Coriander Cubes

I do not like coriander at all. I very rarely use it as a garnish. I do use it discretely in many dishes as long as I don't see the leaves. I started buying the frozen coriander cubes from Trader Joe's as I hate all the work associated with cleaning, chopping of these leaves.

However, I am also trying to save money for this ;), so I decided to try making these cubes myself. I bought the ice cube tray from ikea.

Here's what you need and here's how I did.

Ingredients:

Coriander - 3 bunches
Water - 1/2 to 1 cup

Procedure:

- Tear individual leaves nad tender stems of coriander and rinse them thoroughly under cold water.
- Mince them in a food processor with 1/2 to 1 cup of water. It should be a tad bit liquidy.
- Pour the coriander into the ice molds and freeze them

India Trip

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Easy Peasy Chicken Curry

This is super simple. Couple of things before we get into the recipe. I have never cooked chicken in a pressure cooker. Always cooked directly in a vessel and some times it would come out soft and some times hard. I tried not salting the meat till end and all but nothing would work. Then I discovered the wonders of pressure cooker. Costco carries a decent one for $40 bucks. The one I have is a pressure pan I got from India. It's a tad bit wider and doesn't need any inserts.

I use breast meat and that I let it cook for 2 whistles but this time Prabu got thigh meat which is tad bit dark and a teeny bit tough so cooked it for 3 whistles.

Ingredients:



Chicken - 2 lbs cut into bite sized pieces
Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp.
Turmeric - 1/4 tsp.
Lemon juice - 1 tsp.

Marinate the above for an hour.

Onion - 1 chopped fine
Coriander leaves - 3 Tbsp minced
Mint leaves - 2 Tbsp.
Green Chillies - 2 slit length wise
Ginger and garlic paste - 1 tsp.
Coconut milk - 5.5 OZ can ( if you get the big 8 oz one, just use half)
Salt - to taste
Chilli powder - 1 tsp.
Turmeric - pinch
Oil - as needed

To be ground to fine powder:
Cloves - 8
Cinnamon - 2 inch stick
Cardamom - 4

Procedure:

- Heat oil in the pressure pan. Add coriander, mint leaves and green chillies. Stir for 20 seconds.
- Add onions. Season with salt and saute till soft.
- Add ginger and garlic paste, turmeric, chilli powder and half the cloves, cinnamon and cardamom powder.
- Cook for one minute.
- Add the chicken pieces and mix till all the masala is blended well with the chicken.
- Cover and cook on medium to medium low flame for 2 to 3 minutes checking to make sure nothing sticks at the bottom of the pan.
- Add coconut milk , mix and cover with the pressure pan lid tightly.
- Once you see steam coming out, put the weight( it's also called whistle) and sit and have coffee while it gives out 3 whistles. Turn the stove off after 3rd whistle.
- Let the pressure release by itself, don't force it out. Takes about 5 to 8 minutes.
- Now, turn the heat back on and cook for 2 minutes. Add the remaining cinnamon, clove powder. Mix well and check for consistency. It should be a little thick gravyish.

Turn off and serve with peas pulao:)

Suji's Peas Pulao

Husband wanted peas pulao to go with the chicken curry I made yesterday. here is what I came up with. Sometimes I look up recipes and sometimes ( I should say most times) I cook based on what the title suggests. Peas pulao obviously has peas and since Prabu wanted a light flavored rice here is how I did it.

I used frozen peas that I got from Indian grocery store. The reason I specify the grocery store is simple. The peas you get in Indian grocery stores are not sweet. Also, i get frozen coriander cubes from Trader Joe's which makes my life easier. I hate chopping coriander :).

Ingredients:


Rice - 1.5 cups
Peas - 1 cup
Onions - 1 cup thinly sliced
Coriander - 1 Tbsp. Minced
Green Chillies - 2 slit length wise
Cumin seeds - 1.5 tsp.
Black Cardamom ( badi elaichi) - 1
Cloves - 6
Cinnamon - 1/2 inch piece broken
Dry Bay Leaves - 1 big broken into pieces
Oil - 3 Tbsp.
Butter - 1Tbsp.
Salt As needed
Water - 3 cups

Procedure:

- Heat oil and butter in wide skillet.
- Add all the dry ingredients ( cumin, cloves, cinnamon, bay leaf and black cardamom).
- Saute for 30 seconds and turn the flame to low.
- Add coriander and green chillies. and saute for 20 seconds. Add onions.
- Season onions with salt and saute till they are soft.
- Add green peas and season them with slat. Cover and cook on medium- medium low flame till peas are cooked through.
- Wash the rice and drain water.
- Add the rice to the peas and onions mixture and stir till all the rice and spices are mixed well.
- Add 3 cups of water and turn the flame to high and cover the skillet.
- Once water comes to a boil turn the flame to low and check for seasoning. The water should taste tad bit salty for it to get to the rice.
- cook for 10 to 12 minutes checking in between to see rice is not sticking at the bottom
- Let the skillet be covered with a lid all the time.

Once you se ethat the rice is cooked, turn off and serve.

Prabu's Bread Upma

Oh yes he did. He cooked after what it seemed like an eternity. We had to finish all the produce and bread we got before we leave for our 5 week trip this Saturday. So he took over bread upma. I did not give him any suggestions or tips. He did everything on his own ;). It was good.




Ingredients:

Whole grain bread - 10 - 12 slices cut into cubes
Red Onion - 1 large thinly sliced length wise
Yellow pepper - 1 julienned
Green Chillies - 4 sliced length wise (take the seeds out if you want it to be less spicy)
Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp.
Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp.
Salt - to taste
Oil - as needed

Procedure:

- Heat oil in a wok. Add mustard and cumin seeds.
- Once they start to sputter, add green chillies, onions and pepper and saute till soft.
- Season with salt and add cut bread pieces to this mixture.
- Turn the flame to medium-low to low and cook the bread to make sure it forms a crust all around with the help of the heat from the wok.
- Prabu says the key is to stir in between making sure it gets an even crust.