Something new something fresh

Cooking for family, friends and fun is integral to my blog, this is where I publish stories and recipes around the three:).Today I begin, a weekly feature on my blog called "Cooking with friends" Every Wednesday, I will feature a friend of mine and her wonderful recipe:)).Iam very excited and hope you all enjoy reading it as well.



Today's chef is my friend Joyeeta, a sweet and wonderful person she's also a wonderful cook(though she doesn't want to admit to being one.)We met after she came across my blog and we started talking to each other:Joyeeta is inspired by her mom's cooking,and literally cooks up a storm everytime she hosts a party.I have been to many of her parties and you can only imagine,how much good food I have tucked in because of her.Recently,I went to another of her awesome parties and she had yet again outdone herself.Joyeeta has been a sweetheart to share all those recipes from the party and one by one I will feature them all .


Joyeeta and I at the Husky Stadium

Here's one of her many recipes,"chicken Satay with Peanut sauce". Try it, its really yummy:)

You need
For Chicken Satay
Chicken Breast cut lengthwise into strips
Wooden Skewers soaked in cold water for 1/2 hr or more
Marinade
1 can coconut milk
2 tbsp Thai red curry paste (eyeball the measurement)
Siracha chilli sauce (1 tsp)
salt
Cumin powder (1 tsp)
Corriander power (1tsp)
Garlic
Minced Shallots (2 tbsp)
Dark Soy Sauce (2 tbsp)
Brown Sugar (1 tbsp or more depending on taste)
1 tbsp oil

For peanut sauce(Courtesy of the Joy of Cooking)
1 cup canned unsweetened coconut milk
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
4 tbsps firmly packed light brown sugar ( i just used dark)
1 tbsp fish sauce (i used a little)
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp canned Thai Massaman Curry Paste (i used Thai red curry paste)
1/2 tsp curry powder

This is how you make it
Chicken satay :Mix all the ingredients of the marinade and taste it to adjust any of the ingredients before adding the chicken.
You can also puree the marinade.Put the washed chicken strips into the marinade and let it sit for 2hrs to 4 hrs.Thread the skewer with each chicken strip.Hi Broil for 10 mins on one side,5 mins on the other.Time varies with each oven so keep checking to see if it's cooked, it should have a nice golden brown color. Garnish with basil leaves.

Peanut sauce :Combine all sauce ingredients in a medium saucepan.Whisk in a 1/2 cup hot water thoroughly.Simmer, stirring occasionally, over low heat until the flavors are well blended, 15 to 20mins. Stir in:Fresh lime juice.Serve it warm with the chicken satay!

Treat for two...Happy Valentines day 2007

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY EVERYONE !!!

I was away because I was a little under the weather and the food that I was cooking and eating wasnt very inspiring or worthy of posting here:) But that couldnt put a dampener on my spirit because Iam back with a bang for Valentines Day 2007 ...

This is the second yr Iam posting pictures from food I cooked,hence the same title as last yr.Valentine's day are always special for my husband and I because we have our anniversary the next day ..and today we celebrate our 5th yr together..big milestone for us both.

So how was your Valentine's day?I cooked a 3 course meal for my hubby of 5 yrs and had a blast.Here are some pictures I want to share :)



Mango Bellini



Spinach salad with shrimp and slivered almonds



Herb Roasted Salmon with Coucous



cheesecake with cherry glaze

Here's hoping your Day was as delectable as mine.

Kolhapuri Kombdi

I have always loved chicken and toned down the spices and the heat after marraige because hubby dear does not do well with very hot dishes .

Lately however my taste buds were craving something HOT,something spicy that makes me reach out for that glass of water and so I had to look around for a recipe which uses something other than the usual onion, tomato, ginger and garlic ..that gives it a kick ..

I landed this recipe for Kolhapuri chicken also called Kolhapuri kombdi (chicken's called Kombdi in the western Indian state of Maharashtra) cooked with lots of hot dry red chillies to sharpen the tastebuds.Needless to say this dish delivered and was well loved ..even by diserning audience such as my hubby who shies away from such concoctions.While the roasted poppy,sesame and coconut added the "x" factor , the chilli powder gave it that KICK ...

This is a chicken dish I definitely recommend ..

You need :
8 medium sized pieces of chicken (I use chicken drumsticks)
1 cup( browned onions
2 tablespoon(s) each of sesame and poppy seeds dry roasted
2 tablespoon(s) grated coconut roasted till dry
½ teaspoon(s) turmeric powder
1 tablespoon(s) each of ginger, garlic pastes
4 medium onions finely chopped
1 tablespoon(s) red chilli powder (please tone that down if u wish)
2 large tomatoes chopped
1 teaspoon garam masala
2 tablespoon(s) coriander leaves finely chopped
2 tablespoon(s) oil
salt to taste
finely chopped coriander leaves for garnishing

This is how you make it :

Make slits on the chicken pieces.In a bowl make a marinade out of half of the ginger-garlic paste,turmeric powder and salt to taste.Rub this marinade into the chicken pieces very well and allow to marinate for about an hour. Meanwhile ,grind together the browned onions, roasted coconut, sesame and poppy seeds to a paste.

Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed pan till hot. Add the chopped onions and fry for a few seconds. Add the ginger-garlic paste and fry till the onions are browned. Add the red chilli powder and fry.Now add the chopped tomatoes and fry on medium heat till the fat separates from the sides of the pan.Add the chicken pieces and fry on high heat for for about 2 minute.

Now,add the ground paste, water and sprinkle salt to taste and mix well. Bring to a boil. Stir in the garam masala and chopped coriander leaves.Cover and cook on low heat for about 30 minutes or till the chicken is fully tenderised.

Garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves.Enjoy with nan , roti or rice .

Chilli meat with curry leaves

Its amazing ... there are a gazillion chicken recipes out there ..or for that matter a gazillion recipes for everything.What do I say of world cuisine when I have not even scratched the surface of the Indian recipe-Pandora's box .The treasure hunt is on though .

Every region in India has a different take on spices,herbs , oils, veg, non -veg dishes .When I think I have made quite a few,more and yet more keep turning up. Slowly, yet steadily I plan to try them all..After all ,its a long life and I have plenty of time;). Hopefully ,I'll be an expert of them and some of them might not augur well with me but heck , its worth a try.What do you say?:)

I have tried plenty of non vegetarian(read chicken,mutton, lamb) recipes from North India , plenty more from East of India (umpteen varities of fish,chicken,mutton,lamb,prawns) and the other day I decided to strike on some south indian recipes -specifically ,from Andhra Pradesh .

The Andhra cuisine has a great Mughal impact. Their food is known for its spiciness and hotness
Curry leaves and chillies are two of the hallmark ingredients used here or for that matter in other southern states of India. The recipe I chose was chilli meat with curry leaves ,where the hottest chillies known as Gunter(named after the region they are grown in) are abundantly available.

You need :(tb=tablespoon, ts=teaspoon)
2 tb vegetable oil
1 large finely sliced onion
2 in piece fresh root ginger
grated 4 garlic cloves
crushed 12 curry leaves
3 tb extra hot curry paste or 4 tbsp hot curry powder(madras style)
1 tb chilli powder
1 ts five-spice powder 5 ml
1 ts ground turmeric
2lb chicken cubes(you can substitute them with pork,lamb or beef)
3/4 cup thick coconut milk
Salt to taste
Red onion, finely sliced, to garnish

Heres how to make madras style curry powder
Grind 2 and 1/2 tb corriander seeds, (sieve if any large husks remain). Additionally grind 2ts Garlic Powder, 1 tb Ground Cumin,2 ts Ground Tumeric, 1 ts Ground Ginger,1 ts Chili flakes/powder, 1/2 ts Ground Allspice, 1 tb Salt,1 tb Ground Black Pepper,1/2 tb Dry Mustard,1/4 ts Saffron.Blend all of the ingredient together and store in an airtight jar. This recipe makes 3 ounces of curry powder.

How to cook it
1) Heat the oil in a wok, karahi or large pan and fry the onion, ginger, garlic and curry leaves until onion becomes soft.
2) Add the curry paste or powder, chilli and five-spice powder, turmeric and salt.
3) Add the meat and stir well over a medium heat to seal and evenly brown the meat pieces. Keep stirring until the oil separates.
4) Cover the pan and cook for about 20 minutes. Stir in the coconut milk and simmer, cover until the meat is cooked.
5)Towards the end of the cooking, uncover the pan to reduce the excess liquid.

Serve with yogurt and rice/indian bread.Garnish with a sprig of corrainder leaves and a slice of lemon .


If you decide to cook this , let me know how it went :-)

Butter Chicken - recipe on special demand

I usually put stuff on my blog that I tried, like to cook , or made for a party/get together..Over time some of the folks who have read my blog have asked for my recipes

Heres the butter chicken recipe that I tried for a the xmas party at work .Meena , this is what you asked for

You need:
2 lbs chicken(I took chicken breast tenders, easy to dice and cook really fast)
1 stick of butter
3/4 cup tomotoes (chopped finely)
1 large onion (chopped finely)
1/2 cup cashews (grounded smoothly)
chilli flakes/powder -according to taste
1 teaspoon ginger paste
1 teaspoon garlic paste
1 cinnamon stick
turmeric powder
salt-according to taste

This is how you cook it :
1 Heat half a stick of butter in medium heat and fry onions and cinnamon sticks till onion turns transparent.
2 Add turmeric, chilly, ginger and garlic paste, salt and a little water. Heat few more seconds with continuous stirring.
3 Add tomatoes and heat few more seconds with continuous stirring
4 Add grounded cashew paste and some more water to make it into a thick gravy. (Add more or less water while cooking to get according to your preference for consistency of gravy.)
5 When the mixture starts to boil, add the chicken and cook until it is fully cooked
6 Before you take chicken off the heat, add rest of the butter over it.

and Voila !!! Serve with rice /roti /naan and garnish as you please :-)

Satisfied customers :-)

Suchita , my freinds younger sister was visiting me on july17,2005 and had been deprived of home made food .She's bengali and Iam part bengali too so I thought I would treat her to nice Bengali food .

I cooked pulao(rice with spices,ghee and salt),kosha mangsho(spicy chicken bengali style),dim curry(egg curry),aloor dom( baby potatoes in spices),luchi (pooris) and added yougurt and salad to the mix .Suchita enjoyed the food and I had a great time making it .Even more fun looking at the happy and satisfied faces of Suchita and Pankaj .

I will discuss recipes in the next post, Till then here are some pictures I would like to share .Enjoy


The spread


Suchita and Pankaj clink their beer glasses


They seem satisfied