Sunday, January 30, 2011

Oven Fried Chicken



Serve 4

Ingredients:
1 chicken breast cut in to about 6 pieces(skin less)
1 yogurt  
1 egg
3 clove of garlic ground finely
oregano 1/2 tsp
1 cup bread crumbs
3/4 cup plain flour
paprika or red chille powder 1/4 tsp
salt and pepper to taste
Sunflower oil

Method:
Wash, dry and marinate chicken with salt, pepper, oregano, garlic and keep in fridge of about 1 hour.
Mix the egg with the yogurt and keep aside.
Make the breading mixture by mixing bread crumbs, flour, paprika, salt and pepper. keep aside.
pre heat the oven to 180C
Grease baking tray with heavily with sunflower oil.
Dip the chicken pieces in yogurt egg mixture and add transfer to breading mixture and coat well with it. Lay the chicken pieces on the tray. When all the pieces are done coating like this bake them for about 50minutes to 60 minutes in 180C oven. Make sure to turn the pieces every 20 minutes to evenly brown.
Enjoy.





Quick Vegetables Fried Rice



Serve 3-4

Ingredients:

4 cups cooked/ boiled rice
vegetables of choice finely chopped or shredded
( I used 2 carrots shredded, handful mushrooms cut finely, 1 tomato cute in to cubes, 5 beans cut finely, 1 dambala cute finely)
1 onions finely sliced
1 green chille chopped
1/2 chicken cube
1 egg
salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp sunflower oil
dash of soya sauce

Method:
Cook rice and keep it aside.
Heat oil in a wok or large frying pan when heated well add onions and green chilli and fry till light brown. drain and keep it aside.
To the same oil add rest of the vegetables and cook till 3-4 minute till tender but not browned. Add chicken cube. When its done add an egg and fry stirring continues till it flakes. Add salt and pepper.
Add the boiled rice and mix well. Add dash of soya sauce and salt and pepper to taste. Mix the fried onions and green chillie.
The Vegetable friend rice is ready.

Note: You can used green peas, white part of leeks or any other vegetable u find in the your fridge. Can add cooked flaked chicken or boiled prawns too.

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

French Toast



Ingredients:
Bread sliced 4
1 egg
1/2 cup whole milk
pinch of salt
Dash of Vanilla
Real honey/ Maple Syrup/ Sugar
Oil 1tbsp for each slice of bread

Method:

Crack an egg inside a bowl and add milk and a dash of vanilla. Adjust the amount of milk and vanilla added for your own taste.
Beat your eggs with a whisk or fork until your mix is nicely mixed.
Heat your pan and add a good amount of oil. Around ¼ inch is a good lining. Oil is better than using butter on your pan. Set the heat to Medium high.
Dip your sliced bread inside the bowl that contains the battered eggs. Make sure both sides are covered and let it drip for a sec.
Place the moist bread inside your pan and fry until perfection. You want your French toast a little golden/brown, but not burnt. Flip it so you cooked both sides.
Place your French toast on a plate, ready to be served. You can add whatever toppings you like: honey, syr and maybe powdered sugar. Enjoy!!!

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Sweet Potato Pie



This is a delicious, very easy to make pie. Most of the sweet potato pie and made with a pie crust but i just made is simple and with out a crust. Makes 1.1L dish


Ingredients
300g sweet potatoes
3/4 can sweet condensed milk
1eggs
1tbsp butter
pinch of  cinnamon powder
1/4tsp salt 




Method:
Boil the sweet potatoes, remove skin and mash them finely.Remove stringy parts.
Mix all ingredients together until smooth and creamy.
Preheat oven at 180C.
Lightly grease a 1.1L baking dish or u can double these amounts for a 9'' pie pan.
Bake for 55 to 60 minutes or until a knife inserted in the middle comes clean. (for a 9'' inch pie pan it might take big longer to bake)
When baked let it stand for 30minutes and Serve slightly warmed or cold.


Canned Mackerel Curry





Ingredients:
Canned Mackerel 400g in Tomato Sauce. (I used DELMAGE)
1onion finely sliced
3 cloves garlic grounded
1'' ginger piece ground
2 green chillies chopped
some curry leaves
coconut milk 1 cup
water 1/2cup
red chillie powder 1tsp
curry powder 1/2tsp
1/2tsp pepper power
salt to taste
1-2tbsp sunflower oil


Method:
Separate the Mackerel and tomato sauce and keep aside.
Heat oil in pan and when heated well add curry leaves,green chillie and onions and fry till almost turning golden in color.
Add ginger, garlic stir and fry for a minute.
Add chillie powder, pepper and curry powder and stir in 30sec.
splash little water to avoid the paste getting burned.The water will sizzle away.
Add the tomato sauce and 1/2 cf of water and cook for 5 minutes.
Add in the Mackerel and break each piece in half.
Cook till they are almost done and add coconut milk to finish off.
Bring the curry to boil and simmer till done.
Serve with rice or bread.





Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Mi3's Egg Roti



This is something I had at one of my best friends place. She made yummy Egg rotis and I was inspired to try some my self.

To make 4:

Ingredients:
Eggs 2
Flour 3/4 cup
1 medium carrot grated
1 cup thick coconut milk
1 small onion sliced thinly
2 green chillies chopped finely
1 tsp Chinese chille paste
2-3 curry leaves chopped finely
salt and pepper to taste (about 1/4tsp each)
oil for greasing pan

Method:
Beat eggs lightly and mix with coconut milk and flour.
Add onions, curry leaves, carrots, green chillie, chillie paste, salt and pepper.
Mix well until all lumps are removed. The batter will be quite thick.
Keep the batter for 15 minutes.
Lightly grease a nonstick pan and heat it.
When the pan is hot add one ladle (big spoon) of batter on to the pan and smooth it gently with the back of spoon to spread out the  mixture. 
Reduce heat to medium low and cover and cook for a minute or two.
When the bottom side is cooked. flip the roti to the other side with help of spatula.
Gently press the roti to the pan with the spatula. Cover and cook again for a minute or two till cooked.
This batter is sufficient for about 4 Rotis.
Serve hot with chicken gravy.


Sunday, January 16, 2011

Snake Gourd Salad


''A crunchy simple salad''

Ingredients:
Snake Gourd 1
Onion small 1
Green Chillie 1
Fresh grated coconut 1tbsp
salt and pepper to taste
lime juice to taste ( 3/4 lime)

Wash and scrape the whitish skin off the snake gourd. Cut it in half and spoon off the seeds inside.
Make thin slices of Snake Gourd.
Cut the onion and green chillie into think slices.
Mix them all together with freshly grated coconut and add salt, pepper and lime juice to taste.
Mix well and serve as a side dish with rice.

Spanish Tortilla (Spanish Omlete)










This is my first attempt for making Spanish Omelet. It says its the most common dish served in Spain. Simple but tasty. A must try for Egg lovers!!!

I made this omelet using only 2 eggs with 2 potatoes thus it came bit thinner than suppose to be, but nonetheless sooo tasty! And if you are making a smaller omelet, make sure you use a smaller non stick frying pan to ensure you get the shape. (6''diameter or so)


Ingredients:
6-7 medium potatoes, peeled
1 whole yellow onion
5-6 large eggs
2 cups of olive oil for pan frying
Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:


Cut the peeled potatoes in half lengthwise. Then, with the flat side on the cutting surface, slice the potato in pieces approximately 1/8" thick. Make sure to separate the pieces that stick together. It is not necessary to slice the potatoes paper thin and it is best not to use a food processor because most will slice the potatoes too thin. If you slice them a bit thick, don’t worry – it will simply take a bit longer for them to cook.

Peel and chop the onion into 1/4" pieces. Put potatoes and onions into a bowl and mix them together. Salt the mixture.

In a large, heavy, non-stick frying pan, heat the olive oil on medium high heat. Drop a single piece of potato into the oil to ensure it is hot enough to fry. Carefully place the potato and onion mixture into the frying pan, spreading them evenly over the surface. The oil should almost cover the potatoes. You may need to turn down the heat slightly, so the potatoes do not burn.

Note: If the oil is too hot, the potatoes will brown rapidly on the outside, but still be raw on the inside.

Leave in pan until the potatoes are cooked. If you can poke a piece of potato with a spatula and it easily breaks in two, your potatoes are done. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon or spatula.

While the mixture is draining, crack the eggs into a large mixing bowl and beat by hand with a whisk or fork. Add salt and pepper to taste. Pour in the potato onion mixture. Mix together with a large spoon.

Pour 1-2 Tbsp of olive oil into a small, non-stick frying pan (aprox. 9-10”) and heat on medium heat. Be careful not to get the pan too hot because the oil will burn - or the tortilla will! When hot, stir the potato onion mixture once more and “pour” into the pan and spread out evenly. Allow the egg to cook around the edges. Then you can carefully lift up one side of the omelet to check if the egg has slightly “browned.” The inside of the mixture should not be completely cooked and the egg will still be runny.

When the mixture has browned on the bottom, you are ready to turn it over to cook the other side. Carefully take the frying pan to a sink. Place a large dinner plate (12”) upside down over the frying pan. With one hand on the frying pan handle and the other on top of the plate to hold it steady, quickly turn the frying pan over and the omelet will “fall” onto the plate. Place the frying pan back on the range and put just enough oil to cover the bottom and sides of the pan – approximately 1.5 tsp. Let the pan warm for 30 seconds or so. Now slide the omelet (which is probably still a bit runny), into the frying pan, using a spatula to catch any egg mixture that runs out. Use the spatula to shape the sides of the omelet. Let the omelet cook for 3-4 minutes. Turn the heat off and let the tortilla sit in the pan for 2 minutes.

Carefully slide the omelet onto a plate! To serve as a main course, slice it into 6-8 pieces like a pie. Serve sliced French bread on the side.

Enjoy!!!




Saturday, January 15, 2011

Cookies



Ingredients:
200g self raising flour
100g sugar
1 egg
1tsp vanilla essence
50g butter
Dash of oil for greasing tray
Dash of all purpose flour for sprinkling 
Few raisins, peanuts, cherries (optional)

Method:
Set the oven to preheat at 170C.
Put butter in a dry bowl and stir well with ladle. Add sugar and stir until it becomes creamy.
Add egg and vanilla essence to above and stir again. Sift self raising flour.Stir.
Sprinkle all purpose flour for kneading on counter or board and spread dough 2-7mm thick with rolling pin. (or roll in between two lunch sheets)
Cut with cookie cutter in to desired pieces.
Decorate cookies with peanuts,cherries etc.
Grease tray lightly with oil and sprinkle with self raising flour. Then place cookies on tray. Put in top rack on the oven for bake and bake at 170C for 10-15minutes.

Friday, January 14, 2011

Tofu Curry (Bean Curd)



4 to 6 servings

Ingredients


1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup finely chopped shallots/ onions
2 tablespoons finely grated peeled ginger
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/4 cup peanut butter (ground fresh roasted peanuts to make butter)
2 teaspoons turmeric
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon hot chili paste
1 cup water
2 cups light coconut milk
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice and 1 1/2 teaspoons finely grated lime peel
1 tablespoon (firmly packed) golden brown sugar
1 (200g) packages organic firm tofu, drained, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 1/2 cups 1/4- to 1/3-inch-thick slices peeled carrots
1 large red bell pepper/ capsicum cut into 3/4-inch pieces 



Method:

Heat oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add shallots, ginger, and garlic; cook until shallots are tender, about 6 minutes. Add peanut butter, turmeric, cumin, and chili paste; stir until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Whisk in 1 cup water, then coconut milk, lime juice and peel, and brown sugar; bring to simmer. Season sauce with salt. Add tofu, carrots, and bell pepper; simmer over medium heat until carrots are tender, adjusting heat to medium-low if beginning to boil and occasionally stirring gently, about 20 minutes. Season to taste with salt.

Egg Moillee (Egg Curry with Coconut Milk)



Recipe adapted by Aparna @ My Diverse Kitchen from The Vegetarian Menu Book by Vasantha Moorthy . This curry gives a silky smooth gravy and very mild taste egg curry.

Ingredients:
6 eggs, hard boiled
2 large onions, sliced thin
2 large tomatoes, chopped
2 -3 green chillies, slit lengthwise
½ tsp ginger paste
½ tsp garlic paste
½ tsp turmeric powder
1/2tsp chili powder
1/4tsp black pepper powder
3 cardamom pods
4 cloves
2 small sticks cinnamon
2 bay leaves
4-5 tbsp ghee
thick milk from 1 coconut
1 sprig curry leaves
3 tbsp chopped coriander
salt to taste

Method:
Cut each egg in half. Heat the ghee in a pan and place the eggs with cut side face down. Shallow fry the egg halves, gently turning over, till golden brown. Remove from pan and keep aside.
To the remaining ghee, add the bay leaves, cardamom, cloves and cinnamom and stir a couple of times. Add the green chillies, stir and now add the sliced onions. Sauté till soft and golden in colour. Add the ginger and garlic pastes and sauté till the ghee separates.
Add the turmeric powder, curry leaves and tomatoes and allow to cook well.
When done add the coconut milk, 2 tbsp coriander leaves, salt and mix. Just bring to a boil and take off the heat immediately. If you allow the curry to boil after adding coconut milk, it will split. The consistency of the coconut milk gravy should be thick and sauce-like rather than watery.
To serve, place the shallow fried egg halves in a serving dish and pour the coconut milk curry over this. Garnish with remaining 1 tbsp coriander leaves.
Serve hot with chapathis/ parathas/ rice or aapams (fermented rice pancakes).

Monday, January 3, 2011

Chocolate Cupcakes



Makes 6-10 cupcakes

Ingredients:
Semi sweet chocolate 150g (I used Ritzbury Caters Dark Chocolate)
Butter 70g
Sugar 80g
Plain flour 80g
Baking powder 1 tsp
2 large eggs

Method:
Line muffin tray with muffin cases. Pre heat oven to 170C.
Melt butter and chocolate together in microwave or in double boiler method. Mix well and keep aside.
Beat eggs lightly till creamy and stir in sugar and mix until dissolved.
Pour the egg mixture in to the chocolate mixture and stir well to combine.
Sift in the flour and baking powder and stir to combine.
Pour the mixture in to muffin cases in the tray and bake for 20-25 minutes.
Once baked remove from tray and let it cool on wire rack.


Saturday, January 1, 2011

CUPCAKES


This is a recipe from Nigella Lawson. The cake came out soft and moist but her suggested baking temperature was not agreeable so I adjusted the baking time and temperature.

Makes 12 cupcakes
Ingredients:

125g all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
125g caster sugar
125g soft butter
2 eggs
Half a teaspoon vanilla extract
Approximately 2 tablespoons milk 

Method:
  1. Preheat the oven to 180C and line the tin with the muffin cases.
  2. Cream the butter and sugar, beat in the eggs one at a time with a little of the flour.
  3. Then add the vanilla extract and fold in the rest of the flour, adding the milk to get the dropping consistency. 
  4. Spoon the mixture on to the cupcake cases trying to fill each case equally, judging by eye.
  5. Put in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until the cup cakes are cooked and golden on top. As soon as bearable, take the cup cakes in their cases out of the tin and let cool, right way up, on a wire rack.
  6. Once they're cool, spread the top with royal icing.




Royal Icing Using Egg Whites:
Makes about 3 cups

2 large (60 grams) egg whites

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

3 cups (330 grams) confectioners (powdered or icing) sugar, sifted

In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the egg whites with the lemon juice until combined. Add the sifted powdered sugar and beat on low speed until combined and smooth. The icing needs to be used immediately or transferred to an airtight container as royal icing hardens when exposed to air. Cover with plastic wrap when not in use.

Read more:
http://www.joyofbaking.com/RoyalIcing.html#ixzz19m30TPhs