Veggie Egg Noodles

Growing up, my brother used to experiment and make these awesome chinese style egg noodles similar to the ones that you get at restaurants as sunday breakfast or an evening snack. In India you would never had to to crave or add meat to your meal coz you get amazing vegetarian food at restaurants. So I decided to keep this veggie but with eggs..Please..I just said no meat..dint say no eggs :)

Ingredients:
Egg noodles - 1 pack
Red Onions - 1 large
Carrots - 2 nos
Bell pepper - 1 no
Cabbage, cut into strips -  1 handful
Paneer - 10-15 pieces
Spring Onions, cut small - 1/2 bunch (optional)
Ginger, grated - 1 tsp
Garlic, grated - 1 tsp
Eggs - 2
Soy sauce - 1 Tbsp
Worcestershire sauce -1 Tbsp
Chilli sauce - 2tsp (I used Sriracha)
Vinegar - 1 tsp
Red chilli flakes - 1 tsp
Ajinomoto - 1 pinch
Sugar - 1pinch
Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste

Method:

1. Cut all the veggies lengthwise into 2 inch thin long strips. 
2. Cook noodles as per packaging directions
3. Scramble eggs in a pan and keep aside. 
4. If you don't have fried paneer, shallow fry the paneer in a pan/wok until slightly browned and chewy.
5. In the same pan, add onions and sauté until it turns pink. Add ginger and garlic and fry for a few mins. You can also just add ginger garlic paste if you don't have grated ginger and garlic.
6. Add all the veggies, salt and sugar and in high flame, sauté the veggies until cooked through. The sugar helps to keep the veggies retain their colors while getting cooked. 
7. Now add everything else and heat in medium flame for a few minutes. Chilli sauce, worcestershire sauce, vinegar, soy sauce, red chilli flakes, pepper, ajinomoto, noodles, scrambled eggs, spring onions and paneer and adjust salt, pepper and chilli sauces to taste, if needed.

Mushroom Chicken Curry

This is a different chicken curry with mushrooms. The combination of mushroom and chicken is more common in italian foods and I've always liked it but never tried making indian curries with this combo..Here's my first trial

 

Ingredients:
Chicken thighs - 2 lbs
Mushrooms, sliced - 1 box
Onions, chopped - 1 large
Tomatoes, chopped - 1 large
Ginger garlic paste - 1 Tbsp
Pepper powder - 1 tsp
Chilli powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Curry powder - 2 tsp
Coconut, shredded - 2 Tbsp (optional)
Chicken masala - 2 tsp (optional)
Chicken broth/Water - 1 cup
Cilantro, chopped - handful
Salt, to taste

Method:

1. Heat oil in a pan and add onions and saute until it turns golden brown.Add ginger garlic paste and saute until the raw smell goes away.
2. Add the tomatoes and cook until mushy. Add turmeric powder, chilli powder, curry powder, masalas and salt and saute for a few minutes.
3. Add the chicken and water/chicken broth and cover and cook until chicken is all cooked.
4. Now add the mushrooms and cook in medium flame until the gravy thickens up. If using, grind the shredded coconut to a paste and add to the gravy along with pepper and cook for a few more minutes.
5. Finish with chopped cilantro.

Note that I did not use coconut paste when I made this curry since I did not have the time, which you can pretty much tell from the picture, but adding it will thicken your gravy as well as make it tastier :)

Perfect porridge

Here's a perfect alternative to your boring breakfast oatmeal. Personally, I hate eating oatmeal for breakfast. But this yummy porridge will make you forget that you're eating oatmeal!

 Ingredients:

Oatmeal - 1/2 cup

Milk - 1 1/2 cups

Sugar or Splenda - 1 Tbsp

Honey - 1 tsp

Strawberries -  3 nos

Banana - 1/2

Salt - 1 pinch

Method:

1. In a tall microwavable bowl, add oatmeal, milk and salt and cover with a plastic wrap. Poke the plastic wrap with a fork a couple of times for venting.
2. Microwave for 3 minutes until oatmeal is cooked and mushy and wait until it cools down
3. In a blender, add the cooked oatmeal, fruits, honey and sugar and blend for a few minutes.

I used frozen strawberries and fat free milk and it tasted very good. It will be even better with 1 or 2% milk. You can use any kind of fruits you like and I would be very interested to know what other fruits will work well. I might try blueberries next time since I have it already!!

Black Channa Curry

Black Channa/Konda kadalai/Kala channa however you wanna call it..this is a recipe I learned from my mother-in-law and it's my husband's favorite.

Ingredients:
Channa, dry - 1 cup
Onion, chopped  - 1 large
Tomato, medium - 1
Coconut, shredded - 3 Tbsp
Fennel seeds - 2 tsp
Ginger garlic paste - 1/2 Tbsp
Cashews - 4 nos
Cilantro, chopped - handful
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Chilli powder - 2 tsp
Coriander powder - 2 tsp
Curry powder - 2 tsp
Salt, to taste
Water - 2 cups

Method:

1. Soak the channa overnight in a vessel with enough water to cover up all the channa.
2. Heat oil in a pressure cooker and add mustard seeds and once it pops add curry leaves, 3/4th of the onions and fry until golden brown. 
3. Add ginger garlic paste and sauté until the raw smell goes and add the chopped tomatoes.
4. Once tomatoes gets mushy, add turmeric powder, chilli powder, coriander powder, curry powder and salt and sauté for a few minutes.
5. Filter all the water from the soaked up channa and add channa to the pressure cooker with 2 cups of fresh water. Cover and cook until 4-5 whistles and switch off the stove.
6. Meanwhile in a small mixer jar, add coconut, cashews, fennel seeds, leftover onions and grind into a paste.
7. Remove the pressure cooker lid once the pressure goes off, add the ground paste and heat in medium flame until the gravy thickens. 

This curry is best with rice or rotis. I halved up the recipe here since you might be trying for the first time. I usually make lots of it and store up in the refrigerator for a few days.

Mini Breakfast Ramekins

Eggs and mexican on a weekend morning goes great together and here's my simple and tasty mexican breakfast ramekins with the stuff you probably will find in your pantry already!

Ingredients:

Eggs - 3

Egg whites - 3

Salsa - 1 cup

Milk - 4 Tbsp

deli turkey slices - 4

Cheese, shredded - 1/2 cup (any variety)

Roasted peppers - 1 cup
Roasted chillies/Jalapenos - 1/4 cup (optional)
Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste
Crushed red pepper, to taste

Servings: 4 (6oz) ramekins

Method: 

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Take small ramekins, or any size according to your number of servings and spray on some non-stick cooking spray. 
3. Beat together eggs,egg whites, milk, salt and pepper.
4. Evenly distribute the following from bottom to top in layers in each of the ramekins.
• Salsa
• Roasted red peppers
• Roasted chillies/Jalapeños
• Smoked turkey breast deli slice(s)
• Egg mixture
• Cheese
5. Bake in the oven for about 25 mins for 6oz ramekins and more if you're using a larger one until a fork comes out clean and the top browns to golden. Serve hot. 

To my surprise, this was one of my little picky eater's favorite breakfasts :)
And this is a perfect breakfast if you have a some time in your hand since baking takes about 30 mins. But you can get absolutely creative with this dish and add any kind of meat or layering that you like.

Easy chicken dish

Hungry for a mid afternoon snack or have no time for a perfect curry for your chapatis? Here's a curry type dish which is super easy and can be made in a few minutes. All that you need is some frozen chicken and frozen spinach..

Ingredients:
Frozen Chicken strips - 1 cup
Frozen spinach - 1/2 cup
curry powder - 2 tsp
Chilli powder - 1 tsp
Salsa - 1/4 cup
Salt, to taste
Mozzarella cheese, Shredded - 1 Tbsp

Method:

1. Heat oil in a small pan and add the chicken and spinach and saute until cooked and the spinach is all wilted.
2. Add salsa, chilly powder, curry powder and salt and cook for a few minutes.
3. Add the cheese and cook until the cheese melts and makes a gooey gravy like consistency.

Can be served with chapatis, rice or even as filler for your panini..Enjoy!
If you don't have salsa, you can try adding diced tomatoes as well..just let it cook for a few extra minutes. I bought the chicken strips from Costco which is my lifesaver for instant sandwiches, dishes and salads. Try and let me know how you made it..

Eggplant Curry for Biriyani

This eggplant curry is one of my favorite side dishes for all types biriyanis..It is spicy and tangy and a perfect combination for your biriyanis.

Ingredients:

For Gravy:
Eggplant - 1
tomatoes,chopped - 2
Ginger garlic paste - 1 Tbsp
curry Leaves - 6
Kasthuri Methi - 1/2 tsp
Cilantro,chopped - handful
Bay Leaves - 2
Turmeric powder - 2 tsp
Chilli powder - 4 tsp
Curry Powder - 4 tsp
Garam masala - 2 tsp
water - 1 cup
Tamarind paste - 1 tsp
coconut paste - 1 Tbsp (optional)

To Grind 1:
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Black peppercorns - 1 tsp
Fennel seeds - 1/2 tsp
Star anise - 1
Red Chili - 2
Corainder seeds - 1Tbsp
Cinnamon stick - 1
Cloves - 3
Cardamom - 1

To Grind 2:
Onions,medium - 2
Green chillies - 2

Method:

1. Grind all the ingredients from the "To Grind 1" list above to make a fine powder.
2. Add the onions and green chillies from "To Grind 2" to the above powder and use the pulse in the mixer 2-3 times to finely mince them.
3. Heat oil in a pan, add bay leaves, curry leaves and kasthuri methi.
4. Add the ground paste and fry in medium flame until well browned and the raw smell goes.
5. Add tomatoes, eggplant, turmeric powder, curry powder, chilli powder and garam masala.
6. Cover and cook until the eggplant and tomatoes are mushy and the oil separates out.
7. Once cooked, mash the tomatoes and eggplant until soft
8. Add chopped cilatro and salt and adjust to taste.
9. If using, add the cocounut paste and saute for a few more minutes.

Serve with Biriyani or chappatis. You can add any kind of vegetable or meat to this gravy to make the perfect side dish.