Green Chicken Pulao

My mother never has to look at recipes to know just how to optimize on a single marinade and incorporate it into several different varieties. Green chicken pulao (rice) is just that perfect example. As she made this, I noted it all down. I love her little lessons. She goes real fast!! I had to be quick enough to ask her questions at the right time and make remarks as necessary. This dish is fairly easy if you have that stuff lying around. I tend to make the green masala and freeze it (another good idea from my mother). This way I always have the masala to make a quick Indian meal.

Green Chicken Pulao

1 lb chicken breasts, cut into pieces

Marinate this chicken in green masala
1 cup yogurt

Rice:

1 cup long grain basmati rice

1 teaspoon whole cloves

3 medium red potatoes, cut in chunks

1 medium diced onion
1/4th tspn turmeric powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tspn cumin powder

salt to taste

1 tblspon vegetable oil

Boil potatoes in a large pot till about moderately tender (around 15 mins the fork should easy slide in, but the potatoes should not be too soft). In a mixing bowl, mix together yogurt, chicken &  green masala. Let marinate for 30 mins in the fridge. At the same time, in another pot, add onions and sautee till soft. Add cloves, and the balance of the dry spices (including salt); satuee the onions some more till all the spices blend. Add chicken, mix well alltogether. The yogurt should make a nice creamy blend. No need to add extra water at this point. The chicken should start cooking now. Keep a close eye on the chicken curry, if it tends to dry a bit, then you may add some water. Add rice after 15 mins or so, cover & cook for another 20 mins. The rice should fluff up when cooked and the chicken should be tender. Serve with raw onions marinated in lemon & salt.

Balsamic Baked Salmon

Eventhough there was always plenty of fish around me, I lacked an appetite for it. Till this day, I only eat Salmon, Tilaplia and the occasional Tuna from the can. It's because of this recipe that I like Salmon and have ventured on to other such versatile dishes. This recipe was my gateway to an "american" style of eating fish. It's really very simple and so easy. If you cook it for that exact amount of time in the oven, it will produce a very supple, flaky, moist fish. I love making this once every two weeks, so that we don't get bored of it. I have been making this for three years now, as I always have the ingredients at hand. My husband brings the fish home from work, so that its always fresh when we eat it. You can try this with wild salmon (but I personally do not like the denser taste). The panko breadcrumbs gives it an amazingly crumbly texture- one that regular bread crumbs can't replace. Ofcourse, if you don't have panko handy, you can sub for bread crumbs but make sure that next time you try it with panko. Salmon is a great heart healthy fish. Give it a try. Its best served over a bed of rice/couscous.

Balsamic Baked Salmon
2 6oz. salmon fillets
2 tblspn balsamic vinegar
2 tablspn dijon mustard
1/4th cup panko bread crumbs
salt & pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Season the fillets with salt & pepper then pour the balsamic vinegar over them evenly.  Gently spread the mustard over the tops of the fillets with a butter knife. Top with panko bread crumbs. Place in the oven for exactly 22 minutes or until the fish flakes.

Two Burgers in a Bun

 I have a small confession to make. I crave McDonald's on a weekly basis. Yes, I know that they aren't that great for you, but I can't seem to help my obsession for one of their juicy burgers! My town is void of fast food restaurants, which in a way is great for us as it forces me to venture out on my own when I crave greasy food. My results however, are much healthier and way more delicious. These burgers were so easy and I can't wait to make them again.

Two Burgers in a Bun
1 lb of lean ground beef
2 tablespoons of worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon lite soy sauce
sliced cheddar cheese pieces
salt & pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 250 degrees.

Mix all ingredients (except cheese) in a bowl. Make small patties, approximately 2 1/2" in diameter. Grill or broil on high heat for approximately 4 mins on each side (even less depending  on how you like  them done). Top with individual cheese slices and put in oven for about 6 mins. Place on sliced dinner rolls. In my case "horn-y bread."

Herb Crusted Chicken Breast over Marinara

Italian food is absolutely delicious and so versatile. Its so hard for me to resist buying all the fresh pasta and different types of sauces from Whole Foods. Since, I am very much trying to keep within my grocery budget, I decided to buy a few just plain ol' marinara sauces and then later on embellish the sauce to give it a fresh taste. Spaghetti or Linguine is a staple for our weekly night dinner but the box of ziti was calling my name. Tonight, I went back to an old classic and made it my way. Last year, I would have topped this off with cheese to make it a chicken parm, because hubby can't eat cheese so I have included some aged parmigiano reggiano in the crust itself which makes this dish lactose free. This is an absolutely mouth watering dish, that can be edited to fit your needs as you go along. I got the idea from Rachel Ray on foodnetwork.com, and made my own modifications from it.

Herb Crusted Chicken Breast













Ingredients:
*Olive oil for frying
*1 1/2 pounds chicken breast
*Salt and pepper to taste
*1 cup all-purpose flour
*2 large eggs, beaten with 1/4 cup water or Milk
*2 cloves garlic, pressed

Breading:
*2 cups Italian style bread crumbs
*1 cup shredded parmigiano reggiano
* 2 tablespoons of dried Italian seasonings
*1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes


Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Place a nonstick cookie sheet in oven with a tin foil liner.Heat 1/2-inch oil in a large nonstick skillet or frying pan over medium to medium high heat. Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper and 2 pressed garlic cloves. Place flour in a shallow dish. Beat eggs with water in a second dish along side the flour. In a third dish, combine the breading ingredients. Coat chicken in flour, then egg, then bread and cheese mixture. Cook chicken until deeply golden on each side, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to cookie sheet in preheated oven and finish off for another 20 minutes cooking time. Check on the chicken, if the pieces are thick you may need to leave in there for another 10 minutes extra. I brought the oven down from 300 to 200 and left it in there for another 15 mins. This way my chicken will still be hot when I served dinner Serve chicken with your own pasta and sauce version. Mine is as follows

Simple Tomato Sauce

Ingredients:
*1 bottle of plain marinara sauce
*1 whole peeled & shredded carrot
*1 medium white/red onion, sliced
*2 medium pressed garlic cloves
*any other vegetable (squash, eggplant,mushrooms) will do too
* salt & pepper
* 1 tablespoon oil

Heat oil in a medium sauce pan and sautee garlic and onions for about five minutes or till onions start to soften. Add vegetables and sautee some more. Pour in the marinara sauce and reduce heat to slow. Mix well and heat the sauce till desired temperature to serve over pasta.

Spicy Meatballs with Rice Pilaf

"Dinner in 45 mins?" That's the question I ask myself everyday right before I am about to leave work. My husband hates grocery shopping. I on the other hand, absolutely love it. Therefore when I do go food shopping (yes I always drag him with me) I tend to buy in bulk and foresee what can I cook in a jiff when I am bored of eating the regular stuff. The regular stuff for after work dinner has been pasta or tuna. Recently, I grew tired of tuna just as fast as I had fallen in love with it. Also, there are a billion different ways of cooking chicken breast, but it didn't seem interesting enough to satisfy my pallet tonight. Believe it or not, meatballs always present a challenge to me. Even Indian kofta's elude me. Regardless, practice makes perfect. I did not cook the rice below, I bought that pilaf pre-made. Though the meatballs are my creation and much to my happiness, freaking delicious!

Serves 4.
Ingredients:
* 1 lb ground chicken
* 1 medium onion/diced super fine
* 2 medium garlic cloves/pressed with a garlic press
* 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
* 1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
* 1/4 teaspoon italian seasonings
* 1/3rd cup bread crumbs
* 1 egg
*Salt & Pepper to taste
*Olive Oil

**Rice Pilaf/premade
***Equipment: A grill pan. You can make these anyway you feel like, baked, fried, in sauce.

In a medium bowl mix together all ingredients.


Mix real well. Oil your palm with the olive oil.
Seek a handful of mixed spiced ground chicken between the palm of your hands. Roll the ground chicken and press gently with the pal, to flatten it and make it a bit oval.

Grill on the grill pan approximately 5 minutes atleast on each side. Make sure that they are well done. Mine took more than 5 minutes on each side. I even had to tilt them on their skinny sides just to make sure they cooked all around. I supposed if you used to make these in a sauce, or bake them they would cook evenly. Serve with Rice Pilaf that you enjoy.

Egg Curry

Egg Curry is one of the easiest indian dish to make (along with Chana Masala, a.k.a Chole)My mom is the indian expert here, I merely try to follow in her foot steps. My egg curry has been a mixture of several recipes through the course of ten years. This particular dish tonight was made in a hurry. I had no meat, and barely some vegetables. But I did have eggs, and always keep my indian spice rack nearby.


Egg Curry

Serves 4

4 eggs, boiled and sliced
half can of whole peeled tomtatoes
1 medium red onions sliced
2 medium garlic crushed
1/2 teapsoon ginger
1/3 cup tamarind paste
1/2 tspn turmeric
1 tspn coriander powder
1 tspn red chili powder
1 tspn garam masala
Salt and Pepper to taste
Garnish:
coriander leaves
lemon Juice

Tamarind Paste:
you can either buy this, or make it. I buy the dried tamarind from the indian store. Soak a handful in hot water. After ten minutes, squeeze and mash till the juice is nice and thick. Throw away excess tamarind skin and seeds from the sauce.
Thick juice is the tamarind paste. Set aside.

Sautee sliced onion with crushed garlic in a saucepan till about half way soft. About 5 mins. Gather about 4-5 small whole peeled tomatoes and slice in half. Place the onions and tomatoes in a food processor. Blend the ingredients, but not to a complete sauce. Leave it chunky (thats the way I prefer it). In the same sauce pan, add the ginger, turmeric, coriander, red chili powder and mix well. Add in about 3 tablespoons of some of the tomatoe juice remaining in the can. Mix and sautee all spices togther, till it starts to boil and thicken. Add the onion-tomato mixture. Blend well and mix till it starts to bubble. Add in the tamarind sauce and garam masala (this masala always goes in last because it has a tendency to evaporate rather quickly). Mix well. Add the 4 sliced eggs on top along with about a 1/3 cup of water. Mix all and boil for about five minutes covered.

Garnish with coriander leaves and lemon juice. Serve with fresh rice or bread.

Spaghetti Bolognese

I made this dish out of sheer curiosity. It seemed so simple to make, but it wasn't.I think a true bolognese is a dish that is passed down from generations, each family with its own superb version. This superb version, to be the ultimate creation of several trials and errors. My first attempt was delicious, though I have a feeling this dish will evolve to become a family favorite.


Here is my try at the Italian classic

Spaghetti Bolognese

1 lb ground lean beef
1/2 cup chopped carrots
1 medium sized chopping onions
1 29 oz. can of whole peeled tomatoes in juice
3 small garlic cloves
Italian seasoning
1/4th cup red wine
salt
pepper
Oil
Cooked spaghetti

Heat oil in a saucepan. Sautee garlic when hot and then put in the onions. Sautee onions till medium, add carrots. Mix both together, till vegetables are soft. Add in italion seasonings and beef. Cook well, not dark brown. It will still have to simmer, and you don't want the beef to fry, as you want the sauce to be tender. Add the wine, simmer for about 5 mins on low heat till liquid evaporates. Add, the whole peeled tomatoes (pull them apart by hand before putting them in the beef). Mix well, add some juice from the tomatoes (add tomato sauce to sub). Simmer on real low for about half an hour. Serve with freshly cooked spaghetti.