Chicken tomato cream and Spinach mushroom chicken

For Siddharth

Chicken tomato cream
Ingredients:
1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon cooking oil/butter
2 cloves garlic, finely minced/ Garlic powder
3 tsp heavy cream/sour cream
1-2 diced tomatoes/ tomato paste (Hunts, 2 tsp)
Preferred chicken pieces, I liked thighs (with bones for curry with rice, boneless if you are going to serve with pasta)
Salt and pepper
Bay leaves
Cloves
Cinnamon sticks
Julienne ginger

Korma powder

Method:
For sauce, saute the chopped onion in cooking medium until softened. Add garlic, ginger and whole spices.
Wash chicken and pat dry. Make slits with a sharp knife or cut into smaller pieces. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper.
Add tomato, cover, and cook for 4 to 6 minutes longer, until chicken is cooked through. Add curry powder/ Korma powder, and then cream.
Can garnish with dry, ground parsley.

Spinach mushroom chicken can be made similarly by using blanched/frozen spinach and mushrooms instead of tomatoes.

You can also use diced onions, garlic,  mushrooms and spinach with a splash of soya sauce to make a stir fry or add to your pasta. Good as sandwich fillers with cheese.

Tortilla de patatas in yogurt sauce

This is something my Mom made when I was a kid. Baking makes my job easier.

All you need is:

1. Eggs - 5-6, beaten
2. Potatoes- small, 2, boiled and mashed
3. Green peas (optional)
4. Cilantro
5. Cumin seeds
6. Salt, turmeric
7. Onion grated
8. Ginger grated
9. Garlic grated
10. Bay leaves
11. Yogurt
12. Milk(optional)

1. In a small (so it doesn't spread out too thin) baking tray that has some decent height, pour the beaten eggs with mashed potatoes and peas. You can add salt, pepper, a little of the grated onions, garlic powder(or grated), ginger powder(or grated) Bake till it is nice and fluffy. (You can choose to fry this, but why sweat?)Those who like chilies, can add chopped green chillies too. It is good enough to eat now. It is like the Spanish Tortilla de patatas. But let's wait..
2. For the sauce, fry cumin and bay leaves, saute a little onion, garlic, ginger. Add yogurt.
3. Cut the potato-egg omelet into cubes, add to the sauce. Add cilantro to garnish.

Here is a recipe for Omelet curry, using the same ingredients, but the eggs and potatoes are used separately.

Hot garlic shrimp with chicken fried rice

For Shweta

Hot garlic shrimp
Ingredients
Shrimps, deveined
1 pinch MSD Substitute
½ tsp. Black Pepper(powder)
1 tsp. Sugar
2 tbsp.Chili garlic sauce
2 tbsps. Corn Flour
2 Eggs
5-7 Green Chilies, slit in the middle
6 cloves Garlic
1 inch ginger
Onions sliced in squares
Cabbage sliced
Cooking Oil
Salt to taste
Chili oil

Directions
Marinate the shrimp in 1 tablespoon. Soya sauce, salt, egg and 1 tablespoon cornflour for ten minutes.
Deep fry in hot oil till light brown. Take out and soak excess oil in paper towels.
Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a wok. Add chopped garlic, ginger, onions, cabbage, and green chilies and toss for 15 seconds.
Add chili garlic sauce in water.Add MSD substitute, sugar, pepper powder.
Add shrimp and cook for 3 minutes. Drizzle chili oil
Garnish with chopped spring onions and julienned green chilies.

*
Chicken Fried rice 1

Rice, cooked
Grated ginger, garlic, cabbage
Green Peas
Diced carrots
Chicken pieces, marinated in vinegar, pepper and salt
MSD Substitute
Soya Sauce
Spring onions
1 tbsp butter

Heat butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add chicken, grated ginger, garlic, cabbage -saute. Then add green peas, carrots and 2 tablespoons soy sauce and stir-fry for 5 to 6 minutes.
Then add rice and stir thoroughly.
Can add scrambled eggs.

*

How to make chili oil at home

You might also like Spicy Garlic Shrimp [Food Network, Rachel Ray]

It is something similar to what I had in Oahu, Hawaii from a food van.

Chili chicken 1

Guest recipe by Sangram Ganguly

Updated version (2/14/2014)

1. Wash boneless chicken thighs and cut into small pieces (dry with paper towels ) - put corn starch (2 tbsp) , all purpose flour (3 tbsp), 1 egg,  vinegar, salt and pepper. Mix well and keep aside 20 mins to an hour. Deep fry the chicken till brown.
2. On a separate pan, put 4-5 tablespoon of oil (preferably a mix of refined oil and chili oil)- when hot add minced garlic, ginger and green chili- keep stirring.
3. Add chunks of bell pepper, onion and soy sauce (3-4 tbsp) - stir - (sprinkle salt  to taste)
4. When the mixture is fairly done - add some chili paste (Sambal Oelek), some soy sauce again  and keep stirring - add the fried chicken at this point.
5. Add 2 cups of water (1 cup mixed with 1 tbsp of corn starch) and cover the pan with a lid and cook in low heat for 15-20 mins.

Add some sauteed greens to your meal like organic broccoli with minced garlic and soy sauce.

Sandwich ideas

Grilled jalapeño focaccia sandwich with provolone, pesto-garlic and smoked ham

Shepherder's bread with fire roasted red pepper, pepper jack cheese and marinated mushrooms

Grilled tomato, mozzarella (and basil)sandwich

Provolone, boiled egg, pepper, pickled jalapeno, tomatoes, pastrami, and chili sauce*

Cashew raisin cinnamon cookie

1 cup white sugar
1 cup butter
1 egg
1 tablespoon milk powder
Semolina
Cinnamon powder
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
Halved cashews
Raisins
Directions

Thoroughly whisk butter, sugar, and egg.
Add dry ingredients.
Cut into shapes and rest onto ungreased cookie sheets. Press raisins and cashews in the center of each cookie. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 12-15 minutes.

Deviled eggs

Chilled Deviled eggs make great Hors d'œuvre.

Here's a version of my basic deviled eggs.

Ingredients:
5 eggs
1 tablespoon spinach artichoke dip (you can use your preferred salad dressing, mashed potatoes, cheese, mayo, garlic powder)
salt and pepper to taste
1 pinch paprika

Directions
Place eggs in saucepan, add salt and water. Cover and bring to boil. Remove from heat, and let eggs sit in hot water for 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from hot water and cool.
Peel and cut in half lengthwise. Remove yolks, combine with dip and salt and pepper. Mix together until smooth.
Refill each egg half with the yolk mixture and sprinkle with paprika.

Visit this link for more ideas of deviled eggs.

Also, more appetizer recipes at Foodnetwork

Great with Spiced apple juice with a lemon twist

Kiwi chicken salad

Ingredients:
1 cup cooked chicken breast, diced
4 kiwifruit, peeled and sliced
3 tablespoons red onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup red cabbage, thinly sliced
Juice of 3 limes
3 tablespoons light olive oil
2 teaspoons chopped cilantro
Salt to taste

Directions
Place the chicken, kiwi, onion in a large bowl.

Whisk together the lime juice, olive oil, and cilantro in a small bowl. Add salt to taste.

Pour the dressing over the chicken mixture and carefully stir until evenly coated with the dressing.

Keema -matar (minced meat and green peas) with mint leaves

Ingredients
1 pound Minced meat (I usually prefer turkey. Chicken, beef. pork, lamb or goat is ok too)
3/4 cup - Green peas
1 big - Onion, chopped finely
1 piece - Ginger, chopped finely
1 tbsp - Garlic, grated
3 green chillies or 1 jalapeño chopped. You can use 1 habanero if you want it really hot !
2 small - Cinnamon sticks
2 pods - Cardamom seeds, crushed
3 - Cloves
1 - Bay leaf
1/2 tsp - Whole Coriander seeds
1/2 tsp - whole peppercorns
1/2 tsp - Red chili powder
1/2 tsp meat masala
Salt to taste
3 tsp yogurt or sour cream
Mint leaves to garnish


Heat oil in a pan and fry onions until golden brown. Add garlic, ginger, cardamom, cinnamom, cloves, bay leaf, coriander seeds, peppercorns, green chillies and fry for 3 - 4 minutes.

Add minced meat, peas and fry for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally until meat turns brown. Use a hand mixer to mix evenly. Add yogurt. Cover and cook on low heat until meat is cooked . Garnish with mint leaves.

I love the crunchy coriander seeds and peppercorns in this dish, and the mint flavor. If you don't fancy mint much, you can add cilantro instead, or other seasoning. It is good with rosemary or kasuri methi too.

Recipe for Aloo Keema

Bengali Vegetable Medley (Panch mishali)

Version 1

 Version 2: Added beets for some color

Ingredients:
Chopped cabbage- half
Butternut squash- a quarter
Radish: 1 medium
Roma tomatoes: 2
Potatoes: 1 or 2
Green Peas : 1/3 cup
Dry red chili: 1 (break into 2) or  2 Green chilis slit in halves
Panch phoron: 1 tsp.
Turmeric powder: a pinch or so ( I don't like too much turmeric in my food)
Salt to taste
Sugar to taste
Oil: 2-3 tbsp.
Fresh coriander leaves/cilantro for garnishing

Method :

1. Cut radish, butternut squash, tomatoes and potatoes into cubes. Chop cabbage leaves, thaw some frozen green peas.
2. In a pan, heat 2 tbsp. oil, temper with Panch phoron, and bay leaves.
3. Add vegetables, salt, turmeric powder and a vegetable masala (like Badshah Sabji masala or dry roasted cumin/coriander powder) if you prefer. It is good simply with grated ginger and green chilies too.
4. Stir-fry together for 20-30 minutes in medium flame. Bengalis usually add a spoonful of sugar and ghee at the end. If you add pumpkin or butternut squash in the recipe, you don't need extra sugar for sweetness.
5. Remove from heat and garnish with fresh coriander leaves/cilantro. (or add before you stop the flame/heat)

You may also use other vegetables like carrots, beets, cauliflower or drumsticks. I prefer the radish-butternut squash combination and then I add/subtract other vegetables on whim or availability. It is a  great way to clean to clean your fridge before your weekly groceries.

You can add fresh spinach leaves and chana dal for tempering as a variety. You may also add chopped banana blossom (mocha) or fried lentil fritter (dal er bora) for a different flavor.

Vegetable chop or vegetable croquette with Sweet Tamarind Chutney

For Sujaya Di

Tamarind Chutney

Ingredients:
Red chillies, broken in half
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
2 cups water
White sugar, to taste
3 tablespoons tamarind paste/concentrate

Directions
Heat oil over medium heat and add chillies, fennel seeds, or you can dry toast them too.
Stir the water along with the sugar and tamarind paste. Bring to a boil, then simmer over low heat until the mixture turns deep brown and is thick enough to coat the back of a metal spoon.

Vegetable croquette
Ingredients:
Vegetables of your choice
2 eggs
Bread crumbs

1. Use vegetables of your choice. I parboiled 2 beets, 1 potato, 1 carrot and then skinned them. (You can use cauliflower too) 
2. Mash the vegetables into a chunky mix. Added thawed green peas, dry roasted peanuts (broken) and washed raisins to the mix.
   You can add your fav spice in this step. I used julienned ginger, Green chilies,  Bhaja masala (dry roasted and ground cumin, coriander and dry red chilies),  and salt.
3. Lightly fry the mix in a skillet with a little oil until the oil separates. 
4. Make a batter of slightly beaten eggs.
5. In another bowl, add a fair amount of panko flakes or bread crumb of your preferred brand.
6. Cool the vegetable mix and shape into elongated rolls.
7. Dip the rolls into the egg batter, then coat with bread crumb (Repeat this step for a super crunchy crust)
8. Deep fry in hot oil, turn once. When light golden brown, remove and drain oil. Serve with the chutney.

You can freeze them up to a month and deep fry them before eating.

Salmon and Tamarind Curry

I learned about this recipe at a potluck from a South Indian guy. The flavor was amazing, and a hit at the party.

For Ervin
Salmon, steak or fillet
1 onion
2 tbsp cooking oil
Garlic, crushed or minced
2cm (about 1 inch) ginger, peeled and grated
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp turmeric
2 small red chillies, sliced
1 tsp tamarind concentrate
1 tbsp tomato purée
400 ml coconut milk
200 ml water
1 tsp sugar
Curry leaves
Coriander leaves/cilantro, to garnish


1. Thaw the salmon in a microwave based on weight (I prefer thawing in cold water or fresh fish), sprinkle salt and set aside.

2. Finely chop the onion. Heat the oil in a heavy-based pan and fry the onion. Add the garlic and ginger and fry further, stirring all the time. Can add cumin seeds here. Go easy on the cumin powder then.

3. Turn the heat down low, sprinkle over the ground coriander, cumin, turmeric and chillies, and stir continuously until the spices give off a warm, toasted aroma - about a minute.

4. Add the tamarind, tomato puree, coconut milk, water, the remaining salt, and the sugar. Simmer the curry, uncovered, for about 10 minutes before tasting. If you feel the curry needs it, add a touch more tamarind and chilli.

5. Add the fish to the pan and simmer for 5 minutes, or until cooked. The fish should flake easily when it's ready. Garnish with coriander leaves/cilantro, and serve with steamed rice

* Can make a version w/o the coconut milk too.

*Go easy on the tamarind concentrate if you are cooking it for the first time. Add a little water to 1 tsp concentrate and whisk it well for better consistency in the gravy.

*You can try baked salmon with tamarind glaze too. Less fuss, healthier. 

Suji Upma/ Nonta Suji

Ingredients
1 cup semolina (rava/suji)
1 tbsp grated ginger (adrak)
1/2 cup chopped onions
2 tbsp chopped green chillies
Curry leaves
Peanuts
Mustard seeds
salt to taste
oil for cooking

You can add green peas, diced potatoes, jalapeños too.

Method
Heat the pan and dry roast peanuts,add mustard seeds, green chillies, curry leaves, and then the semolina stirring continuously.
Add the water and make a thick consistency batter.
Add the salt and mix gently.

Yogurt drinks

Good for nausea and to aid digestion.

Spicy yogurt-mint drink
INGREDIENTS
1 cup yogurt or buttermilk
Add salt and water if using yogurt
Mint leaves
½ teaspoon jal-jeera
Ice cubes
Whole fresh mint leaves for garnish

Blend together all the ingredients except the ice cubes and whole mint leaves for the garnish until smooth in a blender.


Gulabi Lassi (Rose flavored yogurt drink)

Natural yoghurt
1 tsp rose essence or Ruh-Afza
Pink rose petals to garnish (optional)

Mix together yoghourt, water, rose essence in a blender

Aloo palak (Potato Spinach)

Ingredients

Cooking oil
Bay leaves
Pinch of cumin seeds
2 dried red chili broken
Turmeric powder, salt to taste
Crushed garlic
Cubed potatoes, microwaved or boiled, add a little salt
Fresh spinach, blanched or microwaved for 10 minutes, add a little salt
Bhaja masala-dry roasted cumin, coriander and dry red chilis

Method:

1. Blend the blanched spinach into a smooth paste.(You may also use finely chopped or frozen spinach)
2. Add the bay leaves, cumin seed, red chilis and let it splutter.
3. Add  potatoes. Sprinkle salt, turmeric, bhaja masala and fry till golden. Add chopped spinach. Simmer for a few minutes. Sprinkle some water if it gets too dry.

You can make aloo methi (potatoes with fenugreek leaves) by using chopped methi instead of spinach. Or add cubed eggplant to aloo palak to make a delicious aloo-palak-baingan. You just need to temper mustard oil with nigella seeds and dry red chilies for a quick side dish.

You may add cottage cheese (paneer) instead of potatoes for palak paneer recipe. Green chillis and onions  may also be aided as a variation. It also help to soften the cottage cheese in salt water if you can't get fresh paneer.

*Yet another way of cooking paneer is to rub salt, turmeric, red chili powder and amchur on the paneer cubes and shallow fry them first, before incorporating in the gravy.

Mocktails

Virgin Pina Colada
Crushed ice
Pineapple chunks
Vanilla ice cream
Your fav pina colada mix or pineapple juice and coconut cream
Blend.

Garnish with maraschino cherry, a pineapple chunk and a tropical flower

Thai shrimp curry with vegetables and bamboo shoots

Ingredients
2 tablespoons cooking oil
1/2 cup chopped shallots
3 red chillies or Thai chilies broken
2 teaspoons minced garlic and ginger
2 teaspoons sugar
1 (14-ounce) can coconut milk
1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined (cooked shrimp is ok)
3 tablespoons chopped Thai basil leaves
1 packet frozen vegetables- preferably with bamboo shoots in it. They give a different flavor.
Pinch of curry powder

Can add Thai fish sauce if you like.

In a large wok heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the shallots, sauté, add garlic and ginger. Add the vegetables. Stirring, add sugar, then the coconut milk and bring to a boil. Simmer until thickened slightly. Add the shrimp and cook, stirring, until cooked through. Add curry powder. Serve over rice

  Link 1

Sometimes, I use chicken instead of  shrimp , and pickled bamboo shoots instead of brined ones.

Rogan Mushroom (Mushrooms in Onion Tomato Gravy)

I hold mushrooms in high regard. Not only they are rich in nutrients like some B Vitamins and essential minerals- I find them delicious. Give me a mushroom sandwich or cream of mushroom soup anytime- really.

You can add green peas to the following recipe and make a version of Khumb-matar ki sabzi (Mushroom -peas curry)

1 large onion quartered
3 medium-sized tomatoes quartered
2 green chillies
5 cloves garlic
1" piece of ginger
3 tbsps cooking oil
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp red chilli powder (optional)
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp garam masala
500 gms button mushrooms wiped clean and cut into halves
Salt to taste
4 tbsps thick unsweetened yogurt or sour cream, whisked till smooth
Chopped fresh coriander to garnish
Preparation:

Put the quartered onion, tomatoes, green chillies, ginger and garlic into a food processor and grind into a smooth paste. There is no need to add any water to this while grinding as the juices from the tomatoes will provide sufficient liquid.
Heat the cooking oil in a deep pan on medium heat, add the above mixture and all the powdered spices. Stir and fry till the oil begins to separate from the masala. Stir often to prevent the masala from sticking and/ or burning.
When the masala is done , add the mushrooms and stir gently. Season with salt to taste and add half a cup of warm water. Cook till the mushrooms are soft but not pulpy/ overcooked. Stir in the yogurt or sour cream.

A bit of cashew paste and ground poppy seeds can do wonders for a gravy. I like using it in my meatballs (Kofta curry). You can use it for this recipe too.