The end of school year in Singapore. My kids have vacations and I seem to be busier in holidays, than the school days..!! I am not cooking much, and the holidays are just passing by....! My son's friend's mom(Thank-you-- Shuvali), sent me a delicious chicken.... which we all liked so much and made me cook something new again. As I didn't have chicken at home, I decided to make the recipe with paneer. I loved the flavor.
Would you like to taste....? :)
Ingredients:
- 400 gms paneer cubes
- 1/2 cup greek yogurt (or regular curd. Hang it for an hour to get the thick waterless curd)
- 1 tsp each of nigella seeds, cumin seeds, mustard seeds, fennel seeds
- 1/2 tsp of fenugreek seeds
- 1/4 tsp asafoetida
- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp of coriander and cumin powder
- 1 tsp of garam masala
- 1 large red onion
- 2 tomatoes
- 5 cloves of garlic
- 1 inch piece of ginger
- 4 green chilies
- salt about 1 tsp or to taste
- 1- 3 tsp of mustard oil (or any regular oil or ghee, mustard oil flavor is really nice)
- More tomato, coriander leaves, or ginger to garnish
Recipe:
- Slit the green chilies, chop the onion and tomato, grate the ginger and garlic to paste.
- Heat mustard oil in a pan.
- Add the dry spices.(cumin, mustard, fennel, nigella and fenugreek)
- Heat them for about half a minute, add turmeric and asafoetida.
- Now add the ginger - garlic paste, onions and then the tomatoes. Saute them for 30 seconds to a minute after each addition.
- Add the cumin and coriander powder and saute till the masala is cooked.
- Now add paneer cubes and mix well.
- Cook for about 5-7 minutes.
- Lower the heat, add salt and garam masala.
- Add the greek yogurt and mix it in with the paneer and let it cook on a low flame for 3-5 minutes.
- Garnish with more tomatoes, coriander leaves and slit chilies or ginger matchsticks.
- A very yummy side for roti, parathas or naans.
Quantity:
- 3-4 servings with other accompaniments like roti, chapati, naan or parathas.
Note:
- This recipe can also be made with chicken. As my son says, it tastes better with chicken :)
- Marinate the chicken with salt, turmeric and greek yogurt (or hung curd) for about 2-3 hours before cooking it.
Spaghetti/Noodles is a favorite meal in my house. Even my little one has started to like it. This meal gives enough opportunities to sneak healthy ingredients like vegetables and meat. Basil pesto is a very fresh and subtly delicious flavor to add to the spaghetti.
Ingredients:
- 300 gms spaghetti noodles
- 2 cups of fresh italian basil leaves (I have used 1 cup of thai basil leaves, as that's what I had)
- 10 cloves of garlic
- 2 tbsp parmesan cheese
- 2 tbsp walnuts(I didn't use)
- zest of 1 lemon
- juice of half a lemon
- 1 - 2 tbsp olive oil for the pesto
- 1 tbsp olive oil for spaghetti
- 10 green or black pitted olives
- 1 yellow/red bell pepper
- about 200 gms salad shrimps (optional -- for non-veg version)
- or you can add 1 or 3/4 cup of frozen corn (optional -- for vegetarian version)
- extra basil leaves, chopped walnuts, lemon slices and Parmesan cheese to garnish
- salt, pepper and red chili flakes according to taste
Recipe:
- Boil the spaghetti in enough salted water according to package directions.
- Mine took 13 minutes. Reserve around half cup of salted spaghetti water.
- Drain in a colander, and keep aside.
- Wash and clean the basil leaves. Remove the thick stalks. Peel garlic. Chop about half of it.
- Take the basil leaves, remaining garlic, Parmesan cheese, walnuts, olive oil, lemon juice and pulse in a food processor or a blender for few seconds ....till u get a smooth puree.
- Add fresh lemon zest to the puree and mix.
- Heat a tbsp of olive oil in a pan. Add chopped garlic, red chili and saute for a minute.
- Add the pesto paste and saute for another minute.
- Add the chopped bell pepper and olives. Mix for 30 secs.
- Add the frozen shrimps or the corn. Saute for another 30 secs to a minute.
- Add the spaghetti, along with the salted water and mix well.
- Add salt, pepper and dried chili flakes according to taste or if needed.(I didn't add any more salt)
- Serve hot, garnished with lemon slices, basil leaves, toasted walnuts and freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
Quantity:
- Use Italian basil leaves. That will give deep green color to the spaghetti and stronger flavor.
- Leave out shrimps to make a vegetarian version. Add corn, baby corn or maybe grilled zucchini or eggplants.
- Keep the heat, low to moderate after adding the basil pesto. Add other ingredients one after the other after the pesto, so as not to over cook it...!!! It doesn't really need to cook or over cook.
- I didn't defrost the shrimps. It's better to defrost the shrimps or corn and bring it to room temperature, especially the cooked salad shrimps. You do not want to overcook(or even cook) them(as they are already cooked).
You can try these other spaghetti/pasta recipes too....
This is our favorite recipe, to be made anytime. If I ask my son, what shall I make for dinner or lunch, he would say "chili chicken" or "grilled salmon". I make this recipe, so many times.... usually, in a rush at last minute, so never had time to properly photograph it. I had photographed this, long time back and I did not like the pictures, so I want to do it again sometime, but as I said, I always make it in a hurry.... so if I make it in leisure, will try to take better photographs for this recipe.
Ingredients:
- about 400 gms chicken fillets( or breasts)
- 1 red and 1 green capsicum
- 1 red onion
- 7 garlic flakes
- 1 inch piece of ginger
- 3 green chilies
- 1 red chili
- 2 tbsps dark soy sauce
- 2 -3 tsp vinegar
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1/2 tsp of ajinomoto( msg-- optional)
- a bunch of spring onions chopped for garnish
Recipe:
- Wash and clean the chicken. Pat it dry with kitchen paper. Chop into 1/2 inch pieces.
- Grate 4 garlic cloves and ginger, chop 2 chilies and keep them in a bowl.
- Add 1 tbsp soy sauce and 1 tsp vinegar and mix well.
- Add chicken pieces to this marinade. Add about 1/2 a tsp of salt and 1 tsp of freshly pounded black pepper.
- Keep it aside covered with cling wrap in a refrigerator for about 1 hour ...to even 24 hours(1 day)
- Mince the remaining 3 pieces of garlic, 1 green and red chili, onions and capsicums.
- Heat a tbsp of oil in a pan.
- Add garlic, chilies and stir-fry on high for 30 secs.
- Add onion, stir-fry again for a minute.
- Add the capsicum, stir-fry for 2 minutes.
- Add another tbsp of soy sauce and 1 to 2 tsp of vinegar.
- Add marinated chicken. Lower the heat to medium and stir-fry .....for 3-5 minutes till the chicken is cooked.
- Serve hot, garnished with spring onions as an accompaniment with rice or just as is ....if it's a snack or an appetizer.
Quantity:
- 3-5 servings with rice/other curry or 2-3 servings as an appetizer
Notes:
- The chicken requires only 4-5 minutes to cook, if they are in small bite size pieces.
- If u get chicken shreds,(like I have got, in the picture) that means, it's slightly over cooked. You need to get a nice even brownish coating. A tip, I recently learnt about cooking chicken from my friend Lakshmi. However, this chicken is delicious, even if it is slightly overcooked.
- You can make it a day ahead... or marinate longer to get maximum flavor.
- Msg can be added after sauteing the onions, before adding capsicum. It gives good flavor to the chicken.
- You can also add a chicken stock cube in the end and some water and corn flour to make a gravy.
- The number of chilis and flavorings, I use..will make it a mildly spicy chicken. Do increase the number of chilies for a fiery taste..... :) Adjust the quantity of soy sauce, vinegar and salt and pepper accordingly.
- For vegetarian version of this recipe -- Try out the chili paneer recipe here....:)
- You can make similar recipe with boiled eggs.
