Chicken 65 With A Twist

Chicken 65-

Sometimes the children get exasperated eating chicken prepared in the same cooking style. At that juncture I turn to the internet,hoping desperately to find an easy recipe to satiate their taste buds. However one particular day my eldest daughter came home from college and said that her Indian classmate had brought some snacks for the them to relish during their break time.As she had really enjoyed every bite of it,she was very  eager to try making it at home. She was however told to refer the internet for assistance.The recipe was too complicated for her to comprehend fully. And  she passed  the task over to me .Nevertheless I took up the challenge  to recreate  this dish. But then again, to start with,I  had to do a Google search to  get an idea how it looked like .Eventually  I found an appealing one  that caught my attention and inevitably was drawn toward the recipe.The instructions were quite simple and everything else fell into place .This recipe is sans gravy and could be eaten as a snack. In my first attempt,I made it according to the instructions.Thereafter I decided to put my own  twist to it.I added much more than what was called for in the recipe .

I marinated  and fried the chicken according to the recipe -chicken 65  in the video via you tube.Once that was done I started playing with my senses to prepare the gravy.I sautéed  an onion in a little oil, added ginger/garlic and cooked till the aroma was released.Then mixed in some spices like,curry powder and garam ( about ½ teaspoon each).Next step was to  add  a diced tomato and  about 2 tablespoons of tomato paste and cook further.Finally a  cup of yoghurt was stirred in to get a thick consistency of gravy.

Let me stop blabbering  and lead you to the recipe courtesy of you tube. Chicken 65-

the dish may look appealing but doesn't it sound intriguing ?? 

I made this for a potluck gathering with friends

Made with great labour of love

Savoury Rice

I am  happy when there is left over rice from the previous day so  I can make a  simple dish  with it, with  only a dry curry and a salad as side dishes.However this can be eaten by itself without any accompaniments as it  is well coated with vegetables,herbs and seasonings.
  
You will need
2 breakfast cups cooked rice 
2 eggs

1 large onion shredded
2-3 chopped green chillies
1 carrot finely diced
1/4 cup boiled green peas
1/2 teaspoon red chilly flakes  (optional)
A few cloves of garlic/ginger sliced thinly
1 cube of stock( vegetable or chicken)
salt and pepper to taste
3 cubes of butter ( 2-3 tablespoons)


Preparation
Fry the onions,green chillies,carrots, green peas in the butter.Once they turn pale,mix the ginger/garlic,red chilly flakes .Next add the cube of stock and stir it well so that all the ingredients get well coated.Whisk the eggs in a bowl and add it to the rest of the ingredients little by little.Scramble the eggs with the vegetables.Season with salt and pepper.Finally put in the cups of rice and mix well.Cover with a lid and keep warm .

 Serving Suggestions

With a dry chicken curry ( fried and cooked till all the gravy dries up) 

                                     Salad

Macaroni Chicken

This recipe has been my children's favourite for a very long time. Everyone at home loves pasta especially this particular one which I use to prepare during special occasions.However I do not disappoint the children when  they request for this dish  once in a while. I have been making this with beef for quite sometime .So this festive season ( Eid) I decided to  prepare this specialty using  chicken.My Children refer to this as 'Mama's Macaroni'

Ingredients 

A packet of macaroni (500 gm packet)

1 1/2 lbs chicken  (a little more or less will not make a difference)

2 large onions chopped

4-5 green chilies (remove seeds if you prefer less spicy)

A small pod of garlic

1 inch ginger (or a little more)

1-2 teaspoons of Cummin seeds

1-2 teaspoons of curry powder

1-2 teaspoons pepper or according to your palate

Salt to taste

1 Maggie cube (chicken flavor tastes good)

Ghee/butter

1 cup thick Coconut Milk

For garnishing;

Cheese

Coriander leaves

Direction

Boil the macaroni with a little salt (drain it and set aside). Wash & cut the chicken into medium sized pieces. Boil the chicken with 2-3 cups of water- with a little pepper & salt. Once done, remove the bones and  set aside (don’t throw the excess liquid).

Pound the ginger, garlic, green chilies & the cummin seeds (set aside).

In a large pan, heat 2-3 tablespoon of ghee/butter, stir in the chopped onions and when it begins to get soft & translucent, put in the rest of the pounded ingredients (garlic, ginger, green chilies & cummin seeds). Keep on stirring it you get that aroma (don’t let it brown).

Put in the curry powder and the pepper and give it a good stir. Add the boiled chicken  with the excess liquid into this sautéed mixture and cover the pan with a lid & cook for 10 minutes. Next add the boiled macaroni. Mix in the Maggie cube. Cover and cook for further 10-15 minutes. Pour in, the cup of coconut milk and add salt. (Remember the Maggie cube is already salty, so add salt only if it’s necessary)  Let it simmer for a while .

Then transfer this cooked pasta into a baking dish.Grate a small tin of cheese on top of the pasta and bake in a hot oven until the cheese begins to melt.Remove from oven & garnish with chopped coriander leaves (optional)

 (P.S. You can adjust the spices according to your taste bud.)

Serves about 6-8 persons

Fun Making Pizza At Home

My children loves to eat pizzas. However when it comes to choosing the toppings, each got their own preferences. It is a big hassle when we place an order for home delivery. Occasionally I make pizzas at home to make the children happy. Although the pizza I make at home is not perfect like the ones we eat at the restaurant, the children don't mind at all and they don't make a big issue about it, as they get to work on their own pizza with their choice of topping. My young sons like their share of the pizza with pepperoni and cheese, my  youngest girl, who is  a vegetarian relishes her pizza with veggies and without any cheese. Whereas my oldest daughter, husband and I love the spicy variety with a lot of bell peppers. Whenever I make pizza at home, the children are very delighted. They help me knead and roll out the dough and with a great sense of responsibility assemble their own toppings, which I help sort out. This is only kitchen chore the children do with a lot of excitement and eagerness. It's fun getting the children actively involved albeit the messy aftermath.

Fit for a vegetarian

Hot and Spicy

  

My sons assembled their own toppings and the mess thereafter...

Rainbow Sandwiches

When my children  see a colourful plate they get enticed by it.Then they get tempted.So there's no problem making them eat sandwiches . Ribbon or rainbow sandwiches are a delight to the eyes..These colourful  sandwiches  get the attention of children very quickly.This is a 'must do 'menu  during Kiddies birthday parties .This is a very easy recipe and there's no heavy labour involved.You can also choose a title of your choice.


Rainbow Sandwiches.


Boil veggies like carrot and beetroot.Cool and mash it separately.Add butter,cream cheese,mustard paste to each of the mashed veggies.mix separately .Sprinkle with pepper and salt. 
Apply butter on the sliced sandwich .Spread carrot paste on one side of the sliced sandwich .Seal it with another slice.Then take a new slice and spread beetroot paste on it and lay it on the carrot sandwich.
Trim the edges and cut into quarters and serve.
You can also keep layering with different filings.


When ready arrange them beautifully  on a platter .When you serve  different  kinds of sandwiches,like cheese sandwiches,chicken sandwiches or veggie sandwiches,place a label on  each platter  denoting their variety.

What's For Dinner!

The heat is on.And I am constantly getting tired .I have n't decided what to prepare for dinner.I cannot run through my mind fixing a recipe in a jiffy and that too when it's way past time to prepare everything from scratch. Oh! How my children love days like this!Because now is the time that they get to pick their favourite .I am going to leave this writing unfinished until later, when everyone has done with the dinner.By the way I have left it totally on to my children to decide what they want to eat for dinner.

Well I am back .Wondering what the choice was for dinner ! Well you can see for yourself.Now I am too full to do anything else except to walk around the house till the food gets properly digested.In the meantime have a look at the pizza that was ordered for dinner.( these pictures were taken just before they disappeared inside our mouths) I guess you're drooling already!