Authentic Recipes from the Kitchens of Shriya, Nithu & Arthi!

Shredded Fish curry – Fish Puttu Kuzhambhu

Posted by on Jan 31, 2008 in Meat & Seafood Entrees | 14 comments

  We usually see fish made as a curry and meen (fish in English) kuzhambu is a favorite of many south Indians. I learnt this unique seafood recipe from my mom’s Kitchen and she tells me it’s a Chettinad specialty. It is made with shredded fish instead of whole fish and it tastes excellent. It is well known that fish kuzhumbu usually tastes the best next day with all the spices and gravy soaking in. With the fish in shredded form, the spices soak in faster and it tastes great right from day 1. Do I need to say it is one of my favorites? Preparation Time: 40 minutes No of servings: 4-5 Spice Level: 3 out of 5 Ingredients: Fish : 2 lb(King Fish or Tilapia) Coconut oil : 2 tbsp Pearl onions : 1/2 cup Tomato :...

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Foodie Rendezvous – 3

Posted by on Jan 28, 2008 in Rendezvous | 13 comments

Sunday is almost over! We wanted to spread the love by highlighting a few recipes every week from our fellow foodie bloggers. It has turned out to harder than sharing our own recipes as there are so many wonderful bloggers out there and we have a hard time picking a few. If we haven’t found your blog yet, don’t worry we will hunt your recipe down. Sooner or later. 😉 Chicken Skewers – Padmaja of SpicyAndhra A new blog find for me and a super hit recipe to start with. The pictures are really drool-worthy! 😛 Slut Bread – Meeso of My Humble Kitchen Doesn’t the name of the bread make you curious? A simple and nice recipe from a new friend of ours. Chukku Kappi – Herbal Coffee – Mishmash of KitchenMishmash Who couldn’t use a steaming cup...

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Karuvepillai Thuvaiyal/Curry Leaves Chutney

Posted by on Jan 27, 2008 in Chutneys, Veggie Entrees & Sides | 17 comments

Curry leaves are the essence of South Indian cooking. They give rich favor & aroma to any dish and they are used in a lot of recipes. Its usually used as a seasoning but here is a recipe with curry leaves as the key player. One of my good friends Lavanya of famed Home Cook Recipes sent me this recipe to publish here with some wonderful pictures. She was my classmate & roommate in college. I am really glad that she sent us this and it is with pleasure I share this with you. She made this dish and she said it came out very well and she is as excited as me to share it to our readers. Ingredients : Curry leaves : 1 cup Toor dal : 1tbsp Channa dal : 1 tbsp Urad dal : 1tbsp...

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Thanks for the review, BlogsWeLuv

Posted by on Jan 24, 2008 in Misc | 2 comments

I was thrilled to wake up to see SpicyTasty reviewed by Tish at BlogsWeLuv.com. Let me tell you a little bit about BlogsWeLuv.com first. It is a blog where new and unique blogs get reviewed by a team of excellent bloggers – Mike, Tish, Mark, Bush, Garry & John. With such an awesome team, they are doing a great job bringing new blogs to their readers with their reviews! Tish blogs not just at BlogsWeLuv but authors her own blogs ChattieKat.com & BloggingGal.com. I highly recommend them to you as well not because she reviewed us but because I am really impressed with her work. Nithu & I have already been humbled by the support & kindness you show us with your comments and Tish has made us blush. Thanks Tish! That’s enough bragging for one day and we...

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Sweet Potato-Yam Curry

Posted by on Jan 22, 2008 in Veggie Entrees & Sides | 11 comments

It’s been almost a week since I posted a recipe. We had some of our friends (including nithu and her husband ganesh) visiting us and we were busy playing host. They were in town to see the Detroit International Auto Show and it was a great experience to see all the new vehicles. Nithu and I had a great time. Sweet potatoes or Yam are rich in nutrients such as dietary fiber, beta carotene (equivalent to Vitamin A), Vitamin C & Vitamin B6. I knew it was better than potatoes, but this is what Wikipedia has to say about it: In 1992, the Center for Science in the Public Interest compared the nutritional value of sweet potatoes to other vegetables. Considering fiber content, complex carbohydrates, protein, vitamins A and C, iron, and calcium, the sweet potato ranked highest in...

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Moong Dhal Kheer

Posted by on Jan 15, 2008 in Desserts | 14 comments

Pongal is an auspicious day for Tamilians. It is in celebration of the prosperity and good fortune that comes with the harvest and in thanks to the rain and sun for a good season. It is celebrated on the first day of the Tamil month ‘Thai’ and today is that day! It is customary to make sweets on Pongal day and I made some Moong Dal Kheer, also called payasam to celebrate this day. Preparation Time: 45 minutes No of servings: 4-5 Spice Level: 0 out of 5 Ingredients: Moong dhal : 1 cup Bengal gram : 2 1/2 tsp Ghee : 1 tbsp cashew nuts : 8 Raisins: few(optional) Jaggery : 1/2 cup Water : 1 1/2 cup Milk : 1 cup Method Of Preparation : wash the moong dhal and bengal gram and soak them in water...

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Foodie Rendezvous – 2

Posted by on Jan 14, 2008 in Rendezvous | 1 comment

SpicyTasty.com has a great new look! It is with great pleasure, we are releasing this new look to our readers. As much as we loved our old look the design elements in it restricted us from doing a few things we wanted to. The new theme offers more freedom and a fresh new look to our fast growing blog. We hope that you enjoy it as much as we are excited about it. We look forward to hearing your thoughts and comments. Your suggestions & comments will definitely help us improve and serve your needs a little better. Now, lets take a look at our second in the Foodie Rendezvous series. Mushroom Dome – Happy Cook of My Kitchen Treasures A soup perfect for a great visual effect and for a surprise factor in parties. Spicy Sardine Fish Gravy...

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Chicken Vindaloo

Posted by on Jan 11, 2008 in Chicken dishes, Meat & Seafood Entrees | 7 comments

Vindaloo is an Goan dish traditionally prepared with garlic, red wine and chili. Vindaloo roughly means in Portuguese – ‘ Wine,Vinegar and Garlic’. Vindaloo these days are usually made with potatoes leading us to think the aloo in vindaloo is the Hindi word for potatoes. In fact, I just found out the history of it when I sat down to write this recipe. It has become a popular item in Indian restaurant menus and is usually the spiciest of the entrees. I learned this version of Vindaloo recipe from my sister. Preparation Time: 50 minutes No of servings: 3-4 Spice Level: 3 out of 5 Ingredients: Chicken : 500 gm Onions : 2(big) Green chili : 3 Cardamom : 3 Cinnamon : 1/2 inch Cloves : 2 Bay leaves : 1 Potatoes : 3(small) Tamarind Paste : 1/2 tbsp...

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French Onion and Garlic Soup

Posted by on Jan 10, 2008 in Soups | 13 comments

French onion soup is a delectable and rich soup that’s rich in taste and great to devour. Onions and garlic give it a nice aroma (check your breath after though) and the bread chunks the great texture. This is my favorite starter any time I go to a restaurant in India. I tried this soup from Sanjeev kapoor’s Vegetarian Cookbook. Preparation Time: 45 minutes No of servings: 3-4 Spice Level: 1 out of 5 Ingredients: Vegetable stock : 4 cup Onion : 2(big)(cut length wise) Cheese : 1/4 grated Garlic : 5 (chopped) Brown Bread : 3 slices Olive oil : 2tbsp White pepper powder : 1/4tspn Salt : required to taste Carrot : 1 medium (cut lengthwise) Method Of Preparation: Cut the bread into slices and just toast it with olive oil. Remove it from heat and keep...

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Foodie Rendezvous – 1

Posted by on Jan 7, 2008 in Rendezvous | 4 comments

Food tastes its best when we enjoy it with others. In a blog all about food, what could be better than to showcase recipes from my fellow foodie bloggers? We are going to bring a few recipes every week to the limelight here. We encourage you to visit their blogs and leave them a comment or two to show our appreciation for the effort they put into sharing their recipes with us. RCI-Chakka-Kumbil Appam/ Steamed Jack fruit dumplings – Bharathy of Spicy Chilly An exotic dish made from jackfruit. Very nice! Fruit Cake – Sailus Kitchen Just check out the pictures of this fruit cake and you’ll want to make this yourself. Madras Shrimp Curry – Shankari of Stream of Consciousness Hailing from Chennai, how can I not like this recipe? 😉 Potato and Eggplant Gravy – Archana’s kitchen...

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Pepper Chicken Gravy

Posted by on Jan 5, 2008 in Chicken dishes, Meat & Seafood Entrees | 34 comments

Today I was craving for something little spicy so I ended up making this pepper chicken gravy. My Mom used to make this for me and my sisters if we had a bit of cold. Pepper has this medicinal quality that helps fight the common cold. The main flavors that stand out in this gravy are pepper and curry leaves. This is one of my favorite chicken gravies from my mom’s cooking.Hope you enjoy it too. 🙂 Preparation Time: 45 minutes No of servings: 4-5 Spice Level: 4 out of 5 Ingredients: Chicken : 500gms Oil : 1/2 cup Cloves : 2 Cinnamon : 1/2 ” stick Bay leaves : 2 Cumin seeds : 1/2 tsp Fennel seeds : 1/2 tsp Onion : 1( cut lengthwise) Tomatoes : 3 (Finely chopped) Ginger and garlic paste : 2 tbsp Yogurt...

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Chilli Parotta (Paratha)

Posted by on Jan 4, 2008 in Veggie Entrees & Sides | 10 comments

Parotta (or paratha), as we call it down south, has to be one of the most popular items in restaurants. Both kids and adults love it. If you are stuck with frozen paratha’s like me, you could try this quickly instead of having plain parathas. All you need is a few vegetables you will find in your fridge anyway. Preparation Time: 45 minutes No of servings: 4-5 Spice Level: 3 out of 5 Ingredients: Parathas : 6 (Frozen parathas) Onions : 1 (Medium) Tomatoes : 2 (Finely chopped) Green Bell Pepper : 1 Cumin Seeds : 1 tsp Curry leaves : 3 Green Chilies : 3 (Slit Lengthwise) Red Chili Powder :1 tbsp (or) chili sauce Turmeric powder : 1/4 tsp Ginger and garlic paste : 1 tbsp Salt : according to your taste Garam Masala : 1 tsp...

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Tomato Chutney

Posted by on Jan 3, 2008 in Breakfast Menu, Veggie Entrees & Sides | Comments Off on Tomato Chutney

Its a typical south Indian dish which is often consumed with idli or dosa. This is a very good side dish for idli, dosa, and it takes such a short time to make. The best combination for this chutney is idli and chutney (idli) powder. One of my favorite breakfast dishes. Preparation Time:20 minutes No of servings: 4-5 Spice Level: 3 out of 5 Ingredients: Tomato : 3 Onion : 1(Medium) Red chili : 5 to 6 Cumin seeds : 1 tsp Oil : 1tbsp Curry leaves : 4 to 5 Mustard seeds : 1 tsp Urad dal : 1 tsp Method of Preparation: Heat 1 tsp of oil in a kadai add cumin seeds, onions , tomatoes, Red chilies. Fry them untill the onions and tomatoes get soft and onions turn into golden brown. Remove from heat and...

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Happy New Year – Welcome 2008

Posted by on Jan 1, 2008 in Misc | 1 comment

New Year Day is a day to take moment, sip a cup of hot cocoa, hear the birds chirp and rejoice the good fortune we had been bestowed upon in the past year. And look forward to a brand new year ahead of us and all the exciting possibilities. Hope you had a chance to do that today and wish you a wonderful, joyous New Year! We are very excited to bring you more recipes this year and taking SpicyTasty to the next level with your continued support! Thank you for visiting SpicyTasty and we wish you a Happy New...

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Cabbage Kootu

Posted by on Dec 31, 2007 in Kootu/lentil Stew, Veggie Entrees & Sides | 1 comment

This is a typical vegetarian side dish that is a part of a traditional south Indian meal. Because of cabbage’s suttle flavor it best compliments spicy gravies like vatha kuzhambhu, Milagootal. Preparation Time: 40 minutes No of servings: 3-5 Spice Level: 3.5 out of 5 Ingredients: Cabbage : 2 cups(finely chopped) Channa dal : 1/2 cup Onion : 1/2(finely chopped) Tomato : 1 Green chilies : 3(according to your spice level) Curry leaves : 4 to 5 Oil : 2 tsp Turmeric powder : 1/4 tsp Fennel seeds : 1tsp Mustard seeds : 1 tsp Urad dal : 1 tsp Asafoaetida : a pinch Ghee : 1 tbsp Coconut : 3tbsp(shredded)(optional) Ginger : 1/2 tbsp(finely chopped) Salt : according to your taste Method of Preparation: Soak the channa dal for 15 minutes .Because when you soak the dal it’s...

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Paruppu Urundai Kozhambhu

Posted by on Dec 28, 2007 in Veggie Entrees & Sides | Comments Off on Paruppu Urundai Kozhambhu

Preparation Time: 60 minutes No of servings: 3-5 Spice Level: 3.5 out of 5 Ingredients: For Paruppu Urundai : Channa dal : 1 cup Red chili : 5 to 6 Oil : for frying Cumin seeds : 1/4 tsp ginger : 2 tsp(Finely chopped) Garlic : 2 Curry Leaves : 6 Onion : 1/2 (finely chopped) For Kozhambhu: Onion : 1/2(Medium size)(Slit lenghtwise) Tomato : 2 Vegetables : carrot,green peas,beans(1 cup) Green chili : 3 Sambhar Powder : 2tbsp(If you are out of sambhar powder add corriander powder(1/2 tbsp)and red chili powder(1 1/2tbsp) Turmeric powder :1/4 tsp Ginger Garlic paste : 1 tbsp Curry leaves : 6 springs Oil : 2 tbsp Coconut milk : 1/2 cup Corriander leaves : for garnishing Method of Preparation: For Paruppu Urundai : Soak channa dal with whole red chili for two hours....

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Aloo Mutter

Posted by on Dec 24, 2007 in Veggie Entrees & Sides | 5 comments

This is a simple side dish to make for chapathy or dosai. It’s really easy to cook in a very short time with few simple ingredients that you will find in your pantry. Preparation Time: 45 minutes No of servings: 4-5 Spice Level: 3 out of 5 Ingredients: Potato -250gm (diced into small cubes ) Green peas -1 cup Onion -1 (chopped) Tomato – 2 (chopped) Ginger & garlic paste – 1tsp Cumin powder – 1/2tsp Turmeric powder -a pinch Coriander powder -1tsp Garam masala – 1/2tsp Red chilli powder-1/2tsp( or according to your taste) Salt -to taste Method Of preparation: Heat oil in a pan add onion fry well, add ginger & garlic paste, tomotoes, red chili powder, turmeric powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, garam masala and salt fry well. Add potatoes and green peas. Now add 1...

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Chicken Drumstick Fry

Posted by on Dec 23, 2007 in Chicken dishes, Meat & Seafood Entrees | 1 comment

It’s a simple chicken side dish easy to prepare and goes well with Chicken Briyani. Preparation Time: 45 minutes No of servings: 4-5 Spice Level: 3.5 out of 5 Ingredients: Chicken drumsticks :6 cloves : 2 Onion : 1 White Vinegar : 1tsp Oil : 3tbsp Yogurt : 2tbsp Ginger and garlic paste : tbsp Curry leaves : 6 to 8 springs Green chili : 3(slit lengthwise) Red chili powder : 2tsp Turmeric powder : 1/4 tsp Salt : required to taste Method of preparation: Marinade the chicken drumsticks (leg pieces) with ginger and garlic paste , Red chili powder, Yogurt, turmeric powder, and Vinegar. When you marinade this make a slit in the meat so the spices can soak in. Marinade this mixture for at least an hour. After an hour heat oil in a kadai add cloves...

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Rawa Kesari

Posted by on Dec 19, 2007 in Desserts | 7 comments

Rawa Kesari is my all time favorite sweet and it’s a very popular sweet in south India.Its easy to make when you have guests in home and in festival times.My friend kathija shared this recipe with me.This is the first sweet I made when I started cooking .The tricky part in this recipe is while adding water in to the rawa you will get lumps so to avoid it add water by mixing it continuosly in low flame otherwise you can use dal masher to avoid lumps. Preparation Time: 50 minutes No of servings: 4-5 Spice Level: 3.5 out of 5 Ingredients: Semolina(Rava/Sooji) – 1 cup Ghee – 3/4 cup Sugar – 1 3/4 cups Cashews – 10 nos Kesari colour – A pinch Hot water – 2 1/2 cups Cardamom(Elakka) powder – 1/2 tsp Method of Preparation: Heat...

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Kadai Chicken

Posted by on Dec 18, 2007 in Chicken dishes, Meat & Seafood Entrees | 20 comments

Kadai Chicken is a spicy chicken dish with a rich aroma given by the Ginger and Tomatoes. It makes an excellent side dish for Briyani and makes a great alternative toBaraha Mutton.Usually served in a brass dish called ‘Kadai’ in Indian restaurants. Preparation Time: 50 minutes No of servings: 4-5 Spice Level: 3.5 out of 5 Ingredients: Chicken : 1 kg Tomato : 1 kg ( chopped) Red Chili : 6-8 ( coarse powder) Green chili : 2 (sliced ) Garam Masala :1 tsp Oil : 1/2 cup Ginger : 3 2/3 tbsp ( 50 gms) ( chopped ) Garlic : 4 tsp Capsicum :1/2 ( cut into small cubes) Coriander Leaves : 2tsp Method of preparation: Heat oil in a pan. Add Garlic paste, red chili(fry the whole red chili and grind it into fine powder), tomato and...

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