Chicken and Mushroom Soup

Ingredients

Closed cup mushroom…250gm (chopped vertically)

Chicken breast piece......1 (large, cut in chunks)
Potato………………………..1 (small, peeled & grated)
Onion………………….........1 (small, chopped)
Garlic……….....……….......1 clove (finely chopped)
Chicken broth………..……5 cups
Salt to taste
Oil to cook

Method

• Heat oil in pan and sauté the chicken until cooked, sprinkle salt on the chicken pieces while it is cooking. Keep aside once cooked.
• Similarly sauté ½ of the chopped mushrooms until cooked and keep aside.
• Heat oil in a soup pan. Add the onions and sauté for 1 min.
• Add the garlic, cook for 1 min.
• Now add the remaining ½ of the mushrooms, grated potato and the salt and cook for 3 min.
• Finally add the chicken broth and let the mushroom and potato simmer in the broth until cooked.
• Once cooked, let it cool down slightly. Then add the entire soup mixture in a blender and blend. (You can use a hand blender directly in the soup pan if you like)
• Pour the thick soup mixture back in the soup pan to heat/cook it again for 3 min. Now turn off the heat.
• Serve the soup in the soup bowls and drop half the sautéed chicken pieces and mushrooms at the centre of each of the bowls.
• Garnish with parsley (if required). Serve hot.

Serves: 2

Note:

I you like watery soup and do not prefer thick textured soup or if you do not find the colour of the chicken and mushroom soup appetising does not blend the soup. A watery chicken and mushroom soup is equally delicious.

Corned Beef Patty Burger

Ingredients

Corned beef………………220gm
Potato………………………1 (large, boiled)
Green peas………………..1 cup (boiled)
Breadcrumbs…………….2 cup
Green chilli…..…………..2 (large, chopped)
Basil…………………………1 tea spoon
Burger bread…………….5 (sliced)
Butter………………………2 ½ tea spoon
Onions……………………..1
Tomato…………………….2
Mayonnaise………………5 table spoon
Mustered………………….2 ½ tea spoons
Salt to taste
Oil to shallow fry patties

Method

• Mash the boiled potato and peas in a bowl. Now add the corned beef, basil, chillies and salt. Mix well.
• Divide the mix in 5 equal portions. Roll each portion on the palm of your hand, and then press to flatten them into 3/4 inch thick burger patties.
• Spread the breadcrumbs on a plate to easy the coating process. Now coat the patties with breadcrumbs on all sides.
• Heat some oil in a shallow frying pan. Drop a few breadcrumbs in the oil to check if it’s hot enough to start cooking. They should start to sizzle immediately.
• Shallow fry the patties for 7 min on both sides or until their colour changes to deep golden brown and are cooked from the inside. Drain them on a paper towel. 
• After all the patties are cooked, drop ½ tea spoon of butter in the hot pan and lightly toast sliced burger bread in the butter (only the insides). Repeat the process for each of the 5 sliced burger breads.   
• Slice the tomatoes into half’s and then chop the half’s into semi-circle slices of to medium thickness. Repeat the same for the onions.
• Now apply mayonnaise on the top slice of the burger bread and mustered on the bottom side. Place a patty on the bottom slice and top the patty with the tomatoes and then the onions slices. Cap the burger with the top half of the burger bread.
• Serve hot with your choice of condiments.   

Lamb Scotch Eggs

Ingredients

Eggs…………………………4

Minced lamb……..……..250g
Onion……………………...½ (finely chopped)
Chilli powder…………....1 tea spoon
Rosemary……………...…½ tea spoon
Ground peppercorns….½ tea spoon
Garlic……………………….1 clove (large, chopped)
Breadcrumbs……….……1 ½ cup
Salt to taste
Oil to deep fry

Method

• Boil 3 eggs in salted water for 5 min, reduce the heat and let the eggs simmer in the water for 10 min.
• Now discard the hot water and place the eggs in cold/chilled water to artificially cool them.
• One the eggs are cooled peel them and keep aside.
• Mix the mince lamb, chilli powder, rosemary, garlic, ground peppercorn, onion and salt in a bowl. Now divide the mince in 3 equal parts.
• Take one portion of the divided mince and flatter it in your palm. Place one of the boiled eggs on the flattened mince and wrap the entire egg with it.  Make sure there are no gaps in the mice coating. Repeat the same procedure with the remaining eggs.
• Break and whisk the fourth egg in a bowl.
• Now dip the mince coated eggs in the whisked egg and roll it on the breadcrumbs to coat the entire egg ball.  Keep ready to be deep fry.
• Heat oil in a deep frying pan. To make sure the oil is hot enough drop few crumbs of bread in the oil, if they start to sizzle immediately the oil is hot enough to fry the eggs. 
• Carefully dip the eggs in the hot oil and fry them for 10 min or until golden brown.
• Serve cold.

Note:

Traditionally scotch eggs are made with sausage meat and light herbs like parsley.  

Do not make the mince layer too thick as it will take a very long time to cook from the inside or might remain uncooked.

Mustard Grilled Chicken

Ingredients

Chicken drumsticks……4

Mustard paste…………….6 table spoon
Breadcrumbs……………..1 cup (fresh)
Garlic………………………..2 clove (large, chopped)
Dried basil..……………….1 tea spoon
Lemon juice………………1 ½ table spoon
Salt to taste

Method

• Marinate the chicken drumsticks with salt and lemon juice for 20 min.
• Meanwhile mix the breadcrumbs, chopped garlic, basil and salt in a plate.
• Now apply a generous amount of mustered paste to the drumsticks with a basting brush and roll them on the breadcrumbs mixture to give them a breadcrumb coating.
• Place them on the microwave grill.
• Preheat the microwave in grill setting for 5 min.
• The chicken juices might drip inside the microwave while cooking so line the base microwave plate with aluminium foil.
• Now grill the chicken for 10 min.
• Remove from microwave and turn the pieces upside down to grill the other side for 10 min.
• Check if the drumsticks are cooked by poking a slit in one of the pieces to check the inside.
• If you are not sure, place the drumsticks on a microwavable plate and cook them for 5 more min on the normal microwave mode (not the grill mode), just to make sure they are cooked through out.
• Serve hot and enjoy the juicy chicken drumsticks.

Dum Aloo (aka Kashmiri Dum Aloo)

Ingredients

Baby potatoes……………...½ kg.

Yogurt…………………………1 ½ cup (plain)
Water……………………..…...½ cup
Garam masala…………...…¾ tea spoon
Ginger paste……………..….1 table spoon
Cumin powder…………..…¾ tea spoon
Fennel powder…………..…½ tea spoon
Cardamom powder……….¼ tea spoon
Kashmiri chilli powder…1 ½ tea spoon
Clove…………………….…….3
Oil to deep fry the potatoes
Mustard oil to cook
Salt to taste

Method

• Prick , peeled and wash baby potatoes with a fork 2-3 time at different areas. Salt then and keep ready to deep fry.
• Heat oil and deep fry the salted potatoes until golden brown.  Drain the potatoes on a kitchen towel and keep them aside.
• Mix the yogurt, garam masala, ginger paste, cumin, fennel, cardamom and chilli powder in a bowl along with the fried potatoes.
• Heat mustard oil in a pan. Add the clove and heat for 1 min.
• Now add water and salt. Bring it to a boil.
• Now carefully add the yogurt and potatoes. Mix well.
• Cook for 15 min with the lid on.
• Serve with puri or naan.

Serves: 2

Note:

The term “Dum” literally means pressure and “Aloo” means potato. Traditional this dish is cooked under pressure where the ingredients are mixed as above but at the final stage (i.e. after we add the yogurt and potatoes to the oil in the cooking utensil and mix) the utensil is covered with a lid which has no top opening for the steam to escape and is sealed off with dough of “Atta” meaning wheat flour, so that no steam escapes from the sides of the lid.

Kashmiri chilli powder is not very hot but has a beautiful red colour. However if you are using a different chilli powder used only half of what is mentioned.

Corned Beef with Spaghetti

Ingredients

For the Corned beef:

Onion……………………...1 (large, chopped)
Tomato…………………...2 (chopped)
Green chilli………..….…1 (chopped)
Ginger…………………..…1 table spoon (chopped)
Paprika powder………..½ tea spoon
Corned beef………………4 slices
Oil to cook
Salt to taste

For the spaghetti:

Spaghetti                        fist full
Water to boil the spaghetti
Salt to taste

Method

For the corned beef:

• Heat oil in a pan and add ginger and onion. Sauté till onion become transparent.
• Now add the chilli, paprika powder, tomatoes and salt. Mix well and cook for 1 min.
• Add in the corned beef slices. As the slices begin to crumble with the heat, use you cooking spoon to mash the beef into mince.
• Mix well with other ingredients.
• Cook for 5 min with the lid on.

For the Spaghetti:

• Boil water and add salt to it.
• Add the spaghetti to the boiling water and cook for the required amount of time.
• Once cooked, drain the spaghetti using the pasta drainer.  

Arrange spaghetti on a plate and top it up with the corned beef. Serve hot.

Serves: 2

Simple Ginger Rice

Ingredients

Rice…………….……………..1cup

Vegetable stock cube……1
Garlic………………………...1 clove (large, chopped)
Ginger……………………….2 tablespoon (finely chopped)
Green chilli……..…………1 (finely chopped)
Red capsicum……………..1 (cut in juliennes)
Green peas…………………½ cup
Water……………………..…3½ cup
Oil to cook
Salt to taste

Method

• Heat the water in a pan. Once the water is near the boiling point add the rice.
• Boil rice until tender; however do not overcook it as the grains will start breaking.
• Drain the cooked rice and keep it aside.
• Heat oil in a pan and add ginger, garlic and chilli. Sauté for 1 min.
• Add the green peas and capsicum to the pan. Mix and cover the pan with a lid. Cook for 2 min.
• Crush the vegetable stock cube into a powder and add it to the pan. Add salt to taste, if require (remember, vegetable stock cubes already has a good amount of salt in it). Mix well and cook for 1 min with the lid on.
• Now add the rice and mix well. Make sure all the rice is coated with the flavours and seasoning.
• Cover the pan with the lid and cook for 2 min.
• Serve hot.

Serves: 2