Sweet n Sour Chicken Drumettes

1 Packet Chicken Drumettes (the wing part –which looks like a mini drumstick)

1 cup tomato sauce/ketchup

½ cup sugar (brown)

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

2 tablespoons vinegar

1 tablespoon paprika / chili powder (or more if you like it spicy)

1 teaspoon coarse pepper powder

1 tablespoon olive oil

Salt to taste

Clean & wash drumettes and set aside. Mix together tomato sauce, sugar, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, pepper, olive oil, chili powder and salt.  Coat the drumettes with half the mixture.  Reserve some mixture to baste the drumettes.  Preheat oven to 180 deg C.  Put the drumettes in a roasting tray and bake for 35-40 minutes.  Every  10 minutes or so,  stir and baste with the reserved sauce mixture.  Bake till done ensuring that the drumettes are nice and moist and not too dry.  Serve hot.

Ladyfingers and Shrimp Curry

If you are a Mangalorean and have not tasted a ‘Ladyfinger and Shrimp Curry’;  then there is something wrong somewhere.  My husband’s friend came over during dinner time and as she could not stay for dinner, we packed her some to take home.  The next day I got a call, not from her, but from her husband, telling me that it evoked memories of times gone by and that he had not had this type of curry from a long long time and that he loved it and to please call him for lunch sometime.   This one for you Wincy….enjoy.  Will call you over for lunch someday.

Recipe :  1 cup shelled shrimp, 20-25 tender lady fingers.  Grind to a fine paste 6 red chillies,  two tablespoons coriander seeds, 1 teaspoon jeera, 1/2 teaspoon mustard,  1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder, 3 flakes of garlic, 1/2 onion, 1/2 fresh coconut.

Choose lady fingers without any blemishes, wash and pat dry with a kitchen towel.   Add water to the ground masala and make a thickish paste.  Add salt and washed shrimps to the curry and simmer till it comes to a rolling boil.  Then add lady fingers and boil it for a further 2-3 minutes.  Heat ghee/oil in a skillet, brown 1/2 onion and add to the boiling curry.  Simmer till done.  Serve with rice, a vegetable side-dish  and pickle. 

Falafel

Falafel is a patty or fritter made from ground Chickpeas.  We in the Middle East are fortunate to taste so many varieties of Falafel ; sometimes spicy, sometimes sour and sometimes even sweet.   The Egyptians say that Falafel originated there;  which is strongly refuted by the Lebanese and other Arabs.    Falafel is usually served in a Pita Bread or Khubz, which acts as a pocket for the Falafel.  You can top the Falafel with salads, pickled vegetables  like carrots, cucumbers, turnips and chilies and drizzle it with a sauce of your choice; usually yogurt based or tahini based.

I love Falafels, while the family prefers ‘Shawarma’;  so when it is falafel time at home, you know who has an overdose of them .  I made them recently and though they were a little flatter than usual, they tasted real yum.

Falafel is high in protein, complex carbohydrates and fiber and it is said that chickpeas are low in fat and salt and contain no cholesterol.    Dear friends,  care enough for your family to replace hamburgers with Falafel  ?????

Recipe :  1 cup dried chickpeas (wash and soak overnight in water),  few fava beans (optional), 1 small onion, 3 garlic cloves, ½ cup coriander leaves, ¼ cup chopped parsley, ½ teaspoon chili powder, ¾ teaspoon cumin powder, ¼ teaspoon baking powder, 2 tablespoons bread crumbs, salt to taste,  1 tablespoon of sesame seeds/til to sprinkle on the falafel just before frying).

Pick, wash and soak the chickpeas overnight in a bowl of water.  After soaking, drain and dab them dry.  Place the chickpeas (uncooked), the fava beans and all other ingredients in a mixer (except the sesame seeds) and pulse till you get a coarse dough.  Sprinkle a little water if it is too dry.  You should have a sticky dough which can be easily made into balls.

Form the balls and flatten a little.  Sprinkle all over with sesame seeds.   Heat oil in a skillet and deep  fry on both sides till golden.  Drain on paper towels.

To serve,  split pita-bread or khubz and fill with shredded lettuce, thinly sliced peppers, tomatoes, pickles like salted carrots, turnips and chilies and few teaspoons of sour cream.

To make sour cream,  whisk together half cup cream, 1-2 tablespoons of lemon juice and 1 cup hung curd and salt to taste.

Am sending this recipe to the event “Deep Fried Snacks” by Tickling Palates http://ticklingpalates.blogspot.com/p/events.html

Aloo Ka Parantha

I treated my family to Aloo Paranthas last weekend and it was a delight to watch them enjoy it.   During weekdays we don’t even have  a single meal together as a family as all three of us are not together during lunch and dinner times and it is very simple food that we have, mostly heated in the microwave.  So on weekends its indulgence time and I treat them to hot freshly made food.  Calorie counting is also thrown straight out of the window as its my only chance to show them that  “Mom Can Cook” .    My son helped me with these and it was an enjoyable experience..the pictures of the ones puffing up are taken by him.   Can I request you to  forget all those guilt pangs about the extra calories and pamper your family  with these lovely paranthas.

Recipe :  For the Potato filling : 6-7 medium potatoes, boiled or steamed and mashed till tender and without lumps, 1.5 teaspoons cumin seeds, salt,  chilly powder to taste,  pinch of turmeric powder, 1 tablespoon grated ginger, 1 green chilly,  few coriander leaves chopped fine, 1 tablespoon garam masala powder,  1 teaspoon chat masala.

For the dough : 3 cups wheat flour, 1-3/4 cup hot water, 1 teaspoon salt,  1-2  tablespoons ghee.

Make the dough, if it is extra soft and sticky, do add more flour.  Cover with a damp cloth and keep aside till rolling time.  Mix all the ingredients for the filling and knead it to ensure that it is without any lumps.

Make balls of the dough and also of the filling.  Roll out a small round from the dough and put the ball of potato filling in it.  Enclose it with the dough and roll out to a 6-7” round.   Heat a tawa and roast the parantha on both sides till they are golden and crisp on the outside.  Press gently either with a tissue or with a flat ladle so that all the sides are equally roasted and watch them puff.  When done drizzle with butter and serve hot.

Paneer Bread Rolls

Saw this recipe on a food-blog called ‘Edible Garden’ and the paneer rolls looked so lovely that I was tempted to make them right away.   I had to wait as I had no paneer at home and a trip to the supermarket was not on my agenda for the day.  I had milk and lemons at home ..so home made paneer it was.   They were over so quick that I wished I had made more.   A delight to make and a delight to eat…try it please.

 1 cup paneer (crumbled)

1 small onion chopped fine

½ tsp red chillie powder

¼ tsp powdered jeera  (dry roast jeera and powder)

½ tsp garam masala

½ tsp ginger garlic paste

Small bunch coriander leaves

1 tsp tomato ketchup

6 slices of bread (I used milk bread)

Butter to toast

Salt to taste

(You can use store bought paneer/cottage cheese or can make it at home.   For home made paneer,    boil approx. 6-7 cups of  full fat milk,   when it is boiling, lower the fire and add lemon juice.  The milk will start clouding…wait till big lumps form and whey becomes less milky… switch off  fire and keep for a while.  Then pour in a muslin cloth, discard all the whey, bunch it up  and hang the cloth till all the whey  is drained.   Put some heavy weight on the paneer (which is still in the muslin cloth)  and leave overnight in the refrigerator.  You will then get a block of paneer, which can be cut into cubes or crumbled).

To the 1 cup of paneer, add red chillie powder, garam masala, salt, chopped coriander leaves, chopped onion, jeera powder..mix with a fork.  Then add ginger garlic paste & tomato ketchup and mix.  Keep aside.

Take bread slices and remove the crust.  Roll the bread slices with a rolling pin and flatten them as thin as you can.   Place 1 teaspoon of paneer on one end of the rolled out bread slice.  Gently roll from one end,  ensuring that filling stays well within the first roll.  Roll it up till the end.  Repeat with the remaining bread slices.

Wrap the rolled bread in a clean and damp cloth and keep it this way for 15 minutes.  Then butter the rolls liberally on all sides with softened butter.  Roast on a non-stick pan till all sides are browned.   Cut into two and serve hot with dipping sauce of your choice.  Even the plain ones taste good.  Enjoy.

Snowflakes on Crackers

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Thanks to Aqil K studying in the Tenth Standard, our first guest recipe contributor.
A bright sunny day, went to spend time with friends, had a sumptuous meal and now was the time for desserts, when their son volunteered to give us a surprise, and just in minutes came with something so divine, got me intrigued and wanted him to give me the recipe. He gave us a shy smile. Believe me when I tell you how to make it, you all will be surprised too. And next, your little ones will clamour to give you all a surprise.
Ingredients :
Cottage Cheese (Kraft Jocca)
Cream Crackers
Honey

Method :

Spread on a Cream cracker, granules of cottage cheese and pour honey over it.

Believe me you, it is yummy as it looks.

Kraft Jocca Cottage Cheese is a cottage cheese granule-shaped by Kraft. You buy this little box and you get this kind of “cream” (it’s actually thicker than a cream) made of all those granules and it’s fresh.

Gulab Jamun

Gulab Jamun is one of India’s famed and popular desserts.  It is basically fried dough balls soaked in lightly spiced sugar syrup.  This dessert is a must at Indian festivals and major celebrations.  There are several recipes to make the perfect ‘Gulab Jamun’ and this  is an easy and quick one,  made with ingredients  available here in the UAE.  Can be served chilled or warm;  either way they taste delish.

Recipe :  1 cup milk powder (Nido-full cream), 3/4 cup plain flour, little salt, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1 egg (small).  Mix together with 2 tablespoons of curds and 2 tablespoons of melted ghee.  Knead the dough – it will be soft and shiny from the ghee.  Make small round balls ensuring that they are smooth with no cracks.   Take oil in a pan and deep fry on a very slow fire till they are dark brown.   It is important that the fire is very slow or else the balls will brown too quickly.  Fry in small batches and add immediately to hot syrup and boil for 5-10 minutes till double in size.

For Syrup :  3 cups granulated sugar,  4 cups water – add few cardamons, 1 tsp of rose water and a few strands of saffron. 

Amritsari Fish Fry

Was home-alone  this weekend with hubs away in India to visit his sick Mom, and Devon celebrating his birthday with a movie and a sleep-over at a friends place.  Was in a pretty low mood as a thief stole a 500/- from my hand bag while I was in the washroom, had a rough day at work slogging 2 hours later than usual (without being paid);  and our VP Education reminding me of my speech due in 2 days.  In order to cheer me up,  I decided to make a comfort meal for myself,  dal, rice, vegetable and fried fish…and for dessert  ‘Gulab Jamun’.     I made this fish fry adapted from a book by Nita Mehta,  whose book I bought from a bookstore in Bangalore.  It is one of my dear possessions now.   So dear readers,  when you are down and want to pep-up,  try this ‘Amritsari Fish Fry’  it sure cheered me up and soon I was grinning like a Cheshire Cat,  who had just had a plateful of fish.  Now for some walking down the steps for all those extra calories !!!!!

Recipe :  500 gms fish fillet cut into 2” pieces.  1^st Marinade :  2-3 tablespoons lemon juice, ½ tsp chilli powder and salt to taste.  2^nd Marinade : 2 tbsp ginger garlic paste, ½ tsp ajwain (carom seeds), ½ tsp chilli powder, 3 tablespoons gram flour, 2 tablespoons maida and 1 tablespoon cornflour, salt to taste.

Wash the fish and pat dry on a kitchen towel.  Marinate the fish in the 1^st marinade for ½ hour.  Remove fish from 1^st marinade and pat dry again.  If there is excess moisture the fish will not fry crisp.  In a bowl, mix ginger-garlic paste, ajwain, chilli powder, salt.  Mix well and add to the fish pieces.  Then sprinkle the flours on the marinated fish and mix well.  Heat oil and shallow fry about 4 -6 pieces at a time on both sides till they are crisp.  Drain on absorbent paper.  Arrange pieces on a serving platter and garnish as desired.

Coffee Liqueur Roll

 

Wedding Anniversaries are special for everyone no matter where you are and they only come once a year.  So when you celebrate it, it is a memory to keep and last forever. Congratulations Joyce and Vinay  on your wedding anniversary from Judy and Sylvia; It is our pleasure to have you on our team.   

Also celebrating their Wedding Anniversary are our friends Amar and Glan.  Special wishes from the team of ’Bring On The Chef In You’.  It is our great pleasure to congratulate you two happy people. We wish your life to be full of love and understanding forever, and special prayers to keep you safe and well from the floods.

 We have Coffee Liqueur Roll in dedication to the celebrating couples – and  may each year get better and better.  

Recipe :

5 eggs,  ¾ cup castor sugar,  1 cup self raising flour, 90g butter (melted), 1 tablespoon dry instant coffee,  1 tablespoon hot water, 1 tablespoon cocoa, 1 tablespoon castor sugar extra.

Grease a 25 x 30cm swiss roll pan, line base and sides with wax paper, grease paper well.  Beat eggs in medium bowl with an electric mixer for about 3 minutes or until thick and creamy. Gradually beat in sugar, about a tablespoon at a time,  beat until all sugar is dissolved.  Fold in sifted flour, then combine butter, coffee and water.  Spread mixture into prepared pan.  Bake in moderately hot oven for about 15-20 minutes.  Turn immediately on to paper sprinkled with combined sifted cocoa and extra sugar.  Trim edges from cake.  Roll up in paper from the long side, stand 2 minutes and then unroll.  When cool, spread with liqueur cream and roll up.

For Liqueur Cream :   2 teaspoons dry instant coffee, 1 tablespoon hot water, 1 tablespoon coffee liqueur, 300 ml thickened cream.    Dissolve coffee in water and cool.  Combine coffee mixture ,  coffee-flavoured liqueur and cream in a small bowl.  Beat until soft peaks form.

Sacher Torte

Made this Torte for my son’s birthday. He wanted a chocolate cake with a glaze…. So ‘Sacher Torte’ it was. He was pretty happy about it. Happy Birthday Sweetheart and may God bless you always.

Recipe : 150g dark chocolate(chopped), 1 tablespoon water, 155g unsalted butter, ½ cup castor sugar, 3 eggs (separated), 1 cup plain flour, 2 tablespoons castor sugar(extra), 2/3 cup apricot jam. Grease a deep square slab-pan, line base with wax paper; grease paper. Melt chocolate in heatproof bowl over hot water, stir in water, cool to room temperature. Cream butter and sugar in small bowl with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in egg yolks one at a time, beat until combined. Transfer mixture to a large bowl, stir in chocolate mixture, then sifted flour. Beat egg white in small bowl until peaks form, gradually add extra sugar beat until dissolved between each addition; fold lightly into chocolate mixture. Spread into prepared pan. Bake in a moderate oven for about 30 minutes. Stand 5 minutes before turning on to wire rack to cool; leave cake upside down. Split cold cake in half, place onto serving plate. Heat and strain jam and brush all over half the cake. Top with remaining half of cake, brush all over with remaining jam. Stand for about 1 hour at room temperature to allow jam to set. Spread top and side of cake with glaze. For Glaze : 60 grams dark chocolate, 30 grams butter, 1 teaspoon dry instant coffee, 1 tablespoon water, ¾ cup icing sugar. Combine chocolate, butter and combined coffee and water in saucepan. Stir constantly over low heat without boiling until smooth. Remove from heat and gradually stir in sifted icing sugar.