Chicken Biryani (North Indian style)

Overview:

To all my non-vegetarian friends searching for delectable and healthy Non-vegetarian cuisine, this one is easy , requires comfortable preparations and of course, is a delight for eyes and taste buds!!

A biryani, traditionally has to be spicy, with aromas from green chillies and cardamoms whether it is non-vegetarian or vegetarian. These two things will give the best flavor to it. The rice has to be Basmati/Tilakchandan because they give the best Rice-Aromas. In North-Indian cooking the biryani's are given a distinct aroma of cardamoms by a special technique of flavoring the rice. I learned it from my mom who in turn learned it from her father.This method was used by the chefs of "Nawaabs" at that time.. well atleast that is what my mom told me :)

Cooking Time : 50 mins (excluding Marination and Baking) , serves 4-5

Ingredients:

You will need

• Boneless Chicken Meat of your choice cut into 2X2 inch chunks.
• 1 cup Yogurt (Dahi) : With water  drained.
• 1 onion (chopped)
• 2X2 inch peice of ginger (chopped)
• 2-3 garlic cloves(chopped)
• Spices : Tandoori chicken masala(3 tbsp), Red chilli powder( 2 tsp), salt, Dhaniya Powder(2 tbsp), 2-3 cloves(laung), 2 bay leaves(tej-patra)
• tomato puree( one cup)
• green chillies diced into halves
• chopped coriander(Cilantro)
• lemon juice
• crushed black pepper
• 3-4 cups of boiled rice.
• 2 tbsp oil
• 1 tsp cumin seeds(jeera) 
• 3 cardamoms(break opened)

Marination:

For marination, drain water from yogurt by keeping it in a seive/peice of cloth for around 2 hours. Collect a cup of water drained yogurt. you might need around 3 cups of standard yogurt for this purpose. Now in a bowl mix some salt, red chilli powder, 2 tbsp Tandoori chicken masala and a little crushed black pepper.

Now add all the chicken in the bowl, mix well and set aside with a cover. The chicken needs to be marinated for around 10 hours, so its best to do it first thing in morning if you are planning for dinner, or a day before if you are planning a lunch.

Baking:

Bake the marinated chicken for around 35 minutes at 450 degree Fahrenheit or around 232 degree Celsius.

After baking separate the chicken in a bowl and splash some lemon juice evenly over it.

Recipe for chicken:

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet and add the cloves(laung), and bay leaves to it. Now add onion, garlic and "half" of the chopped ginger and saute for a few minutes until the onions turn golden brown.
2. Now add the spices like Dhaniya powder, 1 tbsp tandoori chicken masala to it and stir well. Add the baked chicken to this and mix well. Cook for a minute with a lid on.
3. Now add the tomato puree and cook covered for 2 minutes. Add salt if necessary.
4. Simmer for a few minutes and add chopped green chillies and coriander.

Flavoring the Rice:

The rice should be freshly boiled. Now, flavoring the rice is extremely important to give the Biryani its authentic aroma and even taste. This is a very common method practiced in North Indian culture as I mentioned earlier too. Just heat 2 tsp oil/desi ghee in a large spoon or small skillet and add the mentioned quantity of jeera and cardamoms to it. Make sure, you break open cardamoms so that few seeds get into the   ghee. I recommend ghee instead of oil for a better taste and aroma, but if some of you are really picky about the ghee fat, you can replace that by oil. Fry for 5-6 seconds and add this to rice. Mix well so that all of rice gets the aroma from cardamoms.

Presentation:

In a large serving bowl, make a layer of flavored rice and run a layer of chicken gravy on it. Run alternate layers of rice and chicken till you reach the top of bowl. Decorate with green chillies diced in halves and cilantro, serve hot !!

Farfalle Pasta in sauteed peppers, onions,eggplant and mushrooms with rosemary chicken

Overview:

The Farfalle pasta is yet another ingredient that will add an aesthetic look to your food. Pasta is not a very healthy meal altogether, but when blended with vegetables or your choice of meat, it can be a delight for eyes and taste buds and will keep a good score on health factor as well. So, this mix and match came up in my mind just a couple of days back and I started cooking it in my head even before actually trying it for real.. !

Italian food mostly makes use of vegetables like onion, garlic,peppers,eggplant,tomatoes and mushrooms. Sometimes greener ones like romaine lettuce etc. but for this recipe I have used the ones I mentioned first.

Cooking time : 50-60 mins , serves 3-4

I really hope someone would try this recipe someday and let me know if they liked it :). It feels like "Julie and Julia" playing around. But thankfully, I am not obsessed with the cooking :)

Ingredients:

You will need :

• Farfalle pasta (one cup)
• Diced mushrooms(around 5-6) and 1 small diced eggplant(around half a cup)
• 1 Diced pepper each of your choice : Red, green, yellow
• 2 Diced onions
• Tomato puree
• Parmesan-romano pasta sauce(available at stores)
• grated Parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheese, ricotta cheese
• Italian Bruschetta dressing
• 2 tbsp Olive oil
• Salt as per taste
• 1 tsp Margarine/butter
• 7 garlic cloves (grated)
• boneless chicken thighs (2)
• Italian seasoning with dried Thyme, rosemary, oregano and basil.
• crushed black pepper
• lemon juice
• some red wine

Recipe:

1. In a pan, boil pasta along with some salt, drain it and set aside.
2. Wash chicken and cut in small pieces(1 x 1 inch). Sprinkle some salt, crushed black pepper and Italian seasoning over the chicken and set aside for 15 mins. Preheat the oven at 420 degree F or 215 degree Celsius.
3. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil and add a tsp of grated garlic. Saute for a few seconds and add all the chopped vegetables like onions, mushrooms, peppers and eggplant. Saute or stir fry for a few minutes until the vegetables start loosing water. Add salt as per taste and cook covered for a minute.
4. Now add 2 tbsp of Italian Bruschetta dressing and saute well.
5. Cook open until the water starts drying up. Pour some red wine over the vegetables(around 2 tbsp) and then sprinkle Italian seasoning all over the mixture and set aside covered so that it doesn't loose heat and gravy.
6. Now in the preheated oven, bake the chicken for around 6-7 minutes. After that take out the chicken, drain the fat lost by it and pour some lemon juice over it. Set it aside.
7. Now add together the pasta and vegetable mixture and mix well without disrupting the shapes of individual ingredients.
8. In a separate skillet, heat some margarine/butter and add the rest of grated garlic. Saute until light brown and then add tomato puree. Heat for a minute and then add the Parmesan-Romano pasta sauce. Heat this mixture well. This will be the sauce for our pasta salad made in step 7.

Serving/Presentation :

In a platter, serve the pasta salad of "step 7" and top up with the baked rosemary chicken. Now pour some pasta sauce over it centrally and sprinkle the grated Parmesan,Mozzarella and Ricotta cheese. Sprinkle some Italian seasoning at the end to increase the rosemary aroma. Serve hot.

** For Vegetarians :Just Don't add chicken !!! ;)

Roasted Minced Eggplant with tomatoes (Baingan Bhartha)

Overview:

Among most of the North-Indian, central and western Indian cuisine, this is my favorite dish. I am a sucker for eggplants. Like, such a big fan that I can eat eggplants in any form, shapes, sizes and cuisines. Someday, I am going to learn to make authentic "Eggplant Parmesan" and I'll share the recipe too. But for today, its an Indian thingy !!

The characteristic of this dish which really stands out is that it has a really nice smoky flavor because of the roasting process. If its there, then you are in a for a real good eating time.

Cooking time : 60 mins including pre-cooking preparations and roasting the eggplant.

Ingredients:

You will need :

• 2 big eggplants 
• 2 onions finely chopped
• 3 tomatoes finely chopped
• 4-5 garlic cloves (chopped)
• half cup finely chopped ginger
• coriander powder (2 tbsp)
• red chilli powder (1 tsp)
• salt as per taste
• Zafrani Garam masala (from shan foods)
• cooking oil (2 tbsp)
• 3 chopped green chillies
• chopped cilantro(coriander) leaves

Roasting the eggplants:

Roast eggplant on flame directly. In case of  metallic plate burners/glass lid heaters use a grill stand to cover the burner and roast eggplant over it. It might take some more time in the later process.The roasting process should be slow so that the smoky flavor resides in the eggplant without actually burning it. Try using eggplants with thinner skins, they have juicier pulp and it makes the roasting process faster. The roasting should be done evenly all over the surface and you'll know when its done. The eggplant will loose water and become soft throughout and the skin will start to crack in many places.

Set the eggplants aside in a large bowl to cool down. After cooling, peel the skin off and mash the eggplants together into a large soft lump. 

PS: This process will look gross, but you will get over it soon ;)

Recipe:

1. In a small bowl take mentioned amount of coriander powder, red chilli powder, 1 tsp  garam masala, salt as per taste and add water in it to make a smooth paste.
2. Heat the oil in a large skillet on high flame.
3. Add the chopped onion, garlic and half the amount of ginger to be used into the oil. Saute till golden brown.
4. Now add the masala paste we made in step 1 to the skillet. Saute for a couple of minutes.
5. Now add the mashed eggplants and stir nicely. Cook covered for around 5 mins on medium flame.
6. Add the diced tomatoes, green chillies and rest of ginger and stir evenly. Again cook covered for around 5 mins on high flame. If needed, add more salt.
7. You can add some tomato puree or amchur to give a more tangy taste to the eggplant. In some time you can whiff the roasty smell :)
8. Cook until the eggplant mixture turns brownish in color. This means that the eggplant is thoroughly cooked and even somewhat extra-roasted. This almost does it !

Serving/Presentation Instruction:

Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve hot with chapaties/paranthas.

Steamed Eggs

Overview:

Extremely easy and quick to make given its a feast worth waiting for.. Well, I don't really want to brag about it but could not help saying all that because this delicacy is something I make for lunch/dinner when I really don't have anything left to cook at home and everyone wants to eat "something nice". 

My husband's friends stopped by the other day and I had no idea what to offer for dinner, that would look nice to serve and quick to make.. so with simple daal-chaval I thought of adding "Steamed eggs" on the serving tray so that nobody goes disappointed from the house of a "born-chef" !! :)

Now Eggs cook very easily in just a little steam, just like you can poach the eggs in boiling water. 

The process has to be gradual , and trust me.. the result looks beautiful.

Cooking Time : 20 mins, serves 4-5

Ingredients :

• 4 White eggs
• 2 chopped onions
• some finely chopped ginger
• 2 chopped tomatoes
• Spices: 2 tbsp Dhaniya (coriander) powder, 1 tsp red chilli powder, 0.5 tsp haldi(turmeric), 0.5 tsp garam masala
• salt to taste
• chopped coriander(cilantro) and green chillies for garnishing.
• 2 tbsp cooking oil

Recipe:

1. Heat oil in a skillet and add onions and ginger to it. Fry until golden pink.
2. Now add all the spices and mix well.
3. Now add the chopped tomatoes and sprinkle salt all over the mixture. Add a little tomato puree to increase acidity. otherwise, just add 3 tbsp water.
4. break open all the 4 eggs over the mixture. Yes, just break open the egg and empty it out in the skillet over the mixture.. that is exactly what you have to do !!
5. After adding all the eggs, put flame on medium heat and sprinkle salt and garam masala over the recently added eggs to even out the taste. Just make sure you do not add excessive salt.
6. Cook covered for 5 mins. Open the lid and with a spatula gently tap on the eggs to see if they are still mushy.
7. Cook (covered) for a longer time if eggs are mushy. Eventually they will become firm throughout. That is because, We added water and tomatoes drained enough water to generate steam which cooked the eggs. So, we are all done !!

Presentation :

Serve in bowl garnished with chopped coriander/cilantro leaves and chillies. Can be eaten with Chapaties/Rice.

** So, You can play with the ingredients and spices used. This is a recipe with Indian spices, but I am thinking of making it "Italian" !!! 

Shrimp Salad

Overview:

All I can say about this is "quick" , "easy", "healthy" and "tasty".

Shrimps take very less time to cook. They must not be overcooked because then they become a little harder to chew as they loose excessive water. The best cooking result for fresh shrimps is mild toss and turn. That is why they should be added at the end.

Cooking time : 10 mins

Ingredients :

You will need : 

• Fresh Shrimps (Peeled and washed)
• 4 grated garlic cloves
• Salad blend of your choice. I personally like Romaine lettuce and carrots. But a little flavorful veggies like onion, peppers, green peas etc. will be an added advantage.
• Italian bruschetta dressing
• 1000 Island dressing
• Extra virgin olive oil
• salt 
• fresh lemon juice

Recipe :

1. Heat some olive oil in a skillet and saute grated garlic in it till golden brown.
2. Now add shrimps, sprinkle salt over them and gently toss and turn for around 30 seconds on medium flame.
3. Add some lemon juice and Italian bruschetta dressing over shrimps and turn the heat off so that the water lost by shrimps stays as a sauce dressing for salad.
4. Let the thick gravy cool down a bit.

Presentation :

Set the salad blend in a bowl and evenly spread the shrimp gravy over it. Sprinkle grated Parmesan cheese  and dress with 1000 Island dressing or Catalina dressing for a sweeter taste. Bingo !! healthy and tasty meal is ready..!!

Pasta shells in Parmesan-Romano-tomato sauce

Overview:

Just my love for Italian food compelled me to do yet another experiment with beautiful pasta shells. I prefer using shells rather than spaghetti or noodles etc. because I love the way they look. They give a classy appearance to the simplest sauce, which is what we are going to see here.On the calorie count, this is more of a kids meal or athlete meal because it is high on carb and protein. Some fat too, but wait till you look at it! I bet you would want to dig in a couple of scoops at least :D

Ingredients : 

• Pasta shells
• 2-3 garlic cloves (grated)
• Italian Bruschetta dressing
• Italian seasoning with dried oregano, thyme, rosemary and basil.
• Ranch
• salt as per taste
• Parmesan Romano sauce(available at grocery stores)
• two big tomatoes (finely diced)
• Shredded Parmesan cheese
• Shredded Mozzarella cheese
• 2tbsp extra-virgin olive oil.

Recipe:

1. Boil pasta shells in saline water, drain them and set them aside.
2. In a large skillet, heat olive oil and saute the grated garlic in it till golden-light brown.
3. Now add the diced tomatoes and sprinkle little salt over them so that they can loose water and become mushy.
4. Cook covered for 3 minutes on medium-high and now add around 3 tbsp of Italian Bruschetta dressing.
5. Cook covered for another couple of mins medium-high and then add 3 tbsp of Parmesan-Romano sauce.
6. Cook covered on simmer for another 2 mins and add 1 tbsp ranch to thicken the gravy.
7. Sprinkle some Italian seasoning over the gravy while cooking it on simmer flame.
8. Finally sprinkle some shredded Parmesan cheese and three times the same amount of shredded Mozzarella cheese and stir gravy.

Presentation/Serving:

In a platter, serve pasta shells and pour gravy evenly over them. Sprinkle some more Mozzarella cheese and serve hot.

Indian Pav - Bhaji

Overview:

Whenever Pav-bhaji comes to my mind, I am reminded of my Hostel/College days. Since I studied in Nagpur (Maharashtra, India), I got a chance to taste few authentic marathi delicacies and my good luck that the people who gave me that chance were generous enough to share their secret recipes too !

So this one comes from my very favorite "Kanta" tai, one of the cooks at my hostel. Although there was this particular stall in the nearby market who made the best bhaji ever in the whole town. I remember it was Rs 15 a plate, with 2 pavs and a bowl of bhaji.. sufficient for our "petite appetite" :D

Cooking time : 30 mins excluding the roasting of Pavs, serves 5-6

Ingredients: 

You will need :

• Florets from one large cauliflower(washed thoroughly)
• 1 bowl of fresh green peas (approx 200 gm)
• 2 small carrots (diced in smaller pieces)
• 3 -4 Potatoes (medium size skin peeled)
• MDH Pav bhaji masala
• 3-4 cloves of garlic (grated)
• 2 onions (chopped)
• 3 tomatoes (chopped)
• salt to taste
• butter
• chopped coriander leaves and chopped green chillies
• 2 tbsp oil

Recipe:

1. In a steam-cooker, put cauliflower florets, green peas, carrots and potatoes with some water. Cook at high pressure for 15-20 mins. so, let go approximately 4-5 whistles.
2. In a separate large skillet heat oil and add the grated garlic to it. saute until golden brown and then add the diced onions. 
3. saute the mixture until onions are golden pink and then add diced tomatoes. Cook covered until the tomatoes become soft and mushy. Add salt to taste and then add 2-3 tbsp Pav bhaji masala.
4. mix well and add chopped green chillies.
5. Now mix all the boiled vegetables with a large spatula. Mix well till the point they appear to be blended well. This will take around 15 mins of hard labor and the outcome should be more like a vegetable paste.
6. Now add the mix we made in the skillet to the blended vegetable paste and add a full glass of water. Heat the mixture on high flame and add more salt and pav bhaji masala as per the taste requirement. The bhaji is done.!!

Serving/Presentation Instruction:

Serve in a bowl garnished with chopped coriander topped with a tsp butter, alongside freshly roasted pav.

Pavs are available in Indian grocery stores and can be roasted in oven without oil too.

** Sorry about the hardly presentable picture. Actually I cooked for 2 cricket teams so made in bulk :)