21 Nov 2011

Chicken in Yogurt gravy

The all time favorite recipe of our home. CHICKEN CURRY. It can be an accompaniment for Rice, Pulav, Chapatis, Paranthas and Naans. My freezer at home is best friends with chicken. I store them in Zip pouch bags in various categories and label them accordingly as per use. As i know the quantity required for a course of meal for two, i store them in a moderate way. I keep the chicken bones and boneless in separate pouches. This makes work easier for me. My Hubby is an ardent fan of chicken recipes, so I like trying out variant methods to suit his palette.

Ingredients
10-12 pieces of chicken 
 3 tbsp Vegetable Oil
2 Medium Onions
1/2 coconut paste
2 green chillies
2 tbsp Ginger-Garlic paste
1 cup yoghurt beaten till smooth
1 Tomato chopped
1 tsp Red Chilli Powder
2 tsp Coriander powder
1 tsp Cumin powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp garam masala(hot spice mix) powder
Finely chopped fresh coriander
2 lemon wedges

Directions
Take Yoghurt and add red chilli powder, turmeric powder, garam masala powder, 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste and lemon juice. Mix it evenly and marinade the chicken into this mixture for 1 hour. 

Heat a pan with oil. Fry the onions till golden brown, add finely chopped green chillies and ginger garlic paste and keep stirring it till the raw smell vanishes off. Add coconut paste to it and saute it for few minutes till it turns golden brown. Increase the heat and add  the marinated chicken Let the chicken cook for few minutes and then add the other ingredients, coriander powder, cumin powder. Let the chicken lose all the moisture in the pan. Then add the chopped tomato. Add 1 cup water to the pan. Simmer the chicken on low heat for 15 minutes. When the oil starts settling on the edges of the pan. Garnish it with freshly chopped coriander.The Chicken is ready to be served.

Note: If you have invited friends or guests at your home you can add cashewnut paste to the cocunut paste to make the curry rich.

Gobi (Cauliflower) Manchurian



Days are just passing by and the gap seems so long (since my previous recipe entry). Guess things at home keep me occupied so much that i dont get time to publish my drafts. Well here comes something that i wanted to try from a long time, a Vegetarian Chinese Recipe with the culmination of all the Chinese sauces and seasonings. To admit it, this is the easiest and yummiest recipe to prepare for starters and evening snacks. The ingredients required for this recipe are easily available in supermarkets.






Ingredients
1 medium Cauliflower floret
3/4 cup All purpose flour
1 Tbsp Corn flour
1 Tbsp Gram Flour
Salt to taste
2 chopped green chillies
11/2 tbsp Ginger-Garlic Paste
I cup finely chopped onions
Chopped Coriander leaves
1/4 tsp Ajinomoto
1 Tbsp dark Soya sauce
1 Tsp Green chilli sauce
2 - 3 Tbsp Tomato Ketchup
2 Tbsp Oil


Directions
Wash and cut the cauliflower into small florets and boil them till they are almost done. Take the All purpose flour, Gram flour, corn flour and salt into a bowl. Make a paste of this using water. Take a tsp. of ginger and garlic paste, add it to the paste. Dip the florets in the paste and deep fry till golden brown. Keep this aside.


Heat oil in another pan and add the left ginger & garlic paste, chopped onions and green chili to it.


Now, add ajinomoto, soya sauce, green chilli sauce and tomato sauce to it.
Add the fried cauliflower florets and mix well. Garnish it with coriander leaves. Serve the gobi manchurian hot with chapatis or paranthas.


Note: For Wet Gobi Manchurian, add 1 tsp of corn flour to cold water and dissolve it. Add it to the sauce before adding the florets.

22 Sept 2011

China Grass Pudding

China Grass is another name for Agar-agar. It is a Vegetable ‘gelatine’ derived from a number of seaweeds (Gelidium amansii) which are processed by boiling and drying. It is used as a setting agent in Asian countries. 
It is available in powdered form or as dried strands. If using Strands, always cut  them with scissors into small pieces and soak them into water for 10-15 min.

You can try out different versions of this recipe with fruits and dry nuts.

Here is the base version of this recipe


Ingredients


1/2 litre Milk
3 pods Cardamom
4 strands Nutmeg
7 tsps Sugar
5 or 6 Almonds
5 or 6 Kishmish/ Currants
1 packet of China Grass powder
2 Tbsps Milkmaid/Khoya/ Condensed milk (Optional)
Edible colour


Directions


Boil Milk in a pan. Take some milk from the pan and dissolve China grass in it till it melts completely.
Simmer milk on slow fire. Add sugar, powdered cardamom and nutmeg to the milk. Let it simmer till the sugar dissolves.
Mix in china grass and bring it to a boil. Keep stirring it for 5 minutes.
Cool it for 10 minutes and put in a rinsed flat dish.
Set in a cool place or in a refrigerate till it turns firm.
Cut into pieces, mix with fruits and serve it.


P.S: You can divide the  milk into two parts and add different edible colours to them I prefer lighter  one at the bottom and darker one on the top. Seems interesting for children.
I tend to use fruits from my refridgerator, be it any. Cut them into thin slices and arrange at the bottom of the flat dish, so that when you turn it upside down, It sort of gives an absolute presentation.

21 Jun 2011

Falooda (Persian dessert)



This delectable entree' is being sent to Hyderabadi Ramadan Food Festival 2012 (Season IV) on Mona's blog - Zaiqa.


Falooda is a traditional Persian cold dessert. It was brought to the Indian subcontinent during the Mughal period. Basil seeds (sabza/takmaria), tutti frutti, sugar, and ice cream can be add-ons for this dessert. 
Fond memories of mine take me to a Sundarm Snacks store in Jamnagar, (a city in Gujarat) where we (Our family) used to have Falooda. I have never tasted anything close to it till now.
I have made it several  times at my home.and I have always fared well. The add –ons in Falooda depends on each one’s liking. My husband avoids the basil seeds so I need to serve it without the basil seeds. But I love crushing those velvety seeds inside my mouth. Just seeing those glasses served with falooda in the refrigerator tempts me to the core. But Damn…I need to wait for evenings to gorge it on.

FALOODA (Serves 4)



Ingredients

2 cups boiled milk
1 cup semolina or vermicelli
4 pods cardamom
2 drops of rosewater
Rose squash (Roofahza)
8 tsps of sugar
2 tbsps Milkmaid (Condensed milk)
Cashew nuts
Almonds
Pistachios

Directions

Take ¾ cup of water and add 2 tsp of basil seeds to it and keep it aside.
Take water in a pan to boil. Add semolina to the boiling water and let it boil till half done. Add 1 cup of milk to the water and let it simmer for 5 minutes. Add 6 tsps of sugar to the semolina. And pinch of cardamom powder (equals 2 of them).Keep it aside.
Take the remaining milk and let it simmer for a while. Add 2 tsps of sugar, pinch of cardamom powder (equals 2 of them).  Add 2 tbsps of milkmaid and 2 drops of rose water to the milk. Add cashew nuts, almonds, Pistachios. Keep some aside for garnishing. Let it cool.
Serve it in preferably long glass. Add 3 tsps of Rose squash (I use Roohafza), top it up with the semolina and then with the basil seeds. Add the milk from the top. Garnish it with almonds, pistachios and cashew nuts.
Refrigerate it. And savour it cool.
You can top it up with dollop of vanilla ice-cream when serving. (Optional).         





1 Jun 2011

Mini Chicken Kebabs

 I love reading, writing, phrasing sentences and creating out of the box things. Blogging has always been on my mind since 2008. But never really had time to pin down the things racing in my mind.
This is my first blog entry and that too for sumptuous food. Never really thought my love for food would make me start blog writing.
I am an ardent persuader of experiments and challenges, and when those are made of simple basic things, what better thing could one ask for in life, specially when you are the one having the pleasure of that blended melt in mouth. This appetizer is being sent to Blog Event - Eid Potluck party .
Well, Here goes my first recipe MINI CHICKEN KEBABS (I got this one from Sunita Rodriguez show "Meals on the Run" aired on Food First Channel.


Ingredients
2 Chicken breast pieces
4 to 5 Mushrooms
1 medium Onion
1 Tomato
1 Capsicum (Green, Yellow)
3 Tsp Ginger Garlic paste
4 to 5 Garlic pods
3 Tsp Oregano
Salt to Taste
Olive Oil (Any vegetable oil would do)
Pepper Powder


Directions:
Cut all the vegetables (Onion, Tomato, Capsicums and Mushrooms) and Chicken into cubes of almost same size. Take all of them into a bowl. Add chopped Garlic, Oregano, Salt, Ginger Garlic Paste, Freshly grounded pepper powder, and Oil. Marinate it for 20 to 25 minutes.
Skewer all of them to toothpicks (available in supermarkets). Take oil in a non-stick pan and fry them turning them on all sides.
I prepared this dish early in the morning as the side dish in lunch box for my husband. Glad..he liked it.
Please try this easy and quick dish in your kitchen and let me know how it went.
Hoping to blog many more recipes in coming days  which i try in my kitchen.


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