Chili Chicken

Chili chicken is probably more Indian than Chinese, we have owned it. My first tryst with chili chicken was at my hometown, Agartala. Chinese was not a rage like it is now; and Abhishek  restaurant  was probably the first so called ‘modern’ restaurant of Agartala. Until then, I was exposed only to the classic Bengali Chicken Curry with potatoes. Similar to many other Indians, chili chicken was first ‘International cuisine’ for me. A plate of chili chicken and fried rice… it’s heavenly. My search for the perfect chili chicken has taken me from Abhishek to Hatari, from Mainland China to Tangra .I have had experienced cuisines from different parts of the world, but chili chicken still holds a special place in my heart… So, Let’s get started.

 

Ingredients:
1. Boneless and skinless chicken cut in to small pieces (I have used 500 grams)
2. Soy Sauce (1 tablespoon or to taste)
3. Chili Sauce (2 tablespoon or to taste)
4. Tomato ketchup (1 tablespoon or to taste)
5. White Vinegar (1 tablespoon)
6. Red, Yellow and Green Bell Pepper (1/2 cup each, seeds removed and cut into cubes)
7. Salt to taste
8. Black pepper to taste
9. Corn-starch (1.5 tablespoon)
10. Oil (3 tablespoon)
11. Ginger Paste (1 teaspoon)
12. Garlic (2 teaspoon)
13. Green Chilies (3, slit)
14. Onion (2, medium size, 1 chopped and other cut into cubes)
15. Dry red chili (Optional)

Method:
1. Take the chicken pieces in a bowl; add a pinch of salt, soy sauce and half a teaspoon of corn-starch. Mix everything well and keep aside for 10 minutes
2. In a pan heat 2 tablespoon of oil. Add the chicken pieces. Fry the chicken pieces from all sides and make sure the pieces don’t stick together.
3. Lower the flame and, let the chicken pieces cook properly. To be sure, cut a chicken piece into half and check the color of the broken pieces. If they white inside, they are properly cooked.
4. Remove the chicken pieces from the flame; place them on a tissue paper to soak the excess oil.
5. In the same pan add one tbsp of oil; let it warm up and add the dry red chili, garlic and cook them for 20 seconds
6. Add the ginger paste and chopped onions; fry them for one minute
7. Add the bell pepper and cubed onions. Give it a good mix it and let it cook for another 2 minutes
8. In a cup, mix all the sauces as per your taste and pour the sauce mix into the hot pan
9. Add the vinegar, green chilies and a bit of salt. Be careful about the salt because soy sauce already contains salt
10. Add black pepper powder
11. To make the gravy thick, mix the rest of the corn-starch with a 1/2 cup of water and add this mixture to the gravy
12. Check the salt and adjust accordingly
13. Add the fried chicken pieces
14. Mix everything and make sure the sauce coats the chicken pieces and the veggies
15. Once done turn off the flame

Enjoy this with noodles or fried rice.

Mo

Phish-Phash

The British ruled India for two centuries, how much India gained from them and how much they took away from us is topic of debate. But, among the things it has given us one of the most beautiful thing is Anglo-Indian cuisine. It is the cuisine that developed during the British rule in India, as the British wives interacted with their Indian cooks. It has had its share of Portuguese influence too. One of the lesser known but really tasty and healthy Anglo-Indian dish is Phish-Phash. It is a combination of chicken and rice infused with exotic spices. You can also cook the same dish with mutton.

Ingredients:
1. Any fragrant rice (1 cup)
2. Chicken (500 grams, cut into small or medium pieces)
3. Onions (One medium size, cut in to cubes and another one sliced)
4. Ginger and Garlic paste (1 tea spoon each)
5. Green chilies ( Make paste of 3 chilies and slit 3 chilies into halves. You can adjust the number of chilies as per your preference)
6. Cashew nuts (10)
7. Raisins (7-8)
8. Salt  to taste
9. Milk (1/2 cup)
10. Cinnamon (1 stick)
11. Cardamom (3-4)
12. Cloves (3-4)
13. Black pepper (2-3)
14. Red lentils or Masoor dal (1 table spoon)
15. Butter (2 table spoons)
16. Oil (1 teaspoon)
17. Bay Leaf (1)

You can cook this either in pressure cooker or in a heavy bottom pan. I have used pressure cooker here for quicker results. If you don’t have pressure cooker, you can cook in low flame with lid on for 20 minutes.

Method:
1. In a heated pressure cooker pan, add 1 tbsp butter and let it melt
3. Add all the whole spices; let the butter absorb the aroma of the spices
4. Add the chicken; flip them over a few times so that the chicken pieces are covered by butter on all sides.
5. Add ginger, garlic and green chili paste
7.Add the lentils and rice. Give it a good mix. Don’t worry about the chicken pieces getting broken. It’s exactly what you want.
6. Add the cubed onions and slit green chilies
8. Add salt as per your taste
9. Add the milk and the rest of the butter and give it a gentle mix
10. Add water; make sure everything is covered in water and nothing is left out
11. Cook it 3 whistles and your Phish-Phash is ready. (You may need to cook for 4-5 whistles in case you are using mutton)
12. Take a hot pan add the oil and fry the sliced onions till they become slightly brown. Use the fried onions for garnishing.

Enjoy.

Mo

Traditional Sweet Bengali Chutney

Mishti Chutney or Sweet Chutney is an authentic Bengali dish. Usually we have it after finishing the main course and before consuming dessert; but there is no hard and fast rule for this. The recipe is very simple and requires easily available ingredients. I have used raw mango because this is summer time and Tomatoes which are easily available everywhere throughout the year. If you don’t get mangoes, you can make this with tomato only. Let’s get started.

Ingredients:
1. Tomato (3 medium size, cut into cubes)
2. Raw mango (1 cut into slices)
3. Dates (5-6 cut into small pieces)
4. Raisin & cashew nuts
5. Jaggery (2 tablespoon)
6. Green chili (2 sliced)
7. Mustard seeds (1/2 teaspoon)
8. Cumin seeds (1/2 teaspoon)
9. Fennel seeds (1/2 teaspoon)
10. Pinch of salt.
11. Mustard oil or any other oil (1 teaspoon)

Method:
1. In a heated pan, add a tsp of oil.
2. When the oil heats up, add the mustard, cumin and fennel seeds. Let the spices splutter.
3. Add the mangoes and tomatoes; sprinkle a bit of salt. Mix everything well so that the pulps absorbed the flavor of the spices.
4. Add a cup of water, mix everything well.
5. Add the jaggery and let it melt.
6. Add the dates, dry fruits and green chilies. Give it a good mix.
7. Add one cup of water and put the lid on. Keep the flame in low and let it cook for 7-8 mint. (Adjust the water as per the thickness you prefer)
8. Turn off the flame and let it cool down.

Enjoy.

Mo

Bread Upma

Bread Upma is a very simple recipe which you can have for breakfast, brunch or evening snacks. Variation in regular breakfast menu makes us happy, and this will bring the much-needed variation. Let’s get started.

Ingredients:
1. Bread (5 slice of breads cut in to small pieces)
2. Curry leaves (2-3 springs)
3. Butter (1/3 teaspoon; I have used salted butter)
4. Green chilies (2, sliced)
5. Tomato (1 medium size, chopped)
6. Cumin powder (1/2 teaspoon)
7. Coriander powder (1/2 teaspoon)
8. Salt as per your taste.
9. A pinch of asafoetida or Hing
10. Garlic (3 cloves, sliced)
11. Ginger (A ¼-inch piece of ginger, crushed)
12. Onion (1 medium size, sliced)
13. Mustard seeds (1/3 teaspoon)
14. Cumin seeds (1/3 teaspoon)

Method:
1. In a heated pan add the butter and let the butter melt.
2. Add the Mustard and Cumin seeds.
3. Add the garlic, curry leaves, green chilies, sliced onions and ginger and fry for a minute. Don’t let the onions become brown.
4. Add the chopped tomatoes and give a quick mix. Cook it for 1-2 minutes.
5. Add salt to taste. (Since I have used salted butter, I have added very little bit of salt; if you use unsalted butter, you can adjust it accordingly)
6. Add all the dry spices and give it a good mix
7. Add half a cup of water and cook for a minute
8. Add the pieces of bread and mix everything properly so that the spice mix is fully coating all the bread pieces.

Bread Upma is ready.

Enjoy.

Mo

Pakhala Bhat with various side dishes

Pakhala is the a traditional Oriya dish; in Bengali it is called Pantha Bhat (পান্তা ভাত). It is prepared by soaking leftover rice in water overnight. There are so many side dishes that goes well with this, both vegetarian and non vegetarian. I have paired it with Fried potatoes, fried bitter gourd and Red Lentil Dal.

You can get more information about Pakhala from this Wikipedia article. 20th March is declared as Pakhala Dibasa (Universal Pakhala Day) by Oriya community. And being a Bengali foodie, I celebrate it too, in my own way.

Ingredients:
1. One cup of cooked rice
2. Potato(1 big size)
3. Bitter gourd (5 small size)
4. Tomatoes (2 medium size)
5. Fenugreek seeds(1/4 tsp)
6. Green chilies (5)
7. Salt to taste
8. Mustard oil 3 tsp
9. Lemon leaf (2-3)
10. Masoor Dal(Red lentils)
11. Turmeric powder
12. Nigella seeds (1/4tsp)
13. Flour(1/3 tsp)
14. Cumin powder (1/2 tsp)

Menu and  Method:
1. Pakhala (Rice dish): Take a cup of cooked rice (you can use leftover rice) and add 2 cups of cold water to it. Many people add cumin seeds or curry leaves to this; but I want my Pakhala to be pristine; so I didn’t add anything. Leave the rice soaked in water overnight and your Pakhala will be ready in the morning.

2. Potato fry: Peel the potatoes and cut them into flat long pieces as done for french fries. In a heated pan add 1 teaspoon of oil. Add nigella seeds. Add the potatoes, salt, turmeric powder and 2 green chilies. Fry everything in high flame for 2 minutes. Sprinkle a tablespoon of water on top. Cover the lid and let it cook in low flame. Keep checking the potatoes in between and cook it until the potatoes become soft.

3. Bitter gourd fry: Bitter gourd is bitter I know; but it is really really great for your health. Cut the bitter gourds into disc like pieces. Add some salt, turmeric powder, flour and a pinch of water. Mix everything well and fry in 1 teaspoon of oil for 1-2 minutes in high flame. Cover it up with lid and let it cook in low flame until the bitter gourds become soft.

4. Masoor Dal (Red lentils soup): Masoor dal is the quintessential dal on a Bengali dining table. We eat it everyday; a regular Bengali meal is unthinkable without this. Take a half cup of  red lentil and add 1.5 cup of water to it. Boil it with salt and turmeric powder. In a pan add 1 teaspoon of oil. Let the oil heat up and then add fenugreek seeds and tomatoes. Saute it for 1 minute. Add cumin powder, green chilies and mix it well. Finally, pour the boiled dal in to the pan. Mix the masala with the cooked dal well and cook it for 3-4 mints. If it becomes too thick to your preference, add some water. I have added 0ne cup of water, because I wanted my dal to be a bit runny. Add the lemon leaves, mix it well and switch off the flame.

I like to add some cucumber to all my meals, it helps to control the amount of carbohydrate intake. There are some unbelievable health benefits which you will find in green chilies, no calories only Vitamins; and it adds a lovely aroma to the whole meal.

All the dishes which I have just described are just perfect for hot Summer, do try it out.

Enjoy.

Mo.

 

 

 

 

Fried potatoes and more…

There are very few who don’t like potatoes; I love potatoes. Today i m going to share a simple recipe with you guys. I will be truthful here. My intention was to fry potatoes with some spices, but a little bit of improvisation turned it into something else. It turned up absolutely fantastic.

Ingredients:
1. Potatoes (2,big size)
2. Curry leaves (2-3 springs)
3. Salt to taste
4. Dry mango powder or Aamchur powder (1 teaspoon)
5. Turmeric (1 teaspoon)
6. Dry red chili (2 pieces)
7. Mustard seeds (1/2 teaspoon)
8. Cumin seeds (1/2 teaspoon)
9. Tomato (1, medium size)
10. Cumin powder (1/2 teaspoon)
11. Pinch of Asafoetida
12. Oil (2 tablespoon)

Method:
Cut the potatoes in to cubes, put in water for  1-2 hour.

In a heated pan add the oil, let the oil heat up. Add dry red chilies, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, curry leaves and asafoetida and let them splutter. Add the potato cubes and mix well. One by one add turmeric powder, cumin powder, dry mango powder. Add salt to taste. Mix everything properly. Add the chopped tomatoes and mix it well. Add a little bit of water, lower the flame and let it cover for sometime until the potatoes get cooked properly. Serve it with chapati.

Enjoy.

Mo

 

 

Mango shake

Summer is almost here; we are already into the season of Mangoes, the king of  all fruits. The weather in Thailand is already very hot and humid and the mercury is soaring higher everyday. It’s extremely important to consume a lot of liquid throughout the day; water, fresh fruits and vegetables, juices, shakes and smoothies, you’ve got plenty of choice. Today we will make Mango Shake. It’s simple to make and really tasty. I am sure everybody  knows how to make it. There are many variations of this, but in my humble opinion, it’s all about letting the sweetness of mango to take the center stage ably aided by the rest of the ingredients. Let’s get started.

Ingredients :
1. Pulp of a big size mango
2. Milk
3. Saffron (optional)
4. Sugar(optional)
5. Ice cubes
6. Dry fruits(optional)

Method:
In a blender, put sliced mango pulps, ice cubes, milk, sugar (you can also make without sugar). Blend it till you don’t see any mango pulp floating around. Add dry fruits as per your preference. I have used 2-3 raisins and cashew nuts. Serve it in a tall glass. You can decorate it with a few saffron strands before serving.

Enjoy.
Mo

Lemon Rice

Lemon rice is a very common rice preparation in Southern part of India. It’s very easy to cook, good to eat and very healthy. Although it is called lemon rice, I have used lime instead of lemon. You can use either of them. I really  like the punchy bitterness of lime. Many people use tamarind also. This super easy dish can be your breakfast or brunch depending upon when you are eating. It will take just 5-7 mints if you have rice ready at hand; you can use left over rice from last night too.

Ingredients:
1. Boiled rice (3 cup)
2. Rai or mustard seeds (1/4 teaspoon)
3. Red chili or Green chili (2, sliced)
4.Curry leaves (2 springs)
5.Turmeric powder (1/4 teaspoon)
6.Salt to taste
7.Peanuts (1/4 cup, fried)
8.Lime Juice (one half of a small size lime or lemon)
9.Split Bengal gram or Chana-Dal (1/2 tablespoon, soaked for 10 min or boiled for 5 min)
10.Onion (1/2, medium size)
11.Oil (2 tablespoon)

Note: Black gram  or Urad-dal  is one of the important ingredients but its very difficult to find here in Thailand, so i did not use it. If you have it you can use 1/2 tablespoon along with the other ingredients.

Method:
Heat the oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds to the hot oil. When mustard seeds start spluttering, add sliced onions, split Bengal gram or Chana-dal, curry leaves. Saute it for a minute or two; and then add salt, turmeric powder, chilies and lime juice. Add the boiled rice and give it a mix. Make sure the rice doesn’t break while stirring. Add some fried peanuts and serve it hot.

Enjoy.

Mo

Spring Roll

Hello folks. Spring Rolls are as Chinese as it gets. You find them in many countries all over the world, they may taste different but they all look same. These rolls are traditionally made and eaten during the Spring Festival, and from this it has got it’s name. It’s easy to cook and you won’t realize when you have eaten them all. A hot favorite with kids and adults alike, Spring roll is pocket rocket for your party. All you need is spring roll wrappers easily available in stores and whatever you have in your kitchen. Let’s get started.

Ingredients:
1. Boiled Noddles
2. Salt to taste
3. Cabbage (200 g, julienne)
4. Carrots (1, sliced)
5. Onions (1, sliced)
6. Ginger/Garlic/Green chili
7. Soy sauce as per your preference
8. Tomato sauce as per your preference
9. Green chili sauce as per your preference
10. Olive oil (2 tablespoon)
11. Vegetable oil for deep frying.

Method:
This is a two step recipe. First step is preparing the stuffing. Second part is making rolls and frying them.

For the stuffing: Heat two tablespoons of olive oil in a pan. Add chopped ginger,garlic, green chili ,onions and rest of the vegetables. Shallow fry the vegetables. Add all the sauces and salt as per your preference. I like the natural mild taste coming out of the vegetables more, hence I use very little sauce. While adding salt, be careful if you have added soy sauce already since it is also salty. Give the mix a good Stir. Lower the flame then add the cooked noodles, mix everything well. Do’t let the noodle or vegetables burn. Switch of the flame and let it cool down.

I have used only two types of vegetables, you can use whatever you want.

Making the roll: Take ready made spring roll wrapper. Take a bit of stuffing and roll the stuffing with the wrapper. After you have made the roll, fold the sides and seal the rolls from both ends. Repeat the process for all the rolls. Once the rolls are ready, shallow fry them and make sure that the outer cover of the rolls fried from all the sides. Instead of shallow frying, you can also deep fry them.

Serve with hot sauce.

Enjoy.

Mo

Quick Biriyani with Egg!!!

It was raining heavily outside; raining since early morning; a well planned weekend was destroyed by this never ending rain. We waited till noon, but the Rain God showed no intention of slowing down. What a sorry day it was; only thing that could have saved the day was good food. Hence, we decided to order Biriyani from a nearby restaurant. I called up a nearby restaurant to order Biriyani only to know that they could not open because of water-logging throughout the city. But I was so desperate that I decided to cook my own Biriyani. It was an experiment which turned out to be an immense success. I am, going to share my recipe with you.

Traditionally, cooking Biriyani involves an elaborate process and takes a lot of time. Generally it is cooked with chicken, lamb or beef. On that rainy day, I did not have any meat at home but, I had eggs and Biriyani Masala handy; and I was desperate. I cooked my Biriyani in a pressure cooker. It’s definitely not the best way to cook Biriyani, but definitely the quickest and the end result is really good. The whole thing takes around 35-40 minutes to complete.

Ingredients:
1. Eggs (4, Hard Boiled)
2. Potato (1, Boiled and halved into two pieces)
3. Onions (2½ medium size chopped and ½ medium size sliced)
4. Bay leaf (1, small)
5. Clove (2-3)
6. Cardamom (2-3)
7. Cinnamon Stick (1-2)
8. Red Chili powder (1 teaspoons)
9. Turmeric Powder (½ teaspoon)
10. Salt to taste
11. Ginger garlic paste (2 teaspoons)
12. Basmati Rice (1½ cups)
13. Mustard Oil (2 teaspoons)
14. Biriyani Spice Mix* (1 teaspoon).
15. Tomato (1 small chopped)
16. Curry leaves (7-8 leaves)
17. Cilantro
18. Curd/Yogurt (2 tablespoons)

*Biriyani Spice mix can be easily found at your nearest Indian grocery shops

Steps:
Wash the Basmati rice and keep it aside. Shallow fry the boiled eggs and sliced onions with a bit of turmeric and keep them aside.

Heat the mustard oil in the press cooker without the lid. Temper the oil with bay leaf, cloves cardamom and cinnamon sticks. When the oil heats up and you can smell the aroma of the added spices, add the chopped onions. Sprinkle a bit of salt to make the onions cook faster. Fry the onions till they become translucent. Add the ginger-garlic paste and fry the mix for 2-3 minutes. Then, Add the curry leaves to the mix and saute for another 2 minutes in low flame. Make sure you don’t burn the spice. You can sprinkle water when required.

Add the tomatoes and fry the mix while stirring constantly. When the tomatoes will become soft, add turmeric, red chili powder and the Biriyani mix. Soon the mix will start leaving oil. Add the yogurt/curd to this and mix well. Add the fried eggs (only eggs not the fried onions). Add half a cup of cilantro leaves. Gently mix all the things together; make sure you don’t break the eggs.

Add the rice and 1½ cups of water to the spice. Since we are adding water, we also need to add a bit of salt too. Adjust the salt to your preference. Give it a gentle mix and close the lid of the pressure cooker. Pressure cook it for 2 whistles. Your Egg Biriyani is ready. Garnish with the fried onions.

You can pair this up with a little bowl of curd or Raita. I like it raw, unadulterated.

Enjoy.

Mo