Mutton Korma

When you're cooking for friends, it's got to be something special and it's got to be good. I'd done enough with chicken and took upon making some good mutton curry. And that decision was taken at the butcher's shop while I was browsing the masala section as he chopped the meat into pieces. Behind one masala box I found the recipe of Mutton Korma. It seemed fairly simple to make and without too many ingredients. That kind works best for me.

Serves 5 - 6 people.

Ingredients:
Marinate 1 kilo mutton pieces - leg and shoulder - overnight in:
1/2 cup curd
1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp chilli powder
Juice of one lemon
Salt to taste

Ingredients for curry:
1/4 cup ghee
2 medium sized onions finely sliced
1 medium sized onions finely sliced and fried till golden brown, for garnish
1 inch cinnamon piece
4 cloves
4 cardamom pods
200 gm set curt hung for a couple of hours and whipped till smooth
1 tsp each of - cumin powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder, chilli powder
1 tbsp tamarind pulp
2 tbsp tomato puree
Salt to taste

Method:
1. Heat ghee and add cinnamon, cardamom and cloves.
2. Add onions and saute till light brown.
3. Add marinated mutton pieces along with marinade.
4. Add whipped curd, cumin, turmeric and chilli powder.
5. Mix well and add tamarind pulp along with tomato puree.
6. Add water till mutton is just about immersed in it.
7. Let it all come to a boil on medium heat, and then cook for around 50 mins on low flame. If it still seems a little undercooked, let it stay on the flame for another 10 mins.
8. Take off heat. Garnish with fried onions, coriander leaves and almond flakes if you have any.

Goes great with paranthas, rice, rotis, anything.

Notes:
* I first hang the curd and then whip it so it's smooth and won't curdle in the heat. Even if it does look curdled, don't worry, by the end it works out just fine.

Chocolate Crowned Banana Bread

This one is actually the result of miscommunication. Also, I totally get it how bakers, chefs and cooks named their accidental dishes. Originally I wanted to make banoffee pie in a jar. But then one thing led to another, multiple people ended up bringing home bananas. I have somehow utilized 3 over here. 6 more are there. God knows how to use them, besides direct consumption. I made banana bread with chocolate swirls. Now, I wanted the swirls. Promise. But the chocolate ended up not surrendering to the toothpick and on top of the bread batter. Whatodo! So it then became my Chocolate Crowned Banana Bread. By the way, it's great with a cup of adrak chai on Sunday morning. Or any other morning.

Ingredients:
3 ripe bananas
2 cups flour (you could do 1 cup maida and 1 cup atta as well)
1/2 cup salted butter at room temperature (if unsalted then add 1/4 tsp salt in the flour)
3/4 cup brown sugar (or even regular will do)
2 eggs
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup dark chocolate melted with a blob of butter

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 180 C.
2. Mix butter and sugar till fluffy and beat in eggs, along with vanilla.
3. Mash the bananas and add to the butter sugar mixture.
4. Mix the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder and soda) together.
5. Slowly fold the dry ingredients into the wet. DO NOT over mix. Else you'll end up with banana flavoured leather like substance.
6. At this point you can add walnuts, raisins or almonds if you'd like.
7. Spoon the melted chocolate on top of the bread batter and run a skewer or a tooth pick around, trying to create swirls.
8. Bake for 50 mins at 180 C.

Let it cool completely before slicing this up.

Roast chicken with Rocket and Apples and a Spicy Orange Vinaigrette

I've been looking for rocket leaves for a while now. They are my favourite in salads. And quite honestly, I didn't want lettuce. There's too much lettuce everywhere, in every salad. I finally found a bag of rocket leaves in my local grocery store. These fancy supermarkets are of no use sometimes, I tell you. Also, colleagues from Chile sent across all sorts of condiments and spices to a few colleagues here. I did what I could and managed to get some for myself. I'm using this particular kind where I could taste chilli and coriander distinctively. I used it in the vinaigrette with extra virgin olive oil and orange juice. Makes for a good Saturday meal. Not too heavy, and not too light. Just the right kind for a post lunch nap.

Recipe for one.

Ingredients:
1 chicken breast, sliced horizontally
1 tsp ginger garlic paste
1 tsp chilli powder or any other spicy condiment you can find (there are tons in the market)
1/4 orange juice
Salt to taste

Marinate chicken in mentioned ingredients for an hour or two.

Method:
1. In a large pan, heat some olive oil and place chicken breast pieces.
2. Let it cook for 3 - 4 mins on each side and take it off the heat.

Marinade:
Mix together
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp spicy condiment powder/paste
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
3 tbsp orange juice

You can serve this with rocket leaves, sliced green apples, pomegranate leaves and sauted mushrooms like I did, or with mash potatoes or rice. 

Chicken, Broccoli and Mushroom Stir Fry with Brown Rice

Continuing my 'eating better' stride, I present to you, Chicken, Broccoli and Mushroom Stir Fry with Brown Rice. There were unused mushrooms and broccoli from dinner last night and all I needed was some chicken for a simple stir fry to go with brown rice. It's pretty simple and doesn't take forever to make. You'll get brown rice anywhere these days and it's delicious!

Serves 2.

Rice

Ingredients:
1 cup brown rice
2 1/2 cup water

Method:
1. Rinse rice at least thrice before pressure cooking it with the water for 15 mins. Check for doneness yourself and cook further if required. Keep aside.

Stir fry

Ingredients:
250 gms boneless chicken (I used thighs) cubes
1 cup blanched broccoli
1 cup mushroom, sliced
1 tbsp cornflour dusted on the chicken
1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp chilli paste OR 1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp honey
Sesame seeds to garnish
Basil leaves
Lemon grass leaf
2 tbsp Sesame oil

Method:
1. Coat chicken with cornstarch, ginger garlic paste and a touch of salt.
2. Heat 2 tbsp sesame oil and saute chicken till cooked. Say about 10 mins.
3. Add mushrooms and cook for 5 mins.
4. Add soy, fish sauce and chilli paste/powder.
5. Add torn up basil leaves and the lemon grass leaf, along with broccoli.
6. Finish with honey and sprinkle sesame seeds on top.

Serve with brown rice.

You can garnish with spring onions if you'd like. Or add carrots and other vegetables as well. Make it your own and it'll be delicious!

Whole Wheat Spaghetti in a Roast Bell Pepper Sauce with Broccoli and Mushrooms

In times like these when fast food, junk food and generally unhealthy food is all around you, it's quite hard to stick to a healthy lifestyle. It's very easy to cave in and order fried chicken, greasy Chinese food, pizzas with not good but processed cheese, burgers with highly processed meats and sauces, and of course ridiculously heavy and sweet desserts. These can be addictive. Anyway, what I'm getting at is, not that I don't enjoy an occasional pizza slice, or a burger. And sugar is my poison. Home cooked meals are indeed the best. You can control everything that goes into your food and by extension, you. I'm not suggesting you eat brussel sprouts and carrot slices everyday. But there are ways to cut down the fat and grease in food without compromising its taste. I love my pasta and I love a good sauce to go with it. I read somewhere about roasting bell peppers and turning it into a sauce. It's a genius idea. I also had whole wheat spaghetti in my pantry. So, there!

Serves 2 hungry people.

Ingredients:
250 grams or half a pack of spaghetti
2 red bell peppers, diced
2 very large or 4 medium cloves of garlic, grated
1 cup broccoli, blanched
1 cup mushroom slices
Basil leaves
Salt and pepper for seasoning
Paprika or chilli powder if you like some heat in your pasta
Olive oil for cooking

Method:
1. Heat a tbsp of olive oil, add garlic and saute bell peppers till you see them charred. Say around 5 - 7 mins.
2. Take off heat, cool and churn it in a blender with some salt till smooth or chunky (however you like your sauce).
3. While your sauce is in the making, cook the spaghetti as per instructions (usually 7 mins) and keep aside. Retain a cup of the cooking water to thin the sauce.
4. Heat more olive oil and brown the mushrooms in it. Toss the broccoli once mushrooms are done.
5. Add the bell pepper sauce now and a splash of the water you cooked the spaghetti in.
6. Tear up a few basil leaves and toss them in.
7. Remove from heat and mix the spaghetti in the sauce.

You can add any veggies or chicken and even different herbs. I just love the freshness of basil and could get my hands on some good basil here in Gurgaon after a long time. 

Pudina Dhaniya Chicken

I use pudina and dhaniya (mint and coriander leaves) together only in biryani. I intended to make biryani, but just got lazy and turned the base of the biryani masala into a curry. Obviously, you can tweak it any way you'd like, but don't skimp out on the pudina and dhaniya which makes the dish fresh, and hey..your greens are sorted for the day!

Ingredients for marinade:
1 kilo chicken pieces on the bone
1 tbsp ginger paste
1 tbsp garlic paste
1 tsp red chilli paste/powder
1 tsp turmeric
Juice of 1 lemon
Salt to taste

Marinate for 3-4 hours or overnight.

Ingredients for curry:
1 cup pudina (mint) leaves
1 1/2 cups dhaniya (coriander) leaves
3 green chillies
2 onions pureed
4 cloves garlic
2 dried red chillies
1 inch piece ginger
1 tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
1 inch piece cinnamon
3 cloves
1/4 cup grated or small pieces of coconut (optional)
1/4 cup fresh cream
Oil/ghee

Method:
1. Heat a tbsp of oil/ghee and saute pudina, dhaniya, cinnamon, cloves and ginger separately.
2. Grind to paste with garlic, cumin, ginger and coconut. Add water if necessary.
3. Heat some more oil and saute the dried red chillies along with the onion puree.
4. Once onion puree is cooked or has turned light brown in colour, add the pudina and dhaniya paste. Cook for 2 mins.
5. Now add chicken with some salt, and cook for 30 mins or till meat looks like it's coming off the bone.
6. Add cream to finish.

You can garnish with fried onions or even toss some almond flakes in there for some crunch. I served this with rice. You can alternatively serve it with rotis/paranthas.

Chocolate Tart

I totally get it when celebrity chefs go on and on about using good quality chocolate while baking. A friend at work got me some from Australia. I wanted to showcase the quality of the chocolate by make a tart. I knew I struck gold when I saw how the chocolate melted under hot cream and milk, to form a puddle of luscious, silky and shiny bowl of heaven. Now I've been fairly unsuccessful when it comes to shortcrust pastry. Maybe it was the recipe or my skill of bringing the dough together, but it rarely came out right. This time it did. I was pleasantly surprised through out the process till the blind baking bit. The dough came together easily, rolled out just fine and sat in the tart tin also pretty well. I hope I continue to stay this lucky at all times. But try this recipe out on a Sunday when you want your home to be filled with the aroma of chocolate. This is an instant crowd pleaser. Folks in my office are going nuts!

Ingredients for the shortcrust pastry:
2 cups flour
3/4 th cup cold salted butter cut into pieces
3 tbsp sugar
1 egg
Up to 1/4 cup ice cold water

Method:
1. In a large bowl, put the flour, butter and sugar.
2. Add the butter and begin to crumble it in the flour till the mixture looks like bread crumbs.
3. Add the egg and mix it in the flour by hand.
4. Add the cold water, spoon by spoon till the dough begins to come together. If it comes together soon enough, don't add the rest of the water.
5. Don't knead it, but just turn it into a ball and cover it with cling film or parchment paper.
6. Chill in the fridge for 20 mins.
7. To roll it out, place the dough on parchment/butter paper and use a rolling pin. You can alternatively flour the surface of your kitchen counter and do the same. Roll it out enough to fit in your tart tin.
8. Press the sides well enough and use some left over dough to patch up any torn parts.
9. Line the dough with foil and fill it with rajma or channa, and bake it in your preheated oven at 180 C for 30 mins till it's light brown in colour. Don't leave it for long because you're going to bake it again with the chocolate filling.
10. Take it out, and let it cool while you work on the filling.

Ingredients for the filling:
300 gms or 2 full cups of good chocolate - 70% cocoa, cut up into pieces
150 ml or one cup of full cream
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs
A pinch of salt

Method:
1. Heat the cream and milk in a saucepan till hot, but not scalding.
2. Pour it over the cup up chocolate in a bowl and gently run a whisk through it and watch how beautifully the chocolate solids surrender to the heat of the cream and milk.
3. Add salt and break the eggs into it and whisk it till everything is incorporated well.
4. Pour it into the cooled tart shell and bake for 20 mins till it's set at 180 C.

Let the tart cool completely and then put it in the fridge for at least 30 mins before cutting it up. Dust some cocoa on it for garnish. Trust me, this is the best thing you can do to a bar of chocolate this good!

Recipe adapted from The Food Network