Chicken Jalfrezi
It’s no secret that I love Indian style curries. They’re delicious, spicy, and usually pretty healthy (assuming you are making them yourself!). Yesterday, I shared my recipe for a good gravy base that will have you turning out curry after curry in no time. Today, I’m going to show you how to use that base to make a dish that will blow your mind! Continue reading
Do you love Indian style curries, but don’t make them at home because you think they take too much time? Or effort? Or skill? Do you make curries at home, only to find that they’re nothing like the ones you order at your favorite restaurant? I’m going to let you in on a little secret…something I do, sometimes, to help save time. Ready? Here it goes:
It doesn’t look like much, I know. And, most traditional Indian cooks would not make so much gravy at one time…or freeze it. In fact, In India they don’t freeze much of anything (in my experience). But, luckily for you…and me…I’m not a traditional Indian cook. Continue reading
Have you ever went to the grocery store with the intention of making either fajitas or tacos that night for dinner? Did you pick up some amazingly fresh produce, buy some lovely seafood (or equally expensive chicken breasts), and then throw one of those packaged fajita/taco seasoning pouches in your cart? I have. Many times.
I’d go home, cook everything up, add the spice mix (following the directions on the back), take a bite, and immediately wish I would’ve went to Chipotle instead. There’s just always something so funky tasting about those little spice packets, and no wonder! Look at the ingredients:
I’m pretty sure Mexican’s don’t use soy sauce to make fajitas. Or caramel coloring. Or natural flavors. What the heck are natural flavors anyway? Shouldn’t the natural flavors come from the vegetables and the proteins? Where are the spices? After reading the back of that package, there was no way I was going to use that to make our dinner. A little salt, pepper, lime juice, cumin and chipotle would do the trick. I decided to use chipotle chile powder because it has a nice smokey flavor to it, and it’s not an artificial smokey flavor either. Chipotle chile powder is made from ground up smoked jalapenos. It’s not super spicy, but gives the dish the flavor and the kick that would be expected if you ordered fajitas in a restaurant.
I loved the texture on my lime…it looks like it has goosebumps!
I had bought a few green and red bell peppers last week, and they were starting to get a little wrinkly—the red peppers were 88 cents/each…which is a steal in our area. Here, in Rochester, red bell peppers are usually nearly $3 a piece! Isn’t that insane? One red pepper costs more than a whole pineapple! I’m glad summer is almost here so I can grow my own!!!
I didn’t have any shrimp at home, so unfortunately I had to make a trip to the grocery store. I bought a little less than a pound of medium wild US caught shrimp, an onion, and a new head of garlic. When I got home I threw the shrimp in a marinade, cut up all my veggies, and got to cookin’.
Cooking the shrimp—marinade and all!
One thing I really love about fajitas is that you can make them ahead of time and just reheat when you’re ready to eat them. Piyush decided that he had to go golfing today, so I had no idea what time he’d be back for dinner. Once he got home (at 7:15pm), dinner could be on the table in 5 minutes.
Two, Perfect Shrimp Fajitas
These fajitas were absolutely amazing, and ditching the pre-made spice mix made all the difference, I’m positive of it! I would even go so far as to say that my version of the shrimp fajita could rival that of any restaurant! Yes. They were that good.
Shrimp Fajita mixture
I served the fajita mixture on high fiber tortillas (50 calories/ea) that I had spread about a tablespoon of refried beans onto. I topped them with some romaine and greek yogurt. There were some beautiful tomatoes too, but I forgot all about them until after we finished eating. Dohhh!
My shrimp fajitas recipe makes quite a lot. This is a really light supper, and each fajita is only around 160 calories. How exciting is that?! I had two, Piyush had three, and there is more than enough left for dinner tomorrow. I work really early tomorrow and the following day, so not having to worry about making dinner will be a good thing. That means I can (hopefully) go to bed earlier! I might even make it to the gym!
Next time you make fajitas at home, I hope you are inspired to ditch the chemical packets and try your hand at making them “from scratch.” I swear it’s easy…and it’s way more healthy for you than adding a package of powder created in some lab!
Shrimp Marinade:
Rinse and dry shrimp. Put them in a large ziploc bag along with the other marinade ingredients. Toss everything together until the shrimp are all evenly coated. Let the shrimp mingle with the marinade for around 30 minutes—while you are cooking the veggies.
Veggies:
Heat the olive oil in a large pan. Once it is hot add in the onions. Cook the onions over med-high heat until they are nice and browned. This will take around 10 min or so. Once the onions are browned, add in the garlic. Cook for about two minutes and then add the peppers. Stirring occasionally, cook the peppers until they are tender but still have a little bite to them. Add the mushrooms and cover the pan, they’ll take about 5 minutes to cook. Season the veggies with salt and pepper. Remove the veggies from the pan and set them aside.
In the same pan you cooked the vegetables, add a little olive oil (I used my misto). Dump the shrimp in the pan along with the marinade. Stir everything together and then put the lid on the pan. After a minute give everything another good stir and flip the shrimp. Once the shrimp have cooked for around 4-5 minutes (once the shrimp are fully cooked), add the veggies back into the pan and stir everything together. Let the mixture cook together for about 5 minutes, with the lid on. Take the lid off, scoop the mixture into tortillas, and enjoy!!!
Your mouth will thank you! Mine did. 🙂
I thought today was a good day to prepare and freeze some Momos. Piyush and I are planning on visiting my family this weekend, and I wanted to take some easy—and healthy—food along. My family lives in a tiny town where there really aren’t many options for food. There are even less options for good food (unless mom is cookin’ something up). Piyush is going to be writing some software for my dad to use in his business—and plans to have it completed by Sunday, so he won’t really have a lot of time to devote to eating. I’m not sure if my family of (very) picky eaters will jump at the chance to try my steamed momos, but it’s worth a try.
I made the momos a little smaller this time, and ended up with a lot of leftover dough. I think next time I make them I will make double the filling and keep the amount of dough the same. (If you’re wondering what the heck a momo is, check out this post. It will enlighten you. I promise).
While making the filling for the momos I ended up with about a half cup of extra mashed potato. I decided I was going to make Piyush a special snack to eat when he came home from the office. The momos are an amazing treat by themselves, but those are for the weekend. Instead, I decided to make Piyush something I know he loves….Aloo Tikki!
“Aloo” means potato and “Tikki” means a small cutlet, patty or croquette. Aloo Tikki is basically just a patty made out of mashed potatoes and spices. It’s so easy to make, and so tasty. There are about a million recipes for this delicious little snack. Some recipes I read called for the use of a pressure cooker and some involved incredible amounts of prep time. I, personally, believe that something so simple should also be simple to prepare.
Because I was making the momos, I had the mashed potatoes made. I also had grated some carrots, diced some onions, and crushed some ginger. All I had to do was mix everything together…toss in some spices…and fry ’em up in a pan. I can’t say there is really a recipe—with an exact ratio of ingredients. Instead it’s kind of like…a little of this, and a little of that all tossed together and the results are a delicious party in your mouth.
I think the key to making a good aloo tikki is simply just tasting as you go. You could really throw anything in these patties: peas, cauliflower, fresh chiles…whatever you have! As for the potato, you’ll want to have enough to bind everything together. I also throw in a little bit of panko bread crumbs for some extra binding power. I hate it when the tikkis break apart when you’re cooking them!
As for the spices…salt, pepper, garam masala, coriander leaves (cilantro) and chile powder are all that I used. You could substitute panch phoron (Bengali 5-spice mix) for the garam masala…and that would be awesome! Just make sure to taste everything as you go along.
After you have everything mixed together really well, roll the mixture into balls—a little over a tablespoon will do. Then, roll the balls in flour (not too much), flatten into patties and heat up your oil! I don’t use much oil at all, just a little bit to coat the bottom of the pan (don’t use a non-stick pan!). Once the oil is heated, put the tikkis in the pan and let them cook until both sides are nicely browned. Serve the delicious aloo tikkis with both tamarind chutney and green (coriander/mint) chutney.
Yum!
Dinner tonight will also be quite simple. Leftovers!
Dal Makhani ---Lentils in a creamy tomato gravy. I use 1/4 c. half and half and 2 cups of yogurt to replicate what you'd typically get at an Indian restaurant. To help achieve that creamy look I blend everything together before I add the main ingredient (lentils) ...This is before the cooking.
Delicious! After 4 hours of cooking... This is not a quick and easy dish to make.
Yesterday was Holi, the Hindu holiday also known as the Festival of Colors, so I made Piyush a few different curries. I made Dal Makhani (or at least my version of it). I’ll post this recipe sometime soon…it’s long and kind of complicated, although it really shouldn’t be! It involved a lot of spices:
This wasn't even close to all the spices I used...this was only for one part of the gravy.
This dish took over 5 hours from start to finish, actually. Not all of the time was active cooking—but still. It took a long time!
I have also been craving more vegetables lately, meat just hasn’t sounded appetizing. Therefore I also made a curry that was a cross between Butter Paneer and Muttar Paneer. I made a really easy gravy (curry) and added in some mushrooms, peas and paneer.
Paneer is a fresh, Indian cheese made with milk. It reminds me a lot of tofu. You could use tofu in place of paneer, if you’d like. The dish will have pretty much the same flavor. Before I add paneer to a dish I fry it up in about 2 tsp. of oil and a tsp. of garam masala.
I just think it tastes better that way.
Have a happy weekend, everyone!!!!
If you enjoy Indian food on a regular (or even semi-regular) basis, you have probably heard of the samosa. The samosa is to India what the “Hot Pocket” is to America…only it has a million times more flavor. And no cheese. And includes vegetables. Okay, it’s nothing like a Hot Pocket. It’s better! Way better.
Typically samosas are made with a combination of potatoes, peas and spices. This stellar combination makes a pretty dry curry that is then stuffed into a cone-shaped piece of pastry, and formed into triangles. The triangles are then fried and enjoyed with different chutneys or ketchups. Even people that “don’t like Indian food” like samosas!
In Kolkata (and the majority of West Bengal) samosas are called singaras. They use different spices
Spices for Singara: cumin, tumeric, garam masala, pachpuran, amchoor, hing
and usually include cauliflower, fried peanuts, and sometimes even a little coconut. They are so tasty that I would officially proclaim them to be the king of all samosas! Unfortunately I can’t get them here, and had no idea how to make them.
While we were visiting I requested singaras most days, and either Baba would pick them up on his way home from the office or Piyush and I would take a little walk to one of the sweet shops and buy some kalakand and fresh fried singaras. We’d enjoy them before dinner, as a snack, while drinking tea and watching “Big Boss” (India’s version of Big Brother). After craving them for months, and hearing my father-in-law talk about them every time we call India (I think he’s teasing me!), I finally I decided it was time to demystify the singara and figure out how to make it at home.
Because singaras are typically bought roadside instead of made at home, learning to make them while I was in India didn’t really cross my mind. They are so cheap—less than 6 cents (American) a piece, that people just don’t bother making them.
Singaras (back) and Samosas (front) as they are sold at a roadside stand. I couldn't find my photos, and this one is taken from Uncornered Market (click photo for direct link)
On our next trip, I am going to try and befriend a shopkeeper and see if they’ll teach me the trick to making the perfect singara. Until that time comes, I’ll have to settle for my homemade version—which is pretty dang good, don’t get me wrong—it’s just not the same.
Singara and a Thums Up (can you tell I miss India?!)
My version of the Singara (a.k.a. the next best thing):
Dough:
Filling:
Directions:
Singaras waiting to be fried
Indian version of Coca-Cola or Pepsi. I like it much better...it's less sweet.
P. S. Don’t use a plastic spoon in hot oil.
oops
P.P.S. Thank you to Summer for teaching me how to deep fry. I suck at frying. Now, I suck a little less! 😀
While on our trip to India, Piyush and I met tons of incredible people, visited many spectacular places and tried many different foods (well…different to me!). I didn’t really think too much about it while I was there, but now that I’m back home in the states…I can’t get Darjeeling out of my head!
Darjeeling is a beautiful town located in the foothills of the Himalayas, very close to both Nepal and Tibet. It’s a major tourist destination, and like most everywhere in India…it’s crowded!
A street in Darjeeling
Tibetian Monks in Darjeeling
One of many Darjeeling Tea Estates
Darjeeling is also quite famous for the fabulous tea grown all along the hills…and for the momos!
I only ate momos twice while we were on our little holiday, but gosh, they were so good that I wish I would have had them every day! Oh, the things I take for granted…
Have you ever heard of momos? No? Probably not. I know I hadn’t before our trip. I don’t know if there are many places in the states where you can find sub-par momos— let alone the authentic, delicious momos. The closest you might get is a potsticker or dim sum, which although very similar, are not momos.
So what exactly is a momo?
It’s quite simple, really. A momo is basically a dumpling made with a flour/water based dough. They are native to Nepal and Tibet, and are very popular in the North-Eastern part of India. Inside the dough is a mixture of veggies, meats (optional) and aromatics. They can be steamed, fried and even boiled in soups. It’s amazing how something so basic can be so versatile, so tasty…and so addicting! After doing a little searching online, I found a couple recipes that looked promising. I took a few things from each recipe and came up with something that tasted almost exactly like I remembered.
In fact…they turned out so good, Piyush ate 8 of them in less than 10 minutes—and then he licked the plate!
The only piece of criticism he gave me was that I made my momos larger than I should have. Mind you, there is nothing wrong with making them large, the taste is the same; but they’re meant to be more “bite-sized” than “hockey-puck-sized.”
formed momo, before steaming
My recipe will make approximately 30 large momos—you could probably get 45 or 50 if you make them a little smaller. Out of curiousity I plugged my final recipe into a calorie calculator, and guess what?! Each large sized momo is around 85 calories!!! Awesome!!!
The dough is easy to make.
Pour the flour, salt and baking powder in a bowl. Add 1 cup of water to begin. Don’t use a spoon to mix, use your hands! Knead the dough, adding flour and water as necessary. I probably ended up using 3 1/5 c. flour and around 1 1/2 cups water—-but this will vary!
Cover the dough and let it rest for around 30 min. (I managed to wait 20. Patience is not something I possess…)
While the dough rests, make the filling.
Roll the dough out (make them smaller if you're making bite-sized momos)
Pick the dough up in your left hand and plop a good heaping tablespoon of filling in the center.
Next, start crimping the edges and form the momo into a circular shape.
crimp and pinch the dough around the filling
Ready to be steamed!
***Make sure you keep a damp towel over the momos and the dough as you’re forming them. You don’t want the dough to dry out. ***
Once you get the momos all formed, you can either steam them right away or you can freeze them. I froze all of mine because I wasn’t sure when Piyush would be home to eat them. I placed them on a parchment paper lined baking sheet, popped them in the freezer and let them stay there a couple hours. Once they were fully frozen I put them into a giant ziplock bag, and back in the freezer.
When you’re ready to steam them:
Put water in a steamer pot and bring to a boil. Place the steaming basket(s) in the pot. If the water touches the basket, pour a little out.
Once the basket is in the pot, spray it with a little cooking oil (I used my misto)—you don’t want the momos to stick! Work in batches, and place momos in the basket in a single layer so they don’t quite touch.
Set the timer for 15 minutes and don’t take the lid off the pot until it buzzes. Resist the temptation. Once the timer goes off, take them out of the steamer and serve with some soy dipping sauce, chile sauce, or tomato chutney!
Enjoy a little bit of Darjeeling, half a world away!
Have you ever visited some place that was so amazing, it left you wishing you could go back? I have heard quite a few people who have been to Darjeeling say that they would love to retire there. I can totally understand!
Enjoy a couple more photos!
Baba enjoying some Darjeeling tea
I started my morning off with a trip to the dentist. It’s not the most pleasant way to begin the day and truthfully I had no idea that I even had an appointment. There was some sort of a mix up at the office—they thought Piyush had an appointment at 7am, so they called to remind him about it. He said he didn’t make the appointment, so they thought maybe it was me. They called me and I had no idea that I made an appointment either (especially at 7! on my day off!). Since I was free for the day, they convinced me to go in and get my pearly whites cleaned and checked out. Unfortunately, Dr. Watkins gave me some bad news…
This princess is getting a new crown! I’ve never had a crown before—actually I’ve never really had any dental work, aside from some cavities filled. Sadly it’s because of one of those cavities (mostly the really bad job my prior dentist did filling it) that I now need this crown. Ok, and it might also be that I drank too much soda as a kid…and too much hard liquor as a college student, but there’s nothing I can do to change that now. The damage has been done, my friends.
I was out of the dentist’s office in about an hour, and since I was already awake—and functioning—I decided I might as well check out the thrift store and see if I could find anything neat. Today was a bust. I didn’t find anything super exciting, but I did get a new book to read, a shirt for Piyush, some canning jars, a terra cotta garlic roaster and a cake platter. Total spent? Around 10 bucks.
There was a big dresser that matched the one I bought for my entry way, it was obviously from the same set. I thought it’d make an awesome buffet for our dining room (with a little elbow grease and repurposing), but the price tag said $50. That’s about 30 dollars too much, in my opinion. So I passed.
When I got bored of thifting, I grabbed a few groceries and headed home to a sink full of dirty dishes. At home, I was quickly reminded that it was winter and I needed to put on boots and stop wearing my totally awesome crocs:
click photo to go to the crocs website
Seriously, I never thought I’d be a croc kind of girl…but I love these shoes! They’re slide ons—so they’re quick. They’re durable, comfy and rubber (or something like that…I don’t really know what they’re made from, actually). I hate wet feet, so these do a good job of keeping them dry. I wore them everyday in India—even when we were climbing the steep hills of Darjeeling (I have really high arches and walk more on the sides of my feet. Even without my custom insoles these shoes give me no pain.) Basically, I love this shoe. But sadly, they have no traction…and are terrible on ice! Lucky for me, I am a very graceful faller. Like, really graceful. You should have seen it. I slipped on the ice, went into a perfect lunge—didn’t even crack my knee on the ground—and slid back up, all in one motion. It was like some sort of weird ice ballet. I bet it looked awesome.
After shimmying my way down to the mailbox, trying to avoid the ice…and back up to the house, I decided to make Piyush a nice dinner. I had some chicken breasts, so I knew that was going to be the base.
I eventually settled on seasoning the chicken breasts with marjoram, making a simple pan sauce and serving it all with mushrooms and roasted purple potatoes. I was worried he wouldn’t like it. But it turned out really delicious and he scarfed it down…no complaints. He even told me the recipe was a “keeper.” Yay.
Marjoram Chicken Breast with Mushrooms and Roasted Purple Potatoes
The purple potatoes were amazing! I’ve never had them before so I had to try them out. They taste really similar to red potatoes…but they’re such a beautiful color!
I cut them in half (or quarters, if they were big), drizzed them with some olive oil, seasoned with salt/pepper, added some chopped rosemary and smashed garlic and then roasted in the oven at 400 degrees F for 20 minutes. Simple. Easy. Fast.
While they roasted away, I got to work on the chicken.
Marjoram Chicken with Mushrooms and Marsala Pan Sauce
(recipe inspired by Bon Appetit)
Directions:
Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper, then 2 teaspoons marjoram (I didn’t really measure—just sprinkled liberally).
Melt 1 tablespoon butter with 1/2 tablespoon oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken to skillet and sauté until just cooked through. Transfer chicken to plate; tent with foil to keep warm.
Melt remaining 1 tablespoon butter with1/2 tablespoon oil in same skillet. Add mushrooms, shallots, and 2 teaspoons marjoram. Sauté until mushrooms are brown and tender, about 6 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to bowl.
Combine broth, cream, Marsala, rosemary and remaining 2 teaspoons marjoram in same skillet; boil until thickened and reduced to 1/2 cup, about 5 minutes. Season sauce with salt and pepper.
Divide mushrooms among 4 plates. Top mushrooms with chicken. Spoon sauce over and serve.
This meal came in at around 650 calories for my portion (pictured above). It’s not something I’d eat all that often, because it’s so rich. But it’s definitely something I’ll make again! It had a lot of flavors and they all worked extremely well with one another. The original recipe didn’t call for rosemary but I thought it’d be a good addition…and I was right!
If you’re looking to impress someone (Valentine’s Day is around the corner….I’m just sayin’), this will do it. This meal is seriously restaurant quality…and I’m not talking “Olive Garden” or “Applebees” kind of restaurants. This tasted like something I’d expect from a really fancy place. It was that good!
Now that I have a full belly, Teen Mom is over, and my face has been cleansed…it’s off to bed! I have a long day tomorrow!
My Fancy Pantry 