Chicken Karahi

Chicken Karahi

Ingredients

½ Kg. chicken
3-4 tomatoes –chopped ( optional)
1 onion chopped
3-4 whole green chilies
¼ tsp crushed black pepper (Kali Mirch)
½ tsp. salt (according to taste)
3 tbs. oil
1 tsp garlic (Lehsan) paste
½ tsp. ginger (Adrak) paste

Instructions

Remove skin of tomatoes.
In a pot add chicken, Garlic (Lehsan), Ginger (Adrak) and salt. Cover and cook on low heat till the water from the chicken have dried and chicken is half cooked.
Add oil, tomato, green chili and onion. Cover and continue cooking. When the water dries and chicken is tender add the Black peppercorn (Kali Mirch), stir and remove from heat.
Serve with boiled rice.
Serving: 2 persons

Chicken Biryanii

Chicken Biryanii


Ingredients:

• 1 kg Chicken (pieces)
• 500 gm Basmati Rice (washed and soaked for 30 min)
• 4 tbsp Garam Masala (whole)
• 4 tsp Garam Masala Powder
• 50 gm Butter
• 4 tsp Garlic (chopped)
• 1 cup Onions (sliced)
• 4 tsp Ginger (chopped)
• 3 tsp Red Chili Powder
• 1 tbsp Coriander Powder
• 5 tbsp Oil
• 2 tsp Turmeric Powder
• 2 cup Curd (yogurt)
• 3/4 cup Tomato (chopped)
• 4 Bay Leaves
• 1-1/2 tsp Red Chilli Powder
• 2 tsp Ginger (chopped)
• 2 tsp Garlic (chopped)
• 1 tsp Garam Masala Powder
• 1 tsp Turmeric Powder
• 1 cup Yoghurt
• Salt

How to make Chicken Biryanii
Put all the ingredients of the marinade in a bowl and mix well. Add chicken pieces to it and leave for an hour. Now boil water, add 1/2 of the whole garam masala, bay leaf, and rice in it. Cook the rice until 3/4 th is done, drain and keep it aside. Heat oil in a thick bottomed pan and add remaining whole garam masala. Allow it to crackle, add sliced onions and cook it till light golden brown. Add 1 tsp of the remaining garam masala and all the remaining ingredients. Cook for 5 minutes, combine marinated chicken with it. Cook until chicken is tender. Place alternate layers of chicken and rice. Now sprinkle saffron, remaining garam masala powder and butter in between the layers and on the top. Carefully end it with the rice layer topped with saffron & rose water. Cover and seal it with an aluminum foil. Cook it further on low flame for 10-12 minutes. Chicken Biryani is ready to serve.

Chinese Rice

Chinese Rice

Ingredients

1/2 tablespoon sesame oil
1 onion
1 1/2 pounds cooked, cubed chicken meat
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 large carrots, diced
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 large red bell pepper, diced
3/4 cup fresh pea pods, halved
1/2 large green bell pepper, diced
6 cups cooked white rice
2 eggs
1/3 cup soy sauce

How to make Chinese Rice

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and saute until soft, then add chicken and 2 tablespoons soy sauce and stir-fry for 5 to 6 minutes.Stir in carrots, celery, red bell pepper, pea pods and green bell pepper and stir-fry another 5 minutes. Then add rice and stir thoroughly.Finally, stir in scrambled eggs and 1/3 cup soy sauce, heat through and serve hot.

Haleem

Haleem

Haleem is a dish that is very popular amongst the Muslim community of North India, Pakistan and Persia. It is especially prepared in the Muslim countries during Ramadan and Moharram months and relished by the community members. In general, Haleem is sold as a snack in the markets and also cooked at Muslim weddings, as a starter. It is high on calories and therefore, is a nice way to break the month-long fast of Ramadan. Most of its ingredients are easily available in the market. The article brings you the recipe of Haleem. You can try it on any festivity, to make your menu special.

Ingredients

150 gm Yellow split Peas (dried)

115 gm Lentils

80 gm Oat meal

750 gm Chop Lamb

2 tbsp Maiezana

4 tsp Jeera1 big Onion

4 tsp Masala

3 tbsp AjinomotoShallot

LemonSalt and Pepper, according to tasteGreen Coriander

Method

>. Bring the split peas, lentils and salt to a boil and cook for 30 minutes.

>. Cut the lamb into cubes and marinate with salt, pepper, maiezena and ajinomoto.

>. Fry the onion in a Chinese wok and add the lamb.

>. Cook the meat for a few minutes, until all its water is evaporated, and then add the masala and Jeera.

>. When the Dhall is ready, add the lamb and 2 liters of water and cook for 30 minutes, in a pressure cooker.

>. Then, add the oats, diluted in a glass of water.

Chicken Pasta

Chicken Pasta

Ingredients
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/3 pounds chicken breast tenders, cut into
1-inch pieces
Salt and pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons butter
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 shallots, chopped
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup white wine1 lemon, juiced
1 cup chicken broth or stock
3 tablespoons capers, drained
1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1 pound penne rigate pasta, cooked to al dente
Chopped or snipped chives, for garnish

HOW TO MAKE CHICKEN PASTA

> Heat a deep nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add a tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil and the chicken to the pan. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Brown chicken until lightly golden all over, about 5 to 6 minutes. Remove chicken from pan and return the skillet to the heat. Reduce heat to medium. Add another tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter, the garlic and shallots to the skillet. Saute garlic and shallots 3 minutes. Add flour and cook 2 minutes. Whisk in wine and reduce liquid 1 minute. Whisk lemon juice and broth into sauce. Stir in capers and parsley. When the liquid comes to a bubble, add remaining 1/2 tablespoon butter to the sauce to give it a little shine. Add chicken back to the pan and heat through, 1 to 2 minutes. Toss hot pasta with chicken and sauce and serve. Adjust salt and pepper, to your taste. Top with fresh snipped chives.

Confetti pasta with nuts

Confetti pasta with nuts

> This oil-based pasta sauce is sweet and salty from the raisins and olive tapenade, and contains everything from onions and garlic to nuts and a big handful of parsley. I think I once had something similar at a fancy restaurant. Plus, it’s an easy dish to make for potluck dinners. For one bag of pasta (about 6-8 servings): 500 g bag of pasta (spirals are good)

Ingredients
2 purple onions, chopped
6-8 garlic cloves, crushed
6 T tomato paste
2 T black olive tapenade
1/4-1/2 c olive oil
3/4 c chopped parsley
1/2 c pine nuts
1/2 c slivered almonds
1 c white raisins, chopped, salt

> pepper Prepare the pasta according to the instructions on the package. Meanwhile, start frying the chopped onions in the olive oil (you can do this in the pot in which you cooked the pasta, in order to cut down on dishes). Once they become translucent, add the garlic as well as the raisins, and let fry another minute. Mix in the tomato paste and the olive tapenade (you could also just add extra salt in place of the olives, and add some chopped olives at the end instead), and turn off the flame. In a small frying pan, toast the pine nuts and the almonds over a medium flame, watching intently and stirring frequently so that they don’t burn — the pine nuts should “sweat,” while both nuts will turn a light brown. Don’t let them blacken — burnt nuts are no fun. Mix the pasta into the onion-tomato mix, and add the parsley and the toasted nuts.

HOW TO MAKE FRUIT SHAKE

Ingredients:
> 2 cup Bananas (sliced)
> 2 cup Strawberries (sliced)
> 2 cup Pineapple or Papaya (chopped)
> 1 cup Apples (chopped and peeled)
> 1/2 cup Ice cubes
> 1 tsp Honey


How to make morning glory fruit shake:

> In a blender blend on high speed a combination of bananas, strawberries, pineapples, papayas, apples, ice cubes and honey.Blend till smooth.Serve immediately for breakfast.

ACHARI MUTTON

Ingredients:
> 1/2 cup coriander leaves chopped
> 1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds
> 1 tsp fennel seeds
> 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
> 800 gms mutton800 gms.
> 1 tsp turmeric powder
> 8 red chillies whole
> 1 tsp red chilli powder
> 4 medium tomatoes
> 5 cloves
> 1 tsp onion seeds
> 7 tblsp mustard oil
> 2 tblsp ginger chopped
> 4 medium onions
> salt to taste
> 1 tblsp garlic chopped
> 1 tsp mustard seeds

> How to make achari mutton : Wash and cut the mutton into 11/2" cubes.Take off and cut the onions.Cut the tomatoes.Roast the whole spices separately and grind everything coarsely.Heat up oil in a thick-bottomed pot to smoking point, cool and again heat up the oil and stir fry the onions till brown.Mix in the cut ginger-garlic.Mix well.Mix in coarsely ground masala powder.Stir fry for half a minute, stirring all the time.Mix in mutton, stir fry on high flame heat up till mutton pieces are well browned.Mix in the tomatoes, turmeric powder, red chilli powder and salt and mix well.Stir fry till oil leaves the masala.Mix in sufficient quantity of water (about 21/2 cups), bring it to a boil and cover.Stir fry till the mutton is fully done.Adjust the flavor and serve hot decorated with coriander leaves.

PANI PURI

Ingredients:

1 cup Semolina (Rava / Suji)
3 tblsp Fine Wheat Flour (Maida)
1/4 tsp Baking Soda
Oil to deep fry
1/2 cup Tamarind (Imli) Pulp
2 cups Water
2 tblsp roasted Cumin Seed (Jeera) Powder
2 tblsp un-roasted Cumin Seed (Jeera)
Coriander Leaves
3 Green Chilly (Hari Mirch)
2 tblsp Mint Leaves (Pudina Leaves) Chutney
1 tblsp Black Salt (kala namak )
2 tblsp Jaggary (Gur)

How to make pani puri:

• To make pani:
• Measure all ingredients.
• Adjust spices and tangyness to taste.
• Strain through a wire strainer to remove any rough bits.
• To make puri:
• Mix sooji, maida, baking soda, salt and enough water to knead a soft dough.
• Stand covered with wet cloth for 15-20 minutes.
• Make small sized balls.
• With the help of some dry maida or sooji, roll into thin rounds.
• Heat oil in a pan and deep fry puris till very light brown and crisp.
• Drain in a paper towel for a while to dry out the oil.
• Store in an airtight container when cool.

ALOO TIKI

Ingredients:

3 large boiled aloo (potatoes)
1 tsp salt or as per taste
1/4th tsp ground black pepper

For Stuffing:

2/3rd cup matar (green peas) cooked or frozen peas defrosted
1/2 tbsp scrapped and minced ginger
1/4th tsp garam masala
1/4th tsp salt or to taste
Red chili powder to taste (optional)
1tsp coarsely ground dry-roasted cumin seeds
Oil for pan-frying.

How to make aloo tiki :

• Take the cooked or defrosted peas (matar) and mash them using a spoon or a fork. Add all the stuffing ingredients except oil and mash briefly. Divide the mixture into 10 equal portions and keep aside.
• Peel the potatoes and mash them very finely into smooth mashed potatoes. Add salt and pepper and knead until properly mixed.
• Divide it into 10 equal portions.
• Now wash and dry your hands and rub them with little oil.
• Take each portion of potato mixture and make a ball. Now
• Taking one at a time, gently flatten each ball into a round patty of about 1/2-inch thick and place a portion of stuffing in the center and fold the edges together very finely so that mixture does not come out.
• Now very gently flatten it into a 2-inch patty. Repeat the procedure for all pieces.
• Heat 1 tsp. oil in a non-stick pan over a low heat. Slip in the patties, not too many at a time, and pan-fry on both sides till crisp golden brown, adding oil if required, on a very low heat.
• Serve aloo tikki hot with chutney and stirred curd.

Note : Boil potatoes until fork-tender. Preferably, potatoes should be boiled well in advance before use. It would be better if they can be refrigerated for a short time.

ALOO CHAT

Ingredients:

3 Aloo (potatoes), peeled
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp roasted cumin powder
1 tsp chaat masala
Tamarind Chutney
Mint Chutney
Chopped Coriander Leaves
optional garnish - chopped onion, tomato julienne, fresh pomegranate seeds
oil for frying

Preparation:

• Dice aloo (potatoes) into a fairly large dice - 3/4 to 1 inch cubes.
• Heat oil in a wok and deep fry potatoes, till golden brown and cooked through. Drain on paper.
• In a bowl, place the fried potatoes and toss with red chilli powder, cumin powder, chaat masala.
• Add mint chutney, tamarind chutney according to taste and toss to coat evenly.
• Serve, with toothpicks, in individual bowls, garnished with coriander leaves.
• You can also additionally garnish the special indian aloo chaat with chopped onion, tomato julienne or pomegranate

How to make aloo bonda

Ingredients:

2 Large Boiled, Mashed Aloo (Potatoes)
1-2 Green Chilies (chopped)
1tbsp Coriander leaves (finely chopped)
1cup gram flour
Salt to taste
Red chili powder to taste
1/4th tsp Garam Masala powder
1/4th tsp turmeric powder
Oil for frying

How to make aloo bonda:

• Add salt, chili powder, garam masala, coriander, and green chilies to the mashed aloo (potatoes) and mix well.
• In a bowl take a cup of gram flour; add turmeric powder, little salt and chili powder to it. Add little water bit by bit and mixing with hand make a batter (neither too thick nor too lose).
• Make small balls of aloo (potato) mixture.
• Dip each ball in the batter and deep fry them till golden. brown
• Serve aloo bonda hot with chutney.

HOW TO MAKE A ALOO GOSHT

Aloo Gosht is a casserole like dish made from potatoes and lamb, and eaten all over World. We teamed up with Amjad, of the Awari restaurant in Benfleet, Essex, to show you how to cook it.

You Will Need:

• 1 kg lamb , cut into cubes of approx 2 cm
• 1 tbsp fresh ginger , grated
• 1 tbsp fresh garlic , grated
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 ½ tbsp curry powder
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp cumin powder
• 2 tsp chilli powder
• 6 cardamoms , green
• 1 cinnamon sticks
• 2 star anise
• 500 g potatoes , diced into 1.5 inch cubes
• 2 medium onions , chopped
• 1 ½ cups (380ml) water
• 2 Saucepans
• 1 wooden or metal spoon

Step 1:

Sauté the onions and spices

In a saucepan, add the oil and the onions and salt; sauté until the onions have turned translucent and soft. Then add the garlic, ginger and all of the spices, and stir on a medium heat until the ingredients have combined and formed a paste.

Step 2:

Cook The Meat

Then add the washed and drained meat to the pan and stir into the onion and spice mixture until all of the meat is well coated.
Cover the pan and leave to cook on a low heat for 30 minutes, or until the juices have merged from the meat into the pan.

Step 3:

Add Potatoes

In a separate pan, par-boil the potatoes and then add them into the curry mixture in the other saucepan and stir until the potatoes are well coated with the sauce.

Step 4:

Add water

Then add 1 ½ cups of water and stir and leave to cook on a very low heat for another 10 to 15 minutes or until the gravy has thickened slightly and the meat has turned very tender and brown in color. Stir carefully.

Serve hot with rice or flatbreads such as Roti or Naan.

COOKING & FOOD

Cooking & Food

Indian Cooking

One of the delicious dishes we created in our Indian cooking class the other night was a chicken curry with cashews. As I said in Part I, the dishes that were prepared were quite easy yet wonderful and full of all that flavorful Indian goodness! If you are tired of hearing, “Chicken again?” try this recipe.

Curried Chicken with Bell Peppers & Cashews

1/2 C olive oil
8 cloves of garlic, minced
4 tsp sweet paprika
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 T ground cumin
1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
2 lbs. chicken, cubed
2 C diced bell pepper (we used a combination of red, yellow and orange which was beautiful)
1 C diced yellow or white onion
1 C peas
1 C cashews
1 C cilantro, coarsely chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat 1 T olive oil in a large skillet. Add the onions and garlic and cook until wilted. Add the bell peppers and cook until onions are translucent. Take veggies out of the skillet and set aside.

Pour in the remaining oil to the skillet and add all the spices. Stir quickly until completely mixed. Toss in the chicken and cook approximately 7 minutes or until no longer pink. Put the veggies back into the skillet along with the peas. Cook until heated through. Stir in the cilantro and cashews, then serve. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Garnish with more chopped cilantro and cashews on top.

*Options: you can adjust the level of any of the spices for added flavor. We like a little kick to our food so next time I will increase the cayenne pepper amount.