Chicken in Creamy Mustard Sauce

 

I am back with yet another super easy recipe to make weeknight cooking a breeze! This recipe of Chicken in creamy Mustard Sauce is a steal. It is from one of my favourite cookbook by Mary Berry. I often try out her baked goodies but not the mains so much. However I will from now on! This dish needs just 3-4 ingredients and you are done.

 

Ingredients:

Boneless chicken - 200 gms - cut into thin strips

Olive oil - 1 tsp

Garlic - 2-3 pods - crushed

Heavy cream - 1 cup

Salt - to taste

Pepper - to taste

Flour - 1 tsp

Mustard paste / sauce - 1 tbsp. - I used the readymade bottled grainy mustard. It gave a nice texture to the gravy.

Method:

Take 2 tbsp cream from the 1 cup heavy cream ,mix in the flour and keep aside.

In a pan heat the oil. Lightly sauté the crushed garlic. Add the chicken strips and fry till they turn light brown in colour and is 90% cooked.

Drain the chicken pieces and keep aside.

In the same pan , add the heavy cream. keep mixing so that the cream doesn't split. Add the flour - cream mixture and give it a good mix. Keep it on low flame.

Now add the chicken strips back into the pan. Let it simmer in the gravy for a minute. Turn of the heat and stir in the mustard sauce/paste. Season with salt and pepper.

Serve hot with some plain rice or some bread and enjoy the creamy deliciousness.

Notes:

• Make sure to add the mustard right at the end or else the dish could turn bitter.
• Vegetarians can replace chicken with mushrooms!

Murgh Pulao - One pot meal

 

I am a stickler for recipes that are easy to cook but doesn't compromise on the taste factor. And of late I have also become a lover of one pot meals. In such hurried lives that we all live, its a boon to be able to cook up nutritious tasty food without slogging it out too much in the kitchen. This is one such recipe - Murgh Pulao. It is not as heavy as your typical biryani but packs in a lot of flavours nevertheless. Similar to yakhni pulao but not really that. This particular recipe is heavily inspired by the Bangladeshi Morogh Polao - a very traditional chicken rice dish which is not too spicy but is extremely flavourful. The orginal recipe would include marinating the chicken in poppy seeds paste and also use a lot of nuts - cashews and raisins. I have however made a simpler version that I learnt from my mother which works well for a regular weeknight meal. And the fact that it uses very little oil is an added bonus.

 

Ingredients:

Gobindo bhog rice/ or any kind of short grained rice - 1 1/2 cup

Chicken - 500 gms - cut into medium sized pieces

Ginger paste - 1 tbsp.

Garlic paste - 1 tbsp.

Mace - a few strands

Nutmeg - 1 tsp- grated

Fennel - 1 tsp

Cardamom - 4 nos

Cinnamon - a small stick

Cloves - 4-5 nos

Bay leaves - 2 nos

Onion - 1 large - finely chopped

Ghee - 1 tsp

Salt - to taste

Sugar - a pinch

Turmeric powder -  1 tsp + a pinch

Green chillies - 4-5 - slit at the top

Water - 3 cups

Mint leaves and green chillies - for garnish

Method:

Wash the rice well, mix in 1 tsp of turmeric, drain well and let it dry on a flat surface.

Now we need to prepare a broth in which we cook the rice.
In a pressure cooker , add the chicken pieces, ginger-garlic paste, mace,nutmeg,fennel,cardamom,cloves, cinnamon, salt and 3 cups water. Put the cooker on heat and let it get a couple of whistles.
Remove from heat take out the chicken pieces,strain and keep the broth aside.

In a bowl take the par boiled chicken pieces and smear with a little turmeric and keep aside.

Heat the ghee in a non stick pan or kadahi. Ensure its non stick and deep bottomed so that the rice cooks well.

Add the chicken pieces and sauté till they turn light brown in colour. Remove from pan and keep aside.

In the same pan, add the bay leaves and the finely chopped onions. Fry till they turn golden brown. Keep the heat low or else the onions burn. Now add the washed and dried rice. Fry the rice for 5-7 mins or till it starts to leave oil on the sides. Now place the sautéed chicken pieces on top of the rice and  add 2 1/2 cups of the broth. Give it a good mix, cover the pan tightly and let it cook. Keep the flame low.

The rice doesn't take too long to cook so keep a watch.It would take around 10 mins for the water to dry up. Remove the cover, fluff up the rice with a fork. Add a pinch of sugar, the green chillies, give a gentle mix and put the lid again for 2 mins. Your murgh pulao will be ready to serve by now.

Notes:

• Short grain rice is preferred but basmati rice can be used too.
• The left over broth - if any can be used for cooking curries and gravys and lends a great flavour.
• Be cautious while cooking the rice. Don't open the lid often as that could make the pulao soggy. always keep the flame low.
• You could also add cashews and raisins at the last stage to add to the richness of the dish.

Grilled Fish with Spinach - Weeknight meal ideas

 

 

Easy weeknight meal ideas is what I am forever scouting for. It saves my time and makes the man happy. Except for Tuesdays, for every single meal the man needs to eat non veg.There are times when I am totally out of ideas or the patience to produce something new. But thanks to the neighbourhood supermarkets , you are spoilt for choice. While I would mostly stick to buying fresh fish from my regular fish monger, once in a while something frozen comes in handy too. A pack of frozen Basa fillet is what caught my fancy on my last trip to the supermarket and scores of recipes started flodding my head!So I promptly grabbed the pack with the intention of cooking it up with some jazz. With winter just about to say goodbye, I wanted to use up the last batch of spinach from my kitchen garden. Teaming it up with the fish seemed like a fabulous option. So here's my recipe of Grilled Fish with Spinach.

 

Ingredients:

Basa Fish fillets - 4-6 pieces - You can use any other white fish fillet like bhetki

Olive oil - few tsps.

Fresh Parsely - a handful finely chopped

Salt - to taste

Pepper - to taste

For the Spinach sauce -

Spinach leaves - 1 cup - finely chopped

Onion - 1 medium - finely chopped

Garlic - 2-3 cloves - minced

Cottage cheese /Paneer - 2 tbsp. - grated

cheddar cheese - 1 tbsp. - grated

Fresh cream - 1 tbsp.

salt - to taste

Pepper - to taste

Sugar - a pinch

Cherry tomatoes for garnish

Method :

Marinate the fish fillets with olive oil, salt ,pepper and chopped parsley. Keep aside while the sauce is being made.

For the sauce:

Heat a tsp of olive oil in a pan. Add the minced garlic and chopped onion and sweat it till transluscent. Don't brown it.

Next add the chopped spinach and cook covered till the water released from spinach dries up.

Add grated cottage cheese, cheddar cheese, salt, pepper and sugar and give it a good mix.

Add fresh cream, remove from heat and keep aside.

Preparing the fish:

In a thick bottomed pan, brush a little olive oil. Place the fish fillets and cook for 2-3 mins on each side. Don't overcook the fish or it gets a rubbery texture.

Remove from pan and serve along with the spinach sauce. Garnish with cherry tomatoes and freshly chopped parsley.

Notes:

• I used Basa but any white fish fillet like bhetki would do just fine. Just keep an eye while cooking the fish so that u don't overcook. It takes very little time.
• I kept the sauce chunky in texture but you can puree it into a smooth sauce as per your taste. Just grind the sauce in a handblender and strain.