Chicken Stir fry Indian Style

I love making stir fries which are quick and easy and have some meet and a ton of vegetables in it. When I started searching for the recipes all I could find are Chinese...ofcourse Stir Fry is all Chinese I know (roll eyes)

   but but but...I like stir fry and I do not always want to eat Chinese.

So I made my own...Chicken stir fry with Indian spices and boy oh boy it was yummy

Chicken Stir fry Indian Style

Chicken Stir Fry with Indian spices

Ingredients:

1. 1 lb chicken cut into 1 inch cubes but only 1/4 inch thick.
2. 1 tablespoon each of coriander powder, 
3. 1 teaspoon cumin powder
4. 1/2 teaspoon salt + more to taste
5. 1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
6. 1 teaspoon dried mango powder (optional) (substitute fresh squeezed lemon juice)
7. 2 tablespoons oil
8. 1 teaspoon ginger garlic paste
9. Your choice of vegetables (I used mushrooms cut into thick slices, onions, bell pepper) (Can also include Zucchini and Squash

Marinate the chicken with salt, chilli powder and ginger garlic paste and lemon juice for 30 mins.

In a pan heat 1/2 the oil and add the mushroom and fry on high for 5 minutes. Add the rest of the vegetables and fry for 5-10 minutes. Drain.

Add the rest of the oil to the pan and add the chicken and fry for 10 minutes until its cooked through. Add the vegetables back and add the spices and add salt according to taste.

Garnish with hand full of cilantro and enjoy with white or brown rice

Chicken quinoa fried rice

I have been making Chicken Quinoa Rice for a long time and it is awesome and pretty simple to make. Today I made a Chicken quinoa fried rice, which is super awesome too

Chicken Quinoa fried rice 

Chicken quinoa fried rice

Ingredients:

1. 1 cups quinoa and 1/2 cup rice (optional) cooked according to directions and cooled 
2. your favorite vegetables cut into small cubes (my mix of vegetables is carrots, cabbage,onions, yellow squash and green bell pepper) (purple cabbage would look awesome)
3. 2 tablespoons sesame seed oil or canola oil
4. 2 tablespoons low sodium soya sauce
5. 1 teaspoon white vinegar
6. 1 teaspoon finely chopped ginger
7. 2 cups shredded chicken

In a pan heat the oil and cook the vegetables until tender. Add garlic and stir for a minute. Add chicken and 1 tablespoon soya sauce and mix well. Add the cooked rice and quinoa and the remaining soya sauce and vinegar and stir to combine. Cook on high for 5 minutes. Garnish with cilantro and serve with black beans or as is

Ginger Chicken

When we get nostalgic the first thing we think of are all the people you spent your time in the "good old days" and the second thing we think of will be either the food or the beautiful locations where you spent your most relaxing evenings.

Today I am thinking more of the food...the ginger chicken my Big brother would get for me form one of the road side roti stands in the Old City of Hyderabad. When I think of it, all the love the dish used to encompass also come to my mind and I start missing all the people involved...my parents...my Bade Bhaiyya...the house etc etc.

Anyway, I have been trying to recreate that taste for a very long time and this time I got pretty close. And it was very tasty and I hope I am creating the same kind of memories for my children...for which, one day they will become nostalgic.

Ginger Chicken (Chicken cooked in a ginger based curry)

Ginger Chicken

Ingredients:

1. 1 lb chicken cut into small pieces
2. 1 medium onion ground to paste
3. 1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste
4. 2 tablespoons each of fresh squeezed lemon juice, soya sauce, 
5. 3 -4 inches of ginger about an inch thick...ground to paste as little water a possible
6. 1/2 teaspoon or more salt to taste
7. 1 teaspoon chilli powder
8. 3 tablespoons oil
9. 1 teaspoon garam masala 

Wash the chicken well and pat dry it. Mix it with lemon juice and soya sauce and ginger garlic paste and set aside for atleast 1 hr. Then add 1/2 teaspoon salt and chilli powder and set it aside.

Heat the oil in a non stick pan. Ground the onion to fine paste and on low heat fry this ground paste for 30 minutes. Stir occasionally, making sure not to burn the paste. Add the ground ginger and fry for 10 more minutes. Raise  the fire to medium and add chicken and fry for 5 minutes. Add 1 cup water and let it boil for 30 minutes. Stir occasionally and if the gravy becomes too thick add some more water. Taste test for salt and adjust accordingly. Garnish with cilantro and enjoy with Romali roti

Sabudana khichadi

Sabudaana or tapioca balls are the ones you find in bigger sizes in the Boba milk or bubble tea. These are good for you. But cooking with them is a little tricky. But once you get the idea down, the items turn out to be pretty yummy.

Sabudana khichadi (Tapioca balls stir-fried )

Sabu daana khichidi

Ingredients:

1. 1 cup sabudaana
2. 1 tablespoon peanuts
3. 1/2 teaspoon each of cumin, mustard seeds
4. 1 teaspoon finely chopped ginger
5. 1 tablespoon oil
6. 3/4 teaspoon salt
7. 1 Serrano chili chopped fine
8. 2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice

Wash the sabu daana twice or thrice. Overnight soak the sabu dana in a cup of water.

In a pan heat the oil and fry the peanuts for 5 minutes . Add cumin and mustard seeds and a few curry leaves and fry till they start to splutter. Add the rest of the ingredients and fry for a couple of minutes. Add the sabudaana and lemon juice and salt and stir to combine. Garnish with cilantro and enjoy immediately

Szechuan Pepper Salmon

Szechuan numbing peppers look like black pepper corn but have a tart numbing taste to them. I love them but is not very popular with my familia until I made this dish.

My other half went to Szechuan province in China and got acclimated to the new tastes and he got me six different varieties of the numbing peppers. Ahhh to smell the fresh spices...its fantastic. So I finally got a chance to cook with them and yum yum yum.

Szechuan Pepper Salmon(Pan fried salmon with Szechuan Peppers)

Szechuan Pepper Salmon

Ingredients For Marinade:

1. 2 tablespoons each of soya sauce, corn starch
2. 1 tablespoon white vinegar or rice vinegar
3. 1 egg white lightly beaten
4. 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Ingredients

1. 3-4 salmon fillets cut into 1.5 inch cubes.
2. 1/4 cup peanuts chopped roughly and roasted
3. 6 dried red chillies
4. 1 tablespoon each of crushed red Szechuan Pepper , numbing pepper pounded, chopped garlic
5. 2-3 green onion stalks chopped
6. handful cilantro chopped
7. 2 tablespoons oil divided

Marinade the fish with the ingredients under marinade.

Chop the peanuts and roast them and set aside.

In a non stick pan add 1 tablespoon oil and fry the fish on medium low heat for 2 minutes and turn and fry for 2 more minutes. Drain and set aside.

Add the remaining oil to the pan and add the dried red chillies and fry for a minute. Add the szechaun peppers and (turn on the vent...if you haven't done so yet) and fry for a minute. Add the garlic and stir to combine. Add the fish back to the pan and stir well. Garnish with green onions and cilantro and peanuts and enjoy with steamed rice

Mushroom Brussel sprouts scrambled egg

If cooked properly Brussel sprouts are super delicious and if they are not swimming in cheese sauce, are pretty healthy too. I have made scrambled eggs with different vegetables in them, but yet again this is an effort to put some veggies into my family's meals.

Mushroom Brussel sprouts scrambled egg

Mushroom Brussel sprouts scrambled egg

Ingredients:

1. 1 cup brussel sprouts washed and sliced thin
2. 1 -2 cups chopped mushrooms
3. 6 large eggs
4. 1 tablespoon each of oil, butter, plain yogurt
5. 3/4 teaspoon salt
6. 1/2 teaspoon each of fresh ground black pepper , garlic powder
7. handful cilantro chopped fine (optional)

Heat the oil and butter in a pan and add brussel sprouts. Fry on medium high for 5 mins. Add chopped mushrooms and fry for 5-7 minutes.

In a bowl add a tablespoon of water, salt, pepper and garlic powder and mix. Add yogurt and beat it. Add the eggs and beat them

Add the eggs mixture to the pan and keep stiring for 5 minutes or until eggs are set. Garnish with cilantro and enjoy with rice or roti or on toast

Mushroom methi anda

Cabbage scrambled egg

Scrambled egg #1

Okra Scrambled egg

Mushroom Scrambled egg

Maat ki phalli Jhinge Nariyal wale

This recipe is very similar to my other recipe Maat ki Phalli Nariyal Masala , but with addition of shrimp in it. So for a vegetarian version skip the shrimp and either way enjoy with hot steamy rice or roti

Maat ki phalli Jhinge Nariyal wale (Shrimp with Cluster beans and coconut)

Shrimp with cluster beans and coconut

Ingredients:

1. 1 package frozen pre-cut cluster beans (12 oz) thawed
2. 1 package frozen shrimp 12 oz- thawed or fresh, peeled and deveined
3. 1/4 cup desiccated coconut
4. 1/2 cup thinly sliced onion
5. 1 tablespoon each of coriander powder
6. 2 tablespoons oil
7. 1 teaspoon ginger garlic paste
8. 1/2 teaspoon each of salt, turmeric, cumin, mustard seeds
9. 1-2 green chillies chopped

In a pan heat the oil and fry the cumin, mustard seeds for 2 minutes. Add onions and cluster beans and green chillies a and cover and cook for 10 minutes. Move the beans to one side and add a little bit more oil if needed and add ginger garlic paste and fry for 30 seconds. Add shrimp and the rest of the ingredients stir to combine and cover and cook for 10 more minutes. Add dried coconut and stir to combine and fry for 2 more minutes. Garnish with a handful of finely chopped coriander and enjoy