Kaju Katli /Kaju Roll /Cashew Barfi

Needless to say that Kaju Katli is one of the favorite sweets of India (probably after Gulab Jamun). I don't think I have met anyone who doesn't like Kaju Katli.

It is very commonly found in Indian sweet mart. Similar to Kaju Katli, they carry Kaju roll, Pista roll, Kesar (Saffron) roll, etc. and I love all of them equally :). The basic difference between Kaju Katli and Kaju Roll is the way it is shaped. Kaju Katli is diamond shaped thinly sliced while Kaju Roll is just rolled like a log.

Until I came across Kaju Katli recipe on one of the Facebook pages I follow, I thought it was very tedious to make and so they never made it at home in India. So I decided to give it a try and Voila! it was amazingly yummy! I followed a few recipes and came up with this...

Ingredients: 
Cashew nuts at room temp - 1 cup
Sugar - 1/2 cup
Water - 1/4 cup
Cardamom - 2 pinches
Rose Essence - 1/4 tspn

Procedure: 

1. Boil water and sugar together till one string consistency
2. In the meantime, grind cashew nuts to a fine powder (make sure it is at room temperature otherwise it may turn into cashew butter :D)
3. Now check for one string consistency and if it has reached that consistency, then add powdered cashew nuts, cardamom and rose essence to it and mix well
4. Turn off the gas when the mixture is a little difficult to mix in
5. Let it cool a little bit (2-4 mins of cooling time) then grease your hand with ghee or butter and knead the mixture and roll it out and cut it in diamond shape or make it like log

Variations: 
You can add saffron or silver foil on top to make it look good.

Conclusion:
It is super easy to make and comes out much better than you get in stores here. I have no idea why we don't get this good kaju katli in stores in USA.

Chicken Seekh Kabab

Seekh kababs are the most popular type of kababs (atleast to my knowledge). I have tasted mutton seekh kababs before in some Indian restaurants but where I live, we get minced chicken very easily and so I thought I will try making seekh kababs using minced chicken.

One can surely try making lamb/mutton seekh kabab but the cooking time may vary as mutton/lamb take long time to cook. The chicken kababs were very juicy and tender and we finished all of it in few minutes. Let me know if you like the taste of it!

Ingredients:

Minced Chkn - 1LB

Onion - 1/2, finely chopped and sauteed

Cilantro - handful, finely chopped

Green Chillies - 1 small, finey chopped

Dhania Powder - 2 1/2 tspn

Garam Masala - 2 tspn

Red Chilli Powder - 1 tspn

Ginger - Garlic Paste - 1 tspn

Mint Leaves - 1 - 2 tspns, finely chopped

Bread Crumbs - 2 - 3 tbspns

Salt-  as per taste

Oil for frying (if not baking/broiling)

Procedure:

1.       Mix all ingredients given above, other than oil. Check to see if the mixture is thick enough and can hold up a sheek kabab shape (Cylindrical). If it doesn't, then add some more bread crumbs to it till it becomes easy to shape.

2.       Now make cylindrical shaped kababs by either rolling them around the skewers (make sure wooden skewers are soaked in water for atleast 30mins before using them) and bake/shallow fry in a pan for 10-12mins or until done (or broil for 5mins on each side).

3.       I did not use any skewers but just shaped them in cylindrical shape and shallow fried them in a pan with 1 tspn oil. I also BBQed these kababs and they turned out awesome!

4.       Serve/Eat this with mint chutney mixed in greek yogurt and some sliced onions with lemon squeezed on top. YUMMMM!!!!

Conclusion:

I made these for my hubby's Bday BBQ and I got rave reviews for them. It got over in no time!

Baked Asparagus Fries

My 2nd post for Earth Day... I am excited to write and publish this!

I went to Costco few days ago and bought a big bag of Asparagus and then I came across these baked Asparagus Fries pic on Pinterest. I knew immediately what I am going to do with my big bag of Asparagus. I didn't have breadcrumbs on me so I made it myself. But they turned out nice and crunchy! I didn't expect it to be so simple to make and so yummy to taste.

I served it with Spicy Sriracha Dip!

Ingredients: 
Asparagus Spears - 15-18
Bread Crumbs - 1 cup
Egg, beaten - 1
All Purpose Flour - 1/2 cup
Red Chilli Powder - 1 tspns
Salt

Procedure: 
1. Preheat oven on 350 F
2. Mix salt and red chilli powder in breadcrumbs
3. Dip Asparagus spears in flour, then in egg wash and then in breadcrumbs. Repeat this process for all the spears and bake on a cookie sheet for 12-15mins

Variations: 
You can make this recipe with some variations like adding spices to the crumbs

Conclusion:
Crunchy Asparagus Fries dipped in Spicy Sriracha sauce tastes really great. This simple recipe goes with all kind of food.

Green Goddess Salad

I keep taking long breaks from updating my blog. This time I blame myself as I was too busy cooking and so did not find (or spare) time to update the blog. I feel really bad about it.

Anyways, now that I am back I have decided to post 3 entries which I experimented for the Earth Day! April 22nd is celebrated as Earth Day and it is very important for us to realize the value of Mother Earth. I recently read about why and how it started on this website. It's history is very interesting.

Lately, I have been on Pinterest a lot. I always thought it would be another social networking site (So dumb of me) but my friend introduced me to it and now I am ADDICTED! This recipe came from one of the Pins I found on Pinterest. The picture looked sooo pretty that I had to make it (and it tasted even better). I made major modifications to the recipe as I did not have a lot of things on hand but I used the similar idea.

Ingredients: 
Quinoa, cooked - 1 cup
Mint Coriander Chutney - 2 tbspns
Pistachio, coarsely chopped - 2 tbspns
Boiled/Cooked Peas - 2 tbspns
Asparagus, chopped - 2 tbspns
Olive Oil - 1 tbspn
Onion - Half cup
Avocado, cubed - 1/2
Salt

Procedure: 
1. Heat Oil in a pan and saute onions on medium flame
2. Once onions are browned, add mint coriander chutney and saute for 2mins. Then add all ingredients other than avocado and pistachio to it and mix well
3. Once cooled, add pistachios and avocado and mix well and serve

Variations: 
The original recipe had called for Basil Pesto instead of Mint Coriander Chutney and I am sure it would taste really yummy with that too.

Conclusion:
Enjoyed the salad a lot as it had variety of textures in it. This Green Goddess Salad was something I would make again and next time I will try when I have Basil Pesto on hand.

Chocolate Nutella Mug Cake... Prep, Cook & Devour in just 5 mins!!!

It was a rainy evening and I was craving for Nutella Hot Chocolate but instead I made this really yummy, decadent and super easy cake in a mug which can be made in microwave. It takes only 5 minutes to prep, cook and devour!

My husband and I have sweet tooth and crave for dessert every night. If he doesn't find anything, he eats a chocolate or spoonfull of Nutella. One day I came across this recipe which has both Nutella and chocolate and I have been a big fan of this recipe since then. So I decided to share it with you guys so that you can make this whenever you crave for dessert :). Absolutely decadent and sooo easy to make!

Makes one mug full which can be easily finished between 4 but I would say just share with your loved one ;)

Ingredients: 
All Purpose/Self rising Flour - 4 tbspn
Sugar - 4 tbspn
Unsweetened powder - 2 tbspn
Nutella - 3 tbspn
Egg - 1
Milk - 2 tbspn
Oil - 3 tbspn
Baking Powder - 1/4 tspn (if you are using All Purpose Flour)

Procedure: 
Make sure you have a big coffee mug. Combine all ingredients and mix well. Microwave for 1.5 mins on high power (It varies based on microwave) and that's it!! Serve warm with whipped cream or ice cream.

Note: Make sure you watch it closely while it is cooking in microwave and stop it when it is nicely risen (approximately 1.5mins).

Variations: 
You can distribute it in 3-4 ramekins and cook it for 30-40 secs each. It will serve up as individual dessert cups.

Conclusion:
Really decadent chocolate cake made within minutes and devoured in seconds ;)

Sweet Potato Pudding / Ratalyacha Halwa

I fast once a year which is for Mahashivratri. We are followers of Shiva and hence we have big celebrations back home on Mahashivratri. Mom used to make Sabudana khichdi (Savory Sagoo) and Bhagar (varai). Sweet potato was one of my favorite items during fasting. I used to eat it with milk and sugar.

Sweet potato in India are not orange in color, they are yellowish. They are not as sweet as the ones you get here but they are really yummy.

On Mahashivratri, I had invited a friend of mine for dinner and I wanted to make something else other than usual things. So I decided to make 'Ratalyacha Halwa'/ 'Sweet Potato Pudding' and trust me it turned out yummmmy! You must give it a try too even if it is not Mahashivratri.

Ingredients:
Raw Sweet Potato, grated - 1.5 cup
Sweetened Condensed Milk - 4 tbspns
Ghee - 2 tbspns
Elaichi Powder - 1/4 tspn
Nuts (Pistachios, Cashewnuts, Almonds), crushed - 1 tbspn

Procedure:
Heat a pan and add ghee to it and when ghee is heated, add the grated sweet potato to it. Sauté it well until its nicely cooked (10mins maybe). Then add rest of the ingredients and cook for another 5-10mins. or till it is soft and mushy.

Variations:
I would not want to make any variations to this dish. It turned out to be so awesome that I am going to make it again soon.

Conclusion:
It was over in one go. A super hit I must say!

Cajun Shrimp Quesadilla

These days I prefer to try some quick entrees as it will be useful for my blog readers to try them out and also for me when my baby is cranky and doesn't let me cook ;). Although he is a calm baby with very little sleep, he gets bored easily if there is no one to entertain him.
Shrimp quesadilla is one of the quick and easy entrees to try out. You can experiment a lot with the ingredients and try to make as per your palate.

Ingredients: 
Medium Soft Tacos - 4
Peeled and deveined Shrimp - 12-15 medium sized
Red/Yellow/Green Bell Pepper - 1
Onion -1 medium
Sour Cream - 2 tbspn
Store bought salsa - 3 tbspn
Mexican Blend Cheese - 1 pack
Cajun Spice - 2 tspn
Salt & Pepper as per taste
Oil

Procedure: 

1. Cut the shrimp into small pieces and marinate it with the cajun spice and some salt.
2. In the meantime, sautee the onions and bell peppers till they are soft and add salt and pepper as per taste.
3. Now sautee the shrimp till just cooked (make sure it's not chewy)
4. Mix sour cream and salsa and mix it well and keep aside
5. Heat a pan and put a soft taco on it and keep the heat to low. Now sprinkle some cheese on one half of the taco and add the sauteed onions, peppers, shrimp, sour cream and salsa mixture on the same half side of the taco. Now sprinkle some more cheese on top and cover the taco with the other half and heat the other side till cheese melts. 
6. Serve the hot and spicy quesadilla with homemade Guacamole. 

Variations:
You can add any other meat instead of the shrimp or go veggie by completely omitting the meat. I liked the veggie creation as well which I made for my mom.

Conclusion:
Happy tummies and in future baby will be happy too.

Pesto Cream Cheese Filled Chicken Roll Ups

After a long long time, I am back to blogging. These days it is so difficult to find time to do anything due to the adorable little darling who is 1 year old already!

We also visited our family and friends in India in Dec 2013. This was Neil's first trip to India and he did pretty well. Everyone enjoyed his company a lot especially Neil's cousins and grand parents.

We had bought a house in India and we got the possession of it, so we did a small Housewarming Ceremony.

All in all, it was a great month long vacation!

Alright, coming to the point - I found the pictures of this dish on Pinterest and just decided I will wing it as per my taste. So I added some cream cheese and pesto and rolled up the chicken. Next I am going to try it with mushrooms stuffed inside and some sauce on top of the chicken. For now, let's enjoy what we have :)

Ingredients: 
Chicken Breast, Pounded - 2
Basil Pesto - 4 tbspns
Cream Cheese - 2 tbspns
Salt
Pepper
Bread Crumbs - 1/2 cup
Toothpicks

Procedure: 

1. Preheat the oven to 350F
2. In the mean time, take the pounded chicken breasts and cut each piece into 3 parts lengthwise
3. Now spread the cheese and then the basil pesto on it. Sprinkle some salt and pepper on top of the pesto and roll the chicken breast like a swiss roll
4. Now tuck some toothpicks inside the roll to keep it rolled and cover it in breadcrumbs and bake for 35-40 mins (or till chicken is cooked)
5. Last but not the least, relish every bite of the juicy chicken roll ups with some cajun spiced asparagus and squash.

Variations: 
There are plenty of variations to this recipe. I also added some sauteed asparagus with tomato paste, basil pesto, and mozzarella cheese and rolled it up. It tasted really delicious too!

Conclusion:
Add whatever filling you want, roll it up and roll it into your mouth....yummm!! My mouth is watering now. I better go and have a bite of the leftover chicken roll ups.

Scrumptious Chocolate Pecan Bread Pudding

Bread pudding is one of the yummiest and not-so-fattening desserts. I love the fact that you can modify a lot in this recipe and make it as per your taste. I referred to the recipe from Epicurious and made my own changes to it. I made it thrice trying out different permutation combination and now I am posting the one I liked the best.

This one is my new favorite as it is easy to make and has a lot of protein (I cannot hog on food as much as I did during my pregnancy, so being super conscious).

Ingredients (Serves 6-8): 
Bread Slices - 8
Eggs - 3
Milk - 2 cups
White Sugar - 3/4 cup
Brown Sugar - 2 tbspns
Butter - 2 tbspns
Vanilla Extract - 1 tspn
Ground Cinnamon - 1/2 tspn
Milk/Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips - 1 cup
Pecan - 1/2 cup

Procedure: 

1. Preheat the oven at 350 degrees F and after 5 mins place the breads in the oven for 5 mins
2. In the mean time, beat the eggs, white sugar, milk, vanilla extract, ground cinnamon together for 2-4 mins.
3. Now break 4 slices of the bread into small pieces and place them in an 8 inch baking pan. Sprinkle half the melted butter on the bread and add half the eggs mixture to it. Throw some chocolate chips and pecans on top and some brown sugar. 
4. Repeat step # 3 for the rest of the ingredients and bake it for 40-45 mins. The pudding will rise.
5. Serve it warm with vanilla ice cream.

Variations: 
I once added banana to it but my family is not a great fan of it so didn't prefer that one. If you plan to add any sweet fruit to the pudding like banana, make sure you adjust the sugar accordingly.

Conclusion:
My mom has recently joined the people on whom I experiment my food and she loved it.

Butter Paneer Naanizza / Indian Style Pizza

I usually try to make things out of what I have in the inventory and/or what is perishable. So I had half of store-bought Paneer Packet left and some Naans. I remembered the Butter Paneer Pizza I had in San Jose when I went for a very good friend's Birthday Party. We had surprised her by visiting her all the way from Los Angeles.
Her Fiancee had organized the Birthday Party for her and had ordered Butter Paneer Pizza. It was sooo good that it got over in a few minutes.
So I thought I would try to make something similar with the ingredients I had.

Ingredients (for 4 people):
Paneer, pea sized cubes - 2 cups
Green Bell Peppers, 2" sliced - 1
Onions, sliced - 1
Ginger-Garlic Paste - 1tspn (Optional)
Tandoori masala - 2Tbspn
Chicken Curry Powder - 1Tbspn
Red Chilli Powder - 1 tspn
Kasuri Methi - 1tspn (Optional)
Butter - 2Tbspn
Ketchup - 6-7 tbspn
Naan - 6
Mozzarella Cheese, shredded - 3 cups

Procedure: 

1. Pre-heat oven on 350 degrees.
2. Add Butter to pan and saute onions, bell peppers and ginger garlic paste for 2mins (Do not cook it). Then add Paneer and other ingredients and sautee for another 2mins. 
3. Spread ketchup on the Naan and distribute the mixture on the Naan evenly and sprinkle cheese on top
4. Now place the Naans in the oven for 8-12mins or till cheese has melted.

Variations: 
You can add chicken instead of Paneer. In that case, use cooked chicken breasts for best results.

Conclusion:

I was astonished with the results. They were yummy and were made in 20mins only.

Shrimp Jambalaya

I am writing this as I am making the shrimp Jambalaya. This dish came to my mind thinking of the leftovers I had at home and I had marinated Cajun Chicken which was lying in the fridge for tonight's dinner. So to accompany the Cajun Chicken, I thought of making Shrimp Jambalaya (as I had shrimp in the freezer and no sausage or boneless chicken).
We eat this dish very often at The Farmer's Market. The name of the stall is The Gumbo Pot. First of all, I never knew what the difference in Jambalaya and Gumbo was. So I googled and found out that both the dishes belong to New Orleans (Southern Amrica) and both are spicy. The difference is with rice and without. Jambalaya has rice (lot of it!) and Gumbo doesn't! Jambalaya is a little thick, but Gumbo is soup-like with Oakra in it to give it a nice texture (although I do not like slimy Oakra).

Ingredients: 
Onion, chopped - 1/2
Tomato, chopped - 1/2
Bell Pepper, chopped - 1/2
Garlic - 2pods
Cayenne - 1/2tspn
Cajun Spice - 2 tspn
Oregano - 1/2tspn
Parsley Flakes - 1/4 tspn
Rice - 1/3 cup
Chicken Broth - 2 cups
Shrimp, peeled and deveined - 2 cups
Oil
Salt to taste

Procedure: 

1. Heat some oil in a pot and saute onions, bell peppers and garlic for 4-5mins.
2. Now add all other ingredients except for chicken broth and shrimp.
3. Saute for another 2mins and add chicken broth to it and cook it (with lid on) for 35-40mins or till rice is cooked and desired consistency is achieved, on low heat.
4. Now add some salt and shrimp and cook it for 2 mins more. South American flavors are lingering in my kitchen!

Variations: 
You can vary Jambalaya as you want. Add some chicken pieces to it, throw in some sausages and other veggies. It will still taste GREAT!


Conclusion:
I cooked it but had it the day after. The flavors had soaked in well. We relished it with Grilled Cajun Chicken....yummy!

Indian Cupcakes / Sheera / Sooji ka Halwa

We were planning to visit my husband's cousin in San Diego, CA and wanted to make something for her. I had prepared Masala Dosa Batter and chutney and was going to make the sabzi (potato curry) at her place. To make it a complete meal, I wanted to take some sweet dish and I could think of 2 types of sheera: One is Ravyacha Sheera/ Sooji ka Halwa (Sapat - that's what the konkanis call it) and second was Pithacha Sheera/Aatte ka Halwa, which my mother used to make with loads of love and ghee. I ended up making Ravyacha Sheera/Sooji Ka Halwa  as I wanted to use the banana I had and Pithacha sheera would have been an experiment ( I have never made it before but I have seen my mother make it) on her and her family which comprises of herself, her husband and a cute lil dog (Sammy).

The best part of our short visit to San Diego was the Gourmet Food Truck Festival at Del Mar. It had 30-35 gourmet food trucks - Right from Naan-Stop to 'Cupcake Wars' Winner Corner Cupcakes. There were huge lines for every food truck but we still managed to get some awesome food without a loooong wait. We had some attractive Potato Tornadoes which made people stop and ask us what exactly it was(that is what even I did). We also did some crazy photo session as if I was drowning in beer glass.

Potato Tornadoes (Cajun Style held by Ram and I am holding the Sweet Potato Style)  were the 

head-turners

HEEEEELP!!! I am drowning (read enjoying) in a glass full of beer!

Ingredients: 
Rava/Sooji/Semolina - 1 cup
Ghee/Indian Butter - 5tbspn
Milk - 1 cup
Water - 1cup
Sugar - 3/4cups
Cardamom/Elaichi, Powdered- 4 pods
Cashews, chopped - 1/3 cup
Raisins - 1 Tbspn
Ripe Banana - 1

Procedure: 

1. In a pan, roast the rava/sooji, cashews and raisins for 3-5mins on medium heat, stirring constantly. Make sure you don't over-roast it and make it brown.
2. At the same time, boil the water and milk together on med heat.
3. Now slowly pour the boiling water+milk mixture over the roasted rava stirring it simultaneously. Make sure no lumps are formed.
4. Now add the sugar, mashed ripe banana and the ghee and mix it well and shut it with the lid. Let it cook for 4-5mins on med-low heat.
5. Lastly, add the elaichi powder and mix it and serve warm or cold.

Variations: 
Remember that the Rava : (Milk+Water) proportion has to be 1:2. So you can vary it to make more water less milk or vice versa (I prefer it more milk and less water).
Also, you can roast cashews and raisins separately in butter and then add it to sheera after step # 3.

Conclusion:

It was very yummy, low in sugar (as everyone prefers less sugar now a days) and super moist Sheera. Even Sammy enjoyed a small morsel :).

Cajun Style Grilled Salmon/Blackened Salmon with Seasoned Grilled Vegetables

I love it when the grocery store near my house has some discounts/sale going on on herbs and spices. On one of such occasions, I bought Cajun Spice to try out Cajun Shrimp.
Now a days Husband dearest has become 'Carb Conscious' and so wants to eat less of Carbs and more of the proteins. Salmon has zero carbs and higher levels of Omega-3 fats (considered as good fat). So we eat a lot of seafood or meat with less carbs and starch & nuts like walnut, almond, hazelnut etc.

Ingredients: 
Salmon - 4 fillets


For Marinade
Cajun Spice - 3Tbspn
Red Chilli Powder - 1 tspn
Garlic, minced - 3 cloves
Olive Oil - 1 Tbspn
Water - 2Tbspn
Salt

Grilled Vegetable with Stir Fry Sauce
Broccoli florets - 2 cups
Bell Peppers, 1" cubes - 2 cups
Mushroom - 1cup
Garlic, minced - 1tspn
Ginger, finely chopped - 1tspn
Ketchup - 1Tbspn
Marsala Wine (Optional) - 2Tbspn
Soy - 1Tbspn
Red Chilli Flakes - 2Tbspn
Salt & Pepper

Procedure: 
Mix all the ingredients for marinade and coat the salmon fillet with it and keep aside. Now mix all the ingredients for Vegetable stir fry and put it on the grill. Once they are grilled, put the salmon fillets on the grill and grill for 8-10 mins on each side or till the salmon is cooked.
Serve the salmon with the grilled vegetables stir fry and / or rice.


Variations: 
This dish can be varied as per the taste else it is just too good! Try the Shrimp Jambalaya with it, if you think this is not enough!


Conclusion:
Low Carb diet was devoured in minutes.

Serves: 2 - 3
Total Time - 30 mins

Mix vegetable Soup

Now a days I am eating more number of times in smaller portion only because I read in an article (and my mother always followed that rule) that eating in smaller portions is better that eating a lot at once. So I make one pot of soup for the whole week and refrigerate. I take a cup of soup everyday to work and reduce the portion of lunch. Also, reducing the quantity of carbs (Like roti, rice, bread) and increasing the portion of vegetables, poultry or seafood is advisable.
So here is an easy recipe for a mix vegetable soup in which you can add or substract the ingredients as per your taste. Always remember, playing a little bit with the ingredients is good for experimenting and knowing what you like more. So go ahead and experiment with this soup.


Ingredients: 
Vegetable Broth/Water - 3 cups
Spinach, chopped - 1/2 bunch
Squash, cubed - 2
Carrots, cubed - 2
Bell Peppers, cubed - 1
Green Chillies, slit - 2
Garlic, minced - 2 cloves
Black Beans - 1Can
Cooked Pasta - 1 cup (Optional)
Cooked Rice - 1/2 cup (Optional)
Oregano - 1 tspn
Ground Pepper - 1 tspn, or as per taste


Procedure: 

1. Add the broth in a pot and add spinach to it. Cook it for 10mins or so, then add everything other than pasta, rice and beans.
2. Let it cook with lid closed for 35-40 mins. Then add rice, pasta and beans and cook for another 5mins and the soup is ready.

Variations: 
This soup has been my favorite and I add whatever vegetables I have. I also add some cooked lentils, if I have them handy.


Conclusion:
The soup has been a Saviour as I serve this to my hubby whenever he comes home after work and then he doesn't demand for dinner immediately.

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!!