Chicken Cutlet

Ingredients (10-12 cutlets)
Boneless Chicken - 3/4 cup ,cooked and minced
Potato- 1 medium, peeled,cooked and mashed
Onion- 1 medium, finely chopped
Green chillies- 2-3 chopped
Ginger - 1 tsp chopped
Garlic- 1 tsp chopped
Black pepper powder- 1 tsp
Fennel seeds- 3/4 tsp
Garam Masala -1/2 tsp
Egg - 1 beaten 
Bread crumbs - 1 cup (I used store bought bread crumbs, but it can be made at home )
Salt
Curry leaves
Direction
1. Cook chicken with salt and water in a vessel, cool it and then mince using fork or a mixer .Cook potato and mash it .Keep both of these aside
2. Heat oil in a pan add the fennel seeds, followed by curry leaves,ginger, garlic, green chillies and onion .Saute till onion turns soft and light brown.
3. Add the pepper powder and garam masala and mix well.
4. Add the minced chicken followed by mashed potato.Mix everything well.Check salt .Switch off heat and allow it to cool .
5. When the mixture is cooled or bearable warm , make small balls out of it using hands and make shapes of your choice-round, oval or cylindrical. 
6. Dip the cutlets in beaten egg and roll them in the bread crumbs.Take care to completely cover it with bread crumbs.
7. Deep /Shallow fry it in oil .Serve hot with onion salad and tomato ketchup !!!
Note :1. You can keep the  bread crumb rolled cutlets in freezer for 1-2 weeks in ready to fry form in air tight containers.
2.You can make beef or mutton cutlet with the same recipe.
3. Vegetable cutlets can be made with more vegetables -beans, carrot ,peas etc in place of chicken.
How to make Bread crumbs : Any type of bread can be used -white, wheat ,sour dough ..etc.Allow it to dry in room temperature.Or bake them in oven 300 F for 10-15 minutes,lined on a baking sheet.Flip them in halfway so they get dried uniformly.
Dry until it can be crumbled in a mixer/blender .Remove from oven and cool.When it is dried well crumble them in a mixer/blender/ food processor to a coarse texture.You can keep it in freezer in air tight containers.
Onion salad : Crush thinly sliced onion with a pinch of salt and one tsp of lemon juice.

Melting Moments Cookies - 50th Post !!!

Ingredients 
All Purpose Flour- 3/4 cup
Corn flour/corn starch -1/2 cup
Salt- 1/8 tsp
Confectioners sugar /Powdered sugar- 1/4 cup
Butter - 1/2 cup at room temperature
Vanilla Extract- 1/2 tsp
Confectioners sugar /Powdered sugar -1/4 cup for topping
Method
1. Whisk together all purpose flour, corn starch and salt
2. Beat the butter and sugar well using a hand mixer until its creamy and smooth for about 2 minutes.Beat in vanilla extract.
3. Add the flour mixture and incorporate well.
4. Cover and refrigerate the batter for 1 or 2 hrs until its firm.
5. Preheat oven to 350 F/177 degrees C. Place rack in the center of oven .Line baking sheet with parchment paper. 
6. After 1-2 hrs, make balls of 1 inch size using hands ,and place them on baking sheets.Space the balls 1 inch apart.
7. Bake for 10- 14 minutes .Remove from oven and place the sheets on a wire rack for 3-5 minutes.
8. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack,placed over a sheet of parchment paper or butter paper.Take confectioners sugar in a fine strainer and sieve it over the cookies.Or sprinkle it on top of the cookies.
9. When it is cooled,store it in airtight container with wax paper in between.
It makes about 18-20 cookies.!!!
Recipe courtesy : Joy of Baking

Ulli Vada / Savala Vada/ Onion Pakoda

Ingredients

Onion - 3 medium sized,thinly sliced

Kadalamavu/Gram Flour- 1 cup

Green chillies- 4 chopped

Ginger - chopped 1 tbsp

Egg -1

Curry leaves

Salt

Oil

Method

1. Mix the flour, onion,chopped green chillies, salt ,egg, chopped ginger,curry leaves and make a batter with enough water.This should not be too watery or too hard .

2. Heat oil in a deep pan/ cheena chatti. Make small balls of the batter and deep fry it. Or you can sprinkle the onion mixture to the hot oil and deep fry in medium heat

3. Fry until it turns golden in color ,with occasional turning.

Serve hot as snack with tea/coffee!! 

Vegetable Puffs and Chicken Puffs

Ingredients for Chicken Puffs
Chicken - 200 gm or 1/2 lb ,cleaned and cut into small pieces 
Onion - 1 medium sliced
Ginger - chopped 1 tsp
Garlic - 1tsp chopped
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Chilli powder- 1.5 tsp
Coriander powder- 2 tsp
Pepper powder- 1/2 tsp
Garam Masala - 1/4 tsp
Fennel seeds - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves 
Salt
Oil
Egg -1


Method 
1.Cook chicken separately with salt,chilli, and turmeric pepper powders and when chicken is done, mince it with fork & knife or hand into very tiny pieces.Keep aside
2. Heat oil in a pan and add ginger ,garlic, onion .Saute them until soft and light brown
3. Reduce heat and add all powders ,fennel and roast it and mix well with onion .Adjust the salt .
4. Add the chicken pieces and mix well with the above masala, remove from heat and keep aside
5. Thaw the puff pastry sheets to room temperature .Cut the sheets into desired shape. Pepperidge farm pastry sheets has 2 sheets in each pack .6 puffs can be made from each sheet if you cut the sheet in rectangular
6. Put the chicken filling to individual sheets. Seal the edges using a few drops of water and pressing with a fork/hand
7. Preheat oven to 400 F .Arrange the puffs on greased aluminium foil in a baking dish 
8. Brush the top of unbaked puffs with egg wash ( 1 egg beaten with 1 tbsp water ).It will give golden brown color to the puff
9. Bake for 15-20 minutes or the puffs turn golden color on top and look crispy


Note : You can use leftover chicken also, to make the chicken filling ,Make sure  chicken curry/fry/roast is dry,by sauteing.Remove the bones .Mince like above and use as filling .


For Vegetable puffs 
Potato-  1 Peeled and cut into small pieces 
Carrot - 1/4th of one carrot -peeled and cut into small pieces
Green beans - 3-4 chopped
Onion -1 sliced
Frozen Peas- 1/4 cup.thawed
Chilli powder- 1 tsp
Coriander powder- 1.5 tsp
Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp
Fennel seeds- 1/4 tsp
Oil
Curry leaves 

Method
1. Cook the vegetables with enough water.
2. Heat  oil in a pan and saute the onion until light brown
3. Add the powders and roast well and mix . 
4. Now add the cooked vegetables and adjust salt ,mix well .Vegetable filling is ready 
5. Thaw the puff pastry sheets to room temperature .Cut the sheets into desired shape. Pepperidge farm pastry sheets has 2 sheets in each pack .6 puffs can be made from each sheet if you cut the sheet in rectangular shape like I did.
6. Put the vegetable filling to individual sheets. Seal the edges using a few drops of water and pressing with a fork/hand
7. Preheat oven to 400 F .Arrange the puffs on greased aluminium foil in a baking dish 
8. Brush the top of unbaked puffs with egg wash ( 1 egg beaten with 1 tbsp water ).It will give golden brown color to the puff.Avoid if you want pure veg puffs .
9. Bake for 15-20 minutes or the puffs turn golden color on top and puffs look crispy

Ethakkappam/Pazham pori /Banana fritters

Ingredients
Ripe Bananas (Ethappazham )- 2 
All purpose flour (Maida) - 1/2 cup
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Cumin- 1 tsp
Sugar-2 1/2 tbsp
Cooking oil - 1/2 cup


Method
1. Mix Flour , turmeric powder, cumin, and sugar together .Add water and make thick batter.Make sure there are no lumps in it by mixing with hand /spoon
2. Peel bananas and cut them into half and again make it into 2 or 3 pieces vertically
3. Dip and coat the banana pieces in batter 
4. Heat oil in deep pan and when it is hot , Drop  the coated bananas one by one to oil . Turn them in between and fry until its golden in color 
5. Remove with a slotted ladle and drain on a paper towel.