My childhood memories of Christmas day brim with waking up to the inviting smell of a delicious breakfast that my mother would pour her love into. While we could always count on a mouthwatering chicken stew with soft-mildly sweet appams to make the menu, we would always be surprised with a dish or two out of the ordinary. Some of these exquisite surprises included a duck curry or fish mappas or chicken roast to name a few. The breakfast table that warmed our hearts always made Christmas day special.
Here are two recipes from my mom's out of the ordinary menu, that I hope warms your hearts too this Christmas. Merry Christmas!
Ingredients
Chicken - 1 kg, cut into big pieces
Onion sliced - 5 (three for frying and two for cooking the chicken)
Green chillies - 2
Ginger sliced - 1 inch sliced
Garlic - 4 sliced
Chilly powder - 1/2 tbsp
Coriander powder - 1 tbsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Whole garam masala - Cardamom - 2, Cloves - 4, Cinnamon - 1-inch piece
Vinegar - 1/2 tsp
Salt - As required
Curry leaves - a handful
Potatoes sliced - 3
Cashew nuts - 10
Raisins - 10
Coconut or any cooking oil
Water
Method
1) Marinate for at least half an hour the chicken pieces with salt, vinegar, sliced onion (about two cups), green chilli, a few curry leaves, ginger and garlic, whole garam masala, chilly powder, turmeric powder and coriander powder.
2) After about an hour, cook the chicken with half a cup of water. Once it's done, take out the cooked chicken and set it aside. You can also remove the whole masala and green chillies from the stock and keep the stock separately.
3) Fry the remaining sliced onions, potatoes, cashews and raisins. Keep them aside for garnishing.
4) In the same oil, fry the cooked chicken.
5) Crush half of the fried onion and add it to the stock. Boil the stock with half a cup of water and let it form a thick gravy.
6) When the gravy has boiled well, add the fried chicken pieces and cover and cook for five minutes on slow flame. Check the salt and spice level.
7) Add some fried potatoes, cashews, raisins and curry leaves. Stir and set aside.
8) Garnish with the remaining fried onion, potatoes, cashews and raisins.
Ingredients
Banana - 2 sliced
Coconut milk - 1 cup
Ghee or butter - 1 tbsp
Sugar - 1/4 cup
Cardamom - 1
Cream - 1/2 cup
Method
1) Fry the sliced bananas in ghee until they are golden in colour. Set them aside.
2) In the same pan, add the coconut milk and let it boil on a slow fire. Stir in between.
3) Add ground cardamom and 1/4 cup of sugar and the fried bananas. Let it all come to a rolling boil for a couple of minutes. Turn off the flame.
4) The consistency of the coconut milk sauce should be neither too runny nor too thick.
5) Scoop some banana fritters along with the sauce into a bowl and top it with a dollop of cream.
6) Serve it either warm or chilled.
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