Wednesday, November 27, 2019

Garlic Bread

Homemade garlic bread with cheese, that can be easily made with no compromise on the taste. Tasty and flavorful with the crisp edges, buttery center, lemony zest, Italian punch with the addition of oregano and topped with gooey mozzarella cheese. This is simply yumm...

Those who don't have an oven, can place the bread slices on a heated pan and cook it covered on a low heat until the cheese melts.
 Ingredients
2 Tbsp softened unsalted butter
1 clove garlic minced
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp lemon juice
a pinch of oregano
6 bread slices
grated mozzarella cheese(optional)


Method

  • Into a bowl add the butter, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, and oregano. Mix everything well.
  • Preheat oven to 200-degree celsius for 10 minutes
  • Arrange the bread slices on a baking tray.
  • Spread the prepared garlic butter on each slice.
  • Sprinkle mozzarella cheese on each slice.
  • Bake for 10 minutes or until the cheese melts.
  • Serve hot sliced into triangles or strips.


*Adding the mozzarella cheese is purely optional.
*Best to be served with soup, pasta, etc.

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Cheera Masiyal


I had long before shared a post on Palak Masiyal. Now, this recipe is the same as that, the only difference being that here red spinach/ cheera is being used in place of palak. I happened to taste this dish long before from our family friend Jaysree chechi's place. I fell in love with it and immediately asked her how this was done. She told me it was one dish that her mom, grandmom and all used to make. So it was a recipe passed on from one generation to the next and somehow these kinds of recipes passed on from the older generations have always tasted the best for me. I deeply believe that such inherited recipes should be captured and the baton should be passed on to the coming generations too. So this has to be recorded somewhere and that's why I try to treasure such recipes and keep them. Now this recipe too like many other recipes may have different versions in different places, but as for me, this was how I tasted it and this was how I liked it! Something which I frequently make. So over to the recipe of  Cheera Masiyal



Watch how to make it 


Ingredients
2 cups chopped red spinach
1 onion chopped
2 Tbsp coconut oil
2 whole red chilies
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
3/4 tsp chili powder
3-4 pappads
salt to taste

Method
  • Heat the coconut oil in a pan.
  • Add the chopped onion and saute well.
  • Break the chilies and add them to the onion. Fry for a few seconds.
  • Add turmeric powder and chili powder. Fry until the raw smell goes.
  • Tear the pappads into small bits and add. Fry until the pappad pieces get roasted slightly.
  • Now add the spinach and salt. Mix well.
  • Reduce the heat and cook covered for 2-3 minutes. The spinach will shrink and release water.
  • Open and saute until the water is almost absorbed. 
  • Serve with rice and any curry of your choice.

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Chicken Bharta


Chicken Bharta is a dish made with minced chicken or with boneless chicken cut into small pieces. I also happened to read somewhere that this dish was made in the dhabas(Indian roadside food stalls) where to use up the leftover chicken this dish was created. Don't know how far this is true but whatever, it's a yummy dish and whoever created this has indeed done a beautiful job by creating such an enticing chicken dish. A delectable North Indian curry with an enhancing taste that leaves you craving for more.

Watch how to make it 



This recipe was shared by a friend who in turn happened to try it out from a video by Home Cooking. So it’s a recipe which was tried, loved and passed on J


Ingredients
300 gms boneless chicken, minced or cut into small pieces
3 onions chopped really fine
1-2 Tbsp oil
1+1 tsp ghee
1 bay leaf
4 cloves
1 cinnamon
2 cardamom
1 1/2 Tbsp ginger garlic paste
2 tomatoes, chopped
2 tsp kashmiri chili powder
salt to taste
1 tsp cumin powder
2 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp garam masala powder
1 tsp tandoori masala powder
2 Tbsp cashew paste(soak 10-15 cashew nuts in water for 5-10 minutes & grind them into a paste)
1/2 cup yogurt/curd
1 tsp kasoori methi
1 Tbsp cream
1 Tbsp chopped coriander leaves

Method

  • Heat a pan. Pour oil followed by 1 tsp ghee into the pan.
  • As the oil ghee mixture gets heated, add the bay leaf, cloves, cinnamon and cardamoms to it. 
  • Then add the finely chopped onion. Saute for 1-2 minutes and then add the ginger-garlic paste.
  • Fry until the raw smell goes and the onion starts turning golden brown in color.
  • Now add the chopped tomatoes, mix well and cover and cook on a medium-low flame for 2-3 minutes or until the tomatoes turn mushy.
  • Now add the turmeric powder, chili powder, and salt. Saute everything well for about 1 minute.
  • Add the chicken and mix well.
  • Add the cumin powder, coriander powder and mix well. Add a little hot water so that all the masalas get mixed well. Cover and cook on a low flame for 15 minutes.(Stir once or twice in between)
  • Open and then add the garam masala powder and tandoori masala powder. Mix everything well and saute for 1-2 minutes.
  • Then add the cashew paste. Mix and then add the yogurt. Give a thorough mix and cook for 2-3 minutes stirring continuously.
  • Add the remaining 1 tsp ghee. Crush kasoori methi between your palms and add to the dish.
  • Mix everything well and finally add the cream.
  • Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.
  • Serve hot with butter naan, tandoori roti, rumali roti, chappati or plain steamed basmati rice.

Wednesday, November 06, 2019

Schezwan Paneer


The Schezwan sauce is a versatile ingredient of the Indo- Chinese cuisine.  We have seen a number of dishes like the schezwan chicken, schezwan beef, schezwan fried rice and so on. It can also be added to some dips or used as such as a side if you prefer a spicy tangy element to every bite of what you are having. The schezwan sauce can be made easily at home as its recipe doesn't seem to be that difficult to whip up. But if you are someone like me who turns to be extremely lazy at times you can go for the store-bought ones too. Of the store-bought ones, one of my personal favorites is the Ching's Schezwan Chutney(this is not any sort of product promotion but just sharing my personal favorite).
This is a super easy recipe using the store-bought schezwan chutney. If you have just less than half an hour's time to cook a dish then this one is just for you. Grab a bottle of schezwan sauce or chutney the next time you go shopping and keep it handy, as this ingredient really helps you out in those stressful days of cooking. One successful dish of my kitchen experiments is this schezwan paneer recipe that I am sharing here.
Watch how to make it 


Ingredients
300 gm paneer(fresh or frozen, if you can get malai paneer then it tastes the best)
2 Tbsp oil
1 tsp sugar
2 green chilies, chopped
5-6 garlic cloves, chopped
1 onion chopped fine
1/2 capsicum chopped fine
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1Tbsp chili sauce(green or red)
1 Tbsp tomato ketchup
1 Tbsp schezwan chutney(I used Ching's brand)
salt to taste
1/2 tsp pepper 

Method

  • Heat oil in a pan. Add the sugar and allow it to caramelize.
  • Add the green chilies and garlic and fry for a few seconds
  • Then add the onion and capsicum. Fry for a few seconds.
  • In the meantime, in a bowl mix soy sauce, chili sauce and tomato ketchup. Pour this into the onion mix and fry for a few seconds.
  • Now add the schezwan chutney and mix well.
  • Add salt to taste(adjust salt as soy sauce already has salt in it).
  • Mix everything well and then toss in the paneer. 
  • Mix well so that the sauces coat the paneer pieces well.
  • Cover and cook for just 1-2 minutes. (If you cook paneer for more time it tends to get hard unless you are using malai paneer)
  • Finally, add the pepper powder, mix well and serve.
  • Can be served with fried rice, pulao or can even be used as a filling for rolls or sandwiches.






  • I have used frozen paneer here. Just soaked it in water for a few minutes, drained and added to the dish. The spice level of this dish is on a higher side. For those who would not prefer a spicy version can reduce the number of green chilies and pepper.
  • You can also prepare this dish by omitting the onion and capsicum(I have tried it that way too), that gives a different taste but still it's not bad either. So in case, you don't have onion or capsicum you can try making this by skipping either one or both. It still tastes nice:)
  • You can even add the onions and capsicum as big square cuts too if you like that crunch they impart.