Shrimp Paella

So one evening i was entertaining (or torturing as he would put it) the Husband with all the crazy things fifi and i were upto when i was in B'glore.  So i happened to tell him about this time when both of us after dinner retired to her work room (which is also my room) well we went into the room swearing that we had LOADS of work and that we would probably be working through the night.  The next day being a Monday there was no way we could avoid doing this.  So fifi settles onto her comp and i open my laptop and casually tell her," dude we have to watch Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara"...as as many of our stories go...everything went downhill from there....watched the entire movie...discussed the movie....and fell asleep to that feeling of being SCROOOOOD!!!!!! Well for every such faffing story we also have a work together in companionable silence story....well will save that for another day.  So anyway the movie if you have not watched it is all about spain amongst other things and one of the protagonists makes paella in the movie...so that caught my fancy and ended up making it for din din that night.  So here goes....

Ingredients:

500 gms Shrimp
2 Slices of bacon cut into cubes (small cubes)
2 medium sized onions chopped
2 cloves od garlic
Pinch of Saffron( i made it once without it and it is fine if you do not have this handy)
1/2 tsp red chilli powder (depending on the fierceness of your powder or your tatse)
1/4 tsp of nutmeg powder
2 cups of chicken stock
1 cup of red wine
1 cup of rice
1 green,red or yellow pepper thinly cut into round slices (cut the top off and scoop out the seeds)
1 tomato cut into thin round slices
Lime to sqeeze
Parsley/Coriander leaves to garnish
Salt to taste

Method:

This recipe should not be stirred around much and the pepper,tomato and shrimps needs to be set around the dish, so it is best to use a flat bottomed pan.

Heat oil in the pan and saute the garlic and bacon. Once the aroma rises and just before the garlic turns colour, add the onions and cook till golden brown (but not carmelized). Stir in the chilli powder, nutmeg,salt and saffron (optional).  Add rice to this and stir for a couple of minutes.  Add the chicken stock and wine, making sure the rice is nicely settled into the liquid.  Once this is done cover and cook for 15 minutes.  After this uncover the pan and set the peppers, tomato and shrimp around the dish. Squeeze lime over this and sprinkle the parsley.  Cover and cook again till rice has absorbed all the liquid and the shrimp is cooked through.

Bon Appetit Mimi.

Pork Chops....

Bad, BAD Fifi !! All that talk about food and no pictures or recipes!
Okay, in my defense, the Prawn Peera got over before I could take a picture! And since I have this strange allergy that makes my hands itch like CRAZY if I clean prawns - no, no, I SWEAR they do! Mimi cleans prawns for me usually - if I do them myself, I have to do it with surgical gloves!! So yeah, basically, the prawn thing finished before I took pictures! In response to Kavita's comment (the ONLY one we've got in a loooong time!), here's the recipe for pork chops..... of the 2 pictures, the better picture was taken on another occasion when we made this, and the other (not-so-great) picture was taken when we made this last week. Now, there's one thing I've changed (for the better!) in this recipe - I've used a pressure cooker - and the meat was yummmm! Super tender and practically falling off the bone!

Fifi's Pork Chops
Ingredients - Marinade:
Pork Chops
Garlic paste
Soy sauce
Salt
Pepper
Chilli Flakes
Vinegar (about 1 tbsp)

Ingredients - Sauce:
Onions
Finely chopped garlic
Honey
Tomato - chilli sauce (I use Maggi Hot and Sweet)
Soy sauce
Star Anise
Salt, pepper, chilli flakes.

Method:
- Marinade the pork chops in a mixture of the marinade ingredients for a few hours.
- Pan fry the chops to seal in the flavour - not too much, till just cooked on the surface. (at this point, do NOT throw away the rest of the marinade mixture)
- In the same pan, after scraping away the burnt bits, if any, brown the onions and garlic. (you may want to drain some of the melted fat if there is too much)
- Add in the remaining marinade mixture and cook for about 8 minutes.
- Add in about 1/2 - 1 cup of the tomato-chilli sauce and about 1/2 cup of honey and 2 tbsp of soy sauce and mix. Let it cook for a bit. Throw in a few star anise flowers and a little water (or beer!) if you want a more runny sauce.
- Place the chops in a pressure cooker and pour the sauce over them to cover. If you need to add a little water to do that, you can, but you'll need to let the water evaporate later.
- Pressure cook for about 15 minutes. I left it to 20 and the meat was falling off the bone!
- Dry out excess water - the chops may have quite a bit of fat floating on top - which gets released when you cook the pork. You can skim off most of the fat... or make a paper cone out of kitchen tissue and let the tissue do its job!
- Serve with mashed potato and steamed buttered vegetables (which is what I did the first time! .... but this time it was "not-fried-crunchy-peas" and mashed potato!)


Bon Appetit from Fifi !

Roast Chicken with Redwine Sauce

Yeah so those of you who know me know that i am a chicken fanatic, infact people close to me have predicted that my glorious life would probably end due to a condition that could be called Chickenitis.  Yes and i thoroughly live up to these accusations.  The picture shows Roast Chicken with Spaghetti, will cover the Roast Chicken in this post.

Ingredients:

2 Whole Chicken Legs (Skin on or skinless is a personal choice bit if oven roasting it then i would suggest skin on)

1tsp Chilli Flakes
1tsp Pepper
Salt to Taste
Olive Oil

For the Sauce:

1/2 Cup Chicken Stock (this could be from chicken cubes as well)
1/2 Cup red wine
Finely chopped garlic
1tsp Dijon Mustard
Pinch of dried Thyme leaves (if using fresh thyme then half a tsp)

Method:

Marinate the chicken for a minimum of 30 mins the marinade being chilliflakes,pepper,salt and olive oil (you can also marinate it much earlier)

If Pan Roasting it then:

Sear the Chicken on high heat both sides for a couple of minutes, reduce the heat and cook through.  Once cooked remove chicken and in the same pan make the sauce.

If Oven Roasting it then:

Sear Chicken on high heat on both sides for a couple of minutes and pop into a pre heated oven and cook at 200 deg C for 40 mins.  If you are using chicken which has skin on then make sure that when in the oven the skin side is up. Once cooked transfer chicken and use the same pan to make the sauce

Sauce:

On high heat and into the residual juice from the chicken add garlic, before the garlic burns add the chicken stock, after a couple of minutes add the wine.  Now allow this to reduce to half (this should be done on high heat) once reduced add the mustard and thyme leaves stir it in and in a minute take off heat.

This is a very thick and rich sauce so do not fully dunk the chicken into this just sprinkle on top of the chicken or serve as a side.

Bon Apetit from Mimi

Chicken Enchiladas

We got tired of eating chinese and regular everyday food and with a fridge full of goodies it seemed criminal to go out to eat hence decided to make mexican instead.  Hope you enjoy this as much as The Husband enjoyed it....

Ingredients:

2 chicken breast poached and flaked ( You can poach in hot water or throw in some aromatics likes pepper corns, bayleaves, cloves,garlic and ginger with some coriander, this liquid can be reserved and used as stock for other recipes)

2 tbsps sour cream

One medium sliced

1 cup cheese

4 flour tortillas (i used store bought but it is fairly easy to make at home as well)

1/2 cup kidney beans cooked with tomato. salt and pepper

Store bought salsa.

Method:

Mix the cooked chicken, onions,sourcream,half of the cheese and salt and pepper.

coat baking dish with butter or cooking spray.  Make rolls of each tortilla with filling of the kidney beans and chicken.  Lay the rolls with seam side down. top with the salsa.  Cover dish with aluminium foil and cook in 175 deg C oven for 40 mins.  Once done....sprinkle remaining cheese and bake for 10 mins (uncovered)

Bon Apetit from Mimi

Chicken Rice

The Husband and i...we love Singapore...we love visiting the city and we love eating the street food.  This recipe is the reconstruction of the Singapore Chicken Rice, I say reconstruction because it has a desi twist to it because of the spices but still has the soul-food quality to it.

We make this whenever we miss home and friends or one of us is about to fall ill, the non-vegetarian's answer to the reviving qualities to a kichdi as it were.  Please do note, NOT a biryani recipe.  Fifi, Serenity and I enjoyed this, one cold evening on our balcony (the few times Serenity agreed to dine al fresco).  I made this last night because I was missing them and  I thought will share this with you all today.

Ingredients:

1tbsp oil or ghee (depending on which side of the diet you are on!)
500 gms chicken
1.5 cups rice
1 maggi chicken cube
2 medium sized chopped onions
2 medium sized tomatoes
6 to 8 cloves garlic, 1 inch giner and 5 to 6 green chillies all roughly chopped using mixie
whole garam masala whatever you have at home (elaichi,cinnamon,cloves,star anise), a handful of mixed garam masala.  This you dry roast before using in the dish.

Method:

Dissolve the cube of chicken is enough water such that the chicken is half submerged in it, poach the chicken in this liquid.  Poach it such that chicken is just about cooked.  Reserve the poaching liquid.

In a pressure cooker heat the oil/ghee and add the ginger, garlic and chilli mixture with the whole garam masala.  Saute for a few minutes till you can smell the cooked spices.  Then add the chopped onions, once they start to brown add the tomatoes.  Once this has been incorporated add the rice and add 1.5 times water (so here it would be 3 cups of water).  When i say water i mean first measure out the poaching liquid and if this measures upto 1.5 times of the rice then use all the poaching. If the poaching liquid is not enough then add remaining measure of plain water.Add salt to taste and  pressure cook for 2 whistles.  Let rest for about 10 minutes.

Pop in your fav movie, song or if you are a "dramedy" queen  like me,  get out your fav pics of your bff and sniff away.....

Bon appetit from Mimi !!

Potato Garlic Bacon Bake...

This is an easy-to-do midweek dinner, very creamy and filling. No crust, just layers of flaky, smoky potatoes (thanks to the bacon!) and a creamy sauce. You could add a layer of grated cheese, but I think its pretty rich the way it is. Peas and parsley would also be good, and of course carrots! (Serenity is a BIG carrot lover, he recommends adding carrots to EVERYTHING!!

Potato Garlic Bacon Bake.

Ingredients: Potatoes (depending on how many you're cooking for!)

Cream (again, you need just enough to cover the potatoes, but not make it too watery!)

Onion

Garlic (as MUCH of it as you like - we LOVE garlic!)

Bacon bits (this is a VERY handy addition to your pantry, quick and adds so much to any dish)

(Get a friend who's coming down from somewhere to get you a bag and store it in the fridge! 

Failing this, you'll need to dice up bacon really small and fry it - 

a little fat is good, but if the bacon is too fatty, you'll need to trim it!)

Salt

Pepper

Olive Oil / Butter

Method: - Thinly slice the potatoes (i scrubbed them and left the skin on) and lightly cook.

DO NOT OVERCOOK the potatoes. They need to be cooked but still firm.

- Fry the onions in butter / olive oil. Saute the garlic. Caramelize and keep aside.

- Lightly saute the bacon bits to heat through and release flavour (or fry them if you're using raw bacon)

- Mix in the sauteed onions. Add the cream and cook - take care not to make it too watery (my sauce was, but it still tasted great!)

- Layer the potatoes in a baking dish. Pour the onion - cream mixture to cover the potato slices.

- Bake in a 200 C pre-heated oven for around 45 minutes till the top is golden brown. 

Notes: I have not used any thickening agent, so the sauce is a bit runny.

If you're feeling guilty about the cream sauce, you could make a sauce with a lesser percentage of cream, thin it out with milk and then thicken it with flour... like a white sauce roux. Chives would also be a great addition! 

Bon Appetit from Fifi ! 

Fried Rice....

This is a quick stiry fry type of recipe....back home with fifi and serenity...I would often make pasta and oriental whilst fifi is the bakes,hearty pork chops and sweet somethings station owner...so here goes my quickly make and quickly eat fried rice....
 Ingredients:  Half an onion finely chopped (medium)
2cloves of garlic minced
1 egg
Any crunchy soft vegetable ( pak choy, iceberg lettuce, sugarsnap)
If using meat or prawn then precooked meat chicken or prawn (u can flash fry the chicken beef or prawn prior) Soy sauce about a tsp depending on the kind of soy sauce used.
Pre cooked rice
Half table spoon oil

Method:
Get the pan real hot and add oil....then add the onions...once these are pale and translucent add the garlic....stir fry and before the garlic changes colour add the egg and stir such that it scrambles. Once the egg is fully cooked...add your meat or seafood. Once this has been incorporated add the veg and once the veggie is bright green add the rice....stir quickly make a well within the rice and add soy sauce.....once incorporated remove from heat and sprinkle salt if necessary.the whole stir fry should not take more than 3 to  minutes. Bon Appetit from Mimi !!

Drunken Chicken and Claypot Rice....

This was our FIRST collaborative effort..... and a grand success, if I may say so myself ! 

In Kerala, where we both originally hail from, fish curry is cooked in an earthenware pot, called a 'chatti'....

Having obtained one of these, we broke it in by making Clay Pot Rice (not having any fish at hand that day!)

Both of these recipes are our own !! (But we only wrote down the one for the rice!!)
Bon Appetit - Mimi & Fifi !

Clay Pot Rice

Ingredients:

Rice 

Chicken stock

1 sachet Ramen flavour

Mushrooms

Spring onions

Star Anise

Vinegar 

Butter

Method: 

Boil water with everthing except rice.

Add rice.

Cook.