Category: Recipes

Categories
Chicken Italian Main Dish

Chicken marsala- sounds like masala but so much different

Chicken Marsala

I love Chicken Marsala, it is flavorful not heavy and very easy to make. Another reason I like it is that it has mushrooms, and I love mushrooms.

Chicken Marsala
Chicken Marsala

I have always loved mushrooms. But when I ate Portabella mushrooms, I fell in love with them. I like the fact that it holds its shape even after cooking and does not melt away.

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I feel that everyone should be like that, try to adapt to the situation without giving up your own. I feel very strongly about it since in India where I grew up, it is expected that  when a woman gets married she forgets her past, her existence and gives herself to the new family, adapts to the new customs and mold herself to the liking of her husband and her in laws. I think it is not fair..not only because she has to make so many adjustments but that she can not be herself any more. Change of name, wearing symbols showing she is married, keeping fast for her husband…all are one sided adjustments that are expected of a woman and very rarely reciprocated.

I guess Women rights is is not the topic of this post, mushrooms are, so moving on…

In winter when the farmers market sort of shrinks, there are very few vegetables, a star like mushroom comes to the rescue. And a dish like ‘Chicken Marsala’ showcases the mushrooms very well.

I had watched a food network show where a chef ( I think it was Giada)made Chicken Marsala, I thought it is so easy and have been making it for a while now.

The recipe itself is very simple, very few ingredients and comes together very quickly. It also looks very fancy so makes a great candidate when you have company. It can be made ahead and kept warm.

Ingredients:

For the chicken cutlets

2 Boneless skinless Organic Chicken breasts

1/2 cup all purpose flour

Salt & Pepper to taste

Oil

Sauce

4 cups sliced crimini mushrooms

1/2 cup Sweet Marsala wine

1/2 cup organic chicken stock

3 oz prosciutto chopped in small pieces

2 tbsp unsalted butter

1/4 cup chopped Parsley

Method:

Chicken Cutlets

Slice the chicken in half horizontally, or cut like butterfly. Put in on a cutting board, cover with plastic and pound  it with a mallet till it is nice thickness.

Season with salt & pepper.

Take flour in a wider bowl & season with salt & pepper generously.

Heat a skillet on medium heat.

Drench chicken in the flour mixture well. Shake off the excess flour.

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Add olive oil to the skillet and add the flour covered chicken pieces.

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Cook till it is nice and brown on both sides, about 4-5 mins on each side. If the chicken piece is thicker, it might take longer.

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Remove and keep aside on a plate. Keep it covered so it stays warm.

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In the same pan add the chopped prosciutto on medium heat. It will gives out some fat, after it browns.

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Add the sliced mushrooms.

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Cook the mushrooms until they are a bit softer. Season with some pepper.

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Add the marsala and cook till the alcohol burns.

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I like to flambe the mushrooms at this point. I think it adds a nice flavor to the mushrooms & helps burn the alcohol off.

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Add the chicken stock and cook a few mins.

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Add the chicken cutlets and heat through. Add butter and stir well.

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Add chopped parsley.

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I like to serve it with something like orzo, mashed potatoes.

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I think these serve like a blank canvas, take on the flavors of the main dish, in this case the Chicken Marsala.

Categories
Breakfast Indian Maharashtrian

Sabudana Khichadi- a typical Indian Breakfast

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Sabudana ( Tapioca) looks  like tiny white pearls, made from roots of the cassava plant, it is very common in Indian cooking. It is a younger cousin of the Boba tea/Tapioca tea. Typically it is eaten during fasting, but also eaten as a common breakfast food. It is can be made as a savory or a sweet dish. It can be eaten like a tapioca pudding but my favorite recipe is a savory one.

My husband and kids are big fans of this and happily eat it any time. In fact whenever my son comes home, the first thing he wants to eat is this ‘Sabudana Khichadi’

 

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Sabudana Khichadi

A popular dish from Maharashtra India, made with Tapioca Pearls, seasoned with green chili cumin and peanuts, its often enjoyed during 'Vrat' or Fasting

Course Breakfast, Snack
Cuisine Indian, Maharashtrian
Keyword fasting, vrat

Ingredients

  • 3 cups Soaked sabudana sago/Tapioca
  • Sugar
  • Salt
  • 1/4 cup milk at room temp
  • 1/2 cup roasted peanut Powder

Spice paste

  • 1 1/2 tbsp Cumin seeds divided use
  • 4-5 green chilies

Tadka

  • 3 tbsp ghee
  • 1 1/2 Tsp Cumin Seeds
  • 1-2 Green Chilies Adjust based on spice preference
  • 1-2 Potatoes peeled and sliced

Garnish

  • Chopped cilantro
  • Fresh grated coconut

Instructions

  1. Take the sabudana in a large pot. Wash it with cold water. When you start washing it will looks cloudy
  2. Wash until the water runs clear. This helps get rid of excess starch which makes the khichadi clumpy when cooked.
  3. Add water just to cover the sabudana and a little over.
  4. Now let it soak for at least 7-8 hours. I end up soaking it overnight since I make this mostly for breakfast.
  5. About an hour before you plan to make the khichadi, take the milk and sprinkle it over the soaked sabudana. Using fork separate the grains and leave aside.
  6. Make powder with roasted peanuts
  7. Make paste with the green chilies & 1 tbsp of cumins seeds in a mortal & pestle, you can also use a blender.
  8. Add peanut powder, chili mixture, salt & Sugar to the soaked sabudana and mix well.
  9. In a pan heat oil, add cumin seeds. Add some green chili pieces and saute till the cumin seeds are brown.
  10. Add sliced potatoes, add salt to the potatoes and cover.
  11. Cook until the potatoes are done.
  12. Add the sabudana mixture and cook. Cover for only a couple of mins and stir constantly, this will prevent clumps from forming. The easiest way to know when it is done is to check if the pearls are translucent.
  13. Add the ghee and mix well. Traditionally it is cooked in ghee, but if you are trying to avoid it then adding just a couple of tbsp at the end is a good solution. This gives the flavor of ghee but you dont have to cook solely with it.
  14. Garnish with chopped cilantro, fresh grated coconut and yogurt or a lime wedge.
Categories
Condiments Indian Kashmiri Pickles & Chutneys

Smoked Walnut chutney- a treat from Kashmir

Indian food for non-Indians is naan, butter chicken, chole, saag, as that is the only food they have been exposed to in the restaurants. You would think Indians would know everything about different types of indian foods but Indian food is so diverse and regional that many a times you only know about the food from yours and may be neighbouring region. So even though I grew up in India, there are many indian delicacies that I had not even tasted. For example, Assamese food, Bengali Food or Kashmiri Food.

So when I came to think country, I not only learnt about different cuisines of the world but also different regional cuisines of India as well. The Indian grocery stores here carry things that are used in Kerala, Maharashtra, Punjab and many other Indian cuisines. One such item was ‘Lotus Stems’, growing up I had never eaten a lotus stem. It is very commonly used in Punjabi & Kashmiri cuisine. In Kashmir they call it ‘Nadru’. So when I started reading about how to cook Nadru, I came across many Kashmiri delicacies. I make many kashmiri dishes now, and I will be sharing a few here.

Today’s recipe however is from a facebook food group. When I saw this post, I knew I had to make it.

I love anything smoked, I love onion, green chili and I love walnuts…so this recipe was just too good to ignore.

Smoked Walnut Chutney

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It is so simple to make yet fantastic flavors

Ingredients

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1/2 cup walnuts

1/3 cup onion chopped

2 green chilies

1/2 tsp crushed red chilies

1 tsp jeera

1/2 cup or more chopped cilantro

salt to taste

For smoking:

1 piece of coal

Few drops of mustard oil

 

Method:

Dry roast the walnut and jeera slightly.

Add all the ingredients to a mortar and pestle. On a related note, I am obsessed with the mortar & pestles, I have many in my collection 🙂

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Pound all the ingredients till you get a coarse paste. I feel that the coarse texture add to the taste of this dish.

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Now take out the chutney in a bowl.

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Cover the bowl with a leaf. If you don’t have a leaf, you can use a aluminium foil and poke a few holes in it.

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Now take a piece of coal and burn it on the gas flame till it is bright red.

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Now place the coal on top of the leaf.

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Pour a couple of drops of mustard oil and cover immediately with a bigger bowl.

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You will see that it smokes up quickly.

 

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After a few minutes when the smoke has died down, open carefully and enjoy. The recipe looks very easy, but I was amazed how delicious it tastes. Give it a try.

You can even serve it with pita chips as a dip.

 

 

 

Categories
Appetizer Breakfast Healthy foods

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.

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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’!

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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

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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.

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

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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.

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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. 🙂

cropped ghee & podi

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.

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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.
Categories
Bengali Masala (Spice Mix)

Panch Phoran

This is a spice mix from Bengal, the eastern state of India. I just love the combination of flavors. As the name suggests it is a mixture of Five( panch) spices.  There are many variations of this recipe, but here is what I use:

Panch Phoran

Ingredients:

1 tbsp Fennel Seeds ( saunf)

1 tbsp fenugreek seeds ( methi seeds)

1 tbsp Mustard seeds ( Rai)

1 tbsp cumin seeds ( jeera)

1 tbsp nigella seeds ( kalonji)

Method:

Slightly rosat all the ingredients separately. Mix them in a bottle. You can use it in many recipe.

Categories
Curry Indian Vegetable curries/daal

Lauki majedar

I try to eat and cook only what is in season, so I only shop at the farmers market for my fruits and vegetables. You will always find some kind of squash in season. Most of the summer and almost through the fall season, you will get opo squash in the market. It is  easy to clean and very nutritious, so I try to include that in our diet as  I can, be it in the form of a salad, curry, Soup, Parantha( Indian flat bread) or even dessert. Although it is very good for you, it can be very bland testing and needs some dressing up.

Typically you will find Lauki made with some sort of lentil, or in a form of a kofta. This recipe is none of that, it is very simple and easy to make.  I also like the fact that it does not have onion or garlic and hence can be a nice addition to a dinner plate with  other curries with onion, garlic.

For last night’s dinner I made egg curry which had onion and garlic, so I made the lauki majedar to compliment it.

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Ingredients

1 lauki ( squash)

1 tbsp Panch Phoran

1/2 tsp turmeric

1/2 inch ginger

1 green chili

1 roma tomato

Cilantro for garnish

Oil

1/2 tsp ghee ( optional)

 

Method

Peel and chop the squash in fine dice. Chop tomatoes in small pieces. Chop ginger in fine pieces. Chop green chilies in fine pieces as well.

Heat oil. Add panch phoran, turmeric saute for 10 secs. Make sure that the panch phoran does not burn otherwise the methi might start tasting bitter.

Add ginger and green chilies, saute for 10 secs.

Add the chopped tomatoes and saute for 20 secs.

Add chopped squash and mix well. Add salt to taste and cover. Cook on low flame until cooked.

Add the ghee if using.

Garnish with chopped cilantro.

Categories
Curry Indian Maharashtrian

Indian Egg curry- poached eggs in coconut curry

Yesterday was one of those days when I had very few things in the fridge and yet I was hoping to make something yummy for dinner, then I thought about Egg curry. Egg curry is a very common Indian dish. Most of the ingredients are available at home and egg curry can be very handy on one of those days when you don’t know what to make. It can be eaten with rice or wheat roti( Indian bread). Sometimes I like to eat egg curry with a crusty bread for breakfast as well, with a cup of tea it is perfect nutritious way to start the day.

Typically egg curry is made with boiled eggs in a tomato-onion gravy. Although I like the taste of that curry, I find that the eggs and curry don’t blend well.   I prefer to make it almost like poached eggs. The eggs get cooked in a nice coconutty curry to perfection. This recipe does not have tomatoes and gets its tartness from tamarind. This egg curry reminds me of the the Tunisian recipe ‘Shakshuka’,  Eggs cooked in tomato based sauce, so try this Indian Shakshuka, it is very easy to make.

Last night’s dinner was a simple egg curry, Opp squash with panch Phoran & whole wheat rotis.

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Ingredients

For the Masala paste


1/2 cup Fresh grated coconut
4 dry red chilies
1 big clove of garlic
1 1/2 tbsp coriander seeds
1 tbsp jeera
1/4 cup cilantro
1 tsp tamarind paste
1/2 tsp turmeric

Oil
1 small onion chopped fine
3/4 cup coconut milk( optional)
4-5 eggs

 

Method

Grind all the ingredients for the paste fine using water.
Heat oil and sauté onion till nice and brown.

Add masala paste and sauté it for a min

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Add water to make a thin curry It should be thinner than what you would like the final product to be.
Add salt and mix well.

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Make small wells in the curry and crack eggs gently in the curry.
Cover and cook on low flame. After a couple of min open the lid and spoon some curry over the eggs without disturbing them.

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Add coconut milk if you want richer curry.
Keep cooking until the yolk is set. Garnish with chopped cilantro & serve with Roti or Rice

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Categories
Appetizer Indian Maharashtrian

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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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

  1. 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.
  2. Pound the garlic and green chilies with a little bit of salt into a coarse paste.
  3. 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.
  4. Add the chili-garlic paste and saute for 15-20 secs. Turn the heat off
  5. Add the potatoes mixture, salt, sugar and lime juice. Mix well, and taste to adjust the seasoning.

Batter

  1. 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.
  2. Make lemon size balls of the potato mixture.
  3. 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.

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Categories
Appetizer bread Breakfast Not sure

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.

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Ingredients:

Dry ingredients

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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.

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

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

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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.

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

 

 

 

Categories
Condiments Tunisia

An amazing condiment- Harissa

As I started exploring new foods and new cuisines, i started noticing the similarities between these cuisines and the Indian Cuisine I grew up with. For example the cuisine of North African countries, be in Morocco or Tunisia, there were many dishes that looked identical to what I have seen in some parts of India like Rajasthan . In such areas where the water is scarce, there is abundant use of dry spices and dry vegetables. That cuisines also uses a lot of lentils. So when I stumbled upon Harissa, it reminded of the garlic chutney we typically get in Rajasthan, the desert state of India.

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So anytime I see fresh red chilies in the market, my first thought is, let’s make harissa.

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As with many dishes, there are many variations of Harissa. My version is based on what I ate and then added some more heat since I love spicy food. I have made it with just fresh chilies and a mixture of fresh and dried chilies. I like the version with the dried chilies better. If you make it with just the fresh chilies the color is a vibrant bright red, whereas if you add the dried chilies, you get more of a brick red color.  I also add roasted bell pepper sometimes if I want a mellower harissa.

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Ingredients:

2 Dried guajillo chilies

1 Dried Chipotle chili

1 dried ancho chili

1 dried Negro chili

2 cup of boiling hot water

7-8 fresh red chilies

2 cloves of garlic

1 tsp caraway seeds

1tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp coriander seeds

Olive oil

salt to taste

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Method:

In a large bowl place all the dried chilies and pour the hot water over these. Let them sit and get soft for about 20 min. I love using the dried smoky chipotle and guajillo, these lend not only the heat but a nice smoky flavor to the dish. I also use these chilies in the enchilada sauce I make

Chop the fresh red chiles, try and shake off as many seeds as you can. If you don’t like much spicy food, you can remove all the seeds.

Dry roast the caraway seeds, coriander seeds and cumin seeds. Using mortar and pestle make powder.

Take out the stem and seeds from the dried-rehydrated chilies. In a food processor blend the dry chilies,fresh red chilies, garlic with salt. Add as much oil as needed.  Add the roasted and ground spices.

Your Harissa is ready.

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I will be making a couple of things with it-

Chicken kabob with yogurt and Harissa

Shrimp-pumpkin curry with harissa

Harissa Cheese Muffins

Variations:

A. With Red bell pepper- You can add a roasted red bellpepper to make a milder version of Harissa

1 Red bell pepper

Roast the red bell pepper on an open fame till it has black spots, turning occasionally to get a good roast all around. Cover them in a bowl, this makes removing the skin easy. Add with the rest of the chilies in the food processor.

B. Mint:

I love mint, sometimes I add 1/2 tsp of dried mint to my Harissa. You can add it at the end with the rest of the ground spices.

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