Deviled Eggs

Deviled Eggs – Simple & Easy snacker.

Ingredients required for Deviled Eggs:

Eggs – 10 Nos (Room Temperature)

Mayonnaise – 4 Tbsp

Dijon Mustard – 1 ½ Tsp

Sweet Pickle Relish – 1 Tbsp

Tabasco – 1 Tsp

Onion – 1 Tsp (Grated)

Dry Parsley – 2 Tbsp

Paprika

Salt to taste

How to prepare Deviled Eggs:

Hard boil the eggs:

Take a saucepan and place the eggs horizontally, preferably in a single layer. Pour in water just to immerse the eggs. Now bring the water to full boiling. Turn off the heat but leave the pan on the hot burner & let it sit for 10-12 minutes.

Take out the eggs after 10 minutes & pour in cold water & peel. You will have lovely golden yolk, just right for the recipe.

Deviled Eggs Prep:

Cut the eggs into halves. Scoop out the yolks into a bowl from each egg and set aside the egg whites. Mash the scooped yolks well. Now put in the mayo, mustard, sweet pickle relish, tabasco, onion, parsley & salt. Give all of them a good stir till the mixture becomes a smooth paste like. All the ingredients are in accordance to my taste. Please get going with your experiments too.

You can choose your own flavor of Mayo & Mustard. I’ve used garlic mayo & classic dijon mustard.

Sweet pickle relish can be found in any hyper market. It’s basically sweetened pickles that will have a little tang. Tabasco or you can use capsico. Paprika can also be bought in any store or else can be replaced with red chilly powder.

I haven’t used pepper in the recipe as it would change the colour of the beautiful yolks. You can go ahead and use it.

And here we are, at the last step, to put the yolk mixture back into the egg whites. I’ve used a piping bag for a proper presentation. You can as well use a spoon to fill in the egg whites.

Garnish the eggs with parsley & paprika before serving. This dish is best served after chilling it for a little while.

Laham Khabsah

Laham= Meat, Khabsah = Rice.It’s an Arabic preparation which is seasoned meat flavored rice. This mildly spiced yet delicious dish would definitely make your day. 

Ingredients required for Laham Khabsah:

Lamb Meat – 500g (Big pieces)

Long grain rice (Basmati rice) – 11/2 Cup

Onions – 2 Cups (1 Big, finely chopped)

Tomatoes – 2 Cups (2 Big, finely chopped)

Tomato Paste – 2 Tbsp.

Ginger Garlic Paste – 1 Tbsp.

Green Chillies – 2-3 Nos

Coriander Powder (Dhaniya)– 1 Tbsp.

Cumin Powder (Jeera) – 1 Tbsp.

Cinnamon Sticks – 2-3 Nos

Cloves – ½ Tsp.

Cardamom (Elaichi) – ½ Tbsp.

Pepper Cons – ¼ Tbsp.

Fennel seeds – ½  Tsp.

Turmeric – 1 Tbsp.

Bay Leaves – 2-3 Nos

Dried Lime – 1 (We will get it in any hyper market)

Salt

Oil

How to prepare Laham Khabsah: (Soak the rice in water for 45 min)

Take a deep rice pot on medium flame and heat oil in it. Then put in the cleaned mutton and let it fry for few seconds. Then goes in the salt, onions, cloves, cinnamon, lemon, bay leaves, cardamom, peppers cons, turmeric & fennel seeds. Give all of it a good stir and put lid to cook for 2-3 minutes. Remove the lid and put in the ginger-garlic paste, cumin powder, coriander powder & chillies. Once again stir well and put the lid. This process will make the meat cook well in spices. After 5-7 minutes, take off the lid and put the tomatoes along with the tomato paste. Let everything cook for 2-3 minutes without the lid. Now pour 1Lt cold water. This is the time you give the dish a taste and add salt/spices etc., in accordance to your taste buds.

Bring the water to boil to an extent till you find the meat to be cooked, tender and moist. Now remove just the meat out of the pot and place it on a baking tray lined with aluminum foil. Do not turn of the stove. Set the tray aside.

Meanwhile, put rice in the boiling flavored water in the pot and let it cook for 20 minutes with lid on. You can have a check on the water levels and turn of the rice once done. Do not stir rice immediately when it’s hot as it will break the rice. Let it cool down before you stir. This way, your rice will be flaky and non sticky.

While the rice is being cooked, sprinkle little oil on the meat & broil it in the oven. Jus place the tray on the middle level with bottom coil “ON”. Keep the oven at 300°C. Broil it just for 5-10 minutes. This will make the meat moist and yummilicious to eat J

Once the rice is cooled down a bit, garnish it with ghee fried almond flakes, pistachios & serve it with the broiled meat.

Hope you enjoy the dish as much as I did cooking it.:)

For orders, please mail me at violeteman@gmail.com or call me on +91-9966103993.

Roasted Potato & Chicken Bake

Here’s a nippy recipe of a Roasted Potato & Chicken Bake.

Ingredients for the Roasted Potato & Chicken Bake:

Chicken – ½ Kg (Boneless)

Potatoes – 4 Big

Milk – 3 Cups

Butter – 50g

Cheese -  200 gms Grated (Pizza Cheese/Mozzarella/Cheddar/Parmesan)

All Purpose Flour – 3Tbsp

Bell Peppers (Capsicum -Green, Yellow, Red) – 1 Each (Sliced into thin long strips)

Onions – 1 Big (fine Sliced)

Chilly Powder – 2-3 Tbsp.

Tomato Ketchup

Green Chilly sauce

Red Chilly Sauce

Thyme (Dry herb)

Parsley (Dry herb)

Olive Oil – 2-3 Tbsp.

Salt & Pepper to taste

How to prepare yummy Roasted Potato & Chicken Bake

** Pre-heat the oven at 350C for ten minutes.

Chicken Prep:

Clean chicken and keep it aside. Take a wide pan on medium heat. Next, put in the sliced onions. Once the onions are golden brown, put in the chicken. Once the chicken starts cooking, put in the chilly powder, ketchup, green & red chilly sauces along with parsley, salt & pepper. Let your palette decide the quantities of the sauces. Give it a good stir and let it cook for about 5-10 minutes. There should be no water remaining by the time the chicken gets cooked. It has to be dry yet moist, and definitely not saucy. Take it off heat and then stir in the Capsicum. This will help in retaining the colour & crunch of the veggie.

Meanwhile, season the potato slices with thyme, salt & pepper and place them in the baking tray. Need not grease the tray. Put the tray in the oven at 200°C and let it roast for 20 min. Make sure the potatoes don’t turn brown. 

Béchamel Sauce:

Place a sauce pan on medium heat and put in the butter. Once the butter melts, put the flour and give it a good stir. Make sure the flour does not burn but at the same time leaves its raw smell. Now goes in the milk slowly with continuous stirring. Season the milk with salt & pepper and stir continuously till it thickens. The consistency should be of a soup.

Layering the Bake:

By now the potatoes should be roasted well. Sprinkle little cheese on potatoes. The next layer is the chicken and then on top goes the béchamel sauce, again topped with cheese.

Let it bake for 15-20 minutes at 180°C with the bottom coil and then 5 min with the top coil.

Take it out of the oven & let it rest for 10 minutes before you serve.

Best accompanied with toasted garlic bread.

Hope you enjoy this dish as much as I did J

For orders, please mail me at violeteman@gmail.com

Chicken Lasagna

It is normally made with Beef/Mutton. But Chicken being widely accepted, I’ve tried a Chicken Lasagna and trust me, it’s divine!

Ingredients required for chicken lasagna:

Bechamel Sauce:

Butter – 60g

Flour – 40g

Milk – 500ml

Nutmeg Powder – ½ Tsp

Salt & Pepper to taste

Chicken Prep:

Olive Oil – 5-6 Tbsp

Onions – 1 Large (Finely Chopped)

Celery – 2 Sticks (Finely Chopped)

Garlic – 4-5 Cloves (Finely Chopped)

Chicken (minced) – 500g

Tomato Paste – 1/4^th Cup

Tomato Puree – 800g

Sugar – 3 Tsp

Fresh Basil Leaves – 10-12 Leaves (Finely Chopped)

Oregano – 1 Tbsp

Paprika/Chilly flakes – 1-2 Tbsp (To your taste)

Salt & pepper to taste

Lasagna Assembling:

Lasagna Sheets – 500g

Cheese (Grated) – 400g (I’ve used a combination of Milk, Cheddar & Mozzarella cheese)

Options for cheese – Parmesan/Cheddar/Mozzarella

Bread Crumbs

How to prepare bechamel sauce for chicken lasagna:

Take a nonstick sauce pan on low heat and put butter to melt. Then stir in the flour. Make sure there are no lumps. Once the raw smell of flour is gone, pour in the milk. Continuous whisking is required to avoid lumps or milk from getting burnt. Now add the nutmeg powder, salt & pepper and let it simmer to a thick consistency. The consistency should be similar that of Alfredo sauce (white sauce). Once done, set it aside.

Chicken Prep:

Take a wide pan on medium heat with olive oil. Once hot, put in the finely chopped onions and let them get to golden brown. Now put in the celery & garlic and give it a good stir. Next goes in, the chicken. Stir it and let it cook for a minute or two before you pour in the tomato paste along with the puree. Let all the ingredients cook for 2-3 minutes. Once you see the puree bubbling, put in the sugar, oregano, basil leaves & paprika. A good stir once again. Add salt & pepper to taste.

You decide spice levels of the dish.

More paprika = More heat.

Chicken Lasagna assembling: (Pre-heat oven at 180°C)

Take a baking tray and grease it, either with butter or greasing spray. Now, the layering of Lasagna is totally to your liking/interest. I have layered it the following way,

Layer 1: Lasagna sheets – Bechamel Sauce (to cover the sheets completely) – Cheese

Layer 2: Lasagna sheets – Chicken – Bechamel Sauce (Very little)

Layer 3: Lasagna sheets – Chicken

Layer 4: Lasagna sheets – Bechamel Sauce – Cheese – Bread Crumbs

Baking Process:

Pre-heat the oven at 180°C for 5-10 min, while you assemble the chicken lasagna tray. Now cover the tray with aluminum foil, and bake for 35-40 min, with the bottom coil of the oven turned on. Remove the foil and bake for another 25-30 min. Poke in a knife/toothpick to check if the bottom most layer is cooked or no. It will be hard to pierce, if uncooked.

Now turn off the bottom coil & turn on the top coil for 5 min till you see the crust bubbling and golden brown.

Take it out of the oven and let it rest for 10 minutes before you serve.

Slightly lengthy procedure, but it is totally worth it!

**If you are as patient as me, to have piping hot food, bake it just an hour before you eat & on the other hand,

**If you hate to wait for your food, bake this much earlier before you eat & leave it in “Warm” mode in the oven.

Either way, you are rest assured; it’ll be deliciously lip-smacking JJ

Chocolate Mousse

CREAMY CHOCOLATE MOUSSE – the perfect ending to a meal.

Ingredients required for chocolate mousse:

Milk Chocolate (Compound) – 500g

Butter – 90g

Whipped cream – 200g

Egg white - 4

Egg yolk (Yellow) - 2

How to prepare chocolate mousse:

Melt the chocolate & butter in a glass bowl, microwave preferably for about 2-3 minutes on low,  and stir till it gets to a smooth liquid consistency (Use a larger bowl, as you’ll have to mix all the other ingredients into the chocolate+butter mixture). In another bowl take the whipped cream and whip it further, till you see the fluffy stiff peaks forming. Set it aside. In bowl No.3 whip the egg whites till the thick peaks form again.

Now into the chocolate mixture, put the egg yolks & stir slightly. Next, fold in the whipped egg white in small portions. Make sure you fold the mixture and not stir it. Profuse stirring will result in a dense textured mousse and not light and creamy.

After the egg white, fold in the whipped cream in the same manner. Make sure all the ingredients incorporate well into a creamy mixture.

And that’s it, the process is done. Simple isn’t it?

All you have to do now is pour it in a serving tray, place it in the fridge & wait n wait n wait till it sets properly.

Garnish (Optional)

You can garnish the mousse with choco-chips/choco-rice/grated chocolate/colorful sprinkles/chocolate truffle etc.

How to make chocolate truffle for garnish:

Melt a small chunk of dark chocolate and pour warm milk in it. Continuous stirring required. As soon as you pour milk, it forms into a lump. Continue stirring as it loosens up into a thick liquid. The thickness depends on your liking. More milk, more liquid consistency.

Recommended – Let it be little thick as it gets easy to garnish.

Once you put mousse in the fridge for setting, wait for 10-15 min and then pour the truffle on it and put it back in the fridge. This will avoid mousse and truffle mixing up.

Enjoy your creamy chocolaty mousse!

Mashed Potato

Here is a very popular conti sides dish for the up-coming weekend – Cheesy Mashed Potato.

Ingredients required for mashed potato:

Potatoes – 5 Big

Milk – 1 Cup (Room temperature)

Butter – 1 Tbsp

Cream – ¼ cup

Cheddar Cheese – ¾ cup (Grated)

Processed Cheese – ¾ cup (Grated)

Dry Parsley – 2-3 Tsp

Salt & Pepper to taste

How to prepare mashed potato:

Boil the potatoes till they are extremely soft. Peel them and mash into a smooth paste and let it rest aside.

Take a sauce pan on medium heat and put butter. Once melted, pour in the milk and let it heat. Continuous stirring is required as there is a chance of milk getting burnt.

Once the milk will come to a boil, put in the 2 kinds of cheese& cream and stir till all melts into a thick cheesy paste. In case you get a burnt smell, take the pan off heat and continue stirring. The heat in the milk is enough to melt the grated cheese.

Add salt & crushed pepper to your taste. Garnish it with parsley.

Once everything is incorporated well, pour in the cheese mixture into the mashed potato bowl and give it a good mix. If still granulated, use a blender to smoothen it.

Keep on adding salt and pepper until it is in accordance to your palette.

Enjoy the cheesy mashed potato plain, or as an accompaniment with toasted bread/sautéed veggies/garlic bread/grilled chicken (my FavJ) and the list goes on… 

Chicken Manchow

A quick starter for the nearing weekend – Chicken Manchow

Ingredients to prepare chicken manchow:

Chicken – 500g

Noodles (regular) – 1 cube

Sugar – 1 Tsp

Cornflour – 1 Tbsp

All-purpose flour (Maida) – 1 Tbsp

Ginger – 2 Tbsp (Finely chopped)

Garlic - 2 Tbsp (Finely chopped)

Capsicum – ½ (Finely chopped)

Spring onion – 5-6 (Finely chopped)

Carrot – ½ (Finely chopped)

Cabbage – 5-6 leaves (Finely chopped)

Coriander – 2Ttbsp (Finely chopped)

Veg/Chic. Stock cube – ½ cube

Tomato ketchup – 2 Tbsp

Soya sauce – 3 Tbsp

Green chilly Sauce – 2 Tbsp

Ginger-garlic paste – 2 Tbsp

Salt, ajinomoto & black pepper to taste

Oil

Procedure of Chicken Manchow:

Chic Prep:

Clean chicken and dice it into 1 cm pieces. Marinate it with 1 Tbsp soya sauce, 2 Tbsp ginger-garlic paste, little ajinomoto & salt and leave it to rest for 15 minutes. In a flat bottomed pan, heat 1 Tbsp oil and sauté the chicken pieces until cooked well.

Noodles Prep:

Noodles that are used in the recipe are the regular plain ones and not maggi, top ramen etc. Take a deep bottomed pan with water enough to submerge the cube completely and bring it to a boil. Sprinkle little salt for the boiling process to quicken and a tbsp of oil. Now put in the noodles in the boiling water and let them cook to perfection. Strain the water and mix cornflour and maida in the noodles. Leave it to rest for 10 minutes. Now take a frying pan on medium heat and pour 2-3 Tbsp oil. Fry the noodles in small portions until they become crispy. Dab the excess oil on a kitchen towel and store in an air-tight container.

Chicken Manchow prep:

Take a frying pan on low heat and put 1-2 Tbsp oil. Put in sugar and let it caramelize. Now goes the ginger and garlic pieces. Once golden brown, put in capsicum, carrot and cabbage and let them cook for few seconds. Next goes spring onion & coriander. Give all of them a good stir and let them sauté for few seconds. Now crush in the stock cube and stir well (We get the maggi veg/chicken stock cube in any grocery store). Let not the veggies cook totally. Let the crunch retain.

Now it is time to pour in all the sauces. Get going with all the sauces in accordance to your own palette.

The last part – season the dish with the right amount of salt, pepper and ajinomoto. Turn off the heat.

And Just before serving, crush the noodles and stir them into the chicken.

Enjoy the crunchy and spicy chicken manchow dish on a cool evening.

Cheers!!!