* Chicken Butter Masala.........

                  Chicken Butter Masala is  probably the most famous Indian  dish abroad. I  have  been asked  by many of  my co-workers  or friends who have at least once tasted Indian food in restaurants for this recipe,,I  can understand why,Because every Indian  Restaurant you  go in Toronto,,the  silky textured yellowish-red  gravy with boneless chicken tikka pieces is  the most ordered dish. Originally the  chicken tikkas  are done on clay oven which imparts a  great aroma.The oven is a great alternative but that smokey flavor goes missing. It’ also  has got this wonderfully distinct it the rich sauce. The incredible orange color appeals to the eyes and the thick creamy texture is just waiting for warm pieces of naan to be dunked and scooped up.

Here  goes the recipe ...........

This dish  has two  steps :
1. Preparation of the  chicken tikka
2. Preparation of  the gravy.

Preparation the Chicken  Tikka :

These tikkas can be  enjoyed  as  an  appetizer.You can grill or bake or barbecue them.This time  I pan grilled them ,but  any  process is  good enough for the tikkas.

Ingredients for Chicken Tikka:

1. Boneless chicken : 1 lb  (cut in small cubes)

2. Ginger &  garlic  paste  : 1 tb sp

3. Salt : to taste(Always taste the  salt in your marinade  before you add the chicken) 

4. Garam Masala : 1/2  tsp

5. Coriander Powder : 1 tb sp

6. Cumin Powder : 1 tsp

7. Oil : 2 tsp

8. Turmeric : 1/2 tsp

9 .Yugurt : 2 tb sp
10.Lime juice 2 tb sp

Procedure  for Chicken Tikka :

1. Mix all the  marinade except chicken  and  adjust your  salt level.Add chicken  cubes  and  keep it  for at least  1  hour.You can keep it for a  day,if you have time or you plan ahead.Overnight maritation gives the best  result.

2. In a  pan add a  tsp  oil and  pan fry  the  chicken  cubes for  10 -15 minutes or  until done.(Don't  wash the  pan  if you are going to make  butter chicken ,Use  the  same  pan,the flavor  will  be really nice)

                Chicken tikka  is ready.if you are  having as  an  appetizer  then  squeeze some  lemon  juice  on top  and it  tastes awesome.I  always  munch on few  tikkas in the process of  cooking.just can't resist :)

Preparation of  the gravy:

Ingredients for  chicken  Butter masala  gravy :


1. Onion :  1  cup (Chopped)

2. Tomato : 1 cup (chopped, Use the  bright red color  tomato)
3. Dried Fenugreek Leaves (Kasuri Methi) : 1 tb sp
4. Sugar  : 1 tsp
5. Tomato  ketchup - 1-2  tb sp
6. Corriander  powder : 1 tsp
7. Cumin Powder : 1/2  tsp
8. Garam  masala : 1/2  tsp
9. Red chilly Powder : 1/4 - 1/2  tsp or green chillies : 2
10.Cashew : 10 numbers
11. Butter  : 2 tb sp
12. Cream : Optional
13. Red Food Colour : Optional optional,if you  want that resturant like  look then go ahead and  add(I did
     not add colour)

Procedure for  chicken  Butter masala  gravy :

1. In the same  pan heat oil,add chopped onion.When  onions are  transparent add  ginger garlic paste .When  you get  the nice  smell  of  ginger garlic paste, then add the chopped tomato.
2. Saute the tomatos  for  1  minute and  add  coriander powder,cumin powder,garam masala, red chilly 
    powder and cashews. Cook these spices for   3-4 minutes or  until cooked.(yo can add 1-2 tbsp water if 
    you feel it is dry)you will  know  it is cooked by  the texture and  smell.Add some  crushed  Fenugreek   
    leaves and  mix well..It  looks very mushy and  the raw smell of the spices will go away.
3. Cool down this mixture for  some time and  blend  it in a blender to  a fine puree.
4. Don't  wash the  pan yet......we want the full flavor in our  butter chicken.So in the same  pan add 1  
    tsp of  butter and pour in the puree you  just prepared. Bring it to boil.
5. Now time to add the chicken tikkas  to the  boiling gravy.The gravy is  already cooked,so no need to 
    cook for  a very long time now.Just cook for  5-7 minutes.You can see the silky texture of the   
    gravy.Add  the  tomato ketchup and  adjust your  seasoning now.Now is the time to add your  optional 
    ingredients: The red food colour and  and  cream.(I didn't add any).
6. While serving  top it with the rest 1 tb sp  of  butter.


       Serve  with  hot naans or  roti(Indian flat bread) and  you will  be licking your fingers.Enjoy  and  happy cooking.

* Turkey Lasagna(my Italian quest)

          Turkey Lasagna is one of the dishes I love to make and eat. As I love to eat different verity of food, get  bored of monotonous food very  quickly.If I'm asked the best thing of being in Toronto,,then I would say  the FOOD.The  choice of food that I got  here is  just  countless.You see the  entire zona of food horizon....say Italian ,Mexican, Thai, Indian, Japanese,Caribbean,,,,I can just  go on  and on.I have  one rule  eat everything you like  and have  a  regular  work out schedule.It is very important to stay  healthy,so I make  sure I  get  all the nutrients in my food and  never constrain myself of eating  something.One of the things I love to eat  is  cheese.,,Now you know why I love this lasagna,,,,yes,,,it  has  lotsa cheese.

 Here goes the recipe:
I  have  used  a 9X9 baking dish,which is  good enough for  4-5 people.

Ingredients:

                                                                                                                       (Click on the picture to enlarge)
1. Lasagna noodle(It  is   flat verity  of  noodle specially used  for  lasagna,so is the name  I guess) - 6
2. mozzarella cheese - 1  cup
3. ricotta cheese - 1  cup
4. Egg -1
5. Chopped  Celery - 4 tb sp
6. Chopped garlic -2  tb sp
7. Chopped Red bell pepper - 1 tb sp
8. Dried Oregano -  1 tsp
9. Dried  parsley - 1  tbsp
10. Mince Turkey -  1lb
11. Pasta sauce-  2 cups
12.  Grated part skim  Mozzarella  - 1 cup
13. Grated cheddar cheese - 1/2 cup
14. Grated Parmesan cheese - 1 tb sp
15. Olive Oil - 2 tb sp

Preparation :

First   prepare the meat  sauce and  then assemble  all the  ingredients   to  slip into the  preheated oven.

Meat Sauce preparation:

1. Pour  1 tb sp Olive oil on a hot skillet and keep  all the veggies ready.Toss in garlic,celery and red bell pepper(You can add veggies of your  choice here like carrot,different coloured bell peppers,,but everything should  be finely chopped,so that you don't  any big  bites of veggies while  eating lasagna).

2. After a minute add the  minced turkey  breast(I like to use  leaner  meat  and turkey breast is lean,You  can  do  variation with any meat you prefer). Add  salt to your  taste.

3. Cook for  about 10-15 minutes or until the  meat is done.Add the Classico pasta sauce to the meat. Here  any sauce will do but I like Classico`s sauces as they  are very flavourful. I have  used here Tomato & Pesto flavoured one.

4.Add dried  Oregano , parsley and mix well.Taste the sauce, isn't it yummy.Keep it aside.

Now we will cook lasagna pasta and then assemble the Lasagna:

The second step is  cook the lasagna pasta:

1. Boil  enough water for 4 pieces of  lasagna  noodles.Add some salt to the boiling water.Lasagna noodles are long but once you put them in  water they  will soften,,,so you really don't need a  big big vessel to cook them. Cook for about 7 minutes.Drain them  and brush little oil and keep  aside.

The third step is to  make the ricotta mixture:

1. Mix ricotta cheese, 1egg,1 tb sp Oregano and 1 tbsp Parsley ,Keep it aside.The herbs you use can be  fresh or dry.I have used dry here,just because I had  them handy in my pantry.

Now  the last step, assemble the lasagna:

1.Preheat the oven at 350 degree Fahrenheit for  about 15 minutes before you  pop in the assembled Lasagna

2. Now  you  are ready with  all the  ingredients,

First layer: Spread the  meat sauce evenly on the bottom of your baking dish.

Second layer: A layer  of  lasagna noodles.Layer the noodles evenly  in a single  layer,you  can cut them short  to fit your  baking dish.

Third  layer: The ricotta mixture.Try to spread  each layer  evenly and  the ricotta  layers  adds  a lot of flavour to the lasagna.

Fourth Layer: Another single layer of Lasagna noodles

Fifth Layer : Meat sauce

Sixth Layer: Ricotta mixture

Top  Layer: Spread  the grated Mozzarella cheese evenly on top.Here I added some  cheddar cheese.But the cheddar cheese  is  absolutely  optional.

3. Cover the  baking dish with  an  aluminium foil

4. Bake  for  30 minutes covered at  350  degree Fahrenheit .

5. Now uncover the aluminium foil and  sprinkle  some  Parmesan on top and  bake uncovered  for  10  more minutes.

Now the Turkey Lasagna is ready and  let it sit for  10 minutes  and   cut through to plate it

* Fish Curry in Coconut Gravy

 

            This is one excellent fish curry (my favourite) which my mom makes. And she learnt it long time back from my dad's best friend's wife. Thanks Tamilmani aunty for giving mom this excellent recipe. My mom often used to make this whenever I used to go home for vacation and I make sure I eat it in lunch as well as in dinner. It tastes nice in lunch but in dinner it is awesome..coz the gravy and flavour is infused in fish by night. I compare this dish with wine ,,as it gets better as it ages :).I feel nostalgic whenever I eat this dish,,reminds of the comfort and cosiness of my parent's home and  the love of my Mom. Everybody has some special memories of home,,for me this is just one  of the many fond memories and it is  like carrying your heritage now :)

Here goes the recipe

Ingredients for the gravy:

1. Fresh grated coconut --1 cup

2. Chopped Onion --1/4 cup

3. Pepper corn -- 5-6

4. Whole Cumin -- 1 tsp

5. Garlic Cloves -- 1-2 cloves will do

6. Liquified Tamarind Pulp -- 8-10 cups(From 2 tb sp pulp)

7. Coriander powder -- 1 tb sp

8. Turmeric Powder -- 1 tsp

9. Red chili powder -- 1/2 tsp(adjust to your taste)

10. salt(to your teste)

Ingredients for Curry :

1. Fish - 1 lb(approx 450 gms,I use Tilapia steaks for this preparation)

2. Chopped Onion -- 1/2 cup

3. Fenugreek Seed -- 1/2 tsp

4. Mustard seeds -- 1 tsp

5. Whole red chilly -- 2

6. Curry leaves -- 10

7. Vegetable oil -- 7-8 tb sp

Preparation :

1. In a blender put the grated coconut,whole cumin, pepper corn,

garlic ,blend all ingredients to a fine paste.

2. Add the coconut paste to the tamarind water.(To make the tamarind

water soak the tamarind pulp in water water for 10-15 mins and squeeze

out all the juices and add 3-4 cups of water fro 2 tb sp pulp)

3. Mix the coriander powder,turmeric powder,red chilly powder salt to

the tamarind,coconut mixture.Taste the salt to perfection at this

stage,because then you wont be able to taste later as you will be

adding fish to it.

4. Clean the fish and keep it aside.

5. Now starts the curry making process.Pour the vegetable oil in a hot

pan,Splutter the mustard seeds and fenugreek seed.Add whole red

chillies,Curry leaves and onion to oil and saute for 5-7 minutes or

until the onion is soft and translucent.

6. Now time to add the tamarind and coconut mixture.

7.Bring this mixture to a boil(it may take around 5 mins) in high heat.Once

it comes to boil lower the heat.

8. Add the fish to the simmering gravy and cook in low heat for about 45

minutes.Don't stir in between,Fish in this curry is very soft so it will

break apart.You can stir very gently in between.

When the gravy reduces to almost half the original amount, the curry

is ready.

9. Serve the delicious  curry with  rice..I  love it with chapati too.

* Sweet and sour shrimp

                This Sweet and Sour Shrimp, I got this dish from my dear husband. When  we want some thing to be prepared quickly precisely within 10-15 mins of preparation time ,he always  makes this one .Whether we have some fresh srimp or the pre-cooked one.. it always comes out to be titillating..I'm sure it would titillate your tastebuds aswell.This dish makes an amazing apetizer. This weekend  I took the baton from him and  prepared the dish ,,,ooooo gosh,,,when you eat,an explosion happens in your mouth for sure...so gotta try this one.It is a perfect balance of sweet, sour and hot,,pretty much little bit of every taste amalgamated to tickle your tastebud.....and the best part is it is very easy and quick with very few ingredients..

Here goes the recipe:

Ingredients:

1. Shrimp  -- 1 lb

2. Turmeric powder -- 1/4 tsp

3. Tamarind pulp -- 1 tb sp

4. Cumin Powder --1 tbsp

5. Sugar --1 tbsp

6. Red chilly powder --1/4 tsp(if you like more hot you can add more)

7. Salt -- as per your taste

8. Oil -- 1 tsp

Preparation:

1. The first step is to clean and devein the shrimps. Best is to use the fresh shrimp than the commonly available cooked shrimps in the superstores.If you don't want to get into cleaning the fresh shrimps the cooked one will also not dissapoint you.

2.After cleaning the shrimp ,marinate them with turmeric and salt and keep it aside while you prepare the tamarind paste.

3. Soak the tamarind pulp in water for 10-15 minutes and then squueze the pulp and take out all the juice.

4. Add cumim powder,red chilly powder,sugar,salt to the tamarind juice and keep the mixture aside.Here do a quick taste of the mixture and adjust the salt,sugar accordingly.

5. Now in a non stick pan add oil,when the oil is hot add the marinated shrimp and cook for a minutes or so .When the shrimp changes colour(don't over cook the shrimp) pour in the tamarind spice mixture and saute for couple more minutes until it gets dry or thick gravy .

Now it is ready to serve and enjoy and yes dont forget to scrap me how it turned out.

* Thanks-giving Chicken Roast with gravy

Roasted Chicken is a simple dish.I wanted to make it for a long time and what can be a better occasion than a Thanksgivings.Well I love to try new food all the time,,Cooking is a big stress buster for me.I have to try new things with same or different ingredients.But really I get bored if I keep making the same things.So I always try to find a chance to make something new.As it was my first time roasting the whole chicken so was little skeptical about the taste and flavour ,so gave twist by marinating the whole chicken with yogurt and spices too along with thyme and basil.
This thanksgiving I prepared Roasted chicken with gravy and had a wonderful private dinner with my hubby.

Ingredients for roasted chicken:

1.Whole chicken(skin on)- 1-2 lb(keep the skin on the chicken ,so that the roasted chicken will
be moist and tender)
2. Fresh Thyme - 3 strands
3. Fresh Basil - 3 strands
4. Plain Yogurt - 2 tb sp
5. lemon juice - 2 tb sp
6. Freshly grounded pepper powder- 1/4 tsp
7. Salt -1/2 t sp
8.Olive Oil - 1 tb sp
9. Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
(Here you can add any spice like,coriander powder,garam masala etc to add flavour to the chicken)
10. Cubed potato - 1 large
11. Cubed Onion- 1 large
12. cubed carrot -1
(Roasting the chicken in vegetable bed makes the veggies nicely flavoured from the juice that comes from chicken while roasting, its optional)

Preparation:

0. Preheat the oven.
1. Make a paste of yogurt,lemon,pepper powder,salt,cumin powder,oil and taste the salt at
this point.
2. Clean and thaw the chicken completely before starting to marinate.
2. Soak the moisture from the chicken with a paper towel .
3. At this point rub the marinate on the chicken,,and pour some inside the cavity too.
4. Insert the fresh thyme and basil leaves under the skin in thigh and breast.
5. Drizzle some olive oil on top of chicken and sprinkle some salt and pepper
6. Spread the veggies on a baking tray and put the chicken on the vegetable bed.
7. Bake for 60 minutes(If your chicken is a different weight, you can work out the timings: allow
20 minutes per 500g, plus an extra 20 minutes.To keep the chicken moist baste at around 30
minutes)
8. Now roasted chicken is ready.Serve it with gravy .


Ingredients For gravy :

1.2 cup chicken broth or you can use the chicken bullion cubes(check the salt while using the
cubes)
2. Collect the Chicken drippings from your roasting pan.
3.Flour - 1- 1.5 tb sp
4. Ground pepper- 1-2 pinches
5. salt (as per taste,you may not need if you are using bullion cubes)

Gravy preparation:

1. In a pan or a sauce pan, heat the chicken drippings at medium high.

2. Add the 2 spoons of flour and keep stirring until blended. Add water, 1/4 at a time until you get the right consistency. Remember to always keep stirring all the way.
3. Add the chicken broth /chicken cube and crush it until it dissolves. Take it out of the fire and add a dash of ground black pepper.

Enjoy your chicken gravy with the roasted chicken.

The best thing about the roasted chicken is , it is very healthy and easy to make without much hassle.

* Chicken curry

Chicken Curry...this a quicky recipe that I make in weekdays when I'm really tired after work and don't want to chop veggies or we want to eat something yummy with less work.Now it explains it is an easy recipe and tastes awesome.This is one type of chicken curry recipe,,there are many variation of a chicken curry.For me this is the simplest of all and my husband loves it.
One more inspiration behind this post is my colleagues who always wanted to know the recipe.

This time I tried to make a movie from the pictures of the preparation steps,didn't have much time to do a good editing as we are busy with our moving to our new place , but still I hope the video will be more helpful .

So here is the recipe:

Marinate the chicken for 30 minutes with the following ingredients:

1.Chopped chicken (1 lb,here for this curry I prefer chicken thighs because the fat in the chicken
adds flavour to the curry)
2. 1 tsp ginger garlic paste(you can make it at home blending equal amount of ginger and garlic
or use the store bought verity-Indian stores in Toronto do have them)
3. 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
4. 1/2 tsp cumin powder
5. 1/2 tb sp coriander powder
6. 1/2 tsp salt

Mix well all the ingredients and keep it for at least 30 minutes.

Ingredients for Chicken Curry:


1. Marinated chicken
2. Vegetable oil - 3 tb sp
3. Chopped Onion - 1 cup
4. Chopped Tomato - 1 cup
5. Green Chillies - 2 (optional)
6. Chopped Cilantro
/Coriander leaves - 1/2 cup
7. Clove - 4
8. Cardamom - 4
9. Cinnamon - 1 inch stick
10. Pepper Corns-8-10 (optional)
11. 1/2 Star anise (optional)
12. Mace - 1 floret (optional)
13. Red chilly powder - 1/4 tsp (optional)
14. Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp
15. Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
16. Coriander powder - 1 tb sp
17. Ginger garlic paste - 1 tb sp
18. 1/4 tsp garam masala (very aromatic blend of all spices like cinnamon,cardamom,clove,star
anise, mace, need not make at home ,also you can find them in Indian stores,it adds that extra
flavour to the curry,You may find it in no-frills, walmart, if you don't have it still you do
without it)



Preparation of Chicken Curry:

• Place your pot on stove top in medium flame.Once it is hot, pour 3 tb sp of vegetable oil and 1/2 t sp of sugar.Here, sugar is for caramelization which give the extra colour to the curry.It makes the gravy look pretty rich.


• Once Sugar caramelizes(Don't over caramelize), add chopped onions and add a little pinch of salt(Salt help to absorb moisture from the onion and cooks quickly)


• Stir well and when onion turns golden , add the whole spices and green chillies.


• Add ginger garlic paste at this point and stir for 1-2 minutes (or until you can smell the flavour of cooked ginger garlic paste )


• At this point,add the coriander powder,cumin powder,turmeric powder,red chilly powder(red chilly powder is optional) .


• Pour in the chopped tomatoes immediately so that the spices don't get burnt.here keep stirring for 3-5 minutes until the spices get cooked(if it gets too dry then add 2 tb sp of water )


• Now its time to add the marinated chicken.


• Mix the chicken and the cooked spices well .At this point you can add chopped potatoes (adding potatoes is completely optional although I like the curry with potatoes)


• Mix all the ingredients well and cover.Let it cook for 10-15 minutes .Do stir in every 5 minutes.


• Once the required amount of gravy is left in the pot add garam masala and mix well.Stop the flame and sprinkle Chopped cilantro/coriander leaves.It goes very well with Steamed rice or paratha or naan.

Now enjoy the dish and I would be more than happy to get a feed back from you.

*Bhapa Pomfret(Steamed pomfret fish with mustard )

This dish is originally made with Hilsa fish and is a truly authentic Bengali dish and very close to all Bengali's heart.I'm not bengali but I have always lived in a multi cultural environment which let me try dishes from different places and pick my own choice.I love to try out new things in my kitchen always.Other wise life would be so boring.It adds a hint of spice to our life.As here in Toronto,I couldn't find Hilsa I tried this recipe with pomfret.I usually make pomfret with mustard sauce(curry style) but last week end I wanted a change and after hearing from my cousin that his wife makes awesome bhapa hilsa,I was even more inclined to make this dish.

So here goes the recipe......

Ingredients:

1.1 pomfret( I used 1-1.5lb size)

2.2 Pinch of Turmeric

3.2 tb sp Black mustard powder

4.1 tbsp white mustard powder(if you don't have white then you can just use black mustard powder,traditionally they use mustard paste.But I replaced it with powder as it is easy to get and use here in Toronto)

5.2 tb sp fresh grated coconut

6.4 green chillies(or as hot as you want)

7.salt

8.1 tsp mustard oil(Mustard oil has a distinct flavour which goes very well in this dish),if you don't have you can manage with vegetable oil too.

Preparation:

1.Wash the fish well and rub salt and turmeric.keep it aside for 30 minutes.

2.In a blender blend the coconut,green chillies,both types of mustard powders with very little water.So that the texture remains like a paste(not very runny)

3.Spread the fish in a box(I used the round baking dish) in a single layer.

4.Mix a pinch of turmeric in the coconut,mustard,chilly paste and pour over the fish so that the fish is coated well with the paste.

5.Pour 1 tsp of mustard oil on the fish and paste.

6.Now fill the pressure cooker with 1.5 inch depth water(make sure your fish box is taller than water level) and place the fish box inside the cooker.

7.Close the cooker with the whistle on top and cook for 2-3 whistles which may take around 30-35 minutes.

And it is done,,serve with steamed rice and it is a true smell of being at home away from home.I made it with bringal fry and some salad.Weekend lunches are all about relishing memories back home and relax.