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

MOVING OUT AND MOVING IN

Yesss that's exactly my life has been all about during the last few months.

We moved out of India and moved into Nairobi.

Rajeev moved out first, since all this happened suddenly and he had to join by a deadline.  So I stayed back to pack and finish off things.  There was a lot to be taken care of for sure.  When his day of departure got near, I could see the restlessness and anguish in his eyes and I totally condemned him for being so childish.  He left, and as my days to leave grew nearer, I could feel the same anguish within myself.   As I drove around the lanes and roads I have been driving around for such a long time, it came to my mind that very soon the lanes will be different, the roads will lead somewhere else!!  It caused and uneasiness within me, and I realized how wrong I have been in not being able to understand his sadness.

Finally the day arrived and I packed myself and my little one, saying goodbye to my mom at the airport.  As always Viha didnt allow to me to sit back and laze the last few hours in Delhi.  I had to be running around after her.  Very soon I had boarded the flight, and there too she jumped like a Kangaroo playing and making friends with everybody.  What is with little children, not being able to keep the difference of a stranger and a friend.  Anybody who appeals to little mind is a friend to them - anybody willing to play hide and seek, or share a smile.  Life is so easy for them, or is it?? We will never know, till they are able to speak clearly.

Finally she had to be tied by a belt to me :) and soon she fell asleep.  I too wished I could just fall asleep - but I couldnt, and that was the difference between her and me.  I waited for morning to happen and the plane to land.  It was so easy to move away distances in thousands of mile in just an overnight journey.  A journey which may have been unimaginably tedious and lengthy if not for technology and innovation!!

The joy of meeting a loved one after days of separation is inexplicable.  You can recognize the face in a thousand faces. 

Nairobi to me seemed a lot like Kerala, minus the coconut trees.  I reckon it with the State coz I am so familiar with it.  The loneliness ate me and my little one initially, and does so even now.  I very soon put her in a playgroup right in front of my house so that at least she had some friends to play with.  I took out on my being my expeditious self , travelling sometimes by the infamous Matatu (public transport) and sometimes by taxi.   I love the flora and the fauna of the town.  Beautiful flowers covering the street sides and tall tall trees covered with flowers varying from red, violet and yellow.  It was not easy to adapt to the fact that you can just skip down and pick up a few basic necessities from the small shop near your house. That a packet of milk (1/2 litre) costs kes50 or app. inr 40.  It will take time to stop the conversion, but I am sure I will do so.

I am looking forward to a fresh air, loads of scenic beauty, wildlife in abundance and a different life altogether.

I will keep blogging.  Watch out.

THE AMRITSARI TRIP

This has been something on our list for a long time, at least since Viha's birth.  Finally the tickets were booked and we were off to Amritsar to visit the Golden Temple.  I, for one was really really looking forward to loads of stutmptous and finger licking food.  I had made a list of all the joints I wanted to eat at, which unfortuantely I couldnt make a visit to all.  Very honestly the food expectations from this City was very disappointing.  We had food at many different places, some talked about, and some not - but eventually the result was "not upto the mark"!!! 

However there were two other things that I will never forget from this trip. 

One is the visit to the Wagah Border where patriotism is seen at its best.  Even the most low profile patriotics will be awakened shouting Jai Hind, Bharat Mata Ki Jai at the top of their lungs - at least I did.  It was one unforgetful experience.  I have never felt so "Indian" before in my life.  What was it.........just two simple gates made of iron and two huge gates made of brick and mortar with "India" written on one, and "Pakistan" written on the other, creating a boundary between land which is as brown as it is here, with trees as green as they are here, with the sky looking down upon in the same way.  It was really a very strage feeling as we approached the Border and saw signs showing "Lahore - 23 kms".......never thought I would go down that lane. 

Second was the serene peace that transcends all the noise and humdrum of thousands of visitors at the Golden Temple.  The fact that you can be oblivious to the world around you, is something which is beyond comprehension.  All you can hear is the constant hymns from the Gurudwara and what your eyes can see.  Golden mystic beauty surrounded by a calm waters.  There is a certain chill in the air, or maybe it was the weather, but you can really loose your unrest somewhere in the waters and come back a lot more calm from there.

Though the food at Amritsar was not as per my expectations, what I cooked after coming home sure was.

TANDOORI STUFFED POTATOES

4 big potatoes
1/2 cup curd
2/3 flakes garlic
pinch garam masala
salt to taste
1/4 tsp red chilli powder
1/4 tsp jeera powder
1/4 tsp pepper powder

FOR STUFFING

150 gms paneer
green chillies
corriander leaves
salt to taste
50 gms kishmish

RECIPE

put the potatoes in the cooker after washing and after a whistle switch off the gast
after they cool down, scoop a boat after cutting them into half
be careful not to break the potatoes.
Lightly shallow fry the potatoes to a golden colour. 
Beat the curd well and add the ingredients for the marinade.
Pour this over the potato boats and leave them for about 30 mins
meanwhile in a pan saute the inner portion of the potatoes alongwith the mashed paneer and kishmish and salt till the water dries up.
Add corriander leaves
Carefully stuff the paneer mixture into the potatoes
Take a cookie tray and grease it.  Place these potatoes and bake for about 30 mins
Serve hot with corriander chutney

FOR THE LOVE OF COOKING

Life has been moved on, and so have I. I became a mother after years of waiting to hold a baby in my arm. I never knew what being a mother would be like, until I became one. When the Doctor handed over a wrapped bundle onto my chest, I saw the most beautiful black eyes, looking at me with surprise. And what did i feel, all the anxiety and fear that was in me till now on the Operation Table vanished in a jiffy to God knows where. Is this true? I will never forget that moment till my last breath. The Doctor told me I had a beautiful daughter, and indeed she is beautiful, and she will remain so. She is one and half now. Time has flown. She is the most lovely gift God gave me till today. What I feel for her cannot be written down in words. I could die for her, and it would still be insufficient......... Hmmmm, that was just a peep into my hiatus of about 4 years. I surely am back for good now. You will soon know and agree with me. I really hope to be blog hopping as much as I can, and post at least 1 recipe a week to start with (that is so that I dont get addicted yet again!!!) I made a batch of Fruit and Nut Oat Cookies. Heres the recipe. The picture will follow soon.

Ing :-
1 cup oats
1 cup flour
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
1 cup nuts and fruits of your choice
2 tbspn honey

Method :-
Melt the butter and sugar on a very very slow flame.
Switch off flame
Add the oats and the fruits and nuts
Add the honey and vanilla essence
In another bowl mix the flour and the baking powder.
Beat the eggs and add to the flour
Add the rest of the mixture and fold in by hands
Meanwhile preheat oven to 180 Deg C
Make small balls with your hands and press them flat
Spread them on a baking tray and bake for about 20 mins
Cool and store

They were super duper delicious and to make them more healthy you could wheatflour instead of refined flour.

AM I BACK YET?? - HOPEFULLY

I dont know where to begin from? Life has been a roller coaster which much much happening. I will surely not be able to give an account of all that, but one thing is for sure that I wanted to be back in the blogworld ASAP!!! I used to blog hop once in a while, but not much. Hopefully, my love for cooking will not let go off my desire this time.

How have you all been? I am hoping all of you - each one of my friends are as good as I left them and even better.

I am putting up a neat, quick breakfast or snacktime recipe - Seviyan Upma.




Ingredients :-

Seviyan - 1 cup
Beans - finely chopped 4/5 stalks
Carrot - finely chopped 1
Peas - a handful
Onion - 1
Tomato - 1 pureed
Peanuts - handful (fried)
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tspn
Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tspn
Salt - as per taste
Garam Masala - 1 tspn
Green Chillies - as per taste
Curry Leaves - optional but good flavour

Method -
Roast the sevian on slow flame
On the other hand boil the chopped veggies and the peas with a wee bit of salt
Chop the onions.
In a wok add some oil and when it heats add the mustard seeds till they sputter
Add the chopped onions and when they are fried add the tomato puree and fry till it leaves the oil
Add the turmeric, salt and garam masala powder and the curry leaves
Fry for about 1/2 a minute
Add 2 cups water and let it boil
Then add the roast sevian and stir and cook till the water has evaporated
Add the boiled the veggies and stir
Then add the peanuts
You can garnish it with some corriander leaves
Serve it with either ketchup or green chutney or just as it is

This is a quick and delish breakfast / snacky item that I make to save my skin at times!!!

Try and let me know

Take care and I am hoping a few visits at least, and I will be back sooooooon

FRUIT AND NUT BAR

Hi there.......hope you are all doing well and keep good spirits. "Good spirits" - is that something in our genes, or is it something that we ought to cultivate, or is it something beyond our control. I for one, have begun to believe that it is something that a few are blessed with, and it is also something that one can learn to cultivate within oneself, by taking the one's who are already blessed with as examples. It surely is not something that is beyond one's control.

We often see a few samples of God's creation who are always seen with a smile on their face, a twinke in their eyes and a spring in their steps....and they spread that attitude to others - isint that true. We look at them and think oh - how happy she or he is....but it surely is not the case that they do not have any issues in their lives. Its just that they have that attitude of letting go. If you hang onto burdens, worries and problems, they have a tendancy to pull you down. But if you learn to give them up, even if for a short while, and allow the Almighty to handle them, maybe just say a small prayer saying that you give up the particular issue into his mighty hands, you will see that you suddenly feel lighter and better. I have tried doing it a lot of times, and maybe you should to.....

My husband was returning from a 15 day tour to Africa, and I was more than excited and happy to have him back home, so that I could fight with him and trouble him. My life is no fun without him, coz I love the constant arguments and then the making up. I wanted to do make something really special for him and God knows where I got the recipe of a "FRUIT AND NUT BAR" from and since I had all the ingredients for it. Without second thoughts, I jumped off the bed and into the kitchen. I even baked a batch of Butterscotch Brownies from MY DIVERSE KITCHEN.

1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup light brown sugar (I used normal sugar)
1 1/2 cups walnuts (I used 1 cup almonds & 1/2 cup walnuts)
1/2 cup dried cherries or cranberries
1 1/2 cup dates, pits removed and cut into quarters
1 cup (165 grams) dried apricots, cut into bite size pieces (i did not use any)
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (I did not have it so substituted it with maple syrup)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (160 degrees C)
Line a square baking tin wiht aluminum foil & grease it Set aside.
In a large bowl, seive the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
Stir in the sugar, walnuts, and dried fruit.
The fruit and nuts should be coated with the flour mixture - nothing better than God gifted hands to do this !!
Whisk the egg and vanilla until light colored and thick in another bowl.

Add the egg mixture to the fruit and nut mixture and mix until all the fruit and nut pieces are coated with the batter. Spread into the prepared pan, pressing to even it out. I did not use my hands but used a spoon this time.

Bake for about 35 to 40 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and has pulled away from the sides of the pan.

It took all my patience to wait for it to cool down & then cut into peices. I would have got around 16 pieces.

I thought I'd click it, but not much was left to click, but it really tasted good, & am surely going to make it once again. The nuts had a really crunchy texture, n i liked them better than the fruits.

MUTAR MUSHROOM WITH A TWIST OF ALOO - BUTTON MUSHROOMS WITH PEAS & POTATOES

Looking out of my office window gives a clear view of the sky, I often stop by to look at the clouds forming beautiful shapes & often wonder which one looks like what - some looking like a horse, some like a dragon, one looks like Mickey's face - the list goes on & on. I really enjoy doing that, as it gives me a break once too often. Being winters and a particularly cold day with thick fog in the moring the aura was a depressing one. The clouds brought gloom and cheerlessness....when I looked out sometime during the afternoon, what I saw was the sun struggling between a big, thick, black cloud and a few other white clouds. The white ones allowed the rays to brighten them, making them glow strangely, as if they had a light of their own. As the black one approached faster, the rays tried their best to penetrate the black one, but were soon engulfed & the atmosphere became gloomy again, but soon the cloud passed away allowing the rays to shine again, & as the warmth of the rays touched my face, I could feel that warmth flow through my whole being and spread a sort of unexplained comfort & cheer & warmth.

I think that is how life is. Once in while it throws something at us which covers us with a blanket of gloom around us, but if we allowed that to pull us down we would do no good to either ourselves or the people around us. Our victory lies in shining through and through everything & spreading a warmth & cheer around.

.....was that too much of lecture.....chalo then, lets hit the kitchen.

One evening I had just about little mushrooms & little peas which would not have been adequate for dinner for 2, so what I did was add 2 potatoes to fill the gap!!! Here's how I did it. I am giving you full ingredients, not my make do measurements.

Ingredients
250 gms - button mushrooms (sliced fine)
1/2 cup - green peas
2 medium potatoes - diced
2 onions - roughly chopped
2 onions - pureed
5/6 flakes - garlic (grated)
1/2 inch pc - ginger (grated)
salt as per taste
3 green chillies
1/2 tsp - turmeric / haldi
1 tbspn - corriander powder
1 tspn - garam masala
2 tbspn - curd

Method
In a cooker add some oil. Add the grated ginger & garlic & let fry for about half a minute.
Add the onions & fry till pink.
Add the tomato puree & cook till the oil separates.
Add all the masalas & the green chillies & fry till done
Now add the curd & mix well.
Add salt
Add the mushrooms, peas & potatoes & stir so that that masalas coats properly. Fry for about 2/3 mins.
Add about 1/4 cup water & cook for about 1 whistle on high & then another 7/8 mins.


We were content with the dinner, served with chappatis & a bowl of raita!!

Hope you enjoy it too