Tandoori Chicken.

Tandoori chicken has to be one of the most well-known dishes of the Indian cuisine. When I was going for my cake decorating classes, I was the only Indian and the rest of the class consisted of Asian Americans. There were 2 from China,2 from Phillipines and 1 from Japan. The 2 dishes they asked me if knew to make was tandoori chicken and chicken curry Tandoori chicken always manages to hit the spot with me. Its a must now in our weddings but the caterers fry them instead of cooking it in a tandoor. In India we didnt have an oven at home, so we too used to fry these up. That recipe consisted of very basic ingredients like yoghurt,chilli powder,salt and garam masala. The following recipe is adapted from Nabeela’s blog but it seems she has gone private :(  In the following recipe cayenne pepper and paprika can be substituted for kashmiri chilli powder.

Ingredients:

2 chicken leg quarters
1 cup yoghurt
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 cup red onions
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 green chilli chopped
1 inch piece ginger
2 cloves garlic
4 cloves
1 inch cinnamon stick
6 peppercorns
1 bay leaf
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp paprika
3 tbsp cilantro/coriander leaves
3 tbsp tomato ketchup
salt to taste

Method:

Remove the skin and clean the chicken. Make a couple of slits on the chicken and keep aside.

Grind all the ingredients except the chicken quarters in a food processor or blender.

Once finely blended,  apply the masala generously on the chicken on both sides.

Take a vessel and keep the chicken pieces in that. Pour the remaining masala and keep it in the fridge overnight. Atleast 6 hours of marination is recommended.

Remove the chicken from the fridge 1 hour prior to baking. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Take a baking tray and arrange the chicken pieces on it. Donot put any extra masala in the tray.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. In the end keep the baking tray under the broiler for about 4 to 5 minutes so that it gets the beautiful charred look.

Serve hot with lemon wedges.

PS:  I am sending this to “Eat healthy-Protein Rich” event

 

Pudina/Mint Puris

I first had these puri’s at my friends place. There was just a delicate hint of mint in these soft, yummy puris. I was used to having just the plain puris so this was a novelty to me. I remember my friends younger brother kept calling these ‘Colgate puri’s’  We all had a good time over these and I remember going home and praising them to the skies to my mom,till she rolled her eyes and said she would take down the recipe from my friends mom. I dont make these often at home but when I saw the Herb mania event I thought I would share the recipe with you all.

Ingredients:

2 cups whole wheat flour
1/4 cup finely cut mint leaves
1 and half tsp dhaniya-jeera powder
2 tbsp lime juice
1 tsp red chilli powder
salt to taste
water and oil as required for kneading
oil for deep frying

Method:

Sift the flour and add all ingredients except water and oil. Mix well by hand.

Knead the flour using water and oil alternately till it comes together as a semi soft ball.

From this stage use oil alone for kneading as you need a stiff dough for puris.

Divide into small balls.

Heat oil in a kadhai over medium high heat.Take 1 ball and roll it into approximately 5 inch circle.If the dough is kneaded perfectly,you should be able to roll it without the use of any flour. Incase you cant, you can flour the surface and roll the dough.

Slip the flattened circle gently into the hot oil.It should puff up.Fry the other side too and drain them on a paper towel.

Do the same for the remaining puris.Serve hot.

PS: I am sending this to Ammalu’s kitchen for the ‘Herb Mania’ event.

 

Carrot Bread.

Hi All….I am back after quite a break! Unfortunately during this break I didn’t cook anything new,so I was unable to update my blog. Here is something I made during my break. Pardon me for the pic. There were just these 3 pieces remaining when I remembered to click the picture. This carrot bread is really moist and delicious and it reminds me of the rich plum cakes we used to get from Monginis!

Ingredients:

1 and half cup All purpose flour/ maida
1 tsp baking pdr
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup honey
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup shredded carrot
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup walnuts

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine flour,baking pdr,baking soda and salt in a bowl and keep aside

In another bowl, combine oil,sugar,eggs,brown sugar, honey and vanilla with an electric mixer. Add the shredded carrot and mix.

Then add the flour mixture to the other ingredients and mix until just combined.

Then add the raisins and walnuts and mix well by hand.

Pour batter into two 8 inch loaf pans. Bake for approx 45-60 minutes till a toothpick comes out clean.

 

Chickpeas Pulao.

This is truly a one-dish meal. It doesn’t take long to prepare and its very nutritious and not to mention yummy. I first had this dish when I was visiting my aunt. She had soaked the chickpeas to make chole’ but the electricity went off before she could grind the masala … these were the horrible load shedding days! So she finally settled for this. We had this with curds and it tasted heavenly. I couldnt believe something so simple could taste so great.

Ingredients:

1 cup chickpeas/garbazo beans boiled.
2 cups rice soaked
4 tbsp mint leaves finely chopped
1/2 cup cilantro/coriander leaves finely chopped
1/4 cup carrot diced
2 cloves of garlic finely chopped
1 onion sliced
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp cumin seeds
4 cloves
1 inch piece cinamon stick
1 bay leaf
6 peppercorns
salt to taste.
4 cups water for boiling the rice.
2 tbsp oil

Method:
Heat oil in the vessel you are about to cook.Add in the cloves,cinamon stick ,peppercorns and bay leaf.

When they heat up, add the cumin seeds.

Then add the onions and saute till transparent.Add the boiled chickpeas,garlic and carrots and saute for a couple of minutes.

Add the rice and mix well.Add the water and lime juice and cook on low flame till rice is almost done.

Then add the mint leaves and cilantro.Mix well and cook till rice is fully done.

Serve hot with curds.

 

Banana Nut Bread

We usually buy this from the farmer’s market as this is my hubby’s favourite.We get small slabs of this banana bread and its usually finished the same evening. Last time we bought some bananas and I kept aside 3 so that they can ripen and I get to make the banana bread. I found the recipe from Katie Joel’s book and found it simple to follow.The cake turned out to be yummy and delicious and hubby was suitably impressed

Ingredients:

2 cups AP flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
3 bananas mashed
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup chopped almonds
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup buttermilk

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a bowl mix flour,baking soda, baking powder and salt.

In another bowl, beat together sugar,oil,eggs and vanilla till well combined.

Add the dry ingredients alternating with buttermilk.

Stir in the mashed bananas and nuts

Pour batter in a loaf pan and bake for 45 to 55 minutes or till a toothpick comes clean.

Allow to cool.Slice and serve.

PS: I am sending this to “Beautiful Bones: An Osteoporosis Food Event“

 

 

My first baby shower cake.

One of my classmates from the cake decorating class is expecting and we decided to throw her a surprise baby shower. This was decided somewhere last month and all of us thought that our instructor would bake the cake for the party.But since is going to India at the end of this month, she was busy with a thousand things that go in packing for a long trip and so she asked one of us to bake a cake. I volunteered as I was the only one without a job or kids and in addition I wanted to try my hand at a few decorations. I didn’t know how the final result would look like but I had a few things in mind for the cake. The girl is expecting a baby boy…so everything had to be blue.I searched many websites for inspiration and saw many beautiful creations but I knew that for a first cake, I had to keep it simple. I dont like the taste of fondant, so I decided that the cake would be covered in buttercream and the decorations would be fondant,so that we could just remove the decorations and eat the yummy iced cake

So I made a small baby bed.To tell you the truth I wanted to make a crib but I couldnt get the logistics of getting the sides to hold up right.So I finally decided to go for a day bed with ruffled edges,a blue bedsheet with a blue pillow,a tiny teddy bear,2 books, a milk bottle,a ball of yarn and a knitted sweater. Everything looked so cute that I was mighty pleased with the results. Here are a few pics of my favourite cake so far

Close up of the decorations.In the pic below I have yet to finish the eyes and nose of the teddy bear which I did in class with an edible marker.

 

And finally,the last pic…getting ready to eat The mother-to-be carefully packed the fondant decorations and took it home to keep it as a remembrance!

 

Fish Sandwich.

We started having fish sandwiches after moving to the Bay area. Fisherman’s Wharf has such lovely seafood places that when we go there we invariably end up having seafood.This is one sandwich I like and I tried searching for recipes on the net. I found a few really good ones and I have simplified them to suit my own taste.

 

Ingredients:
1 thick fish filet
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 egg, beaten
1 cup milk
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 1/2 cups panko bread crumbs 
salt to taste
Freshly ground pepper
Extra-virgin olive oil
Sourdough baguette

For the garnish:
Mayonnaise
Lettuce leaves
Avacado wedges
Slices of tomato

Method:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.Put a large sheet tray in oven and heat it for 1/2 hour.

Begin by patting the fish filet dry. Apply salt and pepper and keep aside.

Take flour, beaten egg and milk, and bread crumbs in separate containers. Season each container with salt and pepper.Add the cayenne pepper to the flour.

Dip the fillet into the flour, egg mixture, and then panko. Set aside on a tray at room temperature to let the coating set.

Remove sheet tray from oven, add a little olive oil and transfer breaded fish to tray. Sprinkle olive oil over the fish. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Split the baguette in half horizontally. Open it up and toast it in a hot pan until just warmed through.

Spread mayonnaise on both sides.Place avacadoes and tomatoes on one half and lettuce and fish filet on the other half.Close the sandwich and serve hot with mayonnaise and ketchup.

I am sending this to Anupama for the ” Sandwich Festival-2008“.

 

Spicy Chicken Meatballs.

When I saw the Fortune Cooking Contest ,I was pretty excited. I remember the college days when we had just one copy of Linda Goodmans Love Signs in the library and that book used to be perpetually checked out. Once I got it , all my friends got together and pored over it analysing and re-analysing all the other sun signs and making notes on who our better half should be. We were a silly bunch of teenagers and many pleasant hours were passed thanks to that book. I have no idea where those notes are but that was the extent of my superstitious astrological beliefs.When I saw the contest I knew I would either cook something related to Taurus(my sign) or Scorpio(my hubbys sign) as I love both fish and chicken. Since this month has all been about me, I thought I would honour the man I married He has been my rock and my support and I cant imagine a life without him.So heres to you honey….thanks for making my life so special

Ingredients:

1 pound Chicken mince
Fresh bread crumbs(made from 2 slices of bread)
1 cup dry bread crumbs
1 egg lightly beaten
1 and half tsp garam masala powder
1/4 cup cilantro/corainder leaves finely chopped
1 tsp red chilly powder
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp fresh ginger-garlic-green chilli paste
A pinch of turmeric powder
1/4 cup warm water
Salt to taste
Oil to deep fry

Method:

Mix all the above ingredients together except the oil. Make sure that small meatballs can be formed easily.If the meatballs do not hold their shape add more dry breadcrumbs.

When the ingredients are mixed properly,shape them into small balls.

Heat oil in a kadhai.Slip as many meatballs as can comfortably fit in the kadhai.Fry on medium flame till golden brown.Remove on a paper towel.

Serve hot with ketchup.

PS: I am  sending this to the “Fortune Cooking Contest“.

 

An award and a tag…

 

Its nice to be important.

But its more important to be nice!!!

Thats why I am so honoured to receive this award from K3.Thanks a ton dear!.

“This award will be awarded to those that are just nice people, good blog friends and those that inspire good feelings and inspiration! Those that care about others that are there to lend support or those that are just a positive influence in our blogging world!”

I have “met” some really nice friends through the blogging world…and would like to pass this award on to them.  So to my friends here goes ….. Mandira, Chakoli, Lyandra from non-food blogs & Uma, Arundhati and Swati from food blogs. If any of the above have already received this award please forgive me for my ignorance….. I have been a bit busy to check other blogs.Will start soon.

Now for the tag…. I have been tagged by Madhavi for the top 10 pics.This was a bit difficult for me because I feel that the pics on my blog are quite amateur compared to the other food blogs. We have a simple point and shoot digi camera….but the results dont compare to the SLR.Anyway here it goes.

1) Valentine Cookies

2) Shrimp Pad Thai

3) Chilled Choco-Coffee Drink

4) Eggplant Parmesan

5) Hot and Sour soup

6) Cheese Scones

7) Fried Fish 

8 Bombay Toast

9) Pineapple Carrot Cake

10) Veg Manchurian

 

Dry Potato Vegetable(Batata nu shaak)

These go very well with theplas.I just love this combination. Potatoes are a favourite at our place.This dish is cooked on a low flame without using any water.I think thats the reason its so perfect as a travel food.

Ingredients:

2 large potatoes,peeled and diced
1 green chilli
A pinch of hing
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp fennel seeds
1/4 tsp tumeric powder
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp dhaniya-jeera powder
1 tsp sugar
salt to taste
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 or 3 curry leaves
2 tbsp oil

Method:

Heat oil in a pan.Add mustard seeds.When they splatter add cumin seeds and fennel seeds.

Then add hing,tumeric powder,red chilli powder,green chilli,curry leaves and dhaniya jeera powder.

Add the potatoes ,salt,sugar and lemon juice and mix very well.

Cover and cook on low flame till potatoes are cooked.Stir at regular intervals so that the potatoes dont stick to the pan

Serve hot.