Phyllo Cup Appetizers - A Gourmet Finger Food

Ever since I discovered Phyllo sheets, have gone bonkers making so many of those finger licking food with crispy wraps - Phyllo cups with savory fillings, Baklava, Chicken rolled in phyllo, variety of Cheese wrapped in phyllo, Samosa stuffing in phyllo, Chocolate in phyllo and so on. Somehow the crispy buttery taste of phyllo goes so well with just about everything. 


Wrap anything you love (of course I meant food ingredients you silly! :)), bake for 10-15 min and you have a speciality of your own!

I made some elegant looking finger food, perfect for a cocktail party. Couldn't resist and ended up making Phyllo Cup Desserts - A Gourmet Finger Food too! When you want to serve your guests something bite size, so that they could taste a variety of  stuff without getting an overdose, this is a perfect option! It looks awesome when displayed on an elegant looking tray, just like gourmet tasting sessions! No one will guess it was so easy to make!! (Just hope my friends who were raving about all my hard-work in making these bite size delicacies are not reading this! :) ) 

You can also make these phyllo cups well in advance and store them in an air-tight container. And then just before your party starts fill them up! If you have something that has a lot of syrup or juice, fill the stuffing just before the guests arrive. You don't want your guests to mistake it to cold  steamed dimsums! :)

This is how Phyllo cups look like in a muffin tray.

You need:

Phyllo dough/ sheet ( found in any Grocery store) 

Melted butter - approx. 1 tbsp

Small muffin tray 

How to make Phyllo Cups:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350 F.
2. Place a phyllo sheet on a flat surface. Brush melted butter all over the side facing up, using a pastry brush.
3. Place the next sheet on top of this sheet. 
4. Repeat with butter application and one more sheet. So total of 3 layers of phyllo sheets with melted butter in-between, is what you are looking at. 
5. Now cut these layered  phyllo sheets into 2.5 inch x 2.5 inch squares. 
6. Place one square over another in such a way that it forms an eight end star. Ie; don't place one square on top of another, but a little dispersed so that it looks like a star/ flower and does the job of a cup once placed inside the cups of the muffin tin.
7. Lightly grease the muffin tray. Now place sheet on the cup of a  muffin tin and push the centre so that it forms a cup.
8. Now bake it for 7 min or until its golden brown. 
9. Flip the cups gently and bake for 2-3 more minutes so that the base too becomes crispy.  
10. Now they are ready to be filled with anything you fancy!

Ideas for the Filling:

• Soft brie cheese with olive
• Hummus with pine nuts or pomegranate seeds. 
• Mango Salsa – Chopped mango tossed with fine chopped red chilies, parsley, salt, lime juice and sugar. 
• Cooked shrimps/ prawns tossed with thousand island dressing
• Chopped boiled potatoes with mint chutney and a tsp of yogurt to make it into an Indian chat
• Tomato salsa
• Chopped boiled egg with chives, salt and pepper. 
• And whatever you fancy.  There are no set rules!

*Use only unsalted butter and please don't use any other spread or vegetable spread. I tried to avoid butter and instead decided to use melted vegetable spread that tastes like butter. I melted the spread in a dish and soon had a film of vegetable oil floating on water. The phyllo sheets got only water between the layers and I ended up with a sticky gooey baklava instead of the flaky layers. I had to redo to perfect it! :(

** Try using an organic phyllo dough. Keep them frozen till you are ready to make your cup cakes. These sheets thaw in minutes. Keep a moist kitchen towel handy to cover the those sheets which are in the queue.

Appam (Rice flour Pancake - Kerala Cuisine)

No Kerala style stew is complete without appams. It must be a torture to both stew and the appam. It must be like pulling the twins aparts. It's like asking you to chose between Tiramisu and Trifle Pudding! That's quite dramatic, isn't it!! Having watched Bollywood all my life, you couldn't expect any lesser! :) But that also means I just love eating hot appams with this nice flavorful stew! Appams (Plain hoppers) are nothing but pancakes made from riceflour and coconut milk with a spongy center. They are nice, sweet, succulent and crispy, all at the same time. 

And yeah, there is another version! If you are a bulls-eye or sunny-side-up lover, then Mutta- Appam (Egg Hopper) is your kind of thing. You have the egg broken right in the centre of the appam. Nothing like alternating between dipping your appam into stew and an egg!


Treat your friends to a nice dinner from 'God's Own Country - Kerala'!

You need:

Rice Flour - 2 cups

Rapid Rise Highly Active Yeast – 1 tsp

Sugar – 3 tbsp

Rava/ Semolina – 2 tbsp

Thick Coconut Milk – 1/2 to 1 Cup (I use Thai brand canned coconut milk)

Water – As needed

Salt – 1 tsp 

Preparing the batter:

1. First you need to make the rava paste. This is the only step that requires any work at all, rest all is just mixing the ingredients. For making rava paste, take 2 cups of water and 2 Tbsp of rava in a saucepan. Bring it to a boil stirring continuously and then boil it on simmer flame till it is reduced to almost half. Stir continuously so that the rava doesn’t lump up or stick to the base.  When the mixture changes to a thick paste, almost to the consistency of custard or porridge, remove it from heat and allow it to cool completely.
2. In a large bowl (since it will rise to almost double when fermented) combine rice flour, sugar, cooled rava paste, rapid rise yeast along with 1/2 cup coconut milk and salt. Add around 1/2 to 1 cup water or more and whisk everything to form a smooth and thick batter. The batter should be thick because after fermentation it will rise and become thinner in consistency.
3. Leave the batter in a warm place for around 3-4 hours and allow it to ferment. I prefer to pre-heat the oven to the 150 F for 5 min and switch off the oven. Then place the bowl with batter in the oven and keep the door closed. 
4. Once the batter is ready, adjust the consistency by adding water. It should be similar to that of a dosa batter. 

Making the appams:

1. Heat a non stick pan on medium flame. The pan should be slightly deep in the center. Like a small non-stick kadhai. 
2. Pour ladle full of batter into pan and swirl the pan lightly, spreading batter to the sides of the pan. And a little should batter should be left to collect in the center of the pan. 
3. Cover with lid and allow it to cook for around 3 minutes on medium heat. When the center of appam is done (basically the entire appam should be spongy and not have any white uncooked patch) and the edges start detaching, remove the appam carefully from the pan. There is no need to flip it to the other side to cook or brown.  If you like your appams more crispy and golden brown, add a little more sugar to the batter.
4. To make mutta-appam (egg appam), just break and egg in the centre of the appam once it has been cooked for a while and the centre is a little firm. You need the center of the appam to be cooked a little so as to not get have a puddle of batter uncooked beneath the egg. It's like serving an egg sunny side up in the center of an appam!

* I use Fleischman Rapid Rise Yeast for quicker fermentation. If you are using Ordinary Active Dry Yeast, then mix the yeast in lukewarm water (105 F-115 F) with 1 tsp of sugar. Keep it aside for 7-10 min. till the mixture gets frothy. Make sure the water is not too hot as it will kill the yeast and the fermentation will not happen in 3-4 hours. If such a thing does happen, just let it ferment naturally for 9-10 hrs in a warm place.

 **As always, I insist, please use a whisk to make the batter. It will lump-free with no effort at all! :)

Vegetable Stew - Kerala Cusine (Mild coconut based Veg-Stew)

What can I say! My first appam-stew experience was at my friend's (Leena Mohan) place when I was in school. Ever since I have been absolutely bonkers over this delicious, mild, flavorful stew served with crunchy yet soft sweet appams (pan cakes). Infact I can have this stew just like that as my dinner! One of those things I absolutely adore. 

My love affair with appam-stew continued at Coconut Grove (Bangalore, Church Street). The guys at Coconut Grove (CG) always got some extra stew for me since they knew one bowl wasn't sufficient! The appams were always served one after another so that they come steaming hot into your plate. Of course fried fish was an integral part of this combo in CG. The music was relaxing, the tender coconut water was soothing, the fried fish was tongue tickling and the appam stew was comforting. I still love going to CG on any given day! 

Ok, so since CG can't come here, I have there is work cut out for myslef to re-create the appam-stew magic! So I called my sister-in-law Nisha (who is originally from - god's own country – Kerala) to get the authentic stew recipe. Now I know,  a typical staple food made at home can never have a standard recipe (for that matter there is nothing called the real authentic recipe, each one has their own version based on taste and liking). But then, there is always that one little secret which only mom's know! And Nisha had her mom next to her explaining the recipe to me! That's called luck! And trust me, I got that one secret ingredient from her which no recipe (books, online, cookery show) mentions. And that is saunf/ fennel powder. The minute I tasted the stew, I knew it, I had hit the jackpot!! I have made this stew countless number of times, but this time around, the CG taste was in my stew!!! Ah the stew!!

Just realised, I was here to share the recipe! :) Last quick note - check out the nice dinner menu from 'God's Own Country - Kerala'!

You need: 

(serves 2 – I could have eaten it all alone but there were two of us for dinner :) )

Potatoes – 2 medium size (boiled, peeled and roughly cut into cubes)

Pearl white onions – ½ Cup (or cut onions into big chunks)

Carrot – 1 medium (peeled and cut into 1 cm pieces)

Green chilies – 2-3 (slit)

Bay leaf – 1 no. 

Cloves – 3-4

Green cardamom – 3-4

Cinnamon stick – 1 inch

Curry leaves – 7-10 

Saunf powder – 1.5 tsp (must, must, this is the secret ingredient)

Coriander powder – 1 tsp 

Salt – to taste

Coconut oil – 2 tsp  (will be used in parts)

Good quality coconut milk – 14-16 Oz can (I used almost half, you may want to adjust this as per your taste and the quality of the coconut milk)

1. Heat 1 tsp of oil in a pressure cooker, add green chilies, bayleaf, cloves, cardamom, cinnamon stick. curry leaves and fry for 30 secs. 
2. Now add the saunf and coriander powder. Fry for 15 sec. 
3. Add carrots and pearl onions. Give a stir and add enough water to just cover the vegetables. 
4. On a high flame pressure cook the vegetables for exact 3 min. Whether whistle happens or not, switch off the heat and ease the pressure. You could either run it under cold water or lift the whistle. This is to make sure the vegetables are cooked but still firm. 
5. Transfer all the contents to a sauce pan, add the potatoes and bring to a boil. 
6. After 5 min, add the coconut milk and adjust the salt. Cook for min, drizzle the remaining 1 tsp coconut oil and mix (you can skip this if you don't like the smell of coconut so much but it does make a difference). 
7. Switch off and serve hot with hot appams! 
8. Once the stew cools it thickens a little so adjust the consistency if you plan to cool it a little and eat. But this dish should be eaten steaming hot!

*You can also make appams with hardly any effort. Try the Appam and Mutta-Appam recipe. 

Egg Patty

Here comes something all eggitarians will love! I have many friends who enjoy eating eggs but don't get many varieties of egg-based snack/ appetizer at home or while eating out. This has a nice mild taste of an egg, even though you never feel you are biting into one. A bite and it will leave you guessing – where's the egg! These nice crisp golden brown bites are heavenly!

This patty is supposed to be deep fried, but nah, that's way too much oil! Pan fried with a little oil works just fine! Remember, always try adding ajwain/carrom seeds when you are using besan/ gramflour to fry something. They compliment each other and at the same time have digestive properties. You will not experience the typical heaviness after gorging on fried stuff if you add the ajwain. 

For your next party, you can make them in different shapes and sizes for a pretty looking appetizer tray! I am posting two pics. One to show you the texture and second one to show you shapes you can try making. But don't worry if the shapes don't come out perfect, the egg patty will still be delectable! Serve it with some hot spicy chili sauce! A word of caution here – always keep some distance from the pan as you fry them, since the eggs just pop a little bit as they turn golden brown. Don't let this scare you, it's all easy and safe, just that a word of caution for a safe kitchen! :)

You need:

(makes 10-12 pcs)

Large boiled eggs – 5-6 nos. (see my note below for a perfectly boiled egg)

Besan/ Gramflour – ¾ Cup

Ajwain/ Carrom seeds – ¼ tsp

Salt – to taste

Green chilies – 2-3 nos. (finely chopped)

Spring Onions – 5-6 nos.  (finely chopped, use both white and green part)

Crushed black pepper – ¼ tsp 

Baking Soda - 1/8 tsp

Water – 2 Tbsp

Oil – enough to pan fry (I used 1 tbsp for a batch of 6 patties in total f)

1. In a wide bowl, grate boiled eggs using a thick side of the grater. Don't use the fine grater as the eggs will get mashed up and the patties will not have any texture. If you don't have a thick grater, fine chop the eggs instead.
2. Add besan, ajwain, salt, green chilies, spring onions, black pepper and baking soda. Add very very little water, just about 2 tbsp of water. This should be enough to bind the ingredients as the egg yolk is sticky enough already.   You may add 1 tsp of water at a time to adjust the consistency of the patty mixture if its still too dry.
3. Divide the mixture into 12 equal parts. Shape them any way you like! 
4. In a non-stick pan, heat 1 Tbsp of oil and fry the patties till golden brown in color. Cook them on medium high so that they cook through and also have a golden brown crispy exterior.
5. Serve with spicy chili sauce, red or green, I leave it to your discretion. :)

Soya Chunk & Mushroom Pulao/ Pilaf

A hearty meal in itself! Mild pulao with a nutty flavor! A good meal when you want to go easy after a tiring day and not keen to do elaborate cooking and yet eat something nice. Very nutritious too with all the vegetables, mushrooms and a good source of protein with soya chunks. 

A good meal combo would be - Mushroom Soya chunk Pulao, Boondi raita and pan - grilled eggplant slices seasoned with just salt and pepper. (make half inch thick slices and  pan-grill on high flame with very little oill). Adding quartered boiled eggs for eggetarian does the trick!

You need:

Mushroom Soy Chunk Pulao/ Pilaf

Basmati Rice – 1 cup (washed, soaked for  not more than 30-45 min and drained)

Mushrooms – 1 Cup (sliced thick)

Soya Nuggets – ½ Cup 

Salt – 1 tsp

Lime Juice – 2 tsp (replace with lemon)

Green Chili – 2-3 (adjust to taste)

Mint Leaves – 5-6 (fine chopped)

Fresh green coriander / Cilantro – 1 Tbsp ()finely chopped)

Oil/ Butter  – 1.5 Tbsp

Bay Leaf – 1

Cinnamon Stick – 1 inch piece

Green Cardamom – 4

Cloves – 6

Cumin Seeds – 1/2 tsp

Onion – 1/2 cup, chopped

Ginger – 1 Tbsp, (grated)

Garlic – 1 Tbsp (grated)

Garam Masala – 1 tsp

Green peas – 1/2 cup (try using organic baby sweet peas as they are super soft and sweet, thawed)

Red Bell Pepper – ¼ Cup (chopped, replace with green bell peppers as this is just to add color)

Yellow Bell Pepper – ¼ Cup (chopped, replace with green bell peppers as this is just to add color)

Water – 2 cups

1. Add salt, lime juice to boiling water in a sauce pan. Add the mushrooms and soya nuggets. Cover the lid, turn off the heat and let it sit for 15-20 min. Separate all the mushrooms and soya chunks from the liquid (broth). Squeeze out all the water from the soya nuggets too. Reserve the broth as it has all the flavor and goodness and we use it to cook the rice. This process also helps mushroom and soya chunks to retain their texture in the pulao.
2. Heat oil/ butter in a non-stick pan which is a little deep and has a cover.
3. Fry bay leaf, cinnamon stick, green cardamom and cloves till it leaves aroma (approx 30 sec.) and then the cumin seeds. 
4. Add onions, ginger, garlic. Cook for 1-2 minutes until translucent.
5. Now add the mint and coriander leaves and fry for 30 sec. 
6. Add garam masala and yogurt. Fry till completely dry. 
7. Add mushrooms and soy chunks. Cut the bigger soya nuggets into half  so that they are all of same size. Remember to squeeze out all the water out of the soy chunks before you add them to the pan as they will make the rice gooey with all the water content. Cook until mushrooms  are golden brown and caramelized. Dont worry about soy chunks as they are cooked and firm enough 
8. Add rice, green peas, red and yellow bell peppers. Mix well. Be gentle as the rice grains can break very easily. Cook for 1 minute or until it is coated well with the oil and spices.
9. Add the broth you got from the mushroom and soy chunks.
10. Let it come to a boil with the lid open. Once it comes to a rapid boil, put the lid on, reduce the heat to simmer and cook for exact 15 min. Please do not open in-between as the steam/ moisture will escape and rice grains will not cook evenly. So don't worry, the rice will not stick or burn. There is enough moisture inside to let it cook nicely. 
11. After 15 minutes, turn off heat, gently fluff the pulao a little to separate rice grains but at the same time not break the grains.
12. Cover again and allow the pulao to rest for 5 minutes before serving.

*You can also add pav bhaji masala instead of garam masala for a nice twist. It does taste good!!

Strawberry Jam

There is something very comforting about making fresh jam at home. You pick your seasonal fruits, make your jam, spread it on bread, cake, top it on ice-cream or eat it just like that straight out of the bottle. You can use any berry of your choice (blueberry, lingonberry, cranberry etc.) depending on your preference. Whats more comforting is that it is completely natural!

This jam does not use any pectin or artificial agent. The sugar makes it thick and the lime juice stops sugar from crystallizing as it thickens. So this recipe is quite fool proof.


I make my jam a little thinner than normal consistency. And this is because I love (apart from slathering a lot of it on home baked bread) adding fruit jam/ preserve to ice-creams, sandwiching it between biscuits, adding a thick layer of jam and cream on a slice of pound cake and many more things. It is super versatile! I love making jams!!

You need:

Ripe Strawberries – 16 oz, washed and hulled

Sugar – 1/2 cup

Fresh Lime Juice – 1 Tbsp

1. Quarter the strawberries (if you like your jam chunky) or pulse it in a food processor (if you like it smooth).
2. Add strawberries, sugar and lime juice into heavy bottom saucepan and mix well.
3. Bring it to a boil on medium/high heat as you stir it so that no part of the strawberries or sugar sticks to the pan. You will see that the sugar will melt quickly and the juices of the strawberries will also ooze out making it very liquidy. Till this point stir continuously.
4. Reduce heat to medium-low and continue cooking for 20-25 minutes stirring intermittently. Once the jam is cooked well and all the moisture has evaporated, the whitish bubble/ frothy layer will disappear. (The bubbles will in fact become reddish in color once its ready). At this stage stir frequently to avoid the thickened jam from sticking to the bottom or sides.
5. Remove from heat and allow to cool for a few minutes. Since the jam will thicken a little once it cools you can thicken it according to the consistency you like. I like mine a little thinner than the store bought jams, as its easier to spread and lighter to eat.
6. While it is still a little warm, transfer to a clean and dry jar. Allow jam to cool completely, before sealing the bottle.

*This jam will last you a month if the bottle is clean and totally dry. Always try using a dry spoon or knife to scoop out jam.  

Egg Puff

I grew up eating these egg puffs! Almost all bakeries in Bangalore sell them, but some of them are special!

A quick note on my special relationship with the local bakeries- Those tiny bakeries, their tiny cakes, tiny cream rolls and tea/coffee in tiny glasses. Everything so tiny and unpretentious! And that's exactly what makes them so special! But my dad stopped liking these tiny bakeries, ever since the afternoon he spotted me and my sister (Renu) sitting on the steps of one such bakery, gorging on one of those egg puffs as we sipped our tea. The issue wasn't really their product, but the company of all those construction workers frequenting that place. Dad drove past the bakery, somehow spotted us, even though we tried really hard to hide our faces behind the egg puff and tea. Anyways, he screeched his breaks in disbelief as we both smiled back innocently!! He signaled us to get into the car and we signaled back telling him that puff and tea wasn't over yet! Rest as they say is history!

Such bakeries are very close to my heart. Time would slide by doing TP (time-pass) with friends on a rainy day, infact any day! Hours would be spent discussing crazy ground breaking ideas, silly jokes, gossip, movies, sports and what not. And all this over freshly baked egg puffs and tea.

Ok back to the egg puffs. I like the crispness of the puff and then the softness, gooeyness of the egg in the center. While egg has the sweetness, onion masala lends to the spice! I have rarely stopped at just one! And if you have the puff pastry sheet in stock, you are one lucky person because you are merely 15 min. away from this irresistible snack!! Super easy!

You need: 

(makes 4)

Boiled egg -  2 nos. (shells removed and cut into half)

Puff pastry sheets – 4 nos., each sheet 3 inch x3 inch (Thawed completely)

Onions – 2 medium size (thinly sliced)

Coriander powder – ½ tsp

Red chili powder – ¼ tsp

Tomato paste – 1 tsp 

Salt to taste

Crushed black pepper- ¼ tsp

Oil – 1 tsp

1. Pre-heat oven to 450 F.
2. Heat oil in a pan. Add the sliced onions, salt. Fry for a min. 
3. Add coriander powder, chili powder and crushed black pepper. 
4. Add the tomato paste and fry till all the moisture is gone. If there is a lot of moisture, the portion where the stuffing is in contact with the puff pastry, will be soggy. 
5. Let the stuffing cool to room temperature. 
6. Now take the pastry sheet and place the stuffing on it. 
7. Put the flat side of the egg on top of the stuffing. Fold the sides of the pastry sheet and pinch them to make them all stick together.
8. Pop them into freezer for 5 min. 
9. Take them out and lightly coat them with oil or milk to get a nice golden color. 
10. Bake in the oven for 10 min or until golden brown.
11. Serve with chili sauce or tomato ketchup. 

*To get perfectly boiled eggs, bring water to a boil. Gently add the eggs and boil with lid on for

3 min. Switch off the heat and let the eggs stay in the water for 13 min. Boils perfectly. 

**You can also make an egg puff without any onion masala. Just stuff the egg and season it will salt pepper and chaat masala. 

***You can stuff cooked vegetables too to make veg puffs

****These puffs can be folded any way you like. You could either stick just two opposite sides together and keep other two open, or close all sides or even fold it like an envelope. 

Kathal Subzi (Green Jackfruit Curry)

Kathal (jackfruit) has such amazing fibrous texture and nutty taste, even a non-vegetarian would happily settle for this! I just love this curry with steamed rice or even with pooris (deep fried indian bread). Make sure you use only raw/baby jackfruit for this curry and not the ripe one. 

As a kid I remember holi was never complete without this curry and dahi - vada. And in those times most vegetables and fruits used to be seasonal and finding jackfruit around that time of the year used to be a project in itself. But dad would not give up and use all his resources to make this curry possible on Holi. Oh makes me so nostalgic!!

You need: (serves 2)

Kathal/ Green or Raw Jackfruit – 16 Oz can  or sufficient for two 

Onion – 1 medium size 

Tomato – ½ medium (it should be half the quantity of onion)

Ginger – ½ inch piece

Garlic – 3-4 cloves

Bay leaf – 1 

Cumin seeds – ½ tsp

Green cardamom – 2 nos.

Black cardamom – 1 no. 

Coriander powder – 1.5 tsp

Garam masala – 1 tsp

Red chili powder – ½ tsp 

Mustard oil – 3-4 tbsp (used in parts)

1. Blend onion, ginger and garlic into a fine paste. Keep aside.
2. Blend tomatoes into a fine paste. Keep aside. 
3. Traditionally the jackfruit is deep fried to a golden brown color. But I pan fry them on a non-stick pan in 1-2 tablespoon of mustard oil till they are golden brown on all sides and get a little crispy from outside. Using mustard oil for this preparation is recommended. Keep aside. 
4. In a pressure cooker, heat the remaining mustard oil. 
5. Add bay leaf, cumin seeds, green cardamoms, black cardamom. 
6. Once you get the aroma of the spices add the onion, ginger, garlic paste. Immediately add salt. Now fry till they become golden brown. Frying onions well is important in this recipe.
7. Now add the turmeric powder, red chili powder and coriander powder. Fry on a medium high. 
8. Add the tomato blended tomatoes and fry till they become soft.
9. Now add the garam masala and fry well. Once the garam masala is cooked well and the oil starts leaving the soil, add 2-3 tbsp of water and fry till the water dries up completely. 
10. Add the jackfruit and mix the masala well. 
11. Add sufficient water for the consistency you want.
12. Pressure cook on high heat till one whistle. 
13. Immediately switch off as the canned jackfruits are already quite tender. If you are using fresh ackfruit, you may have to wait for 2-3 whistles, depending on your pressure cooker. 
14. Tastes best with steamed rice or poori, paratha! 

*Fresh jackfruit tastes much better. However the ones you get in cans are also pretty good in the absence of fresh ones. Just drain all the liquid and wash thoroughly to remove any salt or preservative. I leave the jackfruit chunks from the can, as is, since they are soft and will break easily when pressure cooked. Even if you want to make smaller chunks, make sure the fleshy part (which makes the central core of the jackfruit) holding all the fibrous portion  stays intact, otherwise the jackfruit will fall apart while cooking.  

**If you are removing skin of jackfruit yourself, make sure you grease your hands and knife well as it  can get very sticky and slimey. 

***Make sure the jackfruit is really raw, else your gravy will be sweetish. 

Chicken Ghassi/ Kori (Koli) Gassi

This chicken curry reminds me of my crazy days in Manipal. Though hostel food was not really worth eating, but some generous local friends did treat us to good Mangalorean food! And it's during this time when I discovered home made Mangalorean cuisine that is so full of life and flavor! 

Chicken Ghassi or popularly known as Kori Ghassi goes so well with the sweetness of Neer Dosa (Neer means water in  Kannada and this dosa is super soft, super light pancake made with a very diluted batter) or steamed rice! I had initially made only 2 doses for myself but ended up eating a lot more!! The lovely coconutty flavor with the spice of the red chili is mouth-watering. It is definitely worth a try. Fairly simple to make too!

You need

For Chicken Marinade:

Chicken, 1 inch pieces - 400 grams

Lemon juice –  ¾ Tbsp

Ginger paste – ½ Tbsp

Garlic paste – ½ Tbsp

Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp

Salt 

Marinade for an hour atleast

For the Curry:

Fresh coconut scraped and dry roasted– ½ Cup 

Coriander seeds – 1 tsp 

Black peppercorns – 4-5 nos. 

Fenugreek seeds/ Methi  – ¼  tsp 

Cumin seeds – ½ tsp 

Whole dry chillies – 3-4 Nos. (adjust to taste)

Oil - 3 tablespoons

Onions – 1 medium size (chopped, will be used in parts)

Mustard seeds – ¼ tsp

Curry leaves – 6-7 nos. 

Garlic – 3-4 cloves (minced)

Tamarind pulp – ¾ Tbsp

Coconut milk – ¼  Cup

1. Marinate chicken with lemon juice, ginger, garlic paste, turmeric and salt for an hour. 
2. In 1 tsp of oil lightly sauté coriander seeds, black peppercorns, fenugreek seeds, cumin seeds and whole red chillies.
3. Grind these along with roasted coconut and half an onion to a fine paste using a little water if required. 
4. Heat remaining oil in pan. Add mustard seeds.
5. Once they splutter, add garlic, remaining onions and curry leaves. Sauté for five minutes on low heat till its golden brown in color. 
6. Add marinated chicken and fry till it turns brown on all sides.
7. Add the ground masala made of the coconut, onion and whole spices  to the chicken and coat it well. Sauté for five minutes till you get nice aroma. 
8. Add 1 cup of water, adjust salt. Stir, cover and cook for ten minutes or until the chicken is cooked.
9. Add tamarind pulp and stir well. 
10. Add coconut milk and remove from heat just when it comes to a boil. 
11. Serve hot with Neer Dosa or steamed rice. 

*To make neer dosa, use regular dosa batter and dilute it till its almost buttermilk consistency. Pour on a hot non-stick griddle and turn your griddle a little bit to spread the batter. You can spread the batter like regular dosa since its too tin. Spray a little oil and fold the dosas into a semicircle and again fold triangles directly on the griddle. Don't worry if they break as they are too soft to stay firm.