Tested, Tasted and Loved

Instant Pot Butter Chicken (No Sauté, One-Pot)

2026-04-14T00:53:00.000-07:00

My Instant Pot often comes to my rescue when time is short, yet the flavor is never compromised. You can easily substitute it with a pressure cooker and achieve the same results.

Instant Pot Butter Chicken (No Sauté, One-Pot)

🧂 Ingredients

Main

700 g boneless chicken (cut into medium pieces)
3 medium tomatoes cut into chunks (or 1 cup tomato puree)
1 small onion (roughly chopped)
10–12 cashews
1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste or 5 whole garlic cloves and 1 inch ginger
1 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp coriander powder
½ tsp turmeric
1 tsp garam masala
1 whole cardamom and 1/2 inch cinnamon
2 green chilies, slit
3 tbsp butter
½–1 cup water
Salt to taste

For finishing

2 tbsp cream
1 tsp kasuri methi (crushed)
1 tsp sugar (optional)

👩‍🍳 Instructions

Add into the Instant Pot: chicken, tomatoes, onion, cashews, ginger-garlic paste, all spices (except the green chilies) , butter, water, and salt. Mix gently once.
Close the lid, set valve to Sealing, and cook on High Pressure for 8 minutes. (If using a normal pressure cooker, 2 whistles on medium heat)
Let pressure release naturally for 10 minutes, then do a quick release.
Open the lid and allow the mixture to cool slightly.
Remove the chicken pieces.
Blend everything into a smooth, creamy gravy using an immersion blender or regular blender
Turn on Sauté (low) mode until oil separates. (Optional- a tbsp of tomato ketchup)
Return the chicken pieces along with the green chilies and let it simmer in the gravy for a few minutes.
Add cream, crushed kasuri methi, and sugar (if using).
Simmer for 3–5 minutes until the gravy becomes rich and glossy.

🍽️ Done!

Creamy, rich butter chicken with less effort—perfect with naan, roti, or rice. The mint pulao goes perfectly fine with this and it is an easy recipe too.

Kantari Fish Fillet in Coconut Milk

2025-07-17T01:55:00.000-07:00

Finally, I got to recreate this fish recipe that we had as a starter from a popular Indian restaurant here in Kuwait. Of course, I had to scrounge around the net to find something similar. Since they used frozen fish fillets and it still tasted fine, I used the same too. I am sure fresh fish like king fish will taste even better. Ideally it should be kanthari chilly or bird's eye chilly, but I had only normal green Indian chillies.

Internet says the following: Delivering an upper mid-level heat, Kanthari Chilli brings a balanced spiciness to dishes without overwhelming the palate. It offers a satisfying kick that enhances the overall flavour without overshadowing other ingredients. It ranges around 100,000 to 225,000 SHU on the Scoville scale.

Kantari Fish Fillet in Coconut Milk

🧄 Ingredients:

500g fish fillets (any firm white fish)
1 tbsp coconut oil
1 sprig curry leaves or coriander leaves
4 small onion(pearl onions), chopped fine
1-inch ginger, chopped fine
3 garlic cloves, chopped fine
3 Kanthari chillies chopped fine - I used 2 green chillies (adjust to taste)
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp red chili flakes (or to taste)
Salt to taste
1½ cups thick coconut milk (2 or more Tbsp. coconut powder for 1 cup milk)
Few more fresh curry leaves for garnish

👨‍🍳 Instructions:

Prep the Fish:
- Rinse the fish fillets, pat dry, and set aside. No marination needed.
Cook the Base:
- Heat coconut oil in a clay pot or pan.
- First sauté the garlic for a few seconds and then the onion, ginger and green chili.
- Sauté on medium heat until onions turn soft and translucent.
Add Spices:
- Sprinkle in turmeric and chili flakes.
- Stir gently for 30 seconds, allowing spices to bloom.
Add Coconut Milk:
- Pour in the coconut milk.
- Add salt.
- Bring it to a gentle simmer.
- Add the fish fillets carefully.
- Simmer gently for 8–10 minutes, until the fish is fully cooked and flaky.
- Check salt.
Finish the Curry:
- Remove the fish fillets and let the sauce thicken. Add the curry leaves or coriander leaves towards the end.
- Pour the sauce over the fish fillets
- Optional: squeeze in lime juice for a fresh tang.
Garnish and Serve:
- Drizzle with a little extra coconut oil and fresh curry leaves.
- Let sit 5 minutes before serving to deepen flavor.

Peri-Peri Chicken Rice

2025-06-30T03:19:00.000-07:00

One more rice recipe that is mildly spicy, easy to make and tasty too.

🌶️ PERI PERI CHICKEN RICE RECIPE

🍗 Ingredients

For the Peri Peri Chicken Marinade:

1 Kg chicken thighs / breasts (or both, boneless or bone-in)
2 tbsp olive oil or any other oil of choice
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 bulb of garlic peeled
2 red bell pepper (cubed)
2 + 1 Onion chopped
1 chicken cube
1–2 red Kashmiri chilies(soaked in hot water) - (or 1 tsp chili flakes) – adjust to taste
1 tsp cayenne pepper (optional for extra heat)
2 tsp dried thyme leaves
Salt to taste

For the Rice:

2 cup basmati or long grain rice
4 cups chicken stock (or water)
Salt to taste

🔪 Instructions

1. Marinate the Chicken:

Roast the 2 onions along with the cubed bell pepper and garlic in a pan or grill.
Once cooled, grind the above with the rest of the ingredients in a blender.
Coat chicken with 4 tbsp of the marinade and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes (ideally 2–4 hours).

2. Cook the Chicken:

Saute one onion until browned and add the tomato paste. Add the chicken and grill or pan-sear the chicken over medium-high heat for 6–8 minutes per side, or until cooked through and charred slightly.
Remove and let it rest for a few minutes before slicing (if using whole breasts or thighs).

3. Cook the Rice:

In the same pan, heat oil or butter if needed (I did not).
Add the remaining marinade and let it cook until dry and slightly browned.
Add rice and stir for 1 minute to toast lightly.
Pour in chicken stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes (or until rice is cooked and liquid is absorbed).
Fluff with a fork.

4. Assemble:

Serve the grilled peri peri chicken on a bed of rice.
Garnish with lemon wedges, fresh parsley, or peri peri sauce on the side if desired or even onion raita..

Kuwaitee Lamb Machboos

2025-03-23T03:38:00.000-07:00

After having lived here for so long, it is a shame that it took me so long to cook this at home (I must be the only person too?).

It is easier than biryani, I felt. Am not sure if this is an authentic recipe but then if you search the net there are so many variations of every recipe. But it was as tasty as the one that son and his friend cooked over a weekend. Children are the first one to try new tastes and if you can join them, you can discover food that you may not taste otherwise.

Kuwaiti Machboos Laham (Spiced Lamb and Rice)

A rich, aromatic rice dish with double-fried lamb and dried raisins for a perfect balance of flavor and texture.

Ingredients (Serves 4-5)

For the Lamb:

1 kg lamb (bone-in, cut into chunks)
3 tablespoons ghee or oil (divided)
1 large onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1-inch ginger, grated
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon cardamom powder
2 dried limes (loomi), pierced or 2 tspn of black lemon powder
2 bay leaves
4 whole cloves
4 green cardamom pods
1 small cinnamon stick
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups water (or as needed)

For the Rice:

2 cups basmati rice, washed and soaked for 30 minutes
3 cups lamb broth (from cooking the lamb)
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon saffron (soaked in ¼ cup warm water)
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Additional Ingredients:

½ cup dried raisins (golden or black)
¼ cup slivered almonds, toasted
¼ cup fried onions (optional, for garnish)
2 tablespoons ghee or oil (for frying cooked lamb)

Instructions:

Step 1: First Frying of the Lamb (Before Cooking)

In a large pot, heat 2 tablespoons ghee or oil over medium-high heat.
Add the lamb chunks and sear them until browned on all sides (about 5-7 minutes). Remove and set aside.

Step 2: Cook the Lamb

In the same pot, add 1 more tablespoon of ghee and sauté the chopped onions until golden brown.
Add the garlic and ginger, sauté for a minute, then add all the ground spices (turmeric, cinnamon, cumin, coriander, black pepper, and cardamom powder). Stir well.
Return the fried lamb to the pot and mix well with the spices.
Add the dried limes, bay leaves, whole spices (cloves, cardamom pods, cinnamon stick), and salt.
Pour in the water, bring to a boil, then lower the heat, cover, and let it simmer for 1.5 hours, or until the lamb is tender. (I used my instapot and cooked on high pressure for 35 minutes)
Once cooked, remove the lamb from the broth and reserve the broth for the rice.

Step 3: Second Frying of the Lamb (After Cooking - Optional for Crispy Texture)

In a pan, heat 2 tablespoons ghee or oil over medium-high heat.
Fry the cooked lamb pieces until golden and slightly crispy on the edges. Set aside.

Step 4: Cook the Rice

In the same pot, strain the lamb broth and measure 3 cups of it.
Add the drained rice to the pot with the broth, salt, and saffron water. Stir gently.
Cover and cook on low heat for 15-20 minutes, or until the rice is fully cooked and fluffy.
Once done, sprinkle ground cinnamon and fluff the rice with a fork.

Note: If Insta pot, the amount of water is same. Close and cook on high pressure for 6 minutes and let it sit for another 10 minutes.

Step 5: Prepare the Garnishes (Hashew toppings)

In a small pan, sauté the raisins in a little ghee until plump. Mix it with the following.

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cardamom powder
1/4 teaspoon black lemon powder

Toast the slivered almonds until golden.
Fry one sliced onion until golden brown

Check this out for authentic Hashew topping - Facebook

Step 6: Assemble and Serve

Spread the rice on a large serving platter.
Arrange the double-fried lamb on top.
Garnish with fried raisins, toasted almonds, and fried onions.
Serve with daqoos (Kuwaiti tomato sauce) and yogurt on the side.

Enjoy your perfectly spiced, crispy, and flavorful Kuwaiti Machboos Laham! 🍛✨

Methi Chicken Curry (Methi Murgh) Recipe

2025-02-18T00:15:00.000-08:00

Methi Chicken Curry (Methi Murgh) Recipe

This delicious Methi Chicken Curry is made with fenugreek leaves (methi), giving it a rich, slightly bitter yet aromatic flavor. It's perfect with naan/chappathi/porotta or rice.

Ingredients:

For the Curry:

1 kg (2.2 lbs) chicken, cut into pieces
3 tbsp oil or ghee
2 onions, finely sliced or chopped
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 tbsp ginger paste
1 tbsp garlic paste
2 tbsp dried kasuri methi/ fenugreek leaves (roasted and crushed) + 1/2 tspn
whole spices (3 cardamoms, 3 cloves, 1/2 tsp cumin, a small piece of Cinnamon)
½ cup yogurt, whisked
1/2 cup fresh cream
2 green chilies, slit
1 tsp salt (adjust to taste)
2 tsp red chili powder (Kashmiri)
½ tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp garam masala
1-2 cups hot water (as needed)
Fresh coriander leaves, chopped (for garnish)
Ginger slices (for garnish)

Instructions:

Heat Oil: In a large pot, heat oil or ghee over medium heat. Add the whole spices and fry until aromatic.
Add Ginger & Garlic: Stir in ginger and garlic paste, cooking for about 1 minute until fragrant.
Add Chicken: Add the chicken pieces and fry until the color changes.
Add Onions & Green Chilies: Add the sliced onions along with salt and green chilies and cook until soft.
Add Tomatoes: Place the chopped tomatoes over the chicken and cover & cook until soft, then mash them with a spoon.
Methi, Yogurt & Spice powders: Whisk the yoghurt along with methi and the powders (chilly, turmeric, cumin, garam masala). Add to the chicken and mix well.
Simmer: Add hot water as needed for a gravy-like consistency. Cover and let it simmer for 20-25 minutes until the chicken is fully cooked.
Fresh Cream : Add fresh cream and mix.
Garnish: Add chopped coriander leaves and sprinkle methi leaves.

Enjoy!

Note: You can substitute dried fenugreek/methi leaves with 1 cup of fresh leaves

Pressure Cooked Chicken Roast

2022-08-22T04:30:00.000-07:00

This is a recipe that my daughter found, followed and which turned out pretty good. I think if I had not written out here, would have forgotten it altogether. It is very easy to forget recipes and settle for the ones that come to your mind quickly. Even though this recipe has been repeated in my house, no idea why it has been forgotten.

Pressure Cooked Chicken Roast

Ingredients

1. Chicken - 1 Kg (If whole, pat dry and make cuts on the chicken)

2. Ginger and Garlic paste or crushed- 2 1/2 tbspn

3. Garam Masala - 1/2 Tspn

4. Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tspn

5. Chilly pdr - 2 Tbspn

6. Pepper powder - 1 Tbspn

7. Lemon Juice - 1 Tbspn

8. Salt - To taste

9. Curd - 2 Tbspns

Method

Mix the above ingredients and rub it on the chicken. Leave the chicken for at least an hour more in the fridge.

Take a pressure cooker and pour 2 tablespoon of oil and place the whole chicken or cut pieces. Put it on high flame for 2 minutes and later close the cooker and let it sit on low flame for around 20 minutes.

Take a pan and pour 2 tablespoon of oil and fry the chicken on high flame until it is brown on all sides.

Chicken Masala

Cut 2 onions and fry it in the same oil along with a little oil until transparent. Add sliced ginger and capsicum. Saute for a while. Add 2 tablespoon of Tomato Sauce and 1 tablespoon of Soya Sauce. Now add the chicken, Add curry leaves and coriander leaves if needed.

Enjoy!

Potato Curry

2022-08-22T02:51:00.004-07:00

I have already posted an easy potato curry but this is one is even more easier and tastes different.

Potato Curry

Ingredients

1. Potatoes cut into bug cubes - 2 medium

2. Green chilly sliced - 2 number

3. Ginger sliced - a small piece(Optional)

4. Garlic chopped - a tspn (Optional)

5. Onion sliced - 2 small ones

6. Mustard, dried chilly, curry leaves - as required

7. Coconut powder - 2 tablespoon dissolved in warm water

8. Pepper powder - 1 tspn

8. Garam masala - 1 tspn (Optional)

Method

Place the potatoes, green chilies, half of the sliced onion and ginger in a pressure cooker with 1 cup of water. Adjust the cooking time as per the pressure cooker. (Instapot - 10 minutes). Meanwhile, splutter the mustard seeds along with the red chilly and curry leaves.. Sauté the remaining onions along with the garlic and then add the pepper powder. Once the potato is done, smash it up a little leaving a few cubes intact and add the coconut milk. Mix this with the sautéed ingredients and finally add the garam masala. The original recipe did not have the ingredients marked optional. So you can try both ways. I prefer this one.

Enjoy!

Bitter gourd curry / Pavakka curry

2022-08-22T02:31:00.002-07:00

Discovered another very tasty way to eat this vegetable which many hate. Have already posted another recipe that was my mother's favorite and mine too. But this one is going to be a regular since the bitterness is minimal or even absent.

This is my lunchbox today..

Bitter gourd curry / Pavakka Curry

Ingredients

1. Bitter gourd sliced lengthwise - 1 cup (1 medium bitter gourd)

2- Onion sliced - 1 medium

3. Green Chilly sliced - 2

4. Ginger sliced - 1 inch

4. Coriander powder - 1 or more tspn

6. Chilly powder - 2 tspn

7. Turmeric powder - 1/4 tspn

8. Curry leaves - a bunch

9. Mustard seeds - 1/2 tspn

10. Fenugreek seeds - 1/4 tspn

11. Tamarind soaked in 1/2 cup of water

Method

Heat 2 teaspoons of oil and add the mustard and fenugreek seeds. After it splutters, add the onion, ginger and chilly and sauté until soft. Now add the powders and sauté for a few seconds before adding the sliced bitter gourd. Fry for a while and then add a cup of water. Let it cook until done. Now add the tamarind water and let the curry boil for some more time. You can adjust the water if you need more. Finally add the curry leaves and enjoy with rice.

Nutricook Airfryer Oven

2022-03-15T23:49:00.003-07:00

Realized that it is almost a year since this post has been in my draft. The Airfryer is still doing a good job so thought I shall post it finally.

My husband is happier when he gifts me household appliances than anything else. Like most men, he loves to acquire the latest gadgets and that extends to my kitchen too. Each time I say no when he tries to convince me and then finally relents. His purchases never fail to impress me once I try them :)

The latest being the Nutricook Air Fryer Oven. Our old basket Phillips Air Fryer was getting old and it was rarely being used too so I did not fancy another one. But this one does have a few more tricks and sure is impressing me.

The first item to try was an Arabic styled Shish Tawouk. Along with roast potatoes. Also tried roasting a whole chicken. It works fine.

Since there are more trays one can fry more items by rotating the trays The below one has French fries, sausages, burger and also bacon.

So far I have tried Chicken Tikka, and the usual French fries etc.

Spanish Garlic Soup

2021-05-02T04:06:00.001-07:00

Have to give away this treasure too. I know the only thing I did was watch you tube videos but had to try it out too right? And that too when so many food videos are out there. So thank me at least for that.

If you are averse to bread then please skip this post but if you are on the search for a quick but very tasty recipe continue reading. Shall give the link of the original recipe at the end.

Spanish Garlic Soup

Ingredients

1- Cubed French bread - 6 cups
2- 1 tablespoon plus 1/4 cup Olive oil
3- Thinly sliced Garlic - 6 cloves
4- Cubed Sausage or ham - 1 cup
5- Kashmiri chilly powder or paprika - 2 tspns
6- Chicken broth - 6 cups
7- Black pepper powder - 1/2 tspn
8 - Eggs - 4 nos
For the instructions you may go to the following link.. Chef John's Spanish Garlic Soup (Sopa de Ajo) | Allrecipes
Enjoy!

Instapot cooking / OPOS cooking / Nutricook

2021-04-29T01:51:00.003-07:00

Think most of us with a pressure cooker have tried OPOS cooking is some way or the other. I did not go for an Instapot earlier, thinking it is just another glorified pressure cooker but my opinion has changed. It lets me do so much more and without much worries. Recently have been watching many OPOS videos and thought I shall try the same in my Instapot. Since I do not have separators and since pot-in-pot(POP) cooking did not work well I tried another way. When I tried POP to cook rice and dal, realized that the heat was not uniform. Today I made three dishes in my Instapot. Mine is actually the Nutricook 6 quarts cooker.

I made an avial, potatoes for mezhukkuparatty and brinjal. I placed the vegetables for the avial inside the inner pot and the ground paste on top of it then put the inner stand on which I placed a slotted scrapper that I seldom use. In this I placed the cut brinjal. On top of this I placed my steamer filled with potato mixed with chilly and turmeric powder. I used 1/2 a cup of water for the aviyal.

The pressure is set to 3 minutes but if you want the vegetables crispier 2 minutes will do. The pressure was released manually.

Will be trying more dishes this way. Was thinking of buying a separator but it is not available here. For the time being this will suffice.

Hungarian Chicken Stew

2021-04-22T00:35:00.002-07:00

Yesterday I tried a new recipe and decided that I had to jot it down since it was very tasty. It does not have the usual spices that one uses in chicken curries. The recipe calls for bone-in, skin-on thighs. I added a few cut pieces of breast too since Hubby prefers that.

Hungarian Chicken Stew

Ingredients

1- Chicken thighs (bone-in, skin-on) plus one breast cut into big pieces - almost 750 gm

2. Cubed Onions - 3 numbers

3. Minced garlic - 5 cloves

4. Tomato paste or pureed tomato - 3 tblspn

5. Pepper powder - 1/2 tspn

6. Kashmiri chilly or paprika powder - 3 tspn

7. Flour - 4 tbspn

8. Chicken broth - 2 cups

9. Heavy cream - 1/4 cup

10. Sour cream - 2/3 cup (I did not use it)

Method

Wash the chicken and sprinkle salt on both the sides. Add a tablespoon of oil and brown the chicken on both sides on high heat. Do not worry if you see dark or brown portions on the pan. Once the chicken is browned, remove. The pan would have enough oil that came out from the skin. Add the onions and saute until almost brown. Now add the minced garlic and saute for 2 minutes. Add the flour and let it cook before you add the tomato paste. Now you may add the chicken broth. (I used 2 Maggi cubes) Let it boil. Add the chicken and any juice that may have leaked and let it simmer in the gravy for 30 to 45 minutes while turning the pieces occasionally.

The final step is to add the cream plus the sour cream (you can add 2 tspn of curd too). Let it boil for 2 minutes.

Enjoy!

Chicken Rice

2020-11-25T03:49:00.001-08:00

Stumbled upon this recipe by accident and almost skipped it but then curiosity made me check it out. It is for those who are too lazy to make biryani and want a rice which is less spicy. It is tasty too.

Chicken Rice

Ingredients

1. Chicken – ½ kg ( took a few thighs and breast pieces)

2. Curd – 2 tblspn

3. Ginger-garlic paste – 2 tspn

4. Turmeric – ¼ tspn

5. Chilly powder – ½ tspn

6. Salt – ½ tspn

7. Basmati rice soaked for 15 minutes – 1 ½ cups

8. Onion – ½ cup

9. Coconut milk – 1 ½ cup

10. Bay leaves – 2 nos.

11. Garam masala – 1 tspn

12. Pepper ½ tspn(optional)

13. Grated ginger – ¼ tspn

14. Salt

15. Water – 1 cup

16. Coriander leaves – a few

Marinate the chicken with ingredients 2-6 for minimum 15 minutes and shallow fry the same until lightly brown. Remove the chicken and in the same oil, fry the onions. Add the bay leaves and then the grated ginger. Fry for a while. Now add the rice and fry until dry. Add heated coconut milk and hot water. Add enough salt. Let it come to boil. Add the fried chicken pieces. Cover and let the rice simmer for 15 minutes or until the liquid has been absorbed. Add the garam masala and pepper and lightly stir. Finally add chopped coriander leaves. Enjoy!

Another Chicken Biriyani

2020-10-13T00:54:00.004-07:00

Biriyani

Have so many biryani recipes that I have tried and succeeded and each time I swear that this would be the one. But yet again I land up on another. This time I collected tips from several and landed up with another tasty recipe. This one seemed suited for those with a lack of time to marinate the chicken. Yesterday I did not have time to do so after reaching home but it did not affect the taste.

Ingredients

1. Chicken – 1 kg

2. Finely sliced onions – 3 big or 5 small ones

3. Ginger – garlic paste – 2 tablespoon

4. Green chilly paste – 3 number

5. Biryani masala powder – 2 plus ½ teaspoon

6. Chilly powder – 1 teaspoon

7. Turmeric powder – 1/2 teaspoon

8. Mint and coriander leaves – a bunch

9. Fried raisins and cashew nuts

10. Whole spices – 8 each cardamom and cloves, 2 piece thakkola, 4 piece – cinnamon sticks

11. Rice – 2 cup (soaked for a minimum 15 minutes)

12. Water 2 ½ cup

13. Curd – ½ cup

14. Tomato - 1

Biryani masala powder

Take a teaspoon each of cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, 5 piece thakkolam, 4 big cardamom, 1 piece nutmeg, 2 ½ tablespoon of whole coriander seeds, 1 tablespoon fennel, shah jeera and 1 teaspoon cumin seeds and finally 2 bay leaves. Dry fry these ingredients and when it has cooled down grind and then add 2 teaspoon of chilly powder, ½ teaspoon of turmeric powder

Method

For the chicken

Take a heavy bottomed pan and add 3 tablespoon of oil and 1 tablespoon of ghee. Add 3 cardamom, 4 cloves, I thakkolam and 2 pieces of cinnamon. Add the sliced onion and fry till golden brown. Fry the onion in medium flame to get evenly fried onion. Now add the ginger-garlic paste plus green chilly paste. After sautéing for a while, add I teaspoon of chilly powder and pepper powder, ½ teaspoon of cumin powder and turmeric powder. After a few seconds add the chicken, plus one tomato and ½ cup curd plus 2 teaspoon of biryani masala powder and the chopped leaves. Add enough salt and after frying this for a while close the pan and cook the chicken in slow fire for 15 minutes. There should only be a little gravy.

For the rice

Take a vessel and add a tablespoon of ghee and add 3 number each of cardamom, cloves, cinnamon and a bay leaf. Using the oil that was used to fry the onion will enhance the taste, also add a few fried onions too. Add 1 ½ cup of water and let it boil. You can also add a little ginger-garlic paste plus green chilly paste to the water. Drain the rice and add it to the water. Once the water boils reduce the flame, cover the vessel and let it cook until the water dries up.

You can also boil the rice with lots of water and the spices and drain once the rice is cooked 3/4th.

For the dum

Add the rice to the cooked chicken. Do not press the rice down. On top of the rice sprinkle some fried onions, a few chopped leaves and ½ teaspoon of biryani masala. Add the fried cashew and raisins. You can also add turmeric or kumkum dissolved in a teaspoon of milk. Cover it with a foil and close the lid. Keep the vessel on an old pan or tava on low flame for 10 minutes. Switch of the flame and let it rest for a minimum 30 minutes.

Enjoy!

Chicken Tikka Masala

2020-08-27T01:22:00.004-07:00

Chicken Tikka Masala

Ingredients

1. Chicken - 500gm

2. Chilly Powder - 1 tspn

3. Garlic powder - 1 tspn

4. Ginger powder - 1 tspn

5. Garam Masala - 1 tspn

6. Salt - to taste

7. Plain Curd - 4 Tbspns

8. Mustard oil - 4 tspns

Marinate chicken with the above ingredients and leave it in the fridge for 1 hour or more.

9. Sliced onion - 2 numbers

10. Pureed tomatoes - 2 numbers

11. Turmeric powder - 1/2 tspn

12. Cumin powder - 1 tspn

13. Chilly powder - 2 tspn

14. Garam Masala - 1 tspn

15. Coriander powder - 1 tspn

16. Garlic and Ginger paste or powder - 1 tspn each

17. Cream - 1/2 cup

Method

Take a pan and fry the chicken until dry. Remove the chicken and add the onions with a little salt. Fry until brown and then add the pureed tomato. Saute for a while and add rest of the ingredients except cream. Let it simmer until the gravy thickens. Now add the chicken and a little hot water if you think you need more gravy. Let the chicken cook for 5 minutes and then add the cream. Let it boil for a few seconds. Add coriander leaves if you desire.

Enjoy!

Vegetables in curd

2020-05-29T23:42:00.001-07:00

Invented another easy and tasty vegetable curry for poori, chappathi etc.

Ingredients

1. Cubed mixed vegetables - 1 or more cup

2. Cumin seeds - 1 tspn

3. Sliced onion - 1

4. Chilly and coriander powder - 1 tspn each

5. Garam masala and turmeric powder- 1/2 tspn each

6. Curd - 2 tbspn

7. Gram powder - 2 tbspn

8. Coriander leaves - 2 tbspn

9. Kasoori methi - 1 tbspn

10. Sliced garlic - 3 cloves

Method

Heat one tbspn of oil and fry cumin seeds. Once fried, saute onion and garlic for a few minutes and add the powders and fry for a few seconds. Now add the vegetables and 2 cups of water. Once almost cooked, add the gram powder. Boil until the raw taste leaves. Now add the curd and cook for a while. Add more water if necessary. Finally add the coriander and methi leaves and swutch off the stove after a minute.

Enjoy!

Lemon Rice and Pepper Chicken

2019-12-09T23:31:00.000-08:00

Lemon Rice and Pepper Chicken (Microwave Cooking)

Thanks to Tesnima, I have one more recipe that is quick and easy and can be done in 30 minutes.

Lemon Rice

Ingredients

1. Rice – 1 cup
2. Ghee – 1 plus 1 tbspn
3. Mustard – ½ tspn
4. Green Chilly – 3 nos
5. Curry leaves – handful
6. Lemon juice – 2 tbspn
7. Coconut scraped – 2 tbspn
8. Water – 2 cups
9. Peanuts – 2 tbspns

Wash and soak the rice for 15 minutes. Take a microwavable bowl and place the rice, water and 1 tbspn of ghee. Add enough salt and microwave for 13 minutes while covered.

You can fry the rest of the ingredients (mustard, curry leaves, green chilies, peanuts) in ghee either in the microwave or as normal and add to the rice along with the lemon juice and coconut.

Enjoy!

Pepper Chicken

Ingredients

1 1. Chicken – 800 gm

2 2. Onions – 1 medium

3 3. Ginger – an inch

4 4. Garlic – 6 cloves

5 5. Green Chilly – 3 nos

6 6. Pepper – 1 tbspn

7 7. Soya sauce – 2 ½ tbspn

8 8. Tomato Sauce – 1 tbspn

9 9. Vinegar – 2 tbspn

10. Coriander leaves – handful

11. Oil – 2 tbspn

1 12. Cornflower – 1 ½ tbspn

Wash and drain the chicken well. Add sliced onion, ginger and garlic along with the oil to the chicken. Microwave covered under high heat for 3 minutes. Remove and add the rest of the ingredients and again microwave covered at high for another 3 minutes. Remove and add the cornflower mixed in ¼ cup water. Microwave uncovered at high for 3 more minutes.

Pepper chicken is ready..

Brinjal Pachadi

2019-12-09T23:05:00.002-08:00

Realized that I am yet to post one of my favourite pachadi recipe which my mother used to prepare. I now make this frequently and it is very tasty.

Brinjal Pachadi

Ingredients

1.Brinjal sliced in circles - 1 or 2 depending on the size (immerse the sliced brinjals in water and wash well)

For the marinade

1. Chilly powder - 2 tspn
2. Pepper powder - 1/2 tspn
3. Turmeric powder - 1/2 tspn
4. Ginger and garlic paste - 1 tspn
4- Salt as per taste

Adjust the above according to the amount of brinjal. Shallow fry the brinjal until well browned.

To prepare the curd

1- Onion - 1 number
2. Green Chilly - 1 or 2 depending on your taste
3. Ginger a good size

Chop the above and mix into the curd with enough salt. Now add the fried brinjal and mix well.

The pachadi is ready.

Szechuan Chicken - Microwave

2019-10-23T04:12:00.000-07:00

Szechuan Chicken

Since the jury is still out on microwave cooking thought I shall try this recipe that I found in the Youtube channel. It is so easy and it turned out tasty too. Thank you Thesnim!

Ingredients

1. Chicken – ½ kg
2. Chilly powder – 1 ½ tspn
3. Garlic crushed – 1 tbspn
4. Dry whole chilly – 10 nos.
5. Sugar – 1 tspn
6. Garlic chopped – 10 cloves
7. Tomato ketchup – 5 tbspn
8. Soya sauce – 2 tbspn
9. Chilly sauce – 2 tbspn
10. Vinegar – 1 tbspn
11. Salt

Method

Mix the above listed items well. Cover the dish and microwave in high power for 8 minutes.

Mix 2 tablespoon of cornflour in ½ cup of water. Add this into the chicken. Microwave uncovered for 3 minutes or until the gravy thickens.

Enjoy!

Loaded Fries

2019-10-06T05:56:00.000-07:00

First had these loaded fries from KFC and recently from another restaurant which named it Commando Fries which had caramelized onion as topping. It was too good and enough to forget all the calories that you gobble up when you are supposed to be dieting. What is a diet without an occasional indulgence?

Loaded /Commando Fries

Ingredients

1. French fries or potato fried - 1 -2 cups
2. Salad dressing - 1/2 cup (Thousand Island or Caesars dressing)
3. Melted cheddar cheese - 1 cup
4. Onions - 2 fried in butter
5. Pickled Jalapeno - a few (optional)

Method

Lay the fried potatoes on a plate. I used my Air Fryer to fry them which reduced the oil. To fry the onions I mixed two teaspoon of oil with the onions and microwaved it for 8 minutes. Do remember to pause and stir the onions half way through.

Spread the fried onions on top. Drizzle the salad dressing and finally top it with melted cheddar cheese. You can also add the pickled jalapeno for an extra zest.

Enjoy!

Chicken Mini Pies

2019-10-02T00:16:00.000-07:00

Chicken Mini Pies

Pie Crust

Ingredients

1- All-purpose flour - 1 1/4 cups
2- Unsalted butter, cold - ½ cup
3- Salt - ½ tspn
4- Ice water - 3 to 5 tbspn

Method

Combine flour and salt in a food processor or by hand. Cut butter into ½ inch pieces, add to flour mixture, and pulse until mixture forms a coarse meal. Add ice water a little at a time, pulsing or kneading until dough begins to hold together. Set aside in the fridge.

When ready to make pies, make small balls and flatten with a rolling pin. Cut them into equal shapes.

Filling

1. Small rounded pie crust - 6 pieces
2. Cooked chicken, cut in small pieces - 2 cups
3. Butter - 2 tbspn
4. Milk or cream - 1/2 cup
5. Corn flour - 2 tbspn
6. Onion diced - one small
7. Cubed vegetable mix ( used carrot,beans and peas) - 1 cup
8. Seasonings - a pinch each (I used pepper, Oregano and Rosemary)
9. Salt - to taste

To make pie

Boil chicken with pepper and salt. Saute the onions and add cornfour. Saute and add the vegetables and seasonings along with the cream. Cover and boil along with the cooked chicken until the sauce thickens. Use a muffin tray or individual cups and line one set of pastry. Fill it with the sauce and cover it with the second set pf pastry. Do an egg wash if you are using eggs. Bake at 230 degrees for 15 minutes.

Enjoy!

Tomato Rice

2019-07-17T02:24:00.000-07:00

Another recipe to save.

Tomato Rice

Ingredients

1. Rice - 3/4 to 1 cup
2. Onion thinly sliced - a small one
3. Ginger chopped - 1 tspn
4. Green chilly sliced - 3 nos.
5. Tomato chopped - 3 Nos.
6. Chilly Pdr - 1 tspn
7. Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tspn
8.Garam MAsala - 1/2 tspn
9. Asafoetida - a pinch
10. Curry leaves and coriander leaves - a few
9. Whole urad dal and channa dal - 1 tspn each

Method

Boil rice with enough salt and keep aside. In a pan, take 3 tablespoon of oil (gingelly oil is best) and fry both the dal. Saute onion and green chilly. Add the powders and fry for a few seconds and then add the chopped tomatoes. Fry until it becomes soft. Add the leaves and the rice. Fry for 2 minutes.

Enjoy!

Chilly Beef

2019-07-09T23:41:00.001-07:00

Found a good recipe for Chilly chicken which I tested and found to be very good. Thought I shall try the same recipe with beef and it turned out good.

Chilly Beef

Ingredients

For marinade

1. Beef (thinly sliced) or chicken (in cubes) - 1/2 Kg
2. Soya Sauce - 2 tblsn
3. Vinegar - 1 tbspn
4. Pepper powder - 1 tspn
5. Chilly powder - 1 tspn
6. Flour - 2 tbpsn
7. Cornflour - 1 tbspn
10 - Egg - 1 (optional)
11- Ginger/garlic paste - 2 tspn

To make sauce

1. Onion thinly sliced - 1 number
2. Ginger and garlic thinly sliced - 2 tbspn
3. Spring onion leaves and Celery leaves - 1 tbspn each (optional)
4. Soya Sauce - 1 tspn
5. Tomato Sauce - 3 tbspn
6. Chilly Sauce - 2 tbspn (optional)
7. Cornfour mixed in water - 1 tbspn
8. Onion cut into cubes - 1
9. Capsicum cut into squares - 1

Method

Marinate the beef/chicken in the mentioned ingredients and leave it in the fridge for minimum one hour.

Fry the beef/chicken in oil and keep aside. In the same oil saute Onion, ginger and garlic. Once well sauted add the fried item and saute well. Add the leaves and the sauce. After frying for a while add the cornflour and water. Finally add the cubed onion and capsicum. Let it cook for a while. Check the water and add more hot water if you need gravy.

Enjoy with butter nan!

Butter Nan

2019-07-09T23:22:00.000-07:00

Butter Nan

Finally, I found a recipe which worked for butter nan. It is soft and tasty.

Butter Nan

Ingredients

1. Flour - 2 cups
2. Milk - 1/2 cup (warmed)
3. Yeast - 1/2 to 3/4 tspn (mix in 1/2 cup of warm water with a teaspoon of sugar)
4. Egg - 1 number
5. Curd - 1 tbspn
6. Sugar - 2 tspn

Method

Knead the flour well and leave it aside for minimum 2 hour or more depending upon the room temperature. The dough will feel sticky but that is fine.

Once the dough has risen pat your palms with some flour and divide it into equal balls. Roll it and cook it on a tava. Apply butter on both sides while each side has been cooked.

Enjoy!

Dahi Potato

2019-07-02T00:36:00.001-07:00

There are many potato fans and in my household all of them are. Potato in any form and they relish it. Came upon this recipe and found it to be good with chappathi or even rice.

Dahi Potato

Ingredients

1. Potato (baby potatoes are desirable else cubed potatoes) - 1/2 kg
2. Curd - 3/4 cup (not sour)
3. Chilly powder - 1 tspn
4. Dried mango powder - 1 tspn
5. Ginger-garlic paste - 1 tspn
6. Chopped onion - 2 medium
7. Sliced green chilly - 2
6. Sliced ginger - a few pieces
8. Garam Masala powder - 1/2 tspn
9. Whole spices - 3 cardamom, 2 cloves, a piece of patta, 2 red chilly, 2 bay leaves, 1 tspn of cumin seeds
10. Fenugreek powder - 1 tspn
11. Coriander leaves - a few

Method

Mix the curd, chilly and mango powder and keep aside.

Shallow fry the potatoes until slightly browned and keep aside. In the same oil, fry the whole spices and then add the chopped onions. Fry until brown and then add the ginger/garlic paste. Fry until the raw smell leaves. Add the mixed curd and keep stirring it until the water evaporates and oil separates. Add some water and cook covered for a while. Add the potatoes along with sliced chilly and ginger and cook until potatoes are done. Sprinkle the fenugreek powder and coriander leaves if you are suing. Finally sprinkle the garam masala and switch off the fire.

Enjoy!