Chicken Tikka Masala

This next dish is officially a North Indian delicacy. However I tried to have a food fusion of sorts over here. So while the usual accomplice for this creamy thick tomato based gravy would be naan/roti & even plain rice, in my experiment I have made puttu (steamed rice cakes) to go along.

Ingredients

For marination

• 1 kg chicken
• 4 tsp. ginger garlic paste
• 1 tsp. Pepper powder
• 2 tbsp. Kashmiri chilli powder
• Salt a pinch
• 4 tbsp. yogurt

For the gravy

• 2 tbsp. veg oil
• 1 cinnamon bark
• 2 cloves
• 2-3 peppercorns
• 2 cardamom pods
• 2-3 green chillies spit (or more)
• 2 tsp. tomato paste
• 4-5 tomatoes finely chopped
• 2 tsp. garam masala
• 1 tsp. Kashmiri chilli powder(or more)
• 1 chicken stock cube
• 1-2 cups of water(or more)
• 1 tbsp. kasori methi leaves
• 2 -3 tbsp. fresh cream
• Coriander leaves to garnish

Marinate the chicken for 2 hours or more (or overnight in the fridge).

In a non-stick deep bottom pan, add 2-3 tbsp. oil and fry chicken pieces until brown patch on both sides.

Or you can grill them .Brush some oil on both sides and cook till charred on both sides.

Keep them aside.

Clean the pan and add veg oil on a medium flame. When hot, add all the spices and sauté for about a minute. Add chillies and ginger garlic paste. (Be careful the paste will splutter). Add garam masala powder and chilli powder and sauté for a while. Sprinkle some water if it’s getting dry.

Add tomato paste and sauté for about 3-4 minutes. Add chopped tomatoes and 1 ½ cups of water. Add chicken stock cube; cover and cook till the tomatoes are done. This will take 10- 15 minutes.

Turn of the heat and let the gravy cool. Grind them into a paste.

Transfer the paste into the same pan and heat it again. Add 1 cup of water and bring to boil. Add chicken pieces and kasori methi leaves. Cover and cook for about 10- 15 minutes. The gravy will get thicker.

Add cream and stir for a minute. Check for salt and garnish with coriander leaves.

Serve it hot with naan/roti/plain rice

Pista-Strawberry Mini Cakes

Ok so this dish turned out to be successful only on my third attempt. So if this doesn’t come out well the first time, don’t you get disheartened. This is actually a cake recipe but for a change I have made these mini treats in my muffin pan. You can store these mini treats in a tight container for about a week.

Ingredients

• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• ½  cup ( 125 g) granulated sugar
• ½  cup ( 125 ml) milk, at room temperature
• ½  cup ( 125 ml)  Veg oil ( canola is fine)
• 1 cups (150 g) plain flour
• ½  tsp. vanilla essence
• ½  tbsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. pista essence
• 1 tsp. strawberry/raspberry essence

Lightly grease the cupcake trays or line with cupcake cases.

 In a large mixing bowl, combine eggs and sugar. Using electric mixer or wire whisk, beat until the mixture is creamy and light in colour.

 Add milk and oil, and continue beating until well blended.

 In a separate bowl, combine and mix flour, vanilla and baking powder. Gradually add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and beat just until the batter is smooth and the dry ingredients are thoroughly incorporated. 

 Divide the mixture into 3 equal portions. Keep one portion plain. Add pista essence to one portion and raspberry essence to the other one and mix well.

 Preheat the oven to 350°F /180°C.

 Scoop 1 heaped tablespoons of plain batter (you can also use a ladle) into the middle of cupcake cases. Then scoop 1 tablespoons of pista batter and pour it in the centre on top of the plain batter and then 1 tablespoon of raspberry batter onto the top of pista batter.

Please note that you don’t stop and wait until the previous batter spreads – Keep going!!

Bake for about 40 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Remove from the oven.

Transfer to a wire rack and let it cool. Remove the cases and enjoy!!!!!!

Pineapple Short Cakes

This is a simple treat which should appease both the kid & adult crowd alike!!! While the following procedure calls for the regular baking steps, this can also be prepared with the instant cake mix that is available. The only thing you would have to note during this is where they call for use of water, substitute it with pineapple juice. The sweet factor for these shortcakes are quite subtle, so one need not worry about any excesses here!!

Ingredients

• 125 gms plain flour
• 250 gms granulated sugar
• 5 eggs separated
• A pinch of salt
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. vanilla essence
• 1 cup pineapple fined chopped ( I used Delmonte Canned pineapples)
• 1 cup whipped cream

Preheat oven to 180°C.

Grease a 9 inch round cake pan and line with a parchment paper.

Sift the flour and baking powder together in a bowl 3 times.

In a bowl, beat egg yolks and sugar with a help of a hand mixer/electric mixer until its pale yellow in colour.

In another bowl, whip the egg whites till stiff peaks form. Add egg whites to the yolk mixture; add vanilla essence and ½ cup of pineapple and beat for a minute until combined.

Now, carefully stir in the flour and do not beat. With a spatula or a spoon, fold in the flour until combined. Don’t just stir, but fold. Make sure the bottom of the bowl doesn’t have any flour mixture left. Take your time and fold in… It takes around 5- 8 minutes.

Pour into the cake pan and bake for about 15-20 minutes until a tooth pick inserted comes out clean.

Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.

Meanwhile when the cake is cooling, to the whipped cream add the rest of the pine apple bits and mix completely. Chill for an hour.

OPTION 1-When the cake is cool enough to handle, with a cookie cutter, cut the cake into small circles. You will get a small miniature cake. Divide that cake and spread a tbsp. of cream in the middle and top with the other half. Just like sandwiching the cake with cream.

Option 2- You can just spread the cream on the cake and serve it just like that.

Now how easy was that!!!!! Easy, tasty !!!!! 

Palak Paneer

This next dish is a personal favourite. While in the authentic palak paneer the spinach (palak) is pureed, over here I have just gone for chopped spinach. Additionally I have added yogurt to add a little tanginess to this dish. Healthy and tasty (Especially for the weight watchers) – this palak paneer is best tasted when served with rotis/ plain rice.

Ingredients

• 250 gms Paneer cut in cubes (soaked in hot water for 15-20 minutes)
• 1 tsp. turmeric
• 1 tsp. chilli powder
• Salt as per taste
• 2 tbsp. veg oil + 1 tbsp.
• 1 bunch spinach finely chopped
• 1 Onion medium finely chopped/ julienned
• 2-3 green chillies split
• 1 tsp. ginger garlic paste
• 1 tsp. cumin seeds
• 1 tsp. garam masala
• ½ cup yogurt beaten
• 1 veg stock cube/ Salt

In a bowl, put paneer cubes, turmeric, chilli powder and a pinch of salt and marinate for 10 minutes.

In a non- stick pan, add oil and fry paneer cubes lightly till brown patches on both sides. Keep them aside.

In the same pan, add 1 tbsp. oil, add cumin seeds and sauté for a minutes. Add onion till translucent. Add ginger- garlic, chillies and sauté for another 2-3 minutes. Add garam masala and veg stock cube/ salt.

Add chopped spinach with ½ cup of water; close the lid and cook for about 4-5 minutes till the spinach is cooked. (You can puree the leaves as well. I prefer chopping them).

Add yogurt and stir nicely. Check for salt. Add paneer cubes and stir for another 2 minutes.

Serve hot with Plain rice/ rotis.

Red Dal/ Lentil Curry

The first time I had the following dish was at a friend’s place & back then I had decided to try it out. Even though there was stiff resistance on my husband’s behalf (not at all a lentil fan), I went ahead. This dish is very subtle in taste and is best when served with plain rice and a dollop of yogurt - very filling and healthy too.

Ingredients

• 1 cup red masoor dal/lentils (washed and soaked for about 30 minutes )
• 2 cups of water
• 1 onion medium finely chopped
• 2 green chillies split
• 1 tsp. ginger finely chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic finely chopped
• 2 tomatoes medium finely chopped
• Salt to taste
• 2 tbsp. veg oil
• A pinch of mustard seeds
• A pinch of cumin seeds
• 2 tsp. chilli powder
• ¼ tsp. turmeric powder
• 1 tsp. Kashmiri chilli powder
• Coriander leaves to garnish

In a deep bottom pan, add 2 cups of water, chopped onions, green chillies, ginger, garlic, tomatoes and dal. Cover and cook for about 40-50 minutes. (You can see scum forming on top of the curry, don’t worry just scoop it out. And after 40 minutes, check if the dal is cooked. You don’t want a mushy dal after all.)

Add salt. (We are adding salt at this stage only otherwise it will toughen the dal/ lentils resulting in the lengthening of the cooking time.)

In a tempering pan, add veg oil, cumin seeds, and mustard seeds. Temper it; add chilli, turmeric and Kashmiri chilli powder. Saute for only 30 seconds and not more. Make sure that you don’t burn the spices.

Add to the curry and add coriander leaves. Check for salt and let the curry sit for a while.

Serve with plain rice and yogurt…!!!!

Egg Bhurji

This next dish could very well be the simplest one in my list till date. However there are just some tweaks here & there. This can also be seen as another version of scrambled eggs sautéed with onions and the addition of spices takes this dish to a whole different level. Best served with rotis and bread.

Ingredients

• 2 eggs
• ¼ cup milk
• A pinch of salt
• 1 onion medium finely chopped
• 2 clove
• 1 cardamom pod
• 1 small cinnamon bark
• 2-3 pepper corn
• 1 pinch of fennel seeds
• 2 tsp. ginger garlic paste
• 1 stalk of curry leaves
• 1 tbsp. chilli powder
• 1 tsp. turmeric powder
• 2 tsp. coriander powder
• 1 tsp. garam masala powder
• 2 small tomatoes finely chopped
• 1 veg stock cube/ salt
• Coriander leaves for garnishing

In a bowl, beat eggs with a pinch of salt. Add milk and whisk nicely. Keep it aside.

In a non-stick pan. Heat 2 tbsp. veg oil. Add clove, cardamom pods, cinnamon bark. Pepper corns and fennel seeds and sauté for a minute.

 Add chopped onions and sauté till translucent. Add ginger garlic paste and curry leaves and sauté for a minute. Add chilli powder, turmeric, coriander and garam masala powder; sauté for about two minutes. 

Add chopped tomatoes and 2 tbsp. water and veg stock/ salt and cook till tomatoes are done.

Add the egg-milk mixture and stir continuously on a medium high flame. The dish will be all watery. But don’t worry, eventually it will thicken up. Stir continuously until the milk is all dried up. This will take up about 4-5 minutes. In between scrape down the bottom and sides of the pan. 

Check for salt and garnish with coriander leaves.

Spaghetti in White Sauce

This next dish is my preferred delicacy these rainy days. It’s quite an easy one to cook & the accompanying white sauce just enhances the creaminess in the spaghetti. For the vegetarians, you can substitute the chicken/meat with any veggies of your choice like broccoli, corn or bell peppers (capsicum).

Ingredients

• 1 packet spaghetti
• 1 onion medium finely chopped
• 250 gms chicken strips cooked/ 250 gms chicken sausage
• 1 ¾ cup milk
• 2 tbsp. butter (unsalted)
• 1 tbsp. flour
• 1 tsp. olive oil
• 2 gloves of garlic finely grated
• 1 tsp. pepper powder (or more)
• 1-2 tsp. red chilli flakes (optional)
• 2 tsp. oregano/ basil leaves/ thyme
• Salt / garlic salt
• 1 tsp. grated cheese for garnishing (optional)

Prepare the spaghetti as per the instruction on the packet. Drain and keep them aside.

In a pan, fry the sausages with 1 tsp. veg oil and 1 tsp. pepper powder and keep them aside.

In a deep bottom pan, add butter and olive oil. On a medium flame, add onion and sauté till translucent. Add grated garlic and sauté for a minute or two. Add flour and sauté nicely for a second or so.

Add milk and stir continuously to avoid lumps. When the milk starts thickening, you can add pepper powder, red chilli flakes (optional) and oregano/thyme or basil leaves.

Add salt/ garlic salt. Adjust according to your taste.

Your sauce is ready. Add spaghetti and cooked chicken strips or sausages and mix completely.

While serving, garnish with some grated cheese and serve hot and enjoy!!!!!

Healthy Pancakes

I have always loved pancakes, however the time I went totally gaga was after having them at IHOP while in the US. After that I tried making them at home & found out that this happens to be the easiest thing to make for breakfasts. Ever since most of my Saturdays have been pancake mornings (shows you how lazy I have been). Easy to make, simple, delicious, healthy and filling – my pancakes are usually accompanied with some sausage and orange juice. You can also substitute the whole wheat flour with all- purpose flour.

Ingredients

• 1 ½ Cup Whole Wheat Four
• 2 eggs
• 1 Cup Milk
• 3 tbsp. sugar
• 1 tsp. Cinnamon powder (optional)
• 1 tsp. Baking powder
• 1 tbsp. Melted butter
• ¼ cup chopped bananas/ apples
• Water as required

In a bowl, add flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon powder and a pinch of salt. Mix well.

Add the eggs, melted butter and milk and whisk nicely. Add the fruits and add water if required. It should be a thick batter, but not loose.

In a non- stick pan, add a pinch of butter/ veg oil. On a medium flame, laddle the batter into the centre of the pan. You don’t have to spread the batter (like dosa and all). Cook for about 2 minutes and flip it. You just need brown patches on them. These pan cakes cook pretty fast.

Serve them hot with maple syrup/cranberry sauce/strawberry sauce. Yummmyyyy!!!!

Mutton Biriyani

This next dish is the first time I have worked with mutton. And maybe that could be the reason that I decided to try out a Biriyani dish with the same. Another reason being the fact that over here in Hyderabad the one absolute must try dish happens to be the Mutton Biriyani (preferably Dum). Now if you can get fresh chunks of mutton, that would be the best choice. Since my husband decided to be super lazy, I had to settle for some frozen mutton. So while this dish still has a long way to reach the Dum Biriyani in taste, it still turns out to be a tasty dish with the perfect blend of spices & well-cooked mutton!!!!!

Ingredients

For marinating:

• 150 gms Mutton/Lamb  ( I used Frozen Al kabeer Mutton pieces)
• 1 tbsp. ginger-garlic paste
•  ½ tsp.Turmeric powder
•  2 tsp. Kashmiri Chilli powder( to get the colour)
• 1 tsp. chilli powder
• 1 tsp. coriander powder
• 1 tsp. Pepper powder
• 1 tbsp. Garam masala powder
• 1 tbsp. Yoghurt
• Salt – To taste

For the gravy

• 2 Onions medium finely sliced.
• 1 ½ tbsp. Ginger garlic paste
• 3-4 Green  split
• 2 Tomatoes finely chopped
• ½ tsp. Turmeric powder
• 1 tbsp. Chilli powder
• 1 tbsp. Coriander powder
• 1 tbsp. garam masala
• 1 tbsp. Biriyani masala powder (I used Eastern)
• 4-5 cloves
• 4-5 cardamom pods
• 4-5 pepper corns
• 1 star anise
• 1 big piece cinnamon bark
• Salt – To taste
• 2 tbsp. Veg Oil

• 2 cups Basmati rice (soaked in water for 30 minutes)
• 4 cups of water
• 1 big cinnamon bark
• 2-3 cloves
• 4 cardamom pods
• 2-3 pepper corns
• 2 tbsp. Pure Ghee
• ½ cup chopped coriander leaves
• ½ cup chopped mint leaves
• ¼ cup cashew nut
• ¼ cup raisins

 Marinate the lamb with the ingredients for at least 3 hours or more.

Pressure cook the marinated lamb for 5 whistles at medium heat adding very little water(1/4 -1/2 cup water).

Heat oil in a deep pan and add whole spices and sauté for a minute. Now add the sliced onion. Saute till translucent.

Add ginger- garlic paste, green chillies, 1 sprig curry leaves and the whole spices. Add chilli powder, turmeric powder, garam masala powder, biriyani masala powder and coriander powder and sauté for 2 minutes.

Now add the tomatoes and 1 tsp. tomato paste. Add 3-4 tbsp. water to it. And cook till tomatoes are done.

Add the lamb and the gravy plus ¼ cup water. Cook and cover till the gravy is reduced.

Check for salt. Add chopped coriander leaves and remove from flame.

In a deep bottom non- stick pan, add ghee; then whole spices and sauté for a minute. Add the drained rice and stir for a while. Do not over stir. Add 1 ½ chicken cube stock and 1 tsp. biriyani garam masala powder and add water. Cover and cook till rice is done for about 12-15 minutes.

In another pan. Add 1 tbsp. ghee and fry onions, cashew nut, raisins and mint and coriander leaves in batches.

Mix all of them to the rice.

Now, In a pan, Add the lamb gravy, then rice and then gravy. Repeat the layer. Cover with a tight lid and let stand for a while. 

Enjoy with some pappads, yogurt and pickle of your choice.

Easy Coffee Pudding

This next pudding is a quick make & is quite easy too (another reason being that I lazily decided for an instant pudding mix). Coffee & sugar content can be accordingly increased per your requirements. Don’t be surprised by the wobbly nature of this pudding!!!!

Ingredients

• 1 Packet instant pudding mix (vanilla flavour)
• 3 tsp. Coffee powder + extra for dusting
• 1 ½ tbsp. Sugar
• 1 tbsp. gelatin

Prepare the pudding according to the direction given on the package. Mix gelatin into the pudding mix while its hot.

Add coffee powder and sugar and mix completely. Transfer the pudding into the moulds. (I used ramekins). Any bowl is fine.

Chill for 3 hours or more. Unmould and dust with some coffee powder on top or a dollop of whipped cream!!!!!

Mom's Tomato Curry

This is also one of my favorites from my mom’s kitchen. I love to have this curry with plain rice and yogurt. Simply delicious and yet easy to make because it calls for only few ingredients. Mom makes this curry with coconut oil. But I preferred making this dish in veg oil. 

Ingredients

• 1 Onion medium finely sliced
• 1 tbsp. ginger chopped
• 2 green chillies split
• 1 spring curry leaves
• 1 tsp. chilli powder
• ¼ tsp. turmeric powder
• 2 tomatoes medium finely sliced
• ½ cup water
• ¼ cup coconut milk – thick
• Salt as required
• 2 tbsp. Veg oil plus 1 tsp.

In a non- stick pan, add 2 tbsp. oil and add onions and sauté till translucent. Add ginger, green chillies and curry leaves and sauté for about 3 minutes. Add chilli powder and turmeric powder and sauté for 2-3 minutes.

Add tomatoes and ½ cup water and salt and cook till tomatoes are done. (Tomatoes will become mushy mushy)

Add coconut milk and 3 tbsp. water; cover and cook for 5 minutes. You can add more water to loosen up the consistency.

Check for salt. In another pan, add 1 tsp. oil and 1 tbsp. onion chopped and fry till onion turns golden brown. Add the fried onions to the top of the curry.

Serve with Plain rice and enjoy!!!!!