Thursday, November 29, 2012

Keeping the kid busy on a holiday - Savoury Cheese Muffins

Unexpected mid week holidays are so welcome..but it also means you got to think of smart things to keep the active toddler in the house busy.My little fella gets bored doing the mundane things so after 2 rounds of snakes & ladders, half an hour of playing with the cars and watching television  and wants to do something new.Today however i thought that why not get him involved in some cooking!I have recently bought this fabulous book by Martha Day which has tons of easy recipes on baking...i flipped through the pages and found this amazingly simple Cheese muffins recipe.The ingredients listed were everyday basics so I decided to give it a shot. The kid got all excited and helped me with mixing and topping the muffins with loads to cheese and look.... this is what the outcome is!!





Ingredients:

Plain flour - 200 gms

Butter - 55 gms ( melted)

Baking powder - 2 tsp

Sugar - 2 tbsp

Salt - half tsp

Eggs - 2 nos ( lightly beaten )

Milk - 125 ml

Cheddar cheese - 2 cubes ( cut into small dice)

Paprika - 1 tsp( optional)

Dried Thyme - 1 tsp

Method:

Preheat oven to 200 deg C. Grease and prepare a cup cake try.

In a bowl sift and mix all the dry ingredients - flour , baking powder ,sugar,salt and paprika.

In another bowl mix the milk, beaten eggs, melted butter and thyme and whisk them together.

Add the milk mixture to the dry ingredients and stir just until moistened.No need to smoothen the mix.

Place  a heaped spoon of the mixture in to the cups, sprinkle some cheese cubes  then drop another spoon of the batter on top.

Bake in the preheated oven for 25 mins till it gets golden brown on top.

Cool on a wire rack and enjoy with your little ones!!!

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Winter Greens - Cauliflower and Green peas Gratin

Experiments are an integral part of my cooking. Sometimes I fail , but then there are times when I come out with flying colours! Yesterday i tried something new - a simple dish but truly yummy. I have very fond memories of winter time of my childhood. My grandmother would give us bowl fulls of steamed cauliflower, peas and potatoes simply sauteed in butter, seasoned with salt and pepper and it used to be so yummy. So what i made here is simply an adaptation of this.






Ingredients:

Cauliflower florets - 1 cup (parboiled)

Green peas - 1 cup ( parboiled)

Pasta or macaroni - 1 cup (boiled and drained)

Cream - half cup ( i used  amul cream )

Tomato puree  - 4 tbsp

Milk - half cup

Salt - to taste

Pepper - to taste

Grated cheddar cheese - 1 cube grated

Butter - 1 tbsp ( for sauteing the veggies)

Method:

In a non stick pan heat butter. Add the boiled veggies and the pasta. Fry for a minute. Add the tomato puree. Mix well.

Next tip in the milk and the cream, stirring continuously to prevent the cream from curdling.

Season with salt and pepper.

Transfer the mixture into a baking dish. Sprinkle the grated cheese on top and bake at 200 deg C for 15 mins.

Serve hot.

You could add broccoli, baby corn, carrots, beans just whatever your heart desires. The non veg lovers can add boiled chicken , sausages...But since I have two picky eaters at home I usually have to work around with the tried and tested ingredients.

Happy cooking folks!!!

Saturday, November 24, 2012

Something for lazy sunday afternoons - Simple Chicken Roast

Sundays have always been very special for me..that one day when i can literally let my foot down. No morning rush , time limit to pick up kiddo from school and all those stuffs.But in our house Sundays does mean good food! I like keeping it simple on such days. I do cook up elaborate meals at times but today I decided to do something super easy that doesn't require much supervision on my part. Both the boys in the house are chicken lovers so " Simple Chicken Roast" today. Its extremely easy and fast to make and so tasty. All you need is a nice big piece of chicken, some veggies that we use everyday and some olive oil and herbs. The good thing is that nowadays such a wide variety of dried herbs are available in the super markets. I make sure to pick up different kinds and then mix and match. Oregano and red chili flakes being my absolute favourites.







Ingredients :

Chicken - 1 piece leg or breast ( depends on what you have )

Spring onions - 4 nos ( you can easily use normal onions )

Potato - 2 nos parboiled

Tomatoes  - 2 nos , cut into halves

Crushed garlic - 5-6 pods

Olive oil - 4 tbsp

Orange juice  - 2 tbsp

Salt - to taste

Crushed peppercorns - 2 tsp

Oregano - 1 tbsp

Red chili flakes - acc to taste

Method:

First of all make a marinade with olive oil , orange juice, crushed garlic , salt,pepper,oregano and chili flakes. Mix well in a bowl.

Arrange the chicken ( make slits on the chicken piece to that it can absorb the marinade well ), potato , tomatoes , spring onions in a baking tray . Pour the marinade on top and mix well.

Bake in a 250 deg C oven for 15 mins. Then reduce the temp to 200 deg C and let it bake for another 40 mins till the chicken is tender.

Serve with buttered rice. This dish has a scope for a lot of additions...you can add mushrooms, baby corn, cauliflower...the list is endless. So here's hoping that you are going to give it a try with your own twists to it!!

Happy Sunday to all.

Sunday, November 18, 2012

Back after long - Chicken Meatballs in chilli garlic sauce

Hello everyone....I am back to doing what i love doing after a long time. Not that I have not been cooking ...just that the past one month has been so busy with all the festivities in the air..Durga Puja, Lakshmi Puja, my lill doll's (niece) annaprashan , Diwali , Bhai dooj..there has been a lot of food involved!!!! So today after a long hiatus I decided to make something special at home and treat the husband to a good home cooked meal. With limited groceries available at home ( been too lazy to go shopping too ) I decided to make a Chinese lunch. A simple fare of egg fried rice and Chicken Meatballs in Chili garlic sauce...for a nippy winter afternoon this would be wonderful.



Ingredients :

For the meatballs:

Chicken mince - 200 gms

Soya sauce - 1 tsp

Red chili sauce - 1 tsp

Tomato ketchup - 1 tsp

Black pepper - 1 tsp

Worcestershire sauce - 1/2 tsp

Egg white - 1

Salt  - to taste

Cornflour - 1tbsp

Refined oil - for frying

Method:

Mix everything together and let the marinated chicken rest for half hour.In a deep pan add oil , once the oil is heated , make small balls of the mince and fry till golden brown in colour.
Drain on a kitchen towel and keep aside .

For the sauce:

Onion - 1 large ( finely chopped )

Ginger - 1 tbsp ( finely chopped)

Garlic - 1 tbsp (finely chopped )

Green chillies - 2-3 nos

Red chili sauce - 1tbsp

Soya sauce - 1 tbsp

Vinegar - 1tsp

Sugar - a pinch

Cornflour - 1tbsp dissolved in a cup of cold water

Refined oil - 1

Coriander leaves - a handful shredded for garnish

Method :

In a nonstick pan add the oil. Next tip in the ginger - garlic - onion - green chillies and fry till brown in color. Once done add in all the sauces one by one and fry for a minute.

Add the fried meatballs , mix well with the sauce. Add the cornflour mixture according to the consistency that you want. Remove from heat and garnish with coriander.

Serve hot with steamed rice or with a simple egg fried rice!!!