves and fry for 30 seconds.

7. Add finely chopped onion and fry till translucent.

8. Add 1/2 tsp turmeric and chilly powder.

9. Add half the ground masala and fry for a minute on low flame.

10. Add marinated chicken pieces and fry for 5 minutes on low to medium heat. Stirring continuously.

11. Add tomato puree, salt and cover with lid for 5 minutes on low flame. Do not add water.

 12. Open the lid and add remaining curry leaves and masala. Stir and cook on low heat for another 2 to 3 minutes or till the chicken is done.

13. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with steamed rice, roti or Malabar parathas.

Lasooni palak

Lasooni palak is best enjoyed during winter. Garlic keeps the body warm and increases immunity. Garlic has many health benefits and that is why I make sure it is included in my daily diet irrespective of the season.

This lasooni palak saag goes well with roti, naan or chapati. Spinach is a super food, loaded with tons of nutrients in a low calorie package.

The idea of adding sesame seeds is taken from FoodFood TV channel. 

Below is the recipe for lasooni palak, loaded with full of antioxidants, Iron, vitamins, etc.

Preparation time - 50 minutes

Serves - 3


Ingredients -

1. Spinach - 2 Bunch
2. Garlic - 35 to 40 pods
3. Coriander powder - 3/4 Tb spoon
4. Turmeric powder - 1 Tea spoon
5. Cumin seeds - 3/4 tea sp
6. Chilly - 3
7. Finely chopped onion - 1
8. Yogurt - 3 Tb spoon
9. Lemon juice - 1 Tb spoon
10. Oil - 5 Tb spoon
11. Sesame seeds - 1 Tb spoon

Procedure -

1. Clean, wash and finely chop 1/3 portion spinach from the 2 bunchs. Keep aside.

2. Chop garlic and green chilly.

3. In a pan add water and once the water starts boiling add the remaining spinach and boil for 8 to 10 min.

4. Drain the boiled spinach and once it cools down grind into fine paste. Keep aside.

5. In a kadhai, add 2 tbsp oil.

6. Once the oil turns hot, add cumin seeds and let it splutter nicely. Add half a chopped garlic and chillies.

7. Stir for 30 seconds. Add finely chopped onion and cook till it turns translucent.

8. Add turmeric powder and stir.

9. Add finely chopped spinach, stir and cover with a lid for 10 minutes on low flame.

10. Once the spinach is cooked well, add spinach paste and stir. Add coriander powder and salt. Cover with a lid and let it cook on low flame for 10 minutes.

11. Add yogurt and mix well. Cook for another 2 to 3 minutes. Turn off the flame and add lemon juice.

12. In a tadka pan add remaining oil. Once the oil turns hot add rest of the chopped garlic and sesame seeds.

13. Fry till it turns golden brown

14. Pour this on the palak saag and serve hot with roti or naan.

Rava fish fry (Basa)

This yummy, crispy and delicious fish fry, which I make occasionally is one of the favourites in my family. Though I never made it before my marriage, now I make it at least once in a month.

I was not a seafood lover before my marriage but my husband who is a seafood lover now and then introduced me to varieties of sea food dishes in different restaurants and gradually I started developing the taste and loving it.

Now I cook variety seafood dishes once in 15 days and enjoy both, cooking it and eating it.

In this recipe the fish is marinated with tamarind juice and spices, coated with semolina and shallow fried. I have skipped coriander powder in this recipe but if you wish to you can add. You can also use surmai, pomfret or salmen for this recipe.

You can either serve this dish as starter or side dish or with your meals.

If you are serving as starter serve it with green chutney, it goes well.

Preparation time - 45 minutes

Serves - 3

Ingredients -

1. Basa fish fillet - 500 gms
2. Semolina - 1 & 1/2 cup
3. Ginger garlic paste - 1 Tb spoon
4. Mustard powder - 3/4 Tb spoon
5. Red chilly powder - 2 Tb spoon (Or a s per your requirement)
6. Turmeric powered - 1 tea spoon
7. Tamarind - 3 Tb spoon
8. Oil -  1/2 cup

Procedure -

1. Wash and remove seeds from tamarind. In a utensil add tamarind and 1 cup water and bring it to boil.

2. Boil it on medium flame for 7 to 10 minutes.

3. Meanwhile clean basa fish fillet under running water and pat dry with a clean dry cotton cloth. Do not press hardly while washing the fish. Wash it delicately. Keep aside

4. Once the tamarind water starts thickening a little, turn off the flame and let it cool down.

5. Once it cools down, squeeze the tamarind in the same water and utensil. Strain and keep aside.

6. In the tamarind water add turmeric, red chilly powder, ginger garlic paste, mustard powder and salt. Mix well.

7. Pour the mixture in a plate or tray. Cut the fish fillet into two if you feel they a too big just the way I did in below pic.

8. Now marinade each fish fillet with the mixture from both sides.

9. Once the marination is done, arrange them in a plate.

 10. Pierce each marinated fish fillet with fork for 3 to 4 times. This is done so that the coating is absorbed inside the fillet.

11. Refrigerate for 20 to 30 minutes.

12. In a frying pan, add oil. Coat the fish fillet with semolina from both sides. Press the fillet softly while coating, so that the semolina stays intact.

13. Once the oil turns hot, add the coated fillet and shallow fry for 6 to 7 minutes from one side, on low to medium flame.

14. Turn the fillet and shallow fry for another 6 to 7 minutes.

15. Serve hot with green chutney or as a side dish or with meals.