Chicken cacciatore

"Chicken cacciatore, pronounced as 'kah-chuh-tawr-ee'  is an Italian hunter dish, with as many recipes as versions. Mine is a rustic version, cooked by two Italian ladies in the countryside, made on TV. Hit and trial, has led to my preferred quantities and resulted in the most flavourful chicken dish, I have ever made and eaten. Redolent with fresh rosemary, the trick is in the slow cooking. This results in light clean fresh flavours and I hope you enjoy this as much as I do ..."

Ingredients:

• 1 whole chicken (skinned and cut into 8 or more pieces)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 6 cloves garlic (chopped)
• 2 onions
• 2 dried red chillies (Broken into half)
• 1 bunch of rosemary
• 3 bay-leaves
• 1/2 cup of white wine
• 3 tomatoes
• 8 olives
• 1/2 red pepper sliced
• 1/2 yellow pepper sliced

Method:

1. To peel tomatoes, use a knife for making a cross at one end.Drop the tomatoes in boiling water for a  minute, take out, cool, peel and chop the tomatoes.
2. Slice the onions in 1/2 rounds
3. Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil,lower the flame, add the garlic, onions, red chilly, bay-leaves and stir them all for 2 minutes till the onions are translucent
4. Add the chicken pieces in one layer, and add the rosemary,salt, pepper to the mixture and brown till it is golden.(All on low flame)
5. Add the white wine, tomatoes, olives and cook them together till the chicken is done.If it is needed you can add a bit of water but the final dish should not be too watery
6. At the last minute add the red and yellow peppers and serve with crusty white bread

Notes:

• The entire cooking process should be done on low flame only
• Make sure the chicken is completely dry when you add it to cooking utensil
• Ideally, use a large base frying pan or a flat wok, such that the chicken can be browned in one layer
• If you like, you could mix the rosemary with sage, this dish works amazingly with fresh herbs. So make only when you have some in the house

Crunchy noodle salad

"This is my all time favorite salad recipe, got from a friend in the US, couldnt stop eating it then and now also. The crunchy noodle topping and soy based dressing, adds a completely different dimension to a regular salad...  "

Servings = 500 gms salad - enough for 6 - 8 people, make entire dressing amount and use around half for 500 grams salad vegetables

Ingredients: 

 Dressing

• 3/4 cup oil
• 1/4 cup white vinegar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tbsp soya sauce 

Salad - 1 kg in all as per taste

• cabbage 
• carrot
• broccoli
• red pepper
• green pepper

Topping

• 2 packets Ramen/Maggi noodles
• 75 gms almonds chopped/slivered
• 3 tbsp crushed peanuts
• 2 tbsp sesame seeds
• 1 tbsp butter
• 3 tbsp oil

Method: 

1. For the dressing, take a non reactive pan ( stainless steel, glass or enamel) and add the oil,sugar and vinegar in cold pan. Boil all together for 1 minute, tills sugar dissolves,take off heat and cool completely
2. Add soya sauce and whisk it till it comes together 
3. For the topping, in a frying pan take the butter and oil, add the smashed raw noodles, almonds, sesame and peanuts.Brown them together on a low flame till they are golden, dry and crunchy
4. Shred all the salad vegetables as thin as possible
5. Mix the salad and dressing ( add some initially and then keep adding and tasting for the perfect balance for you) 
6. Add most of the topping (leaving 1 tbsp for garnish), and 2 drops of chilly oil and sesame oil if available, mix well.
7. Garnish with the remaining topping and serve immediately

Note:

• Dressing and topping ingredients can be made before hand and refrigerated to be used later at food time
• Make dressing amount as specified , as it comes out best, and any leftovers can be refrigerated and used next time when you make it. Its so good that u will want lots of it :)

Roast chicken

" Normally roast chicken takes a long time, the whole chicken needs to be stuffed, trussed,cooked, rested,etc. This is fine for major occasions, but if you love to eat roast chicken frequently,then use this fabulous recipe. Its quick, easy and perfect for any Sunday or weekday. Uses chicken pieces, which cook quicker and vegetables, making it a whole meal. Flavored with rosemary, its heavenly, once tasted, hard to ignore ..."

Ingredients:

Marination

• 1 whole chicken (cut into 8 pieces with the skin on)
• 2 tbsp ginger garlic paste ( I prefer more garlic then ginger)
• 1 tbsp vinegar
• 2 tbsp red wine
• 1 tsp red chilly flakes
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp paprika
• Salt to taste

Roasting ingredients

• 1 bunch of rosemary
• 50 gms butter
• 1 whole garlic head, peeled into cloves
• 3 bay leaves
• 2 large onions (cut into 4 pieces each)
• 1 large carrot (cut into batons 3 inches long)
• 2 large potatoes(cut into 4 large pieces)
• 1 handfull of beans(cut into 3 inch pieces)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• Salt to taste

Method:

1. Wash and dry the chicken pieces
2. Rub the chicken well with the marination and cover and refrigerate overnight (or at the least 5-6 hour)
3. In a large roasting tin,distribute the chicken pieces (skin side up)
4. Mix the vegetables in the balance marinade adding extra salt and olive oil
5. In the roasting pan evenly distribute all the vegetables and the Rosemary,Bay leaves, dotting the dish with butter
6. Pour over the chicken, any balance marinade covering the roasting tin with foil tightly
7. Bake at a 220 degrees C for 40 minutes
8. Remove the watery gravy and keep aside
9. Reduce the temperature of the oven to 200 degrees C and bake for another 20 minutes, uncovered by foil till golden brown
10. Thicken the gravy with cornflour adding more of the marinade ingredients that you think are required as per taste

Note:

• Adjust the seasoning and herbs as per taste, tarragon or thyme or a mixture of all 3 herbs works well too.I like to use fresh herbs for amazing flavours, but in a pinch even the dried ones work well enough.
• This dish, uses a lot more salt then expected so ensure enough salt by tasting the chicken half way through the cooking process
• Cooking time also varies by oven , and size of bird, so for the first time keep a watch and you may need to adjust roasting time by 10 minutes either way

Pasta and Chickpeas salad

  " I always love salad recipes which I can make ahead and not have to bother about at the last minute. This one, tastes fabulous, with an interesting healthy mix of pasta and chickpea. The trick here is to mix the dressing when the pasta and chickpeas are still warm, as they absorb all the flavours of the dressing, yum ..."

Ingredients:

Dressing

• 2 cloves crushed garlic
• 1 tsp mustard paste ( if you can fresh is the best)
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp water
• 1/2 tsp salt (check salt level after adding all the ingredients)
• 1 tsp red chilly flakes

  Salad:

• 100 gms pasta
• 2 tbsp sun dried tomato
• 2 tbsp mozzarella cheese
• 200 grams dry chickpeas (  canned about 440 gms)
• 4 tbsp boiled corn kernels

Method:

1. Blend all dressing ingredients till emulsified
2. Cook the pasta in lots of boiling water till al-dente 
3. Soak the sun dried tomatoes in warm water for 15 min and slice 
4. Chop the mozzarella cheese into bite size peices
5. If the chickpeas are dried, then soak overnight and boil, else use canned chickpeas as per instructions
6. Mix all salad ingredients with the dressing, cover with cling film and chill for 1 hour

Note:

• For best results pasta and chickpea should be still warm when mixed with the dressing

Fresh fruit cheese cake - With yogurt

" Here's a perfect recipe for all cheesecake lovers.It's healthy, with easily available ingredients and no raw egg's. Have been making this one for over 20 years, made almost 6 of them for a special family occasion.They are light, flavorful and as guilt free as cheese cakes can be..."

Servings - 8- 10

Ingredients:

 Base

• 200 gms digestive biscuit
• 50 gms melted butter
• 1 tsp rind of lemon/lime

 Filling

• 400 gms yogurt regular ( or 1 cup thick yogurt)
• 200 gms low fat or single cream
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar
• 200 gms strawberries(mangoes or any other fresh fruit you may want to use)
• 1 tsp vanilla (pod/paste/essence)
• 1 tbsp gelatin
• 4 tbsp water
• 1 tsp lime /lemon juice

Method:

Base

1. Butter a spring-foam pan or a pie dish which has a diameter of 10 inches
2. Crush biscuits coarsely
3. Mix with melted butter and rind
4. Layer the dish with biscuits at the bottom and the sides, pressing firmly (use a flat bottom glass or bowl to help press down as firmly as possible)
5. Refrigerate biscuit base for 1/2 hour

  Filling

1.  Hang regular yogurt in a muslin cloth for 2 hours to remove excess water, balance thick yogurt should amount to 1 cup OR use 1 cup of thick yogurt
2. Soak the gelatin in warm water for 15 minutes, and warm over simmering water till translucent (gelatin bowl should not be touching the water. OR prepare the gelatin as per box instructions
3. Puree the strawberries, leaving 3 whole for decorating purposes
4. In a bowl mix all the filling ingredients - yogurt, cream,strawberry puree, sugar, vanilla, lime,gelatin and beat till smooth
5. Pour the mixture over the biscuit base, wrap with clingfilm and chill overnight
6. Decorate with sliced strawberries and ENJOY

Note:

• Any fresh fruit can be used instead of the strawberries, mangoes work just great
• For a plain lemon cheesecake, remove the fruit adding the juice of one full lime
• Each serving has only 1 tsp butter + 1 tbsp cream as the guilty ingredients 

Spicy Fried Fish

"This is an authentic  Konkan style ( Sea-side belt of Maharashtra/ Goa in India)  fried fish recipe, which while it sounds spicy, it uses chilies more for color than spice, and you could use as much of the spice paste as you think you can handle. My kids just love this one ..."

Serves : 4

Ingredients:

• Spice paste
• 50 grams dried red chilly(kashmiri or any other chili - high on color-low on spice)
• 20 grams (1 1/2 tbsp) ginger and garlic paste
• 2 tbsp white vinegar
• 2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp salt (or to taste)
• 4 palm size pomfret fish (around 200 grams each - whole with shallow cuts on both sides ) 
• 6 tbsp semolina
• 1 lime

Method:

Spice paste

1. Soak the dried red chilies for 10 minutes in 4 tbsp of water
2. Make a paste of all the 5 spice paste ingredients along with the chilly water (add more water if needed to make a thick paste)
3. Use 1 heaped tbsp of spice paste to marinate each pomfret fish, making sure the paste is rubbed in well into all the shallow cuts
4. Coat the fish in semolina, and leave for at least 10 minutes outside or upto 2 hours in the refrigerator.
5. Shallow fry till golden and crisp and eat immediately after sprinkling some lime juice 

Tip:

• The spice paste ingredients make enough to fill a 200 ml bottle and can be refrigerated against further use
• 1 tbsp of spice paste can be used to marinate between 100 and 200 grams of fish as per taste
• Instead of whole pomfret fish, you could use any other firm white fish - whole or fillets

Cottage Cheese pie

"This is a simple vegetarian  variation on the Shepard's pie, which my mom and aunt came up with and is a much loved family  favorite for the last 40 years. Plan it as a hearty vegetarian side dish or a vegetarian main course served with a fresh salad and crusty bread "

Serves 4 people 

Ingredients:

Cottage cheese mixture

• 250 grams cottage cheese ( chopped in 1/2 inch cubes)
• 3 cloves garlic (diced finely)
• 2 medium onions (diced finely)
• 3 tomatoes (chopped finely)
• 1 capsicum(chopped finely)
• 2 tbsp tomato ketchup
• 1/2 tsp garam masala 
• Salt to taste

Mashed potato mix

• 300 grams potato 
• 1 tbsp butter
• 3 - 5 tbsp milk
• salt and pepper to taste

Method:

1. In 1 tbsp oil stir fry garlic and onions till just translucent
2. Add capsicum and stir fry for 1 minute, then add the chopped tomatoes, the ketchup and salt,cook them for a couple of minutes till tomatoes are softened
3. Add the cottage cheese, the garam masala and cook it for 2 minutes till it is all incorporated
4. Layer the cottage cheese mixture in the bottom of a baking dish ( square  7 inch)
5. Make mashed potatoes with all the ingredients
6. Layer the mashed potato mix on top of the cottage cheese mix, such that there should be 2/3rd of cottage cheese topped with 1/3rd of mashed potato mix
7. Bake in pre-heated oven (180 deg C) for half an hour till you get a nice brown crust

Tip:

• The pie can be pre-prepared till step no 6 and covered with cling film and refrigerated till bake time
• All vegetables should be stir-fried rather quickly so they retain a bite