Chicken Philly Sandwiches

I have been craving Philly cheese steak sandwiches and there is no place close by which has good Phillies. And also by the time you bring them home and eat it, they will become all soggy and BLAH...

I found the best recipe here and I followed it pretty much as is

Chicken Philly Sandwiches

Ingredients:

1. 2 Tbsp butter
2. 1 pound fresh chicken tenders, diced
3. 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
4. 1 large garlic minced
5. 2 teaspoons lemon pepper seasoning
6. ½ teaspoon each of salt, fresh ground black pepper
7. ½ onion, diced
8. 3 slices provolone cheese +extra for each sandwich
9. 4 Hoagie rolls or big hot dog buns
10. 4 tablespoons mayonnaise
11. 1/2 bell pepper of your choice of color diced

Season the chicken with Worcestershire  sauce and lemon pepper and set it aside for 30 minutes. Heat the butter in a pan and cook the onions on low flame for 10 minutes. Add garlic and fry for a minute. Increase the flame to medium high and add the chicken and fry for 8 minutes. Add the bell pepper and stir to combine 4 more minutes. Give it a taste test and adjust the salt and pepper. Cut the flame and layer with 3 slices of  provolone . Cover.

Head a griddle and toast the buns on the inside. Spread each with 1 tablespoon mayo. Layer the top side with more provolone or Colby-pepper jack cheese slices. Add the chicken mixture to the bun and enjoy

Poha tikki

 This is one of those tea time snacks which is super delicious and easy to make. The original recipe is here

Poha Tikki (Shallow fried cakes made of flattened rice)

Ingredients:

1. 1.5 cups of Flattend Rice/Chiwda/Poha 
2. 2 Wheat or white Bread slices
3. 2 tablespoons Rice flour/Corn flour 
4. 1 green  chilli finely chopped
5. 1/4 cup Finely Chopped Onion 
6. 1/2 teaspoon each of Ginger Garlic paste ,Red Chilli flakes cumin powder, coriander powder
7. 1 teaspoon each of Chaat masala,Salt
8. Handful of Fine Chopped Coriander 
9. 2-3 tablespoons of plain yogurt
10. oil for shallow frying

Wash the poha under running water and st it up for drying/draining in a colander for 5 minutes. Cut the crust off of the bread and dip it in a bowl of water and squeeze off the water. Shred it into small pieces and mix all the ingredients together. On an oiled plate flatter the mixture into 1/2 inch thick piece. Let rest in the fridge for 5-10 minutes.

Cut it into desired shapes like squares, cubes or diamonds.

Heat a non stick griddle and add some oil to it. Fry the pieces of poha cake 2-3 minutes per side until golden brown. Enjoy with ketchup and mint chutney

Garlic Parmesan Roasted Carrots

 The other day, I got beautiful scallops. I needed a side dish which would compliment the "Butter Garlic Scallops" I was making. So I found the recipe here. To make it a meal, I got store bought cheese tortellini which were ready in minutes. It was a yummy dinner ready in 35 minutes

Garlic Parmesan Roasted Carrots

Garlic Parmesan Roasted Carrots

Ingredients: 

1. 3 large carrots, peeled and cut into 2-3 inch pieces, halved or quartered to make 1/2 inch sticks
2. 1/4 cup olive oil
3. 2 large cloves garlic, minced 
4. 2 tablespoons each of grated Parmesan cheese, Panko bread crumbs,
5.  1/2 teaspoon Salt
6. 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
7. 1 tablespoon dried Parsley

Preheat oven to 400°F . Then I reduced the heat to 375 degrees as I have a dark baking pan. Spray a baking sheet with cooking oil spray.

Arrange carrots on baking sheet. Mix the olive oil, garlic, Parmesan, bread crumbs, salt and pepper. Toss all ingredients together to completely coat the carrots. Spread out and bake for 20-25 minutes or until tender. Toss the carrots half way through.

Remove from oven and serve immediately. 

Stove top Chicken Biryani

Hyderabadi Dum ka Biryani is the only kind of dish my Big B would call Biryani. He would probably put me in a corner for calling the dish I made "Biryani". But when you are short of time and are craving yummy food, anything goes.

And anything close to a "Biryani" on a week night after a long day's work and home cooked f is "the best" no matter what you call it. So call what you may...I present
Stove top Chicken Biryani (Stove top One pot chicken and rice dish )

Ingredients:

1. 1 lb chicken breasts or better yet chicken tenderloins cut at a biase, into 3/4 inch slices 1-2 inches long  
2. 1/2 teaspoon each or salt, turmeric, chilli powder, garam masala powder, cumin
3. 1 teaspoon each of coriander powder, ginger-garlic paste
4. 2 tablespoons oil
5. 1 medium large onion sliced thin
6. 1 bay leaf
7. 2 cups (Measure uncooked) Basmati rice cooked according to package directions. Cooked with 1/2 teaspoon salt
8. 1/4 cup warm milk + pinch saffron (optional)
9. few mint leaves

Marinate the chicken with the spices and set aside.

In a wide pan heat the oil and add the bay leaf and cumin and fry for a minute. On medium high flame fry the onions till 90% of them turn brown. Add ginger garlic paste and fry for a minute. Add the chicken and fry for 10-12 minutes until they start turning golden brown. Add the cooked rice , topped with saffron soaked in warm milk if using, garnish with mint and cover and cook for 2-3 minutes, on very low flame.

Garnish with 1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice and coriander with available on hand.

Enjoy with Gravy for Biryani
More recipes...
Hyderabadi Mutton Biryani
Shrimp Biryani 
Egg Biryani
Fish Biryani

Lahori chana masala

Chana masala or Cholay is one of those street foods which you would find in every corner, every street, every city in India. Everyone has thier own way of making it and every single one of them is delicious. The cholay masala I made today, is unique to me but it is so delicious. Next time I have to double the recipe because there wasn't enough :)

And to make it a meal...I got Samosas today, when I went shopping in the Indian store. So that was a crazy yummy dinner

Lahori chana masala(Chickpeas curry with Indian Spices)

Lahori Chana Masala

Ingredients:

1. 1 can chickpeas
2. 1 small onion sliced
3. 1 medium tomato chopped
4. 1 tablespoon tomato paste
5. 1/4 cup yellow moong dal cooked
6. 1/2 teaspoon each of cumin, saunf, salt, turmeric, red chilli powder (or more), ginger garlic paste
7. 1/4 teaspoon ajwain, garam masala
8. 1 teaspoon each of coriander powder, amchur powder, dried fenugreek leaves, 
9. 2 tablespoons oil
10. coriander leaves for garnishing

In a pan heat the oil and add the cumin and saunf and fry for a minute. Add the onions and fry till they start to change color to brown. Add the tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes. Add the dal and tomato paste and cook for 5 more minutes along with all the spices and mix well. Add washed chickpeas and 1/2 cup water and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Garnish with cilantro and enjoy with Pav or Poori or Samosa or as is

Dosa kaaya pachadi

Once upon a time, long long ago, back in the mother country I went to a friend's house and her mom made this "Chutney" with Yellow Cucumber. My mom never made it. I had no idea what it was, but boy oh boy it was delicious.

I had to ask my friend's mom for the recipe and then finally one day when I found this in the market I got it and I made it myself. Its super delicious and it goes great with white rice or with Dosa or Idli or anything else you want chunky chutney with

Dosa kaaya pachadi (Yellow cucumber side)

Yellow Melon cucumber

Ingredients:

1. 1 medium sized Dosakaya/yellow Cucumber
2. 2 tsp Oil
3. 2 Garlic cloves
4. 3 Red chili
5. 1 teaspoon Coriander or dhaniya powder
6. 1/2 teaspoon each of Cumin seeds, Fenugreek seeds, salt, mustard seeds
7. 1/4 tsp Turmeric powder
8. 1/2 cup thick juice from golf ball sized tamarind
9. few curry leaves

Peel and chop the cucumbers into small pieces.

Heat oilin a pan and add cumin and methi seeds, curry leaves and red chillies until they start to splatter. Add chopped garlic and fry for 30 seconds. Add the cucumber pieces and cook covered for 10 minutes or until they get soft. Add the tamarind juice and mix well and coo for 5 more minutes. Enjoy with rice/dosa or idli

Paneer with Chick peas

Some people in my family love paneer, others love chick peas. This curry is so simple to make and hearty and delicious and versatile to serve with many different things. Serve it with Roti or rice or with Aloo Tikki or Oats Aloo Tikki
Chole Paneer (Indian cottage cheese with chickpeas)

Paneer Chole

Ingredients:

1. 1 can chick peas drained and washed
2. 8 oz paneer cut into 1 cm cubes
3. 1-2 tomatoes chopped
4. 1/2 cup chopped onions
5. 1 teaspoon ginger-garlic paste
6. 1/2 teaspoon each of salt, chilli powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, turmeric and Nigella (onion) seeds
7. 2 tablespoon oil

Add a tablespoon of oil and fry the paneer pieces for 5 minutes. Drain and set aside.

In a pan heat the oil and add the onion (Kalongi) seeds if using. Let them fry for a minute. Add the onions and cover and cook for 5 minutes. Add ginger garlic paste and stir for a minute. Add tomatoes and all the powder ingredients. Cook for 5 minutes. Add chickpeas and paneer and 1/4 cup water and cover and simer for 10 minutes. Stir occasionally. Garnish with coriander and enjoy