Alfredo Chicken Boat

   

I had been waiting to try this recipe. It came out so good, you can fix this for dinner in 30 minutes and it will be gone in 3 minutes :-) . My kiddos & my husband praised me for every bite they took...so its a rewarding recipe too. We just finished having this for diner, trust me I haven't even done the dishes, I walked straight to the computer to write down the recipe before I forget.

So this is how I made it....

What you need to get started :


Chicken breast - 2 large
French bread - 1
Garlic powder
Oninon - 1 medium
Cream Cheese - 8 oz
Milk - 3/4 cup
Mozzarella cheese - 1 cup ( you can be generous if you want to, depends on ur heart ;) )
 butter - 2 tablespoons
Salt
Pepper
Parsley  -  to garnish


1)Cut the center portion out of the bread, like how you see in the pic. This portion that you cut out , you can eat it with the left over Alfredo sauce later.

2) Cook the chicken breast with salt and pepper, with 1-2 cups of water.Do not over cook it, it will become rubbery.

3) Once its ready, cut it into bite size pieces, not shredding, cut it into cubes.

4) In a pan, add a little ( 1-2 tablespoon ) butter, when it melts, add the chopped onion, when it becomes translucent, add garlic powder, the cream cheese cut into small cubes and let it melt, add the chicken stock to this so that the cream cheese won't get burnt.

5) The above, starts getting creamy, now add 1 cup of milk to this.And let the sauce get thick. Switch off.

6) Pour the above sauce into the boat. Top it with some mozzarella, and bake till cheese melts at 350 degree F. Garnish with some parsley.

7) You wouldn't have used all the sauce for the boat if you stuck to my measurements. So now you can enjoy the portion of the bread that you cut off in the beginning with this remaining sauce..

Next day morning, go for a good walk and burn 500 calories !!! 

Flaky biscuits with chicken filling

This one reminds me of the chicken puffs I used to enjoy when I was in Kerala. Anytime I visited a Bakery, I always made sure to have one of these. Anns and Jocees were always my favorite, also enjoyed some from Best Bakery. Can't wait to eat some of those when I visit next time. 

You can try different fillings for these biscuits. I did it with chicken and this is how I made it.


Ingredients :

Onion - 1 small
Ginger garlic paste - 1/2 teaspoon
Red chili powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Tomato - 1 medium- chopped small
Hot Buffalo Sauce  - 5-6 splashes
Tomato Ketchup - 3-4 tablespoons
Chicken breast/thighs boneless - cooked with salt and pepper and then shredded
Cheese - shredded ( optional) [ I used parmesan, that was the only one I had]
1 Jumbo can of Flaky biscuit dough

Butter melted - to brush over the biscuits when its taken out of the oven.


Method:

Keep the cooked shredded chicken aside.
Saute the onions, ginger garlic paste in oil, until the raw smell goes.
Then add the chopped tomatoes and let them cook.
Add the sauces.
Add the shredded chicken and mix well.
Check the taste, adjust by adding salt or sauce to suit your taste.
Slice each of the biscuit dough in half and add the filling to it.
Follow the instructions on the biscuit can. Bake at 375 - 400 F for 15 minutes, till you see the biscuit is cooked.

Enjoy it hot.

Taking down christmas decorations is emotionally nerve wrecking for me for several reasons, first being the christmas hols come to an end and life falls back to normal routine...😢 , next reason, kids get older every year , thank God I don't age 😇. This time we had to open all the gifts by December 22nd, because my little K who is 3 would not stop rolling on the floor till I let her open the gifts five minutes after I put them under the tree...so, then, I let the other sweetie pies in the house open theirs too. Lesson learnt - next time definitely the gifts go under the tree only on 24th evening after she is gone to bed... so, this way the kids have gifts to open on 25th morning. 

The girls felt Santa was bored alone, so let Lissy and Sasha, their dolls give company to Santa 😉

(P.S. they know there is no Santa and he is not real, a good friend gave this guy to the kids and we just put him next to the tree to add some color ;) 

 So, what makes this " taking down christmas decorations " less painful and less emotionally stressful is eating some comfort food. :-), thats when I decided to try this one.

We also had some Ethekka Appam ( Pazham Poree/ Banana Fritters) and Cutlets to munch while taking the lights down ....

Chilli chicken

I was looking for a good recipe for Chilli chicken and frankly speaking never came across one that I really wanted to try. So what I did, I tried to come with my own version of chilli chicken and we love it ! I had some guests over the other day, usually its naan and butter chicken or appam and stew , this time, it was naan and chilli chicken and they all loved it too !!! Well, batura goes very well with this chilli chicken, next time, batura and chilli chicken it is !

So here's what I did. The measurements are rough, so please alter to cater according to your taste. ( I wish I had typed down the recipe the day I cooked this :-} , I'd remember better.

Boneless Chicken 3 lbs ( Cut into bite size pieces)
Corn flour - 1/4 cup
Chilli powder - 1 table spoon
Pepper - 1 table spoon
Salt - to taste
ginger paste - 1 table spoon
garlic - 1/2 table spoon
Soy Sauce - 1/4 cup + or - according to your taste
Tomato Ketchup  - 2 tablespoons
Teriyaki Sauce - 2-3  splashes (optional)
Brown sugar - 1/2 teaspoon + or -
Onions - 2 medium ones or 1 large one ( cut in squares )
Green Bell peppers - 1 large one ( cut in squares)
Chicken Stock - 1 cup + or -

1) Take the cornflour , add the chilli powder, pepper and salt in it , add some one and whisk well, and make a smooth batter, not too runny.

2) Marinate the chicken pieces  in the batter and keep them for 2 hours.

3) Fry them up in batches. (they are too good, resist the temptation of eating them all of them while frying the next batch).

4) Then heat 2 tablespoons of oil, I prefer sesame oil, if you don't have that use canola or any flavorless oil and add 3-4 dry red chillies slit into the oil.

5) Add the chopped onions, saute well, till lightly golden and then add ginger garlic paste and saute till the raw smell goes and then add the chopped bell peppers and saute them too.

6) Add the soy sauce, chicken stock and let it simmer, to that add the other sauces too and the brown suar, check the taste adjust the sauces, add the fried chicken , if the gravy is too thin, add a teaspoon of corn flour with some warm water and make a smooth paste and add to the gravy, it will thicken, if you want more gravy, add some more chicken stock and adjust till you get the right consistency.

GARNISH WITH SOME SPRING ONIONS OR WHITE SESAME SEEDS, FOR SOME COLOR CONTRASTS :-) ENJOY !!!


Enjoy it with some Naan, batura, puri or some other roti . We had some ghee rice too. It tasted awesome !

Chilli chicken

I was looking for a good recipe for Chilli chicken and frankly speaking never came across one that I really wanted to try. So what I did, I tried to come with my own version of chilli chicken and we love it ! I had some guests over the other day, usually its naan and butter chicken or appam and stew , this time, it was naan and chilli chicken and they all loved it too !!! Well, batura goes very well with this chilli chicken, next time, batura and chilli chicken it is !

So here's what I did. The measurements are rough, so please alter to cater according to your taste. ( I wish I had typed down the recipe the day I cooked this :-} , I'd remember better.

Boneless Chicken 3 lbs ( Cut into bite size pieces)
Corn flour - 1/4 cup
Chilli powder - 1 table spoon
Pepper - 1 table spoon
Salt - to taste
ginger paste - 1 table spoon
garlic - 1/2 table spoon
Soy Sauce - 1/4 cup + or - according to your taste
Tomato Ketchup  - 2 tablespoons
Teriyaki Sauce - 2-3  splashes (optional)
Brown sugar - 1/2 teaspoon + or -
Onions - 2 medium ones or 1 large one ( cut in squares )
Green Bell peppers - 1 large one ( cut in squares)
Chicken Stock - 1 cup + or -

1) Take the cornflour , add the chilli powder, pepper and salt in it , add some one and whisk well, and make a smooth batter, not too runny.

2) Marinate the chicken pieces  in the batter and keep them for 2 hours.

3) Fry them up in batches. (they are too good, resist the temptation of eating them all of them while frying the next batch).

4) Then heat 2 tablespoons of oil, I prefer sesame oil, if you don't have that use canola or any flavorless oil and add 3-4 dry red chillies slit into the oil.

5) Add the chopped onions, saute well, till lightly golden and then add ginger garlic paste and saute till the raw smell goes and then add the chopped bell peppers and saute them too.

6) Add the soy sauce, chicken stock and let it simmer, to that add the other sauces too and the brown suar, check the taste adjust the sauces, add the fried chicken , if the gravy is too thin, add a teaspoon of corn flour with some warm water and make a smooth paste and add to the gravy, it will thicken, if you want more gravy, add some more chicken stock and adjust till you get the right consistency.

GARNISH WITH SOME SPRING ONIONS OR WHITE SESAME SEEDS, FOR SOME COLOR CONTRASTS :-) ENJOY !!!


Enjoy it with some Naan, batura, puri or some other roti . We had some ghee rice too. It tasted awesome !

Chicken Kabab

This easy peasy Chicken Kabab gets ready before you can finish counting 1, 2 and 3 !!! Oh well, that was an exaggeration, but it actually is so easy and tastes so good !

I just love having it on side of my plate when I make mutton Biriyani. Makes the plate so complete. And ofcours, it tastes so good. You can make bone- in or boneless chicken kabobs. I made boneless chicken thigh kababs this time.

this is what you need for marinating the chicken

Chicken - 2 - 2 1/4 lb( 1 kg)
Chilli powder - 1-2 teaspoon, depending on how spicy you want it
Garam masala - 1 tbsp
1/2 tsp red food color
Corriander leaves - - 1tbsp ground
Kasoori Mathi - 1 teaspoon
Ginger garlic paste - 1 tbsp
Yogurt - 2 tbsp
Lemon juice - 1-2 tbsp
Salt to taste


1. Marinate the chicken, rubbing it well with the above ingredient. Keep it aside for 6-8 hours.
2. Deep fry the chicken in oil. If the oil freaks you out, then I would suggest you bake it in an oven at 400 degree F or 200 degree C for 40 minutes. Serve it hot. Do not over bake it, else it loses its moisture and may get chewy.

Enjoy it hot with some hot rice and rasam or plain white rice and sambhar. Or with some mutton biriyani.... Yumm !!!!

Chicken Biriyani

It feels so good to post something here after almost 2 months ! Wooohooooo !!!! And definitely I should start by posting my all time favorite food - BIRIYANI :-)  Why don't I ever get tired of eating this :-) hmmm.... never seemed to have found an answer to that very interesting question. So, lemme give a background of posting this. My very dear friend gifted me a special vessel to cook biryani, I think this can make biriyani for at least 12- 15 people, wish I had taken a better click of the "paathram". Next time ! Mutton Biriyani is my all time favorite, but since this friend came home on a short notice, I had to make biriyani with the chicken that was readily available at home. Made some easy chicken Kababs to go with it. 

What you need to get started 

Basmati Rice - 5 cups ( U.S. measuring cup ) ( I used Royal Basmati rice)
Chicken - 1.1/2 kgs
Onions - Large yellow ones from Costco - 2 No.s
Tomatoes  - 3 no.s
Pearl Onions or Shallots (Kochulli )- 10 no.s
Pudina (mint leaves) - a handful
Malliella ( coriander leaver )- a hand full or a little more
Curry leaves - nice large sprig
Green chillies - 7-8 ( depending on your tolerance )
Ginger - 3 tablespoons ( chopped )
Garlic  - 2 table spoons ( chopped )
Curd - 2 table spoons
Lemon Juice - 2 tablespoons ( Add more if you like the tangy flavor)
Poppy seeds - 2 tablespoons
Almonds - 10 nos.
Raisins - ( I use the black ones ) - 3 tablespoons ( you can use 2, if you want to reduce that sweet flavor , I really love that taste and smell )
Spices:
Cinnamon - 1-2 inch long
Cloves 4-5
Fennel seeds- a teaspoon
Star anise - 2 nos.
Bayleaf 2-3
Elachi  3-4
Vanilla essence 2 table spoons
Milk 5-6 table spoons
Yellow food color if you want
Salt - ofcourse :-)
Method

1. Soak the raisins, poppy seeds and almonds in 3-4 table spoons of hot water, keep aside
2. Start frying the large onions, the whole thing should be fried to a golden brown color and kept aside. (Don't fry it too dark, it darkens as it sits)
3. Make a paste of the Tomatoes, pudhina, malliella, green chillies.
4. On your pester mortar or if you don't have one, in your small grinder jar, make a paste of the ginger garlic. In malayalam, I would say, chathechedutha paruvam.
5. Soak the rice.
6.Add dalda or ghee or oil into the pan. I generally use Dalda and ghee. Add the raw spices, Cinnamon, Cloves, Elachi, Star anise, Fennel seeds, Bay leaf
7. Add the sliced pearl onions with the curry leaves. This brings a good aroma in the house, pearl onions, curry leaves cooking in ghee, makes an Indian house smell good ;) bringing back memories of home in kerala.
8. Once that is sautéed , add the paste of ginger garlic.
After the raw smell of that goes, add the paste of tomatoes, mint leaves, coriander leaves and green chillies.
9. Once the raw smell goes, add the chicken and cook for 5-10 mins., closed with a lid, stirring in between. At this point, you may want to add the salt.
10. Add 3/4 portion of the "Bista" now.Keep cooking
11. Add the paste of raisins, poppy seeds and almonds.Keep cooking
12. Add Yogurt, let it still keep cooking
13. Finally the lemon juice.
Check the taste, let the chicken cook till its 80 -85 % done.

(Within 20 minutes, your chicken should be almost done cooking. Add needed amount of salt as needed.)

Then comes the story of rice

1. Don't soak the rice for more than 30 minutes.
2. Keep a big pot of water to boil, and once it boils, add the raw spices, 1 cinnamon stick, 3-4 cloves, 2 star anise, 2-3 bay leaves, Elachi 3-4, add the rice and then some salt ( this is your last chance to decide the right amount of salt for your biriyani). Now, keep checking the rice, when you think its 70-75% done drain it in a colander

Marriage between the Chicken and Rice

1. In the same pot, in which the chicken is getting cooked, spread the 75 % cooked rice adding some vanilla essence milk and saffron mixed in a bowl in between the layers of rice , along with some chopped coriander leaves and mint leaves.

2. Close the lid tight, I didn't need to use maida around the lid, because the lid of this pot is very heavy and doesn't let any vapor escape. I let it cook on medium low flame for another 20 minutes and LO and BEHOLD !!! the biriyani is ready and when you open the lid, the smell of the biriyani is irresistible. ATTACK while its hot with some cold raita and nice narenga achaar ( lime pickle). Hmmmm... :-) Need I describe more ?


Enjoy!!!

 This was done in the Dum style, for the baking in oven in layers style , click here 

Chicken Biriyani

It feels so good to post something here after almost 2 months ! Wooohooooo !!!! And definitely I should start by posting my all time favorite food - BIRIYANI :-)  Why don't I ever get tired of eating this :-) hmmm.... never seemed to have found an answer to that very interesting question. So, lemme give a background of posting this. My very dear friend gifted me a special vessel to cook biryani, I think this can make biriyani for at least 12- 15 people, wish I had taken a better click of the "paathram". Next time ! Mutton Biriyani is my all time favorite, but since this friend came home on a short notice, I had to make biriyani with the chicken that was readily available at home. Made some easy chicken Kababs to go with it. 

What you need to get started 

Basmati Rice - 5 cups ( U.S. measuring cup ) ( I used Royal Basmati rice)
Chicken - 1.1/2 kgs
Onions - Large yellow ones from Costco - 2 No.s
Tomatoes  - 3 no.s
Pearl Onions or Shallots (Kochulli )- 10 no.s
Pudina (mint leaves) - a handful
Malliella ( coriander leaver )- a hand full or a little more
Curry leaves - nice large sprig
Green chillies - 7-8 ( depending on your tolerance )
Ginger - 3 tablespoons ( chopped )
Garlic  - 2 table spoons ( chopped )
Curd - 2 table spoons
Lemon Juice - 2 tablespoons ( Add more if you like the tangy flavor)
Poppy seeds - 2 tablespoons
Almonds - 10 nos.
Raisins - ( I use the black ones ) - 3 tablespoons ( you can use 2, if you want to reduce that sweet flavor , I really love that taste and smell )
Spices:
Cinnamon - 1-2 inch long
Cloves 4-5
Fennel seeds- a teaspoon
Star anise - 2 nos.
Bayleaf 2-3
Elachi  3-4
Vanilla essence 2 table spoons
Milk 5-6 table spoons
Yellow food color if you want
Salt - ofcourse :-)
Method

1. Soak the raisins, poppy seeds and almonds in 3-4 table spoons of hot water, keep aside
2. Start frying the large onions, the whole thing should be fried to a golden brown color and kept aside. (Don't fry it too dark, it darkens as it sits)
3. Make a paste of the Tomatoes, pudhina, malliella, green chillies.
4. On your pester mortar or if you don't have one, in your small grinder jar, make a paste of the ginger garlic. In malayalam, I would say, chathechedutha paruvam.
5. Soak the rice.
6.Add dalda or ghee or oil into the pan. I generally use Dalda and ghee. Add the raw spices, Cinnamon, Cloves, Elachi, Star anise, Fennel seeds, Bay leaf
7. Add the sliced pearl onions with the curry leaves. This brings a good aroma in the house, pearl onions, curry leaves cooking in ghee, makes an Indian house smell good ;) bringing back memories of home in kerala.
8. Once that is sautéed , add the paste of ginger garlic.
After the raw smell of that goes, add the paste of tomatoes, mint leaves, coriander leaves and green chillies.
9. Once the raw smell goes, add the chicken and cook for 5-10 mins., closed with a lid, stirring in between. At this point, you may want to add the salt.
10. Add 3/4 portion of the "Bista" now.Keep cooking
11. Add the paste of raisins, poppy seeds and almonds.Keep cooking
12. Add Yogurt, let it still keep cooking
13. Finally the lemon juice.
Check the taste, let the chicken cook till its 80 -85 % done.

(Within 20 minutes, your chicken should be almost done cooking. Add needed amount of salt as needed.)

Then comes the story of rice

1. Don't soak the rice for more than 30 minutes.
2. Keep a big pot of water to boil, and once it boils, add the raw spices, 1 cinnamon stick, 3-4 cloves, 2 star anise, 2-3 bay leaves, Elachi 3-4, add the rice and then some salt ( this is your last chance to decide the right amount of salt for your biriyani). Now, keep checking the rice, when you think its 70-75% done drain it in a colander

Marriage between the Chicken and Rice

1. In the same pot, in which the chicken is getting cooked, spread the 75 % cooked rice adding some vanilla essence milk and saffron mixed in a bowl in between the layers of rice , along with some chopped coriander leaves and mint leaves.

2. Close the lid tight, I didn't need to use maida around the lid, because the lid of this pot is very heavy and doesn't let any vapor escape. I let it cook on medium low flame for another 20 minutes and LO and BEHOLD !!! the biriyani is ready and when you open the lid, the smell of the biriyani is irresistible. ATTACK while its hot with some cold raita and nice narenga achaar ( lime pickle). Hmmmm... :-) Need I describe more ?


Enjoy!!!

 This was done in the Dum style, for the baking in oven in layers style , click here 

Homemade Chicken Tikka & Home made Naan :-)

I don't think I'll ever buy naan from the stores again. If you haven't tried this before, please go ahead and try this naan ! This recipe is absolutely brilliant...

Naan

250 gm plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp yeast
1 tsp sugar ( I added 1 tblsp :-) )
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp yogurt
100 ml milk
2 tbsp vegetable oil
water

1) Mix the above ingredients and make a nice smooth dough. Keep it aside for at least 2 hours, let it rise.

2) Divide it into equal portions and flatten it using a rolling pin into tear shaped shapes.

3) First cook one side on the frying pan, and prick it with fork, while its cooking. (Please don't forget to prick it with fork, else it will puff up like poori in the oven while baking. Remember, we cook only one side on the frying pan.)

4) With the one side done like below, place it on the tray to broil it in the oven. ( Remember we cook only one side, I just flipped it in the pic below to show you how the cooked side looks like)

Pic Below: Thats how I placed them on my baking tray. Keep watching them as you broil them in the oven.

5) Broil it for a few minutes, till you get the desired color.

Once you take it out of the oven, rub butter over it.

To make garlic butter naan, Grate some garlic, and for color, add some chopped coriander, on one side of the naan, and then broil it.

These naan are no doubt, the most tasty ones I have ever eaten !!!!

Buffalo Chicken wings

So simple, So tasty, you don't have to run to the stores to buy them. Just stock some wings in your freezer, when you are in a mood to eat 'em. Cook 'em and enjoy Homemade Buffalo Chicken Wings !!! Crispy and Hot !!!

Canola Oil for frying
Chicken wings 12 ( separate them into two )
Frank's hot pepper sauce ( around 1/2 cup or more )
1/2 cup butter
Several dashes of Worcestershire sauce


Preheat oven to 325 degree F.
Heat Canola oil in a deep frying pan.
Fry the chicken wings in batches till they are golden brown and fully cooked
 ( roughly 5 minutes)
In a saucepan, heat the Franks hot pepper sauce and butter over medium heat. Then add the Worcestershire sauce and Tobasco sauce. Once it bubbles switch off.
Place the wings in an ovenproof dish and pour hot sauce over the top.Coat well and bake for 15 minutes.

Kerala Biriyani

This is a very simple recipe. It takes just minutes before you can satisfy your craving. Before you run to the  Biryani place to satisfy your biriyani craving through the traffic, you can make this and enjoy even leftovers.

Best part is, you don't even have to grind the ginger garlic or use the grinder to crush the onions etc... in other words, you don't have to touch your mixi :-) Less cleaning !!!

Chicken - 1kg

Basmati Rice - 4 cups ( US measuring cup)

Onion - 3-4 ( 3-large or 4 medium)

Tomatoes - 3 large

Green chillies - 5-6

Ginger Garlic - chopped finely 2-3 table spoons ( heap)

Whole spices 

Cinnamon -  2" sticks - 2

Cloves 5-6

Elachi - 4-5

Star Anise - 3-4

Bayleaves - 4-5

Fennel Powder -  1 - 1.5 teaspoon

Garam masala powder - 1- 1.5 teaspoon

Marinate the chicken with

Salt

Lemon juice - 1 whole lemon

Yogurt - 2-3 tablespoons

Coriander leaves - chopped 2-3 handfuls

Mint leaves - chopped 1 handful or more ( I added more)

Tumeric - 1 teaspoon

Chilli powder - 1.5 tablespoon

Coriander powder - 2 tablespoon

Green Chillies chopped

Keep this aside for 10-15 minutes. During this time, you will start sautéing the onions, etc.



1) Heat oil in a kadai ( you can use either ghee or Dalda).
2) Add the whole spices to it.
3) Add the sliced onions and sauté well, it becomes nicely brown but making sure its not burnt.
4) Add the ginger garlic and sauté.
5) Add the tomatoes and let them cook till they are totally mashed up and oil clears on the top.
6) Now add the marinated chicken along with the water in the marinade into the pan, and stir well. Add the fennel powder and the garam masala powder. Mix well. Cover and cook for 10 minutes.
7)Boil water in a pot. Add into it some whole spices and add the rice into it when the water starts boiling.
8) When the rice is around 70 % cooked. Drain it and spread it over the chicken that is being cooked.
9) Cover and cook in medium low flame for 20 minutes.

Switch off when you see the rice, almost standing up. Its a sign that its cooked well.

Enjoy this hot, with some Raita, achar and pappadom :-). There is nothing more tastier that home cooked biriyani and then eating the leftovers the next day !!!