sweet and sour mushroom with pineapple and bell peppers!

A must try delicate, smooth and succulent dish that goes perfectly with a lighter sweet and sour sauce.


Ingredients for the Recipe:
1)250 g button mushroom washed and cleaned
2)2 onions cut into big chunks
3)diced Pineapple pcs -1/2 cup
4)bell pepper of ur choice( I have used one red bell pepper cut into bite size)
5)vegetable oil-2-3 tsp


Ingredients for sweet and sour sauce:
1/3 cup white or rice vinegar (Note: rice vinegar gives better results)
4 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon ketchup
1 teaspoon soy sauce
2 teaspoons cornstarch mixed with 4 teaspoons water
Preparation:


Mix the vinegar, brown sugar, ketchup, and soy sauce together and bring to a boil in a small pot. Mix together the cornstarch and water, add to the other ingredients and stir to thicken.


Method:
1)Heat oil in a wok and add onions and mushroom.saute on high for 5-6 mins
2)Add pineapple and bell pepper and keep sauting continuously on high till the time you feel that mushrooms are cooked.
3)Pour the above prepared sweet and sour sauce as much as you want,If you want runny gravy then add more and for the dry version add less all depends on your taste.let it simmer for 5-10 minutes and note that bell peppers should not become mushy.
4)serve with noodles or fried rice.
5)The beauty of this dish is that with this single sweet and sour sauce ,You can prepare no dishes take any ingredient of ur choice (like paneer,chicken,fish,prawn)cook in the similar manner and come up with variety of dishes with very less effort.

Chicken in Bread crumbs...KFC STYLE!

A super easy recipe with unusual combination of few calorie and taste bud on priority!
My goal here is to prove that you can still get the same great taste of fried chicken without it actually being fried, saving you tons of saturated fat, calories & sodium AND to prove that you can make a homemade healthy meal for the family in basically no time at all. Think of it this way, if you’ve got time to drive to KFC, get the food and drive home, then you’ve got time to make this!
So here we go with the recipe.....


INGREDIENTS:-


1 whole organic chicken portioned (2 breasts, 2 drumsticks, 2 thighs, 2 wings)


2 cups bread crumbs (I used Progresso Italian style bread crumbs one can use any other normal form)
2 egg – whisked for 1 minute to lighten
1 tsp paprika/kashmiri mirch powder(MDH)
1 tsp tomato powder (I used knorr tomato soup powder)
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
olive oil spray

METHOD:-


Preheat oven to 420°F.


Arrange all the ingredients in a row in the following order: the chicken pieces, whisked eggs with Salt and pepper and paprika,tomato powder added, breadcrumbs.


Begin by dipping the chicken pieces in the egg holding the chicken over the bowl for a few seconds after wards to let excess egg fall off and then coat in the breadcrumbs coating all sides. Pat the crumbs onto the pieces with clean hands to make sure it sticks. Lay on a foiled oven tray. This assembly line is a great time to get the kids involved! my lilttle one loved helping me and licked her messy hands


Once all the pieces are crumbed spray liberally on all sides with the olive oil spray.


Pop in the oven for 20 -25 minutes approx until internal temp of 165°F and the crumbs are crispy and ‘fried’.turn over the chicken and pop into the oven for another 10 mins. That’s all there is to it!


SERVE WITH KETCHUP OR CORIANDER CHUTNEY OR MAYO....I SERVED IT WITH EVERYTHING MIXED TOGETHER YUMMMMM!!!

egg plant/Baingan raita

anyone who loves egg plant/Brinjal will definitely relish this recipe.A very easy side dish for any lunch/dinner party.


Ingredients:
Eggplant – 1, cut into circles
Oil – 3 Tbsp
Mustard Seeds – 1/4 tsp
Garlic – 1 tbsp, minced
Turmeric Powder 1/4 tsp
Red chilly powder 1/4 tsp
Green Chili – to taste, for garnish
Salt – to taste
Yogurt – 2 cups
Cilantro/Coriander leaves – for garnish, finely chopped

Method:
1. Marinade egg plants with salt,turmeric,garlic minced and red chilly powder for 10-15 min,This step will extract the water  and leaves the easy to be cooked
2. Heat Oil in a non-stick pan.
3. Add Mustard Seeds, chopped green chilies and allow them to pop.add marinated egg plants one by one.
4. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook eggplant until tender.
5. Remove Eggplant into a bowl . Allow it to come to room temperature.
7. Add Salt to Yogurt and mix well. Add cooled Eggplant into the yogurt and mix well.
8. Garnish with Cilantro (coriander leaves).

mixed vegetables and beans cracked wheat pulav

healthy and delicious version of Daliya (cracked wheat or Bulgar wheat) for weight watchers.
simple and easy to make with calorie value of 120 for one bowl serving.

Ingredients:-

1) mixed beans(rajma,white eyed beans, canola bean...we usually get a pack in all the supermarkets)
    - 1 cup soaked overnight
2) mixed vegetables ( cabbage ,cauliflower, brinjal. green peas, carrots or anything of ur choice)

3) daliya or Bulgar wheat- 1 cup

4)onion 1 finely diced

5)1 tomato-optional

6)cumin seeds-1 tsp

7)green chilies-2

8)olive oil -1 tsp

9)a pinch of turmeric powder,1 tsp of garam masala powder

METHOD

1)heat a pressure cook add oil ,cumin seed,green chilly and onions
2)add all the beans,vegetables,powdered masala and salt
3)add daliya/bulgar wheat and tomato and stir well.
4)after around 5 mins add 1 cup water and pressure cook till 2-3 whistles.
5)serve with yogurt or raita.

traditional Indian gram dal with spinach and brinjal.

An Indian-spiced lentil dish. Serve with a pita or rice for a complete meal.

Ingredients:

1 cup chana dal (a yellow lentil), washed.

5 cups water

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

salt to taste

1 bunch spinach chopped.

1 brinjal chopped in cubes

3 cloves garlic chopped

1 onion chopped

1 tomato chopped or 3 tablespoons canned tomato(this one gives very gud colour to the dal)

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 teaspoon chopped green chili

4 tablespoons lemon juice

2 teaspoons coriander powder

1/2 teaspoon garam masala

1/2 teaspoon red chili powder

cilantro/parsley/coriander leaves to garnish

Preparation:

Cook the dal in the 5 cups of water with turmeric and salt for 30 minutes. Add the spinach and brinjals cook until the spinach and brinjal is tender and mixed with the lentils - about 35-50 minutes.

In a separate pan heat the oil, add the cumin seeds and as they pop add the onions. Brown the onions.

Add the garlic, tomatoes, green chili, coriander, garam masala, red chili powder, stir 2 minutes.

Add the daal and spinach and lemon juice, stir and heat through.

Garnish with cilantro and serve hot with pita or chapati or basmati rice.

Masala french fries.

Ingredients

5 Large Roasting Potatoes

2 Tbsp. Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper to Taste

chilly powder-1tsp

chat masala-1 tsp

Method

Begin with some nice roasting potatoes . While you’re doing that – lets preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Then Peel and Wash the potatoes to prepare for slicing.

Here is my tool a mandoline or just use your knife and be sure to cut the french fries even in size to ensure even cooking.

Once sliced, place the potatoes in a bowl and cover with water.

I like to have the potatoes soak in salted water for about 30 minutes to release some of the starch and allow the fries to crisp up in the oven.

After the 30 minutes elapsed – it is time we dry the potatoes. This is a crucial step. If the potatoes are not completely dry, they will not crisp up as nicely and the moisture will cause them to steam in the oven.

Lets go ahead and lay the potatoes on some parchment paper, season them with salt and pepper and brush some olive oil on the tops of them. Once in the oven, ensure that you turn them periodically to ensure even browning. Bake for about 45 minutes or until golden brown.

sprinkle chilly powder and chat masala.

Here is the final product…. crispy and yummy! Get you favorite dipping sauce out and ENJOY!

Matar paneer Salad

Watching the whole family tuck into the weekly Sunday lavish meal while you enjoy a salad isn’t an option. With a little forethought and creativity you can enjoy exactly the same meal as everyone else with a fraction of the calories.Last sunday while preparing a regular spicy matar paneer for lunch I found an alternative option  for myself  ' matar Paneer Salad' ...which tested awesome with whole what pitta bread.

So here the recipe for you.......

1) tofu/Paneer(Dry curd cottage cheese)- 1 cup diced

2)Green peas (defrosted if frozen)- 1 cup

3) corainder or parsley leaves

4)green chillies- finely chopped 1-2

5)extra virgin olive oil 2 tbsp

6)lemon/lime juice-1/4 cup

7)salt and pepper

8)Chat masala-optional.

9)Onions-1roughly chopped

10)Garlic-2 cloves finely chopped

How I made it:-

1)Heat few drops of oil in a pan and saute onion and and garlic for 1 min 

2)add peas and paneer and fry gently for 1-2 mins.Set aside to cool down.

3)for the vinaigrette -In a mixing bowl add  olive oil,lemon juice,coriander leaves,green chilies ,chat masala ,salt and pepper and whisk for 1/2 min.

4)pour the dressing over matar paneer mixture and and mix well.

5)serve with tomatoes and lettuce on side.You can also serve as pitta bread sandwich .