Chicken in Cashew Nut Sauce

Cashews have always been my favorite ! Raw, roasted, toasted, in food :)  My mom used to hide cashews from me in the top shelves where I could not reach I remember .... Memories !! Recently when deciding to make a new dish,  found this recipe in  an Indian cookbook borrowed from our local library. I can never follow exact instructions aside baking recipes almost every time...Some creativity depending on mood and time brings in a little innovation for better or worse in my food :P This turned out perfect for a weekend indulgence dinner !! Yes, this is a rich dish...

Cashew chicken served on rice

Prep Time : 20 mins
Cooking Time : 30 mins
Serves : 4 -5

Ingredients :

• 3 tbsp canola oil
• 2 cups sliced onions (1 large one)
• 4 ounces finely ground unsalted cashews ( I used roasted)
• 1 tsp finely grated fresh ginger
• 1 tsp finely grated garlic
• 1/2 tsp cayenne
•  1-2 tbsp unsalted butter
•  1 lb chicken ( I used thighs with bone )
• 1/2 cup whole or low fat yogurt whisked and at room temperature
• salt to taste ( 1-2 tsp)

Method :

• Heat 2 tbsp oil in the medium skillet and fry the onion till well browned. Cool slightly and grind the onion with 1/4 cup of water, cashews,ginger, garlic and cayenne until it forms a smooth thick paste.
• In a large saucepan, heat another tbsp oil and the butter.
• Add cashew-onion paste and stir constantly over medium heat , stirring till sauce turns brown. This takes around 7 mins.
• Thin out the sauce with the 1/2 cup water and stir in salt.
• Add in chicken and turn to coat well with the sauce.
• Simmer, covered over low heat for around 30 mins till cooked.
• Add whisked yogurt .
• Serve with hot rice or chapati .

Enjoy :)

Ajanta from Walnut Creek

Eggs in Rich Moghlai Sauce

I found this recipe in a Madhur Jaffrey cookbook which I had recently borrowed from our town library. Very rarely do I have all the ingredients at home ; this time I did, so customizing was not required ... and the outcome ?!?!  A recipe totally worth sharing with all of you! Here it goes...

Serves: 4 people
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 10 mins

Ingredients:

Lengthwise cut eggs

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp garam masala

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tbsp lemon juice

1/2-3/4 tsp salt

2 tbsp olive oil  (or groundnut oil)

1 medium sized onion finely chopped

1 tbsp ground ginger

2 tsp tomato puree

1 cup chicken stock

180 ml single cream 

2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander

5-7 hard boiled eggs, peeled and cut lengthwise in half

Freshly ground black pepper
Method:

• Mix the cayenne, cumin, garam masala, coriander, lemon juice, salt and some black pepper with 1 tbsp of water to make a smooth paste and set aside.
•  Heat oil in frying pan and set it over a medium high heat.When hot add the onion and stir fry until it turns brown at the edges. Add the ginger and stir for 10-15 seconds.
• Add pre-made paste and stir for a minute.
• Stir in tomato puree, chicken stock, cream  and fresh coriander and bring to simmer. Cover and simmer gently for 2-3 minutes.
• Lay the egg halves in the sauce in a single layer and spoon the sauce over the top. Cover and simmer for another 2-3 minutes.
• Serve with any Indian bread or rice.

Eggs in Moghlai Gravy

You can always try this recipe by replacing eggs with paneer or chicken.

Enjoy !! 

Ajanta from Amherst

Red Pepper- Pistachio Paneer/ Shrimp

Here in Houston, there are only a handful of restaurants that serve vegetarian dishes that are just as good as their non-vegetarian dishes (Surprise!). So every time we go out for dinner, one of us has to 'settle'. 

At home, I try to make both, but often struggle. I wanted a recipe that would be great for strictly non-vegetarian him and vegetarian me!Thats when I stumbled upon this original Vikas Khanna recipe that called for a pound of shrimp. I swapped that with 1/2 pound of shrimp and 1/2 pound of paneer, so I could make us both happy :) This recipe with only paneer would surely taste just as good. Here it goes-

Serves: 4 persons

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 20 minutes

Chopped pepper and onion

• 
  
• Ingredients:

• 1 red bell pepper, coarsely chopped

• 1 red onion, coarsely chopped

• 1/2 cup raw, unsalted, shelled pistachios

• 2 green chillies

• 4 tbsp vegetable oil

• 1 tbsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp red chilli powder (optional)

Raw shelled pistachios

• 1 tbsp finely chopped garlic

• 1/2 pound paneer, cubed
• 1/2 pound deveined shrimp

• Salt to taste

• 1/2 cup heavy cream

• 1/4 cup chopped fresh mint leaves
• Water

Method:

Golden brown paneer

• Paneer: In a small skillet, heat 2 tbsp oil over medium heat. Add cumin seeds and 1/2 tbsp garlic, saute till edges turn brown, (~1 minute). Add paneer and salt and cook until golden brown on all sides (~ 5-7 minutes). Transfer paneer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain.

Sauteed shrimp 

• Shrimp:In another small skillet, heat 2 tbsp oil over medium heat. Add cumin seeds and garlic and cook until edges turn brown, about 1 minute. Add the deveined shrimp and salt and cook until the shrimp turn pinkish opaque (~2 to 3 minutes). Drain on a paper towel.

Red Pepper-Pistachio Sauce

Sauce: Blend bell pepper, onion, 1/2 cup pistachios, green chilies and 1/2 cup water to a smooth puree. Add remaining tablespoon oil to medium skillet. Add red pepper mixture and cream and bring to a boil. Add 1 tsp red chilli powder. Reduce heat to low and let simmer for 5 minutes - till the sauce is creamy good! :) Divide sauce into two. I used the same skillets I used to fry the paneer and shrimp, respectively.

Add paneer and shrimp into the respective skillets and simmer for 4-5 minutes; stir in chopped mint. Season with salt, and garnish with mint/ chopped pistachios. 

Serve hot with roti or naan.

Red pepper- Pistachio Paneer

Red pepper Pistachio Shrimp

Bon Apetit!
Hetal from Houston

Chinese 'Biryani'

After 3 week nights of pasta dinner, my foodie husband wanted to eat something 'nice', which usually means either Chinese fried rice or chicken biryani. Chinese prevailed. I was not in the mood to cut vegetables and make fried rice from scratch. So I decided to use frozen mix vegetables. After a lot of improvising, the outcome was what my husband called 'Chinese Chicken Biryani'. Here it goes.

Serves: 2-3 persons

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Cook time: 15-20 minutes

Ingredients

1 cup rice (I used Sona Masoori)

1 cup frozen mixed vegetables(thawed)

1 chicken breast (cleaned and cut in 1 inch strips).*

1 egg**

1 tsp Chinese 5 spice powder. 

2 tsp soy sauce

1 tsp white vinegar

1-2 tsp Sriracha sauce or any hot sauce
2 tsp vegetarian Hoisin sauce (or any tangy-sweet sauce)

1 tbsp Toasted sesame oil
1/2 cup Onions (finely chopped)
2 tbsp Garlic (minced)
1 bunch spring onions (only the greens, chopped)

Salt to taste

1/2 tsp pepper

Method

• Cook rice till almost done, and strain. Let it cool.
• Marinade - In a medium bowl, mix egg, vinegar, soy sauce, hot sauce, Chinese all spice powder and salt. Add the chicken strips and gently toss. Let the chicken marinate for 30 mins.
• In a wok, heat sesame oil to medium high. Add chopped onions and fry for a minute or two. Add garlic, thawed mix vegetables. Add salt and pepper. Fry till vegetables are soft (about 4-5 minutes)
• Add marinated chicken, and continue to stir fry till chicken is done. 
• Add rice and hoisin sauce. Fry for 2-4 minutes.
• Garnish with spring onions and serve. 

Chinese Chicken 'Biryani'

*   Chicken can be substituted by Tofu or Paneer
** Egg is optional if making a vegetarian version.
PS. Was not sure if this recipe would make it to the blog, so did not click pictures of each stage. :( I hope the description is clear enough.


Bon Apetit!

Hetal from Houston

Thai Red Pork Curry

My husband and I are not routine pork eaters but a tempting deal at Whole Foods was too much to resist and we ended up buying a lot !! I did not want to cook all of it the Indian way so tried a recipe that I had noted down from a Thai recipe book borrowed from library quite a while back. It did not need any prior marinating, which is always an added bonus for any recipe and it did come out really well.

Ingredients


1.    Pork (~ 1lb) sliced into medium pieces
2.     Grated Ginger (1 tbsp)
3.     Red curry paste (3tbsp); readily available in any Oriental / International  grocery store
4.     Lime leaves; I had used lime juice instead which worked fine
5.     Fish sauce (2tbsp) ; optional . I skipped it !
6.     Coconut milk (400mL/14floz)
7.     Sugar (2tbsp)
8.     Basil leaves
9.     Vegetable oil

Directions

• Add vegetable oil in a large frying pan (I always feel choosing the correct vessel to cook is a key to a satisfactory cooking session !!).
• Add red curry paste and stir for ~ 30 seconds.
• Add pork slices and stir fry for about 1 minute  or until coated well with curry paste.
•  Add ginger and stir fry for 10 seconds and set aside pork
• In same pan, stir in coconut milk, fish sauce, lime leaves and sugar. Bring this to boil and let simmer for 3-5 mins.
• Return the pork to this sauce and simmer for ~10 mins.
• Toss in the basil and give it a final stir.

The dish goes very well with sticky jasmine rice but plain rice should be good too !! Wish had taken pics while cooking ..will be more organized the next time !

Ajanta from Amherst.