Chicken Curry Pic: Cal

Cal who is a traveler, chicken-lover, cook, poet, philosopher etc all bundled up in one, shares one of his chicken recipes and this one to suit the taste palates of his local friends in Munich.

Cal says – “Don’t even know what to call this recipe but probably the first time I cooked chicken without one single Indian spice and without one single chilli. It turned out to be bloody damn good so wanna share it.”

so here goes the funnily presented yummy Cal’s no-spice chicken recipe!

Boil together 1 large white onion (cut into halves), 10 cashews, 10 almonds, 20 raisins for about 5 minutes

1 bunch of mint–separate the leaves…
1 bunch of coriander — separate the leaves
1 large tomato

Put all the above in a blender and make a fine paste (if you need to add water, add a few spoons of water in which you boiled onion, cashews etc)

1. Heat a wide pan, and add some oil. I added about half a spoon of ginger garlic paste–not sure how much difference it made but it probably added some flavor
2. Add the above paste and let it cook for about 5 minutes. Keep stirring regularly
3. Add half a cup of cream and continue to cook for another 5 minutes on medium. Add salt according to your taste
4. At this point you can add 300g chicken ( I made with chicken) and cook them all together until the sauce and meat are fully cooked. You know it is done when oil begins to separate from the sauce
5. If you are a vegetarian, I have a feeling it goes well with baby potatoes (I am not saying this just because I think baby potatoes and baby monkeys are the cutest things in the world)
6. So try it and let me know
7. oh, forgot, eat with basmati rice but am sure goes well with naan also

till next time… have fun cooking!

Coriander Chicken

This recipe has been contributed by Harsha Ramaiah. Harsha loves to cook and host parties for his friends as often as he can & coriander chicken happens to be his all time favorite!

Coriander leaves – (1 bunch, preferably 100-125gms)

Curry leaves (1 bunch – 100 gms)

Green chillies (depends on size and how spicy you like it)

Coriander seeds – 2 tbsp

Chicken – 500gms (even cubes, as small as you can, i make them less than 1 inch cubes)

Ginger garlic paste – 1 tbsp

Nice thick curd (plain yogurt) – 1 cup

Salt to taste

1. Make a nice paste out of coriander leaves, curry leaves and green chillies
2. Crush coriander seeds ( i prefer to crush than grind as the flavor is better). Keep aside
3. Heat oil in a flat pan (as i like all my chicken pieces to touch the pan) and add the crushed coriander seeds and then add ginger garlic paste
4. Once the ginger garlic paste is cooked and the raw flavor has disappeared, add the coriander/curry/chilli paste. Cook till the oil separates
5. Add the chicken and stir it well
6. Add curd, salt and stir well
7. Cover the pan with an airtight lid and let it cook. The chicken will ooze water and that is good enough unless you want to add water to make a thin gravy
8. After 8-10 minutes open the pan and the dish sh1 cup should be cooked by now. You can garnish the dish with roasted cashews
9. The dry dish goes very well as a short eats with drinks
10. The gravy dish goes well with steamed rice, parantha, chappati or poori

Thanks Harsha for the recipe!

till next time…. have fun cooking!

Lobster Pic: Jenny Smith

This is a guest post by Jenny Smith who is in awe of Indian cuisine. He shares his favorite recipe for Lobster here. Jenny says…
Have you ever sniffed the rich aura of Indian spices? A sniff of the Indian kitchen really makes the difference. I have always had the taste for sumptuous Indian cuisines and no doubt they make me hopelessly fall for them, every time my tongue is blessed enough to taste the richness of continental flavors. I have lived long in abroad and have come to India after several years. From the day I have landed here I am just loving the food offered by Indian kitchens. The dishes compliment the culture-rich nation which stands tall amongst others in contemporary times.

I feel lucky to have tasted juicy lobsters picked from the Indian Ocean served generously with spicy spreads at home; my Mom is a great cook and I love to savour her pricey culinary touch. Recently my taste-buds were given a choice to experience lobsters and meat and I deliberately chose lobsters over meat because I have a certain fetish over these cooked sea-creatures. I lost control and ate a whole lot of Red lobster Masala. Goodness!! it was heavenly and I would love you to try it at home.

Here is all you need:
•    Whole lobster, 2
•    Ginger and garlic paste, 2 tablespoon
•    Onion 2 (minced uniformly)
•    Green chillies, 3
•    Tomatoes, 2 (chopped finely)
•    Powdered turmeric, ½ tsp
•    Cilantro, handful
•    Mustard seeds, 14 tsp
•    Chilli powder, 2 tsp
•    Oil, 2-3 tablespoon
•    Salt (for taste)

1. Boil the lobster in salt water for 2-3 minutes with turmeric powder
2. Either slice the lobster or slit the tail of it for the masala to seep entirely inside
3. Add oil in a skillet and heat it till the oil becomes smoking hot and then sear the boiled lobster onto it
4. Keep the lobster aside and add some more oil in the pan
5. Splutter mustard seeds and sauté onions until they turn golden brown
6. Fry the ginger and garlic blend and add in tomatoes
7. Immediately add turmeric, chilli powder and salt
8. Cook it for five minutes until a great blend is formed
9. Add in chopped cilantro and the fried lobster
10. Toss in everything for around 1-2 minutes
11. Add in some water to make the gravy
12. Garnish masala lobster with cilantro and some green chillies split finely

Milk Cake Pic: Amberish R Sarang

Amberish aka “accidental cook” shares yet another of his favorite recipe of Kalakand or Indian Milk Cake

Cottage cheese (Paneer) – 250 gms
Sugar- 1/2 cup
Cardamom/almonds – 1 tbsp (crushed)
Ghee or unsalted butter – 2 tablespoons
Sliced pistachios for garnish

1. Take a deep pan (non stick) and add 2 table spoon of ghee and heat it
2. Add paneer (cottage cheese) crumpled into small pieces into the pan
3. Add sugar and cardamom and keep stirring until the mixture starts coming together. This should take approximately 5 minutes
4. Lower the heat to medium and cook for another 4-5 minutes until mixture changes to a slightly golden brown color
5. Transfer mixture to the greased plate (with ghee) and press firmly into a square shape, approximately 1 inch high.
6. Sprinkle sliced pistachios/almonds on top
7. Let sit for at least an hour before slicing into individual pieces
8. Serve

thanks for the recipe! Amberish

till next time…. happy cooking!

Pie Crust (in the making)

This can be the base for many savory and dessert dishes… I use it to make vegetable pies / fruit pies etc. I will share the recipe for it in the days to come….

For the pie crust

All purpose flour (Maida) – 250 gms

Butter – 200 gms (at room temperature)

Salt – 1 tsp

Water

1. Sieve the flour and Salt together
2. Chop butter into tiny cubes
3. Combine the butter into the flour gently with soft hands till you get a crumbly texture (you can see the butter chunks)
4. Add little water and mix gently. Keep repeating till you get a sift ball. The key is to be gentle and soft while forming the dough to get crisp and flakier pie base
5. Refrigerate the dough for a minimum of 20 min
6. Flour the kitchen platform and very gently roll the into an elongated shape
7. You will still be seeing bits of butter chunks giving it a marbled effect
8. Fold the dough from one side till half and repeat with the other side to cover the just folded side. Flour both the sides and roll
9. Repeat this process atleast 4-6 times to ensure you get multiple layers. Refrigerate overnight
10. Next day roll the dough into a circle. Be gentle
11. Grease the pie dish
12. Gently place the rolled out dough over the pie dish
13. Don’t pull the dough out; instead ease out the dough into the tray and it shrinks during the baking process
14. Using a fork puncture the dough at various places and cover it with plain raw beans / lentils…etc and put the pie dish into the pre heated oven to BLIND BAKE* the pie crust at 185 degree C for 30-40 minutes
15. Once the crust is crisp and brown. Take out all the beans
16. Your pie crust is ready

Pie Crust (post baking)

*Blind Baking means where you are baking the crust without any filling. You use the raw beans and puncture the dough, so that the dough doesn’t puff and cave up.

**check out the Quiche recipe where the pie crust recipe is relatively simple and less time consuming

Till next time…. have fun cooking!

Homemade Pizza Pic: Shweta Arora

This is a guest post by Shweta Arora. Shweta is an entrepreneur running noir desire- Designer Boutique in Melbourne, Australia. With work taking most of her time she indulges in easy and fast albeit healthy cooking… here’s a quick pizza recipe for you by her…

1. Take a base of multigrain or wholemeal bread thins or a wholemeal Lebanese pita bread
2. Layer it with Basil Pesto sauce tomato base pizza sauce
3. Take your favorite toppings  like Cherry tomatoes, onion, capsicum, mushroom
4. Sprinkle fetta cheese (or goat cheese)
5. Sprinkle coarse pepper and some Olive oil (I avoid Salt!)
6. Toast it in the oven for 10- 15 mins at high heat till base is crispy
7. Garnish with lettuce or Spinach leaves

Your guilt-free healthy pizza is ready to eat!!

*In non-Veg options..ppl can try with Seafood like Prawns etc.

The beauty of this recipe is that it can be had anytime during the day…a healthy lunch / healthy dinner or a healthy snack..Thanks Shweta for sharing this quick and healthy recipe!

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for homemade pesto sauce grind together

• Basil, leaves only, washed and dried – 1 large bunch
• cloves of garlic – 3 medium
• Raw pine nuts / any nuts – one small handful
• Parmesan – 3/4 cups
• Extra-virgin olive oil – a few tablespoons

till next time…..have fun cooking!

Leftover Recipe Pic: Pooja

Chappati Upma

After healthy snack recipe that was shared by Pooja this is yet another recipe using leftover chappatis shared by Suchi Ravindran Menon, a traveler and foodie by heart & soul!

Leftover Chappatis -3 to 5
Oil – 2 tbsp
Mustard seeds – 1 tsp
Cumin(Jeera) – 1/2 tsp
Asafoetida(heeng) – a pinch
Split Black Dal (Urad dal) – 1 tsp
Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp
Red Chili powder – 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Onion – 1 no. big (finely chopped)
Curry leaves – 4-5 leaves
Whole dry red chillies – 2-3 nos
Green chillies – 1-2 nos
Coconut – 1/2 cup
Lemon juice – to sprinkle
Coriander leaves – 2 tbsp
Sugar if needed

1. Cut chappatis into small pieces, not fine chopped. If the chappatis are very hard since its leftover, you can microwave it for 10-20 seconds and it will become semi-soft. (If you don’t have a microwave, sprinkle water while cooking the pieces and cover the pan)
2. Heat oil in a kadai (a small wok) and add mustard seeds. When mustard starts popping, add cumin,urad daal, curry leaves, green chillies and asafoetida. Saute for few seconds and add whole red chillies, onion, turmeric and red chilli powder. Fry till onions turn pink
3. Add chappati pieces, salt and sugar if needed. Keep frying till the chappatis are coated with the masala and the pieces are slightly crispy.
4. Make sure you don’t over fry it, it might become hard. After its done add Lemon juice and turn off the burner
5. Garnish with coconut and chopped coriander leaves

Marathi style Bhindi (Okra) ...pic credit: Amberish R Sarang

This Maharashtrian style Bhindi (okra) recipe has been contributed by Amberish who likes to call himself an accidental cook. He stays in Belgrade and introduces various Indian delicacies to his friends …Enjoy this Marathi recipe for Okra!

Tender Okra (bhindi) – 500gms (cut into small pieces)
Green chilli – 1 no (long)
Mustard seeds – 1 tsp
Cumin seeds (jeera) – 1 tsp
Vegetable oil – 6-7 tbsp
Salt to taste

1. Wash and pat dry the okra
2. Heat oil in a deep pan, break the green chilli into two halves and drop into the oil. Immediately add mustard seeds. Stir
3. Post the mustard splutters, add cumin and the chopped okra
4. Mix well. Increase the flame to medium-high
5. Cook okra uncovered on a constant flame. Stir regularly
6. Add more oil if necessary
7. When okra is cooked, add salt, mix well
8. Serve with chappatis (Indian bread) and dal

thanks Amberish for the recipe!

Till next time…have fun cooking

Quiche Pic: Priya Q

I first made this for friends and I can safely say they will vouch for this one

For the base

All Purpose Flour (Maida) – 200 gms

Butter – 100 gms (at room temperature – tough and not melting)

Salt to taste

Pepper for seasoning

Cheddar Cheese – 1 tbsp (grated)

Egg – 1 no (beaten)

Water – at room temperature

1. Mix gently with hands all ingredients except Egg and Water. You should get a crumbly texture somewhat like bread crumbs
2. Add the beaten egg along with a tsp of water to the above mixture little by little as you keep working on the dough gently till you get a soft ball (keep repeating the egg and water step till you get a nice soft ball of dough)
3. Knead the dough lightly
4. Divide the dough into two parts and roll 1 part out on a floured board into a circle with enough thickness
5. Gently roll the above on a floured rolling pin and unroll it over a greased pie tray /pan
6. Ease out the excess dough into the pan. DONOT pull the excess dough outwards since the dough shrinks during baking. So press the dough inwards and downwards towards the sides

Filling

Olive Oil – 1 tbsp

Ginger,garlic & green chilli – 1 tbsp (crushed) – optional

Vegetables – combination (sweetcorn, capsicum,spring onions or onions, spinach etc)

Eggs – 4 nos

Cheddar Cheese – 1/2 cup

Milk or cream – 1 cup

Mozzarella Cheese

1. Add olive oil to a pan and saute the Ginger,garlic & green chilli coarse paste
2. Fry onions till half cooked. Keep aside to cool
3. In a bowl mix milk, eggs and cheddar cheese with a whisk. Season it with salt & pepper
4. On the base gently spread cooked onions, sweetcorn, capsicum – Ensure there is no water in the mixture else the base will get soggy
5. Pour the milk mixture on top. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese
6. Bake in a preheated oven for 15 min at 200 degree C or till the top appears golden

* I kept strips of dough to make the criss cross . If you plan to do this prick all corners and overlaps with a fork

** for non-veg option you can use -chicken pieces / shrimps etc…. cook them along with onions till they are dry

till next time…..have fun cooking!

Healthy Snack Pic: Pooja

This healthy teatime snack from my little sister Pooja, reminded me of the Kottuparatha (a Srilankan preparation) albeit this one is a light snack and a healthy solution to your leftover chappatis / rotis (Indian bread)!

Leftover chapatti’s
Onion-one (big)
Capsicum (bell pepper) -1 no (small)
Carrot- 1 no (medium)
Cumin (Jeera) -1 tsp
Red chilli powder- ½ tsp
Ginger garlic paste-1 tsp
Soya sauce- ½ tsp
Tomato ketchup- 1 tsp
Oil-1 tbsp
Pinch of Sugar
Salt to taste

1. Dice the onions , capsicum & carrot in square shape
2. Heat oil in a pan and add cumin.
3. As you get the aroma from cumin, tip in onions. Rry till onions turn transparent pink
4. Add capsicum and carrot and fry till the vegetables are cooked
5. Add ginger garlic paste and stir
6. Make small pieces of leftover chapatti’s and add it to the vegetables
7.  Add soya sauce and tomato ketchup
8. Add a pinch of sugar and salt
9. Stir and keep it on medium flame for sometime
10. Serve it hot along with evening tea / coffee

In the west people prefer sweet stuff with their tea. Well for them this can be a mini-meal option anytime during the day! And if you can easily replace the Indian bread with any bread of your choice…

thanks Pooja for this wonderful recipe!

till next time….have fun cooking!