BEER BATTERED FRIED OLIVES with CUMIN YOGURT SAUCE

Ilove olives. Pitted or not,they appeal to me. It reminds me a lot of Uppumanga that we would make at home in Kannur. When Mezzetta sent me a big box of goodies last week,I was so thrilled that I wanted to try something new with it,than the usual tapanade or dip. I decided to fry it using a simple light batter and pair it with a delicious dipping sauce. The batter has a secret ingredient in it,which you would have already guessed from the name of this post,a beer.

If you don't want to add beer, you can substitute it with club soda. The beer/soda will give make the batter super light and gives the end product a very nice crispness. You can use this batter to fry other things like shrimp,fish etc. Don't you just love anything deep fried with a crisp coating? This is just like that!

Mezzetta is family owned since 1935. They source the finest fresh produce from the sun-drenched soils of California, Italy,Spain, France, and Greece and prepare them according to their Italian family recipes  at their state-of-the-art production facility in Napa Valley.

You will have to select olives that were already pitted for this recipe. It's makes everything a lot easier.The original recipe called for dipping the olives into the batter and frying it. I added a twist to it. After I pulled them out of the oil, I let them drain for a few seconds and then dipped them once again into the batter and fried them till golden. That step gave my olives a lovely coating and made it extra special. I would suggest that you use regular olives. If you are using olives in oil, make sure you wipe it out completely as the oil would prevent the batter from clinging to it.

BEER BATTERED FRIED OLIVES with CUMIN YOGURT SAUCE

Ingredients:
For the olives:
1 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
12 oz beer of your choice
2 cups of pitted olives
Oil

Cumin Yogurt Sauce:
1/2 cup greek yogurt
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
a squirt of lemon juice
salt and pepper

Method:
Olives: Heat oil in a sauce pan for deep frying. In a medium bowl, mix all the ingredients together and fry the olives one by one until golden. Do a double fry if you'd like that. I did it and it was wonderful!
Sauce: Mix all the ingredients together and serve alongside the fried olives.

Do not miss out on the Holiday Memories Sweepstakes that's being  hosted here!

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FRIED CHICKEN KABABS... Empire restaurant style!

Is there anyone out here who hasn't tasted the Empire Restaurant's (Bangalore) Chicken Kababs? I'm sure there are plenty and all I can tell them is ' you are really missing out on some good stuff!'. This was my most ordered, favourite item of theirs.I could eat as much as they would give me but they never gave more than 5 or 6 pieces and since we were in our college days, we needed our pocket money for more than just kababs ;-)

Usually when I think of Kababs/Kebabs, they are either baked or pan fried. This one is different from the rest as they are deep fried using a marinade. In Bangalore, you can find people selling these not only in restaurants but also in those road side shops which opens only after 6.30 pm and their menu doesn't go beyond Fried Rice and Chicken Kababs.

There was an old Uncle right across the street from our hostel who sold Fried Rice & Chicken Kababs and we were regular customers of his yummy food. He would make these in front of us but the marinade was made ahead of time and gave me no options to have a sneak peek of what's going into it. I remember asking him once to which he replied,' We use Bombay Kabab Masala'. I really have no idea if such a thing exists ! Once when Appan and Amma came to visit me in Bangalore, I bought them a plate of Kababs from that old Uncle's restaurant and ever since, if Appan goes that side, he buys it and eats them!

I didn't give up my hunt. I remember seeing a recipe in Vanitha for Empire Chicken Kababs and it was just flour,vinegar, chicken, food colour, Empire kabab masala (!?!) and salt. C'mon, when you give a recipe, it should be a whole recipe...how else will you know what's there in that Empire kabab masala? Never mind! I still wrote down that recipe in my favourite navy blue diary.

Like I mentioned in my previous post (Remember the late night Kadala Muttai?), I woke up one fine day with the thought of having the Empire kababs. Now where in Minnesota will I ever get it? Who in Minneapolis can make it for me? No one! I ate Jobin's brains,vented out on Facebook but nothing helped. So the hunt began...now you know where my hunt can lead me to! EMPIRE KABABS!!!! :-)

FRIED CHICKEN KABABS
Recipe from here

Ingredients:
4 tbsp maida/ all purpose flour
2 tbsp cornstarch/cornflour
2 tbsp red chili powder
2 tbsp ginger garlic paste 
2 eggs
1 tbsp cumin powder
2 tsp garam masala
1 tsp coriander powder
Juice of 2 limes (or to taste)
3 green chilies, finely chopped
1/4 tsp red food colour,optional ( I used it)
Salt to taste

1 kg chicken, with bones (I used chicken thighs)
Oil for deep frying

Method: In a bowl, whisk together all the ingredients from maida to salt. Add a few extra drops of water if the batter is very thick. Add the chicken pieces and mix to coat well. Let it marinate, covered, in the fridge for 3-4 hours. Heat oil on high heat, in a deep vessel. Reduce the heat to medium-high and add the chicken pieces, a few pieces at a time. Fry for 3-4 mins turning the pieces occasionally. If you fry it further, the colour of the coating will change from red to brown, if you used food colour. Drain on paper towels and serve hot with a few lime wedges & onions rings.

You are gonna LOVE it!

These kababs are as good as the ones we get in Empire or maybe even better! The chicken remains so juicy after frying that you need to hold a paper napkin underneath to protect your clothes!As soon as the first piece came out of the oil, I had to eat it. I must admit, it was so so good! Even Jobin said the same! When I was photographing these, I really couldn't resist the yummy smell of it and thought 'What the heck! After all it's for me  us!' That's the photograph you saw above :-)

Make this super easy appetizer for your next party and reap the compliments! There's nothing to go wrong in here!

PARIPPU VADA / SPLIT PIGEON PEA CROQUETTES...it's time to snack!

Back while I was working, every evening we would have some snack sponsored by someone in our office. I used to wait for that time of the day because it always used to be something hot like a Pazhampori/ Ethakkappam/Banana Fritters,Potato Bondas or Parippu Vadas. Babu Chetan was the one who brought us these snacks and Shyja Chechy would bring in the tea. Ah! Those were the days! :-)

A few days ago, I was thinking about those tiny parippu vadas I used to have at work. Babu Chetan bought it from a tea stall which is very popular for their parippu vadas. They were really small but very crisp and tasty. There's a widespread talk among people that parippu vada is shaped in armpits! I am sure people were kidding when they told me that but while I was shaping the vadas today, I was smiling over that. Whatever! I shaped them in my palm and made sure they don't look alike as I wanted them to look rustic !

PARIPPU VADA
My own recipe

Ingredients:
2 c Toor dal, washed and soaked for 2 hours
4 green chilies, chopped fine
5-6 pearl onions/shallots, chopped fine
1 sprig of curry leaves, torn up
Salt to taste
Oil for deep frying

Method: Drain the dal completely.Keep aside 1/2 cup of the soaked dal and grind the remaining soaked dal to a coarse paste without adding any water.Add the remaining ingredients and form small patties. Deep fry in hot oil.

It was crisp on the outside and soft inside, a perfect accompaniment for your chai! If you'd like, have a baby banana too, along with these...that's the way a lot of people prefer to eat.

BARBECUE CHICKEN MEATBALLS... Chak De India!

Last Wednesday was a fantastic day for all the Cricket lover's from India. I didn't wake up early to watch the match but followed it closely after I woke up. All thanks to Namitha for sending me the link to watch it online. It was fun watching the match and it was great fun to see the live updates on Facebook about it. That's when it all began...

A simple innocent question of mine 'Who was Vivek Oberoi with?' just to find out who he really was with then, in the stadium lead to a 'wild' discussion ranging from Bollywood to Cricket to The Royal Wedding (William & Kate) to Bollywood (about John Abraham & Arjun Rampal this time) to Dr.Ria ( ahem! ME!!) prescribing medicines . That simple question of mine currently has 427 comments (and it's still counting)! I didn't even realise that until someone along the way pointed it out to us. I don't think I have the energy to go back and see who it was because I'm sure I'll get lost in between all that discussions once again!

Later, in the cricket spirit, I thought of asking my fellow Indian Food Bloggers if they wanted to join me in cooking something to add to the spirit of cricket as we watch the World Cup Cricket 2011 Finals today (India Vs Sri Lanka). So now, 'we' are cooking together to munch on and will be posting one by one in our respective food blogs. No rules, nothing...it's just for the fun of it! So here am I...with my Barbecue Chicken Meatballs...perfect for a game day!

BARBECUE CHICKEN MEATBALLS
My own recipe

Ingredients:
1 lb/500g ground chicken
1/4 medium onion, grated or ground to a smooth paste (It makes the meatballs moist,so go for it!)
1 pod garlic, grated ( You can sub it with 1 tbsp garlic powder)
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp lime/lemon juice
Salt to taste

1/2 tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 c Barbecue Sauce ( I used Famous Dave's)

Method:
Pre-heat oven to 450F and oil a cookie sheet, lightly.

In a large bowl,mix together the ground chicken,onion,garlic, cumin,lemon juice and salt.
Divide it into 18 balls (you can wet your hands to make it easier) and bake for 12 mins (Do not over bake it, it will become hard).
Melt butter in a pan on high,add the barbecue sauce and mix.
Add the meatballs to it and mix well for 2-3 mins until they are well coated.
Serve hot*!

*You can serve it with a dip but I chose not to.

Verdict: Very succulent meat balls!The cumin flavours the meatballs really well, you don't need any other spice/herb in it.  I always imagined how restaurants got it so soft and nice...the trick is to bake it only for a short time . You might get tempted to bake for some more time to get a nice crusty meat ball but that will just ruin them. It will turn out dry.

We love anything with BBQ flavour so this was a hit with us!I can't wait for it to be Summer so that we can grill to our heart's content. If you get a chance, do try this. It's a perfect party appetizer as it tastes and looks like your fingers have some sort of a magical touch  :)

Go India, go! Wishing you all the luck!

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY once again...CHICKEN CUTLETS

For the detailed recipe, click here