Crossiants De Chocolat

As soon as my kindergartener started school the usual question from my picky eater was"Whats for Lunch Amma?"

The gourment quick fix mom told him it was Croissiants De Chocolate that he fell in love with on his recent trip to France. "Wow, mom. You are the best", he said and hugged me so hard and it really made my day.

So for an international fare here I present Crossiants De Chocolat

Ingredients

Crescent dinner Rolls -2 tubes

Nutella - 3 table spoons

Preheat the oven to 350F. Unrolls the rolls. Spread a teaspoon of Nutella and follow the instruction on the package . Bake for 12-16 mins and'Voila' you have amazing chocolate crossiants.

Variations

Spread any jelly or preserves of your choice. You can also bake with hot dogs inside.

Easy Lazy Chicken

Is the chicken really lazy or is it just the cook?

Scenario: You are no mood to cook. Yet you like to eat something hardy.

You are in no mood to order take out. Yet you are like to eat something tasty.

You are in no mood to go and eat in a restaurant. Yet you have to do something.

EASY LAZY CHICKEN to the rescue.

Sounded like a super hero comic strip. Right. This chicken recipe has been really a super hero recipe in my life. It was created as a result of experiments by truly yours and has now become a staple in my family dinners. A great way to make my hubby and kiddos eat vegetables.

From the queen of quick fixes THE EASY LAZY CHICKEN

Ingredients

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Throw in whatever you want. OK, OK let me more specific

Chicken - 4 big pieces

Carrots - 2

Onion -1 Quartered

Potatoes - 2 Quartered

Beans - Handful

Pasta - 1 lbs (Any variety works)

Marinade

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Soy sauce - 1tbs

Worcestshire Sauce - 1tbs

Mustard* - 1tbs

Balsamic vinegar** -1 tbs

Garlic Paste - 1 tsp

Salt as required

Freshly Ground pepper - 2 tsp

*I prefer Dijon

** Balsamic Vinegar helps the chicken t marinated fast. In case, I don't have balsamic vinegar ,I use any other vinegar too

Take a microwave safe bowl[ I use my trusty 9x13 Pyrex dish]. Add the chicken pieces ,marinade, vegetables, salt and pepper and microwave it in high for 30 minutes. Close the pan to make make the chicken moist .

Meanwhile bring 4-6 quarts of water to boil. Add salt. Put the pasta in water and cook for 10 minutes,stirring occasionally.Strain and keep it aside.

Now add the drained pasta to chicken and microwave for another 15 minutes, This time without the lid. Check the chicken to see if it is cooked thoroughly.

The pasta and vegetables will slightly be crunchy.

*** Vegetarian Version

Vegetables are added instead of the chicken . Asparagus, capsicum, corn, broccoli, cauliflower can be used. This is recipe just canvass for you to add any ingredient you like and to remove anything you don't.

Karimpumkala Toddy Shop Prawns Fry

Karimpumkala Toddy Shop is in Pallam, a place near Kottayam (Kerala, Southern India). This famous Toddy shop (kallu Shaap) is renowned for the fresh seafood concoctions from the nearby vembanad kayal as well as the fresh toddy from the swaying coconut palms. Today the toddy shop has been converted to family restaurant and they serve up a lot of authentic Kerala food. Their Karimeen Pollichatu, Tharavu roast, Fish curry, Konchu fry, and Crab masala are worth every penny.

After wanting to go to for a very long time, I finally made it this time on my vacation. As soon as I step foot in the restaurant the smell of fish fried in coconut oil began tickling my nostrils. Since I had gone with large family, we went haywire ordering every other thing in the menu. The food here was heavenly. It did not have same hotel food taste neither did it taste too homely. The food was very spicy yet very tasty. The food was just perfect. I had prawns, fish pollichatu , duck roast, chicken curry, Kappa, meen and beef fry.

I am passing on this recipe from this famous shop which published in Vanitha magazine five years ago or so.

My mouth is still watering thinking of what I had.

Ingredients

Prawns -1/2 Kg

Chilly Powder -6tbs

Turmeric - 2tbs

Ground Pepper - 2tbs

Oil 3tbs

salt as required

Marinate the prawns with the masalas and keep it aside for an hour. Heat the oil in a pan. When the oil is hot, put the prawns in and close the pan. After 10 minutes, turn the prawns. Serve hot with rice or Appam.


A bottle of fresh coconut toddy to accompany the prawns fry would be a piece of heaven on earth to most spice lovers in the world.

WARNING: This dish might burn your mouth. Please proceed with caution while following the recipe. More toddy shop recipes and glimpse of toddy shop's in Kerala visit my fellow blogger MISHMASH! blog

Home at Last

Even before I started my life as blogger , it seemed as if it had ended. After my last blog in April I was caught in whirlwind. Blogging had taken back seat with the preparations of my trip to Kerala occupying most of time. During my 2 month long vacation I felt that I would stop my blog as I wasn't dedicated enough. But I guess the sound, sights and smell of my beautiful motherland has ignited the passion to write more.

So here is the second edition to Masala Box