Methi (Fenugreek) Parathas

Parathas are wholesome lunch/dinner. In my household i serve them atleast 1 once a week and they are a great way to sneak in green leafy veggies to S. S hates eating spinach or methi as a vegetable but parathas are fine with him.

Recipe:

1 bunch of methi leaves cleaned and washed, chopped into fine pieces.

2 cups whole wheat flour

to this I usually add some rice flour too.

Salt to taste

2 tsps oil

water for kneading...add slowly to the mix

2 tsps cumin powder

2 tsps corriander powder

1 tsps red chillil powder

Mix and knead all the ingredients togehter to form a chappati-consistency dough. Cover and let it rest for 30 mins.
Lightly flour the rolling base and roll a lime size dough ball. I usually roll out parathas a little thicker than chappatis just because they taste better that way. Warm up a frying pan, when it is warm enough, transfer the paratha and roast it on both sides. Apply a little oil on the paratha and roast again. This step adds flavor to the dry roasting and the paratha tastes better. Sometimes for duckie, instead of oil I use ghee or butter.
Serve warm with ketchup, yougurt, chutney or just eat plain..like me:)

Easy corn nibblets

As you can see my baby loved these corn nibblets. And they were so easy to make. I used the frozen sweet corn kernels for these. But ofcourse if you have tiome, you can actually remove the kernels yourself. I made these as a snack for my duckie.

Recipe:

1/2 cup frozen sweetcorn kernels

1 tsp olive oil

salt to taste

dash of freshly ground black pepper

1/2 tsp cumin powder....optional

1/2 tsp corriander powder....optional

lemon juice for garnishing

Preparation:

Warm up olive oil in a pot and when hot add sweetcorn kernels to it. Add black pepper, cumin powder and corriander powder to it. Add salt to taste. Stirfry the corn till cooked and serve warm. Squeeze little lemon juice for tangy taste.

You can add many different ingredients to this dish and turn it to salad or snacks.

Enjoy

D

Chicken Malai Tikka

Now tikka is a general term. When anyone says tikka, the only thing people think of is the red colored chicken tikka. But there are so many different kinds of tikka. My fav beinig malai tikka, harayali tikka and ofcourse the "red" chicken tikka.

I had made this tikka for a barbecue party we had at my place. I marinated this chicken 2-3 days in advance and used ricotta chese for this recipe. The end product was creamy juicy melt-in-your-mouth Malai Tikka. The best thing is, this tikka is very mild and because of that kids enjoy it. My duckie loved this tikka and so did S.

Recipe:

1 pound boneless chicken cut and washed

1/2 container of low fat ricotta cheese

1/2 cup hung yogurt

1 tsp ginger-garlic paste

salt to taste

1 tsp white pepper (black will do) more if you want spicy tikkas

2-3 tsps oil for marinating

1 tsp cumin powder

1 tsp corriander powder

1/4 cup cashew powder

Preparation:
Marinate the chicken with all of the above ingredients and refrigerate for atleast 1 day. I grilled the chicken instead of baking it. My hubby S helped me with grilling. Skewer the chicken with an oiled skewer. Retain the leftover marinade. Turn the chicken twice on the grill making sure that it doesnt overcook. Baste the chicken with some oil and the leftover marinade. Serve hot with naan and onions or as it is.
If baking in oven, preheat the oven to 350F. Bake on a greased baking sheet till cooked. It takes approx. 25 mins. Broil for 5 mins to get the charred flavor.
Enjoy
D

Chicken Tikka

Everyone loves chicken tikka. Haven't met a chicken eating person who doesn't like chicken tikka. The best chicken tikka should have an explosion of flavors including the charred flavor from the charcoal. In INdia chicken tikka is mainly prepared in a tandoor oven. which is basically an open oven with burning coal. Chicken tikka tastes great as an appetizer, with a naan or even as a sandwich.
Chicken tikka is found in indian restaurants all over the world and my guess is it would be the most commonly ordered nonveg dish in any restaurant. My son loves chicken tikka and so does S. He loves to eat chicken tikka with naan and raw onions. That is a complete meal for him. While my little duckie loves to eat chicken tikka as it is. If it is too spicy then he doesnt eat the masala exterior but just the white meat inside.

In India there are many small places which sell just tandoori chicken and assorted tikkas. There was one near my place which me and my sister would often visit. Even now, whenever I go back, it is definetly on my to-do list.

For the above chicken tikka recipe, I have used couple of shortcuts. LIke use packaged masala instead of making my own masala. I really like shaan masalas. These masalas come with a direction on how to use it and if you follow the directions then the dish turns out excellent. These masalas are found only in U.S. and not in India. Till now I have sent my mom many masala packages. I have used hung yogurt for this recipe because the normal yogurt gets runny for marinating and its too much of wastage. If you dont have any time for hung yogurt then greek yogurt will do and if not then plain yogurt will do. Once I made the same dish with ricotta cheese instead of yogurt and the tikkas turned out melt-in your mouth creamy and delicious.

Recipe:

1 pound boneless chicken breast washed and cut into medium pieces.

1 tsp ginger-garlic paste

half packet of shaan tandoori chicken masala..more for spicy

2 tsp oil for marinating

1/2 cup of low fat hung yogurt

Preparation and Cooking

Take a mixing bowl and mix all the above ingredients together. Salt is not necessary as the masala packet already contains salt. Marinate the chicken for 1 day. If cooking the chicken on a grill, skewer the chicken and ask hubby for help with a cute smile. If cooking in a oven pre-heat the oven at 350F for 10 mins. Either use a skewer or oil a baking dish for the chicken. Cook the chicken till the chicken is just done around 20-25 mins. Then put the chicken in the broiler for the charred effect. Do this for just 5 mins as the chicken browns very quickly. If the chicken is kept for longer then it gets tough to chew and loses its moistness.

Enjoy the chicken with naan, onions, mint chutney.