Garlic Sauce

This is a very popular dip in Mediterranean cuisine. I like the garlicky taste so much that I use it as a dip for crackers too... Try it out...

Serves: --
Spice level: --

Preparation time: 20 Mins.
Cook time (incl. Prep. time): 20 Mins.

Ingredients:

1. Garlic - 3 Cloves (chopped)
2. Lime Juice - 5 Tbsp. (in parts)
3. Canola Oil - 14 Tbsp. (in parts)
4. Egg White - 1

Preparation:

1. In a food processor/blender, grind garlic for a min. It will not be finely ground. No worries, it will get there.
2. Add 4 tbsp. oil, 2 tbsp. lime juice and grind for another couple of minutes.
3. Add egg whites and process for 2 more minutes.
4. Keep on adding 2 tbsp. oil and 1 tbsp. lime juice through the top into the food processor and continue blending. Continue adding oil and lime juice until it nice and creamy. It took me 14 Tbsp. of oil and 5 tbsp. of lime juice to get it to the right consistency.

Spicy Chicken Roast

This is a spicy version of the traditional chicken roast and is inspired from the Thanksgiving Turkey Roast recipe. It's pretty popular among my friend circle after I introduced them to this. 

The best part is that it's so simple and easy that you cannot go wrong with this. Believe me, it’s restaurant quality. Try it out.

Serves: 4

Spice level: High

Preparation time: 20 Min.

Cook time (incl. Prep. time): 2Hr. 30 Mins.

Ingredients:

1. Chicken - 3 Lb. (whole, skinned)

2. Red Chilli Powder - 3 Tsp.

3. Turmeric - ½ Tsp.

4. Black Pepper Powder - ½ Tsp.

5. Lime Juice - Squeezed from half lime

6. Veg. oil - 2 Tbsp.

7. Salt to taste

For stuffing:

8. Red Onion - 1 (small, cut in cubes)

9. Garlic - 6 cloves

10. Lime - 1 (cut in cubes)

Preparation:

1. Clean the chicken and wipe it dry with a paper towel. Make deep cuts at fleshy parts like the breast/thighs if the chicken is large.

2. Mix ingredients 2 thru 8 in a large mixing bowl until well combined.

3. Add chicken to the mixing bowl and spread the spice mix evenly over the inside and outside of the chicken.

4. Coven the bowl with a plastic wrap and refrigerate it for at least 2 hours (I prefer refrigerating overnight).

5. Preheat the oven to 350 deg F.

6. Get the chicken off the refrigerator, place it on a baking tray and stuff it with the onions, garlics and limes. Do not overstuff.

7. Tie the legs together with a string, drizzle or spray the outside of the chicken with a little oil and place it in the oven.

8. Check if the chicken is cooked at every half hour and drizzle it with oil if it’s dry (you can reuse the oil dripping from the tray itself). Typically it takes about 2 hrs. to cook. You could use a meat thermometer to check if the chicken is cooked (the temperature on the chicken would show around 165 deg F).

9. Get the chicken off the oven, remove the stuffing (discard the stuffing as it won't be tasty) and serve it with Garlic sauce/hummus and bread. 

Spicy Fried Egg

Innovative Indian snack for the new cooks. Very easy to make and really tasty. You need to have an Idly cooker though (I think it should work with a steamer too, but need to try). Enjoi...

Makes: 3
Spice level: Medium

Preparation time: 10 Min.
Cook time (incl. Prep. time): 20 Mins.

Ingredients:

1. Egg - 1
2. Chilli Powder - 1 Tsp.
3. Turmeric Powder - ½ Tsp.
4. Fennel Seed Powdered - ¼ Tsp.
5. Salt to taste
6. Oil to fry

Preparation:

1. In a bowl, mix the chilli powder, turmeric powder and fennel powder with a pinch of salt and set aside.
2. Crack open one egg at a time onto an idly plate and let it cook in the idly cooker covered for about 5 mins. The eggs would be nicely cooked and hard by this time. Using a spatula remove the eggs on a plate.
3. Coat the cooked eggs with the chilli powder mix.
4. Heat oil in  a frying pan and shallow fry the spicy eggs for about 1-2 mins. on either sides. Remove it onto a serving plate and serve warm with Tea.

Chilli Pakoda

Pakora with a twist.  Pakoras are very popular across India. It's a very simple and spicy snack available at almost all food stalls and it goes so good with a cup of hot tea. It's really hard to stop eating after trying one... Enjoi...

Makes: 20

Spice level: Medium

Preparation time: 20 Min.

Cook time (incl. Prep. time): 30 Mins.

Ingredients:

1. Green Sweet Pepper - 3 (long, chopped)

2. Carrot - 1 (grated)

3. Red Onion - 1 (small, finely chopped)

4. Kashmiri Chilli Powder - 1 Tsp.

5. Turmeric Powder - 1/2 Tsp.

6. Garam Masala Powder - 1/4 Tsp.

7. Salt - to taste

8. Corn Flour - 3 Tbsp.

9. All-purpose flour - 3/4 Cup

10. Gram Flour (Basin) - 1/2 Cup

11. Coriander Leaves - 1/4 cup (chopped)
12. Water - 1 Cup

Preparation:

1. In a mixing bowl, mix all the ingredients well to make a medium thick batter.
Tip: Make sure to add water in small portions and mix well and check the consistency before adding more.adding water again.

2. Heat oil in frying pan, take small balls of a mix in a spoon and deep fry it till golden brown.

Basbousa

"Basbousa is a sweet cake made of cooked semolina or farina soaked in simple syrup. It is found in the cuisines of the Eastern Mediterranean under a variety of names." - Wikipedia

My wife made this for a potluck and it was an instant hit. It's sweet but not too sweet... it's light and fluffy too... Try it out...

Makes: 8 in. x 12 in. Loaf
Spice level: --

Preparation time:  25 Mins.
Cook time (incl. Prep. time):  1 Hr.

Ingredients:

1. Unsalted Butter - 1 Cup
2. Sugar - 3/4 Cup
3. Vanilla Extract - 1 Tsp.
4. Eggs - 2
5. Greek Yogurt - 1 Cup
6. Fine semolina - 1 1/2 Cup
7. Baking Powder - 1 Tsp.
8. Baking Soda - 1/2 Tsp.
9. Salt - 1 Pinch
10. Pistachios to garnish

For Syrup:

11. Water - 1 Cup
12. Sugar - 2 Cup
13. Rose Water - 1 Tbsp.

Preparation:

1. Sift together semolina, baking powder and baking soda until well combined and set aside.
2. Beat butter, sugar, vanilla and a pinch of salt until light and fluffy using an electric mixer.
3. Add eggs one at a time and beat until combined.
4. Add yogurt and beat until well blended.
5. Stir in the sifted semolina mix and mix well.
6. Preheat the oven to 350 deg F.
7. Grease a baking pan (8 in. x 12 in.) and line it with parchment paper. Pour the prepared bake mixture to the pan, level the top and bake it for about 35 mins. or until a tooth pick comes out clean while pricked into the center of the cake.
8. Meanwhile prepare the syrup in a sauce pan by boiling water and sugar together. Once the sugar is completely melted get the pan off the flame and stir in the rose water.
9. Pour the syrup evenly over the cake once you get the cake off the oven. Let it cool completely and cut it into square and serve it garnished with pistachios.

Indian Style Chilli Chicken

This recipe comes all the way from Dubai from our dear sister Sheji Shakkeer. She is an awesome cook and a very nice person. As most of you know, chilli chicken has its root from Chinese cooking. The indian version is as good as the Chinese version (I would say better, but don't want to hurt anyone's feelings).

This is the version that's served at most road side small restaurants (thattukada) across Kerala. Such a yummy dish that you would keep going back to those restaurants just to have it. Try it out and enjoi...

Serves: 4

Spice level: Medium

Preparation time:  30 Mins.

Cook time (incl. Prep. time):  1 Hr.

Ingredients:

1. Chicken Thighs - 1 Lb. (boneless, clean and cut to 2 inch cubes cubes)

2. Egg - 1

3. Corn flour - 1 Tbsp.

4. Soya Sauce - 4 Tbsp.

5. Veg. Oil - 1 Cup

6. Dry Red Chillies - 4

7. White Onions - 2 (Large, cut into 1 inch cubes)

8. Fresh Garlic - 2 Tbsp. (Finely minced)

9. Hot Water - 2 Cups

10. Tomato Ketchup - 2 Tbsp.

11. Green Bell Pepper - 2 (Seeded, cut into 2 inch cubes)

12. Salt to taste

Preparation:

1. In a large mixing bowl add chicken, corn flour, soya sauce and egg to the chicken and mix well. Keep aside for 15-20 minutes to marinate.

2. Heat 2 Tbsp. oil in a deep pan on high heat. Add dry red chillies, onions and fry until the onions are translucent.

3. Add garlic and fry for a minute.

4, Add the soy sauce and tomato ketchup, stir often and fry for another minute. Take off from stove and keep aside.

5. Heat the remaining oil in another deep pan on high flame.

6. Fry the marinated chicken in small portions until it is golden. Remove the fried chicken cubes from oil with a slotted spoon and add it straight into the pan with the onion-garlic-sauce mix. Repeat the process until all the chicken is fried and in the sauce.

7. Once all the chicken is fried and moved to the sauce, heat the pan with 'sauce' and chicken on high heat and cook for 3-4 mins.

8. Add 2 hot water and cook till chicken for about 5-7 mins. until the chicken is tender and cooked.

9. Add green bell peppers and cook for 2 mins.

10. Meanwhile, mix corn flour with 5-6 tbsp. cool water in a small mixing bowl and mix well to make a smooth liquid.

11. Add the corn flour mix to the pan with the Chilli Chicken and stir well.

12. Cook until the gravy thickens and remove it off the heat and serve in warm with plain boiled rice or chappati.

Bhindi Raitha

"Raita is an Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi condiment made with yogurt and used as a sauce or dip." - Wikipedia

Thanks to Sheji  Shakkeer for sharing the recipe. This looks great and surely tastes great. Try it out.

Serves: 4

Spice level: Mild

Preparation time:  15 Mins.

Cook time (incl. Prep. time):  25 Mins.

Ingredients:

1. Okra (Lady’s Finger) - ½ Lb. (cleaned and cut into small roundels)

2. Yogurt - 2 ½ Cups

3. Green Chilies - 2

4. Dry Red chilies - 3

5. Mustard Seeds - 1 Tsp.

6. Fresh Grated Coconut - ½ Cup

7. Curry Leaves - 1 Stem (Leaves off the stem)

8. Oil - 2 Tsp.

9. Oil for Frying

10. Salt to taste

Preparation:

1. In a grinder, Grind Coconut, Green Chilies and Mustard Seeds coarsely.

2. Heat Oil in a frying pan and sauté the okra pieces until it becomes dry and crisp.

3. Remove fried okra off the flame and mix it with the ground coconut mix in a mixing bowl.

4. Heat Oil in a frying pan and add Mustard seeds and let it splutter.

5. Add Red Chilies and Curry leaves and sauté for about a min.  Add this seasoning along with yogurt and salt to the mixing bowl with okra and mix well.  Serve with Phulka/Roti or Rice.