Tag: mangalorean

Easy Cheese Pasta with Chicken Ghee Roast

Sometimes you get lazy and want to just relax. Times when you want to minimize kitchen time but still have a delicious dinner.

I loved this easy recipe of melted cheese mixed with pasta served with chicken ghee roast. Chicken Ghee Roast is a mouthwatering, spicy and highly aromatic recipe famous in South-Indian cuisine. I got a pack of chicken ghee roast powder when I visited India and it comes in handy when my taste buds feel the desperation of eating something fried.

It is a delicious dinner for two. A quick, easy recipe when you want something spicy to go with pasta. It’s a huge hit with my husband especially for a first try, win-win!

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Cooking time: 25 minutes

Ingredients

Spiral pasta – 1 cup (180 g), can use other variety of pasta

Butter – 3 tbsp

Cheddar cheese slices – 3 or more depending on the how cheesy you want

Mustard Sauce – 1 tsp

Dried herbs – 1 tsp

Tomato ketchup as required for pasta (optional based on taste)

Chicken Thighs – 2 large, cut into small pieces

Ghee – 3 tbsp

For Chicken Marinade:

+ Combine the following:

Yogurt – 2 tbsp

Salt – 1 tsp

Turmeric – 1/2 tsp

Ginger-Garlic paste – 2 tsp

 

+ Marinate the chicken pieces with the marinade. Place it in a zip-lock plastic bag for 4 hours or overnight.

marinated chicken with ginger-garlic paste, turmeric, salt and yogurt

 

For the Chicken Ghee roast paste (skip this step if you have a Ghee roast powder and follow the instructions on the pack)

+ Combine the following:

Chili powder/red chili paste – 2 tbsp (based on the spice level)

Cumin powder/jeera – 1 tsp

Garlic powder/paste – 1 tbsp

Natural spices / Mixed spices – 1 tsp

Salt -1/2 tsp

ghee roast marinade of chili powder, Cumin, Garlic, Natural spices and salt

 

Directions

Pasta

1. Fill a container with 3 cups of water, 1 tsp salt and 1 tbsp olive oil, get water to boil. Add pasta (In the meantime prepare for Ghee roast). Cook [pasta until done. Using a strainer, drain the pasta. Set it aside in a plate.

To check if it is done, taste and see for non-sticky soft texture.

Spiral Pasta in boiling water with salt and olive oil

 

2. Heat 3 tbsp butter in the same container on low heat. Add the pieces of cheese, mustard sauce and herbs. Mix until the cheese melts.

melted butter in cheddar cheese

mustard sauce

Melted Cheddar cheese, butter, mustard sauce and herbs

 

3. Toss in the pasta and mix well (prepare this one low heat without burning).

 

Chicken Ghee Roast

 

1. Heat a frying pan with 2 tbsp of ghee. Add the paste of ghee roast. Fry for a 2-3 minutes until the spices blend well.

Ghee

Chicken ghee roast marinade

Paste for ghee roast

 

2. Add chicken pieces. Fry one one side for a minute or two. Flip the side and coat the other sides with the spices.

chicken pieces for ghee roast

chicken ghee roast on frying pan

3. Cover and cook on medium heat for 10 minutes.

Remove the lid and flip the sides every few minutes without the lid until the sides are nicely coated with the spices for 5-7 more minutes.

Cheese pasta with fiery chicken ghee roast is  ready. If you want your pasta fiery hot mix the ghee roast spice paste.

Easy Cheese Pasta with Chicken Ghee Roast

 

 

 

Stay Healthy!

 

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Mangalorean Pancake With Pandan

Makes: 12 – 15

Preparation time: 20 minutes plus soaking time for 2 hrs

Cook time: 25 minutes

Mangalore is a small town where I grew up, which is located along the coast in South-West of India along the Arabian Sea with its beaches, popular for its sunset views. If you plan to visit south of India make sure to try this for breakfast in the local restaurants. The pancake filling of coconut just kills your hunger with its taste and flavor. These pancakes are called as ‘panpole’ (pan-pole) in Konkani (mother-tongue) and ‘Neer-Dosa’ in Tulu/Kannada language (spoken locally).

I always visit this one local bakery in Singapore, where they always have many different varieties of breads and baked cakes. So, as I was strolling by, I paused to take a peek. While buying my usual bread, at the cash counter they sold a limited quantity of these green rolled pancakes which enticed me to try them out. As I munched, to my surprise, I found this coconut filling inside which got back my memories of Mangalorean pancake filling. They are traditionally plain white made from rice grains with a combination of freshly grated coconut. In this recipe I have used the color green from the leaves of Pandan which also has an aromatic flavor for enhancement. You can skip the color and make them plain white as well.

 

 

Ingredients

White small grain rice – 1 1/4 cup (Idli / Surai) *see notes

Vegetable Oil – 2 Tbsp (for greasing)

Grated coconut (optional) – 3 tbsp, for the batter

Water  for the batter

Pandan Leaves/ Juice – 3 (optional for color)

Salt

Extra grated coconut for the pancake filling + Sugar (optional)

 

Directions

For the color ( Optional )

+ Cut the pandan leaves into 3 inches and wash them thoroughly with water.

pandan-leaves_img_4579

+ Cut them thinly. Place in a blender with 1/4 cup water to make a paste enough to squeeze the liquid.

pandan leaves

+ Place a strainer over a bowl and transfer the paste into the strainer. Using a spoon press the solid paste to separate the liquid in the bowl.

Pandan juice, paste

+ Set aside the pandan juice.

 

 

 

1. Soak the rice for 2.5 hours.

small grain rice

2. Grind the rice, grated coconut if using, pandan juice and 1/2 cup of water for a few minutes in a blender until smooth paste (I always make it in batches where it is half filled so that it can blend smoothly without over filling. If you add too much water it might be hard to get a smooth paste. It shouldn’t be too grainy when running it through you fingers). Transfer the batter into a container.

blender

pancake batter

3. Now, add 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 cup of water to make a thin batter. Prepare a small bowl or plate with 2 tbsp of vegetable oil and half onion pinned with a fork to grease the pan (my mom used to do this for easier greasing). Discard the onion after use. 

pancake batter

onion,oil, greasing

4. Get the pan hot on medium heat (I used a flat non-stick pan). Dip the onion in

vegetable oil and grease the pan with oil.

greasing

5. Using a ladle, pour the mixture at the center (you will hear a sizzle if the pan is hot enough), swirl the pan quickly to spread the batter so that it covers the base of the pan and cover with a lid. Cook for 1 minute and transfer to cool.

Mangalore pancake

6. Fold the pancake into quarter after cooling. Repeat the  above step for the rest of the batter.

mangalore pancake, panpole

7. Serve hot with gravy or curry. I ate a few with coconut. It was filling!

Mangalorean Pancake With Pandan

 For plain pancake or neer dosa you can serve it with any dip of choice. We sometimes use chutney of coconut and coriander as a dip for breakfast which can be done in minutes.

Notes:

*for more pictures on white grain, idli or dosa rice used please refer link.

 

Serving with coconut:

+ In a bowl take few tablespoons of freshly grated coconut with required amount of sugar. Mix.

grated coconut, sugar

+ Place 1 tbsp of the coconut mix on one end of the pancake, an inch apart from the circumference, fold the corners and roll. Serve hot or warm. 

 

This is how it looks without the pandan color/juice (updated)

Rice pancake/Panpale/Neer Dosa recipe | Delicious Sweet Aroma

 

Stay Healthy!

 

 

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Baked Jaggery Pancake Muffin

I love this version of baked muffin, as it gave me a taste of all the flavors of snacks we used to have as a kid and even now. The main components being jaggery and cinnamon, is just a lovely combination! It’s an evening snack recipe, easy to prepare in less than an hour.

In South Indian Mangalorean cuisine, the same recipe is used to make “Appa” (pancake balls) traditionally  prepared during festive seasons mostly by the Hindu households. It is sweet and light. It is cooked/steamed on a stove top in a aebleskiver pan, with a distinctive shape of a sphere.

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 7 minutes

Makes: 6

Required Appliance: Electric Blender

Ingredients

Beaten rice – 1/4 cup

Jaggery – 1/4 cup, pounded into small pieces

Fresh grated coconut – 1/4 cup, (can use desiccated coconut, if fresh coconut is not available)

Salt – 1/8 tsp

Baking powder – 1/4 tsp, (or baking soda 1/8 tsp)

Coarse semolina – 1 tbsp

Cardamom pods – 1, seeds crushed

Chapathi flour – 1/2 cup, if necessary can add more

Ghee to coat the pan

Directions

1. Preheat oven at 200 degree Celsius (390 degrees Fahrenheit).

2. Place the beaten rice in a strainer and wash under cold running water so that the beaten rice flakes are wet and soft. Tap to strain excess water.

beaten rice

3. Now, using an Electric blender, add the beaten rice, jaggery, coconut and salt with 1/4 cup (75 ml) water. Blend for 2 mins to form a thick batter.

beaten rice, jaggery, coconut

batter

4. Transfer the batter to a bowl  and add  1/4 cup water into the blender to recover the rest of the batter. Pour this into the bowl.

5. Stir in the baking powder, semolina, cardamom. Gradually, stir in the chapathi flour mixing between each addition.

baking powder, batter

Batter, semolina

cardamom, batter

Batter, flour

6. Make a thick batter of pouring consistency. After they are well combined. Let the batter rest for 30 minutes at room temperature.

Baked Jaggery Muffin

7. Prepare the muffin pan by brushing it with ghee.

muffin pan, cup cake tray, ghee

8. After 30 minutes, pour the batter into the pan and insert it into the middle of the oven. Bake at 200 degree Celsius for 10 minutes or until you see it starts browning. Remove it out of the oven and flip them upside down. Place the tray back in the oven and bake for another 2 minutes.

batter

9. Remove the pan out of the oven. Carefully remove the each muffin and place it on a serving plate to cool. It tastes good when it is hot or cold. Enjoy!

Baked Jaggery Muffin
After the flip
Baked Jaggery Muffin

Note

*Double the ingredients if you want to prepare more quantity of muffins.

*I used Pillsbury ‘Chakki Atta’ (Indian chapathi flour) for this recipe.

Stay Healthy!

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