Creamy and Spicy Chicken Pasta

It's a common misconception that pasta is typically bland. There is whole range of pasta dishes that can prepared spicy to suit our taste buds. My introduction to pasta was in the form of a masala version of macaroni and cheese that my mom used to prepare. After a few decades I found a version in one of the Italian restaurants (Johnny Carinos to be specific) in USA. A version was posted a while ago (ignore the images though). Since then we have been trying out different spicy variations of pasta. Here is one such recipe inspired by Tasty. So without further ado...

Ingredients

1. Olive oil - 3 to 4 table spoons
2. Boneless chicken breast chunks - 600 gms
3. Mushrooms (I used the brown swiss mushrooms) - 150 gms
4. Diced Onion - 1
5. Minced garlic - 1 whole garlic 
6. Thinly sliced sundried tomatoes - 3 to 4 table spoons
7. Chicken stock 500 ml
8. Plain flour (Maida) - 1 tablespoon
9. Heavy cream 350 ml
10. Pasta (I used Farfalle any variety other than spaghetti (or noodle like) will work) - 300 gms (1 packet)
11. Shredded parmesan cheese - 100 g
12. Cayenne Pepper - to taste as per your spice levels
13. Black pepper - to taste
14. Chopped Parsley for garnish

Method

1. Boil and drain the pasta as per the instructions on the package. Add a pinch of salt.
2. In a large sauce pan heat the olive oil and saute the diced chicken with a bit of salt and pepper       for about 5 minutes until cooked to about 3/4ths - just until you don't see anything pink. 
3. Move the chicken out to a separate bowl.
4. Add some more olive oil and saute the garlic, onions, mushrooms and sundried tomatoes.
5. Add salt and cayenne pepper to taste. Note that the chicken stock will come with a bit of salt too.
6. Once the onions are carmelized (brown in colour) add the chicken stock and heavy cream and bring it to boil.
7. Add the plain flour to thicken the sauce and simmer it for about 5 minutes.
8. Add the boiled and drained pasta and stir it well.
9. Add the grated parmesan cheese and stir well.
10. Garnish with chopped parsley and bit of parmesan cheese and serve hot.

Enjoy!!

C

Andhra Style Ginger Chicken

When it comes to chicken curries each state (probably even districts) seems to come up with a variation that's a specialty to that area. While I don't know which district this came from - ginger chicken curry is definitely a favourite of mine while dining at an "Andhra style" restaurant. As the name denotes this is a chicken curry with a slightly stronger tinge of ginger in it which gives a punch to the curry. I am sure this can also be enjoyed in a semi gravy style simply by reducing the amount of water.

Ingredients

1. Red onions - 3
2. Tomatoes - 2
3. Ginger & Garlic paste - 2 table spoons
4. Ginger juliennes - 50 gms
5. Fennel seeds - 1 table spoon
6. Cumin - 1 tea spoon
7. Cardamom seed - 1 tea spoon
8. Coriander seeds - 2 table spoons
9. Poppy seeds - 1 tea spoon
10. Cinnamon sticks - 1 or 2
11. Kashmiri red chillies - 4 or 5
12. Cloves - 3-4
13. Chicken with bones - 1kg (diced)
14. Gingelly oil
15. Curry leaves

Method

1. Dice the onions roughly and saute them in gingelly oil with a pinch of salt.
2. Dry roast the spices (Ingredients #5 - 12) for about a minute until the aroma comes out.
3. Let it cool down to room temperature and then blend it to a nice powder.
4. Once the onions are golden brown add the tomatoes and saute them until they get mushy.
5. Add the ginger garlic paste and half of the ginger juliennes and saute them until oil separates.
6. Add the diced up chicken pieces and mix it well.
7. Add the powdered dry spices and mix it well.
8. Cook in a medium flame with a lid on for about 20 minutes. Add a cup of water to the level of consistency you prefer.
9. Add the remaining ginger juliennes with curry leaves and simmer for a few minutes. 

Enjoy!!

C

Prawn Scampi Pasta

Pasta as you probably know comes in different shapes and forms and sauces. I hear I had shared a spicy and creamy version roughly about 8 years ago. This version is not as complicated in terms of ingredients or the process. Of course a more traditional version involves a few more ingredients but I customized this to my preference (in other words what I had in my pantry). A great dish for what they call as a week day dinner fix. Simple, quick and tasty. A more traditional recipe will involve a few more ingredients such as white wine, parsley, Italian herbs etc.,  which I have not used. So without much further ado...

Ingredients

1. Pasta (500 gms). I used spaghetti but you can use pretty much any type of pasta. Preferably the noodle type ones (spaghetti, linguini, angel hair etc).
2. Prawns (or Shrimp for in the United States) - 200 gms
3. Garlic - 10 cloves (finely minced)
4. Butter - 100 gms
5. Olive Oil - 2-3 table spoons
6. Red chilli flakes - to taste
7. Lemon juice - 2-3 table spoons
8. Coriander - chopped for garnish (better if you use parsley)

The Method

1. Cook and drain the pasta as per the package instructions with a teaspoon of salt. Ensure it is not too soft and mushy.
2. Heat a large wok and melt the butter. Add the olive oil once the butter is melted.
3. Add the garlic and saute for about a minute without letting it burn. Turn down the heat if needed.
4. Add the prawns and red chilli flakes and saute until the prawns turn pink. Add salt to taste.
5. Add the lemon juice and toss it up for about a minute.
6. Add the cooked pasta and toss it in until the sauce is evenly mixed.
7. Garnish with chopped coriander (or parsley) leaves and serve.

Happy Cooking!!

C

Bhindi Masala

Bhindi also known as Bendakkai, Vendakkai, Okra or even Ladies Finger to a few was the least preferred vegetable when I grew up. I detested it even more when I was forced to eat it as being good for your brain and for your mathematical skills!! However all that changed when I had Bhindi masala in Bangalore. If you have been following my posts I can't thank Bangalore enough for opening up my taste buds especially for North Indian food. So here is my re-creation of Bhindi Masala - hope you like it and try it.

Ingredients

1. Bhindi/Okra - 1 kg
2. Red Onions - 2
3. Tomatoes - 2
4. Tomato paste - 1 table spoon
5. Ginger garlic paste - 1 table spoon
6. Cumin seeds - 1 table spoon
7. Kashmiri Chilli - 1 table spoon (or less as per your level of spiciness)
8. Cardamom / Elaichi - 1 table spoon
9. Turmeric - 1/2 tea spoon
10. Kasoori methi - 1 table spoon
11. Cashews - 7-8
12. Garam masala - 2 table spoons
13. Milk - 1/2 cup
14. Salt - to taste
15. Coriander / Cilantro (chopped) - for garnishing
16. Any form of vegetable oil

Method

1. Slit the bhindi along the slides and cut the head off. 
2. Heat a large sauce pan / kadai with vegetable oil and sautee the cumin seeds for a few seconds.
3. Add onions and garlic and sautee until they become soft and mushy. You can add a pinch of salt to quicken the process.
4. Add cashews and cardamom and sautee for a minute and set aside to cool down.
5. In the same pan heat about half a cup of oil and shallow fry the okra for about 10 minutes until they brown up on the sides, filter the oil and set aside.
6. Blend the tomato and onion mixture into a smooth paste and filter the contents into a bowl.
7. In the same pan (remove a bit of excess oil) and saute the filtered onion tomato paste along with ginger garlic paste, tomato paste and turmeric powder.
8. As the oil separates add the garam masala and crushed kasoori methi and mix it well.
9. Add the milk and bit of water to required consistency (should not be too watery) and bring it to a boil.
10. Add the shallow fried bhindi and mix it well for about a minute.
11. Garnish with chopped coriander and serve hot with roti / rice.

Enjoy Cooking!!

C

Chicken Manchurian - quintessential dish that features in every Indian restaurant that serves "Indo-Chinese" cuisine. I do not remember any visit to a  (Indian) Chinese restaurant that did not have A "manchurian" in the order. It could be Gobi (Cauliflower) or Paneer or most often as the case is - Chicken. It usually comes in 2 variations either as "Dry" which is served as an appetizer (entree/starter) or "Gravy" which is usually served as an accompaniment to fried rice or noodles. So here is the gravy version. If you would like the dry version just follow the notes below (step #7).

Ingredients

1. Chicken breast fillet - 500 gms
2. Minced garlic - 2 table spoons
3. Minced red onions - 1 large onion
4. Corn flour - 3 table spoons for batter and 1.5 table spoons for sauce
5. Plain flour (Maida) - 1/2 cup
6. Red chilli powder - 1 tea spoon
7. Eggs - 2
8. Soya Sauce - 2 table spoons
9. Vinegar - 1 table spoon
10. Sugar - 1 tea spoon
11. Spring onions - 1/2 cup for garnish

Method

1. Thinly slice the chicken breast fillets. Make sure you don't cut them into cubes.
2. In a deep bowl mix the chicken with eggs, corn flour, plain flour, chilli powder and salt (about a tea spoon). Do not add any water. You should just have a thin coating of the batter on top of the chicken.
3. In a large wok heat about 2 cups of vegetable oil (or enough to deep fry).
4. Deep fry the chicken pieces in a few batches. It should take about 30 seconds to a minute for each batch. This is where the thinly sliced chicken pieces come in handy.
5. Transfer the excess oil into a separate bowl and use the same wok with a few table spoons of oil left.
6. Saute the garlic and onion until the onion turns slightly brown.
7.  Add vinegar and soya sauce mix it up well. (If you want the dry version avoid step #8 and add about 1 table spoon of corn flour slurry for the smooth texture).
8. Pour about 2 cups of water (or more if you need more sauce) and bring it to boil.
9. Mix the 1.5 table spoons of corn flour in half a cup of water and bring it to boil until the sauce thickens. (Adjust the water or corn flour slurry to desired thickness of sauce)
10. Mix the deep fried chicken pieces and mix it up for about a minute.
11. Serve hot with diced up spring onions as garnish. As mentioned above a good combination with noodles or fried rice.

Happy Cooking !!

C

Bread Pudding with Caramel Sauce

Can't believe it's been more than a month since my previous post. Time does zoom by (an easy excuse eh!!).  Bread pudding - something I've had very rarely as a child but the taste just stuck to me somewhere deep in the middle of irrelevant memories. I've had some opportunities to eat it again during my trips to Manila. As they say everything has it's own time - and it took a while for me to create one at home. It's such a fairly simple recipe that doesn't involve too many ingredients or complex steps. Caramel sauce - something that I've had as topping for ice creams - but a good topping for a pudding. This again is very simple and quick to do.

Ingredients

Pudding

1. Any type of thick bread diced up - preferably not the sliced ones - 250 gms
2. Eggs - 12  (you will need 6 whole eggs and 6 egg yolks)
3. Warm Milk - 1 cup
4. Vanilla essence - 2 tea spoons
5. Sugar - 1 cup
6. Sultanas/Raisins - 1/2 cup
7. Dried Cranberries - 1/2 cup (optional)
8. Slivered almonds - 1 cup
9. Butter for lining the tray

Caramel Sauce

1. Brown sugar - 1 cup
2. Butter - 150 gms
3. Cream - 250 ml
4. Vanilla essence - 1 tea spoon

The Method

1. Preheat the oven to 160 deg Celsius.
2. Dice up the bread in large cubes (about 2 inches).
3. Take a large baking tray either metal or glass (I used glass) and line the inner surface with a stick of butter.
4. Beat the eggs and sugar to a smooth paste (custard).
5. Add the warm milk slowly while continue whisking the custard to ensure the eggs dont cook and curdle.
6. Place the bread pieces in the tray nicely packed until the whole area is covered.
7. Sprinkle half of the sultanas / raisins, cranberries and the almonds roughly across the bread and pour half of the custard until the bread pieces are soaked.
8. Place the remaining bread, sprinkle the sultanas, cranberries and almonds and pour the remaining custard on top.
9. Squish the bread down and ensure all of the bread is well soaked in the custard. (If you felt the custard was not enough - you could cheat a bit with adding a bit more milk).
10. Place it in the oven in a water bath and let it bake for about 40 minutes (Have an eye on it after 20-30 minutes to ensure they don't burn out.)
11. While the pudding is being baked you can now start with the caramel sauce. Take a deep sauce pan and mix the sugar, butter and cream  on medium heat and continue whisking to create a smooth consistency.
12. Continue cooking the sauce and stirring occasionally for about 7-8 minutes until it thickens to your desired consistency. 
13. The pudding is ready when you can test it by inserting a knife or a tooth pick and it comes out dry.
14. Scoop it up and serve with a warm drizzle of the caramel sauce.

Note: The caramel sauce can be stored in the fridge for a week or 2. You will need to warm it up every time since it thickens up easily.

Enjoy!!

Happy Cooking !!

C

Indo Chinese Spring Roll

Spring Rolls - this dish takes me back about 3 decades ago when I had tasted it for the first time at "China Town" restaurant in Salem. Since then it was always one of my favourite starters to order whenever we went to a Chinese restaurant in India. Some of my family may still remember the short "stint" I did at the kitchens in Savera Hotel, Chennai in 1993 - right after high school. That is where I learnt how to make a spring roll which I replicated a few times in few of my relatives houses. I couldn't cook this dish at home since eggs were still not allowed in the kitchen then. Fast forward a few years I had the opportunity to try spring rolls in USA. It was never the same - it was bit more crispier, but the fillings were bland. For whatever reason I stayed away from this dish for decades - until recently it popped up in my memory urging me to try this again. I couldn't quite remember the ratios of certain ingredients and fumbled a bit initially but got it right the 2nd time around. So let's get going with this yummy appetizer / entree (depending on which side of the globe you are).

What goes in

Wrapper

1. Maida / Plain flour - 2 cups
2. Corn flour - 3 cups (note the ratio between Maida to Corn flour should be 2:3)
3. Eggs - 2
4. Baking soda - 1 tea spoon
5. Salt - 1 tea spoon
6. Water - 4-5 cups (enough to create a runny batter)

Filling

1. Carrot  - 2 or 3
2. Cabbage - 250 gms
3. Capsicum / Bell Peppers - 1 or 2
4. Red Onion - 1
5. Garlic - 3 or 4 cloves
6. Salt
7. Black Pepper powder
8. Vinegar - 1 table spoon

Feel free to add any eggs or thinly sliced chicken should you chose to add any protein to the filling.

The Method

Wrapper

1. Mix all the ingredients of the wrapper in a large bowl and create a runny batter.
2. Heat a large wok - preferably non-stick wok.
   
3. Pour about 1/3 to 1/2 cup of batter on to the wok and keep swirling it around until the batter creates an even thin skin around the wok.
4. In about 20 seconds you should slowly blow around the edges and the wrapper / skin should separate out of the wok. Use your fingers to slowly remove the wrapper out of the wok. You should not be using any spatula / utensil for this.
5. Store the wrappers on a plate dusting it with corn flour between the wrappers.

Filling

1. Thinly slice / shred the vegetables 
2. In the same wok heat a few tablespoons of vegetable oil and saute the minced garlic with the vinegar.
3. If you are adding chicken or egg, now would be a good time to add and saute until cooked well.
4. Add the vegetables and saute for a few minutes with salt and pepper to taste.

Spring Roll

1. Place about 1 tablespoon of the filling in one end of the wrapper and slowly roll it into a cylindrical roll. After 2 or 3 rolls fold the sides and roll it up so that none of the filling is exposed.
2. Use egg wash or corn flour slurry to glue the last bits of the wrapper so that it sticks to the roll firmly.
3. In a large wok fill enough vegetable oil to be able to deep fry the spring rolls.
4. Once the oil is hot enough deep fry the rolls until golden brown.
5. Chop them up diagonally or just as cylinders and serve hot with tomato or sweet chilli sauce.
6. You should have a crisp outer layer with some soft and crunchy layers of filling inside.

Happy Cooking!!

C