Penne Pasta with Roasted Chicken and Broccoli in white sauce flavored with Italian herbs

Perfect for a quick treat when you get that sudden temptation for Italian. 

Penne pasta 1 packet

Chicken breast 250 gms sliced into 3″ pieces, marinated in a dash of vinegar, Italian herbs, salt and pepper

Broccoli florets 1 big handful

Butter 25 gms

Garlic 1 tsp chopped

Red chilli flakes 1/2 tsp

Dried Italian herbs for seasoning

Fresh cream 100 ml

Olive oil 3 tbsp + 3 tbsp

White pepper powder 1/2 tsp

Basil leaves, for garnish

Salt to taste

• Heat a big pot with 3/4 full water. When the water starts to boil add pasta, 3 tbsp olive oil and salt. Cook till the pasta is done. Drain into a colander and pour cold water over the pasta to stop the cooking process. Keep this aside.
• Heat a pan, add butter. When the butter is melted, add the garlic and the chicken. Cook on a slow flame with the lid on for about 10 minutes, then leave the lid open and cook for another ten minutes on a higher flame till the chicken is roasted. Add the broccoli, close the lid for a couple of minutes. Open the lid and saute for 5 more minutes. Add salt to taste.
• Add the fresh cream and when it starts to boil, add the cooked pasta and olive oil; season with dried Italian herbs, pepper powder and basil leaves.
• Serve hot hot!!

 

3 course cocktails: Vodka Madness!

3 course cocktails: Vodka Madness!.

General Tso’s Chicken

General Tso’s Chicken.

Chicken prepared with crushed red-chilies

Different regions of Kerala has different styles of preparing a similar dish. For instance, chicken fry. This recipe is adapted from one of my Aunts who lives in mid-Kerala, a place called Palghat. This preparation is unique to this particular region.

Ingredients:

• Chicken 1 kg cut into small pieces
• Dry red chilies 2 handfuls, roughly crushed (Don’t use the store bought one, freshly crushed one’s are always a better option, you could even jus tear them into pieces, but make sure you put on a pair of gloves before you do this!)
• Onion 2, cubed
• Tomato 3, cubed
• Garlic ½ a pod, cut each clove in half lengthwise
• Chili powder 2 tsp
• Coriander powder 1 tbsp
• Turmeric ½ tsp
• Salt to taste
• Coconut oil 3-4 tbsp
• Juice of 1 lime
• Mustard ½ tsp
• Curry leaves 3-4 sprigs

Method:

• Heat oil, sputter the mustard. Add the crushed red chili (you could use the pulse option on the mixer a couple of rounds). Immediately add the onions and curry leaves. Fry till the onion becomes transparent.
• Now add the tomatoes and fry till the oil separates and the tomatoes are mashed.
• Then add the spice powders & salt and fry some more.
• Add the chicken pieces; mix in well till the masala is well coated on the pieces. Don’t add additional water as it will be released from the chicken itself.
• Add the garlic and the lime juice. Close lid. Cook in medium heat. Stir every 3-4 minutes.
• Keep frying till all the gravy dries out and the chicken starts to get a golden brown coating.
• Serve hot, with rice, bread etc. This is a great side dish alongside alcohol.

Chicken Sausage Rice

This recipe is one of my cooking experiments, inspired by the ‘Hainanese chicken rice’ which I used to have during my childhood in Brunei. It was a very popular choice for lunch for majority of Bruneians. I was in a mood for Chicken rice the other day, but was too lazy to go buy chicken, and since sausage was readily available in the freezer, decided to experiment with it. I must say, it came quite close to the real chicken rice, or maybe I was too hungry, either way I enjoyed it. Very soon I’ll be trying out the original chicken rice. For now here’s the Chicken Sausage rice.

Ingredients:

Chicken sausages – 4

Ginger – 1 tbsp, chopped

Garlic – 1 tbsp, chopped

Shallots – 1 tbsp, sliced

Pepper powder – ½ tsp

Garam masala powder – ¼ tsp

Honey – 1 tsp

Red wine – 2 tbsp

Oyster sauce – 1 tsp

Soy sauce – 1 ½ tbsp

Fish sauce – ½ tsp

Red chili oil – ½ tsp

Chilly vinegar – 1 tsp

Sugar – ½ tsp

Marinate the sausages in the above ingredients for 10 – 15 minutes.

Pan the marinated sausages and fry it’s in a little oil till it’s nicely browned, turn over and fry the other side too.

Add ½ cup water, cover and cook on very low flame for 10 minutes till the sauce starts to thicken.

Remove cover, do a taste-test for the sauce, add salt and sugar to taste if necessary.

Set this aside, and cut the sausages into desired pieces, pour half the sauce over it.

Keep the remaining half of the sauce on the pan for later use.

For the rice:

Cooked white rice – 2 cups

Ginger – 1 tbsp chopped

Garlic – 1 tbsp

Shallots – 1 tbsp

Chicken cube – 1, powdered (I used Maggi’s chicken cube)

Sesame oil – 1 tbsp

Kaffir lime leaves – 3 (I used dried leaves as I couldn’t get any fresh ones)

Red wine – 1 tbsp

Soy sauce – 1 tsp

Vinegar – ½ tsp

Water – ¼ cup

Remaining sauce from the sausages

Salt to taste

· Sauté the ingredients (except rice and water) in some oil.

· Add the rice, stir fry for 5 minutes.

· Add water and mix well, and cover the pan for 2 minutes on low heat.

Serve hot with the sausages on the side, some Soy-sesame-chili-vinegar sauce*, and some fresh cucumber slices.

* Soy-chili-vinegar sauce:

Soy sauce – 3 tbsp

Vinegar – 3 tbsp

Water – 3 tbsp

Sesame oil – 1 tbsp

Green chilies – 2, chopped

Salt to taste

Mix all the above together in a small bowl and serve alongside the rice.

 

Malabar Chicken Biryani

Biryani is a delicacy in India. It’s mainly popular in India and the Middle-East. Of course the preparation and techniques vary. There is probably a hundred different ways that it can be made it, mainly depending on the region it’s from. The color, spice usage, way of preparation etc. can vary widely. The recipe I follow is from Malabar region, in Kerala. I’ve adapted my Mom’s recipe which she taught me by guiding me throughout the process of preparation. Different regions use different kinds of rice for biryani. The Malabar biryani uses a kind of rice called jeerakashala rice or another variety called khaima rice. Basmati rice wouldn’t do justice to the recipe.

Ingredients:

For the rice:

Rice for the Biryani, is cooked with the spice pouch*

1. Jeerakashala rice – 4 cups

2. Ghee – 4 tbsp (to fry the rice) + 2 tbsp (to fry onions for garnishing)

3. Lime – 2 tsp

4. Salt – To taste

5. Water – 8 cups

6. Spice-pouch

7. Rose water – ¼ cup

8. Saffron – 5-6 strands (soaked in 4 tbsp warm milk)

*For the Spice-pouch:

• Fennel seeds – 1tbsp
• Cardamom – 3
• Cinnamon sticks – 2 pieces
• Cloves – 8
• Star anise – 3
• Shajeera /Caraway seeds – 1tsp
• Bay leaf – 2 leaves

Crush all these spices lightly and put them into a small pouch, made from a soft muslin cloth, and tie it up with a thread.

For the chicken masala:

1. Chicken – 1kg, cut into medium pieces

2. Onion – 4 (for the chicken masala), 1 (for garnishing), sliced thinly

3. Tomato – 1, cubed

4. Green chilies – 5-8 (according to heat tolerance)

5. Ginger – 1 big piece

6. Garlic – 1 pod

7. Mint leaves – 1 small bunch

8. Coriander leaves – 1 small bunch

9. Fennel seeds – 2 tbsp

10. Pepper – 1tsp

11. Lime juice – 2 tsp

12. Curd – ½ cup

13. Turmeric – ½ tsp

14. Salt – 1 tsp

15. Ghee – 1 tbsp

Preparation:

· Wash and soak the rice for about an hour. Drain out all the water, you can move the rice onto a soft muslin cloth, tie it up and hang it somewhere so that all the water it drained out.

· After you have soaked the rice, you can start work on marinating the chicken. Roughly crush together ingredients 4 to 9 (listed under chicken masala). You can do this in the chopper in the food processor or use the pulse option on the mixer. Mix this with the chicken, along with ingredients 10 to 14 and keep aside for at least 2-3 hours so that the masala seeps well into the meat.

· Heat a skillet and add 2tbsp ghee to it and fry the onion for the garnish, add some sugar to it so that it gets slightly caramelized. Keep frying on a medium flame till the onion become light brown in color. Strain out of the ghee and keep aside. Keep the ghee aside too for garnishing the rice at the end.

· To the same skillet add the remaining 4tbsp ghee and fry the rice till it’s almost golden in color, on a medium flame. This should take about 20 minutes. Keep stirring gently, ensuring that the rice doesn’t break. While the rice is getting fried, in a separate vessel, boil 8cups water with the spice-pouch, lime juice and salt. Once the rice is fried add the boiled water, close lid and cook on a medium to low flame for about 15 to 20 minutes. Turn off heat and leave it for another 10 minutes, without opening the lid.

· Now, heat a pressure cooker, add 1tbsp ghee. Add the sliced onions and sauté till it turn pink. Now add the tomato pieces and sauté well. To this add the marinated chicken. Mix well. Cook for about 3-4 whistles. Do not add any extra water. Ensure that the chicken doesn’t get over cooked. Once you open the lid, there will be some gravy. Cook on a low flame till the gravy thickens a little.

· Open the lid on the rice and remove the spice-pouch. Add the rose water, soaked saffron and the ghee that was kept aside for garnishing. Mix well and close lid for another 10 minutes.

· Now for layering the biryani. Take a skillet in which you plan to set the biryani, add about 4-5 spoons of the chicken masala, then add 5-6 spoons of rice, repeat this procedure to make about 3 such layers. Garnish with the fried onions. Cover with a well-fitting lid.

Biryani Chutney:

· Heat an iron pan, or any other pan, on high flame and keep the biryani’s skillet on top of it for about 15 minutes. Turn off heat, and leave it for another 15 minutes. This is for the dum and helps all the flavors blend well with the rice and the meat.

 · Biryani is ready to be served!!! 

· Serve with Pappad, Biryani chutney and Salad or Raita.

Chicken Piralen – Chicken roast, The Malabar way

Chicken is definitely the most versatile meat. And this preparation is one of the most common ones all around Kerala. Almost every would blog has a version of this recipe. I have followed my Mom’s recipe.

Ingredients:

• Chicken 1kg, medium to small pieces
• Coriander powder 3 tbsp
• Chilli powder 1 tsp
• Turmeric ½ tsp
• Pepper-Saunf powder* 1 tsp
• Cumin powder ½ tsp
• Cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, a little of each 

*’Pepper-Saunf powder’ :

Take black pepper and saunf (fennel seeds) in equal proportions and grind and store in an airtight jar. This masala can be added to almost any non-vegetarian preparation.  It improves the taste immensely. 

 Grind all the above spices together with a few drops of water and marinate the chicken in it for an hour. 

Ingredients:

• Ginger 2” piece, chopped
• Garlic 10-12 cloves, crushed
• Shallots, 10-15, sliced
• Apple cedar vinegar 1 tbsp (You can substitute with normal vinegar if you don’t get this one)
• Water 3 cups
• Salt 1 tsp 

Cook the above ingredients together with the marinated chicken, until the chicken becomes tender. Then take the chicken pieces from the gravy and keep both aside. 

For seasoning:

• Coconut oil 4-5 tbsp
• Onion 1, sliced thinly
• Chili powder 1tsp
• Curry leaves, a few

Heat the oil in a deep skillet and fry the onion and curry leaves in it. When the onion turns golden brown in color, add the chili powder and sauté for a minute. Now add the chicken pieces and fry well for about 10 minutes on a medium heat. The chicken shouldn’t get scrambled. Now add the gravy which was kept aside and mix well into the fried chicken. Keep cooking on a medium to low flame till the gravy becomes thick. Goes well with Rice, Chapatti, Vellayappam etc. 

Homemade pizza

Homemade pizza.

Recipe: Homemade Rhubarb Cordial

Recipe: Homemade Rhubarb Cordial.

Smoothie recipe

Smoothie recipe.