Chicken Soup for the soul!

My style of cooking is keeping it simple, fresh and maintaining a balance in a dish. This simple and refreshing chicken soup is a classic example of such cooking. I always enjoy a hot chicken broth at any time of the day, it keeps makes me feel fresh and healthy because of the nice balance of veggies and chicken/meats in it. Of course you can always make a good veggie soup with the same recipe by just omitting the chicken/meats in it.

So here goes the recipe.

Ingredients

Chicken (cooked & shredded) - 1/2 to 3/4 cup

Chicken stock - 1 cup

Garlic (crushed) - 3 to 4 cloves

Shallots (crushed) - 5 to 6

Carrot - 1 (small)

Cabbage - 2 to 3 leaves

Cauliflower - 3 to 4 florets

Salt - to taste

Pepper - 1 tsp

Oil - 1/2 tbsp

Spring onions

Water - as required (depending on quantity required. That is, if you are adding 1 cup/bowl stock, then you need to add 3 cups/bowls of water to get 4 bowls of soup)

Method

Heat oil in a cooking pot and sauté garlic and shallots for about 2 to 3 minutes on a low flame. Add chicken stock and water and let it boil. When it comes to a boil, add carrot, cabbage and cauliflower and close to cook for a few minutes. Once the veggies have been cooked, add the cooked chicken along with pepper, salt and ajinomoto and cover and cook for about 1 minute on a medium flame and 1 or 2 minutes on a low flame with the lid open. Finally, add the spring onions, cook for a minute or two and switch off flame.

Notes: Cook the chicken with salt, pepper and a small piece of ginger because ginger enhances flavour of the stock.

Soto Ayam

Authentic chinese food is always so colourful and looks exotic. My love for this food though goes beyond the colour and how it looks. I am addicted to chinese food! But to tell you the truth, I haven't really experimented much with chinese food in my kitchen because the one or two times I tried, it wasn't very successful :(

This dish though is not an authentic chinese dish, more of a chinese-malay dish, but has it's origin from Malaysia. This was something my mom used to make on a weekend. Weekends were the time when she would always cook something special for us, oh and I must say, she used to cook up a storm. We used to just gobble up all that she made and this was one dish we all loved. My mom grew up in Brunei and spent a lot of wonderful years there as a young girl. She always had such interesting stories to tell us about the Sultan of Brunei, the lovely people and of course most importantly the yummy food! Her descriptions of the food was so mouth watering! She would talk about the umpteen number of small open air food stalls which would serve food ranging from hot soups with wantons to delicious spicy noodles and different varieties of rice. Food in Brunei has got a lot of influence from Malaysia because the Malay population constitutes a large part of the population there. (atleast at the time when my mum was there) So this dish is a re-creation of the Soto Ayam my mom used to enjoy at the busy open air food stalls there with a few changes here and there! In a nutshell, her version of Soto Ayam. And she definitely nailed it, I must tell you.

This dish is usually served with a simple chicken soup, white rice (basmati rice) and crispy chicken (batter fried chicken). The chicken soup is poured into the rice with a dash of soy sauce and eaten with the rest of the accompaniments and this is a complete balanced meal.

Light and full of flavour, this dish is an absolute hit. I know you only have my word to go by but try it for sure, you will not be disappointed.

Ingredients

Chicken (cooked & shredded) - 250 gms

Chicken stock - 3 to 4 tbsp

Dry red chillies - 4 to 5

Garlic - 5 to 6 cloves

Shallots - 5 to 6

Ginger - 1/2 inch piece

Pepper - as per spice tolerance

Salt - to taste

Ajinomoto - a pinch

Spring Onion - small bunch

Method

Pound garlic, ginger, shallots and dry red chillies and keep aside.

Heat oil in a wok and add dry red chillies, garlic, ginger, shallots and turmeric. Saut'e until onions turn light brown. Add the cooked chicken along with pepper and salt and saut'e for a few minutes. At this stage, add the chicken stock and cook on a low flame for a few minutes. Finally, add a pinch of ajinomoto and spring onions and toss for a few more minutes and switch off the flame.

Serve with basmati rice, chicken soup and crispy chicken.

Notes: Cook the chicken with pepper, salt and a piece of ginger because ginger enhances the flavour of the chicken as well as the stock.

Source: My Mom

Kerala Pepper Chicken

I am just the loving the weather out here in Bangalore, cool weather with occasional stormy rains, wow! I hope you are enjoying good weather where ever you are as much as I am. This morning, enjoying the cool breeze and bright sunlight finding it's way through the balcony and with some of my favourite music playing, I cooked. Have you ever tried cooking with music? It's wonderful.

So what did I cook? I made Kerala Pepper chicken, Kovakka Mezhukuperatti and Moru Kachiyathu.

Now, getting down to the recipe. I got this recipe from one of the cookery shows I watched sometime back. This Kerala Pepper Chicken is so scrumptious and extremely diverse because it goes well with rice, parathas, Kerala porottas and what not. And what makes it even more attractive is the simplicity of this dish. I promise you, you can't go wrong with this!

Every time I make this dish, we lap it up like we have been starving for days. So go ahead and try this and enjoy!

Ingredients

Chicken - 1 kg

Big Onions (diced) - 6

Tomato (diced) - 3

Green chillies - 6 to 8 (as per spice tolerance)

Crushed pepper corns - 3 tsp

Ginger & Garlic paste - 2 tsp

Garlic (crushed) - 6 to 8 cloves

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Curry leaves - 2 to 3 sprigs

Salt - to taste

Coconut oil

Method

Make gashes in the chicken and marinate it with crushed pepper, ginger & garlic paste, turmeric powder and salt. Keep aside for 1 or 2 hours. Pressure cook the chicken for 1 whistle. Heat oil in a wok, and saut'e green chillies, crushed garlic, curry leaves, onions and turmeric until onions turn golden brown. Throw in the tomatoes and saut'e till oil separates. Now, add the cooked chicken pieces and let it cook on a low flame till gravy is dry.

Notes: In case you have stock left after cooking the chicken in the pressure cooker, pour it towards the end while preparing the dish.

Kovakka (Ivy Gourd) Mezhukuperatti

Choru (Rice), Thoran (Veggie stir fried with coconut), Mezhukuperatti (veggie saute'ed/fried in oil), a non-veg dish and a curry constitutes a typical Kerala meal. Yummy! I enjoy a lovely Kerala meal anytime of the day. It's simple but there is something about it that makes you want to eat it again, again and again...! I actually enjoy making the normal rice and curry. (doesn't sound too exciting, I know)

I particularly love veggies and am not a hard core non-vegetarian. I can go all veggie at anytime but always end up cooking a non-veg dish too because my hubby, "the foodie" loves non-veg.

This veggie dish is an all time favourite of mine because I love Kovakka (Ivy Gourd) in any form! And like we treat most veggies in our cuisine, I sauteed this tasty veggie. It's safe to say it's universally preferred! The delectable flavours of this dish comes from the coconut oil, onions and chillies used in it.

Hope you enjoy this simple dish.

Ingredients

Kovakka/Ivy Gourd (sliced) - 3 cups

Big Onion (sliced) - 2 (medium size) {or small onions - 9 to 10}

Garlic - 7 to 8 cloves

Curry leaves - 2 to 3 sprigs

Red chilli powder - 3/4 tsp

Pepper powder - 1/2 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Salt

Coconut oil - 2 tbsp

Method

Take a cooking pot and add all the ingredients (except coconut oil) into it along with 2 to 3 sprinkles of water. Cover and cook till done.

Now heat oil in a non-stick pan and saut'e/stir fry the vegetable till light brown.

Now wasn't that quick?!! :)

Source: Mama

Fish Pie

If you are a lover of fish, today's recipe will thrill you! My mom used to make a lot of bakes and pies at home when we were growing up and this dish is one of them. She used to make it quite often and we used to just devour it in minutes! I'm a complete fan of my Mom's cooking, anything she cooks is yummy! She has a few unique dishes to her credit and I will be posting them soon. I believe in sharing the joy of good food. :) Ma, this dish is dedicated to you. 

I love fish and so for me another dish with fish was just exciting. Reju, on the other hand, is not too pally with fish, but guess what, he loved this fish pie! I was so shocked and happy that he liked it. Now, that's definitely going to be a regular on our menu.

Moist and spicy, this pie is a meal in itself! Enjoy.

Ingredients

Fish - 6 to 7 pcs

Lime - 2 tbsp (or Vinegar - 1 tbsp)

Ginger - a small piece

Salt - to taste

Water - 1/2 to 3/4 cup

Garlic (crushed) - 3 to 4 cloves

Big Onion (chopped fine) - 1

Green chillies - 2 to 3 (as per your spice tolerance)

Tomato (big; chopped fine) - 1

Pepper - 1 tsp (as per your spice tolerance)

For White Sauce

Milk - 1 1/2 cups

All purpose flour (Maida) - 1 1/2 tbsp

Butter - 2 tbsp

Cheese (crumbled) - 1 cube

Egg (Beaten) - 1

Salt - to taste

Pepper - 1 tsp

Method

Cook the fish with Lime juice/vinegar, ginger, salt and water until done. Throw away the piece of ginger and leave to cool. Once cooled, flake the fish pieces into tiny bits and keep aside.

Heat oil in a wok. Add garlic, green chillies and onions and saut'e till onions turn light brown. Then add tomato and saut'e for about 2 minutes. Add the flaked fish pieces along with pepper and salt and combine with the other ingredients. Switch off the flame and keep aside.

For White Sauce

Heat butter in a non-stick pan and once it starts melting, add the flour and toss for 1/2 a minute. Switch off the flame. Add milk and get rid of the lumps with a masher. Now, place it back on the stove, turn it to a low flame and add cheese, pepper and salt. (Check for salt because cheese already contains a good amount of salt) Keep stirring till the sauce starts thickening and begins to boil a little. Switch off the flame. (Do not boil too much)

Pre-heat the oven at 100°C for 15 minutes. Grease an oven proof dish and add the fish mixture into it. Pour a little white sauce into the fish mixture and combine well. Now pour the rest of the white sauce over the fish. Place this dish into the pre-heated oven and turn the temperature to 200°C for 10 minutes approx. and then turn the temperature to 180°C for another 35 to 40 minutes. (Bake till golden brown on top. Check if cooked by inserting a cake tester or knife)

Source: My Master chef Mom!

Potato & Peas Bhaji

Last night was good. End to a good weekend. Watched a movie and had a good long chat with my lovely sister, bro-in-law and kiddos. Waiting for the next weekend.

We had a very simple dinner yesterday which consisted of a few chapathis, a simple potato & peas bhaji and brinjal crispies. We wanted to eat light yesterday, as you already know "we are on a diet"!!

I'm sure all of us cook a quick bhaji once in a while when we make masala dosas, poori or even chapathi. This bhaji is no different. I have also added some peas into this (was lying in the freezer and wanted to clear up left-overs). There is no specific recipe for a potato bhaji, so feel free to make changes to suit your palate.

Ingredients

Potato (cooked & mashed) - 3 (medium size)

Peas (cooked & roughly mashed) - 1/4 to 1/2 cup

Ginger (chopped) - a small piece

Garlic (chopped) - 5 to 6 cloves

Green chillies - 3 to 4

Big Onions (sliced fine) - 2 to 3 (medium size)

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp

Channa dal - 1 1/2 tbsp

Tomato (diced) - 2 (medium size)

Curry leaves - a few

Coriander leaves

Salt - to taste

Water

Method

Heat oil in a wok and splutter mustard seeds. Into this, add channa dal and saut'e. When the colour of the dal starts changing, add green chillies, ginger & garlic and curry leaves and saut'e till raw smell goes away. Now, add onions and saut'e till light brown. Throw in the tomatoes and saut'e till it becomes soft. Add necessary water, turmeric and salt. Into this, add the cooked potatoes and peas and combine well with other ingredients. Let it cook on a medium flame till you get the right consistency. Just before you take it off the flame, add coriander leaves and combine well.

Serve with Poori/Chapathi/Dosa/Sandwiches.

Notes: I usually make this dish with thick gravy and then use it the next day as stuffing for sandwiches. It tastes good. In case you want more gravy, you can add more water.

You can also add veggies like carrot (grated) into this.

Adding roasted/fried cashew and a pinch of ghee into this can transform this dish into one that is finger licking good!!! :)

Brinjal Crispies

We had a really good and relaxed weekend. I hope you had a good time as well.

Usually, I'm always whining and nagging my husband on the weekends because he always finds something to make himself busy. I don't know how he does that, gets busy doing nothing!!!! How, how, how?! Does this happen to you?

Anyway, this weekend we were chilled out, watched a good Malayalam movie (was quite bad though) today. I wish everyday were this relaxed! Hmm...

This recipe is simplicity personified! I was cleaning up my refrigerator and came upon 3 or 4 small Eggplants lying in the vegetable tray and was wondering what to do with them. Since there were only a few of them and I was lazy to cook anything too elaborate, I quickly cooked up a quick and easy recipe. This helps you get rid of your left-over eggplants in the refrigerator and tastes good. This can also be done with Ivy Gourd (Kovakka).

Here is the recipe.

Ingredients

Egg Plant/Brinjal/Baingan (Medium size) - 2 to 3

Red Chilli powder - 1 1/2 tsp

Pepper powder - 1/2 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Salt - to taste

Oil

Method

Cut the egg plant/brinjal/baingan into thin round slices. Marinate the egg plant/brinjal/baingan with red chilli powder, pepper powder, turmeric powder, lime juice and salt and keep aside for 1/2 an hour.

Heat oil in a non-stick pan. Place the marinated eggplant/brinjal/baingan slices in it and shallow fry on a low flame till done. Flip over slices when one side is done. (like frying fish) Fry until crisp.