Chinese Chicken with Mushroom

The place we moved to, from Los Angeles has very less choices for Chinese Restaurants and and whatever are there their version of Chinese tastes different from what me and my family are used to. Unbelievable how ethnic food tastes get modified to the tastes of the local population.

Anyway, I wanted to make chicken with chinese flavors and the only vegetable I had on hand was mushrooms. And I made the chicken with mushrooms Chinese flavored and I served with with Black and white rice. What is Black and White rice??? I cup regular white rice and 1 cup black rice (I found them in Costco) cooked together

Chinese Chicken and Mushroom curry

Chinese Chicken and Mushroom Curry

Ingredients for Marinate

1. 1 tablespoon each of oyster sauce, soya sauce, white vinegar, sesame oil
2. 2 tablespoons corn starch
3. 1/2 teaspoon chilli flakes

Ingredients

1. 2 chicken breasts cut into 1/4 inch thick slices about 1-2 inches long
2. 8-12 oz mushrooms wiped clean and quartered
3. 1 medium onion chopped into 1 inch pieces
4. 1 teaspoon each of grated ginger, garlic
5. 2 tablespoons oil
6. Salt and pepper to taste

marinate the chicken pieces in the marinate ingredients for atleast 30 minutes. Heat oil in a wok or pan (don't use non stick) until its very hot. Add the chicken and fry stirring regularly for 5 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Add one more tablespoon of oil if needed. Add the onions and fry for 3 minutes. Add ginger and garlic and the mushrooms and stir regularly and fry for 10 minutes. Add the chicken back to the pot. Add 1/2 cup water and stir to combine. Simmer for 10 minutes. Adjust the salt and pepper and garnish with chopped cilantro and serve with steamed black and white rice or white rice or brown rice with some siracha on the side

Sweet potato scones

I got this beautiful orange sweet potato some time ago and I left it on the counter so that I won't forget about it. I have been meaning to cook it for almost a week and finally I got to it yesterday. I decided I wanted some breakfast item with it and my search lead to sweet potato scones. It is so simple and so delicious .

The recipe called for 2 cup of mashed sweet potato and mine yielded 2 cups so I have enough for one more batch of scones. Yum yum

Sweet potato scones

Sweet potato Scones

Ingredients:

1. 1 cup mashed boiled sweet potato

2. 1 tablespoon butter

3. 1/3 cup packed brown sugar

4. 1/2 teaspoon each of salt, baking soda, cinnamon , all spice and nutmeg

5. 2 teaspoons baking powder

6. 1-2 teaspoons plain yogurt

7. 1 egg beaten

8. 2 cups all purpose flour

Beat the egg with salt and sugar . Add butter and sweet potato at room temperature and mix well. Sift the flour with baking powder and baking soda and  the rest of the spices. Mix the egg mixture and knead the dough for about 10 times. If it is too sticky add flour 1 tablespoon at a time.

Pre heat the oven to 400 degrees. Roll it into a circle 3/4 inch thick. Cut it into 8 wedges and lay them on a baking sheet with parchment paper. Bake for 16-18 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for 5 minutes on a wire rack and serve with fresh butter or strawberry cream cheese like I did 

Pidata kinda pappu

So... It was Saturday and I went shopping for some essentials at the indian stores. I need the poha for Muharram and when I was buying that I found my old friend the puffed rice or muramuralu there

       It's been ages that I got that, so I got it- a not so very big bag for $2.5 . I remember those day back in India when we would get a small glass of puffed rice for 10 paisa which is less than 2 cents. I felt sad thinking how much those muri walas might have made per day

Anyway, wiping my tears I started to think what I can make with it and my thoughts travelled to the Vizag beach where the pidata kinda pappu would be sold. That used to be so super spicy and got me all salivating. So I made and ate it. All by myself and inside a cold lonely home

Pidata kinda pappu ( spicy mixture of puffed rice and peanuts)

Ingredients

1. 3 cups puffed rice

2.1/2 cup each of finely chopped onions and tomato and cilantro

3.1/4 cup or less as per taste lemon juice

4. 1-2 table spoons peanuts slow roasted

5. 1/2 teaspoon chilli powder

6. 1/2 teaspoon aamchur powder ( optional)

Mix all the ingredients together till well blended. Enjoy with friends 

Chili

I used to make chili on a regular basis but I don't know what happened that made me stop. When I was making chili today I realized I haven't made chili in atleast an year.

Anyway it was nice making the chili. It was like meeting. Long lost friend

Chili (meat and bean stew)

Ingredients

• 1)1 lb ground lamb or beef
• 2)1 can diced tomatoes
• 3)1 can tomato sauce
• 4)1/4 cup water
• 5)1 teaspoon salt, cayenne cumin, ground coriander
• 6)1 medium large finely chopped onions, chopped green bell pepper
• 7)2 big or 4 small garlic pods grated
• 8)2 tablespoon oil
• 9)1 can northern beans or kidney beans

In a heavy bottomed pan heat the oil and add cumin and fry for a minute. fry the onions till tender. Add garlic and fry for a minute. Add ground meat and fry for 5-7 minutes Add all the remaining ingredients and simmer on low heat for 50-60 minutes. Garnish with cilantro , onions and if preferred grated cheddar cheese and serve with grilled french bread

Anda dal tadka

So, this is one of the recipes which sounds weird...until you taste it. It is super delicious served with either plain rice or roti. Try it and decide for yourself

Anda dal tadka ( egg and lentils curry)

Ingredients

1. 2 eggs

2. 1/2 cup each of finely chopped onions, tomato

3. 1/4 cup each of chana dal and green masoor dal soaked in water for 30-60 minutes

4. 2 tablespoons oil divided

5. 1/2 teaspoon each of ginger-garlic paste, cumin, mustard seeds, urad dal, turmeric, chilli powder, coriander powder, salt , butter and asoefitida.

Pressure cook the dal for 2 whistles and set aside. In a pan heat 1 tablespoon oil and make scrambled eggs with little salt. Drain and set aside

In a pan heat the remaining oil and add cumin, mustard seeds and urad dal and 2 dried chillies and fry till they start to splutter. Add onions and fry for 5 minutes. Add ginger garlic paste and fry for a minute. Add tomatoes and all the powder ingredients and stir well. Add the pressure cooked dal and scrambled eggs and stir well. Simmer for 5-7 minutes. Garnish with coriander and enjoy

Laal Paneer

Today being Sunday evening, I wanted to make something fast and easy because we had a looooong day. I wanted to make something with beet root. I always make beet root fry which is super fast and super delicious but today since I was in mood for a curry I.e something with some gravy. I made beet root with paneer and the paneer take on the nice pink hue from the beet root hence the name Laal ( red ) paneer

Laal paneer ( indian cottage cheese and bet root curry)

Ingredients

1. 1/2 slab of paneer about 200-250 gms cut into thin strips

2. 1 can shoe string beet root drained

3. 1 medium small tomato chopped fine

4. 1-2 cup finely chopped onions

5. 2 tablespoons oil divided

6. 1/2 teaspoon each of cumin, salt, turmeric, chilli powder, coriander powder

In a pan heat 1 tablespoon oil and fry the paneer pieces for 5 minutes. Drain and set aside. Add the remaining oil and add the cumin and fry for a minute. Add onions and fry till they start to change color. Add tomato and cook for 5 minutes. Add salt and all the other powders and stir to combine. Add drained beet root and paneer and mix well. Add 1/2 cup water and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir occasionally. Garnish with cilantro and serve with rice or paratha

Home made Khamman Dhokla

Today is Sunday and I woke up before everybody else. So I had a little bit of time to sit and decide what will be for breakfast. And better than that I had some time for waiting for the batter to get ready.
Do today's breakfast is Khamman Dhokla without Eno- the fruit salt most of the dhokla recipes call for.

Khaman Dhokla wihout Eno (Steam cooked spiced chickpea cake)
Ingredients:

1. 11/2 cup chick pea flour (besan)
2. 1/2 cup warm water
3. 1/4 cup well beaten plain yogurt
4. 2 teaspoons sugar
5. 1 teaspoon salt
6. 1/2 teaspoon each of citric acid, baking soda, turmeric
7. 1 tablespoon oil + oil for applying to the pan
8. 1 tablespoon fineley chopped cilantro and 1 green chillie finely chopped

For tempering:

1. 1 tablespoon oil
2. 1/2 teaspoon each of cumin, urad dal, mustard seeds, asafoetida (hing)
3. 2 dried red chillies broken
4. few curry leaves

Mix the besan with sugar, salt, citric acid and baking soda. Add the well beaten yogurt and warm water and mix well until the batter is the consistency of pancake batter. Set it aside for 20 minutes. Add the chillies and cilantro and turmeric and mix well.

Boil some water in a wide pan. Put a base plate like a small plate or an omelette rind. Apply some oil to an 8 inch pie pan. When the water boils put the pan inside the big pan with boiling water and add the batter. Cover it and simmer for 25 minutes.

In a pan heat the oil and add the items for tempering. When they start to splutter add the hing and add this oil to the dhokla which has been overturned onto a plate. Cut it into cubes and enjoy