Lemon Chicken

When it comes to chicken, for one reason or the other, I don't seem to follow recipes ever. This was whipped up on a day when there was not enough time for marination, and I didn't feel like making a "buna hua" chicken either. Since there was a bok choy in the fridge, that went into the dish, and it came out pretty good.

1 curry cut chicken
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp olive oil
1 head buk choy
Salt to taste
1 tbsp chilli flakes

Method:
Wash and clean the chicken. Prick holes in it using a fork, and marinate in a mixture of (half the) olive oil, lemon juice, salt and chilli flakes for about 30 minutes.
Heat a pan, heat the remaining oil, and toss the chicken on medium heat till well browned (about 10 minutes).
Add the reserved marinade and shredded buk choy, cover, reduce to a low flame and allow it to cook for about 20 minutes till the chicken is well done. 

Vegan orange cupcakes

I haven't been baking much these last few months, and though I kept promising myself I would bake a cake for various occasions, they came and went without anything going into the oven. New Year's Eve was my last chance to redeem myself, and even though I could think of a dozen excuses not to, I weighted out the ingredients, and in no time at all had myself a lovely batch of cup cakes. I hope the next lot isn't this late in coming!

1 cup all purpose flour
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
a pinch of salt
¾ cup orange juice
½ cup powdered sugar

¼ cup olive oil

½ tsp orange zest
1 tbsp custard powder or corn flour

Method: Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.
Sieve flour, with corn flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Keep aside.
Mix the oil and sugar, and beat well till well blended and creamy.
Add orange juice to the sugar and oil mixture, and mix well.
Add the sieved flour mixture and orange zest and mix well ensuring there are no lumps in the batter.
Pour into a greased cake tin, or cupcake liners, and bake for 15 to 20 minutes (15 minutes for cup cake, 20-25 for a regular cake), till a toothpick inserted into that batter comes out clean.
Serve hot or cold.

Candied orange peel

There is a glut of oranges now, and when I saw a recipe to use the rind, I had to try it out. Unfortunately, I wasn't very careful in removing the pith, and there is a slight undertone of bitter in the candied orange, but it does taste really good with curds.

Peel of 8 oranges
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup water


Method:
Cut the orange peel into strips, and soak in water for 4-6 hours. Remove the white part of the peel, making sure nothing is left behind.
Heat 1 1/2 cups water in a pan, add 1 cup sugar, and stir till it dissolves completely.
Add orange peel. Bring to a boil, then reduce the flame and allow it to simmer for 30 minutes till the rind starts turning translucent.
Pour into a sterilized container, and either have it as such, or use in cooking

Curly-wurly lemon pickle

I am not too fond of lemon pickle, but I fell in love with how this pickle by Renu Dheer looked, and couldn't wait to try it out myself. All the proportions are by andaz (and I am not yet sure if I need to add a bit more of something or not), but I do know that I like it a lot. I also know that had I been a fan of lemon pickles, I would like it a lot more than I actually do!

4 lemons
1 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp garam masala
1 tsp red chilli powder
1/4 tsp hing

Method:
Squeeze the juice into a small sterilized jar.
Turn the lemon inside out and with the thumb and forefinger, pull out the pith. With a small pair of scissors, cut out thin spirals till the centre. Put these in the jar with the lemon juice. 
Add salt to taste, and put the sealed jar in the sun for a week.
Add red chillie powder, hing, a pinch of garam masala and some sugar, and put it out in the sun again for a couple of days.
Excellent with parathas.

Polemo salad

I bought a big fat polemo, and after eating half of it as a fruit, wanted to do something different with the rest. This is adapted from a Vietnemese recipe, and is absolutely lovely. While the original recipe called for shrimps, I dropped it completely and was satisfied with the result.

1/2 polemo peeled and desegmented
1 cucumber chopped into fine pieces
1/3 cup peanuts, roasted and crushed slightly

2 tbsp mint leaves, crushed
3 pods garlic crushed
2 tbsp fish sauce/ soya sauce
1 1/2 tbsp lime juice
1 tsp chilli sauce
1 tsp sugar
salt to taste

Method:
Mix the fish/ soya sauce, lime juice, chilli sauce, sugar, garlic and mint leaves. Add a little water, if required so the sugar dissolves
Toss the polemo segments and cucumber, add the dressing, and mix well.
Let it refrigerate for1 hour. Add salt to taste, and mix well.
Add the roasted peanuts before serving.