Mushroom and Chicken Quiche

As with almost all my recipes, this is again an easy version. It does not have the shell or pastry. Once the fillings (chicken and mushroom ) are done, the rest of it is very easy. 

For the mushroom filling, 

Saute two medium sized onions till olden brown, with a pinch of salt. Add 1/4 tsp turmeric, 1/2 tsp red chilly 

powder and sliced buttom mushrooms, one cup. Let it cool.

For shredded chicken 

Cook 100 gms of boneless chicken with one spoon of vinegar (I used apple cider), a pinch of turmeric, 1/2 tablespoon of mixed parsley and oregano , salt to taste . Cook in low flame with lid on so there is no need to add water. cool and shred. Keep aside. 

For the quiche,

Sieve 1/2 cup of maida (flour) with a 1/2 tsp of baking soda.

Rub in about 75 gms of cold butter with the flour and make crumbs. 

Pour in 1 and 1/2 cups of milk (I used Toned milk/)

Crack in Four whole eggs

Grate in 1 and 1/2 cups of cheese (I used Cheeza)

Mix in the mushroom and the chicken fillings..

Add salt to taste 

Preheat oven - 180C

Grease the baking tin with butter. I lightly floured it. Pour the mixture in. Bake at 180, for 40 minutes. 

Perfectly cooked, with pockets of oozy cheese .. served with home made potato salad... 

Happy 2014..

I have not posted anything on this blog since march of last year.. it is not something I could just leave off, since this blog is what led the way to my current occupation..

To completely avoid this blog is impossible ..and this year, I definitely plan to keep posting here.. so as a start, Though it is not a recipe, I am posting a picture of our last dinner of 2013. Fully home made ..

Potato and Egg masala

This is a great dish to go with chappatis or bread. If you do not add the eggs, it will make a tasty vegetarian side-dish.
It can also be turned into a curry , with ease.

Boiled potatoes - (4 to 5 medium sized ) I usually do this in a pressure cooker, add water to the level of the potatoes, prick each one with a knife, pressure cook to 4 whistles and let cool. Then peel and keep aside.

Hard boiled eggs - (3 -4)

Onion - 1 medium, sliced thin

Green chillies - 2 slit lengthwise


Ginger - 1/2  inch, finely diced

Garlic - 2 cloves (finely diced)

(Alternately, use half a tsp of ginger-garlic paste )

Chilli Powder - 1/2 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Tomatoes - 2 medium - sliced

Fresh coriander leaves -1 bunch  finely chopped

Coconut milk - 2 tbs

Salt to taste

Crushed pepper for garnish - optional.

Temper with Mustard seeds, Split channa dal, and dried red chillies.

To make things easier, I sometimes begin with the tempering. But that is a personal choice. So decide how you would like to do this.

In a kadai, add about 2 tsps cooking oil, add mustard seeds, wait till they split, add the channa dal and dried red chillies and immediately add the onions...
By the time the onions are sauteed well, the channa dal will be done... otherwise,there is a chance that the channa dal might burn.
Add the split green chillies,and the ginger and garlic .
Then the red chillie powder and turmeric powder and immediately add the tomatoes...

Once the tomatoes are cooked down, crush the boiled potatoes roughly, into bite sized pieces, (you can also cut the boiled potatoes into cubes)

Add about a 1/4 glass of water and cook with a lid on, about 7 minutes, this is to infuse all the flavors into the potatoes. Add salt to taste.

Now add the coconut milk and heat through. make sure it does not boil. That may cause the coconut milk to split. (add more water at this point to make more gravy. Do not add more coconut milk instead, unless you want a sweet taste.)

Take off the heat and add the hard boiled eggs cut into halves (optional) and the chopped coriander leaves.  Stir through, very carefully.

Garnish with crushed pepper . 

The Versatile Blogger Award

I have been shamefully neglecting this blog... And yet, i was touched and surprised to receive this award from Shalini Chandak. Her blog Craft Island is among one of many great blogs, that I check out frequently.

It has been really hectic for me, the past couple of months, and I have been actually late in posting this award. A big SORRY, for that ..!



To pass on this award, I pick the following fabulous bloggers...

Michelle Raleigh - Artventuring

Belinda Lee - Bel Lee Beads

Sheryl Westleigh - Handmade Business Blog

Thanks, again Shalini...

I hope that all of you will appreciate my new Website Swardaa, as much as this blog.

An eventful beginning to 2013

Days just fly by... and it had been a great start to 2013. Hope and pray that it continues... The best thing about New Year was that , i got to celebrate it with my family - my siblings, I and parents got together after about 3 and half years..so it was a big deal..!

And  we managed to get yet another bonus of 10 more days ...

So yeah my jewelry work, or blogging did not happen..but who is complaining? ...

And we got to celebrate our dad's birthday too....

Meanwhile between the travel and stay from Chennai , I have also been working on my new website, which fill feature my artisan Jewelry and Cold Porcelain crafts..

So until i am satisfied with the design aspect , I guess posting here is going to take a back seat..not that I have stopped experimenting with my cooking...but the fact is that , there has been a lot of Mom's fabulous food and eating out ...

So I need to gather some fresh material also...

Here is the new and Improved business LOGO

I hope that all of you , who have given such great support on my cook n craft blog, will do the same for my website too..

Please click HERE to go to 'Swardaa'.

Simple, boneless chicken fry

This is a post done on request - for someone who is attempting cooking non-veg for the first time...

Personally, I always like a chicken fry with the bone. But for a novice cook, a boneless one maybe easier - in terms of preparation.

N, this is just a very basic style and as you get better at cooking you can try and experiment with as many ingredients as you want.

Boneless chicken - 250 gms (breast or thigh pieces)
Red Chilly powder - 1/2 tsp (add more if you want )
Turmeric powder - a good pinch
Ginger garlic paste - 1/2 tsp
Lemon juice - 1/4 tsp
Salt - to taste
Few drops of olive oil or vegetable oil.

Mix all the ingredients together. Marinate for half an hour.

After that you can deep fry, pan fry or even stir fry the same, if they are cut in strips.

I prefer to shallow fry the chicken. Heat a flat pan well, add about 1/2 tbsp oil. Wait till the oil is hot. Then add the pieces one by one with a bit of space for turning them. When the bottom changes color, turn it to the other side. now, I just lower the flame to a medium , and let it cook through for about 8 - 12 minutes, depending on the thickness of the pieces. Then lid off and cook till both sides are lightly brown .

Garnish with some coriander leaves.

A basic curry

If you have a basic Indian curry recipe, it is just easy to add one or two ingredients and tweak it to make a variety of vegetable or meat dishes that go with rotis or rice.  This recipe is for about  600 - 800 gms of meat or vegetables.

Onions - 2 (peeled, and diced/ sliced)
Green chillies - 2 (slit)
Curry leaves - 1 stalk
Ginger - 1 inch (finely chopped)
Garlic - 2-3 cloves (finely sliced)
Coriander powder - 1 tbsp
Red chilly powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Garam masala powder - 1/2 tsp
Tomatoes - 2 (diced)
Salt to taste
Oil

In a wok, heat about 1/2 tbsp oil. Add the onions and the curry leaves.
Once the onions turn golden , add green, ginger and garlic and saute till the raw smell is gone.
Add the coriander powder, chilly powder and the turmeric powder with a tsp of water so they do not burn. Saute  till the water is gone and the paste is oily. Add the tomatoes and cook them soft. Add powdered garam masala.

Now add the meat ,or vegetables. Cover and cook. Add water or chicken/ vegetable stock for more gravy.

Add salt to taste, when it comes to a boil. Cover and cook till the main ingredient is cooked to your satisfaction.

Garnish with chopped coriander leaves/ fried onions/ friend chillies/ a mustard tempering/ spring onions etc.

I usually never have a strict recipe that I follow. Also adding a 1/4 cup of coconut milk, or a squeeze of lime juice OR even a 1/4 tsp of soy - just before the final garnish can do wonders.