CHICKEN HOT AND SOUR SOUP

Hello Everyone,

Sorry for the long gap of almost an year. I was engaged in all sorts of work including preparing for the MBA entrace exams. However during this period I reinvented my love for Bengali Cuisine and also started making chocolates and got a few orders as well. I will be creating an official FB page for the chocolates .  I do promise I have some delicious recipes coming up for Christmas as well as for parties, luncheons and dinners :)

So after almost an year here is my new post ..... a delicious chinese soup recipe which you will love to have during the winters. Chicken Hot and Sour Soup is something which we Kolkatans are quite familiar with. I personally love this soup it has different veggies, its slightly hot and its bit sour at the same time. This soup can be customised in different ways you can add different veggies and make it vegetarian or add different kinds of proteins to make it non-veg as per your choice. I have kept this recipe very simple and its extremely easy to make.

INGREDIENTS :-

• Onion Sliced 
• Ginger Chopped
• Garlic Chopped 
• Carrot Sliced
• French Beans Sliced
• Cabbage Sliced
• Green Bell Pepper Sliced
• Chicken Boiled and Sliced 
• 1 Egg Beaten
• 1 Tsp Cornflour
• 2 Tbsp Light Soy Sauce
• 2 Tbsp Vinegar
• 2 Chillis Finely Chopped 
• 1 Tbsp Oil (I used Sunflower Oil)
• 2 Cups Chicken Stock
• Pinch of Ajinomoto (Monosodium Glutamate)
• Salt to taste 

PROCEDURE:-

• Chop the vegetables as finely as possible. The chopping is the key to chinese food. I didnot mention any quantities because you can use as much or as little as you want. Again you can you different veggies as well like chinese cabbage, sprouts, red / yellow bell peppers etc.
• Heat oil in a pan and add the ginger and garlic. fry them for a bit and add the onions and add the ajinomoto and fry them well. You can omit the ajinomoto is you want.

• When the onions become translucent add the vegetables and fry them. In a small bowl mix the soy sauce, vinegar and chopped chillis together. Then add the mix to the veggies.

• Then add the boiled chicken and stir well.

• Now add the chicken stock and let it simmer for a while. Add salt according to your taste. I used fresh chicken stock however you can use stock cubes as well.

• Mix the cornflour with water and slowly pour this mixture into the soup. This will thicken the soup so you can adjust it as per your need. I personally like light broths so I use it in small quantities. 
• Now as the soup thickens, beat the egg and add it into the soup. You can skip the egg if you want but it gives a good flavour to the soup.

• That's it this delicious soup is ready. Enjoy!!!!!!!!!! Do give me your feedback.

ONE POT FUDGY CHOCOLATE BROWNIES :)

Brownies are something which everyone loves and i simply adore fudgy chocolate brownies. But any brownie takes some effort to make. Now being a lazy person I try to look for shortcuts without hampering the taste and quality, so last Sunday I decided to make these one pot chocolate brownies.

INGREDIENTS:

• 250 grams Cooking Dark Chocolate
• 50 grams Unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup Sugar or as per requirment
• 3 Eggs
• 1 1/2 Tbsp Baking Powder
• 1 Tsp Baking Soda
• 1 Cup Flour
• 2 Tsp Vanilla Essence

PROCEDURE:

• Chop the chocolate into smaller pieces.
• In a pot (I used a saucepan) melt the butter over a low flame and then put the chocolate pieces in. Stir well so that the chocolate does not have any lumps.

• Now add the sugar. Since i used dark chocolate I used 1/2 cup of sugar however if you use semi-sweet chocolate then use less amount of sugar.
• Now take the mix off the flame, if you feel the mix is too thick you can use some milk to adjust the consistency. 
• Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda together and add to the mixture. 
• When the mixture cools down a bit add 3 beaten eggs.
• Pour the mixture into a lined baking pan and bake for 35-40 mins or till done at 189 degrees. 

I hope you try out these yummy brownies which take little effort to make but are simply awesome to taste :)

ESPECIAL DE DURGA PUJA (DURGA PUJA SPECIAL) : SHASTHI

Curry De Pescado Especial De Mi Mama (My Mother's Special Fish Curry)

Well Maha Shasthi was a day filled with surprises and unlimited fun. Finally after a long spell of rain the sun shone with all its glory. My friends and I grabbed this opportunity and went to pandal-hopping. We started early in the morning and saw quite a few pandals. Each one had an innovative theme and elaborate decorations. We had an absolutely fantastic time as after a long time I got to spend the entire day with my friends.

Today's dish is my mother's invention. As i make a fuss when the same fish curry is served a few days in a row this dish was invented by my mother to stop me from fussing :) Do try this recipe out. :)

INGREDIENTS:

• 7-8 Pieces of Bekti or Pomfret Fish
• 2 Onions cit into rings
• 2 Onions chopped
• 2 Tomatoes chopped
• 1 Tbsp Garlic- Green chili paste
• 2 Tbsp Coriander leaves
• 3 Green Chilis
• 1 Tsp Tumeric powder
• 2 Tsp Red Chili Powder
• Oil for deep frying
• 1 1/2 Tbsp oil for the gravy
• Salt to taste

PROCEDURE:

• Fry the fish and keep aside. Use a napkin to saok up the excess oil. Be careful not to overcook the fish.

• Heat oil in a pan and fry the onion rings till golden brown in colour.
• For the gravy, heat oil in the pan and add the garlic chili paste and cook till golden brown.
• Then  add the chopped onions and cook till they are golden brown in colour.
• Then add the tumeric poer, red chilli powder, salt, green chillis and add a little water so that the masala does not burn.
• Then add the tomatoes and cook till oil separates from the masala.
• Finally add the coriander leaves. The gravy should be of a chunky consistency. 

• Now arrange the fish on a plate and pour the gravy on top of it. Garnish with thr friend onion rings and lime pieces.

ESPECIAL DE DURGA PUJA (DURGA PUJA SPECIAL) : PANCHAMI

PALAK MURG

Its Panchami and therefore as an added bonus a favourite chicken dish of mine - Palak Murg was cooked. This is a dish which is usually cooked by my mom but today I decided to try this on my own. To make it easier I made a few changes to my mom's recipe as well. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do :)

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 Chicken Breast cut into small pieces
• 1 small bunch of spinach leaves blanched and pureed
• 3 Tbsp Tomato paste
• 1 1/2 Tsp Garlic chili paste
• 1 Tbsp Onion paste
• 2 Tsp Kashmiri Red Chilli powder
• 2 dried red chillis
• 1/2 Tsp Tumeric Powder
• 1 Tsp Garam Masala Powder
• 1 1/2 Tbsp Mustard Oil
• Salt to taste
• Water as required

PROCEDURE:

• Heat oil in a pan and add the garlic and chili paste. When it turns golden brown add the onion paste and the dried red chili. I make the garlic chili paste by grinding together garlic cloves and chili.

• Cook this for a few mins and then add the tomato paste. Now add tumeri powderc, red chili powder, salt and garam masala powder. Stir and cook till the oil separates from the masala and then add the chicken pieces.

• Cook on the low flame to make sure that the chicken is cooked. Since these are boneless pieces of chicken they do not take long to cook.

• Then add water and finally add the spinach puree and cook for a few mins. Serve Hot with rice or rotis :)

ESPECIAL DE DURGA PUJA (DURGA PUJA SPECIAL) : PANCHAMI

MACHER DHOKAR DANLA (FISH DHOKA CURRY)

Today is Panchami, this time around we are experiencing a gloomy weather during Durga Puja with intermittent rains. As per the Weather Department we may be hit by a cyclone :( Durga Puja being the biggest and grandest festival of the Bengalis the weather could not dampen the Puja spirit of people of Kolkata. So we witnessed a huge turnout of people at various puja pandals.

Dhoka is a very traditional Bengali dish and it is usually made with Chana Dal but this time around I tried to make something different. Macher Dhoka is not a completely new concept since I have heard about this recipe from friends, family etc you may also stumble across this recipe in various Bengali cookbooks, but this was the very first time that Macher Dhoka was made in my house :) A new dish for Maha Panchami :)

INGREDIENTS: (For Dhoka)

• 1 Small Cup Matar dal (Yellow split peas)
• 4-5 Medium Pieces of Bekti or rohu (rui)
• 1 1/2 Tsp Ginger garlic paste
• 1 1/2 Tsp Onion paste
• 2 Tsp Coriander leaves chopped
• 11/2 Tsp Kashmiri Red Chilli powder
• 1+ 1/4 Tsp Tumeric powder
• 2 Tbsp Mustard Oil 
• Mustard Oil as required for deep frying
• Salt to taste

PROCEDURE:

• Soak the matar dal for at least 1-2 hours before grinding it to a fine paste. If possible you can soak the dal overnight for a smoother paste.
• Boil the fish pieces with a little bit of tumeric and salt,then de-bone them and shred them to small pieces. Be careful not to overcook the fish. Now mix this with the dal paste.

• Now in a pan heat oil and add the ginger garlic paste. When the paste turns golden brown add the onion paste.
• Then add the fish and dal mixture and stir well. Now add the red chilli powder, tumeric powder and salt. Stir well till the mix is cooked.
• Then take a plate and apply a little oil on it and pour the cooked mixture on to the plate. Spread it out evenly and let it cool.

• Once it cools down cut it into small pieces. From this mix I got around 24 pieces. Now deep fry them and the macher dhoka is ready.

INGREDIENTS:(For The Curry)

• 1 1/2 Tbsp Onion paste
• 1 1/2 Tsp Garlic paste
• 3 Tbsp Tomato paste
• 2 Medium Potatoes boiled and cut into small pieces
• 1 Tsp Garam Masala powder
• 1/2 Tsp Tumeric powder
• 2 Tsp Kashmiri Red Chili powder
• Salt to taste
• Water as Required

PROCEDURE:

Heat oil in a pan and add the garlic paste. Once it turns golden in colour add the onion paste and the garam masala powder. (I always use freshly made garam masala powder)

• Then add the tomato and cook well till oil separates from the masala.

• Now add the potatoes and stir well so that all the potatoes are coated with the masala.

• Then add water, I added around 3 cups because once you put the dhokas in the curry it will absorb the curry. I added this amount of water also because I had around 20 dhokas for the curry.
• Let the curry simmer for about 5 mins and then add the dhokas. Garnish with coriander leaves :)

I hope you try this recipe out and give me feedback.

Happy Puja :)

CHICKEN DO-PYAZA

I am always on the lookout for new chicken recipes. This is a very famous dish and I am sure we have all had this dish at least once in our lives. I always had this dish in restaurants. So I decided to try this recipe out for our sunday lunch.

INGREDIENTS:

• 500 grams chicken
• 1 tbsp garlic paste
• 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
• 2 medium onions chopped
• 2 medium onions diced into big pieces
• 3 medium tomatoes pureed
• 2+1 tbsp yogurt
• 1 tsp tumeric powder
• 1+1 tsp red chilli powder
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 2 tsp garam masala powder
• Salt to taste
• Water as required
• 2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves for garnish
• 2 tbsp oil
• 2-3 green chillis

For the Garam Masala:

Grind together

• 2-3 green cardamom pods
• 1 big black cardamom pod
• 1/4th stick cinnamon
• 3-4 cloves
• 1 tsp mace

PROCEDURE:

• Marinate the chicken with ginger- garlic paste, 1 tbsp yogurt,salt and 1 tbsp red chilli powder for 15-30 minutes. The dish will turn out fine if you marinate for a few minutes.
• Heat oil in a pan and add the garlic paste, the chopped onions and cook till the onions turn translucent.
• Then add the tomato puree (i used fresh tomato puree but you can use any store-bought tomato puree) and cook till the oil separates.
• Mix the tumeric powder, chilli powder and cumin powder with the yogurt and add to the pan. Stir well.
• Then add the chicken and the diced onions and mix well so that the masala coats the chicken and onions well.

• Now add water as required (if you want more gravy then add more water) and cook the chicken on a low flame till it cooks.
• Now add the garam masala and mix it well.
• Chicken Do-Pyaza is done :) 

You can serve this with rice and some freshly made salad or with rotis, as you please :)

 

Please do give me feedback :)

LEMON CAKE

I am simply addicted to baking. Last Christmas I finally bought a new oven. The oven which we had earlier was rarely used since my grandmom used to make puddings and cakes using pressure cooker. I tried baking with pressure cookers, convection microwave ovens, although pressure cookers worked fine with simple cake recipes microwaves gave me a lot of trouble specially with adjustment of temperatures. But ever since I bought my oven I have baked a lot of different cakes, pies, tarts and even breads with a lot of ease and the end result has been perfect each time :) :)

I study all night long and usually start feeling hungry in the wee hours of the morning. So I decided to make a cake which I can easily store (and eat without any fuss). This recipe is inspired from the Orange Cake I made during winters but since good oranges are not available now so i decided to substitute them with lemons and changed the recipe a little bit :)

INGREDIENTS :

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• Pinch of nutmeg powder
• 3 tbsp butter
• Pinch of salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/4th cup sugar 
• 1/4th cup + 1 tbsp sour cream
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla essence
• 1 cup lemon juice
• 2 tsp lemon zest

PROCEDURE:

• Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg twice and keep aside.
• Cream together the butter and sugar till light and fluffy. I did not have unsalted butter at home to I used the normal Amul Butter which is a salted one, so I did not add any excess salt.

• Now add the eggs one by one in the butter and sugar mixture and incorporate well.

• Then add the lemon zest, the sour cream and the vanilla essence and mix well. (If you have vanilla extract you can use it)

• Now mix the flour mixture and the lemon juice alternately.

• Pour the mixture into a lined cake tin (use any shape you like). I do not line my tins I simple grease them with butter or oil and then dust them with flour.

• Preheat the oven for 10 mins and bake for 30 - 40 mins or till done.

• You can decorate it as you wish. I used some lemon wedges to decorate it.
• You can also glaze the cake :)

I will certainly post icing recipes soon.  Well, my cake turned out to be super moist and simple perfect :) Hope yours does too :)

Hope you like this recipe and try this out :)