Julienne salad with pea nuts and sesame seeds

A little fact:

Roman introduced the salad preparation to the world. They use to call it “herba salata”. The word herba referred to greens and the word salata referred to salad.  The greens were served raw with vinegar, oil and little salt. Very healthy. Over time, the salad preparation has changed tremendously. The simple dish took on variety of color, texture, flavour and aroma with the use of different vinegars and ingredients, raw or cooked. 

I love eating salads. This very simple and satisfying salad with one of the simplest dressing is my all time favourite. Reasons- One, quick and easy to make, two the leftovers can be easily used as a filling for sandwiches or wraps, the next morning. Third if you have a little time, you can transform this simple salad gorgeous by adding grilled chicken stripes or lightly fried prawns to it…

Ingredients:

1 English cucumber peeled

1 Carrot peeled

1 medium onion

1 hand full of rocket leaves mixed with baby leaf

Hand full of roasted peanuts with skin

2 tsp roasted sesame oil.

Pan roast the peanuts and sesame seeds.

Dressing: Ratio 3 parts of oil to 1 part of acid

3 tbsp of Extra Virgin Olive oil

1 Tbsp of lemon juice +1/2 tsp of Vinegar

1tsp of salt

1tbsp of brown sugar

A pinch of freshly ground black pepper

This is a very simple dressing. A lot of variation can be done.  

For example, Mustard paste can be added with the above dressing to give it a little heat.

Directions:

Pan roast the peanuts and sesame seeds.

Cut all the veggies except the leaves into long thin strips. Mix them with leaves.

 Mix all the dressing ingredients in a bowl and give it a good whisk. 

Check and adjust the seasoning, if needed add a little salt or vinegar.  

Pour the dressing and the roasted nuts over the julienne cucumber, carrots, onion and rocket and baby leaves and mix well. And the salad is done and ready to go on the table.

P.S Left over salad can be used for baguette filling or making sandwich.

Happy Cooking!!!

Lemon Garlic Chicken Curry

On a cold winter night, chicken curry and paratha is a hit in my home. Chicken is my all time favourite and I can cook and eat chicken at any time of day. 

My recipe of sweet and tangy chicken is a very quick one and a very yummy one too. 

Ingredients:

1 Baby Chicken cut into 5-6 pieces

2 small Onions chopped finely

1 can of chopped tomatoes

8 cloves garlic minced

2 tsp of Ginger grated

2 green chillies chopped finely, (You can deseed the chillies.)

Veg Oil for frying about 3-4 tbsp

A knob of butter

Juice of 1/2 lemon

2 Caps of normal Vinegar about 2 tsp

1 tsp of dried rosemary herbs

1 inch cinnamon stick

1 Pinch of cumin seeds

2 tsp of cumin powder

2 tsp of coriander powder

2 tbsp of sugar

1/2 tsp of freshly grounded pepper

Parsley for garnishing

Salt as per taste, some for marinating

1/2 tsp turmeric powder for marinating

Water 1 to 1/2 cup depends on the desired gravy

Marinating the Chicken

Apply turmeric powder and salt to the chicken. Rub well and keep it aside. 5-10 minutes will do just fine.

Directions

Heat the oil in the pot.  Drop in the butter.  Add the dried rosemary, cinnamon and cumin seeds to it. Quickly add the ginger and garlic to it. Keep on low flame so that the garlic does not burn. 

Add the green chillies and chopped onions to the pot. Stir well.

Add the salt to the pot and give it a good mix. Go slow on the salt as we have marinated the chicken with salt already. The salt here will help us in cooking the onions much faster.

Cover the pot and stir in between for 2 minutes.

Tuck in the chicken pieces and mix it well with the onions and garlic and again cover.

Now, add the sugar, pepper, and the cumin and coriander powder. Mix well.

Add the can of chopped tomatoes to the pot and give it a good mix.

Pour in the lemon juice and vinegar. Check and adjust the seasoning.

Mix everything well and pour the water, cover and let it simmers for another 5 minutes or so.

Since it’s a baby chicken it will be cooked in few minutes. And it will be Sweet and sour, tangy in taste. Garnish it with finely chopped parsley and serve with rice, chapattis, paratha...your wish :).

Happy Cooking!!!

Rice with Green tea and Orange zest flavour

An ongoing Rice recipe event on a blog site inspired me to do some experiments with rice. I brain stormed a lot and eventually found myself utterly confused whether to make pulao,biryani or fried rice. Tired, I decided to have a green tea to reduce my stress and then it struck me..."rice with tea flavour". A simple steamed basmati rice with  green tea flavour appeared a very exciting option and I decided to give it a go.
 After all, in Thai cuisine, many dishes are often cooked with delicate flavours like lemon grass, coconut or jasmine. I was inspired.
So here goes my daring experiment with rice..

                             Rice flavored with green tea with lemon and orange zest.

Ingredients:
1 Cup Basmati Rice
3 Green tea bags
A few slices ginger
A cinamon stick
A pinch cumin seeds
1 tbsp orange zest
3 tbsp Lemon juice
Salt as per taste
1 tsp Veg oil
2 cups Water

Put the tea bags in 1 cup of hot boiling water for atleast 2 minutes to allow for flavours to come out of tea bags .
Heat oil in a deep pan with high sides. Add the orange zest, ginger slices and cinamon stick to it. After few seconds, add washed rice to it and mix it very gently.
Add salt and cumin seeds to it and mix properly.
Take the tea bags out now and squeeze them properly ensuring the flavours get into the water.
Pour this tea water into the rice and add 1 cup of extra water in it. The ratio is 1 cup rice:2 cups water, though at times you might need to add a little more water towards the end.
Stir it gently and cook in medium heat till the rice is tender enough, cooked and water is fully absorbed. Add some more water if you feel so. When the rice is almost 90% cooked, switch off the gas and cover with a lid. Let it get steamed for another few minutes. Usually this entire process should take anywhere between 10-18 minutes.

Special step: Take the lid out and smell the aroma. It is bound to de-stress you. Gauranteed...

Serve it hot with your choice of curry(I served it with egg curry!!).

Happy Cooking!!!

Patishapta...Pancakes with coconut and jaggery filling

 Makarsankranti is a festival which ends the harvest season and is also known as the posh sankranti in west Bengal. Patishapta...pancakes made with rice flour with a filling of coconut and jaggery is must in the bengali households along with "Pithe"... a sort of dumplings with coconut or sesame seeds and jaggery filling...lovely. I have seen my mother and grand mother making rice flour from scratch....soaking up rice and boiling it a little for the skins to come out easily...grinding them manually for long hours...thank god I can just cut the packet with a pair of scissors and use them straight from the packet.After much thought between Pithe and Patishapta, I finally decided to make patishapta to celebrate sankranti this year.  Well, as per my hubby it was not good as my mother in law's but were delicious in a different way. So here is my version of "Patishapta".

Ingredients:
For the filling
2 Cups of grated coconut ( I used the frozen grated coconut from a Srilankan shop
1 Cup Jaggery
1 Cup of grated Khoya  ( dried and solidified whole milk...is similar to ricotta cheese)-optional

In an open sauce pan, put the jaggery. It will start melting. Add the grated coconut and keep on mixing. Add on the grated khoya  and give it a good mix. It will be sticky and very hard to stir after some time of cooking. Put off the flame and let it cool.

For the pancakes
1 Cup of ground rice flour.
1/2 Cup of semolina
2 tbsp of plain flour
4-5 tbsp of light brown sugar
A pinch of salt
Veg oil for frying
A pinch of roasted sesame seeds
Water

Add all the dry ingredients and mix well. Pour in the water and give it a good mix so that no lumps in there. You might need to use your hand for this. The batter should be free flowing.

Take a non stick pan, pour in a little oil in it and spread across the pan. With the help of a ladle, pour in the batter on the frying pan and spread it evenly and quickly to make a round shape pancake. Make sure it is not very thick.
 Flip to the other side after few seconds or when the side is done. You can see, it will turn into light brown.

 If you wish, you can just place the filling on the uncooked side lengthwise and fold it.  I prefer to flip and fry the other side too. Re flip it after few seconds and place a spoon full of filling lengthwise in the centre and fold it from both sides. Once done, take them out and place on the kitchen paper.

This recipe needs a little time specially when you have to make the pancakes one by one but it worth making once or twice a year.

Sprinkle some roasted sesame seeds on them. Serve them hot or cold. They are delicious in both ways.

To serve this, traditionally whole milk is reduced in an open sauce pan with cardamom and sugar to a very thick consistency and spread over the pancakes. You can also serve them with condensed milk or maple syrup or even simple syrup. You need to a bit careful about the sugar content though.


A little tip: Once the batter is spread on the frying pan, you can cover it for a soft crepe.

Happy Cooking!!!

Pomfret In Mustard Sauce...Shorshe Pomfret

,
 Fish is cooked on a regularly basis in all bengali households in India. It is
fast to cook, good for health, absolutely delicious, available in variety and
can be cooked in about 1000 different ways. And it needs very minimal
effort and very less ingredients. I am using Pomfret here with mustard
sauce. This dish is loved by one and all in bengali households and can be
done with almost all kinds of fish.

Ingredients:

2 Big white pomfret cleaned and make incisions on it.
Salt as per taste and some for marinate
1/2 tsp Sugar
 1-2 tsp Turmeric powder
Chilly Powder as per taste
 A pinch of Nigella seeds
2-3 Green Chillies slightly split in the middle
2 medium size tomatoes cut in 4 pieces each
Chopped Coriander leaves for garnishing
3-4 tsp of Dijon Mustard paste, smooth or grains
2-3 tbsp of Oil.
Water

Marinate the fish by applying salt and turmeric and rub them well.
Mix the mustard paste in water and add the chilly powder and turmeric to
it and make a watery solution. This will help in removing the bitterness
and will also develop the flavour. Keep it aside for about 10 minutes.
Fry the pomfret slightly till light brown in a frying pan for less than 2
minutes on each side.
In a frying pan, heat the oil and add the Nigella seeds in it. Add the whole
green chillies to it till it starts to fry. Put the fried fish in the pan and pour
into the mustard watery solution and bring it to simmer. Flip the fishes to
the other sides, Add the sugar and the tomatoes and add some water to it
depending on the consistency of the gravy. You can add less water if you
want the gravy to be very thick. Cover and let it cooked for about 10
minutes. Check and adjust the seasoning. Garnish with the  coriander
leaves and serve with rice. Just perfect.

Happy Cooking!!!

Fruit Glass

If you have a kid at home, you know how difficult it is to make them eat and finish their food. But in my household, the kid is OK with fruits...the problem is with the elders. Every morning I make sure to pack one whole fruit  in their lunch boxes, just to take them out untouched in the evening. Then I started adding them in their salads and desserts. I am happy and they are too. Even when we have guest at home, I manage to serve them fruits mixed with salads or in the sweet dish or desserts.
So the idea is to present the fruits in such a way, so that they do not have to make any effort and its easier for them to just eat them....no peeling...no chopping...straight from the box to the mouth. My dish here is pretty simple...it has got kiwis and strawberries to it. Strawberries every-ones favourite but Kiwi needs a lot of effort to peel. A tip to peel Kiwi is slice a thin side from one end. Place the cut base on the chopping board so that its stand straight and start running your knife on the sides from top to bottom to take out the skin. You can peel the orange, grapefruit in the same way.

Peel the Kiwis as mentioned above to get rid of the skins. Chop the strawberries and kiwis in bite size chunks. Mix a little sugar and black salt together and mix well with the cut fruits. The black salt really enhances the taste here. Fill in the glass with the fruits till the edges. Place a dollop of fresh cream on top. Garnish with the sliced strawberry and sesame snaps. Ready in minutes and you will surely get an WOW from your guest.

Tip: If using fruits like apple, banana, mix a tsp of lime juice to the cut fruits and coat well. It will keep the fruits from turning brown.
Make your fruit cocktail with different fruits and enjoy.
Happy Cooking!!!

Schezwan Sauce- Indo version

This is my Indo version of quick schezwan sauce.

Ingredients:

2 big tomatoes chopped finely

2 tbsp of freshly grated ginger

2 tbsp of chopped garlic

2 tbp of chopped green chillies

2 tsp of dark soy sauce

2 tbsp of balsamic vinegar

1 tsp of brown sugar

1 tsp of salt or may be little less

1 tsp of red chilli flakes

a pinch of dried oregano

1 tsp of freshly grounded pepper

2 tbsp of olive oil

2 big spoon full of regular tomato ketch up

Take a deep pan and heat the olive oil. Add the ginger, garlic and green chillies to it and stir. Add the tomatoes and salt to it and cover it for some time. After few minutes, when the tomatoes have started to melt, add the other ingredients to it and mix well. Add the tomato ketch up at last. Check for the seasoning and serve it in small bowls. You can store it in jars for a week in the fridge.

Chicken Dumplings

I am a big fan of Chinese cuisine and momos are my all time favourite. Shaping the dumplings requires lot of time, patience and work. You may need to start a little early in the evening if you are planning this for dinner. This recipe is taken from Gordon Ramsay's World Kitchen from the Chinese section but as I promised in one of my earlier post, I am gonna do it with some changes. With these changes of course the effort is less and taste wise it is equally delicious. Ramsay had used minced Pork and raw Prawns for this dish but I am using stir fried chicken here. And the pastry I am using is Chinese filo pastry which is easily available in the super markets and shops. It is kept in the frozen section. They are very thin and can be used in various dishes such as spring rolls, samosas, puff patties etc. etc...

Pastry

Filo frozen pastry defrosted overnight in the fridge

Water

Filling:

250gm minced chicken. Alternatively you can mince the chicken at home by pressing and hitting it hard by your rolling pin and the chopped in to very fine pieces

2 tbsp Ginger freshly grated

1 tsp Salt or as per taste

1 tsp Pepper freshly grounded

1 tsp soft light brown sugar or regular sugar can also be used

2 tbsp light soy sauce

1 tbsp Rice Vinegar

2 tsp sesame oil

1 small onion finely chopped

3 tbsp chopped spring onions

2 tbsp coriander leaves

2 tbsp veg oil

To make the filling, on a hot pan put the veg oil. Add the ginger and onions to it and stir. As soon the onions starts to turn pink, add the minced chicken to it and mix well. Fry the chicken till it turns opaque in colour but soft. We do not need to fry it hard here. Put the other ingredients such as soy sauce, vinegar, sugar to it and mix. Pour in the sesame oil, mix and add salt and pepper to it. Just before taking it out of heat, sprinkle the spring onions and coriander leaves and give it a good mix. The whole process takes around 10-15 minutes. Check and adjust the seasoning. Keep it aside for cooling now.

For shaping the dumplings.

There are various ways in which you can shape your dumplings. You can make small little bags of rice shape and little purses or potlis. If the pastry sheets are big , you can cut it out in four squares. Take 2 squares and place them on your palm, spoon in the filling mixture in the centre, brush the rim of the pastry with water and take all the four ends together and stuck in. Make a potli shape and ensure the edges are stuck together.

Alternatively, you can also fold the sides up over the filling and make little pleats with your finger tips around the rim after brushing it with water. Make the rest of the dumplings and set aside.

For cooking the dumplings.

Put a deep pan, half filled with water on gas and place a deep glass bowl in on the water. Make sure the water level should be low. It is same as double boiler kind of arrangement. You can use the bamboo steamer lined up with parchment paper. We have be careful with the water here to avoid any spillage inside the bowl when covered. Once the water starts to boil, place your dumplings in the bowl and cover the pan. It will take around 2-3 minutes for the dumplings to cook. We will need to cook the dumplings in batches and keep the cooked one under cover to stay warm.

Serve the dumplings with schezwan sauce or with any kind of tomato based sauce. Schezwan is little hot for the kids.

A little tip from Ramsay- Make large batch and freeze some for another meal. Freeze, uncooked, on a tray lined with parchment, then pack into a rigid container. Defrost at room temperature before cooking.
Click here for my quick version of schezwan sauce

Happy Cooking!!!

Winter Vegetable Soup

Soups are my favourite... I do a lot of experimenting in soup and every time it turns out be success... this winter Veg soup is based on a tomato soup where in I have reduced the content of the tomato soup powder to half as I wanted it to be little thin and light. A lot of variations can be done here, shredded chicken can be added, a lot more fresh vegetable can be added, base flavour can be changed to leek and celery or sweet corn etc.

Ingredients:

Tomato soup powder- 1/2 sachet

Garlic- 2. cut in chunk sizes

Carrot- 1, peeled and sliced

Button/Chestnut Mushroom- few, washed and chopped in bit size

Onions- 2 tbsp, chopped finely

Cumin seeds- 1 tsp

Salt n Pepper- as per taste

Butter- 2 tbsp

Cumin Powder- 1/2 tsp

Coriander leaves- for garnishing

Water - 2 cups

Serves 2

Recipe:

Put butter in a deep bottom pan and sauté the garlic. Put in the cumin seeds, add the onions and fry them till pink, add the other vegetables and fry them for few minutes. Put cumin powder and some salt, pepper, mix well and pour in the water and bring to boil. Cover the pan. This will help in quick cooking the carrots. Add the soup powder and keep stirring continuously. Let it simmer for some time. Check for the consistency of the soup and adjust the seasoning. Avoid the lumps by stirring it. Garnish with the coriander leaves and serve piping hot.

Its yummy.

Happy Cooking!!!

Veg Noodles Soup

Winters here...and so is the time for having warm soup after a long day. This recipe is for all those who do not have to the luxury to spend long time in the kitchen. I am using here the soup sachet which are available in the super market but with a twist to enhance the flavour as well make it more nutritious for the family. A lot of vegetables can be used here...but for my recipe I am using carrot, spring onions, green peas, sweet corn and a surprise element which is there in your pantry....vermicelli...yes the noodles part is the vermicelli.

Ingredients:

Vermicelli- Just a handful, don't break them

Carrot- 1, washed, peeled and chopped

Garlic- 2 Cloves, chopped medium

Ginger- 1tsp grated

Frozen Green peas- 2 tbsp

Frozen Sweet corn- 2 tbsp

Spring Onions- chopped

Green beans- few, chopped

salt and pepper- as per taste

Butter- 2 tbsp

Dried Oregano- a pinch or two

Soup powder- any choice

Water- 2 cups

Recipe:

Put the butter in a deep bottom sauce pan, sauté the garlic and ginger in it and add all the vegetables, starting with the beans as it will take a little longer time to cook and lastly the spring onions. Cover and let the vegetables cook for 2-5 minutes. Add a little salt and freshly grinded black pepper to it. Pour in the water, cover and let it boil for few minutes on high heat. This will cook the vegetables and will make them soft, add the vermicelli while its start to boil and mix well. Once the bubbles start, add the soup powder and let it simmer for some time. Check and adjust the seasoning. Sprinkle and mix the dried oregano and serve hot.

If very hungry, serve this with bread and enjoy...

Happy Cooking!!!

Methi Paratha...Fenugreek flavoured flat breads

Methi Paratha....Our lunch time special...Very easy to make...preparation can be done may be the evening before and fresh parathas can be prepared and packed for lunch.During my stay in Pune...I came across this Dish which is actually fenugreek flavoured flat breads and a very common dish in Maharashtra's cuisine. This can be served with any curry, pickle, any sort of Dal(lentils) or even with ketch up. Though originally it is served with a dry spicy chutney of roasted peanuts with garlic and hot paprika.
Ingredients:
Fresh Fenugreek leaves- 2 bunch or optional dried fenugreek leaves
5 garlic cloves- grated
Ginger- 2 tsp grated
Coriander powder- 1 tsp
Cumin powder- 1 tsp
Salt- as per taste or 1tsp
Turmeric powder-1/2 tsp
Wheat flour- 3 cupsClarified butter
Water for dough
Recipe:
Wash the fenugreek leaves 3-4 times and put on a boil for not more than 3 minutes. Strain the water.Take the flour, put a little clarified butter on it. Add everything else including the fenugreek leaves and knead a dough, a soft one.
On your platform, sprinkle some flour and roll out a small ball from the dough in a round shape about 20p thick. This can be done with the help of a roller pin.On a hot flat pan (tawa), on medium heat, put the flat bread. after few seconds, flip it to the other side. When little pockets are visible, spread a little clarified butter on both the sides and fry it well.All the flat breads can be fried in the same way.

To keep the flat breads warm and soft, keep them inside a muslin cloth, in a close container.
P.S- If using dried fenugreeks leaves, just add them to the flour and mix well. The rest process is same.Serve them with your choice of chutney or pickle.
Happy Cooking!!!

Chicken Pot Pies

Chicken Pot Pie is a classic American food.I have chosen this dish as my first dish from WORLD'S KITCHEN for Christmas dinner but with little changes and equally delicious. The alteration I made here is as per our taste and palette. So here it goes....

Ingredients:
1 Large onion, chopped
1 large carrot, peeled and chopped
1 large potato, boiled & mashed
50 Gms plain flour
2 chicken breast, diced into chunks
salt n black pepper
ready made good quality puff pastry
honey, 2 tbsp
milk- 1 cup
50g butter
Some water
beaten egg for egg wash

In a deep pan, put the butter and melt. Add the chicken to it. Let the chicken coat with the butter, drizzle the honey over it and grind some fresh pepper to it. Sauté gently the chicken till slightly done. Add the onion and carrot to it and gently stir fry for about 10 minutes or till the veggies are cooked. Put some salt to it and stir well.
Add the flour to it and coat everything, now add the mashed potatoes,put the milk in it and give a good mix. Add the water and bring it to simmer and cook, stirring for about 5 minutes or until thickened.(The original recipe from the book uses cream and chicken stock, but I am using mashed potatoes, milk and water here). Check the seasoning, adjust it and let it cool slightly.

Preheat the oven to 180 degree Celsius. Spoon the filling into individual pot pies. Roll out the pastry, cut out a round shape and cover the pots as a lid. With slight touch of water, carefully press the edges to cover the pots properly. From the cut outs, you can re roll and take out designs to decorate it as wish. Brush the pastry with egg wash.
Bake the pie in the oven for 25-30 minutes or until the pastry is golden and done. Let it stand for few minutes and serve.

Serves 4, lot of variations in the filling and decoration can be done.

Happy Cooking!!!

Aniseed Brussels sprouts Pasta

Again a Pasta dish....but a veg one...very quick and filling....no extra
effort....this one has got fennel seeds in it which gives a very subtle
taste to it...well aniseed/fennel, onions and olive oil is a great
combination....you can try out different recipes with this
combination. so here it goes....

Ingredients:

Pasta- Any shape
Onion- 2 big, sliced thinly
brussel- 7-8 cleaned and cut into halves
aniseed/fennel seeds-1 tsp
cherry tomatoes- a few, washed and into halves
sugar- 1/2 tsp
salt- as per requirement
cheddar cheese- grated
basil- dried, 1/2 tsp
olive oil- 2 big tbsp and some extra to drizzle


Recipe:

Boil the pasta as per the instruction on the packet till al dente.

Once done, take out the pasta and do not throw the water.
On a pan, put the olive oil and aniseed/fennel seeds and dried basil
leaves. Add the onions and fry till light pink....do not over fry them.
Add the brussels and fry for 2 minutes on a low heat. We need to
be careful about not to over fry the vegatables. Add the sugar and
salt on it the pasta and mix well....
Add the cherry tomatoes towards the end and mix very
gently.....sprinkle the cheese and mix well on the pan.
Just before moving it out, drizzle some olive oil on the pasta and
gently give a good mix....and its ready....

Ready in minutes and a very light, yummy and filling too...
specially the last add up of extra Extra virgin olive oil makes it too
yummy....

Tips: If you feel the dish a bit dry, just use the water from the boiled pasta to moist it. Do take care of the salt while cooking as the water already have salt in it.

Happy Cooking!!!