Pasta in Red Sauce

Ingredients:

For Red Sauce:

4 large tomatoes - pureed
7-8 cloves of garlic - crushed
Salt
Pepper
Oregano - 1 pinch
Oil - 1 tablespoon

Method:

Heat oil in a pan. Add the crushed garlic and tomatoes with salt, pepper and oregano. Let it cook till the oil separates from the mixture. Add water to adjust consistency.

Sauce should take 15 mins to cook.

For Stir fry mix:
Chicken breast - 500 gms (cut into strips as thin as possible)
5 large onions - thinly sliced
5 bird's eye chilli (since i had them, use any)
5 cloves of garlic - sliced
100 gms of french beans cut in halves
250 gms broccoli sliced
250 gms yellow & green zucchini (each) sliced
100 gms cherry tomatoes (i like them whole)
1 red yellow and green pepper (each) sliced
Oil - 4 tablespoons
Salt
Pepper
Oregano
Chilli flakes

For pasta:

Boil water with salt and oil to get non sticky pasta

Method:

Marinate the chicken in some salt, pepper and chilli flakes and keep aside.
Heat a wok and add oil, garlic and onions.. Saute till light brown.
Add chicken. Cook till chicken partially cooked.
Add beans, zucchini, broccoli and cook for 5 mins.
Add all the peppers and cook for another 2-3 mins.
Now add the cherry tomatoes and cover and cook for 10 mins.

Boil Pasta of your choice. Add it into the veggie and chicken mix and stir well.
Cover and cook for 10 mins.

Add the sauce and stir well.
This sauce will just coat the pasta and veggie mix.

Enjoy!!

Chicken Roast

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken
Broccoli 200 gms
1 onion medium sized
1 potato
1/2 lemon juice
1 small Zucchini
1 small carrot
Shan broast masala
Black pepper powder to taste
Salt to taste
Oil/ butter to baste

Method:

Marinate the chicken with lemon juice, salt, shan broast masala and black pepper. Leave for 4 hours. A min of 1 hour would work too if in a hurry.

Preheat the oven at 200 degrees for 5 mins. Stuff the chicken with all vegetables cut in same size cubes and mixed with a bit of salt and pepper. Tie the opening and baste it with oil/ butter of your choice.

Cook for an 60 mins flipping the chicken in the oven after every 20 mins.

Serve hot with your choice of compliments.. :)

Chicken and mushrooms in Hot & Sour Gravy

Ingredients:

• 500 gms chicken breast cut in long strips
• 250 gms mushroom cut long
• 3 large onions sliced
• 2 tablespoon garlic cut in strips
• 2 tablespoon ginger cut in strips
• 2-3 green chillies split
• French beans 100-150 gms cut 2 inches long
• 2 carrots cut in 2 inch long strips
• Bell peppers red yellow and green 1 each cut in strips
• Vinegar 3 tablespoons
• Soy sauce 2 tablespoons
• 1 teaspoon cornflour
• Chicken/veg stalk or water
• Chilli sauces red and green 1 teaspoon each
• Oil - 3 tablespoons
• Salt

For marinade:

Put chicken strips in a bowl add 1 tablespoon vinegar, a pinch of salt, 1 green chilli cut in small pieces, 1 teaspoon each of cut ginger and garlic. Leave for an hour in the fridge.

After taking out the chicken from fridge:

Heat a wok and put vegetable oil of your choice. Add onions, garlic and ginger and saute till translucent. Add carrots and beans and chicken. Cook till chicken is almost done. Add the bell peppers and mushrooms and cook for 2-3 mins. Add salt. 

Add the sauces and vinegar in a bowl. Mix them well and dilute with water/stalk. Once all the veggies and chicken is done add the sauce mix. Mix well. Add more water/stalk (if required) in the wok and bring it to a boil. Let it simmer for 10-12 mins.

In a bowl add cornflour and water and make a slurry. Depending on the consistency of the gravy add as much water u want to the slurry. Mix it well in the gravy and cook for 2 mins.

Serve your dish with rice noodles or simply with paranthas as I do.. :)

Palak daal

This recipe is a cheat on the real palak daal that has a lot of butter or ghee.. I am not fond of ghee and I replace it by mustard oil generally.. so here we go..

Ingredients:

Spinach - 1 bundle washed and corsely chopped
Daal of your choice - 2 cups (I have tried chana daal, arhar daal and masoor daal and I honestly find chana daal complimenting it the most.. take your pick)
1 big onion - finely chopped
1 bulb of garlic - finely chopped (the amount can vary as per taste)
3-4 chopped green chillies
1 large tomato - quartered
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tspn
Aesafeotida - 1 pinch
Garam masala - 1 pinch
Salt to taste
Mustard oil - 1 tbsp

Method:

Wash and soak the daal, turmeric powder and salt for about 30 mins. I generally add the tomato while cooking the daal. This is optional. In case you want to add it later chop it finely and keep aside. Pressure cook the daal till done. Keep aside.

In a pan/wok heat mustard oil and once you see the vapour add asafoetida and garlic. Sauté for 30 secs and add green chillies and onion. Sauté till the onions are slightly brown. Add spinach and toss it nicely. Cover and cook for 3 mins. For those who have their tomatoes chopped abd ready add them before spinach and cook till done.

Add turmeric and salt keeping in mind that the daal already has some salt. Once the spinach starts to sweat turn up the flame to dry it out completely. Once done add this to the daal or add the daal to this mixture. And bring it to a boil. Now add the garam masala and let it simmer for about 5 mins.

You may add ghee or butter for extra flavour. Serve with your choice of roti parantha or rice.. :)

Aloo bhujiya with a difference

For all those who want a twist with simple aloo bhujiya...

Ingredients:

Potato - 1/2 kg
Garlic - 1 bulb
Green chilli - 5
Whole cumin seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
Red chilli powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Haldi powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Salt to taste
Oil to fry (preferably mustard)

Method:

Peel the potatoes and garlic.
Wash them.
Slice them lengthwise and keep aside.
Slit green chillies.
Heat oil in a wok.
Add sliced garlic and green chillies.
Let them cook for a minute.
Lower the gas flame.
Add potatoes.
Cook till translucent.
Add all the masala.
Cover for ten minutes or till the aloo is done.
Uncover and put the flame on high.
Cook the potatoes till they turn a little red in colour.

Serve with paranthas..

Daal keema

Ingredients:

• Masoor daal - 2 cups
• Chicken keema - 500 gms
• Onions - 2 big chopped finely
• Green chillies -  1- 2
• Tomatoes -  2 big chopped
• Garlic paste - 1 tbspn
• Ginger paste - 1 tbspn
• Turmeric powder - 1 1/2 tspn
• coriander powder -  1 tspn
• cumin powder - 1 tspn
• Red chilli powder - 1/2 tspn
• Kashmiri red chilli powder - 1 tspn
• Garam masala powder - 1 tspn
• Salt to taste
• Mustard oil - 2 tbspn
• Whole garam masala spice - 1 tspn
• Asafoetida - a pinch
• Ghee - 1 tspn

Method:

• Pressure cook the daal with salt and trumeric powder (1/2 tspn) with just enough water. 
• Now in a deep and thick bottomed pan add the mustard oil and heat. 
• Add the whole garam masala spices and let them crackle. 
• Now add chopped onions and brown them. 
• Once brown add garlic and ginger paste and saute. 
• Now add turmeric (1/2 tspn), red chilli powder, cumin powder and coriander powder and cook them well. Add the tomatoes and cook till the tomatoes are cooked. 
• Finally add the chicken keema and cover and cook on simmer for 15 mins or till the oil separates. 
• Once the keema is cooked add the daal and salt to taste. 
• Add water and bring everything to a boil and let it simmer for 5 mins. 
• Heat ghee in a tadka pan and add a pinch of asafoetida and kashmiri red chilli powder and remaining turmeric powder and lower the heat cook for 5 seconds. 
• Add this to the daal and serve.

Momos

Steamed and fried momos with garlic chilli chutney

Recipe:

Chicken mince - 500 gms
Onion - 1 small
Garlic - loads of them
Green chilli - 3
Soy sauce - 1 tspn
Salt and pepper to taste
Maida - 1 1/2 cup
Oil - 1 tspn
A pinch of salt

Mince garlic and mix all ingredients in the chicken mince. Keep aside for a min of 30 mins(the more the better). Knead the dough and keep aside for 20 mins.
Roll small puris paper thin and fill the chicken mixture. Make a dumpling by folding the ends.
Steam in a steamer (I use the idli one) for 7-8 mins.
Serve with garlic chutney and love... 

Garlic Chutney: 

Garlic - Loads of them..  
Dried Red chillies - 8-10 depending on the heat you can handle (soaked in warm water for 1 hour min)
1 small tomato
Vinegar - 1 tspn

Put all the ingredients in a blender and make a coarse paste
Heat 1 tspn oil in a pan and add the mix
Add salt to taste
When the tomato is cooked take add a pinch of sugar and mix well
Take the chutney off heat and add 1 tspn vinegar