Methi Murgh / Methi Chicken

Its not spring yet here. It was but not now. The temperature has been varying constantly for the past month. One day we cannot survive without the cooler on and the next day you need to pull out your socks and sweater. With inconsistent temperatures comes cold and flu and the cycle has started in our house with pappu being infected the most.
Methi is one green that we buy frequently these days. Its mostly methi theplas with spicy thakkali thokku for dinner but sometimes I try something different and this methi murgh has become a favorite. Packed with tons of flavor, its the perfect side dish for rotis or parathas or pulaos.

~*What U Need*~ Chicken - 1 lb, washed & cut into medium sized pieces Methi leaves - 1 cup cleaned and packed Onions - 1, chopped finely Green chilli - 1 Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp Tomato - 1, pureed Yogurt - 2 tbsp Turmeric powder - a pinch Red chilli pdr - 1/2 tsp Coriander pdr - 1 tsp Cumin pdr - 1/2 tsp Garam masala pdr - 1/4 tsp Salt - to taste Oil - 2 tbsp Cream - 1 tbsp How I Made it: In a bowl whisk the cream and yogurt and set aside. Heat 2 tsp oil in a kadai, add the methi leaves and saute for some time, remove and set aside. In a kadai, heat the oil, add the chilli and saute for a min. Add the onions and cook till brown. Add the ginger garlic paste and saute till the raw smell leaves. Add the pureed tomato add saute till it forms a masala. Add the masala powders and saute for some time. Add the chicken pieces and combine well. Cook on medium high flame for 3-4 mts. Reduce flame, place lid and let the chicken cook till three fourth done. Add the garam masala, methi leaves and cook till the chicken is done and you get the consistency of your choice. Reduce the flame to low, add the cream mixture and mix well. Cook in low flame for 2-3 mins. Add chopped coriander leaves, remove from flame.

Serve hot with white rice, biryani, flavored rice or rotis.

So thats it Folks...
With Love,

Signs off!!!

Galletas estilo Americano de avena y chocolate/ American style oat cookies

Las galletas no son "my cup of tea" pero es algo que suele gustar a todo el mundo. Así que estoy practicando y buscando la galleta perfecta de estilo Americano. Estas de avena y chocolate son una delicia, y salen tal y como explica el blog de donde las saqué. Pero otras que he hecho de chocolate no salen tal y como esta mujer dice (empezamos con los blogs que no explican bien... y así salen las cosas..) Yo he cambiado un poco la receta (poco raro en mí...) he añadido un poco de jengibre y sal para subir el sabor y he bajado el azúcar (¡qué cantidad de azúcar usan!)

No os digo más. Son tiradas de hacer. El secreto está en dejarlas en la nevera mucho tiempo para que se endurezcan y una vez en el horno no se desparramen tanto (por el efecto de derretirse la mantequilla) Yo he congelado un poco de masa porque dice que congela bien. Ya veremos (soy muy incrédula con las cosas que suelta la gente en internet por anotarse un tanto...) 

Ingredientes (me salieron unas 14 grandes)

1 huevo grande

113 gr. de mantequilla en pomada

113 gr. de azúcar moreno

80 gr. de harina floja

1 cucharada de café de canela molida

1 pizca de jengibre molido

1 pizca de sal

200 gr. de cobertura de chocolate 55% troceada

1/2 cucharadita de bicarbonato sódico

150 gr. de copos de avena (no los instantáneos)

Preparación:

• Poned en el bowl azúcar, huevo y mantequilla. Batid a velocidad media-alta (yo en la K.A lo pongo en 6) hasta que dobla el volumen.

• En otro bowl echad la harina tamizada, las especias, sal y avena. Mezclad bien.
• Incorporad la harina& family a la mezcla de huevo (dentro de la máquina) y dejad mezclar bien a media velocidad (K.A velocidad 4) hasta que esté todo incorporado.

• Sacadlo del aparato y con una lengua mezclad bien (a veces no se bate bien en la parte de abajo)
• Incorporad el chocolate troceado. Mezclad.

• Con una cuchara coged la masa y colcarla sobre la bandeja de horno encamisada con papel de hornear o sobre silpat.

• Metedlas a la nevera al menos dos horas (yo las tuve unas 4 horas)
• Pre calentar el horno a 200ºC.
• Meted las galletas y bajad el calor a 180ºC.
• Horneadlas entre 9-11 minutos (yo las dejé 10 minutos)
• Inmediatamente sacadlas de la bandeja (ya que se seguirían cociendo) y dejad enfriar.

¡Fáciles y con un sabor a chocolate delicioso!

Happy baking!

Sliced Cheddar Cheese Muffins by Stephanie Ng

Sliced Cheddar Cheese Muffins

Recipe

Wet ingredients:

1 large egg, room temp

2 cups of Meiji Bulgaria plain yogurt (or any plain yogurt 240ml) taken out of fridge for at least 30min
80 ml canola or corn oil
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Dry ingredients:
260 grams plain flour
100 grams caster sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
5-6 slices of cheddar cheese(I used Cowhead)

Method:

Preheat oven to 190 degrees C. Prepare 12 muffin cups or line your muffin tray with liners. 

In a large bowl whisk all the wet ingredients gently till fully mixed. Place aside. 

In another large bowl, sift the flour then whisk in all the dry ingredients. Tear the cheese pieces into 2-3cm sizes and drop them into the mixture. Gently stir in the cheese pieces such that they are evenly spread throughout the dry mixture. 

Slowly pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and using a spatula, gently fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until the dry ingredients are sufficiently moistened. It should take about 15 -20 strokes. Do not over mix the batter as the muffins will become very tough. The batter will be thick and lumpy.

Scoop the batter into muffin cups and top each with 2-3 small pieces of sliced cheese again before u put them into the oven.

Bake for about 15 - 20 min or until u smell the aroma of the baked muffins. Mine was done around 18min. The toothpick test doesn't work as the melted cheese within the batter would be sticky. Cool the muffins for about 10 min before consuming as the cheese would be very hot.

Jamie Oliver's Bloomin' Brilliant Brownies by Stephanie Ng

Jamie Oliver's Bloomin' Brilliant Brownies

Recipe adapted from Jamie Oliver's Bloomin' Brilliant Brownies

Serves 20

Ingredients

250 g unsalted butter

200 g good-quality dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids), broken up

75 g dried sour cherries, optional

50 g chopped roasted nuts, optional

80 g cocoa powder, sifted

65 g plain flour, sifted

1 teaspoon baking powder

360 g caster sugar(I reduced it to 280g)

4 large free-range eggs

zest of 1 orange, optional

250 ml crème fraîche, optional

Method

Preheat your oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4. Line a 25cm square baking tin with greaseproof paper. In a large bowl over some simmering water, melt the butter and the chocolate and mix until smooth. Add the cherries and nuts, if you're using them, and stir together. 

In a separate bowl, mix together the cocoa powder, flour, baking powder and sugar, then add this to the chocolate, cherry and nut mixture. Stir together well. Beat the eggs and mix in until you have a silky consistency.

Pour your brownie mix into the baking tray, and place in the oven for around 25 minutes based on Jamie's original recipe for a very gooey centre(see next 2 paras on the baking times for different textures). You don't want to overcook them so, unlike cakes, you don't want a skewer to come out all clean. The brownies should be slightly springy on the outside but still gooey in the middle.

If you like it really gooey inside, 25min of baking is enough. A skewer poked into the centre will come out sticky. You may allow it to cool in the tray before carefully lifting the grease proof paper with the slab of brownie out, transferring to a large chopping board and cut into chunky squares.

However, if you prefer it to have a crispier top and just slightly gooey centre, bake it for 25min then remove from the oven. Allow it to cool in the tray for about 15mins then put it into the oven again at 150°C for another 8-10mins. Allow to cool in the tray before carefully lifting the grease proof paper with the slab of brownie out, transferring to a large chopping board and cut into chunky squares.

These make a fantastic dessert served with a dollop of crème fraîche mixed with some orange zest.

Cajun Chicken Pasta

Life takes a turn at times. That which interested you becomes distant and that hobby which you thought would never peak into your mind becomes a favorite passtime. I am in that phase right now. I have been blogging for 4 years now and I would never want to give that up just like that. And so I am taking my time to settle my mind and start blogging again. I was pretty busy for the past few weeks with pappu's birthday celebrations. I will write a separate post on that soon. But as for now lets talk about this easy to make cajun chicken pasta.

Pasta is one thing that I make when I am pressed for time or when we need a quick fix meal. Pappu is a sucker for mac and cheese and so I make it atleast once a month. As for pasta, I try a different recipe and that is how this cajun pasta happened. It happened and it is now a favorite.

~*What U Need*~ Boneless skinless chicken thighs - 1/2 cup, cut into bite size pieces Linguine - 6 oz Onion - 1/2, sliced Mushrooms - 1 cup, sliced Red bell pepper - 1/2, sliced, I didnt have this so skipped Garlic - 2, chopped Cajun seasoning - 1 tbsp Chicken stock - 1/2 cup Heavy cream - 2 tbsp Coriander - 1 tbsp, chopped Butter - 1 tbsp Olive oil - 1 tbsp Salt, pepper - to season How I Made it: Cook the pasta as per package instructions. Season the chicken thighs with the cajun seasoning and set aside. In a large skillet add the butter and cook the chick thighs for 4-5 mins. Remove to a plate. Add the olive oil, add the onions, mushrooms, garlic and peppers and cook for 5-6 mins. Add the chicken stock, reduce the heat to medium low and cook for about 10 minutes or until the sauce has reduced by half. Add the cream and season lightly with salt and pepper, toss in the cooked pasta and cook everything together for about a minute or until the sauce thickens. Add the coriander and remove.

Serve warm!!!

So thats it Folks...
With Love,

Signs off!!!

Turkey Sloppy Joes

One protein that I got to experiment with after I moved to the US is Turkey. I got introduced to it after a dear friend of mine suggested that it was more lean compared to chicken and the taste is kinda good too. Well it didn't suit our palate, it tasted bland and substituting turkey for chicken was a big n-no to the family until I started making turkey chillis, turkey burgers and then these turkey sloppy joes and believe all these are the best and loved by my family now. As for these turkey sloppy joes, they are the best, they are yummy, they are messy and they are perfect to stuff your face into.

~*What U Need*~ Ground turkey - 1/2 lb Onion - 1/4 cup, chopped Green pepper - 1/4 cup, chopped Red pepper - 1/4 cup, chopped Barbecue sauce - 1/4 cup - 1/2 cup Garlic powder - 1/4 tsp Salt and pepper How I Made it: In a medium skillet over medium-high heat, add the onion and brown it. Add the peppers and saute for a minute. Add the turkey and brown it. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in the garlic powder and barbecue sauce. Mix thoroughly. Reduce heat to low and simmer till the sauce is reduced to the consistency desired.

Serve on buns or bread of choice.

So thats it Folks...
With Love,

Signs off!!!