WHAT'S LIFE WITHOUT "CHICKEN"

Yeaahh whats life without this cock-a-doodle-doo bird.  You wouldnt have eggs, you wouldnt have butter chicken, you wouldnt have chicken pakoda, you wouldnt have ............the list is endless.  Isint it?

When I got married to a guy who is a preferred vegetarian, I out of sheer love decided I too would follow suit and discard the "meat" variety from my palate.  Rajeev never asked me to do so, but I volunteered. 

The pain started when I walked into mum's house and saw her making delicious chicken fry!! Hmmmm, "beta kha lo".  "Nahi mummy mein nahi khaoongi".  Translated into English for my friends who dont understand Hindi "daughter, please eat this" "No mom, I wont".  All this while my stomach was rumbling and grumbling.  My hands were jumping up and down to just pick up on peice and pop into my mouth.

I came home that night, sad, but still determined not to give up.  I stood upto my decision for............all for 6 months!!!! Yes, that was all that my will power could stand.  My mom's wonderful chicken dishes, I could not hold myself back!!  If that was funny.

Now I am a mom myself, and I have a 2 year old who digs into chicken like Popeye digs Spinach!!! Mamma chincken want!!! Yes that's what she says, somedays as soon as she opens her little brown eyes in the morning.

Well, so I really cant imagine what life would be without CHINCKEN

I had Methi Chicken lately at Open House and was determined to try it at home, and so I did for a gathering of friends, and it sure was delicious.

Here's my version

Ingredients :-

500 gms - boneless chicken
2 big onions - grated
6-7 pods of garlic
2 big tomatoes - pureed
1 cup - methi / fenugreek leaves
1/2 tspn - garam masala
2 tbspn - thick yoghurt (you could add cream if you dont like the sournes which is actually negligble)
2 tbspn - dhania / coriander seed powder
1 tspn - turmeric powder
2 tspn - chilli powder
2 pods - cardamom
bay leaves

Method :-

Clean, clean, clean the chicken (very important)
In a wok add about 3 tbspn oil
Add the cardamom pods and the bay leaves
After about 1/2 a minute add the grated garlic.
Then add the onions and a big pinch of salt
Fry well, till about reaching golden brown
Add the turmeric powder, mix well till the raw smell is gone
Add the dhania powder and fry well
Now add the tomato puree
Fry till the oil starts showing indicating that the masala is cooked
Now add the yoghurt and the chicken
Fry on high for about 5 minutes
Now cover and cook till the chicken is done
If want a little gravy you could either add some more beaten yoghurt or plain water
Lastly add the cleaned fenugreek leaves and cook on high for about 2-3 minutes.
Finish off with garam masala and green chillies

Enjoy!!

DAHI BHALLA

Election scene is high on the Kenyan turf. Of what I have heard it was pretty bad last elections with a lot of riots resulting in killing of innocent lives. It's the same in all parts of the world - isn't it? People loose lives for petty issues or even big ones. The one's in power don't give a damn because it was nobody they knew or cared for. But is it the way it is supposed to be? Definitely not!! God did not make it that way. God's biggest rule is "love one another as I have loved you". Do we did that. No we don't. We keep grudges, hold animosity, scorn, get hurt, we are unforgiving. We all do this sometime, or even most of the times.

It is very difficult to just let it go and look forward and forget the pain and hurt and embarrassment. Isiint it? But you know over the years there is one thing I have learnt. It is mostly we who are hurting ourselves. The other person concerned is past it. N and we scorn all the more as to why it doesn't affect him or her!

Long ago a when I spoke to a priest of this hurt that I kept with me for long time, he said just forgive yourself first and then forgive the person. I said that is sooooo very difficult Father. He told me something that changed my life. H said "I know. Just pray to Jesus to help you forgive. Just pray that he forgives your first and heals the pain, so that you can forgive the person. Keep on praying till you really feel the hurt go away". I have tried this sooo many times since then and believe me the hurt just vanishes. It's as if God just wipes the hurt and the pain away. It becomes very easy to move on!!!

Try it sometimes and let me know But for now try out these incredible Dahi Bhallas. Believe me, they are superbly handy in easing out worries and making you happy, coz you soooo get drowned in the lovely smooth sweet yoghurt and the soft dumplings.

Ingredients

For the Bhalla

1 cup - urad dhuli daal soaked overnight
1/4 tspn - fine asefotida
1/2 tspn - black salt a few raisins - one each for each dumpling
a fork to beat vigourously :)
oil to fry

For the yoghurt

3-4 cups - fresh yoghurt
2 tspn - powdered sugar
1 tspn - bhuna (roasted) jeera/cumin powder
1/2 tspn - black salt powder
Corriander chutney - as much as you like
Tamarind Chutney - as much as you like
Red Chilli Powder - as much as you like

Recipe For the Bhalla

Grind the soaked lentils with as little water as you could possibly used. They should be a smooth paste
Pour into a bowl and beat it with a fork. Beat them very well till fluffy.
Add rock salt and hing and beat again.
Meanwhile heat oil in a wok
Wet your hands and take small portion from the batter and with your other wet hand pat into a disk.
Once the oil is heated well, lower the flame
Put the batter into the oil and fry well on slow/medium heat till golden
Once you've fried all the batter, and if you have any left till the end of the frying, dip these fritters into very thin buttermilk.
Let them soak for about 5 mins.

For the dahi

Beat the curd well so that there are no lumps.
Add the sugar into it and mix well Taste and see.
It should be on the sweeter side
Add the rock salt and the jeera powder and mix again


For the assembling
Take a beautiful glass dish and pour in a layer of dahi into it
Squeeze the dumplings of the butter milk but do not crush them please and dip them in the dahi one by one and layer them in the dish
Pour out the rest of the dahi on top of the dumplings
Spread the corriander chutney, tamarind chutney and sprikle red chilli powder, jeera powder on top of it.


Enjoy them with rice or tandoori roti or just have them on their on own.

CHOCOLATE JAM COOKIES

Last two weeks have been pretty bad with my little one being ill.  She somehow teeths and falls ill the same time!! and it really makes it very worse for all of us.  Her coughs send me down the depression mode oh so badly :(

With lots of hard work and running around, she finally is better, though her teething isint over yet.  Before she could be fine, my MIL caught the cough and fever, and then me and then my husband :) 

I was just mentioning at home that all our illnesses would have been worth the while if only she was better.

I read at a clinic once "deciding to have a child is deciding to see a peice of your heart walk out in the open"!!!

I today realize how true it is.  Yes, I as a parent would smilingly take up all that comes her way.  Protect her, keep her away from the blazing sun, the icy cold wind (ok maybe its not that cold, but still), a bee that came through the window, a hot cup of tea...........the list is endless.  I would hate myself if even after all this something does cause her tears to flow.

You know I put her in school this January, and the school to my convenience is right across the road.  It is so close that I sitting on the chair at my table, next to the window keep my ears so sharp open to listen if she is the one who is crying!!

Initially, I used to run across whenever I heard her cry.  I dont do so anymore. Hey, its not coz I dont want to do that - its coz the teachers dont allow me to!!!!  They laughed their heads out, wanting to know if I am always sitting by the window!!

Well, well, what can I say.  Dont all mothers do that??

Hmm let me come down to business now.  I made some chocolate jam cookies for my little one's school.  She did love them

Ingredients

1 cup - wheatflour / atta
1 cup - refined flour / maida
1/2 cup - quick cooking oats
1/4 cup - drinking chocolate powder
1 cup - sugar
3/4 cup - refined oil or butter
1 teaspn - coffee powder
1 egg
1/4 teaspn - baking powder
1 teaspn - vanilla essence

Jam Filling
Ingredients
1/2 cup - any jam of your choice but the mixed fruit goes best
1 tspn - water

Recipe
Mix the flours and oats with the baking powder well enough
Add the chocolate powder and the coffee and mix again
In another bowl beat the butter, sugar till creamy
Add the egg and beat well
Now add the vanilla essence
Mix both
It should turn into a thick paste consistency
If its very runny add some flour
If its dry add some milk
It actually shouldnt be both of the above, if the measurements are correct, but the ingredients texture may vary at places, hence this suggestion :)
Pat into small balls right onto a greased cookie sheet

Now to make the jam filling just heat the jam and add that wee bit of water to get it a little diluted.  This is so that when baked the jam doesnt get so jammed (thick) that its difficult to eat.

Into the balls makes small indents using either a oiled thumb or the back of a spoon and drop in spoons of the jam.
Your oven should be preheated to 180 deg cel
Just pop the cookie sheet in and take it out in about 10 mins.
Let them cool.

Enjoy

ORANGE RASPBERRY CAKE

Life is strange, and so are we. Things happen to us which we never ever thought would be part of our lives. Never in our lives did we think that we would have to shift to a new town, let alone having moved to a new country altogether!! But somehow the shift came calmly and without much fuss. We are now more or less settled in the town of Nairobi, and I am so totally liking it out here. The weather is lovely. I can sit by the window and experience cooooool (extremely cool, but not cold) breeze touching my face, at the same time, I can experience the lovely warmth of the sun caressing me. It is such a beautiful feeling. You know just having the pleasure of this phenomenon gives me the consolation and confirmation that God is nearby. He couldnt be too far off. Every evening as I sit by my window, there is a lovely sight I behold and that is of very tall trees outside being touched by the rays of the sun only on the top, while the rest of them is shadowed. It is as if they are reaching out to catch the fading sun, and dont wanna let go. In capturing all of this beauty of the city, I am also indulging myself in extensive cooking. My daughter has begun to go to a playschool very near to my home, and that gives me a lot of spare time during the mornings. Last week I had oranges aplenty, and fortunately for me they were quite sweet, and I also a handful of raspberries. So this is what I ended up baking - AN ORANGE RASPBERRY CREAM CAKE

Ingredients - For the cake
1-1/2 cup - refined flour
1 cup - wheatflour
1/2 tspn - baking powder
1/4 tspn - baking soda
2 eggs
3/4 cup - butter
1 cup - sugar
1 tspn - vanilla essence
1/2 cp - orange juice

Now preheat the oven to about 180 deg cel
Beat the butter and eggs (add them one by one)
Add the sugar and beat till creamy
Add the vanilla essence and beat again
Seive the flours and the baking powder and soda
Now slowly mix the wet into the dry till no lumps are left
Prepare a baking dish by greasing it and dusting it with flour, which I always do
Add the batter to the dish and put in the oven for about 35-40 mins
Pls check using a toothpick or whatever that the cake has been done
Let it cool Use a serrated knife to cut the cake into two
Sprinkle the orange juice liberally onto the cake parts and keep them in the fridge

For the frosting
1 cup full cream
2 tbspn orange rind
3/4 cup caster sugar (i had to use 1 cup since sugar in Nairobi is less sweet, God knows why!!!!)
1 tspn vanilla essence

Chill the beater and the utensil for beating the cream in the freezer for about 20 mins
Beat the cream till soft peaks
Add the sugar, orange rind and vanilla essence and beat till stiff peaks

Now to arrange
Take out the two cake slices
Use the bottom of the original cake upside down on the topmost layer of the final cake.
This way the top of the frosted cake is smooth and even.
Use the upper portion first.
Place it on the cake tray or serving platter and spread a thick layer of cream on top of it.
Sprinkle it with chopped orange and rasperies.  Be liberal
Now place the other portion upside down, so that the brown and flat side is on top
Now you can cover the whole cake with cream using a spreading spatula
Decorate the top with orange slices and raspberry

This was a refreshingly cool cake. The tangy sweet orange and the sweetness of the cake blended very well and it didnt take too much to finish it. Take care till next time.

CHICKEN SAUSAGE, OLIVE AND JALAPENO PUFFS

Once in a while you have something which you put together and the result is good, or should I say great.

Life is also like that, put a few good ingredients, a little smile, a kind gesture, a ray of hope and you have a good life for yourselves, and also for others!!!

I rolled out a puff pastry sheet by the recipe of http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBGNIRheFsg   Youtube has been a boon lately.  There are so many easy to do videos.  You just have to go through them and you could just find out all kinds of recipes.

For the Filling :-
10 mini chicken sausages
10 olives
5 jalapeno slices
1 onion
3/4 flakes garlic
1 tbspn - chilli garlic sauce
1 tbspn - ketchup
1/4 cup - grated cheese (mozerella)

Recipe

Chop the sausages after trimming the edges.  Chop them small pcs
Deseed the olives and chop them fine
Chop the jalapenoes fine
In a pan, add some oil, and saute the garlic and the onions
Add the olives, jalapenoes and sausages.
Fry well for about 2 mins
Then add the sauces.
Switch off the gas and after the mixture cools down add the cheese

Cut the pastry sheets into squares of the size you want the puffs to be.
Put the filling on one side of the puff and fold the edge over .
Preheat the oven and once youve made all the puffs just lightly oil the tray and put the puffs on them
Brush the puff tops with milk or beaten egg to get a lovely glaze

Bake for about 15-20 mins till golden brown.

The end result was delicious cheesy puffs. 

MATAR KACHAURI

Last week I had a surplus of peas in my freezer. I somehow like using fresh peas instead of frozen, but for sure frozen one's save one a lot of resources.   Fresh peas always have a sweetness to them that frozen ones dont.

However, I had to use the same and wanted to use them in a snack form so as to ensure no leftovers (I believe that snacks do not have any leftovers!!)  Isint that correct?

Well those peas reminded me of the matar kachauris at haldiram and I headed into the kitchen with the determination to try them.  And the following was the result.  Believe me, the raves at home were Haldirams were not that good!!! :)   Wasnt I supposed to smile?? Yes I was.  And truly I too believed it was correct -  since they are loaded with a lot of garam masala and the sweetness of the peas is lost in them.

Wont keep you waiting for the recipe.

Ingredients :-

For the kachauri -

2 cups - maida

1/2 tspn - salt

1 tbspn - oil

1/4 tspn - ajwain

For the stuffing :-

250 grms - boiled and coarsely mashed peas ( I gave a swirl in the blender - just one tiny swirl)

1 - big onion

1/2 tspn - fennel or saunf

1/4 tspn - garam masala

1/4 tspn - sugar

1 tspn - maida or atta

Salt to taste

I left out the chillies for my daughter but you are free to add them as per your taste.

Recipe :-

For the kachauri

Just mix the dry ingredients and add enough water bit by bit to make a stiff but pliable dough.  Cover it with a wet cloth and keep it aside for at least 1/2 hour.

For the stuffing

In a kadai / wok add a tspn of oil and saute the chopped onion.  Dont let it turn brown but it should have turned soft.  Do this on a slow heat.   Add the sugar at this stage and also the salt.

Add the saunf and fry for about a 5 secs and add the peas.  Lastly add the garam masala.

Saute this mixture till no moisture is left. In the end just add the maida and fry again for about 3-4 mins.

Ensure that the stuffing has cooled down.

Before working on the dough just show your muscle strength to it, and do a bit of kneading once again (not too much please)

Make lime sized balls and with your finger make a indentation in it the way you do for parathas .  Now make this into a katori with your hands.  Just ensure that the dough is spread equally.  Too thin a layer with burst open when the filling goes in.

Now slowly press in the stuffing.  

You have to be very patient and careful

Now seal the edges very delicately to ensure they are covered completely and also sealed properly.  You could use a dash of water on the tip and just rub it on the seal to ensure complete closure.

Now slowly press it down and pat it into a kachauri.  I didnt use the rolling pin.

Heat oil slowly.  Dont let it get too hot and add the kachauris. 

Let them cook slowly on a medium flame

The outer covering was crisp and the matar was sweet and soft.

Loved them.

Do try 

HONEY CHILLY CHICKEN

When you come to a new place, there come a lot of new experiences along with it.........right??

New people, new surroundings, new foods, new markets, new weather........new, new, new!!!

I am surrounded by "new" right now, and honestly I am thoroughly enjoying it.

I am experimenting with food mostly, and loving going around the markets, exploring new ingredients.

I dont know how many of you enjoy a certain sweetness in your food.  Sweetness as not in desserts, but sweetness in your main course, your curries??  I certainly love that tinge of sweet in my curries.  I almost always add a little sugar to most of my cooking, especially gravies!!  Yes thats a secret.

I had Honey Chilly Chicken at a nearbly Chinese Restaurant the other day, and honestly since then I have been craving to have my own version of the same.   So here it was, and it tasted great, appropriately flavoured to my own liking....

Ingredients:

1st step -

1/2 kg boneless chicken - diced into small cubes
1/2 cup - cornflour
1 tbspn soya sauce
1 egg
1 tbspn - chilli sauce
salt to taste


2nd step -

1 big onion - chopped into big chunks
1 big capsicum - chopped into big chunks
1 tbspn - soya sauce
1 tbpn - honey
green chillies - as many as you like
1 tsp - tabasco sauce
1 tsp - vinegar
salt to taste

Recipe :

1st step

Make a paste (as you would for pakoda) with the ingredients above except for the chicken
Dip the chicken pcs into this paste and fry crisp
keep aside

2nd step

Add some oil into the pan. 
Add the capsicum, green chillies and the onions and saute them on slow flame stirring in between
Cook till the onions are tender and pink and the capsicum has cooked
Add the soya sauce, tabasco and salt
Mix well
Add about 1/4 cup of water and let it come to a boil
Add the chicken pcs. Mix well
Add the honey and mix well
Add the vinegar and mix well

You have a really delicious dish to enjoy either alone or with boiled rice. 

It is a completely satisfying meal, you sure wont crave for a dessert, even though the sweetness is not too much