Nimki ( Quick Mango relish)

This is a quick fix for a mango pickle or relish, takes minutes to prepare and makes a great  accompaniment to the meal.

Ingredients

Raw Mango - 2

Shallots - 2

Mustard oil - 1 tbsp

Chilli powder - 1 tbsp

Ajwain - 1 tsp

Salt to taste

Thinly slice the mango and shallots. Add the rest of the ingredients and toss well. This is now ready to eat immediately and will keep well for a week in the fridge.

Sheer Khurma (Vermicelli Pudding)

This one is a traditional dessert made on Eid and the recipe was handed to me by my good friend Naush during my last visit to Perth. I tried this recently and was quite pleased with the result. This dessert is super easy to make and went down a treat with the family. I used full fat milk which gives it a wholesome creamy texture but you can use skimmed milk if you prefer.

Ingredients:
Vermicelli    - 50 gms
Milk full fat  - 1 Litre
Sugar          - 4 tbsp
almond slivers - 1tbsp (optional)
Cardamom     -  1 pod (optional)
Oil/Butter       - 1tbsp

Method:
Heat oil/butter in the pan and add the almond slivers and the vermicelli. Fry until the vermicelli is light brown on a medium flame. Keep this aside.
Add  crushed cardamom pod with seeds to the milk and bring the milk to a boil in a deep pan. Reduce the milk to half its original quantity, stirring continuously. Add sugar, fried vermicelli and the almond slivers to the milk. Cook on a low flame for another ten minutes stirring the vermicelli in the milk.

Serve warm or cold.

Chicken Chettinad

Inspired by a South Indian meal I had the other day at a restaurant in Little India, I wanted to replicate this spicy chicken curry at home. After googling many a recipe (every recipe was different), this is my spin on the Chettinad Chicken curry, which apparently has no short cuts, but I have added dry spices in powder form to keep the grinding work to minimal.

Ingredients

Chicken 1 kilo (thigh, boneless and skinless)

Onions - 3 finely chopped

Tomato - 2 finely chopped

Ginger and Garlic paste - 2 tablespoon

Curry leaves - 20

Green chillies whole - 5

Coconut Milk trim - 1/2 pkt

Oil - 4 tbsp

Salt to taste

Coriander powder - 1.5 tablespoon

Cumin Powder - 1/2 tsp

Red chilli powder - 2 heaped tablespoons

Elaichi or cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp

Cinnamon powder -1/4 tsp

turmeric powder -1/2tsp

Method:

Heat oil in a pan, add chopped onion and fry until golden brown.

Add tomatoes, curry leaves, green chillies and all the dry ingredients and cook until you get a well cooked masala that looks like this:

Add Chicken to the pan and mix well. Cook the chicken, stirring now and again on until the chicken is tender.

add coconut milk and cook for another 10 minutes covered on low flame.

Switch off the flame, garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with rice.

Salmon Sushi

Ingredients:

Sushi Rice - 1 cup

Nori or Seaweed - 5 sheets

Salmon in brine - 1 can 

Mayonnaise - 2 tablespoons

Soya sauce - 2 tablespoons 

Rice wine - 1 tablespoon

Sugar - 1 tablespoon

Method:

Drain the brine from the Salmon. Mix the mayonnaise with the salmon in a bowl. 

Wash the sushi rice thoroughly with water. Add two cups water and cook the rice in a rice cooker. 

In a pan, add the rice wine, sugar and soya sauce, mix well and heat until it comes to a gentle boil. remove from heat and cool.

Once the rice is cooked, remove the lid. Add the rice wine mixture, incorporating it well into the rice. let the rice cool a bit before you start rolling out the sushi.

To roll the sushi, take a sushi mat on the counter, put one sheet of seaweed - shiny side up. Layer it thinly with the rice. 

Take a tablespoon of the salmon and mayo mixture and spread it on the end closer to you as this will make the rolling part easy.

Now gently lift the end of the mat rolling the sushi roll away from you thus:

Ensure you roll it tightly

cover the roll completely with the mat

rolled out sushi roll

Use a sharp wet knife to cut even round sushi pieces. Serve with Sushi soya and wasabi.