Chicken & Peanut noodles

Yesterday I made a stirfry that turned out quite a hit at home...and the whole thing took just half an hour and I just made it using whatever ingredients were at home. 

For the marinade:

2-3 tsp peanut butter

2 tsp lemon juice

1-2 tsp honey

2 tsp soy sauce

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

1 tsp crushed garlic

Rest of the ingredients:

About 1/2-3/4 pounds boneless-skinless chicken, cut into smallish pieces

1 packet noodles (i used japanese noodles but i dont think it makes any dif)

1-1.5 cups finely chopped veggies (i used capsicum, spring onions and corn)

3 cloves garlic

1 green chilli/jalapeno

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp corn flour

Handful of roasted peanuts, coarsely crushed

Marinate the chicken and leave it for a while (i think i left it for about an hour)

Once marinated add some cornflour into the mix (i did it because it looked too watery and i wanted the chicken to be dry but what it did was created a really nice crust to the chicken! discovery by accident)

Boil the noodles with some salt based on instructions on the noodle packet and drain.

In a pan add a bit of oil and let the oil get sizzle a bit before you drop the chicken in. If the oil is hot the outside of the chicken will brown nicely. Once it starts to get brown (shouldnt take more than 2-3 mins), turn the heat down and cook for another 7-8 mins till the chicken is cooked.

Take the chicken out. Add a bit more oil to the pan and put in the garlic and green chillis. After a couple of minutes add in the veggies (except green onion if you are using it). stir fry the veggies for a few mins till they are done to the way you like it. Add some soy sauce and mix it in. Add the cooked chicken and check for salt (i didnt need to add too much because of the soy sauce). If not spicy enough, add some more red pepper flakes. Finally mix in the noodles into the pan. Add the peanut powder and spring onions and mix them in. Shouldnt take more than 3 or 4 mins after that.

:)

Cherry Almond Cake

The blog has been a bit dormant lately so thought I'd kick start it...last weekend I was in the mood to bake but not in the mood to go grocery shopping so I had to improvise with what I had and it turned out pretty good!

Ingredients:

2 cups plain flour

3 eggs

2 tbsp butter/margarine

1 cup milk

3/4 cup sugar (i used raw sugar)

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup fresh cherries

1-2 tbsp almond slivers

Cream the butter a little with a fork so it's smooth. Add and beat in the eggs. Add the milk. In a separate bowl mix the dry ingredients - flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Fold in the dry mixture in the wet mixture. Pour into a baking dish. Cut the cherries into halves and remove the stones. Top the cake batter with the cherries and the almond slivers. Bake at 375F for 40 mins.

It was so simple and quick but definitely was good - especially warm with a bit of vanilla icecream :)

(On the same day Saugar made this roast lamb - which was un-freakin-believable. Probably the most tender lamb i've ever had...that recipe coming up :)

Creamiest Dal ever

So this was a completely flukey discovery I made a few weeks ago - and have since repeated it like 4 or 5 times because both me & Saugar love it. Made it this past weekend for my in-laws as well and they enjoyed it too.

 

I was about to make dal and instead of the usual toor dal I decided to use moong dal and added a new ingredient as a random experiment and it turned out brilliant.

 

In a pressure cooker cook a cup of moong dal (the yellow version) with whatever veggie you might want to add (optional). I usually add roughly chopped carrot or spinach. You only need to cook it for 1 whistle because moong dal cooks super fast.

 

In a pan fry some jeera, mustard and garlic with green chillies and curry leaves. Add half a cup of chopped onions and let them cook till light brown. Into the pan add the cooked dal. Once you mix in the onions and tadka into the dal properly, add a cup or so of soy milk (this was the random discovery...the dal had turned out too thick and instead of adding water I added soy milk). Add salt to taste. Turn the heat down and let it simmer slowly till you get the consistency you want.

 

My mother-in-law when she had this said she wouldn't mind taking it to work just by itself to eat as soup. It was just very creamy and comforting. Plus it's added protein!

 

Give it a try! :)

Desi Tofu Recipes

Here are three tofu recipes that i've tried and made a few times, and all of them taste pretty good I think (the first one is my fave)

 

Coconut Tofu

(I know coconut is high in fat, but adding a tablespoon or so will add a lot of flavour and when I use low fat tofu, it's pretty much the only fat I'm adding)

 

1 cup firm tofu (chopped into small - smaller than half inch - cubes)

1 medium onion finely sliced

2 cloves garlic

1 tsp mustard seeds

1-2 tbps grated dried coconut

salt and chilli powder to taste

 

In a little bit of oil or cooking spray fry the mustard seeds for a couple of minutes. Add finely chopped garlic and fry a little more. Add the sliced onion and fry till golden brown (make sure they are really nicely cooked - the caramelization of the onions really adds the major flavour). Add the chopped tofu with salt and chilli powder and fry till the tofu starts to brown. 2-3 minutes before taking it off the stove add the dried coconut.

 

 

Palak Tofu

 

1 cup firm tofu (1/2-1 inch cubes)

1 cup frozen spinach

1 onion (finely chopped)

2 tomatoes (finely chopped)

2 tsp ginger-garlic paste

1-2 green chilles

1 tsp cumin seeds

salt to taste

Optional: 1-2 tsps dried methi, 1-2 tbsp yoghurt

 

In oil/cooking spray fry the cumin seeds and chopped green chilles. Add the onions and fry for a little longer. Next add the ginger garlic paste and the tomatoes and let it cook down. While the tomatoes are cooking, defrost the frozen spinach in the microwave and drain any excess water. Once the tomatoes are cooked down add the spinach and salt and stir. At this point an optional step is to microwave the tofu for a couple of minutes to get rid of excess moisture (because when you buy it, it's stored in water). Once the spinach looks wilted, add the tofu cubes and on a slow flame let the whole thing cook together so the flavours get into the tofu.

Optional parts: Towards the end, add some yoghurt to make it creamy (another idea is to all 1/3 cup of soy milk - which adds extra protein + gives it a creamy texture - this is a good trick for any curries that need milk/half-and-half). If it's yoghurt you added, it should get absorbed pretty quickly, if it's milk, you will have to let it reduce down. Just before you remove it from the heat add the dried methi

 

 

Capsicum Tofu

 

1 cup firm tofu (1/2 - 1 inch cubes)

1 onion (finely chopped)

1 chopped capsicum (whatever colour)

2 tsp ginger garlic paste

2 tbsp tomato ketchup

1/2-1 tsp garam masala powder

salt and chilli powder to taste

 

Again here too, you can microwave the tofu for a couple of minutes to get rid of the excess moisture. In oil/cooking spray fry the onion and let it brown. While the onions are cooking add the ginger-garlic paste. Once the onions are browned, add ketchup and stir it so it gets mixed into the onions. Add in the chopped capsicum and let it cook for 2-3 minutes - don't want it to get soft. Add the tofu cubes with salt and chill powder and stir and cook for a few minutes. Towards the end add the garam masala powder.

 

 

 

Hope you like 'em!

 

xo

M

 

 

Bread ki Kheer

 I was inspired by Double Ka Meetha - which I so *love* but it has so much butter that I'm also scared of it

So decided to come up with something else yesterday. I made this for breakfast - so kept it a little lighter on the sugar - but you can up the sugar content to make it more dessert-y. I will say that it was a very comforting breakfast on a winter sunday morning.

Ingredients:

3-4 bread slices (remove the edges and tear into bite sized pieces)

2 tsps butter (i used the butter substitute thing)

1.5 cups milk

pinch of cardamom

2 tsps cashew nuts/almonds

3 tbsps sugar (honestly i'm not sure of the exact amount of sugar i used - just added and tasted)

Put the milk to boil in a pot with the cardamom. At the same time, melt the butter in a separate pan and fry the pieces of bread in it till they turn golden. In the same pan fry the nuts/dried fruit (whatever you wish to add)

Once the milk has started to boil, turn the heat down and add the fried bread pieces. Stir till the milk starts to get absorbed. Add in the sugar and keep stirring till the sugar melts in. Keep it on the stove on low heat for a while, till you get the consistency you like - could be more milky (which is how we had it) or wait for it to get more 'halwa like'

That's it...very easy. And we finished the whole lot in one sitting. Would definitely make it again!

Lamb Kheema - My trick to making my hubby happy

Saugar absolutely loves lamb and I used to be a bit wary of it cause I know it takes a long time to cook unlike chicken. And I'd never tried making it. 

But feb last year, the day after he proposed to me, I really wanted to do something special and gave it a try (I also made chicken cause I was scared the lamb wouldnt turn out right! hehe)...but it did! and he loved it! and can't have enough even now (If I send him to the grocery store saying just bring some sort of protein, he will probably return with ground lamb). Anyway here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

1lb/0.5 kg ground lamb

1 and a half onions

1 and a half tomatoes

1-2 green chillies

2 tsps ginger-garlic paste

3 tbsp yoghurt

2-3 tbsp grated coconut (i used dried - this is optional, but i really like the extra touch it adds)

a few springs of fresh mint (also optional)

1-2 bay leaves

3 pods cardamom

1 stick cinnamon

3 cloves

1 tsp cumin

Pinch of turmeric

1/2 tsp red chilli powder (or more if you like it spicy)

1 tsp coriander powder

salt

Marinate the ground lamb in yoghurt, half of the ginger-garlic paste, turmeric and a little salt. Mix it well and let it sit for about an hour.

In the pan add a little oil (don't need a lot because the lamb has a fair bit of fat in it) and add the cumin, bay leaves, cardamom, cinnamon and cloves and let them toast a little. Add finely chopped onions and fry till they are translucent to light brown. Add the remaining ginger garlic paste and fry a little more. Add the chopped tomatoes with the chilli powder, coriander powder and salt and let the tomatoes cook down. Once they are well cooked (don't appear like separate pieces - i dont know how else to describe it!), add in the marinated lamb and stir well so the whole thing is mixed. Cover the pan and let it cook for a while (shouldnt be more than 10-12 mins) on medium heat. Take off the cover and let it cook uncovered till the lamb appears completely cooked and a bit more dry. At this point add the grated coconut and cook for 2-3 more mins. At the last minute add the chopped mint and take it off the heat.

Hope you enjoy it as much as I do - or rather as much as my darling hubby does! lol

luv

M

Almond Cookies

I really wanted to bake something on saturday but didn't have any butter in the house and the weather was really bad so couldnt go grocery shopping.

 

So I hunted around for cookie recipes that didn't use butter. I found one, which I modified slightly based on the comments on the recipe that it was too sweet. I also simplified it a little with fewer ingredients. The whole thing took less than half an hour to make so i was pretty excited

 

Ingredients:

1 cup toasted almonds

1 cup plain flour

1/2 cup sugar (you can increase this if you like it slightly sweeter)

2 large egg whites

A pinch of salt

 

Grind the almonds with the sugar into a coarse powder. Mix the almonds and sugar into the egg whites along with the flour and salt. The whole thing will be fairly dense. Spoon out individual cookies on to a cookie sheet. I made fairly small ones - so 1 tsp of dough per cookie. I didn't really shape it but you can if you want i guess. Make sure you don't flatten them out. Because there is no baking powder, they won't really rise or spread out.

 

Pre-heat the oven at 325F. Bake the cookies for 15 mins (the bottom of them will be brown and the top will be just golden. Let it cool

 

Have a lovely week!

:)

Spiced Yoghurt Rice

So here's my contribution. A recipe that every south indian everyone knows (and more likely than not loves). Spiced Curd/Yoghurt Rice. I'm pretty happy with my version after a couple of attempts...so here goes.

 

Ingredients:

1 cup rice - cooked

3/4 cup yoghurt - fat free is fine

 

For the tadka:

2 dried red chillies

A bunch of curry leaves

1 tsp pepper corns

1 tsp mustard seeds

A small pinch of dried ginger powder

 

Fry the tadka in oil till the dried chilles and the curry leaves are nice and crisp. Let it cool down a little.

Make sure the rice has cooled down as well.

Add the yoghurt to the rice with salt (to taste) and add in the tadka. Mix it with your hand if possible cause you want the fried curry leaves and chilles to get crushed and completely mix into the yoghurt and rice.

 

I know it's a very simple recipe, but the blog has been waiting for 2 weeks and this is something i love, and make both when i'm not in the mood to cook and also for festivals!

 

xo

M

 

Til Laddoo (or for the lazy ones among us, i.e. ME - Til ki Mithai)

My contribution based on my sankranti experiment

Til Laddoo (though mine was more Til Mithai - but hey it still tastes the same!)

Ingredients:

3/4 cup sesame seeds

1/4 cup cashew nuts

3/4 cup brown sugar

pinch of cardamom powder

Roast the sesame seeds and the cashew nuts in a pan till they are light brown.

In a pot add the brown sugar to 1/2 cup water and let it boil till it forms a syrup

Once it thickens a fair bit, add in the sesame seeds, cashew nuts and cardamom powder and let it boil further till the whole thing becomes a very thick mixture.

If you want to make laddoos let it cool down a bit and then shape them into laddoos

If you are lazy like me - grease a plate or tin and pour the mixture on it.

Once it cools down cut them into pieces

there you go :)

was very simple and fairly quick...worth a try i'd say

especially since it stores pretty well and you can put it away and have it a piece at a time.

Egg Pulusu (Tangy Egg Curry)

Since this has been quiet since the holidays I thought I'd give it a kickstart again

Yesterday I tried one of my fave dishes from what my mum makes - and finally got it (almost) exactly the way she makes it so pretty excited...plus Saugar liked it, so that's always a good bonus :)

So here goes

(also the other thing about writing it out is so the next time i get my recipe right since it worked this time!!)

Egg Pulusu (Tangy Egg Curry)

4 Eggs

1 large onion - finely chopped

1/2 tsp tamarind paste

1 tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp ginger-garlic paste

10-12 curry leaves

1-2 dried red chillies

1/2 tsp cumin powder

1/2 tsp methi powder

1/2 tsp sugar

Hard boil the eggs

In a pan, add oil. Once the oil is hot, add mustard seeds, curry leaves and red chillies.

Once they start to splutter add the onions and fry till translucent

add in the ginger garlic paste and fry for a few more minutes (onions should start to brown)

Add the 1/2 tsp tamarind paste to half a cup of water (seperately) and mix so there are no lumps

Add this to the onions in the pan and increase the heat

Shell the hard-boiled eggs and make small slits in them (four lengthwise slits per egg) - deep enough that the curry can seep through but not so much that they break

once the water in the pan starts to reduce, add the eggs into the pan

Add salt, sugar and the cumin and methi powders

Mix well so the eggs are coated with the masala

Let it boil for 3-4 more minutes or till the gravy is not really watery

10 minutes can make a desi sweet? Hard to believe but true :) - Coconut Laddoos

My discovery of the day...a 10 minute, 3 ingredient mithai...pretty excited about it :)

This morning I suddenly remember coconut laddoos...it was a sweet my mum made for every diwali when I was young but later stopped cuz coconut is so high cholestrol etc. Anyway I called mum and asked her how to make it...she said she would boil milk, sugar and coconut together till it started to thicken but suggested I use sweetened condensed milk instead and give the microwave a try to avoid the mess (cuz she said it tends to spill etc)

So I did...and success! hehe

3 ingredients as I said: (the quantities below made 13 average sized laddoos)

400gms grated coconut (I used a frozen pack from the indian store - make sure it's frozen fresh coconut - the dried one will have too much of a coconut oil smell)

300gms condensed milk

1/2 tsp cardamom powder

If using frozen coconut defrost it completely in the microwave first

Mix all three ingredients properly so there are no lumps

Put it in the microwave for 3 minutes

Take it out - stir thoroughly

Put it back in for 2 minutes

Take it out and stir once again

(Repeat last two steps 2 more times or till it becomes thick enough - just keep an eye on it cause it might spill depending on the power of your microwave)

Once the mixture feels fairly thick

Spread it on a greased plate and let it cool

Once it's cooled make them into laddoos - place in the refrigerator so they firm up a bit

(Mine are in the fridge right now but me and Saugar had one each just after I made 'em and they're definitely a hit - especially for something so simple!!)

Merry Christmas!

xoxo

Megha

Easy Peasy Chicken Curry

Oh, and here's the recipe i sent out on the recipe exchange email. It's what I make on the days that i'm really tired and not in the mood for experimentation or anything complicated

 

Ingredients:
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast (cut into bite sized pieces)
2 medium sized onions (red would be nice but any type will do)
1 large red or green pepper
1 tsp crushed garlic/garlic paste
1 tsp crushed ginger/ginger paste
1/2 - 1 tsp chilli powder/cayenne pepper - dependent on your spice tolerance :)
3 tbsp ketchup
salt

Chop the onions finely. Put them in the microwave for 2-3 minutes until a little tender.
Heat 1-2 tbsp oil in a pan. Once heated add the microwaved onions into the oil with the ginger and garlic. Stir to ensure the three ingredients are well mixed and there are no lumps of ginger or garlic. Let the onions cooked till almost browned stirring occasionally.
Chop the red/green pepper into bite sized pieces and add to the onions in the pan. Add the ketchup with the salt and chill powder. Stir to mix well and cook for 2-3 minutes.
Add in the pieces of chicken. Stir to ensure all the spices/veggies coat the chicken well and cook uncovered for 4-5 minutes till the chicken starts to turn white.
Cover the pan. Reduce the heat to medium and let it cook for 10 mins or so (check up to see when the chicken is almost completely cooked).
Once the chicken is almost completely cooked uncover and stir. Keep cooking uncovered for a few minutes till the chicken browns a little.

 

Some interesting breakkie ideas

Anch...the pasta sauce sounds good...except i dont usually have wine in the house since neither of us drink....hehe

thanks for the tip on brown pasta...

and praneeti - will def try the savoury tarts...they sound lovely

i love puff pastry...there's so much you can do with it...even the simplest things

 

my simplest puff pastry "recipe" (it's not really one) but great for a quick saturday/sunday morning breakfast

 

cut puff pastry into fairly big squares (one sheet into 4 pieces).

take hard boiled eggs and cut them in half. sprinkle salt and pepper.

put half a boiled egg on each pastry square and fold the pastry over so it's a triangle

bake till golden brown

i know it sounds ridiculously simple but it's awesome

 

oh and another breakfast idea...this i sort of came up with myself after seeing something on tv...saugar liked it - more for the fun of it!

ingredients required per serving - 2 slices of fairly thick bread, 1 egg, 1.5 strips of turkey bacon (u can use regular bacon too - i dont like bacon so use turkey), a sprinkling of cheese (can be any kind - something that melts nicely - i usually use grated mozarella)

cook the bacon to a crisp on a seperate pan (or i recently saw a tip that cooking bacon in an oven/toaster oven works better - haven't tried yet)

take the first slice of bread - using a wine glass, cut a hole in the center of it.

heat a tiny bit of butter on a pan and place the slice of bread with the hole on it.

take an egg and break it right into that hole - try to keep the egg from running outside the hole - but a little won't matter.

let it cook till the underside of the egg is hard enough then flip it. add salt and pepper
cook the other side - a little will spread - but not a big deal.

how much you want to cook it depends on how you like your egg - both me an saugar like it a tiny bit runny when you bite into it

while the bread and egg is cooking on the other side toast the other slice of bread - either on the pan or lightly in a toaster

once the egg is almost done to how you like it - break the bacon strips into half and put three halves (hence 1.5 strips on the bread/egg). sprinkle a little cheese and place the second piece of bread on top.

cook for a little longer till the cheese melts a little

 

there's my little tit-bits for the day

 

and yes if all in favour let's start a blog

anch - rather than an email address - maybe just starting a blog on blogger with all of us having access to post to it?

if that works i can set one up and send you invites

 

signing out....

megha :)

 

Pasta Ideas

haha i absolutely love that name! :)

 

and i think you describe cooking so well...it's such a great feeling when something turns out really well and also interesting to figure out what went wrong when something doesnt!

 

firstly about wholemeal pasta and brown rice - i switched almost entirely to brown rice about 6-7 months ago...i'm completely used to it now - as long as it's basmati. the trick is to soak it for about half an hour before cooking it. and also to add a little more water than you would to white rice. definitely worth a try. i will say that it will take a few days to get used to it. i don't regret making the switch though. i only eat white rice when i'm out now...we decided not to buy any to avoid temptation :)

wholemeal pasta - most of the dried pasta (spaghetti or linguini mainly) that i buy is wholemeal...but we often buy fresh pasta (stuffed etc) from the supermarket and that one is usually white

wholemeal dried pasta tastes fine...just have to be a little more careful when cooking it to ensure it doesnt overcook...i know that's the general rule with pasta but with wholemeal pasta the texture is really off when it's overcooked...again worth a try

 

pasta sauces - the one totally original sauce i made that turned out great was with roasted red peppers/capsicum. you can roast it yourself too but i bought a bottle of pre-roasted peppers from the supermarket. i was tired of the tomatobased sauces so wanted to try something different. i put in the pre-roasted peppers with a handful of toasted almonds (i wanted something that would make it creamy and didnt have any cream so randomly decided to add almonds) with chilli flakes, salt and garlic into a blender and blended the whole thing together. the sauce can be used with anything - veggies, chicken etc...i did it with shrimp and mushrooms. (i usually use frozen pre-cooked shrimp cause i'm always up for shortcuts!)

 

my favourite pasta sauce - and this may sound really lame - is super super simple especially with stuffed pasta...olive oil, loads of chopped garlic and chopped basil/dried basil. as simple as it sounds i l-o-v-e it

 

my hubby came up with his own creation the other day - a "mushroom pesto" he called it. he put a bunch of button mushrooms with green chilli, garlic and olive oil into the foodprocessor. it was really good i have to admit :)

he also likes to use pre-bought store tomato based sauce but make it a 'meat sauce' - where he will saute vegetables and ground turkey in the pan and then add in the store bought sauce with more spices...that's pretty nice too

 

so there's a few ideas :)

 

luv

megha, another sister of the travelling kadhai

Marshmallows - yum!

So the other day I was talking to Praneeti about how much I love our fireplace (though have only lit it 3 times so far) and one of the most fun things is toasting marshmallows

yesterday I had this craving for toasted marshmallows...i absolutely LOVE the burnt flavour outside and the melted marshmallow inside...but we didnt have the fireplace going

I got curious and thought about trying it in the oven and it came out really well!

I just put some of those big marshmallows on some aluminum foil in the toaster oven for 5 mins...probably need to turn it once so it gets black on both sides

but they tasted awesome!

and a relatively guilt free and easy dessert

:)