Baby Corn – Chicken Stir Fry

In this simple, yet delicious recipe called Baby Corn Chicken Stir Fry, the natural flavors of baby corn and chicken blend together to tender a succulent and irresistible taste in your palate. Mildly spiced, yet colorful, this dish is a sure hit among both little children and elders…

Ingredients:

Baby corn: 3 cups (cut into 1/2-inch cubes)

Chicken breast: 3 cups (cut into 1/2-inch cubes)

Carrots: 1 cup (cut into 1/2-inch cubes)

Bell pepper (Capsicum): 1 cup (cut into 1/2-inch cubes)

Onion: 1-1/2 cups (chopped)

Pepper powder: 1 tbsp

Soy sauce: 1 tbsp

Dry red chili: 4

Olive oil: 2 tbsp (if olive oil is not available, regular cooking oil may be used)

Salt: to taste

Method:

Step 1: Heat oil in a pan and add the dry red chili. Saute for a minute and when they start to change color, add the baby corn. Saute for about 2 – 3 minutes.

Step 2: Add the onions and saute for 2 – 3 minutes. Then add the bell pepper, carrots and required amount of salt. Saute again for about 3 – 4 minutes.

Step 3: Add soy sauce and stir well among the veggies for a few seconds. Then add the chicken, pepper powder and required amount of salt (if needed). Saute for about 4- 5 minutes. Then cover and cook for about 10 – 15 minutes or until the chicken is well done.

Step 4: Tasty baby corn chicken stir fry is ready. Serve hot as a snack or as a side dish for bread, roti, egg fried rice, etc.

 

Murukku

Murukku is a traditional Indian snack. It is so delicious to crunch and munch that no one can eat just one 😉

Made out of rice flour and urad dhal, it is also quite a healthy snack. You can make quite a few variations to murukku. However, I will explain the basic method and also provide tips for the variations so that you can savor a different taste every time you make this tasty snack. What’s more, you can save it for later too… if saved in an air tight container, this snack can last for weeks!

Note:

I have also provided inputs on the variations that can be tried for this dish at the end of this recipe. Also, if you feel that the quality of rice flour is not good enough, you can prepare it by yourself. The details are provided below the tips provided for variations.

Ingredients:

Rice flour – 4 cups

Urad dhal – 1 cup

Unsalted cooking butter – 5 tbsp

Cumin seeds (optional) – 4 tbsp

White sesame seeds – 8 tbsp

Salt – to taste

Water – as needed (to blend the dough)

Cooking oil – 2 or 3 cups

Method:

Step 1:

Take a pan and fry the urad dhal in it on low-meduim heat for about 3-4 minutes until you get the smell of roasted urad dhal. You must be careful not to over fry it such that it turns too brown or becomes burnt. Remove from pan and let it cool. Then grind it into a fine powder.

Step 2:

Take a mixing bowl and add the rice flour, urad dhal powder, cumin seeds, white sesame seeds, butter and salt and mix them well. Then knead into a soft dough by adding small quantities of water every now and then. Care must be taken to avoid pouring excessive water into the mixture.

Step 3:

Heat oil in a deep pan. When the oil becomes glazy in appearance, it indicates that the oil is ready for dishes to be fried. Do not over heat the oil such that it emanates smoke. Fix the single star plate in the murukku puzhi (the vessel used for making murukku) and insert small portions of the dough into the vessel. Press out the dough directly into the oil by making small, flower-like designs using the murukku puzhi. Allow them to deep fry in the oil until the bottom portion starts to turn golden brown. Then turn over and deep fry until the other side is also gloden brown. Remove from oil and place on a oil absorbant paper towel. Tasty murukku is ready to be served. You can also store this snack in an air tight container and savor it for a few weeks.

Variations:

1. You can add Daliya/Pottu kadalai instead of Urad dhal in the same proportion. You do not have to roast it as you do for urad dhal.

2. Instead of adding water, you can blend the dough with coconut milk.

3. You can add a small quantity of chilli powder (1 or 2 tsp) before you start mixing the dough

Instructions to prepare rice flour:

Soak raw rice in water for 3 – 4 hrs. Then completely drain the water and allow the rice to become dry. Then grind into into a fine powder. Run the ground power through a sieve with very small holes. The sieved flour will have the right texture for using to prepare mixture. The remaining flour can again be ground into fine powder and the process can be repeated. Until all the rice has been grounded into fine powder.