Jackfruit Idli (Halasina Hannini Kadubu)

I had some left over jackfruit and was looking for a sweet dish from them. I got this recipe from http://www.smithakalluraya.com/2016/06/jackfruit-idli-halasina-hannina-kadubu.html. I tried it and it came out well. I believe the dish is famous in Coastal Karnataka.

Makes about 8-10 idlis

Ingredients

• 1 cup raw rice rava (See note)
•  2 – 2 1/2 cups ripe jackfruit, deseeded and chopped coarsely
• 1 cup grated coconut
• 1/2 cup jaggery, add more or less as per your taste
• 2 – 3 cardamom
• Salt, a pinch
• Oil to grease mould

Preparation

• In a mixer, grind jackfruit and jaggery with little or no water to a coarse paste.
• Add grated coconut and cardamom and grind everything to a fine paste and add it in a mixing bowl.
• Add rice rava and salt a little water. Mix well and allow to stand for about 20 minutes. The consistency should be a little thicker than idli batter. 
• Grease idli moulds with oil and pour the mixture into them.
• Steam for about 15 minutes. It is done when a toothpick or a skewer comes out clean when inserted into the idlis.
• Serve hot.

Note

To make rice rava, soak raw rice in water for an hour, drain it on a cloth for an hour or two and dry grind it to a coarse semolina (rava) consistency.

  

Ras Malai

I tried this for the first time for my sister-in-law who loves these. Recipe from indianhealthyrecipes.com

Makes 8 ras malai

Ingredients

For Malai/Rabri

• 3 cups milk 
• saffron threads, a few
• 1/2 cup sugar (I used sugarfree drops)

For Chhena/Indian Cottage Cheese

• 5 cups milk
• 2 to 3 tsp lemon juice or vinegar

For Sugar Syrup

• 3 cups water
• 1 cup sugar
• Pinch of cardamom

For Garnish

• Almonds, chopped
• Pistachios. chopped

Preparation

• Bring 3 cups of milk to a boil in a heavy bottomed vessel on medium flame. Add saffron and keep stirring it often.
• Add sugar and continue to stir. Keep moving aside the cream that forms on the top. Continue to stir till the milk is reduced to half the quantity. Switch off and set aside.
• While the malai is being done, bring 5 cups of milk to a boil in another vessel. Add vinegar or lemon juice and keep stirring till the milk curdles completely. Add more vinegar or lemon juice if needed. Switch off and add ice cubes into the vessel.This keeps the chhena soft.
• Strain it through a muslin cloth and tie up the ends. Squeeze out the excess water and hang it for an hour or 1 1/2 hours. (I kept it hung for about 2 hours)
• When the water is completely drained, knead the chhena for about 3 minutes. (You can watch how to knead chhena here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5OATz9GyRQ)
• Divide it into 8 portions, make balls and flatten them. If the edges crack, smoothen them gently. Set aside.
• Bring water and sugar to a boil in another vessel. Add cardamom. When the syrup begins to boil rapidly, add the flattened chhena. Cover and cook on moderately high flame for 8 minutes. They would have doubled in size.
• Take them out one by one, cool and squeeze out the syrup by placing them between 2 spatulas.
• Add them to the malai or rabri.
• Add pistachios and almonds and simmer for about 2 minutes to allow the chhena to absorb the milk. 
• Refrigerate, preferably overnight and serve.

Cafiroleta - Cuban Coconut Delight

Recipe from tasteofcuba.com, courtesy of the Cocina Cubana Club by Sonia Martinez. Tweaked a little to the availability of ingredients. Please try the recipe and leave your comments!

Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups grated coconut, tightly packed
• 1 3/4 cups corn syrup (Recipe below)
• 3 egg yolks, slightly beaten
• 3 tbsp white wine

Corn Syrup

Yield 1 3/4 cups

Ingredients

• 2 cups white sugar  
• 6/8 cups (120 ml) water
• 1/2 tsp cream of tartar (You can substitute with 1 1/2 tsp lemon juice or vinegar)
• 1 pinch salt

Preparation

• Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to a simmer and put cover for 3 minutes to get sugar crystals off the sides of the pan. Uncover and simmer, stirring often, until it reaches the soft ball stage, about 25 minutes. Cool and store in a covered container at room temperature.
• Syrup should keep for about 2 months.

Before browning

After browning

Served with Homemade Cream Cheese

Preparation

• Mix grated coconut and corn syrup in a deep saucepan and cook over medium - high heat until it starts to boil. Add the egg yolks and cook for a few minutes. 
• Add white wine and simmer and cook for about 15 to 20 minutes. Do not stir.
• Place the mixture in an oven proof dish and broil until brown on top. (I preheated the oven and baked for about 25 minutes on 200 degrees C).
• Serve hot with or without cream cheese. 

Notes

1. The dish tasted delicious even without browning.
2. The original recipe calls for a can of coconut in heavy syrup. As this is not available even in the supermarkets in Chennai, I checked the ingredients of the can and thus settled for grated coconut and corn syrup in the given proportion.

Southern Fried Chicken

Inspired from the menu of The Manhattan Fish Market, Chennai! I was initially wondering what a chicken dish was doing in a seafood joint. But when I wanted to do the Manhattan Fish and Chips for dinner and checked about the availability of cherry snapper (which is actually red snapper - I checked with TMFM!), the fishermen in Chennai happened to be on a strike and cherry snapper was not available. So, I looked at this dish again and found it quite interesting - Country Style Fried Chicken -  with a good old-fashioned Southern taste. And I started hunting for the recipe and found an excellent one - one that can even give KFC a run for their money! It's from food.com by Paula Deen posted by Sharlene W.

Serves 6

Ingredients

• 2 lbs ( 900 grams) cut-up chicken
• Peanut oil for frying

Sauce mixture

• 4 eggs
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 cup hot sauce (I used Tabasco sauce)

Seasoning blend

• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder

Dredging mixture

• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tbsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt

Preparation

• For sauce mixture: In a medium-sized bowl, beat the eggs with the water. Add hot sauce and whisk together well. Pour this mixture into a large plastic zip-top bag.
• For seasoning mixture: In a small bowl, combine salt, freshly ground black pepper and garlic powder.
• For dredging mixture: In a another bowl, mix flour, baking powder and salt.
• Heat peanut oil in a large saucepan to 350°F. 
• Rinse and pat dry chicken pieces with a paper towel.
• Sprinkle chicken generously on both sides with seasoning mixture.
• Drop a few chicken pieces of chicken into the bag of sauce mixture and squish around to coat thoroughly.
• One piece at a time, roll chicken in flour mixture (You can let it rest for a while so that the flour sticks to it) and drop into hot oil. Fry until brown and crisp. Dark meat (legs and thigh) takes longer to cook than white meat (breasts and wings). Check if done by piercing to the bone in the thickest part with a fork. If the juices run clear, it is done.
• Drain on paper towel and serve hot.

Cuban Turrones

Recipe from tasteofcuba.com

Ingredients

• 1 cup almonds
• 1 cup hazelnuts
• 1 cup honey
• 1 cup sugar
• 5 egg whites

Preparation

• Blanch the almonds and remove the skins. Toast the almonds with hazelnuts in a pan. Stir constantly. Remove the peel from hazelnuts. Chop them fine. Beat the egg whites and add to nuts.
• In the pan, mix the honey and sugar and melt over heat. Add the nut paste, mix and stir constantly for ten minutes and remove from heat.
• Put in shallow dish lined with rice paper (See notes below). When cold, sprinkle cinnamon on top. Cut into small pieces when set.

Notes

Rice paper can be bought from supermarkets. Alternatively, it can be made at home. Recipe below:

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup rice flour 
• 1/2 cup tapioca flour
• 2 tbsp corn starch
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 to 1/2 cups water
• 2 tbsp oil

Preparation

• Mix rice flour and tapioca flour in a bowl. Add in the corn starch and salt. Add 1 tbsp oil and water to mix it to make a thin batter.
• Heat a pan and add the rest of the oil. Pour batter like a pancake and cover it with a lid for 30 seconds. 
• Remove cover and put it on a greased cutting board to get the desired shape.

Cuban Arroz con Pollo (Rice and Chicken)

Recipe from tasteofcuba.com courtesy of Cocina Cubana Club

Serves 4 

Ingredients

• 1 cup (150 grams) rice, washed thoroughly

For the marinade

• 1/2 chicken, about 800 grams, cut into 6 pieces.
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground white pepper
• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar  

For Sofrito and broth

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 small red bell pepper, cored, seeded and finely chopped
• 1 small green pepper, cored, seeded and finely chopped
• 1 small yellow pepper, cored, seeded and finely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 small tomato, seeded and diced
• 1 cup water 
• 2/3 cup dry white wine
• 1/2 cup beer
• 1/4 tsp saffron threads
• 2 tbsp tomato paste (blanched and pureed tomato)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

For Garnish

• 1/2 cup green peas for garnish

Preparation

• Wash the chicken and blot dry with paper towels. Mix the oregano, cumin, white pepper and vinegar in a large glass bowl. Add the chicken, turning the pieces to cover with the mixture. Let marinate at least 15 minutes.
• Heat the oil in a large pan. Brown the chicken pieces all over, about 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer the chicken to a platter and pour out all but 2 tablespoons of the fat.
• Add the onion, bell peppers and garlic to the oil in the casserole, cook over medium heat until soft but brown, about 1 or 2 minutes. Add the tomato and cook for one more minute. Return the chicken to the casserole with the sofrito and cook for about 1 or 2 more minutes.
• Add the water, wine and beer, saffron, tomato paste and salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for about 30 minutes. 
• Bring chicken mixture to a boil once again, stir in the washed rice, reduce heat, cover and simmer until the rice is tender, about 20 to 25 minutes. If it starts to dry out and rice is still al dente, add more liquid. If it gets too soupy, uncover during the last 10 or 15 minutes of cooking.
• Just before it is done, stir in half of the peas. Garnish with the rest.
• Serve immediately.

Cuban Huevos Habaneros - Havana Style Eggs

Recipe is from tasteofcuba.com taken from "Memories of a Cuban Kitchen" by Mary Urrutia Randelman

Serves 3

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 small green bell pepper, finely chopped
• 1 small red bell pepper, finely chopped (Used instead of pimiento in the original recipe)
• 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 cup tomatoes, blanched and chopped  
• 2 tbsp white wine (Used instead of dry sherry)
• 6 eggs
• 4 tbsp butter
• salt and fresh black pepper to taste
• 2 tbsp chopped parsley to garnish

Preparation

• In a medium-size skillet over low heat, heat the oil until it is fragrant, then cook the onion, bell peppers and garlic, stirring, until tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes and white wine, cook until thickened, 15 minutes, and season with salt and pepper.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly oil 3 oven-proof dishes and divide the sauce among them. For each dish, break two eggs into a saucer, slide them on top of the tomato mixture, and drizzle with 1 tablespoon melted butter.
• Bake until the whites are set and the yolks are still soft, 10 to 12 minutes. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and parsley. 
• Place each on a serving plate and serve immediately from the baking dishes.