Chicken Kebobs

Ingredients:
Ground chicken: 1 pack (its usually 1 to 1.5 lbs)
Egg - 1
Green chili - 1
Salt - 2 tsp or to taste
Ground pepper - 1 tsp
Red chili - 2 tsp
Garam masala - 1 tsp
Mint leaves chopped - 2 tbsp
Corn - 1/4 cup (thaw and squeeze or use fresh)
Almonds - chopped - a handful
Lemon juice - 1 tsp
Onion - 1/2
Ginger garlic paste - 2 tsp

Fine chop the onion, green chili, mint. In a bowl, add the ground chicken, egg, the chopped onion, green chili, mint, corn, almonds and all the powders. Mix well.

To check for seasoning, take a small portion of the mixture and make a small patty. Cook in a pan with a few drops of oil. Should be done in under a minute per side. Taste and adjust seasoning.


Add this mixture to a ziploc bag. Cut a small corner and pipe this onto a baking sheet lined with foil sprayed with the non-stick spray.


Pre-heat oven to 425 and bake for about 20 to 25 min. Turn half way through the cooking time.
You will know these are done when they are firm and start to brown.

Baked Potato Fries

Who doesn't love fries? Crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.

I have tried several versions of baking these and this recipe is near perfect for a baked fry.
The trick is to cut the fries evenly, boil them for a short time and then bake them.
Add some toppings of your choice and it's a delicious even snack or an appetizer.

Ingredients:

Potatoes: 3 

Seasoning: Salt, Pepper/Cajun Seasoning

Olive Oil - 1 tsp

Toppings:

Shredded Cheese, Green Onions, Sriracha

Wash and cut the potatoes into 1/2 inch thick fries. Place a pot of water on the stove top and boil water in it. Add salt to the water when it starts to boil and blanche the sliced potatoes in the water for 5 min. Remove and drain and excess water.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 450F. Once the potatoes are partly dry, add a tsp of olive oil and some salt and pepper, paprika or any seasoning you like.

Mix well and place on a baking tray in a single layer. I like to use parchment paper to avoid cleaning up. Spray or drizzle some oil on the pan to avoid the fried from sticking to the pan.

Bake the fries for about 15 min and turn them over half way through the cooking process.

They should start to get crispy and brown. If not, bake them for a few more minutes until they do.

Remove and sprinkle with the toppings of your choice. I used some shredded mozzarella and green onions. The heat from the potatoes should melt the cheese and no more baking is required.

If you prefer, you can put them back in the over for a minute or so for the cheese to melt.

Enjoy them hot and fresh!

Quick lunch Salad with Black Bean and Avocado

Here's a quick and easy lunch for those busy afternoons when I am home alone. Truth is, this is not a lot of food and would hardly satisfy the Mr. However, it's a perfect light lunch and has all the necessary nutrients. The black beans and the avocado add a richness and makes it hearty and satisfying.

I used a left over Black Bean burger patty, but some cooked black beans or corn would be just as good.

Ingredients:

Greens - Lettuce, Spinach

Avocado - 1/2

Red Onion - 1/4

Tomato - 1 small

Cucumber - 1/2

Black Bean patty - 1 (or 1/2 cup Black Beans)

Dressing of your choice - 2 Tbsp

Chop all the veggies into cubes and roughly chop the greens.

Add everything to a bowl and top with the broken Black bean patty or some black beans.

Drizzle over some dressing and enjoy.

I used this:

Lime and Cilantro Yogurt Dressing - 1/4 cup 

(In a blender, add 1/4 cup yogurt, pinch of salt, squeeze half a lime, a small piece of avocado and a few springs of cilantro, half a jalapeno and blend)

Ramen with Veggie broth

Our family loves Japanese food. We love Sushi but Ramen and tsukune are our favorite. A problem with Ramen is, it is very difficult to find a good vegetarian or chicken based broth, since almost all Ramen is made with pork broth. 

I tried making it at home and it's actually very simple to make. Adding Miso paste to the Veggie broth brings a depth and flavor that is very hearty. Perfect for the cold climate.

This is a very healthy and filling meal.

Ingredients:
Ramen Noodles - 1 pack
Corn kernels - 1/2 cup
Small Broccoli - 1
Spinach leaves - 1 cup
Eggs - 2
Mushrooms - Few

For Broth:
Veggie Broth/Stock - 3 to 4 cups
Miso Paste - 1 1/2 Tbsp
Light Soy sauce - 1 tbsp
Big Piece of Ginger - crushed
Cilantro stalks - one bunch
Garlic - 3 cloves
Cinnamom - 1 inch
Black Peppercorns - few
Cloves - 5

Boil all the ingredients for the broth and strain. Boil the eggs, peel and cut into halves.
Soak the eggs in a light drizzle of soy sauce.
Blanche the spinach, corn, broccoli florets and mushrooms.
Boil the ramen noodles and strain.
Add some ramen to a bowl, top with the broth and add all the veggies to the bowl to the side.
Top with half and egg to each bowl.

Korean Chicken with Gochujang

Gochujang is a korean red chili paste and it's thick and flavorful. Although it looks red and spicy, it's not really very hot. I just marinate some chicken breast in the paste and fry it with cubed green peppers and onions. It's an extremely simple and flavorful dish,

Ingredients:

Gochujang Paste: 3 Tbsp

Chicken Tenders - 4 or 1lb Chicken breast cubes

Green Pepper - 1

Onion - 1/2

Oil - 1 tbsp

Cube the vegetables and chicken and marinate in the Gochujang paste. Marinate for 4 hrs (It ok to make it immediately if there is no time for the marination process).

Heat a pan with some oil and add the marinated chicken and veggies. Saute until cooked through. Sprinkle with some water if it starts to burn.

Serve with some noodles or sauted vegetables.

Diaper Cake

We used the Diaper Cake making kit from Party City. Isn't it cute?

It was for a dear friend's Baby Shower :)

Mango Pickle - Aavakaya

This is my first time trying to make a pickle at home! It was a result of my disappointment from several store bought Avakaya pickles and the very mild pickles that were sent over from India. I like my pickles extra hot and I used the Extra Hot Red Chili powder and the pickle turned out really hot. You can use a medium or hot chili powder based on your preference for heat.

This pickle is a bit of work and it tastes best when it's left to marinate for at least a week. That is, if you can control yourself!!!!

It's really difficult to find really raw hard mangoes here and the ones I used were not as hard or sour. However, the pickle tasted great even with those mangoes. The most trouble I had was chopping the mango with the seed. 

Ingredients:

Raw Green Mangoes - 2 Big or 4 small

Red Chili Powder - 2 cups

Salt - 1 cup

Garlic Cloves - 15

Fenugreek Seeds - 3 tbsp

Mustard Seeds - 1 Cup

Gingelly Oil - 2.5 to 3 Cups

Wash and cut the mangoes into bite sides pieces. Make sure to cut the pieces with the seed attached. Dry these mango pieces in the sun till they are completely dry.

Grind the Mustard seeds and 2 Tbsp of the Fenugreek seeds into a fine powder.

Mix the mango pieces, red chili powder, salt, the ground powder, the remaining 1 tbsp of Fenugreek seeds and garlic with 2 cups of gingelly oil.

Cover and keep the pickle aside and mix once a day. The oil will get absorbed into the pickle. 

On the 4th day, add the rest of the oil and mix and continue to mix once a day until day 7.

After the 7th day, the Avakaya is ready to eat.

Enjoy with some hot rice and ghee.