Maharashtrian inspired Dry Chicken

One of the side effects of having a dog in the family is the fact that you often have chicken in the freezer. This was something I invented as a top up dish.

500 gms chicken

1 medium onion, chopped fine

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp Maharashtrian Goud masala

1 tsp sesame seeds

1 red chillis

1 sprig curry leaves

2 tbsp cooking oil

Salt to taste

Method:

Heat the oil. Splutter the mustard seeds, add onions, red chilli and curry leaves and saute till the onions turn transparent.

Add chicken, and fry on high heat to fix the juices.

Remove the onions, and reserve them. Add sesame seeds, masala and salt to taste, mix well, cover and let the chicken cook. When almost done, return the onions, and fry for another minute or two.

Serve with rotis and dal.

Cauliflower Chilli Fry

When there are only so many vegetables your family eats, you try to find new ways of cooking it, so they don't get tired of those few veggies also. This cauliflower was super yummilicious. But I am not sure if I will make it again, because it was far too messy. But again, given the fact that even the Younger One lapped it up, maybe I should make it again though not too soon.

1 cup diced cauliflower3 tsp curd
2 green chillies
4-5 curry leaves


For the Batter to coat the Cauliflower:
2 tbsp rice flour
Red chilli powder, to season
Salt to taste
Water
Oil to deep fry

 

 

Method

Mix all ingredients to make a thick batter or paste.

To this add the cauliflower and deep fry. Keep aside.

Heat oil in a pan and lightly saute the curry leaves.

Add green chillies and curd.

Finally add the cauliflower. Mix well.

Serve pipping hot, either as a starter or with rice and dal.

Gobi Manchurian

The hubby wanted Chinese, the kids didn't want to order food (no, it is not any great love for my cooking- they wanted me in the kitchen so nobody would pester them to study). There was half a cauliflower in the fridge, so I decided to sacrifice my chilla, and make Gobi Manchurian instead.

Cauliflower- 1 medium (or 1/2 large), broken into florets

For the batter: 

Cornflour - 3 tbsp
Maida - 2.5 tbsp
Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste

For the gravy:

Oil - 2 tbsp
Garlic - 1.5 tbsp sliced thin
Spring onion white part - 1 tsp
Spring onion green part - 1 tbsp
Big Onion - 1 chopped finely
Green Chilli sauce - 3/4 tsp
Soya sauce - 1/8 tsp
Tomato sauce - 2.5 tbsp
Cornflour - 2 tsp mixed with 3 tbsp water (I used the leftover batter instead)
Salt - to taste

Method:

Mix all the above ingredients listed under 'for the batter' with little water to form a thick paste.

Boil water and add cauliflower florets, salt and turmeric powder. Cook only till half boiled, drain water and keep aside.

Marinate the boiled cauliflower florets in the batter, mix well and leave it marinated for 15 mins.

Heat the oil, and fry the cauliflower florets till brown.

Heat oil and add sliced garlic,spring onion white part saute for 2 mins then add onion and saute till slightly browned. 

Now add the green chilli sauce, soya sauce mix well in high flame for a minute. 

Simmer,add tomato sauce and little water say 1/4 cup water, add cornflour water mixture of you are adding then allow it boil and come to a sauce consistency.

Now add gobis. Mix well again for 3-4 minutes for the flavours to get blended well with the gobis. The gobi pieces should be a little crisp and not soggy at this stage.

Add salt to taste, garnish with spring onions, and serve as a starter, or with Fried Rice or Noodles.

Basil chicken

After the success of the ginger chicken, I was dying to try out something else. When I saw the basil at the vegetable vendor's, I took that as a sign that I should make this basil chicken from MM's kitchen. And yes, it was lovely. Noodles with a dry chicken dish is going to become a regular at my place now!

Chicken, boneless thighs, 300 gm

Onion, sliced, 1 large

Bell peppers, 1” square pieces, as much or as little as you want ( I only had red)

Plain Cashew nuts, broken (so that Hubz feels I have added enough even though I haven’t), a handful and then some more!!

Garlic, sliced, 3-4 cloves

Dried red chilies, 4-5 (or fresh if you can find)

Basil leaves, about a cup

Dark Soy Sauce, 1 tbsp

Thai Chili paste, about 1 tbsp (if you don’t have this, soak some dried red chilies in water and then grind adding some vinegar and brown sugar)

Fish sauce, 1 tbsp

Brown Sugar, 1 tsp

Oil, 2 tbsp

- See more at: http://mmskitchenbites.blogspot.in/2013/05/cashew-chicken-with-basilhave-10.html#sthash.Y88XsoxD.dpuf

Chicken, boneless thighs, 300 gm

Onion, sliced, 1 large

Bell peppers, 1” square pieces, as much or as little as you want ( I only had red)

Plain Cashew nuts, broken (so that Hubz feels I have added enough even though I haven’t), a handful and then some more!!

Garlic, sliced, 3-4 cloves

Dried red chilies, 4-5 (or fresh if you can find)

Basil leaves, about a cup

Dark Soy Sauce, 1 tbsp

Thai Chili paste, about 1 tbsp (if you don’t have this, soak some dried red chilies in water and then grind adding some vinegar and brown sugar)

Fish sauce, 1 tbsp

Brown Sugar, 1 tsp

Oil, 2 tbsp

- See more at: http://mmskitchenbites.blogspot.in/2013/05/cashew-chicken-with-basilhave-10.html#sthash.Y88XsoxD.dpuf

Chicken, boneless thighs, 300 gm
Onion, sliced, 1 large
Bell peppers, 1" square pieces
Plain Cashew nuts, broken, a handful and then some more!!
Garlic, sliced, 3-4 cloves
Dried red chilies, 4-5 (or fresh if you can find)
Basil leaves, about a cup
Dark Soy Sauce, 1 tbsp
Thai Chili paste, about 1 tbsp (if you don't have this, soak some
dried red chilies in water and then grind adding some vinegar and
brown sugar)
Fish sauce, 1 tbsp
Brown Sugar, 1 tsp
Oil, 2 tbsp

Method:
Remove any excess fat and wash the chicken. Wipe dry and cut into bite
sized pieces.
Leave it to marinate with the chili paste, sugar, soy sauce and fish
sauce. Keep aside.
Soak the dried red chilies in a little warm water. When they go soft,
remove and cut diagonally into slightly large pieces. Keep aside.
Heat oil in a wok/large pan over the medium-high heat and add about a
teaspoon of oil. Add cashew nuts, and fry until golden then remove
from the pan and keep aside.
Wipe the pan clean and add the balance oil.
Add the chilies, garlic, onions and fry till onions go soft.
Add in the chicken with the marinade and toss around for a few minutes
on each side till is almost done. Add in bell peppers and half of the
basil leaves and mix well.
Cook till chicken gets done.
Check for seasonings and adjust to taste. Add in the fried cashews and
rest of the basil leaves. Mix well and serve over steamed rice.

Ginger Chicken

I am not a great believer in Valentine's Day. Actually, scratch that- I am not a believer in Valentine's Day at all. But I still wanted to make something "special" today, only because I could.
After going through a bunch of recipes, I decided to try out this 'ginger chicken' recipe from MM's blog. I wasn't able to fry the chicken, so had to cook the whole thing after attempting to fry it, but the speed with which it disappeared makes me want to try it out again, soon.

Chicken thighs, boneless and skinless, 500 gms (I used curry cut chicken, because that's all I could get)
Onions, finely chopped, 1 large
Light Soy Sauce
4 tbsp Vinegar
4 tsp Honey
2 tbsp Fresh Ginger, finely grated
2 tbsp Oil
2 tbsp Water
about ¼ cup Sesame seeds
1 tbsp (optional) Green onions, for garnishing
Salt and Pepper, if needed, to taste

Method
Wash and clean the chicken. Remove all the extra fat and cut into bite sized pieces.
Whisk together the light soy sauce, vinegar, honey, and ginger together in a bowl. Add in the chicken and mix well. Marinate for at least half an hour. Once ready to cook, strain the chicken from the marinade and keep aside.
Heat a wok or frying pan over medium heat and add oil. Once hot, add the chicken and stir fry in batches till almost done. Do remember that the chicken and marinade have honey in it so if the pan is too hot , the sugar will burn and get bitter; if the pan is too cool, chicken will braise in its own water instead of frying. Please adjust heat accordingly. Once done, take the chicken out and keep aside
Add the chopped onion and the reserved marinade to the pan. Fry for 10-15 seconds and add the water.
Let the mixture come to a boil and reduce the heat. Let it simmer for a couple of minutes till onions go soft and the sauce reduces to coating consistency. Check and adjust seasonings.
Add the chicken back in and mix well. At this stage, I covered the dish, and let it cook for about 15 minutes because I wasn't sure if it was done.
Add in the sesame seeds, mix and take the chicken off heat.
Garnish with green onions and serve with rice or noodles.

Bread maki

I was looking for something to rustle up for lunch, and found a recipe for "bread maki" by Sanjivni Yatin. Got the proportions all mixed up,so it doesn't look nicely rolled up like hers did, but this is healthier, because it has more carrots.

3 slices white bread
1 medium carrot, grated
green mint chutney

Remove the edges of the bread, and roll over with a rolling pin, to flatten it.
Spread a layer of mint chutney, arrange a layer of grated carrots (with salt to taste), and roll it tightly
Cut each roll into three pieces.

You can also sprinkle the leftover carrots and some sev on top like I did before eating.

Chicken Lal Mirch

"It is too teekha", said Thing 2, but when I assured him it was not, he polished off the chicken.
"Why have you made boiled chicken", asked his father. Before taking a bite and decclaring, "Accha hai!"
For a dish that can be whipped up so easily, this recipe of MP's is surprisingly effective.

You need chicken drumsticks
I marinated about 10 drumsticks with
1 and 1/2 table spoon lemon juice
1 table spoon Kashmiri chilli powder for colour
Salt

Heat ghee
Add chicken and fry on high for 5-7 minutes till the juices are sealed.
Then cook on low
Add 20 cloves of garlic
10-15 Kashmiri chillies (unbroken) while the chicken is being cooked
The chicken cooks in it's own juices and just has the flavour of ghee and these

Works really nicely as a starter and can even be made with boneless chicken. At times, I even sprinkle a bit of coarsely ground fresh pepper and a little more lemon juice for a slightly tangier taste before serving

Pepper aloo

Didn't have pudina, so no minty/ herby stuff. Didn't want to make a traditional gravy. Which left not too many options. Adapted m-i-l's chicken recipe for this.

Boil baby potatos till almost done (I left it partially done thinking it would cook a bit more in the steam, but it didn't).
In a kadhai take 1 tbsp oil, 4 tbsp vinegar, 2 tbsp soy sauce, 1 1/2 tbsp pepper coarsely ground (leave a few unground), salt to taste. Mix well
Peel potatoes, prick with a fork and let it marinate in the kadhai for 15 minutes, turning over once 8-10 minutes (I did not do this, and the taste did not permeate the potatoes).
Cook on low heat, stirring occasionally, till the gravy thickens.
Serve without onions, coriander or green chillies.

Without the marination, this works really well with mushrooms. Made it once at my father-in-law's place, and the Aunties polished it off faster than the Uncles took for the shammi kababs.

[I normally make this with chicken, which releases a lot of water, so the cooking time is about 45 minutes (instead of 5 minutes for this). Hence, the need to marinate, so the taste doesn't just stick to the outside.
It has a tart taste, and you might want to add a bit of sugar to kill it- I don't. Changing the ratio of vinegar and soy sauce (2:1) kills the recipe- that is the only thing that is sacrosanct.]

Jalapeno poppers

We had these poppers at the dinner to celebrate hubby's birthday, and to my surprise, both kids loved them, despite my repeatedly warning them they were "mirchi" and therefore "teekha". I went through a bunch of recipes for poppers, and ultimately managed to recreate something similar to the stuff we had.

 
250 gms jalapenos
Cheddar cheese - you need to grate as much as you think you will need
2-3 tablespoons of hung curd (curd hung so all the water drains out)
Cornflour & maida- equal parts, amount by approximation
Milk
Salt
Pepper

Wash jalapenos, slit lenghwise and remove seeds (I removed the stalk too)
Mix grated Cheddar cheese with hung curd, and stuff the jalapenos.
In a separate dish, make a batter with cornflour and maida and milk. The batter should be the same consistency as pakoda batter. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Dip jalapenos in the batter, and deep fry. I wanted to be too smart and tried to shallow fry- bad idea, because the coating didn't hold well.
When golden brown, take off the oil, drain on kitchen tissues, and serve hot.

Eggplant-cottage cheese coins

The other day, I found myself the proud owner of two tiny brinjals that were ready to die in my arms. Not wanting to waste them I adapted my eggplant-cottage cheese casserole recipe to make these "coins", and they tasted good enough for me to make them again this weekend.

 
 Brinjal/ eggplant- 2 medium sized
Paneer/ cottage cheese- 50 gms
Ground pepper- to taste
Onion- half small, chopped fine
Tomato puree- 3 tablespoons
Salt, red chillie powder, oregano- to taste
Cheese

Dice brinjals, rub salt, and keep aside for 10 minutes for the water to let.
On a shallow pan, fry brinjal slices till lightly browned.
Keep aside, and in the same oil, put tomato puree, salt, oregano, chili powder and cook for about a minute.
Crumble the paneer, add chopped onions, salt and pepper and mix well.
On an ovenproof dish, lay one layer of brinjal slices, top with paneer, lay second layer of brinjal slices, and a spoonful of tomato paste. Top with grated cheese and grill till cheese melts.

I ate with rotis, but will be good as a stand-alone dish too.