April 2021

V for Vegetable Pizza

Food, Italian Cuisine / By / July 25, 2021
Chicken Pizza

The final trio in my Italian repertoire is the Pizza. This is another universally loved dish, irrespective of nationality. The melty cheese and the spicy tomato sauce combination makes this dish the go to mood uplifter, the random evening snack, the I-don’t-feel-like-cooking dinner or simply the I-feel-like-a-pizza dish.

While I do not claim to have ever made the pizza base at home, I can do wonders with toppings and I like to make my own sauce.

Ingredients:

Pizza Base – 2 nos. 6”

For sauce:

Tomato – 4, medium, roughly chopped

Garlic – 2 cloves, chopped

Onion – 1, small, chopped

Salt – to taste

Pepper – 3 tsp.

Oregano powder – 2 tsp.

Thyme powder – 2 tsp.

Red chilli powder – 1 tsp.

Sugar – 1 tsp.

Oil – 2 tsp.

Water – as reruired

For the topping:

Onion – 2, small

Capsicum – 1, medium

Cheese – 2 cubes

Sweet corn – ½ cup

Mushrooms – ½ cup

Bell pepper red & yellow – 1 each, small

Oil – 3 tsp.

Method:

  1. In a frying pan, heat 2 tsp. oil. Add the chopped garlic and fry till aromatic.
  2. Add the onions and fry till translucent.
  3. Add the chopped tomatoes and salt and mix. Add a little water and cook on low flame till mushy. Mash with a flat spatula or a masher.
  4. Add pepper, red chilli, oregano and thyme powder, and sugar. Mix well and fry till raw smell is gone.
  5. Add water as required and bring to a boil to reduce. The final result should be a mushy sauce texture.
  6. Boil the sweet corn.
  7. For the topping, slice the onions and capsicum and chop the mushrooms and bell peppers.
  8. In a frying pan, heat 2 tsp oil and lightly fry the mushrooms and bell peppers till cooked and lightly fried. Remove and keep aside.
  9. In the same pan, add the remaining 1 tsp oil and fry the onions and capsicum till golden brown.
  10. Assembling the pizza: On the pizza base, spread the prepared tomato sauce generously. Place the fried veggies all over the base. Now sprinkle the fried onions and capsicum. Grate cheese over the whole pizza.
  11. In an oven, toast the pizza at 180°C for 10 minutes or until the cheese melts.
  12. Veg pizza is ready!

Admittedly, I mostly make chicken pizzas and veggies are an accompanying topping to my dish, the veggies on their own make a delish pizza as well. Do try this one out.

Tip: I recently discovered Wingreens Pizza dough mix which is a premixed flour mix. You simply add water, knead and let it rest in a warm place. It triples up in size in 30/40 minutes. Then you roll out and bake for 12 minutes with your sauce and toppings. Its much better than a store bought base.

This post was written for Blogchatter A2Z challenge; Day 22 – Letter “V”.

U for Ultimate Street Foods

Food, Indian Cuisine / By / July 25, 2021
U cover pic

Standing on the roadside and having spicy Phuchkas crack open in your mouth and cover your tongue with that blast of flavors – this is a feeling unparalleled. Or maybe its comparable to licking your lips after having a plate of even spicier Ghoogni (chickpea masala). This group of food is what we lovingly call “street food”. But it’s a mere label which encompasses a world of joy, taste, colors and fun.

The extreme joy that these street foods such as these can give us is something we have missed sorely for the past year. So, here’s how we can recreate that feeling by trying these dishes at home.

  • Papri Chaat or Sev Puri

Ingredients:

For the Papri/Sev:

Maida (Refined flour) – 200gms.

Salt – a pinch

Oil – 2 tsp. for dough + for deep frying

Water – ½ cup or as required

For the topping:

Potato – 2, medium

Chickpeas – 1 cup (~75gms.)

Onion – 1, medium

Curd – 1 cup (~200gms.)

Sugar – 1 tsp.

Cumin seeds – 3 tsp.

Black Salt –  to taste

Jhuri bhaja / Sev – 1 cup

Sweet Tamarind Chutney:

Tamarind – 5gms. (small pulp)

Water – as required

Salt – a pinch

Sugar – 4/5 tbsp. Or as required to taste

Method:

  1. Take the maida in a bowl. Sieve it once for smoother dough. Add the salt and oil and knead gently till the maida forms loose clumps in your hand.
  2. Now add water little by little and keep kneading. The final dough should be soft and stretchy. Pat oil lightly over the dough and set aside for atleast 30 minutes.
  3. Soak the tamarind in bowl of water for about 15 minutes.
  4. Meanwhile, boil the potatoes and the chickpeas (separately).
  5. Once the 30 minutes are up, roll out the dough to 6” round and 2 cm. thick circles. From these using a bottle cap or a small glass, cut out smaller rounds. Make 3 slices over these rounds to prevent them from puffing up.
  6. Heat oil in a deep pan and fry these small papris till they are golden blonde.
  7. In a pan/kadhai, add the tamarind soaked water, salt and sugar and let it boil and thicken. Adjust taste and thickness. It should be mostly sweet and tangy and of trickly texture.
  8. Dry roast the cumin seeds in a frying pan. Once it cools, grind to a fine powder in a mixer.
  9. Chop the onions to a fine dice.
  10. Take the curd in a bowl, add sugar and beat well till its smooth.
  11. Mash the potatoes. Mix the chopped onions and chickpeas.
  12. All mis en place is ready. Time for it all to come together.
    1. Lay out the 6 papris on a plate.
    2. Put a dollop of potato mixture on each. Sprinkle black salt.
    3. Cover generously with the beaten curd. Drizzle the tamarind sauce all over.
    4. Sprinkle the roasted jeera powder and finally top them with sev / jhuri bhaja.
Image sourced from internet
  • Phuchka or Golgappa or Pani Puri

Ingredients:

Phuchka –  1 packet

Potato – 2, medium

Bengal gram (brown)/ chhola – ½ cup

Onion – 1, medium

Tamarind – 5 gms.

Salt – to taste

Lemon juice – 2 tsp.

Green chilli – 1

Coriander leaves – a bunch

Jaljeera – 2 tsp.

Water – 1 bowl

Method:

  1. Boil the potatoes and the chhola.
  2. Soak the tamarind pump in a small bowl of water for about 15 minutes.
  3. Chop the onions, green chilli and the coriander leaves.
  4. Mash the boiled potatoes. Add the chhola, onions, coriander leaves, green chili.
  5. Add salt, 1 tsp. lemon juice and part of the tamarind pulp. Mix well together. It should taste salty and tangy.
  6. In a big bowl of water, add the tamarind water, remaining lemon juice, jaljeera and salt and mix. Alternatively, you can add panipuri masala.
  7. Now, you eat. Crack open each phuchka ball, stuff with a dollop of potato mixture and dip the whole thing in the tangy water. Eat in one go!

Tip: To make the phuchkas from scratch, watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQNW67WtaYU

  • Jhalmuri or Dry Bhel

Ingredients:

Puffed rice (muri / bhel) – 75 gms.

Potato – 1, medium

Onion – 1, medium

Tomato – 1, medium

Coriander leaves – 1 bunch

Green chilli – 1

Lemon juice – 1 tsp.

Salt – to taste

Tamarind chutney – 1 tbsp.

Chanachur / farsan / Sev –  2 tbsp.

Peanuts (optional) – handful

Oil (optional) – 1 tsp.

Method:

  1. Boil the potato. Peel and chop into medium chunks.
  2. Chop the onion, tomato, coriander leaves and green chilli.
  3. Prepare tamarind chutney as in steps 3 & 7 of Papri Chaat recipe.
  4. In a bowl, take the puffed rice. Add all ingredients and mix well.
  5. Jhalmuri is ready!
Image sourced from internet

Sitting at home can be really demotivating and at times can leave you totally listless. Spicing up your lulling routine with these recipes on weekends or holidays will inject the very much required happiness in your life. For me atleast, food is joy!

This post was written for Blogchatter A2Z challenge; Day 21 – Letter “U”.

T for Tomato Soup

Food, Healthy Food / By / July 25, 2021
T cover pic

In these troubled times, it’s very important to stay healthy. Improving your health will help boost immunity. Additionally, staying at home gives us very little opportunity for exercise so we need to stay fit by having a healthy diet. I try in my many small ways to eat nutritious food and yet make them tasty. This is such an example.

Fond Memories

Weirdly, some of my happy memories of sipping warm tomato soup are those aboard a speeding train. Trips on trains meant it was vacation time. Nowadays, due to time constraints and other factors, majority of my recent travel are via flights but my favorite way to travel is still trains. Seated at a window, watching the world flash by while being gently rocked by the chugging train are some of by best memories. Playing card games, eating packed lunch on paper plates and claiming the upper berth for sleep. Then came those rare trips on Rajdhani and Duronto where they serve food which, in those days, seemed exotic. Part of that was steaming cups of tomato soup with soup sticks. That tangy soup coupled with colorful view outside the window was the perfect combination.

Nostalgia aside, here’s my mom’s tomato soup recipe.

Ingredients:

Tomatoes – 6

Carrot (optional) – 1

Garlic – 4/5 cloves

Water – 4 cups

Oil – 1 tsp.

Salt – to taste

Sugar – 2 tsp.

Butter – 1 tsp.

Pepper – 1 tsp.

Method:

  1. Boil the tomatoes and carrot with 2-3 cloves of garlic with 4 cups of water in a cooker for 2-3 whistles.
  2. Mash the tomatoes, carrot and garlic through a strainer.
  3. In a pan, heat the oil. Chop and add the remaining 2 cloves of garlic. Fry till aromatic.
  4. Add the strained broth and add salt and sugar.
  5. Cook on high heat till the broth boils. Adjust taste and switch off heat.
  6. Serve the steaming soup in 2 bowls garnished with ½ tsp. butter and ½ tsp. pepper per bowl.

Tip: Optionally, for step 2, you may blend the whole boiled broth in a mixer.

Best had on a cold winter evening, but it is still a filling evening meal along with a couple of toasted breads.

Photo sourced from internet

This post was written for Blogchatter A2Z challenge; Day 20 – Letter “T”.

S for Sandwiches

Food / By / July 22, 2021
S cover pic

Often, we are at a loss how to make your breakfast more interesting or what to make at all. Toast sounds boring after a few days, so does cereal. Well then, what to do??

Here’s me bringing a simple solution – sandwiches! It too may sound run of the mill but take a look at the various ideas below on how to make them more interesting. You can change up between the different types which can take out the “normal” out of the equation.

  • Vegetarian Sandwich

Ingredients:

Bread – 8 slices

Cucumber – 1

Onion – 1

Tomato – 1

Potato – 1, boiled

Salt – to taste

Pepper – 2 tsp. or as per taste

Butter – 4 tsp.

Cheese slice (Optional) – 4

Method:

  1. On a flat frying pan or a toaster, lightly toast the bread slices.
  2. Cut the cucumber, onion, tomato and potato into thin round slices.
  3. Butter the toasted bread pieces on one side.
  4. Place one cheese slice on one piece of bread and layer the sliced veggies. Sprinkle salt and pepper and place a second bread piece over the lot, buttered side inside.
  5. Place the whole sandwich back on the tawa to heat it lightly such that the cheese melts.
  6. Light and healthy vegetable sandwich is ready. Easy to make and makes for a filling breakfast snack.
Source: Internet (closest representation I could find)
  • Egg Sandwich

Ingredients:

Bread – 8 slices

Eggs – 3, boiled

Potato – 1, boiled

Salt – to taste

Pepper – 2 tsp. or as per taste

Mayonnaise – 2 tbsp.

Cheese Slice (Optional) – 4

Method:

  1. On a flat frying pan or a toaster, lightly toast the bread slices.
  2. Method 1: Cut the boiled eggs and potatoes into thin round slices.
  3. Spread mayonnaise on one side of each bread.
  4. Place one cheese slice on one piece of bread and layer the sliced eggs and potato. Sprinkle salt and pepper and place a second bread piece over them, mayo side inside.
  5. Place the whole sandwich back on the tawa to heat it lightly such that the cheese melts.
  6. Method 2: Mash the boiled eggs and potato, leaving them a little chunky.
  7. Add salt, pepper and mayonnaise and mix well.
  8. Place one cheese slice on a bread piece, dollop a spoonful of the egg-potato mash and spread. Cover with a second piece of bread.
  9. Place the whole sandwich back on the tawa to heat it lightly such that the cheese melts.
  10. Method 3: This one is a little different. Instead of boiling the eggs, fry the eggs sunny side up but over easy. That is, both sides are fried but the yolk shall be a bit runny still.
  11. Apply mayonnaise to each piece of bread on one side.
  12. Place the fried eggs between 2 pieces of bread. And, that’s it!
  • Chicken Sandwich

Ingredients:

Bread – 8 slices

Chicken – 200gms, boiled

Onion – 1, small chopped

Capsicum – ½, small, chopped

Carrot – 1, small, grated

Oil – 2 tsp.

Salt – to taste

Pepper – 1 tsp.

Mayonnaise – 2 tbsp.

Cheese (Optional) – 4

Method:

  1. Heat a frying pan and add oil.
  2. Add chopped onions, capsicum and grated carrots. Fry till cooked.
  3. In a bowl, shred the boiled chicken. Add the fried onion-capsicum-carrot.
  4. Add mayonnaise, salt, pepper and grated cheese. Mix well.
  5. On a flat frying pan or a toaster, lightly toast the bread slices.
  6. Spread the chicken filling between 2 slices of toasted bread and put back on the pan to heat for 1 minute so that the cheese melts.
  7. Chicken sandwich is ready!

I have made these sandwiches a hundred times but unfortunately, could not find a single photo, so I’m using the closest interpretations from the world wide web.

Tip: You may add the onion-capsicum-carrot fry to the mashed egg-potato sandwich filling as well.

Tip: You can lightly fry the shredded chicken pieces with ketchup, soya sauce and chilli sauce to make a spicier filling.

Tip: If you have a sandwich toaster, you should put the egg and chicken fillings between raw bread and toast the sandwich as a whole. Enjoy with ketchup!

So now you know what to do when you run out of breakfast ideas. Use these quick and simple sandwich recipes to make your morning bright!!

This post was written for Blogchatter A2Z challenge; Day 19 – Letter “S”.

R for Roll

Food, Indian Cuisine / By / July 25, 2021
Chicken roll

A Bengali delicacy! This may be a street food but this is one dish which is given royalty status because of its popularity and overall awesomeness. Rolled up maida (flour) flatbread filled with spiced chicken or mutton pieces, sliced onions and drizzled with sauces and garnished with masala.

What’s in a name?

A rose by any other name would still smell as sweet, said Shakespeare. The humble Bengali “roll” is called by a variety of names all round the globe, yes the globe. Called “Wraps” globally, it is called Shawarma in the Middle East, Gyro in Greece, Burrito in Mexico, Spring rolls in East Asia and Frankie in our very own Mumbai! The essence remains the same and though I do not know which can be called the “original”, what I do know – to me and to every Bengali, it will always be THE Roll!

The most favorite version is the Egg Roll which has a layer of fried egg over the flatbread and is universally the best! So here’s my recipe for Egg Roll; serves 2 (about 6 rolls).

Ingredients:

For the flatbread:

Maida (Refined flour) – 2 cups (~300gms.)

Salt – a pinch

Oil – 2-3 tsp. for dough + 2-3 tsp. for frying

Water – ¾ cup or as required

For the filling:

Eggs – 4

Cucumber – ½, medium

Onion – 1, small,

Tomato – ½, medium

Lemon juice – 1 tsp.

Salt – to taste

Tomato ketchup – as required

Chilli sauce – as required

Chaat Masala – a pinch

Optional (Chicken filling):

Chicken – 50 gms., boiled and shredded/cubed

Onion – 1/2, thinly sliced

Capsicum – ¼, thinly sliced

Oil – 2 tsp.

Cumin powder – 1/2 tsp.

Coriander powder – ½ tsp.

Red Chilli powder – ½ tsp.

Method:

  1. Take the maida in a bowl. Sieve it once for smoother dough. Add the salt and oil and knead gently till the maida forms loose clumps in your hand.
  2. Now add water little by little and keep kneading. The final dough should be soft and stretchy. Pat oil lightly over the dough and set aside for atleast 30 minutes.
  3. Meanwhile chop the cucumber, onions and tomatoes for the filling and mix together.
  4. Add the lemon juice and salt and mix well.
  5. Beat the eggs in a bowl. Add salt to it and mix.
  6. Once the 30 minutes are up, roll out the dough to 6” round and 2 cm. thick circles.
  7. Heat a flat frying pan (a tawa). Lightly dry roast the flatbread on each side till they are cooked. Roast all the flatbreads and keep aside.
  8. Lightly oil the pan and add a portion of the beaten eggs. Quickly place a flatbread over it. Let it fry for 1-2 minutes.
  9. Brush oil on the upper side of the flatbread and turn the whole thing over. Fry for another couple minutes till it is just crispy.
  10. Repeat steps 8 & 9 for all the flatbreads.
  11. Take a flatbread and place the cucumber-onion-tomato mixture on one side of it over the egg fried side. Drizzle ketchup and chilli sauce and sprinkle chaat masala over the lot. Roll up the flatbread.
  12. Egg roll is ready! Repeat for all the flatbreads.
  13. Optional: If you want an egg-chicken roll, follow below steps.
  14. In a frying pan, add oil and fry the onions and capsicums till they are translucent.
  15. Add cumin, coriander and red chilli powder and fry till spices are roasted.
  16. Then add the boiled and diced chicken pieces and fry till the spices mix well. Switch off the heat.
  17. Add this chicken filling to the egg-fried flatbreads on top of the other filling.
  18. There you have it, egg-chicken roll!

Step wise, it is actually quite a bit but the dish is worth it and the labour will be much appreciated by all who taste it. What takes so long to took will be devoured in minutes! Believe me. You can have this as a snack or as a full fledged meal.

This post was written for Blogchatter A2Z challenge; Day 18 – Letter “R”.

Q for Quesadilla

Food / By / July 22, 2021
Q cover pic

To be honest, I couldn’t think of anything which begins with a Q which I have made. However, there are lots of awesome “Q” foods which I have had in various parts of the world and which someday I would like to try my hand at.

Q for Quesadilla. Quesadilla is a Mexican dish which comprises of a warm roti like flatbread stuffed with mainly cheese and/or meat and vegetables. This is generally pan grilled. I have never been to Mexico, the closest connection I can claim is watching Narcos Mexico on Netflix. Just joking! I have tasted Mexican food in Texas in USA which borders Mexico and has therefore adapted a lot of their food cultures. Authentic Mexican cuisine is widely available in Texas – from tacos and nachos to enchiladas and quesadillas. Taco trucks are one of the favorite food haunts of locals I have heard.

I had quesadillas in San Antonio on a famous restaurant on the Riverwalk. Unfortunately, I do not remember the name. Also, tacos and enchiladas in Gloria’s Latin Cuisine in Austin. Both were so delicious melt in the mouth quesadillas that I have been a fan ever since. This was my second brush with Mexican cuisine. My first brush was – surprisingly! – in Madrid, Spain. I had nachos with guacamole, ceviche de vieiras (scallop ceviche) and Machete (ox rib). Cascabel restaurant – mind-blowing!

Recipes:

Since I have never made this one at home, I am recommending some recipe links which I have checked out and feel are authentic but easy to make.

  • Oyester Tacos @Fish City Grill, Houston, TX
  • Quesadillas (Source: Girlheartfood)
  • Taco Truck
  • Machete @Cascabel, Madrid, Spain

This post was written for Blogchatter A2Z challenge; Day 17 – Letter “Q”.

P for Pasta

Food, Italian Cuisine / By / July 26, 2021
Chicken Pasta

Who doesn’t love pasta? We needn’t always go out to a fine dining restaurant (or order in nowadays) because here I come with a delicious but easy cook version. This recipe is one of those simply made dishes which can be whipped up on a weekday and voila delicious meal ready!

Amo Il Cibo Italiano

Continuing my love for Italian cuisine, here’s a dish which is, I think, quite close to the original version and not an indigenous version of the same. It’s not at all complicated – of course, I am not making the actual pasta from scratch – and can be done in about 30 minutes.

Ingredients:

Pasta – penne, 125gms.

Sweet corn – ½ cup

French Beans – 100 gms., chopped

Garlic – 4/5 cloves, chopped

Onion – 1, medium, chopped

Capsicum – ½, medium, chopped

Flour – 1 tbsp.

Milk – 3 cups

Salt – to taste

Pepper – 1 tsp.

Red chilli powder – 1 tsp.

Oregano powder – 2 tsp.

Thyme powder – 1 tsp.

Cheese – 1 cup, grated

Butter – as required

Oil – 2 tsp.

Method:

  1. Boil the pasta in a pan of water with a pinch of salt. Pasta should be al dente. Drain them in a colander once done. and drizzle some olive oil over them to keep from sticking together.
  2. Boil the chopped sweet corn and french beans (and any other veggies you may want to add like carrot, broccoli, mushroom etc.) with a pinch of salt in a saucepan till they are about ¾ cooked. Drain them once done.
  3. Now, onto the main part of the dish (in my opinion) – the white sauce!
    1. Heat 2 tsp. oil in a frying pan. Add chopped garlic and sauté till you get the nice fried garlic smell.
    1. Add the chopped onions and capsicum till they are translucent.
    1. Then add a knob of butter (~1tbsp.). Once the butter melts, add the flour and keep mixing so that it doesn’t form lumps.
    1. Now add in the milk and keep sauteing to avoid lumps.
    1. Once the sauce starts to thicken, add in salt, pepper and red chilli powder, thyme and oregano and mix.
    1. Add ¾ cup cheese and mix.
  4. Add the boiled veggies and the pasta and mix well.
  5. Garnish with red chilli flakes, oregano and remaining cheese.
  6. Serve hot with some chilled wine.

This is a dish I make often which takes the boring out of any normal day. Alfredo pasta, some wine, some Netflix and ahh, a fantasy meal!

This post was written for Blogchatter A2Z challenge; Day 16 – Letter “P”.

O for Orange Cake

Baking, Food / By / July 25, 2021
orange cake cover pic

This one is a throwback to childhood favorites; when all you had to worry about whether you were getting a bigger piece than your sisters. Ah, that was life.

Mom’s Recipe totally

It’s straight from Mom’s huge repertoire of awesome dishes. This soft, fluffy cake is unlike any shop made cake and is just mouthwateringly delicious. It’s best had fresh from the oven – hot and oozing that intoxicating baking smell.

Ingredients:

Flour – 1.5 cups (~200gms.)

Baking powder – 1.5 tsp.

Butter – 75gms. (at room temp.)

Sugar – 1.5 cups (~180gms.)

Eggs – 4

Orange – 1

Milk – ¼ cup

Method:

  1. Sieve the flour and baking powder atleast 3 times. This helps to create a homogenous mixture and to avoid lumps.
  2. Juice the orange and keep aside.
  3. Chop ½ of the orange skin into tiny cubes and soak in the milk for 15 minutes.
  4. In a mixer, mix the sugar and butter together until they are properly blended.
  5. Add the eggs and blend thoroughly. Pour the mixture into a mixing bowl.
  6. Next, add the dry ingredients’ mix 3-4 tbps. at a time and mix by hand until you get a nice smooth batter.
  7. Add the orange juice and the soaked orange zest.
  8. Preheat the oven at 180°C for 10 minutes.
  9. Meanwhile, grease your baking tray with oil or butter, pour the batter into it. The tray should be filled upto ¾ height only to allow space for rising.
  10. Bake for 20-25 minutes until a tester (usually a fork) comes out clean.

Tip: Always be sure to mix in the same direction be it clockwise or anticlockwise. The whole mixing can be done in a mixer or a food processor, but I find mixing by hand is the best at least partially as indicated above.

The orange juice adds a zing to your normal everyday sponge cake and the bits of orange zest gives it additional flavour when you bite into your cake.

Mom hasn’t made this cake in a long while, so I’m resorted to using Internet sourced images.

This post was written for Blogchatter A2Z challenge; Day 15 – Letter “O”.

N for Noodles

Chinese Cuisine, Food / By / July 26, 2021
Noodles cover pic

Noodles are a Chinese staple food. Just like the French are with their bread, so are the Chinese with their noodles. With their spicy food and exotic dishes, the noodles present a perfect antidote to sop off the excesses.

It’s Oriental Part 2

As with my last dish, this one is also an Indianized version of the dish. The Chinese version consists of lightly tossed stringy noodles with few chunks of meat thrown in and maybe some spring onions. The dish I am about to recite here consists of a lot more ingredients and can be eaten on its own as a snack.

Ingredients:

Hakka Noodles packet – 150gm.

Onion – 1, small

Capsicum – ½, small

Garlic – 2 cloves

Carrot – ½ carrot, medium

Beans – 15-20gms.

Peas (optional) – 1/3 cup

Vinegar – 1 tbsp.

Soya sauce – 1.5 tsp.

Chilli sauce – 1 tsp.

Ketchup – 2 tbsp.

Salt – to taste

Oil – 1.5 tbsp.

Egg / chicken (optional)

Method:

  1. Boil the noodles in a pan with a pinch of salt till they are al-dente (90% cooked).
  2. Chop all the veggies.
  3. Boil the carrots, beans, peas in a separate bowl with a pinch of salt.
  4. Drain the noodles in a colander and drizzle a little oil to keep them from sticking into a lump.
  5. In a frying pan, heat oil. Add chopped garlic and fry till fragrant.
  6. Add the chopped onion and capsicum and fry till golden brown.
  7. Add the boiled vegetables and lightly fry them.
  8. Add vinegar and the sauces and salt. Mix well.
  9. Now add the boiled noodles and mix well till they are coated well and good with the sauce and the veggies get distributed evenly.
  10. Fry for a while longer to get a light crunchy effect.
  11. Optional: Scramble eggs in a separate pan and add to the noodles. OR, boil some chicken, shred it and lightly fry in a pan and to the noodles.

These different ingredients all come together to form a simple but yummy dish to load up on.

This post was written for Blogchatter A2Z challenge; Day 14 – Letter “N”.

M for Manchurian Chicken

Chinese Cuisine, Food / By / July 26, 2021
Manchurian

Manchuria is a region in China. Chinese food is one of my favorite cuisines. In my family, whenever there is a small celebration or an outing, one of our favorite food combos are Hakka Chowmein and Chilli Chicken – be it home cooked or ordered from our favorite joints. This combo, I have come to notice, is not restricted to just my family; a lot of my acquaintances feel the same way about Chinese food from which I gather it is an international favorite.

It’s Oriental!

I was in China – Shanghai and Beijing – for a week during which time I tried my hand at various authentic Chinese dishes barring weird stuff. Just like India, different regions of China have different ways of preparing a same dish; again each region has some specialty. For example, the south of China favors use of red chilies (Sichuan pepper) and hence most of their dishes are red hot! I tried one and couldn’t go beyond a few mouthfuls – my tongue was on fire. There are a few staples one of which I loved – string beans! Fried string beans with pieces of meat are a yummy dish!

However, what we know as Chinese food in India differs wildly from actual Chinese food. While I loved the dishes I tried in China, I much prefer our desi Chinese. The dish I am about to mention is one such.

Ingredients:

Chicken – 500 gms., minced

Giger garlic paste – 2 tbsp.

Red Chilli Sauce – 2 tsp.

Soya Sauce – 2 tsp.

Vinegar – 1 tsp.

Egg white – 1

Cornflour – 1.5 tsp.

Salt – to taste

Oil – for deep frying

For gravy

Onions – 2 medium, chopped

Garlic – 2-3 cloves, chopped

Capsicum – ½ medium, chopped

Vinegar – 2 tsp.

Soya Sauce – 1 tbsp.

Ketchup – 2 tbsp.

Salt – to taste

Oil – 1 tbsp

Spring Onions – handful, chopped

Method:

  1. Mix the chicken mince with ginger garlic paste, red chilli and soya sauces, vinegar and salt and mix well. Keep aside for 30 minutes.
  2. Add the egg white and cornflour to the mince, mix properly.
  3. Heat oil in a deep pan. Make balls from the mince and deep fry till golden brown.
  4. Remove from oil and drain on absorbent paper. Set aside.
  5. The balls will need to be done in batches and take time; meanwhile lets prepare the gravy.
  6. Heat oil in a frying pan.
  7. Add chopped garlic and fry for a minute until fragrant.
  8. Now add chopped onion and capsicum and fry till translucent.
  9. Add vinegar, soya sauce, ketchup and salt. Mix well.
  10. When the gravy starts to bubble, add the fried balls and mix well. You may add a bit of water just so that there’s enough gravy to coat the balls.
  11. Mix for a few minutes, adjust taste and take off the heat.
  12. Garnish with spring onions.

Tip: This recipe can be used to make Veg. Manchurian as well. Instead of chicken mince, use a mix of chopped vegetables for the balls and do not use the egg, instead add more flour as a binder.

It is a little time consuming but gives such a satisfying end result – melt in the mouth chicken balls coated in delicious gravy!

This post was written for Blogchatter A2Z challenge; Day 13 – Letter “M”.

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