Garlic Parmesan Roasted Potatoes

I browse through the DIY section of Pinterest when I cannot fall asleep at night, sometimes I come across recipes too in the DIY section, and tell myself, one day I will try them. Well, finally I got around to trying one, and am glad I did. I tweaked the recipe a little to suit my needs. Garlic- Parmesan roasted potatoes are super easy and delicious, they are a perfect snack or a side to any entrée.

Ingredients:

• Small Red Potatoes (or any kind) - 10, cut into halves or quarters
• Salt - 1/2 tsp or more, to taste
• Black Pepper, ground - 1/2 tspn or more,  to taste
• Garlic - 5 pods, finely chopped
• Olive oil - 1 1/2 tblspn 
• Dry Basil - 1/2tspn
• Dry Thyme - 1/2 tspn
• Dry Rosemary - 1/4 tspn
• Parmesan cheese - 1/3 cup, grated or finely chopped
• Coriander leaves - a handful, finely chopped 

You may wanna try the Easy Roast Potatoes, if you do not have the herbs or cheese at home.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400F.
• In a bowl mix all the ingredients together, except the potatoes and coriander leaves. 
• Taste the mix to see if it needs more salt or pepper. Once you're happy with the taste, add the potatoes and toss them well, until all the pieces are coated with the mixture.
• Line a baking sheet with aluminium foil. Empty the contents on it and place the potatoes pieces skin side down.  
• Bake for 25-30 mins or until potatoes are golden brown. A knife put through a piece will go through smoothly when cooked.
• Remove from oven, place in a serving dish and sprinkle the coriander leaves. Viola! 

You may wanna try the Easy Roast Potatoes, if you do not have the herbs or cheese at home.

Deep Fried Smelts/ Nethili meen

Crispy, easy and a tasty recipe. This dish can be eaten as an appetizer or as a side with traditional Indian food.

Ingredients:

Smelt fishes

• Smelts or any kind of small fish - desired amount. 
• Salt - 2 tspn
• Chili powder - 1 tspn
• Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tspn
• Ginger garlic paste -  1 tbsp
• Corn flour - 2 tbsp
• Lime juice- from half 
• Oil - For deep frying.

Steps:

• Mix all the ingredients except the fish into a paste. If the mixture is too thick, add a splash of amount of water to make it creamy. Taste to see if you need more salt or chili powder.(Once you fry the fishes, you won't be able to able any more salt to them).
• Mix in the fish. Let it marinate for 10 mins.
• In a pan or wok, add enough oil for deep frying, when oil is hot, add about 4-5 fishes at a time. 
• After 2-3 mins, turn the fishes and let it cook for another 3 mins. (If oil gets too hot, slightly lower the heat.)
•  Take the fishes out of the oil and lay on a sheet of paper towel or newspaper to drain any left over oil.

Peerkangai Poriyal (Ridge gourd Stir fry)

Like I mentioned in my previous post on Peerkangai Thol Chutney, peerkangai or ridge gourd is a versatile vegetable where the peel and the flesh can be used separately to make different dishes. Since the peel is kinda tough we need to remove it before making a stir fry. You can use the peels to make a chutney, for which you can find the recipe here. The stir fry or poriyal is very simple and quick. You can make it dry to go with rice or a little soggy to go with rotis.

Some things you may want to know about the vegetable are

• They let out a lot of water, so watch out.
• Once cooked the vegetable shrinks a lot, so if your cooking for large number of people you may want to buy more.
• You can use the seeds in the middle if they are tender, if not remove them before cooking.
• Save the skin (peel) to make a chutney (Dip). Recipe here

Ingredients:

• Ridge gourd/ Peerkangai - 2 large ones, peel and chop them.
• Onion - 1, finely chopped
• Garlic - 3 or 4, chopped
• Oil - 2 tblspn
• Mustard seeds - 1tspn
• Urad dal - 1tsp
• Channa Dal - 1 tsp
• Dry red chillies - 2 or 3, broken
• Coriander powder - 1 tspn
• Curry leaves - 1 strand
• Salt - to taste
• Chilli powder - 1/2 tspn
• Coconut,shredded - 2 tblspn

Steps: 

• Add oil in a pan, when hot add the mustard seeds, when they crackle, add the urad dal,channa dal, dry red chillies and the curry leaves.
• Immediately add the chopped onion and garlic and sauté till the onion changes colour lightly.
• Turn heat to medium high and add the coriander powder and chilli powder and sauté well till the raw smell of the coriander is gone.
• Then add the chopped ridge gourd and sauté. Add salt to taste.
• Sprinkle some water to start the cooking process and cover.
• In about 5 mins the gourd would have let out a lot of water, so remove the cover and cook it for another 5 mins. 
• If you like it to be soggy to go with rotis, add shredded coconut now, stir it in well and turn off heat.
• Or raise the heat to high and let the water evaporate, stir occasionally. Then add the shredded coconut, stir it in well and turn off heat. 

Quick Channa (Chickpeas) Masala

This is a quick take on the traditional Channa masala recipe. I always have 3 kinds of store bought spice powder/mix at home, biriyani masala, chicken masala and tandoori chicken masala. The one I mostly use is the chicken masala, any curry (gravy) I make and I toss a spoonful (or sometimes more) in it. On my son's birthday I was making so many things and  in a hurry instead of adding chicken masala I ended up adding tandoori chicken masala and it turned out better than usual :) and I have stuck with it ever since. You just need few ingredients and 1 pressure cooker for fast results.  

Ingredients:

• Channa / Chickpeas - 1 or 2 cups (Soak in water for couple of hours)
• Onion - 1 chopped
• Tomato purée / crushed tomato - 3/4 cup
• Ginger garlic paste - 1 tblspn
• Tandoori chicken masala - 1 1/2 tblpsn
• Coriander powder - 2 tspn
• Water - 2 Cups
• Salt - To taste
• Lime - 1/2
• Oil - 2 tblspn
• Fennel seeds - 1/2 tspn
• Cinnamon stick - 1

Steps:

 
• In a pressure cooker, heat oil, when hot add fennel seeds, cinnamon stick and onions and sauté.
• When the onion changes colour slightly add the ginger garlic paste and sauté. 
• Add the tandoori chicken masala, salt, Coriander powder and Tandori chicken masala and sauté, add the tomato purée and sauté for 3 mins.
• Drain the soaking channa and add to the mixture in the pressure cooker. Stir.
• Add water. (water should cover the channa and be 1 or 2 cms above it. Add more or less water depending on this measurement)
• Add more salt if needed. Close and put the weight on the pressure cooker. 
• Cook for 15- 20 mins. 
• Release pressure and open. Squeeze lime in. Randomly mash the channa with a potato masher to make a thick consistency of your choice, or take some channa out, blend it in a blender and add it back to the mixture. 

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. 

 

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.

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.

 

Easy Roast Potatoes

This is an easy and healthy way of making roast potatoes. It needs only half or even less than half the amount of oil usually used to make roast potatoes on the skillet. I  used a herb called Rosemary (seen in the photos like small twigs), just cause I had some. Its not required if you don't have it. It has a very strong taste, but smells good.

Ingredients:

• Potatoes - Chopped into chucks (about 1 inch) How many ever u need.
• Salt - 1 Tsp or to taste
• Chili powder - 1 1tsp or to taste
• Rosemary - 1/2 tsp (optional) 
• Oil - 1 tblsp

Steps:

Step 1 - Brown potatoes in pan.

Step 2- Transfer to baking tray and bake for 10mins, at 375 & 400 degs

• Preheat oven to 375 deg.
• In a wide pan, heat 3/4th of the oil. When hot add potatoes and stir well till oil adheres to all the chunks.
• Add salt and chili powder and stir well, again till all the potato chunks are coated well. with your finger, touch a chunk and taste the seasoning, if u feel you need more salt or chili powder add some. Add dry rosemary.
• Stir ocassionally, let the potatoes brown at least on 2 sides.
• Once ready transfer to an oiled baking tray. Cover with foil and bake for 5-7 mins.
• Carefully remove the foil, it will let out a lot of steam. You can see if the potaoes are cooked by putting a knife thru it. If you want to cook it more, replace the foil and cook for few more mins.
• When cooked, crank up the heat of the oven to 400 deg and place the tray back inside uncovered this time, for 5-7 mins. It will dry any moisture and make a a tasty roast.
• Take it out and sprinkle some salt.