Category: Appetizer

Indian Pickled chicken in lettuce cups

Post author By Anagha
Post date July 20, 2015
No Comments on Indian Pickled chicken in lettuce cups

My first take on Saransh Goila’s recipe, ‘Achari Tikka Bread cones’ turned out yummy, everyone loved it. I made it for dinner and paired it with a soup and it was a hit. That night I had my friend over for dinner and he is sort of doing a Paleo diet, so I decided to make a variation for him that was not as carb heavy.

This has all the flavor of the original minus the bread. I kept the croutons on the side so he could add a few if he wanted. I loved how pretty it looked. I also made a vegetarian version with ‘Paneer’ for a vegetarian friend and that turned out yummy as well.

Achari Chicken lettuce cup with garlic crouton

Ingredients:
3/4 lb Boneless Chicken
2 ½ tablespoons Achari Masala ( I used ready made Indian pickle masala)
100 grams Hung Curd
1 tablespoon refined flour
2 tablespoons Mustard Oil
2 Thick bread slices, cubed
2 tbsp butter melted
1 clove of garlic crushed

Chopped carrots, cilantro, green bell pepper

Bean sprouts
Endive leaves separated

Method:

Chicken:

Heat Mustard Oil to a smoking point & then add Achari Masala to it. Cook the spice mix nicely. Take it off heat, let it cool down for 10 minutes.

Add this spice mix into hung curd. Mix nicely.

Cut cubes of chicken & marinade it with the pickled curd marinade for minimum 60 mins.

Now cook the chicken on medium flame, add refined flour and cook for 8-10 mins. Once cooked evenly, keep it aside.

Croutons

Preheat the oven at 325 F

Toast the bread cubes in the oven till they are crisp.
Take them out and pour the garlic butter and toss them well. Bake them again for 5-6 mins to get them golden brown.

Mix with chicken with the croutons, chopped carrot, sprouts, and cilantro.

Now, take the endive leaves and fill them up with the mixture. And serve.

Tags chicken, easy to make, fancy appetizer, healthy appetizer, healthy snack, paleo, quick

Appetizer Chicken Fusion Sprouts

Achari Chicken Tikka cones

Post author By Anagha
Post date July 16, 2015
3 Comments on Achari Chicken Tikka cones

Chicken pickled with Indian spices is used as a prime ingredient in making an Open Canape.

You read in my previous post that there was a challenge/ healthy competition on a facebook group, where a very famous chef Saransh Goila has shared some of his amazing recipes, and the members of the group are trying to recreate those. The second recipe was Achari Chicken Tikka Canape.

I thought it was genius..I love the pickle flavor and to combine that with a crispy buttery toast, and topped with crunchy sprouts. I could totally see myself making this quite often as an appetizer in summer.

Back to the competition, we were supposed to follow the recipe but it was ok to put a twist on it. So I decided to make it three ways. The chicken was the same, but I varied the bread used and also presented it in three different ways.

Variation 1- Bread Cones

Achari Chicken in garlic bread cone 1 — Achari Chicken in garlic bread cone

Ingredients

300 grams Chicken
2 ½ tablespoons Achari Masala ( I used a ready made masala)
100 grams Hung Curd
20 grams Bean Sprouts
1/4 cup shredded cabbage
1 tablespoon refined flour
2 tablespoons Mustard Oil

1 can of crescent roll dough

1 tsp soft butter mixed with some crushed garlic

few thick papers

Few aluminium foil

Method:

Chicken:

Heat Mustard Oil to a smoking point & then add Achari Masala to it. Cook the spice mix nicely. Take it off heat, let it cool down for 10 minutes.

Add this spice mix into hung curd. Mix nicely.

Cut cubes of chicken & marinade it with the pickled curd marinade for minimum 60 mins.

Now cook the chicken on medium flame, add refined flour and cook for 8-10 mins. Once cooked evenly, keep it aside.

Mix with shredded cabbage and set aside.

Bread cone

While the chicken is marinating, you can start the preparation for the bread cones.

Preheat the oven at 350 F.

Make a cone with a thick paper and cover it entirely with an aluminum foil.

Spray with a cooking spray.

Take the crescent roll dough out and cut in 1 inch strip. Wrap around the aluminum cone. Bake for 9-10 mins.

The cones won’t be completely baked, take them out of the oven and take out the foil cone.

Now brush them inside and out with garlic butter and sprinkle with panch phoran.

Bake for a few more minutes.

Fill up with the chicken mixture and top with some sprouts.

Achari Chicken in garlic bread cone-close up — Achari Chicken in garlic bread cone

Ingredients:
300 grams Chicken
2 ½ tablespoons Achari Masala
100 grams Hung Curd
20 grams Bean Sprouts
1 pcs. Iceberg Lettuce
50 grams Butter
30 grams Peeled Garlic
6 pcs. Bread buns
1 tablespoon refined flour
2 tablespoons Mustard Oil

Method:
Heat Mustard Oil to a smoking point & then add Achari Masala to it. Cook the spice mix nicely. Take it off heat, let it cool down for 10 minutes.

Add this spice mix into hung curd. Mix nicely.

Cut cubes of chicken & marinade it with the pickled curd marinade for minimum 60 mins.

Shred the lettuce & store it in chilled water.

Now cook the chicken on medium flame, add refined flour and cook for 8-10 mins. Once cooked evenly, keep it aside.

Add chopped garlic to softened butter. Now spread this butter on half sliced buns.

Toast these buns on a non stick pan or in the oven.

Assemble the canapé – Take the toasted bread. Place lettuce leaves on it. Add the pickled Chicken on the top.

Garnish with sprouts & serve.

Tags chicken, Indian, quick appetizer, yummy

Appetizer Chicken Healthy foods Kids favorite Not sure

Chicken porcupine kabob

You hear all the time that kids are fussy eaters and you got to try all kinds of tricks to get them to eat good stuff. I must say I got lucky, both my kids never troubled me with eating, they eat anything & everything I make for them( may be barring ‘indian bitter melon).

I also see and hear that the kids want to eat junk and throw tantrums if they don’t get any. I have seen kids eat chicken nuggets everyday. Again, I can not complain here, my kids don’t eat junk at all, in fact if you open my pantry, you will not find any chips, cookies with vegetable shortening. Instead of eating something that is processed and full of preservative, excess salt and sugar, my family eats dry fruits, dehydrated fruits & veggies, nuts…I am very thankful for that.

As you can see, my pantry is loaded with nuts, dry fruits, healthy indian style popped lotus seeds etc. I have a designated place for everything so they find it easily. Most of my containers are clear and labeled.

So back to the making food for kids. I feel that if you make it fun, the kids enjoy and might try different things.

Today’s recipe is one such fun recipe. It is tasty, healthy and easy to make.

Chicken porcupine kabob

It is a very simple recipe and if you have all the ingredients, you can make it in under 30 mins.

Ingredients

3/4 lb ground chicken ( I use a combination of breast & thighs)

1/2 onion chopped really fine

1-2 cloves of garlic crushed

1/2 inch Ginger, chopped or grated

1 green chill finely chopped

1/2 tsp garam masala

1/2 tsp cumin powder

3/4 tsp coriander powder

1 tbsp chopped cilantro

1 tbsp chopped mint

1 tsp chaat masala

Others

1/2 cup basmati rice plus 1tsp salt, soaked for 1 hour

1 tbsp oil

Method

Drain the soaked rice. Take it on a plate.

Start boiling the water to steam out Kabob.

Mix all the ingredient for kabob very well.

Take the oil in a bowl.

Make small balls from the chicken mixture. Dip it briefly in the oil, and roll in the rice grains.

Arrange them on the steamer dish.

Steam for 5-7 mins depending on the size of the chicken ball.

Take out one and check if the chicken is cooked through.

Edit

As you can see the rice is steamed and pluffs up nicely.

You can serve these with spicy mint chutney or a sweet and sour tamarind chutney or tomato ketch up.

Edit

Tags chicken, gluten-free, healthy

Appetizer Chicken Fusion Uncategorized

BIRYANCINIS- Biryani goes to Italy

Post author By Anagha
Post date March 23, 2015
No Comments on BIRYANCINIS- Biryani goes to Italy

I love watching Master Chef India. On that a couple of weeks ago someone had made arancinis with an Indian flavor. I remembered my experiment from two years ago a and thought I would blog it today.

Here is my post from a couple of years ago.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/euphoric.delights/permalink/616844488354528/

Arancinis are fried rice balls that are stuffed with cheese, originated in Sicily. I ate Arancinis in a famous restaurant in New York. Since then I have been meaning to put Indian tadka on it.

So here is my attempt of ‘BIRYANCINIS’

Cover

Ingredients

2 cups of rice

3.5 cups of water ( that is how much I use)

2 green cardamom

2 brown cardamom

2 inch stick of cinnamon

1 bay leaf

1/4 tsp black pepper corn

1/4 tsp cloves

Few thread of saffron soaked in 1 tbsp milk

Chopped mint and cilantro

1 egg

Method :

Soak rice in cold water for atleast 45 mins.

Boil water with all the whole garam masala like Cinnamon, clove, cardamom, bay leaf.

Add soaked rice and cook until done. When it is almost ready add saffron.

After it was cool add chopped cilantro n mint. Add the egg and mix.

Stuffing

1/2 onion chopped

1 lb minced chicken

Chopped mint

1 green chili chopped fine

Powdered garam masala containing cardamom, shahee jeera,mace powder

1/3 cup shredded pepper jack cheese

1/2 bread crumbs seasoned with dry mint & paprika

Sauté chopped onions till caramelized.

Add chopped green chili, garam masala powder.Add minced chicken and cook. Add a lot of chopped mint.

When cooled, add the shredded pepper jack cheese( enough to bind) .

Make balls of the cooked rice with chicken mixture in the centre.

Dip the balls in beaten egg white( we had only used yolk for the filling), roll in bread crumbs. Deep fry in oil( next time will try it in appam pan).

Serve with cilantro raita as a dip.

Tags arancinis, biryani, chicken

Appetizer Fish Mexican

Ceviche – a healthy, flavorful way to eat fish

Post author By Anagha
Post date March 20, 2015
2 Comments on Ceviche – a healthy, flavorful way to eat fish

Tilapia Ceviche

The weather is warmer and the family wants to eat fresh fruits, lighter meals. It is not easy to cook something which is fresh, healthy and tasty. And of course it has to be easy to make.
One such dish is Ceviche.

The first time I ate Ceviche in Cabo San Lucas. We were on our annual vacation. All of us are big foodies so invariably the first thing we do when we go to a new place is to find out good food joints. When we asked the person who cleaned our room what her favorite place to eat was, she told us about this small place near the beach. We got out of the resort, took a local bus and reached this small village. There was this cobble stone street that went all the way to the beach. The village center was a church and around that there were many vendors selling various things. We also had the best fish tacos there.
We found the small shop that lady had recommended, that is where I are Ceviche the first time.
Let me tell you, I am not a fish lover rather I eat only select kind of fish. So for someone like me the idea of eating raw( it does get cooked in the acid) was pretty tough to try. But am I glad I did. That fish was perfectly cooked and marinated in the lime juice and paired very beautifully with crunchy cucumbers, onion, creamy avocado and with a kick from Serrano pepper.
It was a perfect warm weather snack.

So here is my take on Ceviche.

Ingredients:

2 tilapia fillet, chopped in small pieces
1 cup lime juice

1/4 onion finely chopped 2 Persian cucumbers chopped fine(you can also use equivalent English cucumber)
1 Serrano pepper chopped fine
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1 tomato chopped ( don’t take the seeds)
Salt to taste

It is important to chop the vegetables in a uniform fashion, it looks pretty and you get a sample of all in one bite.

Method:

Mix the lime juice and tilapia pieces. Make sure you use a shallow container so that all pieces are covered in the lime juice. Sometimes I like to use orange juice in addition to the limes you use. Here I have used a blood orange that has given nice pink hue to the fish.
Let it sit for at least 45 minutes in the fridge. Then you take it out, the fish would look white, very opaque. This is the sign that the fish is cooked in the acid.

Drain the fish in the colander.

While the fish is in the fridge, chop all the vegetables and mix them in a bowl together. Add salt to taste.
Add the drained fish to the vegetable mixture and mix everything well but with the light hand. You don’t want the fish or the avocado to break and become mushy.

It has a very fresh crisp taste and goes really well with crostinis, pita chips, tortilla chips or even in lettuce cups. I serve it in empty avocado shells, it makes for a great presentation.

Tags healthy, quick, Raw, tasty, tilapia

Appetizer Breakfast Healthy foods

Savory Indian Appe or Aebleskiver?

Post author By Anagha
Post date November 20, 2014
No Comments on Savory Indian Appe or Aebleskiver?

As you start making dishes from different cuisines, you start observing the similarities between the cuisines and your cuisine. After a couple of months of moving to California we went on a long drive along PCH 1. I was completely bowled over by the scenic route. We stopped along at various missions along the way and of course various food place. During this trip we also visited the danish town of Solvang. I fell in love with that little danish town. Horse pulled buggies, tiny shops selling embroidered articles, beautiful house, small windmills and of course yummy food shops. This is where I first ate the ‘Danish Aebleskivers’. Tiny balls of goodness filled with fruits and dusted with powdered sugar..they are little tiny packets of yumminess.

When I saw these little balls, I was quickly reminded of a similar looking dish from back home, India. In India we also make a dish that looks exactly like these Danish Aebleskivers. The batter is typically made from ground rice, sometimes fermented and sometimes not. The fermented version is usually the savory kind, where as the non- fermented is the one that is sweetened typically with jaggery.

Today’s recipe is a savory indian aebelskiever, ‘Appe’!

I love making food that the kids can pick up and eat on the go, and these fit the bill. You can serve these for breakfast or dress these up as party finger foods. These are healthy, tasty. The batter can be made ahead and so these can be put together in a short time once the batter is ready.

I got this recipe from my younger sister, who got it from her Mom in law. Since I am lazy, I am always looking for options where I can do the prep once but make a few different dishes from it. So I make my own variations like Thai, Chinese, Mexican appe using the same batter.

Ingredients:

1 cup urad daal
1/2 cup chana daal
4 cups rice

1 cup sooji

1/2 cup poha( it is basically cooked, flattened, dried rice grains)

Method:

Soak both daals and rice for at least 5-6 hours, I prefer to soak it overnight. Next morning grind all of these separately. When you start grinding these soak the sooji and poha with just enough water to cover these.

When you grind the rice, grind the poha and sooji with it.

Add
Salt
1 tsp sugar

Let this batter ferment for at least 12 Hours. The batter gets light and airy. It practically doubles in volume.

When you are ready to make the ‘appe’, make sure the batter is of ‘pancake batter’ consistency.

Add

You can pretty much add anything you like. If you want to add something like carrot, it is better to shred it so it cooks quickly. I like to add all the ingredients of chutney

Finely chopped onion
Finely chopped cilantro
Finely chopped Green chilies
chopped curry leaves
Fresh coconut
Cumin seeds

I love adding these, this way you can eat the ‘Appe’ even without any chutney with just a dollop of ghee. 🙂

Make Appe using the Appe pan, you can easily buy them in the indian store. You can also use the aebelskiver pan online, that also works very well.

Buy the pan online

Add a drop of oil and then add about 1-2 tbsp of batter to make Appe.

I have a little video here that shows how to make these.

Note:
You can also make Appe using ‘Aebelskiever pan’.

Note:

You can make many variations with the same batter.

Mexican appe: I saute various vegetables, add my homemixed taco/fajita seasoning, chopped cilantro and some chipotle and mix everything in the batter. I serve it with Avocado Cream sauce.

Chinese appe: Saute shredded carrots, beans, green onion, thin sliced cabbage. Add soy/chili sauce, and then add it to the batter. You can serve it with store bought schechwan sauce.

Thai appe: I add lemongrass, thai basil along with some vegetables and then serve it with satay sauce.

Tags aebleskiver, appe, pancake, possibly gluten-free, savory pancake, vegan, vegetarian

Appetizer Indian Maharashtrian

Vada Pav -the indian veggie burger

Post author By Anagha
Post date November 14, 2014
1 Comment on Vada Pav -the indian veggie burger

If you have visited India and especially Mumbai, you must have seen many road- side stalls for Vada Pav. Vada is a name for anything that is round in shape and fried..and Pav is the bread or dinner roll in hindi.

Indian Vegetarian Burger

Usually I visit India in July-August time frame, at that time it is Monsoon in India. When we drive from Mumbai to Pune, you go through the Western Ghats, the mountain are covered in lush green carpet, you see beautiful streams bouncing down the mountain side. The air is clean and crisp, and as you are enjoying this all, you smell Hot Vada Pav being made somewhere.

Vada Pav is a popular street food of India, especially Maharashtra. Vada is a name for anything that is round in shape and fried..and Pav is the bread or dinner roll in hindi. There are some foods which I can eat anytime of the day, many times in the week and still enjoy and love the same. Vada Pav is definitely one of them. In fact, whenever I visit India Vada Pav is the first food I eat.

When you travel by train any station the train stops at, you will find the vendors selling vada pav. On a piece of paper with some spicy hot green chilies.

It is a very easy recipe and typically most of the ingredients are available at home so anytime you crave it, you can make it quickly.

Vada Pav

Indian vegetarian Burger

Ingredients

Ingredients:

Filling

3 potatoes boiled and diced I have used russet potatoes
1/2 onion finely chopped optional
6-8 garlic cloves
1/2 tsp grated ginger
4-5 green chilies
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp turmeric powder
a few curry leaves
1 tbsp chopped cilantro
Sugar to taste
Salt to taste
1 tsp lime juice

Batter:

1 cup of besan bengal gram flour
1/2 tsp turmeric
Salt to taste
1 tsp oil
Couple of pinches of baking soda
Oil to fry

Instructions

Method

Filling

Peel the potatoes and dice them in small pieces. Make sure the potatoes are cooled before you dice them, else they can get sticky. Slightly mash them with the back of a fork.
Pound the garlic and green chilies with a little bit of salt into a coarse paste.
Heat oil, add mustard seeds. As soon as they splutter, add curry leaves and turmeric. Add onions if using and saute them till they are light brown in color. Dont let them burn at all.
Add the chili-garlic paste and saute for 15-20 secs. Turn the heat off
Add the potatoes mixture, salt, sugar and lime juice. Mix well, and taste to adjust the seasoning.

Batter

Mix all the ingredients for the batter except the baking soda well, make sure there are no lumps. When you are ready to fry the vada, add the baking soda and set aside for 5 mins.
Make lemon size balls of the potato mixture.
Dip the balls in the batter and fry on medium heat till golden brown.

Serve with dry garlic chutney. You can also use tamarind chutney or Mint chutney as a spread on the bread before making a sandwich with the Vada.

Recipe Notes

Serve with dry garlic chutney. You can also use tamarind chutney or Mint chutney as a spread on the bread before making a sandwich with the Vada.

Tags burger, potato, vegan, vegetarian burger

Appetizer bread Breakfast Not sure

Cheddar Pimiento Harissa muffins

Post author By Anagha
Post date November 13, 2014
1 Comment on Cheddar Pimiento Harissa muffins

I am always looking for savory options for breakfast. So when I made Harissa, I decided to make these muffins and use Harissa for flavoring. I had seen a similar recipe in a Food magazine, added my twist to it.

I also make savory breakfast waffles which are also a great savory breakfast option.

I like this recipe since you can have all the wet ingredients mixed and in a container in the fridge and dry ingredients mixed as well. In the morning you just mix them together and you have yummy muffins for breakfast in 20 mins. You can also serve them as appetizers with some spread.

I also make these with some bacon bits and those taste yummy as well.

Ingredients:

Dry ingredients

2 1/2 cup flour

1 1/2 tbsp smoked paprika

1 tbsp salt

1 tbsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp fresh ground black pepper

Wet ingredients

1 1/2 cup buttermilk

2 eggs

4 tbsp melted butter

1 tsp chopped jalapeno

1 tsp Harissa Paste

1/4 cup chopped chives

1/2 cup finely chopped onion

3 tbsp chopped cilantro

3 oz chopped pimiento

1 tbsp worcestershire sauce

1 1/2 shredded cheddar cheese

Method:

Heat the oven to 375F

Line your muffin pan with liners.

Mix all the dry ingredients well and keep aside. You can adjust the spices in it as per your taste.

Beat the two eggs, add buttermilk, butter and mix again. Now add the harissa and mix.

Add chopped vegetables and herbs. Add the shredded cheese and mix well.

Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture 1 tbsp at a time. Immediately add to lined muffin pans

It is important that you don’t wait after the wet and dry ingredients are combined. The baking soda and buttermilk get to work right away and if you dont make it right away, the muffins may not rise.

Bake for 18-20 mins in a 375 F oven.

I also make savory breakfast waffles which are also a great savory breakfast option.

Tags cheddar cheese, harissa, Harissa Paste, muffins, muffins for breakfast, quick appetizer

Appetizer Chicken Egyptian Healthy foods

Dukkah crusted chicken in coconut oil

Post author By Anagha
Post date October 17, 2014
No Comments on Dukkah crusted chicken in coconut oil

I made Dukkha just because I just loved eating it mixed in olive oil and eaten with a crusty bread but since I made it I have been sort of obsessed with its flavors. So when I needed to make some protein for a dinner to go with my porcini mushroom soup with truffle oil, I decided to use this spice blend.

Today’s recipe is an easy one that you can put together in 10 mins if you have the Dukhah ready.

Dukkah crusted Chicken with coconut oil

Ingredients:

2 Boneless skinless organic chicken breast cut in strips

1/2 tsp All Spice powder

1 tsp Smoked paprika

1 tbsp oil

salt to taste

2 small cloves of garlic crushed

8 tbsp of Dukkah blend

Method:

Mix the garlic, salt, paprika, oil and all spice in a bowl. Add the chicken pieces and mix well. Let it sit for 5 mins.

Take the dukkah in a shallow bowl. Take the chicken pieces one at a time and make sure they are coated well with the mixture. Press down a bit to ensure that the mixture sticks to the chicken pieces.

Take a pan and add some coconut oil.

Cook the chicken pieces on low flame until done on both sides.

Serve with a salad or a bowl of hot soup.

Tags chicken, Dukkah, Duqqa, Egyptian, spice mix

Appetizer Fusion

Thai Paneer Pinwheel

Summer goes by too quickly…I feel that every year when I start back to school shopping. We decided to celebrate the last weekend in summer before the schools open with a backyard jacuzzi party..the plan was to keep things simple. Everyone makes an appetizer and then one friend would make khicadi ( a dish made with rice and lentils). Since I love to put a twist on your typical recipes, I decided to make pinwheels but with ‘Thai Touch’. It is a quick simple recipe that uses that the farmer’s market bounty. It can be put together in less than 30 mins if you have all the ingredients at home.

You can make many versions of this, like I make Chinese, Mexican and of course Indian 🙂

Thai Paneer Pinwheels

Ingredients

Filling

1 cup grated Paneer ( Indian Cottage cheese)

1/2 cup onion finely chopped

1/4 cup red bell peppers finely chopped

1/4 cup green bell peppers finely chopped

1 green chili chopped fine

1 tbsp garlic finely chopped

1 tbsp ginger finely chopped

1 tbsp cilantro chopped

1 tsp thai basil finely chopped

1 tsp thai curry paste

1 tsp sriricha sauce

salt to taste

1 box Crescent rolls

Method

Preheat 350F.

Grate or crumble paneer.

Step 1

Unroll the crescent roll. You will get a rectangle. Seal the perforations gently to get a uniform rectangle

Step 2

Chop all the vegetable fine

Step 3

Mix all chopped vegetables with the grated paneer. Add all the sauces & salt to your taste and mix well.

Spread the mixture evenly on the rectangle dough. Make sure you leave some space around the edges. The filling tends to come out if spread it all the way to the edge.

Roll it up gently, try not to press it while rolling. If the edges open up while rolling, just pinch and seal it. Cover it in a plastic wrap. Keep it in the fridge for 10-15 mins. This makes it easy to cut.

Take the roll out of the fridge. Cut it in 1/4 inch slices.

While cutting use the sawing motion so the rolls don’t get flattened while baking.

Arrange the cut rolls filling side up on a greased baking tray. Make sure you keep some distance between the rolls else they will be stuck together and will not have enough room to spread while baking.

Bake for 18-20 mins at 350 F.

When ready serve with hot sauce or any other condiments of your choice.

Note:

I have made other variations with Tandoor Paneer, Mushroom-goat cheese and even sweet kind with apple filling

Tags crescent roll, fusion, paneer, quick appetizer