Japanese Steakhouse..

Japanese Chef at Work

It's bin a while since I posted. The thing is that I haven't really cooked as such.. bin doing alot of travelling lately. Since i'm eating out frequently... I was thinking of blogging about the 'hits and misses' of Toronto and my first entry is gonna be "Prince Japanese Steakhouse" which is somewhere on Eglinton west. They have the regular dinning area and the area around this huge grill where they cook your order right in front of you... Well, I ordered some sushi... and my husband ordered the chicken and shrimp teriyaki. The sushi was superb. One of the best I've had. The teriyaki and the fried rice took some time to be cooked...  and weren't as amazing as i was expecting them to be... too bland. Too tasteless for my desi tastebuds :) The chef's antics as he set the food on fire, now and then, was the highlight of the evening.

Baked Pesto Shrimp with Whole Wheat Cheesy Pasta.

Chicken Parmesan

Crunchy Fish Sticks with Stir Fried String Beans

Spicy Chicken Chowmein

Khatay Mithay Gol Guppay!

Mini Beef Cheese Burrito

While rummaging through the fridge to find something to munch on, I came across a couple of small sized tortillas and some left-over beef keema (mince) from last night's dinner... added some diced tomatoes, some shredded cheese and a bit of sour cream, wrapped and panini-fied it aaaaaaaaaaaaaand.....  Voila!!!  :o)

Toasted kebab Cheese Sandvich

Chana Puri

Okay, so I finally made it :)

Some days back I had this chana dish at a friend's place and I loved it. This weekend I decided to make it, I called her for the recipe but, unfortunately she was not available... So I made it with my own recipe. It turned out pretty good as well. So, here I am.. writing the recipe down for furture reference :)

Chana Masala

1 can of chick peas

1 medium sized yellow potato - peeled and diced and boiled

1 tablespoon oil

1/2 sliced onion

1 diced tomato

1 teaspoon tomato puree

1/2 teaspoon ginger-garlic paste

1 bay leaf

1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds

1/2 teaspoon red chilli powder

1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder

1 teaspoon garam masala powder

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin and coriander seeds.

1 tablespoon tamarind chutney

Salt to taste

1 teaspoon of mixed achar

Fresh coriander

Okay so...  fry the onions till they change color.

Add ginger garlic paste, bay leaf and cumin seeds.

Fry for 5-10 seconds and then add the tomato and the tomato puree.

Take out the bay leaf. Let it cook till the tomatoes soften.

Add turmeric, salt and chillie powder.

Add the ground cumin and coriander powder and half hte garam masala.

Add the canned chick peas with only half of the canned water.

Let it cook till the chana go soft. Once they do... add the potatoes.

Finally add the tamarind chutney & achar. Cook for 2-5 more minutes.

Serve with chopped coriander on top and the rest of the garam masala.

Puri

Regular dough.

Just  remember to wet your hands with a bit of oil before making puris and deep fry them at medium heat.

Chocolate Custard Pie.

Chocolate Custard Brownie Pie



Chocolate Cookie Crust

*1 1/4 cups (4 ounces) cookie crumbs from chocolate wafers (pulverized in the food processor)

*5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
*3 tablespoons sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a bowl, combine the cookie crumbs, butter and sugar.
3. Pat the mixture into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch pie pan.
4. Bake for 5 minutes.

Filling:

• 2 1/2 cups whole milk
• 5 ounces (155 g) chopped semisweet chocolate (or chocolate chips)
• 70% and 90% chocolate to balance the sweetness
• 4 large egg yolks
• 3/4 cup (185 g) sugar
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• chunks of decadent brownie bites
• Half a cup of walnuts

Topping:

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Garnish: chocolate curls

1. For the Filling: In a heavy saucepan over medium-high heat, warm the milk and chocolate. Whisk them occasionally until the chocolate is melted.

2. In a large bowl, combine the egg yolks and sugar, whisking them until pale yellow. Add cornstarch, salt and vanilla.

3. Slowly pour the warm chocolate mixture into the egg mixture, whisking them well.

4. Return the mixture to the saucepan, and cook over medium heat until it thickens and begins to bubble slowly, about 7 minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat, and stir the mixture until it’s smooth, about 1 minute.

5. Chop brownies into small pieces and layer them in the pie shell, add walnuts as well.

6. Pour the chocolate filling into the cookie crust, and smooth it with a spatula. Cover it with plastic wrap, pressing it directly onto the surface, and refrigerate it for 2 hours.

7. For the Chocolate Curls: Microwave a medium-size chunk of chocolate on low for about 5 seconds. Using a vegetable peeler, slowly and evenly scrape the edge of the chunk until curls form. (If it’s too cold, the peeler will make ragged shavings instead of curls, so repeat warming the chocolate as necessary.) Refrigerate the curls until ready to use.

8. For the Topping: Using an electric mixer fitted with a whisk (whip) attachment, beat the cream, sugar and vanilla on medium-high until stiff peaks form.

9. Spoon the whipped cream onto the pie, and use a spatula to spread it evenly, being careful not to disturb the chocolate pudding underneath.

10. Decorate with chocolate curls.

11. Refrigerate the pie until ready to serve, but let it sit at room temperature for 20 minutes before serving.

12. Enjoy :)

Mazeydaar Manchurian :)

Sweet and Spicy Chicken Manchurian

I'm having a party! Coming saturday, I've invited two families over for lunch at my place. After discussing and debating with hubby, sister and a friend- regarding the menu... I've decided to do what I had initially wanted to do :) three chinese and three desi dishes.

One of the things that I wanted to make was Chicken Manchurian. Crispy chicken pieces in a slightly sweet and spicy sauce.... So, the other day I decided to try out this recipe that I had looked up on the internet... but ofcourse, with my own twist to it.

 It was Amazing :)

I'm just gonna jot down the recipe here... lest i forget :)

Ingredients:

6 boneless chicken thighs

1 small onion - cubed

14-16 white mushrooms - sliced

2-3 Green chillies - finely sliced

2 green onions - the green part cut in 1" pieces or a couplev coriander leaves.

Marination for chicken cubes:

6 boneless chicken thighs cut into small pieces

1 teaspoon of ginger and garlic paste

2 tablespoon of corn starch

1 tablespoon of regular flour

Salt and Pepper to taste

A dash or soy, oyester and franks red hot sauce.

1 tablespoon of oil.

Add required amount of water to make a gooey paste.

Ingredients for the sauce:

1/2 teaspoon ginger garlic paste

1/2 Chicken knorr cube

2 tablespoon soya and oyster sauces

1 tablesoon Honey (or as per taste)

2 tablespoons Tomato ketchup

1 tablespoon Chillie garlic sauce

1 tablespoon white vinegar/lemon juice

2 tablespoons of corn starch dissolved in cold water.

Salt and Red/Black pepper to taste.

Start off by marinating the chicken with the above mentioned ingredients and let it sit in the fridge for 10-15 minutes. Heat a cup of oil in a wok and add the chicken one piece at a time. Fry the chicken in batches (8-10 pieces/batch) till golden crispy.

Then, take a tablespoon of oil in a wok, add the ginger garlic paste. Add the onions, stir fry them until they turn translucent and then add the green chillies and then half a minute later, add the mushrooms and stir fry till they go soft.

Meanwhile in another saucepan heat a cup of water and add knor chicken cube to it till it dissolves completely. Add this to the wok with the onions and mushrooms and then add all the other ingredients of the sauce and let it simmer for a bit. Taste it add if anything is amiss. And then add the required amount of dissolved corn starch to get the required amount of consistency.

Finally, just before serving... add the chicken to the sauce, give it a good toss and serve. You cud leave the chicken in for a couple of minutes to soak in some of the sauce.. but, I like my chicken bits to be crispy. Dont forget to sprinkle green onions/coriander leaves on top.

Oh and by the way... this goes well with rice. Egg or vegetable fried rice... or just plain boiled rice. Thats how we had it :)

Pizza Pizza

Le Hubby's Favorite Snack...

Aloo Tikki (Potato Cutlets)

So, he calls me from the airport to tell me he is on his way home... yipppyyyy :) I ask him what he wants to snack on when he gets here... since it will be too late for dinner.

He says, what he alwasys says... "Allu ke cutlets" (potato cutlets).

The desi ones :P

I like the cheesy chicken ones better :)

These are pretty easy to make.

Ingredients:

1 egg.

2-4 boiled potatoes-skinned and mashed.

A quarter of an onion finely diced.

Green chilli - finely diced.

Add Salt - Red Chilli - Chat masala to your taste.

Mix all the above.. make cutlets cover in egg batter and shallow fry.

Pasta Night :)

Cheesy Chicken Pasta



I bought this large stuffable tubes like pasta some months back...

Finally made them. Turned out great  :o)

Stuffing for 12 tubes:

1 Chicken breast- cubed- salt and pepper'd- stir fried.

1 small onion - finely diced and stir fried.

10-12 white Mushrooms - sliced and stir fried.

2-4 Carrots - diced and stir fried.

1 egg

1 Cup of Ricotta/Cottage cheese

1/4th Cup of Marscapone cheese

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

Mix all the above and stuff them in the tubes. Layer the base of the dish with home made or store bought tomato sauce, place the tubes on top and then EVENLY cover the tubes with the rest of the sauce. Top it with some mozza-cheddar and parmesan cheese... and bake it for 35-40 minutes.

ENJOY :)

Baking Session #1

Red Velvet Hearts with Cream Cheese Frosting

Red Velvet Hearts



Okay, so the weather was awesome on friday. J and I finally got to do our first ever baking session together and it was FUN. We baked a red velvet cake, cut out hearts with a cookie cutter and then covered them with cheese cream frosting and other decorative stuff... I know the frosting is kinda messy... but, hey it's our first time :)

Two minute Dahi phulki!

Dahi Phulki

Had plans of going out today. Plans of spending the day with a friend and doing some baking together. Had plans of taking fotoz of the baking session and putting them up on the blog... as they say, man proposes and God disposes... woke up to a snow storm :P Waited for it to subside. It only got worse. So here I am. Stuck at home... and hungry. Din't really feel like cooking anything special... so, i made this quick but delish dahi phulki.

Comfort food - doesn't get any better than this!

Paratha and Shami kebab

Hubby left early to day...  I made him paratha and fried egg for breakfast... had a little dough left, and was lunch time, so i made me a paratha and had it with a shami kebab. My all time favourite for breakfast, lunch or even dinner. I can eat this all day.. everyday :o)

My mum (may her soul rest in peace) used to make sure that her freezer was always stocked with them. She made the best shami kebabs ever. And ofcourse her parathas were beyond compare. Awesome she was. Love you Aman.

Rajma Chavel

Sunday night`s dinner :)

My twist on Insalata Caprese :)

Today's Lunch!

Tangy Tandoori Chicken with fries.

Once again am not too pleased with the shot I've uploaded... I seriously need to work on my food shots... and my patience :P


All in good time, I hope :)

Shrimp Biryani...

Am not really happy with the shot ... was too hungry :oP

Cheesy Chicken Mushroom Pie :)

Chicken Mushroom Pie

My first try ever... had some issues with the cooking time and temperature... as one can tell by the slightly over done top crust, but, it turned out pretty good.

Monday Night Dinner :)

Pasta with Tomato Mushroom Sauce

Simple yet delish Mushroom Tomato sauce with whole wheat pasta topped with a bit of Italian seasoning and some Parmesan cheese. 

Day 2.

It was cold today. -20 was the actual weather and and -30 was the 'feels like' temperature :P I had to run an errand for my hubster. Din't wanna go out, but did... invain... cuz the office was closed wen i got there :) Oh well... I went to the grocery store instead, got me some grocery stuff. Am planning on making some spagatti for dinner tonight. If it turns out nice... I'll take a foto and upload :)

Ravishing Raspberry Mousse in Chocolate Cups!!!

For the past so many years, everytime I want to try something new I google an ingredient and usually end up drooling over the wonderful blogs that show up. One after the other, I keep tagging them as a "favourite" and then moving on to the next one....till its time to put food on the table :P and then I just get it over with :o) But there are times when I get inspired by someone's fantastic fotografy of yummy delights and I hit a home run!


Here is the first one...

I made these yummy chocolate cupcake shells filled with tangy Raspberry Mousse for a dinner, a few weeks back... turned out pretty awesome. If I say so myself :)

My first ever blog entry...

Hi !!! :o)