Chicken Kadai (with Banne Nawab Masala)

Ingredients

Chicken - 1 whole (about 20 pieces)

Onion-Ginger-Garlic paste - 15 tbsp (paste made with 2 Tomato, 1 large Onion, 6 cloves Garlic, 1 inch Ginger)

Banne Nawab brand Kadai Chicken Masala - 1/2 packet

Turmeric - 1tbsp

Salt - 1 tsp or as per taste

Cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp

Dry Red Chilli - 3

Dry Bay Leaf - 3

Canola oil - 3 tbsp

Method

Thaw the Chicken to room temperature.

Marinade with Salt and Turmeric for approx. 30 mins.

Heat Canola oil in a pan.

As it warms up, add Cumin seeds, dry Bay leaf and dry Red Chilli to temper the oil.

Add the ground Onion-Ginger-Garlic paste. Mix it well.

Stir it frequently till the paste is cooked and oil starts separating.

Add the Chicken and mix it well. Cook at Medium-High heat to avoid the Chicken from becoming too watery.

As the Chicken is half-cooked, add the Kadai Masala spice mix. Mix it well.

If the spice mix or Chicken is sticking to the sides of the pan, add few dashes of water and remove the stuck items before it burns. Cover it for a few mins, if needed, to make it cook faster.

In the last 5 mins, you can add half an Onion, chopped into long slices. Mix it well and continue cooking. Serve it warm with Roti/Chapatti or Rice/Dal.

Note - There is a recipe enclosed in the Banne Nawab brand Kadai Chicken Masala spice mix. We love that preparation as well but it is different from the above.

Magnetic post - Orange Chicken and a award

This year has been quite eventful so far. Apart from the various trips R and I have taken, we have had a few gatherings at our place to catch up with friends and family. Looking forward to a few more over the course of the coming months. Need to start learning lot more new recipes. I always like to have a few new items when I have anyone visiting us. Or even for potlucks, for that matter. This post has one such recipe that I have tried recently - Orange Chicken.

I first tried Orange Shrimp at P.F.Chang's - tangy and hot invoking all the taste buds! It was four years back and till date, whenever we go to P.F.Chang's I will browse through the menu from the start to finish and end up ordering this each and every time. I am the more experimental one between R and me when eating out..but Orange Shrimp and Pad Thai of most Thai restaurants (not all restaurants make it that good..will not name any here but I know!) are never a matter of compromise :) Tweaked the recipe here based on the comments in there and as per our taste. Disclaimer - It does not taste exactly like the P.F.Chang's Orange chicken, but it was pretty good for home-made. The flavors were there.



Makes 4 to 5 servings

Step 1

Chicken - 1 lb, about 25-30 pieces
Eggs - 2
Paprika Powder - 1/4 tsp
Corn flour - 1/2 cup
Flour - 1/4 cup
Salt - 1.5 tsp
White pepper - 1 tsp
Canola oil - 1 tbsp

Marinade chicken with beaten eggs, paprika powder, corn flour, flour, salt, white pepper and canola oil. Keep aside for about 15 minutes. Tip - During these 15 minutes, prepare the sauce and solution from Step 2 and Step 3 respectively. Deep fry the chicken pieces on High to Medium-High heat. Don't over fry it else the chicken turns fiber-ish. Keep the chicken soft.

Step 2

Soy sauce - 2 tbsp
Orange juice - 3 tbsp
Brown sugar - 4 tbsp
Vinegar - 5 tbsp
Orange zest of 2 oranges

Make a solution of soy sauce, orange juice, brown sugar, vinegar and orange zest. Keep it aside for use in Step 4.

Tip -

• I used dark soy sauce and thus, the dark color. Light soy sauce can be used instead for a lighter color.
• Be careful while getting the orange zest. If you scrap too deep on the orange skin, the zest will become bitter.

Step 3

Corn-flour - 1 tbsp
Water - 1/2 cup

Make a solution of corn-flour and water. Keep it aside for use in Step 4.

Step 4

Canola oil - 1 tbsp
Ginger paste - 1/2 tsp
Crushed Garlic - 1 tsp

Crushed red chilli - 1/4 tsp
Green onion - 1/4 cup (or, Red onion - 1/2 chopped)

Rice wine - 1 tbsp

Sesame oil - 1 tsp
Canola oil - 1 tbsp

Peanuts - as per taste.

Heat a wok on High heat. Once the wok is hot, add canola oil. When oil is heated up (don't let it smoke), add the ginger paste and crushed garlic and stir. Once browned, add crushed red chilli and and green onion (or red onion). Let the onion caramelize. Leave the onion slightly crunchy.

Add rice wine. Add the solution from Step 2 and bring it to a boil. Add the solution from Step 3 and let it thicken for between 5 to 10 minutes. Once thickened, add sesame oil and canola oil (1 tbsp). If you like green pepper, chop them into small cubes and add them as well.

Once the liquid is fully prepared, add the chicken from Step 1 and stir slowly. Leave it on heat for between 2 to 5 minutes.

Roast some peanuts and garnish before serving. Enjoy it with warm rice!



Just the way I have a magnetic-akin attraction to Orange Chicken and Pad Thai, I love collecting magnets from every place that I or R visit. I took this up after R and I got married. They are my treasure - each and every magnet evokes memories of the relaxed days of joy when visiting a certain place! Like Raymond says in "Everybody Loves Raymond" when talking about the demented family memories at his brother's wedding "Only keep the good ones". Isn't that sweet and very practical? :) Try practising it and it will zero out a number of unpleasant events from your life...some unpleasant events are just not worth holding onto. OK, enough of philosopher Pragyan talk! Coming back to the magnets, here is my entire collection.



Sending this for the "Fridge Magnet" event being hosted by Veda here. The due date for this event is August 11th, 2008. I always regret that I did not get one when visiting SFO :(




Note that some of the magnets are not place-specific. A few have a certain witty tongue-in-cheek comment and I just could not resist adding them to my collection. They bring a smile to my face any day as I glance them. Highlighting them below.




I am including a pic of one of my favourite accessories of my kitchen playground. This one has always evoked a comment from even the most silent of visitors to my house. Some friends and relatives who don't think too highly of my cooking skills even nod in agreement..."only keep the good ones", so you know how often such acquaintances cross my mind ;)


Lastly, I would like to thank Simran of Bombay Foodie for thinking of me while passing on the "Blogging Friend Forver" award. (Link) Appreciate it, dear!


The following rules apply to this award:

1. Only five people are allowed to receive this award
2. Four of them are followers of your blog.
3. One has to be new to your blog and live in another part of the world.
4. You must link back to who ever gave you the award.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the following readers of my blog. Day to day interaction with each of you adds a special charm to the whole blogging experience. Keep it going, fellas! :)

1. Shibani of Pearls of East
2. Sagari of Indian Cooking
3. Sra of When my soup came alive
4. Sia of Monsoon Spice
5. Sharmila is someone new on my blog and lives in India. She has an extensive collection of recipes and crafts. Check her out at Kichu Khon.

Chicken Makhani

Chicken has always been my favourite. Since R prefers lamb over chicken, we don't have it that often. But when we do, I always try to make it in a different way so that it is something new and interesting for R to enjoy it as well. That's the reason I am always looking for new chicken recipes to try.

On one of our recent trips to the Indian grocery store, found the Chicken Makhani masala by Chef Sanjeev Kapoor. I had already tried and liked his Veg Jalfrazie masala. Thought of giving this a shot and it turned out good. And easy to make such a delicious and rich-looking dish. How often do you get that so easy!

Ingredients makes 4-6 servings

Sanjeev Kapoor's Chicken Makhani Masala - 1/2 pack
Chicken - 2 lb, approx. 20-25 pieces
Onion - 1 medium, chopped in long pieces
Heavy Cream - 1 tbsp
Canola oil - 1 tbsp
Sugar - a pinch
Salt - additional, as per taste (Check before adding since the Makhani masala has some salt)

• Heat oil. Add sugar to brown. Add the chopped onions and cook till they caramelize. You don't want to cook it fully, want some of the crunch to still remain.
• Add the masala and let it roast a little.
• Add the chicken and stir it to uniformly coat the masala. Let it cook for in High heat for 10-15 minutes while stirring at regular intervals so that it does not stick to the side of the utensil.
• Add water as per the consistency you would like and let it cook covered in Medium-Low heat for 10-15 minutes so that chicken is cooked and turns soft. Take care not to overcook else the chicken will turn fiber-ish!
• Add heavy cream (optional) and salt as per taste to finish off.

Enjoy with warm paratha, roti or rice! We had it with Jeera Rice and Raita.

Noodles with Spicy Chicken Pakoda

Spicy Chicken Pakoda is one of the most popular street-food item of Bhubaneswar, Orissa. Other mouth-watering delicious street-foods include:

• gup-chup (alias gol-gappa, hot pani-puri),
• chicken egg rolls (hot and spicy chicken in a wrap),
• kachodi chat,
• dahi wada-aloo dum,
• hot guguni (yellow peas curry)

School lunch-time or end of the school day - The parents can be late to pick up the kids, but the street vendors promptly position themselves near the school entrance. No matter how much you try, you can never avoid the enticing smell of the goodies. You will succumb to it irrespective of how hygenic or unhygenic it is. Irrespective of how often how your dad has tried to explain and convince you to avoid eating it. Your's truly used to do so. Even in spite of the fact that her mom is a wonderful cook and can recreate the exact same taste at home! :)

Fast forward to the present day - These items are in the first list of items to eat on India trip. Some things never change!

Noodles (Makes 3 servings)

Ingredients

Oriental style noodle (I used Tomoshiraga Somen) - handful
Canola oil - 1/2 tsp
Eggs - 3
Large onion - 1 cut into thin slices
Green Beans - 12 pieces cut at an angle into small pieces
Carrot - 1 cut into long pieces (optional)
Ajinomoto - 1/4 tsp
Soya sauce - 1 tbsp
Worchestire sauce - 1 tsp
Green chilli sauce (I used Chings brand) - 1 tsp

Step 1

Boil water. Add an handful of the vermicelli. Let it cook al dente. When cooked, put it in a strainer and wash it with cold water. Keep it aside so that all the water is drained from the vermicelli.

Step 2

Heat canola oil. Cook onion till it is just cooked. Don't let it turn golden brown. Keep it aside.

Chop green beans at an angle. Cook it while keeping it crunchy. Keep it aside. You can keep it in the same container as the onion since you will mix them all together.

You can also add carrot cut into long thin slices. Cook it while keeping it crunchy (similar to the green beans above). Keep it aside. I did not use it.

Heat a few drops of oil. Break the eggs into the pan and stir it so that the 3 eggs are mixed up. Stir it occasionally and finally break them into small chunks. Keep it aside.

Step 3

In the hot pan, add the boiled vermicelli. Add the cooked onion, cooked beans and scrambled eggs and mix. Add ajinomoto along with soya sauce and worchestire sauce. Add green chilli sauce (I used Chings brand). Use more if you like it more hot. Mix well. Caution - Do it slowly so that you don't mash up the noodles.

Spicy Chicken Pakoda (Makes 4 servings)

Ingredients

Chicken - 1 lb, cut into small pieces
Corn flour - 2 tbsp
Flour - 4 tbsp
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Garam Masala - 1 tsp
Sweet Paprika - 1/2 tsp (I used McCormick's brand)
Baking soda - 1/4 tsp
Fresh ginger paste - 2 tbsp
Shan Tandoori Chicken BBQ Mix - 1 tbsp
Salt - 1.5 tsp or as per taste

Step 1

Mix all the ingredients together and keep aside for 30 mins.

Step 2

Deep-fry the chicken pieces. Drop the chicken pieces one at a time into the oil.



To serve as a snack, garnish it with fresh onions and a pinch of rock salt (optional). Or combine it with fried rice or noodle and savour as a meal.

Chicken Little :)

Indian-style Chilli Chicken (makes 3 servings)

Ingredients

Chicken cut into small pieces - 15 pieces
Onion - 1 large sliced
Green chilli - 4, cut into halves length-wise
Egg - 1 beaten
Soya sauce - 2 tbsp
Worchestire Sauce - 1 tbsp
Tomato Sauce - 3 tbsp
Canola Oil - 1.5 tbsp
Salt - 1 tbsp, as per taste
Ajinomoto - a pinch (optional)

Step 1

Mix all the ingredients together and let it marinade for 1 hr.



Step 2

Cook the above marinaded mixture on High heat. Till all the water being released by the chicken has evaporated. Continue cooking on Medium heat till the oil separates. Add a pinch of ajinomoto (optional). Enjoy with fried rice or jeera rice! :) Pic below with jeera rice.



Chicken Curry (makes 6 servings)

Ingredients

Chicken - 40 small pieces
Canola Oil - 2 tsp
Large Onion - 1
Ginger - 3 inches
Garlic - 3 cloves
Tomato - 1
Curry Powder - 2 tbsp
Large Potato - 1 cubed
Garam Masala - 1 tsp

Tempering Ingredients

Cinnamon stick - 1
Cloves - 4
Cardamom - 4
Dry Bay Leaf - 2

Marinade Ingredients

Turmeric Powder - 3 tsp
Chilli Powder - 2 tsp
Sweet Paprika Powder - 1 tsp (I used McCormick's brand)
Garam Masala - 2 tsp
Coriander Powder - 2 tsp

Salt - 1 tbsp, as per taste

Step 1

Mix all the marinade ingredients with the chicken and let it marinade for 1 hr.

Step 2

Heat canola oil. Temper the oil with cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, dry bay leaf. Add one large onion cut into thin slices. Let it cook till it turns golden brown. Then add ginger-garlic paste and let it cook. Once the ginger-garlic paste is cooked in the mixture, add tomato sliced thin with curry powder. After the tomato breaks and oil starts separating, add the marinaded chicken with the cubed potato. Cook on High heat so that all the water released by the chicken evaporates. When the oil separates, garnish with garam masala and/or fresh minced coriander leaves.



White Karahi Chicken Curry (makes 5 servings)

Shan is one of my favoritestest :) brand of spices. The Chicken White Karahi Mix is one of my favourite. An easy dish to prepare quickly without requiring lot of ingredients/spices. If you don't prefer too spicy food, you will like this. I prepared this recently for a team potluck event at work. Everyone is safe and sound! Note particular stress on "everyone" :)

Ingredients

Chicken - 5 boneless skinless chicken thigh (1 packet)
Dry Bay Leaf - 1
Sugar - a pinch
Cumin seeds - a pinch
Small onion - 1
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Canola oil - 1 tsp

Marinade ingredients

Shan Chicken White Karahi Mix - 1/2 pack
Yogurt - 4 tbsp
Fresh Ginger paste - 1 tbsp

Garnish ingredients

Yellow Pepper - 1
Salt, Pepper - as per taste

Step 1

Marinade chicken thigh cut into cubes with 1/2 packet Shan Chicken White Karahi Mix, yogurt and fresh ginger paste. Leave it aside for 30 mins.

Step 2

Heat oil. Add sugar, cumin seeds and dry bay leaf. Let the cumin seed roast. Then add thinly sliced onion. When the onion turns golden-brown, add coriander powder. Cook covered on Medium-Low heat till the chicken is cooked for approximately 35 mins. Increase the heat to high and cook till the oil separates. This takes approximately 15 mins.

Step 3

Fry yellow pepper with few drops of oil. Add black pepper and salt as per taste. Use this to garnish the chicken. Enjoy with Naan or Roti!