Monday 17 August 2015

Chilli Chicken


I am really confused about origin of chilli chicken. Since my childhood I have heard people saying it belongs to chinese cuisine and it is supposed to be the first dish to come in mind while ordering for chinese food. But, as I google searched, it said "Place of originIndia". So, I think it's better to focus on food rather discussing on CHILLI CHICKEN'S native place.


I miss the chopsticks. I dont have them, otherwise the pair could make it a complete picture

Cuisine: Indo-Chinese
Servings: 4
Ingredients:

  • Boneless chicken, 750 gm (It's fine if you opt for chicken with bone)
  • Capsicum, 1
  • Onion, 2
  • Garlic cloves, 8
  • Ginger, 1/2 inch
  • Celery, chopped, 3 tbsp
  • Green chili, 2
  • Soy sauce, 3 tbsp
  • Chilli sauce, 4 tbsp
  • Tomato sauce, 1 tbsp
  • Vinegar, 1 tbsp
  • Ajinomoto, 1/2 tsp
  • Black powder, 2 tsp
  • Cornflour powder, 2 tbsp
  • Paprika/ Kashmiri red chili powder, 2 tsp
  • Egg, 1
  • Refined oil/Olive oil, 4 tbsp for frying chicken+4 tbsp for gravy
  • Salt to taste
Method:

For Chicken:
  1. Wash chicken pieces well and pressure cook with 1 cup water. Save the stock to prepare the gravy. I pressure cooked the chicken to avoid deep frying. If you want to deep fry the chicken, skip the step of pressure cooking and move to the step below.
2. Marinate (cooked/uncooked) chicken pieces with salt, paprika, egg, black pepper powder(2 tsp), cornflour powder(1 tbsp) for 30 minutes.
3. In a pan add 4 tbsp oil and shallow fry the marinated chicken, or, as I have said above you can deep fry them. Transfer the chicken pieces to a paper towel.
For Gravy :
1. Chop onions, garlic cloves and green chilies. Chop ginger roughly. Slice capsicum. In a pan heat 4 tbsp oil. Add onion, garlic and ginger, seasone with salt. Add capsicum and cook for 2 minutes. The capsicum pieces should retain some crunch. In the mean time mix soy sauce, chilli sauce, vinegar, tomato sauce, remaining cornflour powder and black pepper powder, salt to taste and sugar. Mix well with a fork to remove lumps of cornstarch.
2. Add ajinomoto and chopped celery, green chilies; leave some celery to garnish. Add in the sauce mixture and cook for 1 minutes. Lower the flame, as the sauce mixture and cornstarch tend to cook fast. Add chicken pieces and combine well. Now add Chicken stock and let the gravy turn semi thick.
3. Remove from flame and  transfer to a serving bowl. Garnish with chopped celery and serve.
Serving suggestions: Yellow Pulao, Fried rice



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Sunday 9 August 2015

Chicken Sandwich


Servings:4
Cuisine: Self- experiment

Ingredients:

For sandwich and burger:

  • Sandwich bread, 8 slices
  • Boneless chicken, 250 gm
  • Crushed corn flakes, 4 tbsp
  • Lettuce, 4
  • Tomato, 1
  • Onion, 2
  • Garlic cloves, 6
  • Pickle, 4 tbsp (See note below the ingredients list)
  • Butter to brush the bread slices.
  • Green chili, 2
  • Salt to taste
  • Oil, 4 tbsp
For sandwich spread:
  • Boiled egg, 4
  • Potato, 2
  • Yogurt, 2 tbsp
  • Mustard powder, 1 tbsp
  • Black pepper powder, 2 tsp
  • Oil, 1 tbsp
  • Salt to taste
Note- I used my homemade mixed pickle, you can use any pickle of your choice, like, you can go for green chili pickle/onion pickle/garlic pickle/coriander pickle, though the test will differ.

Method:

For burger:
1. Mince chicken. You can also put it in a blender. Add 1 finely chopped onion and  green chilies to it, add salt. Combine well. It's ok if the mixture is little sticky.
2. In a pan heat oil. Divide the mixture according to your portion size. Coat with crushed corn flakes and fry in oil. When one side turns golden brown flip and let it be cooked from the other side. You can use all purpose flour instead of corn flakes.

For sandwich spread:
 1.  As the burgers are getting ready; all the ingredients, mentioned for sandwich spread, put them in a blender and blend. It will come into a creamy consistency. Keep it aside.
For Sandwich
1. Slice another onion and tomato.
2. Brush lightly each bread slices with butter. Place one burger on the slice, then put a lettuce on it.
3.Place tomato and onion slices along with 1 tbsp of pickle. 



4.Now put 2 tbsp of the sandwich spread and cover with another bread slice.
5.Repeat the process to make other sandwiches and serve.
 


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Sunday 2 August 2015

Paneer Ghugni



Cuisine- Bengali
Servings- 4

Ingredients:-

  • Yellow pea (Ghugnir Dal), 1 and 1/2 cup
  • Paneer, 100 gm, cut into cubes and toss them in a pan with few drops of oil until both sides are golden brown
  • Onion, 1 large
  • Garlic cloves, 8
  • Ginger, 1 and 1/2"
  • Tomato
  • Green chili, 4
  • Tomato chopped, 1/4 cup
  • Coriander powder, 3 tsp
  • Cumin powder, 3 tsp
  • Garam masala powder, 1 and 1/2 tsp
  • Turmeric powder, 1 tsp
  • Tomato puree, 2 tbsp
  • Bay leaf, 1
  • Cinnamon stick, 1/2"
  • Cardamom, 2
  • Mustard oil, 5 tbsp
  • Salt to taste
  • Sugar, 1 tsp
  • Lime juice, 1 tbsp
  • Ghee, 1/2 tbsp
Method:
1.Wash and then soak yellow pea overnight or 6 hours. In a pressure cooker add 2 cups of water, 1 tsp salt and the dal. Lock and let the whistle arise upto 4 times and pressure cook on low flame for 5 minutes. Now turn off the flame and let the pressure release.
2. Now empty dal in a sieve. Strain excess water. You can use the water in remaining process of cooking.
3.Chop onion and slit green chilies from middle.. Paste garlic and ginger.In a pan heat mustard oil. Temper with cinnamon, cardamom and bay leaf. Add chopped onion, season with salt and saute till they turn transparent. Add chopped tomato and cook until mushy. Add ginger garlic paste, green chilies and cook for a minute. Add cumin powder, coriander powder, garam masala powder, turmeric powder. Add 2 tbsp water and cook until oil separates from spices.
4.Add tomato puree and combine. Now add the dal, salt to taste and sugar;combine well. Cover the pan with a lid and cook for 4-5 minutes on lower flame.
Note: You already added salt while cooking dal. So balance the quantity accordingly while you add it later.
5.Remove the lid. Add lukewarm water and the paneer cubes. Cook until the dal thickens. Turn off the flame. In a spoon mix ghee and a pinch of garam masala powder. Mix in the dal. Sprinkle 1 finely chopped green chili, lemon juice and cover for 2 minutes so that the aroma of ghee infuses in the dal.
6. Transfer to the serving bowl and serve warm.
Serving suggestion- Serve warm with chopped onion, tomato and green chili on tomato. Also drizzle with few drops of lemon juice. Serve with bread, luchi. It can also be served as snack.





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