Omurice with an Indian touch

 Hey guys!! As you already know that I had made omurice before (the authentic Japanese omollette rice meal) here: http://aspectflife.blogspot.in/2014/05/omurice.html

I felt like making the indian version of omurice this time...with chicken kheema.

This is what I did:-

1.Take some oil in a pan & fry 3-4 onions for 10 mins.

2.Then add some garlic cloves diced and crushed ginger & fry it furthur

3.Add fresh tomato paste made from 5 tomatoes. Cook it until the old separates and the tomato has a thicker consistency.

4.Take 250gms of chicken kheema (or) ground meat (I have used kheema instead of diced chicken pieces). 

5.Add a bowl of green peas (frozen/fresh)  and the kheema to the pan and cook until the paste is a thick gravy & less watery.

6.Meanwhile as that is getting cooked. Prepare an egg batter from 4 eggs in a bowl & keep it aside.

7.Keep this chicken filling ready along with some boiled rice.

8.Take a pan, add some butter and start by putting the cooked rice & the chicken filling.

9.Add 2 tablespoons of tomato ketchup.

10.Add chilli sauce and soya sauce to to add flavour.

11. Take another pan and add vegetable oil.

12. After the oil is hot, pour the egg batter into the pan ( how much ever covers the pan) 

13. Cook it nice and creamy. Don't worry it will not be uncercooked. It should look something like this.

14. Then add the chicken and rice filling that we prepared before in the centre of the omollette. And wrap from both sides.

15. After wrapping cover the pan with a plate and and turn over the pan. 

It's done! Top it off with some tomato ketchup. And serve it hot!

                    ^_^ Please do try it! ~ENJOY~

Palak(Spinach) chicken

 Hi friends!!

Recently I posted about how to make Anda palak (spinach with egg). I had quite a lot of spinach curry/ spinach paste left over from that dish. So I thought why to waste a so much spinach! & decided to put it to good use...

This is what I did :

I took 500 gms of boneless chicken . Marinated it with hung curd salt and paprika powder for 1 hr. Took a pan added 2 tbsp of butter and fried these marinated chicken with few flakes of garlic chopped nicely. Cooked on slow flame till oil separates. Approximately about 30 mins.. Then added the leftover spinach paste and it's done. 

I didn't add further onion or ginger garlic paste as it already had enough when I prepared the egg spinach. While serving I added 2-3 tsp of fresh Dairy cream.

Its tastes great if eaten with naan, roti or paratha (Indian flattened bread)

                      ~Enjoy~

Chocoholic Mocha Surprise

Ingredients:-

Milk, Nescafé coffee powder, sugar (or diet sugar) chocolate powder, vanilla icecream & ice cubes.

Procedure:-

Shake all the ingredients above really well in the shaker (the Nescafé sipper in the pic) And shake your waist while mixing all these ingredients just like how the actress does it in the advertisement. 

Now pour it in nice long glasses (as there will be a lot of foam) 

Just before serving add 2 scoops of vanilla ice cream on top of each coffee glass.& it's done!!

^_^ Trust me it's yummy in this scorching heat ! 

                      ~Enjoy~

Eggs in ; Spinach(andapalak)

Ingredients: 

-4 bundles of spinach

-1 bundle of corriander

-2 tbsp of kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves )

-4-5 green chillies

-Boiled eggs

-one onion chopped

-1tbsp of ginger-garlic paste

-A pinch of garam masala powder

-1 tsp of ghee and salt according to your taste.  

Method: Boil the spinach, corriander and green chilly . Then add just a small cup of water to it as the leaves itself contain a lot of water in them. (If you want you can also Boil the eggs along with these just to save gas...;-)

Put these aside and let it cool for sometime. Meanwhile fry the eggs and keep them aside. Ater they cool down to room temparature churn these in the mixer grinder and make it into a paste.

Take a separate pan add 1 tbsp of ghee or butter and fry chopped onion and gingergarlic paste ...when the colour of onion changes add kasuri methi ..now add the paste and let it boil till the required consistency is acquired..lastly add the garammasala. Then add the fried eggs in the end. Serve it with roti, naan or paratha. (Indian bread)

~Enjoy.🍀

If you have any questions or any queries. Please leave it in the comment box or on my Facebook page.

Prawns in coconut milk ( chingri macher malai curry)

This is a popular delicacy in a bengali household -"Prawns in coconut milk" it's called "chingri macher malai curry" in bengali.

This shrimp dish has a very creamy texture. The delicate minimalism here enhances a certain cravings and leaves one wanting for more.

So this is my recipe for the famous delicacy. 

Recipe:

• You will need Prawns/Shrimps- River scampi (cleaned and outer shell removed) : 700 grams / 1kg

• Coconut Milk: 1 pack (or) 1 cup  (approx; 200ml for 1 kg of shrimps) - नारियल का दूध 

• Spies I've used are: Green cardamom (इलाइची ) , Cinnamon (दाल चीनी ), Cloves (लोंग ), Red chilli powder, turmeric powder, 

• Fry 100 grams of onion.

• Then in a mixer grinder blend the fried onions and spices together into a smooth paste.

• Now coat the prawns (shrimps) with turmeric powder, chilly powder and salt.      

• Then shallow or deep fry the shrimp in a separate pan till golden and crispy outside and is soft inside. Keep it aside

• Add butter in pan,

      

• Add fried onion paste that you made above. Add 1 cup of coconut milk to adjust the consistency.
• Let it cook over low flame  while stirring continuously.
• Add the prawns, little sugar and Kashmiri chilli powder (or any chilli powder /paprika) & cook till the gravy thickens.
• Garnish with coconut cream/cream. Serve it hit with steamed rice.

~Enjoy!~

If you have any queries or questions please post it in the comment box. 

Breadizza! ( Bread Pizza)

The other day I was left with some yummy chilly chicken leftover from last night's dinner... It was almost time for my daughter to come from college and I was not ready with any snacks....I had only half an hour in hand.....so opened the refrigerator and Bingo.....The idea of "Bread pizza" came to my mind!! =) I was happy to see bell peppers and cheese in the fridge as well! :-D ....

So this is what I did:....

1st step....Take the bread slices and spread butter over it...let me tell you i have used brown bread and fat less butter

2nd step...Spread 2 tsp of chicken preparation (Any chicken pieces/Salami/chilly chicken, will do) on each bread along with some diced bell peppers (capsicum) and onions.

3rd step....I Added pure tomato sauce/ tomato puree on the top.

4th step....Finally I topped it off by adding some cheese (preferably mozzarella cheese) and put them into your microwave.

Now you can do it in convection mode of your microwave (ie Heat+Grilling)  or on automatic cooking or 3 minutes on high Heating (regular) and then grill for  5 min.

Serve it with a dash of chilly flakes and oregano.... 

The bread becomes crunchy!

Your quick Snack Is ready!

  ~ENJOY~

Traditional Bengali Sweets

Hi friends! I thought it was getting a bit boring here with all the recipes...was it?  So dears I decided to treat you all with some sweets from Burdwan, a historical place near West Bengal. Recently  some colleague of mine sent these to me and I wanted to share with you these delicious treats with you all through my blog...

These unique sweets are so yummy that you always keep wanting to eat more once you taste them. They are called "SITA-BHOG" & "CHANDRAPULI ... The one that looks like basmati rice and kidney beans is SitaBhog and the half moon shaped sweet is chandrapuli made out of coconut. I had no idea why the name is related to Sita (Hindu goddess)....let's imagine may be when Ram,Sita & Lakshman were exiled for 14 yrs to the forest, plenty of coconut was available and Sita Mata prepared these sweets and Lord Rama and Lakhsman must have loved these..... By the way this is just my imagination. (hehehe) *^_^*

The actual thing...as seen in google:

• Sitabhog and Mihidana are two famous sweets of Burdwan, in the state of West Bengal (also called bardhaman) introduced first in honor of the Raj family. Shaktigarh's Langcha is another local specialty for Shaktigarh In Eastern Part of Burdwan City (courtesy +Wikipedia)
• It is also considered Goddess Sita's favorite food. Hence the name :-)
• Traditionally Chandrapuli was shaped like the moon and chandra in Bengali means the moon. However, these days they come in all shapes. You make it round or shape it like a half moon.  

This is how they look~ Enjoy~

                                    

If you all have patience to make these sweets I have given links to some blogs below: 

Sita Bhog-

http://www.riyatreat.blog spot.in/2009/08/sita-bhog.html

Chandrapuli-

http://www.colorandspices.com/2012/10/sindur-khelakolakulisubho-bijoyar.html

Chana bhatura / Chole Batura

Chole Bhatura is one of the most famous Indian street food 

Ingredients:

• Soak 200 grams of Chana overnight.
• 2 onions( made into a fine paste) 
• 2 tsp of ginger garlic paste
• 3 tomatoes( make a fine paste out of it) 
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 tsp of Everest Chana masala
• 1 tbsp of garam masala powder
• 1 tsp of turmeric powder
• 1 tsp of cumin powder
• 1 tsp of corriender powder
• 2 tsp of Kashmiri red chilly powder (to get a red colour in the dish)
• 1 tsp of ghee
• Oil to cook
• Salt according to your  taste. 
• Bunch of coriander leaves.

Chana masala can also be enjoyed with jeera rice ( long grain basmati rice cooked with cumin seeds)

Method:

• Boil the soaked chana (chick pea) with 5 cups of water, one diced onion and 1 tsp of salt, Boil it until they are soft. Do not drain the water (stock) in which the chana is boiled.
• I have used a pressure cooker, so need around 4 whistles to get my chickpeas ready for the next step.
• Add 2 tsp of oil in a pan ( kadai).
• Add 2 bay leaves.
• Then add the onion paste and cook till light brown.
• Now add the ginger garlic paste and cook till the raw smell goes away.
• Add 1 tsp of turmeric powder, 1 tsp of jeera powder and 1 tsp of coriander powder and 1 tsp of chilly powder.
• Now add the tomato purée and mix it well.
• As u notice the oil coming up add the chickpeas (boiled chanas with water)
• Cook it for 5- 10 min then add the chana masala, garam masala and the ghee 
• Mix it well so that the masalas don't form a lump and get evenly distributed.
• Cook it in medium flame for another 15 mins. Its done!

          While serving garnish with coriander leaves from the top.

Bhaturas:

• Take maida (all purpose flour), curd and knead it well with warm water...
• Add salt and a pinch of soda while kneading the dough.
• Keep it covered with a wet cloth for around 1 hour.
• Then make small balls out of that dough and roll these out flatly in round shapes in a rolling pin and deep fry these.

You cancheck out the Video on How to make a bhatura

Generally these bhaturas are quite big ones...but I like it medium size in my home...as these bhaturas soaks lots of oil....may be when guests come over I would also make big ones and serve you.😀

ANDHRA CHICKEN CURRY

Ingredients: 

• 1 kg chicken cut into pieces.
• 3 medium sized onions chopped
• 2 tsp of ginger garlic paste
• 4 tomatoes made into fine paste 
• 1 Tsp of mustard seeds
• Few strands of curry leaves

Dry roast the following spices:

• poppy seed - 2 tbsp
• fennel seed -1 tbsp 
• Dry red chilly - 4
• Black pepper corn -1 tbsp
• cloves - 4
• cardamom - 3
• cinnamon- half inch

Procedure

Dry grind these spices without water and keep it aside.  

Clean 1 kilogram chicken and marinate it only with salt .  

Slice the onions and grind the red tomatoes.

Heat oil in a pan and put mustard seeds and curry leaves into the oil.

When they start spluttering fry the onion till its golden brown.

add ginger garlic paste  and fry them together.

Then add the marinated chicken pieces and fry them.

Lastly add the dry roasted spices which we ground earlier & fry them further in medium flame.

Add the tomato paste and mix it properly.

Cover the vessel and cook for few more minutes till such time  the gravy becomes more liquid due to the water coming from the chicken. 

You can add a little water if required. 

Cook until the chicken is soft and fully cooked.

 It's Ready! ENJOY~

Mixed vegetable

Mixed vegetable prepared in olive oil

Ingredients: 

• diced carrot
• diced beetroot
• Diced potato
• fresh peas
• garlic pieces

Procedure:  

Fry these vegetables mentioned above separately and keep it aside. Then heat some oil in a  pan & Add a teaspoon of cumin seeds and garlic pieces....then add the veggies that you fried earlier into the pan along with salt , oregano, and paprika powder...add a teaspoon of sugar & squeeze out some fresh lemon juice onto it to make it sweet and sour. Lastly add roasted basil and thyme crushed from the top. Serve Hot

Enjoy^_^

Canned Tuna fish Indian Style

Canned Tuna Indian Home Style Recipe

Canned tuna tastes great unlike what people may wonder about canned fish. 

In many gatherings people have asked me this question ...."mam how come u like this fish so much?....this fish is so smelly and you can't make it taste better" or sometimes they asked "OMG! it can only be grilled right? and I don't have an oven!" These are the questions which inspired me to share my easy homely version of Tuna fish chunks with an Indian touch! :)

You need a microwave or even an oven for this :)

Ingredients:

🔸2 cans tuna in chilli oil (180gm each- Ocean’s Secret)

🔸Sliced white onion: 3 big 

🔸4-5 green chillies

🔸Tomato : deseeded slices/ Tomato purée 4 Tbsp 

🔸Garlic 8-10 cloves 

🔸Ginger paste (optional ): 1 tsp

🔸Green onions /shallots: 100gm

🔸Chopped Cilantro (coriander)

Procedure:

🔸First add 4 tablespoon of chilli oil from the can.

🔸Fry the white onions once the oil heats, until it is golden brown.

🔸Add the chopped garlic and green chilli into And five for another 2-3 minutes

🔸Add the chopped tomatoes /or the tomato Purée. And fry for 5 min

🔸Now add the tuna and fry for 5-10mins.

🔸While it’s cooking, you can add ginger slices, and paprika (Kashmiri red chilli powder to add       spiciness)

🔸Add chopped cilantro (Dhania) from the top. Opt: add some chopped green shallots and give it a stir.

🔸If you are using salted/Tuna in brine then you may not need to add any salt at all. Or you might require some salt.

🔸Since I’ve used a canned tuna with almost no salt, I had to add salt according to our preference, around 1-2tsp

Tips: 

🔸To give it an Indian twist, add 1 tbsp ghee and 1tsp Garam masala powder over the top and give it a stir.

🔸Adjust the salt and the shallots as per your liking.

      ~Enjoy it with hot breads /Rice~  

Video Recipe

My Healthy Bell pepper Salad

I've been cooking lots of chicken lately... so lets have some healthy salad today...ingredients......yellow and red bell peppers, baby corns, boiled eggs, cabbage leaves,broccoli,.., cilantro leaves to garnish., olive oil, 
SPICES....freshly grind pepper, chilly flakes, oregano, basil and little roasted thyme.
Boil d baby corn and blanch the broccoli....then heat olive oil and sautey baby corn and broccoli for 2 min..put all ingredients in a big bowl and mix it well with a dash of salt and lemon juice...serve it with grapes and boiled egg on top.