SPINACH PAKORA

Ingredients:

Spinach a big bunch, gram flour 1 1/2 cup, garam masala 1 tsp, red chilli powder 1/2 tsp, dhania powder 1/4 tsp, baking powder a pinch, salt to taste.

Method:

Rinse the spinach, then chop it finely. Take a bowl, put chopped spinach and gram flour in it. Mix it well, add little water to form thick paste. To the paste add salt, garam masala, dhania powder, red chilli powder, and baking powder and mix well.
In a kadai, heat oil on a high flame. Make small balls of spinach paste and fry till it becomes golden brown. Serve with mint chutney or tomato sauce.

Chicken fritters

Ingredients:

100 g (4 oz) boneless cooked chicken, skinned and finely chopped
25 g (1 oz) margarine
40 g (1 1/2 oz) plain flour
150 ml (1/4 pint) milk
1 egg yolk
50 g (2 oz) cooked ham, finely chopped
4 button mushrooms, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
salt and freshly ground black pepper
125 g (4 oz) packet batter mix
6 rashers streaky bacon, rinds removed
vegetable oil, for deep frying

Method:

1. Make the sauce: melt margarine in a saucepan, sprinkle in 25 g (1 oz) flour and stir over low heat for 1 - 2 minutes until straw-coloured. Remove from heat and gradually stir in the milk and the egg yolk. Return to heat and simmer, stirring, until thick and smooth.

2. Stir in the chicken, ham, mushrooms and oregano and season to taste with salt and pepper. Pour the mixture on to a large plate, spread it out with a knife and leave to cool for 15 - 20 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, heat the oven to 110C/225F/Gas 1/4 and make up the batter according to the packet instructions.

4. Stretch each of the bacon rashers with the back of a knife and then cut them in half.

5. Divide the chicken mixture into 12, then roll each piece into a ball, and shape it into a roll. Wrap each roll with bacon.

6. Spread out the remaining 15 g (1/2 oz) flour on a flat plate and season with salt and pepper. Dip each roll in the flour until evenly coated.

7. Heat the oil in a deep-fat fryer to 190C/375F or until a day-old bread cube browns in 50 seconds.

8. Dip the rolls one at a time into the batter, then drop into the hot oil
and deep fry 6 at a time for about 6 minutes until golden and crispy. 9 Drain on absorbent paper and keep warm in oven while cooking the second batch.

Serve at once.


serving amount
serves 4

Chinese Fried Prawn

Ingredients:

500 grams Prawn
2 Remove seeds and chop Bell Pepper
1 Inch piece and minced Ginger
1.5 Tsp Vinegar
1 tbsp Soya Sauce
1 Tbsp Corn Flour
1 tbsp chopped Spring Onion (Scallions)
To taste Salt
A pinch Ajinomoto

Instructions:

1. Shell, de-vein and wash prawns. Mix with corn flour and set aside for 10 minutes.

2. Heat oil and fry prawns for a few minutes till they just start to cooked. Remove and keep aside.

3. Heat some more oil in the same pan, fry the ginger for a few minutes, then add the chopped bell peppers and spring onions. Fry for another minute add vinegar and Soya sauce.

4. Stir and add the salt and ajinomoto to taste. Add the cooked prawns and fry for two minutes. Remove and serve hot.

Chicken in garlic sauce

Ingredients:
300 gms (boneless) Chicken
1/2 cup (chopped finely) Cabbage
1/2 cup (sliced finely) Carrot
1/2 cup (cut finely) Bell Pepper
1/2 cup (chopped) Spring Onion (Scallions)
1 tbsp (paste) Garlic
1/2 cup Tomato Sauce
1 tsp Soya Sauce
1/4 tsp White Pepper
3 tbsp Corn Flour
2 tbsp Cooking Oil
1/4 tsp Ajinomoto
1 tsp Lemon Juice
to taste Salt

Instructions:

1. Cut boneless chicken in small pieces. Marinate with one-teaspoon lemon juice and salt.

2. Mix corn flour in 1/2 cup water.

3. Heat oil. Add spring onion, chicken, carrot, cabbage and capsicum. Fry lightly and keep aside.

4. . Heat oil. Add garlic paste and fry for about a minute. Add tomato ketchup, Soya sauce, salt, pepper and ajinomoto. Add 1/2 cup water (or as required) and cook till boiled.

5. Add chicken and vegetables to the sauce. Adjust seasoning.

6. Add corn flour mixed in water. Cook for a minute. Serve hot with noodles or fried rice.

Aloo Tikki

Ingredients:
4 Potato 2 tbsp Bread crumbs 1 tsp Red chilli Powder 1/2 tsp Garam masala powder 1 tsp Corn flour Chopped coriander leaves Oil for Frying Salt to taste

Method:

Boil, skin and mash the potatoes. Add coriander leaves, chilli powder, garam masala powder, corn flour and salt and mix it. Make flat tikkis using small quantity of the mixture and roll it in bread crumbs.

Basic White Sauce

Ingredients:

3 cups milk
1/2 cup plain flour
1 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. cheese grated
salt to taste
pepper to taste

Method:

In a dry heavy sauce pan, dry roast the flour till light pinkish in colour.
Remove and keep aside to cool.
Melt butter in the pan, add half the milk.
Mix the remaining milk in the cooled flour to form a smooth paste.
When milk comes to a boil, add paste and stir continuously.
Bring back to a boil.
Cook till the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon thickly.
Sprinkle salt and fresh ground pepper and stir to mix well.
Use as required in individual recipes.

Making time: 20 minutes
Makes: 4 cups sauce
Shelflife: Frozen 2 weeks ( thaw to room temperature before using) Refrigerated 1 day

Note: I have used the above method as against the traditional method of frying the flour in the butter, since this way the consumption of fat (butter) is reduced as also the chance of lump formation is minimised. It is easier to handle by beginners.

ITALIAN SAUCE:

3 basil chopped
3 tbsp. parsley chopped
2 cloves garlic crushed
200 ml. pure olive oil
75 gms. parmesan cheese grated
salt to taste
pepper to taste (fresh ground)

Baked Fish in Banana Leaf (Paturi)

Ingredients:
Serves 4

Banana leaves (each 10 in. x 10 in. approx.) 4 nos.
The basic idea is to cook the fish in a banana-leaf envelope. If you do not find banana leaves at your local grocers, you may use tender pumpkin leaves instead. However, the hallmark of this dish is its distinctive aroma, which only a banana leaf can lend.

Fish 500 gms. (8 pieces)
Any fatty fish without scale may be used. In India, typically Bowal, Pabda, Bhetki and Hilsa are used.

Cooking oil (mustard oil) 2 ½ tbsp.
Mustard oil lends a distinctive sharp aroma and is highly recommended.

Mustard paste 2 tbsp.

Ginger paste 1 tsp.

Green chilly paste 1 tsp.

Green chilly (sliced longitudenally into two) 2 nos.

Turmeric powder ½ tsp.

Salt to taste

Procedure:
Add all ingredients (except the banana leaves, of course) together and mix well. Thin out the rib running through the center of the banana leaf by slicing so that the leaf can rest flat on the frying pan.

Pre heat frying pan. Lay two leaves on the frying pan. Place fish-mix on the leaf. Place one leaf on top of the mix to cover the entire mix. Place lid on the frying pan. Cook on low flame for about 10 mins.

Remove cover. Place a large plate on top of the pan, and turn the pan upside down real fast, so that the contents of the pan are now transferred to the plate upside down.

Now there are two leaves on top of the mix, and one at the bottom. The topmost leaf will have burnt off considerably. Remove it. Place a fresh banana leaf on the pan. Transfer the entire content carefully from the plate to the pan. Replace lid and cook under low flame for about 10 mins.

Your Steamed Fish in Banana leaf is now ready. Serve hot with any form of rice, viz., fried rice, jeera rice, pulao, etc.

Prawn Malaicurry

INGREDIENTS:500gms Prawns

½ cup Coconut milk
½ cup Onions chopped
20-30gms Paste of mustard seeds
2-3 Green chilis chopped
1 tsp Turmeric
5 tbsp Mustard Oil
Salt to taste

DIRECTIONS:
Clean and de-vein prawns and marinate with the paste made from mustard seeds and little water, 2 tbsp of oil, chopped green chillies, turmeric and salt. Keep it aside for a while.

In a pan take 3 tbsp of oil and fry in the chopped onions till pale golden brown. Then add the marinated prawns into the pan properly fry for sometime while stirring.

Next add the coconut milk to the contents of the pan and cook for 10 minutes till the gravy has become thick.

Rosogollar Payesh

Ingredients:

2 liter Milk for chana or paneer
Lemon juice half a cup
Sugar 11/2 cup
1 liter Milk for payesh
A hand full of Cashew nuts
Pistachios 4-5 chopped
Cardamom 4-5

Method:

Take two liter milk in a big saucepan and make it to boil. Remove from heat, put the lemon juice in the milk, stir constantly, chana is ready. Now take a fine Muslin cloth drain the water from chana. Chana should be completely dry. Make 20 lemon size ball with chana.
Make a paste with cashew nuts.
Take another saucepan, pour 1 liter milk for payesh into the pan let it boil in medium heat. Put the cardamom seeds and cashew nut mix in the milk, then put the sugar. Let the milk boil at medium-low heat for 30-35 minutes. The milk should be thicken and light yellow in colour.
Then put the chana or paneer balls very slowly and carefully, don't let the balls break. Then stir the milk slowly at medium-low heat for another 10-20 minutes or untill the balls become fluffy and smooth. Then remove from heat, garnish with chopped pistachios.
Refrigerate for atleast 2-3 hours. Serve chilled payesh as a delicious sweet dish.

Hot and Spicy Chicken

Serving Size: 4

Ingredients:

4 tablespoon Oil
1 Scallion
2 Hot peppers -- or more
1 tablespoon Shredded Ginger
1 tablespoon Sherry
2 tablespoon Light Soy Sauce
2 pound Fryer
1/2 cup Chicken broth
2 tablespoon Wine vinegar
1 tablespoon Sugar
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Anise pepper -- or 2
1 tablespoon Cornstarch (corn flour)

Directions:

1. Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces, marinate 15-20 minutes in ginger, sherry, soy sauce mixture.


2. Cut scallion and hot peppers diagonally into 1-inch pieces.


3. Grind anise pepper to powder. Mix chicken broth, soy sauce, wine vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper.


4. Heat oil. Add scallion, and stir fry several seconds.


5. Add ginger, sherry, soy mixture and chicken to scallions and hot pepper, and stir-fry for 1-2 minutes more.


6. Add chicken broth mixture, mix well. Cook over low heat until chicken pieces are tender. Add cornstarch to thicken.