The quick 5 ingredient Chicken Tandoori - updated version!

I recently went on a 10 mile hike during this fall season. After a tiring hike,we had to go through a 2 hour freaking traffic jam and get home so very tired that we wanted to eat Chicken Tandoori. Yes, we wanted to hog them! So, I planned to quickly broil some leg quarters/drumsticks and have a delicious home made dinner than spend $30 in an Indian restaurant for the limited 4 piece tandoori and Naan.

This is a quick, yet delicious version. But I am going to follow this hence forward even if I happen to have a hell lot of time and energy! It is that fantastic in taste and easy on me/my effort.

the 5 ingredients are
1. Lemon - 1/2 sueezed
2. Ginger - 1 inch - finely chopped
3. Garlic - 4 cloves - finely chopped
4. Turmeric - 1 tsp
5. Hung yogurt/curd - 5 scoops

The other 3 ingredients without which you can never proceed are
1. Chicken drumstick - 6 to 8 pieces
2. Salt to taste
3. Pepper to taste

Making of Hung curd : Scoop out the yogurt into a muslin/cotton cloth that is big enough to hold the yogurt and has some more cloth on all sides to cover the yogurt without being squeezed out. Now, hold onto the edge where the yogurt ends and just the cloth is found. twist it very very cautiously bcos I squeezed the yogurt out by twisting vigorously! And lo, a splash on my face!!!

Wait until the water drips or until your wrists hurt :P I would say 10 minutes. Now when you open this up you will find dry, cottage cheese kind of yogurt which will peel off without any hassle.

Mix the first 5 ingredients (use hung yogurt now)set aside.
Clean and make plenty of slits on the chicken drumstick. Not to mention, the flesh should still hold onto the bones. So do not rip it apart. Okay?

Dip the chicken one after the other into the above yogurt mixture. Add a dash of salt and pepper to taste.
refrigerate them for (??????) 15 minutes if you are in a hurry or else take your own time. I sometimes refrigerate for 24 hours! That makes it buttery and delicious.

Now heat the oven to 450 Deg F for 10 minutes, then place these marinated drumsticks one by one on the oven tray. Push them into the 2nd rack and BROIL it for 10 minutes. Turn them slightly and BROIL it for the next 10 minutes. One more turn and there it goes into oven for 10 more minutes. That's all........ Rush and hog all the CHICKEN TANDOORI pieces before someone else takes a bigger share! :D

Roasted Red pepper sauce sauted with Pea pods + veggies pasta

Hey this one is close to my heart as I found this extraordinarily simple sauce on my favo food website. She used Shell pasta and I used colorful Rotini pasta. This was a simple recipe with fresh pea pods and some herbs, but I changed by adding a little more assorted veggies, cause I am one of those who doesn't like wasting food/veggies.. So I found these bits and pieces of veggies sitting in my fridge and I used them here. Otherwise they would have ended up rotting in a couple of days.

Ok here is the STAR of the evening : The Roasted Red Pepper sauce. It just tasted so awesome. This is not an exact copy from the food website I am talking about but I went onto modify according to my taste.

Sauce :
1. 1 Red color bell Pepper
2. Pine nuts - half of a fist
3. Onion - just a little. May be 7-8 finely chopped pieces
4. Salt and Pepper to taste
5. Olive oil

You make just few slits on the fresh bell pepper and place it in the oven for 450 deg F until it chars down. But I had no time to wait for an hour for this process to happen. So I broiled the pepper on middle rack for 10 minutes and then turned it upside down to char the other half for 5 more minutes. If you like go ahead and slow roast the bell pepper for an hour at 450 Deg F. And pick this charred stuff out, let it cool. Meanwhile dry roast the pine nuts and then the onion. I dry roasted the onion just for 1 minute to remove the raw flavor. As it is try and avoid onion. I don't encourage onion in Pasta. But since the original recipe had, I had to give in. :(

After the pepper cools down, peel the skin off, seed it and use only the flesh. Add pine nuts, onion and pepper into your blender. Add some olive oil ( 2 tsp) and salt and pepper. Blend until smooth. Now the best part : Dip your fingers and lick!!! That's amazing isn't it? This is one of the best dips I have ever tasted. You can use this as a dip for 1. Chicken tandoori, 2. Nachos, 3. Just plain potato chips, 4.Cutlet, 5. Pakoda, 6. Bajji, 7. chapati, 8. Sandwich Oh God... what not?

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Now pasta: Boil Rotini, shell whatever you have in your pantry to al-dente (I used 3 hand full of Rotini, salted water). Preserve 1/2 cup of pasta water. Drain the rest and DON'T rinse under cold water.

1. Garlic - 2 cloves chopped
2. Broccoli : 6 florets
3. Pea - a handful (I had only frozen stuff)
4. Green bell pepper - 1 hand full chopped

In 4 tsp Olive oil, saute the above veggies, Add the red sauce that you just ( licked? ) oops - made! and saute for a minute, add pasta water. Let it cook for a minute. Now add pasta to it. Sprinkle some fresh herbs like basil or parsley. Also sprinkle grated cheese (Parmesan?). Cook for few seconds and it's ready to be gorged on! Go for it....


Time for pictures :D

Vathal kuzhambu - my style

I dunno if this will match up to what people make back home in chettinadu but I am trying my best to reach the Karaikudi taste. Anyway, this one came up all of a sudden a midst the Pasta craze because of my friend. She always wanted the recipe for this. And I promised this in exchange of Rasam and Sambhar - the Brahmin way. Hope I get both of them ("PV" - do you hear me aloud?).

This goes well with a baby food as side and rice. Baby food : anything that's bland in spice. eg: Keerai poriyal or any koottu. And (papad) appalam is a must!

Collect :
1. Pearl onion - 20 halved or 1 big onion into random cubes
2. Garlic - 10 cloves , peeled and halved. Don't chop them any further.
3. Curry leaves - plenty
4. Corn flour or rice flour - dissolve 2 tsp in 1 cup cold water(no warm water - you might end up with lumps)
5. Sambhar powder - 3 tsp - or mix coriander powder, chilli powder ( 2 : 1)
6. Tomato - 1 chopped coarsely
7. Vathal - Ah the main ingredients - Milagai vathal, Mangai vathal, Melagu thakkali vathal.
8. For seasoning - Mustard, Asafoetida, Fenugreek seeds, Fennel seeds
9. ONLY Sesame oil (nallennai)- do not try to even attempt this dish in any other vegetable/canola oil. It never works. You might end up with a very unflavored stuff as the result.
10. Tamarind paste/pulp - 4 tsp. Dissolve it in a cup of water
11. Some green chillies - slit (extra spice)

Heat 1 -2 tsp sesame oil in a wok. Fry all the vathal and drain them before you burn it. :D Heat (7-8 tsp!!!) sesame oil in the same wok(or a deep sauce pan), season it, add garlic, onion and fry until they are translucent. Add some salt to moisturize at this point. Add tomatoes and give them a couple of minutes to become mushy. Add a pinch of turmeric, sambhar powder and fry for a minute. Add the tamarind pulp. Bring it to boil. Now add the corn flour dissolved in water. Let it boil for 10 minutes. Add the fried vathal at this point. Allow it to soak up for about 5 minutes. Simmer until desired consistency. I always like it not too soupy and not too pulpy.

Pics : coming soon. (I am making it now!)

Spaghetti with traditional pesto and baby tomatoes

The warm bread and the pesto served by Bone fish Grill restaurant chain changed my life. Should I say this or my addiction to the recent Korean drama PASTA which casts "Lee Sun Gyun" and "Gong Hyo Jin" as the leads with an Italian restaurant in the background changed my life? I am unable to decide between the two but all I am sure about is my life is changed. I am so addicted to pasta now. Pasta by using fresh ingredients, traditional methods. I want to try different types of pasta with different sauces. Until now I have eaten Spaghetti  Rotini, Penne, Ravioli, Fusilli, Conchiglle, Pappardelle. But I have cooked all of these without knowing which one goes well with what sauce. My husband likes every pasta with a tomato sauce. I am bored of tomato sauce. I love pasta with BROCCOLI in it. Any pasta, any sauce but add broccoli! Hows that now. Boring? I don't think so ;)

So, I decided I shall start from scratch. The popular 2010 K drama gave me insights to learn the tricks of making pasta. And over the years of trial and error I learnt some from authentic Chef's videos posted in You tube. Nevertheless, I was cooking bad pasta!

The pesto that I made was out of fresh ingredients. No frozen food at all. I went well with Spaghetti and also some toasted bread.

Requirements:
1. Fresh basil - 1 handful ; blanched in boiling water for 2 minutes and run under cold water
2. Pine nuts - dry roasted - 1/2 handful
3. Lemon - 1/2
4. Garlic - 1 clove
5. Olive oil - 2-3 Tablespoon
6. Parmesan cheese grated - 3 tablespoon (I opted out of it at this point; You can use it on pasta later)

7.Spaghetti - pasta
8. Red pepper flakes
9. Baby tomatoes - 10
10. Salt and pepper to taste

Chop the clove of garlic and roast it just until its raw flavor is out but make sure not to burn it.
Add all the ingredients to your food processor, give it a pulse or two. Then grind it into a paste. Do not worry if you have some pine nut chunks. They will be great to bite on while eating pasta.

This pesto served fresh with warm bread is food from heaven. You can't beat that.

But use this pesto as a sauce for Spaghetti. That's even better. Boil pasta in salted water to al dente. Reserve 1/4 cup of pasta water and drain the pasta. Do not run it under cold water. Heat olive oil, add some halved baby tomatoes, roast them for a minute then add pesto. The aroma arising out of this now is heavenly! Add you pasta water and red pepper flakes, salt and pepper to season. Just as the pesto boils, dump the spaghetti. Turn the spaghetti to coat well all over, add grated Parmesan cheese. Give it a slight toss. All set to gobble them up?

Ah, I wish i could eat pasta all day long and every meal!

Cheesy Spinach Rolls

These spinach rolls will make your mouth water. The aroma, the crunch, the cheese, the goodness it brings when baked will carry you far away from the everyday boring lunch/dinner menu.

They are absolutely simple and nutritious. Except for the cheese! But I have been hearing from too many people lately that cheese in the right amount doesn't contribute to your weight gain like red meat, butter and oil. Anyway, I used Pepperidge Farm pastry rolls. If you can make the dough from scratch well and good for you!

Chop 2 cloves of garlic, 3 stems of scallion/french onion, 1 big bunch of washed and cleaned spinach. Chop them coarsely. Heat a teaspoon of oil in a wok, add garlic, onion and spinach in the same order and saute them for 3-5 minutes. The spinach will shrink to 1/3rd of its original volume. Add pepper and salt for seasoning. Add red pepper flakes if you like it spicy. Let all the water dry - keep the mixture as dry as possible. Keep some grated Parmesan cheese handy.

Thaw 1 sheet of the puff pastry and spread the cooked mixture onto the sheet. Sprinkle a handful of grated cheese on top of the mixture. Roll the pastry sheet length wise which is a little logical :O You can use one beaten egg (Used to brush the sides)  as a glue to stick the two edges. But i skipped it.

Roll the sheet in lengthwise cut into pin wheels. I was not great at cutting them into pinwheels of 1/2 inch width cause I did not use egg to brush the sides. The sheet was falling apart when I tried to cut it. I managed to cut them into 1 inch wide pieces. Bake them at 400 degree F for 15 -18 minutes occasionally peeping through the oven door to make sure you are not gonna over bake it or blacken them.

Some snaps - here they come!

Come winter, hot crispy snack is a must - Broccoli fritters will fit in

I was one specimen who hated broccoli. I did not dare to touch this veggie since one of friends (long long ago) said it is awful in taste. Finally after much coaxing I got to eat these. Ever since I have been a fan of this veggie for it's simple taste, abundant vitamin and fiber content and ease of use. I like it crunchy. Steamed and run under cold water to the right crunchiness. Add these florets as sides to anything - bread, rice, pasta, couscous , they go well together.

I collected whatever ingredients I had in my pantry to cook this one. The easy version and the elaborate one are listed below. I went ahead adding whatever I thought would enhance the flavor and crunchiness of the dish.

Easy version :
1. Broccoli florets - 2 1/2 cups (cut them into tiny florets but beware - don't chop/bruise them off their true flower shape)
2. Egg - 1 (MUST)
3. Baking Flour - All purpose flour - 1/2 cup
4. Salt and pepper to taste


Elaborate version :
1. All the 4 above ingredients
2. Corn flour - 2 teaspoons
3. Bread crumbs - 1/4 cup
4. Red pepper flakes
5. Chickpea flour (If you like it!) - Replace the baking flour with this.
6. Parmesan cheese - grated - 1/2 cup

Cut the florets, prepare boiling water, dump the florets and let it boil for 2-3 minutes, strain and run the florets under cold water to retain it's crunchiness. Set aside but make sure u drain the water off completely else u will make a mess out the mixture you are off to prepare next. WARNING given!

Whisk/Beat an egg into a large bowl. Add the baking flour, corn flour, bread crumbs, salt, pepper, Red pepper flakes and Parmesan grated cheese. Mix well. Add the well drained broccoli florets. Mix well. This mix should neither be too tough to press into fritters nor should be soupy. The right consistency would only allow you to scoop a spoon full of this mix and place(flatten) it onto the well greased frying pan. Grease the frying pan with olive or sesame oil and go ahead and shallow fry the fritters. They take about 5 minutes each side for complete browning.

All set to have them for a snack. They go well with any dip or ketchup. The dip that I would like to use is "Charred Red Bell pepper and cheese dip". Will post it once I try.