CHICKEN IN SOYA SAUCE

Ingredients

1.5 KG Chicken Pieces

Marinade

1/4 Cup Dark Soy Sauce

4 tblsp Light Soy Sauce

4 tblsp Worcestershire Sauce

4 tblsp Oyster Sauce

3 Big Onions cut into medium cubes

2.5 inches ginger chopped

3 green chillies chopped

1.5 pod garlic chopped

3 Green Capsicum cut into cubes

A sprig Curry Leaves ( Optional)

Few coriander leaves for garnishing.

Method:.

Mix the Chicken Pieces in the marinade and place in refrigerator overnight or at least 3 hours.

Place a pan on stove and add 4 tblsp of oil. When hot add garlic, ginger and green chillies and fry for a couple of minutes. Now add the onions and fry till the onions become slightly brown. Now add the marinated chicken pieces. Mix and fry well, continuing stir frying the chicken and green masala till the Chicken get sealed. If required add more dark soy sauce. Now close with a lid and cook the chicken till 3/4 done.

Now add the Capsicum and Curry Leaves. Mix well and cook for some more time till the chicken is fully cooked. (when the flesh from the chicken legs leaves the bone near the joint, a sign that the chicken has cooked). Now add chopped coriander leaves and then put off the flame.

Tandoori Chicken

Ingredients:

1 Chicken ( cut into eight parts) or a mixture of chicken parts (breast, drumsticks)

Remove the skin and make cuts/slits (2 or 3) on the pieces

Marinade:

1 Cup Yoghurt

2 tblspoon ginger garlic paste

1.5 tblspoon Olive oil

2 tblspoon Red Chilli Paste (see my recipe for Red Chilli Paste)

3 tblspoon Tandoori Masala Powder (see my recipe)

1 tsp salt

Mix the above and apply to chicken. Make sure to insert the marinade into the cuts/slits. Cover and keep the marinated chicken in the refrigerator overnight or at least eight hours.

Remove from refrigerator, mix the chicken well and place the chicken on a tray. Apply a little oil on the chicken pieces or spray with Canola or any other vegetable oil. Preheat the oven at 250 degrees fan bake and bake for 25 minutes. Remove, apply the remaining marinade to the chicken, turn over and bake for 10 minutes.

Cut an onion into rings, add a little of the marinade to the rings. Place the onions rings on a tray and place in oven and bake it along with the chicken, when you turn over the chicken.

Remove the chicken and the onions. Keep onions aside for Garnish.

Change the oven setting from Fan Bake to Fan Grill. Apply little oil to the chicken and place the chicken under the grill for 5 to 7 minutes. Check and see that it does not burn. Remove and turn over the chicken and place it back under the grill for another 5 minutes.

Remove- Tandoori chicken is ready.

Serve with baked onions rings, lemon/lime wedges or pieces, coriander leaves. You can serve with mint chutney or tamarind chutney.

Tandoori Masala Powder

Ingredients

1 tblspoon Pepper Corns

3 tblspoon Cumin Seeds

4 tblspoon Coriander Seeds

1 tblspoon Fenugreek Seeds

1 tblspoon Green Cardamom Seeds

1 tblspoon Black Cardamon

2 pieces Turmeric

1 tblspoon cloves

3 piece cinnamon

1 tablespoon mace

All the above to be dry roasted and dry ground along with the below powders

¾ tblspoon Nutmeg Powder

1 tblspoon Garlic Powder

1 tblspoon Ginger Powder

1 tsp salt

After the spices are ground, allow to cool. Then store in airtight container or ziplock bag. Use as required.

Chicken Lollipop or Drums of Heaven

 

Ingredients:

15 Chicken Wings ( cut them at the joints to separate into three parts- throw away the tip of the wing)

Remove thin bone from the part that has a thin and thick bone. Pull the flesh to one the end of the thick bone, to form lollipops. The other part of the wing, pull the flesh to one end of the bone.

Marinade:

1 spoon of Red Chilli paste (see Recipe)

1 tsp of Soy Sauce

8 cloves Garlic and 1 small piece ginger (paste)

1 tsp pepper powder

1 tsp vinegar

1 tsp salt

Marinate the lollipops with the above marinade for an hour.

Batter:

1 cup Cornflour

1 cup Standard Flour or Maida

1 egg

3 tblsp oil

1 spoon Red Chilli Paste

1 tsp salt

Add Sufficient water to form thick batter of pouring consistency. Keep aside for half hour

 

Frying

Heat sufficient oil in a deep pan. Dip the lollipops in the batter and drop them in the hot oil. Do not crowd them. Fry in batches on medium heat. Keep turning them so that they are fried on all sides. Remove onto paper towels to absorb the oil.

Serve with Schezwan Sauce (see recipe). Garnish with chopped onions leeks and lemon wedges. Cover the tips with pieces of Aluminium Foil. This is only for presentation.

Beetroot Wine

Ingredients:

3.5 kilos of Beetroot

2.75 Kilos of White Sugar

9 litres of Water

25 gms Active Yeast

Earthern Jar or Plastic Bucket with airtight lid (20 litres capacity)

2 Lemons (peel or grate the skin), Juice of lemon

25 gms of ginger (sliced fine), 16 cloves

Muslin cloth or thin cotton cloth for straining the wine.

Method:

Cut the top and bottom part of the beetroot. Wash and peel the beetroots. Grate the beetroots using a hand grater or electric grater. In a big vessel (can use two vessels), add the grated beetroot, ginger, lemon peel, water and boil. Simmer and cook till the beetroot is cooked (becomes light in colour).

Strain through Muslin or thin cotton cloth. Add sugar, lime juice and cloves. Stir and allow to cool. Reserve the pulp to make beetroot halwa. Transfer the beetroot Juice/Water mixture to the Jar or Plastic Bucket. Add the yeast (in a small bowl of luke warm water, add the yeast and a spoon of sugar, when it rises add). Stir well and then close the lid. Close with airtight lid and keep for 21 days. The quantity should not be more than 75% of the container.

After 2 days open, strain and keep for another 20 days. After 20 days, strain the mixture and then bottle it. Leave a gap of 2 inches from the cap of the bottle, to allow for any further fermentation process. If you want you can pour the beetroot wine back into the jar or plastic container for another week, before you bottle it.

Enjoy. You should get around 9 to 10 bottles of Beetroot Wine.

Turmeric Leaves Patholi or Steamed Sweet Rice Cakes

Ingredients:

15 Turmeric Leaves

2 cups of boiled rice or ponni rice. Washed and soaked in water overnight.

Scraped Coconut

Scraped Jaggery

½ tsp Cardamom Powder

1 pinch nutmeg powder

Salt

Method:

Grind the rice with little salt in little water to form thick batter. Make a mixture of scraped coconut and jaggery (to taste). Add cardamom powder and nutmeg powder to mixture and keep aside. Apply the paste to a leaf (face of the leaf) very thinly. Leave 1 cm at the sides dry. Place a little of the mixture along the spine of the leaf. Fold the leaf and keep aside. Repeat this to all the leaves

Heat up a steamer or tondoor (with water in the bottom section). Place the rolls in the top section and steam for 30 minutes. Remove and allow to cool. Peel and enjoy the rice cakes.

Patrade (Shredded leaves Method) and Fried Slices

Ingredients:

6 Allu or Colococia Leaves

2 Cups of boiled or ponni rice

1/4 cup raw rice

2 tblsp Urid Dhal (black gram)

Wash and Soak the rice and dhal in water for 6 hours

5 Red Chillies

½ tsp Turmeric Powder

1 tsp Cumin Seeds

A small ball Tamarind

1.5 tsp Salt

Method:

At the back of the leaves, cut the thick remaining stalk and spine of the leaf. Roll and cut fine into thin shreds.

Drain the soaked rice and dhal. Grind along with chillies, turmeric powder, cumin seeds, tamarind, salt and water to form a thick batter. Add to the cut Allu leaves and mix well. Place some quantity on a baking paper or banana leaves and fold the sides to form thick cakes. Make as many as you can.

Heat up a steamer or tondoor (with water in the bottom section). Place the rolls in the top section and steam for 60 minutes. Remove and allow to cool. Use to either fry them or can add to mutton or chicken curry.

Fried: Once it has cooled cut a cake into thick slices. Make a paste of salt, chilli powder, turmeric, vinegar and water (Salt and Chilli Paste- see my video on youtube). Apply lightly to the sliced pieces and shallow fry on each side to get crisp Patrade Slices.

Sheera or Kesar Bhath

Ingredients:

1 Cup Semolina or Rava or Soji (Medium to Coarse)

Few Cashewnuts (10)

Few Raisins or Sultanas (10)

2 Cardamom Pods

2 Cloves

1 Cup Milk

1 Cup Water

Ghee or Clarified Butter

1 Cup Sugar

½ tsp Orange Colour

Saffron (few strings) to add to milk

2 Tblsp Oil

Method:

In a deep bottom pan, heat and add 2 tablespoon oil. When hot lightly fry the cashew nuts and remove. Then fry the raisins till they puff up and remove.

Fry the cardamom and cloves for 30 sec and then add Semolina and fry on very low flame. Fry for about 5 mins continuously stirring so that it does not burn. Fry till slightly brown. Add sugar and continue stirring for a minute or two. Add saffron to milk and stir.  Add water and mix well. Stir and then add milk and continue stirring. Add the cashew nuts and raisins. When it starts boiling reduce the flame. It will start thickening up. Add one spoon of ghee and keep stirring. Mix well and keep stirring. Add Orange Colour. Add one more spoon of ghee and keep stirring till the mixture leaves the side and come together. That’s it Sheera or Kesar Bhath. Allow it to cool a bit and then serve.

Masala Peanuts or Groundnuts in Microwave Oven

 

Ingredients

1 cup raw peanuts with skin

3 tbsp. Gram Flour or Besan

3 tbsp. Rice Flour

1 to 1.5 tsp salt

1 to 1.5 tsp Chilli Powder

½ tsp Garam Masala Powder

½ tsp Amchor Powder or Mango Powder

¼ tsp Asafoetida or Hing

2 tbsp. oil (optional)

Little Water for mixing the flour with peanuts.

Method:

Drop the groundnuts in a bowl of water and immediately remove and drain.

In a dry bowl, add and mix all the ingredients except oil and peanuts. Now add the peanuts and mix. Add water little by little and keep mixing. The peanuts should be coated with the batter. This should be dry not watery.

Place the peanuts in a microwavable tray or dish or plate. The peanuts should be separated from one another. You can make in batches. I am doing this here in two batches –one without oil and one with oil. Microwave on high setting for 3 minutes. Remove mix and again microwave for another minute. Remove and allow to cool.

If you want to add oil, do this after the peanuts are coated with flour mixture and then mix well. Then place them on the microwavable plate and microwave.

Enjoy. Snack for all occasions. Remember Spice to taste.

How to Prepare Burnt Sugar Syrup

 

Ingredients:

1 Cup Sugar

1 Cup Boiling Water

Method:

In a thick bottomed vessel heat the sugar or low to medium heat. When the sugar has melted and starts bubbling remove from stove and add half of the water. The mixture will start smoking. Stir to dissolve the sugar clumps that form. Place back on the stove and on low heat keep stirring to dissolve any balance sugar clumps.  Add rest of the water and heat for 5 minutes.

Remove from stove and allow to cool. Use for cakes, pudding, custard etc.