Burmese Golden Egg Curry

Burmese Golden Egg Curry

We Bawas (Parsees) love eggs. Be it boiled, fried, scrambled, akoori-bhurji or then the ‘par edu’ dishes for which we break eggs over any and every thing possible. The ‘E’ word is a very ‘O’ word for us Bawas :D Being the eccentric perfectionist that I am, I waited a couple of days until I could lay my paws on fish sauce because I refused to make this dish without it. I got the fish sauce yesterday afternoon. I knew nothing was going to stop me from making this dish today ;-)

Simple flavors bordering on tangy because of the tomatoes, the fried texture of perfectly golden eggs and that hint of fish sauce, they all come together so beautifully.

Ingredients:

6 eggs

100 mils refined oil
3 shallots, thinly sliced
1 red onions, chopped
½ teaspoon turmeric powder
1 tablespoon curry powder (I used Mangal brand)
1 green chilies, sliced
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1¼ inch ginger, peeled and chopped 
Salt to taste
1 teaspoon fish sauce
4 tomatoes, chopped

Method:

1. Boil the eggs and peel. Set aside.
2. Heat oil in a wide pan over high heat. 
3. Carefully slip the eggs into the hot oil and fry for 3 to 4 minutes covering pan with a lid. 
4. Fry till golden in color on all sides. Remove eggs from the pan and drain on kitchen towel.
5. Put the pan back on the hob; add the onions, shallots and cook for few minutes.
6. Add salt, turmeric powder, curry powder, chilies, garlic, ginger and tomatoes. 
7. Cook over medium heat till tomatoes are soft and sauce becomes smooth. Add little water during making sauce if necessary.
8. Add fish sauce. 
9. Add fried eggs.
10. Simmer for 5 minutes and serve with plain rice or parathas.

Chef’s Notes:

1. I increased the number of chilies to three as I like the hit of spice in my mouth. If your taste buds can tolerate slightly high spice levels, I'd definitely advise you to use three chilies.
2. The tomatoes I used were ripe and bright red but were sour, more so than what I prefer, I therefore added one teaspoon of sugar to the gravy to balance the flavor.
3. I fried 5 eggs but I didn't fry one of them because I wanted to keep it pristinely clean for my blog pics. That’s the half egg you see in the center. 
4. This recipe is courtesy Harry Punwani, a fellow foodie, a friend, at Facebook.
5. You may share the direct blog-link of the recipe/s but do NOT publish my recipes and my photographs on any blog-site or website without my explicit consent or attempt to pass off my recipe/s as your own. You will be held accountable for plagiarism. 

Creamy Egg Curry

Creamy Egg Curry

I have Srinanda Sen (Denzy - my bestie) to thank for this light and easy recipe. Most of her recipes are low-cal because, unlike me, she is extremely health conscious. As we sat sipping on cup(s) of Twinings Assam at our 'tapri' (Le Meridien), we happened to discuss food and cooking. That's when she told me of this recipe. A recipe her mom used to regularly make at home. Babes, thank you for sharing this with me <3

Ingredients:

1 big onion

1 inch ginger

2-3 green chilies

½ liter milk

1-2 tablespoons oil

Salt to taste

3 eggs, boiled and shelled

¼ teaspoon Bengali garam masala powder

A couple of sprigs coriander to garnish (optional)

Method:

1. Grind the onion, ginger and chilies to a fine paste. (You may not need to use any water as the water from the onion will be quite enough)
2. Heat oil. Add the ground paste and sauté well till the paste changes to a darker color and the onions are cooked.
3. Take off from fire. After 2-3 minutes, gradually add warm milk and stir to blend the milk well with the fried onion/ginger/chilies paste.
4. Put the vessel back on slow fire and allow it to heat up. Stir continuously.
5. Let the gravy boil on low heat till you achieve the desired thick consistency for the gravy. (I prefer it thick and creamy because that is more delicious)
6. When desired consistency is nearly achieved, make a small slits in the eggs and slide them into the curry.
7. Allow the curry to simmer for a couple of minutes.
8. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with steamed rice. 

Chef’s Note: 

1. This is a mild flavored recipe. The flavors are subtle but the garam masala lifts the recipe to an aromatic high.
2. The recipe calls for boiled eggs to be slit and then lowered into the curry but I cut them in half because I wanted to click colorful pics for my blog.
3. For Bengali garam masala, grind equal amounts of cinnamon, cloves and cardamom to a powder. Bottle, store and use as and when needed.
4. I was petrified that the milk would curdle but Denzy had reassured me it wouldn't. It didn't!
5. This recipe is courtesy my bestie, Srinanda Sen (Denzy, to me).
6. Not all my recipes are spicy, oily or complicated. I do cook light and easy food….. once in a while :P ;) 
7. You may share the direct blog-link of the recipe/s but do NOT publish my recipes and my photographs on any blog-site or website without my explicit consent or attempt to pass off my recipe/s as your own. You will be held accountable for plagiarism.
   
   

Chicken Ghee Roast

Chicken Ghee Roast

This one is definitely not for the faint hearted (read: delicate stomach). Only those with a ‘brawny-tummy’ should go for this. People used to Kolhapuri and Goan food will freak out on this, for the rest of you, here’s a disclaimer… make it at your own risk ;-)

Ingredients:

1 kilo chicken (cut to medium pieces)

Juice of 1 lemon

100 grams curds/yogurt

1 teaspoon turmeric powder

Salt to taste

30 long red chilies (Kashmiri)

8 small red dry chilies or dry red Gavran chilies

1 tablespoon coriander seeds

¾ teaspoon cumin seeds

2 teaspoons peppercorns

½ teaspoon fenugreek seeds

15 large garlic flakes

A small one inch ball tamarind

1 cup ghee

5½ teaspoons sugar 

Few curry leaves

2 tablespoons coriander leaves, chopped

Pic taken with flash 'on'

Method:

1. Marinate chicken in yogurt/curds, salt, turmeric powder and lemon juice. Refrigerate for 4 hours or more. 
2. Soak the tamarind in 3 tablespoons hot water.
3. Roast long and small red chilies, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, peppercorn and fenugreek seeds and grind along with tamarind and garlic to thick and fine paste.
4. Place a large pan on medium high flame and add 1/4 cup ghee, when ghee is hot add all the marinated chicken and cook till almost done. Transfer the chicken to a vessel. Reserve the liquid released by the chicken in the separate bowl. Keep this aside.
5. To the same pan add remaining ghee and add the masala paste, fry for 5 to 7 minutes till the raw smell disappears and oil leaves the side of the masala.
6. Now add the fried chicken, check for seasoning balance, and half cup of reserved liquid. Fry for 5 to 7 minutes till the masala dries up.
7. Now add sugar, curry leaves and coriander leaves. Take off flame and serve.

Chef’s Notes:

1. This is an extremely hot (spicy) dish so if you are planning to use the amount of chilies mentioned you're going to need a fire brigade to douse the fire within. If you aren't used to spicy stuff I would advise you to reduce the quantity of chilies.
2. As in regard to marinating the chicken for 4 hours or more, I concentrated on the word ‘more’ and marinated it overnight, in the fridge. I would definitely advise that because I believe when marinated overnight the flavors infuse better.
3. The amount of sugar mentioned is five and half teaspoons. Even after having added that the chicken was spicy as hell but the flavors were perfectly balanced.
4. This recipe is courtesy Cherie's Stolen Recipes.
5. You may share the direct blog-link of the recipe/s but do NOT publish my recipes and my photographs on any blog-site or website without my explicit consent or attempt to pass off my recipe/s as your own. You will be held accountable for plagiarism. 

Turia Par Eda – Eggs on Ridge Gourd

Turia Par Eda – Eggs on Ridge Gourd

(Parsi lingo: Edu = one egg / Eda = many eggs)

We Bawas (Parsees) are known for our love of eggs. Give us anything, be it vegetable or meat, and we'll do our best to cook it in a way just so we can break eggs over it. Yes, we truly are famous for breaking eggs over anything and everything. Here's one such recipe. :-)

Ingredients:

1 kilo turai/ridge gourd, peeled and cut into small pieces

300 grams onions, finely chopped

5 tomatoes, chopped

1- 1½ teaspoon green chilies, finely chopped

1½ teaspoon ginger-garlic paste

50 grams coriander leaves, finely chopped

¾ teaspoon cumin, crushed

3 - 4 tablespoons oil

Salt to taste

6 eggs

Method:

1. Heat oil in a thick bottomed pan or wok. 
2. Add onions, green chilies and sauté till soft and translucent.
3. Add ginger-garlic paste and sauté for 3 minutes on low fire.
4. Add the crushed cumin, salt and sauté a bit. 
5. Add the tomatoes and sauté on medium flame till they soften and oil separates.
6. Add the gourd pieces and sauté for a minute. Cover and cook on very slow fire till the vegetable is cooked. It should not be watery. The consistency should be soft and thick.
7. Add coriander leaves and cook for two more minutes.
8. Spread the vegetable in a non-stick frying pan.
9. Once you spread the vegetable, press the vegetable at six places to make gentle dents.
10. Break an egg into each dent. Sprinkle a wee bit of salt over the eggs. 
11. Cover and cook till eggs are cooked to desired consistency (soft yolk or hard yolk)
    
    
    
    
    Chef’s Notes:
    
    
    1. Alternately, you can also separate the whites from the yolks, beat the whites quite stiff, add the yolks and beat again, layer that over the turai and cook on low flame till the eggs set. This sets like a soft mousse over the turai mixture.
    2. I used 2½ teaspoons green chilies because my preference tilts towards hot stuff (no pun intended) :D 
    3. You may share the direct blog-link of the recipe/s but do NOT publish my recipes and my photographs on any blog-site or website without my explicit consent or attempt to pass off my recipe/s as your own. You will be held accountable for plagiarism. 
    

Shami Kababs

Shami Kababs

When it comes to recipes that have little or no oil what better person to ask than a physiotherapist or a dietician. My physiotherapist (Sabi) loves to cook which is why we invariably end up discussing food and recipes. This is a recipe that demands very little oil and yet, it’s delicious! All diet-conscious carnivores are going to love this one. 

Ingredients:

½ kilo boneless mutton cut into chana boti

4 small onions, each cut into 6 pieces

7 cloves

12 cloves garlic

½ inch ginger, chopped

½ teaspoon fennel seeds/saunf

½ teaspoon cumin seeds

12-14 peppercorns

10 dry red Kashmiri chilies

6 green chilies, each snapped into two

Salt, to taste

½ inch cinnamon

1 bay leaf

½ cup chana dal/split Bengal gram

A large handful of coriander leaves, chopped

A handful mint leaves, chopped

1½ teaspoon Shami Kabab masala (I used Laziz brand)

1 egg, lightly beaten

Oil, to shallow fry

Method:

1. Wash chana dal, soak in water for 15 minutes. Drain. Keep aside.
2. In a pressure cook add chana boti, onions, cloves, garlic, ginger, fennel seeds, cumin seeds, peppercorns, dry red Kashmiri chilies, green chilies, cinnamon, bay leaf and chana dal. Add salt to taste.
3. Add bare minimum water, just as much is needed without the contents burning and pressure cook till boti is cooked. (I used ½ cup water)
4. If there is water when you open the cooker, simmer the contents till all the water dries up completely.
5. Discard the bay leaf.
6. Cool the contents of the pressure cooker and grind in a mixer to a smooth paste. Do NOT add any water when you grind.
7. Add chopped coriander leaves, mint leaves, Shami Kabab masala and mix well.
8. Add one egg to the mince.
9. Shape the mince into flat round shami kababs.
10. Heat oil and shallow fry the kababs. Serve with chutney or sauce of your choice. 

Chef’s Notes:

1. This is a low-cal recipe as the kababs are to be shallow fried because the mutton is already precooked.
2. For all of you wondering what chana boti is. Boneless mutton cut as small as chana/gram is called chana boti. Smile a sweet smile at your butcher and request him to do it for you ;-) coz doing this at home is darn cumbersome.
3. If you do not wish to grind the whole spices/khada masala that are added to the mutton in the pressure cooker, feel free to remove them before grinding the cooked mutton.
4. This recipe is courtesy my physio, Dr Sabiha Nagani. 
5. You may share the direct blog-link of the recipe/s but do NOT publish my recipes and my photographs on any blog-site or website without my explicit consent or attempt to pass off my recipe/s as your own. You will be held accountable for plagiarism. 

Pan-Grilled Caribbean Jerk Chicken

Pan-Grilled Caribbean Jerk Chicken

This is one of the simplest chicken recipes ever! I love to cook elaborate recipes but there are days when I’m hard-pressed for time. On such days a recipe as simple and delicious as this definitely comes in handy. 

Ingredients:

8 chicken drumsticks, wash and make slits over the thickest part of the meat

1½ teaspoon garlic paste

2 teaspoons Caribbean Jerk Seasoning

3-4 teaspoons Hot sauce (store bought)

2 teaspoons red Paprika powder

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black peppercorns

1 teaspoon dry coriander leaf powder

Salt, to taste

Oil, to pan-grill

Method:

1. Mix the garlic paste, Caribbean Jerk Seasoning, Hot Sauce, Paprika powder, freshly ground pepper and dry coriander leaf powder to make a marinade. Check for seasoning and add salt only if needed.
2. Marinate the chicken drumsticks in the marinade. Leave it overnight in the fridge.
3. Heat oil in a non-stick pan. Add the chicken pieces and fry on low to medium heat. The total time needed to fry the drumsticks will be about 14-15 minutes. Serve with salad and/or sauce of your choice.
   
   Chef’s Note:
   
   
   1. Please use salt sparingly because Hot Sauce and Jerk Seasoning, both, are high in salt content.
   2. I used the imported Jerk Seasoning (store bought) which is why I have no clue what you can substitute it with. The ingredients on the bottle mention all spice, mixed spices, thyme, cayenne pepper, sugar. As for the Hot Sauce, feel free to substitute it with Tabasco Sauce.
   3. To make dry coriander leaf powder, wash fresh coriander leaves. Pat them dry on a kitchen towel (paper). Take another double layer of kitchen towel (paper), wrap the coriander leaves in it and put them in the fridge. (I put in on the shelf, on the door of the fridge.) A fortnight later check to see if it’s dried. You should be able to crumble it to a powder with your fingers. Store in the fridge in the same paper and use as and when required.
   4. If you are hard-pressed for time, marinate the chicken for an hour or two. It's quite okay to do that.
   5. Frying time will increase or decrease by a minute or two depending on the size of the drumsticks used, but I can vouch from experience that a bird weighing 1200 grams will take 14-15 minutes to cook when pan-grilling (even regular frying).
   6. I used drumsticks but feel free to use a mix cut of pieces if you so desire.
   7. Pan-grilling is done in very little oil, especially if done in a non-stick pan so use oil only as needed.
   8. This method of pan-grilling chicken works best when you wish to save on fuel-gas (no oven/grill usage) and on calories. 
   9. You may share the direct blog-link of the recipe/s but do NOT publish my recipes and my photographs on any blog-site or website without my explicit consent or attempt to pass off my recipe/s as your own. You will be held accountable for plagiarism. 
   
   
   Bon Appetit!!

Chicken Kiev

Chicken Kiev

This is for special occasions. Not only that, for all the work involved, I only make this for special people. ;-) This recipe is not a walk in the park but once you make it and taste it, i promise, you will tell yourself it was worth the effort you put into it. This Chicken Kiev comes to you with a selection of five sides. I made all five for all you lovely people out there but you can pick and choose the one/s you like best and make just one or two when you give this recipe a try.

Ingredients for Herb Butter:

120 grams butter, softened to room temperature

3 tablespoons parsley, finely chopped (or 1 teaspoon dry parsley)

Freshly ground pepper to taste

4-6 cloves garlic, chopped very fine

½ -1 teaspoon lime juice, or to taste

Method:

1. Mix all the above ingredients. Feel free to adjust the lime juice and garlic to your liking.
2. Taste the mixture and feel free to add some salt if you feel the mixture requires it.
3. Divide the mixture into four parts. Place each mixture on an individual piece of plastic cling wrap or wax paper and roll it tightly into a log and freeze it till it hardens.  

Ingredients for Cheese filling:

80 grams Philadelphia cream cheese

1 teaspoon carrot, chopped as fine as mince

1 teaspoon green bell pepper, chopped as fine as mince

1 teaspoon red bell pepper, chopped as fine as mince

1 teaspoon yellow bell pepper, chopped as fine as mince

2 teaspoons button mushrooms, chopped as fine as mince 

Method:

1. Mix all the above ingredients.
2. Spread it out, in about ¾ inch thickness, in a plate. Put it in the fridge to chill for 3-4 hours. Do not put this in the freezer.

Ingredients for the Kiev:

4 boneless chicken breasts

Salt, to taste

Freshly ground pepper, to taste

2-3 eggs

2 tablespoons milk

2 cups Panko bread crumbs

Salt, to taste

Pepper, to taste

Oil, for frying

Method: 

1. Use a sharp knife, make a deep cut along one side of each chicken breast to slice it open and ‘butterfly’ it (do not cut all the way through).
   
   
   
   
2. Use a meat mallet, gently tenderize and flatten the breast pieces until they are about 1/4 - 1/3 inch thick.
   
   
   
   
3. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper.
4. Bring out the herb butter from the freezer and the cheese mixture from the fridge.
5. Divide the cheese into 4 portions.
   
6. Take a flattened chicken breast. Place one portion of the butter and one portion of the cheese mixture on one end of the chicken breast. Fold the chicken over it n roll it into the shape of a log. (if the chicken breast you're using are not very large in size then feel free to reduce the size of the herbed butter stick and also reduce the quantity of the cheese filling as you don’t want the filling to ooze out when it is being fried)
   
   
   
   
7. Repeat with the other three chicken breasts.
8. Tightly wrap each log-rolled chicken breast, separately, in cling wrap and keep it in the fridge for 2-4 hours.
9. Season the Panko with some salt and pepper.
10. Lightly beat the eggs with milk.
    
    
    
    
11. Heat oil in a non-stick pan. Remove the chicken logs from the cling wrap; dip in egg/milk wash and roll it in the seasoned Panko breadcrumbs.
12. Fry the chicken, sealed side down, and cook on medium heat till golden brown. Approx 5 -6 minutes on each side.
13. Transfer to a kitchen paper towel to drain. Serve with Buttered corn rice or Buttery mashed potatoes or Pesto pasta or Philadelphia Cheese sauce or Oven roasted peppers. (Recipes posted below)
    
    

Philadelphia Cheese Sauce

 Ingredients:

120 grams Philadelphia cheese

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon butter

Seasoning, only if required

Method:

1. Melt the butter, add minced garlic and sauté till you get a nice garlicky aroma but do not burn.
2. Add Philadelphia cream cheese and mix well on a low heat.
3. Gradually add 140 -150 mils milk and stir until sauce is at desired consistency. If you want a thinner sauce feel free to add more milk. Check seasoning and add as required.

Buttered Corn Rice

 Ingredients:

5-6 tablespoons butter

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

100 grams golden corn (I use Green Giant)

1½ cups cooked long grain rice

Method:

1. Melt butter in a wok. Add freshly ground pepper, 100 grams golden corn and sauté for a few seconds.
2. Add 1½ cups of cooked long grain rice and stir fry gently for a minute to ensure the ingredients are well blended. Serve!

Pesto Pasta

 Ingredients:

150 grams spaghetti/penne/fettuccine

1 bottle ready pesto (I used Green Tokri)

A few pine nuts, lightly roasted to a golden brown

A wee bit of freshly ground pepper

1 teaspoon olive oil

Method:

1. Heal water in a large vessel. Add salt to the water.
2. When the water comes to a rolling boil, add the paste (of your choice) and cook till al dente. (I prefer mine softer)
3. Drain the pasta thoroughly in a colander. Spread the pasta in a large plate to ensure it doesn't stick and turn lumpy.
4. Heat olive oil; add the pesto from the bottle and sauté to heat it evenly.
5. Add the drained pasta, freshly ground pepper.
6. Thrown in half the pine nuts and use the other half to garnish.

Oven Roasted Peppers

 Ingredients:

1 green bell pepper

1 red bell pepper

1 yellow bell pepper

Salt, to taste

Freshly ground pepper, to taste

1-2 teaspoons olive oil

Method:

1. Line a baking tray/sheet with two sheets of aluminum foil.
2. Cut the bell peppers into ½ inch strips.
3. Add the freshly ground pepper to the olive oil.
4. Add the peppers to the oil and mix well ensuring that the oil is evenly distributed over the peppers.
5. Preheat an oven to 200 deg C.
6. Place the baking sheet on the middle rack of the preheated oven and bake them for about 20 minutes. Turn the slices with the help of tongs after 8-10 minutes and allow them to bake till done. Roasted bell peppers should be tender and brown or charred in spots when they're done.

Chef’s Notes:

1. The herb butter can be made and put in the freezer a day in advance.
2. Do not mince the vegetables for the cheese mixture. I've written ‘mince’ to give you an idea of how finely you will have to chop the vegetables.
3. Please remember NOT to put the cheese mixture in the freezer. It goes into the fridge section.
4. I suggest you use one cup of Panko at a time and add more breadcrumbs as you need it because Panko breadcrumbs are much more expensive than the regular breadcrumbs and you wouldn't want to waste them. If you don’t wish to use Panko, feel free to use regular bread crumbs. I used Panko for this recipe because it ensures a crisp coating on the chicken.
5. If you are health conscious feel free to use olive oil to fry the chicken instead of regular oil. Alternately, you can use lesser quantity of oil (white or olive), cook the chicken on high heat for 2-3 minutes till light brown on all sides, then transfer the Kiev’s to a baking tray and bake at 160-180 deg C for 20-25 minutes till golden brown and cooked through.
6. I've made five sides to show you how they would turn out. Feel free to select any one or two when you try the recipe.
7. If you wish to have more butter oozing out when you cut the chicken, feel free to omit the cheese filling and increase the frozen butter filling to achieve that. 
8. You may share the direct blog-link of the recipe/s but do NOT publish my recipes and my photographs on any blog-site or website without my explicit consent or attempt to pass off my recipe/s as your own. You will be held accountable for plagiarism. 

Bon Appetit!!!