Celebrations are all about sharing a meal & spending time with your near & dear ones and Christmas is no different. These dishes are usually recipes our mothers or grandmothers made while we were growing up. Most of us continue to cook and serve these meals at our own tables. In order to reduce your time in the kitchen we have put together a Christmas Menu with our timeless curry pastes so that you spend your time reminiscing nostalgic memories.
A suggested menu is given below. The recipe to make some of the sides are also given below. Based on your preferences you may choose to make a few or all of them for a GRAND PARTY.
Recipes for Suggested Side Dishes and More
Appam
Raita
The Date Chutney
Ghee Rice
Roast Chicken
Ginger Snap Cookies
Appam
Appam, a traditional Kerala breakfast side-dish made with rice and coconut that is fermented with yeast. They are perfect to enjoy with any coconut based stew, egg curry or chicken curry. Trust me, you need to taste this at least once!
Ingredients:
2 cups raw rice washed and soaked for 4-5 hours
1 cup cooked Rice
1 cup fresh shredded coconut
1 tsp salt
½ cup warm water
½ tsp yeast
5 Tbsp sugar
1 ½ ( 1+1/2) cups water.
Method:
- Mix Yeast and 1 Tbsp Sugar into Warm Water. Cover and set aside until foamy.
- In a blender, grind Cooked Rice and Coconut with half a cup of water (add little more if needed).
- Add soaked rice to the blender and continue to grind using additional 1 cup of water (little at a time). Batter should be absolutely smooth.
- Mix yeast solution and salt to it.
- Remove batter into a large container with a lid and keep it in a warm place to ferment for about 8 hours.
- Add additional 4 Tbsp Sugar and 1/2 cup water and mix well. (Batter should be of pouring consistency).
- Heat Appam pan or non-stick skillet until water droplets sprinkled on evaporate immediately.
- Pour a ladle full of batter into the center of the skillet.
- Pick up the skillet and twirl it around so that the batter swirls all the way to the edges of the pan.
- Cover the skillet and allow the appam to cook for approx. 2 minutes.
- When edges are brown, gently lift the appam from one side and move the skillet so that the appam moves freely.
- Slide appam off the skillet onto a plate and serve.
Raita
RAITA: Raita, served with biriyani
Ingredients:
½ cup sliced onions
1 cup thick curd
1 green chili chopped fine
1 Tbsp coriander leaves
Method:
- Add yogurt to a bowl, add salt and whisk yogurt to smooth.
- Add onions, green chili and salt as needed.
- Add a pinch of sugar also and mix well.
- Garnish it with coriander leaves
The Date Chutney
This date chutney is sweet, spicy and tangy, bursting with flavors. It pairs very well with our Effortless Biriyani.
Ingredients:
175grams Dates, pitted and roughly chopped
1tsp Ginger paste, 1 tsp Garlic paste
2 Green chilies, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon Turmeric powder, 1tsp Red chili powder
2 tablespoons Vinegar, 1/8 teaspoon Asafoetida
1 tablespoon sugar, 2 tablespoons oil
1 spring curry leaves, Salt to taste.
Method:
- To begin making the dates chutney, remove the seeds from the dates, roughly chop them and keep aside.
- Heat oil in a wide pan, add asafoetida, curry leaves and let the curry leaves splutter.
- Add the ginger, garlic pastes and green chili. Saute till the raw smell goes away. Add the turmeric, red chilli powder and mix well.
- Add the chopped dates, and cook until the dates become soft. Season this with salt, sugar and saute for another minute until it is mixed well.
- Add the vinegar and simmer until the chutney comes together and then switch off the heat.
Ghee Rice
A Malabar styled preparation, the rice is roasted and cooked with ghee and spices. Garnished with fried onions, cashew nuts and raisins, this a simple and delicious side dish. It goes well with our Chicken Curry, Vindaloo, Creamy Grilled Fish, Methi Paneer and even the Channa Masala.
Ingredients:
4 Tbsp ghee
2 cups basmati rice
1 cup sliced onions
10 to 12 cashew nuts
10 to 12 raisins
2 cinnamon sticks
4 green cardamom
1 bay leaf
1 star anise
2tsp ginger garlic paste
Salt to taste.
Method:
- Wash and soak the rice for 15 minutes.
- Heat 2Tbsp ghee in a pan. Once hot add the onions and fry till golden brown.
- Remove the onions and in the same pan golden fry the cashew nuts and keep aside.
- Add the remaining ghee to a heavy bottom pot.
- Once hot, add the whole spices and saute for 1 minute.
- Add the ginger garlic paste and saute well.
- Add the drained soaked rice and saute in ghee
- Add 4 cups of water and salt to taste.
- Bring to boil. Then lower the heat to medium low. Cover the pot and cook for about 12 minutes till the rice is done.
- Garnish the rice with the fried onions & nuts.
Roast Chicken
Few dishes are as beloved as a roast chicken, the center piece of all Christmas dinners. Here is our recipe for your whole roasted chicken using our vindaloo paste that leaves you with a roasted chicken that is tender, juicy and uniquely flavorful.
What you need:
1 whole chicken with skin on 1.5 -2 kgs
3 tbsp butter/oil
2 tbsp kashmiri chili powder
1 packet q49 flavour vindaloo paste
Salt to taste
Method:
- Clean, wash and pat-dry the chicken with kitchen towel.
- Sprinkle some salt on both sides of the chicken and keep aside.
- Mix the salt, oil & chili powder with the q49 vindaloo paste.
- Place the chicken into a roasting pan or dish.
- Loosen the skin from the neck and smear the paste mixture on to the chicken, under the loosened skin and inside the chicken.
- Highly recommended to keep the marinated chicken in the refrigerator for 24 hours.
- Pre-heat the oven to 200 ℃.
- Place the chicken into the oven and cook for 45 to 60 minutes until the skin turns golden brown.
- Reduce the oven temperature to 180 ℃ and cover the chicken with a foil. Continue to cook for another 15 minutes.
- Remove the foil and brush the chicken with oil all around and cook for another 15 to 20 minutes till the chicken is cooked through.
- Remove from oven and leave to rest for 15 minutes.
- Serve with roasted potatoes and carrots.
Ginger Snap Cookies
Christmas Cookie recipes can fill your home with wonderful aromas while filling your heart with joy.
Ingredients:
¾ cup butter
2 cups sugar
2 well-beaten eggs
½ cup molasses
2 teaspoons vinegar
3-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons ground ginger
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 160 ℃.
- Using a stand mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- While the butter and sugar are mixing, sift together the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon & cloves.
- To the butter, add the eggs, molasses and vinegar.
- Add the flour mixture to the wet mixture about a half cup at a time, scraping down the sides of the mixing bowl periodically.
- Form the dough into half inch balls.
- Place the dough balls on a cookie sheet or half sheet pan lined with parchment paper or sprayed with non-stick spray.
- Bake the cookies for 12 minutes.
- This recipe should yield around 30 cookies.