Okra - Chickpeas Stir fry (Vendakai - Kondai kadalai poriyal)

This is a simple and tasty dish. My MIL saw it on a cooking show aired in India and shared it with me couple of years a go. I have not made for a long time now, so the other day I had made some cooked chickpeas left over from making Sundal, and thought this is the chance to make it finally. Hope you like it.

Ingredients:

• Chick peas (cooked) - 1 Cup
• Okra (Ladies finger) - 400 to 500 gms chopped.
• Onion - 1, finely chopped
• Dry red chillis - 2
• Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
• Urad dal - 1 tsp
• Coriander powder - 2 1/2 tsp
• Salt - To taste
• Chilli powder - To taste
• Oil - 1 or 2 Tblsp
• Grated coconut - 1 Tblspn

Steps:

• Add oil to a pan and when hot add mustard seeds. When seeds crackle, add dry red chillies and Urad dal.
• Add chopped onions and saute. When slightly cooked add coriander powder and saute. Add little oil if too dry.
• Add chopped okra and saute well, so that the coriander sticks to all the pieces of okra.
• Add salt and Chilli powder to taste.
• Slightly reduce the heat, cover the pan with a lid and cook for 5 mins. Add a dash of water if you feel the dish is drying up too fast.
• Once the okra is 3/4th cooked. Add the cooked chickpeas and stir well. Cover and cook okra fully.
• Then open lid and add grated coconut and saute till all the moisture is evaporated. 

 

Chewy Brownies

This is one of the best and simple recipes I found after a long time for a brownie. I decided to bake some brownies as I had some left over cocoa powder. I then realized that I had lost all my recipes while moving,  not that I missed my brownie recipe, my brownies were more like brownie-cakes,  they were soft, not dense. Nor were they chewy, but it did taste good. So I started searching the internet for an easy brownie recipe within minimum ingredients and steps and luckily my search was just 2 clicks away and I found the recipe for the Chewiest Brownies from allrecipes.com. The secret to Chewy brownies - no baking powder or soda, now why didn't I think of that! They only ingredient I added were some chopped walnuts.

Ingredients:

• Unsweetened cocoa powder - 1 cup
• Melted butter - 1/2 cup
• White sugar - 2 cups
• Eggs -2
• Salt - 1/2 Tsp
• All-purpose flour - 1 cup
• Vanilla extract - 2Tsp
• Walnuts : 1/4 cup (Optional)
• Icing sugar for decoration - 1/3 cup (Optional)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Line pan with greased parchment paper.
• Combine the cocoa, melted butter, sugar, eggs, salt , flour and vanilla. Mix until well combined. It should be very thick and sticky.
• Spread mixture into the prepared pan. Bake at 300 degrees F (150 degrees C) for 30 minutes. Cool. 
• Dust the icing sugar over the brownie using a metal strainer.

Mac n Cauliese (alternate to Mac n Cheese)

Healthy and quick  alternate to Mac n Cheese

I know the name is Cheesy :) but true to the name, the recipe has cauliflower substituted instead of the loads n loads of cream and cheese you add. I came up with this after getting inspiration from watching a show featuring a book called 'Hungry girl', the author talked about replacing carbs with loads of veggies to increase portion size, that way even when your dieting your eating your stomach's full without increasing the calories, smart isn't it? She gave an example of adding cooked cauliflower florets to a small portion of mac n cheese.

 So, I started my search for a healthy version of making mac n cheese so I can add cauliflower in it. I was looking for a recipe which also didn't call for lots of ingredients. I like to cook with ingredients readily available in my pantry, certain ingredients are like one-off gadgets that you rarely use, I hate buying stuff like those as they rot in my fridge after one use.  None of the recipes I found on the internet made that possible, they needed sour cream or heavy cream this and that. So I gave up and told myself I'll do it my way, and lo and behold I was surprised with my creation :) and my husband loved it. 

Here's a list of what you need. Don't worry if you don't have all the veggies mentioned, use what you have. Traditional mac n cheese does not have any, so don't worry, the reason for adding so many veggies is to decrease the amount of pasta (macaroni) and make people eat veggies.

• Pasta (macaroni) - as required, I use one handful for each person + 1 extra handful
• Cauliflower - Half cut into florets
• 1 Onion - finely chopped
• 4 cloves of Garlic - finely chopped
• 1 Carrots - diced into small cubes
• 1 Capsicum / Green Peppers -   - diced into small cubes
• 5-6 Mushrooms - Halfed
• Chili sauce -  as preferred 
• Salt - as preferred 
• Pepper - as preferred 
• 1Table spoon oil
• Grated cheese -  as preferred (quantity n type, I used mozzarella) 

Don't worry, I did  not leave any ingredients behind, there is no need for flour, butter, cream or milk, the cauliflower is gonna be the white sauce! 

Steps:

1. Cook the cauliflower: place cauliflower it in a microwave safe dish, fill 1/4th of the dish with water, add salt. Cover and pop it in the microwave for 10 mins. 

2. In a large vessel bring water to boil, add salt generously then add pasta and cook till tender. While the pasta cooks, heat another pan, add oil and saute the onions and garlic. When the onions changes color, add the chili sauce, little salt and the veggies and stir well.  Add 1/4th cup of water n let the veggies cook.

3. Drain the cooked cauliflower and puree it in a blender/mixer grinder using the water it was cooked in. Add to the veggies, still on stove. Mix well, add pepper as desired. Salt if required.

4. Drain the cooked pasta and add them to the veggies and cauliflower mixture. Turn heat off.

5. Transfer to a oven safe dish. Top with grated cheese and broil on high till the cheese melts and turns light brown. Keep an eye, you don't wanna burn them. And your done.

Enjoy! :)

I took the end product picture in the morning while packing them as  lunch for my hubby.  I made the dish last night for dinner. 

Quick & Easy Chicken

I've realized that my brain works best when in a hurry :) Here's a really quick and easy chicken recipe I made on the fly this Sunday. I did not have the time to chop onion or tomatoes so I just threw in some ginger garlic paste, salt, chili powder, a spoon of yogurt (curd) for some body and a dash of lime juice stirred in the chicken and let it cook. And the result was a super tasty chicken. 

Here's what you need

• Oil - 2 tsp
• Chicken desired amount (I used boneless)
• Ginger garlic paste - 2tsp
• salt to taste
• Chili powder to taste
• Chicken masala - 1tsp if available
• Yogurt/curd - 1 tsp
• Juice of half lime (optional - for a tangy taste)
• Water - as desired.

Method:

• Heat oil in a large pan (larger the pan, faster the cooking time). When hot add the ginger garlic paste, salt, chili powder, chicken masala and stir.
• Add chicken and keep stirring till all pieces are covered in the mixture. Add yogurt and stir.
• Add a splash of water and close the pan. Let it cook. 
• Open add the lime juice stir and close. Add a bit more water if the dish dries up before the chicken is cooked.
• If you need gravy just add more water and cook to the desired consistency. If you like it dry like in the picture, just let it cook without the lid till the water evaporates and dries up.

It goes really well with rice and sambar :) Or make it as a gravy and enjoy with rotis.

Simple Coconut rice (Thengai Saadam)

Coconut rice is my all time lunch box favorite. All you need is potato chips to go with it :) Or you could just have it when you want to eat something light and flavorful.

 Ingredients:

• Rice - Cook 2 cups of rice. (Use Basmathi rice or Raw rice for more flavor) 
• Coconut : 1/2, coarsely ground. (Use a Blender/ mixer grinder and grind it without adding water.)
• Salt - To taste
• Oil - 1 tblspn (use edible coconut oil, if you have it)
• Mustard seeeds - 1 tsp
• Urad dal (Ulunthu) -1 tsp
• Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Gram dal (Kadalai Paruppu) - 1/2 Tsp
• Cashew nuts - 3-4 chopped (optional)
• Ginger - 1/4 inch, finely chopped.
• Curry leaves - 1 strand.
• Dry red chillis - 2.

Steps:

• Cook rice like you usually do and let it cool. (Let the rice be firm not mushy). Gently fluff the rice so they are not sticking to each other.
• In a pan, add oil, once hot, add mustard seeds. Let it crackle. Then add cumin seeds, Urad dal, gram dal, ginger, curry leaves, chilli and cashew nuts and keep sauteing (Everything else, except the coconut and rice). You dont want the cashews to burn, but slightly change color.
• Once the cashew changes color, add 1/2 tsp salt. Lower the temperature a little and add the coarsely ground coconut, keep sauteing till all the coconut it covered in oil and the raw smell is gone.
• Turn off the stove and add the rice. Gently stir so the coconut mixture and rice blend together. 
• Taste and sprinkle more salt and stir again.
•  Your done! :)

 

Pepper Chicken

 Pepper chicken and rice has been our Friday night regular for quite a while now :) The love for pepper chicken began after we had it once at Wang's kitchen. Its a Hakka (Indo-Chinese) cuisine restaurant. I've always loved Wang's Kitchen, cos my hometown in India has its franchises too. Even though I would not mind eating pepper chicken from Wang's Kitchen every week, I have to admit it may not be the most healthy choice with the deep fried chicken, high sodium content and MSG. So I came up with my own relatively- healthy version of Pepper chicken. It is easy, simple and quick. The steps may seem long, but once you get the hang of it, its easy. Its almost like a 1 pot cooking. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do :)

Ingredients:

Chicken Marinate:

•  Boneless chicken - As required, chopped into bite size pieces. I use boneless thighs.
• Corn starch (corn flour) - 2 Tblsp
• Low sodium Soy sauce - 1 Tsp 
• Salt - 1/2 Tsp
• Pepper Powder - 1/2 Tsp

For Sauce:

•  Oil : 2 Tblsp
• Chilli sauce - To taste
• Pepper powder - To taste
• Salt - To taste
• Corn starch (corn flour) - 1Tblsp
• Low sodium Soy sauce - 1 1/2 Tblsp
• Onion - 1 Chopped (half finely chopped, half of it cubed)
• Ginger - 1/2 inch, finely chopped
• Garlic -  3 cloves, finely chopped
• Green peppers (Capsicum) - 1 or 3/4th chopped, depending on the size. Should not be more than the chicken, can be equal amount.
• Water - As required.

Steps:

• Mix the boneless chicken with 1tsp soy sauce, corn flour, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2tsp pepper powder. make sure all the pieces are coated with corn starch.
• Heat Oil in a pan on high heat. When oil is hot gently drop all the chicken and fry till all sides are brown. We are not deep frying here, just shallow frying. Just cooking the chicken 3/4th. The aim is to create a brown coating on it.
• Remove the chicken from the oil. In the same oil in the pan, add the chopped ginger and garlic and saute for a minute.
• Add onions and green pepper and saute. Add a tiny amount of oil, if you think its drying up.
•  Now add soy sauce and chilli sauce and saute well till the raw soy smell is gone.
• Add the fried chicken and saute.
• Add a splash of water and cover immediately before the steam escapes. Cook for 3- 5 mins.
• When the chicken is cooking, mix the remaining corn starch with 2 tblsp of water.
• Now remove the lid and add the cornstarch liquid and stir well. Add pepper powder to your liking.
• You have 2 choices now. To leave it as a dry dish without gravy (sauce) or to make a gravy (with sauce, like in the pictures). 
• For a dry dish, saute till the corn starch is cooked. remove from heat without adding any extra water.
• To make a sauce just add about half cup of water or more and let it cook to the consistency you like. Don worry about adding too much water, it will thicken up because of the corn starch already in it.

 

Mango Lassi (Mango shake)

You will be surprised to hear that I first had mango lassi in Canada and not in India :) I love yogurt (curd) but never liked the traditional plain lassi. The  thought of sugar and salt in yogurt, nahh, not for me. So I never tried anything termed "Lassi". So when I came to Canada 5 years ago, my husband took me to an Indian restaurant and told me that the place was famous for 'Mango Lassi'. So I reluctantly tried it and fell in love with it. I hope one day I can make my yogurt-hating brother taste my mango lassi :)

There are 2 ways to do it, the traditional way with plain yogurt or my  fool-proof way with Vanilla flavored yogurt. I came up with my way of doing it when my son refused to eat the vanilla yogurt I had bought for him. I had it sitting around for a week when the idea hit me to make mango lassi with the vanilla yogurt. I served it for dinner on my son's birthday and it was a hit :) Don't worry if you don't get vanilla flavored yogurt or mango puree, you can follow the traditional way.

My way:

In my way it is much easier as you don't have to worry about adding sugar or the yogurt being sour.

Ingredients:

• Vanilla yogurt - 1 tub
• Mango puree - 1 Can
• Water or milk - as needed, for dilution

Steps:

• Blend the mango puree and vanilla yogurt together. You may have to do it in 2 batches if your blender is small. Its 1:1 ratio (1 cup mango-1cup yogurt)
• Add a little water and blend to dilute the lassi to you liking.
• Your done. Enjoy :)

Note: Mango puree already has sugar in it and so does vanilla yogurt, so don't add any sugar. Unless you think you need more after tasting it.

Traditional way:

 Ingredients:

• Fresh Yogurt (curd)
• Sweet mango slices or mango puree
• Milk - if yogurt is sour
• Sugar, as needed

Steps:

•  If using mango slices, blend it till it has become a puree.
• Add yogurt and sugar to it and blend again.
• Add milk if its sour. and blend again.
• Again it will be 1:1 ratio.