Herbed Chicken in Red Wine Sauce

Once my colleague got chicken in red color sauce which looked very tempting. I asked her what it is and she casually told me what all it had. Being an experimenter at eating and cooking, I had to give it a shot. So I got all the ingredients and decided to make it my way.
This has exciting ingredient like Wine. This type of chicken can be made in different ways as per the taste. I used veggies that I use for stir fry and made it as I make stir fry.

Ingredients:
Dry Red Wine - 3/4 bottle
Chicken - 2 LB
Corn Starch - 2 tspn
Garlic - 2 cloves
Bell Peppers, Sliced - 1
Onions, sliced - 1
Zucchini, sliced - 1 (Optional)
Carrots, sliced - 2 (Optional)
Crushed Red Chilli - 2
Ground Black Pepper
Rosemary herb - 1/2 tbspn
Italian Herb - 1/2 tbspn
Salt

Procedure: 

1. Heat some oil in a wok and sautee all the vegetables and garlic. Add the herbs and salt to it and keep it aside.
2. Now pour 3/4 bottle of wine (and drink the rest ;) ) in another wok and cook it.
3. Mix 2 tbspns of water and the corn starch together. Make sure there are no lumps.
4. When the wine starts boiling, add the corn starch mixture and mix well. The wine will form lumps of corn starch, make sure you mix it well.
5. Now add the chicken and the veggies and let it cook for 45-55 mins or till the sauce becomes thick.
6. Serve this with hot garlic rice.

Variations: 
I added Zucchini  and carrots to it. You can add as many vegetables as you like.
Also, this can be made in a similar way in white wine as well.


Conclusion:
The wine sauce doesn't give a buzz as the alcohol has vanished due to cooking. So relax and enjoy!!

Vada Paav/Indian Burger

Vada Paav or Indian Burger - One of my favorite comfort foods found very commonly on the streets of Maharashtra. Everyone who has lived in Maharashtra knows Vada Paav but it is a novelty for the rest of India. I was surprised when my friends from Andhra Pradesh had not heard of Vada Paav.
One of our family friends live in Delhi and when they visited us in Solapur, we fed them Vada Paav and they loved it. Now whenever anyone flies to Delhi from Solapur or Mumbai, they order a few Vada Paavs.
I personally feel that nothing can go wrong with potato preparation. This was made for a friend of mine who is expecting with Twins - a boy and a girl. Nothing better than Vada Paav for an expecting women.

Ingredients: 
Paav/Bread - 8-10 pieces
Dry Coconut Garlic Chutney - 1/2 cup

For Vada's inner filling - 
Potatoes, Boiled and Mashed - 4
Onions, finely chopped - 1
Green Chillies - 3
Ginger Paste - 1 tspn
Hing/Asafoetida - 1/4 tspn
Rai/Mustard seeds - 1/2 tspn
Jeera/Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tspn
Curry leaves - 6-7
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tspn (levelled)
Cilantro - 4-5 strands


For Outer Coating - 
Besan/Chick Pea flour - 2 cups
Jeera - 1/2 tspn
Baking Soda - 1/8 tspn
Red Chilli Powder - 1/2 tspn
Salt
Water
Oil


Procedure: 

1. Heat 2 tbspn oil in a wok. Add Hing, Rai and Jeera to it and once it starts sputtering, add curry leaves and green chillies. Mix this well then add onions and garlic paste. Cook till the onions are translucent.
2. Now add turmeric powder and then the roughly mashed potatoes and mix well. Add some salt to taste and cook for 2 mins and turn off the heat.
3. Now mix the besan, chilli powder, jeera, salt and soda with some water. Make sure the mixture becomes a thick paste (without lumps) and not a runny paste. If it becomes runny, add some besan and salt to it. Adjust the chilli powder accordingly too.
4. Now heat some oil to fry the vadas. When oil is well heated, add 1 tbspn of hot oil to the besan paste and mix well. 
5. Now make small balls out of the potato mixture and dip in the besan paste and deep fry in the oil on High heat till the Vadas are golden brown in color.
6. Now open some paav and spread some dry coconut garlic chutney and place a vada on it and enjoy it with some fried green chillies.

Variations: 
I had added some mint and meethi chutney to the Vada paav just for my taste buds.
 
Conclusion:

My friend seemed to crave for Vada Paav and I happened to visit her with the same. She was quiet happy and so was I.

Kesar Rasmalai

Rasmalai is one of the desserts always present on the wedding menu. My best friend, Rakhi, and I always wished that all wedding dinners had this on the menu. We were tired of eating Gulab Jamuns and needed a change.
Rasmalai is basically a combination of Rabdi and Rasgulla (without the water.) I, being a milk-lover, love rasmalai and every form of it i.e. angoor rabdi, rasgulla,etc. I made some extra Rasmalai so that I could take them to office for my colleagues to taste. I was surprised with the result I got. It was just AWESOME!

Ingredients for Rasgulla: 
Milk - 4 cups
Lime Juice - 1/4 cups
Sugar - 1 1/2 cups
Water - 3 cups
Baking Soda - 1/4 pinch
Muslin Cloth

Ingredients for Ras/Rabdi:
Milk - 3 cups
Sugar - 6 tbspn
Condensed Milk - 2 tbspn
Corn Flour - 3 tspn
Kesar/Saffron - 2 pinches
Cashews - 4
Pistachios for garnishing
Cardamom Powder - 1/4 tspn
Water

Procedure:
To make Rasgullas - 

1. Boil milk in a heavy bottomed-pan and stir it once in a while. In the meantime, mix lime juice in a cup of water and keep aside.
2. Once the milk starts boiling, add the lime juice and water mixture to it and stir till the milk curdles. If it doesn't curdle, add some more lime juice to the milk. Now the curd is separating from the whey.
3. Now turn off the heat and drain the whey using a strainer lined with muslin cloth/cotton cloth.
4. Now rinse the curd in muslin cloth under cold water so that the lemony taste is gone. Make sure the water passes well through the curd.
5. Now wrap the muslin cloth tight and squeeze the excess water out. Keep the tightly squeezed curd wrapped in the cloth for an hour under pressure (I used the pot in which I boiled the milk as a weight).
6. Check if enough water is drained from the paneer by taking a small lump and rubbing it on the palms for a minute. If a smooth ball (Without cracks) is formed after this step, then it is perfect.
7. Now take out the paneer and knead it with the soda for 5 minutes and then make 1/2" smooth firm patties (Press lightly). They must be small in size as the rasgullas double in size after they are cooked in the cooker. 
8. Now start boiling the water and sugar mixture on high heat in a cooker and then add the patties to it. Make sure the cooker is large enough to accomodate all the rasgullas. 
9. Cook the rasgullas on High heat until the cooker starts steaming. Now reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for another 8-10 minutes and then turn off the heat.
10. Once the pressure is gone, open the cooker and remove the patties and squeeze a little to remove the excess syrup and keep them aside.

To make Ras/Rabdi -

1. Boil the 3 cups of milk in a heavy-bottomed pan stirring frequently. Once it starts boiling, add sugar and condensed milk to it.
2. Now mix corn starch with a tablespoon of water and make sure no lumps are formed. Make it a smooth paste and add it to the milk stirring very quickly for 2-4 minutes. Then add the powdered cashew nuts as well.
3. Now boil the milk till it is 2/3rd  of its volume or till it is thick enough. Now add Kesar/Saffron and cardamom powder to the saturated milk and add the Rasgullas to it and boil for 2-4 minutes and turn off the heat.
4. Garnish the Rasmalai with Pistachios and Saffron and serve chilled.

Variations:
If the rasgullas break or do not come as you thought they should have, do not worry as it would taste great in the rabdi. You can vary by adding some fruits like grapes, pomegranate etc to enhance the taste.

Conclusion:

I am having the Rasmalai the third time as I am typing this. Needless to say, it is YUMMMM!!!

Tandoori Chicken

'Tandoor' is a special type of clay oven which uses wood or charcoal as a fuel. The tandoor ovens are bell-shaped and was used to make naan in earlier days. It is used in various countries to cook and bake.
The tandoor is used for cooking variety of Afghan, Iranian, Pakistani and Indian food.
The taste of the chicken is enhanced by the Tandoor oven. I always disliked people eating the chicken leg the way they usually eat - holding the bone and pulling the meat off! But when I tried the same thing, I loved it. I became a great fan of chicken tandoori. We had BBQ parties in our apartment complex once in a while (Organized by my Husband and I) and the attractions were Chicken Tandoori and Mojitos!!

Ingredients: 
Chicken Legs - 6 pieces
Yogurt - 1 tbspn
Tandoori Masala - 2 tbspn
Chicken Curry Masala - 1 tbspn
Ginger - Garlic Paste - 1 tbspn
Lime Juice - 1tbspn
Mint - 2 sprigs
Cilantro - 3 sprigs
Green Chilli - 1
Red Chilli Powder - 1 tspn
Salt

Procedure: 

1. Clean the chicken by removing the skin and fat. Make 3-4 slits in the leg pieces so that the marinade penetrates deep inside.
2. Make a paste of green chilli, mint and cilantro.
3. Now mix all the ingredients and make a paste of it and cover chicken legs in it.
4. Keep the marinated chicken for 4-6 hours or overnight.
5. I do not have a grill, so I used a broiler which gives a great result too! I use the charcoal grill during the BBQ parties in my complex.
6. Heat the oven/broiler on HIGH heat and place the chicken in it for 15 mins and then turn them over and cook it for another 10-15mins. 
7. The chicken is done when a fork pricked in, enters easily in the chicken.
8. Relish the tandoori chicken with green chutney, chaat masala and lime juice.

Variations: 
You can use coconut milk instead of yogurt or not use yogurt at all. You can use your cooking skills and enhance the taste according to your taste buds.

Conclusion:
A hit BBQ party in which I taught everyone to make Mojitos and grill the chicken.

Aaloo Gobi Fry / Potato Cauliflower Stir Fry

My mother-in-law makes a lot of fried food like fish fry, pakode etc. One of her famous pakodas is Cauliflower pakoda. My husband loves it (or anything fried for that matter). So recently I made the pakodas and got this idea of making the sabzi using the pakodas.
Its potato sabzi with the gobi pakodas mixed in. I was amazed myself with the result and couldn't help but take 3 helpings of the sabzi.

Ingredients:
Cauliflower Pakodas
Potatoes, cubed - 2 medium sized
Onions, chopped - 1
Tomato, chopped - 1
Green Chillies, chopped - 2
Red Chilli Powder - 1 tspn
Garam Masala - 1/2 tspn
Dhaniya/Coriander Powder - 1/2 tspn
Besan - 2 tbspn
Rava/Suji - 1 tbspn
Haldi/Turmeric - one pinchful
Hing/asafoetida - 1/4 tspn
Rai/Mustard seeds - 1/2 tspn
Jeera/Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tspn
Kadipatta/Curry Leaves - 5-6 leaves
Salt
Oil

Procedure: 

1. Follow the instructions for Gobi or Cauliflower Pakoda.
2. In the meantime, heat some oil and add hing, rai and jeera to it and wait till they crackle. 
3. Then add kadipatta, green chillies, potatoes and onions.
4. When onions become translucent, add tomotoes and cook till potatoes and tomatoes are cooked.
5. Then add 1 tspn Red Chilli Powder, 1/2 tspn Dhaniya Powder and 1/2 tspn Garam Masala it and cook for 2 mins.
6. Now add the fried cauliflowers to it and mix well and turn off the heat.

Variations: 
If you fall in the weightwatcher's category and you want to make it low calorie food, then instead of frying the cauliflower, you can either bake it in oven (350F) for 20mins and then follow the rest of the procedure.
You can shallow fry or sautee the cauliflower as well.

Conclusion:

I had made this sabzi for 3+ people and me and my husband finished it in one go. We both overate :).

Cauliflower Pakoda/Batter Dipped Cauliflower

Using less oil in every food item is my basic idea. I am not a person who would eat or cook fried food every now and then. But my husband is a BIG FAN of fried food due to the variety of pakodas and fish fries my mother-in-law makes.
One fine evening it was raining in Los Angeles and we were returning from work. I desperately wanted to eat onion pakodas and as per my husband's request some cauliflower pakodas were made too! I just remembered some of the ingredients my mother-in-law had put when she was visiting us and they are...

Ingredients:
Cauliflower - 1LB

Jeera/Cumin Powder - 1/4 tspn

Dhaniya/Coriander Powder - 1/2 tspn

Red Chilli Powder - 1tspn

Besan - 2 tbspn

Rava/Suji - 1 tbspn

Salt

Oil for frying

Procedure: 

1. Mix Besan, rava/suji, 1 tspn red chilli powder, 1/2 tspn Dhaniya Powder, 1/4 tspn Jeera Powder, salt and turmeric.
2. Mix well making sure that the cauliflowers are lightly coated with the mixture.
3. Heat oil in a wok. When oil is heated, add 1 tbspn of hot oil in the cauliflower mixture and mix well.
4. Now fry the cauliflowers till they become dark golden or brown in color.

Variations: 
Be creative and use some other vegetables of your choice. But nothing can beat Cauliflower!!

Conclusion:
Yummy Crispy Cauliflower Pakodas on a rainy evening tasted really awesome. Now I am a fan of the cauliflower pakodas too.

Poori Bhaji

I studied in Solapur till my 12th standard and then joined Engineering College in Mumbai. I stayed in hostel for 4 years and those were the best days of my life! I relate Poori Bhaji more with my hostel because we were served Poori Bhaji for breakfast twice a week. Those were my favorite days of the week.

During study leave, we studied all night and had breakfast in morning and slept all day.It sounded really cool then but now the thought of staying awake kills me. We waited for the Canteen to open so that we could eat and sleep. The canteen guy 'Anna' served us one poori more as we ate there very often unlike other girls.

I was craving for some fried food and the Hostel wala Poori Bhaji came to my mind.

Ingredients for Poori:

Whole wheat flour - 2 cups

Salt – 1 tspn

Yogurt – 1 tbspn

Water– 1 cup

Soda - ¼ tspn

Oil to fry

Ingredients for Bhaji:

Potato – 3 medium-sized

Onions, sliced – 1

Green chillies – 3

Ginger – ½ tspn

Haldi/Turmeric – ¼ tspn

Kadipatta /Curry Leaves – 5-6 leaves

Hing/Asafoetida – ¼ tspn

Rai/Mustard Seeds – 1 tspn

Jeera/Cumin Seeds – ½ tspn

Cilantro – 5-6 strands

Salt

Procedure for Poori:

1. Mix all the ingredients except oil and knead to make soft dough
2. Add some water if the dough is not soft enough. Make sure you do not make it too soft or watery. In that case, add some flour to it.
3. Now knead the dough for 2-3 mins with 1tbspn oil.
4. Now make 8-12 egg-sized balls of it and roll each ball with rolling pin into a 2” diameter poori.
5. Heat some oil(Enough for frying) in a wok and when the oil is very hot, fry the pooris on high heat. Never fry them on low heat.
6. Fry them till they are golden-brown in color.

Procedure for Bhaji:

1. Boil and peel the potatoes and make small cubes/pieces of it.
2. In a wok, heat some oil and put hing, rai and jeera and wait till they crackle. Now put the kadipatta , green chillies and onions in the given order.
3. Sautee the onions for 2 mins and then add ginger paste to it. Lower the flame when onions turn translucent and add haldi and boiled potato pieces.
4. Add some salt and water and cook it for 5 mins on medium flame
5. The ‘Bhaji’ is ready to relish.

Variations: 

You can add jeera or chilli powder to the dough to make variations of Pooris. 

You can serve Poori bhaji with some Coconut Chutney.

Conclusion:

Want to relive the hostel life again. How I wish I was in india!!

Daal Palak / Gargatta / Spinach with Lentils

Solapur falls on the border of Karnataka and Maharashtra, although it is a part of Maharashtra. The Andhra Pradesh border is not too far either, so we have Marathi, kannada and Telugu speaking people. The favorite food here is Jowar Bhakri, Gargatta (Daal Palak), Bharli Vangi and Shenga Chutney. Every 'Lingayat' wedding will have this on their menu.

My mother is very famous for her gargatta. All the lingayat and non-lingayat people crave for it and so do I. When I went to India after a year, I had a list of food items I wanted to eat and Gargatta/Daal Palak was second on the list, first being Puran Poli. I try and make close to what she makes, but I lack the motherly love which makes it taste fantastically awesome! Love you, Mom!

Ingredients:

Palak/Spinach, Cleaned and Chopped – 1 bunch/packet

Toor Daal – ½ cup

Masoor Daal – ¼ cup (If not available, substitute with toor or moong daal)

Onions, sliced - 1

Peanuts – 1 fistful (Optional but recommended)

Goda Masala – 2 tbspn (Levelled)

Red Chilli Powder – 1 tspn

Tamarind – 2” piece (Soaked in water for an hour)

Jaggery – 1 tbspn

Jeera/Cumin Seeds – ½ tspn

Garlic – 4-5 pods

Procedure: 

1. In a pressure cooker, boil daal, palak, peanuts and onions together . Take 2-3 whistles.
2. After the steam is gone, open the cooker and add goda masala, red chilli powder, pulp of tamarind, jaggery, garlic and jeera and boil it for another 5 minutes or till it is thick enough. Make sure it is a little thick in consistency.
3. Isn’t it super easy?!?

Variations:
You can add variety of lentils to it and it still tastes awesome!

Conclusion:
Every time I make Daal-Palak, I miss India and home!

Gujrati Kadhi/Yogurt Soup

Kadhi for my American friends is 'Yogurt Soup.' I was laughing out loud when I heard this from a friend. But that, logically, made sense.
I always liked sweet and spicy food. My mother, on the other hand, loves hot n' spicy food. So she never made the Gujarati version of Kadhi. Once I decided to make kadhi as my mom makes. By mistake I used the sweet yogurt and the kadhi turned out to be a sweet n' spicy kadhi. The taste of it was so good, that I kind of stuck to that recipe! I actually drank that kadhi as soup - aptly called as 'Yogurt Soup.'


Ingredients: 
Plain Yogurt - 2 cups
Besan / Gram Flour - 2 tbspn
Green Chilli - 2, finely chopped/paste
Ginger - 1.5 tspn
Turmeric/Haldi
Water 1/2 cup
Sugar - 1tbspn
Salt

For Tadka:
Jeera/Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tspn
Rai/Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tspn
Kadipatta / Curry Leaves - 5-6 leaves
Hing/Asafoetida - 1/4 tspn
Bedgi Mirchi/Red Chilli - 3-4
Oil/Ghee - 1 tbspn
Cilantro - 1 tbspn

Method of Preparation: 

1. Mix Yogurt and water in a heavy-bottomed vessel. Then add the besan to it and beat well to blend it together. Make sure there are no lumps in the mixture.
2. On medium flame, heat the mixture for a minute or so.
3. Now add turmeric/haldi, green chilli paste and ginger paste to the mixture.
4. Let the mixture be on medium flame till it starts boiling. Let it boil for 2-3 minutes more so that there is no raw taste of besan.
5. Add salt and sugar to the kadhi and boil for another minute then turn off the heat.
6. In a wok, heat some oil and then add hing, mustard and cumin seeds till they crackle. Then add kadipatta and then red chillies and add this to the kadhi and close it with a lid.
7. Serve it with rice and some spicy vegetable or just drink it as 'Yogurt Soup.'

Variations: 
You can vary the amount of sugar as per taste. Also, you can add laung/Cloves for some more spicy taste. It is really good for cold and cough.

Conclusion:
Perfect sweet n' spicy kadhi for a cold foggy night!

Amma's Pomfret Fry/Fish Fry

When I was a vegetarian, I always thought there is only one type of edible fish i.e. Prawns (Which is not even a fish)! In India one has to go to a Fish Market to buy fish and it is not found in Supermarkets. So my ignorance was reasonable.
As I started eating seafood (after coming to US of A), I came to know a variety of fishes exist in the market. Also, I married a Konkani guy whose staple diet is 'Seafood' - especially Fish Curry and Fish Fry with Rice. So I decided to make fish fry and fish curry to impress my in-laws as I was new to Konkani community and it was a challenge to make what they eat on a daily basis. Fortunately, it is very simple to cook Konkani food.
The recipe belongs to my mother-in-law who is known for her Famous Fish Fry!


Ingredients: 
Pomfret (or any kind of fish available) - 2 (Cut into pieces) or 6-8 fillets
Red Chilli Powder - 2 tspn
Turmeric/Haldi - 1/4 tspn
Ginger Paste - 1tspn
Lime Juice - 1/2 tspn
Coriander/Dhaniya Powder - 1 tspn
Salt
Rawa/Suji - 2tbspn or as required
Oil - for shallow fry

Method of Preparation: 

1. Clean the pieces of Pomfret or fillets and add all the ingredients except Suji and Oil to it and keep it aside for an hour or two.
2. Now heat a pan and put a tbspn oil and spread it on the pan.
3. Now coat all sides of the fish pieces with rawa/suji and put it on the pan and shallow fry it on med-high heat adding little oil as required.
4. Make sure all the sides are well-cooked i.e. the fish flakes when a fork in inserted in it (5-7 minutes)
5. Serve the fish with Fish Curry and rice or Daal and rice. It is also served as an appetizer.

Variations: 
You can bake this fish (Healthier option) in oven on 350 F for 15-20mins.
This fish fry can be made with Green Masala as well. I will be posting it very soon.


Conclusion:
This has inspired me to try cooking more Konkani food and hence my in-laws are impressed. I must say 'The way to in-laws' heart is through your hubby's stomach!'