Butter Chicken Rolls

I was having a party at my house last Saturday and one of the dishes I made was butter chicken. While making this dish, I had a lot of chicken which I had grilled and so decided to keep some apart. Then I thought to myself, why not try making butter chicken rolls with them. That's how I got the idea of making butter chicken rolls and I came out with this recipe...

Makes: 4-5 rolls

Ingredients:

200 gms boneless chicken breasts cut into small pieces

half of ice-berg lettuce sliced

1 small onion chopped

salt to taste

green chilli sauce

Butter

4-5 Hot dog bread rolls

for the chicken marinade:
1 tbsp lime juice
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1/4 cup plain yoghurt beaten well
1/2 tsp garam masala powder
1 tsp ginger garlic paste
1/2 tsp turmeric powder

Method:

• Mix all the marinade ingredients together in a bowl and combine it with the chicken pieces. Leave this in the refrigerator overnight or for about 5 hours
• Preheat the oven to 400 degree F and broil the chicken in a baking tray till the chicken is cooked and you see nice charcoal marks on the chicken.
• Let it cool for a while and then shred the chicken pieces. Add a little salt to taste
• Take one hot dog bread and cut it into half. Butter it on both sides.
• Place some lettuce and chopped onions in the centre of the roll and on top of it place some of the grilled shredded chicken. Add a tbsp of green chilli sauce on it.
• Carefully, close it and and warm the roll in the preheated oven for about 3 minutes
• Cut it into half and eat it immediately.

Egg Pakodas

Last week, I had invited a few guest over for some starters and drinks. I was wondering what starters to make for them. So, I decided to browse through the net and look out for some interesting recipes. I decided to make one starter from Chef Sanjeev Kapoor's website originally called as "Andewale Pakodas". I found it very simple to make and decided to go with it. I could make 15 pakodas easily within 20 minutes. That is really quick. So, I thought of sharing this recipe with all of you. 

For the recipe, click on this link :http://www.sanjeevkapoor.com/Recipe.aspx?RecipeId=2178&Header=Searched%20Recipe&MenuId=0

Stir fried Shrimps in white wine

This is one of my own creation. I got some nice big shrimps from the Chinese market some days back and wanted to do something different with it. So, I simply combined a few ingredients together and the result was just too good. So, thought of sharing this interesting shrimp recipe with you all....

Preparation time : 15 mins + 2 hours marinating
Serves : 4

Ingredients:

20 big shrimps (heads removed & de-veined)
1 tsp cayenne pepper (you could add more depending on your spice intake)
salt to taste
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 tbsp minced garlic
2 tbsp dry white wine
1 tbsp lime juice
2 tbsp olive oil

Method:

• Clean the shrimps but keep the tail on.
• Combine all the ingredients together and mix it with the shrimps and let it rest 2 hours in the refrigerator
• In a pan, heat some olive oil. Then fry the shrimps on both sides, till you see the colour changing and the shrimps curling up slightly.
• Alternatively, you could also grill them on the barbecue or on a grill pan.
• Serve hot with any sides.
  

I am sending this recipe to Spicy Tasty's Sizzling Summer Contest - Grilled food recipes.

Plantain or Banana Chips

These chips are also known as "Kerala chips". I love buying these chips and munching on them all the time. They are really very addictive. Last Christmas, my aunt made these chips at home. I found them pretty simple to make and decided to give it a try. Today, I was in mood to eat some banana chips and so decided to make them as tea time snack.

Traditionally, these chips are made with coconut oil but I used corn oil and it tasted equally good. I didn't have the chip maker so simply used my knife to cut thin slices. As I was making them, my daughter gobbled down most of it. Well, nothing tastes better than home-made food and I was happy to make these home-made banana chips. My hubby and daughter simply loved it.

Ingredients :

3 raw green plantains

salt

oil for deep frying

Method :

• First peel the bananas and cut them into thin slices
• Dissolve a teaspoon full of salt in little water and keep aside.
• Heat oil in a pan and fry the chips on medium flame.

• Once it is half done, reduce the flame and drop half a spoon of salt water into the oil.
• Fry the chips till golden brown and drain the excess oil using a kitchen towel or tissue.
• Serves as a perfect tea-time snack.

Note: Always reduce the flame while adding salt water. Adding salt water to the oil helps in uniform distribution of salt.

Pav Bhaji (Mumbai Juhi beach style)

"Pav Bhaji" literally means bread and vegetables and is the quintessential Mumbai street food. Pav bhaji has a very interesting history. It originated way back when the textile mills flourished in Mumbai. The reasons were firstly the mill workers got very little time to have their lunch and secondly they could not afford to have a full lunch because that would make them very sleepy and they had to return to physical work. A vendor realized this problem and he came out with his own concoction. He replaced the traditional roti or rice with "pav" and replaced the curry with a spicy vegetable called "bhaji" and thus "Pav Bhaji" was born.

Pav Bhaji can be prepared in numerous ways. But, I like it the way it is prepared in Mumbai Juhu beach. Last year when I was in Mumbai, I visited Juhi beach and ordered one plate of Pav Bhaji. While I was standing waiting for my order, I was keenly observing the way it was being prepared. I tried it a several times at home and it came out really good tasting just like the Juhu beach style. So here goes the recipe...

Ingredients :

Preparation Time : 30 minutes

Serves : 5

1 big onion finely chopped

2 medium sized potatoes

1 big capsicum finely chopped

1 cup peas boiled

1 cup cauliflower

3 tomatoes finely chopped

2 green chillies finely chopped

4 tbsp Badshah Pav bhaji masala

salt to taste

1/2 cup fresh coriander leaves chopped

1 tbsp fenugreek leaves

2 tsp red chilli powder

a pinch of asafoetida

2 tbsp ginger garlic paste

water

10 Pav bhaji bread or dinner rolls

Butter

lime juice

Method :

• First boil the potatoes and cauliflower together with some salt in the cooker and keep aside.
• Take a big frying pan, and heat some butter in it. To this add the chopped onions and green chillies and fry nicely till they are slightly brown in colour.
• Then add 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste, 1 tsp pav bhaji masala, 2 tbsp freshly chopped coriander leaves, 1 tbsp fenugreek leaves, 1/2 lime juice, 1 tsp red chilli powder and fry nicely for about 5 minutes. Then take it out in a plate and keep aside.
• In the same pan, add some more butter. Then add chopped capsicum and some water and fry nicely so that the capsicum gets softened and cooked.
• Then add the tomatoes and ginger garlic paste and fry nicely.
• Then add the mashed potatoes, cauliflower, and boiled peas. Mash it nicely and mix it well with the tomato mixture.
• To this add 3 tbsp pav bhaji masala, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, asafoetida, salt to taste, 1/2 lime juice, freshly chopped coriander leaves and mix and fry nicely again.
• To this add the onion mixture which was kept aside and fry again very well.
• Add a little water and mash well and fry nicely.
• Adjust the seasoning and garnish with coriander and finely chopped onions.
• Serve this with masala pav, onions and lime wedges.
  
  

Method (Masala Pav) :

• Take a frying pan and heat a tbsp of butter. To this add 1 tsp pav bhaji masala, 1 tsp red chilli powder, 1 tbsp finely chopped coriander leaves. Fry this nicely.
• Take horizontally split pav or bread and roast them on the pan so that they soak the masala and became soft.

Egg bhurji

A "bhurji" is a term used to describe a dryish masala dish which is just a mixture of stuff in small pieces. e.g: pieces of paneer, potato, etc. A very commonly eaten bhurji is the egg version - which is effectively a spicy scrambled egg dish or more accurately is probably best described as a scrambled omelette comprising a masala of eggs, potatoes and onions.

Although I have mentioned the ingredients below, you could always add your own spices and make it more creative.

Vegetarians can use grated paneer instead of eggs and make paneer bhurji in the same manner.

I have to say that this is a really fast and easy dish to make and can be eaten for breakfast, lunch or as a quick bite.

Preparation Time : 15 minutes

Serves : 3

Ingredients :

4 eggs beaten well

1 tsp ginger garlic paste

1 medium onion finely chopped

1 medium tomato finely chopped or 2 tbsp tomato puree

1 medium potato cut into small cubes and deep fried.

2 green chillies finely cut

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp red chilli powder

1 tsp garam masala powder

1 tsp ground coriander

2 tbsp milk

salt to taste

2 tbsp oil

a small bunch of fresh coriander finely chopped

Method :

• Heat oil in a large frying pan and add onions to it. Fry the onions nicely till they are golden brown in colour.
• To this add, ginger garlic paste and green chillies
• Then add the tomato puree and fry again for a minute or two
• Now add the spices (turmeric powder, red chilli powder, garam masala powder, coriander powder, salt) and fry it well for about 2 minutes.
• Then add the fried potatoes and allow it cook for about 3 minutes.
• Then add the beaten eggs and milk and keep stirring continously to ensure that the eggs do not stick to the pan.
• When you see the mixture coming together, check the seasoning and add the freshly chopped coriander leaves and remove from heat.
• Serve hot with chapatis or you could also eat it as a sandwich between 2 buttered slices of bread.

Note: The recipe above mentions potatoes but the picture shown has no potatoes in them because I didn't have any potatoes readily available at home.

Chicken Samosas

If you're an Indian food lover, then you can't miss one of India's most popular appetizer : the samosa. It generally consists of a deep fried triangular shaped pastry shell with a savoury vegetable or meat filling.

Today I decided to make chicken samosas as a snack during tea-time and it was a huge success in my house. Follow these simple steps to make a crispy samosa with a delicious and spicy chicken mince stuffing.

Preparation Time : 40 minutes

Makes : 15 Samosas

Ingredients :

for the dough:

2 cups all purpose flour

salt to taste

2 tbsp ghee

11/2 cups water

OR

15 ready pastry sheets (this is what I used for the recipe)

1 egg white beaten lightly

for the stuffing:

500 gms ground chicken

1/2 cup fresh or frozen peas

1 medium onion finely chopped

2 tbsp tomato puree or (1 tomato finely chopped)

2 green chillies finely chopped

1 tbsp ginger garlic paste

5 tbsp fresh coriander leaves finely chopped

1 tbsp patak's curry paste 0r (1 tsp cumin powder & 1 tsp coriander powder)

1 tsp red chilli powder

1 tsp garam masala powder

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

salt to taste

3 tbsp oil

for cooking the samosas:

Plenty of oil to deep fry the samosas

Method:

For making the stuffing:

• Heat oil in a pan. Add onions and salt and fry till they they are lightly brown.
• Then add ginger garlic paste, green chillies and cook for 2 minutes
• Now add the spices (turmeric powder, chilli powder, curry paste, garam masal powder) and stir nicely. Make sure the onions are well coated with the spice mixture.
• Now add the fresh coriander chopped and the tomato puree and mix well
• To this add peas and let it cook for a minute or so.
• If the mixture sticks to the bottom of the pan, then add a little more oil to it.
• Now add the ground chicken and mix it well with the peas and spice mixture.
• Leave it to cook on medium heat for about 20 minutes. But, give it a stir after every 5-10 minutes. Spread the meat in the pan, so that it cooks evenly.
• After 20 minutes, you will see the mince has become slightly brown. Take it away from the heat and let it cool for about 5 minutes.

For the samosa triangles:

• Look at the video above to make the samosa triangles using pastry sheets
• Brush 1 beaten egg white over the pastry to seal the edges.
• Repeat the same procedure with the remaining pastry sheets and stuffing
• Deep fry the samosa in plenty of oil till they are golden brown on both sides
• Serve hot with tomato ketchup

If using dough then:

• In a bowl, sieve the flour and salt together
• Add the ghee and mix with fingers
• Knead into a soft dough using water
• Divide the dough into 8 equal portions
• Roll in each round into 150 mm (6") diameter chapattis.
• Divide each chapatti into 2 halves
• Make a cone from each part and stuff with samosa filling
• Seal the edges carefully using a little water
• Repeat with the remaining chapattis and stuffing
• Deep fry in hot oil till golden brown in color
• Serve hot with tomato ketchup.

Puran Poli (Sweet Indian Stuffed Bread)

This is one of my favorite snack. My mom is an expert at making this. I think a lot of patience and effort is required to get the proper texture of this. I tried it for the first time and it tasted really good. Though, I know I can improve a lot.

So here goes the recipe...

Preparation Time : 45 minutes

Serves : 4

Ingredients :

2 cups chana dal (split bengal gram), soaked in water for 4 hours

2 cups jaggery

2 cups refined flour

3 tbsp oil

1 tsp cardamom powder

1/4th tsp nutmeg powder

a generous pinch of saffron

Method :

• Drain and cook chana dal in a pressure cooker till soft. Drain out excess water till the dal is absolutely dry.
• Add jaggery and cook further till blended and mash into a soft paste.
• Add cardamom powder, saffron and freshly grated nutmeg powder and mix well. Form 20 balls of equal size and reserve.
• Mix refined flour, oil, water and turmeric powder. Make a very soft, sticky dough.
• This has to be knead well. Use oil to knead.
• Divide into 20 equal portions.
• With greased palms, take one portion of dough and flatten it into a disc of the size of the palm.
• Place a ball of "chana jaggery" paste in the centre and fold the disc from all sides to cover the paste completely.
• On a well-floured board, gently roll out each poli to a 6 inches disc. This can get very tricky as the paste does try to slide out. Use a little flour if that happens and then roll.
• Roast each poli on a hot griddle with no oil. Roast on both sides till well done and aromatic. Smear with ghee on both sides when done.
• Serve warm with clarified butter or a bowl of milk.

Busy Saturdays

The first weekend after the holidays always seems to be the busiest. This morning I had a long list of things to do and groceries to buy. When I finally made it to Price Chopper's it was already 1 o'clock and I was wondering what to do for lunch.

I saw tortilla bread and that gave me the idea of making crunchy tortilla wraps.

Crunchy Tortilla Wraps

A Mexican pita bread filled with lettuce, bean sprouts, and chicken mixed with mayonnaise.

Preparation Time : 20 minutes

Ready in : 5 minutes

Serves : 4

Ingredients :

4 Wheat Tortilla Wraps

1 Chicken breast

2 cups of shredded ice-berg lettuce

1/2 cup of fresh bean sprouts

20 raisins

2 tbsp of mayonnaise

1/2 cup of shredded monterey jack cheese (you can alternatively use any cheese of your choice)

1 green capsicum cut lengthwise

4 tbsp of hot salsa sauce (I used the taco hot salsa sauce)

salt to taste

pepper to taste

1 tsp oil

Method:

• Lightly oil a frying pan and warm each tortilla on either side for approximately 1 minute till slightly brown. The tortilla should not get too warm else it will be become crisp and you won't be able to wrap it.
• In the meantime marinate the chicken breast with salt and pepper and keep aside for 5 minutes
• Then take some oil in a pan and shallow fry the chicken. When done, allow it to rest for a while. Then cut it roughly in strips lenthwiise.
• Take a bowl, add the lettuce, raisins, chicken, capsicum and mayonnaise and mix well. Add salt to taste.
• Take a plate and place a tortilla on it. Take one spoon of the hot salsa sauce and spread it evenly on the tortilla. Fill about 2 tbsp of the chicken lettuce mixture on one edge of the tortilla. On top it add some fresh sprouted beans and grate some cheese over it.
• Roll it while folding in the ends.
• Cut in half along a diagnol