Eggs ..Shakshuka

Preparation time:10 minutes

Cooking time :15 minutes

Level: easy

To serve 2

 Shakshuka is a Middle Eastern breakfast recipe, also very popular in the African continent. Most people in Israel enjoy this simple and easy yet delicious recipe for lunch and dinner too.

I was introduced to this when our son a final year hotel management student who had to do a project on eggs- 10 egg recipes, and that's how Shakshuka came to our home .When I can't make up my mind on what to cook for dinner...

Only one answer comes to mind...and that's Shakshuka. I usually cook this for cold winter dinners, it's so quick and I enjoy it with a hot crunchy buttery toast.

For all those who haven't tried,must give it a try and you won't regret it. It's worth a try.

It's an easy recipe, eggs are poached in a tomato sauce and garnished with parsley.

Sharing my version

Ingredients :

• 4 overripe soft tomatoes
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp ginger and garlic paste
• 1-2 green chillies
• 2 medium-sized capsicum

• Fresh parsley
• 3 tsp olive oil or any other oil( do not use mustard oil)

Cooking direction:

• Heat oil in a large shallow pan
• Add green chillies slit in two
• To this add chopped onion
• Cook till colour changes

• To the onions add ginger and garlic

Add finely chopped capsicum

Cook till the colour starts changing

Add finely chopped tomatoes and add salt.

(You can add tomato paste about 2 tbsp) 

Cook till mushy

Make an indention in the sauce and crack open one egg in each indention.

Cover and cook till egg whites are firm

Garnish with parsley.

Sprinkle freshly ground pepper.

Chicken 65( South Indian)

Let your gastronomical juices flow;

Chicken 65 is a lip-smacking dish, I somehow thought that it was a Chinese dish with an Indian twist to it....what they call "fusion" in the culinary school.

Well, I am wrong as my South Indian friend proudly pointed it out as a dish from down South. 

I set out to educate myself and settle all arguments. To my surprise, it is displayed on every menu which serves meat and fish.

There are many stories about it's origin some going down to the weirdest that I have ever heard.

Mr Buhari from Kerela proudly displayed this in bold letters on his menu as he wanted the 1965 Indo Pakistan war soldiers to eat a nice chicken dish.

My doubts put to rest, as it's very much an authentic dish of the Indian subcontinent.

Now straight to the recipe.

What you need:Chicken (preferably ) boneless, can use bony too

At least 500 gms. Can double the recipe, you won't have leftovers.

•   500 gms Chicken 
• 2 tbsp cornflour
• 2 tbsp refined flour
• 1tsp red chilly powder
• 1tsp pepper powde1/2 tbsp Coriander powder
• 1/4 tsp turmeric
• Lemon juice
• 1 egg

Oil for frying

Use the above ingredients to marinate the chicken

Let it marinate for 15-20 minutes

Now fry over a moderate flame till nice and golden and crisp.

Ingredients for the sauce

1. 1/2 cup yoghurt
2. Some curry leaves
3. 1 tsp coriander powder
4. 1 tsp Salt( or to your taste)
5. 1 tsp chilly powder

Mix the above with 2-3 tbsp of water

Cooking instructions 

•  Heat a pan 
• Add two tsp oil
• Season with cumin seeds, green chillies 

• Add the curd mixture cook for a minute or two
• Add the fried chicken and garnish with spring onions

I have my version to it by adding soy sauce instead of curd.

After all you are going to eat it, so give it a free hand , let you innovative spirits flow.

Have fun!

Homemade chicken sausages

Homemade Chicken sausages without casing

Preparation time:15-20 minutes

Cooking time:20 minutes

Level: easy

One of the most interesting recipes I have learnt over the years is how to make Chicken sausages at home...

Preservative-free, no plastic casing, easy on spices and just the way you would like it.

I used to live in a small town where we were solely dependant on the Central Dairy farm at Aligarh for sausages, ham, salami. It was all fine, till our store shut down permanently. Missed all the goodies, but life passed on.

One day my newly married daughter told me she had learnt how sausages were made at home.

I was very enthusiastic and set out to master the art the coming weekend.

The first try was not bad. I have then perfected the trick of the trade with a variety of flavours.

You need boneless chicken breast and a good mixer grinder. I shaped them in a cling film wrap and they turned out so perfectly shaped.

Once they are shaped you put them in  a pot of boiling water for about 15 minutes.

Cool, open the wrap, fry them till crispy on the outside.

I will walk you through the recipe step by step

Ingredients

500 gms boneless chicken

1 tsp ginger and garlic paste

Salt to taste 

Pepper as per your taste

Parsley 

Basil leaves (few)

Chilly flakes as per your taste

1tsp cooking oil

Lemon juice(optional)

Method

Grind all the above into a fine paste

Now spread cling film on the work area

Spoon two scoops on the film

Shape into a long cylinder

Roll the wrap nicely and secure ends

Do the same with all the mince

In a large pot boil water and boil all the sausages for 15-20 minutes( the water should be a rolling boil)

Remove and chill 20 minutes

Remove the cling wrap and fry the sausages

And they are done.

You can flavour them with mustard sauce soy sauce, Schezewan sauce, garam masala if you want them spicy.

Note

These can be stored in the freezer for up to two weeks.

Chicken biryani

Chicken Biryani

         Preparation time :15 minutes

         Marination time:45 minutes

        Cooking time:60 minutes 

           Level: moderate

 Biryani is a Mughlai cuisine. It comes from the word" Bri an" which means to fry before cooking and "Biriang" the Persian word for rice. 

"To fry rice before cooking."

 It is now a very popular cuisine of the Indian subcontinent.

There are many types of Biryani and it is the most loved and sought after cuisine. Each state has its version Hyderabadi, Kolkata, lucknavi, Sindhi, Dindigul.

It is an aromatic rice cooked with a combination of meat of your choice.  

Mutton, egg, potato, vegetable Biryani is also very popular in the indian sub continent.

Historically we find that in 1398 Timur, the Turkish Mongol brought Biryani to India, it was his daily food.

But there are so many stories of its origin.

There are two most popular types of cooking biryani. 

Dum pukht or cooking over a slow charcoal fire

is the most widely used method

 Vkacchi biryani where all ingredients are raw and these are cooked in steam over a charcoal fire.

The other the "pakki yakhni " where the mutton /chicken and the rice is semi-cooked, and then it's layered,  in a large container, sealed and cooked in steam over a charcoal fire.

Both variations are equally enjoyed.

Now moving to the recipe

Ingredients 

• 750 gms chicken with bone
• 4 cups of basmati long grain rice
• A few strands of saffron soaked in 1/2 cup milk

Spices A

Biryani masala:

• 1 stick cinnamon
• 6 green cardamon
• 2 back cardamon
• Half nutmeg

• Small piece of mace
• 4 cloves
• 2 bay leaf
• Peppercorn
• 2 tsp fennel seeds
• 2 tsp crushed coriander seeds 
• 1-star anise

Dry roast all the above and grind into a fine powder.

Spices B

• 2 large onions finely sliced
• 3 tsp ginger and garlic paste
• 1 tsp Kashmiri red chilly powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• 2 tsp coriander
• Salt to taste
• 3/4 cup hung curd
• 3/4 cup ghee

Spices C (Additional)

Keep aside : ( for tempering)

•  3 green cardamon
•  2 cloves

• 1 black cardamom 
• 1bay leaf

• Mint leaves
• Cilantro

Method

Step 1:

• Fry the onion slices till crisp and golden brown.

•  Wash & Soak rice for 45 minutes 

Step 2:

Marination

• Use a large bowl
• Add washed chicken
• To this put the curd
• Add 2 tbsp of ground biryani masala in (spices A)
• Add a handful of fried onions
• Ginger garlic paste
• Salt and chilly powder
• Mint and cilantro 
• Mix and marinate for 30-45 minutes 

Step 3:

Cooking the rice

• In a large cooking pot boil lots of water, add 2-3 tsp of salt and two cloves, 1 bay leaf and black cardamon.  Add soaked rice and boil for 3-5 minutes or till  80% cooked, strain and keep aside.

Step 4

Cooking the chicken

• In a handi or large heavy bottom pan 
• Heat ghee, to this add cumin seeds
• Let it splutter 
• Add the ginger and garlic paste fry till colour changes
• Add the chicken pieces, (save the marinade)
• Fry till the raw smell changes to roasted aroma
• Add the marinade.
• Cook till80%

Step 5

Dum pukht

• In a heavy bottom pan
• Add ghee
• Add cumin and Bay leaf
• Layer rice and then 1 layer of chicken
• Handful of fried onion, mint and cilantro and pinch of  biryani masala
• Repeat till you reach the brim
• Pour saffron milk and last handful of fried onion.

• Cover with a fitting lid
• Cook over a slow flame for 15 minutes
• Remove after 15 minutes
• Put some ghee , cover and let it rest for half-hour.( during this wait resting period the flavours enhance )
• Dish out and serve

Rogan ghosht

Preparation time :20 minutes

Cooking time : 75 minutes

Level :moderate

Country of origin : the Indian sub continent

 Rogan ghosht ( mutton )is a Kashmiri Cuisine, brought to India by the Mughals. It is was originally from Persian cuisine. It is an aromatic curried meat dish and it gets its beautiful rich colour from the Kashmiri chillies.  The traditional recipe uses a flower called Alkanna which gave its colour"Roghnus Ghosht''

Many adaptions of the dish have come up, the Muslims used yoghurt and is slow-cooked over a charcoal fire, they also use saffron strands to give it a nice colour.

Moreover, its Punjab adaption uses a tomato-based gravy which is stewed in aromatic spices.

Sharing my son's recipe:

Harry's version 

Ingredients:

• 500gms mutton ( ribs and& thigh)
• 500gms onions
• 1/2 cup mustard oil

• 1 tbsp ginger and garlic paste

Spices (A)

• 2 black cardamon
• 6 green cardamom a
• 6 cloves
• 1 stick cinnamon
• 2 bay leaf.
• 1/2 tsp asafoetida

Spices (B)

• 1/4 tbsp dry ginger powder
• 1/4 tbsp fennel powder
• 1 tsp Powdered Kashmiri red chillies
• 1/2 cup hung curd
• 1/4 tsp asafoetida

Directions

• Finely slice the onions
• Heat the mustard oil in a pan till its smoky
• Switch off the flame, cool the oil

•  To the oil add asafoetida, and bay leaf
• Add :

• Spices A

• Let it sizzle,
• Add onions and fry till crispy and golden-hued (20 minutes)
• Add ginger-garlic paste 
• Now add the meat and roast till the colour starts changing to a brownish colour.
• Season with salt
• Add water and let it simmer for 25 minutes with the lid on.

If you're a foodie, then you need a workout. The kitchen is ideal for a torso work out. And you have 25 minutes on hand while the meat is simmering.

The kitchen also has a host of beauty products use them. This is the time.

Now the second part of cooking add 

Spices B

 Keep stirring till well incorporated, check the water if required, add some, let it stew another 25 minutes or till done

Dish it out and garnish with cilantro

Have an enjoyable dinner!

Bon appetit

 

Kebabs

Shami kebabs 

Preparation time 1 hour

Cooking time  15 minutes in pressure cooker and 5-7 frying time

Who doesn't like kebabs?

 Non-vegetarian Indian cuisine seems incomplete without these delicious, lip-smacking kebabs on it's menu.

I have been raised up in a home where we had kebabs for our evening snack, meal, appetiser and leftovers became kebab rolls and were eaten for breakfast.

I have made shami kebabs from the time I was old enough to help my mother make them and know the recipe and ingredients so well, I don't have to look up the recipe book.

Ingredients

• 750 gms mince (with some fat) beef/mutton/chicken
• 250 gms Bengal gram (for mutton mince use 300gms) for chicken mince 200gms.
• Ginger 1inch piece 
• Garlic 7-10 cloves
• Black Cardamon 
• Green Cardamon
• 4cloves
• Cinnamon stick
• Bay leaf
• Peppercorns
• 4 green chillies
• Salt to taste
• Cilantro
• Onion
• Green chillies
• 1 egg for binding(optional)

Method

• In a pressure cooker add the mince, Bengal gram and all the spices and salt and pressure cook for 3 whistles , reduce flame  after the first whistle and let it cook (15 minutes)
• Let the steam cool down, open the lid and cook till it's dry.
• Remove on a plate and cool
• When it's still slightly warm put it in a grinder and pulse till it's smooth and spices have been blended well 
• Remove on a large plate
• To this add finely chopped fresh cilantro, green chillies onion and ginger. 
• Add one egg for binding.
• Now shape into balls and flatten them with your hands to make round patties
• Put them in the fridge for 20 minutes to set
• Shallow fry on a skillet over medium heat till both sides are done.

Can eat with roti/Naan/parantha /poori.

We enjoy it with a green chutney made with cilantro.

Note

Vegetarians can replace mince with soya chunks. The ingredients and cooking process remains the same

These are a good source of protein.

The spices used are commonly used in day to day cooking

Fresh celery is a powerhouse of vitamin C 

Chicken tikka

Preparation time 2 1/2 hours

Cooking time 20 minutes on one side

Level easy

Country of Origin India

 Chicken Tikka is a starter, very popular in the North Indian region. With the Indian population migrating to other parts of the world, indian cuisine too has witnessed a change. . It's very popular in Asian countries and some Middle Eastern Countries.

It's marinade is made of the tandoori masala and it's flavours are it's best when it's done on a coal Brazier. However now with modern kitchen equipment, it can be done in a microwave oven too. 

Tandoori masala can be made at home and stored in an airtight container and it remains fresh and aromatic up to two months.

Sharing my recipe:

Tandoori masala

• 1 tsp each:
• Coriander
• Cummin
• Garlic powder
• Ginger powder
• Fenugreek (dried )leaves
• Mace 
• Nutmeg
• Peppercorns

Dry roast, grind into a powder and store

Ingredients for tikka(use boneless pieces)750gms

First Marinade:.

Wash and dry pat chicken pieces

Rub salt, ginger and garlic paste and lemon juice. Keep aside for minimum 30 minutes

Note:Salt and lemon remove any smell

Salt seasons all the pieces evenly

Second Marinade:

•  1 cup  thick Yoghurt 
• 2-3 tsp tandoori masala
• Red chilly powder( Kashmiri chillies are milder)
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
•  1 tsp Ginger and garlic paste
• 2,3 tsp hot mustard oil( for readers overseas use refined oil)
• Mix all the ingredients in yoghurt and rub over the chicken pieces and leave aside for at least 2 hours.

Dice onions  and capsicum  into pieces and cut tomatoes into rings.

Preheat oven to 180 degrees 

Take skewers and put one piece chicken , onion and capsicum, tomato slices and repeat (see image)

Arrange skewers on a baking tray and grill for 20 minutes and turn the skewers till done

You can also do it on a skillet over your gas stove.

This is a very good starter to serve with pre-dinner drinks

This is the way it's usually made.

However , sometimes we don't have all the ingredients or we don't have a microwave oven

Then I would say " friends don your thinking cap and innovate"

Pork vindaloo, a goan spicy treat

Preparation time: 20 minutes+marination time

Cooking time : till the meats tenderizes over slow flame

Level :Medium

.

A brief history :

 Vindaloo is a Goan pork delicacy. Its origin is from the Portuguese. mariners and soldiers who came to India,  preserved their meat in garlic and wine in barrels. The Goans adopted this when the Portuguese left and modified it, they used fiery hot chillies, along with ginger and garlic and the wine was replaced by the vinegar.(During the process of fermentation for wine,  any air in the container turns wine into vinegar)

Vindaloo became popular during colonial Rule. 

For Goan festivals:

Goans make this for the festive season. Every household will have this for Christmas, Easter& observations of feasts. 

Vindaloo is enjoyed with a bowl of steaming hot rice.., 

 Now Vindaloo is made from Beef, pork, chicken, prawns.

An overview:

 It is marinated with a paste which is made of fiery hot chillies, ginger and garlic & vinegar  and it is then left to rest for 4 -5 hours,  even up to a whole night.  It is then cooked over a slow flame for another couple of hours, till the meat is tender.

It tastes better after a few hours. 

Ingredients: 

• 500 gms pork, or any meat of your choice
•  2 tbsp ginger &garlic paste 
• Fiery red chillies as per your taste
• Kashmiri chillies as per your taste soaked in vinegar.( these chillies give it's red colour
• Salt as per your taste

Cooking instructions:

• Wash and dry meat
• Make a marinade with ginger and garlic paste vinegar and chillies.
• Put the meat in it for a couple of hours, even overnight.
• Cook in slow flame, no need to add any cooking medium as pork releases it's fat.
• For other meat a few spoonfuls will do.

Note: the authentic vindaloo doesn't use onions or tomatoes. But I leave that to your discretion.

Parantha...all time favourite

Country of Origin 

India, Pakistan and Bangladesh

Level: easy 

Preparation time 20 minutes

Cooking time:5-7 minutes 

Tips for making healthy paranthas

• Use whole-wheat or multigrain flour
• Use 1/2 milk and 1/2water to knead
• Cook on both sides and then smear ghee for a crisp parantha
• Use vegetable/dal/paneer/nutrela mince chicken /mutton mince filling

Shredded Chicken and cheese parantha

This parantha is very easy and doesn't require much preparation. I like to save Chicken shreds they are handy for a quick sandwich or parantha

Knead the flour with salt and carrom seeds and make a soft dough.

For the filling:

• Slice onions and saute along with chicken shred .season with salt and pepper. Garlic gives it a nice flavour.
• Cool and grate processed cheese and mix 

Cooking Directions:

• Take a ball of kneaded flour,
• Flatten it with your hands
• Roll out into a circular shape
• Put filling in the centre close the sides make a ball.
• Roll out and put it on a hot Tawa(skillet) 
• Cook both sides and smear ghee to make a crisp parantha,
• Serve with yoghurt raita

Queema(mince) filling 

 

One of my favourites. I like to have Queema handy, mutton or chicken. It's, very nutritious and a high source of protein and one is enough to get you the energy level that you require for a few hours.

Ingredients

• 500gms chicken/ mutton Queema or mince.  large onion diced,
• Crushed ginger garlic with green chillies
• For some dry spices (optional) I just use pepper
• Season with salt
• Chopped fresh coriander

Cooking Directions 

• Saute the onions and garlic ginger 
• Add Queema or mince fry add salt and spices 
• Cook for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown and that's an indication that it's done.
• Cool and stuff in a ball of kneaded dough
• Cook the on both sides, smear oil and remove when crispy.

Methi (Fenugreek) parantha

• A very popular parantha in the North Indian cities. A winter delight. The markets are flooded with Methi by November end. Most people wait for the goodness of winter vegetables.
• Methi parantha is very nutritious, especially for people with anaemia.
• It's a very simple recipe
• You can mash last night's aloo methi sabzi and use it as filling.
• Or you can wash & dry the fresh fenugreek leaves, chop finely and saute in a pan with a tsp of ghee .till the raw smell disappears.
• Cool and knead with wheat flour adding salt, green chillies, carrom seeds and 1 -2 tsp of ghee.

Cooking Directions:

• Take a ball of dough, roll it out thinly and cook it on a skillet till both sides are done, smear ghee and fry till crisp.
• Enjoy with a hot cup of tea , Or for lunch with a bowl of raita.

Moong dal parantha 

This is very delicious with a dal kachori filling.

Ingredients:

Once you have a nice crumbly filling you can store it in an airtight container and store it in your fridge.

• 1 cup moong (skinned) dal soaked for a few hours.
• 2 tsp gram flour(besan)
• Dry spices 1tsp each
• Whole coriander seeds(dhaniya)
• Cummin (Zeera)
• Fennel seeds(Saunf)
• 1 tsp mango powder
• 1/2 tsp asafetida(heeng)
• Salt and chillies to taste

Directions to prepare the filling:

• Strain the dal and dry grind into a coarse paste
• Dry roast the spices and grind into a coarse powder
• In a non-stick pan in 2 tsp oil roast gram flour till the colour changes
• Add powdered spices
• Now add the dal paste and roast till crumbly texture retaining some moisture.
• Season with salt and chillies
• Cool
• Use this filling in the parantha ,cook both sides, smear ghee and remove. 

Note:

Don't roast for long as it tends to become dry

Do give it a try, they are healthy and delicious too

Chicken Bake with cheese topping

 

Preparation time 10 minutes

Baking time 20-25 minutes on 180deg

Level : easy

Creamy chicken casserole 

I had some boiled chicken in the fridge which I had saved to make a sandwich filling.

I  had been putting it off quite a while , but I am not in favour of keeping food in the fridge for more than two or three days

I thought of baking it. So I made a creamy roux  with butter, corn flour and threw in  some herbs and poured it over the chicken breast and grated

 a generous amount of cheese over it, sprinkled some breadcrumbs and a dash of herbs,and seasoning , popped it in the oven and baked it for 20 minutes in a preheated oven at 180 degrees.

Dinner that night was enjoyed with everyone contributing their ideas to make It better.

I found it very delicious and decided to work on improving it. After a few trials I am now sharing my version of the creamy chicken casserole.

Ingredients

• Chicken breasts and thighs 
• 1 packet knorr chicken soup
• Herbs of your choice
• Chilly flakes
• Garlic crushed ( 10-15flakes)
• Baby potatoes boiled
• Butter
• Pasta/ boiled rice/ noodles
• Mushrooms (optional)

Directions.

• In a large pan add butter and 1 tsp oil
• Put in crushed garlic and saute
• Add chicken breasts and fry it till the colour changes.
• Remove on a baking tray and arrange  boiled potatoes and mushrooms around it.
• Pour hot knorr soup over it and season with salt and pepper.
•  Finally some chilly flakes and herbs 
• Now sprinkle bread crumbs and over this grate cheese.
• Bake in a preheated oven at 180degrees for 20_25 minutes or a golden crust forms on it..
• Serve piping hot.

Note Empty Contents of knorr chicken in a saucepan and boil it in two cups of water.

Nutritional value Approx 100gms

• Calories 425kcal
• Protien 15gms
• Cholesterol 51.8gms
• Saturated fats 29%
• Dietary fibre 1.8gms

Weight watchers and those on a diet can use low fat cheese.

Chilli Chicken

Preparation time with marination 1:30 hrs

Cooking time 25 minutes

Serves 2

Indo Chinese cuisine 

A brief history 

The story of Indian Chinese cuisine began in the 18th century in Calcutta where the British had established the East India Company and Calcutta was made the capital of Colonial India 

China had discovered Silk routes and a thriving, trade was established between the two countries where silk and tea were transported to British India. Chinese immigrants were silk traders, dentists, carpenters, who came to India and would cook their food using local ingredients.

 East India Company at Calcutta soon began to employ skilled and unskilled Chinese workers and they set up Chinese fancy food restaurants.

"China Bowl " " China Pearl " were set up in China Town Calcutta and soon every city in India had Chinese food joints,  with Indian flavours.  Although very different from what was eaten in China.

Countless Indian restaurants across India serve Indian Chinese food, spicy gravies, saucy noodles, veg and non-vegetarian Manchurian, the list is endless.

It's my comfort food. I often experiment with different variations of the recipe 

Sharing one I like but with some modifications.

Ingredients : 

• 500 gms boneless chicken cut into small pieces 
• Cornflour to make a slurry
• Red chilli powder to taste
• 2 tsp ginger garlic paste  
• Salt to taste
• Soya sauce
• Tomato ketchup/ Schezewan sauce
•  1Capsicum cut into cubes 
•  1Onion cut into cubes 
• Spring onion only the green portion, finely chopped to garnish 
• Peppercorns freshly crushed to taste
•  1 Egg 

Method: 

•  Wash and pat dry chicken
• Rub salt, pepper, chilli powder and ginger garlic paste, soya sauce  add cornflour and1 egg  lightly beaten,  to make a batter
• Put chicken pieces in the batter
•  leave aside for 1 hour
• Fry in sufficient oil till crispy.
• Put it on absorbent paper

• For the gravy

• Heat a pan and add 2 tsp oil
• Fry ginger and garlic lightly pounded
• Add white portion of spring onions and fry
• Add tomato ketchup/Schezewan sauce
• Chilli sauce, soya sauce 
• Add capsicum and fry
• Now add cornflour slurry and cook 
• Last of all add fried chicken
• Garnish with spring onion greens
• Adjust salt and chilli 

       Note:

Can add some vinegar and some sugar to make a sweet-sour version

You can avoid deep frying, can shallow fry but it won't be crisp.

You can try the same recipe with any meat 

Or cottage cheese, boiled baby potatoes, too

Nutritional value. (Approx) per 100 gms Chicken 

Calories  226 kcal

Proteins 19.68gms

Fats      8gms

Carbs   17.45 gms

 

tandoori chicken

• preparation time: 15 minutes  +2 hours   
• 2nd marination       
• Cooking time:45 minutes or till tender (depends on how you bake it)
• Serves :3

 Keto-friendly recipe

A fitness-friendly diet is what people are looking out for.

"Eat better and exercise " has become the new mantra.

A ketogenic diet is high in protein and fats and has 0 carbs. It lowers blood sugar levels and keeps your Hb1ac (glycated haemoglobin) under control. It records your sugar levels for 3 months.

Chicken is a rich source of protein and fats. the ketogenic diet is good for overweight and obese people.

The recipe is very simple and easy to cook.

A whole chicken(preferably) or large pieces of chicken cuts can be used too.

It's marinated in yoghurt with spices for a few hours, up to overnight is best. Then it's baked in a tandoor(clay oven)

You can also bake it in an OTG oven,

Or in a microwave oven on convection mode and then grill it.

The story behind the Tandoori chicken 

(Reference is taken from The Times of India)

Historians have found evidence of the look-alike meat preparation in the Harappan Civilisation. Chicken bones and pieces of clay oven were found in 3000B.C in the excavation site

.

However, in modern times, Tandoori Chicken has been popularised in 1940 in Moti Mahal restaurant Peshawar by Kundan Lal Jaggi

After partition in 1947, he and his associates set up Moti Mahal restaurant in Daryaganj 

, Delhi where this became the iconic dish.it is said that the first Prime Minister of India liked it so much that he made it a regular dish served at

Official banquets

Ingredients 

• Chicken whole(Skinless)
• Or cut into large pieces.
• Yoghurt
• Ginger garlic paste
• Kashmiri red chilly powder
• Salt to taste.
• Lemon juice
• Garam masala or chicken masala

Cooking Directions 

The recipe calls for two marinades

1st marinade

Rub salt, lemon juice and ginger and garlic paste for 20 minutes

2nd marinade

To 1/2 cup yoghurt add garam masala

Paprika or chilly to taste

Black salt

Kasoori methi (optional)

Make incisions on the breast thighs

Rub the marinade and let it sit for two hours or can leave it overnight, in the fridge.

Baking. 

• Preheat oven to 180 degrees
• Bake for 20 minutes
• Change sides and bake for 20 minutes
• Or till done.

• Now grill for 10 minutes

Nutritional value for medium-sized chicken

• Calories 562 kcal
• Protein 8gms 
• Fats 42%

• Carbs 6%
• Fibre 0

What is the rooster saying?

Answers welcome in the comments section.

Vegetable Tahiri

 

A brief history 

Vegetable Tehri is an Awadhi Cuisine, it hails from Uttar Pradesh. It's a very healthy one pot instant rice dish, cooked with seasonal vegetables, and a few aromatic spices. 

Most people mistake Awadhi cuisine, for Mughlai cuisine, there is a lot of difference between the two. Mughlai dishes came from Afghanistan, with the Mughal rulers.  

The Nawabs of Oudh introduced Awadhi Cuisine to the tastes of Lucknow. It is known for its subtle flavours,  uses very few spices and the style of cooking varied from the Mughal where clay ovens were used. 

Meats are seared over a high flame to lock in the juices, then cooked over a slow fire for a couple of hours. 

In many regions of the sub-continent "Tehri" is mistaken for the Vegetable Biryani.  The two kinds of rice dishes are completely different. 

I learnt to cook it quite young in an authentic way,  It was a regular dish on our menu in college.  We were either served for lunch with raita or sometimes it was for dinner.  We girls enjoyed tucking into a steaming plateful. Resident students were always found lurking around the kitchen. The friendly mess in charge always had some treat for the girls.

I often make this for lunch, it's so quick and most of all it's a nourishing meal. Simmered over a low flame with seasonal vegetables and a few spices brings out its flavours.

Sharing my version of tehri with step by step pictorial instructions.

Ingredients 

• 2 cups of rice
•  2 cups seasonal vegetables(carrots, cauliflower, beans, peas, potatoes)
• 1 large onion finely chopped
• 1 tomato skinned and finely chopped
• 1 tsp garlic and ginger paste
• Allspice(3 cloves,1 black,  cardamom, peppercorns, bay leaf)
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• Oil to cook
• Salt as per taste.

Cooking instruction 

• In a pan add some oil and heat
• Now add cumin seeds, allspice and bay leaf and let it splutter 

• Now add onions and fry till the colour begins to change, add ginger and garlic paste and fry. 

• Now add tomatoes and cook

• Once the tomatoes are nice and soft and well incorporated with the onion ginger garlic. Then add all the seasonal vegetables

• (Missing the carrots, A two-legged someone  ate the only carrot I had, )
• Fry the vegetables and add turmeric to the pan with whatever dry spices you want to use. I am usually very low on spices.

• Now add the rice 

•  Time to add water, vegetables and rice should be covered with water, let it come to a rolling boil, then simmer, cover and cook till done.

• Cover and cook on slow flame till done.

Nutritional value (approx) per serving 

• Calories per serving 267kcal
• Fibre 4gms

• Protein 6.0gms
• Carbohydrates 38gms
• Fats (total) 9 gm's

Also contains traces of vitamins and minerals and sodium.

I hope you enjoy making it, 

Have a nice day☺

Fish curry with pickling spices

Marination time:2 hours

Cooking time:30minutes

Serves:4

Fish is scoring high over red meat.

  It has become popular as table meat 

It's a very rich source of omega 3 fatty acids, and high in protein.  Fish is very versatile and can be cooked in various ways.

 I found a very old handwritten recipe for fish curry cooked with pickling spices,my grandmother's recipe,  which dates back to almost several decades. (I am a grandma now) 

Since I found it, I have cooked it twice and now I am sharing it.  

The recipe  is a step by step  picture demonstration for effortless cooking.

The fish is marinated in salt, chili powder, ,turmeric and lemon juice or vinegar for two hours. Then it's shallow fried.  

The gravy is made of tomatoes cooked in pickling spices and the fish pieces are added to it and cooked for 10-15 minutes, and it's done.

It takes about an hour for the flavors to infuse Dish out when you are ready to serve. 

I will walk you through the instructions. 

Ingredients :

• 1 Kg fish  of your  choice (wash well using   warm salt water) 
• 1 onion finely chopped 
• 2 tsp  fresh ginger and garlic ,

   green chili paste (optional) 

• 2 large tomatoes finely chopped
• 1 tsp turmeric
• Salt to taste (remember that fish is    marinated in salt)                     
• mustard oil 3/4 cup

Pickling spices :

• 1/2 tsp each of 
• Mustard seeds, 
• Cummin seeds
• Nigelle seeds. 
• vinegar or tamarind water as per taste

Method :

• Wash with warm salted water (salt cleans the fish very well)

Step1

• in a bowl marinate the fish pieces with turmeric,salt, and chili powder and lemon juice or vinegar, for at least 2 hours.

Step2

• in a pan add 3/4 cup mustard oil,smoke, cool and shallow fry marinated fish pieces till golden but not crisp.

.

.

Step 3

• Fry all the pieces,  in the same  oil 
• add Whole chillies and heat till they start 
• spluttering .

Step 4

• Now add onions and fry till golden, 

Step 5

• add ginger garlic paste, keep frying add tomatoes and cook till soft,  keep stirring,  add turmeric powder and salt and chili  powder and fry till oil leaves the sides of the pan

Step 6

• Now add fried  fish pieces and half cup water and cover and cook till done .

• Let all the flavors infuse for at least one hour before serving. 

Nutritional value 

• There are 240 calories in 1 serving approx100gms

Calorie  breakdown 

• Fats  42%
• Protein 50%
• Carbs 8%

Fish is very good source of omega 3 fatty acids 

Very good for cardiac health. 

Recommended at least 3 times a week for maximum health benefits. 

Spicytreats with leftovers

2020 changed the world. Covid, pandemic and lockdown for almost over two months found people confined to their homes. It was a year of uncertainty ...

Work from home became the new culture. Students were attending online classes. Every one was at home. People started stocking up vegetables, filling kitchen cabinets with grocery.

So much food was being cooked and leftovers started finding its way into the fridge....seeing the food sitting on the fridge shelves, set me to work. I wasn't going to throw away all that good food. So I began experimenting with combining them to make delicious and healthy new dishes. 

I always found chapatis in the container.so one day I thought I would use them to make a dessert.

I remember my grandmother would break up the chapati into bits,mix ghee and sugar and we relished it. In fact every indian home has tasted Chapati Churma.

Chapati Churma

You will need:

• Leftover chapatis
• Some pure ghee
• Grated jaggery or bura
• Cardamom powder
• Cashewnuts and coconut chips for garnish

How it's done:

In a mixer grinder put in all the ingredients except nuts . Grind till everything is fine crumble 

Dish out and garnish with nuts.

Frankie

 This is a hot favorite in our home, you can try it with your variation. I am sharing my version.

You will need:

• Leftover chapatis
• Green coriander chutney/Mayonnaise
• Shredded chicken/cottage cheese/

• Shredded cabbage, carrots, capsicum
• Tomato sauce/Schezwan Chutney

How it's done

• On a hot griddle warm up the chapati
• Spread coriander chutney/mayonnaise
• Then over that some shredded and lightly 
• Sauteed vegetables
• Lastly shredded chicken/cottage cheese
• Roll and serve.

Kebabs

Kebabs originally belong to Turkey, it found its way to North India and became a delicacy .it is usually made of minced meat and gram dal, and spices. but over the years so many varieties of kebabs have been added. Today I am sharing my favorite recipe of kebabs where I have used leftover rice, some boiled potatoes, and leftover black gram.

You will need:

•  1 cup Leftover rice
• 2 or 3 boiled potatoes grated finely
• 2 cups of black gram (leftover)
• Onion finely chopped
• Green chilies and freshly cut coriander
• Ginger garlic paste
• Garam masala a generous pinch
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Breadcrumbs 

How it's done:

• In a mixer grinder
• Add all the ingredients
• Pulse till it's properly mashed
• Remove into a plate
• Grease the palms of your hands and shape them into kebabs.
• Shallow fry on a hot griddle.

I invite my readers to share any recipe for leftovers they usually cook.

You can leave your recipes in the comment box.

Chicken Stew/Veggie Stew

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 New mother's would agree that getting food in a toddler's tummy is a mammoth task.  The house 🏡 would turn into a battlefield with a war of wits. 

I too went through the rigrous exercise and my toddler would clam up her mouth. When the new grandma took over, the plate would be clean .The magic I learnt was Snow White, Rupanzel,Beauty and the beast. When those characters finished grandma would start recreating and stretching her imagination till the food on the plate was nicely in the toddler's tummy. I was naturally impressed with the show of such patience.

Now years later the toddler is a mother of two and I a grandma and I seem to be endowed with patience. My grandson and I often cook together and he loves being involved in the kitchen.moreover It's good for boys to be taking up kitchen and housework seriously.

We sing while we cook,concocting rhymes with our ingredients.

So here's a recipe for our Stew

Chicken Stew, Chicken Stew,

We're making it today.

In go the carrots, they're good for the eyes,

So do the potatoes, they make the dish so nice.

Don't forget the tomatoes they make the gravy right

Now add the chicken 🐓🐔 bites

Veggies, chicken and the spice

Make the stew so nice and bright

Method:

•  Caramelize some onions,
• Fry ginger garlic paste,
• Add cloves and a bay leaf
• Tomatoes and let them cook
• Season with salt and pepper 🌶️
• Add veggies and chicken 🐓 bits
• Let it simmer.remove when done.

Vegetarians can add a dollop of butter

Bon appetite.

Apple chutney

I remember being raised in the beautiful lush green mountains of the Kumaon region. The beautiful valley of Nainital, Uttarakhand it is home 🏠 to a variety of fruit 🍓🍑. 

The canning and fruit preservation center"Frutage " is an initiative of the 

Uttrakhand Govt to  help the local farmers

 to earn a decent living. They make the most delicious fruit jams, juices, pickles, and can 🥫 fruits .

I loved their apple 🍎🍏 Chutney.

My grandmother often tried out some of their recipes, she neatly documented,each recipe with footnotes of spices she tried, some anecdotes and stories that went when trying these out.

As a young woman I had no time to experiment with cooking,my career and raising up a kid kept me busy. I was more interested in a one 🍯 meal.

After I retired I found ample time and I decided to pull out the recipe book,now in tatters with faded ink, with a blurr , I had to put two and two together to figure out what could have been written there.

I am sharing my favourite recipe of Chutney, with my own variation.

Ingredients:

•  Apples 1 kg
• Sugar 3/4  cup
• Salt to taste
• chilly powder to taste
• a pinch of asafoetida
• 1/2 tsp of mustard seeds
• 1/2 tsp of Fenugreek seeds
• Ginger garlic paste (optional)
• Lemon juice,  orange juice or vinegar
• Two to three tsp of cooking oil

Method:

• Heat a pan
• Add oil
• Add mustard seeds and Fenugreek seeds let them splutter
• Add asafoetida
• Fry ginger garlic paste
• Now add peeled diced apples
• Season with salt
• Add sugar as per your taste
• Cook for 5_10 minutes, stirring occasionally
• Keep mashing apples with the back of the laddle.
• Now add lemon juice , Orange juice or vinegar
• Adjust the salt, sugar and chilly according to your tastebuds.

Cool and bottle.

Will keep on the dining table for a week.you can refrigate upto six weeks.

Enjoy with poori,paranthe,dal chawal.

Note: I have tried the same recipe with peaches 🍑 and apricots too.

Happy cooking.