Italian Braised Chicken

Tags

Chicken Recipes, Italian, One pot dishes

This Italian Braised Chicken is a one pot dish where the braised Chicken is cooked in tomato and basil sauce making the chicken full of flavours. The chicken is super tender and juicy. Serve it with some pasta or roasted vegetables.

You can use the chicken with skin, I couldn’t find any so I used skinless meat. Thighs are apt for the dish. I used drumsticks also as my kids love them.

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time : 30 minutes

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

Chicken Thighs : 5

Salt and pepper to taste

Olive Oil : 2 tablespoons

Onion : 1 medium diced

Garlic : 4 cloves minced

Tomato puree : 2 cups

Italian basil : 10 leaves chopped

Red chilli flakes : 2 teaspoons

Brown sugar : 1 teaspoon

Parsley to garnish

Instructions:

Wash and pat dry the chicken pieces.

Heat a dutch oven or a skillet on high heat, add the chicken pieces and season them with salt and pepper. brown the chicken on both sides. Take them out and keep aside.

Lower the flame to medium, in the same pan, add olive oil, add onions, garlic and saute for 2-3 minutes until the onion is soft and translucent.

Add tomato puree, basil leaves, salt, red chilli flakes and stir. Add braised chicken with the juices, cover and simmer for about 15 minutes.

Add brown sugar, stir to combine and garnish with parsely.

Serve immediately.

 

Plum Ice cream (No Churn)

Tags

Ice creams

This Plum Ice Cream is made with just 4 ingredients. Plums, sugar, milk powder and fresh cream. By the way, it’s a no churn ice cream.

I love experimenting with foods. Ice creams are something that are on top of the list. It’s the season for plums and I had 2 fruits left and I wanted to try making ice cream out of it. The ice cream turned out creamy and super delicious and my daughter who is not a big fan of fruit ice creams is in love with this one.

Preparation Time : 15 minutes

Freezing Time : 6-8 hours

Makes : 250 grams

Ingredients :

Plums : 2 large pitted and diced

Sugar : 1/2 cup + 2 teaspoons

Milk powder : 1/2 cup

Fresh cream : 1/2 cup

Instructions:

In a small saucepan, add the diced plums, 2 teaspoons of sugar and cook until the plums are soft and mushy. Turn off the stove and let them cool.

In a small blender jar, add the plums and make puree.

In a large blender jar, add plum puree, milk powder, sugar, fresh cream and blend till smooth.

Pour the mixture into a freezer safe container and freeze for 6-8 hours.

 

Jackfruit Smoothie

Tags

drinks, smoothies

Jackfruit is an exotic fruit grown in tropical regions and it is a native fruit in South India. It has a lot of health benefits. The raw fruit is usually used as a meat substitute and the ripen fruit is eaten raw or used to make desserts, ice creams etc.,

This smoothie is made with ripen fruit. I used soy milk but your choice of milk can be used.

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Serves : 2

Ingredients:

Jackfruit pieces : 1 cup

Soy Milk : 1 cup

Honey : 1 teaspoon

Healthy Mix Recipe: 1 teaspoon

Instructions:

Add ingredients to a blender jar and blend till smooth.

Serve immediately if you like the liquid consistency. If you like thick smoothie, refrigerate for 2 hours and serve.

 

Pistachio Cake

Tags

Baked Foods, cakes

This Pistachio Cake is full of bursting flavours from nutty pistachios, almonds, cardamom and orange zest. I saw a post on Almond cake and thought let me try a Pistachio cake as that’s one nut no one in the house eats. I have to always make something and hide them.

The cake is so fluffy with a beautiful colour. My husband who is not a big fan of cakes loved this one and asked me to bake a second one within few days. The sweetness is mild compared to the other cakes.

Preparation Time : 10 minutes

Bake Time : 35 minutes

Serves : 6-8

Ingredients:

Butter : 1/2 cup / 1 stick

Sugar : 1 cup

Eggs : 3 large

Almond extract : 1/2 teaspoon

Orange zest : 1 orange

All purpose flour : 1 1/4 cup

Baking powder : 1 1/2 teaspoons

Salt : A pinch

Pistachios : 1/2 cup ground coarsely

Almonds : 6 ground coarsely

Green cardamom : 6 pods seeds powdered

Warm milk : 1/2 cup

Slivered Pistachios for garnish

Instructions:

Pre heat the oven to 350 degrees F / 180 degrees C.

Grease a 8″ pan on the sides and line it with a parchment paper.

Cream sugar and butter and beat till it light and fluffy.

Add one egg at a time and beat well. Add almond extract, orange zest and beat to combine.

Add all the dry ingredients in batches along with milk and beat well to combine.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan, garnish with slivered pistachios and bake for 35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the middle.

Let the cake cool for 15 minutes before slicing and serving.

Aratikaya Bajji/ Plantain Bajji

Tags

Andhra Recipes, snacks, Street Foods

Aratikaya Bajji / Plantain Bajji is a popular evening snack in Andhra. The process is pretty simple, Plantains are thinly sliced, dipped in batter and fried. As simple as that.

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 3-4 minutes per batch

Serves: 2-3

Ingredients:

Aratikaya/Plantain : 2 large sliced as shown in the pic

To make the Batter:

Besan/Senagapindi: 1 cup

Rice Flour/Biyyappindi: 1/4 cup

Red chilli powder: 2 teaspoon

Baking soda: 1/2 teaspoon

Coriander powder: 1 teaspoon

Salt to taste

Water: 3/4 cup

Method:

Take a large bowl of water with salt, peel and cut the plantain and put the pieces in the water so there is no dis coloration.

Mix all ingredients listed under for batter to make your batter.

Heat oil for deep frying, dip the eggplant pieces into the batter and drop them into the oil. Fry them on both sides till they turn golden brown for about 3-4 minutes.

Serve hot with some hot sauce or ketchup.

Note: apply some oil on your hands and the knife before peeling  the plantains. It’s very sticky.

Firecracker Chicken

Tags

Baked Foods, Chicken Recipes, Chinese

Firecracker Chicken is crispy chicken tossed in a sweet and spicy sauce. The dish is done in two steps, first browned until the chicken is crisp in a pan stove top and next the cooked chicken is tossed in a sweet and spicy sauce and baked to perfection.

This dish an be served as an appetizer or as a side dish with plain rice or fried rice. I like using chicken thighs for the dish because of the texture but chicken breast works fine.

Preparation Time : 10 minutes

Cook Time : 15 minutes

Bake Time : 20 minutes

Serves : 4

Ingredients:

Skinless boneless chicken : 500 grams (cut into chunks)

Salt and pepper to taste

Corn flour/starch : 2 1/2 tablespoons

Eggs : 2 beaten

Scallions : To garnish

For the sauce:

Hot sauce : 1/3 cup

Red chilli flakes : 1 tablespoon

Rice Vinegar : 1 tablespoon

Brown Sugar : 2 tablespoons

Instructions:

Take the chicken chunks in a bowl, add salt, pepper, corn flour/starch and mix well to coat.

Pre heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 13×9 tray  or cookie sheet with aluminium foil and keep aside.

In a small bowl, mix all the ingredients listed under for the sauce and keep aside.

On High flame, heat oil in a wide pan. Dip the chicken pieces in the egg and put them in the pan in a single layer. It will take 2 batches to cook all the chicken. Cook the chicken pieces 3-4 minutes per side until the chicken is light brown and crisp.

Once the chicken is done, add the chicken pieces to the baking pan, pour the sauce and coat well. Make sure the chicken is in single layer.

Bake the chicken for 20 minutes. Turn off the oven, garnish the chicken with scallions and serve hot with plain rice or fried rice.

Cajun Rice

Tags

Rice Recipes

Cajun cooking is originally from French Cuisine but has become very famous in Louisiana, USA. The flavours are very rustic yet delicious. Serve this delicious with some shrimp or chicken.

Preparation Time : 10 minutes

Cook Time : 20 minutes

Serves : 4 – 6

Ingredients:

Rice : 2 cups

Olive oil : 1 tablespoon

Bell pepper : 1 seeded and diced

Onion : 1 medium diced

Garlic : 2 cloves minced

Cajun Seasoning – Simple Recipe : 1/4 cup

Tomato paste : 2 tablespoons

Fresh lime juice : 2 teaspoons

Butter : 4 tablespoons

Salt to taste

Instructions:

Heat oil in a saucepan, add onions, peppers, garlic and saute for 3 minutes until the onions are soft.

Add tomato paste, cajun seasoning, lime juice, butter, salt, stir well and cook for 2 minutes until the butter is melted.

Add rice, stir in and cook for 1 minute. Add 4 cups of water, stir well and close lid.

Cook for 15-20 minutes or until the rice is completely cooked.

Serve hot with some shrimp or chicken.

Red Velvet Cookies

Tags

Baked Foods, cookies

These Red Velvet cookies are a little chewy. The beautiful colour is tempting and the taste of the cookies makes you want to grab another one. I added mini white chocolate chips but regular chocolate chips can be added. The cookies taste delicious even without the chocolate chips.

For the bright colour, I added some beetroot extract along with the red food gel. It gave a perfect colour to the cookies.

Preparation Time : 15 minutes

Rest Time : 2 hours

Bake Time : 13 minutes

Makes : 20 cookies

Ingredients:

Unsalted butter : 1 cup / 2 sticks

Granulated sugar : 1 cup

Light brown sugar : 1 cup

Eggs : 2 large at room temperature

Vanilla extract : 1 1/2 teaspoons

Red gel food colour : 1/2 teaspoon

Beetroot extract : 2 tablespoons

All purpose flour : 2 1/2 cups

Baking soda : 1 teaspoon

Cocoa powder : 1 1/2 tablespoons

Cornstarch/ corn flour : 2 teaspoons

Salt : 1 teaspoon

White chocolate chips : 2 cups

Instructions:

In a medium sized bowl, take butter and microwave it till it is semi melted.

Add both sugars and beat on medium speed till they are combined well for about 2 minutes.

Add eggs one at a time and beat on medium low to combine.

Add vanilla, food colour and beetroot extract, mix well to combine.

Add all the dry ingredients except chocolate chips and beat to combine. Don’t over mix.

Add the chocolate chips and fold into the dough.

Cover the bowl and refrigerate for 2 hours.

When it’s almost 2 hours, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Line the cookie sheets with parchment paper, scoop the dough on the sheets and bake for 13 minutes.

Let them rest for 10 minutes, and transfer the cookies on to a cooling rack and let them cool completely.

Store the cookies in a airtight container for 4-5 days.

Note : I got so many queries on a eggless version.

To replace 1 egg, whisk together 1 tablespoon (7grams) of ground flax or chia seeds with 3 tablespoons (45 grams) of water until fully absorbed and thickened.

Vanilla Mug Cake

Tags

30 minutes or less, Microwave cooking

This Vanilla Mug Cake is a single serve cake baked in the microwave. It takes less than 5 minutes to make this mug cake. Adding rainbow sprinkles makes this Vanilla cake colourful and beautiful.

Preparation Time : 2 minutes

Cook Time : 1 minute

Serves: 1

Ingredients:

Butter : 2 tablespoons

Milk : 1 tablespoon

Vanilla Extract : 1/2 teaspoon

Egg yolk : 1

Sugar : 2 tablespoons

All purpose flour : 4 tablespoons

Baking powder : 1/2 teaspoon

Rainbow sprinkles : 1 tablespoon

Instructions:

In a microwave safe mug, add butter and melt it.

Add milk, vanilla, egg, sugar and whisk well with a fork.

Add all purpose flour, baking powder and whisk to combine.

Fold in the sprinkles and microwave for 70-90 seconds on medium power.

Serve immediately as is or topped with some chocolate syrup.

Chicken Rice Bowl

Tags

Chicken Recipes, Rice Recipes

My kids love KFC Rice Bowls that are layered with flavoured rice, mashed potatoes, gravy and popcorn chicken. The blend of flavours really go well together.

It’s really easy to put together these rice bowls at home. Little pre planning for mashed potatoes is all that’s needed. This particular rice bowl became an instant hit at home.

Preparation Time : 20 minutes

Cook Time : 30 minutes

Makes : 6 bowls

Ingredients:

Mexican Rice: 1 recipe

Creamy Mashed potatoes : 1 recipe

Spicy Popcorn Chicken : 1 recipe

Cheddar cheese : 1 cup shredded

For Gravy:

Chicken stock : 2 cups

Chicken bouillon : 2 cubes

Butter : 4 tablespoons

All purpose flour : 1/4 cup

Dried rosemary : 1 teaspoon

Dried thyme : 1/4 teaspoon

Onion powder: 1 teaspoon

Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

Melt the butter in a saucepan, add flour, rosemary, thyme, onion powder, salt, pepper and cook for 1 minute.

Add the stock, chicken bouillon slowly and whisk well to combine. Make sure no lumps are formed.

Cook until the gravy is thick and smooth. Turn off the stove.

Assembling the bowls:

Take the bowls, layer 1/2 cup rice, 1/2 cup mashed potatoes, 2 ladles of gravy, popcorn chicken and top it off with shredded cheese.

Serve immediately.