Chicken Mughlai

Royal food vs. regular daily boring routine food!!! Who’s in? I am for sure!

Many of the popular dishes in India come from the classic, traditional Mughlai food! Every time I visit Hyderabad, the aroma of saffron, whole spices, ghee(clarified butter), chicken, biryani, even  boiling milk transcends the soul in a different world. I wish I had learnt this recipe earlier. Oh, well, let’s head towards the recipe before my mouth starts watering! Just a quick note, this recipe needs to be marinated for a minimum of 5-6 hours, overnight marinated chicken will taste even better.

Tip: This recipe takes a little love and effort to make, please prepare everything beforehand and keep the ingredients ready. Even if it looks long, it’s all worth it! I only have this pic! I will try making it again for a better picture.

All you need:

For marinade:

1. 1 lb Chicken preferably with bones (Washed, cut into medium sized pieces)
2. 1/2 cup Yogurt
3. A pinch of turmeric powder
4. 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
5. 1 tbsp coriander powder
6. 1/2 tbsp cumin powder
7. 1 tsp garam masala powder
8. Salt as required
9. 1 tbsp oil

Whole and powdered spices:

1. 1 bayleaf
2. 1-2 inch cinnamon whole
3. 3-4 cloves
4. 3-4 green cardamom pods
5. 1 black cardamom pod
6. 1 anistar
7. 5-10 black peppercorns
8. 1 tbsp coriander powder
9. 1 tsp cumin powder
10. 1/4 tsp ground mace
11. 1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
12. 1/4 tsp garam masala
13. 1/4 tsp turmeric
14. 1 tsp red chili powder

Other ingredients:

1. 1 medium sized onion sliced (I prefer red)
2. 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
3. 1 green chili finely chopped(I use serrano pepper about half if its a small one)
4. 2 chicken bouillons
5.  1/2 cup skinless almonds (soaked)
6. 1/4 cup unsalted cashews (soaked)
7. 1/2 cup cream
8. a pinch of saffron strands
9. Salt as required
10. Ghee or Oil as required
11. Mixed dry fruits like pistachios, almonds, cashews, brown raisins for garnishing.( I only had pistachios!  )

Ready, Set, Go:

1. Marinate the chicken and keep it overnight preferably.
2. Heat oil, add onions, fry them until they soften, do not fry till the onions turn brown, add ginger-garlic and fry till the raw smell disappears or for less than a minute, add the chili. Fry for a few more seconds. Turn off the heat, cool it and blend the mixture.
3. Heat another pan for frying the chicken, fry chicken pieces until they look golden in color on both sides. Reserve the remaining oil in pan. Drain the extra oil off the pieces and keep the pieces aside in a bowl.
4. In the same pan, in the remaining oil, add the whole spices (numbers 1-7) and fry till you start smelling the aroma, add the onion paste and fry for two minutes, add the powdered spices (numbers 8 – 14). Fry until it starts to stick together.
5. Add the chicken bouillons and let it simmer for about 8-10 minutes.
6. Add the chicken pieces. Stir and let the pieces cook in the mixture. Simmer for about 10 minutes.
7. Blend the almonds and cashews together.
8. Add the paste and saffron to the pan. The saffron will blend well if added with a tablespoon of warm milk.
9. Cover and cook for another batch of 10 minutes until the pieces get cooked completely.
10. Check for salt, remove the cover and let the sauce thicken for a few minutes, add cream and let it cook for a few more minutes until everything looks well blended. Garnish with the dry fruits, serve warm with rice, naan or roti.

Indo-Chinese Fried Rice

I don’t have time to cook, I have frozen veggies and soy sauce at hand. I make Fried rice. I am just bored of eating veggies but I can eat them with rice, my option: fried rice. I don’t want to be too stuffed but can do with some rice, my option? You guessed it right…fried rice. It’s just so easy and quick. As mentioned in one of the posts, this is the Indian version, I am sure the Chinese version will be much better and different. This is my experiment that works. Try it!

Tip: For a hint of non-vegetarian, you can boil chicken or fry a plain omelette and cut it into bite size pieces and add it to the fried rice.

All you need:

1) Frozen veggie mix pack 1/2

If not you must have a bunch of chopped spring onion-keep shallots separate, about 10-15 chopped french beans, 2 sliced carrots, cup of chopped cabbage, 1/2 bell pepper cut into julienne (refer to the pic) You can add any sorts of vegetables of your preference.

2) Ginger an inch cut into julienne

3) Garlic about 3-4 cloves chopped

4) Soy sauce – 2 tbsp

5) Oyster Sauce – 1 tbsp

6) Salt or ajinomoto – as required

7) Oil for frying

8) Egg or boiled chicken pieces- Optional

Ready, Set, Go:

1) Cut all the vegetables, spring onion is a must, with garlic and ginger.

2) Par boil rice in boiling water i.e cook the rice till its almost done not fully, almost.

3) Heat up a Wok or a deep stir fry pan, pour 2 tbsp of oil on high heat, because its like a rule to stir fry you must have the heat on high because it helps to cook quickly.

4) Add ginger and garlic, fry it for around 10 seconds.

5) Add the shallots part first and reserve the green part for later.

6) If you have boiled chicken pieces, you can add them at this stage before the veggies. Add and stir fry the vegetables, add the hard ones like carrots and beans first so that they get cooked properly. Stir Fry for about 2 minutes.

7) Splash in some soy sauce (you can add more later if you like), a dash of ajinomoto ( if you don’t have you can just add regular salt – ajinomoto is salty so once you add it you don’t need to add extra salt, you can adjust salt later if you want.

8) Add the cooked rice, stir everything together until the rice is fully cooked. Stir fry for about 2 minutes

9) Lastly add the chopped spring onion. Done.

Prawns Pickle

Tyapp!!!! My mouth is watering already! My dad always made it in a small quantity, and I cribbed, “why” and he would respond saying “it’s a pickle and not a vegetable”. So if you feel like just having something spicy, sour, tangy just to tickle your taste buds you can try making this quick, simple and easy recipe. It could also be served an appetizer. It belongs to my dad, because I do not know anyone who can make such a tasty prawn pickle and I think it could be a his “saraswat” style of cooking. Let me proclaim the love for other prawn pickles like the Balchao and Chemeen achaar, but those recipes may come later.

Tip : Be careful with the amount of Vinegar you put in the pickle.

All you need:

1. 1/2 lb prawns cleaned, shelled and deveined (I got jumbo prawns)
2. 1 tsp turmeric
3. a pinch of asafoetida
4. 1 1/2 teaspoon Mustard seeds
5. 1/2 tbsp ginger garlic paste
6. 1 tbsp coriander powder
7. 1/2 tsp cumin powder
8. 1 tsp sugar
9. 1 tbsp white vinegar
10. 1 tsp Garam masala powder
11. 1 tsp red chili powder (I add 1/2 tbsp but you must adjust as per your requirements)
12. Salt to taste
13. 2 tbsp Oil (I take 3 just for the pickle to be yummylicious)

Ready, Set, Go:

1. Marinate the prawns with salt and turmeric for about 15 minutes.
2. Heat oil on medium heat in a pan till the oil is running smoothly in the pan and not smoky.
3. Add mustard seeds, let them splutter. Add a pinch of asafoetida.
4. Add ginger garlic paste and cumin and coriander powder. Reduce the heat
5. Add marinated prawns, red chili powder, sugar. Stir until all the ingredients are combined for a minute or so.
6. Add vinegar. Taste and check if it is sour enough, adjust accordingly. Check salt. Stir for a little longer.
7. Finally add the garam masala powder and turn off the heat. Let it rest
8. Serve as pickle(!!)alongside any pulao or curry and roti combination. Also can be served as an appetizer.

Indo-Chinese Chicken Manchurian w/o cornstarch

I am a big fan of original Chinese food. Even if I would try Italian, Chinese, French food at home, even North Indian or South Indian, the local  people will do the job 100 times better than me, because I believe you are best at your local cuisine and good with the others. No matter how hard you try, the local taste and foreign hands make all the difference. Well, in India suddenly Chinese food became so popular. But even when the streets did not have any Chinese food on their menu, my dad used to take us to the only Chinese hotel we had in our area. Then, he’d come home and try making a few experiments. I was a fan of Chopsuey (Dad’s style, he’d have stir-fried veggies with boiled noodles and crispy noodles on top with a half-fried egg). Chinese cooking is stir fried which is in a wok and on a high flame mostly cooked in peanut or sesame oil.  However, since this is an experiment of Indo-Chinese recipe, hope you guys enjoy it. I loved it with fried rice.

Tip: This recipe is without corn-flour, if you would like to add cornstarch, mix 1/2 tbsp of cornstarch in the marinade before frying the chicken.

All you need:

1) Chicken 500 gms (boneless, skinless) chopped into medium bite size pieces

2) 1 egg

3) Salt (to taste) You can substitute ajinomoto here!

4) Black pepper powder (to taste)

5) 1 onion sliced

6) 1/2 cup chicken broth

7) 1/4 cup tomato puree

8) 2 tbsp ketchup

9) 2 tbsp soy sauce

10) 1 tbsp sugar

11) 1 tbsp garlic finely chopped

12) 1 inch ginger julienne

13) 2 green chilies 1 finely chopped and the other cut into big pieces.

14)  3 stalks of spring onions chopped (for garnishing)

15) Oil (for frying)

Ready, Set, Go :

1) Mix the egg, finely chopped green chili, salt and pepper in a bowl. Whisk. Add the chicken to the marinade.

2) Heat oil in a deep pan and fry the chicken pieces till they are golden brown. Keep aside.

3) For preparing the sauce, heat a tablespoon of oil in a pan, add the onion and till they are pink. Stir fry on medium flame.

4) Add ginger garlic and fry for about  a minute.

5) Add green chili and ketchup, tomato puree, sugar, soy sauce. Add a little seasoning. Add the broth.  Let it cook for 5 minutes or till the sauce is thick.

6) Turn off the gas. Add the fried chicken.  Garnish with chopped green onions. Serve with hot steamed rice or fried rice.

Egg curry in coconut milk

Life is so simple sometimes, we complicate it unnecessarily. While experimenting with thoughts, words and actions, we learn so many new things. Isn’t God amazing to have created such beautiful things in the world!? I wonder how tasty the food was without salt and spices! Man must have been so boring in the Stone age. Well, eggs are simple and we can complicate things as much as we want, but this egg curry is easy on the plate and requires very little effort. Oh, the effort of making coconut milk is worthwhile and if you have it handy, nothing like it!! 

Tip: If you do not have coconut milk, you can complete the recipe with a cup of water and shredded coconut, but the consistency of the curry will change.

 All you need:

1. Eggs : 4 ( I used three)
2. Onion sliced (1 large)
3. Tomato chopped(1 medium)
4. Ginger Garlic Paste ½ tbsp
5. Black Cardamom 1
6. Cloves 5
7. Peppercorns 5
8. Cinnamon an inch long
9. Curry Leaves 4-5
10. Thick Coconut Milk  1 ½ cups or half a can
11. Turmeric  ¼ tsp
12. Coriander powder 1 tbsp
13. Red Chilli powder ½ tbsp (adjust as per your choice of hotness)
14. Salt (as required)
15. Oil 2 tbsp
16. Cilantro (for garnishing)

Ready, Set, Go:

1. Boil eggs until hard from inside, we don’t want runny yolks. Shell them and keep aside.
2. Heat oil on a medium flame in a pot and add all the whole spices from nos. 5-8. Sauté for a minute or till they give out a nice aroma.
3. Add curry leaves, be careful as they will splutter.
4. Tip in the onion and fry till they turn pink in color.
5. Add ginger garlic paste and fry till the raw smell disappears, for a minute or two, then the tomatoes and fry till they are soft.
6. Add turmeric, coriander powder and red chilli powder and fry till oil starts to separate.
7. Now add salt and reduce the heat and pour in the coconut milk.
8. Let this boil for about 8-10 minutes, if you think the curry is too thick, you can add a little water but I prefer it thick!  Slit the eggs in half and add to the curry.
9. Turn off the heat and let it sit for 5 more minutes so eggs absorb the flavour.
10. Garnish with cilantro. Serve with steamed rice or roti/nan.

Bread Pakoda (spicy fried bread with potato filling)

A little rain is enough to trigger your taste buds to want something spicy and add to it a cup of tea and you are right up there, even above those dark black thundering clouds! So this was during the rains that I had to experiment a little. I made these pakodas. Although fried, I have read in a book that home-made snack even if it is fried if consumed immediately will not deposit as much fat as other fried stuff does. You should only re-use the remaining oil once. That’s it. Ok, so enough information for the calorie conscious people, and here is the recipe for all you food lovers like me.

Tip: The batter can be used for all types of Pakodas , Bread, Onion, Potato, any other vegetables or even hard cottage cheese.

All you need:

For the Batter:

1. Chickpea flour/Besan 1 cup

2. Rice flour 1/4 cup

3. Turmeric 1/4 tsp

4. Red Chilli powder 1 tsp

5. Green chilli (finely chopped) – 1 ( I use 2 because I love spice)

6. Carom seeds 1/4 tsp

7. Salt (as required)

8. Water

For the Filling:

1. Potato Boiled and cut into small pieces

2. Mustard Seeds 1 tsp

3. Cumin seeds 1 tsp

4. Turmeric 1/4 tsp

5. Ginger Paste 1 tsp

6. Garlic Paste  1 tsp

7. Green Chilli – 1 finely chopped

8. Cilantro 2 tbsp finely chopped

9. Chaat Masala 1 tsp

10. Oil – 2 tbsp

11. Salt (as required)

Other :

1. Bread Slices – 4

2. Oil for deep frying

Ready, Set, Go:

1. First prepare the filling by heating oil in a pan, add mustard seeds and once they pop add cumin seeds along with ginger garlic paste and saute for 30 seconds.

2. Add chilli, potato, turmeric, chaat masala, cilantro and salt. Combine well. Turn off heat.

3. Now prepare the batter by mixing all dry ingredients together and then add water little by little till you form a smooth batter.

4. Finally cut the bread slices into half in the form of triangles. Place the potato filling on the bread. Press gently.

5. Heat oil till boiling point.

6. Dip the slices in the batter.

7.  Fry the slices till golden brown.

8. Remove on an absorbent paper.

9. Serve hot with ketchup or chutney.

P.S : For those who do not know what a Pakoda is, it is a fried snack made out of a batter of gram flour also known as ‘Bhaji’. It is equivalent to french fries since it is deep fried in oil. We can use any sort of veggies and make a Pakoda out of it.

Grilled Paneer with Avocado Chutney

I was bored to death just directly diving into the main course. My husband also cribs sometimes for having something healthy but appetizing, so I decided to make this quick and easy recipe I saw on television. Without a doubt I gave it some Indian flavors and it turned out pretty decent! With just one additional serving of an appetizer, the entire night was so pleasant with all the praise I got! So if you like Paneer (Hard Cottage cheese) and you can always make your own chutney, but I loved the avocado dip, go ahead and try this one.

Tip: If you do not know how to prepare an avocado, I have mentioned it at the end of the recipe.*****

All you need :

For the Grilled Paneer:

1. 200 grams Paneer (Hard Cottage Cheese) cut into big squares
2. 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3. 1 tablespoon red chilli flakes mixed with a pinch of cinnamon powder and cumin powder
4. 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
5. Salt to taste

 For the Chutney:

1. One ripe avocado, peeled and pitted
2. 1/2 cup fresh cilantro
3. 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
4. 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
5. 2 cloves garlic, peeled
6. Salt and freshly ground black pepper
7. Salt to taste

Ready, Set, Go:

For the Paneer: Heat a non-stick pan over medium flame. Brush with olive oil and season with the ingredients mentioned above.  Grill it for about 2 -3 minutes until golden brown. Remember not to grill it too much otherwise it will be hard to chew.

For the Chutney: Just blend it all together. Adjust salt and pepper as required.

Spread the chutney onto the paneer before serving.

*******

 Preparing an avocado: A ripe avocado is soft to touch and must be used immediately otherwise it will oxidize. Rinse the avocado under running water. Hold it down on a chopping board, I prefer it in my hand, cut through till you feel the pit and rotate the avocado and twist the avocado till you have it in half. Strike your knife with a soft blow in the pit, your knife should be stuck in the pit, pick up the avocado and twist the knife, the pit will come off. Scoop out the avocado flesh  from its cover with a spoon. The flesh is ready to be used.

Amritsari Fish Fry or Batter fried fish

The smell of fried fish is revolting to some people. But I love it! Especially in coconut oil. I will post the typical recipes from Kerala, the ones that my husband’s aunt and grandma makes. That is from down south. This recipe is from the north of India. Mostly eaten as an appetizer, but I could have it as a snack even a midnight one! I love the spicy tangy taste and the succulent pieces of fish…yum!

All you need:

1. One lb Fish cut into pieces (Used Tilapia since it was easily available, but preferably a white one)
2. ½ cup White Vinegar

For Batter:

1. 1 cup gram flour
2. ½ cup of whisked yogurt
3. 1 egg
4. 1 tbsp red chilli powder ( I wanted mine spicy, adjust as per your requirements) or paprika powder
5. Salt as per taste
6. ¼ teaspoon carom seeds (optional for digestion)
7. 1 tbsp lemon juice
8. Oil for deep frying
9. Chaat masala or sour cream or mayonnaise or any other dip to serve

Ready, Set, Go:

1. Wash and clean fish. Make pieces in the shape you wish, they can be fish fingers or bite size pieces, I cut them in squares. I used fish fillet.
2.  Marinate the pieces in vinegar for around 10-12 minutes.
3. Prepare the batter.
4. Take the gram flour in a bowl. Add the whisked yoghurt, egg, adjust chili powder as per your spice levels, I prefer it hot to the T. It’s the spiciness that gives it the oomph! Add salt. Add ginger garlic paste and the carom seeds if you have (makes it easy to digest since gram flour may cause a little bloating), lemon juice, we have got vinegar in it so be careful about the lemon juice. Whisk the batter till there are no more lumps.
5. Add the fish to the marinade and keep aside for a few minutes till we heat the oil.
6. Heat oil for deep frying till almost smoky.
7. Drop pieces in the oil, only a few at a time.
8. Turn it carefully and fry till all sides are golden brown.
9. The outer part should be crispy and the flesh should be tender.
10. Drain the pieces on an absorbent paper.
11. Serve immediately, hot and crispy.
12. You can sprinkle it with chaat masala or serve with sour cream or Mayo.

Shahi-Tukda (shortcut)

Shahi Tukda

I had this sudden urge to eat an Indian sweet dish. I am not very good at making them, because some of them are really complex and time-consuming and need a lot of care which makes me nervous! Anyway, so I wanted to have something sweet, quick and scrumptious! I got what I wanted, I made a shortcut for the original recipe of Shahi Tukda. Shahi Tukda or Double ka meetha is basically a Hyderabadi dish best served with Biryani or Mughlai cuisine. The original recipe demands for a Rabri (Thickened sweet milk with dry fruits) with bread pieces which are fried in ghee (clarified butter) dipped in a sugar syrup and then in the rabri and served cold. But to take all the pains…umm…may be some other time, here is a quickie for the lazy ones like me! Oh and the first time it turned out great!!! The second time it wasn’t  as crisp and the rabri wasn’t enough.

Tip: Keep the dish covered when you chill it, and do not let it sit in the rabri for so long that it turns soggy. Saffron dissolved in milk will turn it around completely, but I didn’t have it at hand!

Milk Rusk

All you need:

1. 4 slices of Milk Rusks / Bread
2. 1 Tbsp Ghee (Clarified butter)
3. 4 cups Milk
4. 2 tbsps of heavy cream (if you have condensed milk even better)
5. Handful, Pistachios and Almonds
6. 4 tbsp  Sugar
7. Pinch of cardamom powder (Optional)

Ready, Set Go:

1. Brush the milk rusks with a ghee on each side put them in the microwave for less than a minute just so become golden on all sides. Or cut off the edges of the bread and cut it diagonally into 2 triangles. Toast them or fry them in ghee (Frying will need more ghee). Keep aside.
2. Take a heavy bottomed vessel. Boil the milk and simmer it down and let it reduce to 1/4th the actual quantity. Keep stirring occasionally. Add sugar. The cream of the milk will come on the surface and on the sides so keep stirring. Add cream. Stir. Let it cool down.
3. Take the dry fruits in a safe bowl and add little ghee and microwave for less than a minute. Add half of these to the thickened milk. If you have, add few strands of saffron when the milk is thickened.
4. Arrange the slices next to one another.
5. Spread the milk mixture on top of it and garnish rest of the almonds, pistachios along with the cardamom powder on top. Cover it and refrigerate.
6. Chill for an hour or so. Serve.

Blintz with a twist

Blintz with a twist

I had seen some advertisement or some program comparing the food with the dish that moms make it and I couldn’t remember the name of this dish. But I was so determined to find out because I remembered some of the ingredients.  I literally sat through the entire afternoon sifting through recipes and useless ads until I bumped onto this name “Blintz”. I am not sure of the origin, but it sounded like a German word. Wikipedia doesn’t mention Germany though, it does mention Russia. As Shakespeare said “What’s in a name?”  I read a lot of recipes but most of them were sweet. I thought of getting an Indian version done. It could be a snack or breakfast. This was the first time I tried it so did not make this one crispy, but I think it could become crispy if done on a lower heat. Try it and let me know.

Tip: You can also replace the fillings with cheese, jams/marmalade(I melted it a little), canned fruits. If you are trying a sweet Blintz make sure you add sugar to the batter and not add any veggies like the onions and garlic. You could also fill in leftover stuff I think as a filling.

All you need:

BATTER-

1. 2 eggs, beaten well
2. 1 cup all-purpose flour or maida
3. 1/2 tsp. salt
4. 1 cup water

FILLING-

1. 2 potatoes (peeled, boiled, grated) P.S : You could use just grated raw potatoes too
2. 1 onion (chopped & sautéed ) P.S : You could use just grated raw onion too
3. 1 egg hard boiled and mashed into small pieces
4. Juliennes of ginger or a tsp of ginger garlic paste
5. 1 finely chopped green chilli
6. Salt & pepper to taste
7. Oil for frying

Ready, Set, Go:

1. Combine all the ingredients for the batter except for the flour, add flour gradually and stir in to make a smooth batter. Make sure you have no lumps.
2. Mix all ingredients  in a bowl for the filling (For kids, you can just mash everything up in the food processor)
3. Heat a round 6-7 inch pan and grease it lightly, keeping the heat on medium flame. Pour in the batter in the center and spread it evenly rotating the pan quickly. If you have excess batter pour back into the bowl.
4. Cook till light golden brown like a pancake. You do not need to cook the other side. Remove it on a separate plate.
5. Place a tablespoon of filling on the center of the cooked side and fold the sides into a square one by one.
6. Heat sufficient oil in a pan (I used the same pan after I was finished with cooking the Blintz base).
7. Fry all the Blintzes one by one until golden on all sides.
8. Serve with Sour cream.