Chicken Satay with peanut sauce and raw mango salad

Everybody I know loves Thai food. There is something comforting and familiar about the spices and ingredients used in Thai cooking because it is very familiar to Indian food.

Chicken Satay with peanut sauce is one of my favourite Thai dishes and I have tasted various versions of it- some very good and some really bad! This recipe of Chicken satay is the closest we can get to the authentic and original version.

Traditionally,  the salad is made with raw papaya and lot of spices and dried shrimps, but this is my version and here I have toned it down and used raw mango just to give the salad a twist!

The same recipe can be used for Prawn Satay. Just substitute the chicken with shrimps (shelled and de-veined).

 

 

Serves: 1-2 persons.

 

Ingredients:

 

For the Satay:

Boneless chicken breast fillet                     1-2 nos.

Minced ginger                                            1/2 tbsp

Minced garlic                                             1tbsp

Dark Soya sauce                                        2 tbsps

Lime juice                                                  1 tbsp

Brown sugar                                              1/2 tbsp.

Salt                                                             to taste

Black pepper                                              a pinch

Oil                                                              1-2 tbsps

Bamboo skewers                                        as required

 

For the Peanut sauce:

Finely chopped shallots/onions                  1 small

Peeled and crushed peanuts                        3 tbsps

Peanut butter (optional)                              1 tbp

Minced garlic                                              1 tsp

Brown sugar                                                1/2 tsp

Soya sauce                                                   1 tbsp.

Thick coconut milk                                     1/2 cup

Salt                                                               to taste

Water                                                           as required

Oil                                                               few drops

 

Raw mango salad:

Raw mango                                                1 nos

Carrot                                                         1 nos

Salt                                                             to taste

Black pepper                                              to taste

Roasted peanuts                                         a handful

Chopped coriander leaves                         as required

Chopped mint leaves                                 2-3 leaves

Soya sauce                                                 1 tsp

Lime juice                                                  few drops

 

To serve:

Cubes of fresh cucumber and onions.

 

 

Method:

• Prepare the salad- grate the raw mango and carrots. Coarsely crush the roasted peanuts using a pestle & mortar. You can also pulse it in the blender. But I like doing it the traditional way! Combine the grated mango and carrots with all the other ingredients and toss in a bowl along with the crushed peanuts. Save some peanuts for garnish or to serve on the side. Keep the salad aside or in fridge.

 

 

 

 

• Wash and pat dry the chicken fillets and cut it into strips (about 2 cms thick).

• Take a bamboo skewer and insert one strip into one skewer.

Note- Always soak the bamboo skewers in water before using. Otherwise it will burn on the pan/grill.

• Once you have put all the chicken strips on the skewer, marinate it with the minced ginger, garlic, salt, brown sugar, lime juice, dark soya sauce and black pepper. Keep aside in the fridge for 15 mins.

• In the meanwhile, heat few drops of oil in a saucepan.

• Saute finely chopped shallots. Add the crushed peanuts and peanut butter along with few tbsps. of water.

• Next, add the minced garlic and soya sauce.

• Add in the brown sugar and thick coconut milk and bring to a boil.

• Check seasoning and add salt if required. Do remember that the peanuts and soya sauce also contain salt and you do not want salty peanut sauce.

• If the sauce is too thick, thin it down with few more tbsps of water. Keep on simmer for 2 mins. Take off heat.

• Now, heat few tbsps of oil in a non-stick pan/grill.

• Take out the chicken from the fridge and place each skewer on a fairly hot pan.

• Once it gets colour on one side, turn over the skewer and cook on the other side.

• To plate up- Take a serving platter. Arrange the Chicken Satays and pour a spoonful of the peanut sauce on top of it. Take out the remaining sauce in a bowl and serve on the side for dipping. Serve the chicken satay with the prepared salad and.

• Additionally, arrange the cubes of cucumber and onion on a toothpick and serve along with the satay (like in the picture above). This is how they serve it in Thailand and it just does something magical to the overall taste of the dish. Yum Oh!

 

 

 

Happy Cookin' & Keep it stylish!!

 

  

                   

Sheer Khurma

 

 

A rich sweet dish which is mostly made during Eid and savoured with family and friends. Every bite of this dessert has a burst of flavours coming from plump dates and a mixture of roasted nuts.

 

 

Serves: 3-4 persons.

 

Ingredients:

 

Fresh milk (whole and full fat)                1 litre

Roasted vermicilli (seviyyan)                  1/2 packet

Sugar                                                        1/2 cup

Ghee                                                         2 tbsps

Dry dates (seeds removed)                       1/2 cup

Roasted almonds and pistachios              as required

Cardamom powder                                   1/2 tsp

Saffron threads (optional)                        1-2 for garnish

 

 

Method:

• In a deep bottomed, non-stick degchi, heat the ghee, break up the vermicilli and slightly roast this roasted vermicilli just for about 10 secs. Though the vermicilli is already roasted, roasting it further with the ghee enhances the flavour of the vermicilli and the whole dish.

• Turn off the heat and take out the vermicilli and keep aside. Allow the degchi to cool for 2 mins and pour the milk into it. Turn the heat on.

• Bring the milk to a boil, stirring continuously with a wooden spoon.

• While the milk is boiling, take a pan and dry roast a handful of peeled and chopped almonds and pistachios. Keep aside.

• Chop the dates and keep aside.

• Once the milk comes to a boil, add the sugar and stir till dissolved.

• Turn the heat to simmer, add the roasted vermicilli and stir well.

• Add the cardamom powder. Stir well.

• Now, turn the heat off and add in the chopped dates and mixed nuts.

• Allow to cool and dish it out in a beautiful serving dish.

• Garnish with 1-2 strands of saffron threads.

• Serve warm or cold.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Bhuna Ghosh

 

 

A spicy, meaty, dry dish of mutton served with hot parathas/rotis and a fresh onion and cucumber salad.

 

This is a slow-cooked mutton dish and as much as you are tempted to use a pressure cooker to cook the mutton, kindly do not!

 

 

Serves: 2-3 persons.

 

Ingredients:

 

Mutton pieces                             500 gms

Mutton mince                             500 gms

Sliced onions                              2-3 nos.

Minced ginger                            1 tbsp

Minced garlic                             1/2 tbsp

Yoghurt                                      1 cup

Red chilli powder                       2 tsps

Coriander powder                      1 tsp

Crushed black pepper                1/2 tsp

Chopped pudina (mint)             2-3 leaves 

Salt                                             to taste

Oil                                             as required

Sugar                                         a pinch

Chopped green chilli                1 nos.

Boiling water                            2 cups

Garam masala powder             1/2 tsp

 

 

Method:

• Wash the mutton and mutton mince well.

• Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a pan and caramelise the sliced onions with a pinch of salt and sugar. The onions should be dark brown. Keep aside.

• Marinate the mutton pieces with 1/2 cup yoghurt, 1/2 tbsp minced ginger, 1/2 tbsp minced garlic, half of the fried onions, 1 tsp red chilli powder, 1/2 tsp coriander powder and a tsp of oil. Allow to marinate for atleast half an hour.

 

 

• Next, in a degchi, combine the mutton mince, remaining minced ginger, yoghurt, red chilli powder and coriander powder without any oil. Bhuno the mutton mince with the spices in its own juices and allow the moisture to dry up.

• Now, add 2-3 tbsps of oil to this along with the marinated mutton and mix well. Seal the flavours and allow the yoghurt to release its water.

• Add 2 cups of boiling water to the mutton (always use hot water to cook mutton because it gives the dish a beautiful color and also cooks the mutton perfectly).

• Cover the degchi and cook the mutton on simmer.

• While the mutton is cooking, add salt to taste and check the seasoning.

• Once the mutton is cooked. Turn the flame to high and dry out any remaining juices.

• Add a pinch of suga, the remaining fried onions, crushed black pepper and chopped green chilli.

• Cover the degchi, turn the flame to low and just allow the flavours to amalgamate on the low heat for 5 mins.

• Finish the dish with a sprinkling of pudina and garam masala powder on top.

• Make a kachumbar salad or just slice up some onions and cucumber, toss it with some salt and lime juice.

• Make the rotis by kneading a dough with wheat flour and water, like we do for phulkas. Roll out and keep it thicker than phulkas. Fry this on a tava on both sides with few drops of ghee/oil.

• Serve the bhuna ghosh along with hot parathas/rotis and the salad.

 

 

 

 

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Brunch!

There are times when we wake up from bed and realise its past breakfast time and the clock is ticking fast enough to hit lunchtime. Neither can we have breakfast, nor are we in the mood to slog out and prepare lunch; and this is exactly how, why and when I came up with this brunch platter.

 

My brunch platter is wholesome and comes with a feel-good factor to it. Brunch fit for the King on a lazy day!

 

Comprises of: Fluffy scrambled eggs on a bed of sauteed asparagus served along with roasted cherry tomatoes, sauteed whole mushrooms, roasted sausages, crusty bread and a chilled glass of freshly squeezed orange juice to wash it all down.

This recipe is dedicated to the person who introduced me to the concept of brunches and continental style food, a father-figure to me - Poo Mama a.k.a Narendra Bhandary :)

 

 

 

 

Serves: Per person serving.

 

 

Ingredients:

 

Whole eggs                                                                      2 nos.

Asparagus                                                                    4-5 stalks

Fresh button mushrooms (stalks removed)                     2-3

Cherry tomatoes                                                         as required.

Chicken sausages/Bacon rashes                                     1 nos.

Sliced baguette (or any other hard, crusty bread)        1-2 slices

Butter/Margarine                                                        as required.

Olive oil                                                                      as required.

Salt                                                                                 to taste

Crushed black pepper                                                    to taste

 

 

Method:

• Prepare the fresh fruit juice of your choice and keep it in the fridge to chill. In this case, I have used fresh orange juice.

• Boil the chicken sausages and keep aside. If you are using bacon, omit this step of boiling and just saute the strips of bacon in a pan until crisp. Yum Oh!

• Bring a pot of water to boil, add some salt to it and drop in the asparagus. Boil it only for 2-3 minutes. Take it out from the boiling water and immerse it in ice cold water to retain the color and texture. This technique is called "blanching".

• Next, take a pan and saute the asparagus with a drop of olive oil. Take out and keep aside. In the same, hot pan, sprinkle some salt and quickly roast the cherry tomatoes. This should take just few seconds. Be sure not to keep the tomatoes in the hot pan for more than few seconds as these tomatoes are very tender and they may turn to mush and lose their shape. You only want the skin to get roasted. Keep aside.

• In the same pan, saute the whole button mushrooms until they become crisp on both sides. Sprinkle a pinch of salt and crushed black pepper on it and keep aside.

• Next, roast the chicken sausage in a pan or prick it with a fork and hold it on top of the gas flame. This will blister its skin and give it a bbq effect (this is how I did it).

• Toast the bread slices and apply some butter/margarine on it.

• Now, assemble these components on a plate as per your wish. Make sure that the asparagus is arranged in between like a bed for the scrambled eggs. Once the platter is ready, its time for the eggs.

• To make the fluffy scrambled eggs- beat the eggs well, incorporating some air into it. In a pan, drop some butter/margarine and keep it on low flame. The pan should not get heated up or be very hot because the eggs should cook slowly.

• Pour in the eggs and stir it around gently with a wooden spatula. We do not want the eggs to turn grainy and want it to be chunky and soft.

• Gently stir around and break up the eggs. While they are still wet, take it out over the asparagus bed. Sprinkle some salt and pepper on top.

• Serve with chilled fruit juice and enjoy this brunch in your garden!

 

 

Happy Cookin' & Keep it stylish!!

 

 





Benarasi Ghugni

'Ghugni' is an authentic desi dish which comes from the land of Benaras (now Varanasi). It is prepared mostly during festivals or as a breakfast item and is served with piping hot pooris or crisp kachoris.

 

This dish is quiet healthy since it is made using black channa. Since I wanted to serve it with pooris, I added some potato, just to give it a texture to go well with the pooris. This addition is optional.

 

 

 

Serves: 4-6 persons.

 

Ingredients:

 

Black channa                                               2 cups

Boiled and mashed potato (optional)        1 medium.

Oil                                                               1/4 cup

Chopped onions                                           2 nos.

Chopped ginger                                       1 inch piece.

Chopped garlic                                         4-5 cloves.

Chopped green chillies                               2-3 nos.

Green cardamoms                                       5-6
Cinnamon                                                 1 inch
Bay leaves                                               2 leaves
Cumin seeds                                            1 1/2 tsp

Turmeric powder                                       1/2 tsp 

Red chilli powder                                   1 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder                                   1 1/2 tsp
Salt                                                           to taste

Sugar                                                       a pinch
Water                                                        1 cup
Lemon juice                                            2 tbsps
Chopped coriander leaves                    for garnish
Ghee                                                     for garnish

 

 

Method:

• Wash the black channa and pre-soak it in plain water overnight.

• Cook the channa with enough water in a pressure cooker until almost done (approx 3 whistles).

• Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan and crackle the green cardamoms, cinammon stick, cumin seeds and bay leaves. Add the chopped onions along with the ginger, garlic and green chillies and fry well.

• Next, add the dry spices- turmeric, red chilli and coriander powder and saute for 2 minutes.

• Add a little water to de-glaze and allow all the base mixture to amalgamate.

• Now, add the cooked channa and mix it well into the masala.

• Add a cup of water along with salt and a pinch of sugar and allow it to cook.

• Add the boiled and mashed potato and mix well.

• Lastly, add lime juice.

• Drizzle the ghee on top before serving and garnish with coriander leaves.

• Serve hot with poori/kachori.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Cookin' & Keep it stylish!!

 

 

 

 



Rice plate (a vegetarian version)

Having posted the "Lunch Platter" which is a non-vegetarian meal, I realised that it can make for a nice vegetarian meal too. Hence, re-posting a part of the recipe for the vegetarians!

This is potato curry with spinach thoran- served with steamed rice.

 

 

 

Serves: 3-4 persons.

Ingredients:

For the potato curry:

Parboiled potatoes                           4 nos.

Minced garlic                                  1 nos.

Minced ginger                          1/2 inch piece

Chopped onions                              2 nos.

Chopped tomatoes                          4 nos.

Whole cumin seeds                        1 tsp

Cumin powder (jeera powder)      1/2 tsp

Turmeric powder                          1/4 tsp

Red chilli powder                           1 tsp

Degi mirch powder                         1 tsp

Coriander powder                         1/2 tsp

Black pepper powder                    1/2 tsp

Salt                                               to taste

Coconut milk                                 1 cup

Oil                                               2-3 tbsps

For the tadka:

Oil                                                 1 tbsp

Mustard seeds                               1/2 tsp

Chopped shallots (tiny onions)     1-2 nos.

Curry leaves                               7-8 leaves

Whole red chilli                             2 nos.

For the spincah toran:

Spinach leaves                          2 bunches

Sliced onions                              1 nos.

Slit green chilli                          1-2 nos.

Grated fresh coconut                 1/2 cup

Salt                                            to taste

Oil                                             1 tbsp

 

To serve:

Cooked white rice/basmati rice

Method:

• For the potato curry- heat oil and fry the ginger-garlic.
• Add onions, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, coriander powder, jeera powder, salt and degi mirch powder and saute for a few minutes.
• Then add tomatoes and saute for 10 minutes till the oil separates on the sides.
• Add chopped potatoes and water to it. Bring the mixture to a boil. Add black pepper powder.
• Finally add coconut milk to the mixture and bring to a simmer.

For the tadka- heat oil in a pan and crackle the mustard seeds. Add the shallots and fry well. Add curry leaves and whole red chilli and saute. Pour it on top of the potato curry.

• For the spinach thoran- heat oil and lightly saute the onions. Add the green chilli and chopped spinach leaves along with a pinch of salt and stir. When the spinach leaves wilt, turn off the heat and add grated coconut and mix well.

Note- Instead of spinach you can also make a beans thoran. Chop the beans finely and follow the above recipe.

 

 

Serve the potato curry and spinach thoran along with hot rice with some pickle and poppadums on the side!

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Cookin' & Keep it stylish!!

Lunch Platter!

So.. it was one of those lazy winter afternoons at home, when the heart wants to curl up on the couch with a cuppa hot chocolate, but the tummy craves for some wholesome, soul satisfying, hot food! I was flipping through the television channels, when I bumped into Joey Matthews on NDTV good times. The model turned chef, who looked oh so passionate cooking. Quite co-incidently, Joey was whipping up a meal- more like a keralite lunch platter and my lunch menu for that afternoon was sorted.

 

My platter is a combo of little bit of Joey and little bit of me. It consists of a simple potato curry, a plain spinach thoran, spicy fried fish and hot steaming rice.

 

 

 

 

Serves: 3-4 persons.

 

Ingredients:

 

For the potato curry:

Parboiled potatoes                                     4 nos.

Minced garlic                                            1 nos.

Minced ginger                                      1/2 inch piece

Chopped onions                                        2 nos.

Chopped tomatoes                                    4 nos.

Whole cumin seeds                                   1 tsp

Cumin powder  (jeera powder)                 1/2 tsp     

Turmeric powder                                      1/4 tsp

Red chilli powder                                     1 tsp

Degi mirch powder                                  1 tsp

Coriander powder                                    1/2 tsp

Black pepper powder                               1/2 tsp

Salt                                                          to taste

Coconut milk                                          1 cup

Oil                                                         2-3 tbsps

For the tadka:

Oil                                                          1 tbsp

Mustard seeds                                        1/2 tsp

Chopped shallots (tiny onions)              1-2 nos.

Curry leaves                                         7-8 leaves

Whole red chilli                                     2 nos.

 

For the spincah toran:

Spinach leaves                                      2 bunches

Sliced onions                                          1 nos.

Slit green chilli                                      1-2 nos.

Grated fresh coconut                              1/2 cup

Salt                                                         to taste

Oil                                                           1 tbsp

 

For the fried fish:

Any small fish or fish of your choice    500 gms

Red chilli powder                                  2 tsps

Turmeric powder                                   1/2 tsp

Coriander powder                                  1 tsp

Lemon juice                                           1 tbsp

Salt                                                         to taste

For the coating:

Rice flour                                               1 cup

Semolina (rava)                                     1/4 cup

 

Oil                                                          to shallow fry

 

To serve:

Cooked white rice/basmati rice

 

 

Method:

• For the potato curry- heat oil and fry the ginger-garlic.
• Add onions, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, coriander powder, jeera powder, salt and degi mirch powder and saute for a few minutes.
• Then add tomatoes and saute for 10 minutes till the oil separates on the sides.
• Add chopped potatoes and water to it. Bring the mixture to a boil. Add black pepper powder.
• Finally add coconut milk to the mixture and bring to a simmer.

For the tadka- heat oil in a pan and crackle the mustard seeds. Add the shallots and fry well. Add curry leaves and whole red chilli and saute. Pour it on top of the potato curry.

• For the spinach thoran- heat oil and lightly saute the onions. Add the green chilli and chopped spinach leaves along with a pinch of salt and stir. When the spinach leaves wilt, turn off the heat and add grated coconut and mix well.

 

Note- Instead of spinach you can also make a beans thoran. Chop the beans finely and follow the above recipe.

• For the fried fish- clean and wash the fish well. Marinate it with all the mentioned ingredients under "For the fried fish" and keep aside for 15 minutes.
• Combine the rice flour and semolina together. Coat the fish in it and shallow fry until crisp.

 

 

• Serve the potato curry with steaming, hot rice along with the spinach thoran and fish fry on the side.

 

 

 

 

Happy Cookin' & Keep it stylish!!

Creamy Phirni with strawberry coulis

 

A "coulis" (pronounced as cooli) is essentially a puree made using any fruit or berry. But, in this recipe I have tweaked it a bit and kept my coulis a bit chunky, just for a bit more flavour and texture.

 

"Phirni" is yet another Indian sweet, traditional and served with a topping of nuts. However, I gave it a twist by serving and Indian sweet with a couli, which is generally served only alongside puddings, cheesecakes, etc.

 

 

 

Serves: 4-5 individual moulds.

 

Ingredients:

 

For the phirni:

Raw basmati rice                    6 tbsps

Milk                                        1/2 litre

Sugar                                      6-7 tbsps

Cardamom powder                a pinch

 

For the strawberry coulis:

Fresh strawberries                 1 cup

Sugar                                     4 tbsps

Salt                                        half a pinch

Water                                    1/4 cup

 

 

Method:

• For the phirni- wash the basmati rice well and soak it in warm water for 30 minutes.

 

• Next, grind this rice along with 1/3 cup water or cold milk to a fine paste. Keep aside.

 

• Bring milk to a boil.

• Now add few tbsps of the boiled milk to the rice paste and mix it well. Add this slurry to the boiling milk, stirring constantly.

Note- Mixing the rice paste with hot milk will temper it and bring the temperature of the cold paste up to the same temperature as the boiling milk. This will eliminate the possibility of the rice mixture getting lumpy once added to the boiling milk.

 

• Next, add the sugar.
 
• Keep stirring on low heat till the sugar dissolves and rice paste cooks.

• One way of testing if the phirni mixture is ready to be transferred to the serving dish is to check if it coats the back of the wooden spoon and when you run your finger across the back of the spoon, the line should stay and the mixture should not be runny.

 

• Turn off the heat and allow the mixture to cool for 5 mins. Transfer it into a serving dish or individual bowls and refrigerate it for atleast 8 hours or overnight.
• For the couli- chop the strawberries and combine it along with water, sugar and salt in a saucepan.

• Bring it to a boil, then turn the heat to low and simmer it on low heat, stirring occassionally.
• The liquid will thicken and become saucy.
• At this point, you can turn off the heat, cool this mixture and puree it and pass it through a sieve to get a smooth coulis, but I did not puree it because I like mine chunky.
• Pour it into a sauce-boat or small pitcher and refrigerate it, until ready to serve.

 

• Serve this coulis alongside the phirni or spoon some on top of the phirni and serve your guests.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Cookin' & Keep it stylish!!