Oriental style aubergine soup

About the food:

This dish belongs to the Chinese/Thai cuisine.

I recently had this soup at a Chinese eatery, and it tasted so new and different that I was immediately drawn to it. It took me some time before I could find a recipe which is the closest match to the dish, and impoverished on it in to get it done. It is a brilliant dish, ideal for the vegetarians, and could be served as a starter or as a light meal. It is extremely easy to make, and I am thoroughly in love with this dish. I can promise, many of my guests would soon have it served!

Preparation time: 10 mins
Cooking time: 20 mins

Ingredients: serves 4

3 aubergines
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tbsp ginger paste
vegetable oil
salt to taste
1 tbsp Sesame seeds, dry roasted in a pan.

For the sauce:

4 tbsp soya sauce
2 tbsp wine vinegar
2 tbsp black pepper powder
1/2 cup tomato puree
2 tbsp Thai sweet-chilli sauce

Method:

1. Cut the aubergines in small 1 inch pieces. Make sure that each piece has a share of the skin, otherwise the piece will become very soft.

2. Brush a steamer rack with oil. Put the aubergines in the rack and steam it for about 10-12mins. Take care not to overcook them, the aubergines should just be tender and cooked through.

3. To make the sauce, put all the ingredients for the sauce in a bowl and mix well.

4. Heat a pan. Pour 1 tbsp of oil. Fry the chopped garlic for 1 min. Add the ginger and stir fry for another minute. Add the sauce and continue stirring over a medium flame. Continue until the oil separates from the mixture. Add 1/2 cup of water to make the sauce a little dilute. Adjust the water quantity according to the thickness of gravy, to get a thick soup. Season it with salt, it needed.

5. Add the steamed aubergine pieces, cover and cook for 2 mins.

6. Pour it on a serving bowl and garnish with the sesame seeds.

Honey & orange glazed chicken

About the food:

This food is from the oriental cuisine, and is very easy to prepare. You can serve this as a starter or it could even be served as a main dish accompanied by plain basmati rice, topped with butter.

Preparation time: 15mins
Cooking time: 1 hr

Ingredients: serves 4

10 skinless chicken thigh & leg pieces
1 tbsp black pepper powder
salt to taste
3-4 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp sesame seeds

for the sauce:

1 cup orange juice
1/2 cup clear honey
4 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp white flour
salt to taste
1 tbsp black pepper powder
1 tbsp lemon juice

Method:

1. Mix the chicken pieces with salt and pepper. Brush an oven tray with oil or place a baking sheet on it. Arrange the chickens on the tray and brush them with oil. Pre-heat the oven. Cook the chickens for about 30-35 mins at 180 gas mark. Turn the chicken pieces halfway through the cooking, and brush the upper side with oil. Keep a careful watch as not to burn the pieces.

2. Preparing the sauce:
Heat a pan. Mix all the ingredients for the sauce together, taking care not to form any lumps. Bring it to boil, stirring continuously, until the sauce becomes smooth and thickens.

3. When the chicken is done, coat each pieces in the sauce and put them back in a clean, oil brushed oven tray. Cook them for about 15 mins at 180 deg C to give the honey glazed finish.

4. Toast the sesame seeds on a pan. Garnish the chicken pieces with the sesame seeds and serve.

Accompaniment: plain basmati rice with butter.

Ginger chicken

About the food:

This is a typical and a very popular chinese dish. But I must tell you that people from India might be very dissappointed by this dish, as initially I was. This dish does not belong to the Indian-Chinese cuisine, but has a perfect Chinese character. When I came to London, I was very upset with the Chinese cuisine, which had always been my favourite. But with time and experience I have come to realise that what we eat in India as chinese is completely different from what poeple in china eats. The chinese food here in London is more of chinese-chinese than of Indian-chinese taste. Once habituated, I have re-discovered my love for the Chinese cuisine, which is more authentic this time! Try this easy to make dish, and you will feel the same as me.

Ingredients (serves 4)

250 gms skinless & boneless chicken breast
vegetable oil for deep frying
1 egg white
1 tbsp Chinese five spices powder (a mixture of fennel, cloves, cinnamom, star anise and szechuan peppercorn)
1 big onion, cut in 3 inch stripes
1 bunch of spring onions, cut in 1 inch length
3 inch root ginger, shredded in long thin stripes
1 big bell pepper, cut in thin long stripes
1/2 tbsp black pepper seeds
black pepper powder to taste
7-8 cup mushrooms, thinly sliced
3 tbsp cornflour powder
salt to taste


Method:

1.Cut the chicken in 3 inch by 1 inch stripes. Whisk the egg white and the cornflour in a bowl to make a smooth mixture. Mix the chicken well with this mixture. Add the Chinese five spices to it ,cover and marinate for 30 mins.

2.Heat oil in pan.Stir fry the chicken, by tossing and turning on medium flame until the chicken is light golden in colour.Drain them on a kitchen tissue and set it aside.

3.Wipe clean the pan and heat oil again. Add the black pepper seeds and let it crackle. Add ginger, onion, mushrooms, spring onion and bell pepper. Stir fry on a low flame until they are tender. Add salt to taste.Add the chicken and keep on cooking over a low flame for a further 10 mins.Add 1/2 cup of water and cover and cook for further 10-15mins or until the chicken is tender. If you want to increase the gravy, add 1tbsp cornflour in a cup of water and add to the pan. Let it simmer, and the dish is now ready to serve.

Accompaniment: Best served with basmati rice.

Steamed chicken momo

About the food:

Momos are a traditional delicacy to the Himalayas of Tibet. They are also very popular in Nepal, Bhutan and N-E parts of India. It is at present growing in popularity in the eastern as well the Western world.

I learnt this recipe from my mom, and she makes delicious momos. Try this out, and I am sure you would love it. You can serve this an evening snack or a starter.

A note: I set up a momo party for my friends, and I had to improvise the recipe and the result was loveable : Paneer momos. As I was not sure the chicken was halal or not, I had to invent something else for a friend of mine. I substituted paneer in the place of chicken, and it was pretty simple! I thank her for triggering the innovation.

Preparation time: 1 hour
Cooking time: 30 mins

Serves 4

ingredients:
400 gm boneless chicken minced
1 medium piece of chicken (with bone or boneless) for the soup (the soup is optional)
5-6 ginger cloves chopped finely
1 bunch of spring onion, chopped finely
1 big onion, finely chopped
1/2 tbsp black pepper seeds
2 cups of white flour
vegetable oil for deep frying
4 tbsp soya sauce
1/4 tbsp ajinamoto
black pepper powder
salt to taste

Method:

1.Put the chicken in a mixing bowl. Add the soya sauce, spring onions, onions, a bit of salt, and black pepper powder and mix well. Set it aside.

2.Heat a pan. Add 1 tbsp of oil. Add 3-4 chopped garlic cloves and fry till they are golden. remove from the flame add this to the chicken mixture. Mix it well, and keep the chicken bowl covered for 30 mins and let it marinate.

3.Put the white flour in a big bowl. Add 2 tbsp of oil, 1/2 cup of hot water (take care, as the amount of water may vary. Put small amount of water first to get the estimate) and a pinch of salt. Mix them well until a soft and homogeneous dough is formed. Keep on kneading with both hands, ( you have to get messy to get a good result!) until the dough is soft. This is a very crucial part for getting perfectly soft momos.

4. Now make the wrappers by making small round balls from the dough and rolling it thin with a rolling pin.Get a cup or a bowl with apprx. 4 inch in diameter, and use it to cut the wrappers.It will give an uniform size to the momos.

5. Take one wrapper in hand, put 1 spoon of the chicken mixture in the middle, and wrap it carefully so that the content does not leak out. Repeat with all the wrappers.

6.Now the Steaming part. You can steam the momos if you have a steamer. If not, find a deep flat cooking pot and a metal perforated tray which would go inside the pot. If you are using a steamer, you have to prepare the soup separately, in a bowl with a lid, or in a pressure cooker, if you have one.

7. The soup (optional)

Put 500ml of water in the pot and bring it to boil. Put in the chicken piece, salt, black pepper powder, 2 chopped garlic cloves, a portion of the chopped spring onions.Cover and simmer for about 20-25 mins. Add 1 tbsp of butter. The soup is ready.If you think you need more quantity of soup, just add boiling water to increase the quantity.

8.If you are using a steamer, brush the rack with oil. Place the momos carefully on it, and at a little apart from each other. The momos will increase in size, so take care they do not stick to each other.Steam the momos for about 15 mins, or until soft and tender.

9.If you are using the pot and tray, you can cook both the soup and momos at the same time. Put all the contents for the soup as in step 7 in the pot, and support the tray on the water on a cup, taking care water does not reach it( you can use room temperature water here for the mixture).
Brush the tray with oil, and follow step 8. Cover the pot with a heavy lid, and you might take a little longer time to cook. Get an idea from the picture here:



7. Your momos are now ready. Serve them with the soup and sweet-chilly sauce.

Fried Chicken momo

About the food:

Momos are a traditional delicacy to the Himalayas of Tibet. They are also very popular in Nepal, Bhutan and N-E parts of India. It is at present growing in popularity in the eastern as well the western world.

I learnt this recipe from my mom, and she makes delicious momos. Try this out, and I am sure you would love it. You can serve this an evening snack or as a starter.

Preparation time: 1 hour
Cooking time: 30 mins

Serves 4

ingredients:
400 gm boneless chicken minced
1 medium piece of chicken (with bone or boneless) for the soup (the soup is optional)
5-6 ginger cloves chopped finely
1 bunch of spring onion, chopped finely
1 big onion, finely chopped
1/2 tbsp black pepper seeds
2 cups of white flour
vegetable oil for deep frying
4 tbsp soya sauce
1/4 tbsp ajinamoto
black pepper powder
salt to taste

Method:

1.Put the chicken in a mixing bowl. Add the soya sauce, spring onions, onions, a bit of salt, and black pepper powder and mix well. Set it aside.

2.Heat a pan. Add 1 tbsp of oil. Add the chopped garlic cloves and fry till they are golden. remove from the flame add this to the chicken mixture. Mix it well, and keep the chicken bowl covered for 30 mins and let it marinate.

3.Put the white flour in a big bowl. Add 2 tbsp of oil, 1/2 cup water (take care, as the amount of water may vary. Put small amount of water first to get the estimate.) and a pinch of salt. Mix them well until a soft and homogeneous dough is formed. Keep on kneading with both hands, ( you have to get messy to get a good result!) until the dough is soft. This is a very crucial part for getting perfectly soft momos.

4. Now make the wrappers by making small round balls from the dough and rolling it thin with a rolling pin.Get a cup or a bowl with apprx. 4 inch in diameter, and use it to cut the wrappers.It will give an uniform size to the momos.

5. Take one wrapper in hand, put 1 spoon of the chicken mixture in the middle, and wrap it carefully so that the content does not leak out. Repeat with all the wrappers.

6.Heat oil in a pan. Deep fry the filled-in wrappers to get fantastic momos.

7. Serve with Sweet and chilly sauce.

Egg and Prawn Chowmein

Mushroom masala

About the food:

Mushroom is not a very common dish in India and it is not widely available. It is true that many supermarkets and some specialist shops sell them, but the demand is not huge, as it appeals to those with an acquired taste.

It is very strange, but I did not know about mushroom until I passed my primary school. How I came to know, can well be worth mentioning. I went to my uncles' place for the summer vacation, which is a countryside, off from Kolkata. My auntie took me to the woods and began to pluck something which I did not know. That was my first exposure to mushroom. She made a wonderful dish from it, which still I can smell, and my love for mushroom so began. But then I knew, wild mushrooms could be extremely poisonous and fatal, and was horrified to think how plucking them could have gone wrong! I have however, warned my auntie about it, and I am glad to know that now she can buy them in the market.

Hope you like the dish, though it is not typically Indian!



Ingredients (serves 4)

400 gm button mushroom
3 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp cumin powder
1 tbsp coriander powder
1/2 tbsp red chilli powder (optional)
1 big onion, finely chopped
1 tbsp garlic paste
2 whole green chilli, split through the centre
1 tbsp tomato puree
1 bunch of fresh coriander leaves, chopped for garnishing
1 pinch of turmeric
salt to taste

Method:

1. Thinly slice the mushrooms and wash well. Drain them till dry.If needed, dry them with a kitchen tissue.

2. Heat pan. Pour the oil, and when it smoulders, put the cumin powder,coriander powder and green chillis and saute a little. Add the garlic paste and the tomato puree, continue cooking on low flame for about 2mins.

3. Add the dried mushrooms and mix the ingrediants well. Add salt, red chilli powder and turmeric. Cover the pan and let it cook on low flame for 5mins. uncover, and continue cooking, by tossing and turning until the oil separates out. You might sprinkle a little water, if the gravy becomes very dry.

4. Put the lime juice in the pan, and mix it well.

4. Pour the curry to a serving tray and garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

5. Serve hot.

Accompaniment: Best served with basmati rice/ Pulao