Two favourite Telugu dishes

Half my family is Telugu Brahmin and their food is all about spice and more spice. Now despite the many years of being part of the family I still have tears pouring down my face with all the spice and salt. So I have identified some of my favourites and added my own twist to it. Not suprisingly I have served it up to the family members and met with critical acclaim so her are my list of favourites.

The humble ridge gourd....dice after removing the hard ridge. Heat oil in a pan,add mustard seed let it crackle,add Urag dhal,hing,dried red chillies and salt,to this add the ridge gourd and cover and cook for three minutes then toss around till all the liquid evaporates . The ridge gourd releases a lot of water when cooked.

Most gourds can be made in this way and it's great to taste and healthy to boot.

Stuffed brinjal

Now this is a speciality with a difficult sounding name so we shall just describe it by it's ingredients .

Mustard seed-2tbs

Urag dhal-2 tbs

Channa dhal-2 tbs

Dried red chillies- 4(more if you want it spicy )

Jeera seeds-1tbs

Fenugreek seeds-1tbs

Tamarind-1small ball

Turmeric-1/2tsp

Salt to taste

Curry leaves and mustard (tempering)

Small brinjals-15

Heat oil in a pan and add all the ingredients except the tempering ingredients. Fry till the are brown but not burnt. Pulse in a blender till it's a course powder. Cut the brinjals cross wise and stuff with the powder just made. It it's too powdery add a bit of oil. When all the brinjals are stuffed,heat some more oil ( about two tbs) throw in mustard and curry leaves,then the stuffed brinjals making sure they don't crowd each other. Toss once and then cover with a shallow bowl filled with water. The water will help it steam and cook. Keep the heat on low and toss once or twice during the cooking process. Getting that lid off with the water is a bit of a pain but if one is real lazy then any lid will do and the water treatment can be dispensed with. When the skins of the brinjal take on a roasted look, continue to cook with the lid off until they are soft to touch and well cooked but not mushy. This is like one hell of a tasty dish.

Two in one chicken toss up

So here I am home alone and desperate to eat something out of the ordinary. Now I am a lazy cook so the moment I see too many ingredients I run a mile. A peek into the fridge and kitchen and I find chicken,capsicum, plenty of Chinese sauces and some orange and plenty of garlic. I really want to eat some middle eastern stuff like chicken with some apricots or peaches but for the life of me it's impossible to find a suitable recipe. So I decide to mix east and west....yes yes I know all about never the twain shall meet and all that but I decide to plunge in . After all it's only me who has to eat the stuff.

So here is what I did. I mixed the recipe for chicken in orange sauce with some Chinese twist and this is what I got and it doesn't taste too bad and it was quick and I also got a two in one recipe.

Chicken in orange and soy with garlic

Chicken-250 gms (medium pieces with bone)

Capsicum-1

Onion-1

Juice of one orange and zest

Sunflower oil

Crushed garlic-4

Cornflour for dusting

Honey-1 tsp

Salt and pepper

Paprika-2tsps

Soy sauce (dark)-1 tbs

Mix orange juice,zest,honey,paprika,salt and pepper,add soy sauce and crushed garlic. Put chicken pieces into this marinade and leave aside for an hour. Heat oil to smoking point. Dust chicken pieces with corn flour and drop into hot oil (shallow fry I use only about three tbs of oil). When the chicken takes on a nice caramelised colour take them out and keep in bowl. Into the oil add onion and capsicum and toss for two minutes till the onions ar transparent. Put chicken back with the onion and capsicum and cook covered for ten minutes. Then pour the reserved marinade and toss to coat all the pieces and do so for another five minutes or till the chicken is cooked through. Remove from wok and into the remaining juices add cooked rice and toss. Now I have a chicken dish and a flavoured rice. I am eating it with an Italian style tomato,basil and cheese with a splash of balsamic vinegar and that is dinner all done in under forty five minutes.