Fish Finger Chips

 

Ingredients

Fish - 500 gm
All purpose flour (Maida) - 1/2 cup
Egg - 1 

Pepper powder - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste
Roasted bread crumbs - 1/2 cup 

Method

 1)  Clean the fish thoroughly and cut into thing finger like slices.

2)  Apply salt and half the pepper powder and leave for about one hour.

3)  Beat the egg and add maida to it to bring it to a dripping consistancy. (Add water if necessary).
4)  Add salt and the remaining pepper to this batter and mix well.

5)  Heat oil in frying pan.

 6)  Dip the fish piecec in the batter, then roll in the bread crumbs and them deep fry until golden brown from all sides.

7)  Garnish with salad leaves, cucumber and potatoes.

8)  Serve with tomato ketchup and podina raita.

 

Creamy Chicken Mushroom Soup

If you are looking for a quick soup recipe with plenty of flavor, give this creamy mushroom soup recipe a try. You can throw this soup together in about 30 minutes, so it’s perfect to make during the week as a starter. But add a salad and some fresh bread and you have a meal.

By adding pieces of boneless chicken to the pot, the soup has more substance and filling power. If I were serving this soup as an appetizer, I might just forget about the chicken. The soup has enough flavor on its own without it.

The recipe calls for crimini mushrooms which are those little brown ones that look like regular white button mushrooms. They are pretty easy to find in most supermarkets, but if you can't find any, use white button ones.

Did you know that crimini mushrooms are just young Portobello mushrooms?

INGREDIENTS

• 16 oz. fresh crimini mushrooms
• 1 yellow onion
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 3 tablespoons dry sherry
• 1 cup half and half
• 1/4 teaspoon hot pepper flakes (Add more if you want to heat it up, but be careful. You don't want to over do it.)
• couple of sprigs of fresh parsley 

• PREP WORK
  

Start by getting the chicken stock together. If you are making the stock from scratch, check out my chicken stock recipe.
Gently brush or wipe any loose dirt from the mushrooms and cut the mushrooms, stems included, into thin slices.
Finely chop the onion and garlic.
Cut the check breasts long ways into quarters and then slice them diagonally into 3/4 to 1 inch pieces.
Finish up the prep by finely chopping the parsley. I don't mind the stems because I think they add more flavor, but if you have a problem with using the stems, leave them out. 

HOW TO MAKE AT HOME

Heat up a heavy-bottomed soup pot and melt the butter. Add the onion and cook for a minute or two, then add the garlic. I find that by adding the garlic after the onion is cooking, it is less likely to burn. It's important to stir the onion and garlic as it is cooking, too. Cook until the onion is soft and translucent.
Add the mushrooms. Mushrooms contain a lot of liquid so you may notice more liquid in the pan as they are cooking than when you started. No big deal. Keep cooking until most of the mushroom liquid evaporates. Season with salt and pepper to your own taste.
Add the chicken stock to the pot and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat.
Time to puree the soup. I like to use a hand blender so I don't have to transfer the soup to a blender or food processor. (Also keeps the cleaning to a minimum.) If you have a hand blender, puree the soup directly in the pot to the consistency you like. If you don't have a hand blender, use what you have: remove half of the soup from the soup pot, transfer to a blender or food processor, and puree that half-portion of the soup. Return the puree back to the soup pot with the remaining half-portion.
Now it's time to add the cut up chicken breast pieces to the pot and cook over medium heat. Because the breasts were cut up, they won't take long to cook- maybe 4 to 5 minutes, tops. You don't want the soup to boil, just simmer. So keep your eye on it.
Add the dry sherry, half and half, hot pepper flakes, and fresh parsley, and simmer for a couple of minutes more. Taste for seasonings, adjust if necessary, and serve.

White Cake

Ingredients:

4 tsp Baking Powder
• 4 Egg Whites
• 2 ¾ cups Sifted Cake Flour
• ¾ tsp Salt
• 1 cup Milk
• 1 tsp Almond Extract
• ¾ cup Butter
• 1 ½ cups White Sugar
• 1 tsp Vanilla Extract  

How to make:

• Sieve together the sifted flour, baking powder and salt three times. 

• 	Beat egg whites until foamy in a bowl. Add ½ cup sugar and continue beating till the meringue holds up in soft peaks.
  •	Gradually add the remaining 1 cup of sugar and mix until light and fluffy. Add the sifted ingredients alternately with milk, and beat after each adding until smooth. Add in the flavorings, add meringue and beat thoroughly into batter. Spread the batter in a 15x10x1 inch pan with parchment paper lined below.
  •	Bake it for 35 minutes at 350F. Cool it for 10 min and then remove the pan and transfer the cake to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Chicken Shawarma

Shawarma is like the ultimate on the go meal. Thinly sliced meat, wrapped in a pita bread with veggies and sauce is a delicious quick meal. Before attempting a shawarma recipe, please read "Shawarma 101: Tips for Making Authentic Shawarma". You won't be disappointed!

 Ingredients:

• 1 and 1/2 lbs boneless chicken
• 1 cup yogurt
• 1/4 cup vinegar
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• salt to taste
• 2 cardamom pods
• 1 teaspoon allspice
• lemon juice 1 tbl spoon

• 
  
• FOR THE SAUCE:
• 1 cup tahini

        Here is an excellent tahini recipe,
        if you do not have some handy.

• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons yogurt
• PITA FILLINGS:
• 8 loaves of pita bread or 4 large
• thinly slice cucumbers
• thinly sliced onions
• 1/2 teaspoon sumac
• thinly sliced tomatoes
• 1/2 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
• pickle slices (optional)

Preparation:

Combine all ingredients except for chicken, fillings, and sauce ingredients to make marinade. If it seems a little dry, add a little olive oil (a tablespoon at a time).

Add chicken, cover and refrigerate at least 8 hours, preferably overnight.

In a stockpot or large saucepan, cook chicken over medium heat for 45 minutes or until done. Be sure not to overcook! If chicken becomes a little dry, add a few tablespoons of water throughout cooking duration.

While chicken is cooking, prepare the sauce. Combine sauce ingredients and mix well. Set aside.

Take the onions, tomatoes, cucumbers and sprinkle with sumac. Add other filling ingredients in a large bowl and combine well.

When the chicken is done, you can shred it, slice it, or leave into large pieces. As long as it it thinly cut, there is not much difference. I prefer to cut mine into wide strips.

Prepare the Pita

Place enough chicken on pita that cover 1/4 of the loaf. Add veggies and pour sauce. Roll like a soft taco or burrito and you have shawarma! You can also stuff the pocket of the pita if you like. I prefer to roll large pitas (this is where making your own pita comes in handy), but it is hard to find large loaves of pita at the supermarket.

Egg Delight......Anday Ka Halwa

Preparation time : 45 minutes 

Serves 6-8 persons

This egg delight recipe is one of the most popular sweet of South Asian cuisine and is generally known as Anday ka Halwa. It can be stored for months if dried completely and cut into pieces.  

Ingredients:

1 ltr milk
6 eggs
250 gm sugar
Pinch of orange food color
250 gm clarified butter or ghee

Poppy seeds or Khashkhash 2 tbl spoons
2 green cardamoms (ground seeds only)
Crushed almonds and pistachio for garnishing

Procedure:

1.     In a blender blend eggs, milk, food color and sugar together until the liquid becomes foamy.

2.     Now pour the batter into a deep sauce pan along with cardamoms and cook on medium heat. Stir the mixture continuously so that lumps may not form.

3.     When the matter starts to dry, add ghee and stir constantly otherwise it may stick to the pan and burn. Now add poppy seeds and keeping stirring well until the matter dries completely and turns light brown in color. 

4.     At this stage you have two options; either you can stop cooking further, transfer the halwa in serving platter and garnish with nuts or cook the halwa for further 10-15 minutes until it dries almost completely. Now transfer the halwa into a greased platter and spread it to make a 1 inch thick layer. Cut into square pieces with a sharp knife and then leave on room temperature for some time. This dries form of halwa can also be served as a form of mithai. 

Chocolate & Nut Cookies

Chocolate & Nut Cookies is a perfect dessert for chocolate lovers in winter that comes with a nutty flavor. Learn how to prepare this Chocolaty & Nutty Cookies by following this easy recipe. 

Ingredients:
• Dark Chocolate (grated)   1 cup • Almonds   1/4 cup • Pistachios  1/4 cup •Raisins 1/4 cup •Cashew Nuts 1/4 cup  You may also use any other dry fruits i.e peanuts, walnuts, khopra (grated coconut) or 4 maghaz
Method:
Melt the chocolate in microwave or double boiler and whip it till smooth. Add almonds, cashew nuts, pistachios and raisins to the chocolate and mix. Grease the moulds and put spoonful of chocolate-nut mixture into it and refrigerate. Allow to harden and serve.

Gajar ka Halwa

Ingredients:
Grated carrot		1 kg
Milk		1 litre
Whole dried milk		200 grams
Sugar		2 cups
Ghee		2 tbsp.
Dry fruits (sliced almond and cashew nuts, raisin )		1/2 cup
Cardamom powder		1/2 tsp.

Method:
1.	Put milk and grated carrots in a heavy base kadhai / deep saucepan and bring it to boil. Cook over medium heat until all the milk gets dried up. You should stir the mixture occasionally to prevent any sticking.
2.	Add sugar, cardamom powder, 1/4 cup dry fruits and continuously stir for 5-7 minutes.
3.	Add ghee and whole dried milk. Stir well and fry on low heat until ghee starts separating.
4.	Decorate with remaining dry fruits and serve hot. (Optional- decorate with silver leaf)
5.	Add lemon juice and paneer pieces. Mix well so that all the paneer pieces gets properly coated with sugar. Allow it to cool.

Chicken Shashlik

Grilled Chicken Shashlik

Ingredients

• Chicken in cubes 300 gm
• 2 Capsicums cut in cubes 1 onion cut in cubes
• 2 Tomatoes cut in cubes
• Corn flour 1 tbsp
• Garlic paste 2 tbsp
• Tomato ketchup 2 tbsp 
• Red chili powder 1 tbsp
• Black pepper 1/2 tsp
• White pepper 1/4 tsp
• Chili garlic sauce 2 tbsp
• Worchester sauce 2 tbsp
• Salt to taste
• Oil as required

Method

• Marinate chicken with garlic paste, tomato ketchup, chili garlic sauce, Worchester sauce, salt, black and white pepper, chili powder, oil and corn flour then set aside for 1 hour.
• Take shashlik sticks, Thread onion piece, chicken cube, capsicum and then chicken again,tomato and then chicken. Put all vegetables and chicken on sticks in this manner.
• Now in a pan heat the oil and fry these sticks. Cook covered for 5-6 minutes on low flame.
• Serve with fresh salad.

Tip: You can also grill the skewers.

Chicken & Sweet Corn Soup

 Ingredients (serves 4)

• 4 Chicken consomme 4 cups
• Single chicken breast fillets 400 gram
• Soy Sauce 1 tbs
• Finely grated fresh ginger 2 tsp
• Cornflour 1 tbs
• water 60ml or 1/4 cup
• Creamed corn 420g 
• Sweet corn 300g
• 2 egg whites
• sesame oil 1 tsp
• 6 green shallots, thinly sliced
• Salt & ground black pepper

• Method

  1. Place the consomme and chicken in a large saucepan and bring to boil. Reduce heat to low until chicken is cooked through. Transfer chicken to a heatproof bowl. Set aside for 5 minutes to cool slightly. Finely shred.
  2. Add the soy sauce and ginger to the consomme mixture. Place the cornflour in a small bowl and gradually stir in the water until smooth and combined. Gradually stir the cornflour mixture into the consomme mixture. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 minutes or until consomme thickens slightly. Add the chicken, creamed corn and corn and cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 minutes or until hot.
  3. Use a fork to whisk the egg whites in a small bowl. Gradually pour the egg whites into the soup, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon.
  4. Cook for 2 minutes or until white ribbons swirl though the soup. Remove from heat.
  5. Add the sesame oil and half the green shallot and stir to combine. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Ladle the soup among serving bowls and sprinkle with the remaining green shallot. Serve immediately.
  • Bring on spring with gorgeous lamb recipes, salad recipes and strawberry & pineapple recipes.