A chicken pie

Wow.. I am sooo busy now-a-days that I did not realise it has been 5 days since I last posted.

This is something I made a week or so back. I made it the help of the wondorous creation called Aloo Mash..!! That is mashed potatoes in flakes ...

 Minced Chicken - 250 gms - hold it till last

Garlic - 3 to 4 cloves (chopped fine)

Onion - 1 large (finely chopped)

Tomatoes - 2 medium (finely chopped)

Turmeric powder - a pinch

Red chilly powder - 1 tsp

Capsicum - 1/2 (finely chopped)

Salt to taste

Grated cheeses - 1 tbsp (I used cheddar)

Oregano - 1/2 tsp

In a wok saute all the ingredients from garlic onwards till oregano and finally add the minced chicken till all the water is absorbed and chicken is nearly done.

 To the mash, I added ,

Mash flakes - 1 and 1/2 cup

Chicken stock - 1/2 cup

Milk - 1 tbsp

Grated cheese - 2 tbsp

dried thyme - 1/2 tsp

Oregano - 1 tsp

Salt to taste

Pepper - according to taste

Now in a baking tray, grease well and layer the minced chicken then add the mashed potatoes on top. Lightly brish the top with melted butter to brown the potato crust. Bake at 180 C for about 20 - 30 minutes. Serve hot with tabasco/ tomato sauce.

Corn-flour garlic chicken (dry)

This is a dish that is strictly my own experiment.

Boneless chicken - 500 gms
Butter milk/ beaten curd - 1/2 cup
Garlic paste - 2 tsp
Crushed pepper - 1 tsp
Salt to taste

Cut the chicken into strips approximately 1 by 2 inches. Add the rest of the ingredients and keep aside to marinate for half an hour.

Corn flour - 2tsp
Dried herbs - oregano, tarragon (optional)
Salt - a pinch

take the chicken pieces from the marinade and evenly coat the corn flour mixture. Refrigerate for 10 minutes for ease in frying. add oil in a shallow frying pan and wait till it is hot. I used about 1 tbsp of oil.Shallow fry the pieces until the chicken is evenly brown.

Take the pieces from the oil and add the left-over marinade to the oil. Reduce till the oil comes on top and coat the fried pieces. THIS STEP MAYBE AVOIDED FOR THOSE WHO WANT THE CHICKEN CRISPY.

Garnish with spring onions and serve hot.

Mutton fry

I made this fry in this particular way to get some stock for soup. this way, all the fat would go into the stock, and hopefully into my daughter who is looking decidedly skinny.

Also I hoped, by doing this, it would keep my husband and I from consuming that much less fat.......yeah FAT chance!!

Mutton - 1 kg
Garlic - 1 pod (peeled and lightly crushed)
pepper corns - 1 tsp
Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
Salt - 1 tsp

Pressure cook all of the above with 1/4 cup water . Wait for 4 whistles and take off the stove.
Wait for the steam to release.Separate the liquid and the meat pieces...all the garlic and peppercorns maybe taken with the meat.

Heat a kadai/ wok, and add in the same order

Oil - 1 tbsp
Onions - 2 (chopped into cubes)
Curry leaves - As much as you like
Green chillies - 2 (slit)
Dried red chillies - 5-6 (broken into pieces)
Chili powder - 1 tsp
Coriander powder - 1 tbsp

Saute well till the raw smell is gone. Now add

Steak sauce - 2 tsp (or more according to choice)
Garam masala powder (I powdered mine fresh)

Add the mutton pieces to ths till the masala is coated well, add salt to taste, since only 1 tsp was added .Put the lid and wait for 10 minutes, now add some sliced tomatoes(optional) and put off the stove.

Garnish with more curry leaves and/or coriander leaves.

My attempt at Home improvement - Window

Speaking of view from windows....

There was one window in the house that needed a cover-up very badly...Under an ancient air-conditioner,with the wires hanging from it looking out into the balcony, providing a view of the washing line and some things stored for repair...

I guess Nate Berkus would have extended the curtain rod over the balcony door to cover the window too. My friend who stays in a similar flat has got her window done that way and it looks really elegant..

But as this is not our home, and we are just tenants,making a change was not an option...

Ohhhh..did I mention that this is the first thing anyone would see when they entered our home? yeah this infamous window is in our living room....

So I did what I could to make that window look interesting with the resources at hand.... and between caring for my baby.I would say that it fell a bit short of my expectations, but I just wanted to cover it up ASAP. Maybe at a later date I will get round to modifying it. You can see the result for yourself.

Would dearly like your comments on the same.

Chicken made easy....and healthy

There are many people including a couple of my cousins and my dear sis, who would like to make chicken, but do not have the patience or the ability to know when and how to add the particular ingredients to get the best results...

This is a recipe that will ensure good results...

1 kg Chicken (cleaned, and cut into pieces)
1 onion -peeled, sliced long
4-5 cloves of garlic
8-10 peppercorns crushed
1 stalk of celery, diced
1 potato- washed, peeled, sliced round
1/4 tsp oregano
3 fair sized tomatoes sliced round
1 tsp soy sauce/ oyster sauce
1 tsp paprika,
a pinch of turmeric
chilly powder according to taste
salt

heat the cooking pot, add 1 tsp oil..just enough to turn the onions golden , add the crushed garlic, saute till the smell is pleasant..add the chilli powder and chicken pieces. Once the meat turns white, add all the other ingredients ...yep! ...just toss in everything, turn the flame way down..medium or less...and wait 30 - 45 minutes...

check if the chicken is done ..just check the potaoes..if they are cooked through, it is time. there is no need to add water. there will be very less gravy, but it will taste really good. garnish with spring onions...

This is my own creation..just a change from the usual chicken masala we make.

P.S...If celery is not available, green peppers (capsicum) can be used to give a different but nice flavour.

Roast Chicken - my way

,

I know it is quite perverse of me to post this recipe just when we have to keep away from poultry due to the spreading bird flu hereabouts!!!!



But this is also another way to enjoy a dish I had made some time back....great memories!!!



Chicken - 1 whole dressed and skinned.



Curd - 1 Tbsp

Ginger garlic paste - 2 full tsp

Pepper - crushed - 1 tsp

Lime juice - frm one lemon

Butter - 1/2 tsp softened to room temperature (or 1/2 tsp oil)

Soy sauce - a dash

Salt to taste



Mix all the ingredients and make the marinade. Thoroughly cover the whole chicken inside and out, in the marinade. Keep for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Stuff 1 onion cut into quarters, 1 sliced tomato and some pieces of a celery stalk into the cavity.



Add 1 tbsp of water to the pressure cooker, layer the base of the cooker with onion and tomato slices (it adds to the flavour and prevents the chicken from sticking to the cooker)



I added other veggies like potato , and carrots and pressure cooked the chicken. Turn off the stove after two whistles, wait till the pressure drops and take the chickn out. In a non stick wok, add 1 tsp of oil, spread it well, remove only the chicken and brown it( about 5mints each side should do.) Keep the chicken on a platter.



Empty the veggies and the stock in the wok and reduce the liquid till it is thickened. Arrange the veggies(also tossed in a Zuchini at this point) around the chicken and pour the liquid over the whole.



Enjoy it hot.









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